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I know, I’m still trying to digest the news that William Petersen is leaving the cast mid-season. So now I guess it’s important to find out how the writers & producers plan to handle all the big changes to CSI: Vegas’ cast in season 9.
Executive Producer for the show, Carol Mendelsohn, told the plans for the show to Michael Ausiello over at EW.com. Last season, Sara (Jorja Fox) left the show, then the finale saw the brutal shooting of Warrick (Gary Dourdan.) Now with Grissom (William Petersen) leaving, they have a lot of changes in store for us! Here’s the run-down of what we will need to expect in CSI season 9:
We’ve already been told that Jorja Fox will be back for the season premiere, but now we find out that she will be in several of season 9’s episodes. I’ll report the details to you as they are released.
Gary Dourdan will be back for the premiere only. According to Mendelsohn, “We’re not saying whether or not Warrick lives or dies, but we will say that the premiere may be the last time our loyal fans see the entire original CSI cast together.”
Lauren Lee Smith (The L Word) joins the cast in the third episode as new CSI Riley Adams. Carol Mendelsohn: “She has a very distinct personality… a very wry sense of humor. She doesn’t take herself too seriously.” Executive producer Naren Shankar: “This is a person who, unlike the rest of our gang, has not had Grissom as a mentor. So there’s a very different relationship between Riley and Grissom.”
A new male CSI, a professor of pathology will enter the cast sometime during the season. We don’t know the actor who will play this Grissom replacement yet, but the show has considered the likes of John Malkovich and Laurence Fishburne. This CSI may not be a supervisor like Grissom, but will fill the hole in the cast left by him. The character is said to also have “a very rare genetic abnormality,” whatever that means.
Liz Vassey (lab rat Wendy) and David Berman (coroner David) will become regulars each week and Hodges (Wallace Langham) will have a more integral part in the cast.
Somehow, the Miniature Killer will make another appearance and Grissom will be involved with that. (Very cool!)
I’m worried about the future of the show, but know that major cast changes were inevitable at some point. Hopefully, the integrity of the show will remain and we will come to love the new CSI as much as before. But don’t worry, as more information is released, I’ll report it here.
[Photo: © CTV]
Tags: Carol Mendelsohn, csi, David Berman, Gary Dourdan, John Malkovich, Jorja Fox, Lauren Lee Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Liz Vassey, Michael Ausiello, Miniature Killer, Naren Shankar, Wallace Langham, William PetersenShare This
Image details: Heidi Klum Launches Her Collection With Jordache served by picapp.com
Apparently Heidi Klum wanted to put all of those years of pouting on an exotic beach in a bikini to good use and design swimsuits. I can’t think of anyone better for the job, as she’s appeared in a swimsuit so many times I find it odd to see her clothed.
Unfortunately, the powers that be at Victoria’s Secret thought differently, and shut down the idea. I guess it was a conflict of interests? The thing is, with Heidi becoming a household name AND brand, you’d think VS would jump at the chance to have the “exclusive” on the Heidi swimwear line.
Would you wear a Heidi swimsuit? Let’s remember that Heidi’s killer legs are not included.
Tags: Heidi Klum, Victoria's SecretShare This
Image details: Dawn Of The Dead Premiere In Los Angeles served by picapp.com
SCI FI Sat, Jul 19, 4:00 PMDawn of the Dead
LIFE Sun, Jul 20, 12:00 AMMedium
HBO2e Tue, Jul 22, 9:30 PMBorn on the Fourth of July
LIFE Sun, Jul 27, 12:00 AMMedium
HBO2e Sun, Jul 27, 9:30 AMBorn on the Fourth of July
Technorati Tags: jake weber,medium,born on the fourth of july,dawn of the dead
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Baghead is making the rounds at film festivals and stirring up plenty of interest. I had a chance to talk with Ross Partridge, who plays Matt in the film. Read on for his thoughts on film distribution, simple movies about humanity, and why it’s good to have a lot of irons in the fire.
Jane: I haven’t had a chance to see Baghead, but it looks really cool.
Ross: I hadn’t had a chance to get it to anybody because of the piracy issues with distribution. So they don’t really allow many copies to go around, but it’s been making its way around the festivals.
Jane: So it was picked up by Sony Pictures?
