This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Ryan Murphy

  Courtesy of 2010 Fox Broadcasting Co.

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

It’s hard to imagine that the man behind shows like Nip/Tuck and American Horror Story might have a change of heart when it came to violence on TV. But at a recent press event to talk about the season finale of AHS: Asylum, showrunner Ryan Murphy admitted that he’s starting to look at things a little differently these days.

The relative newlywed and father to one-month old baby boy, Logan, acknowledged that thanks to changes in his private life, he’s got a fresh perspective. He remarked, “It’s a very personal thing and I always think that movies and television reflect the culture. But I did just had a kid and so for the first time for me I’ve been in the position to have a parental feeling about my work, which is very cool and unusual for me.”

The Princess Bride Threatens Air Travel

The Princess Bride is one of our all-time favorite movies. So we had to laugh when the film inadvertently created a stir on a recent Qantas flight from Australia to New Zealand. Don't tell Rain Man, but Qantas may not be the safest airline to fly on anymore, now that they left people with threatening t-shirts on board.

Apparently last weekend Wynand Mullins boarded a Qantas flight innocently enough. But the crew began getting complaints that the man's attire was freaking people out. A flight attendant approached Wynand and asked him to change his shirt to console the anxious fliers. When he replied that he didn't have an extra in his carry on, he wondered if they might give him a pilot's coat. But instead the subject was dropped.

So what was he wearing that caused all the commotion? A t-shirt that read "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Apparently Wynand's fellow passengers had not seen "The Princess Bride" in which Mandy Patinkin's character has been on a lifelong quest for the revenge of his father's death. Instead they thought he was going to kill them all.

Mullins told Stuff magazine, "I thought it was all a bit silly. The person next to me was laughing, because they knew the movie." What is the world coming to?

Wilmer Valderrama Gets Wacky on Suburgatory

   

Suburgatory fans will certainly remember the brief but hilarious appearance by Wilmer Valderrama in Season 1. Tonight he returns to the suburban sitcom as Yoni, Dallas Royce’s spiritual guru. In this latest guest appearance the former That ‘70s Show star talked about grounding a wacky character and working with dogs.

Wilmer described Yoni, who peeked viewers’ curiosity in 2012, “I developed this character that’s this very mystical creature, this mysterious man to bring light and spiritual life into the people he touches. And it’s just a riot. It’s ridiculous. It’s just an excuse to be out there and be funny.”

The 32-year-old actor talked a bit about the storyline that’s set to unfold, “Yoni gets called in for a very tough job. [Dallas’ Chipoo] Yakult is going thorough a very depressing time and they want me to spiritually bring him back.”

Ryan Murphy Reflects on American Horror Story: Asylum

Courtesy of FX

By now you’ve seen it. The shocking finale to American Horror Story: Asylum. Kit’s alien abduction. Sister Jude’s penance and peaceful goodbye. And Lana’s not so sweet reunion with her twisted son, Bloody Face, Jr. At a recent press event, AHS creator talked about the brilliant wrap-up to another haunting season.

On the Inspiration to the Season
“The thing that we were the most interested in this season writing about was… the documentary series that [Lana] made about shutting down Briarcliff. That’s one of the first thing with the writers laying on the idea of Asylum, that period of time, those documentaries that were made. There was a very famous documentary that Geraldo Rivera made in that time period, that this is a loose homage of… It’s on YouTube and it’s quite fascinating with Geraldo. It made his career.

“Also there was a brilliant movie that we were very influenced by for the last episode which is this brilliant documentary called Cropsey, that also was about the unraveling health care system in our country and how so many people were dumped there and left to rot there. And all those abuses that you see, we studied pictures of and recreated all that stuff. So we did a lot of research. So that was actually our jumping off point for the whole season. We knew we were going to have that character go in there, become a prisoner, do her shock corridor tenure and then go back to tear the joint down. So that was the ending that we actually had from the very beginning.”

Austin Abrams Talks About Gangster Squad and Toy's House

Photo by Blake Gardner

In just a few short years, Austin Abrams has gone from playing Chip in a dinner theater production of Beauty and the Beast at age eight to appearing in films alongside big name stars like Ryan Gossling (Gangster Squad), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Ticking Clock) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (Jewtopia). Earlier this month the 16-year-old actor from Sarasota, Florida, made his Sundance Film Festival debut on a new movie called Toy's House.

The film also stars Alison Brie, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Megan Mullaly. Austin's character Aaron is a nerdy kid who sets off with two friends to live in the woods after getting fed up with life at home. In a recent one-on-one interview, Austin told us, "I wanted to mix it up a little bit so I made him nerdy-ish but trying to be cool."

But off-camera, Austin is not like that, "Essentially I'm different from him because he's trying to be something else than he actually is and for the most part I try not to do that."

The movie has drawn comparisons to other coming of age films like Stand By Me and The Goonies. Austin says noting the similarities is fair. "It has the same kind of vibe, but it's filmed different. It's filmed in a more artistic way. But the comparisons are accurately made."

The young actor said there was a lot of improvisation on the set and recalled, "They are all really fun people and they are all really creative. It was really amazing to have such creative people in such close proximity to each other."

Milo Ventimiglia Is Chosen for a New Web Series

Courtesy of Crackle.com

You're going to want to have some time on your hands before you sit down to watch the first episode of Chosen on Crackle.com. That's because all six episodes of the web series are already posted online and once you get sucked in to the first 30-minute episode, odds are you'll want to watch the whole series all the way through.

With production values to rival any network series and a cast that includes the Gilmore Girl's Milo Ventimiglia and The Drew Carey Show's Diedrich Bader, you'll forget you're watching a web series. And the twisting and turning storyline, ensures a white knuckle ride.

After all, it starts out with a bang — almost literally. Milo’s character, attorney Ian Mitchell, discovers a box with a gun and instructions to kill a specific stranger within three days. If he doesn’t, he and his kidnapped daughter will die instead.

In a recent conference call interview, Milo talked about the journey his initially mild mannered character takes on the show. “He works in a law office. He wears a tie. He  has these little struggle of words with him ex-wife or his marriage is falling apart. He's a guy who's just  dealing with some everyday problems.”

But then, Milo notes, everything changes. He explained, “This box arrives and he is now hunted and has to hunt and is  put into this game that is, as the trailer says, not the fun kind. And he has to  adapt as a human being for the sense of survival.”

Kenneth's NBC Tribute on 30 Rock

This one speaks for itself...

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Lisa Ling

Photo courtesy of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

This week Season 4 of Our America with Lisa Ling premiered, and once again the show delved into a topic not many people feel comfortable discussing, but somehow made it approachable and nonjudgmental. Lisa tackled the topic of bondage in the season opener and will follow it up with shows about childhood obesity, families of killers, polyamorists and martyrs for Christ. Each week Our America explores the worlds we don't even know exist and opens our minds to the lives of those around us.

At a recent press event Lisa talked about the new season saying, "In our fourth batch of shows — the quality of our shows, the writing — we've all honed our skills even more so. And I'm so proud of what we're producing in this fourth batch."

She continued, "This is the proudest I've ever been of the work that I've done. I've been in this business for well over 20 years and this is the culmination of all the things that I've had the privilege and fortune of being able to do."

Ling said she gets the access to the people she covers because the reputation of the show proceeds her. She said, "We treat everyone we feature on our show with dignity and respect, irrespective of what they may have been accused of doing or what they're currently doing. I know that they appreciate it and they know that we're not going to exploit their stories."

She credits the style of the show with creating a place for viewers to come and learn. "Our show is the least loud and sensational show on TV. If you really think about it, our shows are slow moving and they're beautifully shot and they're very introspective… It's unlike any other show in that way because it breaths and allows you to get immersed in the lives of these people."

Lisa looks forward to doing more and more shows for the series because as she said, "There are no shortage of stories in this country."

And the driving force behind the show's continuous success is the passion. "Our teams consist of deeply passionate people. It drives me. It is my baby. It is the thing about which I am most passionate and everyone on our team feels the same way."

She added, "Everyone on my teams knows that opportunities like this come around never. Literally never. If this goes away we might not ever get another chance to do this kind of programming and not sound cliche but I really don't think we'd be able to do it anywhere but [OWN]. This network has gone through its ups and downs — and thank goodness it's on this amazing uptick right now — but regardless of the roller coaster that it's been on, it's been so supportive of the show and for that we will always be grateful.

Tune into Our America with Lisa Ling Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. Central on OWN.

For related stories check out:
Lisa Ling's Passion for Journalism Shines on Our America
Go Out and See Our America with Lisa Ling

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Where's Momo? Andrew Knapp and His Dog Photos

Photos courtesy of Andrew Knapp

Every now and then we come across some photos that really grab us. They usually have something to do with animals — especially monkeys and dogs. This week we discovered Andrew Knapp and his border collie Momo, doing a kind of live action Where's Waldo. Andrew has taken a collection of over 150 images, and counting, of his furry friend hiding in each frame. We talked to Andrew about Momo, the images and maybe a book in the future.

The idea for the photos came from Momo. Andrews said, "Momo did it! He runs and hides when I'm about to throw a stick. Sometimes I can't see where he's hiding." And so the series was born. If Andrew can't see Momo, maybe the viewer can. Either way it certainly makes a fun game for everyone.

Momo is completely cooperative and needs no coercing to take part in the photo shoots. Andrew noted, "He's really responsive. We communicate quite well. I can actually stand 30 feet away from him and tell him, 'Lay down,' and he'll lay down. And then, 'No wait, sit up,' and he'll sit up. Helps me get the right photo.

And what does Momo get in return for his laborious glamour shots? "I reward him with 'G'boys!' and head pats… he loves it!" He continued, "I try not to treat train him because I don't want him to be a beggar. I give him treats for no reason and give him head and belly rubs as rewards. He's a very happy dog."

