Milch: 'Deadwood' Movies Still Alive
Following the unceremonious end of "Deadwood" as a series last summer, a number of the show's fans declared that they wouldn't be watching creator David Milch's new show, "John from Cincinnati" -- because it's not "Deadwood."
Milch, naturally, hopes those people will eventually change their minds. And it sounds as if those fans may yet get a conclusion to the saga of Al Swearengen, Seth Bullock et al.
"The first thing I'd say to them is thanks for appreciating the work that we've done," Milch said Friday during a session for "John from Cincinnati" at the winter press tour in Pasadena. "And you know, I spent a significant portion of yesterday in collaboration with Evan Wright, who's a wonderful writer, with whom I'm doing the first of the two 'Deadwood' two-hour films. And we're very optimistic about the outcome of that work."
After plans for a fourth season of "Deadwood" fell apart last year, HBO and Milch reached a deal to produce a pair of two-hour films to wrap up the story. There has been some skepticism about whether the movies will actually get made, but Milch is optimistic.
"We have every intention of going forward," he says. He hopes to start work on the first film this summer, after "John" finishes production on its first season. Wright is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of the book "Generation Kill" about the Iraq war.
Of reports that he had intended for "Deadwood" to run four seasons, Milch has this to say: "You know, the big thing to keep in mind when you hear those sorts of statements that I had planned on a fourth season on this -- I'm a sociopath. You know, someone asked me, how long do you intend to do 'Deadwood'? And as part of my sociopathology, I say, 'Well, when does my contract run out?' And I realize my contract ran out at the end of four seasons. So I'm thinking, 'How does the kid exert the most leverage in the negotiating package for four seasons?' ...
"So the answer is, I never had a specific -- listen, when I pitched 'Deadwood,' I pitched it as a series set in Rome at the time of the Nero. Does that sound like I know what I'm talking about?"
That said, he realizes that the "abrupt rupture" of the end of "Deadwood" affected the show's fans, just as it did him and the cast and crew.
"But you know, there are certain rooms where one frequently hears the expression 'life on life's terms.' ... We're going to put 'John From Cincinnati' on, and it's my deepest hope that, in the scheme of things, enough forgiveness is available from those viewers to just give it a chance. And if I'm given strength and time, we're definitely going to do more 'Deadwoods.'"
Official Film To Be Made Of Kurt Cobain's Life?
LOS ANGELES (January 11, 2007) -- Access Hollywood has learned late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain may finally be immortalized on screen with the permission of his widow, rocker Courtney Love.
Love has acquired the rights to Heavier Than Heaven, author Charles Cross' biography on the late grunge singer, a source close to the star told Access. According to our source, several studios are in discussions with Love to bring the book to the big screen.
The rocker also confirmed the project is "in an embryonic stage," with a post on a Courtney Love fansite MoonwashedRose.com. "[It] has no script and no director attached, let alone stars," she added.
If deals are made and reached, this will be the first authorized look at the life of Kurt Cobain, his band Nirvana and his relationship with his wife. Love, who is currently preparing her second solo album tentatively titled How Dirty Girls Get Clean added in her post that if the movie is made, "it will of course be (an) A list and high end film."
Gus Van Sant's "Last Days," released in 2005 is thought by many to be that director's unauthorized account of Cobain's life. The movie starred Michael Pitt and featured a cameo from Nirvana's former labelmate, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon.
Hobbit Hostilities Escalate
Los Angeles (E! Online) - One ring might rule them all, but one lawsuit's threatening the future of one of Hollywood's biggest franchises.
New Line Cinema cohead Bob Shaye has lashed out at The Lord of the Rings ringmaster Peter Jackson, calling the Oscar winner greedy for suing the studio over disputed profits from the first film in the trilogy. He also left little doubt that New Line considers the director persona non grata when it comes to future projects, including the highly anticipated big-screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
"I do not want to make a movie with somebody who is suing me," the studio chief told Sci Fi Wire while making the publicity rounds for his own directing effort, the family-friendly fantasy film The Last Mimzy. "It will never happen during my watch."
Shaye, who made the gutsy decision to greenlight simultaneous production on all three Lord of the Rings films, took particular offense at what he said was the New Zealander's "arrogance" and ungrateful attitude in the wake of his success.
"Not that I don't think Peter is a good filmmaker and that he hasn't contributed significantly to filmography and made three very good movies. And I don't even expect him to say 'thank you' for having me make it happen and having New Line make it happen," continued Shaye, who was an executive producer on the trilogy. "But to think that I, as a functionary in a company that has been around for a long time, but is now owned by a very big conglomerate, would care one bit about trying to cheat the guy...he's either had very poor counsel or is completely misinformed."
The executive was also irked when many of the LOTR stars declined to participate in a video celebrating New Line's 40th anniversary—mainly, he believed, because of their affection for Jackson.
"I don't care about Peter Jackson anymore," Shaye said. "He wants to have another $100 million or $50 million, whatever he's suing us for. He doesn't want to sit down and talk about it. He thinks that we owe him something after we've paid him over a quarter of a billion dollars...Cheers, Peter."
Such remarks would seem to put the kibosh on Frodo fanatics' dreams of Jackson returning to Middle Earth and helming The Hobbit and possibly another prequel.
Of course, it's possible both sides are simply engaged in high-stakes brinksmanship to get what they want.
In Shaye's case, by cutting Jackson out of the franchise that made his career and won him a trio of Oscars, the executive might be able to leverage a settlement to his liking. On the other hand, he could simply be reacting to Jackson, who, in a preemptive move, tried to force New Line's hand in late November by sending an open letter to theonering.net, voicing his issues with New Line.
In it, Jackson informed Tolkien devotees that the studio planned to move forward on The Hobbit without him, because New Line wanted to get the prequel in production before resolving his lawsuit.
The news prompted peeved fans to launch a letter-writing campaign urging the studio not to cut ties with the 45-year-old filmmaker or else face a boycott. In one hopeful sign, MGM—which owns the distribution rights to The Hobbit—told E! Online the "game is not over" and Jackson was still a possibility to direct.
Meanwhile, in response to Shaye's remarks this week, Jackson's company fired back with a statement Thursday, calling his former boss' comments "regrettable" and restating his case.
"Fundamentally, our legal action is about holding New Line to its contractual obligations and promises," the filmmaker said. "It is regrettable that Bob has chosen to make it personal. I have always had the highest respect and affection for Bob and other senior management at New Line and continue to do so.
"But the studio was and continues to be completely uncooperative [regarding an open audit of the films' books]," Jackson continued. "This has compelled us to file a lawsuit to pursue our contractual rights under the law. Nobody likes legal action, but the studio left us with no alternative."
Jackson also balked at Shaye's assertion that LOTR actors dissed the studio because of the bad blood between the filmmaker and the suits.
"I have never discussed this video with any of the cast of the LOTR. The issues that Bob Shaye has with the cast predate this lawsuit by many years," Jackson said.
An unnamed person Jackson's camp was quoted in Variety saying Shaye's disparaging remarks were an attempt to put the focus on the millions of dollars Jackson made instead of any book-cooking on the studio's part. The trade paper also reported that both parties appear to far from a settlement in the lawsuit.
Until that happens, Jackson has plenty to keep him busy. His next directorial effort, Alice Sebold's ghost story The Lovely Bones, is due out later this year. He has also optioned Temeraire, a set of fantasy novels about dragons in the Napoleonic Wars, and is producing Dambusters, an effects-heavy remake of the World War II aerial battle drama.
One movie that's temporarily off the drawing board is the Jackson-produced Halo. The videogame adaptation project was indefinitely shelved after Universal and 20th Century Fox pulled their financing, citing rising production costs and Jackson's unwillingness to take a pay cut.
'Lost' producers in talks about end date
PASADENA, Calif. - Makers of the tropical island drama "Lost" say they're talking with ABC executives about setting an end date for the series.
There's no sense the finale is coming anytime soon. But knowing they have a deadline will help writers of the convoluted drama lay out how they want the story to end, producers said Sunday in a meeting with TV critics here.
"Once we figure out when that will be, a lot of the questions will go away," said Carlton Cuse, an executive producer. "Lost" is in its third season.
The producers, citing Fox's "The X-Files," said they didn't want to wear out their welcome. "That was a great show that probably ran two seasons too long," Cuse said. "That is a cautionary tale for us."
"Lost" is due back on ABC's schedule next month following an extended hiatus after the season's first six episodes and will air uninterrupted through May. The schedule was a direct result of fans' complaints about reruns disrupting their concentration in past seasons, producers said.
It's likely next year that all 22 episodes will run consecutively, much like Fox is doing with "24."
One prominent critic — ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson — said he thought the first six episodes this season concentrated too heavily on the stories of Jack, Kate and Sawyer at the expense of other members of the large cast.
The producers said that will be rectified right away for the season's second half as "Lost" goes back to the beach.
"Lost," which is shifting back an hour to 10 p.m. Eastern time, Wednesdays, on ABC's schedule, has seen a 14 percent drop in its audience this year, according to Nielsen Media Research. Producers contend the numbers are deceptive because of a comparison with the second season, when "Lost" was a cultural sensation.
