What has happened to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? The former pro wrestler and star of the über-macho The Scorpion King has lately been attracted to lighter material like Disney's The Game Plan and this summer's Get Smart. It's safe to expect more of the same, as he's just signed on for 20th Century Fox's The Tooth Fairy. The role finds Johnson as an ordinary man who's brought in (à la Santa Clause) to save the tooth-fairy kingdom. Not surprisingly, Michael Lembeck, who wrote the second and third installments of Clause, is slated to direct, with shooting expected to begin this summer. Adam Bryant
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USA Network has grabbed basic-cable dibs on the big-screen hit The Game Plan, to air in October 2009.... Lifetime has picked up rerun rights to ABC's Wife Swap, to start unspooling October '08.... Aaron McGruder has inked a deal with the comedy site Super Deluxe to create The Super Rumble Mixshow, a live-action series chockablock with the Boondocks creator's racially charged humor.... WE TV on Jan. 4 premieres Ugliest House on the Block, a six-episode home makeover series... about my neighbor? Seriously, those blue shingles are ghastly.... PETA invites you to give the Olsen twins a shake. (Fun stuff, frankly.)
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The Game Plan, a Disney comedy starring Kyra Sedgwick (that's my spin and I'm sticking to it) topped the weekend box office with a $22.7 million opening. The weekend's other major new release, Jamie, Jen and Jason's The Kingdom, placed second with $17.7 mil.Rounding out the top five were Resident Evil: Extinction ($8 million), Good Luck Chuck ($6.3 mil) and 3:10 to Yuma (clocking in with another $4.2 mil).In very limited release, both The Darjeeling Limited (aka the Owen Wilson-in-a-head-bandage film) and Ang Lee's Lust, Caution opened strongly.
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