THR got NBC Universal TV entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin on the horn to discuss what will happen when Jay Leno retakes The Tonight Show. Will he retain the minimal new bits he brought to The Jay Leno Show, like pointless car racing, or will he return to the familiar? Said Gaspin, "I would be surprised if they didn't bring back the desk and a couch, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a new desk and couch." This is why NBC is a titan of broadcasting, folks. [THR]
When will Rob Lowe learn? He left The West Wing because he didn't feel like his character was the lead, he turned down the actual lead of McDreamy in Grey's Anatomy, and then he joined the thousand-member cast of Brothers and Sisters as Calista Flockhart's husband. Now, you will not be surprised to find out, he is leaving that show too because he doesn't feel like he has enough to do. Also, they totally wouldn't change the title of the show to Brother-in-Law and Others. [Deadline]
· Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich tweeted a picture of Tom Hanks doing his final recording session on the film, due June 18.
· Clive Owen has climbed aboard the action/thriller Protection, replacing Paul Walker. There's an unlikely recasting!
· At the LAT directors roundtable, Quentin Tarantino recounted the story of how Harvey Weinstein tried to cut the most iconic scene out of Reservoir Dogs.
· After the comparatively giddy Taking Woodstock tanked, James Schamus says he's writing a new project for Ang Lee that's "going back to the good old, tragic, suicidally depressing Ang!"
· This happens every year: Kathy Griffin does a wild New Year's Eve show for CNN, reports circulate that CNN would never hire her back, and then CNN totally does. According to Griffin, we're probably in between steps two and three.
It's winter. It's cold out. So grab a glass of hot chocolate and read the following: Actor Kellan Lutz is going to take a break from his five lines per Twilight film to fill out Marky Mark's Calvin Kleins in the brand's new ad campaign, and E!'s Marc Malkin reports that we can expect to see the pictures next month. Just give him a sword and shield and consider it his Conan callback. [E!]
· This is what people mean when they toss out that abstraction, "Avatar is a game-changer": Warner Bros. is reportedly sorting out the logistics, cost and efficacy of converting its mid-spring blockbuster Clash of the Titans to 3-D. A decision is expected by the end of the month; the studio will run a few tests and see if it's just the Na'vi-ized Sam Worthington who looks cool swinging objects and screaming in viewers' general direction. And don't even get me started about the troubling mutation this would introduce to the Kraken Monster Family Tree. [THR]
Howl's directors have a new biopic to keep them busy, a Weinsteins reunion, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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After two weeks worth of hasty negotiations, Conan O'Brien has signed a deal with NBC to exit the Tonight Show, allowing Jay Leno to return as host of the legendary late night program. Radar Online reports that Coco signed the paperwork at 1 A.M. PST Thursday, agreeing to a $32 million payout for himself and an additional $12 million to take care of his staff.
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· Martin Short began his appearance on The View today by locking lips with our bedenimed hostess. Scandalous, I must say!
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Just two weeks ago, David Hasselhoff resigned from his post on America's Got Talent, cryptically citing a future project that, it turns out, is a 10-episode series for A&E. The reality vehicle will track the Baywatch phenom's adventures in the entertainment industry, including his attempt to mold his daughters into recording stars. Said Hasselhoff, "I told the girls that I would help them open the door when they are ready, but they would have to walk through it on their own. This is their time and I am excited to be a part of it." Let's celebrate! [THR]
VH1 announced that the new season of Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp will include Bobby Brown, Kevin Federline, Shar Jackson, and Project Runway season one winner Jay McCarroll. At least Jay is reliable for quips; K-Fed and Shar will spend their confessionals remembering that bad things happen when they start talking. And say what you will about VH1's tackiness in choosing Bobby Brown, but the network is pretty effectively knocking the poo out of the butt of America's obesity epidemic. Right. [TV by the Numbers]
· An Avatar backlash may be beginning, but at least Adam Lambert is Team Na'vi, according to his Twitter. This tentacle sex is most assuredly too hot for ABC.
· NBC subtly struck back at Conan O'Brien's network-bashing by removing the peacock bug from his monologue on Monday.
· Speaking of which, Howard Stern totally warned Conan four years ago that Jay Leno wouldn't let go of The Tonight Show without a fight.
· The encore presentation of Human Target last night actually exceeded the premiere airing, and the show's got American Idol to thank for that.
· Shonda Rhimes is developing a new medical drama about three doctors who journey to a tropical island clinic. Only three? Who will they have sex with?
Golden Globe triumphs notwithstanding, the list of those who've found something to dislike, discredit, disagree with, take offense to or simply hate in Avatar has grown exponentially since those innocent days when all anyone wanted was better dialogue. In China, for example, where James Cameron's megahit is the country's top-grossing movie ever, government officials announced Tuesday that they would pull the film off more than 1,600 2-D screens in favor of a domestic film about Confucius. Their motivation: Not protest, but rather wanting something in theaters more keyed into the Chinese New Year. (Avatar will remain on the country's 3-D screens, for what it's worth, which, of course, is still millions of dollars.) But it was just the latest in a backlash that, unusually, extends more to ideology than any critical or awards-season motivations.
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· Joel and Ethan Coen may still be seeking their missing link for the cast of their new True Grit adaptation, but their patrons at Paramount are officially moving forward with a Christmas release date in mind. The Oscar hypologist in me draws only one conclusion: For his role as Rooster Cogburn, which won John Wayne an Academy Award in 1969, Jeff Bridges will be doing the awards-season grind all over again next year. Which I'm sure he's thrilled about right now. Anyway, now you've got holiday plans for the family, unless the MPAA ratings board intervenes, which we've seen before. Grinches. [Variety]
Screenwriter Ronald Harwood has a dream (assignment), Marc Webb is already downsized (sort of), and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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· The brilliant minds behind the Taiwanese Tiger Woods CGI re-enactment have really outdone themselves this time. Why didn't Jeff Zucker mention to Charlie Rose that he had to literally move the studios around every time he made a programming change? Talk about a bigger schlep than it's worth. [The Awl]
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For a franchise that has earned Sony billions, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man legacy met its end swiftly and tragically, its radioactive hero left with little more to do than dangle from a fire escape wiping websnot from his nose. The resulting "reboot" was to be everything Hollywood is currently obsessed with: leaner, younger, darker, New Moonier. James Cameron could barely conceal his contempt in dismissing the material as "sloppy seconds," as if Mary Jane Watson was some oral-herpes-covered school slut proposing they make out under the bleachers. Who, then, would handle this spider-tainted material?
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The earthquake in Haiti might be devastating news for most of the planet, but for NBC Universal chair Jeff Zucker on Charlie Rose last night, the natural disaster was more ... a tool to deflect attention from NBC's failures. Despite Zucker's distraction attempts, Rose pressed on, drawing a few interesting responses from Zucker's otherwise boilerplate exec answers.
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