The graphic designer from Northern Ontario, Canada, has had Momo since he was a puppy, and they go on lots of walks and drives together. But the Andrew doesn't plan out the settings for the images. He explained, "I try not to look for them. I just go on adventures with him every day and they pop up right in front of me!"

The photographer has turned the images into a 7x7, 62-page book for his family and is looking in to options for publishing it, so keep an eye out at your favorite book site. In the meantime Andrew, who is a graphic designer by trade also takes other kinds of pictures. He remarked, "I love photography. Sometimes I'll pick up my camera and not put it down for months. Right now is not one of those times. It'll happen again soon, I can feel it. The iPhone will do the trick for now."

He also revealed he does other artwork as well, joking that he does "illustration, design, interpretive dance (no, not really… well… maybe once or twice at a good party)." Check out his site to see his other artwork including great portraiture, travel pics and illustrations. We got lost for hours in his images.

We left Andrew with one last Passionistas question. What are you most passionate about? He replied, "People, culture, cities, communities, living easy. Being happy with your current situation, no matter what that is." Wise words to live by.

Cam you find Momo is tall these pics below and the one above?

For related stories check out:

Carli Davidson Photographs Animals Like Never Before

Old Friends Reunite for the Five Year Photos Project

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Nigella Lawson Talks About The Taste

English food writer and TV personality Nigella Lawson is the first to admit that she's not a trained chef. So she brings a unique perspective to The Taste's judges table, which includes Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey. Like the contestants on the new reality competition show, the panelists represent the spectrum from home cooks to classically trained cuisiniers.

Here's what Nigella had to say about the series in our recent exclusive interview:

On home cooks vs. professional chefs

On what makes The Taste different from other shows

On her judging criteria

Tune in to The Taste on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. Central on ABC.

Kurt Sutter Interview — Part II

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Photo by Prashant Gupta/FX

True confessions time. We’re not Sons of Anarchy fanatics. We appreciate the show but it’s not on our heavy rotation the way some others are. But when we got an opportunity to talk to show runner Kurt Sutter, we jumped at the chance. What we have seen of SOA has led us to have the utmost of respect for the motorcycle club series’ Executive Producer — and he did not disappoint.

This interview is a must read for anyone who is interested in the craft of creating a show, maintain its integrity and knowing when to say enough is enough. Whether you watch Sons of Anarchy or not, what Sutter address applies to the craft of creating quality TV. In fact, his words were so significant we ran select excerpts in two installments. Check out Part I here.

On Never Jumping the Shark

“I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do and what I was good at. I’m probably about ten years older than a lot of my fellow show runners doing this job, so I just have a great appreciation and a lot of gratitude for where I’m at and I don’t ever take that lightly. I dig what I do. I’m plugged into it. Because I do enjoy it and because I have such a deep sense of ownership and pride involved in it, I don’t think I’d ever want it to let it ‘jump the shark. I think that when that happens on a show it’s because the creative motor behind it just becomes distracted or bored, quite frankly. I try not to do that. This show is my priority. I do other things in my downtime. It really is my labor of love and I have every intention of maintaining that and following through and finishing that as strongly as we’ve managed to do so far.”

Our America with Lisa Ling Is a Learning Experience

Photo courtesy of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network

Lisa Ling is back and we're very excited. It's hard to believe its already Season 4 of Our America, one of the flagship shows of the OWN network. Lisa and her crew allow us as viewers to peek inside the world of places we would never otherwise see and have a look around without judgment or sensationalism. From people who practice bondage to childhood obesity, Lisa explores the tough topics with a gentle and loving touch, and incredible sense of dignity and respect. At a recent press event she revealed some of the episodes this season and discussed what she hopes people will learn from each of them.

Lisa would like her viewers will take something away from each episode just as she has. "I'm proud of the fact that during every single episode of Our America you will learn something. There's take away value to everything. I feel like I've become a better person as a result because I'm more understanding and open-minded. And my hope is that people who are watching this will do that as well."

While most people, like Lisa herself, assume people who practice bondage are freaks, this season Our America explores the subculture. With the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, Lisa couldn’t help but wonder who these people were who were indulging is this behavior. What she found out was they are just normal people, lawyers, doctors, your neighbors and co-workers. Lisa stated, "There are things that all of us probably wouldn't want to share with the rest of the world or there are things about us that we think other people would judge us on. And our whole purpose is to try and allow people to watch our shows without judgment so that they might have a better understanding of how people live."

Lisa opened up her own life to the camera when she featured her dad, Doug, in the episode about seniors. She said, "The intention of this show is to give a people a sense of how different people are dealing with aging because it will inevitably happen with us and already so many of us are trying to figure out how to deal with our own aging parents. And I'm just so grateful that OWN has allowed me to do this because this is the show that I've been so, so excited to do."

