Doogie Houser doesn’t want Britney Spears screwing up his show, even if it means doubling the ratings.
If Neil Patrick Harris had his way, Britney Spears would be banned from the set of “How I Met Your Mother.” Nothing against the pop singer personally — he just doesn’t think the show should bring guests aboard for a ratings boost alone.
“I’m in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed,” Harris declared during a break from taping the Monday night CBS sitcom, which has grown a cult following since its 2005 debut. “I worry that if they start `Will and Grace’-ing us too much, that the show will suffer. And we’re all really proud of the content of the show. I mean, viewership is not our game. It’s the network and the studio’s game, you know. It’s the promotion department’s game,” the actor, who plays womanizer Barney, told The Associated Press in an interview last week.
Spears has been the most high-profile guest star to visit the set, following past appearances by Mandy Moore, Enrique Iglesias and Heidi Klum. But her capable March 24 cameo — feverishly promoted, anticipated, blogged-about, critiqued, analyzed and, ultimately, well-reviewed — gave Harris pause to voice a concern: Was the show selling out?
“We wish we weren’t opposite an awkward reality dancing competition,” he said. “But we have no say about that. I just am a real fan of our content. I think we have a great show going, and I hope it’s not screwed up by the desire for 700,000 more viewers.”
Make that 1 million more viewers for the Britney episode, which grabbed an audience of 10.6 million tuning in as Spears filled her small role as a bubbly receptionist. Among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, it was the most-watched episode of the series ever.
Gone Hollywood doesn’t mind using Britney to boost its ratings. In fact, if she wants to come on as a guest poster, we’ll take her.
Elsewhere, he says she’s just not a good enough actress.
“She’s not an actress,” he said. “She played a role for a week, and did a really nice job, but the workload involved with doing memorization and the purging of comedy over and over is really, really hard. I mean, it takes a strong skill set to do that every week.”
An acting veteran who first gained fame as “Doogie Howser, M.D.” in his midteens, Harris believes that the cast of “HIMYM” has become a well-oiled machine over 60-plus episodes, and revisiting Spears’ receptionist/stalker would be a mistake. “You do it one week, it’s fine, but to do it a lot of weeks is hard,” he added. “She’s not going to be a regular on our show.”
As for his own personal memories of working with Brit, Harris said he was just happy the shoot kept her out of the paparazzi’s unblinking gaze for a while. “We kept the set closed to make her comfortable,” he remembered. “So I would probably keep [conversations we had] to myself. We wanted to make sure that she didn’t feel exploited from us personally. She’s exploited from everyone, all the time. We had some nice times, but they were our times.”
Here’s a video of Britney’s appearance on the show, so you can judge for yourself:
Sources: Neil Patrick Harris: Say no to Britney! [AP] and “Britney Spears Won’t Join ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Cast, Neil Patrick Harris Says” [MTV]
We’ve got another celebrity romance it seems - this time between Mandy Moore and Matthew Perry. Page Six reports,
…spies were astounded last week when they saw [Mandy Moore and Matthew Perry] on a date at Amici Trattoria in Beverly Hills. One source said, “He was already seated and waited for her for 15 minutes until she arrived. He stood up to greet her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. They were holding hands across the table and being really close and laughing a lot the whole time.”
Actually, I think these two could be perfect for each other - I love them both. Forget the 11-year age difference - just a number, right? And I think Mandy needs to date a mature guy for once. I mean, Wilmer Valderrama? Come on!
Rachael Ray paid for and Mandy Moore performed at a prom for the Enterprise, Alabama high school devastated by a tornado.
Rachael Ray made sure the students who lost eight classmates and their school in a tornado got a senior prom. The celebrity chef planned the menu and helped prepare dinner at Enterprise High School’s prom, according to a statement Thursday from publicist Georgianna Dente. The star of the syndicated “Rachael Ray” show paid for the dance, which was shot for an episode to air April 30.
“The students of Enterprise High are so courageous, given all that they’ve gone through,” Ray, 38, said in the statement. “When I heard about what happened to their school and classmates, we wanted to help.” “The prom was all about celebrating their accomplishments and honoring the classmates who tragically lost their lives,” she said.
Publicist Charlie Dougiello said Mandy Moore performed three songs at the end of the prom.
A very nice gesture on both their parts. Sure, they’re getting publicity for it but likely not all that much. And, Ray, certainly, doesn’t need it.
ME & DUPREE
Since her return from Down Under, Kate Hudson steps out for a cozy lunch with her You, Me and Dupree costar Owen Wilson in Santa Monica on Friday.
POINT AND SHOOT
Decked out in a fashionable Lakers jersey and cap, there’s no question which team Britney Spears is rooting for as she and a couple of pals take in the view at the L.A. Staples Center on Sunday, where the home team beat the Sacramento Kings 126-103.
TOP POP
Ben Affleck snuggles up to his favorite girl, 16-month-old daughter Violet, during a family outing to the Farmers Market in Brentwood, Calif., on Sunday.
