[Photo: Newscom]

In season 5 of House, Kal Penn’s character died, so we know he won’t be back on House (unless there are more hallucinations of him in store.) When he talked to us the day after Kutner’s death, he said ther would be no more Kumar movies to come because he’ll be working at the White House and won’t have time to film any more movies. So I have serious doubts about the reality of the Harold & Kumar movie still listed as in production at IMDb. But here are the movies with Kal Penn and one TV Pilot that are due out soon. He has already completed his work on them, so it shouldn’t interfere with his work.

The movie Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain might be a major film since Kal will star along with Mischa Barton & Martin Sheen. Here’s a synopsis:

Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain: Interwoven stories of people in India and US as they face dilemmas of life time in the months leading to the biggest Industrial disaster in human history that claimed 10,000 innocent lives within a few hours. Inspired by real events.

Under New Management looks like it’s a comedy from the plot summary:

Under New Management: Two co-workers send their boss on a sex cruise and then turn office into party central, causing profits to soar in the process.

I’ll keep you informed if I hear any more about any of these.

By now, every House fan probably knows that Kal Penn, who played Kutner on on the show, left the show to go to work for the Obama administration. He’s working in an outreach capacity and my guess is that it makes some use of his celebrity to provide PR.

Here’s an example of what I imagine must be part of the job. He and several other actors recently took a tour of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier during a USO handshake tour. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is underway for a regularly scheduled deployment in support of the ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support Operation Enduring Freedom, maritime security operations and operate in international waters across the globe.

In the first photo, Kal answered the phone on deck. In the second photo, Christian Slater, Kal Penn, Zac Levi, and Joel Moore all sat down to sign autographs for the sailors on board. I’m sure that brought a smile to a lot of the sailors and I’m happy for Kal that he gets to be a part of such a cool project.

[Photo: Newscom]

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It’s a very long-standing tradition at the White House to hold an Easter Day Egg Roll on the South Lawn. This year was no exception. But the big difference for House fans this year was that our dear Dr. Kutner, aka Kal Penn was there to help out.

Here are a few photos that were taken of him at the event. He seems to be fitting right in with the new job, doesn’t he?

[Photo: newscom.com]

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[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

At this point in the interview, Katie Jacobs & David Shore, the executive producers for House joined the conference call. There’s much more info to come…keep reading! It gets more and more interesting. What a great opportunity for Kal Penn!!

Q: Kal, is there any chance that they’ll be having you do commercials or public service spots on behalf of the Administration?

K. Penn: I don’t know. That’s not something that we discussed. I would imagine that my role is not going to be any different than the other talented staffers who are already on that team. So, I would imagine not, but I don’t know for sure.

Q: Okay, and now for the producers, I assume this is going to resonate through the rest of the season, or how long will it resonate?

D. Shore: It’ll resonate at least through the end of this season. The impact on “House” and the rest of the doctors and the people that work there… is what we’re looking forward to exploring.

Q: Are you proud you were able to keep a secret in Hollywood as well as you did?
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[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Whew! Finally! Here’s the complete conference call interview with Kal Penn, Katie Jacobs and David Shore. It’s so much more than you got in all the other sites’ interview posts. The entire thing is 62 typewritten pages long! No kidding! I gave you some of the highlights already, but I know you want all the scoop, just like me!

So take a second to refill your beverage of choice and start reading the interview. It’s definitely worth it for House fans!!

Q: Now, I know that you had requested to leave the show to go work for the White House, which is awesome. I just wonder; were you taken aback at all when they said that they were going to kill you off I mean because it does rob you of the opportunity to ever return to the show. Were you taken aback at all?

K. Penn: I think everyone is always taken aback with every episode on that show to be perfectly honest. I know in this case they’re unique circumstances because the character is actually being eliminated. But I feel like House is one of those shows, at least from the actor’s perspective, when we get each script every week, we really don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s on a page-to-page basis partially because obviously the writers are so brilliant in creating and crafting these characters, but also the character of House, it’s virtually impossible to get into his head.

So, we’re sort of used to going page-to-page and going, “Wow. Is this actually going to happen?” and that goes for any episode. Obviously, yes, you’re connected to the character. I love playing “Kutner” and so, there’s a little bit of shock and loss- more than a little bit of shock and loss when I found that out also, but I think that’s sort of, plot-wise, what they were going for as well. So, yes, I was probably as shocked as the audience was when I first found out.

Q: Was there any discussion of you appearing in that final episode in any capacity?

K. Penn: I was there when Olivia and Omar shot that scene, where they discover “Kutner”.

Q: So, those were your legs?

K. Penn: They were.
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I just got off the phone from a conference call interview with Kal Penn who played Dr. Laurence Kutner and Executive Producers for House, Katie Jacobs and David Shore. They talked for over an hour and answered so many questions about Kutner’s suicide and Kal Penn’s new opportunity. I will have the entire interview for you as quickly as possible, but I wanted to give you a few of the highlights right away because I know you want answers.

First of all, it’s a sad occasion because a beloved character on our favorite show, House, has committed suicide and will no longer be a part of the show.

But secondly, and even more importantly, it was the way the producers chose to have Kal Penn’s character leave after he gave them the wonderful news that he will be taking a position working for the Obama administration in Washington D.C.

Kal Is very excited to let us all know that he found out in December that he will be joining the Office of the Public Liaison for the White House. He had worked diligently during the Obama campaign and had approached Barack Obama about his desire to be a part of the new administration. He was apparently chosen because of his qualifications, and not because of his celebrity.

Kal is very excited and eager to start his new position in Washington as soon as possible. He’ll be moving to Washington and will have to deal with the same horrible real estate market we all deal with when deciding what to do with his house in Los Angeles, but he feels it is more than worth it.

I want to say first and foremost to him:

And now on with the House-related information I know you are looking for. David Shore was adamant about the fact that the decision to have a character leave would not have happened if Kal had not announced he was leaving to take the new opportunity. There were no budget constraints involved, and we would not have lost a character otherwise.

Katie Jacobs & David Shore told us that now that the tragedy has unfolded, we will see each of the characters on the show react in their own different way, much like the way people react to such an event in real life.

Katie explained that the web site memoriam for Kutner was done so people could have a place to share their thoughts and to know that the event was not planned lightly.

She also wants people to know that suicide is a medical illness and needs to be treated as one. The information about the National Alliance for Mental Illness and the suicide prevention hotline were given in hopes of perhaps preventing anyone in the audience from contemplating suicide themselves.

Now that this has happened, Katie said numerous times that “Kutner is irreplaceable.” They will not be bringing in a new team member to replace him. We will also be seeing Cameron & Chase move more to the forefront on the show. That’s good news for Cameron & Chase fans.

Kal said that he knew of the plans to have Kutner commit a totally unexpected suicide only since the work on the 17th episode this season and had to keep it to himself since then.

David & Katie said that they considered many possible ways that Kutner could leave the show, but that this was the way that would have the most impact on House. He’s the man with all the answers and he does not have any answers about this.

By the way, David Shore was very clear that there was no foreshadowing on the show. There were no hidden clues and anyone who tries to read them into the previous episodes will only be doing what House has done, try to get answers that aren’t there.

Again, I will finish the full episode recap for you as quickly as I can today, and will have the interview posted in its entirety for you as soon as I can.

I have to admit that I feel much less bitter this morning after finding all of this out. I actually didn’t sleep well last night because of the episode.

Stay tuned. There’s still much more information unfolding today and I’ll do my best to get it for you. WOW! What a surprise this all is!!

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

I am stunned and sad to report to you that in tonight’s episode of House, Dr. Kutner committed suicide. I was shocked because I thought it was going to be Taub. I was stunned because I thought there might actually be a moment or two to prepare us for it, but there wasn’t. And I’m extremely sad because I really liked Kutner and I like Kal Penn as an actor. What an upsetting development!!

I will have a full episode recap for you in the morning, along with a full post about Kutner and his character leaving the show. But I had to put something out right away, just so I could let you know….

How sad. How very, very sad…

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

I just read this an nearly had a heart attack! According to the spoiler gurus, there will be a death of one of the lead characters on House before the season ends! I am so bewildered about who it can be and upset at the possibilities! First, Here are the spoilers from the various sources.

Kristin at E! Online gives us this:

A main character will die this season.

This is the news I’m now hearing from reliable sources on House, that one of the cast members will be written out before the current season ends.

And trust me, it will shock the pants off of you. (Assuming you are wearing pants.)

So who will it be?

Obviously, we can’t come right out and report who will die because that would spoil a major plotpoint that will serve as the climax of the season. And honestly, it is far too good to spoil!

However, I can tell you:

1. It’s not the most likely candidate–not by a longshot.
2. It’s not someone who has been rumored to be leaving.
3. It is someone who will shock you.
4. How it happens will take you completely by surprise.
5. There is no lead up to this death, it just…happens.

As House boss Katie Jacobs told us recently: “I think our cast will look pretty much the same next season.” The emphasis there is on pretty much, and it’s my understanding that it will be just one cast member to leave. Everyone else will be back in the fall. [Source: E! Online]

And not to be outdone, Michael Ausiello at EW gives us this:
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Here’s a fun little FOX promotional clip with bits from most of the FOX network shows in it. There’s a cute shot of Hugh Laurie, one of Omar Epps, one with Olivia Wilde and one with Peter Jacobson & Kal Penn. It’s a fun little clip and it’s amazing to me how much they can pack into 30 seconds…

On the other hand, Kristin at EW gives us some info about Wilson’s brother that is a bit intriguing. It seems the specualtion about who will play the brother was all wrong. And thank goodness we’ll get to see more of Kal Penn and his character Kutner. I’ve been waiting and waiting for more depth on that character. I like Penn and look forward to seeing him featured more prominently. And I guess the issue with having a child (or not) will become problematic for Taub and his wife. Good stuff!

Spoiler:
Maya in Milford, Del.: Any truth to the rumor that Ethan Hawke or Campbell Scott are being cast as Wilson’s homeless brother on House?

None whatsoever. I caught up with House executive producers Katie Jacobs and David Shore, and they firmly debunked both those casting rumors. Katie says, “Wilson does have this brother, and David has just written a beautiful episode where that comes into play again.” Any thoughts on who the brother should be? I vote for Kyle Bornheimer. Worst Week’s season finale is coming up, and there’s a resemblance, right?

Lily in Tennessee: Please, more House scoopage! About anyone but Foreteen!

How about the other two new kids then? Kal Penn (who just got back from Obama’s inauguration) tells me, “[Kutner] does have an arc this season—you’ll see him more at home, with the giant bowl of cereal, for example, and we’ll see how the thing with his parents affects him,” and Peter Jacobsen tells me, “There’s trouble in paradise with Taub’s marriage. Nothing too drastic at the moment, but there’s difficulties looming.” [Source: EW]