The producers concede that it's a demanding story for viewers to keep up with, and not one that people can join in the middle.
"We want them back," executive producer Damon Lindelof said of the lost fans. "We really believe in the show and the audience we're getting. But if we write towards getting them back, we may alienate the audience that we already have."
O.J.: Chapter is not a murder confession
LOS ANGELES - O.J. Simpson says a chapter from his unpublished book that hypothesizes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend was created mostly from a ghostwriter's research and is not a confession.
"I'm saying it's a fictional creation," Simpson said Sunday in a telephone interview. "It has so many (factual) holes in it that anybody who knew anything about it would know that I didn't write it."
His comments came as Newsweek published a story for its current issue paraphrasing the chapter, called "The Night in Question," which the magazine said it had obtained from an anonymous source.
Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman after a yearlong trial. A civil jury later held him liable for the killings. On Sunday, Simpson again denied killing the couple.
Simpson declined to provide a copy of the chapter to The Associated Press.
"I don't have it," he said. "I shredded everything I had about it, and I thought I shredded it from my memory."
Newsweek's account of the chapter describes Simpson as becoming angry with his ex-wife at his daughter's dance recital. He later went to her condominium to scare her, entering with a knife through a back gate with a broken latch, the account states.
Simpson encountered Goldman and accused him of planning a sexual encounter with Nicole. He became enraged when Nicole's Akita dog appeared to recognize Goldman as a familiar visitor, the account states.
Nicole rushed at Simpson and fell, hitting her head on the ground, according to the account. Goldman then took a karate stance, further angering Simpson, who dared Goldman to fight before pulling back.
"Then something went horribly wrong, and I know what happened, but I can't tell you exactly how," Newsweek quoted Simpson as writing.
The account contains no descriptions of the actual killings but says Simpson was drenched in blood and holding a bloody knife when he regained control of himself. Both victims were dead.
The ghostwriter of "If I Did It" knew nothing about the case when he came into the project and had to do a lot of research, Simpson said. The writer was not a witness at the criminal trial, as has been reported, Simpson said.
Simpson said he saw a number of factual flaws while proofreading the chapter but did not correct them because he thought that would prove that he did not write it, he said.
Author Laurence Schiller, whose book "American Tragedy" contains a detailed account of the crime and its aftermath, said he was contacted last November by someone who read the chapter to him.
"There's not a fact in there that wasn't previously printed or was in the trial discovery papers," Schiller said.
Schiller agreed with Simpson that there are technical flaws in the chapter, including the claim that Simpson entered Nicole's home through a broken back gate. Both Schiller and Simpson said the front gate had the broken latch.
The book was to be published on Nov. 30 by News Corp.-owned HarperCollins. News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch called off the project 10 days before, apologizing for any pain that it had caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
When the proposal for a book was brought to him, Simpson said, he implored the publishers not to include the "created half-chapter" about the killings.
However, "they said it was the hook that would sell the book," Simpson said.
He said he elicited a promise that there would be no descriptions of anyone being killed, something he feared would upset his children.
"Was it tacky?" he said. "Yes, it was tacky. But it was brought to me. I didn't have an agent out there saying, here's a book from O.J."
He said he agreed to the book because he needed the money for his family.
"I knew going in it would be what it would be," he said. "It was worth it. I made a decision that it would benefit my family and my life. I don't have any regrets."
Tricia Helfer bares all for Playboy
Number Six, clothes zero.
Tricia Helfer, darling of Donalda and sex-oozing Cylon of TV's hit Battlestar Galactica, is baring all in the latest Playboy.
What's that sound you hear? Geeks shattering the sound barrier on their way to the 7-Eleven across from their parents' basement?
Or gasps of disapproval from her hometown, a central Alberta village of fewer than 300 residents?
Helfer knows to expect both.
"I haven't heard from anybody back home (yet), so I'm sure I'll get a little bit more inundated next week," Helfer says from L.A.
As for what the reaction to the 10-page nude pictorial -- shot in Acapulco -- will be, she admits, "I'm not sure. Obviously, there are all spectrums (of opinion), but I went into it knowing that. There will be people who disagree with it and people who think it's fantastic. But I didn't do it for other people, I did it for myself.
"I talked to every member of my family and essentially asked their permission. I wouldn't do something to highly embarrass my family.
"They were all supportive. I went over the details with all of them."
She concludes, "Everyone's going to get to see a lot more of me."
The appearance -- a no-brainer, really, considering as Number Six, a smouldering cyborg siren, Helfer has become science fiction's newly minted sex symbol -- comes after a two-year courtship in which the magazine's editors pursued the statuesque former model.
So why did Helf say yes to Hef -- or at least Hugh Hefner's empire -- now?
