TV Land developing Sherri Shepherd comedy

TV Land is developing a laffer to star Sherri Shepherd on the heels of her guest arc on "Hot in Cleveland." Project is a femme buddy comedy featuring Shepherd and her best friend from high school, who are reunited after years apart. The friend winds up helping Shepherd's character run a weight-loss center. Christine Zander ("Nurse Jackie") and Cindy Caponera ("Shameless") are co-writing the script and will exec produce, along with Nina Wass and Shepherd. Project is targeted to be one of three to four pilots that TV Land hopes to shoot over the summer, with the goal of having a new skein or two ready to preem later this year or in early 2013. Shepherd, a regular on ABC's daytime yakker "The View," charmed TV Land brass with her recent guest stint on the cabler's cornerstone scripted original, "Cleveland." She's had a recurring role on NBC's "30 Rock" in recent years. She also toplined a Lifetime laffer, "Sherri," in 2009. Wass and Caponera also worked on "Sherri." Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

Keck's Exclusives: Major NCIS: LaOrThe hawaiian islands Five- Crossover Planned for May Sweeps

Alex O'Loughlin, LL Awesome J, Chris O'Donnell Chris O'Donnell and LL Awesome J are likely to get NCIS L-lei'd. The celebs of NCIS: La will say 'aloha' for the sexy stars of fellow CBS series Hawaii Five- incorporated inside a thrilling May sweeps two-evening crossover event. The ambitious situation necessitates the outbreak from the deadly virus that's potentially used just like a murder weapon. Yikes! The sweeps stunt will begin around the Monday episode of Hawaii Five-, with special looks by O'Donnell's Callen and LL Awesome J's Mike Hanna, after which it builds up the following Tuesday evening on NCIS: LA, with Alex O'Loughlin's Steve McGarrett and Scott Caan's Danny Williams needing to pay a holiday to a west coast. This is not the first time a NCIS: LA character has joined over to the Five- world. In October, Daniela Ruah's character, Kensi Blye, aided McGarrett and Joe (Terry O'Quinn) crack a scenario along with her lip reading through through services. "It absolutely was thrilling this year's season to find out Danni consuming the sun's sun rays on Hawaii Five-, when CBS asked for once we were considering undertaking a double episode crossover, we hopped thinking,Inch states Shane Brennan, the mastermind behind both NCIS series. "What we should have develop is certainly an enormously entertaining, high octane story that showcases the very best of both shows. It'll be a pleasurable ride." Adds Five- showrunner Peter Lenkov, "Besides the apparent excitement of joining tabs on an incredible show, growing Hawaii Five-0's world [and] joining with NCIS: LA around the situation with huge stakes, we are planning on studying the relationship between McGarrett and Hanna, both Shuts after a little history." Excited to find out Callen hang 10 with Danno? How about hearing McGarrett bark, "Book Them, Hanna"? Appear off in comments section. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Man On A Ledge Challenges Sam Worthingtons Fear Of Heights: I Thought I Would Burst Into Tears

First Published: January 7, 2012 3:01 PM EST Credit: Summit Entertainment Caption First Look: Sam Worthington In Man On A Ledge LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- He battled greedy environmental enemies in Avatar, Nazi war criminals in The Debt and a gargantuan Kraken in The Clash of the Titans, but leading man Sam Worthington has a weakness a crippling fear of heights. For his latest movie, crime thriller Man on a Ledge, the sexy star, 35, was forced to spend hours standing on a 14-inch deep ledge, 200-feet above the NY City street below a feat he wasnt initially sure hed be able accomplish. Im not a fan of [heights] especially not a fan of being on a 200-foot ledge on a building, Sam told Access Hollywood at the Man on a Ledge junket in Los Angeles on Friday. I get nervous even talking about it! On the first day of filming, Sam felt his tough exterior crumble as he stepped onto the precarious ledge, with the bustling city street below. I stepped out on the ledge and I was worried I was gonna burst into tears and just curl up in a ball, he said with a laugh. I thought, Thats not a very good start for an action movie! But, we got a good start and just went from there. Sam said being surrounded by a stellar cast especially upcoming The Hunger Games star Elizabeth Banks made conquering his fear a bit easier. Elizabeth is great, he told Access of his stunning Man on a Ledge co-star. Ive seen her in her comedies, 30 Rock, et cetera. I saw her in a movie The Next Three Days with Russell Crowe and I thought she was sensational. She reminds me of Zoe Saldana, Jessica Chastain and other actresses Ive worked with who turn up, theyre consummate [and] they just knock it out of the park. Speaking of Zoe Saldana, Sam will soon return to the big screen alongside the 33year-old beauty for the highly anticipated Avatar sequel, and while details are under lock and key, the project is getting underway. I see Jim next week, Sam told Access of Avatar mastermind James Cameron. I know thats hes been putting them together and starting writing, so maybe hes ready to go. Hes told me the story I know where the story is going and where it all sits and its monumental, he added. Catch Sam, along with Elizabeth Banks, Ed Burns and Jamie Bell, when Man on a Ledge hits theaters on January 27. Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Should the Oscars Leave the Kodak Theatre?

