day 2.247

r.i.p. betty

amanda, i'll miss you most of all. there's still chance of a movie, though.

day 2.235

only two more episodes

:(

day 2.95

betty white to host snl!

rose nylund is heading to 30 rock! the golden girls funny lady has finally landed a hosting gig after an internet campaign started earlier this year to get her on the show. white is said to be signing this week to host a "ladies of comedy" episode alongside ex-snler's molly shannon, tina fey and amy poehler. it should be an snl to remember. if they somehow mess this up, snl is dead to me. dead. ok, not dead. just on the shit list. expect the episode to tape and air sometime in late march or early april ... in other casting news, the most wanted actress of pilot season - becki newton - has committed to a new show. the ugly better scene steeler reportedly got 11 offers for new shows after abc announced ugly betty was in its final season. newton has signed on to love bites, a romantic hour-long comedy that will follow the lives of three interconnected relationships. newton will be playing the role of annie, a hopeless romantic and a virgin. yep, sounds like quite the character. i hope the show turns out better than it sounds, because it kind of sounds to conceptual for tv. but, it is from a former sex and the city writer so it can't be too bad. if the show doesn't get picked up, i'm sure newton will get snapped up as a recast in another show.

day 2.73

in mourning

ok, i'm not really in mourning, but i am disappointed. one of my favorite series, ugly betty, is ending this may. the abc show was always a ratings winner until this season, its fourth, when the alphabet net decided to move the show to friday nights. no one watches tv on friday nights. was it any surprise when the show was barely pulling in 4 million viewers a week, down by close to 60 or 70 percent? apparently it was for abc, but i wasn't shocked. that's when i started to get scared that abc might want to kill the show. but, when abc announced that betty would be moving to wednesdays starting in january, my hope for the show was back. sadly, the network has announced that this will be the final season for the show. i'm glad that both the fans and the creative team behind the show is getting advanced notice, but i hate hate hate when shows don't know they're entering their final season. i feel like writing for a season and writing for a finale are completely different, especially for this show. this season has been one of creative resurgence for the show and i'm sad to see it come to an end. maybe abc got scared because the show was developing beyond its original pitch, with betty getting a makeover, becoming more independent and starting to find her place in the world. on top of ending the show prematurely (i would have at least liked to seen them get a 5th season), the episode order for the current season has been cut down from 22 to 20. that's two less episodes to bring the show full circle. can we at least get a tv movie to really wrap things up? i can't help but think the show will be rushing to an ending rather than building up to a finale. from what i've read, though, the show has always had an ending in mind, which probably will make this unexpected finale better than it would be. i've also heard that that ending will - spoiler alert - feature a major wedding. chances are it's either betty and lost love henry or between hilda (betty's sister) and baby daddy bobby. i think this cancellation will make what episodes are left - which include kristen johnson's return as an over-the-hill party girl temp, a drag queen version of vanessa williams and a new love interest for vanessa's character - that much better. i'll just miss seeing becki newton and michael urie having witty banter every week. someone get those two a sitcom! the good news that comes from this is that the great cast of the show is now free to do other projects. american ferrera, the show's star, is set to focus on her film career - she stars in our family wedding and how to train your dragon, both out this year - but ana ortiz, becki newton, michael urie, vanessa williams and eric mabius are all reportedly being courted for pilots going into production in the next couple of months. the same is true for the casts of nip/tuck, dollhouse, three rivers, lost, scrubs and better off ted are in the same boat. i guess the silver lining is we'll get some (hopefully) really good shows next fall.

day 358

wednesdays to get ugly?

some big tv news broke today and i really couldn't be happier. abc announced today that they were picking up the back 9 for new hit the forgotten and axing freshman dramedy eastwick. eastwick will finish out its original 13-episode order and then head into the oblivion that is the tv graveyard. that means that the 10/9c slot will be wide open starting in january. abc currently has two options: either bring back lost as planned or move former top-20 staple ugly betty from its crap of a time slot on fridays. the latter is looking more likely. this season of betty has been critically awesome, but hasn't been pulling in the ratings. well, duh, abc. you put it on friday. no one watches tv on fridays. especially at 9/8c. that's like peak out-to-dinner/before stores close hours. according to e!, the network head honchos want to relaunch betty yet again to regain interest in the show and see the move to wednesday's as the perfect opportunity. plus, ugly betty's tone is much more in line with breakout freshmen shows modern family and cougar town, which air at 9/8c on wednesdays. expect official word from the network in the next week or so.

