Tune in for Family Movie Night: Who is Simon Miller?

In the summer time when all the shows are reruns, I love catching up on movies with my family, especially ones that the whole family can enjoy. P&G and Walmart are teaming up to bring you the following family-friendly movie with all the fun and suspense that will keep all ages engaged and rooted to their seats.

Tune in Saturday, August 6 at 8/7c on NBC for the next family movie night featuring "Who is Simon Miller?"

Synopsis:

When unassuming geoligist Simon Miller mysteriously disappears one night, the Miller family is thrown into a desperate search to find him. Simon's wife Meredith and their two kids, Sarah, 18 and Kevin, 15 frantically search Simon's office for information. When they find a stash of passports, all with Simon's picture but each with a different alias, they realize that their father has been keeping more than a few secrets. Who is Simon Miller? And what has he gotten himself – and his family – into? Not sure they can even trust the dad they thought they knew, the Millers embark on an international mission to get him back. It's a heart-pounding adventure that tests the limits to which families will fight for each other.

Loving NBC Family Movie Night #FieldofVision @fmnib

NBC is doing a stellar job with it's Saturday Family Movie Night and this week is no exception with Field of Vision, airing June 11, 8/7c. Pop some popcorn, sit back, relax and enjoy!

Synopsis:

Through mysterious footage captured on an old malfunctioning video camera, Sinclair High School's star quarterback, Tyler McFarland, learns that some of his teammates have been bullying Cory Walker, a troubled new transfer student. Aware that sharing this information with the coach might get his friends kicked off the team and ultimately cost the school the state championship, Tyler must choose what's more important: winning or doing what's right.

As these events unfold, the camera also reveals more surprising footage to Tyler's kid sister Lucy. She learns that Cory has a secret past, unknown even to him. Now Lucy must convince her mom (Faith Ford, Murphy Brown) and family that the camera's revealing insight is not a product of her imagination as she enlists their help to find the answers Cory so desperately needs. It's a compelling and intriguing story that shows both the challenges and rewards of doing the right thing even when it's tough to do.

See trailer below:

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Movie Alert: Christmas with a Capital C

Daniel Baldwin and Ted McGinley face off in the GMC World Premiere Movie Christmas with A Capital C this Sunday, December 5 at 7 pm ET. The movie is based on the song by the same name, sung by the Contemporary Christian band GoFish.

Here's a quick clip for you.

 

 

Here's a little about the movie:

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but holiday traditions are under attack when lawyer Mitch Bright returns to his hometown of Trapper Falls, Alaska.  Residents of the small town who once looked forward to each year with enthusiasm and taking great care to drape the town with Christmas cheer every season, find themselves in the heat of a legal battle with a former member of their community.  Christmas with a Capital C stars Daniel Baldwin (Cold Case) as Mitch Bright and Ted McGinley (Married with Children) as Mayor Dan Reed.  High School rivalry between the two re-ignite over a Nativity scene in the town square.  Nancy Stafford plays Reed’s wife.  Brad Stine plays Reed’s brother. 

And, where you can see it:

GMC can be seen in nearly 48 million homes on various cable systems around the country, on DIRECTV on channel 338 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 224.

And, my impression:

This is your classic fun-for-the-family Christian movie where the true meaning of Christmas reigns despite the obstacles, turning a "doubting Thomas" into a believer. Set in the quaint, lovely town of Seward, Alaska, you can't help but enjoy the scenery and the cleverly written interaction between characters, including a budding romance among teenagers. Though Ted and Daniel are excellent, Brad Stine steals the show for me and the movie wouldn't be the same with the witty, beautiful Nancy Stafford who plays a gracious voice of reason to the antics of her husband and his brother. I also loved the part where the pastor reminds everyone not to make an idol of the nativity statues, a point of contention in the movie, but to appreciate what Christmas is about and to remember the Christ in Christmas.

Hope to see more of these movies from GMC!!

 

Julie Chen and Leah Remini of The Talk answer my mom questions

Recently, I submitted mom-related questions to the hosts of The Talk. Here are Julie Chen and Leah Remini answering them in the video below.

My questions: Where is the first place you go when you want to splurge on your child? OR, what was one surprise you never expected in parenthood?

