day 116

melrose loses mischa 

mischa barton will not be joining the cast of the cw's melrose place 2.0, despite reports that she was confirmed to star.  instead, mischa is headlining another cw pilot that sounds like it'll be quite scandalous.  from the mind of ashton kutcher, a beautiful life follows a group of models living in a co-ed co-op together in nyc. marton will be the focus of the series, playing sonja, a supermodel struggling to hold onto her career.  well mishca's been struggling for a while so this should be easy for her to do, right?  i can totally see a gossip girl cross over with the show.  they could even cast mischa's former oc sister willa holland to reprise her crazy model character from gg.  the show should go into production in the next month or so, with a pick up yes or no decision by august.  the show could be paired with melrose place in the fall, especially because it sounds a lot like the failed melrose spin-off models, inc.  it's just good that barton has realized that she's not a movie star, but a teen tv star - no matter what show she winds up on on the cee dub.  in other casting news, it seems like bond may finally be getting back to its roots.  casting for the past few bond girls has focused on unknowns, but the hollywood "it girl" (think halle berry, denise richards, teri hatcher) may be making a comeback in the form of frida pinto.  the slumdog millionaire actress caught producers' eyes when they were casting for quantum of solice, but was considered too young.  now that the next blonde bond installment is in the works, frida is everyone's first choice.  her being in the movie might actually make me want to see it.  and, finally, one of my favorite, the cult classic heathers (think mean girls with guns), is getting the broadway treatment. the dark teen flick is currently undergoing readings for a stage transition with veronica mars star kristin bell in the lead role. if the show does happen, it will hit the stage - at the earliest - in 2010, hopefully with bell attached to star.