The Newsdesk 03.23.09 - Knowing Nabs First Place at Box Office; Coens to Tackle True Grit
• The Coen Bros. will direct a new version of the John Wayne classic True Grit. The filmmakers plan on sticking closely to the 1968 novel by Charles Portis that served as the basis for the film.
• Screenwriter Jesse Wigutow is penning a biopic about tough guy actor Steve McQueen. At last, we'll get to see Steve stealing Ali McGraw away from Robert Evans on the set of The Getaway!
• Knowing took the top spot at the box office this weekend with $24.8 million. I Love You, Man came in second, scoring $18 million.
• New images and plot details from Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are have been released. Great, just when we've finally stopped having nightmares about that book.
• Tribune Media Services filed a lawsuit against Warren Beatty in an effort to win back the rights to the Dick Tracy comic strip.
• Twilight scored $3 million in DVD sales on the first day of release. So that explains the high-pitched screams we heard coming from Best Buy.
• The Vatican is planning to boycott Tom Hanks' Angels and Demons. If Tom sports that DaVinci Code haircut again, we're boycotting it too.
BIZ
Omnicom to Partner With Reality TV Producer RDF
from Advertising Age - Madison+Vine
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- In a venture that reflects advertisers' increasing reliance on Hollywood's reality-programming tsunami and their desire to catch its waves far earlier, Omnicom Media Group has formed a first-of-its-kind strategic venture with a major production company, RDF Media USA.
Future May Be Brighter, but It's Apocalypse Now
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The New York Times. TV Guide. Clear
Channel. NBC, Boxee, Yahoo. They tell the story. There is no longer a need to
warn of a gathering Chaos Scenario, in which the yin of media and yang of
marketing fly apart, symbiotic no more. Nudged by recession, doom has arrived.
Media Giants Want to Top Google Results
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Major media companies are
increasingly lobbying Google to elevate their expensive professional content
within the search engine's undifferentiated slush of results.
Jonathan Handel: Hollywood Crew Deal Ratified
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by Jonathan Handel
As expected, the membership of IATSE, the union representing Hollywood crew members, ratified that organization's proposed contract with the studios yesterday, although not without significant opposition. The new contract takes effect August 1 and runs for three years, as is usual with Hollywood labor agreements. It includes 3% annual wage increases.
Big Media Cartel About To Punish Netflix?
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
The Wall Street Journal's astute Martin Peers warns tonight that Netflix "stock-price bubble may be close to bursting" because Hollywood studios and networks don't like the competition.
Union of film, TV workers approve new contract
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
A union that represents more than 35,000 film and television workers has approved a three-year contract with Hollywood producers.
FESTIVALS
Economy shakes up film fests execs
from Variety.com - Film Festivals
Film Festivals: Chiefs exit as events realign focus -- With the economy in the tank and corporate sponsors in retreat, it's not easy running a film festival these days.
What's next for the film festival world? - Los Angeles Times
from TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL - Google News
"There's been more news in the independent film festival world in the last three weeks than I can recall ever happening in my life," says Nancy Schafer, executive director of the increasingly prominent Tribeca Film Festival
The indieWIRE Guide to Film Festivals Monthly Calendar
from indieWIRE News
The following is a monthly calendar of upcoming 2009-2010 film festivals, with links to past iW coverage. These pages will be updated throughout the year so check back here for updated links and coverage.
South By Kanye West? Rapper plays SXSW
from USATODAY.com Music - Top Stories
For a night, it was South By Kanye West.The rapper performed twice Saturday at the annual South By Southwest music conference
Metallica invades SXSW as 'young band from Norway'
from USATODAY.com Music - Top Stories
Invading South By Southwest, Metallica attempted to pose as one of the hundreds of smaller bands there.
SXSW bestows audience awards as Texas festival ends
In the 24 Beats Per Second category, the champ was
"Iron Maiden: Flight 666."
Acts twitter at SXSW, in interviews and on stage
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By JAKE COYLE
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- It wasn't just the legions of concertgoers wandering the streets who were twittering at South By Southwest. Many of the acts were posting tweets throughout the music conference and festival, sometimes even on stage or during interviews.
Metallica invades SXSW as `young band from Norway'
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By JAKE COYLE
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Invading South By Southwest, Metallica attempted to pose as one of the hundreds of smaller bands there just hoping to get a record deal.
New York City Shakeup? Variety Speculates On Tribeca's Future
from indieWIRE News
Variety's Dade Hayes is reporting that there might be a monumental shakeup in the works for the New York City film festival schedule due to potential changes with the Tribeca Film Festival and the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
27 projects chosen for Tribeca All Access
from Hollywood Reporter by Staff report
The Tribeca Film Festival has selected 27 projects for its
Tribeca All Access, program which is designed to nurture relationships between
film industry executives and filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented
communities.
Native American Film and Video Fest Turns 30
from indieWIRE News
The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has announced the complete lineup for its 2009 Native American Film and Video Festival. Fourteen features and 43 shorts representing 10 countries were chosen from more than 350 submissions.
from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by By David J. Prince, Billboard
Sri Lankan pop sensation M.I.A. has been added to the Coachella festival's Saturday night lineup, the event's producers announced Friday.
MOVIES
Weekend Box Office: March 20-22, 2009
from Box Office Mojo - Current Box Office Results
Knowing tops the box office with an estimated $24.8 million
'Torino,' 'Marley' tie at overseas boxoffice
from Hollywood Reporter by By Frank Segers
In generally mild boxoffice action across most overseas
markets, "Gran Torino" and "Marley & Me" tied on the
weekend for the No. 1 spot on the international circuit.
Weekend Estimates: "Valentino" Leads Openers; "Cleaning" Keeps
Shining
from indieWIRE News
According to estimates provided by Rentrak this afternoon, Matt Tyrnauer's "Valentino: The Last Emperor," a doc on legendary designer Valentino Garavani, led a surge of specialty openers this weekend.
from EW.com: Movies
By Annie Barrett
Annie Barrett comes to a realization as she reads this week's EW feature on the
actor: He's impossible to dislike
How does Nicolas Cage choose roles?
from MSNBC.com: Movies
Newsvine: Is it money, insane scripts, art or something a little more sinister?
Coen brothers to adapt 'True Grit'
Film News: New version will stay faithful to Portis' novel
-- As their next film, Joel and Ethan Coen will put their spin on "True
Grit," the iconic Western that won John Wayne an Oscar.
Released
on Web, a Film Stays Fresh
from NYT > Movies by By BRIAN STELTER
Robert Greenwald is showing "Rethink Afghanistan," a skeptical view of America's war strategies, in five parts on the Internet, with the implied hope that it will contribute to the foreign policy debate.
Steve McQueen biopic in the works
from Hollywood Reporter by By Jay A. Fernandez
Jesse Wigutow has been hired to pen the screenplay for a biographical treatment of Steve McQueen, making it one of two McQueen-centered projects in the works.
Warner Bros To Release Over 5,000 Never Before Available Movies
on DVD
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Warner Bros has produced over 6,800 theatrical films, but only 1,200 or so
titles are available on DVD today. But tonight the studio has announced that
they are opening their movie vault, through a new website -- WarnerArchive.com.
Fred Durst Tries To Avoid 'Curse' With 'The Education of
Charlie Banks'
from MTV Movies Blog by Eric Ditzian
Fred Durst, the Limp Bizkit frontman and occasional pop culture punching bag, staged something of a career reinvention a few years ago, leaving music behind to chase his dream of making movies. His first effort, the coming-of-age tale "The Education of Charlie Banks," premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007. Now, two years later, it's finally getting a theatrical release--at the same as Durst's life has come full circle, with Bizkit getting set to reunite for a new album and a European tour.
"Slumdog Millionaire" Kids Walk In Fashion Show
(PHOTOS)
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post
News Team
Two of the "Slumdog Millionaire" child actors walked the catwalk
during Delhi's Fashion Week on Thursday.
'Twilight' sells more than 3 million DVDs in first day of sales
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Jennifer Armstrong
No surprises here: Teen girls lined up en masse to take Robert Pattinson home with them when the Twilight DVD went on sale Saturday, complete with midnight release parties.
First look: 'Where the Wild Things Are' gets Maxed out
from USATODAY.com Movies - Top Stories
Max Records, 11, is the boy with anger issues who escapes to a land where giant beasts roam in Where the Wild Things Are
Move over, 'Twilight' hunks! 'The Lost Boys' are back!
from Los Angeles Times - Celebrity News
Vampire hunter Corey Feldman is back! "The Lost Boys" are returning, and they're gonna be real thirsty for fresh blood.
`Hillary: The Movie,' now showing at Supreme Court
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By JESSE J. HOLLAND
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Months after its debut, "Hillary: The Movie" faces nine of the nation's toughest critics: the Supreme Court.
Rainn Wilson and James Gunn Hawking New Superhero Script
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Some little bird tells me that PG Pornocrat and Slither-meister James Gunn is going out to "indie producers" with the script for a new superhero project. The same little bird also reveals that Rainn Wilson is attached to the script, and that the premise is something like an "f'ed up low rent Watchmen".
Bryan Singer eyeing hot revenge thriller project starring Mark
Wahlberg
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Christine Spines
After the success of Taken and Gran Torino, Hollywood has been on a vigilante kick. And right now, Bryan Singer (along with studio execs all over town) has been seriously considering getting his revenge on with The Prisoners
Horror film draws unwanted visitors to Conn. house
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By PAT EATON-ROBB
SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (AP) -- A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home's current owners and their neighbors.
'Angels & Demons' May Face Vatican Boycott
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post
News Team
The Vatican could be gearing up for an official call for a boycott of
"Angels & Demons," Ron Howard's big-budget follow-up to "The
Da Vinci Code."
TELEVISION
What to Watch for week of March 23 to 29, 2009
from EW.com: TV
By Jessica Shaw
A day-to-day guide to notable programs*
Problems With NBC's 'Parks & Recreation'
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
There's more trouble for Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman. NBC's upcoming Reveille/Universal Media Studios sitcom Parks And Recreation was supposed to be a real winner since the mockumentary comes from Greg Daniels and Michael Schur of The Office and stars Amy Poehler.
Broadcast TV or Cable, It's All the Same to Consumers
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Most TV viewers see less and less of
a distinction between boob-tube giants such as NBC, ABC and CBS and cable
cousins such as USA, TNT and MTV. And neither, it seems, do the networks.
Sci Fi orders 'Phantom,' 'Riverworld,' 'Alice'
from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter
So what's going to take the place of "Battlestar Galactica"? Sci Fi Channel has few ideas.
Fox wants more of Gordon Ramsay
from Hollywood Reporter by By James Hibberd
Good news for Gordon Ramsay fans: Fox has ordered another
season of the internationally known chef's reality series "Kitchen
Nightmares."
from L.A. Times - TV News
The sitcom is 'Will and Grace' meets 'Two and a Half Men'
and a whole lot of clichés.
from mediabistro.com: TVNewser
The New York Times' Bill Carter reports MSNBC anchor Chris Matthews is staying with the network, in a deal set to last "at least four years."
Obama on Leno: Ratings Three Times More Than Usual
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- President Barack Obama's appearance
on Thursday night's "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" generated the program's
best ratings since 2005, according to both NBC and preliminary figures from
Nielsen Media Research.
Lifetime rushes trio for 'Sorority' movie
from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva
Lifetime is engaging in "Sorority Wars." Courtney
Thorne-Smith and Lucy Hale are set and Faith Ford is in negotiations to star in
a new Lifetime original movie set in the cut-throat world of college
sororities.
Roseanne Barr eyes return to primetime
from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva
The star of ABC's long-running sitcom "Roseanne"
has teamed with series producer Caryn Mandabach for a family comedy in which
she would play the matriarch.
Mary McDonnell joins 'The Closer'
from EW.com: Today's Latest Headlines by Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello confirms exclusively ''Galactica'' star is in as police captain who tangles with Kyra Sedgwick
'Rock of Love Bus': All aboard!
from EW.com: Today's Latest Headlines by Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody falls for the unlikely charms of Bret Michaels; why she can't get enough of his dating show
'United States of Tara' showrunner departs
from Hollywood Reporter by 'Tara' showrunner departs
Alexa Junge, the executive producer/showrunner of Showtime's "United States of Tara," has decided not to continue on the series, which recently was renewed for a second season.
MUSIC
John Mellencamp: On My Mind: The State of the Music Business
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by John Mellencamp
Over the last few years, we have all witnessed the decline of the music business, highlighted by finger-pointing and blame directed against record companies, artists, internet file sharing and any other theories for which a case could be made.
As Rights Clash on YouTube, Some Music Vanishes
from NYT > Television by By TIM ARANGO
Some videos on YouTube are disappearing in a disagreement over fees for Warner Music's copyrighted works.
The members of the band Naturally 7 are experts at blowing their own horns -- and they do it without a trumpet or trombone in sight. In fact, you won't see a single instrument when they hit the stage. They are the instruments.
Source says Jackson wants BBC apology
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LONDON, March 23 (UPI) -- U.S. pop star Michael Jackson wants the BBC to apologize for a comment tied to two of its comedians comparing him to the IRA, a source says.
Discovered Opry tapes being restored
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
BOSTON, March 22 (UPI) -- A Boston audio engineer says he is attempting to restore hundreds of recently found tapes featuring some of Grand Ole Opry's biggest country music stars.
Jimmy Chamberlin Leaves Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan Hits the
Studio
from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Daniel Kreps
There was good news and bad news for Smashing Pumpkins fans this weekend: Billy Corgan is back in the studio working on the band's new album, but he'll be doing so without drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who has left the group for an unspecified reason.
Guns n' Roses Add Guitarist DJ Ashba For "Upcoming Tour"
from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Daniel Kreps
Axl Rose and Guns n' Roses have recruited Sixx:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba for their "upcoming tour," the band announced in a press release issued Saturday, March 21st.
Devo Hint at New Album's Sound, Debut Songs During SXSW Set
from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Christopher R. Weingarten
A much-hyped show at Austin Music Hall was the second performance from recently reinvigorated new-wavers Devo since plans to release their first studio album in 19 years.
Tinted Windows Promises Pure Power Pop on Debut Album
Supergroup includes members of Hanson, Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick and Fountains of Wayne.
Eminem, Jimmy Page to present at Rock Hall
from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by Associated Press
Rapper Eminem, guitar legend Jimmy Page and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones are among the presenters for this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cleveland.
ETC...
Peter Bart: New idiom presents conflict of interest --
Andrew Sullivan observed recently that "blogging is writing out
loud." He continued: "A blog is not so much daily writing as hourly
writing. Blogging is therefore to writing what extreme sports is to athletics;
more free-form, more accident-prone, more alive."
Natasha Richardson buried near upstate NY home
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By MICHAEL HILL
LITHGOW, N.Y. (AP) -- A somber group of friends and family gathered in a small Hudson Valley town Sunday to say a final farewell to Tony Award-winning actress Natasha Richardson.
Bruce Willis says 'I do' in island ceremony
Actor Bruce Willis married model-actress Emma Heming over the weekend in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the actor's publicists announced.
Reality TV star Jade Goody loses cancer fight
British reality TV celebrity Jade Goody died early Sunday morning following a public battle with cancer, her publicist has announced.
The Wonder Years's Danica McKellar Gets Married
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
The Wonder Years's Winnie Cooper is all grown up.
"Sopranos" star Gandolfini a hit on Broadway
from Reuters: Entertainment News
NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini won rave reviews on Monday in "God of Carnage," a Broadway play about two couples whose attempt to deal amicably with their sons' playground fight descends into mayhem.
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