BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 3/31

BuzzSugar — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:30:26 -0700

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 -0700

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 read more.

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 -0800

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 -0700

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 read more

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

PopSugar — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:54:40 -0700

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 read more

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 -0700

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

What to Sky+: Saturday

PopSugarUK — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0700

BBC1 has Toy Story 2, I'd Do Anything and Love Soup
BBC2 has The Culture Show which features Goldfrapp and Roisin Murphy
BBC3 has RTS Award winner The Mighty Boosh - a Journey Through Time and Space followed by six episodes of The Mighty Boosh
BBC4 has a triple-bill of Mad Men
ITV1 is new with Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and is showing the film Pride & Prejudice with RTS Award winner Matthew Macfadyen
ITV2 has a catch up of The Passions of Girls Aloud and Coleen's Real Women
Channel 4 is showing the film The Day After Tomorrow
More4 has The West Wing
Film4 is showing The First Wives Club, The School of Rock and Dawn of the Dead
Five US has Shark and Five Life is showing the film Mona Lisa Smile
Living has 27 Dresses: Movie Special, plus a catch up of America's Next Top Model, and is showing the film Rain Man
The Biography Channel is new with The Harry Potter Kids and The Spice Girls
Sky Drama has Bobby and Perfume: the Story of a Murderer
Sky Comedy has Borat and Drop Dead Fred
Sky Family has Three Men and a Baby and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Sky Indie has Brokeback Mountain
Sky Modern Greats has As Good as it Gets and Scream

To see our picks for even more channels just read more

E4 has Ugly Betty and The 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows
Sky One has 50 Greatest Families
Dave has Jack Dee Live at the Apollo and Later ... with Jools Holland
UKTV Gold is showing the film Spider-Man
Paramount 1 has six episodes of Two and a Half Men plus Lee Evans: Wired and Wonderful and Lee Evans Live in Scotland

Come Story Telling with me!! The Completed Story

DearSugar — Sun, 20 May 2007 17:38:11 -0700

I hope you all enjoyed this new feature as much as I did! Your wild imaginations made for a great story line! To read the completed tale you all helped create, read more

You're never going to believe whom I ran into Saturday night!!!! I was about to meet the girls at the new hot spot everyone's been talking about, Magnolia, and found him standing at the front of the line as I bypassed all of the crowd. I hadn't seen him since last June, a few months before he fled California for the east coast, without so much as a good-bye. Seeing him there stopped me in my tracks. I had grown accustomed to thinking of this city as my own again. It was long past the days when I had looked for him on every street corner, in every doorway, in the reflections of the puddles. Having him gone was like a really deep breath, where you feel your whole body expand with the oxygen and you relax into the exhalation. Immediately, my mind started working... why was he back? Just as I was to go inside and pretend he wasn't actually there, I heard him say to his friend, "Dude! Pamela Anderson is SO hot! I recently met a girl who looks just like her - score!" It was my ex boyfriend. Of course I just had my hair and nails done and I was wearing my fab outfit that made me look 10 pounds lighter, so I looked smokin' hot! Had he met another girl? A Pamela Anderson lookalike? How could this be? How dare he come back here to my reclaimed city and spout off about meeting a new woman. So now what? Do I approach him and make small talk or do I ignore him completely and show him just how over him I really am? I make a split second decision to walk straight up to him and his friend. "You again?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. They both turned around. I didn't know his friend, but I sure knew that mug anywhere. "Oh, my God..." he replied, shocked. "I knew I'd see you but I didn't know it would be so soon. You look really good..." "save your breath dear. I'm just stopping by to say hello and let you know that in about 20 minutes the whole crew will be here to celebrate my boyfriends birthday", I said as I glanced over to the group I was with. In reality, I was only hoping that my ex didn't notice that in fact I was the only one in the group without a man. Sticky situation, this, I thought. Typical for me to make up a pretend boyfriend, a birthday and a crew. Now what? Time for a telepathic moment! I tried to gain eye contact with Lucy, my best friend, and communicate: Help me out! After a few moments of sheer panic, Lucy finally got the message and made her way over to me with two champagne cocktails in hand. I was relieved that I didn't have to be in his presence completely sober. She handed me the drink and told me that the celebration was beginning. Now the only thing I needed to complete the lie was a man. A man who would be willing to, on the spot, pretend it was his birthday, and pretend he was with me for that matter. So I left Lucy to catch up with the ex and went off to find myself a unwitting suspect. I was so focused on my quest that I smacked right into the hottest guy I had ever seen - a dead ringer for Matt Damon in The Bourne Identity! "So sorry," I say quickly as we look into each other's eyes. Instant chemistry sparks and I know it's now or never. "So I need you to do me a favor, my *sshole ex boyfriend is back in town and thinks I have a new boyfriend and that today is his birthday. Can you play the part?" I bat my eyelashes flirtatously hoping that the Matt Damon look alike is up for anything. He replies, "Well of course, let me go ask my friend Ben to join us." So the Matt Damon clone takes my hand and pulls me closely to him tightly and says "My darling, you look wonderful tonight. Wait until i get you home and the real party begins..."

