Tempers erupt on 'Big Brother' feeds
A personal grudge between two HouseGuests spilled over into a physical confrontation on the 24/7 live Internet feeds on Saturday night.
After the players were given some alcohol they had won in a Friday afternoon Food Challenge by the producers, HouseGuests Michael Donnellan, the 28-year-old artist from California and Eric Littmann, the 36-year-old firefighter from Las Vegas, got into a shouting match and Eric had to be physically restrained by the other players in the backyard when he charged at Michael. Both had been drinking Saturday night.
The live 24/7 Internet feeds were immediately sent to a camera inside the fish tank, the standard practice when the producers do not wish the public to witness certain events like an important competition.
Bad blood has been brewing in the house for some time over Michael's behaviour towards the female players. Many of the women have expressed their dissatisfaction with the way Michael has physically interacted with them to their fellow HouseGuests and the producers themselves. Michael has been seen biting one player's behind and kissing some of the women on the neck. Some days ago, Eric, this week's Head Of Household, confronted Mike over the allegations and used the term "sexual harassment". He asked Michael to cease his behaviour. Since that time, both men have held a grudge against one another.
Remarks Michael may or may have not made about Eric's family sparked the confrontation tonight. Already fuming after being told of the comments, Eric erupted when Michael came into the backyard.
Eric asked Michael if he had a problem.
"Yeah, I got a problem with you. You got a problem with me?," Michael reponded.
When Michael said Eric was all talk and no action as well as having a small penis, Eric leapt out of his chair and charged in Michael's direction.
"Don't talk about my family you (expletive) piece of (expletive)," yelled Eric. "That's right, talk about my family behind my back."
The other HouseGuests intervened and Eric was held back by several of them. On many occasions in the house, Michael has claimed to be well versed in martial arts.
"You're going home," Eric shouted as 'Big Brother' made an announcement.
On Friday, Eric had nominated Michael and Janelle for eviction.
As per the rules of the 'Big Brother' game, anyone making verbal or physical threats against another player can immediately be removed from the house and disqualified from the game.
When the feeds returned late Sunday morning after being blacked out for hours, both Eric and Michael were still in the house. In talking with Rachel as they made breakfast, Eric said he was sure 'Big Brother' was going to ask him to leave the house over the incident but it appears they have given him and Michael a second chance.
“My actions in throwing the chair back was deemed a threat. It still wasn't right by me. It is over and I am glad I am still here,” Eric told Rachel and Ivette.
Later on in the dining room, the HouseGuests spoke about Michael wanting to leave the house but the producers convincing him to give the idea some thought.
"I would never strike another man. I gotta say the producers have everyone's interest at heart," said Eric speaking more about the incident. "If everyone wasn't safe with me being in the house, I would have packed up my stuff and left."
During 'Big Brother 2' in 2001, contestant Justin Sebik was ejected for putting a knife to contestant Krista Stegall's throat, asking her if she would still love him if he killed her. This happened after a night of boozing by the younger House Guests, partying which both Justin and Krista participated in. Kristin laughed off Justin's actions and kissed him.
In 2003 on 'Big Brother 4', contestant Scott Weintraub, the 33-year-old waiter from Chicago, was removed from the house and the game for throwing a temper tantrum in the house. The outburst caused some of the players to fear for their own personal safety.
HBO plugs 'Entourage' posse
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The "Entourage" crew is coming back for more adventures in celebrity-dom next year -- many more adventures, if HBO has anything to say about it.
The Emmy-nominated comedy, which stars Adrian Grenier as a young movie star and Jeremy Piven as his shark-ish agent, has been renewed for a third season to debut next year. HBO chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht told reporters that he's looking to hire more writers for the show in order to produce more than 13 episodes per season.
"We're certainly going to try to get more than that," Albrecht said Friday during HBO's portion of the summer Television Critics Assn. press tour at the Beverly Hilton.
The renewal of "Entourage" topped a state-of-HBO address delivered by Albrecht that included updates on such shows as "The Sopranos" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as news of a formal green light for the long-gestating "John Adams" miniseries.
No HBO session at TCA would be complete without the semiannual speculation on the potential for additional episodes of "The Sopranos" beyond the sixth season, scheduled to bow in March. Albrecht offered the series' open-ended fate as a continuous source of discussion between himself and new Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey, who formerly headed the Brad Grey TV banner that produces "Sopranos."
He said the decision to produce more "Sopranos" ultimately rested with its creator, David Chase, whom Albrecht depicted as "most concerned with leaving the audience feeling great about the show."
"Curb Your Enthusiasm," meanwhile, will return for a fifth season Sept. 25, at 10 p.m. The 10-episode installment will be paired with "Extras," a similarly themed BBC comedy starring Ricky Gervais ("The Office").
