Today, The Hollywood Reporter reported that A&E had been shooting a reality show -- tentatively titled The Jackson Family -- which followed Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy Jackson as they prepared to release a new album and launch a tour. (The one-hour special the network had already filmed would serve as a "backdoor pilot" for a series.) Of course, since all the footage had been shot prior to Michael Jackson's death, one has to imagine that the network will have to somehow amend the program to acknowledge the obvious tragedy within the family. (A&E has yet to return EW's calls.) Though I would be intrigued by a special boasting new interviews with the family about the recent, tragic changes in their lives, an entire series balancing on Jackson's death would seem a bit unsettling. No doubt, A&E would score an enormous ratings boost with a show like this, and they do have a history of airing a somewhat classier brand of reality show than those on, say, E! (Then again, it IS the same network that aired Dog the Bounty Hunter.) Still, with all the over-saturation regarding Jackson's death, maybe A&E should simply shelve the idea for a while, and allow the family to grieve behind the cameras for once.
Your thoughts, PopWatchers? Does the idea of a Jackson reality show make you queasy? Or do you think A&E would handle it as yet another fitting tribute to the late King of Pop? Would you want a show like this to focus on all Michael, all the time, or would you like to see it take a different direction?
Yesterday we relayed the news that Comedy Central has ordered 10 episodes of a new sitcom starring Jon Heder (from Napoleon Dynamite -- remember him?). The new series, slated to be written by Will Ferrell and longtime collaborator Adam McKay -- will premiere in 2010. If the series proves to be a hit, Comedy Central will order 90 more episodes, reports Variety.
This isn't Ferrell and Heder's first collaboration -- they faced off as male figure skaters in 2007's Blades of Glory -- but it is the latter actor's first big leap into the sitcom world (he previously guest-starred in a 2008 episode of My Name is Earl). In his new series, Heder will play an unemployed IT worker who leaves the city to move back in with his family.
Considering Ferrell and McKay's Funny or Die has been a viral hit since it launched in April 2007 and the fact that Heder still has a cult following from Napoleon Dynamite, this project could be a coup for Comedy Central. But, of course, there's the chance that the project could also flop. Heder hasn't been involved in a major project since 2007, long enough to fall off the pop-culture radar for anyone beyond the most die-hard Napoleon Dynamite fans. And in the wake of Land of the Lost's poor box-office showing, Ferrell himself seems like less of a sure bet than he might have a year or two ago. (See my colleague Chris Nashawaty's recent PopWatch item: Is America over Will Ferrell?) What's your prediction, PopWatchers? Will Heder's project be the next great cable sitcom, or go the way of Lil' Bush? More important, will you tune in?
It wasn't the show's finest era by a long shot. I remember staying up late to watch SNL at the time with my parents, who frequently lamented how far it had fallen from the '70s and '80s; they were right. But nevertheless, I spent those years watching Meadows and the rest of the gang most every Saturday night, and now I miss them. Most of all, I miss the way SNL had a full roster of straightmen/women back then to back up its more outsize comic talents. Adam Sandler and Chris Rock were and are hilarious, sure -- but they're so much funnier standing next to a perfectly deadpan Tim Meadows or Norm Macdonald. Not all of the comics who have been cast in Grown Ups are capable of carrying a movie on their own, but put them together and you're guaranteed some extra laughs just from the reaction shots these old colleagues will give each other.
Check out a vintage clip below to see the kind of understated chemistry I'm talking about between Meadows and (in this case) Christopher Walken. Then tell me: Who else is looking forward to seeing these SNLers play, appropriately enough, a bunch of former high school friends reunited after 30 years apart in Grown Ups?
If I could turn back time, I would have begged Cher to grace the big screen at some point in the past decade (sorry, I'm not counting the Farrelly Brothers atrocity that was 2003's Stuck on You). But you know what? Maybe it was worth the wait. The news today that Cher is set to star alongside Christina Aguilera in the musical Burlesque -- and voice a giraffe in Happy Madison's live-action comedy, The Zookeeper -- has me thinking that the spectacle-obsessed actress may have found the perfect vehicle for her big return. Think about it: There's singing! Costumes I can only imagine will make Bob Mackie look tame! And, one assumes, plenty of hair flips to boot!
How pumped are you, PopWatchers? And start preparing: You only have until 2011 to find the perfect wig to accompany your first Burlesque viewing!
