Rob Thomas Speaks Out on Party Down Cancellation--Is the Veronica Mars Movie Next?

Videos Rob Thomas and Veronica mars from Youtube


Update, 12:13 p.m.: Rob Thomas, the mastermind behind Party Down, the series Starz just stupidly canceled, just gave me his thoughts on the "disappointing" news, and what he's working on now.

Psst...Please oh please say it's the Veronica Mars movie (Rob created that show too). Or hey, even a Party Down movie would rock...

Alas, Rob tells me his next project is something new with new characters. The upside? It's for a network that has a pretty bangin' track record as of late. "I'm writing a drama pilot set in the world of corporate espionage for Showtime," Rob says when I asked if he might be working on the V.M. movie.

Showtime + Rob Thomas = Magic according to leading mathematicians.

As for the heartbreaking (to us fans) cancellation of Party Down, Rob tells me:"I'm not sure that any of us are terribly surprised today, but we're all really disappointed. One of the things we loved about doing the show is that we felt like we got to write to an audience of our circle of friends. I think that's exactly who ended up watching it. So, in that respect, mission accomplished!"

Indeed. And anyone who saw Friday's episode--with the return of Jane Lynch--knows how crazy good this show can be, for those of us who shared it in that circle.

Now the details of the cancellation revealed earlier today..

File this under news that totally sucks.

Starz has decided not to renew critical fave Party Down after just two short seasons, and tons of love from TV folks like us. Unfortunately, the numbers simply weren't there (in Nielsen terms, just about no one was tuning in!), so a third season is off the table.

Explains Starz executive vice president of programing Stephen Shelanski, who also announced the end of freshman series Gravity today:

"After careful consideration, we've decided not to continue on with subsequent seasons of Party Down and Gravity. We're grateful to everyone involved in the shows, and are proud to have had them on the channel. Starz remains committed to aggressively expanding our original programming lineup."

P.D. fans can still get a minifix of its stars by tuning in to see Adam Scott on Parks and Recreation (whenever that returns) and Ryan Hansen in NBC's new fall series Friends With Benefits. But...sigh...it just won't be thd same without Lizzy Caplan and Ken Marino in the mix, will it?




By Kristin Dos Santos and Megan Masters, http://eonline.mobi

Amanda Bynes Done with the Whole Acting Thing, Announces Retirement

Video Amanda Bynes on TV from Youtube


We haven't seen much of Amanda Bynes since, umm, her 2007 smash hit Sydney White (you saw it right?), but TV funnygal turned movie
star turned Hills dude's girlfriend is bowing out of the acting game at the ripe old age of...24?!

"I don't love acting anymore so I've stopped doing it," Bynes tweeted around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

But why the sudden change of heart?


According to the onetime Nickelodeon kid, "Being an actress isn't as fun as it may seem. I've never written the movies & tv shows I've been apart of, I've only acted like the characters the producers or directors wanted me to play."

Bynes, who's headlined not one, but two television shows since age 13, went on to say: "If I don't love something anymore I stop doing it." Hence, the abrupt end to her still-budding acting career.

And just to make sure we understood what she was trying to say, Bynes wrapped up her rant with a pretty solid declaration. "I know 24 is a young age to retire," she wrote, "but you heard it here first I've retired."

If you're Bynes-a-holic, don't fret. You can still catch the (former?) actress in theaters this fall starring opposite Emma Stone in the already buzzworthy Easy A.

A rep for the star has yet to confirm her late night revelation.




By Megan Masters, http://eonline.mobi