March | 2009 | Showbiz News and Scoops | Studio and Network Dish | Hollywood Insider

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Archive: March 2009 (1-10 of 116)

Mar 31 2009 11:06 PM ET

'Friday Night Lights': Zach Gilford talks about the show's renewal and if he'll return, too

Categories: TV Biz

Friday Night Lights will be back for two more seasons, but Zach Gilford’s days in Dillon could be over. Barring an unlikely academic meltdown, Gilford’s put-upon quarterback Matt Saracen will graduate this season from Dillon High, following the lead of Jason Street (Scott Porter) and “Smash” Williams (Gaius Charles), who previously bid their adieus. (Minka Kelly and Adrianne Palicki are also rumored to be moving on, so FNL might be facing some serious rebuilding.)

In a recent conversation with EW, Gilford said he was excited about the show’s renewal but acknowledged that executive producer Jason Katims recently told him that Saracen’s fate remains undecided. Still, he hasn’t abandoned all hope. “I think there’s a lot of stuff that could keep him around,” suggests the 27-year-old actor, who stars in the upcoming movie Post-Grad, opposite Alexis Bledel. “The fact that Matt’s dating the coach’s daughter and his best friend will still be in high school. But they have to make sure it’s done in a way that will still keep the show about what the show’s supposed to be about, which is the high school football team.”

Mar 31 2009 09:53 PM ET

Ratings: 'Dancing With the Stars' wins again on Monday

by Tim Stack

Categories: Gossip Girl, Heroes, TV Biz, TV Ratings, Television

No surprise, ABC’s Dancing With the Stars was far and away the Monday night winner with 20.2 million viewers, according to preliminary overnight ratings. The network’s mid-season series, Castle, meanwhile, held steady with 9.8 million fans, same as last week. Over on Fox, a guest appearance by rapper/actor Mos Def helped drive House to a solid 12.2 million. The night was not good for NBC’s Chuck, though, as the series struggled with only 5.6 million viewers.

Time	Show	Viewers (in millions)
8pm	Dancing With the Stars (ABC) House (Fox) Big Bang Theory (CBS) Chuck (NBC) Gossip Girl (The CW)	20.2 12.2 9.8 5.6 2.5
8:30pm	How I Met Your Mother (CBS)	9.2
9pm	Two and a Half Men (CBS) 24 (Fox) Heroes (NBC) One Tree Hill (The CW)	14.4 11.2 6.3 2.3
9:30pm	Rules of Engagement (CBS)	11.0
10pm	CSI: Miami (CBS) Castle (ABC) Medium (NBC)	13.4 9.8 7.3

Mar 31 2009 08:16 PM ET

'Footloose' on hold with Zac Efron out?

by Chris Nashawaty

Categories: Casting, Movie Biz

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A source close to the remake of the ’80s box-office smash Footloose tells EW that the movie-musical is now on hold while Paramount decides whether to move forward without Zac Efron in the lead. The source also denied recent Internet reports that Gossip Girl heartthrob Chace Crawford tested for the role last weekend.

Efron (pictured, left) was originally attached to project in the role made famous in 1984 by hip-swivelling bad boy Kevin Bacon (pictured, right). Last week, EW reported that the High School Musical star pulled out of the project after more than a year and a half when his advisers cautioned against doing another musical and becoming pigeonholed before he had the chance to establish himself in a variety of genres.

At the time, the studio insisted that that plans for the project were still full steam ahead, with or without Efron: “While Zac is no longer attached, we remain excited and committed to the collective brain trust of Kenny Ortega, Neil Meron, and Craig Zadan, who will reinvigorate the franchise.”

But the source now claims that the film is actually holding pattern until Paramount makes up its mind whether or not an Efron-free Footloose is a one they want to ultimately bankroll.

More Zac Efron, ‘Footloose’:
Zac Efron cuts loose from ‘Footloose’ remake
Zac Efron’s Day Off: EW Photo Showcase

Mar 31 2009 12:25 AM ET

Drew Barrymore cast opposite Justin Long in 'Going the Distance'

by Christine Spines

Categories: Movie Biz

New Line has cast Drew Barrymore opposite her former boyfriend, Justin Long, in the romantic comedy Going the Distance. The plot finds the pair as a couple dealing with the challenges of a cross-country romance. Documentary director Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture and American Teen) will make her feature debut on the project written by New Line staffer Geoff LaTulippe.

Mar 30 2009 11:40 PM ET

Leonardo DiCaprio is not attached to 'Button Man,' reps say

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: Film, Movie Biz, Rumor Police!

Contrary to various reports trickling through the web today, representatives of Leonardo DiCaprio and DreamWorks Pictures confirm to EW that the Revolutionary Road star is not set to star in DreamWorks’ Button Man. The violent thriller — based on a British comic strip — was one of the 17 titles DreamWorks brought with it in its divorce from Paramount Pictures, and remains in active development with screenwriter Hillary Seitz (Eagle Eye) attached, according to a DreamWorks rep. Although it is unclear how DiCaprio’s name got linked to the film, the rumor appears to have originated from a listing in Production Weekly.

Mar 30 2009 10:23 PM ET

'Dancing With the Stars' judge Carrie Ann Inaba: Are the pros to blame for the injuries?

by Lynette Rice

Categories: TV Biz

Dancing With the Stars‘ judge (and EW celebrity blogger) Carrie Ann Inaba thinks she may know what — or who — is behind all the crazy injuries on the show this season. From Nancy O’Dell’s torn meniscus to Steve Wozniak’s pulled hamstring, Inaba believes the ouchies may be due to the dancing partners who “have gotten more competitive as the seasons have gone on.” So are Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke, and the impossibly gorgeous Edyta Sliwinska attempting the impossible with their klutzy C-listers? “The professional dancers are getting more and more competitive amongst themselves, and they are pushing their celebrities very hard,” Inaba admitted to EW while walking the red carpet for Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards on March 28. “The professionals’ reputations are at stake, and they want to win the title just as bad if not worse than the celebs because that is what they do for a living. I also think that the celebrities are pushing themselves harder.

“The first season, no one really knew what to expect or what it would take or how hard we would judge them,” Inaba added. “They know that if they do well on the show their careers can take off. It can really help on a business level. Look at Mario Lopez — and he didn’t even win. It is a great stage for America to get to know them for who they are now, and it can be rejuvenating. Plus, they get bragging rights if they win. And a lot of them use it to get in shape. Anyway, I think they start to put in more energy, practice longer, and take bigger risks in the routines, so someone is bound to get hurt. Or a few people as the case has been. But I think they see it as worth it. Big rewards.” (Reporting by Carrie Bell)

Mar 30 2009 07:16 PM ET

Ratings: 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' adds viewers on Sunday

by Jennifer Armstrong

Categories: TV Ratings

ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition got a ratings boost on Sunday with a two-hour episode, while Desperate Housewives sat the hour out, according to preliminary Nielsen estimates. (Usually a viewer magnet, Desperate Housewives showed up only in a rerun an hour later than usual, at 10 p.m.) Makeover averaged 10.8 million viewers, a million more than last week. The absence of Housewives and lead-out Brothers & Sisters also helped NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice, which ticked up 16 percent to 8.5 million. NCAA basketball, however, helped CBS win the night (though its overrun into primetime means the net’s times and viewership numbers are approximate); with March Madness leading off the traditionally strong Sunday schedule, the network averaged 12.1 million viewers on Sunday. The Eye dominated Friday (with 10.3 million) and Saturday (8.6 million), too, thanks to hoops, hoops, and more hoops.

Time	Show	Viewers (in millions)
7 p.m.	NCAA Basketball (CBS) Dateline (NBC) America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) American Dad (Fox) Jericho (The CW)	13.3 9.1 8.1 2.3 (repeat) .7 (repeat)
7:30 p.m.	60 Minutes (CBS) King of the Hill (Fox)	14 3.0 (repeat)
8 p.m.	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) The Simpsons (Fox) Kings (NBC) Movie: War Games (The CW)	10.8 6.6 4.4 1.3
8:30 p.m.	The Amazing Race XIV (CBS) The Simpsons (Fox)	11.8 6.5 (repeat)
9 p.m.	Celebrity Apprentice (NBC) Family Guy (Fox)	8.5 8.2
9:30 p.m.	Cold Case (CBS) American Dad (Fox)	11.4 6.0
10 p.m.	Desperate Housewives (ABC)	6.1 (repeat)
10:30 p.m.	The Unit (CBS)	9.2

Mar 30 2009 03:31 AM ET

Zack Snyder's 'Sucker Punch': Emily Browning takes over lead role

by Nicole Sperling

Categories: Movie Biz

Emily Browning (The Uninvited) will replace Amanda Seyfried in Zack Snyder’s action fantasy Sucker Punch for Warner Bros. The Australian-born Browning is probably best known for her role as Violet in 2004’s Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Seyfried had received the offer and was very interested in the starring role as an insane asylum inmate who loses herself in a fantasy world where she dreams about escaping with her fellow inmates. But she had to decline due to scheduling conflicts with the fourth season of Big Love. (HBO wouldn’t release Seyfried from her shooting schedule.) Shooting on Sucker Punch is set for the fall. Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone are all still in talks to costar.

Mar 29 2009 05:39 PM ET

Box Office Report: 'Monsters vs. Aliens' opens at No. 1 with $58.2 mil

by Joshua Rich

Categories: Box Office

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The 3-D animated event Monsters vs. Aliens opened in first place, as expected, with a super-solid $58.2 million gross, according to Sunday’s estimates from Media by Numbers.

Assuming that early figure holds, DreamWorks Animation’s movie garnered the year’s biggest debut so far, besting Watchmen’s $55.2 mil. It also got, of course, the top premiere of 2009 among 3-D movies like My Bloody Valentine 3-D and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.

The family film achieved said success by screening in a variety of fashions — in regular theaters, on IMAX screens, in 2-D, and in 3-D. In fact, less than a third of its showings were in 3-D, but it still earned a whopping 56 percent of its money (about $32.6 mil) from those 3-D locations, where tickets were more expensive. An additional nine percent of its total (about $5.2 mil) came from 143 higher-priced IMAX shows. Overall, Monsters vs. Aliens played in 4,104 theaters and averaged a stellar $14,181 per. The movie also drew a nice A- CinemaScore review from an audience that was 62 percent under the age of 25. Yeah, it’ll be sticking around for several weeks to come.

Meanwhile, The Haunting in Connecticut (No. 2) fared surprisingly well in its opening, grossing $23 mil — a total that would ordinarily sew up a win. Indeed, had Monsters vs. Aliens not also come out this weekend, The Haunting in Connecticut’s big bow would be an even bigger story (guess all those strange and banal posters and trailers served it well!). Even with a weak B- CinemaScore grade from a crowd that was 58 percent female, the fact-based horror flick gave Virginia Madsen the best premiere — by far — of her career as a lead actor.

Reigning champ Knowing (No. 3), starring Nicolas Cage, held on well during its second weekend, dropping just 40 percent to earn $14.7 mil. I Love You, Man (No. 4) stayed even stronger, declining a mere 29 percent to gross $12.6 mil. Duplicity was off 46 percent from its first-weekend figure, banking $7.6 mil at No. 5. And this weekend’s other big new release, the WWE-produced action thriller 12 Rounds (No. 7), starring John Cena, got pinned with only $5.3 mil.

Overall, the box office was up more than 39 percent from the same frame a year ago, when 21 was the big opener. To be sure, 2009’s box office winning streak continues.

More Box Office News:
Box Office Preview: Monsters vs. Aliens will scare up big bucks this weekend
Knowing cruises to weekend victory
Race to Witch Mountain casts a spell at No. 1
Watchmen wins the weekend with $55.7 mil
Madea tops Jonas Brothers for a second box office win
EW.com’s Box Office Chart

Mar 28 2009 05:27 PM ET

'Monsters vs. Aliens' grosses $16.7 mil at the box office on Friday

by Joshua Rich

Categories: Box Office

DreamWorks Animation’s 3-D extravaganza Monsters vs. Aliens started off the weekend with a strong gross of $16.7 million on Friday. Thus, the animated family film is on track to bank as much as $60 mil over the course of the weekend, which would be in line with its great expectations. The Haunting in Connecticut also opened really well, exceeding its projected figures with $9.6 mil on its first day. But the weekend’s other big new movie, 12 Rounds, was way back with a mere $1.8 mil. Friday’s totals are below, and please check back here on Sunday for a full weekend recap in the Box Office Report.

1. Monsters vs. Aliens — $16.7 mil
2. The Haunting in Connecticut — $9.6 mil
3. Knowing — $4.6 mil
4. I Love You, Man — $4 mil
5. Duplicity — $2.3 mil
6. 12 Rounds — $1.8 mil
7. Race to Witch Mountain — $1.5 mil