The Newsdesk 06.29.09 - LaToya Jackson Scene Cut From Bruno; Transformers Crushes Box Office
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen scored a five-day take of $200 million and took the top spot at the box office this weekend. Worldwide, the film has already racked up $387 mil. Michael Bay: The definition of criticproof.
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made more changes to the Oscars, specifically to the Best Song category and the Lifetime Achievement award. Next thing you know, they'll be combining sound editing and sound mixing into one supersonic category.
• LaToya Jackson's scene has been cut from Bruno in light of Michael Jackson's passing.
• Nightmare on Elm Street, Where the Wild Things Are, and Avatar are among Warner Bros. preview offerings at the San Diego Comic-Con.
• Jason Lee has joined Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in the crime caper A Couple of Dicks. Considering Kevin Smith is behind the camera, this should come as no surprise.
• The first trailer for Ricky Gervais's next comedy, The Invention of Lying, has been released. What, no Ghost Town 2: More Ghostin'?
Networks, Media Agencies Inch Forward in Upfront Talks
from Advertising Age - MediaWorks by bsteinberg@adage.com(Brian Steinberg)
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A flurry of new TV shows is set to hit the airwaves come September. Now media buyers are starting to ask how much time they'll have to purchase airtime if networks want to ensure that all those shows have a full slate of advertising behind them.
Indie biz struggles, but startups bloom
from Film Journal by Steven Zeitchik
Oscilloscope Laboratories founder Adam Yauch was hosting a DVD-release party last month at his offices high above SoHo when he was asked to summarize his startup's business strategy.
New Par chief makes first pick
from Hollywood Reporter by By Jay A. Fernandez
Newly installed Paramount Film Group president Adam Goodman is wasting no time.
FESTIVALS
At Saatchi's New Directors Showcase: Zombies and Video Clips
from Advertising Age - Madison+Vine by adiaz@creativity-online.com(Ann Christine Diaz)
CANNES (AdAge.com) -- Saatchi & Saatchi took a refreshing turn in the introduction to its 19th-annual New Directors Showcase at Cannes, bringing up-and-coming director Marc Price onstage to tell how he pulled off a near miracle with "Colin," the zombie movie that generated heaps of buzz earlier this year at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Warner Bros Announces Comic-Con Line-Up
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Warner Bros has officially announced the panels they will be presenting at the 2009 SAn Diego Comic-Con International. Films include The Final Destination, Where The Wild Things Are, The Book Of Eli, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Box, Jonah Hex, Sherlock Holmes, and Shorts.
Comic-Con boasts heavy TV lineup
from Hollywood Reporter by By James Hibberd
TV studios plan a strong presence at Comic-Con, including panels for returning series and new series such as ABC's "V."
from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday
Sam Fleischner and Ben Chace's "Wah Do Dem" (What They Do) earned the Target Filmmaker Award for best narrative film, while Juan Carlos Rulfo and Carlos Hagerman' "Those Who Remain" (Los Que se Quedan) took home the Target Docmentary Award at the Los Angeles Film Fest, which concluded Sunday.
AWARDS
from Variety.com - Award Central News
Award Central News: Changes could have bigger implications -- It was a big week for Oscar, with two announcements on Friday of changes that might seem like minor tweaks at first glance but in fact have bigger implications.
Nominating ballots for Emmys due
from Variety.com - Award Central News
Award Central News: Noms will be announced at 5:35 a.m. on July 16 -- Nominating ballots for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards are due back at the downtown L.A. offices of Ernst & Young by 5 p.m. PT on Friday.
from USATODAY.com Music - Top Stories
After three days to process the shock and grief, attendees at the BET Awards a show thrown into "total overhaul" by the death ...
from Reuters: Entertainment News
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The BET Awards kicked off on Sunday night with a musical tribute to Michael Jackson in which host Jamie Foxx did Jackson's famous moonwalk and sung his hit song "Beat It" in a classic King of Pop costume -- red leather jacket and one white glove.
