Possible Strike Quietly Rushing Ron Howard's Middlebrow Genius
· Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman are frantically finalizing the shooting script of Da Vinci Code sequel Angels & Demons before the Oct. 31st deadline, hoping that the mad rush towards production won't jeopardize the duo's ability to produce the kind of easily digestible, crowd-pleasing entertainment that always results from their lucrative collaborations. Meanwhile, star Tom Hanks has been presented with a hair-growing schedule that will barely provide the actor with enough time to reproduce his character's signature demi-mullet. Truly, no one is immune from the pressures of the looming™ strike. [Variety]
· In what is always a good sign for a floundering series, The Bionic Woman gets another new showrunner, not even two months after "creative differences" ended NBC's short-lived love affair with Glen Morgan. [THR]
· Smelling Oscar, Jamie Foxx will star in DreamWorks' adaptation of the book The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness and Civil Rights, playing one of "trailblazing black detectives who set out to solve a series of racially motivated serial killings that rocked San Francisco in the fall and winter of 1973-74." It's a serial killer flick! It's a socially conscious civil rights tale! Academy voters are already fantasizing about checking off Foxx's name on their ballots. [Variety]
· The Red Sox's World Series-opening rout of the Rockies gives Fox nearly as big a Nieslen win over its network rivals. Also: Bionic Woman (see above for fun behind-the-scenes news!) dropped off 23 percent from its previous averages. [THR]
· Demonstrating that Hollywood Cares About The Wildfires, Disney kicks in $2 million in relief. [Variety]
· Michael Mann is making plans to butch up a gone-too-soft Robert De Niro. [Variety]