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Showing posts with label Charlie's Angels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlie's Angels. Show all posts
In the second of three parts, Greg Lott opens up exclusively to Retroality.TV about his secret love affair with the late Farrah Fawcett, whom he first romanced in the mid-1960s during their tenure at the University of Texas.
On a lighter note ... host Chris Mann discusses the multi-generational allure of the 1978-91 TV hit "Dallas" (revived this month on TNT) and -- thanks to a Jenilee Harrison segue -- marvels at the ongoing youth appeal of the 1977-84 classic series "Three's Company." As he prepares a special anniversary edition of his 1998 tell-all book "Come and Knock on Our Door" (due in late 2012 or, if 36th anniversaries count, 2013), Chris salutes the "next generation" of Company fans, including 14-year-old aspiring documentary filmmakerIsaiah Reaves, 23-year-old funnygal-slash-Chrissy Snow-spoofmeisterAshlee Anno and 30something radio producer/"Three's Company Throwdown" trivia king Andy Hermann. (In previous "Reimagine That!" episode(s)/Retroality.TV stories, we've mentioned Sitcoms Online news director and Jack's Bistro webmaster Pavan Patel, who broke news of Suzanne Somers and Joyce DeWitt's recent YouTube reconciliation.)
Finally, our dream weaver Yvonne Ryba recounts her Texas-sized dreams of coming to America in the "Dallas"-rich early 1980s.
Greg Lott, Pt. 1 ... Farrah Fawcett's secret longtime lover, Greg Lott, opens up in this Retroality.TV exclusive about Ryan O'Neal's contentious new tell-all book, "Both of Us." Here, in the first segment of his explosive three-part interview, Lott -- who famously confronted O'Neal in public on camera after the "Love Story" star reportedly barred Lott from contacting Farrah in her final months in spring 2009 -- strongly refutes O'Neal's less-than-flattering written portrayal of Fawcett, the celebrated Tinseltown couple's tumultuous relationship and her role in raising their troubled son, Redmond, now 27.
Also ... on a much lighter note, Chris spotlights two new Tinseltown tomes, Suzanne Sumner-Ferry's "The Day the Stars Stood Still: A Memoir about Logan Fleming, the Former Top Wax Artist of Movieland Wax Museum" and Patty Farmer's "The Persian Room Presents: An Oral History of New York's Most Magical Night Spot."
Finally ... resident "Reimagine That!" dream interpreter Yvonne Ryba analyzes host Chris Mann's recurring, "Groundhog Day"-esque dream harking back to his own college days as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper at The University of Tulsa in the early 1990s.
So pleased to share my new cover story on Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd -- who, at age 60 (!), continues to shine as an actress, health advocate and now kickboxing grandma! -- in the December issue of Wellbella. This monthly magazine is available nationally at GNC stores and can also be read in its entirety here.
Retro pop meets forward thought as ebullient and enlightening "Eight is Enough" star Dianne Kay -- in part two of her exclusive, in-depth interview -- opens her heart about loving her TV siblings (including her "secret marriage" with Adam "Munch" Rich), working with Steven Spielberg on the set of his feature "1941" (and auditioning at her apartment with Mickey Rourke!!!), dealing with her garage sale addiction (hey, who stole her "8 is Enough" jigsaw puzzle?!?), being mistaken for a faux Betty Crocker, being overwhelmed by ugly reality TV (editor's note: "Kate Plus Eight is Enough!"), raising a teenage son in a hormonal household and developing her new half-hour, one-camera comedy series, "Seconds." In addition, Dianne shares with us her psychic vision that alerted her to her kidney cancer last fall and, in doing so, saved her life.
ALSO: Chris discusses changing media and changing times -- and beseeches Oprah to reimagine the "soaprah" and infuse her O brand of "retroality" drama and personal empowerment in half-hour versions of ABC's sadly-dumped "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." Fellow daytime icon/pioneer Agnes Nixon needs your help, Oprah -- please save all her children!
Chris also talks about the rapidly evolving book publishing world, the rules of which are shifting thanks to Amazon.com Inc. signing deals to publish high-dollar tomes with high-profile celebs ranging from "Laverne & Shirley" star (and fellow cancer survivor) Penny Marshall to New Age guru Deepak Chopra. Then Chris shares his short-lived book "negotiations" with late, legendary Hollywood press agent-business manager Jay Bernstein, who this fall celebrates the posthumous publication of his memoir, "Starmaker."
