Courtesy of Hip Hop Association

Got a minute? Music and fashion icon Russell Simmons discusses his New York fashion challenge, Obama mania, and being a hip-hop pioneer.

Q: You're hosting a fashion entrepreneur contest as a part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and the winner will be announced this Friday. What motivated you to get involved?

A: I am really interested in encouraging entrepreneurs. The cultivation of creativity is something that is overlooked in America. We cannot survive in the world today without a new shot at this.

Q: This seems to be in sync with your other work, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, being a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador, blogging for the Huffington Post. How did you get bitten by the social-justice bug?

A: People needed it. And its easy because you know you have the resources. As you get it you give it. If you hold onto it you get sick.

Q: What do you hope to give?

A: I want young people not to feel like "Wait until I get there." They ain't never going to reach their creative goals that way. Kind of a depressing thought but kind of a happy thought if you see it.

Q: How does it feel to be called the "CEO of hip-hop"?

A: It doesn't feel like much. I am not a good celebrator, and I am not into celebratory titles. When Obama won I said, "That's nice."

Q: Really? That was it?

A: I left. It was fun to watch the results. I kind of expected it so maybe that's the reason. I don't celebrate.

Q: Where were you?

A: I don't know. I was at a big event but I left. Everybody was going crazy.

Q: And that's a problem?

A: I mean, now we have all these issues. Work is fun. The results are not always so much fun.

Q: How so?

A: I've been reading my scripture too much and I really believe a lot of it. Now we've got a lot of work to do ... and I sleep better when I do the work. Not when I get some result or a pat on the back, but when I do the work. Vanessa Rothschild

Photograph courtesy of ZoomWerks

Got a minute? Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster opens up about taking on the 22nd Bond film—and why he did away with the impressive gizmos.

Q: You've said that Daniel Craig convinced you to direct the film. How did he sell it?

A: He humanized Bond. He's such an interesting and incredible actor. In the last five minutes of Casino Royale, Bond lost a lot of his life. I thought it would be interesting to explore the character further—those demons. He's a bit of an emotional mess.

Q: What personal touches did you bring?

A: We have a franchise, and none of the films have the handwriting of their directors. It's like working under political censorship: You have to subliminally insert your message. But I felt I had to create a Bond who is responsible for his actions and isn't just blasé.

Q: So fans can expect tweaks to the template?

A: I included the Bond qualities I loved and threw out the things I wasn't so keen on. I loved the stylistic approach in the early sixties—and the exotic locations. I threw out some of the gadgets. There are so many gadgets in our life today already.

Q: Did you watch Bond movies as a kid?

A: No, the first Bond movie I saw was in the late eighties, with Timothy Dalton. In the early nineties, I had a marathon and watched them all through. That was just before GoldenEye came out. When I decided to do this movie, I went back to watch my favorites—Your Majesty's Secret Service, Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and obviously, Casino Royale.

Q: You've directed several critically acclaimed films—Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, The Kite Runner—but none with this much box-office potential. Is that stressful?

A: It's been crazy. It was five times the budget I've had before, and people started saying it might be the most successful Bond film ever. So the expectations are huge. I didn't realize you're constantly under the microscope of the world media.

Q: Why did you turn down an offer to direct the next Bond film?

A: Every film I've done was different from the one before. I like it that way. It keeps me on my toes. Ryan Wenzel

A trailer for the new Bond film

Photograph by K Mazur/TCA 2008/WireImage.com

Got a minute? Last season's American Idol winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta dish about their upcoming albums (out November 18 and today, respectively) and panty-throwing fans.

Q: You guys are putting out albums right after a huge election. Do you keep your political beliefs to yourselves?

Cook: I think voting is a personal right and a privilege. For me it's less about alienating anybody and more about not trying to be a persuasion. People need to vote based on their own ideas.
Archuleta: I try to stay away from taking sides in politics, sports—anything competitive, really, because fans get so into that. I don't want people to base their opinion of me on a small comment I make.

Q: So you'd rather have them judge you on your new albums. What can we expect?

Archuleta: It's a pop album with a little R&B flavor. There's a nice variety, because I didn't want to pigeonhole myself. Being a teenager, I'm always changing my mind.
Cook: Mine is very eclectic, although it's a rock record for sure. There are heavy, guitar-driven songs, very delicate piano songs, and everything in between. I had a chance to work with people I admire, like Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace, Kevin Griffin from Better Than Ezra, Johnny Rzeznik, Zac Maloy. It was great for them to treat me as a peer.

Q: What albums did you look to for inspiration?

Cook: I tried to keep outside influence to a minimum. I found myself relying more on self-evaluation than anything. I wanted to be fresh and untainted.
Archuleta: I listened to Jordin Sparks' first album, because she's another artist my age and she mixed it up, which allowed her to do more with her next album. The guy who wrote "My Hands" on my album actually wrote "No Air" for Jordin.

Q: What's the craziest fan experience you guys have had?

