"Last night when I watched who made it into the Top 12, specific people were just bumming me out. It seemed like just another season of almost karaoke singers being molded into a big pop star. I don't know. That was one of the reasons I tried out this season because I really wanted to break the mold and try to give some off-the-wall, different music for America to listen to." - Idol kingdom ejectee and righteous wizardress, Lilly Scott. Word. [EW]
How badly did A Christmas Carol's underperformance hurt? This badly: It's brought down Robert Zemeckis's ImageMovers Digital studio. Disney announced today that the studio will shutter its doors after completing the upcoming Mars Needs Moms; it's been around since 1997, but Carol is the only film the studio made after its 2007 acquisition. Disney is now crossing yet another demographic off its character list: terrifying CG old people. [Deadline]
Movieline HQ is always a fun place to be on Friday afternoons, if only because of the promise of our weekly visit from the Say Whaaaa? Singers. As such, we've compiled yet another list of the week's most outlandish, bizarre and/or unbelievable cultural happenings under on roof for them to wreak their golden-throated havoc. Who's ready?
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Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref has been on television for two weeks and America still does not know who Tom Papa is. But instead of giving Tom and Jerry the benefit of the doubt on their unfunny NBC venture, viewers are tuning out. Last night, the series plummeted just over 20% in ratings despite a star-studded panel including Madonna and Ricky Gervais. The third celebrity panelist, Larry David, was so disappointed with the experience that he even commented mid-show, "This is easily the most uncomfortable hour I've ever spent in my life." [THR]
· Coming Soon has the first look at Pixar's upcoming, Toy Story 3-attached short film, Day & Night.
· After Howard Stern's post-Oscar criticism, Jessica Simpson has come to Gabourey Sidibe's defense: "It's unfortunate because she walked the red carpet at the Oscars and she owned it."
· Quentin Tarantino's rep says he will not be providing a voice to the Smurfs movie, though if they want to send over any barefoot Smurfette footage, he's totally fine with that.
· Disneyland is planning a Tron monorail! A Tronorail?
· The Princess and the Frog may have inspired little girls to kiss amphibians and catch salmonella. This imitative behavior never would have happened if they'd called it The Gender-Neutral Monarch Who Might Even Be a Boy and the Frog.
You always knew last year's rare Universal hit Couple's Retreat had to experience some economic misfortune somewhere along the line. Today it arrives from an unexpected place: Meet Irina Krupnik, a former model who was more than a little troubled to learn that her photograph had been used as a "masturbatory prop" by Jon Favreau's character. This calls for a lawsuit!
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After a near-miss with an ill-conceived Harvey remake (whew!), the contenders for Steven Spielberg's first post-Tintin project have narrowed to a shortlist of five, reports the tireless Mike Fleming at Deadline. Read on for a handy illustrated field guide to help tell apart your Gershwins from your Lincolns, and your War Horses from your robo-soldiers.
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We've known for a while that most of James Cameron's cultural references still date back to the 80's, and new news just confirms it. According to Mike Fleming, Cameron has been brought on board the remake of the 1981 animated anthology Heavy Metal, and he, David Fincher, and Zack Snyder will all be directing separate segments. Just imagine the Martini Ranch video in fully animated 3D, starring Amazonian space cowboys. I'm salivating already. [Deadline]
· Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are in talks to co-star in One Day, the Lone Scherfig-directed adaptation of David Nicholls's novel about a man and a woman who meet for one day every year -- for 20 years -- before they realize that, yes, maybe they're in love. Unbelievable. Everybody knows that a fake Vatican business card and any decently tailored suit can close that deal in a matter of minutes. [THR]
Captain America circles a villain, Avatar plots a comeback, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and/or squeal-inducing at the movies. This week it's (mostly) all about the leading men, with A-list heavyweights holding down a packed mulitplex while the art house gives it up for a few ladies. Read on and let's sort out where the parties should land.
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· For those of you wish Jabba the Hutt would take all his pie-in-the-sky ideas and join local politics, this overhaul of Parks & Recreation's opening credits will rejuvenate your faith in democracy. Behold: Hutts and Recreation. [YouTube]
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Pop quiz: What do Elizabeth Banks, Gerard Butler, Kieran Culkin, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Knoxville, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Liev Schreiber, Sean William Scott, Tony Shalhoub, Emma Stone, Matt Walsh, Patrick Warburton, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet have in common? If you said, "They all secretly hit and killed a homeless person," you're wrong! The correct answer is: "They are all part of the growing cast of Untitled Farrelly Brothers Sketch Comedy project," a Kentucky Fried Movie-esque group effort spearheaded by the scatalogically bent siblings that already boasts segments directed by Brett Ratner, Bob Odenkirk, Griffin Dunne and even one from Banks herself. Relativity is financing the project, "We all sat down and came up with what we think is a hilarious through-line for the movie," producer Charles Wessler said. "Given the amount of pot I had smoked, at least I think it is hilarious." We'll be the judge of cough that. [Relativity]
Look at dapper Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper at a post-Oscars party. Aren't they an adorable couple? Wouldn't they be just great together paired on screen in some sort of buddy comedy with a simmering homoerotic undercurrent, perhaps one in which they get to explore each other's bodies intimately without having to actually go all the way and have sex? Of course they would. But they won't -- at least not yet. But Ryan and another charming actor will! Details follow.
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Still suffering Olympics withdrawal? Jack and Meg White's great cross-Canada filmed adventure, The White Stripes Under the Great White Northern Lights, is getting special midnight screenings in 12 cities tonight. Ironically, none of those are Canadian cities (though fret not, Edmontonians and Saskatoon...ites? Your screenings are coming later this week). It promises to be more than your run-of-the-mill concert tour doc, as the band was captured playing in everything from traditional venues to bowling alleys, a boat and a city bus. See if your city made the cut at the link. And if not, it will be available in most cable markets via On-Demand tomorrow, March 12. [whitestripes]
· Here's the poster for James Ivory's The City of Your Final Destination, starring Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney. No, this one doesn't involve elaborate, Rube Goldberg-esque deaths. Click for bigger.
· Hugh Jackman has revealed that he will play segregation-enforcing sheriff Jim Clark in Selma, the next film from Lee Daniels.
· Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess may soon be locked down to star as the leads in the upcoming romcom One Day from director Lone Scherfig (An Education).
· Who are the top 10 female directors in Hollywood?
· It's the fantasy of every director who's had a film sit on Harvey Weinstein's shelves: Andrew Jarecki has bought back the rights of his long-delayed Ryan Gosling/Kirsten Dunst film All Good Things.
