St. Paul: Paul Giamatti and Anthony Mackie have signed on to star in Babylon, an indie thriller filming in Jamaica. Giamatti will play a British minister who somehow finds himself running from Kingston gangsters with a Rasta (Mackie) and a 12-year-old boy. Andres Baiz will direct the Ian Stone script, which is probably just a big ruse so pasty Giamatti can get some sun. [Variety]
Don’t Go to Sleep: When they’re finished reviving Jason Vorhees, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form will set their sights on Freddy Kruger. According to Fuller, their Nightmare on Elm Street remake will be more pants-peeing scary (like the original film) than self-consciously funny (like the 43 subsequent ones in the series). But the most important question: Will Robert Englund be back? Nope! [ShockTillouDrop]
She’s Back: Lauren Graham is returning to TV, and she’s got more relationship problems. The former Gilmore mom is set to star in an untitled sitcom as women’s self-help guru who struggles to follow her own advice when she gets dumped. Graham is also producing the comedy, written by Alex Herschlag (Will & Grace). If only she had a plucky daughter to give her advice. [Variety]
Real Deal: Mike Fleiss, who is known to the world as the genius who created The Bachelor, has signed an eight-figure deal with Warner Bros. encompassing all development and productions coming from his company Next Entertainment. The deal makes Fliess one of the highest-paid producers in reality TV and drives home a point to up-and-comers: Use your time developing ideas for cheap, contrived reality shows, because that’s the only way to make it in this godforsaken business. [Variety]
Fox Boldly Gets Gleeful: Fox is close to picking up two new series: space sitcom Boldly Going Nowhere and hour-long musical-comedy Glee. From the folks behind It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Boldly is about the day-to-day life on an intergalactic spaceship. Glee centers on a Spanish teacher in Ohio given the task of taking over the cast of misfits in his school’s glee club. The Ryan Murphy–produced show is expected to be an American Idol companion. Also known as your cool-down period. [HR]
Doctors Visit: CBS has picked up its syndicated talk show The Doctors for a second season. The daytime show, produced by Jay McGraw (yes, Phil’s son), features real-life doctors dispensing real-life medical advice in talk-show format. It’s a brilliant idea because what could ever go wrong with doctors advising sick people from a TV screen? Not a thing! [Variety]