Got a really funny, original, high-concept movie script you’re anxious to get produced? Top independent film producer, Lionsgate, has teamed up with the Massify website to find a hilarious comedy feature. Massify is an online network where filmmakers, actors, directors, and writers can connect.  

They’re some specific requirements like the comedy has to be male driven. That surprised me, when films geared toward the female audience are exploding at the Box Office and making a ton of money these days. Deadline to pitch your script concept is March 8, 2010. If you don’t have a script ready to go, there are opportunities to direct or be a part of the cast or crew on this project as well.

For details click here.

The Mega Millions jackpot has now super-sized to $112 million and could be bigger than that on draw day, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The winning numbers from last Friday’s game, 4, 14, 29, 54, 56 and the Mega ball was 40. One ticket, sold in California, had the five winning numbers but not the Mega ball. That ticket is worth a cool $247,572. This huge lottery is played in 35 states. It’s the largest multi-state lottery in North America, according to the California Lottery website.

The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot is 1 in 176 million! Yeah I know, the odds are ridiculously long. Still, someone is going to win that jackpot, eventually. All it takes is one very lucky ticket.

Rain is falling in Burbank this morning as a serious storm moves through the Southland today. Already the burn areas in the nearby foothills have received 1-2 inches of rain and that has caused mud and debris to start to flow. Around 243 homes in the risky areas of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta were ordered evacuated and some roads closed by late yesterday as the storm approached. Despite the danger, some of those residents refused to leave and decided to stay hunkered down in their homes.

The first band of rain from the storm has pretty much rolled through, but another is headed our way with the potential to create some major problems. More on the evacuations and the road closures here.

Official White House Photo/Chuck Kennedy — President Obama makes a point to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) during the Bipartisan Health Reform meeting at Blair House on Thursday, February 25, 2010.

First Ladies meet & chat

Official White House Photo/ Samantha Appleton — First Lady Michelle Obama chats with Mrs. Margarita Zavala de Calderon, the First Lady of Mexico, in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House on Thursday, February 25, 2010.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Banner on Burbank Boulevard in Burbank

The colorful street light banners in Burbank got slammed in yesterday’s Burbank Leader newspaper and on its website by columnist Richard Tafilaw who called them, “lame-o.”  I disagree big time for a few reasons. The banners are high above the street and not a real distraction for either motorists or pedestrians.

Photo: Banner on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank

The banners contribute a nice festive touch to streets and boulevards.

Photo: Banners on Burbank Boulevard in Burbank

Some of the banners carry messages like “Better than ever” and ”Cooler than ever.” Sure it’s promotion, but it’s done simply and tastefully. These banners have received praise from some of the merchants who own businesses on the streets and boulevards where they’re installed.  

I have seen these banners in various sections of our Media City and find them to be a pleasant addition. So the banners get a thumbs-up from me. 

Singer Sade Adu is a remarkable talent. After a 10 year hiatus, the British singer pops back on the music scene with “Soldier of Love.” The album debuted at number one on Billboard’s top 200 albums chart last week and remained there for a second consecutive week. In 25 years, this is only the singer’s sixth album. Apparently Sade, the name of the band and lead singer, believes in quality over quantity. In the group’s bio, the singer, who is a songwriter as well, says,“I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.”

After the release of “Soldier of Love” People Magazine is quoted as saying, “Sade remains the voice of comfort to the wounded heart.” I’ve heard the lead album track and it’s wonderful. “Soldier of Love,” the single, is moody, haunting, captivating and oh, so, Sade. Reviews, photos, and comments about this album and Sade on Amazon. More on the Sade website.

The Black Eyed Peas

Also local music stars, The Black Eyed Peas made history today. The Peas became the first group in 19 years to have three hits from one album go to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The single ”Imma Be” moved up two places to number one.

“Imma Be” is from the group’s hit album “The E.N.D.” which debuted at number one on the Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, last June. ”The E.N.D.” landed at number three this week after selling 65,000 copies. The album has sold two million in the U.S. so far.  

Meanwhile, the Peas are playing the first leg of their “The E.N.D. World Tour,” which is on the East Coast right now. The tour dates in Los Angeles are March 29 and 30 at Staples Center. More on the tour on the group’s website.

Burbank has not escaped the bumps and bruises of the brutal recession, but yesterday it got some good news from one of the top financial agencies. Standard and Poor’s upgraded Burbank’s credit rating to “AAA,” the highest grade possible.  

S&P credited the Media City with a strong local economy, steady tax base, low debt, high reserve balance, and attractive location in the Southland as reasons for the rate hike, according to a press release on the city’s website.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — East Olive Avenue in Burbank

“The City is pleased that the strength of Burbank’s finances has been recognized at a time when all cities and businesses are struggling with the consequences of a severe recession,” says City Manager Mike Flad in that press release. “Burbank has been more resilient due to the foresight of the current and previous City Councils who have built a strong and diversified economic base and adhered to sound financial policies.”

