Lori Acken, Author at StayTuned Magazine

Big Little Lies: How Nicole Kidman And Reese Witherspoon Turned the Bestseller Into An Equally Addictive HBO Mini

January 26, 2017 Lori Acken

Best girlfriends. Nothing like ’em — right, ladies? They’re our playmates, fashion consultants, de facto therapists and there’s nothing we can’t tell them. Except there always is. Australian novelist Liane Moriarty became a best-selling author with her humorously direct-hit observations about what really goes on behind our closed doors — and how hard we work to edit the story, in public, on social media, in our own minds — including 2014’s instant hit Big Little Lies. The irresistible tale of a trio of struggling moms in an affluent seaside town caught producer Bruna Papandrea’s (Gone Girl, Wild) attention as a […]

The Story of God returns to Nat Geo tonight. We talk with Morgan Freeman

January 16, 2017 Lori Acken

Nat Geo’s Emmy-nominated The Story of God With Morgan Freeman premieres its second season tonight at 9/8CT — and a 9-year-old boy steals the show. In the Season 2 opener, Freeman treks to suburban Minnesota to meet Jalue Dorjee, his parents and teachers, and to spend some time with the boy many Tibetan Buddhists — and the Dalai Lama himself — believe is the eighth reincarnation of guru Takshem Neuden Dorjee. Freeman looks on as Jalue plays backyard soccer with his pals, memorizes complex religious texts and delivers his first public speech — in traditional robes and sneakers. He asks Jalue if he brushes his sparkling white […]

We talk Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce Season 3 with Marti Noxon, Lisa Edelstein

January 8, 2017 Lori Acken

If the Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce Season 3 premiere is any indication, this season is a hearteningly world-wise departure from its predecessors, in which any wound could be salved with a bender, a fling and a limo with a sunroof. Great news for fans who worship our ladies but worried GGTD had begun wasting compelling characters played by pitch-perfect actors with delicious chemistry. Last season’s finale hinted at major change, and that plays out well in the Season 3 debut, which blends heartrending moments and genuine laughs into intriguing new chapters for all. Shunned by SheShe and facing menopause, self-help […]

Beaches: Idina Menzel Headlines Lifetime Remake of the Ultimate Chick Flick

January 7, 2017 Lori Acken

Call them the wind beneath the wings of a new generation. This month, Idina Menzel of Glee and Frozen fame and House of Lies’ Nia Long step into the roles Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey made iconic in Beaches, 1988’s Oscar-nominated ode to female friendship, which gets a modern reboot on Lifetime. “I am a believer that what’s not broken doesn’t need to be fixed, but I have learned that there is a whole, young generation that has never seen Beaches,” Menzel says. “What a great opportunity to put a contemporary, multicultural spin on a classic theme about friendship. It’s […]

The Young Pope: Jude Law, Diane Keaton Are Heavenly In HBO’s Bold Event Series

January 1, 2017 Lori Acken

The titular character in Paolo Sorrentino’s new HBO limited series The Young Pope is a 47-year-old Brooklyn-born orphan named Lenny Belardo who earned his place in the Vatican by learning to play the system. Because there is always a system — even in the mother ship of Catholicism. And Lenny — now Pope Pius XIII — isn’t the least bit apologetic about how he earned his pristine white cassock and zucchetto. Or his plan while he has them. For an American audience — Catholic or otherwise, and at least in the first two episodes — it’s hard not to liken […]

Nashville on CMT: Charles Esten Talks The Music-Centric Soap’s New Network Home

December 29, 2016 Lori Acken

Nashies never give up. When ABC announced it would not renew its music-centric drama Nashville, fans of the Callie-Khouri-created nighttime soap took matters into their own hands. “I knew that we weren’t done telling these stories or singing these songs,” says Charles “Chip” Esten, who plays Deacon Claybourne, longtime bandmate and brand-new husband of country superstar turned business mogul Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton). “I have been doing this a long time and understand that nothing’s a given, so I’ve tried to live every single season, every single episode and day here as fully as I can. The love that fans […]

RFD-TV will re-air “The Joey+Rory Show”

December 28, 2016 Lori Acken

Good news, Joey+Rory fans and RFD-TV viewers. Fans of the country/gospel duo — made up of Rory Feek and his late wife Joey, who bravely battled cancer until her death on March 4 — begged the network to re-air episodes of the pair’s popular series The Joey+Rory Show, which aired from 2012-2014. Beginning Dec. 31, their collective wish comes true. The popular RFD-TV series, produced by the down-home duo, chronicled the Feeks’ life on their small Tennessee farm, their performances and the joy they took in their then-newborn daughter Indiana Boon. As a complement to the encore episodes, Rory has produced a […]

Dolly Parton telethon for Tennessee wildfire victims will air on RFD-TV

December 8, 2016 Lori Acken

The Smoky Mountains’ most famous songbird is hosting a telethon for the victims of the area’s recent and devastating wildfires, and you can join in, courtesy of RFD-TV. The network and Rural Radio Channel 147 on SiriusXM Radio have partnered with the one and only Dolly Parton and her Dollywood Foundation My People Fund to help raise money for the people directly affected by the blaze, which destroyed more than 1,750 structures, displaced hundreds of families and brought the area’s No. 1 industry, tourism, to a standstill. The nationally-broadcast, three-hour telethon “Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund,” will air Tuesday, Dec. […]

The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses: BBC’s Shakespearean Smash Returns to PBS

December 8, 2016 Lori Acken

In 2013, PBS thrilled history buffs and fans of the Bard with the Shakespearean miniseries The Hollow Crown, a BBC production that boasted Jeremy Irons and Michelle Dockery among its cast. Beginning Sunday, PBS revives the tale with The Wars of the Roses, a trio of lavish, star-packed film adaptations focused on Henry VI (Tom Sturridge) and Richard III (Benedict Cumberbatch) that will air as part of its Great Performances franchise. The new additions illustrate the ongoing battle for the English crown — a medieval spectacle encompassing French rebellion, England’s civil war, the rise and fall of Joan of Arc, […]

We talk with Hairspray Live! star Harvey Fierstein!

December 7, 2016 Lori Acken

Even after two decades in a celeb-packed career, “bucket list” moments can still happen. Picking up the phone and hearing the ten-packs-of-cigs-and-a-barrel-of-rye wonder that is Harvey Fierstein’s voice growl, “Looorrrrrrrri! Are you ready for me, Looorrrrrrrri!” is one of them. A big one. A “maybe I can make this my ringtone” one. I was most certainly ready for Harvey. And for the next half hour, the Broadway legend shared with me his thoughts on the impact of live performance, TV versus theater and — the reason for the call in the first place — Hairspray Live!, Fierstein’s second live production with NBC, which premieres tonight […]