Stephen King’s latest, Under the Dome, only came out last week but there are already plans to adapt the novel for TV. Stephen King TV adaptations are rarely anything to get excited about these days since most end up being disappointments, but when Steven Spielberg is the man behind the project everything changes.  The powerhouse duo are now working with DreamWorks TV in setting up an event series based on the recent bestseller, which will most likely be on cable.  You can get all of the details after the jump.

Under the Dome’s story revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force-field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine.  If the plot sounds familiar to you already, it’s because you already saw this situation in The Simpsons Movie.  Having said that, I feel safe in assuming that King’s take on the “dome appears over a city suddenly” genre is very different.

It is surprising and great news though that we will finally see these two great minds collaborate on something.  However, Variety tells us that King and Spielberg have actually worked together in the past.  It turns out that Spielberg and King tried to bring The Talisman to life for 20 years before the project finally died due to budget issues.  Hopefully, we won’t see the same thing happen again now to Under the Dome.

As of right now, writers are being met with as the project begins its earliest stages of production.  The plan is to then shop around the project to different buyers.  Spielberg seems to have a friendly relationship with Showtime since he currently produces United States of Tara and is also currently developing a scripted series that will chronicle the development of an original Broadway musical for the cable network as well.  It’s because of these reasons that I hope we will see this “series event” on Showtime in a few years.

As always, we’ll keep you updated as we hear it.

NBC has just announced Chuck will finally return to the airwaves on Sunday, January 10^th with back-to-back original episodes (9-11 p.m. ET) before the series moves to its regular day and time (Mondays 8-9 p.m. ET) beginning January 11.  For fans of the show, this is welcome news, as it’s getting back its original time slot and it’s being paired again with Heroes.

If you aren’t aware, NBC has loaded up this season with tons of guest stars like Angie Harmon (Law & Order), who will play Sydney, an enemy operative; Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), who is set to play CIA Agent Daniel Shaw; Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) will play Colonel Keller, a soldier and spy from Casey’s past; Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), who will portray Hannah — a potential love interest for Chuck; Armand Assante as dictator Premier Goya, who is the target of an assassin; Steve Austin will portray Hugo Panzer, who becomes entangled in Chuck’s first solo mission; and Vinnie Jones (Snatch) will play Carl Stromberg, an arms dealer.

For more on Chuck, you can watch a preview of the new season after the jump!

‘CHUCK’ RETURNS TO NBC ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 10 WITH ALL-NEW MISSIONS AND ACTION-PACKED BACK-TO-BACK PREMIERE EPISODES BEFORE MOVING TO REGULAR DAY AND TIME (MONDAYS, 8-9 P.M. ET) BEGINNING JANUARY 11

In Addition, Special Two-hour Episode of “Heroes” to Be Broadcast on Monday, January 4 (8-10 p.m. ET) Before Series Moves to Its New Time Slot of Mondays (9-10 p.m. ET) Starting January 11

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - November 19, 2009 - NBC’s action-comedy series “Chuck” returns to the NBC lineup on Sunday, January 10 with all-new missions and two action-packed, back-to-back original episodes in its season premiere (9-11 p.m. ET) before the series — starring Zachary Levi in the title role — moves to its regular day and time (Mondays 8-9 p.m.  ET) beginning January 11.

In addition, “Chuck” returns with guest stars galore in its third season.  These include: Angie Harmon (NBC’s “Law & Order”), who will play Sydney, an enemy operative; Brandon Routh (”Superman Returns”), who is set to play CIA Agent Daniel Shaw; Robert Patrick (”Terminator 2: Judgment Day”) will play Colonel Keller, a soldier and spy from Casey’s past; Kristin Kreuk (”Smallville”), who will portray Hannah — a potential love interest for Chuck; Armand Assante (”Judge Dredd”) as dictator Premier Goya, who is the target of an assassin; Steve Austin (”WWE Smackdown!”) will portray Hugo Panzer, who becomes entangled in Chuck’s first solo mission; and Vinnie Jones (”Snatch”) will play Carl Stromberg, an arms dealer.

In other programming news, a special two-hour episode of “Heroes” will be broadcast on Monday, January 4 (8-10 p.m. ET) and then the series moves to its new time slot of Mondays (9-10 p.m. ET) starting January 11.

“Josh (Schwartz) and Chris (Fedak) and the writing team are doing a great job this season, and we think the loyal fan base for this show will be happy to see it back on the NBC schedule,” said Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

In “Chuck,” the world’s nerdiest secret agent is back in the one-hour action-comedy series.  Chuck Bartowski (Levi, “Less Than Perfect”) continues as the Buy More electronics store computer geek, who unwittingly becomes the government’s most vital secret agent.  Chuck is transformed into the Intersect 2.0 after another data download into his brain.  This time, he not only knows government secrets, but he is also well equipped with deadly fight skills.  Chuck has the potential to become a real agent, but he has one problem — his emotions.  Now he faces the battle of keeping his emotions in check in order to protect himself and the people around him.

The ever stoic Colonel John Casey (Adam Baldwin, “My Bodyguard”) returns with partner Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, “Gone”), one of the CIA’s top agents and Chuck’s dream girl.  As Chuck assumes his new role as the Intersect 2.0, Casey and Sarah need to protect him but also help him become the agent he is destined to be.

