The news that Katie Holmes -- and, apparently, Al Pacino!? -- has been cast in Adam Sandler's Jack & Jill came as a bit of a shock this morning... if only because it means Jack & Jill still exists. This is the movie that was announced last year with Sandler tapped to play "twin siblings at odds during Thanksgiving." Seriously? Seriously. If that sounds like the pitch to one of the fake Sandler films from Judd Apatow's Funny People, that's probably because it might be. Ahead, Movieline pits Jack & Jill against the oeuvre of George Simmons.
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When the news broke last week that next summer would mark the end of Entourage, not many tears were shed. As one Movieline commenter put it: "[It] looks like the free ride is over for these losers." But a funny thing about that: While everyone has been busy writing Entourage off as crap, the show as risen like a phoenix from the ashes and become... well, pretty good! Shocking, right? Ahead, four reasons why you should think about re-adding the show to your DVR list.
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If you've turned on the television at all this week -- or, gasp, read a newspaper! -- the chances are good you've familiarized yourself with Steven Slater. Or, as you might know him: The JetBlue Guy. His crazypants story -- cursing out an unruly passenger and then exiting the plane via the inflatable emergency exit slide -- has become a rallying cry for an unhappy culture of worker bees. Naturally, a movie has to come next, right? Ahead, Movieline picks five directors who would best bring Slater's story to life.
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You think that your paycheck is unfair? Imagine being an Emmy-winning actress who's being out-earned by a 16-year-old. Or even worse, put yourself in the shoes of an accomplished Broadway and television star who pulls in just as much as a spray-tanned Jersey Shore personality who's best known for eating pickles drunk. TV Guide has put out a new list of TV's highest (and lowest) paid stars, and with that in mind, here are some of the worst paycheck injustices littering the airwaves.
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It's not out until Friday, but with the way The Expendables has been tracking at the box office, the idea of a sequel doesn't seem all that ridiculous. "We all want to do it, we are already working on it and I'm ready to go. [...] I have done over 350 movies in my life and this is definitely the biggest," said producer Ari Lerner without a shred of hyperbole. Assuming The Expendables lives up to its name, though, and treats its cast like a pack of Kleenex, which tough guys should appear in the sequel? Movieline plays casting director ahead.
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The initial reaction to the news that Corning will expand production of their mostly unbreakable Gorilla Glass (used on iPhone's and other touchscreen devices) to include television screens might sound something like, "What for?" But this seemingly unnecessary expense could potentially open up a whole new world to you: Now you can stab away at your least favorite shows without fear of breaking the set. Everyone wins! Ahead, Movieline ranks the 30 television shows most likely to benefit from this technological breakthrough.
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No matter how many reboots, remakes, sequels, fad cash-ins and the like are cranked out of the Hollywood sausage factory every year, there is somehow always room to be genuinely shocked by the film industry's cynicism. To wit: Did anyone actually see a 3D feature starring tween-pop heartthrob Justin Bieber -- and likely directed by Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim, no less -- coming? And in any case, where does this craven catch-all of faddy phenomena rank among some of the all-time greats of Hollywood cynicism?
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With the news that Len Wiseman is in final negotiations to direct a remake of Total Recall, it's time to move from hand-wringing to acceptance. Despite your fond memories of the original (the duplicitous nature of Sharon Stone, the Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liners, the crazypants ultra-violence procured by Paul Verhoeven), this is happening. Still, what can Wiseman do to keep fans happy? Here are the three key moments that the Total Recall remake must include from the original.
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Not to pull back the curtain on the inner-workings of Movieline HQ, but there are enough scheduled (and let's be honest, probably awesome) liveblogs from Comic-Con headed your way over the next few days to fill up a convention center. But while everyone heads to San Diego to bask in the warm glow of geek culture, what are the poor souls trapped thousands of miles away supposed to do, besides follow along with rapt attention? Read on for some picks to help round out your weekend.
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With casting news becoming more and more like Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- "My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl..." -- it's smart to take things like writer Max Brooks saying that Brad Pitt is definitely starring in an adaptation of World War Z with a grain of salt. What are the chances the notoriously picky and flaky megastar makes Z over one of the many other projects on his schedule? As performed previously with Pitt's behind-the-camera, serial-committing counterpart Ridley Scott, Movieline investigates after the jump.
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Some movies are going into this year's Comic-Con as returning heroes (like Tron Legacy, which has been shown off to great effect for two years running) or sure things (like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which could have been conceived in a Comic-Con test tube), but there are several big films that have a lot to prove at the Con -- and a lot to lose. Here are six properties that could go either way:
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If you saw Inception this weekend -- and judging from the receipts, you probably did -- then you might have awoken this morning wondering what you actually saw. As in: Was that really Michael Caine, or did you blink and miss him? Click ahead as Movieline helps you answer that questions and more -- but be warned: Spoilers abound.
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With Amy Adams the latest actress rumored to be up for a Janis Joplin biopic -- in one directed by City of God helmer Fernando Meirelles, no less -- it seems like as good a time as any to take stock in the historically difficult and diverse "casting" process to see which actress would play the late vocalist. Ahead, Movieline offers a timeline of the events -- and an index of the possibilities.
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It was only a matter of time before some enterprising* individuals got some Christian Bale in their Mel Gibson -- one big supercollider of alpha-male angst, venom and decibels headed for the ultimate explosion. YouTube Nation has wrought at least six to date, with surely more to come; Movieline, meanwhile, has gathered and judged them like the trailblazing (if predictable) pop artifacts they are. Your mileage may vary; tell me if so. Need I say they're all NSFW?
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The L.A. Times goes overboard with its Inception coverage today, putting the Warner Bros. release on the front page of the business section with a story about how its box-office success is anything but a slam dunk. (Hmm, where have I read that before?) Cited amongst the reasons is the iffy starpower of Leonardo DiCaprio when compared with other A-listers like Will Smith and Brad Pitt. And, as it turns out, both of those actors were considered to lead Inception before DiCaprio signed on. If only! Why not apply this interesting production footnote to the other would-be blockbusters released already this summer? It's time to recast the failures!
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