''Lipstick Jungle'' fires showrunners

Lipstick taking new direction
Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, the two executive producers/showrunners for NBC’s upcoming adaptation of Candace Bushnell’s best-selling book Lipstick Jungle, were let go on Wednesday (July 18) as part of an effort to take the dramedy in a new creative direction. The production start date has been pushed back to November for the midseason series as the search beings for a new showrunner, who will executive produce alongside Bushnell. Currently, there is just one script completed for the show. The pilot will still run as it was originally filmed, and no casting changes have been announced at this time. The series has undergone a number of changes over the past few years, including having at one time cast Gina Gershon as one of the three female leads. The Universal Media Studios-produced Lipstick revolves around three successful professional women, played by Lindsay Price, Brooke Shields, and Kim Raver. (Hollywood Reporter)

Pras says Fugees record is dead
Hip-hop artist Pras, member of the ’90s trio The Fugees, confirms that the group’s reunion record is officially not happening. ”We went in the studio and recorded a couple records that were incredible. But, to put it nicely, it’s dead,” Billboard quoted Pras as saying. ”Me and Clef, we on the same page, but Lauryn [Hill] is in her zone, and I’m fed up with that s—. Here she is, blessed with a gift, with the opportunity to rock and give and she’s running on some bulls—? I’m a fan of Lauryn’s, but I can’t respect that.” The Fugees released two studio LPs in the ’90s, going six times platinum, and then split amid reports of tensions. In 2004, Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras reunited on-stage in the indie concert film Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, and followed with a new single, ”Take It Easy,” in fall 2005. Sony BMG claimed an album would follow in months, but ”Easy” stalled on the charts, as did talk of a reunion. Pras’ latest comments seem to confirm that a new record is but a pipedream. (Billboard)

Ray Liotta joins Powder Blue
Ray Liotta will appear with Forest Whitaker and Jessica Biel in Powder Blue, an indie drama directed by Linh Bui (Green Dragon). The story is about four troubled people who connect on Christmas Eve. Liotta plays an ex-con who has been released after 25 years and reaches out to his long-lost daughter (Biel). The movie is a production of Eleven Eleven Films, Spirit Dance Entertainment, and Grosvenor Park Media. Shooting is scheduled to begin next month. Liotta just finished shooting the Wayne Kramer-directed Crossing Over for the Weinstein Co. The movie also features Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, and Ashley Judd in the ensemble cast. (Variety)

Posh hosting NBC comedy night
Following the success of Victoria Beckham’s well watched, but critically-panned one-hour NBC special on Monday (July 16), the Peacock is having her host tonight’s lineup. NBC moved quickly to shoot a series of short interstitials of Beckham at her home that will run throughout NBC’s Thursday lineup, which includes a repeat of her special in place of an ER rerun. (Variety)

T4 causing legal dispute
Development of a new Terminator trilogy has hit a snag as Halcyon Co., the privately-funded company who last May purchased rights to the franchise from MGM., is accusing MGM of failing to negotiate in good faith when the two parties sat down in June to work out a distribution deal for a fourth Terminator movie, which MGM would like to release in 2009. MGM claims it acquired first rights in the 1990s for an exclusive, 30-day negotiation for distribution rights to films in the franchise. T Asset, the company Halcyon formed to produce the movie, challenges that contention and would like the freedom to discuss distribution with other studios as well. T Asset alleges that MGM made an initial offer of $200 million in production and marketing commitments, but because the studio also insisted on approval for director, star, screenplay, and budget, T Asset said the proposal fell short. (Hollywood Reporter)

Fox orders second season of Lyrics
Fox has ordered a second season of its sing-in-the-blanks show Don’t Forget the Lyrics, hosted by Wayne Brady. The half-hour show drew a 3.4 rating/10 share in its opening week last Wednesday (July 11), and nearly 8.3 million viewers overall from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Insiders expect the second season to again run in the summer or possibly at midseason. (Variety)

Brosnan narrating children’s TV series
Pierce Brosnan has been tapped as the narrator for the popular children’s TV and DVD series Thomas & Friends. Previous narrators have included Ringo Starr, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, Michael Brandon, and Michael Angelis. Brosnan will debut in Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery, which will be released on DVD in fall 2008 in the U.S. and U.K. (Hollywood Reporter)

MTV ending Pimp My Ride
MTV’s next season of Pimp My Ride, hosted by Xzibit, will be the last. The final season starts Sunday at 10:30 p.m. and will be paired with a new car-makeover competition series, Trick It Out, hosted by former American Idol contestant Becky O’Donohue, which debuts at 10 p.m. Sunday. (Hollywood Reporter)

CELEBRITY NEWS

Page Six: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, along with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, are throwing David and Victoria Beckham a ”Welcome to America” party on Sunday.

Rush & Molloy: A TMZ cameraman alleges that CSI star Gary Dourdan grabbed him, broke his video camera, and slammed him to the pavement outside West Hollywood club Hyde early Wednesday morning. Footage posted on TMZ follows the cameraman as he runs from a gas station to a liquor store, begging strangers, ”You have to help me! He’s trying to kill me!”