News Round-up: Chappell, Claywell, Reeves, Gay TV, FNL

Has Gay Television Finally Grown Up?
Brent Harbinger writes: "The portrayal of gay male characters on scripted television this fall is so good that AfterElton.com no longer has anything to complain about. Yes, we still have a ways to go before most television shows treat gay sensuality and romance the way they do heterosexual romance, but hey, it’s a start."

INTERVIEW: Soap star Crystal Chappell
"Jessica and I would have moved Otalia to WORLD TURNS. Listen, we knew we’d probably only last on WORLD TURNS for a year, but we were desperate to continue this story. The bottom line is that WORLD TURNS wasn’t interested — they had other stories they wanted to tell. Grant Aleksander, Jessica, and myself talked very seriously about taking GL to the web, and we all mentioned we’d all be willing to work for scale, but it was something they weren’t interested in. It didn’t work out. Enter VENICE, which is a soap opera extension of the community Otalia created."

90210's Trevor Donovan on his scene-stealing abs, Teddy's future with Adrianna and how he's giving back
“Abercrombie [& Fitch] was my first modeling job,” recounts Donovan. “They definitely border on risqué as far as catalog photos go. There’s a lot of nudity and what not. I have done my fair share of that, and I’ve never done anything I regret whatsoever -- the majority of which I’m pretty proud of.”

“In daytime, you’re shooting an episode a day, which is on average about 90 pages of script a day. That is very hectic,” says the Mammoth Lakes, Calif., native. “On 90210, you get to work through it a little more. You’re not just flying through it just to get it done.”

INTERVIEW: OLTL's Brett Claywell (Kyle)
Claywell was a guest on "Brandon's Buzz" on Tuesday night.

"Kyle could definitely be intimidated by Nick. Kyle’s the ‘Hey, I got no problems with my sexuality,’ but then here comes a guy who doesn’t just not have problems with it, he’s got a megaphone! Hung around his neck with a lanyard! It’s, like, he has it on him at all times! I think there’s less intimidation, I think there’s just more pressure. Nick is very strongly motivated with the things that he wants, and Kyle is one of the things that he wants, and when somebody wants something and that thing is kinda hesitant, you know, it creates tension."

INTERVIEW: Scott & Melissa Reeves
Scott: "When I stepped away from the acting world and took a deep breath and got a new perspective, I teamed up with my buddy Aaron Benward and created Blue County. We came out of the gate with all guns blazing. Our first record was a top ten hit and it was kind of crazy as Missy can attest. I was instantly gone, and on a bus for three years. It was crazy and nuts. It was one of the best experiences in my life and one of the most trying six years of my life. We signed a record deal in 2003, and as of late we went our own ways, still doing music and writing. But recently we have been working with our daughter, Emily."

Melissa: "We think we have one year left with her. She is 17 now, and she is ready to move out and go to college. Emily is into music and singing and she has gotten her whole life rolling. It’s weird to watch because she was just two years old! Where did the time go? And to watch our son, Larry who is now 12, is just incredible."

Poor funding hamstrings Zimbabwe soap opera productions
Producers of ZBCTV soap, FADING PICTURES, have cited lack of funding as the major handicap for the development of local productions. They said with adequate funding, the film and television industry could match the standards of those in the region and beyond. Adrian Magombedze, the producer and writer of FADING PICTURES, said Zimbabwe was endowed with talent but the development of the industry hinged on the resources available.

"Given the required resources such as state-of-the-art equipment and funding, it is easy to match international standards. So far, we are trying to do the best we can using the limited resources available."

FNL's Jason Katims Spills About Tension Between Tami and Eric Taylor in Season Four
"The split definitely creates some tense moments between them. The thing that I love so much about Coach and Tami, as they've been realized by Kyle and Connie, is what a beautiful relationship they have and how well they overcome obstacles. What's fun for us as writers is try to throw as many things at them to watch them emerge with their marriage intact. We try to find new things to throw at them. We knew Coach was moving to this new school, so we decided to keep Tami at West Dillon and to have that be a story point throughout the season for these two people who are in these two very different worlds now and at certain times those worlds very directly collide."

PHOTOS: A Day on the Set of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Sporting News reporter Chris Littmann spent a day on the set of the show recently and offers a recap.

Tube gets tiny with Personal Television
Qualcomm subsidiary FLO TV is introducing Wednesday a new consumer device for receiving its live mobile TV service, which is transmitted digitally on UHF Ch. 55 spectrum.

The new “FLO TV Personal Television” is the latest effort from FLO TV, formerly known as MediaFLO, to expand its subscription mobile TV broadcasts to platforms beyond cellphones. The company, which has been marketing its 12-14 channel, $8.99-per-month subscription service through wireless carriers Verizon and AT&T, announced at the CES show last January a partnership with Audiovox to create FLO TV-enabled displays for automobiles. Those aftermarket in-car systems, with displays up to 10 inches, are expected to be available later this year.

GOSSIP GIRL trio give ménage a try
GOSSIP GIRL's Nov. 9 episode will feature three major characters having sex. At the same time. In the same bed. Together. EDITOR'S NOTE: We saw the same thing on SWINGTOWN last summer.

Y&R's Michael Muhney breaks clavicle
"Michael was in Vail, Colorado last week and ended his vacation in a spectacular way. He was hitting the Rocky Mountains on an ATV... and they hit back. Ouch! Broken clavicle (collarbone) is expected to take 6-8 weeks to heal. He's doing fine and is in great spirits."