Co-hosting Twitter Tuesday Tonight! #TheGoodWife

Join me (@GenMom) on Twitter tonight for Twitter Tuesday — a live tweetup during & about the latest episode of The Good Wife! Read about it all HERE at Rolemommy.com!

Join me in tweeting about "The Good Wife" on Twitter Tuesday

 
 Goodwife
This Tuesday, I'll be a guest panelist with Beth from RoleMommy and Ciaran of MomFluential kicking off a fun new campaign discussing the CBS drama "The Good Wife."

Join us on Twitter for exclusive footage, previews from upcoming episodes, behind the scenes action and much more!

WHEN: Tuesday, April 6, 10 PM ET/9 PM CTGoodwife1

WHERE: Wherever you are! Get on Twitter be sure to follow @GenMom and @thegoodwife_CBS and @rolemommy and join The Good Wife Facebook Fan Page for all the details. The hashtag for the events will be #TheGoodWife. Just visit www.tweetchat.com enter #TheGoodWife and you can join the conversation and watch as it develops online!

More guest panelists will be announced in weeks to come so join the conversation and let Beth know if you would be interested in participating at beyondpr@gmail.com! Click here for a sneak peek of Tuesday's show or view previous shows (which totally blows me away! What technology can do now just amazes me.)

WHY? Now, that question can't be answered in a few simple bullet points but I'll try:

  • Intelligent intrigue involving lawyers, a politican wannabe and a Sarah Palin lovin' gun expert
  • Delicious scandal that knows its boundaries (or does it?)
  • Clever family involvement with kids helping uncover secrets with latest knowledge of the online and digital world.
  • Handling religion and politics in an amazingly transparent way but still careful and fair.
  • Excellent acting by the stunningly beautiful Julianna Margulies and refined Chris Noth not to mention several other amazing members of the cast.

I ask you, what is not to love?!

For a full description (which I snagged from their Facebook page), see below:

THE GOOD WIFE is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Pushing aside the betrayal and public humiliation caused by her husband, Peter, Alicia Florrick starts over by pursuing her original career as a defense attorney.

As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm, she joins her longtime friend, former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner, who is interested to see how Alicia will perform after 13 years out of the courtroom. Alicia is grateful the firm's top litigator, Diane Lockhart, offers to mentor her but discovers the offer has conditions and realizes she's going to need to succeed on her own merit. Alicia's main competition among the firm's 20-something new recruits is Cary, a recent Harvard grad who is affable on the surface, but is competitive to the core. Fortunately, Alicia finds an ally in Kalinda, the firm's tough in-house investigator.

Gaining confidence every day, Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician's scorned wife to resilient career woman, especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children, 14-year-old Zach and 13-year-old Grace. For the first time in years, Alicia trades in her identity as the "good wife" and takes charge of her own destiny.

Check out my friends on Better Philly TV!

 

Trailer for CW's new drama series, Life UneXpected

Check it out! CW has a new drama series Life UneXpected and you are getting to see the trailer below. In it you learn about two "adults" Cate and Baze (- sorry, but "Baze"?) who can't or don't want to grow up and whose daughter comes searching for them after bouncing from foster home to foster home, never having been adopted. Seeking their signatures for emancipation, instead the independent child, Lux, is released into their joint custody and into the unknown world of her real family.

Learn more about this show HERE. From the trailer, it looks like it has all the right ingredients for a feel-good, quirky, fun, drama-infused HIT.

The next episode airs Monday, February 15 at 9 PM.  While "Life Unexpected" currently airs Mondays at 9 PM ET/PT, the series will move to 8 PM when "Gossip Girl" returns March 8th. Enjoy! (And if you want to see episodes already aired, click on the CW Network site HERE!)

Exclusive Sneak Peek – Episode 3 – The Good Wife – Airs Tonight on CBS

The Good Wife – Exclusive Sneak Peek! from Beth Feldman on Vimeo.

Phone Conference with Jenna Elfman, Claudia Lonow, and Mary Pols of "Accidentally on Purpose"

Tonight I had the opportunity of being on a conference call with talented writer Mary F. Pols who wrote her life story "Accidentally on Purpose" and talented comedic actress Jenna Elfman who will be taking the lead in the CBS TV series based on the book. Also on the line was Claudia Lonow, the Executive Producer of the show. Thanks to Bonny & Beth from Role Mommy.com for the invite!

Here's a little about Mary's true life story:

At thirty-nine, movie critic Mary Pols knew she wanted to have a baby. But never—not in a million years—on her own. To take on the physical, emotional and financial challenges of motherhood without a perfect soul mate/husband would be absurd, kind of like not bothering to use a condom during a one-night stand with an adorable but jobless guy ten years her junior.

Click Here to learn more about Mary F. Pols and her unique life as a long-time movie critic and free-lance journalist living in Northern California with her son Dolan.

As a reminder to my previous post about this new TV show on Monday nights, read below:

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE is a comedy starring Golden Globe Award winner Jenna Elfman as Billie, a single woman who finds herself "accidentally" pregnant after a one-night stand with a much younger guy, and decides to keep the baby… and the guy.  A newspaper film critic, Billie is barely surviving a humiliating breakup with her charming boss, James (Grant Show), who's still trying to resume their relationship.  Suddenly expecting a child with her "boy toy," Zack (Jon Foster), Billie and Zack make an arrangement: to live together platonically. Billie's party girl best friend Olivia (Ashley Jensen), and Abby (Lennon Parham), her conventional, younger married sister, eagerly look forward to the new addition and offer their own brands of advice and encouragement.  But when Zack and his freeloading friends, including Davis (Nicolas Wright), start to turn her place into a frat house, Billie isn't sure if she's living with a boyfriend, a roommate, or if she just has another child to raise.

And now, for interview highlights:

(Questions from a variety of great bloggers are in bold with abbreviated answers following):

To Jenna: What appealed to you about the character?

Jenna: There was so much about it that was not me that I wanted to be her. . . .I thought her voice, charm and wit were so unique and fresh I couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it. I wanted to be that funny person.

Why did you pick TV again?

Jenna: I think of all my endeavors.  . . There is a real enjoyment factor I get out expressing myself comedically.

Mary, how much input have you had?

Mary: It was optioned before it was published. . . .I didn't have a lot to do with it.. . .It proceeded along and I said to myself "This isn't really going to happen." I didn't believe it until I was on the set.

Book very thoughtful and intimate. Show pretty comedic. Is the show going to tackle difficult issues?

Claudia: We are going to handle some of the issues and maintain the comedic parts. Underneath all the comedy, there are some real issues. We will and we are attempting to do so.

Jenna, Happy Birthday! Of all the roles you have done, how is it to portray another person – who is on the set?

Jenna: I wouldn't leave her side when she was there. . . . I feel very fortunate to have two smart witty women contributing to the show. Because it is a comedy, it has its own DNA that Claudia has created. I plan to portray it with my own life force.

Mary: It gets weirder and weirder seeing people portraying the people from my life. It is one thing to write the show, which Claudia is brilliant doing, but seeing how much people add to the part, is [amazing].

Claudia: I am protective of how Mary feels. . . .The first show I created on Showtime was Rude Awakening which was semi-autobiographical. I was protective of myself. . . .I am happy Mary is happy with the project but that we can add our own input.

Mary: I am glad I am not writing this story because . . .she is a different character than me. I am curious how it will evolve.

Your family had varied reactions to your role as a single mom. How are they reacting to it becoming a show?

Mary: They are laughing . . .and happy their names won't be in it. They are enjoying it. We all think, if our father were alive, this would be entirely different. I am rolling with it and so are they.

Claudia: When I made Rude Awakening, I made the mom not based on my mom but my mom got so into it she told people she was that mom.

Mary: My sister facebooked the woman playing her . . .Only person not happy is Matt.

How do you deal with Matt's differences?

Mary: This is Claudia's baby and she reshaped it . . . .though I think it would be great to show him without a job.

Claudia: It mirrored my own experience of dating a younger man and he was a sous chef, not a "fry cook" at a restaurant. These are some of the changes you have to make for a broadcast show.

I am a mother. I work from home. How do you balance?

Mary: I am making puntesca (or dinner) for Dolan right now.

Jenna: I am stuffing my face with Cheez-its.

Mary: I haven't been a perfect mother but most days he gets a vegetable. I stay up really late. If I ever write another book, I will have to stay up really, really late.

