Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

You never know where Kathy Bates might turn up this holiday season. The Oscar-winning actress and director has taken to the road in such a big way, she now refers to her travels as "kind of my secret other life."

In fact, she notes during our phone chat, "I'm talking from the parking lot of a Fred Meyer in Boise, Idaho."

Explains Bates, who is currently gracing the big screen as teacher Miss Sue in Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side," "I discovered, always the problem for me is, when I'm not working, I don't go out a lot. I end up being a hermit in my house. A friend in the business said, 'You ought to buy a motor home.'" To Bates' surprise, she went out looking at RVs, till one caught her eye.

"My family drove cross-country when I was growing up, and I enjoyed that, so I bought it," she says.

"What it does for me is, I get to get out and meet real people on their turf, paying for gas at the truck stop, making friends along the way. It's less intimidating, a good way to be a normal person and live a normal life. I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I'm just so excited."

Her traveling companion is a movie Teamster named Craig. "We hang out together. We love being out on the road," says Bates.

However, the rest of her life goes on. Bates left the road to be with her sister after the recent death of her beloved brother-in-law. Soon, she'll be busy promoting Syfy's "Alice" miniseries, a modern day re-imagining of the "Alice in Wonderland" story by Nick Willing of "Tin Man" renown. It debuts Dec. 6 and 7, with Bates as the Red Queen, Caterina Scorsone as Alice, and a cast including Tim Curry, Harry Dean Stanton and Matt Frewer.

THANKSGIVING LOG: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, husband Brad Hall and their two teenage sons will be playing host to their combined families on Thanksgiving. "I won't be cooking the main meal — that's not my thing," she says. "The family will pitch in and divide those honors. But I will be doing the baking. I love to bake. I have a terrible sweet tooth, and I cook for that tooth."

"Thanksgiving, we're going to New York," reports Queens native Ray Romano.

Bill Engvall has a little more time on his hands now that his TBS sitcom has been canceled, but before he gets busy again back on the road, the stand-up comedian tells us he plans to spend some good quality time with his family over the holidays. "The kids are coming home so we're going to have our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I get up early and start smoking a turkey. We usually eat around 1 and then watch the Cowboys play. Then they head back on that Sunday," says Engvall of their ritual.

"90210's" Jessica Stroup left the Beverly Hills zip code and flew "home for Thanksgiving to see my family. I always go to North Carolina, where my parents live."

TURKEY DAY ON THE FLY: Teen heartthrob/"Aaron Stone" star Kelly Blatz has promo chores to do in the Big Apple for his "Skyrunners" movie, which is debuting on Disney XD Sunday (11/29), as well as for his popular series. And, he told us a few days ago, "I'm taking my mom with me to New York, and we'll be there for Thanksgiving. It'll be a different experience with my mom out there." After that, he'll continue on to Toronto for more promotion.

At the same time, Blatz, who's been a musician longer than he's been an actor, has his first song, "Low Day," with his rock band, Capra, newly in release this week. "It really is madness right now," he says. But it's madness in a good way.

The 22-year-old is having the time of his life since gaining fame with "Aaron Stone," in which he plays the high school kid enlisted to become the real-life version of an online game superhero. "Skyrunners," a tale involving a crashed UFO, is the first original movie made for Disney XD, and Blatz gets to show another side in that.

"My character in 'Skyrunners' is totally different from the Charlie character in 'Aaron Stone,' who is kind of timid and not sure of himself. Nick, in the movie, is kind of like a Ferris Bueller. He's not arrogant, not the most popular guy in school, but he has his own thing about him and he's very sure of himself, and knows he can buy good will with his charm."

Notes the handsome Blatz, "I wake up every day full of gratitude to the universe for letting me do this — both my dreams of a career. I don't take it for granted at all."

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

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 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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