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The Insider

Jan 19, 2004  •  Post A Comment

THE WB’S BEEFY BIRTHDAY BASH
Anyone can order up cake and candles to observe a birthday. The WB-hereby re-nicknamed The WBeef-offered meatier fare to employees when it turned 9 years old recently. The netlet had In-N-Out Burger, the popular Southwestern drive-through chain, deliver a cookout trailer to the WBeef Ranch on Hollywood Way in Burbank, Calif. More than 300 WBeefeaters took advantage of the rare opportunity to chow down on free In-N-Out burgers, potato chips and soft drinks. What, no fries with that? Don’t have a cow! Fries and shakes cannot be prepared on the cookout trailer, according to the chain’s Web site.
`HEAT’ IS ON IN VAIL
Any TV-phile worth his or her salt has heard of “Heat Vision and Jack,” the pilot for an action parody created and directed by Ben Stiller. Jack Black played a super-smart astronaut and Owen Wilson his talking motorcycle. Fox did not pick it up for its 1999-2000 season.
The legendary pilot nonetheless won an award from the San Francisco Film Festival, a cult following on the Internet and a screening at the Museum of TV & Radio in Beverly Hills, Calif., during the summer of 2002.
Now it has been accepted for screening in the TV pilots category at the indie-oriented Vail Film Festival April 1 to 4 in the Colorado resort town.
THE McENROE WISH LIST
John McEnroe’s ensemble of talkers for his just-announced CNBC show is still to be cast, but The Insider can hardly wait to see who makes the coed group come spring after hearing who his dream women are. “Saturday Night Live” head writer and “Weekend Update” co-anchor Tina Fey “would be great,” said Mr. McEnroe. “My wife [rocker Patty Smyth] would be great.”
Some wondered whether CNBC is taking cues from Fox Sports’ “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.” “We’ve designed it to be both serious and fun, to be able to jump on news or cover ongoing topics and still have many surprises and create havoc when necessary,” Mr. McEnroe said in the announcement.
But the tennis pro turned tennis analyst turned best-selling author turned talk show host, who never takes back-talk from anyone, said, “I don’t want it to be like that.” In other words: No Jillian Barberie needed. No Jillian Barberie wannabes need apply.