Sources close to Jessica Simpson and John Mayer have confirmed to TV's Extra that the couple has ended their nine-month relationship with each other, as well as with the supermarket checkout.Sounds like someone came to realize that while the body may be quite a wonderland, the conversation, you know, just wasn't there.
A pair of small-screen stars and a Tony winner will most likely headline Mel Brooks' Broadway-bound Young Frankenstein musical. Per Variety, Roger Bart (late of Desperate Housewives) is said to have landed the role of the deranged doc, while Will & Grace's Megan Mullally will tackle Elizabeth, his taffeta-loving fiancée. Broadway diva Sutton Foster is Inga, the woman who comes between them.Rounding out the cast are stage vets Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor and Shuler Hensley as Frankenstein's monster. Alas Frau Blücher is neighwhere to be seen. — Reporting by Raven Snook
Fans of America's Next Top Model may know that the new champ, Jaslene Gonzalez, actually competed in the previous cycle, but fell shy of the final 13. But you may not know why. In a Q&A with TVGuide.com, Jaslene shares that her exit was predicated by "something personal... something that wasn't aired. There were a lot of things I had to fix, personal things. [So] I went home, I stayed with my family, I took some therapy, and I just tried to get myself together."For more from Jaslene on her big win, dealing with the likes of Renee, and her career plans, see Interviews & Features. — Additional reporting by Sabrina Rojas Weiss
American Idol finalist Blake Lewis tells TVGuide.com that come Tuesday night, he and Jordin Sparks will sing one song they have performed previously; a new tune of their own choosing; and, to complete their set, the winning ditty from this season's songwriting competition-within-a-competition — "but that's all I can reveal."In a separate conference call, Jordin told reporters that Simon Cowell's comments — namely, his recent riffs that her song picks sometimes skew too old for someone all of 17 — "always stay with you. But at the same time, I can't really base what I'm going to do off of that, even though I can and sometimes do." But in this particular, kinda-important instance, will she embrace a "youth" movement? "Next week, I have a more youthful song in my repertoire that I'm going to pull out," Jordin previewed. "So I'm really excited."POLL: Might beat-boxer Blake best Jordin to win? Vote here.
In a comprehensive blog entry dissecting Thursday's season finale, Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes heads off viewer laments that happy endings were in short supply for the Seattle Gracers. First explaining that the season gone by was "about most of all... the idea [that] 'having it all' is a myth," Rhimes goes on to say, "I did my level best to burn it all down... to the ground so that we can have a place to build from next season. But next season... oh, next season is all about the fun and pain of new beginnings. The future is wide open."Does said future find George ditching Callie for Izzie? [Shudder] Rhimes is "glad" that fans "have very strong opinions" on the love triangle, and admits that putting Callie on the baby track perhaps only to save her marriage "goes against every feminist bone in my body." But, she notes, "it is also human to delude yourself into believing [otherwise]."As for a Season 4 preview, Rhimes lets slip that where Derek is heading "is going to be inter...
In his sit-down with The Advocate (hitting newsstands June 19), Grey's Anatomy's T.R. Knight not-quite-artfully dodges pointed questions about the fallout (or lack thereof) of the October 2006 on-set incident that urged him out of the closet, painted cast mate Isaiah Washington as a homophobe and left many waiting for significant repercussions at the hand of series creator Shonda Rhimes. An excerpt obtained by AfterElton.com: "When asked if Washington had apologized to him personally, Knight initially responded, 'Which time?' Then, when pressed, he said, 'What a lovely blue sky.' When queried about whether Rhimes had come to him and asked what he wanted to happen, he paused thoughtfully before saying, 'I like blueberries. Do you like blueberries?'"As Raven here just observed, this much is now clear: T.R. likes blue.
This Thursday's ratings recap:8 pm/ETThe actual regaled audience for CBS' Bob Barker tribute was... 14.33 million total viewers! — plenty enough to outbid the season finales of Ugly Betty (bouncing back from last week's series low with 10.39 mil) and The Office (7.89 mil for the hour). Smallville's season-ender drew a hair over four mil, a rise of 650K.9 pmIn the season's final face-off between Thursday's powerhouses, both Grey's (21.53 mil) and CSI (20.2 mil) rebounded from last week's nadirs, surging 2.4 and 1.6 mil, respectively. Those mighty gains came at a cost, seemingly, for Supernatural, which dipped 110 thou to end Season 2 with a low of 2.74 mil.10 pmER's season finale (9.37 mil) was trounced by a CSI repeat, but bested the back half of ABC's Lost: The Answers special.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, Snakes-wrangler Samuel L. Jackson is in talks to play the Octopus, a supervillain with a superlethal punim, in The Spirit, Frank Miller's comic-book adaptation about a murdered cop reborn as a masked mystery man.... Jeff Bridges is Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter in How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, also starring Kirsten Dunst.... Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza (Babel) is being eyed for the dramedy Henry Poole Is Here, starring Luke Wilson.... Per Variety, 300's G-e-r-a-r-d Butler will star opposite Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin in Nim's Island.
