Archive: May 2010 (351-360 of 596)

May 12 2010 03:06 PM ET

Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata join Katherine Heigl in Stephanie Plum film

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Filed under: Movies, News and tagged: , ,

Daniel-Sunjata-OmaraImage Credit: Glenn Harris/PR Photos; Sylvain Gaboury/PR PhotosJason O’Mara, the star of ABC’s Life on Mars, has been cast as Joe Morelli in Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation of One For the Money, the first novel in Janet Evanovich’s bestselling Stephanie Plum series, Variety reports. He joins Katherine Heigl, who’s set to play Plum, a newly-divorced, recently laid-off 30-year-old in New Jersey who becomes a bounty hunter. Her first assignment is bringing in Morelli, a former vice cop now wanted for murder. The two have a history — Stephanie lost her virginity to him in high school — so look for sparks to fly in more ways than one. Rescue Me‘s Daniel Sunjata has also been cast as Ranger, the veteran bounty hunter who’ll show her the ropes.

Stephanie Plum fans, do you approve? Evanovich once told EW, “If you want to cry, you’re not going to like my books. If you want a really good plot, you’re not going to like my plots. My books have pizza and cussing and sexy guys.” I therefore accept O’Mara and Sunjata.

I also think they’ve proven they have the right delivery for a comic crime thriller.

Read more:
One For the Money acquired by Lionsgate
How Janet Evanovich broke through

May 12 2010 02:00 PM ET

The new season of 'Being Erica': An exclusive flash-forward to a few spoilers...

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

being-ericaImage Credit: Stephen Scott/Temple Street ProductionsNow that we know we’ll continue to get our televisual dose of time-travel even after Lost ends — thanks to yesterday’s announcement that SoapNet’s Being Erica will return for a third season early next year — PopWatch is proud to bring you our own version of a flash-forward: A few exclusive tidbits about the coming season of the cult fave. Erica exec producer Aaron Martin tells us that in the coming 13 episodes, we’ll travel still deeper into the time-skipping-therapist network to meet Dr. Naadiah’s own doctor, played by Graham Greene (an Academy Award nominee, no less, for Dancing With Wolves, and late of Twilight: New Moon). Kai will be back (phew), and we’ll meet yet another patient, who happens to be Irish. This maybe, sort-of hints at my theory that season 3 will find her more involved in the time-travel world, possibly as a therapist-in-training herself, after Dr. Tom presented her with a choice of magical, unexplained doors through which to walk in the season 2 finale. But the beauty of this show is you never know what they’ll throw at us next.

As for boys: A new character gets a recurring role — Lenin, a guy Erica’s sister Sam works with, will be played by Brandon Jay McLaren (the dreamy Devon Sylver from The N’s highly underrated The Best Years). Ryan — that guy Erica dated for a bit in season 1 — will pop up again, as will Ethan’s ex, Claire. When it comes to Ethan himself, well, the “jury is out,” Martin says. Hmmm …

What do you think, PopWatchers? Any theories as to what season 3 will entail?

May 12 2010 01:42 PM ET

'SNL': The Golden Girl ep reminded us of a female-centric golden age

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Saturday-Night-Live-SNLImage Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCBetty White’s Saturday Night Live episode was one of the show’s funniest outings all season. But in the hubbub over the 88-year-old’s dynamo hosting job, it’s worth noting that Ex-SNL­ers Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon, and Amy Poehler were also awesome. They didn’t just bring the funny. They smashed funny in our faces until we couldn’t breathe. Their guest appearances also kind of made me think: When did SNL turn into such a boys’ club after years of female domination? As Scott Mendelson at the Huffington Post points out, it’s tough to be a woman on SNL if your name isn’t Kristen Wiig. Featured players Nasim Pedrad, Abby Elliott, and Jenny Slate regularly get pushed to the background of sketches, if they’re even in the sketch at all. And, if you ask me, the utter lack of female voices on the show is reason No. 1 why this season of SNL was a little bit…off. READ FULL STORY »

May 12 2010 01:35 PM ET

Jennifer Aniston reteaming with Paul Rudd. Is this the hit she's been looking for?

