The premise of The 11th Hour, which DiCaprio narrates both on- and offscreen, is simple and credible. As New York Times movie critic Manohla Dargis notes in an August 17 review titled “Helpful Hints for Saving the Planet,” the documentary “attempts to stave off helplessness, and the nihilism that often follows it, mostly by appealing to our reason.” In other words, while the issues discussed are both pressing and depressing, The 11th Hour does more than just attempt to guilt-trip audiences with a deluge of dreary statistics and still drearier imagery. Instead, it offers viable solutions that normal people can implement right now to help decrease the threats to our collective environment and restore the robustness of our ecosystems.

It’s nice to know that a celebrity of DiCaprio’s magnitude is concerned about what’s happening in the larger world, and the 11th Hour project may be one situation where his phenomenal fan appeal works decidedly in favor of an excellent cause: Perhaps those admirers who don’t give a hoot about the environment and related matters will still check out the film—because “OMG! It’s Leo!!! Aaah!!!”—and learn something unexpected in the process.

The 11th Hour was cowritten and directed by sisters Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, and cowritten and narrated by DiCaprio. To learn more about the documentary and the social movement it hopes to inspire, visit the 11th Hour Action Community.

You can also watch a trailer for The 11th Hour below, or jump to the video if you can’t see the player.*

*This video does not include closed captions or subtitles for the deaf, hard of hearing, or non-fluent in English.

Tags: documentary, film, Leila Conners Petersen, Leonardo DiCaprio, movies, Nadia Conners, The 11th Hour, Warner Bros

The Court TV Web site for Star Jones seems to downplay the heavily publicized reasons for Washington’s recent notoriety while taking care not to ignore the situation outright. The episode description states:

You know him from Grey’s Anatomy and for throwing around that infamous F-word. He’s Isaiah Washington. And he’s got a new show. But that’s not even half his story. Isaiah Washington shares his most personal experiences. And for the first time on television reveals perhaps the most painful episode in his life. One that helped make him the man he is today.

According to an Entertainment Weekly article from last week (subtitled “The fired Grey’s Anatomy actor will sit down with the fired View cohost on Court TV”), Washington is expected to discuss both Grey’s Anatomy and Bionic Woman. And for those who might be scratching their heads trying to figure out why lawyer Jones would want to inaugurate her show on a law-themed network with Washington as a guest—other than to lock in the almost guaranteed good ratings such controversial figures customarily deliver on the talk-show circuit, and to commiserate with someone who’s been even more openly lambasted than she has of late—when asked, the host focused on Bionic Woman, responding that “there are ethical considerations [there] because we in our technology right now are moving to replacing limbs, and we’re moving in the whole area of stem cell research, we’re moving in the area of cloning and whether or not it can actually be done with a human. And in reality, that’s what you’re doing with The Bionic Woman [sic], you’re playing God.”

Well, I don’t know about all of that—it’s just a TV show to me. But, the interview should still be pretty good. In fact, just seeing the two erstwhile pariahs onscreen together sounds worth a quick peek. That is, if I can remember to turn on my television that early in the day.

Tags: Bionic Woman, Court TV, Isaiah Washington, Star Jones, television, tv

Griffin was also a very successful businessman, particularly in real estate, which added to his considerable wealth that included $250 million from the 1986 sale of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to Coca-Cola. He is survived by one son, Anthony, two grandchildren, and untold pleasant memories that fans will likely enjoy for years to come.

Merv Griffin photo courtesy of Jemal Countess/WireImage.com

Tags: Merv Griffin, television, tv

What’s worse, this ridiculously ridiculous concept is a rip-off, er, adaptation of some British reality series called Ladette to Lady, which features the travails of yet more girls who learn “how to go from throwing a kegger to throwing a tea party,” as a Fox bigwig named Greg Goldman puts it (and you just know that there’s a bunch of men behind this incredibly bad idea, including Bruce Toms of Nanny 911 and Trump laborer Andy Litinsky, simply because women realize how insulting it is … I hope). According to Variety, if this monstrosity gets approved by network executives, it could be unleashed upon the unsuspecting and unprotected populace as early as next midseason. Noooooo!!!

Other than sounding like a perfect project for former wild-child Miss USA Tara Conner, there’s absolutely nothing worthwhile about this proposed series. I respectfully suggest that Trump start focusing his TV aspirations on something more productive, like, say, a reality series in which we get to watch him give away large chunks of his abundant money to people who really need it, such as underprivileged children who want to attend better schools, perhaps, or disabled war veterans unable to find decent employment now that they’re back in the United States. But party girls and debutantes? I only pray that, if greenlit, this program is met with a resounding diss from viewers who stay away in droves.

Related Post: Donald Trump Fires Himself After NBC Disses His Show

Donald Trump photo courtesy of John Shearer/WireImage.com

Tags: Donald Trump, Fox, Lady or a Tramp, television, tv

The event is odd not only because of its severity, but because The Office happens to have its special one-hour third-season finale tonight. Fortunately for the cast, the accident occurred after filming for this season was complete and also well in advance of the next season’s scheduled date to begin shooting. Fischer, whose recovery should be complete in four to six weeks, will certainly be back in top form by that time. To help spur her speedy recovery on, fans and well-wishers can leave a message at Fischer’s MySpace page or her TVGuide.com blog.

The Office‘s third-season finale premieres tonight on NBC at 8pm EST

Jenna Fischer photo courtesy of John Shearer/WireImage.com

Tags: television, tv, Jenna Fischer, Pam Beesly, The Office

For example, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, the stars of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the most popular Law & Order spinoff, reportedly wrangled big bucks to the tune of $300,000 per episode out of their NBC bosses not too long ago. While this pay raise fell far short of the $600,000 they were each allegedly gunning for, them bucks still ain’t bad at all.

Neither are the $250,000 big ones that Kyra Sedgwick, star of TNT’s two-seasons-old hit crime drama The Closer, will earn upon the return of her Golden Globe-winning series on June 18. Sedgwick’s salary is all the sweeter because her show dominates in the historically lower-paying realm of basic cable.

No matter how you analyze the figures, though, comedy clearly rules when it comes to maximum moolah for your time invested. With episodes clocking in at under thirty minutes (don’t forget to exclude those niggling commercials), Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond, Tim Allen of Home Improvement, Jerry Seinfeld of Seinfeld, and Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer of Friends all managed to pull in a whopping million or more for each single installment of their show at one time or another. Not the entire season, mind you—one episode. How unbelievable is that? Methinks very.

Herewith, a list of past, present, and future TV-star salaries to die for—provided that they’re true:

1. Ray Romano of Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS: $1,800,000 per episode in 2003
2. Tim Allen of Home Improvement on ABC: $1,250,000 per episode
3. Jerry Seinfeld of Seinfeld on NBC: $1,000,000+ per episode
   Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer of Friends on NBC: $1,000,000 per episode in 2002
4. James Gandolfini of The Sopranos on HBO: $800,000 per episode
5. Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards of Seinfeld on NBC: $600,000 per episode
6. William Petersen of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS: $500,000+ per episode
7. Kevin James of the outgoing The King of Queens on CBS: $400,000+ per episode
   Kiefer Sutherland of 24 on Fox: $400,000 per episode
8. Charlie Sheen of Two and a Half Men on CBS: $350,000 per episode
   Zach Braff of Scrubs on NBC: $350,000 per episode for the just-confirmed seventh season
9. Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC: $300,000 per episode for Season Nine
10. Simon Cowell of American Idol on Fox: $263,000 per episode, and he doesn’t even really do anything besides scowl and hurl insults!
11. Kyra Sedgwick of The Closer on TNT: $250,000 per episode for the forthcoming third season
12. Brad Garrett of the recently renewed ‘Til Death on Fox: $200,000 per episode
13. Steve Carell of The Office on NBC: $175,000 per episode
    Oscar winner Marisa Tomei of the projected sitcom The Rich Inner Life of Penelope Cloud on CBS (although this may not still hold true given that CBS didn’t include the show in its recent upfront presentation): $175,000 per episode

Friends photo courtesy of NBC

Tags: celebrities, salaries, television, tv

While I can certainly appreciate the frustration arising from being the target of such incessant rampant rumors, it’s a lowdown dirty shame that people won’t just let the issue go. I’m inclined to believe that Knightley—featured in such international blockbusters as the Pirates of the Caribbean flicks and such sleepers as the highly recommended 2002 British drug-addiction flick Pure—really is innately skinny since I’ve never seen her otherwise. And if she’s not, quite frankly, that’s her business. Cheers to the lady for making her own decisions, no matter how ill-advised or outlandish they may seem to everyone else.

Related Post: Extreme Skinny Celebrities: When Looks *Can* Kill

Keira Knightley photo courtesy of George Pimentel/WireImage.com

Tags: anorexia, celebrities, Elle, Keira Knightley, movies

Other notable names that joined in the onstage festivities with the TV-star-cum-musicians included former Prince collaborators Sheila E., Wendy Melvoin, and Lisa Coleman, the last two ex-Revolution members now known as the duo Wendy and Lisa who score Heroes (Photo 5); funnyman Wayne Brady of the Americanized Whose Line Is It Anyway? improv comedy show (Photo 6); series creator Tim Kring, who looks to play a mean guitar (Photo 7); and series star Hayden Panettiere, who obviously sang her little heart out for the enthusiastic crowd after receiving a mock diploma from Kring to celebrate her graduating from high school this year (Photo 8). Check out the rest of the many photos on NBC’s Heroes Web site to see for yourself what good times were obviously had.

Note: TV Guide also has an exclusive photo gallery for the event on its Web site, in addition to the report Exclusive! Inside the Heroes Wrap Party filed afterwards.

Related Posts: Things to Do with ‘Heroes’ While It’s Gone | Tim Kring Spoils ‘Heroes’ … Literally | You’re Invited to the ‘Heroes’ Wrap Party

Heroes returns from hiatus next week to its regular Monday-night, 9pm EST time slot on NBC

All photos from the Heroes Season 1 wrap party courtesy of NBC

Tags: Band from TV, Heroes, television, tv, wrap party

Top 10 Activities for American Idol Alum Sanjaya Malakar

• 10. Open a karaoke bar in your hometown and make yourself the featured entertainment act every night.
• 9. Intern at Howard Stern’s radio show.
• 8. Start blogging American Idol at TV Guide.com as one of the celebrity bloggers and make especially vicious and snarky comments about Simon Cowell.
• 7. Take a trip to India so residents can finally find out who you are.
• 6. Score a gig as Ryan Seacrest’s personal manny assistant.
• 5. Apply for a job—any job—at Simon Cowell’s record company under an assumed name and, after you’re hired, stop by his office everyday just to say hi and chitchat.
• 4. Contact MTV or VH1 about a potential reality show featuring you and your hottie Hooters sister Shyamali.
• 3. Become a hair model.
• 2. Restart Milli Vanilli with fellow notorious Idol wannabe William Hung, this time with real “singing.”
• 1. Accept every single advertising, celebrity, and personal appearance gig you’re offered in the next few years—no matter how wacky, as many of them will likely be—and then live off the bucket loads of money you rake in for the rest of your life while laughing uproariously at anybody and everybody who continues to make fun of you.

American Idol currently airs Tuesdays at 8pm EST and Wednesdays at 9pm EST on Fox

Sanjaya Malakar photo courtesy of Fox

Tags: American Idol, Sanjaya Malakar, television, tv

Whether or not Della Terza gets a taste of New York’s world-famous “politeness,” what will the two Daves discuss? The young entrepreneur is certainly not a fool, if the answers he gave during a Chicago Tribune interview this month are any indication. For instance, responding to Fox network’s claim that votefortheworst.com is mean-spirited, Della Terza says:

I don’t think we’re mean-spirited. We’re just having fun with the show. The thing is, they sit there and in bring these people on the show, these bad singers that audition for the show – they’ve gone through three auditions before they get to Simon, Paula and Randy. At that point, the producer have been building them up and telling them, ‘You’re so good. We love you.’ Then they see the judges, and it’s, ‘You’re terrible.’ It’s like, wow, that’s awful.

All we’re doing it helping these people they’re sticking on the show on purpose for ratings. Like Sanjaya, they knew he would suck eventually, and they knew he would be in over his head because he’s only 17 and he didn’t have much background singing. So they throw him in there, he’s going to mess up and then everyone will boo him off the stage and laugh at him. So we say, ‘Let’s help that person out,’ because that’s more fun for us to watch. You could call us mean-spirited, but I think the producers are more mean-spirited than we are.

As painful as the reality may be, the dude’s got more than one valid point. I think it would be wild if either Malakar or Della Terza’s other BFF, radio shock jock Howard Stern, showed up for a surprise late-night freak-out. Whatever happens, anxious Idol lovers should rest assured that Della Terza has no desire to cause the “transparently fake” show’s cancellation, although he does predict both a “riot” and a “giant celebration” if Malakar actually wins. With the teen wonder still in the running this late in the season, anything obviously goes.

The Late Show with David Letterman currently airs weeknights on CBS at 11:35pm EST

Late Show with David Letterman photo courtesy of CBS

Tags: American Idol, Dave Della Terza, David Letterman, Late Show with David Letterman, reality tv, Sanjaya Malakar, television, tv, Vote for the Worst