'Project Runway' Is Doomed
Bad news from Lifetime: Television For Ruining Things. While Project Runway has certainly not been running at peak performance for some time now, next season it's really gonna hit the skids. Orange crotch-inspector (most are declared insane) Michael Kors will only be judging for the finale, with Zac Posen filling in as the regular judge, alongside Nina and Heidi. That is not good! Michael Kors is the funniest person on that show, all screeching "Lil' Abner Barbie" and hissing at people's crotches. It just won't be the same without him. And who knows anything about this Zac Posen character? I mean, sure we know he's a famous designer, but what is he like as a personality? It's unsettling. But the really terrible news? The contestants will be competing in groups the entire time. As in, not just a group challenge here and there. The whole season long. The reasoning for this change remains unclear, but we're guessing that they're hoping that five really cute straight teenage boys will try out and then they can put them in a group together and then Lifetime will have its own One Direction, only they make clothes instead of sing. That could possibly happen, right? Tim sure hopes so. ("Make it work...") So, yeah. Project Runway is doomed. For next season, anyway. After that they'll go back to Michael and individual designers and the show can continue being a husk of its old self once more. Phew. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Phew, here's some very good television news. HBO has announced that the upcoming episodes of Game of Thrones, when we start diving into the wild 'n' woolly third book, will be extra long. Yes, more Game of Thrones!! Each episode will be about 56 or 57 minutes long, instead of 52. Not all of them, but a lot of them. Five extra minutes of swords clashing and men with beards scheming and extras getting taken by surprise. All the Game of Thrones stuff we love, just now with more of it. That is terrific news. Of course we'd be happier if the writers announced that they'd gone off-book and written a story line wherein Jon Snow can't find his clothes for several episodes, but nothing in this world is perfect. [Entertainment Weekly]
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Maybe Jon Snow could ask Eddie Redmayne for his clothes and then Eddie Redmayne could be all "Sure let me take them off slowly..." or something? I don't know. Just an idea. While the writers figure that out, Redmayne might be filming the next Wachowskis movie, Jupiter Ascending. He'd be playing opposite Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum. It's not clear what Redmayne's role would be, but the movie is described as such: "the movie will follow Mila Kunis as a Russian immigrant cleaning lady named Jupiter, who 'possesses the same perfect genetic makeup as the Queen of the Universe and is therefore a threat to her otherwise immortal rule.' Channing Tatum is set to play a galactic bounty hunter who is sent to kill Jupiter but falls in love with her instead." Sooo... there go those ol' Wachowskis, doing a totally regular and not-at-all ambitious new movie. Maybe Redmayne could play some sort of cosmic emperor who is allergic to shirts or something? [Vulture]
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Natasha Lyonne, all cleaned up and doing fine, is getting into the TV game. Fox is developing a sitcom for the Slums of Beverly Hills actress, one that's hopefully more Mindy Project and less I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Whatever it's like, it's taking a page from Lyonne's own life, centering on a woman "who, fresh out of rehab and committed to starting a new life as a sober, responsible adult, is forced to move in with her conservative brother and young family." Aha. So, the acting part shouldn't be too hard. Though, OK, that's probably a little unfair. I don't know that Natasha Lyonne moved in with her conservative brother when she went through her recovery. She might not even have a brother! Who knows! Anyway, this is good news. Natasha Lyonne is funny and smart and a good actress who was just in a bad way there for a bit. But she's back now! And... headed to Fox. Well, like I said, nothing is perfect. [Deadline]
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If that doesn't work out, maybe she can be a guest on Sean Hayes's new game show. Yes, NBC has ordered a show called Hollywood Game Night that, like $25,000 Pyramid, pairs regular folks up with celebrities. Or, well, sort of just makes them mingle with celebrities. The concept sounds a little strange. An NBC exec says of the show, "Our audience will feel as if they are part of the party as we pull back the curtain on how today’s Hollywood stars play at home while our contestants can earn big money." Hmm. So wait, are they going to celebrities' actual houses? Maybe? "The series follows two contestants in each episode who are chosen to partake in a casual game night with celebrities making up the rest of the crowd. One of the two will take home a cash-prize." Wait, what games are they playing? What is a "casual game night"? Are there formal game nights? What is a game night?? This is all very mysterious. Who would ever have guessed that a game show hosted by Sean Hayes would be the most confusing thing on television since Lost. Is it purgatory? Is that what casual game night is? Tell us your secrets, show! [The Hollywood Reporter]
