Jason's DOSE – Your fix of movie, advertising, technology & pop culture news

AD & MOVIE BIZ NEWS

Weekend Box Office

6/11-6/13

1. The Karate Kid – $55.7M (NEW)
2. The A-Team – $25.7M (NEW)
3. Shrek Forever After – $15.8M ($210.0M)
4. Get Him to the Greek – $9.9M ($36.4M)
5. Killers – $8.0M ($30.3M)
6. Prince of Persia – $6.5M ($72.2M)
7. Marmaduke – $6.0M ($22.3M)
8. Sex and the City 2 – $5.4M ($84.7M)
9. Iron Man 2 – $4.5M ($299.3M)
10. Splice – $2.9M ($13.2M)

Best Buy launches mobile apps connecting Theatrical and Home Ent experience

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/best-buy/best-buy-launches-theatricaldvd-movie-app-19698

To coincide with the theatrical release of Despicable Me, Best Buy has announced that they will be launching a mobile application called Movie Mode. This new app acts to sync a user’s mobile device to the action going on during a film. That sounds horrible… but it really isn’t. Here’s how it works… first, you use the app to find what theatre around you is playing the movie. When you enter the movie theatre to watch Despicable Me, you turn on the app. The app automatically silences your phone and dims the screen to avoid disturbing other moviegoers. Once the film is over and the credits begin to roll, the app activates and acts as a translation tool for the moviegoer to understand what the little yellow guys talking during the credits called Minions are saying. Later, the app will sync with features on the Blu-ray/DVD and provide bonus content. Best Buy plans to roll out this new app for many other films in the future.

Blockbuster may file for bankruptcy

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/financial/blockbuster-bankruptcy-rumor-resurfaces-19694

The once great rental retailer is taking actions that suggest a bankruptcy is a definite possibility for the near future.

Top cable nets pull in 18% increase in ad spend for the 2010/2011 upfront

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=130027

According to Media Post, top cable nets have completed upfront negotiations and have pulled in around $7.7 billion. This nearly $8 billion haul represents an 18% increase in ad revenue over last year. Reports indicate that buyers were looking at an average of 5%-9% increases in the A18-49 demo across all networks.

NETWORK TV UPDATES

Coldplay has a GLEE-ful change of heart

http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/06/glee-producer-coldplay-says-sorry-will-now-allow-entire-catalog.html

The creator of Glee, Ryan Murphy, was flat out rejected by Coldplay earlier in season 1 when he asked permission to use their songs in the show. Coldplay has now has a big change of heart. Last week, the band gave Murphy a call and apologized, making their songs available to be covered on the show and giving Murphy permission to use any song in their catalog. What Coldplay song would you love to be covered by the kids of Glee (or their creepy teacher)? I’m thinking maybe Clocks, Fix You, Lost!, Lovers in Japan… Post your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of today’s Dose!

Fox shifts Tucson series finale

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/exclusive-fox-sends-tucson-to-leadoff-spot/8742/

The series finale of Sons of Tucson was set to air this coming Sunday (6/20) @ 7:30p. Instead, Fox has announced that the goodbye episode will now air at the beginning of the Sunday prime block at 7p.

Obama talks about oil tomorrow night

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/presidential-address-set-for-tuesday/8741/

President Obama has scheduled a 10-15 minute speech about the oil spill in the Gulf for Tuesday night at 8p EST. Fox has announced that they will run Hell’s Kitchen in its entirety immediately following the speech. Since Fox is usually the hold out in bumping Obama talks and they’ve already given the greenlight, I would assume the other networks will follow suit and announce their plans shortly.

Maura Tierney officially joins The Whole Truth

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/maura-tierney-joins-cast-of-the-whole-truth-new-series-from-jerry-bruckheimer-television-for-fall-on-abc/20100614abc03/

ABC has announced that Maura Tierney will replace Joely Richardson on the new fall drama from Jerry Bruckheimer called The Whole Truth. In case you are like me and just said “which one was that?”… it’s the one where they show both sides of a legal case, giving each side equal time to state their case. At the end of each episode, the truth will be revealed. (snore)

Tim McGraw hosting country music concert event on ABC

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/tim-mcgraw-to-host-cma-music-festival-countrys-night-to-rock-on-abc/20100614abc01/

On Wednesday 9/1, Tim McGraw will host the CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock on ABC (that title is annoying in the same way “ESPN on ABC” is annoying). The special will run from 8-11p and will feature performances from pretty much every current country singer I’ve ever heard of.

CABLE UPDATES

Breaking Bad locked in for season 4!!

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/breaking-bad-picked-up-for-3rd-season/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Fresh off last night’s not as cool as I expected but still pretty insane season finale, AMC has announced that Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad has been locked in for a 4^th season. And that makes me very happy.

Ghost Hunters renewed for another season

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/syfys-ghost-hunters-cables-hottest-paranormal-franchise-returns-for-season-7/20100614syfy01/

Syfy has announced that Ghost Hunters will be back for another 25 episodes. The 7^th season of walking around in the dark fun will kick off in 2011.

Larry King getting replaced next year by some British guy?

