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    May 14

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    Wendy says: Maybe other movies have it wrong


    Usually this kind of movie ends with the main characters getting married.

    But maybe we've been doing it backwards. In my generation it usually goes something like this — you date, you move in together, you get a pet, maybe have some kids, and then you think about getting married. If you win the lottery, that is, so you can make it The Perfect Wedding. And then, a couple of months after spending a year's salary on The Perfect Wedding and The Perfect Honeymoon, you realize you don't like being married to so-and-so and you break up, leaving pets/kids/house in limbo. Which, obviously, is kind of stressful for everybody involved.

    Maybe it would be better if we skipped the dating, married total strangers without telling anybody, and had to stay married for a significant period of time before we could get out of it. Who knows? The western world might see a sudden increase in the number of long, successful relationships.

    At least, that's if you believe what you see in the movies.

    What Happens in Vegas... isn't the first recent story to do a variation on the old Taming of the Shrew theme — it's been a popular one in films and TV shows the last few years. Two people who are total opposites (and neither of them a perfect catch) suddenly find themselves husband and wife, engage in a battle of wits to get rid of and/or change each other, and end up discovering their "opponent" isn't such a bad match for them after all.

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    May 13

    Osbrink Talent Agency

    Spielberg joins regulars for Cannes film fest


    Rounding up a lot of the usual suspects, the Cannes Film Festival presents a lineup from an illustrious if somewhat predictable gang of regulars, including Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh, Woody Allen, Atom Egoyan and Wim Wenders.

    Then there's Steven Spielberg — who's not quite a newcomer, since he's been at Cannes before. But the festival's centerpiece, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," marks the director's first trip back since the 1980s, when he showed "The Color Purple" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" here.

    The new "Indiana Jones" flick opens worldwide May 22, four days after its Cannes premiere, giving the movie a similar global rollout that preceded blockbuster "E.T."

    "That's our benchmark. This is the same kind of movie in that (Cannes is) kind of the perfect launching pad, because we can bring the whole world there," said Frank Marshall, producer on the "Indiana Jones" movies. "It's perfectly timed for our release worldwide."

    In its 61st year, the world's most-prestigious film festival sometimes catches heat for including too many glossy Hollywood productions, such as past opening-night film "The Da Vinci Code" or action spectacles such as "Matrix Reloaded" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

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    May 12

    Black Dog Films

    Sex and The City quartet back -- in the movie

    Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are back -- The "Sex and the City" TV stars take to the big screen on Monday with the world premiere in London of their tales of love and high fashion in New York.

    The film takes up four years on from where the hit series left the sassy singletons, who were so blatantly honest in their desire to have "sex like men" but also lusted as much for a new pair of Manolo Blahnik heels as they did for the perfect beau. Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays Carrie and is also a producer of the film, said she had been working on the project for two and a half years. But getting everyone together again was not easy.

    There were reports that when talks about a film began, Kim Cattrall had demanded more money and creative control.

    "It was a really hard time," said Cattrall, who at the time was in the midst of a divorce. Her father had also just been diagnosed with dementia.

    "I needed to spend time with my real family and I'm really glad that I did because in the four years, you know, coming back, I think the film is where it should be," Cattrall told Reuters in New York before the film's London launch.

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    May 11

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    Real-life skull worship inspires new 'Indy' film


    There is a legend that the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power of saving the Earth — a tale so strange and fantastic that it inspired the latest Indiana Jones movie.

    Experts dismiss the hundreds of existing crystal skulls as fakes that were probably made by colorful antiquities traders in the 19th century. But Mayan priests worship the skulls, even today, and real-life skull hunters still search for them.

    The true story of the skulls stretches over continents and hundreds of years, and may be even more extraordinary than the tale portrayed in this fourth installment of the Harrison Ford franchise.

    It's unclear what version of the tale will appear in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls," which opens in U.S. theaters on May 22. The plot apparently revolves around a race against the Soviets to find the skulls.

    Distributor Paramount Pictures refused requests for interviews or information on the film, the first Indiana Jones movie since "The Last Crusade" came out in 1989.

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    May 07

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    "Spirit" rises to Christmas release


    Lionsgate has moved up the nationwide release of its comic-book adaptation "The Spirit" to Christmas Day.

    The film, written and directed by Frank Miller ("Sin City") and based on the comic-book series created by the late Will Eisner, originally was slated to open January 16, 2009.

    "The Spirit" stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Stana Katic, Dan Lauria, Jaime King, Paz Vega and Louis Lombardi.

    Also slated to open on December 25 are Disney's "Bedtime Stories" and Fox 2000 Pictures' adaptation of the bestseller "Marley & Me."

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    May 06

    Osbrink Talent Agency

    Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek 05.07.08 American Graffiti

    George Lucas knows more than just droids, aliens, and midichlorians, and I can prove it...

    Welcome to the new and improved Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek! After reading over my first three issues I have determined that my column lacks focus, so I've decided to fix that. I am not a professional critic, nor do I claim to have any expertise when it comes to film- I'm just a guy who loves movies. Henceforth, my columns will reflect that. They will have more of a fixed format and will cover one specific topic. Mostly that topic will be movies- movies I love, movies I hate, movies I just recently discovered that I should have seen a long time ago- no topic is exempt from my mad ramblings, so long as I feel I know enough about it to sufficiently fill a column. This week I am pulling one from the vault… 1973 to be exact. Next week I will cover a similar movie made 20 years later (you have to read on you want to know what that one is). Ha! I'm already plugging my next column- I have no shame!

    This particular movie comes from a pre-Star Wars George Lucas, giving us a glimpse of the kinds of movies he could have made if he hadn't spent so much time exploring a certain galaxy far, far away- not that I'm bashing him for this decision, for my life would be incomplete without those movies. But before he created his famous "space opera" he gave us this delightful coming-of-age tale of teenagers in 1962 Modesto- California, that is…

    This was a movie I didn't care for at first but warmed up to after multiple viewings. After the third time, I was hooked. I went out and bought a "Drive In Double Feature" DVD that contains both this movie and it's sequel, More American Graffiti (not as good, but still underrated in my opinion).

    About the film
    American Graffiti was Lucas' second feature film, after THX 1138. Like Star Wars, Lucas had to fight tooth and nail to get this movie made. To make a long story short, after being rejected by several studios, the script was ultimately picked up by Universal, who had one stipulation. They wanted a "name" attached to the project. So, Lucas turned to his old buddy Francis Ford Coppola, fresh from directing The Godfather. Coppola agreed to produce, and the film finally went into production. The cast included such future stars as Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Suzanne Somers, and this guy…

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    May 05

    Black Dog Films

    WEEKEND EDITION: Summer Movies Bring Superheroes, Comedies To A Weary Nation

    An old adage in Hollywood holds that the movie business is recession-proof. This summer, that thinking will be put to the test.

    An extensive lineup of films centered on comic-book heroes and comedies is scheduled to hit screens at what may prove to be a most opportune time.

    Last year's $4 billion summer in U.S. sales was a record-setter, but Hollywood's hopeful that its escapist fare will resonate with a nation reeling from economic woes and send business to new heights this year. Studio executives say this year's crop is broader and deeper than last year's offerings, and that might just be the ticket to achieving new heights.

    The schedule includes six high-profile films featuring superhero or comic-book protagonists, beginning with the Friday release of "Iron Man" from Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom (VIA). That doesn't even include a long-awaited sequel to the "Indiana Jones" franchise -- a superhero, perhaps, to some moviegoers and studio executives. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is this year's big Memorial Day weekend release, also a Paramount product.

    Many of the superhero films will be complemented by comedies, such as this week's "Made of Honor." Along the way, such prominent laugh generators as a film version of "Sex and the City," a retread of the 1960s television series "Get Smart," and Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia" will try to tickle war-and-recession- weary America's funny bone.

    "The mood of the nation makes for, I think, a strong lineup in comedies," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

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    May 02

    Black Dog Films

    Films of summer

    There are winners and losers. Here are ones worth the price

    The Joker's face. Tony Stark's suit. Maxwell Smart trapped in a phone booth.

    Hello, summer.

    The summer-movie season starts today (or Thursday, if you went to an early screening of Iron Man). But our senses have been battered for some time with ads, stories, magazine covers and trailers. Lots of trailers. Big noise. This is summer, after all, when action and outrageous comedy are seen as sure ticket-sellers.

