Glenn Close

Tom Hanks was the man of the hour last night at the 36th Film Society of Lincoln Center's Gala in NYC. Rita Wilson sparkled on his arm, while Ron Howard framed the perfect shot of Tom and Julia Roberts. Fresh off her trip to Venice, Charlize couldn't help but gush about Salma Hayek's wedding and how beautiful the bride looked in her gown. Julia got the most attention of the night due to her miniroast of Tom. She teased him about a few of his past movies and used the f-word so many times to describe everything from his wife's body to wearing the same dress as his publicist that Tom called out her potty mouth in his own speech.

To see more photos including Christopher Walken, Steven Spielberg, and Ed Burns, just read more

I'm both relieved and dismayed that Damages ends its second season tonight. The relief comes from finally putting the pieces together — whom does Ellen shoot? what is UNR really up to? — after another breathless season of twists and flashes through time. The dismay comes from knowing it will be a year until I get to see this show again.

No show keeps me guessing quite like Damages, and after the first season, I learned to trust the writers: they delivered a finale that wrapped up a satisfying amount of loose ends and left me with something to look forward to in the next batch of episodes. I'm hoping for the same result tonight, since we already know the show will be back for a third season.

Have you been watching this season? Which characters do you think were the best additions to the cast? (I've been loving The Wire alumni Clarke Peters as Dave and John Doman as Walter Kendrick.) Which twist knocked you on the floor the most? By the way, if you're recording tonight's finale, double-check your DVR: The episode's set to run 92 minutes. For now, you can check out a preview for the episode, titled "Trust Me," if you read more

The new season of Damages starts Wednesday, and I have a feeling it's going to be good. The first three episodes are just as tense and twisty as I'd hoped, and I think untangling the web of who knows what is going to take the entire season — if not well into the next one.

Recently, the show's creators and its star, Glenn Close, hopped on a conference call with reporters to talk a bit about season two, which premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. on FX. Here are some of the highlights:

• Patty has a lot to deal with this season. "She’s been highly, highly traumatized. I think the Ray Fiske suicide spun her into a place that she’d never been before; she lost control, she put a hit out on Ellen, there’s a lot that she regrets, and you have to take that into consideration," Close said. "People do not easily recover from that, and it actually, informs, I think, the entire second year."
• And get ready to see her at home. "We’re going to see much more of Patty’s personal life," creator Todd Kessler said. "Her relationship with her husband, Phil, and her relationship with her son, Michael, her relationship to Uncle Pete, who is played by Tom Aldridge, who is a man that probably she has known for longer than anyone else in her life. We’re going to explore all of that."
• William Hurt's character isn't just Frobisher 2. "He enters sort of the opposite way, where he has a past with Patty and Patty actually starts the season trying to help him," creator Daniel Zelman said. "And it was important for us to have a different dynamic in that regards, but at the same time William has a lot of scenes with Glenn; a lot more scenes with Glenn than Ted had last year. And so it was even more important for us that we have an actor who really can hold his own in scenes with Glenn . . . The dynamic between his character and Patty’s character this season is quite different from the dynamic between Patty and Frobisher last year."

To hear what's coming up with Ellen and why the paranoia you feel while watching the show is a good thing, just read more

Glenn Close hosted an event last night to honor pups that have served in combat, and with returning veterans, for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The benefit celebrated the brave men and women (and dogs!) and raised awareness for the organization that makes it all possible, Puppies Behind Bars.

The prison-based nonprofit trains dogs to be explosive detection canines and service dogs for the disabled with their newest initiative, titled “Dog Tags: Service Dogs For Those Who’ve Served Us”, offering these inmate-trained canines to help soldiers readjust to civilian life. See members of the first New York "Dog Tags" graduating class and their new families in the gallery below.

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I first saw this promo for the second season of Damages before Saturday Night Live last week, and it caught me completely off guard. It looked so slick that I assumed it had to be part of the show, and I kept waiting for it to get funny.

Around the point that Ellen steps on Patty Hewes's throat, though, I started to understand what I was actually dealing with.

This is the first promo FX has released for the new season, which premieres Jan. 7. There's no new footage, unfortunately, but we do see both Ellen (Rose Byrne) and Patty (Glenn Close), and via a voiceover we learn a bit about what's been going on with Ellen since last we saw her. Specifically, she's now fabulously wealthy and working at the right hand of Patty — but she's clearly not forgiven her boss for that attempt on her life.

