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Tony Hawk on Peter Mehlman's Narrow World of Sports

The 13th Annual Webby Awards

The 13^th Annual Webby Awards were a huge success last night.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards honor the year’s best Websites, online film and videos, interactive advertising, and mobile sites, as well as special achievement honorees, including Lifetime Achievement, Artist of the Year, Person of the Year, Best Actor of the Year, Best Actress of the Year and Breakout of the Year.

From the hilarious Opening Monologue by host Seth Meyers to Charlie Rose presenting Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, creator of the worldwide web, with the Lifetime Achievement Award the night was filled with excitement.

In keeping with Webby tradition, all winners must adhere to the Webby Awards’ famous five-word speech limit. Speeches by past winners like Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote.”), Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?”), and Arianna Huffington (“President Obama. Sounds good, right?.”) made headlines around the world. See Sir Berners-Lee's 5 Word Acceptance Speech.

Congratulations to all of last night winners…

Sarah Silverman - Best Actress. See her 5 Word Acceptance Speech.

Trent Reznor – Webby Artist of the Year. See his acceptance speech here.

Jimmy Fallon – Webby Person of the Year, presented to him by his friend Cameron Diaz. See his 5 Word Acceptance Speech.

Martha Stewart presented Biz Stone of Twitter Breakout Artist of the Year.

Lisa Kudrow was presented with Outstanding Comedic Performance by her friend Alan Cumming.

And Seth MacFarlane won Film and Video Person of the Year, although he couldn’t attend, so he made a special video.

As always, it was a huge pleasure working with DMD and Emily from the Webbys, Adam and Githa from Empire Production, and Gita and Patrick at PK PR.

May 2009

We’re halfway through 2009 and going strong. To keep up with all the Central Talent Booking happenings, follow CTB on Twitter for the latest updates: twitter.com/centraltalent.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” is steaming up with the upcoming NBA Basketball Specials. Denzel Washington and Will Ferrell are among the guests slated to attend. Just finished May Sweeps with a bang. The Sweeps were kicked off with a huge concert by Depeche Mode across the street from the Kimmel studios at Hollywood and Highland. Sweeps continued strong featuring a special performance by Eminem, a week dedicated to the mega hit Star Trek, featuring the new cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and John Cho, and Ben Stiller brought a rather peculiar present to Jimmy - a camel who couldn't control his bladder. Also, in case you missed it, check out how Jimmy beat Lost’s Matthew Fox in a Staring Match.

JO, Alyson and Jennifer trekked up to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut to see Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa at Foxwoods Casino. Mr. Seinfeld was amazing as usual and Papa is hilarious. We all laughed until our faces hurt. CTB is thrilled to be working with Mr. Seinfeld on “The Marriage Ref.” The show, premiering on NBC in 2010, will focus on the typical fights all couples experience. The concept of the show is centered around Mr. Seinfeld’s comedy, as “Seinfeld” the series was. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mr. Seinfeld noted that “Seinfeld” focused on being single and dating. But after being married for nine years, his comedy act now revolves around marriage and children, because as he said “marriage is the goldmine of comedy.” The show will feature opinionated celebrities from all walks of life offering commentary and advice to real couples enduring marital disputes. Couples arguments will be captured on camera in households across America, and each show will center around their specific marital disputes. A “panel of experts” will act as advisors to The Marriage Ref, who will make the ultimate call on who wins the fight.

CTB is excited about their new relationship with the production company True Entertainment, a division of Endemol. In an entertainment landscape of constantly shifting genres, True Entertainment has staked out a leading position at the intersection of fact and fiction. In both television and film, True Entertainment creates reality and documentary programming with the emotional impact of fiction -- and scripted programming with the grit and realism of documentary. This hybrid sensibility has earned True Entertainment a reputation as a blue-chip production company of both non-fiction and fiction entertainment. Whether it’s reality TV, documentary series, game shows or movies, True Entertainment is using powerful storytelling to transcend the limits of genre. True Entertainment is a subsidiary of Endemol, the largest television producer in the world, and it was founded by Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock. True's Emmy award winning credits include scripted and unscripted reality programming for ABC, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Discovery, Lifetime, E!, TLC, Style and others. Look out for some great things on the horizon for this company!

