Franchises -- they grow up so fast! It seems like only yesterday we were surveying the wolfcake and vague homoeroticism that were supposed to sell New Moon. Now, with Eclipse right around the corner, Summit Entertainment has dispensed with all that tasteful discretion around The Twilight Saga for something a little more... lusty. There's still some cheese for the chastity seekers among us, though; click through for a sampling.
more »
Are you as tired of this perfectly timed Kevin Smith/Southwest kerfuffle as we are? Cleanse your palate instead by reading Esquire's exquisite new profile of Roger Ebert, where the legendary, ailing film critic (whose jaw was removed from cancer-caused complications) lets writer Chris Jones in on all matters medical and emotional: "There is no need to pity me, he writes on a scrap of paper one afternoon after someone parting looks at him a little sadly. Look how happy I am." [Esquire]
The CW has issued five predictable series renewals today, to The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, Supernatural and America's Next Top Model. The freshman Vampire Diaries is the network's most-watched show, averaging over four million viewers. Among the shows still holding their breath are the poorly received Melrose Place, One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected and Smallville, which if picked up, would enter its 10th season next fall. [THR]
It is with a heavy heart that Moveline reports that Jay Leno's trusty sidekick, Kevin "Kev" Eubanks, is fleeing his cushy gig as Leno's bandleader after 18 years. The announcement, which was confirmed by Extra today, comes just a week after the last Jay Leno Show aired on NBC. Leno will return to the 11:35 PM time slot after the Winter Games coverage with a new Tonight Show bandleader -- one that is rumored to have fronted one of your favorite 90s groups. Click through to find out who Jay Leno will be tossing monologue quips out to beginning March 1.
more »
· In a new cover story, Robert Pattinson tells Details that he is "allergic to vagina." Look, I've seen this week's Big Love and I know how this little story ends. Someone keep him away from a noose, OK?
· It was announced over the weekend that Madonna will fill in as a guest judge for Jerry Seinfeld's The Marriage Ref. That won't be stiff and uncomfortable at all.
· Ewan McGregor sets the record straight on his upcoming I Love You Phillip Morris: "There was quite a lot of talk at Sundance that, 'Well, it's not a gay movie. It's a film about guys who happen to be gay.' And I was thinking, it's nothing but a gay movie. It's about a gay couple, about a man's sexuality, and he comes out. It's not the point of the film, but let's not pretend it's not a gay film."
· Actress Taryn Manning is joining the Hawaii Five-O reboot.
· Oscar producers have introduced a backstage thank-you camera to fruitlessly cut down on acceptance speeches. Goooood luck with that.
As Mad Men's unsinkable Joan Harris Holloway, Christina Hendricks delivers some of the sharpest, tartest work on TV's best drama. Yet it seems all New York magazine wants is to put her on the cover of their style issue strung into a corset, her famous chest plumped up like a couple of freshly baked challahs. "It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth," she told them, when asked how she feels when the subject turns to her body. Read on for more shameful neglect of her inner-beauty.
more »
Fox Searchlight had what could most charitably called a schizophrenic 2009, following its long-coveted Best Picture Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire with a succession of underwhelming or just flat-out terrible late-year releases like Gentleman Broncs and Amelia. And then came the rebound: Crazy Heart, which the mini-major expertly dropped into this year's Oscar race; and much more surprisingly, My Name is Khan, a nearly three-hour romance/road movie featuring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan as an Asperger's-afflicted immigrant attempting to win his true love's heart while mounting an Islam-awareness campaign all the way to Washington, D.C. Or something. I think. Like almost every other critic in America, I haven't seen it. But hundreds of thousands of ticketbuyers have, making Khan the first sleeper hit of the young year -- and not just a little bit controversial either.
more »
Over the weekend, Syfy Channel's director of original movies, Karen O'Hara, tweeted confirmation that the network had greenlit the long-gestating Untitled Shark-Octopus Hybrid Leviathan Project, now being referred to as the much catchier Sharktopus, with living legend Roger Corman attached to direct. Her tweet:
more »
It was ridiculous from the start, but admit it: Your inner optimist couldn't help but hope that the brief Berlin power summit between Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier had in fact yielded a pact to remake Scorsese's 1976 classic Taxi Driver. Not because the original needed it, obviously, but because of the whole rumored science of the thing: Scorsese reapproaching Paul Schrader's screenplay in sanitized New York, "God'd lonely man" Travis Bickle reimagined for the Internet Age, even Robert De Niro reprising his title role... Short of a 65-year-old Bickle muttering "You talkin' to me?" into a full-length mirror high above Tribeca, the spectacular WTF-ness of the entire enterprise would make Werner Herzog's own riff on Bad Lieutenant look like a student film. Alas -- and probably thankfully -- it's B.S.
more »
Lionsgate quietly yanked the Nicolas Cage action-fantasy Season of the Witch from its March 19 opening over the weekend, declining to announce a new release date or any explanation for the delay. It's probably safe to assume you'll get a DVD shelf date for this before anything for theatrical, but one thing is for sure: The 'Gate isn't taking an extra few weeks to convert the film to 3-D. So save your nasty e-mails, Jeff Katzenberg. [Variety]
· It's only Tuesday, and already the Say Whaaaa? suggestion box welcomes its first submission of the week: Madonna plans a return to directing with the biopic W.E., about the affair between King Edward VIII and his twice-divorced American lover Wallis Simpson. The relationship caused Edward to abdicate his throne in 1936 -- an event whose historical repercussions persist today as Vera Farmiga has been linked to the role of Simpson and Madonna is co-writing a script with her Truth or Dare director Alex Keshishian. No actor has yet been attached to the role of Edward, but Madonna stock player Eugene Hutz deserves at least an audition. [Variety]
Nick Cave tries his own bizarro pairing, Kathryn Bigelow finds temp work at HBO, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
more »
As expected, couples flocked to the multiplex en masse this weekend, dutifully gorging on the biggest star-sweetened confection ever manufactured in Hollywood. The Valentine's Day turnout gave director Garry Marshall his first No. 1 opening since 1999's The Runaway Bride, presumably clearing the path for the resurgent filmmaker's franchising of the entire Gregorian calendar. Audiences didn't stop there, either, nibbling on a pair of other new releases that will duel into Monday for the distinction of America's second-place sweetheart. Let's review the numbers:
more »
It was a day of nice openings yesterday at the box office, as this week's three new entries took the three top spots with decent-to-great debuts. In the lead was monster romcom mashup Valentine's Day, which made $14.6 million, though The Wolfman and Percy Jackson were nipping at its heels and battling it out for second place. Wolfman will probably sink through the weekend, while Valentine's Day will build its juggernaut-like power going into Sunday's titular holiday. Hollywood will not rest until everyone is either in this movie or buying a ticket to it.
The full figures:
more »
Consider this Week in Review a dozen roses from your loving Movieline staff (actually, the office cat ate one, bad kitty!), aspiring to show you each and every weekend our boundless affection for you. Why don't you slip into something a little more comfortable and join us after the jump? Either way, have a wonderful holiday weekend, and we'll see you back here fully clothed on Tuesday!
more »
· No explanation necessary. [Blame It On the Voices via Daily What]
· You know what wins the Internet today? This video wall, comprised of 25 YouTubes of various dogs howling along to the Law & Order theme. You never knew you wanted it, until you got it. [Nastynets via Videogum]
· The Baster, the creepy Jennifer Aniston comedy about a woman whose best friend smuggles some of his semen into her vagina, is in need of a new title. We humbly submit Vagjacking Kassie, for your consideration. [Vulture]
· Count the cliches in this trailer for Centurion. Bonus points for Michael Fassbender running in his ARUs! (Ancient Roman Underpants.) [YouTube]
· Shield your eyes: IT'S SNOOKI NUDE! NSFGTL! [DListed]
· Ryan Reynolds has just signed on to become the face of Hugo Boss's new cologne. Do you know what this means?! Yes. Precisely. Nothing. [Just Jared]
