Thursday fun, of Clint Eastwood, baseball and Marilyn Monroe, too

Actually, before we get into any of that, Fox really knows what it's doing with "The New Girl," the only new sitcom I've committed to watching every episode of (though I caught No. 2 of "Suburgatory," and that was pretty wickedly funny, too.)

I'm not talking about replacing "the black guy" after only one episode with another one, but instead realizing that the reason people tune in is to see smart, funny women clearly having a lot of fun.

It starts with Zooey Deschanel, of course, and she's been a trooper so far, and now they're wisely adding "Party Down" star Lizzy Caplan for a three-episode arc, hopefully beginning very soon.

She will, of course, play the love interest of one of Jess' seriously douchetastic roommates, but having her back on TV at all is indeed reason to, if you'll excuse me for saying it, "Party Down" (especially since that show is truly dead and gone ... forever.)

But the best news I came across this morning was that with the, well at least relative, success of "Moneyball," there's going to be at least one more potentially great baseball movie coming, which will hopefully continue that welcome trend.

Clint Eastwood said his turn in front of the camera in "Gran Torino" would be his last acting gig, but it seems he's taken to that retirement vow about as well as Brett Favre did the first few times. As for "Gran Torino," I really didn't get it the first time I saw it, but despite it's almost thorough lack of subtlety (even by Eastwood's standards), it's a pretty darn fine little flick.

And now, perhaps as a favor to his longtime assistant director, Robert Lorenz, Eastwood is set to star in Lorenz's full directing debut, "Trouble With the Curve." The baseball flick will be about a baseball scout (Eastwood) who is losing his vision with his age. He and his daughter take a final road trip to Atlanta to check out a prospective talent.

That, frankly, sounds like a heck of a lot more fun than Eastwood's upcoming directing effort, "J. Edgar" on Nov. 9, and the world is certainly a better place with more baseball movies in it, so stay tuned for more on this whenever I can find it.

And finally today, in an admittedly short report, where better to leave things than with Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming movie "My Week With Marilyn"? Even in this trailer, you can tell that, along with nailing Marilyn's look just about perfectly, this will, not surprisingly, be another nuanced performance from Williams. The movie, set in England during the filming of "The Prince and the Showgirl," tells the story from the perspective of her lovestruck young assistant as Marilyn worked with Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) in the movie and also happened to be on honeymoon with her husband, Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), at the time. Juicy stuff, so if you're lucky enough to live in a "limited" market, keep an eye out for this one on Nov. 4. Peace out.

Treme gets a surprising third season, plus a free Lizzy Caplan movie

I love David Simon and Eric Overmyer's "Treme," but have to admit, this second season has so far been a real downer. No less entertaining, but, as Simon's stuff often is, very hard-hitting and more than a little difficult to watch.

And still thoroughly engrossing, if you take the time to dive into its tapestry of very richly drawn characters struggling to survive in the world of New Orleans post-Katrina. A bleak place, for sure, but still littered with moments of levity among the drama, with Antoine Batiste's (Wendell Pierce) efforts to start a band a very funny ride.

And now comes word that, even though the second season premiere on April 24 was down nearly 50 percent from the first season premiere, there will indeed a season three next year on HBO, and I can only say bully to that. Simon and crew obviously have a lot more stories to tell from the Crescent City, and I'll be watching.

After that today, there's really a theme in the news, being beautiful women who I like to watch on screen, be it big or small, starting with the confirmed return of Sarah Michelle Gellar to TV, and surprisingly to the channel (sort of) where she started way back when with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Ringer," in which Gellar will play twin sisters, was originally headed to CBS, but has instead been shipped off to the CW, which CBS co-owns. The show is about a set of twins, Bridget and Siobhan, who grew apart after a tragedy and couldn't be more different. Bridget takes over her sister's identity when she goes on the run from the mob. It turns out Siobhan has died in an accident, but she also has a hit out on her. Juicy stuff.

This could of course very be nothing but awful, but I've been known to watch CW shows that are even worse as mindless entertainment after a long day, so I'm in for a few episodes at least of this.

In other TV news about a show actually heading to CBS, the always very funny Kat Dennings will co-star with someone named Beth Behrs (I have no idea who that is, clearly) in something called "Broke Girls," a comedy that revolves around two 22-year-old women who "tackle life in New York City as they try to make their dreams come true." I always like watching her, and if you're looking for a rental, for a romantic comedy that's actually as funny as it is sweet, check out "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," with her and Michael Cera.

And that's a rough segue of sorts, because Cera has signed to a movie called "Magic, Magic," that only caught my eye because it will also co-star one Catalina Sandino Moreno - remember her?

Before resurfacing a couple of years ago in Steven Soderbergh's at-least-five-hour "Che" (OK, I might be exaggerating a bit there, but trust me, only slightly ... what an excruciating act of hubris!), she had only managed to appear in one other movie that I had taken notice of, but it happened to be my favorite movie of 2004, "Maria Full of Grace."

If you haven't seen that little gem, in which she plays a drug mule, rent it as soon as you can find it, and I guarantee you'll love it. And I have no idea what part she'll play in this latest movie, but I do know that it also stars Juno Temple and Emily Browning, is being directed by Sebastian Silva, and is about "a girl on vacation in Chile who begins to lose control of her mental faculties."

