[CBS News]   The King of Pop is getting another big-award-show-posthumous send off at this year’s Grammy Awards. Apparently, talks had been occurring between the show’s producers and Jackson before his death on ways to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Thriller. But whether those talks entailed this, we’ll never know.

A giant MJ will appear on stage alongside images of nature performing “Earth Song”… in 3-D. Good idea, because this doesn’t sound terrifying. It is nothing against Michael Jackson – I just have a deep-seeded fear of giants. Add in those killer dance moves and “Thriller” zombies… something tells me I won’t be sleeping well for the month of February.

If you want to get in on the action, you can pick up a pair of “Grammy” glasses at Target stores nationwide between January 24th and day of the show, January 31rst. The 52nd annual Grammys will be broadcast on CBS from the Staples Center that night at 7:00PM CT.

Conan O’Brien is officially a free agent. The red-headed late night host finalized deals with NBC execs this morning for a $40-million settlement that includes $32 million for himself and $12 million in severance pay to his staff.

Per the deal, Conan will be able to return to host a new TV show begining September 1rst, 2010. But in the meantime, everyone and their Mom wants to book Conan as a guest. Many speculate the first stop on the talk-train will be with David Letterman, but it’s anyone’s guess where O’Brien will choose to sit down to chat about this whole NBC business.

At the Winter TV Press Tour, comic Louis C.K. who used to be a writer for Conan at ‘Late Night’ still doesn’t understand why O’Brien left in the first place. See the video below for the best Louis C.K. clip from Conan’s couch.

Win or lose with ratings, Conan is walking away with some hefty bank. All of us here at JACK think he should buy something crazy with it… like The Bears, who are likely to be cancelled in the near future also.

Chicago – FOX Chicago News has learned the Chicago Cubs are talking with several bands about playing concerts this summer at Wrigley Field.

Neighbors and music fans are curious to know just who the Cubs are talking to.

The Cubs are having discussions with Billy Joel and Elton John, who played two concerts together at Wrigley last summer.

FOX Chicago News has also been told the Cubs are talking to acts including: Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Kenny Chesney and Paul McCartney.

So far no deal has been reached with any band. Deals could be finalized within 30 to 60 days.

The team owns Wrigley Field and is also in talks with its Wrigleyville neighbors about its concert plans.

Let JACK know who would you like to see play at Wrigley this summer. In the meantime, check out JACK’s photos from the Elton John and Billy Joel Concert last summer at Wrigley Field.

[CBS News]      Because big screen Avatar just isn’t enough, TV manufacturers are preparing to launch eye-popping, mind-exploding, 3-D action in your own living room.

DirecTV has already announced it will begin 3-D broadcasts in June and ESPN will be using some sort of 3-D broadcasting for the World Cup this summer. What does that mean for you, the viewer?

Well…  if you dropped a couple thousand on a 52″ flat screen, HD TV in the past couple years, joke is on you. As of right now, the technology will require completely new TVs so that big purchase you made for Christmas may have been a waste if you want to live on James Cameron’s “Pandora” when the film hits Blu-Ray.

While 3-D may be cool on the big screen, not sure how crazy I am about wearing special glasses to watch TV. And it may be cool to be completely immersed in James Cameron’s alien landscape, but there are certain shows I definitely wouldn’t want to be “closer” too.

Jersey Shore

Knowing that there is at least the glass of a TV screen separating me from  Mike “The Situation” Serrentino is the only thing that makes me feel safe at night.

Paula Deen’s Home Cooking

When her #1 ingredient is mayonaise, something tells me 3-D Paula Deen will automatically add 8 inches to my waistline from visual osmosis.

Wherever Jay Leno Ends Up

Wherever Leno ends up for late night, my dreams will be haunted by the man’s chin swinging wildly towards my face every time he turns his head.

The Wendy Williams Show

I’ve seen her show enough times (once) to know it is already too intense for me with two dimensions. An additional one will probably cause both my TV and brain to explode.

Any Red Carpet Show with Joan Rivers

The woman looks like a deranged banshee – the farther I can stay from her the better.

[CBS NEWS]     James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar picked up some major awards at the Golden Globes on Sunday for its ground-breaking effects and storyline, but viewer beware. The movie is so good it might just blow your mind. Literally.

A 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure suffered from a stroke while watching the high-flying adventure on the big screen earlier this month. Doctors claim that “over-excitement” while watching the film may have triggered his symptoms. The man was brought to a hospital unconcious and died 11 days later.

This coming after the widespread Internet reports of Avatar-induced depression because they can never experience the true beauty of Pandora in real life. Makes us beg the question if this movie is too good to be true.

Maybe we should all just lock ourselves in our rooms, never leave the house, for fear that James Cameron’s Avatar may ruin our own personal lives as well. Just stay put, people of Earth, and stay tuned to Jack FM. We’ll tell you when it’s safe to come out.

With the entertainment world a-buzz the past few days as to what will happen to the 60-year-old NBC Tonight Show and it’s hosting situation everyone seems to be getting involved. Conan has added some jabs at NBC Network execs and Letterman has commented repeatedly on the subject the past couple nights.

Jimmy Kimmel, not to be left out, came out last night dressed as Leno and kept the act up throughout the show with his guests playing along. He even spoofed Leno’s Headlines bit, pointing out how blatantly un-funny the routine has gotten. His second guest Chevy Chase even came out with a big red Conan wig on.

What do you, the Jack public, think NBC should do about it?

[CNN.com]      The Internet was made for a lot of things. “Where Are They Now” lists of child-hood stars is one of them.

CNN has put together an allstar recap of the lives of Willy Wonka’s 5 Golden Ticket holders from the classic 1971 film. While their real-life jobs as “large animal veternarians” and “tax attorneys” are pretty lame compared to Oompa-Loompas and life-supply of candy, it’s nice to see that Augustus Gloop did not actually drown in a river of chocolate.

Fun Fact – Peter Ostrum, who played the lead role of Charlie,  seemed to be playing the field with both Veruca Salt and Violet Beauregarde, spending alternating days with each lady during filming breaks. Both apparently have admitted to having crushes on young Charlie Bucket. No word if any Oompa-Loompas were involved.

[CBS News]   Regardless of what you think of Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show, no one can honestly say with a straight face that his debacle at 9:00PM before the local news was anything but a train wreck.

NBC has announced the show is being cancelled after news affiliates from across the country blamed the hour-long variety program for increasingly bad ratings for their nightly news programs. The debate is on now as to where Leno will go. Some are pointing at a 30-minute program at the “11:30 spot” where he originally was… which would kick Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show back to a Midnight start-time. There is also chatter of FOX launching a night-time talk show and asking Leno or O’Brien to come over to host it.

What do you, the JACK audience, feel should happen over at NBC? Leno back? Leno out? Give Jimmy Fallon a 3-hour show? Post the comments below.

James Cameron’s latest 3D visual expolosion is on track to make the director responsible for the two highest grossing movies of all time. Domestically, Avatar has grossed $68.5 million but globally it is over the $1 billion mark. The feat has only been accomplished five times in the history of cinema, the first time being with Cameron’s other 1997 ‘biggie’, Titanic.

Some cite that higher ticket prices and inflation may be responsible for the billion dollar earnings, but if you’ve seen Avatar in the theaters you know why the people are attending in droves. And it’s not just for the cool Rayban-esque 3D glasses.

The Highest Grossing Films Ever:

Titanic – $1.8 billion

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – $1.13 billion

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest – $1.06 billion

The Dark Knight – $1 billion

(Getty Images)

John Mellencamp’s musical theater collaboration with Stephen King, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, is putting together a cast in preparation for its debut in September.

Some of the stars who have been cast in the production include Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Neko Case and boxer Joe Frazier, according to Fire Wire.

Mellencamp and King have been working on the musical – which Mellancamp says “centers on the deaths in 1957 of two brothers and a young girl and the legend that grows out of the tragedy” – since 2000.

“What has happened is that the father had two older brothers who hated each other and killed each other in that cabin,” the singer said, according to Consequence of Sound. “There’s a confederacy of ghosts who also live in this house. The older [dead] brothers are there, and they speak to the audience, and they sing to the audience.”

The soundtrack for the musical was produced by T-Bone Burnett and will be available as a three-disc package. One disc will contain only songs, and the other two will include the entire production of the spoken script and songs performed by the cast.

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County is scheduled to premiere at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in September 2010. The soundtrack will be released before the debut.