According to a press release just received at ML HQ, the fourth season of Mad Men is set to debut in July. When in July, of course, remains a mystery. Though since the series debuted on July 17, 2007, you probably couldn't go too wrong keeping Sunday, July 18 open on your calendar. [Mad Men/AMC]
Deadline reports that Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Raising Victor Vargas) is in negotiations to direct a feature film adaptation of Runaways, the Marvel comic about disaffected teenage superheroes. (No, the fact that it's not about an 80's girl group won't be at all confusing.) Look, as long as Sollett can find some parts in there for Ari Graynor and Melonie Diaz, I'm in. [Deadline]
Perhaps! When reports surfaced that Madonna was planning to direct W.E., from a twisty script co-written by the pop icon herself and Truth or Dare director Alek Keshishian, the first thing that sprang to mind -- besides "whuck?" -- was the structural similarities to Julie & Julia (though probably with more sex and less butter). After all, the film jumps between parallel narratives: one involving Edward the VIII (Ewan McGregor) and his abdication of the throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson (Vera Farmiga), and the other centering on a modern-day woman (Abbie Cornish) who is obsessed with all things Simpson. (Romance geeks or Neil LaBute superfans will also note quite a bit of similarities with the 2002 film, Possession.) But now comes word that Madge is also cribbing a device from Sofia Coppola...
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Every year, you apply for the White House Easter Egg Roll lottery, hoping that you and your child can spend the holiday rubbing elbows with the First Couple as that-year's-tween-act bops around on a South Lawn stage. How could that not be the most amazing celebration of Jesus' resurrection ever? That question was rhetorical up until this weekend's Egg Roll, when the cast of Glee clambered onstage in matching blood-red outfits and worked through one of the most disappointing "Don't Stop Believin'" performances of all time. After the jump, Movieline works through some of the questions raised during this weekend's mini-concert.
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· Michael Ausiello has the first look at True Blood's new were-hunk Alcide. Costar Anna Paquin, however, is more interested in the were-goddess just out of frame.
· Precious screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher might helm Violet and Daisy, an action film starring Carey Mulligan and Saoirse Ronan.
· Megan Fox is up for the title role in Red Sonja, because actresses love taking Rose McGowan's sloppy seconds.
· Nicolas Cage has gone blond.
· Writer Alex Berenson was a creative consultant to 24 for a month, and managed nothing more than, "Maybe Jack Bauer should be hilarious." He was not asked to stay on.
Enough people found The English Patient sufficiently romantic to win the film a Best Picture Oscar, but for those who never bought into the love story, like Seinfeld's Elaine Benes, here's some dish you might enjoy. The Daily Mail is reporting that the titular Laszlo de Almásy was actually gay (well of course, with that name!), in love with a male Nazi, and had never slept with any women, let alone one of the Kristin Scott Thomas variety. So, for the record: The English Patient is gay, Will Smith is not Gaye. Glad that's settled. [Daily Mail via Joe My God]
Tina Fey rang in the Easter weekend by appearing on BBC's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, where the Date Night star hit the Brits with some 30 Rock knowledge. The first lesson: Liz Lemon is actually a Sliding Doors-version of Tina Fey. The second lesson: Alec Baldwin, although the only real actor on the Emmy-winning series, has never seen an episode of the show. At least, that is what Fey deduced after filming 30 Rock's season finale, "Khonani," which pokes fun at the recent NBC late-night wars. Spoilerphobes beware.
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With Tribeca's closing-night slot already locked up, the documentary adaptation of the best-selling book Freakonomics has officially found a U.S. distributor in Magnolia Pictures. It's not especially surprising considering the relationship Magnolia has with half the filmmakers involved, having helped boost the likes of Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) to Oscar nominations over the last few years. Meanwhile non-fiction stars Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) and Seth Gordon (The King of Kong, not to mention his Hollywood narrative debut Four Christmases) are also involved; click through for a breakthrough of which directors are doing what.
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On the front page of the New York Times today—for those of you still buying newspapers, it's below the fold—an article hilariously titled "Before Hiring Actors, Filmmakers Cast Products" (online it appears with the more benign headline: "Branding Deals Come First in the Filmmaking Process") tries to get to the bottom of all that pesky product placement appearing in movies these days. And while conspiracy theorists will be disappointed that it makes no mention of the Modern Family iPad episode, they'll be the only ones. This thing reads like an Onion article as written by Michael Tolkin. Even the main focus, a lawyer who specializes in branding deals by the name of Jordan Yospe, feels conjured out of the deep recesses of a screenwriter's mind. After the jump, play along and try to figure out which portions are real and which are fake. (Hint: Think real.)
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So despite your instincts counseling you over the weekend to take the plunge and enjoy Why Did I Get Married Too, you splurged instead on Clash of the Titans in glorious 3-D. Or maybe not "glorious," but maybe a modifier more akin to "serviceable." Or "passable." Or any other synonym that you want to conjure for "half-assed but full-priced." And if one new interview is any indication, director Louis Leterrier will even help you out.
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The daffodils are in bloom, the Easter candy has been marked down 50 percent and another season of Chuck is coming to a close, which means that once again, it is that time of year when television's most loyal fans unite to save NBC's perma-bubble spy series. Fortunately, the show's cast united at WonderCon in San Francisco this weekend to tell fans how they can keep Jeffster (and the longest Will They or Won't They relationship thread) alive for a fourth season. And this time, it doesn't involve Subway.
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What has become the unstoppable juggernaut of primetime network programming got its start 23 years ago today with a pair of shows you may remember. Read on and reflect back to Fox's humble bow -- along with the debuts of a few other influential pop-culture titans -- in Movieline's "On This Day."
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The film blogosphere has pounced on what feels like déjà vu at best and old news at worst, but just for the record: Will Smith has turned down the role of Marvin Gaye in Cameron Crowe's planned biopic of the legendary R&B vocalist and songwriter. Much more intriguing is the flashback that follows this disclosure: Crowe planned a Phil Spector biopic with Tom Cruise, but felt like "the third act had not been written" about the pop producer's life. Smart man. Can that get underway now? Maybe with Shia LaBeouf and a trailer full of wigs? [Variety]
· Anna Friel is in late talks to join the Bradley Cooper pharma-psychological (psycho-ceutical?) thriller The Dark Fields, which is currently shooting in New York. Friel would play the emotionally stunted ex-wife of Cooper's character, a man who discovers a drug that makes him smarter and more successful, slows down time, gets him chased by a gang of "mysterious antagonists" and generally threatens his life. Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish co-star, Neil Burger directs and Rogue Pictures will eventually distribute. [THR]
Aaron Sorkin shortlists the John Edwards story, Fox doubles down on Wimpy Kid, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
Buoyed by three strong new releases (and one solid holdover), the box office this weekend was not only the biggest on record for the month of April, but also for the Easter holiday. Because nothing celebrates "Easter" like bringing the family to see Clash of the Titans. Unwrap a fresh box of Peeps and enjoy some weekend receipts.
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