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Friday, August 22, 2008
8/22: Katharine McPhee’s movie debut in “The House Bunny,” Idols on “Larry King Live”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not a lot of “Idols” have made it on film. There’s that disaster called “From Justin to Kelly.” Tamyra Gray was in “The Gospel.” Oh, and some gal named Jennifer Hudson landed an Oscar for “Dreamgirls.”
Is Katharine McPhee Oscar bound with “The House Bunny? Uh… no. The movie looks awful on the surface but reviews have been better than expected. Then again, I doubt I’ll be seeing it this weekend.
On Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews,, 45% of reviewers liked it.
Anna Faris plays a dopey Playboy bunny who gets booted from the mansion by Hef and ends up being the den mom for a bunch of sorority sisters, including a pregnant Katharine McPhee character who wears flowery dresses and totes around peanut butter.
Here’s a Q&A with Kat McPhee, Emma Stone and Rumer Willis from mtv.com
MTV: Katharine, what are you hoping to accomplish with your next album?
McPhee: I’m really just hoping to bring me to the record. I would like to have an authentic record that comes from the heart and is really my story and my thoughts. Not that the first one wasn’t, but …
Stone: You’re over it.
McPhee: [Laughs] I’m over it. [Singing] I’m so moving on.
And the Los Angeles Times interviewed her.:
Though “Idol” offers enormous exposure for finalists, it does cement contestants in people’s minds solely as singers. “There’s still a lot of proving to do on my part,” she says. “I just came from an audition with a big director,” she adds, though she won’t drop names so as not to jinx her chances.
McPhee may not have many lines, but she does sing twice — once in a very un-“Idol”-like karaoke performance, and once doing a modified cover of the Waitresses’ 1982 hit “I Know What Boys Like,” which plays over the credits.
On set, McPhee was able to improvise and came up with some funny moments that stayed in the movie, including one in which she squeegees her character’s pregnant belly during a sexy carwash scene.
McPhee attended the Boston Conservatory so the Boston Herald interviewed her.:
For her first movie role, McPhee learned not just about makeup, sisterhood and the rigors of wearing pregnancy pads (“Kind of itchy at times”) but how to handle a live pig.
“I felt bad for the pig,” she said. “Dana Goodman had to wrestle the pig and I was, ‘Please be careful.’ ”
-The B-boys from Vegas Super Cr3w beat SoReal Crew on “Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew.” Jackson showed up to give them the prize - $100,000, a trophy and a spot on the tour coming to the Atlanta Civic Center Sept. 20. Buy tix here.
They were definitely sharper and more skilled than runner ups SoReal Crew, who for some reason were never voted in the bottom two. I had a soft heart for Fanny Pak in the end but Super Cr3w earned it.
-And tonight, “Larry King Live” aired the taped and not-so-live interview with the 10 “Idols” from the Gwinnett Arena Monday. I watched the interview but was focusing on taking pictures because I couldn’t hear Larry’s questions, only the answers. I figured someone would transcribe the highlights. MJ, of course, did it in record time. I forgot it was on but here it is from MJ. Larry King is incredibly clueless as usual asking dumb questions and the contestants make lots of faces as he botches Syesha and Ramiele’s names. Jason has no clue when Larry compares him to baseball player Manny Ramirez. Brooke gives a quick synopsis of the long day. (I later complimented her about her ability to summarize.)
Kristy Lee Cook and Carly make jokes about the “Mavid.” Naturally, King has no idea what they’re talking about. “I’ve been dancing since I came out of the womb, Larry,” Michael Johns joked. “When you’ve got it, you’ve got it.”
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