UPDATE! New Home For 24?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
 24 may live to see another day after all.
Multiple sources confirm to Entertainment Weekly that 20th Century Fox has approached NBC about picking up the series should Fox opt to cancel it — and the Peacock is considering it. “There’s definitely some interest,” says an insider close to the talks.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that 20th (a.k.a. the studio) and Fox (a.k.a. the network) are nearing a mutual decision to end the serial thriller after eight seasons due to declining ratings and rising costs.
A move to NBC — while still considered somewhat of a long shot given the hefty price tag — would likely delay 20th’s plans to launch a Jack Bauer film franchise. From a production standpoint, 24 execs have long maintained that it would ne next to impossible to make a movie while the series was still on the air.
Reps for 20th and NBC declined to comment.
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UPDATE! Haim Death Connected To Drug Ring?
Saturday, March 13, 2010
 Was a crime involved in Corey Haim's death?
Investigators have now found that an "unauthorized" prescription in his name was linked to an "illegal and massive prescription-drug ring," according to the California Attorney General's Office.
"We know there was a prescription pad stolen and there was a prescription written for him using that pad, so it was fraudulent and we know it was filled," AG spokeswoman Christine Gasparac tells PEOPLE.
The L.A. Coroner has confirmed that four prescription pill bottles in Haim's name were recovered from the scene. But it's unknown whether any of those medications were obtained through the alleged drug ring, or whether Haim even knew about the scam.
Although police mentioned an overdose as a possible cause of death, the official determination is pending toxicology tests. Haim's mother says she was told by the coroner her son suffered from pulmonary congestion.
What is known is that Haim's name arose in the course of a major investigation into what Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. called an "illegal and massive prescription-drug ring."
The ring orders prescription pads from vendors using stolen doctor identities, the AG's office said in a statement Friday.
The pads are then either sold on the street to addicts or to people who are paid to fill the prescription and then sell the drugs on the underground market, the statement reads. The doctor whose name is printed on the form is usually unaware that his or her identity has been stolen, the AG adds.
Haim died at age 38 after collapsing in his mother's Los Angeles apartment Wednesday.
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UPDATE! 4 More Sent Home
Friday, March 12, 2010
 Teen power won out on "American Idol" as Katie Stevens claimed a place in the top 12 while a more experienced singer got the ax.
Stevens, 17, earned viewer support even though the show's judges were disappointed earlier this week by her performance of "Breakaway" that Randy Jackson likened to karaoke.
Lilly Scott, despite earning praise for her artistry on "I Fall to Pieces," was among the four contestants dropped Thursday. They included Alex Lambert of North Richland Hills, Texas; Todrick Hall of Arlington, Texas, and Katelyn Epperly of West Des Moines, Iowa.
Scott, who had been warned by Simon Cowell that her version of the country standard might be risky, stood onstage next to Stevens to hear which of them would be going home. Scott appeared stunned when her name was announced.
"I thought I did really well. I put my heart into every performance," said Scott, 20, of Littleton, Colo. "I just know there's an audience out there for me."
Judge Kara DioGuardi, comparing the two, acknowledged that Stevens of Middlebury, Conn., had the advantage of a more contemporary sound but didn't know herself as a performer yet, while Scott did.
It was no surprise that the judge's favorite from previous weeks, Michael "Big Mike" Lynche, made the cut.
Lynche, 26, of Astoria, N.Y., especially dazzled the panel Wednesday with his performance of "This Woman's Work," which brought DioGuardi to tears.
The other finalists are Crystal Bowersox, 24, of Toledo, Ohio; Siobhan Magnus, 20, of Marstons Mills, Mass.; Lacey Brown, 24, of Amarillo, Texas; Paige Miles, 24, of Houston; Didi Benami, 23, of Los Angeles; Andrew Garcia, 24, Moreno Valley, Calif., Casey James, 27, of Fort Worth, Texas; Tim Urban, 20, of Duncanville, Texas; Aaron Kelley, 16, of Sonestown, Pa., and Lee Dewyze, 23, of Mount Prospect, Ill.
Lambert, 19, who had trouble overcoming his shyness on stage, looked downcast and tearful when he learned his fate.
