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2012 Academy Awards nominees

Fronnie Lewis
January 25th, 2012

Hugo movie poster

The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards are getting a lot of attention — the day after the big announcement. Yesterday, “Hugo” picked up 11 nominations — the most of any film — including best picture and best director. The movie is a 3D drama adventure about a 12-year-old boy who lives in a Paris train station tending to the clocks and his quest to fix a mysterious machine left by his father.  The film is based on the book, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” by American author and children’s book illustrator, Brian Selznick.

Here are some of the major nominations for the 2012 Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

Best Picture

The Artist
Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor,
Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and
Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo
Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball
Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt,
Producers
The Tree of Life
Nominees to be determined
War Horse
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir
A Better Life
George Clooney
The Descendants
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt
Moneyball

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close
Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis
The Help
Rooney Mara
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams
My Week with Marilyn

Best Director

The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants
Alexander Payne
Hugo
Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen
The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick

For a complete list of the nominees as well as a chance to pick your favorites go  to the official Oscars website . The winners will be announced at the lavished Academy Awards ceremony set to be broadcast live, around the world,  on Sunday, February 26 beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

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NAACP Image Awards nominees are out

Fronnie Lewis
January 20th, 2012

Jumping the Broom poster

“Jumping the Broom, “The Help, “Pariah,” and Tower Heist” among the films receiving multiple nominations for the 43rd NAACP Image Awards. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization. The Image Awards celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, film, and literature as well as honoring individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.  The nominees were announced yesterday.

Here are the major film nominations for the 43rd Image Awards:

Outstanding Motion Picture

“Jumping the Broom”

“Pariah”

”The First Grader”

“The Help”

“Tower Heist”

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Eddie Murphy “Tower Heist”

Laurence Fishburne “Contagion”

Laz Alonso “Jumping the Broom”

Oliver Litondo “The First Grader”

Vin Diesel  “Fast Five”

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Adepero Oduye “”Pariah”

Emma Stone “The Help”

Paula Patton “Jumping the Broom”

Viola Davis “The Help”

Zoë Saldana  “Colombiana”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Anthony Mackie “The Adjustment Bureau”

Charles Parnell “Pariah”

Don Cheadle “The Guard”

Jeffrey Wright “The Ides of March”

Mike Epps  “Jumping the Broom”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Bryce Dallas Howard “The Help”

Cicely Tyson “The Help”

Kim Wayans “Pariah”

Maya Rudolph “Bridesmaids”

Octavia Spencer “The Help”

For the complete list of nominees go to the NAACP Image Awards website. The winners will be announced during a live broadcast on NBC, February 17 . The show begins at 8 p.m.

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Golden Globes: Winners and Ricky Gervais — will he host again?

Fronnie Lewis
January 18th, 2012

Golden Globe Awards graphic

Still  a lot of talk about last Sunday’s 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills. For the third year, British comic, Ricky Gervais, was the host of the TV broadcast, however, he reportedly doesn’t intend to do it again. Deadline.com has a post on what Gervais is saying about his latest stint as the emcee of the Golden Globes. Warning: graphic language in that post.

Here’s a recap of some of the top winners at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards.

Best motion picture drama
“The Descendants”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama
Meryl Streep “Iron Lady”

Best performance by an actor in a drama
George Clooney “The Descendants”

Best motion picture comedy or musical
“The Artist”

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture comedy or musical
Michelle Williams “My week with Marilyn”

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture comedy or musical
Jean Dujardin “The Artist”

For all of the winners and nominees click here. For more on the 2012 Golden Globe Awards including interviews, photos, videos, and the fashion on the red carpet go to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes website.

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Catching up: DGA Awards nominees are out

Fronnie Lewis
January 15th, 2012

logo for the Directors Guild of America

The entertainment industry’s awards season is in full bloom. This past week, the Directors Guild of America released a slew of its nominations for television, feature films, and documentaries.

Here are the nominees for the prestigious outstanding directorial achievement in feature films for 2011.

Woody Allen  “Midnight in Paris”
Fifth nomination. He won in 1977 for “Annie Hall”
David Fincher “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Third nomination.
David Hazanavicius “The Artist”
First nomination.
Alexander Payne  “The Descendants”
Second nomination.
Martin Scorsese  “Hugo”
Ninth nomination. He won this award in 2006 for “The Departed”

The DGA Award for feature film directing is a pretty good barometer for who is going to walk away with the Academy Award for Best Director. The DGA Awards began in 1948 and since then, only six times has the DGA Award winner not picked up the Best Director Oscar as well.

The winner will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards gala later this month on Saturday, January 28 at The Grand Ballroom in Hollywood.

For the DGA Award nominees in television go here and for documentaries here.  Also, the winners in these categories will be announced at the DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on January 28.

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Script sales and deals

Fronnie Lewis
January 6th, 2012

A screenplay

“Little White Corvette”  — Action/comedy screenplay by Michael Diliberti reportedly sold in a deal worth a cool million bucks to GK Films. It’s about money-strapped siblings who set out to peddle a load of cocaine discovered in the trunk of their late father’s white corvette. Diliberti wrote the story with David Branson Smith. Script is on the Black List 2011, a collection of unproduced screenplays favored by Hollywood executives. Emma Stone is attached to star and will executive produce along with Diliberti. Both Stone and Diliberti are repped by WME. Stone is managed by Anonymous. Diliberti managed by New School Media.

“Cult”   — A mystery crime drama from sci-fi writer/producer, Rockne S. O’Bannon, has been greenlighted by the CW Network. TV series revolves around an inquisitive female production assistant on a popular TV show called “Cult,” who teams up with a journalist blogger to investigate copycat crimes which appear to be perpetrated by zealous fans of the show. In a strange twist in the deal, the CW ordered the pilot after rejecting it six years ago. O’Bannon is the creator and executive producer of the sci-fi series “Farscape.”

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Writers Guild announces nominees for 2012 screen awards

Fronnie Lewis
January 6th, 2012

Writers Guild of America, West logo

The Writers Guild of America has put out the rest of its list of nominees for 2012 awards. Yesterday, the WGA West and East, revealed the nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the big screen during 2011.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming; Fox Searchlight

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, originally published by Norstedts; Columbia Pictures

The Help, Screenplay by Tate Taylor; Based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett; DreamWorks Pictures

Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan; Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick; Paramount Pictures

Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin; Story by Stan Chervin; Based on the book by Michael Lewis; Columbia Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Written by Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek; Oscilloscope Pictures

Nostalgia for the Light, Written by Patricio Guzmán; Icarus Films

Pina, Screenplay by Wim Wenders; Sundance Selects

Position Among the Stars, Script by Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich, Leonard Retel Helmrich; HBO Documentary Films

Senna, Written by Manish Pandey; Producers Distribution Agency

The winners will be honored on Sunday, February 19, 2012, during simultaneous ceremonies in Hollywood and New York.

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Producers Guild announces final nominees for 2012 awards

Fronnie Lewis
January 4th, 2012

The Producers Guild of America’s list of best motion picture producer nominees of 2011 include some of the year’s most talked about films. Yesterday, the PGA released the names of the nominees for the Producer of the Year Award in theatrical motion pictures, animated theatrical motion pictures, and in long-form television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were releaved by the Guild last month.

Here are the nominees for The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:

THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann

BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend

THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin

THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green

HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese

THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg

Also, Steven Spielberg will received a special honor — the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures. All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced later this month, on January 21, during a gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

More of the nominees and selected award winners  here on the PGA website.

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Jean Youn: Holiday decorations

Guest Blogger
December 19th, 2011
Photo courtesy Guest Blogger Jean Youn

Photo courtesy Guest Blogger Jean Youn

You’ve probably noticed a lot of holiday decorations being up lately. When I close up shop to head home, I see many beautiful decorations and lights all over the place. Some of you probably decorated your houses with holiday cheer as well. There are also probably others of you who don’t decorate or celebrate at all.

Christmas wreath decoration clipart

You can put many different meanings into decorations. You might feel thanks and joy as you prepare and lay out your decorations. Though, others might just see all the decorations as a bit excessive — so they might not like decorations at all.

However, there is no wrong or right in any of these cases. Whether you put up holiday decorations or not, I hope that all your hearts are beautifully decorated.

I hope that your hearts are decorated with everything you are thankful for about this past year and all the people that helped you along the way. I also hope your hearts are decorated with the love and appreciation for your family as they’ve experienced all the good things and bad things of this year with you. These are the kinds of decorations that can never be too excessive.

I would like to express my thanks and gratitude for everyone who sought after our services throughout this past year.

I hope your week will be decorated with many things to be joyful about.

###

Jean Youn is the owner of Value Village Cleaners at 912 West Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale 91202. For details on services, coupons and more, check out the Value Village Cleaners website  here.

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Golden Globe nominees announced today

Fronnie Lewis
December 15th, 2011

Golden Globe trophy

The Hollywood award season is in full swing.  Today the Hollywood Foreign Press Association released its list of nominees for the 69th annual Golden Globes. “The Artist,” “The Descendants”,  and “The Help” got the most film nominations. All three films have Oscar buzz.

Check out the Golden Globes website for a complete list of the nominations. The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony is next month, January 15,  5 p.m. on NBC.

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18th Annual SAG Awards nominations are out

Fronnie Lewis
December 15th, 2011

Some lucky thespians are celebrating nominations for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards . The nominees were announced yesterday in West Hollywood and leading the film field “The Help” and “The Artist.” Toping the  TV list, “Broadwalk Empire,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Modern Family.”

The Los Angeles Times has extensive coverage here. The winners will be announced during the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which  will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS Sunday, January 29  5 p.m. from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.

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Talk of the Town: The Black List

Fronnie Lewis
December 12th, 2011

stack of screenplays

One of the most debated and scrutinized lists in the entertainment industry came out today.  The Black List is a collection of unproduced screenplays that for whatever reason rated as a “like” or “favorite” by a number of film executives. This year, 300 of them reportedly sent in suggestions to film executive, Franklin Leonard ,who started compiling The Black List back in 2004. Since then, scripts have been plucked from this list and whizzed into production, turning the lucky screenwriters into hot scribes. To many, that’s better than any award or trophy.

Over on deadline.com, there’s the full Black List followed by some interesting comments, as well as breakdowns by agencies and management firms.

To make the list, a script had to receive six votes. Here are the top three screenplays on The Black List for 2011.

THE IMITATION GAME by Graham Moore  (133 votes)

The story of British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual.

AGENCY:  CAA
AGENT: JP Evans, Jacqueline Sacerio
MANAGEMENT:  The Safran Company
MANAGER:  Tom Drumm
FINANCIER:  Warner Brothers
PRODUCER: Ido Ostrowsky, Nora Grossman

WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ON by Chris Hutton, Eddie O’Keefe (84 votes)

In the early 1980s, a town suffers through the aftermath of a brutal murder of a high school girl and a teacher.

AGENCY: WME
AGENT: Simon Faber, Sarah Self
MANAGEMENT: Tariq Merhab Management
MANAGER: Tariq Merhab
PRODUCER: Imagine Entertainment

CHEWIEby Evan Susser, Van Robichaux (59 votes)

A satirical behind the scenes look at the making of Star Wars through the eyes of Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca.

AGENCY:  WME
AGENT: Mike Esola
MANAGEMENT: Industry Entertainment
MANAGER: Jess Rosenthal

The rest of The Black List here.

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2012 Writers Guild awards nominees

Fronnie Lewis
December 7th, 2011

Writers Guild of America, West logo

Some of the 2012 Writers Guild of America, West & East, Awards nominees are out today. On the list, nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2011 season.

TELEVISION NOMINEES

DRAMA SERIES

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO

The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime

COMEDY SERIES

30 Rock, Written by Jack Burditt, Hannibal Buress, Kay Cannon, Robert Carlock, Tom Ceraulo, Vali Chandrasekaran, Tina Fey, Jon Haller, Matt Hubbard, Colleen McGuinness, Dylan Morgan, John Riggi, Josh Siegal, Ron Weiner, Tracey Wigfield; NBC

Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Alec Berg, Larry David, David Mandel, Jeff Schaffer; HBO

Louie, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K.; FX

Modern Family, Written by Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Carol Leifer, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

Parks & Recreation, Written by Greg Daniels, Katie Dippold, Daniel J. Goor, Norm Hiscock, Emily Kapnek, Dave King, Greg Levine, Aisha Muharrar, Chelsea Peretti, Amy Poehler, Brian Rowe, Michael Schur, Mike Scully, Emily Spivey, Alan Yang, Harris Wittels; NBC

NEW SERIES

Episodes, Written by David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik; Showtime

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Gideon Raff, Meredith Stiehm; Showtime

The Killing, Written by Linda Burstyn, Jeremy Doner, Soo Hugh, Dan Nowak, Nic Pizzolatto, Dawn Prestwich, Veena Sud, Nicole Yorkin, Aaron Zelman; AMC

New Girl, Written by Nick Adams, Rachel Axler, Brett Baer, Donick Cary, Dave Finkel, Berkley Johnson, Josh Malmuth, Elizabeth Meriwether, J.J. Philbin, Joe Port, Luvh Rakhe, Joe Wiseman; Fox

The complete list here on the WGAW website. 

The winners will be revealed at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Sunday, February 19, 2012. In keeping with tradition, the ceremony will be held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York.

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Catching up: Billy Crystal returns as Oscar host

Fronnie Lewis
November 11th, 2011

Billy Crystal from oscars.org September 14, 2007

The confusion surrounding the 84th Academy Awards ceremony has cleared and the big event appears to be back on track today. Late yesterday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced entertainer Billy Crystal would be hosting next February’s Oscar telecast. Here’s the official press release.

Beverly Hills, CA (November 10, 2011)– Producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have announced that Billy Crystal will serve as host for the 84th Academy Awards. “I’m thrilled to welcome Billy back to the Oscar® stage,” said Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak. “He’s a comic legend and Oscar icon, and it feels good to have him back where he belongs.”

Commented Grazer, “Like so many others, I’ve been eager to see Billy host again. It’s very gratifying that he agreed to do it with Don and me at the helm.”

Said Mischer, “With Billy, we’re moving forward with one of the greatest hosts in Oscar history. His return to the Oscars® is, in a sense, a celebration.”

This will mark Crystal’s ninth time as host. Only Bob Hope has hosted more Academy Awards presentations, with 19 ceremonies between 1940 and 1978. Crystal last hosted the Academy Awards in 2004.

“Some of the best moments of my career have happened on the Oscar stage. I am thrilled to be back there. Actually, I am doing this so that the young woman in my pharmacy will stop asking me my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” said Crystal.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

###

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Script deals and sales

Fronnie Lewis
November 10th, 2011

A screenplay

Evan Spiliotopoulos to rewrite “Asteroids” for Universal Pictures— This busy screenwriter picks up another big assignment. Universal has hired Spiliotopoulos to rework “Asteroids” based on the 1970′s Atari video game. Original script by Matt Lopez.

Spiliotopoulos is repped by UTA. More here on Variety.

Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair’ hired to write “The Girl Who Conned the Ivy League” — Shafer and Vicknair are two hot screenwriters on the fast track. This project is based on a Rolling Stone magazine article about the true story of a woman who conned her way into Columbia University using a fake identity. Amanda Seyfried may star.

Shafer and Vicknair are repped by UTA.  More on deadline.com

“Dreamt” by Andrew Alexander— Safady Entertainment announced the purchase of this spec script on Monday, November 8. In a PR Newswire release company co-founder/producer, Gary Safady, talked about the acquisition: “We’re excited to tell a thrilling, exciting story with an amazing twist to it,” said Safady, adding: “The script has all the elements for intrigue and fascination to capture the audience from the opening frame of the film. Andrew has crafted an amazing story in the vain of Memento and Fight Club.”

“Dreamt” is about two men who have a supernatural connection through their dreams, but when they discover each others existence, one will stop at nothing to take over the life of the other. “The Hills Have Eyes II ” director, Martin Weisz, is attached to the project. Principal shooting  on this psychological thriller is set to get underway next April.

Weisz is represented by Anonymous Content. Screenwriter Andrew Alexander’s rep is Original Artists.

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Talk of the Town: Oscar drama

Fronnie Lewis
November 9th, 2011

Hollywood clip art

The Oscar telecast is the biggest event in Hollywood. The 84th Academy Awards ceremony is not until next February, but there is already plenty of real life drama surrounding it. The spark in a firestorm of controversy was lit over the weekend by movie director Brett Ratner who made an anti-gay slur and resigned on Monday as the producer of the upcoming Oscar broadcast because of it. The Los Angeles Times website has the back story on that here.

