‘Slumdog Millionaire’ scribe takes over ‘Catching Fire.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in “Hunger Games” Photo: Lions Gate Back in November, Deadline reported that Lionsgate already had a short list of writers they wanted to pen the sequel to “The Hunger Games.” According to the report, Simon Beaufoy, the writer behind the Academy Award-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” script, topped the list. Now the Los Angeles Times is reporting that not only has Beaufoy signed on to write “Catching Fire,” but that director Gary Ross will return as well. There had been no direct confirmation that Ross would return, and until “The Hunger Games” comes out, there probably won’t be, but as things stand, Ross will likely direct. Ross and author Suzanne Collins originally planned to reteam for the “Catching Fire” script, after having collaborated on the “Hunger Games” screenplay. Postproduction work on the first film and the looming proposed release date for the second didn’t allow Ross to begin work on the sequel. Beaufoy, whose other writing credits include “127 Hours” and “The Full Monty,” will adapt Collins’ book, with Ross overseeing. There are four films planned for the three-book series. The final book, “Mockingjay,” will likely be split into two flicks if the producers stick to their original plan. The first film of the series — starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth — is scheduled for release March 23. For now, “Catching Fire” is scheduled to hit theaters November 22, 2013. The stars of “The Hunger Games” are all expected to return, per sequel clauses in their contracts. Check out everything we’ve got on “The Hunger Games.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos The ‘Hunger Games’ Cast Answer Your Burning Twitter Questions ‘The Hunger Games’: 2011 In Review Reactions To The First ‘Hunger Games’ Trailer Related Photos The Hunger Games
In season 11, show faces increased competition from ‘The Voice.’ By Gil Kaufman Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson on “American Idol” Photo: Michael Becker / FOX Back in the day when “American Idol” was the lumbering 800-pound gorilla of the reality-singing-competition world, it was hard to imagine a time when the top-rated show on TV could ever be toppled. But like any smashingly popular series that eventually loses some of its luster (see “Lost,” “Deal or No Deal” and “Two and a Half Men”), this year, “Idol” is facing a turning point of sorts. Still a ratings juggernaut, season 11 of the show will launch Wednesday night in an atmosphere ripe with other singing shows that could start nipping at its heels. “For nine years, ‘Idol’ had the entire airwaves to itself with lesser rivals like ‘Nashville Star’ … [but now] the world feels much more cluttered with singing shows,” said veteran entertainment journalist Richard Rushfield, author of “American Idol: The Untold Story.” Among the shows Rushfield pointed to are former “Idol” judge Simon Cowell’s recently concluded “X Factor,” NBC’s “The Voice” (which launched in late April last year but will debut after the Super Bowl on February 5) and NBC’s Broadway musical drama “Smash,” which stars “Idol” alum Katharine McPhee and Debra Messing (February 6). Even with all those shows competing for eyeballs and threatening to create singing fatigue, Rushfield still feels “Idol” has a good chance of continuing its ratings dominance. “This year, after ‘The Voice’ and ‘X Factor,’ I think it’s really clear what slice of the pie ‘Idol’ has and that they’re all very different shows going after very different audiences,” he said. “‘Factor was making a very deliberate attempt to position itself as young and contemporary for an audience more open to an edgier, harsher show, and ‘Idol’ has doubled down on being the middle-American, older, feel-good, soft, nonthreatening show.” While ratings did continue their slow decline last year, “Idol” remained the overall champ, even as some critics complained about the sometimes too-sunny face put on by new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. As “Idol” prepares to bombard viewers with eight audition episodes featuring the predictable mix of potential stars and wackadoodle nobodies over the next month, Village Voice music editor Maura Johnston suggested perhaps it’s time the show’s runners take a look around and tweak the formula. “One thing the success of ‘The Voice’ speaks to is that people want the action to start earlier,” she said of the two-and-out round of blind auditions held by the competing show last season. “The audition episodes on ‘Idol’ get ratings … but at the same time, it’s grueling. ‘The Voice’ was so exciting because they put the competition and head-to-head stuff in so early.” Ratings history has shown that as programs like “Idol” continue on into their double-digit years, their audience invariably get older. The show has also failed to launch another superstar on the rank of winners Kelly Clarkson or season four’s Carrie Underwood, with last year’s winner, country teen Scotty McCreery, becoming the first platinum-selling champ since season seven’s David Cook. With “The Voice” and “X Factor” both putting a more musically and racially eclectic roster of winners and top finishers in the mix, is this the year the “four cute white guys in a row” factor might catch up with “Idol”? Johnston doesn’t think so. “One thing ‘Idol’ is speaking to over the past couple of years is the hunger among a certain demo for male pop singers who aren’t operating in a hip-hop idiom, but in a more guitar-centric way,” she said. There was a fear that with main meanie Cowell gone, viewers might turn their backs en masse at the sunshiny vibe of Tyler and Lopez, but Rushfield said that “Idol” could end up like such perennial ratings-getters as the World Series, sticking around year-after-year through ratings booms and busts. “It could lose two-thirds of its audience and still be a strong hit show by contemporary standards,” he said. “They found their most successful singer in half a decade, so you can’t look at it as on the course of decline. [With Tyler and Lopez] it also has new life, but the only question is … is there just singing-competition fatigue?” Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Interviews From The ‘American Idol’ Red Carpet ‘American Idol’ Finale Highlights
Have you noticed that in the entertainment industry, everyone feels like they can crossover from field to field? Actors become singers, singers become actors, actors become authors etc. But are they all truly talented in these varied fields, or do they simply get bored with their current job? Whether they were discovered during a movie or have branched out into the music world on their own, these celebs have crossed over successfully. Click Here To Read The Rest At MadameNoire.com
The Food Network’s Paula Deen is about to come clean with an ironic, sad admission: She can’t eat her own dishes anymore because she has diabetes. The Georgia-born chef, considered the queen of high-calorie, Southern comfort food who has five best-selling cookbooks, has never addressed this. In fact, she has been trying to keep her condition a secret , even after the National Enquirer reported in April 2011 that she has Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has often been associated with fatty foods and obesity. Neither Paula Deen, 64, nor her reps have confirmed this report . If Paula’s brand is hurt by this revelation, she’s covering her bases. Sources say Deen has hammered out a seven-figure deal to be the spokeswoman pharmaceutical company Novartis, endorsing the drug she is taking. Makes sense. But repositioning herself may prove a tough task. “Paula Deen is going to have to rebrand herself now that she has diabetes,” said a source. “She’s going to have to start cooking healthier recipes.” “She can’t keep pushing mac and cheese and deep-fried Twinkies when she is hawking a diabetes drug five minutes later.” In August, No Reservations host Anthony Bourdain called Deen “the worst, most dangerous person to America” and said she should “think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s OK to eat food that is killing us.” Never one to mince words, Anthony Bourdain.
