NEW YORK (AP) - After his new Court TV show comes on the air, the wedding invitations will probably start drying up for filmmaker John Waters.

The pencil-moustached Waters is developing a series, 'Til Death Do Us Part, that will dramatize the events of a married couple where one spouse eventually kills the other.
Waters will star as "the groom reaper," appearing as an unexpected guest at the couple's wedding, then guiding viewers through the story as the relationship disintegrates. The series doesn't have a start date.

Court TV general manager Marc Juris said Tuesday that Waters is expecting some fringe benefits from the role.

"He hates going to weddings," Juris said, "and figures by doing this show he'll never get invited to weddings."

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:01 PM | Permalink

Think you already know what ''ATL'' is about, from the trailer? Think again, says Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum

You know how sometimes you watch a movie trailer on TV, and you know without a doubt that you're seeing everything you need to know about the entire story, compacted into 90 seconds? And you know you might as well skip the 90-minute version, because if the trailer contains the best stuff, then what's left to fill the not-so-best spaces? (Yes, I'm talking about Failure to Launch.)

The trailer for ATL that's been popping up all over the place this past week isn't that kind of promotional killjoy, but it's something just as confounding — an ad that hides the movie's biggest asset: Contrary to what you see on TV, this is a movie about roller-skating. That's right — while the coming attractions hint at inner-city trouble and rudderless young men, about the most dangerous activity most of them engage in is the flashy choreography with which teams of young African-American Atlantans zip around an '80s-style rink.

Why keep such joy a secret? (The skate-offs are the best thing in the movie.) Why make the title such a translation challenge? (It's pronounced aaayyy teee elll, as in the abbreviation for Atlanta, not attul, which sounds like the next generation in computer programming.)

Well, I've spilled the beans.

Link to the article on Entertainment Weekly's website

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 6:31 PM | Permalink

The Pacific Cinematheque is showing classic and lesser-known samurai films for the next two weeks. Viewers may be familiar with Akira Kurosawa's films of which three are shown here but may not be familiar with the work of others in the ouvre including Kihachi Okamoto and Masaki Kobayashi who at the time were considered Kurosawa's peers. I highly recommend two of these lesser known films: Sword of Doom and Harakiri.

In Kihachi Okamoto's Sword of Doom a swordsman discovers that his talent for killing leads him to even greater depravity after he murders a peasant without penalty. Soon he becomes involved in a rebel plot but his fellow conspirators have no idea the depths to which he has sunk.

I consider Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri every bit as good as Kurosawa's best known samurai works. At the beginning of Harakiri a destitute ronin arrives at the gate of a prosperous clan and demands that they assist him in commiting ritual suicide. Normally the clan would pay off the ronin but, annoyed at these constant scams, decide to force him to carry through with the suicide (even though he has only a bamboo sword!). Years later, another ronin arrives at their gates and demands the same. This time, however, the story ends differently ...

Both Sword of Doom and Harakiri have magnificent photography and deep, interesting characters. Like Kurosawa, both Masaki Kobayashi and Kihachi Okamoto are masters of dynamic camera movement and framing.

These films and many others are being screened right now at the Pacific Cinematheque (1131 Howe Street). Go to their website for more details >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 12:16 PM | Permalink

By Thomas K. Arnold

Taking the concept of direct-to-video a step further than the flurry of recent sequels to theatrical movies, Warner Home Video on Thursday announced a branded line of video premieres.

All the films in the "Raw Feed" series will be edgy, hip thrillers, "a little bit Alfred Hitchcock meets 'The Twilight Zone,"' according to Warner Home Video senior vp theatrical catalog Jeff Baker.

Baker said this marks the first time Warner Home Video has gone outside of its own library product to develop and produce a line of movies.

"We believe there is a market for direct-to-video if the content is compelling and interesting," Baker said. "It's really a question of how you portray them in packaging and marketing and creating awareness."

In keeping with the films' cutting-edge feel, Baker said, marketing will focus on the Internet and on streaming content to Web sites and portable entertainment devices.

The first "Raw Feed" film, "Rest Stop," about a young couple terrorized while on a cross-country trip, is slated to begin production Monday. It's written by John Shiban, an Emmy-nominated writer-producer who is co-executive producing the WB Network's "Supernatural."

Link To The Original Reuters Story at Yahoo

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:29 AM | Permalink

A new study by Statistics Canada finds that Canadian teenagers between 12 -17 years-old watched 2 hours less TV on average in 2004 than the year before. The report found that Canadian public affairs and news programs suffered the most drop in viewership while drama and comedy drew the most. However, 82 per cent of those viewers watched foreign-produced shows.

More in the CBC >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Telefilm Canada has just released a summary of the findings of its Focus Group on the English Canadian Feature film market (held in January). The summary finds that the market for domestic film in general stayed at 5% in 2005 but the majority of this continued to be French-language. To address this Telefilm called together a group of distributors and producers to determine what could be done. One of the questions the participants were asked was what elements determined their choice to distribute or develop a feature. Top on their list was a good script.

This summary is now up on Telefilm's website here.

Posted by Keith Loh at 7:58 AM | Permalink

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer

An overwhelming majority of voters believe that viewers and not the government should make decisions about what is appropriate to watch on television, according to a poll conducted for the group TV Watch.

A telephone survey of 501 registered voters found that 82 percent said they would prefer to see individuals exercise personal choice over what they see on TV, with 12 percent favoring government regulation, TV Watch said Thursday.

The organization was formed last year with the stated goals of helping educate parents about the tools available to make family viewing choices and countering government control of TV programming.

According to TV Watch's Web site, members include the American Conservative Union, the Media Freedom Project, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and media giants NBC Universal and CBS Corp.

"We need to remove the fog of misinformation, hyperbole and emotions that have been the calling card of a vocal minority pushing the government to become more involved in television regulation," said Jim Dyke, executive director of TV Watch.

Earlier this month, the government renewed its crackdown on what it considers indecency in television by proposing a total of $3.9 million in new fines, including a record $3.6 million fine involving the depiction of a teenage sexual orgy on CBS' "Without a Trace."

The FCC also upheld its $550,000 fine against CBS stations for Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl flash of nudity.

Dyke said the poll conducted for TV Watch reinforces the fact the public believes "that parents should be making the decisions about what their children should and shouldn't see on TV, as opposed to the government making decisions."

Families need to be made aware of the V-chip, cable and satellite blocking devices and other tools available to them to screen content, Dyke said Thursday.

In the survey conducted by Russell Research on March 24-26, voters were asked if they would be upset if program choices were curtailed because the government "went too far in its attempt to control what's on television." Three-quarters said they would be.

While a majority of people believe there are always those who find something offensive on TV, 87 percent said they don't think the interests of a few should dictate television content, the survey found.

The poll's margin of error was 4.4 percent, TV Watch said.

Link to the Original Story at Yahoo
TV Watch Website

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 5:34 PM | Permalink

The Praxis Centre for Screenwriters is hosting veteran director Agnieszka Holland FRIDAY 31 MARCH 7:30 p.m.
SFU HARBOUR CENTRE, TERASEN CINEMA Main Floor, 515 W. HASTINGS. She will speak and take questions after the screening of her 1990 award winning film "Europa, Europa". "Europa, Europa" is about a Jewish boy who disguises himself as non-Jewish after the takeover of the Nazis. The boy at first hides out in a school for Hitler Youth, then joins the German army and eventually is taken prisoner by the Russians, all while hiding his true identity.

TICKETS $10/$7 PRAXIS MEMBERS & STUDENTS
praxis@sfu.ca / (604) 268-7880
Doors 7 p.m.

Posted by Keith Loh at 8:52 AM | Permalink

In its annual report Canada's communications regulator says that private television spent $401 million on foreign dramas in 2005 as compared to $86.6 million on domestic drama. As reported in the CBC, total revenues for private TV broadcasters in 2005 were $2.2 billion, a 4 per cent rise from 2004.

More in the CBC >>

Posted by Keith Loh at 8:12 AM | Permalink

Dark Horizons reports that crime writer James Ellroy ("L.A. Confidential") has been tapped to adapt the Nicci French novel "Land of the Living" for New Line. The story concerns a woman who has been survives being kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer only to be accused of falsifiying her story by friends and police.

Posted by Keith Loh at 7:43 AM | Permalink

From the March 31st, 2006 print edition of Entertainment Weekly
Written by Michelle Kung and Hannah Tucker

The Black List is back. But this time, screenwriters are fighting to get their names on it. Why? This version has nothing to do with anticommunist hysteria. It's actually a hush-hush report that ranks 2005's ''most liked'' screenplays, as voted on by more than 90 influential insiders at talent agencies, management companies, and film studios. Heavily circulated among the creative and business classes in Hollywood, the document has taken on a life of its own, catapulting careers and becoming something of an informal Tinseltown secret.

