Watching Heroes

Since NBC elected to release their 65 week schedule in April, the traditional “upfronts” were scrapped and instead NBC/U threw a party, the NBC/Universal Experience. Attending were ad buyers, reporters and stars from all of NBC/U’s shows. In addition to all the partying, NBC made a few key announcements, most notably that Jimmy Fallon will be taking over for Conan O’Brien when he leaves Late Night to take over the Tonight Show. NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman also confirmed that Nissan will continue to sponsor Heroes.

There were lots of familiar faces from Heroes making an appearance at the festivities. Take a look:

Ali Larter (Niki/Jessica)

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NAME: Nicole Sanders

ALIASES: Niki Sanders, Jessica, Gina

HOMETOWN: Las Vegas, NV

OCCUPATION: Former casino worker, webcam stripper, known to do contract work for Linderman. Has most recently worked as an agent for The Company

ABILITIES: Super Strength, usually through her alter ego, Jessica.

RELATIVES: D.L. Hawkins (significant other - deceased), Micah Sanders (son), Hal Sanders (father), Jessica Sanders (sister - deceased)

ROMANTIC INTERESTS: D.L. Hawkins; Peter Petrelli (in the future)

NOTES: Niki is known to have committed several murders when under the influence of her alter ego, Jessica. Spent time in prison for murder and theft but was let out after a deal made by Linderman. Injected herself with the Shanti virus while under mind control. Last seen in a burning building in New Orleans.

Niki is played by Ali Larter. “The Company File” is an ongoing series which will become our Character Guide here at Watching Heroes. To see more of “The Company File” profiles, view the Character Guide category. Thanks to Heroes Wiki for assistance with the facts!

Wondering what your favorite Heroes stars have been up to this month? Check out these photos to find out:

Greg Grunberg and the Band from TV were on hand for The 7th Annual Comedy For A Cure on April 6 at The Avalon in Hollywood. The show was put on as a benefit for the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done a picture post, so let’s catch up with a few of the events the stars of Heroes have been spotted at over the last month.

Ali Larter attended the Inaugural Avant-Garde Gala hosted by W Magazine & LACMA at LACMA BCAM on March 8 in Los Angeles. She showed off her new engagement ring to photographers.

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Ali Larter is set to star with Beyonce Knowles and Idiris Elba in Obsessed. Elba will play an asset manager and Beyonce will star as his wife. Ali stars as a temp office worker who begins stalking him. Beyonce will also executive produce along with her father, Mathew Knowles. Elba next stars in Prom Night with Heroes‘ star Dana Davis.

Heroes alum Eric Roberts (Thompson) was announced as one of the stars for NBC’s 13 episode summer horror series, Fear Itself. The show will include installments from famed horror directors Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason), Brad Anderson (The Machinist), Mary Harron (American Psycho), Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Darren Bousman (Saw II, III and IV)  and Ernest Dickerson (who directed the Heroes episode “Collision”). In addition to Roberts, the cast will include Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Shiri Appleby (Roswell), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Cynthia Watros (Lost). (more…)

The 3rd edition of Titan’s Heroes Magazine hits newstands in the US on March 18 (March 13 in the UK). This issue spotlight’s comic book artist Tim Sale. He reveals how he got the Heroes gig and shares some of his favorite pieces from the show.

Also in this issue:

• Hayden Panettiere discusses her role as the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet.
• Ali Larter, Leonard Roberts, and Noah Gray-Cabey discuss the family dynamic and the fate of the Sanders family.
• Cristine Rose (Mama Petrelli) talks about her role on the show so far

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NBC has been running “The More You Know” public service announcements for over 19 years now. If you’re like me, then you DVR everything you watch and probably fast-forwarded right through the ads featuring the stars of Heroes. I just discovered some of the commercials on the “The More You Know” website.

The latest campaign focused on issues such as pollution, global warming and recycling and featured Heroes stars Noah Gray-Cabey, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Masi Oka, Adrian Pasdar, and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

In addition to the “green” campaign, Heroes stars have helped spread a variety of messages. Ali Larter was featured in an anti-violence spot, Sendhil Ramamurthy did one about drunk driving, Adrian Pasdar’s PSA was about monitoring what your kids watch on TV, Masi Oka encouraged reading, and Greg Grunberg and Noah Gray-Cabey promoted internet safety in their spots. 

You can find out more about the campaign and watch some of the past PSA’s at http://www.themoreyouknow.com/.

Ali Larter has been added to the long list of celebrities who will be performing at the 10th anniversary V-Day celebration, V TO THE TENTH. V-Day was founded by Eve Ensler, writer of The Vagina Monologues. It is a global movement which seeks to end violence against women and girls.

V-Day’s 10^th anniversary celebration will take place in New Orleans April 11-12 at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome.

Ali joins Faith Hill, Jessica Alba, Sally Field, Oprah Winfrey, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Hudson, Jane Fonda, Glenn Close, Rosario Dawson, Julia Stiles, Kerry Washington, Calpernia Addams, and musicians Common, Eve, and Charmaine Neville for V TO THE TENTH. There will be a special performance of The Vagina Monologues including a special new monologue written by Eve Ensler and performed by Oprah Winfrey. There will also be musical performances by Faith Hill, Common, Eve, and Charmaine Neville.

Arena tickets are on sale now at http://www.vday.org/tickets. Tickets range from $25 to $1000 and will benefit groups ending violence against women worldwide, and in the Gulf South region.

