Archive: December 2009 (51-60 of 319)

Dec 23 2009 05:58 AM ET

U.S. box-office receipts to top $10 billion for first time ever

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Categories: Movie Biz, Movies

For the first time ever, annual domestic box-office receipts are set to top $10 billion, according to the Hollywood Reporter and boxoffice analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com.

Dec 23 2009 05:57 AM ET

Rapper T.I. released from Arkansas prison

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Categories: Music

Rapper T.I. was released from a federal prison in Arkansas Tuesday morning and is going to a halfway house in Georgia, according to the Associated Press. T.I. (né Clifford Harris Jr.) began serving his year-long sentence for possessing illegal firearms in May and will be in the halfway house for up to three months.

Dec 23 2009 05:56 AM ET

Joan Rivers returns to E! for 'Fashion Police' specials

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Categories: Television

Joan Rivers will return to E! in 2010 as the host of Fashion Police red-carpet specials for major awards shows, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Khloe Kardashian Odom, Giuliana Rancic, and Jay Manuel will join her. Her coverage for E! launches Jan. 18 with a Golden Globes special that will debut after the event, rather than airing live from the red carpet.

Dec 23 2009 05:55 AM ET

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler enters rehab to manage addiction to painkillers

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Categories: Music

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, 61, has entered a rehab facility to deal with pain management and an addiction to prescription painkillers, according to a report from People. “With the help of my family and team of medical professionals, I am taking responsibility for the management of my pain and am eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford,” Tyler said in a statement. “I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith. I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of.” Tyler also revealed that he’s suffered orthopedic injuries over the past 10 years that have left him with “severe chronic pain,” leading to the addiction.

Dec 23 2009 05:47 AM ET

'Ricky Gervais Show' coming to HBO Feb. 19

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Categories: Television

Ricky Gervais’ celebrated podcasts will morph into an animated series with the Feb. 19 launch of HBO’s The Ricky Gervais Show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Gervais, longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant, and pal Karl Pilkington will lend their voices to the program, Gervais’ first TV project since Extras wrapped in 2007.

Dec 22 2009 04:28 PM ET

'American Idol' season 9: 24 semifinalists, no 'Wild Card' round, and a Feb. 23 voting kickoff

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Categories: Television

Goodbye, Wild Card round! Welcome to Hollywood Week, Ellen DeGeneres! And everyone mark your calendars for Feb. 23! Those were among the major bullet points released when Fox announced key dates and details for American Idol‘s ninth season this afternoon.

Idol‘s ninth season is slated to begin on Jan. 12 (8-10 p.m. EDT) focusing on the show’s Boston auditions, and will continue the following night (8-9:15) with a pit-stop in Atlanta. The remainder of the audition-show slate will include: Chicago (Jan. 19), Orlando (Jan. 20), Dallas (Jan. 26), Los Angeles (Jan. 27), Denver (Feb. 2), and a non-city-specific compilation of the remaining best-and-worst auditions called “The Road to Hollywood” (Feb. 3). During the tryouts, the Paula Abdul Memorial Chair will be occupied by a rotating roster of guest judges, including Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Joe Jonas, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, and Shania Twain.

On Feb. 9, Idol switches focus to the Hollywood round, and that’s where Abdul’s permanent replacement, Ellen DeGeneres, will make her first appearance. “Hell Week” episodes will continue on Feb. 10 and Feb. 16, and the Top 24 semifinalists will be announced on the Feb. 17 episode.

The 24-semifinalist format marks a return to the game-plan that Idol favored in seasons 4-7 — whereby female contestants perform for three consecutive Tuesdays, and males perform on three consecutive Wednesdays, with the two lowest vote-getters of each gender getting cut each Thursday until the show is left with 12 finalists. The ladies’ semifinal performance episodes will air on Feb. 23 (AKA Power to the Idoloonies Day), March 2, and March 9; men’s semifinal performances are slated for Feb. 24, March 3, and March 10; and the semifinal results shows will produce copious tears on Feb. 25, March 4, and March 11. Absent from the Fox release is any mention of a “Wild Card” round, a controversial tool producers used to put more power in the judges’ hands during the show’s first, second, third, and eighth seasons.

The competition obliterates its gender divide on March 16, when all the show’s finalists will take the stage for a two-hour episode, and one unlucky singer will receive the Vanessa Olivarez Award for the Season’s Hastiest Finalist Dismissal during the March 17 results show (9-10 p.m. EDT). As previously announced, Fox will air all one-hour Wednesday Idol episodes at 9 p.m. beginning Jan. 27.

Below is the full slate of Idol dates leading up to the first week of finals, as announced by Fox. (All times are ET/PT.) READ FULL STORY »

Dec 22 2009 02:50 PM ET

HBO's Chris Albrecht named President and CEO of Starz

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Categories: Television

Former chairman and CEO of HBO, Chris Albrecht, has been named the new President and CEO of Starz. He will begin his post on Jan. 1, and will oversee Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Film Roman. “We are excited to have an industry leader with an exceptional track record join the Starz team,” Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei said in a press release.  “With his extensive experience and success in creating compelling original content and building a premium pay channel, Chris is a recognized visionary in the creative community and uniquely qualified to lead Starz into the future.” As the former President of Original Programming at HBO, Albrecht produced hits like Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under.

Dec 22 2009 02:05 PM ET

Megan Mullally and Patton Oswalt to star in Broadway's 'Lips Together, Teeth Apart'

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Categories: Stage

Megan Mullally and Patton Oswalt are poised to star in Terrence McNally’s Broadway production of Lips Together, Teeth Apart. The show, which will be directed by Joe Mantello, will officially premiere April 29, 2010 at the American Airlines Theatre, with performances beginning April 9, 2010. The limited engagement will end June 20, 2010. Lips Together follows two siblings and their spouses who spend Fourth of July weekend together on Fire Island. Other cast members will be announced shortly.


Dec 22 2009 12:23 PM ET

Grammys invite Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Black Eyed Peas to perform

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Categories: Awards, Festivals & Events, Music, Music Biz

Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and the Black Eyed Peas are poised to perform at the 52nd Grammy Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles on Jan. 31. According to People, Swift — who nabbed eight nominations this year — will also present at the ceremony, and fellow nominees Lady Antebellum and Maxwell will also take the stage to perform during the telecast. Beyoncé leads nominations this year — with a whopping ten nods — while the Black Eyed Peas are in contention for a total of six awards. Lady Antebellum is up for two awards, and Maxwell is up for six.

Dec 22 2009 12:17 PM ET

Simon Monjack speaks out about wife Brittany Murphy's death

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Categories: In Memoriam, Movies

Screenwriter Simon Monjack, a.k.a. Brittany Murphy’s husband, spoke to People regarding his wife’s death, claiming that neither drugs nor an eating disorder were responsible for her cardiac arrest Sunday. He told People, “These rumors that she was anorexic? It’s crazy – she was slim, but that was her natural physique. This is what’s killing all of us? How did it happen? Her mum, myself and her family – we want to know why we lost our baby.” Monjack, who told the magazine that he hasn’t slept since his wife passed away, also explained his reasons for initially refusing an autopsy: “My initial reaction to the autopsy was – they’re going to cut her open – I couldn’t bear it. That would break her mother, but we realized we needed to know. I look forward to getting the results.”

Monjack said he doesn’t know anything further about Murphy’s death. The actress, however, suffered from a heart murmur that was not life-threatening, and was ill on Saturday with laryngitis, according to the screenwriter. “She was on herbal remedies that wouldn’t speed up her heart. There was nothing here that could endanger her; there was prescription medication in the house for her female time and some cough syrup. That was it,” Monjack told People.

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