Bankable Role
Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz is reportedly set to score a $2 million paycheck to star in the upcoming teenage spy flick Agent Cody Banks. Variety reported the deal would make him the highest-paid child actor since Macaulay Culkin in his Home Alone (read: marketable) days.
Personally, I’d pay everyone involved twice that much to NOT make Agent Cody Banks.
Shutting Up
Oprah Winfrey has announced that she’s ending her talk-show at the close of the 2005-06 season, which will be the 20th anniversary of the show’s syndicated premiere. USA Domestic Television, meanwhile, will be cutting The Sally Jessy Raphael Show at the end of the current season. The show has spent almost 20 years in syndication.
With Rosie O’Donnell calling it quits soon, this means that the winner of the daytime talk-show wars will ultimately be Jerry Springer. Scary, scary stuff.
In Memoriam
39 million viewers tuned in Sunday for CBS’ 9/11, a graphic documentary on the World Trade Center attacks. The documentary contained never-before seen footage shot from inside the towers during the attacks. Many firefighters who watched the program stated it was an accurate and sensitive account of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Goldie Hawn is reportedly teaming with cable network FX to make a movie about United Flight 93, the hijacked airliner that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11.
I’m sorry, but FX isn’t exactly the first thing that pops into my head when someone mentions an accurate and sensitive account. It could be worse, I guess; Jerry Bruckheimer could be teaming with TNN to produce it.
Workaholic
MTV.com is reporting that Britney Spears will do as she pleases no matter who’s watching. Even a vigilant bodyguard or a sudden rainstorm isn’t going to keep her from a night of fun. At least, that’s the gist of Spears’ new video for a remix of “Overprotected,” which was recently filmed during a marathon 23-hour shoot in Los Angeles.
According to director Chris Applebaum, the video is part of her “I’m Not a Girl” campaign to shed her adolescent image. Spears envisioned the treatment herself, Applebaum added.
Good for her. While she’s at it, she might want to envision a new name for her image campaign. It might confuse people.
Attack of the Trailers
The much-hyped new trailer of Episode II: Attack of the Clones premiered Sunday on Fox, and has single-handedly renewed my interest in the franchise, as well as restoring my faith that George Lucas isn’t on crack.
The trailer featured some new items the first one lacked, like information on the movie’s plot. More importantly, the trailer showed that Episode II will stay true to the heart of the Star Wars series, featuring lots of big freaking battles between thousands of light-saber-wielding Jedi Knights.
Hardcore fanatics will also be happy to know that Lucas has cut the scenes featuring N’Sync members. I don’t see why people were so upset over the cameos — they pop on screen for two seconds and immediately die horrible deaths. You’d think Star Wars fans would WANT to see that.
Archived article by Matt Chock