OK, enough about that. I promised you a free movie, and here it is. And for a comedy short (that's often pretty painful to watch), it's a real winner. Called "Successful Alcoholics," it's about a couple (Lizzy Caplan and T.J. Miller) who get back together seemingly only so they can manage each other's rather prodigious alcohol intake. Sounds pretty depressing, I know, but not surprisingly, it's also very funny. It's directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and co-written by he and Miller. Enjoy courtesy of Funny or Die, and have a great rest of the weekend. Peace out.

Successful Alcoholics from Lizzy Caplan

If you read one thing today ...

Actually, it's not this, but I'll lead the way. If you never watched Starz's short-lived but rather seriously good "Party Down," you really missed out.

The often wickedly funny show was available for a time streaming on Netflix, and a quick check reveals that that's the case once again. If you have that, put it in your queue, but be warned, this has something to offend just about everyone.

The show, about a group of way underemployed wannabe actors/writers working as caterers, sprang from the minds of "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas and veryfunnyguy Paul Rudd, among others. And now, those two plus stars Adam Scott, Jane Lynch (who obviously moved on to bigger, but not better shows), Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen and others have all contributed to Details magazine's "oral history" of the show, and though you might rightly think nine pages is a lot to read about a show that barely lasted two seasons, I guarantee that this piece charting the series' "rise" and all-too-rapid fall is just a great read.

And in case you missed out on the show entirely (which apparently many, many people did), here's the trailer, which in itself is already full of laughs. Enjoy, and stick around for a video that's even better.



OK, finally today (short report, granted), there's probably no way that Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Commando" is appropriate viewing for a 9-year-old boy, but it's really impossible to hard with the enthusiasm that this Tanzanian kid has for it. It was put together by the African community development group Mamahope, and before it hits you with something to think about at the end, just enjoy Alex giving this spirited shot-by-shot breakdown of the big action scene, in which he rather excitedly explains, "Everything's ready for fighting!" Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

For Saturday, three or four bits of news about people I like

Quick, before I get into any of that, think: How many versions of "Law & Order" are there, and when's the last time you watched a new episode of one?

For me, the answers to those are I have no idea and for at least 10 years or so. It's not that I have anything against "L&O," simply that I prefer them with the late Jerry Orbach. Now, however, I think they've packed a new version with just the right stars to get me to tune in.

Two of my definite favorites, Terrence Howard and Alfred Molina, will rotate on the new "L&O" version "Law & Order:Los Angeles" as, respectively, a deputy district attorney and a prosecutor. Great news on the "Law" side, and though I have no idea who's gonna keep the "Order," you can bet that that's enough to get me to tune in for at least a few episodes when this premieres on NBC presumably some time this fall.

And in related TV news, just about the only possibly positive thing about the demise of the wickedly funny Starz show "Party Down" is that its cast members keep popping up in good shows. Adam Scott will be a regular on "Parks and Recreation" this fall to presumably pitch woo at Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope, and now comes word that Lizzy Caplan has also found a new gig, and a starring one on HBO.

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez production company is developing Julie Klausner's memoir "I Don't Care About Your Band" for Caplan to star in as a HBO series. Though I had never heard of her, Klausner is a comedy writer/comedienne, and her book, as the title implies, is a comedic look at her dating life in New York City with men trying to make it "in bands, as comedians, writers, or worse, as actors." Sounds not too far removed from Caplan's character on "Party Down," and like something I'll definitely tune in for.

And finally, in some actual movie news, it seems that "Precious" director Lee Daniels may have lost - at least temporarily - one movie and picked up another one that sounds at least as good.

For a while now, he's been working on a piece of historical drama called "Selma," which, as you can probably guess from the title, involves the American civil rights movement. Had that come together, it would have (and probably still will) have a pretty epicly good cast, including Liam Neeson as President Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert De Niro (maybe) as George Wallace (try and imagine that). While that was set to start shooting in August, the financing has at least been delayed, and in the meantime, Daniels has jumped onto something that sounds equally up his alley.

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Daniels has now signed on to rewrite and direct something called "The Butler," based on a series of articles by Wil Haygood on Eugene Allen, a White House butler who worked for eight presidents in the 20th century and, of course, had to be witness to some rather amazing events.

The script that Daniels will be working on comes from Danny Strong, a name that may be familiar to fans (like me) of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gilmore Girls." After having long recurring roles on those shows, he went on to write the seriously good HBO movie "Recount," about the shenanigans that lead to George W. Bush becoming president. Along with a sublime performance from Laura Dern as Katherine Harris, it also just delivered a whipsmart story, so I can't imagine Daniels will have to do a thorough rewrite here.

And though this wouldn't start shooting until the end of this year, what makes it a lock to get made before "Selma"? One Denzel Washington has been approached to play the titular butler, and I can't imagine he'd turn it down.

Either way, though I'd love to see Daniels branch out a bit and move beyond matters of race, he's a very talented director to keep your eyes on no matter what comes next.

