January 08, 2007

Which animated flicks to come out as the finalists in Oscar's Best Animated Feature category still have to be determined yet, but one thing is for sure: "Arthur and the Invisibles" won't be one the nominees.

Previously included in the list of sixteen contenders vying for the slot, the MGM/Weinstein release has sadly been dropped from consideration by AMPAS, the Academy spokesperson Leslie Unger announced on Sunday, January 7, following the earlier report concerning the matter in the AMPAS Press Release.

Attempting to strengthen their already-solid positions in mainstream film industry, a number of award-winning producers have prepared to spawn more acclaimed works from their hands for critics and moviegoers to laud of.

BAFTA TV Award winner Andy Harries who recently produced hugely-praised royal drama "The Queen" is reported to develop a biopic titled "Cloughie: Walking on Water." Based on the bestselling autobiography of the same name telling about the life of Brian Clough, one of England's legendary soccer managers, the project brings back the team behind "The Queen" such as screenwriter Peter Morgan, director Stephen Frears, and actor Michael Sheen.

Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band has inked a deal to portray the role of a musical savant in an upcoming episode of the hit U.S. medical TV series, "House".

The episode, which is due to air in March, will also star Hugh Laurie and Kurtwood Smith among others. The episode will, moreover, mark the directorial debut of "House" executive producer Katie Jacobs.

Lining up a number of promising big screen projects under its wings for future releases, Platinum Dunes, through its execs Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, has given updates on several of its upcoming features.

For the "Untitled Friday the 13th Sequel", the pair revealed that the script for the movie is being worked on while stating that no director is confirmed yet though South African-born filmmaker Jonathan Liebesman has reportedly been attached to the flick.

The spotlight has been cast down upon "Babel" in Palm Springs, California. The multi-layered drama, along with "Little Children", gloriously received multiple honors from organizers of the 18th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival during the event's Awards Gala held on Saturday, January 6, 2007 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

The Paramount Vantage release took the Ensemble Performance Award and the director's award for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu while one of its cast members Cate Blanchett was bestowed the Career Achievement Award.

Shortly after there were rumors swirling that he's secretly split up with Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake has been romantically linked with movie star Scarlett Johansson. It is said that Justin got to know Scarlett when she filmed the video for his forthcoming single, "What Goes Around".

If only the rumors on the street are true, can someone give details on how is it going with the actress and Josh Hartnett? Speculation on their dating each other comes to the surface soon as Justin and Scarlett were spotted looking "intimate" when she attended the aftershow party for the premiere of his movie "Alpha Dog" in LA on Wednesday January 3rd.

Putting more concentration in screenwriting after his shocking announcement of ending his directing career, Luc Besson has spilled the bean that he is penning a sequel to last year's "District B13" which he co-wrote and produced.

"There's some film where you like the cast, you like the characters and you want to see them again," he told ComingSoon.net. "'B13' I want to do the sequel to, I love the two characters, and there's the room to do another one. I have the idea then I think we're going to make it."

Hip-hop trendsetter Jay-Z has teamed up with General Motors (GM) in creating a new sport utility vehicle (SUV). The music mogul emerged from a concept GMC Yukon Denali SUV on stage Saturday Jan 6th during a celebrity-filled party thrown by General Motors Corp. on the eve of media previews for the North American International Auto Show.

The SUV, called "Jay-Z Blue," was developed through a partnership with Jay-Z during the past two years, during which the rapper worked with the company's global color studio to create the reflective blue color for the SUV. "Hopefully I'll be able to drive one of them out of here tonight," he said during the event.

One of the most well respected professional film critics groups in North America that is also the U.S representative in the FIPRESCI, the National Society of Film Critics has finally come out with the list of winners for its NSFC Awards this year as the members celebrate the event for the 41st time.

Making a totally different choice from other fellow critics in taking Best Picture pick, the organization surprisingly bestowed the title to Spanish-language fantasy film "Pan's Labyrinth" while generating the same favor in naming "An Inconvenient Truth" the Best Non-Fiction Film.

Taking into account the success of the Spanish-language version of "Irreplaceable" in invading the Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart, Beyonce Knowles has come to a very great idea.

The singer is planning to re-release her latest album "B'Day", from which the song is taken, with four Spanish tracks.

Tim McGraw will have a new album of his released on March 27 on Curb Records. The new LP, titled "Let It Go", marks Tim's first new studio album in nearly three years.

"I am really excited about this new album," says Tim. "It was great to work with Byron Gallimore, Darran Smith (the album's co-producers) and my band (The Dancehall Doctors) in the studio again and to build upon our work together."

Well, it appears that history and ancient things still strive as interesting subject for most people as the Fox release "Night at the Museum" remains unmoved from the top slot of weekend box office ended Sunday, January 7, 2007.

Seating on the spot for a third-straight weekend, the family-friendly PG flick gloriously took in $23.7 million, again putting its rival "The Pursuit of Happyness" on number two for the inspiring rags-to-riches tale turned out to only pull $12.8 million in ticket sales. Nevertheless, the modest income delightfully is more than enough to bring the Sony production surpassing a $120 million mark in its fourth spin on the chart.

She never sings before but when she did it with fiance Michael Bolton, Nicollette Sheridan finds it "terrifying".

The "Desperate Housewives" star sings for the first time on Bolton's upcoming CD. "Michael encouraged me to do it. So I did it out of love," the actress said on her taking part in the set.

Kelly Clarkson is readying herself to give fans something great and different with her next LP. The American Idol is teaming up with The Stooges bassist Mike Watt and Iggy Pop for her next album.

On her collaboration with the bassist, Clarkson said, she brought him in to add "fuzz bass, fills and solos" as well as "just making things fatter".

Oprah Winfrey gave the students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, her new $US40 million South African school for disadvantaged girls, a very good example by taking an AIDS test in front of them on Saturday January 6th, thus encouraging the children and their loved ones to follow suit.

Winfrey's test results will be kept confidential, as will those of the girls, according to a statement issued on behalf of the Oprah Winfrey Foundation.