Jenna: My husband is a saint helping out with Story and does night duty so I can get some sleep for the show. .. We film for three weeks and have a week off. Whenever I have time off, I am with him, even if it is an hour on the set. The main thing is making sure we are together.

Mary: I get tons of help from Mat
t, especially when I wanted to see a movie last night.

Claudia: You get to see movies?

Does it hurt to play a cougar (or older woman)?

Jenna: No pain here. I am in great place.

How you get through a day when personalities clash?

Jenna: With this show we are all totally tight. We are buddies. That is so rare – to be surrounded by such cool people. It is not always the case. I can't believe how much respect there is. It is already like a family.

Claudia: One of the reasons the cast is getting along so well is because of Jenna. . . . . She made it her job to make sure they were bonding as a cast. I am grateful for her. It comes across on the screen that people really like each other.

Jenna, Why do you collect dictionaries? How is this different from the character Dharma?

Jenna: I like to see the different, articulate definitions in old ones. . . .They inspire me. . . .Having a child has changed me in the most beautiful way. It took some doing to find a role for me now as a comedic actor.. . When I read this, I knew there was the joy I find essential but wit and a newness. I went. . I can do this. I had to find out where homebase was to me as a character. . . .I didn't realize I was going to do comedy. I grew up doing wacky things.

Mary: The first thing I thought about Jenna is she's cute and fun and warm. I was grateful it was her. You don't know what is going to happen. My family tried tasking who might play this. It was sad who they thought may play it, i.e. Janine Garafolo who is brilliant and funny but not me. Friends will say things like Jenna is blonde and you are brunette.

Jenna: I am not naturally blonde anyway.

Mary: [On other similarities]. . . Matt and Jon both just grew a beard. Funny to see a boss/ex-lover since I wasn't seeing anyone else. Jenna's character gets laid a lot more than I do.

What do you think about being on primetime Monday night?

Mary: I believed it was great so I am incredibly excited. It was more than I imagined. You should see my nails right now.

How will the show handle the pregnancy?

Claudia: It will progress along like a real pregnancy. I hope we can deal with it in a way we haven't see before – dates while pregnant, etc. The finale will be her having the baby. It will follow the natural course and she will be pregnant.

Any dumb mom moments?

Mary: I put Dolan in the car and locked myself out of my house while he was locked in car. Matt saved me with an extra key. I had visions of social services taking him away.

Mary, as a single mom, what made you decide to bare so many dirty secrets, emotions, etc. in your book?

I was thinking "write the truth" including all sides. I was asked if I was embarrassed. You can't be too honest. The books I want to read are ones that expose truth about human beings. What makes people tick? Flaws are there. It is a learning process. You do what you can.You can't regret a book. What are you going to do? Buy up all the copies?

Mary, when your son becomes older, how will you feel about him reading it?

Mary – I am not sure he will. A lot of writers say that when kids are young. By the time he would read it, there won't be too many surprises. He will see sex and doubt but hopefully take away love.

As a mom of 3 boys myself, do you have an tips for moms (new or experienced):

Claudia: Take back all the clothes 0-3 mos. They are gone in a second.

Mary: Breastfeed in bed. One boob is now bigger.

Jenna: I let him have control over his belongings, his motions . . . . within reason and safety. I consider his determinism a lot. I remember feeling young and feeling like I had no rights, even though my parents are awesome. He is a very confident, able kid and it has been a successful tool.

Claudia: Just because you hear things are going to happen remember those things are not necessarily going to happen. Teenagers might not become monsters.

How do you protect your kids from the press?

Jenna: We live a normal life. When the show hits, there might be more press but I don't know. If you let press have a shot, they go away. I don't take him places he will be photographed a lot.

Mary, how has your life changed since the show has come out? Are you writing?

Mary: Day-to-day my life has not changed at all. I have the same concerns I had before. A mom asked for a playdate with Dolan because she read my book and decided I was okay. . . . I still have all these goals. I can't believe I wrote a book knowing how difficult it is. . .


Enjoy the show!

(If I had one more question to ask, I would have asked Claudia if Mary or her family will be doing any cameos on the set? Mary, if you read this, do you know?)