No, it isn’t actually happening (THANK GOD!), but it could, if industry speculation is correct. Summit Entertainment, rich off the runaway success of the film version of ‘Twilight,’ which was made on a shoestring and released to horrifying massive profits, is reportedly in the market to acquire another struggling studio out in Hollywood. And The Weinstein Company, producers of Project Runway, are definitely among those in trouble. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve known for a while that this is going to be the final season of LOST. It has been known since the middle of S3 and S6 is being marketed as such.
But at a recent festival in Seattle, some of the LOST brass hinted that even though they won’t be involved with the property once “LOST proper” finishes next May, it will be hard for ABC to just put it away and never think about it again.
As most of you probably know, after the finale each season, the LOST team basically goes into radio silence. Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof do not like to speak on the show’s final episode and rather let it speak for itself, at least until Comic-Con rolls around.
Well, the media and fans have figured out how to sorta work around this, whether it be by publishing stories with quotes from before the radio silence or attempting to generate clicks/eyes by posting rumors or hypotheticals. Today, the newly-crewed social media tool of the moment, Twitter helped to contribute to the rumor mill, which blew up around 5 or 6 p.m. this evening. Details after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Apologies again. I’m just now coming out of my funk and now projects are breathing down my back. Major recaps and in-depth stuff coming tomorrow. Scout’s honor.
Let’s do some links to make us all feel better.
Ratings from Monday: Even against weaker competition – CBS aired repeats and ABC aired a dumb, but potent “Bachelor” episode – NBC fell flat on its face again. “Chuck” [6.47 million, 2.2/6 18-49] and “Heroes” [6.92 million, 3.4/8] fell to series lows. Yikes. “Chuck” has been in a free-fall the last two weeks after a high-mark following the Super Bowl push. Meanwhile, FOX won the night with the successful duo of “House” [14.6, 5.4/14] and “24″ [11.6, 3.8/9]. [TV By The Numbers]
Though early, the CW has unsurprisingly renewed six dramas for next season. Those that made the cut so far: “Smallville,” “Supernatural,” “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “One Tree Hill” and “America’s Next Top Model.” Tom Welling did agree to return as Clark Kent, but rumors are swirling that Chad Michael Murry has yet to agree to come back to Tree Hill, NC. He’ll be back [more on all this tomorrow, hopefully]. [The Live Feed]
Michael Cera has finally decided to join the “Arrested Development” film adaptation that everyone has been waiting for since the show was canceled. I’ve always understood the rationale behind Cera’s reluctance to do the flick (he’s a bigger star now, we get it), but reports painted him as so anti-this project that it made me lose a little respect for him. Sure he doesn’t get to be the main star here, but he’ll still be the draw for non “AD” fans and this is what made him. Glad he’s in, interested to see where it goes. [Watch With Kristen]
Dive into this great piece from Variety’s Brian Lowry about the increasing “graying” of TV casts. I personally like the older actors and get annoyed with youngsters playing roles they don’t deserve. [Variety]
Andy Richter is back with Conan for a permanent basis it seems. Richter has agreed to join “The Tonight Show” when it begins its Conan-powered reign June 1. Richter will be the announcer/sidekick on the show. Awesome news. [Ken Tucker's Watching TV Blog]
A couple weeks back it was Candy Land, now it’s Clue [again!]. Universal is prepping a film adaptation of the classic board game helmed by Gore Verbinski. At least this could actually work as a film [and already has in my mind] but wow, a remake/sequel to a film based on a board game. Gotta love Hollywood. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Twitter breaks a story. Thanks to CHUD, we’ve learned that Michel Gondry will be directing Seth Rogen in “The Green Hornet” flick. This is great news, especially Stephen Chow left the project and things looked to be on the downswing. Did I mention this story broke on Twitter? [CHUD]
Major delay today – weather, class and life. Why can’t I just post all day, every day? Good news for you readers out there, I have at least five good posts coming in the next 12-15 hours.
Mark Valley, late of “Fringe,” has been cast in the “Human Target” pilot for FOX. The show, which will see Valley portray Christopher Chance, a mysterious security freelancer who protects clients in danger by assuming their identities, is based on a DC comic and produced by McG. I like Valley, the idea seems legit; I’m in. [TV Guide]
Cool news here: Summer Glau will guest star as herself in a episode of “Big Bang Theory” later this season. Glau [of "TSCC" and "Firefly"] will be the object of all the guys’ affections when they take a train to San Fran. [Ausiello Files]
Ratings report from Tuesday: FOX won the night, but both “Idol” [24.5 million, 9.0 preliminary adults 18-49 rating and 24 share] and “Fringe” [10.5 million, 4.3/11] dipped [10 and 14 percent, respectively]. Over at CBS, “The Mentalist” [19.7 million, 4.2/10] shot up 11% from its last regularly scheduled airing and picked up its highest total number to date. [The Live Feed]
Wicked crazy rumor going around the film web sites: WB has approached the Wachowski Brothers to helm a possible “Superman” reboot that could turn into a possible trilogy. This could be interesting [well, at least visually], but I’m surprised WB wants to turn over this property to the Wachowski’s after they screwed the pooch on “The Matrix” sequels and “Speed Racer.” [AICN]
Fanboys everywhere commence freak-out. Christopher Nolan has announced that his next project will not be a third film in his Batman arc, but instead “Inception,” a sci-fi thriller he and his brother Johnathan wrote. Slated for 2010, this film doesn’t mean that we won’t see a Nolan-directed Batman in 2011/2012. We had to wait three years for “TDK” after “Begins,” and that worked out just fine, so I think we’ll be all better off for this. [Hollywood Reporter]
Finally today, scope the trailer for Tarentino’s new “Inglorious Basterds” WWII film starring Brad Pitt. Honestly, I like what I see, but I hate that there’s so much Q-love in the trailer. C’mon, give me a break Universal.
Ratings from last night: “Fringe” did well yet again, pulling in its second best rating of the season [12.1 million, 4.8/11] and “Idol” rebounded from a weak Tuesday last week due to the Inauguration coverage [25 million, 9.6/24]. CBS ran repeats. [The Live Feed]
So supposedly this career change to rap music by Joaquin Phoenix is quite what it seems to be. It looks to be all a big ruse, assisted and filmed by Phoenix’s friend and bro-in-law Casey Affleck. Either way, this is funny and I like where it’s going. [EW]
Wow, this is really great news. Not. WB is in talks to reboot the “Lara Croft Tomb Raider” franchise. Rumors were that Megan Fox was attached, but that’s been debunked. Either way, this is a really stupid idea unless Angelina comes back, and she won’t. Hollywood SUCKS. A fucking reboot of a video game adaptation? Jesus. [Hollywood Reporter]
Speaking of dumb ideas, Joe Carnahan and Ridley Scott are teaming up to bring “The A-Team” to the big screen in 2010. Carnahan will direct, Scott will produce, and we will get to hate it. This is coming from FOX, so it’s not a shocker, but my lord, this is just another horrendous idea. [Variety]
NBC has ordered a pilot from recently nixed “Heroes” producer Jesse Alexander called “Day One,” which follow people after some sort of event has destroyed the planet. Sounds like a riff of “Jericho” with most likely worse writing. Gotta love NBC. [Hollywood Reporter]
So color me wrong. After the Senate passed the bill yesterday, the House took down the legislation that would push back the DTV transition until June. It was taken to a special 2/3’s vote today and could come up again [needing only majority support], but this is a setback for President Obama, who has been pushing for this. I actually changed my mind, and I think this needs to happen. 6.5 million people don’t know what’s going on, and that’s just not cool to leave them out in the cold like that. I don’t care if it is their own fault or not, they need to be better informed or whatever. February 17 is not enough time to do that. [MSNBC]
Bad news here: SAG brass plans out sending out the ballots for strike authorization on January 2, 2009 and they will announce the results on January 23. Please, don’t let this happen again. [Variety]
This is a really great feature, one that Hollywood has been pimping the last few years: The Black List. Check out the 10 scripts that have wowed Hollywood, but haven’t made it to the screen yet. Hopefully all of these get made. [EW]
CBS honcho Leslie Moonves is going after NBC’s Jeff Zuckerman for saying that the network model is screwed. Moonves guarantees that “CSI: Miami” will take down Leno next fall. “By a lot.” Fucking Moonves is so cocky, and I don’t think he’s right. I need to tackle this subject more soon, but I don’t agree. [THR]
Wow, a bit of a shocker here. TV Guide has learned that “Desperate Housewives” has been re-upped to at least 2013. Executive Producer Marc Cherry has long said he’d end in 2011 after seven seasons, but he reportedly decided that they could go a couple more years. I mean why not? People love this show, it’s still doing well in the ratings and the actresses are still all on board. Screw it, go for it “DH.” [TV Guide]
Mini ratings report: Even with a repeat of “Fringe” last night, “House” had a healthy amount of viewers (”House” 13.9 million , 5.6 preliminary adults 18-49 rating). Great episode too, no? [Live Feed]
Universal has done a little re-shuffling with their schedule for 2009. “Wolfman” has been pushed from April to November in hopes for a awards season push, where now “Fast & Furious” will take its April date. Finally, “Nottingham” will not see the light of day until 2010, but that’s not a surprise considering they haven’t even begun shooting. Sickeningly, I’m looking forward to all of these. [Variety]
Finally today, check out another Japanese-imported trailer, this time of the “Dragonball Z” flick. Let’s just say it’s horrible.
