November 2010

Jeffrey Donovan will direct "Burn Notice's" prequel movie
The prequel, which begins shooting in January, will focus on Sam Axe on his last military mission in 2005.

Nate Berkus hospitalized with appendicitis
Berkus is expected to have his appendix removed after feeling sick on the "Today" show this morning.

Ne-Yo signs on to play an elegant "CSI:NY" hit man
The R&B star's episode is set to air in February.

Idina Menzel to top a one of 2 ABC musical dramas
ABC is jumping on the "Glee" bandwagon with not one, but two musical series in the works.

Sarah Palin's ratings climb in Week 3
After plummeting from 5 million to 3 million, Palin's TLC reality show went back up to 3.5 million last Sunday.

Bearded Rob Lowe is not channeling Brad Pitt on "Californication"
"This may not be the Rob Lowe that people are used to seeing," he says of his Brad Pitt-looking beard. "But it's the Rob Lowe inside me." Lowe says his "Californication" look is based on 10 actors, not one.

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Susan Boyle chokes on "The View"
Boyle didn't realize she was singing on live television this morning when she suffered a vocal hiccup and asked if she could start over.

J.J. Abrams taps "Sons of Anarchy" vet as the star of "Alcatraz"
Actress Sarah Jones, who played Polly Zobelle last season on "Sons of Anarchy" and appeared on "Lone Star," will play a police officer on the prisoner drama.

Why Anne Hathaway & James Franco won't deliver young viewers to the Oscars
Young people, as past ratings show, just don't like tuning into the Academy Awards, even this year when "Avatar" was the big winner. PLUS: Is Neil Patrick Harris to blame for the Oscar's actor/host trend?

"'Ugly Betty' actor" who allegedly killed his mom worked 2 days as a background extra
"We have 90 background actors the first day and 70 the second day," second assistant director Jim Nickas says of Michael Brea's episode, the 4th season premiere. "Some (posing as) restaurant staff, but mostly patrons. So it is pretty lame that the headlines have read: '"Ugly Betty" actor Michael Brea.'"

Jason Lee: "Raising Hope" set fel very "Earl"-like
Lee makes a cameo on "My Name is Earl" creator Greg Garcia's newest series as a grey-haired rocker. "It literally feels like I'm on the set of Earl," Lee says of the set, which has many of "Earl's" crew members. "It's really bizarre and it makes me miss 'Earl' that much more." PLUS: "Raising Hope's" costume designer has 10 costume changes per actor per episode, and "Hope" announces a baby casting "crawl."

Dana Delaney's "Body of Proof" will take over "Detroit 1-8-7's" timeslot
The ABC medical drama will debut March 29 in the Tuesday at 10 slot.

FX sets January premieres for "Lights Out" and "Archer"
The boxing drama will launch Jan. 11, while "Archer's" 2nd season premieres Jan. 27.

"Dancing" really wants Lindsay Lohan
But will the suddenly jobless actress agree to join a reality competition?

"Sons of Anarchy's" season finale will change Jax Teller forever
Kurt Sutter says of tonight's episode, titled "NS": "This is about the emotional ride that he's been on all season and that has obviously impacted him and continues to influence him in the decisions he makes and the kind of man he's going to become. I think we reveal in the finale that he makes some pretty severe choices and orchestrates them, and I think they are choices that will change him forever."

Bob Saget explores American subcultures in "Strange Days"
The six-part A&E documentary series, starting tonight, puts the "Full House" dad with bikers, frat boys and wrestlers.

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"Chase" helps cature a real-life fugitive

Next week's "Simpsons" episode won't target Fox News, but will feature Katy Perry's cleavage

Northwestern University has a "Mad Men" class, too — taught by an actual history prof

Leslie Nielsen's 1000 TV appearances helped develop his comedy chops

Coming to the CW: Hillary Swank's fashion game show?

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

Oprah will get a police escort, shut-down streets for her Australia visit
Oprah Winfrey is due to arrive on Dec. 14, and the local Sydney police is already planning her motorcade.