Ratner decision to step aside prompted actor/comedian Eddie Murphy to bow out as Oscar host. In a statement released by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences today, Murphy said,”… I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”

Late today, The Academy announced Oscar winning producer Brian Grazer would be taking over as the producer of the prestigious award show: “”Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars…”

“It’s very gratifying to be part of a show that honors excellence in the medium to which I have devoted so much of my career,” said Grazer in that announcement. In 2001, Grazer won a Best Picture Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind.” His numerous film credits include “Apollo 13,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “8 Mile,” and current projects “Tower Heist,” and “J.Edgar.” This will be his first time as producer of the Oscar telecast. The Academy Awards will be televised live on February 26, 2012 in more than 200 countries around the world.

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More runaway production: “Iron Man 3″ to film out of state

Fronnie Lewis
October 30th, 2011

Movie poster for "Iron Man" from 2008

Another major movie production is saying ”adios” to Southern California. Marvel Studios reportedly has agreed to shoot “Iron Man 3″ in North Carolina due,mainly to the state’s 25 percent  production tax credit, according to Deadline.com

The first two installments of the Iron Man franchise made over a billion dollars worldwide. Both were shot in Los Angeles. The “Iron Man 3″  production will be heading to Wilmington after the first of the year — taking with it hundreds of valuable  jobs.  A serious bummer for tons of  job hungry  movie production workers here in the Southland.  Details here.

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A movie deal for Steve Jobs biography on the fast track

Fronnie Lewis
October 7th, 2011

Hollywood clip art

A  Hollywood movie deal reportedly in the works for the yet to be released biography of the late Steve Jobs. Sony Pictures is in talks to shell out big money for the film rights to the bio, according to Mike Fleming over on deadline.com. Check out the details here.

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Celebrity book deals: Courtney Love & Arnold Schwarzenegger

Fronnie Lewis
September 30th, 2011

Catching up on some celebrity book deals. Rocker Courtney Love has signed a deal with HarperCollins for a “tell-all” memior, according to the publishing  site Galleycat. Love’s untitled memior reportedly will be a no-holds-barred telling of her life from “ childhood to the present day.”

Love was married to deceased rock legend, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana. Love has had success with her band, Hole, but also personal problems and trouble with drugs in her later years.

Also Galleycat is reporting the autobiography of  Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to hit bookstores in October of 2012. Simon & Schuster has worked out a deal with the former California Governor to publish, ” Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story.” Schwarzenegger’s recent love child scandal/marriage collapse to Maria Shriver will probably make it a best seller from day one of publication.

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“The Help” gets promoted to top spot at box office

Fronnie Lewis
August 21st, 2011

"The Help" movie poster

“The Help” got a boost to number one at the domestic box office with a weekend estimate of $20 million. The comedy-drama is about a young southern white woman and her relationship with the black “help” during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer star.

“The Help” is based on the 2009 bestselling novel of the same title by Kathryn Stockett. The film’s budget, $25 million. In two weeks, it has made around $71 million and is getting some Oscar buzz as well.

After two weeks at number one, “Rise of the Apes,” fell to number two with around $16.3 million. Followed in third place, by the fourth installment of the “Spy Kids” movie series, which generated about $12 million. “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World” stars Jessica Alba and Joel McHale.

The attempted reboot of  “Conan the Barbarian” fell flat, coming in fourth with an estimate $10 million. This new telling of the mythical warrior Conan’s revenge story features Jason Momoa in the starring role. In two earlier film versions, “Conan the Barbarian” (1982) and “Conan the Destroyer” (1984) a rising action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, played the lead character.

Rounding out the top five, the aninmated family film, “The Smurfs” with somewhere around $8 million. Final box office numbers out tomorrow.

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Kardashian sisters’ new novel coming out

Fronnie Lewis
August 11th, 2011

cover of novel "Dollhouse" by Kardashians

The Kardashian sisters, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé are about to become published novelists. That’s right. The reality show divas have written a novel and it’s called “Dollhouse,” according to the publishing industry website, Galleycat.

A fan of the sisters came up with the title and reportedly is featured in the book, which hits store shelves this November first. More here.

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