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| Lady Gaga to perform at MTV awards for first time since surgery Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:47 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Lady Gaga will debut new music at the MTV Video Music Awards in August in her first performance following hip surgery, the network said on Thursday. Grammy-winning Lady Gaga, 27, will perform her first single from her upcoming new album "ARTPOP," which is scheduled to be released in November. The new single will be released on August 19, ahead of the VMA show on August 25. ... Full Story | Top |
| American, British films dominate Venice festival lineup Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:34 AM PDT By Hanna Rantala ROME (Reuters) - New films by British and U.S. directors Terry Gilliam, Stephen Frears, Jonathan Glazer and James Franco will vie for the top prize at this year's Venice Film Festival, organizers said on Thursday. English-language titles prevail in the lineup of 20 films that will be competing for the Golden Lion award at the 70th edition of the world's oldest film festival, which runs from August 28 to Sept 7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sex researcher Virginia Johnson dies at 88: local media Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:35 AM PDT KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Sex researcher Virginia Johnson, part of the famed Masters and Johnson team which did groundbreaking work on human sexuality, has died in St. Louis at the age of 88, St. Louis Public Radio reported on Thursday, quoting her son Scott. Johnson and her ex-husband William Masters, who died in 2001, published the bestselling book "Human Sexual Response" in 1966. (Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Greg McCune and Gerald E. McCormick) Full Story | Top |
| A minute with: Wong Kar Wai on 'The Grandmaster' and Kung Fu Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, best known for pensive dramas "Chungking Express" and "In the Mood for Love," explores the life of Kung Fu master Ip Man in the new film "The Grandmaster," which will be released on August 23 in the United States. The film tells the story of Ip - the trainer of Kung Fu film icon Bruce Lee - played by longtime Wong actor Tony Leung. It is divided into three parts that span his adulthood in 1930s' southern China and his Hong Kong exile after Mao's communist revolution in 1949. ... Full Story | Top |
| Talk show host Jimmy Fallon and wife welcome baby girl Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:57 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who will take over from Jay Leno as the host of NBC's "Tonight" show next year, said he and his wife have had their first child, a girl. Fallon's wife, producer Nancy Juvonen, gave birth early on Tuesday morning. "My wife and I thank you for all for the nice baby well wishes. Her first day was the best day of our lives. So happy," Fallon said on Twitter on Wednesday. The 38-year-old comedian, who is the host of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," started out on the long-running "Saturday Night Live" comedy show in 1998. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wagner's 200th anniversary gets an oil-themed "Ring" Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:54 AM PDT  By Michael Roddy BAYREUTH, Germany (Reuters) - The sometimes staid audience for the annual Wagner festival in the Bavarian opera house he built was bracing this week for a new production of his mythic "Ring" cycle inspired by American TV, Hitchcock's "Psycho" and the pursuit of oil. For a new production for the 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth, Berlin theatre director Frank Castorf said "Rheingold", the first in the four-opera cycle, was set in Texas and opened at a motel on Route 66 - the road that snakes through America. ... Full Story | Top |
| For 'Fruitvale Station' director, film school and football pay off Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:24 AM PDT  By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two years out of the University of Southern California's film school, Ryan Coogler is still paying down his debt. That may not be the case for long. Coogler's first feature film, "Fruitvale Station," goes into wide U.S. release this weekend, having earned universal acclaim from critics, awards at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals and some early Oscar buzz. Coogler, 27, wrote the script and directed the independent drama, while Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker produces. Add to that auspicious start a timely release. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'The English Girl' debuts at top spot on U.S. best-sellers list Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:58 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Daniel Silva's "The English Girl" leapt to the top of the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday, while Dan Brown's "Inferno" slipped to third place. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "The English Girl" by Daniel Silva (Harper, $27.99) - 2. "First Sight" by Danielle Steel (Delacorte, $28.00) - 3. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) 1 4. "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead, $28.95) 5 5. "Hidden Order" by Brad Thor (Atria, $27. ... Full Story | Top |
| Book Talk: A parenting journey as father-turned-mother Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:14 AM PDT  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Author Jennifer Finney Boylan says there is more to being a mother than giving birth and in her newest book, "Stuck in the Middle with You," she chronicles her transgender journey from being a father to a mother. For much of her life as a parent of two boys she said she was "some parental version of the schnoodle or the cockapoo," referring to the dogs produced by mixing two breeds. In the book, Boylan, 55, describes the impact of her transition, which began about 11 years ago, on her now-teenage sons, Zach and Sean, and her wife of 25 years, Deirdre. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'The Beatles' bring all their loving back to Broadway Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:37 AM PDT  By Jill Serjeant NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Beatles - that is, a version of the Liverpool band that broke up more than 40 years ago - are back on Broadway, sending theater audiences dancing into the aisles and proving it's not just Paul McCartney who still believes in "Yesterday." "Let it Be," a concert-style celebration of the music of the Fab Four that opened in New York this week, is the latest stage show to take fans old and new back to the Beatlemania of the 1960s even as surviving members McCartney and drummer Ringo Starr perform and tour the world in their own right. ... Full Story | Top |
