Now that we've talked about movie franchises we'd like to see rebooted (or not), let's bring the discussion to the small screen. Because whether we like it or not, TV keeps going back to the rerun graveyard to remake old shows; this season, we'll see new takes on 90210, Knight Rider, Cupid, and maybe The Streets of San Francisco. Such remakes have a poor track record, notes TV Week columnist Josef Adalian, citing such second-time's-not-the-charm flops as Bionic Woman, Night Stalker, Family Affair, and Fantasy Island. Still, hope must spring eternal in the heart of every TV exec whose seen the rapturous fan response to the reinvented Battlestar Galactica (pictured), so as long as they're going to keep trying, Adalian offers his list of shows actually ripe for a revival, including Married With Children, Quantum Leap, Eight Is Enough, and Good Times.
I find it hard to add to Adalian's list because it's difficult to imagine contemporary actors improving on the iconic roles we associate with earlier stars' indelible performances. (How could you watch, say, a new M*A*S*H without constantly comparing the new stars unfavorably to Alan Alda, Jamie Farr, and Gary Burghoff?) The way to do it, I think, is to do what Galactica's creators did: take a second-tier show to which viewers have much less of an emotional attachment, add first-tier writers, and reimagine it radically. A show like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century might benefit from this approach. Or One Day at a Time; let Valerie Bertinelli play Barbara Cooper again, now all grown up, only now, she's the one who's a divorced mother of two teenage girls.
Your turn, PopWatchers: Which shows are ripe for reinvention as new TV series? And which should the networks keep their grubby paws off of?
The Parents Television Council is in one of its trademark tizzies and have issued this bulletin from the Department of the Obvious: Network TV likes sex, not marriage. After analyzing four weeks of the major network shows at the start of the 2007-8 season, they've found that references to unmarried sex outnumber references to married sex, 2 to 1. I would say "duh," but I'm feeling very 1992 right now, so I'll go with "doi." What do they expect -- regular sex-life updates from married characters, along the lines of "We were both just really tired" or "Jim's still having chafing issues after refusing to detach his ass from that stupid jet ski all weekend"? I have a half-baked theory that the reason there's more unmarried TV sex than married TV sex is that there are simply more unmarried characters than married characters. (One more "doi," with feeling!) Not to mention, isn't there plenty of married TV sex as it is? Allison and her hubby do it on Medium all the time, to the point where it's given our dearly wedded Slezak a complex. (One of many.) Plus, anyone with an insatiable craving for married TV sex can watch one of 28 daily reruns of Roseanne. She and Dan were always rollin' around in bed and giggling. It was pretty adorable, actually. Awww. Maybe I should join the PTC.
What do you think -- would you rather see more married sex on TV? And if the PTC "accidentally" received Tell Me You Love Me DVDs in the mail, do you think they'd change their minds?
Is reboot-mania getting out of hand? There's a forthcoming straight-to-cable Scooby-Doo live action movie, featuring young unknowns and none of the actors in the two Sarah Michelle Gellar/Freddie Prinze big-screen releases, about how the Mystery Machine gang got together in the first place. Granted, this should answer some longstanding burning questions (How old are these kids supposed to be? What do they do for money? Why aren't people who spend all their time debunking the paranormal more freaked out by the fact that their dog can talk?), but it makes me wonder: how much backstory do we really need on our favorite characters?
For instance, I'm both anticipating and dreading the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie because, while it'll be fun to see a young Scotty and Spock, I'm not sure it'll really add any depth to the characters as we already know them and may even detract, as reductive pop-psychologizing in the movies often tends to do. (I don't really want to learn that Kirk became a womanizer because of, say, abandonment issues after his father skipped out on his mom.) I know Hollywood would rather milk familiar franchises till they're dry than come up with new ones, but geez, haven't we reached the bottom of the barrel yet?.
PopWatchers, are there any franchises you don't want to see rebooted under any circumstances? Are there franchises you think actually would benefit from a reboot? (And to read EW.com's new gallery of franchises that need to call it quits, click here!)
My colleague Marc Vera, based in Rochester, says that every time he's seen the trailer for The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor in theaters, the audience has seem psyched for the film. Gary Susman says that while he doesn't care about this creaky franchise, he could be talked into seeing anything with Jet Li and/or Michelle Yeoh (pictured), both new additions in the third film. And our Box Office Preview estimates that it will open at No. 1, with a $51 million weekend, despite a nasty reception from critics. (Read Owen Gleiberman's grade-C review.)
Are you ready for The Mummy franchise to end, or do you think it's getting a bad rap? (I'm neutral. I didn't need a third film, but I don't begrudge them for making it.)
Three film projects I'm not sure I'm excited about:
1. The Howard Stern-produced remake of Rock 'n' Roll High School. Stern (pictured, left) has been talking about doing this for at least six years (along with a remake of Porky's), but now he's hired a screenwriter: actor-turned-filmmaker Alex Winter. (Winter knows from satirical high school movies, having played Bill opposite Keanu Reeves' Ted in the Bill & Ted comedies.) No word yet on which band will sub for the stars of the 1979 cult movie, the Ramones, though maybe Stern could make it a period piece and star as his lookalike, Joey Ramone... nah. Feel free to suggest in the comments section a present-day analog to the then-rising punk act for Stern and Winter to cast in the update.
2. A Spider-Man 3 spinoff centering on the villainous Venom. Except it doesn't look like Topher Grace (center) will star (or Tobey Maguire, for that matter), so essentially, the filmmakers will be creating a new character named after a villain in a comic book series whose hero is not likely to make an appearance. The last time Hollywood tried that, we got Catwoman.
After the jump: one more follow-up project no one asked for...
Thankyouthankyou, Gordon Ramsay, for providing me the opportunity to delve into one of my favorite topics: Censorship! But first, a quick test. Let's see if you can figure the lyrics to a song I've typed out in part below, leaving certain letters to the imagination.
Shut t your f---ing face, uncle f---er / You are a c---s----ing, a--licking uncle f---er.
Even if you're not familiar with South Park the movie, chances are you figured it out the cuss words, yeah? It doesn't take a PhD in comp lit to read (literally) around the lines.
Well then: I bring this point to bear on the issue of Mr. Ramsay and his notoriously dirty mouth. The hot-tempered chef is in trouble across the pond, this time for saying the name of a suggestively named product (a new energy drink, pictured, that's supposedly favored by the likes of Mark Ronson and Jay-Z) in a suggestive way on last night's episode of The F Word. Here's the transcript below, minus the suggestive language.
Ramsay: "It's got some natural energy in the P---y…go on…taste your P---y. Do you like the P---y, was that good?"
Supposedly U.K.'s Channel 4 received tons of complaints following this blue repartee. All I have to say is, come ON, people! The show is called The F Word, for f---'s sake! Foul language is Ramsay's trademark! How funny would George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television" routine have been had it consisted of bleeps and dashes? And how effective is bleeping, anyway? (Exhibit A: Denise Richards and her C U Next Tuesday slip o' the tongue which aired recently on E!.) I say let Ramsey say what he will, and tune out if the language rankles you. You agree?
OMG, have you heard? Chris Brown has betrayed an innocent nation's trust! You see, he's taking part in a Wrigley's promotion where pop stars record new versions of classic gum jingles — CB took on the Doublemint tune, Ne-Yo got Big Red, and country singer Julianne Hough is singing my personal favorite Wrigley's jingle, the Juicy Fruit song. And here comes the shocking, scandalous twist: Word got out this week that Brown's current hit "Forever," which has been on the charts since May, is in fact itself a crypto-ad for Doublemint! (Sample lyric from the hook: "We only got one night/Double your pleasure/Double your fun/And dance forever...")
That "pop!" you just heard was the Internets collectively blowing its gum-chewin' top about this. Cranky old Gawker is actually calling for a boycott of all Wrigley's products! Er, am I the only one who really, truly does not see what the big deal is here? "We don't want to appear as if we invest the music of Chris Brown with any meaning whatsoever," Gawker snobbily notes, "but now would be an appropriate time to
begin boycotting Wrigley, if you would like to have the option of
listening to songs that aren't sponsored by mega-corporations in the
coming decade." News flash: Chris Brown is a talented dude whose music I enjoy, but he definitely already works for a huge multinational mega-corporation. It's called Sony BMG. Every time you hear a Chris Brown song on the radio, you are hearing a work of popular art which is also an ad: A catchy piece of sound designed to convince you to hand over your money to a rich executive somewhere. Same goes for every artist on a major label. Meanwhile, Gawker goes on to claim that the real problem with Chris Brown's Doublemint deal is that it was arranged in secret, revealed to the listening public only once they already knew and liked the song. Ooh! Secrets! Those are bad, sometimes. But come on. If you legitimately liked listening to "Forever" before, why on earth would it be ruined for you once you know that Wrigley's had a hand in it? It's still the same exact song, for crying out loud!
Furthermore: Gum is delicious and fun to chew. (No, Wrigley's did not pay me to write that.) As commercial products go, Doublemint just doesn't seem like a particularly offensive one to shill for. Am I missing something here? You tell me. But wait — before you answer, watch Chris perform "Forever" below, and tell me seriously if you can stop grooving long enough to care that Wrigley's commissioned it.
Who's ready for more Cheech & Chong (pictured)? Given that pop culture is currently busy inhaling the fumes from Pineapple Express, Harold & Kumar, Weeds, et al, it seems the time is ripe for a reunion tour for the original stoner comics. Aside from a joint appearance (sorry) at the Aspen Comedy Fest in 2005 and a plan for a new movie that went up in smoke (sorry again) after Chong's bong bust in 2003, the two buds (d'oh!) haven't been able to muster up a reunion plan for nearly 25 years, but now, Live Nation says it's booked the pair on their own stand-up tour, dubbed, "Hey, What's That Smell?"
But does anyone still want to see these two again in 2008? Will they have new material or just greatest hits (heh, heh)? Me, I used to think their stuff was hilarious — when I was 14. Now, I'm not so sure I'd want to see them hash it out (damn, it's hard not to pun with this story) one more time. Who among you, PopWatchers, wants another trip in the van with these senior stoners?
Movie project I'm geeking out over: Foundation. Yes, I know, the classic Isaac Asimov trilogy has been in development hell for at least 15 years, and it's long been on PopWatch's list of sci-fi classics we'd like to see made into movies. Still, if anyone can get this seemingly unfilmable epic onto the screen, it's Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, the New Line founders (now independent producers with a shingle at Warner Bros.) who greenlit Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings a decade ago. Lotta caveats here: there's still no script or director (at one point, Elizabeth's Shekhar Kapur was attached), and Warners has greenlit an adaptation of only the first book (if it tanks, à la Golden Compass, don't expect to see the studio proceed with the second and third books). Still, it's such a great, sweeping story — a social scientist predicts the imminent fall of the galactic empire and an ensuing millennium-long dark ages, so he starts an organization that will preserve civilization during the interim — that it would really be great to see someone try to realize it on the big screen.
Movie project I'm not geeking out over: Darren Aronofsky's reboot of Robocop (pictured). Love Aronofsky, love Robocop (though not its two sequels), hate the idea. Hard to imagine how MGM could improve upon Paul Verhoeven's 1987 original, or why they should even bother.
Time to vote, PopWatchers: Do you like the sound of either of these projects? Think neither of them will work? And which would you rather see in theaters?
a) Bad grammar (bitten, Ryan, bitten!SJP would be horrified) b) All signs point to Ryan Seacrest probably getting his hair wet c) Article likely originally conceived as straight-up Advil ad (Naturally, Seacrest mentioned the need for the brand-name analgesic while describing the incident on his morning radio show) d) Bite not incurred on a Manhattan-based Shark Week buggy
(Seacrest is okay, by the way. "It was like finding a splinter!")
Some in-flight entertainment is just too heavy — literally. US Airways says it's phasing out in-flight movies on domestic flights as a cost-cutting measure; the display system its planes use weighs 500 pounds, and yanking it out of 200 planes could save $10 million a year in fuel costs. Now, this doesn't mean other airlines will follow suit, or that US Airways won't come up with a lighter way to show in-flight movies (eventually, though probably not for quite a while yet, seat-back-embedded monitors will become common, allowing each passenger to choose his or her own movies and TV shows). Still, this shift makes me wonder: now that so many people have iPods, video iPods, and personal DVD players (and laptop computers with DVD drives), do we really need in-flight movies anymore?
What do you do, PopWatchers, for in-flight entertainment? Do you still watch the movie you're presented with, or do you bring your own? Do you buy a book or DVD at the airport, or do you bring them with you from home? Has anyone used those DVD rental kiosks at airports? Tell us how you entertain yourselves when you fly, and please don't unbuckle your seatbelts until we come to a complete stop at the gate.
The Chicken Little metaphor isn't mine. It comes from veteran independent film exec Mark Gill, who gave this speech citing dire conditions for the art-house movie business: the shuttering of such indie shingles as Picturehouse and Warner Independent; the absorption of New Line and Paramount Vantage by their parent companies; rising production and advertising costs, the drying up of financing from investors outside the industry, a bottleneck in distribution that results in most indie-made films going unseen, and competition for attention with mainstream movies that have 100 times the promotional budget and distribution muscle.
Less pessimistic, however, is Philadelphia Inquirer film critic Carrie Rickey, whose essay went online the same day as Gill's speech. Her sanguine assessment: Don't worry, innovations in distribution (Netflix, legal downloading, on-demand cable, even releasing films in theaters and on DVD the same day) will save the indie business. Besides, things just look bad right now because we're in the annual summer slump; indie films will flourish again in the fall, when prestige pictures are released in order to appeal to Oscar voters.
According to reports, Michael Jackson headlining a longterm engagement at a Las Vegas casino is one of the many options being considered as a means for the King of Pop to repay a loan that saved Neverland Ranch. Assuming the voice and the moves are still there, this seems like a decent idea. I mean, there's a chance that people vacationing in Sin City would be willing to put Jackson's past behind them long enough to enjoy "Billie Jean." Right?
If not, I suggest they build a domed dance floor that would play his old videos and classic live performances, as if it were a standing-room only planetarium. They could charge $40, and we'd get to feel as though we were there at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever show (below) and in the "Thriller" video.
Vote now: Michael Jackson live in Vegas, or Michael Jackson Dance Dome* in Vegas?
Forbes has put out its annual celebrity power list, and as usual, it's a puzzlement. The big shift this year is the addition of many tween stars, including some names you might expect (Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron) and some you might not (Ashley Tisdale, Lauren Conrad). Other shifts, closer to the top of the pecking order, are similar headscratchers. Radar does a good job of deconstructing the list, but other questions remain, such as: Why is Beyoncé (pictured) ranked No. 4, just below Angelina Jolie? She out-earned Angelina last year by a factor of six, and besides, if La Jolie is so powerful, how come she couldn't sell tickets to A Mighty Heart? Oprah ranks at No. 1 (natch), yet J.K. Rowling out-earned her this year (the Harry Potter author took in a staggering $300 million) and has to settle for ninth place. Anyway, read through the list, then come back and see if you can explain it to the rest of us.
Jumpers who teleport. A disfigured, masked Tom Cruise with a whack-job lover. Hungry raptors on the loose. These films -- namely Jumper, Vanilla Sky, and Jurassic Park -- all sound good, in theory. But these sci-fi stinkers, along with fourteen others, made our list of the worst in science-fiction cinema, from Vin Diesel's character assassination in The Chronicles of Riddick to the dim-witted aliens in Signs.
Here's your change to sound off about sci-fi flops we may have left off the list. Think the box-office bomb Battlefield Earth deserves a shout out? Have a least favorite Star Trek installment? Been itching to vent your hatred of Mars Attacks since 1996? Let us know below!
True confession time: I have never actually watched Plan 9 from Outer Space, the legendary worst movie of all time, in its entirety. I've seen various scenes here and there over the years, and enjoyed them in all their kitschy glory, but somehow I've never been motivated to bump that DVD from the lower reaches of my Netflix queue. I just feel like the real thing could only disappoint me after seeing its
image rehabilitated about as much as possible in Tim Burton's brilliant Ed Wood, you know? Besides, I've already seen enough of Plan 9 to get as good a sense of its poorly acted, improbably scripted, incompetently shot mise en scène as I'll ever need.
Or have I? According to io9, some blessed lunatic is remaking Plan 9. I'm tempted to dismiss this as a joke, but filmmaker John Johnson doesn't seem to be kidding. He claims on the remake's official site that he wants to create a "character-driven...serious-minded retelling of the original story, paying homage to the spirit of Wood's film without resorting to camp or parody." I just can't wait to see what he does with the subtle, nuanced characters of Ghoul Man, Vampire Girl, and Patrolman Larry!
Honestly, I think I sort of have to see this remake if it ever really comes out, just as a measure of recognition for the sheer chutzpah it must have taken Johnson to pull this project together. And if he really does succeed in making a dead-serious, straight-faced Plan 9, that'll only make it easier to appreciate on a camp level, right? So would any of you have any interest in seeing this thing? Selected highlights (if that's the right word) from the original disaster are below, to refresh your memory...
Is today Superfluous Day? From the Dept. of Sequels and Remakes No One Asked For, we have trade reports today of follow-ups to Point Break (presumably, sans Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, pictured) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (this time, Michael Moore will offer a subtle, nuanced critique of the Bush presidency... heh, just kidding), as well as a remake of Bad Lieutenant that will star Nicolas Cage in the Harvey Keitel role. No word on whether Cage will duplicate Harvey Keitel's notorious full-frontal scene in that movie, but all three of these projects sound like displays of things no one wanted to see. Still, in honor of another Keanu movie, let's play devil's advocate for a moment and ask: is there any way these films might actually be good? Any way they might actually explore areas that were sadly neglected in the original films? (And what might those areas have been?)
Remember last week when we said Hilary Duff might be joining the cast of the new 90210 spin-off? Well, it looks like that's not happening so much. According to E! Online, the 20-year-old singer/actress has passed on the role of Annie Mills to expand her image through more grown-up opportunities.
