NEWS ARCHIVE [page 2]
 
THE BILLION DOLLAR BATMAN [E! Online, 11/16/08]
It's going to happen. Maybe it already has. As of midweek, The Dark Knight's worldwide haul stood at a reported $997.6 million. Box-office experts said $1 billion, a mountain of money amassed by only three other movies in Hollywood history, was perhaps two weeks away. "Dark Knight's at a trickle now with no new territories," Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray said in an email. "[But] it's possible that it already has [hit the billion-dollar mark], as unreported grosses can suddenly come in." Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock speculated that Warner Bros. was perhaps waiting for the right moment—like, oh, say, the movie's Dec. 9 DVD release—to spring the announcement. As for the studio, when asked how far its movie had to go to $1 billion, its answer was: "Not yet." The only three current members of Hollywood's billion-dollar club are Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. On the domestic side, The Dark Knight is, with Titanic, one of only two movies to pass $500 million. (Titanic, of course, also topped $600 million to claim its box-office crown.). After setting box-office land-speed records in the summer, The Dark Knight has spent the last several weeks gutting out five-figure days. By comparison, at the same point in its run, Titanic, even with 1998 ticket prices, was still capable of $1 million days. In an apparent attempt to spur on its marathon runner, Warners is boosting The Dark Knight's release by 200-plus theaters this weekend. Even (almost) billionaires can use a hand.
 
HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS TRAILER OF "THE SPIRIT" HITS [Aceshowbiz, 11/16/08]
Anticipating the Christmas Day release of "The Spirit", Lionsgate Films have released another trailer to the live-action adaptation of Will Eisner's comic strip. Extremely short with around half-a-minute viewing time, the new video footage describes how other characters see The Spirit. It also teases more never-before-seen footage from the film. "Spirit" centers on a rookie cop by the name of Denny Colt. Returning from the dead, he poses as a masked hero seeking to sweep off criminals from Central City, including his foe, Octopus. Along the way, he meets a line of women seducing him out of his track for their own personal goals. Coming from Miller, it stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Sarah Paulson, and is supported by Dan Lauria, Stana Katic and Paz Vega. It will blast off in the U.S. big screen on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008.
 
CALGARY MAN CONVICTED OF MOVIE PIRACY [CBC, 11/16/08]
A Calgary man is believed to be the first person convicted in Canada under new movie pirating legislation when he pleaded guilty to the unauthorized recording of the Johnny Depp movie Sweeney Todd. Richard Lissaman was arrested in a northeast Calgary theatre last Dec. 21, 2007 making an illegal copy of the movie. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty on Friday, November 14, 2008, was fined $1,495 and banned from movie cinemas for a year. Other stipulations for his one-year probation include being banned from purchasing, owning or possessing any video recording equipment, including one on a cellphone. "We would have liked to see jail ... however, this is a good start," said Virginia Jones of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association. Jones said she hopes the conviction will deter others from creating bootleg copies of movies. Mark Christiansen of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood flew to Calgary to read a victim impact statement at the sentencing. He remarked that there are about 10 people at any one time in the world using camcorders to illegally record movies. "You can say he and his pals will watch the movie, but he has an item that is more supportive of taking something to be used to make a profit," said provincial court Judge Catherine Skene in her ruling. "It's not a simple theft of an item for personal consumption."
 
HELLBOY'S DEL TORO DEVELOPING DARKER PINOCCHIO MOVIE [CBC, 11/16/08]
Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is developing a stop-motion animated feature of Pinocchio with the Jim Henson Co, the people behind Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Del Toro will serve as the executive producer, according to Variety magazine. Del Toro, who has helmed the Hellboy film franchise, is working on a darker version of the fairy tale with co-writer Gris Grimley, who illustrated a version of Pinocchio back in 2002. Grimley will direct the film. Walt Disney produced the first feature film version of the story in 1940. Del Toro is extremely busy. He's in the midst of co-writing a two-picture production of The Hobbit, in conjunction with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. In September, the Mexican signed a four-year deal with Universal Studios which will include the films Drood (a fictional tale about Charles Dickens), an adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five and remakes of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The 44-year-old director made the acclaimed films The Devil's Backbone and 2006's Pan's Labyrinth, which captured three Academy Awards including best art direction and cinematography.
 
ROYAL VARIETY SHOW FOR LION KING [BBC, 11/15/08]
The cast of the stage musical Lion King will mark the show's 10th year in London by appearing at the Royal Variety Performance in December, 2008. It is the first time a West End show has been asked to return to the Royal event, after appearing in 1999. The BBC Concert Orchestra will also record a special Christmas edition of Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night to mark the anniversary. The program, dedicated to Disney music, will be broadcast on Boxing Day. It will bring together stars of the West End and Broadway. The Lion King opened to popular and critical acclaim in 1999 and remains one of the most sought-after tickets in the West End. It is best known for its award-winning score, written by Sir Elton John and Tim Rice, and its elaborate costumes.
 
NBC SIGNS DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH HILARY DUFF [AP, 11/15/08]
Hilary Duff will soon become a fixture on NBC. The former Lizzie McGuire has signed a talent and development deal with the network. NBC said it will come up with a new series for Duff to star in, although it offered no details on what that might be. In addition, the network said Friday, November 14 that Duff will appear as a guest in several other NBC series over the next year, but there were no details. Duff recently co-starred in the John Cusack movie "War, Inc." and has three feature films coming out next year. The announcement was made by Ben Silverman, co-chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
 
HBO EYES LAURA LINNEY FOR BIOPIC [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/15/08]
HBO Films is developing a biopic about Katharine Graham, the venerable publisher of the Washington Post who oversaw the paper's Watergate coverage leading to the resignation of President Nixon. The untitled project, which is in the very early stages of development, is being written by novelist Joan Didion and will follow Graham's ascendancy to the top post at the newspaper after her husband committed suicide in 1963. Should the project go forward, HBO Films is planning to offer Laura Linney the role of Graham. Linney won an Emmy in September for her role as Abigail Adams, wife of the second president, in HBO's "John Adams." Robert Benton, the Oscar-winning writer/director of "Kramer vs. Kramer," is attached to direct the biopic.
 
SUNDANCE FILM FEST'S PROP 8 HEADACHE [E! Online, 11/15/08]
Will the ultraliberal, gay-friendly Sundance Film Festival be hurt by the passage of California's anti-gay Prop 8? It's a possibility. Earlier this week, John Aravosis, editor of liberal political blog Americablog, posted a story suggesting the state of Utah be boycotted in order to punish the Mormon Church for its rabid support of Prop 8, the ballot initiative that has now banned same-sex marriages in California. The Robert Redford-founded not-for-profit Sundance is located in Park City, Utah, and relies on the yearly festival as its major fundraiser to support its programs and services. Next year's run in January is expected to draw at least 50,000 people, according to festival rep Brooks Addicott. "Unfortunately, Sundance is located in a really bad state," Aravosis said. And things got even sticker earlier today... Turns out that Alan Stock, CEO of movie chain Cinemark, donated almost $10,000 to Yes on 8. Sundance uses the local Cinemark-owned Holiday Village Cinema as one of its biggest screening venues. "Our friends," Aravosis said referring to the festival, "are giving money to the enemy." Even so, a Sundance rep said there are no plans to pull out of its deal with Cinemark because, quite simply, there's nowhere else to go. "There's nothing we can do," Addicott said. "We have a commitment to our filmmakers to show their films." Cinemark is trying to distance itself from Stock's contribution, insisting in a statement that the company has no opinion on Prop 8. "Any individual act or contribution is just that, individual acts of personal expression and do not reflect company positions or policy," the statement reads in part. Aravosis predicts protesters will target the theater come festival time. "Are filmmakers—even apolitical ones—going to want to walk into and use a theater that's being protested?" Aravosis asked. "I just don't know how you can defend using that theater." Sundance has a long-running history of supporting gay and lesbian filmmaking, including being the launching pad for the Oscar-winning Boys Don't Cry, among many other projects.
 
MOVIE ROLE HARDLY A STRETCH FOR JAZZ MUSICIAN [Reuters/Billboard, 11/15/08]
"Rachel getting married . . . ," Donald Harrison Jr. muses before the friends and family assembled at a fictional wedding. The setting is director Jonathan Demme's latest critically acclaimed work, starring Anne Hathaway; Harrison's opening line is the film's title. Harrison's character, a jazz musician and close friend of the bride's father who is a music industry executive, isn't a stretch. Yet Harrison inhabits it with the same arresting blend of charisma and humility that he brings to the various roles he plays in his native New Orleans. They include jazz saxophonist and bandleader, with a new album, "The Chosen"; mentor to young players through a weekly nonprofit workshop; and Big Chief of Congo Nation, extending the Mardi Gras Indian tradition he inherited from his late father. "Rachel Getting Married" explores several powerful themes as stitched into the lives of a single family. Before the nuptials, Harrison lifts his alto sax and plays "Rachel Loves Sidney," which serves as a recurring musical motif. (The song appears on the Lakeshore Records soundtrack.) That Harrison entered Demme's extended family seems only natural. His mother, Herreast, opened her then-destroyed home and her life to Demme three years ago when the director began gathering hundreds of hours of footage for his documentary, "Right to Return: New Home Movies From the Lower Ninth Ward." One day when Demme and his crew were in the yard, Harrison played a bit of "Amazing Grace" on alto sax. Then, he grabbed a tambourine and, with his sister, Cara, and a nephew, Kiel, by his side singing, underscored the Mardi Gras Indian traditional "Two-Way-Pocky-Way" to that same rhythm. Demme shook his head in wonder. "Donald is a true virtuoso," Demme says, "and the Harrisons are a royal family of New Orleans culture." "Acting came naturally to me," Harrison said as he walked the red carpet along with Demme and Hathaway, before a premiere at New Orleans' Canal Place Cinema. "It seems a lot like making music, the give and take with those around you, the sense of context necessary for everything you do." He likens Demme's directorial flair to that of a musical idol, Charlie Parker. "Like Parker's music, Jonathan's work flows as if it's real life," he said. "I'll play in his band anytime."
 
GOLDBERG BRINGS "SISTER ACT" TO U.K. [BBC, 11/15/08]
Hollywood actress Whoopi Goldberg is to produce a London stage version of her 1992 hit film comedy Sister Act. The movie is about a singer who police hide in a convent masquerading as a nun after she witnesses a mob crime. Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat, Goldberg said: "We're taking the show and redefining it and making it work." The musical, which was first performed at the Pasadena Playhouse in California in 2006, will preview at the London Palladium from May next year. "If you are fortunate enough to be a part of something wonderful, I feel it's important to pass the baton," said Goldberg, 53. The Oscar-winning star said some changes had been made, adding that the main character, Deloris, would be younger than she was when Goldberg played her in the film. No decisions have been made about casting, although Goldberg said the singers they have heard so far will "tear the house down". The actress is hoping to conquer her fear of flying to travel to London for the rehearsals. "Sister Act will never die," said Goldberg. "It's like the Mickey Mouse Club, it's never going anywhere. "Sister Act will always live, so let us all get together and breathe life into it together."
 
"TWILIGHT" FILM FRANCHISE LOOKS AHEAD [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/15/08]
Ahead of next Friday's release of the eagerly anticipated vampire romance "Twilight," indie studio Summit Entertainment is moving potential future installments in the franchise into the development pipeline. The company has acquired rights to the next three novels in Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster series, "New Moon," "Eclipse" and "Breaking Dawn." It has hired "Twilight" scribe Melissa Rosenberg, a writer/producer on Showtime's "Dexter," to adapt the first two. "Breaking Dawn," has not attached a writer. "Twilight," which revolves around the relationship between an average teenage girl, Bella, and a vampire, Edward, in a rainy Northwest town, has been generating huge buzz ahead of its November 21 bow. In "New Moon," Edward leaves Bella, sending Bella into a depression and a friendship with another vampire. In the third book, "Eclipse," that relationship triangle evolves, while evil empires begin to pursue Bella. "Breaking Dawn" pushes the plot further with a marriage between Bella and Edward. 
 
TVO TO PUT SHOWS ON YouTube [CBC, 11/15/08]
TVO, Ontario's public educational television station, is launching a channel on YouTube through a revenue-sharing agreement with the website. The channel hub, which will launch in early 2009, will feature TVO-produced programs including its educational show Your Voice and news program The Agenda with Steve Paikin. Users will be able to create playlists and subscribe to various shows through the hub. TVO will share revenue generated from advertisements on its page with YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc. Lisa de Wilde, TVO's chief executive officer, said the deal reflects the channel's move toward expanding its audience through digital means. "It significantly extends the impact and reach of our innovative content, allowing a global audience to discover that TVO is unmatched when it comes to stimulating thought and starting smart conversations," she said in a statement on Thursday, November 13. "At the same time, having a dedicated space on YouTube opens up new and incremental revenue streams for TVO." The channel also announced similar online video deals with Yahoo in March and Joost in June. YouTube last month announced it would show full-length shows from CBS on its website, although only to U.S. users. YouTube is also in talks with major Hollywood studios to show feature films on its website. Industry analysts believe consumers may start discontinuing their home cable and satellite subscriptions as more television shows become available online.
 
ALANIS TO APPEAR ON DEBUT OF ROSIE O'DONNELL VARIETY SHOW [CBC, 11/15/08]
Canadian singer Alanis Morissette will perform on the episode of a new variety show being hosted by comedian Rosie O'Donnell. With Rosie Live, to debut Nov. 26 on NBC, O'Donnell is trying to revive the variety show format of programs such as The Carol Burnett Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. Morissette, who is touring in support of her album Flavours of Entanglement, will sing from New York's Little Shubert Theatre, where performances are being taped. O'Donnell has also announced rapper Ne-Yo, known for the singles Miss Independent and Closer, for the first show. O'Donnell plans a monologue, musical guests and comedy sketches for each show. She'll be joined on the first episode by comedians Kathy Griffin, from My Life on the D- List, and Jane Krakowski, from 30 Rock. Rosie Live is debuting in a primetime slot ahead of the American Thanksgiving holiday Nov. 27, 2008. O'Donnell previously had a daytime talk show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, which ran for six seasons, but her more recent on-screen role as a host of The View lasted less than a season.
 
MARVEL TOONS UP THUNDER GOD THOR FOR TV SERIES [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/14/08]
Marvel's Thor is the latest hero from the comics and entertainment company to get cartoon treatment. Marvel Animation is developing and self-producing 26 half-hour episode series based on its long-running comic book, with the series targeted to launch in fall 2010, on the heels of Marvel's live-action feature "Thor." The animated series will follow the Norse god of thunder, as he defends his mythical home of Asgard against fantastical villains, fiendish hordes, winged creatures and angry giants. The show will take place in various worlds -- from mountainous landscapes to places of icy mists and fiery voids and will include many of the comic's supporting cast, such as Balder the Brave, the Warriors Three and Thor's evil adopted brother Loki. Marvel president of animation Eric Rollman said the series is part of the company's plan to follow each live-action movie with an animated series and "offer a continued awareness in the marketplace." It is already in production on cartoon series "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes," which will be available for broadcast in 2011, in time for Marvel Studios' releases of the tentpole live-action movies "The First Avenger: Captain America" and "The Avengers." Marvel Animation is in the midst of a big push in the toon sector. Its new series "Wolverine and the X-Men" and "Iron Man: Armored Adventures" debut next year on Nicktoons. Also coming is "Marvel Super Hero Squad" and "Black Panther." The latter will run on BET in 2009.
 
