"21" wins jackpot at North American box office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -
The new gambling drama "21" played
a winning hand at the weekend box office in North America,
earning an estimated $23.7 million in its first round,
distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday.

The fact-based saga revolves around a team of college
whizzes who conspire to count cards at blackjack tables in Las
Vegas. The cast includes Kevin Spacey, a professor who coaches
the students, and Laurence Fishburne, who plays a casino thug.
The movie was directed by Australian filmmaker Robert Luketic
("Legally Blonde").

Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, said the opening
for the $35 million film exceeded expectations, and it played
strongly to old, young, male and female moviegoers.

After two weekends at No. 1, the animated smash "Dr. Seuss'
Horton Hears A Who!" slipped to No. 2 with $17.4 million. The
20th Century Fox comedy, featuring the voices of Jim Carrey and
Steve Carell, became the first release of 2008 to hit the
century mark, with sales of $117.3 million to date. Fox is a
unit of News Corp.

New at No. 3 was the spoof "Superhero Movie," with a
disappointing $9.5 million. Industry observers had expected an
opening in the low- to mid-teen millions. Two months ago, the
similarly themed "Meet the Spartans" opened to $18.5 million.
"Superhero Movie" was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Inc., and produced by Weinstein Co's Dimension Films banner.
Both are privately held. MGM declined comment.

'STOP-LOSS' MISFIRES

Prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry's latest comedy "Meet the
Browns" tumbled two places to No. 4 with $7.8 million, 61
percent lower than its opening weekend haul. Its total stands
at $32.8 million. The film was released by Lionsgate, a unit of
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

The Owen Wilson comedy "Drillbit Taylor" fell one place to
No. 5 with $5.3 million, also in its second weekend. Its drop
was 49 percent, and its total rose to $20.6 million. The film
was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc.

Paramount also released the Iraq war-themed drama
"Stop-Loss," which opened at No. 8 with just $4.5 million.
War-related films, such as "In the Valley of Elah" and
"Rendition" have bombed at the box office, and expectations
were low for "Stop-Loss," which stars Ryan Phillippe as a
soldier who faces a second tour of duty. It was made by
Kimberly Peirce, who directed Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning
performance in the 1999 film "Boys Don't Cry."

The British comedy "Run, Fat Boy, Run," the feature
directing debut of former "Friends" star David Schwimmer,
opened at No. 13 with $2.4 million. The film topped the U.K.
box office in September, and was initially scheduled to open in
North America the following month. It was released by
Picturehouse, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Overall sales fell for a second consecutive weekend and the
first quarter finished on a flat note. Ticket sales for the
quarter stood at $2.1 billion, up 0.64 percent from the
year-ago period, according to Media By Numbers, which collects
box office data. Attendance was down 2.6 percent. A year ago,
sales were up 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2006 and
attendance was up 3.9 percent.

Media By Numbers president Paul Dergarabedian said the box
office faced a tough comparison with last year. By the end of
the first quarter last year, three films had made over $100
million: "Ghost Rider," "Wild Hogs" and "300."

He predicted business would remain tough for the next few
weeks. The lucrative summer period begins May 2 with the Marvel
comic book adaptation "Iron Man," but no one expects the Robert
Downey Jr. movie to come close to the record-breaking $151
million opening for "Spider-Man 3" in 2007.

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Hollywood unions rift derails unified labor talks

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -
A unified front by Hollywood's
two actors' unions engaged in labor talks with movie studios
has dissolved in acrimony, leaving them to negotiate separate
deals before a strike deadline.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or
AFTRA, told the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, late on Saturday
that it was terminating a joint negotiation agreement, accusing
the more-powerful SAG of trying to undermine it.

"AFTRA believes it must devote its full energies to working
on behalf of performers, and not wasting its time assessing
whether our partner is being honest with us," AFTRA President
Roberta Reardon said in a statement.

Reardon said AFTRA aimed to negotiate a contract as soon as
possible for its 70,000 members, who include actors, singers,
dancers, announcers and other broadcast performers.

The 120,000-strong SAG called AFTRA's move "calculated" and
"cynical" and said it did not serve members' interests.

The current film and TV contract expires on June 30, which
is being treated as the de facto strike deadline. An actors'
strike would deal a major blow to Hollywood, where nerves are
still raw from the 14-week writers' strike that ended February
12.

The unions share many of the same demands as writers, who
sought more money for work distributed over the Internet, but
the actors also face unique issues such as forced commercial
endorsements through product placement in TV shows and movies.

The studios are represented by the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Pictures, which said it was "pleased" to
hear AFTRA was ready to begin talks immediately.

(Reporting by Scott Hillis)

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Live Nation inks 12-year pact with U2

By Yinka Adegoke 2 hours, 53 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Live Nation Inc said on Monday it had
signed a 12-year global contract to handle the merchandising,
digital and branding rights of Irish band U2, along with its
touring.

The deal with U2, one of the world's biggest rock bands,
comes just five months after Live Nation announced a
comprehensive partnership with pop star Madonna, which included
her coveted recording rights.

But Live Nation said U2 will continue the band's long-term
recording and publishing relationship with Universal Music
Group, a unit of French media giant Vivendi.

"It's not a do or die situation that we have to be involved
in the recordings," said Live Nation Chairman Michael Cohl in
an interview with Reuters. "We'd prefer to, but it's not always
available."

The company would not reveal financial terms of the U2
deal.

The deal with Madonna, which included the recording rights,
was estimated to be worth $120 million over 10 years including
a three-album commitment after the artist submits her last
album to her current music company, Warner Music Group.

Live Nation has been expanding its business model to
develop more far-reaching and deeper relationships with artists
beyond just handling their touring.

Its partnership with U2 will now include merchandise and
licensing rights, sponsorship and strategic alliances, digital
rights, fan club/Web sites and other marketing and creative
services.

Cohl said the new model will help boost the overall
company's profit margins. Analysts have said that touring and
ticketing have traditionally been a low-margin business.

Several of the company's executives had managed U2's tours
for more than 20 years.

DIVERSIFICATION

Live Nation's attempts to diversify its business and win
artists from music labels, come as the major labels are also
trying to reinvent their business and win control of touring,
digital and merchandise rights of their artists.

The music companies are keen to replace lost revenues
caused by falling recorded music sales. Fans are buying fewer
CDs and are not purchasing enough digital music to make up for
the shortfall.

The major labels have started signing some artists to
so-called 360-degree deals which, as well as recording,
includes publishing, touring, digital and other rights.

Cohl said his company will focus on signing other major
artists rather than developing new acts such as a traditional
music label or publishing house.

"Our intention is to work with artists who are already
making it or on their way to making it," he said.

Live Nation said its new strategy will also include its Web
site LiveNation, which Cohl said was aiming to become the
biggest music portal on the Web through a mixture of ticketing,
merchandise sales as well as fan clubs and other features.

(Additional reporting by Justin Grant; editing by
Jacqueline Wong and Sue Thomas)

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Actors unions butt heads over negotiations

By Leslie Simmons 2 hours, 6 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
The bad blood between
Hollywood's two major actors' unions reached Hatfield and McCoy
levels during the weekend just as they prepare to negotiate new
labor contracts for their members.

Saturday's stunning decision by the American Federation of
Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to negotiate its own deal
with the studios rather than in partnership with the bigger and
more-confrontational Screen Actors Guild (SAG) raises the
question of which union will sit down first for formal talks.

The unions' TV-theatrical contract, which they have jointly
negotiated for 27 years, expires on June 30. The studios,
slowly recovering from the 100-day writers' strike, are fearful
of another walkout and are delaying work on projects that could
be interrupted in the summer.

The union that does not negotiate a new contract first with
the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP)
could find itself facing a bigger battle, depending on whether
its proposals are greatly different than what was agreed upon
by the other union.

AFTRA, whose contract covers 44,000 members of both unions,
has been pushing for early talks all along, so it would come as
no surprise if it were first to the table.

Both unions said Sunday that they would be getting in touch
with the AMPTP within the next few days.

"Informal discussions are happening and we expect to set a
timeline soon," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said.

SAG executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen said
the union plans to call the AMPTP Monday.

"We've discussed it informally with them," Allen said.
"This is what we were waiting for to get started on bargaining:
To get this process finished and for the input of the members
who were all participating."

The AMPTP issued a statement Saturday saying it was pleased
that AFTRA is ready to start formal talks and is determined to
"work hard and bargain reasonably" to avoid another harmful
strike in the industry. The statement made no mention of SAG.
(Hollywood writers walked out for 100 days last year.)

Both unions, however, probably will wait until after the
April 7 start of talks between AMPTP and the Intl. Assn. of
Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents
blue-collar studio workers.

AFTRA's eleventh-hour decision to suspend its joint
bargaining agreement with SAG, known as Phase One, came as both
actors unions were set to vote on a proposal package their
members had been working on since February. Terms of the
package have not been disclosed.

Just last Tuesday and Wednesday, members of both unions'
"wages and working conditions" committees met to put finishing
touches on the package. Word out of those meetings was that
both worked amicably side by side.

But even that characterization had Allen and Reardon
disagreeing. SAG's Allen described the meetings as "energetic"
and "exciting." AFTRA's Reardon said there had been "tensions"
and "disagreements."

The straw that broke the camel's back Saturday, Reardon
said, was the anticipated decision by the cast of the daytime
soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" to circulate a petition
seeking to annul AFTRA's representation of the show's actors.

Several weeks ago, members of the cast approached SAG about
issues they had regarding AFTRA's representation.

"They're fed up that AFTRA has not taken care of their
needs and concerns and that AFTRA has not assisted them in
getting money owed to them," said SAG national board member
Anne-Marie Johnson, also an AFTRA member. "They're fed up with
their health and retirement package, and they know SAG will
assist if they could."

Johnson said the actors were told to bring it up with AFTRA
because SAG taking jurisdiction over the "Bold" actors would be
considered "raiding."

Allen said the guild assured AFTRA it would not assist the
soap opera's cast in their efforts to organize with SAG.

"The timing of this was transparently obvious," Allen said.
"It was incredibly cynical and calculated. It was a flimsy
excuse. SAG was never intent on raiding or representing the
soap opera."

But Reardon said for AFTRA it was clear SAG planned a raid.
She cautioned that the decision to stop jointly bargaining was
not just because of "Bold."

"We had learned about 'The Bold and the Beautiful'
situation but found out quite later in the game that the
situation was much more dire than we first knew," Reardon
explained.

Over the last year, there have been "growing attacks from
the guild" that pushed AFTRA to its boiling point, including
"letters in the screen actors magazine, petitions, elected
leaders of SAG on the sets of our cable shows."

"It's been a very planned campaign to discredit AFTRA and
the decertification petition is the outcome of that," she said.
"You cannot engage in bargaining with employers when you're
sitting at a table with a partner you don't trust. We would
spend more time negotiating with each other than the industry."

Despite the contentious history, Allen denied Reardon's
allegations of a SAG campaign against AFTRA and said it tried
to work with its sister union.

"How is it better for the acting members of the unions to
negotiate separately?" Allen asked. "How is the leverage of the
average working actor increased by negotiating separately as
opposed to together?"

But not every SAG member believes the union's leadership
was that blindsided by AFTRA's decision or will mourn the loss
of the union as a bargaining partner.

"It was only recently that the Hollywood leadership of SAG
was actively working to end our relationship with AFTRA over
the strenuous objections of those of us who knew what the
outcome would be for both unions," said Sam Freed a New York
member who is SAG's second national vp. "Now, after a year of
provocation that has gotten them what they always wanted, they
are placing the blame on everyone but themselves for the
outcome. The current Hollywood leadership of SAG has today
failed all actors."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Kids Choose Miley, Johnny, Jessica

Gina Serpe

Los Angeles (E! Online) -
You don't have to be a kid to win big at the Kids' Choice Awards, but it certainly seems to help.

Just ask Miley Cyrus, who enjoyed the best of both worlds—singing and acting—at Nickelodeon's 21st annual slimefest Saturday night, taking home awards for both Favorite TV Actress and Favorite Female Singer at the kid-powered show.

The omnipresent Hannah Montana star, who also performed her new single "G.N.O. (Girl's Night Out)" during the ceremony, was the only individual double winner of the night.

The night's only other multiple honoree was Nickelodeon's homegrown talent Drake & Josh, which not only took home the coveted orange blimp for Favorite TV Show but earned series star Drake Bell the Favorite TV Actor award, as well.

Jack Black returned as host, opening the night with one of his trademark musical parody numbers—this time around, a rousing rendition of "I Was Made for Sliming You," an ode to the wonders of the show's signature green goo—before welcoming the tween masses to "the slimiest, starriest, choiciest awards show ever!"

The first prize of the night went to Jessica Alba, who was crowned Favorite Movie Actress at the completely fan-determined awards show. As Black was keen to boast, more than 88 million votes were cast prior to the ceremony.

"I love Nickelodeon!" the mom-to-be said. "I wore green today in honor of the slime. I love making movies for you all."

But for all the awards doled out over the course of the show—perpetual favorite Johnny Depp took home the nod for Favorite Movie Actor, though parents can rest assured it was for swashbuckling turn in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End rather than the blood-soaked Sweeney Todd, while Alvin and the Chipmunks was honored as Favorite Movie—slime was definitely the name of the game.

In keeping with the green theme, Heidi Klum gamely made an appearance at the show, coming onstage to pop slime-filled balloons with help from a giant bum-spanning pad covered in spikes. Usher and Akon got in on the messy action later in the show, blasting a sumo wrestler with an industrial strength slime hose and making their way through a slime-filled obstacle course, respectively.

The slimey set pièce de résistance, however, came courtesy of host Black and Orlando Bloom, whose climactic and lengthy joint sliming was one for the show's history books.

"It's the whole reason I became an actor," Bloom said upon his being raised into a slime-filled tank. "To take part in the biggest celebrity sliming in Kids' Choice history."

In a change of pace, the awards show also managed to make history for another, completely slime-unrelated reason: The distribution of the first ever Wannabe Award.

Cameron Diaz was the honored recipient, so chosen for being the celebrity kids most "want to be." Ashton Kutcher was on hand to present the award.

"This is the biggest honor of my life!" she said. "Kids are the future...and I'm honored to inspire you to change this world...Go out and make this a better world!"

Here's the complete list of winners for the Kids' Choice Awards:

MOVIES

  • Favorite Movie Actor:  Johnny Depp
  • Favorite Movie Actress:  Jessica Alba
  • Favorite Movie:  Alvin and the Chipmunks
  • Favorite Animated Movie:  Ratatouille
  • Favorite Voice in an Animated Movie:  Eddie Murphy, Shrek the Third

TV

  • Favorite Reality Show:  American Idol
  • Favorite TV Show:  Drake & Josh
  • Favorite Animated Show:  Avatar: The Latest Airbender
  • Favorite TV Actor:  Drake Bell, Drake & Josh
  • Favorite TV Actress:  Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana

MUSIC

  • Favorite Female Singer:  Miley Cyrus
  • Favorite Male Singer:  Chris Brown
  • Favorite Music Group:  Jonas Brothers
  • Favorite Song:  Avril Lavigne, "Girlfriend"

SPORTS

  • Favorite Male Athlete:  Tony Hawk
  • Favorite Female Athlete:  Danica Patrick

OTHER

  • Wannabe Award:  Cameron Diaz
  • Favorite Book:  Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
  • Favorite Videogame: Madden NFL '08

 

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Ian McShane fit for "Kings" as NBC hones fall slate

By James Hibberd

Ian McShane is returning to television
as star of NBC's drama pilot "Kings."

Sources said NBC is planning to announce series pickups for
"Kings," a remake of "Knight Rider," the Christian Slater drama
"My Worst Enemy," and "The Philanthropist" during its "upfront"
presentation to advertisers on Wednesday.

In line with programming chief Ben Silverman's affinity for
commercial, easily promotable franchises, three of the shows
are based on popular concepts. "Rider," which started as a
highly-rated two-hour movie/backdoor pilot in February, is a
spinoff from the 1980s series. "Enemy" is a take on "Jekyll &
Hyde" with Slater starring as a suburban dad who learns that
his alter ego is a spy.

And "Kings" is loosely based on the story of King David.
Australian actor Christopher Egan stars as a pure-hearted young
warrior who joins the court of the charismatic and
authoritative King Silas (McShane).

Meanwhile, "Philanthropist" had been an early favorite of
Silverman and his team, even though the project has failed to
cast the lead yet. It revolves around a rebel billionaire who
helps those in need.

Sources say a renewal of "Lipstick Jungle" looks unlikely
and that the network is still mulling the future of the
Patricia Arquette drama "Medium," which is in its fourth
season.

Year-round programming and development will be a central
theme at NBC's Wednesday presentation, and the unveiled 2008-09
schedule is expected to reflect that. Details about the lineup,
which will be presented in a news conference format, are being
kept under wraps.

Sources indicate "Chuck" is favored to return to its Monday
8 p.m. slot, followed by "Heroes" and "My Worst Enemy."
Tuesdays will probably have a two-hour "Biggest Loser,"
followed by "Law & Order: SVU." Wednesday is a wild card night,
with a new drama likely to debut at 9 p.m. Thursdays will
probably remain unchanged, with the two-hour comedy block
followed by a renewed "ER." "Kath & Kim," which received a
six-episode order in February, is a contender for the slot that
will be vacated by departing Thursday comedy "Scrubs." Fridays
are in flux, while Sundays will be dominated by the NFL.

Mindful of rushing "Bionic Woman" to air last year with
uneven results, sources says the network was recently toying
with the idea of taking its time with "Rider" and launching it
in midseason, possibly in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot.

NBC also has been approaching advertisers about doing more
"green weeks," with a modest version potentially planned for
later this month to coincide with Earth Day and a more
expansive version tentatively scheduled for November.

NBC launched a heavily marketed week of green-themed
programming and marketing last November under the moniker
"Green Is Universal," but the event was largely overshadowed by
the beginning of the writers strike.

NBC is eschewing the usual May upfront extravaganza as a
cost-cutting measure and to get the jump on rivals. NBC also
will have three days of one-on-one meetings with advertisers,
then a larger "spotlight" event May 12 in Manhattan.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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CBS sees Aussie actor Simon Baker as "Mentalist"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Australian actor Simon
Baker, the former star of the CBS drama "The Guardian," has
reunited with the network for a drama pilot called "The
Mentalist."

Baker will play the lead role, a psychic who uses his
skills of observation to solve crimes as an independent
detective working with the police.

In addition to "The Guardian," which ran from 2001 to 2004,
Baker also starred in CBS' Ray Liotta drama "Smith," which was
cancelled after three episodes in 2006. His feature credits
include "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Land of the Dead."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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A soft launch for Brown at CNN

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - There are entrances, and there are ENTRANCES.

Campbell Brown has made a lower-caps bow at CNN, anchoring the week-night series "Election Center" for the past few weeks.

When she left NBC last summer, where she was host of "Weekend Today" and Brian Williams' primary sub on "Nightly News," Brown said she was taking time offscreen to have a baby and develop a format for the new 8 p.m. show she would anchor on CNN.

The first mission was accomplished (Eli, born Dec. 18), but events conspired to change the second. CNN cooked up "Election Center" in January to capitalize on the intense political interest and serve as a spaceholder for Brown. Instead, when she was ready to come back, Brown simply moved into the anchor chair at the all-politics program.

It's the ultimate soft launch, and saved Brown from hours of mind-numbing meetings.

"The things that go into putting a new show together — the staff, the graphics, whatever else — that's not my focus," she told The Associated Press. "That's not the sort of stuff that interested me anyway. What interested me was the story, and this landed in our laps. I couldn't have been happier."

The timing also gives Brown the chance to show her talents at a high-water mark for a network where interest ebbs and flows depending on the news.

CNN beat industry leader Fox News Channel among the advertiser-friendly age demographic of 25-to-54 in February for the first time in six years (Fox still led among all viewers), according to Nielsen Media Research.

Riding the wave of coverage for primary nights and debates, CNN has averaged 1.35 million viewers this year through March 21 in the 8 p.m. time slot. Last year's figure was 579,000. CNN's average this year still dwarfs cable news king Bill O'Reilly (2.67 million), but the two networks are within 80,000 of each other in the youthful demographic.

CNN bet on the idea that viewers are losing interest in partisan shoutfests, said Jon Klein, CNN U.S. president. With many Fox viewers leaning right and MSNBC increasingly appealing to the left, CNN wants to play to the center.

While usually a wise strategy in politics, that's against the grain on television and radio, where audiences gravitate toward strong opinions.

"There's an enormous opportunity in appealing to the vast majority of viewers who want reliable information, want to be exposed to different points of view, and then make up their own minds," Klein countered. "They don't want to be preached to, they don't want to be ranted at. They just want the facts presented to them, and that plays to the strength of CNN."

Brown said she won't shy away from opinionated analysis on her show but won't be offering it herself. That's counterprogramming in itself, since she's competing against two men (O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann) who are reliably sure of their own opinions.

The 39-year-old Brown was well-regarded at NBC, but was passed over as Katie Couric's replacement on "Today" for Meredith Vieira. She enjoyed her job, but was locked into a schedule working every weekend and most holidays.

"She's a political reporter, and that's one thing there's precious little of in prime-time television," Klein said. "There's a lot of talk, but there are very few people who have the insight that she does, and the experience."

Brown figured there were only so many "organize your closet" segments she could do on "Weekend Today" and remain interested.

"The most fun I ever had was on the campaign trail and covering the White House," said Brown, who followed President Bush's 2000 campaign and began at the White House after he was elected. "I knew that in my bones and I know that's who I am and I needed to find a way to express that more than I was able to express that at NBC."

She also had some concerns about that network's commitment to news coverage compared to CNN, noting a number of producers had left "Today" and hadn't been replaced.

Indeed, the number of producers — who do much of the off-air reporting and organizing of television news programs — declined by a startling 24 percent at ABC, CBS and NBC within the past year, according to a report released two weeks ago by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

One problem doing a show called "Election Center" is you're vulnerable to lull periods, like during last week when Barack Obama went on vacation and a story about Hillary Clinton's misstatement about being exposed to sniper fire dominated the news.

By mid-November, "Election Center" becomes obsolete; Brown isn't going to avoid forever those meetings about what her show will look like. But that's two conventions and a general election campaign away.

A political junkie, she often wondered in the past if she was doing stories that people beyond her circle of friends cared about.

Not this year.

The response Brown sees in her e-mails confirms what networks and politicians have seen repeatedly over the past few months: people care, and they're really watching.

"They know what a superdelegate is, in a way you couldn't say about 2004, you couldn't say about 2000," she said. "I don't know what's behind it, but I love it. I'm going to ride this horse as long as I can. I think all of us will."

___

On the Net:

http://www.cnn/

___

David Bauder can be reached at dbauder"at"ap.org

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Nickelodeon high on school musical TV movie

By Borys Kit and Kimberly Nordyke 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Watch out Disney!
Nickelodeon is sharpening its notes to create its own high
school musical.

The Viacom-owned kids network will next month start
shooting the TV movie "Spectacular!" a music-themed comedy set
in high school.

Although "Spectacular!" is designed as a one-off, Nick is
holding options on the stars for potential sequels. No airdate
has been set, though the movie is intended to join the ranks of
other original live-action programming on Nick, including the
hit series "Zoey 101" and "iCarly."

"Spectacular!" which has been kept below the radar, centers
on a preppy high school student (Australian Tammin Sursok) who
is part of the school's Spectacular! choir. The group is in sad
shape, with its most talented members either having graduated
or been stolen away by a rival squad. The teen sees salvation
in a cocky rocker (Canadian Nolan Funk), who reluctantly joins
"Spectacular!" to win a money prize that would finance his rock
'n' roll dreams. But the rocker doesn't factor in falling for
the preppy girl.

Robert Iscove ("She's All That") is directing the film,
which will shoot in Vancouver.

Nick stresses that "Spectacular!" is not a classic musical.
The songs in the movie will be performance-based rather than
featuring characters suddenly breaking out into song like in
Disney's "High School Musical."

Disney unearthed a gold mine with "Musical," which became a
surprise hit upon its debut in January 2006. The sequel, which
aired in August, broke records for cable viewership, and the
soundtrack was the second-best-selling album of 2007.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Tone Loc plans shows for scammed bars

MILFORD, Mich. - Tone Loc plans to play shows at two bars in the Detroit area that were swindled by a man posing as the rapper's manager.

Tone Loc will play April 11 at the Red Dog Saloon in Milford and April 12 at Bumpers in Westland, The Detroit Free Press reports.

Red Dog owner Patty McMillan gave about $400 last summer to a man posing as Tone Loc's manager who promised his client would perform at her bar. Authorities say the man also scammed Bumpers out of $1,000.

The scam artist hasn't been caught.

The newspaper said McMillan and Judy Johnson of Bumpers contacted Tone Loc's real manager, Bobby Bessone in Nashville, Tenn., who said the rapper offered to play the shows for his regular fee.

Bessone did not immediately respond Sunday to a call from The Associated Press to a listing for Bessone's agency, seeking comment.

The rapper, whose real name is Anthony T. Smith, is known for the hits "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina."

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Wyclef Jean asks Haitians to give up crime

By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) -
In a radio ad sponsored by the
U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Grammy Award-winning
musician Wyclef Jean is asking his fellow citizens to give up
crime and work to improve the country.

"If you love Wyclef, that means you love Haiti. So you
should not be raping women, kidnapping people and children,
because there can be no excuse for doing so," Jean said in
Creole in a short ad run several times a day by local stations
in Haiti.

"I reject these evil practices," said the 35-year-old Jean,
who also urged Haitian men to respect and protect women's
rights.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas has battled
decades of political upheaval, dictatorship, military rule and
violence.

Haitian police and U.N. authorities have noted a rise in
crime over the past several weeks and are trying to counter a
wave of kidnappings and crimes perpetrated by gangs in the
capital and some provincial areas.

Official figures show 36 people were kidnapped for ransom
in Port-au-Prince during March, and about 30 in February. The
number had dropped to fewer than 20 a month.

Fred Blaise, a spokesman for the U.N. police, said Jean's
popularity among Haitians from across the social spectrum may
positively influence youngsters involved in crime, and could
motivate others to stay out of trouble.

"All kinds of Haitians, the good guys as well as the bad
guys, have a lot of appreciation for Wyclef for what he
represents as a Haitian," Blaise told Reuters on Sunday.

"So they would be more likely to be receptive to Wyclef's
message because they are all proud of him," he said.

Jean, who first gained fame as a member of the
Grammy-winning hip-hop trio The Fugees, enjoys enormous respect
in Haiti. Last year, he was appointed by Haitian President Rene
Preval to serve as a roving ambassador to improve the nation's
image abroad.

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Rolling Stones film set for release

By Christian Wiessner

NEW YORK (Reuters) -
Director Martin Scorsese won't say the
Rolling Stones are like the underworld characters in many of
his movies, but he admits the band's music evokes memories of
the rough, mob-tinged street life he grew up around.

The Academy Award winner and the legendary band founded in
London in 1962 have combined on "Shine A Light," a concert
documentary shot at New York's intimate Beacon Theatre in
October 2006.

Scorsese and band members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron
Wood and Charlie Watts held a press conference on Sunday ahead
of the film's U.S. release on April 4.

"I don't know if I can make any direct associations,"
Scorsese said with a laugh when asked what similarities he sees
between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members and the brutal
criminals he has depicted in films such as "Goodfellas,"
"Casino" and "The Departed."

But the native New Yorker says their music has always
struck powerful chords with him, so much that he used the
group's violence-laced song "Gimme Shelter" in three of his
previous films.

"The music has been very important to me over the years. It
dealt with aspects of the life that I was growing up around,
that I was associated with or saw or was experiencing and
trying to make sense of," Scorsese said.

"It was tougher, it had an edge. Beautiful, honest and
brutal at times. And it's always stayed with me and become a
well of inspiration to this day," he added.

The film offers 17 songs mainly comprised of concert
warhorses like "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Start Me Up" and "Brown
Sugar," and features guest appearances by blues legend Buddy
Guy, White Stripes guitarist Jack White and singer Christina
Aguilera.

The film's opening minutes show band front-man Jagger and
Scorsese in a transatlantic teleconference tug-of-war over
stage dimensions, camera placement and the song list.

Archival footage of the band and limited contemporary
interviews also are included, but the film mainly is a straight
depiction of the concert.

Guitarist Richards said he was happy about the scaled-down
show, especially because of his love of the Beacon Theatre.

"The Beacon Theatre is special for some reason ... The room
sort of wraps its arms around you, and every night it gets
warmer," Richards said. "And this band, you know, didn't start
off in stadiums."

While filmed in a smaller venue, Jagger said the movie will
have a larger-than-life look when it is shown in the
huge-screen IMAX format. The film also will be released in
theaters with regular screens.

"The funny thing is that Marty decided he wanted to make
this small intimate movie and I said, 'Well the laugh is that,
Marty, in the end, it's going to be blown up to this huge IMAX
thing ...' But it looks good in IMAX," Jagger said.

The band was long on praise for Scorsese, who after five
previous Best Director nominations finally won an Oscar for
2006's "The Departed."

"He's a fantastic director and ... very painstaking on the
editing to produce the movie that you see," Jagger said.

"We didn't choose Marty, Marty chose us," said Richards.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

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"Juno" star sings in sequel to movie soundtrack

32 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -
Two months after the soundtrack to
the pregnant-teen comedy "Juno" hit No. 1 on the U.S. album
charts, a second volume is being prepared for digital-only
release.

"Juno B-Sides: Almost Adopted Songs," a 15-track collection
boasting a ditty performed by star Ellen Page, will debut
exclusively through iTunes for a suggested list price of $9.99
on April 8, distributor Rhino Records said.

