matt.mitovich

Casting About: Jamie Kennedy Goes... Bionic?!

OK, now this sounds funny: Per the Hollywood Reporter, in the Fox pilot Me & Lee?, Jamie Kennedy will play a guy whose aches and pains are are cured when he undergoes "bionic" back surgery in the basement of Six Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors' Bev Hills mansion. According to the plot, Farrah's ex  who'll play himself  built a secret lab down there after his series work left him fixated on bionics. In other casting news, Tom Wilkinson and David Morse have been added to the ensemble cast of HBO's John Adams miniseries, in which Paul Giamatti plays the second U.S. prez. Wilkinson will play ol' Ben Franklin; Morse, George Washington.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Today in Hollywood DUIs: It's Vivica A. Fox!

You're rich. You're wasted. Why on earth wouldn't you take a limo? (Or at least a cab.) Maybe Vivica A. Fox can tell us. On Tuesday, after the Kill Bill bruiser was pulled over for doing 80, she flunked her field sobriety test, TMZ.com reports. In jail, she then took two breathalyzer tests that confirmed she was over the legal limit of drunkenness. No test was required to reveal that she was over the legal limit of stupidity.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Musical Notes: Jurassic Rockers Join the 21st Century

Paul McCartney has a latte explaining to do. Yesterday, Starbucks announced that the ex-Beatle had officially sold out, er, had been signed as the first artist on the coffee giant's Hear Music label. Apparently, this left him feeling quite magnanimous, as the New York Post reports that he sent soon-to-be ex Heather Mills a gargantuan bouquet following her Dancing with the Stars debut. In other music news, Elton John has announced that for the first time more than 30 of his albums will be available for sale online. As he told Reuters, he's pleased for his fans  foremost among them, his accountant.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Family Matters: Updates on Anna Nicole, Angelina

This is no way to get the tabloids off your back. Although Court TV has reported that a swab test already has been performed on Anna Nicole Smith's 6-month-old, Dannielynn, the deceased's lawyer and the supposed father of the baby, Howard K. Stern, is trying to block the ruling that ordered the test in the first place. Dude, if you're the dad, chill; if you're not, give it up already. In other parenting news, Angelina Jolie left Hanoi yesterday with more than a lousy T-shirt: She took home her new son, Pax Thien Jolie (né Pham Quang Sang), whom she renamed with the Latin word for "peace" and the Vietnamese word for "sky" or "heaven." 'Cause Bob just didn't have the same ring to it.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Nicole Richie Diagnosed at Last! Here's the Skinny....

I know you were worried, so I'll just come right out with it: The Simple Life star's recent bouts of light-headedness were not, in fact, caused by empty-headedness; rather, she's hypoglycemic, People says. Which translates to: she has low blood sugar. Which in turn translates to: well, duh! One's blood can't really get sugar in it unless you eat something, now can it?

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Short Cuts: Reba, High School Musical and More

Reba McEntire returns for an unprecedented ninth time to host the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, to be broadcast live Tuesday, May 15, on CBS.... Disney Channel presents High School Musical: The Concert, an on-stage and behind-the-scenes look at the sold-out concert tour, on May 4. Speaking of Corbin Bleu's Sideshow Bob-esque hair, Jump In! arrives on DVD April 3.... Cheers barkeep Woody Harrelson's 68-year-old father, Charles, was found dead in his prison cell, apparently of natural causes, the Associated Press reports. At the time, he was serving two life sentences for the murder of a Texas judge.Thursday's Today's News was written by Ben Katner.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Desperate Househunk-Gone-Wild Enters Rehab

Is it sadder that another celeb has checked into rehab or that the tabs didn't even care enough to report on his drinking problem to begin with? Debate amongst yourselves while I type up this item about Jesse Metcalfe. The onetime Desperate Housewives bush-wacker has checked himself into rehab for alcohol abuse this week, the New York Post reports. I thought he was looking a little more puff than buff in John Tucker Must Die. Thursday's Today's News was written by Ben Katner.

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Letterman's Calvert "Larry Bud" DeForest Dead at 85

Entertainer Calvert DeForest, perhaps best known for the "Larry 'Bud' Melman" character he played on David Letterman's late-night NBC and CBS talk shows off and on for some 20 years, died on Monday, at age 85. Says Letterman in a statement, "Everyone always asked if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself  a genuine, modest and nice man. He was a beloved part of our show, and we will miss him."

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

Idol Chatter: Who Was Sanjaya's Sobbing Superfan?

