Not that you were expecting anything less, but: Sam Raimi is now 100 percent confirmed as the director for the new The Wizard of Oz movie titled, Oz: The Great and Powerful with Robert Downey Jr. still the odds-on favorite to portray the title character of Oz. It will be hard to vie for the love of those who hold the original 1939 film in high regard, though Raimi should have little problem besting the reaction to 1985's Return to Oz or 1969's The Wonderful Land of Oz -- a film directed by Barry Mahon whose last film before Oz was titled Fanny Hill meets Dr. Erotico. [Deadline]
So you might have heard Bruce Willis was recently asked about the prospects of a fifth Die Hard film. And as it happens, by next year there will, in fact, be a fifth franchise installment. (My guess for a title: Early to Bed and Early to Rise, Makes a Man Healthy, Wealthy and Die Hard). A script has even already been written! But a fifth Die Hard? Seriously, how unlucky can one guy be? (Myself included.) The prospects for a fifth entry in a film series do not exactly have the best track record -- but there are some exceptions. To put this all in perspective, Movieline has developed the indispensable Fifth-Movie Installment Spectrum™ to shed some light on what Die Hard 5: Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Die Hard is up against.
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· If the 4-minute sizzle reel for The Walking Dead was too long to hold your concentration, this 30-second commercial should get you properly amped up for AMC's zombie-pocalypse. Click ahead to watch and strap in for more Buzz Break.
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James Burns really hates Weezer. "This is an abusive relationship, and it needs to stop now," Burns wrote on the petition website thepoint.com. "I am tired of my friends being disappointed year after year. I'm sick of hearing about whatever this terrible (and yes, even if you like the early stuff, you should be able to admit that they are wretched now) excuse for a band is up to these days." To remedy this issue, Burns is hoping to raise $10 million to give Weezer in an effort to get the band to "disappear." Good luck with that. Burns' crackpot idea isn't without merit, however! Ahead, find six projects Movieline would gladly pay $10 million to never have to hear from again.
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If you were wondering whether the actor playing "Young Kurt" in last night's Glee flashback was related to his Emmy-nominated doppelgänger, the answer is no. Meet Adam Kolkin, 13, an Orange County high school freshman and commercial actor who auditioned for the part of 8-year-old Kurt Hummel this summer. Coincidentally, Kolkin belongs to his high school's show choir group, Xtreme. [OC Register]
The good folks at Samuel Goldwyn Films have sent over the first poster for Welcome to the Rileys, director Jake Scott's feature debut sophomore effort starring James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo and, in a racy, much-buzzed-about role, Kristen Stewart. Forget Bella -- meet Mallory.
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Potentially. A trio of Transformers 3 books have hit Amazon.com under the title of Transformers: The Dark of the Moon. The children's books -- part of the "I Can Read" series -- are subtitled "Secrets of the Autobots," "Autobots Betrayed!" and "Invasion of the Decepticons," meaning you can probably deduce the plot of Transformers 3 from there. Meanwhile, that sound you heard was Roger Waters' attorneys typing up a cease and desist letter. [Coming Soon]
Oscars and baseball: They go together like car batteries and polenta. Which is to say they don't go together. However, with the Major League Baseball postseason scheduled to start later this afternoon (go Giants/anyone playing the Yankees!), what better time than now to break the playoffs down, Movieline-style? Ahead your favorite MLB playoff team gets a corresponding Best Picture candidate. You're welcome.
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Stop me if you've heard this one before: James Franco is playing with his image. The latest bit of performance art from the modern day renaissance man (actor, student, poet, masturbator) arrives in the form of a cover shoot for Candy ("the first transversal style magazine"). There, famed photographer Terry Richardson captures Franco in drag, wearing a garish combination eye makeup and costume jewelry that would feel right at home in the next Pedro Almodovar film. Exciting? Click ahead to see the full image.
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Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Tom Hanks contemplates visiting Kathryn Bigelow's frontier... Rome has had it with Robert De Niro... Moe Tucker is lost to the Tea Party... and more...
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Explosion-extraordinaire Michael Bay is off the hook for the pistol-whip accusations, but the extra who was seriously injured during a stunt gone awry on the set of Transformers 3 is now suing, rightfully thinking she probably deserves more than the $25 she was paid for her work. Meanwhile, John Malkovich thinks the notoriously difficult director is a blast! Get the full story after the jump.
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In case it wasn't totally clear from his early, failed-involvement in Batman, his recent failed-bid for Superman, and his rumored involvement in Preacher, Darren Aronofsky has now confirmed that he is interested in directing any comic book movie. Latest news is that he's the top candidate for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2. That's right, the sequel to the spin-off of a series that already has a prequel filming. What does he have up his sleeve? Some revolutionary visual gimick that he's been saving for a comic book movie since he was 17? Whatever it is, it'd better be a real mind-blow. [Deadline]
· You'd think a Gabrielle Union underwear shoot would produce a cornucopia of delights, but instead, as Funny or Die points out, it's mostly a time for scary revelations. Unless you've just suffered a terrific FlashForward, you can't guess what happens in this bizarre sketch. [Funny Or Die]
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Emma Stone will be dabbling in Spider-Man's world like we reported over the weekend, but there's a slight change of plans: She's not playing Mary Jane Watson -- she's playing Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's first love. Oh, come on. Has there been a Mary-Janier woman in history than Emma Stone? I think not. This decision is an easy C-. [Deadline]
When it comes to sad, set-related missed connections, Movieline has the hook-up. Mainly, because we have an intern tirelessly scrolling Craiglist for the following keywords: Jay Leno, Tyler Perry and "sad we didnt exchange information" (lack of punctuation intended). Today, our prized Missed Connection P.I. picked up a note from the Dexter set that is so touching, you just might want to become an extra yourself. Where else can you have such once-in-a-lifetime romantic encounters?
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