Pop Culture Checklist

Will Ferrell announced that he will appear with Bear Grylls on an upcoming episode of “Man vs. Wild” on the Discovery Channel.

It will air sometime in June, which is tied to the June 5 release of Ferrell’s “Land of the Lost.”

In the episode, Ferrell joins Grylls in northern Sweden for two days. They will be rapelling down frozen waterfalls and surviving in subzero temperatures overnight.

The two also find food in the forest, improvise snow shoes and drink their own urine. They also share a snow shelter and eat reindeer eyeballs.

At a news conference, Ferrell said the experience was “a thrill of a lifetime, even though I did get urine-drunk, which is sad.”

Latest Pop Culture News

-Lifetime has set Aug. 20 for the debut of Project Runway’s sixth season. It will be shot in Los Angeles - a show’s first. One of the guest judges will be Lindsay Lohan. It airs at 10 p.m. Thursdays.

-Regis will return to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He’ll be back on prime-time for a special event marking the 10 anniversary of the ABC show. It premieres at 8 p.m. Aug. 9 and will air for 11 nights.

-There will be less “Heroes” next season. NBC is trimming down episodes from 25 to 18 to 20. The network is hoping the new format will save the show, which attracts an average of 7.7 million viewers - down from 11.6 million prior to the writer’s strike.

-A live Nirvana DVD will be released in November (yeah!). The DVD will feature their performance at England’s Reading Festival on Aug. 30, 1992, which is…wait for it…legendary!!! It was a time when illness rumors were swirling about Kurt Cobain, so he entered the stage in a wheelchair and hospital gown. He then jumps up and tears up the stage. The DVD also features never-before-seen footage.

-In Saturday Night Live news, Justin Timberlake will host May 9 with musical guest Ciara. On May 16, Will Ferrell will host with musical guest Green Day.

-Angelina Jolie will play Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta in a series of suspense thriller movies. Cornwell’s best-selling book series (16 total) is about Dr. Scarpetta, a medical examiner.

-Demetri Martin will star alongside Brad Pitt in “Moneyball,” the adaptation of the Michael Lewis book about ballplayer turned Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane and his attempt to field a competitive team on a slim payroll. Pitt will play Beane.

-Look for the Ninja Turtles on the big screen in 2011. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be a live-action film focusing on the origins of the crime fighters.

-The fourth season of “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” will premiere at 10 p.m. May 26 on Oxygen with 10 one-hour episodes.

-The third season of “Army Wives” returns June 7 on Lifetime.

-Brian Boitano, the gold-medal-winning Olympian, landed a Food Network show called “What Would Brian Boitano Make?” It airs in August.

TV PREMIERES

Friday - Wild Weddings (TLC)

Saturday - I Want to Save Your Life (WE)

Sunday - Food Network Challenge (Food); Leader of the Pack (HGTV); Daisy of Love (VH1)

Monday - Pros vs. Joes (Spike TV)

TV FINALES

Tonight - The Beast (A&E)

Saturday - Cribs (MTV); Ashes to Ashes (BBCA); My Big Redneck Wedding (CMT); Trick my Truck (CMT)

Monday - Chuck (NBC); Heroes (NBC)

Tuesday - Last Restaurant Standing (BBCA)

Wednesday - Better Off Ted (ABC); Ghost Hunters (Sci Fi); The Exterminators (A&E)

MOVIES arriving Friday, April 24

-Fighting

-Obsessed

-The Soloist

limited: Baby on Board

DVDs arriving Tuesday, April 28

-The Uninvited

-Bride Wars

-What Doesn’t Kill You

-Nothing But the Truth

-Never Surrender

-S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale

-Legally Blondes

-JCVD

-Jetsons: The Movie

-American Dad: Voume 4

-Mission: Impossible - Sixth TV Season

-Sex and Lies in Sin City

-Marvel X-Men: Volumes1 and 2

-Spin City: Second Season

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, April 28

-Bob Dylan, “Together Through Life”

-Ben Folds, “University of Capella”

-Sarah Marshall, “Little Red”

-Various Artists, “Playing for a Change”

-Melody Gardot, “My One and Only Thrill”

-Ben Lee, “The Rebirth of Venus”

-Jason Michael Carroll, “Growing Up is Getting Old”

-Julian Marley, “Awake”

-Melissa Morgan, “Until I Met You”

-Spyro Gyra, “Down the Wire”

-Halestorm, “Halestorm”

-Collin Raye, “Never Going Back”

-Urban Mystic, “GRIII: Old School 2 Nu Skool”

-A Camp, “Colonia”

-Great Northern, ,”Remind Me Where the Light Is”

-Various Artists, “Playing for Change: Songs Around the World”

We are now down to the top 5 on American Idol.

Last night, two contestants were voted off — Anoop and Lil Rounds. Personally, I think those were the right choices. The only surprise, though, was Allison rounding out the bottom three.

Who will go next? My guess is Matt. I still don’t know why the judges gave him their only save!!

No shocker here — Lawrence Taylor was sent home last night on Dancing with the Stars.

There was a neat little twist, though. Since Julianne Hough won’t be back next season, the show started a competition among six pros vying for a spot to dance next season.

Zac Efron’s comedy “17 Again” scored big at the box office.

It debuted at No. 1 with $24.1 million, easily defeating the Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck thriller “State of Play.” It earned $14.1 million

Last week’s No. 1 “Hannah Montana: The Movie” dropped 61 percent from its opening last weekend. It settled for No. 4 with $12.7 million.

Jason Statham’s action flick “Crank High Voltage” debuted at No. 6 with $6.5 million.

TOP 10 BOX OFFICE 

1. 17 Again, “24.1 million

2. State of Play, $14.1 million

3. Monsters vs. Aliens, $12.9 million

4. Hannah Montana: The Movie, $12.7 million

5. Fast and Furious, $12.3 million

6. Crank High Voltage, $6.5 million

7. Observe and Report, $4.1 million

8. Knowing, $3.5 million

9. I Love You, Man, $3.4 million

10. The Haunting in Connecticut, $3.2 million

I find this really hard to believe but of ALL the movies out there, “Crash” is Netflix’s No. 1 rented movie.

Netflix, a DVD database sent via mail, has been around since September, 2005.

“Crash” was released in theaters in May, 2005. It’s a story about race and relations in Los Angeles.

Are you just as surprised as I am about this?

Latest Pop Culture News

-Tina Fey and Steve Carell are teaming up to star in a romantic comedy called “Date Night.” It’s about a married couple who got out to a trendy Manhattan bistro when things go terribly wrong to a case of mistaken identity. Shooting begins in a few weeks.

-Gore Verbinski, director of all three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films has decided not to come back for the fourth installment. However, Johnny Depp is returning to reprise his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. The next ‘Pirates’ movie will begin filming in 2010.

-Speaking of Johnny Depp, you can hear him on “SpongeBob SquarePants” at 8 p.m. Friday on Nickelodeon. In the new episode, Depp will be the voice of surfer Jack Kahuna Laguna.

-Samuel L. Jackson will host the 17th annual ESPY award show. It will air at 9 p.m. July 19 on ESPN. Fans determine the winners by voting at www.espys.tv starting June 25 through July 11.

-ABC will air the remaining episodes of Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money and Eli Stone this summer.

-On April 25, CBS will air excerpts from Barbra Streisand’s 2006 concert tour. The TV show will coincide with the upcoming three-DVD release of “Barbra Streisand — The Concerts.”

-TNT has canceled “Trust Me” starring Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh.

-Showtime has picked up “The Tudors” for a fourth season. It will be 10 one-hour episodes kicking off in spring, 2010.

-Eminem will take stage at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Hosted by Andy Samberg, the show will air live at 9 p.m. May 31.

TV PREMIERES

Friday - Prison Break (Fox); Stranger Among Bears (Animal Planet)

Saturday - World Strictest Parents (CMT)

Sunday - Law & Order: Criminal Intent (USA); Sit Down, Shut Up (Fox); In Plain Sight (USA)

Tuesday - The Phone (MTV); Eco Trip (Sundance); Carbon Cops (Sundance)

TV FINALES

Sunday - Hidden Potential (HGTV); Running in Heels (Style)

Monday - For the Love of Ray J (VH1)

Wednesday - South Park (Comedy Central)

MOVIES arriving Friday, April 17

-Crank: High Voltage

-State of Play

-17 Again

Limited releases: American Violet; The Golden Boys; Sleep Dealer

DVDs arriving Tuesday, April 21

-The Wrestler

-Frost/Nixon

-Notorious

-Into the Blue 2: The Reef

-The Burrowers

-Caprica

-The Poker Club

- Hellraiser: Limited Edition Box Set

ALBUMS arriving Tuesday, April 21

-Depeche Mode, “Sounds of the Universe”

-Jars of Clay, “The Long Fall Back to Earth”

-Pet Shop Boys, “Yes”

-Jane’s Addiction, “Cabinet of Curiosities” (box set)

-Rick Ross, “Deeper Than Rap”

-Asher Roth, “Asleep in the Bread Aisle”

-Jamie Slocum, “Dependence”

-The Veer Union, “Against the Grain”

-Booker T. Jones, “Potato Hole”

-Tinted Windows, “Tinted Windows”

-Great White, “Rising”

-Lacuna Coil, “Shallow Life”

-Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, “How Big Can You Get? Music of Cab Calloway”

-BrakesBrakesBrakes, “Touchdown”

-Oleta Adams, “Let’s Stay Here”

In an American Idol first, no one was sent home on elimination night.

The judges used their one and only “save” to stop Matt Giraud from going home after voters decided he should. The one-time veto also means that TWO people will be voted off next week.

Matt was joined in the bottom three with Anoop and Lil Rounds.

Did the judges use their one-time only veto at the right time? What if Adam is voted off and the judges can’t do anything about it?

What did you think about Tuesday’s show when only two judges actually judged contestants?

Let me know your thoughts on the show!!

This time around, it was a Jackass that got the boot on Dancing with the Stars.

It was Jackass’ Steve-O that was sent home. Steve and rodeo star Ty Murray were the bottom two, but there was no dance-off this time around.

Who should go next? Are you still watching it this season?

On Tuesday, the top 7 American Idol finalists will perform songs from movies under the guidance of director Quentin Taratino.

On Wednesday’s results show, Jennifer Hudson taped a performances of her new hit “If This Isn’t Love.” Also, Miley Cyrus will be on the show to sing “The Climb” from ”Hannah Montana: The Movie.”