Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The cast and crew on NBC's "Grimm" have been toiling away on so many 14-to-16-hour production days, "We've had what they've labeled 'Fraterdays' — with people literally racing home to beat the sun," reports Russell Hornsby. "It's crazy, but the reality is, when you're working on an ambitious project like 'Grimm,' trying to create 43-minute movies every week, that's what you expect: long hours."

For those who've managed not to see the heavily played "Grimm" promos, this is the show, premiering tonight (Oct. 28), in which David Giuntioli plays a homicide detective who discovers he's the last in a long line of men and women with the special ability to see horrible monsters walking among us. Hornsby is his police partner.

Hornsby is well aware that his new show is a far cry from his critically lauded "Lincoln Heights" ABC Family drama that was canceled after four seasons last year.

"I go from 'Father Knows Best' to 'Man Friday,'" he quips. "'Lincoln Heights' was great. I had a wonderful time working on it. And now I'm playing a police officer again. I like playing police officers, playing men of authority. But these two characters are very different. Instead of a family man with one wife and three children, this guy has been married four times, and who knows where the children may be? His approach to his work is completely different. He's more cynical. Hank represents the world as you and I know it. (He) keeps the world solid and real. I'm sort of there to balance things out, I believe, and keep the fantastical and supernatural elements in their proper context."

Hornsby's intrigued by those elements. He says he enjoys fantasy, counting "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice In Wonderland" as two of his favorite stories. The classically trained, Obie Award-winning actor used to pair his rendition of the Cowardly Lion with a Shakespeare piece to show his range on New York theatre auditions.

With eight episodes of "Grimm" in the can so far, "I can say honestly that the cast is getting into a groove," Hornsby says. "Once you sort of get on that train, you're good. The first episode or two, just dealing with the hours is challenging. But you start to incorporate sleep when you can and adjust your eating habits and exercise, and you're okay. It's a very good show. The writers and producers (including Sean Hayes and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" David Greenwalt) think the possibilities are limitless as to what the show can be. Our hope is that NBC gives us a little time, and the audience gives us a little time, to find the show groove. We need audience support."

WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW: Filmmaker and Verizon pitchman Paul Marcarelli is in talks with an actress he calls "an icon in her own right" to take on the lead in his dark comedy, "Clutter" — about you-know-what.

"On its surface, it's about the complicated relationships between a compulsive hoarder and her grown children," Marcarelli says.

"But it's really about the stuff we hang onto that no longer serves us." He and his producing partner, Molly Pearson, expect to have "Clutter" before the cameras in March.

They have "The Green" in video-on-demand release available in some 55 million homes, as of this month, on Amazon.com, and soon, in DVD release. The film, about a gay drama teacher who is accused of inappropriate conduct with a student, is "the most exciting thing I've done in my career," declares Marcarelli.

"The Green" has won a collection of top festival prizes, but even more important to Marcarelli is the fact that "wherever we've shown it, someone has stood up and said, 'This reflects my experience.' I'm not referencing teachers — although we have had quite a few teachers say, 'This is my worst nightmare' — but people from different walks of life who say the film reflects an experience in their own lives that they haven't seen depicted before."

Marcarelli makes it clear, "It's definitely fiction, but I think these headlines are sort of common fixtures around the country. They're easy attention-grabbers that last the life of a news cycle and then go away. But what happens in the life of someone accused, someone who is innocent? What kind of toll does it take on them professionally and in their lives at home?"

MEANWHILE: Marcarelli is generous with his praise for certain other familiar spokesactors — such as Stephanie Courtney, a.k.a. Flo, the Progressive Insurance girl — "She's fantastic!" And Carly Foulkes, T. Mobile's omnipresent girl in pink? "She's a genius," gushes Marcarelli. "I love her."

So what special something does it take to make a performer just right for the task of becoming the face of a product? "I don't know," he says. "Is it lightning striking the right person at the right time? I consider myself very lucky."

And Marcarelli probably has incredibly good phone service, right? He laughs. "Of course I do. It doesn't hurt that I believe in this great product I use myself." Despite reports to the contrary, he still has his Verizon gig. "I'm at the ready for them whenever they want me."

GOING STRAIGHT: Just when you think they're running out of ideas for new reality shows, along comes something different: for instance, the planned series, which is being cast now, that involves businessmen who have served time in jail and are currently successful. They'll mentor recently released inmates in the real world. Time will tell how it all comes together, but it sounds as if the producers have noble intentions.

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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