Turn On:
On Friday night, teen network the N offers a triple play with "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (8 p.m. ET), taking on the topic of gun violence in schools; the season premiere of the reality series "Girls v. Boys: Montana" (9 p.m. ET); and the debut of the brand-new series "Best Friend's Date" (9:30 p.m. ET), on which teens look for love with candidates selected for them by their friends. And don't forget to watch HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," Sunday night at 9 ET.
Morning Briefing:
Passion is one thing ... The man Mel Gibson says sent him a flurry of "alarming, harassing and annoying" letters asking the actor to pray with him has been ordered to stand trial on stalking charges. Zack Sinclair, 34, who was homeless but is now cooling his heels in jail, was arrested in October after he showed up at Gibson's home and at the chapel where he attends Mass to appeal to the actor in person. (Reuters)
Nick Nolte's in trouble again: The actor is under fire from the parents of a teenage girl who was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted at a party at his home two years ago. The actor, one of his employees and several other men have been sued in connection with claims that the then 15-year-old girl was slipped GHB, the "date rape" drug, provided to her alleged assailants by Nolte's "resident supervisor and security officer," and then assaulted. The suit accuses Nolte of negligence and seeks unspecified damages, but the actor's publicist says, "The incident happened nearly two years ago, when Mr. Nolte was not at the property. It is our understanding that the individual responsible has been held accountable. Mr. Nolte was at the time, and still remains, concerned for the young lady's well-being." (Associated Press)
A Will Smith boycott? Hard as it is to imagine anyone questioning the values of a man who once left the Academy Awards -- shortly before the winner of the category in which he'd been nominated was announced -- to rush to the side of his ill child, that's precisely what activist Jon Alvarez, who runs the Web site PABAAH.com (Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood), is doing. Alvarez is trying to start and stoke a movement against Will Smith in response to comments the actor reportedly made four months ago to a German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine. Asked whether the 9/11 attacks had changed him, Smith said, "No. Absolutely not. When you grow up black in America, you have a completely different view of the world than white Americans. We blacks live with a constant feeling of unease. And whether you are wounded in an attack by a racist cop or in a terrorist attack, I'm sorry, it makes no difference." Smith continued, "In the '60s, blacks were continuously the victims of terrorist attacks. It was civil terrorism, but terrorism nonetheless. We are used to being attacked. That constant state of vigilance -- a sort of defensive state -- that hasn't changed at all. For me, nothing has changed at all." May sound reasonable to you, but apparently not, alas, to Alvarez, who's planning to forswear all Smith movies henceforth -- and hopes others do the same. (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Also: Vincent Gallo will appear in Mark Wahlberg's HBO show "Entourage" playing -- what else? -- an eccentric indie movie director. Says Wahlberg, "It's gonna be crazy." (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown) ... Speculation is mounting that ODB's widow, Icelene Jones, may actually not have been legally hitched to the recently deceased Wu-Tang Clan founder. She hasn't been able to produce a marriage certificate, which may hamper her efforts to seize control of the rapper's estate and deny anything from it to the numerous children he's believed to have fathered with other women. (Rush and Molloy) ... Rumors are heating up that Britney Spears is 11 weeks pregnant, having conceived shortly before her surprise wedding to Kevin Federline on Sept. 18. Casting doubt on the rumor: She's still smoking and her rep is insisting she's not with child. Adding fuel to the rumor: She just adopted another puppy, has dropped off the party scene -- and her rep is insisting she's not with child (Rush and Molloy) ... Robert Blake's murder trial, scheduled to start Monday, may be delayed by the theft Wednesday of his lawyer's home computer, which held "the heart and soul of the defense case" (BBC News) ... Mike Tyson is said to be "depressed, abusing cocaine and running up debts with shady associates while living in Phoenix, Ariz., with his girlfriend, Shelly, the mother of his 2-year-old son." A friend of Tyson says that the boxer has "been acting very erratically. He needs help" (Page Six) ... John McEnroe's low-ratings-plagued CNBC talk show "McEnroe" is getting pulled, to be replaced by adman Donnie Deutsch's "The Big Idea" (N.Y. Post) ... Michael Imperioli (aka Christopher on "The Sopranos") will play a detective in three or four episodes of "Law & Order." "I'm glad to be on the right side of the law," commented the actor. (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Bob Dylan on being called a "prophet" and "savior" by his fans, in a rare interview with Ed Bradley on CBS's "60 Minutes" to be shown Sunday night.: "I never wanted to be a prophet or a savior. Elvis maybe. I could see myself becoming him. But prophet? No." ("60 Minutes" via Gigwise.com)
-- Amy Reiter
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