Michael Rapaport, whose recent TV ventures include War at Home and the passed-on pilot Fugly, has inked a development deal with 20th Century Fox Television, as part of which he will join NBC's My Name Is Earl in the recurring role of a prison pal of Earl's. Rapaport's deal, says the Reporter, also has 20th developing a project for him, for the 2008-09 season. 
Let the speculation subside. Funnyman and improv king Drew Carey announced during the taping of Monday night's Late Show with David Letterman that he has been tapped to succeed Bob Barker as the host of The Price Is Right."Honestly, it [happened] like 15 minutes ago," Carey tells Dave upon sitting down as a guest. "They called me. It's a done deal. I'm the new host."Carey's name surfaced as a contender to Barker's throne in mid-June, amid much conflicting buzz naming any number of folks — Rosie O'Donnell, Ian Ziering and Mark Steines included — as front-runners. Carey has bluntly (and as recently as this past Friday, while speaking to this writer) dismissed such speculation as reckless reportage by the press. Why the prolonged "We're in talks" stance by Carey? A longtime friend of his tells TV Guide that cutting a deal was "never only about dollars and cents. Drew has a very busy calendar. This was a very, very big move to sign for a show like this; he really wanted to thi...
My boss is no Clive turkey. That's the gist of a statement posted by Kelly Clarkson to her fansite, in the wake of media coverage casting the wholesome American Idol in an unflattering light. "There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding [my new album]... much of which has focused on a supposed feud with my record label, in particular, Clive Davis," Kelly writes. "I want to set the record straight by saying that I want my band, my advisors, those close to me and my record label to be one big, tightly knit family. [We] will disagree and argue sometimes, but, in the end, it's respect and admiration that will keep us together."Most recently, Kelly seemingly dissed Davis by deeming him "80" years old and thus out of touch with her audience. Clarkson calls press accounts "blown out of proportion" and "taken out of context," saying, "I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and an important force in my success to date.... I r...
A ray of hope for CSI fans who are turned off by that whole... romance thingy... between William Petersen and Jorja Fox's characters. "The Sara-Grissom story line is going to conclude," Jonathan Littman, an executive producer for Jerry Bruckheimer's production house, tells the Orlando Sentinel. "Don't take it in that definitive term," he adds. "It's very smartly done." Littman also teases "a big story-line finish at the start of the season," one that will play out for a few episodes.Other scoopy bits from the Bruckheimer exec:• With Poppy Montgomery expecting, Without a Trace will probably make Samantha pregnant as well. "There's no reason not to," says Littman. "It's interesting for a single FBI agent who has dated two men in the office. [And] she was in bed with a [never identified] guy at the end of the season. That was just fortuitous."• Left in critical condition by a season-finale gunshot, Cold Case's Lily will "come back and deal with the aftermath and the fact that...
A little palate cleanser after digesting last week's Emmy nods. The Television Critics Association Awards, handed out on Saturday, were all but dominated by NBC, which saw Heroes take home outstanding program-of-the-year honors and Friday Night Lights named outstanding new program. Furthermore, The Office won for best comedy and 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin earned kudos for individual achievement in comedy. In the dramatic realm, The Sopranos was named best in show, while Michael C. Hall was singled out for his work on Dexter.For much more on the awards, see Matt Roush's TCA Awards: Correcting the Emmys.
Fox is revising a pivotal sequence in the pilot for the mid-season series The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which involves a high school, a Terminator and lots of gunfire, as was announced Sunday at the TCA summer press tour. Though the episode was filmed before the April 16 Virginia Tech tragedy, Sarah Connor exec producer Josh Friedman volunteered his reason for including scenes evocative of Columbine or any subsequent school shooting. "[Sarah Connor] is charged with protecting and preparing her son [John] to be the future leader of the resistance," Fox entertainment chairman Peter Liguori said, relating his conversation with Friedman. "The one single place a parent has to give up control of their child is school."It was not disclosed just how or how extensively the sequence will be altered.
Walt Disney Pictures is prepping a "reimagining" of Escape to Witch Mountain, the 1975 pic about two siblings endowed with paranormal powers.... Also per the Reporter, Stanley Tucci is in talks to play killer George Harvey in Peter Jackson's take on The Lovely Bones.... ReBoot, one of the first computer-animated TV series, is being developed as a feature-film trilogy.... Cheri Oteri, Steve Guttenberg and Vivica A. Fox have enlisted in Jessica Simpson's Major Movie Star, playing a gung-ho fellow recruit, a Hollywood agent and an intimidating training officer, respectively.... Per Variety, Tom Cruise is set to play Edwin A. Salt, a CIA officer who goes on the run after being accused of being a Ruskie spy.
The premiere of the most excellent Mad Men (I've watched the "It's Toasted" scene at least four times) improved upon AMC's typical Thursday ratings by 75 percent, and was the cabler's most-watched series telecast ever.... Dancing with the Stars finalist Laila Ali wed retired NFL star Curtis Conway on Sunday. Also per People, Jodie Sweetin tied the knot with Cody Herpin on Saturday in Vegas. It's the Full House alum's second marriage.... DVD releases have been set for The Hills: Season 2 (Aug. 7) and The Fugitive: Season 1, Volume 1 and Dynasty: Season 2 (both on Aug. 14).
NYPD Blue alum Esai Morales has joined CBS' Jericho in the recurring role of Col. Hoffman, a career military man and Iraq War veteran who has not heard from his wife since the day of the attacks. Morales, who most recently costarred on Fox's short-lived Vanished, is set to appear in six of Jericho's seven episodes ordered for mid-season.Anybody else remember when Esai got up in Sean Penn's grill in juvie prison? Good times.For more CBS casting news, see the Ausiello Report's CSI: Miami Exhumes Rory Cochrane and CSI: NY Collars Ex-Creek Stud.
Melrose Place alumna Brooke Langton, who had been a recurring player on Friday Night Lights during its freshman season (playing Jackie Miller), has joined the new NBC drama Life as a series regular, says the Hollywood Reporter. Langton is replacing Melissa Sagemiller in the role of the married lawyer who gets the central figure, a wrongfully imprisoned cop, sprung from the joint and back onto the force. Adulterous sparks ensue.Related: Friday Night Lights Adds 24 Fave, Tree Hill Hottie.
Shall we assume that Agent Pearce ultimately whisked Martha Logan away to the Mount Airy Lodge for some good lovin'? Glenn Morshower, who played 24 fans' favoritest Secret Serviceman, is joining Friday Night Lights this season as Landry's father, a state champion Panthers alum turned local lawman.Also according to the Reporter, One Tree Hill alum Daniella Alonso is coming on board as the in-home nurse who will help Zach care for his Alzheimer's-afflicted grandmother. And yet I have to think that's not all she'll help da boy with.Related: Friday Night Lights' Langton Finds New Life.
The weekend box office title may, just may, be up for grabs. Despite awful, awful reviews, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry opened with an estimated $34.8 million, versus $32.2 mil for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which was anchored down a bit by a certain book's release. Final figures to be released Monday will confirm this week's crown. Either way, the box office was up 3.5 percent compared to a year ago.Rounding out the top five were Hairspray (debuting to $27.8 million, two-thirds of which came from female filmgoers), Transformers ($20.5 mil) and Ratatouille ($11 mil), which I still can't convince my kids to see. #*$@ing Cars loyalists!
Some of the guest voices on tap for the 19th season of Fox's The Simpsons, premiering Sept. 23:• In the season-opener, Lionel Richie as himself and Stephen Colbert as Homer's life coach.• Steve Buscemi as a bank robber who forms a "connection" with hostage Marge (Sept. 30).• Jack Black as the owner of Coolsville, a new rival comic-books emporium in town (Oct. 7).• Later in the season, it's a Frasier reunion as Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney voice Sideshow Bob, brother Cecil and their dad.Other voices en route to Springfield include Jon Stewart, Matt Dillon, Maya Rudolph, Dan Rather, Placido Domingo, Kurt Loder, Weird Al Yankovic, Beverly D’Angelo and Topher Grace.
Has Jack Bauer found yet another new way to "save the world"? Fox announced on Sunday that 24 will strive to become the first television production ever to save enough energy and reduce enough carbon emissions over the course of a season to render its entire season finale “carbon neutral." The steps the drama will be taking include:• he introduction of biodiesel fuels to power generators and production vehicles• the use of "green power" (that is, from wind, water or solar) to run onstage production activities• the introduction of hybrid vehicles into the production fleet• a series of PSAs starring Kiefer Sutherland and other cast members• when appropriate, the incorporation of global-warming and carbon-emissions reduction issues into story lines (e.g., Jack shouting, "Drop it! The key to your Hummer, that is!").All told, they're pretty much stopping short of placing nickel deposits on bullet casings and putting Jack in a Prius. (Because who really wants...
Fox's 24 might not know exactly what story they are spinning this coming season — what with the recent and abrupt scrapping of plans to film in Africa (see the Ausiello Report) — but at the very least they know who will be in charge. Seeing as how Geena Davis might be otherwise occupied with Criminal Minds, Cherry Jones has been appointed president, representing the first major casting for Season 7.Jones, 51, has appeared in such recent films as Ocean's Twelve, The Village and Signs. Also of note, she became the first openly lesbian actress to win a Tony award (for The Heiress) when she thanked her longtime partner during her 1995 acceptance speech.RELATED: Fox unveils 24's bold new plan for the coming season. Read all about it.
The CW's fall schedule kicks off with two-hour premieres of both Beauty and the Geek (which this season will add into the mix a hunky dude and a geeky gal) and America's Next Top Model. Here are the deets:Tuesday, Sept. 188 pm/ET Beauty and the GeekWednesday, Sept. 198 pm America's Next Top ModelFriday, Sept. 218 pm Friday Night SmackdownSunday, Sept. 237 pm CW Now7:30 pm Online NationTuesday, Sept. 259 pm Reaper (sorry, but I don't see why all the fuss over the pilot....)Wednesday, Sept. 269 pm Gossip GirlThursday, Sept. 278 pm SmallvilleMonday, Oct. 18 pm Everybody Hates Chris8:30 pm Aliens in America9 pm Girlfriends9:30 pm The GameThursday, Oct. 49 pm SupernaturalSunday, Oct. 78 pm Life Is Wild
This press release just swooped into my emailbox:On Smallville, the seventh-season premiere kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 27 with the arrival of Kara, AKA Supergirl, played by Laura Vandervoort. Armed with a second-degree black belt, Vandervoort soars into Smallville, catching the eye of both young photographer Jimmy Olsen and budding-villain Lex Luthor. "We cast Laura because she is the embodiment of Supergirl — she has warmth, beauty and she can kick some serious ass," says Al Gough, executive producer. This season on Supernatural, Sam and Dean Winchester get some help fighting evil in the form of two tough-as-nails female hunters. On Thursday, Oct. 4, Ruby, played by Katie Cassidy, the daughter of '70s teen idol and singer David Cassidy, joins the hunt for the masses of demons who escaped from Hell in the second season finale. On Thursday, Oct. 18, Lauren Cohan enters the fray as Bela, a mercenary who realizes there is a lot of money to be made in the supernatural world. "Rub...
There's no doubt about it: Looking at this year's Emmy nominations, voters really dropped the ball with Friday Night Lights, most inexcusably leaving the acclaimed newbie out of the drama-series race and robbing Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton of acting bids. "It’s incredibly rare for first-year shows to get nominated," NBC Universal Media Studios president Katherine Pope tells Variety. "I feel confident we'll get a best-drama nomination next year." Other oversights getting repeat mention across the biz are Lost (MIA from the drama race for a second straight year, yet this time unforgivably) and Michael C. Hall (whose Dexter apparently slays everyone but stodgy Academy members). That said, here are some Emmy nod "curiosities" I have culled from assorted trade-mag recaps and blogs. Enjoy:• As NBCU's Pope alluded to above, last year no new program earned a spot in the comedy- or drama-series contests. One rule tweak later, we have Heroes, 30 Rock and Ugly Betty.• Ameri...
Memo to the Old Gray Lady: You do not mess with a woman well versed in potions and spells. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is Quidditching and screaming over an early, rather spoilery "review" of Deathly Hallows published earlier this week by the New York Times. "I am staggered that some American newspapers have decided to publish purported spoilers in the form of reviews, in complete disregard of the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children," the scribe reacted. With but a day to go before the series' finale goes on sale, all Rowling will say is, "Harry's story comes to a definite end." Yet "students" of Hogwarts may not have seen the last of its familiar trappings. "Because the world is so big, there would be room to do other stuff," Rowling tells the AP. "I am not planning to do that, but I'm not going to say I'm never going to do it."
Real-life marrieds and Dancing stars Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin have extended their Broadway run as Chicago's Roxie and Billy Flynn, and now will appear through Aug. 5.... Randy Quaid will make his Broadway musical-comedy debut playing Col. John Falstaff in Lone Star Love, a Wild West variation on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. The musical will open Dec. 3, with previews beginning Nov. 1
Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) has been tapped to direct Wolverine, the X-Men prequel chronicling the origins of Hugh Jackman's character. David Benioff penned the screenplay.... Also per the Hollywood Reporter, Knocked Up's Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg are in final talks to cowrite and coproduce a big-screen take on The Green Hornet, with Rogen playing the lead. Yeah, you read that last part right.... Bill Pullman, Eliza Dushku, Alan Rickman and Chris Pine are in for some Bottle Shock, an indie drama about the birth of the Napa Valley wine biz.
Dana Davis, who played Felicia Jones on The Nine and then went on to do Hidden Palms, is joining NBC's Heroes as a series regular. Per the Hollywood Reporter, while the exact power of Davis' character, Monica, is being kept hush-hush, it is said she "would give up everything to help the people around her." Ooh, she's "Supermartyr."Heroes' sophomore season also features Dania Ramirez as a series regular, and recurring newcomers Nick D'Agosto, Barry Shabaka Henley, Holt McCallany, David Anders, Eriko Tamura, Lyndsy Fonseca and Dianna Agron.I hope someone of the above has the power to keep all these new faces straight.
