Jennie Garth Moves Back to 'Beverly Hills, 90210'
Kelly Taylor is back.
Jennie Garth, who was rumored to return to her old stomping grounds at West Beverly High, will indeed join the cast of The CW's spinoff of "Beverly Hills, 90210," reports People.
Garth, 36, will make special guest appearances as a guidance counselor at her alma mater. She is the first original cast member to hitch herself to the project and the second person to be cast as part of the faculty after Ryan Eggold, who will play an English lit teacher.
The show will center on the experiences of the Mills family when they move to Beverly Hills because of the latest drunken exploits of grandmother Tabitha Mills (Jessica Walter), a has-been Hollywood starlet. Lori Loughlin will play her daughter-in-law Celia, while granddaughter Annie (Shenae Grimes) and adopted grandson Dixon (Tristan Wilds) maneuver through the hallways of West Beverly High.
Also previously cast are Jessica Stroup, AnnaLynne McCord and Dustin Milligan.
Garth recently exited the CBS pilot "My Best Friend's Girl," sparking rumors that she was freeing herself up for appearances on the as-yet untitled "90210" project. Although she made a name for herself on the original show, she also enjoyed a run on "What I Like About You" and performed honorably on "Dancing With the Stars."
Mellencamp's 'Life' Goes Hi-Fi With Hear Music
John Mellencamp's "Life, Death, Love and Freedom," produced by T-Bone Burnett and due July 15 via Hear Music, will be released in a new high-definition audio format dubbed CODE.
CODE technology, developed by Burnett and a team of engineers, creates high-definition audio files that are virtually indistinguishable from the original masters.
To address possible compatibility issues, "Life" will be packaged as a two-disc set, with the standard edition of the album on CD and the CODE version of the album on DVD. The set will be priced as if it were a single-disc package.
Burnett recently told Billboard of his experience working with Mellencamp, "I didn't offer much direction, really, but he was certainly open. He encouraged me to play guitar a lot on the record, which I enjoyed."
"Life" will be available at Starbucks locations in the U.S. and Canada as well as at traditional retail outlets.
As previously reported, Mellencamp will embark on a month-long summer tour in support of "Life" starting July 8 at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia with Lucinda Williams providing support on most dates.
Here is the track list to "Life, Death, Love and Freedom":
1. "Longest Days"
2. "My Sweet Love"
3. "If I Die Sudden"
4. "Troubled Land"
5. "Young Without Lovers"
6. "John Cockers"
7. "Don't Need This Body"
8. "A Ride Back Home"
9. "Without A Shot"
10. "Jena"
11. "Mean"
12. "County Fair"
13. "For The Children"
14. "A Brand New Song"
'Speed Racer' gets passed in its debut
LOS ANGELES - "Speed Racer" was lapped in its opening weekend at the box office as "Iron Man" continued to fire its jets with $50.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The anime-inspired race movie edged into the No. 2 spot with $20.2 million, slightly ahead of the 20th Century Fox comedy "What Happens in Vegas," which debuted at $20 million.
"Our tracking was stalled toward the end," said Dan Fellman, president of Warner Bros. theatrical distribution, about market surveys before the "Speed Racer" opening.
Fellman added "Speed Racer" would have difficulty recouping its $120 million budget.
"Unfortunately it didn't perform to our expectations," he said.
"Speed Racer" was panned by many film critics and was made by the Wachowski brothers, best known for the "Matrix" franchise.
"What Happens in Vegas," a romantic comedy that cost $35 million and stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, shot the gap between the action flicks, said Chris Aronson, senior vice president at 20th Century Fox.
"We were sandwiched between the comic book movie of 'Iron Man' and 'Speed Racer,'" Aronson said. "We come along with a character-driven movie in what is now considered summer and it's just a great result."
Revenue for Marvel Studios' "Iron Man" slipped just 49 percent in its second week in theaters, a respectable showing considering its massive opening, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.
"'Iron Man' is basically pulling everybody's audience. It's really dominating the marketplace," he said.
Five of the top 10 grossing movies were comedies, including Sony Pictures' Patrick Dempsey-led film, "Made of Honor," which took in $7.6 million in its second week, for fourth place.
The weekend's total domestic box office gross hit $128 million, up 21 percent from last year. But year-to-date revenue was still down 2.5 percent at $2.93 billion, while attendance was off 5.3 percent.
Over the next few weeks, several big movies will take a shot at knocking "Iron Man" off its perch, starting with "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," opening May 16, and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on May 22.
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Iron Man," $50.5 million.
2. "Speed Racer," $20.2 million.
3. "What Happens in Vegas," $20 million.
4. "Made of Honor," $7.6 million.
5. "Baby Mama," $5.8 million.
6. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $3.8 million.
7. "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $3.2 million.
8. "The Forbidden Kingdom," $1.9 million.
9. "Nim's Island," $1.3 million.
10. "Redbelt," $1.1 million.
Person close to talks: NBC installing Fallon on 'Late Night'
NEW YORK - Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to NBC's "Late Night" franchise following Conan O'Brien's exit.
A person close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't been made confirmed the widely rumored change Sunday and said a news conference was planned for Monday.
All that's left is an official date for NBC's transition: O'Brien moving out West to take over for Jay Leno on the "Tonight" show and Fallon following in the next time slot.
Fallon was a "Saturday Night Live" cast member before leaving for a movie career in 2004. He has had mixed success, with his most notable role as a childlike Boston Red Sox fan and Drew Barrymore's paramour in "Fever Pitch."
He signed a deal with NBC in 2007 that was widely seen as a way to keep him in the fold until the time came for Monday's announcement.
It would be hard for him to have a rockier transition than O'Brien had when he took over from David Letterman in the mid-1990s. O'Brien was a writer with a quick sense of humor but a mystery to the television audience, and he was savaged in early reviews. NBC nearly fired him but persevered, and O'Brien grew into the role.
It was in large part to keep O'Brien happy that NBC announced four years ago that he would replace Leno next year.
While Leno went along with the plan, there are reports that the workaholic comic is not eager to leave. NBC Universal is trying to find a job that would satisfy him and avoid having Leno move to ABC or Fox to compete directly against O'Brien.
NBC could decide to back out of the plan and keep Leno on "Tonight," but O'Brien's contract calls for a penalty fee reportedly close to $40 million.
It all amounts to a roll of the dice in late-night, where NBC has stayed on top despite the network's prime-time problems.
NBC's announcement opens network television's "upfront" week, when fall schedules are set and presented to advertisers. NBC took the unusual step of announcing its schedule a month ago, and it has invited advertisers for a Monday sales presentation emphasizing all of NBC Universal's properties.