Lifetime’s ‘Blue Lagoon’ Reboot Casts Leads

Lifetime’s ‘Blue Lagoon’ Reboot Casts Leads

Young Australian actors Brenton Thwaites and Indiana Evans are following in the footsteps of Christopher Atkins & Brooke Shields and Brian Krause & Milla Jovovich as the leads of The Blue Lagoon, Lifetime’s contemporary remake of the 1980 romance/adventure movie starring Shields and Atkins. (Jovovich and Krause toplined the 1991 sequel.) In the story, which echoes the biblical tale of Adam and Eve and is based on the novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, Thwaites and Evans will play Dane and Emma, a boy and a girl marooned on a tropical island where they grow up together, fall in love and discover sexuality.

The Sony TV-distributed project has been in the works at Lifetime since 2004 with Heather Rutman and Matt Heller as writers. Filming is slated to begin this month in Puerto Rico. Neil Meron, Craig Zadan and Judith Verno are executive producing. Sony and Verno were also behind the recent hit Lifetime movie Untouchable: The Drew Peterson Story. The Blue Lagoon franchise is known for giving young actors their big break. The 1980 film made Shields a household name, while the 1991 sequel Return To The Blue Lagoon launched the career of Milla Jovovich. Thwaites, managed by Industry Entertainment, and Evans have both co-starred on the popular Australian soap opera Home And Away.

Indecency Intrigue: M.I.A.'s Middle Finger and an Unaired Commercial at This Year's Super Bowl

Indecency Intrigue: M.I.A.'s Middle Finger and an Unaired Commercial at This Year's Super Bowl

The FCC isn't likely to fine NBC for the Super Bowl flap. Instead, the agency made a big ruling on a Super Bowl advertisement you might not have heard about.

Between M.I.A.'s flipping the bird and a TV commercial we didn't see thanks to a last-minute FCC decision, Super Bowl XLVI gave those who practice First Amendment law a lot to chew on this year. NBC is probably safe from another FCC indecency crackdown, but that doesn't mean this year's Super Bowl won't be remembered as an important one in the ongoing struggle to square free speech with tasteful broadcast television.

Up first is the middle finger by M.I.A., the British musician who delivered a verse and a whole lot more during Madonna's performance on Sunday.

The surprise gesture caught NBC sleeping, as an attempt to censor it came too late. The episode also evoked memories from the Super Bowl halftime performance eight years ago of Janet Jackson, whose "wardrobe malfunction" set off a lot of hemming and hawing about indecency standards on television.

This time, however, NBC is unlikely to face any fines over M.I.A.'s act, according to various broadcast lawyers we've consulted.

These close observers of the FCC note that the agency has never made any ruling on whether an extended middle finger rises to the level of being "indecent," and at a time when the agency's enforcement is being challenged for being "arbitrary and capricious," many have strong doubts whether the FCC would wish to set new law.

Right now, the U.S. Supreme Court is in the midst of considering the FCC's constitutional allowances to police indecency, and until that happens, the rulebook is in flux as the 2nd Circuit has already struck down some of the agency's policies on naughty words on broadcast television.

If the agency did make an action, says Hary Cole, a broadcast lawyer at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, it would probably be for possible use of the word, "shit," by M.I.A.

During her performance, she seemed to halt herself, however, when delivering the song line, "I don't give a shit."

Still, despite NBC's apologies, critics are lambasting the network for not seeing something like this coming. Here is a statement given to us by Parents Television Council President Tim Winter:

"The mechanism NBC had in place to catch this type of material completely failed, and the network cannot say it was caught off guard. It has been eight years since the Janet Jackson striptease, and both NBC and the NFL knew full well what might happen. They chose a lineup full of performers who have based their careers on shock, profanity and titillation. Instead of preventing indecent material, they enabled it. M.I.A. used a middle finger shamelessly to bring controversial attention to herself, while effectively telling an audience filled with children, ‘F– you.’"

The uproar over the M.I.A. gesture might be commanding the headlines, but one should not ignore a very important decision the FCC made on Friday.

The agency decided that during the Super Bowl, a Chicago affiliate didn't have to air an anti-abortion advertisement showing an aborted fetus. The challenge came from a man named Randall Terry, who says he's a candidate for U.S. president and that the station was obligated to sell him advertising time under rules that prohibit networks from censoring content from political candidates, even if the content is deemed to be indecent or obscene.

"This is a big deal for two reasons," says Cole. "The FCC has made moderately new law on what to look for to see if a candidate is really running for office as well as standards for making equal opportunities of ad time for political opponents."

