Top Story
The two-hour Fox series finale of The X-Files will star David Duchovny as Agent Mulder on May 19, the Associated Press reports. Duchovny, who starred in eight of the show’s nine seasons, will also direct one of the last episodes scheduled to air April 28. The X-Files airs at 9 p.m. EST on Sundays.
In General
Sean Connery will star in Fox’s upcoming comic-based film League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He will play Quatermain, a British explorer.
Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down) has been named ShoWest 2002’s Male Star of Tomorrow, Reuters reports. The 23-year-old actor will be honored March 7 at a Las Vegas awards gala. Other honorees include Will Smith (Male Star of the Year), Jennifer Lopez (Female Star of the Year), Ron Howard (Director of the Year), Steven Spielberg (Lifetime Achievement) and Nicole Kidman (Distinguished Decade of Achievement).
Oscar nominee and pop singer Sting has signed a deal to write his first book of narrative nonfiction, the AP reports. The Bantam Dell Publishing Group expects to publish the hardcover book by 2004.
Top morning news anchor Katie Couric isn’t shy about the reality of her job. People reports Couric told New York Daily News that she’s unhappy with her new Today show boss, Jonathan Wald, and that “the hours are brutal.”
CBS’ Survivor: Africa has two more $100,000 second-place winners, the AP reports. Producers found they made a mistake in declaring the winners of an immunity challenge when Lex van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan correctly identified female players that did not have any body piercings. They join original second-placer Kim Johnson.
Kristanna Loken will be the female lead in upcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger film T3: Rise of the Machines, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Production will begin April 15 in Los Angeles. Loken currently plays a recurring character on ABC’s Philly.
Kylie Minogue and Dido were the musical champs Wednesday with two awards each at the Brit Awards. Sky News reports Minogue won for Best International Female and Best International album, and Dido won for Best Female Performer and Best Album. Destiny’s Child picked up the award for Best International Group.
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Pearl Harbor) and the White House have teamed up for a new TV reality show called Profiles from the Front Line, which is scheduled to air sometime this summer, Reuters reports. The program will focus on men and women in uniform on actual battlefields and is being produced with “unparalleled support” from the U.S. Defense Department.
Bob Dylan, OutKast and violinist Joshua Bell will be among the artists already scheduled to perform at the 44th Grammy Awards telecast Feb. 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the AP reports. They will join U2, Alicia Keys, Nelly, India.Arie, Patti LaBelle and others previously announced. The show will air at 8 p.m. EST/PST on CBS.
Engaged
People reports Dawson’s Creek co-stars James Van Der Beek and Kerr Smith have popped the question to their girlfriends, Party of Five actress Heather McComb and MTV’s Undressed personality Ali Hillis, respectively. No wedding dates have been set.
