The CW has ordered eight episodes of a competitive reality series from America's Next Top Model executive producers Tyra Banks and Ken Mok (among others). The as-yet-untitled show, to start production in April for a summer launch, is described by the Reporter as "The Devil Wears Prada meets The Assistant," as aspiring Andy Sachses compete for a job at a major fashion mag TBD. In fact, one weekly challenge involves getting a compelling performance out of Adrian Grenier teams of two preparing a page for "The Book," with the losing pair bidding adieu to one player.
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Producer Thomas Schuhly (Alexander) has acquired remake rights to Fritz Lang's 1927 silent sci-fi classic Metropolis, and is in talks with a number of top directors to helm the pic.... Also per Variety, Stanley Tucci is in talks to reteam with Prada pal Meryl Streep, playing husband to her Julia Child in Julie & Julia.... Keenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans are penning and will star in a Scary Movie-esque send-up of cop films. Keenen Ivory will direct.
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Man there was a lot of action to keep up with tonight challenging cases of couples in turmoil pseudo-stalkers and missing doctors And lets not forget Luka in a robe As if we could But first things first let me say for the record that I have renewed hope for next season and it arrived tonight in the guise of Stanley Tucci I am intrigued by Dr Kevin Moretti and what he promises to bring to the table as ER chief Yes I am a little prejudiced because I think Stanley Tucci is an amazing actor Ive loved him in more movies that I can count most recently in The Devil Wears Prada But as he emerges from the long gorgeous shadow cast by Goran Visnjic I can still see this formidable actor bringing a grace maturity and gravity reminiscent of Anthony Edwards Remember longtime fans that Dr Mark Greene was not beloved because of his dashing good looks or romantic plotlines but rather because he was utterly believable as a beleaguered jaded doctor wh
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SOAPnet has added two more hours of Beverly Hills 90210 to its schedule, airing Sundays from 5 to 7 pm/ET.... Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy) and Elijah Wood will announce the nominees for this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards next Thursday, Jan. 4, at 3:05 pm/ET, on E! and TNT.... Starting today, Fox Sports is digitally distributing college-football bowl games and preview shows, via FoxSports.com, iTunes and other outlets. Additionally, the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl Classic will be streamed, a first for a major bowl game.... Pirates of the Caribbean 2 reclaimed the No. 1 spot on the DVD sales chart last week, unseating Ricky Bobby, while The Devil Wears Prada remained the top rental.
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Per the New York Daily News, the unbleeped version of Saturday Night Live's Justin Timberlake-Andy Samberg digital short, "D--k in a Box," has been viewed 320,000 times at NBC.com, and 3.5 million times via YouTube.... Though Scarlett Johannson was recently spied necking with former steady Josh Hartnett, the New York Post says the pair are taking ScarJo's bid for an "open relationship" seriously: On Saturday, Josh was seen in a liplock with supermodel Gisele Bundchen.... Sharon Stone's rep tells MSNBC.com that reports of the actress dating Bobby costar Christian Slater are false.... Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and The Devil Wears Prada topped last week's DVD sales and rental charts, respectively.
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Send your movie questions to FlickChickI love talking about movies but Ive never been able to organize movie-night get-togethers So this is the next best thing On Tuesdays Im going to spotlight a DVD and suggest some virtual-discussion startersThe Devil Wears Prada was one of the biggest surprises of the year for me Apocalypto was another but thats a conversation for some other time It was a big sleek mainstream Hollywood movie that I enjoyed from beginning to end despite its conflicted message I dont mean to imply that I automatically dread Hollywood movies but I picked up the book on which this one was based and found it so shallow and irritating that I couldnt finish the first chapter And I can read just about anything It probably doesnt hurt that I work down the street from Cond Nast and have see the needle-toed ranks of the Cond Nasties striding down the street with their Im too fine to talk to anyone carrying last seasons bag affectations
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Fox has picked up the TV rights to The Devil Wears Prada, this summer's hit adaptation of the best-selling book, and is developing it as a series. While this small-screen serving of Prada will incorporate elements of the $124 million-grossing film, "I'm not looking to directly translate [it]," Fox TV Studios prez Angela Shapiro-Mathes tells Variety. "That becomes a mistake. The TV series will not be exactly like [the movie or the book]." As for coming off too similar in theme to a certain new ABC series... "We're not going to be afraid of Ugly Betty," says Shapiro-Mathes. "It's good to see a show like that doing well." I bet it is.... I bet it is.
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Question: I've seen a bunch of news items recently about Ugly Betty, and I was wondering what your opinion of it was. To me, the premise just seems awful. Like in The Devil Wears Prada, we've got an attractive woman who we're supposed to pretend is "ugly," and then we've got the cutting-edge topic of the fashion industry. Wow, it's not like anyone's made fun of them before. What's next, a sock-hop-and-ice-cream-social comedy? I like America Ferrera, but previous shows along this theme, such as Veronica's Closet and Less than Perfect, have just been shrill and annoying.
Answer: The worst sin in writing about or analyzing TV seriously is to judge a show simply by its premise. While it's entirely likely that you are predisposed not to enjoy Ugly Betty, it's always all about the execution. Ugly Betty is not a traditional sitcom, it's a hybrid of comedy and soap, and Betty herself is nothing like the heroine of Prada (Betty is much more extreme), except perhaps for her inexperience in this
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America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
It's nice to see that ABC wised up and invited Ugly Betty to the Thursday-night ball.
The new show — which will now be paired with Grey's Anatomy this fall — has been getting raves from those who have seen it. Executives from other networks have called it the best pilot they saw from their competition this year. Adapted from a telenovela that's been wildly popular for years in Latin America, Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera as a glamour-challenged woman from an immigrant family trying to make it at a flashy fashion magazine.
Salma Hayek and producer Ben Silverman have been trying to sell a U.S. version of Betty
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