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Lee Daniels, Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey are the main faces out in front of "Lee Daniels' The Butler," but neither the filmmaker nor his high-profile stars have been with the project as long as Danny Strong. An Emmy winner for the HBO movie "Game Change," Strong was hired to write "The Butler" in 2009, a year before Daniels even signed on as director.

Strong -- whom television fans might also know from his onscreen work on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Mad Men" -- based "The Butler" on the life of Eugene Allen, a White House service worker who worked through eight administrations, from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan. (Allen's story was the source of an acclaimed Washington Post article in 2008.) For the film, Allen became Cecil Gaines (Whitaker), a White House butler who encounters history both at work and at home: Gaines' son (David Oyelowo) becomes a vocal member...

A mystery over the remains of the Buddha is logically solved in PBS' "Secrets of the Dead: Bones of the Buddha" Tuesday, July 23 (check local listings).

It remains unclear if those with deep faith need such verification, but the hourlong documentary answers questions that have plagued some for over a century.

Historian Charles Allen unravels the issue while traveling more than 4,000 miles. He begins with a visit to Neil Peppe in suburban England. Peppe, grandson of colonial landowner William Peppe, has cabinets full of jewels reportedly from the tomb of the Buddha.

Peppe's grandfather and workers excavated a hill in northern India in 1898, and unearthed a huge stone coffin with jewels, gold and silver. There's also a jar, inscribed in Sanskrit, stating: "These are the relics of the Buddha -- the Lord."

Still, more questions are raised. Would the man who shunned material goods have had such an ornate burial?...

Idol heads to Hollywood, where finally the attention shifts from the fireworks between judges Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey to the contestants competing to be the next American Idol. All the contestants collected from across the country, from the streets of New York City to the open roads of Oklahoma, are gathered in Hollywood hoping to make it far enough to sing on live television.

This year, Idol is shaking things up by dividing Hollywood Week by gender, and the boys get to go first. The first round is a solo a cappella,...

In the spirit of National Beyoncé Week — brought to you by the National Football League, the United States Congress, the Internet and the House of Dereon — I begin this American Idol recap with the bastardization of a famous lyric from the Artist Occasionally Known as Sasha Fierce:

“To the left, to the left. All the lady Idols in the holding pen to the left.”

Yes, folks, I’m still trying to sort out my feelings about one of the biggest changes to the show’s structure since my early days of recapping Fox’s reality behemoth — back when I identified with #TeamBo over #TeamCarrie.

The stakes were high as American Idol contestants converged on Hollywood to see if they have what it takes to be the next winner, as Ryan promised this judging panel would be one of the toughest we've ever seen.

They'll whittle down and weed out those who don't make the grade and at the end. Who'll be left standing? Let's find out now...

In addition to shaking up the judging panel this year, American Idol producers have also shaken up the competition. Instead of bringing all the contestants to Hollywood at the same time, they've opted to separate this round.

That's right--the first edition of Hollywood week is guys only. No girls allowed. (Except Nicki and Mariah, of course.)

The first round of Hollywood Week is the sudden death a capella round. In addition to impressing the judges, their families are in the balcony watching. The pressure is high as they take the stage.

Endemol, the world’s largest independent production company, today announced that Group President Marco Bassetti has decided to step down from the company. Sir Charles Allen, commenting on behalf of the Board, said: “We’d like to pay tribute to Marco, who joined the Group in 1997 and has made a significant contribution from both a leadership and creative perspective. He has held various roles including Chief Operating Officer, Group President and most recently interim CEO alongside Just Spee and on behalf of the Board we would like to thank him for the role he has played in the company’s success.” Marco Bassetti comments: “With Endemol’s capital restructuring in the final stages of completion now feels like the right time for me to move on. I am leaving behind a great company, run by exceptional talent and in sound creative, operational and financial shape. It has been a great pleasure to work here.

London -- BBC director general Mark Thompson will answer his critics and scope out the BBC's future when he delivers the MacTaggart lecture at this year's MediaGuardian Edinburgh Television Festival Aug. 27.

Thompson, who has spent the past year defending the pubcaster from the threat of financing cuts and from criticism that it has become too big and powerful, will outline the BBC's range and priorities following a root-and-branch internal strategic review that is due to report later this summer.

Whichever political party wins the British general election on May 6, the next government is likely to mean significant change for the BBC, which receives over £3.5 billion ($5.3 billion) in annual funding from viewers.

Amid a culture of public spending cuts, executive pay will likely continue to come under pressure from both parties, while David Cameron's Conservative Party has said it will scrap the BBC's governing body, the BBC Trust, should the Conservatives form the next administration.

London -- Former ITV chief executive Charles Allen is joining British cable group Virgin Media as a nonexecutive director.

Wednesday's announcement, which comes two days after Allen was named non-executive director at Mediaset-owned Endemol, signals a return to the broadcasting sector for the man who stepped down from the British commercial broadcaster at the end of 2006.

Allen, currently non-executive chairman of Global Radio in the U.K., recently led a successful takeover of ailing commercial radio rival Gcap, a move that has led some investors to suggest Allen might have similar ambitions for ITV.

"Charles has showed with Global that investors in media businesses will sell out in the current market at the right price," one senior investment analyst said.

Just months after Allen stepped down from ITV under pressure from investors due to the broadcaster's underperformance, Virgin Media mounted a merger bid for ITV, only to fail when BSkyB's...