Pop Culture Checklist

Latest Pop Culture News

-The CW announced the following shows coming back in the fall: Smallville, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, 90210, America’s Next Top Model, and Supernatural.

-The original Star Trek episodes and films are coming to Blu-ray. On April 28, “Star Trek: The Original Series — Season One” will be available on a 7-disc set that includes all 29 episodes from the 1966-67 season. On May 12, Paramount will release two Blu-ray boxed sets of the films based on the original series, the “Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection” and the “Star Trek Motion Picture Trilogy.”

-LL Cool J will star in a CBS spinoff of NCIS. He’ll play a tough, but charming, former Navy SEAL who works undercover for the NCIS unit in Los Angeles and is an expert on the Middle East.

-USA will premiere “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” and “In Plain Sight” back-to-back starting April 19.

-MC Hammer, the famous rapper in the 90’s, will star in a reality show on A&E. He, along with his wife and five kids, will be the focus of the show called “Hammertime.” The 11-episode show premieres later this year.

-Lifetime has renewed “Army Wives” for a fourth season.

-ABC Family has canceled the comedy “The Middleman” ‘

-TBS announced that “My Boys” will return March 31 in a new 10:30 Tuesday timeslot.

-The State’s Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter will star in a new Comedy Central series called “Michael and Michael have issues.” It will premiere in July.

TV PREMIERES

Sunday — Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)

Monday — Rules of Engagement (CBS); Ax Men (History); Harlem Heights (BET); Saving Grace (TNT)

Tuesday — Reaper (CW)

Wednesday — Make Me A Supermodel (Bravo)   

TV FINALES

Sunday — HGTV Showdown (HGTV); Rich Bride, Poor Bride (WE)

Monday — The Bachelor (ABC) ‘

Tuesday — Dirty Jobs (Discovery); Nip/Tuck (FX); 10 Items or Less (TBS)

Wednesday — Knight Rider (NBC); Ghost Hunters International (Sci Fi); Wonderland (DirecTV)

MOVIES arriving Friday, Feb. 27

-Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

-Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Limited: Echelon Conspiracy

DVDs coming out Tuesday, March 3

-Australia

-Beverly Hills Chihuahua

-I’ve Loved You So Long

-Ashes of Time Redux

-Lake City

-ER: Complete 10th Season

-Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective

-7th Heaven: The 8th Season

-The Hills: Complete Fourth Season

-Stiletto

-Nash Bridges: Second Season

-Wonder Woman

-Wonder Woman (Two-Disc Special Edition)

-Watchmen: The Complete Motion Comic

-The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, March 3

-U2, “New Line On The Horizon”

-The Prodigy, “Invaders Must Die”

-Soundtrack, “Watchmen”

-Grandmaster Flash, “The Bridge: Concept of a Culture”

-Neko Case, “Middle Cyclone”

-Raul Malo, “Lucky One”

-The Soundtrack of our Lives, “Communion”

-Buddy + Julie Miller, “Written in Chalk”

-Bell X1, “Blue Lights on the Runway”

-Justin Townes Earl, “Midnight at the Movies”

Wow, do I feel old. Wheel of Fortune — the show that began when I was a kid, is hitting a major milestone of 5,000 episodes on Friday.

After 26 years, the game show is one of the most successful syndicated programs in TV history. It has more than 34 million viewers a week.

It has had more than 15,000 contestants, awarded nearly $200 million in cash and prizes and traveled and taped on location 56 times in front of live audiences.

The Academy Awards on Sunday climbed 13 percent in the ratins from last year’s record low.

The show averaged 36.3 million viewers, up from last year’s 32 million.

The following is a list of ratings from the past five years, followed by best picture winner:

2008: 32 million (No Country for Old Men)

2007: 40.2 million (The Departed)

2006: 38.9 million (Crash)

2005: 42.1 million (Million Dollar Baby)

2004: 43.5 million (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)

Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail” easily topped this weekend’s box office with $41.1 million.

Landing second was the thriller starring Liam Neeson in “Taken,” which earned $11.4 million. In four weeks, its earned $95.2 million.

Last week’s No. 1 — Friday the 13th — fell all the way to 6th place with $7.8 million.

Top 10 Box Office

1. Madea Goes to Jail, $41.1 million

2. Taken, $11.4 million

3. Coraline, $11 million

4. He’s Just Not That Into You, $8.5 million

5. Slumdog Millionaire, $8.1 million

6. Friday the 13th, $7.8 million

7. Confessions of a Shopaholic, $7 million

8. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $7 million

9. Fired Up!, $6 million

10. The International, $4.5 million

A new TV show will be hosting auditions for its pilot show in Michigan.

Kids ages 5 – 8 can audition for “Aunt Molly & Friends” at 10 a.m. Saturday at the center court of Oakland Mall in Troy.

The 30-minute children’s TV show is being produced in Detroit. They are looking for kids, especially those who speak a foreign language, to be featured guests and audience members. The show will be filmed each week at Oakland Mall.

The show also is looking for women ages 30 to 60 for the role of Aunt Molly. Magicians, authors, storytellers, singers, dancers of all ages and with other skills are encouraged to audition.

Register at www.auntmollyandfriends.com.

Good luck!  

The latest Pop Culture news

-Don’t forget the Academy Awards is on Sunday, beginning at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

-Another “Fockers” movie is in the works. The third installment of the comedy will revolve around the children of the Focker family. Ben Stiller and Teri Polo will star as parents of the little Fockers.

-HBO picked up “Big Love” for a fourth season. The show gets about 5 million viewers and stars Bill Paxton as a polygamous Uta businessman.

-The 5th season premiere of “Rescue Me” will air at 10 p.m. April 7 on FX. An 18-episode sixth season is set to air in 2010.

-Showtime has ordered a second season of “The United States of Tara,” a drama starring Toni Collette as a woman with multiple personalities.

-Michael Vartan (former Alias star) will star opposite Jada Pinkett Smith in TNT’s upcoming series “Time Heals.”

-After 16 years, Late Night With Conan O’Brien signs off on Friday. He is replacing Jay Leno on The Tonight Show on June 1. Jimmy Fallon will take over for O’Brien on March 2. Leno will move to prime time in early September.

TV PREMIERES

Tonight – Being Erica (SoapNet)

Friday – Mistresses (BBCA)

Tuesday – Dark Days in Monkey City (Animal Planet)

TV FINALES

Friday – Monk (USA)

Monday - The Closer (TNT); Rita Rocks (Lifetime); True Beauty (ABC)

Tuesday – Leverage (TNT); 10 Items or Less (TBS)

Wednesday - Top Chef (TBS); Knight Rider (NBC); Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…(Sundance)

MOVIES arriving in theaters Friday, Feb. 20

-Fired Up

-Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail

Limited releases: Delhi; Eleven Minutes; Must Read After My Death; The Velveteen Rabbit

DVDs to be released on Tuesday, Feb. 24

-The Haunting of Molly Hartley

-Cyclops

-Badland

-Breaking Bad: First Season

-Extreme Movie (Unrated)

-Futurama DTV Movies 1-4

-Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

-Protege

-The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

-Just Shoot Me!: Third Season

-My Wife & Kids: Season One

-The Last House on the Left (Collector’s Edition)

-Canterbury’s Law: The Complete Series  

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, Feb. 24

-Jonas Brothers, “Music From the 3D Concert Experience”

-Van Morrison, “Astral Weeks Live at the Holiday Bowl”

-Various Artists, “War Child: Heroes”

-Jake Owen, “Easy Does It”

-Tom Rush, “What I Know”

-Kinky, ‘Barracuda”

-K’Naan, “Troubadour”

-JJ Cale, “Roll On”

-Steve Wilson, “Insurgentes”

-Lamb of God, “Wrath”

-Joe Bonamassa, “The Ballad of John Henry”

So which films are box office record breakers?

The Web site, Internet Movie Date Base (www.imdb.com), reviewed historical movie ticket sales and made a list of the tp earners.

The list, adjusted for inflation, shows that classic movies rule the industry.

Here’s a list of the top box office movies of all-time:

1. Gone With The Wind, $1.75 billion

2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, $1.4 billion

3. Bambi, $1.2 billion

4. Star Wars, $1.13 billion

5. Pinocchio, $1.11 billion

Sorting ticket sales, especially from years ago, can be tricky. Here is the top 5 list according to Box Office Mojo’s figures:

1. Gone With The Wind, $1.5 billion

2. Star Wars, $1.3 billion

3. The Sound of Music, $1.03 billion

4. ET, $1.02 billion

5. The Ten Commandments, $943 million

NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is coming to our area.

Representatives from the reality show will be here Feb. 28 in search of contestants for its 8th season.

They are looking for individuals and couples ages 18 and older to compete in the weight-loss challenge. Candidates must be competitive, outgoing, charismatic and need/want to lose weight.

Casting begins at 10 a.m. Feb. 28 at Gardner-White Furniture, 45300 Hayes St., in Macomb Township.

For more information on video tape submissions, auditions and applications, visit www.nbc.com/casting.  

A new reality show, NASCAR Angels, is seeking people to sign up to be on the show.

It helps people by fixing their broken cars. It’s like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” but instead of building new houses, it builds cars.

To download an application, and for more details, go HERE.

Good luck!

Friday the 13th had the largest debut on record for a horror film, taking $42.2 million this weekend.

It broke the record previously held by The Grudge, when it opened in 2004 with $39 million.

Last week’s No. 1, “He’s Just Not That Into You, was second with $19.6 million, bringing its 10-day total to $55.1 million.

“Taken,” starring Liam Neesson, continues to dominate. It took third with $19.3 million, and in three weeks, has earned $77.9 million.

Top 10 Box Office

1. Friday the 13th, $42.2 million

2. He’s Just Not That Into You, $19.6 million

3. Taken, $19.3 million

4. Confessions of a Shopaholic, $15.4 million

5. Coraline, $15.3 million

6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop, $11.7 million

7. The International, $10 million

8. Pink Panther 2, $9 million

9. Slumdog Millionaire, $7.2 million

10. Push, $6.9 million