DARK KNIGHT'S OSCAR CHANCES DIM SLIGHTLY [E! Online, 11/14/08]
While many Oscar pundits are predicting The Dark Knight as a dark horse Best Picture Academy Award contender, we just found out one statuette the Caped Crusader sequel won't take back to Gotham City. The film's score has been disqualified by the Academy over a technicality. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard were listed as the primary composers on the award submission, but three other names that appeared on the "music cue sheets" were left off, per Variety. The Academy's music branch in turn ruled that Zimmer and Howard didn't write enough of the score to be eligible for the ballot. While its music might not make the cut, Dark Knight is expected to receive Oscar nods in several technical categories, and Heath Ledger figures to be on the shortlist in the Supporting Actor race.
 
ELTON JOHN CELEBRATES 'BILLY ELLIOTT' ON BROADWAY [E! Online, 11/14/08]
Elton John still can't believe he's a Broadway hitmaker. The 61-year-old musician marveled at his success Thursday night, November 13 at the opening of "Billy Elliot." He composed the score for that show, "Aida" and "The Lion King," which is still playing on the Great White Way. "I'm looking up at the street and I'm seeing the sign for 'The Lion King,' and I'm standing here and I'm thinking, 'I had never thought in a million years I'd ever be standing in Broadway and talking about something I'd written for the stage," said John, beaming with pride. John, accompanied by partner David Furnish, said he'd rather write a musical than record an album because he likes having a story line and characters. "I love it — but I've got a lot to learn," he said. "I'm a novice at this." "Billy Elliot," at the Imperial Theater, is based on the popular 2000 movie about a young boy who longs to dance but lives in the bleak coal-mining area of Northern England. His story is set against the backdrop of a bitter miners' strike. "It's a triumph over adversity. It's something beautiful coming out of something tragic," John mused about the show, which has had successful runs in London and Sydney, Australia. The role of Billy has been cast with three actors — David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish — rotating the physically demanding part. Joining John at Thursday's performance: Barbara Walters, Rosie O'Donnell, Ron Howard, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Spacey, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and tennis legend Billie Jean King.
 
ONLINE KING VIDEO GETS MORE THAN 1 MILLION HITS [AP, 11/14/08]
Stephen King is a video star. The animated video adaptation of the horror master's short story "N." has been viewed more than a 1 million times on the Internet and on mobile phones since its release in July, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. King has well demonstrated his digital appeal before; his e-novella "Riding the Bullet" was a sensation in the early years of the Internet. "Stephen King has once again lured his readers to try a new way to enjoy a story," Susan Moldow, executive vice president and publisher of Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, said Thursday, November 13 in a statement. The print version of King's short story, in which a psychiatrist fatally absorbs the madness of one of his patients, is included in the collection "Just After Sunset," released this week.
 
FLAMING LIPS FINALLY RELEASE FILM [BBC, 11/14/08]
A film by psychedelic popsters The Flaming Lips is released this week after seven years in the making. Set on a space station, Christmas on Mars was shot in the back yard of the singer Wayne Coyne's home in Oklahoma. But Coyne's not keen for comparisons to be drawn with the long wait for the new Gun N'Roses album. "That's all they do - make records," Coyne said, when asked whether the film's long production time puts it in the same league as Chinese Democracy. Speaking to BBC 6 Music, Coyne said: "I don't think I'm at all like Axl Rose... in my defence, it's not like he's trying to make a film while he's making records and stuff. I've done two or three records in between making Christmas on Mars." The Flaming Lips released 2002's Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots and At War With The Mystics in 2006. Coyne has described the storyline as: "There's a baby being born on the space station and it happens to be on Christmas Eve. My character is this alien super being who shows up in a giant spherical ship. And I'm green." He said there was plenty of scope for retakes because his house was the set. "It left me a lot of freedom to screw it up and redo it if I needed to." The Flaming Lips' singer explained how his foray into world of movie-making began. "Like a lot of rock bands, you end up making a lot of music videos," Coyne said. "And for every video that we would make, that a VH1 or MTV would play, we would make 10 of them that were just crazy, arty, dumb films. "But I have to say, to my surprise, people are not as fascinated or obsessed with Christmas as I am."
 
P. DIDDY TO GUEST STAR ON 'CSI: MIAMI' [Aceshowbiz, 11/14/08]
Rap personality, Sean Combs also known as P. Diddy, will make a cameo on television soon. The Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards winner has been picked up to guest star on CBS's hit police drama series, "CSI: Miami". Moreover, it has been reported that P. Diddy has signed a deal with CBS for two episodes' appearance on the series, scheduling to air in early next year. In the episodes, the rapper reportedly will be featured as a federal prosecutor opposite Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso, and other regular characters. Acting is nothing new for this American top rapper because he has appeared in Jon Favreau's 2001 film, "Made", as Ruiz. He also won a starring role in Broadway play "A Raisin In The Sun".
 
"ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS" GO TO SCHOOL IN "THE SEQUEAKUEL" [Aceshowbiz, 11/14/08]
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel" will see the harmony singing chipmunks going to school and trouble coming in the form of the Chipettes. Talking to MTV News on Wednesday, November 12, co-producer Ross Bagdasarian Jr. reveals that the boys will get one interesting "out of water" experience. "The boys will wind up going to school for the first time," so he says. Admitting that the sequel will present a different part of the boys, the son of the man who created the famous singing chipmunks further adds on what the boys will be dealing with in school. "They go to a combined middle school and high school, so there's all kinds of [human] kids around them," he explains. "You know, kids in the beginning can be cruel, so those first few days are a little bit tough for the boys." Beside dealing with new challenge in school, the boys will also meet their female counterparts in the sequel as Bagdasarian Jr.'s producing partner Janice Karman claims. "We're introducing the Chipettes, which are the boys' counterparts. Brittany, Eleanor and Jeannette - we introduced those girls in the '80s on the Saturday morning cartoon shows. Now, they will be in the 'Squeakuel' and create a lot of tension and add a lot of fun and a lot of songs." Meanwhile, on the casting news, Bagdasarian Jr. confesses it is possible that Jason Lee, the actor who plays David "Dave" Seville, may not be able to return for the sequel installment. "I know that Jason [Lee] wants to [come back]," he says. "He's got a conflict schedule-wise, because 'My Name Is Earl' is doing a lot of shows through the end of March, and our movie was actually picked up earlier than normal. So we're gonna be coming out Christmas Day next year, and we're hoping he [can] do it. We want to have him in, and hopefully the schedules can work out." Despite Jason's possible leave, Bagdasarian Jr. notes that David Cross will be back as the unscrupulous record executive Ian Hawke. Adding to the casting report, Karman who voices the Chipettes in the past says that she would love to see famous actresses fill in the roles. Some of the actresses whose names are linked to the parts includes Drew Barrymore, Miley Cyrus and JoJo. More on the interview can be read via MTV.
 
MONTREAL TEEN TACKLES 'INTENSE' ROLE OF BROADWAY'S BILLY ELLIOT [CBC, 11/14/08]
Montreal teen David Alvarez is taking on Broadway this week as one of the three young stars of the musical Billy Elliot. The stage musical, based on the 2000 film of the same name, has its New York premiere Thursday evening at the Imperial Theatre. Alvarez is one of three actors performing the title role on a rotating basis for the Broadway production. More than 1,500 boys auditioned for the coveted, but exhausting role. "The show is very intense and very hard for a boy to do because you have to be on stage for two hours and a half, completely. You have to act, sing, dance and crazy things like that. You need two other boys to support you and help you out," the 14-year-old told CBC News from New York on Thursday morning. Though Alvarez is not dancing the lead role tonight, "there will be a small dance with all the Billys at the end." A hit in London since 2005 (and winner of the U.K.'s Olivier Award for best new musical in 2006), the Thatcher-era tale tells the story of a coal miner's son who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. The musical is directed by Stephen Daldry, who also helmed the film version, while original screenwriter Lee Hall adapted the book and wrote lyrics to accompany the songs by British music icon Elton John. John met with the three Billys this spring for a launch event, where he played the piano while the trio of young actors danced. "He is a really nice guy and he's just really concentrated on what he does," Alvarez said. John's dedication to his career is a good example of "how to go through all of this," he said. While the New York show has already garnered buzz during its previews, Alvarez says he is not thinking about possible accolades down the road, like a Tony nomination. "I'm not worried about that because it's a long way from now. All I'm worried about is to give the best I can to the audience, who pays and watches the show, and hope they like it."
 
CANADIAN TV HIT "TRAILER PARK BOYS" TO END [CBC, 11/14/08]
The TV cameras will go dark in Sunnyvale next year, as cult favourite Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys is set to end. "Over the past few months, there has been a lot of discussion among our fans and those in the media about the future of Trailer Park Boys," creator Mike Clattenburg wrote Wednesday, November 12 in a blog posting on the Showcase.ca website. "The last thing we want to do is keep our loyal fans in the dark about the show we have all loved doing for the past eight years, so we'd like now to shed some light." After the one-hour TV special Say Goodnight To The Bad Guys airs on Dec. 7, a new Trailer Park Boys movie — tentatively called Countdown To Liquor Day — will be released in Canada next October. "But, after that, there will be no more. Yes, it's the end of Trailer Park Boys," Clattenburg wrote. "Our fans have been so supportive and inspiring that we wanted you to be the first to know." The low-budget comedy, set in a fictional Nova Scotia trailer park, began in 2001 and soon gained a cult following. The series revolves around a foul-mouthed but lovable trio of losers named Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, who bumble one harebrained get-rich-quick scheme after another while purportedly being filmed by a documentary crew. The show's main characters have become contemporary Canadian pop culture figures. The lead trio — portrayed by Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay and Mike Smith — hosted and appeared on a number of award shows, while Smith's Bubbles character made cameos in several music videos. The show also had a brief run on BBC America and has been shown on comedy channels around the globe. In 2006, Clattenburg released the Genie-nominated film Trailer Park Boys: The Movie.
 
FOO FIGHTERS TO SERVE AS GUEST JUDGE ON "TOP CHEF" [Aceshowbiz, 11/13/08]
A guest star will make a contribution on the fifth season of Bravo's cooking competition show, "Top Chef". It has been informed by EW's Hollywood Insider that Grammy Award-winning rock band, Foo Fighters, will make an appearance as guest judge on the cooking show. Giving additional information, EW states that the Foo Fighters' guest-starring episode will be titled "Foo Fighters' Thanksgiving" and has been arranged to air on November 26, 2008. The episode will be taking place in restaurateur Grant Achatz, at a tour stop in Rochester, New York. In the meantime, "Top Chef" is coming to its fifth season on November 12. Besides Foo Fighters, there were about 48 guest judges who had appeared on the show so far. Some of them were Anthony Bourdain, Rocco DiSpirito, Eric Ripert, Hubert Keller, and Michelle Bernstein.
 
RIDLEY SCOTT CONFIRMED AS DIRECTOR FOR "MONOPOLY" [Aceshowbiz, 11/13/08]
A movie based on the popular board game by Parker Brothers, "Monopoly", is moving forward. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie has now found its screenwriter in Pamela Pettler. The scribbler who has worked on the script of Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" and Gil Kenan's "Monster House" has come aboard to pen the film's screenplay. Beside picking up its writer, the movie has also put Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Ridley Scott on the director chair. Previously, the man behind "American Gangster" has been attached to the project as the producer. As the producer, he will collaborate with Giannina Facio and Hasbro's Brian Goldner. Though the film's crew is starting to shape up, there are no words yet on the cast ensemble. Back in 2007, many speculated that the front runners for the cast included Scarlett Johansson and Kirsten Dunst. However, to date, the possible casting of the two actresses remain in the dark.
 
TILDA SWINTON TO LEAD BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL JURY [AP, 11/13/08]
British actress Tilda Swinton will head the jury at the Berlin film festival in February, 2009. The 48-year-old Swinton this year won a best supporting actress Oscar for her part in "Michael Clayton." She also starred in the Coen brothers' latest movie, "Burn After Reading." Swinton made her debut in 1986 in Derek Jarman's "Caravaggio." Berlin festival director Dieter Kosslick said Wednesday, November 12, 2008 that "her commanding screen presence has made an indelible impression in contemporary, innovative film making." Festival organizers did not immediately say who else will be on the jury at next year's festival, which runs from Feb. 5 to Feb. 15. The Berlin event is the first of the year's major European film festivals.
 
ACTORS, ROCKERS "SUCK" IN CANADIAN VAMPIRE COMEDY [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/13/08]
Malcolm McDowell, Jessica Pare and Dave Foley have joined a slew of rock stars in the cast of the Canadian vampire horror-comedy "Suck." The indie film about rock 'n' roll wannabes in search of fame and vampires also stars rockers Moby, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper and Henry Rollins. Production will begin in Toronto on November 24, 2008, with writer/director Rob Stefaniuk at the helm.
 
FIRST TREK FILM FOOTAGE UNVEILED [BBC, 11/12/08]
Lost creator JJ Abrams has unveiled footage from his Star Trek prequel at a press event in London. The clips featured U.S actor Chris Pine as the young Captain Kirk, Heroes star Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock and Simon Pegg as Enterprise engineer Scotty. The audience also saw Leonard Nimoy reprise his role as the older Mr. Spock in one of four excerpts from the film. In his introduction, Abrams said he wanted the film, to be released in May 2009, to feel "legitimate and real".  Speaking at London's Vue West End cinema on Tuesday morning, November 11, the film-maker admitted he had "never really been a huge Star Trek fan". "It was always someone else's show," he continued, citing the original TV series' limited resources and "cardboard planets". On reading the script, however, he said he would have been "jealous" had another director taken on the project. He also praised the contribution of British actor Pegg, who said he was "pant-wettingly excited" to be in attendance. "I'm a fully paid-up geek," said the Shaun of the Dead star, who said he "couldn't put into words" the thrill he felt appearing in scenes alongside the Spock character.
 
 
Zacharo Quinto in Star Trek
Zachary Quinto, known to millions as Heroes villain Sylar, plays Mr Spock
 
MOVIE WILL TRACE JERRY GARCIA'S LIFE BEFORE "DEAD" [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/12/08]
The producing duo behind "Election" and "Little Miss Sunshine" are developing a biopic about Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. The untitled project aims to reveal the roots of the counterculture icon, focusing primarily on Garcia's early life in the Bay Area before he joined the band that would become the Grateful Dead. The period includes a stint in the military, a life-changing car accident and his first creative encounters with members of the Northern California music scene like future Dead bassist Phil Lesh. Veteran producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, who have collaborated on some of the biggest indie hits of the past decade, have reunited with their "Hamlet 2" partner Eric Eisner on the project. They acquired the rights to Robert Greenfield's book "Dark Star," an oral history of Garcia from dozens of people who knew him, including musicians, relatives and artist friends like Ken Kesey. Music rights also are being negotiated, though given that the period in Garcia's life that's covered is pre-Dead, the producers could avoid some of the trickier negotiations. Topper Lilien, who wrote Universal's Paul Newman-starring drama "Where the Money Is," is attached to write the screenplay. The Dead have been the subject of number of documentaries -- including 1977's "The Grateful Dead Movie," a concert film Garcia directed -- but the story of Garcia's life has never been told on the big screen.
 
MUSE WATSON'S CHARACTER BACK ON "PRISON BREAK" [Aceshowbiz, 11/12/08]
Charles Westmoreland, one of the characters of FOX's hit series "Prison Break" who was left dead on the series' first season, will come back to life. Los Angeles Times has reported that Westmoreland's character who is played by Muse Watson will be featured on the December 15 episode. It is believed that Westmoreland's scene will have something in connection with Michael Scofield's medical condition. In the episode, Scofield's character who is played by Wentworth Miller will unexpectedly meet Westmoreland as part of the season's ongoing investigation into the riddles of Scylla. Westmoreland, who was believed as the long-lost D.B. Cooper and hoped to give his hidden wealth to Scofield, was stabbed to death on the last episode of season one after trying to escape from Fox River prison along with Scofield and other main characters. Meanwhile, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Kathleen Quinlan will begin her debut on "Prison Break" as a recurring guest on the show's season four finale which is scheduled to air on December 22, 2008. Quinlan will play a mysterious woman with ties to the Company.
 
WILL SMITH'S SON IS THE NEXT KARATE KID [Aceshowbiz, 11/12/08]
Having portrayed the son of a struggling salesman in "The Pursuit of Happyness", Jaden Smith will next play a martial arts practitioner. According to Variety, the son of Hollywood superstar Will Smith has been tapped to star in "Untitled Karate Kid Remake", a "refashioned" remake of 1984 hit martial arts movie "The Karate Kid". The remake project will have Jerry Weintraub and Overbrook Entertainment's James Lassiter, Will and Ken Stovitz as the new film's producers. Its script is being worked on by Chris Murphy, while the movie itself is scheduled to be shot in Beijing and other cities in 2009. It is said that the story will keep its essential plot elements, a bullied teenager learning to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor.  The original "Karate Kid" stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue. Telling an underdog story in which Daniel LaRusso is being trained by Mr. Miyagi to defend himself using karate, it received commercial success, spawning three other sequels, the last of which helps to launch Hilary Swank's career in movie biz.
 
MOVIE NOMINEES LIST OF 35th PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS [Aceshowbiz, 11/11/08]
On Monday, November 10, Joshua Jackson, Carrie Ann Inaba, Paula Marshall and Jay Mohr have announced the nominations for the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards. From the announcement, it is revealed that the movie categories have been dominated by blockbuster superheroes movies from "The Dark Knight" to "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Leading the pack is "Dark Knight". The sequel of "Batman Begins" has collected multiple nods and has aided Christian Bale to receive four counts for Favorite Leading Man, Favorite Male Action Star, Favorite Superhero and Favorite On-Screen Match-Up. For the latest nod, Bale shares it with co-star Heath Ledger. Despite the numerous counts it collected, "Dark Knight" is set to face strong competitors. Both Favorite Movie and Favorite Action Movie gongs put "Dark Knight" in a position to be up against "Crystal Skull" and "Iron Man". Its cast also have to compete with the cast ensemble of "Mamma Mia!" and "Sex and the City" for new category, Favorite Movie Cast. Other movie nominees for the upcoming People's Choice Awards include "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", "Kung Fu Panda", "WALL-E", "Get Smart" and "The Secret Life of Bees". In the meantime, Robert Downey Jr., Will Smith, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett are among the stars nominated in the categories for favorite performers. Voting line has been opened starting on Monday, November 10 through pcaVOTE.com. The awards which recognizes the people and the work of popular culture will be aired live on the CBS Television Network on January 7, 2009 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Queen Latifah. The full list of Movie Nominees of the 35th People's Choice Awards are available online.
 
RICHARD JENKINS BOOKS ROLE IN "DEAR JOHN" ROMANCE [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/11/08]
Richard Jenkins, who gained late-career momentum this year with his starring role in the arthouse hit "The Visitor," has joined the cast of "Dear John," a romantic drama based on Nicholas Sparks' best-selling novel. Jenkins will play the father of a young soldier (Channing Tatum) who meets the girl of his dreams (Amanda Seyfried) while on military leave. Production is underway in South Carolina, with Lasse Hallstrom at the helm. Screen Gems will distribute the film domestically. In addition to his role in "The Visitor," Jenkins had a memorable turn in the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading."
 
SHOWTIME PICKS UP A NEW SERIES ENTITLED "CAMELOT" [Aceshowbiz, 11/11/08]
Showtime has picked up a new series project which will be titled "Camelot". The network will make a collaboration with BBC to develop the new series which is described as a contemporary retelling story of Camelot's true history. Production team that will work for the series including Michael Hirst and Morgan O'Sullivan, "The Tudors" creators. Hirst who also has several credits on "Elizabeth" movie (1998) and the sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007) will be responsible as the series' executive producer and the scripts' writer along with O'Sullivan and Douglas Rae. "Camelot" is planned to be produced by Ecosse Films and Octagon Filmes, while Showtime and BBC cooperate to co-finance the development of the series' scripts project. The casts, airdates, and other details about "Camelot" are to be determined further. Meanwhile, Showtime has recently finished producing the third season of "The Tudors" which will be premiered in April 2009. The network also has several upcoming projects for next year slot, such as "United States of Tara", "Nurse Jackie", "Lock 'n Load", "The End of Steve", "Possible Side Effects", and "The L Word" spin-off.
 
DANNY BOYLE SHAKES ROUTINE ON "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE" [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/11/08]
Director Danny Boyle made his name making British films for U.K. audiences, but with "Slumdog Millionaire" Boyle has taken his show to India and the United States hoping to propel his new movie to global success. Boyle, famous for unconventional storytelling in films such as drug drama "Trainspotting" and zombie flick "28 Days Later," told Reuters that working in India and telling a story about Indians with a mostly local cast made "Slumdog" seem "fresh." That freshness is now paying off as "Slumdog," the tale of a poor boy who gets a shot at winning millions in a television game show, has earned rave reviews at festivals in Telluride, Colorado and Toronto, and even Oscar buzz in Hollywood. It debuts in major U.S. cities on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. Moreover, Boyle was frustrated by the release of his recent sci-fi adventure "Sunshine," which was seen first in Britain. A poor showing at British box offices gave "Sunshine" little momentum as it rolled into U.S. theaters, a critical market for financial success where it earned only $3.6 million. "I had always wanted my films released in Britain because I am from there," he said. "(But) you learn that this (the U.S.) is a much better market to monitor how a film is going to do. "It is all or nothing in the U.K. and we did it all and it ("Sunshine") did very little. It didn't do well and they blamed it on that," he said. "Slumdog" is scheduled to land in U.K. theaters fully two months after it begins its run in the United States. The movie was written by Simon Beaufoy ("The Full Monty"), and it is based on the bestselling novel "Q & A," about a boy named Jamal who appears on India's equivalent of game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" The movie not only tells a fantastical story with millions of dollars at stake, it gives audiences a glimpse of modern India and offers a touch of romance between Jamal (Dev Patel) and Latika (Freida Pinto). Boyle, 52, had never been to India and initially felt daunted by making "Slumdog" in a foreign country. But he added that once there, he "kind of fell in love with the place."
 
MOVIE OF "HUMAN" ATATURK STIRS EMOTIONS IN TURKEY [Reuters Life!, 11/11/08]
A new film that portrays Turkey's revered founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as a lonely, hard-drinking man beset by doubts has whipped up emotions in a country still grappling with his legacy 70 years after his death. Ataturk, a former soldier, founded modern Turkey as a secularist republic from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Portraits of a stern-looking Ataturk adorn the walls of government offices, schools, shops and living rooms across the sprawling nation, testament to a man who has achieved the status of a demi-god among most Turks. "Mustafa," a documentary that chronicles Ataturk's life from childhood to his death on November 10, 1938, presents an intimate and flawed Ataturk rarely seen before, angering hardline secularists who have called for a boycott and say the film is an enemy plot to humiliate "Turkishness." The film, which has drawn large crowds, has fed into a climate of soul searching in Turkey, where democratic reforms, social changes and an impassioned debate over secularism is shaking the pillars of the autocratic state left by Ataturk. "This documentary is the product of an effort to humiliate Ataturk in the eyes of Turkish people," wrote columnist Yigit Bulut in the secularist Vatan newspaper. "Do not watch it, prevent people from watching it and most importantly keep your children away from it to avoid planting seeds of Ataturk humiliation in their subconscious," he said. On Monday, at 9.05 a.m., factory sirens wailed, traffic halted and school children stood to attention, a ritual Turks have followed for 70 years to mark the moment of his death. "Mustafa" is the first film that emphasizes the private side of the deified leader over his military and nation-building feats. Dundar shows him writing love letters during the battle of Gallipoli, where Turkish troops fought foreign occupiers. Blending archive pictures, black and white footage and re-enactments, he is also seen dancing, drinking raki, wandering his palaces in lonely despair and becoming more withdrawn as he is overtaken by age and illness. He died of cirrhosis of the liver in Istanbul, aged 58.
 
YouTube TO POST FULL-LENGTH MGM FILMS ON SITE [Reuters, 11/10/08]
YouTube, the largest video-sharing website, will show full-length television shows and films from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's archives in its latest step to boost advertising revenue by adding professional programming, the company told Reuters on Sunday, November 9. The site, owned by Google Inc, plans to make the announcement about the new partnership on Monday, November 10. MGM Studios will kick off the partnership by posting episodes of its decade-old "American Gladiators" program to YouTube on one channel. On another channel, MGM will post full-length action films like "Bulletproof Monk" and "The Magnificent Seven" and clips from popular movies like "Legally Blonde." These will be free to watch, with ads running alongside the video. YouTube in October forged a similar partnership with CBS Corp to run full-length archived shows, including "Star Trek," "Young and the Restless" and "Beverly Hills 90210." Many TV networks already run short clips on YouTube, which also offers millions of home videos uploaded by users. But until now, YouTube videos were predominantly short clips of ten minutes or less. The company has been experimenting with full-length shows for some months with Time Warner Inc's HBO and CBS's Showtime cable networks. The new partnerships put YouTube in more direct competition with Hulu, the online video site owned by News Corp and General Electric's NBC Universal. Hulu features up-to-date full-length shows from News Corp's Fox networks, NBC and CBS. It also has a YouTube channel which features short-clip versions of its shows.
 
SHOWTIME'S NEW SERIES "UNITED STATES OF TARA" [Aceshowbiz, 11/10/08]
Showtime network will have a new upcoming dark comedy series which will be premiered on January 18, 2009 at 10/9c. The series is entitled "United States of Tara" and starred by Toni Collette as Tara. The network has picked up the series for original 13 episodes including the pilot. The story will revolve around Tara's life as a wife and a mother of two children who suffers from multiple personality disorder. John Corbett joins the series by playing as Tara's husband, Max. Other involved actors and actress are Brie Larson, Keir Gilchrist, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nathan Corddry. "United States of Tara" is written by the Oscar-winning Diablo Cody and produced by veteran director Steven Spielberg. Showtime's president, Robert Greenblatt, has described the series as a sort of "Weeds" meets "Sybil" or "The Three Faces of Eve".
 
"MADAGASCAR" ROARS WITH $63.5 MILLION WEEKEND
[AP, 11/10/08]
Families herded into movie theaters for another trek with stranded zoo animals as the animated sequel "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" led the weekend with a $63.5 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday, November 9. The haul for the DreamWorks Animation comedy far surpassed the $47.2 million debut for "Madagascar" over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. Its three-day total also beat the $61 million gross the first movie took in over that full four-day holiday weekend. "It just shows people seem happy to escape to the movies and have a good laugh," said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation. While parents with children were the bulk of the audience, "Madagascar" also drew teens and adults on their own, who made up half the audience on Friday and one-third on Saturday, Globe said. Premiering in second place with $19.3 million was the Universal Pictures comedy "Role Models," starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd as immature adults sentenced to community service as mentors for two misfit youths. The weekend's other new wide release, the Weinstein Co. music comedy "Soul Men," opened weakly with $5.6 million, despite the lure of Samuel L. Jackson and his late co-stars, Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, who died last summer. Jackson and Mac play an estranged singing team on a reunion road trip to a memorial concert. Mac also was among the voice cast for the "Madagascar" sequel, providing vocals as Zuba, the father of Ben Stiller's Alex the lion. "Certainly, he just brought a wonderful heart to the role of Zuba. We were just fortunate to have him for that character," Globe said. The movie also reunites voice stars Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen as the animal gang crash lands in an African nature preserve. Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, slipped to third place with $9.3 million, raising its total to $75.7 million. "Madagascar" and "Role Models" kicked off a big start to Hollywood's holiday season. The top 12 movies took in $128.8 million, up 32 percent from the same weekend last year. "It's all boding well," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "We have lots of really good films coming, lots of commercial films. I love the fact that everybody's going to the movies. I love the fact that everybody likes what they're seeing." The season continues with Sony's James Bond adventure "Quantum of Solace" on Friday, then Summit Entertainment's vampire romance "Twilight" and Disney's animated canine comedy "Bolt" on Nov. 21, 2008. "Quantum of Solace" continued to pull in big audiences overseas with $106.5 million in 60 countries, raising its total to $160.3 million since it began opening internationally Oct. 31. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
 
"TERMINATOR SALVATION" VIDEO EXPOSES NEW TYPES OF TERMINATORS [Aceshowbiz, 11/10/08]
Horror Movies has found a brand new featurette of McG-directed "Terminator Salvation". Essentially a video interview with production designer Martin Laing, the featurette has exposed many spoilers about the much awaited action thriller from where the story is taking place to the new types of Terminators. Many never-before-seen footage cut off from the latest of the "Terminator" franchise have also been included in the video. Starring Christian Bale as John Connor, the man whose fate brings him to lead resistance army, "Salvation" is set in post-apocalyptic 2018. The story centers on Marcus Wright played by Sam Worthington as this stranger, whose last memory is of being on death row, joins Connor in a journey that leads them to the uncovering of the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind by Skynet and its army of killing cyborgs. The fourth film of the "Terminator" series will also see Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter as the cast ensemble. It has fallen into its post-production phase late October as director McG announced in his latest blog. The movie is slated to be released in the U.S. on May 22, 2009.
 
LeANN RIMES, EDDIE CIBRIAN AND ROSANNA ARQUETTE STAR ON LIFETIME'S ORIGINAL MOVIE [AP, 11/10/08]
Lifetime's upcoming project is called "Nora Roberts' Northern Lights". The network's original movie will star the Grammy-Award winner LeAnn Rimes, Eddie Cibrian from "Ugly Betty", and Rosanna Arquette from "Desperately Seeking Susan". Rimes will play as Meg Galligan, an independent and feisty bush pilot with her own demons. She becomes a love interest of Cibrian's character, Nate Burns, a former Baltimore policeman who starts a new life as a chief of police in Lunacy, Alaska. Meanwhile, Arquette will play as Rimes' mother, Charlene. The film is executive produced by Peter Guber and Stephanie Germain. Announcing the three stars' contribution in the upcoming TV movie, Tanya Lopez, Senior Vice President for Original Movies of Lifetime Networks, said, "Between the loyal fans of both Nora Roberts and the multi-talented LeAnn Rimes, we think this will be a perfect union." She added, "Viewers will be excited to see the pages of another Nora Roberts' book come to life in this movie." "Nora Roberts' Northern Lights" is one of the four Roberts' movies which will be premiered in 2009. The other three movies are "Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou," "Nora Roberts' Tribute" and "Nora Roberts' High Noon."
 
"THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA" INKED DEAL WITH DIRECTOR [AP, 11/10/08]
Moving on with "The First Avenger: Captain America", Marvel Studios have found the director for the future superhero movie project. On the matter, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that 58-year-old Joe Johnston, who is known for his works in "Hidalgo" and "October Sky", has been brought aboard to direct "Captain America". About Johnston, Marvel's Kevin Feige gushed, "This is a guy who designed the vehicles for 'Star Wars,' who storyboarded the convoy action sequence for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'." He then added, "From 'Rocketeer' to 'October Sky' to 'The Wolfman,' you can look at pieces of his movies and see how they lead to this one." Though the studio have signed Johnston, they have yet to pick up any screenwriter, but are expected to hire one soon. Moreover, Entertainment Weekly suggested that "Captain America" will be getting a simultaneous production as other Marvel's superhero movie "The Avengers" and the depicter of Captain America will be needed "for a crucial appearance". Following the story of Army officer Steve Rogers, the movie reportedly will serve as the introduction of the superhero character before and during the second World War until he becomes the Avengers' leader. With many A-list actors linked to this iconic character from Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio to "Hancock" star Will Smith, "Captain America" eyes a May 6, 2011 U.S. release.
 
DEEPA MEHTA TO ADAPT RUSHDIE'S "MIDNIGHT CHILDREN" FOR SCREEN [CBC, 11/9/08]
Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta is set to co-write and direct a movie adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 book Midnight's Children in a deal brokered during a dinner in Toronto between the two. The film is expected to start production in 2010, according to the British newspaper the Guardian. "If I was doing it myself, it would be rather daunting," Mehta told the Guardian. "The fact that we like and respect each other is a good foundation for collaboration." The novel, an allegory about the blossoming of modern India, is required reading in many university courses. It captured three Booker prizes: The book won the Commonwealth fiction award in 1981, topped the Booker of Bookers trophy in 1993 and then captured the reader-nominated Best of the Bookers this year. The 650-page novel, with its mix of historical events and magical realism, has often been described as "unfilmable." War and Peace has 1,000 pages, and they made a movie of that," remarked Mehta, who said the two hatched a plan to film the book after Rushdie dined at her home recently. Toronto-based Mehta is noted for films that touch upon explosive topics and may be best known for her Elements trilogy — Earth (1996), Fire (1998) and the Oscar-nominated Water (2005). Her most recent film, Heaven on Earth, examines domestic violence. Much like Rushdie, Mehta has experienced dangerous conditions in the pursuit of her art. The filmmaker had to abandon her original production of "Water" after Indian protesters destroyed sets. The project was remounted in Sri Lanka. Midnight's Children follows Saleem — born at midnight on Aug. 15, 1947, just as India achieved independence — who shares special powers with every other person born in the same hour and comes to see himself as the incarnation of India. Rushdie wrote a five-part television series in the late 1990s based on the book, but the project was abandoned when the Sri Lankan government wouldn't let the shoot proceed. "Those scripts will be a helpful blueprint for what will work in the film," Mehta said.
 
"AKEELAH" STAR KEKE PALMER'S NEW ROLE: STYLE MAVEN [AP, 11/9/08]
She was a girl quarterback in "The Longshots," a reluctant school spelling champ in "Akeelah and the Bee" and a rope-skipping double Dutch competitor in "Jump In!" Now teen actress Keke Palmer can add fashionista to her repertoire. As the star of "True Jackson, VP," she plays a 15-year-old fashion maven who, to the chagrin of her older co-workers, lands a job as head of a major label's youth division. The series suddenly has Palmer paying attention to labels and designers. "Before, I was just like, 'Anything that looks good, throw it on,'" she laughed. Although still not a fashion expert, the 15-year-old says she otherwise isn't that different from her character. "She's a lot like me," she says of True Jackson. "She's persistent and hardworking and doing an adult job at a young age." The show makes it debut Saturday on the Nickelodeon cable network.
 
MET "DAMNATION" OFFERS HIGH-TECH ART AND ATHLETICS [AP, 11/9/08]
High-tech circus meets grand opera. That's a quick way to sum up the Metropolitan Opera's production of Hector Berlioz's masterpiece, "La Damnation de Faust," which opened Friday, November 7 at Lincoln Center. It took computers and motion-sensitive cameras to create the pulsating water, fire, sky and grass that are the cinematic backdrop for the drama. Even digitally generated birds cross the heavens in response to the tenor's fluctuating voice, triggered by a transmitter attached to the singer. The spectacle was directed by Robert Lepage, creator of a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, who brought both art and athleticism to the Met stage with what he calls his high-tech "toys" — the latest in motion and sound technology. The production features an all-star cast: tenor Marcello Giordani in the title role of the lonely, aging scholar Faust; mezzo-soprano Susan Graham as Marguerite, the object of the fleeting sexual ecstasy that destroys him; and bass-baritone John Relyea as Mephistopheles, who has a devil of a good time engineering the debacle. Based on Goethe's "Faust," the Berlioz work was premiered in Paris in 1846 and first staged by the Met in 1906 — and never again till now. The composer called it a "legende dramatique." It was, indeed, a dramatic evening — a lavishly modern, multimillion-dollar production wrapped around a taut, technically polished reading of the score. As Marguerite, Graham has the ideal voice for Berlioz — a mezzo with a dark richness that blossoms into lush soprano-like tones — and she's a perfect instrument for the devil's seduction of Faust's pure soul. Graham joined Giordani for a magnificent rendition of "Ange adore" (meaning "adored angel") — a love duet combining her radiant tones with his ascensions to sweet, high notes for a sublime blend of voices. The tenor has vastly expanded his acting and vocal palette in recent years. At 45, Giordani exuded both Faust's terror and tenderness as he transforms the desperate, solitary scholar into an overwrought lover and, finally, a broken man seeking solace in his immense hymn to nature, which Giordani sang with noble, heartfelt intensity. Relyea as Mephistopheles was masterful, tossing off the devil's cunning with virtuosic bravura and a chocolaty tone — a serpent-like figure in red leather reeling in his unsuspecting prey, Faust. James Levine conducted with ease and brilliance, though he could have led the orchestra with greater ferocity in certain climactic moments. The horns and winds were powerful and precise, and the strings exuded a velvety sheen, switching to Berlioz's sardonic passages with bite and grit. But the overarching star of the evening was undoubtedly the Met chorus. With stupendous outbursts of vocal intensity, the choristers drove the drama from a raucous mock-fugue in Latin to demons singing triumphantly of the "mystery of horror" to the hushed, heavenly voices at the end, capped by singing children dressed in white. The chorus brought an incandescent spiritual power to the production — in contrast with the muscular athleticism of figures climbing the sets like high-wire circus performers. The Met stage was dominated by a scaffold divided into two dozen panels — a framework for projections changing with each scene. At one point, the ladder that serves to mount Faust's scholarly bookshelves becomes part of a crucifixion, with a Christ-like human figure suspended from it. Lepage and his Quebec-based company Ex Machina used similar technology for KA, his multimedia work for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas four years ago. "La Damnation de Faust" is to be transmitted worldwide in movie theaters as part of "The Met: Live in HD" series on Nov. 22, 2008 at 1 p.m. EST.
 
DAVID FOSTER TO BRING BETTY'S "BOOP-OOP-A-DOOP" TO BROADWAY [CBC, 11/8/08]
Curvaceous cartoon cutie Betty Boop is set to make her Broadway debut, with hit Canadian composer and producer David Foster slated to write the music for a new stage musical about the animated icon. The forthcoming show is tentively set to open in one of New York's Nederlander theatres during the 2010-11 season, Ostar Productions said Thursday, November 6. Along with music by the Grammy Award-winning Foster, the musical will feature a book by Sally Robinson and Oscar Williams. Other creative staff and casting have yet to be announced. The musical will follow "the inimitable Betty Boop [as she] joins her friends Bimbo and Koko to work her irresistible charm in reuniting her grandfather … with the long-lost, true love of his life, while saving the Happy Heart Theatre from the developer's bulldozers," according to a statement. Created in the early 1930s by cartoonist Max Fleisher, the short-skirted and spit-curled Betty Boop was an early sex symbol of the animated world. The sexy, depression-era vamp with a heart of gold was a throwback to flappers and the more hedonistic days of the Jazz Age. Throughout his career, the Victoria, B.C.-born Foster has worked with a host of the top names in the music business, including Barbra Streisand, George Harrison, Madonna, Céline Dion, John Lennon and Diana Ross. He also continues to champion newer acts, including proteges like Michael Bublé.
 
"LOSERS" COMIC BOOK ON WAY TO BIG SCREEN [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/8/08]
"Stomp the Yard" director Sylvain White is in final negotiations to take the helm of "The Losers," breathing new life into the adaptation of the gritty DC-Vertigo comic book. The project has come close to fruition before, with such directors as Peter Berg ("Hancock") and Tim Story ("Fantastic Four"), among others. "Losers" follows a highly trained and eclectic Special Ops team that is set up, betrayed and left for dead. They go on a quest to find who sold them out and why, righting wrongs they encounter along the way. The tales of "Losers" ran in the pages DC Comics' "G.I. Combat" and "Our Fighting Forces" in the 1970s and revolved around the adventures of a misfit group of U.S. troops during World War II. The book was relaunched about six years ago under the company's Vertigo imprint by writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock, who turned the title into a modern action-espionage adventure book.
 
"60 MINUTES" CREW ATTACKED BY ANGRY CHINESE [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/8/08]
A "60 Minutes" crew including correspondent Scott Pelley were jumped by a group of Chinese men who were upset that cameras were investigating toxic waste at a recycling plant for computer and other electronic waste, CBS News disclosed Thursday, November 6. While the incident happened in June, the report will appear on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, along with a video of the incident. It happened when the crew followed a box of computer monitors from Denver to Tacoma, Wash., and then across the Pacific Ocean to Guiyu, China. Guiyu is where the electronic waste is dismantled. The workers, who are paid $8 a day, use chemicals to burn away the plastic to get at other metals and many of them -- lead, mercury, polyvinyl chloride -- are cancer causing. The crew included Pelley, producer Solly Granastein, associate producer Nicole Young as well as two camera operators and a sound engineer. Batteries also rained down on the crew; Young received a bruise when the men pulled a tripod from her hands. But CBS News said a dozen men at the work site didn't like having the cameras show what they were doing, and attacked the crew to try to take their equipment. "After a few minutes of filming, we were jumped," Pelley said on the "60 Minutes" report, which is available on CBSNews.com. "Several men struggled for our cameras. They got a soil sample we had taken for testing. But we managed to wrestle the cameras back."
 
HARPO'S DENIAL OVER "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW" AXE [Aceshowbiz, 11/8/08]
The speculation over "The Oprah Winfrey Show" being axed from ABC in 2011 has been explained further by the show's production house. Harpo Production has responded toward Discovery Communications chief David Zaslav's statement which hints a possibility of the talk show move to Oprah Winfrey's new network, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). Lisa Halliday, Harpo chief spokesperson, told Access Hollywood "While David Zaslav's comments are true that Oprah's current contract to produce 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' will expire in 2011, she has not made a final decision as to whether she will continue her show in syndication beyond that." "Oprah" distributor, CBS Television Distribution, also gave a statement regarding this matter. Through their representative, CBS expressed their wish of Winfrey's decision to extend her contract beyond 2010-11. The CBS's representative said, "We would certainly welcome and hope that 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' would continue in syndication beyond that, but that is a decision only Ms. Winfrey will be making." The statements relate with the fact that Winfrey has not made any decision so far about the future of "Oprah" show. The truth is Winfrey's deal contract over the hit talk show with CBS Distribution will expire in 2011 after its 25th season on national TV. "Oprah" show dismissal speculation has appeared after Zaslav's statement where he said that the show "opted to stay with ABC through September 2011, and the expectation is that after that, her show will go off of ABC in syndication and she will come to OWN." He said further, "We're talking now about what that presence would be and what programming she would be involved in directly. But this is her Chapter Two, and building the OWN brand online and on-air is something that she and I, we're working together and it's a core mission for her." In January, Oprah has launched OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, where she will serve as the chairman of the network and have full editorial control over the channel and its website. She shares 50/50 ownership with Discovery Networks.
 
BASINGER STARRING IN CHRISTMAS CHILLER [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/8/08]
Kim Basinger returns to theaters on December 12 with the thriller "While She Was Out." She plays a suburban housewife stalked on Christmas Eve by a group of young thugs led by a manipulative psychopath (Lukas Haas). She fights for her life armed with only a toolbox. The writing and directing debut of Susan Montford, it will be released by Anchor Bay Entertainment, which was recently in theaters with the Matthew McConaughey film "Surfer Dude." Basinger, who turns 55 four days before the film comes out, was in theaters in 2006 with "Even Money" and "The Sentinel."
 
"LOST" GETS A PREMIERE DATE [E! Online, 11/8/08]
Our prayers have been answered! ABC has just confirmed to me that Lost has received an official premiere date for season five, and even better, it's a smidgen earlier than expected. On Wednesday, Jan. 21, "Lost" returns with a three-hour (you heard me, three-hour!) premiere. "Because You Left" and "The Lie" will air back-to-back, following a recap of the first four seasons (for the very few people who aren't already addicted and/or obsessed). So what does this mean for ABC's Wednesday-night lineup? After the Lost extravaganza premiere, the series will continue on Wednesday nights at 9. Reps at ABC have told me that a decision on new time slots for Private Practice and possibly Pushing Daisies will be announced next week. Episodes three through six are as follows: "Jughead," "The Little Prince," "The Place Is Death" and "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham." This news comes on the heels of the casting scoop from earlier today about the part of a Lost man's lover. By chance, anyone excited to find out where the Island went?
 
HBO TO AIR DOCUMENTARY OF BARACK OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN [Aceshowbiz, 11/8/08]
The presidential campaign of the newly-elected Barack Obama will be compiled in a documentary which will be aired by HBO. The network have secured the rights to have the campaign's behind-the-scenes from Edward Norton's production company for reportedly at least $1 million. Directed by Amy Rice, the documentary is a year-long plan that Norton's company had initiated before Obama was even in to run for the presidential this year. Rice and a fellow director Alicia Sams reportedly saw a potential in the Democrat when his campaign became a success and they started filming in August 2006 when Obama was in a 15-day trip to Africa. Sam Pollard who was behind HBO's Hurricane Katrina documentary "When the Levees Broke", will be the editor while others from Obama's camp such as the campaign staff, friends and family contribute to the content. HBO define the documentary as "American politics and culture through the prism of (Obama's) candidacy." The filming will continue until Obama's inauguration on January 20 and will be aired sometime next spring. Obama was officially elected as the 44th president of United States after winning over Republican John McCain in the votes held on November 4, 2008. He therefore, becomes the first leader of the nation who is of African-American descent.
 
BEN-HUR STAGE SHOW SET FOR LONDON [BBC, 11/8/08]
A stage production of the epic Charlton Heston film Ben-Hur is to open next year in London's O2 Arena, marking the movie's 50th anniversary. The highlight of the show, about the life and destiny of the Jewish prince, will include the famous chariot scene. The production will require 400 performers and 100 animals including horses, donkeys, chickens and eagles. Creator Franz Abraham said the show would have a "high level of artistry that would excite the audience". He added: "The show will have the speed of a musical, the depth of great theatre, the power of a rock concert and the visual opulence of a Hollywood blockbuster." The thoroughbred horses will undergo 12 months of intensive training with a team of trainers and charioteers. A combination of light, sound, water, wind and pyrotechnic effects will also be used. However, it is not the first time that the Hollywood epic has been recreated live. Two years ago, a French production played to 300,000 people at Paris's Stade de France. And scenes from the book, written by American civil war general Lew Wallace, were often performed in theatrical spectacles in the early 20th Century. Tickets for the new production will go on sale on 14 November, with the world premiere taking place at the O2 15 September, 2009. After two further performances in London, the show will tour Europe.
 
