HBO has ordered another morbid pilot from Alan Ball, the man who brought the network Six Feet Under and True Blood. All Signs of Death, based on Charlie Huston's 2009 crime noir book The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is a Los Angeles-set black comedy featuring "an inveterate twenty-something slacker who stumbles into a career as a crime scene cleaner, only to find himself entangled with a murder mystery, a femme fatale and the loose ends of his own past." So no neck-twistings, then? [Deadline]
· The Nicole Kidman/Aaron Eckhart dead child drama Rabbit Hole has a teaser poster.
· X-Men: First Class is finally adding a few Americans to its largely UK Cast. Next up: Lucas Till as Havok.
· Matthew Wilder is still talking about his Lindsay Lohan film Inferno, but Jeff Wells translates what he really means.
· Doug Liman says he's tried to crack the idea of a Mr. and Mrs. Smith sequel: "It was something that Brad and Angie wanted to try, but the thing is, kids and guns are not necessarily a great combination."
· Last night's television featured someone with the last name "Funke-Ho," and no, it wasn't on an Arrested Development rerun.
Scathing critiques aren't just for M. Night Shyamalan anymore! Regardless of whether or not you follow, like or frankly detest sports, ESPN's Thursday night special LeBron James: The Decision made for some pretty audacious television. Which is to say, audaciously terrible. If you always thought watching The Bachelor amounted to a bankruptcy of taste, at least that process has some trashy entertainment value going for it. The ritualistic, commodified probing of James -- who announced his free-agency agreement with the Miami Heat -- couldn't have been more cynical or depressing if it tried.
But don't take my word for it. Let's hear it from the rest of the diverse, aggrieved class that still can't believe they just saw that.
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Despite some slight apprehension after watching the most recent trailer -- the one with Steve Buscemi as Tony Soprano in period dress -- there are few upcoming series that have me more excited than HBO's Boardwalk Empire. That happens when the pilot is directed by Martin Scorsese, written and created by Sopranos stalwart Terence Winter, and stars Buscemi, Michael Shannon, Michael Pitt and Michael K. Williams (though where is Michael Weston when you need him?). Well, the news just came into Movieline HQ: The series will premiere on Sunday, September 19 at 9pm, meaning Mad Men will have some testosterone-y company on your DVR.
Never trust Gary Oldman again. While on the press circuit for The Book of Eli in 2009, Commissioner Gordon told reporters that Christopher Nolan would begin shooting Batman 3 this year with an eye toward a 2011 release. Bzzzt! Not according to Michael Caine. The coolest actor alive -- seriously, right guys? -- told reporters at the London premiere of Inception that Nolan was planning to shoot his sequel to The Dark Knight in April. Take that with the giant grain of salt it deserves, but hey -- an April shoot could mean the finished product will be hit theaters just in time for the superhero apocalypse in the summer of 2012. Andrew Garfield, get ready to shake in your Spidey-tights. After the jump, video of Caine -- who also offers a slight spoiler on his role in Inception.
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After skyrocketing to fame and makeover fortune because of Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle is hoping to make another unknown singer a star via a YouTube competition dubbed "The Susan Search." Anyone interested simply needs to upload a performance of "Silent Night," and the winner will record a track with Boyle for her second album. Said the Scottish vocalist (and potential Glee star), "There are a lot of people out there who wouldn't have the confidence or perhaps the means to enter a big competition like Britain's Got Talent....so this might be a lot less daunting." [The Mirror]
And you thought watching LeBron James agonize over which city he was going to cash his million dollar checks in was discouraging. James Cameron has reportedly made -- you know what, sit down and take a breath. Ready? James Cameron has reportedly made $350 million for directing Avatar. That's -- in the understatement of forever -- "the biggest financial haul ever for a movie director from a single pic," writes Deadline's Nikki Finke. So, how did Cameron find himself such a windfall?
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With the breathless hyperbole surrounding Inception only just beginning, it would surprise exactly no one if a film critic found a way to compare Christopher Nolan's self-proclaimed dream heist epic to James Bond. Like you couldn't picture "Inception is The Matrix mixed with James Bond, oxygen and gold bars!" scrolling across a TV spot next week? But even if Nolan was busy aping the dapper British agent with a license to kill, it seems that his ultimate goal is to direct the dapper British agent with a license to kill. Yes, this is Bond rumor -- but for once, it seems legit!
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· Lionsgate hopes you like it, because apparently that is the actual title of the seventh film in the horror franchise. All that's missing is Jigsaw rocking a Les Paul and a poofy golden coif on the poster, and maybe "I want to play a game" into one of those talk-box thingies that helped make Frampton Comes Alive! such a watershed of its era. Oh -- and an exclamation point! It needs an exclamation point. Was 7aw 3D already taken? [STYD]
X-Men: First Class adds another mutant, the Jack Ryan series inches closer to its reboot, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your one-stop guide to everything new, noteworthy and/or nostalgia inducing at the movies. This week brings what appears to be one of the most consistent, dependably watchable -- and even good! -- batch of releases to theaters, including what I imagine might turn out to be this year's Hurt Locker. Not that you'd know it by looking at it. Read on and allow me to explain.
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· Brandon Flowers, the Killers frontman who's gone solo as of late, was captured by ninjas in a sepia-tinged neighborhood. Wait. Silly us. That's just his new music video! Ah! It kind of makes sense now. To help him escape from the ninja assassins in the clip for "Crossfire," director (and Verge alum) Nash Edgerton recruited Oscar-winning ninja star enthusiast Charlize Theron. Considering Brandon Flowers is known for his '80s throwback shtick, I think it's fair to nickname his Charlize video "Come on, Aileen." [YouTube]
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Guess what has two thumbs and doesn't have to watch Rob Lowe "Proud Mary" Oscar Hell 100 times consecutively? This guy. That's because Disney has reportedly agreed to terms to sell Miramax Films and its library to a team led by billionaire construction mogul Ronald Tutor. This would finally stall out the rumor mill that's worked overtime since Disney put the mini-major on the block, flirting with everyone from Harvey Weinstein to (allegedly) Rob Lowe. And you can't beat the price!
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You can bet that NBC publicists thought long and hard this morning how to handle Conan O'Brien's Emmy nomination for The Tonight Show. Instead of ignoring their former employee's success, they waited until media outlets asked them for a response, then offered the following half-hearted pat on the back: "We congratulate Conan and all our nominees on their creative accomplishments and their deserved nominations." [THR]
Need further proof that it you want to appear in X-Men: First Class you better be a Movieline Verge alum? According to reports, Nicholas Hoult has been cast to play Beast in the Matthew Vaughn directed X-Men prequel scheduled to hit theaters next summer. Hoult -- who has most recently appeared in A Single Man and Clash of the Titans -- would join fellow Verge grads Alice Eve, new father Aaron Johnson and Michael Fassbender in the cast. James McAvoy is there, too, but he technically wasn't a Verge-r, so whatever. Luke Evans, you're on the clock. [Deadline]
· Michelle Rodriguez is holding a weapon that isn't a machete in the poster for Robert Rodriguez's Machete. She doesn't look like she's in the mood to compromise, though.
· Spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is set to star a slew of beloved thespians: Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, and Michael Fassbender. Can't wait for this one.
· Brian Austin Green, my favorite rap artist, is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives. Prepare thy campy flinch, Vanessa Williams!
· Amy Poehler responded to her Emmy nomination by explaining how Leslie Knope would handle it: "If Leslie were to learn that she was nominated, I think she would pretend like she didn't care but be pretty psyched if she won. She probably wouldn't do well with time management though. She'd probably thank the guy who walked her to her chair as time was running out."
· And the Emmy for greatest nominee response (so far) goes to... Kathy Griffin. "It turns out I'm up against Ryan Seacrest. This is a smackdown of a Biblical level. Originally I was thinking this was a contest of David vs. Goliath, but it's really Samson and Delilah, and he's Delilah."
