Dr. Jack Kevorkian's headline-grabbing crusade against medical law and procedures was bound to become a movie sooner or later. It's got all the elements that make for great viewing, whether it's on the larger-than-life screen of your local cineplex or the soft, warm glow of your living room television.

'You Don't Know Jack' (Sat., 9PM, HBO)
Maybe you don't know Dr. Jack Kevorkian, or his full backstory, but this Barry Levinson-directed flick will change all that. Oscar winner Al Pacino is, pardon the pun, dead on as Kevorkian, the Detroit doctor who spent several years in prison after a spree of assisted suicide deaths. A controversial figure since he first gained notoriety for his views on euthanasia, the zealous Kevorkian lost his medical license in the early '90s, but went on to create the Thanatron and Mercitron, two machines he used to aid more than 100 people commit suicide. After serving eight years of a prison term, Kevorkian (who's also a jazz musician and painter), continues to be a polarizing figure with his opinions on suicide, which he continues to share, via a 2008 run for Congress and appearances on shows like 'Anderson Cooper 360.'

What does it take to get Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Levinson together for an HBO movie? Only the story of Jack "Doctor Death" Kervorkian.

'You Don't Know Jack,' premiering on Saturday, April 24 at 9PM ET, chronicles the period when Dr. Kervorkian was helping terminally ill patients commit suicide. This includes the 1998 incident where he assisted a patient with ALS and sent the video to '60 Minutes,' which landed him in prison for eight years.

In addition to Pacino, who plays Kervorkian, and Sarandon, who plays his friend and euthanasia advocate Jane Good, the movie also stars John Goodman, Brenda Vaccaro and Danny Huston. Levinson, seen above with Pacino and Kervorkian, produced and directed the movie, the first time he's directed a feature-length movie for television.

The director of 'Rain Man,' 'Good Morning, Vietnam,' 'Wag The Dog,' and other classics spoke to me earlier this week about dealing with the touchy topic of Kervorkian, working with a pro like Pacino, and whether a movie like 'Diner' could ever be made today. His answer to that one is surprising.

Yesterday was cable's first day at the press tour, and a morning full of panels by the Discovery networks and a few other assorted cable entities was followed by three hours of star-studded panels for HBO. I mean, we're talking about one huge name in entertainment after another: Claire Danes, David Simon (The Wire), Rosie O'Donnell, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Ricky Gervais. Oh, and Al Pacino.

Pacino is playing Jack Kevorkian in the HBO movie You Don't Know Jack (Sarandon is also in the movie), and during the panel discussion, Pacino was acting a bit... odd.

How odd? He wore sunglasses on stage for the first half of the panel. His answers were often rambling statements punctuated with occasional insight. And the Bronx native spoke in a modified Midwestern lilt that made us think he hadn't gotten Kevorkian out of his system yet. When asked what it was like filming a movie for HBO, he replied, very Zen-like: "Well, it's television. It's HBO, and so HBO is television."

The first network for kids has had some cult classics on their hands. Recently, however, they really haven't released anything remotely memorable, even in the minds of our easily amused, sugared-up youngins.

That's because they have really strayed from the genre that made them so great: game shows. Strayed really isn't a strong enough word. Replace strayed with "shunned with the fervor of an Amish elder who spots a member of his ordnung waiting in line for the new Palm Pre."

Thankfully, the network has learned from their mistakes and re-animated the ghosts of their most classic game shows with Brainsurge.

Ken Warwick has reportedly signed a new three-year, eight-figure deal with 'American Idol' that will reportedly make him one of the richest producers in television.

Also in the news today: 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' faces cutbacks, while Padma Lakshmi speaks out about her upcoming NBC sitcom.

See more of today's top TV headlines after the jump.

Ryan Seacrest gets a million-dollar payday, Paul McCartney books 'David Letterman,' Susan Sarandon and John Goodman join HBO's Dr. Kevorkian biopic and more of today's top TV headlines.