TVSquad

A lot of people have wondered what happened to Matt LeBlanc. After Joey died, he seemed to fall off the face of the Earth. Even Friends cast members who aren't in the public eye a lot (like David Schwimmer) have been keeping busy and you often hear about them being in a movie or performing on stage. But no one really knew what LeBlanc. was up to (besides wondering about a Friends reunion movie).

Now we know. LeBlanc has signed on to star in a new comedy for Showtime titled Episodes. It will be one of those behind-the-scenes looks at a television show and will be produced by Friends co-creator David Crane and Mad About You producer Jeffrey Klarik.

You know, ever since Friends went off the air, rumors have cropped up again and again that there would be a big screen version of the show, presumably picking up the storylines from the grand finale. Of course, if you remember the great stories on Joey, maybe post-Friends storytelling isn't such a grand idea after all.

However, at least one person is sure that a feature film is coming. James Michael Tyler, who poured the coffee at Central Perk as Gunther (he also ogled Rachel), was asked about the movie version and Tyler said that Friends: The Movie is definitely on.

Thanks to the success of the Sex and the City movie -- and talk of more to come -- the rumor mill has been bubbling with other TV shows making the leap to the big screen. In the case of Arrested Development, it sure sounds like the truth.

However, the Friends feature is a rumor that has no legs. Warners owns the property and on July 4th, even though all U.S. offices were closed for the holiday, denied the rumors via the London office.

Jayne Trotman, Warner's director of publicity, said of the Friends movie, "(There's) no truth in the story."

Just to be sure, Matthew Perry's press rep also denied the rumor. She told the BBC that nothing is happening and the rumor is just that, a shred of news with no value attached to it.

If there is one rumor that never dies it's the one about the possibility of a Friends reunion. Since the series finale aired in May 2004, rumors about a reunion popped up here, there and everywhere. Sometimes the rumor takes the form of "there will be another spinoff" (remember Joey?) but most of the time it's a "there are talks about a movie but one of the stars doesn't want to commit." This week's revival of the rumor is of the latter kind.

Since the last episode of the hit series Friends aired in May 2004, rumors have been flying around as to if and when a reunion would happen. Over the years, there have been reports that some of the actors didn't want to be part of a reunion, at least, not for a while. None of these reports were properly confirmed. However, this week comes the confirmation that David Schwimmer, who played the character of Ross, will not take part in a Friends reunion if there ever is one.

Other than our occasional snarky remarks about Joey . . . okay, my occasional snarky remarks about Joey . . . we haven't heard too much from Matt LeBlanc lately. Well, he's back in the news, but not for good reasons.

According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court LeBlanc's former business manager, Camille Cerio, is suing the former Friends star for back pay of one million dollars. Cerio, who claims she was LeBlanc's manager back in 1994, says the actor signed a letter approving payment of 15 percent of his earnings from "pilot and series derived from Friends Like Us (the name of the Friends' pilot) and subsequent jobs derived henceforth". In normal English this means she should've been paid for LeBlanc's roles on Friends as well as Joey.

This isn't a great time for Matt Leblanc. First it looks like Joey has been all but canceled by NBC, and now comes word that Leblanc and his wife have filed for divorce, citing the old standby "irreconcilable differences." They have been married for three years, and are seeking joint custody of their two year old daughter.

Let's hope that Leblanc's former costars will be there for him.

John Larroquette played one of my favorite television characters of all time, Dan Fielding, on the hilariously irreverent series Night Court. Unfortunately, after Night Court it seems like Larroquette lost his audience. He went on to star in his own series after Night Court ended its run, and while The John Larroquette Show lasted three years (which isn't bad for a sitcom) it never really found its voice. Nevertheless, Larroquette still pops up from time to time (and the fact that he won an Emmy for a guest spot on The Practice means he's still got the chops). He'll be returning to NBC to appear in two episodes of Joey opposite Matt LeBlanc. His first appearance will be on September 29. One more bit of Larroquette trivia: he was the narrator who read the opening text in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

I just had to follow-up on an earlier post about Matt LeBlanc being upset about getting a lapdance. Defamer got hold of the pics The National Enquirer will run in the next issue.

Let's all say it together now: "HUH?!"

And this isn't one of those gossipy, "an unnamed source reveals" stories. This comes from LeBlanc himself. He confesses to the National Enquirer that he went to a strip club and one of the strippers was all over him (I guess she's never seen Joey). He had been drinking and actually thought about doing something before he regained his senses.

What's odd is that he was sitting with a National Enquirer reporter at the strip club table. Was the reporter with him? Did the reporter just happen to be there? Here's Defamer's take.