MOVIES
Weekend Box Office: June 26-28, 2009
from Box Office Mojo - Current Box Office Results
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen tops the box office with an estimated $112.0 million
'Transformers' rocks overseas boxoffice
from Hollywood Reporter by By Frank Segers
DreamWorks/Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" blanketed the international circuit over the weekend, recording an explosive $162 million.
Box Office: 'Transformers 2' earns $201 million its first five days
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Nicole Sperling
Michael Jackson's death may have overshadowed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the top entertainment story of the weekend, but it didn't hamper its box-office performance.
Box Office: "Hurt Locker" Huge
from indieWIRE News
Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" bowed in four theaters this weekend and according to estimates, it took in a huge $144,000 gross. That makes for a $36,000 average for the Summit Entertainment release, topping the opening of recent films like "Whatever Works" and "Away We Go" to become the second biggest limited debut of 2009, behind only "Sunshine Cleaning."
Did Joan Jett "Pick" Kristen Stewart to Play Her?
Do celebrities really get a say in who plays them in the biopic? Did Joan Jett really "pick" Kristin Stewart?
'My Sister's Keeper': Outraged?
from EW.com: Movies
By Kate Ward
SPOILER ALERT! Kate Ward on decision to change movie's ending. So, fans of the novel: Are you livid?
'Bruno': Michael Jackson scene removed
from EW.com: Movies
Filmmakers scramble to delete a scene featuring Michael's sister LaToya -- just hours before the film's premiere
Michael Bay in 'I Am Number Four' deal
from Hollywood Reporter by By Jay A. Fernandez
Flush with the cascading waterfall of revenue from their "Transformers" sequel, director Michael Bay and DreamWorks are getting right back into business together.
Chinese censors tinker with 'Transformers'
from Hollywood Reporter by By Jonathan Landreth
China's government once again demonstrated its sensitivity to portrayal of the country in foreign movies, bleeping out "Shanghai" during a battle scene.
Ratings: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett specials dominate Thursday night
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Margaret Lyons
Network viewers were more interested in Farrah Fawcett than Michael Jackson last night -- but they still preferred CSI reruns and So You Think You Can Dance overall.
'Real Housewives' sex tape won't be released
from MSNBC.com: Reality TV
A judge on Wednesday ordered an injunction banning the release of any sexually explicit video or pictures of Danielle Staub and her former boyfriend Stephen Zalewski pending a hearing next month.
NBC to host celebration of Ed McMahon
from MSNBC.com: Television
Ed McMahon's publicist says a celebration of the late "Tonight" show sidekick, who died Monday, is set for July 1.
MUSIC
Attorney: Doctor found Jackson in bed with pulse
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By ANTHONY McCARTNEY
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A lawyer for the doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he died says the physician found the entertainer in his bed with a faint pulse.
Janet, Brothers May Do Michael Jackson Tribute Tour
from Billboard News - All by Roger Friedman, The Hollywood Reporter
On the table for consideration is a Janet Jackson/Jackson Brothers tribute tour to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson, according to sources.
New Song: Diddy, Chris Brown Honor Michael Jackson
from Spin magazine's Daily Noise by Matt Kiser
Less than 24 hours after Michael Jackson's death, Diddy, Chris Brown, the Game, and Boyz II Men have already collaborated on and released a tribute song to the King of Pop called "Better On the Other Side."
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
BURBANK, Calif., June 27 (UPI) -- The all-star cast of this summer's "American Idol" U.S. tour say the pressure is off and they can focus on fun.
ETC...
TV pitchman Billy Mays found dead at Florida home
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By MITCH STACY
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Billy Mays, the burly, bearded television pitchman whose boisterous hawking of products such as Orange Glo and OxiClean made him a pop-culture icon, has died.
Funeral for Farrah Fawcett set for Tuesday
A private funeral service for actress Farrah Fawcett will be conducted Tuesday afternoon at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, California, according to her publicist.
Kendra Wilkinson weds at Playboy Mansion
from EW.com: TV
By Kate Ward
Reality star and former Girl Next Door tied the knot with football player fiance Hank Baskett on Saturday
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