Yesterday, we discussed the Angus T. Jones situation. Angus was seen on a “video testimonial” for his evangelical (?) church, publicly bad-mouthing his show, Two and a Half Men. Angus called the show “filth” and declared “I’m on Two and a Half Men, and I don’t want to be on it. Please stop watching it, and filling your head with filth.” I’m pretty laissez faire about everyone’s religious beliefs, and I don’t understand why everyone is like “OMG, the kid is part of a Christian cult!” Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Whatever is going on, it’s his business. My only criticism of Angus is that he’s a terrible hypocrite for cashing his Two and a Half Men checks all while bad-mouthing his show to his church. I mean, obviously, his show is total crap. But if he’s going to whine about it to his church, he should stop taking the “dirty” money.

Well, yesterday there was some back and forth amongst various “sources” and Chuck Lorre, the creator and executive producer of Two and a Half Men, seemed to be giving Angus some space to publicly clarify his comments. I guess Lorre is still licking his wounds from the Charlie Sheen mess (where both Chuck and Charlie came across like total a—holes), so there were no big public attacks on Angus. Angus got the message, and he sort of apologized. It’s one of those “I’m sorry you were offended, I’m sorry if you took my words the wrong way” non-apologies though. Here’s Angus’s full statement:

“I have been the subject of much discussion, speculation and commentary over the past 24 hours.

While I cannot address everything that has been said or right every misstatement or misunderstanding, there is one thing I want to make clear. Without qualification, I am grateful to and have the highest regard and respect for all of the wonderful people on Two and Half Men with whom I have worked and over the past ten years who have become an extension of my family.

Chuck Lorre, Peter Roth and many others at Warner Bros. and CBS are responsible for what has been one of the most significant experiences in my life to date. I thank them for the opportunity they have given and continue to give me and the help and guidance I have and expect to continue to receive from them.

I also want all of the crew and cast on our show to know how much I personally care for them and appreciate their support, guidance and love over the years. I grew up around them and know that the time they spent with me was in many instances more than with their own families. I learned life lessons from so many of them and will never forget how much positive impact they have had on my life.

I apologize if my remarks reflect me showing indifference to and disrespect of my colleagues and a lack of appreciation of the extraordinary opportunity of which I have been blessed. I never intended that.”

[From TMZ]

Can this be over now? I think his apology (-ish) was good enough. I don’t believe that Angus was misquoted or taken out of context in his video testimonial, I think he was saying how he really feels, but I think this “apology” is also how he feels too – that he’s happy to be employed, and he enjoyed his years on Two and a Half Men. I don’t know, maybe I’m giving him too much credit. He’s only 19 years old, and he’s trying to find his way, and it’s getting messy.

Charlie Sheen has had a lot to say about this mess too, claiming that Angus is part of a cult and Charlie blames Chuck Lorre. Sheen said, “Obviously, not having been there for some time, the Angus T. Jones that I knew and still love is not the same guy I saw on YouTube yesterday. I dare anyone to spend ten years in the laugh-track that is Chuck Lorre’s hive of oppression and not suffer some form of an emotional tsunami.” Say what you will about Charlie’s crackheadedness (and you can say a lot), but the man has a way with words. I love “hive of oppression”. That’s an excellent turn of phrase.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

I live in a pretty conservative, evangelical-heavy area. I’m well-versed in many of the super-conservative Christian arguments for or against almost everything. I call those people “Churchies” (it’s actually a Simpsons reference) – and I call them that without derision or contempt. For the most part, they are decent, hard-working people and I’m happy that they are my neighbors and my Christian yogurt providers (no joke!), although I do go out of my way to avoid substantive conversations with the Churchies. Mostly because conversations tend to come around to “So, which church do you go to?” Me: “Um, none. I’m not a church-goer.” Them: “Oh. Okay… um….” Yeah. Anyway, this story just reminded me of my neighbors.

It seems that Angus T. Jones, best known as that child-actor-turned-young-adult-actor on Two and A Half Men, is a Churchie. After experimenting with drugs and alcohol and fast cars in his youth, the 19-year-old has found God. He’s also found is inner judgy bitch, and his foot has found his mouth. In a “video testimonial” (the Churchies love that), Angus tells people to stop watching Two and a Half Men because it’s “filth” that will rot your brain. Sure, I agree with him, but no one is paying me $350,000 an episode, so… why not just quit the (literally) Godforsaken show?

Those are some fighting words, Angus T. Jones! In a shocking new video testimonial for Forerunner Chronicles posted to YouTube, Ashton Kutcher and Jon Cryer’s 19-year-old Two and a Half Men costar — better known as Jake Harper to fans — rips his CBS series and urges viewers not to tune in.

“If you watch Two and a Half Men, please stop watching Two and a Half Men,” the actor said during his religious testimonial, in which he opened up about his upbringing. “I’m on Two and a Half Men, and I don’t want to be on it. Please stop watching it, and filling your head with filth.”

“People say it’s just entertainment. Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you’ll have a decision to make when it comes to television, especially with what you watch on television… it’s bad news,” ranted Jones, who has appeared on the CBS series since its 2003 debut. “Jake from Two and a Half Men means nothing.”

Jones also suggests that Satan is somehow involved with “Two and a Half Men.”

He continues, “If I am doing any harm, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be contributing to the enemy’s plan … You cannot be a true God-fearing person and be on a television show like that. I know I can’t. I’m not OK with what I’m learning, what the bible says and being on that television show.”

Recently romancing Miley Cyrus’ character Missi during her October guest arc, Jones argued that his character was hidden behind a computer until her appearances and not used to his full potential.