Geoff Edgers’ Unexpected Journey from Journalist to TV Star

 

Courtesy of Travel Channel

Arts and Entertainment journalist Geoff Edgers had no intention of becoming a TV star. At 42, he was more than happy covering interesting subcultures for his gig as a staff writer at the Boston Globe. But his career path recently took a sharp turn and now he’s about to make his debut as the Travel Channel’s newest host on Edge of America. It all started when Geoff set out to make a documentary about his efforts to reunite the Kinks. Do It Again quickly became a film festival darling and a cut down version aired on PBS. A clip also got into the hands of Travel Channel execs, thanks to a friend of Geoff’s who worked at the network. And as Geoff recalled the process just snowballed from there, “We shot a pilot and they loved that. And they said like, ‘Let’s make another six.’ And we started making that and they were like, ‘We really like these so let’s make more.’ And there you go.”

Our Interview with Suze Orman for the TV Academy

Late last year we had the pleasure of interviewing Suze Orman on behalf of the Archive of American Television. Luckily we did not have to review our own personal finances with her and get a Suze Smackdown or here her offer her famous phrases like "Declined" or "Are you kidding me?"

Instead we heard the life story of a woman who struggled like all of us, worked as a waitress until she was 30 and became one of the most trusted and powerful financial advisers on TV. Here are some of our favorite excerpts from the Suze Orman interview.

On the Suze Smackdown
Suze talks about the success of her show and the popularity of "Can I Afford It?" and "The Suze Smackdown." Both segments started on The Oprah Winfrey Show and she says people stop her on the street and ask her to be "Denied!" She talks about the catchphrases here.

On Winning Her Emmys
Suze has won two daytime Emmys for Best Service Show Host. The first year she won, she was rooting for Martha Stewart, who had just gotten out of jail. She said the fact Martha did time was "a travesty" and she wanted Martha to have the Emmy. But when they called her name she said it was "over the top" for her. Hear her recollection of that night here.

On Kristen Wiig's Saturday Night Live Impression
When Kristen Wiig was on SNL she impersonated Suze several times. Suze said it was "the greatest honor in my life." It was especially important to her because her college roommate was the late, great John Belushi, so the show holds a special place in her heart. She went to the taping one time and approached a frightened Kristen backstage. Kristen was more than a bit shocked when Suze flashed her. Hear the story here.

On What Sets Her Apart
Suze discussed what makes her different from other financial advisers saying, "I didn't inherit money. I didn't grow up with money. I didn't marry money. I didn't think I was ever going to be this way." She feels it's her experiences growing up without that sets her apart. Hear what she has to say about her competition here.

See more clips at the Archive's YouTube channel and watch the whole three-hour interview at the Archive's website.


For related stories check out:
Our Archive Interview with Chuck Lorre
On the Red Carpet with Paula Abdul, Derek Hough and NappyTabs

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Trouble Next Door

Photo courtesy of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

On January 7, a new showed premiered on OWN called Trouble Next Door. Each week the series follows a family in crisis and shows how the neighbors join together to help. The problems range from drugs, to violent  behavior to bullying and so much more. But no matter what the issue, the common thread is the neighbors step up to help improve the lives of those in their community.

On one episode, Annise Mabry is dealing with multiple issues making her home life unbearable. She herself is afflicted with a debilitating auto-immune disease while her daughter has become a recluse after suffering from extreme bullying and her son has Asperger's. It's almost too much for her to bare alone until her neighbors come to her rescue.

In a recent one-on-one interview, Annise told us she got to the point where, "What we're doing is not working. The neighbors are here. We need help. I can't do this by myself." And the result, she said, "Was life transforming for us."

It all started one night when Annise got so sick she couldn't get out of bed. She recalled, "I wake [my kids] up every morning for school. At 7:45 I hadn't woken them up. So my son and Niles came down and mommy's in the bed sick. Mommy can't move. And the kids didn't know who to call or what to do because we didn't know anybody. And that was so scary for them and I never wanted them to be in that situation ever again in their life."

Pete Rose Talks About His Hits & Mrs.

 Courtesy of TLC

During his career, Pete Rose set 17 Major League records including most games played (3,562), most career singles (3,215) and playing in the most winning games (1,972). He played an unprecedented four positions — played first, second and third bases, as well as, left field. He was named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, earned Two Gold Gloves and won three World Series rings.

But despite all of his accomplishments, he’s remembered for just one thing — gambling on baseball. Pete’s bad decision to bet on the game (including his own team) got him banned from the game and made him “permanently ineligible” from induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

And still the 71-year-old took his thirtysomething bride-to-be, Kiana Kim, and her two kids to Cooperstown on their new reality show Pete Rose: Hits & Mrs. At a recent press event, Pete and Kim talked about the emotionally charged trip.

As Kiana recounted, they took her two children, Cassie (14) and Ashton (11) to the institution that honors the national pastime. “[Pete] goes every year. He signs autographs there.”

