Huzzah!! Lifetime TV has issued a press release announcing that the 6th season of Project Runway (the first for their network) will debut on August 20 at 10PM, approximately one year after the show was filmed here in LA. As you are prolly well aware, The Weinstein Company tried to move the series to Lifetime last year and went ahead with the filming of the 6th season even tho a court was reviewing the legality of the move. The entire 6th season was cast, filmed and completed before a settlement agreement between the Weinsteins and NBC Universal (Bravo TV’s parent company which filed suit in the first place) could be reached. Now that Lifetime has the greenlight to air the series, they have announced the premiere date. Here is the full text of the latest press release from Lifetime:

Lifetime Television sews up the summer with the highly anticipated Emmy®-nominated and Peabody® Award-winning hit series Project Runway, premiering on Thursday, August 20, at 10PM ET/PT. Produced by The Weinstein Company, Miramax Films, Bunim-Murray Productions and Full Picture Productions, host Heidi Klum, mentor Tim Gunn and judges Michael Kors (leading fashion designer) and Nina Garcia (fashion director of Marie Claire magazine), will guide sixteen new contestants as they show off their design skills to see who makes the cut for Fashion Week. Filmed in Los Angeles and New York, Project Runway also features influential guest judges from the worlds of fashion, music, film and television. “I am a huge fan of Project Runway and could not be happier that Season Six will be premiering on Lifetime, the #1 network for women,” said Andrea Wong, President and CEO, Lifetime Networks. “The talent in this all-new season is nothing short of amazing, and I can’t wait for all of the fans to see the incredible work of these brilliant designers.” Models of the Runway, an exciting new companion series, will air at 11:00PM ET/PT, beginning August 20, immediately following Project Runway. Each 30-minute episode will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the reality competition – from the models’ perspective. Viewers can experience the drama, anxiety, joys, tears and frustrations as the models themselves face elimination each week and compete for a cash prize and photo spread in Marie Claire magazine.

At last, we have a date to look forward to. I’m not entirely sure why Lifetime is waiting so long to air the series tho. I understand that filming of the 6th season began late last Summer so an August air date would be about one year since the show was filmed … in the world of fashion, that’s a lifetime (pardon the pun). I’m sure there are many logistics involved but it would make more sense to me to get the show on the air as soon as possible while filming the next season for air as soon as possible. Bravo ended up airing 3 seasons of PR all in the same year … that’s the smart way to do it. But, no matter, August 20 it is … so we must wait. I just hope the delay doesn’t end up hurting the show. It already has so many strikes against it, I don’t know that it needs another. We shall see.

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Altho the fully completed sixth season of Project Runway has yet to see the light of day, Bunim-Murray productions (the same production company that created The Real World and is now in charge of producing the Lifetime TV version of PR) has posted information on their official website about the season 7 casting. As you may recall, the Weinstein Company (which owns Project Runway) reached a settlement agreement earlier this month with NBC Universal (the parent company of Bravo TV, PR’s former network home) to let the show make the move to Lifetime. Unfortch, the settlement came after the entirety of season 6 was filmed and fully completed. It remains to be seen when/if that season will air on television … but progress waits for no one. Casting for season 7 is now underway:

Project Runway is now casting for Season 7!!! Have what it takes to show your stuff at New York fashion week? This is your chance! The minimum age to apply for the show is 21. Project Runway will be holding invite only calls in the following cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Seattle If you can get to one of the cities listed above, please fill out the application (Download) and follow all directions that are on it. The deadline for us to receive applications is April 24th, so there is no time to waste. Fill out the application and get us all of your info NOW! Questions? Send your e-mails to prcasting@bunim-murray.com.

See our FAQS for information on how to make an audition tape. We prefer submissions on VHS and VHS C, but we will also accept Mini-DV, Hi-8, and DVD. If you submit on DVD, it must be a full-size DVD, NOT a mini-DVD.

The application for Project Runway is 20 pages long, is due by next week and can be downloaded HERE … interested folks should get crackin’ if they hope to make it on the show. I’m encouraged that production on the next season is getting started … now, if we could just find out when season 6 of Project Runway will air on TV, I’d be all set. I really hope that Lifetime doesn’t drop the ball on this series. Now that they can legally air the show, I don’t know what they are waiting for … air the damn thing already. Making Project Runway fans wait any longer than they have to for new stuff is not a good way to win the favor of the fanbase.

In other Project Runway-related news, former contestant and season 5 loser Kenley Collins’s day of reckoning has finally come to pass. As you may recall, Kenley was recently arrested for assaulting her ex-fiancée Zac Penley with various items (including a cat) after the couple argued or something (Penley was sleeping when he was allegedly assaulted by Kenley). After the jump, find out Kenley’s fate and learn what punishment she was handed for her alleged felonious feline crime …

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Great news … which better NOT turn out to be a cruel April Fool’s joke. I just received word from NBC that the disputing parties whose legal wrangling has kept Project Runway off the air have reached a settlement in the case — which means the show is finally free to return to the TV airwaves. Here is the full text of the statement that has just been released by NBC Universal:

NBC Universal, The Weinstein Company and Lifetime have resolved their disputes. The Weinstein Company will pay NBCU for the right to move Project Runway to Lifetime. All of the parties are pleased with the outcome. Harvey Weinstein added, “I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects.”

I realize that in my excitement and in my haste to pass along this information I could be falling for the cruelest of pranks but the statement was sent to me by an NBC Universal employee and I can’t (well, don’t wanna) believe that something like this would be used as a joke. I will update with any news from confirming sources as soon as I can. I have to believe that this matter has finally been resolved ‘cuz I am dying for another season of Project Runway. It remains to be seen when we will be able to see the show on the air again but I’m crossing my fingers that it will be soon. We shall see.

UPDATE: The LA Times confirms the story, the disputing parties have settled to let Project Runway make the move to Lifetime:

According to a statement issued by NBC Universal today, the dispute is over because the Weinstein Company has agreed to pay NBCU for the right to move the popular reality series to Lifetime. “All of the parties are pleased with the outcome,” NBC Universal said in a statement. Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Company, added: “I want to personally congratulate Jeff Zucker and NBCU on their success in the litigation and thank Jeff for resolving this in a professional manner. We look forward to working together on our ongoing projects” … Andrea Wong, president and CEO of Lifetime Networks, who fought hard to land the show, issued the following statement: “I couldn’t be more excited that Lifetime will bring its viewers an amazing, all-new season of ‘Project Runway’ this summer. As the highest-rated cable network for women, Lifetime is the perfect home for this outstanding program as well as its companion series Models of the Runway. All of us at Lifetime are thrilled to move forward with Heidi, Tim, Nina, Michael, The Weinstein Company and the entire ‘Project Runway’ team. We are proud to add these shows to our growing slate of original programming, including the hit series ‘Army Wives’, the all-new upcoming series Drop Dead Diva and our top-rated original movies. Weinstein also added the following: “We’re thrilled to be launching our relationship with Lifetime with this groundbreaking cable deal that includes the next 5 years of ‘Project Runway,’ our new spin-off show ‘Models of the Runway’ and the development of ‘Project Pygmalion,’ along with a package of our movies. With these upcoming shows and the success of our new series ‘The No. 1Ladies Detective Agency’ on HBO, we are very excited about the continued growth of The Weinstein Co’s television division. We are also looking forward to working with NBC Universal on the upcoming theatrical release of ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and the continued development of other projects together.”

YIPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! BEST.NEWS.EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT!

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Earlier today, we learned from Heidi Klum that the 6th season of her competitive reality TV series Project Runway is in a place of limbo since legal matters are keeping the show off the air. That said, the 6th season was still filmed and the Finale Fashion Show took place inside The Tent at Bryant Park to close out NY Fashion Week earlier today. Here are a few photos of Heidi and her PR cohorts Nina Garcia, Tim Gunn and Michael Kors at this morning’s Project Runway Season 6 Finale Fashion Show:

Whoa! Open-mouth kissing between Heidi and Tim!

What the heck is going on there you two?! HMMM??? Because the show was taped for eventual air (hopefully), the final 3 designers were not allowed to come out on stage to show their faces … their final collections had to do all the talking for them. And so … I’ve selected a few pieces from the show to post behind the cut for those of you interested in taking a peek. After all, who knows how long we’re gonna have to wait to see the show on TV. After the jump, check out some pieces from this morning’s PR Finale show …

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People magazine scored an interview with supermodel and Project Runway host Heidi Klum on the current state of her wildly successful competitive reality TV show and got to scoop directly from her on what is going on. The sixth season, which was taped to air on its new network Lifetime but has been kept off the air by a lawsuit leveled by its former mother network NBC, filmed its season finale earlier today …. totally unpublicized with a group of 3 final designers whose names we don’t know. The entire season has been filmed and is ready for air but, due to the legal wrangling by the networks, Heidi tells us there is no way of knowing when we’ll be able to see the eps … or on which network:

With a protracted legal battle still raging, and no air date in sight, Project Runway filmed its season 6 finale Friday under the tents of Bryant Park, where three unknown designers sent collections down the runway during New York Fashion Week. “This year is going to be a little different,” Runway host Heidi Klum told the crowd. “This is [the designer's] moment and unfortunately nobody has seen the show yet. I’m a little bit sad for our designers that they don’t get that recognition today. We’re all in a bit of a limbo.” International Herald Tribune editor — and fashion industry veteran — Suzy Menkes acted as guest judge for the show. Runway sources tell PEOPLE that producers had been trying to nab Menkes as a guest judge in the past. Although reports that Lindsay Lohan would do the honor proved false, PEOPLE can also exclusively confirm that Christina Aguilera, Eva Longoria Parker and Rebecca Romijn did lend their star power as guest judges on several of the season’s challenges. Since the cast has not been announced, producers did not introduce the designers Friday. “We wish we could bring out the three designers but we can’t,” Tim Gunn said at the show. Sources tell PEOPLE that when Runway eventually airs, it still will not be clear which designer showed first, second and third. (Also for the first time, no decoys showed at Bryant Park since the collections were presented blindly.) Even though the finale took place at New York Fashion Week, the show did indeed relocate to Los Angeles for its sixth season. What does this mean exactly? Show sources tell PEOPLE that permanent judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors weren’t able to judge every challenge each week. Instead, various editors from Marie Claire (where Garcia is now employed) have been tapped to fill in as needed. The season also relied more on “local resources” in the challenges, sources say. Translation: Think Hollywood.

Blah! This sucks … Project Runway is one of my FAVE shows and I hate that this legal fight is keeping the show off the air. Despite all the many changes that I’ve been hearing have been applied to the new season, I am still very curious to see the damn show. Legal battles like this can take years to get sorted out. My guess is that if a settlement isn’t reached soon, the show will eventually die a quiet death … off the air. Since the entire 6th season was filmed in its entirety, it should be ready to air once the court decides which network owns the show. I’m not holding my breath that a decision will come soon … which means that it could be months before we are able to watch season 6. It remains to be seen if season 7 will be cast and filmed to keep on schedule with the next NY Fashion Week to come next Fall. Boo. This is just a really crappy way for the show to lose all of its fun momentum :(

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Just like it was for music, 2008 wasn’t really a great year for movies or television … the Writer’s Strike at the start of the year really decimated Hollywood and severely hurt television programming. That said, there were a few really amazing films (highlighted by really amazing acting performances) and a select few TV shows that really brought the entertainment this year. Here is my list of my Fave Movies of 2008 … I think the #1 pick might surprise you.

At #10 is The Incredible Hulk:

This movie may not have been the best superhero film of all time but it beat the hell out of Ang Lee’s Hulk and really did a service to both the comic book series and the TV series from the ’70s. This film really paid homage to the beloved TV series for the first half of the film and then represented the comic books very well in the second half of the film. All I know is that I had a really good time at the movies watching this film … and isn’t that what’s most important?

At #9 is W.:

Oliver Stone films are really hit or miss and this one was a pretty nice hit. Josh Brolin played a superb GWB and managed to put our soon-to-be ex-president in real context. I am no GWB fan by any stretch of the imagination but this film actually made him a sympathetic character. Props to Oliver Stone for actually doing the impossible.

In the #8 position is Doubt:

This film is all about the acting. And among the amazing acting performances, Meryl Streep far outshines everyone else in this film. She absolutely turned in the most powerful acting performance this year … she absolutely deserves all the Best Actress awards and, IMHO, the Best Actor awards as well — she is that good in this film. I feel bad for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, who both turned in exceptional performances, cuz Streep just steals the spotlight. She made this movie such a delight for me to watch.

At #7 is Milk:

At long last, the story of Harvey Milk’s life made it to the big screen … and Sean Penn did his memory a great service. Milk may not have been a blockbuster but it is a very important story that is told so expertly that I wish it had made more money at the box office. Penn’s cast of supporting actors were also pretty phenomenal … as a whole they told a tale that an entire generation of people were hearing for the first time — which was eerily similar to the events that were playing out on the streets of SoCal this past November.

At #6 is WALL•E:

OMG … what can I say about WALL•E that hasn’t been said a million times before? The movie is just cute as hell and actually caused kids and grown adults alike to fall in love with a sweet little animated trash compactor. I had my doubts about this film before I saw it for myself … but man, once I saw it — I was hooked. WALL•E is absolutely the Best Animated Film of 2008.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Films of 2008 as well as my list of my Fave TV Shows of the Year …

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Woot! So last night was the big Project Runway Season 5 Finale episode where the 3 remaining contestants battled it out on the runway to determine who would become this season’s big winner:

Kenley, Korto and LeAnne went head-to-head-to-head in a battle royale for ultimate fashion supremacy. After the jump, find out who was in, who was out and who was named the Project Runway Season 5 Winner …

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