TRAFFIC star ERIKA CHRISTENSEN has become the latest actress to embark on a music career.

The 27 year old recently recorded the first song she wrote after a perf ormance of Etta James’ At Last on U.S. TV show Last Call led to interest in her singing skills.

Christensen says, “It’s (song) a little raunchy… It’s very suggestive …. It was inspired by songs of Etta James’ time that are more kind of, l ike, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.”

From PR Inside

While Erika Christensen has made a family of her own on set of Parenthood, the single actress reveals to OK! that the new hit show has only inspired her more to have children in the future.

“The good thing about the show is learning more about what happens in being a parent and it readies me for it because I am definitely going to be a parent at some point,” the 27-year-old gushed to OK! at the L.A. premiere of Mercy on Monday, “I look forward to it. It doesn’t discourage me, that’s for sure!”

Starring alongside Lauren Graham and Dax Shepard in a series all about the ups and downs of parenting, Erika admits that she does think about the chaos of being a mom at times.

“I imagine the chaos of it all like making breakfast with someone over there making eggs, someone over there buttering the toast, whatever it is. It’s like the whole assembly line of any activity with five kids.”

But, a bit of commotion won’t stop this actress from getting her wish of a big family!

“Ask me after I have had the first one or two, but I have always wanted a big family,” the Parenthood star told reporters at the Egyptian Theatre.

Catch Parenthood on NBC every Tuesday night.

From OK! Magazine

NBC is bringing its freshman drama “Parenthood” back for a second season.

The move is not a total surprise. After a somewhat erratic start, “Parenthood” has settled into its Tuesday 10 p.m. slot and is averaging almost 8 million viewers and a 3.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic. A ratings point in that demographic equals 1.3 million viewers.

Over the last several weeks, “Parenthood” has been rivaling CBS’ “The Good Wife” in the 18-49 demographic. The show, which premiered after the Olympics, had to endure a tough start behind the scenes. Originally scheduled for last fall, it was pushed to mid-season because of the loss of original cast member Maura Tierney, who filmed the pilot but then left the show because of an illness. She was replaced by Lauren Graham.

NBC reached back to one of its old measurements of success — an upscale audience — in explaining its decision to bring back “Parenthood.” The network said the show has one of the highest concentrations of homes with incomes of over $100,000 in the adults 18-49 demographic. NBC used to tout having a rich audience back in its heyday but as of late had steered clear in part because so many of its shows, such as “The Biggest Loser” and “Minute to Win It” don’t do as well in high income homes.

It seems unlikely that NBC will move “Parenthood” out of its current home. The network still has to decide if it will bring back “Chuck” next season, as well as “Law & Order.” NBC is working on yet another spin-off of “Law & Order,” this one set in Los Angeles.

From the Los Angeles Times

Congratulations to the cast & crew of “Parenthood”!

Mercy Synopsis: Johnny Ryan (Scott Cann) is a successful young romance novelist who doesn’t actually believe in love. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Mercy (Wendy Glenn) at the launch party of his latest book, Johnny’s world is suddenly turned upside down. Shockingly, she is the only major critic who dislikes his book. A cynic by nature, Johnny becomes determined to find the depth that Mercy says he is lacking and, in the process, falls in love. With an all star supporting cast including James Caan and Dylan McDermott MERCY explores the struggle of maintaining a relationship, and the possibility of losing it all.

Mercy will be released to theaters on April 30, 2010.

It looks like The Tortured, produced by Twisted Pictures, will reach the UK before it lands in the States. Play.com reports the film hits DVD on August 30. Jesse Metcalfe, Erika Christensen and Bill Moseley star in this revenge thriller which concerns a husband and wife who capture and torture the man responsible for killing their child.

From Shock Till You Drop

North American rights to romantic drama “Mercy” by Patrick Hoelck have been picked up by IFC Films, the company said Tuesday. The film, starring writer/producer Scott Caan as well as Wendy Glenn, Troy Garity, Erika Christensen, Alexie Gilmore, John Boyd, Dylan McDermott, Whitney Able and James Caan, will close the 2010 Gen Art Film Festival.

IFC Films’ Lizzie Nastro negotiated the pact with Ben Weiss of Paradigm. “Mercy” will open Friday, April 30th at the IFC Center in NYC and Friday, May 7th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in Los Angeles and be available nationwide on video on demand on Wednesday, April 28th.

The film follows Johnny Ryan (Scott Cann), a successful young romance novelist who doesn’t actually believe in love. When he meets the beautiful and mysterious Mercy (Wendy Glenn) at the launch party of his latest book, Johnny’s world is suddenly turned upside down. Shockingly, she is the only major critic who dislikes his book. A cynic by nature, Johnny becomes determined to find the depth that Mercy says he is lacking and, in the process, falls in love. He turns to his father (James Caan) for advice. “Mercy” explores the struggle of maintaining a relationship and the possibility of losing it all.

“More than a few American independent filmmakers have attempted to make films about the nature of love but ‘Mercy’ actually succeeds,” commented IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring in a statement. “It’s a beautifully crafted, truly romantic film that is going to get a lot of attention for Patrick Hoelck and continues to showcase the diverse talents of Scott Caan. We’re thrilled to be in business with them and look forward to getting this film out to the largest audience possible through all of our platforms.”

From Indie Wire

“Parenthood” will be premiering on Monday, March 1 at 9PM on NBC!

The one-hour dramedy, from the creative dream team of writer/producer Jason Katims (‘Friday Night Lights’) and producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (‘Arrested Development’) will debut in a post-’Chuck’ slot on Monday, March 1 at 9PM (this is after both the ‘Heroes’ season finale on Feb. 8 and the Winter Olympics have aired).

The show, an update on the 1989 movie of the same name, follows the Braverman family and its four grown siblings as they commiserate on the present-day ups and downs of raising children. The show boasts an all-star cast that includes Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard and Erika Christensen as the siblings, with Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia as their parents.

While originally slated for a fall premiere, ‘Parenthood’ had to be pushed back when Maura Tierney, who was supposed to play single mother Sarah, was forced to drop out of the series in order to receive breast cancer treatments. In October, it was announced that the role will instead be played by Graham, in her first TV series since ‘Gilmore Girls.’

From Inside TV

Erika Christensen, Padma Lakshmi, Jesse L. Martin, Christopher Meloni, Cynthia Rowley, Justin Theroux, and David Zayas have joined the roster of participants in LAByrinth Theater Company’s gala benefit Celebrity Charades 2009: Jackpot, to be held at St. Paul’s Hall (60th Street at Columbus Avenue) on Monday, December 7. Eric Bogosian will serve as referee.

At the gala, four celebrity teams will do battle in a fearsome and hilarious speed charades competition. Previously announced celebrity participants are Ian Astbury, Bob Balaban, Bobby Cannavale, Tom Colicchio, Billy Crudup, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz, Julia Roberts, Sam Rockwell, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Julia Stiles, and Yul Vázquez.

To launch the sale of this event, LAByrinth will be presenting “Charades Webisodes” which aim to capture “the dirty deeds that celebrities do in order to get a leg-up on the competition” for the benefit. The first two episodes feature Eric Bogosian, Bobby Cannavale, Mariska Hargitay, and Christopher Meloni.

Also new to the benefit this year is an eBay auction component. Beginning on November 21, people will have the opportunity to bid on a special package that includes the opportunity to appear onstage and play on a Celebrity Team, plus backstage access and mingling with all the big names, two VIP tickets to the entire event for friends or family to cheer the winner on, VIP access for the winner and two guests to the exclusive after party at the Hudson Hotel as well as the opportunity to spend a late night in a deluxe room at the hotel for two nights.

Tickets start at $250. For more information and to purchase, visit www.labtheater.org.

From Theater Mania

There is a lengthy article about “Parenthood” on Variety about the ups and downs the show has had to deal with… One of the main points is that it mentions the show will finally air starting in March 2010!

NBC is expected to bow “Parenthood” in early March, on the heels of its coverage of the Winter Olympics. No matter where it lands on the Peacock sked (the show was originally slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday), it will have to work extra hard, given NBC’s modest aud these days. Moreover, “Parenthood” is an earthy family drama going up against a sea of cops, docs, lawyers and other franchise fare.

(more…)

There is now a poster released for “The Tortured”… You can see it to the left of this post.

“The only way to ease the pain is to inflict some.”

So says the sales poster for Rob Lieberman’s The Tortured. Pic hails from the house of Saw itself: Twisted Pictures. So the “pain” aspect to this advertising shouldn’t be all too surprising.

As Twisted’s Mark Burg told us here, the film is complete and looking for distribution.

In the film, Jesse Metcalfe and Erika Christensen capture and torture the man (Billy Moseley) responsible for the death of their child.

From Shock Till You Drop