Quick Takes - May 28, 2010
QUICK TAKES
Andy Richter looks set as new ‘Pyramid’ host
Conan O’Brien’s not the only one with a new gig.
Andy Richter, who spent years as O’Brien’s sidekick and has also tried his luck at sitcoms, is sealing a deal to become host of the latest remake of the game show “Pyramid,” which Sony Pictures Television and Michael Davies’ Embassy Row production company is developing for CBS. “Pyramid” will face heavy competition to get on CBS’ daytime schedule. While the network has holes because of the cancellation of “As the World Turns,” it also has a daytime chat show in development featuring “Big Brother” and “Early Show” host Julie Chen, who happens to be the wife of CBS Corp. President Leslie Moonves. The network also is working on a daytime show for chef Emeril Lagasse.
— Joe Flint
Burton gets McQueen post
The house of Alexander McQueen has named Sarah Burton, a longtime colleague of the late designer, to be the new creative director of the brand.
In a statement from London released Thursday, Burton said she intends “to stay true to his legacy” by turning out “modern, beautifully crafted clothes.”
McQueen, hailed as a creative genius in the fashion world, committed suicide in his London apartment in February.
Burton joined McQueen’s company in 1996, a year before graduating Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She most recently served as head of design for womenswear.
—Associated Press
Rome’s going avant-garde
A huge museum for contemporary arts and architecture opens in Rome this weekend in a bid to draw avant-garde art lovers to a city defined by its ancient monuments and Baroque fountains.
The MAXXI museum designed by Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid is the latest and most ambitious project to try to refresh the Italian capital’s image of a decadent city bent on its glorious past.
—Associated Press
James Bond, in black & white
Chill the booze and dust off the martini glass. James Bond is back.
A new novel featuring the world’s most famous secret agent is set to be published next year, the family company of Bond creator Ian Fleming said Friday.
The as-yet untitled book carries the top-secret code name “Project X” and will be written by American novelist Jeffery Deaver, best known for his series of thrillers featuring forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme.
It’s scheduled to be published May 28, 2011 — which would have been Fleming’s 103rd birthday.
In 2008, British novelist Sebastian Faulks wrote a Bond novel to mark the centenary of Fleming’s birth. That book, “Devil May Care,” was released around the world and landed on bestseller lists.
—Associated Press
SOAPnet goes down the drain
With soap operas going the way of land line telephones, Walt Disney Co. is pulling the plug on its cable channel SOAPnet.
In its place, Disney is launching a kids channel that it says will target preschoolers and their parents. The network, dubbed Disney Junior, will make its debut in 2012.
—Joe Flint
Univision No.1 in L.A. ratings
Univision Communications’ flagship television station, KMEX-TV Channel 34, continued to reign supreme among Los Angeles television stations during the May ratings sweeps.
The Spanish-language station captured the ratings crown for prime-time viewership among 18- to 49-year-old viewers, powered by its popular soap operas, or telenovelas, including the 8 p.m. blockbuster, “Hasta Que El Dinero Nos Separe” (Until Money Do Us Part).
Fox’s KTTV-TV Channel 11, which carries that network’s top shows, came in second in the local ratings during the May sweeps, which officially ended Wednesday night.
In the 6 p.m. local news race, KABC-TV Channel 7 took top honors among viewers ages 25 to 54, which is advertisers’ preferred demographic group for news programs. KMEX came in second. At 11 p.m., KMEX had the top-rated local newscast, with KABC finishing second.
—Meg James
