TIME FOR A '24' MOVIE
Harried anti-terrorism agent Jack Bauer could be headed to the silver screen in a "24" movie.
"It could still be two years from now, so it's far too early to say," "24" director/producer Jon Cassar told the Calgary Sun.
As it stands now, Cassar said the film would only partially unfold in the unique "real-time" format that's helped turn "24" into a white-knuckled success.
"The last I heard, the first hour will not be in real time," Cassar said. "But then something big will happen and real time will kick in. It still has to be worked out — it's at a stage where they really need to write it."
The script, he said, is likely to depend on what's happening on the show before the movie comes out.
On "24," Kiefer Sutherland plays Bauer, a federal agent who constantly finds himself as the only one who can save the world from various nefarious terrorist plots. Each one-hour episode of the series represents a high-octane hour in Bauer's ongoing struggle to beat the bad guys.
After three seasons, "24" has become one of the most popular dramas on television.
"The reason I think it worked is because of how it is shot and the scripts," Cassar said. "The writers are amazing — they have been able to come up with yet another bad day for Jack two years in a row."
He also attributes part of the show's success to his style of filming it. Unlike most TV and film makers who frequently yell "cut!" Cassar shoots each scene uninterrupted.
Cassar said he was shocked at first when "24" turned into a hit, almost overnight. His first impression of the series' real-time format was that it was going to be a dud.
Cassar remembers thinking, "God, that would be so boring, who's going to want to watch that?"
Tom Cruise Proposes to Katie Holmes
PARIS - Tom Cruise popped the question to Katie Holmes at the Eiffel Tower early Friday and then announced the news to the world — they're getting married.
Cruise turned to Holmes: "What did you say, darling? She said, `Yes.' ... I've never actually been to the Eiffel Tower and I just, it's Paris, you know. It's beautiful, a beautiful city. It's very romantic. I'm excited to be here."
No wedding date has been set, Cruise said. "We haven't discussed that — one step at a time."
The couple, who went public with their romance in April, often shared smiles and blushes as Cruise turned to look at Holmes, who was seated nearby. The 26-year-old actress, who was wearing a massive diamond ring on her finger, didn't speak to reporters.
"Today is a magnificent day for me, I'm engaged to a magnificent woman," the 42-year-old Cruise said.
"It was early this morning at the Eiffel Tower, so I haven't slept at all."
At one point, he whispered to Holmes: "Are you OK?" Afterward, they hurried into a car before leaving for a promotional event in Marseilles, southern France.
Cruise was in Paris to promote the French release of "War of the Worlds" next month. Holmes was in London earlier this week to publicize her new movie, "Batman Begins." Both actors have dismissed speculation their romance is a publicity stunt.
"I wish them the happiest marriage that anyone has ever had," said 11-year-old Dakota Fanning, who sat next to Holmes during the news conference. Fanning is Cruise's co-star in the Steven Spielberg film.
It would be the third marriage for Cruise and the first for Holmes. He was married to Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman; Holmes had been engaged to actor Chris Klein.
Holmes has said she's embracing the Church of Scientology — Cruise's religion. The former star of television's "Dawson's Creek" has said she grew up wanting to marry Cruise.
CRTC approves satellite radio
The CRTC on Thursday approved applications for three subscription-based radio services, but imposed strong Canadian content rules.
"These licences will harness new technologies for Canadians and give Canadian talent exposure to listeners across Canada and indeed, North America...through new Canadian channels and airplay on U.S. channels," said Charles Dalfen, chairperson of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission.
The commission placed Canadian content rules on two of the services, which include two of the largest U.S. satellite radio companies.
Services from Canadian Satellite Radio and the CBC, partnered with Sirius, must offer:
* At least eight original channels produced in Canada. A maximum of nine foreign channels may be offered for each Canadian channel.
* At least 85% of the musical selections and spoken word programming broadcast on the Canadian channels must be Canadian.
* At least 25% of the Canadian channels must be in the French language.
* At least 25% of the musical selections on the Canadian channels must be new Canadian musical selections.
* A further 25% of the selections must be by emerging Canadian artists.
Canadian Satellite Radio has partnered with Washington-based XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., while the CBC and Standard Broadcasting have partnered with New York-based Sirius.
The third pay service, to be run by CHUM and Montreal-based Astral Media, will use land broadcast towers to broadcast their digital service.
That service must comply with current regulations under the Broadcasting Act, including 35% Canadian content and for French channels, a minimum of 65% French music.
The lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting opposes the decision, saying it may appeal to federal cabinet or through the courts.
"Today's decision creates a pipeline for U.S. radio programs direct to Canada, with little in return for our country," said group spokesperson, Ian Morrison.
High-quality, cross-country service
Satellite radio offers commercial-free, near CD-quality sound no matter where listeners are in the country. It's delivered by a network of satellites, and not through the AM or FM band, which have distance and quality limitations.
Listening to satellite radio requires specialized equipment, such as a receiver for your home or car. In the United States, where satellite radio has been in operation for several years, receivers are a dealer option in some cars.
The proposed subscription fees are around $13 per month.
Laura Nenych, with Ryerson University's communications department, said the niche channels appeal to people who spend a lot of time in their vehicles, such as commuters or salespeople.
Americans Prefer Watching Movies at Home
LOS ANGELES - The parking's easy and there are no lines at the concession stand: Most Americans would now rather watch films at home than in theaters, according to an AP-AOL poll. At the same time, almost half think movies are getting worse.
Hollywood is in the midst of its longest box-office slump in 20 years, and 2005 is shaping up as the worst year for movie attendance in nearly a decade if theater business continues at the same lackluster rate.
In the poll released Thursday, 73 percent of adults said they preferred watching movies at home on DVD, videotape or pay-per-view. With more than two-thirds also saying movie stars are poor role models — Russell Crowe's phone-throwing being the latest example — it may take more than a blockbuster or two to reverse Hollywood's slide.
Just 22 percent said they would rather see films in a theater, according to the poll conducted by Ipsos for The Associated Press and AOL News. One-fourth said they had not been to a movie theater in the past year.
"I just prefer to stay home and watch movies," said Mark Gil, 34, a mortgage broker in Central Square, N.Y. "It's cheaper. You can go rent a movie for three bucks. By the time you're done at the movie theater with sodas and stuff, it's 20 bucks."
Films are getting worse, said 47 percent in the AP-AOL poll. A third said they were getting better.
"I don't like movies as much as I used to," said Tracy Drane, 38, a computer-technology worker who lives outside Dallas. "I'm a fan of old musicals and old AMC channel stuff. I could watch movies without thinking I'm going to see people in bed together and a lot of cussing. It has gotten much worse."
Many of this year's big films — "Kingdom of Heaven," "The Honeymooners," "XXX: State of the Union," Crowe's "Cinderella Man" — have fizzled.
Those in the poll were most likely to be fond of comedies, followed by dramas and action-adventure movies.
Some in Hollywood think the slump — 16 straight weekends of declining revenue compared to last year — is a momentary blip due to so-so movies. They maintain the box office will rebound when better films arrive.
Others view the slide as a sign that theaters are losing ground to home-entertainment options, particularly DVDs available just months after films debut in cinemas.
But the poll found that people who use DVDs, watch pay-per-view movies on cable, download movies from the Internet and play computer games actually go to movies in theaters more than people at the same income levels who don't use those technologies. That suggests the technology may be complementing rather than competing with theatergoing. Eight in 10 in the poll said they use DVD players at home.
Through last weekend, Hollywood's domestic revenues totaled $3.85 billion, down 6.4 percent from 2004. Factoring in higher ticket prices, the number of people who have gone to theaters is down 9 percent, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
If that pace holds through year's end, admissions for 2005 would total 1.345 billion, the lowest since 1996.
The wild card from 2004 was
Mel Gibson's unexpected blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ." That film drew a huge Christian audience, many of them not regular movie-goers. Taking "The Passion" out of the mix, 2005 revenues would be up 2.9 percent over 2004, and ticket sales would be virtually unchanged.
