December 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

We're guessing Saleisha Stowers is excited to be famous and wear lots of designer clothing.

But the ninth winner of America's Next Top Model says her most important challenge will be to act as a role mode.

"I've gone through a lot of things that every little girl will probably go through. Just trying to find yourself, trying to feel loved, trying to know what's your purpose in life," Stowers told reporters during a Thursday conference call.

"I think that I can be a great role model and just help girls out... I can show young girls what I've been through, and how it's okay to be scared, but you can still overcome that fear. It doesn't matter how insecure you are. One day, you'll look inside yourself and realize you're a beautiful person. You can be that confident girl who's on the runway; you don't have to hate yourself because you're not."

As for the future, Stowers said she currently intends to stay in L.A. for a while and "take it one day at a time."

"Top Model was a great door opener for me, so now I'm ready for many doors to open and just go out there and show everyone how successful I can be and just prove my career to the world... I just can't wait to see what else is in store for me."

What can you expect from reality TV in 2008? Considering the writers' strike, a whole lot!

Here's a preview:

Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants (premieres Wednesday, December 12 at 9PM ET/PT on The CW)
The bond between a mother and her daughter is often special, and this new reality series will definitely put it to the test as mother/daughter teams work together to win a beauty pageant that will award one team $100,000 cash award and a pair of tiaras. With cattiness always just around the corner, viewers may be left to wonder if human mothers eat their young.

Duel (premieres Monday, December 17 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC)
This new game show will air over the course of six consecutive nights, combining Who Wants to be a Millionaire's inane trivia with the World Series of Poker's addictive gambling elements. ABC also gave each of the show's 24 contestants professions' cool character nicknames from "The Alligator Wrestler" to "The Umpire," and much lamer nicknames like "The Software Engineer" to "The Telemarketer."

Clash of the Choirs (premieres on Monday, December 17 at 9PM ET/PT on NBC)
This new reality competition series will air live over the course of four consecutive nights, with five celebrity mentors such as Michael Bolton and Nick Lachey assembling an amateur choir from each of their hometowns and then having them face-off for home viewer votes. While it's billed as a "clash," it will probably be more of a heart-warming holiday sing-off.

The Biggest Loser 5 (premieres Tuesday, January 1 at 8PM ET/PT on NBC)
So much for building anticipation, as NBC will debut the fifth season of this weight-loss reality series exactly two weeks following its fourth-season finale. Contestants trying to shed the pounds will be competing while paired in teams with somebody they have a pre-existing relationship with -- and they'll have to do so without former Red Team trainer Kim Lyons -- who replaced Jillian Michaels prior to the third season only to be replaced by Michaels prior to the fifth season.

Make Me a Supermodel (premieres Wednesday, January 2 at 11PM ET/PT on Bravo)
This America's Next Top Model knock-off includes a few key differences, including a co-ed group of 14 aspiring runway walkers and home viewer votes determining each week's eliminated contestant. It will also answer that age-old question if male models are just as catty as their female counterparts

The Celebrity Apprentice (premieres Thursday, January 3 at 9PM ET/PT on NBC)
If you believe Donald Trump, billions of A-list celebrities were interested in participating in the seventh edition of this reality series, however he somehow ended up with a bunch of C- and D-listers. Regardless, The Donald still took them under his wing to teach them the ins and outs of the business world as they compete for their favorite charitable causes, which should make even Trump rivals Martha Stewart and Rosie O'Donnell smile.

Miss America: Reality Check (premieres Friday, January 4 at 10PM ET/PT on TLC)
Miss America's annual winner apparently isn't automatically born a beauty queen, and this four-part series will aim to prove that point, following the 52 participants competing in the 2008 pageant as they live together under one roof and prepare for their moment in the spotlight.

American Gladiators (premieres Sunday, January 6 at 9PM ET/PT)
This campy competition series, which first aired on syndication in the U.S. from 1989 to 1996, has been reinvented by NBC, with Hogan Knows Best patriarch Hulk Hogan and former Dancing with the Stars participant Laila Ali replacing original hosts Larry Csonka and Michael Adamle. However NBC kept some of the great original challenges -- like The Wall and The Eliminator -- and hopefully those hideous spandex jumpsuits.

Continue Reading...

Jack Mackenroth dropped out of Project Runway this week.

He talked to People magazine about the decision:

Take us through your last day on the show.
I just got to a point where I couldn't even concentrate. I was exhausted. As the bacterial infection spreads, within 48 hours, you get a fever. My work was suffering and I was like, "You know what? I really don't want to leave but I can't stay here." It was not an HIV related thing but I have to be extra cautious.

So getting treatment and coming back wasn't an option?
There was an issue of contagion so I didn't feel comfortable. It's bacteria. Anyone can get it by touch. So that's not fair. And number two, [the medication] is such a strong antibiotic that it takes two hours to administer [intravenously]. It's four hours a day that I would have been gone.

You're very open about being HIV positive on the show. Have you received any feedback from viewers?
I get a lot of emails that are really touching from people that just found out they're HIV positive. I try to answer all those and I read all of them and it's amazing. If I can do a little bit of good in that respect then I've won at the end of the day.

We hear you're dating Top Chef's Dale Levitski?
I always thought he was hot! On my MySpace page there's this little section that says who do you want to meet? And I put I want to meet Dale Levitski from Top Chef! I just threw it out there into the universe. And so a friend of his saw my page, told Dale, and then Dale messaged me. We started chatting and then we ran into each other at a party in New York City and we just clicked.

Saleisha Stowers was crowned America's Next Top Model's ninth-season champ during last night's finale.

Following the victory, the beauty said:

"When I was younger I was just weird. I had low self esteem. I just wasn't happy with my life. I've grown into a strong young woman. I'm so happy with myself right now. This is what I dreamed of. I fought for this so hard and I was so determined. I have it now and I'm not going to let it slip out."

The 21-year-old receptionist from Los Angeles received the show's grand prize package of a management deal with Elite Model Management; a $100,000 contract with cosmetics company CoverGirl; and a cover story and six-page fashion spread in an issue of Seventeen magazine.

Congratulations!

Last season's top three players on So You Think You Can Dance - Sabra Johnson, Danny Tidwell and Neil Haskell - will be gracing the covers of Movmnt Magazine when the quarterly publication releases its winter issues in 2008.

The urban-leaning lifestyle magazine was co-founded by Tidwell and David Benaym.

It will be focusing on the three performers as part of their new project called "Keep It Real," which is a non-profit effort to bring the world of art and pop culture together as a lifestyle by informing and educating people.

Haskell earned the title of "Male Dancer of the Year" at the American Dance Awards in 2005.

Tidwell co-created a live show with a combination of fashion and photography called Moving Still, prior to joining So You Think You Can Dance. This eventually led to the formation of Movmnt Magazine in 2006.

Similar to Tidwell, is known for her contemporary dance moves. With a background in gymnastics, jazz and ballet, she emerged as winner of So You Think You Can Dance last year.

With no end in sight to the writers' strike, prepare for more reality TV than you ever thought was possible.

For example, Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants premieres tonight. According to The CW, the series "explores one of life's most emotional and volatile relationships as mothers and daughters from all walks of life compete together in order to win a no-holds-barred beauty pageant."

You're familiar with two of the judges on the show, we're guessing. They're a pair of reality TV mainstays. Carson Kressley (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler (Dancing with the Stars, Meet the Barkers) join television personality Cynthia Garrett to referee the eight-episode competition.

In the end, one mother/daughter team will be "crowned" the winner and will receive a valuable prize package, including a $100,000 cash award, and, of course, a fabulous pair of tiaras.

With six contestants remaining on Survivor, host Jeff Probst recently helped TV Guide narrow down the list of favorites to win this season.

On Todd: "Todd has been exciting to watch because he gets such joy out of playing the game. He's loving this manipulative adventure he's on, and he's good at it. But it's always fun to be the person in charge of giving the blind side to somebody until you get to the final tribal council and they're sitting on the jury. Todd's gotta let other people get credit for making moves if he wants a chance to convince people he's worthy [of winning]."
Odds: 5 out of 6

On Peih-Gee: "I didn't really like her in the beginning. She was kind of toxic. But the more she stayed, the more I started to see she's a pretty good player. She's [become] a true underdog. She's got a lot of former tribe members on the jury, and that could work to her advantage."
Odds: 3 out of 6

On Erik: "Erik has no chance of winning this game. I don't care who you put him up against in the final three. Very nice guy, talented musician, gonna be a great husband, probably a great dad. But lousy Survivor player. You have to be willing to reach a little deeper inside yourself and find the fun part that enjoys the game."

On Courtney: "It's been a long time since I've been surprised to see somebody still in the game. But I actually think she could have chance at winning, depending on who she's up against and what argument she makes. If she could take all of her negative traits and turn them into [obstacles] that she overcame, she has a shot."
Odds: 4 out of 6

On Denise: "She is the dark-horse favorite. Out of anybody in this game right now, I would want to get rid of Denise as soon as possible because she's so likable and she's really done nothing wrong. She's been a true friend to everybody. It's hard not to root for her. And I like her even more for the story she told about why she has her mullet."
Odds: 2 out of 6

On Amanda: "Amanda's been in Todd's shadow, but she knows this game as well as he does. She just pulled out a big sword and lopped somebody's head off with it. If she's willing to do that again, she could have a check for a million bucks. If she goes back to being timid, it'll be tougher for her to win."
Odds: 6 out of 6

All of a sudden, Jane Pratt starring in a reality TV show isn't that exciting.

The E! network is producing a show around newlyweds - and former sex tape stars - Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon. According to a source "Think Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson's show [MTV's Newlyweds], but with a lot more sex and a crazier family life."

Sounds like a winner to us!

Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon: Future reality TV stars.

The show is slated to debut in 2008.

"These two don't have any boundaries, which is perfect for reality stars," says a source of Anderson.

Jane Pratt, the founding editor of Jane and Sassy magazines, is set to star in a new VH1 reality show called American Ugly.

It's being billed as a reality TV rehash of ABC's hit series Ugly Betty. Interestingly, sources say Pratt wasn't the first fashion editor considered for the series.

Brandon Holley - the editor who took over Jane after Pratt was pushed out in July 2005 - was approached about the gig in late spring but wasn't interested.

From there, former Seventeen and Cosmogirl editor Atoosa Rubenstein was offered the role, and actually accepted it. But shortly before the pilot was to be shot, Rubenstein backed out, electing to focus on her own projects.

No word yet on when American Ugly premieres.

In the last two days, we've added 9 new images to our photos gallery. Whether you're a fan of The Hills or of an insane looking Tiffany Pollard, we've got you hooked up...