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: ,

Busy times for Jennifer Aniston’s agent. This morning, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety announced that the former Friends star is circling two new big-screen projects. One is Horrible Bosses, a workplace murder comedy also likely to star Jason Bateman, Charlie Day (a Mandi Bierly favorite), and Colin Farrell. Aniston would play an aggressive dentist who hits on the hapless Day character. Seth Gordon (Four Christmases) will direct. Sounds promising, right? My fingers are crossed that it’ll be similar in tone to what remains her best movie to date: Office Space.

TPS reports indicate that Project No. 2 has even more potential. Also a comedy, this one’s called WanderLust and it’s got an impressive pedigree: Judd Apatow is producing, David Wain (Role Models) is directing, and Paul Rudd is costarring, co-writing, and producing. Paul Rudd bustin’ out the triple-threat cred! To me, that’s reason enough to root for this movie, which, by the way, tells the story of a couple who moves to a commune after losing all their moolah. But it also has that Apatow guy attached, as well as David Wain, who certainly knows how to bring the funny, especially when Rudd’s around. I give you: Wet Hot American Summer.

Anyway, back to Rudd. READ FULL STORY »

May 12 2010 01:28 PM ET

Charlie Day, the next big-screen comedy star: We like the sound of that

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , ,

Charlie-DayImage Credit: Aaron Rapoport/FXIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Charlie Day, along with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, is in talks to star in the big-screen comedy Horrible Bosses directed by Seth Gordon (Four Christmases, The King of Kong). According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film, long in the works, revolves around three best friends (Day, Bateman, and actor TBA), who decide that the only way to end their miserable work lives is to kill one another’s bosses. Per the trade, Bateman’s character is pissed that he’s gotten passed over for a promotion, while Day plays a “hapless guy who’s always in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Aniston would play one of the three bosses, a “sexually aggressive dentist” who hits on Day. Colin Farrell is also in talks to play another of the bosses, which leaves one of the upper management roles open as well.

As hilarious as this sounds, what really excited me was a line in the story about why Day was approached: Insiders are buzzing that he’s a scene-stealer in the August Drew Barrymore/Justin Long comedy Going the Distance. Are we surprised? In a PopWatch poll before Sunny’s fifth season premiere, 67 percent of readers said his character, also named Charlie, was their favorite on the show. And this was before any of the scenes embedded after the jump aired. What makes Day special is his ability to play dumb and twisted and still be likable. I always find myself wanting to hug him. The Horrible Bosses part sounds perfect for him. How many horribly misguided plans have we seen him be a party to on Sunny? And how often are you rooting for him? READ FULL STORY »

May 12 2010 01:12 PM ET

Brad Pitt fights a tiger, 'Spartacus' gets a prequel (Excess Hollywood)

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Filed under: Movies, News, Television and tagged: , , , ,
  • Darren Aronofsky is developing The Tiger, which will likely star Brad Pitt as an animal activist who protects a Siberian town from a tiger. Just give it pepper, duh. [THR]
  • Starz is planning a prequel to its Spartacus: Blood and Sand series. Please let it be titled Spartacus: Jupiter’s C—! [Associated Press]
  • Wimpy Kid may soon be big enough to steal your lunch money: Fox 2000 has scheduled its Wimpy Kid sequel for release on March 25, 2011. [Variety]
  • Alan Ball and Oprah Winfrey are teaming up for a telefilm adaptation of Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. [Variety]
  • Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard will star in David Cronenberg’s Don DeLillo adaptation Cosmopolis, about an asset manager who loses his fortune in the course of one day. Here’s hoping he stays away from phone booths. [Variety]
  • Hurt Locker reunion! Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly have been tapped to co-star in Real Steel, a Dreamworks film about a boxer (Hugh Jackman) who trains a robot for a fight. Barney will certainly be there. [Variety]
  • Kurt Russell will star in Media 8 Entertainment’s Undying, a supernatural thriller. [THR]
  • Zack Snyder‘s Sucker Punch 3D will be released on IMAX on March 25, 2011. In that case, pack face padding. [THR]
  • Expect some British class on Showtime: Thespians Derek Jacobi and Richard Griffiths have been tapped for Showtime’s The Borgias and Episodes, respectively. [THR]
May 12 2010 01:10 PM ET

