· After bleeding some of their cred by featuring a foundation-heavy American Idol also-ran on their last cover, Rolling Stone reestablishes themselves as the rock journal of record.
· Phil Spector has requested a TV, an iPod, and Internet in prison -- all of which will give him unfettered access to Jon & Kate Plus 8, thereby rendering the Kate Gosselin-inspired assymetrical wig he's meticulously styling out of a mop that much more authentic.
· A debate has erupted in Twitter's Grumpy Film Bloggers forum over a Slashfilm post titled "The Works of Sam Mendes." This might be a good time to make Movieline's advertorial policy clear: We would never sell ourselves out for anything less than the GNP of a small country.
· Find yourself somehow paying to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen against your will? Pretend your infant child directed it, or anything else on this list of suggestions to help you salvage the experience.
· The Tudors star Jonathan Rhys Meyers is continuing his crusade to bring drunken bar brawling to the world's airports.
Perhaps realizing it's going to take a lot more than Hugh Jackman musical numbers and Swarovski curtains to get people tuning into the Oscars again, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis has made the earth-shattering announcement just moments ago that the 2010 Best Picture race will double in size to include 10 -- that's TEN -- nominees. From the press release:
"After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,' said Ganis. 'The final outcome, of course, will be the same - one Best Picture winner - but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.'"
The implications are immense. More Movieline analysis to follow. Meanwhile, the full press release is after the jump.
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Our Public Enemies premiere coverage continues with this short interview with Stephen Dorff, who's currently shooting Somewhere -- a Sofia Coppola film that also boasts a Fanning, a Jackass and a Wolf Man among its eclectic cast. Dorff is clearly invigorated by the plum role, described by Variety as "an aging bad boy actor who comes face-to-face with his 11-year-old daughter."
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Like the company that bears his and his brother's name, Bob Weinstein is downsizing. His 14-bedroom co-op duplex on Central Park West has gone on the market for the modest price of $29.75 million, a recession-era steal for those with a taste for New York film history and/or a new gig at Movieline's parent company MMC. But I know what you're thinking: Besides the privilege of Bob living nearby in his new $15 million townhouse just around the corner, what else do you get for your money?
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The last of the John Turturro headshots and trampled Bad Boys 2 DVD cases had barely been swept away before Westwood Village played host to another red carpet event of epic proportions: LAFF's Centerpiece Gala screening and the L.A. premiere of Michael Mann's period gangster drama, Public Enemies.
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Michael Bay has never been one to embrace or even read film critics, and with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, those aggrieved legions are returning the favor. And while the film is altogether review-proof, that's not going to stop some of its most determined foes from attempting to smother it in its crib. After the jump, have a look at some of the most amusingly vicious rebukes to the summer's biggest blockbuster to date.
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· MTV has gone on a greenlighting orgy. Among the eight shows picked up to series: An untitled sketch comedy show from Jamie Foxx; a reality show from Mark Burnett revolving around Hills supporting vacuum Audrina Patridge; an animated series about bumbling superheroes from Seth Meyers called The Awesomes; Teen Wolf: The Series; and pièce de résistance Hard Times, described as Hung, except with an unpopular 15-year-old as the monster-penis-having protagonist. [Variety]
Coming up in Hollywood Ink: Katherine Heigl chooses Life, Zac Efron stretches, and Heather Graham goes gay for pay.
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Until now, only a select few -- like Steven Soderbergh and star Sigourney Weaver -- have actually glimpsed finished renderings of the 3-D Eden known as Avatar and lived to talk about it. A bleeding edge science fiction film of reputedly breathtaking beauty, just a glimpse of Avatar is said to instantly reduce audiences into incapacitated puddles of twitchy ecstasy, while reversing infertility and clearing up problem skin. Well, ladies and avatars, we are now one step closer to deciding for ourselves whether or not to believe the hype.
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· MTV's Josh Horowitz handed Johnny Depp a card with all of his movie prospects for the next year on it, and the actor scribbled down his commitment to the feature adaptation of Dark Shadows and the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Thank goodness, as Hollywood was running low on vampire movies and sequels.
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According to Variety, David Fincher is in advanced talks to direct Aaron Sorkin's script about the formation of Facebook, The Social Network. If it seems unlikely that Sorkin, the master of scenes where people walk and talk, could craft a film about people sitting and typing, Fincher seems to be even more of an unconventional choice. Still, Social Network reminds us of one film in particular that Fincher almost got off the ground (which may shed a little more light on where he plans to go with this one).
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Everyone's got a theory as to how Sony boss Amy Pascal decided to pass suddenly on Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh and Brad Pitt's adaptation of the 2003 best-seller about Oaklnd A's general manager Billy Beane. But with Paramount and Warner Bros. both now having balked at picking the project up from turnaround, the only speculation left is whether or not Pascal really intends to let the $50-million-plus Moneyball drop before acceding to Soderbergh's more impressionistic vision -- and one interesting rumor making the rounds suggests she may have no other choice.
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· Director Adam Shankman has come under fire for posting scandalous, chair-humping photos he took of Miley Cyrus on the set of their upcoming movie, The Last Song. Uh, Miley Cyrus dated a smokin', over-age underwear model for like a year. Humping a chair for someone's grainy iPhone photo is practically Christmas card-worthy at this point.
· Harold Ramis is glad he passed on directing the Super Mario Bros. movie. We mourn the loss of a Bill Murray-voiced Bowser.
· Bravo's executive figurehead/adorable plush toy Andy Cohen has wrangled himself a late-night chat show.
· What films will play the Toronto International Film Festival this year? The Playlist makes its best guesses.
· Attention, The CW: Please advertise your upcoming Vampire Diaries with the banner ad featuring a naked MMF threesome. Thanks.
Like a Decepticon bulldozer fusing itself to a sun-eviscerating robot colossus with wrecking-ball nuts, Nikki Finke has joined the MMC family. (This metaphor makes more sense if you've seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Rest assured, it's highly complimentary.)
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If public mayhem and general confusion in the streets of Westwood Village amounts to an "event," then TMZ-outed disgruntled director Michael Bay should have been extremely pleased with the efforts mounted by Paramount to "eventize" last night's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiere, which also served as an LAFF Special Screening. Movieline was there.
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Sad news out of Los Angeles, where Ed McMahon passed away early this morning at 86. The erstwhile Tonight Show sidekick, Publishers Clearing House American Family Publishers spokesman and amateur rapper had been suffering from pneumonia since February; another report this morning cited a source close to McMahon who said he'd been battling bone cancer recently as well. A few favorite video recollections -- and your condolences -- after the jump.
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