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Harrison Ford (What Lies Beneath) has signed on to play Fred Cuny, an American aid worker who disappeared in Chechnya in 1995, The Associated Press reports. The as-yet-untitled film is based on David Fanning's 1997 documentary The Lost American and will be penned by Gladiator scribe William Nicholson. Filming is scheduled to begin next year, though it'll likely not be shot on location--then the film would end up being about an American Hollywood star who disappeared in Chechnya.
In General
Barbie's been naughty, and parent Mattel Corp. is none too happy about it. An Argentinean movie, Barbie Gets Sad Too, shows the well-endowed doll having lesbian sex with her Latina maid. Mattel was outraged by Barbie's "performance" and has asked for and received a court order to ban the movie, which was set to debut at Mexico City's Urban-Fest film festival, PageSix.com reports. The movie is a "work of art," according to the festival's director, who allegedly managed to recite that line while keeping a straight face. We're still laughing. Sony Pictures Entertainment has agreed to pay the state of Connecticut $325,000 for promoting films using phony reviews credited to a Connecticut newspaper. A Sony spokesman reportedly promised that Sony would "never, ever do it again, cross our hearts, hope to die," though eyewitnesses did see him cross his fingers while making that statement. Despite having aired the openly-gay-themed episode of Ellen when Ellen DeGeneres' character came out of the closet, an ABC affiliate in Lynchburg, Va., refused to broadcast the latest episode of Once and Again because it showed two teenage girls kissing. A spokesman for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) called it "simple homophobia." We're not quite sure why WSET affiliate management pulled the episode; nobody watches ABC, anyway. Jerry Seinfeld, titular star of TV's legendary Seinfeld, is making a comeback of sorts to the small screen. Seinfeld has signed a new three-year deal with American Express to make more commercials for the financial institution. It's no wonder why: Seinfeld's previous commercials pulled better ratings than the shows of former colleagues Michael Richards and Jason Alexander combined and ran for longer periods--but that's not saying much. Hollywood stars (or at least some B listers) appeared at the Michael Awards, the self-proclaimed Fashion Oscars, Monday night. The charitable event, named after Michael Landon, raises money for the National Children's Leukemia Foundation and drew Sigourney Weaver, Cheryl Tiegs, Hallie Eisenberg and Roberta Flack. (Apparently Cheryl Ladd and Debbie Harry were no-shows.) CSI is looking to break ER's seven-year stranglehold as TV's top-rated drama. For the second week in a row, CSI drew more viewers than ER and leads in average viewers per episode for the season. But in the wacky world of the Nielsen ratings, ER actually has the better rating. Recent rumors purport that the Nielsens were actually started by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris--counting and numbers are clearly her strong suit. More big names have signed on to new TV shows. John Larroquette (Night Court), Patrick Dempsey and Balthazar Getty signed on to an untitled ABC pilot; Randy Quaid will headline Fox's The Grubbs; NBC's Miss Miami will feature Jonathan Silverman (The Single Guy); and Judge Reinhold is forging a Brave New World on the WB. In related news, ABC has allegedly canceled its fall slate now, avoiding the Christmas rush. The scheduled Monday night "Face to Face" concert in St. Petersburg, Fla., was canceled when one of the "faces," Billy Joel, called in sick. (Elton John is the other "face" on the billing.) Joel's tour manager said the piano man is afflicted by an "acute upper respiratory infection and laryngitis." The manager said Joel did hand in a note asking that he be excused from the appearance, signed "Joel's mother."