Kara DioGuardi writing an "American Idol" memoir
She plans to set the record straight in "A Helluva High Note: Surviving Life, Love, And American Idol," which is due out next year.

"Law & Order: LA" takes on Tiger Woods
This week's episode focuses on a golfer who had an affair, but veers off course from what happened to Tiger last Thanksgiving weekend.

George Lopez says "sh*t" on Conan
Lopez was explaining to his new late-night partner what you can and can't say on basic cable. PLUS: Check out Conan on Letterman from 1995.

Shonda Rhimes creating 2 new ABC shows: PR crisis management, "Life After Marriage"
The PR crisis drama will revolve around a professional fixer with the inspiration being legendary PR woman Judy Smith, who's worked with Michael Vick, Bill Clinton and New York Gov. David Patterson. "Life After Marriage," meanwhile," starts off with a divorce.

Craig Ferguson meets his French copycat
Instead of being outraged at the talk show theft, "The Late Late Show" opted to invite the host of France's "Tonight With Arthur" on as a guest.

Watch the promo for "The Cape"
NBC's newest superhero drama.

Regis Philbin grabs Nicki Minaj's butt
Regis = "Old ass freak"?

With Julie Chen gone, CBS dumps everybody else from "The Early Show"
Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez and David Price are out, with the weekend anchor team of Chris Wragge and Erica Hill taking over.

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CW developing a "companion" to "The Vampire Diaries"
Kevin Williamson's new series will revolve around researchers who investigate paranormal happenings, but it's unclear it will have to "The Vampire Diaries."

"The Simpsons'" latest Fox News gag was a last-minute response to Bill O'Reilly
Matt Groening wanted to do a response to O'Reilly, says exec producer Al Jean. "It was inserted late," says Jean, "because we did the first joke last week and Bill O'Reilly got upset and called (the characters) 'pinheads.' If you're calling cartoon characters 'pinheads,' what does that make you?"

Taiwanese animators in "feud" with Conan
As Conan O'Brien explained on Monday's show, the Taiwanese animators weren't happy with the "Conan" show for making its own "Creepy Taiwanese Animation."

Kardashian debit card canceled
The cancelation comes after criticism that the card carried "outrageous" fees targeting Kardashian's "unsophisticated" young adults.

TV Land picks up 2 more comedies: "Happily Divorced" and "Rip City"
They come respectively from the creators of "The Nanny" and the creator of "Lizzy McGuire" and "Less than Perfect."

Ryan Seacrest signs deal to spend even more time on radio
For $60 million over three years, Seacrest will devote more time to working on radio — even though he's already busy as "American Idol" host, E! News anchor and producer of shows like "Keeping up with the Kardashians."

CBS renewing "The Bold and the Beautiful"
The CBS soap will get two more years.

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Eliza Dushku's TV comeback: She'll play a TNT police officer
On "Bird Dog," the former "Dollhouse" star will play a small-town cop whose partner happens to be her dad.

Can Anne Hathaway & James Franco lure young viewers to the Oscars?
Their combined age is less than that of Steve Martin, who co-hosted last year's Academy Awards, which could mean a bigger young audience and higher ad rates for ABC and the Academy. PLUS: Why they won't woo young viewers.

"The Event" says goodbye tonight for 3 months
Exec producer Evan Katz promises the drama's return on Feb. 28 will relaunch the show to appeal to new viewers while answering more questions about the actual event. PLUS: Photo shoot steams up Scott Patterson & Taylor Cole.

Baltimore gets its own "The Wire" college course
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore jumped on "The Wire" course bandwagon this semester — but unlike other schools, this class is able to get the real people who worked on or inspired the show, including David Simon himself.

Jimmy Fallon has upped his game to become one of late-night's best hosts
"He can sing, and dance more than a little, which not all late-night TV hosts can do, and is an impressive mimic and a good storyteller," says Robert Lloyd, who adds of Fallon: "At 36, conveniently positioned between the incoming freshmen of show business and its graying eminences, he's a little bit hip-hop and a little bit rock 'n' roll." PLUS: Robert Plant to visit Fallon.

"Susan Boyle: The Musical"? Starring Susan Boyle?
Boyle will reportedly star in a stage version of her life.

"Glee" cast will perform Sunday on "The X Factor"
Their UK tour doesn't start till next summer, but the cast is set to make an appearance on Simon Cowell's hit reality competition. PLUS: Listen to "Glee" sing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and Florence + the Machine's "Dog Days are Over."

Blues Brothers reunion: Dan Aykroyd will visit "The Defenders"
He'll play a corrupt judge in two episodes of the CBS drama starring Jim Belushi.

Twitter is keeping "The West Wing" alive
Some diehard fans are assuming the identities of "West Wing" characters on Twitter — pretending that Santos is the president.

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Cops search "Deadliest Catch" boat for drugs after accusations against Jake Harris

Microsoft wants to turn the Xbox into a new cable box

Laugh at The Situation's workout video bloopers

Major markets clear Anderson Cooper's talk show

Kara DioGuardi changes her look — is she unrecognizable?

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

Lee DeWyze has the worst opening sales of any "Idol" winner
His debut album, "Live it Up," sold just 39,000 copies, debuting at No. 19 on the Billboard chart. PLUS: State of Ohio rehires Crystal Bowersox snoop.

James Franco & Anne Hathaway: Oscar co-hosts!?
The Academy Awards has asked the duo to host next year's ceremony, and they've reportedly accepted. UPDATE: It's official, Oscar producers confirm: "James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons- fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world," said Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer in a statement.

Dr. Drew lands his own HLN primetime show
The VH1 doctor is set to have his own talk show on the cable channel formerly known as Headline News.

"Conan" tonight welcomes George Lopez
Conan O'Brien promises that tonight's visit will "help fuse our two growing comedy empires together!"

Report: "Jersey Shore" cast members each want their own spinoff show
Negotiations are about to begin yet again for a new season. PLUS: Snooki going Hollywood?

Barbara Walters' most fascinating: "Jersey Shore" cast, J.Lo, Sarah Palin
The reality stars join Betty White as Walters' most fascinating people for 2010.

Kim Kardashian is "dead" for charity
Check out Kim's new ad, set inside a casket.

Michael Weatherly psyched to direct "NCIS" directing debut
"I like cameras and I like sets and the surgical nature of make believe that happens — the whole process," he says of his directorial debut.

RIP Leslie Nielsen: Before "Naked Gun," he was on "Police Squad!" (In Color)
Nielsen first played Det. Frank Drebin on the 1982 ABC TV police spoof, which spawned the "Naked Gun" series.

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Simon Cowell: I'll announce the American "X Factor" judges by year's end
"I'm going to make an announcement within three or four weeks, which is going to tell everyone everything," he tells his "Extra" ex-girlfriend. "There will be some surprises."

HBO unveils a new "Game of Thrones" trailer
Plus, there's a new behind-the-scenes promo.

"V" recruts another original "V" star
Marc Singer, who played freedom fighter Mike Donovan on the original series, will play a new character. He's the 2nd original "V" star to appear on the new ABC series, following Jane Badler.

"Beaver Cleaver" gets engaged at 62
This will be the 2nd marriage for "Leave it to Beaver" star Jerry Mathers, who divorced in 1997 after 20 years.

Famed electoral statistician tackles "Dancing with the Stars"
Statistical genius Nate Silver applies his political insights to the "Dancing" world, and has found some problems: "the judges and the audience rely on completely different methods to rate the contestants, and they are not especially compatible." PLUS: Is Brandy still bitter?

CBS renews "The Young and the Restless" for 3 more years
The pickup will mean the daytime soap will be around through the 2013-14 season.

"The Simpsons" takes another shot at Fox News
Fox News: "Unsuitable for viewers under 75."

Eva Longoria & "Cold Case's" Kathryn Morris team up — as producers
They're working together on an ABC Texas border town soap, while Longoria is also producing two other TV projects.

