Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Lawrence Gears Up for 'Melissa & Joey,' Grateful Daughter OK/'Breaking Bad' Curve Ahead for Walter White Jr.

Joey Lawrence reports that with a 9-week-old and a 4-year-old at home, "I'm lucky if I get four hours of sleep a night" — but he's not complaining. "Life is great, man," he wants us to know.

Lawrence and wife Chandie went through a harrowing experience with their baby daughter, Liberty Grace — "Libby" — who had to be delivered prematurely and kept in intensive care for five days due to complications with Chandie's Rh disease, a blood condition of which they were unaware until she was already pregnant.

Now he's happy to have moved on to the normal stresses of parenthood, as Libby and big sister Charli are just fine. "It's weird being a dad. It's really an amazing thing. It sort of feels like an out-of-body experience at times," the one-time teen heartthrob says with a smile.

Lawrence is also busy gearing up to begin production next month on his and Melissa Joan Hart's forthcoming "Melissa & Joey" half-hour comedy for ABC Family. He admits there was a time when the last place he expected to find himself was back on series TV — but that was a five-year career break, a family, "Dancing With the Stars" and "My Fake Fiancee" ago. The latter romantic comedy telepic became a record breaker last year, ratings-wise, for ABC Family, which then became starry-eyed over the prospect of bringing Lawrence and Hart back together for a series.

Though they have different characters and stories on the series, it's "inspired by the relationship our characters had in the movie," he says. He'll be playing a "manny" — male nanny — to her character's niece and nephew.

Lawrence reveals that his deal also opened the door for him to do business with ABC Family and Disney as a producer. "I sold them a movie, 'Mr. Everything,' that's going to be for ABC Family as well," he says. "Then we're working on a film for the feature department." Not bad for someone sleep-deprived.

SO BAD IT'S GREAT: Look out, "Breaking Bad" fans. As nerve-shattering as critics agree the past few episodes of the Bryan Cranston series have been, there are more stunners coming.

"Keep your eyes on my character. You'll start seeing a big change in the next three episodes. The sky is the limit with him." So says RJ Mitte, who plays Cranston's son, Walter White Jr., on the highly decorated AMC show. Like his TV alter ego, Mitte has a mild case of cerebral palsy.

"I was really excited about what I have coming up. He really comes of age. He could be going to the bad side," reports the 17-year-old actor. "Things are definitely going to go wild for the whole family."

Mitte says that when it comes to working with his disability, the "Breaking Bad" team is very free about asking if certain physical activity, camera angles and so on can work for him in scenes, and making changes if necessary.

However, when it comes to Walt Jr.'s story lines, "I think the writers aren't thinking about the disability so much as real life. People with disabilities are just like anyone else," he notes.

"It's a fun character to play, very interesting, very complicated. You have to really put yourself into what he's going through to play it," he adds. "Your parents are getting divorced, your dad's dying and there's all this other stuff going on." That other stuff would be Dad's crystal meth business and all its violent and nasty ramifications.

With a possible fourth season production start on "Breaking Bad" late this summer, Mitte says he has a couple of potential movie roles on the horizon, and a trek to New York to speak on behalf of the Screen Actors Guild's I AM PWD (Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities) program, for which he serves as national spokesman. But his biggest excitement: "I have a prom next month." He's escorting a friend to her prom in Philadelphia, and right now, getting his tux and everything else organized for the trip is at the forefront of his mind.

ANOTHER PAGE: The "Atlas Shrugged" development saga gets curiouser and curiouser. About four years ago, it appeared Angelina Jolie was a lock to play Dagny Taggart in the adaptation of Ayn Rand's magnum opus. Producers Howard and Karen Baldwin were getting a script by "Braveheart" writer Randall Wallace, and it seemed the four-decade history of attempts to bring the work to screen at last would have a bright ending. But scheduling complexities, along with Jolie's desire to s-l-o-w-l-y slow her career, had an impact. Reports had it that Anne Hathaway was interested. And Julia Roberts. Then last summer, it was reported that Charlize Theron just might become the screen's Dagny — the small screen's, that is — as "Atlas" was being reorganized as a miniseries. But then, Theron was reported as not going forward with the project. Jolie was still attached. And there it sits.

This could be the mother of all development hell stories.

But wait. Now we get word that casting is under way for "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1" — as a low-budget independent film with all roles open as we write this. The producer is Stephen Polk, who had not returned our calls at press time.

Hey, maybe going smaller is smarter. You never know, maybe what it will take to get "Atlas Shrugged" made is a Flip video and puppets.

SUPER SIZE ME: Fascinating casting notice making the rounds, for several very specific players to appear as projections on a building for a special event being organized by one of the studios. Among the characters to grace the VERY big screen are a martial artist/gymnast "who can do killer moves" such as trampoline kicks, twins who can mirror each other's movements perfectly, an acrobat and a contortionist. Will this be the start of a new trend in outdoor party decorations?

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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