Skins

Skins creator Bryan Elsley has been forced to defend a change to the upcoming US version of the teen series.

Unlike the British original, the character of Maxxie, played by Mitch Hewer, will not be a gay male but a lesbian character called Tea to be played by Sophia Black D’Elia.

“I understand the concerns [about the change],” Elsley said, “And I know that everyone loved Mitch. Skins is always cast from the kids that I have available. In other words, there’s a big open audition and the characters always emerge from what is there in front of me.”

Elsley explained that he had not found a male actor suitable enough for the US’s equivalent Maxxie character.

“I couldn’t find a kid who could bring the same tenor to the performance,” he claimed. “And I’d met Sofia and I started to think about things in a different way.”

“It just so happens on this occasion that there isn’t a gay male character in the central cast,” he added.

The US version of Skins will hits screens in 2011 on MTV.

Source: Digital Spy

Ramsay to bag million in deal

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will net millions of pounds in a deal which sees his production company One Potato Two Potato, which produces the likes of The F Word and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, sold to British production giant All3Media. Under the new conglomerate, Ramsay will look to build his presence in the US and will benefit from bigger distribution and licensing operations.

Kanye welcomed back to MTV Awards

Rapper Kanye West has been invited back to the MTV Video Music Awards despite making a fool of himself at last year’s event. West announced via twitter that he has been in talks with organisers over a performance at the September 12 ceremony.

US Skins remake switches character

The American version of teen drama Skins has deviated from the original British character line-up by replacing gay character Maxxie, played in the UK original by Mitch Hewer, with a lesbian teen called Tea, to be played by Sophia Black D’Elia. Producers have blamed a lack of male talent as the reason why they will not be using the Maxxie character.

Brothers & Sisters aquires Davidson

Army Wives actor Jeremy Davidson will join the cast of Brothers & Sisters for the drama’s fifth season which starts in the US next month. Davidson will take up a recurring role in the series as a love interest for one of the major female characters.

Bieber impresses during CSI debut

Teen idol Justin Bieber has impressed producers during his acting debut on the set of crime procedural CSI. Bieber, who features in the show’s new season debut playing a “troubled teen”, has been approached for a second appearance to reprise his role next year.

Portia de Rossi possible Carell replacement

Portia de Rossi is another name that has been added to the growing list of potential replacements for Steve Carell on The Office in the US. The Arrested Development actress is said to be in talks with producers.

Skins actor cast in new series

Former Skins actor Joe Dempsie has joined the cast of a new series called Game of Thrones which is adapted from the A Song Of Ice And Fire novels by author George R. R. Martin. Dempsie, who played Chris in the first and second seasons of Skins, joins Lord of the Rings actor Sean Bean and 300’s Lena Headey on the cast.

Carey joins American Idol race

Mariah Carey is eyeing a spot on the judging table of American Idol after negotiations with fellow singer Jennifer Lopez fell through. Carey has previously appeared on the show as a guest mentor back in 2008.

Ricky Gervais developing Chinese Office?

The Office creator and star Ricky Gervais has written on his blog that he is about to start work on a Chinese version of the comedy series. Gervais wrote: “I have some amazing news… We are about to start work on developing a Chinese The Office. How cool is that?”.

An all-new cast for teen series Skins has been revealed by the show’s UK network E4 for the upcoming fifth season.

The series, which has set a pattern of completely re-casting every two seasons in order to keep the characters school-age, has selected a group of 8 young actors and actresses to take the show into 2011.

There is no info yet as to the character details but the cast includes The Golden Compass actress Dakota Blue Richards, Alex Arnold, Sean Teale, Sebastian De Souza, Will Merrick, Laya Lewis, Freya Mavor and Jessica Sula.

Five of the eight primary cast members were selected from open casting calls held in the UK.

Past seasons of Skins have included About A Boy actor Nicholas Hoult and Slumdog Millionaire lead Dev Patel.

The fifth season of Skins will screen next year.

Source: TV Squad

Vinnie Jones lands TV role

British tough guy Vinnie Jones has signed on for his first regular TV role in the new superhero series The Cape. The footballer-turned-actor will play a powerful criminal called Scales whose rare condition causes his body to look as though it is covered in green and gold scales.

Home shopping on the rise

TV home shopping is on a rise in Australia with more and more viewers picking up the phone to buy products they have seen on television infomercials. With the rise of celebrity-endorsed products on the market, Australia’s only 24-hour home shopping channel has seen a 20% rise in business each year for the last four years.

Spielberg eyes down under

Steven Spielberg is eyeing up Queensland as the filming location of his new big budget series Terra Nova. The Hollywood heavyweight sang the praises of Australia after shooting war drama The Pacific in Melbourne and is looking at the far North this time to provide the backdrop for his new dinosaur series which is said to cost around $150 million.

