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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
“Friday Night Lights” signs a new QB
“Friday Night Lights” has cast Jeremy Sumpter, who starred in the 2003 film “Peter Pan,” to J.D. McCoy, a gifted freshman quarterback who moves to Dillon and tries to grab the starting quarterback job from Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford).
According to Entertainment Weekly, J.D. is described as a kid groomed to be a football player by his father, who was a big-deal player himself in younger days. J.D. feels overwhelmed by his dad and looks to Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) to be his mentor.
Janine Turner and D.W. Moffett will play J.D.’s parents when the third season of “Lights” begins on DirecTV on Oct. 1 and NBC in February ‘09.
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Final season of ‘Wire’ on DVD today; CNN to open new bureaus
HBO’s much-lauded series “The Wire” ended its brilliant five-season run in March. Today the final episodes of the last season arrive on DVD.
In addition to bringing the stories of Baltimore cops and drug dealers to a conclusion, season five of “The Wire” examined another urban institution currently facing serious challenges, the daily newspaper.
The two worlds of crime and journalism come together as a top cop (Dominic West) desperately tries to secure more funding from the city’s police brass,and a Baltimore Sun reporter (Tom McCarthy) stoops to setting up his own too-perfect crime stories.
The newsroom story line is a particularly personal one for “Wire” creator David Simon, who started his career at the Sun.
The 90-minute finale is followed by special features that includes commentary by cast, directors, writers and producers; a featurette on the show’s previous seasons; and another featurette on the hard times of traditional newspapers as the Internet and alternative media siphons readers and ad revenue.
Fans of “The Wire,” who tend to be endlessly patient and passionate, undoubtedly will be happy to fork over $59.99 for the DVD.
Speaking of cut-backs: Not at CNN
At a time when many newspapers and TV newsrooms are facing buyouts and layoffs, CNN is adding journalists in 10 cities, from Philadelphia to Seattle, to provide broader TV and online news coverage.
The additions, which CNN hopes to have up and running by spring, also will help offset the sky-high cost of flying reporters and TV crews to breaking news all over the country. Fewer flights plus higher airfares equals a good argument for more mini-bureaus.
Besides Philadelphia and Seattle, the new reporters will be based in Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Minneapolis.
Existing bureaus include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
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