choreographer

Maybe they'll change the name of this year's Academy Awards to So You Think You Can Win An Oscar? Or maybe it'll be Oscar, You Should Be Dancing. What else can we expect now that Adam Shankman has been assigned to produce the Oscar broadcast... with Bill Mechanic. The Bill Mechanic part is almost like fine print. (Or that cute kid Brick on The Middle who whispers under his breathe in a funny, creepy way. "Mechanic...")

The story here is Adam Shankman. He's a director/choreographer and dancer. He's a judge on the current season of So You Think You Can Dance. His biggest credit is Hairspray, one of the few movie musicals that has made it to the big screen and was a bit hit in the last decade. Shankman should bring movement, energy and -- perhaps -- dance to the Academy Awards?

Nigel Lythgoe really was serious about wanting to work with Paula Abdul again. Lythgoe used to be executive producer on American Idol, before he left to devote his full attention to So YouThink You Can Dance. This upcoming week, they'll be filming "Vegas Week" for the upcoming fall season six of the hit summer series.

But before that starts, Lythgoe has invited Paula Abdul to fly down to Vegas this weekend so they can talk about her possibly becoming a part of the show. He'd love to have her, of course, "If I can afford her," he says. The question becomes: was it the money over at Idol, or the fact that she felt disrespected?

As to what capacity Abdul could be involved in the show as it takes Idol's time slots in the fall, she could be very involved. Hell, if they agree to things quickly, she could be a part of the judging panel for "Vegas Week," meaning she'd only have missed the initial auditions, and she could certainly join the choreographer pool immediately.

What now for Paula Abdul? You have to wonder. The singer/dancer/choreographer has really been in her element -- if that's the right word -- as the sympathetic American Idol judge. Since Paula Abdul tweeted last night that she will not be returning to American Idol, you have to wonder if she's going to disappear into oblivion or find a new career to glom onto at this point in her life?

Oh yes, she still has her jewelry, so she'll be on the air on HSN. But you know that Bravo isn't welcoming her back for more of the reality train wreck that was Hey, Paula.

Movin' Out, choreographer Twyla Tharp's take on the music of Billy Joel, is coming to television, thanks to PBS warhorse Great Performances.

Movin' Out received mixed, leaning towards favorable, reviews during its Broadway and out-of-town runs. Tharp won a Tony for her choreography, and Joel shared a Tony for its orchestration. This Joel-inspired outing hasn't been nearly as panned as Tharp's most recent take on Bob Dylan's catalog - The Times They are A-Changin'.

While the show has yet to be filmed by PBS, we can expect to see it on the air in the late winter or early spring of 2007.