Joel McHale’s ‘Animal Control’ fits snugly into workplace sitcom genre

The producer of "Shakespeare in Love" revealed Julia Roberts was originally cast as the lead before casting became a "disaster" in a new essay. Ed Zwick wrote about his experience attempting to cast Roberts in the late 90s in a personal essay for Air Mail. "The mere possibility of having the ‘Pretty Woman’ wearing a corseted gown got the studio excited enough to cough up the dough," he wrote.

essay for Air Mail recently, noting that Universal Pictures would only pay for the film if Roberts was involved.Zwick then jetted off to London with Roberts so she could do chemistry reads with actors who were in the lead to play loverboy himself, William Shakespeare.The “Erin Brockovich” actress was desperate to star alongside Daniel Day-Lewis in the flick; however, the “My Left Foot” actor had already pledged to shoot 1993’s “In the Name of the Father.”Zwick recollected that Roberts had gushed to him about how “brilliant, handsome and intense” Day-Lewis was at the time. “Don’t you think he’d be perfect? … I can get him to do it,” Roberts reportedly told the producer.The “Mystic Pizza” star even asked her assistant to send two dozen roses to the “There Will Be Blood” star, along with a card that read: “Be my Romeo.”But once Day-Lewis had told Zwick and Roberts’ team that he was fully committed to “In the Name of the Father,” their chemistry read was canceled.Roberts still went through with the casting process, now having been paired with Ralph Fiennes.

“Sons of Anarchy” and a ruthless, in-your-face chef in “The Bear.”“I’m very sarcastic, and now my two sons are very sarcastic, so that has come back to haunt me in a big way,” he said. “I was asking for it. So, I think that’s the part where I relate to Frank.

Redheads Sophie Turner and Julia Fox light up the LVMH Prize Cocktail event during Paris Fashion Week on Thursday (March 2) in Paris, France.

Karen Idelson When director Joel Crawford considered including a realistic panic attack in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” he knew it would be an important moment for kids and adults alike. “We know so many people who struggle with anxiety or we struggle with it and have panic attacks ourselves,” Crawford says. “Children can handle these scenes, maybe sometimes better than adults, and it can help everyone to feel seen if we create a scene that feels like it’s drawn from something that really happens.” In the scene, Puss is overwhelmed by fear as he considers that he’s used up eight of his nine lives. Though the character’s signature state of mind is that of a daring, playful and extroverted cat, this new film takes him in a more vulnerable direction.

with fashion, this time at Paris Fashion Week in a mostly-sheer black dress with a bellybutton-baring peephole. The tiny, circular cutout in Fox's dress was just large enough to display her bellybutton piercing which, to be fair, would totally have ruined the line of the dress otherwise. At this point, visible are so trendy as to be hardly worth mentioning, but a bellybutton cutout is new.Fox topped the sheer dress with a leather jacket cropped at the collarbone and low-heeled black sock booties.

Priscilla Presley is promoting her latest project. On Wednesday, the 77-year-old ex-wife of the late Elvis Presley took to Twitter to share the first trailer for , Netflix's upcoming animated action-comedy series.Priscilla and John Eddie created the series, which follows Elvis as he's inducted into a secret government spy program, all while holding down his day job as the King of Rock 'n' Roll.Priscilla will voice herself in the project, while Matthew McConaughey will voice the role of Elvis in the show. Don Cheadle, Kaitlin Olson, Johnny Knoxville, Niecy Nash and Tom Kenny are also signed on to star.The trailer teases all the action to come, culminating with Priscilla's animated appearance, in which she asks Elvis, «It's groovy, don't you think?»«So excited for Agent Elvis to come out on March 17th on @netflix and so proud to be a part of this amazing cast!» Priscilla tweeted alongside the trailer.So excited for Agent Elvis to come out on March 17th on @netflix and so proud to be a part of this amazing cast! pic.twitter.com/KZk5e1md1xPriscilla's latest venture comes amid the battle over her late daughter, Lisa Marie Presley's, estate. Following Lisa Marie's death on Jan.

Hoda Kotb has shared many life milestones — both triumphant and difficult — with TV audiences for years.

Britney Spears and Sam Asghari aren’t making any friends in their SoCal neighborhood right now!

