TOM'S NEW MISSION
Tom Cruise is developing and will possibly star in a feature film remake of H.G. Wells's classic Martian invasion saga The War of the Worlds, Variety reports. War — which depicts a seemingly unstoppable Martian attack on Earth — was previously brought to the screen in 1953. In 1938, Orson Welles caused a panic when he performed Wells's book on the radio as if it were a live news broadcast. |
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
E! Entertainment Television's Talk Soup is all talked out. The network has axed the series, currently hosted by Aisha Tyler, after 11 years on the air. The final episode airs Wednesday, and there's no word if Greg Kinnear will make a cameo. |
STAR IS BORN
Early reviews are in for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and they're mixed. "Virtually everything that went wrong in Phantom Menace has been fixed, or at least improved upon," wrote Variety critic Todd McCarthy. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt, meanwhile, said the film suffers from "flat-footed dialogue" and "wooden acting," and "struggles to replicate the spirit of fun and adventure" of the original films. One thing everyone seems to agree on: Yoda rocks! Clones opens May 16. |
HOT POTATOE
Political has-been Dan Quayle has figured out a way to get his name back in the papers: Talk about MTV's The Osbournes. The former vice president — who made waves a decade ago when he criticized Murphy Brown for glorifying single parenting — believes Ozzy Osbourne promotes good family values. "I think there are some very good lessons there that are being transmitted, of not doing drugs, of not doing alcohol," he told The Associated Press. In related news... |
OZZY WINS!
Could an Emmy be next? Ozzy Osbourne was honored Thursday with a Prism Award for presenting an accurate depiction of drug, alcohol or tobacco addiction in his new song "Junkie." Other Prism winners included My Wife and Kids, Third Watch and The Division. |
NO SHOW
Former President Bill Clinton says it's doubtful he'll become the next Oprah Winfrey. Last week, Clinton met with NBC execs to discuss the possibility of hosting a show. "I don't think this is going to happen," Clinton admitted in an interview with National Public Radio. "I'd be surprised if it did." |
AREN'T HIS 15 MINUTES UP YET?
Brian "Kato" Kaelin has finally found a role he was born to play: a freeloader. O.J. Simpson's infamous live-in pal has shot a pilot for a television series titled House Guest. "It's a show where I go across America, I knock on doors of the unsuspecting and invite myself in to spend a weekend with the family," Kaelin told Barbara Walters on ABC's 20/20 Wednesday. Kaelin assured Walters, however, that off-screen he finally has his own home. |
PRETTY EMPOWERED WOMAN
Fighting back tears, Oscar winner Julia Roberts pleaded with Washington lawmakers on Thursday for more money to research Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that affects about 200,000 girls and women worldwide. Roberts was moved to take a stand after meeting 10-year-old New Yorker Abigail Brodsky, who died of the disease last June. |
UNLAWFUL
A New York judge ruled Thursday that a 51-year-old German woman is fit to stand trial for allegedly stalking Richard Gere. Ursula Reichert-Habbishaw — who is said to have phoned the Unfaithful actor up to 1000 times — faces one year in prison if convicted. |
CUSTODY CASE
A judge on Thursday awarded temporary custody of Robert Blake's two-year-old daughter with slain wife Bonny Lee Bakley to Delinah Blake, Blake's adult daughter. A hearing for permanent custody is slated for July 25. |
TALL ORDER
ABC has ordered 13 episodes of Law & Order creator Dick Wolf's Dragnet update, slated to debut next January. The network is expected to schedule the series on Monday nights after The Bachelor. |
SHORT CUTS
Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel was the big winner at Thursday's Billboard Latin Music Awards, picking up a field-best four trophies... NBC is developing Anne Rice's gothic trilogy The Witching Hour as a 12-hour limited series, Variety reports... Spider-Man is expected to cross the $200 million mark at the box office this weekend... Pax TV has renewed four of its current series: Doc, Candid Camera, It's a Miracle and Miracle Pets... Home Improvement's Richard Karn will replace Louie Anderson next season as host of Family Feud... NBC is expected to announce that its freshman hit Scrubs will move to Thursdays following Friends next season, the New York Daily News reports. Finally, a show worth sticking around for. |
