Kyle Chandler admits that saying goodbye to "Friday Night Lights" has been "very difficult." The actor, who finally garnered a long-deserved Emmy nomination for his portrayal of high school football coach Eric Taylor, says: "It was a rough few weeks. We went from shooting episode 12, which I directed, right into the final episode and, regardless of how enjoyable, it was a lot of work. So it wasn't until a few days later that I caught my breath and realized, 'That stage of my life is done.' I'm sad to see it go. It was the happiest five years of my life."
Of the cast and crew wrap party, he says: "I don't like saying goodbye. I don't like wrap parties for that reason. But none of that really hit me at the time. I was by myself when all the emotions and thoughts all came up at once."
Chandler certainly does have something to look forward to, however: the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards on Aug. 29. He's in the running for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, along with Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Hugh Laurie, Bryan Cranston and Matthew Fox.
"I'm taking my two wives to the Emmys this year," says the actor with a laugh. Referring to fellow Emmy nominee Connie Britton, he goes on, "Obviously, my TV wife will be there. And my beautiful wife, Kathryn, and I will be coming to Los Angeles, seeing friends we haven't seen in a while and be two adults in the city of Hollywood, living it up while the kids are at home kicking back. Of course, my wife has to be there. The person you say goodnight to last is the one you want to say thank you to last."
As for what he will do next, Chandler says, "Our two children are about to go to the state swimming competition, and I'm going to be there and enjoy that. I'm going to enjoy my horses and I'm going to relax. Whatever happens with the Emmy, the show was a great experience."
Asked to name a standout moment for him, Chandler is quick to respond. "I think one memory I'll always take with me is the very final scene. Connie and I had to literally go outside this restaurant and do a scene in the parking lot. When they yelled 'Cut!' that was the last one. The whole crew and the other actors were all out there, and everyone was applauding."
'IT' GIRL COMING THROUGH: Coming down to the final two in an important casting -- and then not getting the role -- is a tale of actor heartbreak that countless thespians around these parts can tell first-hand. Beautiful 18-year-old Chloe Bridges (pictured) knows it well. It was down to Bridges and
Demi Lovato for Mitchie, the female lead in Disney's 2008 mega-hit "Camp Rock." And Lovato ended up with the role.
"Usually, the story ends with 'I didn't get it, and it really sucks,'" she points out. "So this is very different."
Very different indeed. Bridges plays the new role of Dana, love interest of Nick Jonas, in the Sept. 3-debuting "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam." Lovato has become a good friend of hers, and everywhere Bridges goes, people are noticing that she looks an awful lot like
Angelina Jolie.
"It's definitely something I've encountered a lot -- getting close to getting a part and then not getting it," continues the New Orleans native, who has been acting since age 11. "I had no idea what a phenomenon 'Camp Rock' would be when I auditioned for it, but then when it got so huge, of course, I thought, 'Oh, that was almost me!' But coming back for 'Camp Rock 2,' I really have to say, Disney wants to put you in the right part -- and Dana is really right for me."
The role called for a classically trained musician. They changed Dana from being a violinist to being a pianist in deference to Bridges' real-life ability. She's also a dancer, gymnast, swimmer, artist, tennis player...
"I was an ambitious, busy little girl," she says. "Fortunately, I was lucky enough to have a mom supportive enough to move out to Los Angeles with me when I was 13 to pursue acting."
Bridges has been asked about her resemblance to Jolie so many times, she admits: "I find myself not reacting anymore when people say that. But it's such a compliment; it really is so flattering. She's one of my biggest idols, so it's incredible. I would kill to meet her. Except if I ever met her, I'd be so starstruck, I probably wouldn't be able to talk."
INDUSTRY EYE: Self-help superstars are getting the "Spinal Tap" treatment -- with a mockumentary titled "Rock Barnes," written and directed by Ben McMillan. It's about an egotistical and highly narcissistic self-help guru who has a camera team tagging along with him to capture his greatness for posterity. Described as always on the make and on the move, he has a personal stylist on staff, as well as a gay consultant -- who keeps Rock convinced that gay men are attracted to him.
Alan Ball's HBO series treatment of Charlie Huston's 2009 noir crime novel, "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death," is moving toward its pilot production start this month with Ben Whishaw (who played the poet John Keats in "Bright Star") as the slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner. Still to be announced is who will play Po Sin, head of the post-death scrub and trauma cleanup team with which Whishaw's character becomes involved. What a grave trio of shows it will be for Ball, with "Mystic Arts" in the wake of his "Six Feet Under" and "True Blood."
