Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Halloween:

The National Retail Federation's ranking of hot Halloween costumes this year estimates that some 4 million little girls will go trick-or-treating as princesses, the 6th year in a row that most chicklets are aspiring to royalty.
   Spiderman still snagged the most little boys' imaginations.
   New to the kids' list this year are Buzz Lightyear (about 648,000 kids) and Harry Potter characters (459,000.)
   For adults, nurses --which dropped off the list last year-- are back with a vengeance, moving into the fourth spot, behind witches, vampires and pirates.
   NRF's poll finds dogs on the candy trail will most likely be dressed in pumpkin or devil suits. (Kaye)

Sucking the life out of the wire services:

J-K ROWLING may not be done with Harry Potter just yet.
   The author hinted to OPRAH in an interview on Friday that there could be more Harry Potter books down the road. "I could definitely write an eighth, ninth, 10th," she said. "I'm not going to say I won't. I don't think I will... I feel I am done, but you never know."
   She also said that, even if they're not about Harry Potter, she will continue to write books.
   Editor's note: More Harry Potter books? Guess that means, "Yeah, I could definitely stand to make another $100 million." (Maiman)
   FYI: The first part of the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" film will be in theatres Nov 19.

Rejected Harry Potter sequels (internet): 
   --"Harry Potter Gone Wild"
   --"Harry Potter and the Mongolian Foreign Exchange Student Program"
   --"Harry Potter and the Unpoppable Zit"
   --"Harry Potter and the Bed Chamber of Ginny Weasley"
   --"Harry Potter and the Revenge of Montezuma"
   --"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer from NAMBLA"
   --"Harry Potter and the Painful Rectal Itch"
   --"Harriet Potter After the Life-Altering Surgery"
   --"Harry Potter and the Well-Deserved Ass-Kicking"
   --"Harry Potter and the Thousand-Dollar-a-Day Heroin Habit"

Trolling for publicity:

Congratulations to KIRSTIE ALLEY who has dropped fifty pounds. The weight-challenged actress "tweeted" that she's having the "time of my life," but her struggle isn't over yet --she's still got another thirty to go. Kirstie made headlines by slimming down with the help of the Jenny Craig diet plan back in '06 but this time she credits a food line called "Organic Liaison." (Lee)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

NBC has ordered a remake of the classic 1960s TV series, "The Munsters."
   Entertainment Weekly magazine says NBC is working on an updated version of the show, which originally ran for 70 episodes from 1964-66. Some sources say the modern-day reboot might actually include GUILLERMO DEL TORO as one of the producers on the project.
   The original cast included FRED GYWNNE as Herman Munster and YVONNE DE CARLO as his wife, Lily, with AL LEWIS as Grandpa Munster, PAT PRIEST as Marilyn, Lily's niece, and BUTCH PATRICK as the son, Eddie.
   Of the original cast, all of them have passed away except for Butch and the actresses who played Marilyn.

Stars and their movies:

The memorial service for TONY CURTIS will be held this morning at 11 am (Pacific), at the Palm Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas. The 85-year-old actor died Wednesday at his home in Henderson, NV, of cardiac arrest.
   Meanwhile, Turner Classic Movies has already scheduled a 24-hour marathon of 12 movies starring Tony next Sunday (Oct 10).

Grace notes from Vinny Marino:

The music of the BEACH BOYS will be featured in a new movie, but it's not a biopic of the band. Variety says like "Mama Mia" did with ABBA's hits, this film will build a story around Beach Boys' songs. JOHN STAMOS, who sometimes tours with the current incarnation of the group on percussion, is one of the producers on the project. (Marino)