James Byron Dean

"Harry Potter" director says finale to be best yet

2009-07-14T00:56:00.001-04:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The sixth "Harry Potter" film opens on Wednesday and is likely to be another hit for the boy wizard series, but with filming started on the finale, British director David Yates says "you haven't seen anything yet."

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," in which romance, magic and comedy collide as teenage hormones rage at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has received rave reviews and already sold out hundreds of theaters for its opening day.

Based on author British author J.K. Rowling's seven novels, which have sold more than 400 million copies, the film franchise has so far raked $4.5 billion worldwide for Warner Bros. studio, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.

The series finale is being split into two movies for which filming began five months ago and is due to finish in about a year. Part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is due out in late 2010 and part two is planned for release in 2011.

1 dead at Pamplona; first goring death since '95

2009-07-10T08:59:00.002-04:00

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — A charging bull gored a young Spanish man to death Friday at Pamplona's San Fermin festival, the first such fatality in nearly 15 years. Nine others were injured in a particularly dangerous and chaotic chapter of the running of the bulls.

Pamplona officials identified the man as Daniel Jimeno Romero, 27, from Alcala de Henares, outside Madrid. He was on vacation with his parents and girlfriend, who identified him.

The San Fermin festival Web site said Jimeno Romero was gored in the neck and lung during a run in which a rogue bull named Capuchino separated from the pack, which is among the worst things that can happen at Spain's most popular fiesta.

Isolated bulls are more likely to get disoriented and start charging at people.

Photographs showed Jimeno Romero lying on a stretcher moments after the goring, his face and neck stained with blood and his eyes only half-open. An emergency medical worker was leaning over him, applying what appeared to be gauze to his neck wound.

"Slumdog" child star moves into new Mumbai home

2009-07-05T00:59:00.002-04:00

MUMBAI (Reuters) – A child star of the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire" moved into his new home in an upmarket Mumbai suburb Saturday, a far cry from his family's former dwelling -- a shanty by the railway tracks.

Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the youngest Salim in British director Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches film about a slum dweller trying his luck on a TV gameshow.

His eyes bright and a big smile plastered on his face, Ismail showed off his new home to guests.

"I like it here, it is really nice. But I will miss my old friends back in Bandra. Maybe I will go and visit them once a while," a grinning Ismail told Reuters as he pranced around the house.

Ismail and his family moved into the 250 square foot (25 sq meter) ground floor flat, which is in a modern building complex, with electricity and running water. It is a short drive away from Juhu, a suburb home to some of India's most famous film stars.

Distributor bets on Lori Petty's "Poker House"

2009-07-02T01:16:00.002-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Actress Lori Petty's feature directorial debut, "The Poker House," a drama based on her teenage years, has been picked up for U.S. distribution.

Phase 4 Films, a new theatrical, DVD and television distribution company, has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to the film.

"Poker," which Petty wrote with fellow actor David Alan Grier, stars Selma Blair, Grier and Jennifer Lawrence in a portrait of poor, small-town life in 1976 Iowa. Lawrence plays Agnes, the oldest of three sisters living in the "Poker House" -- a brothel, drug mecca and gambling oasis for local squatters. Blair plays her drug-addicted mother.

The film premiered at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival, where Lawrence won the Outstanding Performance award.

"Poker" will have a limited theatrical release in the U.S. beginning July 17 and will be released on DVD in the U.S. and Canada on August 18.

How to create a Broadway hit in 6 Easy Steps

2009-06-28T23:19:00.001-04:00

How to create a Broadway hit in 6 Easy Steps

Farrah Fawcett, 62: Actress, poster girl

2009-06-26T10:02:00.002-04:00

Farrah Fawcett, 62: Actress, poster girl

McConaughey and girlfriend expecting second child

2009-06-23T03:30:00.001-04:00

NEW YORK – Matthew McConaughey (Mih-KAH'-nih-hay) and his girlfriend, Camila Alves (kuh-MEE'-luh AHL'-vehs), are expecting another baby.

McConaughey (Mih-KAH'-nih-hay) announced the news in a posting on his Web site on Father's Day.

The 39-year-old actor and Alves (AHL'-vehs) have an 11-month-old son, Levi.

Writes McConaughey (Mih-KAH'-nih-hay) in the posting: "Camila and I are expecting our second child, bringing more life into the world, making more to live for. The future looks bright as the family grows..."