This season of “Best Week Ever with Paul F. Thompkins” has been great! In April, Martin Starr came by the studio to promote his new movie Adventureland. Then Jerry O’Connell stopped by to talk about his Obsessions, and started a fued with host Paul F. Thompkins. And Bill Hader came by a few week's ago to promote The Night at the Museum.

“The Bonnie Hunt Show” just ended its first season, after a good end to its first season. Congratulations to Daniel Kellison, a close friend of CTB’s, who has just been named Executive Producer of “The Bonnie Hunt Show” for next season. May Sweeps brought by William Shatner, Marcia Cross, Billy Bob Thorton and the Boxmasters, Brooke Shields, Kara DioGuardi, Balthazar Getty, Alyssa Milano, Brad Garrett, and much, much more! We will be working hard this summer to prepare for the second season, starting on September 7th.

Be on the lookout for the June 2009 issue of Oprah Magazine. The issue features an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Edwards on her battles with her marriage, children and cancer. Find out what’s playing in Grammy winner for Best New Artist Adele ’s ear, and see what books have made a difference to Julia Ormand, star of the new film Surveillance. Also, Jada Pinkett Smith shares her Aha! Moment, and actress Viola Davis shows off some duds in the style of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe, Lena Horne and Eartha Kitt.

Internet Week is quickly approaching and this year’s Webby Awards have a full line-up. Jimmy Fallon is the Webby Person of the Year, Trent Reznor as Webby Artist of the Year, Sarah Silverman as Best Actress, Lisa Kudrow as Outstanding Comedic Performance, and Seth MacFarlane as Film and Video Person of the Year. Breakout of the Year goes to Twitter, with Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, accepting the award. For a full list of nominees for the 2009 Webby Awards, go to here. The Webby Awards will take place on June 8^th at Cipriani’s on Wall Street.

Sondgasparty med Filip och Fredrik (Sunday Party with Filip and Fredrik) has gotten strong ratings in Sweden, and had an all-star line-up. The first show went off without a hitch when Marilyn Manson dropped by to talk about his first time voting and what he would do if he was president. And continued on to feature Kevin Bacon and his band The Bacon Brothers , Martin Sheen , and Zach Braff . Also, Miss Piggy stopped by to do a duet with Filip, and James Lipton interviewed the famous Swedish actor Michael Persbrandt. The always adorable Kristin Davis talked about Swedish reception of Sex in the City, and this past Sunday, actor John Goodman stopped by to join the party. This Sunday brings the always funny and recent winner of "Celebrity Apprentice," Joan Rivers, by the show. The last show will feature actor Kevin Spacey.

As Sunday Party with Filip and Fredrik ends, CTB is excited to continue working with international shows, this time expanding to Asia, with “Asia Uncut." This new Asian talk show reaches approximately 120 million people in 53 countries across Asia and the Middle East on STAR WORLD. Currently the most popular talk show on STAR WORLD, Asia Uncut is a show that accesses Asia’s people, places, and personalities in a familiar, yet fresh and fun, format. “Asia Uncut” is truly East Meets West. Hosted by American Jon Niermann, the program is fun and current and the only English speaking, Western-style nighttime talk show that is truly Pan-Asian. Each one-hour show will include guests made up of visiting international celebrities and regional personalities chatting in one of their studios in Singapore, Shanghai or Hong Kong , or filmed out and about roaming a familiar Asian city, where the viewers get to watch as the guests “go local” to experience Asia.

CTB recently started working with BBC Worldwide to develop shows and book hosts for a variety of productions on different American networks. We're happy to be working again with John Hesling and Allison Wallach. We haven't worked with Allison since our "Intimate Portrait" days at Lifetime, and it will be fun working with our good friend again.

CTB just welcomed David and Pamela to the team, as Kelly goes off to welcome her first child! Congratulations!

March 2009

A few weeks ago, as everyone prepared for the Oscars, just across the street Jimmy Kimmel prepared for his annual “After the Oscars” special. Mel Gibson, in his first TV appearance in a long time, shared his “current project” with JKL’s viewers. And Tom Cruise made a special promo with Jimmy, who graciously saved him from a fiery house just at the right moment. Last Monday, JKL delivered the best Monday night ratings ever, kicking off the week with an exclusive first interview with the “Bachelor” Jason Mesnick, Evangeline Lilly from “Lost” and a special performance by New Kids on the Block. Jimmy just stopped by The View appearing Rosie O’Donnell and giving The View ladies a run for their money. Also see a special appearance by Daniel Kellison and Jason Schrift as gigantic chocolatey snacks. See Jimmy on the View Part 1 and Part 2 .

The Bonnie Hunt Show and CTB are off to the races. Brina and Kelly are in house and working hard to make the best show possible. March Sweeps are coming together, and be on the lookout for appearances by Heidi Klum, Jeffrey Dean Morgan from The Watchmen, Megan Mullally, Kevin Bacon, and Virginia Madsen. Most recently The Bachelor's Jason Mesnick and his choice Molly Malaney stopped by to talk about their new relationship, and Jeff Probst voted Bonnie off the island.

Scandinavian hosts Filip and Fredrik are here in New York and ready to kick off their exciting new show, “Live from New York with Filip and Fredrik.” The show, a 90-minute, non-traditional talk show will be aired live prime time in Scandinavia from Chelsea Television Studios in New York, beginning April 19th, and continuing every Sunday until June 7th. The blend of prominent guests, both American and Swedish celebrities, mixed with the show’s elements of surprises, live and taped, will characterize Filip & Fredrik’s biggest challenge their careers have faced so far.

Be on the lookout for April’s Oprah Magazine, hitting newsstands March 17^th. In this issue, Oprah sits down with Michelle Obama for an exclusive conversation about life in the White House and what our new First Lady plans for the next four years. Rashida Jones from the new movie I Love You, Man shares her Aha! Moment and actress Rachel McAdams talks about the books that made a difference in her life. Also don’t miss Vanessa Williams sharing her favorite CDs as well as talking about her upcoming new album and Jessica Lange’s special Q&A about Living Your Best Life.

This past month, CTB has joined up with K2 Pictures on their compelling and inspirational series, Life After, which premieres on TV One in June 2009. LIFE AFTER is part biography, part glimpse into the daily lives of celebrities, and all celebration of the human spirit as we investigate how various cultural icons have dealt with turning points in their lives, be those moments public or private, triumphant or tragic. Each half-hour episode of LIFE AFTER will focus on a single subject and tell the story of a transformative event and how it affected him or her ever afterwards. Viewers will be drawn into the drama both to hear the tales being told but also to find out where the stars are at in their lives today while also celebrating their continued accomplishments. We’ll conduct candid interviews with our subjects in their current lives, interviews that take place out in the field over the course of a day spent revisiting important people and places from their past.

Just added to the Anytime with Bob site site are Rob Corddry discussing his series “Children’s Hospital”, and baldness, and Nicole Sullivan discussing her show (Lifetime’s “Rita Rocks”), her baby, and some possible plastic surgery in her future. Stay tuned for an appearance by Jim Gaffigan, who stopped by the Van Nuys garage this past month.

Honestbaby and Broadband Enterprises are putting the finishing touches on “Parenting Famously,” a new special coming soon on Broadband. “Parenting Famously” will break down the barriers and show that, when it comes to family, celebrities are parents too, just like everyone else. Each episode of “Parenting Famously” will be organized around a different topic. This special features interviews from Naomi Watts, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Clive Owen and Nicole Miller, all talking candidly about life with their children. Also, the special will feature a live storytelling show produced and directed by Dani Klein Modisett, called “Afterbirth” (a book by the same name will be out in May). The play took place at The Triad in New York last week with special appearances by Caroline Rhea, Andrew McCarthy, Emmy Laybourne, Eddie Brill, Tom Shillue and more. “Parenting Famously” had a chance to sit down with the cast and talk to them about their experiences as parents. Be on the lookout for this exciting special!

Best Week Ever with Paul F. Thompkins has had some exciting visitors this past month. Emmy award winner Bryan Cranston stopped by the studio to talk about AMC’s returning hit “Breaking Bad,” and Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku chatted about Fox’s new show “Dollhouse.” Also, check out Molly Sims talking about Fired Up! and unsuccessfully tries to avoid an awkward silence with Paul.

Style.com with Isla Fisher!

Isla Fisher

The Confessions of a Shopaholic actress comes clean about the red-carpet wardrobe malfunction she'll never forget.

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 12^th 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 12^th 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 16^th 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.