Offering insight about his "Come and Knock on Our" tell-all and his equally long-in-the-works "Price is Right" tell-all, Chris explains how journalistic, in-depth, "unofficial"/"unauthorized" TV books have become far and few between as the publishing industry, since the late '90s, has moved toward studio/network-commissioned, licensed (and therefore often "fluff-piece") TV books while television has taken over telling these boob-tube biographies. Hmmmm ... can you say, "multimedia e-book"?
Also: the return of Facebook's controversial group "Farrah Fawcett: We Want the Truth 2," a few parting thoughts about ABC's reimagined "Charlie's Angels" turducken, er, turkey, and what '80s TV icon ABC will likely "retool" next. (Goodbye, "Hot Bosley" ... hello, "Hot Belvedere"?)
Finally, in the fourth installment of a recurring "dream weaver" segment, dream interpreter/intuitive life coach Yvonne Ryba (http://YvonneRyba.com) shares two of her compelling, prophetic "death dreams" while encouraging listeners to reimagine their own reality by understanding the creative power of the mind.
Today TV's Wonder Woman, actress-singer Lynda Carter, blows out 60 candles. That's right, she's 60! (Take that, Sally O'Malley!) This year Princess Diana would've turned 50. But the TV people's first princess, Diana Prince, was taking the world by storm a good ten years earlier. In fact, this Arizona-born beauty won the Miss World USA pageant in 1972. Three years later, a certain superheroine in star-spangled satin tights beckoned. And Lynda has been kicking ass ever since--most recently, as the star of her own critically acclaimed cabaret show. This spring, the sultry songstress's second CD, Crazy Little Things, hit stores.
NBC recently passed on David E. Kelley's reimagined Wonder Woman, which could have seen Carter in a cameo or guest role had the series been picked up. After three decades of rumored film and TV reboots, Lynda Carter remains the one-and-only live action Wonder Woman.
Lynda remains in fine company, though. Also turning 60 this month: actress-singer Cheryl Ladd. Hard to believe it's been 34 years since she hit the scene as Farrah Fawcett's little sister, Kris Munroe, on Charlie's Angels. Like co-star and fellow ageless beauty Jaclyn Smith (who is 63 or 65 [!], depending on the source), Ladd is still kicking ass and taking names as a made-for-TV movie star. Ladd's next movie: Hallmark's Love's Resounding Courage, set to premiere in October.
Jaclyn--seen above striking a pose with her longtime grrrfriend at last year's TV Land Awards--is doing just fine herself. A self-made lifestyle brand, she continues her long-running apparel line at K-Mart and has launched numerous other hit enterprises. Last year, she also turned heads in a darkly dramatic role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Charlie's other original Angel, actress Kate Jackson, has kept an unusually low profile in the two years following the death of her longtime friend and co-star Farrah Fawcett. She was a no-show at the TV Land Awards and has in the last two years otherwise stayed away from the medium that made her a star. But expect Kate to fly back into action with the October release of her long-anticipated memoir, The Smart One. I have a strong feeling that Kate--who has, according to a tabloid report, claimed ownership of her iconic 1976-81 ABC series--will drop at least a couple of bombshells in her book, which will hit bookstores shortly after ABC premieres its reimagined Angels update.
TV audiences last saw Jackson in the NBC news special Farrah's Story, which aired six weeks prior to Fawcett's death from anal cancer on June 25, 2009. The outspoken Jackson (who, like Jaclyn Smith, is a breast cancer survivor) also gave a head-turning interview in May 2009 to the Today Show hours after Farrah's Story producer Craig Nevius sued Fawcett's longtime lover Ryan O'Neal, friend Alana Stewart and Fawcett estate trustee Bernie Francis for interfering in his contract to oversee the NBC May sweeps documentary about Farrah's battle with cancer. Jackson repeatedly referred to Nevius as "Craig Devious." But she did an about face in early 2010, saying she was "embarrassed" about her remarks. "I was told before I did the Today Show that Craig Nevius was a crook and all this other stuff. I thought he was attempting to do all these awful things," she told Radar Online.
The Emmy-winning actress says she was cut off from Fawcett soon after her Today interview. She told Radar that Hamilton and O'Neal refused her access to her dying friend because Farrah didn't want to see her. "I wasn't allowed to ask Farrah if that was indeed the case that she didn't want to see me or others," Jackson said. "I wasn't allowed to talk to her on the phone, at all. Even if a person is in such pain that they sleep most of the time, if the phone was answered, or the messages weren't so full that you can't leave one, I could have had someone put the phone to her ear so I could tell her that I love her." (Hamilton and Stewart denied her claims.)
Last December, Jackson settled a lawsuit against longtime O'Neal associate Bernie Francis, who also served as Jackson's business manager. Jackson had claimed Francis had left her in "financial ruin" to the tune of $3 million. According to TMZ, both parties were "satisfied" with the confidential settlement agreement.
Finally, TV's original Bionic Woman, Lindsay Wagner, continues to kick butt metaphorically--at least in a meditative sense. The Emmy-winning actress hosts holistic healing retreats in the U.S. and abroad, and she also gives keynote speeches about the body-mind-spirit connection at various events. (See our 2010 interview with her here.) And she's returning to the small screen again Monday night (July 25) in a return appearance in the SyFy network hit Warehouse 13. She also recently guest starred in the cable net's superhuman crimesolving drama Alphas. Not bad for a 62-year-old gal who once battled Fembots and Bigfoot for a living! (Bionic Woman remake? Does anybody even remember that? Uh-huh, that's what we thought.)
Outgoing daytime doyenne Oprah Winfrey's unwillingness to save Agnes Nixon's ABC soap institutions All My Children and One Life to Live took on multiple levels of irony this month with the arrival of her cable network's heavily-touted serialized docu-drama The O'Neals.
This eight-episode "soaprah" pairs the ever-tumultuous Ryan and Tatum -- the former again reviving his love-never-means-having-to-say-you're-sorry persona(lity?), as last portrayed in May 2009 in NBC's controversial "news special" Farrah's Story -- in their ever-continuing starring roles as warring father and daughter all-too-willing to rescue their off-screen relationship by rekindling their on-camera chemistry. (Tatum's Oscar-winning turn at age 9 as Dad's co-star in 1973's Paper Moon, anyone?)
But could Winfrey's OWN brand of retrocentric melo-reality TV unwittingly be creating more of a soap operatic existence for its turmoil-plagued male lead than even he bargained for?
(And after accusing his children of causing the cancer that tragically took his late, longtime love Farrah Fawcett's life two years ago this week, is such a scenario even possible?)
Two years after Farrah's tragic death on June 25, 2009, Ryan O'Neal's family drama continues.
According to new reports on Good Morning, America and Radar Online, police are probing the Love Story star for apparently possessing a famous Andy Warhol portrait of Fawcett that the iconic TV angel bequeathed -- along with all of her other valuable artwork -- to her alma mater, the University of Texas, where she majored in art. The painting's estimated worth: $30M. (You heard it right -- five times the value of a circa-'74 Lee Majors, folks.) The missing portrait appeared hanging in O'Neal's Malibu bedroom in footage -- apparently shot in recent months -- airing on the June 19 premiere episode of The O'Neals.
Oops.
Farrah's missing $30M Warhol portrait, in her Westwood
condo in her final years (top image) and in Ryan O'Neal's
Malibu home as seen on the June 19 episode of The O'Neals.
O'Neal's apparent possession of the original artwork is especially circumspect given the fact that Fawcett excluded her on-again, off-again love from her living trust signed in 2007. In that document -- referred to in press reports as her last will and testament -- the Charlie's Angels star left $4.5 in trust to their troubled son, Redmond, $500,000 in trust to her father, James, $500,000 to her nephew and $100,000 to Greg Lott, Fawcett's boyfriend during college and, according to Lott, her secret lover off and on until Farrah's final years. Ryan O'Neal, on the other hand, received nada. Zippo. Zilch.
Ouch.
But the latest troublesome chapter in O'Neal's 70-year-old life may have only just begun. According to an exclusive report in the July 4 issue of Star magazine, the University of Texas has reached out to Lott and Farrah's Story executive producer Craig Nevius in their investigation. Which isn't good news for their biggest foe. Both men have said O'Neal cut them out of Fawcett's life during her last three months. (Incidentally, Charlie's Angels co-star Kate Jackson also has claimed O'Neal denied her access to her beloved friend of nearly 35 years -- and even the chance to say goodbye -- during Fawcett's final, bedridden weeks. Jackson will likely tell all in her memoir The Smart One, due out in October.)
