Clapton and Winwood reunion thrills boomers

http://entertainews.blogspot.com

By Frank Scheck 38 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
It took nearly 40 years,
but the supergroup Blind Faith returned to Madison Square
Garden on Monday night for the first of a three-night stand.

Well, OK, it was really just Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood
(drummer Ginger Baker is AWOL and bassist Rich Grech died in
1990), but these shows marking the duo's first full
performances together since 1982 are plenty historic enough.

Clapton's most recent foray into his past with the Cream
reunion shows seemed a distinctly chilly affair, but he clearly
was having a terrific time onstage with this former bandmate.
Halfway through the show, he commented: "I've been looking
forward to this for a long time. . . . I'm enjoying it, so I
hope you are. So who knows, maybe we'll do this a bit more, I
think."

Performing with a tight three-piece band that included
Willie Weeks (bass), Chris Stainton (keyboards) and Ian Thomas
(drums), the duo traded vocals and instrumentals with
well-practiced ease. Clapton's electrifying solos provided
fresh energy to such numbers as Traffic's "Pearly Queen" and
"Dear Mr. Fantasy," while Winwood's fluid keyboard work and
still-soaring vocals enlivened such songs as Jimi Hendrix's
"Little Wing" and Clapton's "Tell the Truth." Winwood strapped
on a guitar for most of the Blind Faith songs, as well as
numbers including the rollicking "Low Down."

Each star also delivered one solo number, with Clapton
performing an acoustic version of "Ramblin' on My Mind" and
Winwood delivering a nicely moving take on "Georgia on My
Mind."

Of course, the Blind Faith classics including "Had to Cry
Today," "Presence of the Lord" and "Can't Find My Way Home"
garnered the biggest responses, but such Clapton pop hits as
"Forever Man" and "After Midnight" came close.

Reuters/Billboard.

DreamWorks delays "Dragon" 3-D film to 2010

http://entertainews.blogspot.com

By Paul Bond 2 hours, 30 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) -
Mindful of a crowded
schedule for 3-D films late next year, DreamWorks Animation has
pushed its offering "How to Train Your Dragon" by four months
to March 26, 2010.

The move leaves the studio with just one release, "Monsters
vs. Aliens," scheduled for next year, and three for 2010:
"Dragon," "Shrek Goes Fourth" on May 21, and "Master Mind," the
working title of a film set for November 5 that year.

Had "Dragon" opened November 20, 2009, as previously
planned, it would have been sandwiched between 3-D films "A
Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey, and James Cameron's "Avatar."

"Avatar," in particular, presented a problem, as that
movie's December 18, 2009, opening would have coincided with
"Dragon's" international release, where as much as 65% of
DreamWorks Animation's business comes from.

"The combination of a jam-up domestically and the very
limited 3-D capacity internationally just didn't make sense,"
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said. "There will
not be anywhere near the number of screens needed to
accommodate two releases internationally."

A little more than 1,000 screens worldwide can handle 3-D
films, but Katzenberg expects from 3,000-5,000 by the time
"Monsters vs. Aliens" is released on March 27, 2009.

Katzenberg disclosed the "Dragons" move Tuesday during a
conference call with analysts to discuss quarterly earnings
that impressed Wall Street and sent shares 6% higher in
after-hours trading.

The CEO also hinted that "Bee Movie" might not make its way
to HD DVD in two weeks, as had been planned, given Toshiba's
decision to basically surrender the high-definition DVD format
war to Blu-ray Disc.

"We are waiting for Toshiba to tell us what their plans
are," he said, refusing to speculate whether "Bee Movie" might
get the Blu-ray treatment if HD DVD demures. "In deference to
them, we're waiting for clarity."

DreamWorks Animation reported net income of $94.1 million
in the fourth quarter, up from a loss of $21.3 million in the
same quarter a year ago. Revenue increased 42% to $290.2
million, with nearly 62% of that coming from "Shrek the Third."

As of December 31, the title boasted 15.6 million units
shipped worldwide. At the box office, it is the fourth-biggest
animated movie of all time, bringing in about $800 million
worldwide.

"Bee Movie," though, fell shy of many analysts'
expectations, bringing in $126 million at the domestic
boxoffice and $159 million internationally. "Bee Movie" cost
about $150 million to make, and a similar amount was budgeted
for its worldwide theatrical marketing campaign, the studio
said at the time of its North American release in November.

Although the film isn't yet profitable, that's expected to
change with the upcoming DVD release.

During the conference call, Katzenberg gave a shout-out to
his old employer, Walt Disney Co., telling analysts that
"Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert
Tour" proved again how lucrative 3-D movies can be.

That film generated $29 million over Super Bowl weekend at
683 theaters. At one theater, the El Capitan in Hollywood,
tickets cost as much $24 apiece.

Katzenberg said making a movie 3-D adds about $15 million
to its production cost. "There is significant enough potential
given the premium price that consumers appear to be paying for
3-D to be a very good return on our investment," he said.

DreamWorks Animation's next two releases, "Kung Fu Panda,"
set for June 6, and "Madagascar: The Crate Escape," planned for
November 7, are 2-D releases. From then on, the company plans
for its films to be exhibited both in 2-D and stereoscopic 3-D.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

MyNetworkTV to air "WWE SmackDown"

http://entertainews.blogspot.com

By Georg Szalai 2 hours, 25 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
News Corp.'s MyNetworkTV
will be the new home of World Wrestling Entertainment's "WWE
SmackDown" starting in the fall after the sports entertainment
powerhouse's show ends its run on the CW Network.

Industry observers had expected a deal with MyNet, but WWE
management said as recently as two weeks ago that various
networks were in the running. The two parties made things
official Tuesday.

"This is a big, bold franchise with huge awareness in the
marketplace," MyNet president Greg Meidel said, noting that the
deal came together quickly. "The brand is recognized by both
men and women (in the key demographics of) 18-34 and 18-49, so
it will give us a huge locomotive to drive our schedule and
build it out at a much faster rate."

Meidel said "SmackDown" will remain a two-hour program,
airing on Thursday or Friday night. That means the series will
displace one of the network's two movie nights, which could
move to Saturday.

"SmackDown" has for nine years been one of the most popular
programs among males on broadcast TV and one of the top 10
English-language primetime programs among Latino households.

Said WWE chairman Vince McMahon, "We have an unmatched
record of delivering ratings success to each and every network
partner we've worked with in our long and storied history."

Meidel noted that the series previously aired on several
News Corp.-owned stations when they were UPN affiliates, before
that network merged with WB Network to form the CW in 2006.

"We have a real history of selling and monetizing
'SmackDown,"' Meidel said. "This was driven by our interest not
only as a network but also as a stations owner."

MyNet also is no stranger to fight-themed programming. It
had a relationship with the International Fight League for a
two-hour block featuring mixed martial arts programming, which
debuted in March but disappeared from the schedule several
weeks ago. Meidel said the IFL programming had a more narrow
audience appeal than "SmackDown."

The "SmackDown" news follows on the heels of MyNet's
13-episode order for its first sitcom, the Flavor Flav starrer
"Under One Roof." Meidel said he is looking at a "very
aggressive development slate for fall" that could include more
scripted projects.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter