Sizemore, Court Make Nice

Mon., Oct. 17, 2005 3:35 PM PDT by Joal Ryan

Tom Sizemore is putting the Whizzinator behind him.

The oft-arrested actor was praised by a Los Angeles judge Monday for showing "remarkable improvement" and rebounding from a string of screw-ups, including, but not exclusive to, the time he tried to fake a drug test with a synthetic-urine-producing prosthetic penis.

In honor of Sizemore's turnaround, the star's probation, revoked back on July 22 for Whizzinator-related reasons, was restored, and a 16-month prison sentence was suspended, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. If Sizemore can stay out of trouble for 36 months, the length of his restored probation, he can stay out of jail. If he can't, he might be starring in a jailhouse drama.

Superior Court Judge Paula Adele Mabrey was optimistic that Sizemore would opt for the less dramatic role.

"I believe that you know what you need to do to stay out of prison, sir," Mabrey said, per City News Service, "and I believe you can do it."

A progress hearing was set for Nov. 4.

Recently sprung from live-in rehab, the 44-year-old Sizemore was present and accounted for at Monday's proceedings.

Also in attendance: Terence Michael, one of the producers behind Sizemore's planned reality TV show.

Cameras were rolling for the hearing, low-key by Sizemore standards--as was expected, Michael noted.

"We're not really doing that typical reality thing where we want him to be in the gutter," Michael said. "We do want him to get better."

Teased in the Hollywood trades about a month ago, the show currently known as Super Sizemore has secured a network, Michael said. He couldn't, however, say which network.

According to Michael, the show will include hand-held video footage shot by Sizemore as far back as 2003, when legal troubles for the Saving Private Ryan good guy mushroomed with a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction involving ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss. (Sizemore is free on bail while he appeals that guilty verdict.)

The Sizemore entry into the reality show canon will be about "progress," as Michael termed it. But it sounded as if the producer was ready for anything.

"Regardless of where he goes...we're going to be there," Michael said. "Either way, it doesn't change the show."