Beatles

July
21
Daily Read: Beatles Rock Band, Jackson Deals, Brown Celeb Kids

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I want my Beatles Rock Band. I want it so bad, it's driving me mad, it's driving me mad. The LAT takes a first peek. And you can follow BeatlesTweets, for now.

Of course Harry Potter fan Nora tipped me to Hermione (Emma Watson) matriculating this coming fall at Brown, but here's a gaggle of celeb scions at Brown, courtesy of Tina Brown.

As Sony closes in on a Kenny Ortega documentary on Michael Jackson based on 80 hours of tour video footage, the TV special deal fell apart--because the networks weren't being offered any Jackson footage. The Sony movie is set for release Halloween, October 31 2009. And there's no question it's going to be worth the $50 million Sony is said to be paying AEG for worldwide rights. Everyone on the planet will want to see that movie.

July
7
Daily Links: Jackson Farewell, St. Trinian Sequel Adds Tennant, Beatles Terrify

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Variety's Dana Harris covered the Michael Jackson memorial. So did Bob Tourtellotte at Reuters and the NYT. I did not go; I listened on NPR and tracked it on Twitter. Defamer posts the ten most important moments at the Memorial.

The New York Times is asking its writers to stop texting and IM instead. And no 411 calls.

Funny or Die reminds us of how terrifying The Beatles once were.

As soon as we find out about the stateside release of the UK hit comedy St. Trinian's, the Brits announce that Dr. Who star David Tennant will join the sequel. It remains a mystery to me why Hollywood hasn't snapped up this sexy actor. Didn't anyone see Viva Blackpool?

Filmmaker gives a a blow by blow on the release of Kirt Gunn's micro-indie Lovely by Surprise.

The LAT's intrepid Joe Flint is tracking the moguls to Sun Valley for the annual Allen retreat. Sounds like there are fewer agents, for one thing. Execs tend to go there when they're able to walk the walk, not when they're hurting. Here's #sunvalley.

July
5
Weekend Catch-Up: Holiday B.O., Harry Potter Review, Brennan, Klein R.I.P., Andreessen Fund

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After a lazy holiday weekend, I herewith share with you my gleanings of what's been going on.

At the boxoffice, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs battled nasty reviews to virtually tie with holdover Transformers:ROTF over the five-day holiday weekend. UPDATE: Transformers 2 barely won the weekend with a preliminary $42.4 million over Ice Age's $41.6 million in slightly fewer runs.

Public Enemies proved that Depp as Dillinger is a solid b.o. draw. Sandra Bullock vehicle The Proposal dropped only 31% and has grossed $94.2 million. Kathryn Bigelow's intense Iraq thriller The Hurt Locker continued strong in limited release. So far agitprop Food Inc. is outperforming costume romance Cheri.

Here's the first eight minutes of The Hurt Locker.

Todd McCarthy favorably reviews the sixth Harry Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The most grown-up and thrilling of the bunch, the film will be one of the highest-grossing of the year, he predicts.

Here's the trailer.

Cynthia Littleton tributes The Hollywood Reporter's late international reporter Steve Brennan.

Marc Andreessen is starting a venture capital fund. UPDATE: All Things Digital talks to him about going to the dark side..

Beleaguered The Weinstein Co. is pushing its animated feature Escape from Planet Earth back to 2011, reports the LAT.

Beatles and Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein died at age 77 after fighting Alzheimer's.

June
17
Daily Read: Beatles Mystery Tour; Kimmel Books Meyer; Digital Releasing

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You can't keep a good man down. Ex-Lionsgate and Paramount Vantage exec Nick Meyer has resurfaced at his new Sierra company, which will take over foreign sales for Sidney Kimmel International, which is shutting down its New York office. (More customers are in the offing.) That means sayanara to outgoing exec Mark Lindsay.

SKE is in a new phase, backing off from producing too many uncommercial movies (read: Charlie Barnett, Management, Adventureland, Synecdoche, New York) in favor of selecting a robust few. SKE execs Jim Tauber and Bingham Ray partnered with Screen Gems on Chris Rock and Aeysha Carr's script for the black family remake of SKE hit Death at a Funeral, this time directed by Neil LaBute and starring Zoe Saldana and Chris Rock. Screen Gems financed and acquired all rights worldwide. Meanwhile Ray is deliberately pushing several projects heading toward a production green light.

Salon's Andrew O'Hehir runs down the current digital distribution landscape.

I'd go on this Beatles mystery tour in a heartbeat. I also confess to wanting Beatles Rock Band, which is selling well in advance of its September 9 release. UPDATE: The LAT raves about the mini-movie inside the videogame.

[Photomontage courtesy USA Today]

March
16
Nowhere Boy: Weinstein Co. Pre-Buys Young Lennon Biopic

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New Weinstein Co. honcho Tom Ortenberg has scored his first big buy, Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy, a UK feature about the early days of Beatle John Lennon. The picture has been filming for about two weeks; Ortenberg and Harvey Weinstein targeted the pic for a pre-buy in Berlin. They see the film as a possible year-end awards contender. Kristin Scott Thomas plays Lennon's Aunt Mimi, who helped raise him along with his mother Julia. The movie also details young Lennon's close relationship with Quarrymen bandmate Paul McCartney and ends when the early Beatles leave Liverpool for Hamburg, Germany to conquer the world. (I love Malcolm Gladwell's story in The Outliers about how the Beatles put in their 10,000 hours playing long sets in Hamburg.)

"It starts with the script," says Ortenberg, who describes the pic as a "relatable Beatles coming-of-age story about a young boy finding his place in the world, finding his passion, as his mother Julia introduces him to music and guitar when he's 15. There's something in it for everyone."

TWC acquired all rights, U.S., Germany, Latin America. They are planning a year end awards season release with an expansion January. Maple Pictures will release in Canada.

Press release on the jump:

Continue reading " Nowhere Boy: Weinstein Co. Pre-Buys Young Lennon Biopic " »


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Variety blogger Anne Thompson is your trusted source for film industry news. She tracks Hollywood, Indiewood, awards season and film festivals for this daily blog.
Member: Alliance of Women Film Journalists


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