OK, I really have to get a move on today so I can work a hopefully happy viewing of "Dinner for Schmucks" into a busy Saturday, so I'll just leave you with the perfect closing gift, the Comic-Con panel for "Chuck," in its entirety. I don't know if anyone will bother to watch the whole thing, as I did, so I'll go ahead and tell you now: It doesn't contain the best news of all about the new season coming Sept. 20, that "Terminator" badass and Salisbury, Md., native Linda Hamilton will play Chuck and Ellie's mom (I can't wait to see that!) It does feature the entire cast having a good time, and for fans of the show it's well worth watching. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Peace out.

Of comedy, the good, the bad and the crazy

Before we get into any of that, a bit of bad business for people like me who have become at least partly addicted to those Redbox machines at your local grocery stores.

Since I have a Netflix account, I should surely just be satisfied with that, but far too often I get to the weekend with no new movies in hand and have to give into the Redbox siren. Well, and I guess we shouldn't surprised, knowing that they have us (or at least me) in their grasp, the folks behind this enterprise are at least testing a rate rise.

There's no word on when or if this might go national, but Redbox is now testing out raises (from $1.00) to $1.50 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, $1.25 in Modesto, Calif., and $1.15 in Spokane, Wash., and Miami/West Palm Beach, Fla. Nothing but sinister news there ... stay tuned.

OK, as promised today, it's all about good, bad and simply crazy news about what I at least consider comedy, so here goes.

Let's start, of course, with the crazy. It seems that although "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" did fairly well in its midnight run (only smashing all possible records with $30 million or so), certain young viewers did object to what came before it.

Though its merely a teaser trailer and by all accounts not terribly creepy at all, Cinemark theaters in Texas have pulled the "Paranormal Activity 2" trailer because viewers who were simply there to enjoy some Team Edward vs. Team Jacob action found it to be too scary.

Now, having been scarred for life by "The Blair Witch Project," I made a vow to never watch any more "found footage" horror movies, and therefore haven't seen the first "Paranormal Activity," but just the thought that 30 or so shadowy seconds from the sequel's trailer would be too much for "Twilight" viewers to take is nothing but funny to me.

OK, now on to the good, and if you're a fan of Pee Wee Herman (and if you're not, why not?), I should really say great. It seems that Paul Reubens has come up with a script for a new Pee Wee Herman movie, and has somehow managed to hook Judd Apatow to produce it, meaning this will probably really happen, and fairly fast.

All that's known so far about the plot for this, which is already booked at Universal, is that it will have Pee Wee going on some kind of road trip. No word yet on who would direct this (though I can't imagine it could possibly be Tim Burton), but I'd probably be happy watching Pee Wee simply eat a bowl of Cheerios, so bring it on!

And in a bit of tangential good comedy news, it seems that IFC (which I unfortunately don't get on my cable) has picked up the rights to what are still Apatow's two best creations, the single-season TV shows "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." The only surprise in that news for me was that it's taken so long for this to happen, since "Freaks" is without exaggeration simply one of the best TV shows ever made (and certainly the best one-season-only show), and "Undeclared" is in its own way almost as good.

"Freaks and Geeks" will premiere on IFC this Friday at 11 p.m., and then run there weekly, with encore airings Mondays at the same time. "Undeclared" will follow sometime this fall, and in the best news of all of this, there will be an episode that never managed to make it to the air before the show was canceled after only 17 episodes. If you've somehow never seen either of these and get IFC, just trust me and tune in.


And I guess the comedy troika today wouldn't be complete without the bad (if inevitable), so here goes: Starz has canceled the seriously funny "Party Down" after only two seasons. The show about wannabe actors who work at a catering company was created by "Veronica Mars" mastermind Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd, and has starred (before many of them moved on to shows watched by many more people) Jane Lynch, Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan and even "Freaks and Geeks" vet and veryfunnyguy Martin Starr.

I've been enjoying the second season on Netflix, but once I finally get around to the finale, probably this weekend, I guess I'll join a fairly select group. It seems that only 74,000 people tuned in for the finale when it aired on Starz, giving the show a rather unsensational 0.0 rating (ouch). R.I.P., "Party Down."

But enough of that bad news. The only other thing I have today, before a welcome sneak peek at episode three of the new run of "Futurama," is two intriguing bits of casting news.

Going back to his movie roots in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," Sean Penn is in negotiations to produce, and I'd have to assume star in, a biopic about surfing icon Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz and his family.

And in a sure bit of Oscar bait, Meryl Streep is eyeing the lead role in "Thatcher," which would of course be a biopic about the former British Prime Minister. In another bit of good casting news for this potential flick, Jim Broadbent is likely to play Thatcher's husband, Denis, who I would have to assume spent plenty of time simply saying "yes, dear."

The movie would center on the 17 days in 1982 leading up the Falklands War. As soon as this all comes together, I suppose we should just go ahead and give her the little statue in advance.

And where better to end today than with a clip from the third new episode of "Futurama," coming to Comedy Central Thursday at 10 p.m. Although the first episode last week was much funnier than the second, they both were imbued with that familiar and fun "Futurama" spirit, so I'm looking forward to the whole new season. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

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