Joshua Jackson To "Lay the Favorite"

If you look at Joshua Jackson and still see Pacey Witter from "Dawson's Creek,"you might have a few problems. On top of the fact that you are stuck in the wrong decade, you've totally missed out on some of the most enjoyable TV work in a while. "Fringe" is one of the best shows on TV, and while John Noble and Anna Torv are both great on the show, Jackson is just as good, bringing some emotion and brooding rage to the table.

Jackson has had a very solid career since his "Dawson's Creek" days, but while working on "Fringe" he hasn't been able to do much film work apart from "One Week" and "Shutter," but that’s about to change.

The actor is attached to the adaptation "U.F.O." and according to Variety Jackson is in talks to star in Stephen Frears' "Lay the Favorite" for Pathe and Emmett Furla Films reports Variety.

Based on Beth Raymer’s bestseller "Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling", the story charts her rise from lowly Vegas cocktail waitress to one of the top sports gambling bookmakers. After falling in love, Raymer soon begins to re-evaluate her life and the profession she has chosen. Rebecca Hall and Bruce Willis also star.

Frears is one of Hollywood's most underrated directors, having worked on such great films as "High Fidelity," "The Queen" and "Dirty Pretty Things" and should bring a great eye to this project. He is very versatile and has worked on all types of genres in his career, including comedies, dramas and biopics.

Jackson joins an already strong cast with Willis and Hall, who gave a great performance last year in Ben Affleck's "The Town" and should bring some emotional depth to the project.

D.V. DeVincentis (”High Fidelity,” “Grosse Pointe Blank”) adapted the script and shooting aims to kick off in New Orleans in the coming weeks.

What A Week

What a week it's been. There has almost been too much good stuff to watch on TV this week.

Whether it's the NBA playoffs (congrats on a first career playoff win Mr. Durant), the NHL playoffs (peace Devils!), the NFL Draft (Tebow a Bronco!? Clausen and McCoy still waiting?!), awesome shows like "Lost" and "Fringe", the possibilities were endless.

On top of that "South Park" put on arguably its most controversial episode in a while, which we now find out was partly censored by Comedy Central. Obviously they were looking out out for the safety of their employees, but I still think they totally bitched out.

It was also another strong and fantastic week on "The Daily Show", which had Jon Stewart defending his fellow Comedy Central brethren Matt and Trey on last nights episode. Stewart brought out the choir once again, and trust me, it's worth a watch, especially if you are a fan of "South Park".

Of course there was a ton of stuff out there I forgot to mention, "Community", "Justified" and of course "The Office", which made great use of the Cookie Monster, as well as a perfectly timed reference to "When Harry Met Sally" by Michael while out to lunch with Erin.

So as this Friday comes to a close, there's a lot on people's minds, but I know what Mel Kieper Jr. is thinking: When the hell is Jimmy coming off the board?

If you've been watching any draft coverage you know one thing, Kieper is HIGH on Clausen and very LOW on Tebow. Guess the draft is as big a crapshoot as anything. We'll see where he falls later tonight.

...and finallly, it's the weekend.