Access Entertainment Week In Review

It was a big week for both the television and film industries, as well as the stage. Broadway’s Tony award nominations were announced, the broadcast networks revealed their schedules for next fall, and the Cannes Film Festival kicked into high gear with all of the glitz, glamour and excitement it’s oh-so-well known for.

New York City was abuzz with TV execs and stars this week, as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and The CW all held their upfront presentations for advertisers. New series were announced for next season, and the fates of returning shows (and those not returning) were revealed. Simply click on each network for a rundown of their new schedules — and for the inside scoop surrounding the star-studded upfront events and parties, Access Hollywood‘s “Dish of Salt” correspondent Laura Saltman will fill you in!

As for Cannes, Access continues to bring you full coverage — from Jude Law & Norah Jones’ kickoff premiere of their movie “My Blueberry Nights,” to Seinfeld’s death-defying “Bee Movie” stunt and the debut of Michael Moore’s “Sicko,” as well as a tour of Cannes hot spots from Access’ Maria Menounos.

Back here in the states, the fate of Paris Hilton and her pending jail sentence remained big news.

On Monday, Paris’ psychiatrist revealed that Hilton was “distraught” and “traumatized” over her sentencing, stating that Paris needs time to recover from the shock of receiving jail time before testifying in a civil case brought against her in 2005 by actress and diamond heiress Zeta Graff. A Superior Court Judge postponed the trial to August (it had been scheduled to begin this month).

The CNS wires reported that Graff responded to the postponement on Friday, with a statement which reportedly read (in part): “If Ms. Hilton was nightclubbing on Saturday night, she should not have been representing to the court on Monday morning that she was unable to participate in the trial.” CNS reportedly received no reply to repeated attempts to contact Hilton’s publicist, Elliot Mintz.

The LA Sheriff’s department announced on Wednesday that Paris would serve at least 23 days based on “the nature of the offense,” “the criminal history – or lack thereof” and a number of other factors. She is likely to spend those days in a “special needs housing unit” at the Century Regional Detention Center in suburban Lynwood, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. The shorter sentence reflects an expectation that she would be well behaved behind bars. On Thursday, court documents were filed abandoning the appeal that had been filed last week by Paris’ legal team.

“American Idol” stunned the nation this week, when Melinda Doolittle (thought by many to be the front-runner) was eliminated. Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis were left standing to duke it out in next week’s finale, based on votes received following Tuesday night’s performance show.

Ian Ziering met the same fate on “Dancing With the Stars” this week, ironically following a strong performance show in which he received his first perfect score of 30 on one of his dances. The “Dancing” results show featured live performances from Enrique Iglesias, who opened up to Access this week about his new album and girlfriend, Anna Kournikova (including those pesky marriage rumors).

In other music news: Michael Buble topped the album chart, Carrie Underwood took home three ACM awards, Hilary Duff came clean about her songs’ lyrics, Kelly Clarkson addressed rumors of strife with her label, and Alexa Ray Joel fought back against a certain celebrity blogger.

Lindsay Lohan was honored this week with the coveted # 1 spot on Maxim magazine’s “Hot 100” list, and she also made headlines when a woman’s charge of clothing theft against her was rejected by the DA’s office due to insufficient evidence.

Rumors of a split between Jessica Simpson and John Mayer surfaced this week, bolstered by the fact that the seemingly inseparable couple were on opposite sides of the Atlantic — she in Cannes and he in New York City.

Ryan Phillippe filed paperwork in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for his 2006 divorce from Reese Witherspoon, and he is also seeking joint custody of the couple’s two children – Ava, 7, and Deacon, 3. Ryan is asking visitation rights be “equally allocated.” He is not requesting any spousal support from Reese, and he is not blocking her from requesting any from him.

It was revealed this week that actress Anne Heche’s estranged husband Coley Laffoon is suing her for sole physical custody of their son Homer, as well as child support, attorneys fees & costs; to modify visitation and spousal support, and payment of private school enrollment. The papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court May 2 also indicate some other interesting requests from Laffoon, including the provision that neither party take the child to “any mental health professional without the prior written consent of the other party.” Click the link for more details, including a statement from Heche.

A report was published this week stating that Farrah Fawcett’s cancer may have returned recently, following her emotional announcement in February that she was finally cancer-free.

Former “Brady Bunch” star Maureen McCormick opened up to Access about her former struggles with drugs, depression and an eating disorder (as well as a real-life family feud), while “The Office” star Jenna Fischer had a struggle of her own when she fell on a marble staircase in New York City and broke four small bones in her back. Luckily, Fischer avoided any serious injury to her spine, and is expected to make a full recovery in time to shoot season four of “The Office” later this summer.