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In the summer of 1968, months after the releases of We’re Only in It for the Money and Lumpy Gravy and a few months ahead of the release of Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention found time for a five-hour concert on the Sunset Strip. A new box set, Whisky a Go Go, 1968 — due out June 21 — chronicles the unique evening, which the band recorded for release but, in Zappa’s signature fashion, divvied up for spare parts on other recordings. (Notably, Uncle Meat’s...

People nowadays have forgotten just how good Cameron Crowe was at his peak. For the writer-director, Almost Famous was his masterpiece, which told the story of a teenage rock journalist on tour with a mid-level rock band in the seventies. For many of us, it remains one of the greatest modern films and a masterpiece that, almost twenty-five years later, remains a cultural touchstone for many of us. In this episode of Revisited, we examine Crowe’s seminal film and how it holds up all these years later.

One of the reasons that Almost Famous was such an essential film for Crowe is that it’s autobiographical. Like Spielberg’s recent The Fabelmans, Crowe fictionalizes his story somewhat, but many of the formative events that occurred in his life happen here. Like his main character, William Miller, Crowe was a teenage rock journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine. Crowe had begun...

With Peter Jackson’s re-cut of The Beatles: Get Back coming at the end of November, we are reminded the Beatles were cinematic stars as well as musical artists. Beyond the group’s films, John Lennon played Private Gripweed in Richard Lester’s How I Won the War, and Ringo Starr acted in quite a few films. His choices were far more in keeping with the underground and independent air of the time. Starr starred with Peter Sellars in the anti-capitalist satire The Magic Christian, as the villain in the Spaghetti Western Blindman, and the voyeuristic Mexican gardener Emmanuel in the sex farce Candy. But his most counterculture and independent nod was as Frank Zappa in the film 200 Motels (1971). A special edition of its soundtrack, Frank Zappa 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition, is coming out on Dec. 17.

Written by Zappa, who co-directed with Tony Palmer, 200 Motels is a musical...

Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels is an education in musical composition, soundtrack recordings, and rock history. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Zappa Records, UMe, and MGM assembled a definitive Super Deluxe six-disc box set of the soundtrack, which drops on Nov. 19. The 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition was remastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, and includes unreleased and rare material from the Zappa music vault.

The sound quality is excellent, the separation gives the multitude of instruments and voicings enough space to hear what is going on very clearly, though the music is still very dense. The players included Ian Underwood on keyboards and woodwinds, George Duke on keyboards and trombone, drummers Aynsley Dunbar and Jimmy Carl Black, with Ruth Underwood on an orchestra drum set. Zappa plays guitar and bass, because there was a change in personnel, between bassists Jeff Simmons and Martin Lickert, partway through recording and filming.

There is no such thing as a casual Frank Zappa fan — it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. (Really, there’s no such thing as a casual Frank Zappa listener, period: You either immediately recoil from his grandiose, often goofy odes to dancin’ fools and yellow snow, self-promoting pimps and and S&m aficionados … or you end friendships arguing over which bootleg of his Over Nite Sensation ’73 shows is the best.) And on a scale from one to plays-in-a-Joe’s-Garage-cover-band, we’d put Alex Winter’s level of worship somewhere near an eight.

As we enter the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend during an era when the box office is struggling and more weight is being placed on streamers for new product, there are still titles making theatrical debuts amid the digital film landscape as people recover from their turkey-induced tryptophan haze. It all starts with three films spotlighting a trio of artists that made a significant impact on pop culture.

IFC Films is set to release Wednesday the Gabriel Range-directed David Bowie pic Stardust starring Johnny Flynn as the iconic glam rocker as well as Marc Maron and Jena Malone​.

Written by Range and Christopher Bell, Stardust (not to be confused with the 2007 Matthew Vaughn fantasy pic) isn’t a full-blown, cradle-to-the-grave biopic. Instead, it spotlights Bowie’s life at one significant moment in his career — before he...