day 257

tv news

surprised? okay, we all know by now that my fallback blog is about tv casting. let's get to it. gossip girl is about to get fierrrrrce. the cw staple will be getting a dose of america's next top model when one miss tyra banks stops by. the model-turned-actress-turned-tv host will pop up in episode 4 as a costar in olivia's (hilary duff's character) film. the big shocker? tyra won't be playing herself. rather, she'll be playing a diva actress named ursula nyquist who rules the movie set and is being waited on hand-and-foot by...serena van der woodsen? serena get's a job as a publicist intern and is in charge of monitoring the diva star (shouldn't be much of a stretch for tyra, right?) at the premiere of the film. and it sounds like a cat fight might be in the works. this should get interesting. i'm sure gossip girl will be ambushed with antm commercials throughout. and promos for tyra's talk show, which is moving to the cw full time in the fall. they should really just change the channel's name to tbn, the tyra banks network ... it looks like grey's anatomy is finally done with george o'malley. after tr knight decided not to come back for one last episode, the cast was spotted filming a funeral scene (above). katherine heigl took time for a smoke break while dressed as cancer patient izzie while on set. smart. in more grey's/katherine news, it turns out the 17 hour day i talked about yesterday was...dun dun dun...because of katherine! allegedly, the day had to be so long to accommodate the star's busy promotional schedule for her film, the ugly truth. i guess the ugly truth is that katherine likes to burn bridges ... and, finally, in ugly betty news, it looks like the title character will finally be getting a makeover. after 4 years, betty will be upgrading her look to match her new job as an editor at mode. focus groups are reportedly occurring as i type to evaluate sample looks for betty for the new season. apparently, betty's new look will be "classier" but still unpolished and needing work. along with new clothes, betty's eyebrows will be tamed, she'll get new make-up, and new hair. and the biggest change? betty will be losing her trademark braces! finally. the braces part won't be right away (like the other changes), but rather be an underlying story line throughout the season. this should be good. hopefully, the move to fridays won't kill the show that seems like it's still growing.

day 248

tv updatesss

i know it's boring, but it's all there is to talk about today. fall shows are officially back in production and casting news and plot lines are starting to leak out. first up: ugly betty. betty has officially been replaced by soprano's star jamie lynn sigler. don't worry; sigler is just taking over betty's old job as assistant to daniel meade (becuase betty got promoted to editor in the season finale). jamie will play natalie, a recurring character who is part sexy, part spiritual. sigler will first pop up on the second episode of the season on october 16th. yep, betty won't be back until october 9th. starting so late and the move to friday for the abc show really makes me nervous. hopefully the alphabet net has some really creative advertising efforts and knows that friday ratings are always less than stellar; betty deserves more than just one final, crappy season. reports are surfacing that a long planned musical edition of the show will take place this coming season to keep interest ... in grey's anatomy news, creator shonda rimes is preparing herself for inevitable cast exits. after tr knight's not so shocking departure from the show, rimes knows that an ensemble drama is bound to have a revolving door of cast members sooner or later. the next cast member to leave the show is ellen pompeo, aka meredith grey. but, don't worry - ellen is just leaving for maternity leave and plans on getting back as soon as possible. there's no word on just how meredith's leave will be explained, but it definitely won't be because she and mcdreamy are also with child. shonda plans on taking the show in a more stand alone direction during meredith's absence. rimes also has plans that - if ellen ever did decide to leave the show - little grey (chyler leigh's lexi) could take over the as the "grey" in grey's anatomy.

that's all folks.

day 70

sag much?

