Her comically bad Saturday Night Live performance aside, pop strumpet Ke$ha -- gotta love that dollar sign -- seems to have a knack for creating ridiculously infectious radio hits that television and movie marketers can't stop exploiting. For instance, the ubiquitous "Tik Tok" has appeared in numerous trailers, was the unofficial theme for upfront week and even replaced the famous Danny Elfman opening on an episode of The Simpsons. The fact that Ke$ha's latest single, "Your Love is My Drug," is even more catchy than "Tik Tok" simply cannot be lost on Hollywood. But which upcoming movie will exploit "Drug's" constant radio presence during the summer of 2010 to liven up its trailer? Movieline investigates.
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When the news that you're releasing a film actually surprises people, and the primary buzz the week of its release is how stunningly short it is, you know you've got a bit of a problem. But that's the bed Warner Bros. made for itself with Jonah Hex -- and that's where critics found it today, lifeless, with a "DO NOT RESUSCITATE" note taped to the pillow. Read on for a selection of noteworthy postmortems.
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If one was so inclined to compare Barack Obama's Tuesday night Oval Office speech on the BP oil spill to a current summer movie, Sex and the City 2 would probably suffice. Goodness what a disaster. As MSNBC host Keith Olbermann said -- presumably with the glee of Rex Reed trashing SATC 2 -- "I thought it was a great speech if you've been on another planet for 57 days." OK, then! With this oil-and-watershed moment for President Obama now sinking in the rear view mirror, Movieline wonders which fictional president's could have done a better job last night. Answers ahead!
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There's still nearly a year to go before Paramount and Marvel drop Thor in theaters, but considering how this is officially Awkward Video Week at Movieline, it's worth having a look at Entertainment Tonight's recent, appropriately cringe-y visit to the film's New Mexico set. Virtually all the principals (director Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins) are on view here, but it's what they have to say in those tense, turbulent moments that yields the finest rewards. They're even more fun stripped of context, though the video follows as well. Happy squirming!
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The American electoral climate this week may be wired with all kinds of new, polarizing developments, and the Gulf of Mexico may yet fill with 40 million gallons of BP's oil. The job market may be rebounding, but the economy remains sluggish overall. The Chicago Blackhawks last night won their first Stanley Cup in nearly 50 years. In other words, folks, there are things to talk about -- but here at Movieline, where the entertainment industry provides the principal for all our pop-cultural news brokerage, a drought of anything remotely interesting has crippled our operation for nearly a week now. The A-Team or The Karate Kid this weekend? Come on, Hollywood! With this in mind, here are some recommended suggestions and/or arcs for stories that would make this beat infinitely more interesting, like, now. Suggest your own below.
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These days, it seems that every actor in Hollywood has made the shortlist for a new superhero movie -- and that could be a liability for the onslaught of comic book movies to come, since casting directors are always on the hunt for the hot new up-and-comer, not the guy who got cut before his final Captain America screen test. With that in mind, then, Movieline has assembled a list of eight men who are superhero-ready, yet haven't been named as a close contender for any past roles. (Though if casting directors are willing to think outside the box, we've got more than a few non-white suggestions, too.)
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The last time I gave musical biopics some real thought was after watching Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, where the parody exposed that genre of filmmaking for the pretty obvious formula it is but the sentiment still stung. After all, aren't movie tributes to musical legends supposed to be as thrilling and revealing as the entertainers themselves? The news that Mary J. Blige will play jazz vocalist and civil rights hero Nina Simone in a new biopic is welcome, since Simone's life story isn't known to the average filmgoer in 2010, but I think the genre could still use a tune-up. Here are five musicians or bands who would pose an exciting alternative to the rote drugs-and-redemption arc of most biopics.
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In this crowded movie season with global premieres almost every day, how can a star make sure his own arrival stands out? By arriving in a wacky vehicle, of course! Bradley Cooper's tank entrance to the A-Team premiere last night is only the latest example of the lengths that an actor must go to in order to make a splash, though the results are often more dorky than over-the-top macho. Here are five of the best examples.
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Everybody's talking about this week's meeting between James Cameron and a frazzled coterie of scientists and government officials, the latest in a series of discussions to do something, anything to end BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill that's ravaged the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month. While some cultural observers take Cameron's significant underwater-exploration experience more seriously than others, I think the filmmaker has a much more valuable asset worth considering: The toughest, craziest and most all-around resilient character base of any mainstream director working today. Any mind capable of developing such bad-asses is surely one worth turning loose in the gulf. But who among that wide canon might be the best man (or woman) for the treacherous job? Movieline has some suggestions.
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The recent superhero boom has been a godsend for every young white guy in Hollywood, but what about the non-white actors who can't even get an audition for the title roles in Thor or Captain America? The buzz surrounding Donald Glover's attempt to try out for Spider-Man is indicative of a wider problem: big action tentpoles are what traditionally launched black movie stars like Will Smith, but when those tentpoles are replaced by comic book adaptations, there are far fewer starring roles out there for anyone who isn't a handsome white guy in his twenties.
Can Hollywood think bigger? We've taken 6 iconic roles (both superhero and action hero) that have traditionally cast from a pool of white actors, and expanded that pool quite a bit. Here are our suggestions for casting directors who want to think outside the box:
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It almost defies parody: Michael Bay has decided to rejuvenate the Transformers franchise by replacing Megan Fox with Victoria's Secret supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Little is known of the newcomer aside from the facts that she's Jason Statham's girlfriend, she looks fantastic in garters, and she has "no acting experience." But is the latter really true, or even all that important? Movieline's been able to dig up several videos of the up-and-coming ingenue that prove she's got exactly what Michael Bay is looking for.
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Bob Dylan turns 69 years old today, providing us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on his massive legacy and cast a necessary light upon his contributions to film history. Fans of Dylan's older and newer work can finally plenty to mine in his cinematic trove, from original soundtracks to Academy Award-winning songs to even a memorable acting role. Join us as we single out six of the songwriting titan's best-loved film ventures, and please pardon the cameo by Katie Holmes.
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This week, MTV finally released a marvelous box set of Daria, the alternative-rocking cynic's favorite TV series about high-school survival. As I reacquainted myself with the show's great characters (including arty best friend Jane and fashion-clubbing brat Sandi), I wondered: What makes a cartoon chick cool? After evaluating TV history and plucking from all areas of the animated spectrum, Movieline has chosen the ten coolest cartoon females in history. All listed ladies are sublime, but the #1 retains an untouchable patina of sophistication, camp, and cool.
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Among the hundreds of titles available to distributors at this year's Cannes Film Festival marketplace, only one wields the cachet of being a verite glimpse at an American actor's performance-art public meltdown. But despite everything promised by the Casey Affleck-directed mock-doc I'm Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix, prospective buyers remain hesitant to gamble on the project. That doesn't mean it won't sell, though. After the jump, let's have a look at five adventurous-enough distributors who might be in the running for Phoenix's pholly.
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Should we be a little scared of the internet now? Online fans of Betty White somehow realized a long-held dream of seeing her host a now-mediocre variety program, installing the actress on Saturday Night Live tomorrow night through sheer force of Facebook clicks. High-profile though the victory may be, it isn't the first time that internet petitions and online movements have helped to change the face of popular entertainment. Here are 6 other victories that were mostly organized with the click of a mouse:
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