Hollywood Q&A

Q: I saw Hugh Grant wearing a New York Yankees cap once. Is he a fan?

A: I couldn’t find British romcom legend Hugh Grant (“Love Actually,” 2003) on the record anywhere saying he even likes baseball, let alone the New York Yankees in particular. It’s more likely he was wearing it the way millions of people all over the world do: as a fashion item.

“It’s not just a symbol of baseball, but of America and Americana,” New York Times baseball writer Tyler Kepner said in an interview with the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper (suggesting the Brits have a particular fascination with the hat).

There have been countless other think pieces about the Yankees cap’s status in fashion — more than one of which was inspired by fashion house Gucci, which produced its own $500 version.

ESPN writer Sam Borden wrote a column about the strange experience of traveling the world and seeing the Yankees cap everywhere, from rural Bulgaria to urban Iceland. With that in mind, it’s not so surprising to see one on Grant’s head.

That said, while he’s never openly expressed favor for the Yanks, one of his movies basically did the exact opposite — it featured their cross-city rivals, the Mets.

In “Two Weeks Notice” (2002), Grant’s character attends a Mets game at Shea Stadium, where his assistant (Sandra Bullock, “Gravity,” 2013) screws up a Mets play from the stands. That leads to Mets catcher Mike Piazza (appearing as himself ) telling them to go to a Yankees game next time.

Q: Do contestants on “Let’s Make a Deal” get to keep Zonk prizes, or are they just for display?

A: Technically, neither. Zonks are pitfalls built into the game — comically bad prizes contestants get when they’re hoping for good ones. They’re items like goats, trips to places that don’t exist, or cars that have gone through trash compactors.

But even if the contestant wants what they “won,” they can’t have it. This is generally for practical purposes. For example, it would be more expensive to ship a goat to someone than it would be to give them a real, flashy prize.

Sometimes the Zonk is a “Let’s Make a Deal” crew member dressed up as a boxing kangaroo — that would be another expensive shipment and, also, they presumably need the crew member for filming the next day.

That said, Zonks aren’t just a joke. Contestants get a check for

$100 instead.

Q: How do TV shows decide what order the cast is named in? Some shows change it up by season but others are always the same.

A: I’ve got a disappointing answer for you: Credit order on TV is the result of nothing more — and nothing less — than constant, painstaking negotiation between producers, actors and, of course, their agents.

“You would be stunned by how many hours I spend arguing about things like this,” one anonymous agent said in an article for Backstage magazine.

Items for negotiation include whether the actor’s credit gets stuck in the end credits or makes it to the opening ones, whether the credit appears alone on-screen or with others (known as a single- or sharedcard credit), and whether the actor gets special billing such as a “with” or “and” credit.

All this applies to guests as well as a show’s regular cast, but as you point out, the regularcast credits tend to be a little more stable. When there are changes, chances are they come after that actor’s contract was renegotiated.

Sometimes a credit change comes with a character’s growing importance in the show. “24” did this a lot — for example, Carlos Bernard (who played Tony Almeida) appeared in the end credits for Season 1 but was promoted to the openers in Season 2.