Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

NBC's "Community" continues to be an island of freshness and originality in a sea of TV sameness. It's beloved by critics and loyal fans alike.

Now, if only they could get anybody else to watch. The numbers continue to be weak against such competition as "The Big Bang Theory" and "The X Factor" (not to mention post-season baseball). But that's what a DVR is for, right?

Still, the mood on the set is positive, according to the show's Gillian Jacobs. "We're very proud of the show we create. That's about all we can control in the whole equation, so that's what we focus on," she notes.

Tonight's (Oct. 27) Halloween-themed episode, "Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps," is another inventive piece. It's a scary story-telling anthology that "gives you a chance to peek into people's minds," as Jacobs puts it.

"After having two big party episodes back-to-back the last couple of years, it's important to try and change it up," adds the actress, who plays billboard-vandal-turned-dream-girl Britta. "There's a great and different structure for this episode that shows character development within the stories."

The company is currently shooting its musical Christmas episode, with "Saturday Night Live's" Taran Killam as Greendale College's quirky choir director. The story has the "Community" study group subbing for the school's glee club — and performing all-original songs. Jacobs says she doesn't want to give too much away.

Besides getting the chance to flex her musical muscles on the series, the beautiful 29-year-old has been getting in "as much work as possible" in films between "Community" seasons. She'll be seen in two high-profile movies next year: "Seeking a Friend At the End of the World" (with Steve Carell, Kiera Knightley, Connie Britton and William Peterson) and "Revenge for Jolly" (including Kristin Wiig and Elijah Wood).

In the first, she plays "a waitress who is high on ecstasy," she reports. "She's not all that far from Britta, but she's a lot happier." In the latter, about a man out to avenge the death of his dog, she plays "a prostitute in a really cheap motel."

What's with all the lowlife characters? Isn't it time for the Juilliard graduate, whom the New York Times marked as having the glow of a star, to play a more elegant role? A princess or something? What would she like to do next?

"I'd do that, yes," she laughs. "Maybe a princess."

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: "Bridesmaids" actress Kali Hawk says she was taken by surprise by the instantaneous success of her hilarious "Black and Jewish" video with "Vampire Diaries'" Katerina Graham this past summer.

"It got a hundred thousand views the first hour it was up on FunnyOrDie," she says. "I think a lot of people responded to it for reasons we didn't expect, and there are a lot more people of this mixed ancestry than we realized."

The hit, a takeoff on "Black and Yellow," came naturally to Hawk, whose roots are African American, Native American and German-Jewish. "It was a pleasant surprise," she says. "I got to bring out my Yiddish, go on radio stations and perform Yiddish rap. My grandmother always spoke Yiddish in the house, which had this great Jewish vibe omnipresent, but I didn't even realize it. I didn't know these words, like, 'Move your tookus,' weren't spoken everywhere."

The Internet was a vital force early in Hawk's career too — in a whole different way. She was working on her music career in New York City, and, impatient with a slow spell, decided to try acting one day because she couldn't stand inactivity. She found a casting ad on Craigslist, answered it and wound up landing a part in Todd Bridges' 2004 movie, "Issues." Craigslist! Her Craigslist movie also brought her to Hollywood, and "before too long, I was thinking, 'I can do this,'" she recalls. Of course, her background as a drama major at SUNY Purchase (she was in college before she was 16) didn't hurt.

Now, Hawk has the indie comedy "Let Go" with Ed Asner and David Denman on the festival circuit. She recently wrapped work on Tyler Perry's "We the Peeples" with Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson. And, come Dec. 2, she'll be seen starring opposite Dane Cook, Julie Benz, Elizabeth Mitchell, Zach Gilford and Barbara Hershey in the thriller "Answers to Nothing."

"It's really different for me — a drama after doing comedy after comedy," she says. "My character is a writer who's struggling with some deeper issues. The stories are intertwined. It's a lot like life; it's never who you think it's going to be that gives you the light bulb of truth. It's part of the magic of people, how each person is kind of a mirror of us, our outlook and our perspective on things."

THE BIG-SCREEN SCENE: Casting for the wife of Vince Vaughn's character in "Neighborhood Watch" is under way. This is the Akiva Schaffer-directed feature — also starring Ben Stiller, Will Forte, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt and Erin Moriarty — about a neighborhood watch group that uncovers a conspiracy. The character of Vaughn's wife is described as being in her mid- to late 30s, professional-looking and hot. It's going to take a talented actress to keep up with this group. Shooting will take place in Atlanta.

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.

COPYRIGHT 2011 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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