Also starring are: Joshua Gomez (”Without a Trace”) as Morgan Grimes — Chuck’s best buddy; Sarah Lancaster (”What About Brian?”) as Chuck’s ever-supportive sister Ellie; Ryan McPartlin (”Living with Fran”) as Devon Woodcomb (also known as “Captain Awesome”), Ellie’s husband.  Chuck’s Buy More team consists of Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence, “The Pursuit of Happyness”) and the Nerd Herd, which includes Lester (Vik Sahay, “Time Bomb”) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky, “The O.C.”).

Fans of “Chuck” can catch up on full episodes from the series’ recent second season, watch original web series and share with fans on the official “Chuck” website on NBC.com.

“Chuck” is co-created and written by Josh Schwartz (”The O.C., “Gossip Girl”) and Chris Fedak, and is executive-produced by Schwartz, McG (”Charlie’s Angels,” “We Are Marshall”), Fedak, Allison Adler and Matthew Miller.  “Chuck” is produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

[Obviously, if you've never seen Lost and are waiting until the entire series is available on DVD, stop reading now]

Let the official countdown begin.  In 74 days, Lost one of TV’s best shows will begin its final season.  Starting with a two-hour season premiere on February 2, 2010 at 9pm E.T., we begin (or hope) to unravel the island’s final mysteries: the smoke monster, time jumping, the statue, the temple, the island’s healing power, why the dead appear to the living, and so many other questions.  It’s all come to this and 74 days seems like an eternity and yet by the time the series finale airs sometime in May 2010, it will feel like it was over too fast.

After its two-hour premiere (which will follow the inevitable yet likely helpful one-hour recap show), Lost will begin airing at its regular time slot of 9-10pm ET on Tuesday nights beginning the following week, February 9th.  So grab your constant, blow the hatch, and get ready for the end.  If you’d like to read the press release ABC sent us, hit the jump:

ABC ANNOUNCES THE PREMIERE OF THE SIXTH AND FINAL SEASON OF “LOST,” WITH A SPECIAL ALL-NIGHT EVENT ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

ABC announces the premiere of the sixth and final season of “Lost,” with a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2. A recap special will kick off the night from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET, followed by the much anticipated two-hour premiere from 9:00-11:00 p.m.

The series will then air in its regular time period - Tuesday nights from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET - beginning the following week, on February 9.

“Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O’Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.

“Lost” was created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Jean Higgins and Carlton Cuse serve as executive producers. “Lost,” which is filmed entirely on location in Hawaii and premiered on September 22, 2004, is from ABC Studios.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifainakis is great.  We already knew that.  But up until now, he’s mainly interviewed actors known for their dramatic work or at least not known primarily for comedy (the exception being the first episode with Michael Cera).  But in this new episode he sits down with two gentlemen who have been making folks laugh for their entire professional careers: The Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien and announcer Andy Richter.  However, Conan soon finds that his cute string dance and self-deprecating remarks will not save him.  On the contrary, they are his hilarious demise and the stone-faced Galifianakis makes this new “interview” his best one yet.  I’m still coughing from a joke that made me literally fall out of my chair laughing.

Hit the jump and check out the latest episode. NOW.

There’s always more to give and while we should all definitely be giving around this time of year*, we have five news stories than we didn’t have time to craft into a bigger article but still though they were worth a read.  After the jump you can find out what’s coming up on Parks and Recreation, where you can HBO’s John Adams on Blu-ray for less than $30, and Edgar Wright’s loving tribute to actor Edward Woodward who passed away today at the age of 79.

Writer/Director Edgar Wright wrote a really lovely piece about Edward Woodward, an actor who was best known for his performances in the original version of The Wicker Man and the TV spy series Callan and The Equalizer.  Woodward co-starred as NWA member Tom Weaver in Wright’s 2007 film, Hot Fuzz.

Fans of NBC’s Parks and Recreation should be pleased to know that Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) will be getting embroiled in a sex scandal that rocks the town of Pawnee, Indiana.  Poehler also teased to E! Online that her real-life husband Will Arnett could be having a guest role on the show.  I think Arnett should just swing through all of NBC’s Thursday sitcoms for one night and create the funniest two hours of TV comedy in history.

Disney-Pixar took out a full, front-page ad in yesterday’s Variety letting people know that they should consider Up for Best Picture and Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations.  I’m pretty sure Academy voters were already considering it’s but best not to get complacent.  [Awards Daily]

Fans of HBO’s fantastic miniseries John Adams can now pick up the Blu-ray for only $24.99 at Best Buy, which is 69% off the MSRP of $79.98.

