UPN has officially announced the identities of our thirteen finalists that will be competing on the new reality series (premiering Wednesday, January 5 at 8PM ET/PT), so we can too!

Please meet our finanlists, selected from thousands of auditions across America, a diverse group of singers and rappers, ranging in age from 19-29:

• Akil, a 23-year-old teacher from Jersey City, New Jersey
• Cori, a 21-year-old recent college graduate from Orlando, Florida
• Deltrice, a 23-year-old clothing designer from San Francisco, California
• Eddie, a 25-year-old construction worker from New Orleans, Louisiana
• Frank B., a 21-year-old construction worker from Brooklyn, New York
• Heather, a 22-year-old student from Boston, Massachusetts
• Jessica, a 23-year-old writer from Chicago, Illinois

• Marcus, a 24-year-old security guard from Houston, Texas
• Matthew, a 25-year-old theme park entertainer from Orlando, Florida
• Melissa, a 19-year-old student from Plymouth, Minnesota
• Nic, a 29-year-old disc jockey from Aliso Viejo, California
• Nilyne, a 23-year-old make-up artist and student from Plainfield, New Jersey
• Yelawolf, a 24-year-old mural painting contract artist from Rainbow City, Alabama

The Road To Stardom With Missy Elliott is executive produced by Arnold Shapiro (Big Brother), Allison Grodner (Big Brother), Mona Scott, Jay Blumenfield and Anthony Marsh. Missy Elliott is co-executive producer. Mona Scott and Jessica Horowitz are creators. The Road To Stardom With Missy Elliott is a production of Shapiro/Grodner Productions in association with Monami, Inc.

Tue., Mar. 2, 2004, 10:00pm PT

Rap gets a UPN reality check

Elliott seeks all-around performer in skein

By JOSEF ADALIAN

A Missy Elliott-led search for a rap superstar is under construction at UPN. Skein will allow aspiring hip-hop entertainers the chance to compete for stardom while traveling on the road with Elliott during a portion of her upcoming U.S. tour. Shapiro/Grodner Prods. (”Big Brother”) is on board to produce the untitled project in association with Monami/Violator Prods.

“It’s ‘Survivor’ meets ‘American Idol’ meets a little bit of ‘Top Model’ meets ‘The Apprentice,’ ” exec producer Allison Grodner said of the untitled project, which begins casting Sunday in Los Angeles.

Arnold Shapiro, Grodner, Mona Scott, Jay Blumenfield and Anthony Marsh are exec producing the skein. Elliott will get a co-exec producer credit.

“The show’s about finding an all-around entertainer who can sing, dance, rap and give attitude,” Grodner said, crediting Scott and Jessica Horowitz with creating the concept for the show.

Scott, who’s also Elliott’s manager, said part of the show will explore “what superstars go through to get where they are.”

“We’re going to have contestants live that life and make sure they have what it takes to withstand the lifestyle,” she added. “It’s a lot of talent search, with competitive elements thrown in for good measure.”

Contestants will follow Elliott’s tour bus as it makes its way from Carnegie Hall to Los Angeles.

“They’ll be in a much less glamorous bus,” Grodner said. “They’ll have to figure out how to crew a concert, how to get into a VIP lounge, how to do all the things associated (with stardom),” Grodner said.

UPN has already found success partnering with celebs, both on the scripted and unscripted front. Most recent example has been “America’s Next Top Model,” from exec producers Tyra Banks and Ken Mok.

Untitled Elliott project will likely be in production for three weeks in May, with a debut date yet to be determined.

Shapiro and Grodner are working on the UPN skein at the same time they ready “Blow Out” (with Ben Silverman) for a summer bow on Bravo and “Big Brother 5,” which returns to CBS in June or July.

Duo have worked with Blumenfield and Marsh (a k a The Jay and Tony Show) before, most recently on Showtime’s “Family Business.”

Elliott is a five-time Grammy winner, most recently winning for the 2004 statuette for best female rap solo perf. She’s about to hit the road with Beyonce and Alicia Keys, though that tour will not be part of the UPN project.

Keep a look out — we’re in production on the show which will air at the start of next year on UPN.

Bertrand Brinley’s beloved series of adventures is being developed and produced in partnership with Sheridan Brinley.

“May there always be ‘Mad Scientists’ among us!”
Homer Hickam - Author, October Sky.

Take seven, lively, “normal” boys — one an inventive genius — give them a clubhouse for cooking up ideas, an electronics lab above the town hardware store, and a good supply of Army surplus equipment, and you, dear reader, have a boyhood dream come true and a situation that bears watching.

In the hands of an author whose own work involved technological pioneering, the proceedings are well worth undivided attention, as the boys explore every conceivable possibility for high and happy adventure in the neighborhood of Mammoth Falls. To the unutterable confusion of the local dignitaries — and the unalloyed delight of Bertrand Brinley’s fans — the young heroes not only outwit their insidious rival, Harmon Muldoon, but emerge as town heroes. Here, captured under one cover, are the fun-filled escapades of the young scientists whose exciting capers debuted in Boys’ Life 40 years ago.

You can check out The Official Website of the Mad Scientists’ Club!

The bestselling novel by Jeanne Ray set for a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie.

A charming, funny, and sexy story of second chances at love — Julie (Roseman) and Romeo (Cacciamani), both florists, have heard awful stories about the other’s family all their lives, although no one really knows how it all started. Romeo is a widower, running the store with his children, and Julie is divorced, running her store with the help of her daughter, Sandy, while Sandy (also divorced) and her children live with Julie.

Animosity is so great between the families that, years ago, both Julie and Romeo had a hand in breaking up the romance of their respective teenaged children. When both families find that Romeo and Julie have met and want to date, everyone (adult children, an ancient matriarch, even Julie’s ex) takes extreme (and hilarious) actions to break up this romance, while the couple wonder at the grace of finding one another.