David Schwimmer to helm Little Britain
The former Friends cast member will be heading up the Los Angeles-set parts of the new HBO s comedy show Little Britain.The show is the U.S. counterpart to the BBC sketch show of the same name. The series will focus on the hijinx of British comedians Matt Lucas and David Walliams (stars from the BBC show) here stateside. They are currently filming in North Carolina. Schwimmer will be directing the studio segments of the six-part HBO series here in California. Guests for his segments include Rosie O’Donnell and Sting.
This isn’t the first time Schwimmer will be directing or showing his love of all things British. He directed a few episodes of Friends. And this past year, made his feature directorial debut with Run Fat Boy Run The film starred Simon Pegg as a non-committal cad who has a change of heart toward the mother of his child and enters a marathon to prove his love.
News from the trashtastic cast of The Hills
Here’s what’s going on with MTV’s resident morons this week…
Whitney Port is getting her own show. I bet you the nipple slip awhile ago sealed the deal. According to Us Weekly, The Hills star will be working bicoastally for a fashion PR firm called People’s Revolution. Now, she’ll be involved in hijinx on both coasts. Apparently, in New York, Whitney will befriend socialite Olivia Palermo.
Heidi and Spencer have made three million in two years of off “their work as douchebags” according to VH1. And no, the three million is not their combined salaries from The Hills. The couple just shamelessly sells out: club appearances, clothing lines, photo ops. I love that VH1 used the phrase “their work as douchebags.” It’s so true.
And here’s the sneak peek of season 4 of The Hills coming this August. Lauren will find a new guy. Audrina and Lo will fight over LC’s affections. And Stephanie will make the awful decision to invite LC and Heidi and Spencer to her birthday party.
On-Set Secrets! Shia’s Summer Flick, Eagle Eye
I first met the boy wonder on the set of a small passion project called, um, Transformers. Since then, I've kept up a friendship with the 21-year-old, two-time Vanity Fair cover boy and Steven Spielberg-anointed golden child Shia LaBeouf.
So, this week I was lucky enough to hang on the set of this summer's political thriller Eagle Eye (directed by the same guy who did Disturbia, D.J. Caruso), with Shia and costar/totally-cool-chick Michelle Monaghan.
Here's what I learned at the Santa Anita mall, near Pasadena, California:
Shia Has Kept His Head: Despite having found enormous sucWonder boy LaBeouf sneaks us behind the scenes of summer flick Eagle Eyecess since we first met, the Indiana Jones star is still the same old Shia: He's on a first-name basis with the crew, he engages with the hundreds of extras, and he even left the set before a take to salute his favorite film critic. (Check the photo!)
He's into Something Big Here: The story of Eagle Eye centers around mistaken identity, and Shia's and Michelle's characters are caught up in political and military hijinx that have them on the run. The film features an all-star cast, too, with everybody from Michael Chiklis to Rosario Dawson to Billy Bob Thornton.
Hey, What's in That Briefcase? In every take I saw, Shia was carrying a silver briefcase and talking on a pay phone. Like Cloverfield, which benefited big-time from the secrecy that surrounded it, Eagle Eye has some unknowns hanging over the story. The cast, of course, couldn't get too much into iton camera, at least!
Eagle Eye is scheduled to open Aug. 8.
Brothers and Sisters: The Feast of Epiphany
(S02E10) “You slept with someone else too?” Nora Walker to Julia Walker
Oh, Brothers and Sisters, how I’ve missed your hijinx! I was under the impression from some of the news I’d read about the WGA strike that filming had ceased on the show, so I was very happy to have a new episode (albeit, feeling a little guilty, because I support the writers…). Mostly, I was happy to see everyone again.
Of course, Nora had to cook up a big family dinner (no pun intended) to get everyone together for the big epiphanies. But it was a legitimate set up: It would probably seem forward and a little awkward to ask someone out if you were unsure of their feelings for you, especially if being back on the dating scene was still pretty new to you.
I was surprised to learn that Kevin and Scotty are still together. My impression after Nora and Robert’s wedding was that Scotty had broken up with Kevin. However, Kevin said in this episode, “Scotty almost broke up with me after the wedding because of Jason.” At another moment in th episode, though, when Kevin was sniping with Robert about Jason, Kevin said he was single and could do what he wanted about Jason coming back, including change his mind. Then Kevin called Scotty to tell him that he and Jason were going to have lunch, so I am a little confused. But I think time will work it all out. I think Kevin and Scotty are still together though, because Scotty made the joke about Kevin kicking him out if Jason came back… What do you think? Are they broken up but still living together? Hanging by a thread?
I wasn’t as impressed with Robert’s town hall meeting as the veterans seemed to be. I thought the hard-hitting veteran who said, “We can’t have a president who is going to freeze up,” was right. Robert had a good come back that he was very young at the time– but he can’t promise not to make that mistake again. Also, his silence for a long time was pretty damning. But I am still irritated with Robert for hedging about kids with Kitty. I knew (hoped) that issue would come up again, and I am glad it did so soon. Though, I think Robert is still lying to Kitty. I am not as sure that they won’t overcome this issue though. I think Robert loves her enough to have a child anyway, despite his reluctance. Stranger things have happened. But it’s probably good for them to have a source of conflict that isn’t solely the election. That might get old fast.
Speaking of the election, though, do you think Kitty was responsible for leaking the word about the other candidate’s disabled son? Or do you think it was Isaac? It had to be someone from Robert’s campaign… What if it was Robert? Do you think it could have been Robert? If Robert insisted to his staff that they couldn’t play dirty, he would have the plausible deniability, wouldn’t he?
This might sound lame, but I was actually happy that they resolved the issue of Tommy’s affair with Lena by giving Julia one of her own. It levels the playing field. And it actually makes Julia seem less like a meek mouse little victim. Sure, they both screwed up, and I am not excusing that. I am just saying it means that instead of one person being the complete villain, they both have something to forgive. Though, I have to admit that I am surprised by the reappearance of both Jason and Julia…
I like Sarah’s new beau. I have always been a sucker for Steven Weber, though, and I love his character so far. He is honest (well, so far as we know), down to earth, doesn’t come on too strong, and he makes his own vegetable soup. Knock wood for something good for Sarah.
Holly insisted to Rebecca that David isn’t her father. David seems to think he might be, whispering to Holly that Rebecca is wonderful. Holly has lied about this before– her track record isn’t very good. So, she could be lying this time– but why? William Walker is dead, and there isn’t an inheritance at stake. True, Rebecca now has a relationship with the Walkers. But it might be worth telling Rebecca, who has a tendency to go for older men, that David is her father just to keep her from getting involved with him. On the other hand, at face value, I am happy that that issue was addressed and dismissed early in David’s storyline, though I have absolutely no idea what else might be going on there.
I guess we’ll find out.