Does Zac Efron Make A Good Birthday Present?

Are the holidays flying by or is it just me?  I am running around and enjoying the holiday season. I'm not traveling right now, so it's good to be home with a living room that smells like Balsam and Cedar.  No fake trees allowed in my house.

Here are a few places to catch some of my recent work:

1. Sprint:  I shot this commercial back in May 2002.  It was the worst audition of my life, yet I booked the job.  They cast me as a sheriff which is completely bizarre.  I finally dug up the old VHS tape and transferred it to DVD only to find that it was already on YouTube (Of course!).  Take a look at this:  The Sprint Guy, Charo, an unknown Jane Lynch, and me as a Sheriff.  Enjoy the old hairstyle and feel free to make fun of me.

2.  Nerdy at Thirty:  I was on the Nerdy at Thirty radio show last night at the same time that I was covering Radio Disney's NBT finals.  It was loud and I had every Disney Channel kid running around while I was trying to talk.  Ah, showbiz is so glamorous.  You can listen to the broadcast here.

On the phone for my interview with Nerdy at Thirty while covering the Radio Disney NBT finals. 

3. The Web Files:  For those of you who have hung around Red Carpet Closet for awhile, you might remember this show.  Well, PlaceVine kindly gave us a great review and a write-up on the show.  You can read the article here and see the shows here.

4.  My Birthday Weekend:  I started out my weekend with the press junket for the film, New Year's Eve.  Spending my birthday with Zac Efron, Lea Michele, and Michelle Pfeiffer was not hard work at all. (Coverage coming soon!).  Then it was dinner in LA with friends and then off to Vegas to hang with my NYC pals. It was a great weekend and it sure beats last year's dismal celebration.  Here are a couple of photos from the festivities.

 My friend took me to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in Vegas where I hung out with Britney Spears and Hugh Hefner.  My friends take me to the best places.

I'll be back tomorrow with all of the coverage from Radio Disney's NBT from videos to photos to the inside scoop.  

In the meantime, tell me what you are up to this holiday season in the comments below:

The Friday Five

I haven't done a Friday Five in forever!  I love doing them, so let's kick it off with our winner!

1.  Caption the Photo Contest Winner:  Congratulations to Don B for this quote:  "Only the BEST Jedi have microwave light sabers".  Don, I will be contacting you today for your mailing address so I can send your prize pack.  To see the photo, click here.

2.  Toyota Live Photos:  You all know that I love photo bombing photos, so I am certainly happy to do it under any circumstances.  Here you go, me photo-bombing away!

3.  Google Alerts:  I used to think it was obnoxious to Google Alert yourself, but since we live in a digital world, I know think it is smart.  I met photographer, Franklin Teng, at the LA Auto Show and he took a few photos with me and my pal, Elliot. You never know where the photos are going to turn up. Thanks, Franklin, for the photos and for being so kind.  

4.  Store:  So, I was a bit hesitant to do this, but I have been getting a lot of photo requests.  Instead of everyone sending a SASE, etc, I thought I would do something for charity.  You can check out the available photos here and proceeds, minus my shipping and handling costs, will be donated to the Thirst Project.  I am happy to personalize the photos and I will keep a monthly total of the money donated to a great cause.  I am looking for feedback since this is a work in progress.  Contact me here with feedback and shop here at the store.  

5.  Farmeeohs:  These are the most delicious cookies on the planet from The Farm of Beverly Hills. We discovered these caloric laden cookies during one of our lunch breaks at LA Live.  They are basically homemade Double Stuffed Oreos with a side of Whoopie Pie.  Um....YUM!  My co-host found the recipe online if you are looking for a mouth-watering holiday dessert.  If you are in LA, hit up The Farm.  You won't be disappointed. 

What's your Friday Five this week? 

Infomercials Update

A snapshot from my hotel TV earlier this year.

Happy Holidays!  Are you in the swing of the holiday season yet?  I am happily ensconced in LA for most of the month while I catch up on Oscar fare, friends, and my workout regime. (I plan on eating a lot this holiday season.)  I'm going to update you on a few projects that I worked on earlier this year:  The Amazing Mat and the EZ Curler. (In addition, The Rhythm Rocker continues to run almost two years later.) Yes, that means you will be seeing me on your TV screens in the middle of the night when you have insomnia.  First up, The Amazing Mat and FYI, I have one by my door and it works really well!

 

Next up:  EZ Curler.  This is the styling tips video, but the full infomercial will be running soon with a couple of familiar Bachelor/Bachelor Pad faces.



I will announce my Caption the Photo contest winner tomorrow, so get in those last minute entries.  It's pretty simple:  come up with a creative caption, win a prize!

First Weekend on Toyota Live in LA!

It's always fun to have guests on Toyota Live and this weekend was no exception.  We had a few fun guests to liven up a very busy weekend at the LA Auto Show.  First up, Tay Zonday, a YouTube sensation from his video, "Chocolate Rain".  If you haven't seen it yet, where have you been?  He has over 74 million hits.  When I first interviewed him for The Web Files in 2009, he "only" had 34 million hits.  Tay has one of the best voices in the world in terms of depth and vocal quality.  It was awesome to have him open up the show.

Our scheduled guests for the show included Toyota NHRA drag racers, Del Worsham and Alexis DeJoria.  Del's top speed in one of his top fuel dragster?  Only 327 MPH.  Pretty impressive from a world champion.  Alexis comes to the NHRA with an interesting background as her dad owns the Paul Mitchell hair care and the Patron tequila empire.  You wouldn't expect someone with that background to enter the NHRA circuit, but she's an incredible driver with an exciting future after her big win in Seattle this year.

Me, Del Worsham,Trackside Tina, Alexis DeJoria, and Matt Troyer after the show.

Finally, I love this photo (see below)!  You look at a photo like this and think, "what the heck is going on?"  Well, it's your turn to caption the photo.  Leave your quote in the comments below.  I will pick a winner on Monday, November 28th.  I have a great prize for the ladies filled with makeup and mani/pedi goodies.  If a gentleman wins, don't worry, I will find something good for you in the KB prize closet.  Ready, set...be creative!

What the heck is going on here?

Orlando, I Love You!

Things have been so crazy around Chez Burtt that I haven't had a chance to post.  Also helping that along was a horrendous internet connection at my hotel in Orlando.  I'm baffled that a hotel that caters to convention attendees does not have WiFi nor do they have a strong ethernet connection. That is a review for TripAdvisor, but I just want to give a shout out to Orlando:  "Orlando, I love you, Orlando!"  For my musical theatre geeks, you know this is in reference to the hottest ticket on Broadway. Seriously though, I love Orlando. As a true Disney fan, I love being in the city that houses the happiest place on Earth.  Yes, Disneyland exists on my coast, but it's a fun day trip. Disney World....now that's a vacation!  After my rehearsal on Saturday for the same amazing company that took me to Paris, I hit Disney's Hollywood Studios with my brother and my niece and it was a awesome.  Here are some of the photos from that magical day.  (Yes, my niece really was there, but she doesn't need her photo blasted around the internet.)

 Me and Mike from Monsters, Inc.  I cannot wait for Monsters University!

I need an Incredibles costume for this photo.

I pose no matter where the red carpet is.....Orlando or Hollywood!

Fantasmic! continues to be one of the best shows Disney offers.  

Disney is ready for Christmas, I'm not sure I am though.  

They were looking for dancers, so guess who volunteered?

Me and my big little bro......

I hate to go upside down.  This is me going upside down on Aerosmith's Rock 'N' Roller Coaster.

A little stuffed with fluff love.  

The Little Mermaid show is kind of lame because (wow) is the singing bad, but the puppetry work is excellent. It's worth your time to go and see the artistry and then plug your ears for the song.

Godspell Opening Night Photos

I'm reveling in all of the excitement from Monday's opening of Godspell.  It was such a thrilling night and it was a great opportunity to see how far the cast had come from the press rehearsal I attended in late September. My mom AKA "Grammy" was my hot date for the night, so we got all gussied up and hit the Great White Way. Here's the inside scoop on the evening and don't forget to buy your tickets to Godspell.

I made sure Grammy hit her best red carpet pose, hand on the hip!

So this is a photo from our seats.  Yup, we were that close--front row and center, thanks to Ken Davenport.  The show is at Circle in the Square, so it's theatre in the round.  

Grammy and I onstage at intermission enjoying some "wine" with the cast.  Don't miss this when you go to see the show.

Just after the final curtain call, the cast huddled for a moment onstage.  This cast is incredibly close and you can tell they genuinely enjoy working together.  This is one of my favorite pictures from my NYC trip.

The row of Canadians! If you look carefully, you see Victor Garber and Martin Short in the photo.  Many of the cast member from the legendary Canadian production were there:  Paul Schaffer, Martin, Victor, Eugene Levy, and Andrea Martin.

The stage is littered with glitter and confetti by the end of the show.

Olympic gold medalist and my favorite figure skating commentator, Dick Button. I have the pleasure of knowing his awesome daughter, Emily, and I love that the Button sass runs in the family

Director, Daniel Goldstein with me after the show.  We spent several summers together at Stagedoor Manor because I am the dork who attended musical theatre camp. (Yes, I was that kid.)

Pointing out my name on the People of Godspell banner.  Yep, I am an investor and my name is right next to Dick Button. Sweet.

Scream!! It's a Jonas Brother!  Yes, Kevin and his wife, Danielle, came to support Anna Maria Perez de Tagle in the show.

 You know I wouldn't miss this cupcake.

My mom is toasting Producer Ken Davenport for the open bar. Just kidding, Grammy!

I think I liked my faux hawk a little too much.  I took 9453029458 photos from this angle.

I love this shot.  I've known Ken (producer of Godspell) forever and I am so happy for his success. 

Seriously, could Anna Maria be any prettier?  I interviewed her earlier this year at the Kids' Choice Awards gifting suite.  Sweet girl and she's absolutely luminous in this production.

Getting our party on at Planet Hollywood!

There was glitter everywhere. I found it in my hair the next day and it was stuck to our skin.  Notice the logo of my iPhone case reflected on the glitter....it's the Godspell logo!

The opening night gift.  It was a brick.  Um, I had to fly home with a brick.  If you ever want to travel with a brick through TSA just know that you will endure a bag check and an explosives test.  

The Dress Details: Opening Night, Godspell

I'm back from an amazing weekend in New York.  I will spill all of the details about my weekend in the city tomorrow.  Today, it is all about fashion!  Here are all of the details on my look from the opening night of the Broadway revival of Godspell.

Stylist:  Roni B
Hair:  Dry Bar
Dress: Silver Kiss
Shoes:  Steve Madden $76.95
I received comments about these shoes all night.  They are 5.5" heels with 2"platforms. Yes, I was tall.  I love them and yes, you've seen them here before.
Elephant Ring:  Betsey Johnson
Oval Ring:  Forever 21 $6
Earrings:  Roni B.
Bag:  Roni B
Textured Tights:  Gap $7

The most expensive thing on me that night was my shoes which were bought in the Fall of 2010 for under $77.  Otherwise, all of the accessories and the dress were under $60.  I just want to show you that a red carpet look can be done rather inexpensively.  The attire for the evening was suggested as "festive".  I think I am one of the few that adhered to that request.  I loved being the bright color in a sea of black cocktail dresses.  I clearly was not in LA, since NY loves their black.  It's a good safe choice, but it's fun to stand out and be warm at the same time.  Yay for long sleeves!

The accessories were designed to add another unexpected color to the look.  So, gold and royal blue were added to my earrings and ring.  The clutch remained black to tie into the tights, shoes, and the hint of black in the dress.  Finally, the faux hawk added a bit of fun to the entire look.  Dry Bar hooked me up with the braids as an added touch.  I must say I have new respect for the ladies who rock braids every day.  I loved them, but wow, they are tight and made my head itch.  I thought I would keep them all week, but I caved after 2 1/2 days.  I'm a total wimp.

Have You Heard Anything About The Kardashians This Week?

Okay, before you groan at me, I hope you check out my article over at Starpulse about this week's incessant news on the 72-day marriage.  The article is entitled:  "Breaking Up With The Kardashians:  Where Do We Draw The Line?"  I talked with reality experts who weighed in with their opinions:  everyone from a casting director to a YouTube personality to a former Bachelor star to the biggest Bachelor spoiler blogger in the industry.

I have met Kim, in fact, she styled me for the Oscars in 2007 because I bought my dress from Dash. She was alone in the store that day.  Yep, that's how simple her life was in January 2007. Things changed by the fall of that year and it is amazing to see the transformation in four short years.  She's a sweet girl who I think has been misguided by the fame and the money.  I hope this gives her an opportunity to take a step back, breathe, and reassess the world around her.

The article:  Click here.

The Great Cupcake Caper

I received a knock on my door today to find half a dozen cupcakes greeting me from Crumbs Bake Shop.  Anyone that hangs out with me or follows me around the internet knows that I love cupcakes.  The note read "Get Well Soon, Matthew".  Hmmmm, no last name and no indication of which Matt in my life it was from.  I sent a text to my co-host of Toyota Live, called my Paris pal, Crabby, and I started to formulate an email to my cousin in Chicago.  I put a photo and tweet out on Twitter and on Facebook and the culprit was found!  A big thanks to Mathieas AKA Matthew for my Crumbs Cupcakes.  I already feel better after downing a ginormous Red Velvet cupcake.  As you can see, the cupcake never stood a chance: