News

Last month, a new report surfaced that comedy legend Eddie Murphy has been secretly writing the screenplay for Coming to America 2, a follow-up to his 1988 classic which he both starred in and received a story credit for. The news regarding this sequel was never confirmed, but first surfaced after Eddie Murphy's verified Twitter account sent out a tweet about a Coming to America sequel, which lead to the actor's entire account being deleted. Today we have confirmation that the sequel is actually happening, with original Coming to America writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield writing the script.

The news first surfaced after Eddie Murphy's Twitter account posted a cryptic tweet that only read, "Coming to America sequel?" along with a photo of the Princess Imani character played by Vanessa Bell Calloway. After the actor's account was deleted, a report surfaced that claimed Coming to America 2 is in fact in the works,...

The Ice Age franchise is unbelievably 14 years old at this point, and the fifth film, Ice Age: Collision Course, brings together most of everything we’ve seen in the past for a last hurrah.

This time around Scrat actually manages to kick off the adventure, stumbling onto a spaceship and launching himself into space, ultimately causing a massive asteroid to head toward Earth.

Once doom is headed our way, we check in with our main characters, who are each given mediocre, sit-com difficulties to contend with. Manny (Ray Ramano) heads to the overplayed, “not good enough for my daughter” well, while also forgetting his anniversary. Sid (John Leguizamo) only has a story that is vaguely distinct from his general mopey, goofball attitude, this time aimed specifically at his lack of ability to find a mate. Diego (Denis Leary) and Shira (Jennifer Lopez) have their hands full delivering their lines with...

Exclusive: After blowing away everybody with his audition, actor-comic Mike Epps has emerged as the front-runner to star as Richard Pryor in the biopic that Lee Daniels will direct at The Weinstein Company. Daniels has been in TWC headquarters working with and auditioning a group of young actors that has included Epps, Michael B. Jordan, Marlon Wayans, and Nick Cannon, with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway the names I’ve heard to play Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor. I can only imagine what it must mean to several of these guys to get the role and play the stand-up comedian they grew up revering before they themselves succeeded onstage. It’s especially poignant for Epps and Wayans, because each one was signed to play Pryor in prior incarnations of the movie that fell apart.

Wayans had the job in the last version of the comic legend’s story when...

This Valentine’s Day the remake of the classic romantic comedy, About Last Night descends on theaters. The film, from director Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine), is more of a reimagining of the 1986 and actually has more in common with the David Mamet play Sexual Perversity in Chicago on which both films are based. The new contemporary version two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom as they try to carve out their own unique space in the world of dating.

The cast is headed by Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant, who play Danny and Debbie, a couple brought together on a blind double date with their best friends, Bernie (Kevin Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall), who are on their all-important post-coital second date. The film then follows all four as they navigate through the rocky terrain of the contemporary world of dating and through the...

Don Rhymer, the writer behind such films as "Rio," "Big Momma's House" and "The Santa Clause 2," died of cancer in Los Angeles. He was only 51 years old. Rhymer started his career on Martin Lawrence's "Big Momma's House" comedy. He went on to write the sequel, as well as Cedric the Entertainer's "The Honeymooners" and Matthew Broderick's "Deck the Halls." He also wrote the animated films "Surf's Up" and "Rio." The writer has been battling cancer for a long time, and has documented his treatment in a blog, called "Let's Radiate Don."...

Screenwriter Don Rhymer, whose credits included 20th Century Fox Animation’ hit Rio and the CBS comedy Evening Shade, has died. He was 51 and his longtime friend Dave Gallagher told the La Times that Rhymer died Wednesday of cancer at USC’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. One of Rhymer’s earliest credits was NBC’s Valerie. He also wrote for CBS’ Hearts Afire. He also worked on feature films, including Big Momma’s House and its two sequels, The Santa Clause 2, Agent Cody Banks 2, The Honeymooners and Sony Pictures Animation’s Surf’s Up. His TV credits also included episodes of the NBC series Caroline In The City and Bagdad Cafe. After his diagnosis three years ago, Rhymer started a blog “Let’s Radiate Don” that chronicled his treatment and his relationship with his wife and kids.

Let's start with Husbands. The show premieres tomorrow at HusbandstheSeries.com.

Teresa Jusino has a report from the L.A. screening and Q&A yesterday at Tor.com, and several really great interviews with Alessandra Torresani and Jane Espenson showed up since yesterday.

