The Deadbolt - Interviews

Now that The Princess and the Frog has found its way to Blu-ray and DVD as of March 16, Anika Noni Rose and Randy Newman shared their thoughts with the press on working with Disney on The Princess and the Frog, how they approached the music, and how their musical talents fit into the Disney legacy after their time with The Princess and the Frog.

Co-writers and co-directors, John Musker and Ron Clements, embarked upon a Disney journey that took the two into the bayous of Louisiana and the world of Voodoo before finding their way into classic jazz, former Disney classics, the new animation of Pixar, and the music of Randy Newman. Ahead of the DVD and Blu-ray release of The Princess and the Frog, we ventured into the online bayou for a virtual roundtable chat with John Musker and Ron Clements to learn more about bringing The Princess and the Frog to life and how they blended story and music with the magic of Disney animation.

Although Tom and Colby managed to sway J.T. a week earlier, J.T. became the swing vote once again but couldn't break away from his original Heroes alliance for his own sake even though James became a potential Survivor liability with a leg injury. As a result, Tom Westman, winner of Survivor Palau, became the latest to have his torch extinguished on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. The day after Tom was voted out of Survivor and the Heroes tribe, we got the chance to pick Tom's brain about why the Heroes kept James in the tribe, why Tom and Colby couldn't get J.T. onside for a second time, and what surprised him most about the Villains.

After making it through the heat of Amazing Race battle, Joe and Heidi were forced to do a second tour of Amazing Race duty when Louie and Michael gave them a U-Turn, which forced Joe and Heidi into the trenches to decipher a message in Morse Code. Although Joe and Heidi did their best with the Morse Code, the married couple were eliminated from the race when host Phil Keoghan met them in the trench to hand them their Amazing Race walking papers. The next day we caught up with Joe and Heidi to learn more about their time on The Amazing Race, how they endured the battlefield, and what Joe and Heidi thought of being handed a U-Turn.

Ahead of the March 14 Sons of Tucson premiere on Fox at 9:30pm, we had a chance to pick the brains of both Tyler Labine and Sons of Tucson creator, Justin Berfield, who many fans already know as Reese from Malcolm in the Middle. With Sons of Tucson taking to the airwaves for its Fox debut, Tyler Labine and Justin Berfield filled us in on what fans can expect from Labine's Ron Snuffkin.

Ahead of the March 14 premiere of Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, we got a few minutes with Donald Trump and Bret Michaels on a recent conference call to learn more about the new season of Celebrity Apprentice, how World Series champ Darryl Strawberry measures up against the Celebrity competition, how Donald Trump continues to craft a winning formula, and what both Bret Michaels and Donald Trump think of the celebrity of Miley Cyrus.

In the March 12 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, Emmitt Smith embarks along a similar long, arduous and emotional journey to find out where he came from and to learn more about who he is as Emmitt Smith, the person. Ahead of the Emmitt Smith episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, we caught up with Emmitt for an early morning chat about how Smith feels about destiny, how Emmitt Smith perceived himself prior to his journey, and how the history behind Emmitt Smith may have impacted his football career.

A fifteen time Grammy nominee and the first instrumental solo guitarist to ever crack the Top 40 Billboard charts, Joe Satriani has always let the music speak for itself, rarely adding lyrics to any of his songs. So do great instrumental guitar based tracks like the acclaimed 1992 hit "Summer Song" actually have lyrics to Joe Satriani? Do lyrics change in Satriani's mind from gig to gig, or is it more of a lyrical feeling? "Not traditional lyrics," Joe revealed, "but words and phrases that are more of a guide for me. They help me stay focused on the story behind the songs, and keep me from overplaying."

As Serj Tankian evolves, so too does the music of Serj Tankian. Although Elect the Dead was a stellar release in rock form, Elect the Dead Symphony opens the musical door to a new world of orchestral possibilities. Ahead of Elect the Dead Symphony, we spent some one-on-one time with Serj Tankian to learn more about how he approached his own music for orchestral re-arrangement, how the creative process was different between Elect the Dead and Elect the Dead Symphony, and how Tankian approaches his solo identity away from System of a Down.