
Justin Timberlake
Image by: Screen Gems
If you’re old enough to
remember disco’s heyday, then you know Casablanca Records. It was the dance
music record label of the 1970s, home to Donna Summer, The Village People, Cher
and even Kiss (who scored their one disco hit thanks to the label). And it was
masterminded by marketing genius Neil Bogart, who was as extravagant and party-minded
as the times themselves. Well now Spinning Gold, a biopic about the late
music mogul, is in the works with Justin Timberlake acting as both producer and
star. There’s no other cast or details just yet (for example, who’ll play
Summer and Cher? Where will they find enough rollerskates?), but when it all
falls into place you can expect a trip into hedonism, hit songs, happy-making
chemicals and "Hot Stuff."
Lee Daniels taking a trip to
Valley of the Dolls
In 1966 it was a wildly
popular, groundbreaking scandal of a novel. Then, in 1967 it was a wildly
popular (and compellingly bad) movie. Over the years there’ve been sequels to
the book, a TV miniseries version in the ’80s and even a low-budget, syndicated
late-night soap opera in the 1990s. The cult of Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of
the Dolls is that strong, with new generations discovering its retro glamour
and trashy appeal. So it makes sense that Precious director Lee Daniels wants
to resurrect it all once again for television. His plan is for a primetime
series, not cheap midnight fare, but that’s about the only information
available for now. In other words, there’s little more here than an
announcement, but sometimes announcements are all you need to stir up the
excitement of hardcore Valley fans. Details as they develop.
Ellen DeGeneres and Jane
Lynch will make it a Laughing Stock
Comedy junkies, get ready,
because Laughing Stock is coming. A project from veteran comic/director David
Steinberg and producer Steve Carell, the forthcoming Showtime series promises
interviews and profiles of the most prolific comic talents of the past fifty
years. The short list alone is impressive: Carell, Ellen DeGeneres, Tina Fey,
Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Mel Brooks, Chris Rock, Larry David,
Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner, Don Rickles and more. In other words, over the
course of the 10-episode series, you’ll get to hear way too many firsthand
accounts of what drives funny people to do what they and witness the mechanics
of comedy dissected by people who are usually always "on." The punchline? You
have to wait until 2012.
The Glee Project refuses to
stop believing
Glee? A record-breaking pop
culture phenomenon. But The Glee Project? Less so. How much less so? Well,
remember that 3D Glee concert movie that nobody went to see? The low-rated
Glee Project was sort of like that, only free and on television. In other
words, they couldn’t give it away. But sometimes shows just need time to
develop and build their audience. And the powers that be must have gotten at
least something of what they wanted from the reality competition, because a
second season casting call is already in the works. Will tenacity pay off for
the struggling Oxygen show? Will an audience rise up to meet it during season
two? And does it matter? Because either way, it’s probably a cost-effective way
to restock the show as aging "high schoolers" move on, no matter how many
people tune in for the process.
Romeo San Vicente never stopped believing, but then again he never really started in the first place.