Friday, February 27, 2009

"AMERICAN VIOLET" TRAILER


SYNOPSIS

Based on true events in the midst of the 2000 election, AMERICAN VIOLET tells the astonishing story of Dee Roberts, a 24 year-old African American single mother of four young girls living in a small Texas town who is barely making ends meet on a waitress’ salary and government subsidies. Durring a huge drug bust, she is indicted based on the uncorroborated word of a single and dubious police informant facing his own drug charges, Dee soon discovers she has been charged as a drug dealer. Even though Dee has no prior drug record and no drugs were found on her in the raid or any subsequent searches, she is offered a hellish choice: plead guilty and go home as a convicted felon or remain in prison and fight the charges thus, jeopardizing her custody and risking a long prison sentence.

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"EXPLICIT ILLS" TRAILER

SYNOPSIS

A drama of four interconnecting stories revolving around love, drugs and poverty in Philadelphia.

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"TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN" TRAILER


SYNOPSIS
Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.

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BLACK IN THE DAYZ

This weeks Black in the Dayz movie is an oldie but a goodie. I was at a restaurant this week when the song "Taking a Chance on Love" began to play and I was singing right along to it trying to remember why I knew this ancient song. Long after the song went off it hit me...this song was a staple in this really great movie "Cabin in the Sky" and was sung by the late great Ethel Waters.

"Cabin in the Sky" makes me really sad about the state of black cinema these days. Although the atrocities of racism were at their peak when this film was made, the quality of this film outdoes anything that I've seen as of lately.

If you've never seen this classic film you should definitely check it out. This shows some of Lena Horne's earliest work. And then you too can walk around humming "Taking a Chance on Love" and smile at how much talent the actors in this film put on. Check out the clip of Ethel and Lena below.



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"NEXT DAY AIR" TRAILER



SYNOPSIS

Donald Faison (Scrubs) stars as a hapless delivery man who finds himself at the center of a drug deal gone horribly awry in NEXT DAY AIR, an uproarious action comedy with an all-star cast that includes Mike Epps, Wood Harris and Mos Def.

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"THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123" TRAILER

SYNOPSIS

Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garbe (Washington) into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime (Travolta).

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

JAMIE FOXX "BLAMES IT ON THE ALCOHOL" IN NEW STAR STUDDED VIDEO




Here's the video for Jamie Foxx's latest T-Pain laced single "Blame it on the Alcohol." The video is directed by Hype Williams and features cameos of folks like Ron Howard, Quincy Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Forrest Whitaker, and Jake Gyllenhaal and the list goes on and on...Only Jamie could pull this off.

Despite my ill feelings towards T-Pain I'm actually kinda digging the track.

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STEVIE WONDER IS A WONDER AT THE WHITE HOUSE


First lady Michelle Obama called musician Stevie Wonderone of the world’s greatest artistsWednesday evening as the White House honored the musical icon, according to the Associated Press.

President Barack Obama planned to present the nation’s second Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during a concert featuring Tony Bennett, Martina McBride and Wonder himself.

Michelle Obama paid her own tribute as she welcomed guests, recalling how she and her grandfather would listen to Wonder’s albums together.

He’d blast music throughout the house and that’s where he and I would sit and listen to Stevie’s music together — songs about life, love, romance, heartache, despair. He would let me listen to
these songs over and over and over and over again
,” she said.

The first lady said the first album she bought was Wonder’s “Talking Book,” and she and Barack Obama used “You and I” as their wedding song.

The president also used Wonder’s music as part of his campaign soundtrack, although the Library of Congress decided to honor Wonder before Obama won the election in November.

Wonder, who has won 25 Grammy Awards, has hits that include “Superstition” and “For Once In My Life.” Obama’s campaign used “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” and “Higher Ground” among its unofficial theme songs.

The Gershwin Prize honors George and Ira Gershwin and is given for lifetime achievement in popular music. Paul Simon claimed the nation’s first prize in 2007.

Wonder’s White House performance will be broadcast Thursday at 9pm (check local listings) on PBS as part of a White House series.

Click below to check out the pics from the event.










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FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA COVERS 'PEOPLE'

Our FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, talks life in the White House to People magazine in an issue that is set to hit the shelves this Friday. Below is a little of the article, courtesy of People magazine.
To view the remainder of the article where Michelle discusses family games, dinner-table conversations and new bedtime-reading habits, pick up this week's People. Click below to read an excerpt from the article.



Their father may have run on a platform of change, but for First Daughters Malia and Sasha Obama, the rules are the same in the White House as they were in their home in Chicago, PEOPLE reports in its new cover story, on sale Friday.

Start with the girls' chores. They're still making their own beds, cleaning their rooms and clearing their dishes. And even with their grandmother, Marian Robinson, 71, staying in a third-floor guest room to help out, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, must show responsibility.

Their mother, Michelle Obama, has asked the White House staff not to do too much. "People want to make your life easy, and when you have small kids – I've explained this to the staff – they don't need their lives to be easy. They're kids," she says.

The girls do have roaming privileges all around the historic mansion and can pop into the Oval Office whenever they want. "I've tried to encourage them to feel like this whole place is their home," Mrs. Obama tells PEOPLE. "We actually had this conversation – just let us know where you're going."

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SAMUEL L. JACKSON GETS 'FURIOUS'


Samuel L. Jackson has settled his differences with Marvel Entertainment in order to get pizzaid. This week he made a deal to play the role of Nick Fury in "Iron Man 2," and potentially many other films.

Jackson's deal is a long-term commitment to play Fury, the leader of the espionage unit the Shield, according to Variety. His deal contains an option to play the character in nine future Marvel superhero films, efforts that are expected to include "Captain America," "Thor," "The Avengers" and "The Shield" as well as potential sequels.

Jackson introduced Fury in the final scene of "Iron Man," when the character asked Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark to join his group. Fury shows up in multiple Marvel franchises and crosses paths with many Marvel superheroes in the comicbooks.

Jackson's Marvel future was questionable after he voiced his displesure with the producer-financier's initial offer to reprise his role. Apparently, the $600 Million dollar film producers were being a little frugal when it came to making offers to cast members.

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CHRIS BROWN GETS SOME ANGER MANAGEMENT


According to multiple sources, Chris Brown has enrolled in a few anger management classes in Glendale, California at the suggestion of his recently hired publicist, Michael Sitrick.

Chris doesn’t actually have to go by law,” a source told the Daily News. “But he believes it will make him look better to the public, and he wants to try to get in a few classes before March 5.”

Brown and Rihanna, with whom he was allegedly involved in a violent incident on February 8, are expected in court on March 5.

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STATE OF THE BLACK UNION THIS WEEKEND IN LOS ANGELES

Tavis Smiley's 10th annual State of the Black Union takes place this coming Saturday in Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It's free to attend, all you have to do is register. If you click the picture above it will take you to the website where you can register.
I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things to address this year within the Black community with all that's happened thus far this year.

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MUSIC LEGENDS GAMBLE AND HUFF GET HONORED


Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, architects of the Philadelphia soul dynasty of the 1960's and '70's, will be honored as BMI Icons at its 57th annual Pop Awards on May 19 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, according to Variety.

The evening will end with an all-star musical tribute to the pair. Gamble and Huff composed and produced landmark work by their Philly Intl. Records artists such as the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, Jerry Butler, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Three Degrees and Billy Paul.

They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, and have received the Recording Academy's Trustees Award.

The invitation-only event also will honor the songwriters and publishers of the past year's most-performed pop songs in the U.S.



These gentlemen definitely deserve this honor. Congrats!

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"WATCHMEN" REVIEW

So next Friday is the day the elusive superhero film "The Watchmen" will hit theaters. Film reviews are starting to pop up and they've been mixed thus far. Click the photo above to see what The Hollywood Reporter had to say about the first superhero film of the year.

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DEREK LUKE GETS IN SOME "TRAUMA"


Film star Derek Luke is coming to a television near you with a starring role on NBC's drama pilot "Trauma." The pilot is said to be a medical procedural about a team of EMTs. Luke will play a stoic trauma doctor who tries to be a good family man.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

OUT ON DVD THIS WEEK
















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THE BLACK LIST VOL. 2 SCREENING

Click below to check out pics from a screening HBO hosted last night for the upcoming sequel to "The Black List Vol. 2" at the Apollo Theater.






















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PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS - FULL VIDEO


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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

THE BLACK LIST VOL. 2


HBO Documentary Films and Freemind Ventures & Perfect Day Films will present The Black List: Vol 2. A film by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders & Elvis Mitchell on February 26 exclusively on HBO.

As with the first volume, Volume 2 is a collaboration between celebrated portrait photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who directs, and award-winning journalist Elvis Mitchell, who interviews a host of influential people and allows them to talk freely about how they've arrived to where they are and what it means to be black..

The list of people featured in The Black List: Vol 2 includes activist and artist Majora Carter; activist and academic Angela Davis; producer Suzanne de Passe; actor Laurence Fishburne; Anglican Bishop Barbara Harris; Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick; pastor T.D. Jakes; physician and academic Valerie Montgomery-Rice, M.D.; filmmaker Tyler Perry; singer Charley Pride; fashion designer Patrick Robinson; actress Maya Rudolph; musician RZA; filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles; and artist Kara Walker.

The title "The Black List," was first conceived by Mitchell as an antidote to the persistent taint that western culture has applied to the word "black."

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IT'S JUST MY THEME MUSIC...

HAPPY TUESDAY!

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CHARLES BARKLEY IS GOING TO THE BING


According to Scottsdale court records, former NBA star Charles Barkley pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to the same drunken driving arrest.

As a result, Barkley will have to serve five days in jail starting March 21. He also must pay more than $2,000 in fines and attend an alcohol treatment program. Under Arizona law, he'll also be forced to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicles.

For those of you who don't remember, Barkley was stopped by police Dec. 31 shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub. He was arrested after failing a field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona when he was pulled over.


What did sir Charles say to the kind policeman who pulled him over you ask...


"I was gonna drive around the corner and get (oral sex)," Barkley told a police officer, according to the official police report. He explained that the girl had performed oral sex on him a week earlier, and it was the best such experience of his life.

Later, Barkley told a civilian Gilbert Police Department employee that he would "tattoo my name on your (butt)" if the employee would get him out of the DUI, according to the police report. Barkley then laughed and corrected himself, saying, "I'll tattoo your name on my (butt)," before laughing again, according to the report.

After spending six weeks off the air at his job as a sports analyst at TNT, Barkley returned to the air last week and had the following to say...

"This is just my bad, no excuses," Barkley said in an interview with TNT colleague Ernie Johnson posted on NBA.com before he returned to work.

"I think that a DUI is unacceptable," he added. "That can't happen and I've got to challenge other people, not just celebrities or jocks. You have to really think before getting behind the wheel after you've been drinking."

Oh Sir Charles...when will you learn??

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PILOT SEASON IS UPON US...HERE'S WHAT NBC HAS BREWING



And finally, here's what the Peacock is offering up.


(w) = writer (d) = director

Drama

TITLE: Parenthood
STUDIO: UMS/Imagine
TEAM: Jason Katims (w), Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Thomas Schlamme (d)
SYNOPSIS: Dramedy based on Ron Howard's 1989 feature starring Steve Martin and Dianne Wiest that centered on a Midwestern family.


TITLE: Day One
STUDIO: Universal Media Studios
TEAM: Jesse Alexander (w), Alex Graves (d)
SYNOPSIS: In the aftermath of a global event that devastates the world's infrastructures, a small band of survivors strive to rebuild society and unravel the mysteries of why the event took place and what the future has in store.

TITLE: Southland (picked up to series)
STUDIO: WBTV/John Wells Prods.
TEAM: Ann Biderman (w), John Wells, Christopher Chulack (d)
SYNOPSIS: Chronicles the lives of a group of police officers in Los Angeles.
CAST: Regina King, Kevin Alejandro, Benjamin McKenzie, Michael McGrady, Tom Everett Scott, Arija Bareikis, Shawn Hatosy

TITLE: Lost and Found
STUDIO: Wolf Films/UMS
TEAM: Chris Levinson (w), Wolf, Nena Rodrigue, Peter Jankowski
SYNOPSIS: Centers on Tessa (Sackhoff), an offbeat LAPD detective who, after butting heads with the higher-ups, is sent as a punishment to the basement to work on John Doe and Jane Doe cases.
CAST: Katee Sackhoff, Brian Cox

TITLE: Mercy
STUDIO: Universal Media Studios
TEAM: Liz Heldens (w), Adam Bernstein (d), Gretchen Berg, Aaron Harberts
SYNOPSIS: Combining the drama and humor of real life, this show takes an unflinching look at three nurses bound together in friendship by the highs and lows of their personal and professional lives.

TITLE: Legally Mad (series commitment)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: David E. Kelley (w)
SYNOPSIS: Set in a Chicago law firm and revolves around an aging partner (Hugh Bonneville) and his daughter (Charity Wakefield) who works with him as well as a host of eccentric characters around them
CAST: Charity Wakefield, Hugh Bonneville, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Seda, Loretta Devine

TITLE: Trauma
STUDIO: UMS/Film 44
TEAM: Dario Scardapane (w), Jeff Reiner (d), Peter Berg, Sarah Aubrey
SYNOPSIS: High-octane emergency medical procedural out in the field

TITLE: Lost in the '80s (not going forward)
STUDIO: Sony TV/Tantamount
TEAM: Bob Brush (w), P.J. Hogan (d), Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz
SYNOPSIS: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" meets "The Ice Storm," an '80s version of "Wonder Years."
CAST: Billy Campbell

Comedy


TITLE: Untitled Justin Adler comedy (multicamera)
STUDIO: Sony/Tantamount
TEAM: Justin Adler, Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum
SYNOPSIS: Family show with adult siblings


TITLE: 100 Questions for Charlotte Payne (multicamera, cast-contingent)
STUDIO: UMS/Tagline
TEAM: Chris Moynihan (w), Kelly Kulchak, Ron West
SYNOPSIS: Ensemble comedy about a young woman navigating life and the world of dating with friends in New York.

TITLE: Community
STUDIO: Sony/Krassnoff Foster Ent.
TEAM: Dan Harmon (w), Russ Krasnoff
SYNOPSIS: "Stripes" in a community college


TITLE: State of Romance (single-camera)
STUDIO: UMS
TEAM: Barbara Wallace (w), Tom Wolfe (w)
SYNOPSIS: Modern day "Pride and Prejudice" set in Chicago.


TITLE: Off Duty
TEAM: Jason Mantzoukas (w), Scot Armstrong, Ravi Nandan, Bradley Whitford
SYNOPSIS: Single-camera buddy comedy about cops who can't leave their job at the station.
CAST: Bradley Whitford, Romany Malco, Bonnie Sommerville

TITLE: Unt. Jon Pollack (cast-contingent)
STUDIO: UMS
TEAM: Jon Pollack (w)
SYNOPSIS: Single-camera comedy about a powerful woman in the high-stakes world of hedge funds
.

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PILOT SEASON IS UPON US...HERE'S WHAT THE CW HAS BREWING


Here's what the CW has on their plate. Still no word yet on the fate of "The Game." Keeping my fingers crossed.


(w) = writer (d) = director

Drama

TITLE: Masterwork
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Paul Scheuring (w)
SYNOPSIS: An adrenalized race against time to recover the world's most sought-after artifacts and works of art in the vein of "The Da Vinci Code" and "National Treasure"

TITLE: Untitled Ian Biederman
STUDIO: 20th / Imagine
TEAM: Ian Biederman (w), David Nevins, Stephen Hopkins (d)
SYNOPSIS: Genius comes with a price: A brilliant female surgeon endures adult-onset schizophrenia and thrives.

TITLE: Human Target
STUDIO: WBTV/DC Comics/Wonderland
TEAM: Jon Steinberg (w), McG, Simon West (d)
SYNOPSIS: Based on the DC Comics title, the show centers on Christopher Chance, a mysterious freelancer who offers a very unique form of security for hire -- he assumes the identities of people in life-threatening danger, becoming the "human target" on behalf of his clients.
CAST: Mark Valley

TITLE: Untitled reincarnation
STUDIO: WBTV
TEAM: David Hudgins (w), Deran Sarafian (d), Lou Pitt , MJ Rose
SYNOPSIS: Past-life investigators use the concept of reincarnation tosolve mysteries of their clients' previous lives in order to resolve their problems in the present
CAST: Nick Bishop, Kelli Giddish, Ravi Patel

TITLE: Eva Adams
STUDIO: Sony TV
TEAM: Kevin Falls (w), Jamie Tarses
SYNOPSIS:Womanizer is transformed into a woman and must endure the same kind of abuse her used to doll out; based on the Argentinian telenovela "Lalola."
CAST: Rhea Seehorn, James Van Der Beek, David Denman, Alex Borstein

TITLE: Glee (picked up to series)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Ryan Murphy
SYNOPSIS: The hourlong comedy centers on Will (Matthew Morrison), a thirtysomething Spanish teacher at an Ohio high school who has the daunting task of taking over the school's glee club, which has become a heaven for outcasts.
CAST: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jayma Mays, Cory Monteith, Jessalyn Gilsig

Comedy

TITLE: Cop House (single-camera)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Adam Resnick (w), Marty Adelstein, Michael Thorn
SYNOPSIS: Set at a halfway house for troubled cops.


TITLE: Absolutely Fabulous
STUDIO: Sony/BBC/Tantamount
TEAM: Christine Zander (w), Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Ian Moffitt, Jennifer Saunders
LOGLINE: Based on the British series.
CAST: Kristen Johnson, Kathryn Hahn

TITLE: Walorsky
STUDIO: 20th/American Work
TEAM: Brian Gatewood (w), Alessandro Tanaka (w), Ravi Nandan, Scot Armstrong
Logline: In the tone of "Bad Santa," an ex-cop turned security guard patrols a mall in Buffalo. His life is centered around Buffalo sports and doing the least amount of work possible. But when he is assigned a young idiot partner, he is forced to grudgingly get involved with the people that he is assigned to protect.

TITLE: The Station
STUDIO: 20th/Red Hour Films
TEAM: Kevin Napier (w), Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Jeremy Kramer
SYNOPSIS: A covert CIA operative and his workmates are embedded in a South American country and must navigate their mission to install a new dictator in this banana republic with its own unique set of challenges.

TITLE: Two Dollar Beer
STUDIO: 20th / 3 Arts
TEAM: Mike Binder (w, d), Michael Rotenberg, Jonathan Levin
SYNOPSIS: Set in Detroit, a blue-collar couple and their extended family and friends deal with the reality of their long-standing roots in this community slowly becoming less relevant as the rest of the world slowly passes them by.
CAST: Jonathan Sadowski, Kevin Simpson, Noureen Dewulf, Ricky Mabe

TITLE: Sons of Tuscon
STUDIO: 20th / J2TV
TEAM: Tommy Dewey (w), Greg Bratman (w), Harvey Myman, Jason Felts, Justin Berfield, Todd Holland (d)
SYNOPSIS: In the spirit of "Slums of Beverly Hills," a charming but misguided hustler is hired by three young brothers with considerable resources to act as their "Father" while their real one serves time in prison for a white collar crime.

TITLE: Boldly Going Nowhere (pilot to be reshot for fall consideration)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV, RCG, 3 Arts Entertainment
TEAM: Rob McElhenney (w), Charlie Day (w), Glenn Howerton (w), Adam Stein (w), Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel, Wayne McClammy (d)
SYNOPSIS: A high-concept comedy about what happens day to day on an intergalactic spaceship helmed by a rogue captain (Koldyke)
CAST: Ben Koldyke, Tony Hale

TITLE: Save Us Then the Whales (cast-contingent)
STUDIO: 20th TV/New Wave
TEAM: Sameer Gardezi (w)
SYNOPSIS: Single-camera comedy set at a politically incorrect nonprofit organization.

TITLE: Sincerely, Ted L. Nancy (presentation)
STUDIO: Lionsgate TV
TEAM: Barry Marder (w), Chuck Martin, Gary Auberbach and Rob Lee
SYNOPSIS: Centers on a regular guy (Sussman) who, after suffering through too many faulty products and customer service mishaps, decides to take on the corporations by writing letters that "seek to avenge the consumer frustrations of people everywhere.
CAST: Kevin Sussman

TITLE: The Emancipation of Ernesto (not going forward)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Emily Kapne (w), Wilmer Valderrama
Centers on Ernesto (Wilmer Valderrama), a guileless innocent embarking on an epic quest to find his father amid a Los Angeles landscape polluted with excess.
CAST: Wilmer Valderrama, Hector Jimenez, Sarah Wright

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PILOT SEASON IS UPON US...HERE'S WHAT FOX HAS BREWING



Here's what Fox is working on.

(w) = writer (d) = director

Drama

TITLE: Masterwork
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Paul Scheuring (w)
SYNOPSIS: An adrenalized race against time to recover the world's most sought-after artifacts and works of art in the vein of "The Da Vinci Code" and "National Treasure"

TITLE: Untitled Ian Biederman
STUDIO: 20th / Imagine
TEAM: Ian Biederman (w), David Nevins, Stephen Hopkins (d)
SYNOPSIS: Genius comes with a price: A brilliant female surgeon endures adult-onset schizophrenia and thrives.

TITLE: Human Target
STUDIO: WBTV/DC Comics/Wonderland
TEAM: Jon Steinberg (w), McG, Simon West (d)
SYNOPSIS: Based on the DC Comics title, the show centers on Christopher Chance, a mysterious freelancer who offers a very unique form of security for hire -- he assumes the identities of people in life-threatening danger, becoming the "human target" on behalf of his clients.
CAST: Mark Valley

TITLE: Untitled reincarnation
STUDIO: WBTV
TEAM: David Hudgins (w), Deran Sarafian (d), Lou Pitt , MJ Rose
SYNOPSIS: Past-life investigators use the concept of reincarnation tosolve mysteries of their clients' previous lives in order to resolve their problems in the present
CAST: Nick Bishop, Kelli Giddish, Ravi Patel

TITLE: Eva Adams
STUDIO: Sony TV
TEAM: Kevin Falls (w), Jamie Tarses
SYNOPSIS:Womanizer is transformed into a woman and must endure the same kind of abuse her used to doll out; based on the Argentinian telenovela "Lalola."
CAST: Rhea Seehorn, James Van Der Beek, David Denman, Alex Borstein

TITLE: Glee (picked up to series)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Ryan Murphy
SYNOPSIS: The hourlong comedy centers on Will (Matthew Morrison), a thirtysomething Spanish teacher at an Ohio high school who has the daunting task of taking over the school's glee club, which has become a heaven for outcasts.
CAST: Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Jayma Mays, Cory Monteith, Jessalyn Gilsig

Comedy

TITLE: Cop House (single-camera)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Adam Resnick (w), Marty Adelstein, Michael Thorn
SYNOPSIS: Set at a halfway house for troubled cops.


TITLE: Absolutely Fabulous
STUDIO: Sony/BBC/Tantamount
TEAM: Christine Zander (w), Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Ian Moffitt, Jennifer Saunders
LOGLINE: Based on the British series.
CAST: Kristen Johnson, Kathryn Hahn

TITLE: Walorsky
STUDIO: 20th/American Work
TEAM: Brian Gatewood (w), Alessandro Tanaka (w), Ravi Nandan, Scot Armstrong
Logline: In the tone of "Bad Santa," an ex-cop turned security guard patrols a mall in Buffalo. His life is centered around Buffalo sports and doing the least amount of work possible. But when he is assigned a young idiot partner, he is forced to grudgingly get involved with the people that he is assigned to protect.

TITLE: The Station
STUDIO: 20th/Red Hour Films
TEAM: Kevin Napier (w), Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Jeremy Kramer
SYNOPSIS: A covert CIA operative and his workmates are embedded in a South American country and must navigate their mission to install a new dictator in this banana republic with its own unique set of challenges.

TITLE: Two Dollar Beer
STUDIO: 20th / 3 Arts
TEAM: Mike Binder (w, d), Michael Rotenberg, Jonathan Levin
SYNOPSIS: Set in Detroit, a blue-collar couple and their extended family and friends deal with the reality of their long-standing roots in this community slowly becoming less relevant as the rest of the world slowly passes them by.
CAST: Jonathan Sadowski, Kevin Simpson, Noureen Dewulf, Ricky Mabe

TITLE: Sons of Tuscon
STUDIO: 20th / J2TV
TEAM: Tommy Dewey (w), Greg Bratman (w), Harvey Myman, Jason Felts, Justin Berfield, Todd Holland (d)
SYNOPSIS: In the spirit of "Slums of Beverly Hills," a charming but misguided hustler is hired by three young brothers with considerable resources to act as their "Father" while their real one serves time in prison for a white collar crime.

TITLE: Boldly Going Nowhere (pilot to be reshot for fall consideration)
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox TV, RCG, 3 Arts Entertainment
TEAM: Rob McElhenney (w), Charlie Day (w), Glenn Howerton (w), Adam Stein (w), Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel, Wayne McClammy (d)
SYNOPSIS: A high-concept comedy about what happens day to day on an intergalactic spaceship helmed by a rogue captain (Koldyke)
CAST: Ben Koldyke, Tony Hale

TITLE: Save Us Then the Whales (cast-contingent)
STUDIO: 20th TV/New Wave
TEAM: Sameer Gardezi (w)
SYNOPSIS: Single-camera comedy set at a politically incorrect nonprofit organization.

TITLE: Sincerely, Ted L. Nancy (presentation)
STUDIO: Lionsgate TV
TEAM: Barry Marder (w), Chuck Martin, Gary Auberbach and Rob Lee
SYNOPSIS: Centers on a regular guy (Sussman) who, after suffering through too many faulty products and customer service mishaps, decides to take on the corporations by writing letters that "seek to avenge the consumer frustrations of people everywhere.
CAST: Kevin Sussman

TITLE: The Emancipation of Ernesto (not going forward)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Emily Kapne (w), Wilmer Valderrama
Centers on Ernesto (Wilmer Valderrama), a guileless innocent embarking on an epic quest to find his father amid a Los Angeles landscape polluted with excess.
CAST: Wilmer Valderrama, Hector Jimenez, Sarah Wright

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PILOT SEASON IS UPON US...HERE'S WHAT CBS HAS BREWING



Click below to see what CBS has on the map.

(w) = writer (d) = director

Drama

TITLE: Confessions of a Contractor (pushed)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Shawn Ryan, Richard Murphy (w), Jeff Okin
SYNOPSIS: Based on Richard Murphy's book of the same name, an insider's look at the sexy and provocative world of L.A. seen through the eyes of a successful contractor.

TITLE: The Eastmans
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: Margaret Nagle (w)
SYNOPSIS: A medical show centered around a complicated family of doctors.


TITLE: I Witness
STUDIO: CBS Paramount
TEAM: Pam Veasey (w), Trey Callaway (w)
SYNOPSIS: A detective/professor uses her psycho-physiological skills to solve crimes.


TITLE: Three Rivers
STUDIO: CBS Par
TEAM: Carol Barbee (w), Curtis Hanson, Carol Fenelon, Ted Gold
SYNOPSIS: A medical show about organ transplants seen through three points of view: the doctors, the donors and the recipients.

TITLE: The Good Wife (cast-contingent)
STUDIO: CBS Par
TEAM: Robert King (w), Michelle King (w), Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David Zucker, Charles McDougall (d)
SYNOPSIS: Female-driven law show about a politician's wife who pursues her original career as a defense attorney.


TITLE: Miami Trauma
STUDIO: WBTV/Bruckheimer TV
TEAM: Jeffrey Lieber (w), Jerry Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman
SYNOPSIS: Medical show set in Miami focusing on a dedicated team of trauma surgeons who race against the clock to save critically injured patients.

TITLE: A Marriage
STUDIO: Bedford Falls
TEAM: Marshall Herskovitz (w), Zwick (w,d)
SYNOPSIS: Anatomy of a marriage that works


TITLE: House Rules
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Michael Seitzman (w), Mark Gordon, Deborah Spera, Dan Minahan (d)
SYNOPSIS: Follows the freshman class of congressmen/women as they begin their careers in Washington, D.C.


TITLE: Back
STUDIO: CBS Paramount
TEAM: Dean Widenmann (w), Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Mark Pellington (d)
SYNOPSIS: A man returns home only to discover he had been reported missing eight years earlier, following 9/11. He must learn how to reconnect with his family and a world that moved on without him.

TITLE: U.S. Attorney project
STUDIO: CBS Paramount
TEAM: Frank Military (w), Mimi Leder
SYNOPSIS: Legal ensemble centered around a team of federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan.
CAST: Jason Clarke, Lennie James

TITLE: Washington Field
STUDIO: CBS Paramount
TEAM: Ed Bernero (w), Jim Clemente (w), Tim Clemente (w), Jon Cassar (d)
SYNOPSIS: Set in the elite Washington Field office of the FBI that protects national interests, this team of agents with exceptional and diverse skills is called together for only the most critical cases.

TITLE: NCIS: Legend (backdoor pilot)
STUDIO: CBS Paramount
TEAM: Shane Brennan (w), Tony Wharmby (d)
SYNOPSIS: Spinoff from the crime procedural
CAST: Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Louise Lombard, Peter Cambor, Daniela Ruah

Comedy

TITLE: Good Girls (multicamera)
STUDIO: CBS Par/Katalyst
TEAM: Sherry Bilsing-Graham (w), Ellen Kreamer (w), Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg, Karey Burke
SYNOPSIS: Centers on two women and childhood friends who are trying to reinvent themselves after making some youthful mistakes.


TITLE: Accidentally on Purpose
STUDIO: CBS Par/BermanBraun
TEAM: Claudia Lonow (w), Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun
SYNOPSIS: Based on the autobiographical novel (by Mary F. Pols) about a San Francisco movie critic (Jenna Elfman) who finds herself pregnant after a fling with a much younger man, and the unconventional family that ultimately comes from this mistake.
CAST: Jenna Elfman


TITLE: Waiting to Die (multicamera)
STUDIO: Sony/Tantamount/CBS Par
TEAM: Will Sasso (w), Chad Kultgen (w)
SYNOPSIS: Buddy comedy about two simple guys who are happy with their life – no matter how bad it might look from the outside.


TITLE: Big D
STUDIO: WBTV
TEAM: Jackie Filgo (w), Jeff Filgo (w)
SYNOPSIS: NYC couple moves to his hometown of Dallas, Texas where his southern-belle mother makes life complicated for his east-coast wife.


TITLE: The Fish Tank (single-camera)
STUDIO: Sony TV
TEAM: Cathy Yuspa (w), Josh Goldsmith (w)
SYNOPSIS: A teenager finds himself living the dream when his parents give him the house to himself five days a week.

TITLE: Happiness Isn't Everything (hybrid, pilot + five scripts)
STUDIO: Sony/Tantamount/CBS Par
TEAM: Mitch Hurwitz (W), Jim Vallely (w), Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum
CAST: Jason Biggs

TITLE: Tick Tock (hybrid, cast-contingent)
STUDIO: CBS Par TV
TEAM: Bill Kunstler (w)
SYNOPSIS: Centers on an unconventional single mom in her 30s who decides to focus all of her energy on finding love.


TITLE: At Last (cast-contingent)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: Shana Goldberg-Meehan (w)
SYNOPSIS: Multi-camera comedy about Lucy and James, in their mid-30s, decide to get married but realize they have a lot of baggage, friends, ex-lovers, etc.

TITLE: The Karenskys
STUDIO: UMS,Berman/Braun
TEAM: Linwood Boomer (w), Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun
SYNOPSIS: Multi-camera comedy a woman who returns to her hometown when her husband's job.
CAST: Mather Zickel, Sasha Alexander, Jack Thompson, Annie Potts, Desi Lydic, Todd Stashwick, Tinsley Grimes

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PILOT SEASON IS UPON US...HERE'S WHAT ABC HAS BREWING



Pilot season is in full effect right about now in Hollywood and since we're in a recession I'm assuming that folks will be coming out with a gang of comedy shows in an effort to cheer everybody up. Hey, it made Tyler $41 Million in 3-days. Click below to check out what ABC has brewing for next tv season. These are courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.


(w) = writer (d) = director


Drama

TITLE: Untitled Jerry Bruckheimer
STUDIO: WBTV/Bruckheimer TV
TEAM: Mark Friedman (w), Jerry Bruckheimer, Danny Cannon (d), Jonathan Littman, KristiAnne Reed
SYNOPSIS: Centers on a team of amateur detectives working on cases of unidentified victims

TITLE: Limelight
STUDIO: WBTV/Wonderland
TEAM: K.J. Steinberg (w), McG, David Semel (d), Leonard Goldberg, Pharrell Williams
SYNOPSIS: Soap featuring contemporary music and dance, which is centered around the teachers and students of a performing arts college in New York.

TITLE: Empire State
STUDIO: ABC Studios/Mark Gordon Prods.
TEAM: Michael Seitzman (w), Jeff Reiner (w), Mark Gordon, Deborah Spera, Jeremy Podeswa (d)
SYNOPSIS: Revolves around two families -- one of blue-collar iron workers and the other of the wealthy real estate tycoons who run them -- who collide in present-day Manhattan over a Romeo and Juliet-style romance.


TITLE: Untitled Dave Hemingson (new pilot)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Dave Hemingson (w), Michael Fresco (d)
SYNOPSIS: A blue-collar guy gets his first job as an attorney at a powerful Los Angeles entertainment law firm.
CAST: Matt Long, Ben Lawson, Norbert Leo Butz and Tina Majorino

TITLE: Inside the Box
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Richard E. Robbins (w), Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Mark Tinker (d)
SYNOPSIS: Set in a Washington network news bureau, an ambitious female news producer and her colleagues pursue "the story" at all costs, juggling their personal animosities and crises of conscience against the daily deadlines of a nightly news show.
CAST: Martin Henderson

TITLE: See Cate Run
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: John Scott Shepherd (w), Matt Gross, Dean Parisot (d)
SYNOPSIS:: Claudia McIntire is a young prosecuting attorney (Amy Smart) whose challenges in her love life often matter more to her than the challenges in her job. What she doesn't know is what we all know: One day, she's going to be a serious contender for the Presidency of the United States.
CAST: Amy Smart, Liza Lapira, Marc Blucas

TITLE: Untitled Daniel Cerone
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Daniel Cerone (w), Gregory Hoblit (d)
SYNOPSIS: After the death of his estranged father, Charlie (Jimmy Wolk), a low-level detective in the Savannah police department, discovers he has an 11-year-old brother with a genius level IQ. Based on the Argentinean drama "Brothers & Detectives."
CAST: Jimmy Wolk

TITLE: V
STUDIO: WBTV
TEAM: Scott Peters (w), Jason Hall
SYNOPSIS: Reimagining of the 1980s miniseries about an aliens invasion.

TITLE: Happy Town (two-hour)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Josh Appelbaum (w), Andre Nemec (w), Scott Rosenberg (w), Gary Fleder (d)
SYNOPSIS: Mystery set in the hamlet of Happy Town, which had enjoyed a seven-year peace after a series of kidnappings until it is hit by another crime.
CAST: Geoff Stults, Lauren German, Dean Winters


TITLE: Eastwick
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: Maggie Friedman (w), David Nutter (d)
SYNOPSIS: Loosely based on the John Updike novel and the feature film "The Witches of Eastwick." The story follows three young witches who come into their powers when a mysterious man comes to town.
CAST: Jaime Ray Newman, Veronica Cartwright

TITLE: Flash Forward (series commitment)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Brannon Braga (w), David S. Goyer (w/d), Jessika Borsiczky Goyer, Vince Gerardis, Ralph M. Vicinanza
SYNOPSIS: Based on Robert J. Sawyer's sci-fi novel, "Flash Forward," it chronicles the chaos that ensues after everyone in the world blacks out for 2 minutes, 17 seconds and has a mysterious vision of the future that changes lives forever.
CAST: Joseph Fiennes, Sonya Walger, John Cho, Christine Woods, Courtney Vance, Brian O'Byrne, Jack Davenport, Payton List, Zachary Knighton

Comedy

TITLE: Funny in Farsi (single-camera, pushed)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Jeffrey Hodes (w), Nastaran Dibai (w)
SYNOPSIS: Based on a memoir by Firoozeh Dumas about an Iranian-born girl's experiences growing up in Newport Beach in the 1970s.


TITLE: Untitled Jeff Strauss (multi-camera)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Jeff Strauss (w), Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis
SYNOPSIS: Examines marriage and parenthood seen through the eyes of three couples


TITLE: The Law (single-camera)
STUDIO: ABC Studios/DreamWorks
TEAM: Bob Fisher (w), Cedric the Entertainer, Eric Rhone, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey
SYNOPSIS: Reserve police officers for the LAPD balance their full-time off-duty lives with the excitement of being weekend cops.
CAST: Cedric the Entertainer

TITLE: Canned (multicamera, showrunner-contingent, presentation)
STUDIO: ABC Studios/Brillstein Entertainment Partners
TEAM: Kevin Etten (w), Peter Traugott
SYNOPSIS: Ensemble comedy about a group of friends who all get fired on the same day.

TITLE: Untitled Anita Renfroe (multi-camera, presentation)
STUDIO: Sony TV/Tantamount
TEAM: Hanning and Welsh (w), Mitch Hurwitz, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum
SYNOPSIS: A parenting show centered around the thought that family comes first, by any means necessary.
CAST: Anita Renfroe

TITLE: Untitled Kelsey Grammer (multicamera)
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV/Grammnet/Werner Entertainment
TEAM: Tucker Cawley (w), Tom Werner, Mike Clements, Kelsey Grammer
SYNOPSIS: A hot-shot Wall Street executive (Grammer) loses his job and is forced to reconnect with his small-town family.
CAST: Kelsey Grammer

TITLE: Planet Lucy (single-camera, cast-contingent, presentation, pushed)
STUDIO: Sony/ABC Studios
TEAM: Gaby Allan (w), Jamie Tarses
SYNOPSIS: Based on Fiona Neill's book "Slummy Mummy," it centers on an endearing, disaster-prone everywoman who gives up an impressive professional career to be a stay-at-home mom raising three kids.

TITLE: Cougar Town (single-camera)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Bill Lawrence (w), Kevin Biegel, Courteney Cox, David Arquette
SYNOPSIS: Courteney Cox stars as a newly single 40-year-old mother with a 17-year-old son.
CAST: Courteney Cox


TITLE: No Heroics (single-camera)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Jeff Greenstein (w), Drew Pearce (w), Andrew Zein
SYNOPSIS: About a group of superheroes with less than formidable powers who hang out at a bar. Based on the British format.


TITLE: Let It Go (single-camera)
STUDIO: Sony/Tantamount
TEAM: Alex Herschlag (w), Eric & Kim Tannenbaum, Mitch Hurwitz
SYNOPSIS: Lauren Graham stars as a self-help guru who teaches women how to "let it go" but ultimately fails to follow her own advice when her perfect boyfriend leaves her.
CAST: Lauren Graham

TITLE: Untitled Tad Quill (multicamera)
STUDIO: ABC Studios
TEAM: Tad Quill (w), Marc Buckland (d)
SYNOPSIS: Two friends embark on a very different life -- one with a new baby and one with a newly empty nest.

TITLE: My American Family (single-camera)
STUDIO: 20th TV
TEAM: Steve Levitan (w), Chris Lloyd (w), Jason Winer (d)
SYNOPSIS: Three families living in the same suburb -- a traditional family comprising a working dad, a stay-at-home mom and three kids; another that includes a 60-year-old man who becomes a stepfather after marrying a Colombian single mom who is 30 years his junior; and a gay couple who have just adopted a Vietnamese baby -- through the eyes of a Dutch documentary maker.
CAST: Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet

TITLE: Untitled Ricky Blitt (multicamera)
STUDIO: WBTV
TEAM: Ricky Blitt (w)
SYNOPSIS: A guy in his 30s who hasn't quite grown up finds himself torn between his needy best friend and the newfound love of his life and her teen kids.

TITLE: This Might Hurt (single-camera, completed)
STUDIO: Guy Walks Into A Bar / 20th TV
TEAM: Jason Winer (w, d)
SYNOPSIS: Medical comedy revolves around a multi-specialty private practice in which a pediatrician, an internist and an OB-GYN all operate under the same roof.
CAST: Josh Dean, Hayes MacArthur, Vanessa Lengies, Missi Pyle, Tom Amandes, Alex Meneses, Claire Coffee


TITLE: The Middle
STUDIO: Warner Bros. TV
TEAM: DeAnn Heline (w), Eileen Heisler (w), Julia Ann Robinson (d)
SYNOPSIS: The story of a middle-class Midwestern family seen through the eyes of the mother (Patricia Heaton)
CAST: Patricia Heaton, Neil Flynn, Atticus Shaffer, Charlie McDermott, Eden Sher

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Monday, February 23, 2009

2009 ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORTS

Check out the short animated films that were nominated for Academy Awards this year below. Most of them are pretty funny. If you don't have a superfast internet connection you might have to wait for it to load up since it's probably streaming from another country.

This was one of my favs.





This is just a sample of the movie. But this is the movie that actually won last night.



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2009 ACADEMY AWARDS

Okay so the '09 Academy Awards went down last night without a hitch. It seems like Hollywood finally figured out that they are entertainers so why not "entertain.' Hugh Jackman made me fall in love with him all over again. Wolverine '09!! Uh yeah, I'm like totally looking forward to that movie. But as far as the awards show, it was very entertaining and didn't drag although I felt like I was in a marathon by the time it was over. I was mad salty about Taraji not walking away with the Oscar but hey what can you do.

Below you'll find all kinds of pictures ranging from the red carpet to the afterparties - not in any kind of order. Enjoy!

























































Harpo who dis woman?
















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