See Rainn Wilson as "The Rocker"

Not too much to report today, especially because - as usual - I'm already running late for work, but I figured just about everyone's Thursday would be brightened up at least a bit by the sight of Rainn Wilson in a really goofy haircut.

Before we get to that, however, there's good news today that for at least one veteran New Line director, John Waters, there will indeed be life after Warner Bros devoured and basically shuttered the little studio.

For his first feature film in four years, Waters is expected to be back with a "Christmas" movie called "Fruitcake," and the news today is that he's landed Johnny Knoxville and Parker Posey to star in it.

Now, in spite of that rather colorful title, this isn't an autobiographical flick, as many might believe. Instead, as with the previous Waters film "Pecker," the title simply refers to the nickname of the main character, a young boy named after his favorite dessert. Plot details are slim so far, but it apparently focuses on what happens when the youth runs away from home during the holidays after he and his parents are caught shoplifting meat, then meets up with a runaway girl raised by two gay men and searching for her birth mother.

Sounds as twisted as anything Waters has cooked up before, but hopefully with a sweet touch rather than simply gross. Look for it next Christmas, most likely from ThinkFilm.

In one other bit of news about "The Office," which has its penultimate episode tonight, it seems "The Wire" veteran and Oscar nominee Amy Ryan will be introduced as the new HR person when Toby departs next week. I'll really miss Toby, but assuming the great Ms. Ryan stays on for next season and more, I'd still have to say this is a case of trading up.

But now on to today's main course. As goofy as this looks, I'm hoping it will pair nicely with "Pineapple Express" to give us the kind of comedies that August so sorely needs. At the very least, Wilson should be a hoot. Enjoy this trailer for "The Rocker," and have a perfectly passable Thursday. Peace out.

The flameout of "Jezebel James"

Even if the end was inevitable - because the show was in many ways just bloody awful - this is still an awfully harsh fall from grace for the creator of the often sublime "Gilmore Girls."

After airing only three episodes (over just two weeks) of the only seven episodes ordered, Fox has indeed already pulled the plug on Amy Sherman-Palladino's new show, "The Return of Jezebel James." To give credit where it's squarely due, this news was broken by TV-obsessed Michael Ausiello here.

There were a number of factors going against this show from the outset, but though it pains me to say it, the biggest problem was easily Parker Posey. It wasn't that she's not Lauren Graham - because there can of course only be one of those rather perfect human specimens - but a whole other problem.

Posey could keep up with ASP's rapid-fire dialogue, which hasn't seemed to slow down much at all, but in order to do so she had to adapt the mannerisms of a meth addict, which along with being thoroughly annoying just didn't gel too well with her New York book publisher persona. Lauren Ambrose fared better by playing it a little more cool, but still ended up often looking nothing but awkward.

The second big killer was that laugh track, which is easily the worst I've heard in many years (though I don't watch many sitcoms.) Why do networks still use this? It never sounds real, and when it's turned up very loud in all the wrong places - as on "Jezebel James" - it just points out how unfunny the show really is.

If I can digress a bit, it was great to see Sarah Chalke on "How I Met Your Mother" - another show that should just dump its laugh track - last night. Britney was, as I guess should have been expected, just pretty darn awful, but Chalke was just as charming as she's always been on "Scrubs." Could she be the secret "Mother" in this puzzle? Probably not, but that would indeed be pretty friggin cool if so.

But, getting back to "Jezebel James," the real shame here is that buried beneath all its obvious faults was the foundation for a pretty good show. The relationship between these two sisters with almost entirely different views of the world could well have developed into something very interesting, but for once at least I can't blame Fox: The gap between potential and payoff was just too wide with this one. R.I.P. Jezebel James.

The "Cadillac" of movie casts?

I've recently added Blackfilm.com to my morning reading list (in place of the froggy site Cinempire.com, which has just fallen off precipitously of late), and it's definitely a welcome addition.

As might be expected, they tend to track the minute details of movies that others pay little attention to, as they're doing with the rather fun-sounding "Cadillac Records," which is quickly attracting quite an A-list cast.

The newest addition is Gabrielle Union, who I'll admit to being smitten with ever since "Bring It On." She'll play Geneva Wade, the girlfriend and later wife of Muddy Waters, being played by the great Jeffrey Wright.

Written and directed by first-time feature (but long-time TV) director Darnell Martin, the story is about Leonard Chess, the legendary founder of the South Side Chicago blues label Chess Records, who will be played by Adrian Brody. Also confirmed for the biopic are Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Beyonce Knowles (heard of her?) as Etta James, Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, Columbus Short as Little Walter and, easily one of my favorite actors working today, Mos Def as Chuck Berry.

Mos Def as Chuck Berry? It just doesn't get much cooler than that, so definitely keep your eyes on this one. Peace out.