The countdown is on until tonight's big premiere for a brand new update of "Beverly Hills, 90210."  I was a teenager when it first came on in 1990. So, I think the word obsession would be fitting for how I felt about the show. Now, mentally I'm like a teenager, so I'm not ashamed to say I'm looking forward to seeing this redux version. 

 

The promos for the show scream out "old friends, new faces, same zip." The question is though, will "90210" (they lost the Beverly Hills for this version) actually have any zip? It's never a good sign when the TV networks don't send out preview screeners of a new show to the press. Normally, if something is good you want to get it out there as soon as possible so the buzz can build. That's how The CW got the word out on "Gossip Girl."  Most TV critics, TV bloggers, cynical people, etc., will tell you that if you are not seeing a screener, it's because the show is going to be a clunker. It sounds like that is the general consensus around here. I'm going to give the show the benefit of the doubt.  I have a seen a couple of clips and they look decent. 

 

 

This is actually not the first time the show has attempted using a fourth judge though. Back in season two rapper Angie Martinez was given as spot as the fourth judge but quit after only five days on the job. At the time she issued a statement to the media explaining that it was "too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up on their dream."

 

Like Julia Roberts famously said in "Pretty Woman" - "Big Mistake. Huge." Unless Angie didn't want to become a household name.

 

Whether the audience will accept Kara or not remains to be seen but don't expect Kara to go away as quickly as Angie. This is a smart cookie that is used to telling people like it is behind the scenes. Though she started out wanted to be an artist herself, Kara quickly morphed into a songwriter. She has worked with a long list of A-list artists including Celine Dion, Pink, Marc Anthony and Faith Hill among many, many others. She has also had her hands in the songs of past Idols - Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Katherine McPhee, Taylor Hicks and right now David Cook. 

 

With auditions for season eight of "American Idol" already underway you can expect a major overhaul for the new season, according to everyone's favorite snarky judge, Simon Cowell. In a conference call from London with reporters this afternoon, Cowell said he and "Idol" producers have already begun meetings in the UK with the production team and Fox executives to discuss what he would like to see happen.

 

With the exit of executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe recently announced, Simon thinks the show will get a much-needed face-lift, 

 

"You must never depend on one person. I don't think we would have had the success initially without Nigel but we are onto our eighth season. It feels like it’s going to be a different show this year because of it and we will see whether that’s an advantage or a negative."

 

Simon, who helped create the show, is prepared to step into a larger role behind the scenes,

 

"With Nigel there it became too much of a crowd and he is a very good producer but I think now he has stepped down I probably will get more involved. I already have to be honest with you."

Ever since DeAnna Pappas chose 26-year-old snowboarder Jesse Csincsak over 32-year-old single daddy Jason Mesnick on the season finale of “The Bachelorette”, fans have been lobbying hard for him to become the next “Bachelor.”  Well, ABC listened to the letters and hordes of emails and the fans are getting their wish. Jason will get a second chance at finding love on reality television. He has been officially chosen as the next “Bachelor.” 

 

Unfortunately, it will be a long wait to see his journey as the thirteenth go round of the show will not return until January 2009. The good news is that since production has not begun yet this gives ladies who might be interested in meeting Jason a chance to audition for the show.

 

He is certainly not the typical “Bachelor.” Jason will be the first single dad to step into the choser role. He will not be the first divorcee though, as Bob Guiney was also divorced when he became "The Bachelor" in season four after he became a fan favorite during Trista Rehn's (now Sutter) "Bachelorette" stint.

Jason is a father to three-year-old son Ty, living in Seattle, Washington. It’s certainly risky for ABC to put a single father and his son out there in such a vulnerable position again but I’m hearing the show may actually film up in Seattle to not disrupt Ty’s life too much.

"Twilight" fanatics have Harry Potter to thank for being able to see Edward and Bella on the big screen three weeks earlier and without any other major competition. Summit Entertainment has moved the highly anticipated adaptation of Stephenie Meyers's first book in the vampire saga up from the film's original release date of December 12th to November 21st.

 

Once Warner Brothers decided to bump "Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince" to July 2009 explaining that it, "Perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer" (whatever that means!) the folks at Summit Entertainment immediately jumped at the chance to snatch the date for themselves.  

 

"We are by no means trying to fill the shoes of the incredible Potter franchise for 2008, rather we are just looking to bring the fans of Stephenie Meyer's incredible book series the film as soon as possible from a programming perspective," Summit CEO Rob Friedman explained.

After attending the E3 gaming convention followed immediately by Comic-Con you would think I had my fill of video games. However, this week I was happy to travel to the Rose Bowl for the 20th annual Madden Palooza.

 

This an event where every year the new version of "Madden NFL Football" is introduced. Thousands of video game devotees travel to the event to be among the first to play the new version and purchase it on the eve it hits stores. Fans also get a chance to meet and take photos with retired NFL players. This year Marcus Allen, Willie Holt, Deion Sanders, Steve Young and Warren Sapp were out for the fans. Fans were also treated to a performance by the band Good Charlotte. 

 

My interest in attending was purely personal. My good friend Addie (who used to work here with me) and her husband Greg Zinone are the founders of a charity called "Pro vs. G.I Joe." The goal is to link up professional athletes and celebrities in video game competitions with soldiers both here and overseas as a way to boost morale. "Pro vs G.I. Joe" was invited by EA sports to participate in Madden Palooza a few weeks ago and Addie and Greg were thrilled to join in. Of course, it was a lot of work to pull together in a short period of time. I wanted to do whatever I could to help so I offered my services down at the Rose Bowl for them on Monday afternoon. Of course, I knew I could write about it for my blog so it's technically not ditching work -- which is a good thing because based on my headline for this story my bosses were probably a little suspicious!  

 

I felt like a proud big sister watching Addie and Greg pull it all together. They set up a couch and some gaming chairs in a room underneath the massive stadium. They had hung "Pro vs. GI Joe" signs and camouflage netting to give it an authentic military feel. They set up a TV, a couch, some gaming chairs, the Xbox 360 and a computer monitor with a web cam link to a group of soldiers in Kuwait at the USO gaming center XBox's live gaming tag.

 

Unfortunately, the web cam link was not working so there was a lot of sweating going on as they fumbled to get it to work. A friend stepped in and got it working literally moments before their special guest was set to arrive. EA Sports had been kind enough to arrange for Warren Sapp (a defensive tackle who played for Tampa Bay and then Oakland) to come in and play the group of troops that had come specifically for the event, and those playing in Kuwait.

I grabbed my favorite Bollywood style purple tank top and headed to the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard for "The Cheetah Girls" One World" premiere. The film, airing August 22nd on Disney Channel, was shot mostly in India and finds the girls competing for a part in a Bollywood musical. This is the first film without Raven Symone as part of the popular girl group known as The Cheetah Girls. Stars Sabrina Bryan, Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon remain as Dorinda, Aqua and Chanel.

 

Last night, the street was shut down on one side to make room for a huge blue carpet strewn with bright colored rose petals. The ninety-degree plus heat did not keep young fans away as they lined Hollywood's walk of fame for a glimpse at their favorite Cheetah. 

 

As usual Disney Channel dragged out all their TV kids for a little cross promotion. We always joke about this how at every Disney event if they could they would bring out the janitor or the stagehand from "Hannah Montana" or "The Suite Life" and have you interview them. Of course, for my Disney peeps I'm always happy to oblige and so before the Cheetahs even arrived I was chatting it up with several Disney kids to see what they are up to this summer.

 

14-year-old Mosies Arias who plays Rico on "Hannah Montana" nearly broke my hand. That kids got a mean handshake! He's also got four films coming out this year. Little Madison Pettis, Sophie from "Cory in the House" is just as busy with several projects including "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith. "Cory In The House" has wrapped production on a second season with no word on whether it will come back for a third. 

 

I got differing stories from two "Camp Rock" stars on whether or not a sequel is in the works.  Anna Maria Perez de Tagle says their is and they will begin filming next year while Alyson Stoner says its still not a done deal.

 

Congratulations to Joshua Allen, a 19-year-old street dancer from Ft. Worth, Texas who pulled off an incredible win on the fourth season of 'So You Think You Can Dance." Joshua is the first winner of the popular Fox dance competition to have no formal dance training. The win earned him $250,000 and a role in the film "Step Up 3D."

 

In a conference call with reporters on Friday he spoke about his plans for the future beyond the two month 'SYTYCD" tour which kicks of September 20th in Tacoma, Washington,

 

"I would love to choreograph or be in Missy Elliot videos, Omarion, Chris Brown, Usher, Neo just anyone of those I would love to be in, just everybody."

 

And it’s not just the dance world Joshua wants to conquer. He's also a singer hoping to tackle the music world,

 

"Hopefully a record company tries to jump on it."