Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief screenwriter Craig Titley takes his shots at Mr. Media

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By BOB ANDELMAN

How do the movie studios follow the humongous, year-after-year success of the Harry Potter movies?

That is, where do you find a character and situation that will grab the imagination of everyone from elementary school students on through your grandmother? And craft tales that will make audiences come back for more? Again. And again. And again.

The answer wasn’t Lemony Snicket, although a lot of people thought it would be. Maybe Rick Riordan’s got it. Riordan created a young adult novel series called Percy Jackson & The Olympians about the mythological gods and monsters coming to life in modern day circumstances with only a trio of unusual high school students standing between us and them.

I smell a formula, but the kids love the series. Now a movie based on the first book, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, opens in theatres on Friday, February 12. The trailers look very cool and any resemblance to Harry Potter, the Hogwarts School and all the rest is surely intentional—and who could blame the producers?

Joining me today is one of the poor bastards upon whom the cinematic weight of the world is apparently resting, one week out from the picture’s debut. But I suspect screenwriter Craig Titley, who adapted Rick Riordan’s story for the silver screen, can handle the pressure. Maybe you’ve seen some of his previous films, including the original Scooby-Doo live-action film—it grossed more than $100 million. He also co-wrote the Steve Martin movie, Cheaper By the Dozen—which also grossed a hundred mil.

CRAIG TITLEY AUDIO EXCERPT: "The Lightning Thief is rich with imaginative material. But from day one, you know things have to go. It's honing in ont things that move the story frorward, that are the most exciting. It's always hard; it's the hard cold reality of adapting that not everything can make it into the movie. But it still feels true to the spirit of the book." 

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  Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!
 

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• New 'Percy Jackson' Trailer Reveals Uma Thurman's Snake Head (cinematical.com)
• Surprising Soundclips from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Soundtrack by Christopher Beck (tracksounds.blogspot.com)
• Meet the cast of The Lightning Thief today (timeoutny.com)
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'24' star Elisha Cuthbert joins Christian Slater and Mr. Media to talk about ABC's 'The Forgotten'

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ELISHA CUTHBERT AUDIO EXCERPT: "When you come from a show like '24,' the bar is raised pretty high. Working with Christian before, I knew I was coming into a professional place and I knew it would be a lot of fun... My commitments to '24' are completed now. I think the door is still open, but it's trickier for them because they have to work around 'The Forgotten.'" 

By BOB ANDELMAN

It seems like movie star Christian Slater has at last found solid footing on network television. His ABC series, “The Forgotten,” got off to an admittedly slow start in the ratings when it debuted last fall, but the network stayed with it and so has a growing audience.

Now the show stands to get a boost from the addition of a familiar face: Elisha Cuthbert, who we saw grow up over eight seasons—or days, if you will—of the Fox series, “24.” She’s joining "The Forgotten" as of Tuesday, February 9 in the recurring role of Maxine Denver.

The sound you hear is a million Elisha fanboys around the world giving thanks to God.

Elisha Cuthbert in Maxim

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Slater says changes coming on 'The Forgotten' (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• After 22 years, Mo. family finds slain sister (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran puts the bite on Mr. Media Radio

"Shark Tank" panelists Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec, image by Getty Images via Daylife

By BOB ANDELMAN

“Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran has a sense of humor. She must: an incredibly successful real estate mogul, she’s the author of three books, including my favorite title, If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails.

Yikes!

On her ABC show, which airs its second season finale this Friday, February 5 at 9 p.m., Barbara is on a panel of experts assessing potential business investments. There are some great ideas; and there are some horrible ideas.

Barbara is the only woman on the panel and presents some of the best “Are you out of your mind?” facial expressions to the deer-in-the-headlights, wannabee capitalists.

But she’s also invested in a few good ideas along the way.

(Website: Shark Tank)

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Think of the opportunity and the sheer entertainment value of 'Shark Tank'! We're working 11-hour days, listening to pitch after pitch and we're never bored. It is so fascinating! And then you go home with new business partners. Who would say no to something like that?" 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

98 Degrees singer Jeff Timmons has no plans to turn out Mr. Media Radio

Cover of Whisper That Way

By BOB ANDELMAN

I have to share this story; it made me laugh.

I don’t know too much about the boy bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s except that they were extremely popular and that, because my daughter was born in 1996, I missed that entire era of pop.

So I went online to school myself on 98 Degrees, in anticipation of today’s guest, singer Jeff Timmons, joining me on the show to talk about his latest work.

I clicked on a Google link to the band’s official website, 98Degrees.com, but it never materialized. My second choice was to read the Wikipedia page on the band.

Before I could read anything else, the following disclaimer appeared: 

“This article is about the band. For the body temperature, see 98.6.”

Apparently there are only point-six degrees of separation between the band and normal human body temperature. Wonder if Kevin Bacon knows this?

(And, incidentally, there is no redirect on the 98.6 Degrees site back to the band 98 Degrees, just in case you were wondering.)

So where was I?

Oh, Jeff Timmons, of course. The founder of 98 Degrees was part of a singing act that sold more than 10 million albums and scored several Top 40 singles, including “Because Of You” and “This Gift.”

The group’s successes were eventually overwhelmed in the public eye when one of its members, Nick Lachey, married singer Jessica Simpson. Their short-lived marriage was memorably chronicled on MTV’s “The Newlyweds.”

98 Degrees released its last album, The Collection, and toured in 2002. Jeff Timmons released a solo album, Whisper That Way, two years later and is now readying to release a third. You can download cuts from it for free for a limited time at ReverbNation.com.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "When you dream about being a pop star, it's about having all of these crazy girls after you. The first two or three months, when we were on the road, I was excited, hanging out with different girls. At a certain point, though, it wasn't that interesting to me anymore. It lacks a little bit of depth. That phase didn't last too long for me." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Super-Manny Mike Ruggles fills in for Supernanny: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

As a middle school girls soccer coach, I enjoy working with kids and their parents, But not, I suspect, enough to want to be Jo Frost, the star of the ABC TV series “Supernanny.” And while it would be tempting to be called “Super-Manny,” the title that falls to her associate Mike Ruggles, I don’t think I’d want to be him, either.

That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch on Friday, January 29 @ 8 p.m. when Ruggles takes over the show for an episode of parenting, “Wally World” style.

In this very special episode of “Supernanny” titled “Super-Manny Special: Griswold Family,” Ruggles might meet just his match in a family of real-life Griswolds. That’s right, the Griswolds—just like in my favorite holiday movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "When they brought me in, they thought it might be good angle to work with Dad. They were centered on Dad, but it turned out the whole family needed work." 

Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Chris Gorham, actor, UGLY BETTY, COVERT AFFAIRS: Mr Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

If you’ve ever watched ABC’s romantic dramedy “Ugly Betty,” you know that Betty’s boyfriend Henry will always be the one who got away.

And came back.

And got away again.

The actor who plays “Henry” is Chris Gorham, a busy young man who is a husband, a father, and host of “ACME Saturday Night” this Saturday, January 30. You can watch the online comedy TV show streaming live online @ http://www.acmecomedy.com at 10 pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific.

(Moments before this interview began, Variety announced that "Ugly Betty" would wrap up the series in its remaining episodes, so that's where the conversation begins...)


Follow Chris Gorham on Twitter

LISTEN! Mr. Media's January 2010 interview with Ana Ortiz and Tony Plana

AUDIO EXCERPT: "I feel bad for everyone on the show. Silvio Horta wanted to tell the story in five years... at least the audience will get a proper ending. But I feel bad for my friends at 'Ugly Betty.'" 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Tom Weschler, photographer, road manager, TRAVELIN' MAN: BOB SEGER: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Somehow, in all the years I was a rock ‘n’ roll critic for either the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune or Music magazine in the 1980s, I never saw Bob Seger live.

For the life of me, I can’t explain it. I certainly wanted to see him; he’s one of those guys—like Springsteen, Joel and Mellencamp—who always spoke to me.

When I was a freshman at the University of Miami, back in ’78, I worked at the college radio station, WVUM, doing air shifts as a DJ and producing dozens of public service announcements. I almost always chose Seger songs as background music.

And the day I drove away from school at the end of freshman year, back to Jersey, my friend Bob and I only had one 8-track tape to entertain us as we took turns driving non-stop—Live Bullet.

That’s why I tracked down Tom Weschler as a guest for the show. He was Seger’s road manager—and unofficial tour photographer—for the first decade or so of Seger’s four-decade career and has frequently dropped back in on his old friend’s career at key moments.

Now—with the help of writer Gary Graff—Weschler has produced Travelin’ Man, a coffee table book of photos and memories that no Seger fan will want to live without.

AUDIO EXCERPT: "In 1978, Bob Seger was playing four sold-out nights in Pine Knob, Michigan, and Bruce Springsteen came to town and wanted to meet Bob. I set it up and I said to Bob's bodyguard—who I hired back in 1971— 'Do me a favor and keep all the other photographers out of here for 10 minutes, will ya?' And I got my shot." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Elisabeth Leamy, consumer reporter, ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

The last two years have been horribly stressful on the wallets and pocketbooks of Americans, rich and poor. There have been days when most of us felt we were in a financial hole from which we’d never climb out.

To be sure, there are still plenty of challenges ahead and many of our friends, family and neighbors are unemployed, struggling to make ends meet.

There are two sure things we can do in situations like these: 1) Take any job that provides at least some income to pay the bills; and 2) Cut back on expenses.

This is where “Good Morning America” consumer reporter Elisabeth Leamy can help. In addition to her regular reports on the ABC morning show, Elisabeth just published a new book called Save Big! It’s packed with an array of clever ideas to save a lot of money in this time of need.

(Elisabeth Leamy's website)

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Don't take another 30-year mortgage. Use the savings you get from the lower interest rate and roll those savings into a shorter mortgage. Your payment, often, is not any higher, but you're paying more aggressively and savings tens of thousands of dollars." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!








MORE MR. MEDIA INTERVIEWS WITH NATIONAL JOURNALISTS

• Miles O’Brien (CNN American Mornings)
• Lane DeGregory (2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Writing, St. Petersburg Times)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, April 2009)
• Chris Hansen (Dateline NBC, March 2009)
• Paul Gillin (blogger, NewspaperDeathWatch.com)
• Rene Syler (co-host, CBS “Early Show”; author, “Good Enough Mother)
• Karen Dunlap (president, Poynter Institute)
• Clay Bennett (Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist)
• Laurel Touby (Mediabistro.com founder, socializer-in-chief)
• Marlise Kast (Tabloid Prodigy, Globe magazine)
• Jeff Kreisler (My Wall Street Journal; Indecision 2008)
• Bill Adair (Politifact.com; St. Petersburg Times)
• Alberto Ibargüen (Knight Foundation)
• Sree Sreenivasan (Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; WNBC-TV)
• Eric Deggans (St. Petersburg Times The Feed blog)
• Eric Deggans and Aaron Barnhart (St. Petersburg Times/The Feed, Kansas City Star/TVBarn.com)
• Howard Finberg (NewsU)
• Dave Jones (The New York Times)
• Pete Hamill (New York Daily News, The Drinking Life)
• Chuck Shepherd (News of the Weird)

Ashanti, singer, EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION guest: Mr. Media Radio Interview

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By BOB ANDELMAN

Here are two pop culture references I never thought I’d make in the same sentence: ABC-TV’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and Grammy Award winner Ashanti.

But this Sunday, the delicate, carefully crafted singer will be a special guest star alongside the sometimes shrill Ty Pennington as “Extreme Makeover.”

Sounds crazy, right?

What’s a beautiful girl like her doing on a construction site with the likes of him? Good question! Let’s find out.

(Follow Ashanti on Twitter!)

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Delores Powell has such a power about her, a strength. For me to be able to do something positive for her, it was a blessing... Who can sit back and watch without doing anything?"

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!

Janina Gavankar, actress, THE L WORD: Mr. Media Radio Interview

By BOB ANDELMAN

I honestly had no idea how popular actress Janina Gavankar was the first time she appeared on Mr. Media Radio, but the star of Showtime’s long-running “The L Word” caused quite a buzz. That show (CLICK HERE to LISTEN!) is still one of the most popular in our archives.

So when the opportunity to have the stunningly beautiful actress return to the show and catch us up on her career, of course, I said “Yes.”

Since the end of “The L Word”—and “L” referred to lesbian, of which Janina is not, but she played one on TV—she’s made a lot of high-profile TV guest appearances, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Dollhouse,” “The Cleaner” and “The League.”

She’s also shot parts in several upcoming movies, including Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey. Never heard of it? I suspect you will; it’s an animated film featuring the voices of both Captain Kirks (Chris Pine and William Shatner), as well as Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), plus SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny), Seinfeld’s George (Jason Alexander), and Janina, of course.

Janina is also the guest star of the new, unscripted, online TV show from ACME Comedy called "Hollywood Dream Role." It streams live at www.acmecomedy.com tonight, Friday, January 22nd, at Midnight Eastern / 9 p.m. Pacific.

There’s no doubt that Janina’s enjoying that Mr. Media Radio bump, right? Let’s see what we can do for her today.

Follow Janina Gavankar on Twitter or Facebook!

AUDIO EXCERPT: "Anyone who knows me knows that I am pretty big geek, so I was pretty excited to be a guest at Comic-Con to promote Quantum Quest. It was the coolest experience any geekgirl could have." 

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Copyright 2010 Bob Andelman. Click here for copyright permissions!