TANGERINE DREAM
Looking like a standout on the orange carpet, Jamie Lynn Spears (who turns 16 on April 4) gamely strikes a pose at the annual Kids’ Choice Awards in Westwood, Calif., on Saturday.
HOP ALONG
Mandy Moore, who also made the scene at the Kids’ Choice Awards (and got slimed in the process), spends Friday afternoon getting her foot checked out at a Beverly Hills clinic.
PORTRAIT OF A FAMILY
Dressed in their Sunday best, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale take their dapper 10-month-old son Kingston to a Los Angeles church to celebrate his christening.
NAUGHTY BY NATURE
Carmen Electra may carry a big stick, but who’s the bad girl here? The actress shows off some naughty moves during a performance with the burlesque troupe The Bombshell Babies at the annual Girlbar Dinah Shore Week in Palm Springs on Saturday.
SPECIAL GUESTS
Nicole Kidman, who picked up the favorite animated movie honor for Happy Feet at the 20th annual Kids’ Choice Awards, escorted two VIPs to the event: son Connor, 12, and daughter Isabella, 14. “They are thrilled to be here,”
SIX-PACK POWER
She’s giving workout king Matthew McConaughey a run for his money: Cameron Diaz (and her toned tummy) emerges from yet another gym session with her personal trainer after sweating it out at an L.A. gym on Friday.
I know I haven’t updated the blog in awhile. It has been insane finishing the record, getting ready for Sundance, Because I Said So” promotion and premiere coming up and now a quick jaunt to Paris for a photo shoot and then to London to play the record for the UK folks. I’m gonna be doing Letterman on Wednesday night just before leaving for Paris. I am hoping this will be one of that last TV’s I do without playing the new music. I can’t WAIT to get out there with this record! I just did two shows at Sundance and it was the rush of a lifetime! The band was insane and we didn’t want to get off the stage.
Anyway, call me and let me know whats going on with you…yep… Call ME. Crazy, I know. Hope everyone is well…
Just when you thought Mandy Moore and Wilmer Valderrama were headed for a reunion, Mandy hooks up with Nicole Richie’s ex, DJ A.M.
Moore, 22, and Goldstein, 33, have known each other for years, the source says, but started spending more time together after running into each other at a New Year’s Eve party in Miami.
“It’s really new. They’re in the beginning stages of getting to know each other,” says the source. “They’re very into each other. It’s very sweet.”
Moore was spotted on New Year’s Eve getting close to Valderrama, but since arriving back in Los Angeles has been keeping company with Goldstein.
She previously dated Scrubs star Zach Braff. They reportedly split last year, and in July she was spotted having a cozy lunch with another ex, tennis star Andy Roddick.
A rep for Goldstein, who was once engaged to Nicole Richie, has no comment. Moore’s rep won’t comment on her personal life
Just a thought… but what good is a rep, if they never have a comment?
Mandy Moore is distressed by 70’s show dweeb Wilmer Valderrama’s claims on the “Howard Stern” show that he took her virginity and bedded several other celebrity hotties.
It’s like being back in the classroom again. Poor Mandy Moore has had to deny claims that a certain young Hollywood gent took her virginity. Appalled at former boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama’s boasts that she’d lost her V plates to him, on the Howard Stern radio show in April, Mandy has spoken out. She says his chat is “utterly tacky, not even true”.She went on to say: “It hurt my feelings because I like him.”
But it seems she’s not the only one a little miffed by Wilmer’s loose tongue. During the interview, he also claimed to have slept with Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
[...]
Jennifer Love Hewitt is surprised by the That 70’s Show star’s claims, saying: “I was told that we had all these very steamy encounters and I was like, ‘Really? Well, I would have loved to have been there!”
Apparently, having sexual fantasies about women does not constitute actually having sex with them. This is the opposite of Bill Clinton’s problem, where he was having sex but didn’t think it really counted.
Actress/singer Mandy Moore has kicked her parents out of her California home, because they over-stayed their welcome. The Saved! star and her family relocated from Florida three years ago and her parents moved in with her when she brought a luxury Los Angeles property. But the 22-year-old is keen to become independent and is looking forward to having more space to herself.
She explains, “”My parents moved in with me, I’m very close with my family, but the time came about a year ago to actually kick my parents out–because it’s my house! “”So I had to have the awkward talk with them like, ‘I think it’s about time you guys moved back to Florida,’ which is where I grew up. “”Not only did they lose me, they lost my younger brother who was going to live with me as well, and stay in the house. “”They became homeless and empty-nesters at the same time.”"
How sweet. Of course, she’s definitely old enough to need some privacy.
And, while she has lost her family, she still has her looks.
If Neil Patrick Harris had his way, Britney Spears would be banned from the set of “How I Met Your Mother.” Nothing against the pop singer personally — he just doesn’t think the show should bring guests aboard for a ratings boost alone.
…spies were astounded last week when they saw [Mandy Moore and Matthew Perry] on a date at Amici Trattoria in Beverly Hills. One source said, “He was already seated and waited for her for 15 minutes until she arrived. He stood up to greet her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. They were holding hands across the table and being really close and laughing a lot the whole time.”