God knows Lindsay Lohan has been struggling for some time to do anything right. There was that unfortunate the-recession-really-is-bad Fornarina ad. Plus her most recent movie project, Labor Pains, going straight to cable. And there's the apparently crippling boredom that led her to post topless photos of herself on Twitter. But she's finally stumbled upon a project no one can argue with -- not without feeling like a jerk, anyway. She and Ryan Seacrest are both saying on Twitter that they're working on a TV project together: a reality show that would give a contestant $1 million to turn his or her life around. Seacrest writes, "Met with Lindsay last night about a show idea I have for her... it helps people and gives others a second shot! Still putting it all together." And Lohan says, "Working on a really great project for television -- I am excited! Something meaningful like (reality TV show) Extreme Home Makeover on ABC... :)" TMZ says she'd sit on the judging panel to determine who deserves the second chance -- which seems, well, kind-of like her greatest expertise. Maybe a reality show isn't the best message to send about her career, but if she's already at low-budget-ad-campaign/TV movie/topless photo level, you can't argue with some good-deed-doing.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Could this be a good starting-comeback vehicle for Lindsay? Or should she compete for the prize herself?
TBS is in talks to pick up NBC's recent castoff My Name Is Earl-- hey, they have to make room for those prime-time Leno hours somehow! That news plus the fact that CBS is picking up NBC's canceled Medium -- not to mention ABC's fair success with running also-formerly-of-NBC Scrubs -- has me wishing we'd gotten this TV version of the NFL draft going sooner. Granted, the switch to cable in particular has a down side; namely, budgets can be smaller there. But I'd love to see ABC's late, great Samantha Who? find a home on, say, Lifetime. (Good old Television for Women is, after all, slowly moving toward hip-ifying itself with Project Runway as well as sitcoms from the likes of Sherri Shepherd and Valerie Bertinelli), as well as underappreciated single-girl dramedies ABC's Men in Trees and CBS' The Ex List. Meanwhile, the CW's Privileged could've lived a long, happy life on ABC Family. Speaking of which, maybe that net's own Kyle XY would've done better on Sci Fi. (And as my colleague Marc Bernardin noted, Dollhouse, though spared the ax by Fox, might've been better off on cable, if only for creative reasons.)
What do you think, PopWatchers? What other TV draft trades would you like to see? Where would Dirty Sexy Money, Life, and Pushing Daisies go?
Casting a male lead opposite Julia Roberts is a tricky science. Her whole hey-look-at-me-I'm-a-movie-star persona has been best served in recent years next to subtle, low-key actors like Clive Owen and Aaron Eckhart. Strangely, when she's up against someone equally as famous (Tom Hanks, or Brad Pitt for example), there's a painfully noticeable absence of chemistry. With the news that Javier Bardem has signed on to play Roberts' love interest in Eat, Pray Love (the adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling, travelogue-esque memoir), there is reason to be cautiously optimistic: Bardem can handle subtle. He is, after all, one of the best actors in the business.
That said, if you're thinking a Roberts-Bardem pairing sounds odd and/or like a sign of the apocalypse, don't fret: I'm right there with you. Picturing the two Oscar winners together is a headscratcher far more puzzling than figuring out the last movie Roberts was in that was a hit. (That'd be Erin Brockovich.The Ocean's series doesn't count since she had help from 7.6 other A-listers.) To be sure, Roberts can do romantic comedies in her sleep (she has, actually...it was called America's Sweethearts) and Bardem terrifically showed his sultry side in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It's the two of them together that's the problem: The sexy Spaniard with the American motormouth. I just don't buy it. Then again, Roberts looks nothing like Elizabeth Gilbert, so it seems like a suspension of belief will be required to get within 10 feet of this movie.
Speaking of the movie, with Ryan Murphy of Nip/Tuck and Glee at the helm and Bardem and Richard Jenkins on board for supporting roles, Eat, Pray Love actually does sound quite promising -- the questionable casting aside. It is Roberts' best opportunity yet to win audiences back after her absence and the depressing box office crash-and-burn of her quite-excellent thriller, Duplicity. For those of you who have read Gilbert's book, what do you think of Bardem's casting as Felipe: Inspired, or typical Hollywood glam-ification? Do you also share my anxiety at the prospect of seeing Anton Chigurh romance Pretty Woman?
Another day, another advice book adaptation. Plans to turn 4th grader Alex Greven's relationship guide, How to Talk to Girls, into a feature film keep trucking along, with two scribes (Ben Karlin and Stu Zicherman) officially signing on to write the flick. I know I'm supposed to look at such a film and think, Aww, shucks, ain't it a cute that a book schooling jaded adults in the ways of the world will hit the big screen? But nope. I can't. Maybe it's because I can't believe that any nine year old could actually spout out good dating advice, since most male youngsters roped me into conversation in elementary school by punching me in the shoulder and calling me "Kate Wart." Or maybe it's the fact that last night's I'm a Celebrity... has made me lose all faith in humanity in general. But, more likely, it's probably because this genre hasn't been executed too well as of late, what with He's Just Not That Into You and Fireproof bombing with critics.
But that's not to say that How to Talk to Girls can't be successful. Just look at some of the more winning advice-book adaptations: Mean Girls and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). Of course, we're not going to see a nine year old's piece of work adapted into a racy, eccentric, Woody Allen masterpiece. But with Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy at the helm, we could see a fun family movie that I can only hope comes complete with pocket-sized versions of Owen Wilson. (I'm joking, of course. Maybe.) And there's another reason to be hopeful: Screenwriter Karlin is a writer and executive producer of The Daily Show. That, thankfully, makes me believe that Girls won't take itself too seriously and turn into some form of precocious schlock starring Abigail Breslin and Patrick Dempsey.
Thoughts, PopWatchers? Are you excited for Girls? Do you, like me, think Hollywood should get into the habit of turning advice books into movies as rarely as possible?
The New York Daily News reported today that Shia LaBeouf has signed on to star in The Associate, the adaptation of John Grisham's latest best seller. So is the author happy with this news? Of course, considering he hand-picked LaBeouf himself! "I think he'll be wonderful!" Grisham has told reporters. "He's a very talented actor, and he's hot. He's the hottest 22-year-old actor in America."
First of all, I have to say, that is one very specific, very definitive, very creepy statement, Mr. Grisham. But is the author a secret Even Stevens fan, or is he correct in thinking that LaBeouf could easily fill the shoes of actors like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, and Matthew McConaughey, all of whom have starred in Grisham adaptations in the past? LaBeouf has been riding that "next big thing" wave for a few years now, and he has earned enough acting accolades from critics to balance out his tween heartthrob image that comes from starring in films like Transformers. Plus, he has raked in a pretty penny for studios, between that robot movie, Disturbia, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I, however, just can't see it. Maybe it's impossible for me to look at this 22-year-old actor and not think of him as a slightly stretched-out version of his 12-year-old Disney self, but I've had a hard time enjoying LaBeouf in anything but Holes and his SNL MacGruber sketches. Let alone considering him "hot."
I'm sure I'll eat my words eventually -- after all, this is coming from someone who claimed that people would tire of Britney Spears after she released her "Sometimes" sequel. But do you think LaBeouf could maintain a career like Cruise, Damon, and McConaughey have (or, at least, did for so long)? And if he does, in which direction would he go? Blockbuster star-turned-couch jumper, thoughtful award-winning actor-turned-action star, or perpetual shirtless star-turned-...perpetual shirtless star? Finally, is LaBeouf indeed the hottest 22-year-old actor in America?
He has already tackled brains, safety, and, naturally, chairs, but Demetri Martin has officially been given the go-ahead by Comedy Central to address another slew of important things for a second season of his clever show, Important Things With Demetri Martin. To which I say: woot! This news makes me feel so warm and fuzzy, I just might buy a De Veers ring for Comedy Central to toast the occasion.
That said, I hope the brainy comedian decides to make just a few changes in season 2. For one, I would love to see a yellow belt toss out Martin's ho-hum yellow belt sketches. And for whatever reason, I never jumped on board with his slam poet champion. But here's hoping Martin holds onto the show's most important element: plenty of hysterical pie charts and graphs -- as well as guest spots from the likes of John Oliver and David Cross -- to accompany his hit-or-miss sketches.
What changes, if any, would you like to see in season 2? And what important things should Martin address? I vote hair, cheese, and Patrick Swayze movies. Because what's more vital to life than Roadhouse? Finally, enjoy one of my favorite sketches from season 1 -- "Urinal Talk" -- below!
