· It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a biopic of Margaret Thatcher, and it had to be only a little while after that when Meryl Streep would be involved. So here we are: The first lady of American screen acting is in talks to portray the former British Prime Minister in Thatcher, which would take place in the 17 days leading up to the Falklands War in 1982. Jim Broadbent would play her husband Denis. At the moment Streep's Mamma Mia! director Phyllida Lloyd is linked as well; let's complete the flashback circle and have Chris Klein wastedly audition as Ronald Reagan. [THR]
Sean Penn contemplates catching another wave, Sam Worthington adds a job title, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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· Here's your first look at the Batman 3 Viral Bandit woman in a foxy Catwoman costume who has robbed three high-end outlets in New York City. She wears a black scarf around her face, black clothing, and cat ears. Glad to see Sean Young working again. [Village Voice]
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While Bachelor winner Vienna Girardi may not be posing for Playboy, there's a chance her former suitor Jake Pavelka will pose for Playgirl. Daniel Nardicio, the mag's vice president of marketing released a statement saying, "We're determining the value of a shoot with Jake, who exemplifies our classic American guy at Playgirl. It's obvious he likes the limelight, and I intuit that he looks good naked." This reminds me of one of my grandmother's old sayings: "OH HAYELL YAYESS." [PopEater]
And you didn't think there was a sucker born every minute. Variety -- Variety! -- is reporting that theater chain Cinemark had to pull copies of the admittedly scary Paranormal Activity 2 trailer from its theaters in Texas because of audience complaints that it was "too scary." Upon hearing the news, Paramount executives presumably feigned surprise and then remembered that it was all part of their elaborate marketing campaign. See you at the theater! [Variety]
M. Night Shyamalan just can't please you people! For once, he does a movie without all his usual trademarks -- the surprise ending, the Philadelphia setting, the vainglorious directorial cameo -- and still, he can't catch a critical break. What went wrong with his latest effort, The Last Airbender? Here are four of the biggest problems:
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Today and tomorrow mark the midpoint of 2010 -- and thus the midpoint of our year in movies and TV. Join Movieline in both taking stock and looking ahead.
Movieline has already celebrated the midpoint of 2010 by forecasting the dates that will shape the rest of the year, but what about the possible late night bookings that could go down in television history as format game-changers? Here are the guests we hope to see shaking up the after hours landscape (already shaken up itself after this year's late night wars) over the next six months.
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· You've got two days left to buy a custom-built Tron lightcycle on eBay! It's only $35,000 -- though it kinda loses something in the harsh light of day, I'm sure.
· Party Down creator Rob Thomas is kinda-sorta blaming its cancellation on incoming Starz president Chris Albrecht.
· Emily VanCamp is leaving the leaky ship that is Brothers and Sisters, having signed on for only two or three episodes next season.
· Congratulations to Zoe Saldana, who's gotten engaged to her handsome longtime boyfriend, My Fashion Database CEO Keith Britton.
· THR collects a laundry list of Larry King's recent, on-air "senior moments." So many to choose from!
Sad news, Party Down-ers -- Starz is not picking up the beloved but low-rated series for a third season, meaning you'll just have to accept last Friday's finale as the series closer. The network is also expected to announce that it is not picking up Gravity, the dark comedy starring Krysten Ritter, for a second season. At least we know that Party Down refugees are welcome elsewhere -- too bad Lizzy Caplan got screwed for her loyalty. [Deadline]
If the early bird catches the worm, then consider The CW's job for the summer complete. The network announced the dates and times for its fall primetime schedule on Wednesday -- ahead of NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox -- meaning you have even more to add to the calendar. Gossip Girl returns to solve that Chuck Bass cliffhanger on Sept. 13 (preceded by the premiere of 90210); The Vampire Diaries begins season two on Sept. 9th (followed by the series premiere of Nikita); and America's Next Top Model unleashes more Tyra Banks on the unsuspecting public on Sept. 8. Commence 'tween girl yelping... now [Variety/On the Air]
Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse walked off with record plunder last night, collecting an estimated $30 million from more than 4,000 midnight screenings around the country.
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Like Harry Knowles, have you ever fantasized that you were Bella, the conflicted protagonist of the Twilight series? You're in luck: some enterprising YouTubers have come up with a retro-cool videogame gloss on Eclipse (kinda like Final Fantasy meets Ninja Gaiden meets the Book of Mormon), and best of all, it's actually interactive! Sure, most of your choices will boil down to choosing Edward over Jacob again and again, but at least that's pretty much accurate, isn't it? Click through to play:
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Today and tomorrow mark the midpoint of 2010 -- and thus the midpoint of our year in movies and TV. Join Movieline in both taking stock and looking ahead.
Has it been six months already? Where has the time gone! Rather than looking back -- which we'll get to throughout the next two days -- here's a chance to peak ahead at what wonderful pop culture nuggets await in the next six months. Open your Google calendar and follow along as Movieline brings you the 9 dates that will shape the rest of 2010.
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In the grand tradition of Se7en and the forthcoming Scre4m, New Line has officially opted to give its fifth Final Destination installment the title 5nal Destination. It's still pronounced "final" and everything, but, you know, with a silent "ve." Oh, and [SPOILER ALERT] the opening death scene will take place on a collapsing suspension bridge. [Bloody Disgusting]
So when director Nicolas Winding Refn told me a few weeks ago about his whole plan to get a Wonder Woman adaptation off the ground, the mind sought out potential stars who might have the physical and dramatic chops to pull off Refn's complex heroine. Anne Hathaway? Jessica Biel? Jennifer Garner? Ennh. Thankfully we can all can stop worrying about it, because DC Comics has unveiled a new Wonder Woman that looks more tent-pitch than tentpole, if you know what I mean. Click through for full-size.
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