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Thursday, November 21, 2013 by Liz Smith “I NEVER drink ... wine.” That of course is Bela Lugosi’s famous line from the original “Dracula.” The Count’s polite refusal of normal libation has been repeated down the ages by others who played the role, but Bela still stands alone in his delivery and menace.
Now we learn that acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro will present 13 episodes of a new vampire saga, based on “The Strain” a trilogy of books del Toro co-authored. Apparently the first season will tell how a “vampire virus” was conceived. The second — if there is one — will presumably show us how the vamps are being fought. Hey, AMC’s “Walking Dead” continues to be a smash hit. So maybe FX will strike an artery with this one. |
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ARE YOU suffering from the end of the "Breaking Bad" fever. Well, in case you can't keep up with what goes down in TV and cable these days, let me pass on that the "BB" creator Vince Gilligan has signed on for an 8 figure deal with Sony which produced his "BB" drama on AMC.
Meantime, actress Anna Gunn who played the betrayed or treacherous — depending on your point of view — wife Skyler, in "Breaking Bad" has her own fish to fry. She will play a detective as the lead character in a Fox series "Gracepoint." (This will be an American version of the BBC drama "Broadchurch.") We will then see if all the crazy fans of "Breaking Bad" can stop attacking and wanting to kill her, so much so that she wrote a defense of herself as an actress in the New York Times op ed page. Now maybe they will worship her as a real life detective, one of the good guys! |
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ONE OF my favorite people is the actress Elizabeth Berkley. She survived being abandoned by everybody else connected with the (now) classic “Showgirls” and went out on her own to face the music. It was more of a dirge of bad reviews and lousy box-office. Of course, since then, the movie has made a fortune on video and DVD.
Elizabeth went on to some impressive stage, TV and screen work. She never appeared bitter. She just moved on, as they sing in “Chicago.” Recently, she’s been seen on “Dancing With the Stars” looking like a million bucks. Now the mom of a one-year-old, Elizabeth says she’s in better shape, and feels far sexier than her old “Showgirls” days. She credits the endless training with her “DWTS” partner Val Chmerkovskiy. She also tells In Touch magazine that despite her “Showgirls” role as an alluring dancer, she wasn’t that confident about herself. (Actually, to see the film now, she looks terrific but real, a body many women could identify with.) I interviewed Elizabeth a number of times over the years and always came away with a little high. She’s very positive and forward thinking. And she’s mad for animals! I’m glad the “Stars” are dancing with her! |
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| IT’S SUCH a fast moving, fast-food world. More than ever! And it caused me to ponder the good old days of the Automat. Some of you must remember? They were pretty big. Manhattan had quite a few Horn & Hardart automats, scattered all over town. They served simple but tasty little meals. You could see the food through windows. Put in some coins or a bill and out it popped. Quite inexpensive, and the many Automats were often hangouts for those who were in-between jobs, or actors (who are always in-between jobs.) |
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| The old-fashioned automats were eventually killed off by faster fast food emporiums. I believe the last one in Manhattan closed in the early 1990s. It might have been the one just a couple of blocks from my apartment, on the corner of Third Ave and 42nd. There’s a Gap there now. I say bring back the Automat. Make it faster, gussy it up, but keep the essentials. And don’t say it can’t be done. Back in the mid 1960s, when skirts rose and heels fell, fashion experts predicted high heels would never return. Ha! The 1970s wave of nostalgia for the '40s and '50s brought back the platform shoe. Within a couple of years, women were again sauntering on high, slender stilettos. If you can bring back crushed toes and backs thrown out of alignment, you can bring back a mac and cheese, pushed through a little glass window. |
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| I AM usually loathe to print blind items. For one thing, Michael Musto does it so much better! But I can’t resist. What early morning news show might be teetering on the edge of a tremendously entertaining scandal?
However S-E-X is playing a big factor! Rumors are all over the Internet, naming names. I can’t go down that road. (Ah, to be young and have made your name in the reckless age of cybergossip!) If it’s true and it breaks open, media rivals and columnists will be clutching their heads in glee. The participants will not be so joyful. |
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