Report: Reagan miniseries may be sold
NEW YORK, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The controversial forthcoming CBS miniseries "The Reagans" is being edited with a "machete" by network executives now that the director has bowed out.
Newsweek magazine reported Sunday that there have been so many complaints from supporters of the former president who fear gross distortions in the script that CBS might sell the show to Showtime.
Stars Judy Davos and James Brolin refuse to do any publicity interviews, the magazine said, while director Allan Ackerman is not doing any editing.
The miniseries is scheduled to begin airing Nov. 16, spawning protest Web sites that are logging tens of thousands of complaints -- even though no one has seen the production.
One scene, the magazine said, has Nancy Reagan telling her husband to fire Al Haig, then secretary of state, or otherwise he'll never win the Cold War. Reagan agrees.
The miniseries supposedly contains many scenes of the Reagans arguing, using language that has no historical basis.
Bernie Mac's show delayed to Nov. 30
LOS ANGLES, Calif., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- FOX has delayed the season premiere of Bernie Mac's "The Bernie Mac Show" until after the November sweeps have ended, Zap2it.com reported.
On Sunday, when the most of the Fox network's Sunday offerings premiered, in Mac's regularly scheduled 8:30 p.m. EST slot, FOX showed the 300th episode of "The Simpsons," which aired last season.
During the November sweeps, FOX will schedule a "King of the Hill" repeat at 7 p.m., followed by a new episode at 7:30.
A new episode of "The Simpsons" will show at 8 p.m. followed by a rerun.
New episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Arrested Development" will play during Fox's 9 p.m. hour.
This season's "The Bernie Mac Show" is scheduled to debut on Sunday, Nov. 30.
NBC cancels 'Coupling'
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- NBC has canceled the highly promoted "Coupling" from its "sure-thing" Thursday lineup that was supposed to be "Must See TV's" next hit.
"Coupling," billed as the next generation of "Friends," was a comedy filled with attractive 30-somethings and racy plots.
The show, based on a popular British program and produced by "Cheers" Emmy winner Phoef Sutton, debuted with more than 15 million viewers, zap2it.com reported.
However, more and more viewers dropped off and the show's final episode, which aired on Oct. 23, drew fewer than 10 million viewers.
The show's drop in viewers seemed to drag NBC's long-running medical drama "ER."
"Coupling" had already been lifted from the November sweeps, but production of the show had continued for a total of 10 episodes. Production has now halted, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Thompson and Rickman, together again
LONDON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman have worked together on so many occasions, they actually behave like a married couple.
Good thing. The two have been cast as husband and wife in Richard Curtis' new romantic comedy, "Love Actually."
"Alan and I, we are so married now that we actually had a row on set," Thompson told UPI. "Because I was saying, 'Oh, well, why don't you try this?' and he said: 'I'll do what I bloody well want. Don't tell me what to do!' I said, 'I wasn't telling you what to do!' We got very nippy with each other in the airport scene. It was hysterical. I just said, 'I am so glad I'm not married to you!'"
The star of "Sense and Sensibility" and "Primary Colors" then recalled how
her director/father always said "direction is 90 percent in the casting."
"And I think that is very true," said the actress. "I think working with anyone more than once is good because, apart from the obvious, you can be
thoroughly rude to them and that gets ride of a lot of hoo-ha. You don't have to skirt around their egos and everyone's had their corners rubbed off. You recognize them."
In the film, Rickman plays a happily married man whose head is turned by the office temptress. Rickman and Thompson have acted together in "Sense and Sensibility" and "Judas Kiss," and will both appear in the next Harry Potter movie. Rickman also directed Thompson in the film version of "The Winter Guest."
