Some changes on “The View.” Joy Behar is leaving after its current season. She's been there since the beginning, which…believe it or not…was 16 years ago. Here's something else you may not believe: She's 70 years old. Joy's contract is up in August, and she opted not to renew her deal. She says, quote, "It seemed like the right time. You reach a point when you say to yourself, 'Do I want to keep doing this?' There are other things on my plate…"I've been writing a play, I've been neglecting my standup." Joy is also considering another, solo talk show. There are rumors it could be something on CNN, but nothing's been determined yet. There's no word on who may replace her on "The View". This makes Barbara Walters the last original member…but there's also speculation that SHE may be on her way out, too. On top of that, Elisabeth Hasselbeck isn't signed beyond this season either.
Congratulations to the 10 finalists on American Idol…. They could be the last. Some are saying it’s possible this is Idol's final season. It’s suffering from a double-digit drop in ratings. It's no longer the most-watched TV show. At this rate, more people could name who’s kissing on The Big Bang Theory than identify last season’s Idol winner. As Idol declines, the more Matt Lauer’s blood pressure rises. His job at The Today Show is reportedly "on the bubble.” The Today Show's ratings are also tanking and NBC is itching for a changing of the guard. Waiting in the wings is Ryan Seacrest. If Idol doesn’t return, and that’s a big if because it remains a money maker, Seacrest could be out of a TV job. Ryan is on the short list of people to replace Lauer.
Earlier this week, we heard that 73-year-old Valerie Harper has inoperable brain cancer, and has as little as a month-and-a-half to live. Now, she's booked her first TV appearance to talk about it. Valerie is going to be on Monday's episode of "The Doctors" alongside her husband, and her former "Mary Tyler Moore Show" co-stars Cloris Leachman and Ed Asner.
We told you yesterday that Demi Moore filed a response to Ashton Kutcher’s divorce papers… well, she wants spousal support and she wants Ashton to pay her legal fees. According to TMZ, Demi has WAY more money than Ashton. Although Ashton did make $24 million last year alone, thanks to "Two and a Half Men". Since Demi is already set for life, it's not likely a judge will award her any support. But it probably felt good on some level just to petition for it.
Kim Kardashian was rushed to the hospital Tuesday night because she thought she was having a miscarriage. It was a false alarm, but the doctor did order her to get some rest. Between work, the stress of her divorce, moving into a new house and the fact that she still works out regularly, Kim is just putting her body through too much. A source says, quote, "Kim's not respecting her pregnancy. "She's running around, working out seven days a week. She's working with two different trainers to control her weight, including Tracy Anderson and a pregnancy trainer. She’s scared that she’s getting too big. But she is having a very rough pregnancy, and doctors have ordered her to slow down."
Kelly Osbourne suffered a seizure in front of a live studio audience while taping her show "Fashion Police" yesterday. Witnesses say Kelly turned to guest host Melissa Rivers and said, quote, "I don't feel good" then fell out of her chair to the floor and started shaking. Melissa went down to the floor to help her and an audience member who happened to be some kind of emergency responder jumped in as well. Fellow host Joan Rivers later said Kelly is "fine".
If you’re going to the movies this weekend, you’re likely to find sold-out shows to Oz: The Great and Powerful. The box office revenue for the prequel of the beloved classic is predicted to approach 100 million. And it will make even more overseas. The flick starring James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis has polarized critics. Still, with numbers like these, Disney studio already has designs for a sequel.
The only other major movie released this weekend is dead-on-arrival. Dead Man Down will hardly make a dent at the box office with 5 million in tickets expected. A real disappointment for one-time A-list actor Colin Farrell.
Judge Reinhold will reprise his old role as Billy Rosewood on the upcoming "Beverly Hills Cop" TV show. As expected, Eddie Murphy has also signed on. For now, Judge is only scheduled to make a small cameo in the pilot…but this could mean that, like Eddie, he may be involved as a supporting character who wouldn't appear in every episode. There's no word if any other cast members are coming onboard .
The first 6,000 bottles of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new wine went on sale yesterday…and sold out in five hours. The wine sold for $139 for a six-bottle case. The wine, in a bottom-heavy, champagne-like bottle, goes on sale to restaurants and wholesalers later this month. There was no immediate comment from Pitt or Jolie's publicists.
Earlier this week, Carrie Fisher said "yes" when she was asked if she's going to reprise her role as Princess Leia in the upcoming "Star Wars" movies. Now, her rep says she was just joking. But that doesn't mean it isn't happening. The rep just vaguely says, quote, "Nothing has been announced." Even though nothing is official…George Lucas hints that Carrie, Marki Hamill and Harrison Ford could all be back, because they seemed interested when he approached them about it long before the Disney sale. George tells "BusinessWeek", quote, "We'd already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison…or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation…maybe I'm not supposed to say that…
"I think [Disney] wants to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them. I won't say whether the negotiations were successful or not."