the screen actors guild awards were held last night.  these awards are pretty cool because the winners are chosen by their peers, members of the screen actors guild.  former presidents of the organization include former us prez (and former actor) ronald reagan, charlton heston (the ten commandments), and melissa gilbert (little house on the prairie).  so, as you can see, it's run by some of the top actors in the field and is currently helmed by alan rosenberg, who was a series regular on the 90s sitcom cybil and has worked on shows like er and chicago hope.  what i like about these awards are some of the categories.  rather than say "best picture," the sag's have the category "outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture." that awards went to sure-to-be oscar winner slumdog millionaire - which really should have been nominated for some acting awards.  what was thought to be a "sore subject" film, milk, also took a top honor, with sean penn receiving the statuette for outstanding male performance.  a lot of controversy has been surrounding the film and many critics were afraid that it would get the brokeback mountain treatment, in which it would be recognized but not awarded because of its "taboo" material.  that's obviously not the case.  meryl streep (big surprise) took home the prize for outstanding female performance and appeared extremely grateful and surprised, which is always nice to see from an actor regarded as "the best" and a lock to win.  it seems like anne hathaway's rachel getting married performance is getting less and less praise as the awards season moves on, but she still has a chance at the oscar.  in honor of her nomination, the film was released in wide release on friday - meaning it can be seen at almost every theater in the nation instead of just art house cinemas.  click here to check out the full list of nominations and winners.  

senator oprah

in his recent interview with the alphabet net's diane sawyer, illinois governor rod blagojevich (who skipped out on his impeachment hearing to make the media rounds) admitted that he strongly considered offering the diva of daytime, chicago-based oprah winfrey, barack obama's senate seat, which he is accused of trying to sell to the highest bidder.  they don't call chicago the windy city just because of the weather.  blagojevich then said - right after - that lady o probably wouldn't have taken the offer anyway.  hmm leave a multi million dollar empire to be a junior senator? i don't know, it seems like a hard decision to make.  oprah released a statement saying that the governor's comment amused her, but didn't say whether she would have taken the position or not, if offered.  oprah has repeatedly said in the past that she will not throw her hat in the political ring, though she did put her toe in the pool of politics this past election season by backing a political candidate publicly for the first time, our current president obama.  i feel like had oprah taken the seat, she would have screamed things like "you get a bill passed, and you get a bill passed, and you get a bill passed!" a la the "you get a car" debacle of a few years ago.  

abc shelves betty

abc's comedy golden child, ugly betty, will be taken off the air for midseason-season hiatus to make room for a block of 2 half hour comedies starting in late march.  rather than a betty lead in to abc's highest rated show, grey's anatomy, viewers will be able to see the return of samantha who? (which was put on hold for the bachelor, whose ratings have been huge this season) and the new show in the motherhood, based on the web-series starring chelsea handler, leah remini, and jenny mccarthy.  while original plans for the show included keeping handler on board, the comedian has since left the project to focus on her late night show, chelsea lately, and stand-up career.  she's been replaced by best week ever mainstay jessica st. clair, who joins megan mullaly and cheryl hines.  the alphabet net apparently wants to go to a "cable schedule" (basic tv's competition in the digital age), with fewer reruns and more focus on "pet project" series.  wednesdays will also get a comedic makeover on abc, with scrubs and the new portia de rossi sitcom better off ted taking pushing daisie's former time slot, along with former thursday newcomer life on mars, which was replaced on greysday by spin off  private practice.  ugly betty will probably be off the air for six weeks, returning with only a handful of new episodes to finish off the season.  

day 56

all about the globes

last night kicked off the first of many real award shows of the new year, the 2009 golden globes.  after last year's canceled ceremony (because of the writer's strike), it seems like hollywood was ready to jump right back in the saddle - especially rumer willis, who got to be "miss golden globe" after she lost the chance last season.  there were upsets, unsurprises, and welcome winners to the show.  one of the biggest upsets of the night was mickey rourke's taking home the best actor trophy.  rourke, who has been a trainwreck since the 80s and hasn't worked in all that many noteworthy roles, took the trophy for his work in the wrestler, a semi-autobiographical tale of his time spent in the pro wrestling circuit, against nominees like leonardo dicaprio, sean penn, and brad pitt. while rourke is sure to get some film offers, i don't think he's all that bankable as a star or will have another big role in his career.  another "upset" was kate winslet's double win; the titanic star was expected to win the best supporting actress (drama) trophy for her work in the reader (funny story - winslet was originally cast in the winning role, had to drop out because of conflicts with revolutionary road's filming, and the role went to nicole kidman, who had to drop out because of her pregnancy, and, with the time delay, winslet was able to take the role once more), but the revolutionary road winning best actress (drama) win was a surprise.  anne hathaway was expected to take home the win for her work in rachel getting married, especially after her critic's choice awards win and the glitch on the award show's website this past week.  one of the biggest, welcome wins of the night was slumdog millionaire's best motion picture (drama) award.  the film, which features a completely unknown (at least to american audiences) cast took home the big trophy, along with 5 others (including best director). the young cast is sure to be welcomed into the world of hollywood and given opportunities they couldn't even dream of.  it was also good to see some of hollywood's shy faces, including colin farrel and sandra bullock, both of whom were looking good; colin even took home the trophy for his work in the "comedy" in bruges.  and multi winner tina fey even got to call out a few of her message board haters, telling the likes of dianefan and babsonlacrosse to "suck it."  dianefan took to the boards today to say she's happy for the fame and that she's still not supportive of the "smug smiling" star.  now it's just onto the oscars. most likely, the same people who took home the globes will not be the exact same - mickey rourke, in my opinion, is probably the least likely to take home the little gold man, let alone nab a nomination.  

new moon's new star?

with news that taylor lautner will be taking the role of jacob black once again in the twilight sequel breaking recently (lautner will have put on 30+ lbs for the role and is excited for the chance to not have to wear the ridiculous wig he sported in the first movie), eyes are turning to who will be filling the shoes of other characters in the second film.  one of those spots, that of werewolf leah clearwater, may have been cast in the form of high school musical star vanessa hudgens.  the actress who plays alice cullen in the series, ashley greene, told mtv news at the golden globes that the actress auditioned for the role and will make a great addition to the cast.  it will be interesting to see if vanessa will be able to take on the "dramatic" material, but that ability will be tested when hudgen's dramady bandslam (formerly will) hits theaters in july.  will she be able to pull of something without boytoy zac efron? we'll just have to wait and see. 

hilary duff makes a barely legal deal

former disney star hilary duff, who has been faltering in films since her lizzie days ended in 2004, has decided to return to the medium that made her a household name - television. after she made her lucrative nbc-universal development deal last year, speculation has floated as to what kind of project would she attach herself to? it looks like the star will star in barely legal,  a half-hour comedy/drama about california's youngest lawyer, 18 year old kathleen holtz. no word on whether or not the project will simply just take the idea of kathleen or actually use her name and life. the people behind brittany murphy's little black book are penning the project is slated for next fall. the show sounds like a winner, but will it take off? nbc hasn't exactly been a winner in the ratings since it lost its number one show friends in 2004, consequently the same year hilary left the tv game.  is hilary a big enough name to pull in an audience? it seems like the people who grew up with lizzie mcguire are now the right age for this show so it has a very good chance of taking off.  duff was last reportedly offered the lead in 90210, which went to shenae grimes.  barely legal definitely seems like a better fit.  

mid season shakeups

here's what's going on this half of the season on some of tv's hottest shows.  first up grey's anatomy.  while tr knight's departure is still in limbo, it seems like the show may be losing another cast member. melissa george, who plays intern sadie, won't be returning after this season.  the brit actress was originally signed up for 4 episodes, which was expanded to 8 after critical and fan reception was good.  however, abc wasn't willing to show george the money (which is interesting due to her history with the network - she was a regular in one season of alias) and she's decided to move on ... dan and serena are headed for some love woes on gossip girl. the twosome, who share a half brother somewhere out there, will have to deal with the idea of being "related." then they'll deal with not being related when news breaks of their half brother's death. but, what happens when the dead brother is still alive? that'll be resolved, most likely, at the start of season 3 ... another departure is headed to the ugly betty set. along with christina's (ashley jensen) depature, it looks like daniel's new object of affection (molly) will bite the dust before the end of the season.  how will it happen? my bet is on her ex-fiance accidentally killing her while trying to kill daniel over the split.  

