CBS3's Ukee Washington ready for his close-up on 'The Crazy Ones'

UKEE WASHINGTON may be giving his cousin Denzel Washington (you know him?) a run for his money.

The CBS3 anchor will appear tonight on CBS's "The Crazy Ones," starring Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar. He plays - what else? - a television reporter.

"I told [Denzel] I was coming after him," Washington said. He added that when Denzel is in town filming M. Night Shyamalan's next movie, set to begin shooting in September, he has a plan.

"Count on me finding him and showing him my re-soo-may," Washington said. "Hey, cuz!"

The episode, one of two beginning at 9 p.m., features Washington interviewing Brad Garrett. In real life, Washington has talked with Garrett multiple times for his work on "Everybody Loves Raymond." Garrett joked that Washington didn't have to stretch much to play the part.

Sure, there wasn't a character for Washington to go all "method" on, but that doesn't mean there weren't hardships, like the torrential downpour during shooting. "And they say it never rains in Southern California," Washington said.

So now that pop-culture buff Washington has one show under his belt, what's next on his television-cameo bucket list?

" 'Under the Dome.' I watched every episode," Washington said, noting that star Mike Vogel is from Warminster and "we talk a lot." But he has one caveat: "I'd want a way in one side of the glass, talk to someone and then get out."

Philly-based directors Don Argott and Sheena Joyce ("The Art of the Steal") have landed their first feature film, "Bad Boys Crazy Girls." Joining them on the indie will be "The Mindy Project" and "Happy Endings" star Adam Pally.

The film is about two unlucky-in-love friends - Pally and a yet-to-be-cast female lead - who try to teach each other how to be "bad" and "crazy" (hence the title) with mixed results.

My spies spotted BBC cameras at Cheu Noodle Bar (255 S. 10th St.) shooting scenes for the food show "Million Dollar Critic," starring the Times of London's food critic, Giles Coren.

Judging with him? Why, that would be our own Daily News sports columnist and former Gov. Ed Rendell.

Lambertville, N.J.-dwelling author James McBride (The Color of Water) will see his 2013 National Book Award-winning novel, The Good Lord Bird, hit the big screen with a Philly legacy in tow.

Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith, will play Onion, a young slave who meets abolitionist John Brown (Liev Schreiber). "I'm especially pleased that there's a Philadelphia connection with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's son. I'm a 76ers fan, after all," McBride said. I noted it's not always fun to be one of those. "I'm always happy to be a 76ers fan. You have to build from the bottom up. We're trying to do the same thing with this film, build it right."

Brown and Onion travel the country and make a stop in Philadelphia, where he sees free blacks largely unaffected by slavery.

Any chance we'll get some on-location shooting?

"I would love for some of it to be filmed in Philadelphia, but you're talking about a period piece which is very expensive to do, so when the investors show up, they'll rule the day," McBride told me. "That said, Philadelphia would be great because there are a lot of places you could convert to an 1850s scenario."

* Jesse Rendell, son of the aforementioned former guv, will host Blingo to Cure Duchenne, a charity event fighting a devastating form of muscular dystrophy, on May 3. Celeb guests include Rendell's pop, model Cory Wade Hindorff from Cycle 20 of "America's Next Top Model," CNN on-air health expert Jennifer Caudle, Andrew Brandt of the Monday Morning Quarterback website, and the Preston and Steve Show's Marisa Magnatta. For more info, go to ph.ly/Blingo.

* Speaking of Magnatta, she'll be on hand to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and support WMMR's Kathy Romano when her Fresh Smiles Foundation teams up with Zarwin Baum on May 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Chima Brazilian Steakhouse (19th Street and JFK Boulevard). Tickets are $40. Go to freshsmiles.org to learn more.

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