Yesterday afternoon David and I attended a theatrical reading/performance of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, An Epilogue which is a sequel of sorts to the critically acclaimed play The Laramie Project which chronicled the year after the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard took place in Laramie, WY. Laramie: 10 Years Later picks up 10 years after Shepard’s brutal murder and chronicles the ways Laramie has changed and not changed in that time. Yesterday’s performance took place at the Hollywood United Methodist Church and featured an all-star cast of players … Julie Benz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dexter), Christian Clemenson (CSI: Miami), James Cromwell (Babe, The Queen), Lisa Edelstein (House, M.D.), Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Barrett Foa (NCIS: Los Angeles), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Pauley Perrette (NCIS), Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek), Helen Shaver (The L Word), Michael Weatherly (NCIS). Here is a photo of the cast, taken by Richard Settle from the United Methodist Church, and an interview with actress Pauley Perrette about the performance:

NCIS’ Pauley Perrette and more of TV’s biggest stars are banding together for a one-time performance of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation and stand up for gay rights. The play is a sequel to The Laramie Project, which was based on the reactions of people in Laramie, Wyo., after Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, was murdered there in 1998. The new production revisits the townspeople a decade later and also portrays an interview with one of Shepard’s killers. The new play began performances across the country on Oct. 12. Perrette said she was approached by a member of her church, Hollywood United Methodist Church, about putting together a reading of the play there. Pretty soon, Perrette’s NCIS co-star Michael Weatherly, The Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, House’s Lisa Edelstein, Dexter’s Julie Benz, Heroes’ Zachary Quinto and Emmy winner Christian Clemenson were all on board. “We have so many people from so many different shows, which is fun,” Perrette toldTVGuide.com. “Everyone we called was like, ‘I’m in.’ It’s really incredible. We’re just extremely excited, and it’s really amazing to have that many people come together to do something that’s important.” The reading is planned to coincide with a book signing and speaking appearance by Shepard’s mother, Judy. All proceeds go to benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which promotes antiviolence toward the gay and lesbian community. Perrette, who describes herself as an “outspoken civil rights activist who never shuts up,” says it’s important for people to stand up and be heard. “With so much going on with Prop. 8 and everything else right now, LGBT civil rights activism is what’s most necessary,” Perrette said. “In the women’s movement, women needed men to stand up and say this isn’t right. In the civil rights of the ’60s, it took people of all color to demand equal rights. And in this case, it takes straight chicks like me to demand equal rights for everybody.” Perrette also said it is incumbent on the government to make changes. “I believe that what is legislated bleeds down into everything,” she says. “So if the legislation continues to uphold anything that doesn’t support equal rights and civil rights, that bleeds down into Matthew Shepard being murdered.” Coincidentally, moments after we interviewed Perrette, news broke that the Senate passed a hate-crimes amendment that was partly inspired by Shepard’s murder.

The performance yesterday was … stunning. I was not fully prepared for the emotion that overwhelmed me as I heard the works spoken on that stage. It’s pretty incredible to know that it’s been 10 years since Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered for being gay and so much remains unchanged in that time. I cannot for the life of me imagine what it must feel like to endure that kind of loss … hearing the words spoken from the people of Laramie really hit me hard. Kudos goes out to the cast and crew of this extremely powerful performance. I urge all of you to read The Laramie Project and, if possible, see a performance of The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, An Epilogue and be reminded that hate crimes are still as prevalent in this country today as they were 10 years ago … and earlier. I’m encouraged that the Senate finally passed a hate crimes amendment … it is a great step forward in policing the safety and protection of all US citizens.

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Late yesterday afternoon we learned some pretty amazing news … especially for fans of Glee and/or Joss Whedon. It turns out that Joss, master supreme, has signed on to direct an upcoming episode of Glee. As you may know, Whedon created a little show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and is the guy who came up with “the musical episode” in television shows. BtVS’s musical episode Once More With Feeling set the standard for other TV series to model their musical episodes … considering that every ep of Glee is a musical episode I guess it made sense to get Joss on board … and he happily agreed. Here is the full text of a blog post written by Joss Whedon wherein he discusses his stint as one-off Glee director:

Hey kids and parents of kids and super-old, like ancestor-old-but-not-dead-yet-type people, just poking my oversized head in to say that the rumors are true… unless something very odd happens in the next few months, I will have the privilege of shooting an episode of GLEE. Why GLEE? Because I love cops, serial killers and gritty urban drama (I haven’t seen the show yet). Why me? Because they’re struggling and can’t afford real directors. And to head off a few queries:

Happy Monday. Especially for me. -j.

How exciting!! To be honest, unless Joss has a hand in the writing, I don’t know that the ep of Glee he will direct will be Jossified enough. Nonetheless, I’m excited as hell that Glee and Joss are teaming up to work together. This is great news for any gleek, I think. Woot!!