Archuleta: My fans don't do freaky things. They throw stuffed animals. One time, Cook got some underwear, and he threw them on me. I was like, "Oh, nasty!" I freaked out.
Cook: For the record, yeah, I did. But they were thrown at me by a fan first. Katie Hintz

Photograph courtesy of 42West

Got a minute? Action-movie star Jean-Claude Van Damme opens up about his soft spot for animals and why playing himself in JCVD—in theaters November 7­—was so therapeutic.­­

Q: Was it strange playing the role of Jean-Claude Van Damme?

A: I didn't play—it was a truthful situation. That's why it's so good. Thank God I was 47. It was a good timing for me to peel back the skin and show the inside of the fiber—and that dry blood, those scars, you know? It's very strange—movie therapy.

Q: Was it painful to revisit your divorce drama, child-custody cases, and past drug use?

A: Sometimes you have tears about memories, but in that sadness you find joy. The drama and pain of being alone helps you when you go back to normal. You can appreciate it much more.

Q: Did you help with any of the writing, since you were the central character?

A: The director knew everything about me because he's super-intelligent and grew up with some of my posters on his wall. He can tell what's between the lines. People think they can read articles and go on TV to comment about me. That's like people who are reading the Bible and just following a book—you have to read people, too.

Q: What's next for you?

A: I'm directing this movie Full Love. We'll see how that goes. If I go to the gym at least three times a week and if once a week I have a good dinner with friends, I can be happy. And I love the ocean. I'm not rich enough to own a yacht, but that is my dream. I would love to live on the water, my friend.

Q: You canceled publicity appearances for the film because one of your dogs went into a coma. How's he doing?

A: We call him Scarface. He had a stroke. I talked to him in his ear, and I prayed because I believe in forces. Now he's doing fine. I see dogs on the street, and I adopt them. I took seven dogs from Thailand, and a few of them are paralyzed. One has three paws instead of four. One is limping, so we bought him a wheelchair. After this movie, I spent my own money to fly them back by private jet. In commercial, they can have heart attacks because of stress—it's dark and icy cold.

Q: So you're a dog lover.

A: I love animals. I have nine dogs and a kitty. My biggest orgasm—not in a sexual way—is to walk with my dogs on the beach. In Belgium we have these wide sidewalks. You feel like you're on the Planet Moon, and I can make them feel like movie stars. Ryan Wenzel

The trailer for JCVD

Photograph by Robert Zuckerman/Sygma/Corbis

Got a minute? The L Word's Mia Kirshner opens up about working on her latest project, I Live Here, a collection of the stories of refugees from four countries (the proceeds from which go to Amnesty International), while playing a less-than-philanthropic character on TV.

Q: What made you want to create the book?

A: A feeling of being creatively disconnected. I've always written, but the acting happened to come first. Putting books together should have been my job. The L Word was funding the book, but eventually I had to get a bank loan to finish. It was hard to choose the locations we covered here, but this is the beginning of a series. Iran, Pakistan, and Colombia are also really interesting to me.

Q: You included dozens of stories, from Burma, Mexico, Malawi, and Chechnya. What surprised you the most?

A: The way people treat each other is shocking. The migrant workers from Burma stay in refugee camps in Thailand and can't get working papers there. They're exploited by their employers—women raped—and they can't go to the police because they're there illegally. The most beautiful thing, though, was the humanity in these refugees. There was a dignity and a kindness that you don't see on a day-to-day basis.

Q: Was it hard to get people to share their stories?

A: They've been hounded by journalists, and the families feel pretty raw. It helped that I wasn't a journalist.

Q: You've made it clear that you don't want to be the next Sally Struthers, though.

A: I never wanted to actually write for the book, I never wanted my name to be on the cover—or anybody's name, really. I didn't want to wreck the reader's experience with a Western voice. When I met with my publisher, they told me, "You're not 'the Western voice'—you did the work."

Q: Jenny Schecter, your character on The L Word, has been called a sociopath. Has it been hard to play someone so uncharitable?

A: That is such an unfortunate coincidence. And people on the street still think I'm her. I've had people get mad at me. One day in a club, someone was pretty rude to me. I pulled her outside and asked her, "Why do you work?" She said, "To pay for my apartment." Well, that's why I work too. Ryan Wenzel

Got a minute? First-time director Jennifer Venditti talks about Billy the Kid, her award-winning documentary about a talkative 15-year-old misfit in rural Maine.

Q: How did you find Billy?

A: I was casting for another project on location in Maine. I'd brought actors from New York, but we were looking for extras. I like to include nonprofessionals, so I asked for access to the high-school lunchroom to observe kids. I couldn't believe the same cliques existed. I asked them why they sat where they did and if they ever tried sitting with anyone else. Some tough guys told me they'd invited someone else over and it didn't go well. They pointed to Billy. He was sitting at a table by himself. Everyone described him with labels—weird, freak—­­but they weren't helping me understand him. I made this film to understand him.

