• Al Pacino will play King Lear in a new film from Merchant of Venice director Michael Radford.
• Robert Downey Jr. claims that Mickey Rourke has not been cast as Crimson Dynamo in Iron Man 2. Hey, Rourke, how about taking over as The Thing in the Fantastic Four movies?
• Joaquin Phoenix insisted that his new hip hop career is not a hoax while promoting his new movie Two Lovers.
• The Dark Knight producer Charles Roven is developing Damascus Gate, a political thriller set in modern-day Jerusalem. At this point, he could probably get the phone book greenlit.
• A judge denied a restraining order that would have halted the still stalled SAG talks. The lawsuit involved reinstating recently ousted chief contract negotiator Doug Allen. No word on when talks will resume.
• Jessica Biel will host this year's Scientific and Technical Oscars. She joins Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson and many others, in the long line of attractive actresses who have been forced to hang out with tech geeks for a night.
• John Carpenter has cast All The Boys Love Mandy Lane star Amber Heard in his next horror film The Ward. It's either a creepy thriller about a mental hospital, or a Burt Ward biopic.
• The assistant director on Terminator: Salvation commented on Christian Bale's onset tirade. Meanwhile, Harry Knowles defended him, while a DJ remixed him.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 2/4/09
BIZ
Instead of resuming contract talks to prevent a Hollywood movie and TV production shutdown, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) members were in court Tuesday fighting over who should lead those negotiations.
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Tuesday denied the Screen Actors Guild's request for an injunction to restore Doug Allen to his leadership post.
Remember IATSE/AMPTP Tentative Pact? There Looks Like Lotsa
Trouble Ahead...
from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily by Nikki Finke
I'm told that January saw a lot of pushback from the various guild members and even board members angry over negotiated terms of the IATSE/AMPTP tentative contract in advance of what will be ratification ballotting this month.
'Twilight' studio Summit unlikely to merge with Lionsgate
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Nicole Sperling
Reports that
FESTIVALS
SXSW unveils all 2009 films
By Chris Garcia | Sunday, February 1, 2009, 09:33 PM SXSW has announced
its full 2009 roster of films
SXSW Movie Trailer: Sorry, Thanks
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com
(slashfilm.com)
In our continuing series to preview some of the little indies (or what some
people would call "real independent films") that will be playing at
the 2009 SXSW Film Festival, I give you the trailer for mumblecore producer (Mutual
Appreciation, Nights and Weekends) Dia Sokol's feature directorial
debut Sorry, Thanks.
SXSW Movie Trailer: Breaking Upwards
/FILM, MA - Feb 2, 2009
The reason why I like the SXSW Film Festival is because it contains a
lot of smaller films, movies that speak to people of my generation, and the
even more ...
SXSW Announces Social Networking Platform
PR Newswire (press release), NY - Feb 2, 2009
2 /PRNewswire/ -- Today South By Southwest (SXSW), announced the launch
of my.SXSW, the official social networking and scheduling tool for the
2009 ...
Documentaries spotlighted at AFI Dallas 2009
from Hollywood Reporter by By Gregg Kilday
The AFI DALLAS 2009 International Film Festival, which runs
from March 26-April 2, will include the world premieres of the documentaries
"One Nation," "Playground" and "Rock Prophecies."
from The Hollywood Reporter - Awards by By Gregg Kilday
The New York Film Festival will return to its traditional home, the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall, for its 47th edition, scheduled Sept. 25-Oct. 11.
London Film Festival sets date
from Variety.com - Film Festivals
Film Festivals: Event to take place on Oct. 14 - 29 -- The 53rd Times BFI London Film Festival will take place Oct. 14-29. The dates announcement was made Tuesday by artistic director Sandra Hebron.
MOVIES
Daily Box Office: Monday, February 2, 2009
from Box Office Mojo - Current Box Office Results
Taken tops Monday's box office with $2.2 million
Al Pacino to star in 'King Lear'
Film News: Michael Radford to direct film -- Al Pacino will
play the title role in "King Lear," an adaptation of the Shakespeare
play that will be directed by Michael Radford.
Shocker! Dakota Fanning Hasn't Read New Moon!
This just in: Dakota Fanning thinks it would be, like,
"really cool" to be in the sequel to Twilight--even though she hasn't
read the book.
Where is this year's 'Best Picture Bump'?
from Entertainment Weekly's Oscar Watch by Dave Karger
Dave Karger on lukewarm post-nomination box office for
''Milk,'' ''The Reader,'' and ''Frost/Nixon''
Mickey Rourke is NOT Crimson Dynamo
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
When MTV approached the subject of Rourke playing Dynamo, Robert
Downey Jr. was quick to say "That's actually incorrect."
Sorry, girlfriend, he's just not that into you
The phrase no woman wants to hear was an off-hand comment
attributed to comedian Greg Behrendt. Then it got legs. And a book. And a
movie.
'Wall-E' Won't Be Charging Up For Sequel, Says Film's Director
from MTV Movies Blog by Eric Ditzian
At the end of "WALL-E," the intergalactic Buy n Large cruise ship returned to an Earth freshly blossoming with life after several centuries of garbage-strewn toxicity. Our loveable title character and his high-tech hottie girlfriend EVE looked well on their way to some version of robotic bliss. What happens next we'll never know: there won't be a sequel.