It seems consistent with what I heard back at the TCA press tour about Ellen really coming into her own this season. But can anyone scare Patty Hewes? To take a look at the promo for yourself, just read more

Glenn Close gave one of my favorite acceptance speeches of the night when she won her Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and she was just as gracious a few moments ago in the press room.

"It really is the ride of my career," she said of playing Patty Hewes on Damages. "To have this magnificent part that is as good as any part you would find in a feature film, and to develop her and have it evolve with such an amazing ensemble of writers . . . I'm thrilled."

Close also talked about the "TV Sisterhood of Divas," the "club" she mentioned in her speech with Helen Mirren and Dame Judi Dench. "After my first movie, I was told by my first agent when I was offered something that it would actually be detrimental to my career if I did something in television, and I just couldn't figure it out," she said. "The English do it, why can't we? I really have for all those years thought of actresses like Helen Mirren and Judi Dench who have done TV series and all kinds of television movies and theater and great — as we know — roles in film. I think the most important thing is go where there's great material because that's how you grow as an artist and that's how you're challenged."

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FX's thriller-mystery series Damages, starring Glenn Close, was one of the best entertainment-related things to come out of 2007, period. It's dark, edgy, and so well written, it succeeded in becoming another one of FX's shows (along with Nip/Tuck and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) that brings the cable channel into a whole different league. These shows have way more in common with stuff you'd see on HBO or Showtime than say, USA. In fact, as Broadcasting & Cable points out, "Damages, along with AMC’s Mad Men, became the first basic-cable drama series ever nominated in the Golden Globes Outstanding Series category."

The show won't pick up again with new episodes until 2009, but if you missed the first season last Summer, FX is reairing the entire season tomorrow, Saturday Aug. 9, starting at 7:00 a.m. To find out what I love so much about this show, read more

The first season of FX's Damages was enthralling and chilling, and from just the couple of minutes we got to glimpse Tuesday morning at the TCA press tour, the show still has its captivating qualities. The show's main cast — including two of the three new cast members, William Hurt and Timothy Olyphant — was on hand to discuss a bit of what we'll see in the coming months, and I already feel sucked back in to the Damages universe. Some of this is spoilery, so if you don't want to know anything about season two, stop here — but if you want to hear about the new characters, the evolution of Ellen, and the fate of Arthur Frobisher (well, maybe), just read more

BuzzSugar and I are down in LA for the TCAs, starting with yesterday's Fox presentations! Highlights included seeing Joshua Jackson promote Fringe, even if it was only via satellite, hearing Jerry O'Connell joke about his Tom Cruise impression, Brian Austin Green all hot and tan and — get this — hearing Jon Voight talk about Angelina Jolie and the new twins while promoting 24! Check out Buzz for more in depth coverage of all the panels and details on the new and returning shows, and here are some more of my observations from Fox's presentations and party last night on Santa Monica Pier:

• Let's cut to the chase, here's what Jon Voight had to say about Angelina and those babies: "Well, the most exciting thing is to have new children -- the most beautiful thing in the world and the most exciting thing. And when they're part of your own family it's even more exciting. . . I have not heard from her directly but I've heard little messages from her. My niece has heard but that's the only thing I know about. . .but I'm so excited to have a boy and a girl. I love her." When asked if he will visit, "As soon as I'm allowed. . . When Angie says come on over, I'll do it."
• Joshua Jackson and his Fringe co-stars were off filming in New York, but the general feeling about the show seems to be super excited. JJ Abrams was on the panel with his cowriters, but Pacey still managed to bring a hilarious lighthearted feeling to the day even just on the big screen. When one reporter said that the cow in the pilot stole the show a few times, Josh was quick to come back by reminding her that even though he wasn't in the room...he could still hear her.
• When asked whether he's heard from Tom Cruise since his parody video, Jerry O'Connell said thankfully not.
• Party highlight: playing carnival games with (and beating) Kal Penn. Also, Amanda Bynes showing up with Seth McFarlane causing more than a few whispers.
• Things got a little, uh, interesting with Karl Rove in particular at the Fox News panel — more about that over on Citizen.

To hear more from the panels including SYTYCD news and how Kiefer and Brian Austin Green looked just read more