Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

With ABC's "Happy Town" about to wreak its own brand of havoc on Minnesota's friendly image, Steven Weber makes it clear he knows that the real Land of 10,000 Lakes is "a lovely place. I don't think they'll take the show personally," he adds, smiling. "Certainly, people could ascribe all sorts of meaning to it as a metaphor — as the dark underbelly of the United States, for instance."

Actually, more people are likening the moody mystery series, debuting tomorrow night (4/28), to "Twin Peaks." The show focuses on a series of unsolved kidnappings in an outwardly serene Minnesota hamlet. "I've worked on several Stephen King projects, and I've had, I guess, a taste for this kind of stuff since I was a kid — spooky stuff," says Weber, who starred in the TV miniseries version of "The Shining," and did a turn on "Nightmares and Dreamscapes." That is, of course, in addition to his eclectic collection of Broadway, film and TV credits ranging from "The Producers" to "Wings."

The 48-year-old actor notes, "I was looking for a role that interested me, rather than a show. At my advanced age, I want things that I can sink my teeth into. Not the affable womanizing guy — I've done that. I've done a lot of pricks in suits, as I call them. I think the fact that this guy has a genuinely tragic core — even though the show has a kind of a supernatural cast to it — there's something very basic and terrifying in a real sense about him. He's suffering through the loss of a child. He's obsessed by the vacuum created by the child's disappearance. Especially being a father myself, it's a terrifying thought for me."

He was also attracted to the "Happy Town" cast, including Sam Neill and Frances Conroy. "I'm very interested in collaboration, in a communal creative process, especially with guys who've had such varied and successful careers." He tells us, "We're reasonably intimate with each other. We spent a certain amount of time socializing — not in a crazy way, drinking and carrying on, but actually liking each other." The show's creators "have taken aspects of the actors into consideration with the characters, not in an exploitative way, but in the sense of using the tools the actors have."

A GOOD VINTAGE OF FANS: Fred Willard got a surprise last week when he answered his door and found a group of visitors from France there waiting for him. "They'd hunted me up somehow and brought me a bottle of wine, and asked for my autograph. There were four men and a woman. They said they were big fans. One of them said to me, 'It is a pleasure to you.' And his friend corrected him and said, 'It is a pleasure to MEET you.' It was very nice, but I wouldn't want things like that to happen too often," admits the funnyman.

Well, no, but Willard's getting another jolt of TV exposure the next two weeks, including turning up as Ty Burrell's character's father on "Modern Family" tomorrow night (4/28).

"I'm a little cornier than Ty, I think, but you can see the connection," Willard tells us. Seen previously in a quick Skype holiday phone call, Willard's character now appears in the flesh, having driven his van from Florida across the country to give his beloved dog away to his son and family. "My character's wife is allergic to the dog," he lets us know.

Will Dad be back?

"They said it's possible. The trouble is my character lives in Florida. I suggested they go down to Disney World for a week. Ty loved the idea."

Willard does a whole different type of turn on NBC's "Chuck" next Monday (5/3). He and Swoosie Kurtz play a married couple of spies sent by the government to teach Chuck (Zachary Levi) old-school spying techniques. "But we seem to double-cross and triple-cross them — and so much for spy lessons." He adds, "It's the kind of role I've always wanted to play. Not out-and-out funny. And I just loved working with Swoosie."

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: Victoria Justice, who many might remember from "Zoey 101," now has her own television show, Nickelodeon's "Victorious," in which she plays a singer at a performing arts school. The 17-year-old tells us that with her new busy schedule, she's trying to find the right balance between being a teenager and being a working actress, but so far, so good.

"The show takes up 95 percent of my time, but it gives me some time to hang out with friends or go out to dinner with my cast. Sometimes it's tough because friends will be like, 'Hey, do you want to go to a movie?' and I have to say no because I have an interview or have to learn lines, or I have rehearsal. But I love doing what I do, and I think I would be bored if I wasn't doing it," says Justice. "I'm most happy when I'm on set or when I'm at home hanging out with my family or friends and I don't have to worry about wearing makeup or being all dressed up."

In fact, she claims her life couldn't be any less Hollywood. "I live a pretty normal life. It's not all glamorous or anything like that. Plus, I have a great support system. They're never going to let me think I'm better than anybody because it's just ridiculous to go there."

CASTING CORNER: They're rounding out the cast for — why? — Johnny Knoxville's "Jackass 3." Among the roles still being set: a "hottie babe of a girl" who's a quick thinker with a comedy background; an older woman with comedy experience to play a grandmother; and another funny femme to play "an overweight, loose woman." For the latter, they want either a "white trash or African-American mama." You can just tell what the movie's going to be like already, can't you?

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 2010 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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