The Newsdesk 06.08.09 - Up Soars Again; Cameron Joins Heavy Metal
• Up was once again the most popular movie at the box office this weekend, narrowly edging out The Hangover with $44.2 million. Land of the Lost was this summer's Speed Racer, bombing in fourth place with $19.5mil.
• DreamWorks has picked up The Defenders, a video game-centric adventure from Heroes star Masi Oka.
• James Cameron has signed on to direct a segment of Heavy Metal, according to the movie's producer Kevin Eastman. Expect to see the finished product around, oh, 2020.
• Nine-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali will publish a memoir. To be fair, her life is pretty interesting. If we had written a book at that age, it would have been exclusively about He-Man and Jell-O pudding pops.
• Michael Bay confirmed that the IMAX version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be slightly longer. Will it feature robot fighting, or an extended sequence of Shia LaBeouf in chemistry class?
BIZ
Media Buyers Fairly Frosty on Prospects for Prime-Time Leno
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks by bsteinberg@adage.com(Brian Steinberg)
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- NBC is touting Jay Leno's new prime-time program, which
will make its debut Sept. 14, as an innovative, DVR-proof move, but buyers say
the new talk show will draw fewer viewers than ABC and CBS on any given night,
and are balking at paying prime-time prices for what they view as late-night
ratings.
Not That You Were, TV Networks, but Don't Count on Chrysler in
the Upfront
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks by jhalliday@adage.com(Jean Halliday)
DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- Chrysler isn't planning to participate in the TV upfront
-- and it may continue life without the brand that carries its name.
New Line Cinema thriving with Warner Bros.
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, June 7 (UPI) -- New Line Cinema has bucked the odds and is doing
well since falling under the umbrella of fellow U.S. film studio Warner Bros.,
an industry official says.
Icahn puts more stock in Lionsgate
from Variety.com
Business News: Billionaire's stake in mini-major leaps 1.1% -- Carl Icahn has boosted his stake in Lionsgate to 15.6% from 14.5% over the past month in a signal that he could still make a move to control the mini-major.
Will Warner Grow Tired of New Line, Its Pet Indie?
from NYT > Movies by By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Now folded into Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema is surprising some as it manages to hang on to its indie flair.
Weinstein Co. eyeing financial changes
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, June 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. film studio Weinstein Co. is exploring
potential refinancing or restructuring with a financial adviser, people
familiar with the situation say.
PGA Conference Puts Focus on Producer
from The Wrap RSS by Sharon Waxman
"The producer is at the center of entertainment," PGA president Marshall Herskovitz said.
Television, Univision head to court
from Variety.com
Business News: Hispanic media giants feuding over internet rights -- Nearly six months after settling out of court, Hispanic media giants Televisa and Univision head back to court Tuesday to determine whether the Mexican media conglom has the right to distribute its programming online in the U.S.
Legislation jeopardizes N.Y. tax breaks
from Variety.com
Business News: Film, TV productions could take serious hit -- The Gotham film community is up in arms over legislation backed by the Mayor's Office of Film and Television that would shrink the city's contribution to tax breaks for film productions and TV series.
FESTIVALS
2009 Virgin Festival BC Lineup!
After taking a year off, the Virgin Festival returns to British Columbia. Sonic Youth, De La Soul, and Ben Harper are just a few of the headliners playing Burnaby's Deer Lake Park on July 25-26.
Mile High Coup: Denver Film Society Ousts Embattled Leader;
Erickson Named Interim E.D.
from indieWIRE News
The Board of Directors at the Denver Film Society has decided to remove Bo Smith as executive director of the organization and Britta Erickson has been named interim executive director, indieWIRE confirmed this morning.
Thievery Corporation and Others Join Mile High
With only 42 days left, it seemed like the Mile High Music Festival was all set for artists.
Surviving the Economy, NYC's Newfest Finds New Home, New
Outlook
from indieWIRE News
Though Newfest, New York's LGBT film festival, obviously programs for a niche audience, in some ways the event, which opened Thursday night in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood with Jacqui Morris' "Mr. Right," is experiencing the same financial and staffing hurdles that many of its larger and more mainstream counterparts have had to face recently.