Skins “unrealistic”

Teen drama Skins has been voted the most unrealistic representation of student life on TV in a poll carried out by a UK website. The results showed that 67% of those polled agreed that the British series was the most unrealistic with fellow British soap Hollyoaks second and Gossip Girl third.

DeWyze signs record deal

American Idol winner Lee DeWyze has signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/RCA Records. The 24-year-old singer will release his album in spring this year.

Grey’s promotes actress

Grey’s Anatomy has promoted another character to a full-time role with news that Sarah Drew will become a regular next season. Drew plays April on the show and will join the recently promoted Jesse Williams in beefed-up roles in season 7 of the medical drama.

SBS in slogan war

Kiwi network TV3 is coming under fire from this side of the Tasman after cloning a slogan used by the SBS network here. The Aussie network is angry over TV3’s use of the slogan “Over Six Billion Stories… and counting” which they say is too similar to their own “Six Billion Stories… and counting”. TV3, however, says it’s a generic phrase based on the population of the world and that it’s not particularly unique to SBS.

Cowell to be honoured

American Idol judge and producer Simon Cowell will be honoured by BAFTA for his contribution to entertainment at next week’s BAFTA Television awards. Cowell, who not only fronts Idol but also Britain’s Got Talent and The X-Factor in the UK, has been described as “one of the most brilliant entertainment producers of our time” by BAFTA TV chairman John Willis. The 50-year-old will be presented a special award at the June 6 ceremony.

Homer named the greatest

Homer Simpson has been named the greatest character created for TV and film in the past 20 years. Homer narrowly edged Harry Potter to take the title in the survey for Entertainment Weekly which asked readers to choose who they believed to be the greatest screen characters from the past couple of decades. Heath Ledger’s Joker, James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano and Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel took the runner-up positions.

MTV to remake another UK series

MTV is set to continue building on their remake tally with news the network is to remake UK series The Inbetweeners in the US. After confirming their remakes of Teen Wolf and UK teen series Skins, MTV is now planning on Americanising The Inbetweeners, a comedy centring around a group of four young Brits in a London high school.

UK Eurovision fail

The recent Eurovision Song Contest has drawn it lowest ever audience in the UK. As it turns out, the Brits weren’t missing much with their entrant Josh Dubovie failing miserably, scoring only ten points compared to the winner’s 246.

Greenlight for Skins movie

Teen series Skins is heading to the big screen with news today the producers of the English series will begin shooting a movie in September. The intention is to bring back cast members from the first four seasons as well as introduce new characters into the mix. The script is being written by an original Skins writer and will be directed by another series regular.

Keaton, Page in new pilot

Dianne Keaton has signed on to star in a new comedy pilot for HBO which centres on a famous entertainment blogger. She is reportedly set to be joined by Juno lead Ellen Page who will play Keaton’s journalistic protégé in the pilot, entitled Tilda. The project is loosely based on real life blogger Nikki Finke of the website Deadline Hollywood.

Lost actors series?

A pair of Lost actors are thinking of developing their own series according to Access Hollywood. Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn who played Ben and Locke, are currently working through some ideas which they have already pitched to a producer. There has been no word as to what kind of show they are exploring.

Law & Order setback

Any recent optimism around the possibility of Law & Order being saved from cancellation has been dealt a serious blow with American network TNT, who were reported as interested in taking over the rights to the show, saying they have no plans to broadcast new episodes. So it looks as if the show will not receive a record-breaking 21st season after all.

Housewives star in MTV pilot

Desperate Housewives actor Beau Mirchoff has been cast in a new MTV series pilot called That Girl. Mirchoff, who plays Danny Bolen on Housewives, will take the role of a high school heartthrob in the teen series.

Idol advertisement

The winner of American Idol’s finale this week will be featured in a Disney advertisement on TV signing When You Wish Upon A Star. The ad will be promoting the American Idol Experience at the Disney World Resort in Florida.

Mad Men promotion

Young actress Kiernan Shipka has been given a regular role on hit series Mad Men. The 10-year-old who plays Sally Draper the daughter of Don and Betty, has been promoted to a major role in the upcoming fourth season of the series.

Futurama comeback

The revival of Futurama is almost complete with the sixth season of the cartoon set to screen later this year. It has been seven years since the show last produced new episodes and executive producer David X Cohen has said the series has been saved by its “fans’ enthusiasm”. He has also said that the for the upcoming season the “quality of borderline material is a little higher.”

New season for The IT Crowd

English comedy series The IT Crowd has been granted a fifth season. The BAFTA-winning series, which is written by Graham Linehan (Father Ted, Black Books), is yet to start its fourth season in the UK but due to its popularity a fifth has been commissioned which will feature a new team of writers.

Celebrity Rehab for reality star

Reality star Tila Tequila will join the next season of Celebrity Rehab to try and kick her addiction to prescription sleeping med Ambien. Tequila, who starred on two seasons of A Shot at Love, has said she hopes she doesn’t become another Lindsay Lohan and will try to turn her self destructive ways around on the reality show.