Archive: September 2009 (1-10 of 314)

Sep 30 2009 11:49 PM ET

Rumors swirl about Comcast deal for NBC Universal

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Categories: Movie Biz

The Wrap broke a story Wednesday evening that cable giant Comcast is in talks to purchase all or part of NBC Universal from General Electric. But in a statement to several media outlets,  a Comcast spokeswoman said that “the report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal is inaccurate.” Still, other sources said GE was entertaining offers from companies including Comcast.

NBC Universal runs a number of television stations including NBC, USA, Bravo, MSNBC, CNBC, and Syfy, as well as the Universal Studios movie studio and its related theme parks in California, Florida, and Japan. The company is jointly owned by GE and the French media conglomerate Vivendi, with GE owning 80 percent and Vivendi controlling the remaining 20 percent. Comcast is the United States’ largest cable-service provider. It also owns a number of networks, such as E! Entertainment, G4, MLB Network, and The Golf Channel, and partially owns MGM Studios and its subsidiary studio United Artists.

Sep 30 2009 09:32 PM ET

'Pulp Fiction' co-writer Roger Avary sentenced to year in jail for car crash

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Roger Avary, who won an Oscar in 1995 for co-writing Pulp Fiction with Quentin Tarantino, was sentenced Tuesday by a Ventura County, Calif., judge to a year in jail for causing a car crash that killed a man, according to the AP. The 44-year-old screenwriter pleaded guilty in August to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with a January 2008 automobile accident in Ojai, Calif., in which Avary crashed into a telephone pole while speeding under the influence, according to investigators. Avary’s passenger, Andreas Zini, a newlywed Italian friend of the writer, died from the accident, while Avary’s wife was ejected from the car and suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. Avary also received five years of probation, and he settled with Zini’s family in a separate civil suit for just over $4 million.

Sep 30 2009 07:23 PM ET

Hugh Jackman in talks to star in DreamWorks boxing film 'Real Steel'

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Categories: Movie Biz, Movies

Hugh Jackman is in negotiations to star in the DreamWorks boxing film Real Steel, according to Variety. In the movie, which will be directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum), Jackman would play a former fighter who earns his keep as a promoter of Robot Boxing after the human version of the sport is outlawed. The film’s executive producers include Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis.

Sep 30 2009 05:22 PM ET

Shakira to guest star on 'Ugly Betty'

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Categories: Television

Shakira will play herself in an upcoming episode of Ugly Betty, reports People. The hip-shaking singer—who has been referenced multiple times on the ABC series over the years—figures into a story line involving a Mode photo shoot in the Bahamas.

Sep 30 2009 04:20 PM ET

Dennis Hopper taken to hospital for flu-like symptoms

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Categories: Misc.

Dennis Hopper was admitted to a New York City hospital today after suffering from flu-like symptoms and a stomach ailment, his publicist told the AP. The 73-year-old actor, who was in town to promote his TV drama, Crash, canceled several interviews and TV appearances.

Sep 30 2009 10:43 AM ET

Matt LeBlanc to star in new Showtime sitcom 'Episodes'

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Categories: Television

Friends star Matt LeBlanc is headed back to TV in a single-camera comedy for Showtime called Episodes, a series “about a British couple whose hit UK show is turned into a dumbed-down American sitcom starring LeBlanc (as himself),” according to a press release from the cable network. The series is essentially a send-up of the network TV business in America, as the to-be-Americanized UK series at the center of Episodes will be morphed quickly by American TV executives.

Episodes‘ creators are David Crane (Friends, The Class) and Jeffrey Klarik (The Class, Mad About You). “Jeffrey and David have a great idea—I love it,” LeBlanc said in the announcement. “I am really excited to be working with Showtime and the BBC. And I am so glad I got the part, seeing someone else play Matt LeBlanc would have been devastating.” Six episodes will begin shooting in London and Hollywood this winter. The series is set to air on Showtime and BBC Two in the UK in 2010.

Sep 30 2009 09:30 AM ET

Tori Spelling hospitalized for stomach pains

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Categories: Television

Tori & Dean star Tori Spelling was taken to the hospital twice in two days this week with severe abdominal pain, according to a People report and various Tweets from both Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott. Spelling went to the hospital on Monday night but, per a Tweet from McDermott, she was released overnight on Monday: “Just out of the hospital. After a battery of tests, no conclusive answers. She still feels terrible. Hope it passes soon. She’s in a lot of pain.” Because of the sickness, Spelling was forced to cancel her gig of hosting the West Coast Liberty Awards, which were held last night. Her spokesperson told the New York Post: “She feels terrible about [canceling].”

Sep 30 2009 06:57 AM ET

'Dexter' and 'Californication' premieres hit record highs for Showtime

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Categories: Misc.

The Sunday-night season premieres of Showtime’s serial-killer thriller Dexter and horny-professor comedy Californication achieved record highs for both series, according to a Showtime release. Dexter‘s fourth-season premiere at 9 p.m. scored 1.5 million viewers (up from 1.2 million for season 3′s premiere), while Californication‘s audience of 821,000 for its third-season opener at 10 p.m. was up from 522,000 for the show’s season 2 kick-off. What’s more, Showtime noted that Dexter’s audience was the network’s biggest single-episode draw since 2004, when it changed the way it calculates ratings.

Sep 30 2009 05:56 AM ET

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to host Nobel Peace Prize Concert

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Categories: Movies, Television

Hollywood power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are set to co-host the 16th annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert on Dec. 11 in Oslo, Norway, according to a report by People. Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, and Donna Summer are confirmed for the concert, and more performers will be announced in the coming weeks. In a statement, the Smiths said: “The opportunity to recognize the laureate’s contributions to the world peace movement will be an awe-inspiring experience. We are both humbled and honored to take part in the Nobel Peace Prize Concert this year, and look forward to sharing the historic evening with artists and humanitarians from across the globe.”

Scarlett Johansson and Michael Caine hosted last year’s concert, which honored Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.

Sep 30 2009 05:55 AM ET

John C. Reilly joins cast of 'Cedar Rapids'

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Categories: Movie Biz, Movies

Chicago star John C. Reilly is joining The Office star Ed Helms in Fox Searchlight’s ensemble road-trip comedy Cedar Rapids, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Sideways director Alexander Payne is producing, and Youth in Revolt director Miguel Arteta will helm. The movie revolves around Helms’ character, a man from small-town Wisconsin, who represents his company at an insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he’s dazzled by the experience. Reilly’s character will also attend the conference, but he’s a family man who treats the trip as vacation.

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