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Stars Lower Their Tinted-Eyewear Guards At MTV Video Music Awards

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We're going to just come out and admit we didn't watch MTV's Video Music Awards last night, though we feel obligated to post something about it anyway. We thought we'd embed this video of what many are calling "the performance of the night"--OK GO recreating their quad-treadmill, viral-hit music video live--until we actually watched it, and the soul-sucking tedium of a synchronized jogging routine quickly set in. (Jack Black's overheated, rock n' roll-carnival-barker emceeing style wasn't exactly doing it for us, either.) Instead, we'll share the above montage of celebrities pulling down their sunglasses, a proud declaration that they have beaten the odds and conquered conjunctivitis once and for all.

SPECIAL BONUS VIDEO: After the jump, enjoy NYC sister site Gawker's parade of your favorite hip-hop stars' diamond-encrusted dental work. Look closely and you can still make out some of the pre-show hors d'oeuvres!

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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/mtv/stars-lower-their-tintedeyewear-guards-at-mtv-video-music-awards-198214.php

Posted on Sep 5, 2006, 10:06 AM
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`Apprentice' Figure Carolyn Kepcher Axed

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Entrepreneur Donald Trump, center, is flanked by his associates George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher in this undated promotional photo for "The Apprentice" released by NBC

NEW YORK - Carolyn Kepcher, who sat by while her boss Donald Trump dismissed one would-be apprentice after another, has now felt the full force of his iconic phrase: "You're fired."

Kepcher, a co-star with Trump from the start of "The Apprentice" in 2004 and a longtime employee of the Trump Organization, has been let go.

"Mr. Trump wishes her the best," said Trump spokesman Jim Dowd, who confirmed she is no longer with the company. She had been chief operating officer of two of Trump's golf courses.

"Donald and I had different visions for my future role in the company," Kepcher said in a statement. "Donald has been an extraordinary boss and a great mentor over the years, and I will always be grateful."

Her leave-taking will have no impact on the upcoming sixth season of "The Apprentice," originating for the first time from Los Angeles, NBC said. Though production is completed, Kepcher was not part of the cast, which includes Trump children Ivanka and Donald Jr. It begins airing in January.

Kepcher's dismissal was first reported in Thursday's New York Post.

The slender, striking blonde had become familiar to viewers as one of Trump's two sidekicks on the NBC series. She was an adviser to one of the rival teams and was often seated beside Trump for boardroom sessions where one or more competitors would hear Trump declare, "You're fired."

The Post attributed Kepcher's firing to excessive self-promotion as a star at the expense of her performance at her day job, an account echoed for The Associated Press by a person close to the situation. The person insisted on anonymity because it was a personnel matter.

Kepcher could not be immediately located for comment.

Since TV fame beckoned, Kepcher has been active with speaking engagements, made a number of talk-show appearances and two years ago wrote a book, "Carolyn 101," which promised to reveal the secrets of her success and give readers guidance for their professional lives.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_en_ce/tv_apprentice_firing

Posted on Sep 1, 2006, 10:59 AM
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Previously Unknown Bach Work Discovered

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Documents written by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) are pictured in the eastern German city of Weimar August 31, 2006

BERLIN - A previously unknown work by Johann Sebastian Bach has turned up in a crate of 18th-century birthday cards removed from a German library shortly before it was devastated by fire last year, researchers said Wednesday.

Experts say the work for soprano and string or keyboard accompaniment, composed for a German duke's birthday, is the first new music from the renowned composer to surface in 30 years.

Researcher Michael Maul from the Bach Archiv foundation found the composition, dated October 1713, in May in the eastern city of Weimar. The Leipzig-based foundation said there was no doubt about the authenticity of the handwritten, two-page score.

"It is no major composition but an occasional work in the form of an exquisite and highly refined strophic aria, Bach's only contribution to a musical genre popular in late 17th-century Germany," said Christoph Wolff, the foundation's director and a professor at Harvard University.

Wolff said the work, written when Bach was 28, was among documents taken from the Duchess Anna Amalia library in Weimar for restoration before September's devastating fire.

"Otherwise the work would have been consumed by the flames and we would never have known of its existence," Wolff said.

Maul, who has been combing church and government archives in eastern Germany since 2002 for clues about Bach's life and work, said he was stunned to discover the work in the last of five crates of documents which had been in a room completely gutted by the fire.

He said the two pages were among several hundreds of poems and greetings written by officials and clerics to honor the 52nd birthday of the duke of Saxony-Weimar, who Bach served as a court organist.

"If I hadn't decided to go through them systematically, I would never have thought to look there," Maul said.

Maul said it was the first Bach work to come to light since 1975, when a copy of the "Goldberg Variations" in a private collection was found to contain extra canons for piano in the composer's own handwriting.

The last previously unknown vocal work by Bach to surface was in 1935, when the single-movement cantata fragment "Bekennen will ich seinen Namen" was discovered, the foundation said.

Bach composed the work for a solo soprano, to be accompanied by strings or a harpsichord, to mark the 52nd birthday of Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxony-Weimar, whom Bach then served as court organist, the foundation said.

The soprano was to sing a 12-stanza poem beginning with the duke's motto "Everything with God and nothing without him" written by the theologian Johann Anton Mylius.

The work was Bach's only known strophic aria, in which several stanzas are set to the same music, and the precise date made it valuable to researchers studying the development of the German composer's style, the foundation said.

It was not clear if it was played at the time, but the foundation said English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner is preparing to record it.

Gardiner last month received a medal in recognition of his performance of Bach music from the Saxony city of Leipzig, where Bach was cantor of St. Thomas Church for 27 years.

Maul said there were hopes the aria would be performed in Leipzig or Weimar to mark the first anniversary of the fire from which it had such a narrow escape.

The blaze destroyed about 50,000 historic books and damaged another 62,000. Restoration costs are estimated at between $61-$73 million.

The 16th-century rococo palace that houses the library reopened in February.

Germany's Baerenreiter publishing house plans to publish the composition in the fall.

Maul said the foundation would exhibit the score once copyright issued have been cleared up.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_en_mu/germany_bach_discovery

Posted on Sep 1, 2006, 10:58 AM
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20th Century Fox Announces First Blu-ray Titles

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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand, displays the new Blu-ray Disc drive for personal computers and Blu-ray discs in Tokyo, April 21, 2006

BERLIN (Reuters) - Film studio Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., on Thursday announced its first eight movie titles that it will publish on the new DVD format called Blu-ray and which will be on sale by November.

Mike Dunn, global president of home entertainment at the studio, told journalists at the IFA electronics show here that the titles included "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Ice Age."

Twentieth Century will also distribute MGM titles on Blu-ray, including "The Usual Suspects."

Prices for the new Blu-ray disks will be around $29.

Twentieth Century Fox said it had no plans to publish titles on Blu-ray's rival, called HD DVD, another format to store high definition films which contain up to five times more picture detail and full surround sound.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060831/film_nm/media20thcenturyfox_bluray_dc

Posted on Sep 1, 2006, 10:58 AM
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Actor Glenn Ford Dies At 90

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Glenn Ford and Gia Scala in a scene from their 1957 film 'Don't Go Near The Water.'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Glenn Ford, a handsome and quiet character actor who made his mark in big films like "Gilda" and "The Big Heat," died on Wednesday in his Beverly Hills home, police said. He was 90.

The Beverly Hills Police Department said in a statement that paramedics were called to Ford's home in the afternoon and found the actor dead.

The cause of his death was not immediately known.

The Canadian-born actor, who starred in five movies with Rita Hayworth, never quite attained the superstar status he sought, but nevertheless won the hearts of moviegoers in a variety of roles.

Many critics thought he was underrated and one, David Shipmann, wrote, "He is a good -- if not the best -- example of that second-string group, the dependable and efficient actor."

Ford made low-key appearances in more than 200 movies, and became one of the most enduring stars of the silver screen.

Away from the cameras, Ford led an intensely private life, shunning nightspots in favor of a quiet home life. He was set to make his first public appearance in 15 years at a 90th birthday tribute in Hollywood four months ago, but was unable to attend because of ill health. In his place, former co-stars such as Debbie Reynolds and Martin Landau sang his praises.

Although most frequently appearing in Westerns, Ford played a variety of quietly intense heroes and villains and is best remembered for his non-Western roles.

His career began in 1939 and was highlighted by starring roles in director Fritz Lang's "The Big Heat" in 1953, in which he played a cop out to avenge his wife's murder; Richard Brooks' "The Blackboard Jungle" in 1955, in which he played a teacher; and "The Teahouse of the August Moon" in 1956, in which he played a U.S. soldier in Japan.

After his first movie, "Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence," Ford made a number of low-budget dramas before joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942.

After returning from World War Two, he starred in his first big budget film, the romance "Gilda," with Hayworth in 1946. The movie was a hit and Bette Davis confirmed his leading-man status by picking him to star with her in "A Stolen Life," released the same year.

Ford teamed with Hayworth again for "The Loves of Carmen" (1948) and "Affair in Trinidad" (1958) and played one of his best villains, a sadistic lawman, in "The Man From Colorado"

(1948).

Popular Despite Career Decline

Ford remained a top box-office draw through the 1950s but even when his career declined in the 1960s, his popularity with audiences remained as fixed as his reserved screen personality and wry smile.

The unsuccessful remake of "Cimarron" in 1960 started his career slide into B-movies and low-budget productions such as "A Pocketful of Miracles" (1961), "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (1962), "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1963) and "The Money Trap" (1964).

Ford himself compared his enduring popularity to that of other strong-but-quiet stars of his generation, such as Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda.

"It's the way we say our lines," Ford said. "We don't memorize them, but take the sense and alter the lines to fit our own personalities."

Ford was born Gwyllyn Ford in Quebec, Canada, on May 1, 1916. At age 7, he moved with his family to Santa Monica, California, where he worked as a stable boy for cowboy humorist and actor Will Rogers. After high school, he drove buses and worked as a salesman while planning an acting career.

Ford was married four times -- most notably to actress Eleanor Powell, from 1943 to 1960.

He is survived by his son Peter, 61, also an actor.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060831/en_nm/glennford_dc

Posted on Aug 31, 2006, 10:34 AM
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UK Drama Paints Fictional Assassination Of Bush

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President George W. Bush speaks to supporters upon arriving at Salt Lake International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 30, 2006

LONDON (Reuters) - British public broadcaster Channel 4 is courting controversy with what it calls a "shockingly real" drama about the fictional assassination of President George W. Bush.

"Death of a President," shot in the form of a documentary examining the assassination, will use a blend of archival footage and computer-generated special effects to portray Bush in October 2007 arriving in Chicago during an anti-war rally.

In the film, Bush is killed by a sniper, and the investigation quickly focuses on a Syrian-born man. It will air in October on Channel 4's More4 digital channel, as well as at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

"It's a pointed political examination of what the war on terror is doing to the American body politic," said More4 boss Peter Dale at a press conference on Thursday.

Promotional materials described the program as "a thought-provoking critique of the contemporary U.S. political landscape."

Dale acknowledged that the program will be controversial, but maintained that it was a sophisticated work meant to spur debate.

"I'm sure there will be people upset by it," he said. "I hope people will see the intention as a good one."

Channel 4, which is publicly owned but funded by advertising, was criticized last week by outgoing ITV Chief Executive Charles Allen for its reliance on reality TV shows and "shock docs."

More4's autumn schedule also includes "The Trial of Tony Blair," a satirical program about the future resignation of the British Prime Minister.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060831/en_nm/media_channel4_dc

Wow! Talk about guilty pleasures! :-P

Posted on Aug 31, 2006, 10:33 AM
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Don't Get Excited, Captain Travolta Greets All Of His Passengers This Way

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For at least one moment in our shallow, judgmental, celebrity-obsessed lives, let us not jump to untoward conclusions about what this National Enquirer photograph of John Travolta touching lips with another man on the steps to his private jet might mean about his sexual preference. We see no hint of tongue, no groping fingers fumbling to unclasp a belt, nor even a nearby massage table upon which the star might suddenly flip over, cast a modesty towel aside, and inappropriately request their meeting conclude with a happy ending. There is none of that here, just an innocuous image of a famous, avowedly heterosexual male rising up upon the balls of one foot to offer a platonic, same-sex pal a fond, lip-to-lip greeting before takeoff. Quite frankly, we have no idea why the tabloid even bothered printing it.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/john-travolta/dont-get-excited-captain-travolta-greets-all-of-his-passengers-this-way-197796.php

Posted on Aug 31, 2006, 10:32 AM
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Emmys Hangover: Cash Bars And Awards Shows Don't Mix

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While Jeremy Piven had the liver-pampering foresight to arrange corporate sponsorship of his post-Emmy ceremony alcohol needs, guests at the TV Academy's Governor's Ball seeking to distract themselves from the angel-shaped void in their lives through the magic healing power of free liquor were unpleasantly surprised to discover that getting a good buzz on was going to cost them. Kudos-crashing LAT reporter Richard Rushfield overheard at least one gripe from a displeased attendee:

Sitting down, "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan has a few words for the management. "A cash bar! The f-- cheap a---s. Eleven dollars a drink! And it was not a generous pour!"
In fairness to the organizers, we're told that wine was served at the tables at no charge. Really, though, a fully stocked open bar is usually required for awards show attendees to get stab-yourself-in-the-face-while-publicly-making-out-with-your-new-Emmy shitfaced.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/emmys/emmys-hangover-cash-bars-and-awards-shows-dont-mix-197490.php

Posted on Aug 30, 2006, 9:54 AM
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'Survivor' Honcho Mark Burnett Has Spoken

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Creator and Executive Producer of "Survivor" Mark Burnett is seen here in a publicity photo

Burnett blasts crix over racial reaction

Mark Burnett on Tuesday lashed out at "Survivor" critics who don't watch the show, saying this season "wouldn't be racial at all."

Show's creator said intra-squad rivalry on "Survivor: Cook Islands" --in which four teams would be divided according to race -- would trump any tension between the groups and thus avoid racism.

"By putting people in tribes, they clearly have to get rid of people of their own ethnicity," he told a group of reporters. "So it's not racial at all."

Criticism, he said, came from a place of ignorance.

"People are saying things who've never seen 'Survivor' ... and don't understand how it works," Burnett said.

He added, "Clearly, to win 'Survivor,' it's the biggest leadership test ever. What other contest or life thing do you have to literally get rid of people -- sometimes brutally -- and then ask them to give you money?"

Burnett was speaking on a conference call for joint AOL-CBS Internet series "Gold Rush." A press advisory specifically had warned that he wouldn't discuss "Survivor," but when a reporter asked Burnett about the controversy, he waved aside the AOL publicist's objections and said he'd answer anyway.

"I don't want to talk about this necessarily, but I also don't want to avoid it," he said.

Burnett also criticized those who didn't watch the show, whose 13th season debuts Sept. 14. "The truth is I look at how many people are making so many comments, and many of them admit to never ever seeing 'Survivor,' " he said.

In earlier comments to Daily Variety, he offered the hope that "maybe that taboo (of race) could disappear" through this season's concept.

Issue got thornier for CBS on Tuesday, as gambling sites like http://www.WagerWeb.com posted odds, offering the strange spectacle of favored and underdog ethnicities. Among its handicaps: "Winner's Ethnicity of 'Survivor: Cook Islands' -- Caucasian (2.25 to 1), Asian-American (2 to 1) Hispanic (2.75 to 1) and African-American (2.4 to 1)."

CBS said in a statement last week that this season, like past ones, will illuminate social dynamics, and that viewers should wait to see the episodes before judging them. A rep said the net continues to stand by that statement.

Meanwhile, New York community leaders held a rally Tuesday in front of CBS headquarters in Gotham. Several New York council members and activists, including Fernando Mateo and the Rev. Calvin Butts, attended the protest, held in persistent rain.

The chief of staff for Councilman John Liu later told Daily Variety that council members were in the process of drafting letters to General Motors and other "Survivor" sponsors.
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source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117949219?categoryid=14&cs=1

[i]In earlier comments to Daily Variety, he offered the hope that "maybe that taboo (of race) could disappear" through this season's concept.[/i]

LOL! If only enough people watch it! Watch it! People that are criticising it haven't actually seen this whole season yet through to the end. WATCH IT!! IT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD! The creator of "The Real World", "The Apprentice" and "Survivor" has spoken. The world will be changed by his TV shows, but you have to WATCH.

Posted on Aug 30, 2006, 9:53 AM
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Paula Abdul Invites E! Audiences Into Her Percocet-And-Grey Goose-Colored World

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We had been told there was a post-Emmys E! interview with Paula Abdul in which she was perhaps the most soused she had ever been on live TV--hard to believe considering Abdul was so consistently zonked throughout the last season of American Idol, producers opted to replace her midway through with a life-sized, soft sculpture doll. (The stuffed-pantyhose-in-a-dress raised nary a suspicion as it lay in a collapsed, lifeless pile by a Coca-Cola cup at the judges' table.) Well, a fast-thinking YouTube user managed to capture the appearance--wait a few seconds, and the volume comes up and picture steadies--and we think you'll agree we are in the presence of fucked-up-Abdul greatness. Be sure to hang around until the 1:28 mark, shortly after which Paula appears to have a massive stroke while attempting to describe how Idol auditions have been going. (Not well, we think, though it's entirely possible she had merely bitten off her tongue at that moment, and that the show's sixth season will have more Taylor Hicks-caliber talent than ever.)
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/paula-abdul/paula-abdul-invites-e-audiences-into-her-percocetandgrey-goosecolored-world-197488.php

Posted on Aug 30, 2006, 9:51 AM
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Tom Cruise Lines Up New Funding Deal

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Tom Cruise is kissed by his fiance Katie Holmes at the fan screening of 'Mission: Impossible III' at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood May 4, 2006

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Heralding the start of an unusual entrepreneurial relationship, Tom Cruise and his producing partner said Monday they have joined forces with a new investment partnership that will fund the duo's production endeavors for the next two years.

The announcement comes less than a week after Viacom Inc. and its Paramount Pictures unit publicly revealed they had ended negotiations to renew the studio's 14-year deal with Cruise/Wagner Prods., which Cruise runs with Paula Wagner.

In comments unprecedented for their bluntness, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone said last Tuesday that Cruise had committed "creative suicide." Wagner quickly countered that C/W was not planning to renew anyway, and planned to seek other options, including a deal with hedge funds to provide about $100 million in financing.

Their new deal is with Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins; Dwight Schar, chairman of homebuilder NVR Inc.; and Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of Six Flags Inc., the amusement park chain where Snyder serves as chairman of the board.

Snyder, Schar and Shapiro have formed an investment partnership, First and Goal Llc., which will invest in C/W, providing the actor-producer's production company with development and overhead funds under a two-year deal with the option to renew long term. The deal was brokered by Cruise's agency, Creative Artists Agency.

Shapiro, who established ESPN Original Entertainment, ESPN's in-house film and production arm, will oversee First and Goal's initial investment with C/W.

While the new partners declined to detail the financials of their arrangement, sources said First and Goal will fund the same level of overhead and development, about $2.5 million annually, that C/W had been negotiating with Paramount. That figure represents a step down from C/W's old deal at Paramount, which included about $4 million in overhead plus a $6 million discretionary fund.

"Dan Snyder and Mark Shapiro are proven winners," Cruise said. "Paula and I look forward to many mutual successes."

While First and Goal addresses C/W's first need -- overhead and development -- C/W still is finalizing another deal for a production fund of about $100 million. Wagner said she can't yet reveal the identity of the equity investor involved.

But such maverick financiers as Snyder, Schar and Shapiro, having already made a commitment to C/W, could find themselves going on to finance individual projects, sources predicted. Insiders speculated that in return for its investment, First and Goal could be in a position to command some portion of Cruise's eventual producing fees and profit participations.

The deal represents a potential new model for financing stars' production companies, particularly if studios continue to pull back from backing deluxe production deals. Sources at CAA said they know of no other outside investment partnership that has taken a similar interest in a star's company. By contrast, Icon Entertainment, which Mel Gibson heads with his partner Bruce Davey, grew out of a successful foreign sales company before backing such Gibson films as "The Passion of the Christ" and the upcoming "Apocalpyto."

A year ago, after Snyder and longtime pal Schar, through Red Zone Llc., became majority shareholders in Six Flags, they brought in Shapiro, former exec vp programming and production at ESPN and ABC Sports, to run the amusement park chain. At the time, Snyder declared his interest in investing in entertainment properties.

CAA first approached the investors in mid-August, Shapiro said. Several brainstorming meetings took place over the past few weeks. When Snyder met with Cruise, "They hit it off," according to one source close to the deal.

C/W's partnership with First and Goal still is in its early stages, said Wagner, who still must hold discussions with Paramount about the many projects C/W has in development at the studio -- C/W probably will extricate some of the projects while continuing to produce others at Paramount. C/W also is actively setting up several movies separate from Paramount. For example, C/W is trying to reignite "Selling Time," with writer-director Spike Lee, sources said. "Our eyes are open to anything and everything," Wagner said.

On the distribution front, C/W expects to deal with the major studios on a project-by-project basis. Wagner said she doesn't necessarily want to nail down an exclusive distribution arrangement. C/W's film slate will range from high-concept movies to more personal, character-driven films, from starring vehicles for Cruise to the work of first-time filmmakers. As a free agent, Cruise could star in films for any of the studios.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060829/en_nm/media_cruise_dc

Posted on Aug 29, 2006, 10:20 AM
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Anonymous Insiders Scoff At Cruise's Amusement Park Money

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Yesterday's news that Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner had found some investors to cover their suddenly homeless production entity's overhead costs caught Hollywood off guard, as no one would have predicted that Cruise/Wagner would find financial backers from the world of stale funnel cakes and Tilt-a-Whirls before scaring up some pocket change from a studio looking to hook up with Cruise on the cheap. Especially shocked were Anonymous Industry Insiders Willing To Offer Amusingly Dismissive Soundbites, who collectively think that Cruise's new deal with Six Flags' power-players has the whiff of desperation. Reports the LAT:

"It all feels very knee-jerk," said an agency executive. "This feels very Plan C, maybe even Plan D. When you lose your studio deal and you get into business with amusement parks, that's a problem."

This is just another example of reflexively conservative, insecure, thinking-inside-the-box Hollywood turning up its nose at those who dare to think differently. Visionaries like Cruise and Wagner are rarely appreciated in their lifetimes, but once the full spectrum of alternative revenue streams afforded by their partnership with Six Flags come to light, such as a discretionary script development fund drawn entirely from the loose change that falls out of Magic Mountain patrons' pockets as they helplessly hang upside down in a variety of gravity-defying rides (money, it should be noted, that is wastefully earmarked for their carnies' malt liquor budget), those who once laughed at the fading megastar's "Plan D" will be killing each other to set themselves up in copycat deals with Knott's Berry Farm.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/tom-cruise/anonymous-insiders-scoff-at-cruises-amusement-park-money-197339.php

Posted on Aug 29, 2006, 10:22 AM
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Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim Still Facing The Rap

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Singer Foxy Brown exits Manhattan criminal court in this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005 file photo in New York

Much like "Rapper's Delight," Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim's legal woes just keep on going.

The same day Brown finally pleaded guilty to two assault charges stemming from a 2004 fracas in a Manhattan nail salon, it turned out that the Chyna Doll rapper is now at the center of a shoplifting investigation.

Cops are looking at Brown for allegedly making tracks at L'Impasse, a ritzy Greenwich Village boutique, Thursday with two $400 belts in tow, the New York Post reported Monday.

A surveillance video showed Brown first negotiating with--and then yelling at--the clerk on duty, Abdul Sal, who told the Post that he let the diminutive hip-hop star into the shop an hour after closing, but didn't offer her any freebies.

"Honestly, I never thought she would do anything like that," Sal said about Brown's purported decision to shove the belt in her bag and then grab another on her way out. "I was shocked. Who does she think she is?"

L'Impasse's owner, Tony Khayat, who said that he provided Brown with free merchandise the previous day, was in no mood to cut the "Come Fly with Me" diva any slack.

"I was going to just call her and tell her to get those f-ing belts back--but I guess I'm pressing charges," Khayat told the Post. "I'm very upset. I gave her free clothing the day before yesterday. It's unbelievable. I just want to make an example of this. What gives her the right to take what doesn't belong to her?"

Authorities told the newspaper that they would check out the surveillance footage and decide whether or not to arrest Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand.

Maybe Brown needed something to wear to court. She skipped a hearing last Wednesday, during which she was scheduled to answer to complaints that she, according to court documents, threatened her former assistant with physical abuse and caused the woman to "fear for her own safety."

Judge Cynthia D. Jackson told Brown's attorney, Brian Neary, that his client had better make good on her next court date. A probable cause hearing has been set for Sept. 26.

Neary said outside of court that he intends to ask that the charges be dismissed. "Foxy says she's never had a problem with this woman," he said.

In unrelated legal matters, in lieu of carrying on with the trial set to begin today, Brown opted to plead guilty to two counts of third-degree assault for smacking a nail salon worker in the face in 2004. The altercation supposedly began after Brown received a pedicure but was asked to pay for a mani-pedi combo.

When all is said and done, Brown can still get manicures--just not in that shop. She was given three months probation, ordered to attend anger management counseling, and told to stay away from two of the salon workers, who received orders of protection against the Broken Silence rapper.

Brown was scheduled to plead guilty in December, but the presiding judge called her out for bringing too much attitude to the courtroom and the proceedings were postponed.

While you'd think that Brown has had enough time to figure out how to play this one, she seems to be having trouble letting go of her nail files. About a half-hour after entering her guilty plea Monday, Brown returned to court and asked the judge if she could withdraw her plea.

Because she felt rushed.

The answer was no. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 23.

Meanwhile, Lil' Kim may not feel any love for Foxy Brown, but now maybe she can muster up an iota of sympathy.

Brown's recently incarcerated rival was sued for plagiarism in federal court last week by a Jamaican singer who is accusing Kim of some "Durty" business.

Reggae artist Tanya Stephens claimed that Kim's 2005 song "Durty," off the album The Naked Truth, is practically a word for word copy of Stephens' 1997 song "Mi and Mi God," which was released in 1997.

Stephens is asking for the rights to the song in question, as well as for all the royalties the tune has earned.

"It's about women's empowerment," Stephens' manager in Jamaica, Andrew Henton, told the New York Post. "She sings about sex, but not in a raunchy way. It's more thought-provoking, more political. I wouldn't say it's like Lil' Kim."

The "Magic Stick" rapper was released from prison July 3 after serving 10 months on a perjury charge.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060829/en_music_eo/19875

Posted on Aug 29, 2006, 10:19 AM
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"Pirates" Propels Disney To $1 Billion Overseas

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Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' from Walt Disney Pictures

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the foreign box office champ for the past eight weekends, has helped Walt Disney Co. pass the $1 billion mark overseas for a 12th consecutive year.

20th Century Fox was the first this year to hit the $1 billion gong, thanks mainly to "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ($460 million). And Sony Pictures, triggered by "The Da Vinci Code" ($535.6 million), hurdled the $1 billion goal late last week. Each of the studios separately crossed the industry mark in record time.

"Dead Man's Chest," which fielded $18.1 million from 42 countries last weekend, has lifted its worldwide total to $963.2 million, which -- according to Disney -- makes it "the fourth most popular title" in the global market.

The weekend results for the Johnny Depp smash, highlighted by an all-time record debut in Greece ($2.2 million), also saw solid holds in prime markets. Four weekends in France have delivered $42.8 million; five in Germany, $55.5 million; six in Japan, $74.1 million; three in Spain $30.5 million; and eight in the U.K., $91.6 million. The final port of call for "Pirates" is Italy on September 13.

Elsewhere, "You, Me and Dupree" hit the peak in the U.K. with $3.1 million; "Snakes on a Plane" opened at No. 1 in Australia ($782,137), New Zealand ($114,325) and Singapore ($265,740); "Click" logged a second week at No. 1 in Mexico ($1.2 million; local total, $4 million); and "Step Up" climbed to No. 1 in the Netherlands ($550,000).

Among holdover films entering new markets, "Miami Vice" collected $11.5 million from 27 markets to raise its international total to $52 million. It pushed "Dead Man's Chest" out of first place in Germany, taking $2.6 million, and has picked up $7.8 million in 12 days in France.

As the summer wanes, families are catching up with the animated specials, with "Cars" driving to $10.5 million from 24 countries. The Disney-Pixar comedy, which has earned $159.2 million to date, arrived in Italy with $5.9 million, hailed as the second-best Pixar opening in the territory after the $6.4 million tallied by "The Incredibles." China greeted "Cars" with $1.4 million, just 2% below the bow of "Finding Nemo."

"Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties" also continued its appeal for the family trade, embracing $9.5 million from 38 markets for a total to date of $78.5 million. It opened at No. 1 in Spain ($3.1 million) and has a two-weekend market total of $4.2 million in Russia.

On the other hand, "Monster House" -- despite critical acceptance for the Robert Zemeckis- Steven Spielberg project -- is not being applauded overseas. A weekend score of $5.7 million from 26 markets saw the animated fantasy arrive at No. 6 in France ($1.3 million), and No. 8 in Germany ($500,000). The international total stands at $29 million.

Other totals: "Lady in the Water," $10 million; "Superman Returns," $173 million; "You, Me and Dupree," $12.8 million; "Snakes on a Plane," $7.8 million; "Click," $31.1 million; "Poseidon," $121 million; and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," $13.4 million.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060829/en_nm/boxoffice_overseas_dc

OK Disney, the world isn't trying to send you a message that we condone ruthless highway robbery. Just don't fire any more people. We get it. You're ruthless. You will do anything for money. Pirates is your flagship. Please stop the terror.

Posted on Aug 29, 2006, 10:18 AM
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Actor Martin Sheen Going Back To School

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Actor Martin Sheen (R) and his son Charlie Sheen present the best supporting actress in a miniseries or movie award during the 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles August 27, 2006

DUBLIN (Reuters) - "The West Wing" star Martin Sheen will next month begin studying at a university in Ireland.

Sheen, 66, star of box office hits such as "Apocalypse Now," and "Wall Street," has enrolled for a degree in English literature, philosophy and oceanography at the National University Ireland (NUI), Galway.

NUI confirmed on Monday that Sheen was due to start his course in September.

The actor, whose mother hailed from the Irish county of Tipperary, has been quoted as saying he wanted to finish his education when he retired from acting as he never got his high school diploma, according to media reports.

Last year NUI conferred an honorary degree on Sheen, whose real name is Ramon Estevez, for both his acting and "his consistent and meaningful engagement with civil society."

A dedicated supporter of liberal causes, Sheen has been arrested more than 60 times for public protests.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060828/people_nm/life_sheen_ireland_dc

Posted on Aug 28, 2006, 10:30 AM
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Angelina Jolie Hides In Car Until Coast Is Cleared Of Estranged Parents

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Jon Voight arrives to the Entertainment Tonight/People Magazine Emmy Party at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, Sunday, August 27, 2006 -- Angelina Jolie is seen here attending the World Economic Forum - Annual Meeting on January 27, 2006

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie managed to leave the Compound That Love Built� last night, secure that Maddox, Zahara and the Chosen One were being well supervised in their nursery, amusing themselves to no end with the various hand-carved, African farming implements they've been provided with in place of more traditional, "Western" toys. The occasion was Scott Caan's 30th birthday at a Hollywood art gallery, a star-studded event also attended by his Oceans 13 co-star Matt Damon, with nuclear-family-elements in tow. But things quickly grew awkward when, upon Jolie's arrival, she was informed that Jon Voight, the father to whom she hasn't spoken in years, was inside:

Pitt left Jolie in the vehicle and entered the party to see Caan, shortly before Voight decided to leave.
After realizing her father had left the building, Jolie finally joined the bash, reports PageSix.com.

Voight and Jolie haven't spoken to each other since 2002.

We imagine there will be many more of these incidents to come, especially since Jolie has left the father-distancing sanctuary of Namibia's shores, and returned to the far less insular social circles of Hollywood. Perhaps the actress eventually will be able to see beyond past transgressions, and grant the man who years ago encouraged her terrible guitar playing his greatest wish of reconciliation. Then again, maybe she'll just continue serving up the icy, silent treatment, camping out for three hours in a Range Rover idling outside the Beverly Hilton, if that's what it will take to avoid eye contact with the disowned genetic-material-donator attending the Golden Globes ceremony inside.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/angelina-jolie/angelina-jolie-hides-in-car-until-coast-is-cleared-of-estranged-parents-196739.php

Posted on Aug 28, 2006, 10:28 AM
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Swag Still The Talk Of The Town

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Actress Sandra Oh, nominated for best supporting actress in the drama 'Grey's Anatomy', arrives at the 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles August 27, 2006

Emmy attendees riff on freebies, nomination process

On Emmy's scorching day in the sun -- when it was hot enough for paramedics to treat a few people overcome by heat -- there were three points that perked up everyone's ears.

There was the still-broiling controversy over the new awards nomination process; the IRS crackdown on swag; and the show being pushed into the ratings black hole of August.

Presenter Ron Livingston said he'd like to donate any gift bag he got to charity, but added, "If rich people can't get free stuff without paying taxes, then the terrorists have already won."

MPAA topper Dan Glickman said, "If the government tries to regulate (swag), the industry could ask the MPAA to step in and we could set up a rating system based on good taste/base taste."

When William Shatner was asked if there was an "official Shatnerian policy" on swag, he replied: "Sort through it." And Howie Mandel said, "Swag to me means free stuff, and if you pay tax on it, doesn't that kind of negate it?"

But the issue that most touched nerves was the new awards nomination process.

It's still sensitive enough that two cable execs requested anonymity when one said: "This was a wake-up call. There's nothing the Academy hates more than bad publicity. There's going to be a close look at the nominating process next year."

The other said: "You bet they're going to clean up their act."

Hugh Laurie, one of the more egregious examples of the new system's buzzed-about snubs ("House" was nominated for drama, but he wasn't for actor) was politic, saying, "There's a system and I don't know what the system is."

As for the move to August, NBC Universal topper Jeff Zucker said, "It will be great. The ratings will be what the ratings will be. Advertisers clamored to get onboard. It was the media who made it into this big story. In the real world, it's not a big thing."

When it was mentioned how it is hard to think of the Emmys as part of the real world, Zucker laughed and said: "I know that."

On the other hand, no less an expert on awards shows than Gil Cates said he though it was "a bad time to do a show. The holidays are not over and people aren't ready to contemplate the real world."

Mandel's line was that "being outside in a suit in August is not a good idea fashion-wise even if it does make sense for programming."

The most popular item on the red carpet was a small, battery-powered fan that VIPs received as they went through the metal detector. The stars' handlers could be seen electronically fanning themselves while their charges were being interviewed.

And "ET" had their own bottled water with the show's logo imprinted on the side that they brought out by the case.

Overall, the arrivals played to mixed results. Some declared this was smoother than in past years, while others were trapped in gridlock just minutes before the show.

Those unlucky enough to be stuck in their cars/limos said people -- including Matthew Perry -- got out and started walking, but the cops put a halt to that since folks had to be in their autos for the checkpoint.

Then there was John Lithgow, who said, "I'm straight here from Broadway. I went to rehearsal yesterday and I drove to Pasadena. Really."
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source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117949110?categoryid=14&cs=1

Posted on Aug 28, 2006, 10:26 AM
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NYC Officials Want New 'Survivor' Pulled

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In this undated photo released by CBS, 20 new castaways who will compete when 'Survivor: Cook Islands' premiers on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006, pose for a photo on the beach in Aitutaki Atoll, Cook Islands

NEW YORK - As CBS prepares to launch a new season of the hit reality show "Survivor," this time featuring teams divided by race, enraged city officials are saying it promotes divisiveness and are calling for the network to reconsider.

"The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous," City Councilman John Liu said Thursday. "How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?"

For the first portion of the 13th season of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams � blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.

Liu, who is Asian-American, said he was launching a campaign urging CBS to pull the show because it could encourage racial division and promote negative typecasts. He and a coalition of officials, including the council's black, Latino and Asian caucus, planned to rally at City Hall on Friday.

In a statement, CBS Entertainment, which is part of New York-based CBS Corp., defended the ethnic twist, saying it follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues.

"CBS fully recognizes the controversial nature of this format but has full confidence in the producers and their ability to produce the program in a responsible manner," the statement said. "'Survivor' is a program that is no stranger to controversy and has always answered its critics on the screen."

Last season, the show divided contestants into groups of older men, younger men, older women and younger women.

The show's host, Jeff Probst, said the network was aware this season's race ploy might offend viewers.

"It's very risky because you're bringing up a topic that is a hot button," he told asap, The Associated Press service for younger readers. "There's a history of segregation you can't ignore. It is part of our history.

"For that, it's much safer to say, 'No, let's just stick with things the way they are. Let's don't be the network to rock the boat. Let's not have "Survivor" try something new,'" he said. "But the biases from home can't affect you. This is an equal opportunity game."
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060825/ap_en_tv/survivor

[i]"But the biases from home can't affect you. This is an equal opportunity game."[/i]

Separate but equal?

Posted on Aug 25, 2006, 9:55 AM
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How The Major Players Dealt With The Cruise Chaos

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Tom Cruise points at fans as he arrives for the Japanese premiere of his movie 'Mission Impossible III' in Tokyo, June 20, 2006

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Money might have been at the root of the dramatic public breakup that saw Paramount Pictures end its 14-year partnership with Tom Cruise and his production company Cruise/Wagner Prods. this week. But in its bitter wake, reputations -- which can be invaluable in Hollywood -- also are at stake.

On Tuesday, the situation exploded when an intrepid Wall Street Journal reporter managed to get Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Paramount's Viacom Inc. parent, on the telephone.

"As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone said. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

With one bold stroke, Redstone publicly shut down a behind-the-scenes negotiation, and suddenly Viacom and Paramount were at war with Cruise, his producing partner Paula Wagner and the mighty Creative Artists Agency, which represents Cruise. His camp angrily responded to Redstone's denunciation by calling the 83-year-old corporate baron's statements "erratic," "vicious," "pompous" and "petulant."

As the drama took on almost Shakespearean proportions, here's how the major players emerged:

THE PATRIARCH:

Redstone is a ruthless corporate player who would probably beat every other media chieftain, including Rupert Murdoch, in a game of "Survivor." While some observers charged Redstone with behaving in a manner unbecoming to a captain of industry, he actually was behaving more like an old-fashioned studio mogul than a corporate suit. Unlike the heads of other entertainment conglomerates, Redstone worked his way up through the film industry as a movie theater operator. The Los Angeles resident still tracks box office grosses every weekend, regularly attends studio premieres and has known Cruise since 1986's "Top Gun."

In 1992, Paramount formally brought C/W onto its Melrose Ave. lot and since then has made an investment in Cruise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. As long as Cruise was delivering $500 million-plus worldwide grossers, his top-of-the-line deluxe deal made sense. But with "Mission: Impossible III" topping out at $400 million worldwide, Cruise suddenly was pocketing more millions than the studio because he gets more than 20% of the first-dollar gross as well as a healthy cut of DVD sales.

Even Cruise's camp acknowledges that his deal, due to expire August 31 after two extensions, wasn't going to be renewed on its old terms. Instead of $4 million in overhead and a $6 million annual discretionary fund, the studio was offering $2 million and $500,000 -- much the same deal that it made last year with Brad Pitt's Plan B Prods.

