Willis, Shyamalan reunite in film
Bruce Willis is planning to reteam with horror director M. Night Shyamalan and make a sequel to 2000 thriller Unbreakable.
Willis plays a man who discovers he has superpowers in the film, his second collaboration with Shyamalan after 1999's Sixth Sense.
Ten years on, the actor reveals Unbreakable was originally written as the first film of a trilogy - and he and the director are considering making part two their next project.
Willis tells WENN, "I've been talking to Night Shyamalan about going back to do the middle story to Unbreakable. That whole story was written in three parts and he just chose to shoot the origin story first where the two characters find out they have superpowers. What he wanted to do at the time was shoot the second part where the two superheroes fight and we didn't do that; we started a different way but he's still talking about shooting that film."
Paul McCartney reveals new tour dates
Paul McCartney has unveiled the first two dates of his 2010 "Up and Coming" tour, which gets underway next month.
The former Beatle will return to the road beginning with a March 29 concert in Glendale, AZ, a performance that will be his first in that state since 2005. From there, he'll tackle a March 30 gig at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl, a venue he hasn't played since 1993.
McCartney first appeared at the Hollywood Bowl when The Beatles performed there in August of 1964, and again in 1965. Those shows were recorded for a live album that didn't surface until 1977.
McCartney's just-announced shows represent the first two dates on what a press release describes as an "extensive" 2010 roadtrip, further details of which will be posted at McCartney's website "soon."
Last year, McCartney spent five weeks on the road during his "Summer Live '09" tour, which included a run of shows at New York's Citi Field Stadium that were recorded for the gold-certified CD/DVD set "Good Evening New York City."
Disney takes long view in "Alice" theater dispute
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Europe's top movie theater chain plans to withdraw from screening the Walt Disney Co's latest film "Alice In Wonderland", escalating a dispute over the U.S. studio's proposal to release the movie's DVD weeks earlier than usual.
But Disney's long-term strategy calls for less reliance on those chains in favor of revenue from Blu-ray video and online distribution, analysts say.
On Monday, less than two weeks before the movie's March 5 debut, exhibitor Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, owned by the London-based private equity firm Terra Firma, said it does not plan to show the movie in its UK, Irish or Italian cinemas because Disney wants to sell the DVD five weeks earlier than usual.
Theater owners worry audiences will skip seeing the movie on the big screen in favor of a shorter wait for the DVD, if Disney moves up its release.
A decade ago, DVDs were typically released six months after a film's theatrical debut. But Hollywood studios have been gradually moving up their DVD releases, to tap those consumers who rarely go to the theater. Disney's move will shrink that time to 12 weeks.
Odeon Cinemas operates 110 theaters in the UK and 22 in Italy.
Negotiations continued this week between Disney and No. 2 U.S. chain AMC Entertainment Inc, which boasts more than 4,500 screens.
Still, analysts said U.S. theater chains are unlikely to boycott en-masse the year's first blockbuster release, wary of the hit to their bottom line -- at least for now.
AMC did not return calls, and Disney declined comment.
"AMC's a major exhibitor chain, obviously that makes a difference, but my guess is this (dispute) will be settled close to the opening-day release," said analyst Hal Vogel of Vogel Capital Management.
"Disney understands the implications of what they're doing," Vogel said. "They're looking to the long-term future, and the long-term future is less reliance on theaters and more reliance on new technology."
That new technology involves getting movies into homes through Blu-ray discs, as well as other delivery methods such as video-on-demand.
"Theaters are obviously very important still, and any distribution company would be foolish to upset the relationships to any great degree," Vogel said.
Jay Leno sets high-profile "Tonight Show" guests
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Jay Leno's first two weeks back as host of NBC's "Tonight Show" features a celebrity-packed lineup as NBC tries to revive the late-night franchise.
Leno, reclaiming the reins from Conan O'Brien next Monday, will welcome former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore," "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell and Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn.
Musical guests include Brad Paisley, Avril Lavigne, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
Both Leno's and NBC's ratings and reputation took a beating after he was eased out of the prestige slot last May, and given a weeknight primetime show. Viewership of "The Tonight Show" also declined under O'Brien (until his final week last month). NBC paid O'Brien more than $30 million to exit the show.
Having big-name draws like Palin can only help as NBC tries to make "Tonight" appointment viewing once again. His other guests his first couple weeks include Dakota Fanning, Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman.
Benson, 90210 Actress Caroline McWilliams Dies
The small screen has just lost one of its familiar faces.
Benson and Soap star Caroline McWilliams died Feb. 11 at her home in Los Angeles from complications of multiple myeloma, her family told the Los Angeles Times. She was 64-years-old.
McWilliams began her career on the soap opera Guiding Light in 1969 followed by a stint on Another World before she broke into prime time with Soap. That was soon followed by her most famous role, Marcy Hill opposite Robert Guillaume on Benson.
In 1982, McWilliams married Michael Keaton. They had one son, Sean Douglas, but divorced in 1990. Around that time, she appeared in the movie Mermaids and on Beverly Hills, 90210, as the mother to Jamie Walters' character.
McWilliams also enjoyed the theater, frequently performing onstage and directing live productions.