Melinda Doolittle may have gotten raves from the judges, but the real star of American Idol this week was Ashley Ferl, the 13-year-old from Riverside, California, whose tears rolled as the cameras rolled. Ashley, who attended the taping with her mom and a teenage pal on Tuesday, could hardly contain her excitement when the 11 Idol finalists took the stage. When Sanjaya, one of the four Idols she told Ryan Seacrest she's rooting for, smiled in her direction during his performance of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," Ashley wept uncontrollably, in front of 37 million viewers.Then again, the pigtailed teen never expected to be in such close proximity to Idol's fledgling stars. Is it any wonder that she was overwhelmed?According to producers, the Ferl family landed on Idol after snagging tickets to a taping of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?. Soon after receiving the ducats, they realized that the package also included access to a rehearsal of either Idol or 5th Grader. Clearly, it was...

Thu, Mar 22, 2007

ABC Renews Brothers, Men in Trees and 12 Others

This just in from the Alphabet:"ABC Television Network today announced early pickups for the 2007-08 season for new breakout series Brothers & Sisters, Men in Trees and Ugly Betty, as well as returning hits The Bachelor, Boston Legal, Dancing with the Stars, Desperate Housewives, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Greys Anatomy, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Lost. "These series join previously announced [pickups of] Americas Funniest Home Videos, Supernanny and Wife Swap."Chin up, Erika Christensen, it's early yet. Worst case, "Montgomery's Ward" could always use a 27th female cast member.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Sci Fi Finds Its Tin Man, Wicked Witch and Lion

Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming and Richard Dreyfuss are in place as DG, the brain-deficient Glitch and the wizard-like Mystic Man, but what about the rest of the Oz-some gang? Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man mini has tapped Neal McDonough (Minority Report) for the title role, says the Hollywood Reporter, and has also cast Raoul Trujillo (Apocalypto) and Kathleen Robertson (90210) as the wolverine Raw and the sexy sorceress Azkadellia. Production starts this month, with an eye on a December premiere.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Guest List: Brothers Hunk Heats Up Six Degrees

A few guest-casting quickies: Jason Lewis (currently appearing on Brothers & Sisters) drops by ABC's Six Degrees on March 30, playing a guy Bridget Moynahan's Whitney beds on the rebound. Then on April 6, Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) plays Whit's real-estate-developer dad. Dave Foley plays a guy with a crush on Old Christine on April 9. Daniel Benzali ("the bald guy from Murder One," as SNL once put it) visits CBS' Jericho on April 11.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

In the Works: Kiefer Has a Phenomenal Idea

 Kiefer Sutherland's production shingle has nabbed a script-development deal at Sci Fi for Phenomenon, which is not the long-awaited TV adaptation of the 1996 Travolta film, but a drama series following a team of scientists led by "a young female prodigy with a mysterious past," says Variety. Described by Dawn Ostroff as "the evolution" of the network's "content wraps," the CW is partnering with the Extra folk on CW Now, a TV news magazine pilot aimed at the 18-34 audience. CBS has ordered a pilot for Power of 10, a game show that, à la Family Feud, has players guessing the results of nationwide surveys, but this time with a chance to win $10 mil (versus Feud's, like, $935).

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

A.I.'s Judging Jury Gets a Foreman

Pugilist turned lean, mean griddle giant George Foreman will join Season 1 holdover Peter Jones and fellow newbies Pat Croce (a former NBA exec and talk-show host) and Sara Blakely (undergarments entrepreneur/creator of Spanx) on the judging panel for the new cycle of ABC's American Inventor. Other tweaks to the compeition, according to Variety: The judges will kick off the competition by visiting six cities and culling a finalist from each; the half-dozen wannabe Thomas Edisons will then build prototypes, with the best entrepenuer netting $1 million and a chance to mass-produce his or her gizmo. They also got a new host you won't recognize.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

That Ellen DeGeneres, She's a Real Card

American Greetings is developing a line of 32 greeting cards featuring illustrations of comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and her quirky observations. The cards are expected to be in stores by summertime, and when they are, don't get confused as you try to open them: the front flap swings the other way.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Music Notes: Billboard Says Goodbye Vegas, Hello Grits

Fox is fixin' to announce that its annual Billboard Music Awards will slip the word "Country" before "Music," relocate the kudosfest from Sin City to Nashville and reprioritize its accolades accordingly. The decision, says Variety, comes after the '06 Billboard show hit a sour note with its lowest ratings to date. There's a song in that somewhere.In other music-awards-show news  and isn't there always some?  Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Bon Keith Jovi have been added to the 2007 CMT Music Awards, airing April 16 at 8 pm/ET.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

