'BB7' votes pouring in
'Big Brother' fans are voting and voting often.
According to CBS, within 18 hours of the ‘Big Brother: All-Stars’ polls being open on CBS.com , over 2.4 million votes for which former Big Brother Houseguests fans would most like to see compete this summer have been cast.
The polls close on Wednesday, June 28 at 11:59 PM, ET/8:59 PM, PT.
The opening twist this year is that viewers have the opportunity to vote for which former Houseguests should compete this season, choosing half of the Houseguests who will ultimately enter the house. Three men and three women will be picked. The producers will be selecting all the rest of the players. Although 12 players will be starting the series, it is rumoured that in the end 14 to 16 competitors will be playing the 'Big Brother: All-Stars' game.
The All-Stars entering the house will be announced during the premiere on Thursday, July 6 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS.
For those who missed it, the special casting episode will be rebroadcast this Saturday, June 24 at 8:00 PM.
"Futurama" Pulls a "Family Guy"
Comedy Central is going back to the Futurama.
Three years after the show last aired on prime time, the cable net has signed a deal to resurrect the former Fox animated series for a minimum 13-episode run.
Comedy Central will start airing the new shows in 2008.
"We are thrilled that Matt Groening and 20th Century Fox Television have decided to produce new episodes of Futurama and that Comedy Central will be the first to air them," said David Bernath, the cable net's senior VP.
The new episode order is part of a larger deal Comedy Central made with the production company last year, when they bought the syndicated rights to Futurama's 72-episode library.
"There is a deep and passionate fan base for this intelligent and very funny show that matches perfectly with our audience, and it is great that we can offer them not just the existing library but something they've never seen as well," Bernath told the Hollywood Reporter.
The offbeat show was the brainchild of The Simpsons mastermind Groening and writer David X. Cohen and debuted on Fox in March 1999. The series revolved around Fry, a pizza delivery boy who is accidentally frozen for a thousand years. When he wakes up in the year 3000, he befriends a sassy one-eyed pilot, Leela, and a cranky robot, Bender, who both work for an intergalactic delivery service run by a distant nephew of Fry's.
In August 2003, after five seasons and three Emmys, including the 2002 award for Best Animated Series, Futurama was canceled due to low ratings.
Reruns of the show, however, were picked up by Cartoon Network, and just like cable home did with Family Guy before it, the move paved the way for a Futurama revival.
Both shows aired on the Cartoon Network and quickly built up unexpectedly robust ratings.
In 2004, Stewie & Co. were resuscitated by to Fox thanks to staggering DVD sales--the show ranks as the fourth-biggest TV series seller ever--and its proliferation in reruns.
In January of this year, 20th Century Fox began talks with Comedy Central to revive the long-gone Futurama as well, thanks to its resurgence in popularity courtesy of its second life in reruns and high--though not Family Guy high--DVD sales.
The cable net has already re-signed voice stars Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio to reprise their animated roles.
In the meantime, new Futurama plots can already be had in comic book form, with Groening's Bongo Comics releasing the stories.
"Iron Man" Can in 2008
Batman last summer. Superman this summer. Spider-Man next summer. And coming in summer 2008: A superhero in a can.
A big-screen, live-action movie about the armor-encased Marvel Comics' character known as Iron Man will break into theaters on May 2, 2008, Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment announced Friday.
The moves positions Iron Man as the first popcorn picture of summer 2008, as well as the first one with a definitive release date. Other high-profile projects circling the territory include additions to the Chronicles of Narnia and Indiana Jones franchises.
As previously announced, Iron Man will be directed by Jon Favreau. The Swingers star turned Elf helmer recently told the Calgary Sun that shooting will start in January.
No cast has been announced; no Iron Man man has been confirmed. Favreau said he wants "someone with experience but a low profile."
"Stars bring too much baggage with them," Favreau said in the Calgary Sun. "I don't think Daredevil benefited by casting Ben Affleck at the height of his popularity, even if he did desperately want to play the character."
Favreau costarred with Affleck in Daredevil.
In the past, Tom Cruise and would-be Superman/incumbent Ghost Rider Nicolas Cage have been linked to Iron Man, a factoid that helps illustrate how far back Iron Man's past runs. For years, the hero toiled in development hell. His luck seemed to change in late 2004 when New Line Cinema announced Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) would direct.
But Iron Man's close-up didn't happen. Marvel reclaimed its pile of tin last year. Around the same time, the comics giant announced plans for 10 self-financed superhero movies to be released by Paramount. Iron Man will be the first to emerge from that deal, beating the likes of Captain America and Ant-Man to the multiplex. According to Variety, Captain America will be next on the soundstage after Iron Man, the shield-baring hero's foe in Marvel Comics' much-hyped new Civil Wars series.
Captain America is being primed for a 2009 release, the trade paper said. Scripts are also in the works for Thor, Nick Fury and the aforementioned Ant-Man.
The Marvel/Paramount pact looks to safeguard against any disruptions in the superhero pipeline. Last summer, Batman Begins and Fantastic Four fed the fanboy need. This summer, X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns, opening Wednesday, will do their part. Next summer, it'll be up to the likes of Spider-Man 3.
Though not an icon like Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, Iron Man is no newcomer--he made his comic-book debut in 1963.
According to his official Marvel biography, Iron Man was born Anthony Edward Stark in Long Island, New York, where presumably he led a happy life until in superhero tradition his parents were killed, and all sorts of bad/weird stuff started happening, including a bad ticker that led him to suit up in Hormel-approved duds. Known as Tony to friends, Stark heads Stark Enterprises. In his spare time, he fights evildoers with the Avengers.
TV producer Aaron Spelling dies at 83
LOS ANGELES - Aaron Spelling, a onetime movie bit player who turned to television production and created a massive number of hit series, from the vintage "Charlie's Angels" and "Dynasty" to "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place," died Friday, his publicist said. He was 83.
Spelling died at his home in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke on June 18, according to publicist Kevin Sasaki.
Spelling's other hit series included "Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Burke's Law," "The Mod Squad," "Starsky and Hutch," "T.J. Hooker," "Matt Houston," "Hart to Hart" and "Hotel." He kept his hand in 21st-century TV with series including "7th Heaven" and "Summerland."
He also produced more than 140 television movies. Among the most notable: "Death Sentence" (1974), Nick Nolte's first starring role; "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" (1976), John Travolta's first dramatic role; "The Best Little Girl in the World" (1981), which starred Jennifer Jason Leigh.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Spelling provided series and movies exclusively for ABC and is credited for the network's rise to major status. Jokesters referred to it as "The Aaron Broadcasting Company."