Christian Bale is in talks to play FBI manhunter Melvin Purvis to Johnny Depp's John Dillinger in Public Enemies, a Michael Mann-directed adaptation of Brian Burrough's Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43. (Did Tracy Jordan come up with that title?).... Charlize Theron is Viggo Mortensen's wife in the big-screen version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.... Hugh Dancy and Krysten Ritter ('Til Death) have been cast as a magazine editor and Isla Fisher's best gal pal, respectively, in Confessions of a Shopaholic.... Orlando Jones is a gay man who micromanages the pregnancy of his and his partner's surrogate (Criminal Minds' A.J. Cook) in the indie dramedy Misconceptions.
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Comedy Central has greenlit the pilot Michael Ian Black Doesn't Understand, which Variety describes as a "scripted showcase" for the oh-so-dry, poker-faced funnyman.... BET on Wednesday unveiled a development slate that boasts 16 new series, including projects from Will Smith (Cipha, an animated sci-fi series), Vin Diesel (Hannibal, an animated look at the ancient African king), D.L. Hughley (S.O.B., a hidden-camera reality series) and Orlando Jones (Bufu, an [again] animated sketch-comedy offering). (Nice to see BET drumming up so much on-camera work for black actors.) Also in the mix is the 26-year-old cabler's first original sitcom, Somebodies, based on the indie film of the same name.
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It is a sad state of affairs here at the Bergl Vancouver household. It's 3 am, and I would describe my living room as a crack den, but it's in such disarray that I would probably offend the crack addicts who read this blog. I think the Super Bowl really took away all my spirit for a while. At first the game was really looking good for me. Not only did Devin Hester do his thing and score a touchdown in the first 30 seconds, but I was also surrounded by various cast and crew of Men in Trees at the White Spot, which is a traditional Vancouver burger joint. Before I watched the Super Bowl with other TV actors, I had never seen anyone eat grilled chicken and steamed vegetables on game day. I won't tell you who the offending parties were, but I suppose we can forgive them for doing something so un-American on such a sacred day, considering we were technically watching the game out of the country. I think you all know the outcome for my beloved Chicago Bears, and the disappointment was fel...
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My mole in Elmo, Alaska, just gave me the OK to solve last Friday's Men in Trees asterisk quiz. As some of you correctly guessed, producers have successfully wooed Orlando Jones (aka ***a*** ***e*) to play George, Buzz's (John Amos) gay son. Slated to appear in at least two episodes, George will pay Pops a visit in Elmo in early '07. BTW, although I haven't seen it, I hear tonight's episode is the best yet. In other words, if you haven't joined the growing Trees cult, now would be a good time.
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Question: What's the word on ABC's The Evidence? I've seen the seven episodes so far, and it seems quite well written. You can't really go wrong with Orlando Jones, and Rob Estes plays the detective role with authenticity. I can't say I'm normally one to go for murder mysteries, and I don't watch other cop shows. It seems that ABC could use a well-filmed cop show like this in its lineup, and that it deserves more of a chance. I know ABC promoted it as kind of a "play detective" game, but I don't see it that seriously. By and large, I'd say it pushes the right buttons so far.
Answer: Sorry to tell you, but it has pushed its last button. The July 1 episode was the last one scheduled. It's true that ABC is noticeably lacking a procedural crime drama, but of the two the network trotted out at mid-season, Evidence and Injustice, neither made the cut for renewal. ...
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