Josh Gad Talks About 1600 Penn

Photo by Jordin Althaus/NBC

Before creating and starring as Skip Gilchrist  in the new sitcom 1600 Penn, Josh Gad was best known for his turns on Broadway as Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon and William Barfée in A Putnam County Spelling Bee. He also appeared on Back to You, Modern Family and The Daily Show and made a few movies including 21, The Rocker and Love and Other Drugs. It was while he was on Broadway in The Book of Mormons that the idea for 1600 Penn began to perculate. He co-created the show, which is a comedic look at life in the White House, with Jon Lovett (a speech writer from Washington) and Jason Winer from Modern Family directing. In a recent conference call interview he talked about creating the show and working with the cast, which includes Bill Pullman as the President and Jenna Elfman and the First Lady.

On Creating 1600 Penn
“What happened was Jason Winer — the director of Modern Family — and I had met around the time that Modern Family was casting for one of the roles. And I had passed on it, which is probably stupid considering my bank account is a lot smaller now than it could’ve been. But Jason and I met up again around the time of Book of Mormon and we hatched this idea. And we knew that we wanted to work together. We knew that this was the perfect vehicle to do that. And that missing ingredient was getting the person who could ground it into the reality that we wanted to set it against, which was the White House. And we came across Jon Lovett, who is not be confused with the former Saturday Night Live comedian, but a young kid who was working for the President’s administration as a speech writer. And then once that happened it started firing on all cylinders. But the process began around my final five months in Book of Mormon and then went from there. When I finished I went to shoot the show."

“Essentially what it was, it was an opportunity for Jason Winer to exploit me. He saw my character in Book of Mormon and loved it and wanted to take that and bring it to television. And interestingly enough when we were first discussing this project what intrigued me so much about it the idea of this family like my own family or like a lot of dysfunctional families who has their warts and under the constant scrutiny of being under this microscope. I originally didn’t want to play Skip. Because I was afraid there was a broadness on the page for the character that I was genuinely afraid of that, this is a character who can come across as annoying. And it’s a dangerous thing to play. And it was only after I realized that if anyone else played the role I would be very upset with myself because I would be jealous every week that I decided that I really wanted to dig into it. And when I could find that humanity and bring it to the character it felt like it came to life. And so that’s how it all started and the intention was we really wanted to dissect what it meant to be a family in the most extraordinary of circumstances. And what’s more extraordinary than your father being the president of the free world and then you being the first family of the United States of America. And that’s what intrigued us into the whole project.”

On Basing the Show on the Obamas
“Jon Lovett, who was one of the President’s speech writers, has said that in writing for the show that it was never his intention to portray the Obamas. Because the Obama family is almost supernaturally perfect. And perfection doesn’t really lead to comedy. But you can look as far back as Mary Todd Lincoln and you can look at some of the current presidential predecessors and you can see dysfunction in the halls of the White House for at least a hundred years. And what’s so interesting now is under the scrutiny of the 24-hour media news cycle what happens if a family were to be front and center? How do you avoid the blitzkrieg of questions? If you think back to the Bush twins and all the questions that they had to deal with about their alcohol consumption even though they were just in college. Or you look at some of the questions that Chelsea Clinton got about her life and her lifestyle. I think that there’s a lot of questions that will be addressed the more and more we live in that bubble and the more that 24-hour cycle is there and present.”

Jessica Lange Explores Her American Horror Story Characters

Photo by Frank Ockenfels/FX

In a recent conference call interview, Jessica Lange talked about how her first American Horror Story TV persona Constance differs from this season’s Sister June. Of Horror House’s must more than just nosy neighbor, she said, “‘Puppet master’ is a very good description of Constance.  The thing that I found, the spine of the character of Constance, was that this was a woman who had basically lost everything and had nothing left to lose and also was extremely, what can I say, unafraid. So she just manipulated her way and put herself in situations that probably other people would not have.”

As for her Asylum character, Jessica noted, “With Jude she has a lot to lose because she’s holding on to something that she feels has saved her life and redeemed her. And then when it all becomes clear that everything was false, from the idea that she did not run over and kill this child, which is what sent her on this whole path, trying to find some kind of life, some redemption, some spiritual life. That when she discovers everything is false from the beginning, there’s a descent into madness that is completely different and for me much more interesting to play.”

Ryan Ochoa from Pair of Kings to Madison Square Garden

Ryan Ochoa started acting when he was just five years old. He got cast after going on his first audition ever to do a Greyhound commercial and his career was off and running. One of his earliest movies was Christmas Carol with Jim Carey, in which he did motion capture work. This led to Disney's Mars Needs Moms, which landed him a gig on iCarly. Firmly entrenched in the Disney family, Ryan was offered the role of Lanny on Disney XD's Pair of Kings.

He has been playing the role of the evil cousin for three seasons. The series in ending in February after a four-part series finale but it's not the end of the road for Ryan. He and his three brothers — Raymond, Bobby and Rick — have big plans. In a recent exclusive interview, Ryan talked about Pair of Kings, his brothers and his passions.

