Reality TV show to dump Jon, become “Kate Plus 8″
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The breakdown of the marriage of U.S. reality television stars Jon and Kate Gosselin has made its mark on the television show that chronicles their lives, with its title being changed to “Kate Plus 8″.
The reality show now called “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ will change its name on November 2 to reflect the couple’s divorce, which was filed for in June.
“Given the recent changes in the family dynamics, it only makes sense for us to refresh and recalibrate the program to keep pace with the family,” said Eileen O’Neill, president and general manager of TLC, the cable channel that airs the show.
“Kate Plus 8″ will document Gosselin’s life as a single mother raising 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins.
Jon will continue to appear on the show, but on a less regular basis, said TLC, which is owned by Discovery Communications Inc.
Leonardo DiCaprio For Blue Movie
Leonardo DiCaprio is to star in ‘Deep Blue Goodbye’.
The ‘Blood Diamond’ actor has agreed to appear as Travis McGee, in the adaptation of John MacDonald’s first of 21 novels about the “salvage consultant”.
Travis, who first appeared in 1964, is a womaniser who lives on a beat-up houseboat and helps people recover their lost property in return for half their value. He befriends a woman called Cathy Kerr who asks for help against a psychopathic rapist who is trying to find a fortune brought to Florida by a World War II solider.
‘For The Love of the Game’ scriptwriter Dana Stevens is penning the adaptation, but no other announcements on casting or production have yet been made.
Scarlett Johansson Happy With Figure
Scarlett Johansson has no desire to lose weight.
The 24-year-old actress – who admits toning up when she realised she had to wear a lycra catsuit for ‘Iron Man 2′ – is happy with the way she looks and has no intention of embarking on a strict diet and fitness regime to alter her appearance.
She said: “There was this rumour mill cranking out stories that I had lost 14lbs – I could never lose 14lbs.
“I can’t look at somebody who is 6ft tall and 120lbs and say, I’m going to get that body. That’s just never going to happen. You have to work with what you’ve got.”
Despite being secure with her looks, Scarlett admits she is petrified of the red carpet.
She loves picking which dress to wear and having her hair and make-up professionally applied ahead of a public appearance, but still suffers from nerves when she makes her entrance.
She told TCHAD magazine: “I have a tumultuous relationship with it because I love to get ready for the red carpet, but being on it is very uncomfortable. It’s so freakish and weird. I get flop sweats, dry mouth, heart palpitations, all-over panic!
“I did this movie with John Travolta, and every time I looked over at John on the red carpet, he looked so fabulous. So I said to him, ‘What do you do?’ And he said, ‘I go to Hawaii in my mind.”
Whoopi Goldberg Defends Polanski
Whoopi Goldberg has defended Roman Polanski, saying he did not commit “rape-rape”.
The ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ filmmaker was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, on Saturday (26.09.09) and faces being extradited to the US after he fled the country in 1978 after being convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, believing a judge would renege on a plea bargain deal and hand him a considerable jail term.
Whoopi has now caused controversy by suggesting Polanski’s offence – which took place in 1977 – was not as serious as the court deemed it.
She said on US TV talk show ‘The View’: “It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.
“He went to jail and when they let him out he was like, ‘This guy’s going to give me 100 years. I’m not staying.’
“We’re a different kind of society, we see things differently. Would I want my 14 year old having sex? Not necessarily, no.”
Whoopi’s co-host on the show, Sherri Shepherd, vehemently disagreed with the ‘Ghost’ star’s reasoning over Polanski’s attack on Samantha Gailey, now known as Samantha Geimer.
She posted on her Twitter page: “Whew… long day at The View… two shows today… hot debate over the Statutory Rapist Polanski. 45 year old man plies a 13yr old w/drugs and Liquor and penetrates her w/o her consent is a RAPIST. We hunt down 75 year old Nazis. We must protect our children (sic).”
Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen are among a group of people in the film industry who have signed a petition objecting to the 76-year-old director’s arrest.
More than 100 people – including Tilda Swinton, Monica Bellucci, David Lynch and Terry Gilliam – have put their names on the document, which calls for Polanski’s release from the Swiss jail where he is currently being held.
The group – which is supported by France’s Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers – said: “The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance… opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects.
“It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.”
The director’s lawyers have made a legal petition asking the Swiss Criminal Court to release him from custody and block his extradition to the US. The legal team want Polanski – who has lived in Paris since fleeing the US and holds dual citizenship in Poland and France – to be allowed to post bail or be remanded on house arrest at the Swiss chalet he ow
Jessica Alba joining Little Fockers
Jessica Alba is close to locking down a role in Little Fockers, the third outing for Universal’s money-spinning comedy franchise.
In what must surely be a stretch, she’s playing a sexy woman – a pharmaceutical rep, in fact, who turns out to be a head-turner for the male characters.
The majority of the cast is returning – including Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, plus Teri Polo and Dustin Hoffman for a tale that will revolve around Stiller’s Gaylord Focker and wife Polo having kids.
Paul Weitz is set to direct John Hamburg’s script in the next few months, and the undoubtedly high-larious hijacks should arrive later in 2010.
Seth Green gets animated at Fox
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The “Robot Chicken” gang is going primetime.
Fox has ordered a presentation and a script for an animated project from Seth Green, Matthew Senreich and Tom Root that is being produced by 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Chernin Entertainment.
Separately, Peter Chernin’s company has set up at Fox a darkly comedic drama from writer Diane Ruggiero.
Green, Senreich and Root’s project, which uses family life and a high school as backdrops for a wide cast of characters, “will have an aesthetic familiar to viewers of Fox’s popular animated comedies,” said Green, an original cast member on Fox’s flagship animated comedy “Family Guy.”
