New Al Gore book coming this fall

New York — Nobel laureate’s Al Gore’s follow-up to his best-selling “An Inconvenient Truth,” originally planned for last spring, is coming out this fall with a new title.

Publisher Rodale Books announced Tuesday that the former vice president’s book, “Our Choice,” will be released in November, printed on 100 percent recycled paper. The book, which proposes solutions to the global warming crisis documented in “Inconvenient Truth,” was called “The Path to Survival” when first announced two years ago.

“An Inconvenient Truth” was published in 2006 and was a companion book to the Academy Award-winning documentary of the same name.

George Lopez to host late-night talk show

New York — Comic George Lopez will start a new talk show on TBS next fall, saying he wanted to reach a diverse audience that generally isn’t spoken to in late-night television.

The hourlong show, which doesn’t have a title yet, will air Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m.

TBS is moving to establish a new talk show at a time of change in the genre. Jay Leno is moving to prime-time at NBC, Conan O’Brien takes over the “Tonight” show in June and Jimmy Fallon recently started in O’Brien’s “Late Night” time slot.

“I’m a pretty visible Mexican-American guy who has managed to cross over,” said Lopez, who had a six-year run with his own ABC sitcom. “I’m not a singer. I’m not Antonio Banderas. I’m a guy who came up the hard way on the street, and I speak to people who have the same life story.”

Late-night television, and TV entertainment in general, “is a place where everything is geared toward Caucasians,” Lopez said.

Jennifer Hudson slated to sing on ‘Idol’

New York — Jennifer Hudson is returning to “American Idol” — for one night only.

The Grammy- and Oscar-winning actress, singer and “Idol” alumna is scheduled to tape a performance in front of the studio audience today after the live broadcast has ended, says a person close to the show who did not want his or her name used because the person was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Hudson’s appearance will air on an upcoming segment, the person says. It will be the 26-year-old superstar’s first time as a performer on the stage that made her famous since the slayings last year in Chicago of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Hudson will likely sing a song from her self-titled debut CD, which won the Grammy for best R&B album in February. She was a finalist on the third season of “American Idol.”

Zac Efron drops out of ‘Footloose’ remake

New York — Zac Efron has dropped out of his role in a remake of “Footloose.”

Paramount Pictures says the “High School Musical” heartthrob is no longer attached to the upcoming film. The studio did not give a reason in its Tuesday statement, but said it remains committed to director Kenny Ortega and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Efron soared to stardom in the “High School Musical” franchise as music-loving jock Troy. The 21-year-old actor sang and danced in the 2007 movie musical “Hairspray,” and was primed to bust some moves in the update of the 1984 classic “Footloose.”

Efron stars as a middle-aged guy who wakes up as his teenaged self in “17 Again,” slated for release April 17.

Ethan Coen’s ‘Offices’ goes off-Broadway

New York — Filmmaker Ethan Coen is returning to off-Broadway with “Offices,” a new collection of one-act plays at the Atlantic Theater Company.

Coen scored a success last season at the Atlantic with “Almost an Evening,” another trio of one acts. Says the filmmaker, “It was a good experience, so I’m going to try and repeat it.”

“Offices,” which takes place in offices or places of business, will open May 7 with preview performances beginning April 15. The cast will include F. Murray Abraham, John Bedford Lloyd and Mary McCann. The director is Neil Pepe, artistic head of the Atlantic.

With his brother, Joel, Coen has made more than a dozen movies including “No Country for Old Men” and “Fargo,” both Oscar winners.

Phil Spector’s attorney: Actress killed herself

Los Angeles — Phil Spector’s defense attorney told a jury in closing arguments Tuesday that scientific evidence proves actress Lana Clarkson pulled the trigger of the gun that killed her in the music producer’s mansion six years ago.

On a large courtroom screen, attorney Doron Weinberg listed 14 points of forensic evidence, including blood spatter, gunshot residue and DNA, that he said were proof of a self-inflicted wound.

He urged jurors to ignore the prosecution’s efforts to paint Spector as a bad man with a violent history, saying prosecutors told a story while the defense told the facts. The second-degree murder case is expected to go to the jury today.

“Every single fact says this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Weinberg said. “How do you ignore it? How do you say this could have been a homicide?”