    Still, as consumers you must be asking how much money do you want to spend on movies between now and August? Not only for tickets, either. You have to think about the price of gas — because we have to think about the price of gas before doing almost anything. And movie popcorn may be the one thing that costs more per ounce than gasoline.

    So are the dazzling visual effects in the Speed
    Racer trailers reason enough to sit through an entire movie? Is Wanted worth the trip just because it has Angelina Jolie back doing action — or does the trailer hint just a bit too much at Jolie as aging dominatrix?

    Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Just don't know. The X-Files: I Want to Believe? I was iffy about the TV series. Same deal with the Sex and the City movie.

    Not that I'm staying home. When the gardening tools are put away and the sun has gone down, I expect to be spending a good bit of time in the cool darkness of movie theaters.

    While I get to see a fair number of movies for free, I usually have a separate list of movies that I'll attend even if I miss the critics' preview. I paid to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall and expect to do so for Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay. I would have done likewise for Iron Man, if something had kept me from the preview on Tuesday — and Iron Man was good enough to make me marginally more optimistic about the new Incredible Hulk.

    So here's my list of summer movies that have grabbed me, sight unseen:

    1. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL - (Opens locally on May 22) It's Harrison Ford, directed by Steven Spielberg, in one of the great action franchises. It's up-and-comer Shia LaBeouf, who already has a fantasy-action rep thanks to 'Transformers.' I have already gone back and watched the first three movies again just to get ready for this one. But there is a risk. Ford will be 66 in July - an age that startles at least one 19-year-old I know.

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    May 01

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    Will Smith film shoot annoys Hollywood neighbors


    LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The entire world loves Will Smith, but not Dresden Graham, a 65-year-old retiree who is waging a war against Smith's latest film, the drama "Seven Pounds," which is shooting in her Hollywood neighborhood.

    The production is based just three houses up from Graham's home, where she has lived in since the mid-'80s. Trucks line the street, crews are busy setting up and striking down, generators hum, and security and police officers patrol the area.

    Graham, who has signs in her yard and on her house that read "Will Smith, Go Film at Your Mansions" and "Put Potty Toilets on Your Neighbor's House," has a litany of complaints. She doesn't like the fume-spewing trucks parked running in front of her house, where the production has placed portable toilets. She's not that keen on the planned night shoot that will go to 3 a.m., either, because it calls for bright lights, rain machines and Great Danes.

    "We had no choice," she says. "The neighborhood had no choice."

    But her biggest complaint is with FilmL.A., the nonprofit organization that acts as a liaison for the city, its residences and film companies.

    Graham points out, accurately, that FilmL.A. gets its funding through permits -- the more it issues, the more revenue it generates. And "Pounds" is the fifth production in six weeks to occupy a two-block area around her home.

    FilmLA says the house where "Pounds" is filming has been used on only four shoots in the past year. It doesn't share Graham's view that the area has hosted too many productions.

    Residents are grumbling, though, even though many work in the entertainment industry and were reluctant to speak out against a big star like Smith and a bigger studio like Columbia. They complain about noise and the loss of parking spaces, which force certain apartment residents to park at a nearby church and take a shuttle bus to their building.

    "We are completely on board with filming on our streets, but this is too much," says Amy Aquino, a member of the neighborhood association who also is on the committee that oversees film shoots.

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    April 29

    Black Dog Films

    "Chipmunks" help revive movie soundtracks


    LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - For years, the soundtrack business was a sleepy corner of the industry.

    Apart from the occasional standout hit -- think "Titanic" -- most compilation soundtracks seemed irrelevant. But of late, a reawakening has occurred, and Robert Kraft, as president of Fox Music, has been on the front lines. Three of Fox's soundtracks reside in the top 10 of Billboard's Top Soundtracks chart: "Alvin and the Chipmunks" at No. 1, "Juno" at No. 2 and "Once" at No. 7.

    Kraft, who released two albums as a solo artist and two as part of a band, Robert Kraft & the Ivory Coast, was nominated for the 1993 Academy Award for best song alongside Arne Glimcher for "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" from "The Mambo Kings."

    He has been an executive on the Fox lot for almost 15 years, supervising the music for all of the studio's projects on the film and TV side, including "Moulin Rouge!" "Walk the Line" and "Titanic"; for TV, he oversees the music for "24," "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons," among others.

    It's a career that has survived the ups and downs of the music industry, but the recent resurgence in his soundtracks has even taken him by surprise. What does he suspect is the secret to soundtrack success? Two words: Singing chipmunks.

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    April 28

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    May 2008 Movie Releases

    "Iron Man" - Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark. Based on the comic book superhero. Opens May 1, 2008

    "Made of Honor" - Patrick Dempsey's best friend is Michelle Monaghan and upon returning from a business trip to Scotland, she's engaged! And she wants Dempsey to be her maid of honor! But Dempsey is in love with her! Will I make it to the trash can in time before I puke? Opens May 2, 2008

    "Son of Rambow" - British indie flick about a pre-teen kid in the 1980's who is filming his own action movie, despite the fact that his stuntman/camera guy is of a different faith. And as usual, everyone wants to be in the movie. Opens May 5, 2008

    "The Babysitters" - Katherine Waterston is a high school senior that picks up a few bucks by babysitting then goes for the gold with the children's parent, John Leguizamo. She soon enters a spiral of hooking up her girlfriends with "upstanding" family men. Will there be an Unrated version of this? Opens May 9, 2008

    "Redbelt" - Chiwetel Ejiofor is a martial arts instructor who saves the life of a Hollywood star and is propelled into a big time martial arts fight that he doesn't want to do anything with. Was Van Damm-age asking for too much money? Directed by David Mamet. Opens August 21, 2008

    "Speed Racer" - Here he comes... here comes Emile Hirsch . Yes, Emile Hirsch is Speed, Christina Ricci is Trixie, Matthew Fox is Racer X, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman are Speed's parents... I'm gonna watch it for the visuals. Opens May 9, 2008

    "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" - It's been 1 year for the kids, and about 1300 years for Narnia. Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund return (the actors playing them as well) to a different Narnia. Check out the trailer! Opening May 16, 2008

    "What Happens in Vegas" - Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher wake up to find that they're married to each other. Not based on a Britney Spears stunt... Opens May 16, 2008

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    April 26

    Osbrink Talent Agency

    Threat of an actors strike boosts movie production


    LOS ANGELES - Feature film production in the Los Angeles area jumped 11 percent in the first three months of the year as studios moved to get ahead of a possible actors strike.

    FilmL.A. Inc., an agency that tracks on-location filming, said the increase came in comparison to the first quarter of 2007.

    "The studios are trying to get production wrapped before June 30," the expiration date for the current Screen Actors Guild contract, Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., said Friday.

    A film shoot interrupted by a strike would a "very expensive proposition," he said.

    SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers held their 10th day of negotiations on Friday as another actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, waited in the wings for its contract talks to begin on May 5.

    AFTRA delayed the start of its talks for a week to give SAG a better chance to complete a three-year deal covering movies and prime-time television.

    Kyser said the reprieve for SAG gave many workers in Hollywood hope that there won't be a repeat of the 100-day strike by writers that brought the entertainment industry to a standstill.

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    April 23

    Black Dog Films

    Summer movie preview

    The heat outside might be stifling, but multiplexes will have plenty of breathing room this summer.

    It will be late July before there are more than two wide-release movies in one weekend vying for your $9. Inexplicably, that’s when the schedule starts to get ridiculously overloaded. Of 49 movies scheduled for wide release between May 2 and Aug. 29, 21 of them will be released in August.

    Fewer options means better chances for most movies. Here’s a look at summer’s likely biggest draws, duds, question marks and sleepers. Release dates are subject to change.

    The big players

    * “Iron Man”

    May 2

    Plot: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a cynical arms dealer kidnapped by terrorists and tasked to build missiles. When he escapes after forging a suit of towering technological armor, Stark gradually grows into Iron Man, a superhero with heavy boots of lead filling victims full of dread. Based on the Marvel Comics character.

    Prognosis: Excellent. Not just any franchise could attract an actor of Downey’s caliber. It should echo the action, scope and snap of “Batman Begins,” with more wiseacre humor.

    Particulars: In what was meant to be the first of several comic-book character cameos of the summer, Samuel L. Jackson shot a scene as Nick Fury. Reportedly, the scene isn’t in the final cut.

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    April 21

    The Beverly Hills Playhouse

    BORDER Movie

    A must watch for those who want to get a glimpse of what is happening on the U.S. Border

    One of the most pressing issues facing the United States today, illegal immigration, is not a part of the Democratic Party's discourse as it fights for a candidate for the presidency of the United States. The Republican nominee pushed the agenda as a Senator several years ago but has since changed his tune in how he would tackle it, as president. While the politicians in Washington remain non-performing assets, the US border remains wide open, the US Border Patrol remains woefully understaffed, and illegal immigrants continue to stream into the United States unabated.

    One of the most important documentaries addressing this issue, BORDER, was recently released on DVD, and it tells the story from a variety of perspectives, including from that of rancher, Minuteman, border patrol agent, illegal immigrant, legal immigrant, and even politician. The movie discusses broken borders, depressed wages in the United States (The average salary for a meat packer 20 years ago was $20, today it is $9, according to the movie, thanks in large part to big business taking advantage of cheap and illegal labor), death in the Arizona desert, the border cat and mouse game, rape trees, drug smuggling, sex trafficking, Mexican military incursions, and more.

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    April 20

    Osbrink Talent Agency

    NYCC: The "Incredible Hulk" Movie Panel


    If at first you don't succeed, smash, smash again.

    At least, that appears to be the lesson learned by Marvel after the release of their "Hulk" movie in 2003 by director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Brokeback Mountain"). This summer, Marvel has another go-round in the theaters with their jade goliath in "The Incredible Hulk."

    The difference between this time and the last? Marvel Studios is creatively in charge of this film, as opposed to Universal Studios (who released the last "Hulk," and will still release this one as well).

    The two studios held a panel at the 2008 New York Comic-Con to talk about this "unofficial" sequel. Present at the con were producers Gale Anne Hurd ("Terminator") and Kevin Feige (of Marvel Studios), director Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter"), and actor Tim Roth ("Reservoir Dogs").

    The first thing brought up in the panel was the release date - June 13. Those present agreed the date was creeping closer and closer with each passing day. Leterrier said, "I just came from a scoring session in Seattle this morning. Craig Armstrong is scoring the film, and the score sounds ‘Star Wars' good."

    They also informed us that the film is currently "picture-locked" (which means no more editing is taking place) and they are mostly working on the visual effects at this point.

    Speaking of visual effects, actor Tim Roth spoke about his character - human Emil Blonsky/CGI-creature the Abomination. He told the audience, "I always loved Hulk, but I didn't really know the Abomination. Once I got the part though, I read up on the character."

    The Blonsky that Roth is playing is a bit different than the one comic fans are used to, however. Tim Roth's Blonsky is a fighter. As a matter of fact, in a clip the audience was shown, con attendees saw him take on the Hulk as Blonsky - a human soldier in the army! He performed martial arts flips and spins, but still was beaten by the Hulk (of course).

    Roth further explained of his character, "He's a soldier whose body is giving out on him. Becoming the Abomination is his solution."

    In addition to a different villain in this Hulk film, Feige indicated that the movie would be going for a different tone. "We want the Hulk to be a hero this time," he said.

    Feige also told the audience that he and Leterrier were thrilled with the way the movie has come out. He said that at the beginning of the movie, Leterrier had made a wall with clips from "Hulk" comics of moments they wanted to include in the film. When they looked at the board recently, Feige said they realized that they got every image they wanted.

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    April 17

    The Art of Murder, And of Murder Movies

    The inexhaustible durability of genre movies — our rich cinematic heritage of recognizable story styles and their defining and malleable conventions — has, in happier creative times, been roughly analogous to the cyclical rebuilding of thriving new cities on the sites of the metropolises that came before. But lately, the majority of American forays into genre hardly seem worth the trip. Dumbed-down popcorn fodder seems increasingly inspired by the box-office receipts of a previous film, rather than by a tradition of narrative or stylistic ingenuity. Latter-day action movies, policiers, romantic comedies, and others are generally assembled with such cynical lack of craft that they achieve little more than a crude spark of Pavlovian recognition in their intended audience.

