rosie o'donnell is set to make a tv comeback. the comedian has been m.i.a. from the daytime scene since split screen-gate at the view. but, before those darker days, rosie was at the top of the talk show heap. winning truckloads of emmys for her 90s show, it's no surprise rosie wants to return to the format that made her the success she is. rosie has apparently hired the same team behind the launch of the rosie o'donnell show to start a new daytime talk show to start airing in 2011 - around the same time oprah goes off the air. shocker. people have been asking who the next oprah will be and, well, it might be rosie. o'donnell will compete against current tv comedian ellen who is set to take over for oprah in many market.
this is a movie i have already added onto my "must see" list. formerly titled the baster, the switch is a romantic dramedy starring jason bateman and jennifer anniston. the duo are best friends until aniston decides to get knocked up by artificial insemination. when she doesn't pick bateman to be her donor, he makes - you guessed it - a "switch" of her donor baby batter for his. then she moves away...years later she comes back with the kid and - yep - it's a mini jason bateman. check out the trailer above.
what are sure to be two of the summer's biggest movies - eat, pray, love and ramona and beezus - released their trailers today. both movies are based on bestselling books, but are for two very different audiences. eat, pray, love stars julia roberts and ramona and beezus stars selena gomez. i guess they're comparable in star quality for the two audiences they're serving? ok, that's kind of a stretch. check out the two trailers below. i'll probably see both movies. now isn't that a sad commentary on my life...
the other video that hit the internets today was this teaser clip from hot in cleveland, tv land's first scripted sitcom that stars valerie bertinelli and, now, betty white. check out the ladies below. betty looks like she'll be stealing every scene she's in. every scene.
who knew someone could be so in demand in their twilight years? betty white has been upgraded to a series regular in tv land's first ever scripted series, hot in cleveland. the former golden girls actress taped the pilot for this sitcom earlier this year and now that it's been picked up for series, she'll be in every episode. the series focuses around three high society friends - jenny craig spokesperson valerie bertinelli, just shoot me's wendie malick and frasier's jane leeves - whose flight emergency lands in cleveland. once they get off the plane, they make the rash decision to stay in ohio. white will play their landlord, elka ostrovsky. i don't know about you, but i'm far more interested in this series now that white will be a full time star. now if only i knew what channel tv land even was on my tv...eh, i've got time to figure that out.
it looks like abc may have finally gotten their wish. reports are surfacing that the network will be relaunching star search with paula abdul as host and judge. the former american idol judge passed up the chance to join dancing with the stars in some capacity earlier this season, but is now set to headline tv's latest talent competition. too bad it probably won't work. the series was a syndication staple in the 80s, but its popularity puttered in the mid-90s. then, cbs attempted to jump on the singing competition bandwagon in 2003 with its own relaunch of the show to compete with american idol. that version only lasted one season, so i don't know what abc expects from their interpretation. abc hasn't had much luck with the talent competition genre, with their one attempt (the one: making a music star) being pulled off the air after just four episodes. funny enough, idol's current judge kara dio guardi was one of the judges on the one. the paula abdul-helmed star search is slated to be developed for this summer in an attempt to compete with america's got talent and so you think you can dance. the one thing that will help abc is abdul. she's a tv personality people will tune in to see. and by see i mean try to figure out what the hell is going on with her.
the worst kept secret of the tween world is a secret no more. it turns out that joe jonas and demi lovato actually are dating. yeah, i know...shock. the duo, who recently recorded "make a wave" for disney's go-green initiative (check out the vid above) have finally come clean about their special friendship. demi was being interviewed by access hollywood's billy bush when she let the truth slip. when bush asked the disney darling if she had ever dated one of the jobros, she responded with "maybe" before calling joe her bff...and then alluding to their relationship and saying she's never felt happier. well great for these two, but kind of weird. he's 20+, she's still a teen. oh well...
in tv news...
there are some big things happening on some of your favorite shows. first up: 24. the action-adventure serial may be coming to an end...on fox. the network is apparently set to announce an end to the series, but one network might save the drama: nbc. yep, the peacock net is strongly considering picking up the show should fox tank it. the only problem is that 24 costs a lot, a lot of money to make. like movie money. but, it brings in a big enough audience that it's probably worth it to nbc. they need some sort of audience. expect an announcement from fox in the next coming days ... betty white is returning to tv: in two forms. it's been confirmed that the "golden girl" will co-host snl for a special "ladies of comedy"/mother's day episode in may alongside former snl funny ladies tina fey, amy poehler, ana gasteyer, mya rudolph, molly shannen and rachel dratch. white will also pop up on abc's the middle as a snarky school librarian in the show's season finale. that should bring a bigger audience to the ok comedy ... katherine heigl is officially off of grey's anatomy. ok, it's not official, offical, but it's soon to be. the actress was set to return to the abc show's set this past week, but her return date came and went with no sign of heigl on set. apparently show creator shonda rimes is done with heigl and is fine leaving izzie's storyline where it ended on katherine's last grey's appearance a couple of weeks ago. i think that's a big disservice to the fans by both sides of this battle, but i'm glad this back-and-forth is all done. good riddance.
last night, lady gaga premiered the much-anticipated video for her single "telephone," featuring beyonce. it does not disappoint. the 10 minute vid is music video perfection. it's almost cinematic perfection. with slight nods to thelma and louise and kill bill, the video would surely have been a retiree had trl not gone off the air. check it out above.
like halle berry before her, sandra bullock is now the proud recipient of the most prestigious and least prestigious acting awards on the planet. sunday night, bullock took home the oscar for her work in the blind side. the previous night, she took home a razzie for her work in all about steve. i don't know if anyone has ever won the two awards in the same year, and i don't see anyone else doing it for quite some time. much like berry, sandra actually showed up to receive her razzie. actors usually avoid the ceremony, so i like the fact that bullock doesn't take herself too seriously. check out her appearance above.
last night was the super bowl of entertainment. the be all, end all of award shows: the academy awards. this year the show was hosted by steve martin and alec baldwin. for the most part, i was impressed with their hosting abilities, but it wasn't great. i didn't really feel like 2 hosts were necessary and i'm not a big fan of having someone who could be nominated (and has been) host - i.e. baldwin. steve could have done it himself. the fact that they had to bring in a 3rd talent (neil patrick harris) to open the show was pretty sad, too. i didn't think nph's opening number was all that great, but i would have liked to see him host the whole shebang. maybe this was a test run for next year?
i also didn't understand the very top of the show when they had all the best actor nominees stand in a line to be introduced. that just seemed like a bizarre time filler.
the weirdest part of the night was when they had a dance troop perform to the original score nominees. usually the best original song noms get performed, but this year they were snubbed in favor of this. why? i have no clue. i'd much rather have seen/heard the actual songs performed. oh well. though, this was better than that bizarre hugh jackman/beyonce/zac efron/vanessa hudgens thing from last year.
ben stiller took center stage to present the best achievement in make-up award. he dressed for he occasion - as an avatar.
the night's most touching moment was a tribute to john hughes. though, it was a sad reminder of how many actors there were in the brat pack that aren't that successful anymore. and an explanation for why molly ringwald is now a supporting player on secret life of the american teenager.
the biggest surprise of the night wasn't a win, but rather a snub. farah fawcett and bea arthur were left out of the night's tribute. pretty big overlook when no name behind-the-scenes people are often included. though, had the ladies made it in, the show would have run even more over time. the special lasted a whole extra hour. that's almost completely unheard of.
now to the big winners:
the way they introduced the best actor and actress nominees was bizarre, too. they had a peer give an introduction and then had last year's winner for the matching gender category come out and present the award. i wish they had kept last year's production, which had 5 past winners introduce the current crop of nominees. i guess it would be hard to find 5 new past winners every show, though.
best actor - jeff bridges
not exactly a surprise, but kind of a bore.
best actress - sandra bullock
yes! yes! yes!
best supporting actor - christoph waltz
ok.
best supporting actress - mo'nique
duh.
best director - kathryn bigelow
bigelow is the first female every to receive this award. sweetest revenge against ex-hubby james cameron? i think so.
best picture - the hurt locker
suck it, avatar. ok not really. but really.
and that's all folks. if you want to catch up on more of my thoughts about the oscars, read through my tweets (@bricesander)!
the academy awards are set for tomorrow night on abc. to gear up for the year's biggest show, check out these skits lopez tonight put together with the cast of jersey shore to highlight some of the best parts of the year's biggest movies.
two big tv names may be making big career moves. neil patrick harris of how i met your mother and every awards show has landed the lead role in the life action/animation hybrid adaptation of the smurfs. nph will play the "lead live action character." meaning, i don't think he'll be playing a smurf. i'm guessing he'll be a human who helps the smurfs escape from the creeptastic gargamel. wow, i watched too much smurfs as a child (ok, not really - i googled that). but don't worry, the movie won't take nph away from himym. the actor will film the movie beginning in april, when mother is on hiatus, then return to the series next fall. the other big casting news is that desperate housewives may be losing yet another star - to the same network! dana delany, who plays reformed crackpot katherine, is in talks to headline abc's new drama body of evidence. the show is a big budget medical drama centered around a female medical investigator. wait, wasn't this show called crossing jordan on nbc like 5 years ago? delany is said to be making her decision this week on whether or not to film the pilot. if the pilot gets a pick up, it'll be bye bye to katherine. luckily, she'll probably be able to make it back to wisteria lane to film at least one episode next season to wrap things up.
there's some shuffling about to go on cast-wise on grey's anatomy. in addition to the possibility of katherine heigl leave saying sayonara, it looks like some of the new faces we've been introduced to this season will be going adios too. and at least one new face will be popping up. i don't know which ones, but at least two of the merged mercy west staffers won't make it past summer. jason george - ben, the anesthesiologist bailey's had her eyes on lately - has been cast in abc's pilot off the map, also produced by grey's creator shonda rimes. chances are the network is going to pick up a shonda production, so bailey's heart is bound to be broken. the good thing about him getting the pilot, though, is that we are bound to see him again since he'll still be working for abc and shonda. off the map is - surprise, surprise - another medical drama. in other grey's casting news, it looks like mcdreamy is getting a sister. but, she won't be popping up on grey's anatomy. instead "little shep" - played by caterina scorsone formerly of lifetime's missing and the syfy miniseries alice - will be joining the oceanside wellness crew over on private practice. they have to find some way to keep having these shows cross over during sweeps!
this season of dancing with the stars may be the most star studded one the series has seen. seriously. the cast is made up of just 11 stars this season, instead of the usual 14-16. this year the cast includes a reality tv staple, one of the most recognizable women in america, an astronaut, an olympian and more. here's the run down: kate gosselin was the first celeb to leak this morning. the reality mom is sure to be a fan favorite if she's able to dance. the show is even letting the newly extension-haired mom practice at home in pennsylvania so she can be with her kids. former 90210 bad girl shannen doherty is making her way back to tv as one of the hoofers this season. i can see doherty having a super competitive spirit and taking it all. hopefully she can dance. or at least pull a tonya harding on someone. just kidding (but only kind of - i'd love some drama). pamela anderson will also be squeezing herself into some of the dancing costumes this season. that should be interesting to watch, to say the least. chad ochocinco - the wide receiver for the bengals - will be making his dancing debut, too. football players always do well, so i expect a lot from him. aiden turner is the one "no name" on the list. he's apparently a soap star. don't expect him to last long. espn staple erin andrews is also taking to the dance floor. the sideline reporter had quite the controversy surrounding her last year with that whole naked peeping-tom photography thing so this is a good way to give herself a good public name again. the most surprising dancer this season is buzz aldrin, the first man on the moon. yeah, what? aldrin is 80 years old. if he doesn't already have a fake hip, he'll probably need one after this season. the most entertaining cast member this season will probably be comedian niecy nash. love her, but i can see her stint being short. the biggest shocker for me was nicole scherzinger, the lead singer for the pussycat dolls. she actually has a career! this does not bode well for the future of that group, which has been losing members left and right. i think it's down to three. evan lysacek is the olympian on the list. he's kind of america's golden boy right now and olympians tend to win this game. he'll probably be the strongest male. the final contender is - what a shocker - jake pevelka, the current bachelor. what a cross over. jake made his final decision tonight and picked vienna. or as i like to refer to her, sausage. i'm sure she'll be there to cheer him on each week. ugh.
there's no word on who will take over hosting duties form samantha harris yet, but my bet is on melissa rycroft. the former bachelor babe and dwts competitor helped make the announcements tonight, but was credited as "special guest." her contract ink just probably isn't dry yet. and, no, that's not a cast photo. i'm not even sure it's from the american version of the show. oh well.
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