Is "Prison Break" the Breakout Role for Wentworth Miller?

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (51)

FOX's "Prison Break" debuted to a strong showing monday night with 10.5 million viewers with a couple of hot guys, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, and may just be one of the top three best new dramas of the fall season.

Wentworth, who'll you'll recognize from his sauve role as satan's bitch last spring in "joan of arcadia," plays michael scofield, a pretty but heavily-tattooed engineer (is there any other kind?) who breaks into prison in order to help his brother lincoln burrows (played by dominic purcell from "john doe") escape. Lincoln is on death row for the murder of the vice president's brother and, natch, Michael believes he is innocent.

The first obstacle to the new "Oz" lite show is that Michael must get into prison by passing through some rather enormous plot holes. We are asked to believe that Michael is sent to the same prison where his brother is on death row, and that none of the prison officials know they are brothers (yeah, uh-huh), and that Michael is an educated structural engineer who used to work for the architectural firm that just happened to built the prison. Hmmm, and just what is inked on Michael's body in those tattooes?

Sure, the plot has a few snarkage problems, and that haircut makes Wentworth kinda resemble Adam "hornio" from amazing race 6 (let's not go there), and the lack of male nudity is mildly disturbing for female voyeurs viewers - but FOX isn't hbo so decency standards must be kept. sigh. but it's worth tuning in for the hottness of Wentworth and Dominic.
, "It's a funny response people have when you mention it's called Prison Break," Wentworth told an interviewer about the premise of the show. "They imagine a couple of guys jumping over a wall, and they think, 'How long can that go?' But series creator Paul Scheuring is a very clever man who has the entire universe and story arc planned until the end of the second season. So we have myriad cellblocks and characters, all of whom will get their fair shake. And you'd be amazed how they can string this out and still be compelling."

If other characters get that much screen time than it sounds like another "Oz" (one of the best prison shows ever!), but actually may end up more like a mesh of "Lost," "24" and "Shawshank Redemption". If you missed it, you can catch the two-hour pilot when FOX repeats it at 8 p.m. on Thursday, September 1. More "Prison Break" photos at thefutoncritic.com

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Lucy Lawless Among Stars Fleeing Hurricane's Path

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The aftermath and flooding of hurricane Katrina on the big easy and the rest of the coast has stopped production on several Hollywood movies that were being filmed in the area.

Stars such as Lucy Lawless and michael keaton were in New Orleans filming, while Hilary Swank's "The Reaping" was in production in nearby Baton Rouge.

Lucy, who is making the tv movie "Vampire Bats," was caught in the exodus of people trying to get out of the path of the hurricane. she gave her account to the National Ledger: "I've been staying in a lovely little house in the french quarter, and at first, i was planning to ride out the storm. Then we heard it was going to be a category 5 storm, and i rang the producer and said, 'let's get out of here. This is crazy.'"
, The Xena Warrior Princess said they were unable to fly out and decided to drive. "We lowered our sites and thought we'd get to Houston. Then we found that was impossible and thought, 'Hell, let's try to get to Baton Rouge.' Our choices were eroding by the hour." She and the producers were the last out from the production. "The local crew left days ago. We took the film stock with us, and the payroll."

About the trip Sunday evening before the hurricane's arrival she said, "It took us nine hours to travel a distance that usually takes 50 minutes. We knew they were going to sandbag off the road, and our big fear was that we'd be turned back and get caught in the storm."

Get more information on Katrina's effects on Hollywood at news.yahoo.com, and at variety.com.

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25 Years Later: Still On A Mission From God

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Katrina Aftermath Turning New Orleans into a Lake

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There's no good news out of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama even though "only" 100 people have been found dead (so far) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. There are an estimated 80,000+ people still trapped in the city of New Orleans with no place to go as water continues to pour in from two broken levees. As 80% of the city is under water, pumps will fail soon and 9 more feet of water is expected to flow in today. Since the city sits in a natural bowl below sea level, the mucky water will not drain off. Ever. As bad as it is now, it will get worse ... Updates online at New Orleans' WWLTV.com

, Among the organizations offering relief to victims of the devastation:

American Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW
Episcopal Relief & Development: 1-800-334-7626
Catholic Charities: 1-800-919-9338
United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583
Jewish Federation of St. Louis: www.jewishinstlouis.org
The Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY

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Exclusive Interview with “The Still Life" Director Joel Miller

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

First-time director Joel Miller explores the fragile separation between failure and success in his debut film "The Still Life" due out next year. The film stars Jason Barry ("Titanic" "Conspiracy of Silence") who plays a reclusive, alcoholic artist who accidentally develops a new genre of art one night during an emotional breakdown.

Called Destructionism, the new art form makes him a star. He struggles to cope with his newfound fame while dealing with his own self-loathing. As Julian loses touch with the artist he truly desires to be, his personal life spins out of control. The movie co-stars Terry Moore ("Welcome Back Little Sheba"), Rachel Miner ("Bully"), and Don S. Davis ("Stargate SG-1").

I talked with Joel Miller in this exclusive interview for biggeststars.com:

FK: Why do you choose this story of an artist for your first film?

JK: I wanted to make an independent art film, and what better subject is there than art for an art movie? I figured I would take the idea of art film to the max and try to get my script made. I’ve actually written twelve feature films now, but I chose "The Still Life" because this film is more personal for me than some of my other screenplays and because of budget purposes. I knew it would be a cheap film to make — or could be. I also have a strong background in art and it helps to be doing something that means something to you personally. This film means a lot to me.

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At least Kimberly Stewart Knows She's Ugly

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:02 PM | Permalink

• OMG! She has the nerve to call Jennifer Aniston "homely" but just HOW UGLY is Kimberly Stewart?

• Ashlee Simpson's movie "Undiscovered" remains unknown and had a very Grimm weekend at the box office. Who knew Ashlee made a new movie??

• Britney Spears yells at a 13-year-old leaving the traumatized tweenster in tears on the set of sister Jaime Lynn's "Zoey 101."

• Green Day wins Video of the Year Award as Hurricane Katrina huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the MTV Video Music Awards.

• Hilary Duff is a Wonder of Science as the Superficial claims she's morphing into Kylie Minogue
.

• Pro gossiper Mike Evans is reporting his sources say Russell Crowe's six-figure settlement to hotel clerk Josh Estrada is $385,000. That's one expensive long distance phone call, mate! Crowe tells his side of the story.

• Eh? There's more oil underneath Canada than in all of Saudi Arabia. In 10 years, Alberta will be the Big Kahuna of oil production. Suddenly, every day in Washington D.C. is "Be Nice to Canada Day."

Marilyn Manson Says Harry Potter is Bad for Kids

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gothic shock rocker Marilyn Manson took an odd swipe at the Harry Potter phenomenom at the Kerrang! awards last night in London while picking up his Icon of the Year award.

The rocker, who was being honored for being a notoriety that has spread all over the globe said the fan fervor directly toward the young fictional wizard Harry Potter is all wrong. He said, "I get blamed for being bad but this kid is practicing witchcraft from a very early age which is totally unacceptable."

Devout fans will be disappointed that the "AntiChrist Superstar" rocker used the ceremony to also mark his retirement from music. He recently announced he will turn his talents to acting and directing. His first film "Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll" will be released this fall.

Meanwhile, Green Day, whose album "American Idiot" has sold 7 million copies, won Kerrang! awards for best band on the planet and best live act.

The Young and the Bold: Natalie Portman's Mohawk

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

"Star Wars" beauty

Victoria Beckham: I Could Never Be Your Woman

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

She's the prettiest Spice, rich, and married to one of the world's sexiest athletes. So what more could Victoria Beckham want? Apparently, not a chance to star in the film "I Could Never Be Your Woman" with Michelle Pfeiffer.

The Mirror quotes a source: "Victoria was extremely flattered when the producers said they were desperate to sign her up. Tom Cruise always said he planned to make her a huge movie star and he's obviously been having words in influential ears."

Producers reportedly offered Posh any part she wanted for the film but the idea of working with Pheiffer was too intimidating. The source added, "To say that it was an incredible opportunity is an understatement. But she came to the conclusion that, nice as it was to be asked, putting herself up against Hollywood heavyweights wasn't something she was interested in."

READ BETWEEN THE LINES: Posh recently admitted that she's "never read a book in her life." Could it be she passed on the movie when she realized it would require reading a script?

Jessica Simpson Covets Shakespeare Career

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whoa! Now there's something you probably never thought you'd see, the words "Jessica Simpson" and "Shakespeare" in the same sentence.

Airhead Jessica Simpson has publicly stated that she wants a Shakespeare play to be her next big production. She didn't state which role she covets, but she wants it known that she's firmly resolved about honing a serious acting career, y'all. Being that she's now a seasoned actress with her first film under her bikini belt and everything.

After "The Dukes of Hazzard" she feels that Shakespeare is just the next step up the acting ladder. "When I arrived in England the first thing I did was go straight to the Globe Theatre," she told the Daily Express while she was in London attending the premiere for "Dukes." "That's the job I want next, anything at the Globe..." (How about ticket taker? Spear carrier??) "... For me that is the home of acting and writing."

"I have always loved Shakespeare," she said of the bard, who just rolled over in his grave.