General Larry Platt appeared in the Atlanta auditions of American Idol, looking like a fool with his self-penned song "Pants on the Ground" on the metaphorical ground of America's living rooms. Simon Cowell blithely remarked that the song could be a hit, and now it just may be: The viral sensation is now a fully produced, three-and-a-half-minute jam. The song, embedded after the break, is still as high on life (and the waist) as you remember.
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As if there were any doubt, Warner Bros. has greenlit the conversion of Clash of the Titans from 2-D to 3-D, thus requiring the blockbuster's release date to be pushed back a week to April 2. Chaos has ensued for the films around it, requiring new dates for The Back-Up Plan (now April 23), Hot Tub Time Machine (March 26) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (March 19) -- and that's for starters. No word yet on whether or not Lionsgate plans to keep Kick-Ass in the April 16 frame, but I would hope the film's title speaks for the general philosophy toward any and all comers. Let's see a real clash. [The Wrap]
You've got to feel for Tyler Perry, a self-contained juggernaut of film and TV production, theater tours and various other interests that would wipe out a dozen lesser men and/or women bold enough to take them on just one at a time. But even the most diligent, detail-oriented hyphenate working today can occasionally overlook a thing or two when he's on the road. I mean, come on: Tell me you've never forgotten to mention your film's six new Oscar nominations in a letter to your fans, as Perry did today in failing to congratulate or even hint at Precious's superb Academy Awards showing. Oh. OK, well, read on to see what did make the cut.
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Indie ingenue Zooey Deschanel will revisit the swinging 1960s in an HBO pilot based on Pamela Des Barres' memoir I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie. Deschanel will exec produce the half-hour dramedy with her manager Sarah Jackson and Curb Your Enthusiasm's Tim Gibbons. Des Barres' book details her high-profile flings (Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon) and the depression incurred after each relationship ended. [DHD]
NBC has already booked Snooki -- along with her merry band of Jersey Shore fist-pumpers (minus Vinny) -- for the third episode of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno 2.0. Instead of an interview, NBC is flying the cast out to L.A. this week to pre-tape a segment which will air on March 3. Snooki already has a history with Leno, having appeared on his primetime show once solo for a 10@10 segment and another time with The Situation and DJ Pauly D. [Radar]
· A new still from 30 Rock's upcoming Valentine's Day episode reveals Liz Lemon's nightmare (and our dream lineup): Jon Hamm, Dean Winters, and Jason Sudeikis all sitting side by side.
· Darren Star is going to direct a biopic of Anita Bryant. Let's just cast the lead role in drag and make this the campiest movie ever.
· Lost EP Carlton Cuse has revealed that Djimon Hounsou was once thisclose to playing Mr. Eko in season two.
· Gael Garcia Bernal is embroiled in some baby mama drama.
· Simon Monjack has sent out terribly Photoshopped invitations for an event meant to celebrate the life of Brittany Murphy...and cost each participant a cool thousand bucks.
Capitalizing on the excitement of today's Oscar news, Disney has made available this still from December's Tron: Legacy, in which Kevin Flynn is followed by his son into the dayglo cyberverse prison he's called home for nearly a quarter-century. Just look at him standing there, like a coin-op angel. We missed you, Flynn. [Official Tron Site]
That staggering $45 million payout that NBC awarded Conan O'Brien and his Tonight Show staff may have stipulated who gets custody of the Masturbating Bear, but it did not allocate any severance for Conan's 50 person crew. TMZ reports that Coco will dip into his own pocket to pay each of the stagehands at least six weeks severance and one personalized Conando telegram each. The union members told TMZ that they are "very happy" with the outcome. [TMZ]
· Orlando Bloom will lead the cast of the thriller-ish indie drama The Good Doctor, starring in the title role of a frustrated physician who schemes to keep a young female patient in his care after taking a liking to her. Courtney Ford, Michael Pena, Troy Garity and Taraji P. Henson co-star; I hate to look forward to Sundance 2011 with the most recent iteration so close behind us, but, well, if you had to start programming today, here's your first safe bet. [THR]
Speaking of Sundance, there's backlash, more (potential) dealmaking, and the rest of Hollywood Ink continued after the jump.
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· The fire was still there today for Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, co-stars in I Love You Phillip Morris. [BestWeekEver]
· Producing legend David Brown died today at home at age 93. Among his credits: Chocolat, Angela's Ashes, A Few Good Men, The Player, Driving Miss Daisy, Cocoon, The Verdict, and Jaws. He's survived by his wife, Helen Gurley Brown. [Variety]
· Radiohead has joined the tweeting masses. So far their output is more minimalist than Thom Yorke's solo stuff. [@Radiohead]
· Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Sundance Star, Sundance Samaritan. [Risky Business]
· "I wouldn't call it sucking up, but I really do admire his talent and ability to multi-task and work on so many different projects." As Lost draws to an end, Jorge "Hurley" Garcia approaches his J.J. Abrams' butt-kissing strategically. [PopEater]
· Sony lays of 450 staff, in the home entertainment and information technology units. [AP]
Until today, I'd somehow and quite miraculously managed to avoid any direct contact with the solipsistic bore that is Jason Reitman, confident in the knowledge that he was already well taken care of by the cadre of sycophantic film bloggers curled obediently at his feet, content to snatch up whatever pie-chart crumbs or slivers of contemplative self-regard should happen to tumble from his constantly moving lips. Well, that was nice while it lasted. Roger Ebert has just posted a series of short video conversations with Reitman -- in Chicago for his aggressively tweeted audience with Queen Oprah -- and while the legendary film critic assessed the Up in the Air director as "forthright and thoughtful," I probably would have gone with very different adjectives. Here then, in no particular order beyond that of awfullest to awfullest, are Reitman's ten most monstrous quotes.
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· Vanity Fair has released the cover for its annual "White Girls" "Young Hollywood" issue. Can you name them all?
· The voice that utters "Previous on Lost" speaks...and it's former ABC head Lloyd Braun.
· Sundance buzz titles Winter's Bone and The Killer Inside Me have found distribution.
· Might the next Bourne movie have to be a prequel, thanks to a reluctant Matt Damon?
· Congratulations to Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, who have gotten engaged. At least something good came out of When In Rome.
Last Friday, after a disastrous press and industry screening, Joel Schumacher's Chace Crawford drama Twelve finally had its public premiere as the closing film of the Sundance Film Festival. If things went any better, it's only because they couldn't have gotten much worse.
To pay tribute to this head-scratching Sundance selection, Movieline's assembled a list of items that the film's titular number might be referring to. Sure, Twelve is supposed to be the name of a new designer drug all the characters are talking about, but we like our explanations better:
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Actor Rip Torn was arrested over the weekend (for the fourth time!) after breaking into a Litchfield Bancorp bank while carrying a loaded revolver. Among his charges: carrying a firearm without a permit, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespassing and third-degree criminal mischief. Maybe this is why we don't see Don Geiss on 30 Rock anymore? [HuffPo]
· Zachary Quinto is said to top the list of candidates to play George Gershwin in a forthcoming biopic of the composer; upping the stakes is the likelihood that Steven Spielberg may make the untitled film his next project. It would be the first film produced by DreamWorks under its new arrangement with Disney, and could possibly shoot as soon as April if everything is in order. Meanwhile Quinto will prepare with an accent and dialect coach, which is probably enough to land him on the Oscar 2011 forecast for the obsessives who keep track of these kinds of things. [Deadline]
Ginnifer Goodwin borrows herself into a love triangle, Salma Hayek goes Faster no more, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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