| Time Warner Cable, CBS agree to extend negotiations over fees Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:12 AM PDT  By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc and CBS broadcast network, locked in a battle over fees the cable company pays to carry CBS programming, will continue negotiating until Monday, which temporarily averted a blackout in some large cities. "Both parties have agreed to an extension through Monday, July 29 at 5 p.m.," Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Maureen Huff told Reuters late on Wednesday. CBS spokesman Dana McClintock confirmed the extension on Thursday. If both the companies had failed to reach a new deal by Thursday, the No. ... Full Story | Top |
| SoftBank CEO: no comment on whether he tried to buy Universal Music Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 01:58 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said on Thursday he could not comment whether he had tried to buy Universal Music, after a media report last week said Universal's owner Vivendi SA had rejected an $8.5 billion offer from Son's company. "I can't comment on the matter," he told reporters inside Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, when asked whether he had considered acquiring Universal Music from Vivendi. The Financial Times reported last week that the Japanese telecoms group, which just completed a $21.6 billion takeover of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jay Z tops U.S. Billboard album chart for second week Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 07:30 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Jay Z's latest album "Magna Carta Holy Grail" on Wednesday topped the Billboard 200 album chart for the second week in a row. "Magna Carta Holy Grail" sold 129,000 copies in its second week, according to figures compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, bringing its two-week total to 657,000 copies. Last week, it was the second-best debut week for an album this year behind Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience." Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles was second on the chart with her "Blessed Unrest" album, selling 68,000 in its first week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jason Sudeikis says he is leaving NBC's 'Saturday Night Live' Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 05:01 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Longtime "Saturday Night Live" cast member Jason Sudeikis said on Wednesday he has left the NBC late-night sketch comedy show, joining fellow comedians Bill Hader and Fred Armisen out the door after the show finished its 38th season in May. Sudeikis, who has worked on the show for 10 years, made the announcement during a taping of CBS late-night talk show "Late Show with David Letterman." "Yeah, I'm going to leave. Yeah, I'm not coming back next fall," Sudeikis said, according to a transcript distributed by CBS before the show airs on Wednesday night. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alex Gibney's documentary on Lance Armstrong goes to Sony Classics Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 04:07 PM PDT  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the worldwide rights to Alex Gibney's documentary about cyclist and admitted doper Lance Armstrong. Entitled "The Armstrong Lie," it originally was intended to focus on Armstrong's attempted comeback and efforts to win an eighth Tour de France title. That heart-stirring saga took on a darker tint after Armstrong was forced admit to using performance-enhancing drugs, following a federal criminal investigation and public accusations of doping by his ex-teammates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Facebook users talk TV five times more than Twitter tweeps Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  By Tony Maglio LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Facebook users are 5 times more engaged on TV topics than those on Twitter, GetGlue and Viggle combined, Trendrr announced on Tuesday. The user engagement data results come from a Trendrr study using Facebook's data. The analysis of second-screen Facebook activity was conducted during one week in May. Trendrr chose the time frame for its manageable sample size while there was still regularly scheduled programming on TV, an individual with knowledge of the study told TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| Todd Purdum joins Politico as senior writer Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:51 PM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Todd S. Purdum, a veteran political journalist renowned for pulling back the curtain on Washington's halls of power, will join Politico. He will become a senior writer at the news organization, Politico said Wednesday. It's a splashy hire for the site and paper and another sign of its growing influence in the political sphere. Purdum, who has produced a series of incisive stories at Vanity Fair as its national editor, will continue his affiliation with the magazine and will remain a contributing editor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollywood's trouble with China? It has all the leverage Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:50 PM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - In its poker game with Hollywood, China is playing with a stacked deck. The republic, which denied "Despicable Me 2" a release last week and forced Disney to postpone a promotional trip that would have brought Johnny Depp and producer Jerry Bruckheimer to the mainland for "The Lone Ranger," is not afraid to throw its weight around. A year after it loosened restrictions on the number of foreign films it imports, it is giving movie companies a major case of heartburn. ... Full Story | Top |
| TCA: five awkward questions for networks this summer Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:16 PM PDT By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - When TV executives, show runners and stars go before critics, they get a lot of maddening questions. Some of them ("Isn't this a total ripoff of 'Lost'?") are enough to make sitting onstage in an air-conditioned ballroom seem like a very bad gig. But some questions cry out to be asked. And a few are even important. Yes, the Television Critics Association summer press tour, starting Wednesday at the Beverly Hilton, will include plenty of queries from cranks out to prove that no one does anything original anymore, or that cable is smarter than broadcast. ... Full Story | Top |
| The Weinstein Company to remake '70s martial arts classics Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:16 PM PDT By Lucas Shaw LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The Weinstein Company and Celestial Pictures will remake "The Avenging Eagle" and "Come Drink With Me," a pair of 1970s martial arts films, the companies announced on Tuesday. The movies are part of the Shaw Brothers library, the biggest Chinese-language film library of its kind. This is the first time anyone will shoot English-language martial arts remakes of any films from the library. "The Avenging Eagle" is a thriller about a man who raises orphans to serve as his personal gang. ... Full Story | Top |
| Seven bright spots to end a crowded, messy summer at the movies Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:15 PM PDT  By Steve Pond LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If you've been an avid moviegoer this summer, we understand that you might be worn out by now. Maybe you've got superhero fatigue or apocalypse overload, or maybe you're just fed up to the gills with gunshots and fights and things blowing up and tough guys overcoming impossible odds. And maybe, as July comes to an end, you're ready to stay away from the multiplexes for a while, to spend August catching up on "Breaking Bad" or "House of Cards" or rooting on the Dodgers. But hang on a second. ... Full Story | Top |
| Topher Grace in talks for supporting role in Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:11 PM PDT By Jeff Sneider LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Having already battled Spider-Man and Predators, Topher Grace is gearing up for his next challenge - secrecy - as he's in talks to join the cast of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar," TheWrap has learned. Paramount and Warner Bros are teaming on the epic sci-fi movie, which stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine and Mackenzie Foy, as well as John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Bill Irwin and Timothee Chalamet, whose castings were first reported by TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'The Wolverine' review: Hugh Jackman's bad-news mutant returns to fighting form in latest X-Men Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:10 PM PDT  By Alonso Duralde LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Even if "The Wolverine" doesn't entirely clear away the stench of its misbegotten predecessor, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," this latest adventure of grizzled mutant Logan (Hugh Jackman) feels like a return to form for the oft-erratic "X-Men" series. Moments in "The Wolverine" rank among both the franchise's best and worst, but there's enough in the positive column to make the movie a must for fans and entertaining viewing for casual observers. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'The Wolverine' reviews: were the critics' claws out for Hugh Jackman's hairy sequel? Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:08 PM PDT  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Hugh Jackman won't need an adamantium skeleton to guard against critics - most are retracting their claws in praise of "The Wolverine." The superhero sequel hits theaters on Friday and finds the X-Man in Japan, where he encounters a crime syndicate and an old flame in Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). He is also sorely tested when an operation strips him of his immortality. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Today,' 'NBC Nightly News' hit by modest layoffs Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:06 PM PDT By Sara Morrison LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - NBC News was hit by a round of layoffs recently, with "Today" and "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" losing a small number of staff, a network spokesperson told TheWrap. The spokesperson said that "less than 2 percent" of each show's staff was affected but declined to say the exact number or their positions within the company. "Today"'s layoffs came on Tuesday while "Nightly News" restructured "a few weeks ago," the spokesperson said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Time Warner Cable, Hulu break off talks: sources Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The owners of video streaming site Hulu called off talks with Time Warner Cable Inc over the cable operator's plan to take a 25 percent stake after failing to agree on a price, according to two people with knowledge of the negotiations. Hulu's owners - Walt Disney Co, 21st Century Fox and NBC owner Comcast Corp - began talks with Time Warner Cable in early July when they failed to attract satisfactory bids in an auction of the service. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sony fires up 'Gran Turismo' movie with 'Fifty Shades' producers Wednesday, Jul 24, 2013 03:01 PM PDT By Jeff Sneider LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With Universal, DreamWorks and Legendary all laying claim to "fast car" franchises, Sony is wheeling its own onto the track, putting a feature adaptation of the bestselling video game "Gran Turismo" into development, TheWrap has learned. "Fifty Shades of Grey" producers Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti will steer the action movie, which is based on the popular Sony PlayStation game by Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Studios. "Gran Turismo" is the single biggest franchise for PlayStation, having sold 70 million copies worldwide. ... Full Story | Top |
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