A blog of recent clips, reporting and notions on what's happening in pop culture of interest to me. Written by Cynthia Wang.
My page for current articles and reporting, random thoughts on TV, music, movies, etc.
The first thing Samuel Johnson says when our call connects is, “Cynthia! Long time no speak!” He does so in a cheery, friendly voice, albeit a bit out of breath because he’s just been practicing for his Dancing With the Stars debut. Good luck to Sam, who works hard as an actor and a cancer awareness advocate.
It's been years since I covered Dancing with the Stars in the US, but Australian pro Kym Johnson, now Kym Johnson Herjavec, is still a great interview. We congratulate her on her babies-to-come (and sure enough, twins Hudson Robert and Haven Mae arrived healthy and well), and speak about My Kitchen Rules controversies, in the April 23 issue. I've combined two smaller items—the chats with Ryan Serhant in this issue and Hana Mae Lee in the next, into one image.
I had the pleasure of the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, for People and Who. Held the weekend of Aug. 14, 2015, the fan fest generated a lot of great posts for People.com. I reported two, the first of which garnered 4,500 shares. Check them out in the carousel below, then scroll down for more stories from the northern summer.
Johnny Depp got his wish and met Mickey Mouse. Photo courtesy Disney.
Sometimes observation can make for a post. The story below the photo was based on a riff Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie had onstage for the Captain America: Civil War presentation.
Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Photo courtesy Disney.
The following item almost didn't post. There was debate if George Lucas's confession about a certain prequel character would be appropriate for People or more Entertainment Weekly territory. I'm glad they went with it!
George Lucas received his Disney Legend honor from Walt Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger. Photo courtesy of Disney.
No one works in a vacuum. I got to reunite with Scott Huver to tag-team on coverage. One of our pieces was on Ellen DeGeneres and Ty Burrell talking about Finding Dory. The other involved Burrell's comments on his Modern Family co-star Ariel Winter and her breast reduction surgery (she had just revealed that she had the procedure done). Read both in the carousel below.
Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell and Ellen DeGeneres speak about Finding Dory at D23. Photo courtesy ABC/Image Group LA.
I spoke with Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy. He was about to perform along with fellow DWTS pro Peta Murgatroyd (now engaged to his brother Max) but spoke about his desire to break into acting. He also spoke well of Rumer Willis, the partner with whom he won a Mirror Ball trophy.
Val Chmerkovskiy and Mickey Mouse. Photo from a DWTS blog.
I ended up attending numerous panels, covering the Legends carpet and reuniting with celebrities and publicists. I hope to amend this post with some interviews that didn't make it to People.com, namely with composer Danny Elfman. Thanks for reading!