Lunchtime Poll: The Foxes and the Pussycat

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Filed under: Reality TV and tagged: , , , , ,

After Nicole Scherzinger performed her Week 8 ballroom routine on Monday’s Dancing With the Stars, Niecy Nash and her mom displayed a similar, perhaps genetic, lack of enthusiasm. The standing O surrounding Niecy’s mom (below, red dress) provided perhaps the ultimate context for such bold stone-coldness, but Niecy’s own “Now That’s What I Call a Face!” display backstage was fierce, too. It’s not like we need to decide who made the bigger statement, but…well, it’s lunchtime. So.

More of this chicanery in this week’s Hidden Gems collection!

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

May 12 2010 01:00 PM ET

'Sarah Silverman Program' canceled: A sad day for poop-joke comedy

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Filed under: News, Television and tagged: ,

sarah-silvermanImage Credit: Comedy Central Poor Sarah Silverman. As first reported in Deadline, the pigtailed, foul-mouth comic’s comedy series, The Sarah Silverman Program, has been canceled. (Comedy Central confirmed to EW: “We will not be renewing it for a fourth season.”) Somehow, I blame God. (Or Ben Affleck.) Because, as we know, Sarah rejected the needy King of Kings. So I imagine his hands are all over this. Either way, I’ll miss Silverman’s irreverent brand of comedy on television, and plan on growing a mustache while in mourning. But who am I kidding? I could never pull it off like she does.

PopWatchers, will you miss The Sarah Silverman Program? And are you, like me, hoping Brian Posehn finds another gig very, very soon?

May 12 2010 12:52 PM ET

'Newsweek' and Sean Hayes: You say too gay? No frickin' way!

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Filed under: Movies, Television and tagged: , , ,

Sean-HayesImage Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty ImagesWhenever an actor comes out of the closet, there’s a lot of tired talk about whether he’ll still be credible in romantic leads or whether our presumably shocking knowledge of his personal life will destroy his career. This has always struck me as silly, given that the whole experience of taking in pop culture involves permitting yourself to believe something that isn’t true. (One example that I hope won’t distress you: Robert Downey Jr. does not really have a special suit that lets him fly.) Every time I watch TV, I’m consenting to forget about somebody’s felony conviction or chin tuck or eight-figure income. So suspending my already minimal interest in a performer’s sexuality? No big deal. READ FULL STORY »

May 12 2010 12:46 PM ET

Facebook's 'SNL' Crusade II: Carol Burnett

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , , ,

Carol-BurnettFirst, Betty White landed her Saturday Night Live hosting gig thanks to Facebook. (And it seems the Betty White Facebook insanity has yet to end — there’s now a campaign for The Golden Girls star to appear on Glee and one for her to host the Oscars.) Now it’s Carol Burnett’s turn in the spotlight. Someone has launched a Facebook page urging SNL to invite Burnett to host. Already, more than 54,000 people have endorsed the idea, which, historically speaking, would be somewhat ironic. When Saturday Night Live launched in 1975, The Carol Burnett Show was an established sketch-comedy television hit. But the original SNL crew thought her act was too corny and purposely veered in a more irreverent direction. “We loved Carol Burnett, we respected her, but we were trying to be different than that,” musician Paul Shaffer told Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller for the authoritative book Live From New York. Maybe that friendly rivalry is why Burnett never hosted an SNL show. (Though she did once have a walk-on during a 1985 episode hosted by Harry Anderson.)

I’m all for Burnett hosting an episode next season. That should give her time to fondle Sandra Bullock, get tackled in a Snickers commercial and whatever else one has to do these days to become a cuddly senior. The only people I can think of who are rooting against her are Hollywood talent agents. If she succeeds, other entertainers may begin to question if they need professional representation at all.

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