By Cindy Elavsky
Q: Al Pacino is one of my all-time favorite actors. Can you tell me what he’s been up to lately and what I can see him in next? — Paul G., Vero Beach, Fla.
A: The most recent Pacino news has Al taking on the title role in the movie “You Don’t Know Jack,” which is based on the life of assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The multi-award-winning star, who turns 70 in April, stars alongside Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Danny Huston and Brenda Vaccaro in the Barry Levinson-directed biopic, which will be released later this year. He also just began production as King Lear in “King Lear” and has a half-dozen movies waiting in the wings for him to star in.
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Q: I absolutely love the procedural dramas like “Criminal Minds” and “Law & Order.” I heard that there are even more spin-offs of these shows in the works. Is that true? I hope so! — Patty J., via e-mail
A: A few weeks back, NBC programming chief Angela Bromstad announced that the network is in talks with “Law & Order” creator Dick Wolf about introducing “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” which would mark a location departure for the series, as it’s always taken place in New York. There also have been some rumors floating about that Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker is in negotiations to star in a “Criminal Minds” spin-off for CBS.
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Q: On the final night of “The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien,” he joked that he’d like actress Tilda Swinton to play him in a movie of his life. While my husband and I thought it was funny, I got to wondering, how did Tilda feel about that comment? — Trudy J., Harrisburg, Pa.
A: Tilda has just a great a sense of humor as the next person. When asked by Movieline if she’d be game to play Conan if the chance were ever offered, she exclaimed: “I would just be only too happy. Yes, yes, yes, absolutely!” She even went so far as to suggest that they help each other out with their various entertainment and promotional duties, offering that Conan could stand in for her and help to promote her movies. “And why not? Every girl should have a doppelganger.”
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Q: When is the new “Parenthood” series going to premiere? It seems like I’ve been waiting forever! — Faith G., via e-mail
A: Our wait is almost over. “Parenthood” is set to premiere on Tuesday, March 2, at 10 p.m., just a few days after the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. It was originally scheduled to air on Mondays at 9 p.m., but since the cancellation of “The Jay Leno Show,” NBC has had to do some major schedule shuffling to fill in the 10 o’clock gaps. But don’t even get me started on Jay — I am Team Conan all the way!
Write to Cindy at King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475; or e-mail her at [email protected] For more news and extended interviews, visit www.celebrityextraonline.com and twitter.com/Celebrity_Extra.
© 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.