Q: What did you learn from him?

A: That we're all on the same journey. We're all trying to find love, we're all trying to be accepted. We just get there differently. Billy has so many reasons to fall down, and he doesn't. He's not perfect, and the film doesn't glorify him.

Q: The intimacy gives the film its power. Was it hard to get Billy and his mom to open their home to your crew?

A: My intention was to give him a voice—he wasn't being heard, and he deserved to be. So his mom trusted me. I filmed for only eight days. If I had stayed any longer, it would have been intrusive.

Q: Billy frequently finds himself in awkward conversations with girls and classmates. Was it hard to watch that up close?

A: Oh my God, yes. Sometimes at the end of the day I would cry, or I'd try to talk to Billy. But you don't want to interfere too much.

Q: You've said you like underdogs. What makes them so appealing?

A: I'll have to go to therapy for a long time to figure that out. I like people who go for it, people who aren't afraid to be who they are—and people like that aren't always accepted.

Q: Billy says in the film that he wants his next project to be an action movie. Any interest in directing that?

A: [Laughs] No, totally not my genre. Anyone who wants to, feel free. I'm sure he'd love to read any scripts. Ryan Wenzel

The trailer for Billy the Kid

Photograph courtesy of NBC Universal

Got a minute? Nineties "Gangsta's Paradise" rapper Coolio discusses his new album and reality show, and why he's not down with Bobby Flay.

Q: First off, are you keeping the braids?

A: Yeah. People say, "Your braids are played out," but 50 percent of people are going to like you and 50 percent aren't. So cater to the ones that do, and the other half—fuck 'em.

Q: You have a new album, Steal Here (October 21). Were you inspired by guys like Lil Wayne and T-Pain who currently rule the rap charts?

A: Hell-to-the-no. I'm not really listening too much hip-hop because I'm not feeling a whole lot of it besides Kanye and T.I. I'm motivating myself.

Q: How does your new reality show, Coolio Rules (October 28 on Oxygen), compare to the other father-knows-best shows like Run's House and Snoop Dogg's Father Hood?

A: There's a lot more reality in our show than other shows. I didn't want people to look at it and say "This is scripted" or "That's some bullshit." I just tried to be myself as much as I could. I preach to my four kids to be yourself. I tell them don't be a wuss and don't let people hurt your feelings.

Q: Your first foray into reality entertainment was with your online cooking show, Cookin' With Coolio. What's your specialty?

A: Making something out of nothing. I go in the refrigerator and whatever's in there I'll make a meal from, and it'll taste gourmet. It's not elitist cooking—it's cooking for the everyday man. I can go buy a regular ol' piece of steak from Ralph's and make it taste just as good as kobe beef. I'm the leftover king, too.

Q: How do you feel about the star chef craze?

A: I've eaten at one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants, and I really wasn't that impressed. I thought his food was bland and very English. I'm an Emeril fan. He'll go out on a limb and take chances. I like Wolfgang Puck. All Bobby Flay does is recreate traditional dishes. I take chances when I'm in the kitchen, just like I do with music.

Q: Do you want to try the restaurant thing?

A: Definitely! I want to do my own spices, the whole shebang. I'm going to go Paul Newman on they ass. And rest in peace to him. I love his damn lemonade. And his salad dressing. Katie Hintz

A preview of Coolio's new reality series

Photograph courtesy of Michael K

Got a minute? Dlisted's Michael K dishes about his claws-out gossip blog, Madonna's impending divorce, and why the Disney crew isn't worth his time.

Q: Why did you start blogging?

A: I was working at a dot-com, and I was really bored all the time. I read tons of blogs, so I started my own in January 2004—out of boredom, really. It's been almost two years since I've been doing it full time. When I quit my job, I thought, This is going to be so good. But now it's a job. When something becomes a job, it takes some of the fun out of it.

Q: You come up with funny nicknames for the celebrities you write about. What name are you proudest of?

A: Jessica's Alba's—"MiserAlba." There were pictures of her looking so miserable when she was pregnant. I put two and two together.

Q: You're negative about most celebrities, but which ones annoy you most?

A: Any of those Disney people—Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus, Ashley Tisdale. I have a hard time writing about them because I don't think they're even fucking worth it. They're fake and manufactured, and writing about them is buying into that. And they're kids. I feel so old—I'm 29.

Q: But you do love some celebrities. If you could hang out with either Rojo Caliente (Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon's girlfriend Christine Marinoni) or Spaghetti Cat (a cat that's been taught to slurp spaghetti), who would you pick?

A: [Long pause] Rojo Caliente, because butch dykes never like me. I want to try to win her over because she's the only one I care about. Whenever I see a picture of her and Cynthia, I want to touch myself.

Q: What do you do when you're not blogging?

A: I watch a lot of TV. I'm into the Real Housewives crap. I like what moms like.
­
Q: Have any angry celebrities come after you?

