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• Woody Harrelson's done the Natural Born Killers thing. Now he's tackling the supernatural kind in the horror comedy Zombieland. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Harrelson will be the world's last hope, bashing some brains in the blood-and-guts romp for Columbia Pictures.
• Mario Lopez keeps finding gainful employment. He's just been tapped to front MTV's Top Pop Group, an Idol-esque competition to find—wait for it—the top pop group in the U.S., with the winning outfit getting $100,000. The reality contest kicks off Sept. 11.
• Former O.C. denizen Ben McKenzie is heading back to the boob tube, playing a rookie cop in the NBC drama pilot LAPD.
• Former American Idol finalist Ace Young is the word for Grease. The season five finalist makes his Broadway debut Sept. 9, starring as Kenickie in the hit revival.

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This Saved by the Bell alum is giving celebrity journalism the old college try.

Mario Lopez, who has been pulling double duty as a correspondent and cohost of Extra's weekend edition since January 2007, has been tapped to replace weekday anchor Mark McGrath on the syndicated entertainment news magazine show when it kicks off its 15th season starting Sept. 15.

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Move over Shirtless Matthew McConaughey because Shirtless Mario Lopez is taking your old shift as People Magazine's Hottest Bachelor. (Matt is technically not a bachelor anymore, considering that his girlfriend is about to give birth, though gossip reports say Shirtless Matty Mac may still be engaging in some singleton shenanigans.)

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Karina Smirnoff sat down with E!'s Chelsea Handler Monday for an appearance on tonight's Chelsea Lately.

In the interview, which will air in its entirety on tonight's show, Smirnoff spoke for the first time about her split with Mario Lopez and about an E! News report in which Hooters model Meaghan Cooper claims Mario cheated on Smirnoff with her.

What did she have to say? You might be surprised...

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Oscar Mayer

Real men aren't afraid to ride in the Mini Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Newly single Mario Lopez, sporting a "Kiss the Cook" apron, hopped out of a smaller version of the iconic frankfurter-topped vehicle Tuesday before he got to work manning the grill at a fundraiser and all-beef extravaganza in Times Square to help mark Oscar Mayer's 125th anniversary.

Up to his elbows in hot dogs, Lopez helped promote the meat-product purveyor's Grade-A cause, the nationwide food bank network America's Second Harvest, which also received a $100,000 donation from Oscar Mayer before today's event.

Mario Lopez has danced himself all the way into the director's chair.

The 34-year-old actor has been tapped to take on the role of Zach, the demanding choreographer who was once spurned by one of the wannabe chorines baring her soul onstage, in the ongoing Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. 

"Every actor dreams about appearing on a Broadway stage. I have as well, and have been searching for the right time and opportunity," Lopez, who boogeyed back into people's hearts with his fiery run to the finals of Dancing with the Stars last year, said Tuesday. 

"A Chorus Line is a legendary musical, and I am so honored to have been chosen to join the amazing cast and be a part of the Broadway family."  

E! Online Senior Editor Marc Malkin reported back in January that Lopez had the inside track on the role after the former Saved by the Bell star raved to Regis and Kelly about the production after catching a performance in Manhattan. 

A Chorus Line, about a grueling audition that will land eight men and women—"four and four"—a spot in the chorus of a major show, premiered in 1975 and promptly won nine Tony Awards the following year, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and three acting honors, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Lopez's debut performance in the Marvin Hamlisch-composed classic is slated for Apr. 15. Presuming all goes well, he'll be casting the show-within-a-show until Sept. 7, minus a prescheduled hiatus between May 11 and June 3. 

"Mario is an enormously talented actor and dancer, and we are thrilled to have him make his Broadway debut in A Chorus Line," said producer John Breglio. "His talents and charm will transfer beautifully to the Broadway stage." 

Original cochoreographer Bob Avian directs the new incarnation of the show, which returned to Broadway in October 2006.  

