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Chris Tucker, left, and Jackie Chan appear on the NBC "Today" television program in New York's Rockefeller Center Friay Aug. 3, 2007.RICHARD DREW/The Associated Press

FROM THE VAULTS

Everything old is suddenly new again on American network television.

Less than three weeks into the new fall season comes the news that two U.S. networks are mounting TV versions of the feature films Big and Rush Hour – two movies released to theatres in 1988 and 1998, respectively.

The original Big cemented the star stature of a boyish Tom Hanks, who was a natural fit in the role of a kid trapped inside a grown man's body (courtesy of a fortune-teller device called Zoltar). The movie also inspired the short-lived Broadway production Big, The Musical in 1996.

And the fanciful story is expected to remain pretty much the same in the upcoming TV reboot, which is being written for the Fox Network by TV veterans Kevin Biegel (Cougar Town) and Mike Royce (Men of a Certain Age), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Concurrently, Warner Bros. Television is developing a TV version of Rush Hour, the manic 1998 comedy/crime drama feature that teamed Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as a Hong Kong cop and a fast-talking LAPD detective, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Directed by action-movie auteur Brett Ratner, the original Rush Hour was a mammoth box-office success - earning nearly $850 million (U.S.) worldwide - and spawned two successful sequels.

Ratner will also serve as executive producer on the TV series, which is being written by Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) and Blake McCormick (Mad Men) and has yet to sign a network deal.

Of course, in the TV business, when it rains, it pours: The green lights for Big and Rush Hour follow the recent news that Fox is making a TV sequel to the 2002 Tom Cruise feature Minority Report and NBC is prepping a series version of the 1990 comedy feature Problem Child.

And NBC will also reach way back into the vaults to create a small-screen version of the 1985 comedy Real Genius, which will focus on the friendship between a rock-star like genius (played by Val Kilmer in the original film) and a nerdy co-worker.

As for the big screen, there really will be a movie version of the classic eighties video game Tetris landing in theatres some time next year.

FEMINIST LITE?

Annie Lennox is not impressed with Beyoncé's definition of feminism. In a recent interview with the website PrideSource, the former Eurythmics lead singer took issue with Queen Bey referring to herself as a "feminist" during a recent appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards. "I would call that 'feminist lite'," said the 59-year-old Lennox. "I'm sorry. It's tokenistic to me. I mean, I think she's a phenomenal artist – I just love her performances – but I'd like to sit down [with her]. I'd like to sit down with quite a few artists and talk to them."

Source: PrideSource.com

HITTING BACK

Tracy Morgan has slammed Walmart for attempting to shift the blame in his lawsuit against the retail giant. Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter obtained court documents showing that Walmart faulted the former 30 Rock Star for not wearing his seat belt during the six-car accident that left him in critical condition last June. Morgan responded yesterday by telling Us Weekly, "After I heard what Walmart said in court I felt I had to speak out. I can't believe Walmart is blaming me for an accident that they caused. My friends and I were doing nothing wrong." Morgan was among several people seriously injured in the accident, which also claimed the life of his friend and fellow comic James McNair. Morgan also said in his statement: "I want to thank my fans for sticking with me in this difficult time. I love you all. I'm fighting hard every day to get back."

Source: Us Weekly

ROCK RETIREMENT

The family of founding AC/DC member Malcolm Young has confirmed that he is not returning to the band. "Malcolm is suffering from dementia and the family thanks you for respecting their privacy," the 61-year-old guitarist's family said in a statement to People magazine. Last April, AC/DC announced that Young would be taking a break from recording and touring due to ill health. The band is still expected to release its 17th studio album, titled Rock or Bust, in December. The album will be the first recorded without Young in the band's 41-year history.

Source: People

PAY DAY

Lena Dunham has reversed her position on not paying opening acts on her upcoming book tour. Earlier this week, the Girls creator and star drew public ire when it was revealed that she was not planning to provide compensation for the performers who would appear as her supporting acts on her 11-city tour to promote her new memoir, Not That Kind of Girl. Dunham announced late Tuesday that she planned to reverse her stance with the tweet: "As an artist raised by artists, no one believes more than I do that creators should be fairly compensated for their work."

Source: People

THE CANCER EFFECT

Canadian cancer survivors who return to the work force earn significantly less than their cancer-free counterparts. A new StatsCan study has revealed that those cancer patients who returned to work in the year after their diagnosis earned between 9.7 and 10.6 per cent less than people without cancer. The same study showed that cancer patients were 3.0 percentage points less likely to work in the first year following their diagnosis, and 4.8 per cent less likely to work in the third year post-diagnosis.

Source: CTV News

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