A: Usually it's their lawyers. Tori Spelling has a few times. One time it was over a blind item that I guessed was her, about a pregnant lady drinking wine. Paris Hilton has too. One of my friends at Gallery of the Absurd made a Simple Life poster and Paris had crabs coming out of her crotch. I posted it and her lawyers contacted me to say that she didn't have crabs and that it made her look like a dirty person—which of course is not true.

Q: What's the biggest story in the gossip world right now?

A: Madonna's divorce. I didn't think she'd ever divorce Guy Ritchie, because I don't see her as a quitter. I think it's going to get a little dirty.

Q: Like it did with Paul McCartney and Heather Mills?

A: I hope so. That was a good divorce. Ryan Wenzel

Photograph courtesy of Universal Music Group

Got a minute? Keane songwriter and jack-of-all-instruments Tim Rice-Oxley discusses the band's new album, the Ting Tings, and why he's not cut out to be a frontman.

Q: Keane made a name as a piano-rock band, but on the new record, Perfect Symmetry, you use a synthesizer, saxophone, and musical saw. What made you bring more sounds into the mix?

A: I have no idea, really. We were just following our noses. We set out to please ourselves—not to worry about record sales or radio play. The musical saw in "Love is the End" was inspired by the film Delicatessen. There's a beautiful bit with a cello-and-musical-saw duet. It just worked. In the past, we might have been too scared to try those things, but we embraced the fear. The bands that we worship—Radiohead, the Beatles, the Talking Heads, U2, and Bowie—change all the time.

Q: You released the synth-driven "Spiralling" online in August. Does the song epitomize the band's new sound?

A: We just released it because we finished it first. We were still mixing the record at that point and thought, Why don't we put it on the website? We never intended for it to be a radio track at all, but it blew up into this big thing.

Q: Were you concerned about alienating your fans with this departure?

A: [Laughs] We certainly didn't worry about it while we were making the record. But once you put it out, you think, Oh shit, someone's actually going to listen to this and judge it.

Q: What was it like working with Jon Brion, who has produced songs for artists as diverse as Kanye West, Fiona Apple, and Rufus Wainwright?

A: That's what we loved about him. We didn't want someone who was going to bring us the sound of a particular band. We wanted to push what a band like us is supposed to be able to do. We spent more time talking than we did making music.

Q: In 2004, you guys were the band to watch. What new groups do you think have potential for long-term success?

A: It's been a great year for new music on both sides of the Atlantic. My favorite band this year is the Ting Tings. They're intelligent pop, and they have that energy that comes from making music in a bedroom without fear of being judged—very much the way we made our record. The MGMT record was also great.

Q: Would you ever consider going solo?

A: I've got my hands full trying to play all the keyboard parts. Tom Chaplin is set to be one of the greatest singers of all time, so that's a lot to compete with. I'm happy in the background, doing my thing. Ryan Wenzel

The music video for "Spiralling." Keane's new album, Perfect Symmetry, hits stores October 14.

Got a minute? Celebrated chef Thomas Keller, of the French Laundry and Per Se, dishes about eating to escape and how to compete with the French on their own turf.

Q: Timothy Hollingsworth (one of your chefs at the Laundry) just won top honors at the US semifinals of Bocuse d'Or, one the most important culinary contests, and will go on to January's international finals in Lyon, France. How tough is it for American chefs to compete on a French stage?

A: French cuisine, internationally, is considered haute cuisine and the base of fine dining, but there's a lot of opportunity for interpretation—whether it's an American, Japanese, or Scandinavian point of view. The judges are looking for that nationalistic approach. It doesn't have to be French if you're from Sweden. We'll at least come back a stronger team than when we left.

Q: You've had several talented protégés. Whom are you especially proud of?

A: Eric Ziebold in Washington, D.C., at CityZen, and Grant Achatz in Chicago, at Alinea. And then there's Jonathan Benno here at Per Se and Corey Lee at the French Laundry. The sous chefs that run these restaurants are extraordinary.

Q: What do you have in the works?

A: I'm just trying to make sure that our restaurants are running the way they should be. You come to a restaurant for a bit of relief. In today's market—with the economy—we want to make sure we're giving them all the relief that we can.

Q: You made a name for yourself before the Food Network craze and the rise of the celebrity chef. Why are people so interested in chefs as personalities now?

A: People have become much more sophisticated and knowledgeable about what they're eating. Restaurants have also become a center of entertainment, whether it's with your friends or family. They're a place of refuge—for forgetting about what's going on outside. And there's the media, which plays a huge part in anybody's fame.

Q: What cooking shows do you watch?

A: [Laughs] I wish I had time. Either I'm working, reading, or sleeping—but never enough reading or sleeping, mostly work. Ryan Wenzel

Courtesy of 42West

Got a minute? Actor turned director Stuart Townsend opens up about the panic on Wall Street and Battle in Seattle, his new film, starring his long-term love, Charlize Theron, about the violent riots at the World Trade Organization's 1999 Ministerial Convention.

Q: You've acted for film, theater, and TV, and now you're directing. What do like the most?

A: With theater you don't get paid anything, but you really learn your craft. Film is amazing because you get to take a peek behind the scenes—and you make money, which is nice. And I love directing. I don't like the finance or distribution, but I love filming and editing.

Q: What made you pick this project for your directorial debut?

A: It was a very visual event, with colorful demonstrations and mass movements that escalated into riots and a state of emergency. That's very cinematic. But also, the issues the people were fighting about were very important. They've been sidelined by the war on terror and the war in Iraq, but these issues haven't gone away.

Q: Does the recent Wall Street collapse make Battle in Seattle more relevant?

A: The media pretends the financial crisis is a shock, as if it came out of nowhere. A very systematic, designed construct has fallen apart and made the rich infinitely richer. Now we have to bail them out—we have to give money to the same guys who created the problem in the first place. Where's the outrage? The outrage is in Battle in Seattle. A financial crisis hits, and most people can't connect the dots. This film's an entertaining way to connect the dots. We really get inspired when we connect to a story rather than when we're told facts or figures or preached at.

Q: Was it challenging to make a film about such a recent event?

A: Most people have forgotten about it. When I started researching it, I was blown away by what actually transpired. In ways it was easier, because we didn't have to do period costumes.

Q: Are you going to stay behind the camera for a while?

A: Hell, yeah. I have a couple of ideas I've developed. I love political films, horror, fantasy, and thrillers, but it's not about genres to me. And of course, when you're in the business, you have to ask, are you going to make any money? That certainly helps the career a little bit. Ryan Wenzel

The trailer for Battle in Seattle

Courtesy of Yahoo!

Got a minute? As the New Kids on the Block release their first album since 1994, Donnie Wahlberg sounds off about who they want to impress, his wardrobe hall of shame, and Barack Obama.

Q: Are you guys finding a new audience with The Block?

A: No, I don't think so. I don't think our goal is to win over a younger crowd. I think our goal was to make a great album, first and foremost, that we felt great about. We're not trying to conquer any demons from the past, or win over people we couldn't get the first time around. We can't control that; all we can control is the music we make.

Q: You dance shirtless in the video for "Summertime." Have you had to say, "I'm 39 years old—I'm just too old to do that anymore," about anything?

A: I'm 39, but I'm not an old man. Maybe to a 15-year-old we're old guys. If I go out to a bar, I'm generally approached by women who are a lot younger than me. I'm not trying to brag or sound arrogant or anything. In terms of the show, we won't do the big hair and we won't have certain sleazebag outfits that we used to wear, but we're not going to be that group that's like, "Hell, no! We'll never do this song again." It's made us who we are, so why would we deny it?

Q: What are the fashion choices you regret?

A: Man, it's like a coin toss: If I go on YouTube and find one New Kids thing to watch, it might be heads and I looked okay. Or it could easily be tails, and I have big hair with like six days' worth of hairspray in it. There are pictures of two days in New York where we did photo shoot after photo shoot, and I put on some round, fake eyeglasses with a beret and green overalls. Those pictures haunt me to this day. They haunt me—you don't understand.

Q: You're newly single. Can we expect some wild nights on the tour?

A: Anybody who knows me knows that any night is going to be a wild night on tour. And that's just the way it is. To me, the tour is not just me going onstage. My job is 24 hours. I'm not the type of guy to be up in the room with three strippers while there are, you know, 1,000 fans in the lobby who would give anything to meet me. This is bigger than me. It's really even bigger than the group. It's not as big as the wave of love around the country for, say, Barack Obama, but in some ways this is our little cultural movement. Ruth Baron

The music video for "Summertime"

Courtesy of TV Guide

Got a minute? As Entourage returns for season five (Sundays on HBO, starting September 7), Rex Lee, aka abused assistant Lloyd, talks about bearing the brunt of Jeremy Piven's rage.

Q: What's happening to your character Lloyd this season?

A: There was a day when I went to work and it was a Lloyd day. My scenes were with guest stars and costars and extras—it was very strange to be the anchor of the day. Jeremy Piven wasn't there, the boys weren't there. It was nerve-wracking, but it was exciting.

Q: Does Piven ever scare you when he goes off on those rants?

A: Most of the time when you see Ari throw something at Lloyd, that's in the script. But every now and then, if Jeremy gets inspired and starts throwing things on his own, the actor part of me comes out and it's like, "Protect the face."

Q: What do you do when you're not working?

A: When I'm not working I'm looking for the next job. I'm not an actor who's inundated with offers, so sometimes the hustling does not bear fruit. If I don't book a film within the next month or two, I'm going to plan a very large vacation.

Q: Where do you want to go?

A: Last night I dreamt about Australia, so clearly that's it. I'm going to Australia.

Q: How do your fans treat you?

A: A whole bunch of people call me Lloyd. The first year of the show the crew didn't know my name. If I had a bad attitude about people calling me Lloyd, I'd be very unhappy. At least 50 percent of the people who approach me call me Lloyd.

