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A true "chameleon" in the film industry is an actor that can disappear into their work. However, a true monkey in the film industry is an actor that can disappear into their work and is also a huge cash cow. Or maybe that is just the modern industry legend, Crystal the Capuchin.

There is a lot of animal imagery going on here, but what you need to know is that Crystal is a certified movie star, and a rather lucrative one at that. Though you are likely to recognize Crystal from her decades-long, illustrious film and TV career in hits like Night at the Museum, here is the story behind the underrated celebrity, from her stage roots to her billions-making ongoing stint as a supporting lady on screen.

A Star Is Born

Crystal is a Tufted Capuchin monkey. Born on May 6, 1994, she is currently 30 years old. Her owner, now famed Hollywood animal trainer Tom Gunderson,...

Chicago Fire is once again burning hot.

Season 13 is averaging 7.7 million total viewers (including delayed playback, through the first seven episodes), down just 10% from the strikes-shortened and -delayed Season 12. It stands as broadcast TV’s No. 6 drama in total audience, trailing Tracker, Matlock, FBI, NCIS and Elsbeth, and just barely outdrawing lead-in Chicago Med. Chicago Fire’s 0.6 demo rating ranks fourth among all broadcast dramas airing this fall.

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Exclusive: Tyler Labine (New Amsterdam) has been tapped for a recurring role in the fifth season of Apple’s acclaimed space drama For All Mankind.

The actor will play Fred, a Mars Peacekeeper. The expanding cast for this season also includes Mireille Enos and Costa Ronin, as previously reported.

Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, For All Mankind picks up in an alternative version of 1969, in which the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, watching as the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals. The latest season rocketed the series into the new millennium: In the eight years since Season 3, Happy Valley has rapidly expanded its footprint on Mars by turning former foes into partners. It’s now 2003, and the focus of the space program has turned to the capture and mining of extremely valuable, mineral-rich asteroids that...

Chicago Fire is once again burning hot.

Season 12 has been averaging more than 9 million weekly viewers, making it the most-watched entertainment program on NBC and the No. 4 drama on all of broadcast TV (trailing only CBS’ Tracker, NCIS and FBI).

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Delayed by the dual Hollywood strikes, the 13-episode Season 12 did not premiere until Jan. 17, and it already had one multi-week hiatus.

Jack Axelrod, the actor who played the role of Victor Jerome on General Hospital, has died. He was 93.

Multiple reports indicate that Axelrod died on Nov. 28 of natural causes in Los Angeles.

Axelrod was featured on the ABC soap for 40 episodes between 1987 and 1989. He had previously made guest appearances in Kojak (1977), Hill Street Blues (1984), Dallas (1983), The Judge (1986), Dynasty (1987), Outlaws (1987) and Night Court (1989).

“I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him in his last years, as he had no immediate family,” representative Jennifer Garland said in a statement to EW. “We spent much time outdoors, where Jack loved to sketch, read news articles, and recite Shakespearean sonnets.”

Following his stint on General Hospital, Axelrod went on to play Arnie Zimmer on three episodes of Knots Landing between 1989 and 1990. Guest appearances would follow on shows like Murphy Brown (1992), Everybody Loves Raymond (1999), Boys Meets World (1999), Good vs Evil (1999), Jack & Jill...

New Amsterdam star Tyler Labine just had some real-life medical drama of his own.

The actor recently spent three days in the hospital after suffering a potentially fatal blood clot, he shared on Instagram. Labine reveals that he woke up with a bad stomachache and went to the ER, and “sometimes your tummy ache turns out to be a potentially fatal blood clot in your intestines and liver and you have to spend the next 3 days in the hospital trying not to die.”

More from TVLineWhy'd Big Sky Deny Us Any Hook-Ups? Did Feds Trot Out Trope Too Soon? Is...

How do you ensure authenticity so that your designs don’t look like sets and props? What film of TV series do you hold up as a gold standard in production design?

These were some of the questions answered by six of today’s top TV production designers when they joined Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” group roundtable panel with 2022 Emmy contenders: Tony Fanning (“The First Lady”), Stephan Olson (“Live in Front of a Studio Audience”), Bill Groom (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Laurence Bennett (“The Offer”), Kave Quinn (“Pistol”) and Aiyana Trotter (“The Wonder Years”). Watch our full group chat above and click on each name above to view each person’s individual interview.

See over 350 interviews with 2022 Emmy contenders

“For me, realism is the number one,” Olsen says about ensuring a level of authenticity on set. “I mean, that’s what I try to go for, even...

Six top TV production designers will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2022 Emmy Awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Thursday, June 2, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Rob Licuria and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.

RSVP today to our entire ongoing Emmy contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.

This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2022 contenders:

The First Lady (Showtime)

Synopsis: Many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies.

Bio: Tony Fanning was an Emmy winner for “The West Wing.

Exclusive: ABC has put in development Kim’s Spa, a semi-autobiographical multi-camera comedy from Peter Kim (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Mad TV alum Bobby Lee, both of whom star, The McCarthys creator Brian Gallivan and CBS Studios.

Written by Kim based on his life, in Kim’s Spa a pragmatic young man (Kim) returns home to work with his brother (Lee) and their lovable group of misfit relatives after their father dies in the hot tub of their family-owned Korean spa.

Kim and Lee are co-executive producers. Artists First’s Peter Principato, Brooke Shoemaker, and Casey Neumeier are executive producers. Gallivan is supervising producer.

Lee is maybe best known for his many years on Mad TV, and his top streaming comedy podcasts, Tiger Belly and Bad Friends. Other television credits include starring in ABC’s Splitting Up Together and NBC’s Animal Practice, as well as guest spots on Game On,...

Apple has landed their second project with Julianne Moore, Sharper, in which the Still Alice Oscar winner will play a con artist in Manhattan’s billionaire echelon. Apple will partner with A24 on the feature, which will serve as the studio, as well as Picturestart which is attached as the production company.

Apple scored Sharper, written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, in a competitive situation. Moore will produce Sharper with Bart Freundlich, Gatewood, Tanaka and Erik Feig of Picturestart.

Moore’s upcoming Apple TV+ limited series Lisey’s Story reps her first project with Apple. Based on Stephen King’s 2006 bestselling novel, and executive produced by King, Moore and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Warner Bros. TV, Lisey’s Story follows Lisey (Moore) two years after the death of her husband (Clive Owen). A series of events causes Lisey to begin facing certain realities about her husband...

NBC is looking to become more flexible when it comes to episode orders as Co-Chairmen George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy lifted the lid on their plans to “rewrite the rules” on the traditional network development process.

The pair, who this morning laid out their first full season schedule since taking over from Bob Greenblatt last year, also discussed how the linear network will work closely with NBCUniversal’s forthcoming Svod service in terms of development.

The network would not elaborate about specifics about its non-traditional episode orders but, according to sources, they will be implemented across the board, in comedy, drama and non-scripted.

Telegdy said, “There are some episode orders that I think you’ll consider as non-traditional length. For as long as I’ve understood American network television, people have talked about order numbers of 13 with a back nine. We’re looking at it in terms of a far...

JoAnna Garcia Swisher has signed on for a leading role in the ABC single-camera comedy pilot “Happy Accident,” Variety has learned.

She joins previously announced cast member Matt Walsh. The show follows two Pittsburgh families – father Bud (Walsh) with three adult daughters, and a hotel lounge singer with her med student son – are forced together after a decades-old secret is revealed. Garcia Swisher will play Eleanor Bennett, a professor at Pitt who is also Bud’s oldest daughter.

The casting continues Garcia Swisher’s long relationship with ABC. She has previously starred in ABC shows like “Once Upon a Time,” “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,” and “The Astronaut Wives Club.” She is also known for roles in shows like “Reba,” “Are You Afraid of the Dark?,” and “Animal Practice.” On the film side, she has held roles in projects like “Not Another Teen Movie,” “Fist Fight,” and “The Internship.”

She...

The Fox comedy “Dan the Weatherman” is recasting two key roles, Variety has learned.

JoAnna Garcia Swisher is joining the project as Deborah, taking over the role played in the original pilot by Ashley Williams. Jack Stanton will play Dan Jr., the role originally played by Dashiell McGaha-Schletter. The pair will join the rest of the cast to re-shoot scenes from the pilot this summer, with the single-cam series still in contention for a midseason pickup at the broadcaster.

