I've been fiddling with YouTubeXL today, and so far, it doesn't seem like there's enough TV-related content to abandon Hulu.

However, it is a well-timed upgrade for clip-sharing site, given the deluge of highlights that are coming out of these highest rated NBA playoffs. The XL Spotlight currently features the ESPN Top 10 plays from both Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant, as well as the Top 10 plays from last year's finals, and it's a lot more fun viewing these in higher definition, jumbo-screen versions than grainy mini-clips.  Same goes for those hilarious 1950s etiquitte films (see above).  They're a lot funnier in supersized form.

Photo, Bettman-Corbis.

If there's one thing I love about going on a Maine vacation with my family, it's heading to the movies.  The local theater's admission cards are ripped from a wheel of repurposed raffle tickets; the previews are slideshows of local homes and wildlife, and the movies are invariably a week (or three) behind urban America's release dates.

But what's endearing in the slowest summer dog days is pretty infuriating during the rest of the year.  When Pixar's 3-D extravaganza Up hit U.S. theaters last weekend, the Associated Press reported that "[i]n Maine, you can count on one hand the number of theaters that showed [the film] in 3-D."  And it's not unique to northern New England, though the deficiency is particularly glaring there (RealD and Dolby Digital told the AP they've equipped only 6 theaters for 3-D capability in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine combined). Many privately owned movie theaters in remote areas across the country are struggling to keep apace with Hollywood's hot new 3-D trend, as it costs about $100,000 to upgrade to the technical standard.  And if cinema owners can't accomodate the upgrade, theatergoers (like those interviewed in the AP's story) will travel to places that do.

Fox News and MTV are reporting that a California charity worker who organizes weekly bingo for the elderly is suing Borat and Brüno star Sacha Baron Cohen, alleging that he beat her up, "crippled" her and caused the demise of her marriage in a bingo melee.

Richelle Olson was organizing a bingo game for the elderly, one she says Cohen (in character as gay Austrian TV personality Brüno) offered to guest-call as a European celebrity.  When he showed up in his notoriously revealing costume and used offensive language, a violent struggle ensued over the bingo microphone.  Olson alleges that "defendants attacked [her] for a period of one to five minutes to intentionally create a dramatic emotional response ... while [they] recorded her humiliation and embarrassment."

She describes a subsequent emotional breakdown in the court documents; during her panic, she hit her head on a concrete slab and has since been confined to a wheelchair and walker due to "brain bleeding." 

And this is just the beginning, folks. Brüno hits theaters July 11.

• "Hamlet" to Become Modern Suspense Thriller. A contemporary, American-set version of Hamlet is in negotiations, and set to fill the title role with actor Emile Hirsch, who helped conceive the idea.  The project already has good cred: it'll be produced by Milk's producers; written by Philadelphia's scripter; and directed by Twilight and thirteen director Catherine Hardwicke. [The Hollywood Reporter]

• Is "People" in Cahoots With TLC? We know that the Gosselins are captivating in their own way, but two confessional covers in a month?  While Kate gave a tell-all to People for a mid- to late May issue, husband Jon is on the cover this week for an exclusive sitdown (under the headline, "Enough is Enough!")  With the smash-hit ratings for the show on its season premiere, we're starting to feel how we did when Bruno landed in Eminem's lap: it's a stunt! [People]

• "Alien" Lives On -- Reboot Confirmed. Ridley Scott will produce a prequel of his Alien franchise and will tap up-and-coming, futuristic director Carl Rinsch to helm the project.  We stopped watching after A3, stopped loving these movies after Aliens, and have thus far avoided the Predator crossover prequels, so maybe we don't get it. But we're still wondering -- do we need more? [Cinematical]