But why did Redstone insist on kicking Cruise off the lot so publicly? Sounding angry and betrayed, there was something personal about his demeanor. Remember, Redstone is a numbers man. After all the millions that he invested in building up the marquee global movie star brand "Tom Cruise," he was convinced that Cruise's offscreen behavior "effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue," he told the Journal. It seems clear that Redstone simply couldn't bear the fact that Cruise's self-destructive public conduct -- most of which took place before "War of the Worlds" more than a year ago -- had cost the studio untold millions in lost ticket sales while the movie star himself walked away with as much as $80 million from "M:I-3," leaving the studio with chump change.

So Redstone was sending a message: We are no longer coddling talent. There were many in Hollywood who applauded his bravado.

THE STUDIO CHIEF:

Unfortunately for Paramount chairman Brad Grey, Redstone left a bit of a mess for him to clean up. The only thing Grey could do in the wake of his boss' comments was maintain a silent public profile, making amends behind the scenes. His predecessor, Sherry Lansing, probably would have acted more subtly: If the studio wanted to cut Cruise loose, she would have called CAA and devised a face-saving exit that would leave the studio open to working with the star -- who still boasts a huge global fan base -- on the deep trunk of projects in which the studio already had invested millions. As of Wednesday, though, a call Grey made to Cruise had not been returned.

Grey now has several fires to put out. Hollywood is still not convinced that Paramount's new team has its act together; the studio is considered fractionalized. "This makes them look weird and talent-unfriendly," one manager says. "There's no grace at this studio. They like to show talent who's boss."

Grey has been tough on deals, demanding reductions on the "M:I-3" budget and Cruise's share of the profits and refusing to spend more than $150 million on "Ripley's Believe It or Not," starring the press-averse Jim Carrey. Grey has preferred to back more modest investments such as "World Trade Center" and "Babel," which have generated positive reviews and Oscar talk. "They're taking a page from the Fox book," one manager says.

THE FIRM:

CAA's leaders, usually allergic to the media, went on the warpath to defend their client. "Paramount has no credibility right now," agency president Richard Lovett told the New York Times. "It is not clear who is running the studio and who is making the decisions."

But while the agency had to make public pronouncements in defense of its star, that doesn't mean CAA will refuse to do business with Paramount. In a contracting industry, there are only six major studio buyers, and Paramount -- which now owns DreamWorks -- is among them. Additionally, DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg (whose relationship with Cruise has cooled since "War of the Worlds") also is a top CAA client. So once tempers cool, Paramount, DreamWorks and CAA are sure to reach a detente. Still, the whole episode is illustrative of how studios are taking back power from the agencies.

THE POWER COUPLE:

Rick Nicita, one of Cruise's agents, has long been a respected talent agent and partner at CAA, where Wagner, his wife, worked before leaving to partner with Cruise. Their passions ran high when they learned of Redstone's comments.

Some industry insiders suggested that Nicita and Wagner then announced that CAA had raised a revolving private equity fund worth $100 million -- which was news to Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields -- because they were not likely to set up a rich deal at another studio. Cruise is worth a fortune overseas, and there's plenty of money looking for a home in Hollywood. Wagner is a capable creative producer, and the studios will be delighted to pick up well-made, star-driven movies. The studios also will be more than ready to cast Cruise as a star in their own films as well. An announcement along those lines is expected shortly.

THE STAR:

Meanwhile, Cruise maintained a low profile. In fact, Redstone's attack has even earned him sympathy points in some quarters. That's partly because Cruise is not only a marquee draw but also one of the hardest-working pros in show business. His best efforts aside, though, he might not be able to counteract industrywide pressures to cut back on deluxe talent deals. "Cruise could be in real trouble," one press agent says. "He's getting older. The film market is wobbly. People are second-guessing themselves all over the place."

According to Cruise's reps, the star welcomes the opportunities that setting himself up as a well-financed independent would provide: He'll be able to put his brains and clout behind movies that are likely to wind up better than the commercial fare the studios offer him. He may already be looking for new challenges. He recently trekked into CAA for a project meeting and is trying to resurrect an old John Davis project, "Selling Time," with Spike Lee. Freeing himself from a studio like Paramount could be the best thing to happen to him.

Cruise -- like everyone else in this drama -- ultimately might benefit from a healthy dose of reality. Hollywood still needs stars like Cruise. But as the industry cuts back on needless waste and fiscal insanity, it's re-evaluating the price of stardom.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060825/media_nm/cruise_analysis_dc

Posted on Aug 25, 2006, 9:54 AM
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Katie Holmes' Plight Finally Expressed In Cartoon Form

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The obsessively covered public row following Sumner Redstone's announcement of perhaps most sensational contract non-renewal in Hollywood history has, regrettably, shifted attention away from the plight of Tom Cruise war bride Katie Holmes, who must temporarily endure her billion-year imprisonment in obscurity, content to know that her much-scrutinized personal services agreement with the star may have played a crucial part (even if just for purposes of Viacom's PR manipulation) in her partner's troubles. Taking inspiration from Michael Lohan's heartwrenching cartoon depicting the evil forces keeping father from troubled, starlet daughter, Gallery of the Absurd helpfully retrains the spotlight on Holmes' troubles, reminding us that behind every ugly war of words between fading megastar and cost-cutting mogul, there's a helpless woman back at home pretending to take of a fake baby while chained to an immovable object.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/katie-holmes/katie-holmes-plight-finally-expressed-in-cartoon-form-196468.php

Posted on Aug 25, 2006, 9:52 AM
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New Restaurant In Bombay, India Bears Hitler's Name

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Customers leave after visiting 'Hitler's Cross' a restaurant at Kharghar, New Bombay, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Bombay, India, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2006

BOMBAY, India - When Hitler's Cross restaurant opened four days ago in a Bombay suburb, local politicians and movie industry types were on hand to celebrate beneath the posters of the Nazi leader and swastikas.

The owner insisted then � and still does � that the name and theme of his new eatery is only meant to attract attention, even if it has outraged Bombay's Jewish community.

"It's really made people very upset that a person responsible for the massacre of 6 million Jews can be glorified," Elijah Jacob, one of the community's leaders, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

But owner Puneet Sablok has refused to back down, and apart from Bombay's 4,500 Jews, there's been little controversy in India, where Holocaust awareness is limited, Hitler is regarded as just another historical figure and swastikas are an ancient Hindu symbol, displayed all over to bring luck. There are just 5,500 Jews in all of India.

"It's just to attract people. There is no intention to hurt anyone," said Sablok about his spacious restaurant, which serves pastries, pizza and salad in Navi Mumbai, a northern suburb of Bombay, which is also known as Mumbai.

Those objecting to the restaurant plan to ask the local government to force a name change, said Daniel Zonshine, Israel's consul general in Bombay.

"Instead of Hitler's name being an example of extreme evil, this is like giving legitimacy to Hitler. It's not right to advertise his name in public," Zonshine said.

But while India is ordinarily sensitive to causing religious offense � recently taking action to bar "The Da Vinci Code" movie and cartoon drawings of the prophet Muhammad � at least one local leader said the name Hitler didn't bother him.

"People are unnecessarily making this into an issue," said Sudhir Jadhav, a local ruling party leader. "We have no plans to protest outside the restaurant or ask him to change the name."

Diners were also quite happy eating in Hitler's Cross.

"Hitler was a bad man, but what's wrong with having food here?" said Ashwini Phadnis, 22, a microbiology student as she tucked away a piece of chocolate cake.

Engineering student Anand Dhillon sat with friends, sipping soft drinks. "I think the name is quite interesting. Tomorrow if someone keeps a name like Saddam Mutton Shop or George Bush Footwear, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?" he shrugged.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_fe_st/hitler_eatery

Um, I just really hope Mel Gibson appears to never work again so that neo-Nazis don't come out of every corner harrassing people on midwest streets.

Posted on Aug 24, 2006, 10:15 AM
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Redstone Vs. Cruise: The 'South Park' Conspiracy

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Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone -- Actor Tom Cruise is seen here in "Interview with a Vampire" -- Trey Parker and Matt Stone accept their MTV movie award

We pass along the following snippet of conspiracy-minded tinfoil-hattery belched up from within Viacom's corporate bowels and into our inbox earlier today not because we believe there's any truth to it, but rather because we were more than a little amused at how its author connected the seemingly coincidental events of yesterday's announcement of Paramount's two-picture deal with longtime Tom Cruise tormentors Trey Parker and Matt Stone to cranky, brittle-fist-shaking Viacom potentate Sumner Redstone's somewhat more attention-grabbing announcement that Cruise is too unhinged to work within his multimedia empire. Enjoy:

Viacom Conspiracy Theory: Please note that the pissing contest between Sumner and Xenu began on the same day that Paramount announced a two picture deal for the South Park guys. How's this for a scenario: Tom gets wind of the deal and calls Brad Grey telling him to cancel the Important Pictures pact or he'll leave. Brad Grey kicks it up to Freston who kicks it up to Sumner who -- knowing that negotiations are going poorly and not so fondly recalling being forced to pull the Trapped in the Closet episode or else Cruise wouldn't do press for MI3 -- says, "Fine, goodbye. You and your alien race will bully me no more."

Given the perfect timing, this would be a great opportunity for Stone and Parker to follow up their temporarily defeat-conceding post-Trapped press release with a full-page ad in the trades trumpeting this ultimate victory over their freshly vanquished nemesis. Hopefully, they'll get around to it before Rob Schneider has a chance to appropriate the gag to offer the out-of-work Cruise a gig in his movie.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/paramount/redstone-vs-cruise-the-south-park-conspiracy-196253.php

Posted on Aug 24, 2006, 10:13 AM
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SnakesInATheaterGate: Hoax Or Cover-Up?

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http://www.AZCentral.com reports that yesterday's story about the two rattlesnakes allegedly released into a Phoenix theater showing Snakes on a Plane may have been a hoax. According to police, a blog-savvy serpent probably tried to catch a screening on its own to make up its simple, reptilian mind about whether the film's pre-release hype was warranted, and may not have been let loose into the theater by overzealous fans eager to help their fellow moviegoers replicate the claustrophobic terror felt by the fictional passengers of South Pacific Air Flight 121:

Police say reports that rattlesnakes were let loose during a showing of Snakes on a Plane at a north Phoenix theater have taken moviegoers for a ride.

There is some shred of truth to the story, Phoenix police Sgt. Joel Tranter said. A 10-inch-long rattlesnake was found Friday in a hallway at AMC Desert Ridge 18, near Tatum Boulevard and Loop 101. But it likely slithered inside on its own, Tranter said.

A security guard swept the snake outside and held it in a Tupperware container until a member of the Arizona Herpetological Association could take it away. Snake handlers had been called earlier in the day to retrieve a rattler from outside the theater.

An AMC spokeswoman told the news organization Reuters that the rumors were true, but Tranter has been refuting the story to news outlets from across the U.S.

Our hats are off once again to New Line's innovative, boundary-transgressing marketing team; arranging for the attempted, in-theater snake attacks was inspired, but bribing both the police and AMC reps to offer buzz-perpetuating, conflicting stories to the media was a diabolical masterstroke.
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source: http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/snakes-on-a-plane/snakesinatheatergate-hoax-or-coverup-196159.php

Posted on Aug 24, 2006, 10:12 AM
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Paramount Cuts Ties With Tom Cruise's Company

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Actor Tom Cruise is seen here posing for photographers as he arrives for a VIP screening of his new film 'Mission: Impossible lll' in New York, on May 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The latest high-profile Hollywood breakup is between Tom Cruise and his studio. Sumner Redstone, whose company owns Paramount Pictures, said the studio would sever its 14-year relationship with Cruise's film production company because "his recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

"As much as we like him personally," the Viacom Inc. chairman told The Wall Street Journal, "we thought it was wrong to renew his deal."

Cruise's partner, Paula Wagner, said negotiations on a new contract simply fizzled.

The deal in recent years paid Cruise and Wagner up to $10 million a year to develop films and operate an office on the Paramount lot, the Journal said Wednesday.

The studio had offered the pair $2 million a year, plus a $500,000 discretionary fund during each of the next two years, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. It cited sources with knowledge of the talks who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

In the past year or so, the usually guarded actor came under intense scrutiny after he jumped up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch while proclaiming his love for Katie Holmes, openly advocated Scientology, and criticized Brooke Shields for taking prescription drugs to treat postpartum depression. The religion founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard opposes psychiatry and its medication.

Redstone estimated that Cruise's off-screen behavior cost his latest movie, "Mission: Impossible III," $100 million to $150 million in ticket sales, even as he praised the film as "the best of the three movies" in the action series.

"It's nothing to do with his acting ability, he's a terrific actor," Redstone said. "But we don't think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot."

Wagner told The Associated Press that agents for Cruise/Wagner Productions stopped negotiating with Paramount over a week ago and have since secured independent financing, effectively taking any contract-renewal deal off the table.

"For some reason, Paramount has chosen to negotiate in the press," Wagner said, calling Redstone's announcement "surprising."

"It's not really the most businesslike approach," she said. "We've had virtually no dealings with Mr. Redstone."

Each of the actor's last seven films have generated more than $100 million. And the collaboration between Paramount and Cruise/Wagner Productions, based on the Paramount lot since 1992, has produced $2.5 billion worth of business, Wagner said.

Wagner said she and Cruise had been considering independent financing for their company "for a long time." She said the company has already obtained commitments from two hedge funds, whose names would be announced soon.

