A powerfully hormonal tween voting block has achieved the unthinkable, pushing a quietly unassuming acoustic troubadour from Arkansas to the ultimate American victory, and leaving the heavily favored frontrunner crestfallen, with nothing left to do but mount Kokring, his trusty flying unicorn, and board the bat-shaped rock n' roll spaceship he arrived in on a fame-seeking mission from Planet Glittershadow 9 in the starsystem Gothika. First order of business for the victor: tilting his head down, slowly shifting his puppy gaze upwards, and smiling tenderly and appreciatively at his enormous good fortune. SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!! [EW]
· Eager to return to comedy after the laff riot that was Seven Pounds, Rosario Dawson has signed on as Kevin James's co-star in The Zookeeper. The Happy Madison offering features James as the jilted title character, whose animals confide the secrets for winning back and keeping the woman of his dreams. Among them: Tranquilizers, hand-feeding, security fencing, and a sizable water feature for midday frolicking. [Variety]
more »
· NY Times has put up their massive magazine feature on the late night shift. Nothing too earth-shattering here, but worth a read. And hey -- look! It's the new Tonight Show set, that Lorne Michaels is concerned looks too much like a movie's version of what a talk show set looks like.
more »
· Almost a full day after Ann Curry supplanted Antichrist as the Croisette's must-see horror show, dispatches from Cannes continue to summon little interest in anything but Inglorious Basterds. Among them are a fistful of clips thrust forth by Harvey Weinstein and Quentin Tarantino like so many bloody Nazi scalps; you'll find three here, and a new one -- with Tarantino introduction direct from the Riviera -- after the jump.
more »
Spoiler TV reports that actor Kirk Acevedo has alerted the Facebook community that his services will no longer be required on Fringe. Viewers know Acevedo as Agent Charlie Francis, an FBI agent whose role seemed primarily limited to offering Olivia freaked-out updates about airplane-passenger liquifications, and to provide some armed muscle should the team need to apprehend a syphilitic, spinal-fluid drinking club-hopper.
more »
Another blockbuster vision of the apocalypse is coming to movie theaters this weekend, but don't hold that against Dance Flick. Moreover, don't hate the Wayanses -- all eight of them (at least) -- for crafting what's likely to be another spoof franchise, at least not after their Scary Movie brainchild grossed more $428 million over four installments. The clan that Entertainment Weekly once dubbed "The Most Powerful Family in Hollywood" knows its business, and for that, we tip our caps. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't level the playing field. That's where Movieline's Tournament of Champions comes in.
more »
· None other than Cher is in talks to star opposite Christina Aguilera in the musical Burlesque. The eyeshadow glitter budget is going to be tremendous.
· Oh, guess what else is being put on Thursdays this fall? The CW's great big hope, Vampire Diaries, starring Boone from Lost as Robert Pattinson.
· Speaking of Pattinson, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are checking his adoption papers at Cannes.
· Before doing his Mac commercials, Justin Long sought advice from a supportive friend who said, "No offense, dude, but what are you selling out? Herbie Fully Loaded?"
· In the ratings race, Glee did OK (helped none by the lowest-rated Idol finale ever), but couldn't outdraw an episode of Hell's Kitchen that snagged that slot last year. In related news: gays, please calm down about freakin' Glee. It's a TV show, not the new Prop 8.
Terminator Salvation director McG and co-star Common sat recently for one of MySpace's Artist on Artist conversations, eschewing all the dick-measuring and governor-digitizing talk of recent weeks for a more organic process of creative discovery. And while their film will no doubt speak for itself when it opens tomorrow, this chat (after the jump) provides a compact, revealing addendum to their bigscreen effort -- in ways both good and bad. For starters:
more »
Years of speculation about the future of the Ghostbusters franchise came down to one loaded exchange Tuesday, when Dan Aykroyd vaguely committed his fellow 'Busters to a third installment that will shoot some time this winter. No rush, gang!
more »
It turns out that Aziz Ansari only thought he had exposed a major moviegoing scandal. After the comic last week Twittered his outrage over a $5 surcharge to watch Star Trek on an IMAX screen only slightly bigger than a conventional screen, the exhibitor's front office said in a presentation Tuesday that was just old news. In fact, they've been misrepresenting their product for years now.
more »
· The newly formed WME has bagged its first high profile client, having coaxed Lost star Matthew Fox out from the safety of his ICM lair into an open field, shot him with tranquilizer darts, and dragged him back to their headquarters. There he'll awaken hours later, frightened and disoriented, and surrounded by a strategy team explaining how they plan to orchestrate his move to the big screen. [Variety]
more »
· I'm not sure who in Disney marketing signed off on this video in which Ryan Reynolds repeatedly tells Betty White to "suck a hot cock," but I heartily encourage the direction they're taking with the studio's promotional efforts, and look forward to the viral clip for Up featuring Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer performing a titillating burlesque featuring the popping of 400 helium-filled balloons, and climaxing in probably the best visual evocation of the concept of "up" that I can possibly think of.
more »
I feel obliged to tell you that Chace Crawford has officially been cast to replace Zac Efron to supplant Kevin Bacon in the upcoming musical redo of Footloose. I'm not sure why the press has followed this Footloose casting story so closely; sure, when Efron was still attached, the project had a little bit of "It's weird that he's doing yet another musical while his star is rising" frisson, but do we really care about a musical toplined by the least interesting actor on Gossip Girl? Oh, but guess who else might be in it?
more »
With Part One of the American Idol final face-off just hours away, the very fate of the karaokiverse lies in your calloused and exhausted dialing fingers. Will it be the vision-impaired one with the pouffy hair, or the gay Puerto Rican? Only God truly knows. And Danny Gokey. (Because he's friends with God.) In the meantime, I thought I'd answer a few burning questions.
more »
· Little Britain star Matt Lucas dresses up as Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle for Heat.
· Jessica Biel worries that her good looks keep her from being considered for roles. I would have thought it was Stealth!
· Ben Stiller teasing the possibility of a Zoolander 2 is so hot right now.
· Mel's mistress's mom: Moppet message is momentary.
· Teen Seth Rogen has nothing on the comedic skills of a very blue, very young Shia LaBeouf.
