Arresting Developments
It's only Tuesday and already Hollywood's casting couch has had quite a workout:
- The Bluth boys are back! Sadly, not as the Bluth boys. A trio of former Arrested Development costars are reuniting to voice roles in show creator Mitch Hurwitz's new Fox comedy Sit Down, Shut Up. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Henry Winkler will all lend their pipes to the animated show, centering on staff members at a high school who put their needs above those of their students.
- Demi Moore is doubling her pleasure on the big screen, signing on to star in a pair of independent films, Happy Tears, alongside Parker Posey, and Bunraku, alongside Woody Harrelson. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the former follows a woman with an inflated sense of self who returns home to her bitter sister (Moore) and father, while the latter is a martial arts revenge flick in which Moore portrays the enslaved concubine of a warlord.
50 Cent Hits MySpace Nights Stage
50 Cent Hits MySpace Nights Stage
Rapper 50 Cent is among those calling Park City, Utah home over the course of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Window Shopper hitmaker took to the stage at TAO for MySpace Nights last evening, drawing a crowd including Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day at Main Street’s House of Hype, 50 said that what he really wants to do is produce independent films.
According to a report from The Envelope, “The hip-hop superstar announced the formation of his as-yet unnamed production company in alliance with his longtime manager, Chris Lighty, and the producer of 50’s movies “Home of the Brave” and upcoming “Righteous Kill,” Randall Emmett.”
But don’t count 50 out of the music business just yet, as he talks about his vow to retire if outsold by industry competitor Kanye West, saying: “I made some comments to create some excitement and energy in musi. I still have a passion for music. Technically, worldwide, I sold more albums. So I win.”
To watch video footage of 50 Cent and Paris Hilton partying together at Sundance - !
Sundance Film Festival Award Juror Conflicts?
I made an interesting observation during the credits for Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English. Hidden deep into the credits within a Special Thanks area is the name Darren Aronofsky. For those of you who are not hip to the film culture, Aronofsky directed Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. Why is this weird? Because Aronofsky is a 2007 Sundance Film Festival jury member. Is this a conflict of interest?
To be clear, Aronofsky is one of the judges for the Alfred P. Sloan Prize which carries a $20,000 cash award. While Cassavetes’ film can be be considered it probably won’t qualify. The award is designed to increase the visibility of outstanding independent films on science and technology as well as to showcase the work of emerging filmmakers tackling compelling topics within these fields. Broken English centers on mid-life relationships, and has little to no tech/science substance.
I have nothing against Sundance or Aronofsky (he’s actually one of my favorite directors). And I do understand that personal and professional politics plays into everything in the world.
But it’s an interesting question: Does Sundance check into personal politics of it’s selected jury vs. it’s selected films. Like the Academy Awards or Golden Globes (but to a much much lesser extent) a Sundance Award stamp on a movie’s poster or DVD cover can increase sales and attendance. So it’s not to be taken lightly.
If anyone knows anything about Sundance’s Jury selection policy regarding this I’d be interested to know Please post a comment below or email me at .
Cameron Diaz Takes Part in Pangea Day
Cameron Diaz Takes Part in Pangea Day
With her father’s recent passing and her new movie “What Happens in Vegas” hitting theaters on Friday (May 9), its been a busy month for Cameron Diaz.
But that didn’t keep the 35-year-old actress from taking part in Pangea Day - a star-laced broadcast from the Culver City movie studio where the “Wizard of Oz” was filmed.
During the first-ever global film festival, which seeks to replace conflict with understanding, “millions of people at venues around the world simultaneously watched a live four-hour broadcast of short independent films, some made by refugees using camera-enabled Nokia mobile telephones, showing life through their eyes.”
According to AP reports, Diaz said that her favorite was “an animated work featuring a bear of a man folding a gritty, congested city piece-by-piece origami-style into a forest oasis.”
“This is beautiful,” Diaz said of the event as a whole. “Films can’t change the world but the people who watch them can.”