Who's making deals in the week of February 17, 2006

TELEVISION Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy) will play an aging rock diva (divo?) in ABC’s comedy pilot Him & Us, exec-produced by Elton John. ”It’s not your classic sex, drugs, and rock & roll thing,” says Head, who insists H&U is not based on John, but then adds that his character has ”been through the booze and is actually not into girls.”… Amanda Peet (Syriana) is joining Matthew Perry in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, NBC’s pilot about a late-night sketch show. Peet plays a hottie network honcho, but that doesn’t intimidate her as much as her producers (West Wing‘s Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme) do. Says Peet: ”I’m nervous they’ll realize they made a mistake.”

MOVIES Two years after The Passion of the Christ, New Line has its eye on Mary. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) and scripted by Mike Rich (The Rookie), Nativity spans a two-year period of the Virgin Mother’s life, including the birth of Jesus.