Q: I was reading in your bio that you played the annoying customer on a Domino's pizza commercial.

A: No, I was annoyed, not annoying, and no one remembers that commercial because no one identifies it as a pizza commercial. People say, "Oh, I loved your credit card commercial." I've never done a credit card commercial.

Q: But the bio definitely says "annoying customer."

A: Oh no, that's incorrect, but it's funny. Lately I've become aware of all the ways I am annoying to people.

Q: Like?

A: I have a bit of a temper and I've been letting it get the best of me lately.

Q: So maybe you and Piven should do a musical together
or something.

A: Well, I probably sing better than Jeremy. David Walters

Lee and Piven on HBO's Entourage

Courtesy of Allocine.fr

Got a minute? Joe E. Tata, better known as the Peach Pit's lovable proprietor Nat, speaks out about returning to Beverly Hills for the new 90210 and what we can expect the revamped crew to serve up.

Q: How do the new actors compare with the original cast?

A: It's tough to say that yet, because everybody smiles and everybody is nice. And when we first met back then, everybody smiled and everybody was nice.

Q: So we don't have any gossip-column divas yet?

A: Oh, not yet. Give 'em a chance to make some money. I used to say I was the Tony Curtis of the show—you know, the old guy. Then, after the third year, they were telling me what to do. They were explaining to me what the situation was.

Q: What can we expect from the new Peach Pit?

A: I have no idea. Everything has been a mystery to me. We shot at this restaurant. They made it the Peach Pit—upscale, a little more restaurant-ish, if you will.

Q: What's happening with the Peach Pit's infamous nightclub, After Dark?

A: After Dark is now going to just be called the Pit. Now, that's the only scoop you get, sweetheart. I can hear Aaron Spelling's voice: "Joey, be careful what you say, now."

Q: How did it feel running around with a bunch of high-schoolers?

A: I was just the oldest kid in the group. Instead of being just the guy that owned the restaurant, the writers made me the hub of everything. I was the surrogate everybody: the brother, the uncle, the father they didn't have or see. It was really aces.

Q: Who was a better match with Dylan: Brenda or Kelly?

A: I don't know. I was the only person on the show that never got laid. Does that help? So therefore I don't know Brenda, Kelly, or, you know, Tori or whatever. Pick one—whoever was there. I wanted to raise my hand during the press tour—put my hand up and ask a question. I was gonna say, "I want two questions answered: Am I really gonna run the Peach Pit? And do I get laid this time?" Ruth Baron

Brenda says goodbye to Nat and the Peach Pit.

Courtesy of Michael Williams

Got a minute? A Continuous Lean's Michael Williams chats about workwear, bad style, and his up-and-coming blog.

Q: You work at your own PR firm by day. What made you take up blogging as a hobby?

A: There are a lot of great women's-style blogs, but men are underrepresented. Everything was either super-straight—about cars, drills, outdoor grilling equipment, or other shit I don't care about—or it was just too gay. I wanted to have a mix. It's for the guy who likes to buy certain labels, but it's not that serious.

Q: What are you into right now?

A: Rolled pants, bow ties . . . What's happening in menswear with all of this tailored and preppy stuff is pretty amazing. Fall is only going to have more of the plaids and classic American looks. D&G's fall collection is so American-looking. To see the Italians being influenced by American menswear is amazing. I'm totally digging it—my style is pretty classic and I'm pretty conservative about what I wear. I hope it lasts for a while so I'll be cool for a little bit longer.

Q: How do you pick what to cover?

A: I can't compete with other sites on covering brands like Robert Geller, and I don't want to regurgitate what's out there—there's so much. So I try not to cover a lot of New York brands. I'm obsessed with workwear, and there's this guy Christophe Loiron in L.A. who does MisterFreedom. He makes all of these antique, vintage reproductions from navy uniforms and coats, but the attention to detail is insane. Southwick is another favorite brand. It's a tailoring company—they make a lot of garments for Brooks Brothers. It's all made in the United States, and I'm a junkie for things that are made domestically.

Q: So why don't you take the catty approach to covering fashion? Like, "Can you believe Josh Hartnett wore that?"

A: It's so much easier to be negative about clothing than it is to say good things. Plus, bad-looking things don't look good on your site. I don't want to look at bad clothing—if you go outside, you can look at that all day long. Ryan Wenzel

Photo by David C. Lee for Asiance

Got a minute? Stand-up comedian and actress Margaret Cho dishes about her inner exhibitionist and her new series, The Cho Show, which premieres August 21 on VH1.

Q: How would you describe your new show?

A: It's a sitcom starring real people. It's not really reality—because it's fake. We didn't script the dialogue, just the situations. There are things from my stand-up comedy and things I've wanted to write about. Anal bleaching. And I get a shot of collagen in my G-spot—it's supposed to give you amazing orgasms. It didn't, but at least I tried it.

Q: While working on All-American Girl in 1994, you were told you were too heavy and "not Asian enough." Why go back to TV after that?

A: I have control over it—I'm the suit, the executive. That's the difference. When I was doing television 15 years ago, after I did my first screen test I wore a little midriff shirt. The executives freaked out and said, "Please never show your stomach in public ever again." In the new show, I'm naked in every episode. People need to see what a 40-year-old body looks like—a normal woman who doesn't do botox, liposuction, or plastic surgery. I eat carbs all day and you can see it. And I don't give a shit.

Q: Will The Cho Show show teach your fans anything new about you?

A: I think they'll learn that the people I hang around are super-funny too, and that I'm the one laughing all the time. All I do is laugh at other people.

Q: You've always had a huge gay fan base. How have you kept up that relationship?

A: I got deputized to be a marriage commissioner in California, so now I can perform gay marriages. I plan on doing that for a while. I'm not charging anything, just asking for donations to charity. That's my gay thing right now.

Q: Your parents provide a lot of your stand-up material. What's it like having them on your new show?

A: It's trippy, but it's my favorite part of it. I'm able to give them a second life that they've never experienced. They're in their seventies and from Korea. I never even brought them to any kind of premiere. I love that I get to spend time with them and share this world with them.

Q: Were they reluctant to do the show?

A: No. I told them, "It's either this or assisted living." Ryan Wenzel

Cho impersonating her mother in her stand-up routine

Got a minute? Adventure-TV stud Josh Bernstein, host of Into the Unknown (which premieres August 18 at 10 p.m. on Discovery Channel), talks wilderness survival—and his man-crush.

Q: What's the diciest situation you've gotten yourself into during filming?

The Elephant Whisperers are a clan of the Samburu tribe who claim to be able to communicate with elephants. Long story short, they nearly got themselves, and me, seriously hurt when they tried to approach an overprotective female elephant and her child. For a moment, we were all convinced that somebody was going to get crushed, if not killed.

Q: You're a hat guy, so why don't you wear one on the show?

I thought I'd try a different look for at least the first season of the show, so my cowboy hats went on vacation. But my favorite is still the custom 100 percent beaver hat, called the Explorer, made by Nate Funmaker at Nathaniel's of Colorado.

Q: Hats and adventure—you're a big Indiana Jones fan, I assume?

Harrison Ford gives Indiana Jones everything you'd want in a leading man—good looks, physical prowess, and the rare, charming blend of confidence and fallibility. I happen to think the formula would work even if it weren't rooted in history, archaeology, and the occult, but for a Hollywood movie, it's always a bonus when you can have mummies, snakes, and ancient mythology involved.

Q: What do city folk need to know to survive in the wilderness?

One, stay calm. Panic doesn't help any situation. Two, get oriented. Figure out where you are, what your resources are, and what risks you face. Three, you have to persevere. The desire to live, to succeed, and to get rescued can make or break your chances of survival.

Q: Hmm. Sounds a lot like urban survival.

I have friends who feel completely lost among skyscrapers, traffic, and the rush of the city, yet don't have a care in the world if dropped naked in the wilderness. Same goes in the opposite way. A sense of humor helps a lot, as you're bound to make mistakes and you need to be able to laugh at yourself.

Q: Could you take Man Vs. Wild's Bear Grylls in a survivor competition?
Well, thankfully, true survival is about collaboration, not competition, and I'd be more than happy to add my survival skills to Bear's in order to get us through a tough time. Yaran Noti

A teaser for Bernstein's upcoming series on the Discovery Channel

Photo by Jason Odell

Got a minute? The new Cali group Shwayze—Cisco Adler and rapper Aaron Smith, a.k.a. Shwayze—give us the scoop on their eponymous album (out August 19) and MTV reality show, Buzzin' (Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. EST).

Cisco, you may be best known for your dating habits. How do you feel about that?
Cisco: I'm never mad at having a reputation for getting hot girls, but I think that's only one little piece of my pie. I don't want to be known as arm candy for the rest of my life. I make music 24 hours a day, and I'm a businessman. I'm not just running around trying to bang celebrities. I just happen to live in a small town called Hollywood, so that's the dating pool.

Are you getting any love from the ladies, Aaron?
Aaron: Cisco hangs out with the hottest girls, so by association I'm hanging out with a better crowd. I'm not gonna lie. I'm doing a lot better.

Your single "Buzzin'" is gaining real heat. How would you describe the sound of the whole album?
Cisco: It's everything I've ever wanted to listen to. I grew up as a hip-hop kid. As that sort of let me down, I found rock. The album is sort of a postcard from the summer we were living, and it sums up our lifestyle.
Aaron: We call it "summer in a bottle." We're bringing another California style. But it's really for everyone.

