Six years after Crash won the Oscar for Best Picture, director Paul Haggis finally earned a hard-fought legal victory over his film’s spoils. Haggis, costar Brendan Fraser, producer Mark Harris, and co-writer Bobby Moresco were awarded nearly $12 million in damages when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Crash financier Bob Yari had breached his contract with “inappropriate accounting procedures,” “bogus contractual interpretations,” and “diverting funds to third parties” in order to avoid fulfilling his agreement.
Tag: Movie Biz (11-20 of 842)
Dec 21
2011
03:29 PM ET
Nov 1
2011
07:47 PM ET
Hugh Grant welcomes baby girl
Hugh Grant is a first-time father: The 51-year-old actor has welcomed a baby girl, reports People. “He and the mother had a fleeting affair and while this was not planned, Hugh could not be happier or more supportive,” Grant’s rep noted in a statement. “He and the mother have discussed everything and are on very friendly terms.” The identity of the mother was not revealed.
Aug 24
2011
06:59 PM ET
Steve Jobs resigns as Apple CEO
Image Credit: Beck Diefenbach/Landov
The man who put the world of entertainment in the palm of our hands has stepped down from his position as CEO of Apple.
The Wall Street Journal has posted a letter from Steve Jobs to the company’s board of directors and “the Apple community” at large, saying that he felt he could not longer serve in his position at the technology powerhouse. “I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.”
He recommended Tim Cook, COO of the company, be chosen as his successor. READ FULL STORY »
Aug 3
2011
08:50 PM ET
Disney picks director for live-action 'Snow White' movie
Commercials director and visual effects specialist Michael Gracey will direct Disney’s Snow White revisionist feature, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The live-action project, now called The Order of the Seven, has been in the works since 2002. This film — which, to be clear, has nothing to do with either Universal’s upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman (starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron) or Relativity’s still-untitled Snow White film (starring Lily Collins and Julia Roberts) — will be set in China and “is evolving into an original action film, with the Snow White elements being minimized.”
Jul 27
2011
09:29 PM ET
Joe Pesci suing makers of John Gotti biopic for $3 million
Image Credit: Bobby Bank/Getty Images
Actor Joe Pesci is suing Fiore Films, the production company behind the John Gotti biopic Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father, for $3 million, reports the Associated Press. The suit alleges that the company used Pesci’s name to drum up interest in the project, only to rescind an offer for Pesci to play Gotti enforcer and childhood friend Angelo Ruggiero. The 68-year-old actor (pictured here at a May 2010 event) also claims he gained 30 pounds for the role.
John Travolta is attached to play the title role of the notorious New York mobster in the film, which is set to start production in January with director Barry Levinson. Other confirmed stars include Al Pacino, Lindsay Lohan, and Kelly Preston. Levinson and James Toback (who penned Levinson’s 1991 gangster film Bugsy) are writing the screenplay.
UPDATE: When reached by the AP, Mike Fiore, CEO of Fiore Films, claimed it was Pesci who had pulled out of the project, when the original director, Nick Cassavetes, left the film in April. Pesci, contends Fiore, said he would not return until Cassavetes was replaced, and then rebuffed attempts by Levinson to reach out to him. “Before we had a deal, Mr. Pesci walked away,” says Fiore, who also contends he’s considering countersuing Pesci. “He’s wasting his time and everybody else’s time. I might be a newbie in town. This newbie is not going to get bulled around.”
Read more:
Al Pacino joins ‘Gotti’ biopic
Lindsay Lohan will play Kim Gotti opposite John Travolta in ‘Gotti’ biopic
‘Gotti’ loses a director, gains critics. Could the film turn the mob boss into an anti-hero?
Jun 13
2011
12:54 AM ET
'Spider-Man' movie franchise producer Laura Ziskin dies at 61
Laura Ziskin, one of the most successful female movie producers in history, died Sunday at her home in Santa Monica, Calif., after a seven-year battle with breast cancer, Variety reported. She was 61. In addition to overseeing Sony’s Spider-Man franchise, whose three films have grossed nearly $1.2 billion domestically, Ziskin produced or exec produced such movies as Pretty Woman, To Die For, and As Good As It Gets. The president of Fox 2000 from 1994 to 2000, Ziskin also exec produced the Academy Awards in 2002 and 2007.
“Laura was my closest friend,” Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in a statement. “She was an inspiring warrior who fought every battle, whether it was business or personal, with her trademark brains, guts, and class. She was the creative guiding light for all of us who loved and worked with her. She was also a frustrating perfectionist and that’s why she was simply the best. We are heartbroken and miss her terribly already — as a producer, as an advocate for cancer research, but most importantly, as an irreplaceable friend.”
May 30
2011
07:40 PM ET
'The Hobbit' gets official titles
Peter Jackson’s two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit — to be released on Dec. 14, 2012 and Dec. 13, 2013 — now have official titles: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.
The news first surfaced on Facebook, which reminds fans that “both films are set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings.” It will not only reunite Peter Jackson with the character of Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman), who in this story is on a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, but with many of the director’s Lord of the Rings stars including Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, and Ian McKellen who have already all signed on.
Weigh in on Hobbit titles! See our take at Hobbit titles: Tolkien touch or Lifetime drama?
Apr 27
2011
08:27 PM ET
Writers Guild membership 'overwhelmingly' approve new contract
In stark contrast to the last time the Writers Guild of America negotiated a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the WGA announced today that its members had “overwhelmingly” — and quietly — ratified a new three-year contract with the AMPTP by 90.7 percent. The terms run from May 2, 2011 through May 1, 2014, and include increases in pension plan contributions, pay TV payments, and minimum fees.
The WGA famously went on a 100-day strike between Nov. 5, 2007 and Feb. 12, 2008 during the previous contract negotiation, largely over payment for new media.
Read more:
2007-2008 Writers’ Strike Timeline
Writers’ Strike Winners and Losers
Apr 20
2011
07:26 PM ET
Lindsay Lohan will play Kim Gotti opposite John Travolta in 'Gotti: Three Generations'
Lindsay Lohan will play the daughter-in-law of late mob boss John Gotti — and wife of imprisoned mobster “Junior” Gotti — in the film Gotti: Three Generations, according to a press release from Fiore Films. (A Fiore representative for Gotti had earlier told EW that Lohan was out of the running to play another role in the film: Victoria Gotti, the daughter of Gotti Sr. and sister of Gotti Jr.) As part of the deal, Lohan has also agreed to star in another Fiore film, Mob Street, written by Chazz Palminteri. Lohan joins a cast that includes John Travolta as Gotti Sr. and Joe Pesci as Gotti subordinate Angelo Ruggierio. The film will shoot in the fall, with an expected release date of late 2012.
Mar 26
2011
11:42 PM ET
Reese Witherspoon marries Jim Toth
Reese Witherspoon walked down the aisle on Saturday night, marrying Jim Toth, reports People. The 35-year-old Oscar-winning actress and the 40-year-old talent agent were wed in a private ceremony that was held on Witherspoon’s estate in Ojai, Calif. Robert Downey Jr., Salma Hayek, Tobey Maguire, and Renee Zelwegger were among the celebrities in attendance, along with Witherspoon’s 11-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son from her marriage to Ryan Phillippe. Witherspoon and Toth announced their engagement in December.
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