Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Divine '09


2009 is off to a great start, and everyone here at Central Talent Booking hope the rest of this year brings you prosperity and joy, as well as patience and understanding.

The end of 2008 at Jimmy Kimmel Live was star packed and highly rated. Adam Sandler stopped by to chat up “Bedtime Stories,” and Tom Cruise came by to talk about his movie, Valkyrie, as well as giving a special “interview” to everyone’s favorite security guard, Guillermo. And Jim Carrey
stopped by to spread a little holiday cheer by showing off his instant tree decorating machine. This year has started with a bang with appearances by Mickey Rourke, Dustin Hoffman and Kevin James. And on a sad note, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” lost a dear friend, security guard Veatrice Rice last week. All of us here at CTB loved Veatrice, and she will be missed.

Recently, Bonnie Hunt has teamed up with Central Talent Booking for the completion of the first season and a spectacular second season kickoff of "The Bonnie Hunt Show". As the booking team for the freshest daytime talk show in Los Angeles, CTB will work with Hunt's producers paraMedia Inc and Telepictures to create memorable guest appearances. Brina is now officially in-house over there in their Culver City studios, and we are so excited to bring fantastic future bookings.

The People’s Choice Awards took place at the beginning of January at the Shrine Auditorium. Jo, Lesley, and Kellie worked diligently all week in the production office to help provide the best show possible. Here is the list of winners from the night's show. Hosted by Queen Latifah, it was a huge success! As we wrap up the excitement with the PCA’s, we are all thrilled to be gearing up once again for a wonderful award show: The Webby Awards.



Last year was CTB’s first year working with The Webby Awards, hailed by the New York Times as the “Oscars of the Internet.” Known for their five-word limit on acceptance speeches (previous honoree Al Gore: “Please don’t recount this vote.), the Webby Awards are the leading international honor for excellence on the Internet including Websites, online film and video, interactive advertising and the mobile Web. Last year, The 12th Annual Webby Awards received a record 10,000 entries from over 60 countries. The awards season was capped by a star-studded June gala showcasing an influential group of Internet luminaries including Stephen Colbert, David Byrne, Lorne Michaels, Michel Gondry and Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am. This year's Webby Awards will take place Monday, June 8, 2009 in New York City. See highlights from the 12th Annual Webby Awards here.


AnytimeWithBob.com’s new season has premiered, with Jennifer Esposito revisiting the revamped garage for a chat, and John Stamos came by for the first time to get to know Bob a little better (surprisingly ends up with his pants around his ankles). Also, Kat Von D, Neil Patrick Harris, Howie Mandel, and Jeff Garlin, among others, have stopped by. Be looking out for upcoming interviews with Rob Corddry, Jerry Springer, Nicole Sullivan, and more!


CTB is also working with honestbaby.com and Broadband Enterprises on their new online show “Parenting Famously.” “Parenting Famously” will cross the red carpet and meet celebrity parents on the common ground that we all share during our journey to raise a family. Honestbaby knows that the idea of perfect parenting is a myth and being a celebrity doesn’t make you immune to super mom expectations. Each episode of “Parenting Famously” will be organized around a different topic. From play dates to potty training to the first day of pre-school, “Parenting Famously” speaks with celebrity mothers and fathers and gives them the chance to share their own personal experiences, advice and tips about parenthood. The honestbaby philosophy of “no judgments” will be the consistent underlying theme of the show as there is no “right” way to raise a child. Check out honestbaby.com for a little insight!

All of us at CTB are thrilled to be working with popular Scandanavian Hosts Filip & Fredrik on their new television show taping in
New York this Spring. Check out the clip to find out more information about this new show!

VH1’s Free Radio is back and off to a great start! Taping began last month in LA, so be looking out for some funny times coming at you in April. The upcoming line-up will be announced soon. See the newest trailer for the upcoming season
here.

NFL Total Access ended their season with a bang as soul singer Seal came by to share his football wisdom and comedian/actor Denis Leary stopped by to give his top picks and promote his new book “Why We Suck.” Yet again, Andy and Gregg have been wonderful to work with, and we look forward to working with them again later this year.

“Best Week Ever with Paul F. Thompkins” has been steaming up the screen with Al Reynold's List of the Sexy Sexy Sexy Ladies of 2009, and the adorable Elisabeth Moss from the hit show “Mad Men” and Broadway’s “Speed-the-Plow.” The new season kicked off on January 16th with Neil Flynn from “Scrubs” and Janeane Garofalo talking about the new season of “24.” This week, host Paul F. Thompkins tries to convince a reluctant Dev Patel and Freida Pinto from the Oscar buzz hit Slumdog Millionaire to dance with him.

In the February issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, Oprah invites you to “Make Your Own Luck.” She has a few laughs with Emmy winner Tina Fey, and Isla Fisher of the upcoming movie Confessions of a Shopaholic shares the books that have made a difference in her life. Also, singer Annie Lennox shares her Aha! Moment , and three-time Academy-Award nominee Danny Elfman shares his favorite music.


TBS’s Cheech and Chong: Roasted turned out very successful. Host Brad Garrett kept the laughs going as roasters comedian Tom Arnold, television journalist Geraldo Rivera, comic magicians Penn & Teller and That ‘70s Show’s Wilmer Valderrama, comedian Greg Giraldo, and Tommy Chong’s wife, actress Shelby Chong poked fun at the aging stoners. Also shown were special taped messages by actor Steve Carell and comedian Andy Dick. See video clips here. Jo loves working with Morty, the producer, and will not sleep for days to help him deliver a great show...even if it means calling Al Sharpton 300 times.