"Sunshine" expands; a new role for Pegg

Finally, someone with some power is listening to me. Well, probably not, but I think I'll take a smidgen of credit anyway.

I've been ranting for a while now to anyone who will listen that the very thin distribution of "Little Miss Sunshine" has been simply criminal. Now comes word that this Sundance fave will go nationwide at more than 1,500 theaters Aug. 25 (not sure if this will be quite wide enough to hit Macon, Ga., but if not, I just might take to the streets.)

What has been particularly apalling to me about the marketing of "Sunshine" is that, along with having a variety of fairly big-name stars, it seems to be a family film. OK, an oddball, road-trip family film, but certainly not anything that would damage the psyches of those of us who reside in the hinterlands.

With Beerfest coming and then, hopefully, this little but growing gem, maybe August won't be so dreadful after all.

Get Alienated by Simon Pegg

This one should just be pure fun. Coming on the heels of the "surprising" (to who?) success of "The Devil Wears Prada," Simon Pegg has been cast as British writer Toby Young, who dished about his days at "Vanity Fair" in the book "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People."

According to Variety, Young is very hard on himself about his hapless attempts to cuddle up to celebrities and supermodels, but equally scathing about Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.

No word yet on who will play Carter, but whoever it is should have a ball with this mass of ego. Pegg is the perfect choice for Young. He showed his impeccable comic timing in "Shaun of the Dead" and, in a small but welcome part, in "M:I:III." No word yet on when "Hot Fuzz," the follow-up from the "Shaun" team, will hit the U.S., but I'll definitely be there for that. (By the way, if you know this info, please don't be afraid to share.)

In case you needed any more incentive to look forward to the Vanity Fair expose, Robert Weide, co-executive producer and sometime director of the sublime "Curb Your Enthusiasm," will make his feature film directing debut with this one. Sounds like a perfect match to me.

A date for "Doctor Who"

As I shared here earlier, season two of "Doctor Who" will be coming to Sci Fi in September. Now comes word that the specific date will be Sept. 29, starting with the two-hour "Christmas Invasion" special that introduced David Tennant as the 10th incarnation of the good doctor.

Since I posted a picture of Mr. Tennant with the last post, here, in the interest of equal time and because I want to is one of la bella Billie Piper, who will be returning as the good doctor's partner in battle, Rose Tyler.

Coming one week later, Oct. 6, will be the third-season premiere of "Battlestar Galactica." With these two shows back-to-back, Sci Fi has one seriously solid block of programming for Fridays (second, in my mind, only to the upcoming "Gilmore Girls"-"Veronica Mars" block coming to the CW on Tuesdays.)