LA Times photographer David Strick was granted access to the set of New Moon, where -- amid snapping enough pictures of Taylor Lautner's rippling torso to drive even Bruce Weber to exclaim, "OK, enough already, we get it -- this very pretty boy has nice abs!" -- he caught this hugely uncomfortable moment between star Robert Pattinson and Shirlee the White She-Wolf. In it, the two are barely capable of making direct eye-contact after what we can only imagine was a quick and clumsy tryst, the regrettable result of perhaps a few too many Pomegranate Twilightinies at the wrap party the night before. See the full photosuite here.
· Dave Strick's Hollywood Backlot [LAT]
Aside from the relatively strong showing for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the past weekend comprised some of the stinkiest high-profile openings in recent memory. None were more aromatic than Jennifer's Body, which went from a highly anticipated horror comedy starring the Hottest Woman in the World™ to devastated studio also-ran in about a month flat. Its dearth of critical supporters (including A.O. Scott, Dana Stevens and yours truly) reflected its pathetic $6.8 million gross, even while the media interest from Toronto alone (not to mention its generally critic-proof genre creds) suggested something a little more bulletproof at the box office. How could it go so wrong? Let Movieline count the ways.
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· The Emmy fashion prize must surely go to Young and the Restless star Victoria Rowell, who appears to have designed her dress using Google Image Search, a Chuck E Cheese tablecloth, and a whole lotta moxie.
· Not only are the Coen brothers uninterested in revisiting The Big Lebowski for a Jesus spinoff, they're uninterested in the movie in general. "That movie has more of an enduring fascination for other people than it does for us," Joel Coen told MTV News.
· Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift has been great for her brand, Google-wise.
· Noted: James Franco has enrolled in a queer cinema class at NYU.
· January Jones will not stand for this new diet Christina Hendricks is embarking on: "My only advice is to not go too far, because if she loses her curves it will be a very sad day." Wait, she has curves? Did we know this?
The Circle of Instantly-Minted-Pop-Superstar Life renewed itself once again over the weekend when Ethan Boroian -- a 19-year-old Armenian adonis from the suburbs of Chicago, currently studying in Surry, England -- waltzed into Simon Cowell talent competition The X Factor (different from the Idol franchise in that it's a search for telegenic singers with unmistakable star quality, as opposed to a search for star-quality-having pop stars with unmistakably great voices), and promptly proceeded to blow away the judges, the country and the entire world.
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This year's Emmy telecast recovered from its ratings slump, scoring a 10% rise in key demos. While the show remains the third-lowest-viewed ceremony in Emmy history, it scored respectable ratings up against NBC's juggernaut broadcast of the Cowboys/Giants game. It's clear the Emmys need to feature more jock-baiting celebs; I suggest casting Chris Berman as a gracious Alec Baldwin and Linda Cohn as a harried, emotionless Mary-Louise Parker. [Variety]
Shame on us for guessing such predictable Emmy winners! Boo, Movieline! I mean, we were mostly right, but our clairvoyance is a Pyrrhic victory. No amount of correct hypothesizing saved us from a three-hour telecast marked with "highlights" like an overlong Dr. Horrible interruption and the Branson, Missouri stagewear of Dancing with the Tassles non-nominee Karina Smirnoff. The night's nine most tolerable and intolerable occurrences after the jump.
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Spike Jonze's blog dedicated to the making (and now the promotion) of Where the Wild Things Are has introduced a new contest asking readers to have fun inserting the story's characters into other films or fragments of contemporary culture. Your results may vary, but face it: The romantic tree-jumping interlude shared by Edward Cullen and young Max seems as close to the pinnacle of this genre -- or maybe any other for that matter -- as we're going to get. [We Love You So via /film]
· Disney chose a fine time to unveil the news that Dick Cook is out as the boss at Walt Disney Studios, sneaking the dispatch into e-mail inboxes on Friday night -- which happened to overlap with Rosh Hashanah. Most reports concur that the timing of the news (if not the transition itself) was Cook's choice, but that couldn't really stop the outpouring of frustration among talent and filmmakers all weekend. Among them: Steven Spielberg, who didn't really park DreamWorks at Disney because he's a huge fan of CEO and putative hatchet man Bob Iger (pictured here with Cook, left, this summer). Nevertheless, I can think of at least 825 million reasons to sort that out. [DHD]
More reactions (including a rattled Johnny Depp and Scott Rudin) and fallout after the jump.
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Hey, kids -- you know what Americans don't particularly do much of in the third weekend of September? If you said "see movies," you're right! Let's wipe some lasagna off the windshield and see how Hollywood made out, shall we?
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Hey, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will perform to expectations this weekend! And thaaaaat's about all the good things one can say about Friday's unremarkable box office, which is most notable for the brutal audience evisceration of Jennifer's Body (which opened in fifth place). Full results after the jump...and I warn you, you'll do a lot of wincing:
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No sooner had Movieline gone international this week for the Toronto Film Festival than Kanye West stormed our stage with a brief message of his own. And that was literally just the beginning of one of our busiest weeks ever. Look back with us after the jump, and have a great weekend!
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· Sacha Baron Cohen will voice a character on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons. He'll play a "pretty angry but funny Israeli tour guide who encounters the Simpsons during a church-group trip to the Holy Land," EP Al Jean told EW.com, before tossing out a joke to see if it sticks: "He's trying to get Marge to give him good grades on the comment card, and she goes, 'You people are pushy,' and he goes, 'What do you mean, you people? You try having Syria for a neighbor! What do you have -- Canada?'" It sticks!
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It's been a nonstop two weeks, hasn't it? What better time for our best commenters from the period to win a prize like this one: access to Jay Leno's brand-new, relaxing airport lounge (also known as the Jay Leno Show set). Put down your carry-on and peruse our winners:
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John Wells was announced the new president of the WGA today, defeating treasurer Elias Davis, the candidate endorsed by exiting president Patric Verrone. Wells, the executive producer of Southland, previously held the post from 1999-2001, and is considered far more moderate than Davis, who, as a key adviser to Verrone's Writers United coalition, was instrumental in mobilizing the strike of 2007-08. Among Wells' critics are hardliners who feel he slept with the studio-friendly DGA enemy during the strike, and that he won't push hard enough for gains in new media, home video and cable when the contract is up for renegotiation in May 2011. [Variety]
CBS' live coverage of the Emmys on Sunday will not dissuade HBO or AMC; both networks plan to air new programming during the ceremony. Will you choose between watching Jon Hamm brandishing a statuette or an unwanted baby? Do you prefer ogling Larry David as he haws about a Miniseries Editing Emmy or the nothingness of everyday life? I thought I was supposed to rest on Sunday and not make the hardest decisions of my year. [Variety]
