Deep Inside Hollywood
Neil Patrick Harris Joins Horrible Series
An actor can star in a movie or TV show, and reach a certain number of people, even a lot of people. But that actor never will approach the level of exposure of the skateboarding bulldog or that guy who sang “Chocolate Rain.” Will Ferrell knows this, and that’s why FunnyorDie.com has become as popular, if not more so, than his recent movies. Now, Neil Patrick Harris is going viral, too. The How I Met Your Mother funny man soon will team up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Joss Whedon for an Internet series called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. What that title even means is still something of a mystery. But Romeo’s guessing it’ll mean Harris plans to sing. Just add costar Alyson Hannigan to the formula, and the queer Buffy diehards will forward that link all day.
The Sarah Jessica Parker Chronicles
Sarah Jessica Parker to sell her Manolos! OK, that’s not actually happening. But in her next film role, the Sex and the City diva will be seen sliding down the social status summit to something a little more realistic than regular trips to the 700-bucks-a-pair shoe boutique. She is in negotiations to star in The Ivy Chronicles, based on the novel by Karen Quinn. The book—similar in tone to other recent successes, like The Devil Wears Prada and The Nanny Diaries—concerns an upwardly mobile woman who loses her job and her moneyed husband, and winds up living in a less-than-chic neighborhood. Of course, once there, her job is to pull herself back up to socioeconomic satisfaction again. It promises to be a heartwarming love story—that is, girl loves money, girl loses money, girl gets money back again. Expect Sex and the City-fueled goodwill box office to follow.
Nathan Lane in Outer Space
Legendary 1960s Japanese anime character Astro Boy has maintained a strong cult following in the United States, but the Pinocchio-like figure (a flying child robot seeking father-like acceptance from the man who created him in the image of his own deceased son) soon will get an English-language makeover that’s certain to increase his profile. The animated film Astro Boy will feature an all-star voice cast: Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy, with assistance from Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy, and Nathan Lane (most recently seen ogling the half-naked male stars of Broadways’s Xanadu in a much-passed-around Internet clip). Longtime fan buzz seems to be cautiously hopeful for the moment. But will mass audiences care? Studios clearly are wishing upon a star for another huge animation franchise, so look to 2009’s release date to see if that dream comes true.
Romeo San Vicente is known for making dreams come true—several this past weekend, in fact. He can be reached care of this publication, or at [email protected].