In this case, the FCC decided that Terry wasn't a legally qualified candidate for office, implying that he was using the excuse of candidacy to get his message past the censors. Among Terry's activity examined by the agency to determine this was whether he had made campaign appearances, distributed literature, and conducted fundraising. The agency also noted that the Democratic National Committee disavowed his candidacy in a letter.

But even if Terry was a candidate, the FCC also said that he'd have no right to demand his commercial run during the Super Bowl. That's because under current law, stations must give opponents equal opportunities to get their own message out, and since the Super Bowl is a one-time unique annual event, the TV station couldn't fulfill its equal-time mandate in time for the election.

In sum, NBC is getting hit today from those who think the network should have done more to prevent viewers from seeing the middle finger. But the big action on what's fair and free on public airwaves is likely to happen in the next few months, starting with the U.S. Supreme Court's coming decision but also possibly any appeal of the Terry case.

'90210': Nick Zano heats up the famed ZIP code

'90210': Nick Zano heats up the famed ZIP code

As fans of "90210" know, the ladies are always looking for the newest, hottest thing. And they're about to find one when Nick Zano joins the show for a multi-episode arc.

In some exclusive first look photos, we see P.J. (Zano), who is described as an adventurous playboy introduced to the crew through Annie (Shenae Grimes). It seems that he's got a lot of money to throw around town and it's just a matter of where, and with whom, he's going to spend it.

We've also been told that some catfights may emerge over the show's new hunk. If you're placing bets, it's all but certain that Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) will likely be one of the women involved. But could Silver (Jessica Stroup) be the other? And maybe Annie will escape her doldrums and try love again?

"90210" airs Tuesday (Feb. 7) at 8 p.m. ET.

'Thomas & Friends' Taps CG Team Behind 'Gnomeo and Juliet' to Animate New Season

'Thomas & Friends' Taps CG Team Behind 'Gnomeo and Juliet' to Animate New Season

"Thomas & Friends" has tapped Arc Productions, the team behind the feature film "Gnomeo and Juliet," to animate its upcoming seventeenth season.

The announcement comes after toymaker Mattel closed its $680 million acquisition of HIT Entertainment, the producer of such TV shows as Thomas the Tank Engine, on Wednesday.

The deal marks the first global television series that Arc will produce.

Toronto-based Arc will provide animation for all 11-minute episodes of the upcoming seventeenth season, as well as a one-hour "Thomas & Friends" feature-length special. The new episodes animated by Arc are set to broadcast starting in the fall of 2013.

With Bold 'The Voice' and 'Smash' Scheduling, NBC Saves Big Play for After the Super Bowl

With Bold 'The Voice' and 'Smash' Scheduling, NBC Saves Big Play for After the Super Bowl

The boldest play you'll see on NBC this year may not have happened during the Super Bowl.

Tonight, the fourth-place network throws its biggest hopes for the season up against most-watched network CBS, which is at its strongest on Monday nights. The success or failure of "The Voice" and the new "Smash" will likely decide whether Bob Greenblatt's first full season as NBC's entertainment chairman is eventually deemed a success or failure.

"The Voice" was a surprise hit for NBC last midseason. In hopes of building huge momentum for its second season, NBC gave its premiere the plum spot after the Super Bowl.

It hopes the show, airing from 8 to 10 on Monday nights, will provide a huge lead-in for the new musical drama "Smash," which enters a 10 p.m. timeslot that has brought dreary ratings for the canceled "The Playboy Club" and "Rock Center," which held it earlier this season.

It's a major risk. CBS's 8-10 Monday comedy lineup, including "Two and a Half Men" and the new hit "Two Broke Girls," has been largely bulletproof this season. At times it has even beat new episodes of other networks' shows with reruns.

Adding to NBC's challenges, Mondays are also home to the long-running ABC hit "The Bachelor" and Fox's "House," as well as the new "Alcatraz," which has earned respectable ratings since its January debut.

CBS's "Hawaii 5-0" at 10 has earned strong ratings, but shed some of the audience for the sitcoms that lead into it. NBC hopes "The Voice" can lure away its audience – or at least capture those uninterested in the island procedural.

"Smash," whose all-star cast includes Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Katharine McPhee – seems to be the new NBC show closest to Greenblatt's heart. He brought the Steven Speilberg production with him from Showtime when he joined NBC last January. And the network has aggressively promoted it, hoping it will be the second breakout hit on Greenblatt's watch. ("The Voice," the first, was in development before he took over.)

The network also offered the show online and on-demand before the premiere.

