“Bristol Palin is the daughter of Sarah Palin. She got pregnant by accident just as her mom was added to the 2008 Republican ticket, at which point she pretended to be engaged to Levi Johnston, then attempted to cash in on her 15 minutes.” Lifetime’s press release for Bristol Palin’s new reality show COULD say that, and it wouldn’t be incorrect, but alas, their bio is a bit different. Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp (get it?!) premieres on June 19 with two (!) episodes. Here’s Lifetime’s explanation of why you should watch it: “Viewers will get the chance to experience the life of one of America’s most famous young mothers, Bristol Palin, in the new docuseries … showcasing Bristol’s journey growing into womanhood with her young son, Tripp.” “With never-before-granted access to Bristol’s real-life experiences, the show follows her everyday life as a single mother living under intense media scrutiny that comes from her lineage as the daughter of former Alaska Governor and V.P. candidate Sarah Palin .” “The series follows Bristol’s move from Wasilla to Los Angeles with Tripp and her sister Willow, and back to Alaska as she deals with parenting and disciplining her toddler without Tripp’s father.” “Giving viewers a unique look at the difficult decisions she makes for relationships, career and family, Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp will capture how true-to-life challenges test her resolve as she single-handedly writes the next chapter in her and Tripp’s life.” “The former first daughter of Alaska, Bristol has become one of the country’s most high-profile teen mothers after the 2008 birth of Tripp.” “She has since dedicated her life to being a leading advocate for the prevention of teen pregnancy, working with such organizations as the Candie’s Foundation to educate people about the issue.” “In 2010, Bristol appeared on ABC’s hit reality competition series Dancing with the Stars , on which she placed in third. Most recently, she published her New York Times best-selling book, Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far , which candidly chronicles her public and personal life.” “Bristol also launched her own blog , where readers can get her views and opinions on various topics such as politics, pop culture and parenting.” Eh, our bio is still better. There’s something to be said for brevity. Will you watch Bristol Palin’s new show? [Photo: WENN.com]
Also in Monday morning’s mostly Cannes news briefs: Samuel Goldwyn picks up Un Certain Regard debut for U.S., James Franco’s collaborator heads to premiere documentary festival, Thomas Vinterberg resurfaces in Cannes with his latest, and for those lamenting a “No-Cannes-Do” this year, the weather has been pretty abysmal. Sean Penn’s Haiti Charity Raises $2M in Cannes The weekend’s “Haiti: Carnival in Cannes” event raised over $2 million for Sean Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO), Paul Haggis’ Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) and Petra Nemcova’s Happy Heart’s Fund (HHF). Guests included Gerard Butler, Diane Kruger, Jessica Chastain, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Ewan McGregor, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tom Hardy, Robert De Niro, Sean Combs, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, Harvey Weinstein, Lyle Lovett (who performed 3 songs) and more. Items up for auction included a meet and greet with Bono and lunch with a Victoria’s Secret “angel.” Jim Sturgess and Susan Sarandon Tapped for The Big Shoe The Big Shoe is described as “a sexy comedic drama” directed by Steven Shainberg ( Secretary ), from a script by Shainberg and Mickey Birnbaum. The film will star Sturgess and Sarandon, who can next be seen together in Cloud Atlas . AngelWorld Entertainment (AWE), which on Saturday in Cannes announced the launch of its $150m equity fund, will finance and produce. Samuel Goldwyn Films Confirms Renoir Pick Up Directed by Gilles Bourdos, the film will have its world premiere as the closing night film of the Cannes Un Certain Regard this Friday, May 25. Based on a true story, Renoir is a love story about the famed painter, his son Jean (the famed director) and their muse. The film will be released in the U.S. in spring 2013. Content Gets Complicit The film, which will debut on Britain’s Channel 4 followed by a worldwide theatrical release, explores the moral compromises and dilemmas that underpin the war on terror, as an (British secret services) MI5 agent becomes embroiled in the torture of a suspected terrorist in order to prevent a major attack in the UK. James Franco Collaborator Douglas Gordon Set for Denmark Fest Award-winning contemporary film and video artist Douglas Gordon, who most recently featured work in James Franco’s