Alessandra talked to Digital Chick TV:

Daryn: So, what is your role on Husbands?

Alessandra: Let me tell you a little bit about this fabulous show! I play the larger than life, crazy, fun, silly, old school comedian Haley! She is Cheeks’ Bff for life and can’t live without him. She is beyond co-dependent of him and literally can’t pick out a pair of shoes without his approval. Although at times she’s a little too nuts, it’s all in good fun! And hey, just another excuse for a cocktail. She’s traumatized that Cheeks didn’t have her at the wedding, because of...

Hal Ross, whose career in television as a talent and literary agent spanned nearly 50 years, died July 30 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86.

Ross co-founded the Ziegler-Ross Agency, where he was a pioneer in the TV packaging business and one of the first agents to represent a major sports figure when he negotiated Sandy Koufax's blockbuster deal to become an analyst with NBC Sports in 1967. The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher had suddenly retired after the 1966 season at the height of his career because of arm injuries.

During that time, Ross also packaged such hits as "Daniel Boone," "Medical Center" and "M*A*S*H." He later joined Wma as a senior vp, where he worked until his retirement in 1997.

Ross also executive produced the 2005 film version of "The Honeymooners" that starred Cedric the Entertainer.

A native Angeleno who attended Fairfax High School and UCLA, Ross served at...

Hal Ross, whose career in television as a talent and literary agent spanned nearly fifty years, died last Friday. He was 86. The native Angeleno co-founded the Ziegler-Ross Agency, where he helped pioneer the television packaging business and was one of the first agents to represent a major athlete when he negotiated Sandy Koufax's blockbuster deal with NBC Sports in 1967. During that time, he packaged such hits as The Daniel Boone Show, Medical Center and M*A*S*H. He later joined the William Morris Agency as Svp where he plied his talents until his retirement in 1997. Even then Hal could not stay away from show business: he found time after his early morning swims in Malibu to produce the motion picture version of The Honeymooners in 2005.

Louis C.K. contemplates the eccentric behavior of Being Louie

Comedian Louis C.K. is set to debut his new half-hour comedy series Louie tonight on FX with two back-to-back shows, Episode 1.01: Pilot (which follows the comedians exploits as he goes on both a field trip with his daughter and a romantic date, both of which end up badly) and Episode 2.02: Poker/Divorce (which finds Louis engaged in a friendly game of poker as his divorce proceedings become finalized).

Louie is a comedy filtered through the observational humor of Louis C.K. Each episode puts a spotlight on Louis' hectic life as a successful stand-up comedian and newly single father raising his two daughters. The single-camera comedy is a mix of Louis C.K.'s stand-up comedy and scripted short films. Louis C.K.serves as executive producer, writer and director on the show.

We recently caught up with him to...

B. Alan looks at a decade of horrible cinematic remakes and rehashes that ruined film as an art form.

Black Pegasus? Boo!

Why is Pegasus black? Why did this flying horse need to be recast El Negro? It makes about as much sense as casting Cedric the Entertainer in the role of Ralph Kramden. There is no reasoning being placed behind it, other than, "We can do what we want! We can do what we feel!" It's strange that in both Clash of the Titans and 2005's The Honeymooners, the only hint of imagination or originality came from swapping ethnicities. In neither case does it pertain to, or help push along the story. It's senseless esthetic scrambling. Sure, poor black folks probably work in the sewer and beat their spouses, too. So why not update an old 1940s sitcom to reflect how far we've come? But Pegasus? Come on! Nowhere...

Perhaps in an attempt to produce films made to make black men look foolish, such as Big Momma’s House 1, 2 (and soon 3!!!!) Soul Men, Meet Dave, and The Honeymooners, producer David Friendly has optioned and will produce a film based on the non-fiction best seller Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino.

The story, which has been profiled on 60 Minutes and just recently on the Dr. Phil Show, tells the true story of Thompson, who, back in 1984, as a collage student, was raped by an unknown black assailant. She later positively identified Cotton as her attacker, and who was found guilty, and spent 11 years in prison, until eventually freed when DNA evidence proved conclusively that he was totally innocent.

Later both Cotton and Thompson met, and through a lot of soul searching, angst and reconciliation, became friends. Friendly will be financing the film independently, and a screenwriter is currently writing the...

Universal's "Funny People," a film about stand-up comics with serious problems, staged a good-humored weekend bow estimated at $23.4 million.

But that was on the lower end of industry expectations for the Adam Sandler-starring dramatic comedy, which will be watched for drawing power during coming weeks. Industry consensus maintains summer-laggard Uni needed not only to open the R-rated "Funny" well but also to sustain positive word-of-mouth.

Its first-frame tally gains luster when viewed among lackluster results elsewhere in the limp boxoffice session. The weekend's top 10 rung up $106 million, or 25% less than top performers in the same frame last year, according to Nielsen Edi.

As for the other openers, Fox's "Aliens in the Attic" arrived in fifth place with $7.8 million, down in the cellar of prerelease forecasts for family action fantasy, and Freestyle Releasing's R-rated horror film "The Collector" missed the top 10, collecting just $3.6 million.

After topping the previous weekend's rankings,...

Judd Apatow has become a household name thanks to his past two outings: Knocked Up and The 40-Year Old Virgin. But where both comedies went on to become $100 million+ box office successes, his latest endeavor, Funny People, is much more of a wild card. The R-rated flick still features some of Apatow's unique brand of comedy, but hidden within is the downer story of a sad clown battling a fatal disease. The upshot: Adam Sandler is the star. The film's sure to open at No. 1. How it holds on will be anyone's guess. 1. Funny People: $35 million While Virgin bowed to $21 million with an unknown Steve Carrell at the center and Knocked Up pulled in $30 million with newcomer Seth Rogen, Funny People has giant movie star Adam Sandler leading the charge. But the comedy pro is leaving his PG comfort zone and the results when he does so are never certain.

Judd Apatow has become a household name thanks to his past two outings: Knocked Up and The 40-Year Old Virgin. But where both comedies went on to become $100 million+ box office successes, his latest endeavor, Funny People, is much more of a wild card. The R-rated flick still features some of Apatow’s unique brand of comedy, but hidden within is the downer story of a sad clown battling a fatal disease. The upshot: Adam Sandler is the star. The film’s sure to open at No. 1. How it holds on will be anyone’s guess.

1. Funny People: $35 million

While Virgin bowed to $21 million with an unknown Steve Carrell at the center and Knocked Up pulled in $30 million with newcomer Seth Rogen, Funny People has giant movie star Adam Sandler leading the charge. But the comedy pro is leaving his PG comfort zone and the results when he does so are never certain.

The boxoffice weekend is shaping up as a tale of two genres.

A trio of studios will be singing "We Are Family" again this weekend at domestic multiplexes. But the No. 1 pic is likely to be "Funny People," an R-rated comedy in a continuation of another recent theatrical trend.

The family-friendly films "G-Force," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" nabbed three of the top five spots in the most recent boxoffice rankings, so one might think that the moms-and-kids segment is saturated. But so far this summer, parents have shown boundless enthusiasm for rounding up the tots for a couple hours of air-conditioned diversion.

Fox's family-targeting adventure fantasy "Aliens in the Attic," which opens Friday, mixes CGI extraterrestrials into predominantly live-action shenanigans. Originally scheduled for a spring bow, "Aliens" -- then titled "They Came from Upstairs" -- was delayed after the studio decided...

Gabrielle Union (Bring It On, Bad Boys II) is joining the cast of ABC's exciting new fall drama, FlashForward in a recurring role as Zoey, a criminal defense attorney who will have a romantic arc on the show. FlashForward premieres Thursday, September 24 (8:00-9:00 p.m., Et) on the ABC Television Network.

"We're thrilled that Gabrielle is joining our cast," said executive producer David S. Goyer. "When we met with her, we immediately knew she was our Zoey. She's witty, soulful and beautiful. I've been wanting to work with her for a long time."

What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? In FlashForward when the world's population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come...

Ashley Tisdale and Robert Hoffman are photographed hugging in one of their scenes on upcoming movie "Aliens in the Attic". In two new stills from the film, the 28-year-old actor, who portrays Ricky, is seen cuddling to Tisdale's Bethany Pearson.

Another still shows Tisdale hiding from her father, who is played by Kevin Nealon, behind a door in what seems to be a bedroom along with her younger sister Ashley Boettcher. Their co-stars, including Carter Jenkins, Austin Butler, Henri Young, and Regan Young, are featured in one particular pic. Then, the Pearson family also strikes a pose in a shot.

"Aliens in the Attic" is an adventure-comedy film about some kids of the Pearson family who go on a vacation. They must fight off an attack by knee-high alien invaders with world-destroying ambitions, while their parents remain clueless about the battle. Coming from director John Schultz, who previously worked on...

A full-length trailer for the upcoming 20th Century Fox adventure/comedy "They Came From Upstairs" has been released and you can check it out by clicking on the link below. Plot: "They Came From Upstairs" revolves around a group of teens who team up to defend their Maine vacation home from aliens who have invaded via the upstairs. "Upstairs" is directed by John Schultz (Like Mike, The Honeymooners) and stars Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical). It is scheduled to hit theaters on July 31st. Click here to read more about "They Came From Upstairs."...

We have 2 images in from 20th Century Fox's comedy "They Came from Upstairs," starring Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Andy Richter, Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon, Gillian Vigman, Austin Robert Butler, Tim Meadows, Carter Jenkins, Ashley Boettcher and Henry Young.   The film is helmed by John Schultz ("The Honeymooners," "Like Mike") from the screenplay by Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg.   Set in Maine and tells of a couple of kids in for a wild time as they protect their vacation home from aliens.   They Came from Upstairs(2009) Released date: 7/31/2009  -   Rate & Review this!  ...

We have 2 images in from 20th Century Fox's comedy "They Came from Upstairs," starring Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Andy Richter, Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon, Gillian Vigman, Austin Robert Butler, Tim Meadows, Carter Jenkins, Ashley Boettcher and Henry Young. The film is helmed by John Schultz ("The Honeymooners," "Like Mike") from the screenplay by Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg. Set in Maine and tells of a couple of kids...

We have 2 images in from 20th Century Fox's comedy "They Came from Upstairs," starring Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Andy Richter, Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon, Gillian Vigman, Austin Robert Butler, Tim Meadows, Carter Jenkins, Ashley Boettcher and Henry Young. The film is helmed by John Schultz ("The Honeymooners," "Like Mike") from the screenplay by Mark Burton and Adam F. Goldberg. Set in Maine and tells of a couple of kids...

Sorry, but this isn't a world of peeping toms. While I can very easily see both Rainn Wilson and Sarah Silverman stretched along the branches of a tree, binoculars in hand, peeping at the unsuspecting, this project is all about revealing rather than snooping. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Wilson and Silverman are negotiations to star with the already-signed Michael C. Hall and Ben Schwartz in Peep World.

The indie film, written by Peter Himmelstein (title designer for Slums of Beverly Hills), focuses on some adult siblings brought together for their father's 70th birthday. The event "denegrates into an absurd theater of accusation and resentment" as they have it out with one of the siblings, who wrote a novel exposing the family's secrets. The comedy will be directed by Barry Blaustein, who helmed the professional wrestling doc Behind the Mat, as well as 2005's The Ringer. But you probably know...

A new banner poster is online for the Fox comedy-adventure, They Came From Upstairs. John Schultz (The Honeymooners) directed the flick, which stars Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman, Carter Jenkins, Austin Butler, Ashley Boettcher, Henri Young, Regan Young, Tim Meadows, Gillian Vigman and Kevin Nealon. Scripted by Mark Burton (Madagascar) and Adam F. Goldberg (Fanboys), Upstairs centers on a group of kids defending their vacation home in Maine from aliens who have invaded from upstairs. It’s a mix of CG and live action. It opens in July and you can watch the trailer here.

Variety reported earlier today that Eric Stoltz, Brendan Fehr, Camryn Manheim, Lyndsy Fonseca, Seymour Cassel and Kate Connor are all on board of Michael Worth’s indie war drama “Fort McCoy.”

The film, which is currently shooting, is based on true events and focuses on a barber’s family who moves to a Pow camp in Wisconsin during WWII. There, a German teenager forms an alliance with the barber’s little girl.

Connor also wrote the script for the film, which is produced on a small budget. Worth is known for his role on television’s “Acapulco H.E.A.T.”

Stoltz most recently starred in “The Honeymooners.” He can next be seen in Gus Van Sant’s “Milk.” Manheim’s acting credits include television’s “Ghost Whisperer.” As for Fehr, he’s known for his role as Dan Cooper on “CSI: Miami.”

Fonesca’s credist include “Desperate Housewives” and “How I Met Your Mother.

20th Century Fox has confirmed to Upcoming Film Scores that John Debney will compose the original score for the studio's upcoming sci-fi comedy They Came from Upstairs, directed by John Schultz (The Honeymooners, Drive Me Crazy). The film is about a bunch of kids who fights to protect their vacation home from invading aliens. Cast includes Ashley Tisdale, Robert Hoffman and Austin Robert Butler. John Debney recently scored another sci-fi comedy for Fox, Meet Dave, starring Eddie Murphy. They Came from Upstairs is expected to hit theatres in February next year.Brought to you by Upcoming Film Scores (http://upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com).

Regina Hall has been tapped to star opposite Cedric the Entertainer in the comedian's family pilot for ABC. Ken Whittingham has come aboard to direct the pilot, which is produced by ABC Studios.

The multicamera project centers on a family man (Cedric) who has always been the proud breadwinner and has difficulty adjusting when his wife's (Hall) hobby turns into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.

Hall, who co-starred on Fox's Ally McBeal, has appeared in such features as The Honeymooners and the Scary Movie franchise.

The Cedric comedy marks Whittingham's first pilot. The helmer, who has directed episodes of Entourage, The Office and Everybody Hates Chris, is repped by CAA.

Mad About You creator Danny Jacobson has a set up a script at Fox for a single-camera comedy from DreamWorks TV and NBC Universal Television Studio. The project is said to revolve around a hard-charging guy who is let loose in a country club. Jacobson will pen the script and executive produce along with DreamWorks' Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Jacobson last year wrote a comedy pilot for the erstwhile WB Network starring actor-singer Nick Lachey. He was among the screenwriters on last year's feature film adaptation of The Honeymooners. Jacobson's Emmy-winning romantic comedy Mad About You ran on NBC from 1992-99.

Gabrielle Union will star in Tyler Perry's latest Lionsgate film, Daddy's Little Girl. Written by Perry, the reverse-Cinderella tale centers on a successful attorney (Union) who falls in love with a janitor who is a single father of three children. This relationship causes a rift between the woman and her father, as he hoped she would marry wealthy. The film is being produced by Reuben Cannon and will shoot in the summer in Atlanta. Union most recently starred in ABC's short-lived series Night Stalker and next appears in Running With Scissors. Other feature credits include The Honeymooners, Bad Boys II and Deliver Us From Eva. She is repped by UTA and manager Jeff Morrone.

Borrowing the name but little else from a famous comedy brand, The Honeymooners starring Cedric the Entertainer is a lackluster affair, devoid of laughs and just about anything else one might construe as entertainment. Boxoffice prospects for the John Schultz-directed comedy, even among its African-American target audience, are poor.

This Honeymooners bears scant resemblance to Jackie Gleason's CBS series, which all but invented the situation-comedy format on television in the mid-'50s. Cedric the Entertainer's Ralph Kramden is still a guy with an explosive temper and a fatal attraction to get-rich-quick schemes, and Mike Epps' Ed Norton is still his hapless stooge, who can take three minutes to execute a 20-second task. Otherwise, the Kramden and Norton households wallow in a generic blandness unrelated to the old series.

What passes for plot in a screenplay, credited to Danny Jacobson, David Sheffield & Barry W. Blaustein and Don Rhymer, revolves around the desire of Ralph's wife Alice (Gabrielle Union) to buy a duplex with Ed and his wife, Trixie (Regina Hall), and Ralph's harebrained schemes that continually drain all the money from the couple's meager savings account.

Initially, the movie has a hard time settling on which harebrained scheme will drive Alice To divorce court. First, Ralph purchases Mets memorabilia in anticipation of a big World Series win, but the cartons turn out to contain children's gear of negligible value. Then Ralph buys a vintage train car in hopes of turning this into a tourist bus. Finally, the movie decides the story should be about a greyhound Ralph and Ed rescue from a Dumpster, which for no discernible reason Ralph believes will make them a fortune as a race dog.

The movie lurches from one lame comedy skit to another without the personality of its main character ever taking hold. Gleason's blustery Everyman disguised as a Brooklyn bus driver was actually an endearing figure, a man whose schemes and frustrations found common ground with all viewers. Cedric the Entertainer's Ralph is an annoying man with whom no sensible person would want to find anything in common.

Epps' character seems almost masochistic in his relationship to his bellicose upstairs neighbor. Union's Alice is too hot and too smart to be with such an oaf, while Hall's Trixie barely registers.

The two best performances -- "best" being a relative term here -- come from John Leguizamo, as a transparent fifth-rate con artist who claims to be a dog trainer, and Carol Woods as Alice's mom, the one individual who sees Ralph for what he is. Eric Stoltz dutifully plays the nominal villain, a developer with his eyes on the coveted duplex.

Schultz never finds any traction with the scattershot screenplay. The movie simply spins its wheels. With exteriors shot in New York and interiors at Ardmore Studios in Ireland, Schultz and his crew blend these elements together smoothly enough, but the film lacks visual style.

The closest The Honeymooners comes to a comic idea worth exploring comes when Ed confesses to Ralph he once saw Alice naked and can't get the image out of his mind. Nothing like this ever transpired on the original Honeymooners, but one wishes the movie hadn't rushed past such an intriguing development.

THE HONEYMOONERS

Paramount Pictures

A Deep River production

Credits:

Director: John Schultz

Screenwriters: Danny Jacobson, David Sheffield & Barry W. Blaustein, Don Rhymer

Based on characters from the CBS-TV series

Producers: David T. Friendly, Marc Turtletaub, Eric Rhone, Julie Dark

Executive producers: Hal Ross, Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps

Director of photography: Shawn Maurer

Production designer: Charles Wood

Music: Richard Gibbs

Co-producers: Paul Myler, Niles Kirchner

Costumes: Joan Bergin

Editor: John Pace

Cast:

Ralph Kramden: Cedric the Entertainer

Ed Norton: Mike Epps

Alice Kramden: Gabrielle Union

Trixie Norton: Regina Hall

William: Eric Stoltz

Kirby: Jon Polito

Dodge: John Leguizamo

Alice's Mom: Carol Woods

Vivek: Ajay Naidu

MPAA rating PG-13

Running time -- 90 minutes...

20th Century Fox's Mr. & Mrs. Smith went to the top of the charts at the boxoffice this past weekend, targeting a higher-than-anticipated $50.3 million on its debut. The aim was true for the Regency Enterprises production, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and helmed by Doug Liman, as the opening for the romantic action-adventure film proved a personal best for the stars and the director. The weekend's three other wide releases, however, were not as fortunate. Dimension's The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl landed in the fifth slot with a moderate $12.6 million, while Paramount's The Honeymooners checked in with a discouraging $5.5 million and Lions Gate's High Tension arrived in the 10th spot with little attention from moviegoers and $1.9 million. Solid holdovers held the second through fourth spots. DreamWorks' Madagascar was in second place with $17.2 million, down a moderate 39% in its third frame. The animated family comedy has captured a sterling $128.4 million in 17 days.

Cedric the Entertainer is set to host the third annual TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV, taking place March 13 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Cedric "is a comedic talent with great energy for the show," said Larry Jones, president of TV Land and Nick at Nite. The actor-comedian next stars in the film Be Cool, which opens tonight, and the upcoming The Honeymooners. Previously announced honorees at TV Land Awards include producer Aaron Spelling and the series The Carol Burnett Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Soul Train. The ceremony will air as a 90-minute special simultaneously on TV Land and Nick at Nite at 9 p.m. March 16.

The Irish Film Board has partnered with Ireland's Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and various other parties to create a locations and production liaison office, Film Dublin, the IFB announced Thursday. Modeled on the Office of Film in the New York mayor's office, Film Dublin also is supported by the Dublin City Council, the Dublin City Business Association, and Screen Producers Ireland and will work closely with the IFB's location services unit. "Film can be the best advertisement in the world for a country," said Arts, Sports and Tourism minister John O'Donoghue at the launch. "Images of Ireland on screens large and small attract large numbers of visitors to these shores." Offshore productions to shoot in Ireland over coming months include Paramount's The Honeymooners, Disney's The Banshee and Universal/Film Four's Royston Vasey.

Don Rhymer has been hired to rewrite Paramount Pictures/Deep River Prods.' feature film The Honeymooners, an urban version of the classic TV series with Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps toplining in the Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton roles, respectively. Sources said the studio hired Rhymer to retool the script in an attempt to bring the film's original $35 million budget down to a range of $25 million-$30 million. The move, which will push the film's start date from December to early next year, is said to come on the heels of what the studio deems a disappointing boxoffice performance of its most recent urban feature, The Fighting Temptations, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Beyonce Knowles and Epps.