New Artists Added to All Points West
The organizers of All Points West announced via their official Twitter that five new bands have been added to the lineup. The new artists are: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Xavier Rudd, Rye Rye, The Honey Brothers, and La Roux.
Newport fest honors 'Children'
from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday
Tze Chun's "Children of Invention" took the narrative
feature jury prize at the 2009 Newport International Film Festival, which
concluded Sunday in Newport, R.I.
AWARDS
from Variety.com
Legit News: 2009 Tony Awards winners list
VH1's 'Hip Hop Honors' to celebrate Def Jam Records
from Top Stories from LiveDaily.com
VH1 will honor the achievements of hip-hop label Def Jam
Records for its sixth annual "Hip Hop Honors" celebration this
October.
MOVIES
Weekend Box Office: June 5-7, 2009
from Box Office Mojo - Current Box Office Results
Up tops the box office with an estimated $44.2 million
'Terminator' tops overseas boxoffice
from Hollywood Reporter by By Frank Segers
Holdover "Terminator Salvation" decisively claimed the No. 1 spot overseas this weekend with $67.5 million grossed from 8,325 screens in 70 markets.
'Angels & Demons' Passes $400M Global
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
Imagine/Sony's Angels & Demons this weekend became the No. 1 grossing global hit released to date this year.
Land of the Lost Declared "First Bomb of Summer"
Land of the Lost debuted with an estimated $7 million Friday, prompting the box-office-tracking Exhibitor Relations to pronounce the $100 million Will Ferrell extravaganza "the first bomb of...
from MSNBC.com: Movies
"Land of the Lost" is just the latest proof that Will Ferrell's shtick -- the
clueless, self-deprecating blowhard man-child -- is growing stale. You can put
him in a NASCAR jumpsuit or a quantum paleontologist's khakis, but he's pretty
much always the same guy.
Jim Cameron to Hollywood: 'Avatar,' 3D Will Change Moviegoing
from The Wrap RSS by Sharon Waxman
Director James Cameron urged Hollywood on Saturday to embrace 3-D technology,
and to work together to make it the central focus of theatrical filmed
entertainment.
Directors downsize their productions' scales
Sam Mendes, Ang Lee, Sam Raimi and Steven Soderbergh all
have movies out this summer, but none are big-budget, big-star projects. And
that's by choice.
`Slumdog' child star, 9, to publish life story
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ...
LONDON (AP) -- One of the child stars of the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire" is to publish her life story....
David Bowie's Son Readies His Feature Debut
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post
News Team
If his name and his stately, Americanized accent do not immediately ring a
bell, Mr. Jones is for the moment better known as the son of David Bowie, the
glam rock star who populated his own parallel worlds with sci-fi alter egos
like Ziggy Stardust and Halloween Jack, and who raised his son under the
otherworldly name Zowie Bowie.
David Wild: The Hangover: Better Than Citizen Kane and Maybe
Even Step Brothers
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by David Wild
My wife and I just got home from seeing The Hangover and let me say we
haven't laughed so much together since we saw Dick Cheney on Face The
Nation.
Ed Helms' Real-Life Missing Tooth Method Acting
from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post
News Team
Ed Helms's toothless grin has been emblazoned on posters for his new movie The
Hangover and it turns out the holey smile wasn't just a gag.
Zach Galifianakis: the EW chat
from EW.com: Movies
By Kate Ward
Costar tells us about surprise summer hit ''The Hangover,'' his upcoming show
on HBO, music videos, farming, and more
Richard Linklater's 'Spiritual Sequel' To Dazed and Confused On
Hold
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
A couple months ago, Chud reported that Richard Linklater briefly talked up a
'spiritual sequel' to Dazed and Confused while at an appearance in
Austin, TX.
Soderbergh To Spend Nearly $60M On Moneyball
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Stories like this make me fall in love with Steven Soderbergh all over again.
He's making Moneyball, a film based on Michael Lewis' book of the same
name about how Oakland A's manager Billy Beane used an unusual statistics
system to build the best and cheapest team in baseball.
Spider-Man 4 To Feature New York City Centric Villain
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
New York Post blogger Reed Tucker has been speaking to
producer Todd Black. Their chat was ostensibly about Tony Scott's The Taking
of Pelham 1 2 3 rehash though Tucker valiantly swung in with a few Spider-Man
4 questions too.
from Forbes.com: Media News by Dorothy Pomerantz
NBC Universal is already facing one suit over Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie. Many more are likely.
from Forbes.com: Media News by Vidya Ram
Producers seek Hollywood stars for their films in an effort to broaden viewership.
Shia LaBeouf spills 'Transformers' secrets
from MSNBC.com: Movies
His broken hand, crushed in an off-set accident during production, that forced
the screenwriters to react.
A.R. Rahman to score 'Couples Retreat'
from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by By Gregg Kilday
Composer/musician A.R. Rahman, who picked up two Oscars for his work on "Slumdog Millionaire," will compose the score for Universal's upcoming comedy "Couples Retreat."
Film offers troubling view of U.S. food industry
from MSNBC.com: Movies
Director Robert Kenner hopes Food, Inc." will raise awareness of the
enormous price in health and safety that he says Americans pay to gorge
themselves on the relatively cheap calories that stock supermarket shelves
courtesy of a handful of multinational corporations.
EXCLUSIVE: Guillermo Del Toro Rules Out Directing 'Hobbit'
Bridge Film
from MTV Movies Blog by Eric Ditzian
The journey of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" to the big screen has taken yet
another turn, MTV News has exclusively learned.
'Locker' hopes to defy Mideast jinx
Film News: Summit to market film as an urban cop thriller --
Fresh off its marketing triumph on teen vampire pic "Twilight,"
Summit Entertainment has got its work cut out persuading moviegoers to see
"The Hurt Locker," a well-reviewed thriller from Kathryn Bigelow that
nonetheless is likely to face resistance from auds because of its subject
matter.
TELEVISION
from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter
Comedian Stephen Colbert has landed in the battle-scarred country to broadcast four episodes of his TV show,...
Erica Kane becoming TV's ultimate cougar
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By DAVID BAUDER
NEW YORK (AP) -- Susan Lucci's memorable "All My Children" character is about to become TV's Ultimate Cougar....
Reality TV star Heidi Pratt hospitalized
Reality TV star Heidi Pratt was hospitalized Saturday in Costa Rica, her publicist confirmed.
Heidi Pratt's "Hospitalization" Is One Giant Reality
TV Mess
from Defamer by Foster Kamer
Heidi Pratt was
rushed to a hospital in Costa Rica last night for some kind of stomach
infection while filming/quitting I'm
A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. Our source calls the entire thing out.
Kathy Griffin's 'D-List' adds some A-list star power for new
season
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
Having spent the better part of four seasons tartly skewering celebrities, Kathy Griffin rubs shoulders with more than a few ...
Edie Falco takes a shot at dramedy in 'Nurse Jackie'
from L.A. Times - TV News
The 'Sopranos' costar moves from the mob to medicine in the
dark and sometimes droll Showtime series.
A peek inside 'Project Runway's' sixth season
from MSNBC.com: Reality TV
After an endless legal battle kept the popular fashion show in limbo for
months, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, and pals finally return on a new network, in a
new city, and with some brand-new twists.
USA Network's summer off to strong start
from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter
USA Network kicked off its summer season in style, with hit "Burn Notice" and new dramedy "Royal Pains" off...
from Hollywood Reporter by By James Hibberd
Fourteen-year-old chef Greg Grossman has signed a production deal to develop and star in his own reality TV show.
Newsweek: Does reality TV hate women?
Thanks to ridiculous shows like "Bridezilla" and "Real Housewives of New Jersey," sexists everywhere can make a case that women are weak, shallow, vain, stupid, gold-digging, desperate and delusional.