Williams most recently appeared as Ariel in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” in addition to starring in fellow ABC series “Kevin Probably Saves the World.” Her other TV credits include roles in “Reba,” “The Astronaut Wives Club,” “Gossip Girl,” and “Animal Practice.

For Stanton, joining “Dan the Weatherman” keeps him in the Fox family. He previously starred as Ben in the Fox comedy series “The Mick,” which was recently canceled after two seasons.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: What’s a show that you may have quit or written off, but were happy that you gave a second chance?

(This could mean a show that got better as it went along, a show that course-corrected, a show that you felt got lumped together with others and therefore didn’t get a fair shake at first, or one that you see differently because of some changed perspective in your own life.)

Pilot Viruet (@pilotbacon), Vice

This question is good timing because I just spent my weekend watching all of Halt and Catch Fire! I remember watching the first episode at a preview screening and struggling...

Huayi Brothers will invest up to $350m in the project.

China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp is establishing a joint venture with Captain America director-producers Joe and Anthony Russo to produce a slate of film and TV projects for global distribution.

Huayi Brothers is investing $250m in the new venture for project development, IP acquisition and developing theme parks based on the company’s properties – and plans to tip in a further $100m to cover production costs.

The Beijing-based studio will retain exclusive distribution rights to the joint venture’s productions in Greater China and Southeast Asia.

The new venture plans to produce big-budget, English-language franchise movies, with the Russo Brothers producing and sometimes also directing. Production is not expected to commence until the Russo Brothers have completed their existing commitments on Disney/Marvel’s upcoming The Avengers movies.

The Russo Brothers credits include Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. They are also...

How big can Dick Wolf’s Chicago universe grow?

“Every time I think Dick Wolf has finished what he’s started, he comes up with another idea,” NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said at TCA today. “Conventional wisdom would probably say if you get one spinoff you’re probably in the 99th percentile of success, but to have three, I think we’re gilding the lily to go beyond that.” While a fourth spinoff appears unlikely at the moment, “I’ll never count Dick Wolf out.”

NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke laid out what’s on Wolf’s plate in the near future: “to stabilize the Chicago Fire franchise and launch the Menendez Brothers miniseries,” part of the new Law & Order: True Crime limited series franchise. And then, “look to New York for another crime franchise down the line.”

Salke also said that the network is considering “big Universal franchise pieces, looking at two to three big tries in that area.”

Last season, the network tried to reboot cult sci-fi drama Heroes, but Heroes Reborn didn’t attract the broad audience NBC was hoping for. Greenblatt indicated that introducing new characters and not bringing the original cast in characters fans knew and loved had to do with that, noting Fox’s reboots of The X-Files and Prison Break, both of which were able to secure the original stars. “That’s a distinction,” Greenblatt said.

After experimenting with broad comedy a la Animal Practice, NBC is returning to The Office era. The change of direction is exemplified by the success of Superstore, Greenblatt said.

“Finally, this feels back to an NBC-smart, specific show that has heart,” he said. “It’s not a trying-to-please-the-whole-world show.”

The network is going down its road with its new crop of comedies including Superstore‘s companion on Thursday night The Good Place, Greenblatt said.

MADtv is bringing out the big guns to help usher in its new era on The CW.

Nicole Sullivan, who starred on the original MADtv from 1995 to 2001, and Will Sasso (1997–2002) will guest-star in the new series’ premiere on July 26 (9/8c), TVLine has learned exclusively. Bobby Lee (2001–2009) is also confirmed to appear in an upcoming episode.

RelatedMADtv Gets Premiere Date on The CW — Meet the Revival’s New Cast

Since leaving MADtv, Sullivan has recurred on Scrubs, Cougar Town and The King of Queens, in addition to starring in her own short-lived Lifetime sitcom Rita Rocks; Sasso went on to appear on shows like Justified,...

