Tag Archives: TV
Har Du Tiger Blod I Dig?
Do you have ‘Tiger Blood’ in you? That’s what “Two and a half Men” creator Chuck Lorre wishes he still had. A little bit of the craziness that was once Charlie Sheen. Unfortunately, like everyone else, Chuck will have to watch his former collaborator Charlie Sheen fly the coop to promote his upcoming FX show “Anger Management”.
Not too long ago, the whole world watched Charlie Sheen’s infamous spiral out of what was considered one of the most successful and lucrative shows on TV. So, the question many still have after the tumultuous flame-out is what went wrong?
Lorre sat down with Deadline to reflect. “The guy was my friend and colleague for eight and a half years. I don’t think we ever had an argument,” adding, “For it to end like that was devastating. I don’t know what to say about it other than I was heartbroken and hurt.”
And what about the Sheen-less “Two and a half Men” transition to Ashton Kutcher? Lorre admits, “There was no development process. We actually made all of our mistakes on television. If you watch the 24 shows we did last year, you can watch us stumbling around trying to figure things out. I think we still are, honestly.”
From LA Slice’s perspective, it was obvious they ‘Screwed the Pooch’ on the transition, but Lorre to finally admit his mistakes is somewhat of milestone in Hollywood terms. …the gold is in your grill, Charlie. You’re move!
“Anger Management” debuts Thursday June 28 at 9 p.m ET/PT on FX. “Two and a half Men” airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Let the war of the ratings continue!
‘Idol’ Second Place is the 1st Loser
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Coming in second on “American Idol” may still be a path to superstardom, but it no longer offers guaranteed paychecks worthy of the next pop idol or rock star.
Wednesday night’s runner-up, 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez, doesn’t have a definite shot at producing an album and could be paid as little as $30,000 in advances for recording singles, according to the “Idol” contract she and other Season 11 contestants signed earlier this year.
The agreement appears to be the first time in the show’s history that producers are not offering the runner-up an album deal that in previous years came with a guaranteed advance of at least $175,000, an Associated Press review of the FOX show’s contracts reveals.
The analysis covers eight of the show’s 11 seasons during which contracts filed for contestants under the age of 18 were available. The contracts were reviewed by judges in accordance with a California law that requires at least 15 percent of a minor entertainer’s earnings be set aside for his or her benefit once he or she reaches adulthood.
The reduced royalty advance covers the period immediately following the show. In addition to recording new music, the series’ winners and finalists are obligated to perform in a concert tour and lend their likeness to a Walt Disney World Resort attraction in Florida.
If Sanchez is given an album deal following the show, she will receive the same $175,000 bonus that Lauren Alaina was paid after placing second in the show’s 10th season. But 19 Recordings Inc., which has the option to handle the albums and recordings of “Idol” contestants for several years after they appear on the show, has replaced a guaranteed album deal for the runner-up with a staggered “Development Period” that requires less music and pays out less in advances.
Sanchez could be paid as little as $30,000 if she is asked to perform four single songs, or $60,000 if she records an EP of between four and 10 songs.
Representatives for 19 Recordings Inc. and “American Idol” producer FremantleMedia declined comment. They also have not disclosed which recording deal would be offered to Sanchez.
“It makes sense. You can’t continue to offer the same sorts of rewards and incentives when the program was averaging 25 to 30 million (viewers), and (now) the finale is barely breaking 20 million,” said Northwestern University assistant professor Max Dawson, who teaches a course on reality television. Wednesday’s finale was the lowest-rated final show for “Idol” in its history.
Jennifer Love Hewitt Steams Up Maxim
Jennifer Love Hewitt is poised to steam up the small screen in “The Client List” as an all-American mom and former pageant queen-turned-friendly neighborhood prostitute, and now she’s steaming up the pages of Maxim sporting just a bra and panties!
This is the fourth time the former “Party of Five” hottie has graced the cover of Maxim, and she jokes to the magazine, “It’s my scale of how good I look. Whenever you guys call and say it’s time to be on your cover, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m in good shape.’ And when you don’t call, I’m like, ‘I guess I should hit the gym.’
As for her “Client List” character and the “lingerie-heavy show,” Jennifer offers, “I’ve never played a character who is this overtly sexual. It’s definitely going to be a departure from the normal stuff I do. Plus, we have a lot of really fun things in the series eye-candy-wise for our audience.”