Ah! Some creepy creature that legitimately looks like a Furby has been found for the first time in 70 years in Indonesia. Beware, the thing is probably more creepy than the Furby. [MSNBC]
Coming on the heels of “Zach and Miri Make a Porno,” Seth Rogen is developing a show for Showtime that centers around three twentysomethings who “learn life’s lessons while running a porn shop.” Sounds like an interesting premise, but Rogen is stretched so thin right now I can’t imagine his involvement being that in-depth after the show gets pick up. [TV Guide]
Dan Fogler from “Balls of Fury” will immortalize Sam Kininson for an HBO film. Eh. Tom Shadyac will direct. More eh. [Variety]
Fuck. Ben Stiller is reportedly trying to pull together a third “Fockers” film entitled “Little Fockers.” This series was over by the time the first film was sold to TV syndication. The second film was horrendous, and this will be worse. [/Film]
Cool blurbs here from the “LOST” showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. They were, in fact, making it up as they went along. But only through the first nine episodes. So all you haters out there still saying that…suck it. [AICN]
My god. Eddie Murphy is pathetic. There are rumblings of a third “Nutty Professor” film in the works. Why, oh why do actors do this to audiences? [CHUD]
Rating’s report from last night: NBC slugged again – especially “Heroes,” fell to 7.6 million, 3.6 and matched last week’s series low. In good news, “Chuck” (6.8 million, 2.6) climbed 8% to its largest total viewer audience since its premiere. Actually make that great news. Hopefully by season’s end “Chuck” can tick closer to 7-7.5 million viewers and pick up a order for season three. Let’s pray this happens. [The Live Feed]
And the weather keeps getting worse. Yuck. On to the links.
“House” exec Katie Jacobs reveals her thoughts on the blooming House and Cuddy romance. I, for one, would like to see them get together. And people, it’s not a jump the shark moment if that happens. Can we just kill that phrase? The Internet has made “jump the shark” too accessible and tired. The phrase has jumped the shark. Ha. ha. [TV Guide]
Speaking of “House,” the show won last night in the major 18-49 ratings demo. Episode 507 pulled in 12.9 million viewers and a strong 5.5 demo number. “Fringe” held nicely after a long break with 8.9 million viewers and 3.9 in the demo. But of course, CBS’ duo of “NCIS” (18.8 mil, 4.0) and “The Mentalist” (16.5 mil, 4.0) smoked the competition in total viewers. Tuesday is really shaping up to be a nice little ratings war. [The Live Feed]
Hmm. BJ Novak is leaving “The Office” for an unidentified amount of time. He’s got that new Tarantino flick in the works, but rumblings are that Novak might not come back at all as a series regular. Others say he’ll be back by the end of the season. Ryan isn’t the most interesting character, but where this hurts the show is on the writing side, where Novak does some great work. I think we can all agree the show isn’t as funny as it used to be and the loss of Novak and other writer’s busy with side projects definitely won’t improve it. [Ausiello Files]
Sort of a surprise here. The CW has ordered five additional episodes of the low rated, highly praised “Privileged.” The show is a horrible ratings draw, but this is probably more about the network’s inability to develop new scripted shows more than anything. [Variety ]
Hahahahaha. “Mad TV” has finally been canceled after 14 years of bringing the mildly humorous to late nights. I can’t believe it lasted this long. [Defamer]
This better be true. Jeffrey Tambor recently told Collider that he had been contacted by the “Arrested Development” brass and the movie is a go. Don’t fuck with us FOX and “AD” staff. Please. [Collider]
Have any favorite shows that didn’t make too long on the air but have found a second wind online? Want to share those with the world? Then comment on this TV Guide piece where they’re trying to collect the best in “Hidden Gems on DVD.” [TV Guide]
Yikes. NBC’s hotly-advertised “Wednesday Night Crime Block” basically blew in the ratings department last night. “Knight Rider” (5.1 million, 1.6 in the 18-49 demo) had a massive drop to a season low, “Life” (5.8 million, 2.0) was up from its porous efforts on Friday, but still worse than typical “Deal or No Deal” airings, and the worst news of all, the 19th season premiere of “Law & Order” gave the show it’s lowest Wednesday night rating of all time (7.8 million, 2.2). The crime staple was down 42 percent from last year’s premiere. In better news, “Dirty Sexy Money” (6.4 million, 2.0) got a decent uptick due to the 8 PM showing of “Dancing With The Stars.” [The Live Feed]
Check out EW’s slideshow of the major players looking to score Oscar noms. [EW]
This is one of those news items that you initially think is really cool, and then you realize it’s not 1998 anymore. Sly Stallone will direct in star in a new film along side Jet Li and Jason Statham. [/Film]
Crazy. Scientists are looking to send a hot-air balloon to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. How freaking crazy is that? [MSNBC]
Here’s the trailer for Joss Whedon’s newest show “Dollhouse” that will debut sometime in 2009 on FOX. There’s been a lot of backstage and creative issues on this one, so chances are it will get canceled. But hey, enjoy this while it lasts.
September 30th, 2009 by 
aumorris
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