Although Marie Osmond's father just passed away, Dancing with the Stars is confirming that the singer intends to continue on in the competition. She's even sticking to an Oprah appearance with brother Donny and more than 100 other relatives this Friday. According to Entertainment Tonight, the sibs will perform the theme from The Donny and Marie Show as a tribute to their dad. — Ben KatnerPOLL: Who's your current pick to win DWTS? Vote here.
Eat your hearts out, Spencer and Heidi — costars Brody Jenner and Lauren Conrad are stealing the spotlight, and they haven't even rehooked up yet. The playboy's dad, Olympian Bruce Jenner, tells People he thinks "Lauren would be very good" for his son. And the celebubrat's mom, Linda Thompson, agrees. "When I kissed [Brody] on his birthday," Conrad shares, "[his mom] gave him the double thumbs [up]. I almost died!" And they say microcalculated publicity-stunt romance is dead. — Ben Katner
Brad Pitt's babymama is none too pleased about W magazine's November issue featuring one cover of her and one of her mate's former missus. "Why would I comment on that?" Us says Angie snapped when asked about the competing covers at a press conference for Beowulf. "That matters because...?" Of course she did go on to reveal her family's Thanksgiving plans and her own lack of culinary prowess. Which matters because...? — Ben Katner
He's come a long way from Firehouse Dog. Bruce Greenwood has landed the role of Captain Kirk's predecessor, Christopher Pike, in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek prequel.... Saw slasher Shawnee Smith, Texas Chainsaw Massacre babe Erica Leerhsen and Day of the Dead's AnnaLynne McCord have been cast in Slaughter, as actresses unwittingly hired to be in a Japanese snuff film.... Billy Bob Thornton has been tapped to play a good-guy G-man in Eagle Eye, a thriller in which Shia LaBeouf (of all people) is accused of being a terrorist. — Ben Katner
Risky business, indeed. The John from Cincinnati actress was arrested on Oct. 30 after being pulled over for a traffic violation and flunking several field sobriety tests, TMZ reports. In her defense, she's always preferred essay questions to multiple choice.In semi-related news, General Hospital starlet Kirsten Storms has pleaded no contest in her own DUI case. — Ben Katner
File this under "freak, super." First an audience member accuses the illusionist of flying her to the Bahamas and raping her, then TMZ gets hold of papers that detail how his assistants are to get female audience members he fancies backstage at his shows while keeping their dates out of the way. A sample from the "What to Say" portion of the documents: "Do you know that David has recently bought some islands in the Bahamas? Well, they are beautiful and we are doing a lot of project[s] for these islands.... So we['d] like to keep in touch with you in case there is a job in the future we think you would be interested in." Shudder. In response, Copperfield's lawyer tells the website, "Recently, [he] was the victim of an unsuccessful extortion attempt by a disgruntled former employee. We believe these documents are a smear campaign which is a product of that unsuccessful shakedown effort." Sorry, still creeped out. — Ben Katner
A Boston priest has been arrested on charges of stalking Conan O'Brien. (Hey, for once at least it isn't child molestation.) The twisted padre contacted the talk-show host's parents and has been bombarding him with threatening letters since 2006. When he was denied entry to a taping of the program, his next missive asked, "Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" Sheesh. It's enough to make me glad I didn't pursue my original dream of becoming a superpopular male model. — Ben Katner
Lock up the liquor — and hide that cute Eric Mabius, too. (Can't be too careful.) Hopefully reformed party animal Lindsay Lohan is in talks to join Ugly Betty for three episodes, playing a former high-school classmate of Betty's who manages the fast-food joint where our heroine's pop punches the clock, sources tell the New York Observer. Natch, good-hearted Betty will try to give LiLo a leg up with a gig at "Mode."When TVGuide.com asked ABC about the buzz, they issued a firm "No comment," which to my thinking is the next best thing to a "Yes, it's true! Isn't this exciting?!" — Ben Katner
This Tuesday at a glance:8 pm/ETThe final numbers are now in, and NCIS drew its second-largest audience ever — 18.28 million total viewers, adding almost two mil week-to-week. Bones was a distant second with 9.58 mil (up 730K), yet delivered a season high. Behind Biggest Loser was ABC's combo of Cavemen (4.9 mil) and Carpoolers (5.5 mil), each of which plunged some 23 percent. Geek (2.62 mil) gained 350 thou.9 pmDancing with the Stars (16.96 mil) slipped 1.6 mil. (Perhaps those who vowed to abstain after Sabrina's exit meant business?) House surged 920K to 18.07 mil, while The Unit (11 mil) added a half mil. Reaper dipped 120 thou to hit another new low (2.4 mil).10 pmSVU (11.75 mil, -410K), Boston Legal (10.97 mil, -790K) and Cane (7.83 mil, -230K) were all down.