Hey, Oscar fans: Do any of you have a strong emotional attachment to the Kodak Theatre, the home of the Academy Awards ceremony for the last decade? Because next year could be the last time the show is held there. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy is dropping hints that it could leave the Kodak for another venue after its lease runs out in 2013. Whether you think that's a good or bad idea probably depends on whether you think that the Oscars ought to stay in a theater custom-built for the annual ceremony. As someone who has covered the Oscar show twice at that location, I find the Kodak has both pros and cons as a practical place to hold the larger-than-life yearly gala. On the plus side, the venue was indeed built for the Oscars; in fact, Oscar lore is built into its very walls, inscribed on plaques as you enter and exit the auditorium. The very location is historic -- right along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next door to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and across the street from the Roosevelt Hotel, where the first Oscar ceremony was held more than 80 years ago. The space itself is small and intimate, which is good for the TV cameras. Then again, maybe it's too small. The theater seats about 3,330, which means that -- once the nominees and VIPs are invited -- about half of the 6,000 Academy membership still can't get tickets. And there's no backstage area to speak of; the "backstage" interviews you see sometimes after the show are actually conducted in conference rooms at the nearby Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. That means a long walk to and from the interviews for the winners, which in turn means less time for reporters to talk to them. Also, for all the glamorous history of the neighborhood, the Oscars are still currently the only major awards ceremony that takes place in a shopping mall. The Kodak Theatre is nestled in the center of the Hollywood & Highland shopping complex, and the Oscar night red carpet is the only one that winds past an Auntie Anne's Pretzels and a Hot Topic. In fact, it's the ongoing negotiations with the mall owners, the CIM Group, that is at issue in the Academy's recent announcement. THR's story doesn't mention any specific complaints the Academy has with the current location, only the awards group's ability to flex its muscles and to bargain for a better deal as the option to exit the lease approaches. "This is purely a business decision," THR quotes a member of the Academy board of governors as saying. "The bottom line is we are going to look at other places and listen to all offers. We may ultimately decide to stay where we are if we can renegotiate a better lease. Don't forget, things have happened there." According to the trade paper, that last sentence is a reference to Kodak's financial problems as it adjusts to a world where digital photography is replacing celluloid. (At a time when Hollywood has all but abandoned actual film for pixels, there's some irony in moviemakers continuing to celebrate their achievements in a theater whose name is synonymous with technology the movie industry has deemed obsolete.) The article suggests that Kodak may have difficulty continuing to pay $4 million a year for the naming rights to the theater. One reason that the Academy has leverage is that, if there's no Oscar ceremony there, the naming rights will be worth a lot less to CIM. Where else in the Los Angeles area might the Academy move the show? There's always the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, home to many an Oscar show before the Kodak years, though it seats even fewer people than the Kodak (about 2,500). The Shrine Auditorium, which has also hosted many Oscar ceremonies over the years, seats more than 6,000. And then there's the Nokia Theater, not yet built when the Oscars moved into the Kodak. It seats 7,100. The Nokia already swiped the 'American Idol' finale from the Kodak, so there's a precedent. Wherever the show ends up in a couple years, the venue's size and amenities may not matter much if the show's general downward ratings trend continues. If nobody's watching the Oscars, the naming rights to whatever theater they're handed out in won't be worth much. [Photos: Getty Images; AFP/Getty Images] Should the Oscars Leave the Kodak Theatre?YesNoWho cares? No one watches the Oscars anymoreVote Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman