Archive: May 2009 (401-410 of 467)

May 5 2009 06:06 PM ET

Hugh Jackman's plans include 'Wolverine' sequel and Broadway 'Houdini': Pick one!

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Hughjackman_lJust read a Variety piece detailing all the projects Hugh Jackman has in the works, and I can’t decide which one I’m most eager to see. Actually, that’s not true. I saw him three times in The Boy From Oz — I’d purchase my tickets today for the 2010 Broadway musical Houdini, if I could. (Danny Elfman is writing the music — awesome.) Here are the choices:

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel: According to the trade, Jackman’s Seed Productions is already developing the film, which will be focused on the samurai story line from the comic. If we’re talking about swords here, my colleage Tim Stack will have a field day when he reads this.

• Personality Security: Jackman will play a New York police detective "forced into bodyguard duty for a spoiled teen heiress who is receiving kidnapping threats." Are we hoping it’s a comedy?

• Drive: Adapted from the James Sallis novel, the film will star Jackman as a "solitary man who drives race cars by day and getaway cars by night in Los Angeles." Jackman said the script reads like a Steve McQueen film. Much hotter than Personal Security.

• Carousel: Jackman will play Billy Bigelow to what he hopes is Anne Hathaway’s Julie Jordan, though negotiations with her have not begun outside of him asking her to duet with him at the Oscars. The script, Variety reports, "keeps the timeless spirit of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, but injects relevance for a contemporary audience."

• Houdini: The Tony winner’s triumphant return to Broadway is slated to be directed by Jack O’Brien (Hairspray). Please let them recreate this shot for the poster…

Okay, PopWatchers, what’s your preferred Jackman project? Vote now!

   

 

May 5 2009 05:57 PM ET

What a tangled Webby Awards we weave

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Silvermanmacfarlane_lThe winners of the 13th annual Webby Awards  — 13th? God, I feel old — were announced today, with Sarah Silverman, Seth MacFarlane, Jimmy Fallon, and Trent Reznor all picking up "special achievement" awards. Thank God for the Internet, otherwise all these people with their own TV shows and platinum-selling albums would not have a voice.

I’m kidding. Sort of. The Webbies hand out, like, 9,000 awards a year, and many go to very deserving websites — the fantastic Big Picture was definitely the new must-visit site this year, for example, and I was completely obsessed with Children’s Hospital. But "Webby winner" is a pretty diffuse honor, given that there are categories for best insurance website and best "environmental and experience marketing" alongside best long-form comedy series or best use of typography. I get why there are so many categories — because entrants pay a fee be considered, and the Webby Awards are a business, like most everything else — but prestige and rarity tend to go hand in hand.

I don’t know, PopWatchers, do we need (well, "need") a more rigorous award for Internet content? Or are popularity and respect their own reward in the great digital age?

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May 5 2009 05:33 PM ET

'American Idol': What should the Top 4 sing for 'Rock Night'?

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Tags: , American Idol

Americanidolsongs_lI wanna rock and roll all night. And party every day. Okay, not really. But I am looking forward to rock and roll tonight on the American Idol stage, where guest judge Slash will help the Top 4 navigate what the rumor mill is predicting will be one solo song, and one duet with a fellow contestant. Controversial! Here’s my request list — none of which are actually ever gonna happen. Not that that’s ever stopped me before. Ch-ch-check out my picks and then post your own in the comments section below. (And don’t forget…I’m live-blogging tomorrow’s Idol results show right here at PopWatch!)

Kris Allen: Rolling Stones’ "Wild Horses" or Fleetwood Mac’s "The Chain"

Allison Iraheta: Guns N’ Roses’ "Paradise City" or the Breeders’ "Cannonball"

Adam Lambert: Cinderella’s "Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)" or The Darkness’ "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"

Danny Gokey: Bob Seger’s "Turn the Page" or The Eagles’ "Take It to the Limit"

Allison and Kris: Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty’s "Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around"

Adam and Danny: Simon & Garfunkel’s "I Am a Rock"

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May 5 2009 05:30 PM ET

Dom DeLuise: Our film clip tribute

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When I heard the news that Dom DeLuise passed away this morning, my mind went back to an interview I did with Matt Damon a few years ago. I’d asked him about the lackluster Ocean’s 12, and how even though it looked like a blast to be on the set of, it didn’t translate into a very good movie. Damon seemed to agree without exactly admitting as much. And then he said something funny. "You know, if making a good movie was about having fun, then Cannonball Run II would be the greatest movie of all time."

Of course, Cannonball Run II is not the greatest movie of all time. But over the years, the madcap 1984 car-race comedy starring the on-screen odd couple of Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise has become shorthand for giddy, ‘I can’t believe we’re getting paid for this’ Hollywood boy’s club fun.

If you don’t believe me, all you have to do is watch the outtakes that unspool during the movie’s end credits. No one in the cast can keep a straight face: not Reynolds, not Dean Martin, not Sammy Davis Jr., not Frank Sinatra or Ricardo Montalban, not the orangutan, and especially not DeLuise — a guy who was as known for his giggly, girly belly laugh as Cary Grant was for his smooth upper class lilt. 

Clip of Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II outtakes

 

More clips after the jump.

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May 5 2009 04:58 PM ET

Christina, burlesque, and singing? We're in.

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Christinaaguilera_lChristina Aguilera’s making her silver-screen debut in a musical called Burlesque, about a small-town girl who makes good, somehow, by working at a Cabaret-like L.A. performance venue. It was written with her in mind, and that makes sense — I simply cannot imagine a better first-movie vehicle for Christina’s big voice and retro-sexy vibe. It’s a crime that she hasn’t graced a musical earlier, in fact, but points for holding out for the right project, as opposed to jumping into the first cheesy teen movie available the minute she became famous. And is it me, or is this basically a slightly-classier version of Coyote Ugly? More to the point: Does that make it more awesome or less? (My head says "less," but my heart says "more.")

What do you think, PopWatchers? Will Burlesque be a hit or a mess? Does Christina belong on the big screen?

May 5 2009 04:03 PM ET

ShePop: Reese Witherspoon, our hero again

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Benreese_lNo matter how liberated ladies get, nor how far we come with gender relations, it’s still strangely satisfying when a woman steps in for a man in a movie project. (Think Angelina Jolie subbing for Tom Cruise in the upcoming Edwin A. Salt.) But Reese Witherspoon takes the you-go-girl effect to a new level by (possibly) stepping in for Jim Carrey on the once-killed project Used Guys. She’s not simply making a male role on the page female on the screen. In the sci-fi comedy, she’ll play a woman in a female-centric future wherein women buy, trade, and clone men to tend to their needs. (Ben Stiller, incidentally, will play the central outdated clone.) What was once a clone-buddy comedy will now have gender parity. (Ironic that it took a reboot to achieve that, given the subject matter.) Witherspoon, meanwhile, can lend her made-for-romantic-comedy charms to a project with at least a little more on its mind than whether the glamorous leading lady can find true love. Plus, her involvement could help get the movie made this time (budget concerns scuttled the 2007 version that also costarred Emily Mortimer). And, well, I can’t lie: I just want to see a movie about women trading in dudes for younger models. Not that I condone that in real life — for any gender — but a movie never hurt anyone, did it? And surely we’ll learn some important lessons about the value of men along the way.

What do you think? Could Used Guys be a good vehicle for Reese? Do you want to see it?

May 5 2009 04:00 PM ET

Eminem meets 'The Punisher': 'Damn, why is this &*%# maniac after me?'

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Eminempunisher_previewEminem and Marvel Comics have teamed up to promote Em’s new album Relapse and Marvel’s revenge superstar The Punisher in a special story called Eminem/Punisher: Kill You. The first eight pages will appear in the new issue of XXL magazine; the concluding pages will be on Marvel’s webpage, all as of today.

In a Marvel press release, the company’s editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, is quoted as saying that Eminem is a "fan and collector" of Marvel comics and that they "had a blast working with Eminem and incorporating the rapper into the Marvel fold."

Judging from the sample page provided here, Eminem fits in fine, greeting Barracuda with, "The hell you doin’ here, homie? I ain’t seen you since the battles back at the Hip-Hop Shop…"

What do you think, homies? Does anyone use the term "homie" anymore? Would you buy this comic book?

May 5 2009 03:38 PM ET

'Wolverine Uncaged' videogame review: Something to sink your claws into

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Wolverinegamereview_lWolverine’s not your typical comic book superhero, so it’s nice to see that X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn’t the normal (i.e. shoddy) movie-licensed videogame. The mature-rated Uncaged version for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC appeals to mainstream God of War fans and comic loyalists alike. (For a more family-friendly version of the game, Activision has teen-rated Wolverine games for Wii, PlayStation 2, and PSP, and an E10+game for Nintendo DS.)

