Variety reports that Nicole Kidman will play British pop superstar Dusty Springfield in a biopic currently being written by “The Hours” novelist Michael Cunningham.

Kidman will also produce the film through her Blossom Films banner which is in a race against Universal Picture’s own Dusty Springfield project, in which Kristen Chenoweth (”The West Wing”) is attached to star.

Husky-voiced Springfield, became a huge star in the 1960s before battles with drugs, alcohol, mental illness and her own lesbianism took their toll. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 and died in 1999.

Source: Variety

Tripplehorn Goes “Grey”

Jeanne Tripplehorn (”Big Love”, “Basic Instinct”) has been cast as Jackie Kennedy Onassis in Drew Barrymore and HBO’s “Grey Gardens” project.

Barrymore and Jessica Lange star as “Little Edie” and “Big Edie,” the respective aunt and cousin of Onassis, who made headlines when the health department threatened to raid their flea and raccoon-infested estate in East Hampton, N.Y.

Tripplehorn will be joining Daniel Baldwin, who plays Julius Krug, the former secretary of the interior and secret true love of Little Edie; Ken Howard (”Cane”) as Big Edie’s husband; Malcolm Gets (”Caroline in the City”) as Big Edie’s accompanist; and Arye Gross (”The Practice”) as documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles.

Michael Sucsy is directing the project, currently shooting in Toronto. Source: Reuters

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Nicole Bares All For Vanity

Nicole Kidman has revealed for the first time, that shortly after marrying Tom Cruise, she suffered a traumatic miscarriage.

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Kidman Set For Scares In “Espectro” Remake

Universal Pictures has acquired the remake rights to Colombian horror film “Al Final Del Espectro” and are developing it as a starring and producing vehicle for Nicole Kidman.

Kidman will play a woman who, after a tragic incident, is encouraged by her father to take refuge in a fancy apartment building. Soon after, she becomes a recluse and begins to have visions and hear voices. She starts to worry about the dark past of the apartment and the her neighbor’s bizarre obsession.

The film’s original director, Juan Felipe Orozco, is attached to helm the remake from a script by Fernley Phillips (”The Number 23″). Kidman will produce the project through her Blossom Films banner, teamed along with Vertigo Entertainment.

Source: Variety

“Star Trek” Gets It’s Checkov

Russian-born actor, Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog, Hearts in Atlantis), is in negotiations to play Pavel Checkov, the Russian navigator of the USS Enterprise, in director J.J. Abrams’ relaunch of the “Star Trek” film franchise for Paramount Pictures.

Yelchin, who hails from Saint Petersburg, will join Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy, both of who are confirmed to be playing the role of Mr. Spock.

Casting is still under way in New York and London for actors to play Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, the film’s villain and Federation captain, James T. Kirk. Abrams is expected to cast big-name actors for the roles of Kirk and the villain.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the story is believed to chronicle the early days of the Enterprise crew during their time at Starfleet Academy. The 11th film in the “Star Trek” franchise is set for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Director Sam Raimi Might Be taking On “Titans”

This just in from the rumor mill: Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures are said to be in talks with director Sam Raimi (Spiderman), to helm their remake of the classic 80’s Greek mythology action epic, “Clash of the Titans.”

A source for iesb.net claims Warner Brothers has offered Raimi ‚Äö?Ñ??everything under the sun,‚Äö?Ñ?? including some of its bigger franchise pictures and several DC Comics properties to direct the feature.

The source goes on to say “no one else has been offered the ‘Clash of the Titans’ project and both Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. execs are willing to do anything to lock in Sam to a multi-picture deal.”

Acclaimed screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill, Body Heat), is penning the script for the epic which has yet to set a production start date.

Source: iesb.net

Jonny’s “Quest” Is Set For The Big Screen

Warner Brothers seems to be very busy these days, aside from the aforementioned “Clash of the Titans” remake and the big-screen adaptation of “Speed Racer” currently in production, now comes word the WB will be reviving the classic 1960’s Hanna-Barbera sci-fi adventure series “Jonny Quest,” as a potential feature film franchise.

Dan Mazeau (Land of Lost Things) has been hired to write the screenplay for the project which will be produced by Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter (Hitman).

“Jonny Quest” told the story of a young boy who along with his scientist father, adopted brother from India, Bandit the bulldog, and a government agent assigned to protect them, encounter extraordinary adventures while investigating scientific mysteries around the world.

Director Richard Donner had previously attempted to bring “Jonny Quest” to the big screen in 1994. No cast or production start date for the new feature has been announced.

Source: Variety

“Jumper” Jumps On The Net

The official site for the Sci-Fi thriller “Jumper” has gone online. The movie stars Hayden Christensen as a teenager who discovers he can teleport from one place to another. He uses this ability to search for the man he believes is responsible for the death of his mother, drawing the attention of the NSA, and another kid with the same power.

The film, which costars Jamie Bell, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane and Rachel Bilson, is set to open February 15th, 2008.

Official site: jumperthemovie.com

I took a week off from posting while I worked on redesigning the site, I’m still toiling away and probably won’t have the finished results for another few days, in the mean time however, it seems in seven days since, not much has changed. The media is still fixated on Paris Hilton and covering her jail sentence as if she were that of Nelson Mandela’s and the average Joe could care less –goes to show how out of touch the entertainment media can be at times.

In my honest opinion, if you hear one piece of gossip about Paris Hilton or the other media mess, Lindsay Lohan, you’ve read them all. Seems the same program is always playing on those channels. Here then, is what happened this week outside of rehab and Paris’ jail cell.

Turner And Waters Hit P-Town Drive-In

Actress Kathleen Turner and director John Waters hosted a double-feature at the Wellfleet Drive-In in Cape Cod last Friday, where their 1994 camp classic, “Serial Mom,” was paired with Turner’s 1989 comedy, “War of the Roses,” as part of the Provincetown International Film Festival‚Äö?Ñ?¥s “Family Night.”

“I’ve never been to the drive-in before,” said Turner. “And I haven’t seen ‘Serial Mom’ for some time, so I was looking forward to this.”

Her date for the evening, John Waters, had a different story: “I grew up at the drive-in,” he said. “I got arrested at the drive-in for underage drinking!”

This was Turner’s first visit to Provincetown, the Golden Globe-winning, Oscar and Tony-nominated actress, was in P-Town for the weekend to receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “It‚Äö?Ñ?¥s beautiful here,” she said. “But I wish it would warm up.” Source: Boston Herald

Brazilians Don’t Think Bigger Is Better

Here’s something right up John water’s alley, ads for Itamb?¬© Fit Light Yogurt in Brazil are stirring up controversy with their re-working of classic movie scenes featuring plus size models.

The heavily Photoshoped ads (no pun intended), recreate memorable moments from “Basic Instinct,” “The Seven Year Itch” and “American Beauty,” and sport the tag-line “Forget about it. Men’s preferences will never change.”

While American women seem to be on a campaign to embrace their girth with Dove Soap’s “Real Beauty” ad campaigns and Tyra Banks’ recent “kiss my fat ass!” declaration on her talk show, Brazilians are clearly sending the message that fat is not fabulous and BBWs need to stay away from the BBQs. Source: Pop Bytes

FOX And CBS Are Prudish On Trojans
Meanwhile, advertisers here in the U.S. are not without their own bit of controversy. The FOX and CBS TV networks have deemed a new Trojan condoms ad as “not appropriate” for TV despite the fact that their regular program line-ups contain material which is far more objectionable than anything in the 30-second ad.

The commercial shows a bunch of pigs ( literally ), going through the routine of trying to pick up hot women at a bar. Upon scoring with one of the babes, a hog is seen going off to a bathroom and buying a condom, which in turn “evolves” him into a man. According to a press release from Trojan, the hog is a “hero who demonstrates responsibility by choosing to keep his little piggy in a latex blanket.” Nothing wrong with that.

