Morning Briefing:
The anatomy of a scandal on "Grey's": Katherine Heigl, the actress who plays Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on "Grey's Anatomy," is the first cast member to comment publicly on the on-set scuffle between Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke) and Patrick Dempsey (Dr. Derek Shepherd) that happened a few weeks ago -- in which Washington reportedly tried to choke Dempsey while yelling, "I'm not your little faggot like [name deleted]" (which then may or may not have led to T.R. Knight's (Dr. George O'Malley) coming out a few days later). In an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" airing on Wednesday, Heigl calls the whole thing just "a little burst of testosterone," seemingly contradicting last week's rumors that the show's producers are looking to replace Washington -- who, as TMZ reported over the weekend, has a history of getting physical on the set. (TMZ, Defamer, People)
Madonna speaks: In Madonna's appearance on "Oprah," which will also air on Wednesday, the pop star defends her contentious international adoption, claiming that baby David's biological father, Yohane Banda, told her, "If my son stayed here, I would end up burying him." One audience member tells the Post that "Madonna said all of his tests have come back negative, and her children have really taken to him." In an interview on Tuesday, Banda says he's not going to challenge the adoption: "I don't want my child, who is already gone, to come back. I will be killing his future if I accept that." (N.Y. Post, Time)
A fall wedding for Holmes/Cruise: After a year and a half of engagement, and one child, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have finally set a wedding date. A Cruise rep tells Us Weekly the couple will tie the knot on Nov. 18 in Italy, and the bride and groom will be outfitted by Giorgio Armani, who tells the magazine, "When I am asked by a friend to make a wedding wardrobe, it goes straight to my heart. It really is an honor to play a small role in that milestone moment." (Us Online)
YouTube stars: The New York Times reports on a move by the United Talent Agency -- one of Hollywood's biggest talent shops -- to set up a branch devoted to scouting the Web, particularly Web video sites like YouTube, looking for new talent. The paper writes: "The goal this time around, executives say, is not only to recruit the next generation of television and film writers and directors from the relative obscurity of sites like YouTube and Revver. It is also to help the major Web portals that are hungry for original content to find the creative people they need." (New York Times)
Also:
Britney mystery solved: TMZ found the birth certificate for Spears' latest baby, proving that the boy's name is indeed Jayden James Federline, not Sutton Pierce. (TMZ) ... Work on the next season of "Family Guy" has been held up by negotiations over a new deal with creator Seth MacFarlane. (Variety) ... Two brothers, who spent four years on the run after the older brother broke out of prison his younger, wrongfully accused sibling in the '60s (they were later exonerated), are suing Fox over "Prison Break," saying they sent the network a similar script in 2001 and were ignored. (MSNBC) ... Both CNN and NPR have declined to run advertising for the fake-Bush-assassination documentary "Death of a President." (Deadline Hollywood) ... Barbra Streisand's current tour rider includes a demand for metal detectors at all entrances and a request that a police K-9 team sweep each venue before her show. (The Smoking Gun) ... Kurt Cobain tops this year's morbid list of top-earning dead celebrities, beating out perennial winner Elvis Presley with an income of $50 million. (Forbes)
Money Quote:
"The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck on what she sees as an unlikely coincidence: "Last week 'Law & Order: SVU' had an episode where a 30-year-old woman in New York City is raped twice and then murdered -- and her name is Elizabeth Hassenback. I found this a little disturbing." (People)
Turn On:
Fabio drops by "America's Next Top Model" (the CW, 8 p.m. EDT) on Wednesday night. Plus, it's the "World Series Game 4" (Fox, 8 p.m. EDT), and "Top Chef" (Bravo, 10 p.m. EDT) and "Drawn Together" (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. EDT) both move to new time slots.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): The Dixie Chicks
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): Henri Loyrette, director of the Louvre Museum, and Michael Shapiro, director of Atlanta's High Museum of Art
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jay Thomas, John Legend
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Justin Timberlake, Sarah Silverman (repeat)
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Antonio Banderas, Seth Meyers, the Little Willies (repeat)
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Ron Rifkin, Kevin Nealon, Corinne Bailey Rae
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT): Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Anderson, Ludacris (repeat)
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Lou Dobbs (repeat)
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): George Lucas (repeat)
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