And in an explosive commentary posted this week on TheMortonReport.com, Nevius spills on O'Neal's less-than-Love Story-worthy relationship with Fawcett. The writer-producer -- who recently settled dueling lawsuits in which he claimed O'Neal unscrupulously seized control of Farrah's Story from him while O'Neal's manager/Fawcett's estate trustee, Richard Francis, "usurp(ed) her estate" during her final months -- accuses the actor of self-serving, controlling behavior throughout the Burning Bed star's three-year battle with anal cancer. Referencing O'Neal's newsmaking interview this week with CNN's Piers Morgan, in which the reality star claimed he and his adult children contributed to Fawcett's deadly cancer, Nevius writes:
I'm not buying these well-rehearsed and over-dramatic soundbites. Because I know this man well enough to know that he very rarely says what he really means. That's why if the media listened carefully to Ryan's interview what they would really hear is that Ryan is not actually blaming himself or his children for causing Farrah's cancer. In fact, he's doing the opposite. In some sick and narcissistic way, he's attempting to take the credit for it. Not only does his ego demand that the public recognize him as the love of Farrah's life, he also needs everyone to know that it was this same intense love that ultimately killed her.
Craig Nevius executive produced Fawcett's 2005 reality series Chasing Farrah for TV Land, and formed a business partnership and close friendship with the actress in the years following. Photo credit: Lisa Boyle.
Nevius states that O'Neal initially rushed to Fawcett's side following her cancer diagnosis, but could not sustain his role as selfless hero for the long run. "A few months after Farrah began chemotherapy," Nevius writes, "Ryan became increasingly jealous and, at times, even angry at the outpouring of love and sympathy that she received from all over the world -- not to mention his own children." O'Neal became "furious" when learning of Tatum's "secret reconciliation" with Fawcett following her diagnosis. "And so, ever the gentleman, he wished Farrah good luck with her cancer and made his exit: 'bowing out' as he described it in the note that he left with her assistant."
Of course, this reality was not depicted in the NBC "video diary" that Fawcett and Nevius originally titled A Wing & A Prayer and that Fawcett, The New York Times reported, "had intended ... to address shortcomings she saw in American cancer treatment and to present it in art-house style." O'Neal orchestrated a takeover of the project during its final weeks of production in spring 2009 and, along with Fawcett's friend Alana Stewart, appeared in interviews throughout the special and during a publicity tour, including a red-carpet screening promoting its network premiere six weeks prior to Fawcett's death.
O'Neal has retained control of Farrah's Story and reportedly plans to release it on DVD. (He also reportedly formed Unforgotten Love Productions, LL in an effort to produce a sequel.) And though Nevius dropped his suit -- he says because he could no longer afford the costly legal fees -- he has, no doubt to O'Neal's deep disdain, retained his right to voice his grievances and, he has said, seek justice for Fawcett.
"After two years, I can no longer afford to fight Ryan O'Neal, Alana Stewart and Richard Francis over creative control of Farrah's Story and whether or not they had the right to take over the company that Farrah Fawcett and I formed to produce the documentary about her cancer fight and efforts to protect her privacy," Nevius said in a statement in March. ""I will always believe that Ryan and Alana acted as squatters: isolating Farrah from me and others in order to obtain signatures that would ultimately allow them to turn the innovative and informative film we worked on for two years into a network deathwatch."
And according to Nevius, A Wing & A Prayer may not be the only "last will and testament" of Fawcett that O'Neal and/or company, um, reimagined. He told ABC News this week that he first discovered O'Neal apparently wrongfully possessed a valuable item Fawcett willed to her alma mater while reading Tatum's new memoir, found. In it, she discloses that the Warhol painting now hangs in her father's bedroom, ""That was a 'Thank God, we've caught you' moment," Nevius said. "I told the university, 'Be patient and wait, because this man is so arrogant, he's going to show it.'"
In March 2010 Nevius alleged in court papers that Fawcett "was not aware" of the existence of The Farrah Fawcett Foundation, "a charitable foundation funded by Ms. Fawcett's assets" and an organization with which O'Neal "recently announced that he would be 'working.'" Also that month, Nevius released a statement, "in the name of Farrah Fawcett," in which he called on the attorney general "to investigate the 'Farrah Fawcett Foundation' and interview a handful of Farrah’s trusted friends and associates with respect to Farrah’s knowledge and intent regarding this so-called 'charity.'