At the Movies: Hitler Film Hails Tom Cruise

Director Bryan Singer has wooed Tom Cruise into taking a role in an untitled thriller based on an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the height of World War II.... The Devil Wears Prada's Emily Blunt will topline The Young Victoria, a biopic of the 19th-century monarch.... Jennifer Connelly, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly and Elijah Wood will voice rag dolls from a parallel universe in the animated 9.... Emile Hirsch is in talks to star in the Wachowski siblings' Speed Racer, to film this summer and to be released next year.... New Line has acquired film rights to the hit video game Gears of War.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Britney Exits Rehab, But K-Fed Won't "Reward" Her with Custody of Kids

Britney Spears has left rehab after a month-long stint  a 29-day improvement over her previous personal best, sure, but shy of the typical 45-day stay at her facility of choice. "[Britney] has been released by the Promises Malibu Treatment Center after successfully completing their program," her manager tells People in a statement. He has also asked that the press now respect her privacy. Spears voluntarily entered Promises  which tags you $48,000 for a month's stay  on Feb. 20, after a weekend romp capped by her shaving of her own purty melon. UPDATE: A source close to Kevin Federline tells TV's Extra that Brit's estranged husband and his attorney "are not about to return the kids [Sean Preston and Jayden James] as a reward for completing rehab. Kevin has had full custody for six weeks prior to her rehab... and will continue to have custody. [Spears] will have increased custody as long as she demonstrates she's living life with the best interests of her children."

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Short Cuts: Clinton on GMA, Bingo and More!

Presidential contender Hillary Clinton speaks to voters in a town-hall-type setting on Monday's Good Morning America.... The New York Post "hears" that Lisa Rinna and hubby Harry Hamlin may join Broadway's Chicago. Gee, ya think?.... The John Waters-hosted 'Til Death Do Us Part drew 1.2 million viewers on Monday, giving Court TV a 27 percent improvement in that 10 pm hour versus a year ago.... Contestant auditions for National Bingo Night begin March 24 at the ABC affiliate in Denver, Colorado, and the Cadillac Ranch in Nashville.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Prison Breaking News! Boys Get Season 3 Run

Fox has picked up Prison Break for a third season  but earning that green light was no easy feat for the serialized thriller that, having busted its cons out of the clink at the end of Season 1, ran the risk of exhausting not just its fugitives, but its storytelling options. Coming up with a winning Season 3 setup "was absolutely the toughest nut to crack thus far," series creator Paul T. Scheuring tells TVGuide.com. "We always had the first two seasons mapped out in concept, and felt we'd cross the bridge of Season 3 when we got there."What did Scheuring come up with? Understandably, he says, "There's not too much we can divulge. But by the end of the season finale [filmed last week and airing April 2], people will understand where the characters stand, and we leave a lot of mysteries on the table."And which characters will be standing at the sophomore run's end? "More than half of the cast members will be back, and they know who they are," says Scheuring. "But I can't reveal...

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

You Can Do It! Adam Sandler Subs for Sick Letterman

For what is believed to be the first time ever, David Letterman showed up for work but ultimately deemed himself too sick to perform. As such, the Associated Press reports, Adam Sandler, who was to be a guest on Tuesday night's show, stepped in as Late Show's host.Letterman, who is battling a "stomach bug," will have time to recover since he pretaped Wednesday's show and is preempted by March Madness coverage the rest of the week.

Wed, Mar 21, 2007

Green Hornet Has the Big-screen Buzzzzz

Columbia Pictures, which has Spider-Man 3 swinging into theaters on May 4, has its eye on a new "bug": the Green Hornet, which was created by the Lone Ranger's Fran Striker and George Trendle and finds millionaire Brit Reid moonlighting as a masked crime fighter.The Green Hornet originated as a '30s radio serial and was once a TV series starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee (as sidekick Kato). The property, says Variety, had previously been eyed by Universal and Miramax, with Kevin Smith developing it for 'Max a few years ago, but Sony-based Neal H. Moritz (an executive producer on Prison Break) has emerged as the guy to actually shepherd the feature franchise. Kato and the Green Hornet, Moritz tells Variety, "are my favorite crime-fighting duo." (No offense, Linc and Michael.)

Wed, Mar 21, 2007