Watching Ugly Betty

As of last week Silvio Horta and Marco Pennette Ugly Betty writers are among the who’s who list of writers that have signed a pledge in support of the Writers Guild of America strike. According to the pledge they will do no writing whatsoever while the strike continues and neither will their writing staff be asked too. Show star America Ferrera has also been spotted joining the picket line outside the Hollywood TV Studios. In fact most of the main cast has shown their support in some way.

However Ashley Jensen reported that they only have enough episodes till sometime in December! Ashley made this comment while in the UK at the Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women Of The Year Awards in London. She was named Ultimate Woman on TV. Other honorees included Angelina Jolie for Ultimate Woman Who Made Us Care for humanitarian efforts, Cameron Diaz was honored for Ultimate Lady Of Film and singer Rihanna won the honor for Ultimate Mistress of Music.

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Salma goes South: Post pregnancy mommy Salma Hayek has already been cast in a new movie. Not so surprisingly considering Salma is a new mommy the film is an animated feature geared towards family. In “South of the Border” a pampered Beverly Hills Chihuahua named Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) gets lost while vacationing in Mexico. Salma plays her spirit guide who helps her to find her true heritage, whatever that means. Other Latin stars included in the cast are Paul Rodriguez, Andy Garcia and George Lopez.

America does the UK: America Ferrera looks wonderful on the cover of UK edition of Marie Claire magazine and I’m glad to say not Photoshopped! The sultry photos show the Ugly Betty star in her natural beauty. America opens up to talk about not having her father in her life, the trend to label everyone as curvy even when their super skinny and how acting helped her to make something of her life.

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Best Friends: Becki Newton and Michael Urie as their characters Amanda and Marc on Ugly Betty get us laughing every Thursday night with snarky humor. Not only are their characters great friends on the show they also have a close friendship in real life. In fact they even live in the same apartment building! In the Journal Gazette they share how they first met, discuss their Ugly Betty auditions and much more!
 

Odd Couple: Rumors are circulating that Vanessa Williams and Vince Vaughn are dating. The Wedding Crashers star was most famously linked to Brad Pitt ex Jennifer Aniston. Maybe the rumors are only a result of buzz related to his new Christmas movie Fred Claus which is set to open November 9. Vanessa Williams for her part hasn’t had much to say about the rumors. Her ex husband (former NBA player) Rick Fox has recently made several guest appearances in Ugly Betty.

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California Wildfires are still blazing across the area

Giving Back to the Community: Ugly Betty actress Judith Light has taped a public service announcement in response to the California wildfires. Other celebs and the entertainment biz are also pitching in. Disney is donating $2 million and Mickey Mouse himself as well as other popular Disney characters will be making a visit to local stadiums in the next weeks. Even talent agencies and local hotels are pitching in to help. To contribute to the disaster relief of the California wildfires consider making your own donation to the Red Cross or to the United Way and designate that the money go for the California Wildfires Fund. CNN reports almost two dozen wildfires burning in Southern California and at least two of those are beleived to have been set by arson. CNN also features a list of other ways you can help.

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Congratulations to Vanessa Williams. The actress has just signed a 5 year contract with Proactiv Solutions for $20 million dollars! Proactiv is a dermatologist developed acne treatment system with numerous celebrity endorsers. Part of the deal includes Vanessa getting to develop her own cosmetic line for the company. For anyone who stays up late night to watch infomercials you know that Vanessa has been the lines spokesperson for several years now. In fact she replaced former spokesperson and Ugly Betty costar Judith Light! Other celebrities including Jessica Simpson and Kelly Clarkson can currently be seen professing their love for the product.

Vanessa is also rumored to be working on a new album of music to be released sometime in 2008. If so this will be her ninth studio album. Her biggest album to date is the multi platium “The Comfort Zone” which featured her mega hit signature song “Save The Best For Last.”

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Judith is lighting up the big screen in her new movie Ira & Abby. The film has already won the audience award for best feature film at the 2006 Los Angeles Film Festival. The film bills itself as a “subversive romantic comedy” and is from the award winning filmmakers behind Kissing Jessica Stein. Chris Messina stars as Ira and Jennifer Westfeldt stars as Abby the couple who fall in love. Judith Light is a featured actress. For more info and theaters visit the official website.

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No Desperate Housewives. Salma Hayek and production partner Jose Tamez discuss the plans for their production company Ventanazul. Salma also discusses her plans to remain in the U.S. rather than moving to Paris to be a housewife to billionaire fiancée Francois-Henri Pinault. Though Elscoopcontodo thinks Salma may already be married.

Blond Ambition. America Ferrera reveals how a disappointing audition made her bleach her hair blond and put on whiteface. I can’t imagine it either.

British Invasion. Ashley Jensen and other foreign born actors are mentioned in this story discussing how 30,000 Britons (and some Scots) are trying to make it big in LA. Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) is mentioned and appears to be teaching American’s Eva Longoria and Katie Holmes how not to eat. Kate Beckinsale’s eight year old daughter has gotten so used to the insane world of LA she now has Botox radar.

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Catch the Super Special episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody starring none other than Ugly Betty’s young hero Mark Indelicato! Zack, Maddie, London and the rest of the gang are all auditioning for a role in the school stage production of High School Musical. Mark Indelicato is playing a boy named Antonio who gets the part he wants. All this will lead up to next week’s premiere of the most anticipated kid’s movie of all time High School Musical 2, which at this point might have even more fans than Harry Potter! The episode entitled “Lip Synchin’ in the Rain” airs tonight at on Disney Channel; check your local listings for time.

