Latest Pop Culture News
-In the wake of Paula Abdul’s surprise exit from American Idol, Simon Cowell has already lined up Victoria Beckham as a guest judge. The former Spice Girl will appear on one show.
-Tonight (Aug. 6), you can see a sneak peek of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” A 60-second preview will air during USA’s “Burn Notice” between 9 and 10 p.m. The film opens in theaters on Aug. 21.
-HBO has renewed True Blood, Entourage and Hung for next summer.
-Bob Dylan is coming out with a Christmas album, a first for the singer. It will be a collection of modern songs and Christmas carols. No word yet on the release date.
-”Futurama” is coming back. A new round of episodes is set for 2010 on Fox.
-A prequel to “Aliens” is in the works. Ridley Scott will return as director.
-Amy Poehler will reunite with Seth Meyers for “Saturday Night Live Update Thursday” on Sept. 17. The show will lead into the second season premiere of Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation.” She will co-anchor on Sept. 24 as well.
-Steven Spielberg is remaking “Harvey,” an adaptation of the Mary Chase Pulitzer-prize winning play. It’s about a man, Elwood P. Dowd, and his friendship with a six-and-a-half foot tall invisible rabbit, and how it affects every member of his family and community. In the 1950 movie version, Jimmy Stewart played Elwood.
-CBS will replace the canceled daytime soap “Guiding Light” with a new version of “Let’s Make A Deal,” the game show formerly hosted by Monty Hall. Wayne Brady will be the new host. The show will premiere after Guiding Light completes its 57-year run on Sept. 18.
-Nickelodeon is getting a makeover. In honor of its 30th anniversary, the network (and sister networks) will reveal a new logo in the fall to replace its “splat” identity.
-Jennifer Aniston signed up for “Goree Girls,” a movie based on a true story of an all-female country band in a Texas prison in the 1940s. Production begins in January.
-America’s next top model premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 9 on CW. Guest judges include Lauren Conrad (Sept. 16); Kim Kardashian (Oct. 21) and Marisa Miller (Nov. 4).
-E! will debut a half-hour series called “Reality Hell.” It has fun with today’s most popular TV show concepts and our national obsession with getting a shot at fame. It premieres Aug. 16.
-Hugh Jackman will play P.T. Barnum in a new musical called “The Greatest Showman on Earth.”
-Jason Segel, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman will star in “The Adventurer’s Handbook.” It’s a comedy about four friends who go on global adventures.
TV PREMIERES
Tonight – Police Women of Broward County (TLC); Skins (BBCA)
Friday – Psych (USA); Monk (USA); Chef vs. City (Food)
Sunday – Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (ABC); Shark Tank (ABC); There Goes the Neighborhood (CBS); Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew (MTV)
Monday – Lords of the Revolution (VH1); Popular Science’s Future of… (Science)
Tuesday – Primetime: The Outsiders (ABC)
Wednesday – Man vs. Wild (Discovery); Dinner: Impossible (Food); Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals (HBO)
TV FINALES
Tonight – So You Think You Can Dance (Fox); Wild Russia (Animal Planet)
Friday – The Goode Family (ABC); Surviving Suburbia (ABC)
Saturday – Dirty Sexy Money (ABC); Can You Duet? (CMT); Battle of the Bods (FRC)
Sunday – Law & Order: Criminal Intent (USA); In Plain Sight (USA); Jess James is a Dead Man (Spike); Z Rock (IFC); Brooke Knows Best (VH1)
Monday – Obsessed (A&E); Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (Bravo)
Tuesday – Better Off Ted (ABC); NYC Prep (Bravo); Bite Me With Dr. Mike (Travel)
Wednesday – The Philanthropist (NBC)
MOVIES arriving Friday, Aug. 7
-Julie & Julia
-A Perfect Getaway
-G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
DVDs to be released on Tuesday, Aug. 11
-I Love You, Man
-The Last Resort
-The Class
-James Dean: The Fast Lane (documentary)
-Alien Trespass
-Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure 3-D (documentary)
-Super Friends: The Lost Episodes
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (25th anniversary collector’s edition)
-Barney: Sharing is Caring
-The Tiger’s Tail
ALBUMS to be released on Tuesday, Aug. 11
-Queen Latifah, “Persona”
-Michael Jackson, “The Document” (unauthorized)
-Jessie James, “Jessie James”
-Patty Griffin, “Downtown Church”
-Mindy Smith, “Stupid Love”
-Cobra Starship, “Hot Mess”
-Amerie, “In Love & War”
-A Fine Frenzy, “Bomb in a Birdcage”
-Britt Nicole, “The Lost Get Found”
-Anna Ternheim, “Leaving on a Mayday”
-Between The Trees, “Spain”
-The Stone Roses, “The Stone Roses 20th Anniversary” (box set)
-Various Artists, “Dashboard Confessional String Tribute”
-Broadway Cast, “Leader of the Pack”