Weekly Entertainment News

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The Simpsons Movie Targeted for 2008
Source: ComingSoon!
The 16th season of hit animated Fox comedy The Simpsons began on Sunday and Entertainment Weekly talked to executive producer Al Jean who revealed secrets about upcoming episodes while also giving an update on the possible movie.

Jean says the show's writers are working on the long-promised feature film, with a targeted 2008 release date. They've even laid down some possible plotlines, but won't spoil anything this early.

"There are a couple things on the show that I steered away from what might be in the movie," Jean says. "The biggest thing is you don't want to do a movie that's not reflective of the quality of the show, and you don't want the quality of the show to slip because you're doing the movie. So we're taking a little time."

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DreamWorks Boxes-Up Real Steel
Source: ComingSoon!
DreamWorks has hired Jeremy Leven (The Notebook) to write the robot boxing project Real Steel and is in talks with Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) to direct, reports Variety. The trade says the studio launched the project last year when it bought Dan Gilroy's spec script for Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers to produce.

The project takes place in a future in which 2,000-pound robots resembling humans battle in a boxing ring. The story revolves around a promoter who takes his fighter to the championships.

Leven's previous credits also include Don Juan de Marco, Alex & Emma, and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Mostow recently signed on for Confessions of a Little League Coach at Columbia Pictures.

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McMahon & Farrell Talk 007
Source: DarkHorizons
Despite being offered, "Nip/Tuck" star Julian McMahon has decided to pass on playing 007 in the next James Bond movie due to his TV commitment schedule according to The Herald Sun.

His mother, Lady Sonia McMahon, spoke openly to guests about the casting at last week's Melbourne Cup where she confirmed he had indeed been "sounded out" for the role but declined the offer as he recently signed a long-term deal to FX for "Nip/Tuck".

Meanwhile, at this past weekend's press junket for "Alexander", Irish spunk rat Colin Farrell was asked whether he would be interested in taking on James Bond? "No, not at all," he told LatinoReview.

Pierce Brosnan suggested Farrell would be a good replacement a few days ago, that speculation has since grown into a full-blown rumour sweeping the globe - gossip that Farrell himself is not happy about - "Pierce has f**ked me. He just shot that out. It's great to think that he has that much faith in me but I have no idea. I haven't heard a thing about it except for Pierce and I don't think they're listening to him for casting".

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The Punisher 2: AICN reports that it looks like it will be filming in Australia and Michael Keaton may play villain Jigsaw.

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The Old Starsky & Hutch Return
Source: DarkHorizons
It looks like "Starsky and Hutch" might be making a comeback - no I'm not talking about this year's Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson comedy, rather the original show's stars Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul look to be reprising their most memorable roles again according to the official Arsenal FC magazine & Hollywood News.

The new show could see David Starsky and Ken 'Hutch' Hutchinson on the streets of London - "We have written a treatment. Starsky is in New York and Hutch is here in London. Then we meet up and get together, it will be interesting," said Soul who admitted the duo are still looking for backing for the project.

Back in its day, "Starsky & Hutch" was one of the most popular shows on televsion with the two cops battled criminals in their red Ford Torino/ Soul is currenty starring as Jerry Springer in the West End show, "Jerry Springer: The Opera".

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Incredibly Super Incredibles
Source: E!

The Incredibles was incredible.

Pixar's computer-animated adventures of a family of superheroes fighting the powers of mediocrity swept up a supersized $70.7 million its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
If the preliminary figures hold up, the animated fantasy will register as Pixar's most successful opening ever, surpassing even the $70.2 million debut of the studio's smash hit fish tale Finding Nemo in May 2003. Both films were distributed in collaboration with the 'toon company's soon to be ex-partner, Disney.

While The Incredibles went up, up and away, it didn't quite take the 'toon title for best opening ever. Shrek 2, from Disney's archrival DreamWorks, holds the record after tallying a very, very green $108 million in May. (DreamWorks, in an effort to steal some of The Incredibles thunder this weekend, decided to release the Shrek 2 DVD on Friday.)

