Citing a quote from Sorkin himself, The Playlist reports the cast includes Armie Hammer from Gossip Girl; model Dakota Johnson (who is Griffith's daughter); Max Minghella of Agora; and male model Josh Pence. This goes beyond lead actors Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield, who were already confirmed.

A quick look at the cast members, with some thoughts on who some of the new people might be portraying (all pics by Getty Images unless otherwise credited):

UPDATE: We've updated the entires for Hammer, Song and Pence. UPDATE: And Mara.

esse Eisenberg plays founder Mark Zuckerberg. He's got the curly hair and geeky look down well enough.

Justin Timberlake plays early Facebook adviser and Napster co-founder Sean Parker. (Insert Parker photo by Andrew Mager on Flickr.)

Andrew Garfield plays spurned co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

Brenda Song, of the Disney Channel, would appear to be a shoo-in to play Zuckerberg's girlfriend Priscilla Chan. UPDATE: One tipster tells us Chan does not appear in the script but that Saverin is supposed to have an Asian girlfriend, so perhaps Song is taking on that role.

Whomever model Josh Pence is playing, he's definitely not part of the Silicon Valley tech scene. How about the Winklevoss twins, two Olympic rowers from Harvard who accused Zuckerberg of stealing their idea for Facebook? UPDATE: That part is being played by Armie Hammer (see here). Perhaps Pence could be another Harvard kid?That would seem to work. Pic via Nous Model Management.

Dakota Johnson looks like the kind of girl you'd hope to meet during a night on the town in San Francisco. And Zuckerberg did escort that Victoria's Secret model away from a party there — at least according to author Ben Mezrich.

<pRooney Mara (The Winning Season) looks so downright nice. Zuckerberg's geek girl friend at Harvard, maybe? UPDATE: A tipster suggested Zuckerberg's sister Randi. Good call.Send us your guess.

Max Minghella — no idea who he might play. Thoughts?

Armie Hammer from Gossip Girl. UPDATE: He is playing the Winklevoss twins, Olympic rowers who sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea for Facebook, according to a tweet from director Richard Kelly. Pic via

There's no question Mezrich's 14-page book proposal was eyebrow-arching; it featured scenes in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ate koala on board the yacht of a Sun Microsystems exec and in which he's targeted by the FBI after hacking into a government website. But the claims have been challenged as factually incorrect, and Mezrich, who has admitted to fabrications in a prior book, has woven more questionable scenes into his final book.

Mezrich may not have much of a handle on the facts, but judging by Sorkin's reaction to his work, and a positive review of Sorkin's first screenplay draft, Mezrich knows how to set up an eminently watchable film. And given Facebook's nerdy history, it was probably inevitable the truth would have to be twisted to accomplish that goal.

[via Vanity Fair]

Reports the Hollywood Reporter:

The writer has been brought on to do a draft of the baseball drama, drawing on Steve Zaillian's earlier take. The studio wants to move forward quickly with the new iteration, with Sorkin set to turn in his version as soon as next month.

Brad Pitt remains on board to star, but Steven Soderbergh no longer will write or direct and is not involved in the film.

Soderbergh, you may recall, fought with the studio over the creative direction of film, leading to production being killed by the studio just days before shooting was set to begin last June

Now, we like Sorkin's work (especially Sports Night!) so we're confident that if anyone can make an adaptation of the book work, it's him, but we still can't figure out how it would be worth a crap on the big screen. However, if it does work out, and we seriously doubt that it will, we do look forward to a scene in which Billy Beane and Jason Giambi walk down a long corridor, pause in front of the door to the locker room and turn to face each other so Beane can yell "You can't handle a curveball!" at Giambi. It'll be grand!

Aaron Sorkin Game for Moneyball [Hollywood Reporter]

As the co-founder of Napster, Parker (pictured) was overshadowed by Sean Fanning, who actually wrote the wildly-popular music-sharing software. Sorkin reportedly brings Parker to the fore, giving him credit for lighting a fire under Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and accelerating the company's growth.

ScriptShadow's Carson Reeves:

And don't get me started on Sean Parker - a character that can become

iconic if the film is made. The brash techy rock star revels in his own

ego, and is a key player in why Facebook is on our computers today

(Parker ended up selling his portion of the company for - I believe - a

couple hundred million dollars).

Zuckerberg, meanwhile, looks comparatively pathetic. In what Reeves calls a "heartbreaking scene," he sits alone ("not one true friend") in a dark room and "friends" the girl who dumped him right before he started Facebook. The movie nevertheless bops along as something of a comedy, thanks to Sorkin's "crazy unknown voodoo screenwriting tricks" and, apparently, jokes involving Facebook use.

Zuckerberg, whose flacks have been trashing the unreleased book on which Sorkin's script is based, may yet discover there are worse things than being depicted having sex in bathroom stalls.

(Pic: Sean Parker, by Andrew Mager)

Columbia wants to start production by the end of the year, according to Variety, even though the book on which the film is based won't be released until July 14. So even assuming screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is working on advance manuscripts, he and his colleagues will need to move quickly.

The book is being done by admitted fabricator Ben Mezrich, so they should probably start with the fact-checking.

We hear the New York Times' Brad Stone has been calling around frantically, trying to get hold of a galley himself and spoil Fortune's exclusive. And he may well succeed; the writer outed the author of the anonymous Fake Steve Jobs blog last year with help from his sources in the publishing industry. Mezrich's book is due out July 14.

The media scramble for galleys of Accidental Billionaires just goes to show Facebook remains something of an "it" company in Silicon Valley, even as it grows out of its startup phase and gropes for revenue.

It also proves that respected media outlets have no trouble taking seriously a project created by a busted, fabricating author and adapted for film by would-be crack smuggler, about a money-losing company.

Nor do we, obviously. We'd love to get our hands on said galleys, if only to fact-check them the way we did with Mezrich's comical book proposal. If you can help, please get in touch.

We review all this as introduction to quite possibly the most exciting online development to roll across our virtual desktops in quite some time. Aaron Sorkin, or someone who has gone to a great deal of effort to convince others he is Aaron Sorkin, has emerged from his self-imposed, blogophobic exile to openly embrace the social networking phenomenon known as Facebook. From his introductory letter entitled, Aaron Sorkin & The Facebook Movie:

Welcome. I'm Aaron Sorkin. I understand there are a few other people using Facebook pages under my name—which I find more flattering than creepy—but this is me. I don't know how I can prove that but feel free to test me.

I've just agreed to write a movie for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz—three sophmores at Harvard who, in order to meet girls, invented Facebook. I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I've started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she's been dead for 33 years.)

The thoughtful contributions to The Wall alone are enough to wipe away the traumatic memories of that angry, faceless Defaker mob. Facebook Sorkin dutifully responds to every comment, along the way reuniting with old acquaintances ("Michael—You did a lot more than fetch pizza and of course I remember you,") and lending fascinating insights into his ambivalence about the very medium he'll elevate with crackling trademark dialogue into a vehicle that could go on to win Justin Long and Joseph Gordon-Levitt their first Oscars. He writes: "[A]s far as the Internet making us meaner, it does remove a natural censor that we have that commands us to treat people with common respect. An exception apparently are the people posting on this board, whose intelligence, humility and wit are extremely frustrating in that they're disproving my point and that drives me nuts." We really hope this is Sorky. If it's just an impostor, then the Internet has gone and proven his point all over again—not to mention the fact that A Few Good Pokes won't be in theaters anywhere come Christmas 2010.

• Aaron Sorkin & The Facebook Movie [Facebook]

In today's episode: Don Cheadle; Aaron Sorkin and Rick Schroder; Gary Oldman; Matt Groening; Josh Duhamel and Fergie; John Lithgow; Jason Segel; Amy Smart and Branden Williams; Natasha Gregson Wagner; Tara Reid; Vernon Wells; A Martinez; Christopher Knight; Militia; David Leisure; and Angelyne.

