This is real: Paramount is in talks with Magical Elves to direct their Katy Perry 3-D concert documentary -- as in Magical Elves, the producing duo comprised of Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, who previously produced the Paramount smash Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in addition to creating reality TV "classics" like Project Runway and Top Chef. The film will follow the singer on and off-stage, with Footloose director Craig Brewer also onboard to executive produce. The question is, can Perry bring the star power and fan adulation that drove predecessors Never Say Never and Michael Jackson's This Is It to huge box office returns -- or will it take some fairy-esque magic to translate Perry's candy-colored pop persona into movie gold? [THR]
Usually we celebrate birthdays 'round these parts with a look at someone's best screen work. But pop icon Justin Bieber has only a guest turn on CSI and his hit concert doc Justin Bieber: Never Say Never under his newly notched cinematic belt -- so far. Still, he's got plans to break into acting with a handful of projects on the horizon, so in honor of the Biebster's 18th birthday, let's predict what the future may hold for the doe-eyed Canadian crooner as he adds "actor" to his resume in earnest.
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With all this laudatory talk of the best of the year and Nelson Muntz-style "HA hah"-ing at the worst, isn't it time to spare a thought for all the films in between, the ones that are neither remarkably good nor jaw-dropping awful? 2011 saw hundreds of films hit theaters, some only on offer for a week or two before being shunted off to other platforms, others providing an adequate or mildly disappointing few hours of entertainment at the multiplex. But just because a movie is middling doesn't mean it can't have some memorable, even exceptional scenes. Here are five from flicks that likely won't be on many year-end lists, but that still deserve a second look.
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Deadline reports that pop phenom Justin Bieber, who showed off his acting chops on the small screen on CSI, may make his feature debut in a basketball drama to co-star and be produced by Mark Wahlberg. And how did the idea come about in the first place? Well, never say never nothing ever came from the tried and true legacy of Rock 'n' Jock-style celebrity sporting events.
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If you thought you'd seen the last of pop phenom Justin Bieber (well, for a while) after his rocku-biopic Never Say Never opened two weeks ago, his Rolling Stone interview hit, he died in a hail of gunfire on CSI, and he cut that magical hair, think again: In an unprecedented move by Paramount and director Jon M. Chu, a new cut of the film is being re-released to theaters this Friday for a limited one-week run. So why the Bieber Redux? And why are non-Beliebers buzzing about the impact Never Say Never: The Director's Fan Cut could have on the future of filmmaking?
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Earlier today Movieline caught up with director/digital wunderkind Jon M. Chu, helmer of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, to follow-up on the recently announced Director's Fan Cut hitting North American theaters on Friday. While you wait with bated breath for the full chat, posting on Wednesday, find out why Chu pegged David Fincher's The Social Network to come home with Oscar gold this Sunday.
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It's time to face facts: Justin Bieber is the future. You may have resisted his viral ascent to YouTube glory, or rebuffed those confection-like hit singles as they attempted to infect your brain, but this week, as his biopic-rockumentary Never Say Never hits screens nationwide -- yes, documenting all 16 drama-filled years of this pop icon's life -- we will all fall prey to the epidemic of adorbs. Here's why you should just sit back and succumb to the Bieber Fever.
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Having proved his facility bringing pop entertainment to a young, plugged-in audience with successes both theatrical (Step Up 2 & 3) and digital (The LXD), 31-year-old director Jon M. Chu was in many ways the perfect choice to helm a biopic of YouTube sensation-turned-pop phenom Justin Bieber. The resulting film, Never Say Never, is a generation-defining concert doc filled with rare peeks into the life of the 16-year-old performer. It's also got slo-mo hair tosses and shirtless scenes. Bieber Nation, prepare thyself.
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