A "Real Housewives of New Jersey" spinoff?
Bravo is reportedly filming a reality show following Albie and Chris Manzo as they move into a bachelor pad. PLUS: Kim Zolciak gets engaged to an Atlanta Falcon.

James Franco's "Inside the Actor's Studio" results in record rejections
Tickets to last night's taping were so in demand that 250 people were turned away.

"SNL's" Loney Island crew makes a digital short for a hotel
Check out what Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Samberg did for the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles. PLUS: Robert DeNiro & P. Diddy will appear together in an "SNL" sketch on Saturday.

"Project Runway's" Nina Garcia welcomes a boy
Her 2nd child is named Alexander David Conrod.

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It's official: NFL goes young with Black Eyed Peas at Super Bowl halftime
After six straight years of performers from yesteryear, the Peas will become the first young-ish act to perform at Super Bowl halftime since the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson NippleGate fiasco in 2004.

Admit it: Bristol Palin on "Dancing" made for great TV
The anger against Bristol and the sympathy towards her made this "Dancing with the Stars" season compelling TV, says Linda Stasi. "'Dancing' hasn't been this polarizing a national event since Salome asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter," she says. "Unless you live in the frozen north — OK, not a good example — you know that last night, Bristol Palin, the girl who, like her famous mom, captured America's hearts and wrath simultaneously, not only lost 'Dancing with the Stars,' but came in a well-deserved third."
24 million watched the finale // Why Bristol should've won
Jennifer Grey tells "GMA": "It was a rollercoaster this entire season"
Bristol happy Grey won // "It is faith that got me through," says Bristol
Carrie Ann: I had a "girl crush" on Sarah Palin // Joan Rivers mocks Bristol
Derek and Julianne Hough now have a combined for 5 "Dancing" victories
Tom Bergeron pokes fun at "Dancing" delays // The Burden of being Bergeron

Carol Burnett saves "Glee" from being too dramatic
The Kurt/Karofsky bullying storyline came to its climax last night, but Burnett's presence "prevented the thing from weighing overwhelmingly on the more sober side of 'comedy-drama,'" says Peter Vonder Haar. Burnett and Jane Lynch, of course, sang "Ohio." "That song was the first performance of the episode, and didn't come until 24 minutes in, which has to be some kind of record," he says. PLUS: "Glee's" ratings drop 20% from last week and watch Darren Criss sing "Hey, Soul Sister."

Ex-O.C. "Real Housewife" Jeana Keough wants her own talk show
A self-help talk show is just of three shows Keough is pitching. The 55-year-old is also shopping two other reality shows.

Andie MacDowell and Helen Slater are headed to ABC Family
MacDowell will star in "What Would Jane Do," bossing around a 16-year-old who works at her cutting-edge fashion company. "Supergirl" Helen Slater, meanwhile, will play an upper-crust mom on "The Lying Game," a drama from the author of "Pretty Little Liars."

"Eddie Munster' nearly OD'd after leaving rehab
Butch Patrick is now in another rehab facility after a near-death experience from his cocaine and alcohol addiction.

AMC is almost the new HBO
How did AMC rise to establish its own identity away from HBO, Showtime and FX? The network known for airing movies established its own "adult" identity, says Matt Zoller Seitz, without the "Let's see how far we can go" ethos that seems to have driven HBO and its blatant imitators in the '00s.

"Modern Family": A classic sitcom, already?
Season 2 so far has been even better than Season 1, says Robert Bianco, who praises "Modern Family" for being — unlike most sitcoms — smart and funny. "Not since 'Frasier' has a sitcom so confidently blended warmth and wit or more assuredly displayed the best of what TV comedy can offer: a sterling cast from top to bottom; jokes and situations that are amusing, heartfelt and specific; a world that feels real; and a show that invites you to embrace it rather than holding you at a chilly distance," says Bianco. PLUS: She's no longer a teenager: Sarah Hyland turns 20 today.

