Academy Awards

Well, no great surprises from the Academy Awards in terms of winners, but I thought the show was pretty wonderful. Hugh Jackman did a great job of the opening number, and Anne Hathaway was a really nice surprise in terms of her belting ability.

I was really glad that Sean Penn won for MILK. Thought he was incredible in his performance; in fact, it was hard to find Sean Penn in there - really felt like we were watching Harvey Milk. I loved Penelope Cruz in Vicky Christina Barcelona so was pleased to see that result as well. And even though I had a hard time with THE READER, I did think Kate Winslet turned in a great performance, nuanced and complete.

I guess it was a foregone conclusion that SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE would win the best picture category, and I thought it should. It was so different than an American movie- fresh, bold and fun to watch. So, here's a funny story- yesterday afternoon I was at the Santa Monica Pier, which is a long pier that has amusement park type rides and crappy food. It was a weekday, so very quiet, and we went on the Ferris wheel. I looked down at the roller coaster, and what did I see? All of the child actors from SLUMDOG and the director Danny Boyle going round and round and having the times of their lives. This young actors, some of whom were plucked out the slums, were soaking in every minute of this carnival like park, and Danny Boyle seemed to be really enjoying watching the kids live it up. Made me smile.

Rounding out the Maneater cast

We are so excited with the Maneater cast! We've added some great people to the cast - including handsome Paul Leyden (an Aussie), Marla Sokoloff, Shalim Ortiz (from Heroes) and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon. This is a really wonderful ensemble of actors... we went to Scottsdale for the table read and it was fantastic! Sarah Chalke is so likable and funny and she is surrounded by a great group. The chemistry between Sarah and Philip Winchester, who plays her beau, is just terrific.

They put us up at the Valley Ho hotel, which was just super. It's an old 50's style hotel totally redone in a retro-modern sort of way. There is a Trader Vic's in the lobby and the beds were incredibly comfortable. If I had to stay in a hotel for any period of time, I'd want it to be the Valley Ho!