The Reality of Reality TV: It's Acting, Court Rules
from NYT > Television by By ERIC PFANNER
The highest court in France ruled last week that contestants on a reality show were entitled to contracts and compensation, just as professional actors would be.
MUSIC
Coldplay's Next Record "Might Be Bad"
from Spin magazine's Daily Noise by Matt Kiser
Coldplay fans, you've been warned: the Brit rockers and
former SPIN
cover stars are writing songs for their next record -- and they might suck.
Lemonheads' Dando sues GM over alleged song copy
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lemonheads founder Evan Dando (DAN'-doh) is suing General Motors, saying the auto giant copied one of his songs for an ad....
Pretenders, Cat Power, and Juliette Lewis Tour Together
from Spin magazine's Daily Noise by Matt Kiser
Blondie and Pat Benatar will have a little competition on
the touring circuit this summer. The Pretenders have tapped Cat Power and
Juliette Lewis for a month-long summer outing in support of their latest
record, 2008's Break Up the Concrete. The 22-date jaunt kicks off
Aug. 7 in Rama, Ontario.
Mandy Moore gets backs to basics on new CD
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By MICHAEL CIDONI
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Mandy Moore doesn't mind being perpetually seen as the "good girl" - even if she thinks that image is a bit skewed....
Paul Van Dyk Pumps Up The 'Volume'
from Billboard News - All by Gary Graff, Detroit
He's working a new best-of compilation, a fresh remix of his first big hit, an iPhone app, a video game score and an upcoming 17 shows in 17 days North American tour. But Paul van Dyk is most excited about his next album.
Jagged Edge Lining Up Guests For Slip-N-Slide Debut
from Billboard News - All by Mariel Concepcion, N.Y. and Gail Mitchell, L.A.
Slip-N-Slide Records, home to chart-topping artists like
Rick Ross and Plies, has signed the R&B quartet Jagged Edge fresh off their
departure from Def Jam Records.
Matisyahu Sees The 'Light' This August
from Billboard News - All by Michael D. Ayers, N.Y.
After numerous delays, Hasidic reggae artist Matisyahu's third studio album, "Light," will finally hit stores August 25.
S. Korean girl pop group coming to U.S.
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
SEOUL, June 7 (UPI) -- Wondergirls, the top female pop group in South Korea, plan a U.S. tour this summer with the Jonas Brothers, promoters said.
Kris Allen to sing anthem at NBA finals
from EW.com: TV
AP: ''American Idol'' season 8 champ will appear prior to the start of Sunday's
Game 2 in Los Angeles
Jay-Z Premieres New Song, 'D.O.A.': 'Death Of Auto-Tune'
from MTV News
New York's Hot 97 debuts track from Hov's forthcoming LP, Blueprint
3.
ABC site touts music from its series
Music News: Music Lounge has nearly 1,300 listeners per day -- ABC is cranking up the jukebox. It's not exactly MTV in its heyday, but with an array of pop-song-filled series from "Desperate Housewives" to "Grey's Anatomy," the Alphabet web is finding a new groove.
Lil Wayne Releases 'Kobe Bryant' Track, Predicts Lakers Victory
from MTV News
Track appears just hours before Los Angeles' game-one blowout victory over Orlando.
Woodstock rarities unearthed on boxed set
from Reuters: Entertainment News
DETROIT (Billboard) - Thirty-eight previously unreleased recordings from groups such as the Who, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jefferson Airplane will be included on a boxed set commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival.
Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, more will contribute to 'Mandela
Day' concert
from Top Stories from LiveDaily.com
Stevie Wonder [ tickets ], Alicia Keys [ tickets ], France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and many more will come together July 18 in New York to honor former South African President Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday.
ETC...
Jolie calls for more help in Darfur
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
NEW YORK, June 5 (UPI) -- U.S. actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has penned an essay for Time magazine, calling for more help for those suffering in war-torn Darfur.
'Friday Night Lights' coach Gaines rehired to lead Permian
from USATODAY.com Television - Top Stories
Nearly two decades after he left Odessa Permian, the coach at the center of the "Friday Night Lights" book and film is back on ...
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