Gabourey Sidibe on Joining Modern Family: ‘I’d Love to Do It’

March 7, 2010 by emily · Comments
Filed under: Actors 

We know that Jesse Tyler Ferguson would like to see Gabourey Sidibe on Modern Family.

Movieline caught up with Sidibe:

Did she know that Ferguson was going all out to woo her for a guest stint?

“Yeah, I heard that rumor as well,” Sidibe said before she was overcome with giggles. “I actually really, really like that show. It’s the funniest show, it really is. So, I’d love to do it.”

The Precious star had only kind words for Ferguson, adding, “That guy is awesome.”

But is his quest a one-man enterprise? They asked Sidibe if Ferguson was the only rep from Modern Family she’d talked to so far. “Noooo…” she said, grinning. “I’ve talked to some other people [from the show].”

gabourey_sidibe Modern Family

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PALEY FESTIVAL: ABC’S “MODERN FAMILY”

February 27, 2010 by emily · Comments
Filed under: Actors, Crew, Modern Family News 

The cast and crew of Modern Family (Steve Levitan, Jason Winer, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Sofia Vergara, Ed O’Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Eric Stonestreet) were the guests of the Modern Family panel at the Paley Festival last night.

If you want a full line by line of what happened – check The Futon Critic.

Here are some highlights from EW’s visit to the panel:

Funny guy Ty Burrell earned the biggest applause from the audience. Sofia Vergara also got a cheer for not playing the typical golddigger and proved to be very popular among her coworkers. In addition to getting praised for her comedic skills, Burrell joked that “we Google her everyday.” “I’m Googling her right now,” Eric Stonestreet added.

Spoilers: Bowen recently filmed a scene at the Grove shopping plaza in Los Angeles, in which she gets into a brawl with a security guard. Fred Willard will return as Phil’s father.

Will Mitchell and Cameron ever show some physical affection for each other? Stonestreet said they’re too busy raising a child, but if the show goes on for many more seasons, it’ll happen “in due time.”

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Modern Family’s Moon Man

February 10, 2010 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Actors 

Advocate.com has an interview with the man who introducing the term “moon landing” to popular culture Eric Stonestreet. Here is the highlights from the interview:

Eric Stonestreet

Advocate.com: First of all, thanks for introducing the term “moon landing” to popular culture. What was it like to touch bare butt cheeks with Ed O’Neill?
Eric Stonestreet: [Laughs] I tweeted the day that episode aired that if you set goals, work hard, and always believe in yourself, you too can touch butts with a TV icon someday. It was blurred out on TV, but we really did touch butts. He was like, “You fine with this?” I was like, “I’m fine with it. Are you fine with it?” And he was like, “Yeah, let’s do this!” So we touched butts, and it was great.

Twitter obviously makes you easily accessible to fans. What kind of feedback have you gotten from gay viewers about Modern Family?
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I had prepared myself that people might think Cameron was too flamboyant, too broad, or too stereotypical, but we’ve always felt we take it to that line but then twist it a bit. Gay couples have approached me at the Grove in Los Angeles just to say “thank you.” At Starbucks I was approached by two women pushing a stroller who said, “We’d like to introduce you to our baby.” I’ve been blown away, because I was expecting a little bit more blowback, if you will, than what we’ve received from the gay community and even from people who are opposed to gay rights.

Have you learned anything about gay people by playing Cameron?
Well, I’ve been surrounded by gay people my whole life — I grew up with a gay cousin, I went to Kansas State University and knew a lot of gay people in the theater department — so it’s not like I’m all of a sudden immersed in the gay community for the first time. But in this particular case, what I’m learning is being learned off-set with the great feedback I’m getting. I’m seeing how prideful and appreciative the gay community has been of the fact that we’re playing these characters honestly and without sensationalizing them. Cameron’s a dramatic, passionate person, but there’s a truth to the character. I look to myself for the character because I’m a dramatic, passionate person too, and that has nothing to do with my sexuality.

Was it a conscious decision not to show any physical affection between Cameron and Mitchell so as to make a gay relationship more palatable for more conservative viewers?
People always ask me why there’s not more affection on the show, but these guys are elbow-deep in raising a baby, so affection gets shoved down the list. That happens in straight relationships too. Talk to any guy with a newborn baby, ask him how often he’s getting some action, and he’ll fill you in.

Glee stole some of Modern Family’s thunder at those award shows.
Yeah, we were “whatever” with the Golden Globes, but we did want to win the SAG Award. Good for Glee, but hopefully we’ll go at it again next year. But, you know, this year I was disappointedModern Family didn’t get a SAG Award, and exactly one year ago this week I was pissed because I couldn’t get an audition for Modern Family, so my year has been great.

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Modern Family Scoops

January 20, 2010 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Modern Family News 

Modern Family scoops from TV Guide:

The cast spilled their guts to us during a visit to the Los Angeles set. Oddly, their teases all involved undressing. “Cameron challenges Jay to a racquetball match and their butts might touch in the locker room,” Eric Stonestreet reports. Meanwhile, Jesse Tyler Ferguson indicated that Mitchell “might end up in an article of clothing that is not mine” — and doesn’t belong to any other male cast member either. Julie Bowen keeps it simple: “Naked, hotel lobby and flying underwear — just chew on that for a while.” Not enough? How about this? Fizbo flashback!

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‘Modern Family’ among GLAAD nominees

January 17, 2010 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Modern Family News 

For the fourth year running, the ABC television network leads nominees for media awards from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The network earned eight nominations Wednesday for the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards, with “Brothers & Sisters,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Private Practice” and newcomer “Modern Family” among its contenders.

The GLAAD Media Awards honor the fair, accurate and inclusive representation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives in the media. This year’s awards – with 152 nominees in 32 categories – will be split into three ceremonies, held in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in March, April and June.

“Words and images matter,” GLAAD president Jarrett Barrios said in a statement. “With these awards, we seek to recognize news coverage and entertainment programming that go beyond stock stereotypes with LGBT storylines that more fully reflect the challenges gay and transgender people face and the aspirations we hold for ourselves and our families.”

ABC received the following nominations:

- “Brothers & Sisters” and “Grey’s Anatomy” for drama series

- “Modern Family” for comedy series

- “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” for daily drama

- A “Good Morning America” interview with Chaz Bono for TV journalism segment

- Two nominations for “Private Practice” for individual TV episode

Read the full story on 365 Gay.

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First Glimpse Of Julie Bowen’s Twin Boys!

December 6, 2009 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Actors 

Meet the twins! Julie Bowen was spotted on an afternoon stroll with her 6-month-old twin boys John and Gus in Los Angeles on Saturday (December 5). This is our first glimpse of Julie’s adorable twins who were born in May.

Julie and her husband Scott Phillips are also parents to 2 1/2-year-old son Oliver.

Julie Bowen Modern Family

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Actor Ty Burrell: From Grants Pass to ABC’s hit comedy ‘Modern Family’

November 28, 2009 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Actors 

Ty Burrell
For a young man who grows up in Ashland, getting the acting bug must be as easy as falling off a log. Right? After all, the Southern Oregon town is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, known for its world-class productions and top-flight casts.

But for Ty Burrell, the Oregon native who co-stars on the ABC comedy, “Modern Family,” the whole acting thing took a while.

“What do they say about not taking advantage of things in your hometown?” Burrell says, calling from Los Angeles. “You know, if you’re in Paris, you never go see the Eiffel Tower? I didn’t go to see a play at the festival until I was in my early 20s.”

But fans of “Modern Family” — the show averages 10.6 million viewers weekly — know Burrell has become a gifted actor, moving easily between drama and comedy. Burrell, 42, has performed onstage in New York and London; in movies (“The Incredible Hulk,” “Black Hawk Down”); and on TV (“Back to You”).

Oregon Live spoke with Burrell about his own family, acting and his Oregon roots. Here are some of the Q&As:

Q: How much of the character of Phil is based on you or your family?

A:
I mainly just drew on myself — sadly (laughs). Phil’s inability to see how he’s goofing and messing things up comes directly from my own delusional, oblivious existence. It’s magnified with people that I’ve met over the years, people who I’ve really liked because I think that type of person is just so full of life.

Q: What were your younger days in Oregon like?

A:
I was born in Grants Pass and grew up in Ashland. We also spent about eight years in Applegate, where my family owned a little country store. That was an amazing time, lots of lazy summer days, floating down the Applegate River on inner tubes. In many ways, it was absurd because we had no business being out in the country because we were extremely soft! I graduated from Hidden Valley High School.

Q: When did you get interested in acting? Was that something others in your family had done?

A:
Nobody in my family, at any level, had ever had any connection to performing or show business. I will say, though, that there’s a long history of raconteurs in my family. My grandfather was a great storyteller, and my dad and his brother would get going and were very funny together. My younger brother, Duncan, and I really watched that a lot and admired it. The official term would be we got into comedy when we were young. But we really just got into goofing off when we were kids.

Read the rest of the story Oregon Live

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A ‘Modern Family TV’ miracle for sitcoms [source: Variety]

November 7, 2009 by admin · Comments
Filed under: reviews 

At Starbucks locations across Los Angeles, out-of-work comedy writers are polishing off their “Modern Family” spec scripts.
For the first time in a while — and definitely since the writers strike — there’s optimism in the comedy ranks. And much of that good feeling can be traced this fall to ABC’s breakout “Modern Family.”

“For morale in the comedy business, it’s been huge,” says Alphabet comedy topper Samie Kim Falvey. “All of us who love comedy and refuse to abandon it as a business feel validated.”

“Family” is one of several laffer success stories this season: ABC’s “The Middle” and “Cougar Town” also have performed well enough on either side of “Family” to earn full-season pickups, while CBS newcomer “Accidentally on Purpose” and recent NBC additions “Parks and Recreation” and “Community” have picked up some ratings ground recently.

Then there’s CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” which has graduated from hit to megahit thanks to its new timeslot behind “Two and a Half Men.”

But “Modern Family,” even rival network execs agree, is having a major effect on the laffer biz, thanks to what it represents: the revival of the family comedy.

ABC execs were high enough on the show that they picked up the pilot early, which Falvey says allowed the network and studio to cast the show well, starting with Ed O’Neill, as well as Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The Alphabet also gave the show an early series order, and screened the entire pilot at the net’s May upfront presentation to advertisers.

But “Modern Family” was by no means a slam dunk. The network gave the show the nearly impossible task of holding down the 9 p.m. anchor slot on a Wednesday night completely filled with new shows. And when awareness studies showed low returns for “Family,” the net shifted more marketing money to the show immediately following it, “Cougar Town.”

The net also was forced to give away “Modern Family’s” big pilot reveal: The fact that the three separate families are actually related, something that viewers don’t discover until the very end of the episode.

“We did some early research on tracking and marketing, and people were not getting how special this show was,” Falvey said. “A lot of the heart comes from understanding this is a big family unit.”

Levitan and Lloyd weren’t big fans of the marketing decision, but didn’t protest.

“They did everything you could ask for in launching the show,” Lloyd says.

Salke says she believes the show has fallen into the zeitgeist of the moment — that audiences, faced with economic woes in the real world, were looking for more feelgood fare.

“Shows like ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Glee’ have tapped into the audience’s real desire to be entertained, to laugh, cry, have fun,” Salke says. “It’s not the typical tone that you have seen.”

The success of “Modern Family” has helped populate network development reports with more family-oriented laffers. Net and studio execs say they’re also busy looking at other forms that have been missing as of late — including the modern take on a relationship comedy like “Mad About You.”

“People are looking, and saying, ‘where’s our “Modern Family”?’ ” Salke says.

[read the full story at Variety]

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Sofia Vergara: Sexy on the Red Carpet

November 5, 2009 by admin · Comments
Filed under: Actors 

Enjoying a night out on the red carpet, Sofia Vergara turned up for the Columbia Pictures premiere of “2012” on Tuesday night (November 3).
The “Modern Family” actress looked stunning in a purple frock as she arrived at Regal Cinemas LA Live in Los Angeles for the big event.
sofia-veragra-2012
sofia-veragra-2012-2

[source: Gossip Center]

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