Lauren Graham of Parenthood can’t believe that people – especially young people – still are watching her previous show Gilmore Girls in reruns.

“I didn’t even really get it till after,” said Graham, who starred as Lorelai Gilmore from 2000 to 2007. “Little girls are now watching it in reruns, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m on one of THOSE shows, like Laverne & Shirley or something.’

“I didn’t get it. And thank God, because who wants to walk around with a person who’s like, ‘You know, I’m on a show that people will remember.’ ”

But people do remember Gilmore Girls, and Graham hopes Parenthood – which is back for a second season this fall on NBC and Citytv – will be around long enough to be remembered fondly, too.

After playing a classic mom in Gilmore Girls and now again playing a mom in Parenthood, Graham was asked if she had any reservations about back-to-back mom roles.

“It’s another person to me,” Graham said. “But the reality is, I used to always say with Gilmore Girls, I never could be that cool, you know? There’s no way. I could never be that fun. You can’t actually eat that many Cheetos. The whole thing of that world was the fantasy of what that (mother-daughter) friendship could be like.

“What I liked about Parenthood was that Sarah (Braverman, Graham’s character) really struggles. To me, it was an opportunity to explore someone who isn’t where they want to be.”

Graham was cast in Parenthood after Maura Tierney backed out due to health reasons. After appearing in almost all the scenes on Gilmore Girls, Graham had to adjust her performer’s clock for the vast ensemble cast on Parenthood.

“It’s so fun to do these scenes, and of course I wish I were in every one,” said Graham, 43. “But I really struggled to find anything I wanted to do. I mean anything.

“I also tabled the thing I hope is next, which is, I wanted to be a producer of my own idea. I was in development for a show with NBC first, and then the writers’ strike happened. Then at ABC we did a pilot. It didn’t turn out the way any of us thought – it’s a creative thing, it’s not going to work every time. But I became frustrated with that process.

“So rather than do that for another cycle, this was a show I had a feeling about, which was the way I took Gilmore Girls. That show had aspects of it where people were like, ‘You shouldn’t play a mom, you’re too young,’ or, ‘you shouldn’t be on the WB’ – it was the WB back then (later CW). But rightly or wrongly, I just kind of made a gut decision.”

Perhaps Parenthood can grow into a big hit in a way that Gilmore Girls never did in its day, despite widespread critical acclaim. But Gilmore Girls lives on in syndication, and Graham is fascinated by that.

“That show, I’m surprised because it’s so ‘pop culture,’ the references are so of that day,” Graham said.

“To me what’s really surprising is that Gilmore Girls does well in any other country. I’ve heard myself dubbed in other languages and I’m like, ‘How can anyone (watch this)?’ It’s so American to me, the sound of the show.

“But it’s just really cool. It was such a wish-fulfillment show.”

Source: here

With her insanely charming teacher beau (a.k.a. the awesome Jason Ritter) otherwise engaged on NBC’s The Event, Lauren Graham has been assigned a new boyfriend on Parenthood. And he’s rather famous!

Sources confirm to me exclusively that Billy Baldwin is nearing a deal to join the cast as Adam’s (Peter Krause) boss and a love interest for Graham’s Sarah.

NBC declined to comment, but an insider tells me that Baldwin—who recurred on Gossip Girl last season as Serena’s MIA dad—would appear in multiple episodes of the sophomore drama.

Source: here

And oh dear I hope not lol!

Former “Gilmore Girls” star Lauren Graham brings special qualities to her new role in “Parenthood.”

Lauren Graham is a little surprised to find herself in Philadelphia as part of a quick East Coast publicity swing. After all, her NBC show, Parenthood, is still shooting in Los Angeles.

But when your boss, a big Hollywood mogul with roots in TV, tells you to jump on a plane, you say, “Window or aisle?”

“It was explained to me that Ron Howard, when he was doing Happy Days, had success in traveling the country and talking about the show. So this was like Ron Howard wanted me to come here,” Graham says, laughing. “You don’t say no to that.”

Howard’s involvement with Parenthood goes way back. He directed the original 1989 film starring Steve Martin, a tender and funny exploration of family ties.

The following year, he executive-produced the TV spinoff, starring Ed Begley Jr. (and a young Leonardo DiCaprio). And Howard serves in the same supervisory capacity on this remake, which debuted in March and has already been renewed for a second season.

As struggling single mom Sarah Braverman, Graham is part of a remarkably rich and deep cast, including Peter Krause, Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christensen, and Monica Potter. Even the youngsters in this witty generational saga, such as Mae Whitman and Savannah Paige Rae, are scene stealers.

Graham was a late addition to the ensemble, replacing Maura Tierney, who withdrew from the show after shooting the pilot in order to deal with health issues.

The new Sarah hasn’t watched a frame of that pilot, nor has she seen any of the previous Parenthood iterations.

“Some people would do all the research. I’m too sensitive,” she says. “As an actor it would never be helpful to me to see what another actor did with a part.”

From her first scene, Graham, 43, has been making the role her own.

“Lauren, in addition to everything else, has great comedic chops,” says executive producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights). “Over time, the character has evolved in that direction. It’s what typically will happen in a TV series: You see what an actor brings to the role and you start writing for that. Lauren has really done an incredible job of finding unexpected moments of humor that weren’t in the script.”

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On Friday April 30th Lauren Graham will be one of the guests featured on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. This show airs following Letterman on CBS at 12:30 EST. Be sure to tune in as she promotes Parenthood!

(Source)

Sorry for the late notice but Lauren will be on The Today Show tomorrow morning (Monday) We will have clip & caps as soon as we can.

Just heads up Lauren is going to be on the Tonight’s Show tomorrow night (Monday). We will have caps and a clip up as soon as we can

The coming of age dramedy, It’s Kind of a Funny story will start production early next month in New York City, and in preparation they’ve finally cast the role of its main character. The film centers on a 16 year old boy who suffers from a nervous breakdown, and eventually checks himself into a mental facility. That role has been cast along with several other supporting parts, which will include the addition of actors Keir Gilchrist, Zoe Kravitz, and Lauren Graham.

Source: here

Lauren Graham has filled the vacancy in the cast of the NBC dramedy “Parenthood.”

Graham will fill the role originally played in the pilot by Maura Tierney, who was forced to drop out of the show because of health issues (Daily Variety, Sept. 11).

The Imagine TV/Universal Media Studios dramedy, based on the 1989 film of the same name, revolves around a large family in Northern California. NBC pushed the project to a post-winter Olympics midseason start after Tierney’s illness delayed production.

Jason Katims penned the “Parenthood” pilot and is exec producing with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and David Nevins.

source: www.variety.com

LAUREN Graham. Born in Honolulu, raised in DC, where the father she’s named for was a congressional staffer, Barnard grad, fine arts mas ter’s from Texas’ Southern Method ist U., Lorelai on TV’s “Gilmore Girls,” recently in B’way’s “Guys and Dolls” redo, now starring in the film “The Answer Man.”

“I’m feeling lucky,” she said. “This film’s director John Hindman was a fan of the TV series — his preteen daughter would watch and he’s seen every episode. I was his first pick for this role. I told him, ‘From now on, I want to do everything you ever do. Please, don’t someday leave me for Julia Roberts.’

“This filmed in Philly because good tax credits and they could put us all up. It’s cheap there. But, me, I never saw the Liberty Bell or had a Philly cheese steak. I kept waiting for the proper day. Never came.

“TV is ridiculous long hours, but get a cold on TV, they just slap more makeup on you. A movie’s easy because eventually it’ll wrap and it’s over. A 2½-hour Broadway musical lead is hard physically. I never slept so much. I had humidifiers, medicines, hot water bottle, scarf around my neck, a million vitamins because Oliver Platt, who played Nathan Detroit, is king of the vitamins. He takes 30 a day. What really knocked me out was Broadway.

“After the round of p.r. for this film, I’m taking a vacation. My first summer off in 10 years. I’ll visit my grandmother in Florida. Do family stuff. Then I’d like to get back to living in New York.

“I love New York. New Yorkers are so bold. They shout out, ‘Hey, Loralei.’ One said he’d seen reviews of this new movie. As I braced he said, ‘Don’t worry. They said it’s OK.’ ”

Source:
www.nypost.com