June Pointer (Age 52)
June Pointer, the youngest member of the vocal group The Pointer Sisters, died of cancer on Wednesday, with her family by her side. She is survived by three sisters -- Ruth, Anita, and Bonnie -- and two brothers -- Aaron and Fritz. The sisters, who received their vocal training at their father's church in West Oakland, CA, began as a quartet in the 1970s and become a trio when their sister Bonnie left to pursue a solo career in the '80s.

Shin Sang-ok (Age 80)
South Korean film director, Shin Sang-ok, whose own life had more twists than most Hollywood thrillers, died Tuesday, after a long bout with liver problems. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun sent his condolences to the family and awarded posthumously a national cultural medal. Shin learned his craft in Japan and rose to fame in South Korea after World War Two helping build up the country's fledgling film industry. His production company, Shin Films, turned out hundreds of movies in the 1960s but dropped off considerably in the '70s under a repressive government regime. In a bizarre turn of events, while filming in Hong Kong in 1978, Shin and his wife were abducted in separate incidents. After a failed escape, he spent the next four years in a North Korean prison camp. Current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who was then a rising power in the communist state, has long been suspected of being the mastermind behind the abductions. Shin reported having an audience with Kim -- a film buff who reportedly has thousands of movies -- who wanted him to find new ways to enliven the North Korean film industry, using his wife Choi as a leading lady. Shin and Choi escaped captivity during a 1986 trip to Vienna in 1986 and spent a several years in the United States. The couple returned to South Korea in 2000.

Rajkumar (Age 77)
An icon of south Indian cinema and star of more than 200 films, Rajkumar, died Wednesday. The revered actor, who gained nationwide fame when he was kidnapped by notorious forest bandit Veerappan, died at his home in Bangalore from an apparent heart attack. His death sparked a wave of violence, effectively closed down much of the city, with major businesses downing shutters out of respect but also in fear of violent mobs that swept through the city as news of the actor's passing spread.

Source: Reuters

NEVER HAPPENED
Universal has picked up Never Happened, from the writing team of Mark Gibson and Phil Halprin (The Wild). The project is being described as a contemporary high-concept relationship comedy in the vein of It's a Wonderful Life. Raja Gosnell (Scooby-Doo) will direct.

HOW TO LOSE IT ALL
Paramount Pictures has hired Keith Merryman and David A. Newman to write a sequel to the Kate Hudson romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Source: Reuters

GREENBACKS
Will Smith will produce and star in Fox's Greenbacks, based on a pitch by Doug Cook and David Weisberg. The Morocco-set action thriller revolves around an American ex-pat who stumbles across a plot to destabilize the world's economy by mass-producing perfect counterfeit currency.

WELFARE QUEEN
Queen Latifah will produce and star in Focus Features' Welfare Queen, the fact-based story of a woman who scammed the welfare system out of a fortune.

28TH AMENDMENT
Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September) will direct Warner Bros.' political thriller 28th Amendment. Richard Donner will produce. The story revolves around a young U.S. president who discovers a secret cabal runs the government and wants him dead.

WICKED CITY
Mark Dippe (Spawn) will write, direct, and produce the live-action adaptation of Hideyuki Kikuchi's manga Wicked City. The story focuses on beasts from a parallel dimension and a secret resistance organization trying to prevent the apocalypse. The series was previously adapted as anime Yoju toshi by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Johnny Hartmann is co-writing the script.

THE SHOOTER
Kate Mara (24) will co-star with Mark Wahlberg in Paramount's The Shooter. She'll play love interest to Wahlberg, a master sniper lured out of a reclusive existence to prevent an assassination. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is directing. Filming begins this summer.

TO EACH HIS OWN
Model/Rapper/Actor Tyrese Gibson will write, star, and produce Screen Gems' To Each His Own. The urban drama revolves around two friends in conflict.

