The famously indecisive Steven Spielberg has finally settled on his next film, and he's even given it an August 10, 2011 release. This one is War Horse, based on the Michael Morpurgo novel about Joey, a WWI horse whose "heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind." Uh...suddenly, Harvey seems a lot better! [Variety]
Even though Justified has lost approximately half of its viewers since its premiere -- which was the most-watched in network history -- FX is betting big on its Tim Olyphant drama by giving it another full-season order. That means that Graham Yost's critically acclaimed project has 6 more episodes this season plus another 13 next year to pick up momentum before Sony has to begin cost-sharing conversations with DirecTV, Damages-style. Come on people, pay attention to quality.
When comedy writer Justin Halpern started the Twitter phenomenon called "Sh*t My Dad Says," he explained his dad-cataloguing like so: "I'm 29. I live with my 74-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down sh*t that he says." Tomorrow, a book of his dad's bon mots will hit stores, and later this month, CBS may announce the series pickup of a comedy pilot based on the property, starring William Shatner as the irascible father.
There's just one thing. I kind of don't believe his dad is actually saying this stuff anymore?
With less than a month until the underrated Bonnie Hunt Show drops off the air and four months until the Oprah Winfrey Show's grand finale, the daytime talk show landscape is about to undergo a dramatic shift. Rosie O'Donnell is reportedly returning to the genre to create a show on her terms and give Ellen DeGeneres a run for her money. Meanwhile, other networks are in various stages of of preparation for daytime programs starring Julie Chen, Tori Spelling and Fran Drescher. But before they tape their pilot or race out for a test run this summer, the ladies best study the mistakes made by the gabbers whose daytime forays fizzled out in one season or less.
Season six American Idol winner Jordin Sparks is putting her recording career on hold for a new venture -- a starring role in the Broadway musical In the Heights, which won the 2008 Tony for Best Musical. She follows in the footsteps of season-four contestant Constantine Maroulis, who was nominated for a Tony in Rock of Ages, and Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young, who currently co-star in Hair. Season five winner Taylor Hicks still performs on tour as Teen Angel in Grease, which should alleviate your concerns that he is, you know, shooting craps in a tunnel with Mandisa somewhere. [Playbill]
I've never been much of a believer that Anchorman 2 would happen. It had its window around 2006 or so; now the economics don't work and the global box office prospects are underwhelming. Nevertheless, where there's a will, there's a way to overcome a reported $30 million budget gap between Paramount and the film's high-wattage producers and stars. Some tough, serious cuts and considerations will be required, though. Read on for a a few recommendations that spring immediately to mind; as always, your own are welcome in the comments.
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· Here's the first official still from the R-Pattz/Uma Thurman vehicle Bel Ami. Uma, you should never leave your neck vulnerable like that in front of a Mormon vampire.
· Congratulations to Seth Green, who married actress Clare Grant this weekend at a ceremony performed at Skywalker Ranch.
· Marlon Wayans is Team Leno, kind of! "He used to be all soft and stuff, but after that whole Conan thing, he got some anger on him," he told Vulture. "He's like Jay Pryor."
· The James Franco tone poem Howl will open LA's Outfest.
· TMZ catches up with Susan from Seinfeld. She's a ukelele player now! And why not.
Two comedies are staffing up with some mighty impressive casts. First, we've got the Kristen Wiig vehicle known as Bridesmaids, which is adding Jon Hamm, Dianne Wiest and Matt Lucas to a cast that already includes Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Ellie Kemper, and a raft of other female comics. Then there's the Steve Martin-Jack Black-Owen Wilson bird-watching comedy The Big Year, which has brought on Rashida Jones, Jim Parsons, Rosamund Pike, Joel McHale, Dianne Wiest (again!) and many more. All this, and no room for Stephen Baldwin? [Twitter, Variety]
Confused by Paramount's reluctance to greenlight the long-awaited sequels to Anchorman and Zoolander? Mike Fleming at our sister site Deadline puts things into perspective: Neither of those films was profitable overseas and the studio would have to hope for a high domestic gross on the sequels to make the production worthwhile. So, I put the question to you: How much do you think each of these sequels could make?
Coco may not have dropped any bombshells during his heart-wrenching 60 Minutes interview last night, but the former Tonight Show host did boost the program's audience enough to whomp on its NBC competition. Conan O'Brien helped increase the show's numbers nearly 40% from last week to a 2.2 rating among the 18-49 age group. Meanwhile, Dateline NBC placed third after America's Funniest Home Videos on ABC. [TVbytheNumbers]
Sad news: British actress Lynn Redgrave died last night at age 67. Redgrave was twice Oscar-nominated almost thirty years apart for her work in 1966's Georgy Girl and the 1998 Bill Condon film Gods and Monsters, and she is a member of the famous Redgrave acting clan, which recently suffered two other losses (Redgrave's brother Corin passed away last month, while her niece Natasha Richardson lost her life in a skiing accident last year).
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Twilight Nation has been hormonally atwitter ever since Bill Condon was announced as Summit Entertainment's choice to direct the franchise's final installment Breaking Dawn. Attempting to harness this energy over the weekend, the Oscar-winner invited fans to submit questions and concerns about the undertaking ahead. That's probably the last time he'll do that.
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A few months ago, Fran Drescher was rumored to be in talks with Fox News and MSNBC about hosting a politics-centered chat show. And last night, the former Nanny star announced her upcoming project on Twitter. (Note: if you are prone to migraines, do not read ahead.) Drescher tweeted, "OMG I ate peach cobler w hm made vanilla ice crm. 2moro got2 b redy @9:30am 4cancer event. Thn hm. Mis BF &dog. I'm doin a sumer tlk shw BTW." [@frandrescher via The Wrap]
Actress Helen Wager, a star on As the World Turns for nearly six decades, died over the weekend of unknown causes at the age of 91. Wagner portrayed ATWT matriarch Nancy Hughes for 54 years, a Guinness world record for the longest time an actor played the same character on television. "All of us at As the World Turns are deeply saddened by Helen's passing," executive producer, Christopher Goutman, said in a statement. "She is loved by generations of fans and while we will miss her greatly Helen will always remain the heart and soul of As the World Turns." [AP]
If you're exhausted by the seeming inertia of the whole Roman Polanski extradition saga, here's something that should get you going again: The house-arrested filmmaker would like to take a few minutes to explain his point of view on the legal drama, apparently provoked by last week's decision that the Swiss justice ministry would not accept secret testimony from a prosecutor who was on the case three decades ago. This is all just too much for a guy who mortgaged his apartment for bail and can't get back to work with this dumb ankle bracelet on. Click through for Polanski's full statement released Sunday.
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