matt.mitovich

Short Cuts: South Park, Hawaii Five-O and More!

South Park presents its first-ever episode in HD today via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Comedy Central series debuts its 11th season Wednesday.... NBC News vice president Alexandra Wallace is the new executive producer of Nightly News with Brian Williams.... Cartoon Network's Adult Swim premieres Blood +, a series based on the anime Blood: The Last Vampire, on Saturday, March 10, at 12:30 am/ET.... Hawaii Five-O: The First Season is now available on DVD.... Are you a Southern California resident looking to hang with Tara Conner and this year's 52 Miss USA contenders? Check out the contest at UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.

Tue, Mar 6, 2007

'Night, Knights: ABC Sits Sitcom

Ray Romano can breathe easy  for now. ABC has pulled The Knights of Prosperity from the schedule for the foreseeable future, even though four episodes remain unaired and there's an outstanding order for nine additional scripts. Most recently, the Donal Logue starrer drew an audience of 4.2 million, hemorrhaging nearly two mil from lead-in George Lopez.Filling Knights' Wednesdays-at-8:30 slot starting this week will be a rerun of According to Jim, followed on March 14 and 21 by episodes of Lopez.

Tue, Mar 6, 2007

Who's Got Talent? Regis, No. Springer, Yes!

Trash-talk king and onetime Dancing with the Stars hoofer Jerry Springer has been tapped to succeed Regis Philbin as the host of America's Got Talent, when NBC's hit talent competition returns for a second cycle this summer. "I am absolutely thrilled that Jerry has agreed to host the next season of our show, for a number of reasons," executive producer Simon Cowell says in a statement. "I wish him  and he is going to need it!  the best of luck."In other NBC/reality-TV news, the inaugural Los Angeles-based edition of The Apprentice will come to a close on Sunday, April 22, with a live finale held at the Hollywood Bowl.

Tue, Mar 6, 2007

Xanadon't: Kristen Bell Won't Toll for Broadway

You have to believe... it was meant to be. Despite buzz that Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, might front a Broadway musical based on the infamous film Xanadu, the Olivia Newton-John role has instead gone to Kerry Butler, who last graced the Great White Way as Little Shop of Horrors' Audrey and recently lathered up One Life to Live. Though Jane Krakowski sold investors on her rollerskating reading in the workshop, yet ultimately had to defer to her 30 Rock obligation, lead producer Robert Ahrens says in a statement that Butler, who created the role of Kira in the first Xanadu reading, "was our first choice, and we are thrilled that her schedule has now opened up to join our production."Xanadu will no longer open in time to be eligible for for the 2007 Tony Awards, but instead will start previews on May 23, then officially open June 26.

Sat, Mar 3, 2007

NAACP Awards Play the Grey's Card

Grey's Anatomy was the big winner at the 38th Annual NAACP Image Awards, taking home a quartet of statues, including lead actor in a drama series for Isaiah Washington. The lightning-rod serial also came out on top in the best-drama, supporting-actress (Chandra Wilson) and writing (Shondra Rhimes' "It's the End of the World" episode) contests.ABC's Ugly Betty followed with three wins of its own, in the comedy-series, supporting-actress/comedy (Vanessa Williams) and writing/comedy categories.Among TV's other winners were Close to Home's Kimberly Elise (lead actress/drama), Everybody Hates Chris' Tyler James Williams and Girlfriends' Tracee Eliis Ross (in the lead-acting/comedy slots), House's Omar Epps (supporting actor/drama), and Girlfriends' Reggie Hayes (supporting actor/comedy). For the full list of winners, go here.

Sat, Mar 3, 2007

Idol Castoff: "Antonella's Strong.... She'll Pull Through"

In a Friday-afternoon conference call with reporters, Alaina Alexander  one of the two females voted off American Idol this week  said that Antonella Barba is holding steady as she continues on in the competition, all the while an online photo scandal percolating in the outside world. "You know, Antonella's a trouper," Alaina told TVGuide.com. "She's strong, and she's going to be just fine. Everything that's going on... she'll pull through."As for breaking down in tears during her Thursday-night swan song, to the point that the other gals had to chime in on the lyrics, Alaina told us, "I was OK until the music started, but that triggered something and I had to let it go. But that's just me. I tried my best!"

Sat, Mar 3, 2007

Radcliffe On Board for Final Two Potter Pics

Daniel Radcliffe  currently netting rave reviews for his performance in the raw across the pond in Peter Shaffer's Equus  has signed on the dotted line for the final two of the seven Harry Potter films, Reuters reports.With Order of the Phoenix due out later this year, Radcliffe and Co. will step before the cameras for Half-blood Prince in September. A timetable for the series' ender, Deathly Hallows (in bookstores July 21), has yet to be determined.

Sat, Mar 3, 2007

Casting About: Richard Dreyfuss Takes a Wizard

 Richard Dreyfuss is joining Sci Fi Channel's Tin Man, playing a wizard known as Mystic Man, Reuters reports. This leaves the roles of Raw, a wolverine creature, and Cain, a former policeman with a scarred heart, to be cast in the Oz-some miniseries. Exclusive: Clancy Brown (Lost) will play Rudy Blue, "a fallen baseball idol whose all-star career is overshadowed by sketchy investments and sexual indescretions," on the April 9 episode of FX's The Riches (premiering Mar. 12). Big You-know-who has been replaced by... Cliff Clavin. Cheers' John Ratzenberger has claimed Vincent Pastore's spot on Dancing with the Stars, ABC announced on Friday.

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Fall 2007: Joan of Arcadia Sees Dead People

Who's doing what and for whom this pilot season? Per Variety and the Hollywood Reporter: Amber Tamblyn will star in CBS' Babylon Fields, a drama in which deceased people who are resurrected try to resume their lives. Good luck with that, gang. Rita Moreno will play the matriarch of a rum business-owning clan in CBS' untitled drama starring Jimmy Smits. Faith Ford is the wife of one of ABC's Carpoolers. Laura Harris (24) has copped the fourth and final lead in ABC's Women's Murder Club. But what about Brian? Krista Allen has come aboard NBC's Business Class, playing a rival soft-drink company rep.

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Fox Adds to 5th Grader's Workload

See what insane if inflated ratings will get you? This just in from Fox:Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? will air four original one-hour episodes Thursdays, March 29, April 5, April 12 and April 19, at 8 pm/ET. This is in addition to the previously announced airings Thursdays, March 8 (at 9 pm), March 15 and 22 (at 8).

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Coming Soon: Pamela Anderson and Spider-Man

Pamela Anderson is teaming up with her old Baywatch producers on a "fantasy-based drama" set at a Malibu beach club, the New York Post's Page Six reports. The untitled series will start shooting this spring.... Kids' WB will premiere The Amazing Spider-Man, a new animated series from Sony, sometime in early 2008 as part of the network's Saturday-morning programming block, says Variety.

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

At the Movies: Warner Eyes Plame/CIA Scandal

Per Variety, Warner Bros. is developing a feature based on marrieds Valerie Plame and Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and the CIA leak scandal in which they were embroiled in 2003.... Joshua Jackson, David Denman (The Office), James Kyson Lee (Heroes) and John Hensley (Nip/Tuck) have joined the psychological thriller Shutter. Jackson and Rachael Taylor will play a married couple.... Steel Magnolias' Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis are in talks to reunite for Poor Things, a dark comedy about con women who befriend and then murder homeless men in order to collect their life-insurance policies. Funny!

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Short Cuts: Bill Clinton Pimps TV Land, Dora and More!

TV Land has elected former president Bill Clinton to serve as a keynote speaker at the cabler's March 23 upfront. Oh, what Monica used to do up front.... Nick Jr. premieres a new episde of Dora the Explorer, "Star Mountain," on March 12.... Flushed Away unseated The Departed as the top DVD seller last week, while Babel was the No. 1 rental/OTC sleep aid.... DVD release dates have been set for Children of Men (March 27) and The Good Shepherd (April 3).

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Children of Ho Chi Minh: Angelina to Adopt Again

Angelina Jolie filed papers this week to adopt a child from Vietnam, the director of the country's International Adoption Agency tells the Associated Press. Jolie and her partner/companion/beau/get-married-already Brad Pitt currently have three kids: Maddox, 5, adopted from Cambodia; Zahara, 2, from Ethiopia; and Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May. (It was in the papers, you may recall.)

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Heigl "Embarrassed" by Publicized Grey's Dispute

Grab your hip waders, because the irony is about to get deep. Katherine Heigl is "embarrassed" by the made-for-public-consumption spectacle that her remuneration dispute with Grey's Anatomy has become  but wags the scolding finger at her employer. "[I am] disappointed that Touchstone [actually now called ABC Television Studios] felt it necessary to divulge private employment information [in the studio's official comment]," she says in a statement. "I had hoped I would be able to deal with this issue confidentially, with my bosses."Heigl goes on to say that the reason she walked away from the table  where a proactive, mid-contract pay bump was being offered to her  is "because I wanted to treat myself with the respect I was not getting from [my bosses]." That said, "No matter how unhappy I am about their decision to respond to this publicly, I continue to be passionate about and committed to this character."

