matt.webb.mitovich

TRAVOLTA'S 'BLAD TURN

And you thought Battlefield Earth was a drag. John Travolta has finally signed on to play downtrodden housewife Edna Turnblad — the role created in the Broadway version by Harvey Fierstein — in the new Hairspray film. (Interestingly, Variety reports, Travolta's Hairspray gig likely will postpone plans for a big-screen Dallas remake, for which he was being wooed to play J.R.) But with Travolta now onboard and with Queen Latifah cast as Motormouth Maybelle, the last big hurdle is the casting of the lead, Tracy Turnblad, originated onstage by Marissa Jaret Winokur (Stacked) and on-screen by Ricki Lake.

Fri, Mar 3, 2006

SVU Star Returns with Conviction

Tonight at 10 pm/ET, NBC premieres Law & Order creator Dick Wolf's latest legal drama. Set inside the New York City district attorney's office, Conviction even breathes new life into a onetime Law & Order: SVU player, Stephanie March, who is reprising her role of assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot. How will Conviction set itself apart from other procedurals — including Wolf's own? And how is it that Alex was able to come out of hiding in the Federal Witness Protection program? TVGuide.com asked March those questions and more. TVGuide.com: When you left SVU, did you ever have any inkling that Alexandra Cabot might return on either that show o

Fri, Mar 3, 2006

DISSED-HER CHRISTIAN

Michelle Williams' Oscar-nominated turn in Brokeback Mountain has earned her a failing grade from the Christian high school she attended. "We don't want to have anything to do with her in relation to that movie. Michelle doesn't represent the values of this institution," the Santa Fe Christian School headmaster tells the San Diego Union Tribune. "I hope we offered her something in life, but she made the kinds of choices of which we wouldn't approve. Brokeback Mountain promotes a lifestyle we don't promote. It's not the word of God." But selling M&Ms for $5 a box as a fund-raiser, that's cool with Him.

Thu, Mar 2, 2006

HOUSEWIVES SEES RED

When Desperate Housewives' Andrew seeks to be emancipated from his mother's watch, look for legendary funny lady Carol Burnett to hit Wisteria Lane as Bree's tightly wound stepmother, Eleanor Mason. "I thought this would be a hoot," Burnett, who is tentatively slated to first air April 9, tells USA Today. "I've watched All My Children for a hundred years, and this, too, is a very campy soap." But once Eleanor's stay is over, will Bree be saying, "I'm so glad we had this time together"?

Thu, Mar 2, 2006

Bachelor Serves Up Wine, Avoids Cheese

Is The Bachelor: Paris catch Travis Stork still canoodling with Sarah Stone, the kindergarten teach he picked in this week's finale? Who knows. But until the would-be couple come forth, TVGuide.com got up to speed on another Bachelor, Season 3 star Andrew Firestone, who has his own big news to share. After all, maybe things have reheated up between him and Jen Schefft, right? No? Maybe he just has a DVD to tout? TVGuide.com: Tell me about Wine Ways, the new educational DVD you produced and star in. How did it come to be?Andrew Firestone: In a nutshell, what I do in my day job is teach wine tasting, and I really like to focus

Thu, Mar 2, 2006

SAM HE STILL AM

It's official: As speculated ever since it was announced that this is The West Wing's final season, original cast member Rob Lowe will return for the series' last two episodes, reprising his role of Sam Seaborn. Also resurfacing for one or more of West Wing's final five episodes are Mary-Louise Parker, Anna Deavere Smith, Emily Procter, Marlee Matlin, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield and Annabeth Gish. But, alas, no Mrs. Landingham; besides being, well, dead, she's also busy yelling at the Scavo kids.

Wed, Mar 1, 2006

Lost Claires Up a Big Mystery

Tonight on ABC's Lost (9 pm/ET), a crisis involving baby Aaron leads Claire to delve into the unsolved mystery of exactly what happened during her Season 1 kidnapping at the hands of ghoulish Ethan Rom (aka the Other man). TVGuide.com spoke to Aussie beauty Emilie de Ravin about Claire's new adventure, her "hard-to-handle" Lost leading man and her frighteningly fun new role. TVGuide.com: I have to wonder, having often flitted between Australia and Los Angeles yourself, was it eerie to do a show about a doomed Oz-L.A. flight?Emilie de Ravin: Yeah, kinda! I never really thought about it too much, though. I think it was more odd that Claire was the only Australian survivor. [Laughs]

Wed, Mar 1, 2006

WHITFORD JOINS STRIP CLUB

As teased weeks ago in Ask Ausiello, The West Wing's Bradley Whitford has been added to the cast of Wing creator Aaron Sorkin's NBC drama pilot, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Whitford will play a producer-director and recovering cocaine addict on the series' SNL-style sketch show-within-a-show. Also joining Studio 60 are Wing's Timothy Busfield (playing a control-room director) and Sarah Paulson (as a Christian fundamentalist.)

Tue, Feb 28, 2006

Rene Auberjonois: From Benson to Boston

Before "snark" was even a word, Rene Auberjonois was wonderfully full of it as Clayton Runnymede Endicott III, the fancy-speaking foil to Robert Guillaume's titular manservant-turned-civil servant on the '80s comedy Benson. These days — and a sci-fi-fabulous run as Deep Space Nine's Odo later — the veteran actor is sharing a set with fellow Star Trek universe alum William Shatner on ABC's Boston Legal (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET). In fact, Auberjonois' prickly Paul Lewiston recently embarked on a juicy new story arc, one of the many topics covered in this Q&A with TVGuide.com. TVGuide.com: Long before there was The West Wing, befo

Tue, Feb 28, 2006

DENNIS WEAVER DEAD AT 81

The third veteran actor to pass away this week in his 80s (see news stories below), Dennis Weaver died of complications from cancer on Friday. He was 81. In 1955 Weaver was cast in the CBS Western series Gunsmoke, on which he played deputy Chester Goode, a role that earned him an Emmy. Come 1970 he played another lawman, New Mexico deputy Sam McCloud in NBC's McCloud. Weaver's other credits included the features Touch of Evil, Gentle Giant, Dragnet and the 1971 Steven Spielberg TV-movie Duel.

Mon, Feb 27, 2006

Booted Becky Happy with Idol Exposure

And then there were 20. Fox's robust new season of American Idol (Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm/ET) really and truly got underway last week when four of the two dozen semifinalists got shown the door, all because they were shown a paucity of auto-dialing and text-messaging love. TVGuide.com talked with Becky O'Donahue — who, with Stevie Scott, Patrick Hall and Bobby Bennett, was sent packing — about singing her swan song so soon. TVGuide.com: What most pleasantly surprised you about your Idol experience? And what was the biggest disappointment?Becky O'Donahue: What surprised me the most would have to be looking back to see how much I've grown. Going into this, you wan

Mon, Feb 27, 2006

GARRETT EYES NEW TV MARRIAGE

Did you hear the one about Brad Garrett and the sitcom about a married couple living adjacent to a jaded and argumentative duo? The Everybody Loves Raymond alum, who at one time was eyeing a Robert-centered spin-off of the hit CBS comedy, now is in talks to join Fox's 'Til Death, a laffer about newlyweds (the groom is played by American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas) who move in next door to a long-married couple, of which Garrett would play half.

Mon, Feb 27, 2006

TYRA TAKES IT ALL OFF

Or, I presume, teases us into thinking she will when she channels a stripper named "Chanel" in the March 1 — aka the final day of February sweeps, need you ask — outing of The Tyra Banks Show. Going undercover at a topless club beneath a wig, fake teeth and a prosthetic nose, Tyra Banks aims to explores the question of why men are obsessed with strippers. As she explains, "I wanted to go up onstage and dance [and see what they're] getting out of this." You mean, besides a few dollar bills lighter?

Fri, Feb 24, 2006

In Justice Star to Keep Entourage?

Constance Zimmer has played the hippest nun we've ever seen (on Joan of Arcadia) and has held her own when trading caustic barbs with Jeremy Piven on Entourage. So who better to fight the good fight in getting wrongfully incarcerated folk out of the clink on ABC's In Justice (Fridays at 10 pm/ET)? The Queen of Acerbic (our words) postponed her lunch date with a bowl of Peanut Butter Puffins long enough to speak with TVGuide.com about her wide and wild array of roles. TVGuide.com: As I said to your cast mate Jason O'Mara a few weeks ago, I love In Justice and&

Fri, Feb 24, 2006

SISTERS ACT

Crafts services, you are hereby forewarned: Calista Flockhart, whose most visible role since Ally McBeal's end has been as girlfriend to Harrison Ford, is returning to series television in ABC's family-centered sudser, Brothers & Sisters — not to be confused with Sons & Daughters, the network's about-to-premiere and similarly ampersanded series, although ABC is simply asking for confusion. Also joining the cast is fellow Golden Globe winner Rachel Griffiths, of Six Feet Under acclaim.

Fri, Feb 24, 2006

SINKING FEELING

It looks like things might get a bit nasty in David Hasselhoff’s divorce from Pamela Bach, his wife of 16 years. In documents obtained by The Insider, the Baywatch alum's lawyer is looking to snuff Bach's bid to obtain some of her husband's medical records. (Although there are no details about the sought-after files, Hasselhoff has entered rehab for alcohol abuse on at least two occasions.) Isn't anyone worried about how all of this will affect not just the couple's two children but Hobie?

Fri, Feb 24, 2006

ACE IN THE HOLE

(I'm simply cutting-n-pasting yesterday's ratings blurb, updating where needed.) Nearly 31.5 million total viewers tuned in for Wednesday night's "men second" round of American Idol semifinalists, more than doubling the first two hours of NBC's prime-time Olympics coverage, which averaged 14.8 mil viewers. (On a side note, Paula looked sssmokin'.) However, once Ryan reminded us of the text-voting process a 146th and final time and Idol had bowed out for the night, the Winter Games surged in the 10 o'clock hour with 16.9 million viewers. Tonight, it's the results show versus women's parallel giant-slalom snowboarding. And Survivor. And Dancing with the Stars. And a Love, Inc. repeat.

Thu, Feb 23, 2006

MOONVES MAKING WAVES

The CW network's Smallville spin-off — dubbed Mercy Reef by some unofficial accounts — has reeled in a new leading man: Soap hunk Justin Hartley (Passions) has been tapped to replace Will Toale as A.C. Curry/Aquaman. "We have made the decision to go in a different direction with the role," a CW spokesperson says in making the announcement. Sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves was a major catalyst behind the recast. As reported yesterday, the spin-off costars Ving Rhames as McCaffery, A.C.'s mentor, as well as Denise Quiñones as Rachel Starling.

Wed, Feb 22, 2006

Who's Who on American Idol?

"Scorecards here! Get your American Idol scorecards here!" Now that all — OK, most — of the screamers and howlers have been shown the door, Season 5 of Fox's ratings-magnet reality competition is all set to really begin. As you settle in front of the tube for the first two nights, print out this page and keep it handy for the skinny on who's who among the 24 semifinalists. The male singers scheduled to perform tonight at 8 pm are: BOBBY BENNETT (19, Denver, Colo.) has been singing since the age of 7. He dreams of becoming a performer so he can make people forget about their troubles for a little while. Before making the Final 24, Bobby worked at Target. KEVIN COVAIS (16, Levittown, N.Y.), a junior at Isla

Wed, Feb 22, 2006

MISSION: SWIMPOSSIBLE

Mission: Impossible heavyweight Ving Rhames has joined the cast of the Smallville spin-off pilot starring newcomer Will Toale as Aquaman née A.C. Curry. Rhames, whose last TV venture was USA Network's Kojak revival, will play McCaffrey, a lighthouse keeper (not to be confused with a light housekeeper) who serves as a mentor to A.C. His first bit of advice: "Steer clear of tartar sauce."

Tue, Feb 21, 2006

Get Your American Idol Scorecard Here!

"Scorecards here! Get your American Idol scorecard here!" Now that all — OK, most — of the screamers and howlers have been shown the door, Season 5 of Fox's ratings-magnet reality competition is all set to really begin. Before you settle in front of the tube for these first two nights, print out this page and keep it handy for the skinny on who's who among the 24 semifinalists. The female singers scheduled to perform tonight at 8 pm/ET are: PARIS BENNETT (17, Fayetteville, Ga.) began singing at the age of 4. She has performed in numerous concerts and has opened for many groups, including Bow Wow. Paris is a skilled dancer in hip-hop, jazz and modern African dance.  AYLA BROWN (17, Wrentham, Ma

Tue, Feb 21, 2006

SKETCHY DETAILS

Twelve-time Saturday Night Live host Alec Baldwin is in final negotiations to join Tina Fey's still-untitled NBC comedy pilot, set behind the scenes at an SNL-type comedy show. This is not to be confused with the NBC pilot set behind the scenes at an SNL-type comedy show being developed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Matthew Perry. (I say run them on the same night.)

Fri, Feb 17, 2006