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Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Polygamy, stunt movie and swimsuit TV
Leave it to HBO — “It’s not TV … It’s HBO” — to come up with a drama series about a guy with three spousal units.
Yep, “Big Love,” which will premiere sometime next year, is a series about a polygamist. Wonder why they didn’t call it “My Three Wives”?
Although it may sound slightly ridiculous, the series has an impressive pedigree.
Created by Will Scheffer (“In the Gloaming”) and Mark Olsen, it stars Bill Paxton as the Utah man with a busy domestic life. Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin have signed on to play his devoted wives.
Supporting players include Bruce Dern, Harry Dean Stanton and Grace Zabriskie.
Oh, and Tom Hanks is billed as a co-executive producer, which probably means he used his name and influence to get the project off the ground.
Wonder if the series will even get on the air in Utah, which outlawed polygamy years ago and isn’t thrilled when the topic pops up and garners bad publicity.
Q: When is a movie not a movie?
A: When it’s the prize in a reality show contest.
Tonight’s “Bet Your Life” on NBC (at 7 p.m., if you’re desperate enough to watch), features “Next Action Star” winners Corinne van Ryck de Groot and Sean Carrigan. They get to deal with flaming cars, helicopters, gunfire, falling from tall things and big explosions.
At first I thought this must be a Groucho Marx bio-pic. But unfortunately, it’s not “You Bet Your Life.”
Billy Zane, a real actor apparently low on mortgage money, plays a sadistic villain named Joseph.
The story is a loose adaptation of Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game.” Loosely based because it’s only loosely a movie.
Fenneman, lower the duck.
Smile, you’re on S.I.’s cover and TV!
Last year Sports Illustrated hyped its always-popular swimsuit issue by holding a nationwide competition for the bod to grace the cover.
This year the magazine has struck a deal with NBC to turn the search into a reality show, “Sport Illustrated’s Fresh Faces Competition.” The six-episode series will debut in early 2005 and end with the release of the Feb. 15 S.I. swimsuit edition.
In casting calls across this great land of ours, magazine editors will be looking for a “combination of beauty, athleticism and personality.” In other words, matchstick models need not apply.
After the two finalists are photographed in teeny-weeny bikinis at exotic locales, viewers will get to vote for the winner.
Besides the honor of appearing on the S.I. cover, the winner will receive a $1 million modeling contract.
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