day 55

another day, another celebrity blogger

michael urie, who plays marc on ugly betty, has launched his own official site, michaelurie.net.  click here to check out his introduction video. with the launch of this official site, michael joins the ranks of recent web additions like mishca barton and whitney port.  off his site, you'll be able to find links to basically everything and anything marc does, likes, or thinks about.  there are plenty of ugly betty-centric links, like an "ask amanda and marc" section, podcasts, and webisodes.  he also has links to some of the other ub cast members pages, like becki newton (amanda), vanessa williams (wilhelminia), ashley jensen (christina), and christopher gorham (henry). now we'll just have to see if michael will keep the site updated or if it will be a fleeting moment in the history of celeb websites.

they tried to make her get a divorce

amy winehouse's husband, blake fielded-civil (aka blake incarcerated), has filed from divorce from the "rehab" singer.  amy, who has recently become sober and has been looking healthier on vacation in st lucia, does not have a prenup with the dead beat druggie who she professed her love for at the grammys. that means it will probably be a very messy divorce; blake will probably go after winehouse's money, which she probably won't want to part with.  amy has also professed to at least one out-of-marriage affair, which gives grounds to blake to go after even more money.  blake's lawyer even admitted that he told his client to go after the split on the grounds of adultery...this should be a very interesting couple of months in the new year.  i guess this means we'll probably have to wait even longer to hear more music from winehouse? or even at all? 

box office buzz

it looks like what is old is new (and popular) again.  clint eastwood's first on screen appearance since 2004's million dollar baby, gran torino, took the top spot at the box office this weekend, besting should-be-blockbuster bride wars. eastwood's flick brought in $29 million, as compared to hudson and hathaway's $21.5 million.   torino played at roughly 500 less theaters than bride wars, meaning it was able to pull in a whole lot more money per screen than the chick-centric comedy.  what's also interesting is that gran torino was in its 5th (yes, the number five) week in theaters, albeit this was the first of which it was in wide release.  the two movies were joined in the top ten by horror flick the unborn (which is sure to fade quickly), marley and me (its first weekend not at number 1), and the curious case of benjamin button.  while the economy is slowing down, the movie business is still doing just fine. 

i now pronounce you fergie duhamel 

josh duhamel and fergie (real name stacy ferguson) tied the knot on saturday in malibu, california.  some of the celebs in attendance included mario lopez, rebecca romijn and hubby jerry o'connel, and fergie's nine costar kate hudson.  the couple was married on a vineyard at sunset and wore dolce and gabanna.  hopefully marriage won't jinx the couple's relationship, which has been going strong since 2004 with an engagement in december of '07.  

show departures

ashley jensen (christina) of ugly betty is headed off the abc dramedy.  the star recently asked out of her contract after the show moved to new york.  no word as to whether or not she'll get the go ahead with the leave, but it will probably happen. because no decision has been made yet, there's no casting news as to who may take the tailor/closet master's character's shoes, but jensen should stick it out for the rest of the season to finish up the wilhelmina/bradford baby mamma story line...either hayden panetierre or ali larter is set to leave the nbc faltering show heroes.  it hasn't been confirmed as to which star has asked out of her contract, but with hints like "one of the bigger female cast members" and "she has a name in hollywood," it is bound to be one of the two.  however, if the star does want to come back, it looks like her character's death at the end of this season will be "easily reversible," which makes me believe it's hayden who wants out - she's "indestructible" on the show and a death scene could easily go either way.  

tonight is the golden globes ceremony, so we'll all get to see who wins what and who is bound for oscar gold.  

day 28

new moon, new stars

it looks like new twilight series director chris weitz may have found his perfect cast. while keeping the majority of the major players around, the character of jacob has been up for grabs.  taylor lautner, who plays the role in the first movie, is apparently not wanted back for the second - he's too "baby faced" for the leading man/werewolf role in the second installment.  the actor apparently very close to stealing the role is michael copon, known for his work on one tree hill, power rangers, and but can they sing?  the actor has nearly 10 years on lautner, coming in at 26.  but, is he too old to play the role? lautner is almost 17, the age the character is supposed to be in real life.  kristin stewart (bella) is only 19 and robert pattinson is 22.  to me, this seems like hollywood's unrealistic portrayal of teenagers.  a teenager can't play a teenager, but someone old enough to have a wife and kids can.  so what if lautner is so young.  it seems like copon and stewart would be too creepy together. the other role up for grabs is that of mind reading vampire aro.  narnia: prince caspian star ben barnes is apparently going after the role.  he seems to fit into the mix, but i'm not sold on copon.  with only 12 weeks until filming on the next movie begins, these decisions better be made fast.  

shenae grimes, headed for mental breakdown?

what is wrong with shenae grimes, former star of degrassi and current star of 90210.  click here to watch the chain-smoking starlet's recent appearance at canadian television awards show, the geminis.  it seems like shenae is either drunk or cracked out - she uses a variety of voices in the interview, appears to have lipstick on her teeth and smudged makeup, and slurs her words.  we do not need an amy winehouse meets lindsay lohan meets shannen doherty circa '94 breakdown with shenae.  i don't get it with these young stars - you're living "the dream," why ruin it? go to work, go home.  no need to go out partying and doing drugs.  i won't be surprised if shenae makes a "post-glitter mariah carey with an ice cream cart on trl" sometime in the near future...hopefully the canadimess won't ruin the newly restarted franchise and will get her act together.  

will smith, forever coming to a theater near you

even with the recent us economic woes, big hollywood studios aren't cutting back on big hollywood blockbusters.  2 will smith sequel vehicles have been green lighted.  first up is the i am legend prequel, which will follow the destruction of america due to the spread of the fatal disease that smith's character dies of in the fist film.  second is the hancock sequel, which is just waiting on charlize theron's signature on the contracts.  smith is known to be bankable on holiday weekends, so these films will probably be out in time for 4th of july of '09 or '10.  

small bits

none of these stories were really big enough to write whole pieces on so here's a few small bites - tom cruise apologized for his matt lauer-scientology rant from a few years ago today, on the exact location of the original confrontation, the today show...it looks like a lot of the tv and music rumors we've heard recently are completely fabricated - nicole richie is not recording an album or working with rihanna...mischa barton will not be guesting on ugly betty...the cw is not working on a gossip girl spinoff focusing on lily and rufus, but will be working on one (yay! georgina still has a chance!)...michelle williams is not planning on accepting any awards on behalf of her late baby daddy heath ledger this season...it looks like tr knight (george) will be let out of his grey's anatomy contract, though he is the third actor in the history of the show asked to be let out (any guesses to the other two? catherine heigl and sandra oh are my guesses - sandra close to the show's commencement - she was a burgeoning indie movie star [sideways] - and katherine last season - she is a "movie star"...in her head)...mark schwann, the big boss over at one tree hill, is in talks to helm the relaunch of melrose place for the ceedub (cw)

day 18

gossip girl spins off
the cw is pushing ahead with a spin off of its signature series, gossip girl. but, unlike the book series, the spinoff will not focus on the character of jenny humphrey or be entitled the it girl. no story ideas have been decided on but, like grey's anatomy, an episode later this season will work as a backdoor pilot. with news recently breaking that michelle trachtenberg should be returning to the show, speculation is focusing on her character as the central character. what do you think of georgina sparks terrorizing a sorority house? hmm...lots of possibilities. the cw is also reconsidering going ahead with their recently dropped project, the graysons, which would do for robin what smallville has done for clark kent.

ugly betty snags another mess
mischa barton has been tapped to fill the guest star shoes left empty by lindsay lohan on ugly betty. her storyline would take 5 episodes, but no details have been released about who should be playing. i could see her in basically the same role as lindsay, so let's hope betty doesn't turn into a show that feels like a rerun everytime. look out for the fallen oc starlet at the end of the current season. in other abc tv news, it looks like desperate housewives will get back to its glory, at least in the form of gabrielle. eva longoria was spotted in hollywood today getting extensions getting put back in her hair.

britney breaks out big
britney spears is definitely on the comeback trail. for the third time, her album, circus, has been upped in count for projected sales. as of now, the album should sell 470 - 490,000 copies, an opening not seen in recent years due to the digital sales market. this bodes well for the star's spring concert tour in the us, for which she is offering a variety of expensive vip packages sharing titles with some of her biggest selling albums.