"There's a lot of things America hasn't seen me do yet," he said, adding, "I wish could just have broken out of my shell."
Judge Ellen DeGeneres gave him a verbal pat on the back.
"You're so good. Don't ever stop believing in yourself," she said.
Hall, however, looked on the bright side.
"This has been an awesome experience. I came here to prove that I'm not just a dancer, I can also sing. I think that I've done that," he said, earning encouragement from Jackson. "Fantastic, dude," the judge told him.
DioGuardi had criticized Epperly for "going through the motions" on her version of "I Feel the Earth Move" earlier this week. Cowell compared her performance to request night at a restaurant, but added that he did like her full, curly locks that evoked the song's composer, Carole King.
"I'm not stopping now. It's just a push actually, for me. I'll do more stuff," Epperly said Thursday.
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Conan On Tour
Friday, March 12, 2010
 Without a TV show to do every night, Conan O'Brien is taking his act on the road.
The former host of The Tonight Show announced a 30-city theater tour on Thursday. Sidekick Andy Richter and the former Tonight Show band will join O'Brien for what he promises to be "a night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence."
The "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" begins April 12 in Eugene, Ore., and concludes June 14 in Atlanta. It will visit theaters in at least 20 states and two Canadian provinces. Additional dates may be added.
O'Brien quipped: "It was either a massive 30-city tour or start helping out around the house."
On the itinerary is New York's Radio City Music Hall, just steps from where O'Brien first gained fame hosting Late Night, and the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, Calif., near the studio where he presided over The Tonight Show for eight months.
The tour also will make a stop at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, the annual festival that takes place June 10-13 in Tennessee. Aside from performing in the comedy tent, O'Brien will emcee the festival's largest music stage on June 11 and 12, the festival said.
O'Brien quit The Tonight Show in January instead of taking NBC's offer to move his start time back by a half-hour to make room for Tonight Show veteran Jay Leno's return to late night from a failed prime-time show. He hasn't announced any future television plans.
Leno now is back in his old Tonight slot, which he had bequeathed to O'Brien last June.
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Avatar Re-Release
Friday, March 12, 2010
Get ready for "Avatar"-plus.
James Cameron and Fox are in discussions about rereleasing "Avatar," primarily in 3D theaters, in late summer -- and, tantalizingly, with additional scenes that had been left on the cutting-room floor in the rush to ready the epic for its Dec. 18 release.
The impetus for a rerelease is the feeling that, even though "Avatar" is the highest-grossing movie of all time, producers could have raked in even more money had they been able to hold on to the digital and Imax 3D screens that were lost when Disney opened "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D on March 5.
As for how much additional footage Cameron might add to "Avatar," the guessing began early Thursday when Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said during a Gabelli & Co. investor conference in New York that Cameron had about 40 minutes of additional material that didn't make the theatrical cut. He also predicted a rerelease, which he said probably would occur in the fall.
Cameron had said that he had 10-12 minutes of extra scenes that he cut and could quickly put through postproduction and have ready to add to a director's cut for a theatrical reissue or as an extra on the DVD release. One scene has to do with Jake Sully's avatar proving himself to the Na'vi people; the other involves a native festival during which tribe member Tsu'tey gets drunk.
The maximum length a movie can be released in analog Imax theaters is 170 minutes -- a number Cameron was aware of when he made his original edit -- so he could add about 10 minutes to the 160-minute current run time and still be in all Imax locations. That seems more likely than trying to add as much as 40 minutes.
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Jersey Shore Lands In Miami
Thursday, March 11, 2010
 'Jersey Shore" is heading to South Beach.
Over the objections of locals, the controversial cast of MTV's latest hit reality series is said to be gearing up to bring their Cheetos tans and fist-bumping guido 'tude to Miami, reports the Miami Herald.
Shooting on the second season of the series is said to begin next week, which accounts for the immediate need to move taping to a warmer climate. The new season is expected to begin airing in early summer.
Hotels and clubs in the area, including Mynt Lounge, have already started rejecting the advances of location scouts, wary of negative associations from accommodating the trashy cast
The first season of "Jersey Shore" was shot in a beach house in Seaside Heights. After its December premiere, the show came under fire from Italian-American groups objecting to the stereotypes fulfilled by the badly behaved eight cast members who called themselves "guidos" and "guidettes."
In response, Seaside Heights made it clear that they "did not solicit, promote or participate in the filming of this show."
The controversy surrounding the series drew 5 million viewers to the January season finale, making it one of the music network's most-watched shows in the last five years.
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UPDATE! Betty White To Host SNL
Thursday, March 11, 2010
 Facebook has gotten Betty White the gig she never asked for: host of Saturday Night Live.
The 88-year-old actress, beloved by generations of TV fans, will host NBC's late-night veteran May 8. The Mother's Day episode also will feature a reunion of six former female cast members, most of them moms: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch.
SNLexecutive producer Lorne Michaels says he has "always wanted" White to host. "Years ago, I turned it down three times," White says. "It's so New York, and I'm not New York at all. "But my agent said he'd divorce me if I didn't do it, and I love my agent." (That agent, Jeff Witjas, says he was only joking, but "it's perfect timing for her career right now. I said, 'Do it now, or when you're 95.' ")
But it wasn't the legacy of White's Emmy-winning roles as the cutting happy homemaker Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Showor naive Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls that nabbed her the gig. Nor was it the lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild in January, or last year's role as Ryan Reynolds' crazy grandma in The Proposal.
It was her appearance in a Super Bowl candy commercial in which she's tackled in the mud by a football player. The spot topped USA Today's Ad Meter poll and lit a fuse on a Facebook campaign, where a "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" group — started in late December — has attracted nearly half a million members.
"It took on a groundswell," Michaels says, loath to admit he was goaded into casting her. "It isn't something we would have said no to," but the campaign "validated that, 'Oh, that'd be fun.' ... It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way."
The fan who started it, David Mathews, 29, of San Antonio says he has "never considered myself to be a super fan of anything, but if there was somebody to be a super fan of, it would be Betty White." He's not even a big SNL watcher, but the idea "came up over the holidays" and took hold. "She's been in most of your life, whether you're 70 years old or 17."
Michaels says that as the live show's oldest host, she can perform "as much as she wants to do" but adds that the physical demands of the show led him to plan the cast reunion, though make no mistake: White is the solo host.
She's flattered and flabbergasted by the attention: "It's lovely, and at my age it's certainly unexpected." And she's not worried about the workload: "I've got so much energy, it's ridiculous. I love working. My schedule is a feverish one, and I'm used to that."
White has no children of her own, though she counts her golden retriever, Pontiac, as one. But, Michaels says, "she's the mother of us all in comedy, so it will be a celebration of Betty White."
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UPDATE! Academy: Farrah Better Known For TV Work
Wednessday, March 10, 2010
The executive director of the film academy said Tuesday that Farrah Fawcett wasn't included in the Academy Awards' In Memoriam segment because the actress was better known as a TV star.
It was a difficult decision for the committee that assembles the segment to omit Fawcett, said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences executive director Bruce Davis, who added that he's not surprised some fans and family members are upset.
Fawcett's family issued a statement through a publicist Tuesday saying they were "deeply saddened" and "bereft with this exclusion of such an international icon who inspired so many for so many reasons."
Davis said the academy committee debated about including Fawcett and Gene Barry, a longtime TV actor who died in December at age 90, in the memorial segment but ultimately omitted both. Davis and his colleagues thought that while the two actors appeared in movies, they were better known for their "remarkable television work" and would be more appropriately honored by the television academy at the Emmy Awards.
The group "was kind of figuring that probably the Farrah Fawcett and Gene Barry omissions would be the ones we'd get the most comments on," he said. He acknowledged that he "did get one letter about Miss Fawcett."
The academy director said "an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters" died this year, and the academy tried to honor many of them in the short memorial segment. "In every category, you're going to miss some wonderful people," said Davis, who has helped assemble Oscar's In Memoriam montage since it began in 1993.
