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May 27, 2009

May 2009

We’re halfway through 2009 and going strong. To keep up with all the Central Talent Booking happenings, follow CTB on Twitter for the latest updates: twitter.com/centraltalent.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live” is steaming up with the upcoming NBA Basketball Specials. Denzel Washington and Will Ferrell are among the guests slated to attend. Just finished May Sweeps with a bang. The Sweeps were kicked off with a huge concert by Depeche Mode across the street from the Kimmel studios at Hollywood and Highland. Sweeps continued strong featuring a special performance by Eminem, a week dedicated to the mega hit Star Trek, featuring the new cast members Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, and John Cho, and Ben Stiller brought a rather peculiar present to Jimmy - a camel who couldn't control his bladder. Also, in case you missed it, check out how Jimmy beat Lost’s Matthew Fox in a Staring Match.

JO, Alyson and Jennifer trekked up to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut to see Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Papa at Foxwoods Casino. Mr. Seinfeld was amazing as usual and Papa is hilarious. We all laughed until our faces hurt. CTB is thrilled to be working with Mr. Seinfeld on “The Marriage Ref.” The show, premiering on NBC in 2010, will focus on the typical fights all couples experience. The concept of the show is centered around Mr. Seinfeld’s comedy, as “Seinfeld” the series was. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mr. Seinfeld noted that “Seinfeld” focused on being single and dating. But after being married for nine years, his comedy act now revolves around marriage and children, because as he said “marriage is the goldmine of comedy.” The show will feature opinionated celebrities from all walks of life offering commentary and advice to real couples enduring marital disputes. Couples arguments will be captured on camera in households across America, and each show will center around their specific marital disputes. A “panel of experts” will act as advisors to The Marriage Ref, who will make the ultimate call on who wins the fight.

CTB is excited about their new relationship with the production company True Entertainment, a division of Endemol. In an entertainment landscape of constantly shifting genres, True Entertainment has staked out a leading position at the intersection of fact and fiction. In both television and film, True Entertainment creates reality and documentary programming with the emotional impact of fiction -- and scripted programming with the grit and realism of documentary. This hybrid sensibility has earned True Entertainment a reputation as a blue-chip production company of both non-fiction and fiction entertainment. Whether it’s reality TV, documentary series, game shows or movies, True Entertainment is using powerful storytelling to transcend the limits of genre. True Entertainment is a subsidiary of Endemol, the largest television producer in the world, and it was founded by Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock. True's Emmy award winning credits include scripted and unscripted reality programming for ABC, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Discovery, Lifetime, E!, TLC, Style and others. Look out for some great things on the horizon for this company!

This season of “Best Week Ever with Paul F. Thompkins” has been great! In April, Martin Starr came by the studio to promote his new movie Adventureland. Then Jerry O’Connell stopped by to talk about his Obsessions, and started a fued with host Paul F. Thompkins. And Bill Hader came by a few week's ago to promote The Night at the Museum.

“The Bonnie Hunt Show” just ended its first season, after a good end to its first season. Congratulations to Daniel Kellison, a close friend of CTB’s, who has just been named Executive Producer of “The Bonnie Hunt Show” for next season. May Sweeps brought by William Shatner, Marcia Cross, Billy Bob Thorton and the Boxmasters, Brooke Shields, Kara DioGuardi, Balthazar Getty, Alyssa Milano, Brad Garrett, and much, much more! We will be working hard this summer to prepare for the second season, starting on September 7th.

Be on the lookout for the June 2009 issue of Oprah Magazine. The issue features an exclusive interview with Elizabeth Edwards on her battles with her marriage, children and cancer. Find out what’s playing in Grammy winner for Best New Artist Adele ’s ear, and see what books have made a difference to Julia Ormand, star of the new film Surveillance. Also, Jada Pinkett Smith shares her Aha! Moment, and actress Viola Davis shows off some duds in the style of movie stars like Marilyn Monroe, Lena Horne and Eartha Kitt.

Internet Week is quickly approaching and this year’s Webby Awards have a full line-up. Jimmy Fallon is the Webby Person of the Year, Trent Reznor as Webby Artist of the Year, Sarah Silverman as Best Actress, Lisa Kudrow as Outstanding Comedic Performance, and Seth MacFarlane as Film and Video Person of the Year. Breakout of the Year goes to Twitter, with Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, accepting the award. For a full list of nominees for the 2009 Webby Awards, go to here. The Webby Awards will take place on June 8th at Cipriani’s on Wall Street.

Sondgasparty med Filip och Fredrik (Sunday Party with Filip and Fredrik) has gotten strong ratings in Sweden, and had an all-star line-up. The first show went off without a hitch when Marilyn Manson dropped by to talk about his first time voting and what he would do if he was president. And continued on to feature Kevin Bacon and his band The Bacon Brothers , Martin Sheen , and Zach Braff . Also, Miss Piggy stopped by to do a duet with Filip, and James Lipton interviewed the famous Swedish actor Michael Persbrandt. The always adorable Kristin Davis talked about Swedish reception of Sex in the City, and this past Sunday, actor John Goodman stopped by to join the party. This Sunday brings the always funny and recent winner of "Celebrity Apprentice," Joan Rivers, by the show. The last show will feature actor Kevin Spacey.

As Sunday Party with Filip and Fredrik ends, CTB is excited to continue working with international shows, this time expanding to Asia, with “Asia Uncut." This new Asian talk show reaches approximately 120 million people in 53 countries across Asia and the Middle East on STAR WORLD. Currently the most popular talk show on STAR WORLD, Asia Uncut is a show that accesses Asia’s people, places, and personalities in a familiar, yet fresh and fun, format. “Asia Uncut” is truly East Meets West. Hosted by American Jon Niermann, the program is fun and current and the only English speaking, Western-style nighttime talk show that is truly Pan-Asian. Each one-hour show will include guests made up of visiting international celebrities and regional personalities chatting in one of their studios in Singapore, Shanghai or Hong Kong , or filmed out and about roaming a familiar Asian city, where the viewers get to watch as the guests “go local” to experience Asia.

CTB recently started working with BBC Worldwide to develop shows and book hosts for a variety of productions on different American networks. We're happy to be working again with John Hesling and Allison Wallach. We haven't worked with Allison since our "Intimate Portrait" days at Lifetime, and it will be fun working with our good friend again.


CTB just welcomed David and Pamela to the team, as Kelly goes off to welcome her first child! Congratulations!

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