Ex-Friend Taking Matt LeBlanc to Trial
How you doin’? If you ask Matt LeBlanc, not so good.
A Los Angeles judge has ruled that a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought against the erstwhile Friends star by his ex-business manager can proceed to trial.
Superior Court Judge Harold I. Cherness shot down a motion by LeBlanc’s legal team seeking to dismiss the complaint filed last August by Camille Cerio, who claims she’s owed over $1 million in commissions.
Although Team LeBlanc insists Cerio received more than $200,000 in payments, her attorney, Alan Harris, said that amount was a pittance, since the actor’s royalties on Friends and Joey alone generate royalties over $100 million.
“This was something unheard of in the history of television,” Harris told the judge of LeBlanc’s windfall.
Cerio managed LeBlanc’s career beginning in 1994, when he first hit big on the now classic NBC sitcom. She alleges in her suit that LeBlanc agreed to pay her 15 percent of his earnings from all pilots and series spinoffs “derived” from Friends. But the checks stopped coming in 2000, four years before Friends ended its run.
No immediate comment from either side. A trial date has been set for Sept. 22.
Jeff Goldblum Detects Chris Noth’s Intent to Leave
He may not have made it as a hallucinating detective, but Jeff Goldblum has been assigned to Major Case.
USA confirmed Thursday the veteran actor will be replacing Chris Noth on Law & Order: Criminal Intent next season.
Noth, who perhaps became a little too Big for the badge, is still shooting episodes for the series’ ongoing seventh season, so it’s currently unclear how Detective Mike Logan will be making his second exit from the ever-evolving franchise.
Just this year, longtime mothership resident Jesse L. Martin was replaced by Anthony Anderson, while Law & Order: SVU lost Adam Beach and Diane Neal (whose ADA shoes will be filled next season by Michaela McManus). And Criminal Intent enjoyed a brief stay by Alicia Witt while Noth’s onscreen partner, Julianne Nicholson, was on maternity leave.
“I’ve been in the Law & Order franchise a long time,” Noth told the New York Post. “I’ve pretty much squeezed all the juice out of that role.”
But, he added, “the show keeps morphing and always finds new people. I’m gonna miss everyone I work with every day.”
The 53-year-old Wisconsinite left the original L&O in 1995 after his character supposedly punched out a homophobic politician, only to show up on Criminal Intent in 2005, when he and Annabella Sciorra started alternating episodes with Kathryn Erbe and a fatigued Vincent D’Onofrio (who very well could meet his quirky match when Goldblum arrives).
“Chris has been a member of the Law & Order family since the beginning, and Mike Logan is one of the most popular detectives in the history of television. We all wish him the best,” creator Dick Wolf said.
However, Wolf added, “Jeff is one of the most exciting actors around and is a perfect addition to the Law & Order: Criminal Intent ensemble…Jeff’s presence will add a new dimension to an already successful show.”
Goldblum, whose film and TV credits are many, most recently starred on the short-lived NBC drama Raines as an L.A. homicide detective who carries on imaginary conversations with his victims.
But USA has already renewed Criminal Intent for a 16-episode eighth season, so maybe he’ll be able to close more cases in New York.
Tributes Pour in for Tim Russert
The floodgates opened just moments after Tom Brokaw took to the air Friday afternoon to inform the TV-watching nation that his longtime friend and NBC colleague Tim Russert had died suddenly at the age of 58.
Out poured an endless number of heartfelt, albeit stunned, tributes from fellow journalists, network executives and, of course, the politicians whom Russert made it his business to fire the tough questions atall of whom he could also count as friends. (Well, if they weren’t all his friends, at the very least he had their deepest respect.)
Here’s a sampling:
Barack Obama: “I’ve known Tim Russert since I first spoke at the convention in 2004. He’s somebody who, over time, I came to consider not only a journalist but a friend. There wasn’t a better interviewer in TV, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics, and he was also one of the finest men I knew.”
John McCain: “I am very saddened by Tim Russert’s sudden death. Cindy and I extend our thoughts and prayers to the Russert family as they cope with this shocking loss and remember the life and legacy of a loving father, husband and the preeminent political journalist of his generation.”
Bill and Hillary Clinton: “We were stunned and deeply saddened to hear of the passing today of Tim Russert…Always true to his proud Buffalo roots, Tim had a love of public service and a dedication to journalism that rightfully earned him the respect and admiration of not only his colleagues but also those of us who had the privilege to go toe to toe with him.”
George W. Bush: “Laura and I are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Tim Russert. Those of us who knew and worked with Tim, his many friends, and the millions of Americans who loyally followed his career on the air will all miss him. As the longest-serving host of the longest-running program in the history of television, he was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger: “Tim was an American icon in the world of political journalism who could relate to everybody. His insightful commentary and tough but fair interviews helped millions of Americans better understand our political system…But Tim was not only one of the top journalists of his generation; he was a close friend, a warm and generous person and a wonderful family man.”
Maria Shriver: “Tim Russert was one of my closest friends and he was like a brother to me. He was not only a professional confidant but a personal one. He was always the first person to call me whenever anything happened with my family. And he always called me just to check in and see how I was doing and to encourage me.”
Diane Sawyer: “No one could see Tim in a room and not smile. He brought so much joy and curiosity and sheer vitality to all our lives. As a journalist, he would set out like a great explorer. You couldn’t wait to see what he discovered every day in the new world. He was a defining American newsman.”
Dan Rather: Tim had become an important part of our political process. He will be especially missed in this historic presidential election year. Tim Russert was a beacon of quality journalism. At a time when quality journalism is in increasingly short supply, Tim Russert was a leader for what is best in American journalism. He was tough but fair, pulled no punches, played no favorites. As an interviewer, he had few, if any, peers.
Here’s a clip of Russert on the other side of the table for a change, discussing his most recent book, Wisdom of Our Fathers, on The Daily Show:
Strikewatch: Dear Santa, Make It Stop
It happened around the time Michael Bolton's spandex- and sequin-clad choir (complete with a 77-year-old "silver fox") began to wail and gyrate to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" (a performance critiqued by Nick Lachey with the words, "That's what music is all about!").
My soul began to weep.
See, it was last night that we TV fans truly felt the tragic blow of the writers' strike, as it landed in the form of the premieres of NBC's Clash of the Choirs (celebrities forming choirs to compete) and ABC's Duel (a snooze-worthy game show)—which, sorry, are just about the worst things that have ever aired in the history of television. (And pretty much the only things on last night, which is why nearly 8 million viewers tuned into each of these series.)
Host Maria Menounos called Clash of the Choirs "the biggest party of the season." As ludicrous as that sounds, our greatest fear should be this: that she is right. Most scripted TV shows have few, if any, episodes remaining, so in the next few months, we'll see a slew of bad reality programming headed our way as the networks try to fill the strike void.
How bad will it get? Well, let's just say Paradise Freaking Hotel (you remember that wretched Fox reality trash, right?) is coming back to your television, along with such gems as Baby Borrowers, Millionaire Matchmaker and Celebrity Rehab.
God help us all.
Clearly, our only hope is for some sort of strike-resolution miracle, and quick. So, what would be a good motivator to get the studios and writers back to the table, stat? How about you and I agree not to watch this inane reality and game-show "programming" the networks are trying to spoon-feed us in the hopes we won't notice that The Office and Ugly Betty are off the air? How about we allow the networks to feel the Nielsen impact of the lack of quality programming, just as we are feeling the gastrointestinal impact of Bolton's band in spandex?
It certainly couldn't hurt.
Post your thoughts below.
(And yes, I know I'm cranky. Bah, humbug.)