Rebel exhibition at MOCA’s new L.A based venue, will be curating a special film series at the doc festival CPH:DOX from November 1-11 in Copenhagen. Around the ‘net… A Very Wet Scene in Cannes Thrashing wind and rain have been streaming steadily all day today after an on-and-off couple of days that haven’t been much better. And if forecasts are to be believed, there’s no sign the deluge will end before Thursday, Deadline reports . Cannes Welcomes Back Thomas Vinterberg After 14 years, Cannes has welcomed back its lost son with Jagten ( The Hunt ), which explores the territory of child sexual abuse and with its story of an innocent man almost destroyed when he is falsely accused by a small child. The Guardian reports . Palme d’Or Likely to Go to a ‘Bookworm’ It is a bookworm’s Cannes, with directors as likely to have had their noses buried in novels as dreaming up original ideas. All eyes are on Walter Salles’s adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s modern classic On the Road , which premieres Wednesday. Meanwhile, David Cronenberg’s version of Cosmopolis , based on Don DeLillo’s 2003 novel, is also one of the festival’s eagerly anticipated films, The Guardian reports .
“I can talk to absolutely anybody. But in the world of people that I would just love to sit there and be like, ‘Let me ask you this! Let me ask you this! Let me love you about this and let this audience do the same.’ I think an ultimate get for me — and we’ll never get him — Bill Murray. This is going to sound weird, but I would love to suck Bill Murray’s dick in that way that I do — not the actual dick-in-mouth version, but the verbal, ‘Oh my god, without you I wouldn’t be who I am!’ way. That’s the people I gravitate toward, who without their art I don’t think I would have gravitated toward mine.” [ Wired ]
As foreseen , Chinese exhibitor The Wanda Group has acquired AMC Entertainment — the second-largest theater chain in the US, comprising some 5,000 screens and 18,000 employees — from a domestic investment partnership for $2.6 billion, nearly 80 percent of which will go toward AMC’s staggering debt. Pending approval by the feds in both countries, the deal will result in the world’s biggest theatrical empire, one headquartered in a nation previously known as the most prodigious owner of US government debt . Come on, you know you’re excited. I mean, at least it’s good for jobs? Ahem: A press release circulated late Sunday points out Wanda’s commitment to retaining AMC’s leadership in Kansas City, which has clearly managed the operation with unparalleled finesse and expertise. But it also alludes to the prospects of both picking up more theaters and upgrading outdated ones — a roughly $500 million pledge that would seem, between the lines, anyway, to suggest that consolidation and/or closures of underperforming venues are likely imminent. In any case it means increased dependency on Chinese cash in the form of tax revenues from 300 theaters in the States alone, handing a pretty significant chunk of regulatory leverage to a government that has evinced a disregard for such taxes on its own turf and is historically known to play hardball elsewhere . What could go wrong? But! As Deadline’s David Lieberman points out , the deal further enhances ties with IMAX, which has long invested its own capital in the thriving Chinese marketplace. You win, Christopher Nolan . [ Deadline ]
You don’t need to be a sports fan to have been touched by the 30 For 30 documentary series produced by ESPN, one of the few thriving outlets anywhere for nonfiction filmmaking and a patron of diverse directors from Oscar winners Barry Levinson, Alex Gibney and Barbara Kopple to legends Albert Maysles and Steve James to neophytes Ice Cube and Steve Nash. As such, today’s a good day for all of us, with ESPN announcing that it will continue 30 For 30 both on the network and online. Originally intended to celebrate ESPN’s 30th anniversary from late 2009 to the end of 2010, the series gained enough popularity to continue through 2011 and beyond; its most recent installment, Jose Morales’s 26 Years: The Dewey Bozella Story , premiered in March. Today, meanwhile, the NYT reports that the network has re-upped 30 For 30 for two years in conjunction with its sports-culture offshoot Grantland : “When we embarked on 30 for 30 , we always wondered if there would be 30 good stories,” said Connor Schell, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films. “Now, I think all of us in this group believe that there is an infinite number of stories.” As the films roll out, they will be augmented on Grantland by podcasts, feature stories and oral histories. A short digital film — which will be unrelated to the longer ones — will make its debut each month on Grantland. Mr. Schell described the shorts as “visual editorials,” of five to nine minutes. “They’re meant to be interesting conversations with people who have a point of view about something or sports stories that don’t require a four-act treatment,” he said. The first short, Eric Drath’s Here Now , went online today and concerns the continuing odyssey of baseball’s exiled all-time hit king Pete Rose. Check it out , and mazel tov to all. [ NYT , Grantland ]
In this 70th anniversary year of Casablanca , it only seems fitting that Michael Curtiz’s classic should emerge this week in the medium where its indelible romantic splendor finally can take root and thrive: on Facebook. At last! The wait is over, per a press release just over the wires at ML HQ. The best part, without question: “On Wednesday, May 16 movie fans across the United States are invited to microwave some popcorn and gather by the warm glow of the computer monitor to enjoy a complimentary showing this timeless love story at 7 pm ET and 7 pm PT.” Totes McGotes, Wizzarners! ROMANTIC CLASSIC “CASABLANCA” TO BE SCREENED FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY ON FACEBOOK MOVIE FANS CAN WATCH A COMPLIMENTARY SCREENING AND COMMENT IN REAL-TIME DIRECTLY ON FILM’S FACEBOOK PAGE SCREENING TO TAKE PLACE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 7 PM ET/PT BURBANK, CALIF., May 15, 2012 – Here’s looking at you kid! Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced the legendary film Casablanca – which critic Leonard Maltin calls “the best Hollywood movie of all time,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and winner of three Academy Awards®, including Best Picture (1944), can be viewed directly on the “Casablanca” movie Facebook Page ( http://www.facebook.com/CasablancaTheMovie ). On Wednesday, May 16 movie fans across the United States are invited to microwave some popcorn and gather by the warm glow of the computer monitor to enjoy a complimentary showing this timeless love story at 7 pm ET and 7 pm PT. This complimentary screening of Casablanca celebrates the recent launch of the “ Casablanca 70th Anniversary Three-disc Blu-ray + DVD Combo Edition” from Warner Home Video. This limited and numbered gift set edition will introduce two never-before-seen documentaries – “ Casablanca : An Unlikely Classic,” and “Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of.” The new documentaries will complete the most extensive collection of content in one gift set — more than 14 hours of bonus material that also includes a compilation of three comprehensive feature length documentaries: “The Brothers Warner, You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story” and “Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul.” The “ Casablanca 70th Anniversary 3-Disc Blu ray + DVD Combo Edition” is now available for $64.99 SRP. This special screening event also celebrates “Inside the Script,” a new digital publishing initiative that gives movie fans an innovative new way to go deep inside their favorite films. “Inside the Script” is a series of highly illustrated eBooks that contain the film’s actual shooting script, rare materials from the Warner Bros. Corporate Archive and much more. The first series of “Inside the Script” titles are based on cinematic treasures including, Casablanca, Ben-Hur, An American in Paris and North by Northwest , and are currently available via iBookstore, Kindle and NOOK by Barnes & Noble. “Inside the Script” offers movie fans an all-access pass to go behind-the-scenes of the films they know and love. Every “Inside the Script” title includes the film’s complete shooting script in a customizable eBook format; dozens of chapters about the script and the film that detail the movie’s development; rare historical documents such as production notes, storyboards and candid photos; and an interactive image gallery of costumes, on-set stills, movie posters, set designs and behind-the-scenes photos. Highlighted elements from “ Casablanca : Inside the Script” include: – Jack Warner’s telegrams and memos – Producer Hal Wallis’ script and production notes – Production Code Administration letters, notes and seal of approval – Telegram from producer Hal Wallis refuting his fight with Jack Warner Note: Movie fans must begin watching Casablanca prior to 9 pm PT through the film’s Facebook Page. Only one screening per Facebook account is permitted. Got it? Only one screening per Facebook account , all right? Don’t get greedy! And keep the Kleenex handy! The heart-shattering collapse of film culture really sneaks up on you in the end. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
