He's had Quentin Tarantino do it, now late night host Jimmy Kimmel will have Lost/Alias/MI:3 guy J.J. Abrams direct tonight's episode of his show.

Should be interesting. There's been a hatch on Kimmel's stage several times before, where funky celebs often pop up, so I'm sure that will be involved somehow. And maybe someone in the control room will have to punch in certain numbers or the show will go off the air.

Abrams himself will be on the show, along with Lost cast member Dominic Monaghan and Ben Stiller. But will Tom Cruise or Jennifer Garner show up? Maybe Stiller will do his Cruise impression for the episode.

Here's a good example of why some people are destined to write TV shows and movies and why some people are destined to write about them.

Julia Turner at Slate is in the latter category. She has an article that pretty much calls J.J. Abrams a "hack," and a "self-plagiarist," because he borrows ideas and themes from Alias for the new Mission: Impossible movie.

Of course there are similarities. That's bound to happen, especially when you consider that Cruise hired Abrams because he had seen Alias and loved it.

In fact, Turner sort of debunks her own thesis when she says "of course, every action movie rips off the action movies that came before it, and Alias itself is filled with references to spy capers past: It's no surprise that secret agents spend time in ducts and sewers, that prisoner transport is dicey, or that there's ample use of the body double and the dazzling speedboat getaway." She also dumps on him for using flashbacks in both, then mentions that Lost uses them a lot too. She then wonders if Abrams is a hack.

I think it's clear who the hack is.

This is funny. In the closing credits for Mission: Impossible 3, there is a "thank you" to the Hanso Foundation, a wink from director J.J. Abrams towards his TV hit Lost.

The reviews for the film so far, including the one above, say that this film is the most like the television show on which it is based, which I think is a great thing. I loved the first flick, but the second one was rather lousy.

[via TV Tattle]

Yeah, that's not a typo. Lost/Alias/M:I:3 mastermind is going to direct the May 12 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

This isn't a first for Kimmel's show. Quentin Tarantino has directed the show before (and if you ever saw that episode, it was ...surreal). They'll be plenty of guest stars from Abrams TV past and present, including someone from Lost. I also expect to see hatches and smoke monsters and maybe Kimmel jumping off a building or something.

Everyone was excited the other day when Variety reported that Lost/Alias creator and Mission: Impossible 3 director J.J. Abrams was going to direct the next Star Trek flick in 2008, making a prequel to the original Kirk/Spock show. But it wasn't exactly as the paper reported ...or was it? Empire has a quick interview with Abrams:

"The whole thing was reported entirely without our cooperation. People learned that I was producing a Star Trek film, that I had an option to direct it, they hear rumors of what the thing was going to be and ran with a story that is not entirely accurate."

But here's where the confusion starts. The headline of this article is "It Won't Be Kirk and Spock." But then the article goes on to say that Abrams is a fan of the original series, he thinks the characters are "spectacular," that the characters "could live again," and that he isn't releasing any details of the plot. So why is the article titled and slanted like that? There's really nothing here that contradicts the news from the other day, except that Abrams hasn't officially signed on as director yet.

• The Cinematical gang is at the Tribeca Film Festival, and have started to file reports.
• How has the NetFlix mailing envelope changed over the past seven years?
• Scott Weinberg reviews Silent Hill.
• They're still making 3-D movies?
• Eva Longoria has singed up for her first starring role in a film, Deep In The Heart Of Texas.

The New York Times Magazine has a regular feature called Domains, where they take a look at a famous person's home and ask them a series of questions. This week: Alias/Lost creator and Mission: Impossible 3 director J. J. Abrams.

Abrams explains why Rod Serling is his personal hero (mine too), what he keeps in his refrigerator at all times, hobbies he does with his kids, his obsession with boxes and Macs, his writing routine, what talent he wishes he had, even his favorite sandwich (turkey, cranberry sauce ...and cole slaw?!) Lots of interesting stuff in here.

It was announced this morning that Lost executive producers/co-showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have both agreed to terms and plan to stay on with the show through the third season.

Both producers have a lot invested in the program. Lindelof co-wrote the two-hour pilot episode with J.J. Abrams and Cuse joined the team shortly thereafter. I would assume both EPs have had added responsibility as of late, since Abrams has been off making and promoting Mission: Impossible III.

This is good news though. I'd like this show to go on for at least two more seasons, but I still worry about all the unanswered questions. They've dug quite the hole and I just hope that everything will be answered satisfactorily.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

Wow! Not sure how accurate this is going to actually turn out, but Life and Style Weekly is reporting that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are heading to Splitsville.

Holmes, the former Dawson's Creek star, is currently seven months pregnant with Cruise's baby. He returns to the big screen this summer in Mission: Impossible III which was directed by Alias' JJ Abrams. Life and Style is reporting that the couple will work together until the child is born and will then announce the split. They plan to share custody of the child. Once again, Wow!

What about all the memories though? Tom jumping on Oprah's couch! The marriage proposal at the Eiffel Tower! The pregnancy announcement! Heck, we even made Tom Cruise one of the top stories of 2005! I need a new celebrity couple to obsess over!