Out Of Character

Writer/director Joss Whedon is one of my favorite industry folks. He has proven himself to be quite a talent, having success in both TV and film.

He wrote the screenplay for 1995's first full length CGI feature film Toy Story. He also added some interesting mythology to the "Alien" franchise in the form of Alien: Resurrection (1997).

I am a big fan of his television work too. From the short-lived sci-fi series "Firefly" which had a shot at the big screen with Serenity (2005), "Angel" (1999-2004), and of course his crowning achievement..."Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1996-2003), which itself began as a 1992 feature film Given that Whedon has a real knack for writing strong female characters, he seemed like the ideal choice to bring the comic book heroine Wonder Woman to the big screen this year...News that the studio became interested in developing a a second Wonder Woman script to replace the one Whedon had written, made the rounds last week...

And now Whedon made it official on Friday--He's off the project...

Wonder Woman Is Without A Director Again

Image DC Comics Inc

Borys Kit and Tatiana Siegel of The Hollywood Reporter:

Joss Whedon, who had been developing a big-screen adaptation of DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman for Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures, parted ways with the studio and production company on the project.

Whedon announced the news on Friday on a fansite, chalking it up to creative differences. "I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked," he wrote on www.whedonesque.com. Studio and agency sources confirmed the development.

The latest setback on "Wonder Woman," which has gone through a long gestation process, underlines the difficulties studios encounter when developing such marquee pop culture titles....(like the film based on fellow comic book hero the Flash which just lost a director, and then gained another in a matter of days--in another case of creative differences.)

In the case of "Wonder Woman," "We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work," Whedon said in his post to his fans. "Non-simpatico. It happens all the time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views."

Whedon, who came on board the project in March 2005, was paid $2 million to $3 million to develop and write the adaptation, which Joel Silver is producing. He also was attached to direct. His involvement had looked like it would finally move the project forward. Whedon, the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," was seen as someone who could crack the challenge of making a female superhero movie work, especially one that involved a magic lasso, bullet-deflecting bracelets, an invisible jet and a bathing suit-like costume.

"The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development," Whedon wrote. "(Warners and Silver) had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man."

Whedon still has plenty to keep him occupied. He is working on "Goners," a thriller he is attached to direct for Universal Pictures; will be taking over writing chores on "Runaways," a comic series about super-powered teens, for Marvel Comics; and is overseeing a new story line of "Buffy" for Dark Horse Comics.

As I said, Whedon certainly seemed like the right guy, to guide WW to the big screen. It's a shame he won't be around to finish courting her. As for his replacement? How about Frank Darabont? I think he would do justice to the material much the way Joss would have.

The Big Loss

As I struggle to move on from the final score of last night's Super Bowl (Chicago Bears 17 Indianapolis Colts 29)...The Motion Picture Biz feels my pain over the game but for different reasons:

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo:

'The Messengers' [at #1 with $14.5 million] and 'Because I Said So' [at #2 with $13 million] led a weak Super Bowl weekend...

The mojo keeps-a-flowing...

Next up Ian Mohr of Variety:

Biz for most pics, whether wide studio holdovers or Oscar hopefuls, went slip-sliding away over the Super Bowl weekend as ticket sales dropped sharply from the same frame a year ago.

After winning the past six straight Super Bowl weekends at the B.O. by rolling out horror and genre fare, Sony succeeded again with the same strategy, taking the No. 1 spot with supernatural pic "The Messengers."

Movie -- from the studio's genre arm, Screen Gems, and production banner Ghost House -- led a soft frame at the movies overall.

"Messengers" scared up $14.5 million off 2,528 engagements for a per-location average of $5,736. A year ago, the studio's "When a Stranger Calls" dialed up $21 million-plus over the same frame.

Hoping to continue its scary winning streak, Sony has already slated slasher pic "Prom Night" for next year's Super Bowl frame.

While many Oscar films saw respectable drops in the 30% range, none were igniting the B.O. at a time of year when distributors really look to build biz for such pics.

A year ago, the gay-themed "Brokeback Mountain" roped in $6 million in its ninth frame during Super Bowl weekend. This weekend's best-performing Oscar hopeful was urban musical "Dreamgirls," which took in an estimated $4 million in its eighth frame.

One bright spot came for foreign-language fare: The distribs behind "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Volver" all had reasons to cheer as Paramount's "Letters" expanded with a slight drop and the other two pics earned their way into the B.O. record books.

Picturehouse's "Labyrinth" became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film released in the U.S., passing "Like Water for Chocolate" with a cume of $21.7 million.

Pic landed in the No. 8 spot after expanding to become the distrib's widest rollout ever, at 1,082, and reeling in $3.6 million.

And Sony Classics' "Volver," from Spanish helmer Pedro Almodovar, became the helmer's top-grossing film, taking in $885,012 off 587 screens to bring cume to $10.2 million, passing that of "Talk to Her."...

Trailing in second place was Universal's counterprogrammer "Because I Said So." Multigenerational chick pic, starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, picked up $13 million off 2,526, scoring $5,155 per engagement.

"Messengers" and "Said So" repped the frame's only new wide releases.

Fox's "Epic Movie" -- last frame's No. 1 -- landed in third in its second frame, with $8.2 million off 2,840. Spoof of movies dropped 56% from its opening weekend and has cumed $29.3 million to date.

Studio's "Night at the Museum" stayed strong in fourth to bring cume to $225.3 million. Supernatural sensation, starring Ben Stiller, has been in theaters for seven weeks.

Overall, ticket sales dipped almost a full $10 million from a year ago among the frame's top 10 titles, down to $66.5 million...

Article Continues...

Michelle Kung has the weekend wrap-up for Entertainment Weekly:

The suspense thriller debuts with $14.5 mil, while Diane Keaton's ''Because I Said So'' settles for No. 2.

...Bears QB Rex Grossman threw a few interceptions and that cost the Bears the game...The boys started off great though... When CB Devon Hester brought the ball in for a TD on the opening play of the game Wow! ...The Bears were in it until half way through the 4th Quarter And Then The Dream Ended...This one won't be easy to forget...I end this post very disappointed and highly frustrated...

Read this spot on post game analysis from Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti for more...

Super Sunday

No matter what the outcome of Super Bowl XLI turns out to be later tonight, I still have a small reason to smile...

Director Martin Scorsese finally took home a Best Feature Directing award from the Directors Guild of America for The Departed. And as Dave McNary of Variety explains that's a good omen for his chances to win that elusive OSCAR as well:

After six tries, Martin Scorsese has arrived in the winner's circle with "The Departed" as the mob thriller took the DGA feature directing award.

