The Newsdesk 06.02.09 - Where's Waldo? Coming to Theaters; Transformers 2 to Top Spidey?
• Tony Scott (Taking of Pelham 123) confirmed that an Alien prequel is in the works. Scott claimed that commercial director Carl Rinsch will helm, squelching rumors that Ridley Scott would return to the franchise.
• Studio pundits are predicting a $160-175m opening weekend for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. This would put it ahead of the $152m take Spider-Man 2 earned on the same weekend in 2004. Now if only Spidey would team up with Optimus Prime.
• The popular Where's Waldo? books are coming to the big screen courtesy of Universal Studios. Will you need special 3D glasses to find Waldo in your theater?
• The first photo of Sam Worthington in Clash of the Titans has been released. If you think Louis Leterrier's remake will be 300 meets Ray Harryhausen, well, you'd be right.
• Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson will star in Caught in the Crossfire, a police drama that sadly has nothing to do with the classic Stevie Ray Vaughn tune of the same name.
• Alyssa Milano has committed to the romantic comedy My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. Milano will star and produce in her first big screen lead since Double Dragon: The Movie. It's 1994 all over again!
BIZ
TV ad hikes? They're not buying it
from Hollywood Reporter by By John Consoli, Mediaweek
Despite the troubled economy, most advertisers are not slashing their national TV ad budgets for next season, a signal that might bode well for the broadcast networks -- if they don't take hard-line positions regarding rate increases.
Lionsgate dogged by b.o. underperformers
from Hollywood Reporter by By Etan Vlessing
Lionsgate reported record full-year revenue on higher home entertainment and TV revenue Monday, but tumbled deeper into the red for fiscal 2009 thanks to a string of boxoffice disappointments.
Cinedigm touts Q&A as way of digital cinema future
from Reuters: Entertainment News
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cinedigm said on Monday it will host
the first live, virtual question-and-answer session between a film's cast in
one location and audiences in separate theaters to show off a new way that
digitally equipped cinemas can lure audiences.
FESTIVALS
Friars Club launches film fest
from Hollywood Reporter by Staff report
New York's Friars Club is launching a new annual comedy film festival, the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival. Running Sept. 24-27 in theaters around New York as well as at the club itself, it will benefit the Friars Foundation.
Zombie version of 'Romeo' set for fest
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 1 (UPI) -- The horror/classic literature mash-up "Romeo & Juliet vs. The Living Dead" is to have its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Third Star Films said.
It takes two Bratts to kick-start Outfest
from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday
Outfest 2009, the 27th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, kicks off July 9 with Peter Bratt's "La Mission" at the Orpheum Theatre.
Del Toro's 'Cosas' gets Hola fest preem
Film News: Festival to take place June 23-28 -- The Hola
Mexico Film Festival USA '09 will screen Gotham preems of Guillermo del
Toro-produced pic "Cosas significantes."
Dances With Films laces up in L.A.
Film News: Independent festival to screen 100 films --
Independent fest Dances With Films will screen 100 pics from the U.S. and
abroad during its June 4-11 run at Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood.
from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva
With blockbuster "Twilight" piling up five trophies and Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno making headlines with his indecent descent on rapper Eminem, the 2009 MTV Movie Awards scored the show's best ratings in five years.
Bruno stunt at MTV Awards brings buzz to all
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) -- In the aftermath of the Sacha Baron Cohen and Eminem stunt at the MTV Movie Awards, all the Internet was abuzz over what was real and what wasn't....
Eminem vs. Bruno staged: Sources
from EW.com: TV
By Adam B. Vary
Sources close to MTV and Sacha Baron Cohen tell EW rapper was in on the big
Movie Awards moment
Critics' Choice Awards returning to VH1
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- VH1 says the 15th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards
telecast will air live on the U.S. network for a third consecutive year next
January.
Emmys Moving To A Week Earlier on CBS
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
They'll air September 13th this year. The network and the TV Academy had planned to air the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20th, but TV Week is reporting that, since that decision was made, the NFL came out with its Sunday schedule, and it turned out CBS had a football doubleheader on September 20th.
MOVIES
Surprising Weekend Actuals! 'Terminator Salvation' Beat 'Drag
Me To Hell'
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
All weekend, I and others regularly reporting box office had Universal's Drag Me To Hell beating Warner Bros' Terminator Salvation for the 3rd spot among Top 10 films. Now weekend actuals have the order reversed. (That almost never happens!)
from Access Hollywood - Movies
Bella (Kristen Stewart) finds herself abandoned by Edward (Robert Pattinson) after an attempted attack on her birthday. But when another vampire comes calling, it's Jacob (Taylor Lautner) who quickly tranforms into a werewolf and defends her!
James Cameron Talks Avatar at E3
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
James Cameron made an appearance at UBISOFT's E3 press conference, talking
about his upcoming film Avatar and the video game which has been
developed alongside the movie.
Is northern Sweden too far to promote movie?
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) -- The wilderness of northern Sweden, where Will Ferrell ate grilled reindeer eyeballs with adventurer Bear Grylls, seems like a long way to go to promote a movie and test-drive a television spinoff.
Where's Waldo? To Become Feature Film
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
US readers will know him as Waldo, UK readers as Wally but seeing as he was
created and first published in the UK, I'm taking the Wally option for this
post. Whatever you want to call the little fella anyway, he's once again on his
way to the big screen, this time courtesy of Universal.
But Is Bruno Good for the Gays?
from Defamer by Richard Lawson
Gay Bruno landed on straight, angry Eminem's face last night, thus firmly heralding the beginning of the
Summer of Bruno. And it made me wonder: Based on that little antic, and the
leaked details of the film, is Bruno gonna be good for the gays?
'Barbarella': 'Legally Blonde' director Robert Luketic to helm
remake?
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Benjamin Svetkey
Barbarella is one tough chick to keep down.
Return To 'Alien' Becomes A Reality, Prequel Confirmed By Tony
Scott
from MTV Movies Blog by Adam Rosenberg
Hey folks... I just have a quick follow-up for you on last week's rumored news that Ridley Scott's 1979 classic "Alien" would
be getting the remake/reboot treatment. There's been a development, and it's
either good or bad depending on your point of view with these sorts of things.
Specifically, Tony Scott has confirmed with Collider that a return to "Alien" is indeed in the works.
Pixar has found its lucky charm in Ratzenberger
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
Few actors are as animated as John Ratzenberger. That's because he has been part of every Pixar release over the past 14 years, ...
Anne Hathaway To Edit, Romance Tobey Maguire in Tokyo
Suckerpunch
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Tobey Maguire is producing and will star in an adaptation of Isaac
Adamson's novel Tokyo Suckerpunch. Gary Ross, who worked with Maguire on
Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, is set to direct. According to
screenwriter Ed Solomon, who was speaking to Sci-Fi Wire, Maguire's love interest is going to be played
by Anne Hathaway.
Ryan Reynolds Says 'Deadpool' Film Will Be 'Just Like The Comic
Books'
from Splash Page by Josh Wigler
Ryan
Reynolds might play a wisecracking assassin on the big screen, but his
real-life persona isn't that far removed from his character's mouthy ways -- you
know, minus the multiple personality disorder and the hideous scarring.
from Hollywood Reporter by By Paul Bond
Disney is moving on a new Winnie the Pooh hand-drawn animated theatrical release, and it's also creating two primetime TV specials starring "Handy Manny."
Columbia Picks Up 'Swift' From 'Men In Black' Director Barry
Sonnenfeld
from MTV Movies Blog by Adam Rosenberg
That's "Swift" as in "Tom Swift," the fictional inventor/adventurer concocted
by Edward Stratemeyer in the early 1900s for a series of young adult books.
Natalie Portman Joins Danny McBride in David Gordon Green's
Your Highness
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
In July, director David Gordon Green begins shooting Your Highness
in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
'Ghostbusters' -- Wii and a new sequel?
Dan Aykroyd's itching to suit up for a third 'Ghostbusters' film and a reunited cast on the video game means there's more than a ghost of a chance.
TELEVISION
What to Watch for week of June 1 to 7, 2009
from EW.com: TV
By Jessica Shaw
A day-to-day guide to notable programs*
The Hills: The Death and Birth of Lauren Conrad
from Defamer by Richard Lawson
Well that, I guess, is it. The last we'll see of old Lauren "LC" Conrad on The Hills, the reality dynasty that she helped build with her own two well-groomed hands. How did it all go down? Well, like any good comedy, it ended with a wedding.
Brian Williams On White House Access: "We Were Pretty
Stunned At How Much We Were Able To Record"
from mediabistro.com: TVNewser
In advance of the NBC News special "Inside the Obama White House" --
set to air tomorrow and Wednesday at 9pmET -- Brian
Williams tells The Washington Post's Howard
Kurtz that among the 150 hours of footage shot for the program,
"there's stuff we've never seen of how the White House operates...we were
pretty stunned at how much we were able to record and how natural events seemed
to be."
MSNBC, Starbucks team for 'Morning Joe'
from Hollywood Reporter by By Anthony Crupi, Mediaweek
MSNBC has brewed up a sponsorship deal with Starbucks that positions the coffee chain as the title sponsor of the daily news program Morning Joe.
Miley Cyrus signs on for more 'Hannah'
from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva
"Hannah Montana" will shine on. Disney Channel has closed a deal for a fourth season of the blockbuster series starring Miley Cyrus.
Bravo Freshens Up for Next Season
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks by ahampp@crain.com(Andrew Hampp)
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the last four years, Bravo has carved out an
instantly identifiable on-air brand, complete with an oft-repeated tagline
("Watch What Happens"), signature blue talk-box logo and a knack for
blog-able reality competition shows and docu-soaps. So Bravo is unveiling a new
on-air look and a new tagline, "By Bravo," on June 23, to be unveiled
tonight at a New York screening of the network's latest reality drama,
"NYC Prep."
Families compete on new 'Road Trip' series
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, June 1 (UPI) -- Comedian Reno Collier has been named host of the adventure reality series "Great American Road Trip," NBC announced Monday.
'Nip/Tuck': Famke Janssen alert!
from EW.com: Today's Latest Headlines by Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello: Series creator Ryan Murphy confirms via online fan forum that ''Ava Moore'' will be back
Neil Diamond booked for fireworks show
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
BOSTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Venerable pop music star Neil Diamond will perform
during the "Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular" TV special July 4, CBS
said Monday.
from EW.com: Today's Latest Headlines by Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello confirms exclusively that Brian Austin Green is in advanced talks to join the CW series' cast
Sizemore checks into 'Celebrity Rehab'
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, June 1 (UPI) -- Troubled actor Tom Sizemore has signed on to
appear in the third season of the U.S. reality TV series "Celebrity Rehab
with Dr. Drew," sources told TMZ.
Rob Cohen: I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! -- The Train
Wreck to End All Train Wrecks
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by Rob Cohen
It's hard to believe that the last season of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! was on the air in the US just 6 short years ago. How have we survived since 2003 without the nightly foibles of semi-celebrities romping through the jungle, thousands of feet (maybe even miles) from the nearest luxury resort?
Speidi tried to quit new reality show?
from Los Angeles Times - Celebrity News
Rumors are swirling about 'I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here?'
MUSIC
Cee-Lo, Justice, Little Boots Signed To Reborn Elektra Label
from Billboard News - All by Cortney Harding, N.Y.
Atlantic has announced that it will relaunch the Elektra Records imprint, which has been dormant since 2004. The label will be run by Fueled By Ramen founder John Janick and Atlantic EVP of A&R Mike Caren.
Listen Up: Timeliness, force, ferocity make Rancid feel fresh
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
Punk apathy is debunked as the East Bay quartet marshals all their strengths ferocity, stout melodies, ska oomph and a big heart ...
Beatles Reveal 'Rock Band' Details At E3
from Billboard News - All by Antony Bruno, Denver
The surviving members of the Beatles unveiled new details about their upcoming "Rock Band" videogame at the E3 videogame conference in Los Angeles.
Tidbits: Britney's dad demands the show go on
from MSNBC.com: Gossip
Though one tour insider called the "Circus" tour "a freak show," Jamie Spears
shows no signs of slowing his daughter's tour down. In fact, he's planning to
add more dates.
Exclusive: Pearl Jam Confirms Target Tie-Up
from Billboard News - All by Bill Werde, N.Y. (twitter.com/bwerde)
Pearl Jam was indeed recording a Target commercial under the direction of Cameron Crowe last week at Seattle's Showbox theater, Billboard can confirm. But there's more to the story than an exclusive retail relationship.
'Big Whiskey': A toast to LeRoi Moore
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
The first sound on Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King (* * * 1/2 out of four) comes from the GrooGrux King himself, saxophonist ...
Exclusive: New Sade On The Way, 2009 Release Possible
from Billboard News - All by Monica Herrera and David J. Prince, N.Y.
Sade Adu, the reclusive "quiet storm" soul signer who takes notoriously long breaks between releases, has regrouped with the band that bears her name and is recording her first album of new material since 2000's "Lovers Rock," Billboard.com sources confirm.
Neil Young puts his all in long-awaited 'Archives'
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
The harvest is in. After more than 20 years of plots, plans, pursuits and promises, the first installment of Neil Young's multimedia ...
Elbow Aims For 2010 Album Return
from Billboard News - All by Andre Paine, London
As it approaches the end of an extensive campaign for "The Seldom Seen Kid" (Fiction/Polydor), U.K. rock act Elbow is looking ahead to its follow-up to the award-winning album.
Ian Astbury In 'Love' With Film, Theater, Music Projects
from Billboard News - All by Wes Orshoski, N.Y.
In between gigs with the Cult and recent studio collaborations with the likes of Lupe Fiasco, the Cult's Ian Astbury is in the process of adding the titles of theater producer and filmmaker to his resume.
Ozzy Sues Over 'Black Sabbath' Name
from Billboard News - All by Gary Graff, Detroit
Even as the third incarnation of Black Sabbath - now doing business as Heaven & Hell - prepares to tour to promote its new album, "The Devil You Know," a battle is raging over who should own the Sabbath name.
ETC...
'Bridget Jones' headed to B'way
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
NEW YORK, June 1 (UPI) -- A Broadway musical version of the book and film "Bridget Jones's Diary" is in the works, the head of England's Working Title production company said.
Johnny Depp Opens Up Private Bahamian Getaway
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post
News Team
Johnny Depp took the July issue of Vanity Fair to his private Bahamian island where he
reminisced about Marlon Brando, watched 'Tropic Thunder' and talked about his
island getaway.
NYC launches film, TV location tours
from Hollywood Reporter by Reuters
Visitors to the Big Apple will be able to scope out some of the city's famous sites that have been featured in films and television shows with free podcasts unveiled by the city on Monday.
Salinger sues over "Catcher in the Rye" sequel
from Reuters: Entertainment News
NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.D. Salinger on Monday sued the writer and publisher of a book billed as a sequel to his classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye," saying the work infringes on his copyright.
Judge puts 'Columbo' actor Falk in conservatorship
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A judge says "Columbo" actor Peter Falk should be placed under his wife's care....
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