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| US-INDUSTRY Summary Thursday, Apr 04, 2013 12:00 AM PDT Disney to shut LucasArts games studio, lay off workers LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co plans to shut the 30-year-old LucasArts studio it inherited with the acquisition of George Lucas' film company last year, and focus on licensing its "Star Wars" brand externally, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The closure will involve an unknown number of layoffs. A "small team" will remain to handle licensing partnerships but all inhouse development has been halted, including its much-anticipated title "Star Wars 1313", said Miles Perkins, a spokesman for Lucasfilm Ltd. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vivendi to name new head of French telecoms: paper Thursday, Apr 04, 2013 12:00 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi plans to name its top telecoms executive Jean-Yves Charlier as head of French telecoms division SFR, newspaper Les Echos reported on Thursday. The appointment is likely to be announced around the time of the group's annual shareholder meeting on April 30, Les Echos said. Charlier, 49, will replace Stephane Roussel, the former Vivendi human resources chief who took the reins of SFR last summer after the departure of group Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy. Roussel will become chairman of SFR and will take on a new strategic role within Vivendi, Les Echos added. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-FILM Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:11 PM PDT "Jurassic Park" 3D re-release looks like a profit-saurus for Universal By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Twenty years after its original release, Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking "Jurassic Park" returns to movie theaters Friday - in 3D. U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says cancer has returned (Reuters) - Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says he is battling cancer again and that he will scale back his writing by taking a "leave of presence" from his more than four-decade career. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Jurassic Park" 3D re-release looks like a profit-saurus for Universal Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:10 PM PDT  By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Twenty years after its original release, Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking "Jurassic Park" returns to movie theaters Friday - in 3D. Big, loud and scary, "Jurassic Park" was a box-office hit and a cultural phenomenon when it came out in June 1993; it made dinosaurs cooler than they'd ever been, for school kids and sci-fi fans. The computer-generated imagery used to create the velociraptors and a terrifying T-Rex awed moviegoers and changed - for better and worse - the way Hollywood made movies. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:05 PM PDT Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora leaves tour due to "personal issues" NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora has dropped out of the current leg of the rock band's tour because of "personal issues," but the guitarist, who has done stints in rehab for problems with alcohol, tweeted fans on Wednesday that he was "well." "Thank you everyone for your concern," Sambora said on Twitter. "I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon." Timberlake keeps Billboard No. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-MUSIC Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:05 PM PDT Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora leaves tour due to "personal issues" NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora has dropped out of the current leg of the rock band's tour because of "personal issues," but the guitarist, who has done stints in rehab for problems with alcohol, tweeted fans on Wednesday that he was "well." "Thank you everyone for your concern," Sambora said on Twitter. "I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon." Timberlake keeps Billboard No. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-ARTS Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:05 PM PDT Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora leaves tour due to "personal issues" NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora has dropped out of the current leg of the rock band's tour because of "personal issues," but the guitarist, who has done stints in rehab for problems with alcohol, tweeted fans on Wednesday that he was "well." "Thank you everyone for your concern," Sambora said on Twitter. "I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon." Tim Burton to direct Christoph Waltz in film about famous painting duo By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-PEOPLE Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:05 PM PDT Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora leaves tour due to "personal issues" NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora has dropped out of the current leg of the rock band's tour because of "personal issues," but the guitarist, who has done stints in rehab for problems with alcohol, tweeted fans on Wednesday that he was "well." "Thank you everyone for your concern," Sambora said on Twitter. "I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon." John Travolta's lawyer slams "outrageous false" sex-assault payout story By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES ... Full Story | Top |
| Bon Jovi guitarist Sambora leaves tour due to "personal issues" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 05:05 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora has dropped out of the current leg of the rock band's tour because of "personal issues," but the guitarist, who has done stints in rehab for problems with alcohol, tweeted fans on Wednesday that he was "well." "Thank you everyone for your concern," Sambora said on Twitter. "I'm well, but had to stay in LA to take care of a personal matter. Love you all and see you very soon. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-TELEVISION Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 04:24 PM PDT Jimmy Fallon to succeed Jay Leno as "Tonight Show" host NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jimmy Fallon will take over from veteran Jay Leno next year as host of the NBC flagship talk program "The Tonight Show," NBC said on Wednesday, bringing a younger feel to the competitive late-night landscape on U.S. television. Leno, 62, will wrap up what will be 22 years as host of "The Tonight Show" in the spring of 2014 - some seven months before his contract was officially due to end. Who's the Youngest "Tonight" Host? Not Fallon. And Oldest Is a Shocker By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alex Reid signs with Sony TV, will co-run NBC's Michael J. Fox comedy Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 04:14 PM PDT By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Sony Pictures Television is going into business with comedy writer/producer Alex Reid, who will also be installed as the co-showrunner for NBC's untitled Michael J. Fox comedy series from the studio. The two-year overall deal begins on June 1, a Sony TV rep confirms to TheWrap. Reid will executive produce and co-run the new 22-episode series with creator Sam Laybourne. The series will also be executive produced by the pilot's director, Will Gluck, and co-EP Richard Schwartz. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Young & Restless" encore episodes move from soapnet to TV guide network Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 04:13 PM PDT By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "The Young and the Restless," network television's number one daytime drama, will be moving it's day-and-date encore episodes from Soapnet to TV Guide Network this summer. This marks the first synergistic programming move since CBS Corporation acquired 50 percent stake of TVGN. "Y&R," which airs weekday afternoons on CBS, will continue to air its reruns in the 7 p.m. time slot, the cable network announced on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-REVIEW Summary Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 03:56 PM PDT Sex, murder and conspiracy shed new light on Edward VIII: book LONDON (Reuters) - King Edward VIII may be best known for giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, but it wasn't the first time his love affairs posed a threat to the British monarchy. A new book by British barrister and former judge Andrew Rose unearths a little-known affair with a French courtesan 20 years before Edward's abdication, which ended in a rigged trial at the behest of the British establishment trying to protect a future king's reputation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sex, murder and conspiracy sheds new light on Edward VIII - Book Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 03:50 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - King Edward VIII may be best known for giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, but it wasn't the first time his love affairs posed a threat to the British monarchy. A new book by British barrister and former judge Andrew Rose unearths a little-known affair with a French courtesan 20 years before Edward's abdication, which ended in a rigged trial at the behest of the British establishment trying to protect a future king's reputation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sex, murder and conspiracy shed new light on Edward VIII: book Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 03:48 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - King Edward VIII may be best known for giving up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, but it wasn't the first time his love affairs posed a threat to the British monarchy. A new book by British barrister and former judge Andrew Rose unearths a little-known affair with a French courtesan 20 years before Edward's abdication, which ended in a rigged trial at the behest of the British establishment trying to protect a future king's reputation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Reebok's ties with rapper slammed over song said to boast of date rape Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 03:46 PM PDT By Chris Michaud NEW YORK (Reuters) - A women's rights organization will protest outside Reebok's Manhattan store on Thursday, demanding the athletic goods retailer cut ties with rapper Rick Ross over a song whose lyrics it says boasts about drugging and raping a woman. The Miami-based rapper released the song "U.O.E.N.O." in January featuring lyrics that seem to reference drugging and having sex with a woman who is unaware of what is happening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jimmy Fallon to succeed Jay Leno as "Tonight Show" host Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 02:44 PM PDT  By Chris Michaud NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jimmy Fallon will take over from veteran Jay Leno next year as host of the NBC flagship talk program "The Tonight Show," NBC said on Wednesday, bringing a younger feel to the competitive late-night landscape on U.S. television. Leno, 62, will wrap up what will be 22 years as host of "The Tonight Show" in the spring of 2014 - some seven months before his contract was officially due to end. ... Full Story | Top |
| Who's the Youngest "Tonight" Host? Not Fallon. And Oldest Is a Shocker Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 02:02 PM PDT  By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Jimmy Fallon will be the next "Tonight Show" host because NBC hopes he can draw younger viewers. But he isn't the youngest person to get the job. Not by a longshot. And the oldest person to take the job is a shocker: At 46, Conan O'Brien was older than any other full-time host when they first got the job. (Jay Leno was older, of course, when he took it back from Conan. ... Full Story | Top |
| USA sets summer premiere dates: "Burn Notice", "Covert Affairs", "Graceland" debut Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:59 PM PDT By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - USA Network has set the summer return dates for fan favorites "Burn Notice," "Covert Affairs" and "Royal Pains." Additionally, the cable network announced premiere dates for the much-anticipated spy procedural "Graceland" and new unscripted series, "Summer Camp." "Burn Notice" returns with its seventh season on Thursday, June 6 at 9 p.m. "Covert Affairs" will make its Season 4 return on Tuesday, July 16 at 9 p.m. "Suits" will be back for a third season on Tuesday, July 16 at 10 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| John Travolta's lawyer slams "outrageous false" sex-assault payout story Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:58 PM PDT  By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - John Travolta's attorney is lashing out at Gawker over a report suggesting that the "Grease" star shelled out more than $84,000 to settle sexual assault claims, calling the story "outrageous" and "false." Gawker published the storyTuesday, along with a document that the site claimed is an "internal report" of insurance claims indicating that the actor's insurer paid out a total of $84,500 to two parties after they issued attorney demand letters alleging sexual assault. ... Full Story | Top |
