Xmas Songs: Tori Amos will release her first collection of holiday music, Midwinter Graces, on November 10. It will feature standards alongside original cuts like “Our New Year” and “Pink and Glitter.” Our only disappointment here is that the title of her album does not feature some combination of the words Christmas and heart. [Billboard]
Hoping: Michael Fresco (My Name Is Earl, Better Off Ted) will direct the pilot for Greg Garcia’s new Fox comedy Keep Hope Alive. The plot revolves around a 25-year-old man raising a kid with the help of his “quirky” family after the mother of his child ends up on death row. Michael Fresco is definitely one of the top three favorite television directors we just heard of, so exciting stuff here. [HR]
Yet Another Dude Is Going to Be on Heroes: Andrew Connolly is joining Heroes as the older brother of Samuel Sullivan, the “charismatic but evil Earth-moving ringleader of a traveling carnival who recruits people with special powers for a mysterious purpose.” Presumably it will be revealed that Samuel is so charismatic and evil because Connolly’s character never bought him beer when he was in high school. [HR]
More Screeching, Please: The debut album from Linkin Park front man Chester Bennington’s side project, Dead by Sunrise (the working title was even worse: Snow White Tan), will be out October 13, but Bennington promises the new band won’t take time away from his main gig. In fact, Linkin Park is in the studio right now, working on its fourth album with Rick Rubin. And that’s all we’ve got this morning, as apparently the entire television-and-film industry spent the weekend adjusting their Emmy outfits rather than making notable, recap-worthy business deals. [Billboard]