Alex Winter may be the hardest working man in quarantine. While many studios are shelving their biggest and best films for a later date, Winter has already released two movies to much acclaim in 2020, and he has a third on the way later this month. Following the blockbuster success of Bill & Ted Face the Music and much critical acclaim for his recent documentary Showbiz Kids, the auteur returns with Zappa, his long-awaited in-depth look into the life and work of musician Frank Zappa. The movie will arrive everywhere starting November 27th, with a special one-night-only theatrical event planned for Monday, November 23rd. To celebrate the release, we caught up with Alex Winter to discuss all the blood, sweat and tears that went into what is sure to be the perennial film on Zappa's life.

Alex Winter spent 6 years making Zappa, and had the approval of the Zappa estate, working closely...

Alex Winter’s musical documentary Zappa is a fun movie which frames Frank Zappa the way he should be, as a hero. While this may ring particularly true for fans of the original Mother of Invention, the film is also a must-see for anyone who plugged in a guitar, banged drums, pounded a piano, ruined their teeth on clarinet reeds, or waited for their triangle part to come up in a Julliard School of Music chamber ensemble. It is also for social justice warriors stretching to see beyond the warning labels. The feature documentary is an intimate look at an artist who defied labels, both the record industry ones which curtailed output, and the easy, cheesy, tags of pundits, critics and frightened senate committees.

“This is the beginning of your new future,” Zappa assures an appreciative audience in the archival concert footage which sets the tone. Winter begins the film in the Czech Republic,...

Alex Winter’s “Zappa” is an odd, occasionally jarring documentary, but it wouldn’t make sense for it to be anything else. The film about the iconoclastic musician Frank Zappa sometimes feels like an autobiography from beyond the grave, sometimes playing like a heartfelt tribute and sometimes adopting Zappa’s rhythms and style to be purposefully disorienting. It’s a Zappa-esque concoction — which, of course, is exactly what it ought to be.

The movie was originally scheduled to premiere at South by Southwest in March, but it was pushed back when that festival was canceled. It now opens in theaters and on-demand on Nov. 27 after a special theatrical event on Nov. 23; instead of being the first film in a busy 2020 for Winter that also included directing the HBO documentary “Showbiz Kids” and acting in “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” it’s the last.

It’s also the most hyperkinetic...

Alex Winter has had a busy year with the release of Bill and Ted Face The Music released earlier this year. Winter is an actor that kids from the 80s would best recognize as being one of the vampires in the cult hit The Lost Boys. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure came out in 1989 giving a generation of kids theirs own language. Winter had been busy behind the camera as well as being in front of it. He has directed many documentaries over the past three decades. His latest project should interest many music fans. A film about the private life and times of musician Frank Zappa is about to get released and looks really compelling. With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, Zappa explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex...

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for Alex Winter's Zappa. The documentary attempts to dissect the genius of iconic musician Frank Zappa with stories from some of his closest collaborators. Winter just starred in the critically acclaimed Bill & Ted Face the Music, which proved to be a much bigger hit than many expected during this uncertain time for the entertainment industry. Now, he is behind the camera.

With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, Zappa explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter's assembly features appearances by Frank Zappa's widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank's musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White, and others. This was a labor of love for Winter, who spent years on the documentary.

Peter McGuigan, who co-created the New York literary agency Foundry Literary + Media with Yfat Reiss Gendell, has launched a new agency dubbed Ultra Literary.

The move comes after the news last week that Gendell exited Foundry to form Yrg Partners, taking Foundry agents Tanusri Prasanna, Peter Steinberg and Adriann Ranta Zurhellen and their clients with her. That agency will focus on representing publishing rights for writers and consumer brands.

McGuigan’s client include Trevor Noah, Patrick deWitt, April Ryan, Ben Jealous, Bret Witter, Pamela Des Barres, Ellis Henican, Mike Massimino, Wesley Snipes, Andy Richter, Jeff Foxworthy, Robin Gaby Fisher and Frank Figliuzzi among others. His producer credits include adaptations of the No. 1 bestseller Dewey, as well as Stronger, Dopesick and others.

Foundry agent Kirsten Neuhaus, whose clients include Shark Tank shark Daymond John, is joining McGuigan and will be a part of the management team. Alička Pistek, who worked with McGuigan at Sanford J.

Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous” is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, but not everyone is head-over-heels in love with the coming-of-age classic. Rock n’ roll groupie Pamela Des Barres was one of Kate Hudson’s biggest inspirations for Penny Lane, along with fellow groupie Pennie Lane Trumbull and singer Bebe Buell. Hudson would earn an Oscar nomination for Penny Lane, but “Almost Famous” mostly remains a point of contention for the woman who inspired the actress’s portrayal. In an interview with Vulture, Des Barres says she was “actually dumbstruck” when she first saw the film considering how much Penny Lane resembled her.

“That character was basically more me than Bebe Buell or Pennie Trumbull. She looked way more like me.” Barres says, noting her issue was with Crowe never consulting her about the project. Barres says Penny Lane was “stolen” and “ripped off” from her considering Hudson told her she read her book,...

Magnolia Pictures has acquired the North American rights to “Zappa,” a documentary about the art-rock master Frank Zappa directed by “Bill & Ted Face the Music” star Alex Winter, the distributor announced Thursday.

“Zappa” looks at the life of the innovative artist and musician through access to the Zappa family trust and other archival footage, and Magnolia will release the documentary in theaters and on-demand Nov. 27.

Winter sits down with many of Zappa’s musical collaborators such as Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others. And the documentary also includes appearances by Zappa’s widow Gail.

Also Read: 'The Go-Go's' Film Review: Transcendent Rock Doc Examines 1980s Glass-Ceiling Shatterers

“Alex Winter has created an amazing documentary,” Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles said in a statement. “‘Zappa’ is an incredibly nuanced and compelling look at the visionary iconoclast...

Exclusive: It won’t be absolutely free, but a new Frank Zappa movie is coming to North America. Magnolia Pictures has acquired rights to Zappa, a documentary directed by Bill & Ted’s Alex Winter that will hit theaters and VOD on Thanksgiving weekend.

Billed as an intimate and expansive look into the innovative life of the iconic — and iconoclastic — musician and artist, the pic was made with unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage. It explores the private life behind the musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time.

Zappa features appearances by the musician’s widow Gail Zappa and several of his musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.

“Alex Winter has created an amazing documentary,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “Zappa is...

Miss Mercy, the Frank Zappa muse and style icon who co-founded GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously), has died at age 71, according to a social media message that fellow Gto Pamela Des Barres posted Tuesday. No cause of death was given.

“My beloved sister for most of my life, Miss Mercy has just passed,” Des Barres wrote. “Words don’t work for me at this moment. I can’t imagine my world without her in it.”

The GTOs were only an active band from 1968 to 1970, releasing their sole album, the Frank Zappa-produced Permanent Damage,...

A little more than four years after filmmaker Alex Winter started making a documentary about rock iconoclast and classical composer Frank Zappa’s life, the movie — simply titled Zappa — will premiere at South by Southwest. The festival will take place in Austin, Texas, between March 13th and March 22nd.

Although Zappa has been the subject of many films, Winter’s movie is unique in that it covers the artist’s entire life; he had access to the Zappa family’s vault of uncirculated and rarely seen footage. The film will include commentary from Frank,...

Filmmakers Cody Jarrett and Siouxzan Perry are raising funds through Kickstarter to complete their documentary Tura!,the Incredible True Life Story of Tura Satana, the Russ Meyer & Burlesque Superstar, Asian American Cinema Pioneer and Ultimate Self-Empowered Female. Read the We Are Movie Geeks tribute to Tura Here

The Kickstarter link can be found Here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1486618309/tura-the-tura-satana-documentary

Here is a video from the filmmakers discussing their project and showing some of the footage they’ve already shot:

“Tura!” is the true life story of cult movie icon & burlesque dancer Tura Satana, chopped straight from the pages of her handwritten memoir. Best known as the star of Russ Meyer’s classic film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Tura stunned 1960’s movie audiences as the sexy, dominant, fast-driving, karate-wielding lesbian gang leader Varla. Her groundbreaking look, attitude, and performance were all years ahead of their time and continue to influence...

