Just last summer, Seth Rogen found himself in a bizarre public feud with Entourage creator Doug Ellen after an episode of the HBO series in which characters called Rogen's "ugliness... oddly fascinating" and debated whether a man of Rogen's looks could actually score a beauty like Katherine Heigl in real life. Shortly after those remarks, Rogen responded by calling Ellin a "moron" and an "a**hole." Months passed and the feud died down -- until this week, when Ellin revisited the rivalry just in time for the show's seventh season premiere.
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Last night, Jay Leno premiered a lost Tonight Show original starring Jeremy Piven that sucked so much, production decided not to use the footage after it was originally shot. Perhaps hoping that mercury poison jokes get better with age, the Leno dug up the bit for his latest segment with the Entourage star. Click through for the untimely, unfunny Leno-Piven collaboration as well as the other highlights you missed while criticizing your own ABC Family acting debut.
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· Syfy -- the network that brought you some of television's finest science fiction programming ever -- is staging a battle between '80s teen-pop stars Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. The showdown will be featured in the network's upcoming original movie Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. Gibson will play "a fanatical animal-rights activist who frees illegally imported exotic snakes from pet stores, sending them into the Everglades, where they grow to mega sizes." Tiffany will play an "overzealous park ranger who uses dangerous methods to save endangered alligators." Wait a second --- it gets better: the pair's ultimate showdown occurs in a swamp. [THR]
AMC embraces college football, Eliot Spitzer hopes to fill Campbell Brown's shoes, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Never mind the earlier question of whether Discovery did the prudent thing airing the immediate aftermath of Deadliest Catch captain Phil Harris's fatal stroke. The ratings confirm a direct hit: 5.4 million viewers tuned in for Tuesday's episode, an all-time high for the show and a 17 percent jump from this season's record-setting premiere. Thoughts? [The Live Feed]
We already know that The Rachel Zoe Project is a treat worthy of comparisons to classic cinema. It's bananas, guys. But bad news: The funnest and funniest part of the Bravo series is now a part of the deep, deep past too. The hilarious relationship between Rachel and her former assistant Taylor Jacobson has been off for awhile but Rachel just made a comment that proves she's really over it. In fact, she hates Taylor now. What becomes of the broken-hearted, Andy Cohen?!
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After calling Santa Fe residents drunks and nicknaming his county "the homicide capital of the Southwest," Val Kilmer has finally made nice with San Miguel County. Flanked by a six-person security detail, the Tombstone actor apologized to county commissioners and explained, "I have the same concerns as anyone else when you hear negative things about a place you love." Kilmer hopes to obtain a permit to turn his Pecos River Ranch house into a bed and breakfast. Now if only he would apologize to Vietnam veterans for calling them "borderline criminals." [AP]
The Real World comes back next week with its Back to New Orleans season, and with each passing year, it's impossible not to pine for the series's best days. Last year's Washington D.C. trip marked a step in the right direction, but the prime seasons of Real World are so much less contrived and self-aware -- it's impossible to shake them from memory. Here we revisit the show's ten greatest stars, the ten castmates who were smart enough, cool enough, or downright problematic enough to make the kind of reality TV you might be proud to have watched.
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Bravo's well-executed reality competition Work of Art airs a new episode tonight, and the challenge blends aspects of art and literature. Do you think they'll stack a bunch of Jane Austen novels into a lifelike statue of executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker? Will they pose Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi as Harlequin cover hotties? Will we live? Also on the tube tonight: the second episode of Hot in Cleveland and another grueling round of So You Think You Can Dance.
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It's a big day for premium cable castings. Hours after Cynthia Nixon joined The Big C, Mos Def has hopped aboard Mike White's HBO project, Enlightened. The comedy series stars Laura Dern as a self-destructive woman who has a spiritual awakening and decides to lead an enlightened life which creates chaos at home and work. The Emmy-nominated actor will play Dern's new boss. [Deadline]
Three of Jersey Shore's leading juiceheads, Ronnie, The Situation, and Vinny, stole the spotlight from Snooki on the newest Village Voice cover. Sounds ideal for the trio, right? Particularly since Ronnie and Vinny may be kicked off the show? Turns out the dudes may not have won the exposure they bargained for, as the new edition of Village Voice is also the "Queer Issue." According to the NY Post, the gents didn't know they were being used to illustrate a story about "the Jersey Shore on the down-low." Racy! Before the umber lads start to get huffy, we advise they try something new with their connection to gay culture: Own it.
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Last night, the Richard Burton and the Liz Taylor of The Hills -- Justin Bobby and Audrina -- reunited again after breaking up with their respective lovers. It was only a matter of time before the two found their way back each other's loving arms -- and last night's 99th episode of the series, which will be better known to fans as "The One Where Brody Complains About Hat Hair," was the perfect opportunity for a shipside rekindling. So change into your boating gear and join us on lido deck to see which moments hit Movieline's Real/Fake jackpot this week.
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Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon is returning to premium cable for the a new comedy series, The Big C. Again, Nixon will play the supportive friend, only this time it will be to Laura Linney's repressed suburban wife who rediscovers life after learning she has terminal cancer. Brian Cox has been cast as Linney's father and Oliver Platt will assume the role of Linney's immature but well-meaning husband in the Showtime series. [Deadline]
Kathy Griffin blurred "real" and "fake" again during last night's D-List, this time in a novel way: She and her mother judged a toddler beauty contest, an event devoted to fake appearances and a Boulder-cold reality -- all while awaiting real renovations on her fake "D-List" home. Get all that? The layers are worth their own op-ed, but it's Movieline's job to pick the most real and fake moments from last night's episode. Strip down to your juniors bikini and sashay with us.
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As promised, last night's Jimmy Kimmel Live! was all about bare-bones production. After a power outage shut down the control room and broadcast transmission center just an hour before taping on Monday, the host took matters into his own hands by recording the whole show on his Macbook Pro. The low-tech solution was entertaining and endearing, as last night's guest -- Seth Rogen -- searched his anecdote arsenal for stories unrelated to drug consumption. Click through for the tinny result as well as the other highlights you missed last night while convincing your boyfriend to buy you Anne Hathaway's illegally obtained bling.
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After the cosmos tragically answered the question of whether or not Deadliest Catch Captain Phil Harris would pull through following his stroke last February (he wouldn't), viewers and other industry observers moved on to the more morbid business of whether Catch should actually show Harris's stroke. After all, cameras were everywhere on the Cornelia Marie, right? Last night's episode finally answered the question -- while raising a few more. Click through, watch the video and judge for yourself.
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