The supercool Mary-Louise Parker and Supernatural's Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the sometime Weeds scene partners who sparked up a real-life romance back in Decemeber, have apparently hit the skids for good, says the New York Daily News' Rush & Malloy. While MLP's rep has no comment on the report, sources tell the tab that JDM feels his honey isn't making time for him the way that Izzy would.Plus, had marriage ever entered into it, towels simply aren't made large enough for that monogram.
Anne Heche's estranged husband — who filed for divorce in February, shortly after word spread of Heche's involvement with Men in Trees costar James Tupper — is seeking some $33,000 in monthly child support and primary custody of their 5-year-old son, Homer. In court papers obtained by People, Coley Laffoon states his case by claiming that "[Heche] has at times exhibited bizarre and delusional behavior for which she refuses to seek professional help," and due to her "busy schedule" lensing Trees in Vancouver, "[has] little time... to spend time with Homer." Heche's own court filing counters that Laffoon has failed to hit the want ads since leaving his videographer job to play stay-at-home dad, and "has resorted to lies with the court because Anne would not cave in to his astronomical money demands," which she says started at $45K. Hey, Anne. Me, Homer, a stack of Dora DVDs and an endless supply of Pirate Booty — all for a mere $25,000 a month. (Just let me tease the mu...
In what may be the earliest christening ever of an aprés-Super Bowl berth, Fox, as part of its Thursday upfronts presentation, announced that the already ratings-rich House will air after the big game on Feb. 3, 2008. Obviously, no plot details are anywhere close to being in place, though Kyle Chandler has been spied getting fitted for a new bomb-squad jacket.
A smaller-screen port of Brangelina's Mr. & Mrs. Smith first date movie, passed over this week by ABC, still hopes to have a shot at making someone's fall schedule. Starring Jordana Brewster and Martin Henderson, the series will be shopped to the other networks next week, sources tell the Hollywood Reporter. I dunno, no immortal protagonist nor a Sex and the City theme? Sounds like a long shot this season, kiddies.
"What's she doing here?" — Jude Law, overheard saying upon spying Jessica Simpson (she of the venerable Employee of the Month) at the Cannes Film Festival. My thanks to the New York Daily News for this morning chuckle.
As 24 prepares to present Season 6's final hours on Monday, attention has turned as of late to Jack Bauer's next trying day. As recently teased in TV Guide, a "huge transition" and "something completely new" await the series. And in his exit interview, Eric Balfour hinted at a farewell for CTU, as part of a sweeping "change of scenery." Hmm, what exactly is going to happen at 10:59 pm Monday?Invited to weigh in on the coming "reinvention," Fox entertainment president Peter Liguori tells TVGuide.com, "It will be a significant change in the show. Obviously, I can't share any details, but I'm very excited. I'm excited because [executive producers] Joel [Surnow], Bob [Cochran] and Howard [Gordon] are unbelievable writers, and... if they take what I think is the most daring show on television and decide to [stage] a greater high-wire act for next season, I think that’s what the show is all about. They have [the network's] full support and, I'm sure, the support of [star/executive pr...
"Absurd." "Wrong, wrong, wrong." "A total fiasco." Those are some of the words TVGuide.com readers are using to describe the dismissal of Melinda Doolittle on Wednesday's American Idol. Presented with that reaction — as well as the fact that some 70 percent of you are "very shocked" to see her go — Melinda shared with TVGuide.com her own theory on why, despite being so consistent and a favorite of the judges, the votes just weren't there. "First of all, I was up against two amazing contestants — I love Jordin and Blake, and they did a fabulous job on Tuesday night," she starts. "But also, I know that I was probably getting a little bit of the older vote, which is great — I had a lot of people come up to me saying, "I voted for you five times last night!" — [but those same fans] may not spend a full two hours voting or anything like that, and that's OK. I really feel like I've won, as far as where I ended up in the competition."As for what style of album we c...
