Show Business

Last month, Stephen Colbert had Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak on his show and jokingly read the author a ridiculous children’s book of Colbert’s own creation. Well, now Colbert has a book deal from that skit. Grand Central Publishing announced this week that it will publish I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) on May 8. Colbert already has a blurb lined up from Sendak: “The sad thing is I like it.”

Apparently all Colbert needs to do is joke about something and it comes true. He should keep joking about running for president.

Here’s the Colbert Report segment that made it all happen.

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Jeff Rice, a freelance producer for the CBS TV show Amazing Race, was found dead in his hotel room in Uganda. Initial reports say that Rice may have been poisoned to death by a local gang during a robbery attempt. Rice’s production assistant was also poisoned and is apparently in a coma in critical condition.

Rice spent years working in LA’s entertainment business before moving to South Africa. He founded the company Maverick Entertainment and was working as a facilitator for the Amazing Race, arranging things in Uganda prior to the show’s arrival, when he was killed.

Rice had previously worked on such shows as Animal Planet’s Whale Wars and The Biggest Loser South Africa.

If making new records with the woman you assaulted three years ago wasn’t enough headlines for Chris Brown today, he’s also in the news for his Twitter fight with WWE wrestler CM Punk.

Punk tweeted on Sunday, “I would like @chrisbrown fight somebody that can defend themselves. Me curb stomping that turd would be a #wrestlemania moment.”

Brown, who doesn’t need an excuse to make an ass of himself on Twitter, fell for the bait and wrote, “@CMpunk needs more followers. He’s such a leader! Not to mention the roids hes on has made it utterly impossible for him pleasure a women.”

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That Chris Brown and Rihanna dropped two new tracks together Monday night, only a few years after Brown bashed in Rihanna’s face, is a special kind of baffling, and leaves critics with much more to consider than just the music. Some of the stronger reactions:

From the Los Angeles Times:

As a message to any thinking person who’s been following their case, it’s very confusing. Is this a true sign of romantic reunion or simply two pop stars who are willing to milk their domestic abuse past for more fame and/or notoriety?

The Village Voice isn’t exactly thrilled by the new releases:

To celebrate, I’m going to take a lye shower.

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Kate Bolick‘s nine-page, 12,000-plus-word Atlantic article on the economics of dating, “All The Single Ladies,” became the talk of the town last November — but the buzz didn’t end there.

When the issue came out, Bolick sent Drop Dead Diva‘s Josh Berman a copy of the piece for feedback.

“It wasn’t to say, ‘Here, can you turn this into a television show?’” she told mediabistro.com for its “Hey, How’d You Do That?“ series. “I had seen Drop Dead Diva and was surprised by the way he delved into women’s issues and comedy. I thought it was smart, contemporary and original. I sent the article to him saying, ‘What do you think? How could this be received in Hollywood? Would there ever be interest in something like this for television?’”

Turns out Berman not only loved the article, but wanted to option it with Sony.

Read the full interview to find out how Bolick did it and to get her tips for freelancing success.

A Los Angeles Times study has found that that the vast majority of members of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences – the folks who award Oscars – are male, Caucasian, and old.

The LA Times tracked down 5,100 Oscar voters, nearly 90% of the Academy’s 5,765 voting members, and the results of their investigation make it painfully clear the influential Hollywood organization is about as diverse as a Savannah country club. 94% of members are white, 77% are male, and the median age is 62!

The Academy says they are working towards becoming more diverse, but how they are going about it isn’t entirely clear. Academy members are all film industry professionals, and their demographics simply reflect those of Hollywood at large. As long as Hollywood is predominantly run and staffed by white men, most Oscar voters will be white men.

Former Survivor producer Bruce Beresford-Redman will stand trial in Mexico for aggravated homicide in the death of his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman.

Bruce Beresford-Redman was extradited to Cancun last week and will remain in custody until the conclusion of his trial. He nearly fainted when he was told he would be held until the trial, according to a NBC News producer.

Monica Beresford-Redman was found dead in a sewer cistern during a family vacation in April 2010.

No trial date has been set and his defense attorneys plan to appeal the decision.

The LA Times has a nice profile of BBC Worldwide Productions head Jane Tranter, who, three years ago, gave up a billion dollar programming budget in London to come to Los Angeles to adapt BBC shows to American audiences.

[T]ransporting a series is not easy. Humor, tone and relationships vary from culture to culture. Although some imports have been successful, including “Dancing With the Stars” and NBC‘s “The Office,” the TV scrap heap is littered with failed attempts.

Tranter tried to tally all of the British shows that had been developed for U.S. networks. “I stopped counting when I got to 85,” she said.

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The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has donated $500,000 to the UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT).

Groening, 57, will fund The Matt Groening Chair in Animation. The endowment will allow the TFT animation program to bring in visiting professors and working professionals to teach classes and work with students.

“Matt Groening is recognized globally as a preeminent and pioneering animator, storyteller, cartoonist, writer and producer,” Dean Teri Schwartz said in a statement.  His groundbreaking animated series have truly changed the landscape of television and have become a gold standard for animation and great storytelling throughout the entertainment industry.”

Former Survivor producer Bruce Beresford-Redman was extradited from the U.S. to Mexico in order to stand trial in the death of his wife, Monica Beresford-Redman.

The Emmy-nominated producer originally planned to appeal the extradition order last September but eventually decided to adhere to the U.S. court ruling. The U.S. Marshals Services said in a statement Wednesday night that Bruce Beresford-Redman was handed over to Mexican authorities and headed to Cancun.