That is a departure from the trio’s previous efforts, Adult Swim’s “Robot Chicken” and “Titan Maximum,” both of which are done in stop-motion animation.
“But (the Fox comedy) will still have the comedic sensibilities of our other shows,” Root said.
Green and Senreich created and executive produce “Robot Chicken” via their Stoopid Monkey Prods., with Root as co-head writer and producer. The trio created “Titan Maximum,” which debuted Sunday.
Described as being in the tone of “Shaun of the Dead,” the Ruggiero project revolves around an estranged, dysfunctional group of siblings forced to live together in the family’s haunted house after their father dies.
Ruggiero, creator of CBS’ “That’s Life” and “The Ex List,” most recently executive produced ABC’s “Cupid.”
Radiohead’s Yorke forms side band, sets shows
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has formed a live band and recruited Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea to the lineup, with two Los Angeles shows confirmed for the week of October 5.
The band will also include Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker, who has toured and recorded with REM, among others, and Mauro Refosco of New York band Forro in the Dark.
The October 4 and 5 shows at the 1,970-capacity Orpheum Theater will feature material from Yorke’s solo set “The Eraser” and new songs.
Two songs — “The Hollow Earth” and “FeelingPulledApartbyHorses” — were released September 21 as a limited-edition 12-inch vinyl single via the Radiohead Web site. The tracks will also be delivered as a free download, and are set to be made available separately as a paid download in October.
Yorke’s solo set at the U.K. Latitude festival in July included the new song “The Present Tense.” Another new song, “Hearing Damage,” will appear on Atlantic’s “New Moon” soundtrack, due October 20.
“In the past couple of weeks I’ve been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc. … to see if it could work!” Yorke said in a post at the Radiohead Web site.
The post also featured a photo of the unnamed group and a link to buy tickets via Ticketmaster.
“We don’t really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz … well … we haven’t got that much material yet!” Yorke added. “But come and check it out if you are in the area.”
Jackman, Craig drama “A Steady Rain” sets Broadway record
The new Broadway drama “A Steady Rain,” starring Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, has set the record for the highest weekly ticket sales of a non-musical play, its producers said on Tuesday.
The play about two Chicago policeman earned just under $1.17 million at theater box offices in the week ending September 20 while the drama was still in previews.
It beat the previous record of $1.06 million set by comedian Billy Crystal’s “700 Sundays” in May 2005.
“A Steady Rain,” in which Jackman and Craig portray two Chicago cops offering two different accounts of a harrowing event that changed their lives, officially opens on September 29.
The play, by Chicago playwright Keith Huff, was first produced off-Broadway in 2006.
Jackman, 40, who starred in Hollywood movies such as “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” has starred on stage in New York before, winning a Tony, Broadway’s top honor, for his portrayal of singer/songwriter Peter Allen in “The Boy from Oz” in 2004.
Craig, 41, is making his Broadway debut. He has had his share of success, too, on stage in Britain but also playing British super spy James Bond in recent movie box office hits, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace.”
“A Steady Rain” is scheduled to run until December 6.
Sony to unveil new PS3 game title in theaters
Video gaming will hit the big screen next month when Sony Corp unveils a new game title for its Playstation3 game console at movie theaters.
On October 5 and 6, four theaters in San Francisco and Thousand Oaks, California, Rosemont, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington, will give viewers a chance to play the upcoming action game “UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves” title — on movie screens equipped with Sony digital-projection technology.
Those theaters will provide viewers with PS3s connected to Sony’s 4K digital cinema technology, which is in about 500 theaters nationwide and which Sony says provides better image resolution than traditional projectors.
Mike Fidler, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions and Services Group, hopes events like this can eventually drive revenues for Sony, video game makers as well as theater operators.
“This is the first time we’re doing it in a theater. We think it’s a start of something for us, and hope we can build this into a standard element in the movie-going experience,” he said. “Our goal in converting theaters to digital is to go beyond the traditional movie-going experience and focus on helping exhibitors find ways to fill seats.”
“Gaming will be an important part of that equation.”
The first night will be a private invitation-only event, while the second event will be open to the public, to be publicized through radio and social networking sites.
Theater chains have struggled to sustain revenue growth as home entertainment and the recession entices some moviegoers to stay home. And Sony, like other game console makers, is hoping for a hit title this holiday season to drive platform sales as the industry grapples with a protracted decline.
Both Sony and Microsoft Corp, the maker of the rival XBox 360, have recently slashed prices on their consoles. Sales of video game equipment and software in the United States fell 16 percent in August to $908.7 million, the industry’s sixth consecutive monthly decline, research group NPD reported.
Beyonce Knowles Showed Lohan Speedy Exit
Beyonce Knowles reportedly had Lindsay Lohan thrown out of her own dressing room because the singer wanted it for herself.
The former Destiny’s Child star was performing at the F1 Rocks concert in Singapore over the weekend and had ordered her entourage to get her the largest dressing area backstage.
However, Lindsay – who was hosting the event for British TV network Channel 4 – had already claimed the room for herself as she arrived before and was left upset when she was told she would have to vacate it.
The ‘Mean Girls’ actress told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: “I’ve been a bit down. It was a strange night. Everyone was being aggressive and bothering me. I really didn’t like it.”
In the lead up to her performance, Beyonce made her support acts sweat as she wouldn’t allow them to use her air conditioning.
Although temperatures backstage approached 90 degrees and people were passing out, Beyonce’s entourage refused to switch on her personal air cooling fans as they were just for her.