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Universal turning ‘Asteroids’ into movie
Turning video games into movies is nothing new. But Universal plans to turn the game “Asteroids” — the Atari arcade game from 1979 — into a feature film, says The Hollywood Reporter.
The game has no story line — after all, you controlled a rocket ship and shot at rocks while trying not to get hit. But the THR article reminded me that that hasn’t stopped the studio before — Universal is behind the feature films based on the board games “Battleship” and “Candy Land.”
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Christian Slater hoping to get back on TV
Actor Christian Slater is apparently hoping to return to television. The Hollywood Reporter says he aims to get the lead in the ABC series “The Forgotten.”
Slater is in talks to star as an ex-cop who leads a group of detectives in the Jerry Bruckheimer mystery/drama series. He previously starred in the NBC spy series “My Own Worst Enemy.”
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Neil Patrick Harris may host Emmys
Variety.com is reporting that “How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris is in talks with CBS and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to host this year’s Emmys.
The deal has not been completed, though. The award show is scheduled for Sept. 20.
Says Variety: “The ‘How I Met Your Mother’ star … was a no-brainer of a choice for the Eye after he earned rave reviews as host of the June 7 Tony Awards, which also aired live on CBS.”
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British actress Mollie Sugden dies
Ever see the British TV show “Are You Being Served?” It ran from 1972 to 1985 on the BBC, and reruns made it to the U.S. in the 1990s.
I learned this morning that one of the stars of the show, Mollie Sugden, died earlier this week, at the age of 86. She played Mrs. Betty Slocombe on the series.
Reuters says the actress had been suffering from a long illness when she died.
A couple of her co-stars have also died in recent years. John Inman died in March 2007 and Wendy Richards died earlier this year — Feb. 26, to be exact.
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Duff joins cast of ‘Gossip Girl’
Hilary Duff has apparently joined the cast of “Gossip Girl,” for at least a few episodes, anyway.
That’s according to Entertainment Weekly blogger Michael Ausiello, who says the 21-year-old Houston native will play “a movie star who enrolls at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. She ends up rooming with Vanessa.”
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Vibe magazine closes, but there’s reason to hope
Though Vibe magazine has folded, it’s not dead yet.
The announcement came earlier this week that Vibe has ceased to publish both its print product and its Web site. MTV.com says that with the close of the 16-year-old publication, “there now remains no large circulation print publication dedicated to covering hip-hop, R&B and fashion on a mainstream level.”
But don’t give up hope just yet. Quincy Jones, who started the magazine, is reportedly planning to buy it back, says Reuters.com. If he does, however, he may not bring back the print product. Reuters says he told Ebonyjet.com: “Print and all that stuff is over, we gotta remember that.”
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2 new movie trailers
How about some movie trailers to start your morning? Here are previews for two comedies: The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and Scott Bakula, and Couples Retreat (which has an ensemble cast).
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Actor Karl Malden dies at 97
Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks, died Wednesday, his family said. He was 97.
Malden died of natural causes surrounded by his family at his Brentwood home, they told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He served as the academy’s president from 1989-92.
“Karl lived a rich, full life,” Academy president Sid Ganis said. “He has the greatest and most loving family; a career that has spanned the spectrum of the arts from theater to film and television, to some very famous commercial work.”
While he tackled a variety of characters over the years, he was often seen in working-class garb or military uniform. His authenticity in grittier roles came naturally: He was the son of a Czech mother and a Serbian father, and worked for a time in the steel mills of Gary, Ind., after dropping out of college.
Malden said he got his celebrated bulbous nose when he broke it a couple of times playing basketball or football, joking that he was “the only actor in Hollywood whose nose qualifies him for handicapped parking.” He liked to say he had “an open-hearth face.”
Malden won a supporting actor Oscar in 1951 for his role as Blanche DuBois’ naive suitor Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire - a role he also played on Broadway.
He was nominated again as best supporting actor in 1954 for his performance as Father Corrigan, a fearless, friend-of-the-workingman priest in On the Waterfront. In both movies, he costarred with Marlon Brando.
Among Malden’s more than 50 film credits were: Patton, in which he played Gen. Omar Bradley, Pollyanna, Fear Strikes Out, The Sting II, Bombers B-52, Cheyenne Autumn, and All Fall Down.
Malden gained perhaps his greatest fame as Lt. Mike Stone in the 1970s television show “The Streets of San Francisco,” in which Michael Douglas played the veteran detective’s junior partner.
“Karl ‘The Mentor’ Malden was a great actor, father and husband. I admired and loved him deeply,” Douglas, who was in Europe, said through his publicist.
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Jackson tops the pop chart
In more Michael Jackson news, the late singer appears to have topped Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.
The music magazine says the top nine spots on the chart belong to Jackson or the Jackson 5, with Number Ones claiming the top spot.
That album sold 108,000 copies — more than the Black Eyed Peas’ The E.N.D., which topped the Billboard 200 chart for the week with 88,000 copies sold.
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Jackson’s will cuts out ex-wife Debbie Rowe
Michael Jackson’s 7-year-old will was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court, giving his entire estate to a family trust but cutting out his former wife Debbie Rowe.
The will, dated July 7, 2002, estimated his estate at that time at more than $500 million.
It gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
The documents said Jackson’s estate consisted almost entirely of “non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalogue of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities.”
His mother, Katherine Jackson, is named as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of Jackson’s three young children, who are named in the will.
The will names Diana Ross as a successor trustee to Jackson’s mother if necessary.