· Feb. 13, 3:15 p.m.: While waiting for the 212 bus at the corner of Wilshire and La Brea, I saw Don Cheadle heading north in a silver Lexus that appeared to be a rental based on the wording on the rear window, fiddling with his Blackberry while waiting for the light to turn green. He seemed to be in a good mood, which I assume meant that the text on his device had nothing to do with Darfur.

· Aaron Sorkin classing up the lunchtime crowd at Orso, having a sweet Valentine's Day meal with what looked like his elderly agent. I couldn't hear their dialogue but I'm certain it was sharp and witty. No crack pipe in sight, although Sorkin did take an especially long time in the mens room. Just saying. Across the restaurant, Ricky Schroder and a publicist type. They were initially seated right next to us but asked to be moved to the back corner. Apparently the Ricker needs his privacy. While we're chatting, how sweet would a Sorkin-penned "Silver Spoons" revival be? I'd watch just to see how he could turn the train in the living room into an unsubtle commentary on the war in Iraq.

· Gary Oldman seen on Saturday night at Peppone's in Brentwood. He was hosting a very small private birthday dinner for his best friend in the little private room behind the bar. Gary in a suit looked dashing and Olivier-like. With him was his stunning date, the same Lady he has been seen with during the past months.

· I saw Matt Groening on my Virgin flight to SF on Friday evening (2/15). He was by himself and had a seat in first class. I so wanted to say something to him, but what's there to say that hasn't been said before? My girlfriend heard him call his mother as we walked past him. He's a mensch.

· On Saturday afternoon (1-16) me and my lovely lady (and her lumps) were hunkering down for a pre-wedding nosh with her mom on the patio at I Cugini in Santa Monica. Next to me sat a ridiculously good-looking guy, sipping a beer, with hair that looked like it had been used to mop the floor of a Crisco plant. Across from him sat a woman with an enormous pair of shiny glossy lips under a pair of outsized sunglasses and floppy hat. So low-key were they that I didn't recognize them as Josh Duhamel and Fergie until my fiancee whispered it to me. The bling must've given it away; she was sporting a rock the size of a disco ball.

· Spotted John Lithgow enjoying a casual meal at Comme Ca last night (2/12). He is very tall and very polite. It probably wouldn't be worth mentioning, but I loved "3rd Rock from the Sun" too much not to get a lil excited. Or maybe that was just the tasty french onion soup.

· Saturday, 2/16 — Jason Segel looking dapper at Bar Marmont. He is one towering motherfucker.

· Friday night (2/15) at the newly opened Akasha in Culver City, Amy Smart with fiance Branden Williams. Akasha Richmond herself immediately came out to greet them shortly after as they were seated and spent probably a good 15 minutes away from the kitchen chatting them up. Then some other guy (manager, possibly) came over and talked their ears off for a while longer. Branden seemed to enjoy the attention somewhat but Amy looked like she just wanted to eat in peace, and who could blame her.

· Had a weird experience at Canele in Atwater Village last night. Was having dinner with friends when I noticed a very attractive woman at a nearby table. I thought, "God, she looks familiar. Do I know her? Did we go out once? If we did... why aren't we married? Hope she's on Nerve or Match or something." Then I realized that my future wife was Natasha Gregson Wagner... and felt like a total jerk for staring at her. The beef bourguignon was amazing, though. Good times.

· Toluca Lake Thursday 3pm

Tara Reid enters building that houses a lot of reality tv production companies flanked by several black suited agent types.

Tara looks anorexic, tanorexic and drunk but I say whatever reality show she is pitching they should buy because she is a rough looking Hot Mess Trainwreck.

Note: This has not been posted by Tara Reid's representatives

· Saw everyone's favorite blonde, Tara Reid, at a Blockbuster on the west side this afternoon. (Feb 14) Could not see what she rented but she did have trouble with her credit card - forgot she had it cancelled.

· 2/14 While waiting in line for a table at the Pantry for a post Aretha Franklin concert pork chop, noticed a guy paying who looked he could have passed for Freddie Mercury at one time. Took about half a minute to figure out that I was looking at Vernon Wells, you might know him as Bennett from "Commando." Seemed like a nice enough guy out for the night to "blow off some steam."