Secret weapon Stephen Root, who has great performances far beyond his most popular one from Office Space, has landed roles in two upcoming films.  Root will play the proud owner of an insurance company and Ed Helms boss’ in the ensemble comedy, Cedar Rapids.  Root will also play the chief witness for the prosecution in Robert Redford’s upcoming Civil War/Courtroom Drama, The Conspirator. [THR]

*Thanksgiving is next Thursday; donate some of your time and/or money to helping feed families this holiday season.  Click here donate to Feeding America and help them in their quest to provide nine million meals to Americans this Thanksgiving.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of The Shield, The Unit, or Lie to Me, you’ve enjoyed the work of Shawn Ryan.  That’s because he created The Shield and The Unit, and he’s currently the showrunner on Lie to Me.  As you can see by his resume, the guy knows how to make shows people like.  So with The Shield getting a new DVD box set that includes all the episodes ever produced, I recently spoke with Ryan about his work on the show.  Of course we also talked about Lie to Me and the pilot script he’s currently writing called Ride Along.  If you were a fan of The Shield, or just curious what’s up with Lie to Me, you’ll really enjoy our conversation.  You can either read or listen to it after the jump:

As always, the transcript of our conversation is below, or you can listen to the audio by clicking here.  The Shield: The Complete Box Set is currently available wherever DVDs are sold.

Collider: So what’s this day been like for you?

Shawn Ryan: Today?

Yeah.

Ryan: Well, I came in and had to go to the editing room on Lie To Me and was in the writers room trying to find out some script things there and now you’re the 3rd call I’m doing to pump The Shield DVD, and I’ve got more ahead of me.

I understand.

Ryan: So, you know, it’s a great job. I can’t complain at all. I get to do something that’s pretty fun and get to make shows that millions of people watch. I’ve got no complaints at all.

You look over your IMDb profile and you’ve been pretty much non-stop for almost a decade.

Ryan: Yes. I mean it’s actually been longer than that. I got a staff job on Nash Bridges in May of ‘97 and I haven’t been unemployed since then.

Yeah, it’s a tough life.

Ryan: So, well you know listen, you can’t complain in these economic times that you have a job.

No, no totally. Believe me, I’m teasing.

Ryan: I know but at the same time part of me goes well geez it would be nice to take like 3 months off at some point. I was on-strike for awhile, maybe that counts. But even then I was on the negotiating committee and I had all these responsibilities, so.

Well, jumping into…yeah I can only imagine. I have some friends who are writers and being on-strike is not all easy going.

Ryan: No, it’s more stressful than having a job.

I’m a big fan of Lie To Me, and I’m definitely going to ask you about that, but jumping into The Shield when you look back at the show, do you feel that…I mean do you have any sort of regrets of things that you weren’t able to accomplish or are you sort of looking back and everything is…you’re walking away completely satisfied?

Ryan: I look at it like you look at the wife you really love. Maybe she’s not perfect but she’s the best you could hope for, you know? I made some mistakes on the show and there are things I would go back and change, but I know that nothing was due to lack of effort. That we did everything we could in the time we had with the budget we had and both time and budget were short on that show. And I’m really proud of it. If anything, my fear is I’ll never be able to do anything as good as it.

I asked the people who follow me on Twitter for some questions and one of the questions that came up from a few people was do you think that a Shield movie would ever happen or will ever happen?

Ryan: Well, I can’t say it will ever happen. It’s something that occasionally some people talk about. It would have to be done, I think, in a very specific measured way. The show was never popular enough to justify making a real big budget movie out of I don’t think. But there’s certainly is interest in the world and in the character and it’s something that Michael Chiklis and I talk about occasionally, so I don’t want to say never and then something happens. But I also don’t want to raise people’s hopes. It’s something that’s within the realm of possibility but I don’t think I see happening in the near term.

Have you ever met any police officers along the way maybe getting pulled over for a speeding ticket-whatever-find out that you’re the guy behind The Shield and interesting things might come up?

Ryan: I wish that happened when I was pulled over. (laughter) The last time I was pulled over and given a ticket, I have a Shield badge on my keychain and I was hoping he would see it. He either didn’t or he didn’t care. I still got my ticket. I did have a director of ours though, by the name of Felix DelCara, who was driving I think he said through like Alabama and got pulled over and he was wearing a Shield hat and they guy was like “oh The Shield. I love that show.” And Felix was like “Oh yeah I directed on that.” And the guy let him go, so I know it’s possible. I just haven’t benefited from it yet. And when you’re a behind the scenes guy like me I think it’s less likely to happen. I think it’s more likely that an actor on the show might get recognized and get some favorable treatment.

Well, have you ever specifically talked to police officers, not related to the show, and gotten any sort of honest feedback?

Ryan: Oh yeah. I just last month spent a couple nights in Chicago riding around with some Chicago homicide detectives because I’m researching a new show. And I knew them because a couple of them were big Shield fans and one of them had won an auction thing and was out here and got to visit the set. That’s how I got to know him. And, you know, they tend to love the show. They will tell you which aspects are a little unrealistic in terms of well, that used to do it for dramatic purposes, you know accelerate this and they’re like where’s all the paperwork that we have to fill out! But they all gave it very favorable grades. And I think they really liked the interactions between the people-you know these guys are good cops not law breaking cops. So it’s a little bit different from their lives in that way too. But they really dug it. I was driving around with them and they were like oh there’s this one guy he’s even a bigger Shield fan than me-just totally nuts. And they brought me by to say hi to him as a surprise. They didn’t tell him I was coming and he totally freaked out. He was just talking how into the show he was and how he’s into Chiklis and everything. I was like “oh let me get him on the phone” and I call up Chiklis on my cell phone and put him on the phone with him. And it just made this cop’s day. So, I’m sure that there are cops who don’t like the show, but I don’t hear from them.