The Incredibles, Pixar's first PG-rated offering, was created by Brad Bird (The Simpsons, The Iron Giant) and features the voice of Craig T. Nelson as sidelined hero Bob "Mr. Incredible" Paar called back to superpower status in middle age and Holly Hunter as Helen, as his flexible missues, Elastagirl. Hailed by critics, the film was embraced by audiences and is on track to be the third-best November opening ever, surpassing Pixar/Disney's Monsters, Inc.'s $62.5 million in 2001, but not Warner Bros.' first two Harry Potter movies--The Chamber of Secrets, which debuted with $88.3 million in 2002, and The Sorcerer's Stone, which opened with $90.2 million in 2001.

In sharp contrast, the weekend's other wide release, Alfie failed to score. Paramount's R-rated remake starring Jude Law in womanizing role originally played by Michael Caine in 1966, managed only a limp $6.5 million in fifth place, despite a marketing strategy that delayed its release so as not to go head-to-head with the half-dozen other movies out or coming out soon starring Law.

The Incredibles in 3,933 sites, averaged an auditorium-filling $17,971, pulling in 52 percent of the movie-going audience. As expected, families dominated the demos, but at least a third of ticket buyers were reportedly teenagers and adults without children in tow. Alfie, in 2,215 sites, averaged $2,935, attracting only 5 percent of ticket buyers.

In its second week, the biopic Ray, starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, stayed in tune, remaining in second place and only dropping 31 percent. Adding 457 sites to play at 2,463, the PG-13 Universal release rackec up $13.8 million to bring its total to $39.8 million, solidifying its status as a possible Oscar contender.

Last week's top movie, The Grudge, once again barely budged. The Sarah Michelle Gellar horror flick, already spawning a sequel, dropped down to third place in its third week, but the PG-13 rated Sony release only fell off 38 percent at 3,336 sites (12 fewer than last weekend), adding $13.5 million to bring its gross to $89.5 million.

Also not suffering a substantial post-Halloween dropoff was Saw. The grisly horror flick, also being prepped for a sequel, was down only 38 percent to fourth place from its third-place opening last weekend. The R-rated Lions Gate release added 152 sites to play at 2,467 and has earned $11.4 million for a total of $35.7 million.

In limited release, Jay-Z's swan song flick Fade to Black opened at 170 sites and earned $475,648. That made for a $2,798 per-screen average, which was in the same ballpark as the more higher profile Alfie, but Paramount probably found little consolation in that statistic. (Fade to Black was released by the studio's indie arm, Paramount Classics.)

Among the art-house flicks, the top screen average belonged to Fox Searchlight's wine-loving Sideways, which averaged $16,135 per site as it expanded to 56 theaters in its third week of release.

Overall, the top 12 movies for the 46th opening weekend of this year earned an estimated $136.1 million, a huge 48 percent gain on last week, but still 5 percent down from this time last year, when The Matrix Revolutions and Elf were the top draws.

Here is a rundown of the top 10 based on studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations; the final figures will be released Monday:

1. The Incredibles, $70.7 million
2. Ray, $13.8 million
3. The Grudge, $13.5 million
4. Saw, $11.4 million
5. Alfie, $6.5 million
6. Shall We Dance?, $5.65 million
7. Shark Tale, $4.6 million
8. Friday Night Lights, $3 million
9. Ladder 49, $2.6 million
10. Team America: World Police, $1.9 million

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Russell to direct Witchblade movie
Source: Moviehole
Yancy Butler needn't waste her time sitting by the cordless - a "Witchblade" feature film is happening, but it won't feature the spunky brunette.

The Comics Continuum reports that Chuck Russell ["The Mask"] will direct the film - which isn't set up at any studio yet - which will be a totally new entity from the TNT series.

In the series, Yancy Butler starred as Sara Pezzini, a New York detective whose search for justice brings her into contact with an ancient, intelligent, living weapon so powerful it can battle the world's darkest forces.

The site reports that "Witchblade" is also turning toon - thanks to Japan.