The higher the bond rating the lower the cost of borrowing for the city, which means “savings of taxpayer dollars,” and that is truly good news for residents.

Nevertheless on other fronts, things are not as glowing for Burbank. At last night’s city council meeting, the list of closed session issues before council members included several legal cases such as, Christopher Lee Dunn vs Burbank Police Department alleging wrongful termination due to discrimination, Omar Rodriguez vs Burbank Police Department, an alleged case of employment discrimination, infliction of emotional distress, and other related causes of action, William Taylor vs City of Burbank, alleged employment discrimination, and Angelo Dahlia vs City of Burbank, a case of alleged civil rights violations.

The entire list of closed session items appeared in Tuesday night’s city council agenda. Clearly, some problems that plagued Burbank in 2009 are not solved, and still deserve serious and transparent attention from city officials.

The umbrella is becoming almost a daily necessity in the Southland these days. There are reports of sprinkles from cloudy skies in various places and cities this morning and later today, that light rain could turn into showers. Even if we don’t get a measurable amount of rain from this storm, a second is on the way for Friday and it’s packing more of a punch.

In Burbank, the skies are overcast and the chance of rain is 20 percent today and 50 percent tonight!

Another rollover in the Mega Millions lottery game. No player in yesterday’s draw had all the winning numbers: 04, 16, 36, 40, 53, and the Mega ball 18. In California, one lucky ticket carried the five winning numbers, but not the Mega, and it’s worth $215,488.

The next game is on Friday, February 26.

Academy Award winning director set to make a film about adultery

Director Ron Howard is reportedly lining up a comedy, written by Allan Loeb, about infidelity as his next project. The Hollywood Reporter says Vince Vaughn has committed to play a guy who learns his best friend’s wife is a cheater. Kevin James is in negotiations to take on the role of the best friend.

Imagine Producer Brian Grazer came up with the idea. Grazer did not have far to look for inspiration with all the cheating celebrities and politicians in the news these days. And have you checked out the everyday lying cheats, women and men, on TV’s “The Maury Povich Show” lately? Plenty of material there, too.

The cheating comedy could go before the cameras as early as this spring. Oh, you might remember, Howard won the Oscar for directing “A Beautiful Mind” (2001). He shared the best picture Academy Award for the same film with Producers Grazer and Eric Fellner.

Rapper “50 Cent” is now a screenwriter

Big time rapper-turned-actor-turned-screenwriter, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson or “Ffity,” is firing up a new project through his production company, Cheetah Vision. ”Ffity” has co-written a sports drama, “Things Fall Apart,” with writer Brian Miller. The Donedealpro website says the script is about a star college football player who faces personal tragedy and his own mortality in his senior year.

“Ffity” will star. Mario Van Pebbles has reportedly come aboard to direct.

A “Killer” spec screenplay sold

The spec script market continues to show signs of life. Hyde Park Entertainment and Parkes-MacDonald Productions have teamed up to purchase and develop the spec script, “Killer.”  Kenny Golde’s screenplay is a cat-and-mouse thriller about a rogue police investigator who discovers a video left by a killer and sets out to capture the culprit. The script sold for six figures, according to Donedealpro.

A first spec script sale for two TV writers

Successful TV scribes, Sonny Lee and Patrick Walsh, have made the move to writing for the big screen. Lee and Walsh have written for the FX comedy series, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Nikki Finke is reporting that the writers have sold their first spec screenplay called,”21 Shots” about a guy who loses his I.D. on his 21st birthday and has only one day to find it. Some folks who have read it, say this script is very funny.  It was bought by Montecito over at Paramount. No word on the selling price, however, since the writers are repped by CAA it was probably a nice deal with plenty of dollar signs.

 The newly-minted Verve Talent and Literary Agency closed a huge script deal with Lionsgate over the weekend that included big paydays for the screenwriter, Shawn Christensen, and hot teen star, Taylor Lautner. The Internet has been buzzing with chatter about the studio bidding for this project for nearly two weeks now. Nikki Finke’s deadline.com/ Hollywood launched a play-by-play of the auction, who’s in and who’s out, when it kicked off Friday night, February 10.

The screenplay, “Abduction” is a Bourne-style action drama with Taylor attached to play the teenage hero. Taylor has become really, really hot since his break-out role of Jacob in the “Twilight” flicks. The hunky 18-year-old actor is getting all sorts of big money offers. Finke says Taylor has agreed to play a Hasbro toy-inspired hero in “Stretch Armstrong” and another superhero “Max Steel” in a project backed by Mattel. Oh, and he’s committed to two more “Twilight” films as well.

