into the west

A family from the Mescalero Apache tribe is suing the producers of the Steven Spielberg television series, Into the West. The family claims that their daughter's hair was cut without permission and without regard for tribal customs. The girl, 8-year old Christina Ponce, had her hair cut up to her chin to make her look like a Native American boy. The Mescalero tribe forbids cutting a girl's hair before she reaches puberty, when it should be waist-length for a Coming of Age ceremony. Ponce's parents are suing for $250,000 for emotional distress and $75,000 in damages. The girl was cast in the role after her parents responded to a casting call in New Mexico last March. Into the West aired on TBS TNT last summer.

Skeet Ulrich is coming to series television in a nuclear-apocalypse drama called Jericho. The drama, produced by Ridley and Tony Scott (executive producers of Numb3rs), is about a small town that becomes isolated from the rest of the world after a nuclear disaster. Ulrich plays the son of the town's mayor, who becomes an unlikely leader as chaos ensues. Skeet comes to television after a starring role in Spielberg's Into the West last summer on TNT.