Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | November 16 - 22, 2019 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I love the actor who plays Dr. Choi on "Chicago Med." Who is he and where else do I know him from? A: The answer depends less on who he is and more on who you are. Are you a child, or do you take one to movies sometimes? If so, you know actor Brian Tee as the iconic villain Shredder in the 2016 blockbuster "Teenage Mutant Nin- ja Turtles: Out of the Shadows." Are you a car movie fan? Then he's the also-villainous Drift King from 2006's "The Fast and the Furi- ous: Tokyo Drift," another big-bud- get smash. The fact is, you could be just about anybody and know Tee. He's had roles in a pile of the biggest movies in recent years. The parts haven't all been vil- lainous, though he does tend in that direction. Some of his other big roles were the head of park se- curity in 2015's "Jurassic World" and the corrupt Japanese Justice Minister Noburo in 2013's "The Wolverine." You could know him even with- out being an action fan. He's done comedic roles in 2002's "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and 2005's "Fun with Dick and Jane," and even did a bit of a tearjerking turn in 2002's "We Were Soldiers." Q: Is it true that the Minis in the original "Italian Job" were almost Fiats? A: It's almost unimaginable to anyone who saw and loved that film, or who has loved the Mini au- tomobile since, but it almost didn't appear in "The Italian Job" (1969). The climactic scene of that clas- sic crime-caper movie involved a lengthy chase through downtown Turin, Italy, with the good guys (well, relatively good) in a fleet of Minis, which were made by British Motor Corporation (BMC) at the time but are now made by BMW. But incredibly, the producers had to pay for every single Mini used in the film. On the other hand, the Italian car company Fiat of- fered the producers a free fleet of Fiat 500s (also miniature cars not unlike the Mini), plus a free Ferrari and more perks as well. "You would think that this had to be a major commercial for a product, but the BMC didn't see it," producer Michael Deeley said in an interview with the Birming- ham Mail. But Deeley had to turn Fiat down for story reasons. "I couldn't do it. The whole point about this movie was it was 'us' against 'them'," he said, meaning Britain versus the rest of Europe. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Per- sonal replies will not be provided. Hollywood Q&A By Michelle Rose TV Media T here are parades, and then there's Macy's Thanksgiv- ing Day Parade. This year marks the 95th anniversary of the Big Apple tradi- tion that officially kicks off the eating, er, holiday season. And there's something magical about seeing all those floats, marching bands and giant balloons making their way down 6th Avenue to- ward Macy's flagship store on 34th Street in New York City. (Fun fact: Macy's Herald Square was the first building in the world to be equipped with modern escalators. You can still ride the original wooden ones up to Santaland, or up one more floor to the couches, if you're in town.) But let's talk food. Food Net- work has invited four top bakers to compete in the second edition of "Macy's Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular," airing Sunday, Nov. 17. And as the title suggests, they'll be tasked with creating their best cake-and-sugar tribute to the annual spectacular. The one-hour special debuted last year with lifestyle maven Martha Stewart as the host. In ad- dition to the competition, viewers were treated to a sneak peek of the preparations at Macy's Parade Studio in New Jersey, where all the floats, balloons and costumes are readied until the day before the parade. (Another fact: No matter its fi- nal size, each float must be able to fit through the Lincoln Tunnel — the same one Buddy the Elf walked through in 2003's "Elf" — to reach the parade route. The floats are reconstructed overnight near the starting point on the Up- per West Side.) The culinary torch has been passed and this year's host is Maureen McCormick of "The Brady Bunch" fame. With 12 days to go until Turkey Day and the pa- rade, McCormick will help get you into the holiday spirit while com- petitors try to impress judges Bud- dy Valastro ("Cake Boss"), Susan Tercero (executive producer of Macy's parade) and last season's winner, Timbo Sullivan. The winning cake artist will be awarded a grand prize of $10,000 and a feature spot at Macy's Her- ald Square. They'll also get tickets to the parade, which may seem odd giv- en the opportunities for free pub- lic viewing along the route. But these are grandstand tickets, which aren't available to the pub- lic. In fact, they're limited to friends and family members of pa- rade participants and Macy's partners, and, of course, the win- ner of Food Network's "Macy's Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular." Tune in on Nov. 17 to find out who it will be. Maureen McCormick hosts 'Macy's Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular' 10 | Cooking this week Crab House 2 x 2" Family Health Clinic 2 x 1.5" White Lilies N Paradise 2 x 1.5" Buddy Valastro is a judge on "Macy's Thanksgiving Cake Spectacular"

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