The erroneous tweet had said “Reports say that Steve Jobs has passed away. Stay tuned for more updates” which made its way all throughout the blogosphere. Lazar quickly deleted the tweet and apologized (“Apologies — reports of Steve Job’s death completely unconfirmed. Live on.”) but with numerous media outlets reporting CBS to be the originator of the message, the harm from the negative publicity had already been done.

The new series will be produced by ‘Gossip Girl’ executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who will exec produce along with former ‘Sex and the City’ writer/co-producer Amy B. Harris, Bushnell and Len Goldstein. Harris will also write the adaptation.

‘The Carrie Diaries’ opens with Carrie starting her senior year in a small town high school in the 1980s and sees her through to launching her writing career in New York. But don’t expect to see Carrie getting into any scrapes with her future BFFs Miranda and Charlotte: A young Samantha Jones will be the only other member of the ‘SATC’ female quartet to feature.

Neither ‘SATC’ star Sarah Jessica Parker, nor series creator Darren Star, is attached to the prequel project so far, and former showrunner Michael Patrick King has already shot down in flames speculation that he might get involved.

“My Carrie Bradshaw started at 33, and I took her to 43,” said King. “For me, the idea of going backwards and making her less evolved … is something that I don’t even imagine doing.”

According to Deadline, NBC has won a bidding war for a scripted comedy pilot, produced by DeGeneres and starring de Rossi, about “two dueling sisters.”

The currently unnamed, multi-camera show will be written by former ‘Samantha Who’ creator Don Todd and marks the return to scripted TV comedy for both talents.

De Rossi starred as Lindsay Bluthe on the beloved ensemble ‘Arrested Development’ and more recently, ABCs’ ‘Better Off Ted.’

The multihyphenate, along with entertainment giant AEG, is in talks to potentially take over MTV Networks net VH1 Soul, according to sources close to the situation. Talks are in an advanced stage, insiders say, but the deal—being brokered by CAA—is not done and could still fall apart. Seacrest’s reps declined to comment.

The news comes nearly a year after The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Seacrest was teaming with the two companies to launch a network, described then as a music, pop culture and lifestyle-oriented channel. It would likely pull additional programming from AEG’s worldwide concert and live venue assets (including the Staples Center, L.A. Live and London’s The 02), and would not be seen as a direct competitor to NBCUniversal cable network E!, where Seacrest has had a long-term deal.

VH1 Soul, a spinoff of MTV Networks’ VH1 channel, is a little-watched digital cable and satellite network aimed at fans of soul and R&B, according to the Viacom website.

The decision to rebrand an already established channel rather than attempt to secure distribution relationships with cable and satellite companies for an entirely new net is a shrewd one in today’s increasingly crowded landscape. (Though if Oprah Winfrey’s recent viewership woes at OWN –formerly Discovery Health– are any indication, the former is hardly a sure thing.)

In an April profile, Seacrest told THR that any network deal made would not result in “a Ryan Seacrest channel,” the way Winfrey’s is branded OWN. “It will not be branded with my name or my face, which many people will be happy about,” he quipped at the time.

Rather, this next step is seen more as a business venture for a man whose budding empire already includes his decade-long hosting gig on Fox’s American Idol, E! News, his On Air with Ryan Seacrest radio program and producing the Keeping Up with the Kardashian franchise. Earlier this year, THR dubbed him “the new king of reality TV.”

If a deal closes, Seacrest would serve as an influential partner, offering his producing skills, his connections to talent and potentially some on-air contributions, though sources say the role is yet to be totally fleshed out.

Tom Stoppard adapted Leo Tolstoy’s novel.

Focus likes Knightley, who stars with Steve Carell in the company’s upcoming “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.”

“Anna Karenina” is an ambitious project to take on, but Wright, who directed the 2007 “Atonement” and the 2005 “Pride & Prejudice” — which starred Knightley — has shown he has the chops to take on big stuff.

Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the band the Decemberists, which has sold more than 1.5 million albums worldwide. “Wildwood,” his first novel, is a fantasy story set in an alternate version of modern-day Portland. It’s about Prue McKeel, who embarks on a series of adventures while attempting to rescue her brother from kidnapping crows.

Laika is run by Travis Knight, the son of Nike founder Phil Knight.

The book “is a marvel, an exquisite, staggering and lyrical work of art,” Knight said in a statement. “It’s an uncannily perfect fit for Laika, commingling the time-honored qualities of classic fantasies and fairy tales with a bold, contemporary sensibility.”

The movie is a redemption tale about Whip, an airline pilot who lands a damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight with 106 people — think Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger with star power. The world considers him a hero, but he struggles with the label, “as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight.”

John Gatins, who wrote “Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story” and “Real Steel” wrote the script.

It’s the first time Washington and Zemeckis have worked together.

In August, Zemeckis landed a two-year first-look production deal at Universal.

“Flight” is his return to live-action. The director of “Forrest Gump,” “Back to the Future” and the innovative “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” has focused on stop-action recently.

He last directed 2009′s “A Christmas Carol” and produced 2011′s “Mars Need Moms.”

Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald will produce under their Parkes/MacDonald banner along with Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke for their ImageMovers.