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| Factbox: Key winners at the Country Music Association Awards Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 08:12 PM PDT NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - The 2012 Country Music Association awards were handed out in Nashville on Thursday in a ceremony broadcast live on ABC television. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thompson Square, Eric Church winners at Country Music awards Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 08:12 PM PDT  NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Rising stars Little Big Town and Thompson Square were among early winners at the Country Music Association awards on Thursday, on a night that mixed old stars and newcomers. Alabama quartet Little Big Town scooped up its first CMA award, winning single of the year for the hit record "Pontoon," while husband-and-wife team Thompson Square took home the prize for best vocal duo. "This is one of the coolest things we have ever experienced," said Keifer Thompson, accepting the award for the duo early in the televised ceremony from Nashville. ... Full Story | Top |
| AEG, anti-poverty groups settle dispute on football field Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 07:04 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), owned by billionaire Phil Anshutz, has settled a dispute with several anti-poverty groups, clearing the way for the sports and entertainment empire to build a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles. AEG, which operates entertainment venues worldwide and also owns sports assets, has put itself on the block and is seeking bids in the $10 billion range. Its plans to bring a National Football League team to Los Angeles is for some potential buyers an attractive part of deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge throws out lawsuit against Britney Spears, parents Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 06:27 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by the one-time confidante of pop star Britney Spears, ruling there was insufficient evidence to go forward with the trial on allegations of defamation, assault and breach of contract. "I really thought long and hard. It's the right thing to do, so I am going to do it," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bruguera said, announcing her decision to throw out the case after hearing two weeks of evidence in the civil trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stellan Skarsgård joins 'Hector and the Search for Happiness' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:05 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd has joined the cast of Peter Chelsom's "Hector and the Search for Happiness," the Solution Entertainment Group and producers Judy Tossell of Egoli Tossell Film and Christine Haebler of Screen Siren Pictures announced Thursday. SkarsgÃ¥rd joins Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike and Christopher Plummer in the film, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by François Lelord. The script is written by Maria von Heland, Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay. SkarsgÃ¥rd will play Edward, a rich, jaded banker whom Hector (Pegg) befriends on his flight to China. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brendan Fraser drops out of TNT pilot 'Legends' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:05 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Brendan Fraser's entry into regular TV work will have to wait a little longer. "George of the Jungle" star Fraser has bowed out of the upcoming TNT pilot "Legends," which would have marked his first starring turn on a TV series. Fraser was to play Martin Odum, a deep-cover operative who has a chameleon-like ability to transform himself into a different person for each mission. The project is based on a book by spy novelist Robert Littell. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Flight' Review: Denzel Washington perfectly captures an imperfect man Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:04 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Denzel Washington has perfected playing imperfect men. In movie after movie - think "Philadelphia," "Man on Fire" and "American Gangster" - he burrows inside men who are often at war with themselves, their consciences out of sync, at least initially, with their words or actions. In his latest film, "Flight," he puts those contradictions front and center and gives one of the great performances of an already impressive career. In the drama's opening scene, Whip Whitaker (Washington) wakes up with a hangover when the clock radio in his hotel room goes off at 7 a.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Jack and Diane' Review: The worst teen lesbian romance about werewolves and nosebleeds you'll ever see Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:03 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Jack and Diane" features Riley Keough (the granddaughter of Elvis Presley) and Juno Temple as an exceedingly butch-femme pair of teens in love, but the real stars of the film are blood, urine, vomit and poop, some of which actually turn up on screen while the others are at least the subject of lengthy conversations. There hasn't been a movie this obsessed with bodily fluids since "Salo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Frank Langella, Rosario Dawson head cast for 'Parts Per Billion' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:59 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Frank Langella ("Robot and Frank"), Gena Rowlands ("Yellow"), Rosario Dawson ("Sin City") and Josh Hartnett ("Black Hawk Down") have signed on to star in "Parts Per Billion," the producers told TheWrap. Brian Horiuchi is directing from his own screenplay, with Molly Hassell ("Edmond"), Jennifer Levine ("Delirious"), Michael Benaroya ("Lawless") and David Dickson producing. Joe Jenckes ("Margin Call") will be executive producing with Dawson, Cotty Chub and Arianne Fraser. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kylie Minogue, Gemma Arterton 'Walking On Sunshine' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:59 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Kylie Minogue and Gemma Arterton are lined up to star in the upcoming musical comedy "Walking On Sunshine," for Vertigo Films, a person familiar with the project has told TheWrap. Now in pre-production, the film is set to be directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini and is being sold at this week's American Film Market by IM Global. Giwa and Pasquini previously directed "StreetDance 3D." "Walking On Sunshine" is set to hit pop songs of the 1980s and tells the story of a mother and daughter who fall in love with the same man in Spain. ... Full Story | Top |
| Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Seyfried to Co-Star in 'Wonderful Tonight' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:58 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey and "Red Riding Hood" actress Amanda Seyfried will share the big screen in the upcoming Myriad Pictures romantic comedy "Wonderful Tonight," Myriad said Thursday. Written by J. Mills Goodloe ("Ride"), "Wonderful Tonight" chronicles an unlikely love affair between a wealthy bachelor and a free-spirited woman whose one-night stand results in a child. Christine Jeffs ("Sunshine Cleaning") will direct. Rejected by his co-parent because of his arrogant past, the bachelor must fight to prove himself as a father and win her heart. ... Full Story | Top |
| Antiquities, Renaissance art expected to net some $15 million Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:57 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rare, more than 500-year-old portrait of the Madonna and child from a private collection is expected to fetch up to $15 million when it is sold at an auction of antiquities and Old Master paintings, Christie's said on Thursday. The portrait by Fra Bartolommeo, which Christie's said dates to the mid-1490s, is beautifully preserved and still set in its original frame - and the highlight of the private collection. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ray Liotta to seek revenge in film noir 'Old Man' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:56 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ray Liotta is lined up to star in "Old Man," a film noir being directed by Christian Swegal, which is being sold by Content at this week's American Film Market. Aiming to film in February 2013, the film is described as a violent revenge thriller and is currently in pre-production. Ross M Dinerstein is producing with Jamie Carmichael executive producing this tale about a mob hit man (Liotta) who is lured back into the underworld to seek revenge when his bosses frame him for a murder that he did not commit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Simon West to direct Jason Statham in 'Heat' remake Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:56 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Con Air" and "The Expendables 2" director Simon West will direct the upcoming remake of the 1986 film "Heat," Sierra/Affinity said Thursday. The film stars "The Transporter" star Jason Statham as Nick Escalante, a role originally played by Burt Reynolds. A compulsive gambler whose addiction has led him to the streets of Vegas, Escalante takes odd jobs providing "security" to support his addiction. His professional and personal lives collide when his friend is brutally beaten forcing him to take on the mob. ... Full Story | Top |
| Columbia Pictures teams with Megan Ellison for Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:55 PM PDT NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Columbia Pictures is banking on another home run from "Moneyball" director Bennett Miller, agreeing to co-finance and domestically distribute Miller's upcoming "Foxcatcher." Columbia last worked with Miller on his adaptation of Michael Lewis' "Moneyball," which received six Ocar nominations and grossed $110 million worldwide. "Foxcatcher," which stars Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, chronicles John du Pont, an heir to the du Pont chemical fortune. A paranoid schizophrenic, du Pont eventually kills friend and Olympic wrestler David Schultz. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gemma Arterton, Hugh Bonneville lined up for 'The Pre-Nup' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:54 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Gemma Arterton and Hugh Bonneville are lined up for "The Pre-Nup," a new romantic comedy to be directed by Jonathan Lynn, a person familiar with the project told TheWrap. Currently in pre-production, the film follows an American groom who suggests to his British bride on the night before their wedding that they get a pre-nup. He is a successful investment banker and she is an expat novelist based in New York. And his father is a former rock star who threatens to cut him off if he doesn't agree to get the legal document. Lynn also wrote the script for the film. ... Full Story | Top |
