Bauer Griffin

Good news, Survivor fans: Jeff Probst, whose contract on the CBS hit reality show was expiring, has decided not to snuff his own torch…yet. The host tells EW.com he will be back on the show past the season’s 20th edition, Heroes vs. Villains (which kicks off Thursday night at 8pm). “What has kept me interested in Survivor for 20 seasons is the study of human nature,” says Probst. “How we justify our ethics, and watching what happens to people when they are put in situations of extreme conflict. Sometimes it’s hard to watch, and sometimes it’s enjoyable to watch, but it is always interesting to watch.”

But, like any good Survivor story, this one has a twist. When Probst renewed his contract in the past (after seasons 12 and 16), it was for four cycles over two years. His latest renewal, however, covers only seasons 21 and 22 and will expire in 2011. While that would seem to indicate that the host is ready to finally call it quits and take his act elsewhere next spring, Probst insists that is not necessarily the case. “I’m not approaching this as my last year of Survivor,” says Probst. “I was just comfortable taking it one year at a time. It certainly made it easier for me to just commit to one year and then we can revisit it again next year if everybody wants to.” [Could Survivor continue if Probst hangs up his snuffer, plus more after the jump.]

As for what factor Live for the Moment (the CBS reality pilot-turned-special that Probst created and hosted) may have played in his decision to return, Probst admits that the show opened his eyes to several things — both good and bad —but played no role in his deciding to come back: “Live for the Moment showed me how fun it is to do something new and to explore new topics. It also is a great reminder that it is very, very difficult to get a show on the air, let alone find an audience. But I want to be clear: It had nothing to do with whether I was coming back to Survivor or not. This was just taking a moment after 10 years to take a look at my future, and where I saw it going, and what I wanted to do with it, before signing my contract.”

Still, with Probst showing a desire to try his hand at different projects (like Live for the Moment and filling for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly), and now only signing up for a one-year commitment, one has to wonder if his days of informing unlucky contestants that “the tribe has spoken” are nearing an end. And whether the show could continue without him. On that last subject, Probst has no doubts: “I have always said that my belief is that the star of Survivor is Survivor: It is the format. So yes, if there came a point where I decided I was leaving Survivor, I absolutely believe someone else could take over.” Thanks to his new contract, it will be at least a year before we find out if he’s right.

Source

Fame

Jack Bauer may finally hit the big screen. Though Fox has yet to decide whether to pick up a ninth season of 24, an insider confirmed that the film side is in talks with Billy Ray (State of Play) to write a screenplay for the franchise.

Source

Rachel Weisz headed out all bundled up and not wearing the least bit of makeup. She still looks good! You go girl.

Bauer-Griffin

If Motorola’s Superbowl commercial proved anything Sunday night, it’s that there are one too many bloggers out there who are overly familiar with Megan Fox’s body parts – especially her thumbs.

The commercial features the sexy “Transformers” star au natural in a bathtub filled with strategically placed bubbles.

According to the Daily Mail, after the commercial aired, meticulous bloggers noted that Motorola employed a hand double for Fox’s closeups.

“Did anyone else catch this?” wrote a blogger for Celebrity Smack. “I couldn’t help but chuckle when they showed a close-up of the Motorola phone and the hands holding it were definitely not Megan Fox’s.”

After Fox’s promotional movie photos surfaced last summer, revealing a candid look at her abnormally shaped thumbs, the Daily News learned that the 23-year-old actress has a hereditary defect known as brachydactyly.

“Literally, what it means is short finger,” Dr. Steven Bendner, a hand surgeon at Beth Israel Medical Center, told us. “The nail of the thumb in this condition is often very short and wide.

“It is usually hereditary. Although it could also have been caused by frostbite, or it could have been an injury to the growth plate in childhood.”

But don’t expect Fox’s so-called clubbed thumbs to stand in the way of her career anytime soon.

“In Megan Fox’s case, it appears that only the last bone of the thumb is affected and that it does not involve the joint,” says Dr. Richard Kim, director of congenital hand surgery at Hackensack Medical Center. “For her, it looks like it’s just a cosmetic deficit.”

Source

Bauer-Griffin