We are waiting on the overnights, but for those who cannot possibly wait to see how The Office finale failed to bring back all of its viewers…the program did over 5 million sets of eyes with a 2.9 in the 18-49 demo. This is the best performance in 16 months for the program which has been falling flat with viewers ever since the departure of Steve Carell and more so the conclusion of the will-they won’t-they Jim and Pam story arc. Even so, Michael Scott did make an appearance of sorts. Had he been all over the series ender, more might have returned, but it was more so a cameo with a “that’s what she said” joke. The real Michael Scott would have took the reigns of Dwight’s wedding and made it more about him in a grandiose manner.
Update: Viewers: 5.4 million, 18-49: 2.9 rating. In terms of the retrospective, that was 4.3 million viewers with a 2.0 18-49. These are not final numbers. Expect those to surface later in the day.
Update #2: Final numbers for The Office finale have 5.7 million tuning in and a 3.0 in the 18-49 demo.
As I suggested upon seeing 
Well, it looks like Steve Carell is set for a surprise return on NBC’s finale of The Office. Mindy Kaling of The Mindy Project took to David Letterman this evening where she was prodded with questions regarding her co-star’s return. Her answer was that of “I don’t want to lie to you.” Obviously, she was not contractually obligated to say “no” to such quandaries which is why the safe money will be placed on a return of Michael Scott. Carell was said to be revisiting his desire to stay out of the series-ender until a last minute offer to return. Since that time, his previously vocal stance on leaving the character behind turned to quiet. 
Today offers us our first legit poster for Fox Searchlight’s The Way, Way Back. The Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell-led coming of age story set against the backdrop of a water park is one of the top indies coming out this year, and the marketing campaign will show just that. In fact, the studio had to pay a king’s ransom ($10 million) at Sundance just to land distribution. They think this could be the next Little Miss Sunshine for lack of a better Steve Carell analogy. Be sure to take a
Disney must have had a good experience with Jennifer Garner for The Odd Life of Timothy Green because the studio is currently in talks with the actress to star opposite Steve Carell in Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Yes, that book-to-film conversion is still in the works as the live-action feature from Youth in Revolt director Miguel Arteta closes in on production. Garner and Carell will play the title character’s parents. They will be reading lines from a script from the team of Lisa Cholodenko and Rob Lieber.
It seems the Tina Fey-Steve Carell Date Night reunion has been put on hold for the time being as both are way too busy to fit Mail-Order Groom into their busy schedules. The two actors were set to team up once more in the film about a woman marrying an Eastern European man in exchange for money. No director was attached although production was set to begin shortly. Specifics are short on who exactly is to blame, but it is conceivable that they would like to wait for Date Night director Shawn Levy to become available after he directs Night at the Museum 3.
At long last, another trailer has hit the web for the much-anticipated sequel to Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me. Unlike the first promos, this one actually has Steve Carell’s Gru taking center stage (at least at the get go) so it should come as a bit refreshing for those who miss the leading man. That said, this will probably sell a whole lot more tickets than the 
Want more new footage for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone to spoil it when you actually see the movie? No problem. There is a lot to gawk at in the film’s latest featurette that covers the many reasons to see the comedy which happens to include Olivia Wilde bubble baths–not what you would expect. Also, fans get to see David Copperfield whose cameo as Carell alluded to during a recent talk show appearance. 
Check out the later viral featurette for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. This one centers on Steve Buscemi’s Anton Marvelton character as he shuns the stereotypical gifts to the impoverished in favor for something more: magic! The ad marks the second such offering to promote the movie which releases in four days’ time. Box office estimates are low for the PG-13 comedy, suggesting crowds might be softening on adult comedies outside of the R genre. 
A lot of the run-up for the release of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone has been focused on Steve Carell and Jim Carrey reuniting for the first time since Bruce Almighty, but it should also be noted that House alumna Olivia Wilde has a part in the move as well. Cinemax grabbed Wilde and Carell for one of their movie-hyping features, and the result was the actress putting on a completely over the top (but still brilliant) British accent. Check it out after the jump. 
Billed as the film’s final trailer, a bit of a commercial has popped up on the net today for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone from Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The whole thing is designed to be a faux ad to get tourists to show up for Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi.) It is worth a quick look for those interested in the flick which hits theaters about a week from now. There is some new footage, but not much. This could potentially be part of the film itself.