· Good thing it wasn't the Visa Black card! Rides in a sweet Porsche!

· Feb. 14 - A Martinez at the Thousand Oaks Mall. Hanging around Penney's (like he was waiting for someone) then popped into The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Very handsome and friendly, but didn't draw attention to himself. He seemed like a nice guy.

· Saw Christopher Knight (the Brady, not the art critic, though wouldn't that mix-up make for an AWESOME "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode?) at the table next to us at La Boheme last night, having dinner sans La Curry with two others. Dude has a very small head relative to his body. His friends made the waiter take a photo of the three of them at the table — evidently it is not enough to eat dinner with Peter Brady; one must have photographic proof as well. I was *this close* to making rabbit ear's behind his wee little head (and based on how we were seated, I totally could have pulled it off), but chickened out at the last minute.

· Saturday, 2-16, 1ish, Gold's Gym on Cole: An American Gladiator sighting! And not just any AmGlad, but Militia — the gayporniest one of them all! Dude was bedecked in Militiawear— meshy, khaki, vesty number. Face kind of like a gargoyle or one of those scary devil masks. Not speaking or looking at anyone. Just whaling on those pythons. Guy's got a helluva day job— I'd probably be in the gym too. Oh wait—I was.

· File this under 'not much of a sighting - but I'll submit it anyway' - David Leisure of Empty Nest fame - circa 1988 was in Trader Joe's Valencia Wednesday 2/13 wearing cargo pants and a blue sweater. I said 80's right? Took me a while to realize who he was - yet thanks to Golden Girl reruns and cross-over characters, the ah-ha moment hit me. I saw him do his shtick to the woman offering free linguine and clam sauce with a side of garlic toast sampler plate. He walked around with the typical 'don't you know who I used to be' look - whilst trying to act normal and fit in with the 'rest' of us shoppers.

Angelyne at Rexall at 5:20pm on Sunday, February 17th. She didn't actually park in a legal spot ... Just sprawled across the entrance.

"I don't know how to emphasize this enough that I'm not disappointed or upset with anyone but myself," Sorkin says over lunch at Nate 'n Al's last week where he is repeatedly interrupted by fans wanting to share how much they enjoyed his work.

"There are only two possible reasons for 'Studio 60' failing — it was either my fault or it was just one of those things. On some shows, you can make mistakes and still survive. But with this one, I made too many mistakes for it to survive." [...]

Every failure in Hollywood gets blamed on something else, from movies that bomb (freak snowstorms back East) to anemic album sales (illegal file sharing by snotty college kids). But Sorkin sees a more insidious villain — a triviality-obsessed media no longer willing to separate gossip and idle speculation from reporting and criticism. "When all everyone does is try to draw personal connections between your characters and real people, you're not really watching a play or a TV show anymore," he says. "It becomes a tabloid experience."

This gossipy guesswork pervaded much of the media coverage of "Studio 60," in which much was made of the supposed similarities between "Studio 60" characters and real-life counterparts. It wasn't an entirely unreasonable assumption, since one of the show's lead characters — a TV writer with a history of drug problems — was written by Sorkin, a TV writer with a history of drug problems.

What clearly bugs Sorkin is that for whatever matrix of reasons — his messy private life, his brash willingness to publicly trash Internet bloggers or just his star power as a writer — he became a target for all sorts of gossipy buzz that doesn't haunt similarly successful writers like "Everybody Loves Raymond's" Phil Rosenthal or "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Larry David.

"I can flat-out guarantee that Phil was writing autobiographical stories in his show, but for some reason people just aren't caught up in the gossip of his life," Sorkin says. "It's just unhealthy. 'After the Fall' is a better play if you don't know that Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe were married. It doesn't enhance the experience of seeing the play if you're being a detective, always looking for clues. You only see the writing through a filter that takes you out of the actual story."

Indeed, our own experience of the show was colored by exactly these kinds of unhealthy pursuits, where we became obsessed with sleuthing out alleged parallels between Jordan McDeere and TV exec Jamie Tarses, The Christian One Whose Name We Can Never Remember to Sorkin ex Kristen Chenowith, and Lobster Boy and the psilocybin-induced demonic hallucination who first pitched the idea of Studio 60 to Sorkin during a particularly vivid "development session." Now that our prejudices have been exposed, we promise to approach the celebrated writer's next project with a mind uncluttered by such peripheral obsessions.

• THE BIG PICTURE: Sorkin takes the blame for 'Studio 60' [LAT]
• Previously: The Complete Guide To The Series Finale Of 'Studio 60' [Defamer]

· Yet another relatively meaningless box office record falls: the new Harry Potter movie takes in $12 million from its midnight screening debuts, proving that American parents are a little too indulgent of their children's wizard fixations. [Variety]
· "Pumped up on DreamWorks steroids" (to borrow THR's phrase), Paramount passed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office for the year on July 9th, faster than any studio in history.* (*If you don't account for ticket price inflation over the past five years.) [THR]
· As it turns out, the forgiving summer TV schedule might be able to simultaneously support two unwatchable karaoke game shows, as Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics pulls respectable Nielsen numbers a night after the debut of NBC's Singing Bee. [Variety]

· Matt, for the moment free of his lingering addiction to feel-good pills, reunited romantically with the religious one whose name always escapes us. Marion, we think. Esther? Eh, whatever, at least we remember her character type.

· Jordan survived the complications from her pregnancy, drew up adoption papers allowing new fiance Danny to legally become the father of her newborn daughter, and for one blissful moment, finally stopped worrying about the ratings.

· Jack from Wings and D.L. Hughley found Matt's well-hidden bottle of emergency Scotch, then spent a tense night getting wasted and reliving the corporate censorship issues of NBS's wrongheaded, spineless past. No high fives or one-armed hugs were exchanged, though it was apparent both men would have liked that.

· Just as Tom Jeter was giving the OK to send millions of dollars to mercenaries to save his brother from his terrorist captors in Afghanistan, God sent a Blackhawk helicopter to rescue the hostages from certain death and Tom from choosing the selfish side of a morally compromising dilemma. And once Tom concluded a tearful cellphone chat with his liberated sibling, the Gruff Military Guy with the Heart of Gold informed the entire Studio 60 gang that the President had ordered an immediate and total withdrawal of all troops from Iraq, an announcement that kicked off the most jubilent wrap party in the show's long history.

· The ferret ate the snake, the coyote ate the ferret, and, even though there was no explanation of how it came to roam the crawlspace underneath the studio, a mountain lion ate the coyote.

· Lobster Boy and Peripheral Vision Man were married by just-ordained minister Fake Nic Cage in a quiet ceremony in Matt's office.

· Because he was never real to begin with, Tim Batale did not make an appearance; however, it will eventually be revealed in the DVD collection that if one freeze-frames Matt looking out from his office window during the marriage ceremony, his reflection in the glass is briefly swapped with Tim's.

· The blacklisted, Alzheimer's-afflicted writer got both his memory and his career back, penning a sketch savagely satirizing the mistakes of HUAC-era Hollywood.

· Perched in a catwalk high above the soundstage, Sting quietly strummed a lute, but everyone was far too busy enjoying their happy endings to even notice.

[Image: An ad taken about by fans in yesterday's THR]

• 'Dance' performs for Fox; 'Studio 60' aids NBC [THR]

A reporter asks Reilly (paraphrased): "Since you're committed to renewing good shows even if they have low ratings, does that mean 'Studio 60' wasn't a good show?"

Nearly everybody — including NBC Universal President-CEO Jeff Zucker — finds this question funny. Reilly replies that "Studio 60" received "a mixed response," even within NBC. Showrunner Aaron Sorkin "was doing the show he wanted to do. ... It just kind of felt like that show had kind of run its course. ... I have no regrets."

