the industry

Dwight Hires a Hooker

Rainn Wilson: the next Patrick Dempsey.Photo: Patrick McMullan

Wilson Gains Experience: The Office’s Rainn Wilson will star in Girlfriend Experience for DreamWorks, based on his own idea and written by Mark and Brian Gunn. Wilson will play a wallflower who hires a prostitute to pretend to be his girlfriend. Studio describes movie as “Can’t Buy Me Love meets … well, pretty much it’s just Can’t Buy Me Love.†[Variety]

Spacey Produces Crime Drama: Crime drama Columbus Day will star Val Kilmer, Wilmer Valderrama, and Marg Helgenberger, produced by Kevin Spacey. Finally, Kilmer and Wilmer share a screen! [Hollywood Reporter]

Williams, Travolta Are Old Dogs: Disney comedy Old Dogs signs Robin Williams to star opposite John Travolta as best friends who must take care of 7-year-old twins. Bathos ensues. [Hollywood Reporter]

Spielberg, HBO Go Asian: Pay net green-lights The Pacific, an Asian-theater companion piece to Band of Brothers, produced again by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Groetzman. By “Asian theater,†we mean it takes place in the Pacific, not that the entire miniseries will be performed in the style of Noh drama. Alas. [Variety]

American Idol, Political Style: MySpace and Mark Burnett team up for online-TV initiative Independent, an American Idol–style search for the next great politician. The winning “candidate†will receive $1 million, which must be used to run for office. Once elected, the candidate will be an unwitting, brainwashed pawn in the coming Mark Burnett revolution. [Variety]

Ween Plans DVD/CD of Unreleased Material: Songs from 1991–1992 described by Dean Ween as “really mega-brown†and “the music equivalent of ‘a face only a mother could love.’†[Billboard]

Rankin to Write Opera: Scottish mystery writer Ian Rankin will write a libretto for the Scottish Opera, alongside film composer Craig Armstrong. Four other Scots authors selected, but they’re way less famous than Rankin, so their names don’t get in the paper. [NYT]

What a Way to Make a Musical: 9 to 5, the musical, will have a staged reading in June as part of producer Roger Greenblatt’s quest for a Broadway run. Joe Mantello directs, Patricia Resnick and Dolly Parton write. We actually think this sounds kind of good. [Playbill]