Lise Romanoff’s Vision Films has announced that they will be releasing the iconic documentary Sunset Strip directed by Hans Fjellestad (When The World Breaks) today across multiple VOD platforms such as iTunes, Xbox, Playstation, Amazon, Blockbuster, Vimeo and direct to consumers via the Yerka player. The film will debut on DVD on December 10th.

The Special Collectors’ Edition DVD will contain a lot of extraordinary bonus material such as extended interviews with the stars revealing their favorite Sunset Strip memories, an animated tour of the Strip, plus a series of thematic featurettes including “Sex” with Tom Arnold, Dita Von Tese, Pamela Des Barres, Hugh Hefner, Slash, Duff McKagan and Dave Navarro; “Rock ‘N Roll” with Slash, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins,Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp and Len Fagan (rock promoter); “Comedy” with Tom Arnold, Paul Mooney, Richard Lewis, Argus Hamilton, Tim Reid, Bill Knoedelseder, Maz Jobrani,...

Infamous rock 'n roll groupie Pamela Des Barres claims her eyes were badly burned during a cosmetic skin treatment ... and now she's suing the doctors who allegedly botched the procedure.According to the suit filed by Pamela -- best known for bedding huge rockers like Mick Jagger and her book "I'm With the Band" ... she went to American Medical Aesthetics and Wellness in L.A. for a treatment in September, 2011.In the docs, Pamela claims...

"From Straight To Bizarre" : Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper and La's Lunatic Fringe", will be released on DVD, February 21, 2012, including rare footage, archive interviews, location shoots, "...and the music that made it all worthwhile..." :

"...in 1968, musician Frank Zappa, desperate to remove himself from his original deal with Verve Records, set up the Bizarre and Straight labels with manager Herb Cohen.

"Records by Zappa with his 'Mothers of Invention' band would rub shoulders in the label's racks with releases by Wild Man Fischer, the all female 'GTOs', acapella gospel collective 'The Persuasions', the first clutch of 'Alice Cooper' records, Tim Buckley's 'Starsailor', live recordings by Lenny Bruce and 'Lord Buckley' and a whole lot more.

"But it would be a 1969 release by the Don Van Vliet aka 'Captain Beefheart', that would provide the 'art-statement' for which the Bizarre/Straight enterprise is remembered best, and which...

HBO has greenlit Spring/Fall, a half-hour comedy pilot led by Tea Leoni.  The series is set in the New York fashion world: Leoni plays "half of a dysfunctional partnership between two women with different approaches to career, family, and friendship."  Kate Robin (Six Feet Under) wrote the script and will produce with Leoni, Jimmy Miller (The Other Guys), and documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler (The September Issue).  Deadline imparts that the pilot will shoot this June. Leoni will next be seen in Tower Heist, which opens November 8.  Hit the jump for a look how this fits into the overall scope of HBO's development. HBO's current half-hour comedies -- Entourage, Hung, Eastbound & Down -- tend to skew male, but the projects in the pipeline suggest intent to program a female-oriented comedy block in the near future.  To name a few: Enlightened - Laura Dern plays a woman who undergoes a spiritual...

Her sister Emily Deschanel has had a comfortable home on Fox Television with the crime comedy series Bones, but now Zooey Deschanel looks to be making a move to TV as well. Deadline reports the (500) Days of Summer actress is in talks to star in a new comedy series from writer/producer Liz Meriwether (No Strings Attached). Originally titled Chicks and Dicks, the currently untitled series is described as a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women. Deschanel is looking at taking the roe of Jessica, an optimistic but unlucky in love elementary school teacher who, after her most recent break-up, moves out of her apartment with her ex and moves in with 3 juvenile guys. Yep, that sounds like the start of a sitcom to me. This would be Ms. Deschanel's first regular TV role (she previously had guest spots on Weeds and Bones). The actress...

Is Fox about to become the network of the Deschanel sisters? Quite possibly, seeing as indie movie darling Zooey Deschanel is in negotiations to star in Fox’s untitled single-camera comedy pilot from writer-producer Liz Meriwether, while Zooey’s sister, Emily, of course stars on Bones.

