News Briefs

• La Misma Luna broke the record for a Spanish language film opening. The Patricia Riggen film scored $2.8m last weekend with a 10,414 per screen average (which was the highest per screen average for the weekend.)

• Bonnie Hammer currently the head of USA and Sci Fi is taking over all cable production for NBC Universal.

• Amy Madigan will join Grey's Anatomy for the remaining episodes this season which start airing at the end of April.

• The late Wendy Wasserstein's children's book Pamela's First Musical has been turned into a musical and will get its first staging in May as a benefit for Equity Fights AIDS and the Theatre Development Fund's Open Doors program which Wasserstein founded. Musical will star Donna Murphy and will be staged by Graciela Daniele.

• HallMark Channel seems to have woken up to the older female demographic. Upcoming movies include: Dear Prudence starring Jane Seymour an advice columnist and TV personality who becomes involved in a murder mystery while on vacation. (August) Ladies of the House starring Pam Grier, Florence Henderson and Donna Mills as three women who renovate a house as a church project and discover themselves along the way. (November) Thanksgiving Reunion starring Jacqueline Bisset based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott (November 2009) (Cynopsis)
  

• Most cable stations use the summer to debut their new series when boradcast TV is on hiatus. This summer USA will premiere In Plain Sight starring Mary McCormack a U.S. Marshal helping people in the witness protection program relocate while juggling her own erratic family. (June 8, 10pm) The Starter Wife based on lat year's mini-series starring Debra Messing will begin its 10 episode run in October. (Cynopsis)