Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

David Hyde Pierce Happy To Unleash His Twisted Mister/Spielberg's 'Falling Skies' a Test of Actors' Endurance

David Hyde Pierce is enjoying reactions he's getting to his wa-a-a-a-ay out there character in the July 1 release "The Perfect Host." As he points out, "It's a really juicy part, one I think any actor would want. On the surface, he's very much the kind of character people are used to seeing me play, but in the course of the movie, he's not."

That's putting it mildly, as the tale is of a criminal on the lam (Clayne Crawford) who talks his way into the upscale home of Pierce's character and soon finds himself in the clutches of one truly twisted psycho. The indie feature is definitely not for the squeamish, or anyone with an aversion to violence — but critics and festival crowds have found Pierce's exuberantly maniacal performance irresistible.

"It's a fun trip to take people on," he says. "People enjoy the ride. There are a lot of twists and turns and stuns along the way."

"The Perfect Host," newly available via Video on Demand, is the handiwork of first-time director Nick Tomnay of Australia. The script, Tomnay's short film of the same story and a meeting in which they hit it off sold Pierce on taking on the movie, he says.

As far as challenges, "I had such a good time doing it, I don't really think of any of it as a challenge. We had a short, intensive, focused filming period — but I think that was an asset, since the characters in the film are in such an extreme and intense situation." The production took a brisk 17 days.

The film marked one of the few times recently that the former Niles Crane of "Frasier" has been back before the cameras, as he's made the New York theater world his home base. Next up for the Tony-winning ("Curtains") performer: his first directing job, the new musical "It Shoulda Been You," which features book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove and music by Barbara Anselmi, opening this fall at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey. He will not perform in the Tyne Daly starrer.

"Since I've never directed before and it's a new musical, that will be plenty," he notes dryly. But he does have his next acting role in his sights, a new play he'll take on after "It Shoulda Been You."

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Steven Spielberg's forthcoming summer biggie for the small screen, TNT's "Falling Skies," is about as far away from Peter Shinkoda's last series as one could imagine — but the former "The L Word" actor says he's been having a blast on the alien-invasion drama.

"In physical terms, it's by far the most difficult production I've ever been on, demanding all the time.

There's a lot of running, sprinting and scrambling. I was hyperventilating at one point. I wasn't prepared for some of that action I performed. I'm not 17 anymore," Shinkoda says happily. "I think, physically, everyone is giving 110 per cent."

Debuting June 19, "Falling Skies" centers on a group of resistance fighters outside Boston — six months after vicious space aliens have taken over the Earth. Noah Wyle stars as the college history professor and father of three sons who finds himself charged with leading a group of survivors. The series has lots of big-budget bells and whistles, from otherworldly explosions to the alien critters themselves.

Executive producer Spielberg did spend time on the Toronto set, according to Shinkoda.

"It might have been nerve-wracking for the director, but for the other 300 people, including the extras on set those days, it was great."

Certainly, the stresses under which the "Falling Skies" humans find themselves — starvation, deprivation and constant threat of annihilation — make things like the deficit and Anthony Weiner look not so bad. Still, will viewers want to share such a post-apocalyptic world week after week?

"I don't think it's too dark," Shinkoda responds. "The gritty reality is being played, there's no punches pulled. It really respects the audience. But it is very much a story about hope and humanity, and, certainly, the drive to survive. Not everyone exhibits commendable behavior. The situation brings out the best and worst of people," he says. However, "My character is actually quite a noble person."

INDUSTRY BITS: Casting is under way for "The Pastor's Wife," a movie for television to be shot in Vancouver. Sounds sweet, but it's based on a true story of a seemingly perfect minister's missus in Tennessee who murdered her husband.

If you think shooting Canada as Tennessee is strange, how about this? A new feature film of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn is also in the casting stages now, with production planned for ... Bulgaria.

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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