"For us, this is a very new and exciting direction. We look forward to working with all the studios."
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_en_mo/cruise_paramount_breakup_23

This message has been edited by crystaltjapan from IP address 216.205.224.10 on Aug 23, 2006 4:59 PM

Posted on Aug 23, 2006, 10:22 AM
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Wiesenthal Center Requesting Permission To Investigate Grass's Nazi Past

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BERLIN (Reuters) - The Simon Wiesenthal Center urged Nobel prize winning novelist Guenter Grass on Tuesday to come clean about his time in Hitler's Waffen-SS by waiving German data protection laws to enable the center to investigate him.

Grass, one of Germany's best-known writers and viewed by many in the country as a moral authority, has for half a century called on Germans to be open about their past.

But last week the 78-year-old shocked admirers at home and abroad by disclosing he had volunteered for submarine duty at 15 but was rejected and was later called up to the Waffen-SS toward the end of World War Two.

"We feel that there's an incredible lack of clarity. His explanation has produced more ambiguity than clarity," Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem, told Reuters by telephone.

"The time has come to come clean," he said.

The Waffen SS was a highly trained Nazi combat unit, initially composed of volunteers, which took part in the Holocaust and committed war crimes. By the end of the war, however, most members were drafted and many were under 18.

Grass said that he had joined the SS in order to escape from his family and insisted that he never fired a shot.

But some critics inside and outside Germany say that this explanation is too meager and comes too late.

Zuroff, who has been hunting Nazi war criminals for the past quarter century, said the Wiesenthal Center has sent a letter to Grass asking him for details of his duty in the Waffen-SS.

Among the questions the Wiesenthal Center has put to Grass are: in which part of the Frundsberg Division did he serve; was it Panzer Regiment 10; was he in the 2nd Panzer Division and did he know some specific members of the SS.

"We have started an investigation," said Zuroff, though he said that Germany's strict data protection laws prevented them from getting access to key archives.

"We asked him for permission to get access," he said, adding that only Grass himself could waive the data privacy rules to allow them to probe effectively his Nazi past.

Grass won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999. He is viewed as part of the movement known in German as "Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung" or "coming to terms with the past."

An icon of the German left, Grass spoke out against German reunification after the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989. He is probably best known abroad for his first novel "The Tin Drum," published in 1959.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060822/wl_nm/germany_grass_ss_dc

Posted on Aug 23, 2006, 10:21 AM
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New 'Survivor' Segregates By Race

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In this undated photo released by CBS, 20 new castaways who will compete when 'Survivor: Cook Islands' premiers on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2006, pose for a photo on the beach in Aitutaki Atoll, Cook Islands

The announcement was made on CBS' Early Show. Host Jeff Probst says the idea "actually came from the criticism that 'Survivor' was not ethnically diverse enough." He says the twist fits in perfectly with what "Survivor" does, saying the show is "a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment." Probst says contestants had mixed reactions to the racial divisions.

This time the new Survivors are stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. The castaways include a police officer, a heavy metal guitarist, an attorney and a nail salon manager. The new season of Survivor debuts September 14th.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_en_tv/survivor

[i]the idea "actually came from the criticism that 'Survivor' was not ethnically diverse enough."[/i]

Oh! Segregate by color! Yeah! Now they won't think you're a racist! Good idea! Maybe more game shows will catch on! There could be Black Jeopardy, Red Jeopardy, Yellow Jeopardy and White Jeopardy (White being prime time of course)!! We'll just see if the white man happens to float to the top, being that the shows are thought up and run by white men. Then they could have a final with the top white man, black man, red man, and yellow man. Maybe the blue man group could perform at half time! I am continually amazed at the fascinating amount of talent, intelligence and creativity inherent in TV producers!

Posted on Aug 23, 2006, 10:20 AM
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Trade Round-Up: 'Trapped In The Closet' Robbed At Creative Arts Emmys

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� Scientologists seize control of the Creative Arts Emmys, awarding the prime-time animation statue to The Simpsons over South Park's Tom Cruise-baiting "Trapped in the Closet" episode. Not particularly caring about the other races but wanting to generally recognize excellence in pay TV programming, the shadowy sect decided to give 17 Emmys to HBO. [Variety]

� Marlon Wayans will star in the high-concept DreamWorks comedy Pretty Ugly, in which he'll play a "handsome lifetsyle mogul who wakes up hideously ugly because of a curse," and who, for reasons we will not even attempt to understand, must then disguise himself as a Caucasian baby for the remainder of the movie. [THR]

� Pirates of the Carribean wins its seventh straight weekend at the international box office, but was edged out by Snakes on a Plane in the UK. [Variety]

� Onetime The OC golden boy Josh Schwartz will once again get a chance to prove his gift for climbing into the minds of teenage girls by writing the pilot for a potential The CW series based on the Gossip Girl books. [THR]

� While other networks have begun showing episodes of their series on their own websites the day after they air, Fox is dumping the streaming duties on their local affiliates. [Variety]
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/awards/trade-roundup-trapped-in-the-closet-robbed-at-creative-arts-emmys-195619.php

Posted on Aug 22, 2006, 9:44 AM
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Northwest Airlines Offers Offensive "101 Ways To Save Money" Tips

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Dumpster Diving For Laid-Off Workers?

AUGUST 21--In a remarkable bit of corporate insensitivity, Northwest Airlines brass gave workers it is laying off a booklet offering "101 Ways To Save Money," including "don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash" and "ask your doctor for samples of prescriptions." The booklet was included in a layoff packet recently given to dozens of pink-slipped workers in North Dakota, Montana, and Texas. After employee complaints, Northwest apologized and yanked the list from undistributed packets (the 101 tips were drawn up by a Northwest vendor charged with preparing materials for workers to help them deal with pending unemployment). A copy of the bankrupt airline's offensive booklet can be found in the link below. Along with the dumpster diving suggestion, Northwest recommended shorter showers, thrift store shopping, and getting "hand-me-down clothes and toys for your kids from friends and relatives." Not to mention "grow your own vegetables and herbs" and "use old newspapers for cat litter."

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source: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0821061nwa1.html

Posted on Aug 22, 2006, 9:42 AM
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Jolly Green Giant's Stash Found Stapled To New Zealand Billboard

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For a climate with as much precipitation and sheep crap lying around as New Zealand, you'd think the locals wouldn't be hurting for some primo doobage. But when this billboard went up for Weeds in Auckland--yet another of the series' highly creative, pot-themed promotions--a security camera began capturing a steady stream of bud burglars. They probably quickly realized the stuff wasn't real, but were getting a decent enough high just smoking the polyurethane foam and green spray paint to justify coming back for more. Enjoy the parade of thieving, stoner ne'er do wells, set, for your viral-promotion-disseminating convenience, to the show's very own theme song, Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes."
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/marketing/jolly-green-giants-stash-found-stapled-to-new-zealand-billboard-195690.php

Posted on Aug 22, 2006, 9:41 AM
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'Snakes' Has Little Bite At Box Office

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Samuel L. Jackson poses for photographers at the premiere of 'Snakes on a Plane' in Los Angeles on Thursday night

LOS ANGELES - The Internet buzz over "Snakes on a Plane" turned out to be nothing to hiss about. The high-flying thriller preceded by months of unprecedented Web buildup technically debuted as the No. 1 movie, but with a modest $15.25 million opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Distributor New Line Cinema included $1.4 million that "Snakes on a Plane" raked in during 10 p.m. screenings Thursday to get a head start on the weekend. Without those revenues, the movie's weekend total would be $13.85 million, putting it just behind "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," which took in $14.1 million in its third weekend.

David Tuckerman, New Line's head of distribution, said it was customary for studios to include late-night previews in a movie's opening-weekend total.

"It's an industry standard to do that, to roll that in," Tuckerman said. "Also, with this kind of picture, I would tell you unequivocably that at least 90 percent of that business would have gone to see it Friday night if not Thursday."

Rory Bruer, head of distribution at "Talladega Nights" studio Sony, declined to comment.

Box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations ranks movies according to numbers provided by studios, putting "Snakes on a Plane" in first place based on New Line's figures, said company president Paul Dergarabedian.

Starring Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver obsessed with winning, the comedy "Talladega Nights" was No. 1 at the box office the previous two weekends and raised its three-week total to $114.7 million.

With its campy, tell-it-like-it-is title and the star power of lead actor Samuel L. Jackson, "Snakes on a Plane" became an online phenomenon, prompting endless Web chat and parodies long before anyone saw the movie.

That buzz proved fairly hollow when it came to showtime, with the debut weekend a respectable but unremarkable return for a movie with a production budget of just over $30 million.

New Line's Tuckerman said "Snakes on a Plane" would turn in a solid profit but that he did not know why the movie failed to live up to its Internet hype.

"I think people were more excited about the marketing than the actual movie," said Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations. "New Line did not set out to create this Internet buzz. That's actually a marketer's dream, but when marketing translates into awareness but does not inspire people to get out from behind their computers and into the theater, that's a problem."

The movie stars Jackson as an FBI agent battling killer snakes that have been put on a red-eye flight to do away with a witness about to testify in a murder trial.

Universal Pictures' comedy "Accepted," about slackers who start their own college, had the next-best showing among new movies, debuting at No. 4 with $10.1 million. MGM's "Material Girls," starring Hilary and Haylie Duff as cosmetics heiresses, opened at No. 9 with $4.6 million.

The year's biggest hit, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," was No. 8 with $5 million, lifting its domestic total to $401 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Snakes on a Plane," $15.25 million.

2. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," $14.1 million.

3. "World Trade Center," $10.8 million.

4. "Accepted," $10.1 million.

5. "Step Up," $9.9 million.

6. "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals," $7.5 million.

7. "Little Miss Sunshine," $5.7 million.

8. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," $5 million.

9. "Material Girls," $4.6 million.

10. "Pulse," $3.5 million.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060821/ap_en_mo/box_office

Posted on Aug 21, 2006, 10:54 AM
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Tom & Jerry Smoking Scenes To Be Cut After Complaint

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A still courtesy of Warner Brothers of the famous cartoon duo of Tom and Jerry

LONDON (Reuters) - They chase each other at high speed wielding axes and hammers. But the famous cartoon duo of Tom and Jerry are in trouble in Britain for smoking on screen.

A channel airing the cartoons has agreed to cut scenes that glamorize smoking after British media regulator Ofcom received a complaint from a viewer who took offence at two episodes.

In the first, "Texas Tom," the hapless cat Tom tries to impress a feline female by rolling a cigarette, lighting it and smoking it with one hand. In the second, "Tennis Chumps," Tom's opponent in a match smokes a large cigar.

In a bulletin posted online, Ofcom noted "concerns that smoking on television may normalize smoking," and said that the Turner company, licensee for Boomerang which aired the cartoons, had agreed to edit some smoking scenes out of Tom and Jerry.

"The licensee has ... proposed editing any scenes or references in the series where smoking appeared to be condoned, acceptable, glamorized or where it might encourage imitation," Ofcom said, adding that "Texas Tom" was one such example.

But it would not cut all smoking scenes, it added.

Ofcom said it recognized smoking was more generally accepted when cartoons were produced in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, but noted that the threshold for including such scenes when the audience is predominately young should be high.

The Belgian cartoonist Maurice de Bevere replaced his famous creation Lucky Luke's ubiquitous cigarette with a blade of grass, winning him official recognition from the World Health Organization in 1988.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060821/tv_nm/tomandjerry_dc

Posted on Aug 21, 2006, 10:54 AM
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K-Fed Finally Shows The World He's Earned His Ridicule All By Himself

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Snakes on a Plane wasn't the only opportunistically marketed entertainment product riding a groundswell of semi-ironic obsession to suffer through an underwhelming debut this weekend. On last night's Teen Choice awards, world-famous househusband and reformed background dancer Kevin Federline donned his best white-trucker-hat-and- matching-Oxford ensemble for his first-ever public performance.

The predictably lip-synced affair was notable mostly for the aspiring rapper's maddening refusal to stumble into the on-stage pyrotechnics and attempt to put out the flames engulfing him by increasing the intensity of his Roger Rabbit steps, an admirable, if ill-advised, refusal to interrupt his flow. In the absence of an accidental K-Fed immolation, there really wasn't much to hold the attention once Britney Spears completed her introduction and removed her overflowing, pregnancy-enhanced cleavage from view, but if pressed for a favorite moment from the performance, we'd have to say it's when the bewifebeatered guy in the front row, presumably a member of Federline's posse, leaps out of his seat and offers some approving fist-pumps at the end of the song, which made our own wildly enthusiastic gesticulations celebrating Federline's triumph seem somewhat uninspired.

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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/top/kfed-finally-shows-the-world-hes-earned-his-ridicule-all-by-himself-195565.php

Posted on Aug 21, 2006, 10:52 AM
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Mel Gibson Pleads No Contest In DUI Case

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Movie actor and director Mel Gibson speaks during a news conference held in Veracruz, Mexico,in this Oct. 28 2005 file photo

His lawyers arranged to move his court appearance up by more than a month, allowing Gibson to avoid a media frenzy with his plea. But he still faces the fallout from the anti-Semitic tirade he unleashed on a sheriff's deputy the night of his arrest.

Gibson did not have to appear in court in the misdemeanor case, allowing attorney Blair Berk to handle the plea.

The abrupt advancement was announced to the news media by the district attorney's office with no time for most reporters to reach the courthouse before the proceeding was over.

