Top Story: Depp Film Release Pushed Up
In an attempt to capitalize on Johnny Depp‘s overwhelming popularity after Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Sony Pictures is releasing his latest thriller Secret Window April 12 instead of the original date of March 23rd, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jeff Blake, Sony’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, said of the decision, “We just had our first screening of the film, and it went great; Johnny Depp is terrific in this film, adding that the media campaign for the film would begin February 1st, Super Bowl Sunday. The film stars Depp as a novelist terrorized by a man (John Turturro) who insists the book Depp is writing was stolen from him. Jurassic Park scribe David Koepp wrote and directed the film based on a Stephen King novella.
Stone Bars Reporters From Alexander Set
Volatile director Oliver Stone has barred reporters and onset photographs in an effort to avoid “distractions” while the film is being shot in Thailand, Associated Press reports. Cast and crew are also banned from taking photos of the battle scene in which Alexander (played by Colin Farrell) does battle with King Porus during his invasion of India in 325 B.C.E. According to an actor in the production, “We’ve been warned that if Oliver sees us with a camera, he’ll storm over, stomp all over the camera and personally escort you off the set.” Production on the epic, which also stars Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, and Anthony Hopkins, began in September of last year in Morocco and in studios near London. The film is due to be released in November of this year.
Jackson Customized Bentley To Be Sold
Michael Jackson‘s Bentley Arnage Red Label Turbo will be auctioned off this weekend unless the auction house is notified otherwise by the singer, AP reports. Jackson entered into a contract to sell the 2001 Bentley with the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction house in October of last year before the singer was arrested on charges of child molestation. The auction house is now unsure whether the singer still wishes to sell the car. “We just want to do what he wants us to do and we don’t know what that is,” the house’s Craig Jackson (no relation) said adding he has spoken with Jackson‘s management team, but, “These discussions have resulted in mixed directions about the car’s status for the auction.” Since the agreement to sell the car was signed by the singer, unless he specifically tells the auction house he wants to keep the car it will be auctioned off this weekend. The Bentley model would ordinarily be valued at $150,000, but with the additional customization and celebrity signatures as well as the fact it was used in the Jackson video for “What More Can I Give,” the price should significantly increase. Says the auction house’s Jackson, “It could bring a half a million dollars.”
Garfunkel Busted
Singer Art Garfunkel was arrested Saturday for marijuana possession after the limousine he was riding in was pulled over for speeding, Reuters reports. The 62-year-old former member of the ’60s duo Simon and Garfunkel was riding in the back of the limo when a state trooper pulled the driver over for diving 61 mph in a 45 mph zone, and noticed the scent of marijuana coming from the back of the limo. The trooper, who did not recognize the singer-songwriter, discovered small amount of pot in Garfunkel‘s jacket pocket. Garfunkel faces a $100 fine if convicted of unlawful marijuana possession next Wednesday in the Town of Hurley Court in New York State. Garfunkel‘s driver received a speeding ticket.
Mother of Combs’ Son Wants More Child Support
Misa Hylton-Brim, mother of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs‘ 10-year-old son Justin, is asking for a raise from the $5,000 a month in child support she receives to $30,000 a month, AP reports. Ms. Hylton-Brim’s lawyer Brett Kimmel said in New Rochelle, NY, Family Court his client needs the extra monthly income to pay for the private school Justin attends, as well as a nanny and 24-hour security for the boy. Says Kimmel, “This child’s needs specifically relate to his father being who he is.” Combs did not appear in court nor did his lawyer, Peter Galasso, comment on the case. Model Kim Porter, the mother of Combs‘ other son, 6-year-old Christian, receives $30,000 a month for support. Combs runs Bad Boy Entertainment as well as owning numerous other business ventures including restaurants and a clothing line.
Music Industry Sues Hundreds For Piracy
The Recording Industry Association of America has filed four separate suits against 532 users of unnamed Internet service providers (ISP), Reuters reports. The group will issue subpoenas to the ISPs requiring them to turn over the names attached to the numerical addresses of music downloaders. Cases involving music downloaders have already been settled in separate cases with downloaders paying $3,000 a piece. In recent years the music industry has seen a decline in CD sales, leading the giants to crack down on downloaders who get songs for free off such peer-to-peer trading programs as Kazaa and Limewire. Napster one of the original peer-to-peer music sources has become a service with agreements with record labels where downloaders pay a monthly fee for music.
Role Call: Cameron Back to Sci-Fi
Director James Cameron hopes to being shooting a new sci-fi project later this year, his first film since Titanic six years ago, Reuters reports. The film, financed by 20th Century Fox, will be shot using high-definition 3-D cameras. Cameron describes the untitled project as, “a big-budget science-fiction film with a pile of special effects.” Though he has not made a narrative film since Titanic, Cameron has made two documentaries about shipwrecks, Ghosts of the Abyss about the visiting theTitanic wreckage, and Expedition: Bismarck about the sunken German battleship.
