But At Least Not Rapping, Right?: Curtis “50 Cent†Jackson will star in cop drama Caught in the Crossfire alongside Chris Klein and Adam Rodriguez. The plot revolves around two homicide cops caught between a gang-related murder and a group of corrupt cops; Jackson, who is also producing, plays a street informant. The movie will mark the directing debut of Brian Miller, but hopefully Miller already knows enough to ask 50, a noted filmmaker, for as much advice as possible. [Variety]
International Stupidity: The next season of Paris Hilton’s My New BFF will shoot in Dubai, with a cast of contestants made up half of women from the Middle East and half of women from elsewhere who currently live there. Apparently, in order to adhere to local sensibilities, the show will be stripped of its more risqué elements — that means no booze and as little swearing and revealing clothing as possible. Also, Dubai’s top dog, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, personally had to approve the show, which he did; apparently, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a huge fan of The Hottie & the Nottie. [Variety]
Target Audience: Pearl Jam’s next album, Backspacer (due this fall), will be released through a near-exclusive retail relationship with Target. However, the band — who shot a Target commercial directed by Cameron Crowe last week in Seattle — will also release the album through its fan club, Ten Club, and “a network or possibly networks of indie retail stores.†Manager Kelly Curtis said “Target was cool enough to realize that little independent record stores are not their competition.†If five or six more giant bands do this every other month, independent record stores are saved! [Billboard]
Mila-No, Thank You: Alyssa Milano is set to star in and produce the indie rom-com My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend. Milano’s character meets two men who would be ideal mates — a struggling novelist (played by Christopher Gorham) and a successful ad exec (Michael Landes) — and must decide between them. That’s like the bare minimum for romantic-comedy qualification, so this definitely needs some punch up; may we suggest Milano’s path to love also be roadblocked by her wacky, hilarious profession? Perhaps rodeo clowning, or baseball mascoteering? [HR]
Classic Music: Hooray! Spencer Pratt is working on his debut hip-hop album, scheduled for release before the end of 2009 on his own Great White Records. He recently unveiled his first single “I’m a Celebrity,†to plug his appearance on the similarly named NBC show (along with the greatest video you will ever see), and he has already attempted to start a beef with Asher Roth. And in case you’re somehow not convinced this is a great idea, a sample rhyme: “Call me Senator Pratt, I’m only tweeting the facts / Hit @SpencerPratt and I’m tweeting you back.†[Billboard]
Back From the Dead: Atlantic is reviving its Elektra Records imprint, shuttered since 2004; releases by Little Boots, Justice, and Cee-Lo are planned. Hopefully, those albums come out before Atlantic has to shut down Elektra again. [Billboard]