Celebrity Chatters

• Wow! American Idol added a fourth judge to its panel for next season. What do you think?
• How’re you doing on Olympic TV withdrawal? Don’t worry, Michael Phelps is making the rounds and will be on TV lots more, including hosting Saturday Night Live.
• OMG! There’s so much good stuff coming to TV this week, including 90210! Check out my interview with star Shenae Grimes for tidbits on the new cast.
• And speaking of new teen dramas, check out my thoughts on the new CW series Privileged. Also, if you just can’t wait until Monday, here’s the first few minutes of the Gossip Girl season two premiere.
• I’m really excited for New York, I Love You! Check out the trailer.
• This week in music: I shared my experiences at San Francisco’s first ever Outside Lands festival, and wondered if you enjoy music in a different language than your own. Also, is Jessica Simpson’s duet with Dolly Parton doing anything for ya?
• In random I-may-need-glasses news: I thought these two look alike — and these two, too!

Photo courtesy of Fox

• Fox has a repeat of Cops and is new with America’s Most Wanted
• NBC has repeats of Chuck and Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• CBS has repeats of The Unit and NCIS, is new with 48 Hours Mystery, and may have NFL pre-season football coverage in some areas
• ABC has college football coverage and Another You
• The CW has CW Fall Preview
• MTV has Parental Control
• VH1 has I Love Money
• HBO has a repeat of Big Love
• Late-night highlights include repeats of MadTV and Talkshow on Fox

Variety has issued its annual Women’s Impact Report, highlighting women who have made an impression at all levels of entertainment. Just like last year, the list includes executive powerhouses, household-name performers, and lesser-known talents. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been spotlighting some of the women whom I find particularly noteworthy. Today, I’m wrapping up my series with a look at singer Erykah Badu.

Like Marketa Irglova, whom I also featured, Badu made Variety’s report in the Defying Convention category. The paper’s profile of her tells the story of a singer who first seemed destined to be a traditional R&B star but soon started showing signs of being anything but mainstream. As the profile tells it, she all but faded away completely (save for one Frustrated Artist Tour) before bursting back onto the scene in February with an album that seemed to get everyone talking.

New Amerykah, Pt. 1 (4th World War) shot Badu back into the spotlight, debuting on the Billboard charts at No. 2. It’s far from straightforward, a compilation of words and sounds and imagery — much of which Badu recorded and mixed herself using Apple’s GarageBand. That nontraditional process not only created but also inspired her music, so to hear more about Badu — and watch a video for her single “Honey” —

read more

• The Dark Knight is officially the biggest comic book movie of all time. — ComingSoon
• Chuck has been picked up for an additional nine episodes. — Hollywood Reporter
• Baz Luhrmann’s Australia is the latest film to get a new release date, moving from Nov. 14 to Nov. 26. — Entertainment Weekly
• NBC has ordered a fourth season of America’s Got Talent. — Broadcasting and Cable
• In addition to Jennifer Aniston, 30 Rock has also recruited Will Arnett to reprise his guest-starring role. — E! Online
• The Smiths are getting a new two-disc best-of compilation this Fall. — Billboard
• After SNL, Michael Phelps will also guest star on Entourage. — Entertainment Weekly

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

On the left: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, John McCain’s new running mate. On the right: Tina Fey, comedienne extraordinaire. Anyone else see the resemblance? (OK, then check out this photo. See it now?) Most days I wake up happy that Fey has moved on from Saturday Night Live to the uproarious 30 Rock; today, I wish she’d stuck around SNL long enough to play Palin in the run-up to November’s election.

I’m assuming Palin’s portrayal will fall to the capable hands of Kristin Wiig instead, but the resemblance got me thinking: What are your favorite SNL political impersonations of all time? Fred Armisen’s been in a world of controversy over his Obama impression, but how do you think he’s done with it? Personally, I’ve always been a fan of Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton (and pretty impressed at the sheer number of Bush administration characters he’s played), though Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush is pretty classic, too. What are your favorites?

Source and courtesy of NBC

John Lennon’s life looks like it’s heading for the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter writes that a biopic called Nowhere Boy is in the works, to be directed by visual artist Sam Taylor-Wood and written by Matt Greenhalgh, who most recently wrote the Ian Curtis biopic Control.

According to the Reporter, the movie will film in Lennon’s hometown of Liverpool and focus on his early years:

Greenhalgh’s script details the story of Lennon as a lonely teenager growing up as his aunt and the mother who gave him up fight for his love. His only escape is music, art and his fateful friendship with Paul McCartney.

Casting is reportedly underway now for the lead role — which of course brings about the crucial question: What actors could you see playing the young John Lennon? And how about prefame Paul? (For an irreverent take on the question, there’s always Paul Rudd as John and Jack Black as Paul, as seen in Walk Hard . . . but I’m pretty sure that’s not the tone this particular film is going for.)

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Jessica Simpson’s gone country, y’all! As her debut country album careens toward a record store near you (check it out officially Sept. 9), we’ve heard some previews already — but now here’s our first listen to Simpson’s duet with Dolly Parton on the album’s title track, “Do You Know?”

There is no question how deep my love for Dolly runs, and in my opinion, her small parts on this duet outshine Simpson’s vocals by about a mile. And as Idolator points out, if you listen to the lyrics closely, you realize they’re singing about some pretty sexy times to each other, so that’s a strange visual. Anyway, let’s put it to a vote!

Source and Source

The 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards are fast approaching! Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be taking a closer look at the nominees in several major categories and offering my guesses for who’s most likely to win in these Emmy Breakdowns. Today’s category is Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy; click “Start” to see my thoughts, and don’t forget to vote at the end!