BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 6/1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:30:17 -0700

Better Off Ted will be back with new episodes starting June 23. - The Futon Critic
Natalie Portman will star with Danny McBride and James Franco in the comedy Your Highness. - Variety
Live Nation will eliminate all service fees on its concert tickets for one day only on June 3. - Billboard
Michael Shannon is in negotiations to play one of the lead male roles in The Runaways, the feature take on Joan Jett's 1970s rock band. - The Hollywood Reporter
This year's Emmy Awards are moving up a week to Sept. 13. - TV Week
Halle Berry is in talks to star in director Paul Verhoeven's new thriller The Surrogate. - ComingSoon
"Octomom" Nadya Suleman has signed a reality TV deal, but the show hasn't yet been picked up by a network. - Variety
The creators behind comic strip cat Heathcliff might be bringing the feline to the big screen. - Entertainment Weekly

Buzz News Roundup, 4/1

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:30:57 -0700

Guiding Light, broadcast's longest-running scripted show, will end in September after 72 years. - New York Times
Steve Carell is eyeing the lead role in divorce comedy Dumped, based on a novel by Andrew Gottlieb. - ComingSoon
Wanda Sykes is getting a new Saturday night series on Fox. - TV Week
Will Arnett and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon will join the cast of the Jonah Hex movie. - Reuters
The Wackness director Jonathan Levine has signed on to direct the Adventures in Babysitting-type comedy The Sitter. - The Hollywood Reporter
Mark your calendars: Pushing Daisies season two, including the unaired episodes, will be on DVD July 21. - Entertainment Weekly
Lucy Lawless has signed on to star in the fantasy-and-fighting series Spartacus: Blood and Sand from Xena: Warrior Princess masterminds Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi. - Variety
Lost, Entourage, Breaking Bad, and YouTube are among this year's Peabody Awards winners. - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney has set Julie Anne Robinson to direct Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel that Sparks wrote specifically for Cyrus. - ComingSoon

Photo courtesy of CBS

2009 Sundance Spotlight: The Missing Person, Paper Heart, Spread

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 07:30:51 -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:

The Missing Person
Michael Shannon is getting all kinds of attention for the creepy role he plays in Revolutionary Road, which is one of the reasons this movie is already earning some early buzz out of the festival. Also starring Amy Ryan, The Missing Person looks like a slow-boiling noir that follows "a private detective prone to sardonic wit, gin, and the endless repercussions of what happens when you mix the two." Intrigued?

You can check out the trailer for this one and see some more of my picks (which include Ashton Kutcher and cutie Michael Cera) if you read more.

Paper Heart
What would a film festival be without an adorable Michael Cera film? This time around he's paired with Charlyne Yi (who was one of my favorite things about Knocked Up), his friend (maybe girlfriend?) who came up with the idea for this movie. The movie is semi-autobiographical and follows Yi on her quest to find the kind of love that isn't "fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology."

While there isn't a preview clip available just yet, check out this YouTube video of Yi auditioning for Saturday Night Live to get a sense of her comedy style:

Spread
And what would a film festival be without Ashton Kutcher? Well, normal. That is to say, he's not exactly who I think of when I think Sundance. But he'll be there this year starring in Spread, which is described thusly: "Set in modern-day Los Angeles, Spread is a hard-biting story about a high-end lethario, Nikki (Ashton Kutcher), who has slept his way into a life of privilege. He shares his secrets with us as he hosts parties and beds scores of women, all while living it up at the Hollywood Hills home of a middle-aged female attorney, Samantha (Anne Heche)." I can definitely buy Kutcher as someone women would rather sex up than talk to. This thing can either go really well for him or really badly. Check out a clip from the movie below:

Source and photos and Spread clip courtesy of Sundance

Movie Preview: Bug

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:58:09 -0700

Having seen the play on which Bug is based and knowing what Exorcist director William Friedkin can do, I'm curious to find out how Bug will adapt to the big screen. The story follows an ex-military man (Michael Shannon) and a lonely woman (Ashley Judd) as they become gradually convinced that their bodies are infested with bugs.

From what I remember of the play, the action takes place almost entirely in one room, and I've heard the same is true for the movie. This confinement works well on stage where, over the course of the play, the audience is dragged along with the characters on their descent into paranoia and madness. On screen, though, I wonder if the effect won't be too maddening. To watch the creepy trailer, read more

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate