It hasn't yet been officially verified by Twitter, but many folks seem to agree that the two-week old @russellcrowe feed on Twitter indeed belongs to the irascible Oscar-winning actor. And it's a lot easier to believe today, because, well, he's angry!
Congratulations to Southland for being picked up for a third season by TNT. Just six months ago, NBC executives axed Ann Biderman's cop drama in favor of Jay Leno's short-lived primetime show; the unaired episodes eventually were picked up by TNT to OK ratings. Southland's new ten-episode season will premiere in January. [Deadline]
The beleaguered Moneyball is going to need a new cinematographer, as its DP Adam Kimmel was arrested last week on charges he sexually assaulted a child in Connecticut. Kimmel (whose credits include Capote, the Spike Jonze short I'm Here, and the upcoming Never Let Me Go) was already a registered sex offender in New York, and since his Thursday arrest, a sweep of his house brought further charges of criminal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of explosives and fireworks. [SF Gate, Hartford Courant]
Look, I'm going to put as little distance between that headline and the actual anecdote as possible. In Pam Grier's new memoir Foxy: My Life in Three Acts (which is now a must-buy), she recounts how a conversation with her doctor led to her breakup with Richard Pryor. Stars, they are not just like us:
According to a Showtime press release dropped in Movieline's inbox earlier today, Rob Lowe will visit Californication next season for at least one episode. The square-jawed star, whom NBC is hoping will increase Parks & Recreation's female viewership, will play "self-possessed, award-winning movie star 'Eddie Nero,' a possible contender to play Hank in the film version of his hit novel." Apparently, David Duchovny's hormone-addled cable series is the place where middle-aged actors go to raise uneasy parallels to their own sex scandals.
· Cary Fukunaga's new take on Jane Eyre just started shooting, but there's already a still of Mia Wasikowska in the title role.
· A not-at-all-biased Robert Downey Jr claims the upcoming Due Date (where he stars opposite Zach Galifianakis) is "the second greatest movie I've ever done." After Gothika, of course.
· Bad news for the fans of syndicated abs-and-swords fantasy drama Legend of the Seeker: it's been canceled.
· Ice Cube is trying to woo Chris Tucker for another Friday installment, but that would violate the actor's self-imposed "only do Rush Hour sequels" agreement.
· What did Spencer Pratt do to get kicked off The Hills? According to Kristin Cavallari, "He threatened one of the producers and told her he was going to kill her." Oh, that.
God bless our friends at Vulture, who've turned in a very thorough, illustrated treatise on the return of chest hair on actors, vis-à-vis Gossip Girl. (They do not link it to the semi-resurgent U.S. economy, but why not do that on your own?) Matthew Fox and his makeup artist now have a lot of tough choices to make about their decision to buck the zeitgeist. [Vulture]
Last year, Movieline kicked off a five-part series that took you inside the Sundance Labs, a famous incubator for writers, directors and new projects that has launched talents like Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Is there an up-and-comer on that level in the list of new projects released today? It may be too soon to tell, but there are a couple of recognizable names there already.
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Chances are that you were not among the lucky thousands who attended Conan O'Brien's "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television" show at the Gibson Amphitheater in LA this past Saturday. Too bad, because that was probably the starriest stop on his tour map, and definitely the only one within 400 yards of his former Tonight Show stage. Fortunately for you, Movieline has compiled a multimedia round-up of everything you missed, including videos, jokes, and the A-list guest list.
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Happy Monday, America! I hope you had a wonderful weekend of rest and relaxation. Goodness knows you didn't see a movie, so maybe you did a little travel? Spent some time at church? Did some light shopping? Watched baseball? Went out to dinner? All this, of course, in addition to wanting to see Roman Polanski extradited to the United States and shuffling off his plane "in shackles."
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God bless Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser, who, in all his quotability, must be making a run to be perceived by journalists as the next Megan Fox. His latest press revelation? "Like, I don't have a toilet at the moment," he tells the Guardian. "My house is just a wooden box. I mean I am planning to get a toilet at some point. But for now I have to go to the neighbours. I threw it all out." [Guardian via HuffPo]
If you have ever yearned to own a hand-annotated Star Trek script or William Shatner's custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle, consider yourself in luck -- and get out to Las Vegas. Late Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's personal effects and memorabilia from his iconic show -- including costumes and Roddenberry's own studio pass -- will go on the block June 27 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. [AP]
That's what you might deduce from Harvey Weinstein's recent comments about the actress's role in Butter, in which she plays a fierce Midwestern butter-sculpting competitor. "[A] young sculptress played by Yara Shahidi (Imagine That) makes a run for the greasy gold," per the NYT, "and 'lo and behold [...] the Sarah Palin-ish Jennifer Garner character' is determined to thwart her." There's a "reload" metaphor in here somewhere, but it's really too early for me. [NYT]
· No, no, no -- not Rob Schneider. John Schneider! That flaxen-haired Dukes of Hazzard heartthrob who's been making a go of things on TV since the early '80s is attached to Doonby, a feature film that producers describe as "a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and Crazy Heart." Amazing! And Robert Davi co-stars as a small-town sheriff. I will be so pissed if this goes straight to DVD; who'll deliver this year's nine-minute backstage Oscar speech? Also: Slow news day! [THR]
Josh Groban breaks out as well, Lizzy Caplan pursues the man of her dreams, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
After setting the record for most Blu-ray discs sold in a single day, the fact that Avatar is now the biggest selling Blu-ray of all-time should surprise exactly no one. In just four days, the highest grossing movie ever sold a ridiculous 2.7 million Blu-ray discs, which is more than previous record holder, The Dark Knight, sold in 16 months. Of course all these records beg the question: If it weren't Avatar, what would people have spent their disposable income on during the past four months? [LAT/Company Town]
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