SPACE CHIMPS
Vanguard Animation (Valiant) is prepping Fox's Space Chimps for a 2008 release. The family comedy centers on the descendants of the first chimps sent into space.

Source: Variety

ABC FAMILY GOES BROADBAND
ABCFamily.com will relaunch this summer as a robust media site that includes a broadband channel (dubbed WATCH), a digital networking (think MySpace), an interactive gaming area, and downloadable shortform content. Watch will offer streaming of full-length episodes of its original series, as well as user uploaded videos. "ABC Family's target audience hits the sweet spot of the digital lifestyle," said Albert Cheng, VP Digital Media. "With the incredibly high percentage of young adults using broadband, it makes perfect sense to evolve the definition of ABC Family beyond the television set and into a new hybrid channel not only with rich video content, but also with social networking capabilities."

THIS IS AL-JEZEERA
Al-Jazeera, the English-language version of the Arab broadcast network, is poised to sign a deal for U.S. distribution. Managing director, Nigel Parsons, told reporters the network would be available to 3 million households by June, in time for the World Cup tournament in Germany.

THIS IS YOUR BIG BROTHER
CBS is planning an all-star edition of Big Brother, with a twist. Viewers will help cast the show from a pool of 20 former players. Executive producer, Allison Grodner, said that 12 or 14 players will ultimately move into the house, depending on how the public votes. However, producers retain the right to cast some players who aren't audience favorites. There's no word on a premiere date yet, but insiders speculate it will be Thursday, July 6.

COMEDY CENTRAL LOOKING FOR THE MOTHERLOAD
Comedy Central is looking to beef up its online broadband channel MotherLoad by encouraging amateurs to send in 1-5 minute "test pilots." Live-action, animation, sketch, or hidden-camera -- any format is acceptable. The only prerequisite: It shouldn't suck. The comedy network is parnerting with sibling iFilm.com to create an online competition for these amusing shorts. People can send submissions from May 22 - Aug 24. Network staffers will choose three "test pilots" a week from all of the submissions, streaming them onto the Comedycentral.com Web site. Online users will cast their votes, and the highest-rated submission each week becomes a semifinalist. Comedy Central executives and online users will jointly select the overall winner, who comes away with a deal to produce a series for MotherLoad. Lou Wallach, senior VP of original programming and development, said, "I think we'll get a lot of good stuff. There may be a two-minute series out there that could work just as well as a 22-minute series."

TNT EXPLODES WITH ORIGINAL CONTENT
TNT and Ridley Scott are collaborating on The Company, a six-part miniseries based on Robert Littell's bestselling Cold War epic, for Summer 2007. Company joins the growing lineup of TNT originals, which includes the second season of The Closer, and new EMT drama series Saved (June); Stephen King's eight-part event Nightmares & Dreamscapes (July); and the sequel to original movie The Librarian (Fall). Other TNT projects in development include Robert Redford's Generations, which goes back and forth in time to follow the story of three generations of a family who have all lived in the same house; The Norms, which revolves around a dysfunctional family in the South; Middletown, which centers on a high school principal and his wife as they raise both their students and their two children, one of whom is autistic; An untitled project, from David Hollander (The Guardian), about a recently separated couple who each work in the business of heart transplant surgery: She's a counselor, he's a surgeon; An untitled project, from Richard Levine and Lyn Greene (Nip/Tuck), about a top sports doctor who works with the disabled at a New Jersey rehab clinic; and an untitled project, from William M. Finkerstein and Bill Clark (NYPD Blue), about a neighborhood cop, based on Clark's experiences as an NYPD detective.

Source: Variety

THE BOONDOCKS: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON – UNCUT AND UNCENSORED

Coming to DVD June 13, from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Pre-order today!)

One of the most-watched cable programs among young adults, the show’s November 6, 2005 debut ranked as the best series premiere in the history of Cartoon Networks’ hugely popular animation showcase for adults, Adult Swim. Praised as “a jolt of shock therapy” by Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times, The Boondocks consistently ranks among the top programs on basic cable each week and was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award as “Outstanding Comedy Series.” Featuring the voice talents of Regina King (Ray), John Witherspoon (Friday After Next), Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911), Gary Anthony Williams (Malcolm in the Middle), Gabby Soleil (Johnson Family Vacation), and Jill Talley (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie). Based on Aaron McGruder's award-winning and politically-charged comic strip distributed in 350 newspapers nationwide, the three-disc DVD includes all 15 episodes as well as extensive bonus features.

SYNOPSIS
When Robert “Granddad” Freeman becomes legal guardian to his two grandsons, he moves from the tough south side of Chicago to the upscale neighborhood of Woodcrest (aka “The Boondocks”) so he can enjoy his golden years in safety and comfort. But with Huey, a ten-year-old leftist revolutionary, and his eight-year-old misfit brother, Riley, suburbia is about to be shaken up. Race relations, tabloid media, hip-hop culture, Santa Claus – nothing and no one is safe from these boyz 'n tha ‘hood.

BONUS FEATURES
* Commentaries on Select Episodes with Creator Aaron McGruder
* Audio and Video Crew Commentaries
* Audio Only Crew Commentaries
* Printable Storyboards
* Unaired TV Promos
* Animatic Compilation
* Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
* Deleted Scenes

BASICS
Price: $49.95
Street Date: June 13, 2006
Video: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles: French
Run Time: 318 minutes
Not Rated

ILLEGAL TENDER
John Singleton is making his first producing incursion into urban Latino territory. The story tracks a young Latino man on the run with his mother from thugs who killed his father. Casting talks are under way with top reggaeton artist Tego Calderon, Rick Gonzalez, Wanda De Jesus and Zoe Saldana. Reggaeton music, while not the centerpiece of the story, will dominate the soundtrack. Screenwriter Franc Reyes will direct. Budgeted at some $3 million, shooting begins May 9 in Puerto Rico and New York.

R.I.P.D.
David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) is onboard to direct the comic book adaptation. The story centers on a murdered cop recruited to work in the Rest in Peace Department, a ghost-busting police force (comprised of ghosts) that battles spirits unready to depart this world. The writing team of Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (Aeon Flux) are on board to write the script.

BURT DICKENSON: THE MOST POWERFUL MAGICIAN ON PLANET EARTH
New Line is conjuring first-time screenwriter Chad Kultgen's comedy spec script. Set in the world of Las Vegas magicians, one member of a highly successful two-man team dies in a risky stunt. The surviving team member must then find a way to rediscover his love for magic.

MAFIA COP
Mandalay Pictures is creating a film ripped from last week's national news headlines. Louis Eppolito, a highly decorated NYPD detective was found guilty Thursday of participating in eight murders, two attempted murders, one murder conspiracy, money laundering, obstruction of justice and drug distribution. The case is called one of the worst police corruption scandals in Gotham history. Dan Gordon will write the screenplay. Mandalay's David Zelon is producing.

AMBULANCE CHASERS
Broken Lizard's Jay Chandrasekhar (Dukes of Hazzard) will direct the comedy for Warner Bros. Jon Zack has been hired to write the script. The story revolves around what happens when two fiercely competitive personal-injury lawyers fight over a new client.

ELVIS AND ANNABELLE
Will Geiger will direct Max Minghella, Blake Lively, Mary Steenburgen, and Keith Carradine in a story of unlikely posthumous love that blooms between a local beauty queen and a mortician's son. Carolyn Pfeiffer is producing. The film begins shooting this month in Austin, TX.

THE BEAUTIFUL ORDINARY
Persistent Entertainment is set to begin shooting the indie teen dramedy in North Carolina later this month. Casting is currently underway. First-time writer/director Jess Manafort is helming the film, which revolves around a group of suburban teens on the last day of school in 1999. Judd Payne and Matthew Rhodes are producing.

COMA
Amy Kaufman will produce an untitled thriller for Rogue Pictures that marks the feature directorial debut of Victor Garcia. The tale is about a girl who wakes up from a 15-year coma and finds herself in a haunted hospital ward. Craig Gerber is writing the script.

Source: Variety

NBC SUMMER-REALITY
NBC will begin its warm-weather rollout right after Memorial Day. The fourth season of Last Comic Standing premieres May 30 and runs Tuesdays at 9p/8c. Big-budget Treasure Hunters debuts June 18 and settles in Mondays at 9p/8c. Simon Cowell-produced America's Got Talent kicks off June 21 and runs Wednesdays at 9p/8c with its results show airing Thursdays at 8:30p/7:30c.

THE REAL WORLD: DENVER
The 18th season of MTV's legendary reality series is setting up shop in Denver, CO. Production begins this spring, for a fall 2006 premiere.

ABC INSTALLS INSTANT REPLAY
This fall, ABC's web site becomes a second home for its primetime programming. The network announced Monday it plans to test online streaming of four shows -- Lost, Desperate Housewives, Commander in Chief, and Alias -- starting April 30. The initial service is a two-month test, with a larger offering for the upcoming fall season. Series will be made available for free, with a single embedded ad during each commerical break, starting the day after they air. The network has signed up a number of advertisers, including Universal, Cingular and Ford, just to cover the streaming costs. It won't be looking to make money from the service until fall. "We'll be looking at usage behavior, how much revenue it brings in and how much it costs," Albert Cheng, VP of Digital Media, noted. "We're committed to figuring out electronic behavior, though we're still figuring out in what exact form." DisneyChannel.com will soon implement the same format offering.

POPETOWN
German Catholics have launched a crusade against the upcoming MTV animated series, which premieres May 3. Print ads for the show depict an empty cross and a laughing Jesus sitting in front of a TV, with a slogan that reads "Instead of just hanging around, have a laugh." An MTV spokesman in Berlin said execs were not worried about the complaints and that they would not pull the show. While MTV admits the show is not to everyone's taste, it said the series neither insults nor slanders religious beliefs. The 10 episodes of Popetown -- about Father Nicholas, who runs the back office at the Vatican and is forced to deal with a zany pope and his dodgy cardinals -- will air Wednesdays.

AND THE NON-TRADITIONAL EMMY GOES TO
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced the inaugural Emmy award for original entertainment programming created specifically for nontraditional viewing platforms. All entries are original material made for broadband or mobile. Platforms include video blogs; Web site programs including journalistic reporting, event coverage or event analysis; mobisodes (short episodics created for mobile devices); and video-on-demand and other video delivered over an IP network or platform such as wireless or broadband. Material originally produced for television viewing and then repurposed for the new media will not be considered.

THREE MORE DAYS FOR 24
Kiefer Sutherland has signed an eight-figure deal to stay with the show through May 2009, and making him one of the highest paid actors on TV. As part of the deal, Sutherland will establish a production company on the Fox lot to produce series programming for both broadcast and cable networks. Sutherland also said plans continue for bringing the 24 franchise to the bigscreen. Production would begin in spring 2007, at the earliest.

THE HEIST IS CALLED OFF
NBC plans to air one more episode of the caper series, but hasn't committed to keeping the show on the schedule beyond this week. Having aired just three times, its averages have dropped consistently week-to-week. The series stars Dougray Scott as a professional thief who assembles a criminal dream team to rob several Beverly Hills jewelry stores during Oscar week. Things get complicated when he and the head of the LAPD robbery/homicide division (Michele Hicks) fall in love.

Source: Variety

ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, JR: COMPLETE SERIES

8-Disc DVD Collector’s Set, arriving July 18 from Warner Home Video (Pre-order Today!)

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Adventures of Brisco County, Jr: The Complete Series, which originally debuted on Fox in 1993, is a clever combination of classic western action, embedded with a touch of sci-fi and a healthy dose of humor is available in an 8-disc set full of special features, including all-new interviews with Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) and creator Carlton Cuse (Lost).

SYNOPSIS
Hired by local robber barons, Harvard Law Graduate Brisco County, Jr. searches for the members of the infamous John Bly gang, the same men who killed his father, a famous marshal and western legend. Accompanied by his one-time rival and fellow bounty hunter Lord Bowler, Brisco rides through the West trying to bring his father’s killer to justice. Along the way, he encounters mysterious golden orbs with strange abilities and colorful characters that help or hinder his mission as he hunts down the Bly gang one by one.

BONUS FEATURES
* A Reading From the Book of Bruce
* The History of Brisco County -- Making of documentary featuring Bruce Campbell (Brisco County, Jr.), the show’s creator Carlton Cuse, Julius Carry (Lord Bowler), Christian Clemenson (Socrates Poole), and Kelly Rutherford (Dixie Cousins)
* Tools of the Trade -- Extensive interactive map that launches into mini- featurettes about the gadgets and props used in the show narrated by Bruce Campbell
* A Brisco County Writer’s Room – Roundtable reunion/discussion with the key writer/producers Carlton Cuse, John Wirth, Brad Kern, Tom Chehak, David Simkins, and John McNamara

BASICS
Price: $99.98
Street Date: July 18, 2006
Video: 1.33:1 full screen
Audio: Dolby 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Run Time: 1385 min

KING OF CARS is a raucous, behind the scenes look at the world of car sales. The series follows 30-year-old Chop -- aka, the King of Cars -- who manages to run a hugely successful auto empire in Nevada, while also balancing several other real life roles as father, rap impresario, radio host, Vegas player and TV infomercial star and producer. Shot in and around Las Vegas, the series focuses on Chop’s dealership, the number one single point used car dealership in the nation. Follow his sales team as they struggle to seal their deals as well as showcases the production of The Chop Show, a weekly improvised infomercial that has become a local cult phenomenon responsible for a whopping 80 percent of the dealership’s sales. Part commercial, part variety show, these one-of-a-kind infomercials feature hilarious skits with real salesmen sporting outlandish costumes and Chop delivering his special brand of high energy hosting.

Take the PERSONALITY QUIZ to determine which Car Salesman you are most like.

Play the FIND THE KEY TRIVIA GAME and collect keys to open certain cars that will win you fabulous prizes.

For more information about Chop, visit his official site

MERCENARY FOR JUSTICE

Adrenaline-Fueled Thrill-Ride Debuts on DVD April 18, from Fox Home Entertainment

Steven Seagal is a mercenary who becomes entangled with orchestrating an impossible prison break, when he's blackmailed by a rogue organization. Mercenary For Justice delivers a knock-out punch with white-knuckle adventure. Set against the backdrop of some of the most exciting locations around the globe, Mercenary For Justice also stars Luke Goss (Blade II) and Jacqueline Lord (Joey). Combining the gritty struggle of Black Hawk Down with the thrilling escapades of Prison Break, this is one thrill-ride you don’t want to miss.

SYNOPSIS
Soldier of fortune John Seeger (Steven Seagal) is the best in the business…the business of kicking ass! When you’re a mercenary, there’s always going to be casualties, but no job is too treacherous for Seeger, who’s blackmailed into orchestrating an impossible prison break, leading a team of heavily-armed soldiers on a deadly mission to South Africa to rescue the son of a billionaire arms dealer. But, when Seeger finds out he’s been double-crossed, it’s payback time, and now, there’s going to be hell to pay!

BONUS FEATURES
*Making-of featurette

BASICS
* Price: $26.98 US / $41.98 Canada
* Street Date: April 18, 2006
* Video: Widescreen
* Audio: Dolby 5.1 Surround (English)
* Subtitles: English, Spanish
* Run Time: 91 min
* Rated: R