| E!'s "Fashion Police" writers claim they're not getting paid Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:53 PM PDT By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Eight writers on E!'s reality show "Fashion Police" on Wednesday filed a claim with state labor officials alleging that they're not being fairly compensated for the hours they've been working. "The most I've been paid for a show has been for eight hours of work," said "Fashion Police" writer Eliza Skinner. "In reality, I put in anywhere from 12 to 32 additional hours on each show - time I should have been compensated for. On top of that is all the unpaid overtime we regularly work. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke tapped for "The Age of Miracles" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:41 PM PDT  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Catherine Hardwicke, who tapped into the world of a lovelorn teenage to great profits with "Twilight," will once again oversee the story of a young girl's coming of age with "The Age of Miracles." The film, an adaptation of Karen Thompson Walker's bestselling debut novel, centers on an 11-year-old girl growing up in California who finds, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow, potentially spelling doom for the planet. Seth Lochhead ("Hanna") has adapted the screenplay. ... Full Story | Top |
| David Ellison's skydance productions launches TV division Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:38 PM PDT By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - David Ellison, a major film financier and provider of Paramount's biggest movies, is getting into the television business. Skydance Productions, Ellison's company that co-finances and co-produces big-budget films like the recent hit "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," will launch a TV division May 1 and has hired former Fox executive Marcy Ross to run it. The announcement comes less than a week after TheWrap reported that Paramount CEO Brad Grey wants to bring TV production back to the studio and has been meeting with candidates to help run a new division. ... Full Story | Top |
| AMC Orders Unscripted Pilot With "Fanboys" Writer as Host Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:35 PM PDT By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - AMC is targeting obsessive fans with a pilot order for an unscripted show, which will be executive produced and co-hosted by "Fanboy" screenwriter Ernest Cline. The project, with the working title, "Geek Out," will take ultimate fans through adventures that connect them with the objects of their obsession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netflix's "House of Cards" Getting DVD, Blu-ray Release Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:34 PM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "House of Cards" may be upending the way viewers watch television by releasing all of its episodes in one binge-friendly gulp, but Netflix's series will have a rather conventional afterlife. The glossy, 13-episode political thriller will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 11, according to Home Media Magazine, which noted that the series is available for pre-sale on Amazon. The discs will be distributed by Sony Pictures. The Blu-ray set will sell for $$65.99 and the DVD set will retail for $55.99. ... Full Story | Top |
| Movie market research fractures more: Who will change the game? Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:29 PM PDT By Sharon Waxman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Once again, the movie industry fractured just a little bit more today. Ipsos OTX, one of the leading market research firms, sold its worldwide motion picture group to a group of investors led by Vincent Bruzzese. That's the same impulse that propelled Reed Elsevier to sell Marketcast, another major market researcher, to a similar group about a year ago. These are the outfits that quietly rule over Hollywood marketing: testing trailers, conducting research screenings, tracking opening weekend and gauging consumer fandom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tim Burton to direct Christoph Waltz in film about famous painting duo Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:22 PM PDT  By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Tim Burton has signed on to direct "Big Eyes," a long-gestating film project that The Weinstein Company is on the verge of acquiring, according to two individuals with knowledge of the director's plans. Two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz will star as Walter Keane, one-half of a husband-wife duo that became famous for painting children with massive eyes. Deadline Hollywood, which broke the news of Burton's attachment, also reported that Amy Adams will star as Walter's wife Margaret. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wake up and embrace the technology, urges napster documentary "downloaded" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 01:13 PM PDT By Steve Pond LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It was perhaps inevitable that at the Q&A that followed a screening of Alex Winter's Napster documentary "Downloaded" on Monday night, one audience member would ask if the movie was going to be available on the internet for free. The film, after all, chronicles the rapid rise and equally rapid fall of the file-sharing service that fundamentally changed the music industry, ushering in a generation of music fans who got their music for free online rather than paying for it in record stores. ... Full Story | Top |
| Matthew McConaughey confirms starring role in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar" Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Matthew McConaughey will star in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic "Interstellar," the director's follow-up to "The Dark Knight Rises" and McConaughey's first big-budget film in years. The actor told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune he had accepted the role in the film, confirming reports from about a week ago. The Texan has undergone a career renaissance over the past couple of years after close to a decade of making charming but redundant romantic comedies. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Evil Dead" review: Great grey gobs of greasy, grimy ghoulish guts Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:45 PM PDT By Alonso Duralde LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It's no easy feat to pull off "Evil Dead" in 2013; not only is director and co-writer Fede Alvarez's film treading on the sacred ground of Sam Raimi's 1981 horror classic "The Evil Dead," but he's also following up last year's "The Cabin in the Woods," which brilliantly celebrated and skewered the tropes of Raimi's movie and the many copycats which followed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jim Carrey fires back at his gun-control critics Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:35 PM PDT  By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Jim Carrey, who raised the hackles of the right wing by calling Fox News - or, rather, "Fux News" - a "giant culture fart" and with his criticism of assault rifles, has fired off another round in the debate, calling some of his harsher critics "thugs" and "a minority." He also says that he doesn't want to infringe on anyone's Second Amendment rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says cancer has returned Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. film critic Roger Ebert says he is battling cancer again and that he will scale back his writing by taking a "leave of presence" from his more than four-decade career. Ebert, 70, known for his rhetorical power and prolific output, said he will undergo radiation treatment that will force him to take time away from his job. "I must slow down now, which is why I'm taking what I like to call 'a leave of presence,'" Ebert said in a blog entry posted late on Tuesday, adding that he would scale back his workload. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timberlake keeps Billboard No. 1 from Lil Wayne, Blake Shelton Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 12:00 PM PDT  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Justin Timberlake held onto the top spot of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, beating competition from new albums by rapper Lil Wayne and country singer Blake Shelton. Timberlake's chart-topping "The 20/20 Experience," which features the hit single "Suit & Tie," sold 318,000 copies in its second week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. Since its March 19 debut, Timberlake's album has sold 1.29 million copies in the United States, making it the biggest-selling album of 2013 so far. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disney to shut LucasArts games studio, lay off workers Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  By Ronald Grover and Malathi Nayak LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co plans to shut the 30-year-old LucasArts studio it inherited with the acquisition of George Lucas' film company last year, and focus on licensing its "Star Wars" brand externally, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The closure will involve an unknown number of layoffs. A "small team" will remain to handle licensing partnerships but all inhouse development has been halted, including its much-anticipated title "Star Wars 1313", said Miles Perkins, a spokesman for Lucasfilm Ltd. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disney Channel Renews 'Austin & Ally' Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:32 AM PDT By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Austin & Ally's" young fans should be singing a happy tune. Disney Channel announced on Tuesday that it's renewing the musical comedy. Season 3 is slated to premiere in October 2013. "Austin & Ally" is one of the channel's most popular shows and the No. 1 comedy series for kids 2-11. Original programming SVP Adam Bonnett teases the new season: "'Austin & Ally' continues to hit high notes with kids and families, and the new season promises excitement for 'Auslly' fans as Austin's music career kicks into full gear and Ally's begins to take flight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sam Shepard Starring in 'Klondike' for Discovery Channel Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:31 AM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Playwright and actor Sam Shepard has joined the cast of "Klondike," the Discovery Channel said Wednesday. The series about the gold rush that overtook Alaska's Yukon Territory in the 19th century will mark the network's first-ever, scripted miniseries. Shepard, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of aviation ace Chuck Yeager in 1983's "The Right Stuff," will play Father Judge. ... Full Story | Top |
| Award-winning author Ruth Prawer Jhabvala dies at age 85 Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 10:22 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Award-winning novelist and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, author of "Heat and Dust" and many other books set in India, died on Wednesday at the age of 85, her Los Angeles agent said. Jhabvala died at her home in New York City, a spokesman for Hollywood agency Paradigm told Reuters. The spokesman did not give the cause of her death but said she had been sick for some time. Jhabvala also worked on several movie adaptations with filmmakers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, winning two Academy Awards for her screenplays for 1985 movie "A Room With a View" and "Howards End" in 1992. ... Full Story | Top |
| Madonna sells abstract painting to fund girls' education Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 08:55 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Madonna is selling an abstract painting by French artist Fernand Leger worth up to $7 million, saying she wants to trade something valuable for something invaluable - art for education. The singer said she was selling the painting, "Trois Femmes a la table rouge", to raise funds for girls' education projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries where female education is rare or non-existent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two guilty of plot to kill British singer Joss Stone Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 08:19 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Two men were found guilty on Wednesday of plotting to murder and rob British Grammy Award winning singer Joss Stone because they were angered by her links to the British royal family. Junior Bradshaw, 32, and Kevin Liverpool, 35, planned to behead the singer before throwing her body in a river near her rural home in southwest England, prosecutors said. The pair had a deep hatred for Stone because she had performed at a charity event organized by Princes William and Harry and she attended the wedding of William and the Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rolling Stones unveil biggest tour in six years Wednesday, Apr 03, 2013 07:24 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones unveiled details of their biggest tour in six years on Wednesday, playing dates in North America and Britain after a stage comeback last year to celebrate 50 years in music. The band said they would kick off their "50 and Counting" tour in Los Angeles on an unspecified date but would then play Oakland, California on May 5 and eight other cities including Toronto and London, UK. ... Full Story | Top |
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