By Lisa de Moraes
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 10
A hundred years from now, when viewers are watching documentaries about the early 21st century, we are going to be defined by Ryan Seacrest.
Think about that.
Seacrest is the face of the most watched program on television, "American Idol," and don't underestimate the importance of his role on that show. He also has replaced both Casey Kasem and Dick Clark -- two cultural icons of the past millennium -- as host of the world's most popular radio countdown show, "American Top 40," and as host of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" on ABC.
And, most recently, he signed a deal to become the face of cable network E! as managing editor and lead anchor of "E! News" and executive producer of the "Live From the Red Carpet" specials.
How fitting, then, that E! Networks President and CEO Ted Harbert trotted Seacrest out for the first day of Winter TV Press Tour 2006 -- during which, for maybe the first time in press-tour history, a bit of on-air talent actually said, "What I do for a living is not rocket science."
Which made us like Seacrest better.
In fact he went even further, likening what he does on the air to an air traffic controller's job: "My role is more as a conduit than anything else."
After taking a few questions -- When was the last time you talked to former "American Idol" co-host Brian Dunkelman? How do you feel about being the butt of so many late-night monologues? -- Harbert introduced fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and Giuliana DePandi, who will cover the red-carpet arrivals with Seacrest at the Golden Globes on Monday.
Mizrahi noted right off how thin Seacrest is, telling the reporters, "Clap for that." He also said he really liked the way actress Selma Blair looks in clothes because she's always 20 pounds underweight, which, he explained, is a lot better than being 10 pounds underweight. The fashion industry is wonderful, isn't it?
Though apparently pro-anorexia, Mizrahi noted sniffily that he is definitely "anti plastic surgery."
"Me, too," said Seacrest.
"Obviously," snapped Mizrahi.
"Wow -- I made a good decision," Harbert marveled from the podium.
Winter TV Press Tour 2006 had not begun auspiciously.
More than 100 of the Reporters Who Cover Television, from around the country and even Canada, descended on Loopyville West this week to spend two weeks discussing Ideals and the Future of Television at the gorgeous old Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel.
It was a homecoming of sorts for the group, which for a decade had held its semiannual confab at the Huntington, chatting up suits and celebs in freezing ballrooms by day, dining on the networks in the Horseshoe Garden at night -- followed, weather permitting, by a little late-night viewing from room balconies of TV celebs swimming and engaging in other activities in the pool.
But, as with so many other beautiful relationships -- Brad and Jen, Jessica and Nick, Renee and Kenny -- this one began to crumble and about three years ago reporters decided to take their business to a hotel across the street from a Hooters in Hollywood. Monday night, at the National Geographic Channel Check-In Party, they celebrated their return to the site of so many happy, happy times.
The next morning the tour officially got underway when Billy Ray Cyrus and his 13-year-old daughter, Miley, got up onstage to hawk their new Disney Channel series, "Hannah Montana." It's about a girl who, unknown to her fellow students, lives a double life as pop singer Hannah Montana, entertaining legions of prepubescent fans with songs written by her manager-dad.
It's hard to focus on Ideals and the Future of Television after you've just watched a clip of Billy Ray Cyrus -- who will now try to do for the Neo-Prince Valiant with Tips and Streaks what he did in the '90s for the mullet -- singing:
I like to sing,
I like to dance,
But I can't do it with poopy
In my pants.
Which, according to the clip, is a song his manager-dad character wrote when Hannah, aka Miley Stewart, played by Miley Cyrus, was a tot.
Miley (Cyrus, that is) confided to the reporters that it can be hard, the pressure of being part of a performing dynasty, but -- speaking for herself and cast mate Emily Osment (daughter of Eugene, sister of Haley Joel), which Miley did a lot of during the Q&A -- "we love what we do so much, it's our dream and we're living it out." Billy Ray said he swore after doing Pax's "Doc" he'd never do another series but decided to audition for the "Montana" role after reading the script because "it all begins with what's on the page."
At HGTV's Q&A session, reporters learned that viewers have given the network permission to broaden its definition of "home" to include such things as an airplane that's been tricked out with all the creature comforts. And that HGTV viewers are very, very sticky, which is industry-speak for hanging around a lot, and that there has been so much growth in bathrooms.
"I couldn't be more excited about bathrooms!" gushed Angela Chee, host of HGTV's "I Want That!"
And they learned a lot about crafting, from the hosts of DIY Network's new series "Creative Juice." The hosts used to work in the movie industry, doing set designs, costume designs and such, then decided to open a craft shop across from one of the studios where Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Love Hewitt -- Love to her friends -- have showed up to "craft." Decoupage, by the way, is so out it's in, but the big trend in crafting is "recrafting." Which, they explained, is similar to punk-rock crafting -- you know, hubcap chandeliers and scrapbooks made out of license plates.
Just three hours into Winter TV Press Tour 2006, BET had already staged the tour's first filibuster, filling up so much of its allotted 45 minutes with executive blah, blah, blahing that reporters had only eight minutes in which to ask questions of the exec producers of returning "College Hill," new "Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lockdown" and a docudrama about the football players and marching band at Grambling State University, among other shows. Reporters who attempted to ask them questions right after the Q&A session were told sternly to get out of the way so that photographers could take pics of the people onstage.
They did learn that BET's newish entertainment president, Reginald Hudlin, feels the whole Lil' Kim situation -- she's now serving a year and a day in the slammer after lying to a federal grand jury and again on the stand at a trial about what she saw at a shooting outside a Manhattan radio station in 2001 -- is "very Fellini-esque." (He and "Countdown to Lockdown" exec producer Tracey Edmonds didn't call it lying, they called it "not snitching.") And members of the Grambling State marching band performed, which was for sure the highlight of Day 1 of Winter TV Press Tour 2006.
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