Were you curious why Bret Michaels made an appearance during the season finale of American Idol? If so, perhaps this will shed some light: TMZ reports that at a concert in Mississippi on Friday night, Michaels revealed to the crowd that he might replace Simon Cowell on American Idol next year. "I can't say this is true yet, cause I don't know. Next year they asked me to possibly be the judge on American Idol." A source close to the singer confirmed that he's in the running, presumably along with every other personality in the entertainment industry. [TMZ]
Whether Scott Pilgrim vs. The World winds up being a sleeper hit this August or not, one thing is abundantly clear: The core audience of geeks is jacked for this movie in the same way a pack of girls wearing Jimmy Choo shoes are for Sex and the City 2. The latest bit of proof for that comes from Facebook, where director Edgar Wright has promised to release a new trailer for the film once it gets 100,000 fans. And while that might not seem like a lot, bear in mind that Knight and Day has under 5,000. Since the first trailer was so good, do everyone a favor and head over there, Facebook privacy issues be damned! [Facebook via Ain't It Cool]
Hollywood icon Dennis Hopper has died at the age of 74 from complications due to prostate cancer. The Easy Rider star -- who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in late 2009 -- became too weak for chemotherapy treatments in March when the cancer metastasized to his bones. According to a friend, he was surrounded by family and friends when he passed away in his Venice Beach home on Saturday morning. [ABC News]
Ah, Memorial Day Weekend. The unofficial start of summer has finally arrived and so to have the annual think pieces about the relevancy of film critics. If it feels like this is happening earlier here in 2010 than it did in 2009, that's because it is. The debate didn't start last year until Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dropped a big turd on multiplexes -- it had a 20 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes -- yet still garnered $836 million worldwide from viewers. This year the party got started with Sex and the City 2, a film so roundly hated by film critics that it has drawn comparisons to feces, terrorism and rape. And yet for every negative review, it feels like another 100 tickets are sold. The conventional wisdom states that Sex and the City 2 is "critic-proof," but that implies that critics matter to a film's financial success. Spoiler: They don't.
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When Lost star Michael Emerson let slip earlier in the week that an epilogue detailing the unseen exploits of Hurley and Ben, Island Masters, would be released on the complete series DVD, many fans were up in arms. As my friend wrote in an e-mail: "If that epilogue only appears on the box set, I, like a lot of every-season-owning nerds, am going to be pretty friggin' upset." Agreed! But thankfully it appears like any teeth-gnashing was a bit premature. ABC has announced the details of the Lost DVD release and the cut scene will be available on the standard season six release. Bigger nerds can purchase the complete collection box set, which comes with a replica island. Because when you have six seasons of Lost to watch, who needs a date. [/Film]
Tilda -- the this-isn't-about-Nikki-Finke-but-it-is comedy series -- doesn't even start filming until June, but it already feels like the single best reason to keep HBO on your cable bill for another year. According to Deadline, actors Wes Bentley, David Harbour and Leland Orser have been added the fold, joining Diane Keaton and Ellen Page as previous cast announcements. Bentley will play an IT guy who sleeps with Tilda; Harbour, an "old school entertainment columnist" --paging Patrick Goldstein -- upset at Tilda's success; and Orser, a studio executive exposed by her blog. Now the big question: Will Ben Silverman play himself in season two? Hopefully. [Deadline]
If Sex and the Ctiy 2 is like the Star Wars prequels for women, does that make Sarah Jessica Parker Jar Jar Binks? The much derided sequel -- and apparent terrorist training video -- followed up its $14.2 million Thursday opening with $13.5 million on Friday, meaning it will easily top the box office over Memorial Day weekend. Cosmos for all! Except Jake Gyllenhaal and Jerry Bruckheimer: Prince of Persia grossed just $9.5 million on Friday, which would be good if this were Date Night. Overall, Friday ticket sales were down 20 percent from Memorial Day last year, proving once again that if the movies suck, no one will actually want to see them. Unless they're called Sex and the City 2. Or Shrek Forever After. The top-five after the jump.
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On this Memorial Day weekend, remember to take time to remember the American servicemen and women who paid the ultimate price so that you may live in a society that has the freedom to drop $80 million in five days on garbage like Sex and the City 2. Then take another moment to remember the turbulent week behind us. All gave some, some gave all. Check back in here with Christopher Rosen in the days ahead, and have a wonderful holiday weekend!
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· Nicolas Cage is under the impression that audiences are reeling from his decision to play a sorcerer in The Sorcerer's Apprentice (because that is much, much weirder than anything he did Bad Lieutenant, for sure), but I'm more concerned with the fact that in this featurette, the unusually sotto-voiced actor appears to be playing Christian Bale from The Dark Knight. Conjure up some green tea, Nic. [Videogum]
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Let's hand it to Brian Dunkleman, or as the textbooks will soon call him, Dunkstradamus: The first-season American Idol co-host knew Simon Cowell's explosive hit was just a flash in the pan, a sorry excuse for a TV sensation that would wear out its welcome fast. Lo and behold, following the ninth-season finale's low ratings, he is proven unarguably, gloriously right. He 'left' just in time. That oven-fresh smell in the air is victory -- and the IKEA cafe Cinammon Rolls our Commenters of the Week will enjoy with the babyfaced psychic. Wee! Ready for extra icing, guys?
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In what I would almost certainly call a producer-enacted plotline were The Hills not over and done with, TMZ is reporting that Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (pictured here with their previous faces) have split up. I knew that Heidi would be devastated that her Transformers 3 audition was all for naught, but who knew things would escalate like this? Gene Kelly is spinning in his grave right now. [TMZ]
Sex and the City 2 may be critically lambasted, but it still took in $14.2 million yesterday -- the 6th best Thursday opening ever, behind assorted Star Wars, Matrix, and Indiana Jones sequels and the Christmas Day opening of Marley and Me. Here's another translation: after this weekend, expect the third one to be greenlit faster than Sarah Jessica Parker can make a Catskills-ready crack about Samantha's menopause. [EW]
· It appears that the Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Natalie Portman starrer Hesher has gotten a name change...to Rebel. Sounds like the name of one of John Travolta's dogs, or a straight-to-DVD Mark Dacascos action thriller.
· Ang Lee's adaptation of Life of Pi would have cost $70 million, which is a little much for the boy-and-tiger-in-a-boat genre.
· Simon Monjack got his wish: he will be buried next to his wife, Brittany Murphy.
· The script to Let Me In has leaked.
· How did Jennifer Love Hewitt know an ex of hers was cheating? "He was caring more about his appearance, [he started] to work out more...where is that coming from?" she told The View today. Self-improvement is to be feared!
"You Have Now Heard of Jennifer Lawrence" announced the headline in Esquire. My first thoughts were, "Oh, I've already heard of Jennifer Lawrence. She's the Verge alum who delivered a stunning turn in the Sundance drama Winter's Bone, where she played Ree, a flannel-clad Ozark girl left to fend for her siblings and gut squirrels on camera. How nice of Esquire to give this promising young actress and challenging indie film some attention!" And then, I saw the pictures.
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Bryan Singer's been committed to Jack the Giant Killer for almost a year -- and his massive pay-or-play deal kept him from helming X-Men: First Class -- but the project still isn't ready to shoot. THR reports that Singer's delayed production til February 2011, despite meeting with potential stars like Aaron Johnson and the in-demand Andrew Garfield. Sometimes, you just need a few more months to sort things out in the Oahu Coffee Bean. [THR]
