The Friday Five: July 5, 2012

We reached Friday rather quickly with the holiday smack dab in the middle of the week.  My weekend will be filled with another visit to Disneyland (I know, I know!), a fun interview, and hitting the PopCon LA event at the Convention Center.  Here are the Top 5 things I'm musing about this week:







































1. Stella & Dot:  They have been making a huge splash in Hollywood lately with a big PR push.  I have seen their collections on countless celebrities in the last few months, so I was thrilled to see their Fall 2012 collection at the Fall 2012 Fashion & Accessories Preview.  I cannot stop raving about cuffs lately, so I now have one of their new cuffs to add to my collection.  The Lindsay Bangle in Turquoise is the exact splash of color you need to add to your summer wardrobe.  It is hand-poured enamel with silver accents and a simple yet clean clover design.  Take a look at their beautiful collections here.

2.  Online Deals:  It's been awhile since I talked about online shopping, but I got a great deal and I just had to share.  I need to purchase Philosophy's Miracle Worker with SPF 55.  On the Philosophy site, it is $57 with Free Shipping and 2.5% back from Ebates.  I decided to see if Drugstore.com had the same product in inventory.  They offered the same price with Free Shipping, a coupon for $5 off a $40 order from RetailMeNot.com, no sales tax and $3.67 off in Drugstore Dollars from a previous purchase.  (They always give you 5% back to use on a future purchase.) My total?  $48.33......but wait.....Ebates is going to give me 12% back!  Final Total:  42.53!  To join Ebates and get money back for your online purchases, click here.  You won't be sorry.

3.  PopCon LA:  I will be hosting two Q&As with celebrities during this fun pop culture convention this weekend.  If you are in the LA area, come join me at Noon for a screening of Nighthawks followed by a Q&A with the legendary Billy Dee Williams.  Or, see the sci-fi cult classic, Blade Runner followed by a Q&A with James Hong beginning at 2PM. It's going to be fun and I hope you will join me.  Purchase your affordable tickets here.

4.  Scientology:  Earlier this week, I broke down some of the myths and urban legends of Scientology.  To follow up my article, head over to The Hollywood Reporter and find out why experts have labeled "Katie Holmes 'Biggest Nightmare' in Scientology History".  It's a fascinating inside look at the religion/cult that strikes the fear in many.



5.  Daily Grace:  I think I have a bit of a girl crush on Grace Helbig from My Damn Channel.  She's so darn quirky and weird in the most hilarious way.  Let me know what you think of her amazing 4th of July song and the fact that she calls people, "Gorgeous Popsicles".   I'm so hooked, I subscribed to her YouTube channel, I bet you will too.

Let me know what you are up to this weekend and be sure to follow my adventures on Instagram: @KristynBurtt or join me on Facebook where this week I posted my Happy 4th of July photo.....very typical pose for me or Tweet me, I tweet A LOT.  


If you are on the East Coast, I will be on the Cocktails and Conversation show for a full hour beginning at 8AM ET (yep, 5AM PT, West Coasters!). We will be breaking down the TomKat fiasco and dishing on the latest entertainment news.  Join me here.  Happy Weekend, everyone!




Disclosure:  The Stella & Dot cuff was gifted to me.  All opinions are my own.

Feeling Randy!

Me and Jonny after the shoot.

Well, if you watched last night's live stream, you saw me and Jonny Loquasto referring to multiple nominee for Feeding Randy as "Feeling Randy".  It was a typo on our scripts, so we ran with the joke until we were finally corrected.  Oh boy, lots of blue jokes on this live stream.  I normally don't ever hit even the PG-13 range with my work, but I think there was a bit of Rated R humor involved.  If you missed the fun live stream, you can watch it below or here.  The awards will be handed out on Sunday, July 8th in conjunction with Pop Con LA, a huge pop culture convention heading to Downtown LA from July 5th-8th.  I will be moderating three panels at Pop Con including two celebrity panels with Billy Dee Williams and the other with Sean Young from Blade Runner.  (Yes, THE Sean Young).  Get your tickets now for Pop Con LA, you won't want to miss it!

A full list of the nominees can be found here.



Thank you, Jonny, Ken Nicholas, Frank Zanca, and my gal, Melanie Marquez, for making everything run smoothly last night.  


For a list of my upcoming appearances, click here. 

Dos and Don'ts on the Red Carpet, The Sequel

I have received such a strong response to several of my posts on media training, particularly Red Carpet Dos and Don'ts and Publicity and Web Series. To continue with the series, I am going to give you a few more insider tips on red carpet behavior.  I have been hitting the premieres hard lately and there are a few behaviors that keep showing up over and over.  Oddly enough, they are actually self-sabotaging habits in media.  I don't know why anyone would want to self-sabotage on the red carpet, but it is more common than you think.  Here are a few things to avoid:


1.  Self Deprecating Behavior:  Okay, here's a weird one, the act of self deprecation is the "belittling or undervaluing oneself", according to Dictionary.com  I get that you may want to appear modest and not boastful of your accomplishments on the big screen, but when it gets to the point of saying "My acting sucks" into the microphone, I start to question why you are even an actor.  Chances are, that clip will make it into the interview because it is so unusual to hear, but I doubt that is the press that you, your agent, or your publicist want for your career.  Sure, be grateful for the art you were allowed to create, talk about challenges of shooting, but darn, don't tell people you weren't good in the role.  They will start to believe it and you are here to build your career, not destroy it.  There are very few people that can get away with self deprecating behavior.  They are usually comedians like Gilbert Gottfried, but hey, that's his schtick, not his real self.  See the difference?  Now, go out there and be positive, you earned your moment in the spotlight!


