POOR TED KOPPEL
David Letterman may move his late-night talk show to ABC when his CBS pact expires this summer, according to The New York Times. The funnyman is said to be seriously considering an offer made by ABC, which is reportedly looking to replace its long-running — yet older-skewing — Nightline. |
BRITNEY, CALL YOUR AGENT
Madonna is, like, so going back to her roots: The pop icon's movie-making company, Maverick Films, is producing a feature named after her 1984 smash hit, "Like a Virgin." The Hollywood Reporter describes the pic as "a sexy comedy about a girl who launches a back-to-virginity movement in her high school." It remains unclear whether Madonna will take a role in the film. Meanwhile, this May, the pop icon will take to the London stage in the new play Up for Grabs. She'll play an ambitious art dealer. |
TIME AND DIME
Who needs a best actor Academy Award when you're this rich! Denzel Washington — up for an Oscar for Training Day — will collect a cool $20 million for the upcoming MGM thriller Out of Time, about a small-town police chief caught between a rock and a hard place. The pic reunites Washington with Devil in a Blue Dress director Carl Franklin. |
DENNIS SACKED!
Monday Night Football suddenly got a lot more decipherable: ABC has dumped wiseacre pundit Dennis Miller. Fellow announcer Dan Fouts also has been let go, although ABC may keep him on to host college football. Taking their place in the booth alongside Al Michaels is John Madden, who asked Fox to release him from his $8 million contract one year early. "I've always had it in the back of my mind that someday I would like to do MNF," said Madden. "If you are a broadcaster, it's something that you would always think of doing." |
GREAT NEWS FOR JOYCE DEWITT
Fox is developing clip-laced nostalgia projects that would reunite the casts of M*A*S*H and Three's Company — despite the fact that neither show actually aired on the 15-year-old network. According to Variety, if a deal can be finalized, both specials could air as early as May sweeps. |
STAR ATTRACTION
Fox will air the never-before-seen full-length trailer for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones on Fox March 10 sometime between the beginning of Malcolm in the Middle at 8:30 pm and the end of The X-Files at 10 pm. |
OFF AND RUNNING
Don't count Survivor out just yet. According to preliminary ratings, the Thursday night premiere of the reality show's fourth adventure, Survivor: Marquesas, finished a strong second to NBC's combination of Friends and Leap of Faith. Survivor's 13.9 rating was virtually identical to Survivor: Africa's debut performance last fall. |
REEL ESTATE
A consortium of investors have announced plans to build a 700,000-square-foot, 15-story Hollywood-esque studio complex in the heart of Manhattan. The $375 million structure — dubbed Studio City New York — could open for business by 2004. |
NAME CALLING
Two ex-Destiny's Child divas are suing the group, claiming the hit single "Survivor" poked fun at them. LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson contend the song violates an agreement precluding either party from making "any public comment of a disparaging nature concerning one another." Sample "Survivor" lyric: "You thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold nine million." The truth hurts. |
GO VEGAN!
NBC is standing behind Jay Leno, whose Olympic-themed crack about South Korea's disqualified short-track skater Kim Dong-Sung has ruffled some feathers. Leno joked that Kim "was so mad he went home and kicked the dog, and then ate him." (The Korean practice of eating dog meat has long been ridiculed, to the dismay of the country's citizens.) NBC issued a statement Thursday defending Leno's "irreverent comedy" and assuring "the Korean community that it is not the intent of the show, Jay Leno or NBC to offend them." |
SHORT CUTS
CBS's telecast of the Grammy Awards Wednesday night averaged 19 million viewers, off 29 percent from last year's show... Ally Walker (Profiler) will star in the ABC comedy pilot My Wonderful Life, based on a British series about a single mom. — Michael Ausiello with Daniel R. Coleridge |
