Mr. Big out, Goldblum in for `Criminal Intent'
LOS ANGELES - Mr. Big is out, and Mr. Goldblum is in.
Jeff Goldblum will be joining "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" while Chris Noth — Mr. Big in the "Sex and the City" TV show and movie — is leaving after three seasons, a series spokeswoman said Thursday.
"Criminal Intent," part of the "Law & Order" franchise that includes the original series and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," recently was picked up for a 16-episode eighth season by USA Network.
"Jeff's presence will add a new dimension to an already successful show," series creator Dick Wolf said.
Noth's character, New York police Detective Mike Logan, was a member of the "Law & Order" family since the start, Wolf noted, adding, "We all wish him the best."
Noth played Logan on the original NBC series from 1990 to '95, in a "Law & Order" TV movie and then on "Criminal Intent" starting in 2005. The show's seventh season airs Sundays on USA.
A call requesting comment from Noth was not immediately returned by his representative.
Goldblum recently starred in the short-lived NBC series "Raines" but is mostly known as a film actor with credits that include "Jurassic Park," "The Lost World," "Independence Day" and "The Fly."
He shared an Academy Award nomination in 2005 for the live-action short film "Little Surprises."
"Criminal Intent" originally aired on NBC. But when the network decided that last season's schedule had room for only two of the shows a deal was struck to air "Criminal Intent" first on USA, then on NBC.
NBC and USA are corporate cousins within NBC Universal, and "Criminal Intent" reruns on USA already had proved among its most popular programming.
"Criminal Intent," which looks at cases from both the perspective of police and lawbreakers, stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe and Eric Bogosian.
'Dark Knight' credits pay tribute to Ledger
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heath Ledger is getting a fond tribute from his collaborators on "The Dark Knight." The end credits of the "Batman Begins" sequel include a farewell note to Ledger, who died in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs; and to special-effects technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident.
"In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe," reads the tribute included in the credits, which went up Thursday on the Warner Bros. publicity Web site.
Ledger plays the villainous Joker in "The Dark Knight," who begins a reign of terror on Gotham City that pits him against conflicted hero Batman (Christian Bale).
Arriving in theaters July 18, the movie reteams Bale with director Christopher Nolan and returning co-stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Joining the cast are Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Beginning months before Ledger's death, his frenetic performance and demented-clown makeup have been a cornerstone of the marketing campaign for the film.
"I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on such an iconic role," Nolan says in the production notes for "The Dark Knight." "Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning, it's captivating. ... It's going to blow people away."