Ali Larter celebrates her 32nd birthday today. She was born February 28, 1976 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Ali began her career as a model at age 13 but is probably best known for her role as Niki (Jessica) Sanders on Heroes. You might also remember her from the movies Legally Blonde, Varsity Blues, Final Destination, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Resident Evil Extinction, or from her work on the television shows Just Shoot Me or Dawson’s Creek.

Ali has served as spokesperson for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and is currently promoting Godiva Chocolates. She recently announced her engagement to actor Hayes MacArthur, who she met when they both appeared in National Lampoon’s Homo Erectus.

Watching Heroes wishes Ali a wonderful birthday!

Good news and bad news for Ali Larter. The good news: Ali has been honored with a 2008 Gracie Allen Award by the American Women in Radio & Television. The awards honor achievement in programming by, for and about women. Other honorees included Miley Cyrus, Maya Angelou, Kathy Griffin and Holly Hunter. National winners will be honored at the Gracies Gala on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at the New York Marriott Marquis. A complete list of winners can be found at www.awrt.org.

The bad news: E! Online is reporting that Ali was one of nearly 800 people exposed to the Hepatitis A virus at Socialista, a hotspot club in the West Village. A bartender at the club has tested positive and a health alert has been issued to anyone who was in the club on February 7, 8 and 11. Ali, along with other celebs, was a guest at Ashton Kutcher’s birthday party at Socialista on February 7.

Hayden Panettiere has signed on as the new spokesperson for Candie’s. Candie’s is a juniors clothing line sold exclusively in Kohl’s stores. Hayden will appear in their print and television advertising. Former Candie’s reps include Hilary Duff, Fergie and Destiny’s Child. Here’s a peek at her first ads: (more…)

WonderCon in San Francisco will have several Heroes-related guests. The convention, which takes place February 22-24, will feature Kristen Bell (Elle), who will be promoting her new movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Thomas Dekker (Zach) promoting his new series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; and Tim Sale, the artist responsible for the paintings featured in the show.  For more info, visit the Comic-Con International website and click on WonderCon.

Ali Larter (Niki/Jessica) can be seen on the cover of Shape magazine’s March 2008 issue.  In an interview inside the mag, Ali explains how she keeps her heroic figure.

James Kyson Lee (Ando) will be making an appearance for Australian fans at the SupaNova Pop Culture Expo. The Expo travels to 4 different cities and it appears James is scheduled to be at all 4. The first occurs March 28-30 in Melbourne. Check their website for all the details. (more…)

Ali Larter (Niki/Jessica) was one of many on the star-studded guest list last night for the Benefit for Raising Malawi & UNICEF event hosted by Madonna and sponsored by Gucci.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, a very pregnant Jennifer Lopez, Mark Anthony, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Brooke Shields, Salma Hayek, Debra Messing, and Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld were just some of the 650 guests who attended the event which was held at the UN.

Chris Rock hosted the entertainment which featured performances by Alicia Keyes, Timbaland, Rihanna and the African Children’s Choir.

Over $5 million was raised through the sale of tickets and an auction. The funds will be used to build a girls secondary school in Malawi.

I don’t have a lot of time today, so I’ll throw a little picture post your way. Here’s what some of the Heroes were doing over the weekend:

Hayden Panettiere was escorted by her younger brother, Jansen, to the premiere of The Spiderwick Chronicles at Paramount Pictures on January 31 in Los Angeles.

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Ali Larter (Niki/Jessica) has signed on as the new face of Belgian chocolatier, Godiva. She will be promoting their Valentine’s Day contest which will give away a chocolate room. Everything in the room, from artwork to furniture to the logs in the fireplace, is made completely of chocolate.

Anyone who buys a box of Godiva chocolates (priced at $23 and up) will have a chance of winning the room, which was created by Los Angeles designer Larry Abel. It will be re-created in a suite at Manhattan’s Bryant Park Hotel for a pampered (more…)

On Friday we told you about the worthy causes that Zachary Quinto, Masi Oka and Noah Gray-Cabey are supporting. Today we’ll look at a few more of the cast’s favorite charities: 

As a father of a son with epilepsy, Greg Grunberg has put his heart and soul into helping the Pediatric Epilepsy Project (PEP). A portion of the proceeds from his Band From TV performances benefit PEP and he is involved with other projects, such as the Epilepsy Freedom Walk, as well. The Pediatric Epilepsy Project funds reasearch as well as helping improve the lives of children with epilepsy. You can find out more about them at www.4pep.org/. 

Ali Larter has most recently been involved with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. In fact, she went so far as to do her own hair for the Emmy’s last year - and she looked gorgeous as always! Dove’s Self-Esteem Fund distributes resources to enable and empower women and girls to embrace a broad definition of beauty and provides resources to organizations that foster a broader definition of beauty. For more information visit http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/.

And finally, Hayden Panettiere has a couple of organizations she is currently working with. I’m sure you all heard about her run-in with the Japanese government during her efforts with the Save the Whales Again! campaign. Save the Whales Again! is hoping to reignite the passion of the 1970’s campaign and help alleviate the problems facing marine mammals such as pollution, global warming, loss of habitat, lack of food, over-fishing, entanglement in nets, ship strikes, and whaling. You can find out more at http://www.savethewhalesagain.com/. Hayden has also been involved with the Declare Yourself campaign this year. This effort encourages young people to register and vote. Many young celebrities have been involved with the campaign. You can get all the lowdown at http://www.declareyourself.com/.

If you know of another Heroes cast member who is involved with a charitable cause, leave us a comment and let us know!