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Alan Dale gets evil for Torchwood

Could two of my favorite obsessions Ugly Betty and Sci-fi TV be combining? No not really! But the incredible Alan Dale will be guest starring on the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. Even though Doctor Who is currently airing on the Sci-fi channel Torchwood has yet to premiere in the states. As a huge Sci-fi fan I will be eagerly awaiting his appearance. It’s no surprise Alan will be playing a villian since his role as Bradford Meade has been full of villainous moves!

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I know a lot of us feared that with the anorexic stick figure crop of young and dumb Hollywood ladies out now that everyone thought sexy meant skinny. It turns out the sexiest women in Hollywood is none other than Salma Hayek! In a poll done by E-Poll Market Research Salma Hayek topped the list and was voted “sexy” by 65% of the population.

An overwhelming number considering that the average celebrity only scored 15%. Other curvy stars such as Carmen Electra and Beyonce also made the top 5. But topping one list isn’t enough for Salma Hayek she also placed third on a poll by In Touch Weekly Magazine for fabulous 40-something. The 40 year old Salma came in behind first place Halle Berry and second place Daisy Fuentes.

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1. Ugly Betty is on hiatus but Gina Gershon will be starring in the season premiere of Psych on USA network! When Gus and Shawn enter an American Idol style singing competition to track down a potential killer Gina (in a parody of Paula Abdul) becomes the main suspect.

2. Want to meet Vanessa Williams? Theirs still time to enter the Ultimate Vanessa Williams Fan Pack. Until July 10 you can enter to win tickets to see Vanessa perform at New Jersey Performing Arts Center and get backstage passes. One current ticket holder who wins will get the chance to attend Vanessa’s pre-show sound check and receive dinner for two.

3. Kristin from E! Online has the scoop on a rival to Henry for Betty’s affections.

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According to TheEnvelope Ugly Betty is in the top 10 list of Emmy finalist for best comedy series. These 10 shows received the most votes when members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences were polled. Out of these 10 only 5 shows will make the cut, the choices will be determined by the popular vote and by the Judges scores. Other comedies on the list include Scrubs, Desperate Housewives, and My Name is Earl. To get a better breakdown on how the nomination process works check out this article from Variety.

No information is yet available on the nominations for best actors. The official nominations will be announced on July 19.

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Apparently if you’re America Ferrera its worth 10 million dollars! The Ugly Betty star now has her pearly whites insured by Lloyds of London. But don’t worry our favorite Ugly girl isn’t getting a big head. The policy was bought by Aquafresh White Trays (a unit of GlaxoSmithKline) on May 10 as part of a campaign to raise money for US charity Smiles for Success.

Smiles for Success is a charity program that provides free dental care to jobless women and is a Foundation of the American Association of Women Dentist. In fact you can do your part to help Smiles for Success!

From now until August 31 Aquafresh will donate a $1 for every box of white trays sold. If that isn’t enough reason to enter you could win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ugly Betty set! Enter the Beauty that Fits sweepstakes and Aquafresh will donate a dollar for every entry. For a combined donation of $100,000!

Sources:Forbes & PRNewswire

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America Ferrera, Ana Ortiz and Salma Hayek are among the 50 Most Beautiful people according to People en Español. This is the second 2007 “beautiful people” list that America Ferrera has graced. She is also featured in People Magazines 100 Most Beautiful list (the English version).

Want to find out more about People en Español’s list? Telemundo Network will be broadcasting a TV special on May 19th, 9:00 p.m., ET. The special will also include a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to put together the list. If thats not enough entertainment news show Extra will have a special hour long episode about the magazine on May 19th and 20th.

If that wasn’t enough to make America Ferrera feel like a swan instead of the ugly duckling she plays in Ugly Betty she is listed in Time Magazines list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Both Salma Hayek and America Ferrera where listed in a viewers choice poll but only America made the cut and was chosen by Time editors.

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A new edition of the Weekly Roundup is here!


*Who had a birthday?:
America Ferrera turned 23 (April 18), Tony Plana turned 53 (April 19) and Eric Mabius turned 36 (April 22)

*Who’s Got New Movies?:
1. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is all geared up for a sequel. The original starred America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and Blake Lively; all four girls are set to reprise their roles. The sequel is being directed by Sanaa Hamri and will once again star the girls sharing a single pair of pants. This time their all college age and the pants will be traveling back and forth to Turkey, Greece, New York and several other locations.

2. Eric Mabius is set to star in a movie for ABC Family. The flick Nature of the Beast will be shown as part of ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween” special.

*Who’s Talking Show News?:
1. Eric Mabius talks with Variety about the possibility of a relationship between his character Daniel and Betty. He thinks Daniel loves Betty but not in a in a sexual way. He also talks about fatherhood and getting no sleep.

2. Bailey Chase talks about his role on Ugly Betty as Becks. Daniels womanizing best friend, and fellow male gigolo; he also discusses his new series Saving Grace on TNT.

*Who’s Been Declared Sexy?:
1. Rebecca Romijn is listed in third place in the list of ten sexiest movie assassins beating out Uma Thurman from the Kill Bill franchise but behind number one Angelina Jolie.

2. Salma Hayek is voted in 18 place on the list of 20 sexiest women bodies according to a poll of 5,000 women of UK Glamour magazine.

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