Fox announces no more bonus features for rental DVDs

In a recent announcement, Fox Studios announced that many of their upcoming DVDs being sold to rental companies such as Blockbuster and RedBox, will not contain any bonus features. Bonus features include such things as deleted scenes, alternate endings, or commentaries by the director/actors. Whether this is a cost cutting measure or a tactic to push consumers to purchase the film has yet to be seen.

Who watches the Watchmen? Enough people to make it $55.7 million this weekend

According to Hollywood Insider, Watchmen made approximately $55.7 million this weekend making it the number one ranked film. On a note related to a former blog post, Paul Blart: Mall Cop came in 5th place at the box office this weekend. This is impressive considering the movie has been out for almost two months. Paul Blart made $4.2 million this weekend increasing the film's total gross to $133.6 million.

Seinfeld cast Reunion on Curb Your Enthusiam, Not that there is anything wrong with that

Although the date has not been confirmed, the cast of "Seinfeld" is scheduled to appear on an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." It has been confirmed that the entire main cast will be reuniting, and yes, that includes Cosmo Kramer. The executive producer of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David, was also an executive producer on Seinfeld. For those of you that did not watch or do not remember "Seinfeld," the main cast was Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Michael Richards (who you may remember caused quate a controversy not long ago, when he made multiple racist remarks at a comedy club).

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/03/seinfeld-cast-t.html?cnn=yes

Debut Trailer for new Judd Apatow movie "Funny People"

Judd Apatow, the writer and director of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, has a new movie coming out called Funny People. Funny People stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, and Eric Bana and is coming out July 31st, 2009.

Best Supporting Actor Oscar tops off Heath Ledger's string of award wins

Last night, Heath Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as "The Joker" in The Dark Knight. This tops off a string of wins Ledger had this past award show season. Here is a short list of some of the awards Ledger won for his portrayal of "The Joker":
2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor,
2008 BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor
2008 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor
2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor (Ledger also won in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Film Critics Circles, to name a few)
2008 Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor

These awards add to the collection of multiple Best Actor awards he won for his role as "Ennis Del Mar" in the film Brokeback Mountain. For Brokeback Mountain, Heath Ledger was nominated for and won the following awards:
2006 International Award for Best Actor
2005 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
2005 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (Ledger also won in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Film Critics Circles).

Sarah Connor may be back for Terminator Salvation

In a recent article, sources indicate that Linda Hamilton (the actress who played Sarah Connor in Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day) is in talks to appear in Terminator Salvation. Hamilton turned down a chance to be in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines fearing that she might be typecast. Her character's absence was explained by the fact that her character had died during the time between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3. Terminator Salvation is slated to hit theaters May 21, 2009. We shall see if Linda Hamilton will say "I'll Be Back."

(Trivia Sidenote: Linda Hamilton was at one time married to the director of the first two Terminator films, James Cameron.)

There also have been numerous rumors that California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger may be making a cameo in the film. Although at this point, these rumors have neither been confirmed or denied by the Governator or the director, McG. There have also been rumors that the actor who portrayed the T-1000 in Terminator 2, Robert Patrick, will also be making an appearance in the film.

The Last Episode of “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” airs this Friday

The last new episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" airs this Friday night (2/20) at 12:35AM on NBC. O'Brien is leaving "Late Night" to host "The Tonight Show" starting June 1^st. Jimmy Fallon will be taking over as host of "Late Night" starting on March 2^nd.

To commemorate Conan's time at "Late Night" here are four clips I grabbed off of Hulu and NBC.com:

Here's hoping he brings that brand of off-beat humor to "The Tonight Show." And now, moonwalking Conan gifs.



I wish it was June 1st.

\nm/

WWE Star, John Cena, to star in another Hollywood film

WWE star and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena will be featured in another WWE-produced movie, 12 Rounds, to be released on March 27, 2009. Cena's previous film was The Marine which featured Robert Patrick from Terminator 2 as the lead villian.

On a related note, a direct-to-DVD sequel to The Marine is also being produced and features the son of WWE Hall of Fame Wrestler, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Ted DiBiase Jr. DiBiase Jr. is currently holds the Tag Team Championship with Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes is the son of WWE Hall of Famer "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes. Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes are currently in a tag team known as "Priceless" and are also part of a group of second/third generation wrestlers called "Legacy" with Randy Orton. Randy Orton is the son of WWE Hall of Fame Legend Cowboy Bob Orton and the grandson of Bob Orton Sr.

Picture on the left (l to r: Ted DiBiase Jr., Cody Rhodes)
2nd Picture(John Cena applying a submission hold to Randy Orton)
3rd Picture(l to r: Orton, Rhodes, DiBiase Jr.)

New Jackie Chan film deemed too violent for release in China

The new Jackie Chan film, Shinjuku Incident, has been deemed too violent by its director, Derek Yee, and Yee has decided against releasing the film in China due to China's lack of a rating system. The director also decided against editing the film so that it could be approved by Chinese media censors due to the belief that it violates the integrity of the film. Jackie Chan, who stars in and produced the film, agrees with the decision.

In China, all films are released without ratings meaning that they are open to all audiences. However, films released in China must be approved by a censor board that is careful to censor any negative portrayals of the Chinese government. The film is scheduled to be released on April 2, 2009 in Hong Kong and on May 1, 2009 in Japan . It is still unclear as to whether or not the film will be released in the United States, as the film's dialogue is primarily in Cantonese and Japanese. This film will be more of a drama which marks a departure for Jackie Chan, who usually stars in action films.

