Fox is currently doing their “upfronts” – meaning that all of the people involved with Fox programming are required to turn out to media events and shill for the press and try to get people to pay attention to their shows. Lea Michele was at the Fox event with all of her Glee costars, but who can pay attention to the costars when LEA MICHELE is there? Her talent is so epic, it becomes a vacuum, sucking the air out of the room. Or maybe that’s her personality. Anyway, Lea wore this turquoise Peter Som dress which… isn’t bad, actually. The color is great on her, but I could have done without the biscuit-level slit. I would also love to see Lea change up her hair, because this style is just kind of terrible on her.

So… did you hear that Lea isn’t getting her own spinoff show? When Lea’s Glee character “graduated,” there was talk of giving her a spinoff with Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith. But Fox shut it down, thankfully. But! Lea will be back next season in some form. How much of a kick in the teeth was that for Lea? She thinks she’s the star of the show, she thinks she’s getting her own spinoff, and now she’s just happy to be coming back for a fourth season of a show that most people kind of hate these days.

I’m also including some photos of Tamara Taylor, who is on Bones, and who is also having a really unfortunate hair situation. I hope to God that’s a wig. Also: Zooey Deschanel, who is one of my favorite girls of the moment. I don’t care for Zooey’s skirt, but she looks cute.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We’ve heard plenty of negative things about Glee creator Ryan Murphy. He’s gotten in Twitter fights with artists over using their songs on the show, he’s announced to the press that cast members are off the show before bothering to tell them about it (another producer later tried to backtrack and cover for him) and we’ve heard multiple stories that the cast is seriously overworked. US Weekly has a new story detailing the psychological war that Murphy wages on set, and it’s frankly a little chilling. He uses some pretty draconian tactics to try and keep castmembers in line. The one may be the scariest, though: he allegedly asked Lea Michelle which of her friends she wanted him to fire after she told him she didn’t want to do the Glee tour. Also, you know how Dianna Agron’s character, Quinn Fabray, became a punk this season and started rebelling against everything? That’s because Agron dared to try and give Murphy some insight into where she thought her character should go. He put her in her place and created yet another implausible story line while making her character totally unlikable.

“Things are really bad on [the] set [of Glee],” says a show source. “The cast talks about how much they love Ryan, but they have grown to hate him.” Seconds another, “He has bad mood swings and can be really mean…”

“The 16 hour days are a bit rough,” Harry Shum Jr., 29, who plays Mike Chang, admits to US…

“Production is a mess,” explains the source. “They’re so behind schedule.”

In a Rachel-Berry-esque move, Michele, 25, is taking action. “The cast has been speaking about banding together against him, and Lea is taking the charge,” says the source.

When a frustrated Dianna Agron, 25, tried to offer Murphy some plot suggestions for her character, Quinn Fabray, he retaliated by making her character utterly unlikable. “That’s standard operating procedure for him,” says an actor who has worked with Murphy in the past…

Murphy is also willing to simply let cast members go. WHen Michele told him she didn’t want to go on the cast’s 2011 multicity summer tour (for which they had only four days to rehearse!), the threatened to axe one of her pals. “He asked her which of her friends she wanted him to fire,” says an insider… His implied target: powerhouse vocalist Amber Riley, “because she’s one of the Lea’s closest friends.”

[From US Weekly, print edition, December 19, 2011]

Michele’s rep denies these claims, but they have Harry Shum on the record and then they attribute the negative stuff to a “source.” How much do you want to bet Shum is going to see his character marginalized or axed after this?

What an a**hole this guy is. He couldn’t fire the lead actress so he threatened her by giving her the Sophie’s Choice of which one of her best buddies he would fire if she didn’t get in line. That’s outrageous. I don’t like Lea Michele at all, but that’s totally uncalled for. What’s more is that this story is actually making me admire her a little bit. She may be a diva and a pain, but if she’s trying to work with her co-workers to keep her evil boss in line, more power to her.

Oh and Murphy hates Kristin Chenoweth too. US writes that he “blew up at [Chenoweth] last season when she couldn’t appear on an episode due to a preexisting theater commitment.” A source tells US ‘Ryan said she would never work on a project of his again.’”

Can you imagine how it is on the “American Horror Story” set? I bet he’s not as mean of a mofo, considering he’s working with seasoned adult actors he can’t bully as effectively. He’s probably a petty jerk, though.

These photos are from the American Horror Story premiere on 10/3/11 and from the Peabody Awards on 5/17/10. Murphy is also shown on 8/6/11 at the Glee concert movie premiere. Credit: WENN.com

In a sea of elegant, simple gowns at the Emmys the younger ladies of Glee were all a little too fussy and try-hard for my taste. To recap, Glee didn’t take home anything this year except a guest spot award for Gwyneth Paltrow, which was presented at a separate ceremony that Goop didn’t bother to attend. Since Gwynnie’s dress was so bad, Kaiser will make fun of it in another post. Right now let’s focus on the actual stars of the show, who all brought the fug.

First off is Lea Michele in Marchesa. The cut of this dress is ridiculous. I like the color and the back is really cute, but look at those shoulders, which consist of some kind of bunched up material in a vaguely rose-like configuration. It makes her look like a football player, and like she’s ready to kick someone’s ass, which is probably the case given all we’ve heard about her. She loves red dresses and sometimes can look decent in them, but this one is a fail.

Here’s Dianna Agron in a baffling Roksanda Ilincic draped blue dress. It looks very matronly, especially paired with that terrible hair. She never gets it right. It’s a shame because she’s could really wear the hell out of some gorgeous gowns.

Jayma Mays in a bizarre tiered tulle Zuhair Murad monstrosity. She looks like she’s trying to channel her Glee character’s style. This is also reminiscent of one of those “lady” toilet brush cover from the 70s.

Ditto on Heather Morris in this jaw-dropping (not in a good way) purple-ish v-neck gown with diagonal ruffles. It looks like Givenchy, but I can’t get a designer ID on it. Whatever it is, it’s way too fussy. Look at her high hair and overdone makeup too.

Naya Rivera in an intricately folded black dress. It’s not amazing, but it’s not bad either. Compared to her co-stars she was well dressed.

Jenna Ushkowitz in a Duran-Duran looking cubic black and white gown with a high leg slit and black peep toe shoes with bows on them. Did she share a hair and makeup artist with Heather Morris and Naya Rivera? They all have puffy fug hair, heavy eyeshadow with giant fake lashes and neutral lips and cheeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the same stylist too.

Last night was the big LA premiere of Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. I’ve been staring at the photos for most of morning, trying to work up some interest in writing about the film or the red carpet, but I’m finding it difficult. Mostly because the film is coming out after too many months of Glee-overexposure and hyper-drama and I’m tired of it – for the latest BS about Glee, go here to EW for their open letter. And I’m lacking enthusiasm because…last night’s red carpet was a parade of fug and trying-too-hard. I guess the star of the red carpet was Lea Michele, who alternated between looking like “This is my red carpet, I own this” and “I hate all of you.” Lea does not have a very good poker face, and you can tell when she’s worried that someone else might be overshadowing her. The dress is Marchesa, and it belongs on someone tall and long-limbed, not on a short, petite girl like Lea. It makes her look like a squat linebacker.

Lea’s biggest style competition was probably Dianna Agron, who I personally think looked like hell. I don’t really get Dianna’s type of beauty, though. Sure, she’s pretty, but she’s just so boring. As for her look – the dress is Christian Cota, and I think it’s unflattering. She’s got a cute figure, but the dress doesn’t do much for her other than air out her biscuits. The hair and makeup are too much too – trying too hard. Also: she looks like Faith Hill now, right? And by that, I mean she looks like she’s in her 40s.

I thought Jayma Mays’s J. Mendel dress was strikingly similar to Dianna’s. Which is funny.

Harry Shum Jr. in a sateen suit. Never a good idea.

Heather Morris in Tibi. Heather is one of my picks for “worst dressed”. The Tibi dress is kind of horrible, but the dress with the booties, hair and makeup? Just awful.

Cory Monteith looks nice. He took the time to get a nice suit, and he got it tailored. Good for him.

Naya Rivera in God knows. Too purple. Too dark for summer. And she’s lost so much weight.

Chris Colfer in NO NO NO. I get that gay guys think they can do weird fashion stuff like whatever is happening with Chris’s tie and collar. BUT NO. Stop.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

It was just a week and a half ago that Glee creator Ryan Murphy announced that several key castmembers were off the show after next season, when their characters would be graduating. Lead characters Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, and Chris Colfer would be seniors next season, after which Murphy claimed they would be leaving. Murphy made it clear that he hadn’t informed all of the actors ahead of time that their time on the show was up, and Chris Colfer later admitted that he found out the news on Twitter. Later, Glee’s Amber Riley said she had no idea if she would be returning to the show after the next season, but added “Whatever happens this third season is what happens… it’s something that’s not that surprising to us.”

In a panel at Comic Con over the weekend, Glee’s executive producer Brad Falchuck said that it wasn’t true that Monteith, Michele and Colfer would all be leaving after next year, and that there were other ways that their characters could continue on the show without staying in high school. He said there probably won’t be a spinoff though. One familiar face that won’t be back on the show is Chord Overstreet, as has been rumored.

Right off the bat, the current situation involving Cory Monteith, Lea Michele, and Chris Colfer graduating and leaving the show for good came up, and executive producer Brad Falchuck finally set the record straight. Plus, what’s the real deal with Chord Overstreet not returning for season three?

Although it was reported by every outlet around that Ryan Murphy announced Michele, Monteith and Colfer would be graduating at the end of next season and not returning to the show in any capacity, Falchuck claims that’s not the case at all.

“They’re seniors. They’re graduating. But [just] because they’re graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show,” he said to the anxious crowd. “If you have Lea Michele under contract, you don’t say, ‘We’re gonna let you go.’ It was never our plan or our intention to let them go. They are not done with the show after this season.”

There you go, Glee fans. Looks like we won’t be seeing the last of Rachel, Finn and Kurt after season three.

Falchuck also spoke about the Overstreet situation, claiming they did ask him back, but he declined. “We did invite him back for a portion of the season, to see if being a regular was a possibility,” he explained. “But he declined the offer, which we were really disappointed by.”

It’s an unfortunate circumstance, because according to the show runners, they had a lot planned for him in season three. “We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes (Amber Riley). He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can’t force him to work, so we wished him well.”

[From E! Online]

It sounds like there’s a voice of reason among the management on that show after all. And it sounds like Lea Michele’s lawyers gave her employers a call and let them know they couldn’t just fire her through the press. Good for them.

Do you think that Glee Project reality competition show has Murphy assuming that he can get more compliant talent much cheaper? There’s still the issue of a toxic work environment.

Photo credit: Fame pictures

We heard last week that Australian actor Chord Overstreet, 22, would not be back at Glee next year. It made me wonder if Chord was getting a little too big for his britches now that he’s dating Emma Roberts, who has a reputation for being difficult. The news was in People and everything and Glee creator Ryan Murphy confirmed it to The Hollywood Reporter, so it sounded official.

Only someone at Glee later tried to take it back. A source told TV Line’s Michael Ausiello that Overstreet could possibly work on the series still. They made it sound like a contract negotiation issue: “[Overstreet's] option to be a series regular was just not picked up at this time. If Chord wants to appear on Glee, the choice is his. The Glee writers like his Sam character, and have plans to write for him. He and his reps have been told that he is welcome back to Glee, and everyone hopes he will show up on August 10 when filming begins.” Glee was Chord’s big break, so he should stick around for a while.

Now there’s news that Season three, next year’s season from 2011-2012, will be the last for three of the main stars, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer. Their characters are set to graduate and creator Murphy explained that it wouldn’t be authentic if they stayed in high school forever:

Glee regulars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Chris Colfer will not be back for the fourth season of the Fox musical hit.

In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator Ryan Murphy said that the three regulars will be among the characters who graduate at the end of the fall’s upcoming third season.

Colfer, Michele and Monteith are not going to be back at all for Season 4. Murphy tells THR: “You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year.”
Murphy added that planning for the future beyond high school will be a heavy theme during Season 3, noting that “more characters are leaving than are staying” when graduation time comes at the season’s end.

“We’ve never done anything by the book,” he said, adding that who’s graduating and who’s staying will be revealed in the Sept. 20 season premiere. “We made that decision and I involved Chris and Lea and they thought that was a good idea. They both trust the writing and trust me and felt that it would be great to have an open and closed experience for them to go out while they were on top.”

Murphy and co-creators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan’s decision to graduate the trio — among others — has been well-received by the show’s new writers, he said. The group recently returned to work and are writing story lines that include several characters’ parents as the college talk heats up.

“We already made the decision before the new writers came in, but everybody likes where we’re taking it and what we’re writing toward,” Murphy said, noting that while he loved the “relationship roulette” from Season 2, the upcoming run would find everyone’s love lives more stable.

“I’m much more interested in Lea’s character — not so much on her relationship with Finn, but more on what her dreams are beyond high school and how she plans on getting them,” he added. “That’s what my senior year was about.”

Murphy acknowledged that while he hasn’t discussed graduation plans with Monteith yet, he presumes he’s aware that Finn will be among those graduating. “He knows he was a sophomore when the show started.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Doesn’t it seem like there must be a lot of tension on set? Murphy is admitting that he never told one of the main stars, Cory Monteith, that next year will be the last he’s appearing on the show. So he told the press about it before he even bothered to give a heads up to Monteith. His response as to why was kind of shrug and “he should have known.” That’s ridiculous and unbelievable. We’ve heard about the long hours these kids work on set and it just sounds like Murphy is hostile.

Every since Murphy had all that Twitter drama and started calling out artists for not licensing their music to him I’ve soured on this show. Now that I see how unfairly the stars are treated, I have no regrets about not bothering to watch it this season.

Ryan Murphy:

Cory Monteith:

Lea Michele:

Chris Colfer:

Chord Overstreet:

“Glee” has just wrapped its Season Two shooting schedule, and Dianna Argon celebrated in a very unconventional way; that is, she got her long, blonde locks chopped into a funky bob haircut and posted the video on her Twitter account for all to see.

Just as Dianna was about to undergo the new look, her hairdresser (thankfully, it’s not Ken Paves) inquires, “Is this going to be too short?” Her response: “No, I don’t think so.” She then asks the camera, “Do you guys think so?” Ordinarily, this sort of voyeurism involving a haircut would be a bit too much for me, but I must admit that Dianna’s enthusiasm during the process was rather infectious.

Seriously, the girl was entirely excited: “I’m so happy!”

When all was said and done, Dianna wrote, “Season 2 wrap. A remedy to the seven-year itch. Finally!” So what do you think of the new cut? This new, funkier look certainly suits her personality.

Photos courtesy of Dianna Argon/Tyler Shields

Yesterday, I wrote about the new photos of the Glee cast as they film in New York City. I asked the question: “It’s as if someone is trying to make Lea Michele look like hell, right?” So… these are newer photos from the Glee Manhattan-athon, and I still have to ask: what did Lea Michele do to piss off the wardrobe, hair and makeup departments? It must have been something really bad. Like this face:

In most the shots below, Lea is in the same hideous Rainbow Brite striped coat (and the unfortunate outfit underneath the coat. But in the other shots – where she’s with Cory Monteith, Lea is wearing what I’m assuming is some “romantic” dress. Except that it doesn’t look cool and vintagey, it looks dated and sad (to me). And Cory looks super-engaged with Lea’s drama machine, doesn’t he? He’s so over it. And I love how Lea is always so incredibly aware of the camera.

By the way, the Emmy nominations will be coming out soon (within a few weeks, I think), and Lea is considered a shoo-in for another nomination for Lead Actress in a Comedy. If she’s up against people like Mary-Louise Parker, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, what are Lea’s chances? Read more about it here at the Los Angeles Times.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

These are photos of some of the Glee girls (and Chris Colfer) filming in (SPOILER) New York on Monday. I see Diana Argon and Lea Michele, and I don’t care about the other ones. Lea, as you may know from my informal Twitter polling, won our contest for “Who Would You Rather Smack?” question. It was between Lea and Kristen Stewart, and most of you wanted to smack Lea (I wanted to smack K-Stew). Note: I’m not advocating violence in any way, we were just having a theoretical discussion about the IDEA of which girl is more worthy of a smack, and it’s not like any of us would ever do it. We just like to fantasize about it. For some of us, it’s a fantasy that gets us through the day.

Anyway, Lea won our little poll, and I’m guessing that these photos will add to her negative appeal. Lea is styled in what I’m guessing is an homage to Mary Tyler Moore? I have to give Lea some credit – she’s able to “pull off” 1970s styles more than most actresses. Now, to negate that credit, she looks like hell. It’s just a bad combination of bangs trauma and too-bright horizontal stripes and HER FACE.

Which brings me to my next poll question: Do you think the crew of Glee hates Lea Michele too? The makeup people, the costume department, the producers, the camera guys, I feel like they’re all conspiring to make Lea look like hell because they don’t care for her either. Or because she’s actively alienated them. Do you think some people actually had to put some effort into making Lea look this bad, or do you think it just comes naturally to Lea? Discuss.

Last thing: Chris Colfer. Feathers. No comment.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

As you know by know, I really dislike Glee. I dislike the actual show, I dislike the actors on the show, I dislike the characters, and most of all, I dislike the IDEA of the show. As such, I don’t watch that junk. But far be it from me to judge a masochist like Bret Easton Ellis! BEE is the author of such novels as American Psycho, Less Than Zero and The Rules of Attraction. He was also working on a script for The Golden Suicides, which we talked about last year. BEE also hates Glee. But he still totally watches it:

[From Bret Easton Ellis’s Twitter]

Is this wrong? Sure. Should we, as a society, not makes jokes about puddles of HIV? Of course. Did I giggle? Yep. I also appreciate that Bret made it clear that he was not drunk, and I liked the reference to “the hivs”. Gah! I’m going to hell, you can just say it. Not only do I hate Glee, I laugh at jokes about puddles of HIV. HELL… see you there!

By the way, I’m brining this up because YOU KNOW Ryan Murphy is going to say something. This is a preemptive strike.

Photos courtesy of GQ.