Can you dig it? Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, of Captain America: Civil War and Captain America: The Winter Soldier fame are developing The Warriors TV show with Paramount and Hulu. The Russos executive produced the Animal Practice TV show which was cancelled after six of nine episodes aired on NBC. They also served as executive producers on cancelled series Community and Happy Endings.The brothers will reimagine the 1979 Walter Hill film of the same name, for television. The cult-classic feature was based on Sol Yurick's 1965 novel. Deadline says, "Their take will honor the original film while adding its own unique brand of grit, pulp, sex and violence. The Russo brothers will team with writer Frank Baldwin on the series. The Russo brothers will...

Channing Tatum's production company Free Association has announced the new buddy cop action-comedy series "Iron Fisting" which A24 will finance and co-produce.

The series is described as a fictional 1980s Romania-set cop show that will follow the adventures of a pair of mismatched policemen partners. Along the way it will skew the buddy cop genre as the two protagonists strive to protect the Communism of 1980s Romania from the evils of Capitalism.

Like a real Romanian series, the project will be dubbed in English and will be shot in Eastern Europe in September. No actors have been cast, and no network is yet attached.

Brian Gatewood and Alex Tanaka ("Animal Practice") created the show and will serve as executive producers, while SNL alum Rhys Thomas will direct.

Source: EW...

Four years ago, NBC previewed new comedies Go On and Animal Practice during the London Summer Olympics. This year, the network is taking its only returning comedy series, Superstore, which will produce an original episode to air following one night of coverage from the games in Rio. “We think that can give this show an enormous amount of attention,” NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said during the network’s upfront call. Coming directly off the games will be new reality series…...

Are you an animal-loving actor? Then you know that even in movies starring the likes of Ben Stiller, Ian McKellen, or Jim Carrey, a talented dolphin, horse, dog, or monkey can run away with the show. We’ve rounded up seven of our favorite animal actors in everything from “Mr. Poppers Penguins” to “The Lord of the Rings.” Now who’s a good boy? Crystal the MonkeyThere’s no monkeying around when this little lady hits the set—she’s a professional! Named in 2012 as one of television’s highest paid actors, audiences know Crystal from feature comedies like the “Night at the Museum” franchise and “The Hangover Part II,” as well as television series “Community” and “Animal Practice.” Cosmo the DogThis talented Jack Russell terrier made such an impact on set that “Beginners” star Ewan McGregor wrapped shooting and adopted a dog of his own. Cosmo has also had...

Reaper

Showcase Inventory

Created by Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters

Produced by Dark Baby Productions, The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios, Fazekas & Butters

Aired on The CW for 2 season (31 episodes) from September 25, 2007 – May 26, 2009

Cast

Bret Harrison as Sam Oliver

Tyler Labine as Burt ‘Sock’ Wysocki

Missy Peregrym as Andi Prendergast

Rick Gonzalez as Ben Gonzalez

Ray Wise as the Devil

Show Premise

Sam Oliver is a coddled college dropout who spends his daily routine living a low stakes life with his slacker friends while working at a hardware megastore named “The Work Bench”. He’s got no real skills, no ambition, and no desire for much of anything, except for maybe harboring a longtime crush on his coworker Andi. A fire is put under Sam after he learns that his parents had sold his soul to the Devil, which will be claimed upon his 21st birthday. When the Devil arrives, he...

Last night, Tracy Morgan returned to Saturday Night Live and reunited with the other castmembers of 30 Rock -- Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer and Jane Krakowski. Aside from his Emmy appearance last month, it was Morgan's first performance on television since his limousine accident in June 2014.

In his opening monologue, Morgan thanks friends and viewers for their out pouring of love and support. He then recalled a 2012 episode of 30 Rock that revolved around his character being in a serious accident. That led into the sketch -- complete with digs at NBC and their cancelled series from that era, musical drama Smash and the Animal Practice sitcom.

After the sketch, Morgan was joined onstage by his friends and co-stars. Take a look:

What do you think? Did you enjoy the brief revival of 30 Rock?...

Saturday Night Live, Season 41, Episode 3, “Tracy Morgan/Demi Lovato”

Airs Saturdays at 11:30 pm Et on NBC (East coast version watched for review)

Host: All Tracy Morgan had to do was stand up on stage and crack a few jokes. Nobody had any right to expect Morgan to reach the kind of lunatic heights he did in his prime. But to watch Morgan come on SNL tonight, trot out all of his old staples from the show, and absolutely slay is one of the warmest, most uplifting moments to air in the history of TV. It’s an incredibly hard thing to articulate, because to just talk about how funny Tracy is tonight is bad writing, as is just listing adjectives for how inspiring his recovery is. But that’s the draw of it: Tonight is Tracy Morgan’s comeback and he’s still funnier than everyone else. Morgan’s...

