"Television is the new movies," or at least that's what super-producer Irwin Winkler is banking on. As you found out earlier today, the Oscar-winner has signed a deal with Sony Pictures TV that will allow him to translate his films into series, starting with The Net. Which of his other films are right for the small screen, though? Ahead Movieline loads up his IMDb page and comes up with six fool-proof series pitches. Networks, pay attention.
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Bad news for fans of laughing and all-around weirdness. According to ArtsBeat, Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte -- the man responsible for Tim Calhoun, this guy and, of course, Fart Face -- will not return to the show when its 36th season starts this fall. UPDATE: Forte's reps confirmed the split to Vulture: "After eight great seasons, Will has made the decision to move on from SNL to pursue new opportunities. He is eternally grateful to Lorne Michaels and all of the incredible people he worked with over the years." So, MacGruber 2? [NYT/ArtsBeat]
So if you bet "yes" in yesterday's poll of whether or not Jean-Luc Godard would personally accept his honorary Oscar at this fall's Governors Awards, things aren't looking good for you. A report late Wednesday notes that the Academy has yet to even find Godard to notify him -- let alone invite the 79-year-old French New Wave legend to collect his winnings in person in Los Angeles. Godard's absence persists as of this writing, a development that requires significant measures. Click through to join the hunt with Movieline's official "missing" poster.
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Remember how funny Matt Damon was during the season finale of 30 Rock as a grumpypants pilot? Well, according to frequent guest star -- and View co-host -- Sherri Shepherd, he's back for a little more Liz Lemon loving this season. "OMG!! I'm on set @ 30 Rock next to Tina Fey & MATT DAMON is sitting behind me," she tweeted this morning. "I went over & said hi -- think I just got pregnant! Jamal Damon." Sherri loves making pregnancy jokes, huh? Anyway, this is awesome. [@SherriEShepherd via NYP/PopWrap]
Hope you're sitting down for this one. As part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between NFL owners and players, the league is considering expanding its 16-game season to 18 games by 2012-13. The thinking being that too much potential revenue is left on the table by having four preseason games each year, when two could suffice. If that were to happen, however, the Super Bowl wouldn't occur until the end of February... and what's at the end of February?
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Also in today's edition of Hollywood Ink: Bitter guild battles resume... Channing Tatum has a reunion... more comics dug out of the attic... and more!
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· Master of horror John Carpenter hasn't released a film in nine years, but in these stills from his new The Ward, we see Amber Heard take the reins as his new tortured heroine. Heard plays a mental patient in the '60s who suffers from supernatural disturbances. Whatever you do, don't run up the stairs (of your mind), Amber. [Cinema Blend]
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Hey Joss Whedon, how's that Avengers film coming along? "Right now I'm working on a movie that's got enormous stipulations and is going to be changing and fluid every second," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I've come up with dozens of scenes and lines and exchanges and monologues that I adore." One problem, though: You'll never see them, because Whedon still hasn't moved beyond brainstorming. "But while I'm writing them they feed me, excite me and they ultimately inform the character," he said. "It all goes in." [Sydney Morning Herald via Slashfilm]
Late Show host and quintuple bypass survivor David Letterman will join the ladies of The View on September 7 to help welcome Barbara Walters back from heart surgery herself. "Welcome Back Barbara Week" (mark it on your calendars!) will also feature musical numbers, personal video messages from celebrities, medical segments about heart surgery and a school of prehistoric piranhas that feast on the flesh of daytime personalities who sit on yellow couches. Well, most of that is true. [ABC]
And you thought Javier Bardem would have to rely on his postage-required performance in Eat, Pray, Love to get into the Oscar race in 2011. Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment have acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Biutiful, the latest film from Alejandro González Iñárritu, and will release it in December. When the film premiered at Cannes, Movieline called Bardem's performance one of the "finest of his career." Perhaps he should start picking out a tuxedo sooner rather than later.
Are you ready for the sequel to this year's barifest sensation, The Human Centipede? Director Tom Six tells the BBC that not only will the new centipede tie together twelve people, but the film will shoot this month with a mostly British cast: "When I talk about the main players in World War II, a lot of people ask 'where is England?'...I had so many ideas when I wrote part one but I couldn't put them all in because I wanted the audience to get used to the sick idea. Now I can put all my crazy ideas in part two." Can one still retain a stiff upper lip when that lip is sewn to someone's anus? We'll soon find out! [BBC via Movie City News]
Sorry, George Lopez. NBC's Today show announced today that it has scheduled Sandra Bullock for her first television interview since divorcing her philandering ex, Jesse James. Matt Lauer will travel to New Orleans Tuesday for the surely uncomfortable sit-down. [Us]
· Want a redo of the Never Let Me Go poster, this time with some movie star faces? How about three character posters, each one featuring Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, or Keira Knightley? Click through for a closer look and more Buzz Break.
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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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Will Scream 4 add Dustin Hoffman next? Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell have just been cast in the troubled Wes Craven film, joining an already overcrowded call sheet that features -- deep breath -- Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Marley Shelton, Alison Brie and Mary McDonnell. Considering the relative name status of Paquin and Bell -- and their eleventh hour addition -- expect both to be offed in the first 10 minutes. [USA Today]