The author — a development executive at a powerful production company who agreed to speak to EW anonymously — hatched the idea last December. ''A large part of my job is reading really bad scripts,'' he says. ''I wanted to figure out how I could read as many good scripts as possible.'' Turning to his Rolodex, the Black Lister asked friends to nominate the 10 best unproduced screenplays they'd read that year. Then he pored over almost 300 titles, ordering the list according to popularity. (Only 13 received more than five votes.) The resulting document blazed a path through Hollywood, turning somewhat anonymous scribes into minor sensations. ''The Black List was a great nod to Juno, '' says Sarah Self of the Gersh Agency, who signed the screenplay's stripper-turned-scribe Diablo Cody in August 2004. ''We were thrilled.''

''I've had managers calling — not knowing that I'm the person who did it — telling me, 'I've got these great clients, they were on the Black List this year!''' says the List author. ''I hope at some point to be able to look back and say, 'The 2005 Black List, where are they now?' Maybe they've become Best Picture winners.'' Is there a hope in hell of that happening? EW reviewed not only the list but the three highest-rated screenplays. Our take on the winners below:

TOP THREE SCRIPTS

1 THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
Susanne Bier will direct this subtle family drama for DreamWorks. It's a fun read, but Fire may burn too slowly for the screen. B-

2 JUNO
Diablo Cody's smart and quirky tale about a teenage mother found a director in Brad Silberling, but success will depend on who is cast as the lead. A-

3 LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Ryan Gosling will play a socially awkward man who finds love...with a sex doll. Director Craig Gillespie will bring this warm, kooky story to life. B+

Link to Entertainment Weekly website

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 12:13 AM | Permalink

Bob Saget's spoof Farce of the Penguins has begun to attract major talent in the starring voiceover roles as well as a veritable Who's Who of comedy in its many cameos. Samuel L. Jackson has been signed to narrate the picture. Lewis Black, Mo'Nique, and Tracy Morgan will voice the three lead penguins along with writer/director Saget, who will play the lovelorn main character. The parody of the Academy Award-winning documentary of similar name is produced by David Permut and Saget for THINKFilm.

Saget has also gathered a number of his friends and colleagues in cameo roles, including (in alphabetical order): Jason Alexander, James Belushi, Jason Biggs, Dane Cook, Norm Crosby, Dave Coulier, Adam Duritz, Harvey Fierstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Alyson Hannigan, Penn Jillette, Jaime Kennedy, David Koechner, Lori Loughlin, Jon Lovitz, Norm Macdonald, Carlos Mencia, Jeffrey Ross, Jonathan Silverman, John Stamos, and Abe Vigoda. According to Saget, "There are more cameos to come. I'm fortunate to know a lot of incredibly talented people and they all want to be a penguin."

Saget says, "One of the gifts is Samuel Jackson narrating our film. He's a brilliant actor who will bring so much to this film comedically. I'm truly privileged that he is the voice that tells our story and that he is such an incredibly funny and dimensioned character. Lewis Black, Mo'Nique, and Tracy Morgan brought such individually brilliant comedic voices; I thought I'd written an irreverent script until each of them had their way with it!"

Jackson will appear next in Snakes on a Plane and Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer's much anticipated follow-up to Hustle & Flow. Lewis Black is currently filming Unaccompanied Minors in Utah. Mo'Nique stars next in Phat Girlz. Tracy Morgan is currently filming the Wayans Brothers' picture Little Man.

Farce of the Penguins is a comedic wildlife adventure/love story that combines spectacular live-action penguin footage with an irreverent and decidedly R-rated theme and soundtrack. The story concerns one penguin's search for love while on a 70-mile trek with his libidinous buddies on their way to a hedonistic mating ritual.

Saget says, "The idea for this is pretty simple -- I was watching the 'March' movie at a screening at my friend's house, and being the adolescent that I am, I couldn't stop doing the voice-overs of the penguins, reminiscent of when I did those animal voices on that video show back in the day. I told my friend, David Permut, and he said, there's a great comedy movie in this!"

Fully financed by THINKFilm, Farce of the Penguins is a co-production with Permut Presentations, Inc. and Bob Saget's Two Angels Productions. Steve Longi, Permut Presentations VP of Production, and Elliot Rosenblatt co-produce. Michael R. Miller (Ghost World, Raising Arizona) edits. The film opens in theaters this summer.

View the original story at Comingsoon.net
Link to Farce of the Penguins movie poster

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:54 PM | Permalink

Production has begun in Vancouver on The 4400, USA Network's Emmy-nominated and critically-acclaimed hit series. Returning for its third season this summer, The 4400 will air Sundays at 9:00 PM, ET/PT.

Billy Campbell (Once and Again) will reprise his role as Collier, the self-anointed leader of the 4400, and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Tippi Hedren (I Heart Huckabees) joins the cast this season in a role that is sure to surprise fans of the series. In addition to the return of the original cast, Karina Lombard (The L Word) joins as a series regular playing Alana Mareva. Megalyn Echikunwoke (That '70s Show, Supernatural) joins the cast as the newly grown-up Isabelle. Peter Coyote (Commander in Chief) returns as Dennis Ryland in the season opener.

The 4400 premiered as a limited series on July 11, 2004 on USA Network as the highest-rated and most-watched new series premiere ever on a basic cable network. Last summer, The 4400 ranked as the #1 original scripted series on cable in P18-49, beating every other cable network's new series launches. The 4400 was honored with three Emmy nominations for its first season including Outstanding Miniseries, as well as Outstanding Writing and Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie.

The 4400 was created by Scott Peters and Rene Echevarria. Scott Peters, Maira Suro, Ira Steven Behr and Perry Simon are executive producers. The 4400 is produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sky Television, Renegade 83 and American Zoetrope.

Link to Original Article at Comingsoon.net
"The 4400" Official Site

Posted by Michael Seidelman at 11:47 PM | Permalink

By Sarah Hall

A new development may keep Arrested Development off the air for good.

Series creator Mitch Hurwitz announced his decision to quit the Emmy-winning comedy Monday, dealing a blow to fans still holding out hope that the canceled Fox show might be revived on another network, Daily Variety reports.

The move by Hurwitz was not entirely unexpected. E! Online's TV columnist Kristin Veitch reported last month that the executive producer was "hesitant" about sticking with the series, despite a tentative deal in place to move it to Showtime.

Though series producers 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine Television had hammered out an agreement with the cable network, it was forged on the understanding that Hurwitz would be continuing to script the various misadventures of the Bluth family.

However, the writer told Variety he had reached the end of the line as far as Arrested Development was concerned.

"I've given everything I can to the show in order to try to live up to [the fans'] expectations," Hurwitz told the trade. "I finally reached a point where I felt I couldn't continue to deliver that on a weekly basis."

He said he held off on making a final decision to give 20th Century Fox and Showtime time to reach a potential deal but ultimately had to move on due to a combination of creative and financial concerns.

"Of course, if there was enough money in it, I would have happily abandoned the fans' need for quality. But as it turns out, there wasn't," he said.

Hurwitz said he had briefed most of the show's cast and writers about his decision. He said executive producer Ron Howard asked him to consider serving as a consultant on the show if 20th Century Fox and Imagine figured out a way to continue it without him.

"I said I'd be happy to do that, but that as showrunner, I've gone as far as I can go," he told Variety.

The tragically underrated series about a dysfunctional Orange County, California, family debuted in 2003 to critical acclaim but never registered with viewers, despite winning the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2004.

Last month, only 3.3 million viewers tuned in for what Fox billed as a season finale, but what was most likely the series finale for Arrested Development.

Despite his defection from the show, Hurwitz left fans with one final straw to grasp, hinting to Variety that he may still be interested in adapting the series to the big screen.

Link To Original Article at Yahoo

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 11:28 PM | Permalink

Nearly five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "United 93," about one of the doomed flights that day, will make its world premiere on opening night at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The festival, which was created to help lower Manhattan recover economically from the attacks, begins April 25 and runs through May 7.

"United 93" chronicles in real time the hijacked United Airlines flight, which passengers tried to retake before it crashed into a field outside Shanksville, Pa.

Paul Greengrass ("Bloody Sunday," "The Bourne Supremacy") wrote and directed the movie, which is scheduled to open in theaters April 28. The victims' survivors, as well as members of other Sept. 11-related groups, will have a chance to see the film ahead of time at the premiere.

"9/11 changed us, in indescribable personal ways, but also by forever altering our downtown community," festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal said Wednesday in announcing the selection. "As we enter our fifth festival, we are honored to showcase a film that portrays a story of bravery and sacrifice of the men and women who dedicated their lives that day aboard United Flight 93. We are humbled to host their families, first responders, and others who were most profoundly affected that day."

A made-for-TV movie about the hijacking, "Flight 93," was the most-watched program ever on A&E when it aired two months ago, drawing 5.9 million viewers.

Link to Original Article at Yahoo!
Tribeca Film Festival

Posted by Mike Laverdiere at 9:30 PM | Permalink