Duff Lays Down Law: NBC is stocking up on size 0 pantsuits as Hilary Duff has signed on to play the lead in Barely Legal. The half-hour comedy is based on the true story of Kathleen Holtz, an 18-year-old who passed the notoriously difficult California bar in 2007 to become the state’s youngest lawyer. Duff is starring as a part of a talent deal with NBC that requires the network to develop a show for her and set up guest spots on its other programs. We’re not sure what’s sadder, NBC bending over backwards for Hilary Duff or that an 18-year-old brilliant enough to pass the California bar is using her powers for evil. [HR]
Duff(wo)man!: From precocious lawyer to trigger happy bank robber, Hilary Duff is set to star in Tonya S. Holly’s upcoming production of The Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Production is set to begin in April with Kevin Zegers and Rance “Ron’s Dad†Howard also starring. It’s unclear if this film is a remake of 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde or just another story of the dynamic duo. Either way, Duff’s performance is sure to be better than Faye Dunaway’s phoned-in work from the original. [Cinemablend]
His Mother Should Know: Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff (no relation to Hilary) have jumped on board Sam Taylor-Wood’s Nowhere Boy, the story of John Lennon’s childhood. Thomas will play Lennon’s aunt Mimi and Duff will play his mother Julia. 18-year-old British actor Aaron Johnson is set to play Lennon. Paul McCartney will play himself. [Variety]
The Incessant Promotion of Paul Blart: Kevin James is making a return to CBS Monday nights in short interstitials promoting his upcoming, sure-to-be-awful Paul Blart: Mall Cop. The spots will also highlight James’ return to Monday night and how no one there knows him anymore. Just hope for a Jerry Stiller appearance to help you through it. [HR]
Not Dead Yet: Fox has ordered 22 more episodes of the Joely Fisher/Brad Garrett comedy ’Til Death, which has been off air since October. Some speculated that Fox would shelve the series and the remaining episodes of its third season but, instead, it’s coming back for a fourth! Here’s the most important part: with a fourth season the series will be at more than 80 episodes, just enough to be syndicated, making Brad Garrett (who’s on TV at any given second thanks to Everybody Loves Raymond syndication) the richest man in the world. [Variety]
Southern Man: Matthew Modine is preparing to play the iconic role of Atticus Finch in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird at Connecticut’s Hartford Stage. The production will use Christopher Sergel’s 1990 stage adaption of Harper Lee’s classic novel. In case you were never 12-years-old: the book is set in the Deep South in the 1930s, where a principled lawyer is asked to defend a young black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Inspired by Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, the lawyer names his daughter Scout. [Variety]