MGM Moving Headquarters to Beverly Hills

The studio, which just emerged from bankruptcy, plans to vacate its namesake building in Century City in favor of office space originally intended to be occupied by WME.

Less than a week after emerging from a lengthy bankruptcy, MGM has signed a lease for new headquarters office space in Beverly Hills.

The Lion signed a lease Sunday for the entirety of the six-story, 144,000-square-foot Beverly Drive office building that was originally slated to be occupied by WME, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The studio will vacate its current headquarters in Century City at its namesake building -- the MGM Tower. The company leases about 200,000 square feet at the 35-story building and had been trying to sublease the offices to other parties, but that plan never came to fruition. MGM will now pay a "one-time" fee to landlord JMB Realty Corp. in order to break its lease and leave the 10250 Constellation Blvd. building, the source said.

Terms of MGM's lease with George Comfort & Sons Inc., the landlord of its new headquarters building at 235-269 N. Beverly Drive, are not known, though the Class A property is perhaps the highest-profile vacant building in Los Angeles County and would be expensive to fully lease.

It is also unclear when MGM will move into its new headquarters or whether the smaller size of the new offices is related to the company's layoffs earlier this month. About 50 employees were let go; the layoffs were part of MGM's reorganization plan.

MGM declined to comment.

The new Beverly Drive building, which was completed earlier this year, has had a brief but tumultuous history. Originally, it was to be occupied by the William Morris Agency, but the firm's 2009 merger with Endeavor threw a kink into those plans. WME backed out of an agreement to occupy the new building, and arbitration between WME and George Comfort remains unresolved, according to the source. WME has been headquartered nearby at 9601 Wilshire Blvd. since April 2009.

This fall, it was rumored that rival agency UTA had been looking into occupying the Beverly Drive building if WME did not move into it. Indeed, the source said UTA had nearly completed its negotiations to lease about 80,000 square feet of the building from George Comfort before MGM stepped in and quickly came to terms with the landlord.

WME and UTA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

No one was speaking on the record Tuesday, but sources were surprised that MGM would sign a lease for such a high-profile building just days after exiting bankruptcy Dec. 20. The bankruptcy plan wiped out the Lion's debt and installed Spyglass Entertainment chiefs Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum as the company's co-chief executives. MGM plans to release up to eight films a year, starting in 2012.

Speculation about MGM's move first surfaced on the Beverly Hills Courier's website on Monday.

Angry Reaction as Theater Critics Cross the Line on 'Spider-Man'

This past weekend theater insiders were surprised when two critics, Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg News and Linda Winer of Newsday, crossed an unspoken line and published their takes on Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, more than five weeks before opening night on February 7th.

The result has not pleased representatives for the troubled production.

"For a major critic to review a Broadway musical, or play for that matter, after only the twentieth preview, is disappointing and uncalled for,” Spider-Man’s spokesperson, press agent Rick Miramontez said in a written statement .

“Whatever reason the critic or their editor may have, it does not mask the fact that for decades, musicals have developed in front of paying audiences before critics are INVITED," he added. "While we are certainly not naive about the media scrutiny attached to this production, as we have been accommodating throughout, this unprecedented new development is troubling, to say the least."

Winer’s piece in Newsday on Christmas acknowledged that she “broke Broadway’s gentleperson’s agreement,” by purchasing a ticket for a preview.

The common practice on Broadway is to invite critics to one of several “critic’s previews” right before opening once the producers and creative team have deemed the show finished. Their reviews are embargoed until after the curtain falls on opening night.

But Winer wrote that with all the news about the show -- the opening delayed for the fourth time and audiences buying full price tickets for previews, -- “it seems that critics are now the only interested parties who can’t see the bride before the wedding.”

Her piece was less a review than a report, though she did acknowledge that the show’s vaunted flying effects are “exciting and scary, in a circus way,” and that director Julie Taymor was “said to be making much-needed changes to the meandering book, especially in the weak second act.” The rest of the criticism came from audience members Winer interviewed, one of whom complained the music was “weak” and another who said she “didn’t think this is theater for adults.”

Bloomberg's Gerard wrote a full-out review, although he acknowledged that this was an “interim report” and fully intends to re-review the show and publish it the day after Spider-Man opens. Like Winer, Gerard purchased a ticket (one of the $292.50 “premium’ seats in the orchestra).

He praised the sets, lighting and choreography, acknowledged the short-lived thrill of some of the flying effects, but came down hard on the show itself: “an unfocused hodge-podge of story-telling, myth-making and spectacle that comes up short in every department. Can it be saved? Ask me on Feb. 8.”

Reached by phone, Gerard explained his decision to “breach the compact” that critics hold off on seeing a show and publishing their opinions until asked by the producers. He explains that “in the past, previews were given for a limited time and tickets were discounted pretty heavily.” But, in the case of Spider-Man, the ads don’t acknowledge the show is a work-in-progress and most theatergoers are paying full price.

“My own feeling,” he says, “is that when they postponed from December to January to, now February, asking critics to wait was just too much. I had an obligation to the readers to get involved in the conversation.” He adds that with his review “you’re getting more than gossip, more than a hospital report, more than a ga-ga report about the flying.”

Gerard, who has covered theater for the New York Times, Variety and New York Magazine, as well as Bloomberg, points out that there are several precedents. When shows tried out regularly on the road, critics like Richard Coe in the Washington Post and Elliot Norton in several Boston newspapers reviewed unfinished products and “were proud to be part of the process.”

And a couple of Broadway shows with unusually lengthy preview periods, Nick & Nora (1991, 71 previews) and Sarava (1979, 39 previews), were reviewed by critics before they officially opened. While Gerard doesn’t see his interim review of Spider-Man as the start of a trend, he doesn’t discount the possibility of doing something similar in the future should circumstances warrant it.

“I’m comfortable in doing the responsible thing,” he says. “It’s a show there’s great interest in.”

Three Awards Hopefuls -- 'Another Year,' 'Biutiful' and 'Blue Valentine' -- Hit Theaters Wednesday

Studios look to generate buzz just as Oscar nomination ballots show up in voters' mailboxes.

Just as Oscar ballots were sent out, the final three awards contenders are prepping to open in theaters Wednesday -- Another Year, Biutiful and Blue Valentine, although Biutiful plays only in a one-week qualifying run.

Sony Pictures Classics' Another Year, written and directed by British indie darling Mike Leigh, opens in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film stars Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville.

The Weinstein Co. launches Blue Valentine in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The drama, starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, made headlines for earning an NC-17 rating for explicit sexual scenes, but Harvey Weinstein personally appealed the rating and won. Blue Valentine, directed by Derek Cianfrance, goes out with an R.

Roadside Attractions' Biutiful plays in one theater in New York and one in Los Angeles. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the film stars Javier Bardem. It officially opens in a limited run Jan. 28.

After a long downturn in the indie market, business has been picking up. Two films enjoying notable success at the holiday box office are Black Swan and The Fighter.

Blue Valentine in particular hopes to parlay the attention it has gotten because of the ratings dust-up into heightened business.

Over the long Christmas weekend, Focus Features' Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola, got off to a solid start for a pure art house play.

Struggling, however, is Lionsgate's awards contender Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Part of the issue could be the short window in which Lionsgate had to market the film, which the company acquired in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

'Hangover Part II' Stuntman Severely Injured in Film-Related Car Crash

An Australian stunt driver has been hospitalized in Thailand after a film-related crash left him severely injured while shooting The Hangover Part II.

A source close to the production confirms that stunt driver Scott McLean was in an induced coma through sedation meant to help him recover from the set incident.

Warner Bros., which is distributing the sequel, confirmed the accident in a statement released.

"There was an accident involving a truck and a car on the second unit set of The Hangover Part II near Bangkok, Thailand, at approximately 3:00 a.m. on Friday, December 17, 2010 (Bangkok time). A stuntman was injured during the filming of this sequence," the statement read.

"The truck and car were both driven by stunt drivers. An ambulance immediately took the injured stuntman to the local hospital, and he has since been transported to a hospital in Bangkok, where advanced care is being provided. We are awaiting further details concerning his condition."

No further details were available from the company.

The production source described the stunt as one that had been choreographed and rehearsed. McLean was in a moving truck leaning out the window, as planned, when the car driving towards it to pass skidded suddenly and hit him. A further prognosis report is expected in a few days.

The film reunites the original foursome played by Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha and Ed Helms.

Natalie Portman is pregnant and engaged

ACTRESS Natalie Portman has got engaged and is expecting her first child.

The Israeli-American plans to marry New York City Ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, 32.

They met last year while filming ballet drama The Black Swan, for which she received her third Golden Globe nomination.

Four years ago Star Wars Natalie, 29, she said she would ideally like to raise her children in the Jewish faith.

She said: “A priority for me is definitely that I’d like to raise my kids Jewish, but the ultimate thing is to have someone who is a good person and a partner.”

Millepied, who was born in Bordeaux, France said in June that he was “blown away” by Portman’s acting ability and that she was “amazing to watch”.

But he added that the two of them were trying to keep their relationship private.

He said: “We just want to keep things to ourselves.”


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True Grit Movie Review

Joel and Ethan, the mighty brothers Coen, take their masterful talents to the Old West for a bravura remake of True Grit. Jeff Bridges wears the eye patch in place of John Wayne as the iconic U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, and this is as beautiful a piece of casting as you are going to witness in modern cinema.

Watch True Grit Movie Trailer



As good as Bridges is in the role, delivering every line with a weary, somehow endearing mumble, he is matched every step of the way by 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, my pick for the year’s Best Supporting Actress. As Mattie Ross, the whip-smart young woman who hires Cogburn to find Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man who killed her father, Steinfeld is nothing short of miraculous.

When Rooster and Mattie set out on the trail of Chaney, they are joined by Texas lawman LeBoeuf (Matt Damon). While the film certainly is no comedy, Damon gets a lot of laughs as the tag-along who talks too much, leaving the party more than once due to Cogburn’s stubbornness and Mattie’s mental superiority. LeBoeuf’s verbal rivalry with Cogburn is made all the more hilarious by Mattie’s tendency to be the only one in the camping crew acting like an adult.

As good as the Coens are at presenting a distinctively wild West, this story wouldn’t work if the central performances from Bridges and Steinfeld didn’t gel. Luckily, they exchange lines like an actor and actress who have shared the screen a hundred times before.

Some of the film’s greater passages occur early on when the duo are getting to know each other. Watching Bridges’ Cogburn react with quizzical stares as Mattie continuously outsmarts him is a testament to how giving and wonderful an actor Bridges truly is. You sense that the man knows he is witnessing lightning in a bottle when it comes to what’s happening here with Steinfeld, and he must love it.

Chaney shows up late in the film, and Brolin plays him as a comically sad simpleton always complaining about his current predicament. He’s the sort of character that has you laughing hard one moment and terrified the next. Brolin makes Chaney’s apparent sadness almost charming, making it all the more shocking when he shifts into bad guy mode. Barry Pepper is also menacing as Lucky Ned Pepper, the frothing-at-the-mouth leader of a band of outlaws.

As with all of the genres they have approached, the Coens clearly relish the opportunity to play in a new sandbox. Their take on the Charles Portis novel is a dark one, laced with gnarly tree branches, bad teeth, heavy whiskey-drinking and lots of killing. Yet, the whole deal is oddly beautiful thanks to the work of their performers, tremendous camerawork by old standby Roger Deakins, and a stirring soundtrack from the criminally underrated Carter Burwell.

The film is full of trademark Coen brother eccentric touches, the sort of stuff fans might expect of them. There’s a wonderful interlude when Rooster and Mattie cross paths with the Bear Man (Ed Corbin), a wandering dental technician who’s more than a little dramatic when he speaks of the trade he just made for a dead body. The public hanging of three men plays out in a way that could’ve only been directed by the Coens.

So, yeah, the Coen brothers have done it again, taking over another genre and making it their own. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I have never met a Coen brothers film I didn’t like. True Grit is another milestone in their amazing careers, as well as a showcase for an up-and-coming star and some of the industry’s finest actors.

It’s almost insulting to call it a remake. While John Wayne’s portrayal of Cogburn may have netted him an Oscar, Bridges is the real Rooster. As for Steinfeld, she’s the real deal.

Read More True Grit Movie Reviews:

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Matt Damon enjoys being 'a true nincompoop' in 'True Grit'

Matt Damon enjoys being 'a true nincompoop' in 'True Grit'



The actor has wanted to work with the Coen brothers for years and got his chance as the
verbose Texas Ranger LaBoeuf in the western remake.


On a clear New Mexico morning this year, Matt Damon sat and watched the Coen brothers and the crew of "True Grit" as they prepared horses, six-shooters and the camera for the next scene. With more than three dozen feature films under his belt, it could have been just another mundane moment between close-ups, but instead Damon holds on to the snapshot memory with scrapbook affection.

"We were halfway through the movie and I was sitting on the set, we were doing this corn dodger scene — the characters are throwing these little cornbread cakes up in the air and shooting at them, it's ridiculous — and it really hit me," Damon recalled. "I turned to [cinematographer] Roger Deakins — he and I go back, we worked on 'Courage Under Fire' in the 1990s — and I said to him, 'Roger, this is really special, right?,' and he smiled and he said, 'Yeah, it really is.'"

"True Grit" has just arrived in theaters as an idiosyncratic gun-smoke adventure with characters who talk like prophets as they ride through rivers, snow and ravines in search of revenge and reward. It's the first visit to the Old West by the Coens — the Oscar-winning filmmakers best known for "No Country for Old Men" and "Fargo" — and their cast is led by a grizzled Jeff Bridges, the young newcomer Hailee Steinfeld and Damon, who plays a Texas Ranger who may be more windbag than Winchester

"I am," Damon declared with mock pride, "a true nincompoop in this movie."

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http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-matt-damon-20101226,0,6384690.story

The Most Pirated Film of 2010 Is...

Courtesy of Twentieth Century-Fox

Drumroll please....Avatar is the most pirated film of the year.

The Oscar-winning mega-blockbuster was downloaded from torrent websites an amazing 16,580,000 times, according to TorrentFreak. That represents a 33% increase in download activity from last year's top-pirated film, Star Trek, which was downloaded just under 11 million times.

20th Century Fox, which distributed the sci-fi epic, isn't exactly crying. The film grossed nearly $2.8 billion at the worldwide box office to become the highest-grossing movie ever. Director James Cameron has frequently touted 3D filmmaking as the industry's best hope for combating piracy, but 3D glasses didn't hold back pirates from shattering all recorded piracy records. The financial performance of Avatar's home entertainment revenue isn't known yet, but the initial DVD release broke sales records.

Surprisingly, second on the list is Kick-Ass, distributed in the US by Lionsgate. That film recorded 11,400,000 downloads off of torrent websites and grossed a somewhat disappointing $48 million domestically (plus another $48 million overseas).

Coming in at #3 is Inception with 9,720,000 downloads. The Warner Bros. film has been the top pirated film these past couple months and was the most-pirated film last week, ahead of its DVD launch.

The Hurt Locker, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, came in as the ninth most-pirated film with nearly $7 million downloads. That's interesting because Hurt producers are currently in the middle of a lawsuit against thousands of those pirates. It was the lowest-grossing film on the list, with just under $50 million at the worldwide box office.

Here's the full list of the 10 most pirated films and number of downloads as recorded by TorrentFreak:

1. Avatar / 16,580,000
2. Kick-Ass / 11,400,000
3. Inception / 9,720,000
4. Shutter Island / 9,490,000
5. Iron Man 2 / 8,810,000
6. Clash of the Titans / 8,040,000
7. Green Zone / 7,730,000
8. Sherlock Holmes / 7,160,000
9. The Hurt Locker / 6,850,000
10. Salt / 6,700,000

MGM studio emerges from bankruptcy

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the company behind Hollywood classics such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, has emerged from bankruptcy, bringing to an end a turbulent period that saw the legendary studio come close to being broken up and sold.

The company, which also owns the James Bond series, has left bankruptcy with $500m of new financing arranged by JPMorgan, and a new management team. Creditors, who were owed some $4bn by MGM, now own the studio.


Emerging from bankruptcy increases the chances of a new James Bond film being made, although it is likely the company will need to raise more funds to finance the movie.

Production of the latest Bond film to star Daniel Craig had been suspended indefinitely by the Broccoli family, which owns the rights to Bond with MGM, because of the uncertainty surrounding the studio.

Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, two former executives with Spyglass Entertainment, the company behind recent films including Get Him to the Greek and Dinner for Schmucks, have been appointed co-chairmen and co-chief executives of MGM.

“MGM is emerging from one of the most challenging periods of its storied history,” they said in a statement. “Beginning today, MGM is a stronger, more competitive company, with a solid financial foundation and a bright future.”

MGM’s troubles began with the highly leveraged $5bn purchase of the studio in 2004 by a consortium made up of Sony, TPG, Providence Equity Partners and Comcast.

The deal loaded the studio with debt just as the DVD market went into sharp decline. When the credit crunch took hold in 2007, the group found itself unable to raise money to finance new movies, which would have helped it sell its older library titles.

The new management team faces an uphill battle to revive MGM post-bankruptcy. Its television and film sales operations have stagnated for the past 12 months when creditors tried – and failed – to sell the studio.

Mr Birnbaum and Mr Barber are also likely to face pressure from Carl Icahn, the activist investor who holds as much as 20 per cent of MGM shares. He is keen to merge the company with Lions Gate Entertainment, the company behind the Mad Men television series.

Sandra Bullock Headed to Outer Space with George Clooney?

How will Sandra Bullock follow up her Oscar-winning performance in The Blind Side?

Deadline.com is reporting that PEOPLE's Woman of the Year will star alongside George Clooney in the space adventure Gravity.

The two will play the sole survivors of a space mission gone wrong who struggle to get back to their loved ones on Earth.

Clooney is replacing Robert Downey Jr., who had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts.

'Tron' likely to beat 'Yogi Bear' and 'How Do You Know' at box office

Disney's resurrection of the 1982 cult classic is expected to take in a solid but not spectacular $50 million this weekend. 'The Fighter' and 'Black Swan' are expanding into nationwide release.

The legacy of this weekend's box office seems certain to be a victory for a visual effects-heavy event movie over a sophisticated adult comedy and a children's animated tale.

"Tron: Legacy," Walt Disney Studios' big-budget resurrection of the 1982 cult favorite, is strongly expected to be the most popular movie this weekend in the U.S. and Canada. People who have seen pre-release audience surveys say it should take in about $50 million, a solid but not spectacular start for such a highly anticipated movie.

"Yogi Bear," Warner Bros' hybrid of animation and live action, is appealing mainly to families with young children and is expected to kick off its run with a so-so $20 million.

The weekend's big question, however, is just how poorly Sony Pictures' "How Do You Know" will do. The costly adult comedy, directed by James L. Brooks and starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, is generating very soft interest and is projected to open to only about $10 million.

It could even get beat by two low-budget specialty films expanding into nationwide release this weekend. After a strong start in five theaters last weekend, the Mark Wahlberg boxing drama "The Fighter" is expected to gross $12 million to $15 million. The dark ballet fantasy "Black Swan" will play in about 1,000 theaters, fewer than half as many as "How Do You Know." But after two strong weekends in limited release, it should collect about $10 million this weekend.

Sony spent a little more than $100 million to produce "How Do You Know," a very hefty budget for an adult comedy, and will probably lose millions of dollars if ticket sales are in line with expectations. It appears likely to perform similarly to director Brooks' last picture, the 2004 comedy "Spanglish," which opened in mid-December to $8.8 million and ended up with $42.7 million domestically and only $12.3 million outside the U.S. and Canada.

Middling reviews could hurt "How Do You Know" with its target audience of adult women.

Disney is hoping "Tron" will be a "four-quadrant" movie that appeals to men and women, young and old. However, tracking surveys indicate that on the film's first weekend, at least, it will draw primarily men. Women appear to be more hesitant about the science-fiction sequel, which stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde.

The studio spent an estimated $170 million to produce the movie, and its sibling divisions have invested millions in the brand, developing products such as video games and an animated television series. Disney is also spending about $150 million to market the movie worldwide. An opening in the $50-million range would mean that to be profitable, "Tron" would have to perform strongly over Christmas and bring in even more money overseas.

The movie could perform well internationally, particularly in Asia, where films loaded with special effects tend to be particularly popular. It opens this weekend in a small number of foreign countries, including Argentina, Australia and Greece.

"Yogi Bear" is an effort by Warner Bros. to duplicate the success of 20th Century Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks," the 2007 surprise hit based on another classic cartoon that opened to $44.3 million. Although movies that appeal mainly to young children are difficult to track, it appears that "Yogi" will fall far short of the "Alvin" opening.

Warner spent about $80 million to produce "Yogi," whose animal characters are computer generated. The film has to prove popular with families over Christmas in order to become a big hit.

Also competing for the family audience this weekend, though for slightly older children, is "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." After a soft domestic opening last weekend, Fox and Walden Media are hoping the movie's second-weekend decline is modest.

In limited release, Lionsgate's "Rabbit Hole" will open at five theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart star in the adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a family coping with loss.

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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-projector-20101217,0,3568787.story

Tron' takes itself too seriously

Like "Avatar," "Tron: Legacy" takes us into a world of digital imagination. It's a gorgeous sequel to 1982's "Tron," a video game movie and a cult hit that was decades ahead of its time.

But also like "Avatar," "Legacy" is a film too in love with its own good looks. And like the first "Tron," the sequel is a bit of a slog, a generally humorless quest inside the computer grid in which a son searches for his digitally disembodied father while the father seeks salvation for humanity through the digi-verse he created but which has taken on a life of its own.

Garrett Hedlund ("Friday Night Lights") is Sam Flynn, son of Kevin (Jeff Bridges), the games-and-grid guru who stumbled into the Digital New World back in 1982. Dad disappeared in 1989, the film tells us, so Sam has grown up a rich, motorcycle-riding rebel.

Then Dad's old partner (Bruce Boxleitner, back from the original film) says he's been paged by the phone from Kevin's long-closed arcade. That sends Sam to the office where Kevin was digitized and drops him onto the computer grid his dad created. He's soon forced to race light cycles and do disc battles to survive the machinations of the evil Clu, Dad's alter ego, played by a digitally de-aged Jeff Bridges, who looks as if he could also play the train conductor in a "Polar Express" sequel.

Sam's efforts to escape lead him to other digital worlds, and the corporate villains from the real world who helped create this mess are forgotten as he journeys on and off the grid in an effort to reconnect with his father and his father's creations.

Watch Tron:Legacy Trailer



Then, 80 minutes in, Brit character actor Michael Sheen shows up as Castor, a bon vivant grid program who looks like David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust incarnation and who's played by Sheen as if he's ready to star in a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" remake. The actor's hamming brings the movie to life.

"Behold," he bellows to the other programs drinking at his swank digital bar, "the son of our creator!"

When Bridges himself, an aged guru stuck in time, blurts "You're messin' with my zen thing, man," we're left to wonder how "Legacy" might have gone down had the movie's creators not taken the damned thing so seriously. They've unfortunately saddled the movie with a lack of humor and personality that robs it of any real emotion.

For more visit

http://www.freep.com/article/20101216/ENT01/12160351/1322/Tron-takes-itself-too-seriously

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‘Sexiest’ man Ryan Reynolds is going solo

“Sexiest Man Alive” Ryan Reynolds and Oscar-nominee Scarlett Johansson announced their split yesterday after a whopping two years of marriage.

According to a source, the couple quietly broke up six months ago at the behest of the wife.

“The big problem with their relationship is the distance. They spent a lot of time apart when they are working...She’s been unhappy for a while,” an F.O.S. told Us Weekly.

Reynolds, 34, who stars in the upcoming “Green Lantern,” told GQ in October that things had “changed” since he married his movie-starlet wife, 26.

“I’m a little more guarded, I think. I’m a little bit more wary of having my relationship turning into a soap opera,” he said.

Now, the Track saw this split coming even before the Hollywood It Couple tied the knot.

Rewind to April 2008 when People maggie’s Sexiest Man Alive was here in Massachusetts filming “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock. Reynolds and ScarJo were walking along Arch Street having a rather heated, ugly discussion.

“The Ryan guy was clearly being a baby,” said our spy on the scene. “She kept grabbing his arm and he’d yank it away and she’d keep saying, ‘Ry, come on, Ry. Stop.”

He kept switching directions on the sidewalk, trying to get away from his galpal. They were married five months later.

Meanwhile, “Dexter” stars Michael C. Hall and his wife and co-star Jennifer Carpenter also announced their split yesterday. They, too, were married for only two years. Carpenter stood by Hall’s side as he battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma earlier this year.

Nicole Richie marks wedding day with elephant surprise

It isn't the most likely of animals to feature in a wedding.

But Nicole Richie clearly wanted to treat her guests to something special when she hired a trained elephant to appear at her wedding.

On Saturday the daughter of music superstar Lionel Richie married Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden in a private ceremony consisting of 130 guests - and an elephant.

Although it is not exactly known in what way the animal contributed, it seems the rest of the day was steeped in tradition.

A source said: "They're going all out with the decor. Nicole wanted a memorable, elegant affair for only their closest friends and family on their special day."

