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Buzz News Roundup, 8/26

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:30:19 -0700

It looks like Susan Sarandon will be joining the cast of Oliver Stone's Wall Street 2. - Entertainment Weekly
This week's episode of True Blood was the first HBO series episode to top five million viewers since the finale of The Sopranos drew 11.9 million two years ago. - Variety
Columbia Pictures has hired screenwriters Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara to write Hancock 2, the sequel to the Will Smith superhero movie. - ComingSoon
A movie is in the works about the life of Brian Epstein, who discovered and managed the Beatles from 1961 through 1967, when he died of a drug overdose at 32. - Variety
Kate Gosselin will fill in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View on Sept. 14 and 15. - AP
The next Batman movie may be shot entirely in IMAX format. - ComingSoon
The Who guitarist Pete Townshend is planning another musical, this one titled Floss. - Reuters
FX has picked up the dramatic series March to Madness, all about the glory and the seedy side of college basketball, from executive producer Don Cheadle. - Broadcasting & Cable

2009 Sundance Spotlight: Brooklyn's Finest, The Informers, 500 Days of Summer

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:39 -0800

While I won't be heading down to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival this year, I will be sorting through the humongous pile of festival entries to share with you some of the films I think look most promising. From quirky documentaries to talented young filmmaker debuts to a potential runaway hit, Sundance is filled with entertainment possibilities. Here are today's selections:

Brooklyn's Finest
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Brooklyn's Finest just became this year's first sale at Sundance. Apparently "Senator Distribution nabbed North American rights . . . on Saturday night, 24 hours after its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. . . Senator says it will release the film in the fourth quarter for awards consideration." According to Senator president Mark Urman, the company "went into aggressive pursuit right after Friday's screening." Wow! All of this spells good things for the cop drama which features a stellar cast (Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin). The plot is described as: "Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths." The guy responsible for the screenplay has a unique and intriguing story himself (you can read about it here). No clips available just yet, but now that it's been purchased I'm sure we'll hear and see much more about this film in the future.

Two more great-looking movies, with talented folks like Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Mickey Rourke, if you read more.

The Informers
Well, the long-awaited movie adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's collection of short stories is upon us. The movie, starring a whole lot of people from the '80s and early '90s (most notably Mickey Rourke, continuing his amazing career comeback) is about LA in the '80s in all its beautiful, indulgent, moral-decaying glory. The Informers also includes Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Billy Bob Thornton, Chris Isaak, and the late Brad Renfro (his final role). I have mixed feelings about this movie, but then again, any trailer that includes a song by A Flock of Seagulls deserves a chance in my book.

FYI: The trailer for The Informers below is not suitable for work due to some topless ladies. Proceed with caution:

500 Days of Summer
Oh, man. Could these two be cuter together? I think not. I was so excited when this casting news first came out and I'm even more thrilled that the movie's premiering at Sundance (to not-bad reviews so far) and has a release date (July 24) and now has a super cute teaser trailer (see below!). At first glance, the movie's description sounds like a little tale of unrequited love (boy loves girl, girl doesn't believe in love) but here's the part that got me really curious: "energized by dance numbers, split screens, and two dynamic performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel." Dance numbers? Why not?! Check out the trailer below and for additional clips, click here.

Photos courtesy of Sundance

Link Time! 12/18

BuzzSugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:30:38 -0800

Kristen Wiig reflects on 2008. - Pop Candy
Today's the day to answer at least one phone call with: "Buddy the Elf. What's your favorite color?" - Popwatch
Don Cheadle opens up about Iron Man 2. - Cinematical
Wow, this campaign to get Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" on the UK charts is fascinating. - Stereogum
Taylor Lautner shares his enthusiasm for continuing his role as Jacob Black in New Moon. - MTV Movies Blog
10 TV stars worth following on Twitter (are you following me yet?) - TV Squad
Check out the various stages of Nico Reilly's cell phone evolution. - geeksugar
Dissecting what's working with Dexter . . . and what's not. - The TV Addict

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Buzz News Roundup, 10/15

BuzzSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:30:55 -0700

Don Cheadle is replacing Terrence Howard in the role of Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes for Iron Man 2. - ComingSoon
The sequel to Wall Street is actually happening and will "center on Gordon Gekko, who has recently been sprung from prison and re-emerges into a much more tumultuous financial world than the one he once lorded over." - Variety
Amy Sedaris has signed a deal to create, write, and star in a new comedy series. - Hollywood Reporter
Amy Adams is in negotiations to star in the comedy Leap Year, the story of a woman who travels to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend on Feb. 29, a day when he has to say yes, according to tradition. - ComingSoon
Comedian D.L. Hughley is getting his own comedy/news show on CNN. - Broadcasting and Cable
Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, and Malin Akerman are joining the cast of Jon Favreau's comedy Couples Retreat. - Hollywood Reporter
Best Week Ever is changing its format, with just one host: Paul F. Tompkins. - New York Times
Marilynne Robinson and Aleksandar Hemon are among the finalists for the National Book Award. - AP
Starz has picked up a series called Party Down co-created by Rob Thomas and Paul Rudd. - Hollywood Reporter

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Nicolas Cage Tops a Slow Weekend Box Office

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:45:46 -0700

Well, the Fall movie season came in with a whimper. According to Variety, "The first weekend after Labor Day is always sluggish, but this year the frame was affected by the start of the NFL football season and was particularly dreary." Bangkok Dangerous came in at No. 1, but it only earned an estimated $7.8 million and narrowly beat Tropic Thunder, which earned an estimated $7.5 million.

The House Bunny came in third place, followed by The Dark Knight in fourth and Don Cheadle's thriller Traitor in fifth place. Interestingly, Hamlet 2, which received major buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is not doing too well in theaters and has only grossed an estimated $4.3 million over the two weekends it's been out.

Kind of a bummer of a weekend, but don't worry-next week The Women and Burn After Reading hit theaters! Who's excited?

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Buzz News Roundup, 7/18

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:29:39 -0700

ABC Family has ordered 13 more episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
According to Variety, Don Cheadle will get to star in and produce a movie he has long wanted to make: a drama based on the memoir Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine and South America's Strangest Jail.
Will Ferrell and friends will be poking fun at both racism and split personalities in the movie 2-Face, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
The LA Times wonders if the Emmys are out of touch with what viewers are watching.
AdWeek has the story of how the Project Runway legal battle went down in court this week (short story: no decision yet).
A Chinese artist is suing DreamWorks over what he says is an "insulting" depiction of China's national symbol in Kung Fu Panda, Variety reports.
According to Pitchfork, Jarvis Cocker is working on music for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson's forthcoming film.
Billboard has the news that Jimi Hendrix will be the next musical artist to be used for Guitar Hero.

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Movie Preview: Traitor

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:33:55 -0700

If the always-amazing Don Cheadle weren't in this new movie Traitor, I probably would have greeted its trailer with a big old "meh." But while the preview makes it look like another one of those run-of-the-mill espionage thrillers Hollywood churns out regularly, the talent involved suggests that I shouldn't necessarily be so quick to judge.

In addition to Cheadle, the movie co-stars the terrific (and handsome) Guy Pearce (of Memento and an odd movie that no one's promoting with Catherine Zeta-Jones), as well as Jeff Daniels. Another fun fact about this project: Steve Martin (yes, the funny one) co-wrote the movie and is an executive producer.

Basically the trailer shows official-looking CIA types acting stressed out, and there is a lot of secret-keeping and secret-sharing. The movie opens August 27 so to take a look for yourself and tell me what you think, read more.

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Would You Watch a TV Series Based on Crash?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:30:00 -0800

We recently heard the news that Starz is turning the 2006 Best Picture Oscar winner Crash into a television series. Much of the movie's original creative team - including the director Paul Haggis and his co-writer Bobby Moresco - is reassembling for the project, which is encouraging, though I still wonder what shape it will take. According to Don Cheadle, who will produce the series, "This series will present an opportunity to delve into many subjects, not just race relations in LA. I don't think you can do 13 episodes on that subject and keep people interested."

What do you think about the idea to make a Crash series? Will you be watching?

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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:30:00 -0700

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue.

Reign Over Me
With the exception of a few minor quibbles, I really liked this movie that finds an unlikely duo in Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler, and an even unlikelier dramatic performance from Sandler. Cheadle plays a dentist who sees his old college friend Charlie (Sandler) looking lost and bereft on the street one day. Having lost his entire family in one of the planes on 9/11, Charlie has become a recluse, spending his days renovating his kitchen and playing video games. Alan (Cheadle) decides to help his old friend, though he soon finds that Charlie's issues may go deeper than he can handle. For more on why I liked this movie so much, check out my review.

Two more new releases if you read more

"Degrassi High" - The Complete Series
OK, so you can't technically rent this set on Netflix (yet), but it is finally available for purchase in the United States today. The 28 episodes of "Degrassi High" wrap up the stories of Spike, Wheels, Snake and the rest of the "Degrassi Junior High" gang so many of us came to know and love during the '80s. The set also includes the controversial "School's Out" movie, which featured a surprising number of edgy plotlines (abortion, sex, foul language, drunken driving/manslaughter) in just 90 short minutes. The "Degrassi: The Next Generation" kids might be younger and hipper, but there's still nothing quite like watching this original crew.

Evan Almighty
This movie won't win any awards, and Steve Carell plays basically a slightly savvier version of his Michael Scott character on "The Office," but if you need a rental that is more or less appropriate for the whole family, this one's not the worst choice on the shelf. The film basically asks the question, "What would happen if the story of Noah's Ark happened to a modern-day family?" Carell plays the contemporary Noah - this time called Evan - chosen to build an ark and gather the animals two-by-two, etc. while his wife and colleagues look on in bafflement. There are some very funny moments and the animals are super cute. For a more complete rundown, read my review.

Buzz News Roundup, 9/12

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:33:48 -0700

Rolling Stone reports that the White Stripes have canceled their fall tour on account of Meg's "acute anxiety."
According to the BBC, Ang Lee has cut out 30 minutes of his sexy espionage thriller Lust, Caution for audiences in China.
Variety reports that if you have On Demand service, you can watch all of NBC's pilots for free right now.
Former "Saturday Night Live" star Chris Parnell has joined the cast of the ABC comedy "Miss/Guided," Zap2it reports.
Variety reports that Run, Fat Boy, Run is the No. 1 movie in the U.K.
Led Zepplin is reforming for one night only, at a tribute show for the late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, Billboard reports.
"The Closer" broke its own cable ratings record for its season finale on Monday, writes the Hollywood Reporter, drawing 9.2 million viewers.
Things weren't as rosy for "Tell Me You Love Me" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," both of which had disappointingly low ratings for their premieres, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Paul Morrison will direct Little Ashes, a movie about the young life and loves of Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, says Variety.
Hollywood Reporter has news that Naomi Campbell will star in a film adaptation of the novel Bad Love.
Don Cheadle will star in a live-action film version of the 1971 children's book Hotel for Dogs, Variety reports.
Meanwhile, ComingSoon reports that Adam Brody and Josh Lucas have been cast in the drama Death in Love.

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