In this 70th anniversary year of Casablanca , it only seems fitting that Michael Curtiz’s classic should emerge this week in the medium where its indelible romantic splendor finally can take root and thrive: on Facebook. At last! The wait is over, per a press release just over the wires at ML HQ. The best part, without question: “On Wednesday, May 16 movie fans across the United States are invited to microwave some popcorn and gather by the warm glow of the computer monitor to enjoy a complimentary showing this timeless love story at 7 pm ET and 7 pm PT.” Totes McGotes, Wizzarners! ROMANTIC CLASSIC “CASABLANCA” TO BE SCREENED FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY ON FACEBOOK MOVIE FANS CAN WATCH A COMPLIMENTARY SCREENING AND COMMENT IN REAL-TIME DIRECTLY ON FILM’S FACEBOOK PAGE SCREENING TO TAKE PLACE THIS WEDNESDAY AT 7 PM ET/PT BURBANK, CALIF., May 15, 2012 – Here’s looking at you kid! Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced the legendary film Casablanca – which critic Leonard Maltin calls “the best Hollywood movie of all time,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and winner of three Academy Awards®, including Best Picture (1944), can be viewed directly on the “Casablanca” movie Facebook Page ( http://www.facebook.com/CasablancaTheMovie ). On Wednesday, May 16 movie fans across the United States are invited to microwave some popcorn and gather by the warm glow of the computer monitor to enjoy a complimentary showing this timeless love story at 7 pm ET and 7 pm PT. This complimentary screening of Casablanca celebrates the recent launch of the “ Casablanca 70th Anniversary Three-disc Blu-ray + DVD Combo Edition” from Warner Home Video. This limited and numbered gift set edition will introduce two never-before-seen documentaries – “ Casablanca : An Unlikely Classic,” and “Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of.” The new documentaries will complete the most extensive collection of content in one gift set — more than 14 hours of bonus material that also includes a compilation of three comprehensive feature length documentaries: “The Brothers Warner, You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story” and “Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul.” The “ Casablanca 70th Anniversary 3-Disc Blu ray + DVD Combo Edition” is now available for $64.99 SRP. This special screening event also celebrates “Inside the Script,” a new digital publishing initiative that gives movie fans an innovative new way to go deep inside their favorite films. “Inside the Script” is a series of highly illustrated eBooks that contain the film’s actual shooting script, rare materials from the Warner Bros. Corporate Archive and much more. The first series of “Inside the Script” titles are based on cinematic treasures including, Casablanca, Ben-Hur, An American in Paris and North by Northwest , and are currently available via iBookstore, Kindle and NOOK by Barnes & Noble. “Inside the Script” offers movie fans an all-access pass to go behind-the-scenes of the films they know and love. Every “Inside the Script” title includes the film’s complete shooting script in a customizable eBook format; dozens of chapters about the script and the film that detail the movie’s development; rare historical documents such as production notes, storyboards and candid photos; and an interactive image gallery of costumes, on-set stills, movie posters, set designs and behind-the-scenes photos. Highlighted elements from “ Casablanca : Inside the Script” include: – Jack Warner’s telegrams and memos – Producer Hal Wallis’ script and production notes – Production Code Administration letters, notes and seal of approval – Telegram from producer Hal Wallis refuting his fight with Jack Warner Note: Movie fans must begin watching Casablanca prior to 9 pm PT through the film’s Facebook Page. Only one screening per Facebook account is permitted. Got it? Only one screening per Facebook account , all right? Don’t get greedy! And keep the Kleenex handy! The heart-shattering collapse of film culture really sneaks up on you in the end. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
‘All these articles talk about how I’ve changed and I’m like, ‘Good, I hope I’ve changed,’ ‘ Stern says about his bad-boy reputation. By Gil Kaufman Howard Stern Photo: MTV News Settle down, America. Regardless of what you think of segments like “Hottest Chick with the Oldest Dude” or the “Tiger Woods Mistress Beauty Pageant,” new “America’s Got Talent” judge Howard Stern is not going to bring his X-rated antics to prime-time television. Stern starts his run as a judge on the popular reality competition show on Monday (May 14) night and before viewing even one minute of his family-hour act some critics have already decided he’s going to turn the 8 p.m. hour into a non-stop cavalcade of strippers, four-letter words and bathroom humor. If you’ve listened at all to Stern’s SiriusXM radio show over the past six months, the original radio rebel has made it clear that he has only one intention: to be the best, most honest judge on TV. Stern is an obsessive about many things: his career-long nemesis Don Imus, his quirky bathroom habits, babysitter porn, the weight gains and losses and internecine feuds among his staff members and, yes, judges on reality series. As much as he’d love to find better uses for his time, Howard is drawn like a magnet to “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars” and various other shows where, frankly, he thinks the judges are lousy, lazy, dishonest and just kind of lame. “AGT” is Stern’s chance to prove that he is willing to put up or shut up. This is the man, you may recall, who has spent decades trying to convince America that he is a poorly endowed, paunchy lover who has never satisfied a woman. How much more honest can you be? He knows better not just as a father of three seemingly well-adjusted adult daughters, but as a professional broadcaster and 30-plus year veteran in the game. There’s a time and a place for everything and “AGT” is not the forum for the Wack Pack and the adult word of Stern. This is a guy, after all, whose first movie was a hit, but who has spent the ensuing 20-plus years reading scripts and discarding them because they didn’t ring true or feel right for him. Every move he makes is meticulously dissected, over-thought and ruminated over both on and off the air. The neurotic, locker room Howard Stern character of the radio is not the same Howard you are going to see on TV. Because who in their right mind would humiliate a child on TV as some have suggested Stern might do? If anything, given his moral compass, Howard is more likely to go after the greedy, self-involved “Toddlers and Tiaras”-style parents that put their children up to audition for transparently selfish reasons. And who could argue with that? That’s not even mentioning the fact that “AGT” picked up the entire production and moved it to New York to accommodate Stern’s radio show. Combine that with a reported $20 million payday, and, let’s assume, an iron-clad morals clause, and there’s virtually no incentive for Stern to go off-script and try to tank the show by crossing streams with his more sordid radio world. Why would Stern spend his life building a brand, only to go on TV and pull some kind of Andy Kaufman stunt and blow it apart just to be shocking? That’s not shocking. That’s self-destructive, bad business and frankly, just stupid. If there’s anything I’ve learned after listening to Stern for the past two decades it’s that he will pick fights with management and complain and lash out, he will stomp his feet, vent his spleen and complain ad nauseum about being treated poorly, but he will not embarrass himself or do anything that could tarnish the legacy of what he’s so painstakingly built for himself and his audience. (Okay, Fartman was not his best moment, but still, c’mon, it was still pretty hilarious.) He wants you to love him, needs you to love him and after hit radio shows, movies, books and television production credits, what better way to do that than to once again prove his detractors wrong and conquer the one medium he’s got left on his bucket list: star of prime time TV? Plus, he loves to win, lives to win, and he knows that with this move he can’t lose. There’s little or no competition from other big-name shows in the summer months, the program already has a huge ratings base and any drop-off from the Stern Effect will easily be made up by his millions of fans. The curiosity factor alone (not to mention a huge, full-court ad campaign that had the normally press-averse Stern doing talk shows and New York Times interviews) will surely give the first few weeks a major ratings boost. After years of experiments, plugging a celebrity judge into a panel is a mixed blessing at this point. Steven Tyler was kind of fun and quirky on last year’s “American Idol,” but by this season he was merely irritating and mostly just a peacocking place-filler who offered little or nothing of substance to the contestants. Howard’s watched this, studied it and has promised that he will be a different kind of judge. “All these articles talk about how I’ve changed and I’m like, ‘Good, I hope I’ve changed,'” Stern said on his satellite radio show on Monday (May 14) about his bad-boy reputation. He’s less angry, jealous and resentful these days, but he’s also more keenly aware of what it takes to entertain and I have a feeling that, love him or hate him, if you tune in tonight you’re going to be surprised. And I guarantee you will be entertained. Do you think Howard Stern will be a good judge on “America’s Got Talent” Let us know in comments below.
Jay will headline and curate Budweiser Made in America music festival over Labor Day weekend. By Rob Markman Jay-Z gives a press conference at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Photo: Bill McCay/ FilmMagic PHILADELPHIA — Jay-Z once bragged in song that he beat his assault charges “like Rocky.” Well, it’s been more than a decade since, and Hov — the multiplatinum mogul who remains atop music’s food chain — has done more than simply beat the charge. On Monday morning (May 14), rap’s most magnetic man drew a crowd of reporters and media types to the very steps that the fictional boxer Rocky has made famous. Standing triumphantly at the peak of the staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hov and Philly Mayor Michael Nutter announced yet another prolific Jay-venture: Budweiser Made in America , a two-day music festival in Philadelphia, this Labor Day weekend. “Everyone knows my love affair with Philly from the amazing, talented artists I’ve signed from here,” Jay said, prompting State Property MC Freeway to jump onstage beside him. Jay-Z will not only headline the festival, he will also curate the three-stage concert, which will feature close to 30 different acts. Still, for the God MC, there are a few things to consider before pulling off stunts such as these. “Whenever I enter into a project, I try to hit on some touch points. The first thing is: Is it great?” Jay asked rhetorically, addressing the crowd, which braved some clouds and drizzle. “The second one is: Is it gonna push the culture forward?” Forward progress is a safe bet: A press release for the upcoming event promises eclectic acts in multiple genres like rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance music, but the official roster won’t be announced until May 21. The third item Jay considers is the philanthropic opportunities, so once again, he is partnering with United Way. Together, they put on Jigga’s February Carnegie Hall concert in New York, and this time out, they aim to support local charities in both Philly and South New Jersey. The show will be held September 1 and September 2 on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Tickets for Made in America will go on sale May 23 through Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com . Related Artists Jay-Z
Jay will headline and curate Budweiser Made in America music festival over Labor Day weekend. By Rob Markman Jay-Z gives a press conference at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Photo: Bill McCay/ FilmMagic PHILADELPHIA — Jay-Z once bragged in song that he beat his assault charges “like Rocky.” Well, it’s been more than a decade since, and Hov — the multiplatinum mogul who remains atop music’s food chain — has done more than simply beat the charge. On Monday morning (May 14), rap’s most magnetic man drew a crowd of reporters and media types to the very steps that the fictional boxer Rocky has made famous. Standing triumphantly at the peak of the staircase of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hov and Philly Mayor Michael Nutter announced yet another prolific Jay-venture: Budweiser Made in America , a two-day music festival in Philadelphia, this Labor Day weekend. “Everyone knows my love affair with Philly from the amazing, talented artists I’ve signed from here,” Jay said, prompting State Property MC Freeway to jump onstage beside him. Jay-Z will not only headline the festival, he will also curate the three-stage concert, which will feature close to 30 different acts. Still, for the God MC, there are a few things to consider before pulling off stunts such as these. “Whenever I enter into a project, I try to hit on some touch points. The first thing is: Is it great?” Jay asked rhetorically, addressing the crowd, which braved some clouds and drizzle. “The second one is: Is it gonna push the culture forward?” Forward progress is a safe bet: A press release for the upcoming event promises eclectic acts in multiple genres like rock, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and dance music, but the official roster won’t be announced until May 21. The third item Jay considers is the philanthropic opportunities, so once again, he is partnering with United Way. Together, they put on Jigga’s February Carnegie Hall concert in New York, and this time out, they aim to support local charities in both Philly and South New Jersey. The show will be held September 1 and September 2 on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Tickets for Made in America will go on sale May 23 through Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com . Related Artists Jay-Z