The couple have been together for four years and have two children - Harlow, two, and one-year-old Sparrow

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http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/13-12-2010/55310/celebrities/

Elizabeth Hurley splits from her husband Arun

Elizabeth Hurley has announced the end of her three year marriage to Arun Nayar amid reports of an affair with Australian cricketer Shane Warne.

On Sunday, the News of the World alleged that the 45-year-old model had become involved with Shane, claiming to have pictures and videos of the couple embracing.

And later that same day, Elizabeth seemingly responded to the news on her Twitter page.

"Not a great day," she wrote. "For the record, my husband Arun and I separated a few months ago.

"Our close friends and family were aware of this."

Elizabeth and Arun started dating in 2003 and married in March 2007 in Gloucestershire.

Days later, they held a week-long celebration in Jodhpur, which included a Hindu wedding ceremony

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http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities-news-in-pics/13-12-2010/55309/celebrities/

Miley Cirus Caught Smoking From Bong On Video

Earlier Friday (December 10), footage of Miley Cyrus smoking from a bong appeared online. In the clip, Cyrus giggles and talks to an unidentified woman who is filming the teen star. The bong was reportedly filled with salvia, a psychoactive herb that is legal in California.

On Friday afternoon, Cyrus' father, Billy Ray, took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the video. "Sorry guys. I had no idea," he wrote. "Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now."

Just hours before he reacted to his daughter's clip, he tweeted about Jesus being on Twitter, seemingly unaware of the scandal that was brewing online. "Oh wow! I'm so excited !!!" he wrote. "I tweeted follow Jesus and He showed up!!! I didn't know He was on twitter!!! I'm following Him ......"

The video was reportedly filmed in Miley Cyrus' L.A.-area home on November 28, just days after she turned 18. "Having a little bit of a bad trip," she laughs in the video, moments after taking a hit from the bong. Cyrus then looks off in the distance and asks, "Is that Liam [Hemsworth]'s lookalike, or what the hell is that? Is that my boyfriend?"

She then spends the next 90 seconds laughing uncontrollably while someone behind the camera asks her to "tell us your thoughts, girl, tell us what's on your mind!" The footage reportedly got out when "someone stole or copied the video from that friend's camera," a source told. A rep for the star has yet to comment on the matter.

Legal experts weighed in, noting that Cyrus is not breaking the law in the video since she was of age and allegedly smoked the substance in a state where salvia is legal. "[The video] might be embarrassing to her, but it does not put her in any legal risk," Keith Stroup, legal counsel at the marijuana advocacy group NORML, told MTV News on Friday. "At the moment, [salvia] is not illegal in California, so even if she walked out on the street and smoked it in front of police, she couldn't be arrested. And the video of her smoking isn't enough to get her in trouble, because there's no proof she wasn't smoking tobacco."

"Salvia is a drug of concern," said Michael Sanders, a spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Agency. "We are taking steps to look further into it."

Read More

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653979/20101210/cyrus__miley.jhtml

The Tourist Review

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, The Tourist follows math teacher Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp) as his European vacation becomes fraught with danger and peril after he meets and befriends a mysterious woman named Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) - with the film subsequently (and primarily) detailing the pair's ongoing efforts at avoiding a variety of pursuing figures (including Paul Bettany's tenacious police officer and Steven Berkoff's nasty gangster).

Filmmaker von Donnersmarck does a superb job of capturing the viewer's interest right from the get-go, as The Tourist opens with a thoroughly captivating sequence in which Jolie's character is pursued and watched by cops as she goes about her morning routine. The movie's easygoing vibe is perpetuated by Frank and Elise's first encounter aboard a Venice-bound train, with the chemistry between the two disparate figures initially compensating for a midsection that's decidedly less-than-eventful in its execution.

Watch The Tourist Trailer

And while it ultimately does become clear that von Donnersmarck is looking to ape the atmosphere and tone of a circa 1960s caper movie, The Tourist suffers from an almost pervasively lighthearted feel that ultimately cements its place as a watchable yet forgettable piece of work - with the inclusion of several engrossing performances and a certain last-minute revelation just barely pushing the proceedings to the positive, rather than negative, side of things.

Read More Reviews for The Tourist

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tourist/

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'The Tourist' Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Angelina Jolie has had a strange way of, in a sense, following Tom Cruise around Hollywood in recent years. First, Cruise parted with "Edwin A. Salt" and Jolie swooped in, switching up the gender of the duplicitous secret agent at the center of the action and prompting filmmakers to rename the flick simply "Salt."

Not long after the duo played a game of cinematic musical chairs, they embarked on another. Cruise had been eyeing a starring role opposite Charlize Theron in "The Tourist," which would have marked his first role after 2008's "Valkyrie." But whaddya know? Cruise passed on the film, and in came Jolie to play the lead female role, roping in Johnny Depp to take over Cruise's part.

As you can tell, we've been keeping a close eye on this project — an adaptation of a 2005 French thriller — watching as it orbited so many Hollywood stars. And with the film opening in theaters on Friday (December 10), we've compiled all of our information for another MTV News cheat sheet: everything you need to know about "The Tourist."

Making Travel Plans
The Jolie/Depp coupling took a little while to develop. After Cruise jumped ship in late 2008, Sam Worthington ("Avatar") was reportedly in line to star alongside Theron. It wasn't until a year later that Jolie's name surfaced as a replacement for Theron. Finally, in November '09, Depp came aboard the project. There was some speculation that directorial duties would go to "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" helmer Alfonso Cuaron, but the job ultimately went to "The Lives of Others" writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

With the key pieces in place, filming kicked off in Paris early this year. We got our first look at Jolie in character in February. She plays a mysterious — and seriously alluring — woman who ropes Depp's innocent American tourist into the middle of a tussle with Interpol agents hunting for Angie's fugitive ex-flame.

A Family Vacation
Our first opportunity to chat with the cast came this summer, when we caught up with Paul Bettany, who plays one of the agents chasing after Jolie and Depp and who had nothing but kind words to say about his co-star.

"I sort of fell massively in love with Johnny Depp, who's just one of the sweetest, funniest human beings you can possibly imagine," he told us. "It's so nice when you meet one of those people who make that much f---ing cash, that you kind of go, 'I'm really glad it happened to you.' It's awesome."

Bettany wasn't the only one who met Depp for the first time on "Tourist." Turns out, Depp and Jolie had never met before, either.

"Through all the years that they've been king and queen of Hollywood, they had never actually physically met, so I was the first person to ever bring them together," von Donnersmarck told us. "They just got along so well from the first moment they met that I knew it was going to be a lot of fun making this film. I probably have hours worth of bloopers where they were just laughing because they had so much fun inventing stuff on the fly and letting their incredible creativity run free."

