Hot on the heels of reports Oprah Winfrey might replace Whitney Houston as Savannah in the Waiting to Exhale sequel, comes word from The Hollywood Reporter that she is considering a return to acting in The Butler.

Winfrey is mulling an offer to co-star in The Butler, Precious director Lee Daniels’ story of Eugene Allen, a black man who worked as butler in the White House, serving eight presidents from 1952 to 1986.

In other Oprah related news, Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav weighed in on the state of OWN.

READ MORE

 

Whitney Houston's untimely and tragic death isn't derailing plans to bring the highly-anticipated sequel to one of her hit movies, Waiting to Exhale, to the big screen, and one of daytime television's biggest legends is being mentioned as a possible replacement for the late superstar!

In a new post up on New York Magazine's Vulture blog, Fox 2000 Pictures President Elizabeth Gabler revealed the studio plans to move forward with plans to adapt Terry McMillian's Getting to Happy, the 2010 sequel to her 1992 runaway best seller Waiting to Exhale. While Gabler stated they hadn't started talking to any actresses about filling Houston's designer shoes to portray unlucky-in-love TV producer Savannah Jackson, it isn't "inconceivable" to think of Oprah Winfrey. Say what? Say huh?

 

  READ MORE

Remember Oprah’s 2009 interview with Whitney Houston? The former talk show host and cable network head plans to rebroadcast it as part of a two-hour special on OWN, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The special, called Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Interview, will air on Thursday, February 16 at 9 P.M.

Photo by PR Photos

After two seasons, The Nate Berkus Show is being cancelled. According to Broadcasting & Cable, Sony Pictures Television and Harpo Studios have decided to pull the plug on the Oprah protege's show after the current season ends. Sony and Harpo released a joint statement saying:

After careful consideration, we have decided that The Nate Berkus Show will not return for a third season in the fall. We are grateful for the hard work and heart that Nate, [executive producer] Corin Nelson and their entire team have poured into the show, and we're very proud of what they've delivered.

The show's second season is still in production. It will continue to produce and air all of the original episodes that are scheduled. Berkus stated:

I'm incredibly proud of my hard working and talented staff, and proud of the show we were able to produce every day.

The Nate Berkus Show debuted in 2010. The interior designer's show never seemed to grab the ratings prior Oprah spins-offs earned. This caused industry watchers to wonder if it would stick around. Once NBC inked talk show deals for Jeff Probst and Steve Harvey, The Nate Berkus Show's renewal status started to look bleak, despite Sony and NBC locking the show into a three-year deal. With two new shows coming from the peacock network in 2012, Berkus' third season seemed highly unlikely because of a lack of time slot and being costly to keep in production. READ MORE

 

 Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney has once again topped The Hollywood Reporter's annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list. According to the trade paper's website, the women on the list are picked by the magazine's editors based on reputation (general standing within the entertainment community, in addition to achievements), revenue that was created for the companies they oversee, number of employees, impact and influence within the television and film industries, valuation of assets, reputation and ability to get projects greenlighted.
  READ MORE

In 2011 daytime television had more drama going on behind the scenes than an episode of your favorite soap opera. With ABC axing two iconic soaps,  Oprah and Regis Philbin bidding adieu and much more, it makes you wonder what 2012 will bring.  Deep Soap's Sara Bibel has published a Top 10 list detailing some of 2011's game changing moments for daytime TV. Here's number five:

5. “One Life To Live” Proves Soaps Can Raise Their Ratings READ MORE