The “Client List” series (originally based on a made-for-TV movie of the same name) premieres April 8 on Lifetime.
Jon Favreau Teams With J.J. Abrams For ‘Revolution’
Remember when big-screen talent lining up work on television was big news? Now it’s frankly surprising if a Hollywood director or actor hasn’t got a project on TV. Here’s the latest list that will be working on pilots this year.
After the relative failure, both critically and commercially, of “Cowboys & Aliens,” and presumably before he gets to work on (*shudder*) Disney’s “Magic Kingdom”, Jon Favreau will direct the pilot for J.J. Abrams’ “Revolution” at NBC. Written by “Supernatural” creator Eric Kripke, the show is described by Deadline as “high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.” Favreau also has a self-penned comedy pilot, “Tweaked,” lined up at CBS.
Hopefully Nick Nolte’s Oscar nomination for “Warrior” will finally get the film some of the attention it deserved (because heaven knows barely anyone saw it in theatres). Gavin O’Connor’s film had a tough time at the box office, but he’ll be hoping for more popular success for his latest project, a cold war period drama pilot he’ll direct for FX called “The Americans.” The project was created by Joe Weisberg (“Falling Skies”) and will focus on two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington, DC. “Justified” showrunner Graham Yost will exec produce, and we like the sound of this one.
After the success of “Limitless,” Neil Burger had his pick of future projects, and it looks like the one he settled on was “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” after David O. Russell left the project. That project is still at the script stage though so Burger has plenty of time to go off and make a TV pilot, and that’s exactly what he’ll be doing over at Fox where he’ll direct Josh Friedman’s (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”) spy drama pilot, “The Asset.”
Finally, Ellen Barkin looks set to star in the pilot for “The New Normal,” a comedy pilot over at NBC. The pilot was written by “Glee” duo Ryan Murphy (who will also direct) and Allison Adler, and is described by Deadline as “a heartwarming comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and the woman who becomes a surrogate to help them start a family.” Barkin will play the surrogate’s mother.
facebook and ‘Buffy’ team up
Facebook is looking to enter the cell phone business.
The social networking site has partnered with Taiwan-based mobile phone maker HTC to build a smartphone that would run on its own version of Goodle’s Android, All Things D reported.
The phone — code-named “Buffy,” after the 1997-2003 TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar — also would support HTML5 as a platform for applications.
The device is said to be 12-18 months away from becoming available to consumers.
According to AllThingsD, the phone marks a “significant shift” for Facebook, whose mobile initiatives thus far have been centered on “light collaborations with hardware makers looking to create more socially oriented phones.”
A Facebook spokesman refused to comment on the phone but did give a statement on the company’s mobile strategy.
“We think every mobile device is better if it is deeply social,” the spokesman said. “We’re working across the entire mobile industry; with operators, hardware manufacturers, OS providers and application developers to bring powerful social experiences to more people around the world.”
HTC also had no comment.
TARA REID: MY WEDDING WASN’T REAL
“American Pie” actress Tara Reid admitted to TMZ photographers on Monday at LAX airport that her recent marriage was never real.
In August, Reid had a quickie wedding to Bulgarian financier Zack Kehayov in the Greek Isles. After tweeting about her engagement, hours later Reid tweeted a picture of her all-white wedding on the island of Santorini, saying, “Just got married in Greece I love being a wife!”
Since August, Reid, 35, frequently tweeted messages of love and posted pictures of her relationship, always referring to Kehayov as her “husband”.
But when paparazzi caught up with the actress after her flight yesterday and asked if she and her husband could win “The Newlywed Game,” an exhausted-looking Reid said they “were never really married” because they never legalized their union in the United States.
The so-called wedding has fueled confusion ever since Reid’s initial announcement. Right before her supposed wedding to Kehayov, Reid’s reps stated that she married Danish businessman Michael Lillelund, who denied the wedding, insisting he hadn’t spoken to Reid in months. Reid had two other previous engagements, one with Internet entrepreneur Michael Axtmann and TV personality Carson Daly.
Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals her insecurities
She is a Hollywood pin up with a face and figure which would be the envy of woman everywhere.
But its seems Sarah Michelle Gellar suffers from the same insecurities as many of the female population.
‘I’m a female! I totally have body dysmorphic disorder,’ the 34-year-old star tells Health magazine in their latest issue. ‘I think most women do.’
