JonAvnet-related stories
Posted Nov 17th 2008 12:38PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free

Brian Dennehy has played a variety of roles over the years, everything from
Cocoon to voicing a part in the kids' movie
Ratatouille. But I tend to think of his tough-guy roles, like he played in
Assault on Precinct 13 and
Righteous Kill, released in theaters in September.
Now he's got another tough-guy role in the works. He's been
tapped to co-star opposite Donnie Wahlberg on TNT's drama pilot
Bunker Hill.
The pilot, directed by Jon Avnet, explores crime, corruption and deceit in the Bunker Hill section of Boston. Wahlberg plays Mike Moriarty, a cop who returns to Boston to protect the streets he grew up on, and Dennehy plays Martin Kelsey, a flower shop owner who was a former mob boss.
Sounds similar to
The Departed, doesn't it, with the Boston setting and another Wahlberg on board? With Dennehy, Wahlberg, and Avnet involved, I'll look forward to hearing more about this project. Avnet was the producer and director of the aforementioned
Righteous Kill, and I've appreciated his work dating back to 1983's
Risky Business, where he served as producer.
Posted May 14th 2008 1:08PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Casting, Reality-Free

Former New Kid on the Block singer/actor Donnie Wahlberg is heading back to series television.
Wahlberg will team with and director/producer Jon Avnet for a new TNT series called Morse Code. The title may change, but the set up is Donnie as a war hero who becomes an officer for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). His beat is Boston, Donnie's hometown. The show is being scripted by Walon Green (
Law & Order) and Avent will direct the pilot.
Wahlberg starred in the 2002 NBC drama,
Boomtown, a highly touted series that never lived up to the network's expectations. That was the first time Donnie worked with Jon Avnet. More recently, in 2006, he was the star of
Runaway for The CW. He received good notices for Spike's
FX's The Kill Point in 2007, co-starring John Leguizamo.
Continue reading Donnie Wahlberg set for new TNT drama
Posted May 23rd 2007 12:15AM by JJ Hawkins
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, On The Lot

(
S01E01) I'm a reality TV junkie, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Well, almost not afraid to admit it.
If I were to compile a list of all the reality shows I've watched you'd find some real stinkers on it (*cough*
Temptation Island), but I can't say I could include a single Mark Burnett produced series in the bunch.
Although
On the Lot got off to slow start, I really see some potential in the show and think it's going to be another bona fide hit in the realm of
Survivor and
The Apprentice.
Why you ask? Because it takes all the things we like about the aforementioned shows (i.e. the competitiveness, the warring type A personalities, the bitchiness, and the everyman appeal of the contestants) and wraps it around a topic most of us have more than a passing interest in - movies.
Continue reading On the Lot: A Hollywood Style Pitch Meeting (season premiere)