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The Morning Fix: ‘Help’ will need none. Teaching Seals to act.

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After the coffee. Before firing the scriptwriter of my dreams.

The Skinny:Hoping Hurricane Irene says goodnight early and doesn’t do significant damage to the East Coast. This Friday’s headlines include the weekend box office projections, a new way to make military movies and another overhaul of CBS’s ‘The Talk.’

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No help necessary. Looks like ‘The Help’ will stay on top of the box office for the second week in a row. There are three new movies opening this weekend including ‘Our Idiot Brother’ starring Paul Rudd, which I’m told is darker than the ads would lead you to believe. A misleading marketing campaign? I’m shocked. Of course, there is also the Hurricane Irene factor, which could keep folks on the East Coast home. Box office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

Join the military, become a movie star.Why cast actors to play Navy Seals when you can just use real Navy Seals? That’s what the folks making ‘Act of Valor’ decided to do. The movie, from the Bandito Brothers production company, is not a documentary. Instead it has a script that the Seals helped write themselves. The movie is one of many films in the works about the military that differ from recent efforts because they try to avoid politics, which sometimes keeps people away from the box office. The Wall Street Journal on Hollywood’s latest effort to recruit folks to military-themed movies.

Was Kate Gosselin not available?The restructuring of CBS’s daytime show ‘The Talk’ continues with Kardashian mamma bear Kris Jenner added to the chat show along with comedian Sheryl Underwood. That’s good because I was getting worried that the Kardashians were not getting enough exposure. They are replacing Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete. Sharon Osbourne is also taking a break from the show but the folks at ‘The Talk’ say she’ll be back. More on the shifts from Deadline Hollywood.

Sharpton sparks. Activist Al Sharpton’s new gig on MSNBC is causing a lot of controversy, but will it get ratings? Sharpton, still known to many as the track suit-wearing rabble-rouser who polarized New York City in the 1980s and early 1990s, has gone through a makeover. Not only is he slimmed down and in suits, he’s almost establishment. Of course, to those of us who lived in New York back in the day, it is a transition that is hard to swallow. The Daily Beast looks at Sharpton’s latest push toward legitimacy.

This job better come with mental health coverage.The search for an executive producer for Charlie Sheen’s new sitcom ‘Anger Management’ is picking up steam. The show, based on the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson film of the same name, still does not have a network home. Odds are it will be on cable, although Turner Broadcasting has already said it’s not interested. For some reason, networks are wary about signing on for a show that stars Sheen. There is some concern that at times he can be a challenge. More on the potential gluttons for punishment from the Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood.

Too puny to pack a punch. Vulture asks the question on all our minds: Are Hollywood’s female action stars including Zoe Saldana and Angelina Jolie too skinny to really kick butt?

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Inside the Los Angeles Times: David Lazarus makes a plea for more choices from his cable operator. Betsy Sharkey on ‘Colombiana.’

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. It makes the weekend last longer. Twitter.com/JBFlint

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