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Tag: Michael J. Fox

  • Michael J. Fox on His Career, His Family, and a Sense of Humor

    Over a decade after Spin City ended its five-year run, Michael J. Fox is coming back to network TV. Last fall, NBC announced that it had picked up a new network comedy starring Michael J. Fox. The actor will star in a role that mirrors his own life, including his Parkinson’s Disease.

    Fox took to the pages of the latest issue of AARP The Magazine to reveal where he’s at in life, his marriage, and his struggles with his disease.

    “I’m always aware that there are others who don’t feel so good and can’t express themselves the way I can,” Fox told the AARP. “That’s no small factor in the way I’ve been able to deal with this.”

    Fox stated that his sense of humor has been paramount to dealing with his long-term condition, but that it is sometimes a struggle. He and his wife, Tracy Pollan, have four children, who are learning early the virtue of patience.

    “Sometimes the kids will need their dad’s help and he’ll say, ‘I’m not feeling great right now,’” said Pollan. “But on the flip side, the first thing he does is go back to the kids when he’s feeling good. It teaches them patience and empathy.”

    On playing a role that is so similar to his own life, Fox mused that his Parkinson’s is too far progressed to ignore, saying, “It’s too difficult to hide it. I could manage it for a scene or so, but it would fall apart over time. As long as I play a guy with Parkinson’s, I can do anything.”

    (Image via Twitter)

  • Swift Slams Tina Fey For Golden Globes Joke

    The Golden Globes may be months behind us, but Taylor Swift is still sore about a jab made at her expense by comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Swift, who’s song “Safe & Sound” lost to Adele’s “Skyfall” for best original song at the awards show, was mocked by the two hosts over her many publicized relationships.

    “You know what Taylor Swift, you stay away from Michael J. Fox’s son,” said Fey, feigning drunkenness on-stage at the Globes. Sam Fox was serving as Mr. Golden Globes for the award ceremony.

    Poehler suggested that perhaps Swift should “just go for it,” but Fey countered that the pop star “needs some ‘me’ time to learn about herself.”

    Now, in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Swift reveals that she resents the picture of her that is presented in tabloid magazines. She claims the magazines will “turn you into a fictional character,” which is presumably what Fey and Poehler were basing their joke on.

    Swift told Vanity Fair that Fey’s joke reminded her of something Katie Couric had told her: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

    Both Poehler and Fey have responded to Swift’s comment. Poehler told The Hollywood Reporter that she feels bad if Swift was upset, and “That being said, I do agree I am going to hell.” Fey told Entertainment Tonight that it was a “lighthearted joke” and that other jokes she made that night had more punch.

  • Michael J. Fox: NBC Is “Crazy” For Giving Him A Show

    Michael J. Fox sat down with Ellen DeGeneres recently to talk about his latest project, a show based on his life which will air on NBC. Although Fox has had recurring roles on several shows such as “The Good Wife” and “Boston Legal”, this will mark his first starring role on television since “Spin City” went off the air in 2001.

    Fox has spoken publicly about his fear that suffering from Parkinson’s Disease would either make viewers uncomfortable or would become the main focus rather than his acting, but over the years he’s managed the disease extremely well, going on to guest star on several highly successful shows to rave reviews. He told Ellen, however, that NBC is “crazy” for ordering a full season of his new project, calling it a “leap of faith”.

    The network is right to have faith in the actor, though, as he has always chosen his roles, no matter how big or small, very carefully. He also manages to bring an admirable quality to all of his characters that makes viewers want to tune in no matter what the project is.

    As far as his decision to suddenly take the plunge into a starring role again, Fox says a positive attitude has always been a factor in how he lives his life, and that hasn’t changed.

    “I always say live in the moment, enjoy the day, make the most of what you have,” he said. “And I thought, ‘well if I put one day after another where its like that, why not just do what I love to do and work.’”

  • Michael J. Fox Gets Comedy Show Picked Up By NBC

    Michael J. Fox has long been a beloved figure of television and film, and it seems he’s just not around enough these days. But that’s about to change, as his new as-yet-untitled comedy project has just been picked up by NBC.

    Fox has teamed up with “Arrested Development” writer Sam Laybourne and Will Gluck–director of “Easy A”–for the show, which centers around a husband and father of three who is dealing with Parkinson’s disease. Obviously, it’s a project close to Fox’s heart.

    “I’m extremely pleased to be back at NBC with a great creative team and a great show,” Fox said in a statement. “Bob Greenblatt and all the folks at the network have given me a warm welcome home, and I’m excited to get to work.”

    The show will go into production soon and is set to air next fall. Until then, enjoy these clips.

  • MIchael J. Fox Teams With “Arrested Development” Writer For New Show

    Michael J. Fox has been a beloved part of the Hollywood landscape since he drove into our hearts at 88 miles an hour (if you don’t get that reference, get off my lawn), and before that, he was making conservative girls swoon with his portrayal of Alex P. Keaton on the small screen. Now, it looks like he’s headed back there in a much-needed comeback.

    Rumor has it that Fox is shopping around a comedy project based on his life, and “Arrested Development” writer Sam Laybourne is attached to it, as well as “Easy A” director Will Gluck. While Fox has had several gigs since announcing his battle with Parkinson’s Disease in 1991–stints on “The Good Wife” and “Rescue Me” were particularly well-received–his career has been rather low-key, and fans want him back.

  • More Fun With The Back to the Future Nikes

    Nike’s Back to the Future trip has been a big success. The topic is burning up the blogosphere, sports blogs, especially and, of course, Twitter. Furthermore, there are reports are coming in of astronomical prices being paid for Nike’s futuristic high-top, and when I say astronomical, I’m talking spending in excess of $10,000 for one pair.

    As the previous article demonstrated, the shoes are going anywhere from almost $4000 up to five-digit amounts, but thanks to the spending power of British rapper named “Tinie Tempah” (Tiny Temper, I suppose). Tinie, according to the stalwart journalists at TMZ.com, is reported to have paid $37,500 for a pair of Marty McFly’s shoes.

    I say again, someone paid almost 40 grand for a pair of futuristic-looking shoes that don’t even have the power laces system as a feature. I don’t know about you, but if I had that much money to dispose of, it’s doubtful a pair of shoes I’d rarely, if ever, wear would be where my money goes.

    Whatever the case, I’m sure the Michael J. Fox Foundation, one that battles Parkinson’s Disease, is thankful for Tempah’s generosity. Speaking of Fox, he was on David Letterman the other night, demonstrating his shoes for the Dave and the audience:


    With all the discussion going on about the shoes, naturally, it became a trending Twitter topic, under the “Back to the Future” hashtag. Needless to say, there was a lot of “do want” types of responses, as well as people discussing the price Tempah paid for his pair:

    @zerohedge
    zerohedge    RT @SellPuts: Marty McFly Shoes — First Pair Sells for $37,500 http://t.co/CsXKqMS ** #loose 5 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    @ScienceChannel
    Science Channel     Um….this is awesome: http://ow.ly/6pVqp 5 hours ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

    @The_T
    Turpster    I NEED THESE! http://t.co/Jz9q8St Back to the Future Marty’s Nike Self-Tying Mags! 9 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Unfortunately, however, the power laces are not available:

    @StrangeKidsClub
    Strange Kid    Nike Releases ‘Back to the Future’ Shoes! Wait… no power laces? Ah shucks. http://t.co/AX7Nkcq 8 hours ago via Tweet Button · powered by @socialditto

    But people do still want them:

    @leblogdebetty
    Betty Autier    Want them so baaaaadly : http://t.co/cdx0uyf #nikemag 9 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Well, Betty, they can be yours for a starting big of around $4000. If they had the power laces, I’d be bidding right now.

    All donations for the Air Mag shoes will be matched by Google’s Sergey Brin (up to $50 million). This vicariously means that Brin, thanks to the buying power of Tinie Tempah, will be paying almost $70,000 for a pair of shoes he won’t even get to own.

  • Marty McFly’s Nikes Available Through eBay Auction

    Marty McFly’s Nikes Available Through eBay Auction

    Yesterday, we discussed Nike’s awesome Air Mag shoe, which is a recreation of the shoes worn by Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II. The buzz these shoes received was tremendous. However, the information surrounding them was not. However, thanks to Nike, who released a press release to commemorate the Air Mag’s release, there’s much more information available.

    First and foremost, even though Nike has patented a self-lacing system, it will not be available on the current edition of Marty’s shoes. While the shoes are indeed incredible-looking, they aren’t just available in an effort to introduce a new fashion sense. No, the Air Mags are being sold for charitable purposes. As many of you already know, Marty McFly was played by Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, and the Air Mag auction is being done to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which was created to help combat the debilitating illness.

    From Nike:

    1500 pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG will be auctioned on eBay with all net proceeds going directly to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. Each day for the duration of the ten-day auction, one hundred and fifty pairs of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes will be made available via eBay’s Fashion Vault. The auction starts September 8, 8:30PM PST, and will end September 18. Thanks to a previous 50 million dollar match given to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, all donations will be matched, effectively doubling the contributions from the auction.

    As indicated, the auction started last night at 11:30 PM, eastern standard time, and the reaction to the cause has been almost overwhelming. While most of the bids are hovering at or above the $4000 marker, there’s at least one pair with a current bid of $8,200.

    A screenshot of the auction page gives a great idea of what’s going on:

    Nike Auction Page
    Click for bigger image

    As indicated yesterday, Nike took a viral approach to marketing these shoes, and that become even more apparent when they released additional content for the shoe, in the form of video:

    And, a word from Michael J. Fox:


    While the auction looks to be a success, one has to think that if the power laces were included, the bids on these shoes would be off the charts.