matt.mitovich

Elisabeth's View of Rosie: We're Rivals, But Friends

Responding to waves and waves of on-screen evidence punctuated by backstage gossip that she and Rosie O'Donnell simply do not get along, Elisabeth Hasselbeck qualifies their adversarial give-and-take as simply a professional one. "Politically, we're rivals. That is clear," The View's youngest cohost confirms to People. "However, we are personally friends. We are on e-mail all day long with each other." Now that is scary, because you have to peg Hasselbeck as being one of those types who forward you decade-old chain letters and urban-legend nonsense.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

Fall 2007: Undeclared's Marshall Is in Hell

The latest pilot castings from Variety and the Reporter: Timm Sharp (Undeclared, and a recent guest star on 'Til Death) is Jason Biggs' annoying roommate in the CBS comedy I'm in Hell. Nathan Gamble (Babel) has landed the lead in Fox's untitled comedy about a 10-year-old helped through life by his crazy grandfather (Tom Conti). Macey Cruthird (Hope & Faith's Hayley) is Gamble's older sister. Ian Gomez (Felicity) is Steve Howey's veterinary-clinic partner in Fox's The Beast. Dash Mihok (Hollywoodland) has joined ABC's Cavemen.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

Will Ferrell's Blades Reaps Box-office Glory

With a $33 million haul, Blades of Glory topped the weekend box office, which was down 13 percent versus a year ago but is still up four percent for the year to date. Rounding out the top five were Meet the Robinsons (opening with $25.1 million), 300 ($11.2 mil), last week's champ TMNT ($9.2 mil) and the unsinkable Wild Hogs ($8.4 mil). Blades of Glory represents the second-best opening of Will Ferrell's big-screen career, behind Ricky Bobby ($47 mil).

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

In the Works: HBO Drama Revisits 2000 Recount

Sydney Pollack is directing Recount, a film chronicling the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election, specifically the human drama of those involved in the controversial Florida recounts. A spring 2008 premiere on HBO is eyed.... Writers/directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland are turning 2006's Quinceañera into an ABC Family series. The pair are also penning for HBO Sensational, a film looking at Errol Flynn's scandalous affair with a 15-year-old girl. (To be fair, her MySpace page claimed she was 19.)

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

All You Need Is DSL: Beatles to Finally Hit iTunes?

Can't buy me love, sure, but will you soon be able to buy a download of "Penny Lane"? EMI is holding a news conference on Monday featuring "a special live performance" and to unveil "an exciting new digital offering," the Associated Press reports. Though no details were released, the speculation is that the Beatles' longtime online-averse catalog will finally be made available via iTunes. Now when you play "I Am the Walrus" backwards, it turns out Paul isn't dead, he just has his "Away" message turned on.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

At the Movies: Jodie Foster Pairs with Sunshine Starlet

Per Variety, Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin are near deals to star in Nim's Island, a fantasy pic about a young girl who, when her scientist father is lost at sea, communicates electronically with a reclusive author. Breslin has also booked the period film American Girl.... Per the Hollywood Reporter, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman are in talks to play the parents of Emile Hirsch's Speed Racer.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

Mark Burnett Gives AOL a Million Dollar Idea

AOL, which last year launched a Gold Rush  that is, the Mark Burnett-produced online game that drew nearly five million unique visitors  is again teaming with the reality-TV guru on Million Dollar Bill. Sources tell Reuters that the new contest will offer the titular payday to the person who matches the serial numbers on any $1 bill to a winning combination. Man, "dollar-bill poker" now seems so 1983.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

Short Cuts: Survivor, The Closer, Meatballs and More!

Jay Bienstock, Mark Burnett's longtime collaborator on Survivor and The Apprentice, has inked a seven-figure deal to develop unscripted projects for CBS Paramount Network Television, says Variety.... Superfans of TNT's The Closer, check this out.... DVD releases have been set for Meatballs: Special Edition (June 5) and Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (leaving "the vault" for the first time on Dec. 11. Yeah, I'm thinking SNL, too.).... Brothers & Sisters' Balthazar Getty and his wife, Rosetta, are expecting their fourth child, says People.... Correction: Greg Grunberg's charity project ("Heroes' Greg Grunberg Proves to Be a Real Superman") is the Pediatric Epilepsy Project.