Call me crazy, but I was actually surprised when Duff was offered the role, because I already think of her as a grown-up (is that wrong?). I know it's de rigueur for 20-somethings to play small screen teens (see: Gossip Girl, Smallville,One Tree Hill, etc.), but I miss the days when actual teenagers played teens. But just as I was beginning to lose my faith in casting, the heavens parted and manna began falling from the sky in the form of 18-year-old Shenae Grimes. This real-life teen and Degrassi: The Next Generation alum (does anyone watch this show besides my colleague Lisa?) will take on the theater-nerd role. But it gets even better. Her mom will be played by none other than Aunt Becky. Yes, that's right, Lori Loughlin (pictured) from our favorite '90s sitcom Full House (my 12-year-old self may have cried when that show ended).
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Are you excited Loughlin has a new role since Summerland was canceled? Are you one of the few people who actually watches Degrassi?
Thanks to The New York Post, we saw this piece in Broadcasting & Cable that suggests producers are thinking of tweaking specific components of American Idol next season. According to B&C, a recent online market research survey asks several key questions, including “Suppose the first few weeks of American Idol started in Hollywood with flashbacks of the auditions; would that increase or decrease your enjoyment of American Idol?” (My answer: Increase! Am I in the minority?)
Among the other questions, which B&C paraphrases, are: Is there too much or too little
banter between the judges? And is there too much or not enough Ryan? (Considering I fast-forward through any "banter" and any "Ryan," I'm guessingmy answer is too much. Though, full disclosure, I also fast-forward through anything that's not one of the contestants singing on stage.)
So, let's help Fox out. Answer those questions below. And feel free to mention any other areas you'd like producers to target. It's a broken record, at this point, to say that the results show needs to be overhauled... but go for it.
According to E! Online, Hilary Duff has been offered the role of Annie Mills on the Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff. Maybe I'm crazy, but Hilary Duff + 90210 seems kind of brilliant. The girl is definitely shrugging off her squeaky-clean Disney image (um, scorpion down her pants?), and 90210 will certainly offer plenty of opportunities for her to be less than wholesome. If she accepts the offer, she'll be playing a emo-listening teen who is also into theater. While the whole idea of a 90210 spinoff makes me want to die a little, if Hilary Duff is in it, I would check out at least one episode, just to see how she does.
What about you, PopWatchers? Excited about this latest 90210 casting rumor, or are you over the idea of the show's remake already?
When I read that CSI creator Anthony Zuiker was writing his life story, I thought... why? Would the working title, Mr. CSI, and, I'm guessing, a nice blurb from star William Petersen (pictured), be enough to sell the book, due out in Fall 2009? Then I read this: "'Most shocking is Zuiker's recollection of his father's suicide in
Las Vegas, which happened the night he was on stage at the People's
Choice Awards collecting his fourth statue for CSI,'" the
publisher said. 'In a scene that could have been pulled from the
show, Zuiker flew right to the scene and attempted to piece
together his father's last hours.'" That's horrifying, obviously, but also interesting: He's used to solving cases in an hour. What was it like to wait, to depend on others to write an ending? I'm not saying I'll buy the book, but I might stand in the aisle and read that chapter. You?
As casting continues on The CW's planned Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff — our Hollywood Insider blog reports that Nip/Tuck's AnnaLynne McCord (right) will play one of the hot, rich teens, alongside the previously cast Dustin Milligan (left) — we think it's time to take a PopWatch pulse: Are you happy with the way the spinoff is shaping up? Before you answer, did you catch the item in The Hollywood Reporter saying the spinoff is now Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas' third priority? He has two pilots in the pot at ABC, so other scribes are being hired to rewrite his spinoff script. (Thomas will, however, remain an executive producer on the CW pilot.)
Personally, my enthusiasm for the spinoff is beginning to wane. Yours?
There is a sizable group of my colleagues here at EW who regularly send out e-mails about Lauren Conrad (pictured, right), Heidi Montag (left), and the MTV "reality" series The Hills, of which I've seen maybe a total of five minutes. Each time I've tried tuning in, I barely made it through 30 seconds before my brain was dripping out of my ears from boredom, which was even worse than the 60 seconds it took for that to happen when watching The Hills' precursor, Laguna Beach. (This was far more entertaining.) There are, however, plenty of morsels of pop-culture I don'tquiteunderstand, so I've never felt it was really worth complaining about the cult of The Hills.
Er, until now. Off the Perez "report" that Lauren and Heidi are appearing together on the cover of Rolling Stone — somehow Big Huge News since "This is the first time in two years that L.C. and Heidi have been on a photo shoot together" (OMG!!!!) — I've finally reached the limit of my patience with their fame. While they haven't approached Paris Hilton level insanity (yet), I feel the same way about these "reality" stars that I felt about the "hotel heiress" circa 2000, namely, who the bloody hell are these women, and exactly how and why have they become Big Deals?
Seriously, tell me. This specter has invaded my life to the degree that I actually would really appreciating knowing why it's there, taunting me with a vacant stare from the supermarket check-out line about how it's been "betrayed" by "Spencer," "Audrina" and "Brody."
Can The Weinstein Company make Project Runway's move to Lifetime work? That's the question we're asking ourselves after we received a joint press release from TWC and the cable channel announcing a "groundbreaking agreement" that would move Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, et al from Bravo to Lifetime in Nov. 2008. Of course, buried deep in the release was an acknowledgment that NBC Universal, Bravo's parent company, had filed a lawsuit today against The Weinstein Company in an effort to block the hop. Apparently, NBC believes its contract gives it the right to match any other offer Weinstein has for the show, while the Weinstein-Lifetime press release claims that NBC declined to compete for the series. The courts will have to figure out that hot mess, but there is something we can judge in the meantime: Does the network airing Runway affect whether we'll watch it? And how big of a loss would this be for Bravo?
