Quick Takes: ‘Shore’ leave is over for ‘Jersey Shore’ cast

Seven members of the “Jersey Shore” cast will be back in Seaside Heights, N.J., this weekend to begin production on the third season of the MTV show, the network said Tuesday.

The only cast member who won’t return for more televised fist-pumping is Angelina “Jolie” Pivarnick, 25, who bailed early in the first season but returned for the second, which was filmed in Miami in April and May.

The second season of “Jersey Shore” premieres July 29. The third season will air early next year, according to an MTV spokeswoman.

The “Jersey” cast shot the first season for $5,000 per episode each, then bargained for a raise of $10,000 an episode for the second season. A source close to the negotiations said a bump for the third cycle brings everyone close to $30,000 an episode.

—Maria Elena Fernandez

Revolutionary ‘Zhivago’ move

In 2006, the La Jolla Playhouse presented a production of “Zhivago,” a new stage musical based on the 1957 Boris Pasternak novel about romance and politics set during the Russian Revolution.

Now the musical has resurfaced in Australia. Des McAnuff, the Tony-winning director and former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, will direct the production, which is set to begin in February in Sydney.

Now titled “Doctor Zhivago,” the musical is being billed as a “world premiere” despite its previous Southern California engagement. A news release sent to the media on Tuesday made no mention of the show’s La Jolla production.

—David Ng

Soup, but

no ‘SoupMan’

A New York City soup vendor made famous after he inspired the Soup Nazi character on the popular “Seinfeld” TV show reopened his original Manhattan stall Tuesday, but Al Yeganeh did not show up for the celebrations.

For 20 years, Yeganeh — who calls himself “The Original SoupMan” and detests the Soup Nazi character — dished out soup in a 100-square-foot stall on 55th Street. But in 2004, he closed the eatery when he sold the rights to his business.

Now the company has reopened it. But Yeganeh, who is still involved, chose not to attend the ceremonies. “That’s his mystique,” said The Original SoupMan’s president, Bob Bertrand. “He’s an artist, and all artists are a little bit eccentric.”

—Reuters

Swift’s follow-up

to ‘Fearless’

Taylor Swift, whose last recording, “Fearless,” was the top-selling album of 2009 and nabbed the Grammy for album of the year, finally has her follow-up ready.

The 20-year-old country-pop singer said Tuesday that her next album, “Speak Now,” will be released Oct. 25. The album, her third, will feature 14 songs, all written by Taylor. The first single, “Mine,” is scheduled for release Aug. 16.

She said each song was written with a specific person in mind and delivers what she described as an open letter, “telling them what I meant to tell them in person.”

—Lee Margulies

German catalog project funded

The Getty Research Institute is receiving grant money from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a joint project that involves the digital archiving of German auction catalogs from 1930 to 1945.

The archives are intended to help establish the origins of artistic and cultural assets that were taken from their legal owners during the Nazi regime.

“German Sales 1930-1945” is a joint project between the GRI, the Heidelberg University Library and the Art Library, and the National Museums in Berlin. The project is receiving a grant of $174,120 that comes from the NEH as well as the German Research Foundation.

—David Ng

A word from Woody Allen

Audible.com on Tuesday began selling a quartet of digital audio books by Woody Allen, all read by the author. It’s the first time the writer-director has lent his voice to an audio version of his work.

The books are “Side Effects” (1971), “Without Feathers” (1975), “Getting Even” (1980) and “Mere Anarchy” (2007). They are $12.95 each, but some of the short stories can be purchased individually, for $1.95 each, and one — “My Apology” from “Side Effects” — is free.

—Carolyn Kellogg

Finally

New gig: Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis, 54, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to the Commission on the Status of Women.