TV
Ricky Gervais' memorable appearance on the Sept. 21 Emmys tipped off
Hollywood to its next possible Oscar host. Shortly after Gervais
jokingly scolded Steve Carell for stealing the Emmy he won last year for
Extras, his reps were besieged with inquiries about his availability and
were urged to book a meeting with Academy Awards organizers, stat. ''The
buzz around town is that Ricky should host the Oscars,'' says one source
close to the star. He's already racking up the movie credits, including
the requisite bomb that could become a punchline during the ceremony
(Ghost Town earned a disappointing $5 million last weekend) and an
intriguing upcoming project. He codirected and co-wrote This Side of the
Truth, a 2009 romantic comedy in which he stars with Jennifer Garner and
Tina Fey. Gervais will also appear in his own comedy special for HBO
this November.... Several sources confirm that CBS is in negotiations to
extend TV's top-rated comedy, Two and a Half Men, into a ninth season.
The sitcom that stars Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer shows no sign of
slowing: Its sixth season premiere on Sept. 22 was up 9 percent in
viewers (14.9 million) and posted its best performance among young
adults since 2004. Once the show's contract extension is finalized, CBS
will get busy re-signing the already well-compensated stars (Sheen, for
example, gets a reported $825,000 an episode) — all of whom have deals
that expire next year. — Lynette Rice
Movies
When reports surfaced this week that writer-director Shane Black (Kiss
Kiss, Bang Bang) had signed on to direct Universal's Cold Warrior, it
threw Lethal Weapon fans into a tizzy because they feared another
installment would never come to pass. Truth is, the delay has nothing to
do with Black, who wrote the first Lethal script and has penned a long
treatment for a fifth iteration. (In fact, he plans to take over the
director's reins from Richard Donner.) Lethal number 5 still hinges on
Mel Gibson, who's currently filming Edge of Darkness in Boston.
Longtime Lethal producer Joel Silver has been trying to nail down
approval from Gibson about Black's approach, which includes introducing
a pair of young NYPD cops. — Nicole Sperling
Music
The much-ballyhooed launch of MySpace Music, an ad-supported partnership
between the social networking giant and three of the four major labels,
is imminent. Fans will be able to stream an artist's entire catalog for
free (with an option to buy, of course). But that doesn't mean the
industry has come to terms with the idea that there's no monetary value
to their music. ''Rather than offer one way or the highway, we need new
methods to drive income,'' says Rio Caraeff, an exec VP at Universal,
which boasts forthcoming albums by Fall Out Boy and U2. Caraeff
acknowledges that the site will take time to gain footing in this
iTunes-controlled universe, but there's another worry too: convincing
people that MySpace can be a commercial venue. Says Eric Garland, CEO of
online media measurement outfit BigChampagne: ''We haven't given our
credit card to MySpace in the past, so that's the challenging part.'' — Shirley Halperin
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