“My character does Skype calls. He only does one scene Skype calls and that’s one reason it was awesome having Miley [Cyrus] on the show, because they actually brought my character out of the computer and into the actual set again,” Jones told E! News. “It’s easy but it’s boring.”

[From TMZ and Us Weekly]

I mean… if that’s what he really believes now then God speed and God bless. My problem is that it seems unprofessional, but considering this was a show that began as a vehicle for Charlie Sheen, I think the bar has been set pretty low. It’s actually weird to me that Angus managed to survive intact for years and years while Charlie Sheen was on set, and then as soon as Ashton Kutcher got there, suddenly Angus is super-Christian and he thinks the show is crap? I don’t know. The show IS crap, so how mad can we really be at Angus? I guess I would just appreciate this a little bit more if Angus hadn’t cashed all of those crazy paychecks, you know?

UPDATE: TMZ says that Angus hasn’t informed producers that he wants to leave the show, nor have producers talked about forcing him out. So it looks like – for now – the kid gets to bad-mouth his show AND get paid.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Ashton Kutcher and his Jesus beard posed for a photocall at the CBS Upfronts with his costars. They’re promoting Ashton’s new role on Two in a Half Men, in which he’s stepping in for Charlie Sheen but is playing another character. I have to say he looks really good with Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones. Jones is 17 now and is growing up into such a cute young man. TV Guide has a good explanation of how Kutcher landed this gig, and they quote an analyst who says that while his addition might make the show popular in the short term, it’s uncertain whether Kutcher has staying power. I agree with that entirely, but I could be wrong. What’s more is that a lot of the names floated in the press as up for consideration for Charlie’s job, apart from Hugh Grant, have supposedly been wrong:

It almost didn’t happen. After Sheen self-imploded and was fired from Two and a Half Men in March, the studio, network and Lorre began looking at ways to evolve the show. “From the beginning, Chuck had been keen on formulating a plan and a new character,” says one insider.

But the clock was ticking. Lorre and Co. aimed high. “They were going after movie stars,” a source says. Lorre was following the model of sitcom Spin City, which replaced star Michael J. Fox in 2000 with a film actor — coincidentally, Sheen.

Red herrings started appearing in the press: names such as Bob Saget, John Stamos and Jeremy Piven. “All the names speculated were totally wrong,” the source says. From the very beginning, Kutcher was on Lorre’s short list. The idea had big merits. He was a sitcom vet, having spent eight seasons on Fox’s That ’70s Show. Both he and Lorre got their first big career breaks inside venerable sitcom powerhouse Carsey-Werner, the studio behind That ’70s Show, as well as Roseanne, Cybill and Grace Under Fire (three shows where Lorre cut his teeth).

According to New York magazine’s website, Vulture, it was CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler who first broached the idea with Kutcher’s lawyer, her old friend Robert Offer. But rather than put their eggs in one basket, Lorre, CBS and Warner Bros. TV were pursuing different tracks with three actors, including Hugh Grant. The idea of Grant had its internal fans, and would have dramatically changed the direction of Two and a Half Men. Grant also might have avoided many direct comparisons to Sheen because of his completely different, self-deprecating acting style. But there were also insiders who felt that Kutcher made more sense, given his ease on a multicamera sitcom stage.

Ultimately, Grant passed. “He got cold feet at the last minute,” says one insider close to the talks, and Kutcher became a front-runner.

The actor also comes with serious social-media cred, having garnered nearly 7 million followers on Twitter. And his production company, Katalyst, is already set up at Warner Bros. TV’s Warner Horizon division. Before that, Katalyst was based at CBS TV Studios, so Kutcher has worked closely with both companies for years.

For Kutcher, the high-profile gig makes sense for other reasons: His film career has generated only so-so results. This winter’s No Strings Attached garnered a decent $71 million at the box office, but last summer’s Killers was a flop. Plus, the stakes are relatively low: If Two and a Half Men stays strong, he’s a hero. If not, viewers simply don’t want to watch without Sheen.

Kutcher will also become one of the highest-paid stars in prime time, pulling down between $625,000 and $700,000 an episode (Sheen was earning $1.3 million an episode). “Ashton knows it’s a good gig,” says one insider.

“I think it’s a really good idea,” adds a rival network executive. “He’s a guy that people like. I think people definitely will want to check it out.”

Media analyst Steve Sternberg believes a Kutcher-led Men will get big sampling early on, but he harbors doubt about its long-term health: “I’m not sure Ashton Kutcher is as popular as the media thinks,” he says. “His recent movies have not performed well…[but] it could just be that he’s best-suited for TV.”

In a statement, Kutcher said, “I’m going to work my ass off to entertain the hell out of people.” Lorre, meanwhile, called him “talented, joyful and just plain remarkable.”

[From TV Guide]

I wonder which other actor Lorre was considering for the part. Could it have been Rob Lowe as rumored? He would have also been a great choice. Ashton I’m kind of “meh” on. He does look superficially good here as part of the team, but all I have to do is remember any show or movie I’ve seen him in and I come back to reality. He’s a goofball, but maybe that will play well on television again.

At the upfronts, Ashton was very positive about his new job. He said “It’s awesome to be here. I could not be more excited. I never in my 13 years of show business received more e-mails and phone calls congratulating me for this job. It’s almost like I won the lotto. And I kind of did… I got the best job in show business and I’m excited about that.”

We’ll see how he feels about it in a year or two, but over $16 million a season has got to be nice for a guy who used to make just two to three sh*t movies a year.