To further demonstrate that the network is dedicated to the rising stars of its future and not to dwelling on the low-rated misfires of the past, with a sharp clap of his hands Reilly summoned his Bionic Woman (9 p.m. Wednesday nights) to the stage, who then delighted all ad sales personnel in attendance by ceremonially suffocating Studio 60 breakout character Lobster Boy with a pillow emblazoned with NBC's proud peacock logo, a display that drove Sorkin—who'd shown up on the crazy hope he'd get a surprise second season order—from the venue in tears.

• Reilly Deconstructs Schedule [TV Week Blog]
• Previously: NBC Hoping Your Appetite For Its High-Quality Hits Is Insatiable [Defamer]

• 'Studio 60' Returning in May [Zap2it.com]
• Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip [NBC.com]
• Previously: 'Studio 60' CancellationWatch: Sorkin And Company Quietly Playing Out The String [Defamer]

• Conan - Studio 6A [YouTube via BWE/TV Tattle]

"From the beginning, '30 Rock' has proven to be the kind of quality comedy that doesn't come around very often, and we are very pleased to have this show back for a second season," NBC Entertaimment prexy Kevin Reilly said. "We expect it to continue to build its increasingly loyal audience and become another of NBC's classic comedy series."

When asked the inevitable question about Studio 60, a visibly uncomfortable Reilly momentarily fidgeted with his tie before offering, "You know what? They really had some moments, like the time Matthew Perry hallucinated that staff writer with the anagram name, or when they sent the coyote to eat the ferret—a ferret, not a mink, right?—they sent to eat the snake that got loose under the stage. We expect the show to become another cherished part of our home entertainment division's DVD catalog of quality dramas that never really found that loyal audience we spent untold millions of dollars trying to build."

• NBC renews '30 Rock' [Variety]
• Previously: Tina Fey Says Thing About Aaron Sorkin That We Are More Than Happy To Blow Out Of Proportion [Defamer]

A rumor had been going around (imagine that — a rumor on the Internet!) that after having gone back into production earlier this month on episodes 17 through 22, the show had ceased production and the plug finally, irrevocably pulled. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! (Imagine it — an inaccurate rumor on the Internet!) I got the scoop this very afternoon from Lesley Cerwin, the NBC publicist assigned to the show, and she confirmed that production on episode 19 was scheduled to be completed today and work on episode 20 commenced on Thursday.

So yes, it appears that at least the full season complement of shows will make it into the can for Aaron Sorkin's noble but low-rated hour. But all of you "Save Studio 60" cyber sites and blogs, take note: it is now highly unlikely the show will be brought back this spring. The more probable scenario (strictly my conjecture): it will come back in originals over the summer as something of a "bell lap" final farewell.

Don't hold your breath for the show's second-season renewal. That probably ain't happening. Networks typically reserve that stuff for shows that don't bleed millions of dollars, being as they are in the profit business and all.

While even the most blissfully delusional Aaronite dared not dream of a second season, dramatically announced at the upcoming network upfronts by the embattled showrunner and NBC president Kevin Reilly as they cackle over an enormous pile of money they'd just ceremonially set on fire to demonstrate their commitment to art over responsible business, the news that fresh episodes might find their way onto the summer schedule is welcome: Sorkin's important message about how the once-proud medium of television is now merely a receptacle into which visionless programming execs regularly move their bowels will never be more poignant than when his show is sandwiched between The Real Wedding Crashers and the highly anticipated Victoria Beckham Shops for Shoes—neither of which, tragically, will ever have the opportunity to cement its place in popular culture by being ineptly satirized in a half-seen sketch on Studio.

• Every Time I Use 'Canceled' and 'Studio 60' in a Headline, My Hits on Google Head Off the Charts! [Past Deadline]
• Previously: 'Studio 60' CancellationWatch Renewed: Early Yanking Can't Be A Good Sign [Defamer]

Sorkin's reps confirmed on Tuesday (March 20) that the West Wing creator has officially signed on to write the musical's script. ''Maybe that means they'll need to build a stage with lots of hallways on it,'' joked Coyne of Sorkin's fondness for walking-and-talking characters. ''It will be a giant tube that's always moving!'' [...]

