Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The Lady Gaga phenomenon has been going on for a few years. Now her choreographer and creative director, Laurieann Gibson, is having a phenomenal time of her own. Gibson is an Emmy nominee for directing the HBO special "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden." She's up for a Teen Choice Award as Choice Female Reality/Variety Star for her E! show, "The Dance Scene." Her choreography is nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for her work on Lady Gaga's "Judas." And that's just her awards calendar.

Come Aug. 2, her second reality show premieres. BET's "Born To Dance" is a competition series in which Laurieann will guide and develop up-and-coming dancers as they vie to stay on the show.

"I wanted to give my artists not just a trophy," she says, "but the information they'll need to traverse the politics in the industry, to inject what I have found out along the way. It's not about me making money as a producer or jumping onto the idea dance is hot. It's a real look at what it really takes to make it as a dancer, and it's a real opportunity." Indeed, the former "Making the Band" personality has already hired some of her "Born To Dance" contestants for other jobs.

Despite her myriad creative enterprises, Gibson says her work with Lady Gaga continues to be at the forefront. "I just finished directing her 'You and I' video," she says. "I'm editing that now." (We knew that. Their fellow collaborator, fashion director and editor Nicola Formichetti, has posted Twitter photos of paparazzi literally parachuting down trying to snap shots of Lady Gaga on location — pictures that have been all over the Internet). "We have the VMAs coming up, a new tour..."

Those who saw the avant-garde pop star on "So You Think You Can Dance" last week also saw Gibson's choreography. Gibson observes, "My schedule is kind of unbelievable to a regular person, and I think most people wouldn't believe all that I'm doing." She attributes her drive to hard years coming up.

Gibson arrived in New York City by bus at age 17 intent on a career in dance. She subsequently waited tables on an overnight shift and studied at Alvin Ailey by day.

"It comes from a really grateful heart, to be at that place where you don't have to go back," she says. Hardscrabble years are something she says she has in common with her collaborators.

"All three of us come from nothing. Five years ago, (Lady Gaga) had two failed attempts at different labels and was not understood."

She, Lady Gaga, Formichetti and his assistant got together the other day to discuss what Laurieann will wear to the awards. Do not expect a meat dress. "They all have their different interpretations of who they think I am that they were playing around with. She wants to tell the world what she's experienced as a result of me, in terms of what I wear. It was very interesting to see, because I've done it for her for so long," says Gibson.

"I looked at some of the ideas and said, 'In no way will I be wearing that, that and that.'" She adds, "My approach is completely different from hers, but equally effective."

FOLLOWING RAY: An online campaign to resuscitate Ray Romano's canceled but still beloved "Men of a Certain Age" is apparently building. Launched by viewer Jeff Martinous as soon as cancellation news hit the Internet earlier this month, the campaign headquarters on a Facebook page linked to a petition: Facebook.com/SaveMenOfACertainAge.

We're told that viewers who are unhappy about the cancellation of the show have received official word from co-creator Mike Royce that their voices are being heard, and that negotiations are in progress on multiple fronts. Royce has tweeted: "Please go like this page and sign its petition. Then laugh a too-loud righteous laugh." You never know. After all, social media got Betty White on "Saturday Night Live."

ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS: Navy-SEAL-turned-TV-personality Richard "Mack" Machowicz doesn't mind saying he loved going around the world blowing up stuff during his tenure with Discovery's "Future Weapons" show. Now, of course, he's busy with Spike's "Deadliest Warrior" series, which envisions how famous fighters and fighting forces would fare if pitted against each other. And with his book "Unleash the Warrior Within: Develop the Focus, Discipline, Confidence and Courage You Need To Achieve Unlimited Goals," he is also in demand as a speaker.

Beyond all that, he counts himself a follower of Zen Buddhism. How does all the lethal weaponry and blowing up of things square with that? "Being a warrior, you have to be fully present. SEAL team is all about being attentive, being in the moment. If you really study Zen, it's the Samurai that came to this training. You want to bring that edge to everything in life — the making of food, the planting of flowers," Machowicz says. "We've really adopted the concept of war and warrior in a broader sense — the War on AIDS, the War on Poverty. It's about producing a result."

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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