January 10, 2005 |
MOB MENTALITY
Good news, dialogue loopers: HBO has begun pitching Sopranos reruns to basic cable. According to Variety, TNT, A&E, Spike, USA, FX, Lifetime and Carmela have expressed the most interest in a sanitized Tony Soprano. |
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN
Here's one election result Michael Moore won't be protesting: The filmmaker's incendiary Bush-bashing doc Fahrenheit 9/11 took top honors at last night's 31st Annual People's Choice Awards, winning favorite movie of the year. Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ won for fave movie drama, while Shrek 2 swept the best comedy, animation and sequel categories. On the TV side, CSI and Will & Grace took home awards for best drama and comedy series respectively, and Desperate Housewives and Joey were tops among new shows. In the acting races, Julia Roberts picked up the coveted Crest fans' favorite smile trophy and Jennifer Garner finally nabbed the Pantene fans' favorite hair award. Courtney Love and Anna Nicole Smith, meanwhile, tied as Xanax fans' favorite whack job. |
MEET THE MOOLAH
Moviegoers continued to Meet the Fockers in droves, as the comedy sequel grossed another $28.5 million to hold on to the No. 1 spot for the third straight weekend. To date, Fockers has taken in $204.3 million — more than $30 million more than its much funnier predecessor, Meet the Parents. The Michael Keaton thriller White Noise opened strong at No. 2 with $24 million, followed by The Aviator (No. 3 with $7.6 million), Lemony Snicket (No. 4 with $7.4 million) and Fat Albert ($6 million). |
KISS OFF
Gene Simmons is being sued by an ex-girlfriend who claims the KISS rocker made her sound like a "sex-addicted nymphomaniac" on VH1's When KISS Ruled the World. In court papers, Georgeann Walsh Ward says a photo of her was shown on screen while Simmons was talking about his sexual escapades, giving viewers the impression she was a prostitute, when in reality she's nothing more than a grainy black-and-white head shot. |
BANNED
Library officials in two southern Mississippi counties have banned Jon Stewart's best-selling book America because of a photo that shows the nine Supreme Court justices superimposed over naked bodies. "I've been a librarian for 40 years," said Robert Willits, director of the Jackson-George Regional Library System, "and this is the only book I've objected to so strongly that I wouldn't allow it to circulate." Someone needs to get this guy a copy of It's Time to Retire. |
JUST FRIENDS
In a split heard 'round the world, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston confirmed late Friday that they are separating after nearly five years of marriage. "For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any speculation reported by the tabloid media," they said in a joint statement. "This decision is the result of much thoughtful consideration. We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another." The breakup comes after months of tabloid speculation that the couple's marriage was on the rocks. They concluded their statement by asking glossy magazines everywhere "for your kindness and sensitivity in the coming months." |
MORE KUDOS
Clint Eastwood's acclaimed boxing drama Million Dollar Baby was voted the best film of the year Saturday at the National Society of Film Critics awards. Baby's star, Hilary Swank, tied for best actress with Vera Drake's Imelda Staunton and Jamie Foxx won best actor for his roles in Ray and Collateral. |
SCHMO'S NEW SHOW
Joe Schmo Show's Lance Krall is headed back to Spike TV as the star of his own show. Per Variety, the cabler has greenlit eight episodes of The Lance Krall Show, an improv series featuring Krall and his pals goofing in front of the camera. It debuts this spring. |
SHORT CUTS
Christine Baranski has joined Jennifer Love Hewitt, Alyson Hannigan and Ed O'Neill in ABC's upcoming comedy series In the Game, per The Hollywood Reporter... Court TV anchor Nancy Grace is headed to CNN Headline News, where she'll host her own show... Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon will play a soccer mom who suffers a stroke on ER Feb. 17. |
BLACK MONDAY
Interested in breaking into the news biz? There are a few openings at CBS. Four CBS news execs were fired today following the release of an independent investigation into the botched 60 Minutes report about President Bush's military service. "The bottom line is that much of the September 8th broadcast was wrong, incomplete or unfair," Les Moonves said in a statement. The pink slipees included producers Mary Mapes, Josh Howard, Mary Murphy and senior vice president Betsy West. CBS News president Andrew Heyward, whom Moonves described as "an executive of integrity and talent," was spared the axe. And what about Dan Rather, who announced in November that he was stepping down as anchor of the CBS Evening News? Although Moonves said the broadcast "would have benefited from a more direct involvement on" his part, "we believe any further action would not be appropriate." Coming Friday: The independent panel releases its findings on how Center of the Universe made it onto the air. |
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