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Piers-Morgan-CNN-1019598.aspx

TV Guide is reporting that CNN is in talks with Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent judge, Piers Morgan, to replace Larry King in the fall. If rumors prove true, Morgan would be inking a 4-year deal with the network. CNN danced around the topic when contacted by reporters.

PRINT UPDATES

Scruffy print

I found the ad below in the July issue of Maxim. It’s a double-gatefold… the outside of the ad has some sort of textured clear stuff on it that feels like a guy’s scruffy face. And they did a really good job of keeping the scruffy clear stuff only on the parts of the image where the guy’s facial hair would be. When you flip open the gate fold, the man’s face is clean shaven with no more scruffy clear stuff… thanks to the Gillette Fusion Proglide razor. I like this ad a lot… props to Gillette for having the guts to build intrigue by leaving their brand name off of the front of the gatefold.

OUTDOOR/VIRAL & COOL THINGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

Gillette’s Creative Stint Part 2: Hairy Elevator

http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2010/06/gillete-mach3-hairy-elevator/

To promote the Mach 3 razor in Brazil, Gillette’s agency created this elevator covered in a thick layer of fur. The door’s of the elevator are fur free and say “Prefer it this way? 98% of women do too.”

MOVIE NEWS

Robert Rodriguez offered Deadpool directing gig

http://cinemablend.com/new/Robert-Rodriguez-Offered-Deadpool-Directing-Job-19018.html

According to multiple sources, Fox’s golden boy, Robert Rodriguez, has been offered the directing job for the X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off, Deadpool. Nothings official yet, but I think that’s a pretty great choice. With Ryan Reynolds donning the red mask and the guy responsible for things like Planet Terror and Once Upon a Time in Mexico behind the lens… this has a VERY good shot of being a really fun flick.

Chris Nolan very politically talks down 3D

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Christopher-Nolan-Speaks-Brilliantly-Against-3D-19006.html

At a convention this past weekend, Chris Nolan was asked about his thoughts on 3D and how it fits into his filmmaking. Seeing as the wallet feeding Nolan’s big budget projects belongs to the king of 3D conversions, Warner Bros, Nolan gave a very political response to the question. He basically said that Batman 3 shouldn’t be in 3D because the dimming effect of the 3D glasses kills the color of a film… BUT, if audiences still want to see a movie in 3D went Batman 3 rolls around, he’ll have to oblige. I’m thinking that Nolan is crossing his fingers that the current trend of making everything in 3D will be very much dead by the time he’s shot Batman and that he’ll be able to release it in 2D.

Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead… the remake?

http://www.joblo.com/the-remake-of-dont-tell-mom-the-babysitters-dead-probably-wont-be-as-rad

Word on the street is that Mark Gordon (important producer guy) is working to get a remake of the fantastic 1991 flick Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead off the ground. There’s no script or casting or anything yet… but he’s determined to make it happen. I feel like I should be mad at this story… but I’m actually curious how someone would do this… and why anyone would want to.

Don Quixote battle about to occur

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=32565

A couple months ago, two separate studios decided to battle it out and develop Marilyn Monroe flicks at the same time. A few years ago, two studios ran with Truman Capote movies at the same time. Baz Luhrmann pretty famously had an Alexander the Great project starring Leonardo DiCaprio destroyed because Oliver Stone got his own Alexander flick starring Colin Farrell off the ground first. And now, we may have a similar battle for Don Quixote films. The first, we already knew about. Terry Gilliam is finally getting moving for something like his 4^th try to make The Man who Killed Don Quixote. Now, Joel Silver and Warner Bros are supposedly working on their own Quixote flick, but this one will be a Pirates of the Caribbean style adventure. I’m rooting for Gilliam, but derailing the Silver/WB train is a very daunting task. Maybe the two will be different enough to stand on their own.

Guillermo del Toro announcing his next flick at Comic Con

http://cinemablend.com/new/Guillermo-Del-Toro-To-Reveal-His-Next-Film-At-Comic-Con-19017.html

Guillermo del Toro has announced via his blog that he will unveil his next film project at Comic Con. Many are speculating that this next project could likely be a Van Helsing film… but del Toro promises to remain tight-lipped on the subject until next month when the nerd world converges on San Diego.

THE NEWS YOU CARE ABOUT

by Miss Kristin Haugen

Whoa, whoa Situation. Yes – ab man from Jersey Shore was the first of the crew to land a “recording” deal. Here’s a sampling of the wonder.

http://gawker.com/5563001/the-situation-brings-us-jersey-shores-first-reprehensible-dance-single

Brad Pitt finally shaved his billy goat beard.

Turns out Simon Monjack had two children that he was keeping a secret. A laptop in his room revealed emails to two women who wanted money for child support. Files for wire transfers for large amounts of money were also found.

Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper dined at the same restaurant as Kate Hudson and Muse’s Matthew Bellamy last night in France. While the two pairs arrived separately, by the end of the night the tables were pushed together.

Jackass star, Bam Margera, was taken to the ICU after being beaten with a bat by a 59 year old women outside his bar in PA.

Hollywood stars were big winners at the Tony’s last night. Catherine Zeta Jones, Scarlett Johansson and Denzel Washington all took home an award.

Snooki and J.Woww are the Hilton sisters new BFFs. Worry.

