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· Onetime NBC Messiah Aaron Sorkin has signed on for a three-picture deal with DreamWorks. First up is a script for The Trial of the Chicago 7, a period political piece about the clash between protestors and police at the 1968 Democratic convention that Sorkin was able to adapt from an unaired Studio 60 sketch in which Lobster Boy and new character Pigasus the Immortal argue over who might be the better Yippee candidate for president. [Variety]
· Katherine McPhee is, by far, the hottest American Idol runner-up in Hollywood right now, landing a role in the still-untitled Anna Faris comedy about the Playboy bunny who teaches some lame sorority girls how to unleash their inner tart. In an empowering way! [THR]

· Yet another relatively meaningless box office record falls: the new Harry Potter movie takes in $12 million from its midnight screening debuts, proving that American parents are a little too indulgent of their children's wizard fixations. [Variety]
· "Pumped up on DreamWorks steroids" (to borrow THR's phrase), Paramount passed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office for the year on July 9th, faster than any studio in history.* (*If you don't account for ticket price inflation over the past five years.) [THR]
· As it turns out, the forgiving summer TV schedule might be able to simultaneously support two unwatchable karaoke game shows, as Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics pulls respectable Nielsen numbers a night after the debut of NBC's Singing Bee. [Variety]