Clearly, a move to Lifetime means that the show isn't concerned about wooing men (okay, straight men) to its fanbase. So if it's women and gay men producers are after, Lifetime is the place to be. Lifetime doesn't have the cachet that Bravo has, but Klum and Gunn do bring their cred with them. I can't imagine they'd let production values suffer, so why wouldn't we keep watching? As for Bravo, it'd still have Top Chef (and Kathy Griffin). And I'd bet on Bravo's development team coming up with another hit quicker than Lifetime could create one from scratch.
So, will you watch if Runway moves to Lifetime? And will it feel as fierce?
It's no secret that pop radio has never been particularly welcoming to American Idol's season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, and so it makes sense that "On My Way Here," the lead single from his upcoming CD (due May 6), is aimed directly at an adult contemporary audience. Yet while Clay's vocal is more restrained than usual on "On My Way Here" (huzzah!), the melody is surprisingly bland for an artist who's already facing an uphill battle for airplay. (It would be like the new restaurant on the block choosing "toast with butter" as the house specialty.)
As for the lyrics, while things start somewhat promisingly — with flashbacks to Clay taking his first steps on a "black-and-white kitchen floor" and the dissolution of his parents' marriage — it doesn't take long for "On My Way Here" to devolve into a litany of clichés. I challenge your mind not to drift to other subjects (will Old Christine get a fourth season? Which is the stronger acting dynasty: The Baldwins or the Arquettes? Also: What's for lunch?) as Clay touches the sky and hits the wall and learns to fly and does what he has to do (and so on and so forth).
No, I've never been a Claymate, but even so, this one's disappointing. Listen for yourselves (after the jump) and then tell me what you think, PopWatchers!
It's official: New Kids on the Block are reuniting. Today had the big "reveal" this morning, sending Meredith Vieira and Natalie Morales out onto the rain-soaked Rockefeller Plaza — where the besuited man band magically appeared from behind a red curtain. The girls in the crowd went apes--- as the guys quickly fell into their old roles: Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, and Joey McIntyre did all the talking, while Jonathan Knight stood behind them looking uncomfortable. Danny Wood was there, too. Off to the side. (The good news: neither Jonathan nor Danny was as awkward as Today's cut from the screaming New Kids crowd to a somber Al Roker, who was reporting from outside the Memphis hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago today. Seriously. Awkward.)
But, using the same let's lighten things up! segue Today did, back to the New Kids! They've been recording since last August. On May 16, they'll return to Today for their first live performance together in 15 years. They'll release an album this summer (same signature sound, "maybe a few less oh-ohs," said Wahlberg). And they'll launch a limited tour this fall (yes, there will be dancing). Frankly, that's all we needed to know. But Morales kept the guys around for another segment so she could ask this poorly worded question: "You guys went from the biggest act around to just disappearing. We didn't see you. Some of you went on to have your own singles, and your own albums, but we really didn't hear about a lot of you. Where did you all go?" Honestly, I think she just wanted to get into a real-estate conversation with Jonathan (sales are terrible, he said), but instead, she got always-serious Donnie talking about his acting career. "I shot a film with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino called Righteous Kill, and I guess after that, it was kinda like, what more could I do in acting? So I get back with my boys and make some music."
Of course, the question is: Do we want to hear that music? I suppose I'll tune in May 16, because I want to know if Jordan's and Joey's voices are still as good as Donnie said they are. And whether Jonathan, who, let's face it, was never the best dancer, will keep up (or even show up). And if I'm really switching allegiances from Jordan to Joey after all these years. You?
1) Two weeks after Jay Leno's cringeworthy interview with Ryan Phillippe, in which he asked the actor to relive his earliest gig (as a gay teen on One Life to Live) by offering the camera his "gayest look" (see clip below), the Tonight host has issued an apology to gay people and whoever else was offended. Which is nice, but Leno's done this before (just a couple years ago) and may well do it again, given the opportunity. Dude's giving up his chair to Conan in a year; what's he got to lose? Kudos to Avenue Q playwright Jeff Whitty, who first confronted Leno this time (and two years ago, as well), but it seems doubtful that anything is going to change, or that any Leno fans who were truly outraged will do anything as drastic as switch allegiance to Letterman.
2) A few days after New York magazine's film critic David Edelstein peed on the fresh grave of director Anthony Minghella, Edelstein is apologizing, sort of. He essentially suggested that, after Minghella's brilliant, personal, small-scale first film Truly Madly Deeply, Minghella devolved into a middlebrow hack who made overrated Oscar-bait movies (The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain), for which devolution Edelstein blamed the heavy hand of then-Miramax co-chief Harvey Weinstein. In his apology, Edelstein's not backing down from his opinion of Minghella's work, but he's sorry for blaming Weinstein, though he insists that the famously arm-twisting mogul did not twist his arm to wrest this mea culpa.
Now, reasonable people can disagree on the merits of Minghella's work (if anything, argues EW's Mark Harris, Minghella didn't get enough credit for the careful crafting of his movies), and a lot of folks (a la Seinfeld's Elaine) really didn't get The English Patient and found it long-winded and boring. Of course, that's another argument against Edelstein's earlier thesis that "Harvey Scissorhands" snipped Minghella's work too eagerly in the editing room. So what Edelstein's concession seems to say is: Sorry, Harvey, that I blamed you for your recently deceased friend's hackery; apparently, he became a hack all by himself. That's supposed to sound less rude and insulting?
UPDATE: And now, it's time for my own apology, to David Edelstein, who, in the comments below, writes that I have mischaracterized his initial article and accused him of saying something he explicitly did not say. I apologize for my use of the words "hack" and "hackery," which overstate Edelstein's description of what he sees as the decline in the quality of Minghella's post-Truly work. I should have taken him at his word that he did not mean to go so far as to call Minghella a hack, just as I am willing to take Edelstein's word that no Weinstein arm-twisting prompted his apology. By the way, no arm-twisting prompted mine, either.
Kathie Lee Gifford, who parted with Regis Philbin eight years ago, was on the Today show this morning to officially announce that she'll be co-hosting its fourth hour with Hoda Kotb come April 7. And here's the thing: Watching the Matt Lauer-narrated video that they showed of her career (below), I realized I'm totally okay with that. She's the good kind of crazy: Outlandish, but composed. She claims she has good chemistry with Hoda, who laughed at her jokes and tolerated her singing at a lunch meeting at the Rainbow Room. We know she'll never be at a loss for words — especially with son Cody, now 6'3", going off to college this fall. And, frankly, her legs look better than ever.