"And I would suggest that the attorney general start with interviewing Farrah's father and Kate Jackson," Nevius stated. "I will be happy to give him a longer list in private."
Fawcett's father, James, died last August, months after Nevius alleged in court papers that Francis had "systematically sought to divert and delay distribution" monies due to James per his daughter's living trust. "Mr. Francis and his lawyers have helped themselves to the Trust's assets by paying themselves to line their own pockets," Nevius alleged.
Now, an impassioned group of Farrah's devotees, led by fan Cathy Swango, have taken up the cudgels for Nevius in a Facebook page called "Farrah Fawcett: We Want the Truth." "I have started this group to discuss the controversy that surrounds Farrah Fawcett's death, her last wishes, the documentary A Wing and A Prayer, and anything else WE AS FANS have on our minds!" Swango states in the page's description. The group has begun a letter-writing campaign requesting that California's attorney general open an investigation into the Farrah Fawcett Foundation and her estate.
As for the Warhol investigation, ABC news reports, "O'Neal's representative said he has not betrayed her final wishes and that 'all of Farrah's wishes expressed in her will have been fulfilled.'"
O'Neal expressed disappointment last week that Oprah had essentially abandoned him and Tatum during production of The O'Neals. “I thought that was the thing – that Oprah would be there and use her magic on us,” he told Comcast. “I thought she’d bless us and that would help. We spent New Year’s Even with her, and she was very encouraging. Then we never saw her again. And haven’t heard from her."
With the so-not-"living-your-best-life" publicity now surrounding the show and its subjects, one wonders if Oprah can use her magic to save this father-daughter relationship. If her network gets pulled into a police investigation of a stolen Warhol, the media queen may need to save her transformative powers for damage control (Thirty Million Little Pieces, perhaps?) and stage an intervention, er, interview with Ryan and Tatum during their show's season (series?) finale.
Or it may just be time for the queen of daytime to reimagine the "soaprah." In comparison, saving Erica Cane and the rest of Agnes Nixon's "children" may not be such a tall order after all.
In these outtakes from her interview for my Los Angeles Times fall preview story on TV's Tough Chicks, Chase creator and executive producer Jennifer Johnson tells how Charlie's Angels' Kate Jackson inspired her as a girl who loved to climb trees and chase--and be chased by--her brother. "I grew up watching Charlie's Angels and always wanted to be Kate Jackson because she was the smart one," Johnson says in the LA Times story. "She could do it all. That's what I gravitate to. [Annie's] gonna have to beat these guys with physical prowess combined with a smart plan of attack."
The former Cold Case producer and Lost scribe also reveals how she hopes Chase star Kelli Giddish (All My Children) will be a new empowered female role model for Johnson's four-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The Jerry Bruckheimer action-adventure drama premieres tonight on NBC.
Kelli’s moves are even more impressive considering you’re filming in 100-degree-plus heat in Texas. I’m from Oklahoma, so I totally appreciate that.
Oh, are you? So you understand completely. We’re going to Oklahoma soon for some of our U.S. marshal exploits. It’s 105 degrees and Kelli does her own stunts—as well as the stuntwoman. We have to roll cameras before everyone starts sweating. They get powdered up and then we say “Action” before they start sweating again.
I got lighter in the moment that I met Kelli because I’d found the perfect person to do this. She came in for the screen test and had learned Waylon Jenning’s “Armed and Dangerous” on her guitar. And she had it. I had a pretty good feeling at that moment!
And of course there’s her voice. How gorgeous is her voice? It’s confident and it has gravel in it, and you feel taken care of by her. So she’s earned the song.
I’d started considering changing to (pilot) scene to not saying “I am Mason Boyle,” because it’s such a hard theme to pull off. And here comes Kelli Giddish. She put down her guitar and said, “I learned ‘Armed and Dangerous’ over the weekend.” She walked onto the set and said, “I’m Mason Boyle.” It felt like my whole soul raised to the 40-foot sound stage. And I said, “There’s our girl.” She has all the characteristics that Annie does.
Kelli definitely has grit in her voice and her performance.
One of the first times in Dallas we went out to dinner and were walking back to the hotel. There were all these trees around us and she said, “Do you like to climb trees?” I said, “I love to climb trees.” We just kind of looked at each other and that’s all we had to say.
I grew up with a brother who’s 18 months younger than I am. And I grew up in upstate New York. My brother and I chased each other through the house, played gags on each other, beat each other up.
I know a lot of men who are in basketball leagues or play pick-up games. But I hadn’t found that outlet. So this show is that outlet for me. To be 11 again and chasing my brother through the house. (Laughs.) To be running from him and being genuinely scared—that adrenaline and rush that you get. My experience with women—I don’t have that outlet.
I love the concept of a female U.S. marshal leading the team in a role traditionally seen as male. You’ve said Chase sort of reintroduces the American hero. In which ways does it redefine the American heroine?
My proudest moment in the development of this show was when my attorney, Matt Johnson, called me and said, “Jennifer, I love the pilot. But my daughter really loved the pilot.” I was thrilled because his daughter just started high school. He said, “Especially when Annie jumped off the bridge. I think she felt Annie was a role model and she wanted to watch the show.” It was my proudest moment because I have a four-and-a-half year-old daughter. So these are issues I think about constantly.
We had a placemat of the presidents of the United States. The other day I said to her, “Ingrid, you could be president of the United States.” And she said, “No, I can’t, Mommy. They’re all men.” So these are the subliminal messages that our kids get every day, that young girls get every day. So I promptly threw out the placemat. It’s coded in our language. If you see a dog or a cat go down the street it’s “He, he, he, he, he.” So in our house we say “she” a lot just to reposition her perspective.
We see women who can kick ass. But with Annie I’m trying to combine that with commitment to her job, intelligence and compassion. It’s that full package I think that could potentially translate to role model.
There are so many movies where rights of passage are looked at as kind of cool for guys. But rights of passage for a woman, it’s like, “That’s a chick flick.” That’s a demeaning, condescending remark. I would love to sneak it in, to not have people say, “It’s a chick flick” and have it be a smart, empowered, kick-ass woman.
How far TV has come since the mid-’70s empowered woman—particularly the beautiful women who never broke a nail, ever got dirty. Annie gets down in the dirt and jumps into the river. Why is important to you to show that earthy, gritty element of today’s empowered female?
Because it’s real and it expresses confidence in the character. She’s more concerned about catching the bad guy than she is about how she looks. She’s not a woman who cares about whether she’s having a good hair day or a bad hair day. So I hope she’s a role model, because even empowered women are expected to look beautiful. Kelli Giddish on Chase doesn’t have to work at that. It’s a character’s priorities that tell you who they are. Hers are her commitment to her job and finding the bad guy. She’s about justice.
Kelli’s spent a lot of time with the U.S. marshals. When she talks about them she gets a little teary-eyed. She gets very emotional. Because what they do is so admirable.
I think it’s a realness, a daringness, a complete focus on what she’s doing and a refusal to be distracted by anything less important. (To focus on her appearance) is not part of her DNA—but her commitment to her job is.
Annie’s dad is a fugitive, so her commitment seems to come naturally.
Her family experiences and family roots simply inform who she is. There’s a part of her who’s let go of her past. It just is who she is.
Another thing that I’m going to explore in the earlyish episodes of the first thirteen is what kind of makes her jump. In conclusion after being in conflict with Jimmy (Cole Hauser) over it—because he perceives it as sometimes being a little reckless—is that it is who she is.
We do see Annie kick a lot of male butt in the pilot. Given her issues with her father, does the character get satisfaction in taking down the bad guy?
Absolutely. Every time she captures a male fugitive, she feels a step closer to finding her father. And at the same time, ironically, she proves that she’s not a bad guy. She proves that she’s not like her father.
You’ve also said that once psychologically you get into a fugitive’s head you can pursue them physically. Coming off of producing Cold Case for four years, why is it important to you to show a woman who can handle this on both levels?
I think when you talk about redefining the heroine, for me that’s the modern-day version of the heroine who is smart but can also use her physical power to capture them.
In my experience women don’t have as much participation in team sports. In my experience in TV-making Hollywood, there are a lot of men’s basketball pickup games … I didn’t want to limit her (Annie.) Working on Cold Case for four years was so satisfying, and Lilly was really was a rich character. So dimensionalized. Kathryn Morris, I love her and consider her a friend. So for me this was a progression. And I really didn’t think about it. And I really didn’t think about it. When I created my show … it’s a little bit my own personality. That’s the character I wanted to write, to see.
I knew it would be a show about fugitive hunters, but that’s all I knew. I wanted to create a female lead who could run and jump and make physical contact with even the toughest fugitive because she has some great moves. She can do a roundhouse kick. And she combines it with smarts. When a guy has a choke-hold on her, she has the idea to yank off his belt and use it to throw him over her shoulder. Because she’s a woman she maybe has to use her head a little bit more.
She knows that even if she takes a few punches it will be worth it. And hopefully what we’ll intuit from that is, that’s how committed she is. Every time she runs after that guy … we will hopefully intuit: no. 1, she doesn’t consider herself inferior to men so there’s nothing to ever stop her. And no. 2 there’s such a purity of purpose that she’d never consider not pursuing the fugitive.
Sounds like a winning recipe for today’s young heroine.
Hopefully the 13-year-old girls will feel empowered by that. And also it’s okay for women to care deeply about what they do. That’s not new but I think it may be the physical side of that in combination that makes her not only kick ass and (but?) intelligent and compassionate.
It’s that whole package that to me equals role model. And that’s what I saw in Kate Jackson and Sabrina on Charlie’s Angels: a willingness to engage, intelligence and I think she cared less about her appearance … I don’t know. I haven’t watched it in a really long time. (Laughs.) But I do remember her wearing a little less make-up than the others did.
Potentially and hopefully this is a new thing that young girls will watch.
I'm excited to share my story in today's Los Angeles Times' Fall TV Preview section about TV's new ass-kicking chicks--namely Chase star Kelli Giddish and TV's reimagined Nikita, Maggie Q.
Almost as exciting: that they left in my references to Police Woman and Charlie's Angels:
And the 1976-81 series "Charlie's Angels" may return to ABC next spring, reimagined by "Smallville" creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough.
But don't expect your mother's "Police Woman" — pound for pounding, 2010's action grrrls are more Angelina Jolie's lioness Salt than Angie Dickinson's sex kittenish Pepper.
Angie, babie, it's all about you!
My, how things have changed for women and law enforcement on the boob tube.
It looks like NBC's re-imagined Rockford Files pilot will be put on hold and revamped—or killed altogether. I'm betting the former, given NBC's nearly year-long investment in the project and the fact that CBS's Hawaii Five-0 and CW's Nikita appear to be a go for fall. (Does the Peacock want to be the only network that failed to produce a potentially winning retro remake—especially with its legacy of Bionic Woman and Knight Rider-style reboot crash-and-burns?)
Perhaps we'll see Rockford and ABC's Charlie's Angels redo midseason. I'm also betting ABC holds on to V for another batch of "pod" episodes this fall—at least till it sees how Five-O and (to a lesser extent) Nikita perform. Hot "private eye/spy" remakes and the continuing decline of highly serialized network dramas could spell the end of V and the return of T&A, er, Charlie's Angels.
I'd love to see a re-envisioned Rockford move forward. Dermot Mulroney, as I wrote in my recent LA Times piece, has big gumshoes to fill in replacing Jim Garner. But the 40ish film actor is a crooked-grinned charmer and—with the proper script and direction—seems up to the challenge of reinventing the quirky-cool Rockford.
If all else fails, NBC could give Mulroney's Rockford a crazy-hot love interest. Betty White in da house!
If he were alive today, Angel- and luxury-loving Charlie Townsend would not be a happy man.
Charlie's Angels star Kate Jackson, claiming she's in "financial ruin," is suing her former financial advisor for $3 million. The advisor: Farrah Fawcett's former business manager, Richard B. Francis.
Francis, who's also Ryan O'Neal's business manager and a trustee of Fawcett's estate, has his hands full these days. He's already engaged in dueling lawsuits with Farrah's Story documentary exec producer Craig Nevius, who--as Jackson claims happened to herself--was cut out of Fawcett's life in the weeks (in Nevius's case, months) leading up to her tragic death from anal cancer on June 25, 2009.
Last March, Nevius--sued by Fawcett's estate in January for allegedly embezzling "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from her production company--charged in court filings that Francis and Fawcett friend Alana Stewart are using the cancer research charity The Farrah Fawcett Foundation "to divert Ms. Fawcett’s assets away from other rightful beneficiaries," including the late actress's 92-year-old father, James.
In her suit filed this week, Jackson claims Francis knew about her "extremely close relationship" with Fawcett and capitalized on that connection to land Jackson as a client. The brunette Angel alleges Francis estimated she was worth about $5.4 million, and advised that she could live off at least $300,000 annually from her accounts' interest.
