Oscar organizers aim for world-class film museum
Academy Awards overseers have the expertise and memorabilia. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has the know-how to run a world-class exhibition space. So the two outfits have hooked up to create what they hope will be the finest museum in the world devoted to moviemaking.
While there is no definite timeline, organizers said they hope the film museum — housed in a landmark department store building that is now part of the LACMA campus along Wilshire Boulevard — could open in three to five years.
Beavis and Butthead return to MTV 14 years later
If you watched last night’s episode of Jersey Shore, you may have caught the preview for Beavis and Butt-Head, which included the premiere date for the series’ return. Beavis and Butt-Head will be back to their ridiculous shenanigans and pop-culture commentary later next month!
I’ll admit to not entirely seeing the need for the two ’90’s icons to return to MTV until I attended the panel for B&B at Comic Con in San Diego last July. After viewing the video shown at the panel, which marked return of Cornholio, and watching as the idiotic duo watched reality TV and made hilarious comments in the direction of Jersey Shore and some other shows, it became very clear that pop-culture has been lacking these vital perspectives for a long time. Suddenly, Jersey Shore felt less complete without Beavis and Butt-Head making fun of it in the background. And so, come late October, the world will have Beavis and Butt-Head back.
Taylor Lautner’s ‘Abduction’ will have sequel
"Abduction" -- the film that marks Taylor Lautner's official bid to become an action star -- doesn't hit theaters until next Friday, Sept. 23. But director John Singleton says that no matter how the movie fares at the box office in the coming weeks, a sequel to the action flick is already a done deal.
When asked if there would be another installment of "Abduction," Singleton replied enthusiastically: "Definitely."
"We've been talking about it while we're making the movie. Of course, I'm gonna direct it," he grinned, speaking from the premiere of the film in Hollywood Thursday night. (You can check out a video interview with Singleton from the event below.)
And if the movie tanks at the multiplex? "I don't think we have to worry about that," he said. "It's happening."
Eddie Murphy to host Oscars
Eddie Murphy had stiff competition for the 2012 Oscars hosting gig, which he officially landed Tuesday.
A source close to the production of February's 84th Annual Academy Awards show tells us funnymen Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld were gunning for the coveted role.
After James Franco and Anne Hathaway proved that quirky, youthful co-hosts were not necessarily the key to boosting the Oscar telecast's ratings and reviews, predictions circulated that the academy would once again go old-school with Crystal in 2012.
‘Star Wars’ Tweaked Darth Vader Scene Sparks Outcry
George Lucas continues to make tweaks to Star Wars, and fans continue to be upset about it.
Such was the case Thursday when it was revealed that Lucas has added audio to Darth Vader in a scene in Return of the Jedi where he commits his final redemptive act by throwing the evil Emperor Palpatine down a shaft. In the original version, Vader was silent, but now he cries out "No!" reflecting the end of Revenge of the Sith. (Watch the altered scene below.) Sith is the third film in the overall chronology but the last one to be released.
Apple abandons 99-cent TV show rentals for Apple TV
Apple has removed the ability to rent TV shows from both iTunes and its Apple TV, taking away what was just last year one of the major advertised selling points of the $99 streaming-centric set-top box.
The option to rent episodes of TV shows is no longer available on either the Apple TV, or when browsing content via Apple's iTunes application. Previously, participating networks offered users the ability to rent a TV episode for 99 cents, with 30 days to begin watching and 48 hours to complete it.
As further evidence that the ability to rent TV shows has been removed completely, an Apple support document entitled "iTunes Store: How to rent TV shows," has been removed from the Web. A Google cache of the page is still available.
Full ‘Godfather’ movie accidentally uploaded to Sony’s YouTube channel
Was it a loss leader? A case of, if you can’t beat the pirates, join ‘em? Or just a mistake? As it turned out, it was apparently the likeliest of Internet phenomena: a prank.
We’ve grown more and more accustomed to finding feature-length movies available for online streaming at little or no cost, but it was still a little surprising to find “The Godfather” on YouTube — the full movie, with no commercials (if you don’t count pop-ups), in one piece. It had been uploaded within the last 24 hours on what appeared to be the YouTube channel of Sony Pictures UK, which was otherwise home of an assortment of trailers for pictures like “Colombiana” and the “Straw Dogs” remake. But sometime in the hour after this post was first published, and after about 310 views of the video (you have to wonder how many of those viewers stayed for the full 2-hour-57-minute running time), the movie was taken down and the YouTube channel disabled.
Report: Suicides in Movies Tripled From 1950-2006
Depictions of explicit and graphic suicides in movies tripled from 1950 to 2006, according to an analysis of top-grossing films.
The report, by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, was published in the August issue of Archives of Suicide Research. It found no difference between PG-13- and R-rated films in the most explicit portrayals of suicide.
Director Brett Ratner will produce Oscar telecast
The film academy has tapped Brett Ratner and Don Mischer to produce next year's Academy Awards. This will be Ratner's first involvement with the Oscar show and Mischer's second: He produced and directed the 2011 Academy Awards telecast and was nominated for an Emmy for his work on the show.
Academy president Tom Sherak made the announcement Thursday.
Mischer said in an interview that he's excited to oversee the Oscars again. "I was just so happy to receive the call from the academy saying we'd like to have you come back," he said. "It was unexpected and a real delight. More than anything, I'm looking forward to working with Brett."
Ratner said producing the Oscar show is "beyond a dream come true." "This wasn't even in my dreams, it's so far out," he said. "This is something I never could have imagined."
Ratner has produced and directed both film and television. His credits include "X-Men: The Last Stand," "Rush Hour" and the pilot of TV's "Prison Break." Mischer is a veteran producer and director of live television events, including Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympics opening ceremonies, the Emmy Awards and this year's Oscars.
Dawn Hudson, chief executive of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said she is eager to see Mischer's expertise blend with Ratner's "smart and fresh take for the show."
"They have great chemistry," she said, "and their vision meshed so well with ours."
The two men declined to reveal their plans. They said they haven't discussed potential hosts for the show. "Everything is open at this point," Mischer said. "We're just at the starting gate."
He said they plan to watch past telecasts and "figure out what we can do to make things better." Ratner said they plan to start working on the show immediately. "Work begins now," he said. "We're going to hang up the phone and get to work."
The 84th annual Academy Awards will be presented at the Kodak Theatre on Feb. 26, 2012.
Schwarzenneger to return to movies with ‘Last Stand’
Arnold Schwarzenegger said he’d be back.
A spokesman for the former governor says Schwarzenegger will return to acting with a role in the Lionsgate film “Last Stand.” The role represents Schwarzenegger’s first major movie role since 2003?s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.” He made a cameo appearance in last summer’s “The Expendables.”
Spokesman Daniel Ketchell confirmed Tuesday that Schwarzenegger will appear in the Western flick but did not elaborate. Lionsgate declined comment Tuesday.
Schwarzenegger said in May that he was putting his acting projects on hold after disclosing that he fathered a child with a family housekeeper and splitting with wife Maria Shriver.