Heather Mills Hopes Her Leg Stays On

Posted by Corina Zappia at 3:01 PM, February 28, 2007

You knew this was coming. A British website (via TV Tattle) covers Heather's leg-detaching fears as an upcoming contestant on Dancing with the Stars:

"Mills, who lost her leg in a collision with a police motorcycle, tells US news show EXTRA, "I'm quite happy to be thrown around and hopefully my leg will stay on. It's very unlikely my leg is going to fly off, although it would be quite funny. I'll have a strap on, which I wouldn't normally in every day life."

You'll recall reader, that Mills' leg became detached in public in an infamous 2005 PETA protest-turned-scuffle at Jennifer Lopez's New York offices.

Short & Sweet: 'Black Donnellys'

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:07 PM, February 27, 2007

NBC.com

Airs: Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC

Premise: A group of Irish-American brothers fall into a life of organized crime.

Press-release sell: "Academy Award winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco (both for "Crash") are the creators and executive producers of "The Black Donnellys," a gritty new drama series filmed in New York City and loosely based on Moresco's background."

Highlights: The inner struggle and fall from grace of the brightest of the brothers, Tommy, is a fascinating watch; he sacrifices an honest life and—could it be?—the love of a good woman? (Olivia Wilde, last seen as Mischa Barton's toe dip in the lesbian pool.) With the exception of brother Jimmy, all boys have the fresh pretty faces of CW superstars.

Low points: All the boys have the fresh pretty faces of CW superstars. Organized crime, really? The other brothers' characters are not very fleshed out, and all episodes are told from the standpoint of a cartoonish, ancillary character named Joey Ice Cream.

Final verdict: Donnellys is "loosely based on Moresco's background," when the Westies (Irish-American gang in Hell's Kitchen) still ruled. Those days are over, as Zap2it points out. We're going to put that aside and keep watching, as long as the Tommy character still keeps our interest.

Oscars: The Awards That Should've Been

Posted by Corina Zappia at 9:18 AM, February 26, 2007

Fresh Prince spawn.

The very brief Academy Awards last night had some weak moments (James Taylor and Celine Dion); expected moments (Forest Whitaker for Best Actor), and very, very long moments (I think I need to sit through one more film montage). Scorcese was finally thrown his bone; Peter O'Toole may never be. And as usual, a few awards were not officially announced, even though their presence was made quite clear.

The envelope, please:

Montage most likely to be mistaken for an eHarmony commercial: Errol Morris' opening tribute to the nominees.

Hottest new asshole accessory to make you look like even more of an asshole: Jack Nicholson, hot and bald! Goes swell with the sunglasses.

Best moment for our TV to experience a thirty-second power outtage, which unfortunately did not happen and thus we saw: Ryan Seacrest unveilng his underwear on the red carpet.

...read on

Week in Review: 'O.C.' Gone, Abu Ghraib Doc

Posted by Corina Zappia at 1:29 PM, February 24, 2007

Clockwise from top left:

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes: PBS doc on Tuesday looked into a taboo topic in hip hop: misogyny and hip hop. Asked viewers the question, Hip hop is a man's world . . . but does it have to be?

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib: Rory Kennedy's (yes, of the Kennedy clan) doc interviewed prisoners and officers at the prison to find out how this tragedy could have occurred.

American Idol: Opens an Idol performance camp. The machine must be fed.

Lost: Continues to lose viewers.

Clockwise from top left:

Anna Nicole Smith: After a legal tug of war, the deceased's body will (hopefully) find a final resting place in the Bahamas, next to her son.

The O.C.: Came to an end. Seth and Summer marry, the Cohens move back to Berkeley, Julie Cooper stays single and gets her diploma, everybody gets pregnant.

Grey's Anatomy: Meredith comes back to life after her Tony Soprano visit to the other side. Wouldn't you know it: Speaks immediately, with no brain damage!

Grey's Anatomy Spin-off: The franchise expands, with the show set to have a spin-off starring Addison Shepherd (Kate Walsh).

Finke: Oscar Spoilers

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:30 PM, February 23, 2007

Don't like surprises? Want to know which of your favorite Scientologist Actors are presenting, what director big wigs are expected to take the stage, who will perform songs?

Deadline Hollywood Daily knows.

To Watch: Stewie & Brian's Talk Show

Posted by Corina Zappia at 11:56 AM, February 23, 2007

We'd say set your DVRs, but this one's actually on MySpace. This Sunday at 8 p.m., Stewie Griffin and Brian will do a 10 minute talk-show parody to introduce former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry and his new show on Fox, The Loser. Pretty brave going head to head with the Oscars, but those who don't see it then can always check it out later. [Via TV Tattle]

'The O.C.': Where Are They Now?

Posted by Corina Zappia at 2:46 PM, February 22, 2007

So the O.C. will air its final episode tonight. Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall has a fantastic interview with the show creator, who talks bluntly about some stories were wound up so quickly, why some plots sucked, why characters never came back, and whatever happened to the Kaitlin spin-off (which would have been great, by the way). It was a little more interesting than the many "what the O.C. has given us" articles floating about.

So what are the O.C. stars' forthcoming projects now that they've been "relieved"? To IMDB, Batman:

Kaitlin Cooper (Willa Holland): Will star in some movie called The Garden Party. (Note: She is Brian De Palma's stepdaughter, so don't expect her to be delivering your pizza anytime soon.)

Taylor Townsend (Autumn Reeser): In Palo Alto, a teen comedy flick with . . . Ben Savage.

Kirsten Cohen (Kelly Rowan): Jack & Jill vs. the World, a movie starring eternal teenager Freddie Prinze, Jr.

...read on

Viacom Snubs YouTube for Joost

Posted by Corina Zappia at 12:30 PM, February 21, 2007

(techtree.com)

Hollywood Reporter writes today that after Viacom forced YouTube to remove 100,000 clips from their site, the MTV & Friends juggernaut has now worked out a deal with Joost, an Internet video site still in its beta stage. (Joost was founded by Skype creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.) Under the agreement, "The company will provide new and old television programming on the site, with shows like "Real World," "Flavor of Love," and "Beavis and Butthead," along with full-length feature films from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics." And yes, it's apparently all for free. No details on the agreement or exactly why they chose to go with Joost instead of work out something with YouTube, although it's no secret that MTV and YouTube have been playing this back-and-forth copyrights game for some time—and then there is that whole competitor situation.

What to Watch: PBS Doc About Hip-Hop's Homophobia

Posted by Corina Zappia at 5:36 PM, February 20, 2007

itvs.com

Yes, it's The O.C. finale week, but we find what's far more interesting is the show airing on PBS tonight: "Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes." The Washington Post did an extensive review of the documentary, which interviews major rappers about a major taboo: homophobia and misogyny within hip hop.

Check out this excerpt:

When filmmaker Byron Hurt asks Busta [Rhymes] about homophobia in hip-hop, the rapper goes quiet. "I can't partake in that conversation," he demurs. "With all due respect, I ain't trying to offend nobody. . . . What I represent culturally doesn't condone [homosexuality] whatsoever." When asked if a gay rapper could ever be accepted in hip-hop culture, Busta walks out of the room. It's one of the most telling scenes in Hurt's first documentary for PBS, "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes" . . .

Introducing "America's Next Top Sucker"

Posted by Corina Zappia at 10:42 AM, February 20, 2007

Todd Oldham from Top Design (Bravo.com)

We learn via Variety today that the makers of Project Runway and Top Chef have started pre-production on the next new widget: America's Next Top Producer. Interesting thing is that it will not be on Bravo or the CW, but on the TV Guide Channel. TV Guide Channel, you say? Yes, it's the channel with the TV Guide schedule on bottom and currently a looped infomercial for Hip Hop Abs. (To order call 1-800-237-5520.)

Methinks Bravo finally knew when to pull the plug on this concept—if Top Design is any indication. And remember, reality superfans, we have yet to know the joys of Top Hair.