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| Comedian Tina Fey says "no way" she would host Oscars Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:31 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comic actress Tina Fey says there is "no way" she would host the Oscars ceremony next year, despite getting a thumbs up from "Star Trek" actor William Shatner in a sketch at Sunday's Academy Awards show. The creator and star of TV comedy "30 Rock" told the Huffington Post website that she did not see herself as fronting the Oscars telecast. "I just feel that gig is so hard. Especially for, like, a woman - the amount of months that would be spent trying on dresses alone...no way," she joked, during an interview with the Huffington Post posted on the website on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Comedian Will Ferrell to be honored with MTV award Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:24 AM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Will Ferrell will be honored by MTV at its 2013 movie awards show in April for his work in television and film comedy, the cable television network said on Wednesday. The actor and comedian, who spent years on the TV show "Saturday Night Live" and appeared in the films "Anchorman" and "Elf," will receive MTV's first Comedic Genius Award. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mumford & Sons hold top spot on Billboard 200 in slow music week Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:18 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British folk band Mumford & Sons held their reign at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart with their Grammy-winning album "Babel" in a slow week that saw no new debuts in the top 10. Mumford & Sons, who won Album of the Year at the Grammy awards earlier this month and performed twice on stage, saw a second week of Grammy-related boosts as "Babel" sold 62,000 copies, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. It is the fifth non-consecutive week at the top spot for the album, which was released in September 2012 and became one of last year's biggest-selling ... Full Story | Top |
| Michael Moore, "5 Broken Cameras" Director Hit Back at BuzzFeed LAX Story Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:15 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Michael Moore and Palestinian director Emad Burnat are hitting back at a recent BuzzFeed story that questioned their accounts of an incident with U.S. Customs and Border Protection last week at Los Angeles International Airport. Last week, Burnat, the Oscar-nominated director of "5 Broken Cameras," said he was detained by officials and threatened with deportation when he could not produce proof that he had been invited to the Academy Awards. ... Full Story | Top |
| American classical pianist Van Cliburn dies at age 78 Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:09 AM PST  (Reuters) - American pianist Van Cliburn, who awed Russian audiences with his exquisite Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff concertos and won fame and fortune back home, died on Wednesday at the age of 78. Cliburn passed away at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, after suffering from advanced bone cancer, his publicist Mary Lou Falcone told Reuters. Cliburn announced in August 2012 that he had been diagnosed with the disease. ... Full Story | Top |
| The Weinstein Company Settles $50 million Lawsuit Over "Escape From Planet Earth" Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:08 AM PST LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Weinstein Company and Protocol Pictures have settled a $50 million lawsuit over the animated film "Escape From Planet Earth," according to a court document filed in New York Supreme Court last week and obtained by TheWrap on Tuesday. According to the stipulation, both parties have discontinued the lawsuit with prejudice. Neither party will assume court costs from the other party. Further details of the settlement were not released. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Boardwalk Empire" Signs Ron Livingston as a Regular Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:04 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ron Livingston has found a new gig - and he won't have to deal with those TPS reports that he had to file back at Initech. "Office Space" star Livingston has signed on as a regular on HBO's period drama "Boardwalk Empire." Livingston, who starred in HBO's "Game Change" last year and earlier in the network's miniseries "Band of Brothers," will play a businessman named Roy Philips, who comes to town and captures the fancy of Gillian Darmody (played by Gretchen Mol). Livingston also had a run on HBO's "Sex and the City," playing Jack Berger in a 2002-2003 run. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stephen Root Joins Fox Pilot "To My Future Assistant" Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:03 AM PST  NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - "NewsRadio" star Stephen Root, fresh from a recent turn on "Boardwalk Empire," has been cast in the Fox pilot "To My Future Assistant." The pilot, which also cast Brittany Snow on Tuesday, is centered around a New York law office where the assistants band together to cope with their obnoxious, overbearing bosses. Catherine O'Hara, Joe Egender and Melissa Tang have also been cast. Root will play "Frank," the stern, intense attorney who is the boss of Snow's character, "Jen." His character loads her down with chores and demeaning personal errands. ... Full Story | Top |
| Who Is James Franco? Artist Marina Abramovic Wants Her Film to Answer That Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:01 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - James Franco - a man of many talents and occupational endeavors - is the subject of performance artist Marina Abramovic's first film. The woman who describes herself as the "grandmother of performance art," told Elle at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday that she is in the early stages of creating a film to answer the question: "Who is James Franco?" "I think he's the most interesting actor of the moment," she said. "Why? Because he takes risks and when you take risks, you can fail. But he takes failure and risk all with the same intensity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Film reopens old, long-buried wounds in Indonesia Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 09:35 PM PST  JAKARTA (Reuters) - Bejo Untung was a 17-year-old Indonesian schoolboy when armed soldiers came to his village in 1965, forcing him on the run for years until he was caught, tortured and jailed. A communist-led coup attempt had just failed, triggering a wave of arrests and killings that ushered in more than three decades of rigid anticommunist education and propaganda. The subject is still so sensitive it is rarely broached in public. ... Full Story | Top |
| Actress Carrie Fisher briefly hospitalized after bipolar episode Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 06:52 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, was briefly hospitalized due to her bipolar disorder, the actress' spokeswoman said on Tuesday after video emerged of Fisher giving an unusual stage performance. The video came from a show Fisher gave aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean last week, according to celebrity website TMZ, which posted the clip. The clip shows Fisher, 56, singing "Skylark" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," at times appearing to struggle to remember the lyrics. ... Full Story | Top |
| Patrick Fugit Joins ABC's "Reckless" Pilot; Luke Ganalon Signs on for John Leguizamo Pilot Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 06:29 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Almost Famous" star Patrick Fugit has signed on for the ABC drama pilot "Reckless." Fugit will play the lead role of David, whose wife is imprisoned during a political uprising overseas. When the U.S. government stymies his efforts to secure her release in the name of diplomacy, David pursues less-than-legal solutions, crafting an elaborate scheme to topple a brutal dictator. The pilot, inspired by real events, is being written by Chris Black and executive-produced by Martin Campbell for ABC Studios. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bobby Brown gets 55-day jail term for drunken driving Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 06:08 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Bobby Brown, the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston, was sentenced to 55 days in jail on Tuesday after admitting to driving drunk last year. Brown pleaded no contest, an admission of guilt under California law, to driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license in October in a Los Angeles suburb. Police said they stopped Brown after seeing him driving erratically, and that he failed a field sobriety test. It was his second arrest for drunken driving in 2012. Brown did not appear in court on Tuesday and his plea was entered by his attorney. ... Full Story | Top |
| DreamWorks slips to loss as "Guardians" movie disappoints Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 05:57 PM PST  (Reuters) - Movie studio DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc reported its first quarterly loss in almost six years as it wrote down $165 million related to the weak box office performance of "Rise of the Guardians" and its decision to delay another film. The company also said it plans to cut jobs as it seeks to "meaningfully" reduce costs. About 350 employees will leave over the course of the year as part of a restructuring, Chief Financial Officer Lew Coleman told analysts on a conference call. Most will be in production groups, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Green Day's Armstrong comes clean on drink, prescription drugs Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 05:43 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said alcohol and prescription drug abuse forced him into rehab last year after sessions when he would black out and have no memory of what he had done. "I couldn't predict where I was going to end up at the end of the night," Armstrong, 41, the lead vocalist and songwriter for the California punk rock band told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview. "I'd wake up in a strange house on a couch. I wouldn't remember how. It was a complete blackout," he said, opening up about years of addiction to drink and prescription drugs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ben Stiller returning to 'Arrested Development' for Netflix revival Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 04:55 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It looks like Ben Stiller will be adding a little more Wonder to "Arrested Development." "Night at the Museum" star Stiller has signed on to return for the upcoming season of "Arrested Development" for an episode, a spokeswoman for Netflix told TheWrap on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tom Hanks, Bette Midler, Alec Baldwin bring star power to Broadway Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 04:53 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Can any of the major star-driven plays set to open on Broadway