Arriving in theaters next month, DARK SHADOWS is director TIM BURTON’S quirky, offbeat big screen adaptation of the ’60s daytime TV soap opera that captivated a worldwide audience. Ridiculously low-budgeted, the gothic drama centered on vampire Barnabas Collins and his family as they dealt with being creatures of the night. Under BURTON’S direction, the new cast features JOHNNY DEPP, MICHELLE PFEIFFER, CHLOE GRACE MORETZ, EVA GREEN, JONNY LEE MILLER, HELENA BONHAM CARTER and JACKIE EARLE HALEY. We spoke with BURTON recently and he talked about reuniting with long-time collaborator JOHNNY DEPP. (CLICK ON THE MEDIA BAR FOR AUDIO)
Currently riding high on the weekend box office chart, THE LUCKY ONE is a deeply romantic drama centering on a Marine vet returning to the States from his third tour of duty in the Middle East determined to find the anonymous woman pictured in a photograph he found and credits with his still being alive. Based on the novel by NICHOLAS SPARKS, the film is directed by SCOTT HICKS from an adapted screenplay by WILL FETTERS and stars ZAC EFRON, TAYLOR SCHILLING, BLYTHE DANNER, ADAM LEFEVRE, JAY R. FERGUSON and RILEY THOMAS STEWART.
Airing tonight on SYFY, the popular series EUREKA is titled THE REAL THING and follows the town’s continued search for the missing Astraeus ship. Created by ANDREW COSBY and JAIME PAGLIA, this popular, quirky series has made familiar faces of stars COLIN FERGUSON, SALLI RICHARDSON-WHITFIELD, JOE MORTON, ERICA CERRA and NEIL GRAYSTON (all of whom are actively looking for work now that the show has wrapped production).
Currently in theaters (and at the top of the weekend box office heap), THINK LIKE A MAN tells the story of four best friends whose love lives get turned upside down when their women start taking HARVEY’S relationship advice. Directed by TIM STORY from a screenplay by KEITH MERRYMAN and DAVID A. NEWMAN, the cast includes KEVIN HART, JERRY FERRARA, TERRENCE J. (a.k.a. TERRENCE JENKINS), CHRIS BROWN, TARAJI P. HENSON, GABRIELLE UNION, MICHAEL EALY, JENIFER LEWIS, REGINA HALL and MEAGAN GOOD.Obamas Go After the Youth Vote via Television
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In 2009 President Barack Obama made history as the first sitting U.S. president to appear on a late-night talk show when he sat on Jay Leno’s couch as a guest of “The Tonight Show.” A return visit to the Leno show was made in 2011.
The president has continued to blur the lines between politics and entertainment and holds the distinction of having made a sizable number of television appearances as president, which include “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Colbert Report,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The View,” the “George Lopez Show,” and even the Discovery channel’s “Mythbusters” show.
Now Obama is set to appear on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in a segment that has been scheduled to be filmed at the University of North Carolina.
With regard to the Fallon appearance, the campaign strategy of the White House is fairly transparent. It appears to be part of a concerted effort by the Obama campaign to tap into a younger demographic of voters. To this end, the president will use the Fallon television segment to announce a plan that will purportedly extend existing cuts of student loan interest rates.
The North Carolina venue has the additional advantage of enabling the president to tap into voters of a key battleground state.
Although the guest spot will be Obama’s first appearance on Fallon’s show, back in February First Lady Michelle Obama engaged in a “fitness challenge” at the White House with Fallon. In an official photo, Mrs. Obama is seen in a tug-of-war with the late-night host in the Diplomatic Reception Room. Michelle and Fallon also sported hula hoops, demonstrated push-ups, and went on a jog around the White House.
The first lady has actually appeared as a television guest on even more shows than has her husband. In addition to her guest spots on Letterman and Leno, she has also made appearances on “The Colbert Report,” Ellen DeGeneres’s show “Ellen,” “iCarly,” “Sesame Street,” “Rachael Ray,” the “Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards” and “The Biggest Loser,” a show that the Obama campaign no doubt hopes is not a foreshadowing of electoral things to come.
Since the Obamas moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Michelle has made about 44 television appearances, approximately four times that of her predecessor, First Lady Laura Bush, during a similar period of time.
The Obama administration is using entertainment television for political purposes in an unprecedented way to the detriment of the Oval Office.
A New HBO Sitcom Takes On The White House With ‘Veep’
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Premiering tonight on HBO, VEEP stars JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS as Selina Meyer, vice president of the United States. Created by ARMANDO IANNUCCI, the series is an American companion piece to his highly successful BBC series THE THICK OF IT and its 2009 spin-off film IN THE LOOP. Ultimately a work-place comedy, the show’s fatal flaw is that it’s just not very funny. Populated with unlikable characters that are, for the most part, soulless and supremely cynical, the show manages to pull off a few laughs but it’s a slog to get to them. At the Television Critics Association press conference to promote the series, LOUIS-DREYFUS admitted she’s a long-time fan of IANNUCCI and sought him out when she heard he was working on the project. (CLICK ON THE MEDIA BAR FOR AUDIO)
Returning tonight for its fourth season on Bravo, THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY promises to heat up the feud only hinted at in the season three reunion show. As the season opens, all seems to be well but as the series progresses fans will see what led up to the major meltdown between CAROLINE MENZO, TERESA GIUDICE and JACQUELINE LAURITA. Being followed by cameras for the past few years has led to some pretty embarrassing situations for the women but, during an interview we conducted in happier times, MANZO and LAURITA confided that they have no regrets about anything caught on tape. (CLICK ON THE MEDIA BAR FOR AUDIO)
Think Like A Man, starring Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, and Michael Ealy, debuted at the #1 spot at the box office, besting The Hunger Games and fellow newcomer The Lucky One, which also had a strong showing with a solid second place finish ($22.8 million). Here’s the top 10:
1. Think Like A Man - $33 million
2. The Lucky One - $22.8 million
3. The Hunger Games - $14.5 million
4. Chimpanzee - $10.2 million
5. The Three Stooges - $9.2 million
6. The Cabin in the Woods - $7.75 million
7. American Reunion - $5.2 million
8. Titanic 3D - $5 million
9. 21 Jump Street - $4.6 million
10. Mirror Mirror - $4.1 million
* Actress Gabrielle Union talks about her impressions of Steve Harvey’s book Think Like A Man:
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posted by Greg Srisavasdi
Airing tonight on Comedy Central (just three days prior to its official DVD release), PATTON OSWALT: FINEST HOUR actually lives up to its title by presenting some of the funniest and most thoughtful material the titular comic/actor has come up with. A self-proclaimed nerd with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture, OSWALT has been in the stand-up business for twenty years and mercilessly skewers everything from being a new dad to gay stereotypes and the random superpowers of Jesus Christ, all the while making it look effortless.
Available via VOD and in select theaters today, MARLEY is director KEVIN MACDONALD’S fascinating look at the life and times of notable Rastafarian and the king of the reggae revolution, BOB MARLEY. Based primarily on anecdotal material and concert footage, the film manages to be a thoughtful and informative history of a man not a lot of people are aware of. We recently sat down with ZIGGY MARLEY (BOB’S musician son) and he admitted that, of anything that’s been done on his dad, this film is the most definitive of the lot. (CLICK ON THE MEDIA BAR FOR AUDIO)