The ever-iconic Julia Fox, who never fails to divide opinions with her controversial fashion looks, has stayed true to form as she debuted an outfit consisting of a skirt made out of belts. Actress Julia, 33, who famously dated controversial rapper Kanye West from January to February 2022, stepped out at Milan Fashion Week on Thursday wearing an entirely white motorcycle jacket with a belt buckle at the collar.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was accompanied by her granddaughter Naomi Biden on her visit to Africa. President Joe Biden’s wife and eldest grandchild arrived on Wednesday, Feb.

Karen Idelson The subtleties of war. The struggle with loss and grief. The search for a home and belonging. The terror of puberty. The realization of mortality. This year’s Oscar nominees in the animated feature category never shied away from the big issues. Underneath the bold exteriors of their artistic and technological achievements, each one embraced difficult, rich themes. “I think there’s a way that young and old can both feel the emotion and the meaning of the story,” says “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” helmer Joel Crawford. “Puss’ story is something we can all relate to in a way. He’s this fearless hero who has this moment where when he comes across the wall, feels fear for the first time because he knows he’s run out of lives and that he’s mortal — like all of us — for the first time. That moment is an impression of fear that I think everybody can feel. But then we are also able to tap into to some brighter kind of themes as well like hope through this impressionistic style we used in the animation. 

Is anyone ever truly free of the past? That question takes center stage in Katie Holmes‘ “Rare Objects.” Based on Kathleen Tessaro’s book of the same name, the film updates Tessaro’s Depression-era novel to the present day, following a woman who begins picking up the pieces of her life while working in an antique shop. READ MORE: ‘Alone Together’ Trailer: Katie Holmes Writes, Directs & Stars In A Pandemic Romance On July 22 Here’s the film’s official synopsis: An adaptation of Kathleen Tessaro’s novel of the same name, Rare Objects is a story about friendship that centers around a young woman who reclaims her own sense of self through her journey of self-discovery that involves a new job, new friends, and healing.

For helmer Joel Crawford, the story told in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” needed something new and distinct from what had been done in DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots” film, released in 2011. It had been more than a decade since the first film delighted audiences with the story of a cat who was often too big for his boots. Puss, who was walking onto the screen this time would be humbled, even frightened, by coming down to the last of his precious nine lives. ¶ Crawford and his team decided to lean into the amount of time that had passed between the two films. They embraced the opportunity to create a fresh take on the animation in the second film and let themselves be inspired by favorite films and treasured fairy tales.

Julia Fox is not known for shying away from putting her body on display in a range of eclectic outfits, and she's stayed true to form in a barely-there top made out of belts for Milan Fashion Week. If people were thinking that the outfit looked familiar, it's for good reason too, as British TV personality Jodie Marsh was often seen sporting the look in the early 2000s.

BreAnna Bell After its Feb. 16 premiere, Fox’s latest comedy “Animal Control” has become the network’s most-streamed scripted debut. Per Fox, “Animal Control” earned 4.5 million total multi-platform viewers in its first three days of availability — an increase of 114% from live + same day figures. On Hulu and Fox Now, the live-action comedy recorded 1.3 million streaming viewers. On linear, the comedy delivered a 0.31 rating in the key adults 18-49 demograhic after it premiered on Feb. 16 to an audience of approximately 2 million total viewers. The feat makes the series Fox’s most-streamed live-action comedy ever, besting the 2015 premiere of “Last Man on Earth” (1.22 million), and pushing it to become Fox’s most watched comedy telecast since the 2021 “Last Man Standing” finale excluding post-NFL telecasts. The telecast scored a 0.5 rating among the adults 18-49 key demographic.

EXCLUSIVE: The premiere of Animal Control has laughed up a streaming record for Fox.

Julia Fox’s latest fashion statement is a doozy.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large As networks across the industry pull back on the number of series pilots they order, Fox is taking it one step further: They’ve decided to completely get out of the live-action pilot business. The network launches its only new live-action comedy of the season, “Animal Control,” on Thursday, and Fox Entertainment’s scripted president Michael Thorn says that show’s development is a case study in how series will be ordered moving forward at the network. Instead of a pilot, Fox commissioned multiple scripts in order to test the viability of the sitcom. “Script-to-series,” which has been a staple at several cable networks for years, will now be the standard for Fox as well.

Fox wants in on the broadcast comedy renaissance and is hoping that Animal Control, a single-camera comedy starring Joel McHale, will provide that bite.