Posts

FILML.A. BECOMES FLEEL.A. Location filming on the streets of Los Angeles fell 44 percent during the second quarter of 2009 compared to 2008, according to statistics released Wednesday by FilmL.A., the quasi-public agency that coordinates film permitting in the area. The report also indicated that the number of days of feature shooting for the quarter dropped by more than half. Todd Lindgren, a spokesman for FilmL.A., told Daily Variety that while one of the factors in the slowdown was uncertainty over the Screen Actors Guild’s negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a bigger factor was likely the lure of tax incentives from outside California....

BIKER TRAFFIC JAM AT THE BOX OFFICE The weekend box office will disclose whether John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen and William H. Macy as motorcyclists in Wild Hogs will be able to overtake Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider, a movie that has maintained a significant lead over the last two weekends. Hogswon’t be helped by road-kill reviews by most critics. David Fincher’s Zodiac about the infamous San Francisco serial killer, is also likely to make a strong debut for Paramount and is receiving many critical raves....

THAT FRONT-PAGE L.A. TIMES STORY IS A FAKE Reportedly raising howls of protest by its reporters and editors, the Los Angeles Timesdevotes nearly a third of the “below the fold” portion of its front page today (Thursday) to an advertisement for NBC’s new series Southland. A portion of the ad appears to be a news story headlined “Southland’s Rookie Hero” and sub-headed, “A ride along on an officer’s first day.” In its lede paragraph, the story says that “this reporter got a chance to ride along for a rookie’s unforgettable first watch....

i>KNIGHT RIDER RETURNS: IT’S A SMASH Knight Riderappears to be fast-tracked to a regular series slot after it attracted 12.70 million viewers to NBC Sunday night. The two-hour TV movie (described in the industry as a “back-door pilot”) based on the ’80s series smashed the competition, which included CBS’s premiere of Showtime’s Dexter, which averaged just 8.1 million viewers. Knight Riderdid not perform as well with critics. Writing in today’s (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times, Mary McNamara notes that time has not been kind to the series – that cars actually do talk to their drivers these days....

At a recent reception in Hollywood for the Blu-ray and DVD release of Inception, which hits on December 7th, Hitfix caught up with Christopher Nolan’s wife and producing partner Emma Thomas, who revealed that her husband will have no creative input when it comes to Zack Snyder’s reboot of Superman. While Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer wrote the screenplay for Superman, it will be completely in the hands of Snyder....

Tea Leoni and David Duchovny are set to produce the adaptation of the article, American Dreamers, a book by former Reader’s Digest editor Peter Canning. The couple likely won’t appear in the film; according to a statement from Leoni from Variety, “This is what happened to their American dream, when it got filtered through the right wing.” Canning, a 25-year vet of the mag who rose to managing editor, writes that the magazine’s idealistic goals got compromised as it grew into a juggernaut after WWII....

Apple TV+ has unveiled the first trailer for Ted Lasso season 2. Along with the footage, the release date for the new batch of episodes has been revealed as well. Fans of the show would do well to set aside a little time this summer. Apple revealed the news during a recent event. Mark your calendars, as the show will return globally on Friday, July 23. As for the trailer, it gives us our first glimpse at what Jason Sudeikis’ Lasso and the Richmond soccer team are up to this time around....

Steven Spielberg’s new TV venture Terra Nova has suffered yet another blow with The Los Angeles Times reporting that the series has laid off its writing staff. 24 alum Brannon Braga remains the showrunner of the series while a majority of the staff writers, including Chris Brancato, were let go. However, that doesn’t mean the show will not debut with a sneak peek of the pilot in May, with the series debuting in the fall of 2011, as we reported in August....

Spoiler Warning: The Boys Season 3 MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY At the center of the supe world stand the Seven, who represent the world’s most powerful heroes in the universe of The Boys. Though they are substantially less wholesome, they are reminiscent of the Marvel cinematic universe’s Avengers. One of the most powerful members of the seven is Black Noir, a faceless, silent supe portrayed by Nathan Mitchell (Arrow, Supernatural)....

The Screen Actor’s Guild is inching closer to a strike. After two days worth of round-the-clock meetings - about 27 hours - federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez was unable to bring SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers together to hash out a new TV/theatrical contract. Talks broke off shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday morning. AMPTP said… SAG said… We are disappointed to report that the federal mediation efforts between SAG and AMPTP failed in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 22nd, when mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez ended the process....

Be warned, if you have NOT watched last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Killer Within”, stop reading right now. There are massive spoilers below. Read on at your own risk. The body count continues to pile up in Season 3 of The Walking Dead, with last night’s casualty easily the most shocking of the entire season thus far. Sarah Wayne Callies’ Lori, the wife of Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes, passed away, sacrificing herself for her baby’s life....

Subliminal sexual imagery has long been used by advertisers to inadvertently lure in and entice unsuspecting dolts who don’t know any better. The practice has gone on since the dawn of print advertising with a number of popular artists attempting to see what they can and can’t get away with. From the phallic shape of Joe Camel’s nose to this recent advert for Tangled, where you can see the word “sex” if you look closely at Rapunzel’s hair as it wraps around Flynn Rider’s body....

We recently caught up with the legendary Tim Burton while visiting Comic-Con 2009 to chat with him about his next two extraordinary films, Alice in Wonderland, which he has directed and the animated adventure, 9, in which he produces. To watch our exclusive video interviews, click below… From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure Alice in Wonderland, a magical and imaginative twist on some of the most beloved stories of all time....

A secret Westworld season 3 trailer has been discovered. It contains mostly new footage and was found by a hardcore fan of the hit HBO series. Just yesterday, the network unveiled the latest trailer, giving fans a few clues about what they’ll be questioning when the show comes back next month. There are no concrete answers offered. Instead, fans are treated to more questions about what will take place in season 3....

The Good A whole new generation of kids will now be able to discover this show for themselves. The Bad I hate to say it but I think I’ve outgrown this show. Sesame Street: Old School, Vol. 1 - 1969-1974 will bring you back to the time that Bert, Ernie, Big Bird and other puppets were your best friends. Filled with songs, life lessons, and other pieces of education, I think it can safely be said that Sesame Street took a “learning is fun” approach to any and all subject matter....

Everyone expects Spider-Man: No Way Home to be the biggest success of the pandemic era, but latest predictions for opening weekend have estimated the movie will bring in more than double the amount most movies of the last 18 months made throughout their entire cinematic run. Latest projections from Box Office Pro, shared on Twitter by Charlie Jatinder, have suggested that the latest Marvel outing for Spider-Man is heading towards a $200 million or above opening weekend domestically, and a possible $500 million worldwide debut....

Marvel Studios announced today that Oscar nominated actor Stanley Tucci has been cast to star as Dr. Abraham Erskine in the studio’s highly anticipated movie Captain America: The First Avenger opposite Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving, and Hayley Atwell. In the early comics, Dr. Erskine was a German scientist behind Project Rebirth, the secret experiment that created the Super Soldier known as Captain America. Joe Johnston will direct the film penned by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely....

Star Wars Rebels “Zero Hero” closes season three with an overall satisfying season finale. I had a few issues, but minor in comparison to the whole episode. We finally get to see what power Bendu (Tom Baker), the creature that sits in the middle between the light and dark side, wields. Death troopers, first seen in Rogue One, make their debut as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s (Lars Mikkelsen) bodyguards. They certainly look pretty cool....

CBS announced today summer premiere dates for two original scripted dramas, a new alternative series and an expanded season of Big Brother. A new reality competition series based on the hit UK format The Great British Bake Off, premieres Wednesday, May 29 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). The series features skilled amateur Americans competing in baking challenges with one ultimately being crowned the winner. Under the Dome, a new 13-episode serialized drama based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel and produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, opens Monday, June 24 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT)....

Steve Blum Talks Transformers: Rescue Bots and Transformers: Prime, only on The Hub! Transformers: Rescue Bots returns to The Hub with a special two-part episode, “It’s Bot Time” and “Bot to the Future” Saturday, August 18. A week later, Transformers: Prime returns with all new episodes on Friday, August 24 starting with “Hurt”. Both of these shows feature the talented voice actor Steve Blum, who plays the Autobot Heatwave on Transformers: Rescue Bots, and the Decepticon Starscream on Transformers: Prime....