Continuation of ‘Farrah’s Story’ in the works

Courtney Hazlett The Scoop

Farrah Fawcett’s longtime companion Ryan O’Neal confirmed Monday morning on TODAY that there will be a follow-up documentary to “Farrah’s Story,” which aired May 15.

“We haven’t stopped filming and we’re going to make a second installment of her life eventually,” O’Neal told Meredith Viera on Monday.

This confirms what friends of Fawcett’s said just after “Farrah’s Story” aired. You can watch the entire documentary on msnbc.com   here.

The goal of the next film is not to capitalize on the success of “Farrah’s Story,” which was watched by nearly 9 million viewers, but because there’s been some significant criticism about the handling of Fawcett’s cancer in the program.

“Her type of cancer is largely curable if caught (early), and there’s been criticism that ‘Farrah’s Story’ didn’t get that across,” said a source close to the film. “The documentary wasn’t meant to be medical, in a sense, but it’s fair to address it, since Farrah wanted people to learn from this.”

When a second program would air is uncertain. “There’s certainly plenty of footage, enough for another chapter, said the source. "Right now our priority is obviously spending time with Farrah, but we want her message to get out, too.”

Crowe flies straight to DVD
Russell Crowe’s 2006 psychological thriller “Tenderness,” may end up going straight to DVD.

Video   Scoop: Much more to ‘Farrah’s Story’ May 18: Courtney Hazlett reports on “Farrah's Story” and how there will be a follow-up documentary on the actress and her battle with cancer. MSNBC

The Playlist.com points out that the film, which co-stars Laura Dern and Jon Foster, was screened in summer 2008 and released in Australia to poor reviews, but has yet to offer a U.S. release date.

Reported The Playlist: “We've heard whispers of a DVD release later this summer, possibly August, but isn't it possible this could be a springtime '10 release? Even if the summer date is true, however (and with no official announcement, summertime seems overly optimistic), the film will have sat on the shelf for three years now.”

Crowe’s last film, “State of Play,” only grossed $35.5 million during the 31 days it was in wide release, according to boxofficemojo.com.

What's up, ‘Chuck’?
Buzz that NBC drama “Chuck” is getting a third season is getting stronger.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that the necessary budget cuts necessary to keep the cult favorite around are headed toward compromise, and a source close to the show tells me that he’s hopeful.

“It was never fully dead, and all the people at the top really did get that the fan following wanted it to stay," said the source. "Things are looking better.”

‘Angels & Demons’ has heavenly weekend

Video   Scoop: Hanks busts out at box office May 18: Courtney Hazlett says Tom Hanks had a pretty good weekend with his comedy on "Saturday Night Live" and his box office earnings for "Angels and Demons." MSNBC

As expected, Tom Hanks’ “Angels & Demons” came in first at the box office. But its big success was abroad, and not here in the U.S., where “Star Trek” put up a good fight.

By the numbers: “Angels & Demons” made $48 million domestically, and “Trek” put up a solid $43 million to take second place. It’s the $104 million dollar in foreign box office receipts that make the sequel to “The Da Vinci Code” a huge success.

Just a note: the production budget for “Angels” is reportedly in the ballpark of $150 million, so the film has a few weekends to go before it really starts to spin a profit.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.

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