day 3.361

tom cruise sings!

well, i assume he does. just not in the trailer. check out this jam-packed preview of rock of ages, the big screen adaptation of the blockbuster broadway musical. alec badlwin, julianne hough, catherine zeta jones and, yes, tom cruise star in the '80s-set rock-drama. i'm in.

day 3.191

the teen dream hits broadway

there's really only one place a campy, poorly reviewed 90s teen movie with a cult following can end up: broadway. jawbreaker, 1999 dark comedy starring rose mcgowan, julie benz and rebecca gayheart, is currently being workshopped for a transition to the great white way. the producers of the musical posted videos of a rough run through on youtube in december, and recently launched twitter and facebook fan pages, which can only mean it's not long until we see courtney and her devilish ways on broadway. if you've never seen the movie, i strongly suggest you check it out- it's so bad it's good (and available, in full, on youtube). if you have seen the movie, check out the first song from the musical above and see what you think.

day 3.180

3 reasons why nph needs to host the oscars

make it happen people. it would be legen- wait for it- dary.

day 3.144

working on...

a tony award's post. check back tomorrow for a full list of nominees!

day 2.250

nicole scherzinger can sing

and vanessa hudgens can't. nicole and vanessa are part of the hollywood bowl's weekend-long production of rent, directed by neil patrick harris. check out nicole's performance above and vanessa's attempt below. sound and picture quality aren't great on either, but you'll get the gist.

day 2.252

karen walker to hit the road

it looks like megan mullaly wants to strike lightening twice. the former will and grace funny lady will be putting on her fake hair and voice to travel the country hopefully this summer as her tv alter ego karen walker. reports are surfacing that mullaly is developing karen: the musical as a traveling production that would bring her boozy millionaire-ess to w&g fans all over the country. the production hasn't been staged yet, but it sounds like it will be a pretty big hit. mullaly's career has kind of fizzled since her must-see-tv days. she had a failed talk show and sitcom (into the motherhood) and is now playing a supporting role on starz's comedy party down, filling the void left by jane lynch's leave for glee. people expect to hear karen, not see megan, so this seems like the best bet to keep megan in hollywood.

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.  

day 71

no great white way for j lo

jennifer lopez will not be joining the cast of broadway baby in the heights, contrary to reports that leaked earlier today.  while jennifer has been frequenting the show's productions and courting producer meryl poster to dinners, she isn't planning on starring in the latino-based musical.  rather, lopez is said to be working on getting the rights to bring the hispanic hip-hopera to the big screen.  yes, as in movie form. meryl is known for her work in bringing such shows like chicago to the movies, which she produced back in 2002.  no official word has broken on whether or not the star will actually be carrying out this project, but her rep did confirm she is in no way planning on starring on broadway.  i think it's a great idea to bring the tony award winning musical to the movies; the more accessible theater is, the more people get to see and enjoy it.  and, a lot of the time, those shows which make it onto celluloid come to be classics.  if jen is working on the project, it would probably hit a theater near you in mid 2010, at the earliest.  

lipstick jungle, resurrected?

the thought-to-be canceled sex and the city style dramedy from nbc, starring brooke shields, kim raver, and lindsay price, may not be headed to the tv graveyard quite yet.  nbc entertainment co-chair ben silverman, who brought such projects like ugly betty and the office to the airwaves, said that the show is still a winner in the peacock net's book.  silverman said the show is a "passion project," like friday night lights, alluding to the idea that lipstick may get the duel-net treatment.  fnl aired it's third season this past fall on nbc/universal sister project directv and returns to nbc this spring, airing the same episodes again.  that means lipstick could work like one of nbc's recent cast-offs, law and order: criminal intent.  intent moved to nbc sister-net usa last year and has had pretty strong cable ratings, with featured replays on its original network and other sister net bravo.  i can see the brook shields dramedy paired with usa original the starter wife to create a "female-centric" programming block, where it would probably pull in similar ratings as it does on friday nights, where it currently is.  network friday night low ratings are the high point in cable ratings, averaging about 3 to 4 million.  hopefully nbc will be able to keep the show on the air; it pulls in a tough demographic - the young woman - who advertisers covet.  

that's it for now, possibly more later. 

day 23

a dark new moon?

it seems like everyday more and more twilight bad news is coming out.  today's tidbit involves casting in the second movie.  taylor lautner, currently holding the role of jacob in the franchise, is apparently looking to be replaced by the creative forces behind the blockbuster sequel.  lautner's character plays a pivotal role in the second film as bella's new love interest.  producers feel that lautner is too "baby faced" to hold the emotionally driven role of bella's werewolf boyfriend.  to keep lautner in the part, the actor's camp is apparently working very hard at convincing the producers that he works, even going as so far as to begin talks with the make up crew from the curious case of benjamin button, a movie in which brad pitt ages backwards, to age and butch lautner up.  the other problem facing this new casting direction is the lack of native american actors in the hollywood community.  lautner is only partially native america and, at the time, was the best the casting department could find.  while i have not read the books, it seems like lautner was one of the few actors who carried his character well in the film adaptation.  plus, it always looks so bad when a part is recast in a franchise - its hard to watch the films back-to-back when a different person is playing the same character.  hopefully summit, the studio behind the film, is able to clear all this up before their projected release date of november 20th of next year.

spiderman hits the great white way

"spiderman, the musical" is set to head to new york's famed broadway sometime in 2010 and the leading lady has just been cast.  evan rachel wood has nabbed the part of spidey's lady friend mary jane.  this would explain the recent marilyn manson ex's experimentation with red hair.  wood has allegedly begun work with bono and the edge, from u2, who are penning all the songs for the musical.  producers are supposedly seeking wood's across the universe co-star jim sturgess for the lead of peter parker, though neither actor has professional musical theater experience.  they worked well together in the trippy beatles themed movie, but i don't know how they'll fare on broadway...neither really seems able to fill the shoes of tobey maguire or kirsten dunst. 

desperate housewives to keep kicking through 2013?

while originally planned to run for just seven seasons, ending in 2010, abc's desperate housewives looks like it might be sticking around for 2 additional seasons.  marc cherry, the creator and driving force behind the female ensemble dramedy, is working closely with abc head honchos to increase the seasons of the shows.  cherry, who had always planned for just seven seasons and said multiple times he would never extend the show, has apparently changed his tune due to the recent creative surge caused by the show's 5 year time jump.  as well as the creative surge, the show has had a ratings surge, averaging 16 million viewers each sunday since the beginning of the current season, exceeded only by dancing with the stars.  yep, the housewives are even beating out this season of grey's anatomy.  the show is currently under contract for 7 seasons and has been picked up through its fifth, but if ratings continue to pull through, abc prez steve mcpherson is sure to allow for the additional seasons.  this news is also good for the actresses, who will be able to hold a steady job through the tough economic times.

gossip coupling numero tres?

it looks like everyone on the gossip girl set has a special someone in the form of one of their costars...well, maybe.  in addition to pen badgley and blake lively (who are not breaking up, contrary to many reports) and jessica szohr and ed westwick, it seems that chace crawford and taylor momsen have been heating things up off set.  the two were reportedly seen smooching at a variety of events over the past few weeks.  the major problem here is that chace is 23 and taylor is only 15...quite the age difference.  however, this pairing is hard to believe.  when the two actors' characters had an on screen kiss this season, reports came out that crawford was terribly uncomfortable with the age difference.  as well, multiple close sources to the rumored couple have come out to defend that the story is simply untrue.  and until some photog snaps the two in a romantic sitch, i'm going to have to take this one with a grain of salt.