sarah palin’s alaska

is sarah palin gettin’ a reality show? you betcha!

the discovery channel is expected to announce their decision to host sarah palin’s untitled alaska-themed reality show in the upcoming days. produced by mark burnett, the show will feature the former vice presidential nominee as a guide to her home state.

this should be interesting – can’t wait to see trailer! she’ll introduce us to the people, traditions and attractions of our nation’s 49th state. but here’s the best part – lady palin is expected to score over $1 million an episode! crap, i’m in the wrong business…

discovery’s execs are banking on palin’s controversial nature to bring in the ratings. regardless of how you feel about her, i’m betting both fans and curious non-fans will most likely tune in to see her roam around in the cool alaskan air.

i’m smellin’ a hit. will you be tuning in?

time travelin’ tv

timetravel

‘the time traveler’s wife’… did you like the book? did you like the movie? then get ready for the tv series! abc & ‘friends’ creator marta kauffman have joined forces to make the hit story a weekly edition. the movie, with eric bana & rachel mcadams, pulled in a hefty $20 million in it’s 3-day opening. it would appear it’s just money in the bank for execs!

apparently abc’s interest in adapting the story into a tv series has been long-standing – the network says they’ve been discussing the project with writer/producer kauffman “for years.” the talented lady will both write & executive produce for the show. abc execs believe they’ll be able to string-out & explore the relationship between the two main characters throughout a few seasons. the series centers around a man that spontaneously time travels to and from the woman he loves.

while this has potential, i think it might be difficult for fans of the book/movie to sit still episode to episode. abc touts that the series will feature self-contained storylines as well, but i’m not sure it will be enough. plus, haven’t we seen a romantic time-travel tv show before? nbc’s 2007 ‘journeyman’ only lasted one season. hopefully the popularity of ‘the time traveler’s wife’ will help it fare a bit better!

katie ‘thinks she can dance’

katiejudyin your wildest dreams, did you ever think katie holmes would appear on the reality show ‘so you think you can dance’? and not just appear… but perform? nevertheless, that’s exactly what the actress has done this thursday night.

the 30-year-old wife of tom cruise was tapped by ‘sytycd’ execs to perform on the show’s 100th episode. katie’s number? she shimmied around to ‘get happy’ by the legendary judy garland, paying homage to the late great star. see her performance after the jump!

i bet you’re asking yourself, since when did katie holmes sing… or dance, for that matter. since her appearance in broadway’s ‘all my sons,’ she’s become quite passionate about the art form.

katie & some others have recently founded the dizzy feet foundation, which helps provides scholarships to young dancers to help them realize their dream of becoming professional dancers. katie says, “i think it’s important for children to experience music and dance. every child should have the opportunity to discover what it is they like and have access to the very best in that pursuit.” 

 

graceland of the west?

neverland

since the passing of music legend michael jackson, what to do with his theme park of a home has been up for discussion. although mj had to sell the estate last year due to financial problems, neverland – as he named it – will always belong to him in America’s eyes.

but it isn’t quite the same neverland that mj and his fam populated. the ferris wheel is gone, as are the many zoo animals that jackson featured on the property. despite how weird it is that jackson’s adult home was a big playplace, it is no secret that the estate draws attention from fans & curious folks across the world. the neverland ranch has very obvious similarities to elvis’ home in tennesee, graceland. that begs the question – will the owners revamp the place and hold it open to the public?

a source close to the owners, the holding company colony capital llc, says that absolutely no decision has been made and there is not a reason to rush into anything. they did mention however that making neverland a tourist attraction is certainly not off the table.

while the prospect of visiting neverland may make mj fans giddy with excitement, santa barbara locals and neighbors are less than enthused. the holding company source says execs will heed the community’s concerns, but that they would not pass up the opportunity to make money off of mj’s legacy. my guess is that the company will focus on rehabilitating the property & eventually make it some sort of a museum. let’s face it – it’s a big, weird goldmine!

snl on the big screen

the rise in popularity that ‘saturday night live’ has experienced over the past 2 years is no doubt due to its hilarious new sketches. perhaps, they’re thinking, now would be a good time to pounce - a.ka. make money off their good ratings. snl has long tried its hand at translating skits into movies – with such “classics” as ‘the ladies man,’ & ‘the coneheads.’ none have ever really enjoyed great success, but it’s not surprising that snl execs aren’t ready to give up.  enter, macgruber.

the snl sketch ‘macgruber’ is a parody of tv’s ‘macgyver’ in which will forte repeatedly finds himself in a 15-seconds-’til-the-world-blows-up kind of situation. the usually 3 minute sketch is always funny, but i just don’t see how it’ll make a big screen hit. apparently i’m not the only one who feels that way. nevertheless, ‘macgruber’ is all set to begin shooting next month. the man behind the sketch, jorma taccone, will be directing the snl crew of forte & kristen wiig. here’s where it gets weird – ryan phillippe & val kilmer will be co-starring. yeah, moving on.

in the film, the legendary macgruber is forced to come out of retirement to defend his country against enemies with nuclear warheads. he’ll battle against  his ultimate nemesis – the man responsible for killing his wife. it all sounds well & good, but the funniest part of snl’s macgruber skits (see above) is when time runs out and everything blows up. do i smell anothe flop? probably.

macgruber_movie

true hit

truebloodthe execs over at HBO should write a big ‘ole thank-you note to ‘twilight.’ mainly because viewership for the second season of the network’s vampire drama ‘true blood’ went up 157% from the previous year. ‘twilight,’ among other things, made vampires the cool new thing.

‘true blood’ centers around the love story of a human & a vampire – and all that that implies. while the first season won critical acclaim and even a golden globe (best actress, anna paquin), the viewership wasn’t quite there.  the first season of ‘true blood’ debuted to a disappointing 1.4 million.

and then came ‘twilight.’ after the release of the movie, ‘true blood’s’ fan base grew significantly. the premiere of the second season became the highest rated program for HBO since ‘the sopranos’. the drama drew a whopping 3.7 million viewers. and the good news doesn’t stop there. the complete first season was just released on dvd, & sales have already topped $35 million. ‘true blood’ and its blood-sucking vampirs are here to stay.

craving originality

since when did the brains behind the entertainment industry stop thinking of new ideas? i cannot say how annoying it is that the big studios are simply remaking old classics. LAZY! 

while i couldn’t care less about most of these, a couple (my fair lady, mary poppins, footloose) really get my blood boiling. they’re messin’ with our faves! here’s just a couple that are in the works:

  • ghostbusters
  • footloose
  • total recall
  • the neverending story
  • flashdance
  • robocop
  • nightmare on elm street
  • barbarella
  • the birds
  • the taking of pelham 123
  • the jetsons
  • rocky horror picture show
  • my fair lady
  • the six million dollar man
  • mary poppins
  • top gun
  • the dirty dozen
  • poltergeist
  • the karate kid

and we can’t forget the horrendous remakes of TV shows melrose place & 90210. come on, execs! bring us some creativity. for pete’s sake, make our $12 movie ticket worth it

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