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Interview with the visual-effects supervisor for Fantastic Four

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First Look at General Grievous from Revenge of the Sith

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Tony Kaye Helming Thriller Reaper
Source: ComingSoon!
American History X helmer Tony Kaye will direct the thriller Reaper, penned by comic book writer, novelist, and video game writer Gary Whitta, reports Production Weekly.

Reaper, Whitta's first screenplay, is a stylish action-neo-noir film in the vein of Blade Runner.

It's the story of Virgil, a private investigator recruited to work for the beautiful and mysterious Delia. Virgil gradually finds himself immersed in a surreal underworld where the boundaries of life and death as well as right and wrong are blurred.

Filming will being in February.

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These two Tom`s are a pair of THIEVES
Tom Jane and Tom Sizemore play criminals with a twist
Source: Cinescape
Here's a cool take on a cops and robbers movie: instead of having the bad guys steal high profile goods like gems, gold or money, have them go after rare and valuable comic books, baseball cards and old lunchboxes worth big bucks. That's the premise for THIEVES, a new movie that now has actors Tom Jane (THE PUNISHER) and Tom Sizemore (BLACK HAWK DOWN) attached to star in it.

Jane and Sizemore starred together in the Lawrence Kasdan adaptation of DREAMCATCHER a couple of years ago, which may be how they came to be involved in this new picture. There's also another connection to consider: the screenplay for THIEVES was written by Tom Sizemore's brother, Aaron. No doubt that kind of family connection helps when you're trying to find the right talent to attach to your budding movie screenplay.


The movie also has director John Swanbeck (THE BIG KAHUNA) attached to helm it but it's not set up at a studio (yet.)

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CONSTANTINE helmer to shoot Protosevich's I AM LEGEND?
Source: AICN
Hey folks, Harry here... Did some research on this tidbit. Now, Mark Protosevich's I AM LEGEND script has been... kind of a thing of legend in its own right. I'd say for the better part of the last 8 years i've been tracking its development and progress around Hollywood. Arnold was attached forever, then with Ridley Scott, then rumors of Cameron, then there was Will Smith and Michael Bay, dozens of others in-between. There was a period where the script was developed so far away from Mark's original - that it was set to be a disaster of epic proportions, and then it got back on track with slight permutations of his original draft. The only problem with Mark's original script was how his ending was forced to be different from the actual Matheson ending - which is kinda the whole point of the damn thing - but then - Mark always wanted to stick to Matheson's ending too. Sigh. Well - recently I'd heard rumors that Ridley Scott was fishing again around these waters - but ultimately hung up his fishing gear to move on to other waters. This time, it looks like Warners is in serious talks with Francis Lawrence, based upon how high they are on his CONSTANTINE movie. Now, I hear Francis isn't signed yet, but that it's more or less just a formality at this point. All parties want this to work out. I just hope that Francis keeps Protosevich on the project - if that's at all possible, given he's off working on POSEIDEN ADVENTURE for Wolfgang Petersen.
Hey big guy,

I haven't seen anything on this, so I wanted to let the cat out of the bag.

Sophomore Director Francis Lawrence (Constantine (2005) is going to helm "I Am Legend".

-Sausage King

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Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool
Sounds like Ryan Reynolds is basically a lock for the comic cum film "Deadpool".
Source: Moviehole
Reynolds gave Bloody Disgusting an update on the long-mooted project. "Avi Arad called me into his office after we were done shooting and said 'Ryan I want you to play DeadPool, you've got to do DeadPool, I don't know how we'll do it but we'll do it."

The mug behind 'Van Wilder' also touched upon the "Blade : Trinity" spin-off.

"New Line sees it as a new franchise for them, there's alot of interesting characters in there like the Midnight Sons and all these other guys who are really interesting and they see it as something they can mine out this new franchise. David and I talked about doing the story together, he doesn't need any help from me but I defiantly hope to collaborate with him on that. But at this point it's such conjecture, it's something we're not even thinking about."

Reynold's also been waxing lyrical to About.Com, where he announced - once and for all - that 'Van Wilder' will never return (Frat Boys cry).

"I don’t think so. No. I know they’ve written a script and they’re trying to go for one, but I don’t think so."