Okay, since I know I have limited time I want to ask you how Lie To Me is going and I know you recently got an order for 3 additional scripts.

Ryan: Yeah, I don’t think that means much. I think that’s just a step that they have to take to be ready. We’ve only had 4 episodes air. We have a 5th one airing tonight and my guess is they’re going to want to see 6, 7, 8 episodes air and see how it’s doing and see the trend line before they make a decision on the show’s future.

Where are you in the production schedule, like what episode are you up to?

Ryan: We’re filming episode 9, probably episode 10. We had an initial 13 episode order. We’re finishing up the scripts for 11, 12 and 13 right now and we just got this order last week for 3 more scripts, so we’re starting to think about what those episodes are going to be. And so there will be time. If they decide to pick us up, we’ll be ready to continue filming and we’ll be ready to do what we need to do.

I’m going to come back to this but I want to ask you, you said you went to Chicago to research another show?

Ryan: Yes.

Can you talk about what show you’re working on?

Ryan: Yeah, I sold a pilot idea to Fox that’s a Chicago cop series. I’m from Illinois originally and spent a lot of time in Chicago and don’t want to say too much about the specifics but it’s a Chicago cop series.

And it’s going to be on, you said Fox. So that means…

Ryan: Well, if they decide to make it and put it on the air, yeah. Right now their commitment is just to a script and I’m working on the script and they’ll decide probably in December or January whether to make it.

Oh I get it, so this is a pilot for next season? Could be a pilot.

Ryan: Could essentially be a pilot for next. Right now it’s a script to be considered to be made a pilot for next season, yeah.

Do you have a title for the show?

Ryan: Ride Along.

There we go. Jumping back into Lie To Me if you don’t mind, where exactly…do you like mine the newspapers for ideas? Where do you pull…I’m just curious about where you might grab some of the characters or ideas for the future?

Ryan: Occasionally we’ll take things or worlds or situations that we read about and use them. The danger in doing that is that there are a bunch of other shows that are reading the same headlines as you. So I either try to look for more obscure headlines or more likely what I prefer is just to challenge my writers imaginations. That really worked for us well on The Shield because then I think you’re more likely not to have stories too similar to what other shows are doing. But we also approach it from a character point of view so a lot of times we’ll just say we want to do an episode where Lightman gets in real deep with Reynolds. What’s a story that would allow us to do that? And let’s come up with something that would allow us to do it, so it’s not easy and it only takes an hour to watch these episodes but it takes weeks and months of talking to figure out what should be in those episodes.

Tonight’s episode seems like it’s a very fun one with like the Mafia and him having to go underground like that. Could you talk about…are there future episodes that are sort of like in that…maybe it’s not a fun episode. I could be wrong. I haven’t seen it.

Ryan: I think it’s a fun episode, but it’s a serious episode too. I think this is probably Tim Roth’s favorite episode of the season. He really loved the script. He had a blast making it. He really liked the story and the story really is that one of Whiteman’s best friends from 20 years ago comes in and you learn that Lightman and this guy as played by Lenny James, that they had a very mischievous and criminal background when they were young. And Lightman has obviously gone one direction in his later years and this guy has stayed on that track. And yet there’s this real friendship and depth that exists between them that Lightman can’t turn his back on and Lightman gets sucked into a situation that’s not entirely good. So that’s the episode. We all think it’s really great. Tim really loves it. But we’re always looking for stories that are personal to our characters in some way to reveal theirs. We just turned in an episode that I think is the network’s favorite one so far this year, where Lightman and Reynolds…where Reynolds becomes the subject of an investigation that Lightman has to do and what’s Reynolds big secret and what’s he hiding? And what’s the thing in his past that’s causing danger in the present for some people? And that episode turned out pretty spectacularly.

And I want to ask you about Twitter. You’re on it. What’s been your…are you enjoying it? Could you talk a little bit about your interaction with it?

Ryan: Yeah, I think I enjoy reading it more than writing it. When you’re a professional writer there’s kind of an obligation to be entertaining on Twitter, and so I think about what I want to write and sometimes I try to entertain. Sometimes I just want to give people an insight into what this job is like and the challenges we face. And other times I’m just aware of things going on in the industry and I can talk about those as well.  But it’s a way to talk directly to the fans and to remind people that for instance tonight we’ve got an episode on. So go ahead and watch and it’s also little small sample size. People write back afterwards about what they think about the episodes and everything. So I enjoy it. I’ve only been doing it for a few months. Will I, you know, a year from now will I be doing it this much? We’ll see. But right now I really like it.

I was going to say, do you have a program that allows you to see what people are sending you and do you try to respond to a lot of them?

Ryan: I don’t really have a lot of time to respond to all of them, but I can check out, you know, the people who write @shawnryantv. I see what those comments are.

And jumping back into The Shield, am I wrong about this? Is it available on Blu-ray?

Ryan: It’s not and right now there are no plans to. We filmed in a very basic Super-16 film, and I don’t understand all the technologies and all the techno-speak but my understanding is that right now it’s not an ideal candidate to be put on Blu-ray because of the quality of the film. I think they don’t feel there’d be enough distinction between the shitty grainy look that was intentional of the show that you achieve just through basic DVD. At least that’s how it’s been explained to me, so for the moment anyways it’s not available on Blu-ray.

