· I can say unequivocally that C-SPAN has never been more thrilling. Watch as young conservative author Todd Seavey rips into co-essayist Helen Rittelmeyer in a live C-SPAN conference. Nerdy and dirty, like all of life's greatest things. [TPM LiveWire]
Reports surfaced this week that James Franco was among the names linked to eventually star in Ridley Scott's as-yet-untitled Alien prequel. (If it happens, which as we all know, is a big "if".) Speaking to Movieline today at the junket for 127 Hours, the actor went a little further than most stars go when addressing their latest casting rumors, acknowledging his affections for -- if mild reservations about -- the franchise and its director.
"The question is, indeed, only how soon it will be until a farting butt wins the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and if you've seen the trailer for the new Gus Van Sant movie, Restless, you may think that the answer is conceivably PROBABLY REAL SOON." OK, actually, that's not the really important part of this piece -- headlined "Jackass 3D is the Most Important Documentary of Our Era" -- I want you to read.
They're fighting off an NC-17 for Blue Valentine, but the Weinsteins (via their Dimension label), along with testy producer Mark Canton, have reportedly set aside an August 2011 release date for its planned Piranha 3D sequel -- entitled Piranha 3 DD. Get it? Of course you do. John Gulager is set to direct, while Saw 3D screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan will handle script duties. Which is basically just: "EXT. Lake -- Day. Coed strips naked. Fish devours coed. Penis spat. The end." Can't. Wait. [Deadline]
After the hoax-y, anticlimactic thud of I'm Still Here in theaters this fall, most observers who wondered what exactly happened to Joaquin Phoenix in his "lost year" shrugged it off to a PR stunt/acting exercise (with Casey Affleck's camera trailing). And while that's partly true by Affleck's own admission, it's an act Phoenix might have been planning a long, long time.
Is Sarah Palin's Alaska exactly the kind of TLC docu-series we all imagined when the trailer arrived last week? Youuu betcha. In this new clip from the must-DVR series, Mama Grizzly and her family stumble upon a family of actual bears and try not to fight them. (For real.) Watch the clip and count Sarah's nine finest colloquialisms along with us.
You can either keep tinkering around with that time machine in your garage, or you can just flashback the easy way with a field trip to Movieline's Vault. This week we're unveiling our archives from 1998, which has yielded one of the most resounding bounties of vintage interviews and revelations to date -- starting with Nicole Kidman's very early insights into Eyes Wide Shut. And don't overlook bra shopping with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kate Winslet simmering down about James Cameron, Christopher Walken's favorite roles, and David Duchonvy finally setting the record straight about the Jews.
· Intrepid Mad Men fan Kratkocasnik -- you've never heard of Kratkocasnik? -- did the previously assumed unthinkable: Create a floor plan for the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Click through to see the epic level of detail and stick around for more Buzz Break. Just one question: Where's the second floor?
Word just out of New Orleans reports that Jean-Claude Van Damme suffered a minor heart attack recently on the set of his new film Weapon. The Belgian action icon, who celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday, had just moved to the South for three days of shooting when production stalled due to "complications." Today's report indicates Van Damme was immediately admitted to an area hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery. [Twitchfilm]
Hopefully this doesn't start another sad round of Hollywood passings. Happy Days star Tom Bosley died in his California home yesterday from natural causes after a brief battle with lung cancer. The actor -- who also appeared in Murder, She Wrote and won a Tony Award for the 1959 musical Fiorello! -- had just celebrated his 83rd birthday on Oct. 1. [TMZ]
Can we all agree that we don't want to do the Time Warp again, at least with a remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Look, there's no doubt about it: The first version is absolutely terrible -- if you've ever tried to actually watch this movie alone on your couch, it's impossible. But that's exactly what makes it a cult classic to the legions of fans who gather in droves to watch at midnight movies and screening parties. How do you reproduce that? And what's the point? I'm all for a good musical remake, but there are plenty of other candidates that seem more appropriate than Rocky Horror. For example...
Are trolls the new vampires? That's what Magnet Releasing is hoping for. They've grabbed the rights for Troll Hunter and will unleash it on the world starting in 2011. If you don't remember the Blair Witch-y premise of the Norwegian film (about, shockingly, trolls), check out the trailer again to refresh your memory. [Variety]
14-year-old boys of all ages, prepare to have your dreams torn asunder. Remember that teasing bit of faux-nudity (read: side boob) from Jessica Alba in Machete? Well, it turns out it was about as real as Neytiri in Avatar, and accomplished in a similar way.
"I'm glad the Jackass guys don't churn out a new movie each year," wrote Stephanie Zacharek on Friday, "because by the time I reach the end of each one, I do feel I've had enough for a while." Sorry, Stephanie! Johnny Knoxville has news for you.
Also in this morning's edition of The Broadsheet: Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby is getting closer to reality... Pixar might have replaced its first female director... Anne Hathaway joins the rumored list of Alien stars... and more ahead.
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