It's not that he doesn't want too. "Sometimes when I see a character that I love and a movie that I love, I always want them to do it again. And when they do it again, I’m inevitably disappointed. So I just feel like given the opportunity to have that happen or not, I think I’m going to go with 'not'. I just feel like [we should] let sleeping dogs lie. It was a lot of fun, it was a cult hit. It did really well on DVD. I think I’d leave that legacy in my wake. It was a lot of fun."

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NEW CD RELEASES FOR NOVEMBER 9, 2004
Source: TheMoviePoopShoot
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An Angle ... And Take it with a Grain of Salt (Drive Thru/Sanctuary)

Tony Bennett The Art of Romance (ICE #212) (Columbia)

Vanessa Carlton Harmonium (enhanced) (A&M)

Bill Carrothers Armistice 1918 (Sketch/Cryptogramophone)

Neko Case The Tigers Have Spoken (ICE #212) (Anti/Epitaph)

Will Downing Christmas, Love and You (GRP)

Fabolous Real Talk (Elektra/Atlantic)

Glide (Will Seargent of Echo and The Bunnymen) Curvature of the Earth (spinART)

Grizzly Bear Horn of Plenty (Kanine)

Handsome Boy Modeling School White People (Atlantic)

Hellogoodbye Hellogoodbye (Drive Thru/Sanctuary)

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks Selected Shorts (Surfdog)

Daniel Humair Baby Boom (Sketch/Cryptogramophone)

Ja Rule R.U.L.E. (Def Jam)

Elton John Peachtree Road (SACD same day, ICE #212) (Rocket/Universal)

Eyvind Kang/Tucker Martine Orchestra Dim Bridges (Conduit)

Robert Earl Keen No. 2 Live Dinner (Koch)

Los Lobos Live at the Fillmore (DVD and CD/DVD combo same day) (Hollywood)

Love .45 Love .45 (Rock Ridge)

Aimee Mann Live (CD/DVD combo) (SuperEgo/United Musicians)

Branford Marsalis Coltrane's A Love Supreme: Live in Amsterdam (ICE #212) (Marsalis Music)

Michael McDonald Motown Two (Motown)

Brian McKnight Gemini (Motown)

Tony Moran The Music Starts Here (Tommy Boy)

The Mystics (featuring George Galfo) Hushabye Again (Collectables)

New Edition One Love (MCA/UME)

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Dirt on the Strings (The Instrumental Collection) (S & P)

NOFX The Best Songs Ever Written (By Us) (Epitaph)

Carl Palmer Working Live - Vol. 2 (Sanctuary Classics)

Powderfinger Vulture Street (Artemis)

Queen On Fire: Live at the Bowl (ICE #212) (Hollywood)

Linda Ronstadt Hummin' to Myself (ICE #206, ICE #212) (Verve)

Derek Sherinian Mythology (InsideOut)

Silverhawk Westward (guitar-rich psychedelia from Oregon) (Blue Eyed Crow)

Stray Cats Rumble in Brixton (Surfdog)

Stroke 9 All In (Rock Ridge)

George Thorogood Merry Christmas Baby (Eagle Rock)

Toothpick Time Travelin' Couch (V1)

John Wells The Dash (Cross Movement)

Gretchen Wilson Here for the Party (Deluxe reissue) (Epic)

Michael Wolff & Impure Thoughts Dangerous Vision (Artemis)

VA All*Star Bluegrass Celebration (ICE #212) (Rainmaker)

VA Give 'Em the Boot IV (w/Rancid, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, HorrorPops, The Aggrolites, Tiger Army, Ducky Boys, and South Central Riot Squad) (Hellcat)

VA Music from the Chocolate Lands (Putumayo)

VA Soca, Dancehall and Reggae Hits (V1)

VA We Like to Party (V1)

OST SpongeBob SquarePants (ICE #212) (Warner Bros.)

OST The Grudge (Sarah Michelle Gellar/Bill Pullman thriller) (Varèse Sarabande)

DVD Poi Dog Pondering Audio Visivo (w/3 bonus audio tracks) (Koch)

DVD Something Corporate Live at the Ventura Theater (Geffen)

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