No word yet on Taylor’s salary for ”Abduction,” but his price is now somewhere in the $7 million range. The screenwriter, Christensen, is reportedly getting paid nearly a million bucks for his script. That’s good to hear for a couple of reasons. Hey, without the writer all you have is a bunch of bland pages; no story, no nothing. So anytime an agency negotiates a deal that pays the screenwriter serious money is reason to applaud. Also, this spec sale could (hopefully) light a fire under the dormant spec script market.

This is not the first big script sale for Christensen who sold the sci-fi thriller, “Karma Coalition” for somewhere around a million bucks back in 2008. The musician-turned-screenwriter has several projects in the works.

 The “Abduction” deal establishes Verve as a serious lit agency in Hollywood. Not bad, for an agency that opened its doors for business last month. A few days after hanging out their shingle, Verve made a deal for a sequel to the hit crime drama, “Four Brothers” (2005) for clients and original screenwriters of the film, David Elliot and Paul Lovett.

UPDATE:  Noon

Sunny and windy, at times, in Burbank. Gusts up to 22 mph in Media City. The high is expected to reach around 63 today.  

Rain falling in Burbank at 2:30 a.m.  Nothing heavy, just a light patter outside. The forecast is for the rain to move on by mid-day leaving behind cloudy skies. We might even get some sunshine later in the day.

Photo: Tom Farrar Jr./NASA — Space Shuttle Endeavour glides threw the dark onto a lit runway for a rare nighttime landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander George Zamka and his five member crew returned home after a two week mission to deliver and install the final U.S. Module and “a room with a view” to the International Space Station. The perfect landing occurred at 7:20 p.m. Pacific Time tonight. More on the shuttle crew and their mission on the NASA website.

A super opening for the latest teaming of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The suspense thriller, “Shutter Island” debuted with an estimated $40.2 million this weekend at the domestic Box Office, to become the number one film in the country.

“Shutter Island,” set in the 1950s, is about the investigation of a murder and some bizarre medical practices at a hospital for the criminally insane. This is the film version of Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same title. Lehane’s novels,”Gone, Baby, Gone (1998),” and “Mystic River (2001)” were both turned into successful movies.  ”Shutter Island” is the fourth movie hook-up for Scorsese and DiCaprio. They also worked together on “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Aviator” (2004),  and “The Departed” (2006).

As for the rest of the weekend contenders, the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” came in a distant second with about $17 million. Last weekend, “Valentine’s Day” was sitting pretty in the top spot. No matter, in two weeks the star-studded comedy has raked in around $87.4 million at the domestic Box Office.

The blockbuster hit, “Avatar” landed in third, earning $16 million. The 10 week domestic total — $687 million! The adventure fantasy, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” scored $15.3 million. And rounding out the top five,  the horror drama “The Wolfman” with $9.8 million. 

The 2010 Writers Guild of America Awards were handed out at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York last night for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen, television, radio, news, promotion, and videogames. “The Hurt Locker” grabbed the major prize — best original screenplay. The awards are piling up and the momentum building for “The Hurt Locker, ” which is nominated for nine Academy Awards including best picture, best director, and best original screenplay.

Here are some of the top WGA winners:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

TELEVISION WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES

Mad Men, Written by Lisa Albert, Andrew Colville, Kater Gordon, Cathryn Humphris, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Erin Levy, Marti Noxon, Frank Pierson, Robin Veith, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

COMEDY SERIES

30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Donald Glover, Steve Hely, Matt Hubbard, Dylan Morgan, Paula Pell, Jon Pollack, John Riggi, Tami Sagher, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC

Also taking home trophies, the writers of “Saturday Night Live,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” and “The Young and the Restless.” For a complete list of the winners click here.

The Mega Millions jackpot just keeps on growing! In the Friday February 19 drawing, five players picked the five winning numbers, but not the Mega ball: two of those tickets were bought in California, one each in Georgia, Kentucky, and New Jersey. However, no one won the jackpot so the money rolled over into the Tuesday, February 23 game — when the jackpot will be worth at least $83 million. Serious dough!

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza — President Barack Obama chats with the Dalai Lama at the White House. The meeting took place in the Map Room instead of the Oval Office, an apparent concession to China, who objected to the president’s meeting with the exiled and highly revered leader.  02/18/10

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs described the meeting this way:

“The President met this morning at the White House with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.  The President stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China. The President commended the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way” approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government.  The President stressed that he has consistently encouraged both sides to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks.  The President and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China.” from the Whitehouse.gov website.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza — President Obama joins Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a town hall meeting in Henderson, Nevada on Friday.  02/19/10

President Obama talked with Nevada voters about health care, jobs, and helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The president announced a new $1.5 billion fund for housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis among them Nevada, and hopefully, California as well.

President Obama:

“So this fund is going to help out-of-work homeowners avoid preventable foreclosures, and it will help homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth find a way to pay their mortgages that works for both the borrowers and the lenders alike, and will help folks who’ve taken out a second mortgage modify their loans.

  So, yes, we need to strengthen our housing market.  And we need to focus on job creation and getting our economy moving again.  But one last thing I want to be clear about — we can do all those things, dealing with sort of the emergency crisis, and still fall behind in the 21st century, in this global economy, unless we recommit ourselves to solving some of the long-term problems that have been with us for years. 

We’ve got to recognize, just like earlier generations, that our future is what we make of it, and unless we give everything we’ve got to securing America’s success in the 21st century, our children aren’t going to have the same opportunities.”  Click here for the full transcript of the town hall meeting.

Official White House Photos by Pete Souza — Music legend Bob Dylan performs, “The Times They Are-A-Changin” during a White House concert to celebrate the music of the Civil Rights Movement.  After his performance, Dylan shakes hands with President Obama. 02/09/10

New Update: Saturday night 02/20/10

Light rain, here and there, in Burbank tonight.  

UPDATED: Saturday 02/20/10                                                                                                             

Mandatory evacuations were lifted this morning at 8 a.m. for about 200 residents living in the burn region and storm-threatened neighborhoods of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta. Los Angeles County officials warn that only residents with “valid identification” will be allowed into those foothill communities. However the folks there should not unpack, because another storm is on track to sweep through the Southland later this weekend and more evacuations could be ordered.

Meanwhile, County Department of Public Works crews will be on the scene, around the clock, scrambling to clean out debris basins ahead of the next storm. More details here.

In Burbank today, sunshine as well as some cloudy skies with a high of around 55. Tomorrow, the clouds increase and there’s a good chance of rain by Sunday night.    

The February gloom has returned. Cloudy skies and drizzle Friday — turning into rain showers tonight. And that’s just the beginning. Stormy weather is predicted for most of the weekend and into the middle of next week. So hold onto the umbrellas, watch out for mudslides, mud flows, flooded streets and so on. By now, we should all be able to fall right into a rainy day routine of caution and awareness.

Speaking of caution, 200 residents in the burn areas of La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta have been ordered to evacuate by 4 p.m.  this afternoon, ahead of the storms. Despite the recent damage and destruction by mud flows during a series of vicious storms, some of the folks being asked to leave, have decided to stay.  More details on the evacuations on this Department of Public Works website.  

Photo: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times 02/26/09

Superstar Golfer Tiger Woods broke his silence today and spoke to his friends, fans, sponsors, and the world. Woods’ statement at a clubhouse of the PGA tour in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida this morning, came across as sincere and genuinely apologetic to me. Oh, he was smart enough to take personal responsibility for the huge sex scandal that turned his life into a train wreck.  

 Tiger Woods

“The issue involved here was my repeated irresponsible behavior. I was unfaithful. I had affairs. I cheated. What I did is not acceptable, and I am the only person to blame.

I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn’t apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them.

I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. I brought this shame on myself. I hurt my wife, my kids, my mother, my wife’s family, my friends, my foundation and kids all around the world who admired me.

I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I’ve done. My failures have made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before. It’s now up to me to make amends and that starts by never repeating the mistakes I’ve made. It’s up to me to start living a life of integrity.”

Now, whether Tiger can make the changes he talked about to save his marriage and career, only time will answer that. Tiger’s decision to forgo golf for a while and stay in therapy is a good sign. His mother, Kultida Woods, was among the 40 or so selected individuals who gathered in that clubhouse for Tiger’s statement. His wife, Elin, was not there. For the full text of Tiger’s 13 and 1/2 minute statement click here.

No big winner in Last Tuesday’s $58 million drawing, so the Friday Mega Millions jackpot balloons to $68 million. The winning numbers from Tuesday’s game are 45, 12, 21, 29, 11 and the Mega number of 5. Two lucky players up in the Bay Area came pretty close to winning it all — their tickets had five of the six numbers (not the Mega digit), according to the California Lottery website.

The winning tickets were bought in Oakland and Redwood City, California and each is worth $269,594. Not a king’s ransom, but enough to ease some of the financial pains of our brutal recession.

Mega Million tickets can be purchased at 2-thousand California Lottery retailers throughout the state. For a buck, you get to select five numbers between 1-56, plus a Mega number between 1-46. Or you can buy a ”Quick Pick” ticket and let the lottery computer and chance select your numbers.

Tomorrow’s Mega Millions drawing is at 8 p.m.