BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 3/31

BuzzSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:30:26 PDT

This incredibly creepy dude, Derek Mears, will reportedly play Jason in the new Friday the 13th, ComingSoon writes.
Meanwhile, Mos Def has signed on to portray Chuck Berry in the movie Cadillac Records, Billboard reports.
Zap2it reports that ABC is shuffling its Spring schedule, moving Women's Murder Club to Tuesdays and taking Men in Trees off the air for a few weeks.
Uh-oh: The LA Times has an update on a possible actors' strike.
According to the AP, Heather Mills will judge the next Miss USA pageant.
Kathie Lee Gifford will host the fourth hour of The Today Show, the New York Times reports.
Zany soap opera Passions no longer has a home at NBC, Variety reports.
If you want to see Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward's band play live, She & Him are going on a very, very brief tour, and Pitchfork has the details.

HBO Has Female-Driven Programming On Deck

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:31:11 PDT

This year we've seen two network TV shows, Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle, that have tried to recreate the magic of HBO's Sex and the City, with mixed results. By contrast, HBO itself is moving on, leaving SATC for the big screen and once again developing interesting and unexpected female-driven projects.

Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose will star in Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella's adaptation of the popular book series the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. The project, about an all-female private detective agency in Botswana, was originally developed as a movie. Variety reports that this story will now be told on the small screen as HBO has ordered 13 episodes of it. If this sounds confusingly similar to another recent female detective project, never fear, I've broken down the differences between the two. As for the other female-led show HBO has on deck, it's a little quirky, so

Actually, "quirky" is probably a generous way to describe this other HBO project, though I think it will end up being quirky-awesome, not quirky-awkward. Apparently, The comedy is titled Driving Around With Joni and follows "a woman who spends her days driving around Los Angeles with her French bulldog, looking for meaning in her life after the sudden death of her husband." No word on who will star as the widow. Got suggestions?

French bulldog image source

Buzz News Roundup, 2/25

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:29:49 PST

Last night's Oscars look like they'll have record-low viewing numbers based on the preliminary ratings, Reuters reports. Stay tuned for the final numbers later today.
Though its showrunners were recently fired, Women's Murder Club will still produce three more episodes this season, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
Zap2It reports that the Tina Fey-hosted Saturday Night Live - the first post-strike episode - produced strong ratings over the weekend.
According to ComingSoon, production on Steven Spielberg's next project The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be delayed "for the foreseeable future."
Writer Stephen Marlowe, best known for his pulp crime novels, has died at age 79, the Associated Press reports.
Billboard reports that Donna Summer will break her 17-year hiatus with the May 20th release of her studio album, Crayons.
The typically comedic actress Teri Polo will star in indie thriller The Beacon, writes Hollywood Reporter
Leighton Meester, aka Blair on Gossip Girl, has recorded her first album, CTV reports.

Source

TV Tonight: "Women's Murder Club" and "Men in Trees"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:30:00 PDT

ABC kicks off its new Friday night lineup tonight with the premiere of a new show, "Women's Murder Club," and the return of an old favorite, "Men in Trees."

It pains me to recommend a show that airs at the same time as my beloved "Friday Night Lights," but "Women's Murder Club" is a pretty solid show. It's based on a series of books by James Patterson, and it centers on a sassy crew of women in various law enforcement roles solving crimes in San Francisco. It's not something I'd watch on a weekly basis, but the cast is appealing, the mystery in the pilot episode was reasonably compelling, and it has a built-in stable of stories to draw from. I'd still pick "FNL," but if that's not your speed (and you haven't been sucked - har har - into vampire show "Moonlight"), this one might be worth a look.

"Men in Trees" got some very strange treatment from ABC last year: It started on Friday nights and struggled, moved to the plum post-"Grey's Anatomy" time slot, grew an audience, got early renewal for a second season - and then disappeared from the air completely in favor of "October Road." The show had actually completed several episodes beyond the ones that aired, so fans will be treated to an extra-long season this year. The season premiere won't be one of those extra episodes, though; it will be an all-new one designed to get viewers back into the flow of life in Elmo, Alaska.

Will you be watching any of this Friday night fare? To check out a preview for "Women's Murder Club" and the official "Men in Trees" music video, just

ABC Pushes Daisies & Lots of Beautiful Women in Some Club that May Include The Simpson Sisters

PopSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:54:40 PDT

Yesterday kicked off the ABC TCAs and although we have to wait until the end of November to check out Cashmere Mafia, the network has plenty of other new shows that are bound to be big hits. Pushing Daisies might be my favorite new show this season (sorry Chuck). The fairy tale-like show is brought to us by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) and Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls). The show is so beautiful to watch I could not take my eyes off the screen. Lee Pace is the adorable main character that can bring people back to life by touching them, but he can kill them just as quickly with a second touch. He resurrects his childhood sweetheart and the two have this untouchable (literally) loving romance. It's so sweet and only was a small part of such an entertaining show. Click here to watch a clip and be mesmerized by the beauty.

The Women's Murder Club based on the popular James Patterson books is another show with a beautiful foursome but this time they're solving crimes in SF. I am not normally into formulaic cop-like shows but this one was very entertaining and everything about Angie Harmon is gorgeous, especially the way she talks about her family. She said:

"My husband is the most brilliant father on the planet... I actually have him more now at home than I did when he was playing....it's just all worked out really, really beautifully. The whole show coming into my life, and I know that my time with my girls is going to be fine and my husband is great, and he's happy with is job and where he is. So my family is in a really good place right now. I'm really thankful to be here."

She spoke really passionately about her new role and her home life so now I am a huge fan. Oh and did I mention Joe Simpson is an executive producer on the show? Well he is and he was asked if his daughters will guest star. Make sure to check out his response so

Joe's response to if his famous daughters will guest star was, "It's not in the plan, but you never know what tomorrow holds. That's not how we ever started this show, with the girls in mind at all so -- but I would never say never because the girls like to be where things are successful. So if we were asked, we will see." It would certainly be an interesting role for Jess or Ashlee.

View 16 Photos ›

Images include Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Angie Harmon, Sarah Fain, Joe Simpson, Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Bryan Fuller, Bruce Cohen, Kristin Chenoweth, Barry Sonnenfeld, Chi McBride, Swoosie Kurtz, and Ellen Greene.

Source

Separated at Birth: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and "Women's Murder Club"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:40:26 PDT

From "Bones" to "The Closer," female detectives are hot right now. So hot, in fact, that two suspiciously similar projects, "Women's Murder Club" (pictured above) and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, are currently in development (the latter just cast Anika Noni Rose). Lest you be confused should the topic arise at your next cocktail party, I've put together this handy guide to telling the projects apart.

Title	What is it?	Adapted from	Premise	Location	Stars	It's like ...
"Women's Murder Club"	A new ABC drama scheduled for Friday nights in the fall	A series of books by James Patterson	A group of women working in the justice system come together to solve crime	San Francisco	Angie Harmon, Paula Newsome, Aubrey Dollar, Tyrees Allen	"Law & Order" meets Steel Magnolias
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency	A new movie by Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella	A series of books by Alexander McCall Smith	An African woman establishes herself as her country's first female detective	Botswana	Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose	"Murder She Wrote" in the savanna

Femmephobia: "Girls Are Gross" Writ Large

The Good Men Project — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:00:00 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Ozy Frantz explains the difference between fear and hatred of women, and the more common fear and hatred of anything feminine.

When I was a freshman in high school, I and my friends were Cool Chicks.

We weren't like those other girls, the ones who were passive and weak and giggled and watched romantic comedies and thought about their hair and makeup. Those girls were stupid and frivolous and vapid, and we made fun of them. No, we were Cool. We liked fantasy novels and action movies and anime! We laughed at "that's what she said" jokes and "make me a sandwich" humor and South Park quotes! We fake-fought with each other and laughed off pain and never cried! We were just like the guys in every way!

Around this time, I was also beginning to really get into feminism. I was proud of myself. I defied convention and gender roles. My adoption of male gender norms wholesale was truly a feminist act. After all, all the stuff girls did was stupid, and the stuff boys did was fun, and -

. . . hey, wait a minute.

Do Men Have ‘Mommy Issues'?

Julia Serano, in Whipping Girl (which is, in my opinion, a book that should be read by everyone interested in gender issues) discusses the concept of "femmephobia" in our society. Femmephobia is the devaluation, fear and hatred of the feminine: of softness, nurturance, dependence, emotions, passivity, sensitivity, grace, innocence and the color pink.

To a large degree, our culture has replaced the fear and hatred of women, with the fear and hatred of things commonly associated with women. I think this is . . . not so much progress, actually.

Read the rest of the story below.