2.  Sounding. Like. A. Robot.:  In my time on the red carpet, I find the Disney premieres the most challenging.  Why?  Because the Disney Channel kids have all been prepped with one cute sound bite that they repeat and over and over down the press line.  They have been so coached, it comes across as robotic.  After ET or E! has used that clip, it becomes less valuable to the smaller media outlets who may be trying to sell the footage to overseas clients.  There is nothing new or fresh about that interview.  So, if you have to go down the press line and talk to ten, fifteen or even twenty-five reporters, try as hard as you can to be slightly original.  Yes, some things will be repeated, but the worst thing you can say to a reporter is, "I was just asked that before" or "I keep getting that question".  It's hard to be the 25th reporter in line and often times the A-List stars won't stop for press after the Big Three (E!, ET, Access Hollywood).  Just know that the reporters understand you are getting asked the same questions, they have to get certain things answered for their jobs, so pretend you are talking to Reporter #2.  You will be loved forever for it.  Love=favorable media coverage.  It's a game, play it! 


Here's a great example of a bad red carpet interview, courtesy of Mr. Billy Dee Williams.  Yep, he behaved like this all the way down the press line:



3.  Crossing In Front Of Camera:  Okay, time to call out this behavior.  Stop doing it.  It happened at the Streamy Awards, it happened at The Resolve premiere, and it happened at the Egyptian Theatre's Summer Festival of Short Films.  It's just rude.  I don't know how else to say it.  Can you imagine you are being interviewed live by a reporter and a fellow actor crosses in front of the camera blocking your shot?  Yep, it's been happening a lot lately.  Well, on a live broadcast like the Streamys, there is nothing you can do.  With taped footage, we can at least cut it out in post.  If you are on the red carpet, I completely understand that it is exciting and overwhelming.  It is a busy place, but think of like you are crossing the street.  Look both ways, see if someone is shooting.  If they look like they are in the middle of an interview, walk quietly behind them.  It's that simple.  You don't want someone ruining your big interview, so extend that courtesy to your fellow artist.  Publicists and reporters have long memories, trust me.  You want to be that person that people love to cover, it will extend your career by miles even during the lulls.  A little consideration on the red carpet goes a long way in my book.


And the worst kind of blocking on the red carpet?  Spock Blocking!  Watch the whole mess unfold....a big no-no.  Here are a few more details on the event if you want the juicy scoop.



I hope some of these tips are helpful for you the next time you stroll down the press line on the red carpet.  Let me know what other areas of media you would like me to cover here on Red Carpet Closet.  I am going to leave you with one of my favorite recent interviews, Anna Torv of Fringe:  gracious, lovely, and fun.  Enjoy!

The 36th Annual Saturn Awards

On Thursday night I headed out to the Castaway in Burbank for the 36th Annual Saturn Awards honoring the year's best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films.  It proved to be an interesting night with Mingle Media TV:  sexting, flirting, and Spock blocking.  Let's take a look at a few of my favorite interviews and photos from the evening.

We will start with the downright bizarre with Billy Dee Williams.  I don't know about you, but his iconic turn as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars trilogy is enough to get my jaded red carpet heart excited.  Well, I don't know if Billy was hitting the Colt 45 hard in the limo, but this interview was, um, interesting.  It starts right off the bat with sexting on the iPhone 4:

Saving the day was the incredibly sweet Mark Pellegrino who played Jacob on Lost.  Now, I honestly didn't ever watch the show, but my boyfriend was obsessed with every detail surrounding it.  I, on the other hand, considered myself a Lost widow on Tuesday nights.  However, Mark kindly indulged me in a photo for my boyfriend and made a friend for life in me.  You can see our interview here.

Leonard Nimoy stopped by as well that night.  He looks great, in shape, spry, and his wife is a little spitfire too.  We managed to share an interview with the Space network out of Canada, but we were "Spock Blocked" from our own individual interview by the persistent creator of an upcoming animated film.  I won't name him, but you know who you are.  If a star of huge wattage walks on the red carpet, step aside, the media outlets will always get back to you, but we need to get the money shot.  It truly is a food chain in Hollywood and when you "Spock Block" us from getting our individual interview, we don't interview you afterwards.  (Thanks to JD Piche for coining the term "Spock Block" which I happily stole for this post.)
**Update**  We have the "Spock Blocked" video for all of you to enjoy.  See how it all unfolds:

Finally my favorite interview of the night, James Remar.  He was there representing Dexter, while I wanted him there representing Sex and the City.  I shamelessly flirted with him and I made him blush.  A successful evening on the red carpet!

You can catch all of the interviews including Lance Reddick, Shaun Toub, and Malcolm McDowell on Mingle Media TV and all of the photos from the evening on Flickr.

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