TV, FILM, BOOK CRITIC JOHN LEONARD DIES [CBC, 11/8/08]
American literary, TV, film and cultural critic John Leonard died Wednesday at age 69. He died in New York of complications from lung cancer, his daughter Jen Nessel said. A prolific writer, Leonard contributed to the New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Nation, Newsweek, The Village Voice and Atlantic magazine. He was also a film critic for 15 years for CBS Sunday Morning and a TV critic for New York magazine. In the 1970s, he was a champion of women writers, praising the work of Maxine Hong Kingston, Mary Gordon and Toni Morrison. When Morrison travelled to Stockholm in 1993 to collect her Nobel Prize, she took Leonard with her, "one of the most incredible experiences of his life," Nessel said. Leonard was the first American critic to review Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A passionate critic with an original voice, Leonard was known for his leftist views. He also spent time as a union organizer and anti-Vietnam activist. He and his wife, Sue, were literary editors of The Nation from 1995-98.  Chicago radio personality Studs Terkel once called him "a literary critic in the noblest sense of the word, where you didn't determine whether a book was 'good or bad' but wrote with a point of view of how you should read the book." Leonard is survived by his wife, Sue, two children from his first marriage, Andrew and Amy, and his stepdaughter, Jen.
 
BRINGING OPPENHEIMER TO LIFE 'A GREAT GIFT', SAYS CANADIAN OPERA STAR [CBC, 11/8/08]
"There's not a greater metaphor for the tensions and potential destructive nature of human beings... as the atomic bomb," according to Canadian baritone Gerald Finley, who finds portraying the infamous J. Robert Oppenheimer in Doctor Atomic "incredibly rewarding." Finley, who first starred in the contemporary opera in 2005 when it debuted in San Francisco, reprised his turn as the controversial physicist for the current Metropolitan Opera engagement. It premiered in New York on Oct. 13, 2008. On Saturday, opera fans in more than 800 theatres around the globe will get the chance to see his performance, as the Met features "Doctor Atomic" as part of its hugely successful high-definition satellite broadcast program. "I think he's a fascinating character. I think it's a great gift to portray someone who invested so much in his own culture," Finley told CBC cultural affairs show Q on Thursday. The opera, composed by John Adams with a libretto by Peter Sellars, dramatizes the final days leading up to the first test of the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, N.M. After Doctor Atomic's final performance at the Met on Nov. 13, Finley will travel with the opera to London next spring, when it will play at the English National Opera. And while he has fielded some inquiries about the highly praised production, the freelance singer says, so far, he hasn't lined up any further engagements as the brilliant physicist. "The past three or four years in putting Oppenheimer up on the stage have been incredibly rewarding," Finley said. "[Doctor Atomic]'s a challenging modern opera about the way we think about modern science and how it impacts our life. It's been a huge honour."
 
HOLLYWOOD MEETS BOLLYWOOD IN OSCAR-HYPED "SLUMDOG" [AP, 11/8/08]
Hollywood and Bollywood rarely meet. But in the new film "Slumdog Millionaire," the two international epicenters of filmmaking find an unusually fruitful cinematic union. The connection comes by way of British director Danny Boyle, who shot the film in Mumbai, India, with a cast of mostly Bollywood and local non-professional actors. Filming with handheld digital cameras and working with a small crew from London, Boyle plunged into the slums of Mumbai to capture the city's vibrancy not like a foreigner, but like a chameleon. "The normal thing you do as a film director is you take a bit of life, you stop it, control it, and then recreate it endless times to shoot it," said Boyle. "We did some stuff like that, obviously, but it feels a bit fake. It's got that kind of atmosphere thing that you can't quantify. Some of it's sound, but some of it's also visuals. If there's not that randomness about it, you don't believe it." The story of "Slumdog Millionaire" itself is a bit unbelievable. It's about a teenager (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai who ends up rising to the top of India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The 52-year-old Boyle is known for the variety of his work, from 1996's druggie drama "Trainspotting" to 2002's horror film "28 Days Later" and last year's sci-fi space adventure "Sunshine." Boyle said the Oscar buzz for "Slumdog" has been "an amazing vehicle" to finding attention for an independent film that might not have otherwise gotten much attention. But months after his experience in Mumbai, he's still buzzing about it. "There will be more and more of that hybrid stuff going on that connects Bollywood and Hollywood. Without a doubt," said Boyle. "It just looks natural that it's going to happen."
 
OSCAR ACADEMY RESTORES SATYAJIT RAY'S BANNED FILM [Reuters, 11/8/08]
The Oscars academy has restored a rare print of a controversial film by India's famed director Satyajit Ray that was banned by Indian censors for glorifying monarchy in a Himalayan kingdom that acceded to India. Made in 1971, "Sikkim" was about the Himalayan redoubt of the same name ruled by the Chogyals before it acceded to India in 1975 amid some criticism that New Delhi had browbeaten its tiny neighbor. China opposed India's claim on Sikkim until 2005. Sikkim is now India's second smallest state, wedged between Nepal, China and Bhutan, and is strategically important for New Delhi. Ray scholars say the Indian government's fears that the documentary depicted monarchy in a way that undermined democracy -- at a time when Sikkim faced being annexed by either India or China -- was unfounded. "To imagine Satyajit Ray would glorify monarchy over democracy is utterly wrong because he is the same person who could make films ridiculing monarchy as we see in 'Hirak Rajar Deshe'," said Arup K. De, head of the Society for the Preservation of Satyajit Ray Films. It was thought that all the prints of the hour-long documentary had been destroyed after it was banned by India. But one was found at the British Film Institute in 2003 and it was restored digitally frame-by-frame by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Audiences in India can watch "Sikkim" for the first time at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival beginning next week. India lifted the ban about four years ago, Sikkim's art and culture trust said. "If everything works out, the video version would be shown at the Kolkata Film Festival," Josef Lindner, the academy's preservation officer, told Reuters. "The 35 mm version would be ready by end of the year." The academy has undertaken to restore damaged prints of the films of Satyajit Ray, who was awarded a lifetime achievement Oscar in 1992. He received the honor on his death bed in a hospital in Kolkata. Lindner said Ray's "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" (The Chess Players), made in 1977, would be restored next. The academy has so far restored and preserved 15 of Ray's feature films and two documentaries, including "Sikkim". Ray shot to global fame with "Pather Panchali" (Song of the Little Road), "Aparajito" (The Unvanquished) and "Apur Sansar" (The World of Apu) from his "Apu trilogy" -- a coming-of-age narrative describing the childhood, education and early maturity of a young Bengali boy in the early 20th century. He directed several other films and wrote many books, some of them widely translated into other languages.
 
PERKINS, ELVIS, CASH AND LEWIS ARE CHICAGO'S HOT "MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET"
[Playbill, 11/6/08]
Million Dollar Quartet had its world premiere at Florida's Seaside Music Theatre, and was subsequently staged at the Village Theatre in Washington state, breaking box-office records. Critics have embraced the show, which is driven by period pop numbers including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "Sixteen Tons," "Who Do You Love?," "Great Balls of Fire," "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On." Directed by Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Glory Days, Putting It Together, London's Witches of Eastwick) and Floyd Mutrux with a book by Mutrux and Colin Escott, Million Dollar Quartet is produced by Dee Gee Theatricals and John Cossette Productions. Here's how producers characterize the experience: "On Dec. 4, 1956, an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley together. The place was Sun Records' storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was Sam Phillips, the 'Father of Rock 'n' Roll,' who discovered them all. The four legends-to-be united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time." Expect "a treasure trove of the greatest rock 'n' roll, gospel, R & B and country hits from these music legends." The production stars Levi Kreis as Jerry Lee Lewis, Lance Guest as Johnny Cash, Rob Lyons as Carl Perkins and Eddie Clendening as Elvis Presley, with Brian McCaskill as Sam Phillips and Kelly Lamont as Elvis' girlfriend, Dyanne. For tickets visit the Apollo Theater box office or visit www.ticketmaster.com.  The Apollo performance schedule is Wednesday at 2 PM and 7:30 PM; Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8 PM; Saturday at 5 PM and 8 PM and Sunday at 3:30 and 6:30 PM. There is a special Thanksgiving week schedule. The Apollo Theater is located at 2540 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago.
 
BERNIE MAC, ISAAC HAYES IN "SOUL MEN" ENCORE [Reuters, 11/6/08]
Comedian Bernie Mac and soul giant Isaac Hayes died a day apart in August after finishing work on the movie "Soul Men". But as the comedy opens on Friday, November 7, the two stars are back on screen in splendid form, in a movie drenched with music from another era. During filming, both Mac and Hayes performed in less than stellar health. Mac starred in the film as an aging soul singer looking to return to fame, and Hayes appeared as himself. Samuel L. Jackson, who starred in "Soul Men" with Mac, said the film was a perfect last role for the comedian he befriended years ago. "It bothers me more that Bernie didn't get to see the movie than that he passed," said Jackson, 59. "Because he did this film, and he did a great job in it, and it's an amazing tribute to what he is and who he's been." The movie revolves around the music of Stax Records, the soul music label founded in Memphis, Tennessee that was a musical home in the 1960s to Hayes and some of the leading black performers of the day. The movie follows fictional singers Floyd Henderson (Mac) and Louis Hinds (Jackson) on a road trip to reclaim the singing glory they once enjoyed in a famous soul music trio. The trio falls apart when lead singer Marcus Hooks (John Legend) goes solo. But when Hooks suddenly dies, Henderson and Hinds come to terms with their own fractured friendship as they dust off their act and perform in a tribute show for their former bandmate. Mac, who starred in the television sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show" and the movie "Ocean's 11," died in Chicago at age 50 on August 9 after suffering from pneumonia. Hayes died of a stroke on August 10. The 65-year-old soul music star, who won an Oscar for his theme song to the movie "Shaft," had suffered a stroke last year. Actress Sharon Leal, 36, who stars as a budding singer in the film, said Hayes was still recovering from his 2007 stroke during the filming of "Soul Men." And she said Mac, who had battled a chronic tissue inflammation of the lungs called sarcoidosis, had an oxygen tank with him on set. But the former "Dreamgirls" star said Mac would fool around on set, imitating Jackson's most surly on-screen demeanor. He also took Leal under his wing. "Being a guy who had a normal blue collar job -- several actually -- for a lot of his life and who fell into his success later, he had a real sense of where he came from," Leal said. Leal said Hayes also made his presence felt. "We were lucky to have the soul man himself on set, even for a couple of days, to kind of put his signature on a film that was really representative of what he did for so many years," she said. "Soul Men", is directed by Malcolm Lee, the cousin of filmmaker Spike Lee. It opens on the same day as the animated movie "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" which features Mac's voice work.
 
ABBA STAR PLAYS DOWN MAMMA SEQUEL [CBC, 11/6/08]
Former Abba musician Benny Andersson has said there has been "no discussion" about a follow-up to smash hit musical film Mamma Mia! "There is no talk of a sequel," the Swede told BBC News. But he added Universal Pictures "would like a sequel because they're just flabbergasted at the success - more than anyone, I think". The film, which features Abba's hits, recently became the highest-grossing film in UK cinema history.  It has taken more than £67 million at the box office and remains in the top 10 after 17 weeks of release. But Andersson added of Catherine Johnson, the film's screenwriter: "If she comes up with something, if she's keen on it, then maybe she'll call us." The film, which tells the story a young woman's quest to discover who her father is, co-stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in singing roles. The four members of Abba - Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - were reunited at the film's Stockholm premiere. The group, who split in 1982, had not been seen together in public for three years. They have categorically ruled out a return to the musical stage.
 
FAMILY: MICHAEL CRICHTON DIES OF CANCER [AP, 11/6/08]
Michael Crichton, million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said. Crichton died Tuesday, November 4 in Los Angeles at age 66 after privately battling cancer. "Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," his family said in a statement. "While the world knew him as a great storyteller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us — and entertained us all while doing so — his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes." He was an experimenter and popularizer known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or the dinosaurs running madly in "Jurassic Park." Many of his books became major Hollywood movies, including "Jurassic Park," "Rising Sun" and "Disclosure." Crichton himself directed and wrote "The Great Train Robbery" and he co-wrote the script for the blockbuster "Twister." In 1994, he created the award-winning TV hospital series "ER." He's even had a dinosaur named for him, Crichton's ankylosaur. One of four siblings, Crichton was born in Chicago and grew up in Roslyn, Long Island. His father was a journalist and young Michael spent much of his childhood writing extra papers for teachers. In third grade, he wrote a nine-page play that his father typed for him using carbon paper so the other kids would know their parts. He was tall, gangly and awkward, and used writing as a way to escape; Mark Twain and Alfred Hitchcock were his role models. Crichton was married five times and had one child. A private funeral is planned.
 
RAISIN IN THE SUN" A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD [CBC, 11/5/08]
Canadian actor Charles Officer admits he had some doubts about A Raisin in the Sun, the story of a black family in 1950s Chicago that is now on stage at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto. The play, now close to 50 years old, presents black actors with a dilemma with its roles of a stalwart black mama and an angry young black man. Actors run the risk of perpetuating stereotypes and often question whether the play is relevant today, Officer said in an interview with Q, CBC Radio's cultural affairs show. But audiences at Theatre Calgary, where the play ran in September, and at Soulpepper seemed to respond to something in the story. "It resonates because there's this whole idea of understanding what a family from a particular culture that may not be your own — what their struggles have been." Officer compared the immigrant experience, which is increasingly represented in Canadian art, with the black experience. "It has to do with dreams and poverty," Officers said. "We consistently look at people coming to North America to better their lives. Regardless of whether they knew what was going to happen, they had a dream. They had an idea and they went to find out." Director Weyni Mengheshi emphasized the humanity of each member of the family. "We're trying to represent real people and, with representing a real person, there are aspects of that culture and the way people were brought up that are going have those typical things that you're familiar with or that seem archetypical," Officer said. Officer plays Walter Lee, the younger, an angry young man who's lost his father and is not always kind to his mother and sister. "It was terrifying to think about the emotional journey and the things I have to face in my own self to present it in any kind of honest way on stage," said Officer, who is a filmmaker as well as an actor. "There's a lot of depth to this anger, there's a lot of history to this anger — there is history that's accumulated over a period of time." The play seems to resonate with people today, in part because of Barack Obama's run for the White House, Officer said. "Obama, what he's trying to represent is an individual standing for people and it seems like it's not just an American election. It seems like a global election," he said. "This guy's standing for something that's clearly for change and that's what each family wants when they're in circumstances that they believe are keeping them oppressed." Officer has written and directed Nurse.Fighter.Boy, which has screened at film festivals in Toronto and Halifax and is soon to hit the commercial screen. He's also planning to direct a documentary on Vancouver sprinter Harry Jerome. "There's a whole gamut of stories from the black Canadian perspective that need to be told," Officer said.
 
"HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3" GETS SINGALONG VERSION [Reuters, 11/5/08]
Fans have barely had the time to learn the words, but Disney this Friday is launching a singalong version of its "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" hit movie. After just two weeks at the top of U.S. box offices, the singalong version will be rolled out on Friday at 125 movie theaters in major U.S. cities. It's the first time Walt Disney Pictures has released a singalong version of a movie in theaters nationwide but the decision follows a modern trend set by "Hairspray" in 2007 and "Mamma Mia," which was based on Abba tunes, this past summer. "We felt that the ('High School Musical 3') movie's huge base of enthusiastic fans would really embrace a singalong version," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. The third installment in the money-spinning song and dance teen franchise has already earned more than $146 million at the worldwide box office since its October 22 roll-out. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" soundtrack sales however were pushed into second place on the Billboard 200 album charts last week by Australian rock band AC/DC's first album in eight years, "Black Ice."
 
MICHAEL DOUGLAS RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/5/08]
Michael Douglas will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Producers Guild of America during the group's annual bash at the Hollywood Palladium on January 24, it said Monday. The Oscar-winning producer of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" will be given the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures. Previous honorees include Dino De Laurentiis and "Spider-Man' producer Laura Ziskin. Douglas, 64, whose other producing credits include "The China Syndrome" and "Romancing the Stone," said in a statement that he felt "privileged to be so honored by my producing peers." The PGA hailed Douglas for often making "important statements about our life and times."
 