Jackson claims she learned her true financial worth--per her suit, approximately $3 million--when, under alleged pressure from Francis, she bought a house for $2,0011,000 in Santa Monica's "Golden Strip" in 2008. According to TMZ, Jackson's suit claims she knew she couldn't afford the house, but Francis--who she alleges knew she was "grossly overpaying" for the home--"drained her savings account in order to pay for it anyway."
Reports TMZ, "Francis says he's been in the business for 50 years and has an impeccable record with several celebrity clients" The site quotes Francis as saying, "This case will end at the deposition stage. It will never go to court."
But if published in the media, these depositions--and those of Francis's other Fawcett-related suits--could set the stage for a damning trial in the court of public opinion.
Last February, Jackson told Radar Online she questioned an April 2009 document seemingly signed by Fawcett revoking control of Farrah's Story from Nevius and giving it instead to Fawcett's longtime lover O'Neal. Nevius sued O'Neal, Francis and Farrah's Story co-producer Alana Stewart last summer, accusing them of conspiring to seize control of the documentary and interfering with his contract with Fawcett to oversee it.
"Farrah had such beautiful penmanship," Jackson told Radar Online, who reported TV's "smart Angel" had seen the document, crucial evidence in Nevius's case. "It caused me to become very sad and upset, when I saw that signed document, because I believed that she was not awake enough, because of the pain medication she required. Frankly, to me, that document didn't look like she could have a clue what she was signing."
In an exclusive interview with Retroality.TV last fall, Nevius said that around early April 2009, Francis, O'Neal and Stewart "isolated" Fawcett from him. And "Ryan and Alana took steps to take over the documentary through his business manager [Francis] and Farrah’s and my former attorneys who filed our company’s Articles of Organization with the state. Suddenly, Ryan and his business manager claimed to have Farrah’s 'Power of Attorney'—although they refused to show it to me."
As of last September, "I haven’t seen any document entitled 'Power of Attorney,'" Nevius told us. "Although I have seen other documents which they claim negate the operating agreement that Farrah and I signed when we formed Sweetened By Risk LLC. They claim the other documents also void the rights Farrah invested with me on her behalf and on our company’s behalf should health events interfere with her ability to continue the work. These new documents were signed with a scrawled, scrunched signature that they claim is Farrah’s."
In January, Fawcett's estate sued Nevius, accusing him of embezzling from Sweetened by Risk LLC (SBR), botching an initial edit of her NBC documentary and selling out Fawcett by releasing data and footage without her consent. The suit was filed by Francis, acting as an estate trustee, and by SBR.
In a statement released to the media, Nevius responded, "These accusations are nothing more than a fabricated press release disguised as a lawsuit. As much as I would like to answer the allegations and disprove them right here and right now in the court of public opinion, I will wait to do so in a court of law."
Jackson defended Nevius in an AP report about the estate's lawsuit. "He had an unflagging devotion to Farrah in every way and he worked with her to help her achieve her vision, not his vision and not anybody else's vision," Jackson said.
Jackson's suit, while on the surface unrelated to the Nevius-O'Neal/Francis litigation, could bring to light revealing information about Francis's dealings with Fawcett and O'Neal, and the couple's dealings with each other. Fawcett appointed Francis a trustee to her estate in 2007. Curiously, however, she did not name O'Neal--whom she never married--in her will as she did their son, Redmond.
"I've read Mr. Nevius' response to our complaint which I think contains spurious and outrageous allegations,” Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the estate, Francis, O'Neal and Stewart, told the AP.
Responded Nevius to Tabloid Baby: "Mr. Weitzman thinks my lawsuit contains 'spurious and outrageous allegations?' You mean, he doesn't know? It doesn't sound like he has unwavering confidence in his clients. But he is right about one thing: the truth will come out during litigation. And it will reveal that Ryan O'Neal is a monster, Alana Stewart is soulless and Richard Francis acts like a thug."
Perhaps Jaclyn Smith, with her far-from-Hollywood, good-old-reliable K-Mart contract, is the truly "smart one."
Coming soon: scoops on the "A-Team" feature and proposed "V" 3-D motion picture. Also: a Retroality Q&A with "V" and "The Bionic Woman" creator Kenneth Johnson! And an exclusive update on ABC's re-imagined "Charlie's Angels" pilot script currently in development. Stay tuned ...