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NYPD detectives want to interview Charlie Sheen

Ex-"Lostie" Dominic Monaghan sings a tribute to turkeys

"The X Factor": Watch Fox's 1st promo teaser

Oops!: Nick dressed "iCarly" character in shirt promoting rolling papers

Check out Jon Hamm as a "Simpsons" character

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

"Dancing with the Stars" shocker
Did the winner actually win?

Why "Sarah Palin's Alaska" plummeted 40%
Blame Palin over-saturation. PLUS: Where's the meth?

"Glee" wooing Katie Couric for Super Bowl episode
The CBS News anchor, a self-proclaimed Gleek, would play herself.

"SVU" showrunner leaving after 11 years
Neal Baer has been lured away by a new deal with CBS Television Studios.

Nigel Lythgoe's son pokes fun at Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell
Kris Lythgoe is debuting a "Cinderella" "pantho," featuring the characters "Cowel" and "Seecrest."

Check out Martha Stewart, "Simpson"-ized
Martha guests on "The Simpsons" next month as herself restoring Christmas cheer.

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ABC: "Dancing" votes overloaded our line
"Some viewers reported experiencing difficulties registering their votes for the Dancing with the Stars finale, which affected each finalist equally," the network said in a statement. "The issue was promptly addressed" and voting times were not extended.

Report: Sarah Palin pushing for Christine O'Donnell on "Dancing"
Can "Dancing with the Stars" withstand another politically polarizing figure?

George Lopez's wife files for divorce
After giving her husband a kidney, Ann Lopez has filed the documents to end their marriage.

Adult Swim will make fun of crime shows with "NTSF:SD:SUV"
Paul Scheer's "Children's Hospital" parody is set to become its own series.

"Tonight Show" will make amends for not crediting bloggers with a Taylor Swift video
Last night, Jay Leno introduced a "Taylor Swift Is Surprised" montage by saying the "Tonight" staff compiled it, when in fact it was done by two outside bloggers.

ABC: "Ugly Betty" actor accused of killing his mom was barely on the show
The network says that Michael Brea was "just a guy in the background on one episode."

Coming to CBS: "Desperado"? "Knife Fight"?
"CSI's" Anthony Zuiker's "Desperado" is a Western following lawmen and criminals in San Antonio, while "Knife Fight" is about a female public defender who becomes a prosecutor.

Bill O'Reilly grills Whoopi Goldberg on his "View" visit
What did they say about him after he left?

January Jones is the new face of Versace
The "Mad Men" star will become the face of Versace’s 2011 spring/summer campaign. PLUS: Elisabeth Moss is now a blonde.

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Bill O'Reilly fires back at "The Simpsons" for mocking Fox News
Said O'Reilly in reaction to Sunday's episode: "Continuing to bite the hand that feeds part of it, Fox broadcasting once again allows its cartoon characters to run wild. … Pinheads? I believe so."

Cookie Monster makes an "SNL" audition video
Watch the "Sesame Street" star do the monologue, wear a wig for "Macarooner" ("MacGruber") and Weekend Update" as part of a four-minute audition tape.

Read Charlie Sheen's text messages to his porn star/hooker
Hours after The Plaza incident, Sheen wrote to Capri Anderson, "Don't worry about our mutual friends, deal with me directly and I promise u kind lady, all will be restored and set straight." PLUS: Capri Anderson meeting with the D.A.

Why ABC must be rigging "Dancing" votes for Bristol Palin
After Kate Gosselin, it should be no surprise that Disney is fixing the show for controversy and buzz, says David Zurawik. "I think ABC has everything to gain, and almost nothing to lose by playing this game," he says. PLUS: Bristol finishes Monday in last place.

"Dancing" fans flee "Skating with the Stars"
ABC's new snooze-worthy reality competition with a hard-to-understand host began last night at the unusual time of 9:13 pm, but quickly lost much of its "Dancing with the Stars" lead-in throughout its debut.

"Raising Hope" is not about white trash, says its creator
"People want to call the Chance family white trash," says Greg Garcia, "but there's nothing trashy about them at all. They're not the most educated people in the world. They are just hardworking people who happen to not have a lot of money."

