Joel and Ethan Coen are teaming up with Cedar Rapids' writer Phil Johnson on their first TV project. It's called Harve Karbo, it's an hour-long single-camera comedy about a private detective in L.A. who frequently encounters big Hollywood names while on the job, and it's got a script plus penalty commitment from Fox. The Coen Brother's famed dark humor and subtle sensibilities are going to fit in great with American Dad. Grade: A [HR]
Science-fiction author Harlan Ellison is suing for compensatory damages and to block the October 28 release of Andrew Niccol's In Time — in which Justin Timberlake stars as a wanted man in a world where people can pay to extend their lives — claiming the movie's plot is too similar to his 1965 novel Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman. Ellison filed a similar copyright claim against The Terminator in 1984, but won only an acknowledgement credit and an undisclosed sum of money. Better luck this time! Grade: A [Deadline]
Former SNLer Will Forte will join Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Jonah Hill in Fox's Neighborhood Watch, about a group of men who form a bogus community association as an excuse to escape their families, then unwittingly uncover an alien conspiracy to destroy Earth. Here's hoping the aliens are easily distractible. Grade: A [HR]