While 2005 has produced its share of hits — among them the final "Star Wars" flick, the romance "Hitch" and the animated tales "Madagascar" and "Robots" — audiences have found Hollywood's recent offerings generally humdrum.
"I think this slump is product-driven," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations. "That to me is a much less chilling problem than some sort of cultural shift in people's moviegoing habits. A cultural shift takes longer than 16 weekends of down box office."
Box office revenues have been down every weekend since late February. "Batman Begins," which opened Wednesday, could snap the streak this weekend. But if business is off again, Hollywood would match a 1985 downturn of 17 weekends, the longest recorded slump since analysts began keeping detailed box-office figures.
The 1985 slide came with similar dire predictions that movies on videocassette would devastate the theater business, Dergarabedian said. Box-office grosses were stagnant into the late 1980s, then rebounded strongly.
In the 1950s, some analysts foresaw the demise of movie theaters as people stayed home to watch television. While business plummeted from 4 billion or more admissions a year in Hollywood's glory days, movies remained a prime entertainment choice.
"Going to the movies is a social event, like going to a football game, like going to the ballet, like going to a play," said George Lucas, whose "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" is this year's biggest hit. "Something you do to be social with other people. I don't think that's ever going to go away."
From the early 1990s through 2002, box-office grosses climbed steadily as studios perfected their blockbuster marketing machines and cinema chains built new theaters with improved seating, sound systems and other amenities.
But ticket sales reached a modern peak of 1.63 billion in 2002 and have fallen since, down to 1.51 billion in 2004.
"There's certainly more competition now for entertainment dollars than there ever was before. No question there's more choices," said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released "Revenge of the Sith." "That may splinter the audience a little bit."
A handful of big hits could salvage Hollywood's year. Still to come this summer are Steven Spielberg and
Tom Cruise's "War of the Worlds," Tim Burton and
Johnny Depp's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the superhero adventure "Fantastic Four."
Even if theater business continues to erode, DVD profits could more than compensate Hollywood, a movie's theatrical run becoming something of an extended trailer for the home-video release.
DVD sales and rentals totaled $21.2 billion in 2004, more than double the domestic revenues at movie theaters, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, a trade outfit.
"Star Wars" creator Lucas figures that with digital piracy of movies a growing threat, studios eventually will release films in theaters, on DVD and online at the same time. Homebodies could watch on their big-screen systems, while fans craving a mammoth screen and a communal experience could hit the theaters.
"You'll rent it for two dollars or buy it for 10 or see it on a giant screen in a social environment and have a good time," Lucas said. "I think there will be room for all of it altogether."
The AP-AOL News poll of 1,000 adults was taken June 13-15 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
'Batman' film tallies $15 mln in Wednesday debut
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Batman Begins" turned in a solid $15 million of ticket sales in its Wednesday debut, but box office watchers said it was too soon to know if the film about the origins of the comic-book crime fighter can turn around Hollywood's lackluster summer.
Box office tracker boxofficemojo.com put "Batman Begins" at No. 11 on its list of top Wednesday debuts in the United States and Canada. But the movies preceding it included titles like "Spider-Man 2" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Those titles are sequels to major hits with loyal fans. "Batman Begins," which explores the transformation of Bruce Wayne from angry young billionaire to masked avenger, seeks to resurrect a film franchise that nearly died out after 1997's "Batman & Robin" disappointed fans.
"It's perhaps too early to tell whether it will be a huge hit or not, but it's certainly a popular picture," said Brandon Gray, president of boxofficemojo.com.
Critics have for the most part liked "Batman Begins," and U.S. and Canadian box offices need a lift.
Although some movies like last week's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" debuted well, others like "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Cinderella Man" have failed to catch fire with audiences.
Overall ticket sales through last weekend compared to the same period in 2004 were down for the 16th consecutive week.
The movie industry is hoping that "Batman Begins," which will be followed in coming weeks by adventures "War of the Worlds" and "Fantastic 4," will be the start of a rebound.
"('Batman') could lead to our first up weekend in a long time," Gray said, "but an overall recovery will depend on the strength of the movies down the road."
A spokeswoman for the Warner Bros., which released "Batman Begins," said the studio was happy with the Wednesday debut.