Black Dog Films

When the box office fire cools, what are actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz to do?


So far, my search for intelligent chicks in the summer movies is proving to be a bust.

Last week, I went on opening day to see "Made of Honor" with my friend Jodie, a recovering romantic-comedy writer. It had been a rough week. We needed our Friday afternoon guilty pleasure -- as I suspect did the almost entirely female audience. "Made of Honor" is a gender-reversed retelling of the Julia Roberts 1997 hit, "My Best Friend's Wedding"; in this case, the rueful hero is a womanizing cream puff played by "Grey's Anatomy's" McDreamy Patrick Dempsey.

About 10 minutes into the movie, we were all but hurling our popcorn at the screen.

Here's the range of female characters: slut, nasty slut, stupid slut, mean slut and fat friend. Our heroine, played by Michelle Monaghan, was allowed to be . . . a cipher, with no discernible personality other than an ability to guess what dessert would most satiate McDreamy. I'll take the Judd Apatow world of "Knocked Up" and "40-Year-Old Virgin" any day -- the men might be schlubs, but the women are faster, smarter creatures. I'll take crumbs if I have to.

Is it me or is it a little depressing to see Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow slumming it as pretty Pepper Potts in the "Iron Man" juggernaut? At 35, the svelte Paltrow is playing what some directors call the handbag part, the accessory, the girlfriend role, a warm-body-type role usually assigned to the likes of Jessica Alba, Katie Holmes or a legion of interchangeable Bond girls.

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Black Dog Films

`Indiana Jones': Real archaeologists don't have whips

Indiana Jones managed to retrieve the trinket he was after in the opening moments of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." He pretty much wrecked everything else in the ancient South American temple where the little gold idol had rested for millennia.

Though he preaches research and good science in the classroom, the world's most famous archaeologist often is an acquisitive tomb raider in the field with a scorched-earth policy about what he leaves behind. While actual archaeologists like the guy and his movies, they wouldn't necessarily want to work alongside him on a dig.

Indy's bull-in-a-china-shop approach to archaeology will be on display again May 22 with "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," in which he's sure to rain destruction down on more historic sites and priceless artifacts.

Real experts in antiquities acknowledge that the movies are pure fiction that present archaeology as blockbuster adventure, yet they cannot help but cringe at the way Indy manhandles the ancient world.

"There are codes of ethics in archaeology, and I don't think he would be a member. Not in good standing, anyway," said Mark Rose, online editorial director for the Archaeological Institute of America.

"It wouldn't be quite as much fun if you followed protocol, I think," said Karen Allen, who is reprising her "Raiders" role as Indy's old flame Marion Ravenwood. "Crystal Skull" reunites Allen with Harrison Ford as Indy, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas.

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The Beverly Hills Playhouse

'Sex and the City' mania hits London

Chris Noth plays Mr. Big and Sarah Jessica Parker is Carrie in "Sex and the City."

It is one of the most hotly anticipated movies of the year and after years of feverish speculation, Sex and the City the movie, premieres in London Monday night.

The film has been dogged by controversy in the four-year lead up from small to big screen-- rumors abounded about squabbling over pay, editorial control and even outfits, among cast members Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Catrall, who plays maneater Samantha.

There have also been protests that the film will open in London. Not surprisingly, American fans believe its spiritual home is in New York and that it should be seen there first.

It will not be shown in New York until May 27.

Such is the secrecy surrounding the plot of the film that the four actresses -- Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis -- will give a speech before the curtain goes up Monday asking the audience, not to disclose the plot, London's Daily Telegraph reports.

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Black Dog Films

Child 'Forrest Gump' actor leaving Army

As a boy, Michael Conner Humphreys made a splash on the silver screen as "Young Forrest Gump." As an adult, he somewhat mirrored the life of his movie character: He joined the Army and fought in an unpopular war.

Humphreys' enlistment ends June 4 and Hollywood is already calling. He's landed a role in an independent film, playing, of course, a soldier.

It's a route similar to that of Tom Hanks, who won the Oscar for playing adult Forrest Gump.

Hanks later starred in "Saving Private Ryan" and produced "Band of Brothers," a series about the men of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II.

"I guess I'm following in his tracks," Humphreys said.

The film is called "Pathfinders," the story of the men of the 504th Parachute Regiment who jumped into Normandy early on D-Day to disrupt German activities and find the way for the coming invasion force. He heads to Oregon later this year for filming, playing the part of Eddie Livingston, one of the original pathfinders.

