Miss America

When TLC got the rights to air Miss America, it wanted to reinvigorate the tired pageant. And it's starting tonight, with a reality show whipping this year's 52 contestants into shape.

Miss America: Reality Check puts the contestants under one roof for four weeks and asks them to complete a series of challenges. The goal: out with the sequins and big hair, in with a new wave of smarter, savvier beauty queens. The pinnacle of the series is the pageant itself, which will air Jan. 26 — and Reality Check viewers will get the chance to vote one of the contestants directly into the finals.

When I first heard TLC was going to do a Miss America reality show, I begged for a What Not to Wear tie-in, and I have to say, TLC has done me one better. Not only will Clinton Kelly and Stacy London appear on the show, but it will be hosted by the only person besides Kelly I'd like to see take on a room full of beauty queens: Michael Urie of Ugly Betty. (I'm assuming Carson Kressley was booked; his own reality show, How to Look Good Naked, premieres tonight on Lifetime). Urie is totally hilarious, and — as half of your favorite platonic duo on TV — great at dealing with drama. I would have been mildly interested in watching anyway, but with Urie involved, it's a must-see.

Will you be tuning in? To check out a preview, just read more

• The Hollywood Reporter has news that Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco have joined Sean Penn for the Harvey Milk biopic, Milk.
• The stage musical version of Mary Poppins will begin its U.S. tour in Chicago during the spring of 2009, writes Variety.
• Michael Urie of Ugly Betty will host a Miss America special on TLC starting in January; details are at The Futon Critic.
• E! Online has news about the tour John C. Reilly will do to promote his mock musical biopic Walk Hard.
• Randy Jackson is auditioning hip-hop crews for an upcoming MTV show, TV Guide reports.
• According to Variety, Edward Norton will star in the comedic thriller Leaves of Grass.
• Dancing With the Stars professional champion Julianne Hough is launching a singing career, Billboard reports.
• Old episodes of Pop-Up Video will start airing online via VH1 Classic, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

Source

• PopSugar reports on Bono's new British knighthood, while NME tells us that U2 is working on a new album.
• Spider-Man 3 will open in China one day before it's released in the U.S., says the Hollywood Reporter.
• The Miss America pageant is without a TV home again, writes Zap2it.
• Puzzling Variety news of the week: Helen Mirren will star in the National Treasure sequel.
• The Futon Critic sorts through Fox's scheduling changes, including a split-up season for "Drive" and a new time slot for "King of the Hill."
• Billboard has the dates of the Dave Matthews Band summer tour.
• The Hollywood Reporter writes that David O. Russell will direct Sammy's Hill, based on Kristin Gore's novel.
• The writer credited with turning "Desperate Housewives" around is leaving the show, Variety reports.

• The Police are reuniting in LA for this year's Grammys fueling rumors that they are also planning a reunion tour. Woohoo! - Reuters
• Lance Armstrong is reportedly seeing socialite designer Tory Burch after he read about her in Vanity Fair and arranged to meet her. Must be nice to be able to use VF as a dating service. - R&M
• Clay Aiken's fans say that the AI star has been framed. They claim the compromising footage leaked on the Internet was actually of an imposter. Stranger things have happened. - The Scoop
• The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. If she's convicted she could spend up to a year in jail. This is not looking good. - AP
• Miss Oklahoma Lauren Nelson was crowned Miss America on Monday. Let's hope she doesn't fall into the bad habits of recent beauty queens. - People

...K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Not really. But they made an appearance together at a press conference to try to explain away all of Tara's crowning achievements in the areas of drug, alcohol, and partying abuse since taking the throne. With verbal vomit flowing and a smile plastered on her face, Tara reminds us why she won the title in the first place- she can bullsh*t with the best of them. So VH1 "remastered" the footage a bit and, despite the retina damaging glow from Tara's overly whitened teeth, it's well worth your attention.