Thursday, December 15, 2005
by Matt Webb Mitovich
Jason Bateman of Arrested Development
INTO THE BLUTHS: Both ABC and Showtime are in talks with 20th Century Fox to rescue Arrested Development from the cold, clammy, hooked hand of the grim reaper. According to Variety, formal negotiations have not yet taken place, but sources still label the networks' interest as "serious," with Showtime being the more fervently interested of the two.
TALK ABOUT A SURREAL LIFE: Producer Cory Rooney is shopping around a reality series that would follow three of Michael Jackson's nephews (via his brother Tito) who formed the boy band 3T during the 1990s and are now trying to stage a comeback as adult singers. Although Uncle Michael appears in home movies in the pilot, it's unclear whether he would actively participate in the series. Especially if it airs on, say, Nickelodeon.
UNFUNNY BUSINESS: Dave Chappelle's former personal manager has filed a breach-of-contract complaint, claiming that the increasingly enigmatic comedian has stiffed him of at least $860,000. According to documents obtained by TheSmokingGun.com, Mustafa Abuelhija was fired by Chappelle in September, after the onetime Comedy Central poster boy returned from his "spiritual retreat" to South Africa, but is still owed fees for helping broker deals that earned Chappelle at least $10 million, if not tens of millions of dollars. I think it's now official: Chappelle is getting more ink now than he ever did when he was working.
SAY WHAT?: Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will host his own music show to air on XM Satellite Radio beginning in March. The weekly, hourlong program will feature a mix of selected music and commentary by Dylan, making it the first XM show to demand closed-captioning on that teeny-tiny little screen.
WRITHE AND WRONG: The Peacock doesn't love Pamela Anderson. The Elton John concert special that NBC aired on Monday night originally featured a performance of "The b**ch Is Back" as the oversize screen behind John displayed the Stacked siren, scantily clad (duh) and doing a pole dance. Before broadcast, however, the Peacock network dropped the naughty number, declaring it "not appropriate" for the family-hour time slot. And yet Joey lasts a season and a half?
by Matt Webb Mitovich
Jason Bateman of Arrested Development
INTO THE BLUTHS: Both ABC and Showtime are in talks with 20th Century Fox to rescue Arrested Development from the cold, clammy, hooked hand of the grim reaper. According to Variety, formal negotiations have not yet taken place, but sources still label the networks' interest as "serious," with Showtime being the more fervently interested of the two.
TALK ABOUT A SURREAL LIFE: Producer Cory Rooney is shopping around a reality series that would follow three of Michael Jackson's nephews (via his brother Tito) who formed the boy band 3T during the 1990s and are now trying to stage a comeback as adult singers. Although Uncle Michael appears in home movies in the pilot, it's unclear whether he would actively participate in the series. Especially if it airs on, say, Nickelodeon.
UNFUNNY BUSINESS: Dave Chappelle's former personal manager has filed a breach-of-contract complaint, claiming that the increasingly enigmatic comedian has stiffed him of at least $860,000. According to documents obtained by TheSmokingGun.com, Mustafa Abuelhija was fired by Chappelle in September, after the onetime Comedy Central poster boy returned from his "spiritual retreat" to South Africa, but is still owed fees for helping broker deals that earned Chappelle at least $10 million, if not tens of millions of dollars. I think it's now official: Chappelle is getting more ink now than he ever did when he was working.
SAY WHAT?: Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will host his own music show to air on XM Satellite Radio beginning in March. The weekly, hourlong program will feature a mix of selected music and commentary by Dylan, making it the first XM show to demand closed-captioning on that teeny-tiny little screen.
WRITHE AND WRONG: The Peacock doesn't love Pamela Anderson. The Elton John concert special that NBC aired on Monday night originally featured a performance of "The b**ch Is Back" as the oversize screen behind John displayed the Stacked siren, scantily clad (duh) and doing a pole dance. Before broadcast, however, the Peacock network dropped the naughty number, declaring it "not appropriate" for the family-hour time slot. And yet Joey lasts a season and a half?