The Man Who Knew Too Soon

My pick for Finnick, Colton Haynes and I.

Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. But, as a fan of “the Hunger Games” I’ve learned casting news travels fastest. However, thus far there has been no news regarding “the Hunger Games: Catching Fire” so as fans we have had to live on rumors to keep us going. Last week, I posted that I had finally gotten a little news from my pick for Finnick Odair, Colton Haynes. He told me that the rumors surrounding Armie Hammer, Taylor Kisch and Garret Hedlund should be taken with a proverbial grain of salt. He also shared that he was meeting with the studio to discuss the project when I had asked if I should hold out hope of seeing him wielding a trident. As soon as my post went public, the story was splashed across every “Hunger Games” blog. That was no surprise, I mean this casting is a huge deal and one that has been very anticipated. What did surprise me was the amount times the words “allegedly” “unsubstantiated claims” and “unfamiliar” appeared in each re-posting.

Trevor Donovan who I first came to love as Teddy on “90210″ is rumored to also be in the running for Finnick.

Then yesterday, a bigger website posted that “an insider” had revealed that Armie Hammer, Garrett Hedlund and Taylor Kisch were in fact not being looked at or considered. And, that meetings were being held this week with the final eight in the running. Of course this bigger site’s intel was not questioned or met with shade. But, their report did bestow more validity on my exclusive with Colton and that I am thankful for. So far thehob.org, mockingjay.net and their readers are yet to apologize for being so snarky in their disbelief. Other names on the list of the eight being considered are Trevor Donovan (another BEST Blog fav), Lucas Til and Alan Ritchson. I hope that this little update helps continues to validate my little dog and pony blog. And, once again I want to extend the best of wishes to Colton. I marathon watched “Teen Wolf” this past week and saw many shimmering examples as to why he would kill this role. Good luck Mr. Haynes, and may these new odds remain ever in your favor.

Best of the BEST: A Look Back at BEST Blog’s First 100

100 Posts on BEST Blog. Can you believe it?

I have been watching my WordPress dashboard closely the past few days because with every post that I published I moved closer to the triple digits. And, it just so happens this is my 100th Post. Since starting BEST Blog as the Blog of Brian Tuft in September of 2009 I have published 100 blog entries about all sorts of my favorite things. Fashion’s Night Out, One Direction and “Glee” have all gotten their own posts. I thought in honor of this milestone I would share what the top five posts are in terms of traffic, response and reaction.

Karine Vanase and I on the set of “Pan Am”.

The number four and five posts are the blogs detailing my visits to the “Pan Am” set. Last week, the news hit the web that the show had been cancelled by ABC. But, I don’t know how because the show has been a gold mine for me in terms of traffic. It seems that web surfers could not get enough of the stewardess centered drama, even visiting my blog to hear some behind the scene scoop and find out what the stars are like in real life. My third biggest post of all time is a much more recent one, where I detailed who I would cast in “the Hunger Games” sequel “Catching Fire”. I picked Colton Haynes and Mia Wasikowska as Finnick and Johanna. But, obviously my pull at Lionsgate is minimal, even if the official “Hunger Games” account follows me on twitter. The second most successful blog is my first post about “Pan Am” where I listed the reasons why I loved the series and why I thought my readers should give it a shot. Obviously it would seem like it fell on deaf ears since the series was cancelled. But, the entry drew and still draws steady traffic to my little site. It should also be noted that on the list of top search engine terms that bring people to my blog, Pan Am, Karine Vanasse and Colette all rank highly.

Trevor Donovan star of 90210, dreamboat, gay rights supporter and blog traffic magnet with me last year.

My top post of all time is one of my earliest posts but still one of the most popular ones I’ve ever published. In January of 2010 I posted about 90210′s newest cast member Trevor Donovan’s Teddy Montgomery. At this point Teddy was still a home wrecking ass wipe who was pretty much loathed by everyone until the end of the season where he was sweet to Silver as her mother died. In the time since that post went up the character came out of the closet as a gay man who hid behind womanizing ways to keep the truth a secret. This development made Donovan a real life gay hero. He has been honored by countless gay advocacy groups and has become arguably the most famous part of the show. A few months ago, I went to the Ripple of Hope Awards Dinner and got to meet Trevor. I told him how much I enjoyed and appreciated his work on 90210 and his work off screen with the gay community. He was just as handsome in real life, and as nice as he was dreamy. And, while I have posted about many other dreamy men I have loved like Darren Criss, Josh Hutcherson, Matt Bomer and Max Greenfield who is tomorrow’s subject. I think its fitting that my biggest post of all time is the one about Trevor,my original BEST Blog crush. I look forward to seeing who else and what else I will post about, here’s hoping the next 100 posts are as much fun and as successful as the first. Thank you s much for reading, and I hope you will continue to see what the future holds for BEST Blog.

9021-Oh my God he’s Hot…

I’ve seen in my life time a lot of Teen Dramas produce hunks that people have eaten up. There was the original 90210, who gave us Brandon and Dylan. A few years later there was the OC with Ryan and the nerdy Seth. More recently there has been Chuck, Dan and Nate from Gossip Girl. When the CW’s reboot of 90210 launched last season I was left feeling disappointed. Sure, Chace Crawford was cute on Gossip Girl, but he wasn’t my speed. He was like a perfectly nice sweater at a great price, I’d take it, and wear it but it wouldn’t be my favorite piece. I looked to 90210 to give me someone really sexy who I could eagerly look forward to seeing every week. I think originally Ethan on 90210 was supposed to be the sexy one, but he fell short of my expectations. Then this year, I tuned into the
90210 Season premiere and I found love.

The Season Two Cast of 90210

Teddy Montgomery played by Trevor Donovan is everything I expected from 90210 and so much more. He’s tall, blonde and has a set of biceps that could strangle a crocodile. When the season dawned he was a tennis star who was the son of an Oscar winning actor. From that point on, everyone I spoke to thought he was a total douche. He was elitist, which other people hated but I found endearing. He broke up a relationship between Navid and Adrianna, then didn’t want anything serious with Adrianna. Which I didn’t understand, she would be trading up and should take what she can get. I mean seriously the bitch is a teen mother with a drug problem she should not be so picky. Through this, whenever I mentioned his name everyone rolled their eyes and voiced the idea that Teddy was a tool. But, I stuck by him. There was one point where I almost gave up, but the episode after began with a dream sequence in which he said into the camera “I have a treat for you” and ripped open his shirt to reveal abs that look like a street lined with cobblestones.

The Most Amazing Scene on Television… Ever.

In the last few episodes my blind love paid off. A few episodes ago, Silver’s mother, who is also Kelly’s mother for the original fans, was diagnosed with breast cancer and was going to die. Teddy was not only there for Silver, he got together with her mom and threw her the dream birthday she had always wanted. Silver’s mother as you may remember from the original series was an alcoholic. When Mrs. Taylor met her fate and passed on, Teddy was there to comfort, distract and help Silver in anyway she needed. As you can imagine I was more than excited about the idea of a total Baldwin being there for someone who suddenly lost their mother. Envious as well, but excited mostly. From that point on Teddy, and the actor who plays him have become my full fledged obsession. I recently found a print from an old Abercrombie ad he did that will soon adorn my wall. Although I may have to pin some clothes on him.

Honestly… Is this poster too explicit for my bedroom? I may have to cover him up with some clothes.

There isn’t much information on Mr. Donovan on the web. I follow him on Twitter, you should too @TrevDon. I do know he is originally from California, recently turned 30 years old, which I admit is a little old to be playing a high school student and starred in the Bruce Willis movie “Surrogates“ as Bruce’s surrogate. I have no idea what that means, but now that I know he is in it I will be Netflixing it. While my main attraction to Trevor is on the surface I know through his twitter that he also does charity work for Omnipeace and Habitat for Humanity. While I’m not one for building houses, given the chance to spend the day with him, getting all sweaty and dirty from manual labor would get me to lift a hammer. If not for the chance of him taking his shirt off alone. If that’s not star power, I don’t know what is.

Oh and I don’t care if…

Makes you feel

Talk shit about him and I’ll…

Thanks.