Adding to the high stakes for "Smash" is the uncertain history of musical shows – and especially musical dramas. The embarrassing failure of ABC's "Cop Rock" scared networks off from musicals for years, until the a string of movie successes made them seem once again worth the risk. Fox scored a big hit with the 2009 debut of "Glee," though its ratings have slipped in this its third season.

No film has done more for the current comeback of TV musicals than "Chicago," the 2003 Oscar winner for best picture. Not coincidentally, "Smash" boasts the production team behind "Chicago," Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. The production team is just one element of "Smash" that NBC hasn't left to chance.

While ratings will not be in until Monday morning, "The Voice" premiere after the Super Bowl has a strong shot at being the top-rated premiere of the season. It would have to beat the premiere of the reconstructed "Two and a Half Men," which drew 28 million viewers eager to see how Ashton Kutcher would fill Charlie Sheen's shoes.

The down-to-the wire finish for Sunday's Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots has a strong shot at beating last year's record of 111 million viewers. (That game beat the previous year's record for most-watched U.S. television broadcast.) That's good news for "The Voice."

But the show also joins a newly crowded landscape for musical competitions. Fox's "X Factor," which arrived in fall, may have cut into "American Idol" ratings that have been down slightly in the show's current, eleventh season since the show returned last month.

In a conference call with reporters last month, "Idol" judge Randy Jackson noted how full the market is becoming.

"I think the space of singing shows is definitely a little crowded right now. They’re on year-round now with us, 'The Voice' and 'X Factor' and there’s even singing on 'Got Talent.' So you got a lot of singing. So that’s what happens when your marketplace gets full. You know what I mean?"

As risky as it is for NBC to air two big hopes on Mondays, the network probably had no better options: Airing on Tuesday at 8 would have put "The Voice" up against "Glee," Though Fox announced last week that "Glee" will take seven weeks off, beginning March 6. Airing "The Voice" on Wednesday or Thursday at 8 would have put it against "Idol."

Jackson, the longest continuously serving music show judge given his eleven straight season on "Idol," sounded magnanimous last week as he said there was room for all the musical shows. He predicted "huge numbers" for "The Voice" after the Super Bowl.

"Listen, they’ve got a great show and I think there’s room for everyone out there," he said. "You will see."

But NBC needs more than just "The Voice" to thrive – it wants a smash from "Smash" as well.

NBC has at least one more wild card to play this season – it announced a March 1 premiere last week for "Awake," an ambitious new drama about a man whose reality is split in two after a car accident. In one reality, his wife survives and son dies. In the other, his son lives and wife dies.

The format could thrill or baffle audiences – but NBC tried gamely to explain it in post-Super Bowl ads Sunday.

Ryan Gosling Is His Own Genre on Time Warner Cable

Ryan Gosling Is His Own Genre on Time Warner Cable

It's all Ryan Gosling, all the time on Time Warner Cable's Movies On Demand channel in February. Eight of the Oscar-nominated actor's movies -- including the Oscar-nominated "Drive" -- will air throughout the month.

In fact, TWC has deemed the actor his own "genre." To watch his movies, viewers go to the Movies On Demand channel, select "By Genre" and click on "Ryan Gosling."

Among the other Gosling movies TWC is offering throughout the month: "Crazy, Stupid, Love," "The Ides of March," "Lars and the Real Girl," "Fracture," "The Notebook," "Murder by Numbers" and "Remember the Titans."

Gosling, who was a double Golden Globes Best Actor nominee this year for "The Ides of March" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love," is nominated for a Best Male Lead Independent Spirit Award for his role in "Drive."

TLC Brings Drama To Boston In 'Southie Pride', will it be the souths Jersey Shore?

TLC Brings Drama To Boston In 'Southie Pride', will it be the souths Jersey Shore?

Is "Jersey Shore" headed to South Boston? Well, kind of. 495 Productions, the same production company that brought us the greatness of "Jersey Shore," is producing a new series for TLC, one that will take viewers into the tight-knit community of South Boston.

The reality series, which is currently under the working title "Southie Pride, will go inside the homes of five South Boston -- or Southie as they're otherwise known -- women as they struggle to make a life for their families and protect the people they love the most.

495 Productions is currently casting, but they did make it to South Boston this past weekend just in time for the town to suffer through a devastating Super Bowl loss by the Patriots.

“Spend some time with the women of South Boston and you quickly learn that pride runs deep, family comes first, and that their friendships and rivalries are forever,” said SallyAnn Salsano, President of 495 Productions, in a statement. “And, their accents are wicked awesome.”

TLC has ordered eight episodes, and the series is scheduled to premiere this Fall. Sadly, Mark Wahlberg is not attached to the project.