Elvis Costello, Michael Buble, Feist among presenters for Juno Awards
TORONTO - Legendary rocker Elvis Costello will be among the presenters at the Juno Awards.
Michael Buble, Feist and Costello's wife, Diana Krall, will also present awards at the March 29 show at Vancouver's GM Place. Others appearing on the show include Canadian Olympians Jeremy Wotherspoon and Mellisa Hollingsworth, says CTV, which will air the ceremony.
The Juno Awards will be hosted for the second consecutive year by comedian Russell Peters.
Nickelback, who lead with five nominations going into the show, are scheduled to perform, along with Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan and Sam Roberts.
Marvel delays "Thor," "Avengers"
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – The superheroes will take just a little longer to arrive on the scene.
Marvel Entertainment said Thursday it was pushing back by a year a pair of key properties in its comic book franchises "Thor" and "Avengers."
"Thor" will now come out on June 17, 2011 (it had previously been scheduled for July 16, 2010), while "Avengers" will hit theaters May 4, 2012 (it had been slotted for July 15, 2011).
Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel said the move "maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multicharacter 'The Avengers' film in 2012."
It's likely, however, that the studio wanted to ensure at least one tentpole in as many years as possible. Under the previous schedule, it had nothing slated for 2012. Also, as Maisel suggested, the move gives maximum runway for the characters leading up to "Avengers," which will wrap in roles for many of its top-tier characters.
Had it let the previous dates stand, it would have seen the bunching of two properties (Iron Man and Thor) in 2010 and then three (Captain America, Spider-Man and the multicharacter Avengers) in 2011. Under the new schedule, it will space out the characters more: just one (Iron Man) in 2010, Spider-Man, Thor and Captain America in 2011, and Avengers in 2012.
The studio also announced that it was pushing the release of the Captain America picture, titled "The First Avenger: Captain America," back several months, from May 6, 2011, to July 22, 2011.
That move was not unexpected given that Sony, which is releasing "Spider-Man 4" via its licensing deal with Marvel, is bringing out its picture in May of that year. Marvel clarified on Thursday that that pic will come out on May 6, 2011. It had previously given the month of May but no exact date.
Marvel is pursuing a strategy similar to that of its classic comic books, in which characters frequently cross over between properties. Samuel Jackson recently signed a nine-picture deal to play superhero Nick Fury, who will appear in many of its upcoming pics.
The studio's current priority is "Iron Man 2." Casting is coming together for the project, with Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson recently signing on for the project, which will shoot this year.
...Clooney checking back into 'ER'
Tonight is supposedly the night George Clooney returns to ER.
The long-running medical drama, which airs on CTV and NBC, is wrapping up for good on April 2, at the end of its 15th season. But tonight's instalment has been touted as a "reunion" episode, and we all know what that means.
Clooney played Dr. Doug Ross as a regular cast member on ER from 1994 to 1999, before leaving to pursue a big-time movie career.
Dr. Ross' love interest was nurse Carol Hathaway, played by Julianna Margulies. That character is coming back for sure tonight, since Margulies openly has been featured in promos for the episode.
Everyone is being more cagey about Clooney, but the inside buzz is deafening.
Clooney last was seen on ER in May 2000, when he showed up for the final scene of Margulies' last episode. Clooney had left the show a year before that.
On the set of ER in Los Angeles last summer, executive producer John Wells told television critics that Clooney always was a model citizen, both when he was on ER and when he departed the series.
"I think everybody knows this story, but (Clooney) never asked, as the show took off, to make a dime more than he was paid at the beginning," Wells said. "He completely fulfilled his contractual obligations to us over five years, stayed committed, did publicity, worked hard, and was just a completely standup guy.
"We see lots of examples where people have had those kinds of opportunities and they don't respond that way. So I have nothing other than admiration for him as a friend and a professional. He was a big part of what made the show successful at the beginning."
Tonight's episode initially was scheduled to be the last for ER, but NBC and Wells ultimately worked out a deal for three additional episodes.
All season, former ER cast-members have been coming back.
"I did not want anyone to leave the series at any point, to tell you the truth, particularly any of the original six actors," Wells said.
The "original six" in this case is not an NHL term. Rather, Wells was referring to Clooney, Margulies, Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene, Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis, Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter and Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton.
Wyle currently is back for a multi-episode arc. Edwards has been back. And La Salle will be back tonight, too.
"We really didn't anticipate that we would be able to change casts, particularly after the sort of -- with all due modesty -- the extraordinary success we had at the beginning," Wells said. "We sort of felt like, 'Wow, as soon as people start to leave, that will be that.'
"But we were able to replace the actors who were leaving with really extraordinary actors. When we look back at the list, we've had 26 regulars on the show over 15 years."
Not many series are able to withstand that kind of turnover. The only other one that comes immediately to mind is Law & Order, and not coincidentally, ER and Law & Order are among the longest-running primetime dramas in TV history.
"I remember how we were talking when Sherry (Stringfield) was leaving the first time -- she was the first person to leave the cast, that was in year three," Wells said. "We all thought, 'Oh, well, here it comes, we'll be gone by year five.'
"But we were able to introduce characters slowly so we didn't have actors coming in to replace someone. I think the audience embraced that, because it's similar to their workplaces. People come and you care about them, they're friends, they leave, other people replace them, and they become your friends."
Of course, there are friends, and then there are FRIENDS.
Welcome back, Clooney.
ScarJo & Mickey Rourke Help Raise Iron Curtain
(E! Online) – Scarlett Johansson is joining the superhero set.
Her rep confirms that the actress has signed on to play Black Widow in the Iron Man sequel opposite Robert Downey Jr. The deal was signed Wednesday afternoon.
"Scarlett is thrilled to be a part of Iron Man," her rep, Marcel Pariseau, is quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, after months of negotiations...The Wrestler's comeback kid Mickey Rourke has finally sealed a deal to play the villain Whiplash, according to Variety.
Rourke's team had reportedly held out for more money after Marvel's initial offer was just $250,000.
Scheduled for a May 2010 release, part two of the franchise will also include Gwyneth Paltrow returning as Pepper Potts along with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Don Cheadle playing Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes.