LOW BLOW
UPN is coming under fire for an installment of WWE Smackdown that appeared to depict a terrorist-like attack in the ring. The sketch — which aired last Thursday, the same day as the bombings in London — featured five Arabs in ski masks choking WWE wrestler the Undertaker while another Arab wrestler knelt in the corner and prayed. Per Variety, UPN claims they were unable to alter the episode in time for broadcast. "Due to the tragic events in London, we took the added measure of running an advisory four times throughout the broadcast so that viewers could make the appropriate viewing decision for their household," the network said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor the situation involving this character and story line." Meanwhile, WWE spokesman Gary Davis is urging viewers to tune in this Thursday to see how the plot "gets straightened out." If you don't, then the terrorists will have won. |
IDOL WATCH
American Idol is extending this year's auditions to 50 U.S. cities. Although the locations have not been announced, producers are said to be looking at cities that have a heavy concentration of tone-deaf crazy people. |
SAVED BY THE [CHURCH] BELL
Saved by the Bell grad Tiffani Amber Thiessen married actor-boyfriend Brady Smith Saturday at a private estate in Montecito, Calif. This is the first marriage for both. |
REMEMBERED
Character actor Kevin Hagen, best known as Little House on the Prairie's good-hearted Dr. Hiram Baker, died Saturday of esophageal cancer. He was 77. Hollywood is also mourning actress-singer Frances Langford, who died Monday at the age of 92. Langford was a staple of Bob Hope's USO tours during World War II. |
COMPUTER SAVVY
Dude, Sheryl Crow's getting a Dell endorsement deal! The Grammy winner has signed on to serve as the computer giant's new spokesperson. Her first commercial will debut next week and will feature her upcoming single, "Good Is Good." Unless you're selling out; then good is bad. |
SECONDS, ANYONE?
Sony Pictures is quietly developing a string of sequels that have direct-to-DVD written all over them. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has greenlit Hollow Man 2, Road House 2 — Last Call and I Know What You Did Last Summer 3. Also rumored to be in the pipeline: follow-ups to Spice World, Spanglish and Gigli. |
SPEAKING OF SEQUELS...
Is Djimon Hounsou looking to get smacked in the head with a telephone? The actor claims a follow-up to the Oscar-winning epic Gladiator is in the works — sans leading man Russell Crowe. (Crowe's character, Maximus, died at the end of the first film.) Hounsou says the sequel would likely revolve around his character, an African slave who fought alongside Crowe in the Colosseum. "[The studio's] not happy about what they have for now, so they're still working on it," Hounsou says. "It's still in development." |
CASE CLOSED
The dude accused of plotting to abduct David Letterman's young son reached a plea agreement with prosecutors Monday. Under the deal, Kelly Frank pleaded guilty to lesser charges of felony theft and misdemeanor obstruction. He'll likely serve at least 10 years in the pokey. |
SOAP FANS, BEWARE
The Big Three networks are expected to break into regular programming Wednesday afternoon to televise the launch of the space shuttle Discovery. This is the shuttle's first mission since the crash of Columbia two years ago. |
RECOVERING
Angela Lansbury will undergo knee-replacement surgery Thursday following a spill she took on stage at the Hollywood Bowl Friday, Variety reports. Lansbury was performing at a star-studded concert in honor of Stephen Sondheim. |
SHORT CUTS
Comedy Central has acquired rerun rights to TV's funniest comedy, Scrubs. The cabler will begin airing the episodes in fall 2006... The next edition of ABC's The Bachelor will be set in Paris. Despite the change of scenery, no one is expected to watch. |