    "Anamorph," a new film opening today at IFC Center on the same day it becomes available on cable, via IFC's on-demand service, is that increasingly rare commodity — a contemporary genre film that doesn't stumble as it looks backward to capture the spirit of the films that inspired it. Directed with cool, unostentatious economy by Henry Miller, and written (by Mr. Miller and Tom Phelen) with a singularly keen ear for the ebb and flow of neurotic and pathological human behavior, "Anamorph" features a gloomy but highly engaging incandescence that is all the more surprising considering the genre column it occupies. Plainly put, "Anamorph" is a serial-murder-thriller, a fusion of police procedural and horror film that has, like many recent concept splicings, declined in maturity and intelligence since an early 1990s heyday.

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    April 16

    Craig Cove

    Actor Billy Mumy known for the role of Will Robinson in the TV series Lost in Space was a Hamilton high school class mate of future actor Craig Cove. They had lots of conversations about music which is another one of Billy’s passions. Craig had family that worked at “the film studios” so “show business” people were not unusual to him.

    Some students would stare a lot at Billy or call him Will Robinson. Billy and Craig would laugh and joke about it sometimes. Occasionally, Angela Cartwright who played Penny on the series would pick up Billy after school in her new white Pontiac Trans Am. Angela would park away from people behind campus to avoid attention. Billy wanted to be treated like a normal everyday kid. Nowand then Billy can be found at McCabes Music in Santa Monica.

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    April 15

    Inside John Madden's Studio

    When thinking of people who could ostensibly take over for index card happy Bravo host James Lipton, former NFL coach John Madden is not the person who immediately comes to mind.

    By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com Rubber-faced Frank TV star Frank Caliendo is going to have a field day with this… As part of its 10th anniversary edition, the upcoming California Independent Film Festival (April 16th – 20th) in Dublin, CA has announced that it will have former NFL coach John Madden moderating a panel discussion with director Penny Marshall up on a stage in the style of James Lipton's Inside the Actors Studio.

    The mind reels at the possibilities. Instead of Lipton's beloved three-by-five index cards, perhaps Madden will rely on a large chalk board, X-ing and O-ing diagrams that show for example how Marshall worked the end-around with her handling of Big and scored an unlikely touchdown. Or maybe he'll take a pile-on approach and excoriate her for cameoing in things like Blonde Ambition and Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World.

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    April 14

    Review: Street Kings

    Short version: This movie starts out with some potential, but by the end, it's over-the-top yet mediocre at the same time. It has its good spots, but overall its flaws are too distracting and frustrating for it to be truly enjoyable.

    Didn't I already see this movie a few years ago, and wasn't it called Training Day? That might be because this movie was directed by the guy who wrote Training Day, David Ayer. However, I feel quite confident in saying that, unlike Training Day, this movie isn't in danger of winning any Oscars, at least for acting or directing. It's not terrible, but it's far from great.

    As usual, Keanu Reeves substitutes with likability what he lacks in acting ability. Throughout the entire movie, the believability factor of Reeves playing a cop is about the same as when Kevin Costner played Robin Hood. Somehow, it doesn't matter, though. Far more detrimental to the movie are plot holes and logic gaps in the story that could accommodate a big rig. With the exception of Hugh Laurie, who plays Dr. House Captain Biggs, nearly every actor in this movie hams it up, even the Oscar-winning Forest Whitaker. With a better script and better direction, this movie had the potential to be something more and have something poignant to say. As it exists now, if I were a cop, I would probably feel insulted by this movie.

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    April 03

    Paper: Heath May Have Fathered a Love Child

    One of Heath Ledger's estranged uncles claims that the late actor may have fathered a love child when he was a teenager, according to a report in Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

    When he was just 17 years old, Ledger reportedly dated a 25-year-old woman – who discovered she was pregnant after the relationship ended and later gave birth to baby girl. Although the woman was living with another man at the time, Ledger's uncle Hadyn claimed to the paper, "There is a very real possibility that Heath was the father."

    But in a television interview, Hadyn called this possibility only a rumor.

    "It is a rumor and it is one that has been out there for sometime, not only within our family but certainly in the wider community of Perth and it's certainly a rumor that I'm aware of and other people have certainly been aware of it," he told Australia's Channel Nine News. "It is only a rumor and I simply answered by saying yes it's a possibility."

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