Court documents showed that Gibson signed the plea agreement and waived his right to a jury trial Monday but that the paperwork was filed just before Thursday's proceeding.

Gibson was stopped around 2:30 a.m. July 28 while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu and made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting deputy, plunging Gibson into a scandal that led him to apologize for what he called "belligerent behavior" and "despicable" remarks.

Gibson pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor of driving while having a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher. A second misdemeanor count, driving under the influence of alcohol, and the infraction of driving with an open container of alcohol were dismissed.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is equivalent to a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.

"This was an appropriate outcome which addresses all the public safety concerns of drinking and driving," prosecutor Gina Satriano said in a statement.

Authorities continued to withhold video and audio tapes of Gibson's arrest. Media organizations including The Associated Press have asked Sheriff Lee Baca for the tapes but have been denied on grounds that they are part of an "investigatory file" and exempt from the California Public Records Act.

The celebrity news Web site TMZ has argued that the tapes should be heard and seen by the public to assess whether the Sheriff's Department gave Gibson preferential treatment. The issue arose because a sheriff's spokesman initially said the arrest occurred "without incident" and made no mention of the anti-Semitic remarks.

Asked whether tapes and other materials would be released, Baca said, "I'm looking at that right now ... so I've got to go back and look at everything that was there."

Court documents said Gibson has already voluntarily begun rehabilitation.

The documents show the judge placed Gibson on three years' probation and ordered him to attend "self-help meetings" five times a week for 4 1/2 months and three meetings per week for another 7 1/2 months. Satriano said these would be Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, according to Jane Robison, a district attorney's spokeswoman.

Gibson was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol education and counseling program for first offenders.

The judge also levied fines and fees totaling $1,608. Gibson's driver license was restricted for 90 days, the district attorney's office said. Robison did not know the terms of the restriction.

Gibson volunteered to make a public-service announcement about the hazards of drinking and driving, but the judge did not make that a condition of his sentencing.

Gibson was ordered to appear in court Jan. 17 for a progress report.

Gibson's spokesman, Alan Nierob, would not elaborate on the plea arrangement or offer any hints about when to expect Gibson's public-service announcement.

The case file also showed that the original judge assigned to hear the case, Terry Adamson, recused herself because Gibson is one of her neighbors.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_en_ce/mel_gibson_16

Posted on Aug 19, 2006, 10:39 PM
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British Rocker Pete Doherty Pleads Guilty In Drug Bust

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British musician Pete Doherty leaves Thames Magistrates Court in east London Friday, Aug. 18, 2006, after he pleaded guilty to five counts of possessing drugs including heroin and crack cocaine

LONDON - Musician Pete Doherty pleaded guilty Friday to five counts of possessing drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine.

Sentencing was adjourned until the Sept. 4. District Judge Alison Rose warned the Babyshambles singer that he could be sentenced to jail.

Doherty, 27, had been charged with seven counts of drug possession on Thursday, after he was stopped by police in London last week. The charges relate to that arrest and two other incidents earlier this year.

The singer gained fame with his previous band, the Libertines, and as the on-off boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss. Doherty's drug habit gained international attention after a British tabloid printed pictures of Moss allegedly using cocaine at a music studio where Doherty and his band were recording. No charges were leveled against the supermodel.

Last month, Doherty announced that he was canceling a scheduled concert and entering a rehabilitation clinic in his latest bid to quit drugs.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_en_ot/people_pete_doherty

Posted on Aug 18, 2006, 9:10 AM
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Haley Joel Osment Faces Pot, Drunken Driving Charges

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Actor Haley Joel Osment is seen in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, September 18, 2003

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Thursday charged Oscar-nominated actor Haley Joel Osment, who famously saw dead people in 1999 hit movie "The Sixth Sense," with drunken driving and marijuana possession.

Osment, 18, faces up to six months in jail if convicted on the charges that arose after a car crash in suburban Los Angeles on July 20.

The actor suffered a broken rib and shoulder injury and was briefly hospitalized.

Prosecutors charged Osment with misdemeanor possession of marijuana while driving and with having a blood alcohol level higher than 0.08 percent, including a special allegation of having a level higher than 0.15 percent, said Deputy District Attorney Ed Green.

A spokeswoman for the actor was not immediately available.

Osment is set to be arraigned on September 19.

The actor shot to fame with his role as a young boy who could see dead people haunting the real world in "Sixth Sense," which raked in $673 million at global box offices.

The role earned Osment an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor and made him a star. But since then, few of his movies have scored well with critics or at box offices.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/people_nm/osment_dc

Posted on Aug 18, 2006, 9:09 AM
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Woman Sues Over 1960s 'Batman' Series

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LOS ANGELES - A New Mexico woman is suing 20th Century Fox Film Corporation alleging she was defrauded out of $4.4 million she was entitled to receive for the popular 1960s "Batman" television series.

Deborah Dozier Potter, whose father William Dozier was one of the producers of the show, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court that alleges fraud, concealment and breach of contract.

She is an heir to her father's estate and holds a portion of the assets of Greenway Productions Inc. which produced the series four decades ago that Fox distributed, according to the lawsuit.

Both companies, Greenway and Fox, signed a contract in the 1960s, the lawsuit said. Another contract was also signed between Fox and ABC, the station which televised the show. In March 2005, Potter came across the agreement between Fox and ABC and discovered she was entitled to 26 percent of the net profits from that agreement as well.

"I wish it could have been avoided," Potter said from her home in Santa Fe. "Nobody likes litigation."

Fox does not comment on pending litigation, said Chris Alexander, vice president of 20th Century Fox Television.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060818/ap_en_tv/batman_lawsuit

Nobody likes litigation, but you sit and pour over documents until you find some.

This message has been edited by crystaltjapan from IP address 216.205.224.10 on Aug 18, 2006 9:12 AM

Posted on Aug 18, 2006, 9:08 AM
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Country Singer Troy Gentry Accused Of Killing Tame Bear

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Troy Gentry of the country western group Montgomery Gentry performs during the half time show at the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets game in East Rutherford, N.J. in this Sunday, Nov. 6, 2005 file photo

DULUTH, Minn. - Troy Lee Gentry, of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, has been accused of killing a tame black bear that federal officials say he tagged as killed in the wild.

Gentry, 39, of Franklin, Tenn., and Lee Marvin Greenly, 46, of Sandstone, appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson in connection with a sealed indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Minneapolis.

Authorities allege that Gentry purchased the bear from Greenly, a wildlife photographer and hunting guide, then killed it with a bow and arrow in an enclosed pen on Greenly's property in October 2004.

The government alleges that Gentry and Greenly tagged the bear with a Minnesota hunting license and registered the animal with the state Department of Natural Resources as a wild kill.

Gentry allegedly paid about $4,650 for the bear, named Cubby. The bear's death was videotaped, and the tape later edited so Gentry appeared to shoot the animal in a "fair chase" hunting situation, the government alleges.

If convicted, both Gentry and Greenly face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine.

Gentry's manager, Johnny Dorris, said Wednesday that Gentry, an outdoorsman and hunter, expects to be exonerated.

Gentry "relied on the knowledge and expertise of a local guide to obtain the proper permit," Dorris said in a written statement. "Troy felt what he did was legal and in full compliance of the law and was surprised to hear of the indictment."

Greenly did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Montgomery Gentry, along with co-singer Eddie Montgomery, are known for hits such as "My Town" and "If You Ever Stop Loving Me."
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_en_mu/people_troy_lee_gentry

Posted on Aug 17, 2006, 9:30 AM
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IRS, Academy Awards Reach Tax Agreement

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Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, addresses the audience during the 78th Academy Awards Oscars telecast in this Sunday, March 5, 2006 file photo, in Los Angeles

WASHINGTON - Movie stars enjoying the lavish gift bags handed out at this year's Oscars will get some decidedly unglamorous notices: don't forget to pay tax on the windfall.

"There's no special red-carpet tax loophole for the stars," Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson said Thursday.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in an accord with the IRS, agreed to pay taxes due on gift bags handed out through 2005.

But responsibility for paying taxes on this year's swag falls on the recipients.

The agreement marks the beginning of an IRS effort to reach out to the entertainment industry with reminders that award show gifts and promotional giveaways are considered taxable income.

The value of the gifts must be reported on a celebrity's tax return. That includes gift certificates or vouchers if they've been redeemed. The gifts count as income because the IRS does not believe they were given "solely out of affection, respect or similar impulses."

Celebrity gifting has become more lavish as marketers try to harness some star power to advertise their goods. The giveaways often include luxury trips, jewelry and electronics. George Clooney donated his Oscar swag bag to United Way. It fetched $45,100 at auction, benefiting the United Way Hurricane Response and Relief Recovery Fund. Clooney may be eligible for a tax deduction.

The bag, given to presenters at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, included a BlackBerry 8700c, a Kay Unger kimono and a cultured Tahitian-pearl necklace. Clooney also took home another prize � best supporting actor for "Syriana."

The Internal Revenue Service said it is not conducting a special audit initiative in this area, but questions about gift reporting might arise during an examination of an individual's tax return. Donors giving gifts to celebrities will be reminded to fill out special informational forms reporting the gifts to the IRS.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_en_ce/irs_oscar_gifts

Posted on Aug 17, 2006, 9:30 AM
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At YouTube Web Site, Viewers Get Control

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A viewer looks at the YouTube Web site on computer screens in New York, Aug. 17, 2006

NEW YORK - The fall TV season is about to begin. The push is on from the broadcast networks to tempt you into watching what they spent the past year pounding into shape.

At a moment when the networks would like nothing more than to make a splash � another "Lost" or "Desperate Housewives" would be nice � the biggest news in TV is the escalating instances of mutiny by viewers.

Watching what the networks set before them is fine. But more and more viewers want to cook as well as dine, which makes the TV story of the year the story of a Web site: http://www.YouTube.com .

Officially launched last December, this video-sharing service already plays more than 100 million clips per day with more than 65,000 video uploads added to its mammoth inventory. And those rates are skyrocketing.

Where does it end? "As more people capture special moments on video," its Web site declares, "YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow."

YouTube (slogan: "Broadcast Yourself") isn't the Internet's only video-sharing service. But it's the reigning brand, the talked-about phenomenon, and a mighty good example of the multiple roles now greeting yesterday's couch potato. These are get-up-and-do-something roles as artist, journalist, pundit, self-promoter, exhibitionist, prankster, weirdo and wag.

Now you, too, can be a TV producer and a TV programmer. Scheduling? That's in your hands on the receiving end, since clips are on demand, arranged in categories or searchable by various "tags." And you can be a distributor: E-mail any clip to your friends.

Ratings? Instant. Every clip appears with a running count of viewings, as well as how many viewers deemed it "a favorite." Not that anything is canceled for not being a hit. Unlike a network constricted by its two or three hours of prime time per night, the capacity of YouTube would appear to be boundless. No need here for one thing to be dropped to make room for another.

So what can you see? Make no mistake, a 10-second video aptly titled "Bunny the Dog Rubs Her Butt Against the Ground" isn't the stupidest, skeeziest or even briefest clip available. Nor is "Cockroach-Controlled Mobile Robot" the most whimsical. Or two pairs of fingers dancing to the tune of "Get Down Tonight" the most charming.

You find video testimony, as well. Katrina-themed clips from hurricane victims. Lebanese and Israelis supplying their images of war.

Meanwhile, broadcast images are being plucked off the air and granted an on-demand afterlife. The impromptu back rub that President Bush gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G-8 Summit last month? It's right here, for screening anytime. So is co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck having a hissy fit on ABC's "The View." A search of "David Letterman" turns up more than 1,000 clips.

YouTube's reach on occasion has actually eclipsed that of TV. In June, "Weekends with Maury & Connie" ended its brief run on MSNBC with a self-mocking version of "Thanks for the Memories" by Connie Chung. More than twice as many people saw it, post-broadcast, on YouTube.

YouTube is an escalating archive. A colossal clearinghouse. A proving ground. It's a virtual commons for anyone anywhere with a camcorder in reach. It's a valuable resource; a glorious time waster. And, of course, a breeding ground for buzz.

The most persuasive evidence that YouTube is rewriting TV rules emerged last month when "Nobody's Watching," a sitcom pilot pronounced dead after failing to find a broadcast home, found a warm reception on YouTube (where it logged a half-million viewings). With that sort of cyberspace validation, it was resurrected by NBC as a prospect for the 2006-07 schedule.

At about the same time, NBC and YouTube forged a strategic partnership that, among other things, lets NBC hype its fall shows on YouTube. What more proof do you need of new media's appeal than when the mainstream media jumps on board?

NBC is learning one of the new rules YouTube has showcased with its free-for-all policy: Exposure, not payment, is what counts. Spreading it around is key.

And NBC, along with the rest of mainstream media, will have to abide by a new cultural reality as set forth by Chris Anderson in his current best-seller, "The Long Tail": "A once-monolithic industry structure where professionals produced and amateurs consumed is now a two-way marketplace, where anyone can be in any camp at any time."

Other video-sharing sites are staking a claim in this two-way marketplace. In a story headlined "Beyond YouTube," Rolling Stone recommends 10 more, including http://www.iFilm.com , http://tv.blinkx.com , http://video.google.com and http://video.yahoo.com .

But for the moment, YouTube has the heat. It's the name on everybody's lips. And maybe the name says it all, proposing a convergence of You and Television, manifested on your PC screen as a vast community.

For all those who resisted plunging into the Internet's reservoir of video, YouTube may have the goods and the cachet to persuade them to get their feet wet. Silly, smart, raw and slick, YouTube with its gathering force is Must-See TV.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060817/ap_en_tv/ap_on_tv_youtube

Posted on Aug 17, 2006, 9:29 AM
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'City Slickers' Actor Bruno Kirby Dies

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In this undated photo provided by CBS, Bruno Kirby appears in character as attorney Barry Scheck from the 2000 television movie 'American Tragedy'

LOS ANGELES - Bruno Kirby, a veteran character actor known for playing the best friend in two of Billy Crystal's biggest comedies, "When Harry Met Sally" and "City Slickers," has died. He was 57.

Kirby died Monday in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia, his wife Lynn Sellers said in a statement Tuesday. He had been recently diagnosed with the disease.

"We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from Bruno's fans and colleagues who have admired and respected his work over the past 30 years," his wife said. "Bruno's spirit will continue to live on not only in his rich body of film and television work but also through the lives of individuals he has touched throughout his life."

Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu in 1949 in New York City, he was the son of actor Bruce Kirby. His early work included the 1971 film "Young Graduates," as well as appearances on the television show "Room 222" and the made-for-TV movie "The Summer Without Boys."

In 1974, he scored a role in "The Godfather: Part II," which won several Academy Awards, including best picture. In the film, Kirby played young "Pete Clemenza," following Richard S. Castellano's role in the first installment.

Over the next few years, Kirby made various TV appearances, including "Fame" and "Hill Street Blues," before landing the role of "2nd Lt. Steven Hauk" in Robin Williams' "Good Morning, Vietnam."

That was followed two years later by the romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally," in which Kirby played Crystal's best friend. In 1991, Kirby once again appeared as Crystal's cheery friend in "City Slickers," � along for a mid-life adventure driving cattle on a dude ranch.

He also appeared in 1997's "Donnie Brasco," and recently in an episode of the HBO hit series "Entourage."

Along with his wife and father, Kirby is survived by his stepmother Roz Kirby, brother John Kirby and stepbrother Brad Sullivan.

No information on funeral arrangements was immediately available.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_en_mo/obit_kirby

Posted on Aug 16, 2006, 10:04 AM
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Trade Round-Up: Ace Ventura III: Pet Detective With A Malibu Beachhouse Payment To Make

� Fresh off the flop of My Super Ex Girlfriend, director Ivan Reitman convinces a financial backer to contribute $200 million to co-finance ten films over the next five years through his Montecito Picture Co. Producing partner Tom Pollock explains the economics of their hit-and-miss, mid-budgeted comedies: "The kinds of movies we make are in an exceptionally sweet spot in the studio system; we tend to make comedies at a price. When they work, like with Old School and Road Trip, they make a lot of money. When they don't, like Eurotrip, they don't lose much. From a Wall Street standpoint, that's a good risk." Here's to throwing shitty comedies against the wall and seeing what sticks! [Variety]

� Morgan Creek determines that a few more dollars might fall out of his pockets if they hold Ace Ventura's corpse by the ankles and give it a vigorous shake, then hires some writers to whip up a third installment centering around the pet detective's son. Given Jim Carrey's recent struggles getting a project off the ground, don't rule out the actor making a cameo as Ace and then finishing out the rest of the movie playing his own kid. [THR]

� As the media wonders why Viacom didn't buy MySpace when it had the chance, rumors are circulating that Sumner Redstone ordered Tom Freston to go to San Francisco to make a deal, but Freston never went. Viacom calls the story "patently untrue," while also denying reports that CBS Corp. bully/rival Les Moonves sat on Freston's chest until Rupert Murdoch could complete his purchase of the social networking site. [Variety]

� Fox wins Monday's 18-49 demographic with its two-hour finale of Hell's Kitchen. Your takeaway from this: The networks' summer reality series filler has mostly been used up, and it's nearly safe to start watching TV again. [THR]

� The following is the title of an actual bass-fishing project now in development at Fox Atomic and not a joke about the next Will Ferrell movie: Fishing on the Edge: The Mike Iaconelli Story [Variety]
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/viacom/trade-roundup-ace-ventura-iii-pet-detective-with-a-malibu-beachhouse-payment-to-make-194415.php

Posted on Aug 16, 2006, 10:03 AM
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Short Ends: We're Never Getting Rid Of David Copperfield

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� David Copperfield claims that he's found the Fountain of Youth in the Bahamas, meaning that not even the normal human birth-death cycle can now free us from an eternity of TV specials centered around lame illusions involving the "disappearance" of various landmarks. Just don't let anyone tell David Blaine, OK? Nobody wants to see how long he can hold his breath while submerged in that shit.

� There is perhaps no better footwear for kicking your friends in the balls than Converse's new Jackass model sneaker Unless you're trying to sterilize your buddies, in which case some steel-toed Timberlands will do a pretty nice job.

�The Daily Gut makes the bold prediction that by December, Ashlee Simpson will have had enough plastic surgery to finally release the inner camel she's been trying to free for years.

�Maybe Paris Hilton's vagina is only going for $10 on eBay because she announced she's not going to use it for a year.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/paris-hilton/short-ends-were-never-getting-rid-of-david-copperfield-194496.php

Posted on Aug 16, 2006, 10:01 AM
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German Jewish Leader Criticizes Novelist Guenter Grass

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Renowned German author Guenter Grass, who received a Nobel laureate in 1999, smokes a pipe in front of his house in Luebeck, northern Germany, in this June 25, 1997 file photo, after his house was smeared with swastikas the night before

BERLIN - The head of Germany's main Jewish organization on Tuesday criticized novelist Guenter Grass for waiting decades to reveal that he had served during World War II in the Waffen-SS, the Nazis' dreaded paramilitary force.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews, said the admission negated Grass' longtime criticisms of German politics and society for not adequately dealing with the Nazi past.

"His long years of silence over his own SS past reduce his earlier statements to absurdities," Knobloch was quoted as saying by the Netzeitung online newspaper.

Grass has been widely criticized after his admission in an interview published Saturday in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he had served in the Waffen-SS. In the interview, he expressed shame at having been part of the organization and said he was making the admission because "it weighed on me."

Previously, it was only known that he worked as an assistant to anti-aircraft gunners � a common duty for teenagers at the time � and that he was wounded before being captured by U.S. troops.

Grass said he volunteered at age 15 for the submarine service and was refused, only to be called up for military service at 17. When he reported for duty in Dresden, he found it was with the 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg."

He said that under the sway of Nazi indoctrination he did not view the Waffen-SS as something repulsive, but as an elite force.

Knobloch pointed out that Grass has a memoir coming out on Sept. 1. The book details his SS experiences.

"The fact that this late admission comes so shortly before the publication of his new book raises the suspicion that this is a PR measure," she was quoted as saying.

Grass' critics have included Joachim Fest, a leading author on the Nazi period, and former Polish president Lech Walesa, who said Grass should give up his honorary citizenship in his hometown of Gdansk, Poland. The city was called Danzig when Grass was born there in 1927.

A Forsa poll for Stern magazine showed 87 percent of those surveyed did not agree that Grass should give back his 1999 Nobel Prize for literature, as some critics have demanded. Eight percent said yes and 5 percent did not know in the survey of 1,005 people taken Monday. No margin of error was given.

Michael Sohlman, head of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, was quoted as saying by the Dagens Nyheter newspaper that the Nobel Prizes cannot be revoked.

"The decisions are absolute and it has never happened that a prize has been revoked," Sohlman said.

Officials at the Swedish Academy, which awards the literature prize, declined to comment on the issue.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060815/ap_en_ce/germany_guenter_grass

It's like he wants people to feel sorry for him that he saw the Nazis as an elite group when he was with them. Plus he wants to get his heroic war stories out there, AND absolve his guilt of holding a secret. End result, I'm just sickened by the idea that there are any Nazis left alive, and that now they feel enough time has passed to admit it, and perhaps sway public opinion towards something like "The Nazis were bad, but not the people who wore the uniforms". ??!

We have a best selling novelist, a pulitzer prize winning novelist trying to sell a book now on "My Nazi memoirs: I'm not that bad now, am I?" It's totally creepy. We can't get to a point in the world where we can say "Sure, being a Nazi was OK." We can't. I mean for the good of the world. I don't care if everyone in the Nazi party has to hide out until they die or whatever. It's not like this guy is admitting that the Nazis committed horrible atrocities that groups of people deny either. He, (like all of them who talk about it) never did a thing, he just admired the ideology and volunteered. We still have people, high profile celebrities even, that deny the holocaust happened. And now we have Nazi's outing themselves and saying "read about my Nazi adventures...coming to a bookstore near you". And it's not like genocide doesn't happen today. We can't ever get to a point where we say being a Nazi was "ok". It's just not. Hide out until you die. Be ashamed. It's not ok. Facism is not ok, genocide is not ok, racism is not ok, bigotry is not ok, being dazzled by a "white future" is not ok. You should be ashamed. Making money on your Nazi memoirs is shameful, especially when it's like "I never did anything bad personally. I just thought it was a party."

Posted on Aug 15, 2006, 9:47 AM
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Trade Round-Up: Here Come The 9/11 TV Shows

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� Now that we've been softened up to 9/11-based Hollywood projects by United 93 and World Trade Center, it's time to gird ourselves for the onslaught of TV specials tied to the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Especially promising (read: dread-inducing) is ABC's upcoming Path to 9/11 miniseries, which will run with "limited commercial" interruption, a choice network head Steve McPherson explains thusly: "Some things you do for commerce and some things because they are the right thing to do." Apparently, it's OK to make a little money from a tragedy, but not too much. [Variety]

� Pirates 2 pulls down another $44 million at the international box office, and jumps nine places on the all-time worldwide list with its $855 million cumulative gross. Yup, still a shitload of money. [THR]
News Corp prepares to roll out the next phase of its evil plan to coopt the internet as a distribution channel for its entertainment products, announcing plans to sell downloads of Fox TV shows and films via MySpace and Direct2Drive. [Variety]

Agent Dance Mini Edition: Veteran TV agent Steve Glick lasts just a year at ICM, as he ditches/is ditched by the agency following its purchase of BWCS and its shinier television department. [THR]

CBS Paramount TV signs up Laguna Beach producers Gary and Julie Auerbach to create more "unscripted" shows that forego even token attempts at representing reality. [Variety]
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/cbs/trade-roundup-here-come-the-911-tv-shows-194107.php

Posted on Aug 15, 2006, 9:46 AM
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Hollywood TrendWatch: Troubled Continent Cries Out For Enlightened Lindsay Lohan Photo-Op

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This Sunday's NY Times, finding a jumping-off point in Gwyneth Paltrow's instantly derided "I Am African" ad and Madonna's recent, ten-minutes-behind-the-trend push into Malawi, turns its attention to the rapidly cooling continent whose myriad problems are the current fascination of celebrities looking to combine a vague intention to, like, do something socially responsible n' junk with some excellent opportunities for favorable publicity. Says the Times:

"Celebrities," Mr. Musto said, "have added a glamorous patina to it." And to themselves, he said, especially if they need a little good press, like Lindsay Lohan, who has suffered through a year of rough tabloid treatment for her party-girl ways and has vowed to visit Kenya in support of the One Campaign. [...]

But, said Morgan Binswanger, a former liaison between performers and philanthropies for Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles: "There's self-interest and there's enlightened self-interest, and the fringe between the two is gray. I think those that step forward and really carry out enlightened self-interest move an agenda."
Alyssa Milano certainly hopes that is true. The actress, who toured civil-war-torn Angola in 2003 (and strayed into an active minefield, without incident), said Africa is one way celebrities can transform an unprecedented level of scrutiny into their lives into something productive.

Given the PR problems that have dogged Lohan ever since she became famous enough to bypass the celebrity-optional age requirements of Hollywood drinking establishments, she might be the perfect person to take this fascinating idea of "enlightened self-interest" to the next level. The good she might do simultaneously for her image as a spoiled party girl and for the plight of Africa when she emerges from an extended bathroom break on a UNICEF photo shoot, staggers into a Kenyan orphanage, then tries to teach a roomful of starving children the technique involved in a well-executed body shot.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/top/hollywood-trendwatch-troubled-continent-cries-out-for-enlightened-lindsay-lohan-photoop-194088.php

Posted on Aug 15, 2006, 9:45 AM
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Nobel prize-winning German Novelist Admits He Served In Nazi Elite Force

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Nobel prize winning German author Guenter Grass gesturing during a press conference at the Buddenbrookhaus in Luebeck, northern Germany, June 2001

BERLIN (AFP) - Nobel prize winning German author Guenter Grass has made the stunning confession that he was drafted into Nazi Germany's notorious Waffen SS elite force during World War II, prompting his biographer to lament the "end of a moral authority".

The 78-year-old Grass told Saturday's edition of the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he revealed this for the first time in his memoir "Peeling Onions" which is due to appear in September.

So far, it had only been known that the author, best known abroad for his 1959 novel "The Tin Drum", was conscripted into the German air defence forces.

But in his autobiography he also recounts that he tried to join the Third Reich's submarine forces when he was 15 years old but was rejected because he was too young.