Tracy Morgan made it back to Saturday Night Live with a little help from his 30 Rock friends.

"I was in a terrible car accident more than a year ago. It was awful, but it also showed me how much love and support I have in this world," Morgan said, returning to SNL for the first time following a tragic car accident that put him in a coma last year.

Morgan joked about concerns that he might have suffered brain damage.

"People are wondering, 'Can he speak? Does he have 100 percent mental capacity?' " Morgan asked. "The truth is, I never did.

The Jim Gaffigan Show, which premiered Wednesday, might be an autobiographical sitcom based on the life of a popular stand-up comedian. It is not, however, about his career as a stand-up comic.

RelatedCable Renewal Scorecard 2015: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled? What’s on the Bubble?

The eponymous vehicle is about Jim’s life as a well-to-do husband to wife Jeannie (Ashley Williams, How I Met Your Mother) and their attempt to maintain sanity all while raising five — yes five! — young children in a two-bedroom apartment.

In the premiere episode, their status quo is threatened when Jeannie suspects...

Fox

Over the past few years, many iconic TV comedies have come to an end, leaving fans desperately searching for something new to fill the void. Original greats like 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother and Futurama all went off the air within a few years of each other, while so many new sitcoms struggled to live up to that high standard as replacements, many cancelled before we even got to know them at all.

Let’s face it, Selfie and Animal Practice aren’t about to become your new addiction. Nobody is going to remember S*it My Dad Says with William Shatner as anything more than a complete and utter waste of time. And how Melissa and Joey managed to make over 100 episodes before viewers were put out of their misery, we’ll never know.

While the hole in your heart left by...

Wayward Pines, Season 1, Episode 3, “Our Town, Our Law”

Written by Chad Hodge

Directed by Zal Batmanglij

Airs Thursdays at 9pm (Et) on Fox

You can say this for Wayward Pines: for a show that’s built on big mysteries and has a lot of actors that most shows would kill to have around for a few episodes, it’s not a show that has any reticence about making big moves. Perhaps because they’re conscious of only having ten episodes to play around with, or perhaps because they’re cognizant of having a limited amount of source material (not that that stops Game Of Thrones) but “Our Town, Our Law” pushes things forward in a very meaningful way. It upends circumstances for over half of the characters, takes out its second big-name star in as many weeks, and adds ever more sides to the polygon that is the true nature of Wayward Pines.

Sam Laybourne has closed a two-year overall deal with ABC Studios, where he will supervise and develop new projects for the studio. Laybourne co-created, wrote and executive produced NBC’s The Michael J. Fox Show, which aired last year. His other credits include ABC’s Cougar Town, Fox’s Arrested Development, The CW’s Aliens In America and NBC’s Animal Practice. Laybourne also sold comedy project Juvie to ABC last year. He is repped by UTA and Myman…...

Update: Marvel has officially confirmed that Joe and Anthony Russo will indeed direct the two-part Avengers: Infinity War movie, due out in 2018 and 2019. Even just five years ago, Anthony and Joe Russo were carving out a pretty healthy career as directors on doomed TV shows like Carpoolers, Running Wilde, and Animal Practice, about a veterinarian whose best friend is a monkey. Of course, they did also work on good shows like Arrested Development, Happy Endings, and Community, but the point is they were just small screen guys doing simple sitcoms with small casts and zero special effects. So, naturally, they're the guys who will be directing both parts of another series that has small casts and zero special effects, The Avengers: Infinity War - Parts 1 and 2. Badass...

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First a show of hands, how many of you think the Puppet Master is dead?

No, I mean really dead. Sure Puppet Master’s always been a second-tier villain. After all, anyone who had access to his radioactive clay and a grade school art class could duplicate his powers. But how many think he’s really never-coming-back-from-the-dead dead?