When we asked, Ryan couldn't pick one memory form his time on Pair of Kings that stood out. It was more about the atmosphere on the set. He couldn’t say enough nice things about his fellow cast mates. He is particularly close to Geno Segers, the only adult regular on the show, who plays Mason, the royal advisor to the kings. Ochoa stated, "He's the adult, the oldest one on the show and I'm the youngest. But me and him are the closest. I'm close with his family and he's close with my family. And everywhere we go, were always hanging out."

He is also very tight with his fellow young co-stars Adam Hicks, Kelsey Chow, Doc Shaw and ex-castmate Mitchel Musso. He acknowledged that since he's on set sometimes more than he's home, the other actors have become his surrogate family. He noted, "I really liked going to set every day and we really built something strong. And I think it showed on camera."

He continued, "It was a really happy set. Everybody there enjoyed working and coming to work every single day because they knew that everybody wanted to be there… It wasn't working a job to anybody. We were going to make a show and just have fun. And that's something that I took from that."

Amy Weber Offers Redemption in Crossroad & Joy Through Her Music

  Courtesy of Amy Weber

Amy Weber’s fans might not know it by looking at her. But even though she was once named one of FHM’s sexiest women in the world, she had very unglamorous beginnings.

As she revealed in a recent exclusive interview, “I was born in Mapleton, Illinois, which is on the outskirts of Peoria, Illinois. And I was raised on a really small corn farm. The nearest house was literally like five miles away. So most of the time I spent outdoors being a tomboy and climbing trees. My dad really wanted a boy and he got me instead. So that didn’t stop him from raising me as a tomboy and I ended up racing motorcycles and doing a lot of boy activities.”

Yet she also discovered a love for acting at an early age, entering fine arts contests where she would deliver monologues when she was just five years old. She went on to the drama club in high school and while in college realized that she wanted to be a performer. So she packed her bags and moved to Hollywood.

Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman Talk About 1600 Penn

Photo by Jordin Althaus/NBC

1600 Penn with Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman premieres tonight on NBC. They star as the president and first lady in a comedic look at life in the White House. It's not the first time Bill has played the Commander in Chief, he was the president in the 1996 film Independence Day, but this time around is very different for the actor. In a recent conference call interview, we spoke with Bill and Jenna about their roles on the show.

On the Role Politics Plays in 1600 Penn
Bill Pullman: “The show the show itself is not very politically motivated. And that’s not our intention. Our intention is to do a story about a dysfunctional family that happens to be in the most famous address in the United States of America. And while it touches on politics it’s a backdrop and not at the forefront of any of the story lines."

On What Research They Did for the Parts
Bill Pullman: “It was a surreal time to be making this because of the campaign going on. So every time I read in the newspaper any account of either candidate going through something I could really zero in empathetically about what it must be like to be in private moments with the family about different issues and then ways in which that could be tweaked in a comic way. So it was every day that we were shooting it was in the news."

Jenna Elfmann: “Well thank god I have so many first ladies on my speed dial. So I closed my eyes and I scrolled and just picked, anywhere my finger landed. I wish. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ring up any current or former first ladies so I used the old fashioned way of a bookstore and books about first ladies. And really just tried to get a sense of what their reality is landing into such a heightened existence from their life prior to that and what obstacles they faced and what goals they had as first ladies just to get myself oriented.”

On What She Likes About Her Character
Jenna Elfmann: “What I get to play with my character specifically is just that she does have these moments where she’s a fully capable lawyer and political consultant and she does have a sharp wit. But when it comes to the family as the stepmother that’s her Achilles heel. And that’s where she falls off balance and is grasping for straws and gets a little bit nutty. And then when the two worlds collide, when her necessity to please or win as a stepmother collides in the political realm, it gets a little crazy for her. And I’m having fun having those moments where I get to play like I know how this is supposed to go but not when there’s a family involved. And that’s when there’s like an inner conflict within my character and I get to fall off balance and find a comedy.”

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Sutton Foster

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

On the ABC Family series Bunheads, Michelle Simms struggles to make her way in a world that’s a bit foreign to her. The Vegas showgirl turned seaside dance teacher is trying to find her footing so to speak. But the actress who plays her, Sutton Foster, knows that fans can learn a thing or two from her misguided character.

Sutton can’t exactly pinpoint what makes her TV alter ego such an unexpectedly wonderful role model for girls. She conceded, “Michelle is a hot mess… but she’s a lovable mess — someone that you’re rooting for and you want her so desperately to find her way.”

Patricia Heaton Is in The Middle of a Stellar Career

  Photo by ABC/Bob D'Amico 

When the annals of TV history get updated, Patricia Heaton will go down as one of the only actresses to achieve an amazing feat. Not only has she played an iconic mom on Everybody Loves Raymond but she’s managed to portray a second legendary television matriarch — Frankie Heck on The Middle.

