April 27, 2004 |
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
NYPD Blue creator Steven Bochco is threatening to pull the plug on the long-running cop drama at season's end if ABC doesn't stop censoring the show's racy content. Although the network renewed Blue for a 12th and final season, Bochco tells The Hollywood Reporter that "this will be NYPD Blue's last year" if the crackdown does not let up. "If we have to keep reining ourselves in like this," he says, "it just wouldn't be worth continuing to do the show." Bochco claims that in the two months following Boobygate, ABC forced him to alter or eliminate visuals in four sex scenes and "dial back some of our language." |
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
Kathy Hilton is following in her daughter's footsteps — no, not those footsteps. NBC has tapped Paris's mum to headline The Good Life, an eight-episode reality series in which the elder Hilton teaches 10 young women how to fit into high society. Each week, the Kathster will fire the weakest link, à la The Apprentice, until one uppity shrew remains. The winner gets a year's stay at the Waldorf-Astoria, a new car, clothing, jewelry and a rolled-up newspaper to keep her maid in line. |
OVER THE HILL
The WB has picked up its teen sleeper One Tree Hill for a second season. After a slow start, Chad Michael Murray and co. now regularly win their Tuesday night timeslot among the show's target audience of women 12-34 and gay men of all ages. |
SEND IN THE CLONE
ABC is searching for the next Martha Stewart in a two-part special that sounds a lot like the Today show's recent "Domestic Diva" contest. Airing May 25 and 26, The Great Domestic Showdown will test six contestants on their gardening, cooking and entertainment skills. The winner gets a book deal, an appearance on Good Morning America and a possible TV show. |
I'M SO EXCIT... BUSTED!
Original Pointer Sister June Pointer Whitmore was charged Monday with cocaine possession following her arrest last Thursday in Hollywood. She could face a maximum penalty of three years in prison if found guilty. Whitmore was kicked out of the Pointer Sisters three years ago after her drug problem prevented her from doin' the neutron dance. |
IT'S ALMOST OVER
Halle Berry officially filed for divorce from singer Eric Benet on Monday, Celebrity Justice reports. The couple separated late last year. "So far the divorce is amicable," says Berry's attorney, Neal Hersh, "and I expect it to stay that way." Oh, Neal. My sweet, naive Neal... |
BIG DAY FOR FOX
A 10-minute preview of 20th Century Fox's summer disaster flick, The Day After Tomorrow, will air May 12 on Fox — two weeks before it lands in theaters. The trailer will be sandwiched between an episode of That '70s Show and a special expanded edition of American Idol's results show, so there will be no escaping it. |
STORK REPORT
Oscar nominee Cate Blanchett, 34, gave birth to a baby boy, Roman Robert, Friday in London. This is the second child for Blanchett and her screenwriter hubby Andrew Upton, but the first to be named after a popular character from Days of Our Lives. For more on what is becoming Hollywood's hottest new baby-naming trend, click here. |
BULLETS OVER BROADWAY
Jerry Springer — The Opera is coming to Broadway in the fall of 2005. The $13.9-million musical, which has been a critical and commercial success since opening on London's West End last April, revolves around Springer's TV persona getting shot and going to hell. Which means it'll probably play across the street from Mamma Mia! |
SUDDENLY AN AUTHOR
Brooke Shields will write a book that chronicles her struggle with postpartum depression following the birth of her now 1-year-old daughter, Rowan Francis. By sharing her experience, the 38-year-old actress hopes to "shed light on a real, yet often hidden or ignored problem that affects women of all walks of life in varying degrees." Down Came the Rain is due in stores in the spring of 2005. |
ISN'T IT IRONIC
The FCC's highly publicized effort to pacify Howard Stern may have backfired. During the winter quarter that ended March 31, Stern posted strong ratings gains in his three biggest markets: New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. |
LET'S GO CRAZY
MTV, MTV2, BET, VH1 and VH1 Classic will simultaneously broadcast a 30-minute Prince concert Wednesday at 9 pm/ET. The performance was taped last week at New York's Webster Hall and features material from his new CD, Musicology, as well as some classics. |
|
|
|
