Half-baked speculation We're hearing lots of rumors about the motivation behind the shift of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from Nov. 21 to July 17. To wit: Warner Bros. was afraid to compete too closely with the vampire love story "Twilight"; the new date is the first anniversary of the opening of the studio's stupendously successful "The Dark Knight"; and our favorite, that Warners was nervous about Daniel Radcliffe getting naked in "Equus" on Broadway when "Prince" opened in theaters. We'll accept this (admittedly greed-based) explanation: That because of "Dark Knight," the studio didn't need to rake in any more money this year, but 2009 looked bleak (and could get bleaker: See Who's Down, below). Meanwhile, "Twilight" (originally scheduled for Dec. 12) and the animated doggy tale "Bolt" (Nov. 26) both leaped into the void left by Harry and will open Nov. 21.
The final reel A match made in comedy heaven, or at least in NBC synergy: Steve Carell and Tina Fey will play a married couple trying to keep the spark alive in "Date Night." ... Fey's "30 Rock" co-star Alec Baldwin is in negotiations to join Meryl Streep in a romantic-triangle comedy. ... Taylor Hackford's next project is a biography of playwright Tennessee Williams. ... Hilary Swank has bought the rights to the bestseller "French Women Don't Get Fat." ... Simon Pegg is out and Mike Myers is in, for Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards." ... Javier Bardem has dropped out of the drug-lord thriller "Killing Pablo." ... Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Anna Faris and Mr. T (!) will provide voices for the children's tale "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
CYNTHIA DICKISON