RANDOM GOODNESS

Assistant Planner translation tool

http://www.teenchatdecoder.com/

(from that guy named Keith)

Can’t understand what the heck your 22 year old Assistant Planner is saying when they’re spitting all kinds of acronyms and abbreviations your way (yah…I’m talking about you Kristin & Kristin)? Type their hip cool kid speak into the translation tool above and decipher the madness!

It’s the thought that counts

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/mean-cards-15-total

Check out the link above for more cards in this excellent line of not so nice greeting cards.

Kristin’s Dino of the Day

Trixie

Kristin Schaal plays Trixie the Triceratops in Toy Story 3… besides just thinking the new dino is super cute, Kristin Hogan would also like to share with you the super cool Triceratops dress that Kristin Schaal wore to the film’s premiere… and that rock around her neck is a meteorite!

AD & MOVIE BIZ NEWS

A lengthy article about the current state of movie marketing

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2b61a0dd47969d0fe3ea953596e925fd?pn=2

When something like Prince of Persia happens ($200M production budget, $75M marketing budget… only $63M domestic box office), people start pointing fingers. And, in the case of something like Prince of Persia, one of the places those fingers get pointed is at the marketing budget. On the flip side, no one seems to mind when something like Alice in Wonderland spends a comparable amount of money but turns in over $1 billion in global box office receipts. Addressing this marketing spend blame game, Hollywood Reporter has compiled data to take a look at the trend in marketing spend for each of the big studios and how that spend is broken out by media. It’s a good read… nothing super eye-opening or conclusive, but it does give you something to ponder.

NBC wraps upfront dealings… up 20%

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/nbc-wraps-upfront-selling-as-broadcasters-net-20-more-upfront-dollars-this-year/

Yesterday, NBC became the last of the big daddy broadcast nets to conclude upfront sales. With all said and done, the Peacock net hauled in $2.4 million, up 20% from last year (wow, even without that rockstar Jay Leno @ 10?!). NBC reportedly sold 80% of their inventory during the upfronts at a CPM bumped up an average of 7% since last year.

Sony releasing Cloudy on 3D Blu-ray in a couple weeks

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/3-d/sony-sets-cloudy-blu-ray-3d-june-22-19691

Earlier today, Sony announced that they will be releasing the 3D Blu-ray version of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on Tuesday 6/22. This will be the first 3D Blu-ray released for individual sale. Until now, 3D titles were only available in a bundle pack with other 3D accessories. MSRP on this bad boy is $39.95. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe the quality of Cloudy on Blu-ray is supposed to be rather horrible.

NETWORK TV UPDATES

Fox locks in 3^rd season of Cleveland

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/10/fox-picks-up-third-season-of-the-cleveland-show/20100610fox01/

Fox has announced that Seth McFarlane’s The Cleveland Show has been signed for a third season, taking the show through at least 2012.

NBC order pilot for D.L. Hughley game show

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2b61a0dd47969d0fee40bd7050448f53

Who’s Bluffing Who? is a game show set to be hosted by D.L. Hughley in which each week 7 contestants will use their knowledge and lying skills to try and be the last man standing and win money or prizes or something.

Protestors blackout for Flashforward

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/flashforward-fans-stage-global-blackout/

(thanks to Sean Reardon for the tip)

To show support for the recently cancelled ABC show Flashforward, fans gathered in select US and European locations to simultaneously “blackout” for 2 minutes and 17 seconds like the characters did on show. The local group of fans decided to blackout in front of ABC’s studios in Burbank… and it was really lame. About 20 people showed up and just kinda laid down on the ground… and they did this whole thing yesterday… not only weeks after the ABC schedule was already finished for Fall, but even after ABC had wrapped all their upfront business deals. Way to go… really thought that one through.

New Fox comedy gets recast

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2b61a0dd47969d0f92660f030eb89446

Fox has announced that role played by Alexandra Brekenridge in the pilot for Mixed Signals will now be played by Aya Cash. Cash doesn’t have a whole lot of stuff on her TV resume… highlights include appearances on all 3 Law & Order shows and Brotherhood. My guess is that this recasting had to happen because Brekenridge happens to play Shiri Appleby’s sister, Abby, on Life UneXpected… and I’m guessing Miss Brekenridge wasn’t really expecting LUX to get picked up for another season.

CABLE UPDATES

Burn Notice & Royal Pains extended for longest season yet

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/10/exclusive-usa-extends-burn-notice-royal-pains-explains-in-plain-sight-cut/8733/

USA has announced that both Royal Pains and Burn Notice will tack on an extra 2 episodes to their current 16 episodes season, bringing the total for each show up to 18 episodes. The first 12 episodes will run until 8/26 and the remaining 6 will air this winter. USA has also decided to trim down In Plain Sight to 13 episodes, citing the recent medical leave taken by the show’s producer/showrunner as the reason for the decrease in episodes.

TV Land announces a boat load of guest stars for Hot in Cleveland

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/11/celebrated-actors-wayne-knight-huey-lewis-susan-lucci-carl-reiner-john-schneider-among-others-to-guest-star-in-tv-land-original-series-hot-in-cleveland/20100611tvland01/

Hot in Cleveland is TV Land’s first stab at a scripted comedy and will star Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. In addition to those lovely ladies, TV Land has announced that Wayne “ah ah ah” Knight (that one’s for you Baker), Carl Reiner, John Schneider, Huey Lewis, Susan Lucci, and a few people I haven’t heard of will be making appearances in the show’s freshman series.

