Q and A: Week of Oct. 11

Q: My husband and I think “Men of a Certain Age” was the best show on TV last year. Can you tell us if it’s been picked up for a second season? We sure hope so. — Carmen G., via e-mail

A: I am happy to report that TNT’s hit comedy starring Ray Romano, Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula has been renewed for a second season, which will premiere Nov. 29. You can relive the first season soon, as Season One will make its DVD debut Nov. 2. The two-disc DVD set will include all 10 episodes from the first season. Bonus features include commentary, deleted scenes, gag reel and behind-the-scenes footage.

Q: I just found out that actors Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek have divorced. How are they doing, and how do they make it work with their children? — Sasha F., Ontario, Canada

A: I spoke with Jane recently while she was promoting her Lifetime movie “Reviving Ophelia” (which I highly recommend), and she told me how she and Brad are able to make it work since getting divorced in 2009: “Brad and I have a really wonderful relationship. The marriage couldn’t work anymore, but I think that we still have an incredible fondness and love for each other that we really want our kids to see as we become friends. We just think of it as a family that lives in two different houses.”




Q: I was so sad to read that Gloria Stuart had passed away. “Titanic” is one of my all-time favorite movies, and Gloria did a wonderful job in it. What other films has this beautiful actress been in? — Phyllis S., via e-mail

A: Gloria Stuart, who passed away Sept. 26 of respiratory failure at the age of 100, got her start early in Hollywood. She was a blond beauty who starred in “The Invisible Man,” “Gold Diggers of 1935” and “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.” She was semiretired by the 1940s, and returned to acting in the ’70s with sporadic roles in TV and film.


She returned to the acting forefront in the 1997 epic romance/disaster film “Titanic,” and both she and Kate Winslet were nominated for an Academy Award for the same role (Kate playing Young Rose, and Gloria playing Older Rose), which was an Oscar first. Upon hearing of Gloria’s passing, Kate released this statement: “I feel blessed to have met her, known her and to have acted alongside her. She will be deeply missed.”

Q: What are these rumors I’m hearing about a “Sound of Music” reunion? — Gerry D., Wilmington, Del.

A: I think you’re referring to the news that the entire cast of the hit 1965 musical will reunite on “Oprah” on Oct. 29 in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary. All the cast members (as well as members of the real Von Trapp family) will be on hand, including stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Color me ecstatic!

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Interview: Jane Kaczmarek Hits Home with Reviving Ophelia

Before her breakout role in “Malcolm in the Middle,” Jane Kaczmarek was a featured performer in a plethora of television shows, including “Raising the Bar,” “Party of Five” and “Felicity.” In the Lifetime original movie “Reviving Ophelia,” Jane switches back to drama to play the mother of a teenage girl who’s trying to escape an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. The movie, which airs tonight at 9/8c (check your listings for encore performances), is based on Mary Pipher’s seminal book for teen girls, “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.”

Celebrity Extra: As a mom, this whole subject matter must have really struck a chord with you. What were your thoughts about the script?

Jane Kaczmarek: You know, it really did. I have three children: two daughters and a son. My oldest and youngest are daughters, and my oldest is 12, so she’s kind of on the cusp of this. And I’ve always called her my little nun because she is so modest. She practices the piano and does ballet and is a very diligent kid. And it never dawned on me that something like this could happen to her. And I think what I found interesting about this script and the casting of the girl who played Rebecca, who is my daughter in the movie — she comes across as such a clean-cut, beautiful, innocent kid. You don’t think that she’s the one who’s going to get involved in this. It’s the cousin who seems kind of naughty, and you think she would be the one that would end up in the situation like this. So that was the real eye-opener for me. You know, as a mother it was a real cautionary tale about really keeping your eyes open about everything that’s going on in your kid’s life.



CE: I am not a mom, but this would be the kind of stuff that would scare the crap out of me.

JK: And I thought that Nick Thurston, who plays the boyfriend who beats her, he was so charmingly eerie. He was so sincere and so earnest. And he really loved her. You could see why she would stay with this guy. She’s just caught in this lie of protecting him, and everything is just swirling out of control.

CE: What was it about Marie or the movie itself that made you really want to be a part of this?

JK: Well, I think because it was just an unexpected look at this really, really big problem. You know, I live in Pasadena. I live in a very comfortable, leafy suburb of Los Angeles where the kids for the most part are good and the parents for the most part are hyper-responsible. And what surprised me was it was happening to a family like that.

I also like (director) Bobby Roth. He had directed an episode of a TV show that I did, and I liked the way he told the story with the camera. I thought it was a very fresh and interesting and unexpected way of working. I hadn’t worked in a year. This has been a really tumultuous year for me. My husband and I got divorced, and I hadn’t worked since “Raising the Bar” ended in the summer of 2009. So this came along, and I thought I was ready to step back into the world of “Jane the Actress.” My manager sent me flowers in Toronto and said, “Instead of ‘Reviving Ophelia,’ I think this should be called ‘Reviving Jane.’” And I had a wonderful, wonderful time working with Lifetime and with Bobby Roth, and all of the actors. It was a really, really satisfying experience.

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