I talked with Haylie Duff this afternoon. She has a new show on MTV called Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods. Ten young women from across the country will compete for a starring role in the hit Broadway show.

Read on to find about what Haylie said about the finalists, the judges, and her own stint on Broadway as Amber Von Tussie in Hairspray.

Kristin Sample: So tell me about the show.
Haylie Duff: It premieres tonight on MTV. And I'm excited about it. We've got a lot of really talented girls and there's a great prize at the end of the season. So, the stakes are high and we're all excited about it.

On the theory that it worked for another actress who play Tracy Turnblad, Marissa Jaret Winokur is going to star in her own daytime talk show, just like Ricki Lake before her. (Can Nikki Blonsky be next?)

Marissa J, who's currently spinning, twirling and trying to look graceful on Dancing With the Stars, will be developing a syndicated yakker (industry talk for talk show) for Sony Pictures Television. The fact that another company is also doing the same thing for Marie Osmond means one thing: producers think that if you can dance, you can talk. That's a show business axiom, isn't it? Her show, if it flies, will be for fall 2009.

Sony has dipped in syndication before with the Wayne Brady Show, which failed to click but did win the star a Daytime Emmy. Marissa is already an award winner, grabbing the 2003 Tony as Best Actress in a musical for playing Tracy in the Broadway version of Hairspray opposite Harvey Fierstein.

Bruce Willis made an unexpected appearance as a Giant Head. I think he's the first non-anchor guy to play that role? Anyway, he did the usual put-downs, telling Jon that Christopher Walken, the night's guest, doesn't really care for him. The Giant Head gag needs to die a quick, silent "Seat of Heat" kind of death. A part of me feels like they're only keeping the joke around because they built that screen for that very purpose. "But if we don't do the Giant Head gag, what will we do with the screen? Put the shadow people back in?!"

"Cheney's Clout", "'08 Simple Rules: For Dating Our Withdrawal": Jon talked about the clout-loosening stylings of our very own Vice President. I don't think I've ever heard the word "clout" used so many times in my entire life. "This man is very, very un-good". The Democrats aren't doing so hot either. Their presentation for their plan for troop withdrawal was less than clear. I haven't heard someone accidentally say "19--" in a long, long time.

Maybe I blacked out for a few minutes, but I didn't see any correspondents in this episode. Not even a field report! Hmm. I don't think that's happened in a while. I suspect YouTube/Google is holding all of the correspondents hostage until Viacom pulls the lawsuit. It is the only logical explanation.

People online has a nifty little photo-story updating us on some of our favorite American Idol contestants who didn't win the title. Here are a few:

• Diana DeGarmo: after spending the holidays entertaining the troops abroad, she's joining the cast of Hairspray on Broadway on February 7.
• Frenchie Davis: proving that racy photos on the internet aren't the end of all things, she's a cast member of Rent on Broadway, where she's been since she was prematurely booted off the show in 2003.
  
• William Hung: thinking he's entitled to more than 15 minutes of fame, he's still performing crap from his three, yes three, albums.
• Tamyra Gray: the one who should've gone against Kelly Clarkson in the finale, Tamyra is working on her second album and persuing more acting roles.
• Josh Gracin: lookin' a little thick around the middle, Josh just kicked off a tour where he is opening for Trace Adkins. He and his wife, Ann Marie, now have two children.
• Corey Clark: ah, who the hell cares?

The story also includes new photos and updates on Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London, and Justin Guarini.