And despite the fact that the TV star and the struggling suburban mom might seem like they live worlds apart, Patricia acknowledged that she can relate to Frankie. She conceded, “True, I’m on a different financial plane as the Hecks. But as every parent knows, you’re only as happy as your unhappiest kid. So that goes a long way in being relatable.”

“I really feel like we connect, having four boys and different personalities that correlate to ones on our show and different issues to ones on our show.” Patricia elaborated, “We totally, totally bonded over going through many things in the show that go on in my life.”

Cheryl Hines Unleashes Her Wacky Side on Suburgatory

Photo by  ABC/Carin Baer 

Anyone who watched Curb Your Enthusiasm back in the day when Cheryl Hines played Larry David’s wife, will remember her as a grounding force in a chaotic world. She was always truly funny, but she tended not to be the wacky one in a given scenario.

That all changed when Cheryl joined the cast of Suburgatory. Now she plays Dallas Royce, the super-optimistic, extravagant but lovable woman next door. And anyone who knows her history as an actress, knows that she was well trained to tackle such an out there character.

In a recent exclusive interview, Cheryl recounted, “My experience is at The Groundlings Theater, where we created different characters and did sketch comedy. And sometimes the characters were outrageous, but they always came from a real place. So even working there, we had to create characters from the people that we knew.”

Jimmy Kimmel’s Thoughts on Letterman and Leno

Photo by Randy Holmes/ABC

Jimmy Kimmel Live moves to the 11:35 p.m. slot this week, pitting Jimmy directly against late night rivals David Letterman and Jay Leno. It’s no secret that there is no love lost between Jimmy and Jay. And at the same time Dave is Jimmy’s admitted hero. In a recent conference call interview he discussed his feelings about both men and going up against them on late night TV.

In an attempt to get a leg up on the ratings race, The Tonight Show will begin airing at 11:34 p.m., one minute before Jimmy Kimmel Live starts at 11:35. Jimmy joked, “NBC has had a lot of success moving Jay Leno earlier so it makes perfect sense.”

On a more serious note he added, “I’ve noticed in the TV listings that he’s starting at 11:34 now, I believe. But it’s an interesting strategy. It tells me that maybe they’re a bit concerned. And I’ll be curious to see how long they’re able to keep that up, because I would assume they have to give a minute of commercial time away in order to do that. So, I’ll be curious to see how that goes."

He continued, “That’s a trick, I would assume it's designed to boost their ratings a little bit during the first month or so. And this really isn’t about the first month or about the first week or about the first night, it’s a long-term thing. If we do well the first week, I’m sure there will be a lot of press given to that. But what really matters is how you do in May, and that’s when we’ll really know where we stand.”

Jimmy’s open feud with Jay dates back to the time when both Leno and Letterman were being considered for Johnny Carson’s spot on The Tonight Show. Jimmy began by clearing up a common misconception that he is obsessed with Leno. He stated, “Ninety-nine percent of the thinking and talking I do about Jay Leno comes when I’m doing an interview, because, otherwise, I don’t think much about him, and I don’t talk much about him.  But people ask me about him constantly and there’s nothing I dislike more than a guest that won’t answer the question. So I feel compelled to answer questions when I’m asked them. So, it may seem, if you read about me, that I’m obsessed with Jay Leno. I promise you that I’m not.”

TUNE IN: Trouble Next Door

Photo Courtesy of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

OWN's new series Trouble Next Door highlights the plight of those living in crisis. But in the spirit of "it takes a village," their neighbors come to the rescue. Each episode features one family trying to overcome an obstacle. There's a disabled mother trying to raise her son with Asperger's, another family with teenage daughters abusing drugs and a single mom helping her kids move forward after divorce. The show inspires us all to take a look at the people next door and lend a helping hand. And it proves the power of neighbors helping neighbors. Trouble Next Door premieres tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Gilles Marini and Vanessa Marano Discuss Switched at Birth

Season 2 of Switched at Birth, starring Vanessa Marano and Gilles Marini, premieres tonight on ABC Family. On the series Vanessa plays Bay Kennish, a teenage girl who discovers she was accidentally sent home from the hospital with the wrong family after she was born. She and the other girl, Daphne Paloma Vasquez — who went deaf at the age of 3 — have been raised in loving, yet very different homes. When they uncover the mistake, both families merge into one unusual unit. Gilles plays Angelo, the biological father of Bay who comes back to meet her after the switch is revealed.

When we last left the Kennish and Vasquez families at the end of Season 1, Angelo had just been awarded $5 million from the hospital in the baby switching case and had discovered one of his ex-girlfriends is pregnant. All this while trying to do a better job at being a father to Bay. In a recent exclusive interview Gilles told us, "The fans are not going to be bored at all for a tiny second because there's a lot going on."

The show incorporates the storyline of Daphne's hearing issues and Vanessa said she hoped people watching the show take away "a newfound knowledge and awareness of sign language and deaf culture." She continued that the show in general "shines a light on knowledge and that people have a thirst for knowledge whether it's about deaf people or family in general."

