Jay Off Ted?: In what is certainly not a good sign for the fate of ABC’s Better Off Ted, the show’s star, Jay Harrington, has been cast as the lead in NBC’s comedy pilot Nathan vs. Nurture. Harrington will play an “overachieving heart surgeon†who — 35 years after his adoption — reunites with his birth father and “underachieving brothers†… who will only feel more insecure when he tells them hilarious stories about palling around with Portia de Rossi. [HR]
Sucsy Takes a Vow: Michael Sucsy, who directed the HBO mini-series Grey Gardens, will helm the film The Vow. The movie is based on a true story about a woman who loses her “recent memory†in a car accident and attempts to rebuild her life. Suscy will also rewrite the script, originally written by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, who received a story credit for Valentine’s Day. (For their sake, let’s hope they were only involved in parts of the “story†that involved Anne Hathaway.) [Variety]
Lima May Be the Man: Director Kevin Lima (Enchanted) is in talks to direct Hugh Jackman in the comedy Avon Man, in which Jackson will play a laid-off car dealer who starts selling makeup and tries to win a regional sales contest to save his family from financial hardship. Jackson is a producer on the film, which has the potential to be the most musical-y movie that is not actually a musical. [Variety]
Like a Rock: Carla Gugino has signed on to co-star opposite Dwayne Johnson in the revenge thriller Faster. Johnson will play an ex-con out to avenge his brother’s murder “with a deadly to-do list,†and Gugino is the detective “hot on his trail,†trying to connect these recent killings to ones that happened a decade ago, back in simpler times, when Dwayne Johnson was called the Rock and Gugino was coasting through Spy Kids movies. [Variety]
CW Branches Out: The CW has picked up the pilot Nomads, created by Ken Sanzel (Numb3rs) and produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, about a group of young backpackers who make some extra dough by performing “secret missions†for the CIA. Alias for the Abercrombie set! [Variety]