It needs to be said: Screw you, Merv Griffin! Spencer Pratt is the only real multi-hyphenate TV icon. Let us attempt to do him justice: reality star; reality actor; breather; Ray Combs lookalike; paparazzi chaser; flesh-beard pimper; probing (eww) journalist. The list swells again with his newest achievement: autobiographer.
One need rewind back only one week to find a potent reminder of just how important it is to market a movie properly -- to the cinematic roadkill known as Bandslam. Had Summit thrown some faith behind the vehicle and targeted it to budding hipsters united by their shared love of alienation and indie rock, they might have found an unlikely sleeper on their hands. Instead, they pushed it as a sequel to Camp Rock, and America's tweens suddenly found themselves with better things to do with their time and allowance money, like hurling dildos at Adam Lambert. Now, same shit, different genre: Wednesday, we posted an unused trailer for Halloween II, procured by BloodyDisgusting, that suggested Rob Zombie was doing some very intriguing stuff with a sequel that wasn't producing much buzz.
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· Dolce & Gabbana has premiered its Scarlett Johansson-starring campaign for new fragrance "Rose the One." Pretty, but it could have used a green cape and chrome dome.
· Lost is adding "Japanese superstar Hiroyuki Sanada" to its final season, says EW.
· HBO's casting too, placing New Amsterdam star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in its fantasy pilot Game of Thrones.
· BREAKING NEWS at Usmagazine.com: "Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie Take Boys Shopping for Gerbils."
· People claims that Heather Locklear is in talks to appear on the revived Melrose Place, where she will no doubt cure cancer and solve the health care crisis.
Paramount pulled a fast one on Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and pretty much the entire awards-watching establishment today, pushing its Oscar-season war horse Shutter Island out of its Oct. 2 slot and into the late-winter dead zone of Feb. 19, 2010. Studio insiders have whispered that cash-flow woes at the 'Mount will hinder the studio's effort to make an acceptable awards push this fall, and that opening early next year will be just fine for the big-budget prestige thriller, especially now that the Academy has 10 Best Picture berths to dole out. And why not? It worked for The Soloist! Actually, I can think of a couple reasons.
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· Bryan Singer is in talks with Warner Bros. to produce and potentially direct a remake of Excalibur, John Boorman's sort-of-great 1981 telling of the legend of King Arthur. It's too early to tell exactly what Singer has in mind or how this will coexist with his planned Battlestar Galactica adaptation, but everyone knows he's good with a sword, so let's just throw a congratulatory pool party and hope for the best. [BFDealMemo]
Catherine Hardwicke inherits a couple myths of her own, Billy Bob Thornton gets in the ring, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump.
Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and Nazi-scalping at the movies. This week, Quentin Tarantino walks the Weinsteins back to first place, the studio dregs of August ooze into neighboring auditoriums, and a cluster of promising indies break into the art house. Plot your weekend accordingly after the jump.
You've got your tickets (maybe). You've got your points of comparison. You've got 12 years' worth of anticipation. And today, thanks to some robust marketing savvy at Fox on a relatively dull weekend elsewhere at the box office, you've got an official holiday for Avatar! Tell your boss that Movieline advised you to take the rest of the day off, and please pass along this handy greeting card to friends and family as an expression of your good cheer. Happy trailer-going!
· As threatened, Family Guy has released its latest Emmy video (after the jump), this one bashing competitor Entourage. And yes, it reuses almost all the already-reused footage and dialogue of its predecessor, as well as recycling "jokes" that are just statements people have made at one point or another. "It's just Sex and the City with men!" Yes, well. More to come for each nominee; of all the years to expand the Best Comedy nominations to seven...
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Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on the VH1 reality show Megan Wants a Millionaire, has been formally charged with the murder of his ex-wife Jasmine Fiore. According to TMZ, It appears that Jenkins has escaped on foot to Canada after abandoning a BMW SUV and a boat in Washington State, and authorities consider "armed and dangerous." Fiore, a model, was found strangled in a suitcase near a dumpster in Buena Park, California on August 15. VH1 announced on Wednesday that it would indefinitely suspend broadcast of Megan Wants a Millionaire. [TMZ]
We don't need more intersections between the Muppets and provocative fashion, but Marc Jacobs took time from his busy vamping routine to invite Miss Piggy to his SoHo studio "to go over looks for New York's upcoming fashion week." There's no telling what this has done to aspiring socialites like Prairie "Dirty" Dawn and the high-heeled Fraggles that congregate at every wild Hooper's Store roof party. [People]
Lifetime kicks off 210 minutes of Project Runway-related premieres, specials, and spinoffs tonight with the Project Runway All-Stars Challenge, a one-time competition between eight of the show's glossy veterans. One lucky seamster walks away from tonight's Nicole Kidman-graced festivities with $100,000 and whatever anklets they filch from the Bluefly/Macy's/Limited Too Accessory Wall, and some of these combatants clearly deserve the title (and the shears of a beauty school sophomore; ahem, Sebelia) more than others. Let's run down the odds, starting with the scrubbiest vet and working our way toward the soundbite-spewing tailor with the greatest chance of receiving Heidi's garbled congratulations. So, who ranks where?
For better or worse, I consider myself something of a Delgo connoisseur -- a fascinated observer and loyal fan of perhaps the most misconceived animated film and biggest box-office debacle in the history of movies. But maybe Delgo's creators were on to something when they undertook their story of two races battling it out for the soul of a planet, with some wicked fantasy adventure and a tender love story tossed in for good measure. After all, James Cameron seems to have been influenced by some oddly similar visuals and themes you'll find threaded throughout his new trailer for Avatar.
Or was he? Can two films on opposite ends of the Hollywood spectrum actually be kindred spirits of creativity -- and/or too close for comfort? See some of the uncanniest parallels after the jump, and judge for yourself.
· Hey, a new shot of Penélope Cruz from Nine! Nice stretches, Pen.
· How can Darren Aronofsky attract audiences to his upcoming Black Swan, a slow, deliberative psychological drama? By including a scene where Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have hot animal sex.
· Paula Abdul asked for a private jet for her Ugly Betty guest stint. The producers did her one better: They replaced her with Kristen Johnston.
· FX has picked up the improvised Mark Duplass comedy The League and Louis CK's Louie.
· Small Wonder is coming to DVD. You're welcome!
Please extend a big Movieline hello to new writer Louis Virtel, who you may remember from Brett Ratner's book party (unless you had a few too many free glasses of champers) or his savvy blogging over at our sister site, Hollywood Life. I can't think of a bad word to say about this kid, whose pop culture acumen blows even my mind, except that he was mystifyingly rooting for Lil' Rounds on Idol this past season. What's up with that? Anyway: Hi, Louis!
For decades, Star Trek has tried to make the idea of the sexy, green-skinned alien happen, but Trekkers, I've got some bad news: You chose the wrong hue. When you're looking for a romantic color to make geek hearts go pitter-patter, blue -- as proven by today's Avatar trailer, and this year's cerulean wangfest Watchmen -- is the only game in town.
Don't believe me? Check out some other classic examples:
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