Mario Lopez may be the busiest guy in show business. Along with starring in Broadway’s A Chorus Line, hosting America's Best Dance Crew (Thursdays, 10 pm/ET, MTV) and promoting his book, Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness, he was just promoted from correspondent to the sole host of Extra, replacing Mark McGrath and Dayna Devon as of September 15. The multitasker took time out to talk about his new gig, tabloid rumors and his sexy TV Guide "Hot Bods" cover.
TV Guide: How did the Extra anchor job come about?Mario Lopez: They have this new concept involving a social network, and they want the show to be very innovative and very clever. They asked me if I wanted to take the helm. I was flattered and honored. I love hosting, whether it’s a barbecue at my
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It looks like Mario Lopez fans will be getting even more of those tanned dimples than ever before. The Dancing alum has been named the new host of Extra, where he has been cohosting the show's weekend editions and serving as a correspondent since 2007. Extra's current daily hosts, Dayna Devon and Mark McGrath, are heading for new opportunities, with Devon becoming a special correspondent for the show and McGrath returning full-time to his music career. McGrath has been touring and playing with his band, Sugar Ray, during his Extra gig.Lopez, who was just named People's Hottest Bachelor of 2008, will be charming viewers at the helm starting Sept. 15. Will you be one of them — or has the beefcakey personality worn thin for you? (Some of us are still smarting from the Karina Smirnoff situation.) — Anna DimondRelated:• DWTS' Karina and Mario are Splitsville• Karina Opens Up on Mario's Alleged Cheating• On Broadway: Katie Holmes Outmuscles Mario Lopez
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In a pre-taped appearance airing on Friday's installment of The View, bad/sad dad Alec Baldwin stammers his way through an on-air apology to his daughter, Ireland, and, in one rambling instance, expresses a desire to be released from NBC's 30 Rock, TV's Extra reports. UPDATE: In response, an NBC rep says, "Alec Baldwin remains an important part of 30 Rock. We look forward to having him continue his role in the show."Still, Baldwin even talking about ankling the show that remade him a household name (and earned him critical kudos) is perhaps one sign of how hard his heated custody battle with ex-wife Kim Basinger has hit him. As brother William Baldwin tells Thursday's Extra, "This is a tough thing to have played out in the tabloid media, the public. I know that [Ireland] has a great relationship with her dad. I know that she loves her dad very much. I know that she wishes this would end."In light of what has happened, will you continue to watch 30 Rock? Vote here. Also check out our...
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Marcheline Bertrand, the mother of Angelina Jolie, died of cancer on Saturday, Jolie announced in a news release. In lieu of flowers, Jolie asks that donations be made to the Women's Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai.... The Natural: Director's Cut, featuring 15 minutes of restored footage and a newly edited first act, arrives in video stores April 3.... Indian actress Shilpa Shetty won the U.K.'s Celebrity Big Brother on Sunday, having bested the likes of Jermaine Jackson and Dirk "The A-Team" Benedict, and enduring alleged racial bullying.... The syndicated newsmagazine Extra has been renewed through 2010.
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• Tony winner and newl-he-wed Alan Cumming has joined the cast of Tin Man, Sci Fi Channel's reimagined fantastical take on The Wizard of Oz. In the six-hour mini, Cumming will play Glitch, a character trapped in the Outer Zone (the O.Z., get it?) who's missing half his brain.• Kirstie Alley will star in And She Was, a Lifetime movie about a middle-aged screenwriter who starts passing off her work via her more demo-friendly, twentysomething nephew (Eric Christian Olsen).• Not "casting news" per se, but deal with it: Dancing with the Stars' Mario Lopez has joined Extra as a weekend-edition cohost and a daily show correspondent.
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