Fahrenheit gives up spot as Best Documentary
Michael Moore has taken his anti-Bush rant, Fahrenheit 9/11, now the highest grossing documentary of all time, out of this year’s race for Oscar’s Best Documentary, though he does plan to throw the film into the ring as a Best Picture contender, a feat never achieved by a nonfiction film, Reuters reports. “I made the decision not to submit my film for best documentary because, as I told my film crew, let’s let someone else have that Oscar. We already have a best documentary Oscar,” the 2002 Oscar-winner for Bowling for Columbine said in a statement Monday. He added: “There have been so many great nonfiction films this year, I felt, why not step aside and share what we have with someone else? Remove the 800-pound gorilla from that Oscar category and let the five films who get nominated have all the attention they deserve (instead of the focus being on a film that already has had more than its share of attention).”
Vincent Vega could be back
A prequel to Quentin Tarantino‘s 1994 opus Pulp Fiction? Just imagine. In an interview with Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, The Associated Press reports John Travolta, in town for the Venice Film Festival, said Tarantino calls him often with prospects of doing a film about the Vega brothers. “Every six months he calls me to talk about a project on the story of the Vega brothers–a type of prequel to Pulp Fiction,” he said in the interview. “Then, it all remains in his mind,” Travolta added about Tarantino, also at the festival as a co-presenter in a retrospective of Italian B-movies. “The problem is that we worked together in tight times,” Travolta said of the collaboration. “Now he makes films for millions of dollars. I don’t know if I’d still be OK for him.”
Hefner, Lee gear up for Superbunnies
MTV has ordered an animated pilot for Hef’s Superbunnies, a collaboration between comic book veteran Stan Lee and his newly launched Pow! Entertainment and Hugh Hefner and his Playboy’s Alta Loma Entertainment division. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hefner‘s name and likeness will be featured in the pilot, and he also might provide the voice of his cartoon alter ego. “Stan and I go back a long ways, and he simply felt it was time for me to reveal my secret identity,” Hefner said. “You all know me as the editor in chief and publisher of Playboy. But late at night when everyone assumes I’m in the grotto living the good life, I’m out there with the Superbunnies fighting evildoers.”
Lewis’ Labor Day telethon raises millions
The Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon raised $59.4 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, but organizers told AP Monday that power outages and other disruptions from Hurricane Frances contributed to a decline over last year. Donations totaled 1.8 percent less than last year’s $60.5 million. Lewis, 78, was assisted during the 21-1/2 hour fund-raiser by Ed McMahon, and the broadcast featured performances by Elton John, Oprah Winfrey, Ray Romano, Tony Orlando and others.
He’s baaaaack!
Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings added to his winning streak Monday when the popular game show started its new season, AP reports. Jennings won another $10,001, bringing his grand total to $1.3 million. The 30-year-old juggernaut, who gained huge popularity this summer with his trigger finger on the buzzer that frequently freezes out his opponents with an impressively broad array of knowledge, has won 39 Jeopardy games in a row. The game show will air two more weeks of original episodes, which began taping in August, before leaving on another hiatus for a special tournament.
Gandolfini involved in fender bender
A vehicle driven by James Gandolfini, best known as mob boss Tony Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos, was hit by a suspected drunken driver over the weekend in New Jersey, AP reports. The actor was not injured, police said. Gandolfini was in town for Saturday’s Rutgers-Michigan State football game when his sport utility vehicle was hit broadside by a driver, Charles Collins, 72, who police said ran a red light. Collins was issued a summons for drunken driving and was released, police said. He was not hurt.
Nintendo, rock bands join for Fusion tour
The hottest rock acts and videogame technology are coming together for the second Nintendo Fusion tour, Reuters reports. The 37-date outing–which kicks off Sept. 20 in Odessa, Texas–features headliners Story of the Year, plus lostprophets, My Chemical Romance, Letter Kills, Anberlin and Autopilot Off. The tour is “about a fusion of gaming, music and lifestyle,” Rob Matthews, senior consumer marketing director for Nintendo, told Reuters. “We had such a great success last year that we wanted to do it even bigger and better this year. We have high expectations.” The lobby of each venue will have kiosks featuring previews of upcoming Nintendo GameCube games and the new wireless, hand-held videogame system Nintendo DS.
