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Image: Jon Gosselin, Nadya Suleman
AP and Getty Images file
Could Jon Gosselin and Nadya Suleman actually star in a reality show together? One TV producer says yes.
By The Scoop
msnbc.com
updated 10/28/2009 9:05:22 PM ET 2009-10-29T01:05:22

Wrap your brain around this one, if you will. What does one fallen reality show star (Jon Gosselin) plus one aspirational reality star (Nadya Suleman) equal?

If your answer is “a reality show starring the two of them and their 22 collective children,” you might be right. If your answer is simply “disaster” you’re more right, in my book.

A former “Jerry Springer Show” producer, Bobby Goldstein, told In Touch magazine that he had a pilot, “Jon - Kate = Jon + Octomom” in the works and that Gosselin was onboard. According to a press release In Touch obtained, Goldstein’s show would follow Gosselin as “he contemplates what hooking up with Octomom could really be like.”

According to plotlines in the release, Gosselin is “totally creeped out by the idea that if they got married, they’d have 22 kids,” and early on in the series, Suleman will be “talking openly about the two of them getting married … It’s so bad that when they finally meet, Octomom’s brood may start calling Jon Daddy.”

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Even though Goldstein seems certain that Gosselin is going to go along with the reality show, Gosselin’s manager told E! news, “This is the first I’ve even heard of it. This isn’t happening.”

‘This is it’ shows personal side of Jackson
After attending the New York premiere of “This Is It,” I posted my initial reaction to the film to Twitter, but it’s deserving of some more ink. I’m not about to risk a Ben Lyons moment here, but I will say, my initial “good” understated things pretty substantially. It definitely tips the scales to great. But not for the usual reasons — to paraphrase Jimmy Breslin (who probably never imagined his name and Michael Jackson’s would be used in the same paragraph), where most films would zig, this film sort of zags.

Video: ‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’

You see Jackson at his best, perhaps not musically, but because director Kenny Ortega allows us to see Jackson unpolished. Since this is rehearsal footage, Jackson is not emptying his tanks of talent, focus and enthusiasm for each song. But even so, “This Is It” is textured and powerful because you see Jackson as a human, tweaking his show, having a moment with his earpiece, and coaching virtually every person on stage.

Jackson does this because he’s a perfectionist. But it’s because he’s a perfectionist that we otherwise wouldn’t see this unscripted side of him — it’s not what he’d put out there.

And, of course, there’s Jackson’s performance itself. It’s hypnotic to watch the singer’s interaction with lead choreographer Travis Payne and the ridiculously talented backup dancers. When Jackson sings, even at half-throttle, his voice knocks on the door to the room where you first heard the song.

And then there’s his dancing. At 50, the man’s left heel is capable of exuding more musical expression than most younger people’s entire bodies. To call the net result a “performance” seems to shortchange what goes on onstage.

Slideshow: Celebrity Sightings Did I find it difficult to separate what I was watching from the idea that Jackson could have been, just hours earlier, intravenously connected to a propofol drip? Yes.

Does the film erase any of the regrettable decisions he made in his personal life? No.

However, “This Is It” is a tribute worthy of — and necessary for — a pop culture icon such as Jackson. The fact that the film might also serve to recalibrate our memory of the man is a bonus.

Keeping tabs: the latest in meth confessions
First Jodie Sweetin, now Andre Agassi used meth? Really? People magazine has the story this week, and there is no way the tennis star’s confession isn’t going to be newsstand gold, especially with the cover line, “Love, Lies and Crystal Meth.”

But I sense some overselling going on here. People is selling a book excerpt, and the portion of the book that details Agassi’s meth use (no spoiler here, but let’s say it was very, very brief) is already out there. The cover is the most enticing of the celebrity magazines this week, but ultimately could disappoint.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc

© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints

Photos: Jon and Kate Gosselin

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  1. CHICAGO, IL - JULY 22: Kate Gosselin takes part in the 2012 Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon at Grant Park on July 22, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images) (Timothy Hiatt / Getty Images Contributor) Back to slideshow navigation
  2. (Health Communications, Incorpora) Back to slideshow navigation
  3. Back to work

    Reality TV star Kate Gosselin has a new job -- working for a money-saving coupon website. She will be contributing blog posts to offer money-saving advice and shopping tips to CouponCabin.com. Gosselin is seen here on her first day at the new job, Nov. 11, 2011. (CouponCabin.com via Splash) Back to slideshow navigation
  4. Kate Gosselin and her eight children on "Kate Plus 8." (Clark Mccarthy-miller / TLC) Back to slideshow navigation
  5. A fresh start

    Gosselin appears on stage Thursday, April 8, 2010, in New York to introduce her new show "Twist of Kate." TLC said the show will revolve around Gosselin "meeting real families in the middle of their own extraordinary challenges." (Mary Altaffer / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  6. ***EXCLUSIVE*** DANCING WITH THE STARS - "Episode 1002" - In week two of "Dancing with the Stars," all of the couples returned to dance their second routines in a two-hour show, MONDAY, MARCH 29 (8:00-10:02 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (Photo by Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty Images) TONY DOVOLANI, KATE GOSSELIN (Kelsey Mcneal / ABC via Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  7. Showing a new side

    Gosselin, left, and her partner Tony Dovolani perform on "Dancing with the Stars," on Monday, March 29, 2010 in Los Angeles. In order to compete on the ABC show and spend as much time as possible with her kids, she built a dance studio in her basement of the family's Pa. home. (Adam Larkey / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  8. Turning the page

    Gosselin is shown on the cover of her memoir, "I Just Want You to Know," which was released by Zondervan Books. In the book she opens up about her marriage to Jon Gosselin and talks about the pressures of motherhood and the hardships of stardom. On the TODAY show in New York on Tuesday, April 13, she told Meredith Vieira that she wanted to write it to give her kids "advice for the future." (AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  9. Lending a hand

    Jon Gosselin and girlfriend Morgan Christie attend the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 22, 2010. The two are shown visiting Resource's Sky Suite Lounge, where he participated in the Blanket America campaign to give blankets to poverty-stricken Americans. The couple reportedly split in March. (Jerritt Clark / WireImage) Back to slideshow navigation
  10. Time to pay up

    Jon Gosselin walks past reporters after he exited the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on Oct. 13, 2009. In the court proceeding, Gosselin was ordered to repay $180,000 that he took from the joint account he shares with estranged wife Kate Gosselin. Kate and Jon's divorce was finalized in December 2009. (Matt Rourke / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  11. Rough seas?

    Kate Gosselin and her children ride a ferry during an episode of TLC's "Jon & Kate PLus 8." The network shut down filming of the show on Oct. 1, 2009 after receiving a cease-and-desist order from Jon Gosselin. The reality dad told Larry King he had “an epiphany one day” and realized his 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins shouldn’t be filmed at the family’s Pennsylvania home while their parents are going through a divorce. (TLC) Back to slideshow navigation
  12. Milestone moment

    Jon and Kate Gosselin help their sextuplets get ready to board a bus for their first day of school in Reading, Pa., on Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. The 5-year-olds -- Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah and Joel -- are attending junior kindergarten three days a week. (Splash News) Back to slideshow navigation
  13. Kate's dudes

    Kate Gosselin sports a pink cowgirl hat while visiting a dude ranch in 2009 in Wyoming with Collin, Aaden and Joel. The boys rode horses, chased goats and were utterly fascinated by the ranch, musing that the horses looked like cows. (TLC) Back to slideshow navigation
  14. Reduced to tears

    Kate Gosselin dries her eyes during her interview on the TODAY show in New York on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009. Kate said her marriage to Jon would have failed whether it played out in the glare of a reality TV show or not. (Richard Drew / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  15. Public affection

    Jon Gosselin and girlfriend Hailey Glassman are spotted together in Harriman State Park in New York on Monday, July 20, 2009. The two were hugging each other, holding hands and at one point Glassman put a flower behind Jon's ear. Glassman is the daughter of Harry Glassman, the doctor who performed Kate Gosselin's tummy tuck. (Splash News) Back to slideshow navigation
  16. Unwelcome spotlight

    Celebrity magazines featuring Kate Gosselin are seen on a table in Lotus Salon in Wernersville, Pa., on May 28, 2009. The Gosselins have attracted a huge television audience with their TLC program "Jon & Kate Plus 8." As news of marital trouble gained traction, so did the tabloid coverage. (Carolyn Kaster / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  17. Seemingly happy family

    Jon and Kate Gosselin -- with twins Cara and Mady in center -- celebrate the fifth birthday of the sextuplets on May 17, 2009. Jon and Kate reportedly arrived separately. ''Marriages can crumble very easily. I'm not dumb," Kate said. "Ours has 500 times the stress of a normal marriage.'' (Michael Pilla / TLC via AP) Back to slideshow navigation
  18. Her reality

    A TLC camera crew shoots footage of one of the Gosselin children at the family's Reading, Pa., home. Pennsylvania's Labor Department opened an investigation in the summer of 2009 into whether "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is complying with state child labor laws. TLC said it "fully complies" with state laws and regulations. (Splash News) Back to slideshow navigation
  19. Eight is enough

    Kate Gosselin attends a signing for her books "Eight Little Faces" and "Multiple Bles8ings" at Barnes & Noble in Glendale, Calif., on April 14. (David Livingston / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  20. Ready for their closeup

    John and Kate Gosselin attend a Discovery Upfront presentation to promote their show in New York on April 23, 2008. Five seasons of the much-watched program follow the Gosselins through their daily lives and the challenges of raising multiple children. (Thos Robinson / Getty Images) Back to slideshow navigation
  21. Before the storm

    Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids appear on the TODAY show in New York on Oct. 2, 2007. Almost two years later, with her marriage in pieces, Kate told Meredith Vieira, "I am as well as can be expected. I’m determined to hang in there. What life hands me, I’m going to do. My focus still is the health and well-being of my children as well as myself." (Heidi Gutman / NBC NewsWire) Back to slideshow navigation
  22. Aloha

    Jon and Kate Gosselin renewed their wedding vows in Maui, Hawaii, in August 2008. The couple originally married on June 12, 1999. On June 22, 2009, proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to end their 10-year marriage. The episode announcing their separation and divorce drew a record 10.6 million viewers to "Jon & Kate Plus 8." (Mark Arbeit / AP) Back to slideshow navigation
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