HBO begins production in the fall on the 10-hour "Adams" miniseries about one of the nation's founding fathers who also had the formidable task of following George Washington as the second president of the United States. Shooting is expected to continue on sites in Virginia and Europe through next year in time for a 2007 airdate. Tom Hanks will serve as an executive producer, and will direct one of the episodes.
Hanks and Steven Spielberg will also produce a miniseries about World War II battles in the Pacific theater. The World War II miniseries and "Adams" together will cost HBO about $300 million, according to Albrecht.
Albrecht also offered candid assessments on a range of current HBO programing, defending the likes of the new Lisa Kudrow comedy "The Comeback" and "Six Feet Under," which he admitted was not well served by its brief switch to Monday from Sunday nights.
He professed awe at the fan support greeting "The Wire" and the now-canceled "Carnivale," which he deemed ultimately too expensive to continue given its huge production costs and ensemble cast. "It's not a big show in the foreign (market), there's not a lot of investment to recoup from that," he said.
Also in the longform department, HBO has recruited Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons for the two-part miniseries "Elizabeth I," which is filming in Lithuania, in anticipation of airing next year. Mirren plays the 16th century monarch, with Irons and Hugh Dancy depicting two of the politically ambitious lovers she had late in her reign.
In other programing news from the session:
= HBO will introduce a late-night series, "One Night Stand," beginning Aug. 19, featuring stand-up comedy from the likes of Earthquake, Louis C.K. and Caroline Rhea. The network is also producing stand-up specials through the end of the year for Bill Maher, George Carlin, Dennis Miller and Robert Klein, who will mark his eighth HBO special. He headlined the first HBO comedy special 30 years ago.
= HBO also laid out its schedule of documentaries for the "America Undercover" franchise for the second half of the year, including "A Father ... A Son ... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," an examination of the relationship between movie stars Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas, directed by Lee Grant.
The elder Douglas, who was present via satellite because of recent knee surgery, cracked up the room by suggesting he was eyeing a potential TV project for himself and his son's wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones. "I want to audition next season for (the ABC summer hit) 'Dancing With the Stars,"' he joked.
= The original film "Walkout" will air next year. Directed by Edward James Olmos, it depicts the protest movement in the East Los Angeles public school system during the civil rights era. Alexa Vega ("Spy Kids") stars.
Wonka Gives Movie-Goers Their Sugar Fix
LOS ANGELES - Willy Wonka gave movie-goers their sugar fix for the weekend. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," starring Johnny Depp as candyman Wonka, had a sweet debut of $55.4 million, helping Hollywood make a dent in a box-office downturn that has lingered most of the year.
Opening as a solid No. 2 was Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn's comedy "Wedding Crashers," which took in $32.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The two new movies bumped the previous weekend's No. 1 flick, "Fantastic Four," which slipped to third place with $22.7 million, lifting its 10-day total to $100.1 million.
Overall business was up solidly, the second-straight weekend Hollywood revenues rose after a slump that had lasted since late February.
After a slight uptick at the box office the previous weekend, the top 12 movies took in $151.4 million, a rise of 7.5 percent from the same weekend last year, when "I, Robot" premiered as the No. 1 movie.
"People are just waiting for the right kinds of movies to come along, and they will show up in big numbers," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Director Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is the second adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book, following Gene Wilder's 1971 version "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
For Depp, whose earlier collaborations with Burton include "Edward Scissorhands" and " Ed Wood," "Charlie" marked his biggest opening ever, surpassing the $46.6 million debut for his 2003 blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl."
The movie received high marks from critics for Burton's fanciful visuals and Depp's quirky rendition of the anti-social Wonka, backed by a roster that includes Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor and James Fox.
While "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" locked up the family audience, the R-rated "Wedding Crashers" gave adult crowds a dose of raunchier humor. The movie stars Wilson and Vaughn as men who crash strangers' weddings to pick up women.
Distributor New Line had briefly mulled whether to tone the movie down to a PG-13 rating, but test audiences gave the racy film a thumbs up, said Russell Schwartz, the studio's head of marketing.
"There's been such a move toward more sanitized movies, so I think the R rating actually helped," Schwartz said. "And it's not a hard R. I think it of more as a soft R. It's a movie that wears the R on its sleeve very proudly."
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," $55.4 million.
2. "Wedding Crashers," $32.2 million.
3. "Fantastic Four," $22.7 million.
4. "War of the Worlds," $15 million.
5. "Batman Begins," $5.6 million.
6. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," $5.05 million.
7. "Dark Water," $4.4 million.
8. "Herbie: Fully Loaded," $3.4 million.
9. "Bewitched," $2.4 million.
10. "Madagascar," $2.1 million.