In Season 2, the relationship between Angelo and Bay will blossom. Gilles noted, "She makes him grow. She makes him understand how to be a father or what she knows what a father should be."

The actor, who's a familiar face to viewers from Brothers and Sisters and Dancing with the Stars, feels the show is successful because people see themselves in the characters. He stated, "This is important when you do a show. If you can make people feel and relate, it's golden."

Watch all of our interview with Gilles and Vanessa on our YouTube channel. And tune into the season premiere of Switched at Birth tonight at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. Central on ABC Family.

Lisa Vanderpump Rules at SUR

Photo by Tommy Garcia/Bravo

Maybe it’s the English accent but somehow Lisa Vanderpump has managed to seem classier than all the other Housewives in the franchise. So even though she’s been sucked into the drama with her Beverly Hills co-stars like Adrienne Maloof, she has managed to maintain some perceived level of sophistication. Perhaps the fact that she frequently cuddles her well-dressed Pomeranian Jiggy adds to her distinguished mystique. 

There’s also the reality that she’s a seasoned restaurateur, along with her “dahling” husband, Ken. Viewers often see Lisa in action at her two fancy SoCal eateries — SUR and Villa Blanca. And watching her run those ships somehow grounds her in an authenticity that some of the other ladies who lunch on TRHOBH just don’t seem to project. 

Now Lisa has her own spinoff, Vanderpump Rules, which will follow her behind the scenes at SUR. In a recent conference call interview she talked about the key to being a successful businesswoman. 

Last Man Standing's Kaitlyn Dever on Bullying

Tonight's episode of Last Man's Standing highlights a problem that has deservedly been getting a lot of attention lately — bullying. Eve Baxter (played by Kaitlyn Dever) gets suspended for bullying after she calls one of her classmates a bad name. Her dad Mike (played by Tim Allen) is surprised that the act is considered bullying. In a recent exclusive interview we spoke with Kaitlyn about the episode, bullying and her recent sweet 16 birthday.

Kaitlyn was excited when she heard the show was going to tackle the subject of bullying. She stated, "It's really important that people know about it and the issue in schools because it happens every day to people and it really hurts when people get bullied."

Although the actress has never been bullied personally, she did recall friends in elementary school that fell victim. She currently is home schooled and so is not affected by the issue herself but stated, "I definitely experienced it when I was in elementary school. It really showed me [that] people think saying a word to make fun of them won't hurt them but it actually does. It can really affect someone."

She offered this advice to kids, "When someone is bullying you, don't let it get to you. I remember my friends in school, someone said something mean to them and they really let it get to them. And it really affected them. But I would just say try to ignore it as much as possible and just be yourself."

Since the fall of 2011, Kaitlyn has been playing Eve Baxter, the youngest daughter in Tim Allen and Nancy Travis' family. She is a bit of a tomboy who up until the bullying incident has never been in any trouble.

Kaitlyn explained the ways that she and Eve are similar. "We're alike with our sarcastic remarks and constantly making sarcastic comments to my sisters in real life and on set. She's got a very dry sense of humor. That's what I love to be able to portray my dry sense of humor as Eve Baxter on the show." But she continued, "She knows so much about sports and I know zero about sports… I've learned so much from being on set. I've learned so many new sports terms."

The young actress who has also appeared in An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong and the TV show Justified, loves working with the LMS cast. "They're awesome. We all feel like a family and it's great. The cast is amazing I love everybody. Tim Allen is just awesome. Nancy Travis is amazing. She's the best. And then there's my older sisters on the show are awesome, too. Because they really feel like my older sisters and it's cool to have that aspect because I don't have older sisters in real life."

Kaitlyn, who has been acting since she was five, just turned 16. She celebrated the big day with her friends in a cabin in Big Bear, California sledding, playing games and making Christmas cookies. She recalled, "We had a jam session. Me and my friend played guitar and we sang a bunch of songs together. It was so much fun. I will remember it for the rest of my life. It was the best party ever."

When not acting Kaitlyn spends her time making music. "I've been playing guitar for about eight years and I just did a few covers and I'm going to release them on YouTube soon so I'm really excited about that. I did 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash and I did 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac with my sister, we're forming our own little band."

But while she loves music, acting is her true passion. She admitted, "I don't picture myself doing anything other than acting because I love it so much. It's always been my dream to come out here and do what I love. And I guess another passion would be music. I love music. I love playing the guitar. I play  other instruments as well, but mainly acting is my main passion."

And since her two passions are music and acting it's no surprise that she couldn't settle on just one pop culture icon she would like to be for one day. She noted, "I would probably be Johnny Cash. My two favorite people are Audrey Hepburn and Johnny Cash. But I can't decide. I guess I'd go with Audrey Hepburn because she's a girl… But walking in Johnny Cash's shoes would still be awesome. But yes, I would want to be Audrey Hepburn for a day."

Watch the "Bullying" episode of Last Man Standing, tonight at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. Central on ABC.