I think I’ll probably always have love for Christian Slater. When I was just a girl, Christian was the hottest thing ever. And he got through early stardom and success to become a screwed up young man with addictions. He battled those addictions successfully, and now he’s clean and sober and ready to do more work. I respect his journey – it’s like Robert Downey Junior Lite. And while I think Christian is talented, he’s never going to really have an RDJ-like career resurgence. But Christian might have some solid success, and he’s got a new television show on Fox that he’s promoting now. He sat down with Details for a nice little Q&A, and he talks sobriety, River Phoenix and Pump Up the Volume! The full Details piece is here, and here are some highlights:

DETAILS: After a couple of failed shows, you’re returning to television in the FOX comedy Breaking In. Is the third time the charm?
Christian Slater: That’s what we hope. [Laughs] I like to work. I’m like the Michael Caine of this side of the pond. I like feeling useful and productive. Hopefully it’s a passable script. Jobs are few and far between these days, so I’m just grateful for the opportunities. I have children and responsibilities now.

DETAILS: Quitting drinking and drugs must have really changed your priorities.
Christian Slater: The last five years of my life have been great. Really different. I just celebrated five years of sobriety. I’ve been trying to take time for myself and to be with my kids. I went to Africa and ended up building schools there. I went on a USO tour to Bahrain and Djibouti. I went to Walter Reed hospital. These aren’t things I ever considered doing.

DETAILS: No, these are not things people associate with Christian Slater.
Christian Slater: Look, I could spend a lot of time kicking the shit out of myself for the choices I made. I was dealing with alcoholism and addiction, and there was a lot to take on without much life experience. Addiction is not pretty, and you don’t fully understand it unless you’re dealing with it head-on. That’s why when I see other kids struggling, I will sometimes reach out to them—a call or an e-mail.

DETAILS: Really? Did you reach out to Lindsay Lohan?
Christian Slater: Sure, of course. I appreciated the people who reached out to me. It’s a brutal position to be in. You feel alone and confused over where your life went and how you got yourself in this situation.

DETAILS: In 1997, you were convicted of assaulting your girlfriend and a cop. What was jail like?
Christian Slater: Honestly, not so bad. Jail was a result of me not taking time for myself. So I was forced to take some time for myself. [Laughs ] It was necessary for me. When you’re going down that path, you either kill yourself or you’re forced to take time out.

DETAILS: In the nineties, you and River Phoenix were friends and seemed to be on the same path. Do you ever wonder why he didn’t make it and you did?
Christian Slater : All the time. I’ve had a couple of close calls, actually. The Crow, the Brandon Lee movie, was on my radar. A lot of people I’ve loved have died. A lot have been misunderstood, misdiagnosed, mistreated. Chris Farley. River Phoenix. Addiction is a killer. And it takes so much to recognize the problem.

DETAILS: What was your rock bottom?
Christian Slater: It wasn’t a specific thing. Probably one of those crazy nights when you wake up on the floor, your mother is standing over you, and she has to take you to the hospital. It’s humiliating. Or when you have to talk to your children through thick glass. I did One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on stage twice, and the first time I was a lunatic. I hit that wall, and in the back of my mind I knew I was doomed. Thankfully, I was able to do the play again once I got sober.

DETAILS: Was there a spiritual aspect to your recovery?
Christian Slater: I’m not a religious person by any means. But I certainly believe in some kind of a higher power and something looking out for me. I’ve definitely had angels that have either guided me or helped me through moments in my life, without a doubt.

DETAILS: Was it tough to cut ties with the people who fueled your lifestyle?
Christian Slater: No. All you’re doing is escaping together.

DETAILS: You come from a showbiz family and started acting when you were 7, when your mom suggested you for a role on the soap opera One Life to Live. Do you regret starting so early?
Christian Slater: No. My dad was a theater actor, so I would follow him backstage. And my mom was a casting director. The moment I heard the applause and realized it would get me out of school, I was hooked. I did regret not graduating high school, but I made a point of going back and getting my GED later. It was important for my kids. Then I got involved with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and their program to encourage graduation. Now I’m an ambassador for education. [Laughs]

DETAILS: You’ve done a bunch of great movies and a bunch of bad ones. Can you tell if they’re good or bad when you’re doing them?
Christian Slater: Did I have any idea that Heathers would be a good movie? No. Pump Up the Volume? Yeah, I had an idea. I like that one.

