• Will Wisteria Lane never know peace? ABC has signed a new deal with Desperate Housewives creator Mark Cherry that could keep the show on the air until 2013. [Variety]

• Hollywood has a new profitability King! The Wrap calculates that Paranormal Activity made for under $15,000 and so far grossing $65.1 million has now seen a 433,900 percent return on its budget, which soars past Blair Witch's 414,233 percent return on its $60,000 production. [The Wrap]

• After its first full day of theatrical release, the Michael Jackson documentary This Is It has earned a very nice but not world-destroying This Is It $6.6 million. [Variety]

• Meanwhile at NBC, one shall live while another shall die. The Peacock ordered six more episodes of Chuck, while the dream ended for Trauma as the network announced it would not order more episodes beyond the show's initial 13 episodes run. [Hollywood Reporter]

• While dozens of productions have signed on to keep shooting in California as a result of the state's new tax incentive program, the money set aside for the tax break's first year has run out and production continues to flee its home state, citing bigger tax breaks available elsewhere. [The Wrap]

• Risking stepping into serious bummer territory Vh1 will run a new reality/book camp show, aimed teaching a group of men how to be good fathers. [Hollywood Reporter]

• Tony Scott has singed on to direct the story he was born to tell; a biopic based on the life of Steve Banerjee, the creator of Chippendales male revues. [Variety]

The special sponsorship with Subway is enabling NBC to bring back the series, executives said, in a deal they described as made possible by a decision to go to advertisers earlier than usual in what NBC called the "infront," to ask for ideas about interweaving brands into shows.

You read that correctly: the fucking Subway product placement is enabling this show to be on TV, period. All the other stuff in there is just extra low fat mayo. How hardcore is NBC willing to get here? Hardcore to the bone:

"Chuck" appealed to Subway for reasons that included its audience, which is mostly the type of younger consumer that buys a lot of subs at malls. The show takes place in a mall, and Chuck's girlfriend, Sarah, is a C.I.A. agent who works under cover at various stands in the food court.

It is no great leap to believe she could be selling Subway sandwiches next season. An NBC executive said discussions have been under way about the specifics of the tie-in.

We hope you're very happy about the success of your "Buy a Subway Sandwich to Save NBC's 'Chuck!'" campaign now. Sandwich whores.
[NYT]

Like you, Wendy Farrington is a big fan of Chuck and sorry that it's probably getting canceled, so she's taken to the internet with a grassroots campaign to save the show—by eating Subway sandwiches!

"As a non-Nielsen viewer, I feel the most effective means of making an impact is to wield my consumer power in a way that NBC and their sponsors will be able to measure," Ms. Farrington wrote, noting Subway's support of "Chuck." "To demonstrate my gratitude to that franchise for their support of Chuck, I'm pitching a 'Finale & FOOTLONG' campaign to all the Chuck forums and boards."

Ms. Farrington also announced she was pitching "key TV critics who've been supportive of Chuck."

And Subway of course is all like "HEH, yes, buy our sandwiches, it'll be good for your show, or whatever, sure, just buy those sandwiches. We love that show, Charles, or whatever." And then this secret info leaked out, which is disturbing:

Subway has "a few folks we work with in Hollywood who we consider our secret weapons." He declined to name them, "because we prefer that they remain secret."

I'm guessing that one of them is the guy from Chuck.
[Ad Age, Previously]

If Chuck had better writers they may have been able to craft this one into something that was self-referential and funny, but as it is it's just crazy awkward. Ben Silverman's product-placing path to economic success continues!

Subway's "Chuck" appearance goes beyond the usual trappings of product placement, in which an on-air appearance or even a reference from a character is considered a boffo execution. Getting a character to repeat the company's ad slogan is tantamount to turning "Chuck" for even the briefest of moments into a bona fide Subway commercial.

[Ad Age]

boomp3.com


Chuck star Zachary Levi got an earful of advice from Donald Trump on how to improve his recently renewed show during its second season. Trump suggested that show's production design incorporate the use of more solid gold features like desks and buildings, random firings (quoth The Donald, "People love it when it's somebody other than them getting fired"), guest appearances by Gene Simmons and, most importantly, lots of sexy girls. Levi explained that there was a sexy girl on the show, but Trump interrupted and said that she's not NEARLY sexy enough and suggested that they replace her with his daughter, Ivanka.

[Photo Credit: Splash Pics]