A century after his birth, Errol Flynn's legend lives on

2009-06-22T02:20:00.001-04:00

Errol Flynn, Hollywood's original bad boy and swashbuckling screen hero, would have turned 100 on Saturday.

Hobart, the city in Tasmania where Flynn was born and raised, has marked the centenary of its most famous son with a weeklong festival.

The celebration included tourist walks around the city, highlighting Flynn sites such as the Theatre Royal where Flynn appeared in a pantomime at the age of five or six, and the heritage State Cinema where he watched silent films as a teenager.

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery has staged an exhibition of Flynn memorabilia, including a sword believed to be the one he played with as a child and love letters to one of his wives.

There have been swashbuckling competitions on Constitution Dock. And on Saturday, the State Cinema unveiled an inaugural Hollywood-like star on its Hobart's Walk of Fame, followed by a party.

The actor's American daughter, Rory Flynn, has been in town for the festivities, flying the family flag and promoting her book about her father, The Baron of Mulholland.

T.R. Knight leaving "Grey's Anatomy"

2009-06-20T01:45:00.001-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Television network ABC on Friday said popular actor T.R. Knight will not return to hit hospital drama "Grey's Anatomy" when new episodes hit U.S. airwaves this coming season.

"Leaving 'Grey's Anatomy' was not an easy decision for me to make," Knight said in a statement. "I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much.

"I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm," he said.

Knight had previously asked to be released from his contract on the show, and in the season finale in May, his character, Dr. George O'Malley, lost his heartbeat after being hit by a bus.

Mirren returns to stage in disappointing "Phedre"

2009-06-18T01:23:00.001-04:00

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) – The National Theatre's production of Jean Racine's tragedy "Phedre," in a version by British poet Ted Hughes, is so full of "woe is me" lamentations that when John Shrapnel as Theramene begins his round-the-houses description of heroic Hippolytus' death at sea, you want to ask, "Is this a long story?"

Sadly, it is. Shrapnel does a good job, roaring and panting, but Hughes crams so much information into the speech with deadening phrases empty of poetry that the torrent of words loses meaning and sounds more like waves crashing on the shore.

But you don't want to know about that. You want to hear about Helen Mirren, who stars as Phedre and is making her first stage appearance in six years, during which time she won an Oscar for "The Queen." Unfortunately, she is ill-served by the text and Nicholas Hytner's direction, and she doesn't come to grips with the subtler elements of her character's obsession with stepson Hippolytus, played handsomely by Dominic Cooper ("The History Boys").

On Bob Crowley's simmering set, a rocky terrace looking out to sun and sand, it's a classic Greek tragedy in which Phedre's warrior husband, Theseus, the King of Athens, is reported dead, and the queen's grief gives way to lust for her uninterested stepson.

David Bowie's son finding fame as movie director

2009-06-13T02:35:00.001-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Forty years after David Bowie released his breakthrough single "Space Oddity," his filmmaking son is headed for the stars with his first feature.

"Moon," a $5 million sci-fi thriller that opened Friday in New York and Los Angeles via Sony Pictures Classics, recalls films of the '70s and '80s like "Silent Running," "Outland" and "Alien," not to mention Stanley Kubrick's 1968 epic "2001: A Space Odyssey."

It was directed by Duncan Jones, Bowie's 38-year-old son with ex-wife Angela. They originally named him Zowie, but he preferred to be called Joe while in his teens and then settled for Duncan. A graduate of the London Film School, he has carved out a career in Britain as a commercials director.

In "Moon," Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut finishing a three-year contract to mine lunar helium to ship to Earth for energy use. The plot thickens when he meets a younger, angrier clone of himself who's there to do the same job.

Report: Lambert talks about sex, drugs, 'Idol'

2009-06-10T02:57:00.001-04:00

NEW YORK – "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert has landed the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, where he talks about sex, drugs and his "Idol" experiences. The 27-year-old singer from San Diego acknowledges in an interview that he's gay, and says it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. "I'm proud of my sexuality," he says. "I embrace it. It's just another part of me."

Lambert says he was inspired to audition for the Fox network singing competition after having a "psychedelic experience" at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. There, he says, he experimented with "certain funguses."

"I knew that it was my only shot to be taken seriously in the recording industry, because it's fast and broad," he says of "Idol."

Lambert emerged as an early front-runner and judge favorite, thanks in part to his soaring vocal range.

