Quick Takes: TV therapy for Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan will be playing herself, but as a therapy patient, in an upcoming episode of the FX sitcom “Anger Management.”

Producer Lionsgate Television says Lohan will develop a romantic relationship during her sessions with the therapist character played by series star Charlie Sheen.

The episode is set to air in April. Sheen and Lohan have also recently worked together in the upcoming “Scary Movie 5,” which is set to debut the same month.

—Associated Press

Funny business extends to stage

The producers behind one of the largest comedy festivals in the world are launching a new theatrical subsidiary that hopes to become a major player on Broadway and in London’s West End.

The Just for Laughs Group on Monday unveiled its new stage-orientated producing division and said Adam Blanshay will be its chief executive.

Just for Laughs Theatricals, which will be based in New York City, is already signed on to help produce the new Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” the West End productions of “A Chorus Line,” “Old Times” with Kristin Scott Thomas, and “Merrily We Roll Along.” Future projects include the new Broadway musical “Bullets Over Broadway” in 2014.

—Associated Press

Raven joins dancing stars

Jacoby Jones proved he didn’t have two left feet on the field when he took on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII this month. But will that hold true on the dance floor?

During a commercial break in Sunday night’s Academy Awards, ABC ran an ad announcing the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver as a contestant on the new season of “Dancing With the Stars.” The rest of the cast of the 16th season will be revealed Tuesday on “Good Morning America.”

Jones, 28, helped the Ravens to their victory in the big game, with a 108-yard kickoff return and a 56-yard touchdown catch that demonstrated his spinning abilities.

He joins the list of NFL athletes who have taken the dance leap. Past contestants include former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward — all of whom won their seasons.

—Yvonne Villarreal

Taiwan shows pride in director

A second Academy Award for directing has thrust Taiwan native Ang Lee into the top ranks of world filmmakers and made him a national hero on this diplomatically isolated island.

News of Lee’s triumph for “Life of Pi” electrified Taiwanese, many of whom watched a live broadcast early Monday. It was not only the surprise nature of the directorial award — “Lincoln” director Steven Spielberg was considered the category’s clear front-runner — but the intense pride they felt at a native son making it big in the world at large.

Since losing most of its diplomatic allies to China in the 1970s and 1980s — the two sides split in a civil war more than six decades ago — Taiwan has been on the outer fringes of the international community. It is now recognized by only 23 countries — mostly impoverished and devoid of influence — and outside of information technology circles, its global footprint is small.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou saw Lee’s triumph as at least a temporary reversal of those fortunes, thanking Lee for “pushing Taiwan toward the world.”

“Taiwanese are proud of you,” Ma said in a congratulatory message.

Making Lee’s Oscar win even sweeter was Taiwan’s key role in the production of “Life of Pi,” which tells the story of a shipwrecked Indian boy sharing his small boat with a ferocious tiger. A majority of the film was shot at a specially constructed water tank in the central city of Taichung, and Taiwanese took many of the most important jobs in seeing the film to completion.

—Associated Press

Stooges finish ‘Ready to Die’

Forty years on from their landmark proto-punk album “Raw Power,” Iggy and the Stooges announced Monday that they’ve completed a new studio album, “Ready to Die,” set for release April 30 through Fat Possum Records.

It’s the first time Iggy Pop has made a full record with guitarist James Williamson and drummer Scott Asheton since 1973’s “Raw Power,” which followed a pair of albums without Williamson credited simply to the Stooges. (Asheton’s brother Ron was the Michigan band’s founding guitarist.)

After “Raw Power,” Iggy Pop and Williamson went on to work together on a 1977 duo album, “Kill City,” and Iggy’s 1979 solo disc “New Values.” But when the Stooges reunited in 2003, Williamson declined to take part. The guitarist rejoined the Stooges following Ron Asheton’s death in 2009.

—Mikael Wood