I’ve heard this from other show people-from show runners-who has said that not everything is an ideal candidate for Blu-ray and it depends on the way it was shot as to whether or not…

Ryan: You have to understand it’s not my area of expertise. I’m not into film stock and all that kind of stuff, but I was just told that, you know, that they think the highest quality, for now anyways, they can achieve is just a pure DVD and they wouldn’t be giving any added value by putting it on Blu-ray.

Cool. Well, I want to thank you so much for giving me your time today and I really hope that Lie To Me gets picked up.

Ryan: Oh me, too. I really appreciate it. Keep watching!

You know those brilliant ideas that once you hear it you’re shocked no one’s done it already?  One of those just happened.  THR is reporting that beginning today, [adult swim], a block of television programming which lured convention into its van with candy and stole its innocence, is allowing fans to take different episodes from different series and mix and match them into 110 minutes of DVD glory.  You also get to choose what kind of art you want for the box, disc, menu, title, and then [adult swim] will put it all together and ship it to you.  The cost?  20 dollars.  Digital downloads are great but being able to pop in a disc full of your favorite episodes or loan it to friends is a pretty damn cool idea.

The service launches with 100 episodes available to choose from but by the end of the year you’ll be able to choose from over 1,000 episodes from more than 30 series. Head over to AdultSwimShop.com to start building your all-killer, no-filler DVD.

Ricky Gervais is working his ass off lately. The Invention of Lying just ended its theatrical run, and he’s got another film, Cemetery Junction, coming next year. Now he’s entering the mobile phone market with PhoneShop. Gervais is editing the script for the series, which will air in the U.K. on Channel 4. Phil Bowker created, produced, and wrote the series. Bowker, who gave Gervais his first job on TV a decade ago, has produced several TV shows, but this will be his first run at writing and directing.  Little is known about PhoneShop, but it will take place at a cell phone store in a mall. The story (I’m guessing first episode) revolves around Christopher (Tom Bennett) who has to sell a cell phone by closing time to get a job at the store.  More on the series after the jump.

“Everyone’s got a mobile phone and has had some encounter in a phone shop,” Angela Jain, head of E4, told the U.K. daily (via Variety). “It’s also about those difficult dead-end jobs that everyone has at least once in their lives.”

It’s hard not to think of Gervais’ The Office, which was about the daily office hijinks at a mid-level regional paper supplier. It’s good to see him lending a hand to a new series, which should give its premiere numbers a boost. Gervais has a unique way of incorporating strong moral messages into his work, without expensing the comedy. As someone who was in the cell phone industry for three years, I can say that there is plenty of comedy to mine there. It’s a ridiculous industry. I hope this hits U.S. shores on HBO or DVD.

The series will air on Friday as part of Channel 4’s “Comedy Showcase.” The full series will follow on the digital E4 network.

It’s been a pretty crazy week for news here at Collider as Steve landed the first photos and full synopses from dozens of upcoming films.  If you haven’t seen them, you can check them out here, here, here, and here.  That was on top of all the good stuff we bring you on a regular basis.  But even with all the news we posted this week, there’s still more and while we didn’t have time to give these stories their own articles, we wanted to make sure you knew about some other cool stuff from the past few days.

Hit the jump to read about how James Franco’s General Hospital stint folds into a larger art project he’s doing, South Park taking their shot at James Cameron’s Avatar, Spider-Man finally arrested for being a menace, and more.

J. Jonah Jameson must have been smiling as Spider-Man was finally arrested.  According to Hero Complex, a man, who had prior outstanding warrants, dressed as the wall crawler punched a guy near the Hollywood & Highland complex last Wednesday.  It’s currently unclear what led to the altercation, but I’m thinking the punched-guy must have said he tossed Mary Jane’s salad.  That or he thought Spider-Man 3 was sub-par.

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Super Tremendous collected what they think are the 15 worst bootleg DVD covers of all-time.

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New Regency and Peter Chernin have acquired the upcoming book series My Name Is Memory for a deal in the high-six against seven figures.  The project follows a couple who have been reincarnated hundreds of times but only the man knows that they keep losing each other every time.  The book is described as having elements of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Twilight to create a chick-flick so powerful it can punch away a man’s genitals with a single frame.

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Avatar just can’t catch a break.  The film is still over a month away but South Park couldn’t resist taking their shot at the movie though their main target was Glenn Beck in this past week’s episode, “Dances with Smurfs”.  The clip below features Cartman’s tale of living with the Smurfs.  Later in the episode Cartman finds that his story has been stolen and turned into Avatar.

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Johnny Simmons (Jennifer’s Body, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) has joined the cast of Robert Redford’s The Conspirator.  The Playlist also reports that the film may not be the 2010 Oscar contented it seems to be.

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Batman might loosen up if started smoking and drinking in the middle of the day:

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IFC Films has acquired the upcoming Eva Green thriller, Cracks.  Directed by Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley (who served as a co-producer on the film), IFC will release the film sometime next year.

