Date sent: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 02:27:58 -0400 From: "Mike N. Reinemann" Subject: The Return of the Geek TV Scoop Kimberly Potts E! Online July 14, 2001 The Return of the Geek: My phone rings earlier this week. Me: "Hello?" The caller: "Hi, is Kim there?" Me: "This is Kim," I cleverly reply. The caller: "Hi, Kim, this is Anthony Michael Hall." Oh! My! God! Okay, no matter what he's done since, or what he ever will do, Anthony Michael Hall, aka Ted the Geek in Sixteen Candles and Brian "the Geek" Johnson in The Breakfast Club, has earned a permanent place of awe and respect among those of us who love those classic '80s teen films. And if you're someone who has seen those flicks and other A.M.H. starrers like Weird Science and Vacation and can quote pretty much the entire movies verbatim, and you say you wouldn't be just as psyched as I was to chat with him, then I say you lie like a rug! Anyhoo, A.M.H., or Michael, as he says people now call him, is, it seems, working on other projects these days, including this week's premiere of VH1's Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), in which he does a great turn as Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning music producer (and Mr. Shania Twain) Mutt Lange. "I've always been interested in music production and was certainly aware of Mutt Lange and the caliber of people he's worked with, so it was cool," says Hall, referring to Lange's track record with acts like Def Leppard, Twain, Bryan Adams, the Cars, AC/DC and Babs Streisand. "And I was a huge fan of Def Leppard, too. Not to the point of following them around on tour or anything, but I liked a lot of their songs." Hall stars in the upcoming UPN midseason series The Dead Zone, taking over Christopher Walken's Johnny Smith role from the 1983 movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel. He's also working on music projects of his own, releasing his tunes at MP3.com. "It's an interesting juxtaposition to being an actor for hire, where you show up and work on other people's projects...the music is more personal, more of my own thing," he says. And, of course, though many former child-star types are touchy regarding their past work, you can't blow a chance to talk to Anthony Michael Hall and not bring up his much beloved teen flicks. He, refreshingly, proves not to mind a bit. "I don't have any hangups about any of that stuff," he says, pointing out that a few "lean years" here and there have made him put his entire career in perspective. "I have been really privileged, and I never could have imagined when I was younger that I would have the career I've had. "To have half a dozen movies that everyone sees on TV all the time, that is a great thing. Quite frankly, I'm proud of that, and I don't mind talking about it at all. Those movies have found a place in people's hearts, and that's a great thing. That's the reason for being in this business." Copyright © 2001 E! Online, Inc. All rights reserved.