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/02/16/jackie_chan_film_too_violent_for_china

New Simpsons HD Intro This Sunday

This Sunday, "The Simpsons" will premiere a new intro. It will be the first ever high definition introduction in the show's 20 season history. You may remember that another similar landmark occurred when the show had a intro that featured live actors. This live intro was produced in the United Kingdom. If you notice the HD "Simpsons" intro is wider than the other video, it is due to the fact that HD video is widescreen by default.

Jay Leno is #1 Television Personality

In a recent survey, the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," Jay Leno, was ranked America's #1 favorite TV personality. This was one of the few times a non-fictional character has taken the #1 spot. The high ranking of Jay Leno may partially be due to the announcement of his new 10PM show on NBC, which begins after his 17 year reign as host of "The Tonight Show" ends. "The Tonight Show" will then be hosted by Conan O'Brien. The number 2 personality ranked in this survey is the star of the hit Fox show House, Hugh Laurie.

Jeffrey Donovan getting a raise

Jeffrey Donovan, known to fans as Michael Westen on the USA Network TV show "Burn Notice", has just had his salary increased from around $55000 a show to around $125000 to $150000 a show. This pay raise also adds another year to the seven year contract that Donovan has for the show. This is great news if you a fan of "Burn Notice". Jeffrey Donovan can also be seen in the Clint Eastwood directed film, Changeling.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i60a50594ba7b56393bfd764da0130ef9

Taken is top film this past weekend

Contrary to what was stated in our previous post, Taken was the top earner at the theaters this weekend. The film made approximately $24.7 million, which is impressive since films tend to fare poorly during Super Bowl weekends. The film features Liam Neeson on the trail of his kidnapped daughter. The second highest grossing film this weekend was Paul Blart: Mall Cop, still holding on near the top.

http://www.ew.com/ew/news/charts/0,,,00.html

Paul Blart: Mall Cop set to become top weekend film for 3 weeks in a row

Paul Blart: Mall Cop is set to become the top grossing comedy film for the third weekend in a row. It is doing so well, it is anticipated to break the $100 million mark this weekend. Not bad for a film that cost $26 million to make. This film also marks the first time that Kevin James portrays a lead character.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FILM_PAUL_BLART?SITE=WWLAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Another Rambo film in the works

In a recent interview, Sylvester Stallone has confirmed all the rumors. Another Rambo film is in the works. After filming concluded on the last Rambo film 2008, it was assumed that it was the closing chapter to the Rambo saga much like Rocky Balboa was the closing chapter of the Rocky series. However due to the unexpected success of the film, Stallone has agreed to film another sequel. The current title for this sequel is Rambo 5 even though it will be the sixth film in the series. The reason for this is because the fourth film released in 2008 was titled only as Rambo.

Gil Grissom might have taken the viewers with him

As previously reported here, William Petersen, known to fans as CSI Head Gil Grissom, recently left the show stemming from Petersen's desire to not be locked into a role and to resume stage acting. This did not bode well for the show, as viewership has dropped ever since his departure. This past week, "CSI" had 17.5 million viewers making it the most watched program of that night. Unfortunately, those numbers were much higher when Petersen was a member of the cast. "CSI" now actually has to face competition from shows such as "Bones" on the Fox Network and "Grey's Anatomy" on the ABC Network.

USA Network shows using 80s themed commercials

Two shows on the USA Network, "Psych" and "Monk," are using commercials that are based on the introductions to 80s TV shows. "Psych" is styled after the introduction to the show "Miami Vice," while "Monk" is styled after the introduction to the show "Magnum P.I."

Paul Blart: Mall Cop tops weekend Box Office 2nd Week in a row

For the second week in a row, Paul Blart: Mall Cop has been the number one film the second week in a row making about $21.5 million this past weekend. This brings the current sum to $64.8 million. Not bad for a movie that cost $26 million to make.

http://www.ew.com/ew/news/charts/0,,,00.html
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mallcop.htm

Current trend of World War II Era films are not drawing large audiences

The current two World War II Era films, Valkyrie and Defiance, are not having the level of success that the producers expected. Valkyrie released on Christmas Day of 2008, is a film about the German plot to assassinate Hitler. While Defiance chronicles the story of 3 Jewish brothers that saved 1200 Jews by hiding them in the forest while at the same time engaged in partisan resistance against the Nazis and was released on December 31, 2008. Valkyrie reportedly cost $75 million to make and just recently broke even with that amount. Defiance reportedly cost $50 million to make and to date has only made about $14 million. Ironically, the current top films have been comedies. A possible explanation for this could be due to the poor state of the economy and movie goers wanting a positive escape from reality. I also wish to note that the current number 2 ranked film is Gran Torino.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=valkyrie.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=defiance.htm

Ledger Gets Oscar Nomination

This morning the Oscar Awards nominations were announced. Heath Ledger was nominated for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. This was not a surprise considering he had won a Golden Globe for the same role and has to be considered a favorite to win. The Dark Knight was nominated for a total of 7 awards, but it was mostly for sound and visual effects. I was disappointed that it was not nominated for Best Picture. I'm sure many fans feel the same. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was nominated for the most awards. It was nominated for 13 awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Brad Pitt.

For the complete list of the nominee check out http://oscars.com/nominees/?pn=nominees