Come Along for the Ride
With the film's debut approaching, MTV News shipped off to Paris to chat with the film's stars. Thanks for the invite, Angie! Good to see ya, Johnny!

While relaxing in the French capital, talk with Depp turned to Jolie's rather raw sense of humor. "It can go in many directions," Depp revealed. "There's a degree of certainly sophomoric kind of humor, but that always leads up to some sort of, unfortunately, some degree of scatological kind of interpretation."

Back in the States this week, we met up again with the two stars during the New York premiere. "It was wonderful," Jolie said of working with Depp. "He's as wonderful as you expect him to be. He feels like he's of a different decade. He's extraordinarily creative and extraordinarily kind. There's no one else like him."

Check out everything we've got on "The Tourist."

Police: Hollywood publicist slain in random robbery by bicyclist

Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen was murdered as she was driving through Beverly Hills, California, in a random "robbery gone bad," by a man who killed himself last week, according to preliminary findings in the Beverly Hills police investigation.

Speculation that Chasen was targeted by a professional hit was shot down Wednesday by investigators who said much of what has been reported by the media since her killing three weeks was untrue.

Harold Martin Smith, 43, was apparently riding his bicycle when he shot Chasen several times as she was on her way home from a Hollywood movie premiere party, police said.

Smith later committed suicide with the same gun that was used in the Chasen killing, Beverly Hills Police Chief David Snowden said Wednesday. Smith shot himself in the head last week as police approached him for questioning as "a person of interest" while he was at his Hollywood apartment building.

A preliminary ballistics test showed that Smith's gun was used in the slaying of Chasen, 64, said Beverly Hills Detective Sgt. Mike Publicker.

"With Mr. Smith's background, we believe most likely it was a robbery gone bad," Publicker said. "We believe it was a random act."

Publicker said it appeared no connection existed between Chasen and Smith prior to slaying.

"The detectives were able to do numerous interviews and through the information obtained in the interviews, it appears that he did act alone," Publicker said. "We believe his mode of transportation was by bicycle."

Authorities said the investigation, which is 60% to 70% complete, remains ongoing.

"There are additional interviews to be conducted, but this is our belief at this time," Publicker said.

"Carjackings are not unusual in Los Angeles, but "in our city it's more than exceedingly rare," said Chief Snowden of Beverly Hills. "It's non-existent."

"We don't believe it was a professional hit, and this is an open and ongoing investigation," Snowden said.

Smith, an ex-convict, pulled a handgun and shot himself as Beverly Hills detectives approached him at Hollywood's Harvey Apartments last Wednesday.

The television show "America's Most Wanted" put police in touch with a tipster who will likely received a $125,000 reward, Publicker said.

Johnny Depp Got Advice From Marlon Brando

Actor Johnny Depp said he received some good career advice from Marlon Brando.

The 47-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean star said: 'Many years ago Marlon Brando asked me: 'How many films do you do per year, kid?' I said: 'I don't know, maybe three or something.' He said: 'That's too much. We only have so many faces in our pockets.'

'I thought: 'Wow, that's really true.' But I feel like I still have a few faces in my pockets though.'

Michael Bay Reveals New Details About Transformers: Dark Of The Moon!

On The Problems With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen:

"On the second movie we got burned. We had a writers strike, we had to agree on a story in three weeks, and then we knew they were going on strike. It was a [frick]ed scenario all the way around, it wasn’t fair to the writer, it wasn’t fair to me, it wasn’t fair to anybody. It was still an entertaining movie, but I think we failed on certain aspects. What we did with this movie is I think we have a much better script, and we got back to basics. I think there’s some really cool action on this movie, there’s some very cool conspiracy, there’s great robot stuff in this that people were missing in the second one, you’ve got great robot conflict. So I’m excited about this movie."



On How The New Movie Will Improve Upon The Mistakes Of The Last One:

"It’s more serious. I got rid of the dorky comedy, I mean we’ve got two little characters, that’s it, but the dorkiness is not there. Dork-free Transformers. It’s much more serious. It’s still entertaining, it’s big looking. I think it’s much more compelling, what we did, how we funneled our action, what we’ve got our characters doing, they’ve got a lot more to do. My take on this movie was that I wanted to make the fighting a lot more personal. In the past two movies the cavalry has always came in, this time the cavalry isn’t coming. It’s black hawk down, a small group; they’re [frick]ed. It makes it more intimate."



On Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's Character:

"She worked for the English embassy as kind of an assistant. And Sam Witwicky has been dumped, and I’m not going to tell you how they meet."



On John Malkovich's Character:

"He’s Shia’s boss. Its funny, I was talking to Shia and we were talking about character. He’s like, I was the one who saved the world, and I should be set up. And I’m like, Shia, there’s people who do heroic things all over the country, and they’re not set up, they’re back to their mundane life. And he’s like, no; I’d be working for the government. And I said, well let’s just say you’re not working for the government."



On The Chances Of This Being The Last Installment In The Franchise:

"There’s a couple of things that are left open. I think you’ll see some finality to this, you know we’ve made it very clear that when things die they die now. They’re not magically being brought back."



Transformers: Dark of the Moon is set to be released in 3D on July 1, 2011!

Angelina Hopes For Privacy

Angelina Jolie is hoping that her family will get more privacy as she gets older.

As one of the most photographed stars in the world, the Oscar-winning actress says she is baffled with all the attention that is bestowed on her, partner Brad Pitt and their six children.

"I don't find myself that interesting in that way - I just assume the older I get, the more it'll go away, the more private I'll become," she said on American TV programme, The Today Show.

Angelina, who stars in The Tourist opposite Johnny Depp, added: "But I feel like it happens to everybody. It's just that it's a weird time right now. There's just so much of all of that, for everybody. It's a new world."

Julie Taymor on ‘The Tempest’ Gender Switch

Helen Mirren can do anything — and that includes playing a role originally meant for a man.

The Tempest director Julie Taymor told at the film’s afterparty Monday night that she “didn’t have an actor in mind” to fill the classic role of Prospero in the William Shakespeare play, so instead, she began considering actresses.

“I thought about Helen and I thought, ‘Why not?,' ” Taymor said “She could play it, and she’s one of the greats. So it was really about knowing that she cold play that part and that it could work for a woman.”