Ross: Sony Pictures Classics, yes.
Jane: So, how does that work? I know it got rave reviews at Sundance, so then do the companies screen films there and decide which ones they’re going to pick up?
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Ross: Yes, pretty much. It’s anybody’s guess who’s going to buy what. The crunch of everything even infiltrated into the film business. We were fortunate to sell. We were the second or third narrative that actually sold. We were one of five films that were acquired at Sundance, and then over the past months, I think a few other films like Sugar got acquired, as well, which is a film from Ryan Fleck. Sony purchased a bunch of films this year.
Jane: Yeah, I was thinking they picked up quite a few films.
Ross: Yeah, they were in the forefront. They picked up The Wackness and a film that won the Grand Jury Prize called Frozen River. It’s a beautiful movie directed by Courtney Hunt. It’s a little stressful when you go there and you’re hoping to sell your movie. The first night of the screening of Baghead, we had a lot of distributors there and everyone was very excited about it. Then you have a couple of days where you don’t actually have a concrete deal in place. So the rest of your Sundance experience is a bit hairy because you’re waiting to hear. It’s kind of like waiting to give birth, I think.
Jane: Tell me a little bit about Baghead. I’ve watched the clips, and I love movies that are a little offbeat.
Ross: It’s so offbeat, and I’m so proud of it. It’s a genre bender, so it’s a hard movie to place into a specific genre. People say it’s like a horror movie, but if you go into it thinking that, you’re going to be very disappointed, because it’s also really funny. We like to think of it as a comedy with some tense moments that turns into a drama at the end.
Baghead is about four disgruntled actors who are trying to break into the business and they go to a really bad film at a film festival. My character, Matt, is so desperate to try and be somebody, he kind of befriends the director, whom he knew from before. They’re like, if Jett Garner can make this crappy movie that everyone’s paying attention to, so can we. So let’s make our own great American screenplay.
But we’ve never been in a major motion picture, so we have to do it ourselves, which I think is kind of fun in this day and age, because everyone has access to video cameras. So they go up to a cabin at Big Bear, owned by the uncle of one of the characters, and after some alcohol and everything that starts to transpire, we realize, oh my god, we have no ideas. We’re pathetic. One of the characters gets a little too drunk, and she stumbles outside and thinks she sees something in the woods. So she concocts this idea about a guy staring at her in the woods, and she couldn’t tell what it was, but it looked like he had a bag over his head. Of course, my character’s like, that’s a great movie, that’s the movie!
Jane: And sometimes those ideas make the best movies. Like Jerry Seinfeld’s show about nothing.
Ross: Life and its simplicity is always the most engaging, I think. It’s refreshing to look at the subtle, smaller things. Jay and Mark (Duplass, directors, writers and producers - Jay is pictured, right) have such a great eye for catching those great moments of life.
Jane: I was trying to think of when these kinds of movies came into our consciousness, like Fargo… It seems like there’s a lot more movies like that now. Maybe we’re just enthralled by the basic things of life or something.
Ross: I’ve always believed that the blue-collar blueprints for humanity are simple, but so right on. Like the Franny McDormand character in Fargo…her heart was just so well intentioned and misguided by other things. In Baghead it’s just taking a camera out and capturing people in their truest form. It’s almost very voyeuristic, very documentary style.
Jane: That’s what I thought, too, that the clips seemed like a documentary.
Ross: Yes, there’s something about it that’s immediate with these kinds of movies. Some movies feel very contrived, put together, and well assembled and it just doesn’t feel as real.
Jane: Now I’m curious who the person with the bag over his head is, but don’t tell me because I don’t want to ruin the movie.
Ross: I won’t tell you because it does become very scary. At Sundance, it was so much fun to watch people laughing all the way through and then all of a sudden screaming their heads off and then laughing at themselves for screaming. They’re like, I can’t believe I’m screaming at this. It’s a very active movie experience, for sure.
Jane: I kept thinking, well here’s a guy with a bag over his head. Wouldn’t you be able to tackle him and take the bag off?
Ross: Right, but you don’t know what else he’s carrying.
Jane: Hmmm!
Ross: Yes, there’s a whole other element of Baghead-dom.
Jane: I was looking at your IMDB page, and you’ve done a lot of different things in the business. You’ve been around awhile!
Ross: Yes, I have. I’m old.
Jane: It’s good, though, right? What’s the alternative? That’s what I always say.
Ross: I know. There’s not much of one for me.
Jane: Do you have a particular thing you like to do in the film business, or do you prefer doing a lot of different things?
Ross: I like to do a lot of different things. I just did another film with Mark and Jay called The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, and I’m a coproducer on that film. It’s hard when you’re an actor just to maintain. The filmmaking process can be so much fun, but you want to keep working all the time. I have a hard time sitting still, so I’m always trying to generate new things and create more work. I’ve written, directed, produced and acted. I love it all.
Jane: What are you working on right now?
Ross: I’m writing something that I’m hoping to shoot in early fall. Then I’m co-producing a documentary about a friend of mine whose father was diagnosed with MS, and then it’s discovered that his father was an assassin for the CIA. So, it’s about the two of them getting to know one another. I’ve just written a pilot that I’m trying to shop around, as well. I also have a theater company, so we’re always looking for new plays.
Jane: Lots going on.
Ross: Yeah, but it takes a lot of stuff to get something going. You have to have your hands in a lot of things.
Jane: Anything else that you want to say about Baghead or anything?
Ross: Mark and Jay are two of the most talented people I’ve worked with, and I just feel like their future is so grand. They have a real unique sensibility, being able to create a movie that crosses genres and do it in such a small and entertaining way. With the saturation of big movies this summer and a lot of them not doing as well as anticipated, Baghead is a great alternative. It’s just so much fun.
Jane: Does it have a theater release date?
Ross: Yes. It’s going to be released July 25 in New York and Los Angeles. They did a pre-opening in Austin, because that’s where Mark and Jay are from, and then it’ll start off in a few smaller cities but the main release date is July 25. After that, it should be in pretty much every state.
Jane: Awesome. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it and spread the word. Thanks for taking the time for me.
Ross: No problem. Thank you. If you need anything from me, let me know.
Images: Baghead, Sony Pictures Classics, 2008
Technorati Tags: baghead,baghead the movie,ross partridge,interview with ross partridge,jay duplass,mark duplass,steve zissis,greta gerwig,elise muller,jett garner,anthony cristo,film gecko interviews,film gecko,jane boursaw,sony pictures classics,sundance,sundance film festival
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Catch the Season 4 marathon of Discovery’s Deadliest Catch on Sunday, July 20th from 9AM-3AM ET/PT and Tuesday, July 22nd from 9AM-9PM.
Watch 7 minutes from Season 4’s third episode, “A Number’s Game” where the talk to the crew aboard the Cornelia Marie and talk about the crabs that keep leaving the box.
Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.
Tags: Deadliest Catch, Discovery Channel, marathon, season 4Share This
Great news! Viewers will get to see much more of new cast member Tricia Helfer on “Turn and Burn,” the July 17 episode of USA’s thrilling dramedy Burn Notice.
Once again, spurned spy Michael Westen sets out to help a damsel of sorts in distress, this time one experiencing problems with a so-called cartel soldier who’s fixated on her.
I don’t know if “cartel soldier” is supposed to mean a goon in a drug cartel or an actual soldier in some kind of military unit I’ve never heard of before. Either way, the term evokes images of scary-looking ripped dudes with bug eyes, which makes it an extremely good thing that Michael manages to help his latest client by somehow getting the “soldier’s” colleagues to distrust him.
Check out a preview of the episode below featuring the aforementioned lovely Tricia Helfer as Michael’s new handler who goes by the code name Carla.
Turn and Burn - Sneak Peek
Burn Notice airs Thursdays on USA at 10pm EST.
Photo: Jeffrey Donovan (Glenn Watson/USA Network)
Tags: burn notice, comedies, comedy, drama, dramas, Dramedies, Jeffrey Donovan, Spoilers, summer 2008, Television, tv, VideosShare This
I wrote a while back about the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s version of Willy Wonka. Thankfully not anything like the Tim Burton version, this one not only borrows from the 1971 Gene Wilder oeuvre but also draws from the books by Roald Dahl himself for inspiration - which makes it a darker, more intense experience.
While the staging looks minimal, I suspect that the lighting and other designers will have made the entire theatre into a magical candyland before the night is out. I’d especially love to see how they shrink Mike Teevee on the stage. Click past the cut for a preview.
With luck I’ll get to it before it closes August 17th. If you check it out, please let me know! Here’s a preview piece from the Tribune:
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A while back, the Sultan of Spoilers, Michael Ausiello left TVGuide.com and went to EW.com. Well, today he spoiled my appetite for dinner. He just released the news that William Petersen, aka Gil Grissom is leaving CSI after the 10th episode. I’m really sad. Grissom is my favorite CSI of all! This is truly bad news for the fans!
“Billy is leaving,” confirms the show’s executive producer, Carol Mendelsohn. “But he will remain throughout the run of the series an executive producer. And he will, whenever CBS asks, come back. I don’t think you’ve seen the last of Gil Grissom.”
Petersen also had this to say about the news:
“I’m in a great place in terms of knowing that I’ll be more free to make choices. And I’m responsible enough to not do it in a way that would hurt [the show].
“I want it to work for the writers, I want it to work for the cast, and, most importantly, I want it to work for the audience,” he added. “I don’t want them to abandon the show.”
Rumor has it that Grissom has a breakdown, of sorts, after Warrick’s death. He reaches a crisis in his life and:
Helping Grissom through the crisis will be his true love, Sara, played by Fox, who is returning for multiple episodes, starting with the season premiere. While Petersen confirms that Sara will figure into Grissom’s final arc, he stops just short of saying the couple will ride off into the desert together at the end of episode 10. “I wouldn’t want to say exactly what we’re going do — I want people to watch, certainly,” he chuckled. “But Sara is involved… It’s often darkest just before the dawn.”
How do you think this will affect CSI: Vegas? Will the show be like Law & Order and keep going strong with new cast members, or will the show start to decline? Leave a comment to share your thoughts!
[Photo: © CTV]
CSI, cbs, CSI las vegas, tv, Television, William Petersen
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Well, as the title of My Boys’ July 17 episode, “Dudes Being Dudes,” makes clear, this one is mostly about PJ’s guys and guys in general.
Bobby’s best friend throws a bachelor party for the husband-to-be but gets on Brendan’s bad side over who pays for the event. And at Elsa’s shower, Stephanie hogs the spotlight with her new book about getting out of bad relationships.
PJ also confronts her brother Andy regarding his relationship with Jo (Guest Star Nia Vardalos), while Bobby’s brother Jack tries to get something started with the sportswriter.
Sneak a peek at the episode in the following preview.
Dudes Being Dudes - Sneak Peek
My Boys airs Thursdays on TBS at 9:30pm EST.
Photo: Jordana Spiro (Newscom)
Tags: comedies, comedy, jordana-spiro, My Boys, nia vardalos, Sitcoms, situation-comedies, Spoilers, summer 2008, tbs, Television, tv, VideosShare This
The DVD: Fool’s Gold, a fun, no-brainer starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as two ex’s in search of treasure. Read my review and watch a trailer here. (Yeah, I know I didn’t give it a great review, but those two are fun to look at anyway.)
The Giveaway: I have TWO DVDs of “Fool’s Gold” to give away. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post by midnight on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Be sure to include a valid email address. A winner will be drawn randomly. I’ll email the winner for their snail-mail address after the contest ends. Good luck!
Image: Fool’s Gold, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008
Technorati Tags: fool’s gold,fool’s gold dvd,fool’s gold dvd giveaway,romantic comedies,DVD Giveaways,Internet Contests,Internet Giveaways,Bloggy Giveaways,Blog Giveaways,Bloggy DVD Giveaways,Film Gecko DVD Giveaways,Film Gecko Giveaways,Jane Boursaw Giveaways,film gecko,jane boursaw
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Very special guest star Cynthia Watros is indeed back on the The Bill Engvall Show for at least two episodes, including this one, July 17’s “Bill Talks a Good Game.”
The main plot revolves around poor Bill, who is dismayed to discover that his middle child Trent can beat him at baseball. Of course, the reality sends him into a funk over his increasing age.
Meanwhile, Susan experiences a little jealousy of her own when her best friend AJ (Watros) bonds with Lauren. As a result, Susan becomes determined to bond better with her daughter, too.
The sneak peek below features Tim Meadows, who also makes an appearance on the episode. He’s really showing up a lot this season, which is a good thing, in my opinion.
Bill Talks a Good Game - Sneak Peek
The Bill Engvall Show airs Thursdays on TBS at 9pm EST.
Photo: TBS
Tags: Bill Engvall, comedies, comedy, cynthia watros, nancy travis, Sitcoms, situation-comedies, Spoilers, summer 2008, tbs, Television, The Bill Engvall Show, tv, VideosShare This
Beautiful Roselyn Sanchez of Without A Trace is interviewed by Hollywood 411 during a wedding photo shoot in this TV Guide video.
Roselyn Sanchez is on the coveted cover of InStyle Wedding magazine this month. She’s getting married to actor Eric Winter. In her photo shoot in the video, she reveals that she’d love for her character, Agent Elena Delgado on Without A Trace, to get a love interest so that she can smile again.
This FBI crime drama star also reveals that one of her “old style” habits (as a Latina) was concentrating on being sexy when it came to fashion, but now she knows the importance of being “classic”.
Roselyn also shows off the 4.3 carat brilliant cut diamond she received when she and Winter become engaged in Puerto Rico back in December. They’re planing to wed during the Thanksgiving weekend this year in Puerto Rico. Besides the video, you can also see her on the InStyle cover via the link above.
As for the dress? The dress she ultimately decided on is an Oscar De La Renta creation. Way to go, Roselyn!
*Updated to reload video
Tags: instyle wedding, oscar de la renta, Roselyn Sanchez, wedding photoshootShare This
The new episodes of Tyler Perry’s House of Payne scheduled for July 16 are “To Have and to Hold” at 10pm EST and “Can’t Buy Me Love” at 10:30pm.
On “To Have and to Hold,” Janine returns unexpectedly, just as Calvin’s plans to ask Miranda to marry him are complicated when he loses the engagement ring. Meanwhile, two people strike up a romance at the barbershop.
Then on “Can’t Buy Me Love,” Calvin gets cold feet after he decides to ask Miranda to marry him, and Peanut and Pookie make the situation worse when they try to help.
Repeating at 9pm and 9:30pm are the April episodes “Moral Dilemma” and “Sex, Lies and Videotapes.”
A two-minute sneak peek at this week’s new episodes follows.
House of Payne - July 16 Sneak Peek
Tyler Perry’s House of Payne airs Wednesdays on TBS from 9pm–11pm EST.
Photo: Lavan Davis, China Anne McClain, Lance Gross, Larramie “Doc” Shaw, Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, Allen Payne (Newscom)
Tags: allen-payne, cassi-davis, china-anne-mcclain, comedies, comedy, denise-burse, house-of-payne, lance-gross, larramie-doc-shaw, lavan-davis, Sitcoms, situation-comedies, Spoilers, summer 2008, tbs, Television, tv, Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, VideosShare This
Last week’s Rescue Me minisode, “Criteria,” was the first one that didn’t really work for me. How do I know? Because now, just a week later, I can’t even remember what happened on it. But ask me about Week One’s “Fast” and Week Two’s “Fantasy,” and I recall them like I just saw them yesterday. Maybe it has something to do with that initial f in the titles…
In any case, coming up next in the series is the provocative sounding “Juiced,” and I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the kind you drink. This is Rescue Me, though, so you never really know what’s in store until after you’ve seen it.
Prepare for the next five-minute chunk of mini goodness with a(nother) look at last week’s entry. Perhaps it’ll work better for you than it does for me.
Minisode #3 - Criteria
Photo: Denis Leary (FX)
Tags: comedies, comedy, Denis Leary, drama, dramas, Dramedies, internet tv, minisodes, rescue me, summer 2008, Television, tv, Videos, web tv, webisodesShare This
We finally know where Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens went on their little getaway together!! We saw them board a private jet in Los Angeles but no one had a clue where they went. Guess what? The two were spotted having, what seems like a lovely time, in Thailand.
The video clip isn’t the best, but I appreciate it being uploaded! :D If I find a better copy I’ll post it.
Tags: vanessa-hudgens, Zac Efron, zanessa in thailand, zanessa vacationShare This
One of the big questions everyone’s talking about right now is “Is Claire Dead?”
Simply Dumb, SF Universe