Yesterday, we brought you onto the set of ABC Family’s 10 Things I Hate About You, premiering next Tuesday at 8/7c. Tomorrow, highlights from breakfast with Ethan Peck, who plays Patrick.

Today, though, here are the highlights from the interview with writer and executive producer Carter Covington.  Carter not only directed the set tour, but also provided some interesting insight toward the show and its direction.

(On what made him want to work on 10 Things)

[W]hat drew me to this project is I kind of felt like both of the sisters in high school – you have one sister who is dying to be popular and one who’s like, “Oh, my God, high school is such a stupid lame rite of passage.”  And that’s how I felt about it.  On the one hand, I [really wanted to be accepted] and then on the other half I was like, “God, I can’t wait to get in college and get out of here and leave this behind…”  I really wanted that feeling in the series just like that you’re at high school, and it can be the best of times and it can feel like the worst place on earth.  And that’s kind of what we’re going to play with in the series that it is kind of this place of many feelings.

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Over the years, there have been countless reimaginings of Shakespearean plays.  With stories being retold in every possible setting and time period, Baz Luhrman popularized the concept for a young adult audience with his 1996’s Romeo + Juliet, complete with guns instead of swords and a Miami-esque setting in place of familiar fair Verona.  In 1999, Gil Junger’s 10 Things I Hate About You took the same idea a step further, bringing Shakespeare to an even younger audience: high schoolers.  Largely remembered as the late Heath Ledger’s breakthrough performance and with characters that were simultaneously relatable and iconic teen movie stereotypes, 10 Things I Hate About You became an instant classic for Generation Y. 

Now, ten years later, ABC Family has resurrected the film with a TV show by the same name.  I recently had the opportunity to have breakfast with lead actor Ethan Peck, as well as visit the set of the show, where I was able to observe production and participate in interviews with writer and executive producer Carter Covington (Greek), actors Larry Miller (10 Things I Hate About You, Boston Legal), Lindsey Shaw (Aliens in America), and Meaghan Jette Martin (Camp Rock, Dear Lemon Lima).

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting the highlights of breakfast with Peck, as well as the highlights from interviews with Covington, Miller, Shaw, and Martin.  After the jump, my experience on set and observing production.

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On Tuesday, July 7^th, the SCI FI Channel rebrands itself as Syfy and celebrates by premiering its new sf/fantasy series, Warehouse 13 [9/8C] – the adventures of a pair of Secret Service agents whose job it is to track down exotic, potentially dangerous objects worth unique powers and, as Artie, Warehouse 13’s supervisor, puts it, “Hunt down whatever is threatening to ruin the world’s day and snag it, bag, and tag it.” I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a teleconference with the show’s leads, Eddie McClintock [Stark Raving Mad, Bones] and Joanne Kelly [Vanished, Diamonds], showrunner/executive producer Jack Kenny [Titus, The Book of Daniel] and executive producer David Simkins [Blade: The Series, The Dresden Files].

Also taking part were: Steve Eramo, TV Zone Magazine; Bryan Cairns, Sci Fi Wire; Troy Rogers, Deadbolt.com; Alex Davies, Flash News; Julia Diddy, Fancast.com; Blaine Kyllo, Cinema Spy; David Martindale, Hearst Newspapers; Brian Truitt, USA Weekend Magazine; Mike Hughes, TD America; Jamoe Ruby, Media Blvd, and Michael Hinman, Airlock Alpha.

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A week and a half ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a teleconference for NBC’s new drama, The Philanthropist, which follows Teddy Rist, a somewhat reformed playboy billionaire who has decided to use his funds for good, rather than novelty.  The Philanthropist premiered June 24th on NBC and will be airing this summer on Wednesdays at 10/9c.

Available for the Q&A were Tom Fontana, executive producer, and James Purefoy, who plays the lead character, Teddy Rist.  Joining me for the Q&A were Joshua Maloney [Niagara Frontier Publications], April MacIntyre [monstersandcritics.com], Troy Rogers [thedeadbolt.com], Abbie Bernstein [IFmagazine.com], Amy Amatangelo [Boston Herald], and Monica Garsky [Flash News].

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Every once in a while I get an interview opportunity that comes across my desk that just makes me laugh or smile or get all giggly inside. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy most of the interviews I do but this one just made me smile a big smile of nostalgia. I’m a kid of the 80’s and what did every kid in the 80’s do…watch John Hughes movies or a movie with at least one member of the “Brat Pack” in it. Of course I watched them all…”The Breakfast Club”, “Pretty in Pink”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Sixteen Candles”…the list goes on and on.

So when I got the request for an interview with none other than 80’s teen queen Molly Ringwald, I had to jump at the chance. She’s no longer the teen full of angst trying to find herself while surviving high school. These days she plays Anne Juergens, mother of a pregnant teen trying to make her way through high school while raising a baby of her own. The show is ABC Family’s hit series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” (Monday’s at 8/7c)

EclipseMagazine: Can you tell us where you are in the filming schedule?  How far along is the season, and are you going to have to take some time off for maternity leave or is that going to be filmed?

Molly Ringwald: Yes, I’m actually already on maternity leave.  I shot about 12 episodes and then one day, I shot three episodes in one day, just my part.  Then when I come back from maternity leave, then I’m shooting three episodes back; so, just sort of do the catch up.  So, everybody else is still filming and I think that they are off in August, but I’ve been off since the end of May.

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Recently I had a chance to sit down and chat with Iron Chef and Food Network culinary king Bobby Flay to discuss his series The Next Food Network Star which airs Sunday’s at 9pm/9c on the Food Network. Bobby Flay kicked off season five of The Next Food Network Star with another crop of ten hopefuls vying for the chance to win their very own show on The Food Network.

Which one of these finalists can stand the heat long enough to take home the prize? Only time will tell!

EclipseMagazine: Once people get to the competition on air, what is the process to actually get to that point, what hoops do they have to jump through to even make it to become a contestant on the show?

Bobby Flay: They have to send in a disc or a tape and the selection committee at the Food Network take a look at it and if they make that cut then they bring them in to meet them and if they make that cut then they have to cook a little bit in front of them and they narrow it down to ten people. It’s just the process of elimination.

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Recently I had the honor to interview reggae artist QUEEN IFRICA to discuss her upcoming sophomore album, Road to Montego Bay, which will be released on Tuesday, June 16th.

Duncan Jones - Director of "Moon"

Duncan Jones makes his feature film debut as director in the new Sony Pictures Classic MOON, which opens in limited release on June 12th. MOON is a science fiction adventure with a human interest element that moviegoers will enjoy. I had the pleasure of chatting with Duncan to discuss his newfound journey.

Eclipse Magazine: Duncan, how did you get involved with the film?

DUNCAN JONES: Well, I wrote the original story because  I had a meeting with Sam Rockwell. I wanted to work with him on my first feature  film because I done commercials for a few years. I had the opportunity to meet with him. I fed him the script and he really liked it. It was for different project. He actually wanted to play a different role than the one I wanted him to do. So we met up in New York so we can run into each other, that didn’t work out but we got on really well. We started talking about bring some films we both love and the kind of roles as an actor that he was interested in playing. That gave me the genesis and the material to come up with something for him. So, I wrote MOON for Sam Rockwell.

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Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit in on a teleconference Q&A session with B-movie legend Bruce “The Chin” Campbell as he discussed the third season of Burn Notice [Thursdays, USA, 9/8C], on which he plays “retired” spy, Sam Axe.

Taking part in the conversation were: Suzanne Lanoue [TV Mega Site], Beth Anne Henderson [nicegirlstv.com], Anthony Nepal [burnnotice.com], Zach Oat [televisionwithoutpity.com], Stevie Wilson [lastory.com], Stew Miller [gunaxin.com], Jennifer Iacchino [Media Blvd], Kristyn Clarke [popculturemadness.com], Bryan Fitzpatrick [Lair of the Green Knight], Josh Bozeman [thebluesite.com], Robert Falconer [cinemaspy.com], Troy Rogers [thedeadbolt.com], Josh Lasser [Blogcritics Magazine], Stefan Blitz [forcesofgeek.com], Brian Gallagher [movieweb.com], Matt Sheehan [hollywoodsnitch.com], Adam Liedling [readjunk.com] and Kate Blake [multipleverses.com]. Yes, folks, Bruce Campbell draws a crowd!

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Mark Feuerstein is Hank Lawson in the new USA Network original series ROYAL PAINS, which premieres tonight, Thursday, June 4, 2009 at 10/9c, immediately following the hit series BURN NOTICE (at its new time, 9/8c). Recently I had a chance to visit the set of ROYAL PAINS to meet the cast and had the pleasure of chatting with Mark to discus his new role.

EclipseMagazine:    So, should we just start with you telling us about your character?

Mark Feuerstein: Sure. That’s an easy way to begin. All right. So, I am playing Hank Lawson. And my character is, at the beginning of the pilot, a doctor in an ER in Brooklyn. And he’s playing hoops with a bunch of neighborhood kids. And one of them drops down.

I guess the conflict of Hank is that he’s somewhat—I mean there’s one thing that you don’t know from the pilot, which is that in his past, his father lost all the family money in the stock market. And they had to downsize from a nice house in maybe Passaic, New Jersey to a little two-bedroom apartment, and so money is fraught for Hank. And so now he’s got to take care of rich people while resenting them too.

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