‘My Girl’ Grows Up — Anna Chlumksy in a New DC Satire
Posted on May 6, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Slate’s Jessica Grose has a terrific interview with the wonderful Anna Chlumsky, child star of the 1991 classic “My Girl.” Chlumsky took time away from acting to finish school and work as an editor before returning to star in this week’s Hallmark Channel movie Three Weeks, Three Kids and in the upcoming HBO series “VEEP,” from “In the Loop” writer/director Armando Iannucci. She will play the chief of staff to a U.S. Vice President (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). The interview is well worth reading — she is smart and funny and has some great stories. And I love her answer to the question about whether Iannucci’s view is that politics is futile:
I agree that there’s a sense of “nobody’s a hero,” so there’s a futility in that sense. Does it mean that it’s a bad thing? I don’t know. Is just is. VEEP is going to be like that. Nobody’s safe. I get so bored when this person’s bad and this person’s good. My first litmus test when I see a piece or read a piece is: Is someone feeding me answers or did I leave with questions? That’s for me the only way to make an excellent piece.
Mother’s Day Tribute to Military Families on the Hallmark Channel
Posted on May 3, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Martha Stewart is joined by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden for a special Mother’s Day salute to military families on the Hallmark channel. Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden share their thoughts on motherhood with Martha and talk about their “Joining Forces” initiative, which supports America’s military wives and mothers. They will share their own experiences — Dr. Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden has a son in the military herself — talk about coping with the stress of long separations and worry, and host the world’s biggest baby shower for military moms-to-be.
Interview: Fionnula Flanagan of ‘Three Wise Women’
Posted on December 14, 2010 at 3:54 pm
The Hallmark Channel’s Three Wise Women stars the great Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan in the story of a doctor named Liz who is about to make a terrible mistake. Her guardian angel has to bring in some very important advisers — Liz herself as a young girl and an older woman — to show her the way.
Ms. Flanagan, who also appeared in “Waking Ned Divine” and “Yes Man,” talked with me about making this film — and about her own favorite Christmas tradition.
How did you coordinate with the other actresses who played your character?
One of us doesn’t know that the other two of us are her, older and younger, so therein lies the comedy. We imitated each other, but people change as they grow older and one of them is very young, like 17 years of age and I’m in her 60’s, so people change and their gestures change as they grow older. We didn’t sit down and say, “Let’s coordinate all of this.” But some things came naturally and we all imitated each other.
What was your first major part as an actor?
I did a role in a play in Gaelic for the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1963-64 and was then hired to play it in television in Irish, and that was my first break. I went on to play it in English and then went to the Old Vic where I played leads in “Taming of the Shrew” and “The Playboy of the Western World.”
What do you look for in the parts you take?
I always look to see if the part moves the story along. If it doesn’t do that, it’s just window dressing. In this particular instance it is very much an ensemble piece, with three actresses playing the same person, with the comedy built in because she doesn’t know she is seeing herself much younger and much older. That obviously moves the story along. Do we turn out in later life the way we think we will? The answer is “almost never.” If you, Nell, were to meet yourself at 90, wouldn’t you think you’d be different? We always have fantasies about how we’re going to be; we’d be horrified to see ourselves in the future and say, “Look at all those wrinkles! I wish I’d given up smoking!” This story provided that with all the comedy that lies therein.
Why do the Hallmark channel movies touch people so much?
They make films about things that people care about, things that happen in ordinary people’s lives, not cops and robbers and fantastical stories. Not everyone is wearing a Prada suit. These are backwoods stories that happen out of sight to people who are not always wealthy and powerful. People identify with that. It’s pleasurable because if you treat people well and behave kindly and honor your citizenship, good things will happen.
What is your favorite holiday movie?
I don’t have one but every Christmas I listen to Dylan Thomas’ wonderful recitation of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” Many people have read it, but I have the recording of him reading it himself and it is so charming and funny. It’s about ordinary people in a mining town in Wales and I love it for that reason. The child saying, “Get to the presents! Get to the presents!”
Fans of The Good Witch and the sequel will be delighted with the third in the series, “The Good Witch’s Gift.” Catherine Bell returns as Cassie Nightingale, the kind-hearted shop owner who always seems to have a touch of magic to help those around her see more clearly.
Cassie and her fiance, police chief Jake Russell (Chris Potter) decide to get married on Christmas eve, just a week away. As they try to get everything ready, complications include a lost ring, an overbearing planner, and the return of a bank robber Jake put in jail, bitter about the time he has lost. Jake’s children get into a fight and his father makes plans to move out. But Cassie can handle all of that and more with her greatest gift, the ability to make people find the best in themselves.
It premieres this Saturday at 8 (7 Central). Enjoy!
“Class” is a new romance premiering August 14 on the Hallmark Channel, and I spoke to its star, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe (“Prison Break”), who plays a single mother struggling to take care of her son assigned to an arrogant law student (Justin Bruening) who is required to perform public service in order to graduate. Ms. O’Keefe called me to talk about the appeal and the challenges of a role very different from her previous appearances.
This is very different from your previous roles — you have often played more aggressive, physical characters. In this part, the way you held yourself and moved was so distinctive.
I just tried to keep everything quiet and small.
What attracted you to this part?
I kept my niece in mind the entire time. She’s nine and she doesn’t get to see a lot of what I do.
Your character has a very close relationship with her sister, which helps us see her as someone who is wounded but still open to connections with others. Are you close to your sisters?
I’m very close to my two sisters. It was a wonderful way to grow up, with two strong older sisters who always had my back. And the actress who plays my sister is a good friend of mine, Lauren Glazier. So that part was easy for me.
You began working very young, didn’t you?
Yes, I began modeling when I was very young, catalog work and all that, and then the modeling agency merged with a talent agency and I got an audition. That was the beginning of the end for me; I was in love. I was 13 or 14 and walked into the audition and the casting director said, “What did you think of the script?” That was what did it! That was the first time somebody asked my opinion and made me think I actually had one. Before that it was “Stand there,” “Wear this,” “Look over here.” There wasn’t a whole lot of “how do you feel about the character.” I was such a huge reader I had 40 thousand things to say about the script. My mom used to have to tear books out of my hands to go to school.
What were some of your favorite books?
I read everything I could get my hands on! I loved The BFG by Roald Dahl. His books are incredible.
When this script came to you, what made you want to do it?
It was something new for me. I wanted to see if I could do it. It’s been a long time since I’ve been the good guy. And my niece always asks why I don’t live in New Jersey. I wanted to make something she could watch. She and my nephews have been begging me for years to be a cartoon and I’d love nothing more, but until then, this is for them.
What connection did you feel to the character?
That whole “don’t judge a book by its cover thing.” And she feels confused and misunderstood. Like everyone else growing us, I have felt that way. I relied on that. And it is such a lovely, sweet, romantic story. I went with that. And I had such a great supporting cast. I fell so in love with Maxwell Perry Cotton, who plays my son, Shane. I was just over the moon about him. I could not get over him. He’s one of the loveliest kids ever, so funny and so bright, and he became more of himself every single day. It was one of the nicest sets I’ve ever worked on.
Did you have any formal training as an actor?
My training was working on a soap opera . It was overwhelming at such a young age but I learned a lot. It was where I learned everything, the longest hours I ever put in, a show a day. Incredible.
Are you reading book books or ebooks? Have you succumbed to the Kindle?
I absolutely did! I have a dust allergy and literally for six months my mother told me I had to get a Kindle. I used to travel with an extra suitcase just for books. She talked me into it and it changed my world. And now I have an iPad! It’s the greatest thing ever!
And what do you aspire to?
It’s pretty simple. I want to keep working, pay my mortgage, spend time with my family, and take care of my dogs. I have two sharpeis and a bulldog, Penny, Ophelia, and George.
and the sequel will be delighted with the third in the series, “The Good Witch’s Gift.” Catherine Bell returns as Cassie Nightingale, the kind-hearted shop owner who always seems to have a touch of magic to help those around her see more clearly. 
by Roald Dahl. His books are incredible. 
. I cannot get enough of my vampires! I just re-read my favorite book, 
, and I just read 
, which I loved. 
?