Island of Misfit Toys: Day 3: Lucy Lawless takes off
Posted on July 30th, 2009 – 3:42 PMBy Neal Justin
Miss “Xena”? Well, you’ll soon get a chance to see a lot more of star Lucy Lawless. And we mean, a LOT more. Clips from “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” suggest the actress will be wearing next to nothing and doing more than just flirting with other women in next year’s Starz series. So far, though, her real-life husband, Rob Tapert, the show’s head honcho, hasn’t made her go completely naked. “I’m praying that day never comes,” said Lawless, a favorite among the TV critics. “It’s really stressful. I don’t like it.”
Genitalia also came up when cast members were asked whether there would be any homages to Stanley Kubrick’s film version. There’s a, um, revealing one, but you won’t see it on camera. Apparently, some actors have had to jam a prosthetic down their pants to suggest that they’re “gladiator” material. The name of the passed-around enhancement: The Kirk Douglas.
Eric Roberts joins Dennis Hopper for a new season of Starz’s “Crash.” Let’s hope the addition improves the show, which has been about as boring as a traffic jam. Each was asked to name their favorite movie starring the other actor. Hopper picked “Pope of Greenwich Village.” Roberts picked “Easy Rider,” comparing it to “Beckett.” If that sounds like an exaggeration, keep in mind that Roberts was introduced as a “legend.” Hey, this is Hollywood folks. Flattery gets you everywhere.
Can’t wait to see ESPN’s upcoming project, “30 For 30,” which starts in October. Every week, the channel will spotlight a different one-hour documentary relating a story in recent sports history. The roster of directors is impressive and several were on hand, including Ice Cube, John Singleton and Macalester grad Peter Berg who will be doing a film on his buddy Wayne Gretzky’s move to play hockey in Los Angeles.
Mo’Nique, who has dropped about 50 pounds, said she hasn’t abandoned her plus-size groupies. She said she’s working on a new book, “I’m Still a Fat Girl,” which will feature a nude photo of herself. “I’m enjoying the journey of what’s happening to my body and you’ll be able to go on that journey soon,” she said.
It’s always interesting to talk to ex-network executives. Almost all of them seem to lose about 20 years after they get out of that high-pressure cooker and Garth Ancier is no exception. The former NBC entertainment prez is currently running BBC America, a much cushier and relaxing gig. Ancier has lots of wisdom to dispel at last night’s cocktail party and shared a fascinating prediction on what will happen at NBC after Jay Leno goes prime-time: The local news could start at 9 p.m. (going up against Fox in major markets) followed by Jay from 9:30 to 10:30, a direct lead-in to Conan O’Brien. Interesting thought. We’ll see what Jay has to say when he drops by next week…



