EVIL PUPPET MASTERS

According to Variety, Jack Bender will be directing the pilot for a new ABC drama The Prince of Motor City. More info below:

“The Prince of Motor City”…[is] set to start shooting at the end of June, [and] is a gothic family sudser set in the world of Detroit’s auto business. Hour-long project, from ABC Studios, also contains “Hamlet” undertones.

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Chris Brancato and Bert Salke are behind “The Prince of Motor City” as exec producers; Jessica Goldberg is also an EP. Goldberg wrote the pilot with thesp Hamish Linklater.

Andie MacDowell, Piper Perabo, Aunjanue Ellis and Warren Christie are all set to star in “Prince of Motor City.”

Source

Okay, I’m sure all of the LOST fans are giving a big “Well, DUUUUHHHHH!” to The Futon Critic’s pick for the number 1 television episode to air in 2007, but still - that is quite the honor. At least it is to people like me, who blog about how awesome everything that Bad Robot touches is, and who gets peeved on a regular basis when the awards shows turn a blind eye to brilliance they can’t quite comprehend.

That link takes you to the Top 10 (the entire list is for the Top 50 of 2007), which includes some pretty amazing television in and of itself. For “Through the Looking Glass” to get the top spot is pretty damn special. Congrats.

The Directors Guild of America announced their annual nominations yesterday. LOST got two noms:

Eric Laneuville - “Lost” (”The Brig”)(ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Pat Churchill
First Assistant Director: Richard Peter Schroer
Second Assistant Director: Meta Valentic
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael J. Musteric
Additional Second Second Assistant Director: Steven E. Simon

Jack Bender - “Lost” (”Through the Looking Glass”) (ABC)
Unit Production Manager: Pat Churchill
First Assistant Director: Richard Peter Schroer
Second Assistant Director: Meta Valentic
Second Second Assistant Director: Wainani Young Tomich

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!! Well deserved, I might add.

DO NOT CLICK BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED ON THE SEASON FINALE!!!

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Click below from ABC’s summary of Lost Episode 3.08 “Flashes Before Your Eyes” which will air February 14, 2007:

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I’ve read enough of these summaries of the Lost panel from the TCA press tour to know that THIS ONE by IGN is probably the only one you need to read. These guys must have taped the thing, because the article is FIVE PAGES long (and includes pictures, which is always a good thing).

I haven’t had a chance to read the entire article yet, but read enough to know that it does contain SPOILERS for the rest of Season 3 and various characters’ storylines.

I finally had a chance to read Kristin Veitch’s “live blog” of the Lost panel at the TCA’s last weekend. You can find it HERE. She did have a few tidbits that I had not read elsewhere, including a confirmation that Kate and Sawyer were taken by Ben to help in manipulating Jack to perform the surgery. There ARE SPOILERS, so be wary.

ALSO — if you are a fan of Heroes, she mentions a SPOILER for that show as well. You’ve been warned.

The Producer’s Guild of America announced which shows are nominated for awards this year and the producers of Lost are up for TV Drama.

The producers for Lost, namely JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Jean Higgins, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz and Elizabeth Sarnoff, have been nominated for a Producer’s Guild Award in the category of the Norman Felton Award in Episodic TV - Drama. They are up against the producers of Grey’s Anatomy, House, The Sopranos and 24. The winner will be announced January 20th, 2007.

Jack Bender believes in giving back, and that appears to include filming the trailer for the upcoming Louis Vitton Hawaiian Film Festival for free. Quotage:

Why would an extremely busy and successful Los Angeles producer shoot a trailer for free? Says Bender, “I love being in Hawaii, I love shooting here, and I think HIFF has become one of the significant film festivals in the world.” Plus, he adds, the trailer “turned out pretty cool.”