TV
Study: Ads make TV more pleasurable
from Hollywood Reporter
A surprising new study concludes that viewers find TV more
pleasurable when they watch commercials.
Tough economy is good for evening newscasts
Tough economic news and the new Obama administration have helped bring more viewers to evening news shows, a TV staple that's been written off many times in the past.
ABC to drop names of 'DWTS' cast Sunday
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The names of the cast members
of the next edition of "Dancing with the Stars" are to be dropped
throughout ABC's Sunday night lineup, the U.S. network said.
Kendra Wilkinson to Star in Her Own Series
from People.com Latest News by Stephen M. Silverman
The bride-to-be will spin off from Girls Next Door to a new
show this fall
22M tune in for 'The Office' special
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- About 22 million
people tuned in for Sunday's special one-hour episode of the U.S. comedy series
"The Office," NBC said.
Ratings: 3-D 'Chuck' scores, 'Heroes' still less than super
from Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider by Tim Stack
NBC promoted its Monday night lineup all throughout Sunday's
Super Bowl but only ended up with mildly successful results. The action comedy
Chuck, armed with a 3-D episode and a guest turn by Lost's Dominic Monaghan,
earned 8.4 million viewers,...
Bob Costas on deck for MLB Network
from Hollywood Reporter by By Paul J. Gough
Emmy-winning sportscaster Bob Costas is leaving HBO and will
join the MLB Network as a host and play-by-play announcer.
Oscars Suspense: Will People Watch?
from NYT > Television by By MICHAEL CIEPLY
Some of Hollywood's most prominent players are privately
grumbling that the rituals of Oscar night have outlived any real sense of excitement
about the event.
from Variety.com
TV News: USA's original series fare well against networks -- After enjoying a string of successful series launches, TNT is struggling with its latest entry, ad agency drama "Trust Me."
MUSIC
Adele, Brown to perform at Grammys show
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Adele, Chris Brown and
Sugarland have agreed to perform at the 51st annual Grammy Awards show in Los
Angeles, CBS said Tuesday.
Nickelback leads noms for Juno Awards
from Reuters: Entertainment News
TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Canadian rock group
Nickelback led the musical pack Tuesday, picking up five nominations for the
38th annual Juno Awards, Canada's top music honors.
Spinal Tap Plot New Material in 2009
from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Daniel Kreps
Get ready to turn the amp back up to 11: Spinal Tap
are hoping to record new songs this year, which would mark the semi-fictional
band's first batch of new material since their 1992 album Break Like the
Wind.
Lily Allen takes over U.K. singles chart
from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by By Paul Sexton, Billboard
Lily Allen and Bruce Springsteen are the new champions on
the U.K. singles and album charts. Allen's "The Fear"
(Regal/Parlophone/EMI) debuted atop the singles chart, while Springsteen's
"Working on a Dream" (Columbia/Sony BMG) entered the album survey at
No. 1.
Elton John to close Las Vegas show
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
Elton John is playing his final notes on the red piano in
Las Vegas.
ETC...
Obama campaign manager getting 7-figure book deal
from USATODAY.com Life - Top Stories
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has agreed to a
seven-figure deal to write a book about last year's presidential election.
Phoenix Confirms He's Walking The Hip-Hop Line
from Access Hollywood - Movies
Joaquin Phoenix says there's no hoax about it: He really has
given up acting to become a hip-hop artist.
Octuplets: Eight is enough (for TV)
from EW.com: TV
By Lynette Rice
Nadya Suleman, mother of eight newborns, hires L.A. publicists to field offers -- does TLC have them on speed-dial yet?
Octuplets mom wants $2 million for story
from Los Angeles Times - Celebrity News
Oh, and she would also like a TV career as a child-care
expert.
Ticketmaster, Live Nation close to merger
from The Hollywood Reporter - Music by Reuters
Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and Live Nation Inc. may unveil a merger as soon as this week, creating a music industry powerhouse with a combined market value of more than $700 million, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.
Kennedy Center to help struggling arts groups
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ... by By BRETT ZONGKER
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the nation's nonprofit arts
organizations suffering in the dismal economy, the stalwart John F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts is offering crisis consulting to see them
through
Morning Jot: Scarborough has book out in May
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 ...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Cable television isn't enough for MSNBC's
Joe Scarborough. He has a book coming out in May.
Blagojevich, the spoof, debuts in Chicago
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
CHICAGO, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Chicago's Second City comedy troupe
is turning Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment into a one-act musical.
Bale tirade becomes YouTube sensation
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A recording of Welsh-born actor
Christian Bale losing his temper while working on a movie has been set to
various types of music on YouTube.
Costner becomes part owner of ball team
from Entertainment News - UPI.com
ZION, Ill., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A minor league baseball team,
partly owned by actor-director Kevin Costner, is set to move into a new stadium
in Lake County, Ill., in the summer of 2010.
Bobby Brown: Clean, Sober and About to Be a Dad Again
from People.com Latest News by Tiffany McGee
"I'm really excited about my addition to my
family," the singer, whose girlfriend/manager is pregnant, tells PEOPLE
Sam Lutfi Sues Britney Spears and Her Parents
from People.com Latest News by Ken Lee
The singer's former manager is claiming defamation and breach of contract
