Laurie Sandell

Good morning, Nashville

This won’t be news to anyone who knows me, but I have an incurable case of wanderlust. Few things make me happier than stepping off of a plane into a different city, regarding an unfamiliar skyline and checking into some random hotel. Today I’m in Nashville to do an interview on the outskirts of town. I’ve been here twice before, but never did much aside from work. Tonight I’m determined to change all that and hear some live music. That is, if I can stay awake after my 6:30 AM flight! I am dressed for the occasion in a little black dress and cowboy boots. I waffled a bit on the boots–didn’t want to be a walking cliché–then decided this particular cliché was too cute to pass up.

When you live in LA, life is a reality show

So, I’m sitting here at M Street Coffee–my little writing haven–working on a book edit, drinking a cup of decaf coffee, listening to the gentle stylings of Sufjan Stevens, when a woman with a clipboard approaches my table. “We’re filming a show and you might appear in the background–is that OK?” she says with a sweet smile, holding out a pen. I’m a touch suspicious by nature, so I want to know a few things first: “What network? Is this an embarrassing, horrible reality show?” (By “embarrassing and horrible,” let the record show that I am not talking about The Bachelor, a sweet and wonderful reality show.) The woman’s smile disappears and she is suddenly impatient. “It’s for VH-1,” she says. “I have no idea what show it is; it’s just called Untitled Project.” I raise an eyebrow and sign. I don’t really believe her, but I need to get back to work. Five minutes later I am listening in on a conversation between Brandy and her brother Ray J, pictured right, about the car accident Brandy caused a few years ago, which killed a woman. They are discussing what TV show she should do to repair her image. “You should go on Oprah,” he says. “Oprah, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, 20/20…40/40…” He laughs. Brandy is resistant to doing press about this incident because she’s aware that a woman lost her life, but Ray J presses on. “Do it for the fans,” he insists. “So they can move on.” And on and on it goes, with two large cameras in their faces, and me typing away in the background, looking like I have no idea what they are talking about.

Filmed a Behind the Music

Got a call from a producer at MTV asking me to talk about Christina Aguilera for a new Behind the Music. It’s official: I have become a de facto Christina Aguilera expert. This is my third time doing television about her. So last week I drove to Hollywood and sat in a studio, talking about the two sit-down interviews I did with her for Glamour. It was a small operation: One camera, one director, one sound guy. No hair or makeup, so I won’t be sporting my usual Kabuki dancer look. What usually happens is that I do these things, forget all about them, and then three months later, I’ll be cooking dinner and hear my voice coming out of the television in the living room. And I can’t help myself, I have to watch, and it’s usually painful, because I feel the need to slip into my “television voice.” I won’t try to describe what that voice is, but it’s accompanied by a stiff smile and the occasional pun.

Ambien strikes again!

The latest celeb to admit to abusing Ambien is Lindsay Lohan–and we seem to have had the exact same Ambien/bathtub experience! She says:

“I went to rehab three times. The first time I checked myself in because I had taken Ambien. It’s a sleeping aid but it makes you hallucinate. I’d run a bath and fallen asleep on the floor and the bath had overflowed. When I woke up I was so scared, I called my therapist and said, ‘Can I just go somewhere for a month? I’m around bad people and I need to take care of myself.’”

Stars–they are just like us.

Did my first Glamour cover interview in LA

And what a difference having an LA home makes. Instead of throwing things into a suitcase, finding someone to watch Violet, rushing to the airport, sitting on a plane for six hours, and checking into a hotel, I got to hop in my car and cruise over to Los Feliz, a nearby neighborhood, to have lunch with our star. So what can I tell you about her? She’s whip-smart, getting tons of buzz for a recent performance, has great style, is in a relationship, and has known hardship in her life. We met at a restaurant in Los Feliz which was the site of my Katherine Heigl interview a year ago; a French brasserie with outdoor tables. She was right on time, wearing a casual black sweater and jeans, her hair pulled back, with natural-looking makeup. (Notice I didn’t say “no makeup.” I won’t be fooled! They’re always wearing makeup for an interview, even if it’s nude eyeshadow and semi-permanent eyelashes.) We hit it off right away, though I can’t tell you why, because then you might figure out who she is. Let’s just say we had something in common, related to our families. She spoke candidly for someone in her position (on the verge of being huge, that is), and didn’t have that usual celebrity guardedness. She was a bit reluctant to talk about her relationship, and who can blame her–it’s lasted a long time for a reason. Give me a month or so and I’ll be able to reveal who she is.

The full report from InStyle’s Golden Globes party

On the shuttle bus to the affair

Still buzzing from last night’s extravaganza, which was one of the most fun nights I’ve had in recent memory. My friend Amy Spencer and I watched the show and got ready at my house, stuffing our faces with so much Chinese food I, at least, was unable to fasten my dress until we arrived at The Beverly Hilton. Thanks to C., I was wearing a Leila Rose gown and carrying a Naeem Khan clutch. The jewels–a pair of cubic zirconia “shmimonds” from Bloomingdale’s–were mine.

The night began with a walk down the red carpet shamefully holding our coats as the paparazzi yelled, “Get out of the way!” so they could shoot Diane Kruger. We entered the party via The Godiva Room, a Willy-Wonka-like creation featuring plexiglass cubes filled with truffles and doubling as coffee tables; cascading chocolate towers; stations overflowing with chocolate-covered strawberries, truffles, nuts, and every imaginable Godiva product. After adding to my tight dress discomfort by sampling a few truffles, we headed inside to mingle.

Those legs belong to Stacy Keibler!

The first people I saw were Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, who win the cutest Hollywood couple award (mainly because they’re one of the only married Hollywood couples left), and Courteney Cox, who was seated on a couch with her hubby, David Arquette. Amy and I made a few circles around the room, where we spotted Evangeline Lilly, Heidi Klum and Seal, Morgan Freeman sitting with Jeremy Irons, the entire cast of Glee, and Lindsay Lohan–though I didn’t realize it was her until the next day, when I saw photos of her in that crazy getup. Then Amy saw The Edge. Her sister toured with U2 for a year-and-a-half as their masseuse, so we got to sit with him and his wife for a while as every boldfaced name, manager, publicist, and random partygoer stopped by to pay homage.

Sampling a Godiva chocolate-covered strawberry

It was crazy the way people approached him: squatting down at his feet, bowing and putting their hands into prayer position, or bending at the waist as though approaching the Dalai Lama! Eventually we tired of The Edge (that’s a joke) and went out onto the smoking patio–second only to the bathroom for star-spotting. The first person we talked to was Bradley Cooper, whom Amy had interviewed.

We ran into Amy's friend Diego

He was polite but not über-friendly; the experience reminded me of talking to that random hot guy in college who looks over your shoulder the whole time he’s talking to you. We ended up in a little circle of guys that included Chris Kattan, who was talking on hyper-speed and being very funny. Christina Hendricks was draped over a nearby couch with her fiancee, Geoffrey Arend. We went to the bar to refill our drinks and saw the adorable Zac Efron with Vanessa Hudgens, and flirted with Topher Grace. Then Amy saw Chris Harrison, host of my all-time favorite show, The Bachelor, and brokered an introduction. He was in game-show-host mode, all smiles and a million miles away.

When we went to the bathroom we discovered stations manned by professional makeup artists, ready to touch us up, along with baskets of L’Oréal goodies. Back in the main room, I spotted Anna Lynn McCord–from behind, mind you, but I knew it was her–wearing a white, drapey, Grecian gown, and Neil Patrick Harris.

Hanging with Julie Benz from Dexter

Headed back out to the smoking patio and fell into a very long conversation with Julie Benz, who played Rita on Dexter. Turns out she’s obsessed with cooking, to the point that she wants to have her own cooking show.

At the end of the night we exited via The Godiva Room and ended up in conversation with an adorable, doe-eyed woman and her cute blonde boyfriend. Talked to her for a half-hour before we realized she plays Trudy Vogel, Pete Campbell’s wife on Mad Men. The four of us literally shut down the party and exited at around two in the morning, where Amy and I took our requisite photo in front of the InStyle step-and-repeat, then boarded the shuttle bus back to the parking garage. What can I say? It was a stellar, A+ night. THANK YOU, ARIEL FOXMAN!

Guess where I’m going tonight?

OK, not to the Golden Globes itself, but to the InStyle after-party! Which, in my opinion, is even better, since I’ll be nicely well-rested after watching the Globes at home. Yesterday, I went to pick up my ticket at the Beverly Hilton, where the show and after-parties are held; that’s when I snapped this photo. There was security everywhere, and the set and red carpet was bigger and more eye-popping than I’d ever imagined. Not sure, yet, what I’m wearing–I’ll be borrowing something from my roommate–but I’m spending today tearing around town getting a mani-pedi, blowout, and other assorted beauty treatments. I realize I’ve been a horribly delinquent blogger while settling into my life in LA, but I’ll post a full update tomorrow. Unless, of course, I’m still kicking it at an after-after party at Brad Pitt’s house.

My latest celebrity interview–revealed

Photo: Patrick Demarchelier for Glamour

It was Sarah Jessica Parker! I blogged about it a month ago, but couldn’t reveal too many details, in case someone figured it out. You can read the story here, in this month’s Glamour. This was my second time interviewing SJP for Glamour’s cover; the first was a few years ago, before her twins were born. I assure you, I am not often star-struck, but man oh man, I love this woman. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the interview took place at the famed Claridge’s Hotel in London, in its exquisite dining room. We had high tea together! She was wearing a fitted black jacket with sequinned stripes, black jersey dress and suede booties. Her hair was light brown and artfully tousled. She was in London for a one-on-one trip with her six-year-old son, James Wilke, because she was going to have to miss his seventh birthday to film Sex and the City 2 in Morocco. She told me she took him for a tour of the Harry Potter set; to Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and for a ride on the London Eye. How cute is that?

The interview went well–she actually remembered me, which was quite un-starlike of her–and the new mom of four-month-old twins spent much of the interview making faces at an adorable infant propped over his Daddy’s shoulder at the next table. She also commented on a little girl who went running by, trailing a long, pink feather boa. Suffice it to say the woman had children on the brain–yet she was just as glamorous as ever. Sigh. I do sound pretty star-struck, don’t I?

Dinner with (OK, next to) a theater icon

Last night after my Tuesday meditation class, Carole Radziwill and I went to dinner at Bar Pitti in the West Village. We sat next to two sprightly older men who were having an animated conversation about the theater. At one point, one of the men introduced the other to the waiter; it was Joel Grey, who won both an Academy Award and a Tony for his role in Cabaret. I’d just seen it on the plane, on my way home from London. Carole and I were paying the bill when Joel Grey turned to us and said, “Isn’t it great how in New York City, you can sit in a restaurant where the tables are basically on top of each other, and no one listens to anyone else’s conversation?” Carole, in her very Carole way, said, “Oh, I was listening to every word you said. It was very interesting.” They laughed, then the man sitting next to me pointed to Grey and said, “Do you know who this is?” I was too embarrassed to admit that I had been listening, so I feigned surprise and excitement when he revealed the name of his dinner guest. Well, I didn’t really have to feign it, as I was pretty excited to be sitting next to him. Then I watched Carole talk to this legendary icon with such ease and charm, while I sat there, stiffly smiling. Of course, right before he talked to us I sent her a text that read, “Joel Grey!!” and she texted back, “Is he related to Brad?” So I think I get a pass that I was a little bit starstruck since she had no idea who he was.

But my exciting night wasn’t over yet: I came home, turned on my very favorite show in the whole entire world, (cough The Biggest Loser), only to find that my very favorite television icon in the entire world, Suze Orman, was making a cameo! That’s like finding out that Stanley Tucci, the person I am hottest for in Hollywood, is going to be the next Bachelor. It was overwhelming, a little bit like the day Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were accidentally invented.

My darkest music obsessions

When I was in high school, I was a music fanatic. The first live concert I ever went to was Bryan Adams at Madison Square Garden, and it changed my life. I went with my best friend, Jen, and both of our mothers, and remember smelling “funny cigarettes” and feeling overwhelmed by the urge to run up on stage to embrace him. I would have done it, but my mom wouldn’t let me. Years later I actually met Bryan Adams, at Renee Zellweger’s birthday party, and talked to him for a long time, but I was too embarrassed to tell him how much he was woven into a young girl’s fantasies, so I pretended not to recognize him. Recently, I reconnected with my high school friend Ben, of the band Kaiser Cartel, and he told me, “You were such a huge music fan in high school–I always appreciated that about you.” Until he said that, I’d forgotten how much a part of my life music actually was, because after high school, I traded in that obsession for an obsession with books. But recently, I’ve returned to my music roots, going to lots of live shows, downloading new bands onto my iPod, and coming to terms with the spectrum of my music tastes, which, frankly, run the gamut. In fact, this post was supposed to be about my darkest music obsessions–the ones I’m embarrassed about–because those, too, have added so much to my life. They are:

Mariah Carey: Love the power ballads, particularly Always Be My Baby (my favorite), Circles, Stay the Night, and One Sweet Day. I have the video to Without You on my iPod, and it practically makes me cry, because her voice is so powerful and she looks so pretty. So there.

Britney Spears: Her pop songs are better than anyone else’s, I never get sick of them. Piece of Me, Freakshow, Toxic and even her ballad for Kevin Federline, Why Should I Be Sad, are all favorites.

In the not so embarrassing category, I adore Mary J. Blige, every single lyric she’s ever written. When she talks about relationships in Roses–ain’t all Roses, flowers and posin’/it ain’t all candy, this love stuff is demanding–I’m like, damn, girl, you go!

Lastly, a shout to to Alanis Morrissette. I interviewed her once, for Glamour, and though the story never ran, I was happy to find out she was just as cool in real life as I’d imagined her to be, since I’m a huge fan of her music. I met her at her home in L.A., and brought Violet along, to play with her two Chihuahua mixes. We sat in big cushy chairs and I laughed nervously as Violet growled at her dogs, giving Violet looks that I hope said, “Violet! Don’t growl at the celebrity dogs!” I could go on about this all day–thanks to my friend Paul, I have more than 10,000 songs on my iPod–but I’ll spare you.