The album will be available through all digital service
providers on May 13. There are currently no plans for a
physical release.

"None of these songs made the movie, but they are all
essential members of the Junoverse," the film's director, Jason
Reitman, writes in the liner notes.

Olympia, Wash.-based singer/songwriter Kimya Dawson, whose
music was prominently featured in the film and the first
soundtrack, is back with a pair, including a cover of "All I
Want Is You," the wistful love tune performed over the film's
opening credits.

The man behind that song, children's entertainer Barry
Louis Polisar, also returns, as do Scottish band Belle and
Sebastian and Buddy Holly. The soundtrack is rounded out by
tunes from indie rock bands Yo La Tengo and Jr. James & The
Late Guitar, as well as Boston girl group the Bristols, Mexican
combo Trio Los Panchos, and Brazilian bossa nova icon Astrud
Gilberto.

Page performs "Zub Zub," a song written by the film's
Oscar-winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody, for a scene that was
eventually cut for time. Page's character bemoans her fate with
such lines as "he filled me with baby batter, then we ate some
orange tic tacs after."

Reitman said the scene provided one of his favorite
memories. "I just remember directing with my daughter strapped
to my chest in a BabyBjorn (baby carrier) and the whole crew
watching on as Ellen noodled around on guitar."

The original "Juno" soundtrack reached No. 1 on the
Billboard 200 in January, becoming the first chart-topper in
archival specialist Rhino's 30-year history

(Reporting by Dean Goodman)

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"Star Wars" fans picket in support of delayed film

By Borys Kit and Gregg Goldstein

LOS ANGELES (Hollywoood Reporter) -
Angry "Star Wars" fans,
aggrieved about editing changes to an upcoming Weinstein Co.
comedy inspired by the sci-fi franchise, picketed theaters
playing the studio's latest film, with both sides claiming some
sort of victory.

Protesters, organized by a fan group calling itself the
501st, showed up in "Star Wars" gear on Friday at AMC Theatres
in New York and Los Angeles that were playing "Superhero
Movie."

They want to draw attention to the fate of "Fanboys," about
four diehard "Star Wars" fans who break into George Lucas'
Skywalker Ranch in order to see "The Phantom Menace" on the eve
of its release. The film was originally set for the release
last August, but a cancer storyline worried Weinstein, which
shot a second version of the film. Fans were outraged.

Weinstein said last week that it will release the two
versions on DVD, and a studio source later said that is
exploring two theatrical versions. The announcement did nothing
to satisfy the fans, who vowed to proceed with their picket of
"Superhero Movie."

But the exact number of fans who donned "Star Wars" gear
differs depending on which side is talking.

The 501st claims 14 members showed up in New York, but an
AMC spokesperson said there was no protest, and a Weinstein
source cited a YouTube video posted Friday night showing one
protester saying no one else was there. The video has since
been removed by the user.

The group also claimed more than 20 showed up at AMC's
theaters in L.A.'s Century City district, but an AMC rep said
this was limited to one person in a Darth Vader costume on the
street outside the theater. A Weinstein source said eight
protesters did appear, and were taken out for pizza by one of
the filmmakers.

"We've been working on this movie for many years and if
someone is going to take time out of their personal life and
support our film, whatever that support may be, at the very
least what we can do is say thank you and buy them a couple of
slices of pizza for caring about this project as much as we
do," "Fanboys" producer Matthew Perniciaro said.

"They seemed to take the term 'phantom menace' to a whole
different level. I guess they weren't that organized.
Apparently getting Star Wars fans to give up their Friday night
isn't as easy as it looks," one source said.

Organizers learned quickly that it's all about location,
location, location. For Los Angeles, the group chose a mall in
Century City rather than a public area. Malls are private
property and AMC and Weinstein Co. personnel were able to shut
down protesters, visibly identifiable in "Star Wars" costumes
or geekwear such as a Green Lantern T-shirt, almost as soon as
they stepped foot into the outdoor mall.

"Guards were everywhere," said one protester, who declined
to be identified. "At one point, I counted nine, no joke. They
hired a whole force and whenever someone showed up looking
around for the protest, they were surrounded by guards and told
to leave instantly or be arrested. I guess you can't really
hold a protest on private property."

The 501st claimed victory by pointing to "Superhero
Movie's" dismal performance at the boxoffice.

"We're really not too concerned with how many people did or
didn't show up at the protests," said the group. "'Star Wars'
fans showed their support for 'Fanboys' by not showing up at
theaters all over the country. Our primary goal was to make
sure that that 'Superhero Movie' tanked on its opening
weekend."

The movie mustered up a gross of only $9.5 million despite
several predictions of a $14-milion-$19 million bow.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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"Horton" leads foreign box office

By Frank Segers

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
The comedy "Bienvenue
chez les Ch'tis," the French film industry's biggest-ever hit,
narrowly claimed the No. 1 spot internationally during the
weekend as HollywoodDr.
Seuss' Horton Hears A WhoEaster session overseas.

"Bienvenue," a comedy of manners about a postal worker who
is transferred to a small northern village where the locals
speak an incomprehensible dialect, earned an estimated $14.7
million during its fifth consecutive weekend as the No. 1 title
in France.

The weekend total is likely to float higher since estimates
from the film's runs in French-speaking Switzerland and Belgium
were not available Sunday. The film has grossed an estimated
$152 million to date, largely from just its home territory.

"Horton" finished No. 2 for the weekend with an estimated
$13.2 million from 52 markets in its third frame. Its foreign
total is $77 million. 10,000 BC" came in at No. 3 with $12
million from 62 territories, raising its overseas total to
$142.5 million.

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" finished at No. 4 with $8.1
million from 52 territories; its foreign total rose to $48.1
million. "Step Up 2 The Streets" rounded out the top five with
$7 million from 27 markets for an international total of $51.7
million.

Other foreign totals: "27 Dresses," $6.1 million; "Jumper,"
$118.3 million; "Vantage Point," $61.2 million; "The Game
Plan," $38.7 million; "Meet the Spartans," $31.9 million;
"Juno," $58.8 million; "The Other Boleyn Girl," $24.5 million;
"No Country for Old Men," $78.3 million; and "There Will Be
Blood," $31.7 million.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Mos Def picks Chuck Berry Role for music biopic

By Leslie Simmons

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Rapper-actor Mos Def
will play legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry in "Cadillac
Records," which is filming in New Jersey.

Also joining the cast is Gabrielle Union, who will play
Geneva Wade, a girlfriend of Muddy Waters.

The Sony BMG film is set in 1950s Chicago and follows the
turbulent lives of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess
(Adrien Brody), and the label's artists, including Waters
(Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin' Wolf
(Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and Willie Dixon
(Cedric the Entertainer).

Darnell Martin ("Their Eyes Were Watching God") is
directing from his own script.

Mos Def was recently in theaters with Michel Gondry's
comedy "Be Kind Rewind." Union's credits include ABC's "Ugly
Betty" and the upcoming Eddie Murphy comedy "Meet Dave."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Dennis Hopper's son makes debut in teen horror

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
Henry Lee Hopper, the
17-year-old son of Dennis Hopper, will play the lead role in a
new teen horror from Wes Craven.

The Rogue Pictures project, tentatively titled "25/8," also
stars Denzel Whitaker ("The Great Debaters") and Shareeka Epps
("Half Nelson").

Hopper will play Bug, one of seven teens haunted by a
serial killer who supposedly died when they were born 15 years
earlier. The film takes place over the course of a day as the
mystery of who (or what) is stalking the small-town high
schoolers unfolds.

Hopper landed the lead after meeting Craven at a party for
his godfather, Julian Schnabel. The pair bonded while
discussing art, including the abstract expressionist paintings
the teen made in his Venice, Calif., home studio. Craven said
he fit the role of the initially naive, innocent Bug who is
changed by strange events, and Craven invited Hopper to
audition.

One might expect any son of Dennis Hopper to be perfect
casting for a horror film. But the greatest surprise is that he
appears to be a seemingly grounded teen despite being raised by
one of Hollywood's most infamous wild men.

"I never really got the brunt of all that," said Hopper,
who was born to actress Katherine LaNasa when his dad was 54.
"I have two older (step)sisters that did, and I think it was
really hard for them. Alcoholism played a big part in it all,
so sobriety is something that's very valued in our family.
Everyone has a dark side to them, and he's overcome it, so I
don't feel outraged by it."

Hopper was 14 when he first watched his dad huff gas in
"Blue Velvet" but didn't find it that disturbing. "'Speed' was
a lot scarier because he got his head chopped off," he said.
"But I wondered, 'Why does he always play these bad guys?' "

Hopper will attend the California Institute of the Arts to
study fine art in the fall, and won't act outside of his summer
breaks. At any rate, other pursuits might win out over acting.

"I was raised to value creativity and being myself," he
said. "Through my family and their friends, I got a real
education in what it's like to be alive."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Sony films headed to mobile phones

By Andrew Wallenstein 21 minutes ago

LAS VEGAS (Hollywood Reporter) -
Sony Pictures Television
is looking to launch the first movie network on mobile phones
in the United States.

The studio has signed a deal with AT&T and MediaFLO USA to
launch the linear channel as one of two exclusive channels
coming to the newly announced AT&T Mobile TV with FLO service
in May.

The channel, to be known as PIX, will be stocked with such
titles as "Ghostbusters," "Philadelphia" and "Stand by Me."

Mobile has been viewed mostly as a marketing platform for
theatricals in the U.S. With the domestic mobile video category
for even shortform clips lagging behind markets in Europe and
Asia, Sony is looking to entice viewers with more diverse
content offerings.

"What you see a lot on the carrier decks is promotional
content that people can snack a little on," said Eric Berger,
vp mobile entertainment at Sony Pictures Television. "There's
nothing currently there as deeply entertaining as these
movies."

Films have been made available on handsets on an on-demand
basis. Sony was one of several studios that contributed titles
to content aggregator MSpot, which teamed with Sprint to launch
MSpot Movies in 2006.

Sony always has been bullish on films via mobile. The
studio also was the first in the U.S. to embed full-length
titles on memory cards for handsets.

Although the prospect of viewers sitting in front of a
two-inch screen for two hours seems dim, Berger noted that the
objective isn't to keep people watching for the duration of a
film.

"We recognize that people are on the go with their mobile
phone and coming and going," he said. "This isn't for people
looking to view a movie for the first time. It's OK to miss the
beginning."

With AT&T on board, PIX will be available on the biggest
mobile provider in the U.S., though the company has yet to
disclose the price of the FLO tier. With PIX a part of FLO,
Sony allows AT&T to differentiate its service from Verizon
Wireless, which has been carrying FLO for the past year.

PIX will be available alongside nonexclusive mobile
channels including NBC, CBS, ESPN and Nickelodeon, which offer
altered forms of their traditional linear programming lineups
via multicast transmission.

Sony is negotiating with other U.S. carriers to carry PIX
but did not divulge which specific companies are in
discussions. As for pricing, each distribution partner likely
will use a different business model. For instance, PIX could
end up ad-supported on one carrier while free of commercials on
another that will charge an extra fee.

Sony eventually might convert PIX to an on-demand model and
might take the brand online as well. The full-length linear
strategy is just one of many different content plays with which
the studio is experimenting. "We're not doubling down and
saying it's only about longform," Berger said. "We'll continue
to do innovative things in the shortform universe as well."

Films will run on PIX for a month, with additions coming
weekly. Other titles coming to PIX include "Memento," "The
Karate Kid," "Layer Cake," "Resident Evil" and "Roxanne."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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French architect Nouvel wins Pritzker

By JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Jean Nouvel, the French architect whose hyper-modern buildings have been acclaimed for their eclectic nature and departure from tradition, has won the 2008 Pritzker Architecture Prize, it was announced Sunday.

Nouvel joins Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando and I.M. Pei in receiving the top honor in the field in recognition of his high-rises, museums and performance halls around the world.

"I think they understood very well that I fight for specific architecture against generic architecture," Nouvel said by phone from his office in Paris. "Every project is an adventure."

Nouvel, 62, became the second Pritzker laureate to be chosen from France after Christian de Portzamparc, the 1994 recipient.

A formal ceremony will be held in June at the Library of Congress in Washington. Nouvel will receive a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion.

The Pritzker jury of architects, critics, academics and others praised Nouvel for his "persistence, imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation."

Nouvel said his structures reflect time, place and occupants rather than simply adhering to stylistic dogma or historical precedent.

"I think every site, every program, has a right to a specific work, to a complete involvement of the architect," he said. "I am always researching the missing piece of the puzzle, and I like to analyze the site and conditions and give my answer after."

Among the 200 projects singled out by the Pritzker jury were Arab World Institute in Paris, which is festooned with motor-controlled apertures to control natural light, and Guthrie Theater, a boxy structure in Minneapolis with exterior screens that show scenes from past performances at the storied playhouse.

Currently planned by Nouvel are a tower alongside New York's Museum of Modern Art that cuts a jagged profile to a height comparable to the Chrysler Building, and a narrow condo building dubbed the "Green Blade" in the Century City area of Los Angeles with verdant gardens visible behind its glass walls.

"He is an architect who is really always pushing the envelope, whose work is uneven — all of us agree on that — but his successes are so spectacular," said architectural historian and author Victoria Newhouse, a Pritzker juror.

University of Southern California architecture school dean Qingyun Ma said he was surprised to see the award go to Nouvel because the French architect completed his signature works so long ago.

He said he expected the Pritzker jurors to select a younger, lesser known architect whom the prize could promote to a wider audience.

But he said Nouvel was deserving of the award because of his achievements as an architect and his penchant for constantly reinventing himself stylistically.

"It's a good surprise," Ma said. "He has been leading the field for quite a while."

Nouvel was born and grew up in southwest France. He became a movie fan early in life and still takes architectural inspiration from film, comparing an unfolding story to the way he wants people to experience moving through his buildings.

As a teenager, he wanted to be an artist but agreed to pursue a career as an architect as a compromise with his parents, who feared he wouldn't be able to make a living in the visual arts.

After an early career that included directing the Paris Biennale arts exhibition, Nouvel found some of his earliest acclaim with his Arab World Institute, a research and study center that the Pritzker jurors praised for its "modern twist on traditional Arabic latticework."

Commissions followed in more than two dozen countries on five continents, placing Nouvel among jet-setting "starchitects" in demand for high-profile projects around the world.

Nouvel said he begins each project by clearing his mind of his previous work and conceptualizing based on the cultural and environmental forces at work around the building site.

"Architecture is always linked to the surrounding culture," he said. "I've always said architecture is the petrification of a cultural moment."

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Hollywood braces for more labor talks

By LYNN ELBER, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES - In a Century Plaza Hotel ballroom earlier this week, 600 people gathered to hear Hollywood heavyweights tally the fallout from the writers strike.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the hotel, union officials representing movie and TV actors huddled to finalize a battle plan for their upcoming contract talks.

Hollywood is hoping their story has a different ending.

Or better yet, a complete rewrite of the plot — one without a strike.

"It seems completely out of the question that there would be," said actress Ashley Jones, a star on CBS' daytime drama "The Bold and The Beautiful" who also works on primetime TV series and movies.

"But," she continued, "you never know."

With new shows just starting to return to TV, the entertainment industry finally seems to be shaking off the devastating impact of the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America that ended Feb. 12 and took an estimated $2.5 billion toll on the local economy. But the industry remains on edge as leaders of the Screen Actors Guild have said publicly they will push for an even better deal than the one writers got.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, has urged the two unions representing actors to begin bargaining by April 1 — three months before the contract covering movies and primetime shows is set to expire on June 30. And pressure for a speedy resolution has come from A-list actors Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, who took out ads in trade publications calling for talks to start immediately.

However, Screen Actors Guild PresidentAlan Rosenberg and Executive Director Doug Allen — a former pro football linebacker — don't seem ready to sign on the dotted line.

The two men "are equally as assertive as the writers guild leadership," said entertainment industry lawyer Jonathan Handel, a former writers guild associate counsel who has closely followed industry contract talks.

The tough stance of the Screen Actors Guild has been tempered by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which has shown a willingness to compromise, Handel said. Both guilds declined requests for interviews, saying their leaders were immersed in preparations for the talks, and the alliance has not commented on contract issues.

A key issue for actors is expected to be compensation for TV shows and movies delivered via digital media. Writers and directors also stressed that demand in their separate negotiations earlier this year.

Those unions won key victories, including jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution online and new and better compensation for shows and movies streamed or downloaded online.

Other issues for actors may involve DVD residuals and forced endorsements by actors of products placed in films or on TV shows.

Actor Steve Blackwood, a former regular on NBC's "Days of Our Lives," said a cut of future digital-media money is worth a fight.

"In five to 10 years, everybody's going to be watching TV shows on the Internet," Blackwood said. "If we settle too quickly because no one wants to strike again, then actors will really beef later if they find out the union settled for less than they should get."

Blackwood wants to see union leaders fight hard at the bargaining table but conceded most actors who went unemployed during the writers strike would like to see a quick contract deal. The boards of the two unions plan to meet Saturday to finalize their bargaining plan and possibly set a start date for the talks.

On Thursday, a committee that reviewed member surveys on pay and benefits made a recommendation to be considered at the meeting.

The 120,000-member Screen Actors Guild represents actors in movies, TV and other media. The 70,000-member TV and radio federation represents, among others, actors, singers, announcers and journalists.

Leaders of the unions have already met informally with studio executives who proved crucial to closing the earlier deals with directors and writers. But the meetings so far haven't been substantive, according to two people close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Greg Daniels, executive producer of NBC's "The Office," said the actors unions could see this as a good time to press their case.

Movie studios were expected to be in a de facto strike mode as of April, unwilling to start filming new projects that won't be wrapped before July 1 — the date of a possible walkout.

Robert David Hall, a star on CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" who recently served as a Screen Actors Guild board member, joined writers picket lines while his show was knocked out of production by the strike. There is no appetite for another walkout, he said, but actors must put their faith in union leaders.

"Nobody can guarantee there will or won't be a strike. My sense is there won't be, but you have to go through the process," Hall said.

The industry's wariness was evident at Tuesday's panel discussion at the Century Plaza Hotel organized by the Hollywood Radio & Television Society.

Only prominent entertainment attorney Ken Ziffren, who was credited with helping resolve the writers strike, answered when the moderator asked if anyone was concerned about a possible actors strike.

"My short version is that if the parties involved in the negotiations stay in the room instead of going to the press," Ziffren said, "we'll get it done and we'll get it done well."

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Clooney drops the ball with "Leatherheads"

By Kirk Honeycutt

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
George Clooney

But Clooney, the film's director and star, can't make up
his mind how to approach the story. One minute it's a romantic
comedy. Then it switches to slapstick, then to screwball comedy
before sliding into Frank Capra territory with a crusading
female reporter and a phony hero before settling on a gridiron
version of "The Natural," a tall tale about how legends are
made. It's all over the place but never feels comfortable in
its own period clothes.

Trying out all these comic subgenres takes time. The film
overstays its welcome by a good 20 minutes, making the
climactic game feel anti-climactic. Clooney and co-star Renee
Zellweger certainly will lure customers, but story weaknesses
and ill-defined characters will challenge their most ardent
fans to root for anything other than a swift ending. Boxoffice
prospects looks mediocre domestically, and you can forget about
overseas.

The parts never add up. The journalistic aspects are all
stolen from "The Front Page" and "It Happened One Night" and
feel tired. The chases, fisticuffs and pratfalls are
exceedingly lame. And the romances never are convincing. Our
Lexie wouldn't fall for either of these mugs.

The film shifts styles so often that it strips its gears.
Characters turn up, often coincidentally, to push the story
along, but the script by one-time Sports Illustrated colleagues
Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly relies heavily on old movies
and not enough on historical invention. The haphazard nature of
the narrative speaks to the clumsiness of every unlikely plot
turn and character.

Cast:

Dodge Connelly: George Clooney

Lexie Littleton: Renee Zellweger

Carter "The Bullett" Rutherford: John Krasinski

CC Frazier: Jonathan Pryce

Suds: Stephen Root

Coach Ferguson: Wayne Duvall

Commissioner: Peter Gerety

Director: George Clooney; Screenwriters: Duncan Brantley,
Rick Reilly; Producers: Grant Heslov, Casey Silver; Executive
producers: Barbara A. Hall, Jeffrey Silver, Bobby Newmyer,
Sydney Pollack; Director of photography: Newton Thomas Sigel;
Production designer: Jim Bissell; Music: Randy Newman; Costume
designer: Louise Frogley; Editor: Stephen Mirrione.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Oliver Stone casting film on Pres. Bush

By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK - Like a bill being rapidly pushed through legislation, Oliver Stone's film about President George W. Bush is expected to begin shooting within a month with a goal toward being released before the president leaves office next January.

A person close to the film, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because plans were still being formalized, said Stone's "W." will begin filming in late April in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Academy Award-winning director only began shopping his script for financing in January, but has quickly captured the interest of investors and Hollywood.

Stone has said that the film, which will focus on the life and presidency of Bush, won't be an anti-Bush polemic, but, as he told Daily Variety, "a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from being an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world?"

Representatives for Stone would not confirm reports in Variety and elsewhere about casting decisions because of unfinalized contracts. Expected to play the president is Josh Brolin, who played another Texan in the Coen brothers' Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men."

Expected to portray First Lady Laura Bush is Elizabeth Banks, whose credits include "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" and the upcoming "Zach and Miri Make a Porno."

"W." will be Stone's third film dealing with presidential matters, following "Nixon" and "JFK." The filmmaker has been an outspoken critic of the administration's decision to invade Iraq.

A Hollywood firebrand, Stone's films also include the Vietnam sagas "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Platoon," which won four Oscars including best picture and director, and 2006's "World Trade Center," about two policemen buried in the rubble of the towers after the Sept. 11 attacks.

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Muslim nations condemn Dutch Koran film

By Niclas Mika

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -
Muslim nations on Friday condemned a
film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting
violence, and Dutch Muslim leaders urged restraint.

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Freedom
Party, launched his short video on the Internet on Thursday
evening, prompting an al Qaeda-linked website to call for his
death and increased attacks on Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan.

"The correct Sharia (Islamic law) response is to cut (off)
his head and let him follow his predecessor, van Gogh, to
hell," a member of Al-Ekhlaas wrote on the al-Qaeda affiliated
forum, according to the SITE Institute, a U.S.-based terrorism
monitoring service.

Dutch director Theo van Gogh, who made a film accusing
Islam of condoning violence against women, was murdered by a
militant Islamist in 2004.

The film urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled" verses
from the Koran and starts and ends with a cartoon of the
Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his turban, accompanied by
the sound of ticking.

The cartoon, first published in Danish newspapers, ignited
violent protests around the world and a boycott of Danish
products in 2006. Many Muslims regard any depiction of the
Prophet as offensive.

"The film is solely intended to incite and provoke unrest
and intolerance among people of different religious beliefs and
to jeopardize world peace and stability," the 57-nation
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the film as
"offensively anti-Islamic" and U.N. High Commissioner for Human
Rights Louise Arbour said it was "hateful."

Iran called the film heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic,
and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a
former Dutch colony, said it was an "insult to Islam, hidden
under the cover of freedom of expression."

The Saudi Arabian embassy in The Hague said the film was
provocative and full of errors and incorrect allegations that
could lead to hate towards Muslims, news agency ANP reported.

HEAVY GUARD

Dutch Muslim leaders appealed for calm and called on
Muslims worldwide not to target Dutch interests. The
Netherlands is home to about 1 million Muslims out of a
population of 16 million.

"Our call to Muslims abroad is follow our strategy and
don't frustrate it with any violent incidents," Mohammed
Rabbae, a Dutch Moroccan community leader, told journalists in
an Amsterdam mosque.

The Dutch Islamic Federation went to court on Friday to try
to stop Wilders from comparing Islam to fascism.

Pollster Maurice de Hond found that only 12 percent of
those questioned thought the film represented Islam accurately,
but 43 percent agreed Islam was a serious threat to the
Netherlands over the long term.

Wilders has been under guard because of death threats since
the murder of van Gogh and Freedom Party support rose in
anticipation of the film to about 10 percent of the vote.

The Dutch government has distanced itself from Wilders and
tried to prevent the kind of backlash Denmark suffered over the
Prophet cartoons.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he was proud of
how Dutch Muslim organizations responded to the film but that
it was too early to draw conclusions about the international
consequences: "There are reasons for continued alertness."

NATO has expressed concern the film could worsen security
for foreign forces in Afghanistan, including 1,650 Dutch
troops. A Belgian government spokesman said security had been
stepped up at Dutch diplomatic missions in the country.

Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard objected to the use of
his drawing of the Prophet Mohammad, saying it was shown out of
context and that he had taken legal action to have it removed.

SITE said responses to the Wilders film on al Ekhlaas and
another al-Qaeda affiliated website, al Hesbah, were
significantly lower in volume compared to the cartoons uproar.

(Additional reporting by Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Jakarta,
Tehran, Islamabad, Aarhus and Brussels bureau; Writing by Emma
Thomasson; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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EU condemns Dutch Koran film, upholds free speech

By Marcin Grajewski 1 hour, 52 minutes ago

BRDO, Slovenia (Reuters) -
European Union foreign ministers
condemned on Saturday a Dutch film that accuses the Koran of
inciting violence, but said its author had a right to make it
under the bloc's free speech principles.

Geert Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the
anti-immigration Freedom Party, launched his short video on the
Internet on Thursday, prompting an al Qaeda-linked website to
call for his death and attacks on Dutch soldiers in
Afghanistan.

"The film equates Islam with violence and this view is
sharply rejected," the 27 ministers said in a statement after a
two-day meeting in the Slovenian country resort of Brdo.

"The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and
violence," they said, expressing support for the Dutch
government, which has dismissed the film's view on Islam.

The film, which urges Muslims to tear out "hate-filled"
verses from the Koran, has outraged Muslim nations in a similar
way to a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb under his
turban published in a Danish newspaper in 2005.

But the ministers said the film fell within the scope of
the EU principle of freedom of expression and those offended by
it should refrain from violence or threats.

"Feeling offended is no excuse for aggression or threats,"
the ministers said.

"Muslims, Christians and people of all convictions and
beliefs must live together in peace and mutual respect."

Iran called the film heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic,
and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a
former Dutch colony, said it was an "insult to Islam, hidden
under the cover of freedom of expression."

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said he was
satisfied with the support from his EU partners.

Denmark was hit was hit in 2006 by boycotts and
international protests over the Prophet cartoons.

"I do not agree with the film because you cannot say 1.3
billion Muslims are potential terrorists," Danish Foreign
Minister Per Stig Moller told reporters on Friday.

Earlier, British-based LiveLeak, the first Web site to
post the Wilders film, said it had removed the film after
threats to its staff "of a very serious nature."

(Editing by Paul Taylor)

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Miley Cyrus is Kids Choice front-runner

By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer 39 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - It was shaping up as the best of both worlds for pop culture phenomenon Miley Cyrus, who came into Saturday night's 21st annual Kids Choice Awards with nominations for favorite singer and favorite actress.

Cyrus, whose television series "Hannah Montana" was also nominated for favorite show, was scheduled to perform at the awards program, singing "Girl's Night Out" from her hit album "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus."

Also scheduled to take the stage was the Naked Brothers Band.

"I'm curious to see Miley Cyrus perform. She's such a phenomenon and I've never seen her live so I'd kind of like to see what all the hype is about," said Quddus Philippe, a former host of MTV's "Total Request Live," who was among the celebrities scheduled to walk the show's orange carpet.

Cyrus won last year's favorite TV star award but Beyonce captured the favorite singer trophy. The two were nominated again this year, along with Fergie and Alicia Keys.

Male singer nominees included Bow Wow, Chris Brown, Soulja Boy and last year's Kids Choice Awards host, Justin Timberlake.

Competing against Cyrus for the favorite TV actress award were Emma Roberts of "Unfabulous," Jamie Lynn Spears of "Zoey 101" and Raven-Symone of "That's So Raven."

The 90-minute show was to be broadcast from UCLA's Pauley Pavilion before an audience of 10,000 mostly teen and preteen fans.

The program, which puts as much emphasis on a rollicking good time as handing out awards, was to be hosted this year by Jack Black. At some point Black and other celebrities were expected to be doused in Nickelodeon's trademark green slime and there was likely to be an acrobatic stunt performed involving slime, although the show's producers were keeping quiet on what was planned. In some years celebrities also take part in burping contests.

Although the show is as much about fun as awards, it has drawn a huge celebrity turnout in recent years. Among those scheduled to participate were Harrison Ford, Hayden Panettiere, Amy Poehler, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Seacrest. The Jonas Brothers Band, in Florida to promote a forthcoming album and tour, said Friday they were flying home for the event.

"We're nominated for an award," Nick Jonas said proudly. It was for favorite music group.

The film "Shrek The Third" had a leading four nominations, including one for favorite animated movie. The other three were for favorite voice from an animated movie and were for Mike Meyers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as his wife, Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Shrek's loyal sidekick, Donkey. The fourth went to Jerry Seinfeld for "Bee Movie."

Murphy was also nominated in the favorite male movie star category for "Norbit."

Drake Bell was looking to win his third straight favorite male TV star award. He was up against his "Drake & Josh" co-star Josh Peck, as well as Dylan and Cole Sprouse, the identical twin stars of "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody."

Awards are voted on by people who cast their ballots at Nickelodeon's Web site, with voting continuing until the day of the show. Early in the week Nickelodeon reported nearly 60 million ballots had been cast, breaking last year's record of 40 million.

___

On the Net: http://www.nick

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