Rosie O’Donnell’s ‘The Rosie Show’ has a not-so-rosy premiere

QUICK TAKES

Monday’s 7 p.m. premiere of “The Rosie Show” on OWN, with first guest Russell Brand, drew a very modest 497,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. It’s O’Donnell’s first talk show since she left ABC’s “The View” in 2007.

At 8 p.m., “Oprah’s Lifeclass” — with OWN boss Winfrey discussing insights learned over her years as a talk host — opened even worse, with just 333,000 viewers.

The numbers show that the 9-month-old OWN is continuing to scrounge for an audience, even after executive changeover and promises of a renewed commitment from Winfrey herself.

—Scott Collins

Platform fall injures 16 actors

Sixteen actors dressed as zombies were injured Tuesday when they fell from a Toronto platform during filming of a new movie in the “Resident Evil” series, officials said.

Police Constable Tony Vella said the actors had been filming a scene on a high wheeled platform. The platform moved as they were going to another platform, leaving a gap into which the zombies fell.

The victims suffered leg, back and arm injuries. Twelve were taken to a hospital.

“Resident Evil: Retribution” is the fifth installment of a franchise based on the video game series and will be distributed by Screen Gems and Sony Pictures.

—associated press

Douglas gets Liberace role

Michael Douglas will portray Liberace in “Behind the Candelabra,” a biopic for HBO.

The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic,” “Contagion”), takes a look at the turbulent relationship between the late, flamboyant pianist and his younger live-in lover, Scott Thorson, played by Matt Damon.

Production will take place next year in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

—Yvonne Villarreal

Penny Marshall writing memoir

Actress and filmmaker Penny Marshall, who transitioned from her role as tough-talking Laverne in the hit TV show “Laverne & Shirley” to become a pioneering female director, is releasing a memoir about her rise in Hollywood, her agent said Tuesday.

Marshall, 68, has sold the rights to her autobiography, called “My Mother Was Nuts,” directly to Amazon.com Inc, said her agent, Dan Strone. The book will discuss her former 10-year marriage to fellow director Rob Reiner, her friendships with John Belushi and Art Garfunkel, and her battle with brain and lung cancer in 2009.

Amazon, which has been steadily expanding its publishing operations, recently signed a deal with bestselling self-help author Timothy Ferris and on Tuesday announced that it had started an imprint for science fiction, fantasy and horror.

—wire reports

‘Back to Future’ auction planned

Marty McFly’s jacket, Doc Brown’s shirt and more than 100 other costumes and props from the “Back to the Future” films will be up for bid at a December auction of Hollywood memorabilia.

But it’s a piece from the third movie in the franchise, “Back to the Future Part III,” that’s likely to generate the most interest (and an estimated price of $400,000 to $600,000): one of the seven DeLorean time machines that appeared over the course of the trilogy.

Only three of the cars are still around, auctioneer Profiles in History said.

—Adam Tschorn

Finally

On hold: Due to scheduling conflicts with baseball playoffs and expanded editions of “The X Factor,” Fox has benched its Tuesday-night series “New Girl,” “Glee” and “Raising Hope” until next month.