I've spent the last two decades locked in an oddly Pavlovian relationship with Madonna: She puts out a single, and I start salivating in anticipation of her album release date. So imagine my confusion that upon the release of "4 Minutes," her new duet with Justin Timberlake (pictured, with Madonna, at the latter's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction earlier this month), I'm experiencing symptoms of dry mouth and general ennui. The expected rush of anticipation over her upcoming Hard Candy disc (due April 29), well, it's just not there. So what gives? Listen to the single, "4 Minutes," after the jump, and we'll discuss.
The Hollywood Reporter is officially calling the midseason a "muddle" for the broadcast networks. Most of the 10 comedies and dramas launched in the past month, including Internet pick-up quarterlife and Canterbury's Law, failed to gain traction with viewers (quarterlife was yanked after a single episode after garnering some of the worst ratings NBC had seen in almost two decades).
But the network with the best and the worst track record is Fox. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the highest-rated of the midseason scripted offerings with an average of 10.8 million viewers, but most of the other new shows are doing poorly: Parker Posey vehicle The Return of Jezebel James was pulled after attracting a paltry 3.2 million viewers; Canterbury's, at 6.7 million, was moved from Monday to Friday after two eps; and Unhitched (pictured; 4.7 million viewers) is flagging.
Personally, I can't say I'm terribly invested in any of the new shows, although as a fan of Jezebel's Posey and Lauren Ambrose, I'm bummed that the show was such a mess. Perhaps that's why the networks are having problems: With ratings powerhouse Idol taking the pressure off of the performance, Fox doesn't need to worry about nurturing new scripted shows. The article also makes the point (via a quote from Fox exec VP Preston Beckman) that the glut of reality programming currently on the air has cultivated a different sort of audience — the kind that might not watch scripted shows in the first place.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you invested in any of the new scripted shows, or even prepping a bag of peanuts? Do you think the networks should allow more time for shows to gain fans before yanking them? Or is what happened to, say, Jezebel James, a mercy killing?
In the war between the Fanboys fanboys and the Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein has blinked. Well, sort of. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Weinstein Company has agreed to release both versions of Fanboys — the long-shelved comedy about Star Wars geeks featuring Kristen Bell (pictured) — on DVD. There's the filmmakers' cut, supported by the fans (who've seen only part of the film, screened at Comic-Con), which tells the story of four pals who travel to Skywalker Ranch in 1999 in the hopes of sneaking a screening of The Phantom Menace before one of the quartet succumbs to cancer. And there's the Weinstein cut, which tested marginally better among general audiences, which excises the whole downer cancer subplot. When the fan community heard that the latter version was the one being released, they started an online protest, threatening to picket at this weekend's release of the Weinsteins' Superhero Movie, and to boycott all future Weinstein releases (well, except Kevin Smith's movies, 'cause he's one of them).
Was it that threat, as well as the protesters' jeering reference to Harvey as "Darth Weinstein," that led the distributor to back down? (Hey, as nasty nicknames goes, "Darth Weinstein" beats "Harvey Scissorhands," the name the indie mogul earned back in the '90s at Miramax, where he had a reputation, deserved or not, for making similar draconian edits to art-house movies to make them more marketable.) For that matter, is it really backing down to agree to release the director's cut on DVD — which is standard operating procedure these days — when there may not be a theatrical release in the first place? (Right now, Fanboys is without a multiplex release date.) Is there any irony in sci-fi/fantasy film fans demanding a grittier, more realistic movie? Do you have a dog (or a Wookiee) in this fight? I don't (I'm finding it hard to root for either side here, or even care much about this whole fiasco), but I will offer this four-word warning about letting the fanboys dictate the content of a movie that hasn't been finished yet: Snakes on a Plane.
I've championed Men in Trees and, okay, just October Road's Geoff Stults on PopWatch, but I'd live if ABC decided not to renew these dramas for the fall. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that ABC let Lifetime ponder the idea of taking over the series — but that Lifetime decided against it.
Personally, I can't blame the cable channel for passing. I've been DVR-ing Men in Trees since it returned last month — I skipped one episode entirely and fast-forwarded through another. I enjoy the cast, but none of the storylines are feeling must-see to me. On the other hand, I watched every hour of October Road's 13-episode second season — mostly so I'd have something other than "Oh.My.God" to say to Stults if he ever showed up in my office, as promised. That series finale had a couple interesting turns — Aubrey kissed Nick's brother! Eddie broke up with Janet after she slept with Rooster! Nick thought about someone other than himself (and decided to stay in the Ridge and get the Commander through chemo)! — but I don't necessarily trust the show to steer out of them properly. It's an ensemble drama, so screentime must be shared. I get that. But if something is earth-shattering one week (like Hannah deciding to let Big Cat adopt Sam, even though that means she'll need to get his mystery biological father's approval), I'd like it mentioned the next week.
THR thinks October Road is a goner, but that ABC might still renew Men in Trees. Should either be saved?
It looks to be an all-out skirmish between Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Radiohead over who really took the digital plunge first. Trent's argument is that Radiohead offered fans a poor quality stream of their latest release, In Rainbows, before reverting to a standard record-release model, while claiming that he truly broke rank with his new four-volume (!) instrumental work, Ghosts I-IV, available as a $5 stream, a $10 double CD, a $75 set with bonus visual content and, for the superfan, a $300 box set including vinyl and the NIN frontman's John Hancock. (Radiohead has remained characteristically mum about the whole thing.)
And now, "coincidentally," both bands are offering fans the opportunity to create videos for their music. Radiohead is offering $20,000 in prizes (actually a grand prize of $10,000 and $1,000 for 10 semi-finalists to be used towards the creation of their final clips) and Trent is offering, well, exposure on YouTube. (See the above clip for one fan's work — surely one of you can do better than this!)
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you siding with Trent or Radiohead? Would you participate in either video competition? Or do you not give a whit and just want more new music already?
By now, you've probably seen Jesse McCartney's latest video, "Leavin'" — if you haven't, watch below. My colleagues Gary Susman and Michael Slezak think it's a bit too suggestive for a young man who's 20, but looks 16. Doesn't bother me though. (I was more weirded out when I realized he now looks like a hot Frankie Muniz.)
What's your position: Hot or TOO hot? And is it just me, or is this song almost as catchy as "Beautiful Soul?" (The boy does know a good pop chorus when he hears it.)
Are you ready to watch Christian Slater and his raised eyebrows once a week? NBC is expected to order an untitled drama series that would star Slater as a suburban dad who, wait for it, discovers that he has a spy alter-ego. The "Bourne Identity meets Jekyll and Hyde" series is from writer-producer Jason Smilovic, whose credits include Bionic Woman, Kidnapped, and Karen Sisco. (So, okay, we'll watch him once a week, for a few weeks.)
I just checked Slater's IMDB page, and realized that even though he's been working (that guest spot on Alias should come in handy) I haven't actually caught him in anything since 1996's Broken Arrow. I'm ready to change that. I think Slater's casting is actually rather inspired: There's always been something quiet and awkward about him, and yet, he can turn on the crazy. Are you in?
The CW has fast-tracked the pilot for a contemporary spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210. Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas is considering penning said pilot — acceptable. It may or may not include any of the original characters — not acceptable. Right?
Who would you like to see return? I'm pulling for Brandon Walsh, if only so Jason Priestley will recreate the double fist pump from the show's opening (below). Years ago, I used to watch morning Buffy the Vampire Slayer repeats on FX, and 90210 followed it. I would literally do the double fist pump with Priestley, then change the channel. Every morning.
Given that today could be the last primary day before the Democratic presidential nomination is decided, we thought we'd ask. There's a tiresomely lengthy list of popular figures who've recently endorsed their preferred candidate -- but perhaps the strangest is Jack Nicholson's viral campaign video for Hillary Clinton, in which some of the actor's most delinquent characters are made to seem pro-Clinton by uttering classic, politically relevant lines like "Hubba hubba hubba, money money money":
Yeah. It's weird. Jack explains his sudden willingness to come out of media hiding in an MTV.com interview posted this morning, and here's a Q&A with the two guys behind the video, screenwriter/director John Krokidas and producer Bruce Cohen.
At this point, if you're a person who uses technology, you really can't escape the steady stream of celebrity punditry. All of it is arguably unnecessary, but do you find it useless? Compelling? Mildly fun? Or TOTALLY AGGRO?
It took seven seasons, but contestants on American Idol are finally being allowed to tackle the Lennon-McCartney catalog. Let's give a hand to the shadowy, Michael-Jackson-affiliated legal entity that currently owns those publishing rights. And let's, er, look forward to all the caterwauled Beatles covers this season (?) I dunno — I enjoy Idol plenty, and I'm all for artists putting their own spins on the Fab Four's music, but somehow I just can't get too excited about this. Much as I'd like to believe otherwise, there's just no way this will lead to anything but painfully slick garbage assaulting my ears. Or is there?
The Olsen twins, "actress" Mary-Kate and style "icon" Ashley, have "announced" in the "press" that they will "author" a new "book." Influences will reportedly be about the other "celebrity" types who have — thank Uncle Jesse and all the saints for this! — influenced them. And here I was, calling this a slow "news" day
So the Smashing Pumpkins just debuted a new video for the studio version of "Superchrist" on MySpaceTV, and yes, I am filing this item under 'The Eh List' category.
I'm not saying it's a bad song. Even the totally out-of-place violin bridge sorta fits, à la Wim Wenders, with the angel wandering forlornly around the set — but what's up with the leering bass player and the scantily clad nurse quartet? It's as if Billy & Co. decided in the middle of filming that they needed some visual Viagra to counterbalance all that dude hair.
I loved the Pumpkins back in the day, even when MTV tested my patience by playing "Today" to death (experience a flashback after the jump). But does the "Superchrist" video mark a return to form for the Pumpkins? Who else misses D'arcy and James Iha? And speaking of hair, Billy Corgan with some?
In case you missed it today, Jimmy Kimmel has decided he's not going to take his girlfriend Sarah Silverman's cheating
lying down:
The attention to detail is astounding, as is the amount of sheer star power that Kimmel manages to tap (pun intended). The cake, delivered in a ''FEX'' box, makes me giggle almost as much as Brad Pitt's lecherous grin. (How many times did you have to watch it before you realized that Pitt was the FEX delivery guy? I'm not going to lie -- I was too awed by Affleck's sartorial blunder bravery to notice until a third viewing.) I don't know how Sarah can compete -- Kimmel definitely seems to have Hollywood's sympathy vote, with more stars joining in a chorus of support (Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Joan Jett,
Macy Gray, Robin Williams, Don Cheadle, Huey Lewis, Josh
Groban, Rebecca Romijn, McLovin, among others) than seemingly attended last night's Oscars.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you engaged by this public display of faux-wanton behavior and breathlessly awaiting the next installment? Or are you just hoping the "paramours" take their private affairs offline?
Is it a big deal that NBC plans to drive the final nails into the coffin of the traditional September-to-May TV season? The New York Times seems to think so, moaning about the end of a scheduling practice that dates back to the days of radio. The strike gave the network an excuse to opt out of pilot season and upfronts this year. (In non-industry speak, that means they won't be planning a whole season in the spring and asking advertisers to buy a year's worth of commercial time in May based on a fall slate full of untried new shows, a longstanding practice that both networks and advertisers now regard as a bad gamble.) No doubt, TV viewers everywhere are wailing and gnashing their teeth over the end of this tradition...
Well, maybe not. For one thing, the networks have been trying to kill the nine-month season for years, going back to the early '90s when they discovered they could have summer hits with first-run shows like Northern Exposure and Beverly Hills 90210. And of course, viewers with cable are already used to seasons that may start and end at any point during the year.
