TV Notes: 'America's Got Talent' show open to anyone, says producer Cowell
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Simon Cowell's new TV talent show promises to be a real circus.
"American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is on the search for more talent in a new show he's producing for NBC.
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Singers, comedians, jugglers, animal acts and anyone else hungry for stardom will be welcome on "America's Got Talent," the summertime series that Cowell, the tart-tongued judge on Fox's "American Idol," is producing for NBC.
Group acts or singles, old or young -- all are eligible to try for the $1 million prize, he told a telephone news conference Monday.
"You can be 2 years old, 100 years old. You can be the next Destiny's Child, you can be the next Jackson 5 or you can be the next David Copperfield," Cowell said. "This is a show literally open to anybody."
An air date for the series has yet to be set, NBC said.
Cowell, an English record-company executive who became a celebrity on "American Idol" and was part of its British precursor, "Pop Idol," said he's a longtime fan of American shows that featured a variety of performers.
The "time is right" for a contest open to performers of every stripe, he said. Cowell won't be a judge on the show, but very qualified "A-list" celebrities have expressed interest, he and fellow executive producer Ken Warwick said.
Cowell was asked about whether he was aware of Wayne Newton's "The Entertainer," which ran on E! Television Network last year and had a similar goal of showcasing diverse talent.
"Yes. And I hated it," he said.
For such shows to work, Cowell said, it's crucial to include the audition process. In "America's Got Talent," as in "American Idol," viewers will learn who makes the cut in the five city auditions and then see further dismissals as the semifinals unfold in a Los Angeles studio.
How the semifinalists are dumped will be "very brutal," Cowell said. He didn't offer details.
Cowell, who's joined ranks with the "American Idol" producing team on "America's Got Talent," is apparently intent on giving every American -- and every TV network -- a chance for fame and fortune: He's also producing "American Inventor" on ABC.
"American Idol" is a consistent ratings leader for Fox. "American Inventor" scored as a top-20 show in its March 16 debut against college basketball but now has to prove itself against CBS's tougher "Survivor."
Does Cowell fear diluting the valuable "American Idol" brand?
No, he said. Instead, he hopes that "America's Got Talent" will be a different type of show that fills the gap when "Idol" is off the air.
Asked if the new show might compete directly against Fox's, Cowell replied: "That will never happen." (Lynn Elber, Associated Press)
Abdul signs new 'Idol' deal
Would Simon Cowell's snark be as sharp on "American Idol" if it wasn't matched with Paula Abdul's unconditional love for the contestants?
Well, maybe. But fans of the Fox talent competition won't have to answer that rhetorical question for the next three years. Abdul has signed a contract extension to remain part of TV's top-rated show through at least 2009.
The Grammy winner's new deal comes about seven months after Fox and "Idol" producer FremantleMedia cleared her of any wrongdoing in an investigation into her alleged relationship with former contestant Corey Clark. Clark, a 2003 finalist who was booted from the show for failing to disclose a prior arrest, told ABC's newsmagazine "Primetime" last year that he and Abdul had a physical relationship during his time on the show and that he coached her on song choices.
She acknowledged talking on the phone with Clark but denied that she helped him or was intimate with him.
"We have determined, based on the findings of this thorough and detailed inquiry, that there is insufficient evidence that the communications between Clark and Abdul in any way aided his performance," says a report on the investigation issued last August. The probe also found that Clark's allegations "have not been substantiated by any corroborating evidence or witnesses."
The allegations are apparently far enough in the past that Abdul's fellow judges, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, can joke about them in front of 30 million viewers. On last Tuesday's show, after Ace Young showed a scar on his chest during his performance, Paula asked to hear the story about it. Cowell and Jackson both reacted in mock-horror, urging her to stay in her seat. (Zap2it.com)
No 'Miracle' for one patient
A woman whose fight against heart failure was chronicled for ABC's reality series "Miracle Workers" died of complications following the last-ditch use of an experimental artificial heart pump.
Priscilla "Prissy" Benoit, 56, of Lake Charles, La., whose heart was severely damaged by chemotherapy for breast cancer, received the titanium Jarvik pump last fall. She died March 22 at a Houston hospital after a series of setbacks, including a stroke and pneumonia.
Her story will be shown on tonight's episode of "Miracle Workers" (10 p.m., WTAE), with an audience advisory signaling the unusual outcome for a program that typically delivers help and happy endings for the seriously ill.
Dr. Billy Cohn, who is regularly featured on the series and already was treating Benoit when she agreed to be filmed, said the pump represented her only chance for survival. Its use for Benoit required U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
She consented to the operation after other treatments either proved ineffective or inappropriate, Cohn said. A heart transplant, for example, was ruled out because of her relatively recent cancer.
Her treatment was not altered because of the TV series, Cohn said.
The decision to show the episode came after Benoit's husband of 14 years, Jerry Primeaux, gave his approval, ABC and the series' producers said.
"I want the episode to air. Prissy would want it to air," Primeaux said in a statement released through the network. "I still have faith in the Jarvik pump. ... It kept my Prissy with me for a little longer. I still have faith in all those doctors."
"We knew exactly what we were getting into," Primeaux added. "We knew there could be complications. I would like this episode to be a tribute to Priscilla and her courage and her fight."
Cohn said he agreed with the decision to tell her story. Monday's episode also features the case of a 4-year-old boy who was born with an incomplete heart and required surgery.
"We want to portray medicine as it really is," Cohn said in an interview. "Despite the name, 'Miracle Workers,' we are people applying technology to the best of our ability, and sometimes things don't work out."
The episode marks an unusual step for reality shows that offer help ranging from a makeover to a new house to good health, said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. "Miracle Workers" is disproving the idea that "by being tapped by a reality TV show, somehow everything is going to be all better," he said. (L.E.)
Ex-BET host blasts videos
The former co-host of BET's popular "106 & Park" show blasts what he calls the destructive messages of many of the show's most popular music videos.
A.J. Calloway co-hosted the show for five years with Free, whose given name is Marie Wright. Both left the show in July.
"I couldn't watch my own show with my niece on my lap," Calloway said this past week at South Carolina State University as part of the "Black Student Today" panel. The discussion focused on the impact of hip-hop music.
"Pick your five favorite songs," Calloway said. "Write down every word that's in your favorite songs. Read it back to yourself and think about what that has put into your head."
Calloway told the university audience he had vowed that after facing racism while growing up in New Jersey he would "never do anything against my race."
"I felt like I was hurting us by doing what I was doing," he said. (Associated Press)
First Published April 3, 2006 12:00 am
