As reported by ex-TV Guide now-EW columnist Mike Ausiello, William Petersen is leaving “CSI:” somewhere near the mid-point of the upcoming season. This comes after the CBS mega-hit has lost Jorja Fox and Gary Dourdan over the past year.

Willy will stay on as an executive producer and show up once in awhile, whenever ratings start to dip. Ausiello also says the show is looking to replace Petersen with a name actor. From his piece today:

Another new CSI, this time a male, will be brought in later this fall, but “he will not appear on the landscape as a CSI to begin with,” teases Mendelsohn. “He’s a professor with background in pathology. He will appear when Grissom is investigating what will be a two-part case. He will help Grissom and the team bring the perpetrator to justice, and then this character will stay around and ultimately become a CSI.” And although Mendelsohn says the new guy (who will possess a very rare genetic abnormality) will “not necessarily [replace Grissom as] supervisor,” he’ll inevitably be branded Petersen’s replacement — if for no other reason than the caliber of actor being sought for the role: Kurt Russell, Laurence Fishburne and John Malkovich are said to be at the top of CBS’ wish list. Of the three, Mendelsohn would only confirm that Malkovich was approached, adding that “scheduling conflicts” had quickly taken him out of the running.

A few things here. Why is this still the highest rated show on TV? I never got caught up in the “CSI:” hype, but I guess it never fails that the old fogies of middle America eat up any procedural show thrown out there.

Secondly, would Kurt Russell really take the job? The guy’s career has slowed of late ["Posedion" Remake anyone?] but I can’t seem biting here. I’m sure it’s an enormous paycheck, but it’s still TV. And the whole “big name actors moving to TV gigs” trend is about over. James Woods and “Shark” proved it might not be worth the risk.

However, I wouldn’t put it past Fishburne. If you saw his performance in “21,” I’m willing to bet you could expect him to power “CSI:” for a few seasons before he gets bored and asks to be killed off.

ANYWAY, this show bores me, and this post bores me.  Nothing will change. “CSI:” will still dominate the ratings wars and brains will continue to be less intelligent as a result.

After their debut, Almost Here lit the emo scene ablaze in 2005, Chicago’s The Academy Is… has been on everyone’s “Next Big Thing” lists since. TAI’s connection with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz [via Fueled By Ramen and locale], stops on high profile tours [Warped, Honda Civic '07, their headlining Truckstops and State Lines] drummed them up epic loads of support leading up until the follow-up record, Santi

Sadly, 2007’s second album didn’t quite wet the pallet of those fans and critics waiting for the newest pop gem. It was a solid pop/rock album, but didn’t feature the same bounce and sheen as Almost Here. Obviously, TAI figured that out, and quickly headed back to the studio to record a third record, Fast Times At Barrington High that will be released August 19.

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TAI...Now featuring new haircuts!

Listen to: “About A Girl” from The Academy Is… [MySpace]

[Ed note: Portions of this appeared it the July 9, 2008 Indiana Daily Student]

After months of viral marketing, cryptic trailers and impatient waiting, “The Dark Knight” is almost here. The film and the buzz surrounding it are virtually everywhere as we enter the final marketing stretch. Everyone is talking about it, describing it as possibly the best comic-book movie ever and even a solid candidate as a “great film.” News continues to funnel out that Midnight screenings and IMAX screenings are being increased, and that even 6 AM shows have been added. Heck, an article in the NY Times last week mentioned that companies are taking BUSES full of employees to see this thing. For all that is Holy, it ran with a 100! percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes for a good while until someone had the stones to knock it down a peg or two [it's now at 89 Percent].

This film is as sure as a sure thing gets.

The Joker's trying to tough it out before "the good cop" shows up.

But in all honesty, I’m a bit a worried; at least as worried as you can be about a film that’s about to make lots of people very happy and lots of people very wealthy. But still a little worried. Can “The Dark Knight” truly live up to the hype?

This film has so many things going for it. It’s a sequel to “Batman Begins,” one of the most critically acclaimed comic-book films ever, and the film that restored the character of Batman to his rightful, dark place. The cast is as good as it gets, including the additions of Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart this time around. And it’s quite possible that no other film like this has ever used viral marketing quite the way “The Dark Knight” has. The marketers behind this film have been ringing that creepy “Why so serious?” tagline bell for almost a year now and their target demographic, Internet-savvy fanboys, are still salivating like Pavlov’s dogs.

Since the summer movie season began, people frustrated with this year’s crop have gone to “The Dark Knight” in an attempt to restore their faith in the blockbuster. Whereas “The Incredible Hulk” – not enough plot development – or “Speed Racer” – completely void of plot – disappointed some, this new Batman epic is something we could all anticipate. And with various early reviews coming out stuffed with hyberbole about “Knight” being a “masterpiece” and “revolutionary,” everyone is looking forward to this film.

All of this means that some people are going to hate it.

Too many people are expecting this film to change their lives, restore their faith in Hollywood, or cure deadly disease. But as good as this film may be (and chances are it is truly pretty freaking good), at the end of the day it’s still just a movie; a movie about a fairly one-dimensional character who dresses up in a cape and cowl. And when this film doesn’t deliver on the exact expectations of those fans who’ve been running around major cities in Joker makeup, the backlash might be as epic as the hype.

In another instance, certain non-fans who see the film might hitch on to the idea that the role of the Joker killed Ledger. We could see people complaining about how certain aspects of his performance drove him to overdose on prescription medications. Chances are also good that there will be a parental outcry over the violence in the film, even though it’s rated PG-13. With a movie this large, there’s always someone with a bone to pick.

The box office numbers of “The Dark Knight” are going to be overwhelmingly positive, but the backlash could, and probably will, come. Those disappointed with the film must ask themselves one question: Why so serious? It’s just a movie.