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Black Dog Films

"Babysitters" falls short of intended satire

Attempting to be this generation's "Risky Business," "The Babysitters" is the sort of ribald morality tale that manages to feel sleazy and decorous at the same time. The tale of a high school girl starting her own prostitution ring relishes the amorality of its central characters even while purporting to be an incisive depiction of suburban sexual mores. Although artfully executed, this film, written and directed by David Ross, never manages to overcome its exploitative aspects.

The story centers on Shirley (Katherine Waterston, daughter of Sam Waterston), who works as a baby sitter for married upper-middle-class couple Michael (John Leguizamo) and Gail (Cynthia Nixon). His marriage having settled into a dull routine, Michael longs for a little excitement, and he finds it unexpectedly in the form of a torrid affair with Shirley.

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Black Dog Films

Comedy Central nabs Weinstein trio

"Superhero Movie" is blasting its way onto Comedy Central, which has agreed to pay the Weinstein Co. $2.7 million for cable rights to the picture as part of a deal that also includes pre-buys of two unreleased titles: "Fanboys" and "The Promotion."

Comedy Central will end up paying TWC about 11% of the final domestic box office of "Fanboys" and "The Promotion."

Dave Bernath, senior VP of programming for the net, said pre-buys are unusual for Comedy Central but locking up a movie before it opens in theaters "is becoming a trend among cable networks, which are aggressively going after big pictures."

Comedy Central tries to keep as many as 300 movies in its inventory, Bernath said, to fill the slots for the two pictures it schedules every weekday afternoon and the day/night wall-to-wall lineup of movies on Saturday and Sunday.

When it buys a cable premiere of a picture like "Superhero Movie," it will promote it heavily, playing it multiple times during the first weekend. The network also buys shared-window deals of big hits like "Wedding Crashers" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which it gets after the movies have premiered on a bigger network such as TNT, USA or FX.

The Weinstein Co. doesn't have a pay-TV output deal, but the company has included in the contract a clause allowing it to sell "Superhero Movie," "Fanboys" and "The Promotion" in the pay window before the movies become available to Comedy Central. Weinstein regularly sells movies to both Showtime and Starz.

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Osbrink Talent Agency

Marvel Announces 3 New Movies - Expect New Games

You can go ahead and count on three more games based on Marvel superheroes as Marvel Entertainment announced today that they already have planned releases for an Iron Man sequel, Thor movie, and the Avengers movie hinted at in Iron Man.

Following the $100-plus-million domestic opening for "Iron Man," Marvel announced an upcoming schedule that includes a July 2011 release date for the long-awaited "The Avengers" that is hinted at following the credits in the theatrical release of Iron Man.

"Iron Man" was Marvel’s first self-produced feature, and has already pulled over $200 million worldwide in only five days of release. The company now plans to turn its attentions to the release of "The Incredible Hulk" later this summer and "Punisher: War Zone" in December.

While 20th Century Fox is producing the Marvel related "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" for release on May 1, 2009, Marvel Studios will sit out 2009, prepping for what will be an extremely busy following few years.

What does this mean for videogames? Marvel has stepped up their relationship with Sega in recent months, licensing both the Iron Man and Incredible Hulk properties for videogames to the house that Sonic built. And if history in games has taught us anything, games will be made based on any movie possible.

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The Beverly Hills Playhouse

Media 'keeping actors in closet'

Cumming now divides his time between the UK and US

Actor Alan Cumming has said the media's attitude towards homosexuality is scaring off gay actors from coming out.

The 43-year-old X-Men 2 star said actors were afraid because the press portrayed being gay as controversial.

"I don't think the people that go see films care that much - the media make it more of a deal and it's made into controversy," he told the BBC.

Cumming added: "There is a lot of homophobia in the world - but in Hollywood definitely."

Pigeonholed

Actors like Stephen Fry and Rupert Everett recently complained they feel pigeonholed since coming out.

But Cumming, who "married" his partner Grant Shaffer in a civil ceremony last year, does not think he has been.

"Some of them do, but lots of straight actors get pigeonholed in various roles," he said.

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The Beverly Hills Playhouse

`Star Wars' kid Abrams aims to reinvent `Trek' world



LOS ANGELES - J.J. Abrams grew up more a fan of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo than of James Kirk and his Vulcan buddy Spock. So why is a self-professed "Star Wars" kid directing "Star Trek"?

"It was an opportunity to take what I think has been a maligned world — to sound crass, a franchise — and treat it in a way that made it something that I wanted to see," said Abrams, who recently finished shooting on "Star Trek," due in theaters May 8, 2009. "To take the characters, the thoughtfulness, the personalities, the sense of adventure, the idea of humanity working together, the sense of social commentary and innovation, all that stuff. To take it and apply it in a way that felt genuinely thrilling."