Heather Locklear left UCLA Hospital last night, following an emergency admission that stemmed from a dangerous mix of pills and alcohol , but reports indicate her family hopes the actress ends up back in the facility soon. For treatment. Sources tell Entertainment Tonight that the veteran actress was “out of control” when her sister called 911 on Thursday afternoon, while an insider admits to People : “Heather is in bed all the time, usually four days out of the week. Hung over, she lays in bed; she’s depressed, she just hangs out.” As a result, Locklear’s loved ones are pushing for the star to receive help at an actual hospital, not some posh boutique facility, such as Promises in Malibu. In March 2008, Heather’s doctor called the authorities after a rumored suicide attempt by his patient. Months later, Locklear sought treatment at an Arizona facility for anxiety and depression. She was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in September of that year. Let’s all hope this beautiful, talented actress soon finds the help she very much needs.
Clean air? Clean water? A clean environment? These are not goals pushed by the Republican presidential candidates. The Sierra Club has posted the Republican view at Vimeo (h/t DailyKos ): Real Republicans on the EPA from Sierra Club National on Vimeo . ( Note: They might look like sock puppets, but, in my humble opinion, they capture the true essence and personality of Newt, Mitt, Paul, and Santorum…. Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Stubborn Liberal Discovery Date : 13/01/2012 01:13 Number of articles : 2
Taylor Swift debuted her new song from The Hunger Games soundtrack in Nashville on Thursday night. Check out the video here! Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Gossip Cop Discovery Date : 13/01/2012 06:11 Number of articles : 3
Let’s be honest: Nobody watches the People’s Choice Awards for the actual awards. As awards season proper kicks off it’s a populist popularity contest, a loose warm-up to this weekend’s Golden Globes, a pit stop on the tour of red carpet photo ops for celebrities and TV stars and actors with upcoming movies to pimp. But events like this give us lovely little gifts, random social snapshots that peek behind the curtain of celebrity. Last night they gave us Hunger Games tingles. Cute coupledom. And, perhaps best of all, Robert Pattinson having a ball with Betty White . Who was the genius People’s Choice Awards planner that seated Pattinson next to the erstwhile Golden Girl in the front row? What did the Twilight star and the bubbly octogenarian have to talk about during commercial breaks? (Perhaps this ?) Could the casualwear-clad Pattinson have looked any more like a kid tagging along with his grandma to a fancy dinner for grownups? WHAT DID BETTY THINK OF RPATTZ’S NEW HAIRCUT?? I kid, I kid. It’s the single most adorable photo to come from last night and I love thinking that the two became instant besties and exchanged cell numbers on the spot. This stuff doesn’t happen at the Oscars, folks. Help me celebrate this moment in time with your captioning skills in the comments below! Photo: Getty Images
Let’s be honest: Nobody watches the People’s Choice Awards for the actual awards. As awards season proper kicks off it’s a populist popularity contest, a loose warm-up to this weekend’s Golden Globes, a pit stop on the tour of red carpet photo ops for celebrities and TV stars and actors with upcoming movies to pimp. But events like this give us lovely little gifts, random social snapshots that peek behind the curtain of celebrity. Last night they gave us Hunger Games tingles. Cute coupledom. And, perhaps best of all, Robert Pattinson having a ball with Betty White . Who was the genius People’s Choice Awards planner that seated Pattinson next to the erstwhile Golden Girl in the front row? What did the Twilight star and the bubbly octogenarian have to talk about during commercial breaks? (Perhaps this ?) Could the casualwear-clad Pattinson have looked any more like a kid tagging along with his grandma to a fancy dinner for grownups? WHAT DID BETTY THINK OF RPATTZ’S NEW HAIRCUT?? I kid, I kid. It’s the single most adorable photo to come from last night and I love thinking that the two became instant besties and exchanged cell numbers on the spot. This stuff doesn’t happen at the Oscars, folks. Help me celebrate this moment in time with your captioning skills in the comments below! Photo: Getty Images