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Leonard’s mom (played by Christine Baranski) will return to The Big Bang Theory this January.  While the details of the episode are unknown, I think it’s safe to assume that the connection she had with Sheldon will deepen.  Since both are asexual and don’t seem to care for emotions, I have no idea what a deeper connection means for those two.

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The promotional poster for the upcoming BSG spin-off series Caprica makes the show look like it’s about a young woman who had the face of a 40 year old woman grafted on to her body.  I suppose it’s more of a sci-fi horror than I’d been led to believe.

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As we previously reported, James Franco’s stint on General Hospital is apparently part of a larger art project he’s doing with the artist Carter.  However, we erroneously said that the project was called Erased James Franco.  That title refers to the short film Franco and Carter did previously.  The name of this current project is currently unknown.  You can see the short film below and click here for more details on what the two are currently putting together.

After two blockbuster films and two prior attempts at a TV comeback, the classic 70s action show Charlie’s Angels could soon be returning to television on ABC with Sarah Connor Chronicles creator Josh Friedman giving orders through the speaker box.  The remake would be updated to the modern day and geared towards a new audience while still paying homage to the original.  Hit the jump for more details along with a timeline of how many attempts have been made to bring Kelly Garrett, Jill Munroe, and Sabrina Duncan back to the small screen.

According to Variety, ABC is close to giving a pilot order for a modern version of Aaron Spelling’s 1976 hit action show, Charlie’s Angels with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles creator Josh Friedman set to write and executive produce the show.  Leonard Goldberg, who launched the series with Spelling, and Drew Barrymore, who produced and starred in the 2000 and 2003 film adaptations, will both serve as producers on the show.

The original Charlie’s Angels ran from 1976-81 and began its run starring Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and the recently deceased Farrah Fawcett.  Spelling attempted a revival in 1988 with Angels 88 but never got off the ground, although it did lead to Spelling producing the original Beverly Hills 90210.  The franchise enjoyed a revival with McG’s Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle starring Cameron Diaz, Barrymore, and Lucy Liu.  This revival led to an attempt to get a TV show going again with a script by Carlton Cuse pre-Lost and John Wirth, but the script didn’t receive a pilot.  This time, however, the pilot is expected to get the green light.  I think there’s definitely a place for a group of sexy lady spies kicking ass in prime time.  Why should Chuck and Burn Notice have all the fun?

When it was announced that James Franco would be guest starring on the long-running daytime soap, General Hospital, it seemed like a joke but no one was thinking, “Man, that guy is desperate for work.”  Franco has a great career and when he does something silly like a daytime soap, it’s no different than when he’s asked to completely destroy a room, receiving Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Award, or has trouble pronouncing the word Gucci.  Franco could have easily coasted on his looks and talent but one of the reasons he’s one of the most confident actors out there isn’t because he can’t do anything else, but because he’s willing to jump in with both feet, have fun, and not care about what’s considered to be acceptable for young, talented actors.

A minute-long promo for the beginning of Franco’s two-month guest role on General Hospital came online today and even though he’s playing his role completely straight even though you can just sense that he’s grinning his ass off (and it does look like his character likes to grin too).  His story apparently involves assassins and photography but there’s no mention of a hospital anywhere.  Hit the jump to check out the promo, get some more details on his character, and maybe you can make more sense out of it than I can.

Franco will play a character named…Franco.  TV Squad gives a hint of Franco’s (the character, not the actor) arc:

“He’s an artist and has a showing in a gallery, but there’s something else going on beneath the surface. He has an ulterior motive which may or may not mean that he’s the person stalking Jason.   They’ve been suggesting that’s the case, but it seems too obvious to me. I’m still holding on to the theory that he’s connected to the Cassadines, which makes more sense than a connection to Alcazar. The last serial killer was linked to Luis Alcazar.”

I still have no idea what any of this has to do with a hospital.

Another reason Franco may have taken the role is that he’s doing a documentary with a filmmaker named Carter called Erased James Franco.  Franco’s upcoming guest spot on 30 Rock may also be part of the documentary, although no one knows what the documentary is about although I suppose you could glean an idea of it from the title, but I’ll wait until there’s something more substantial.

THR is reporting that Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse is canceled although it will be allowed to finish its 13-episode order for season two.  At the beginning of the year Fox thought it had a killer Friday-night genre pair with Dollhouse following The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which was canceled last May).  Both shows featured ass-kicking Whedon gals in sci-fi shows with ads highlighting the sex appeal of stars Eliza Dushku and Summer Glau.  It was a perfect plan except for one little thing: no one watches TV on Friday nights.  It’s a lesson that the Fox network fails to learn time and time again.  And while every showrunner can put on a brave smile and say they don’t believe in superstition or that they’re going to break the trend, we all know that Nielsen ratings continue rule all.  This makes DVR, Hulu, iTunes, etc. not additional metrics of viewership but a drain on the almighty Nielsen rating.  So much for alternative viewing methods.

Already pulled from November sweeps, there’s no word if Dollhouse will resume airing on December 4^th as originally planned.

AFM* fun continues with the first images and full synopses for All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, Pirhana 3D starring Elisabeth Shue and Richard Dreyfuss, Shanghai starring John Cusack and Ken Watanbe, and The Fighter starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Amy Adams.  These are all films that should be on your radar because there’s a good chance that these films will be getting some major marketing when they hit theaters.

I write and read about films every day and with the exception of The Fighter, these films weren’t really on my radar.  After reading the synopses and seeing some shots from these movies, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for further news about them.  Hit the jump to check out debut photos and what you need to know about these upcoming flicks.

ALL GOOD THINGS

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedmans), ALL GOOD THINGS teams Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) with Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) and Oscar nominee Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) in a romantic thriller that unlocks the mystery of a unique man who could have had it all.  The film is a love story and murder mystery based on the most notorious unsolved murder case in New York history. The original screenplay uses newly discovered facts, court records and speculation as the foundation for an imaginative spellbinding story of family, obsession, love and loss.

THE FIGHTER

From acclaimed director David O. Russell (Flirting with Disaster, Three Kings) comes THE FIGHTER, the powerful true story of professional boxers Dickie (Christian Bale) and Micky (Academy Award Nominee Mark Wahlberg).  Although they are half brothers, their careers take very different courses.  Older brother Dickie does not suffer fro ma shortage of talent or confidence, but his lack of judgment and humility lead him down a path of self-destruction.  After blowing his shot against one of the greatest fighters of his generation, Dickie descends down a dangerous road of drug addiction that robs him of his career, alienates his brother, and eventually lands him in jail.  Meanwhile, discouraged from yet another defeat, younger brother Micky, whose talent never seems to match the size of his heart, vanishes into early retirement.  But his itch to fight never goes away, and when a rehabilitated Dickie is released from prison and takes over as Micky’s trainer, Micky transforms himself from an underdog into a world champion prized pugilist.

PIRHANA 3D

From acclaimed director Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes) comes the new action thriller PIRHANA 3D, in the latest eye-popping 3D technology.  A new type of terror is about to be cut loose on beautiful Lake Victoria.  After a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers, including hot local cop Julie Forester (Elisabeth Shue), must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area’s new razor-toothed residents.  But our heroine is seriously outnumbered, and with only one chance to save the lake and her family from totally being devoured, she must risk everything to destroy the aquatic carnivores herself.

SHANGHAI

From director Mikael Håfström (1408) comes the epic espionage thriller SHANGHAI starring John Cusack (1408) and international superstars Gong Li (Miami Vice, Memoirs of a Geisha) and Ken Watanabe (Letters from Iwo Jima, The Last Samurai).  Nothing is what it seems in this Casablanca-style international thriller set in the ancient Chinese city a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.  U.S. Secret Agent Paul Soames (Cusack) has just arrived to investigate the murder of his best friend, only to become quickly immersed in a web of conspiracy and lies that beset the city.  Shadowed by a Japanese intelligence officer Tanaka (Watanabe), Soames’ investigation quickly centers on a charismatic local gangster, Anthony Lanting - and Lanting’s beautiful wife, Anna (Li).  Before long, Soames and Anna are involved in an affair that will put everything they have at stake.  As national loyalties are traded fast-and-loose for those of the heart, Soames and Anna must race to solve the mystery and make it out of occupied China before the city’s collapse.

*AFM (American Film Market) is where film buyers from around the world come once a year to buy movies and also pre-buy films in development.  Simply put, this is where a lot of money changes hands in the film industry and it’s where many decisions about what you and I get to see are made.  In an effort to try and raise a film’s profile or attract film buyers, many of the studios distribute full synopses and still images for their movies.

“Saturday Night Live” aired a very funny digital short tonight that parody’s “Twilight”.  The short was called “Firelight” and it stars Taylor Swift in the Bella Swan role.  Since anything I say will just spoil the parody, check it out after the jump.  It’s definitely worth watching.

SNL Digital Short: Firelight

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“Star Trek” director J.J. Abrams is once again using his producing magic to get another TV series off the ground.  Yes, I know that “What About Brian” and “Six Degrees” were both cancelled, but he’s had some success with the last two projects he helped launch, “Lost” and “Fringe”.  Now he’s going to try to give NBC a dramatic hit they sorely need in their line-up with “Undercovers”.  Hit the jump for details.

THR reports that, schedule permitting, Abrams will make “Undercovers” the first TV pilot he has directed since 2004’s “Lost” opener.  According to THR, it was the success of that pilot which helped Abrams get the gigs for “Mission: Impossible III” and later “Star Trek”.  This means that no one took much notice of the episodes he directed of “Felicity” and “Alias”.  Good thing that “Lost” turned out to be one of the best television series of all-time.

Warner Bros., the studio producing the series, is keeping mum on the details of “Undercovers” but rumor has it that the show is a cross between “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “The Bourne Identity”.  That makes sense since both of those movies were incredibly successful.  I have yet to see a spy show that would be described as a mix between “Ecks vs. Sever” and the film version of “I Spy”.

Thanks to the good folks at MGM, we’ve been provided with an exclusive new behind the scenes video from the set of “Stargate Universe”.  The clip features singer Janelle Monae talking about her cameo in tonight’s episode, as well as some new behind the scenes footage.  Take a look after the jump and remember to watch “SGU” tonight at 9/8c on Syfy.

And in case you missed it, I went to the set of “SGU” a few weeks ago and you can read my report and watch an extended interview with the cast here.