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

What's That Tingling? Spider-Man Meets Heroes!

During this coming Monday's episode of NBC's Heroes  which wraps up the season's second storytelling arc, and ends with quite the cliff-hanger  watch for the premiere of a 60-second clip from Spider-Man 3, which swings into theaters May 4.Immediately following Heroes, Mary Jane and the rest of you Peter Parker fans can catch a seven-and-a-half-minute sequence from the film, streamed in high definition and exclusively at NBC.com for 24 hours. Wait, 24 is that other show, isn't it?

Fri, Mar 2, 2007

Letterman Gets the Scoop: McCain Will Run for Prez

On Wednesday's Late Show with David Letterman, Sen. John McCain dropped a bombshell: "The last time we were on this program... you asked me if I would come back on this show if I was going to announce," the Republican told Dave. "I am announcing that I will be a candidate for president of the United States." McCain added that his formal announcement would come in April. Letterman went on to ask the senator if he would contemplate being veep, to which the politico responded, "In the last election, there was some conversation about me being vice president. I said, 'You know, I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in the dark, fed scraps.... Why the heck would I want to do that all over again?'" Hmm, if the POTUS thing doesn't work out, maybe McCain is Conan's successor?Thursday's Today's News was written by Ben Katner.

Thu, Mar 1, 2007

Anna Nicole: Funeral Scheduled... with a Twist

Anna Nicole Smith will finally be buried on Friday, the Associated Press reports. But, in keeping with the bizarro theme that ran through her life, she won't simply be laid to rest next to her son in the Bahamas. No, she'll be laid to rest next to him in a custom-made gown while a famous singer whose name has yet to be disclosed performs. Please tell me Elton John hasn't rewritten "Candle in the Wind" again.

Thu, Mar 1, 2007

Simon Says: Lay Off Antonella! But as for Hef....

How's this for irony? American Idol judge Simon Cowell chose a party at the Playboy Mansion, of all places, to speak out about the Antonella Barba naughty-bits pics scandal. "I think it's disgraceful that so-called friends would sell these pictures," he told People. "I really, really have a problem with that. A big problem." What I have a problem with is America's decision to keep the Barba doll over any number of more talented would-be contestants. But I digress....At the same fete, Playboy icon Hugh Hefner told Access Hollywood there is a "very real possibility" that he will invite Barba to simply cut to the chase and properly pose for his lad mag, if (meaning when) she gets the hook from Idol.

Thu, Mar 1, 2007

American Idols Dominate CMT Nominations

Not only is Carrie Underwood up for three statues at this year's CMT Music Awards (to be held Apr. 16), but underdog Kellie Pickler has scored a nod for Breakthrough Video. (Take that, Simon!) Besides Underwood, competitors in multiple categories include Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts and the Dixie Chicks  who will be contenders for the first time in four years. If that doesn't tell el presidente how low his approval rating has gotten, nothing will!

Thu, Mar 1, 2007

Fall 2007: Kiefer's Dad Punches In

The latest pilot developments, per Variety and the Hollywood Reporter: Could Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh be the new Larry Hagman and Linda Gray? ABC is hoping so  they've given the veteran actors the lead roles of the heads of a super-rich family in their drama pilot Dirty Sexy Money. (Personally, I would have gone with Stockard Channing.) NYPD Blue alum Bonnie Somerville has replaced Miranda Otto as a cosmetics mogul in Darren Star's new Execs and the City pilot Cashmere Mafia. Otto will now play a hotelier. Wendie Malick is a Democratic senator in an untitled ABC comedic soap about legislative aides on Capitol Hill.  Arielle Kebbel (The Grudge 2) is Kiele Sanchez's kid sister in ABC's Football Wives. Saw psycho Shawnee Smith has been cast in ABC's Traveling in Packs, a comedy about thirtysomething women who tell themselves being roomies is cool rather than pathetic. Harold Ramis has been tapped to direct Atlanta, the CBS comedy st...

Thu, Mar 1, 2007

24 Terrorists Targeting South Park?

It could happen. The Comedy Central 'toon's 11th season, which debuts Mar. 7 (at 10 pm/ET), will poke fun at both Fox's hit drama and Hillary Clinton. (Presumably not at the same time, but you never know.) Anyway, a day after each episode is broadcast, an uncensored version of it will be available for download at iTunes. Poor Tweak. He's never gonna be able to handle the stress of a half hour of 24.

Thu, Mar 1, 2007