Mon, Apr 2, 2007

Family Ties Son Arrested for Assault

Brian Bonsall, who played Andy Keaton in Family Ties, was arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting his girlfriend, the AP reports. Bonsall, 25, is being held in the Boulder County jail on charges of second-degree assault and false imprisonment after his girlfriend told police he poured an alcoholic drink on her face while she slept, put her in a choke hold and threw her onto a bed when she tried to leave. Bonsall has unsuccessfully argued self-defense.What would we do, baby, without bail?

Sat, Mar 31, 2007

Love Notes: Osmond Ends It, Usher Seeks a Wedding

I guess she's a little bit disgruntled. Marie Osmond and husband Brian Blosil are divorcing after 20 years of marriage, the pair announced Friday. The couple have eight (!) children, some of whom are adopted. (I know, you thought Angelina was the first to do it and all).... Also per the AP, Usher is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, stylist Tameka Foster.

Sat, Mar 31, 2007

Will Paula Abdul Make Like Martha Stewart?

American Idol's Paula Abdul has pacted with APA, says the Hollywood Reporter, with designs on "developing multigenerational, international lifestyle branding opportunities." I think what that means is we can someday look forward to having in our homes such products as Forever Your Curl Hair Serum, MC Skat Kat Litter, and Straight Up Male Performance Enhancer.

Sat, Mar 31, 2007

South Park Has the British Royally... Um, Upset

Though it has yet to be broadcast across the pond, this week's episode of South Park  in which (Spoiler alert?) the queen kills herself after swallowing the barrel of a pistol  is already igniting outrage. The U.K.'s Mirror, for one, is touting it as the Comedy Central series' "most shocking episode yet." In response, a source at the cabler tells the tab, "South Park has never shied away from offending people in the name of comedy. Nobody is off-limits." A spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's hoo-ha, which is subject to an animated afront of its own in the episode, has yet to comment.

Sat, Mar 31, 2007

George Clooney: Prove Me a Liar, Win $1 Million!

Responding to rumblings that he is responsible for a viral video of director David O. Russell profanely berating Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees, George Clooney  who famously clashed with Russell on Three Kings  has denied any culpability, and is willing to put his money where his mouth is. "Neither the sound man... nor yours truly [leaked] the David O. Russell tape," Clooney says in a statement. "I saw it when we were working on Ocean's 12 [back in 2004], and there have been quite a few copies traveling around town for the last couple of years. Any rumor that either of us put it on the Internet is simply false. And I'd offer a million bucks to anyone who would prove otherwise." And just like that, I Heart Huckabees becomes interesting.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Fall 2007: ABC Discovers Its Cave... People

The latest crop of pilot castings: ABC has tapped Nick Kroll, Bill English and Kaitlin Doubleday to star as Nick, Joel and Kate in its comedy pilot inspired by the GEICO cavemen ads, says Variety. The best I can come up with is English plays "Johnson" in the Raisin Bran Crunch ads and appears in T-Mobile's "Secret Lovers" spot, while Doubleday's biggest role seems to be Waiting. TVGuide.com has learned that Sarah Joy Brown (Cold Case) has joined the cast of Company Man, Fox's Jason Behr-fronted spy drama boasting gobs and gobs of 24 cred. Brown plays the hard-ass manager of a top-secret project. Veteran actor Tom Conti will star in an untitled Fox comedy about a 10-year-old boy guided through life by his slightly loony grandfather, Reuters reports. Conti isn't playing the boy.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

ABC Vetoes Donny Osmond's Vote

To the consternation of prematurely balding men and chicken fetishists everywhere, ABC has pulled the plug on The Great American Dream Vote, which in its first two airings served up far-from-great ratings (despite a plum Dancing with the Stars lead-in for its Tuesday bow). Dream Vote, which isnt expected to air its remaining episodes, will be replaced by (you get two guesses... ) George Lopez repeats.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Bells Rings for Andrea Martin, O.C. Cutie