The award underlines Scorsese status as the front-runner for the Best Director Oscar, to be presented Feb. 25. He won the Golden Globe three weeks ago and the DGA winner, based on voting by 13,400 Guild members, has matched the Oscar winner in 52 of its 58 awards, including last year when Ang Lee won both for "Brokeback Mountain."

Saturday night's win, presented by Steven Spielberg at the Century Plaza before a crowd of about 1,000, came more than three decades after Scorsese's first nomination for another gritty drama "Taxi Driver."

"It's the first time I've been given this recognition," an elated Scorsese noted at the top of his acceptance speech. The 64-year-old helmer was the only repeat DGA nominee, topping Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for "Babel," Bill Condon for "Dreamgirls," Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris for "Little Miss Sunshine" and Stephen Frears for "The Queen."

"I just wanted to make a good film and people would go see it and enjoy the film and that's it God willing I'd get another picture," Scorsese said in his usual rapid-fire delivery. "I did not think I'd be standing here tonight, I'll tell you that."

Prior to the award, Scorsese received by far the warmest reception during presentations of nominee plaques. Leonardo DiCaprio, who's toplined Scorsese's last three films, told the audience in his presentation speech that the director never stops teaching, adding, "Every time you're with him, whether on set or at dinner, you learn something."

And Scorsese noted kiddingly that the grosses for "The Departed," an adaptation of Hong Kong hit "Infernal Affairs," were especially strong in such organized crime centers as Las Vegas. "It was the first picture I'd ever done with a plot," he added.

Scorsese also paid tribute to genre film directors such as Don Siegel, Samuel Fuller, Bud Boetticher, Anthony Mann and Robert Aldrich. "So I thank them and I thank you tonight," he concluded. "I am greatly honored."... It's his sixth Oscar directing nomination along with "Raging Bull," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Goodfellas" "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator."

"The Departed" has taken in the highest gross among the nominated films with $127 million domestically and nearly $270 million worldwide. Scorsese's previous DGA nominations were for "The Aviator," "Gangs of New York," "The Age of Innocence," "Goodfellas," "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver." He won the DGA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003...

Article Continues...

Click here for the complete list of winners at the 59th Annual DGA Awards

...As great as Scorsese's DGA win is though, nothing will truly compare to a Super Bowl XLI win for the Chicago Bears versus the Indianapolis Colts...I hate to say this, but a Bears victory really depends on how well QB Rex Grossman preforms this evening... After all, we already know that the team has a consistent defense. Unfortunately, the same can't always be said of Grossman's play... If one more person tells me that it would so great to see the Colts QB Peyton Manning finally get that Championship Ring--I THINK I'M GONNA SPIT!!

I'm Rootin' For Rex To Play Well...

...Inside Dolphin Stadium In South Florida

FINGERS FIRMLY CROSSED...

Enjoy The Game Folks!

Slice And Dice

It's time for yet another special edition of Cinema Stew. On the menu today more sequel/franchise updates for you to chew on:

Image courtesy of HalloweenMovies.com

Stax of IGN kicks things off more casting news for Rob Zombie's Halloween Halloween remake/ sequel:

Director Rob Zombie has announced the latest piece of casting for his remake of the slasher classic Halloween. The helmer revealed at his MySpace blog that Udo Kier (BloodRayne), Brad Dourif (Lord of the Rings) and Kristina Klebe have joined the cast.

Zombie revealed that Kier will play "Morgan Walker head of Smith's Grove Sanitarium," while Dourif will play the role of Sheriff Brackett. Klebe has been cast as Lynda...

A bogus rumor made the rounds on Friday (1/26) claiming that Sybil Danning had also been cast in the film, but that rumor appears to have been started by an anti-Zombie site.

Despite reports about script revisions Blabbermouth.net is reporting that filming "has quietly begun"

Brad Dourif makes for a unique choice as Brackett, considering his penchant for playing dark and creepy characters...

Locations for The Dark Knight have been finalized... Stax continues...

Batman is once again heading to the Windy City. Batman Begins was shot partially on location in Chicago and it now appears that its sequel, The Dark Knight, will be as well.

Warner Bros. has reportedly scheduled 13 weeks of filming in Chicago mid-year, according to the Chicago Tribune. Chicago doubled as Gotham City in the previous film, with its skyline enhanced and altered via CGI.

ReelChicago.com spoke with Chicago Film Office head Rich Moskal, who referred to a top-secret Warners project that is set to film in Chi-Town this year. And that project's name is ... Rory's First Kiss, which Batman-on-Film.com claims is the not so secret codename for The Dark Knight.

In addition to Chicago, The Dark Knight will reportedly lens in the U.K., Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

"Batman" must really like that Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza the windy city is famous for to be going back for seconds....

Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons says that a sequel the Oscar nominated film The Departed may be in the works!

"The Departed" scribe William Monahan is reportedly working on a treatment for a sequel to the Martin Scorsese hit.

The trades report that the scribe has even informally talked about the idea with Scorsese. Of course how it would work is anybody's guess considering the body count the last one left behind.

Whilst the original "Infernal Affairs", on which "Departed" borrowed heavily, had both a prequel and a sequel, the latter worked as notably Damon's character still continued on.

This version is expected to follow the foul-mouthed character played by Mark Wahlberg, and introduce a new character which its been suggested that Robert De Niro would play.

There's no indication that Scorsese would direct a sequel although would likely serve as a producer. Warner Bros. hasn't given any sign as to whether it would pursue another installment.

Warners does own the sequel rights to "Infernal Affairs" but Monahan's take could be an entirely original story, in which case it would not fall under that agreement.

Let's have Scorsese win his first Oscar and then we can talk sequel.

That's all the stew for now...

Studios Concede Superbowl Will Be No.1

With most of America gearing up for Sunday's Super Bowl, the film studios probably figured it was a lost cause to have a lot of new releases, trying to compete for attention--I think that was a smart move:

The Messengers (reviews) is a spooky thriller starring Kristen Stewart and Dylan McDermott; Because I Said So (reviews) mother/daughter dramedy with Diane Keaton playing medaling mom to Mandy Moore Gilmore gal Lauren Graham and Piper Perabo; Starting its theatrical run in a limited number of locales is the African-American relationship drama Constellation (reviews)

Ian Mohr and Dave McNary of Variety:

Multiplexes could be chilly for new wide releases this weekend, as Oscar-nominated fare tries to heat up with auds as awards night nears...and don't forget about the Super Bowl.

Only two wide-release studio pics will be bowing: Universal's multigenerational chick pic "Because I Said So," a counterprogramming attempt against Super Bowl Sunday, and Sony's spooky paranormal pic "The Messengers."

Away from the majors, weekend is also a test for specialty unit Picturehouse -- the distrib of Guillermo del Toro's Spanish-language artsy fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth." Picturehouse goes for its widest expansion ever, putting "Pan's" in 1,082 engagements in North America.

Picturehouse said it will move the movie into suburban, commercial theaters and smaller towns.

Warner Bros., meantime, sends its slow-rolling war epic "Letters From Iwo Jima" from 415 to 720 theaters, trying to gain traction from four noms (including best pic and director Clint Eastwood).

So far keeping a low profile, "Iwo Jima" has hit $5.6 million. Its biz was up 38% last weekend.

Period piece "Pan's," meantime, has proved one of the few specialty success stories this season, luring arthouse auds as well as fantasy-loving geeks.

Pic has so far taken in $17.7 million, and is nommed for six Oscars.

Other Oscar-nommed pics looking to pick up further biz will be best pic contenders "The Queen" (Miramax) and "Babel" (Paramount Vantage). Both saw healthy spikes in ticket sales last weekend on the steam of their awards buzz.

But not all expansions of Oscar pics have been clicking so far.

Par last weekend moved its bigscreen musical "Dreamgirls" -- which has eight noms, but is not a best pic contender -- up to 2,785 locations. But the pic's biz dropped about 16%, suggesting it could be hitting a wall.

And Sony Classics took Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" -- which has one nom for lead Penelope Cruz -- to the highest number of Stateside screens ever for the Spanish helmer, 689. But the pic's per-playdate average dipped to $1,655.

Among new releases... "Because I Said So," starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, will roll out on 2,526 screens.

Keaton has become reliable B.O. bait of late playing mothers to wacky broods: Last December's reasonably budgeted holiday pic "The Family Stone" roped in $60 million for Fox.

And 2003's "Something's Gotta Give" nearly cracked $125 million in its domestic theatrical release for Sony.

Moore's biggest pic to date has been 2001's "The Princess Diaries," a $108.2 million pic. Her last project, "American Dreamz," scored just $7.2 million last year.

Rolling to 2,528 theaters as the frame's widest new release, "Messengers" is the latest from Asian horrormeisters Oxide and Danny Pang ("The Eye").

But the newcomers will have stiff competish. Holdovers "The Pursuit of Happyness" -- which has a lead actor nominee in Will Smith -- and comedy "Night at the Museum" will continue to drain some serious coin. And Warners relaunched Martin Scorsese's best pic nominee "The Departed" last weekend as a wide release.

On the specialty circuit, MGM will send the Weinstein Co.'s biopic "Factory Girl" (which has caused quite a stir lately) to three screens. Pic stars Sienna Miller as Andy Warhol cohort Edie Sedgwick.

Article Continues...

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly says in his Box Office Preview

''Because I Said So'' looks like the top choice of moviegoers not glued to the Colts-Bears game

Somethin' To Crowe About

Actor Russell Crowe (pictured below) is gonna be playing in a very legendary forest for an interesting upcoming project...

Michael Fleming, Diane Garret and Dave McNary have this Variety exclusive:

Universal has nabbed spec script "Nottingham," in a deal that will reunite Russell Crowe with Imagine Entertainment.

Crowe will receive $20 million against 20% to star as the Sheriff of Nottingham in this revisionist version of the Robin Hood story from the creators of "Sleeper Cell."

Scribes Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris will receive seven figures for the script.

Imagine's Brian Grazer will produce the pic, expected to start lensing at the end of the year or early 2008.

William Morris, which reps Crowe and the writers, put together the package.

Deal reps the second big bidding battle U has won in past few days. Last week, the studio landed the rights to a pic about the Fugees, a refugee soccer club (Daily Variety, Jan. 25).

"Nottingham" is based on the premise that Robin Hood was less virtuous and the sheriff more noble than previously depicted. Story also involves a love triangle between Robin Hood, Maid Marion and Nottingham's sheriff.

"He's trying to do the right thing, but he's up against Robin Hood, who's becoming heroic while not necessarily acting in the nicest way," explained Reiff, a history buff.

He and Voris were halfway through the script when they started working on the first season of "Sleeper Cell"; ironically, they closed the deal days after learning Showtime would not be picking up their Emmy-nommed skein for a third season.

"It was a bitter pill, but this is a pretty good antidote," Voris told Daily Variety.

Bidding was very competitive, with New Line and Warner Bros. vying for the project and Sony, New Regency and DreamWorks also expressing interest. Helmers Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi and Jon Turteltaub were attached at other studios.

Crowe has worked with Imagine several times, most recently on "American Gangster," [scheduled] for a Nov. 6 [2007] bow. He previously toplined "Cinderella Man" and "A Beautiful Mind" for Imagine. Crowe also stars in "3:10 to Yuma," an upcoming Lionsgate pic helmed by James Mangold.

Reiff and Voris hadn't written a spec script since 1995.

"We figured that this story was going to be hard to sell as a pitch," Voris said. "We also knew that this would be very castable, since most of the leading men now are either English or Australian." ...

Even though the Robin Hood Legend has had its fair share of film incarnations over the decades, and I have seen most of them, I look forward to seeing how Nottinham turns out. The fresh approach is a good enough and having Crowe cast as the Sheriff is icing on the cake. He has already proved that with the right script behind him (Gladiator) he can do amazing things. I actually think he better suited for these period epics than films that take place in modern times...Witness the reaction to his last flick A Good Year and my point is made.

Frontal Assault

Young actor Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the film series based on author J.K.Rowling's popular books, is raising some eyebrows with his latest role.

From IESB:

Divested of his clothes, not to mention the lightning scar on his forehead, this is Harry Potter a million miles from Hogwarts.

Between filming the fifth and sixth Potter movies, 17-year-old Daniel Radcliffe is appearing on the West End stage in a revival of Peter Shaffer's controversial play Equus.

He plays troubled stablehand Alan Strang and is involved in a lengthy nude sex scene with former Holby City actress Joanna Christie.

Radcliffe was clearly keen to impress with his physique, pumping up his slender frame in the gym for seven hours a week.

But whether his young fans will be impressed by his transition from Hermione Granger's boy wizard friend to hunky sex symbol remains to be seen.

Websites were receiving e-mails from parents worried about Radcliffe's appearance in the play, which will be open to children despite its explicit adult content.

One said: 'We as parents feel Daniel should not appear nude. Our nine-year-old son looks up to him as a role model. We are very disappointed and will avoid the future movies he makes.'

Another wrote: 'I am curious as to how and why his parents said this was okay.'

The play opens at the Gielgud Theatre on February 27 and has already attracted advance bookings worth 1 million [in British currency].

Radcliffe has been rehearsing his nude scene for a week with his female co-star and although he was 'a little hesitant and shy' at first, he had overcome his embarrassment, said producer David Pugh.

He added: 'Equus is on the school syllabus and I would never stipulate what age people should be to see it.'

Radcliffe's spokesman Vanessa Davies said: 'Daniel does not want to step away from Harry Potter but he does want to show he is an rounded actor capable of very different and diverse roles.

'He has tremendous support from Harry Potter fans.'

Equus opened in the West End in 1973 to huge controversy. It was followed in 1977 by a movie version in which Peter Firth played Alan and Jenny Agutter played his girlfriend Jill, both appearing full frontally nude.

Miss Agutter also features in the 2007 version - as a judge with her clothes on.

Admittedly, I have never have had any real interest in either the Potter books or films (and I don't plan to have any interest any time soon), that said though, I was amazed at the the amount of uproar this story has generated over the last 24 hours...Thus--I felt compelled to comment.

Why is this such big news now? I say this because I remember reading about this career move of Radcliffe's sometime ago. It's old news folks. To illustrate my point, I found this AP story dated October 22nd 2006 It's also been reported by multiple sources that Radcliffe ran the idea past Rowling and Potter film distributor Warner Bros. so that everyone was on the same page--Back then no one seemed to bat an eye...Publish a few provocative publicity stills from the play and people are surprised?


Of the controversial role Radcliffe told Newsweek Magazine:

"Part of me wants to shake up people's perception of me, just shove me in a blender," he told the magazine in an exclusive interview on the set of the fifth Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

"It's a really challenging play, and if I can pull it off we don't know if I can yet I hope people will stop and think, 'Maybe he can do something other than Harry,'" he said

This is another one of those "parental control" issues I talk about from time to time. It rests with the parents and guardians of kids to explain that Radcliffe is not playing Harry on stage and the difference between the two roles. If some choose to no longer support his career over this that is their choice. If anyone had reason to object it would have been Daniel's family and they obviously did not. I doubt this play appearance will affect the Potter brand all that much when it's all over... The series is just far too popular for that to happen.

RIP Sidney Sheldon (1917-2007)

Author and TV producer Sidney Sheldon passed away Tuesday afternoon of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, his publicist Warren Cowan said, His wife, Alexandra, was by his side. Sheldon was 89 years old.

I will remember Mr. Sheldon most for his work in television. My late Mom was a big fan of both "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965-1970) and "The Patty Duke Show" (1963-1966) and I remember watching reruns of both series with her as a kid. Sheldon would also find success with the light-hearted drama series "Hart to Hart" (1979-1984), in which Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner played a wealthy married couple who solved crimes together.

Earlier in his career he wrote the screenplays for a host of films including the musicals Easter Parade (1948), Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and Anything Goes (1956). He penned the comedy The Birds and the Bees (1956) and the popular You're Never Too Young (1955) He wrote produced and directed The Buster Keaton Story biopic (1957)

He won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for 1947's The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.

Sheldon left TV and film behind at age 50 and went on to become a highly successful novelist...

For more on the life and career of Sidney Sheldon--Read the Entertainment Weekly tribute...

Fighting AD-diction

Over the past decade or so, the Super Bowl has been a great forum in which movie studios can promote their upcoming releases. As one of the most watched television events of the year, the big game used to mean prime time exposure for all those Summer flicks waiting to be unleashed a few months later...This year, however, things are quite different.

Dade Hayes and Michael Learmonth of Variety:

Less than a week before the Super Bowl, only two movie ads are confirmed for the game -- a steep decline from last year, when eight pricey plugs yielded decidedly mixed results.

Neither of the pics is a summer release; summer movies have historically used the winter showcase as a launch pad.

Time has not run out on inventory, and network and studio execs said a couple of studios are in talks with CBS over the last remaining fourth-quarter spots. Those positions are usually the least watched, especially in a lopsided contest.

Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. have deliberately avoided the Chicago-Indianapolis matchup, diverting those millions in potential spending to targeted primetime berths. With record ratings for "American Idol" as well as strong new series from "Grey's Anatomy" to "Heroes," TV has lately provided prime opportunities.

The two studios that have locked down game time are Lionsgate and Disney.

Lionsgate is advertising for the Terrence Howard-Bernie Mac pic "Pride," about an inner-city teacher who turns troubled kids into champion swimmers. Lionsgate is planning a wide bow March 23.

Disney is advertising for "Wild Hogs," a comedy starring John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence that launches March 2.

Paramount is sponsoring an hour of the six-hour pregame show, a promotion for its Eddie Murphy film "Norbit." Sony, which in past years has taken a pre-game spot, has done so again this year for "Ghost Rider." Both pics are launching in February, and pregame ad time is considerably cheaper than during the game....

Pressures can be more concentrated in Hollywood. "The biggest nightmare with Super Bowl spots is telling other producers why you aren't buying ads on the game for their movies," noted one studio marketing vet.

Film marketers' jitters reflect wider concerns about capturing eyeballs as ad dollars gradually shift toward the Web. The Super Bowl is perhaps the last bona fide communal campfire, but viewers are often at large parties when watching, and many are overly saturated with lavishly produced, 30-second spots and the accompanying Ad Bowl sweepstakes.

Plus, many major summer titles, especially those bowing in May, are new editions in well-established franchises, so generating awareness is the last concern. Would a 30-second enticement for "Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" or "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" yield more B.O. or would it just raise that always-bedeviling level of expectations?

Rates for the game's fourth quarter are typically steeply discounted, and CBS is giving big discounts for the last remaining national spots, in some cases cutting nearly a million off the $2.6 million asking price.

"We're very happy where we are right now; we have a couple of units left, but we are going to be sold out by game time," said CBS exec veep of sports sales John Bogusz.

The shift this year is interesting in historic terms. A decade ago, "Independence Day" was the only film advertised on the game. Its theatrical launch was monstrous, leading seven studios to take ads the following year. Studio spending has remained at a high level ever since, with film trailing only beer as a category.

Time Warner and Disney have been the fourth- and fifth-biggest advertisers in the Super Bowl over the last 20 years, spending $63.4 million and $43.5 million, respectively, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

Since 1991, 87 pics have been advertised during the Super Bowl...

Article Continues...

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.

The reasoning behind the studios' decision to back away from the game--certainly makes sense. But as a film aficionado and fan, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed by the fact that none of the Summer 07 blockbusters will be representin' that day. I always look forward to seeing the cinema advertisements...

Maybe the lack of film ads is a good thing--considering that my team the Chicago Bears is going up against the favored Indianapolis Colts...I don't need the memory of any glossy film clips distracting me once the game comes back on...

OSCAR Who?

Even though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had their back, that meant nothing to movie-goers, who were more interested in having a good laugh with their
popcorn instead.

Kal Penn and Darrell Hammond spoof Pirates 2 in Epic Movie

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo:

Opening well, 'Epic Movie' [in 1st place with $19.5 million] and Smokin' Aces [in 2nd with $14.2 million] overshadowed the Oscar nominees...

There's more Mojo. to be had...

Ian Mohr of Variety writes today:

"Epic Movie," Fox's slapsticky spoof of popular pics, handily topped the box office over the weekend. But there was also an epic battle further down the charts as high-end features tried to spin their Academy Awards nominations into added biz.

Some Oscar-nominated pics saw spikes in B.O., but others made more marginal plays despite their pedigrees.

Fox has had a run with comedy in recent months, with standouts including "Night at the Museum" and "Borat." Broad parody "Epic," made with Regency Enterprises, bowed at No. 1 with $19.5 million and was the frame's widest new release, in more than 2,800 locations.

Its take bested that of the studio's similarly silly "Date Movie," which rolled out around the same time last year to just more than $19 million.

Trailing at No. 2 was Universal's shoot-'em-up "Smokin' Aces." Helmer Joe Carnahan's actioner, released in 2,218 locations, lit up $14.26 million in its bow. Project was an acquisition -- backed by the Relativity and StudioCanal labels -- and its per-theater average of $6,430 almost caught that of "Epic," though its cume fell short.

In other wide studio rollouts, Sony's Jennifer Garner starrer "Catch and Release" bowed in the No. 4 slot, taking in $8 million off 1,622.

Per-location average was healthy, at $4,932, and aud was 75% female. But "Release" wasn't able to catch "Museum," which took third place with $9.45 million, lifting cume to $216.7 million.

MGM and Lakeshore's werewolf pic "Blood and Chocolate" didn't have much bite, taking in just $2.1 million from 1,200 theaters and failing to make the top 10...

Article Continues...

In his weekend wrap-up for Entertainment Weekly Joshua Rich says:

A low budget spoof tops the box office; meanwhile, Oscar contenders bring in disappointing numbers

"Sun" Screen

The 13th annual SAG Awards, honoring actors in both film and TV, took place last night in Los Angeles...

Forest Whitaker wins as best actor for his role in 'Last King of Scotland.'

Dave McNary of Variety filed this report on who won in the cinema categories:

...Fox Searchlight's offbeat family comedy won SAG's top trophy Sunday night, beating "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed" and "Dreamgirls" for the ensemble prize at the 13th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium.

Victory places "Little Miss Sunshine" at the forefront of the best picture Oscar race, adding to the pic's momentum following its Jan. 20 Producers Guild of America win.

SAG has matched the Oscar best picture five times in 11 years, including last year, when "Crash" took both awards. With actors repping a quarter of voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the SAG Awards are a closely watched indicator of Oscar sentiment.

"I'd like to thank the engineers at Volkswagen for making a beautiful vehicle back in 1969 that was comfortable and so safe," said an elated Greg Kinnear in his acceptance speech, referring to the pic's trademark yellow minibus.

Helen Mirren took two trophies for playing British monarchs, winning the lead actress awards for Miramax's feature "The Queen" and HBO's telepic "Elizabeth I."

"Oh Lord, be still my beating heart," Mirren said in her acceptance for "The Queen."

She told the audience she wept on first seeing the sensible shoes and tweed skirts for the role, but added, "I learned to love the person who chooses to wear those clothes, because I learned to love a person without vanity but with a great sense of discipline that I understand. With a great sense of duty that I understand and with a great deal of courage that I understand."

SAG members also feted Forest Whitaker as feature actor for his portrayal of dictator Idi Amin in Fox Searchlight's "The Last King of Scotland."

Mirren and Whitaker both won Golden Globes and are widely regarded as front-runners for the Oscar.

The "Sunshine" victory underlined the wisdom of studio spending on screeners. Searchlight sent "Sunshine" screeners to all 110,000 SAG members -- at a cost of $5 per disc -- following the successful "Crash" strategy last year. SAG members also received screeners of Warner Bros.' "The Departed" and Miramax's "Venus." ...

..."Sunshine" won only the single trophy Sunday. In the supporting categories, Alan Arkin and Abigail Breslin -- who portrayed the grandfather-granddaughter combo in "Sunshine" -- lost out to the "Dreamgirls" duo of Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, who also won the Golden Globes earlier this month.

... Murphy began his acceptance speech in a British accent, then dropped it and explained he admired how smoothly English thesps handle such situations, adding, "And I feel goofy up here because I don't be winning stuff."

Newcomer Hudson gave an emotional acceptance speech, stressing the support of castmates, producer Laurence Mark and director Bill Condon -- "for believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. ... Thank you for noticing little old me." ...

...Julie Andrews received a lifetime achievement award at the ceremonies and singled out "main squeeze" and spouse Blake Edwards. She evoked big laughs by saying, "I guess I have one tiny complaint: When he directs me in a love scene, he's quite likely to say, 'Well, that was fine, darling, but I know you can do better.'

Article Continues ...

Congrats to the cast of Little Miss Sunshine on their big win against some pretty stiff competition...The best part of the evening though for me --the tribute given to Julie Andrews and her acceptance speech. What a class act.

Here are last night's winners and a few Backstage Notes. from the event...

The "Dance" Finals

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival came to an end last night in Park City Utah...Adam B. Vary of Entertainment Weekly reports on this year's award winners:

Political films take Sundance's top prizes...

Movies dealing with the Iraq war, international corruption, and immigration win jury awards in the feature and documentary categories

The issues of the day were clearly on the minds of Sundance 2007's audiences and juries, as they collectively awarded some of the most topical films at the festival. Padre Nuestro, a dark thriller about two young Mexican men smuggled into New York City, won the feature grand jury prize at the festival, the second Mexican-themed film in a row to win the festival's top prize (last year's winner was the sweet-15 film Quinceañera).

Director and screenwriter of "Padre Nuestro," Christopher Zalla, left, accepts the grand-jury prize for best U.S. drama for the film during the Sundance Film Festival Awards Night on Jan. 27 as Sundance Festival Director Geoff Gilmore joins him on stage in Park City, Utah.

Grace Is Gone, a drama starring John Cusack as a father facing the daunting task of telling his two young daughters that their mother was killed in the Iraq war, won the coveted audience award, voted on by practically every person who saw the eligible films during the 10-day festival. Grace Is Gone writer-director James C. Strouse also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

Feature documentary Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), which explores a vast network of corruption, kidnapping, and money-laundering frog farms in modern Brazil, took home the U.S. documentary jury prize. No End in Sight was awarded a special jury prize for its probing insight into the failures of the Bush administration's Iraq war policies. The film's director, Charles Ferguson, emphasized in his acceptance speech that he did not wish to make a political film, but he won thunderous applause by concluding with the statement that ''it might be too late for Iraq, but I hope it isn't too late for this country to conduct itself differently in the future.''...

I grant you, the situation in Iraq is not good at the moment, but who's to say it can't improve...or won't. And for Ferguson to say he hopes it's not too late for this country....just how bad is it in the US right now Chuck? I wonder what he would have said in his acceptance speech if a Democrat were in office and had authorized troops in Iraq?

Ahem...

Steven Zeitchik and Pamela McClintock of Variety report on some of the deals that were made while the festival was still in full swing in Delirious deals and deals aplenty...

Sequel Stew

This latest edition of Cinema Stew provides updates on a some very popular film franchises

Stax of Filmforce starts us off with a controversy over the script for Rob Zombie's updated Halloween flick.

Although casting was under way and the commencement of principal photography in California was imminent, filmmaker Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween has reportedly been delayed while the screenplay is reworked.

The brouhaha supposedly began when Ain't It Cool News panned a draft of Zombie's script, which caused Zombie to retort on his My Space blog: "I notice that so many people get crazy when someone you don't even know posts an opinion about what they think Halloween will or won't be. This is crazy. Do you really go through life influenced by the thoughts of others that easily? Anyway, things change so much in a movie, from moment to moment, from second to second that all I can say is : see it for yourself and figure out if you like it or not."

Bloody-Disgusting now reports that "what we've heard from industry buzz is that after the online fiasco, shock-rocker Rob Zombie is going back to the script and doing more re-writes, thus pushing the shoot back a bit, thus forcing the release back from its August 31st date. We've called people on all fronts and can't get a straight answer, so I guess only time will tell the truth."

The site adds that Lindy Booth (Wrong Turn) and Agnes Bruckner (The Woods) are in the running to play main character Laurie Strode... if and when filming actually happens

I have read the script review posted by Quint over at AICN, and assuming his information is correct...I gotta be honest and say that as major fan of the 1978 classic, I was disappointed by Zombie's take on the story as written and welcome the rewrite...

Actor Dylan Baker is talking about his character's return in Spider-Man 3 and the future of the superhero series to IF Magazine (report via Dark Horizons)

Hanging Out In Spider-Man 3

...Baker has played Dr. Curt Conners in the past two films, a small role but one many have been waiting to see turn into the villainous The Lizard.

Baker confirms that "I am in SPIDER-MAN 3, and my wife Becky Ann Baker is also in the movie, she plays James Cromwell's wife and Bryce Dallas Howard's mother".

Don't expect the Lizard to show up this time though - "In this one I am still in my business suit and that's all I'll say. I'm kind of the guy that Peter Parker needs to come to whenever he has those quandaries about what's going on... All I can say is we're going to see a lot more of [me] at some point if what [director Sam Raimi] says is true, and Sam is the guy who knows, so I am sticking with him."

Would he be up for playing the Lizard? "Oh yeah [I'd be up for that]. I'm friends with Alfred Molina and I just saw him the other day and he had so much fun doing Doc Ock, that for me it's a no-brainer. So, put it in [the movie] and let's go".

Speaking of the possibility more Spidey flicks...

Michael Fleming of Variety writes:

Shortly after getting their first look at "Spider-Man 3," Columbia Pictures execs have begun negotiating with David Koepp to pen the script for a fourth installment of the franchise.

Koepp, who most recently wrote the draft of a fourth "Indiana Jones" project that got George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to reteam for Paramount, scripted the 2002 Spidey film that launched the studio's most lucrative franchise.

Alvin Sargent scripted the second and third installments; all the pics in the Marvel Comics franchise were directed by Sam Raimi.

"Spider-Man 3" bows on May 4, with Thomas Haden Church playing Sandman and Topher Grace as Venom. Laura Ziskin produces with Avi Arad and Grant Curtis.

[Columbia] is just beginning the process of development on the fourth Spidey pic -- a pricey exercise since new deals will have to be made with Tobey Maguire, Kirstin Dunst and James Franco, along with Raimi if he decides to return to direct a fourth film.

The studio would release the pic in 2009 or 2010.

The first two movies had a combined worldwide gross north of $1 billion.

Koepp got the Spidey movies off to a great start and I look forward to seeing what his talents as a writer bring us in Indiana Jones 4. If anyone can pull that script off--Koepp can. Leading me to this last blurb...

Sir Sean Connery has confirmed he is considering returning to the silver screen to reprise one of his most popular roles in Indiana Jones 4.

The actor told UK Teletext he will read the script for the fourth movie and, if he likes what he sees, will appear once more as Indiana's father, Dr Henry Jones.

Connery said: "At the moment there's nothing decided. I haven't got the script. Everything depends on the script."

"We are writing him in whether he wants to do it or not," Lucas said on an American TV show recently.

I hope Connery decides to do Indy 4--He was a huge reason that The Last Crusade worked as well as it did--and this latest chapter just wouldn't be the same without him.

Paved With Gold

Forget the 4 new films opening today at the cineplex...This weekend--It's all about OSCAR and how well the recent nominees will do that has the number crunchers curiosity piqued.


The 4 flicks hoping some of Oscar's gold will rub off in terms of $$ include: The comedy spoof Epic Movie (reviews) that pokes fun at blockbusters past and present; The multiple hit man hunting one elusive target actioner Smokin' Aces (reviews); The romantic dramedy Catch and Release (reviews) starring Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant from writer/director Susannah Grant; Blood and Chocolate (reviews) is based on the popular book by Annette Curtis Klause.

Ian Mohr and Dave McNary of Variety have a cinematic overview of the weekend

Will a slew of expanding Oscar nominees put the squeeze on new releases at the B.O. this weekend?

With distributors fired up by their recently announced noms, pics including "Dreamgirls," "The Departed" and "Babel" will all make aggressive moves to grab the spotlight from new fare. Also expanding and making the movie market even tighter will be Picturehouse's "Pan's Labyrinth," Fox Searchlight's "Notes on a Scandal" and Sony Classics' "Volver," all Oscar nommed as well.