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Nurse says insomniac Jackson demanded powerful sedative
A registered nurse says the U.S. pop star Michael Jackson suffered debilitating bouts of insomnia before his death and demanded a powerful sedative from her.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse and nutritionist, said Jackson pleaded for her to give him Diprivan, which she says she refused to do, CNN reported Wednesday.
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‘Bruno’ a mixed bag
Reviews have started rolling in for Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest movie, Bruno, due in theaters next week.
Variety.com says the film is funny at first, but it is hard to tell what’s real and what’s staged. “Undeniably funny, outrageous and boundary-pushing, this further documentation of Sacha Baron Cohen’s sheer nerve will draw an abundant share of Borat fans, gross-out seekers and the culturally curious, making for some potent [box office] figures, at least at first. But the content will turn off some (no doubt including some gays), as will the sourness and ill will triggered by the picture’s cumulative misanthropy.”
The Associated Press is even less impressed, calling Bruno “a one-joke character.”
But the reviews posted at RottenTomatoes.com are far more positive, with such compliments as: “I haven’t laughed this hard in ages” and “Whether it’s outrageously offensive or offensively outrageous, it’s laugh-out-loud funny.”
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‘Avenue Q’ reaches the end of its Broadway road
“Avenue Q” will reach the end of its Broadway road in September.
The musical about the hopeful twentysomething residents of a very particular New York street closes Sept. 13 after a six-year run and 2,534 performances.
“Avenue Q,” which features a cast of people and puppets with names such as Kate, Rod, Princeton, Lucy, Christmas Eve and Trekkie Monster, won the 2004 Tony for best musical.
Said producer Robyn Goodman: “We will miss our furry friends on 45th Street but are very proud of their longevity.”
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‘The Invention of Lying’ trailer
What would happen if the whole world had to tell the truth, but then one day someone learned how to lie? Well, depending on the person, that could be either really funny or really bad.
That’s the premise behind The Invention of Lying, which stars Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Stephanie March, Patrick Stewart, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest — need I go on? From that lineup, we at least have hope that it will be funny.
Here’s the trailer:
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Music for a rainy afternoon
For your enjoyment:
Clapton
Beatles:
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‘Ugly Betty’ actress Ana Ortiz welcomes a daughter
Congratulations go out to “Ugly Betty” actress Ana Ortiz, who gave birth to her first child, a girl, over the weekend. Here’s the story from the Associated Press:
“Ugly Betty” actress Ana Ortiz is a brand-new mom.
A spokesman for Ortiz says she and her husband, musician Noah Lebenzon, welcomed their first child, a girl, in New York on Saturday afternoon.
Their bundle of joy, named Paloma Louise, weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Ortiz’s spokesman, Tim Yates, says the family has left the hospital and is back home in Brooklyn.
Yates says Ortiz is “very excited,” and has received gifts from her “Ugly Betty” co-stars.
The 38-year-old actress portrays Betty’s sister, Hilda, on the popular ABC comedy. She’s due to begin filming the fourth season next month.
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Speaking of music downloads
Have you visited iTunes lately (like, oh, since Thursday)? Well, guess who has seven of the top 10 downloads — Michael Jackson, of course.
The surprise is which songs made the top 10. I would have guessed “Bad” and “Beat It,” but neither song cracked the top 10. Instead, number 1 is “Man in the Mirror.” In third was “The Way You Make Me Feel.” “Billie Jean” came in fifth, followed by “Black or White,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Thriller” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).”
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A tribute to George Harrison
Jim James of My Morning Jacket has a solo album coming out in August — and on it he’ll pay tribute to the late George Harrison, reports Billboard.com.
He’ll be releasing the CD under the name Yim Yames. Pre-orders start July 7 (and it sounds like you’ll be able to download the EP that day, too). If you can’t wait until then, you can download a song from the album, “Behind That Locked Door,” for free at yimyames.com.
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‘Transformers’ earns nearly $90 million in two days
In its first two days in theaters, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has earned nearly $90 million in the U.S. alone.
Variety.com says the film “is on its way to scoring one of the top five-day openings of all time at the worldwide box office.”
Of course, The Dark Knight holds the record, with $203.8 million, with Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith in second ($172.8 million) and Spider-Man 3 in third ($169.4 million).
But Transformers’ $89.3 million is more than half of what Revenge of the Sith earned in five days. So it will be interesting to see what happens this weekend.
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NBC launches fall season with Leno
As previously reported, NBC will get its fall TV season started with Jay Leno’s new show Sept. 14, says Variety.
And the network is starting its Thursday comedies that week as well: “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office” and “Community” will debut Sept. 17.
“The Biggest Loser” debuts Sept. 15.
The following week sees the return of “Heroes” (Sept. 21); the debut of “Parenthood” and return of “Law & Order: SVU” (Sept. 23); and the season premieres of “Law & Order” and “Southland” (Sept. 25).
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Letterman’s ‘Late Show’ beats the ‘Tonight Show’
Nielsen Media Research says the “Late Show With David Letterman” beat the “Tonight Show” last week — the first time in more than three years.
Letterman scored a weeklong average of 3.46 million viewers, edging out the 3.32 million viewers who watched NBC’s “Tonight Show,” hosted by Conan O’Brien.
It was Letterman’s first win during a full week of all-new broadcasts since December 2005, when Oprah Winfrey was his guest on the CBS late-night show. Letterman was perhaps given a ratings boost from lingering controversy over a wisecrack that targeted the family of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
O’Brien took over “Tonight” from longtime host Jay Leno earlier this month.
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