James Cameron to Direct Forbidden Planet Remake? December 19, 2008 8:04 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Forbidden Planet, Movies, News.add a comment
IESB is reporting that James Cameron is very interested in directing Warner Bros.’ remake of Forbidden Planet. The project has actually been on Cameron’s radar for the better part of a decade, when AICN posted info on it back in 1998, but it never came to be. Warner Bros. recently hired Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski to write the screenplay.
Cameron’s next film is the 3-D sci-fi epic Avatar, which is scheduled to hit theaters December 25, 2009.
Kristin Chenoweth Cast in NBC’s Legally Mad December 19, 2008 7:40 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Legally Mad, NBC, News, Television.add a comment
Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) has been tapped to star in NBC’s David E. Kelley legal drama, Legally Mad.
According to Variety, Chenoweth will play Skippy Pylon, who although is a cheerful and brilliant attorney at a Chicago law practice, also exhibits flashes of psychosis–and enjoys being mistaken for a teenager.
“I’ve wanted to work with her for a long time and can’t wait to reveal her as someone who’s completely mad,” Kelley said.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, December 18, 2008 December 19, 2008 7:30 pm
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Frank Miller to Helm Buck Rogers December 19, 2008 7:28 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Buck Rogers, Movies, News, Nielsen Ratings, Nielsen TV Ratings.add a comment
Last May there was a rumor that Miller would be directing Buck Rogers for Nu Image/Millennium but days later they denied the report and said he would not be directing the fim. Turns out that the initial report was correct all along.
THR is reporting that Odd Lot Entertainment, who is the production company behind Frank Miller’s The Spirit, is in talks with Nu Image/Millennium for the rights to the property and is looking to reunite with the director to direct the film. The report goes on to say that Miller’s take on the property will be “darker” and include “signature visual elements and themes, such as corruption and redemption.”
New Lost Season Five Promo December 19, 2008 7:12 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Lost, Television, Trailers.add a comment
ABC has begun airing a brand new promo for the fifth season of Lost. Watch it embedded below. The new season premieres January 21st.
Stephen Chow No Longer Directing The Green Hornet December 19, 2008 6:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, The Green Hornet.1 comment so far
Stephen Chow is no longer attached to direct Columbia Pictures’ big-screen adaptation of The Green Hornet. Variety is reporting that Chow stepped aside due to “creative differences”. It’s unclear whether the disagreements arised between the studio, or the project’s producers/screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Chow is still attached to play Kato, the sidekick to the Hornet (played by Seth Rogen).
Columbia is looking for a new director that could be announced by the end of the year, and still plans to begin production by spring and release the film on June 25, 2010.
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Passes Away December 19, 2008 6:44 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Star Trek.add a comment
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, passed away from leukemia yesterday at the age of 76. Majel passed away peacefully at her home in Bel Air, surrounded by her son Eugene ‘Rod’ Roddenberry along with family and friends.
The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the CARE Organization or Precious Paws. Both organizations shared her love for animals and dedication to animal rescue.
Majel recently completed voice work for J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film Star Trek, where she reprised her role as the voice of the Starship Enterprise computer.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends.
Baz Luhrmann’s Next Project Will Be The Great Gatsby December 18, 2008 10:23 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Books, Movies, News, The Great Gatsby.add a comment
The Hollywood Reporter is confirming Nikki Finke’s report that Baz Luhrmann (Australia) has acquired the rights to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby and will quickly move to make the project his next film: “I’m going to move faster than I have before. I’d be surprised if it’s another seven years,” referring to the time period between his last two films Moulin Rouge! and Australia.
“If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, ‘You’ve been drunk on money,’ they’re not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they’d be willing to.”
“People will need an explanation of where we are and where we’ve been, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ can provide that explanation.”
Alan Horn Talks ‘Dark Knight’ Sequel, Green Lantern and More December 18, 2008 9:46 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News.add a comment
Collider conducted an interview with Warner Bros. president Alan Horn, who talked about several of the studio’s projects including the status of The Dark Knight sequel, Green Lantern and more. Here are some highlights from the interview:
“We’ve been talking to [director] Chris Nolan and what we have to do is get him in the right place and have him tell us what he thinks the notion might be for a great story, but Chris did a great job and we’d love to have him come back and do another one.”
“Yes. The story is everything and we are very respectful of Chris. We have a wonderful relationship with him and we are going to be respectful of his timing and we want to get it right. Also, I think the fans expect that – they want us to make a terrific movie – we have to give them another great movie.”
When asked which property is closest to hitting the big screen, Horn offered: “I think Green Lantern is probably the best guess but I can’t promise it at this moment.”
Horn also said that we’ll “probably” see another Superman “in the next couple years”, adding “We’re very anxious to bring Superman back also.”
You can watch the interview embedded below:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Barry Sonnenfeld to direct ‘How-To Guide for Saving the World’ December 18, 2008 9:27 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, The How-To Guide for Saving the World.add a comment
Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) has been tapped by MGM to direct the action comedy film The How-To Guide for Saving the World from screenwriter BenDavid Grabinski.
“I loved the writing and the concept: What would happen if, one afternoon, the secret group that protects Earth from alien invaders was wiped out?” Sonnenfeld said. “Fortunately, they left behind an instruction manual for saving Earth. Unfortunately, a non-action-hero guy — not unlike me in terms of manliness — and a woman who hates him find the book and have to save the planet from an impending attack.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, December 17, 2008 December 18, 2008 6:27 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, December 16, 2008 December 17, 2008 5:28 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
New Inglourious Basterds Photo December 17, 2008 4:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Inglourious Basterds, Movies, Photos.add a comment
A new photo from writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film Inglourious Basterds has been released. Click to enlarge.
Inglourious Basterds will be released in 2009.
Source: Filmz.ru
Walt Disney Pictures 2009 Preview December 17, 2008 4:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Images, Movies.add a comment
Walt Disney Pictures has released their 2009 preview featuring 14 total releases. Here’s the release schedule.
February 13, 2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic
February 27, 2009
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
March 13, 2009
Race to Witch Mountain
April 10, 2009
Hannah Montana The Movie
April 22, 2009
Earth
May 29, 2009
Up
June 12, 2009
The Proposal
July 24, 2009
G-Force
Summer 2009
When in Rome
September 25, 2009
Surrogates
October 2, 2009
Toy Story
November 6, 2009
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
November 25, 2009
Old Dogs
Christmas 2009
The Princess and the Frog
Head on over to ComingSoon.net to check out several more new images.
Nielsen Releases First DVR List December 17, 2008 4:12 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in DVR, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Nielsen has released its first yearly top 10 list of time-shifted primetime programming. Topping the list are the Tuesday and Wednesday editionts of Fox’s American Idol, with Live+7-day viewing adding 2.15 million and 1.95 million households, respectively (Note: notice they are ranked by households, not viewers which is more commonly used).
Of the remaining eight shows in the top 10, seven are dramas, including sci-fi shows Heroes (1.83 million), Lost (1.79 million) and Fringe (1.60 million). Those are followed by House (1.45 million), The Mentalist (1.45 million), Survivor (1.40 million), Grey’s Anatomy (1.36 million) and Bones (1.33 million).
A second list ranked shows in order of the percentage increase attributed to time-shifted viewers. SCI Fi’s Battlestar Galactica leads the list with an impressive 53% increase in households. USA’s Burn Notice comes in second with a 37% increase, followed by Heroes and 90210 (both 35%).
Other cable shows listed were SCI FI’s Sanctuary (35%) and Eureka (34%), TBS’s comedy My Boys (32%), USA’s Psych (29%), In Plain Sight (28%) and The Starter Wife (27%) round out the list.
Source: Variety
The Dark Knight DVD and Blu-ray Sales at 13.5 Million Worldwide December 17, 2008 3:59 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Blu-ray, DVD, Movies, The Dark Knight.add a comment
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has announced that The Dark Knight has sold 13.5 million DVD and Blu-ray disc copies worldwide (US, UK, Canada, Japan, Benelux and Australia). That figure includes a record-breaking 1.7 million Blu-ray Discs worldwide, including 1 million domestically.
The Dark Knight took the world by storm on Blu-ray and DVD, breaking records for 2008. The blockbuster hit from acclaimed director Christopher Nolan became an instant must-own classic with Blu-ray sales of over 1.7 million units and total DVD and Blu-ray sales of 13.5 million worldwide*, including consumer sales and rental sales, in one week. Brisk consumer sales – totaling over 10 million with one week of sales reported – are expected to continue through the holiday season. The Dark Knight is the best selling Blu-ray title in history and will become the best selling 2008 title overall this week. The response to the digital copy offering included on the Blu-ray and Special Edition DVD has been remarkable with the number of consumers activating their digital copies approaching 300,000. The Dark Knight is already the number one movie for the year on the iTunes 2008 Chart.
The full press release follows after the jump.
First 22 Minutes of Watchmen Seen + Court Trial Pushed Back December 17, 2008 3:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Watchmen.add a comment
Devin Faraci of CHUD got the opportunity to watch the first 22 minutes of Warner Bros.’ Watchmen over the weekend at Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin. Here’s what he had to say about the clip:
It will look and feel like a real movie.
That’s a weird thing to say, but there are lots of people out there who, having only seen the trailers released to the public, are jumping to the conclusion that Zack Snyder has made a Watchmen filled with speed ramping and flashy money shots. From what I’ve seen this isn’t even remotely true at all. The footage is stylish – well shot, with rich visuals and dynamic compositions – but it looked more like a modern take on a noir film than anything else. What I saw was moody, sometimes muted. Snyder allows his takes to be long, eschewing a quick cut style that many seem to think would rule the day in this film. The 22 minutes I saw didn’t feel like an action film at all.
Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that Los Angeles federal judge Gary Allen Feess has pushed back the Watchmen court trial two weeks to January 20, 2009.
NBC To Use Super Bowl to ReIntroduce Programming December 17, 2008 3:44 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Chuck, Heroes, Kings, Medium, NBC, News, Television.1 comment so far
With several of the network’s high-profile shows experiencing series low ratings, and NBC still unable to successfully launch a new series this fall season, the network is looking to capitilize on the large audience tuning into the Super Bowl to to reintroduce its programming to America.
Promotions are being planned for Heroes, Kings, Medium and NBCU Cable shows among others. NBC will have five minutes’ worth of promotional time during the Super Bowl, plus a potential of between two and four minutes during halftime. Additional time will be available in the network’s pregame and postgame programming. NBC Entertainment president of marketing Adam Stotsky said that the Super Bowl gives the network an opportunity to “reintroduce” viewers to NBC programs they might not currently be watching “as well as give current fans some of the respective shows some special episode points to keep them coming back.”
The network’s Monday night lineup will be most highlighted, set to debut one day after the game airs. They include a special 3-D episode of Chuck at 8pm, the new volume of Heroes at 9pm and the season premiere of Medium at 10pm.
“You want to have a trailer version so [viewers] know what it’s about,” said Mr. Miller. “We also plan a different kind of spot that gets attention, the type of thing that will be displayed on YouTube the next day.”
Source: Advertising Age
Season Finales of Dexter and Californication Draw Record Ratings December 16, 2008 6:31 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Californication, Dexter, Nielsen TV Ratings, Showtime, Television.add a comment
Showtime’s Golden Globe-nominated series Dexter and Californication each drew record ratings on Sunday night with their respective season finales. Dexter drew a Showtime record 1.5 million viewers (1.99 million when combined with the 11pm encore), while Californication drew a season-best 615,000 viewers (937,000 when combined with the encore).
Dexter and Californication each received Golden Globe nominations last week, including Best Drama and Best Comedy Series, as well as Best Actor Drama for Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Best Actor Comedy (David Duchovny).
Source: B&C
Giants/Cowboys Matchup Most Watched Game in SNF History December 16, 2008 6:25 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in NBC, NBC Sunday Night Football, NFL, Nielsen TV Ratings, Sports, Television.2 comments
23.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the Dallas Cowboys defeat the Super Bowl champion New York Giants 20-8 on NBC Sunday Night Football this past Sunday. That’s the most viewers ever for a ‘Sunday Night Football’ game and the third-most viewers in primetime this season, behind only the November 16th telecast of 60 Minutes that featured President-elect Barack Obama (25.1 million) and the October 9th season premiere of CSI (23.5 million).
Sunday Night Football is currently averaging 16.8 million viewers over 14 broadcasts. That’s a five percent gain over last season’s average of 16.1 million.
The full press release follows after the jump.
Jessica Alba and Jack Black to Guest Star on NBC’s The Office December 16, 2008 5:53 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, NBC, News, Television, The Office.1 comment so far
NBC has announced that Jack Black and Jessica Alba will both be guest-starring on the hour-long post-Super Bowl episode of The Office on February 1, 2009.
I’ve included both press releases after the jump.
Merlin Renewed for Second Season December 16, 2008 5:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in BBC, Merlin, News, Television.1 comment so far
BBC has renewed its successful original series Merlin for a second season. The show premiered in the U.K. in September and received an impressive 28% share, or 6.2 million viewers. The show been picked up in over 100 territories, including the United States, where NBC has the rights.
All 13 episodes of the first season have already aired in the U.K.
Source: Variety
Rob Zombie Confirmed As Director of Halloween Sequel, H2 December 16, 2008 5:23 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, H2, Halloween, Movies, News.add a comment
About two weeks ago ShockTillYouDrop.com reported that Rob Zombie would be returning to direct a sequel to his 2007 film Halloween (click here to read that story). Now Variety has confirmed that Zombie will indeed be returning to direct the sequel, titled H2. Dimension Films hopes to begin production on the film next March.
Halloween debuted August 31, 2007 and grossed $58.3 million domestically. It added $20.2 million from overseas markets for a worldwide cume of $78.5 million.
Not adjusting for inflation, Halloween (2007) is the top grossing installment in the nine-film franchise, just ahead 1998’s Halloween: H20.
New Moon Release Date Set; Transformers 3 in 2011? December 16, 2008 4:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, New Moon, News, Release Dates, Transformers.add a comment
Summit Entertainment has announced that New Moon will be released on November 20, 2009. Dark Horizons is also reporting that German release schedules are showing a July 29, 2011 release date for Transformers 3. The date doesn’t seem too far-fetched, considering the first film was released on June 27, 2009 and the second will be released June 26, 2009.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, December 15, 2008 December 16, 2008 4:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
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