The Meriwether project, originally titled Chicks and Dicks, is described as a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women. It centers on Jessica, the role Deschanel is eyeing, an optimistic but unlucky-in-love elementary school teacher who, after her most recent break-up, moves out of her apartment with her ex and...

Is Fox about to become the network of the Deschanel sisters? Indie movie darling Zooey Deschanel is in negotiations to star in Fox's untitled single-camera comedy pilot from writer-producer Liz Meriwether, 20th TV and studio-based Chernin Entertainment. Zooey's sister, Emily, of course stars in the veteran Fox procedural Bones. Both the new pilot and Bones are produced by 20th TV. The Liz Meriwether project, originally titled Chicks and Dicks, is described as a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women. It centers on Jessica, a role that Deschanel is eying, an optimistic but unlucky in love elementary school teacher who, after her most recent break-up, moves out of her apartment with her ex and moves in with 3 juvenile guys. This would mark the first regular TV role for (500) Days of Summer star Deschanel, who was recently attached to star in and executive produce an HBO half-hour...

Rocker Huey Lewis is set to be exposed as the biggest man in music - below the belt - in a saucy new TV documentary. Legendary groupie Pamela Des Barres has gathered the most famous backstage girlfriends in rock 'n' roll history to speak candidly about their conquests for VH1's "Let's Spend The Night Together".

In the film, Tura Satana talks about teaching Elvis Presley how to kiss, Lori Mattix recalls losing her virginity to David Bowie and then getting "kidnapped" by Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page and Cynthia Albritton reveals all about making plaster casts of her famous lovers' manhoods.

But it's groupie Connie Hamzy's confessions that are sure to be the highlight of the new show - she tells the Globe Huey Lewis was by far the most well-endowed rocker she bedded.

For the second time in as many months, London’s Leicester Square is the place to be for UK horror fans as the GoreZone International Film Festival returns to the Prince Charles Cinema on October 2nd and 3rd. Featuring not only bevy of blood-soaked movies and guests but also GoreZone Magazine’s first ever awards ceremony, can you afford to miss it?

Check out the full press release:

Roll up, roll up! The third annual GoreZone International Film Festival is hittin’ London on October 2nd and 3rd at the prestigious Prince Charles Cinema on Leicester Square. 13 film premieres, 2 days, no chance for survival!

Hosted by the ever delectable Emily Booth (Evil Aliens) and Christa Campbell (Hyenas), this year’s festival will be covered for broadcast on Lava TV (U.K.) and The Fusion Network (U.S.A.).

This year will also feature our first live awards ceremony with the results,...

VH1 is getting more real -- and shockingly unshocking -- with an across-the-board programming revamp that will include producing a record 44 original series this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Eschewing Flavor of Love and its ilk for more "authenticity" in its upcoming new reality, VH1 will bring viewers dozens of new shows such as You're Cut Off, which aims to reform spoiled party girls, and Money Hungry, in which contestants can lose up to $10,000 of their own cash if they don't cut calories. A whopping 40 percent of programming will return to the network's original focus, music, starting with brand...

When movie pixie Zooey Deschanel and plugged-in folkie M. Ward joined forces in 2008 to form She & Him, the result was a little slice of sunny ’60s-style music that was just extremely catchy, and this week they’re back with more sweet sounds.

Their second album, appropriately enough titled “Volume Two,” isn’t set to come out until March 23, but out now via The Playlist is the music video for the first single, “In the Sun,” which features Deschanel and friends dancing through high school halls in scenes that would have fit squarely in (500) Days of Summer. And Deschanel, who clearly has music on her mind, is at work now on a pilot for HBO based on the book “I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie” by Pamela Des Barres.

Hit the jump to see the new She & Him video, and just try to resist snapping your fingers.

Via...

Actress Zooey Deschanel will portray legendary rock groupie Pamela Des Barres in a new Us TV series.The (500) Days of Summer star will lead the cast in upcoming drama I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie.The project is inspired by Des Barres’ 1987 memoir, in which she revealed all about her trysts with musicians Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page. ...

