Latest Pop Culture News
-Kara DioGuardi will be back for Season 9 of American Idol. She recently inked a deal to return. Paula Abdul has yet to sign a contract…
-Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm have signed on to star in “The Town.” They will play adversaries in the Boston crime drama. Affleck will play the villain, while Hamm will play an FBI agent. Shooting begins in October.
-Diane Keaton will sar in a HBO comedy. In the untitled project, Keaton will play a feminist icon who attempts to reignite the movement by starting a sexually-explicit magazine for women.
-Three movies about Bruce Lee are being planned. The first will deal with Lee’s teenage years. No casting has been announced for the trilogy.
-USA Network renewed “Burn Notice” for a fourth season and picked up “Royal Pains” for a second season.
-Check out the trailer for the upcoming season of “Heroes.”
-Here’s a clip for the movie “9″ to be relased on Sept. 9. The animated, Sci-Fi movie includes the voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly and Jennifer Connelly.
-Tobey Maguire’s mother, Wendy, has signed on to do a reality show called “Growing Up Maguire.” It will show the single mother raising her 15-year-old son, Weston, and how she attempts to shield her children from the downside of the entertainment industry.
-The Dr. Seuss book “The Lorax” is being turned into a 3D animated feature. A March 2, 2012 release date has been set.
-A live-action version of “World of Warcraft” is in the works. Sam Raimi will direct the fantasy videogame franchise. Shooting will begin as soon as Raimi is done working on Spider-Man 4.
-Danny DeVito unveiled his new horror-themed Web site at Comic Con last week. The site, www.thebloodfactory.com, will offer a series of short horror films.
-NBC has pulled the last five episodes of “The Listener” from its schedule and is replacing it with “Law & Order” repeats starting tonight. The final five episodes, however, can be seen at www.nbc.com in August.
-NBC picked up a 13-episode drama called “Persons Unknown.” It’s abut a group of strangers who must work together to escape a deserted town they woke up in that under constant surveillance by security cameras. Watch the trailer.
-After a 4-year hiatus, VH1 is bringing back its VH1 Divas concert. But the female performers are much younger this time around. Some of the divas will include Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, and Miley Cyrus. The show airs at 9 p.m. Sept. 17.
TV PREMIERES
Tonight – The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)
Friday – Lock N’ Load with R. Lee Ermey (History)
Saturday – It’s Me or the Dog (Animal Planet)
Sunday – Defying Gravity (ABC); Megan Wants a Millionaire (VH1)
Monday – Real Chance of Love (E!); Forensics (ID); Ultimate Cake Off (TLC); Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (Food)
Tuesday – Addicted to Beauty (Oxygen); Big Ideas for a Small Planet (Sundance)
Wednesday – Man v. Food (Travel): Make My Day (TV Land); How’d You Get So Rich? (TV Land); Giuliana & Bill (Style)
TV FINALES
Tonight – She’s Got the Look (TV Land)
Sunday – Kendra (E!); The Next Food Network Star (Food Network); How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (BBCA)
Tuesday - Better Off Ted (ABC); Primetime: Family Secrets (ABC); Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood (Oxygen); Paris Hilton’s My New BFF (MTV); Street Patrol (MNT)
Wednesday – Monsters Inside Me (Animal Planet)
MOVIES arriving in theaters Friday, July 31
-Funny People
-The Collector
-Aliens in the Attic
DVDs hitting stores Tuesday, Aug. 4
-Race to Witch Mountain
-Obsessed
-The Soloist
-The Chaos Experiment
-Mutant Chronicles
-Labor Pains
-Cravings
-Fragments
-Ulysses
-Flight of the Conchords: Complete Second Season
-The Love Boat: Season Two, Volume Two
-The Last Starfighter: 25th Anniversary Edition
-The Tigger Movie (2-disc 10th anniversary edition)
-VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella
-You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2-disc special edition)
-Delgo
-Daffy Duck’s Quackbusters
ALBUMS arriving on Tuesday, Aug. 4
-Collective Soul, “Rabbit”
-Modest Mouse, “No One’s First And You’re Next”
-Tantric, “Mind Control”
-Soundtrack, “Wizards of Waverly Place”
-Trey Songz, “Ready”
-Kidz Bop Kids, ‘Kids Bop 16″
-Anjulie, “Anjulie”
-Steve Azar, “Slide On Over Here”
-K’Jon, “I Get Around”
-Dorrough, “Dorrough”
-Gloriana, “Gloriana”
-Japandroids, “Post-Nothing”
-AssJack, “AssJack”
-Craig Phillips & Dean Phillips, “Fearless”