HBO marketing exec “apologizes” for over the top True Blood promotions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd8Z7FfGKgM

A guy who may or may not actually be an HBO marketing exec (I can’t decide if this is really from HBO or not) posted the following video to apologize for some of the more over the top ideas they tried to market True Blood (this is funny stuff).

PRINT UPDATES

Best Buy and Future US join forces for new gaming magazine

http://www.foliomag.com/2010/best-buy-future-us-partner-gaming-magazine-launch

Best Buy has called upon the gaming expertise of Future US to help them put out a new gaming magazine called @Gamer. The new book will come out 10 times a year and will be able to purchase at Best Buy stores for $5.99 a copy. Gaming fans can also sign up for annual subscriptions for $19.99. Subscribers who also sign up for Best Buy’s Reward Zone will be able to get special deals on hardware and games at Best Buy.

OUTDOOR/VIRAL & COOL THINGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

Italy plugs The Hole

http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2010/06/the-hole-3d-the-launch-of-the-movie/

To promote the Italian release of Joe Dante’s (Gremlins, Eerie Indiana, Matinee) The Hole in 3D (think live action Coraline with a bit of Little Monsters), the studio’s agency launched a multi-platform viral campaign… but I only really care about the cool outdoor execution involved in that campaign. In the film, a pair of brothers climb into a hole they find in their new house… once inside, they are confronted with their worst nightmares. To convey this climbing in a hole message, the agency stuck stickers that looked like a big hole on floors and walls and then placed fake legs on top of them to make it look like someone was climbing into a big hole. The result would definitely catch me off guard… just seeing it in a photo was enough for me to go to the website and look up the trailer for the flick.

MOVIE NEWS

Lea Michelle signed for animated Oz flick

http://cinemablend.com/new/Glee-s-Lea-Michele-Lending-Her-Pipes-To-Animated-Dorothy-Of-Oz-18986.html

Some company called Summertime Entertainment is somehow working some major magic pulling in such stars as Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy, Jim Belushi, Patrick Stewart, Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, and Martin Short for their new animated musical Wizard of Oz project called Dorothy of Oz. The icing on their miracle cake is the newest addition to the cast, Glee’s Lea Michelle playing Dorothy. Assuming this animation doesn’t suck horribly, this has a very serious chance of being amazing.

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is now OFFICIALLY 2 movies

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i2b61a0dd47969d0f5ac6505bfde6b740

Summit Entertainment has confirmed what I already assumed was a fact… the 4^th book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, will be broken up into 2 separate movies. The first Dawn flick will hit theatres in November 2011 with the next coming out the following year. I’m curious what they are going to call these… will they make a new name for the second one? Will they be Breaking Dawn 1 & Breaking Dawn 2? If you happen to have any thoughts on the matter, scroll on down to the bottom of the post and leave me a comment… comments make me feel special.

Taken sequel might really happen

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=32527

During a chat with MTV to promote A-Team, Liam Neeson shared that he is meeting with Taken producer & writer Luc Besson later this month to discuss a possible plot for a sequel to Taken. I’m OK with this… if you watch the clip, you can tell that Neeson doesn’t want to do this unless it really makes sense. Hopefully, this will ensure that we won’t have a needless fluffy piece of poo sequel to a great movie needlessly hitting theatres.

First trailer for Disney’s Tangled hits the web

This looks WAY too Shrek-ish for my liking. They even have a Smashmouth type of song in the preview.

First, January Jones was caught doing the walk of shame after getting out of a cab with dishelved hair and a dress from the night before. Now, the Mad Men star allegedly hit three parked cars last night with her Range Rover and fled the scene of the accident. She eventually returned and claimed she originally fled because the paparazzi were trailing her.

T.Swifty lost to Carrie Underwood at the CMT Awards last night, but definitely beat her on the red carpet.

Happy Friday! Enjoy the sunshine!

RANDOM GOODNESS

Crafty creative fella makes some Disney magic

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/inspired-by-disney-15-pics

This guy named Joel is my hero. Using a little Photoshop and some homemade cardboard cutouts, he made the photos below. And here’s what he had to say about himself: “I don’t think I’ll ever see myself as an adult. Sure I have the responsibilities and the attachments but inside, I just feel like…me. I have fun when I want to have fun, I ride my bike, I paint and get messy, I watch cartoons if it’s something I like and I’m totally happy with how I am.”

AD & MOVIE BIZ NEWS

Hulu charging and joining multiple devices within a couple months

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65760K20100609?type=technologyNews
According to multiple sources, Hulu plans to roll out their new subscription model in the next couple months. At this time, Hulu will also become available on multiple devices including the iPad and Xbox 360 (and maybe iPhone 4? That’d be cool). As was reported earlier, the pay portion of Hulu will generally only apply to older episodes of a show… new episodes will still remain free. (would you pay for Hulu? I’m not seeing this work out too well)

Avatar merchandise amping up big time later this year

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i773194c18528fcf7c7c2df411d04b8f2
At a licensing expo in Las Vegas, Robert Marick of Fox Consumer Products revealed long term plans for keeping the world of Avatar alive through consumer products. Regardless of when a sequel happens, Fox believes that the Avatar brand is strong enough to live on its own… with or without a new film in theatres. As a result, expect to see an upswing in the already large amount of Avatar related products a little later this year with back to school items, costumes, bedding and board games.

Panasonic announces 152-inch 3DTV!!

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/hdtv/panasonic-bows-jumbo-screen-3dtvs-19679
Earlier today, Panasonic announced that they will soon be rolling out 3 jumbo sized 3D Plasma TVs… one of which is a record-breaking 152 inches! The 152 incher is the equivalent of 9x 50-inch TVs. The other 2 TVs being released measure in at 103 inches and 85 inches. Panasonic expects the jumbo sets to primarily be purchased for government and commercial applications. No price has been released for the 152 inch model, but a 103 inch screen will run you $65K.

NETWORK TV UPDATES

Uncle Jesse joining GLEE!!!!!

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/john-stamos-to-join-foxs-glee/
This is like taking a Ferrari and adding machine guns and a frozen yogurt machine to it… it’s just too much awesomeness to handle. John “Uncle Jesse” Stamos is reportedly close to signing on for a semi-major recurring role on the next season of Glee. If this happens, Stamos would play the dentist boyfriend of the OCD crush of Mr. Shu, Emma.

Past Life cancelled again

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/08/fox-cancels-past-life-again/8729/
The final two episodes of the short-lived drama have been yanked from the FOX schedule in favor of encore episodes of The Good Guys. For 6/11 & 6/18, FOX will air House repeats from 8-9p with the encore Good Guys taking the 9p slot.

Q: What shows will be promoted at Comic Con? A: All of them!

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/06/09/big-bang-theory-and-v-among-shows-heading-to-comic-con/
Check out the link above for a rundown of what shows are going to get promoted at Comic Con. If you’re a little lazy and don’t feel like scrolling through the list, it’s pretty much everything. Pretty much every new show out there (from Nikita to Neighbors from Hell to The Event) and every existing show that has any kind of inkling of a nerd following (Big Bang Theory, V, Fringe, Chuck, and even Glee) will be represented on that steamy July weekend down in San Diego. And, if all goes as planned, I’ll be there battling my way through the sea of nerds to provide you all the coverage your heart desires.

CABLE UPDATES

Style picks up season 3 of Giuliana & Bill

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i7958806d8b6ec29e798089035d3662be
A third season of the reality series about the lives’ of married couple Giuliana and Bill Rancic has been ordered by the Style Network. The new season will air late this year or early next year and will follow the inner workings of Giuliana & Bill’s long-distance marriage.

Kanye West added to BET Awards lineup

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/09/the-bet-awards-10-welcomes-grammy-award-winning-artist-kanye-west-to-the-stage-in-his-first-awards-show-performance-since-2009/20100609bet01/
On Sunday 6/27, Kanye West will take the stage at the BET Awards to make his first awards show performance since his VMAs “incident” last year. Also performing live from the Shrine Auditorium in LA will be Ludacris, T.I., and a bunch of other people I’ve never heard of but are probably playing at Powerhouse.

USA greenlights Common Law to pilot

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i773194c18528fcf7cbcb84fbfe7da7d9
Buddy cop comedy Common Law has gotten a cast contingent green light from USA. The series centers on a pair of cops who hate each other. Their captain decides the two need to learn how to get along, so he sends them to couple’s therapy. (Are you serious? Someone went into an exec’s office pitching this and got the thumbs up?!)

The Hoff’s roast set to film this summer

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/09/the-comedy-central-roast-of-david-hasselhoff-to-tape-this-summer-in-los-angeles/20100609comedycentral01/
Comedy Central has officially announced that David Hasselhoff will be the next celeb to take a seat in front of the firing squad for a new Comedy Central Roast. The special will film this summer in LA and will premiere on 8/15 @ 10p.

PRINT UPDATES

Conde plays musical chairs to fill Self publisher role

http://www.minonline.com/news/Laura-McEwen-Named-Self-Publisher_14511.html
(thanks to Miss Jessica for the tip)
Following the recent announcement that Kim Kelleher will be leaving her position at Self to take a sweeter gig at Sports Illustrated, Conde Nast has announced that they will be shifting over the publisher at Teen Vogue, Laura McEwen, to take her spot. This now leaves a hole at Teen Vogue that will likely be filled by another Conde exec.

OUTDOOR/VIRAL & COOL THINGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

Not an outdoor execution… but it should be

http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2010/06/samu-social-graves/
A group in France called Samu Social had their agency create the print ads below to help raise awareness of how ignoring a sick homeless person is really really bad. They want you to call them and they’ll help that sick homeless person get better (that so reminds me of Groundhog Day). How cool would it be if they took the execution into the outdoor arena? This ad or an ad like it (maybe for a Halloween catalog collection) could be done using floor stickers or 3D chalk art. And then their “Indifference Kills” messaging could be installed as an actual gravestone near the execution or be written on chalk on the wall next to the execution.

MOVIE NEWS

Paramount pushes Dinner for Schmucks back a week

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEI4rPIQAsniMJ
In order to distance themselves from Inception (7/16) and Salt (7/23), Paramount has decided to move the release date for the Steve Carrell flick Dinner for Schmucks back a week to 7/30. This will put the film head to head against Charlie St. Cloud and the sequel to Cats & Dogs.

Muppets flick gets a release date

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/The-Muppets-Return-On-Christmas-2011-18934.html
Disney has announced that the Muppet flick written by and starring Jason Segel called The Greatest Muppet Movie of all Time will hit the big screen on Christmas of 2011. This puts Segel and his fuzzy felt friends up against Spielberg’s Tintin and FOX & Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo. Good god I hope Segel puts his Dracula puppet in the movie somewhere.

Paramount announces Les Grossman movie

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/exclusive-paramount-to-make-les-grossman-film-for-tom-cruise/
(thanks to Timmy Orland from the kingdom of FOX for the lowdown)
Paramount has announced via a rather annoying press release that they will be creating a film based on the Les Grossman character introduced in Tropic Thunder. I hate this idea… apparently I’m in the minority here, but I think the Les Grossman was a very heavy-handed attempt to get Tom Cruise back in the spot light… and it sucked. I feel like we’ve all fallen into the web of a sleazy PR or marketing person. Tom Cruise is a good actor and I think it’s sad that we’re at a point where a respectable actor must subject himself to something like this just because we’ve become super nosey and can’t stay out of famous peoples’ personal lives (says the guy who includes a gossip section in his newsletter).

Bourne brainchild tapped for 4^th film

http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/universal-returns-tony-gilroy-to-bourne-4/
The guy that Universal considered to be the key screenwriter for the first 3 Bourne movies, Tony Gilroy, has been signed to pen the script for a 4^th film in the series, tentatively called The Bourne Legacy. The follow up to this news should be interesting. If my memory serves me correctly, Matt Damon not only said that he wouldn’t do a Bourne 4 unless director Paul Greengrass was back, but he also said that Universal was planning a Bourne prequel kind of flick with new, younger actors. And, Greengrass has told the press that he won’t do a Bourne 4… so that would supposedly leave Damon out… and what’s Bourne without Damon? Not a movie I want to see.

Machete response movie being made

http://www.i-newswire.com/20th-century-fox-s-machete-to-face/41646
(thanks to Miss Sophie of the blue corner for the link)
This is all kinds of confusing to me, but I think I figured it out. There’s a chunk of more right wing-ish people with no sense of humor who are pretty ticked off at the Mexicans kill evil Americans messaging they assume will be included in Machete. Capitalizing on this anger, a European indie studio is working on creating Ocho Loco, a film that seems to flip the roles set up in Machete. In Ocho, the main character will be a decorated American soldier returning from war that presumably fights bad guy Mexicans. The film takes place in an Arizona border town and will be created by some guys named Dietrich and Flavio that live across the pond… not to pee in the pool or anything, but how well do you think these Euro fellows are going to be able to tap into the hostility surrounding the immigration issues at the Arizona border (especially when they are considering shooting the whole thing in Italy)?

THE NEWS YOU CARE ABOUT

by Miss Kristin Haugen

Chris Brown was supposed to set out on a European tour this summer, but the UK has denied him a work visa due to his assault conviction, thus forcing Chris to cancel the tour. Following his rejection, Chris then threw a pity party for himself through Twitter and sent out the message, “U ever feel like the storm clouds are too thick for any sunshine to get through?”

Today is Johnny Depp’s birthday. He’s 47!

Ohhhh Lindz…there’s an arrest warrant out for her because the SCRAM went off after the MTV Movie Awards. The bracelet indicated a small amount of alcohol, but she’s claiming she didn’t have a drop.

Lady Gaga went to her younger sister’s graduation in the outfit below. The outfit is not surprising, what’s surprising is thinking of Lady Gaga going to such ordinary things as high school graduation.

This is too good. The Smith family at the Karate Kid Premiere. I am now obsessed with Willow.

The stars of True Blood gathered at the Arclight last night for the premiere of the 3rd season. Alexander Skarsgard brought along girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, but they didn’t pose together because that would be too much.

RANDOM GOODNESS

Homies

http://www.homies.tv/
(Keith really wanted you to see these guys)
These little plastic dudes are pretty darn funny. I would’ve thought they’d be kind of offensive to some folks out there, but I guess they’ve gotten so popular that makers of the toys are in talks with Jim Henson Studios to create an animated series featuring them.

Kristin’s Dino of the Day

Kristin made this dino named Darnell for me at the link below. Hop on over to make your animated dino… it’s fun in a pressing Silly Putty on a fresh page of comics kind of way.
http://www.walkingwithdinosaursgames.com/DesignADinosaur.html

AD & MOVIE BIZ NEWS

Weekend Box Office
6/4-6/6

1. Shrek Forever After – $25.5M ($183.2M)
2. Get Him to the Greek – $17.6M (NEW)
3. Killers – $15.8M (NEW)
4. Prince of Persia – $14.0M ($59.6M)
5. Sex & the City 2 – $12.3M ($73.1M)
6. Marmaduke – $11.6M (NEW)
7. Iron Man 2 – $7.9M ($291.4M)
8. Splice – $7.4M (NEW)
9. Robin Hood – $5.4M ($94.5M)
10. Letters to Juliet – $3.0M ($43.3M)

Anyone else see Splice this weekend? What a trippy movie… not what I was expecting at all. Get Him to the Greek was funny but not really a worthy follow up to Forgetting Sarah Marshall in my opinion.

FOX announces expanded JagTag partnership
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/fox/fox-partners-with-mobile-crm-company-19636
FOX announced to the press today that they are now making film clips and other related content available to consumers via their mobile phone. The content can be accessed by taking a snap shot of a JagTag barcode featured in Best Buy Insider Magazine or in Best Buy & Kmart store locations. JagTag barcodes are different than other similar types of barcodes because they do not require any additional applications be downloaded by the consumer and they can be used on both smartphones and regular ol’ dumb phones. (Interesting thought… we are so wrapped up in the latest and greatest technology that it’s nice to see that folks like JagTag are still very aware of the fact that a very very HUGE chunk of the country is still rocking technology from years ago)

In-theatre sees 2% growth in 2009
http://www.thewrap.com/article/theater-advertising-grew-2-2009-18069
Advertising revenue for in-theatre advertising grew by 2% in 2009 versus 2008. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but most other media were on the decline during the same period… so I guess 2% is actually pretty darn good in 2009 terms. An important in-theatre boss guy has said that he expects a much bigger jump in 2010, citing that the first two quarters of the year were already up by double digit percentages.

FOX and CW done with this dirty upfront biz
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-04/fox-said-to-get-as-much-as-1-9-billion-in-ad-sales-update3-.html
Wow…that felt quick. FOX and CW have both concluded their upfront negotiations for the 2010/2011 broadcast year. According to possibly incorrect industry reports, FOX pulled in around $1.9 billion, bumping up their CPM around 9%. CW pulled in $350 million in ad sales and, while that sounds lame, that’s a 20% increase over last year. Ad prices for the C-Dub were an average of 7.5% higher than they were last upfront.

NETWORK TV UPDATES

Simon Cowell plans to take Got Talent global
http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/cowell-plans-to-take-talent-global/
Backstage at the BAFTA TV Awards, Simon Cowell talked about his desire to launch a global competition between the winners and runner ups from some of the 36 different markets that have run their own versions of the show he created, Britain’s Got Talent. The super competition would be broadcast to an international audience and would have a prize of £1 million (about $1.4 mill US). (The Idol people tried this about 7 years ago to make “World Idol” and it pretty much sucked)

Jason O’Mara in talks to lead Terra Nova
http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/06/05/terra-nova-drama-at-fox-in-talks-with-jason-omara/
Word on the street is that Life on Mars star Jason O’Mara has been approached to take the leading role in FOX and Steven Spielberg’s midseason sci-fi series, Terra Nova. The hiccup to landing an actor for this role (Friday Night Light’s star Kyle Chandler already supposedly turned it down) is that the actor will need to relocate to Australia to begin filming this summer (wow, touch life). As a result, the people behind the show may decide to cast a complete unknown for the lead and utilize Spielberg’s name to market the show.

Kooky black-haired girl signs multi-season contract for NCIS
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Pauley-Perrette-NCIS-1019251.aspx
5 cast members from NCIS recently entered into contract negotiations to lock in new deals with CBS. Pauley Perrette has now become the third of those actors to sign a new contract. Under the terms of her new contract, Perrette will be back for multiple seasons of zany jewelry wearing, gothic stereotyping fun.

CABLE UPDATES

Breakout Kings- Fox’s trash… maybe A&E’s treasure?
http://www.deadline.com/2010/06/breakout-kings-eyes-move-to-ae/
A lot of people were a bit surprised when the hour long drama, Breakout Kings, didn’t get picked up by FOX. The series, written by the creators of Prison Break and directed by Gavin Hood, was very well liked throughout the industry, but FOX just didn’t have the room for it. Now it looks like A&E might pick up the fallen show and bring Breakout Kings to cable.

Sneak peak of Rubicon during Breaking Bad finale
http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/07/breaking-bad-season-3-finale-to-include-sneak-preview-of-amcs-new-original-drama-rubicon/20100607amc01/
I’ll level with you… I’m not interested in the Rubicon teaser. I just wanted to include this story as an excuse to comment on how flippin’ amazing last night’s Breaking Bad was… anyone else watch? Anyways, AMC’s new original Rubicon will have a special preview during the season finale of Breaking Bad next Sunday 6/13 @ 10p.

Julia Stiles calling Dexter home for a while
http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/07/julia-stiles-slices-into-dexter/20100607showtime02/
Julia Stiles (where has she been…totally thought she died or something) has joined the cast of Showtime’s Dexter, appearing in 10 episodes of the upcoming season. On the series, Stiles will play a mysterious young woman who develops a “unique” relationship with Dexter.

Disney XD renews Kick Buttowski
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i6a088b54b00be86875f597e2da149c88
Disney’s animated series about a kid daredevil has been renewed for another season. The sophomore season of Kick Buttowski will hit the air on Disney XD in spring of next year.

Hallmark officially unveils new programming lineup
http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/07/hallmark-channel-unveils-robust-slate-of-all-new-programming-from-martha-stewart-living-omnimedia/20100607hallmark01/
The standard Martha Stewart Show will air weekdays beginning 9/13 from 10-11a. Following from 11-noon is a daily topical talk show hosted by Sirius XM’s Whatever hosts Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt. From noon-12:30p will then be Mad Hungry with Lucinda, a food show hosted by Lucinda Scala Quinn.

PRINT UPDATES

Potential Newsweek buyers getting serious
http://www.foliomag.com/2010/potential-newsweek-buyers-officially-come-forward
Several parties have filed official declarations of interest to potentially purchase Newsweek. Among those who will now likely enter the next stage of the buying process are political media company Newsmax, private equity firm OpenGate Capital Management (they’re the ones who bought TV Guide Magazine for $1 in 2008) and a fellow named Thane Ritchie.

Self VP/Publisher bails for Sports Illustrated
http://www.minonline.com/news/Kim-Kelleher-leaves-Self-for-SI_14480.html
After winning a ton of awards for her work at Conde Nast’s Self over the past 6 years, Kim Kelleher has been named VP/global sales over at Time Inc’s Sports Illustrated. She will fill the seat that has sat vacant since Jeff Griffing jumped ship back in February to join the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as chief financial officer.

OUTDOOR/VIRAL & COOL THINGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

Billboard Burnout
http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2010/06/ford-motor-company-burnout/
Every few minutes, the rear wheel of this billboard Mustang would begin to spin and a fog machine installed inside the board would pump out smoke around the tire. The resulting effect created the illusion of a Mustang performing a burnout up on the board. This is super cool…very uncharacteristic of the domestic auto people who generally prefer to put some metaphorical mumbo jumbo that makes no sense up on a board rather than executing something cool the consumer will actually dig.

MOVIE NEWS

Jamie Bell picked to play Spidey?
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/06/07/spider-man-is-tintin/
According to a site I’ve never heard of, multiple sources have confirmed that Sony’s search for a new Peter Parker has ended and that Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, The Chumscrubber) has locked in the coveted spot. I would be surprised if Sony confirms this before Comic Con.

Toy Story 4 a possibility
http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEfxvmfoqG2Oij
Estelle Harris (the old lady who plays Mrs. Potato Head) started buzz around this weekend’s press junket for Toy Story 3 that there might end up being at least one additional Toy Story flick in the future. The rumor was then semi-substantiated by Kristen Schaal (she plays a Triceratops named Trixie in TS3). And then, Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich teased an inquisitive reporter and made a very vague statement suggesting that the series is probably done but that he’s “sure we’ll see more of the toys in the future.” My bets are it’s done.

Stanley Tucci joining Captain America
http://www.latinoreview.com/news/stanley-tucci-cast-in-captain-america-10156
Marvel has announced that Stanley Tucci will join the cast of The First Avenger: Captain America as the guy responsible for creating Captain America, Dr. Abraham Erskine.

Michael Keaton wants to do a Beetlejuice sequel
http://www.moviehole.net/201025098-keaton-would-do-beetlejuice-2-in-a-heartbeat
I’d be aching to do sequels too if I was an actor with a fairly shriveled career.

Low resolution Predators poster is high resolution awesome
http://cinemablend.com/new/New-Predators-Poster-Finally-Gets-It-Right-With-Heat-Signatures-18915.html
Someone snapped a cell phone photo of the supposedly yet to be widely released Predators poster pictured below. I’m digging it. Very eye-catching.

THE NEWS YOU CARE ABOUT

by Miss Kristin Haugen

Gary Coleman’s ex-wife is claiming they planned to re-wed, essentially so she can get all his money. Also, pictures of him in the hospital before he died have just been sold to some tabloid, all of which was apparently orchestrated by his ex-wife, Shannon Price, as well.

Britney Spears’ dad, Jamie, met with a judge to discuss conservatorship of Britney. Right now, Kevin Federline has sole custody over their sons, Jayden and Sean. Before her conservatorship ends she will have to go through a psychological evaluation and a child custody evaluation.

Jennifer Garner had a few pics taken of her with a less than flat stomach and is now on the baby bump watch list.

Matthew Morrison, or Mr. Shu from Glee, will be recording a solo album while the show is on hiatus this summer. He’s writing all the music for it which will be a dance-heavy sound and a cross between Michael Bublé and Justin Timberlake.

This is how Lindsay hides the SCRAM.

Sandra Bullock addresses everything that has gone on the past few months and gives some love to Scarlett Johannson.
http://www.popsugar.com/Video-Sandra-Bullocks-Generation-Award-Acceptance-Speech-MTV-Movie-Awards-8693904

Edward & Bella kiss, kind of, during their acceptance of Best Kiss.
http://www.popsugar.com/Video-Robert-Pattinson-Kristen-Stewart-Best-Kiss-Acceptance-2010-MTV-Movie-Awards-8693521

Oh, she’s just being Miley.

RANDOM GOODNESS

The new iPhone came out… it’s nothing magical in my opinion. Anyways, if you like Glee or nerdy tech things or references to Singapore pleasure lairs, watch this video: