Catch him if you can : Leonardo DiCaprio is getting into the electric race-car business. The Oscar-nominated actor announced Monday in Monaco that he's partnering with Venturi Automobiles and will enter a team in the FIA Formula E Championship, which is the first series exclusively for electric cars. The DiCaprio-backed entry is the 10th and final entrant for the open-wheel series set to launch next year. "Venturi Grand Prix has shown tremendous foresight in their decision to create an environmentally friendly racing team, and I am happy to be a part of this effort," DiCaprio said in a statement. The Venturi Grand Prix Formula E Team will also have as its co-founders Bert Hedaya, Francesco Costa and Gildo Pallanca Pastor, founder of Venturi Automobiles. Venturi Automobiles is the current holder of the world land speed record for an electric vehicle — a Buckeye Bullet 2.5 clocked at 307 mph in 2010.
Palin to host outdoors show: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is back with yet another television show, this time an outdoor program for the Sportsman Channel. She will host "Amazing America With Sarah Palin," a weekly program celebrating the "red, wild and blue" lifestyle set to premiere in April. "I'm excited to help shine a light on all the great American sportsmen and -women in the country who live the outdoors lifestyle," Palin said. In addition to writing several books, she rejoined Fox News as a contributor this June after a short-lived breakup in January. At the Sportsman Channel, available in 32 million U.S. homes, Palin will join fellow Second Amendment enthusiast Ted Nugent, who hosts a show called "Wanted Ted or Alive."
The Nanny now evil stepmom: Cinderella's evil stepmom is about to be replaced by "The Nanny." Producers of "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella" said Monday that Fran Drescher will make her Broadway debut Feb. 4 in the show, playing Cinderella's stepmother. Drescher's 10-week run ends April 13. Drescher, an Emmy Award winner for "The Nanny" and whose film credits include "The Cadillac Man" and "This Is Spinal Tap," takes over the role created by Harriet Harris. Drescher has been onstage before, including roles in Nora Ephron's "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," Neil LaBute's "Some Girl(s)" and Ronald Ribman's "Rug Merchants of Chaos" at the Pasadena Playhouse.
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