Brooke White is slated to perform (along with guest-mentor Adam Lambert) on Wednesday's American Idol results show in a duet with Miley Cyrus's ex Justin Gaston. The season seven fifth-place finisher is part of the web series If I Can Dream with Gaston and recent Idol castoff Alex Lambert, and she'll inevitably chirp something along the lines of her gentle "You're So Vain"/"Let it Be" triumphs. My response? I could skip this second-rate Didi Benami. Sorry, but where's the urgency? The hurt? The fiiii-yahhhhhh-herrrrrrr? If you ask me, we need a results-night comeback from a true Idol gem. I'm talking about the best contestant in the show's history -- and resident funny valentine -- Melinda Doolittle. [EW]
· Matt Damon and Emily Blunt react with horror to the latest Green Zone weekend numbers in this first photo from their upcoming film The Adjustment Bureau.
· Liz Taylor has tweet-refuted rumors that she was set to marry once more. And now I'm going to hoooowwwwwl!
· Meanwhile, Jim Carrey is trying to dig himself out of the Twitter hole he fell into after opining on the Tiger Woods saga.
· if you're a fan of spirited judge Gael Greene on Top Chef Masters, Starz is developing a series based on her culinary and erotic (!) adventures.
· Ben Silverman is developing Pedro & Maria, a "modern-day Romeo and Juliet" for MTV. As James Hibberd so aptly noted, "Only Ben Silverman could wrangle a "created by" credit away from William Shakespeare on Romeo & Juliet by changing the title!"
Jesus Christ! No, really: As alluded to last week in this space, Dutch filmmaker and all-around cinematic provocateur Paul Verhoeven has a serious interest in the story of Jesus. So much so that Verhoeven has written his own scholarly work about the conceptions and misconceptions about the Lord and Savior of about 2.2 billion followers worldwide. But his book Jesus of Nazareth isn't just some Hollywood hobbyist's tract from the theological sidelines. According to Verhoeven himself, it's a "treatment" for a cinematic work that will finally keep it real about Jesus.
more »
David Lynch originally conceived Mulholland Drive as an open-ended TV serial, and according to actress Laura Harring, he's keen to revisit that world in a sequel. "I'm very sure it's coming, it's being born," she told PopcornBiz after meeting with the director last week. "I cannot really tell you how I know." Good thing none of the main characters died at the end or anything! [PopcornBiz via The Playlist]
I haven't yet seen the new, Neil LaBute-helmed remake of Death at a Funeral, but I'm amused by how offended people are on the original film's behalf. Is it kind of startling that so little time would pass between the 2007 British version and its American remake? Sure. Is the original film a lost, mistreated classic? Hardly.
more »
Who says the entertainment industry can't surprise you? In a move that can only be described as "shocking" (though "damnnnn" would also suffice), Conan O'Brien announced moments ago that he'll head to cable network TBS to host a brand new late night show starting in November. Said Coco: "In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly."
more »
Slashfilm is reporting that Ryan Reynolds won't be donning your traditional superhero costume for Green Lantern, instead wearing an Avatar-like motion capture suit that will allow the Lantern look to be overlaid as a post-production special effect. This will allow for the most incredible YouTube mashups ever, someday. Ten points to whoever manages to superimpose Seth Rogen's body on the well-abbed actor, finally fulfilling our dream for a Green Lantern-Hornet. [Slashfilm]
Fanfare! Confetti! Champagne (but not too much -- it's early)! Movieline is pleased this morning to welcome Stephanie Zacharek to the site as our chief film critic. The veteran of Salon and esteemed member of both the NY Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics will contribute all her must-read insights on the latest theatrical releases, joining Michelle Orange in reinforcing Movieline's formidable critical chops. What it means for you, Dear Reader, is an even richer compendium of tasteful, generally correct opinions about all things pop-culture. Excited much? Even more exciting: The official press release from MMC World Headquarters follows the jump! Woot!
more »
America Ferrera will kick start her post-Ugly Betty career by executive producing a multicultural, interactive telenovela for MTV called Pedro & Maria. The series is being developed by MTV television and a few Web platforms including Ben Silverman's new multimedia studio Electus. Pedro & Maria is described as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet that will give viewers the chance to vote on the direction the characters and story lines take. [NY Post]
Things have gotten so dicey over at Variety, that editor Timothy Gray used his Sunday column to comment at length on the slings and arrows facing his fledgling daily in recent weeks. As he writes, "Variety has been accused by various other news outlets of Philistinism, breaches of ethics and unscrupulous practices." So what better place to refute those claims then in a column buried behind an Internet pay wall! Okay, so you probably didn't read Gray's passionate remarks -- or even know they existed -- but fear not. Here are the four most important lessons gleaned from his column:
more »
The thrice-delayed Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor romance I Love You Phillip Morris has received yet another new release date from its wobbly distributors at Consolidated Pictures Group: July 30 limited, and expanding Aug. 6. Considering this'll all happen again three months, let's just save our exasperated comments until then. And, er, good luck, CPG! [The Playlist]
On the morning of Conan O'Brien's first Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television stop, NBC faces some good and some bad Tonight Show news. The good being that the audience has increased more than 50 percent from Coco's average. The bad being that the median age of the audience has also climbed more than 10 years to 56 years old, posing a potential risk to advertisers. Maybe NBC should just rip a page out of the playbook of the late night show with the youngest demo -- Lopez Tonight, which boasts a median age of 33 -- with some Chola makeovers. Si? [NYT]
· Logan Lerman may or may not be your next Spider-Man, but another hero altogether has definitely been conceived inside Mother Russia: Emile Hirsch has committed to The Darkest Hour, the Timur Bekmambetov-produced, Chris Gorak-directed supernatural thriller about a group of young American travelers attempting to outlast an alien invasion. Olivia Thirlby was announced last week for the project. Hot tip for the producers: Take refuge in one of those classic Soviet-era "science cities" as reported in Sunday's NYT; it could save you a bundle on production design. [Variety]
The He-Man revival inches closer to reality, Summit options yet another book series for the screen, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
more »
Bad news Percy Jackson fans. According to Deadline, sources inside Sony say that Logan Lerman is definitely not putting on the red and blue tights for director Marc Webb's Spider-man reboot. Worse, the 18-year-old is not even on the list to play Peter Parker. This after HitFix reported earlier that he was the list. The plot, as they say, thickens. [Deadline]
Always thought you belonged in pictures? Then get a headshot over to Todd Phillips. According to our sister site Deadline, The Hangover director and super producer Joel Silver are teaming up with British commercial director Nima Nourizadeh to produce a $12 million, R-rated comedy for Warner Brothers that will only feature new, college-aged faces. Currently going under the working title Project X, no other details are known at this point other than that the premise is "an outrageous high concept." So no bachelor parties gone awry? Gotcha. [Deadline]