Probably the same number of people who think that the Thing really killed him. However, as things sit in Fantastic Four v5 #13, Thing was sitting in Ryker’s Island waiting trial for murdering Puppet Master. Until Thing recruited his own version of the Impossible Mission Force and broke out of prison.

Step One: Thing met with his lawyer, She-Hulk. Step Two: Ant-Man shrank down to subatomic size so he could navigate along the wiring of Ryker’s Island and use a pulse bomb to shut down the cell cubes and power dampeners...

Sony Pictures has signed Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo to a three-year first-look deal that begins this April. The brothers and filmmakers will develop new projects for Sony and their subsidiaries Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures. Here's what Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad had to say in a statement regarding the deal

"Joe and Anthony Russo are terrifically exciting filmmakers with a sensibility that matches the tastes of audiences worldwide."

The news comes less than a month after Sony and Marvel finalized a deal to bring Sony Pictures' Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Leaked emails from the Sony hack last year revealed that the Russos were coming aboard to produce Sony's new Spider-Man movie, but that was never confirmed. The Spider-Man reboots hits theaters in July 2017, after the new Spidey debuts in an unconfirmed Marvel movie, which many believe to be the Russos' Captain America: Civil War.

Undeterred by the failure of Animal Practice, NBC is banking once more on the American public's obvious love for adorable animals, giving a put pilot commitment to a TV adaptation of Marley & Me. Or, seeing as the network also ordered another It Crowd remake, maybe it's just getting in on the ground floor of the sure-to-be forthcoming wave of mid-2000s nostalgia. Both versions of Marley & Me have ended with the death of the eponymous dog, and it's unclear what the story's move to a serialized medium like television means for the beloved pet's longevity. Will Marley die in May sweeps every year, only to return each September as if nothing had changed — or, as in Lost, will the show postpone Marley's fatal case of gastric dilatation volvulus until the show receives a concrete end date? Either way, John Grogan keeps getting those checks.

It's no big secret that those who work in show business have the potential to make a pretty penny. For those of you who have always wondered what people's paychecks in Hollywood really look like, we've got the answers. From actors like Leonardo DiCaprio to the little monkey in Animal Practice, these folks are bringing in the big bucks. However, not all salaries are what you'd expect them to look like. See for yourself!

You won't believe how much some stars make, even when they're monkeys.

We all knew celebs make big bucks for appearing in films, on TV, in commercials, in video games, and for just showing up at night clubs. But according to this recent comprehensive examination of Hollywood salaries by THR, some stars make way more than we ever realized, while others make significantly less.

Here are 12 of the most surprising things we learned from the report…

Robert Downey Jr.'s 'Iron Man' Payday Is Bonkers

The Iron Man series is one of the most successful film franchises ever, so it shouldn't come as a shock that he would get good money. But $75 million is a lot, no matter who you are. How did he make that much? Part of his deal included getting 7% of the film's total gross.

Leo Made Way More Than Jonah On 'Wolf Of Wall Street'

While they both got Oscar nominations...

Right about now, the lights should be on in the Beverly Hilton ballroom for the very first panel of the summer 2014 Television Critics Association press tour. I'm not due to arrive at tour until sometime tomorrow, but Fienberg and other members of the TCA should be there, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the start of the 16-day event (which, for many people, will run straight into the start of Comic-Con). Each time I get ready to go to press tour (give or take that time that I broke my ankle), I like to present some version of the guide to press tour I originally wrote in my Star-Ledger days (with a lot of help from Matt Zoller Seitz). If you've been following my tour coverage all this time, odds are you know a lot of this and can skip down to the bottom for the 10 biggest questions Dan and I have about this current tour,...

In a small victory, NBC has renewed a freshman comedy. In a predictable defeat, NBC has cancelled a J.J. Abrams-produced drama. Actually, ABC did a lot more than that on Friday (May 9), but you've already seen Sepinwall's stories on the glorious renewal of "Hannibal" and the tragic cancellation of "Community." You can decide if you feel similar elation and dejected about this latest bit of NBC Good News/Bad News: The network has ordered a second season for "About a Boy," but NBC has also confirmed that the second season will be the end of the line for "Revolution." The renewal for "About a Boy" wasn't a shocker. Boosted by "The Voice," the Jason Katims adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel and subsequent film has been NBC's biggest comedy success in several years, even if ratings have been slipping somewhat in recent weeks. As the news broke, there...

CBS has signed talent holding deals with three actors following their performances at January’s Diversity Comedy Showcase, including a deal for a lead role in the pilot for the upcoming “How I Met Your Mother” spinoff “How I Met Your Dad.” As previously reported by TheWrap, Drew Tarver has signed on for a role on “How I Met Your Dad,” playing Todd, the best friend and college roommate of Sally (Greta Gerwig) who is now married to Sally’s brother. Tarver, a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Harold Team, has appeared on “Animal Practice” and “Newsreaders,” and has created and.

The How I Met Your Dad gang is starting to come together. Soon enough, they’ll need a booth to fit them all.

But for now, EW has confirmed that Drew Tarver has been cast as Todd, Sally’s “best friend and roommate from college who is now married to her brother.” Sally is of course played by Greta Gerwig.

Tarver was discovered at a CBS Diversity Showcase in January and signed to a CBS Talent Holding Deal before being cast in the How I Met Your Mother spin-off. He previously worked on Animal Practice and Newsreaders.

Exclusive: From obscurity to a lead of one of the hottest pilots — that has been the trajectory for young actor Drew Tarver over the past month. Exactly a month ago, the Upright Citizens Brigade member performed at CBS‘ 9th annual Diversity Showcase as a Lgbt participant. The network signed him in a talent holding deal, and he has now been cast as one of the leads of How I Met Your Mother spinoff How I Met Your Dad. In the vein of the original series, Himyd tells the story from a female point of view, that of Sally (Greta Gerwig), and revolves around a new group of friends in New York. Tarver will play Todd, Sally’s best friend and roommate from college who is now married to her brother. Related: 2014 CBS Pilots Tarver, repped by Paradigm and Industry Entertainment, has trained at Ucb, the Groundlings, Westside Comedy Theatre and Acme Theater in New York.

Remember when 12.8 million people tuned in to the premiere of Animal Practice? Not many do. NBC's ill-fated veterinary sitcom, complete with monkey co-star, fell off the ratings ledge after its big post-London Olympics debut. It was canceled after just six episodes. The network's strategy to sample new series immediately after coverage of the Olympic Games did not yield long-lasting results in 2012, but Sochi's comparatively small showing this past weekend set a lower bar. Midseason comedies About a Boy and Growing Up Fisher fared well in their Saturday and Sunday openers, and they're all-

read more...

This week's gold-medal question: Can NBC reverse its spotty track record when it comes to using the ratings boost of the Olympics to launch new programs? (Remember the Summer 2012 debacle when the network interrupted the flow of London's Closing Ceremony to inflict Animal Practice on an unwilling captive audience?)

The news is better this weekend, during the closing nights of the Games. The comedies getting a sneak peek are considerably more entertaining than Animal Practice — what wouldn't be? — and they won't air until after that night's Olympics packages are finished.

First up is NBC's best new comedy of the season (including the star-driven disappointments that flopped on Thursdays this fall): About a Boy, airing Saturday night at approximately 11/10c before moving to its regular time period next Tuesday at 9/8c. This charmingly offbeat ...

Read More >...

Perhaps he should have focused on saving his own show. After stumbling out of the gate back in October and continuing to lose viewers throughout its freshman run, Sean Saves the World has been pulled off the air by NBC.

The half-hour comedy, which starred Sean Hayes as a gay single father struggling to balance his teenage daughter, domineering mother and professional career, never found the loyal audience that NBC was clearly expecting it to. The series premiere scored a very weak 1.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 4.4 million viewers total, and the story only got worse week after week. The latest episode averaged 0.7 in the adults 18-49 demographic and drew a series low audience of 2.6 million.

The show was set to run for 18 episodes after receiving a five-episode pickup earlier in the season, but NBC shut down production on the set after only 14 episodes of that order had been shot.