over the next few months match the off-stage drama that consumed the theater world last week? It would be hard for any play to top the rumors and Twitter meltdowns that accompanied Shia LaBeouf's eleventh-hour exit from "Orphans" with less than a month to go before its Broadway debut. But fret not theater fans, stars so big they need only use their first names ("Bette" and 'Tom" and "Alec") are still on tap to blaze across the greater Broadway area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justin Timberlake works with Marcus Mumford on Coen film music Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 04:38 PM PST  (Reuters) - Justin Timberlake has brought his movie and music work together by teaming up with British singer Marcus Mumford from Grammy-winning folk band Mumford & Sons on the soundtrack for an upcoming Coen brothers film. Timberlake, 32, said in a British radio interview this week that he and Mumford worked with veteran T-Bone Burnett and folk band The Punch Brothers on the soundtrack for "Inside Llewyn Davis," a film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. Mulligan married Mumford in April 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dennis Rodman gets his "Gangnam Style" mixed up in Pyongyang Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 04:13 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - Former NBA star Dennis Rodman appears to have mixed up his Koreas on a visit to Pyongyang, tweeting that he expected to run into South Korean rapper Psy on his trip to the North. Rodman, famed for his tattoos, piercings and radical hair colours from his time on court, arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to shoot some hoops and a documentary to be aired on HBO in April. "Maybe I'll run into the Gangnam Style dude while I'm here," the 51-year old tweeted (@dennisrodman) after his arrival. ... Full Story | Top |
| Proxy advisers urge split of chair, CEO roles at Disney Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:27 PM PST  (Reuters) - Proxy advisers ISS and Glass, Lewis & Co urged Walt Disney Co shareholders to vote in favor of a proposal to split the chairman and chief executive roles now both held by Robert Iger. The influential proxy advisers in reports provided on Tuesday also urged shareholders to cast advisory ballots "against" the pay of Iger and others at Disney. The recommendations could sway undecided shareholders ahead of Disney's annual meeting scheduled for March 6 in Phoenix, Arizona. A controversial issue at the media and theme park company has been the dual roles of Iger, Disney's CEO since 2005. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cablevision sues Viacom over fees for low-rated networks Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:16 PM PST  (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp has accused Viacom Inc in an antitrust lawsuit of forcing it to pay for more than a dozen low-rated cable networks in order to get access to Viacom's more popular channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central. The case represents the latest flare-up in the contentious relationships between distributors and program makers. Industry observers will be watching to see if the lawsuit could disrupt the model of selling bundles of cable channels to operators, a common practice employed by Viacom and its media company peers in the $97. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drafthouse film acquires punk documentary "A Band Called Death" Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:12 PM PST LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Drafthouse Films has acquired North American distribution rights to "A Band Called Death," Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino's documentary about the titular proto-punk band. Formed in 1971 by a trio of teenage brothers in Detroit, Death was one of the first punk bands, predating the likes of the Clash and The Ramones. It disbanded after years of struggling to make a living, only to experience a revival as people rediscovered the band's music 30 years later. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kaley Cuoco hosting Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' hall of fame ceremony Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:11 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco is hosting the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' 22nd Annual Hall of Fame ceremony, the academy announced on Tuesday. This year's inductees include Ron Howard, Al Michaels, Leslie Moonves, Bob Schieffer, Dick Wolf and Philo T. Farnsworth - the long-deceased pioneer of all-electronic television. The six will be honored for their contribution to the medium at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 11. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oscar winners' annual revenue bump won't come at Box Office Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:10 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Academy Awards - seen by 40 million U.S. viewers on Sunday night - will stoke interest in the movies that won big. Traditionally, the studios have added theaters and pumped up marketing to drive those viewers to the multiplexes, but the box office isn't where the studios will look to cash in after the Oscars this year. Most of the Best Picture nominees are nearing the end of their theatrical runs and already have capitalized - in a big way - on their Oscar nominations at the box office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zucker Fields complaints about CNN diversity Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:08 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - New CNN chief Jeff Zucker is trying to ease concerns about diversity at the network by meeting with advocates for black and Latino journalists. Zucker met Monday with executives from the National Association of Black Journalists. He is scheduled to meet with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists on March 8, and agreed to look for talent at the group's regional conferences, NAHJ president Hugo Balta told TheWrap. "It's not an issue that is unique to CNN. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Twilight" reunion, Anyone? Cam Gigandet teams with Catherine Hardwicke for CBS's "Reckless" pilot Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 03:06 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Cam Gigandet is going to get "Reckless" with CBS - and he's going to do so with a very familiar face. "Twilight" star Gigandet has been cast in the CBS legal-drama pilot "Reckless," which is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who handled directing duties for the 2008 vampire smash. The pilot, which is being written and co-executive produced by Dana Stevens ("Safe Haven"), is billed as a sultry legal show set in Charleston, S.C. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guitarist Dan Toler of Allman Brothers Band dies in Florida Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 02:42 PM PST (Reuters) - Guitarist Dan Toler, who played in the Allman Brothers Band in the late 1970s and 1980s, has died of Lou Gehrig's disease at his home in Sarasota, Florida, his manager said. Toler died on Monday and was in his early 60s, the manager, Glen Halverson, said. Toler and his late brother, drummer David "Frankie" Toler, played in several groups, including Dickey Betts & Great Southern. Dan Toler was part of the Allman Brothers Band from 1979 to 1982 and was featured on the group's albums "Enlightened Rogues," "Reach for the Sky" and "Brothers of the Road. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tribune hires banks to explore sale of dailies Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 02:17 PM PST  (Reuters) - Tribune Co has hired investment banks Evercore Partners and J.P. Morgan to assess interest in its newspaper unit, which includes The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, the company confirmed in a statement on Tuesday. A sale of its eight major newspapers, which also include The Baltimore Sun, has been widely expected since Tribune emerged from a four-year bankruptcy process late last year. "There is a lot of interest in our newspapers, which we haven't solicited," Tribune said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jennifer Lawrence's clothes from "Silver Linings" up for auction Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 02:05 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Clothing worn by Jennifer Lawrence in her Oscar-winning role as an outspoken young widow in comedy "Silver Linings Playbook" went up for auction on Tuesday, just two days after the Academy Awards ceremony. Memorabilia dealer Nate D. Sanders put the skin-tight white dance pants, winter coat and sports bra Lawrence wore in the film up for sale in the online auction that will end on Thursday. The items are expected to fetch between $500 and $1,500 following the 22-year-old's Best Actress win on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bowie is back to best on new album, critics say Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:46 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - David Bowie's first album of new music in a decade sees the influential musician back to his best, critics said in reviews rushed out on Tuesday, two weeks before its release. "The Next Day", which hits stores in Britain on March 11 and a day later in the United States, could even be the "greatest comeback in rock'n'roll history", according to The Independent's Andy Gill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Julianne and Derek Hough to create new TV dance show Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:41 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Siblings Julianne and Derek Hough, both champions of the hit TV show "Dancing With the Stars," will develop a new series set in the world of international competitive ballroom dancing, the entertainment company Starz said on Tuesday. The duo will produce and choreograph the series for the U.S. subscription TV network. The series will revolve around an annual competition in Blackpool, England. "Their experiences growing up in this highly competitive world are riveting and also shocking," Carmi Zlotnik, Starz's managing director, said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jane Seymour to play 'Inappropriate' mom in NBC family comedy pilot Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:40 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jane Seymour has signed on to NBC's family comedy pilot from Andrea Abbate ("Rude Awakening," "Accidentally on Purpose"). The currently untitled pilot, which is being written by Abbate, revolves around Karey, the clean-nosed black sheep in a family of petty thieves, drug addicts, and narcissists who decides to raise her brother's kids as her own along with her adopted African American son when her brother is sent to prison. "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" star Seymour will play Dotty, Karey's mother, who's described as "self-centered, theatrical and often inappropriate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oscars 2013: 'In Memoriam' snubs carry over from telecast to web Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:38 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Comedian Phyllis Diller, actress Lupe Ontiveros and "The Jeffersons" star Sherman Hemsley were snubbed in the Oscars' time-restricted "In Memoriam" montage on Sunday night. And they didn't make the cut for an online slideshow, either. The 85th Academy Awards paid tribute to stars who died in the last year, but with the telecast limited to three-and-a-half hours, many names were omitted from the program. Since 1993, the segment has honored those contributors to cinema that died in the previous year, a group selected by a small committee of the Academy. ... Full Story | Top |