Abrams, creator of TV's "Lost" and "Alias" whose big-screen credits include "Mission: Impossible III," shared some "Trek" thoughts with The Associated Press in an interview to promote the DVD release of his monster movie "Cloverfield."

While he enjoyed the TV show about Capt. Kirk, First Officer Spock and their Enterprise crew mates, Abrams said he was not a rabid fan.

In this age of make-or-break opening weekends, the revival of the franchise seven years after the last movie ("Star Trek: Nemesis") flopped may depend on introducing a new generation to the exploits of the 23rd century explorers rather than just hooking old fans.

"The whole point was to try to make this movie for fans of movies, not fans of `Star Trek,' necessarily,'" Abrams said. "If you're a fan, we've got one of the writers who's a devout Trekker, so we were able to make sure we were serving the people who are completely enamored with `Star Trek.' But we are not making the movie for that contingent alone.

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Osbrink Talent Agency

The Forbidden Kingdom Movie Review

You'd expect the first collaboration between Jet Li and Jackie Chan to be something special: together they're about as close as we come to a cultural icon on the scale of Bruce Lee. Indeed, filmed partially on location (the Gobi desert, not the temple of the heavens, alas) the film looks like a million bucks. Or, well, closer to 55-million--to be more precise.

It's a wuxia adventure wherein a white boy from Boston (played gamely by Michael Angarano) is sucked into mythic China on a quest to return a staff to the imprisoned Monkey King and restore balance to the middle kingdom. Along the way he acquires two teachers (played by J & J): a traveling, drunken Taoist monk and a wandering Buddhist monk with more of a sense of humor than you'd expect (there's also a deadly young lady who speaks in 3rd person).

The kid has "no kung fu" so he must learn it on the journey--and the journey takes them to the palace of the Jade Warlord. This being Wuxia, the characters can "run up the air," battle entire armies at once, and in some cases use "Chi Magic." Using CGI and people suspended on wires, the film shows us fantasy kung fu action with sufficient style and smoothness (and maybe a little innovation).

So is it good? Well, let's get a few things out of the way.

For starters, all the characters come from previous fictions or mythology. They aren't just "ripping off" the white-haired witch or Golden Sparrow (a Shah Brother's character): those people are actually supposed to

be those characters. Maybe it's homage (maybe it is a rip-off--but when the film actually references the movies and the brothers by name, I'm inclined to cut it some slack).

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Black Dog Films

Movie Review: Deception

One of the flaws of "Deception" is that it deceives viewers into thinking, for a while, that they might be in for something slightly different, something that doesn't hew to the safe conventions of the standard Hollywood thriller. There are small signs throughout that hint at deeper intentions, a willingness to upend our expectations while still satisfying our demand for slick genre entertainment. But just as we grow optimistic that we're about to be rewarded, "Deception" loses its nerve and falls back into the exact trenches of conformity it seemed ready to sidestep.

The early scenes set us up for disappointment by their promising indication of a modest character study lurking behind the glossy exterior. One of the film's positives is that it takes its time without wasting time. Ewan McGregor is Jonathan, a timid New York accountant with a Clark Kent haircut and glasses who spends his days -- and, often, his nights -- in the impersonal offices of the large companies he audits. He enjoys his work because of its orderly symmetry but is clearly dissatisfied with his uneventful life.

He gets the chance to spill his troubles when late one night he meets Wyatt (Hugh Jackman), a charismatic lawyer at the firm he's auditing. Wyatt loosens him up with his easy smile and open demeanor. They smoke a joint, talk, and look out the office windows at the glittering skyscrapers of Manhattan, where Jonathan says life is passing him by.

That's all Wyatt needs to hear, and in no time he's taken Jonathan under his wing, showing him the life he's been missing: nightclubs, excitement, beautiful women. Everything about Wyatt's lifestyle appeals to him. We're left to wonder what Wyatt has to gain from becoming friends with someone he obviously looks down on to some degree. He's almost too friendly, too willing to have Jonathan tag along and share the fun.

And it is fun for a while, watching them circulate in the glamorous milieu Wyatt is used to. The movie's dark sheen succeeds in conjuring up a seductive world of money, sex, and power, making it easy for us to see why Jonathan is both immediately enthralled and still slightly intimidated. The one thing that's a bit hard to believe at times is McGregor as an average-looking, nebbishy type who's unable to get women on his own. Such is the misfortune of being a dashingly handsome actor.

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The Beverly Hills Playhouse

Movie Review: Deception

Deception is an erotic thriller that never lets its eroticism loose and never actually delivers genuine thrills. It is a movie that brings to mind films as diverse as Basic Instinct and Swordfish, perhaps even a touch of Brick. The problem is that it is not nearly as entertaining as any of those films; it is closer in execution to Basic Instinct 2.

In the end, the outcome of Deception is a shame as there are definite seeds for an effective erotic thriller, but that would have involved crafting characters with a modicum of intelligence. Rather than play up the elements that could have made this stand out, screenwriter Mark Bomback saw fit to stick with the mundane and the unintelligent elements. On the positive side, it is moderately entertaining to watch the leads do absolutely everything in their power to inject some sort of life into the film.

te one night, Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), a lawyer working for the firm, extends a hand (and a joint) of friendship to the under-appreciated accountant. Soon thereafter, Jon is being introduced to fine suits and late nights on the town. Sure, things like this happen all the time, right? Well, the plot thickens when the duo accidentally swap phones. Was it truly accidental? What is the likelihood of that happening, what with the great variety of models and ring tones? Whatever... it happened, and we need to accept that so we can move forward with the plot.

No sooner has the phone swap happened than Wyatt skips town, leaving Jon in the lurch with someone else's phone, and a growing realization that Wyatt may not be who he says he is. However, before that knowledge can truly take hold, Jon receives a strange phone call requesting that he be at a certain hotel that evening. This is Jon's introduction to "the list," an anonymous sex group populated by high-powered men and women looking for intimacy without entanglement. Jon's eyes are opened to a new world and he takes full advantage of it.

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Black Dog Films

NY festival showcases films on Muslim world

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Seven years after New York's Tribeca neighborhood was shaken by the attacks on the city's World Trade Center, the area has become a bazaar for movies about and from the Muslim world.

The Tribeca Film Festival, started after the September 11 attacks in 2001 to try to rejuvenate lower Manhattan, has become the key destination in North America for films from Muslim countries or about the Islamic faith seeking distribution deals, says artistic director Peter Scarlet.

This year, 19 films related to Islam, making up 10 percent of the program, will be shown at the seventh annual festival.

Scarlet, who has been working with the festival since 2003, said he was shocked when in his second year he was asked by a journalist if Tribeca would continue to show films "from the people who brought us 9/11."

"Even in as wealthy and as big a country as the United States people know very little about the rest of the world," he said. "Films are the last chance we have to understand what we as human beings have in common.

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Osbrink Talent Agency

Bear from movies turns on handler in Calif., killing him

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. - When friends Linda Carter and Cherrie Giles booked a three-day retreat in a remote cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains, the proprietor told them not to be startled by the roar of lions and bears from the exotic-animal training center nearby.

The women fell asleep to the roars the first night, but on Tuesday they were startled by a different sound — an urgent yell. About 30 minutes later, sirens wailed as paramedics rushed to an animal trainer who had been bitten on the neck by a 700-pound, 7 1/2-foot-tall grizzly bear. Stephan Miller, 39, died at the scene.

On Wednesday, friends and neighbors tried to make sense of the attack, which from all accounts involved a well-trained and gentle bear and an experienced animal trainer.

"We heard a man yell; it was like he was yelling for help," Giles said of the attack. "We knew something was going on, but we didn't know what it was. Our dogs were going crazy."

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Black Dog Films

Movie Review: Before Night Falls

Imagine a country where homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment in a concentration camp. Imagine the ruler of your country banning books that spoke against him. Imagine a home with no laughter, smiles or joy.

Now imagine a young girl crying herself to sleep at night longing for her father. Imagine this girl as a woman, watching her beloved grandfather forget his loved ones. Imagine a country in which a person's color determines the struggles they will endure and others will not.

Now realize that both of these situations are real. The young girl is me and the citizen of the communist country was Reinaldo Arenas. He was born in the Province of Oriente, Cuba in 1943. His home life was plagued with miserable women and a gay-hating grandfather.

In the film, Before Night Falls, Javier Bardem plays the gifted novelist and poet. His passion for this role drives the progression of this frown-on-your-forehead film. Bardem's ability to play a strong, sensitive, intellectual, homosexual kills the stereotype of the lisp-talking, hips-swaying fag that most Hollywood films portray.

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Black Dog Films

Scary Movie's Cindy becomes The House Bunny

PLAYBOY is promoting a new "summer holiday" teen flick called The House Bunny by making the star Anna Faris a real Playboy covergirl.