TV Guide has learned exclusively that Andrea Martin (SCTV, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) will guest-star on the April 20 episode of Fox's The Wedding Bells, playing no less than the titular trio's mama. Also on board for that outing is Autumn Reeser (The O.C.'s Taylor) as a blonde pop singer bride-to-be with a Sound of Music fetish.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

No Clever Headline: Spears, K-Fed Settle Divorce

Following a five-hour meeting with attorneys present  during which you have to figure Brit at some point groused, "This is as long as rehab, y'all!"  Ms. Spears and estranged hubby Kevin Federline arrived at "a global settlement on all issues of their marriage and custody of their two children," a spokesperson for K-Fed tells the AP. While no details on the agreement were released, a source close to the talks tells Us that rumors of a $1 million settlement and a "50/50" custody agreement are "inaccurate." Though if K-Fed's itching for a mil, he may want to rifle through George Clooney's hard drive.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Halle Berry Cops to "Incredibly Selfish" Suicide Attempt

In this Sunday's Parade, Halle Berry reveals that in the wake of her stormy marriage to baseball player David Justice, she grew so distraught that she sought to end her life. "I was sitting in my car, and I knew the gas was coming," she recalls, "when I had an image of my mother finding me."Thinking about all that her mother had sacrificed for her kids, Berry realized, in the nick of time, that to go through with the act "would be an incredibly selfish thing." Still, she shares, "My sense of worth was so low [that] I had to reprogram myself to see the good in me. I promised myself I would never be a coward again."

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Rock Star Alec Baldwin Pays Soldier's College Tab

Moved by a March 4 New York Times story about an 18-year-old soldier's last day with loved ones before shipping out to Iraq, Alec Baldwin  a vocal critic of the war  has offered to help pay for Pvt. Resha Kane's college tuition once she's done toiling for Uncle Sam. A rep for the 30 Rocker, who will at a date TBD meet the Kanes to hand off a check, tells the AP, "It's a great example of how people from different backgrounds can agree in the importance of supporting our troops."

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

At the Movies: Sisters' Brother Plays Poet

Per the Hollywood Reporter, Matthew Rhys (Brothers & Sisters' Kevin) will play Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in The Best Time of Our Lives, an indie biopic also starring Lindsay Lohan, Keira Knightley and Cillian Murphy.... Mark Wahlberg will star in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening.... Rod Lurie is remaking Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs.... Paula Patton (Denzel's Déjà Vu love interest) is joining Kiefer Sutherland in Mirrors.... Per Variety, Hilary Swank is developing and may star in a remake of Intimate Strangers, in which a woman thinks she's visiting a new shrink but instead bares her soul to an accountant. Ha!.... Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd is on track for a Dec. 21 (limited) release.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Horror Pic Punished for Crude Ad Campaign

What hell hath the MPAA wrought on Elisha Cuthbert's Captivity? According to Variety, After Dark Films has been slapped with an unprecedented sanction  a 30-day suspension of the ratings-assignment process, putting the film's May 18 release date in jeopardy  as punishment for disseminating explicit and unapproved ads featuring Cuthbert in various states of non-cougar torture. Says an MPAA exec, "The sanctions are severe because this was an unacceptable and flagrant violation of [our] rules and procedures."

Fri, Mar 30, 2007

Short Cuts: Housewives Exit, Dissed America and More

Former Frasier scribe Joe Keenan will exit Desperate Housewives at the end of this season, after just one round with the serial. Though the split is described as "amicable," insiders tell Variety there was tension between Keenan and series creator Marc Cherry.... CMT won't Miss America. The cabler has dropped the pageant, leaving the 86-year-old competition without a home for the second time in three years.... Creepshow 3 premieres on DVD May 15.... My Trivial Matt'rs blog has been updated.

Fri, Mar 30, 2007