“Cynicism be gone!” Jason Bateman told TV critics during NBC’s Q&A session for new comedy Growing Up Fisher about a kid who played a large role in helping his father cover up his blindness until dad gets a guide dog when his parents divorce. (Watch trailer below) It’s based on the actual childhood of show creator/exec producer DJ Nash — including the pilot scene in which Dad, played by J.K. Simmons, cuts down a tree in the yard with a chainsaw while asking family members where the house is relative to the tree. Even so, TV critics at Winter TV Press Tour 2014 had trouble with the concept, and with the tone. “Where’s the tears and the drama?” one critic asked of the pilot. It’s a comedy. Batemen, who exec produces and is The Voiceover Guy on the show, said they made a conscious decision to...

Donna Martin investigates! — and Kelly Taylor is going to be right alongside her.

ABC Family has greenlit Mystery Girls, starring Beverly Hills, 90210 alums Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth.

The project follows a former starlet named Charlie Contour (Garth), a suburban housewife and mom, who is roped into solving crimes with her former mystery TV show co-star Holly Hamilton (Spelling) when a witness to a crime — and a huge fan of their former show — will only speak to the infamous Mystery Girls.

Spelling, Garth and Maggie Malina (Single Ladies) will executive-produce the show, which is based on a story by Spelling...

British actor Asa Butterfield, 16, is in talks to join Clive Owen and Jacki Weaver in Benaroya Pictures’s forthcoming indie comedy “King of the Castle,” according to The Wrap. The film will mark the directorial debuts of Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, whose notable screenwriting credits include their short-lived NBC comedy “Animal Practice” and David [...]

The post “Ender’s Game” Star Asa Butterfield in Talks to Join Clive Owen in “King of the Castle” appeared first on Up and Comers.

Here’s a few new names coming to NBC’s breakout hit The Blacklist this season. The show has booked the following guest stars for an upcoming episode:

– William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption) will play “Sam,” a man from Liz’s past who is gravely ill and reaches out to Liz.

– Comedian Andrew Dice Clay (Entourage) plays “Dr. Maltz,” a plastic surgeon who altered the face of the latest criminal on the Blacklist. Liz and Red try to convince him to reveal the identity.

– Justin Kirk (Animal Practice, Weeds) plays Nathaniel Wolff, the founder of a movement of anti-capitalists, and...

Hulu has rounded out its cast for its upcoming supernatural comedy, “Deadbeat.” “Percy Jackson” movie franchise star Brandon T. Jackson and ABC Family’s “Melissa & Joey” actress Lucy DeVito have joined the series, which started production in New York City on Tuesday. They join star Tyler Labine (“Reaper,” “Boston Legal,” “Animal Practice”), who plays Kevin Pacalioglu, a hapless but gifted medium who will go to any lengths to help New York’s ghosts settle their unfinished business. Also read: ‘So You Think You Can Dance’s’ Cat Deeley Joins Hulu Series ‘Deadbeat’ (Exclusive) Jackson will play Kevin’s best (and only) friend,...

The Revolution was televised… to a slightly smaller demo rating, as NBC’s sophomore drama christened its new Wednesday time slot sans a cushy Voice lead-in.

With a total audience of 6.8 million viewers matching its series-low 1.8 rating, Revolution was of course down sharply from its rather boffo series premiere (11.7 mil/4.1), but also off two tenths from its freshman finale (6.2 mil/2.0), both of which aired Mondays at 10.

Related | Revolution Post Mortem: The Firefly Mystery, Monroe’s Lost Mojo, Aaron’s [Spoiler] and More Burning Questions Answered

That said, it added some eyeballs versus where it left off and greatly improved on...

NBC has put in development two single-camera projects from up-and-coming writers. An untitled family comedy from Aseem Batra (Animal Practice), exec produced by Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and Joe and Anthony Russo, is loosely based on Batra’s life growing up in Georgia. It centers on a single dad who moves his out-of-control family from the chaos of a big city to a quiet but quirky town in the deep south. Universal TV, where Batra is under an overall deal, is producing. Under the pact, Batra, repped by Odenkirk Provissiero and Wme, also is consulting on new NBC comedy series Sean Saves The World. Craig Gerard and Matthew Zinman‘s Season Tickets, from 20th Century Fox TV, centers on a New York transplant who finds family when he joins a section of season ticket holders for the Kansas City Royals. Gerard and Zinman, repped by UTA and attorney Ken Richman,...