When in Rome
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Buzz News Roundup, 4/14
- Having recently taken on Gossip Girl books and Dancing with the Stars, The New Yorker now turns its attention to The Hills.
- 300 director Zack Snyder is set to direct an animated film adaptation of Guardians of Ga'Hoole, writes ComingSoon.
- Variety reports that the romantic comedy HangingOutHookingUpFallingInLove has just added an ensemble cast which includes Janeane Garofalo, Jenna Elfman and Rita Rudner, among others.
- Kristen Johnston will join Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway and Candice Bergen in Bride Wars, writes Hollywood Reporter.
- Meanwhile, Danny DeVito has been cast in When in Rome alongside Kristen Bell and Will Arnett, reports ComingSoon.
- And, some TV casting news: TV Guide reports that Albert Brooks will play Nancy's dad on Weeds, while Variety has news that Six Feet Under mom Frances Conroy has joined the cast of a CBS comedy pilot.
- Lifetime will adapt two of bestselling author Patricia Cornwell's novels into TV movies, Zap2It reports.
- Billboard has news that My Morning Jacket will make their SNL debut on May 10, and will perform material from their upcoming album Evil Urges.
- Apparently, The New York Times reports, many people who call to vote for American Idol can't get the numbers right and bother off-duty notaries and the like instead.
Buzz News Roundup, 3/28
- Mariah Carey is on track for her 18th No. 1 single with "Touch My Body," Billboard reports.
- Tobey Maguire is gearing up to produce and star in an adaptation of the comic book Afterburn, ComingSoon reports.
- It's a busy day for pilot casting, including the news that Sara Rue will play the female lead in the adaptation of Spaced for Fox, writes HollywoodReporter.
- The finale of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV got 38 million votes to decide the winner, Zap2it reports.
- HBO will launch a Friday night comedy lineup in June, including an animated series called The Life and Times of Tim and the Australian series Summer Heights High, writes TV Week.
- Variety confirms that Ratatouille is the "kids' pick" of last year's movies, while The Golden Compass received the "Ick" award.
- According to ComingSoon, Will Arnett will join Kristen Bell in the Disney rom-com When in Rome.
- Netflix is issuing credits to members whose shipments were delayed by Monday's site outage, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
- Variety reports that Ice Cube will star alongside an as-yet-undetermined "big name rapper" in the movie Janky Promoters.
Buzz News Roundup, 2/11
- Actor Roy Scheider, best known for playing the police chief in Jaws, passed away at the age of 75 on Sunday, Variety reports.
- Sunday's Grammy Awards were the third least-watched Grammy ceremony ever, writes the AP.
- Juno, No Country for Old Men, and The Wire were big winners at the Writers Guild of America Awards over the weekend, Variety reports.
- Kristen Bell will star in Disney's romantic comedy When in Rome, writes Hollywood Reporter.
- ComingSoon has the news that Michelle Pfeiffer will star in Cheri, a film adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Collette.
- Yet another way to watch the Olympics this summer: Oxygen will carry gymnastics, tennis, and some other events, TV Guide reports.
- Pitchfork reports that there's a Radiohead greatest hits album on the way.
- According to Variety, Ellen Page will have the lead role in Sam Raimi's horror flick Drag Me to Hell.
Other Search Results
Duplicity: Stylish Spy Caper That's a Touch Too Calculating
It's hard to go wrong with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in a movie together. The two starred in Closer as a couple in a toxic marriage. This time around they play two corporate spies who are intoxicated with each other.
Ugly Betty Rundown: Episode 17, "Sugar Daddy"
This week's episode of Ugly Betty is ripped from the super-crazy-depressing recession headlines that have been ruining all of our days for months now. I guess I'm not surprised the gloomy financial news finally seeped into my Thursday night television lineup but I'm not totally happy about it.
Thankfully, there was also a story woven in there about people down on their luck (surprise!
TV News: More (But Less) Heroes, and Glee Gets a Tryout
A couple of TV news tidbits worth noting today:
- Maybe you heard about the Greg Grunberg Twitter update that got people all worried that Heroes wouldn't be back for a fourth season (even though he clarified immediately) — or maybe you've just been following the show's sinking ratings and wondering if it might not return to NBC's lineup in the Fall. Well, no worries: NBC plans to order up another season of Heroes — albeit a slightly shorter one. The network will probably ask for 18 to 20 episodes of the series this time around (the first season had 23, the current season 25).
Lil Wayne, Coldplay Top Grammy Nominations
Lil Wayne took top honors Wednesday night when the Grammy nominations were announced in primetime, followed closely by Coldplay, Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, and Kanye West. Lil Wayne nabbed eight nominations, while Coldplay had seven and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, and Kanye each had six.
Lil Wayne's most prestigious nomination came in the Album of the Year category, where he'll face off against Coldplay, Ne-Yo, Radiohead, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
Ugly Betty Rundown: Episode Four, "Betty Suarez Land"
OK, I am such a sucker for Ugly Betty, and I totally cried at the end of this week's episode. I blame a couple of things: First of all, anything related to bad things happening to Hilda breaks my heart, and of course a Suarez family hug will get the tears flowing. And Claire Meade protecting her children and Daniel and Alexis having a "moment" on a tarmac is exactly the kind of thing to finish me off.
HBO Likes Hustlers, Fat Girl, and Kanye
After a Summer with no original series, HBO sure seems to be stepping up its TV development these days. The latest news:
- HBO's alliance with Mark Wahlberg's production company has worked out well so far (Entourage, In Treatment), so why not try again? The latest is a comedy pilot called How to Make It in America.
Ugly Betty Rundown: Episode 18, "Jump"
The title of the Ugly Betty finale is also the title of one of my favorite Madonna songs (not on her new album, FYI), and it was used to close the episode. It's a fitting tune for this episode, since a lot of the characters were forced to take a proverbial leap of some sort last night — especially Betty.
If the Gossip Girl finale revealed too much, Ugly Betty left us with a considerable cliffhanger which actually surprised me!
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