He says that he was drafted into the elite Waffen SS the following year but denies suggestions that he joined willingly.

Grass, for many years a prominent leftist and pacifist, was wounded in 1945 and sent to an American prisoner of war camp.

"I wanted to make clear once again what happened then and above all things concerning me," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine. "My silence for all these years is one of the reasons why I wrote this book," he added. "It had to come out."

Other German authors were displeased with his confession, with Walter Kempowski, 77, saying that it came "a bit late". Grass biographer Michael Juergs was "personally disappointed" and lamented "the end of a moral authority".

Grass, who was born in the Baltic port of Danzig, now the Polish city of Gdansk, said he tried to join the submarine forces to flee his oppressive family but now saw the idea as "crazy".

At the time Grass said he was "not at all repulsed by the Waffen SS"; only later did he have "feelings of guilt and shame".

"I was stupid enough to believe that Germans would not do such things and took it all for propaganda," until the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders, he added.

Grass, who was 11 when the war started in September 1939, said he never fired a shot during his time with the feared elite force whose notoriety he only grasped once his unit had been defeated, when one of his superiors ordered him to get rid of his uniform.

Grass was held at a PoW camp at Bad Aibling in southern Bavaria, where US forces also detained Joseph Ratzinger who was to become Pope Benedict XVI.

He said in the interview he befriended a certain Joseph at the camp whom he described as "very Catholic", but did not say whether he in fact was Ratzinger.

"I wanted to become an artist and he wanted a Church career," he said, adding that Joseph was "a bit hung up but a nice guy".

Grass was a close friend of post-war West Germany's first social democratic chancellor Willy Brandt who had escaped Nazi persecution in Germany and had close links with German anti-Nazi forces in Norway and Sweden.

He campaigned for the Social Democrats in the 1960s and 1970s and joined the party in 1982, resigning in 1993 in protest over restrictions to Germany's asylum laws.

He was awarded the Nobel literature prize in 1999.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060812/en_afp/afpentertainmentgermanyhistorywwiiliteraturegrass;_ylt=An3M_EKZk7Vrqn1jnkEDtJBxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Posted on Aug 14, 2006, 10:07 AM
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Boy George Reports For NYC Trash Duty

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Boy George, who was born George O'Dowd, reports for garbage duty, Monday, Aug. 14, 2006, in New York

NEW YORK - With a city-issued broom in his hand, Boy George started his court-ordered community service early Monday, sweeping leaves and trash off the sidewalks of New York.

It took less than an hour for the former Culture Club frontman to get into a spat with the media.

"You think you're better than me?" he yelled. "Go home. Let me do my community service."

Boy George took to the streets of Manhattan as a Department of Sanitation worker wearing an orange vest, dark capri pants, shoes without socks, and without the wild makeup and androgynous style that made him so recognizable as the '80s icon who sang "Karma Chameleon" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"

"This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this," he said. "I just want to do my job."

The singer, born George O'Dowd, was ordered to spend five days working for the Department of Sanitation after pleading guilty in March to falsely reporting a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment. The officers who responded found cocaine instead.

At 7 a.m. Monday, a sport utility vehicle pulled up at a Lower East Side sanitation depot. The agency planned to issue the singer a shovel, broom, plastic bags and gloves for the job of picking up trash on the city's streets.

In June, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Anthony Ferrara issued a warrant for O'Dowd's arrest after he initially failed to complete the requirements of his plea deal. When O'Dowd appeared in court 10 days later, Ferrara called off the warrant but warned the singer he could not escape his community service commitment.

"It's up to you whether you make it an exercise in humiliation or in humility," Ferrara told O'Dowd.

O'Dowd, 45, initially envisioned a service project more in line with his status as an '80s icon.

He petitioned to spend the time helping teenagers make a public service announcement. Among his other proposals to the court: holding a fashion and makeup workshop, serving as a DJ at an HIV/AIDS benefit or doing telephone outreach.

Boy George's manager, Jeremy Pearce, told reporters shortly after the singer arrived for his first day on the job: "He doesn't show any kind of emotion about these things. He takes it in his stride."

"He doesn't need to be humiliated," Pearce said. "He's a humble person."

"Things outside in the street were a little chaotic," said Sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis. "We'll see if there's some cleaning that can be done inside."

The sweeping later resumed in a gated Sanitation parking lot.

"This is for everyone's safety," Deputy Sanitation Chief Albert Durrell said as photographers crowded outside the gate. He said the day's work also might include mopping inside the depot.

Boy George appeared to be in good spirits during a late-morning break, waving to reporters on the other side of a chain-link fence and yelling, "How are you?" before returning to work.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060814/ap_en_ot/boy_george;_ylt=As.BKrrs2EdV86HsIg_cpxFxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

Posted on Aug 14, 2006, 10:06 AM
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Casual Gaming Taking Place Of Traditional Entertainment

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Gaming competitors during the World Cyber Games in Singapore, November 17, 2005

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A substantial minority of American adults would rather spend their free time playing casual games -- such online diversions as "Bejeweled" and "TextTwist" -- than watch television.

A study by Harris Interactive set for release Monday found that 31 percent of the over-18 set preferred the games to TV for whiling away a spare hour. Watching movies at home fared better, with 21 percent choosing games instead, but going to the movie theater did slightly worse with 35 percent.

RealNetworks commissioned the study to understand its customers better, company senior vice president worldwide games Michael Schutzler said. He added that they were very surprised by some of the findings, particularly when the report broke out the numbers for women older than 40.

Nearly half (49 percent) would play casual games rather than go to the movie theater, 32 percent opted for them over movies at home, and 37 percent chose them over watching TV.

Schutzler said RealNets began offering games six years ago. "It really wasn't going well," he added. "Then just for the heck of it we tried 'Bejeweled.' It immediately sold hundreds of times anything else we ever offered."

Working with women's lifestyle expert Jennifer Louden, RealNets used the Harris findings and other research to improve sales of advertising and downloaded games.

"Effective advertising in casual games requires an added level of sensitivity," Schutzler said. "It's clearly an effective way to reach this important audience, women over 40, but it can't disrupt the experience."

The same group doesn't like games that incorporate brands into the action, often called advergames, but the set reacts positively to sponsorship and to interstitials between levels, he said.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060814/media_nm/media_games_dc;_ylt=ArORgLtzIRZFeOTgaKfnmmJxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

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Will Terror Take Toll On 'Trade'?

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A security officer from the Transportation Security Administration warns departing passengers that "liquids and gels" are no longer permitted on airline flights at Washington Dulles International Airport

Recent events could affect Par pic's Box Office

As if opening a movie about 9/11 just a month before its fifth anniversary isn't tricky enough, Paramount, which bowed "World Trade Center" on Wednesday, now faces the dicey dilemma of a real terrorist situation.

Of course, no one knows whether public concern about the foiled plot to blow up airplanes flying between the U.K. and U.S. will affect auds' willingness to see the Oliver Stone-helmed film, which Par has been marketing with an extremely sensitive touch.

In an unprecedented move for a serious drama, Par opened "WTC" on Wednesday and did $4.4 million. While that's low for a Wednesday bow, there really aren't any comparable films, since virtually all other Wednesday openers have been tentpoles or came before a holiday frame.

But based on solid tracking and the Wednesday perf, most expect the pic, which is playing 2,957 theaters, to cume high 20s or low 30s by Sunday. It will likely come in No. 2 for the weekend behind the second frame of "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby."

"This movie's performance is about the long haul and how many people will tell their friends they have to go see it," Rob Moore, Par prexy of distribution, marketing and operations, said of the decision to open the pic on a Wednesday. "That's why we wanted to get people talking about it early, even if it means we took some money out of the weekend."

He noted that, per tracking, 80% of opening-night auds said they would "definitely recommend" the pic, which Paramount is hoping will translate into a long run at the B.O.

Surprisingly, 60% were female and 40% were under 25. Moore noted that teenage girls turned out particularly well, nearly matching the number of men over 25.

By contrast, Universal's 9/11 pic "United 93" drew an overwhelmingly adult aud that was almost evenly split between genders. "World Trade Center" is generating about twice as much interest in pre-release tracking as "United 93," which bowed to $11.5 million.

Among other openers, Disney's dance drama "Step Up" is tracking best, almost entirely on the strength of teen girls. Pic opens at 2,467 playdates and should gross low or mid-teens.

Sony and Revolution's family superhero comedy "Zoom," which bows at 2,501, is tracking poorly and looks unlikely to even break into the teens.

The Weinstein Co. is hoping that horror pic "Pulse," which is going out under the Dimension label, will break out beyond the core young male aud showing up in tracking. Pic opens at 2,323 and will likely do high single digits or low teens.

"Talladega Nights" barely beat "World Trade Center" on Wednesday, grossing $4.5 million, and should drop about 50% this weekend, putting it around $24 million. That makes the comedy the presumptive No. 1 unless "World Trade Center" does particularly well.

Overseas, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" will likely come in first for the sixth consecutive week as it expands to Spain.

Rival distribs continue to opt for targeted openings against "Pirates" rather than wide launches.

In limited release in the U.S., Fox Searchlight expands its strong-performing Sundance pickup "Little Miss Sunshine" from 59 theaters to 153.

Sony Pictures Classics opens Brazilian import "The House of Sand" at five in Gotham and L.A.

ThinkFilm starts the rollout of "Half Nelson," its well-received Sundance pickup about a drug-addicted junior high school teacher, at two plays in New York.
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source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117948303?categoryid=13&cs=1

Posted on Aug 11, 2006, 10:44 AM
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Trade Round-Up: Studios Chew Up Employees, Shit Out Money

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Disney employees who recently lost their jobs in the recent Cast Member Massacre will be overjoyed to learn that the company made "massive gains in its fiscal third quarter," and that's even before their saved salaries and the Pirates 2 box office dollars hit the books. OK, here's a cheerier thought: The noble sacrifice of their paychecks will probably help Bob Iger boost his annual bonus. Yay! [Variety]

Great News For The Recently Shitcanned Day continues, as Paramount gets "back in the black" from the DreamWorks acquisition, corporate parent Viacom reports a large gain in profits, and super-positive CEO Tom Freston declares that the 'Mount is "re-emerging as a top-tier studio." Thanks, everybody they fired to make this possible! [Variety]

There's really nothing else to talk about in Hollywood but money, so we note that Sony beat Disney to $1 billion at the domestic box office. Remember last year when everyone thought Sony's Amy Pascal was getting fired for her bombtastic summer of Stealth and XXX? Good times. [THR]

Universal and Fox entrust 26-year-old Neill Blomkamp, who previously has only directed commercials, with directing their precious Halo project. The studios' first choice for the blockbuster hopeful, the guy who came up with the edgy, buzzed-about "Apply directly to the forehead" spots, was unavailable. [Variety]

John C. Reilly is officially inducted into comedy's New Gay Mafia by landing a second starring project in a week following Talladega Nights, this time hooking up with Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan for Walk Hard, a spoof of musical biopics like Ray and Walk the Line. [Variety]
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/disney/trade-roundup-studios-chew-up-employees-shit-out-money-193453.php

Posted on Aug 11, 2006, 10:43 AM
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Hollywood ProtestWatch: Top Model Striker Ejected From Nordstrom

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America's Next Top Model's striking writers are still picketing outside the show's offices, but one protesting scribe found that the acrimony persists even in the neutral zone represented by The Grove, our fair city's leading, artificially sweetened retail fantasyland. One might hope that host Tyra Banks and the people who toil to give her something to say between eruptions of "that's fierce" could coexist peacefully outside the boundaries of the conflict, but according to this report on the strikers' MySpace blog, all the world's a battlefield:

This is the craziest coincidence ever! I was at the Grove mall [yesterday]. I was done picketing for the day, and there was going to be a concert there sponsored by the CW that I wanted to check out. I ended up getting there way early, and went window shopping in Nordstrom.

After a few minutes of perusing the shoe department, I notice a group of people gathered around none other than Tyra Banks! And here I am in my handwritten "America's Next Top Model writer on strike" T-shirt! I was trying to move around to the front of where Tyra and her fans were, hoping she would see me. Within seconds, however, a guy dressed all in black with a headset on kicked me out of the store! I was just standing there! So, I left and as I did I heard him say into his mouthpiece "don't let that girl back in." Unbelievable!

I always had a positive opinion of Tyra, but that is being tested lately. First, remaining silent about whether she supports her writers or not. Now this. I just dont know.

While we're sure that Banks and her people weren't going to take a chance that a disgruntled writer might suddenly attempt to bludgeon the host with a reduced-price pump and inflict hundreds of dollars in hair-extension damage, they could've at least been a little more subtle in their methods. Having a salesgirl hover nearby the striker, click her tongue at the writer's homemade top, then rudely suggest that someone who might be about to lose her job probably can't afford anything in Nordstrom's might have been enough to get her to leave the store before excessive strong-arm tactics became necessary.

Bonus To Do link: The ANTM strikers are staging a fan appreciation event at the picket site tomorrow, complete with sympathetic models from the show and a "special celebrity guest appearance" by a hissing cockroach. We'll leave it up to you to supply the Janice Dickinson joke.
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source: http://defamer.com/hollywood/the-cw/hollywood-protestwatch-top-model-striker-ejected-from-nordstrom-193497.php

Posted on Aug 11, 2006, 10:42 AM
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