• Ron Howard is tackling an adaptation of the comic book The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft. Will Cthulhu be voiced by Tom Hanks?

• Mickey Rourke will play a Mafia assassin in The Ice Man. Wrestler, assassin, comic book supervillian-- Rourke is running out of tough guy roles to play.

• Disney has ditched David Mamet's dark take on the Anne Frank story. And this concludes another installment of "unsurprising headlines of the day."

• Dimension Films announced plans for Scream 4, Spy Kids 4, and reboots of Children of the Corn and Short Circuit. So, basically, whatever they have lying around the studio.

• The Surrogates will likely overtake Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at the box office. It's the battle of Bruce Willis' hairpiece and kids with spaghetti in their hair. 

• Stanley Tucci, Christina Aguilera, and Cher have joined the cast of Burlesque, which basically sounds like a classier Showgirls.

BIZ

Moviemakers Use Brain Scan to Test-Screen Scenes

from Wired: Entertainment by Curtis Silver

A company called MindSign Neuromarketing is using MRI machines to help moviemakers test the emotional impact of scenes they've filmed.

Union election tests actors' will to fight

from USATODAY.com Movies - Top Stories

The Screen Actors Guild's next president is expected to be revealed Thursday, after ballots are counted from union members.

AMC taps vet exec Fitzgerald

from Variety.com - Film News

Film News: Network topper will oversee upcoming 'Rubicon' Fitzgerald tops scripted, current content -- AMC has appointed Susie Fitzgerald, a Brillstein-Grey and HBO vet, to the newly created position of senior veep of scripted development and current programming, based in Los Angeles.

FESTIVALS

'Fantastic Mr. Fox' to open AFI Fest

from Hollywood Reporter by By Carl DiOrio

Wes Anderson's stop-motion animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox" has been selected as the AFI Festival's opening-night gala film presentation.

310 Films from 60 Countries Head to Rio

from indieWIRE News

The 11th annual Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (Festival do Rio) kicks off today with a program of 310 films from 60 countries to screen between now and October 8.

AWARDS

Mark Burnett new 'People's Choice Awards' producer

from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By FRAZIER MOORE

NEW YORK (AP) -- "The People's Choice Awards" has announced that it's chosen Mark Burnett to produce next year's broadcast.

Eminem, Kid Rock, The Roots Pay Tribute To Def Jam At VH1's 'Hip Hop Honors'

from MTV News

LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, other label greats are honored at annual event, which airs on VH1 October 13.

AFI winners revealed in December

from Hollywood Reporter by By Carl DiOrio

The American Film Institute will announce AFI Awards winners in all film and TV categories on Dec. 13.

FILM

Daily Box Office: Wednesday, September 23, 2009

from Box Office Mojo - Current Box Office Results

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tops Wednesday's box office with $1.2 million

 

Chavez, Morales attend NY film premiere

from Entertainment News - UPI.com

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales attended the U.S. premiere of Oliver Stone's film, "South of the Border," in New York.

Stanley Tucci joins Cher, Christina Aguilera in 'Burlesque'

from Entertainment Weekly's News Briefs by Wendy Mitchell

Stanley Tucci will star with Cher and Christina Aguilera in musical film Burlesque, Variety reports.

Sam Raimi to produce Corin Hardy's 'Refuge'

from Entertainment Weekly's News Briefs by Wendy Mitchell

Sam Raimi has come on board to produce supernatural horror film Refuge, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rising British talent Corin Hardy will direct the project, about a remote town terrorized by a Yeti.

Remake of The Fly to Be Directed By... David Cronenberg

from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
Predictable news this evening with a double-take twist. David Cronenberg is said to be developing a remake of his 1986 sci-fi horror classic The Fly as a potential vehicle for him to write and direct.

Newmarket picks up Jon Amiel's 'Creation'

from Hollywood Reporter by By Steven Zeitchik

Indie distributor Newmarket is back on the acquisitions scene, picking up U.S. rights to Toronto International Film Festival opener "Creation."

Star Trek Sequel Will Deal with Modern Issues

from News in Film by Jeff Leins
In an interview last week with producer/director J.J. Abrams and producer/screenwriter Robert Orci, the LA Times had the opportunity to fire Star Trek sequel questions at the men behind the scenes.

Sony Announces Huge, Multi-Network Preview of '2012′

from NYT > Movies by By BROOKS BARNES

Sony Pictures to preview two-minutes of its upcoming disaster epic, "2012," on three major networks and several cable channels at roughly the same time.

TELEVISION

TV Ratings: CBS Dramas Bite Reality Back

from Advertising Age - MediaWorks by jrash@cmithun.com(John Rash)

MINNEAPOLIS (AdAge.com) -- Three CBS dramas -- "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "The Good Wife" -- easily beat unscripted series on rival networks to give CBS its strongest start with overall viewers since 1993 and the best beginning with the ad-centric adults 18-49 since 2004, according to the network.

Massive premieres for 'Cougar Town,' 'Modern Family'

from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter

Chronic comedy underdog ABC launched two new shows to stunning numbers Wednesday night.

Fox may buy Cowell's 'X-Factor'

from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter

Britain's "The X Factor" may be coming to the U.S. via Fox and a deal with the show's creator.

CW orders more 'Tree,' 'Vampire,' 'Melrose'

from The Live Feed by hollywoodreporter

The CW has given a full-season order to "One Tree Hill," while buying nine additional additional scripts of...

Austin City Limits sets new season

from Hollywood Reporter by By Michael D. Ayers, Billboard

For its 35th year on air, the famed public broadcast music show Austin City Limits is going big. Scheduled to perform this season are major acts like the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Them Crooked Vultures.

MUSIC

'Feeling' remains No. 1 on the U.S. chart

from Entertainment News - UPI.com

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The Black Eyes Peas's "I Gotta Feeling" is No. 1 on the U.S. record chart for a 13th week, Billboard.com reported Thursday.

Lily Allen Gives Her Label The Fear By Claiming That She's Quitting Music

from Idolator: Music News, Reviews, And Gossip by Maura
Lily Allen has had something of a busy Internet week, starting a blog-clearinghouse for artists' views on file sharing and getting into rows with "Everything Must Be Free For Me" types as a result of her saying that she kind of was not into the idea of people not paying for her record.

Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' single just gets it started

from L.A. Times - Music News

A traveling exhibition, album and movie about the King of Pop are also due.

Green Day Are 'Beyond Satisfied' With 'American Idiot' Musical

from MTV News

'It's like going to your own funeral,' Billie Joe Armstrong says.

Beyonce Agrees To Tone Down Concert For Malaysian Date

from MTV News

'We are against Western sexy performances; we don't think our people need that,' an opposition group had said.

Gary Numan Plans to Hit the Studio With Trent Reznor

from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Daniel Kreps

Gary Numan says his collaboration with Trent Reznor will jump from the live stage to the studio: The "Cars" singer told the Quietus he plans to work with the Nine Inch Nails leader in the near future.

ETC...

Randy Quaid & Wife Wanted For Arrest

from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, are a wanted couple -- there's a felony arrest warrant out for both of them for allegedly burglarizing and defrauding an innkeeper.

Jessica Biel To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro For Clean Water

from Entertainment on HuffingtonPost.com by The Huffington Post News Team
LOS ANGELES -- When Jessica Biel, Lupe Fiasco and Isabel Lucas get together in Africa, they'll have nowhere to go but up.

Katie Couric to be Glamour columnist

from Entertainment News - UPI.com

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric has joined Glamour magazine as a monthly columnist, editor-in-chief Cindi Leive announced Thursday.