Crash

What does an Oscar-winning movie look like when translated onto the small screen, with an entirely different cast and set of stories? That's the question Crash will have to answer when it premieres on Starz next month.

The 2006 Best Picture's producers (including Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco) are on board for the 13-episode series, which features nine new characters with intersecting lives as they travel through Los Angeles. Save for Dennis Hopper, who's playing an aging maverick record producer, the cast features mostly unknown or little-known actors (DB Sweeney and Jocko Sims may be the best-known of the bunch).

When we first talked about the show, most of you said you wouldn't be interested in watching. I'm wondering if any of the new video footage of the show changes your mind. After the jump, you can see a quick preview, but the better taste is the full trailer, which you can see over on the show's website. Leaving aside the issue of whether you actually have Starz, does this look like a show you'd watch when it premieres Oct. 17? To watch the preview, just read more

The TV upfronts may be nothing more than a fond memory, but there's still a trickle of casting news coming in about Fall shows — both on networks and on cable. One of these stories involves a recently displaced actor whose show's cancellation bummed some of you out, while another puts a veteran film actor in the lead of a series based on an Oscar-winning movie. Read on:

Smits Joins Dexter
Jimmy Smits, seen most recently in the CBS show Cane, will be staying in Miami for his next role: Smits will play an attorney on Showtime's Dexter. His character is described as ""an ambitious, charismatic assistant district attorney who comes from one of Miami's most politically powerful and beloved families" and forms an unlikely partnership with Dexter. No return date has been set for the show, but it's expected to premiere sometime in the Fall.

Hopper to Crash
Dennis Hopper, best known for his film roles, will lead the cast of the TV adaptation of Crash, the Oscar-winning film that is being made into a series for Starz. It looks like the show is less of a direct adaptation and more of an "inspired by" sort of situation, as none of the characters match directly to the film counterparts; Hopper will play Ben, a veteran music producer searching for one more great hit. The series is expected to premiere in October. It will be Hopper's first TV project since his stint on the short-lived E-Ring several years back.

One more bit of news about an Office Space favorite, so read more

• Jennifer Lopez's PR representative denied reports that the singer went into labor yesterday, despite rumors that she was giving birth at a hospital on Long Island. It can't be too much longer now, and we can't wait to hear about her new additions! — Us Weekly
• The Starz network is turning the Oscar-winning film Crash into a series, to be overseen by both director Paul Haggis and one of the movie's stars, Don Cheadle. Will you be watching? — BuzzSugar
• Production on Michelle Williams' upcoming film Blue Valentine, which also stars Ryan Gosling, has been put on hold as she mourns Heath Ledger. We're sure they're ready to give her all the time she needs. — People
• Miley Cyrus has legally changed her name from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley Ray Cyrus, preferring to be known by her childhood nickname and her father's middle name. And it all started because she was a sMiley kid. — ET Online
• Kathy Griffin has been re-banned from The View because she made too much fun of Barbara Walters on her Bravo TV show. We doubt Kathy really cares all that much, since she thrives on just that sort of attention. — Page Six

Splash News Online

• Hollywood Reporter has news that Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy) is in talks to direct the Hobbit films that Peter Jackson will produce.
• The FCC is fining ABC $1.4 million for nudity in an NYPD Blue episode that aired more than four years ago, Zap2it reports.
• According to ComingSoon, five more actors (Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and Jason Clarke) have joined Christian Bale and Johnny Depp in Public Enemies.
• Starz is planning a TV series based on the Oscar-winning film Crash, with its writer/director, Paul Haggis, on board, TV Week reports.
• Billboard reports that R.E.M. has recruited Modest Mouse and the National as opening acts for its upcoming tour.
• Joel and Ethan Coen took top honors at the Directors Guild of America awards, and Mad Men and Pushing Daisies nabbed television awards, the Associated Press reports.
• Julia Roberts will produce and star in Hothouse Flowers, a film adaptation of the upcoming novel by Margot Berwin, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• There's another dancing reality show coming: Lifetime will air Your Mama Don't Dance, a series pairing professional dancers with their two-left-footed parents, Variety reports.

Source

Based on the cheering from the folks behind the camera, it seems that this dude was supposed to show off some sort of stunt. He didn't just fail, he fell. Now talk about draining the life out of the party!

The old "bump into a glass window" prank is a household favorite. Apparently, it's an aquarium favorite, too.

We've seen parallel parking troubles before, but in that instance, after four whole minutes of trying and re-trying to park the car, the driver eventually gave up and drove away. Unfortunately, the person in the following video didn't have such good sense. To make matters worse, after settling into a less than parallel parking position, they also forgot to put the gear in park.