successors

Will Larry King Pass The Softball- Lobbing Torch To Ryan Seacrest?

Despite having secured his future at CNN until 2010, Larry King, who come this November will turn 138, has finally acknowledged the fact that his career might have a finite end. (Even if his legacy does not: His Last Will and Testament contains detailed instructions of the children he expects his wife to bear from the 14 packages of Cryovaced semen he keeps stored in an industrial freezer in his basement.) That said, it's being reported that King is eyeing none other than American Idol's Master of Karaoke-Administrating Ceremonies Ryan Seacrest to fill his legendary seat. From The Scoop:

A source from within CNN says that Seacrest, who has filled in for his friend Larry King in the past, is involved in "serious negotiations" to take over "Larry King Live" around [2009]'s end.

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trade roundup

Rat Vs. Willis

· After a summerlong run of sequel-clogged weekends where the eventual winner of the box office battle was all too obvious, the outcome of the upcoming Die Hard vs. Ratatouille fight seems up for grabs. We're not betting against Pixar, even though we'll probably wind up watching John McClane blow shit up. [Variety]
· Oh yeah Die Hard made $9.1 million on Wednesday, its first official day of release. Is that a lot? We're not good with midweek box office record data. [THR]
· Universal signs up erstwhile Biggest Comedy Star In the World Jim Carrey for Sober Buddies, one of those magical projects with a title so concise that we don't have to waste any time explaining it. (OK, OK, Carrey is a Sober Buddy who falls off the wagon while helping an alcoholic pal on a business trip in Vegas. Hilarity ensues, etc etc.) [Variety]
· 3.2 million viewers tuned in to CNN to for Larry King's post-jail interview with Paris Hilton. While this was King's highest rated show since 2005, consider that three times more people watched So You Think You Can Dance on Wednesday night if you'd like to feel a little better about the public's TV-watching taste levels. [THR]
· We would never ask you to start thinking about the Oscars in late June. That's just sick, really. [Variety]

your first post-jail interview is always the most special

Paris Hilton Barely Survives Brutal Larry King Interrogation

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moments that will change the world forever

Paris Hilton To Express Insincere Remorse To Larry King First

Rather than get bogged down in rehashing how Paris Hilton's alleged $100,000 dalliance with Barbara Walters and disputed $1 million flirtation with NBC's Meredith Vieira ulitmately resulted in an unpaid chat with basic cable's most popular, semi-mummified inquisitor, we turn you over to CNN.com's Story Highlights box to get you up to speed on the venue change for the Hilton's post-jail soul-baring. She's agreed to one of Larry King's legendary softballings (set those TiVos for 6 p.m. PST Wednesday night), in which we expect the noted underpreparer to lead off the proceedings with something along the lines of, "So, Paris, I hear you've been away on vacation for a month, and everyone's angry about it for some reason. Also, didn't you recently die of an overdose in Florida? Help me out here," before nodding off for a quick nap as the reformed socialite can details her compassionate plan to open a halfway house to ease the difficult transition of other unfairly incarcerated celebrities back into their regular clubgoing routines. More »