TMZ reports that CBS justified their decision by saying “While we understand and appreciate the humor of this creative (ad), we do not find it appropriate for our network, even with late night only restriction. Also, the hard liquor references/props are not allowed.”

FOX, on the other hand, told Trojan that “Contraceptive advertising must stress health related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy.” Yes, much like the high quality, educational programming FOX provides. Gimme’ a break.

ABC and NBC have chosen to run the spots, which will be airing after 11:30PM later this month. Source: TMZ

If You Wanna Be My Lover
Someone who could’ve profited from watching those Trojan ads is Eddie Murphy. People Magazine reports a DNA test Murphy took on June 11, proved he is the father of “Scary Spice” Melanie Brown’s 2-month-old daughter.

“He’s the baby’s father, it’s official. The baby is undoubtedly, 110 percent his,” says a source close to Brown. “There was no doubt in people’s minds anyways, least of all hers. It wasn’t a surprise to her. She knew all along.”

Angel Iris Murphy Brown was born to Melanie Brown on April 3, 2007 and Brown maintained from the beginning that Eddie Murphy is the child’s father. Murphy’s reps declined to comment. Source: People Magazine

Witches Conjure Up Magic in The U.S.
Following favorable reviews from D.C. area theatre critics, Signature Theater’s U.S. premier of the Cameron Mackintosh-produced musical “The Witches of Eastwick” has extended its engagement by one week.

The musical, based on the John Updike novel and the 1987 Warner Brothers film, made it’s debut on the London stage in 2000, to mixed reviews and less than magical business. Following extensive revisions to add a darker edge, Mackintosh is hoping the revamped production will click with U.S. audiences and perhaps propelling it to Broadway or other regional theatre dates.

Mackintosh is the mastermind behind the Broadway phenomenon, “Les Miserables,” and more recently co-produced “Mary Poppins” on Broadway for Disney Theatricals. Source: Variety

Happy Birthday Nicole!

And finally, a Happy Birthday to Nicole Kidman, who celebrated her 40th birthday Wednesday, June 20th with friends.

Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig star in “The Invasion,” a re-imagining of the 1956 sci-fi classic “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The film was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and is set for an August 17th, 2007 release.

Official site: theinvasionmovie.com

Jesse Metcalfe ( vacationing in Hawaii with with girlfriend Nadine Coyle ) is sporting some serious man-cleavage.

Speaking of cleavage, a New York University article reveals the evolutionary reason why women have enlarged boobs is to mimic the butts which attracted their male mates back when men were monkeys. Not much has changed since, read the full article here.

Speaking of men and monkeys, Nicole Kidman likes to grab em’ by the balls - bulls that is. Kidman has been learning how to castrate bulls for her role in director Baz Luhrmann’s new movie ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ??¨Australia.?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ? Nicole plays a 1930s English aristocrat who inherits a cattle ranch in the Outback and falls in love with a cattle baron, played by fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman. I’m sure Kidman will get plenty of use out of that lesson, seeing as how she’s married to troubled country singer Keith Urban. Source: ICYDK

And finally, all this talk about boobs, men, monkeys and balls brings us to Daniel Craig who turns 39 today. Daniel was born March 2nd, 1968 in Chester, Cheshire, England, UK. Happy birthday Mr. Bond!

Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful commercials ever filmed.

No. 5 - The Film stars Nicole Kidman as an actress on the run, who finds love on a building rooftop against the backdrop of a surreal New York City landscape.

Director Baz Luhrmann ( Moulin Rouge, La Boheme, Romeo + Juliet ) beautifully weaves the tale much as he did with Moulin Rouge, making use of special effects and elaborate sets to depict a cityscape which resembles an impressionist painting.

Tonight’s exclusive NBC “one-time only” airing will be followed by subsequent showings in movie theatres during film previews .

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