‘A make-up artist friend once said “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look in a mirror.” I’m surrounded by them all the time – you sit in hair and make-up – so I guess I just have this mechanism where I tune it out.’
‘So every once in a while, I’ll look and I’ll be like, “Wait, that’s what I look like?”‘ she adds. ‘I just have to remember that I’m human, and I’m a mom.
‘Being a parent changes the vanity at least a little bit. It has to. Your priorities are different.’
Gellar has been married to actor Freddie Prinze Jr for nine years and they have a two-year-old daughter Charlotte Grace, who she was seen carrying around the set of TV drama Ringer earlier this week.
‘Before I got pregnant I was in really, really good shape,’ she recalls. ‘I think when I was doing Buffy I was a little bit thin, actually, because even though I was working out constantly, it was just the time and the age.
‘But I was happy being pregnant, too. I’m not as critical as I used to be about my body.’
The actress, who found fame in cult TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, says she keeps in shape through working out on the treadmill and Pilates, which she says helps with her scoliosis, a form of spine curvature.
The star also recalls how she went into labour while in a Pilates gym.
‘It was funny, too, because I was getting cranky, and I said to my trainer, “I’m just cranky today.” She was like, “Maybe it’s because you’re going to give birth!” And I was like, “Nah, not yet.” It turned out I was in labour, I didn’t realize.’
Nicklelodeon star booked for DUI
The erstwhile star of Nickelodeon’s “Gigantic” has a little legal problem on his hands. Ryan Rottman was popped for a DUI Thursday night in Hollywood, E! News has confirmed.
So how’d he get into this mess?
According to an LAPD spokesman, an officer in a patrol car witnessed the TV hunk jump a curb. The cops pulled over Rottman, who allegedly reeked of booze. He was given and flubbed a field sobriety test and then blew a 0.19 on a Breathalyzer — more than double California’s legal limit.
Rottman was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of DUI. He was released from jail a few hours later without posting a bond.
Rottman got his start as an extra in the 2008 big-screen comedy “The House Bunny” and appeared in bit roles in a few other features before landing a plum part last year on “Gigantic” opposite Grace Gummer and Gia Mantegna (better known as the respective daughters of Meryl Streep and Joe Mantegna). The teen dramedy ran for one season before it was canceled in April.
Rottman also dates fellow Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice of “Zoey 101″ fame.
‘Dallas’ remake gets the green light at TNT
TNT has green-lit its long-in-development remake of “Dallas,” which will have a new cast but also feature the returns of several of the original series’ stars, including Larry Hagman as J.R., Patrick Duffy as Bobby and Linda Gray as Sue Ellen.
“Dallas” will also star Josh Henderson (“90210″), Jesse Metcalfe (“Desperate Housewives,” “Chase”), Jordana Brewster (“Fast Five,” “Chuck”), Julie Gonzalo (“Eli Stone”) and Brenda Strong (“Desperate Housewives”). Cynthia Cidre (“Cane,” “The Mambo Kings”) wrote the pilot and will executive produce with director Michael Robin (“The Closer,” “Nip/Tuck”).
The series won’t premiere until next summer, but viewers can get their first look at the show Monday during the season premieres of “The Closer” and “Rizzoli & Isles” on TNT.
The original “Dallas” aired from 1978 to 1991 on CBS and was followed by a couple of TV movies, most recently “Dallas: War of the Ewings” in 1998. The new series will focus on J.R.’s son, John Ross (Henderson; Omri Katz played the character for most of the original series), and Bobby’s adopted son, Christopher (Metcalfe). They’re involved in a love triangle over Elena (Brewster), even though Christopher’s engaged to another woman, Rebecca (Gonzalo). Strong will play Bobby’s wife, Ann.
The old “Dallas” was a giant hit for CBS, finishing as the No. 1 or No. 2 show on TV for five straight seasons in the 1980s. The infamous “Who shot J.R.?” episode in November 1980 was watched by an estimated 83 million people, making it the third most-watched episode of a scripted TV series in U.S. history (behind the finales of “M*A*S*H” and “Cheers”).
Ellen’s Failed Attempt at ‘The Voice’
Ellen Degeneres, Ellen Degeneres, … she is so generous! We all love us some Ellen Degeneres but apparently the producers of NBC’s hit ‘The Voice’ weren’t too keen on the Über funny TV personality.
Check out Ellen’s brief stint as a Coach on The Voice. Don’t call it a sabotage!