Ever wonder how TV shows are born? Well, when a Mommy TV show and a Daddy TV show love each other very much, they start to kiss and rub their bodies together, and then they...

Wait, scratch that. Wrong explanation.

The truth is, all year long, broadcast and cable networks hear pitches from writers and producers, which they then commission into actual scripts. Every winter and spring, they order some of these scripts to "pilot," which means the show is cast and a "pilot" episode is shot.

This does not mean that the show is necessarily ever going to make it on air. Pilots are ordered precisely so the networks can decide whether they want to invest in them. From the pilot, they can see how the show looks, whether or not it "works," and whether casting changes are necessary. Case in point, last year Fox passed on Ron Moore...

Actress Zooey Deschanel is to portray legendary rock groupie Pamela Des Barres in a new U.S. TV series.

The (500) Days of Summer star will lead the cast in upcoming drama I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie.

The project is inspired by Des Barres' 1987 memoir, in which the groupie revealed all about her trysts with Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page.

Though the territory was already covered to some extent in Almost Famous, Zooey Deschanel will star in a half-hour dramedy pilot for HBO based on I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, the memoir by famous band-aide Pamela Des Barres. Famous for sleeping her way through a succession of rock and screen stars in the late '60s and early '70s, Des Barres chronicles her exploits and the frequent depression that followed when her interludes with famous dudes didn't turn into anything meaningful. Almost Famous fictionalized the story, and it sounds like this will be based in reality. Which means, if the series is picked up, we could potentially enjoy a parade of 'stars of the week' playing famous rockers and actors. Which would be amusing, if nothing else. [Dhd] After the break, Danny Glover fights dragons (finally!) and Christina Ricci joins Robert Pattinson. It feels as if Danny Glover...

Sarah Chalke is transitioning from medicine to politics, taking a lead role in ABC's comedy pilot "Freshmen."

The former "Scrubs" star will play one of three new members of Congress who share a Washington house, the showbiz trade papers report. Her character will be a successful businesswoman who breezed to victory in her election -- but has a terrible track record in relationships.

Chalke has guested on a couple episodes of "Scrubs" this season but finished her regular run on the show last year. Her credits also include "Roseanne" and a guest arc on "How I Met Your Mother," where she worked with "Freshmen" creator Greg Malins.

Other casting news:

- Zooey Deschanel ("(500) Days of Summer") is set to star in an HBO pilot based on Pamela Des Barres' memoir of her groupie days, "I'm with the Band." She'll also be an executive producer of the project, Deadline Hollywood says.

Taking on a role that’s sure to give her plenty of risque material to work with, Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star in an HBO pilot based on groupie extraordinaire Pamela Des Barres’ book I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, according to Deadline.

Des Barres’ adventures on the rock ‘n’ roll road included - according to her, at least - sexual exploits with Mick Jagger, Keith Moon, Jimmy Page and Gram Parsons, and the oddest of all, even Don Johnson, too.

When I first heard this news, I mistakenly thought she had already played a groupie in Almost Famous, but Deschanel was, of course, instead Anita Miller, brother to our hero, William.

No time frame has been given yet for production of the I’m With the Band pilot and series, but something this fun will surely be put together fast, and when you join...

On the heels of the disappointing news that (500) Days of Summer couldn't get itself an Oscar nod, Deadline Hollywood reports that Zooey Deschanel is heading for the small screen -- not for another Bones visit, but rather her very own show that will finally allow her to be a groupie. She's set to executive produce and star in a new HBO half-hour dramedy based on Pamela Des Barres' I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie.

In other words, she's not going to be the sage sister this time around, but play Des Barres -- one of the inspirations for Penny Lane, Kate Hudson's memorable role in Almost Famous. The woman is said to have had sex with the likes of Jim Morrison, Jimmy Page, Mick Jagger, and Don Johnson (although, presumably, not because of "Heartbeat"). Considering Deschanel's musical talents, I wouldn't be surprised if the show also delves into her Zappa connections.

