Our long national nightmare is over: According to TMZ, Jennifer Lopez has finally, absolutely, officially signed on to be your next American Idol judge. Lopez reportedly signed a one-year deal that will pay her $12 million to sit on the dais next to Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler, and if that amount sounds like a lot, just remember what Paula Abdul was asking for.
Though Glee showstopper Idina Menzel originated the lead role in Broadway blockbuster Wicked, that really gives her no edge in this Fashion's Night Out duet of "Defying Gravity" with Project Runway headmaster and towering coloratura Michael Kors. He's got the disapproving snarl to woo the Great Wide Way, the black blazer to dazzle even the most curmudgeonly theatergoer, and the topaz complexion to illuminate Times Square for weeks. They're evenly matched -- just see for yourself:
Happy anniversary, Jay Leno! On Sept. 14, 2009, The Jay Leno Show premiered on NBC to much fanfare (as Time foolishly prognosticated, "Jay Leno is the Future of Television") but not much in the way of ratings. A year later, the show is but a memory, and not a particularly funny one; The Jay Leno Show wasn't even good enough to become a Chevy Chase Show-like punchline. Still, a lot happened in the last 365 days and ahead, Movieline offers you a compendium of the five most unexpected, Leno-related events.
Congrats to Dancing with the Stars newcomer Bristol Palin and DWTS veteran Kate Gosselin, who've apparently struck up a mentor-protege relationship over email. Of course. Can't you picture Bristol cutely misspelling words and discussing how uncomfortable she gets when her dad brings her friends on the Skidoo, like she's in a backwoods version of Beverly Cleary's Dear Mr. Henshaw? At any rate, Palin will begin her stint on DWTS next week, and if you recall, Kate Gosselin once appeared on the same program. If Gosselin's going to matriculate young Palin, we hope she imparts the following pearls of pseudo-wisdom.
And you thought that Oprah Winfrey simply wanted to take her studio audience Down Under to celebrate her final season. As it turns out, Australia petitioned for Oprah to visit their country with an impressive, Olympics-like bid detailed below.
Quelle horreur! A French change of scenery for Gossip Girl and a California earthquake for 90210 couldn't boost either show's season premiere last night -- in fact, both were down 30% year-to-year in key demos, a perilous place to be for the CW. Can we suggest a few quick fixes? [TV By the Numbers]
Congratulations are in order for Spanish super-couple Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who are expecting their first child together. The pair's rep confirmed this morning that the actress is four-and-a-half months along. The Oscar winners were married in July and should expect their ridiculously good-looking baby to arrive in early February. [TVGuide]
Welcome back, Upper East Siders! The season premiere of Gossip Girl arrived last night with haute couture, the Eiffel Tower and... well, not much else. It was a quiet kick-off, without much scandal, sass or Chuck Bass. Not even Gossip Girl herself seemed on her game -- though kudos to Kristen Bell for wrapping her tongue around all those heavy French vowels. Voulez-vous puns? To the index!
Chelsea Handler may have been hungover from a long night of VMAs partying, but she still taped a new show with Easy A actress Emma Stone -- and yes, they did manage to talk about everything from massage chairs to fast food to de-virginizing high school boys. Elsewhere, Philip Seymour Hoffman told Craig Ferguson about his craft, Ben Affleck talked bank robbers, Stephen Colbert decried American Apparel and Jimmy Fallon taught viewers how to be sports fans.
Also in this morning's TV Bites: Comings and goings on Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova... ABC gets into the How I Met Your Mother business... many, many people watched the VMAs... and more ahead.
I don't how much of a winner you are when you've been forced to make out with weatherman Jonathan, but nonetheless, Bachelor Pad's season finale tonight will end with the coronation of a champion. Elsewhere on the tube, Gossip Girl returns for season four and Lie to Me ties up its second year.
Though it earned MTV its best ratings since 2002, the main problem with the Video Music Awards last night wasn't Chelsea Handler's emcee skills -- which combined enough off-color commentary and speedy segues to satisfy any VMA historian -- or even the slim selection of on-hand celebrities. No, the VMAs came up short because it refused to be anything but a staid awards show stocked with musical performances and statue handouts, and that's exactly what the VMAs is supposed to be an antidote against. Here are three mainstays from previous ceremonies that were missing from the VMAs this year:
Almost everyone was a winner on today's "farewell season" premiere of Oprah. First and foremost, Oprah Winfrey was feted by her viewers, John Travolta, and surprise guests Paul Simon and Don Johnson. Meanwhile, sponsors Quantas and Motorola won no less than five plugs each from the most influential person alive, and Oprah's studio audience walked away with an all-expense paid trip to Australia -- complete with a 12-hour fight piloted by Travolta -- and brand-new cell phones. So what did the at-home viewers win as a consolation prize? Only these nine over-the-top reaction shots from today's show.
Spotted: A once zeitgeist-owning series relegated to the fringe of pop culture after a couple of seasons worth of mostly diminishing returns. The fourth year of Gossip Girl kicks off tonight, though if you didn't realize that, you're probably not alone. What was once a proud badge of cool ("I watch Gossip Girl!") has turned into a Scarlett Letter of uncool ("Don't tell anyone, but I still watch Gossip Girl"). Is there anything that can be done to stem this tide toward irrelevancy? Of course! Ahead, Movieline offers 5 quick and easy fixes to give Gossip Girl back her swagger.
Project Runway's strangest and most endearing contestant, the unimonikered Casanova, befuddled the judges while still managing to win the greatest team challenge of all time. Movieline spoke to Casanova today about his problems making "resort wear" and what he likes about Gretchen (and even Ivy!).
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