VIDEO: Mike & Molly's Gardell on Melissa McCarthy's Emmy Win, What He Sees for Show's Future

Billy Gardell, Melissa McCarthy For Mike & Molly's Billy Gardell, seeing co-star Melissa McCarthy win an Emmy was sweet revenge for the show's naysayers in Season 1 "Melissa winning says a lot about our show and says a lot about her talent," he told TVGuide.com. "Not everyone is going to like you, and that's just life but there are 14 million people a week that do, so we'll take that." Watch full episodes of Mike & Molly in our Online Video Guide In the interview below, Gardell shares how his standup career has helped his sitcom skills and where hopes to see the show's title characters in 10 years. Mike & Molly airs Mondays at 9:30/8:30c on CBS.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Set For QED Action Film Black Sands

EXCLUSIVE: Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to star in Black Sands, an action film that will be directed by Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy. Financed by Bill Block’s QED, the film will begin production April 1, 2012. In the Skip Woods-scripted film, Schwarzenegger will play a loner who wages war against a ruthless weapons manufacturer and his private army in the Southwest. The tone is Man On Fire meets High Plains Drifter. Block will be selling worldwide territories starting today. Woods scripted A Good Day To Die Hard, which Fox is readying for production. Waugh and McCoy most recently directed Act Of Valor, an action adventure that features actual Navy SEALs. That film was acquired at an auction for distribution by Relativity Media, which paid a $13 million minimum guarantee and a $30 million P&A commitment, and scheduled the film for release on February 17, which is President’s Day Weekend. Al Ruddy will produce Black Sands with Block and Paul Hanson. Waugh, McCoy and Max Leitman are the executive producers through their Bandito Brothers banner. Schwarzenegger has squarely returned to his action wheelhouse since returning to acting after ending his run as California governor. He’s shooting the Kim Jee-woon-directed The Last Stand for Lionsgate, after completing The Expendables 2. QED just completed I, Alex Cross, the Rob Cohen-directed thriller based on the James Patterson novel, with Tyler Perry playing Cross and Matthew Fox his nemesis. QED is also producing the Neil Blomkamp-directed Elysium, which stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. That film is currently shooting. QED and Schwarzenegger hooked up earlier this year on Cry Macho, but that project is tabled for now. CAA reps Schwarzenegger and Woods, ICM reps the directors.

Eric Bana To See Elvis Round The Silver Screen

First Launched: October 24, 2011 5:39 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Eric Bana smiles within the La premiere of Funny People about this summer time 20, 2009Eric Bana is headed for your silver screen as American icon Elvis. According to Variety, the Australian actor may have the music activity great opposite actor Danny Huston, who's in final discussions to see the late Leader Richard Nixon in Elvis & Nixon. Cary Elwes, who infamously carried out Westley in 1987s The Princess Bride, could make his feature film directorial debut while using project. The film will target the bizarre meeting in the Leader as well as the celebrity, who Nixon developed a Federal Agent-at-Large. Cary is co-author in the script with Joey Sagal and Hanala Sagal. Meanwhile Bana themselves is executive creating the project. No start date was designed for the film. Eric was recently seen round the silver screen in Hanna with Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Its A Rainy Day For Simon Cowell As X Factor Bumped To Thursday & Sunday

First Published: October 12, 2011 8:33 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption X-Factor judge Simon Cowell appears on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno at NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., on September 19, 2011 Wednesdays episode of The X Factor has been postponed due to a baseball-related rain delay. Simon Cowells reality singing competition will now air this weeks two episodes beginning on Thursday and then on Sunday. Wednesday was supposed to mark the start of the Judges homes round, but rain affected Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers, pushing it into The X Factors slated time slot. The X Factor will now air on Thursday from 8-10 ET/PT and again on Sunday, October 16 from 8-10 ET/PT. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Watercooler: Can Someone Please Help the Real Housewives' Kim?

Kim Richards Dear Bravo,You need to get one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills some help.For the last two seasons, the antics and issues of Kim Richards have been the stuff of gossip, presumption and - in the case of last season's finale - confrontation. When Kyle called out her sister for being a drunk in that limo, things started to make sense. The rambling incoherency. The unreliability. The money problems. The Jekyll and Hyde mood swings. It was all there, and we hoped that the situation had reached a point where Kim might be ready to face whatever was going on with her. Then the ladies evaded the issue during the reunion special, and that was that.Now if Kyle wants to enable her admittedly "disheveled" sister by testing her drinks, rushing her off to fix her makeup and violently coming to her defense - as she did during last night's disastrous game night at name-dropping, price-tag brag Dana's place - fine. Denial runs deep, often tragically so. That doesn't mean the network should sit by and stay silent. The woman is a mess. Lisa saw it last season at the dinner party from Hell. Adrienne saw it a few weeks back on their trip to the Kings game. Brandi saw it last night. We all see it. And unless someone behind the scenes steps in and does right by Kim, we fear there might be another tragedy waiting in the wings for your 90210 franchise. And none of us wants to see that.Please think about it,The WatercoolerSubscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Film Elderly Care Gets near Cope With New Partner (Report)

Pixar has switched its home page right into a tribute to Apple co-founder Jobs, who died Wednesday at 56.our editor recommendsWhat Is Steve Jobs' Hollywood Legacy?Steve Jobs' Dying: Obama States 'World Has Lost a Visionary'Steve Jobs Dying: Tech and Entertainment Industry ReactsSteve Jobs' Dying: The way the Systems CoveredApple Boss Tim Prepare on Jobs: 'No Words Can Adequately Express Our Sadness'Steve Jobs 'Died Quietly,' His Family SaysRelated Subjects•Steve Jobs•Obituaries Similar to Apple did on its website, Pixar has devoted its entire home page to Jobs, former Boss of Pixar and Disney board member. PHOTOS: 10 Memorable Key events of Jobs' Career The home page features a picture of Jobs flanked by chief creative officer John Lasseter and leader Erectile dysfunction Catmull relaxing in a row of seats at seems to become a cinema. Below them is Lasseter and Catmull's joint statement on Jobs' dying which was launched Wednesday: VIDEOS: Recalling Jobs "Jobs was an remarkable visionary, our very dear friend and also the guiding light from the Pixar family. He saw the potential for what Pixar might be prior to the relaxation people, and beyond what anybody ever imagined. Steve required an opportunity upon us and supported our crazy imagine making computer-animated films the main one factor he always stated ended up being to simply 'make it great.' He's why Pixar switched view we did and the strength, integrity and passion for existence makes all of us better people," the statement ongoing. "He'll forever take part in Pixar's DNA. Our hearts go to his wife Laurene as well as their children throughout this incredibly hard time.Inch PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's apple iphone, ipod device, iPad, iMac and iTunes, built the very first Apple computer systems in the Jobs family garage with fellow college dropout Steve Wozniak. He was identified using the pancreatic cancer in 2004, when he revealed that doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from his pancreas. Related Subjects John Lasseter Obituaries Jobs The Wally Disney Company Apple Pixar

'War Horse': Latest Trailer Heavy on Orchestration, Heartstring Yanking (Video)

Out Christmas Day, War Equine is Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List director Steven Spielberg's latest undertake the tolls of war. The most recent trailer for your drama develops on earlier versions with elevated narrative and moments in the equine, Joey, round the front lines, and hooking up along with his owner Albert before England takes part the initial World War. A clip opens while using equine Joey running through battlefields and jumping over foxholes. Flashbacks cut to Joey's first encounter with Albert in addition to their romps using the lush British countryside. PHOTOS: Steven Spielberg on Set Following a equine is conscripted/offered, a soldier notifies Albert, "I'll promise that we'll take proper care of him so when I am in a position to, I'll return him for the care." Albert sparks to war themselves, moving a drawing of Joey anywhere he goes. One common thread between this extended trailer and earlier versions might be the inclusion from the older guy adoring the equine, "Is it possible to imagine flying around the war and you also know you may never look lower. You have to look forward otherwise you'll never return home.In . STORY: 'War Equine' Poster Revealed Dramatic orchestrations by John Williams and shots of stars, including Emily Watson, indicate that Spielberg will probably be yanking heartstrings along with his adaptation in the Michael Morpurgo novel. Steven Spielberg War Equine

Social Energy Ratings: Glee Makes People Cry!

Glee "Asian F," Tuesday's emotional ride of the episode of Glee, certainly got people speaking - and consequently, it's really no. one in Wednesday's Social Energy Ratings. The consensus? It made people literally be sad. "Last evening I had been a crying mess. Anybody who has been around a drama club or perhaps a glee club knows the feelings Mercedes has," states TVGuide.com commenter Giovanni Moretti. "When Will sang to Emma, which was it, throughout, the whole box of Puffs vanished.Inch Fans were also glad to determine Mike Chang and Brittany Pierce take center stage. "It's strange to consider that in Season 1 Brittany and Mike were just window dressing," states TVGuide.com commenter bobby-j. "Louise [Morris] and Harry [Shum] have proven that they'll dance, act, and sing. It had been nice seeing them benefiting from good screen time."Other hot subjects: Wednesday's premiere of yankee Horror Story, the potential finish from the Simpsons' 23-season run and also the cancellation from the Playboy Club. User @nevrothwen tweeted: "Am I the only person who really loved Playboy Club?" Answer: Yes. (Sorry.)Return anytime to determine the most recent Social Energy Ratings, that are up-to-date instantly through the week.

Will American Horror Story Be considered a Hit for Forex? Phone The Recent Past of Horror on television

The Walking Dead, True Bloodstream, Supernatural In the past, horror has not scared up an excellent history on television. Supernatural series? Yes. Terrifying ones? No. What's promising for Forex, which on Wednesday launches American Horror Story, is the fact that audiences appear to become growing braver. Millions have dared to look from behind their fingers, making hits from the Walking Dead and True Bloodstream. Even if Puppy nip/Tuck dipped its scalpels into overt horror -- terrorizing us with sadistic serial killer The Carver -- it came record amounts to Forex. But do audiences possess the stomach for any haunted house imagined up by Ryan Murphy and Kaira Falchuk, who gave us both Glee and Puppy nip/Tuck? American Horror Story's got veteran stars Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott and Jessica Lange, but additionally a homicidal basement-dwelling creature, angry twin redheads, an enigmatic, er, spirit inside a fetish suit, demonic wall art, a grotesque burn victim... and that is just within the first episode. To gauge the show's chances, we glance back in the last two decades of horror TV: Dark Shadows revival (1991, NBC), Nightmare Café (1992, NBC), American Medieval (1995-96, CBS): The best-time reboot of cult melodrama Dark Shadows elevated conflicted Barnabas Collins (whose friends incorporated a youthful Frederick Gordon-Levitt) like a more feral lovelorn vampire. Fans fell, and difficult, before start of the Gulf War and erratic arranging cooled rankings. Annually later, NBC used Wes Craven and Robert Englund's Nightmare Café, a weekly mix between Nightmare on Elm Street and also the Twilight Zone that survived just six episodes. Some thing sinister showed up in 1995, when CBS unleashed the bone-chilling, genre-bender American Medieval starring Gary Cole being an immoral sheriff - read: murderous maniac - of the creepy small town in Sc. Experts talked, but a too-small audience forced the network to decrease it following a season. Start Looking: Ryan Murphy's "psychosexual thriller" American Horror Story -- it's really no Glee! Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003, The WB and UPN) and Angel (1999-2004, The WB): Buffy funneled the majority of her teen angst into slaying vampires of the underworld, and in that way grew to become a genre success story, whilst the show combined the demonic and adult styles with many different snark and comedy. Buffy's most terrifying episode "Hush", a nearly dialogue-free hour where the ghastly Gentlemen take away the hearts of sufferers who cannot scream, gained the show an Emmy nomination for writing, and because of rabid fans and fawning experts, the show survived seven seasons. Its more dark, more grown-up spinoff, Angel, also trafficked in tangible frights, most memorably having a full-scale exorcism - and also the disturbing twist that adopted -- in "I have Got You Under My Skin." Kingdom Hospital (2004, ABC): Stephen King's adaptation of Lars von Trier's very frightening and uber-strange Danish series, The Dominion, starred Andrew McCarthy like a physician inside a haunted hospital lived on through the ghost of the Civil-War-era child laborer along with a giant anteater-like creature with jagged teeth, among other peculiar living types. (It's no surprise: A healthcare facility was built within the site of two terrible fires, the 2nd which destroyed a classic hospital where an evil physician carried out experiments on his patients.) A lot more than 14 million audiences examined the premiere, evidence of an appetite for horror. However, many updated out right after and it wasn't restored for any second season. Ryan Murphy and Kaira Falchuk: The 6 stuff that inspired American Horror Story Point Enjoyable (2005, Fox): When Satan's daughter Christina, who does not know she's the spawn of evil, washes ashore inside a quiet Nj beach town... well, yeah, bad stuff goes lower -- specifically for any selfish, self-centered citizens who deserve it. Despite an encouraging premise from Buffy vet Marti Noxon, Fox audiences did not look after the light scares - mean bugs! jealous teens! - triggered through the good-searching Child of Darkness (or her good-searching co-stars Grant Show and Mike Page). The show was drawn after just eight episodes broadcast. Supernatural (2005-ongoing, The WB and also the CW): What began out as two siblings on the highway within their Impala fighting devils looking for the reality is continuing to grow right into a fight of Scriptural proportions between good and evil. Mike and Dean have even visited hell and back. (Really, they have adopted Lucifer themself!) Supernatural has lengthy outlasted series creator Eric Kripke's original five-season plan, and won on the small but devoted crowd (as well as fans in high places). "How about we they simply leave?" Ryan Murphy promises solutions in Horror Story Masters of Horror (2005-07, Showtime): Showtime commissioned an anthology of films from respected horror maestros, including John Contractor, Joe Dante and John Landis, in addition to beginners, who have been given creative carte blanche to experience in pay cable's mostly uncensored space. Cause the sex and gore! The resulting two seasons' price of films were a mixed bag, based on reviews, but horror aficionados appeared pleased the project happened on tv whatsoever (save for Takashi Miike's "Imprint," that was launched only on DVD following the network considered it too disturbing to air.) Fear Itself (2008, NBC): Inspired by Masters, NBC attempted a horror anthology of their own, rounding up film veterinarians like Ronny Yu and Stuart Gordon to complete their worst (although for any general broadcast audience). The scares ranged from nasty (in "Eater," Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss performed a recently employed cop facing served by a Cajun serial-killing cannibal) to mundane (in "New Year's Day," Glee's Cory Monteith found themself encircled by zombies). Reviews were mixed and also the show survived two several weeks before low rankings (the premiere came a set-high 5.29 million audiences) and also the summer time Olympic games pressed them back the schedule permanently. Ryan Murphy talks new Forex show American Horror Story: Everybody was freaked by the creature! True Bloodstream (2008-ongoing, Cinemax): Perhaps probably the most effective horror show on television up to now, Alan Ball's adaptation of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries was frightening, sexed up, politically billed and plenty gory if this opened. It had been also polarizing - experts were dramatically divided and just 1.4 million audiences examined the very first airing. But over subsequent episodes, audiences soon found their distance to the cheesy, cleaning soap operatic shenanigans of Bon Temps' backwoods, where Sookie and her undead paramours braved supernatural - and very salty -- devils. Episode 9 from the recent 4th season came a set-high 5.5 million audiences (excluding individuals who DVR'd or viewed later airings around the network). Harper's Island (2009, CBS): Seven years after John Wakefield continued a murder spree on Harper's Island, the daughter of 1 of his sufferers returns to celebrate her best friend's wedding -- hey, why don't you? - and also the killing starts again. Unlike the unnerving American Medieval, CBS wished Harper's Island's was the type of slasher fest - dismemberments, burnings, a regrettable chandelier drop - loved by audiences who made Scream and that i Understand What You Probably Did Last Summer time box office hits. Experts appreciated the guilty-pleasure thrills and kills, but CBS wasn't within the mood to become patient. After three episodes, the show was knocked from the Thursday timeslot to Saturday nights, where it averaged just below 4 million audiences. Take a look at photos of yankee Horror Story The Walking Dead (2010-ongoing, AMC): Occur the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, several Atlanta children band together to remain obvious from the "ramblers" looking forward to their brains. Not quite what audiences expected from AMC, a network which had just put itself into the spotlight rich in-brow period drama Mad Males and also the explosively gritty Breaking Bad. But Walking Dead, Frank Darabont's slow-moving, motion picture-in-scope adaptation of Robert Kirkman's graphic books, first showed on Halloween to almost universal acclaim and also the greatest rankings within the good reputation for the network. Which means a lot more than 5 million people viewed Ron and Glenn stomach a spook and smear themselves using its smelly insides. Nice. Browse the trailer for FX's American Horror Story, premiering Wednesday at 10/9c on Forex: Are you going to watch American Horror Story?

Chris Christie Press Conference: How the Networks Covered

None of the broadcast networks broke into regularly scheduled daytime programming Tuesday to cover Chris Christie's news conference, where the New Jersey governor formally announced he was not going to seek the GOP nomination for president. ABC did not carry Christie's announcement on the network but live streamed a special report on ABCNews.com and on Yahoo. STORY: Chris Christie Press Conference Sparks Media Frenzy of Fat Jokes (Video) It was a contrast to Monday's special reports on the trial of American exchange student Amanda Knox; when all three broadcast networks interrupted daytime lineups to deliver the verdict and many had correspondents on the scene in Italy. Diane Sawyer anchored a special report from ABC News headquarters in NY to cover the long-awaited Knox verdict that overturned her guilty ruling, while Elizabeth Vargas reported from Perugia, Italy. NBC and CBS also stuck with regularly scheduled programming and did not break in to cover the presser. STORY: Amanda Knox Verdict: How the Networks Covered For the Knox trial, NBC News' Lester Holt delivered the news outside the courthouse in Perugia. CBS, meanwhile, did not break in. The network on Monday interrupted regularly scheduled programming with Bob Scheiffer reporting the verdict. Fox doesn't typically cut into its regularly scheduled programming and did not cover Christie's announcement. CNN, which produced a segment last week asking point blank if Christie was too fat to be president, broadcast live from the CNN Newsroom and brought in Wolf Blitzer to anchor the broadcast, with the political reporter going in and out of the press conference. Blitzer was joined by John King and Gloria Borger. Coverage on CNN began at 1 p.m. and continued through until 1:48 p.m. EST, which included post-press conference coverage analysis with Blitzer, King and Borger. Related Topics

Exclusive: Can You Guess Samuel L. Jackson's Favorite Quentin Tarantino Film?

Samuel L. Jackson has contributed indelible performances to the oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino, most notably as the cool Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, which nabbed him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod, and as the unhinged L.A. gun-runner Ordell Robbie (“O-R-D-E-L-L R-O-B-B-I-E”) in Tarantino’s follow-up, Jackie Brown, which garnered him a Golden Globes nomination. Jackson even lent his voice to 2009’s Inglourious Basterds and will appear in the upcoming Django Unchained. But which film does the frequent Tarantino player consider the director’s best, in which “the action plays out suddenly and completely for every character?” Watch Movieline’s exclusive clip, taken from an unreleased interview shot for the Pulp Fiction Blu-ray release: There you have it! I’ve got to agree with Jackson; his favorite Tarantino is also my favorite Tarantino. (If you missed it, read our interview with legendary actress and QT muse Pam Grier.) Meanwhile, catch more behind-the-scenes tidbits and nostalgic interviews on this week’s Blu-ray releases of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, both out today.

Pam Grier on Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino, and Her Reign as the Queen of '70s Action Cinema

Grindhouse icon Pam Grier blazed a trail through the blaxploitation era, was dubbed “the baddest One-Chick Hit-Squad that ever hit town” (a title that remains uncontested four decades later, one might argue), and commanded the screen with a combination of ferocity, empathy, and a look so striking Roger Ebert once described her as an “actress of beautiful face and astonishing form.” Years later, in 1997, Quentin Tarantino paid homage to the work and the woman in Jackie Brown, adapted from Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, one of the filmmaker’s best and most underrated films and the spark that jump-started a career revival for its stars. Grier earned a Golden Globes nomination for her turn as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who turns the tables on a local gun-runner (Samuel L. Jackson) and the feds with the help of a sympathetic bail bondsman (Robert Forster, who was Oscar-nominated for the role). In honor of the film’s Blu-ray debut this week, Movieline spoke with Grier about the legacy of Jackie Brown, Tarantino’s appreciation of a certain kind of woman, her legendary career as the queen of exploitation cinema, and her upcoming turn in rapper-turned-director RZA’s martial arts film The Man with the Iron Fists. How do you feel about Jackie Brown and its impact on your own career when you look back on it now? Pam Grier: Well, the fact that the film had legs because of the wonderful talent of Quentin Tarantino and his ensemble and the film that he invested two years of his life to write for me — and for me, I wrote a journal of how wonderful it was to work on the film. My experience was very emotional; I wouldn’t reveal it to other people. It’s very sentimental, on and off camera. Moments, Quentin’s direction, and how he worked with me and other actors, his belief in me… but I really believe that if I hadn’t done theater and that process of rehearsal, because when you’re on stage people are eating sandwiches, sneezing, there are noises and you can’t lose that focus. So that prepared me to work at his level of intensity. Jackie Brown meant a lot. I would always say, ‘If I never work again, I have been to the mountaintop.’ This was an extraordinary experience with someone who loves films. And he loves your films in particular, as well. Do you remember the first time you met Quentin? Grier: Yes, it was frightening! I thought he was a stalker. It was for Pulp Fiction, I’m going in and all my posters are on his wall. I said, ‘Did you put this up for me?’ He said, ‘No, but I would have.’ I realized he was a real, true filmmaker. And the nuances of the films that we made, not only with Roger Corman but with AIP [American International Pictures] in the ’70s, the women’s movement and sexual revolution, political liberation movement, he knew what they meant and what they meant to me. He embraced it, and it wasn’t something where he felt challenged, or intimidated. A lot of conservative men were upset that I had taken their roles, or they were objecting to me being so progressive and thought I should be in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant. That was a conservative movement toward the films, where the ‘blaxploitation’ term was made up to divide and ‘let’s dismantle this women’s [movement].’ But they forgot that pioneer women such as my mother and my aunt, who were in Wyoming huntin’ and shootin’ and fishin’ and riding horses and doing things to survive, but not emasculating men or taking away their jobs. Just being the best women that they could be. That frightened a lot of men. But Quentin’s generation, the younger generation, were saying ‘Yeah, that’s what our single moms have to do! They have to do that.’ So there was a different mindset. I could see that he was open — a-ga-pe — to not only my work, but other work of women. He really likes what women do, and you can really see that in his films after Jackie Brown but he really embraced that character. Quentin is known for his fondness for grindhouse cinema, including the films you become known for which were termed “exploitation” movies. How do you view that label? Grier: Well, what is it? Look at martial arts. I saw martial arts films with my ex, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he was studying with Bruce Lee and we used to go see martial arts films. And later, The Bride with White Hair and Seven Samurai. Those are exploitation films — the first two seconds, decapitations, stabbing, children being burnt! But that’s action film. Is it exploitation or action? So it evolved into action, because a lot of films are very exploitative today. When you look at how the female action star has evolved from your time to now, it seems that the sexualized component that largely made it exploitative is no longer on the table anymore. Why do you think that is? Just a product of the time in which these films were made? Grier: I don’t know, you’ll have to ask men and ask other women. But I think it’s been played out because I established it in the ’70s. Forty years later now women are just coming into a story and it’s not about sex, it’s about survival and being stealth and powerful. Then, we could play at sexuality just to show them we could play at this, it’s really silly and it’s not that important. But we had to play that out then. A lot of films then would not work today, because it’s already been established — the sexual mores, how people have relationships and open marriages, it’s so different today. It’s just a different social and cultural difference, sexual difference. It’s completely different today. People couldn’t even say certain words. You would never hear the word ‘vagina’ then, even though it’s exploitation, it’s hard core, it’s this and that. Today, you’re gonna hear everything. So it’s different, but I’m glad I was a part of that. It was tongue in cheek, we were making fun of men making fun of us and saying, back atcha! “Fearless” and “confident” are adjectives that have been applied to you and your film roles over the years, qualities that really shine through onscreen. What would you attribute that to? Grier: It comes from my personal life. It comes from me experiencing very tragic circumstances when I was six and again at 19, and again at 21, where I finally felt I had to survive, I had to live through these circumstances. That gave me confidence. I fight a little harder, I challenge people… there are things that happened to me personally that I bring to the screen. But also, I wanted to show other women that they, too, won’t lose their femininity or castrate their men by being assertive. It’s okay to be confident… if you’re right. But it’s subjective, like art. Because of what’s happened to me personally in my life, I bring that to the screen. Handling guns, if you will, the action, there’s not really any hesitation. Just make sure I’m not on fire at the end of the stunt! But there weren’t stunt women for me, or at least black stunt women. Only when I did Coffy was that invented. I was a scuba diver, I water skied, and in Sheba, Baby when they had the jet ski, the personal watercraft, Kawasaki wanted to show that — the first time it was in a movie — with me in Sheba, Baby. I got on that thing and I didn’t even get wet. I came back dry. They said, ‘Oh, this is going to be fun.’ But they had the confidence, this major brand, to show this in my film. So I felt I was doing something right, for other women. You know, you don’t have to be pregnant to have fun, just get out of the house! Speaking of fun, part of your legend has it that you once punched a journalist in the junk during an interview. True or false? Grier: Well actually, he wrote that but he exaggerated. I did not. Because if I had really punched him, he wouldn’t be walking. He wouldn’t be able to finish the article. So he basically made it seem like I was kind of tough, but I didn’t really. I wanted a correction but he says, ‘No, I want you to look strong!’ I said, ‘I can do that without this.’ But I really didn’t punch him in the family jewels. I think he would have sued me if I had! There’s one thing I learned in martial arts, we would never joke around with our form, with our art. We’re always very respectful. So I would never hurt someone or punch someone outside of a dojo. I’m curious to hear about your very first screen credit, which was in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Grier: It’s Beyond the Valley of the Dolls! I went to the set to visit a friend; I was a starving student working six jobs, and I just kind of went with him and the next thing I know they say, ‘Hey, we need more extras!’ They said, ‘We’ll put you in a dress, and you’ll say something.’ That was my first credit. It was Russ Meyer and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and I wasn’t even union. I was like, ‘Well, okay.’ I had no intention of being an actor. Really? What convinced you to become one? Grier: I still haven’t been convinced. [Pauses] Just kidding! At the time I wanted to be a camera person. I didn’t feel like I was attractive enough, with the glamour you see on television and the images that were portrayed. And I was a revolutionary, I was into the Black Panthers, being independent, feeding your own, give them a pole they’ll learn how to feed themselves, and all of that. The womanly stuff was foreign to me. I came to Hollywood in a flannel shirt, Timberland boots, and Levis, with a big ‘fro in my family’s hunting jeep with no roof, no doors, no windows. They’d see me hiking up Sunset Plaza Boulevard, it’s a long winding road, because I was used to hiking in Colorado. They said, ‘No one in Los Angeles hikes! What are you, nuts?’ No, it’s just what I do. So I brought all of those differences, a different type of woman. They could dress me up, I clean up well. But that was my first credit. And I didn’t know what I was saying. I didn’t know anything of what to do. Are you glad you did it? Grier: Um… It was tuition money! Anything for school. I was saving every dime. What was your recent work with RZA like? Grier: Yes! The Man with the Iron Fists, I play his mother. We shot it in Shanghai. He’s going to be an extraordinary director as well. He’s excellent. And of course I loved Wu-Tang Clan, I loved his art form there, but this is a film where I play his film in the mid-1800s. It was a great experience.