Tanc Sade (Finn on Gilmore Girls) is one of many actors who have become versatile in their craft. Tanc has been writing and directing films, including the 2008 Flowers and Weeds. Tanc recently set himself an exercise to make a short film for less than $20 and in less than a week. He hoped to learn more about filmmaking during the process, in the end coming up with this 3 minute film, You Had Me At Hello:

Tanc also appeared in an episode of 90210 last year and is in the upcoming movie, Weathered.

Hat tip: Gilmore Girls Companion

Wayne Wilcox was the beloved Marty on Gilmore Girls, and since we just finished discussing why Rory was so clueless about Marty, I thought it fitting to see what Wayne has been up to.

Wayne Wilcox was in 10 episodes of Gilmore Girls, starting with ‘The Hobbit, the Sofa, and Digger Stiles‘ as Naked Guy and ending with ‘Merry Fisticuffs‘. Wayne didn’t have much film or television experience before Gilmore Girls, though he had a supporting role in My Sassy Girl in 2008. His most well-known role is in the 2005 film production for Rent. Hopefully we’ll see Wayne land a lead role in a movie or television series soon!

The role of Marty was created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino with Wayne in mind. Wayne had served the couple at a hotel where he worked and they asked him to read some lines for them. Wayne read some of the Dean scenes, and it went well. One day they called to say they were “writing this part” for him, so if you think Marty is a little like Dean, you’re probably not far off!

Outside of screen acting, Wayne Wilcox is active in the theater. He appeared in The Light in the Piazza, as well as Suddenly Last Summer. The most recent credits I could find were for the 2007 production of Coram Boy and the 2008 production Come Back, Little Sheba. Read more

A little while ago, the Hollywood Reporter put together an interesting look at the CW, and the WB its predecessor, and its tendency to hire young actresses to play parents , like Lauren Graham on Gilmore Girls.

The article suggests that CW goes “unrealistically young in the motherly department” with actresses such as Lauren Graham being hired very young for their roles. Lauren Graham was 33 when she started Gilmore Girls though her character, Lorelai Gilmore, was herself a young mother of 31. I wouldn’t, therefore, call this unrealistic.

The article highlights the latest casting decision on new CW pilot Light Years which will have Shiri Appleby (30) and Kristoffer Polaha (31) as parents for Brittany Robertson’s (19) character, who is 16. The plot, like with Gilmore Girls, centers on a teenage couple who get pregnant in high school. In this show, Brittany’s character became a foster child and the story follows her as she tracks down her biological parents.

So, I don’t think either of these stories make the casting at all “unrealistic”, do you? Shiri is only 2 years younger than the character she’d play on television. I think the question to ask, perhaps, is if television is creating too many shows about teenagers giving birth in high school. What do you think?

Image: TheWB.com

Lauren Graham’s Guys and Dolls on Broadway opens this Sunday!! I can’t wait to see the premiere photos!

In addition to the interviews I posted earlier this week, Lauren Graham has been getting more ink for her first Broadway show. In her latest interview, Lauren talks about having to get over her insecurity for being rather ‘green’ on Broadway, compared to cast members with oodles of Broadway theatrical experience. She’s often nervous if they change part of the act after she’s rehearsed it, but she reminds herself that it’ll be fine.

The choreographer talked about the production and the two striptease numbers that Lauren Graham’s burlesque-performing character, Adelaide, does. They says that it made sense for Lauren to get the skimpy costumes because she has a “spectacular body.” Go Lauren! Co-star Oliver Platt describes Lauren as “original and appealing” as Adelaide, someone who’s a comedian, a great singer, and can be both tough and vulnerable.

Lauren Graham makes one quick reference to Gilmore Girls, when talking about her new ABC comedy, Let it Go. Lauren describes her new show as having a “sharper edge” than the family-friendly Gilmore Girls, which still looms large in her career. Lauren joked that people are probably going to ask her about a Gilmore Girls movie for the “rest of my life.” Of course we are!

You can buy tickets here. If you go to the production, leave a comment or email me to tell me what you think - and if you’re lucky enough to get a photo of and/or with Lauren, do let me know so I can share it!

Photo Credit: GuysAndDollsBroadway.com

Keiko Agena (Lane Kim on Gilmore Girls) is best known to us as a drummer. After all, she spent 7 years drumming on Gilmore Girls. When the series ended, Keiko admitted that she had gotten “really lazy” with her drumming. However, that doesn’t mean that Keiko has dropped all musical pursuits!

Keiko Agena also plays the bass and can be seen as part of the ensemble Boo Boo Kitty. According to the band’s MySpace, we should now call Keiko “K-BOO”
Check out Boo Boo Kitty (including Keiko) performing in December:

Great to see Keiko still pursuing her music!!

Image: PR Photos

Did you know that there were 2 actresses to play the character of Mia on Gilmore Girls?

Elizabeth Franz & Kathy Baker

Mia was the owner of the Independence Inn, the Inn where Lorelai ran to with baby Rory after leaving the Gilmore home. Lorelai started there as a maid and worked her way up to being manager. Mia only appeared in two episodes of Gilmore Girls since Lorelai was such an adept manager of the Inn! However, she had a profound influence on Lorelai’s life, taking the place of the mother figure for Lorelai while she learned to be an independent young mother (see how the name of the Inn nicely fits in with that?).

The character of Mia appeared in Season 2 in ‘The Ins and Outs of Inns‘, played by Elizabeth Franz. Mia made an appearance again in Season 7 when Lorelai, Rory and Emily went to her wedding. The actress portraying Mia in ‘Gilmore Girls Only‘ was Kathy Baker.

Since working on Gilmore Girls, Elizabeth Franz has made guest appearances on shows like Law & Order and was in the movie The Reader in 2005. Elizabeth is also a stage actress with her latest production in The Piano Teacher in 2007.

Kathy Baker may be more of a familiar face, known from her films including Edward Scissorhands and Cold Mountain. Kathy, like Elizabeth, is also a stage actress including 2007’s The Jane Austen Book Club. Most recently, Kathy appeared in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and in the movies Last Chance Harvey and Shades of Ray. She has 3 movies (two for TV) coming up in 2009.

Images: Newscom (L) Bauer-Griffin (R)

Emily Kuroda (Mrs. Kim on Gilmore Girls) is currently one of the stars in the East West Players stage adaptation of The Joy Luck Club. The stage adaptation, written by Susan Kim, is based on the book of the same title by Amy Tan, which was made into a movie in 1993. The story of The Joy Luck Club focuses on four Chinese American immigrant families who come together to play Mahjong. The book tells the stories of the lives of the four mothers and their four daughters who, despite many differences, find a common bridge in their shared experiences.

Emily Kuroda stars as one of the mothers, An-Mei Hsu. An-Mei was raised by her grandparents after her mother became a concubine after the death of An-Mei’s father, an act which was considered dishonorable. It comes to pass that An-Mei goes to live with her mother and her new husband only to learn that her mother was raped by him, leaving her no choice but to marry him and become his Fourth Wife. An-Mei’s brother was claimed by Second Wife, and An-Mei’s mother later commits suicide.

After this, An-Mei gets power in the household. She later immigrates to America, marries and has her own children. One of the children drowns accidentally and An-Mei loses her faith in God. Her daughter, Rose, is emotionally abused in her marriage. Given how strong An-Mei grew to be from her own childhood experiences, An-Mei struggles to get Rose to assert herself.

Asia Pacific Arts notes, of Emily Kuroda’s performance:

“Kuroda’s emotional scene where she recalls her lost child is particularly poignant”

Variety.com says the same things of Kuroda during this scene, which they describe as a “highlight” of the play:

“A highlight is the wrenching enactment of the drowning of Rose’s little brother at the beach, wherein Kuroda’s An-Mei ragingly invokes all the traditional powers of her ancestry, imploring that her son be returned”

Just like with Gilmore Girls, “the heart and soul of the story revolves around conflicted mother-daughter relationships.”

Other cast members from the ensemble are Jennifer Chang, Celeste Den, Edward Gunawan, Karen Huie, Elaine Kao, Cici Lau, Katherine Lee, Ben Lin, Deborah Png and David Stanbra.

The Joy Luck Club will continue playing at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center in LA until December 21st.

Photos of Emily Kuroda in “The Joy Luck Club”

Read more

Sean Gunn (Kirk, Gilmore Girls) guest starred in the fourth episode of the Vh1 reality series Scream Queens, directed by his brother James Gunn. James Gunn also serves as one of the three judges.

The show, which premiered in October, put together 10 actresses searching for their big break. The reality series is searching for the perfect horror film actress (”scream queen”), with the winner getting a breakout role in Saw VI (which will star Gilmore Girls actor Scott Patterson in his third Saw installment).

In the fourth episode of Scream Queens, Sean Gunn guest starred to make a phony movie trailer, the final product of which you can view here:

And here is a video of Sean Gunn and James Gunn discussing the episode:

[Image: VH1]

Vanessa Marano (April on Gilmore Girls) has taken on another new role, this time on the CBS daytime Soap Opera The Young and the Restless.

Vanessa Marano will replace actress Erin Sanders in The Young and the Restless in the role of Eden Baldwin. The reason for the switch was due to Erin not “resonating with fans” in the role. She was given an acting coach, then fired when that didn’t work. Here’s a scene with Erin Sanders as Eden:

Erin Sanders will continue as Eden Baldwin until November 19th, with Vanessa Marano taking over the role on December 3rd.

Vanessa has been doing a number of projects lately, including guest spots on The Closer and Ghost Whisperer, and upcoming movies including The Clique.

Image: Newscom ; via soaps.com, tv guide

Rose Abdoo (Gypsy on Gilmore Girls) appeared in last night’s episode of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters.

Rose appeared in the episode, entitled ‘Do You Believe in Magic’, as Miss Clara, a fortune teller (photo here) hired for an anniversary party. If you look at around 1:15 in the video below, you’ll see Rose’s appearance on Brothers & Sisters:

In this second video at approximately the same time, Miss Clara (Rose Abdoo) gives another reading:

This is the second tv appearance that Rose has made since Gilmore Girls ended. She also appeared in a single episode of The Return of Jezebel James (photo / review here) before the show got the axe.

Thanks Karen!