TVSquad

I posted last week about the new series Crash, premiering on Starz on Oct. 17. It's been a long time coming. I started hearing buzz about a TV series shortly after the film debuted in May, 2005, and the cast looks good (though I know some of you disagree with me).

The lineup of the ensemble drama includes Dennis Hopper, D.B. Sweeney, Ross McCall, Clare Carey, and Luis Chavez, among others. I also appreciate the fact that Paul Haggis and Don Cheadle, who worked on the film, are producing the TV series. So whatever else happens, I have to think they'll keep the integrity of the film intact.

The Crash press kit is now online, and it's interesting to watch the trailer and hark back to the movie. Some of it looks the same -- like the shot of a cop feeling up a woman -- and the racial tension is definitely in place.

I've been waiting for Crash the TV series to materialize ever since I heard about it shortly after the movie premiered in May, 2005. The Starz/Lionsgate series will feature 13 episodes with a different cast of characters from the film.

Now I have even more reason to be excited, because Tom Sizemore has joined the series in a recurring role. He'll play Detective Adrian Cooper, whose unorthodox methods cause havoc when he investigates a police-involved shooting. Sizemore joins Dennis Hopper in the series, with Paul Haggis serving as executive producer.

I've had a major crush on Sizemore since he played Sgt. Vinnie Ventresca on China Beach during the 1989-1990 season. Sure, he's had some challenging times. According to his IMDB.com page, in February, 2005, he failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results. And that was the second time he was caught trying that.

Dennis Hopper is set to star in the new original series Crash, produced by Starz and Lionsgate. This is the first drama series for the network. Based on the Academy Award-winning movie, Crash has begun filming in New Mexico and Los Angeles. Sanford Bookstaver (Jericho, Bones, The O.C.) will direct the premiere episode.

According to the press release, the show "will continue to focus on an ensemble cast of characters" and "will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging at the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream." Hopper will play Ben, a veteran, maverick producer in the music biz who is looking for his last big score. Other stars include Clare Carey, Luis Chavez, Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Brian Tee, and Arlene Tur. Crash will come to Starz in October.

Watch your backs, HBO and Showtime! This show looks good. And Paul Haggis is on the team of executive producers. He didn't just give us Crash. He gave us thirtysomething and The Black Donnellys. Don't mess with the Hag.

Shortly after the release of 2005's Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right.

Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam. The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to premiere on Starz in 2009.

Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:

Starz, the cable network, is getting into original production and their first project will be based on the 2005 Best Picture Oscar-winning film Crash. Glen Mazzara, whose credits include Life, The Shield, Stand-Off and Nash Bridges, has been named executive producer/showrunner for the drama series. Lionsgate TV will co-produce with Starz, and they've greenlighted 13 episodes.

The controversial film, which dealt with the intersecting lives of a myriad of people living in Los Angeles in just 48 hours, centers on the character of Detective Graham Waters. Waters, a police detective, is struggling with his career, his drug addict mother and a criminal brother. The role was played by Don Cheadle (Picket Fences), who was also one of the film's producers. He is expected to reprise the part in the Starz production and may even direct a few episodes. In addition, director/co-writer/producer Paul Haggis and others from the film are also on board for Starz.

(S01E05) Was it me or did Tommy Donnelly look borderline stalker crazy sitting across the street from Reilly's Diner Shop waiting for Jenny? If I didn't know his character better, I'd have been certain he was on the verge of assasinating her with a box.

Of course, we all understand two things. Tommy is madly in love with Jenny and Tommy has already crossed that fine line between being a good citizen and being a bad citizen.

This is why he was the absolute last person who needed to hear that Jenny's diner was in the midsts of a cash crisis because her dad can't tell the difference between a giant blue box that says U.S. Postal service and the night deposit drawer at his local bank. I wonder if he hails hot dog cart vendors when he needs a cab...idiot.

(S01E01) I have a confession to make. I'm an idiot and didn't re-prioritize some Season Passes My TiVo failed to record the first 15 minutes of The Black Donnellys and I missed it. Not the gesture of someone who is supposed to write up a review, I know.

Luckily for me, NBC has been like the pushy neighborhood crack dealer with this show and airs no less than 10 promos an hour and has a healthy web presence, which has already spawned a number of fan sites which made it easy to familiarize myself with what I missed.

Today's Oprah – actually, I think it was a repeat - featured the entire cast of Paul Haggis' Crash (which Oprah, as she reminded us ad nauseum, "looooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvved") talking about racism. I tuned in late (all the better to misinterpret out of context, my pretties), but I caught an ... um ... interesting segment about  linguistics.

When I turned the TV on, Oprah and Don Cheadle were talking over, and almost yelling at, each other. Apparently they were right in the middle of an intense debate over the proper use of the "N Word". Then Terrence Howard (who, the cynics amongst us will point out, is campaigning for Oscar nods on at least 2 performances and, as such, probably wants to be seen as Nice Guy) tells Oprah that he's decided to stop using it; Cheadle vehemently explains why he's opposed to pressuring people into limiting their linguistic choices. As if to bully him into breaking the tie for her side, Oprah turns to Ludacris. "Cris, would you consider not using The Word?" Visibly uncomfortable., Luda smiles. "Uh, I feel the same way Don does about it." Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Sandra Bullock pipes up:

"As long as we're going to stop using words," she says (and I'm totally paraphrasing), "Can we stop with the bitch and the ho, for women?"

The crowd goes wild. Completely silent during the previous portion of the conversation, all of a sudden there are 200 mild-mannered housewives gone wild, hooting and cheering and stomping their feet. And then ...

Ludacris: We can stop when women stop calling themselves bitches.

Sandra Bullock: I don't call any woman a bitch. (pause, then, totally straight-facedly) Unless she is one.

Cut to some kind of language expert, sitting in the crowd. "80 years ago, you could call a woman a broad. We don't do that anymore."

Oh. Really? Whoops.