Johns Hopkins University will fill in as Harvard University in the new Facebook movie titled The Social Network which has already started production. The film will tell the tale of how a Harvard student came up with a way for other students to interact with one another … a social network, if you will … and will star Jesse Eisenberg (the poor man’s Michael Cera) as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. It turns out that folks at Johns Hopkins aren’t too happy that their school is being portrayed as Harvard but hey, that’s showbiz. Here are a few pics from the set this week:

The Johns Hopkins University passed itself off as Harvard in a movie Monday without feeling the least bit flattered. “It feels degrading somehow,” said Diego Ardila, 19, as he watched workers remove the words “Latrobe Hall” from a stately brick building and replace them with “Kirkland House.” Hopkins’ Homewood campus is standing in for Harvard in “The Social Network,” a movie about the creation of Facebook by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. The movie, like some Hopkins students, couldn’t get into Harvard, which has a longstanding policy against commercial filming on campus. So the production has opened some old college-admissions wounds. “The general consensus is, a lot of kids are not pleased,” said Lorre Atlan, 20, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering. “It’s obvious they [the filmmakers] could get Hopkins and not get Harvard.” That’s left Hopkins, one of the nation’s most selective colleges, feeling like a safety school. “It’s kind of like a blow to our pride,” said Ray Tsai, a 19-year-old sophomore studying biomedical engineering, an academic subject in which, he and others noted, Hopkins is rated more highly than Harvard. The sea of Hopkins hoodies and T-shirts on the campus’ quads Monday only looked like genuine school spirit. It was attempted sabotage. An anti-Harvard Facebook page urged students to “poke” into the movie by walking by the set in Hopkins wear. “Hopefully one slips in,” said Jack Chan, 19, a sophomore who pulled on a black Hopkins sweat shirt as he watched filming begin outside Shaffer Hall Monday afternoon. Not everyone thinks playing Harvard, which was tied for first with Princeton in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent college rankings, is beneath Hopkins, which came in a none-too-shabby 14th. “I think the people who have a problem with it are the same people who have latent self-loathing from the college admissions process,” said Sam Biddle, 22, a senior philosophy major. Jan Lee, 21, a junior in biomedical engineering, conceded, “A lot of people came here because they didn’t get into Harvard, Yale or Stanford.” Hopkins spokesman Dennis O’Shea put it in terms that might appeal to the competitive student body: “I prefer to think that we play Harvard better than Harvard can play Harvard.”

Yeah, I dunno know I feel about this idea of a Facebook movie. I understand they are trying to do something with Twitter as well … and I can only dread what they would turn out if they did a project on My Space. While I’m sure it’s somewhat interesting to see how the whole Facebook phenomenon got started, I can’t say that I’m all that impressed with the notion of a movie. It seems like just a way to capitalize on these new online ventures in order to make a quick buck. The fact that it is being directed by David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) does speak to its merit but … I dunno. Are any of y’all interested in watching a movie about Facebook? I’m not sure that I am … I can barely be bothered to poke my friends on the social networking site itself. By the way … are we Facebook friends yet?

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In early October we learned the somewhat surprising news that James Franco would be joining the cast of General Hospital and today we get our first look at the actor in his new role as soap star. ABC released a promo pic of Franco on GH … and here it is:

You guys, we’ve been waiting on pins and needles for this moment, and now we have it: the first images of James Franco in his much talked-about performance on General Hospital. Still no word on who James will be playing (beyond that it has something to do with Jason), but feel free to speculate away based on the image. And don’t forget: James’s first air date is Friday, November 20th! What do you think of this first shot? What’s this character all about? What’s with the all-black ensemble? Does that have something to do with Jason too? Start speculating!

Now, I don’t watch General Hospital at all … not since my college roommate used to make me watch it with her. I’m a total Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful fan (tho B&B is really trying my patience these days) so I have NO idea what is going on on GH. I still don’t know what James Franco is doing on a soap opera but it’s deffo a boon for the show. Folks who don’t watch the show but love Franco are more likely to tune in and get hooked. I won’t be one of those new viewers (I already watch way too much TV) but, again, it’s a big score for General Hospital. Do any of y’all watch the show … are you excited that James is joining the cast?

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It’s beginning to look like the end is nigh for the NBC series Heroes … in an attempt to grab viewers, I am assuming, E! news is reporting that the producers of the series have decided to kill off a major MALE character … and you’ll never guess who it is!

Now, in order to keep the news as quiet as possible for those of you who wish to remain unspoiled, I’ll keep news of the reported death behind the cut. But I will say publicly that I was very surprised to learn that they are planning to axe one the main O.G.s from the first season. After the jump, find out who it is …

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While we wait to hear about any movement on an official Friends reunion, Entertainment Weekly brings us the great news that Lisa Kudrow has officially signed on to do a guest stint on Courteney Cox-Arquette’s new hit sitcom Cougar Town!

It’s not an actual Friends reunion, but I’ll take it: Lisa Kudrow has signed on to guest star opposite ex-Friend Courteney Cox on Cougar Town, an ABC spokesperson confirms. “She’ll play a dermatologist that my character can’t stop going to even though [she's] mean to me,” Cox told tvguidemagazine.com. The Cox-Kudrow reunion episode will shoot next month and air in early 2010.

And this is how Cox described Kudow’s character to TV Guide:

“If it all works out, she’ll play a dermatologist that my character can’t stop going to even though the doctor is mean to me.” Is it a Botox thing? The show’s writers are not exactly sure yet, says Cox, who’s also producing the show, “but whatever it is, she’s the best in town at what she does and I become addicted.”

It turns out that both Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston have been considered as future guest stars … this is what Courteney had to say about the prospect of having other former Friends castmates appear on the show:

“I did ask Matthew [Perry] if he’d play my boyfriend on the show,” she says, “but he thought it was a little too much after Chandler and Monica.” Then there’s Jennifer Aniston, whom Cox has remained closest with among the Friends stars. “I’d love for her to be on the show, too,” Cox says. “Obviously we can’t cast her so close to Lisa’s appearance but if there’s a great part for her, I’d send it right away. She’s younger than me so she can’t play my contemporary even though she did on Friends, but I think we can find something great for her to play.”

This is all very exciting stuff to mebbe look forward to … but for now, I’m perfectly content with having Phoebe and Monica together again … er, Lisa and Courteney, that is ;) The Friends reunion may never actually take place but in the meantime, we have Cougar Town to enjoy!

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A few weeks ago, Young and the Restless soap opera fans learned the shocking news that iconic character Victor Newman (played by Eric Braeden) was being written off of the show after Braeden refused to take a contract pay cut to keep his job … then we heard from Braden himself railing against his studio bosses for the way they treated him … then over the weekend we learned the not so shocking news that a compromise has been worked out and Victor Newman WON’T be written off the show … and today we hear from Eric Braeden again in a new interview where he discusses the deal he worked out to stay on the show:

He’s back. Just a little more than two weeks ago, Eric Braeden announced that he would be exiting his role as Victor Newman on “The Young and the Restless,” following a salary dispute with Sony, the production company that owns the daytime drama.

ET: The other show owned by Sony let two of its top cast members go, and didn’t suffer in the ratings.
Eric Braeden: It is very difficult to ascertain to what degree one is important to the fabric of the whole thing. You don’t know until afterwards. That is the enormous gamble that you take. It is impossible to foretell.

As an avid fan of the show (which my mother got me hooked on in the mid-80’s) I’ve been paying particular attention to all this, ahem, drama and since Y&R has been the #1 daytime drama for over a decade now, I know there are many fans of the show out there as well. It sounds to me like Braeden decided to bite the bullet, take the pay cut and keep his job. Methinks this sends a clear message to the rest of the Y&R cast that if the most central character on the show can be threatened with exile off the show than any character can as well. For now … all’s right in Genoa City, WI (where Y&R takes place) … let the rein of Victor Newman carry on!

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Late last month we learned the SHOCKING news that The Young and the Restless veteran actor Eric Braeden (who plays the venerable Victor Newman on the long-running, #1 daytime drama on US TV) was being written out of the show due to a contract spat with the studio. Earlier this month, Braeden talked about how his mistreatment by the studio made him feel and sounded like there was no hope for his return to the show … but that was then, this is now. A new report out this weekend claims that Braeden and studio heads have agreed on a deal to keep him on the show! It looks like Victor Newman will remain on Y&R after all:

There’s peace in Genoa City: Eric Braeden, the longtime star of CBS’ top-rated “The Young and the Restless,” has agreed to return to the show. Braeden opted to leave a few weeks ago after producer Sony Pictures Television asked all cast and crew to take major pay cuts. In the actor’s case, that mean a reduction from around $1.5 million per year to around $1 million. But now a person familiar with the matter says Braeden has accepted Sony’s pay cut and will return to the series. The timing of his return is still being worked out. Braeden’s last episode was to have been Nov. 2. News of his return comes days after TheWrap reported that Sony had been considering hiring a well-known actor to fill the gap left by Braeden’s departure.

UPDATE 7:40 PM CDT: A spokesman for Braeden confirmed to TheWrap that the actor has agreed to return to the show.

Hmmm … I’m actually surprised that Eric Braeden decided to take the pay cut in order to stay on the show. While I believe it’s the smart thing to do (especially in this economy), Braeden strikes me as a stubborn and proud man (much like his character on Y&R) and my gut told me he wouldn’t budge. Work is work and a pay check is a pay check … in the end the studio is happy they got their way, Braeden should be happy that he still has a job and fans of the show will deffo be happy that Victor Newman will remain on the show. It sounds like a win-win-win situation all the way around.

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Late yesterday we learned the surprising news that both Ashlee Simpson (who plays Violet) and Colin Egglesfield (who plays Auggie) were fired from The CW’s new version of Melrose Place and at the time producers for the show, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, told Entertainment Weekly that it had been the plan “all along” to have these characters leave the show early once their storylines wrapped up in December. In a new interview with E!, Egglesfield reveals that that notion is NOT true, that he was not aware “all along” that his character would be written out of the show and, in fact, that when he signed on to the show it was with a multi-year contract as a core main character. Egglesfield has some idea why he was let go, tho … read on:

One day you’re happy as a clam, working as a castmember on a prime-time network drama, and the next day someone’s feeding you a line about changes in your show’s “tone” and shuffling you off to Buffalo. That’s what just happened to departing Melrose Place star Colin Egglesfield, who sums up his rollercoaster Thursday this way: “I’ve had better days, to be quite honest.” We just spoke to Colin exclusively to find out why he’s being pushed out of the show, not to mention where Auggie fits into the show’s big murder mystery, and despite what you may have theorized, Auggie’s not getting killed off, and despite what you may have been told, this exit was not planned from the beginning: “[They said it] was a network decision and obviously the ratings aren’t what they need or want them to be, so they’re going to try things to shake things up.” So what really happened today, and what’s going to happen next on Melrose Place? Here’s what we learned from Colin:

Do you have anything you want to say as a farewell to the fans and the people you’ve worked with?
Todd and Darren are great, I love those guys and they’ve always been straightforward and straight shooters and just great people to work with. I respect the decision that they had to make creatively to do what they need to do, I’m just frustrated that I’m not going to be a part of the show, because it was such a great job and a fun place to go to work every day. I’m disappointed to be leaving because I became really good friends with not only the cast of Melrose Place but many of the crew as well, so that’s sad, to not be able to go see them at work. But hey, I’m still friends with them, and I’d just like to say to everyone out there who’s been watching and supporting, thanks from the bottom of my heart, because this is something that I love to do.

OUCH!! Poor guy … it really sounds like this news came out of nowhere. I absolutely did not believe the bull the producers gave us that the plan all along had been to write these characters out of show from the beginning. As we hear from Colin himself, he just found out yesterday morning … AND, he still has another ep to film on Monday — poor, poor guy. As for Ashlee Simpson, she’s talking about her axing from the show as well. After the jump, check out what she has to say …

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