Why wouldn't the magazine promote a film that features Hugh Hefner himself?

Even better, Colin Hanks, the son of one of Hollywood's favourite sons, Tom Hanks.

Faris, known for the Scary Movie spoofs and other B-grade screwball comedies such as Rob Schneider's Hot Chick, will not appear nude for Playboy, to avoid alienating family audiences, reports Aceshowbiz.com.

It's to be released for the North American summer season in August.

The House Bunny, which also features Bruce Willis's and Demi Moore's daughter Rumer, is about a Playboy bunny who is evicted from the Playboy mansion for being too old.

Watch the trailer and see if writers Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, who also wrote Ten Things I Hate About You, have another hit on their hands:

Anna Faris stars as Shelley who lands on her feet when she becomes the "House Mom" for a clueless bunch of geeky sorority girls from Zeta Alpha Zeta.

At 32, the just-divorced Faris has found the ideal script for an "ageing bimbo".

She worked with Scarlett Johansson's beau, Ryan Reynolds, in the film Just Friends, and Rachel McAdams in Hot Chick.

She also may have a following of IT geeks considering news of her Playboy gig made the Technorati.com tech blog.

The boys will have to wait until August though.

Faris had small parts in serious productions including Brokeback Mountain and Lost In Translation.

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Iron Man not average super hero movie

Your average superhero movie tends to be more style than substance.

But when director Jon Favreau took on Iron Man, one of the original Marvel comics, he wanted to ensure the end result wasn’t your average superhero movie.

Key to that plan was casting former drug addict, felon and Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr.

“Once I was able to cast Robert in it I said there’s the opportunity to make what happens between the action set pieces equally, if not more, interesting than the action,” Favreau says.

“It was an opportunity to overcome my greatest misgiving about the potential outcome of this film, which would be that it was a mediocre, big budget action movie that would make money and disappoint fans of my work.

“Robert offered the opportunity to play the type of humour that I like, the improvisation sort of feel to the material, and of course he helped attract the wonderful cast.”

That cast includes Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow, and Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard.

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Craig Cove

Actor Billy Mumy known for the role of Will Robinson in the TV series Lost in Space was a Hamilton high school class mate of future actor Craig Cove. They had lots of conversations about music which is another one of Billy’s passions. Craig had family that worked at “the film studios” so “show business” people were not unusual to him.

Some students would stare a lot at Billy or call him Will Robinson. Billy and Craig would laugh and joke about it sometimes. Occasionally, Angela Cartwright who played Penny on the series would pick up Billy after school in her new white Pontiac Trans Am. Angela would park away from people behind campus to avoid attention. Billy wanted to be treated like a normal everyday kid. Nowand then Billy can be found at McCabes Music in Santa Monica.

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It Was a Dark and Stormy NIGHT, Eh

The story behind the 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis version of Prom Night is far more interesting than the one Screen Gems wouldn't let us see in advance of its release.

By Telly Davidson, FilmStew.com

The past few months have reconfirmed the fact that in between the end of Oscar qualifying season and summer tentpole time(a bracket moved up this year by Paramount's Iron Man to May 2nd), Hollywood filmmaking is generally on blotto pilot. Even such critically controversial films as Chapter 27 and Stop-Loss drop quickly off the hype-machine radar.

An exception to this rule is this weekend's horror flick Prom Night, which has been nabbing billboards, top ten TV show commercials and this past weekend's number one spot at the box office with $20.8 million. All without benefit of preview screenings for film critics.

So, with all due respect, screw the remake and let us instead look back at the original Prom Night in all its plasmatic and fuzzy-filmed glory, and the strange daze in Canadian cinema responsible for it. Don't worry, there are no spoilers; the plot of Prom Night '08 has virtually no resemblance to the original, besides the obvious.

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Disabled actors are making gains in Hollywood, and shattering old stereotypes

Nick Daley, 28, has Prader-Willi Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by short stature, low muscle tone and mild retardation. He's also been in 17 films and 11 television shows, including a guest-starring role in last season's TNT series "Saving Grace."

"If I were a star, I would be on all over the world," he says. "I would be mobbed by fans. People would see my name and get my autograph."

Blair Williamson, 28, is an actor with Down syndrome. He has been in clothing commercials for Macy's, was once murdered in a "CSI" episode and had a nose job on a "Nip/Tuck" episode.

"I love being an actor," he says. "It makes me feel good inside me."

