The Academy Awards could finally get the dynamic host they’ve been looking for in Family Guy ‘s Seth MacFarlane , whom Deadline reports has been anointed emcee for the 2013 Oscars telecast. Given his solid SNL hosting debut (which began with an Oscars-appropriate song-and-dance monologue) the Ted creator is a well-rounded choice in a town that doesn’t actually have many writer-actor-producer-singer-funny voice-doers, let alone any willing to regularly push the boundaries of good taste. [ UPDATE : Watch Seth MacFarlane as he makes his official Oscar announcement via video.] But let us not forget, as Deadline reminds us: “Of course during the Emmys he didn’t find his mark and stood on the stage awkwardly when he was a presenter. But, that said, it’s an inspired choice by the Academy…” The man loves to sing and loves to put teddy bears in compromising positions. He’s got my vote of approval. The question is, will the over-50 Oscar-watching crowd take to a little giggity-giggity in their Academy Awards? [ Deadline ]
Also in Friday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Sylvester Stallone ‘s son died of ‘natural causes.’ The Academy sets initial deadlines for awards consideration and more… Academy Sets Deadline for Shorts Documentary shorts are due by September 4 at 5pm PT. To be eligible, the documentaries must complete a seven-day commercial run in a theater in either Los Angeles County or in the Borough of Manhattan in New York, between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012. Films completing their qualifying run after September 4 must still complete and submit all paperwork, including legal contracts, by the deadline. Go to their site for more information. CNN’s Piers Morgan: Clint Eastwood was ‘Hollywood Meets Politics Train-wreck’ “The address, which was slotted in ahead of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, did not quite go according to plan, with Eastwood running over time and going off script — in part to perform a monologue with an empty chair meant to represent Obama.” THR reports . Michael Pitt Joins Mary Pickford Pic The First Pitt will appear in the film, The First , about Hollywood legend Mary Pickford will begin production next year. He will play Owen Moore, Pickford’s first husband, Deadline reports . Sage Stallone Died of a Heart Attack Sylvester Stallone’s 36 year-old son Sage died due to blockage of the arteries said the L.A. county coroner. The death has been classified as “natural death” and toxicology results turned up only a small amount of the sedative hydrocodone, BBC reports . 50 Cent’s Manager Dead of Apparent Suicide Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Diddy have been paying tribute to the hip hop businessman on Twitter. Rihanna posted: “Rest peacefully Chris Lighty, my prayers go out to family and loved ones! Dear God please have mercy.” BBC reports .
Deadline reports the superstar singer would earn more than $17 million for one season. By Katie Byrne Mariah Carey Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images
Only in Hollywood: “In the commentary on the Gremlins 2 DVD, which has been ported over to its Blu-ray (out this week), [director Joe] Dante calls Gremlins 2 ‘one of the more unconventional studio pictures ever. And if it weren’t for the fact that the studio was in dire need of another one of these movies to put into the cans and send to the theaters, I can’t conceive of us getting away with this.’ He took advantage of that dire need by taking the piss. On that same commentary, [producer Michael] Finnell recalls Warner Bros. head Terry Semel telling them, ‘Just come up with something. Whatever you want. It doesn’t matter. Between 90 minutes and two hours, call it Gremlins 2 , and we’ll make it.'” [ Gawker ]
It’s one thing for distribution deals to precede the Cannes Film Festival. It’s another thing altogether for the actual absurdity of the annual event to commence before anyone even sets foot on a red carpet. To wit, get a load of this Canadian company trying to sell press access to their stars Kristen Stewart and Brad Pitt. Tacky! Deadline relays the tale of Alliance Films’ junkets for On the Road and Killing Them Softly , where Canadian journalists are welcome to catch up with Stewart and Pitt one-on-one — for the low, low prices of $1,293 and $3,232 (respectively). Junketing on the Croisette is expensive, you see, and since Alliance says it intends to bring both actors to North America for, er, complimentary press days later this year, the film journalists of Canada can either wait or have the first crack by helping foot the bill to welcome the more crucial international crowd. On the one hand it makes sense: These films are likely Toronto Film Festival-bound in September, where many more local and American press will flock for coverage anyway. There’s no reason to squander your talent’s precious, limited time on press they’ll likely get in four months. It’s also not unprecedented; Harvey Weinstein famously tried to usurp $1,500 from journalists wanting to cover Death Proof at Cannes in 2007. On the other hand, come on , Alliance. There are classier ways to handle this dilemma: “Alliance decided not to partake in the Cannes junkets for Killing Them Softly and On the Road , however we wanted to provide Canadian journalists the opportunity to participate directly if they so choose,” a company spokesperson told Deadline . As an insider told Deadline: “Of course it looks bad. But with the company possibly for sale, there’s a lot of pressure to keep as many costs down as possible. A pricey Cannes junket for two American movies that are already coming here later seemed an obvious place to save money.” Totally agreed! But to turn around and offer the interviews anyway for a price? Who approved that ? Velvet Jones? Oh , Canada. Stay tuned to Movieline for more from the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, which commences May 16. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Lionsgate has already booked a November 2013 release date for the wildly-anticipated sequel to The Hunger Games , Catching Fire . But might the studio have trouble meeting this deadline? The question arises because negotiations aren’t going smoothly with director Gary Ross, who executives want to return based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the first installment of the franchise. Ross earned $3 million for The Hunger Games – plus back-end profits – and, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, is angling for a major sequel raise . All other major players have signed on for both Catching Fire and Mockingjay – from Jennifer Lawrence to Liam Hemsworth – so the only real hold-up at the moment is Ross. The film could always take on a new director, of course, but an insider sees that as unlikely. “Ultimately, it will be difficult, and yet everybody will do the sane thing, which is to work it out. Everybody will end up unhappy in their own way. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
Let’s hear it for all of the readers who submitted some of the most thoughtful and hilarious 10-word reviews that Movieline HQ has ever read in honor of our Deadline Hollywood Game giveaway! As much as we’d love to send you all copies of The Fighter , True Grit , Shutter Island and Up in the Air , we can only gift the DVD bundle pack to one lucky reviewer. And the winner is…
Say goodbye to the NBA season . No, the whole season hasn’t been lost to us, yet. But it’s looking like that’s going to happen. The NBA has only had two meetings all offseason to try to rectify their issues, but it’s all been for naught. Since they didn’t reach their deadline to end negotiations, the NBA has been forced to cancel 43 preseason games. “We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.” The season was supposed to start on November 1st and that looks like a long shot at this point. Better start thinking about taking your talents overseas, fellas.
Big news today on the Hollywood jurisprudence front, as Penske Media Corporation — which publishes Movieline, Deadline, TVline and number of other premium Web properties — has filed suit against Hollywood Reporter owner Prometheus Global Media LLC alleging copyright infringement.
Not to worry, Barry Levinson ‘s still hard at work hammering that Gotti: Three Generations biopic into something that’s starting to kinda-sorta resemble The Godfather , depending on how much you buy into Levinson’s hype . But first, Deadline reports, Levinson and Gotti co-star Al Pacino (who most recently teamed up on the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning You Don’t Know Jack ) will film their adaptation of Philip Roth’s 2009 erotically-tinged novel The Humbling . Cue the sexy sexagenarian shenanigans!