Branching out to premium television, Zooey Deschanel has signed up to star in HBO’s new pilot based on the book “I’m With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie.”

The book was written by Pamela Des Barres, the woman influenced the character of Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane in “Almost Famous.”

According to press, the half-hour show will essentially follow the book about a groupie’s life and the many famous musicians they encounter.

In other news, Ms Deschanel’s second album with M. Ward is due out in stores on March 23.

Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg and Doug Ellin developing new project about a young political aide HBO is reteaming with Entourage producers Stephen Levinson, Mark Wahlberg and Doug Ellin to develop a new politically-charged series for the network.

According to Variety, the project is from scribe Ben Schwerin, and centers on a young political aide and his relationship with his idol -- the former President of the United States.

The project is currently in the script stage. Schwerin is writing the project and would serve as co-exec producer, while Ellin, Levinson and Wahlberg are all attached as exec producers.

Also on Tuesday, HBO confirmed that it was developing a Zooey Deschanel vehicle based on Pamela Des Barres' memoir "I'm With the Band".

I’ll refrain from any more declarations of love toward HBO’s original series roster, which I proclaimed last week upon the announcement of a David Fincher-backed pilot that’s in development (Mind Hunter). But that degree of restraint isn’t easy when the network pulls a move such as this: Deadline Hollywood reports that the lovely Zooey Deschanel has agreed to star in a new HBO half-hour pilot called I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. The project is based on Pamela Des Barres’s memoir about her exploits as a backstage regular during the 1960s. Deschanel will also produce, along with Curb Your Enthusiam executive producer Tim Gibbons and the actress’s manager, Sarah Jackson.

Whether the show will stick to Des Barres’s famous rumored bedfellows, including Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page, is yet unknown. Rather than a trashy tell-all, though, I’m With...

Indie ingenue Zooey Deschanel will revisit the swinging 1960s in an HBO pilot based on Pamela Des Barres' memoir I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. Deschanel will exec produce the half-hour dramedy with her manager Sarah Jackson and Curb Your Enthusiasm's Tim Gibbons. Des Barres' book details her high-profile flings (Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon) and the depression incurred after each relationship ended. [Dhd]...

Okay, so (500) Days Of Summer actress Zooey Deschanel's new project isn't exactly a TV show based on Cameron Crowe's rock pic, but it does cover some very similar territory. She's signed on to star in US cable channel HBO's new pilot, which will be based on the book 'I'm With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie'.Penned by Pamela Des Barres (one of the influences for Penny Lane in Almost Famous), it chronicles her adventures as she bedded musicians and movie stars in the late 1960s. In her time, Des Barres added the likes of Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Don Johnson and many more to the notches on her bed post, but while the life was glamorous and exciting for a time, there was always the prospect of a younger model waiting to take her place.The half-hour show (assuming it gets picked up beyond the pilot) will...

Exclusive: While (500) Days of Summer didn’t get the Best Picture nod as some expected, good things keep happening for those involved. Zooey Deschanel has just committed to star in an HBO half-hour pilot that will be based on I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, the Pamela Des Barres’ memoir of bed-hopping with musicians and movie stars in the late 1960s. Deschanel will be executive producer with her longtime manager Sarah Jackson of Seven Summits, and Tim Gibbons, an executive producer of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Des Barres bragged about her bedroom experiences with the likes of Mick [...]...

For years I strove to warn the nation of this menace among us. I did so despite the barrage of abuse I received from her and her ideological pedicurists--vicious, personal comments which would have hurt my feelings, if I had any. I persevered despite the flak I received because I believed the danger that she presented to our sanity, decency, grammar, punctuation, fashion tastes, and political dialogue justified pointing the finger of shame at her and washing that finger thoroughly afterwards to return it to the pink of innocence. My work, so long reviled, has not been in vain. The alarms I raised have finally been heeded. For others, whose politics I do not share but whose reasoning capabilities remain intact, have also awakened to the crumby antics of blogdom's Sarah Palin of High-Decibel Disassociation, "Pamela Geller: Poster Girl for Eurofascists." I confess, the murky intricacies of European fringe-group activity...