Daley and Williamson are among a growing number of people with developmental disabilities -- including Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, mild retardation and seizure disorders -- who want to be in the movies or on TV. They want to make records or be in commercials. They want what a lot of people in Los Angeles want: to be stars.

And some of them are getting close.

Their aspirations are a small part of a sea change in thinking about adults with disabilities since 1973, when California passed landmark legislation known as the Lanterman Act (updated in 1977). It granted services (and funding for them) to people with disabilities to let them live as independent a life as possible.

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Are George Clooney and Brad Pitt Having a 'Bromance'?

George Clooney has just been too public with his current personal relationship – so much so, that Meredith Vieira confronted a slightly unnerved Clooney about it after he discussed his new movie Leatherheads on Thursday's Today show. No, Vieira wasn't referring to Clooney and gal pal Sarah Larson, but, as the televised photos of the couple together showed, Clooney and Brad Pitt. Clooney, who never unfolded his arms, said the tone of Vieira's voice tipped him off to what she was going to say, though, when asked if, indeed, the two are having a "bromance," Clooney would only concede that pal Pitt is "very handsome."

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Unable to STOP the Stereotyping

After director Joe Wright failed to nab an Academy Award nomination for his helming of Atonement a couple months ago, the reaction of most Oscar experts was one of surprise. After all, the film was the only one of the five Best Picture nominees not to cinch a Best Director nomination, and it's exactly the type of middlebrow period piece - an epic wartime romance brought to life with painstaking attention to details of costuming and production design - that almost never fails to land its director in the nominees' circle.

But the reason for Wright's snub may very well be the most absurdly simple one imaginable: he didn't deserve the nomination. It's entirely possible that Academy members, like myself, find Wright to be an obviously talented craftsman who hasn't yet made a film that amounts to more than the sum of its admittedly impressive parts. Atonement, like Wright's Pride & Prejudice adaptation before it, is easy to admire for its intelligence, handsome period decor and acrobatic camerawork, but impossible to love because its dramatic inertia fails to do justice to the source material it's based on - in this case, Ian McEwan's psychologically dense novel.

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Craig Cove

The Beverly Hills Playhouse founded and directed by Milton Katselas is a top well respected acting school. Actor Craig Cove credits the BHP intense training programs that enabled him to perform with a complete understanding of the craft. It’s like a top martial arts “Dojo” where you go train for a degreed “Black Belt”. The training is a combination of methods and exercises based mostly on Stanislavski, this requires discipline and dedication. Milton Katselas is an amazing acting teacher and coach. His classes are full of working TV and film actors. Stars attend as well just to stay “sharp”, and to work on new things. Active class alumni such as Jorge Garcia, Doris Roberts, Jenna Elfman, and Jeffrey Tambor are a few that come to mind.

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Woody Allen Sues Over NY Billboard

Woody Allen asked a federal court on Monday to strip a clothing company known for its racy ads featuring scantily clad models of at least $10 million for using his image on billboards and on the Internet.

In a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the actor-director said he does not endorse commercial products or services in the United States, which makes the May 2007 American Apparel billboards in Hollywood and New York and Web site displays "especially egregious and damaging."

The lawsuit said Allen was not contacted by the company and did not consent to the use of his image, which was taken from one of his movies.

American Apparel Inc., which is based in Los Angeles and operates worldwide, did not immediately reply to a telephone message seeking comment Monday.

The lawsuit complained of a billboard featuring a frame from "Annie Hall," a film that won Allen a best director Oscar. The image showed Allen, 72, dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a long beard and black hat and Yiddish text meaning "the holy rebbe." The words "American Apparel" also were on the billboard.

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Craig Cove

Hip Hop Rap artist Eminem’s music video of hit song “Slim Shady” features actor Craig Cove in a DUI scene as one of two uniformed police officers. Together they follow and pull over Slim Shady who is erratically driving his blue Chevy Monte Carlo. According to Craig that December night shoot was freezing cold. “Em did his job very well not bothered by the cold at all; after all he is from Detroit. We chatted a bit in wardrobe he and Dr. Dre are very cool to work with.” The video was directed by Phillip Atwell and Dr. Dre with Interscope.

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Mos Def picks Chuck Berry Role for music biopic

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Rapper-actor Mos Def will play legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry in "Cadillac Records," which is filming in New Jersey.

Also joining the cast is Gabrielle Union, who will play Geneva Wade, a girlfriend of Muddy Waters.

The Sony BMG film is set in 1950s Chicago and follows the turbulent lives of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), and the label's artists, including Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer).

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Craig Cove

Beatbox artist Rahzel’s music video of hit song “All I know” features actor Craig Cove as the doctor delivering Rahzel at birth. Cove again plays the surgeon that operates on an older “worn out” Rahzel trying to fix his circuit boards. Rahzel mysteriously clones himself into the surgeon for a new life. The video was directed by Spencer Susser with Black Dog Films.

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Will Arnett heads to "Rome" for comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Expert scene-stealer Will Arnett has packed his bags for "When in Rome," a Disney romantic comedy starring Kristen Bell.

The former "Veronica Mars" actress plays a love-starved New York curator who steals magical coins from the Trevi Fountain in Rome but soon finds herself in a bizarre situation when she is pursued back to New York by a band of aggressive suitors whose coins she took.

Arnett ("Blades of Glory") will play one of the suitors, an Italian artist. He joins Josh Duhamel, Jon Heder, Anjelica Huston and Dax Shepard. Shooting begins next month. Mark Steven Johnson directs.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Actor Craig Cove was featured as a ringside reporter in the Will Smith biopic film Ali. The film also co-stared Jamie Fox, Mikelty Williams, Joel Silver and professional boxer James Tony as Smokin Joe Frazier. The Ali vs. Frazier fight scenes were surreal to witness and to be a part of, Director Michael Mann did at least fifteen “takes” using multiple cameras at the same time. As a ringside reporter, actor Craig Cove had to “puff” on cigars all day while writing notes on a press tablet and react to the fighting. Press reporters and photographers surrounding the ring had a very nice gig!

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Craig Cove

Ryan Phillippe sheds pretty boy image

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ryan Phillippe gained Hollywood fame and won fans with his piercing blue eyes and good looks in the 1990s, but the actor says he has never been interested in being just another pretty face in the movies.

So in recent years Phillippe, 33, has focused on gritty roles in films whose stories are rooted in real-life, such as Iraq war tale "Stop-Loss" which lands in theaters on Friday.

"Stop-Loss," written and directed by Kimberly Peirce, stars Phillippe as a soldier returning from war overseas and follows his recent dramatic turns in Clint Eastwood's World War II tale "Flags of Our Fathers" and best film Oscar winner "Crash," about race relations.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Actor Craig Cove was represented commercially for a time by Scott Wine of Osbrink Talent Agency.

Craig enjoyed success commercially but decided instead to focus on film, and screenwriting.

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Craig Cove

Thomas Jane Stars in DUI Jam

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Is Thomas Jane glutton for punishment?

The Punisher star was busted early Monday morning in Central California on DUI charges, E! News has learned.

According to a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol's Central Division, the 39-year-old Jane was clocked barreling southbound down Interstate 5 at 120-125 miles per hour.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Actor Craig Cove landed his first theatrical agent Mary Grady during the twilight of her career. Mary had a long list of successful clients during her many years as an agent. Mary acted as an agent and manager guiding Craig along to help the then “green” actor to get his “chops” down, and learn the business. Craig has said that Mary Grady has a heart of gold and did a lot for him. Mary decided to retire and sell her agency MGA, after suffering the loss of her daughter actress Lani O’Grady.

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Craig Cove

Ford cracks whip again as Indiana Jones

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - It's been over 25 years since Indiana Jones first burst onto screens cracking his bullwhip and dusting off his fedora after yet another death-defying scrape. Now aged 65, Harrison Ford is back.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" -- the fourth installment in the series since the 1981 release of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" -- is due to be released worldwide on May 22.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Actor Billy Mumy known for the role of Will Robinson in the TV series

Lost in Space was a Hamilton high school class mate of future actor

Craig Cove. They had lots of conversations about music which is another

one of Billy’s passions. Craig had family that worked at “the film studios”

so “show business” people were not unusual to him. Some students would stare a lot at Billy or call him Will Robinson. Billy and Craig would laugh and joke about it sometimes. Occasionally, Angela Cartwright who played Penny on the series would pick up Billy after school in her new white Pontiac Trans Am. Angela would park away from people behind campus to avoid attention. Billy wanted to be treated like a normal everyday kid. Now

and then Billy can be found at McCabes Music in Santa Monica.

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Craig Cove

Black's kung fu fighting with `Panda'

LAS VEGAS - The last thing the martial-arts fans behind "Kung Fu Panda" wanted to do was make fun of the genre they were re-imagining for the animated world.

So while their leading guy is a tubby, klutzy panda with Jack Black's voice, the filmmakers have delivered a real kung fu movie in the guise of a cartoon comedy.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Actor Jay Arlen Jones known for such films as The Patriot and Eight Legged Freaks was a neighborhood buddy of future actor Craig Cove during high school in Santa Monica California. Years later, Jay and Craig would work together as mechanics in a GM Good Wrench commercial. They had no idea each other had been cast in the project until they arrived on set, that was Craig’s first SAG job as a principal actor gaining full eligibility.

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Craig Cove

Ledger's will leaves nothing to daughter

NEW YORK - Heath Ledger's will leaves nothing to his former girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter because it was never updated after they became part of his life.

A copy of the three-page will, filed in Manhattan Surrogate Court, shows the 28-year-old Australian actor left everything he owned to his parents and three sisters. Kim Ledger, the actor's father, has said the family would make sure the actor's former girlfriend, actress Michelle Williams, and that their 2-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, would be provided for, according to published reports.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

The Beverly Hills Playhouse founded and directed by Milton Katselas

is a top well respected acting school. Actor Craig Cove credits the BHP intense training programs that enabled him to perform with a complete

understanding of the craft. It’s like a top martial arts “Dojo” where you go train for a degreed “Black Belt”. The training is a combination of methods and exercises based mostly on Stanislavski, this requires discipline and dedication. Milton Katselas is an amazing acting teacher and coach.

His classes are full of working TV and film actors. Stars attend as well

just to stay “sharp”, and to work on new things. Active class alumni such as

Jorge Garcia, Doris Roberts, Jenna Elfman, and Jeffrey Tambor are a few that come to mind.

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Craig Cove

Hollywood Private Eye's Trial to Begin

Anthony Pellicano spent decades building his reputation in Hollywood as a crafty, bare-knuckled private eye who worked for a long roster of A-list clients, including Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson.

So it figured that his indictment two years ago in a federal wiretapping case would make entertainment power players nervous about who else might be charged and what secrets might be exposed.

The cliffhanger dropped with a thud, however, when Pellicano refused to flip on his rich and famous clients.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Hip Hop Rap artist Eminem’s music video of hit song “Slim Shady” features

actor Craig Cove in a DUI scene as one of two uniformed police officers.

Together they follow and pull over Slim Shady who is erratically driving his blue Chevy Monte Carlo. According to Craig that December night shoot was

freezing cold. “Em did his job very well not bothered by the cold at all; after all he is from Detroit. We chatted a bit in wardrobe he and Dr. Dre are very cool to work with.” The video was directed by Phillip Atwell and Dr. Dre with Interscope.

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Craig Cove

Numerical Sound Releases "Hollywood Impulse Responses — Reverberation Impulses"

The Hollywood Impulse Responses (HIR) were inspired by the ambience of 20 major Hollywood blockbuster films released between 1977-2006. This selection of films was recorded in several famous recording studio's sound stages and symphony halls.

The second feature unique to HIR is that the impulses were designed to change the perceived timbre of an individual instrument, ensemble or even the entire orchestra. The user can now adjust the tone of a track by selecting the appropriate Dark, Warm, Flat, Clear or Bright impulse when mixing the wet signal in with the dry. This dramatic effect cannot be matched by any kind of EQ.

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Beatbox artist Rahzel’s music video of hit song “All I know” features actor Craig Cove as the doctor delivering Rahzel at birth. Cove again plays the surgeon that operates on an older “worn out” Rahzel trying to fix his circuit boards. Rahzel mysteriously clones himself into the surgeon for a new life. The video was directed by Spencer Susser with Black Dog Films.

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Craig Cove

Who's going home with Oscar?

See who our crystal ball predicts will win on Academy Award night

The end of the Hollywood writers' strike, though great news, robs the Academy Awards of much of their suspense. Whether the show would go on was one of the few remaining questions in an Oscar picture in which most major races appear sewn up.

As in most years, the favored films and performances tend toward the somber (sorry, "Juno," bless your Sunny D-chugging heart). But though themes are bleak, the quality is superb, making it hard to argue with the front-runners, even if they aren't personal favorites.

That said, here are one critic's predictions for who will go home with Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards (airing at 7 p.m. Sunday on ABC).

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Craig Cove

Craig Cove

Craig calls the west coast home, having been born and raised in California. He is the product of a electronics engineer father, and a medical assistant mother who married and settled down in the beach town of Santa Monica. Growing up in a large family was nothing but bliss; Craig was related to most of the kids on his block. Every other house on his street owned by a relative during the fifty’s and sixties, just imagine how wild and creative a huge family of independent kids and their friends could be.

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