When he moved into the show's Bel-Air mansion with the other finalists, he roomed with Kris Allen, who won the "Idol" title over Lambert last month.

"Hangover" pulls "Up" back to No. 2 at box offices

2009-06-09T01:41:00.001-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comedy "The Hangover" edged ahead of Disney/Pixar's animated "Up" to claim the No. 1 spot at North American box offices last weekend with nearly $45 million when final figures were totaled on Monday.

"Up," the previous week's champ, slipped to No. 2 with $44.1 million, which is down slightly from its $44.2 million estimate on Sunday, while "The Hangover" increased its total to $44.9 million from Sunday's estimate of $43.3 million, according to Hollywood.com Box Office and other box office watchers.

"Hangover" and "Up" traded the first and second places on box office charts, but the rest of the top five movies in North remained the same with only a few changes to ticket sales.

Will Ferrell comedy "Land of the Lost" retained the No. 3 slot with a disappointing final tally of $18.8 million, down from Sunday's estimated $19.5 million.

Carradine's family wants FBI to investigate death

2009-06-06T04:20:00.001-04:00

BANGKOK – The family of American actor David Carradine has asked the FBI to help investigate his death after his body was found in a hotel closet in Thailand's capital with a rope tied to his neck, wrist and genitals.

Carradine's family does not believe he committed suicide and is troubled by conflicting accounts about the circumstances of his death, Mark Geragos, an attorney for brother Keith Carradine, told CNN's Larry King late Friday.

"They want an investigation," Geragos said. "I would think that the people in Bangkok would want to support an investigation and allow the FBI to go over there and assist in the investigation so we can get the answers to the questions."

Thai police said Saturday they have not been contacted by the FBI.

Police initially said Carradine's body was found "naked, hanging in a closet," causing them to suspect he committed suicide, though no suicide note was found.

Discovery, partner to open NYC exposition center

2009-06-04T02:51:00.002-04:00

NEW YORK – The Discovery Channel and the production company Running Subway have teamed up to create a Times Square exhibition space for blockbuster experiential shows such as "Titanic" and "Tutankhamun."

It will be known as Discovery Times Square Exposition.

The two companies announced Thursday that they merged their expertise so that more big scale "immersive" exhibitions could find a home in New York City.

"So often, these major exhibitions bypass New York because there's no venue for them because of the size, the time requirements and expense," said Running Subway Executive Producer James Sanna.

"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition," for example, has never been to New York even though it has been shown in many major cities around the world.

Johnson trades dancing shoes for racing helmet

2009-05-25T02:51:00.001-04:00

CONCORD, N.C. – From winning "Dancing With the Stars" to riding in a stock car at 170 mph, gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson had quite a week.

Five days removed from her TV dancing victory, Johnson was bouncing around Lowe's Motor Speedway on Sunday, changing a tire and hanging out with legendary driver Bobby Allison before the Coca-Cola 600.

The 17-year-old high school junior was having plenty of fun — while acknowledging a big decision looms on whether to commit to the London Olympics.

"Once I go home and this settles down, I'll get back into training and start getting back into shape and seeing where that takes me," Johnson said. "As for 2012, I haven't made a decision yet."

Tom Cruise

2009-04-28T09:57:00.002-04:00

Tom Cruise

Big-league dreams

2009-04-18T02:21:00.001-04:00

Big-league dreams

Audiences race to Fast & Furious

2009-04-07T02:13:00.001-04:00

LOS ANGELES — Fast & Furious left the competition in the dust with a $72.5-million (U.S.) opening weekend, the best so far this year.

That topped last weekend's $59.3-million debut for DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens, which slipped to second place with $33.5-million, raising its 10-day total to $105.7-million, according to studio estimates yesterday. In third place was The Haunting in Connecticut, with $9.6 million.

Universal's Fast & Furious also raced to a record for April debuts, easily passing the previous best of $42.2-million set in 2003 by Anger Management.

It was a blockbuster opening more customary to summer. But Hollywood has been extending its busy season more and more by placing summer-style flicks earlier in the year.

Casting agent sent actor on "Road" to stardom

2009-03-31T01:46:00.002-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – When casting director Debra Zane brought in the little-known actor Michael Shannon to tape an audition for "Revolutionary Road," she pulled out all the stops.

Zane assembled a team to play the other roles, with friends and associates filling in for Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates.

"We were playing all the different parts, so he would have different faces to refer to. We had snacks and martini glasses to make it look like a little party," explains Zane.

She got so into the scene that "when (Shannon) turned to tell me to shut up, I was so embarrassed, (which was) the absolute appropriate response."

Director Sam Mendes, who has collaborated with Zane on five pictures, saw the tape and hired Shannon to play Bates' mentally ill son. He went on to score the film's only acting Oscar nomination this year.

David Letterman secretly married

2009-03-24T00:33:00.002-04:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Late-night TV comic David Letterman has quietly married his longtime girlfriend, telling audience members of his show on Monday that he almost missed the ceremony because his truck was stuck in mud.

Letterman, 61, and Regina Lasko tied the knot during a courthouse ceremony near their Montana ranch last Thursday. The couple, who have been dating since 1986, were accompanied by their 5-year-old son, Harry.

" ... I had avoided getting married pretty good for, like, 23 years, and I -- honestly, whether this happened or not -- I secretly felt that men who were married admired me ... like I was the last of the real gunslingers," Letterman said, according to a "Late Show" transcript provided by a spokesman.

Fate of Natasha Richardson unknown after Quebec ski accident

2009-03-18T02:42:00.002-04:00

MONTREAL — Natasha Richardson, a member of one of the world's most prominent acting dynasties, was enjoying a routine ski lesson at a Quebec resort Monday, the kind of day that normally shows up in tourism brochures – bountiful sun, spring-like conditions, with barely a hint of wind.

It was there, on a beginner hill at Mont Tremblant, that Ms. Richardson was cast in the kind of tragedy her family has portrayed on stage and screen.

Ms. Richardson, daughter of actor Vanessa Redgrave, was not wearing a helmet when she fell down on the hill. At first, she made light of the tumble, cracking jokes and declining to see a doctor, the resort said.

But only an hour later, she was rushed to a hospital about 100 kilometres northwest of Montreal, complaining of a headache. Later, she was moved to a Montreal hospital. Tuesday, she was whisked to a private jet and airlifted to the United States.

Heritage fund consolidation extends to TV, new media

2009-03-10T04:42:00.001-04:00

Heritage Minister James Moore has announced a plan to consolidate the Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian New Media Fund into one body, saying the move is aimed at sparking the creation of new programming across multiple media platforms.

Moore unveiled the new Canada Media Fund (CMF) in Toronto, from the set of CTV drama Flashpoint, on Monday morning.

Combining the two funds will provide "more money for more creativity and more Canadian content available on more Canadian platforms," Moore told reporters, and private and public media industry leaders from CTV, Bell Video Group, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, CBC and the Writers Guild of Canada.

The government has pledged $134.7 million annually over two years for the CMF, which will begin April 1, 2010.

Four principles guided the government's decision to create the new fund, Moore said.

Oscar is in the house: Trophies come to the Kodak

2009-02-22T00:42:00.002-05:00

LOS ANGELES – A group of security workers stand at attention as two black SUVs, each driven by armed guards, pull up to the artists' entrance to the Kodak Theatre. Inside are the Academy Awards' most famous guests.

Men in black suits open the car doors. There sit 10 cardboard boxes carrying the show's critical stars: Oscar No. 3453 and 51 of his fellow Oscar statuettes. Steve Miessner, the Keeper of the Oscars, rides along with them.

He and the security guards load the boxes onto two dollies, and each is sent up a backstage freight elevator accompanied by an armed guard.

Miessner leads them down a winding hallway and into an office in the bowels of the Kodak. Two guards stand at the door as he dons his trademark white gloves and begins unpacking the precious cargo: 50 foam containers, each with one Oscar inside.

From comic roles to defender of Canadian culture

2009-02-21T00:00:00.001-05:00

Actor Peter Keleghan has created characters such as the oblivious news anchor in CBC's The Newsroom, lonely and deluded Ranger Gord on The Red Green Show and a film industry CEO in Made in Canada.

A versatile actor who has lent character to dozens of comedies, he has had more than 80 roles on small and large screen.

But when people recognize him on the street, they always want to know about his experience on Seinfeld.

That bothers him.

"I love the work in the States but it's that Canadian thing — it's never 'Oh, I love you on Made in Canada [or] The Newsroom;' it's 'What was it like working on Seinfeld?'" Keleghan told CBC's Q cultural affairs show on Friday. "Well, I did one episode."