"I guess the timing is key quite often. In my mind, the timing was right. I got to choose the photographer and I always wanted to work with Sante D'Orazio and I had photo approval and my husband is 100 per cent behind it."
She was further swayed when the magazine's editors pointed out the other women who had doffed their duds in Playboy.
"Charlize Theron, Gabrielle Reese, models like Stephanie Seymour and Cindy Crawford, Jamie Pressly -- I respect these women. I looked at the photos they had done. They were beautiful, tasteful pictures. And coming from the modelling world, I certainly was not squeamish about nudity. We all have the same parts ... (Modelling), you have to get used it. Not that that means you're walking down the street flashing everyone."
And while two years ago, she was still trying to establish herself as an actress -- turning her back on a lucrative modelling career to do so -- she now finds herself on Battlestar, a series which has garnered critical acclaim far surpassing anyone's expectations.
Remember, in the goofy 1970s original series people wore capes, jumpsuits and played with robotic teddy bears. The disarmingly gritty redo, conversely, concerns itself with war, terrorism and paranoia.
"I wanted to get a base out there of people who know me as as an actor. I didn't want to be thought of as someone who got one lucky job. I now have a career and my resume is growing. (The Playboy pictorial) is a compliment to a building career."
It's a career that just as easily may never have happened. Born and raised on a farm in Donalda, Alta., Helfer began modelling after she was discovered standing in a movie-ticket line.
She moved to New York and modelled for a decade in which she was featured in campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Victoria's Secret and Giorgio Armani.
Now 32, Helfer spoke to the Sun after attending a luncheon sponsored by the American Film Institute, where the best of television was being honoured.
There, she found herself sitting among such luminaries as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood with Battlestar being hailed among the finest series on the air, alongside such dramas as 24 and The Wire.
This week, Helfer heads to New York to tape an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow (the episode airs Friday). Then on Tuesday, she's a guest on Howard Stern's radio show.
It's her first time being interviewed by either media titan.
"I'm incredibly excited and incredibly terrified. Who knows? I may be crying all the way back ... or maybe I'll be bouncing off the ceiling of the plane because I'm so elated."
Stern, one expects, will reference the Playboy photos once. Or twice. Or more.
"Who knows where (that conversation) will go? But Howard Stern is a big Battlestar fan, so that may make it a little easier. Or it may make it worse."
After that, she travels to Vancouver to film an episode of the CW series Supernatural. (As Canadian fans already know, she won't be returning to host the second season of Canada's Next Top Model.)
Meanwhile, she awaits reaction to the Playboy spread from Donalda, which she just visited for four days at Christmastime.
What might guys she dated in high school think when perusing the magazine, for example?
She laughs, " 'I never saw those before!' "
'Stomp the Yard' dances to No. 1 finish
LOS ANGELES - The dance flick "Stomp the Yard" was a step ahead of the competition at the box office, debuting as the No. 1 weekend movie with $22 million.
Starring Columbus Short as a raw but talented dancer at the center of a step competition between rival college fraternities, the Sony Screen Gems movie knocked off 20th Century Fox's "Night at the Museum," which had been the top film for three straight weekends.
"Night at the Museum" slipped to second place with $17.1 million, raising its total to $185.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The weekend's other new movies had ho-hum debuts. Universal's youth drama "Alpha Dog," featuring Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Justin Timberlake in a tale of drugs, kidnapping and murder, opened at No. 7 with $6.1 million.
Disney's "Primeval," a thriller with Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones as part of a news crew pursuing a prolific serial killer, premiered at No. 8 with $6 million.
Expanding to nationwide release after a limited run in December to qualify for the Academy Awards, "Arthur and the Invisibles," a live-action and animated family film from the Weinstein Co. and MGM, was No. 9 with $4.3 million.
Strong turnout by black movie-goers — who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the audience, according to Sony — pushed "Stomp the Yard" over the top. The movie followed in the footsteps of other black-themed films that debuted at No. 1 over previous Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekends, including "Glory Road" last year and "Coach Carter" in 2005.
"Sony picked a great weekend to release the film," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "The urban audience wields a lot of clout at the box office. If you put a film in the marketplace that has that built-in appeal to that audience, look at the numbers. The numbers speak for themselves."
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Stomp the Yard," $22 million.
2. "Night at the Museum," $17.1 million.
3. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $9.1 million.
4. "Dreamgirls," $8.1 million.
5. "Freedom Writers," $7.1 million.
6. "Children of Men," $6.4 million.
7. "Alpha Dog," $6.1 million.
8. "Primeval," $6 million.
9. "Arthur and the Invisibles," $4.3 million.
10. "The Good Shepherd," $3.9 million.