Can't Wait!

Oh, boy, the teaser trailer for Oliver Stone's new biopic on our (crappy) pres is out. Watch (and weep) below. 

So sad.

Billions knew Estelle Getty as the wise-cracking mama, Sophia, on "Golden Girls," and I'll always remember her as one of the women who taught me a thing or three about sarcasm. Today, Estelle died in her home at age 84. For years she'd been suffering from dementia, and little was heard or seen of her (especially when the girls regrouped for recent publication appearances). Tonight I'll whip out my "Golden Girls" DVD collection, and reminisce about a TV legend who helped – through the hit sitcom she was a part of – bring my mom and I closer together during our evening TV time. R.I.P Estelle. 

Check out a lovely eulogy here and post your favorite Sophia memory ...

Happy Like a Pup with Two Peters!

I was about as excited as Tom Cruise on a couch when I heard that fave-of-mine Brandi Carlile (who's featured on several tracks from Amy Ray's latest solo endeavor) is in the studio, working on her third album. But if "How These Days Grow Long," a friggin'-fantastic original ditty the (lesbian?) folkie-rocker sang sans mic at her last Detroit stop, isn't recorded, I won't be so Tom-like. See why below. 

'Girl' Talk

Rue McClanahan is nursing her illness – an “indefinable something,” she determines – with a bowl of vegetable soup, which sounds pretty dull compared to the dish she serves to us (see accompanying story) and the quick rewind to The Gayest Show About Old Women, “The Golden Girls.”

What’s your relationship like with the other ladies from ‘Golden Girls’?

We have a professional relationship. I did (TV series) ‘Maude’ with Bea Arthur, and Betty (White) was an occasional guest – or she made an occasional appearance on ‘Mama’s Family.’ I knew them both professionally, but we worked together for seven years – and eight years as far as Betty was concerned, ’cause we did ‘Golden Palace’ after ‘Golden Girls’ without Bea.

We never had social lives together; all four of us had different groups of friends, came from different groups and at different times moved to California – or, in Betty’s case, grew up there. We had to be together constantly in all the dozens and dozens and dozens of public appearances we had to make that didn’t necessarily get televised. So we saw enough of each other – but we had very little in common.

For the rest of my interview with Rue, visit www.pridesource.com

Heath Ledger's Legacy Lives On in 'Dark Knight'

Heath Ledger is gone. There’s no Aussie accent, swooning good looks, charm – it’s all swallowed by the Joker, the “Brokeback Mountain” actor’s last complete role before his too-soon death in January at 28. He licks his lip like someone in dire need of Chapstick; his scars, outlined with red make-up, are barely visible through his clown-looking face. And that high-pitched giggle? It’s pure evil. 

“Some men just want to watch the world burn,” Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) tells Bruce Wayne, played by the beefy Christian Bale.

Legions outside of Jack Nicholson’s campy go at the evil quipster, Ledger’s ominous, thrill-killing turn in director/writer Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” plays up the role like a kid playing dress-up: Ledger. Is. The. Joker. And he won’t let Gotham City residents forget. Or us, for that matter. 

Long after a pulse-surging final half pumps up the adrenaline level to infinity with a fist-clenching tunnel chase, a hospital pyrotechnic show and surprises galore, Ledger’s Joker is what will haunt, and not for the reason many assume. Every ounce of the actor’s skin is shed as he saturates his role, and, odds are, many post-humous Oscar votes. 

For the complete review, check out Between The Lines (www.pridesource.com) on Thursday. And let me know: Did "The Dark Knight" live up to the hoopla? 

What Dorothy Was Really Thinking ...

The Sound of Music!

Is that Julie Andrews?!? Nope. It's me...