Kathryn Morris: "Cold Case" Bitter Strike Realities Setting In
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Nov 19, 2007
"Cold Case" star Kathryn Morris reveals that the Hollywood writers' strike has made things "very emotional on our set. Writers on a lot of other shows on the Warner Bros. lot tried to pump out a few extra scripts to help the crews get through the holidays. Our writers chose not to do that. It hurt the crew, hurt their feelings," she says.
"The electricians, the grips, the costumers, hair and makeup people -- all who do not have the luxury of receiving residuals and get paid week to week -- are going to have to find work to feed their families. Some of these people will not be coming back to 'Cold Case' at all. This is bound to break up our crew," she goes on heatedly. "This is a crew that just put in over 100 episodes, that puts in 80-hour work weeks and does double episodes to make air dates. We've worked together closely for five years, and we're a tight family. Now, some of them will probably have to find work outside of TV or films."
Morris stresses, "As much as I respect and understand what the writers are doing, catching up with the technology, to see this crew getting split up is painful."
They'll be working until Friday (Nov. 16), she tells us, and then the set will be shuttered. As for Morris herself, she relates that she'll still have some post-production recording and other work ahead on the series, and then she'll possibly take on another movie assignment. She notes, "There's been more feature activity -- films that have locked scripts. I'm going to be available because of the break. Even when we do go back, it's going to take awhile to get some scripts together."
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: Peggy Lipton tells us it's been a real treat getting comedy tips from her daughter Rashida Jones, who starred on "The Office" last year, for her upcoming guest spot on "Rules of Engagement." "My daughter, who is such a great comedic actress, coached me on my audition. We did it by phone because she's in New York," says Lipton of working with Rashida, whose father is music mogul Quincy Jones. "This is after many years of coaching her in the beginning of her acting, so there's a wonderful exchange between the two of us. It's never like, 'Uh, don't make me do it again!' She coached me on every beat and every line. I don't think I would have aced the audition without her."
In the episode airing tonight (Nov. 19), Lipton plays the mother of Oliver Hudson, whom she has known since he was a boy. "I took a little bit of Goldie (Hawn) and a little bit of myself and made the character. I was so excited to work with him because he's a very good friend of my daughter's." The former "Twin Peaks" star said she could definitely see herself doing more comedy, especially thanks to the help of the show's star, David Spade.
"He wasn't coaching me in acting because I don't think he would assume to do that, but he just made sure that everything was all right. He was so fantastic. I didn't know the guy at all, and I think the image of him is that he's kind of tough, but he's a sweetie and so helpful."
THE INSIDE TRACK: Veteran singer/songwriter B.J. Thomas -- whose classic hits include the Oscar-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Son" and "Hooked on a Feeling" -- says he's going the label route with "Love to Burn," his first studio album in 10 years, after all. "We were working on creating our own online record label, but we had a lot of interest from a lot of companies on the West Coast, so now we're just in the process of signing with Curb Records with this album."
Thomas says the most personal song on the new CD is his cover of Sarah McLachlan's "In the Arms of an Angel." "I don't record other people's songs very often, but it's a very deep song that has to do with the kind of misery and loneliness you can get in touch with when you're on the road. You live a major portion of your life sitting in a hotel room alone, and it gets hard at the end of the day. There's always some reason you're not good enough, so you need some distractions to take yourself away. And maybe if you can make that little escape, you can get carried away in the arms of an angel and be free for that one evening. I've been through my drug addictions, alcoholism, and all my isms and survived, so now I can relate to the song as part of my life. And thank God for what I'm doing right now. I've been very lucky. I've been married to my wife, Gloria, for 38 years. I've had a great life even if I'd never made any music."
WATCH OUT, FELLAS!: If you think the entertainment industry is competitive, just see Elisabeth Shue playing sports. The actress, who in her spare time has become soccer player turned gymnast turned tennis player, says nothing gets her going more than some good, friendly competition. "When I quit soccer, I became a gymnast. I stopped doing gymnastics in my 30s because I ripped my Achilles, and then I switched to tennis. Tennis is a great sport to take you into your 80s," she notes. "It's also a great sport to beat guys in. It's one of those sports that is you against him. As long as you're not playing (Roger) Federer, you've got a great shot."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Fortune Feimster.
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