Author: Elyssa Lee

An Open Invitation

Cities around the world are boosting civic pride by inviting their citizens to peek inside cool spaces not usually accessible to the public. It’s time for us to open our doors too.

Colin Hanks

With a new movie out, a starring role on Broadway and a turn in the director’s chair, Colin Hanks may be the hardest working man in his show biz family—which is saying something, considering this native son of Sacramento also happens to be the son of Tom Hanks. The younger Hanks takes a rare moment between curtain calls to talk to us about being a Broadway baby and an East Sacramento kid, and having his movie-star dad play his movie dad in "The Great Buck Howard."

Q&A with Sam Elliott

With his film "The Golden Compass" coming out on Dec. 7, we take this golden opportunity to chew the fat with Sam Elliott. The Sactown native and Hollywood cowboy tells us about the road from Hollywood Park, remembering the Alhambra, and how he never minds getting back in the saddle again.

Q&A: Actor Chris Sullivan

After “How did Jack die?” the most burning question during the first season of This Is Us might’ve been, “Will Toby live?” Happily, the answer to the latter was yes, and Chris Sullivan will resume his role as Toby Damon, Kate Pearson’s big-hearted boyfriend turned fiancé, when NBC’s breakout hit returns in September. The Gold River-raised actor talks about being part of a TV phenomenon, how he got the theater bug at Jesuit High School, and what it took to look Marvel-ous for his scene-stealing turn as Taserface in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Made in the Shade

In Portugal, a fanciful art project that used little more than everyday umbrellas unfolded into a global tourist attraction. Sacramento should take this idea to the streets and go under cover, too.

Ryan Guzman Q&A

We catch up with actor Ryan Guzman, a former pitching standout at West Campus High School and Sierra College, about taking the field again for Richard Linklater's highly anticipated new baseball movie "Everybody Wants Some."

A Culture of Sculpture

In towns across the globe, sculpture festivals spotlight art and artists, all while adding to a city’s urban fabric. We too should set our artists loose on the streets of Sacramento.

Lester Holt Q&A

Among the ranks of weekend warriors, Lester Holt has few equals. As anchor of Friday evening’s Dateline, as well as Nightly News and the Today show on Saturdays and Sundays, the indefatigable NBC newsman proves why he’s earned the nickname “Iron Pants.” With the 2012 presidential election coming up on Nov. 6, Holt—who grew up in Rancho Cordova and attended Sacramento State—talks about covering politics, cutting his journalistic teeth as a cub reporter for KCRA and KRAK, and kicking butt in bubble soccer.

Actress Analeigh Tipton

Three years after her breakthrough performance in Crazy, Stupid, Love, Analeigh Tipton is revisiting matters of the heart this fall as the star of the new ABC comedy Manhattan Love Story. The 25-year-old actress and America’s Next Top Model alum talks about being in a New York state of mind, bonding with Steve Carell over figure skating, and getting the film bug at St. Francis High School. 

The Mad Man Cometh

As the final season of AMC’s groundbreaking television series "Mad Men" gets underway this spring, co-star Kevin Rahm is just getting started in his new home of Sacramento.

Reality Star Brandi Glanville

So it turns out that you can go home again. On the fourth season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which premieres in November, cast member Brandi Glanville does just that and returns for a visit to the capital city, where she was raised and where her family still lives. The outspoken reality star opens up with typical candor and humor about her colorful childhood in South Sacramento, the ex-factor (former husband Eddie Cibrian and his wife LeAnn Rimes), and sex and dating at 40.

Red Hot

A year after starring on The Voice, Sacramento singer-songwriter Lindsey Pavao is back in the spotlight with a new radio gig and her first full-length album. Can we hear you say aah?

Amanda Fuller Q&A

After years of appearing in guest roles on TV shows like Malcolm in the Middle, CSI and, most notably, Grey’s Anatomy (as intern Morgan Peterson), last fall Amanda Fuller landed her biggest gig yet as Tim Allen’s daughter on ABC's Last Man Standing. The Sacramento native talks about her full-circle moment with the Home Improvement star, making her acting debut at age 3, and having pickles and ice cream cravings at Leatherby’s.