With Hugh Jackman reprising his role from the film (voice and likeness), this Wolverine is a bloodthirsty, brutal, and handsome beast. Those retractable claws are just the tip of the arsenal gamers will be able to unleash on foes -– the gore, and intestines, flow freely. The developer behind Activision’s Marvel Ultimate Alliance franchise has added some customization to the mix, allowing fans to make Wolverine stronger and offering cool berzerker rage moves like the drill, which literally sends Logan straight through Weapon X security guards. Since Wolverine is a regenerative, indestructible superman, the game pits him against foes from the film, like Sabretooth, and super villains from the comics, like the 100-foot-tall robot, Sentinel.

The game succeeds in creating epic action sequences and putting players in control of diving through the air from one attack chopper to another or riding atop a rampaging Blob as he tears through a grocery store. Powered by the same technology seen in Gears of War 2, this game adds a gritty realism to the blend of comics and film with a variety of cool locales like Alkali Lake and the Weapon X lab. This is a fun expansion of the Wolverine origin story that holds plenty of unlockable secrets, including those comic book costumes.

May 5 2009 03:26 PM ET

The CW quits Sundays: Let's all stick a fork in weekend TV

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Tags: , Television

Jerichocloud_lThe CW is apparently killing its Sunday programming for good next fall, leaving its affiliates to fend for themselves. It’s really a win-win, given the circumstances — the current lineup of Jericho reruns (running a canceled CBS show in prime time is never a good sign) and random movies (Cutthroat Island, anyone?) was doing no one any favors. But what does it mean that a network — albeit the littlest major — is giving up on entire nights? Saturdays are already moot. Friday is no picnic either, for The CW, or for any other major network not running Ghost Whisperer. Could we soon see Fridays turned over to syndication, too, becoming yet another place to find endless reruns of Friends and Seinfeld? And how about NBC striking the whole 10 p.m. hour from prime time and handing it over to Jay Leno? (Not to mention knocking CBS’ programming in the promos.)

In short: Is this one more sign of the prime-time apocalypse? With some cable shows charting network-worthy numbers and the Nielsen Top 30 inching ever closer to cable levels, are we witnessing the end of TV as we’ve known it?

And do we even care, PopWatchers? Or are we happy to get our programming wherever and whenever since it’s all just showing up on our DVR at our convenience anyway?

May 5 2009 03:20 PM ET

New James Frey paperback implies he has scandalous recordings of Oprah...or not

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Freyoprah_lProne-to-perhaps-slight-exaggeration author James Frey’s new paperback version of his latest book, Bright Shiny Morning,contains two scenes cut from the hardcover — including one in which a sorta-like-Frey character obtains embarrassing audio tapes of his Oprah-ish nemesis, Fox News reports with conviction. The other excised passage involves some seriously X-rated escapades, but everyone’s finding the Oprah-ish stuff far sexier. Makes sense, given the flogging-heard-round-the-world that the Queen of Daytime gave Frey when it emerged that some of his addiction/recovery memoir, A Million Little Pieces, was made up. In this salivated-over bit in the authors’-cut version of the new book, a  guy embroiled in scandal is preparing to go on a TV show. When he feels "people turning on him," he starts taping his phone calls with the producers and host of the show. After the appearance, the host calls him to make sure he isn’t "going to hurt himself" and makes some surprising confessions of her own while his tape recorder is rolling. Page Six, incidentally, asked Frey for comment, prompting him to laugh and say, "The book is fiction. Interpret it however you want."

Nonetheless, news outlets are wondering whether Frey has bombshell tapes in his possession. So, to recap: The guy lied when writing supposed nonfiction, and we excoriated him for that. He then wrote fiction, which we are now presuming to be true, as opposed to, say, a dude with some penchant for blowing things out of proportion working out his own anger issues — in, I should mention, a relatively peaceful fashion. It’s a long, grand tradition in fiction, authors rewriting history to suit themselves, to process things that happened to them but give them better outcomes. It is, in some ways, the reason people become writers. We’re neurotic like that.

So what do you think, PopWatchers? Does James Frey really have secret, end-of-Oprah-as-we-know-her tapes? Or does he just know how to whip up a book-selling controversy?

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