The one good thing about the old system, as the Times article obliquely mentions, is that it encouraged the networks to take creative risks. The article notes that Kidnapped (with Jeremy Sisto, pictured), a very good but bleak (and, as it turns out, little-watched) drama from a couple seasons ago, is the kind of show that would never get a greenlight under the new arrangement. Instead of buying completed pilots and selling the series to advertisers, the network will invite the sponsors to collaborate while the pilots are still in development, which will mean more product placement and fewer shows with dark or controversial elements that scare advertisers.
Other than that, however, viewers will hardly notice the difference, except that they may not have to worry so much about long stretches of reruns interrupting the story arcs of their favorite dramas. I'd bet most viewers have no emotional attachment to the old September-to-May schedule and won't miss it once it's gone. Am I right, PopWatchers, or is the Times right to be upset?
Varietyreports thatCBS is "moving its Survivor brand into the world of health and fitness" by producing Survivor Supercharged Sunflower Seeds (in stores this March, with 100 per
Home
Now that we've talked about movie franchises we'd like to see rebooted (or not), let's bring the discussion to the small screen. Because whether we like it or not, TV keeps going back to the rerun graveyard to remake old shows; this season, we'll see new takes on 90210, Knight Rider, Cupid, and maybe The Streets of San Francisco. Such remakes have a poor track record, notes TV Week columnist Josef Adalian, citing such second-time's-not-the-charm flops as Bionic Woman, Night Stalker, Family Affair, and Fantasy Island. Still, hope must spring eternal in the heart of every TV exec whose seen the rapturous fan response to the reinvented Battlestar Galactica (pictured), so as long as they're going to keep trying, Adalian offers his list of shows actually ripe for a revival, including Married With Children, Quantum Leap, Eight Is Enough, and Good Times.
The Parents Television Council is in one of its trademark tizzies and have issued this bulletin from the Department of the Obvious: 
Is reboot-mania getting out of hand? There's a forthcoming straight-to-cable Scooby-Doo live action movie, featuring young unknowns and none of the actors in the two Sarah Michelle Gellar/Freddie Prinze big-screen releases, about how the Mystery Machine gang got together in the first place. Granted, this should answer some longstanding burning questions (How old are these kids supposed to be? What do they do for money? Why aren't people who spend all their time debunking the paranormal more freaked out by the fact that their dog can talk?), but it makes me wonder: how much backstory do we really need on our favorite characters?
Brendan Fraser's Mummy tops 
Three film projects I'm not sure I'm excited about:
Thankyouthankyou, Gordon Ramsay, for providing me the opportunity to delve into one of my favorite topics: Censorship! But first, a quick test. Let's see if you can figure the lyrics to a song I've typed out in part below, leaving certain letters to the imagination.
Who's ready for more Cheech & Chong (pictured)? Given that pop culture is currently busy inhaling the fumes from 
Movie project I'm geeking out over: Foundation. Yes, I know, the classic 
Which is the most shocking detail of this 
Some 
The Chicken Little metaphor isn't mine. It comes from veteran independent film exec Mark Gill, who gave 
According to 
Forbes has put out its 
Jumpers who teleport. A disfigured, masked Tom Cruise with a whack-job lover. Hungry raptors on the loose. These films -- namely Jumper, Vanilla Sky, and Jurassic Park -- all sound good, in theory. But these sci-fi stinkers, along with fourteen others, made our list of the 
True confession time: I have never actually watched Plan 9 from Outer Space, the legendary 
Is today Superfluous Day? From the Dept. of Sequels and Remakes No One Asked For, we have trade reports today of follow-ups to 
Remember last week 
Thanks to The New York Post, we saw 
According to 
When I read that 
As casting continues on The CW's planned Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff — 
There is a sizable group of my colleagues here at EW who regularly send out e-mails about Lauren Conrad (pictured, right), Heidi Montag (left), and the MTV "reality" series The Hills, of which I've seen maybe a total of five minutes. Each time I've tried tuning in, I barely made it through 30 seconds before my brain was dripping out of my ears from boredom, which was even worse than the 60 seconds it took for that to happen when watching The Hills' precursor, Laguna Beach. (
Can The Weinstein Company make Project Runway's move to Lifetime work? That's the question we're asking ourselves after we received a joint press release from TWC and the cable channel announcing a "groundbreaking agreement" that would move Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, et al from Bravo to Lifetime in Nov. 2008. Of course, buried deep in the release was an acknowledgment that NBC Universal, Bravo's parent company, had filed a lawsuit today against The Weinstein Company in an effort to block the hop. 
It's no secret that pop radio has never been particularly welcoming to American Idol's season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken, and so it makes sense that "
It's official: New Kids on the Block are reuniting. Today had the big "reveal" this morning, sending Meredith Vieira and Natalie Morales out onto the rain-soaked Rockefeller Plaza — where the besuited man band magically appeared from behind a red curtain. The girls in the crowd went apes--- as the guys quickly fell into their old roles: Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, and Joey McIntyre did all the talking, while Jonathan Knight stood behind them looking uncomfortable. Danny Wood was there, too. Off to the side. (The good news: neither Jonathan nor Danny was as awkward as Today's cut from the screaming New Kids crowd to a somber Al Roker, who was reporting from outside the Memphis hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago today. Seriously. Awkward.)
I've spent the last two decades locked in an oddly Pavlovian relationship with Madonna: She puts out a single, and I start salivating in anticipation of her album release date. So imagine my confusion that upon the release of "4 Minutes," her new duet with Justin Timberlake (pictured, with Madonna, at the latter's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction earlier this month), I'm experiencing symptoms of dry mouth and general ennui. The expected rush of anticipation over her upcoming Hard Candy disc (due April 29), well, it's just not there. So what gives? Listen to the single, "4 Minutes," after the jump, and we'll discuss.
The Hollywood Reporter is officially 
In the war between the Fanboys fanboys and the Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein has blinked. Well, sort of. According to the 
I've championed 
Are you ready to watch Christian Slater and his raised eyebrows once a week? NBC is 
It took seven seasons, but contestants on 
The Olsen twins, "actress" Mary-Kate and style "icon" Ashley, have "announced" in the "
Is it a big deal that NBC plans to drive the final nails into the coffin of the traditional September-to-May TV season? 
Variety 