But away from such high-end fare and aiming for more mainstream auds will be wide studio releases "Epic Movie" (Fox), "Smokin' Aces" (Universal) and "Catch and Release" (Sony).

Even with the firepower of noms behind them, the Oscar faves could have some hurdles in their way.

Warner Bros.' "Departed" -- which relaunches this weekend in 1,453 locations -- has already taken in $121.8 million. It remains to be seen how many more available fans the violent, R-rated pic can reel in.

Paramount and DreamWorks' "Dreamgirls," meanwhile, was showered with Oscar noms, but not for best pic or director. Being overlooked in those key categories could detract from interest. The musical heads from 2,214 locations to 2,785. It has taken in $79.3 million in six weeks of release.

Par Vantage's starry ensembler "Babel," which will expand to 1,090 locales from 889, has found much critical praise but hasn't yet been able to ignite auds. R-rated pic has taken in less than $25 million since its bow in late October. It was generating a per-playdate average of just $2,331 in its last frame, but its seven noms could add some heat this weekend.

Among new rollouts, Fox will go widest with "Epic Movie," the comedy from "Scary Movie" franchise scribes Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Rolling out in just over 2,800 theaters, pic will skew toward young males.

Also trying to bring in that demo will be Universal shoot-'em-up "Smokin' Aces." Pic from "Narc" helmer Joe Carnahan will hit 2,204.

Sony's "Catch and Release," starring Jennifer Garner as a woman dealing with the death of her fiance, rolls into 1,622, aimed at a female aud.

MGM also has a new wide rollout in "Blood and Chocolate," a werewolf pic from "Iron Jawed Angels" helmer Katja von Garnier.

On the specialty circuit, the Weinstein Co. rolls out Anthony Minghella's "Breaking and Entering" in limited release, while Samuel Goldwyn bows "Seraphim Falls," a Western starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson.

But the specialty circuit, too, is clogged with pics that have received Oscar attention, including "Last King of Scotland" and "The Queen."

Article Continues...

Over at Entertainment Weekly, in his latest weekend report, Joshua Rich says:

The blockbuster-skewering spoof should hit No. 1 ahead of Jennifer Garner's ''Catch and Release''

Junk Yard "Dog"?

Not every film playing at this year's Sundance Film Festival is getting a warm reception. In fact, for all of the controversy and buzz that surrounded Hounddog--which features the rape of Dakota Fanning's character, it turns out the film's tough subject matter is the least of its problems. And the flick has plenty of noteworthy company in duds ville...

Roger Friedman of Fox News writes in his daily 411 column:

"Hounddog," the simply awful movie in which 12-year-old Dakota Fanning’s character is raped, has no buyers.

"No one wants it after the terrible reviews," one distributor told me, just as we were sitting down to see another disaster, J.P. Schaefer’s "Chapter 27."

Indeed, the people associated with The Weinstein Company, IFC Films and First Look were among those who instantly agreed that they had no interest in "Hounddog."

At this rate, this exercise in bad taste may wind up being a DVD collector’s item. Same thing for "Chapter 27," from which many fled before it ended in the two audiences that have seen it.

Meanwhile, the producers of "Hounddog" trotted out Fanning yesterday to defend the film in places like USA Today and at another press conference.

It’s come to that, apparently. The people who should be answering questions, however, are Fanning’s parents, and the parents of the other children in the film.

Indeed, 12-year-old Cody Hanford, who plays Fanning’s boyfriend in the provocative and poorly written outing, may actually become more of the focus than even the star.

In the film, his character lures Fanning’s into a barn and then watches as she’s raped. Hanford and Fanning also have numerous kissing scenes, some in which they’re half-dressed.

Yesterday, Variety’s Todd McCarthy was one of several reviewers who echoed my complaints about the hoary plot, terrible dialogue and clichés marking every scene.

With the above-mentioned distributors out, it’s unlikely now that any major buyer will take "Hounddog." And that’s just as well, considering that its release is sure to spark more outrage, protests and calls for investigations.

The strange part is that, in the long run, the movie itself is only offensive because it’s so bad. The real culprits aren’t the filmmakers, but the parents of the young actors.

Yesterday I spoke to Joy Pervis, the Atlanta agent who discovered Dakota and her sister, Elle. She’s since signed Cody and Isabelle Fuhrmann, the other child in the film.

Pervis told me she’s basically in favor of the film and trusts the Fannings’ judgment. "They’re a good Christian family," she said.

But plenty of publicists who’ve worked on movies with either Fanning girl have stories about their mother, Joy.

"She’s a real stage mother," one of them said at the screening. "The negotiations just go on and on."

But back to "Hounddog." Since I am one of the few who’ve actually seen it, let me explain something important. There is no point that I can find to the child’s rape.

Once it happens, it’s never discussed. The culprit is never accused or apprehended. The child never tells her story to anyone. There’s no great moment of revelation that could possibly help someone who’s watching the film. It’s simply there for shock value.

The fact that [writer/director Deborah] Kampmeier and the producers have somehow conned rape-assistance groups into using the movie as a public-service announcement is bizarre to me. But I guess it’s no more bizarre than using Dakota Fanning as the public defender of the indefensible.

Wow! It sounds like Hounddog is a film more concerned with shock schlock than carrying an important message--let alone entertaining an audience. It says a lot that not one distributor at the fest will touch the film.

Hedging Their Bets

With the 2008 race for president off and running, Hollywood has decided to jump in, throwing it's support behind the various candidates--particularly (but not surprisingly) for those running for the Democratic nomination..
New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (Pictured Above) and Illinois Senator Barack Obama seemed to have garnered the most attention from Tinseltown thus far.

Both the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign have already lined up a few (preliminary) endorsements and big fundraisers on Dream Factory soil

Ted Johnson of Variety has the details:

The blooming presidential campaigns of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama have set fund-raising swings through Los Angeles, as they tap entertainment industry donors in what will be a frenetic race for campaign money.

The DreamWorks trio of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen sent out hundreds of invitations Wednesday for a Feb. 20 fund-raising reception for Obama's exploratory committee. The $2,300-per-person event, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, will be followed by a private dinner at Geffen's home for Obama's fund- raising co-chairs. The latter are those who commit to raising $46,000 each for the evening.

Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign is planning a big gala on March 24, at a venue such as a hotel in the Beverly Hills area. That will be preceded by a visit on Feb. 11, when Clinton is planning to hold meet-and-greets at the homes of investment banker Sim Farar and of entertainment industry mogul Haim Saban. The meet-and-greets are for fund-raiser/donors who each commit to raising at least $25,000. Clinton also plans another visit to meet with donors in late Feb.

"She will be talking about her race: 'I'm in, and I'm in to win,'" said Farar, echoing the catchphrase Clinton used Saturday in announcing the formation of an exploratory committee.

One fund-raiser/donor described the method of raising money as akin to setting up Amway distributorships. Because each donor is limited to giving at most $4,600 per candidate per election cycle, a pyramid-like network of key fund-raisers is required to round up contributions.

As such, the process of organizing the events is said to be a balancing act of egos and logistics -- what one fund-raiser called "organized chaos." Holding the Clinton event in a hotel, for instance, saves the campaign from having to soothe the inevitable animosities that would develop if one donor's home is picked for a fete over another.

Democratic candidates' competition to raise money in Hollywood is shaping up to be even more intense this election cycle, with so many in the race and with the huge sums needed to remain viable.

Many campaigns are trying to set up events in advance of the March 31 deadline for filing the first-quarter campaign-finance reports. When made public, these reports will show how each has done in meeting fund-raising goals.

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, the first Democrat to declare, visited Tuesday and Wednesday and had meetings with such industry figures as William Morris chief Jim Wiatt, and he is planning further visits. John Edwards, who spoke at a reception at Endeavor earlier this month, is planning another visit in February.

Many in the industry are likely to contribute to multiple candidates and then wait to see who remains later in the year how the candidates come out on certain issues.

"If you are a big donor, you are likely to have a personal relationship with multiple candidates," said political and fund-raising consultant Noah Mamet. "I've told donors, 'It's OK to choose multiple candidates. You don't have to choose just one if you like more than one.' "

Katzenberg has endorsed Obama, after having contributed in the past to Clinton's Senate campaign and her leadership PAC.

Obama At The 2004 Democratic National Convention

But just because someone is holding a fund-raiser doesn't necessarily mean he will, in the end, endorse that candidate.

Geffen, who has not been very active in political fund raising since Bill Clinton was president, has not made any official statement on whom he will endorse, a spokesman said, even though his enthusiasm for Obama has been widely reported. And Spielberg has not yet made a decision, as he also has personal relationships with [Candidate John] Edwards and Clinton.

"Steven will make a determination in a few months," said political consultant Andy Spahn, who represents Spielberg and Katzenberg and was a key figure in setting up the Obama event.

One entertainer wasted little time in giving to Clinton; the money came via delivery late Saturday night. "The first donation we received in California was from Elizabeth Taylor," Farar said. "It was for the maximum amount."

If only these huge political donations could somehow be used to ensure better movies instead...I think the film-going public would be a lot better off if that were the case.

"Dance"-ing With The Stars

It's been quite the first few days at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival as these various reports will illustrate:

First up are Steven Zeitchik and Pamela McClintock from Variety with the early deals:

Fox Searchlight outbid other distribs, ponying up $5 million for Keri Russell starrer 'Waitress.'

After a somewhat sleepy start, Sundance surged to life Monday as lucrative deals for pics began to pour in, with Fox Searchlight spending a reported $10 million in less than 24 hours on a pair of films.

At least a half dozen seven-figure deals closed between Sunday and Monday evening....

The sudden surge in heftier deals took many execs by surprise after early buzz on the festival indicated a dearth of crossover films.

"Because there are a lot fewer good movies that have rights available at a festival, it drives the prices of the good ones up," said one well-known exec. "The hunger for product is bigger than ever."

In her first Sundance acquisition, Warner Independent Pictures [president] Polly Cohen plunked down $4 million for North American, U.K. and Teutonic rights to upbeat Brenda Blethyn starrer "Clubland," directed by Cherie Nowlan and penned by Keith Thompson.

Some considered the deal the richest yet of the fest, since it was only for three territories. Deal was struck with London-based Goalpost Films' Tristan Whalley and Nicki Parfitt, who have sold or are close to selling off other key territories, including Benelux to A Film, Italy to Lucky Red and France to Wild Bunch.

William Morris Independent's Rena Ronson led the negotiations for her team. Taking the lead for Warner Independent was senior VP of production and acquisitions Paul Federbush.

Two of the biggest buys of the day came from Searchlight. The Peter Rice-led division scooped up rights to "Waitress," written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelley...

News came a few hours after Searchlight disclosed it had bought "Joshua," a thriller set amid a Manhattan family, which preemed in the coveted slot after "Grace Is Gone" Saturday. Price is reported to be about $4 million for worldwide rights.

Searchlight has been the biggest spender at the fest, but its investments can be funded by lucrative international TV output deals, essentially bringing down the cost of acquisitions...

ThinkFilm laid down $2 million for all North American rights except TV for "In the Shadow of the Moon," outbidding Warner Independent and several other buyers.

David Sington pic examines the Apollo mission using rarely seen NASA footage of space...

Also on Monday, buyers were circling Spanish-language fave "La misma luna," and insiders expected bidding to climb into seven figures as well.

And buyers had heavy anticipation for "Son of Rambow," Garth Jennings' '80s period story about a boy cut off from pop culture.

Earlier buzz titles, including "Snow Angels," "The Good Life" and "The Ten," had yet to find buyers by Monday afternoon.

On Sunday, the Weinstein Co. and Lions gate pacted to buy "Teeth" for a reported $1 million.

More deals at Sundance...

Here are more reports from the Fest via Entertainment Weekly

And then there's the controversial documentary Zoo that's got many folks all in a tizzy and then some:

The film takes on the tough subject of bestiality...The director of the movie Robinson Devor says 'ZOO' is neither graphic nor exploitative'...

If that were not enough, there's also the controversy over the movie Hounddog featuring the on screen rape of the character played by pre-teen star Dakota Fanning...Whew!!!

While I myself do not endorse Zoo--I see it as a free speech issue--Each side is entitled to their support or detraction. The same goes for Hounddog--If Fanning's parents didn't object to what went on...I've always said, if you don't like something don't support it...Yes it is that simple.

...When I read this last item I laughed so hard I almost wet my pants...The headline alone...BWAHAHA...

Cage Confirmed As Liberace Favorite

Nicolas Cage has been confirmed as the favorite to play camp showman Liberace in a new movie musical. The actor has been linked to the role for years, but now screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have confirmed Cage is in talks to show off his musical skills as the late pianist.

Speaking at the Sundance Film Festival, where the writers are promoting their new comedy Epic Movie, Seltzer says, "We met with Nicolas Cage last year and he really wanted to star in it; he wanted to direct himself in it too."

Cage....You've got to be kidding! Act and direct....Sheesh!!