| Harrison Ford, Zac Efron circling 'You Belong To Me' Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:53 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Harrison Ford and Zac Efron are in negotiations to topline the thriller "You Belong To Me," for director Rob Reiner, a person familiar with the project told TheWrap. Richard Lewis, Alan Greisman and Mark Damon are producing the film, which is aiming for a March 2013 start date. The film is being presented to buyers at this week's American Film Market in Santa Monica by Foresight Unlimited. Ford would play a psychiatrist who has a difficult time after one of his female patients commits suicide. He ends up bonding with her brother James (Efron). ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Gossip Girl' set for 2-hour season finale on December 17 Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:53 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Get ready to shut down the rumor mill; "Gossip Girl" will officially come to an end in December. CW's scandalicious drama will end its six-season run with a two-hour finale on December 17 at 8 p.m., bringing an end to more than half a decade of gasp-inducing twists, the network said Wednesday. "All will be revealed in the drama-filled series finale, featuring a look back at the unforgettable OMG moments of the series that made headlines, including interviews with the cast and creators themselves," the network promised in a release. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kathryn Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty' wide release delayed Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:52 PM PDT NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Sony has delayed the wide release of Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty," a film documenting U.S. efforts to find and kill Osama bin Laden. The studio will now release Bigelow's thematic follow-up to "The Hurt Locker" in New York and Los Angeles December 19, expand it to a few more markets on January 4, 2013, and distribute it nationwide January 11. That moves "Zero Dark Thirty" out of a crowded Christmas period, home to high-profile releases like Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" and Judd Apatow's "This is 40. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge allows R&B singer Chris Brown to do European tour Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 04:13 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Chris Brown was given the go-ahead to carry out his European tour after a Los Angeles judge said on Thursday that the entertainer was "in compliance" with probation imposed for his 2009 assault on former girlfriend Rihanna. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg had the authority to jail the "Kiss Kiss" singer if she had found that Brown had not kept up with the terms of his probation, which includes community service and an already-completed domestic violence program. ... Full Story | Top |
| "The Racketeer" jumps to top spot on U.S. bestseller list Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 03:46 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - John Grisham's "The Racketeer" soared to top of Publishers Weekly's bestseller list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "The Racketeer" by John Grisham (Doubleday, $28.95) - 2. "The Casual Vacancy" by J. K. Rowling (Little, Brown, $35.00) 2 3. "The Panther" by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central, $27.99) 1 4. "The Bone Bed" by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam, $28.95) 3 5. "NYPD Red" by James Patterson and Marshall Karp (Little, Brown, $27.99) 5 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| Madagascar 3's international success drives DreamWorks results Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 03:40 PM PDT (Reuters) - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates, riding the international box office success of "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted". The company said Madagascar 3, which released in June, raked in nearly $720 million worldwide, of which 70 percent was from international markets. With the release of the studio's next film, "Rise of the Guardians", coming up later this month, investors are shifting their focus to the film and its potential performance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide Silence singer Lucker dies in California motorcycle accident Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 03:32 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mitch Lucker, the lead singer of extreme heavy metal band Suicide Silence, died on Thursday of injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in Huntington Beach, California, police said. The band from Southern California was given the Golden Gods award for best new talent by Revolver magazine in 2009. Lucker, 28, was on a new Harley Davidson motorcycle driving in the Orange County city of Huntington Beach on Halloween night when he lost control and crashed into a light pole, according to a statement from the local police department. ... Full Story | Top |
| NJ's Springsteen, Bon Jovi join Sting in Sandy concert Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 03:27 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi will join Sting and other top music stars on Friday for a special television benefit concert on NBC to aid victims of Sandy, the giant storm that killed scores and devastated large sections of the U.S. Northeast. The Walt Disney Co meanwhile announced a $2 million donation for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts on Thursday, while Disney/ABC Television Group designated November 5 as a "Day of Giving" wherein viewers of network and syndicated programming would be encouraged to help. Entertainment giant Viacom Inc. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cablevision says Sandy outage hit half of its customers Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 03:14 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp said on Thursday about half of its 3.3 million customers in the New York, Connecticut and New Jersey area had lost power in the wake of superstorm Sandy, causing widespread disruptions to its service. Cablevision said in a statement that 1.6 million of its customers were without power while 7,265 of the remaining 1.65 million customers who were not affected by power outages still had no access to Cablevision's service. The company did not respond to questions about how the disruption would impact its financials. ... Full Story | Top |
| British comic Starr arrested in Savile abuse case: TV Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 02:31 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested comedian Freddie Starr on Thursday as part of an investigation triggered by allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of children, media reported. Police said in a statement they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sex offences. The man was identified by Sky News and ITV News as Starr, who earlier had offered to talk to police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Martha Stewart to cut jobs in publishing business Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 02:07 PM PDT (Reuters) - Media and merchandising company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc said it will cut an undisclosed number of jobs in its publishing business and reduce about $33-35 million of its annual operating costs. The company said it will also reduce $45-47 million of annual costs from its overall media businesses "on a go-forward basis". Martha Stewart will stop publishing its "Everyday Food" brand as a standalone monthly and will exit "Whole Living". The company will move "Everyday Food" to a digital format from next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jodie Foster to get lifetime achievement award at Golden Globes Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 01:35 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Double-Oscar winner Jodie Foster will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes ceremony in January, recognizing her 40-year career as an actress, director and movie producer, organizers said on Thursday. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which organizes the annual Golden Globe awards, said Foster will join the likes of past winners Lucille Ball, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman and Judy Garland, and become the 2013 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille award. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Hunger Games" sticks with director Lawrence for sequels Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 01:17 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Francis Lawrence has signed on to direct the final two installments of the hit movie "The Hunger Games," movie studio Lionsgate said on Thursday. The announcement follows months of rumors that Lionsgate might go with a different director to helm the "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay," - the final part of the trilogy which will be split into two separate films. The "I am Legend" director is currently filming the second film in the franchise, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," slated to hit theaters in November 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netflix tells Icahn it is open to his input Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 01:08 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc said on Thursday it was open to input from billionaire Carl Icahn, the activist investor who now controls 10 percent of the video rental company's shares a day after his surprise investment. "We have many shareholders, now including Mr. Icahn, and we're always open to their perspective on how to build on our success," Netflix said in a statement issued in response to Icahn's disclosure of his investment in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The filing said he had bought shares and call options that gave him a 10 percent stake in the subscription video ... Full Story | Top |
| Kardashian boosts "X Factor" ratings, but wins few fans Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 12:15 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Khloe Kardashian's first outing as the new co-host of "The X Factor" helped boost the show's audience by 30 percent, yet the reality star got mixed reviews for a nipple-baring debut that made headlines - but many TV critics found awkward. Kardashian, 28, best known for starring with socialite sisters Kim and Kourtney in "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," shocked some viewers by wearing a sheer purple blouse without a bra on Wednesday's first live episode of the TV singing contest. "I think the air conditioning is on high tonight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Playboy Clubs to enter India, without the bunny costumes Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 11:38 AM PDT MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Playboy club is coming to India -- but with "bunnies" in non-revealing outfits. "The costumes of the bunnies, who are integral to the Playboy culture, will be based on Indian sensibilities and morals," Sanjay Gupta, CEO of PB Lifestyle, which is bringing the brand to India through a licensing agreement, told Reuters. India has strict censorship laws and there is no Indian version of Playboy, the magazine launched by Hugh Hefner that became as known for its pictures of naked women as for the hedonistic lifestyle propagated by its founder. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rhode Island sues Schilling over failed 38 Studios deal Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 11:28 AM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Rhode Island is suing former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling and the former head of the state's economic development agency over a $75 million loan guarantee the agency made to the baseball player's failed video game company 38 Studios. The suit was filed in Superior Court on Thursday and listed Schilling, who named the company after his former jersey number, Keith Stokes, the former head of the state's Economic Development Corporation (EDC), several banks and law firms as defendants in the case. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amy Winehouse wedding dress stolen: family foundation Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 11:02 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Two dresses worn by late British singer Amy Winehouse have been stolen from her house, her family's charitable foundation told Reuters on Thursday. The two dresses were due to be auctioned as part of charity events later this year and next in London and New York to raise money for The Amy Winehouse Foundation, which funds a number of concerns including children's hospices and drug counseling. One of the Back to Black singer's stolen frocks was the dress she wore to marry Blake Fielder-Civil in 2007 and the other was a newsprint cocktail dress. ... Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch re-elected to BSkyB board as profit climbs Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 08:10 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - James Murdoch was re-elected to the board of BSkyB on Thursday, ensuring his family's media empire retains a direct influence at Britain's biggest pay-TV company despite being weakened by a phone hacking scandal. James Murdoch, forced to quit as BSkyB chairman in April over his role in the scandal at his father Rupert's News Corp, was re-elected as a BSkyB director with around 95-percent support in a shareholder vote at an annual meeting. ... Full Story | Top |
| "The Details" Review: Airless All-Star Comedy is Devilishly Dull Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 06:43 AM PDT  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The devil is in "The Details," but only in that this smug and airless comedy feels like 91 minutes in hell. The first few minutes promise a Rube Goldberg whirligig of bad behavior, unhappy coincidences and plain old rotten luck, but all writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes ("Mean Creek") can deliver is a group of jerks acting like jerks. ... Full Story | Top |
| George Lucas Plans to Donate Portion of Disney Sale Proceeds to Education Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 06:40 AM PDT  LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - George Lucas plans to put a sizable portion of his windfall from the $4 billion sale of his Lucasfilm to Disney into a foundation supporting education, Lucasfilm said in a statement Wednesday. Lucas is currently the chairman of Edutopia, part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Lucas could put money into the foundation or create a new foundation funded from the sale. In 2006, the George Lucas Educational Foundation donated $175 million to the filmmaker's alma mater USC. ... Full Story | Top |
| The Devil's General? German film seeks to debunk Rommel myth Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:55 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Erwin Rommel, the World War Two German field marshal celebrated as the brilliant and humane "Desert Fox", is portrayed in a new film as a weak man torn by his loyalty to Adolf Hitler and the dawning realization that he was serving a devil. The drama, due to be broadcast on the public ARD television on Thursday, has angered Rommel's son and granddaughter who believe it underplays his role in the resistance against Hitler. ... Full Story | Top |
| Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" adapted for 21st century Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:44 AM PDT EDINBURGH (Reuters) - In a bid to resurrect Walter Scott's historical novel "Ivanhoe", retired Scottish medical professor David Purdie unsheathed his scalpel to cut out the early 19th century verbiage and deliver a new edition for 21st century readers. Ivanhoe is a romantic tale of fair maidens, bold knights-at-arms, merry friars, skulduggery, enmity between Saxons and Norman barons, and even a cameo appearance by Robin Hood during the reign of England's Richard I in 1194. ... Full Story | Top |
| James Murdoch retains place on BSkyB board Thursday, Nov 01, 2012 05:18 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - James Murdoch's seat on the board of pay-TV group BSkyB was opposed by just 5 percent of voting shareholders at the company's annual investor meeting in London on Thursday. Murdoch, who stepped down as chairman over a phone hacking scandal at News Corp's British newspapers arm, was present at the meeting. News Corp is a major investor in BSkyB. Ealier on Thursday BSkyB reported strong first-quarter earnings growth as price rises and the sale of additional products to subscribers helped reassure investors who had been fearing a slowdown. ... Full Story | Top |
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