Oprah Winfrey to Interview 'Help' Stars, Jonah Hill on OWN Oscar Special

Oprah Winfrey to Interview 'Help' Stars, Jonah Hill on OWN Oscar Special

Oprah Winfrey is reviving her Oscar tradition on her network.

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will air "Oprah's Oscar Special" on Feb. 15 at 9 p.m. The two-hour special will see Winfrey interviewing "The Help" stars Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, as well as "Moneyball" star Jonah Hill. All three are up for Academy Awards this year.

OWN promises that the special will offer "revealing and intimate interviews, as only Oprah can capture, with the nominees as they prepare for Hollywood’s biggest night."

Winfrey has hosted primetime Oscar specials before, albeit on ABC. The most recent one, in 2010, featured interviews with Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz, as well as James Cameron and the stars of "Avatar."

The 84th Annual Academy Awards will air on ABC on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Jon Voight and Elliott Gould Join Showtime Pilot 'Ray Donovan'

Jon Voight and Elliott Gould Join Showtime Pilot 'Ray Donovan'

Jon Voight and Elliott Gould have joined the cast of the upcoming Showtime drama pilot "Ray Donovan," the network said Thursday.

Voight will play Mickey Donovan, the father of the title character, a Los Angeles-based "troubleshooter." (Liev Schreiber signed on for the title role in December.) Mickey is a recently sprung convict who heads to L.A. to re-connect with his family -- though apparently with ulterior motives.

Gould, meanwhile, will portray Ezra Goodman, a senior partner at a law firm who serves as Ray's mentor and confidante, but shows signs of dementia.

"Sherlock Holmes" actor Eddie Marsan, Dash Mihok (I Am Legend") and Paula Malcomson have also joined the cast, as Ray's brothers and wife.

Production on the pilot will begin early this year in Los Angeles, with "Southland" creator Ann Biderman serving as creator and executive producer. Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff will also serve as executive producers.

Development Update......

Development Update......

ARROW (The CW) - David Ramsey ("Blue Bloods") has been cast in the drama pilot, which stars Stephen Amell as DC Comics hero Oliver Queen a.k.a. Green Arrow. He'll play John Diggle, a former Army Ranger-turned-private security expert whom Oliver's mother Moira hires to keep tabs on him following his return, much to his chagrin. David Nutter is directing the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from executive producers Andrew Kreisberg, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. (Variety.com)

CHELSEA GENERAL (TNT) - Alfred Molina and Bill Irwin have both been cast in the drama pilot, about the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. The former is set as Dr. Harding Hooten, "the steely-eyed Chief of Surgery at Chelsea General, known for his punishing and outwardly-uncaring ways," while the latter will play Dr. Buck Tierney, "a smug doctor who takes himself very seriously and rubs his colleagues the wrong way." Jamie Bamber and Jennifer Finnigan also star in the project, from writer David E. Kelley and director Bill D'Elia. (Deadline.com)

COUNTY (NBC) - Aimee Garcia ("Trauma") has joined the cast of the Jason Katims-penned drama pilot, about "a group of young doctors, nurses, and administrators in a frenetic underfunded and morally compromising Los Angeles County Hospital." She'll play Rosa ("Hispanic, ball of fire, sharpwitted and shut down from her emotions"), one of the interns, alongside the previously cast Jason Ritter as Jack Malloy ("smart, compassionate, unexpectedly relentless"). Universal Television is producing. (Deadline.com)

CULT (The CW) - Alona Tal ("Supernatural") has been cast in the drama pilot, about "an inquisitive, young female production assistant (Jessica Lucas) on a wildly popular television show called 'Cult' who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life." She'll play Kelly Collins, the fictional star of "Cult," an LAPD detective who's doggedly pursing Billy Grimm, the cult's mastermind. Said role was originally written as a male in its previous incarnation (Matthew Logan/"Eric Collins"). Jason Ensler is helming the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from creator Rockne S. O'Bannon. (Deadline.com)

LADY FRIENDS (NBC) - Andrea Anders ("Mr. Sunshine") has booked a lead role on the comedy pilot, about "two life-long female friends who are living very different lives but can't live without each other." She'll play one of them, Nicole Lambert ("39-ish, pretty, skinny, smart, fun and needy"), in the half-hour, which comes from creator Kari Lizer and Warner Bros. Television. (Deadline.com)

LAST RESORT (ABC) - Daisy Betts ("Persons Unknown") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about the crew of a nuclear submarine, who, after disobeying a suspicious order, become fugitives, ultimately take over the NATO Listening Post and declare themselves an independent nuclear nation. She's on board as Lt. Grace Shepard ("new to the sub and to command positions; grew up as a family friend of Chaplin's [Andre Braugher] through her Admiral father; gutsy, a battler"). Daniel Lissing also stars in the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, to be directed by Martin Campbell from a script by Karl Gajdusek and Shawn Ryan. (Deadline.com)

REVOLUTION (NBC) - Jon Favreau ("Cowboys & Aliens") has signed on to direct the drama pilot, which follows a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. He'll work from a script by Eric Kripke, who's executive produce alongside Bryan Burk and J.J. Abrams for Warner Bros. Television. Said development will likely push production on Favreau's comedy pilot "Tweaked" at CBS until later this year. (Deadline.com)

UNTITLED KEVIN WILLIAMSON PROJECT (FOX) - James Purefoy ("Camelot") has boarded the Kevin Bacon-led drama pilot, about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers and a retired FBI profiler (Bacon) who finds himself in the middle of it. He'll play said killer, Joe Carroll ("his eyes are not evil; they're warm; full of easy charm"), in the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, from writer Kevin Williamson and director Marcos Siega (Deadline.com)

THE VIAGRA DIARIES (HBO) - Wendi McLendon-Covey ("Bridesmaids") has scored a role on the Goldie Hawn-led comedy pilot, about a woman who, after her husband has a "mid-life crisis" at 65 and leaves her, struggles with being single for the first time in 35 years. She'll play Hope, the therapist daughter of Hawn's character Claire. Paul Feig is helming the half-hour from a script by Darren Star, which in turn is based on the book of the same name by Barbara Rose Brooker. (Deadline.com)

'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Re-Ups With Sony Pictures TV

'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Re-Ups With Sony Pictures TV

Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan has extended his contract with the studio that produces the show, Sony Pictures Television, in a deal that will take him through its fifth and final season.

The 18-month deal will include any additional shows that Gilligan develops during that time, according to Sony -- though there was no word on what the "X-Files" has planned after his Emmy-winning AMC series.

"Breaking Bad" will return in the fall with 16 episodes that are expected to be split into two eight-episode halves.

The deal has been expected since tense negotiations between Sony and AMC led to a deal for the show's fifth and final season.

Adele Talks Throat Injury With Anderson Cooper

Adele Talks Throat Injury With Anderson Cooper

The Grammys won't be the only place where Adele's voice will be making a comeback on Sunday.

The "Rolling in the Deep" chanteuse -- who was forced to cancel her U.S. tour in October due to a hemorrhaged polyp on her vocal cord -- will appear on "60 Minutes" on Sunday prior to the Grammys to discuss her injury and subsequent recovery with Anderson Cooper.

One of the most troubling aspects of her impairment? It left her unable to curse. Luckily, the miracle of modern technology came to the rescue.

“I ... had an application on my phone that you type the words into it and then it speaks it,” Adele reveals during the segment. “But the great thing is I love to swear. Most of [the apps] you can’t swear on, but I found this one app where you can swear, so I’m still really getting my point across.”

While the singer -- who had laser surgery to remove the polyp -- tells Cooper that she has renewed confidence in her singing after undergoing the procedure, she does admit to be wary of pushing her voice too hard for fear of a relapse.

“If I decide to go on a 200-date world tour, it would happen again," the singer notes.

Bart Simpson Gets the High-Fashion Treatment

Bart Simpson Gets the High-Fashion Treatment

The next time Bart Simpson says "Eat my shorts," he'll be talking about a considerably fancier set of duds.

The cartoon iconoclast will make his Fashion Week debut on Wednesday, as the yellow-hued muse of fashion designer Jeremy Scott's new line.

That's right, Bart Simpson -- who's worn the same red T-shirt and blue shorts for the past 23 years -- is hitting the runway.

"I just absolutely fell in love with Bart; I just thought, you know, he would be so great to have as a sweater," Scott -- who has given the high-fashion treatment to the Flintstones and Mickey and Minnie Mouse -- says of his decision to create the collection, which will comprise "six or eight" pieces.

Plus, Scott notes, it gives Springfield's most notorious rabble-rouser a chance to hang out with a different crowd.

"It's sexy supermodels and it's Bart; I don't think he's had that run yet," the designer says.

The Simpsons-inspired line -- which will make its premiere during Scott's Fashion Week show at Milk Studios in New York on Feb. 15 -- won't be for everyone, and would most likely be out of Homer and Marge's price range. ("It's definitely for a higher-end clientele," Scott admits.) But Scott's creations are part of a larger plan to evolve "The Simpsons" into a lifestyle brand, now that the show's audience has solidly grown beyond the younger crowd and into the moneyed demographics.

"'The Simpsons' has been evolving as a lifestyle brand as the audience has grown to include everyone," Jeffrey Godsick, president of Fox Consumer Products, told TheWrap. Godsick points to the line of Simpsons skateboards (and upcoming snowboard line) made by the Santa Cruz company as an earlier example of the expansion. While he was reluctant to divulge further plans for the lifestyle branding of the series, he did tell TheWrap that Fox has spoken to "a couple of European designers" and other creative types about possible products.

As for whether earlier fans of the series will be put off by "The Simpsons" being put out of their price range by products such as Scott's line, Godsick remains confident that audiences won't be alienated.

"You can buy 'Simpsons' apparel at so many price points all around the world that there's an opportunity for everyone to buy it at any level," Godsick notes.

But what about Bart Simpson himself say? What would the famously irreverent rascal say about his inclusion in the hoity-toity world of high fashion?

"He would say, 'Don't have a cow, man,'" Scott offered.

Snooki and JWoww's 'Jersey Shore' Spinoff Finds a Home

Snooki and JWoww's 'Jersey Shore' Spinoff Finds a Home

"Jersey Shore" star Snooki has finally found a place to hang her, um, poof when her spinoff series begins filming.

Jersey City, N.J. has given the green light to Snooki (born Nicole Polizzi) and her co-star JWoww (nee Jenni Farley) to film their "Shore" offshoot there.

Also read: "Jersey Shore" Spinoff Banned From Filming in Hoboken

MTV confirmed the location to TheWrap, and said that “Snooki and JWoww are happy to know they’ll be filming in their favorite state once again.”

The city has issued filming permits for the series, which is slated to begin filming in Jersey City's Grove Street Path neighborhood next month, the Associated Press reports.

A Jersey City spokeswoman indicated that 495 Productions, which produces "Jersey Shore" and will also produce the spinoff, will have to hire police to minimize any disorder the production might create.

The go-ahead comes following an arduous search for a location; in late January, Hoboken's mayor said that the city had shot down a request for a film permit for the series, citing safety concerns and noting that the spin-off would have required a 24-hour filming permit, which would violate the city's rule against filming past 11 p.m. in a residential area.

Snooki and JWoww are used to receiving scorn from the populations they would film amongst. Prior to filming season four of "Jersey Shore" in Italy, Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi reportedly placed strict filming rules on the cast and crew.

Had Jersey City not come through, Polizzi and Farley still had another option -- the city of Jersey Shore, Penn. -- yes, Pennsylvania -- extended an invitation to the show to film there.