Monday Briefs: “The Situation” a $5 million man; Fantasia overdose no accident; Callahan wraps flick

A LUCRATIVE SITUATION: No one knew who the heck Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was a year ago. But thanks to the phenomenal success of MTV’s Jersey Shore and his set of killer abs, the 27-year-old is a multi-millionaire.

When I chatted with Mike a few weeks ago at the TV Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour, I could tell that this was a savvy young man who was not going to let opportunity pass him by.

According t0 The Hollywood Reporter, he is predicted to earn up to $5 million by the year’s end.  Mike earning close to $60,000 an episode when bonus incentives are factored in, and he receives between $15,000-$50,000 for event appearances.

In addition to the Jersey Shore and his event fees, “The Situation” is also using his trademark abs to his advantage by creating an abs-focused fitness video called The Situation Workout, and has a chewable supplement line at GNC. He will be releasing his autobiography Here’s the Situation, is signing on to endorse a new vodka, and has a GTL application (Gym, Tan, Laundry) as well as a rap song available on iTunes.

There are also endorsements with Vitamin Water, Reebok and a deal for a clothing line.

HARD TIMES: American Idol winner and Broadway star Fantasia Barrino says she intended to take her own life when she overdosed on aspirin and sleeping pills two weeks ago, according to a TV interview released on today.

“I didn’t have any fight in me. I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted out,” she told VH1 in a Behind the Music interview to be aired on Tuesday.

Fantasia took an overdose after being named in divorce papers filed by the wife of her long-time boyfriend and was says she was overwhelmed by all of the media attention.

“I just sat in the closet and looked at the mirror and took all the pills in the bottle,” she said. “I wanted to go to sleep and just be at peace. I knew exactly what I was doing. You can’t accidentally take a whole bottle of pills.”

Fantasia was taken to a North Carolina hospital after overdosing and released several days later. She issued a statement saying she was “heartbroken” over the relationship and sorry for any pain she had caused.

I do hope Fantasia is feeling better. Anyone who has ever had a broken heart knows how devastating it can be, especially when you are young. But I think it is unseemly for her to be talking about this in a TV interview so soon (to coincide with the release her third album, Back to Me, out Tuesday).

Instead of pouring her heart out on MTV, Fantasia should be on the couch of a good shrink.
IT’S A WRAP: Got a note yesterday from the director of Abrupt Decision telling me that one of my favorite actors, Steve Callahan, has just wrapped filming 10 days in the brutal south Texas heat.

Director Paul Bright gave me a rundown of the plot and it sounds like a juicy role for Steve whose previous screen credits include East Side Story, Nine Lives and the recent Role/Play.

In Decision, he plays Denis, a guy in mid-life crisis who loses his job and has trouble deciding what to do next. After multiple attempts to find work and a disastrous effort to start his own company, Denis is then slapped with his lifelong partner’s infidelity and his mother sudden hospitalization.  Even his effort to find a dog is a bust when the city pound euthanizes his pick before he arrives to take it home. He is then forced to make the most difficult decision any son would ever face.

The film will be released next spring.

Congratulations to Steve and happy Monday everyone!