This year has been like no other thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Even though it seemed that the entire world was put on pause for quite a bit, Hollywood kept on going providing us some entertainment and some escape through these tough times. This year Long Island Weekly—Anton Media Group’s arts and entertainment publication—had the honor and privilege to interview Hugh Jackman, Tyra Banks, Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates, Candace Cameron Bure, Fran Drescher, Mimi Kennedy, author Max Brooks, Alec Benjamin and more regarding their hit television shows, movies, tours, books and albums.
Actor Hugh Jackman talked to us about his new HBO film Bad Education where he portrayed Roslyn School District Superintendent Frank Tassone. The film, which was written by Roslyn native Mike Makowsky, was inspired by true events of a rather painful time that the Roslyn School District faced in the early 2000s when a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme surfaced that threatened to destroy everything that Tassone built.
Dave Gil de Rubio chatted with Daryl Hall—the other half of the pop rock band Hall & Oates—earlier this year about the band’s new tour, which saw them make a stop at Madison Square Garden right before the pandemic hit. Impressively, Hall & Oates has become the best selling music duo in history, having sold an estimated 40 million records and having had 34 chart hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. We also chatted with singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin, who has accumulated more than 1.5 billion worldwide streams, when he released his debut album These Two Windows, which featured popular songs “Let Me Down Slowly,” “If We Have Each Other,” and “Mind Is A Prison.”
We also chatted with actress Mimi Kennedy who plays Marjorie Armstrong-Perugian, the strong voice of reason and AA sponsor to the dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Bonnie and Christy Plunkett, who are portrayed by Allison Janney and Anna Faris, respectively, on CBS’ critically acclaimed hit show Mom, which deals with the everyday issues of substance abuse and the steps to recovery. Actress Candace Cameron Bure also talked to us about the final season of Netflix’s Fuller House—the sequel series to the popular sitcom Full House. Supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks took on a new gig this year and chatted with us about being the brand new host of Dancing with the Stars as well. And who can forget actress Fran Drescher who made her return to network television this year in her NBC comedy Indebted. Drescher also told us that she’s also working on The Nanny musical that should becoming to Broadway soon.
(Photo by Michelle Kholos-Brooks)
Dave Gil de Rubio also chatted with author Max Brooks, who’s father is the legendary Mel Brooks, about his new novel Devolution: A Firsthand Account of The Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. The novel is about a fictional tech-driven community called Greenloop that winds up becoming isolated in a remote part of Washington State after nearby Mount Rainier erupts and strands the residents.
We sure indeed chatted with a lot of celebrities this year—and rest assured—there’s a whole bunch of them to catch up with in 2021. To read all of Long Island Weekly’s celebrity interviews, visit www.longislandweekly.com.
