American Idol Exec 'Surprised at Kara DioGuardi Choice
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Jan 5, 2009
"American Idol" executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, who left the show this year to pursue other interests, admits he was surprised when his successors decided to add another judge. (Kara DioGuardi will be added to the three judge line up this season). "It's something that I fought for a number of years simply because once you've been told you suck by one judge, you don't need to hear it from another three," says Lythgoe.
American Idol Exec 'Surprised at Kara DioGuardi Choice
"Also, at this stage when we have this dysfunctional family of Ryan, Randy, Paula and Simon, you introduce someone else into that and it's like bringing a daughter-in-law into the family. You don't know if she's going to get in the way. Hopefully, she'll stand her ground, and she'll have relevant things to say."
Lythgoe, who created "So You Think You Can Dance," admits leaving "Idol" was not an easy decision. "It was very, very tough. I've been doing it for eight years, and they're all really close friends. When they went out on the road to start auditions, I was very down and depressed, but at the same time I was going to South Africa and Australia to do 'So You Think You Can Dance.' I had to remind myself that if I were on the road, I wouldn't be able to do that."
Meanwhile, the TV exec has his plate full with the new NBC show "Superstars of Dance," which pits the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. "It's always difficult to say it's the best thing I've ever done, but it's the best thing for me to be able to do," he says of the show hosted by international dance star Michael Flatley. "It's dance, which I grew up with, it's television, which is my love, and it's creating something from nothing, which any artist likes to do. I just hope now that it's successful."
KEEPING IT REAL: Tyler James Williams, who stars on "Everybody Hates Chris," says he's been enjoying the show's brief hiatus, and he's trying his best to be like all the other 16-year-olds he knows. "I'm able to do the normal things. I just always have people around me," the New York native tells us. "We all go out at one time so that I'm not by myself where something could happen."
THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: Adam Shankman, who is lined up to direct the tale of a man who can read the music of people's hearts -- "Bob the Musical" -- for Disney and a re-imagined version of the story of Sinbad for Sony, says he's not sure at this point which project will go before the cameras first. The "Hairspray" and "Bedtime Stories" director says neither will go 'til fall. "We have four movies we're producing before I start directing again, so I have to be on set for those."
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