What will we see on your new show on MTV?
Aaron: Our show is all about music. All of those other shows are reality dramas. Ours is a comedy. There's no drama. It captured us at the time right before our single hit the radio and then everything that followed—the crazy tour, the press, the partying, trying to juggle partying and being responsible.
Cisco: The big moments caught on film are the coolest. Like Wango Tango, or even the Super Bowl, which was before the song even hit the radio. The radio tour really shows the work that goes in—hitting four cities a day, getting on planes and trains and automobiles constantly.

Are you glad the cameras are off now?
Aaron: Cisco had a reality show once before, so he was used to it. And I kind of like being on-camera, but at the same time it's kind of nice to have some peace and know that you can pick your nose. Katie Hintz

Shwayze's new single "Corona and Lime," from their self-titled debut

Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Got a minute? Rainn Wilson explains that he isn't just Dwight K. Shrute, he's also The Rocker—and he's coming to a theater near you in his underwear.

Q: Do people think that you and Dwight are the same person?

A: Yeah. There are a lot of geeky fans who see Dwight as their geek god. But there's also a frat-boy contingent of Dwight lovers. I was just walking past this bar in Atlanta, and I got a lot of "Dwight, yo! Dwiiiiight. Yo!" Like I will acknowledge that! You can just hear that former frat boy in their voice. They're between 28 and 33, but they still wear flip-flops to a bar, wear shell necklaces and their baseball caps backwards. But I ignore anyone, even grandmothers, that shouts out, "Hey, yo, Dwight!"

Q: What have you been up to since shooting the fifth season of The Office?

A: I've been tooling around this great nation spreading the gospel of The Rocker [out August 20], the greatest movie ever made—about a heavy-metal drummer. My character, Fish, is a drummer kicked out of his band in the eighties right before they hit it really big, like Mötley Crüe big. Then 20 years later, I'm a big fat loser and I get a second chance at my rock-star fantasy by joining my nephew's high-school band.

Q: I hear you had a high-school band in real life.

A: We were the worst garage band of all time, and our name was Collected Moss. Our 19-minute version of the Grateful Dead's "Fire on the Mountain" would be followed by the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Nothing about us made any sense whatsoever. I was the singer. I'll give you a taste. [Sings] See, I'm still off-key.

Q: In The Rocker promo shots, you're wearing underwear and cowboy boots. Were you cool with that?

A: Thank you for noticing. Those are heavy-metal underwear. They're leopard-print and they're fierce like a leopard. It's like they contain a leopard . . .

Q: What are you up to next?

A: I'm writing a movie. I've handed a draft in to Jason Reitman, and if all goes well we'll be shooting next year. It's about a down-and-out alcoholic ninja living in the San Fernando Valley. I'm calling it Bonzai Shadowhands. Katie Hintz

The theatrical trailer for The Rocker

Courtesy of Bravo

Got a minute? The reigning Project Runway champ gets "fierce" in this Q&A. [Season 5 of Project Runway premieres on Bravo on July 16 at 9 P.M.]

Q: So Project Runway is moving from New York to Los Angeles and from Bravo to Lifetime after this season. How do you feel about that?

A: I love LA. I think it's beautiful, but I don't necessarily know if it's inspiring. Maybe they'll do things with movies or TV, which would be cool. Moving to Lifetime is going to be really weird. I love Bravo so much, and all of the shows are amazing. We'll see. I don't have a judgment yet, because I've never watched Lifetime.

Q: What do you think of Amy Poehler's SNL skit about the show?

A: Oh my God, I love her. I just think that she's so funny. I would love to go back and play her. I think it would be hilarious.

Q: The catchphrases "fierce" and "hot tranny mess" have been huge for you. Do you ever wish you could get rid of them?

A: It's making me money and that's wonderful. Shoot, if they want to use my words, that's fine. Just pay me—I don't want to be a struggling designer forever. I'm doing a project with Tresemme called Fierce Hair, and I just wrote a book about the millions of ways to be fierce. It has tons of celebrity quotes—Heidi Klum, Victoria Beckham, Vanessa Williams, and Whoopi Goldberg; Tim Gunn wrote the acknowledgment for me. It's written completely how I talk. After every sentence, it'll be like, "Lady, what are you doing?"

Q: Is Heidi Klum as hot—and as cool—as she seems?

A: I just did a fitting with Heidi yesterday. She's way hotter now. She's super skinny and looks fabulous. She's a real person. She's such a mom, and she's so cool. Going through her rack of clothes, we'll be like, "Oh, that outfit's hideous." It's just really fun.

Q: Any fashion advice for guys?

A: For most men it's all about comfort and not standing out. In the summertime in New York, I've seen the worst cutoff denim shorts and the ugliest oversize tank tops. It's not a cute look for anyone, unless you're David Beckham. And I don't think the men in LA are really high-fashion. The Ed Hardy guy kills me. Jewels, tattoos, and graffiti all over everything—out-of-control tacky. I can't even handle it. I like the style of the men who are taking risks. I think Lanvin's men's collection was really cool when he did that metallic shoe. Things like that—just wearing one thing that's different is really great. Katie Hintz

A video montage of Christian's spectacular moments from Project Runway