It's looking highly unlikely that Rosie O'Donnell will be the next new prime-time host on MSNBC. The cable news network has been courting O'Donnell for its 9 pm slot, which would put her against CNN's Larry King Live and Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes. There's little doubt that the opinionated O'Donnell would create some buzz as a cable news provocateur. But O'Donnell's insistence on a one-year deal has become a major obstacle in making that happen, according to sources inside NBC. MSNBC has already sold much of its ad time for 2008 based on the low ratings that it currently gets in the hour. So it would take another year before the network would see a boost in its ad rates and revenue from any ratings growth that O'Donnell might deliver. And if she were only around for one year, it would be tough to turn a profit on a megabucks star salary. NBC News declined comment on the talks. — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
Or for those who care to liken my headlines to a high-school newspaper: "Jessica Alba Gets Plow'd." The Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman may be making her first appearance on the Great White Way. According to the New York Post, though she possesses zero/zilch stage experience, Alba is being wooed to star in a spring 2008 revival of David Mamet's Speed the Plow. Alba's prospective role, Karen the secretary, last was inhabited (and not very well) by another Broadway baby, Madonna, back in '88.The Sopranos' James Gandolfini and Michael Imperioli are said to be on the producers' wish list for the two male leads.
For her efforts to stop the slaughter of dolphins in Japan (see related news story), teen queen Hayden Panettiere has been given a Compassion in Action award by peta2, the world's largest youth animal-rights organization. The Heroes actress and five surfers recently paddled into the sea to try to save some of the gentle mammals from boathook-wielding anglers. To no avail, unfortunately, but at least her involvement brought some attention to the animals' plight. — Ben Katner
Continuing to apologize for his use of the N-word to refer to his son's girlfriend, A&E bounty hunter Dog Chapman appeared on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes Tuesday night. "I have used the word for a long time not to mean what it does to a lot of black people that are offended," he said. "I will try never, ever, ever to use that word again. I did not ever want to be in the hot seat as I am right now." Wait, that's an apology? — Ben Katner
Oxygen is bringing back The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency for a third season starting Dec. 4. A third season? Sheesh. By the time they stick a fork in this baby, Janice is gonna need oxygen.... Ty Pennington: The E! True Hollywood Story premieres Nov. 17, at which point the hyper designer can at last say definitely that he has arrived.... Recovering as best she can from Viva Laughlin, Madchen Amick (along with Robin Givens) has landed a lead in Lifetime's The Verdict, a legal drama pilot about the trial of a pop star accused of ordering a hit on her lover. Or, for short: "Britney Spears: The E! True Hollywood Story." — Ben Katner
There must be something in the water. Not only is People reporting that former marrieds Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) and Johnathon Schaech have been caught snogging anew, but the New York Daily News says onetime on- and off-screen Office sweethearts John Krasinski and Rashida Jones were spotted canoodling at last week's SNL after-party. — Ben Katner
Is Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough dating Entourage's E, aka Kevin Connolly? "No, no, no," she tells People. They just "talk on the phone a lot." Oh, OK. They're girlfriends.... Tuesday on Today, Everyday Italian host Giada De Laurentiis revealed that she has a bun in the oven. She and hubby Todd Thompson are expecting a girl in April.... Nelson Aspen reports that Lost boy Dominic Monaghan was spied in the arms of a woman who was not girlfriend Evangeline Lilly at an L.A. cantina.... Could they be an odder couple? The New York Post recently caught Mandy Moore and Matthew Perry on a date. — Ben Katner
Noting that the pop tart makes way more than her ex, Kevin "Father of the Year" Federline, and that "the vast majority of the [custody] litigation deals with [her] conduct," L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon has ordered Britney Spears to pony up $120,000 for K-Fed's legal fees. Snap! — Ben Katner
Because of course, if you keep a promise, you can't possibly succeed in politics. Am I right? Anyway, the Colbert Report anchor said he'd run only in his native South Carolina, but when that state's Democratic Executive Council voted to keep his name off their primary ballot — by a painful vote of 13 to 3 (see related story) — he elected to give up. "I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle," he deadpanned. "It is time for this nation to heal." Although the Comedy Central star added, "This is not over! The fight goes on! The dream endures!" he also said that he'd be "going off the air until I can talk about this without weeping." Or until the writers' strike is over, whichever comes first. — Ben Katner
Hizzoner Michael Bloomberg was expected to tape a walk-on for Sex and the City: The Movie Tuesday night at Bryant Park. Meaning, if I'm not mistaken, Michael Ausiello and that cranky barista from the Starbucks on West 27th are the last Gothamites not to be invited to appear in the flick. That's gotta sting. — Ben Katner
Desperate housewife Eva Longoria Parker took some flak on Tuesday for crossing picket lines to go to work — while a bevy of other TV stars, like Old Christine's Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Wanda Sykes, didn't. "I understand she is in a really tricky position, but it would be awfully nice if she'd said she wouldn't work today," the New York Daily News quotes Louis-Dreyfus as saying. "She's certainly in a financial position to be able to say that." Longoria at the end of the shoot day tried to make nice with striking scribes by delivering pizza and explaining, "We are done [filming available scripts] and we'll be on the lines supporting you." Alas, ELP's gesture was rebuffed with such chants as "No justice, no pizza!" and "This isn't the piece of pie we meant!" (Not quite on par with "Marcia's cross and so are we," but... ). — Ben KatnerNew to our Strike Watch blog: • Lost May Be Lost Until February 2009• Strike KOs Two and a Half Men, Six Others; Big Brother Fast-trac...
File this one under Great Dramatic Moments, Bad Timing. Showtime is including with press screeners of this season's final two episodes of Weeds a note making sure that an on-screen twist is not mistaken for a Law & Order-esque art-imitating-life moment."These episodes [airing Nov. 12 and 19] were written and filmed this past summer, long before Southern California experienced a real-life tragedy," says Richard Licata, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications. "On behalf of the cast and crew of Weeds and everyone at Showtime, I'd like to acknowledge the thousands of families who've been affected by the devastating fires. Truly, our thoughts and prayers are with them."
Osmond family patriarch George Osmond passed away early Tuesday at the age of 90. Donny Osmond in fact was on the ET set this morning preparing to tape a segment for tonight's show when he heard the sad news. The Osmond clan, who lost their mother, Olive, three years ago, was scheduled to appear on and be honored by The Oprah Winfrey Show this Friday. Marie Osmond, who currently is competing on Dancing with the Stars, immediately flew to Utah to be with her loved ones."I just feel so bad for Marie and her family," her Dancing partner Jonathan Roberts tells TVGuide.com. "I'm just going to do everything I can to be with her this week and give her all the support and encouragement that I can." Just weeks ago, Marie's fellow Dancing contender, Jane Seymour, lost her mother.