"Gossip Girl" staffers insist Taylor Momsen has not been suspended
Multiple sources tell E! that Momsen's absence is not a suspension, and that she'll return when writers can resolve the challenge of weaving her into storylines. PLUS: Which "Gossip Girls" stars will find success after the show ends?

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Did cable network boss Oprah Winfrey make a mistake by plugging "rival" Netflix?

Paula Deen uses her body to demonstrate how to carve a turkey

USA Network to promote tolerance next month with "Characters Unite Month"

Are TV's female cops not allowed to have short hair?

Study: Online viewers are willing to sit through longer ad breaks

[Click to read the rest of Odds & Ends]

"Bachelor" Brad Womack is greeted with a slap
"That's from every woman in America," one of Brad's bachelorettes says upon meeting him.

"Sarah Palin's Alaska's" ratings drop 40%
Ratings fell from 5 million to 3 million for Episode 2.

Simon Cowell mocks his "Idol" replacement, says Steven Tyler is the right guy
"I always said it had to be someone who wasn’t better looking than me and they achieved it," Cowell joked last night at the International Emmys, where he was honored by Rupert Murdoch himself.

Ex-"Real World"-er The Miz wins WWE championship
Mike Mizanin had used "The Miz" character on "Back to New York" in 2001 in hopes of going on WWE.

"SNL" newbie Jay Pharoah makes his Letterman debut
Watch his dead-on impression of Lorne Michaels, not to mention Barack Obama.

"The Good Wife" bringing Michael J. Fox back
Producers say they "pleaded with him to return" next year, and he said yes.

"True Blood" adds 3 females, promotes 1
Jessica Tuck will become a series regular as Alexandra Breckenridge, Vedette Lim and Janina Gavankar have joined the cast for Season 4.

Actor who appeared on "Ugly Betty" accused of killing his mom with a samurai sword
Police say Michael L. Brea took his mother hostage, then killed her with a samurai sword while screaming Bible passages.

Jimmy Kimmel "films" cameo on "Castle"
Kimmel also got Stana Katic to talk about how she got Nathan Fillion to cut her shirt just before auditioning for "Castle."

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Shonda Rhimes: "Grey's" musical episode will be the anti-"Buffy"
"(Ours) is sort of the opposite of that in a weird way," says Rhimes, a big fan of "Once More, With Feeling." "They did an all-out, show-stopping, Broadway kind of musical. This is very different." She adds: "I've wanted to do a musical episode since the first day we started shooting Season 1. Now, we're in that place that we have the space to try it."

Whoopi Goldberg booked on "The O'Reilly Factor"
After walking out on Bill O'Reilly, Goldberg will go on the Fox News show on Tuesday to promote her new book.

Charlie Sheen sues his porn star for extotion
According to Sheen's lawsuit, Capri Anderson demanded "at least One Million Dollars" with the threat of going to Aspen prosecuters to charge that he violated parole. The lawsuit also states that, "At no time did Sheen assault, batter or threaten" Anderson.

Check out Obama on "MythBusters"
"Figure this out and report back to me," says the president in a new Discovery Channel promo.

Sarah Palin on Bristol's "Dancing": "The haters are going to hate"
"Bristol has said it best," Palin tells Fox News. "Bristol has said, 'Mom, it doesn’t matter what we do, we're going to get criticized anyway, so we might as well dance.' For me it's, 'You’re right, honey, you might as well dance and fly and soar and surf and speak about issues that are important to this country.’ We might as well do it, and we’ll take that criticism, because we know that, at the end of the day, truly, being committed to a cause is worth it." PLUS: Washington Post poll finds that 54% of Americans think Bristol is "Dancing" because of a Tea Party-backed movement.

"Amazing Race's" Chad and Stephanie are married — and expecting
The couple got married over the weekend, and Stephanie reveals she's three months pregnant.

Paula Abdul launching casting website for reality and non-reality TV shows
At AuditionBooth.com, people with talent can be hooked up with talent managers, casting directors, agents or producers.

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