EDWARDS DISCUSSES HIS CAMEO AS DR. GREENE ON "ER" [AP, 11/5/08]
Anthony Edwards says it's easy being Greene. The actor, who left "ER" six years ago, said in a telephone news conference Monday, November 3 that he had no problem getting back into the swing of things while reprising his role as Dr. Mark Greene for the Nov. 13 episode of the NBC medical drama. Said Edwards: "It was really like going back to high school, in the best way. It was like going back to your favorite class and having your favorite teacher. ... It took about a half an hour — and after about a half an hour, I really felt like I'd never left." Dr. Greene, who died of a brain tumor at the end of the 2002 season, appears in flashback scenes with former County General Drs. Kerry Weaver and Robert Romano (portrayed by Laura Innes and Paul McCrane, respectively). He also has an encounter with series newcomer Dr. Cate Banfield (Angela Bassett), an attending physician at the hospital, after she brings in her sick son. The flashbacks are interwoven with a present-day story line that shows Banfield helping in the rescue of a young girl who falls into a lake. Discussing the character's passion for medicine, Edwards said: "When you get on an airplane, you hope that the pilot really loves flying — I think that's what Greene had. You do want to go to a hospital and have a good doctor who loves being a doctor there." Edwards' appearance comes in the 15th and final season of "ER," which debuted in 1994 and launched the careers of George Clooney, who left the show in 1999, and others in the ensemble cast. Like many "ER" fans, Edwards hopes for the return of Clooney's character, Dr. Doug Ross. He has said Clooney would be a fool not to make a cameo. Said Edwards: "I would never judge anybody else. All I can do is share that I had a good experience, and I hope that whoever gets asked and has the opportunity does do it."
 
WINNIE THE POOH HONEY SKETCH FETCHES SWEET PRICE [CBC, 11/5/08]
An original sketch by illustrator E. H. Shepard from The House at Pooh Corner has fetched $57,000 at auction in London, well over the pre-sale estimate. Tiggers Don’t Like Honey shows Pooh dipping his paw in a honey pot, Tigger with a spoon of honey in his mouth and Piglet looking on. Auctioneer Bonhams of London said the successful telephone bidder was from Germany and he bought the picture for his wife, a long-time Pooh fan. The sketch, done for the 1928 edition of A. A. Milne’s classic, is by one of Britain’s most famous illustrators. Shepard also was the artist for Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, and a sketch called Now pitch in, old fellow, depicting Rat and Mole lounging with a picnic on a riverbank, sold for $13,670. Sotheby’s announced it will auction a collection of Shepard's original drawings from the Pooh series later this year. Among the illustrations on offer are He went on tracking, and Piglet … ran after him, a drawing of Pooh and Piglet together, and Bump, bump, bump — going up the stairs, showing Christopher Robin dragging his bear upstairs. The illustrations are from the collections of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone. Also on auction Wednesday were personal letters and items from the collection of Beatrix Potter. A signed first edition of The Tailor of Gloucester, about a kind tailor who is helped by little mice, sold for more than $7,000. Earlier in 2008, Sotheby's set a record for the work of an illustrator at auction when Potter's watercolour of The Rabbits' Christmas Party went under the hammer for $580,000.
 
FOX COUNTS DOWN TO 24 PREMIERE [E! Online, 11/4/08]
For those suffering from Jack Bauer withdrawals, Fox has the cure for what ails you: a firm premiere date for the long-awaited, delay-plagued seventh-season premiere of 24. The network today announced that Kiefer Sutherland and his terrorism-fighting costars will return to kick off their new run with a two-night, four-hour premiere Jan. 11 and 12, 2009. The fourth hour of the premiere will mark the series' milestone 150th episode. The season will run without interruption through to May. This time around, the seventh-worst day of Bauer's life will revolve around—wait for it—a national security crisis that unfolds as the protagonist's presumed-dead former colleague Tony Almeida returns. For fans unwilling to wait until January—and who have already been waiting for about 18 months, as the season-six finale aired in spring 2007—Fox will air a two-hour TV-movie prequel that bridges the gap between seasons six and seven. 24: Redemption takes place on Inauguration Day and sees Bauer attempting to save the world from South Africa, his first ever non-L.A. location. Jon Voight stars as the requisite bad guy. The special airs Nov. 23, 2008.
 
"TINTIN" MAY BE DEVELOPED TO TWO INSTEAD OF THREE FILMS [Aceshowbiz, 11/4/08]
Words are, "Tintin" may be made into two films only. This recent speculation arose to the surface after Variety came up with the news that Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures are in talks to co-finance the digital 3-D movie for one film of the trilogy. In its news, Variety stressed that though deal are being negotiated for the financing part, no director is yet to be assigned for the third project and the script for the last of the trilogy has yet been written. Those fact led to the speculation that the fate of the third film is in jeopardy as Cinematical used them to point out the possibility of the third film nonexistence. Still, the latter noted that the third "Tintin" may be developed if the first two installments are successful. Chronicling the adventures faced by a junior reporter known simply as Tintin and his friends, his white dog named Snowy, the lunatic Captain Haddock, the muddled genius Professor Calculus and the Thompson Twins, "Tintin", the first of three movies, will be directed by Steven Spielberg and scripted by Steven Moffat. It is due for 2010 release. Meanwhile, the sequel has Peter Jackson in the director seat. In addition, it is said that Thomas Sangster, who has been attached to Tintin character, has bailed out from the project.
 
SOUTH KOREAN EROTIC FILM FEST RESTRICTS WOMEN [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/4/08]
Erotic movies are making a tentative comeback in South Korea, where they were banned as recently as the late 1990s. The second annual Pink Film Festival, which kicked off in Seoul on Saturday, November 1, is bringing movies to the big screen that were previously available only from vendors' carts in the city's backstreets. But there are still limits to Korea's nascent openness. For starters, the month-long festival is open to women only on opening night in each of the four cities where the festival will travel this month and on designated "couples days" -- Wednesdays and Saturdays. Female moviegoers, for their part, seem to be disappointed that the films are not racy enough. The festival of Japanese pinku eiga, or pink film, celebrates an erotic genre of satire that came of age in Japan's indie film scene in the 1960s. But South Korea long banned not only erotic films, but also those from Japan -- a reflection of the government's distaste for cultural influences from its colonial ruler during the early part of the 20th century. Under South Korea's military regime in the 1960s, lewdness became a central concern for the country's censors. The state controlled the number of films allowed to shoot each year and inspected all scripts. These traditions continued through the late '90s, even after the country's courts ruled that censorship violated the Korean constitution. The censorship debate peaked in 1999, when the government's Media Rating Board blocked the release of a Korean film depicting sexual relations between a schoolgirl and a sculptor. "Lies" finally was released after cutting 17 minutes. Korean openness to eroticism and nudity on film has evolved with the times, but still is colored by a degree of modesty. A 28-year-old female fan of Japanese genre films said she was left disappointed by Hidekazu Takahara's "Tsumugi," about a schoolgirl seducing her married teacher. "It was nowhere near the level of adult content you see on the Internet nowadays," she said. Also included in this year's lineup are Kazuhiro Sano's "Don't Let It Bring You Down," Osamu Sato's "Slave" and a special screening in the "pink hard core" section of a director's cut of Mitsuru Meike's political satire "Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai."
 
POLICE LOCATE SECOND MAN ALLEGEDLY LURED TO EDMONTON GARAGE [CBC, 11/4/08]
A second man allegedly lured to the same south Edmonton garage where police believe John Brian Altinger was last alive contacted investigators on Sunday, November 2, Edmonton police said Monday afternoon. The man, who went to the garage on Oct. 3, was interviewed by investigators Monday in connection with the investigation into Altinger's death. Edmonton filmmaker Mark Twitchell, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder in Altinger's disappearance, in a case that shares similarities to a movie he was making and the serial killer television show Dexter. Altinger's body has not been found. Twitchell will appear in court on Wednesday. Police allege Altinger was lured to a southside detached residential double garage through a dating website with the promise of meeting a beautiful woman. Instead, police said, Altinger was killed. Edmonton police said the second man was apparently confronted by a someone wearing a hockey mask when he showed up at the garage a week before Altinger went missing. "The male was able to break free and run into the lane, being chased by the male in the mask. At this time a couple was walking by and saw the altercation," said Det. Mark Anstey of the Edmonton Police Service on the weekend. "The male wearing the hockey mask backed away and the other male may have escaped." Altinger, 38, was last seen on Oct. 10, police said Saturday. Originally from White Rock, B.C., he went missing from the area of 40th Avenue and 57th Street in Edmonton, where he had been living for 10 years. Twitchell had used the garage as a movie set, said Anstey. "This film was about luring a fellow from the internet, duct-taping him to a chair, killing him and cutting him," he said. "It was actually filmed and there are actors; we interviewed the actors. We've interviewed everybody, and that film actually did take place." Twitchell was arrested without incident in Edmonton on Friday. Twitchell received some attention from the Edmonton media in 2007 because he was making a prequel to the Star Wars series called Secrets of the Rebellion. Appearing on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM in May 2007, he spoke to host Ron Wilson about how he got into film. "I went to school for radio and television here in Edmonton and then as time went on, I just decided I want to break into filmmaking, and Star Wars opened that door for me, because like I said, I would never be able to get away with what I am doing now without all this donated material and services, and usually when people hear the name Star Wars, that's what they want to contribute it to," he said. "I get to be able to put the film out and do my fan thing, while at the same time generating a career for myself and everyone else who's involved," he said.
 
SETH MacFARLANE IS ONE WEALTHY "FAMILY" GUY [AP, 11/4/08]
Talk about inflation. Seth MacFarlane is Hollywood's hundred-million dollar man — and he's not even bionic. MacFarlane, 35, is creator and executive producer of "Family Guy," Fox's top-rated prime-time 'toon (yes, even more popular than "The Simpsons"), one of the all-time best-selling TV-on-DVD titles, and a show that spearheaded the digital-download video phenomenon. So it's no wonder the studio recently served up a $100 million production deal to keep their "Family" man happy. MacFarlane also is at the helm of the Fox 'toon "American Dad!" and is working on a "Family Guy" spin-off series, "Cleveland." "In all honesty, my representative said I could get that much money and I didn't stop him," MacFarlane said. "Can I spend a hundred-million dollars? No. I'll spread it around a much as I can." Spreading the wealth? Clearly, MacFarlane is an Obama man. He did some campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidate, and even took a shot at the Republican competition on "Family Guy." In a recent episode, baby Stewie is transported to World War II Germany, clunks a Nazi on the head, steals his uniform, and puts it on. "Hey, there's something on here," Stewie says, feeling something on the jacket's lapel. Cut to a close-up of a "McCain-Palin" button. The gag got huge laughs at a rare public prescreening of the episode for a sold-out crowd at The Paley Center for Media. MacFarlane then sat down with The Associated Press to talk about money, politics and the future of "Family Guy." [Interview is available at AP website.]
 
GOOD GRIEF! NEW PEANUTS VIDEOS RELEASED ONLINE [AP, 11/4/08]
Barack Obama, John McCain ... or Linus? In a batch of 20 new webisodes, Charlie Brown and the gang have been brought back to animated life, much in the style of their classic holiday TV specials. But Lucy, Snoopy and others have been remade for the Web in 3- to 4-minute videos taken directly from classic 1964 comic strips. In one of them, Linus runs for class president, only to be bedeviled by a controversial skeleton from his past: his strident belief in his Halloween hero, the Great Pumpkin. Linus pleads: "In my administration, children will be children and adults will be adults!" The videos are all new, made with Flash animation and new voices for the characters. But even though it's new technology, attention has been paid to maintaining the integrity of both the strip and its beloved animation specials. "You're not trying to change it," said Jeannie Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. "You're trying to keep it the same and freshen it." The score, for example, is reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi's famous jazz that accompanied the "Peanuts" television specials. Beginning Monday, for only a limited time, fans will be able to download two episodes of the series for free on Apple's iTunes. Otherwise, two bundled episodes are available for 99 cents each, or the full season for $7.99. The videos were made by Warner Bros.' Motion Comics, which has previously brought strips of Batman, Superman and Watchmen to animated life. The Peanuts project was done with the involvement of the Schulz family and estate, which monitored the adaptation. "Our interest was in keeping the integrity of the Peanuts strip," said Jeannie Schulz. "They've done a very cute job of making it really look like the old animation, but better. Better in that it's brighter, the voices are still cute and charming." She adds, though, that too much animation technology — like CG animation — wouldn't be fitting for the simplistic style of the Peanuts strip and cartoons. "CG doesn't quite look right with them," said Schulz. "I still love that funny way they walk along." But what would the Peanuts creator — who died in 2000 at the age of 77 — think of his old strips showing up decades later, fully animated on laptops and cell phones? "I'm sort of glad that Sparky — Mr. Schulz — isn't alive (to see it)" laughs his wife. "But even though he would not understand why people wanted to look at things on their telephone, he understood stories and telling stories."
 
"DEAR ZACHARY" A HEARTBREAKING TALE OF INJUSTICE [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/3/08]
For many storytellers and their audiences, there's no denying a certain fascination with the murderous impulse. Whether the tales are fact-based or fictional, the workings of the twisted psyche enthrall. But when Kurt Kuenne set out to make a documentary tribute to a murdered friend, he had no intention of going there. His interest was young doctor Andrew Bagby, not the ex-girlfriend who, overwhelming evidence indicates, shot him to death in a Pennsylvania park before returning to her native Canada and giving birth to his son. "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father," an anguished cry of a film fueled by equal parts love and rage, opened Friday in New York, and will reach Los Angeles on November 7, 2008. Aiming to provide a memento for Bagby's friends and family, Kuenne embarked on a cross-country road trip to interview the many people who knew and loved his lifelong friend. By connecting with them, he clearly was trying to sort out his sorrow -- his voiceover narration is self-questioning as well as informative. It's also a deftly orchestrated portrait of Bagby and his parents, who moved from California to Newfoundland to pursue custody of their grandchild and monitor extradition hearings for accused killer Shirley Turner. Intercutting footage of Bagby and his father, Dave, Kuenne finds poignant rhyming gestures. Zachary, born eight months after Bagby's November 2001 murder at 28, bears an eerie resemblance to his dad. To be near their grandson, the Bagbys had to endure lengthy dealings with the manipulative Turner -- engaging in a "dance with the devil," as Dave Bagby titled his 2007 book. As one unspeakable event leads to another, Kuenne's film turns into a chilling crime thriller and a stinging indictment of a Canadian justice system that repeatedly extended an absurd degree of deference to a woman charged with murder. Without becoming a screed for victims' rights, the riveting film shows how in the face of terrible events a grieving parent is galvanized into activism.
 
FOX RENEWED "AMERICAN DAD" FOR ITS FIFTH SEASON [AP, 11/3/08]
Another Sunday night animated show on Fox, "American Dad," has been renewed for its fifth season. It has posted single-digit ratings gains among advertiser-favored young adult viewers and total viewers. "American Dad" is about Stan Smith, a dedicated conservative, and his oddball family in Langley, Va. Series co-creator and executive producer Seth MacFarlane voices Stan in the series, which also features the voices of Wendy Schaal, Rachael MacFarlane and Scott Grimes.
 
MORE EPISODES OF "KATH", "SAMANTHA" [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/3/08]
Broadcasters have made the first two comedy pickups of the fall season, with ABC ordering more episodes of "Samantha Who?" and NBC picking up its low-rated rookie "Kath & Kim." The Christina Applegate vehicle "Samantha Who?" is averaging a modest 10.5 million viewers so far this season, while "Kath & Kim" is lagging with just 6.3 million viewers. Still, "Samantha Who?" gives ABC a known-quantity comedy from which it can build when the network premieres half-hour efforts later this season. It has "Better Off Ted," "The Goode Family," "Scrubs," "Single With Parents," "In the Motherhood" and "According to Jim" (which returns December 2) waiting in the wings. "Kath & Kim," starring Molly Shannon and Selma Blair in a remake of an Australian show about an oddball mother-daughter pair, was pronounced DOA by many critics before its premiere.
 
FILMMAKER CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER [CBC, 11/3/08]
Edmonton filmmaker Mark Twitchell has been charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of a man last seen on Oct. 10, police said Saturday, November 1. John Brian Altinger, 38, was originally from White Rock, B.C. He went missing from the area of 40th Avenue and 57th Street in Edmonton, where he had been living for 10 years. It's believed he went to meet a woman he'd met on an online dating service, the police news release said. "Mr. Altinger had e-mailed a friend the directions where he was told to go to and the friend kept that e-mail and that's the only reason we found that garage," said Det. Mark Anstey of the Edmonton Police Service. Police wouldn't say what they found in the garage, but said there is enough forensic evidence to charge Twitchell, 29, with first-degree murder. Altinger's body has not been found. Twitchell used the garage as a movie set, Anstey said, and one of his earlier projects involved the story of a killing. "This film was about luring a fellow from the internet, duct-taping him to a chair, killing him and cutting him," Anstey said. "It was actually filmed and there are actors; we interviewed the actors. We've interviewed everybody and that film actually did take place." Twitchell was arrested without incident in Edmonton on Friday. Neighbours at Twitchell's residence on Dayton Crescent in St. Albert, a suburb of Edmonton, said he lived there with his wife and two children. "He seemed like a straight-up guy," said Ralph O'Donnell. "We got cops on this crescent all the time but I never thought it would be from that guy." Twitchell is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday. Police are seeking another man who may have been lured by an ad but is believed to have escaped, Anstey said. "I believe this male entered the garage and was attacked by another male who was wearing a hockey mask," Anstey said. "The male was able to break free and run into the lane, being chased by the male in the mask. At this time a couple was walking by and saw the altercation. "The male wearing the hockey mask backed away and the other male may have escaped." Detectives with Edmonton Police Service said they are hoping to speak with the man who went to a garage at 5712 40th Ave. on Oct. 3, 2008.
 
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3" IS HEAD OF THE CLASS AT BOX OFFICE [AP, 11/3/08]
Hollywood made audiences repeat senior year. Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" hauled in $15 million to remain the top movie for the second straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, November 2. Starring Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in a big-screen sequel to the Disney Channel TV movies, "High School Musical 3" raised its 10-day total to $61.8 million. Debuting at No. 2 with $10.7 million was the Weinstein Co. comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as pals who do a skin flick to dig themselves out of debt. Lionsgate's horror sequel "Saw V," the latest tale about psychokiller Jigsaw, slipped from second place to third with $10.1 million, lifting its 10-day total to $45.8 million. Expanding nationwide after a weekend in limited release was Clint Eastwood's "Changeling," which took in $9.4 million to finish at No. 4. The Universal Pictures drama stars Angelina Jolie as a single mother victimized by police who botched the investigation into her missing son. Freestyle Releasing's "The Haunting of Molly Hartley" debuted with $6 million to come in at No. 5. The movie stars Haley Bennett as a traumatized teen who finds fresh terror at her new school. "RocknRolla" — the latest from Madonna's soon-to-be-ex-husband, Guy Ritchie — was a dud as it expanded from limited to nationwide release. The crime romp featuring Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton took in just $1.8 million, finishing well outside the top 10. Madonna and Ritchie announced their separation last month. After a big surge the previous weekend, Hollywood revenues plunged. The top 12 movies took in $75.2 million, off 38 percent from the same weekend last year, when "American Gangster" opened with $43.6 million and "Bee Movie" debuted with $38 million. Non-scary movies were hurt with Halloween falling on Friday. "High School Musical 3" did just $1.7 million on Friday, but it rebounded with $8.2 million Saturday. "The target audience was out collecting candy or trick-or-treating Friday, but Saturday came back like a monster," said Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion-picture group.
 
"OTHER END OF THE LINE" AS EXCITING AS A DIAL TONE [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 11/3/08]
A mild cross-cultural romantic comedy dropped into a few theaters by MGM with all the hoopla of a fugitive entering the Witness Protection Program, "The Other End of the Line" has the dramatic impact of a dropped cell phone call. The MGM film opened Friday, earning a puny $57,000 from 91 theaters. If you've ever pined for an attractive anonymous voice on the other end of a routine business call, then you might fall for this tale about the cross-cultural romance that develops between slick New York advertising exec Granger Woodruf (Jesse Metcalfe) and Mumbai-based call-center worker Priya (Shriya Saran) after she contacts him about some fraudulent charges on his credit card. Sporting an American name and accent, the well-trained Priya (she's been taught to differentiate between actors Dermot Mulroney and Dylan McDermott, which is frankly more than most people have ever been able to do) falls for Granger despite already being engaged to someone else. So she takes the bait when he suggests meeting in San Francisco, where she's supposedly based, when he has to fly there on a business trip. Needless to say, the inevitable plot complications ensue, including a case of mistaken identity and the pesky interventions of Granger's superhot casual girlfriend (Sara Foster). It won't be any great revelation to say that it all works out in the end, especially if you've seen "An Officer and a Gentleman," the ending of which is freely borrowed. While the film thankfully doesn't lay on the cultural clash comedy too thickly, it's otherwise strictly formulaic, with the lovers getting to know each other, like so many screen couples before them, by splashing each other while frolicking fully clothed in the surf. Although the two leads are certainly not tough to look at, neither makes enough of an impression to carry the film, and such supporting players as Austin Basis as Granger's envious best friend and Larry Miller as an officious hotel chain owner don't exactly pick up the slack. And just in case there haven't already been enough subliminal references to earlier and far better romantic comedies, a cover of "Pretty Woman" is helpfully included on the soundtrack.
 
STRATFORD'S CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA TO HIT THE BIG SCREEN [CBC 11/2/08]
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival's production of Caesar and Cleopatra, starring Christopher Plummer, will be hitting the big and small screens. A film version of the stage production will premiere as one-night gala screenings at up to 80 Cineplex theatres across Canada, according to a report by the Globe and Mail on Saturday, November 1. The partnership with CTV-Bravo also means the production will eventually air on television. "It's lucid, it is very very funny [and] it's got a real sense of interplay between the audience and the players," the festival's general director Antoni Cimolino told the Globe. The Stratford adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play involves sumptuous costumes and a highly visual staging which should lend itself to a screening, according to Cimolino. Funding for the project has come from CTV and a private donor. The venture follows in the footsteps of New York's Metropolitan Opera, which has been broadcasting its productions, in real time, to cinemas across the world. The only difference is that the Stratford model isn't a live experience. "It's partly brand extension. It's putting bums in seats. It's making people embrace Stratford as a national institution," said entertainment lawyer Michael Levine, who helped broker the deal.
 
BOND FILM OPENS WITH GUNS BLAZING IN BRITAIN [Reuters, 11/2/08]
The new James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," debuted in Britain on Friday, October 31 to record one-day ticket sales of 4.94 million pounds ($8 million), distributor Columbia Pictures said on Saturday. The total tops "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," the previous record holder with an opening day haul of 4.025 million pounds ($6.5 million) in 2005, and it also beat the 2.9 million pounds ($4.72 million) first-day total for the last Bond flick, "Casino Royale" (2006), Columbia said. In "Quantum of Solace," British super spy Bond (Daniel Craig) is on a mission across South America and Europe to stop an eco-terrorist from controlling precious natural resources, and he wants to learn why the woman he loved in "Casino Royale" betrayed him. "Casino Royale," was a huge box office success with a global haul of $594 million. Friday's British opening of "Quantum of Solace" in 542 theaters will be followed by a November 14, 2008 debut of the film in the United States and Canada. Columbia Pictures is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the media wing of Japan's Sony Corp.
 
MAMMA MIA! BREAKS U.K. FILM RECORD [BBC 11/1/08]
Musical Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, has become the highest-grossing British film at the UK box office. The film, which features the songs of Abba, has taken £67.2m in the UK since its release in July - and continues to be shown in British cinemas. It is now the second highest-grossing film in the UK behind Titanic. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which grossed £66.1m, was the previous holder of the British record. Mamma Mia! could be on its way to beating Titanic's box office haul of £69m as cinema-goers continue to flock to see it. Now in its 16th week of release in the UK, the film has also become the number one film of the year in 13 countries including Germany, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. Sing-along versions of the film in cinemas have also helped boost the film's success. "What is interesting is the speed at which it has gotten to this level," David Kosse, president of Universal Pictures International told industry paper Screen International. "We are ahead of Harry Potter and continue to be ahead of Titanic at this stage, and we think it still has some life in it. "One driver is the multiple viewings with people going back to see it again and again. It really is happening on a scale that we haven't seen before." The three women who created the worldwide stage hit - producer Judy Craymer, writer Catherine Johnson and director Phyllida Lloyd, repeated their roles in bringing the musical to the big screen in the British/US collaboration with Universal Pictures. The rest of the top 10 highest-grossing British films in the UK is completed by the Harry Potter and Bridget Jones franchises, comedy The Full Monty and romantic comedy Love Actually.
 
FOX'S LONG RUNNING "KING OF THE HILL" CANCELLED [AP, 11/1/08]
"King of the Hill" is over the hill at Fox, which is canceling the long-running animated comedy. Final episodes of the half-hour series, now in its 13th year, likely will air during the 2009-10 season, Fox said Friday. The network recently ordered 13 new episodes, and animated series have a long production schedule. "King of the Hill" chronicles the life of blue-collar family man Hank Hill of Texas and his family and friends. Hank is voiced by series co-creator and executive producer Mike Judge. Others in the cast include Kathy Najimy, Brittany Murphy and Stephen Root.
 
"GATES OF CHOICE" TO GET WORLD PREMIERE IN FLORIDA [Playbill, 11/1/08]
Set in Israel's Ultra Orthodox quarter of Mea Shearim, "Gates of Choice" concerns a young Hasidic woman facing an arranged marriage and finding refuge and answers in a taboo relationship to the secular world. "Fueled by her curious nature and longing for identity, she delves further to find 'the truth' forming the foundation of her religion, her community, and her family," according to production notes. Rosenfarb, a South Florida playwright, is a recipient of the Emerging Artist Foster Fellowship granted by the Broward County Cultural Arts Foundation and winner of the 17th Annual Florida Playwright Competition. Under the direction of New Theatre's artistic director, Ricky J. Martinez, the cast will feature Bill Schwartz (known to many as retired City of Miami Police Lieutenant William Schwartz), Kim Ehly, David Sirois, Valentina Izarra and Laura Turnbull. The production team includes production stage manager Clint Hooper, costume designer K. Blair Brown and scenic and lighting designer Dudley Pinder. Opening is Nov. 15, 2008. Performances continue to Dec. 14. Performances play Thursday through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sunday at 1 PM, with additional shows Sunday 5:30 PM on Nov. 23, 30 and Dec. 7. New Theatre is located in Coral Gables, FL. or visit the website online. New Theatre, run by Ricky J. Martinez (artistic director) and Eileen Suarez (managing director) was founded in 1986 and is dedicated to the development and production of new works. The theatre has brought the national premieres of more than 30 plays by early- and mid-career American playwrights to South Florida, including New Theatre-commissioned Anna in the Tropics, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
 
LARRY BIRKHEAD'S LIFE GOES ON PUBLIC THROUGH REALITY SHOW [Aceshowbiz, 11/1/08]
After being exploited regarding gay rumours and the custody battle with Anna Nicole Smith for his daughter, Dannielynn, Larry Birkhead's life will be more exposed to the public. ET has been informed that the former lover of Anna will have his own reality show on E!, which is currently untitled. Larry says in a statement to ET, "My life in the last couple of years has been a reality show, there's been so many things out there that are not true, and there are so many things that I've taken a lot of beatings for and I haven't set the record straight; nobody knows the true reality of how I live and what I go through." The reality show will revolve around Larry's daily life along with his daughter and 18-year-old nephew, Justin. His daily life as a single father who is running Anna's business and home-schooling Justin will be featured on television next year. He describes his appearance on the reality show, saying "I'm changing diapers one minute, going to a basketball court the next minute, going to a concert here, there, you know, stores, so it's tough." He also shows his excitement regarding his daughter's involvement on the project. He says, "The thing I'm most proud of is she doesn't know anything that's going on; she's just happy and worries about her toys and we just have the best time. This time is really about bouncing back and being happy and taking advantage of the things we have, and not forgetting what we don't have, but also just going forward."
 
BOND 'BASED ON ELIZABETHAN SPY' [BBC, 11/1/08]
Author Ian Fleming was partly inspired to create James Bond by the exploits of a 16th century spy called John Bond, it is claimed. Descendants of John Bond say a newly-unearthed diary reveals he went on missions for Queen Elizabeth I. Fleming went to Durnford School on the Isle of Purbeck, in Dorset, which was next to the estate of the Bond family whose motto is The World Is Not Enough. Historian Rodney Legg said John Bond was an inspiration for Fleming. The author based Bond on characters he knew, Mr Legg added. "His Bond is as much a reflection of himself and the colourful characters around him. John Bond is part of the inspiration for it all," he said. Will Bond, the current head of the family, whose base is Tyneham in the Isle of Purbeck, says there is "every reason" to believe that Fleming took the motto "non sufficit orbis" - the world is not enough - and gave it to 007. He claims that John Bond picked up the tag from a Spanish palace while on his travels. Fleming first used the motto in his 1963 book On Her Majesty's Secret Service and it became the name of the 1999 Bond film outing. Mr. Bond added that the diary was written retrospectively by John's son Denis, and painted him as a "man of action". "He appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time too regularly to be mere coincidence. "It is highly likely that Ian Fleming would have been aware of the Bond family - it is possible he also knew that there was a colourful past," he added. John Bond's adventures were at times controversial, according to the diary. In 1573, he took a woman and child hostage so he could escape the St Bartholomew's Day massacre in France. Daniel Craig is the latest actor to take on the big screen role of James Bond. Quantum of Solace premiered in London earlier this week.
 
PULITZER PLAYWRIGHT DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE PENS "SPIDEY 4" [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/31/08]
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire got out of a rabbit hole, only to be ensnared by a spider's web. Lindsay-Abaire, who won a Pulitzer in 2007 for his drama "Rabbit Hole," is in final negotiations to write "Spider-Man 4" for Columbia. Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are back as director and star, respectively. Kirsten Dunst also is expected to return for the latest movie featuring the Marvel Comics character. Plot details are under lock and key. Producer Laura Ziskin had said she would like to aim for a May 2011 release for "Spider-Man 4," nine years after the original movie's debut. Columbia always has gone off the beaten path during the development process when hiring writers for the "Spider-Man" movies. Alvin Sargent, a veteran scribe best known for 1973's "Paper Moon" and 1980's "Ordinary People," served as a writer on the second and third films. Michael Chabon, another Pulitzer winner, also worked on "Spider-Man 2." James Vanderbilt previously wrote a draft of "Spider-Man 4." Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole," which starred Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly, hit the Broadway stage in 2006 and won four Tonys, including best play. The writer also is known for the play "Fuddy Meers." Lindsay-Abaire has said in interviews that his plays tend to be "peopled with outsiders in search of clarity," which would put his work on sympathetic terms with Peter Parker, who in his classic incarnation is the perpetual outsider. The choice of scribe also signals that that filmmakers are intent to focus on character, something that critics said got lost in the third installment. Lindsay-Abaire, now writing the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical adaptation of "Shrek," has dipped his toe in Tinseltown before, with his adaptation of "Inkheart" due in January. He is also adapting "Rabbit" for 20th Century Fox and Nicole Kidman.
 
"THE DARK KNIGHT" BRINGS HEATH LEDGER 2008 AFI AWARDS NOMINATION
[Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/31/08]
Heath Ledger's thrilling performance as Batman's psychotic villain, Joker, in "The Dark Knight" has brought him recognition from Australian Film Institute. On Wednesday, October 29 as the Australian Film Institute announced the nominees for L'Oreal Paris 2008 AFI Awards in Sydney, it was revealed that the late actor has been listed among the nominees for the international AFI award. With the nod, Ledger is on the run for the title of AFI International Award for Best Actor. In the category, he will be contending with Eric Bana for "The Other Boleyn Girl", Russell Crowe for "American Gangster" and Jack Thompson for "Leatherheads". The actor who passed away late January 2008 has won the title in 2006 for his performance as homosexual cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain". Beside the Best Actor category, AFI International Award also saw Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Judy Davis and Rachel Griffiths as the contenders of Best Actress category. Blanchett and Kidman received the gong for their acts in feature films, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and "The Golden Compass" respectively, while Davis and Griffiths for their characters' portrayal in television series, "The Starter Wife" and "Brothers & Sisters" respectively. The 50th Australian Film Institute Awards will be honoring the best in films for 2008 on Saturday, December 6. The gala will be held at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. The awards' nominations were dominated by low-budget drama "The Black Balloon" with 11 counts on its hands. The complete list of this year nominees can be read at AFI's official site.
 
CANADIANS FINALLY GETTING A VERSION OF HBO [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/31/08]
HBO has finally made it to Canada -- sort of. Major Canadian cable and satellite TV operators on Thursday, October 30 began offering a free, on-demand channel of HBO shows for existing subscribers of domestic pay TV networks the Movie Network and Movie Central, and not the U.S.-based HBO service, which remains barred from authorized carriage here because it competes with those drama specialists. TMN and Movie Central are the Canadian licensees of HBO shows. Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Star Choice Communications and Groupe Videotron are among the eastern Canadian carriers that launched HBO Canada to TMN subscribers in eastern Canada. In western Canada, Bell Canada and Star Choice were joined by Shaw Communications, Sasktel and MTS as major carriers that now offer HBO Canada as part of their TV lineup alongside Movie Central.
 
BLAIR MacLEAN OF COMEDY DUO MacLEAN & MacLEAN DIES [CBC, 10/31/08]
Blair MacLean, one-half of the foul-mouthed musical comedy team MacLean & MacLean, died Wednesday, October 29 in Winnipeg. Family members said he suffered a heart attack. MacLean & MacLean were known for their scatological humour and rude versions of popular songs, including I've Seen Pubic Hair (with the tune from I've Been Everywhere). Blair MacLean and his younger brother Gary formed the duo in 1972 and toured Canada with their act until 1998. Gary MacLean, who became a Winnipeg radio personality, died of throat cancer in 2001. After Gary's death in 2002, Blair MacLean released a CD entitled Live of a performance they did in Moose Jaw, Sask., to raise money for his brother's children. Originally from Glace Bay, N.S., the brothers played guitar, banjo and other instruments. Their act, which they performed at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, the Edmonton Fringe Festival and across Canada involved adapting popular music and folk songs with humorous words. They produced seven albums of adult-oriented material, including Toilet Rock, Bitter Reality, Take the O Out of Country and Cruel Cuts. Bitter Reality was produced by Guess Who lead singer Burton Cummings, who they toured with. Their swearing and use of obscene language made MacLean & MacLean unsuitable for radio play. According to their official website, they appealed to the Supreme Court for the right to perform a song based on Ja-Da (F--- Ya), that used obscene language. They also created the popular character, The Champ, a punch-drunk, homophobic ex-boxer, in partnership with former Winnipeg DJ, Brother Jake Edwards. After they stopped performing in 1998, Blair MacLean became an artist.
 
CHINA OKs "CAPE NO. 7": A FILM ON SENSITIVE TAIWAN-JAPAN RELATIONS
[Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/30/08]
Taiwan's biggest local box office hit, a love story involving its former colonizer Japan, has been approved for screening in China despite Beijing's skittish view of Tokyo-Taipei relations, the director said on Wednesday, October 29. Chinese authorities, who can censor films that go against government interests, will allow the award-winning "Cape No. 7" to be shown uncut to its huge cinema audiences, he said. "I was really surprised," director Wei Te-sheng told Reuters. "I hope mainland Chinese audiences can look at a different culture with tolerance." The film follows two Taiwan people who fall in love with Japanese, one of whom was involved in Taiwan's colonization between 1895 and 1945. Their stories reflect the tight bonds, both then and now, between Taiwan and Japan. China has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's KMT fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary. Beijing authorities distrust Taiwan's relations with Japan, where leaders have hinted they favour Taipei over Beijing, in part because of warm ties left over from colonization. China criticizes Japan to this day over its invasion and occupation of much of mainland China between 1931 and 1945. "I didn't use politics to talk about history. I used love," said Wei, 40, whose film has earned about T$446 million ($13.4 million) in box office revenue in Taiwan, making it the most popular movie ever made locally. "It should be no problem." "Cape No. 7," a 129-minute comedy which also takes potshots at Taiwan society, opened on the island in late August. It was made on a budget of just T$50 million. In the movie, which follows the joke-riddled formation of an amateur rock band, the singer falls for the Japanese concert organizer. She persuades him to use his job as a postal carrier to deliver a stack of old love letters to an aging Taiwan woman whose Japanese beau left her during the colonial period. "Cape No. 7" is also set to screen in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, and has been entered for a best foreign language Oscar award. Wei plans to direct another Japan-Taiwan theme movie in late 2009.
 
"VILLAINS" IN HOLLYWOOD SPOTLIGHT [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/30/08]
After a summer of superheroes, will super-baddies now get their due? Universal has paid mid-six-figures for the movie rights to the graphic novel series "Villains." The plot, told from the baddies' perspective, follows a young man who is failing at life and finds purpose when he meets a Svengali-style villain who takes him under his wing. The graphic novel, by Adam Cogan and Ryan Cody, comes from Viper Comics. It will be adapted by Matt Jennison and Brent Strickland, who are bringing "Wonder Woman" to the big screen.
 
TOM FORD'S "A SINGLE MAN" WITH MOORE AND FIRTH [E! Online, 10/30/08]
Tom Ford is finally going public with his movie plans. As I was the first to tell you last month, the fashion prince will make his directorial debut with a movie adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel, A Single Man. Colin Firth will star as a gay college professor who is dealing with the death of his longtime lover. Julianne Moore costars as a lifelong friend of the professor's. While early talk was Jamie Bell would play one of his students, it turns that role has gone to Matthew Goode. The story takes place in 1962 in Los Angeles. Filming will begin in L.A. on Nov. 3, 2008. Ford spoke publicly about wanting to get behind the camera when he left Gucci in 2004. He acquired movie right's to A Single Man about a year ago. He also started his own men's fashion line last year with stores in New York, Las Vegas, Dubai, Los Angles and Moscow, among many others.
 
BRITNEY SPEARS, PARIS HILTON AND LINDSAY LOHAN POSSIBLY STARRING IN SAME NEW SITCOM [Aceshowbiz, 10/30/08]
Rumour has it that three top celebrities, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan, will play in the same sitcom series together. It is reported that HBO, the official network of some hit series like "Sex and the City" and "The Sopranos", has planned to pick the trio to star on the sitcom that is untitled. Furthermore, a source also states that the show's chief has asked a favour from Ricky Gervais ("Extras" star) and Mark Cherry ("Desperate Housewives" creator) to write on the script. More to go that the story has been described as a cross between "Friends" and "Ugly Betty". The sitcom has an intention to make the appearances of the three ladies looking like their real character. They will play different roles but they have the same goal which is to get success in Hollywood. Spears will play as a singer, hoping to be successful with her unusual song lyrics. Paris will use her fashion skill to play a character as fashion designer. While Lindsay probably does a bit differently, playing a character that is rather similar to one of the main characters in "Friends", Joey. A source gives a statement to Britain's "Daily Star" newspaper that the superstars will make a good work team together on the project. As the source stated, "The chemistry between them will be electric, they were very close and have had their ups and downs in the Los Angeles party world but they have overcome those problems now. They can draw from their experiences for the sitcom."
 
M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN'S "DEVIL" GETS ITS DUE [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/30/08]
M. Night Shyamalan is making a deal with the "Devil." The "Sixth Sense" director will produce the supernatural thriller "Devil," an independently financed project based on his idea. No plot details were revealed. It will be directed by "Quarantine" duo John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle from a script by Brian Nelson ("30 Days of Night"). The project will be the first feature Shyamalan has written or produced without directing. "Devil" heads into production next year, aiming for a PG-13 rating. It will be the first under a three-film financing/production partnership with independent financier Media Rights Capital, dubbed the Night Chronicles. The subsequent two films, set to begin production in 2010 and 2011, respectively, will also be based on his original stories. John Erick Dowdle recently directed "Quarantine," an adaptation of the Spanish horror hit "(Rec)" he co-scripted with brother Drew. "This is a dream for me. I wanted to find filmmakers that inspire me and I found them," said Shyamalan, who will co-own the films' copyrights with MRC and shop them for distribution. Shyamalan, who recently experienced recent critical lambasting for his $64.5 million-grossing supernatural thriller "The Happening," is now directing "The Last Airbender," a family fantasy which is set for a 2010 release through Paramount.
 
"MILK" PREMIERE BRINGS STARS TO SF's CASTRO [AP, 10/30/08]
It was only fitting that "Milk," the film about Harvey Milk's life and death, premiere Tuesday night, October 28 in the Castro. Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay leader who was slain 30 years ago, used to call himself "the Mayor of Castro Street," referring to the main drag through the neighborhood he represented on the Board of Supervisors and the center of the city's gay and lesbian community. The world premiere of his biopic brought considerable star power to Milk's beloved Castro Theatre, including director Gus Van Sant and stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna. The film follows Milk's rise to office and his and Mayor George Moscone's assassination at City Hall by fellow Supervisor Dan White in 1978. Van Sant said he had been talking about making this film for 18 years. "He's an American hero," Van Sant said. "He's a great example of a man representing his community and his city." Milk received another tribute earlier in the day, when a historic streetcar featured in the film was dedicated to him. The supervisor had been a champion of public transportation. Tuesday night's premiere also brought out many of Milk's old friends who helped usher in the gay rights movement that has led, a generation later, to a fight over the right of same-sex couples to marry. Gay rights activist Cleve Jones, played in the film by Emile Hirsch, said Milk would have been thrilled at the film but angry that the fight over civil rights continued. He pointed across the street, where hundreds were rallying against Proposition 8, a Nov. 4 ballot measure that would rewrite the California constitution to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. "Harvey would be angry," Jones said, "and he'd still be fighting."
 
DOWNEY, FAVREAU SIGN ON FOR "AVENGERS" AT MARVEL [Reuters/Hollywood Reporter, 10/30/08]
"Iron Man" duo Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau will reunite for "The Avengers," Marvel Studios' film about its team of superheroes. Don Cheadle, whose deal to replace Terrence Howard in the "Iron Man" movies has been finalized, also has signed to perform in the action movie. It is set for release in 2011. Downey has signed a four-picture deal with Marvel Studios, which will see him reprise the character of Tony Stark not only for "Iron Man 2" and "Iron Man 3," but also for the "Avengers" movie. (The deal retroactively includes the first "Iron Man," which grossed $580 million at the worldwide box office this year.) Favreau, who is directing "Iron Man 2," will executive produce "Avengers." Cheadle will play Jim Rhodes, Stark's best friend, who becomes the suit-wearing hero "War Machine." Marvel's current slate is designed to introduce superhero characters via individual movies that lead up to the characters teaming up for "Avengers." Downey and Cheadle are the first stars to sign for "Avengers," whose roster of superheroes includes Iron Man, Captain American, Hulk, Wasp, Giant Man, Hawkeye and Thor. Edward Norton portrayed Bruce Banner/Hulk in "Hulk" this year, but the actor clashed with the studio over the movie's cut. It is unclear whether he will return.
 
"XXX: THE RETURN OF XANDER CAGE" TARGETS LATE SPRING SHOOTING [Aceshowbiz, 10/30/08]
"XXX: The Return of Xander Cage" is most likely to begin filming sometime in early 2009. Of it, Collider reported that director Rob Cohen has revealed the matter through a recent interview saying, "We met the writers yesterday and we're trying to get into production by late spring, to have it out for the summer of 2010." On the occasion, he also made time to confirm that this new "XXX" project will team him up once again with action man Vin Diesel who will reprise his role as Xander Cage, a law-breaking extreme sports enthusiast-turned-government agent. "Yes, they're doing it with me and producer Joe Roth. We made the deal recently, it's named xXx: The Return of Xander Cage," he exclaimed. Despite Cohen's remark on the filming plan, details on the third installment of "XXX" remain under tight wraps. Still, it is known that Columbia Pictures are looking forward to develop this second sequel. Prior to "Return of Xander Cage", the franchise has seen two "XXX" movies being made. The original is a 2002 action movie "XXX" starring Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson and Asia Argento, while the second one is titled "XXX: State of the Union" with Ice Cube serving as the lead and Lee Tamahori as the director.
 
FOURTH "AMERICAN PIE" FILM COULD HEAD TO BIG SCREEN [Aceshowbiz, 10/30/08]
Rumour has it, there will be a fourth 'American Pie' movie. According to Moviehole, Universal Pictures have scrapped their plan on the direct-to-DVD American Pie movies due to the fact that they are planning to develop "American Pie 4". Reportedly, this fourth film will bring back some of the leading actors from the previous "American Pie" movies. However, clues on the matter remain sketchy. There are yet confirmation or denial about the proposed movie itself from Universal. The last "American Pie" movie to hit the theaters was "American Wedding". Telling the story leading to the wedding of Jim and Michelle, the film was released on August 8, 2003 and has since pulled in $231.4 million worldwide. It stars Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott and many others.
 
DEEP THROAT DIRECTOR DAMIANO DIES [BBC, 10/30/08]
Gerard Damiano, director of infamous 1970s pornographic film Deep Throat, has died in Miami at the age of 80. Made in 1972 for £25,000, it was the first "porno" widely seen in cinemas and made an estimated $600m (£382m). The title - a reference to fellatio - was subsequently used as a pseudonym for the whistleblower who spilled the beans about the Watergate scandal. Damiano, a former hairdresser and occasional actor, died in hospital after suffering a stroke last month. "He was a film-maker and an artist and we thought of him as such," said the director's son, Gerard Damiano Jr. "Even though we weren't allowed to see his movies, we knew he was a moviemaker and we were proud of that." Shot in just six days, Deep Throat became notorious for its graphic sex scenes. Its star, the late Linda Lovelace, would later claim she had been forced to appear in the film by her husband and manager. 'Deep Throat' was later revealed to be former FBI deputy head Mark Felt. The film caused such outrage her co-star Harry Reems was subsequently convicted of obscenity. It was re-released in U.S cinemas three years ago to coincide with a documentary about the film, entitled Inside Deep Throat. "My father never dreamed that it would get that kind of attention," said Damiano Jr. For all its success, however, Deep Throat was not his father's favourite. "He was fond of it for what it was," he continued. "But in terms of film-making he would never call it a great film." Damiano's other credits include Forbidden Bodies, Future Sodom and his final work, Naked Goddess 2.

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