Alex Ferrer, otherwise known as TV’s “Judge Alex,” has a strong connection to the upcoming movie “Pain and Gain” co-starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The movie, directed by Michael Bay, is based on a series of articles from the Miami New Times, published in 1999, which detailed the misadventures of the so-called “Sun Gym Gang,” a group of Florida bodybuilders whose descent into criminal activity eventually led to murder (the character portrayed by Wahlberg in the movie is currently on death row).
Well, the judge who presided over the trial is — you guessed it — Ferrer, who’ll be interviewed on CBS’s “48 Hours” this Saturday (they’re doing a story about the movie, which opens April 26).
Ferrer, who debuted as “Judge Alex” in September 2005, spent 10 years as an associate administrative judge in Miami-Dade County (Eleventh Judicial District).
“Judge Alex” airs 2 p.m. weekdays on Ch. 5.
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The new Starz series, “Da Vinci’s Demons,” premiered to mediocre numbers last Friday night.
The series, starring Tom Riley, averaged a little over 1 million viewers at 10 p.m. That’s a bit disappointing, considering its lead-in was the series finale of “Spartacus: War of the Damned,” which snared 1.4 million viewers at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen.
More numbers: Disney Channel, which is giving competitor Nickelodeon fits, swept all the major demos in prime-time and total-day for the week of April 8, led by its Toy Story Weekend” and series including “Dog With a Blog,” “Jessie” and “Shake It Up.” It also ranked first in cable in total viewers and kids 2-11 and finished first — for the 96th consecutive week — in kids 6-11 and Tweens.
Disney Junior, meanwhile, also had a solid week, finishing in the top slot as cable’s #1 preschool network (total day) for the second consecutive week with “Sofia the First,” “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Doc McStuffins.”
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Notable quotable:
Thandie Newton, who’s starring in DirecTV’s new series, “Rogue,” is featured in the upcoming (April 29) issue of People magazine. She lets America know — can you say “TMI”? — that she had a recent mishap in which she scorched a sensitive part of her anatomy.
“The other day I was using a curling iron and I accidentally put it on my leg. I’ve got this huge burn now,” she says.
No, that’s not it. Wait for it . . .
“This is the second time I’ve managed to burn a part of my anatomy,” she says. “Years ago I burned my nipple while flat-ironing my hair. My nipple was burned black!”
Hey, thanks for sharing.
People is out on newsstands today in New York.
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Last, but not least:
* The Friars Club will honor “the legends of weather” this Monday, with honorees including Craig Allen, Linda Church, Lee Goldberg, Janice Huff, Lonnie Quinn — and Al Roker, who’ll receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from his “Today” show colleague, Matt Lauer. Ch. 11’s Marvin Scott emcees.