Steve Carell Signs For Three More Years of The Office!
Today the angels looking down on Scranton, Pennsylvania are crooning “Beers in Heaven.” Steve Carell has signed on to star as Dunder Mifflin’s quasi-top dog, Michael Scott, on NBC’s The Office for three more years. An understandably elated, Ricky Gervais, broke the news on his blog…
“Steve Carell (now one of the most bankable film stars in the world) has just signed up for another three years with us. He is the hardest working man in Hollywood and the harder he works the better it is for me. I mean… well done Steve you are wonderful. …Steve had to do months of that in Evan Almighty and I heard he didn’t complain once. He is a very nice man and deserves all his success.”
Gervais went on to mention 2009’s The Office spin-off starring Aziz Ansari but kept mum. He also (half-?) jokingly threw his name into the ring for the role of Hannibal in The A-Team remake. John Singleton, give him a call, no joke. That would be choice.
Back to Carell: the news is a welcome surprise given Carell’s consistent box office draw in hit comedies (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine), sleeper dramas (Dan in Real Life) and passable summer fare (Get Smart). That this rare flexibility has worked out so well on both sides was no doubt a contributing factor in the deal. Why not celebrate by picking up some cupcakes on sale at the grocery store during your lunch break to cheer up your office’s fluorescent-lit hangout room? “That’s what she said!” is going nowhere.
TCM presents movies for kids - The Essentials Jr.
Way back in the early 1970’s, when I was a kid (I’m not that old!), I remember seeing some amazing movies on the CBS Children’s Film Festival. It was on either Saturday or Sunday afternoons and I vaguely recall my mother encouraging me to watch. Kukla, Fran and Ollie introduced the movies and to this day, I can still remember seeing classic foreign films that were made for children like The Red Balloon (French), Hand in Hand (British) and Skinny and Fatty (Japanese). I think those movies may have been the first that really got be interested in film.
Turner Classic Movies seems to be providing a similar service for kids today, albeit by presenting great classics from Hollywood’s golden era. TCM started a new series called Essentials Jr. Grey’s Anatomy star Chris O’Donnell (Scent of a Woman) co-hosts with Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). Together, they provide introductions and discuss the films, movies that are picked to be just right for kids. According to TCM, “The chosen films are ones that any cinema-literate child should know about and be able to enjoy with family and friends including grown-ups.”
It’s the same idea as Essentials, which currently features Robert Osborne and Rose McGowan. Among the pictures slated for Essentials Jr. are Meet Me in St. Louis, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Harvey, and even comedy classics like Laurel and Hardy’s The Music Box and Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. Every single one of these titles are kid-appropriate and damn entertaining.
In addition to hosting this TCM series, Chris and Abigail are playing father and daughter in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl which opens July 2. It’s logical to assume that their involvement in Essentials Jr. is a great way to promote Kit Kittredge, but it’s also another quality bit of programming by TCM. We can add it to my list of reasons I love Turner Classic Movies.
Glamour’s Women of the Year
Glamour’s Women of the Year
The Lincoln Center in New York City was definitely the place to be last night. Glamour’s Women of the Year 2007 was in the house, and some big names showed up for the festivities.
Abigail Breslin was named the first ever Girl of the Year. She’s been a huge hit ever since “Little Miss Sunshine” made its way into theaters. And with the success of “No Reservations,” Breslin is on her way to a serious career in film.
Also in attendance was the new Bell of Broadway Jennifer Garner. But someone was missing… Ben Affleck. The pair showed up separately. And Garner said in this month’s issue of Glamour that there is a method behind Bennifer not showing up at events together.
“We’ve worked really hard not to be one of those couples who are constantly in the limelight. In the past we’ve both been the kind of people who go along with things—if you’re supposed to be photographed together, you don’t question it. But how does that help your relationship? So now we refuse to walk the red carpet together: It’s a way of not condoning the attention. Plus, it just feels silly to be in that situation with him: Ben was nominated for a Golden Globe [for 2006’s Hollywoodland]. I remember being photographed next to him and thinking, This is ridiculous. You’re not some actor; you’re my husband.”
Adding to the star power of the night were celebrities like Brooke Shields, Keri Washington, Hugh Dancy, Claire Danes, Diane Sawyer, Rashida Jones, Portia de Rossi, Rashida Jones, Shonda Rimes, Taye Diggs, Toni Morrison, Victor Garber, James Pickens Jr., Mariah Carey, Mariane Pearl, Stephen Colbert, and Jill Stuart.
To see the entire gallery from the Glamour event (November 5) - !
Release Date Change: Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke
Fox Searchlight has just informed us that the big screen adaptation of Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke has been pushed back to September 26th 2008. When the company snapped up the film for a hefty $5 million at Sundance, they immediately announced an August 1st release date.
The last Friday of July/first Friday of August is Fox Searchlight’s magic date. They opened films like Little Miss Sunshine and Garden State in that calendar spot to much success. The plan usually is to open the film in a couple markets, slowly expand throughout August, and open wide in September. But for some reason, Searchlight has decided to move the release back to late September. And this might not be a bad move. This will give Choke breathing room from the other high-buzz late Summer indie releases like American Teen, Towelhead and The Wackness. Palahnuik also has a huge young adult following, so opening the film up right after College is back in session might help the film’s marketing strategy.
Official Plot Synopsis: Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), a sex-addicted med-school dropout, keeps his increasingly deranged mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston), in an expensive private mental hospital by working days as a historical reenactor. At night he runs a scam where he deliberately chokes in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who “save” him. When, in a rare lucid moment, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, Victor must enlist the aid of his best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke), a recovering chronic masturbator, and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), to solve this mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.