September 2007 News Archive (Page 3)

Texas-born actor Brett Cullen, whom you may remember as Goodwyn on ABC's Lost, Vanessa Williams' millionaire squeeze on Ugly Betty and Taylor Kitsch's alcoholic father on NBC's Friday Night Lights, continues his guest starring tour of high-profile shows with an appearance on Private Practice this fall.

Below is a photo of the actor filming scenes with Amy Brenneman on the set of Private Practice last week. Brett Cullen will appear in episode #5, which has just been completed. Private Practice premieres Wednesday!

Amy Brenneman and Brett Cullen on the set of Private Practice.

It is not clear yet who Cullen will play on the series. Could it be the previous love interest of Brenneman's character, Violet Turner, who she broke up with only to watch him get engaged to someone else quickly?

It's Sexual Harassment Day at Private Practice.

No, really. The cast and crew are less than thrilled about having to attend a studio-required lecture on the perils of inappropriate compliments.

Kate Walsh, who endured the same seminars during her three years playing Dr. Addison Montgomery on Grey's Anatomy, is overjoyed that the job of doing press for her new show has provided her an excuse to slip away.

Opening the door to her modest air-conditioned trailer, Walsh reaches into her refrigerator to offer bottled water to a correspondent from USA Today.

Within a half-hour she has downed two bottles. Keeping herself hydrated, along with weekly acupuncture appointments, has helped keep her focused.

But Kate Walsh concedes she's not yet totally secure at her new TV home.

"I told my husband, 'I haven't really found my groove yet, and I've been playing Addison for almost three years!"

Walsh's husband (of just two weeks at the time of this interview) is film executive Alex Young, who reminded her that Private Practice is new, she says.

"A whole new cast. All new scripts. A new location and crew."

OFF TO WORK

Kate's new job is at Oceanside Wellness Center, a medical co-op in Santa Monica, Calif., a more casual environment than her previous place of employment.

Walsh's morning commute takes her a few miles west of ABC Studios, where Grey's Anatomy shoots, to Raleigh Studios.

Raleigh is comparatively small, a studio lot across right from the mammoth Paramount Studios, in between Melrose Avenue's hip, trendy stretch and its section populated by liquor stores and massage parlors.

It's a fitting locale for Private Practice, a show that similarly lies between the hip and the unknown, and with so much to prove.

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Just seven days remain until Private Practice premieres and TV Guide is counting down the show's arrival with interviews with the cast.

Today: Taye Diggs, a hot actor who typically plays the guy most women would trade anything to date. But he breaks the mold in his newest role as best-selling author Dr. Sam Bennett, a flawed internist who co-owns Oceanside Wellness Group with his heartbroken ex-wife, Naomi.

Here's what the 36-year-old had to say about ABC's decision to cancel his 2006 series Day Break, meeting executive producer Shonda Rhimes and what cracks him up about Private Practice star Kate Walsh.

TV Guide: What attracted you to the show?
Taye Diggs: Day Break had just gotten canceled and I had decided that my next job would be drastically different. I wanted to do something involving comedy. Then, almost as if it were destiny, Shonda Rhimes called me. At the time, I thought it was to come on Grey's Anatomy because of the craziness going on with Isaiah Washington. But she told me that she was going to have this new show about doctors. As soon as she said that, I was in because I'm a huge fan. I follow Grey's Anatomy like nobody's business.

TV Guide: Did she write the character specifically for you?
Taye Diggs: I don't know. The only thing I know is I told her I have a Yorkie and people look at that as being humorous because I'm this big guy walking around with a small dog. I have a small dog on the television show as well.... Other than that, I told her that I wanted to go against type. Instead of being the cool, suave, perfect character, I wanted to explore the more unconventional, awkward, sometimes nerdy side of myself.

TV Guide: Did you audition or did Shonda just offer you the role?
Taye Diggs: It was kind of both. Like I said, she called me into a meeting to see what my vibe was, to see what I was like in the room. Then she expressed her interest. I don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

TV Guide: But you never had to read a script?
Taye Diggs: No, no I didn't. I'm definitely grateful that I've reached that level.

TV Guide: Did you and Shonda Rhimes hit it off right away?
Taye Diggs: They made me feel very comfortable. It was her and two other producers. We immediately started talking about whatever. I forget. It took a while to bring the conversation back to work.

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Although Private Practice was born out of ABC's hit medical "dramedy," Grey's Anatomy, series stars Kate Walsh and Tim Daly assure us that their upcoming show is quite different from its parent, as it will not only introduce viewers to new faces, but to some fresh storylines as well.

"It feels different, [but] it doesn't feel like we're consciously making it different," Walsh, best known as Dr. Addison Montgomery, told ET.

"Some scenes feel the same in some ways and then totally different in other ways because it's a whole new cast of characters... they are all completely new."

Tim Daly, who will appear on Private Practice as Dr. Pete Wilder, echoed Kate Walsh's statement, telling ET, "We're not Grey's Anatomy... We're a different cast, we're different actors; we have different lines and different professions."

The public first caught sight of the new medical drama when an extended episode of Grey's Anatomy introducing the new show aired in May.

In the backdoor pilot of Private Practice, viewers got their first glimpse of Daly, Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars), and Taye Diggs (Kevin Hill).

Merrin Dungey appeared in the pilot as Naomi, the wife of Diggs' Sam Bennett, but her character is now going to be played by Audra McDonald (Kidnapped). KaDee Strickland (The Wedding Bells) joined the cast late.

Private Practice, scheduled to debut next week, will follow Addison as she settles into her new life in Los Angeles. An all-new special promoting both Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice airs tonight on ABC!

Fans who watched the Emmys may have noticed that right before the cameras started rolling on Michael Ausiello's interview with Shonda Rhimes, there was drama between the show's producer and the TV Guide sleuth.

Well, Ausiello weighs in on the situation as follows: "Let's just say the queen of Shondaland had some issues with the rather harsh review I gave the Private Practice opener and, as a result, was a little hesitant to give me the time of day, let alone an on-camera interview."

But proving that she is a good sport and not above constructive criticism, Shonda Rhimes eventually gave the critic a chance to explain in detail why the May episode of Private Practice left a bad taste in his mouth.

Rhimes was receptive to all points and reassured viewers that if they stick with the show they won't be disappointed. And that may not be mere spin.

Several reliable moles outside of ABC say that next week's premiere, "In Which We Meet Addison ... " is a vast improvement over the May debut.

As long as there are no characters communicating with floor tile, at least this one TV Guide critic be a happy camper... and he says that we will know what he means by that last remark in due time.

In a message of tolerance, Private Practice star Kate Walsh and her Grey's Anatomy co-stars (along with other familiar ABC TV faces) appear in this new public service announcement for a GLAAD campaign. Here's the video:

Getting a job on a hit drama is a big deal.

Getting your own show is almost unfathomable.

When Kate Walsh joined the cast of Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Derek Shepherd's wife, never dreaming she'd become a regular, she would have considered starring in its spin-off, Private Practice, something out of a dream world.

But it's very real, and she is already hard at work in production. Here is what Kate Walsh had to say about Private Practice to Canadian Magazine...

"Honestly, there is pressure but the pressure is eclipsed by the fact that we are so busy and I'm just kind of constantly focused on the next thing in front of me," Kate said of her much-anticipated new show.

"At this point, we are three days into shooting our first episode. So I'm thinking more about my 5:30 call tomorrow morning, and all of my medical scenes."

Private Practice has Walsh's Addison Montgomery move from Seattle to L.A. to join a private, seaside wellness center. Although her doctoring skills remain top notch, her personal life remains dramatic.

"I think that's the dichotomy there and I think that's the interesting thing about a lot of the characters in this show. Professionally, these characters on Private Practice all have attained their dream. They are all choosing of their own volition to have a practice, a co-op and they have all of this choice."

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We've come across some new spoilers for the fourth episode of this season, "In Which Addison Finds the Magic." Follow the jump to read it ...

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Still basking in the afterglow of her amazing nuptials, like most brides, Kate Walsh wishes her wedding could have been a never-ending affair.

"I had an amazing time," the Private Practice star told Extra in an interview at the end of last week. "When you walk down the aisle, that was pretty powerful. To have a church full of everybody that is near and dear to me, and that I love and that loves us ... and seeing his face!"

Kate and Alex share a kiss at the Emmys last night.

Walsh, as we know, married movie executive Alex Young, 36, over Labor Day weekend, with the couple exchanging vows before 100 guests - including a handful of Walsh's former Grey's Anatomy co-stars - Katherine Heigl, Sara Ramirez, Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, T.R. Knight and Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy's creator).

Having now experienced her her big day, Kate Walsh says "I see why people have week-long weddings," she says. "Let's just keep it going."

As for recent rumors that Walsh is expecting?

"A baby, no. We might get a new puppy, though," Kate says. "For now, we are just excited to spend time with each other."

And for the premiere of Private Practice a week from Wednesday!

Rumors of an upcoming, joint ABC hour-long special for Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are true: "Come Rain or Shine: From Grey's Anatomy to Private Practice" is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19 at 9 p.m.

The special offers an intimate look at Dr. Addison Montgomery from her arrival in Seattle to her turbulent life and quest to start a new one.

While there have been scant marketing efforts to promote the Grey's spin-off this summer, this special is clearly meant to prepare us for Private Practice.

Addison (Kate Walsh) has put her ex-husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and the rest of her life in Seattle behind her. She's ready for a new beginning!

Additionally, this special will feature a new Grey's Anatomy music video made out of the song "Breathe In Breathe Out" by Mat Kearney.

The special will also feature a first look from the new season of Grey's Anatomy and clips from the series premiere of Private Practice. Should be great to watch and get people involved. Check out this promo in the meantime!