I look around and my ex-boyfriend is STEAMING since he was only 4 feet away! I was hearing JT's "My Love" in the background, and I was definitely seeing stars. First with the Matt look-alike, and now his equally hot friend who looked like Ben Affleck! With this sudden Matt-and-Ben manwich, I thought I was an extra in Good Will Hunting! His puppy-dog eyes darted over to the Matt clone, he said, "So what does this hot babe wish of us?" "She asked me to play her boyfriend for the night to make the ex jealous", he said jokingly, I was still slightly mortified that I asked so much of a complete stranger, but he seemed into the idea. "Oh, by the way, my name is Derek, and this is my buddy Ben." Colin cuts in and slyly says, "Now that we're all acquainted lets get the party started!" Derek then shyly reminded Ben that he didn't know my name, and I timidly replied, "Madison." Just as I was starting to feel super overwhelmed by the situation (and the thought of possibly ending up in one of these Matt/Ben look alike's bed later that night) Lucy shows up champy in hand. "Why, hello gentlemen," she says with her man-eater look in the face. I see her checking out both guys and wonder if it's too soon to bathroom break and claim which one we each shall make a move on. But before I can get a word in to Lucy, Ben says suddenly, "Hi Lucy!" and gives her a huge hug hello! It turns out that they are co-workers! Could the world get any smaller. Well, I guess we don't need to figure out who's boy is who's, unless Lucy is in to the whole office romance thing. Still, a conference is in order, I grab Lucy to head to the bathroom.

One our way, we run into my ex. He nonchalantly asks me more information about Matt. "Where is he from & what does he do?" I try to evade the question since I obviously know nothing about him and I pull on Lucy's arm to help me out but she isn't really paying attention to me because she's looking at all the other eye candy in the place. Lucy dishes on her conversation with the ex. Turns out he's back in town for a wedding, and the bachelor party is at Magnolia tonight. And to make matters worse, Lucy mentions that Ben told her earlier that week at work that he was going to be out on Saturday for a bachelor party. Could it be my new hot duo of saviors is actually with the same group that my ex is in? I guess the world can get smaller.

Lucy and I finally reach the lounge in the swanky bathroom, and I tell her to come clean. "What is going on!" I demand. "Oh relax!" she tells me, as she puckers, paints and pouts in the mirror. "Besides" she says with a raised eyebrow "when you see who else is here tonight this will all seem like a drop in the glass". Holy crap, I'm thinking, why didn't I just stay home tonight? She grabs my hand and leads me back out the door. "Wild women coming through" she announces. I consider my options=; there is a window near the sink I could climb through and go MIA for the night, but I did not get a pedi and mani just to let it go to waste in my pajamas...besides, if I went home I would end up eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's in my PJs and my hips def didn't need that, esp since they look oh so good in this little dress. I decided to suck it up and see what else could happen. I would say it couldn't get worse, but then it did. As we leave the bathroom, I am shocked to see Matt, Ben and my ex chatting!!! Every expletive runs through my mind. Lucy notices my deer in the headlight face and steers me towards the bar for more champagne and one of her famous pep talks. She says, "Okay, look. The worst that can happen is that your pal Matt tells your ex he isn't really your boyfriend. It would be embarrassing, yes, but seriously, do you think he is doing that?" I look over, and Matt and my ex seem to be in a serious conversation-there is no laughing, no pointing or staring. I catch Matt's eye and he winks at me, and I know then that I am safe--for now. I said "You are right! give me that red headed slut and lets start this party!" We take our shots, and walk toward the group. Maybe it's the drink, but suddenly I feel like this is "my night", and it shows. I make my way to the dance floor and immediately a hot guy joins me there and starts dancing with me. The music makes me feel free, the lights and the people are like a kaleidoscope; colorful, constantly moving, beautiful. I wonder why I had ever been worried about where the night might go. Then Matt saunters up, with that finely sculpted backside, and asks if he can cut in. Of course I say yes, and we start dancing, and not just with our bodies. I am feeling super sexy right now; the music is just right, our conversation is extremely flirty and fun, and I am saying just the right things to keep it light but sexy. Then he says to me "So, maybe we should rethink our relationship-" and for one horrifying moment I am thinking to myself I am going to be dumped by someone who isn't even my boyfriend and he continues, -"and make it official" as he says that I am momentarily breathless-and balance-less, and I step sideways at an angle that causes to me trip over my own feet and fall. I can feel my face turn a bright crimson, and thinking I just blew the whole thing-I mean who would want to be with me the rest of the night after that? I am the girl who fell. As I go to stand up, he bends over to help me, and we bump heads. At this point all I can do is laugh, and instead of wallowing in my embarrassment, I pull him down onto the floor with me and do something that is rarely in my repertoire- I kiss him, passionately. Then he looks at me and says...Are you OK? How much have you had to drink so far? Just as he says that everything starts to go silent. I feel lightheaded and then complete darkness.

I awake to the sound of beep...beep...beep. As I open my eyes, I find myself in the hospital. Lucy is sitting in a chair next to the hospital bed and I can tell she was crying. "Lucy, what happened? Why am I here?" "Sweetheart, I have something to tell you....Before you took that shot last night, do you remember you and I were talking by the bar? While our heads were turned, someone slipped GHB in your drink. You passed out cold and have been for 9 hours. Matt, your new friend was worried sick, but your ex, he split and the police are looking for to question him." I went to sit up, reeling from the news, but I had such a bad headache I immediately laid back down. "Are you kidding me? What, he was going to rape me or something?" Lucy looked down and slowly shook her head. When she looked back up I could see the fear in her eyes. "When he left the club in such a hurry, the police started to do a background investigation. The name you know him by, is an alias. He has 3 other identities, and with them 3 dead ex-girl friends. The police think he could be a serial murderer, much like a black widow, only he is doing the killing." I laid, in stunned silence as tears began to well in my eyes. I turned away, and when I did, I saw a vase of beautiful roses. I turned back to Lucy "Who are they from?" At that time, Matt walks into the room and says, "They are from me. I have something to tell you also."

If I thought I had heard it all, more was coming. I pushed the nurse button to get some pain medicine for my splitting headache, and Matt continued. "Our meeting was not just by chance. I was hired to come here and get involved with you. By that guy, your ex. I am an actor, you see, well, actually, I am an FBI agent, posing as an actor. I am going to be your personal body guard until we can hunt your ex down. Although I must admit, I don't think being with you 24/7 is going to feel much like a job! I must confess-this is going to be a little more complicated than I originally thought. Your ex has a knack for disappearing and staying underground until he feels it's safe to come up for air. It could be days, weeks, even years so the most important thing is to make sure that you are safe. Now, I need to ask you a few questions...When was the last time you saw each other? Talked to each other? Have you been in contact with him?" I close my eyes as things around me start to get fuzzy. I cant handle all these questions right now. It's too much. "Matt," I say, "that is your name right? Get the hell out of here. I don't believe a word of this crap. Lucy, pass me the phone, I am not talking to anyone until I speak to my parents and my lawyer. This all makes no sense whatsoever and I want everyone OUT OF HERE!" As Lucy slams the door, tears stream down my face. I cry myself to sleep and wake up to my mom stroking my hair away from my face. The sense of relief I feel from seeing my mom and dad sitting next to my hospital bed was absolutely indescribable and I instantly know everything is going to be OK.