When asked why Michael Jackson was included when actors were left out, Davis explained that Jackson had appeared in a popular theatrical film recently. Fawcett and Jackson both died on June 25. "Think of all the blogging we would have gotten if we had left him out!" he said.
Still, he said he understands that the Fawcett and Barry omissions sting. "There's nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all," Davis said. "They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we're sorry for it."
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Letterman Pleased With Outcome Of Extortion Case
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
 From the start, David Letterman made sure the story of a $2 million shakedown attempt over his sex life was one he narrated himself.
It was the comic, not prosecutors, who broke the news of the case, which spurred him last fall to acknowledge affairs with women on his staff.
After former television producer Robert "Joe" Halderman pleaded guilty Tuesday to a blackmail attempt driven by debt and jealousy, Letterman seized the moment again. The late-night icon's lawyers were at the courthouse with a statement from him, and he weighed in on his show with praise for prosecutors and police.
"It was handled professionally, skillfully and appropriately," he said.
Letterman may be hoping the same is said of his own handling of the case, which at first dealt a blow to his image as a nice guy, if perhaps a little cranky.
Halderman, 52, pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny, acknowledging he threatened to destroy Letterman reputation by airing his workplace dalliances — using information authorities have said Halderman mined from the diary of a former girlfriend who had a relationship with Letterman.
The plea deal spares Halderman a potential 15 years in prison had he been convicted. He is due instead to get a six-month jail sentence and 1,000 hours of community service.
"I attempted to extort $2 million from David Letterman by threatening to disclose personal and private information about him, whether true or false," he said in court Tuesday, apologizing to his ex-girlfriend and Letterman.
"I feel great remorse for what I have done," he said.
The plea also spares Letterman the prospect of a trial that could have put his private life on display, though he defused much of Halderman's potential bombshell last fall by revealing his affairs.
Halderman was a producer for CBS' "48 Hours Mystery" when the case began; Letterman's "Late Show" also is on CBS. CBS News said Halderman is no longer an employee but declined to specify whether he had quit or been fired.
Halderman acknowledged delivering the blackmail threat in September to Letterman's driver, in the form of a faintly fictionalized screenplay outline about the comedian. He admitted Tuesday the supposed script was "just a thinly veiled threat to ruin Mr. Letterman if he did not pay me a lot of money."
Defense attorney Gerald Shargel said Tuesday that Halderman "was both jealous and enraged" and under financial pressure. Halderman, who made about $214,000 in 2007, was struggling with money in the wake of a divorce, according to court papers filed by his ex-wife's lawyers.
Under the plea agreement, Halderman must give prosecutors all copies of any diary entries, photos, screenplay notes or other materials he has concerning Letterman and must agree never to reveal the contents.
Outside court, Halderman repeated his apologies, declined interviews and said no more. He remains free on bail until his sentencing, set for May 4.
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Conan To The Rescue
Tuesday, March 10, 2010
 Conan O'Brien may seem like an unlikely fairy godmother – but he has made one Michigan woman's dreams come true.
Two weeks ago, the late-night comedian decided to follow a stranger on Twitter. That person is 19-year-old Sarah Killen from Fowlerville. "I've decided to follow someone at random," O'Brien tweeted. "She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs."
Killen hasn't been the same since. "He's changed my life," she tells PopEater. Most importantly, she can now have her fantasy wedding, thanks to all the attention O'Brien has drummed up for her.
"It has really helped," Killen says. "I'm getting married on September 25, and we didn't know if we would be able to afford it. Now I'm getting custom made shoes and a dress from Kelima in New York … We're getting a limo, Classic Creations is giving us wedding bands and there's a vineyard in California sending us wine. We've got it all covered now."
Killen says O'Brien is invited to her wedding.
"My fiancé wants Conan to be his best man," she says. "That would be really cool. And hey, if he wants us to come on his show, we'd get married on there. That would be fantastic."
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Sheen To Return Next Week
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
 Charlie Sheen is expected to return to work on CBS' "Two and a Half Men" on Tuesday, according to his publicist.
