Archive: April 2009 (231-240 of 341)

Apr 9 2009 04:24 PM ET

Bravo greenlights 'Gossip Girl'-style documentary series, 'NYC Prep'

Categories: Television

Step aside, Chuck and Blair — the real thing is coming to Bravo this June. Billed as chronicle of six affluent teens in the elite enclave of Manhattan’s private schools, NYC Prep promises to bring viewers into a rarefied world where "everyone’s beautiful and everyone’s connected."

Says the press release: "Whether it’s on sophisticated vacations or to a townhouse for an exclusive midnight party, their lives intertwine as they network, shop, party, study, date and write college applications." But, it continues, "privilege has its price. Despite their carefree lives, the pressure of lofty expectations can sometimes be too much for even the most confident teenagers."

Among the subjects? Seventeen-year-old aspiring fashionista Jessica, hard-partying jock PC, 18, public-school party crasher Taylor, 15, and 16-year-old French-born ladies’ man Sebastian. The series will premiere Tuesday, June 16, at 11 p.m., before moving to its regular 10 p.m. timeslot the following week.

Apr 9 2009 09:55 AM ET

'Semi-Pro' director to helm 'Treehouse Gang'

Categories: Music Biz

Kent Alterman (Semi-Pro) is set to direct the comedy Treehouse Gang, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on an original script by Role Models co-writer Timothy Dowling, the movie follows a band of childhood friends who reunite in their twenties for a treasure hunt.

Apr 9 2009 09:55 AM ET

'Heroes' rally to fight autism

Categories: Television

Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia and other Heroes cast and crew will be creating artwork for a silent auction to benefit Austism Speaks on April 19 at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, according to Variety.

The Office ‘s Rainn Wilson will host the event, which will also feature musical performances from Band From TV, a celebrity troupe that includes Heroes stars Greg Grunberg on drums and Adrian Pasdar on guitar.

Apr 9 2009 09:55 AM ET

L.A. Times puts NBC's 'Southland' on front page

Categories: Television

NBC’s aggressive marketing push for the new cop series Southland became front page news, so to speak, when the Los Angeles Times ran a fake article (clearly identified as paid content by an NBC logo and a different typeface) next to its lead stories today, reports TVWeek. The item, headlined "Southland’s Rookie Hero," offers readers a ride-along withnew LAPD officer Ben Sherman (played on the show by The OC‘s Ben McKenzie). Southland, produced by ER‘s John Wells, premieres tonight at 10pm.

Apr 9 2009 09:55 AM ET

Brittany Murphy cast in 'Expendables'

Categories: Movie Biz

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brittany Murphy (Sin City) will join Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, and Jet Li in The Expendables, an upcoming action pic written and directed by Stallone. The movie tells the story of a team of mercenaries who attempt tooverthrow a South American dictator. Murphy will play a singer who is romantically involved with with an arms dealer (Rourke).

Apr 9 2009 09:52 AM ET

Virginia Madsen producing women's ski jumping documentary

Categories: Movie Biz

Actress Virginia Madsen (Sideways) is producing Fighting Gravity, a documentary about women ski jumpers and their struggle to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Variety reports that the in-production doc, directed by former Rolling Stone editor Alex Mar, follows 15 athletes who are legally challenging the International Olympic Committee’s unwillingness to include female ski jumping at the Winter Games. Currently, ski jumping is the only Olympic sport exclusively for men.

Madsen is producing through her Title IX Productions, named for the 1972 law outlawing sex discrimination in activities receiving Federal funding.

Apr 9 2009 09:50 AM ET

Britney Spears walks off stage during concert, blames cigarette smoke

Categories: Music

Britney Spears walked off stage shortly after the start of a concert last night at Vancouver’s GM Place, leaving the crowd to sit in the dark for 30 minutes. The Vancouver Sun reports that a voice came on the venue’s loudspeaker during the dark period informing the audience that cigarette smoke was to blame. "It’s become uncomfortable and unsafe for the performers, including Ms. Spears," the voice said. "The show will resume as soon as the air around the stage is clear." Chanting and booing ensued until Spears finally came back to finish the show. The Associated Press reports that after the concert, Spears’s publicist issued a statement saying "crew members above the stage became ill due to a ventilation issue."

Talk about it in Music Mix:
Britney Spears’ onstage antics: Watch the (NSFW) clip

Apr 9 2009 09:50 AM ET

Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes reunite for 'Clash of the Titans' remake

Categories: Movie Biz

Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, who famously clashed in 1993’s Schindler’s List, will play battling deities in Warner Bros.’ Clash of the Titans remake, according to The Hollywood Reporter. French director Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) has cast Neeson as Zeus, the most powerful of Greek gods and the father of heroic Perseus (Sam Worthington), and Fiennes will play Hades, troublesome ruler of the underworld.

Mads Mikkelsen, Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos are already cast, and production is scheduled to begin in the U.K. later this month.

Apr 9 2009 03:53 AM ET

David O. Russell to direct comedy for 'Milk' producers

Categories: Movies

I Heart Huckabees director David O. Russell has signed on to make the romantic teen comedy Aaron and Sarah for Milk producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Variety reports. The script follows a geeky guy and a popular girl over the evolution of their relationship through four years of high school, during which they become friends and eventually fall for each other. Russell, who also directed the hit Three Kings, has had a spate of bad press in recent years. His infamous videotaped tantrum at Lily Tomlin on the set of Huckabees became a viral sensation, and last year, his film Nailed, co-written with novelist Kristen Gore and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel, was beset by financial problems, and production was shut down several times.

Apr 9 2009 03:32 AM ET

'So You Think You Can Dance': No sexual assault charges against choreographer

Categories: Television

A So You Think You Can Dance choreographer who was accused of sexually assaulting four of his students will not be charged for the crimes because of a lack of evidence, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office told the Associated Press. Police had been investigating allegations that SYTYCD choreographer Alex Da Silva, 41, who also teaches at multiple LA dance studios, had raped four female dance students in his bedroom in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Da Silva was arrested on Saturday, but released from jail on Tuesday. In a chilling quote to the AP, Da Silva’s defense attorney, Harland Braun said that some of Da Silva’s accusers "don’t understand the difference between being seduced and being raped."

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