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Eliza Dushku, star of the Fox TV series Dollhouse (which has just been confirmed to last for at least a half season), is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Venice magazine. Thus far, only the coverphoto has been made available (the magazine website is awaiting relaunch) but considering how sexy the photo is, I think it’s deffo worth having a first look:

Eliza does big, sexy hair really well and I can’t wait to see more from this shoot. Any promo is good promo and I’m hoping every little bit helps get more people to watch Dollhouse. The show, which normally airs on Friday night, will not be shown tonight due to the baseball playoffs. As soon as the photos from this Venice shoot are available, I’m hoping to be able to share them with all y’all. This coverphoto is very encouraging … I can’t wait to see more.

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Woot!! Great news for fans of Dollhouse on Fox!! The network has committed to airing all 13 of the already produced eps of the series, which has been struggling in the ratings since its season 2 premiere last month, after considering how well the show is doing in the DVR ratings. Even tho Fox has really only committed to air half of the season, it could very easily have decided to cancel the show altogether and never air the eps that have been filmed and produced. This is great news!! If the show does well in the November sweeps, the second half of the season may be ordered for production!

“Dollhouse” fans can breathe easier: Fox will air all 13 episodes. On the heels of impressive DVR data for last month’s “Dollhouse” premiere, network executives say they will run each produced hour of the show’s current order despite the Friday drama’s modest overall ratings. “We’re going to run all the episodes,” Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman said. “We’re not saying we’re happy with those numbers, or accept them, but we don’t have to overreact. During [November] sweeps we might have to jack up the numbers a little [with other programming], but we plan on completing the order for this show.” As for ordering additional episodes, or a third season, Fox says they will make that decision after the current run. The news represents a relief to “Dollhouse” fans that the current season won’t be cut short, yet also suggests a full-season order is unlikely. Waiting until all 13 episodes have aired before making a decision generally means allowing production on the show to shut down for the season. Reached by phone, Joss Whedon (who has a terrible-sounding cold — feel better!) said he’s writing the 13th hour to give fans a degree of closure. “We’ll definitely have closure, but will leave some doors open,” said Whedon, who’s currently shooting the eighth episode. “When we got our first numbers, which were bad, the first thing [Fox president of entertainment] Kevin Reilly said was, ‘You’ll have all 13,’ which was great. They’re not going to pull the rug out from under us.” Beckman said DVR results have played a role in the show’s fate, though wasn’t surprised by today’s results. “It’s one of the reasons that we brought it back; we knew it was DVR friendly,” Beckman said. “We expected to see this, and hopefully we’ll see [the overnight ratings] increase from week to week … with some shows, you have to look at the bigger picture.” Beckman also humorously characterized deciding the show’s fate as a bit of no-win situation when it comes to dealing with Whedon’s passionate fans. “If you cancel it, you’re an asshole; if you renew it and then don’t put it back on, you’re an asshole,” he said. “I’m still paying for ‘Terminator.’ ‘Dollhouse’ has a small rabid fan base that in the world of social media seems bigger than it is. We gave them another season knowing full well we were going to burn in hell if we pulled it.”

While this is *good* news, it’s not by any means *great* news. Worst case scenario, we could end up only getting a half season which means the entire series run would be 1 1/2 seasons … not good. But, as long as the show is on the air there is hope that it will do better in the ratings. If Fox were really committed to making the show a success, they would save it from oblivion by pulling it out of Friday night and airing it on a Tuesday night. Or, if they insist on keeping the show on Friday, how about they PROMOTE the show better. Dollhouse is good … but yes, it could be much better. I hope that the powers that be will allow the show to grow … and that Joss Whedon will start bringing eps that will draw in new viewers. He’s been delivering to his faithful fans — now he’s got to take the next step.

Since we now know that Dollhouse will be on the air for a while, we can really look forward to Buffyverse alum Summer Glau’s debut on the show. As you may recall, we got our first look at Summer on Dollhouse last week — after the jump, check out a few new promo pics from Summer’s upcoming episode along with a few new promo pics of fellow Buffyverse alum Alexis Densiof on the show as well …

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Earlier today we saw photos of Heidi Klum and Seal’s children enjoying a day of fun at the pumpkin patch and now we get to see another celeb family gettin’ in on the pumpkin pickin’ fun as well. Buffyverse alum (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) David Boreanaz, his wife Jaime and son Jaden Rayne were spotted at the pumpkin patch over the weekend. Here are a few pics of the Boreanaz bunch making their jack-o-lantern choice:

As you may know, David and Jaime welcomed the birth of their daughter Bardot Vita at the end of August but she was clearly left at home for this outing. I’m sure the fam is planning to have an extra special first Hallowe’en for little Bardot … and it all starts with picking the perfect pumpkin :)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Eliza Dushku, star of the Fox TV series Dollhouse, paid a visit to The Late Show with David Letterman to do a bit of promo for her show … which is great danger of being canceled. As some of you may be well aware, Dollhouse struggled in the ratings for the duration of its first season on the air … since the show returned with its second season, the ratings have gotten even worse. Entertainment Weekly published a great article explaining what the hell is going wrong with the show but without a major turn around very soon, it’s very unlikely that the show will be able to survive. At least Eliza is doing everything she can to promote the show in the hopes of keeping it on the air. Here are a couple photos of Eliza’s arrival at the Ed Sullivan Theater for her Late Show appearance last night and the article from EW explaining why they believe Dollhouse is very close to death:

In case you haven’t noticed, Dollhouse is tanking. It’s second season premiere didn’t perform well in the ratings, and last Friday’s episode did even worse — Stargate Universe kicked it in the cortex. Dollhouse is in very real danger of being canceled. Why isn’t it doing better? Where did Joss Whedon and company go wrong? Perhaps that isn’t fair — the blame can’t be put on Whedon’s shoulders alone. There is Fox’s decision to leave Dollhouse on Friday nights, bereft of any real advertising support — a programming block of one. If Fox really wanted to give Dollhouse a chance, they’d have paired it with Bones or Fringe, and not after a pair of sitcoms (one of which stars Michael Strahan) that no one is watching. Stargate Universe did well because Syfy Channel has been pushing it relentlessly, hammering it into their audience that something new is coming down the pike. But the thing you can level at the Dollhouse writers and producers is the middling way the show came out of the gate. Whedon has always been great at ending TV seasons — Buffy and Angel have tons of memorable season finales, and Dollhouse’s S1 ultimatum was terrific — but not so great at starting them. Listen, I’m all for Joss taking his time to build his universe and layer his stories with emotional substance topped with an action frosting. But anyone looking objectively at the Dollhouse situation for the season would have to see that the show has its back against the wall. It’s the fourth quarter and Team Dollhouse is down by a whole mess of points — it’s not the time to do slow burn undercovery episodes. Dollhouse needed to score, early and often, and it didn’t. Is it too late? I fear that it might be. Whedon and company are telling the stories they want to tell — and unless those stories suddenly bring the whup-ass in the next couple of weeks, they might not get to tell them for much longer. The saddest part of it is that I desperately want Whedon and Dollhouse to succeed — I want smart genre content to work on broadcast television, so that networks will continue to take risks on programming that doesn’t have a host. I just hope that it gets the chance.

I am in 100% agreement … Fox has done NOTHING to promote a show that they have exiled to a night that no one is home to watch TV (and the people who are at home on a Friday night are not the people that would watch a show like Dollhouse no matter what night it aired). AND, the show itself has yet to deliver an episode that would WOW a casual viewer. The show does great with Joss Whedon fans but I don’t know that it has yet to really pull in new viewers … yes, it’s tough to get people to watch your show on Friday night but if Whedon and the gang were to deliver a slew of kick-ass episodes then it would at least pull in some new viewers, which would help their sinking ratings. Since the ratings are going down, it sounds like even the Whedon fans are watching less and less. But … I’m not sure what more can be done at this point. Fox has continually dropped the ball in promoting the show and it is prolly too late to turn it all around. Eliza, for her part, has been championing the show as best she can … after the jump, watch video of her interview with David Letterman on The Late Show last night …

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Back in July we learned that Buffyverse alum Summer Glau, ex-Firefly and Serenity, would be joining the cast of Dollhouse but we’re already two eps in and we’ve not seen hide nor hair of Ms. Glau on the show or in any of the promotional materials. There have been promo photos of many of the other Dollhouse castmembers but thus far, no Summer … until now. The new issue of Entertainment Weekly features photos from set visits to various movies and TV shows and brings us our FIRST LOOK at Summer Glau in the Dollhouse:

Cult auteur Whedon continues to make Fox’s Dollhouse — starring Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) — a refuge for his former stars: On Oct. 30, Firefly’s Glau joins Dushku as a computer whiz from a rival rent-a-human agency. “They both have that make-your-eyes-pop factor,” says Whedon, adding that watching his past TV worlds collide trips him out. “I just walk around completely confused all the time.”

OMG … rival rent-a-human agencies?? I love it!! If you thought that the Dollhouse is responsible for questionable behavior, my guess is that some of these rival agencies are prolly worse. It sounds like Summer Glau’s character will be sort of a female version of the Topher character (played by Fran Kranz). Girl geeks are always cooler in my book. I can’t wait to see Summer in action on the show. Woot!!

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