· Artist David Kawena specializes in, um, hypersexualized pin-ups of Disney's animated princes -- but he made a live-action exception for High School Musical's Troy Bolton. [via Queerty]
· Here's seven new character banners for The Fantastic Mr. Fox. They have their clothes on.
· Oprah's new book club selection is an anthology of short stories by Nigerian author Uwem Akpan's called Say You're One Of Them. Here she is, just moments after announcing it, looking utterly bewildered by Mariah Cariah.
· Suzanne Somers blamed chemo for killing Patrick Swayze at the TIFF party for A Single Man.
· Did Lionsgate drown Joel Schumacher's new film, Blood Creek?
Annette Bening hasn't worked very much over the last decade, but we all know that when she has, it's been with the express purpose of providing an obstacle in Hilary Swank's path to Oscar glory. Her American Beauty hopes in 1999? Dashed by Swank's Boys Don't Cry breakout! Her Oscar-nominated role in 2004's Being Julia? KO'd by Swank's Million Dollar Baby win! Now, here comes Swank with her Academy hopeful Amelia, based on the life of famed aviatrix Amelia Earheart. Can Bening once again play her potential spoiler?
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So how did NBC fare with their Thursday night comedy block? Mixed results: The Jay Leno Show continues to stumble, pulling in a 2.7/8 and 8.5 million viewers, or about 10 million fewer than checked out the premiere. More people watched a rerun of CBS' The Mentalist. Community (our review here) had the highest retention of any new show to follow The Office -- 3.7/10. SNL Weekend Update and Parks a& Recreation both tanked, with a 2.0/7 and 2.1/6. Season 19 (!) of CBS's Survivor got a 3.6/11 and 11.5 million viewers, though that could steadily rise as America catches on to Russell Hantz, whom industry-watchers claim has an "amazing sociopath Q-rating. He's watercooler-worthy!" But the surprise winner of the night? Fox, with healthy debuts for Bones and Fringe. [The Wrap]
· Paul Giamatti is aboard Ironclad, a 13th-century-era action epic in which he'll play the wicked tyrant King John. James Purefoy stars opposite as a knight who leads his cohorts in a defense of Rochester Castle against the evil king. Feasts, sneering, revelry, violence, dancing, a love scene, men falling over walls, arrow-induced death throes, stumbling horses and motivational protagonist monologues are all likely to ensue; we won't know for sure until someone passes a script our way. But you know how these things go. [Variety]
Rebecca Hall faces Liars, Penn and Teller go gumshoe, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
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Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and crowding the early-fall box office. This week, the season's first real crop of high-profile releases heads to market, offering something for pretty much everyone from families to awards-season junkies to Jennifer Aniston completists and more. A full survey follows the jump.
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It was announced late last night that Clint Eastwood's next project will be the Peter Morgan-scripted Hereafter, which is set to star Matt Damon. What's it about? "For Eastwood, the project's a move into supernatural territory," says Variety. "Warner Bros. is keeping the logline under wraps beyond describing the project as a thriller in the vein of The Sixth Sense."
Not again with the secret logline! It didn't take us long to crack Gus Van Sant's Restless, and Hereafter was even easier: We've got a copy of the script, dated to last spring. So what's this movie really about? As always, we won't spoil anything major, but we can at least tell you as much as you'll learn when they make a trailer for it:
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· Madonna has finally released the video of "Celebration" that features daughter Lourdes recreating her famous "Like a Virgin" wedding dress look. It's going to get very awkward during that second single when Madonna hands Rocco the director's cut of "Erotica" and demands, "Here, pick a scene." The video, after the jump:
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When it comes to doing drugs, just say no. (Or yes. Or waffle a bit, have a couple of drinks, then say yes.) When it comes to putting drugs in your movie, however, think long and hard about that particular decision; if after that you still must, then at least consult with someone who's done that drug before. Ask questions. Find out how the drug makes you feel. Inquire as to how long it takes to hit, and how long it lasts and what the possible negative side effects might be. I bring it up because a number of depictions of drug use in recent releases have struck me as false. Consider the following cases:
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Julie Taymor's Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark hasn't had the easiest time making it to the Broadway stage. On paper, it would seem to have everything going for it: a big budget, one of theatre's brightest directors, songs written by Bono and the Edge, and a cast that's had Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming attached. Still, the show was hit hard by hiatus last month -- and then there was the little matter of casting Peter Parker. Taymor's Across the Universe lead Jim Sturgess had participated in readings and workshops, but he never officially signed on. Who did Taymor have in mind for the role, if anyone?
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With all of the buzz about Saturday Night Live sending its elder and phat-ter female cast members to the glue factory, we forgot about SNL's resident nag, Darrell Hammond. USA Today reports that the Hammond, best known for his Bill Clinton and Sean Connery impressions, is very close to negotiating a 14th season at Studio 8H. Lorne Michaels defended his sketch Clydesdale by saying, "We're under some budget pressure...but we feel Darrell's not done yet." Who should we expect next - Chris Parnell? [USA Today]
Pictured, TV and film star Katherine Heigl cocoons with husband Josh Kelley and their proud new addition, a "10 month old baby girl from Korea," reads the press release. They've named her Nancy Leigh -- the first name of Katherine's mother and middle name of her sister, respectively -- but the baby will go by the hybridization "Naleigh" [pronounced NAH-lay]. More photos are up on the family's animal rescue foundation website, accompanied by the message, "Come meet some GREAT ADOPTABLE ANIMALS this Saturday, September 19th from 12 noon-3pm at Encino Park!" I think the two announcements are unrelated, unless infant adoption laws have slackened considerably in recent months. [jasonheiglfoundation.org]
· Cate Blanchett is taking some heat for wearing this on a Melbourne red carpet. TMZ already made the Roseanne's couch joke, so we'll just point and stare.
· Glee's audience dropped 11% from last week; that 11% quite deservedly missed out on the electric screen chemistry between Stephen Tobolowsky and Josh Groban.
· Our intrepid stablemate Nikki Finke reports The Hollywood Reporter will be going online-only this year, and Variety.com will erect a Iron Subscription Curtain. The Cold Trades War begins.
· Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary succumbed to leukemia yesterday at age 72. Here she is at their peak in 1963, singing their signature hit. Hammer on in heaven, Mary.
· Here's a preview of Amy Poehler's completely improvised Paula Abdul impression on her upcoming Inside the Actors' Studio. Forever the skies and love and people, indeed.
Pedro Almodóvar may be one of Spain's most Oscar-laden exports, but that doesn't mean he's a sure bet for awards glory, according to the committee that picks Spain's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film. The director's latest film, the Penelope Cruz drama Broken Embraces, was snubbed from even the three-movie shortlist the committee has just put together, and it's hardly the first time Almodóvar has found himself in this position.
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Last night on The Jay Leno Show, Leno did a bit where he reinterpreted classic novels on Twitter. Yes, I know, sigh...but it gets worse! Here's his Twitter-ized Hamlet: "Dude hooks up with the ultimate MILF -- and it turns out to be his own mom!" Yeah, that incest and surprise reveal is a little more Oedipus than Hamlet, I would say. Those months of prep time are paying off! [Media Yenta]
Pour yourself an afternoon highball and dust off that accordion! On Monday, Oprah time travels to the Sterling Cooper era with The Oprah Winfrey Show: Oprah Goes Back in Time - The '60s, in which the talk show host invites Jon Hamm and January Jones to her couch, dresses the studio audience in period costumes, welcomes a performance from the "Jersey Boys" musical and dons a custom-made design by Mad Men's own costume designer. The episode will also feature a "Favorite Things" segment in which Oprah announces her favorite items from the swinging decade. [New York Times]
