Shirley McLaine and Olympia Dukakis reteam in a black comedy Poor Things, to be directed by Ash Baron Cohen (brother o’ Borat). They’ll play two con-artist women who befriend and murder homeless men in order to collect their life insurance policies. Paul Pringle reported the real story in the LAT. The NYT isn’t the only true-life story source in the world, just the only Man-Date source.

Harold Ramis is on board to direct Atlanta, CBS’s comedy pilot about a couple who meet cute at a funeral. Scott Winant might replace Brett Ratner as director of ABC’s drama pilot Women’s Murder Club, starring Angie Harmon. Ratner is too busy doing whatever to Rush Hour 3.

The Weinsteins, Sydney Pollock and Anthony Minghella are all good for another three years. Pollock and Minghella’s production company, Mirage, will re-make The Lives of Others, the Oscar-winning German film about the Stasi, as well as I Don’t Know How She Does It and The Amulet of Samarkand, both based on the novels. Minghella will direct a tv pilot based on The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, too.

America’s Next Top Model had its best premiere ever, and gave the CW its best night yet with 5.4 million viewers overall. American Idol won the night with 29.6 million viewers overall. If Idol fans had their own country, it would be larger than North Korea. And even weirder. (And what if Idol-nation had nukes? Yikes!)

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