AMC News

Report predicts three down years for ad biz

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. is ending its 22-year support for Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

from Hollywood Reporter by By Paul Bond

The advertising business in the U.S., for the first time ever, will fall for three years straight, if a forecast released Monday is correct.

SAG squabbles over contract tactics

from Variety.com

Business News: Hollywood panel seeks vote by members -- In a sign of the ongoing internal turmoil at the Screen Actors Guild, SAG's Hollywood board is asking the national board to send out the congloms' final offer to members -- without a recommendation.

FESTIVALS

2009 Tribeca Film Festival is Announced!

from Tribeca Film Festival 2008 by Kristin McCracken

TFF 2009 is just around the corner! This year's film slate promises to be inspiring, enlightening and entertaining.

TFF '09: World Narrative Feature Films

from Tribeca Film News and Features Feed by Elisabeth Donnelly

Explore the world with the dozen narrative features in competition at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. Sponsored by Delta Air Lines.

TFF '09: Discovery Section

from Tribeca Film News and Features Feed by Kristin McCracken

The TFF 2009 Discovery section includes 14 documentaries and narrative films from fresh new voices in cinema.

TFF '09: World Documentary Feature Films

from Tribeca Film News and Features Feed by Kristin McCracken

A dozen films will compete in the World Documentary Feature Competition at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

Leaner Tribeca Fest in '09: Competition, Discovery Rosters Unveiled

from indieWIRE News

The Tribeca Film Festival unveiled its narrative, documentary and Discovery competition roster Monday morning, featuring a new streamlined event with 84 features and 46 shorts screening April 22 - May 3. This year's line up includes includes 46 world, five international, 13 North American, 3 U.S. and 11 New York City premieres, as well as eight titles, which are part of the event's third annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

Recession leads to cuts at Tribeca Film Festival

Newport film fest to spotlight MoMA series

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's Tribeca Film Festival on Monday unveiled a sharply reduced lineup for 2009 due to the U.S. recession but one that marks Woody Allen's return to the city as a director after a five-year absence.

from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday

The Newport International Film Festival, which runs from June 3-7 in Newport, R.I., has entered into a partnership with the Museum of Modern Art, spotlighting MoMA's annual screening series "To Save and Project: The MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation."

'Captain Coulier' tops comedy shorts fest nods

from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday

Lyndon Casey's "Captain Coulier" took the Funny or Die best-of-fest prize at the inaugural L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, a four-day fest, which held its closing-night ceremony Sunday at Cinespace in Hollywood.

SXSW: must-see movies 2009 - Los Angeles Times

from SXSW - Google News
By Patrick Kevin Day and Rebecca Snavely The South by Southwest film fest isn't the hotbed of celebrities and desperate film buyers that Sundance is, and that's a good thing.

San Fran fest boasts Bratt pack

from Variety.com - Film Festivals

Film Festivals: 'La Mission' to open festival April 23 -- The San Francisco Film Festival has slotted Peter Bratt's "La Mission," starring his brother Benjamin Bratt, as its opening-night feature on April 23 at the Castro Theater.

MOVIES

Dark Knight Heads Back to Batcave After Heroic Run

from E! Online - Movie News

The Dark Knight is getting mothballed. With Watchmen moving into megaplexes, Warner Bros. has pulled the Christopher Nolan-helmed Batman film from theaters after a 33-week run

Drew Barrymore: Directing Third 'Twilight' Film Would Be 'Great'

from Access Hollywood - Movies

She starred as a buddy to that lovable alien E.T., but does Drew Barrymore have what it takes to direct vampires?

Sean Penn going after 'Cartel'

from Variety.com

Front Page: Actor in talks for Universal, Imagine drama -- Sean Penn is in talks to star in "Cartel," a drama for Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment.

Trio join Ridley Scott's Robin Hood film

from Hollywood Reporter by By Borys Kit

Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle have been cast as the Merry Men in Universal and Imagine's untitled Robin Hood tale being directed by Ridley Scott.

Leighton Meester gets 'Roommate'

from Hollywood Reporter by By Borys Kit

Leighton Meester, one of the stars of CW's "Gossip Girl," is in talks to star in the Sony Screen Gems thriller "The Roommate."

MTV News Chats With 'Knowing' Director Alex Proyas Live In NYC Tuesday Night!

from MTV Movies Blog by Josh Horowitz
Did "Dark City" rock your world (I swear that's my last "Rock of Love" reference in this blog) as much as it did mine? Well if it did then you'll understand why it took me about a nanosecond to say yes when the gang at Summit asked if I was interested in moderating an event with director Alex Proyas.

Could 'Watchmen' Get A Sequel? Not On Zack Snyder's Watch

from MTV Movies Blog by Brian Jacks

After the big opening weekend that Zack Snyder and his cast just enjoyed, Hollywood execs would typically be spending Monday morning peppering their voicemails with the word "sequel." But as of the moment, the people behind the film agree that we'll never watch the "Watchmen" in a new adventure.

TELEVISION

What to Watch for week of March 9 to 15, 2009

from EW.com: TV

By Jessica Shaw
A day-to-day guide to notable programs*

Ratings: 'Brothers & Sisters' up after that whole death fake-out last week

from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Jennifer Armstrong

The two-hour Brothers & Sisters (juiced by that somebody's-gonna-die-but-they-didn't promo) last week piqued so much interest in ABC's family drama that ratings continued to surge this week. The show hit its juiciest stride yet with 10.5 million viewers

NBC's 'Celebrity Apprentice' Slips 21% From Premiere

from Advertising Age - MediaWorks

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Just because Sunday Night Football is over doesn't mean the night's prime time isn't about gamesmanship. But it was the reality game show that didn't win its timeslot that was the bigger story of the night, as "Celebrity Apprentice," which is running concurrently with host Donald Trump's endgames with several of his troubled, if not bankrupt, business ventures, lost 21% of its season premiere audience from last week, falling to a 3.1/8 rating and share in the ad-centric adult 18-49 audience.

Michael J. Fox hosts special on hope

CNBC Thrives as Hosts Deliver News With Attitude

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Michael J. Fox will return to ABC for a one-hour special examining the nature of optimism.

AMC goes big with 'Breaking Bad'

from Variety.com - TV Ratings

TV Ratings: 2nd season premiere scores 42% ratings bump -- AMC's "Breaking Bad" broke out strongly in its second-season premiere Sunday, scoring a 42% uptick in total viewers over its frosh campaign average.

'RuPaul's Drag Race' on Logo

from L.A. Times - TV News

The competition is on to crown 'America's next drag superstar,' and who better to preside over the proceedings than onetime club icon RuPaul.

Why 'Heroes' should set an end date

from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter

Ask fans what the biggest problem with NBC's "Heroes" is, and their top answer is "the writing."

from NYT > Television by BRIAN STELTER and TIM ARANGO

At CNBC journalists have been encouraged to speak their minds, making the line between reporter and commentator almost indistinguishable at times.

Winfrey to air domestic violence show

Stars line up for April Fool's TV special

CHICAGO (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey says pop star Rihanna's alleged beating by singer boyfriend Chris Brown has the talk show queen so sad that she'll do a show dedicated to dating violence this week.

Kimmel dons 'Rosie' drag for 'View' stop

LOS ANGELES, March 9 (UPI) -- Jessica Simpson, Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst and Ice-T are among the celebrities starring in "I Get That A Lot," an April Fool's TV special, CBS said.

Kelly Bensimon, New "Real Housewife," Arrested For Assault

ANAHEIM, Calif., March 9 (UPI) -- U.S. comedian Jimmy Kimmel dressed up as former chat show moderator Rosie O'Donnell when he stopped by "The View" set Monday.

from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
New York's newest "Real Housewife" is denying blockbuster charges that she beat up her ex-boyfriend. Kelly Killoren Bensimon, 40, was arrested last week for misdemeanor assault after 30-year-old Nicholas Stefanov called cops saying she punched him.

Ashlee Simpson Heading To 'Melrose Place'

from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
Multiple sources confirm that singer-songwriter-sometime actress Ashlee Simpson has become the latest tenant of The CW's refurbished Melrose Place.

Star Wars Live-Action TV Series Casting has Begun

from /Film
For the last two years, George Lucas has been developing a live-action Star Wars television series. I think it was originally stated that they would not begin production until they had the first 50 scripts in hand, and I've heard about a bunch of screenwriters around Hollywood have been working on the series.

Rebecca Romijn casts spell in 'Eastwick'

from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva

Rebecca Romijn has been tapped as the third witch on ABC's drama pilot "Eastwick."

Real Housewives' Gretchen Denies Cheating on Late Fiancé

from People.com Latest News

"I have not taken my ring off one day since Jeff passed away," the Orange County star tells PEOPLE

Newbies impress on 'Dancing' premiere

from MSNBC.com: Reality TV

The two newest members of the "Dancing With the Stars" cast, Melissa Rycroft and Holly Madison, looked better on the floor than some of the stars who'd been practicing for weeks. (Ahem -- Steve Wozniak.)

MUSIC

U2 album sales near 500,000 in U.S.: manager

Listen Up: Clarkson's 'Wanted' is arrestingly good music

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The new U2 album is on track to exceed industry forecasts by selling almost half a million copies during its first week on sale in the United States, the band's manager said on Monday.

from USATODAY.com Music - Top Stories

Kelly Clarkson returns with an album that's brighter and more upbeat than 2007's My December

Metallica singer Hetfield hospitalized in Sweden

Corgan to testify before House Committee

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Organizers say 16,000 fans of the heavy metal group Metallica had to leave the Stockholm Globe Arena without seeing their heroes perform after lead singer James Hetfield was taken to the hospital.

Winehouse cancels Coachella appearance

WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan is scheduled to testify this week before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary regarding the Performance Rights Act.

Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire team for summer tour

INDIO, Calif., March 9 (UPI) -- Amy Winehouse's publicist says the troubled British singer has scrapped her gig at next month's Coachella Music Festival in California.

Drew Barrymore On Rehab, Her Ex And Her Estranged Mom

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire, two of pop music's most enduring and prolific outfits, are reuniting for a 30-city tour this summer, starting June 5 in Orange, Beach, Ala.

Country singer Hank Locklin dies

from Variety.com - Music News

Music News: Performed at Grand Ole Opry for 47 years -- Country singer Hank Locklin, whose smooth tenor voice on hits like "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and "Please Help Me I'm Falling" marked a career that spanned half a century, has died. He was 91.

YouTube-based Muziic hits the Web

from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by By Antony Bruno, Billboard

Another free online music streaming service has hit the Web, with some questionable legal cover.

ETC...

Clooney Blogs on Darfur

from The Wrap RSS by admin
Actor and activist George Clooney has already brought his plea for peace in Darfur to the White House. In separate meetings last month, he pressed both President Obama and Vice President Biden to resuscitate diplomatic efforts to end the atrocities and starvation in war-torn Sudan.

from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
Drew Barrymore is on the cover of W magazine's April issue and inside she gives a revealing interview on her new role, her mom, her ex, and rehab.

First African-American comic book up for auction

Police seize more than $1 million from Phish fans

NEW YORK (AP) -- The comic book that's billed as the first ever created by African-Americans for a black audience is up for auction.

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- Some Phish fans are leaving Hampton a little lighter than when they arrived for the band's weekend reunion.

Food Bank of NYC to honor Bon Jovi