Mirren, who was honored Tuesday morning with Sherry Lansing Leadership Award and portrays Prospera on the big screen, criticized the lack of quality roles available to women, noting that virtually every drama has 20 male characters to only a couple of women — including Shakespeare.

“Why do you think I had to play Prospero in The Tempest?,” she said. “I had to nick one of their roles!”

Taymor addressed what this gender swap might mean for women’s progress in the industry.

“It offers the opportunity for a lot of older women out there to play one of the great Shakespearean roles, which I think is really wonderful,” she said. “It is Shakespeare, and it’s really beautifully done Shakespeare.”

She spoke candidly about the film’s costumes, which included black zip-ups, and the effect it took on the actors while they filmed in Hawaii.

“They complain but they get it. It’s hot, but so what. Do your job,” Taymor said. “The thing is that this was to remind you of how the conquistadores would come to those Southern climates and be in those ridiculous black clothes and suffer.”

She added: “No one really complained because they all thought they were beautiful and they loved how good they looked. They were sexy and the men looked so hot.”

Taymor, who helmed Across the Universe and the Spider-Man musical on Broadway, wasn’t shy about saying how proud she was of the cast.

“This is a dream cast. This is better than my original,” Taymor said. “No really, because I didn’t know who Reeve Carney was or Felicity Jones. I had just met Russell Brand for one day, cast him and then he did it.”

The Tempest is in theaters Friday.

Stars return to Twitter after $1million charity fundraiser

Twitter and Facebook are set to welcome back Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake
and Usher after the stars helped raise $1 million (£666,700) for a children’s charity.

The stars all left the social networking sites to raise cash for Alicia Key’s Keep A Child Alive Foundation.

Other celebs to join in with the Digital Life Sacrifice campaign, which marked World AIDS day, included Ryan Seacrest and Kim Kardashian. All logged off from their accounts and pledged to stay offline until the $1million mark had been reached.

All in all, the A-listers and their fans raised $500,000 (£333,330), which was matched by billionaire and philanthropist Stewart Rahr.

Usher Tweeted his comeback, and thanked the fans for their support.

He wrote: 'I'm alive! We raised $1mil to help KCA (Keep A Child Alive) fight AIDS. Thank you so much and never stop buying life!'

The look of love: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie dazzle at the world premiere of The Tourist

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie looked more in love than ever as they posed on the red carpet on Monday night at the world premiere of Angelina's new movie, The Tourist.

The couple were joined at the Ziegfield Theater in New York by Angelina's co-star Johnny Depp amongst other celebrities, but the couple only had eyes for each other.

And it's not surprising as they both looked absolutely gorgeous and every inch the A-list movie stars that they are.

Mutual adoration: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie spent most of the night gazing lovingly at each other as they posed on the red carpet at last night's world premiere of Angelina's new movie The Tourist in New York

Unreal: The couple looked so perfect that when they posed, at times they looked more like waxworks

Angelina wore a stunning full length white wrap around cashmere Versace gown that was slit to the thigh and she paired the simple yet elegant dress with white Ferragamo high heels.

The front of Angelina's chestnut coloured hair was swept-up in a messy top-knot whilst the remainder fell down her back and around her shoulders.

The 35-year old mother of six's hairstyle perfectly showcased her stunning emerald Robert Procop vintage style oblong drop earrings.

Showing his support: Angelina stars in the movie with Johnny Depp, but she only had eyes for Brad last night

Leaning in close: Angelina and Brad embrace as they put on an affectionate display for the cameras

And Jolie's make-up was pure vamp - smoky dark brown eye shadow and black khol eyeliner accentuated her eyes perfectly and she painted her pillowly lips a very pale shade of pink.

Meanwhile her partner of five years looked stylish and smart in a heavy black overcoat over a classic single breasted, straight leg black suit.

Brad's short hair was swept backwards and his goatee beard was trimmed neatly.

Giving a hint to Brad's advancing age, the 46-year-old actor's beard showed more than a little grey hair, though his dark blonde hair remains, as yet, untinged.

Fine form: The sometimes stoic Angelina was in great spirits, smiling happily for the cameras and at one point even throwing her head back and roaring with laughter

Look of love: Brad's love for his partner of five years was highly apparent as he gazed lovingly at her throughout the night

The stunning couple, who are parents to six children, seemed unable to keep their hands, and their eyes off of each other.

And the often stoic Angelina was in great, high spirits -smiling happily as she posed for pictures, and at one point tipping her head back as she roared with laughter.

Several times throughout the evening the cameras caught Brad and Angelina gazing lovingly at each other and they were in almost constant contact, holding hands or lovingly wrapping their arms around each other.

Vampish: Angelina looked every bit the femme fatale with her smoky, kohl lined eyes and light pink lips

At one point the two did manage to take a short break from their love fest, meeting and greeting the masses of fans that had been waiting for hours in the freezing cold in the hope of catching a glimpse of their favourite stars.

Brad and Angelina graciously took time to sign autographs and pose for pictures, sending the devoted crowds into a frenzy of adoration.

The couple clearly weren't bothered or affected at all by the foul mouthed rant that controversial comedienne, and Jennifer Aniston close friend, Chelsea Handler launched against Angelina during a stand-up performance in New Jersey over the weekend.

Leading man: As well as their eyes the couple couldn't keep their hands off each other either, holding hands and wrapping their arms around each other throughout the night

She's a homewrecker, she is,' the 35-year-old said. 'She can rescue as many babies from as many countries as she wants to.

'I don't f***ing believe you. She gives interviews, "I don't have a lot of female friends." Because you're a f***ing c*** ," she continued.

'You're a f***ing b***h!'

Taking a break: Angelina and Brad did manage to take a little time off from adoring each other to meet and greet their masses of fans that had stood for hours in the freezing cold hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols

Johnny Depp attended the premiere solo, without his partner of twelve years, and mother of his two children, French model/actress, Vanessa Paradis.

The 47-year-old was dressed in his usual eclectic style, in a dark brown three piece pinstripe suit, two tone suede brogue shoes, a dark blue silk shirt open at the neck and a couple of old ratty scarves tied around his neck.

The actor wore his shoulder length hair parted in the middle and sported a neatly trimmed 'anchor' style facial hair, which comprises a droopy moustache, hair around the chin line and a little soul patch under the bottom lip.

Johnny finished off his ensemble with a pair of tinted lens, black rimmed round glasses and a pocket watch tucked into his waistcoat, the silver chain exposed and hanging down.