He pretty much nailed Dancing with the Stars. Now Mario Lopez is preparing to prove his prowess at bantering with the beauty queens.

The erstwhile Saved by the Bell star and Dancing runner-up has been tapped to host the 2007 Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas, event organizers said Wednesday.

"I'm honored. I think it's going to be great," Lopez told the Associated Press.

Lopez said he had no plans to attempt to croon the pageant theme song, "There She Is, Miss America," which was made famous by longtime host Bert Parks.

"I really don't sing," Lopez told the wire service. "I like to sing, but I don't sing well."

Lopez assumes hosting responsibilities from Desperate Housewives star James Denton, who manned last year's festivities, at which Miss Oklahoma Jennifer Berry was crowned the nation's reigning queen.

Last year's 85th annual pageant marked the first time the competition was held outside of Atlantic City, N.J. The show drew 3.1 million in its initial airing on CMT—a record high for the cable network but a record low for the pageant (CMT says more than 20 million caught the ceremony in rebroadcasts).

This year's event will again take place at the Aladdin Resort & Casino and will be broadcast live on CMT on Jan. 29.

“Mario Lopez is a fantastic choice to host the 2007 Miss America Pageant. With his soaring popularity, his former hosting experience and his undeniable charm, he will certainly excel as this year’s host," CMT spokeswoman Sarah Brock said in a statement.

Lopez has hosted other pageants in the past, including the Miss Teen USA Pageant in 2003. He also served as host of Animal Planet's Pet Star from 2002 to 2005.

In addition to his beauty pageant responsibilities, Lopez recently inked a talent holding deal with the CW, meaning that the network will either develop a starring vehicle for him or cast him in a pilot for the 2007-08 season, Variety reported last month.

Mario Lopez's prime-time career may have been saved by the ballroom. 

The Dancing with the Stars finalist has inked a talent holding deal with the CW, meaning the network will either develop a starring vehicle for him or cast him in a pilot for the 2007-08 season, Variety reported Tuesday. 

While Lopez hasn't exactly been whiling away the years since he called Zack Morris "preppy" for the last time, it was the 33-year-old actor's recent turn on Dancing with the Stars that returned him to household name status. 

After the Saturday morning version of Saved by the Bell ended in 1994, A.C. Slater lived on in prime time until 1996 on Saved by the Bell: The New Class, after which Lopez moved on to TV guest spots galore and a handful of roles in straight-to-video films (Depraved, anyone?). He also played a cop on the fourth and final season of Pacific Blue on the USA network. 

Finally, that killer dimple helped Lopez secure a hosting gig on NBC's America's Most Talented Kid, the network's temporary answer to all the other competition shows out there, in 2003. He later showed up on Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia and UPN's The Bad Girl's Guide and Eve. 

Earlier this year, before his rogue tango irritated the judges but endeared him to audiences, Lopez had a five-episode arc on The Bold and the Beautiful and played a doctor whose good looks made Julian McMahon jealous on Nip/Tuck. 

And Lopez is just the latest star to parlay his Dancing success into a job opportunity, which hopefully won't fizzle the way the buzz surrounding Kelly Monaco joining Desperate Housewives did (the actress is still on General Hospital). 

While the New York Post reported last week that the latest production of The Producers is eyeing Lopez as a possible addition to the cast (which will be fronted by Tony Danza starting Dec. 19), the producers of Chicago are also interested—in Lopez and a handful of other Dancing alums.  

Lopez and the slightly ballroom-challenged Harry Hamlin are possible contenders for the role of razzle-dazzle lawyer Billy Flynn, according to the Post, and theater producers are also looking at Joey Lawrence, Lisa Rinna and Drew Lachey.  

Meanwhile, season one finalist—and winner in a rematch—John O'Hurley, who left his Seinfeld days behind him on the dance floor and is now hosting Family Feud, has already stepped into Billy Flynn's shoes on Broadway and is expected to reprise the role next year.