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Have you ever wanted to see Roland Emmerich destroy the world but without leaving the comfort of your home?  Well, now you can!  Since some people survive at the end of his latest film, “2012″, (sorry, but did you think that a movie as expensive as “2012″ was going to have a downer-ending?) there’s still some story to tell.  However, that story won’t be quite as special effects intensive so it’s just right for your DVR.  Hit the jump to reject my idea for the title of the series, “2012 ½”.

According to EW, a television series based off “2012″ is already in the works.  Here’s what Emmerich had to say about his plans for what he dubs, “2013″ (lame):

The plan is that it is 2013 and it’s about what happens after the disaster.  It is about the resettling of Earth. That is very, very fascinating. (2012 writer/producer) Harald Kloser and I came up with the idea and we have the luxury of having a producer on the film who is a big TV producer, Mark Gordon. We said to Mark, ‘Why don’t you do a TV show that picks up where the movie leaves off and call it 2013?’”

Emmerich goes on into a bit more detail that isn’t super-spoilery and while “2012″ certainly isn’t a film built on its twist, I’ll respect the wishes of people that want to go in cold.  I’m sure they’re already pissed at me because I said that Emmerich destroyed the world.  And that I said that some people survive at the end of “2012″.  And that I said the film was called “2012″.   And that it’s a film.

In the past several months, I’ve lost interest in television.  Even shows I really like aren’t appointment viewing anymore with DVR, online downloads, and streaming content.  But I refuse to miss a single episode of Matt Nix’s “Burn Notice” which, for me, has redefined my notions of the spy genre far more than the Bourne series.  It’s not that either is bad, but the instructional narration and witty dialogue make “Burn Notice” and absolute delight.  So when I hear that Nix has a new action-comedy and it stars Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks, I’m already in.  Hit the jump for details on Nix’s upcoming show, “Jack and Dan”.

Hanks will topline the 13-episode Fox series as Jack, “an ambitious, by-the-book detective whose habit of undermining himself has resulted in a dead-end position at the Los Angeles Police Department. Worse, he has been partnered with Dan (Whitford), a drunken, lecherous, wild-card cop who hangs onto his job only because of a heroic act years before.”  So it’s the Odd Couple but with cops.  However, THR reports that it will have the tone of “Burn Notice” so I imagine that Jack will provide narration which will usually begin with the phrase, “When you’re a cop…”  Filming on the show is scheduled to begin early next year.  As for “Burn Notice”, all new episodes return this winter.

Whether you’re a god-like Mac-user of a filthy leper with a PC (I’m the latter; damn one of my lips just fell off), Apple may soon be offering you the opportunity to watch TV via its iTunes service for only $30/month.  Therefore, while you wouldn’t own any of the TV programs you watch, you would have the ability to watch all the TV programs you want…provided that TV networks decide to once again join forces with the brushed-aluminum side.  Hit the jump to see if you’ll be changing the channel to Apple (hopefully without their snide, condescending ads).

According to All Things Digital [via Engadget], Apple is in the process of pitching their $30/month TV idea to the TV networks.  The service would be tied to iTunes and so folks wouldn’t need to buy the AppleTV box (which is good because no one buys it now anyway) or any other Apple device, although it would be good to know if users of the service can transfer the programs to their iPods and iPhones.

Apple wants to launch the service early next year but so far not a single programmer has come on board.  While many networks have allowed Apple to sell their individual programs via iTunes, a subscription service is a bit different.  The service would be similar to what Netflix does now with television shows.  It would also be interesting to see if Apple has the pull to make shows available for rental soon after they air (like Hulu does but without ad-support).  ATD notes that Disney would probably jump on board first as they did back in 2005 when Apple first started offering TV.

I predict that just as they did with the a-la-carte service iTunes offers now, networks will slowly but surely join this subscription service because the Apple brand is just too powerful and if you don’t use it then you’re not cool.*

*I don’t think Apple makes bad products.  I just hate the attitude they attach to them which is “You’re so cool for owning a piece of technology so simple that we use the same music in our ‘I’m a Mac’ ads that’s used when teaching children how to read.”

Action junkies are about to have a new favorite television show. The writing-directing team behind “Crank” and “Gamer,” Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, are developing a new series for NBC. “Zeroes” will focus on the operations of an elite team as it tries to prevent imminent disaster using, according to Taylor, “absolutely ruthless” force. Hit the jump for more.

THR is describing “Zeroes” as a “high-intensity drama chronicling the last hour of a crisis situation.” Taylor elaborates, saying it is a “crisis show that doesn’t bore you with all the buildup leading to the crisis.” In other words, it is the anti-”Lost.” As of now, Neveldine and Taylor are attached to the script as well as to directing the pilot episode.

Having already proven themselves extremely adept at shooting quickly and with a tight budget, Neveldine and Taylor should make a relatively easy transition into television. It also worth noting that they were approached by the Gail Berman/Lloyd Braun production house BermanBraun. Both Berman and Braun have a reputation for spotting promising shows having green-lit the likes of “24″ and “Lost,” respectively, during their studio days. Given the novel premise, “Zeroes” could attract a strong following. Unless, of course, NBC decides to treat it like “Southland.”