Screenwriter Rita Hsiao, writer of Disney's Mulan and rewriter of Enchanted and 13 Going on 30, has apparently written a screenplay about a new Jeannie for all of us to dream of. Her script for the big-screen adaptation of the 1960s series I Dream of Jeannie apparently wowed the producers, who had already seen five other attempts at Jeannie scripts.
Producer Sid Ganis has only glowing praise for Hsiao: "She has a terrific, bright, fresh approach to Jeannie's story, with a twist and turn along the way. She captured all of our imaginations in the telling of it."
This project has been rumbled about for years, but is only now getting serious attention. Ganis notes, "This is such a beloved and iconic character that it has to be told the right way. You have a loyalty to the character that has to exist, and sometimes it takes time to get there." Not to mention the fact that the new movie would probably need to be palatable to modern audiences, and I have to wonder how today's feminists might feel about this story following a woman who exists to serve her "master."
Anyway, I say sure, take your time. We don't want another Bewitched remake on our hands! Now, as for casting, I smell our next recast challenge coming on. . .
This week, Katherine Heigl once again finds herself in the center of a bit of a controversy because of something she's said about one of her roles. Some folks over at the LA Times' awards blog noticed that Heigl (last year's Emmy champ) wasn't on the list of actresses being considered for this year's awards. In response, she said:
"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."
This has struck many as a major — and inappropriate — slam against the writers of Grey's Anatomy. But does Heigl have a point? In the past, she's had some of the juiciest material the show has ever offered up (hence winning an Emmy). But she spent the fourth season mostly in the background, doing silly things like performing CPR on a deer.
It's an ensemble show, and the writers have to consider the big picture rather than dealing out even storylines to each star all the time (also, the show's not called Izzie's Anatomy). But if Heigl really did get slighted with barely-there material that didn't allow her to do her best work, I guess it would feel strange to be nominated. Do agree with her about Izzie's diminished role?
The episode of So You Think You Can Dance where the top 20 perform for the first time is always one of my favorite TV nights of the whole Summer. The Vegas episode just leaves us with so many questions, and Wednesday night was the first chance for some of them to be answered: Which partnerships will succeed and which will fail? Who will live up to the promise they showed during the auditions? Who will falter? And who will do something awesome enough to instantly redeem all past wrongs and become a surprise favorite?
I'm going to start with the latter, because: Katee! Wow. She had a tremendous deficit of goodwill to make up after the judges slammed her (fairly? unfairly?) in Vegas for saying she might not try out for the show again if she didn't make the top 20. But then she got paired with Joshua, whom I'd guess is an early fan favorite — and then the two of them delivered hands-down the most powerful number of the night. It also doesn't hurt that they're adorable together — two crybabies as partners is a recipe for cute, especially when one of them is an ex-football player. (Further, I like "No Air" more every time I hear it. Well played, Jordin Sparks.)
Also on the positive-surprise front, I loved Rayven and Jamie's hip-hop routine (except for the five seconds in which Rayven pantsed Jamie — I mean, why?). Mostly, I thought Rayven was a standout — she's a great performer with a lot of energy and a whole bucketful of facial expressions at her disposal. It's a shame they had to go first, because I think the routine would have stood out more later in the show. Meanwhile, Mark and Chelsie are developing into one of my favorite couples: He's quirky, she's cute, and they did a good job with the unenviable task of performing Mia Michaels' choreography in week one. And Chelsea T. and Comfort proved they'll be forces to reckon with, even though I'm not sure either of them is in the strongest partnership.
For more thoughts, including which dancers I think are in trouble, and pictures from all the performances, just read more
In the midst of the Top Chef finale last night, Bravo slipped in a little gift for Project Runway fans: a premiere date for the sooner-than-planned season five. July 16 is the day the newest crop of fashion wannabes will start cutting and draping their way toward success.
One change from previous seasons, though: Instead of airing at 10 p.m., Runway will now air at 9. That's because Shear Genius will be taking the 10 p.m. spot starting in two weeks, right after next week's Top Chef reunion. It's going to be strange to have two of Bravo's "big four" reality series (Runway, Shear Genius, Top Chef, Top Design) airing back-to-back on the same night — but it could help Shear Genius if people come for Runway and then don't want to get off the couch.
I'm still a little wary about this season — July is just so soon! I mean, Christian Siriano's 15 minutes aren't even up yet. But on the other hand, it could be the last season of Runway as we know it, on Bravo and with the Magical Elves team behind it. No chance I'm going to miss out, even if I don't quite have my normal Runway craving yet. You?
Surely you remembered that this Sunday is Father's Day (and if you didn't, well consider this your reminder!), and in honor of the yearly day for dads, test your knowledge of some of television's best, worst and most interesting fathers.
Let's just say I wasn't exactly thrilled when NBC announced it planned to take up part of its Summer programming block with Celebrity Family Feud. Combining a game show whose best years were a few decades behind it with yet another set of pseudo-celebs embarrassing themselves on national TV (see also: Celebrity Circus) sounded like a recipe for utter disaster.
But then NBC announced the list of participating "families" for the show this week, and — well, maybe it's the Summer heat going to my head, but I think this could be pretty funny in the "reality TV trainwreck you can't stop watching" sort of way.
I mean, I simply have to watch the episode where the accounting nerds of The Office take on the muscle-bound warriors of American Gladiators. The Hatfield vs. McCoy-style battle between two factions of the My Name is Earl cast — the Hickeys vs. the Camden County All-Stars — could be pretty great, too. And there's just a certain amount of curiosity that comes with hearing Ice T's clan will be taking on Joan and Melissa Rivers . . . or that Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore will be feuding with the cast of The Girls Next Door.
Granted, they're not all great (I could do without the Bill Engvall vs. Larry the Cable Guy matchup, though admittedly I'm not in their demographic, and they kind of missed a chance to woo sports fans by having both Tiki Barber and Deion Sanders on the show but not competing against each other). But overall, it's already more than I was expecting from this show. And hey, it's for charity. The show will premiere July 1. What do you think? Do you sense the potential hilarity here?
Jenna Dewan walked down the street in Beverly Hills looking extremely chic and poised. Her structured white blazer framed her body perfectly, and paired well over her draped fringe Haute Hippie halter which she wore with denim leggings and over-the-knee brown boots.
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