"Bionic Woman" Rewired on NBC

"She comes with her own webcam.. built-in."
JAMIE SOMMERS RETURNS TO THE small screen, this time with more bells and whistles (presumably) than her 70's incarnation as the "Bionic Woman". English actress Michelle Ryan will play the lead role for the remake vaunted as "the biggest television event of the year".

The NBC network seems to have radically upgraded the concept of the post-millenium Bionic Woman. No more Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI), no more Oscar Goldman, no more bionic German Shepherd, in fact only the name Jamie Sommers seems to link the then and now. The Daily Mail quoted producers as saying that this is a "re-imagination" of the 1976 cult classic.

Lindsay Wagner played the original Jamie Sommers in "The Bionic Woman" for which she won an Emmy in 1977. It was a spin-off of the original bionic-themed show "The Six Million Dollar Man". Back then, Jamie Sommers was a professional tennis player who suffers a skydiving accident. Her old flame Steve Austin, played by Lee Majors, who happens to be wired to $6M worth (give or take) of bionic technology, pushes his secretive OSI employer to save Jamie's life. The bionic duo had since been running, albeit in familiar slow-motion style, in parallel adventures across American TV sets.

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58 episodes and 3 made-for-TV reunion movies later, NBC revives the franchise in what is perceived to be a bid to stave-off its slipping network ranking. This time around, Jamie Sommers leads a troubled life as a college dropout-slash-barkeeper and caretaker to her teenage sister Becca Sommers (played by Lucy Hale). While that doesn't paint a pretty picture, she suffers a life-threatening car accident. Jamie's life is saved through bionics and now she has to repay the bill by defeating an earlier bionic experiment gone awry.

Now, I admit that's the ugliest blurb I've ever written. So just watch the preview video at NBC.com. No more slow-motion here. This seems to be a hotter, blurier, darker, action-packed "Bionic Woman" from the producers that gave you the critically-acclaimed remake of "Battlestar Galactica".

"Bionic Woman" premieres, September 26 primetime on NBC.

Venice Film Fest Climax: Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt Wins

The 64th Venice International Film Festival came to another glitzy conclusion, September 8, with the film worlds' top honors awarded to some familiar illustrious names.

The envelope is open, the names are out, and the winners are:

• Volpi Coppa for Best Actress - Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There", a Bob Dylan biopic by Director Todd Haynes
• Volpi Coppa for Best Actor - Brad Pitt in "The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" by Director Andrew Dominik
• Golden Lion for Best Film - Ang Lee for "Se, Jie (Lust, Caution)"
• Silver Lion for Best Direction - Brian De Palma for "Redacted"

Complete film festival winners at the Venice Film Festival official website.

A hearty congratulations to the winners. 'Til the next Mostra Internazionale D'Arte Cinematografica La Biennale di Venezia.

HSM Star Hudgens Says Sorry for Strip Shots

Disney's "High School Musical" franchise was rocked by scandalous photos of their young leading lady, Vanessa Hudgens, which spread over the Internet last week.

The 18 year old actress-singer who is romantically linked to HSM co-star Zac Efron, apologized to her fans for "the situation" and expressed regret for producing said nude images. She also thanked the outpouring of support from family and friends.

Ms. Hudgens' official MySpace erupted with comments from supportive fans since the incident. Her reprisal of her role in an anticipated "High School Musical 3" is now in question.

Kids these days, eh. Young, passionate, carefree in glitzy, glamorous Hollywood.

Who can blame them?

Julie Delpy Returns for "2 Days in Paris"

She's all the buzz again these days, this French-American film artiste.

Julie Delpy, the star of the critically acclaimed 1995 indie film "Before Sunrise" and its 2004 sequel "Before Sunset" re-appears to the delight of fans sans her pet co-star Ethan Hawke for her latest production "2 Days in Paris".

Julie Delpy pulls a one-woman auteurship for "2 Days in Paris" as writer / director / editor / co-producer, and co-star alongside Adam Goldberg (appeared in "Saving Private Ryan" and "A Beautiful Mind"). The culture-clash comedy already won a Coup de Coeur Award at the Mons International Festival of Love Films in Belgium.

Ms. Delpy was captivating in "Before Sunrise" and daring in "An American Werewolf in Paris". Unfortunate though that her memorable performances seems to be typecasted to her "Before Sunrise" character.

Her talent for filmmaking has grown through the years and this particular project is bound to move her career forward towards more notable movie projects both on-screen and behind-the-scenes.