Written by S.T. VanAirsdale | 09 Feb 2010, 6:50 AM | Comment

Alan Alda Not Bitter About Fallen M*A*S*H Record: alda_ql.jpgOK, maybe he’s a little bitter. After Super Bowl XLIV eclipsed the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale to become the most-watched television broadcast ever, the show’s former star acknowledged, “If they broke our record, I’m happy for New Orleans and I hope it gives even more to cheer about to a city I love.” If, Alan? “I know it sounds evil to mention,” Alda continued, “but how does Nielsen know how many actual people were watching either broadcast?” At least he toed a classier company line than former co-star Wayne Rogers, who commented, “That Super Bowl is never going to earn what M*A*S*H earned, that’s for sure, because there’s no reruns for that Super Bowl — nobody’s going to be interested in that, and M*A*S*H reruns have been on for 30 years.” Don’t tell that to the NFL Network, which is already rerunning the game today. [LAT]

Hollywood Ink

broken_oscars.JPG· Seemingly half the A-list actresses in Hollywood got new projects Monday, with the most amusing casting news potentially pairing Penelope Cruz with Lars von Trier for his disaster-psychology film Melancholia. Not much is known about the lead role itself, and von Trier’s apparent acknowledgment comes through translations of European media sources, so who even knows? In any language this would be spectacular, particularly reading and hearing Cruz’s subsequent comparisons of the misogynistic Dane with actress’s-best-friend Pedro Almodovar. Make history, Penny! [The Playlist]

Kate Winslet, Katherine Heigl, Cate Blanchett and others sign on elsewhere, Terminator is sold (and not to whom you’d think), and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.

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The Last Word

This Foxtrot is Ludicrous!

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 08 Feb 2010, 5:00 PM | 3 comments

Stysondance.jpg· When Mike Tyson goes on Italy’s version of Dancing with the Stars, you don’t teach him choreography. You just let him skip out and flop around like either a) a dead fish, or b) a drunken marionette, smile when he angrily points to you, and hope he doesn’t punch anyone. Molto bene!

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Written by Julie Miller | 08 Feb 2010, 4:20 PM | 6 comments

MTV Ditches the Music: MTVlogo100.jpgAfter 29 years, MTV has finally slashed the “Music Television” from its name. The change was long overdue, considering that by 2008, the network was only playing three hours of music videos per day, a number that plunged even further once Total Request Live went off the air. MTV also altered their logo slightly (at left) while their sister network, VH1, is sticking by its slogan “Very Humiliating.” [THR]

Celebrations

ml_oscar_logo.jpgAre you a Movieline reader based in New York City? Not quite up for crashing the Academy’s official Oscar fête at the St. Regis yet again? You’re in luck! Movieline is happy to announce its inaugural Oscar Viewing Party, scheduled to overtake Tribeca on March 7. Please join us and a few special pals as well — more details after the jump! Operators are standing by!

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NEW LOWS IN TELEVISION

UndercoverBoss225.jpg“How great was Undercover Boss last night?” — what absolutely no one in America said today.

After four hours of football, new commercials, and sodium-based snacks, Americans can stomach anything, which explains Undercover Boss’s gargantuan audience last night. At 38.6 million viewers, it became the most-watched Super Bowl lead-out since 2001. While that’s certainly a feat for any new series, CBS shouldn’t let that figure go to its head. Undercover Boss may have provided adequate thrills for the bloated and drunk couch-surfers last night, but it’s not something that self-respecting viewers will be returning to anytime soon. Here are four reasons why:

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Written by Kyle Buchanan | 08 Feb 2010, 2:20 PM | Comment

Your Day in Hollywood Justice: sheen.jpgCourthouses were packed today in Aspen and Los Angeles as Charlie Sheen and Conrad Murray both arrived to face the music. Sheen was charged with felony menacing, misdemeanor 3rd degree assault and misdemeanor criminal mischief stemming from his Christmas Day arrest in Colorado, but his wife’s protective order was relaxed so the two can reconnect. Meanwhile, Murray was arraigned and charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of Michael Jackson. He pled not guilty. [TMZ]

An Alan Smithee Column

deep-inside-oscar_250.jpgNo shortage of ink, of both the virtual and finger-staining varieties, has been spilled discussing the Academy’s move to ten Best Picture nominees this year, a change that marks the first time since the wild, experimentation-happy period of 1932-1943 that we’ve had more than five films in contention for Hollywood’s most prized statuette. (One day, when the story of this paradigm-exploding Oscar season is written, the eureka moment when new AMPAS president Tom Sherak squealed, “Let’s nominate evvvverrrytthhhing!” to a mixture of thunderous applause and joyous weeping by the Academy’s inner circle, will be its most moving chapter.) As you probably know, the decision to double the Best Picture field has necessitated the adoption of a “preferential voting” system, a safeguard for avoiding a mathematical nightmare scenario in which so many contenders split the vote that the Oscar is handed over to a winner that’s earned a scandalously low percentage of check-marks. But how exactly does this preferential voting system work?, you are probably asking yourself, if you care way too much about how famous people are handed shiny trinkets. It sounds very complicated! Well, it is!

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What's On

What's On: Kell is These Women Scorned

Written by Louis Virtel | 08 Feb 2010, 12:55 PM | Comment

kellonearth225.jpgYouth is a drag in tonight’s programming lineup. Jenna Elfman finds herself competing with a younger woman, Kell on Earth’s Kelly Cutrone’s twee staffer starts to crumble beneath the pressure of Fashion Week, and Life Unexpected’s resilient heroine earns a heavy sentence from the principal. Should that be all too much to bear, Whitney Houston wears a cute outfit and runs away from an airplane, if that’s your thing.

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Buzz Break

Buzz Break: Fringe Benefits

Written by Kyle Buchanan | 08 Feb 2010, 12:20 PM | Comment

annatorvnaked.jpg· Fringe’s Anna Torv strips down for Esquire. I hope Walter has some sort of explanation for why she has to wear those riding boots?

· Up in the Air frenemies Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner picked up USC’s Scripter Award over the weekend, given to the best filmic adaptation of a book.

· “The Who Thought Super Bowl Performance Was Just ‘OK’” writes Us. The Movieline agrees.

· Mr. and Mrs. Smith found no traction as a TV pilot, but Akiva Goldsman is still trying to mount another cinematic iteration on the formula with new actors.

· Our Favorite Franco has some advice for the next, youthful cast of Spider-Man: “Bring a lot of reading material or your DVD set of Lost, because when you do the effects you’ll be sitting around for a long time.”