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After several years off, the "Sex and the City" crew is back and better than ever. In this behind-the-scenes featurette, you'll get the inside scoop on the cast, the clothes, and the characters you know and love.
Having been a David Cook supporter all season, I was biting my nails a lot during last night's two hour "American Idol" finale. There were some great moments (Brooke White dueting with Graham Nash, Jason Castro reprising his lovely performance of "Hallelujah"), some annoying sponsor-related moments (ie: both Davids reenacting the same "Guitar Hero" commercial), and some major WTF? moments (George Michael's performance, whatever the heck Carrie Underwood was wearing). However, the real reason everyone tuned in was to see who won, and Ryan Seacrest did his best to drag the announcement on as long as possible--until about 10:01, ensuring everyone TiVoing the show would get cut off.
While David Archuleta was a worthy competitor, I've been a Cook supporter since the semifinals. This was the first year that "Idol" allowed instruments, and Cook used his guitar to supplement his voice and show that he wasn't just a singer but a great musician. I also give him credit for taking the high road and refusing to bring a family sob story onto the program. Cook has two older brothers--Adam and Andrew--and is very close to his Missouri-based family. Adam has been suffering from brain cancer for the last several years. Although the story was widely reported in the press, Cook never brought it up on the show. The closest he came was wearing an orange bracelet during every program (to show support for his brother) and putting the initials AC on his guitar and sometimes his shirt. Considering how Virginia native Chris Richardson was raked over the coals last year for blaming an off performance on being upset about the Virginia Tech shooting, perhaps David Cook didn't want his personal family sadness to get used against him.
Unfortunately, Adam Cook was too sick to make it to last night's results show in L.A., but the rest of the family was there to cheer David on. And when his name was called, David, who'd done his best to keep his emotions in check throughout the last few weeks, began to cry. He pulled himself together to perform the closing song, but cameras cut to his family in the audience, all in tears. David's other brother, Andrew, managed a smile when he caught a camera on him and mouthed "That's my brother!"
I love "Dancing with the Stars"--it's a fun, frothy show that always ends up surprising me with some genuinely inspiring and touching moments. This year, my sentimental favorite was Marlee Matlin--the deaf Oscar-winning actress was completely undaunted by the task of learning to move to music she couldn't hear, and was phenomenal at it. However, my favorite to win was Olympic gold medal winning ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi. Not only did I think she was the best dancer, she also had to cope with the fact that only one woman has ever won the show in six seasons. Soap opera star Kelly Monaco won the truncated first season (it only aired six episodes, as no one expected the show to be such a huge hit), but her victory was marred by a rematch with runner-up John O'Hurley, which he won. So when Yamaguchi was crowned the winner last night, it was a victory not just for dance fans but for women.
However, Yamaguchi's win wasn't the only touching moment from last night's show. During the finale, all the season's eliminated contestants came back to perform once more and fill the audience in on their upcoming projects. Comedian Adam Carolla, whose humor and relatability kept him in the show despite his uncoordinated dancing, was surprisingly the most heartfelt celebrity.
"This is why the terrorists hate us," he said. "And it’s not the glitter and it’s not the pomp and circumstance. We’ve got black and white, we’ve got Hispanic and Asian, we got gay, straight, and [Steve] Guttenberg, all working together for one common goal: to get the mirror ball. And the mirror ball doesn’t care what color you are, and it doesn’t care how rich your parents are, and it doesn’t care what God you pray to. It’s an even wooden floor, and may the best man or woman win. And I say God bless Dancing with the Stars, and God bless the USA."
Sure, he may have been kidding, but the guy kind of has a point. And Kristi Yamaguchi finally has her trophy.
The most anticipated movie of the summer hits theaters on Thursday. Get ready for Indy-mania by viewing this clip. And then when you're done, try taking our quiz to see how much you know about spirituality in the Indy flicks.
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