Coyne compares the proposed concept to Terry Gilliam's dystopian sci-fi movie Brazil. ''There's the real world and then there's this fantastical world,'' explains Coyne. ''This girl, the Yoshimi character, is dying of something. And these two guys are battling to come visit her in the hospital. And as one of the boyfriends envisions trying to save the girl, he enters this other dimension where Yoshimi is this Japanese warrior and the pink robots are an incarnation of her disease. It's almost like the disease has to win in order for her soul to survive. Or something like that.''

While an "Illicit Mushrooms"-Era Sorkin may have connected with the Lips' trippy source material in a satisfying way, in the hands of his current killjoy incarnation, the hallucinatory tale of romantic entanglements and terminally ill Japanese warriors could quickly devolve into a preachy mess, filled with self-righteous monologues delivered by doctors lamenting the mismanagement of the giant, pink automatons who control the health care system.

• Sorkin Will Script Flaming Lips Musical [EW.com]

Decision to yank "Studio 60" a week early will no doubt raise a new round of questions about the show's long-term fate. Insiders said the net still hasn't decided what to do with the show and that the sked change is mostly about giving "Donnellys" the best possible launch.

We take absolutely no joy in this development, as we've found showrunner Aaaron Sorkin's recent, if tragically low-rated, turn towards Shayamalanesque storytelling techniques (we spent a good portion of the second act of Monday night's show scrawling the letters in "Tim Batale" on a window with a grease pencil until a lucky combination of the letters finally unlocked the shocking secret of Matt Albie's hallucinated, pill-popping alter-ego) a refreshing shift from the kind of coyote-chasing-ferret-chasing-snake frivolity that has hampered recent episodes of the drama. Besides, the last time S60 seemed to be on shaky footing, it was rewarded with a full-season pick-up, so we're inclined to believe that its sure-to-be-brief hiatus from the airwaves has something to do with ongoing negotiations between Sorkin and NBC president Kevin Reilly to work out a deal not only to keep the series on the air for three additional seasons, but to quickly spin off some popular recurring characters, like Militant Fruit Of The Loom Guy and Alcoholic Musical Prodigy Daughter Of A Stern Asian Businessman Who Pretends Not To Speak English To Advance An Already Convoluted Plot, into their own pilots.

• Earlier tack for 'Black' [Variety]
• Previously: Tina Fey Says Thing About Aaron Sorkin That We Are More Than Happy To Blow Out Of Proportion [Defamer]

Tina Fey dissed archfoe Aaron Sorkin Sunday night at the Writers Guild Awards. The "30 Rock" star competes with Sorkin's "Studio 60": Both take place behind the scenes at a show like "Saturday Night Live," where Fey was head writer. Wiggling around the Hudson Theatre stage in a party frock with plunging decolletage, Fey told the crowd, "I hear Aaron Sorkin is in Los Angeles wearing the same dress - but longer, and not funny."

Once one gets the initial Oh, snap!-style sting of the remark, her joke seems patently unfair, as Sorkin's show is intentionally unfunny; in constructing a drama, the celebrated writer's mission is to take on weightier issues affecting sketch comedy shows, like the unexpected budget overruns that can cripple a production when a procession of antagonistic natural predators are lost beneath a busy sound stage. Still, the gibe undoubtedly wounds, as Sorkin had famously deflected the brickbats of amateurish, unemployed critics by citing the silence of accomplished professionals like Fey, who presumably were enjoying his dramatic deconstruction of the genre. Now that Fey has unexpectedly betrayed him, he'll have to hope that remaining, assumed "real comedy writer" supporters Stephen Colbert and SNL's Seth Myers will pass on any opportunities to take gratuitous pokes at him in front of an audience of the reliably employed peers whose opinions he cherishes.

• Side dish (sixth item) [Rush & Molloy]
• Previously: 'LAT' Gives Equal Time To Pro-Sorkin Voices [Defamer]