Gov. Schwarzenegger back for more Terminator action?
That’s what the producers of the fourth Terminiator installment, which is now in full development, are hoping. “We’re certainly talking to Arnold and his people,” Dennis Higgins, a spokesman for financing partner Intermedia, told Reuters. “He obviously has a day job that he has to take into consideration. But we’re talking to him.” Schwarzenegger‘s “day job,” of course, is running the state of California. The governor’s personal financial advisor Paul Wachter told Reuters, “It is not even on our radar screen…Arnold is signing bills.” He did not rule a possible cameo appearance but added, “Is it is realistic that while he is in office, he takes a starring role? Hardly.” Talks also are under way with Terminator 3 director Jonathan Mostow to return for the next sequel. The Terminator series ranks as one of the most successful film franchises ever. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, grossed more than $500 million worldwide after its 1991 release, while T3 generated $430 million at the global box office.
Costner weds for the second time
Oscar-winning actor/director Kevin Costner married his longtime girlfriend, Christine Baumgartner, Saturday in Aspen, Colo., Reuters reports, and the couple plan to honeymoon in Scotland. This is the first marriage for Baumgartner, 30, and the second for Costner, 49, who was divorced in 1994. Costner has three children with his former wife, Cindy.
Olsens get big advance from Warners
Warner Home Video has cut a new 10-year distribution deal with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen‘s Dualstar Video that calls for WHV to pay the twins an eight-figure advance against future net proceeds from sales of Olsen home videos, Dualstar CEO Robert Thorne told the Hollywood Reporter. “I believe that this upfront payment demonstrates the international growth potential that the Mary-kateandashley [sic] brand has, not only domestically but overseas,” Thorne said. The Olsen twins have sold about 40 million home video units worldwide to date. The direct-to-video release Our Lips Are Sealed leads the list with about 3 million combined VHS and DVD units sold worldwide since its November 2000 release, followed by Winning London, which has sold more than 2 million combined VHS and DVD units since its March 2001 release, according to the Reporter.
Jackson’s life studied by scholars
Michael Jackson‘s life and career has now become an academic subject for scholars, believe it or not. Eighteen scholars from U.S. universities met last week at Yale University to discuss sexual, racial and artistic aspects of Jackson‘s life and music, the Associated Press reports. Jackson “in many ways is the black male crossover artist of the 20th century,” said Seth Clark Silberman, who teaches about race and gender at Yale. “He has grown up in front of us, so we have a great investment in him, even though some people today may find his image disturbing.” Other universities have hosted conferences about Madonna and other pop stars, Silberman told AP. The conference avoided details of the child molestation case against Jackson in California, but it did look at how the media has reported on the case.
Downey moves into music
Actor Robert Downey Jr. plans to enter the world of music. He has signed an exclusive recording contract with the Sony Classical label, AP reports, and will release his first CD Nov. 23. “Robert is a brilliantly gifted songwriter who writes lyrics that are wise and moving,” Sony Classical President Peter Gelb told AP Wednesday in a statement. “His burnished, smoky voice is an expressive and touching medium for the songs that he has written.” Downey, 39, has written songs for three of his films (Too Much Sun, Two Girls and a Guy and Friends & Lovers) and sang during his 2000 stint on the TV show Ally McBeal.
Judge rules in favor of bootleg recordings
Looks like you’ll be able to get bootleg recordings of your favorite live performances. AP reports U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. dismissed a federal indictment of Jean Martignon, who runs a Manhattan mail order and Internet business that sells bootleg recordings, striking down a 1994 law banning the sale of bootleg recordings of live music. Baer ruled the law unfairly grants “seemingly perpetual protection” to the original performances. While Baer said the bootleg law was written by Congress in the spirit of federal copyright law, which protects writing for a fixed period of time–typically for the life of the author and 70 years after the author’s death, the law, which was passed “primarily to cloak artists with copyright protection,” could not stand because it places no time limit on the ban. Baer also noted that copyright law protects “fixed” works–such as books or recorded music releases–while bootlegs, by definition, are of live performances.
