The Newsdesk 07.15.09 – Zellweger in for Third Bridget Jones; Jackman Is Calling Avon
• New promo images of a ghostly Anne Hathaway in Alice in Wonderland have been released.
• Emily Blunt is joining Matt Damon in the scifi thriller The Adjustment Bureau. Next summer, claims will be adjusted.
• Photos of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale ripped and bloodied in The Fighter have surfaced. Good to see these two moving out their comfort zone by playing a couple of hotheaded brawlers.
• Darren Aronofsky’s Robocop reboot could be in jeopardy now that he’s helming the Natalie Portman supernatural drama Black Swan.
• Hugh Jackman will star in the comedy Avon Man
as, yes, a man who works as an Avon sales rep. Right? Because why would
a man sell cosmetics door-to-door? Unsurprisingly, it’s from the writer
of Hitch.
• The trailer for Sundance favorite An Education has been released. Now when will someone adapt the Hall & Oates classic “Adult Education”?
• Renee Zellweger will return for another Bridget Jones outing. Looks like someone is trying to remind us of the days when we all loved Renee Zellweger.
BIZ
The iPhone Becomes a Cheap, Interactive Way to Market Films
from The Wrap RSS by Lew Harris
“The phone is an extremely compelling device. It’s
personalized. It’s with you 24-7. It’s really viral.”
CBS Throws Its Shows Into ‘TV Everywhere’ Initiative
from Advertising Age – MediaWorks by mlearmonth@adage.com(Michael Learmonth)
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — CBS, the lone broadcaster not participating in web TV
site Hulu, is giving more content to a potential competitor, Comcast’s On
Demand Online.
FESTIVALS
Connelly, Bettany open film fest with Darwin tale
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 …
TORONTO (AP) — Real-life couple Jennifer Connelly and Paul
Bettany will kick off the Toronto International Film Festival with the life
story of Charles Darwin….
‘Jackson 5 in Africa’ to close Downtown Fest
from Hollywood Reporter by Staff report
“Jackson 5 In Africa,” a documentary about the
Jackson 5’s 1974 tour of Senegal, will have its West Coast premiere at the
Closing Night Gala of the 2009 Downtown Film Festival — L.A. The film will
screen twice on Aug. 22 at a venue to be announced.
Ron Howard to be honored at Austin fest
from Hollywood Reporter by By Jay A. Fernandez
Director Ron Howard has been chosen for special honors at
this year’s Austin Film Festival.
Summit’s “New Moon” and “Astro Boy” Heading To ComicCon
from indieWIRE News
Summit Entertainment will preview three of its upcoming films
on Thursday July 23rd at Comic-Con 2009.
Pixies, NIN Headline Ontario Music Festival
Yep. You read that right. The Pixies and Nine Inch Nails
along with Ben Harper, The Pet Shop Boys, and N.E.R.D were just a few of the
artists announced for the Ontario Virgin Festival taking place August 29-30,
2009.
The Flaming Lips, MGMT headline Treasure Island Festival
from Top Stories from LiveDaily.com
(LiveDaily.com) The Flaming Lips [ tickets
], MGMT [ tickets
] and The Decemberists [ tickets
] are among the two-dozen acts scheduled for San Francisco’s third annual Treasure
Island Music Festival [ tickets
]
AWARDS
Russell Brand to host MTV awards again
from Entertainment Weekly’s News Briefs by Jennifer Armstrong
Irreverent comedian Russell Brand — who caused controversy
at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards by poking fun at the Jonas Brothers’
purity rings — will return to host the show again in New York City Sept. 13.
from Variety.com – Award Central News
Award Central News: ’60 Minutes’ scores 15 nominations —
“NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams” took two nominations for top
breaking story in a regularly scheduled newscast as the News & Documentary
Emmy noms were announced Tuesday morning.
MOVIES
Daily Box Office: Monday, July 13, 2009
from Box Office Mojo – Current Box Office Results
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs tops Monday’s box office with
$3.6 million.
Toys Heading to the Big Screen
from The Wrap RSS by admin
From Max Steel to Monopoly, these childhood faves are on
Hollywood’s assembly line.
First
Look: ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief’
from Access Hollywood – Movies
Percy Jackson learns he’s a descendant of a Greek god and
embarks on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.
Stars hunt down Stanley Tucci film
Film News: Brosnan, Clarkson, Moore set for ‘Hunter’ —
Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore will headline indie
comedic drama “The Hunter,” with Stanley Tucci directing from his
screenplay.
Look: ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs’
from Access Hollywood – Movies
Flint Lockwood builds a machine that makes delicious food
rain from the sky and changes the lives of everyone living in the small town of
Swallow Falls.
‘Bridget Jones 3’ In The Works
from Access Hollywood – Movies
Renee Zellweger may have to start packing on the pounds
again.
Teacher earns top marks for directorial debut
A schoolteacher from southern England with no previous
filmmaking experience is giving amateurism a good name by directing her pupils
in a feature film fit for Hollywood.
Movie Review | ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’: In
Latest ‘Harry Potter,’ Rage and Hormones
from NYT > Movies by By MANOHLA DARGIS
The latest big-screen iteration of the global “Harry Potter”
phenomenon has begun to show signs of stress.
It’s Official: David & Courteney Will Scream Again!
It’s official! David Arquette and Courteney Cox have signed
on to reunite with the Ghostface killer. “We are going to be doing Scream
4,” Arquette just told me from New York.
‘Green Hornet’: Chow out as Kato; Rogen stays
from Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider by Jeff Jensen
First he was no longer directing The Green Hornet. Now,
Stephen Chow, the Hong Kong actor-helmer-madcap mayhem maestro behind the
martial arts comedies Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, has left the
production altogether.
Arts, Briefly: Release Set for Film of ‘Hideous Men’
from NYT > Movies by Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF
A film adaptation of the David Foster Wallace book “Brief
Interviews With Hideous Men” will be released in American theaters in
September.
Hugh Jackman to become ‘Avon Man’
from Entertainment Weekly’s News Briefs by Tanner Stransky
Wolverine star Hugh Jackman will star in the Full Monty-ish
comedy Avon Man from 20th Century Fox, according to a story in Variety.
Miley Cyrus eyed for lead role in ‘Wings’
from EW.com: Movies
By Tanner Stransky
Variety: Disney acquires rights to the young adult novel for the star, about a
high-school girl who realizes she’s a fairy.
Emily Blunt To Star Opposite Matt Damon In The Adjustment
Bureau
from /Film by orfilms@gmail.com (slashfilm.com)
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Emily Blunt will
star alongside Matt Damon in the upcoming silver-screen realisation of the
Philip K. Dick sci-fi short story called The Adjustment Team, here
upgraded to The Adjustment Bureau.
Billy Bob Thornton joins ‘Three Nights’ team
from Hollywood Reporter by By Steven Zeitchik
Billy Bob Thornton will be putting on his producer ballcap.
‘Chess in Concert’ hitting the big screen
from The Hollywood Reporter – Music by By Stuart Kemp
Movie theaters will be alive to the sound of “Chess in
Concert,” a recording of a shindig celebrating 25 years of the musical
“Chess,” after alternative content distributor More2Screen and Warner
Music Entertainment stuck a theatrical distribution deal.
Exclusive: Daphne Zuniga returns to ‘Melrose Place’
from Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider by Lynette Rice
Jo is back! EW.com has learned exclusively that Daphne
Zuniga — last seen on One Tree Hill — will reprise her role as photographer
Jo Reynolds in The CW’s reboot of Melrose Place this fall.
CBS wins prime-time battle for fourth straight week
from L.A. Times – TV News
CBS combined the return of “Big Brother” with its
strong lineup of reruns to be the most-watched network in prime time for the
fourth consecutive week and sixth time in the seven weeks of TV’s summer
season.
from Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider by Tanner Stransky
In a bit of news that will likely shock no one who remotely
follows television ratings, NBC’s summer juggernaut America’s Got Talent took
the top spot for the week ending July 12, pulling in 11.9 million viewers with
its Wednesday.
Ice Cube’s ‘Are We There Yet?’ goes to series on TBS
from Entertainment Weekly’s News Briefs by Tanner Stransky
TBS has made plans to pick up a TV version of Ice Cube’s
movie Are We There Yet?, which will likely premiere in June 2010 with 10
episodes, according to Variety.
Jennifer Garner, ABC make a deal
from EW.com: Today’s Latest Headlines by Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello confirms exclusively the ”Alias” star is
inking a new development pact with her old network
Martha Plimpton to do ‘Grey’s’ arc
from Hollywood Reporter by By Nellie Andreeva
Martha Plimpton has been tapped for a multi-episode arc on
ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.”
from Variety.com
Exclusives: ‘Humpday”s Mark Duplass stars in comedy — FX
has quietly begun production on “The League,” a half-hour comedy
pilot starring “Humpday’s” Mark Duplass.
MUSIC
Publicist: Britney Spears’ Warsaw stop canceled
from AP Top Entertainment News At 11:05 …
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Britney Spears’ “Circus”
won’t be coming to Warsaw….
Whitney Houston Premieres New Album In London
from Billboard News – All by Mark Sutherland, London
Whitney Houston appeared at the world premiere of her new
album, “I Look to You” (Arista), in London last night (July 14).
Michael Jackson Sells 1.1 Million Albums In One Week
from Billboard News – All by Keith Caulfield, L.A.
The King of Pop dominates the Nielsen SoundScan and
Billboard charts yet again.
The Best Albums Of 2009 (So Far)
from MTV News
Lily Allen, Mos Def and Kelly Clarkson make the mid-year
list, in Bigger Than the Sound.
Bruce Springsteen extends “Dream” tour
from Reuters: Entertainment News
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band have added new U.S. concert dates to their Working on a Dream tour, which
returns stateside in late August with three shows at the Comcast Theater in
Hartford, Conn.
The Beatles Recall Making of “Revolver” In Reissue Doc
from Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily by Daniel Kreps
We’ve been so excited about hearing the remastered sound of the Beatles reissued catalog on September 9th that we
forgot all about another of the reissue’s perks: Each of the 13 proper albums
being re-released on 9.9.09 will be accompanied by a mini-documentary featuring
the Beatles and producer Sir George Martin talking about how each album was
created.
Daughtry settles into new, more personal ‘Town’
from USATODAY.com Music – Top Stories
Chris Daughtry didn’t realize he had vocal talent until he
was in his early teens. “But I always had this dream of doing something
…
Robert Redford Marries German Girlfriend
from Access Hollywood – Movies
A German church says its pastor presided over the wedding
between Robert Redford and his German partner.