DETAILS: There was a Heathers musical staged last year in New York. Did they approach you?
Christian Slater: The producer wanted me to come to the read-through, but I missed it. I heard it was really, really good. They’re thinking of doing something on Broadway. I don’t think I’d be in it. It’d be some kid playing me.

DETAILS: Are you in contact with Winona Ryder at all? Did you see her in Black Swan?
Christian Slater: No, not yet. I’ve always loved her, and I always wanted to work with her again. It’s great she’s doing well. Agents were sometimes like, “Oh, she’s crazy” or whatever, but I’m like, “What?” I worked with her. She’s great.

DETAILS: Back in the day, you had a reputation for dating some of the hottest women in town—Samantha Mathis, Christy Turlington, Winona.
Christian Slater: I don’t know what to say about that. Shit, I don’t know what to say about that. It’s a crazy town, and actors are nuts. It falls under the category of addictive behavior. I was just transferring that to women. Now I transfer it to Nicorette gum—I’ve been chewing that for six years.

[From Details]

See? He sounds… mature. Okay, whatever, I’m totally hot for him again. I love how he defends Winona, I love what he says about addiction, I love this: “I did regret not graduating high school, but I made a point of going back and getting my GED later. It was important for my kids. Then I got involved with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and their program to encourage graduation. Now I’m an ambassador for education.” Christian Slater for HGF?

Photos courtesy of Details & WENN.

Do you know how much I love it when there are new Amy Winehouse photos? Like, it makes my day. We’ve gone around the bend with Winehouse – at first her drunken, cracked-out downfall was fascinating, then it was boring, then it was just tragic, and then she went away for a little bit, and now whenever she turns up, drunk or sober, it’s like Christmas morning. A little drunken Winehouse tittay in your stocking.

These are photos of Amy and her boyfriend director Reg Traviss (the white bloke, not the dark-skinned lovely) last night at the premiere of his new film Psychosis. I was thinking that Amy was wasted in these photos, just because the first few I saw, she seemed squinty and sh-tfaced. But in other photos she looks sober-ish. Not completely sober, mind you, but just like she had four shots and a malt liquor chaser, rather than the full bottle of Stoli. Another sign that she’s sober-ish? She’s not wearing her Dingy Ballerina Slippers of Doom. Amy’s wearing sandals! Or mules. Something.

Wouldn’t you love to know if she was wearing panties? I bet she wasn’t. But she kept her crotch to herself, which is a sure sign she wasn’t too drunk. Of course her tittays were two seconds away from popping out. But all’s well in the Winehouse household. Well done, Amy! Another fantastic public appearance!

Amy on July 13, 2010. Credit: WENN.

I don’t even know what to say about this mess. I want to believe Whitney Houston is clean and sober and getting her career back together. She’s still got the voice – sort of. She’s still a diva. But if she has a few more disastrous television appearances, people are going to think that she’s still on the pipe.

Here’s what went down: Whitney performed on the British reality television show ‘X Factor’ Saturday night. Everyone is talking about the performance because she had some kind of “wardrobe malfunction”. A little more than two minutes into singing “Million Dollar Bill” the one back strap comes undone (or simply busted) on Whitney’s dress. The strap looked to be hanging on for dear life, because that thing was cinched much too tightly around Whitney’s bust. Anyway, she noticed it a few seconds later, and seems to give a “What the hell?” look to a producer or stage manager. Then she continues singing.

Here’s the thing: even without the “wardrobe malfunction” I’m sure this performance would be disseminated harshly. Whitney is not at her best. She seemed to be missing whole verses, missing cues, and missing her voice during some parts. Plus, the song really isn’t that great. Whitney gets better at the end, though. Maybe I’m being too harsh – but I don’t think it was a good performance.

After the song was over, Whitney told the audience and host Dermot O’Leary “I sang myself out of my clothes.” After that, it kind of went off the rails. O’Leary asks Whitney when her album comes out, and Whitney gave such a convoluted answer, I don’t even know if there will be an album release at all. Whitney says something like “The album? It should release this weekend… this week some time…I’ll be back in April!” O’Leary corrects her gently, saying “The album comes out tomorrow.” Oh, Whitney. Get it together, girl.

As a late-night comic host, Craig Ferguson doesn’t really get a lot of attention. Personally, I don’t watch The Late Late Show because I have the sleep patterns of an old fart. But Craig is on my radar, and from everything I’ve heard about him or from him, he seems like a really funny, decent man. Apparently someone in the publishing world thought these qualities would make for an interesting book, and wouldn’t you know, in September, Craig is set to release his quasi-autobiography, American On Purpose. The National Enquirer got some early leaks from the book, and what Craig has revealed is quite… hardcore.

First, a bit of background. Back in 2007, when Britney Spears was going totally crazy and shaving her head and attacking people with umbrellas, Craig Ferguson made a bold choice for a late-night comic act - he chose not to make jokes about Britney. He shared his rationale with the audience one night, explaining: “Tonight, no Britney Spears jokes. Here’s why: The kind of weekend she had, she was checking in and out of rehab, shaving her head, getting tattoos. That’s what she was doing this weekend. This Sunday I was 15 years sober. I didn’t do it for anyone else but myself. I did it because it was an act of conscience. I’m amazed that not poking fun of somebody has become a news story. For me, comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it… It should be about attacking the powerful — the politicians, the Trumps, the blowhards — going after them. We shouldn’t be attacking the vulnerable.”

That was the first time I’d ever heard Craig talk about his alcoholism or his recovery, and since then, Craig has become sort of a poster boy for positive recovery. But in the next few months, I think we should expect to hear more about Craig’s road to sobriety, if the Enquirer’s excerpts are correct. Back some odd 17 years ago, Craig’s “moment of clarity” came one night when he was determined to commit suicide:

A suicidal Craig Ferguson drank himself to life!

Depressed and determined to kill himself, the zany CBS late-night star decided to have one last drink. An old friend – an Irish bartender – poured him a final big glass of sherry. And in the ensuing boozy haze, it somehow skipped Craig’s mind that he planned to leap off London’s Tower Bridge.

That’s just one of the bizarre stories the comic divulges in his upcoming memoir “American on Purpose” due to go on sale in the fall.

“Craig’s story is both heartwarming and chilling,” a publishing source told The Enquirer. “Overcoming his alcoholism and making it big on American television is the ultimate happy ending. But the guy came close to killing himself.”

In his upcoming book, the 47-year-old star reveals: “I was a drunk, a loser and a disaster as a human being. The shame was immense. It pushed me down like a terrible weight.”

After waking up one morning in a bar storage room, covered in his own vomit and urine, Craig headed to the Thames River prepared to end it all by jumping into the icy waters on Christmas Day 1992.

“Then came a chance meeting with the barkeep,” said a source familiar with the book. “That tumbler full of sherry and a blackout saved Craig’s life. When he woke up, he realized the debauchery had to end. He signed himself into rehab two months later and never took another drink.”

After moving to Hollywood, Craig quickly landed a role on “The Drew Carey Show” and stayed for seven years.

The handsome performer had a string of high-profile romances that included a wild, madcap romp with Sharon Stone.

Now married to his third wife, art dealer Megan Wallace Cunningham, the multitalented performer became an American citizen in 2008 and is grateful for the success his move to Los Angeles brought him, especially his gig hosting CBS’s “The Late Late Show”.

Craig writes that though he loves Scotland, it wasn’t big enough for his dreams and he had to get out, said the source, who added: “Fortunately for his fans, he lived to tell about it.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 11 2009]

American On Purpose sounds like a really good read, and it’s something I’ll definitely be picking up. My guess is that it won’t be all about his alcoholism and recovery – there will probably be funny stories as well, maybe even some pop culture stuff.

In other “Craig Ferguson is awesome” news, he just wrapped up a week-long USO tour for American troops stationed in Kosovo and Germany. It’s his third tour (he was touring when he wasn’t even an American citizen yet!), and for this one, Craig visited five bases. Craig said about the tour: “This time around, we are visiting Kosovo and Europe, and are having a great time meeting our troops serving our country.” Also, if you want to see two lovely Scots doing some kind of traditional jig, I absolutely love this old interview Craig did with Gerard Butler.

Craig Ferguson and his wife, Megan, are shown on 4/26/09. Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com