· Paul, the new sci-fi comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, has pieced together its supporting cast: Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch have all signed on, in addition to Seth Rogen, who voices the alien the two leads stumble upon on a road trip to the Nevada desert. Greg Mottola directs. [Variety]
· Our long-held suspicions have been confirmed by the The New York Times: AT&T hates gay people. [NY Times]
· Dusty Hoffman has hopped aboard the indie adaptation of Barney's Version, Mordecai Richler's last book, in which he'll play Paul Giamatti's dad. Pound for pound, the kvetchiest superstar duo to dominate the big screen in some time. [Variety]
· Mayor Bloomberg is extending New York's film tax credit. The 5% kickback that brought Ugly Betty to the Big Apple (where some might argue it instantly lost its charm) is being renewed. That's in addition to the 30% state credit. Basically, New York would like to finance your next project. They don't care what it is. A sitcom built around the softcore-posing, gay-marriage-opposing, wacky pageant lifestyle of Carrie Prejean? Done! [THR]
· ABC is restructuring. Their plan to merge ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios and place that under Stephen McPherson's jurisdiction was deferred until after development season, during which time the network head was "examining the synergies between the units." Is anyone reading this still awake? I just whacked my head on the keyboard typing it, so I can't expect you fared any better. [THR]