Flying solo: Angelina's co-star Johnny Depp attended the premiere without his long term partner and mother of his two children, French model/singer/actress Vanessa Paradis

Johnny also spent time out in the freezing New York night air, signing autographs and meeting his adoring public.

Read more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1336345/Brad-Pitt-Angelina-Jolie-dazzle-world-premiere-The-Tourist.html#ixzz17PtAsLO5

Angelina Jolie Hits Back at Sarajevo Haters

Angelina Jolie paused from plugging her new film with Johnny Depp ( Tourist ) to hit back at critics of her upcoming directorial debut.

The Oscar winner lashed out at the Bosnian haters who have called her ignorant and sought to block her from shooting her film in the country.

"There's one person who has a gripe. The majority of the population, the cast, the president, have been extremely supportive," Jolie said in Paris.

A number of people were upset after hearing the still-untitled film's plot dealt with a Bosnian Muslim woman who falls in love with her Serbian soldier rapist.

The storyline from the film set during the 1990s war turned out to be a rumor, and a false one at that, but their protests were enough to spark controversy.

The outcry even prompted officials to cancel the star's film permit, citing insufficient paperwork, only to reissue in days later. But has she already moved on?

As a result, producers of Jolie's untitled drama kept shooting in Sarajevo to a minimum, instead opting to shoot a key scene in Budapest, Hungary.

Jolie defends the film, noting that 95 percent of those in the cast had lived through the war. She said she wanted to tell this story due to her anguish over the fact that the international community was so reticent to try and stop the war.

"I wanted to learn more about it and the people, the more I read and learned I was drawn to that part of the world," Jolie said. "I met artists from that part of the world and found they were extraordinary for what they'd gone through.

"I wanted to give them a platform."

The Mighty Heart star and U.N. goodwill ambassador previous said she would meet with some the Bosnian critics, but no date has been announced.

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http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2010/12/angelina-jolie-hits-back-at-sarajevo-haters/#more

Britney Spears to Release Seventh Album in March 2011

On Thursday, it was confirmed on Twitter that Britney Spears' next album would be released in March of next year.

The singer wrote: "My fans mean the world to me & waking up to all of your wishes really made me smile, so here's something that I hope will make you smile... I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!"

Spears' manager Adam Leber had tweeted earlier in the day: "The announcement you've all been waiting for is coming today. Tell a friend..."

It was originally reported that the 29-year-old singer's seventh LP would be out in early 2011 during an interview with producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald in late October. He spoke fondly of Spears, telling , "She's such an icon, I don't want to let anyone down. But most importantly, I want to make good music."

The March 2011 release date comes just in time for the close of Sony Music's fiscal year. Although Jive Records, Spears' label home, has seen commercial success with Usher's latest album, Raymond V. Raymond, and Pink's Greatest Hits, sources say the company "is desperate for another big seller" to contribute to its bottom line.

Spears' last album, 2008's Circus, sold 1.7 million copies in the U.S.

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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/britney-spears-release-seventh-album-55709

'The Social Network' Named Best Film By National Board of Review

The film also snags awards for director David Fincher, actor Jesse Eisenberg and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.


The Social Network has been named best film of the year by the National Board of Review, which announced its year-end awards today.

The New York-based group also hailed the film’s David Fincher as best director, Jesse Eisenberg as best actor and Aaron Sorkin for best adapted screenplay.

“We believe the film portrays a dramatic story that will stand up over time and appeal to many generations,” said NBR president Annie Schulhof, said.

Made up of academics, film professionals and fans, the NBR will hand out its awards on Jan. 11 at Cipriani’s 42nd St. in New York City.

While the NBR has chosen a couple of eventual Oscar winners like No Country for Old Men and Slumdog Millionaire as its best picture winners in the past, its choices don’t usually point to final Oscar wins. Last year, for example, the NBR cast its lot with Up in the Air.

In other categories, the NBR handed its best actress prize to Lesley Manville, who plays a tipsy single in the British film Another Year.

The best supporting honors went to Christian Bale, for his performance in the boxing drama The Fighter, and Jacki Weaver, for her role in the Australian crime tale Animal Kingdom.

Chris Sparling took the prize for best original screenplay for the suspense drama Buried.

The NBR gave its Production Design Award to Dante Ferretti for Shutter Island.

The group also handed out honors for best documentary, Davis Guggenheim’s critical look at the American education system, Waiting for 'Superman'; best foreign language film, Xavier Beavois’ Of Gods and Men, a French film set in a monastery in Algeria; and best animated film, Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3.

Ben Affleck’s Boston crime saga The Town received a prize for best ensemble cast. Jennifer Lawrence, of Winter’s Bone, was singled out for a breakthrough performance award, while Slyvain Chomet and the late Jacques Tai were assigned a Spotlight Award for their animated film The Illusionist.

Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington were honored as Debut Directors for their Afghan War-set doc Restrepo.

Sofia Coppola was given a Special Filmmaking Achievement Award for writing, directing and producing Somewhere.

Leonard Maltin was chosen to received the group’s William K. Everson Film History Award.

The NBR Freedom of Expression Award was earmarked for three films: Fair Game, Conviction and Howl.

The NBR also named its 10 best films of 2010. While that list doesn’t include Network, it did embrace Another Year, The Fighter, Hereafter, Inception, The King’s Speech, Shutter Island, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter’s Bone.

Its five-best foreign language films are: I Am Love; Incendies; Life, Above All; Soul Kitchen and White Material.

Its choices for the five best documentaries are: A Film Unfinished, Inside Job, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, Restrepo and The Tillman Story.

It also threw in a list of top 10 independent films: Animal Kingdom, Buried, Fish Tank, The Ghost Writer, Greenberg, Let Me In, Monsters, Please Give, Somewhere and Youth in Revolt


Below is a full list of the awards given by the National Board of Review:

• Best Film: The Social Network
• Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
• Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
• Best Actress: Lesley Manville, Another Year
• Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
• Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
• Best Foreign Language Film: Of Gods and Men
• Best Documentary: Waiting for “Superman”
• Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
• Best Ensemble Cast: The Town
• Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
• Debut Directors: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, Restrepo
• Spotlight Award: Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tati, The Illusionist
• Best Original Screenplay: Chris Sparling, Buried
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
• Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Sofia Coppola for writing, directing, and producing Somewhere
• William K. Everson Film History Award: Leonard Maltin
• NBR Freedom of Expression: Fair Game, Conviction, Howl
• Production Design Award: Dante Ferretti, Shutter Island

Read More

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/social-network-named-film-national-55630?page=2