Clooney To Star As Martin Luther King In Lars Von Trier’s New Biopic
Just kidding. Today we have more news from the TV upfronts, plus movie word from sunny, splashy, ridiculous Cannes.
US networkABC has officially announced its new schedule. Mondays are basically the same. Tuesdays will feature new reality show Shark Tank, plus Dancing with the Stars results shows (to be replaced by Better Off Ted and Scrubs once the Dancing season ends) and The Forgotten, a new Jerry Bruckheimer crime type drama that features a guy I know. So, congrats Anthony! Wednesday night will be a big ol’ comedy block of new sitcoms (including the Courteney Cox vehicle Cougar Town—which features Dan Byrd from Aliens in America and, um, A Cinderella Story). Buzzed-about Flash Forward replaces Ugly Betty in the Thursday 8pm slot. That gay fantasia on fashional themes has moved to Friday 10pm. [Variety]
ABC rivals, NBC has yet to formally announce their new season, but Law & Order has already been renewed for a big-time 20th season. Let’s put that this way: babies that were born when the show started are now going to be in nearing the end of their uni degrees. Hooftie! Time! [THR]
DreamWorks has gone and bought the rights to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and will produce a biopic about him. And, actually, forget that George Clooney whispering. We hear that Johnny Depp is in talks to play the civil rights martyr. [Variety]
At Cannes, two George Clooney projects are all the buzz! Oooo! First, Men Who Stare at Goats (costarring Jeff Bridges, Ewan MacGregor, and Kevin Spacey) has been picked up by Overture. Clooney also inked a deal to star in the movie adaptation of Martin Booth’s novel A Very Private Gentleman, about a quiet Englishman named Mr. Butterfly who lives in Italy and secretly makes weapons for assassins. So it’s The Jackal meets Under the Tuscan Sun. Terrific. [Variety]
Finally, Lars von Trier is still an asshole. [THR]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Motoko Kusanagi: Mind-crushingly frustrating movie experiences are exactly what I expect awful directors to produce.
@Midwesterner in NYC: That show is a definite "blink and you missed someone you know from a movie or tv series," brain bender. Last week I watched it while imdb-ing during almost every scene.
@qiaohua: There's some speculation that's part of why Dollhouse managed to get renewed, but no confirmation on that from the execs.
eleusiswalks
@Midwesterner in NYC: Disclaimer: I obviously have no life.
Now, I saw the SciFi 'War of the Worlds' DEUX the other night, in which he starred, so to speak. I felt REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. old.
jaxdesert
@Arceus: I finally saw that on Saturday night and thought it was terrible. Can someone please explain the appeal of this movie to me? Besides the last scene, of course.
DahlELama
How many more seasons before the broadcast television schedule is completely irrelevant?
And has there been a show that survived the axe because of its online views?
@Spirit Fingers: Does Burn After Reading not exist in your reality or something?
Arceus
Lars von Trier is definitely an asshole, but he also might actually be the greatest director in the world. He is certainly the master of the mind-crushingly frustrating movie experience.
@thatonegirlsays: I have a strange sympathy for Pushing Daisies fans even though I didn't actually like the show. My heart goes out to you.
DahlELama
I honestly do not understand ABC at all. It seems they enjoy prematurely killing shows by constantly moving them around and putting them in shitty time slots where no one but shut-ins can find them.
(Clearly, I am still so very bitter about Pushing Daisies)
Also, Soul Man, now there's a movie that's never shown on TBS.
Spirit Fingers
It's screwed either way, but Ugly Betty is actually going to be on at 9 p.m., not 10.
DahlELama
Wow. Perhaps no one will agree with me, but Clooney seems hell-bent on making the most boring movies ever conceived. Seriously. Who cares? I understand that he's now an Ac-Tor, but sheesh, would it kill him to find projects a little less esoteric? Even Clive Owen becomes a bank robber, a love interest, someone even minimally charming, every now and again. I'm not saying he needs to shoot Batman and Robin Make Milkshakes or anything, but where's that loveable guy that traded witty banter with Michelle Pfeifer all those many years ago, or the edgy dude who held his own with Tarantino? A little action and sex appeal would be nice, instead he's making movies made for the 7:30pm with oatmeal time slot. Boo!
Spirit Fingers
Does anyone watch "Southland"? I was shocked to learn one of the characters is played by C. Thomas Howell. He looks more recognizable in the picture in this post of him playing Mark Watson on tanning pills.
George Jones to star as Stephen King in Lars Ulrich's new biopic?
Wow, Ugly Betty will skyrocket straight to the top of the ratings with that time slot!
javysan
Should be good. One of them, I mean.
Did anyone watch Flash Forward in the 90s on the Disney Channel? That was where my Ben Foster love began...
@Dickdogfood: What's with the Lars hate? What's wrong with his movies? Why is he an asshole?
@TillieHarper: We the Blacks...Niggmata (I Have Holes in My ...: I actually haven't seen any of his movies. I'm also not calling him an asshole or awful--but nonetheless it seems odd to premise the greatness of a film director on his ability to frustrate. It's like somebody telling me "OMG you totally have to see this guy's movies, they're so obnoxiously irritating, he's the best!" or "I give this chef's food an A+: it makes me want to throw up every time!"
(Mind you, it's not as if positive aesthetic experiences can't be rooted in what are ordinarily unpleasant mental states: for example, a great horror movie can frighten you, and a great tragedy can make you feel sad. But can a great movie truly frustrate you?--and if so, is it frustration you feel?)
@Dickdogfood: You're not wrong. But Lars is kind of a genius at evoking a response, which is more than most directors can claim. I'd rather be Lars than McG any day of the week, when it comes to artistic integrity and whatnot.
And Lars' asshole rep basically stems from his method of crucifying his actresses on set.