The Hollywood Reporter says the actor is said to be in the process of exiting the rehab facility he checked into Feb. 23
On Monday, Sheen is scheduled to appear in an Aspen, Colo., court over domestic abuse charges stemming from his Christmas Day arrest. If Sheen returns to work next week, that would mean a three-week shutdown for "Men" -- not too bad, given the fact that the show had a weeklong built-in hiatus in March.
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Lohan Sues Over Commercial
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Lindsay Lohan is suing the financial company E-Trade, insisting that a boyfriend-stealing, "milkaholic" baby in its latest commercial -- who happens to be named Lindsay -- was modeled after her. And she wants $100 million for her pain and suffering, The New York Post has learned.
The actress filed a lawsuit yesterday in Nassau County Supreme Court over the commercial that debuted during the Super Bowl this year. The ad -- part of a series starring babies who play the stock market -- features a boy apologizing to his girlfriend via video chat for not calling her the night before.
"Lindsay?" the boy replies, just before a baby girl sticks her head into the frame and slurs, "Milk-a-what?" Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said the actress has the same single-name recognition as Oprah or Madonna. "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit," Ovadia said. "They used the name Lindsay," Ovadia said. "They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."
Ovadia wants an injunction to force the spot off the air, and the Lindsay camp wants every last copy of the commercial.
Chris Brown, a spokesman for Grey Group, which produced the spot, is throwing cold milk on the controversy, saying it "just used a popular baby name that happened to be the name of someone on the account team." Ovadia said E-Trade has violated Lohan's rights under New York state civil-rights law and used her "name and characterization" in business without paying her or getting her approval. The lawyer said that since the spot was seen by hundreds of millions of people watching the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics finals, the firm has garnered great profits.
She says Lohan is owed $50 million in exemplary damages, plus another $50 million in compensatory damages. E-Trade could not be reached for comment.
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Ireland Not Drunk On Red Carpet
Tuesday, March 10, 2010
Kathy Ireland was the buzz of the red carpet at Sunday's Oscars – and not for good reasons. The former supermodel became a trending topic on Twitter after appearing on ABC's pre-Academy Awards red carpet special, looking somewhat awkward while interviewing celebrities.
"Dear ABC, Whoever OK'd Kathy Ireland on the red carpet... should be fired. Immediately," one viewer, @markicostello, Tweeted. Another viewer, @liliceprincess, was equally critical, Tweeting, "Kathy Ireland was posing way too much. Her hands were robotic. It was all very awkward."
For her part, Ireland answered back to her critics on her official Twitter page, often responding directly to people's comments. She maintained she wasn't on medication or drinking, and was just happy to be there.
"Laughed @ being hot topic on twitter 2night," she Tweeted. "So many misunderstood that the J.O.Y. was being invited 2 co host. Grateful to all. Thank You!"
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Burke Joins Dancing
Tuesday, March 10, 2010
 Former Dancing With the Stars winner Brooke Burke will be Tom Bergeron's new partner when the series starts again later month.
She'll replace Samantha Harris as co-host. Bergeron made the announcement Monday on ABC's Good Morning America.
As a contestant, Burke won during the season that ended in November 2008. She has hosted TV shows including CBS' Rock Star and E!'s Wild On. The mother of four children has also built her own business on parenting issues, with an online baby products store and job as the "mommy correspondent" on the syndicated show The Doctors. She has more than 1.7 million followers on Twitter.
Contestants this season include former Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson, reality star Kate Gosselin, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Olympics figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek.
Also competing for the mirrorball trophy will be reality TV personality Jake Pavelka, sportscaster Erin Andrews, singer Nicole Scherzinger, football star Chad Ochocinco and actors Shannen Doherty, Aiden Turner and Niecy Nash.
The new season begins March 22.
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NBC Renews Pageants
Tuesday, March 10, 2010
Miss America may be searching for a new home, but NBC has renewed its deal with Donald Trump and the Miss Universe organization to televise "Miss Universe" and "Miss USA" for three more years.
“There's been renewed interest in this series of beauty pageants, especially among a new generation of younger viewers," said Paul Telegdy, executive vp of alternative programming, NBC. “NBC is proud to maintain this unique American cultural tradition as a viable series of competitive programming specials that continue to be a popular source of entertainment.”
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