Archive for March, 2008

• Fox is new with American Idol and the season premiere of Hell’s Kitchen
• NBC is new with Major League Baseball and has a repeat of Law & Order: SVU
• CBS has a repeat of NCIS and is new with Big Brother and CSI: Miami
• ABC has two new episodes of Just for Laughs, followed by a new episode of Dancing With the Stars and a Barbara Walters special called Live to Be 150 . . . Can You Do It?
• The CW is new with Beauty and the Geek and has a repeat of Reaper
• MTV has Life of Ryan, Rob & Big, and Human Giant
• Bravo is new with Real Housewives of New York City
• Comedy Central is new with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
• Late-night highlights include Sen. John McCain and Cat Power on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS and David Beckham, Sherri Shepherd, and the B-52’s on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC

On his TIME Tuned In blog, writer James Poniewozik laments the disappearance of physical media (i.e. CDs, DVDs, etc.), repeating a quote by NYU new-media scholar Clay Shirky: “The need to hold media that you consume — the physical purchase — is going away.”

I have to say, while I love my Netflix and I find it much easier to download music rather than visit a music store, it can also be so satisfying to have physical media — tangible things obtained via real face-to-face interactions with people — as opposed to quietly buying/renting things online.

Poniewozik goes on to write, “I can better understand now why it is that technology changes so deeply disturb some people.” What about you? Does it disturb you? If physical media goes away altogether, will you miss it?

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I love when people I like team up to make some cool new project happen, and that seems to be the case with Fox’s new comedy pilot The Inn. I was excited enough to see that Reno 911!’s Niecy Nash was cast in the lead of the comedy. Sweetening matters further was its creator and writer, Arrested Development alum — and possessor of one of the best names in Hollywood —Abraham Higginbotham. And now there’s word that Jason Bateman will be directing the show’s pilot episode.

That’s an awful lot of comedy talent in one little show. Of course, there’s all the Arrested Development goodness from Bateman and Higginbotham. And Nash has been one of my top two favorite characters on Reno! for, well, forever (the other one is Wendi McLendon-Covey, a.k.a. Deputy Clementine Johnson). If Nash can bring even a smidgen of the crazy/funny she offers up in Reno!, I’m sold.

I admit I wasn’t too excited about the pilot from its description: an Upstairs, Downstairs-style show set in a swanky New York hotel. It just reminded me a little too much of Welcome to the Captain over on CBS. But with Nash in front of the camera and Bateman behind it, I’ll definitely give it a try if it makes it through the pilot phase and becomes a series. You?

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Once, he played a cunning criminal. Now, he’s ruling an ancient nation.

Deadwood’s Ian McShane has joined the cast of NBC’s drama Kings, which is based on the life of the Biblical king of Israel. He will play King Silas, modeled on the Bible’s King Saul, who welcomes David (Christopher Egan) into his court but ultimately becomes jealous and vengeful toward him.

Kings hasn’t shot a pilot yet, but it’s rumored to be a virtual lock for NBC’s Fall schedule, which the network is announcing Wednesday, weeks before any of the other major networks unveil their lineups.

I’m guessing McShane won’t get to be as, er, profane on NBC as he was on HBO. But I’m glad to see the Golden Globe winner taking on another powerful and authoritative role. Deadwood fans, do you think you’ll be able to believe McShane as royalty rather than an outlaw?

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• 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.

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There are some cinematic couplings that are so full of cuteness that I get giddy at the thought of them reuniting. Steve Martin and Diane Keaton are one such couple, having totally endeared themselves to me in Father of the Bride (I just pretend that little sequel doesn’t exist).

Now, these two may couple up again for One Big Happy, a comedy by Party of Five creators Chris Keyser and Amy Lippman. Variety reports that while there aren’t many details just yet, they do know that it is a “family comedy about a couple and a family reconnecting amid various obstacles.”

I’m so excited by this news, and I hope costarring with Steve will get Diane back on track and help us forget some of her recent projects (ahem, Mad Money).

Based on box office returns, it looks like a lot of people love to see hard-bodied costars Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson onscreen together. And, of course, there’s the big upcoming reunion of Kate and Leo in this year’s Revolutionary Road. I think reuniting When Harry Met Sally’s stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in a movie might be fun, too. What other movie duos would you love to see re-coupled?

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The sweet, quirky Juno soundtrack was — much like the movie that spawned it — one of those little indies that could. Filled with songs by the relatively little-known Moldy Peaches and their spinoff projects, the soundtrack shot to the top of the Billboard charts in January. And now, it’s getting a sequel!

Juno B-Sides: Almost Adopted Songs will be available April 8 via iTunes (it’s already available for pre-order) and will include 15 more songs that just barely didn’t make the cut for the film. As director Jason Reitman wrote in the liner notes: “None of these songs made the movie, but they are all essential members of the Junoverse.”

The roster of artists looks a lot like the first soundtrack, with songs from Belle and Sebastian, Kimya Dawson, and Buddy Holly. There are two new songs by Mateo Messina, who composed music for the film, called “Meet the MacGuffs” and “Meet the Lorings.” And there’s also another track from Ellen Page, whose song — “Zub Zub” — was written by screenwriter Diablo Cody herself. Apparently, the song comes from a scene where Juno was just fooling around on the guitar, singing lyrics like “he filled me with baby batter, then we ate some orange tic tacs after.” Heh. The scene got cut for time, but luckily, now the song’s preserved for posterity.

Are you interested in more Juno-related tunes? To check out the full track list, just

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Recently, film site SuperheroHype chatted with Kristen Bell about whether or not she plans to return to Heroes as the electrifying Elle Bishop for the third season. Bell made it sound like she will be returning to NBC’s hit superhero series, which brings me to the question: Do you care?

Would you miss Elle if she weren’t on Heroes? How much did her character add to the show?

Photo courtesy of NBC