T.R. Knight returns to his New York theater roots when he drops by the live off-Broadway variety show Creation Nation on May 23. In addition to sketches and stand-up, the evening will feature an up-close-and-personal interview with the small-screen star, who definitely has a lot to dish about. "We're incredibly irreverent and poke fun at everything," says the show's star and cocreator, Billy Eichner. "And since we're not on TV and we don't even tape the show, celebrities often say things that they might not otherwise." Of course, most of the "things" Knight's liable to say will probably get blocked by TVGuide.com's obscenity filter. — Reporting by Raven Snook
Having now fully recovered from her recent back injury, Ellen DeGeneres has rescheduled for this Friday a special installment of her talk show to be taped aboard a Delta 767-400 flight from Los Angeles to New York. Lucky passengers — including, coincidentally, West Wing alum Allison Janney — will be entertained by the host, a definite upgrade from the usual flimsy airline headphones paired with an in-flight presentation of Catch and Release. Ellen's airborne eppy airs Tuesday.
Twentieth Century Fox's Fox Walden banner has set four films' release dates:• The Dark Is Rising (Oct. 5), about a young man who learns he is the last in a line of mythical warriors. Stars Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Christopher Eccleston and Jonathan Jackson.• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Nov. 16), a family fantasy starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman.• Nim's Island (April 25, 2008), featuring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin.• City of Ember (Columbus Day '08), a sci-fi adventure helmed by Monster House's Gil Kenan.
Per Variety, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, whose only previous cinematic scene-sharing was in 1995's Heat, are cops tracking a serial slayer in Righteous Kill.... Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman have come on board Phoebe in Wonderland, in which a drama teacher (Patricia Clarkson) tries to tame a rebellious girl (Elle Fanning).... Jason Bateman will produce and star in The Remarkable Fellows, a buddy comedy based on an outline from the Arrested alum, and concerning two brothers who exact revenge for other people.... Frank E. Flowers (Haven) is writing, with eye to direct, a remake of 1981's Taps.... Michelle Williams, Bryce Dallas Howard and Evan Rachel Wood are set to star in the biopic Bronte.
With the CW poised to unfurl its official fall plans any moment now, a tentative sked making rounds has new cycles of Beauty and the Geek and Top Model kicking off Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The "comedy-thriller" ("chiller"?) Reaper will trail Geek, while O.C. creator Josh Schwartz's Gossip Girl claims the plum aprés-Tyra spot. Adding to the buzzworthy Gossip is EW.com's report that Kristen Bell (she of that little show called Veronica Mars) will serve as the never-seen narrator/blogger.UPDATE: Josh Schwartz just told Ausiello on the CW red carpet that Bell will likely be replaced should Mars live on.Contrary to previous chatter, Supernatural will stay in place as Smallville's Thursday lead-out, while a new twist has One Tree Hill being held for mid-season, at which point it would air uninterrupted (because airing uninterrupted is the new black).Once the CW coughs up its actual itinerary, we'll post it pronto to the Hottest Fall TV blog.
A rep for Evan Rachel Wood scoffs at talk that the 19-year-old's love scene with beau Marilyn Manson featured in the video for "Heart-shaped Glasses" was the, um, real deal, telling the New York Daily News, "It's called acting." Whew.... Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox will lend their likenesses and voices to Transformers: The Game, a next-gen title based on the upcoming film.... FX ponied up some $30 mil for rights to Ghost Rider, Premonition, Underworld: Evolution and The Grudge 2.... Night at the Museum last week topped the DVD rental chart for a third straight time, while Because I Said So was the No. 1 seller. Really? Because I Said So? Really? Oh, Mother's Day. Gotcha.
TVGuide.com's wellest wishes go out to The Office's Jenna Fischer — one of our first-ever celebrity bloggers — who on Tuesday took a spill down the steps of an NYC club hosting an upfronts event and suffered four fractures in her back. "She avoided anything scary near the spine," Jenna's rep tells the New York Daily News. Office mate Angela Kinsey and Jenna's hubby, director James Gunn (who jetted in from L.A.), stayed with her overnight at the hospital. Sidelined for four to six weeks, Fischer had to cancel a Conan O'Brien drop-by and a Harper's Bazaar shoot, the Post reports, but will make a full recovery in time to shoot Season 4 of The Office this summer.Now, not to suggest anything, but... Dunder-Mifflin's Karen was seen leaving the scene with a canister of ACME ball bearings.