| FCC media ownership vote delayed for a study on minority impact Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:35 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will not vote on new media-ownership rules until an outside study of an impact on minority broadcasters is complete, the agency's chairman said on Tuesday. The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, a Washington-based non-profit focused on equal opportunity in mass media, will conduct the study on the impact of cross-ownership rules on minority ownership and newsgathering. The study will take several weeks, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Coen Brothers teaming with Angelina Jolie on "Unbroken" Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:35 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Coen Brothers will rewrite the script for "Unbroken," a Universal Pictures spokesman told TheWrap. However, Joel and Ethan Coen, the outré minds behind "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men" won't slide behind the director's chair on the project. Those duties will fall to Angelina Jolie, who previously directed "In The Land of Blood and Honey" (2011), a romantic drama set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War. William Nicholson ("Les Misérables") had turned in an earlier draft of the screenplay to "Unbroken. ... Full Story | Top |
| TBS orders Pete Holmes late-night show; Conan O'Brien to produce Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:33 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Pete Holmes, voice of the beloved E*Trade baby and host of the "You Made It Weird" podcast, is coming to TBS with a late-night comedy show, the network said Tuesday. The as-yet-untitled series, which has received a four-week order, will premiere in the fall and will air at midnight following "Conan" Monday through Thursday. Conan O'Brien is executive producing through Conaco LLC, which is producing the series. Jeff Ross, David Kissinger, Nick Bernstein and Dave Rath are also executive producing the show, which will be taped in front of a live audience. ... Full Story | Top |
| FX developing new drama from 'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter, ex-'Hell on Wheels' showrunner John Shiban Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:32 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter and former "Hell on Wheels" showrunner John Shiban are developing a new drama project for FX, the network said Tuesday. The drama, "Lucas Stand," has received a series script development deal from FX. Described as a "dark, action/horror drama with both episodic and serialized elements," the project, which is based on an idea by Sutter, follows "the salvation quest of a damaged former special ops soldier, who has been chosen to traverse time and place to hunt down and kill Hell's law-breaking demons. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wynonna Judd, Aly Raisman join new "Dancing with the Stars" season Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:16 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Country music singer Wynonna Judd, Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and NFL player Jacoby Jones will be among the celebrities paired with professional partners in the 16th season of the hit television ballroom contest "Dancing With the Stars." The cast was introduced Tuesday on the early television news show "Good Morning America." The season debuts on March 18 on the ABC network. Judd said she had been asked to do the show for six years and finally relented. "I'm scared to death. Is anybody else scared to death?" she asked the other cast members. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nick Lachey swaps boy band for fatherhood in lullaby album Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 01:09 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Nick Lachey, a member of U.S. group 98 Degrees, has swapped his boy band heartthrob status to embrace fatherhood in a new album of lullabies dedicated to his baby son. On the cover of "A Father's Lullaby," Lachey, 39, is pictured cuddling his son Camden, who was born in September 2012. "When I first learned that I was going to be a father, I was inspired to create a special tribute to my son," Lachey said in a statement on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Titanic II blueprints unveiled, but don't call it "unsinkable" Tuesday, Feb 26, 2013 12:46 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Australian mining entrepreneur Clive Palmer on Tuesday unveiled blueprints for Titanic II, a modern replica of the doomed ocean liner, although he stopped short of calling the vessel unsinkable. The ship will largely recreate the design and decor of the fabled original, with some modifications to keep it in line with current safety rules and shipbuilding practices, and the addition of some modern comforts such as air conditioning, Palmer said at a press conference in New York. The three passenger classes, however, will be prevented from mingling, as in 1912, Palmer said. ... Full Story | Top |
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