Monday, September 24, 2007

Premiere Week

Network Television Premiere week is upon us, and that means a whole new batch of shows and stars, many of which may not make it to mid-season.

Kimmel’s got a killer week coming up including the big Italian Show on the 27thDanny Devito,
Mario Batali & music from Franki Valli. Recent highlights include Daniel Radcliffe coming through to get some financial planning advice from Jimmy, although it was probably lost in the roar of the screaming fans. Spice Girl Mel B made an appearance to announce the new season of Dancing With The Stars. Always the journalist, Jimmy asked the “hard hitting” Eddie Murphy question – watch for yourself. Also, check out Jimmy babysitting for Tina Fey - parts one & two - re-airing Oct. 1st. 50 Cent stopped by for a hilarious panel & performance. He kept it going for over a dozen songs after the show, setting an all-time JKL performance record in the process. Not to be outdone, Kanye West came through a few days later for a chat/performance and had fans standing on the rooftops just to catch a glimpse, which repeats tonight if you missed it. JKL and BET were the only talk shows to have both of the feuding megastars on.

Elsewhere, Kelly trekked out the LG House in Malibu to help The Nine finish off a busy summer in style and keep tabs on the steady stream of guests – check out the highlights. Thanks to Scott Baio, Gabrielle Reece, Rob Zombie and Hills super-couple Spencer & Heidi for stopping by to keep Maria company.


For many of us here at CTB, the arrival of Fall means new episodes of the Oprah Show! Oprah Winfrey came to NYC to kick off the fall season, so Jo and Kellie had the chance to go to a taping at the WaMu Theatre at MSG. The interview with David Letterman was fantastic and the second show was moving tribute to the children of 9/11. The fall issues of O magazine are chock-full of great articles featuring some of our favorite celebrities like Fantasia, Viggo Mortensen, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Ben Harper to name a few. Also, make sure to check out September’s beautiful “Gray Anatomy of Style” fashion portfolio highlighting eight leading ladies from Broadway, TV and film.

Down in DC Fall means politics, so Bob Edwards has been talking to folks like Sen. Christopher Dodd and Gen. Wesley Clark on his XM show, with more big names lined up… Back up in NY, O&A have been hosting a myriad of guests - Kevin Smith came through to hang with the boys while the Rock called in to talk about The Game Plan. While Ron & Fez just finished off a packed week with Jeff Garlin and John Turturro both stopping by on Monday. On Tuesday Martin Freeman braved the torrential downpour to drop in on the guys. Mad Men’s lovely leading lady Elizabeth Moss also made it and Martin Luther – singer, songwriter and lead in the highly-talked about new film, Across the Universe – came by after his GMA performance to play some of his latest tracks.

Meanwhile, Brina and Matt headed north to the Toronto Film Festival with XM’s Cinemagic. The city was flooded industry and press folks from around the world, which made for an exciting live broadcast. With so many movies it’s impossible to see everything, but the CTB pick of the festival has got to be Jason Reitman’s new movie Juno – great cast, outstanding performances & killer music – look for it to be a big hit this fall, with Ellen Page as the breakout star.

Back in the states, football season kicked-off, and with offices in NY, LA and DC, team loyalties run deep at CTB. Fortunately NFL Total Access covers it all, and with guests like The Rock, Jeff Garlin and Adam Carolla dropping by, it’s going to be an exciting season. More info & clips here.

We’ve mentioned Free Radio in this space before, but that’s just because it’s one of our favorite new projects. We’ve got a slew of great guests lined up, so if you can’t wait until February, here’s a teaser.


The UNCF Tribute to Smokey Robinson just taped this weekend and it was amazing – incredible tribuites and performances from the star-studded cast including Joss Stone, Condoleezza Rice, Chris Isaak, host Jimmy Fallon and many more. Louis J’s events are always the best and a pleasure to work on. The show won't air until January but be sure to check it out when it does.

And don't forget to check out Epicurious.com's newest celebrity video where Isaac Mizrahi gives you a personal tour of his kitchen along tips for your own kitchen and his favorite recipe. Watch it here.

Another 2008 project that we're all pretty excited about is the BRiCK Awards from DoSomething.org and Nancy Lublin – she’s a very cool lady and it’s a very cool event. Find out more here.