News

Giant Leap Accelerator has officially launched its first 12-week developmental program that will focus on cultivating new Asian/Pacific American (APA) stories, Variety has exclusively learned.

Over the course of the 12-week program, eight emerging Aapi writers will be mentored by seven television and film writing veterans. Each writer will meet with their dedicated mentor once a week to elevate the scripts, create pitch materials and set up pitch practices. Final Draft also provided a copy of its screenwriting software for all the mentees.

The first set of mentees are Lisa Sanaye Dring, writing duo Lee Hubilla and Tea Ho, Ben Kim, Ryan Kim, Julie Lew, Kevin Ramlal and Ivan Tsang.

Writing mentors include Lana Cho, Sasie Sealy, Matt K. Turner, Dennis Lee, Diane Paragas, Matthew Okumura and April Shih.

The program also consists of six panels, fireside chats and masterclasses that are created to help the mentees learn how to navigate the industry.

"It’s so hard to leave the stage after a night like this," Celine Dion gushed after a recent performance in Australia, and it was clear to fans that the diva, 50, was having the time of her life throughout her summer tour Down Under and in Asia. Some even wondered if that undeniable sparkle in Celine’s eye is due to a new man in her life: backup dancer Pepe Muñoz. "These rumors really amuse us, and we laugh about them," Pepe has said, denying his relationship with Celine is romantic. He does admit, however, that the two are close. "I can count on her when I need to talk, and I am ready to listen to her, too," he shared. "She is exactly what you see: nice, tender, generous, always ready to offer the best of herself." Thank you for another great Summer tour boss! Photo by @ian.laidlaw...

Sometimes you know what you’ve got before it’s gone, and that’s certainly the case for these dearly departed shows. IndieWire watched every one, some for years at a time, others for the few short weeks they were with us. Ranging from award-winning series to one-and-dones, 2017 saw a slew of great programs come to a close.

Below, we’ve taken note of their legacies one last time. If you were a fan, here’s one more chance to gush over your favorite show. If you’ve never heard of a few of these, we’ve listed where you can watch them right now. They may be over, but that’s no reason to stay away. If anything, now you can go at your own pace from beginning to end.

Enjoy. Remember. Watch. Now then, onto the list.

Read More:The Top 10 TV Shows of 2017 “Bates Motel”

2013 – 2017 Five Seasons Lives...

Syfy’s “The Magicians” released its Season 3 trailer, and surprisingly enough there’s little to no magic involved. Instead, the quest to restore magic to the world is officially on after the new Kings and Queens of Fillory failed to protect the kingdom last season. Protagonists Quentin, Eliot, Alice, and Margo will fight to bring the magic back, and it looks like they’ll go to any length to do so.

The series is based on the trilogy of novels by Lev Grossman and stars Jason Ralph, Stella Maeve, Olivia Taylor Dudley, and Rick Worthy. For Season 3, the series has also added fan-favorite actress Felicia Day. The characters have to work together now more than ever before in order to find the seven keys to balance magic throughout the realm.

Read More:‘The Magicians’ Grand, Expensive Musical Tribute to ‘Les Miserables’ Won’t Be Its Last

Along with new recruit Felicia Day,...

Wednesday night’s installment of “Channel Zero: No-End House” was an episode-length dose of that universal feeling that comes with watching a piece of finely tuned horror: the tiny voice inside (or outside) that screams, “No! Don’t do it!” As with all on-screen tales of terror, the Syfy anthology series has mined plenty of moments like this in its second season, themed around the all-encompassing psychological consequences of an insidious haunted house. But while “The Damage” was a relative breather in the scope of what’s come before it, “No-End House” as a whole remains an ambitious series that’s building on the innovations of TV’s latest narrative wave.

As two friends who get sucked into the horror of No-End House, a literal end-of-the-road attraction with escalating horrors in each of its six rooms, Margot (Amy Forsyth) and Jules (Aisha Dee) have been fighting memories of their...

At the Tribeca Film Festival, press photographers lined the Flames red carpet expecting the likes of James Franco and Greta Gerwig. Instead, they were greeted by filmmakers Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker as well as Flames cast members wearing printed-out masks of said celebrities. In a way, this stunt acts as a great introduction to the tone of the film, a documentary that explores and expounds on Throwell and Decker’s relationship over the course of five years in very intimate detail (from funnily-posed sex to a post-dating therapy session to the editing room of this film). I got to sit down with Throwell, Decker, and their long-time Dp Ashley Connor to discuss the intimacy of the film, how nudity isn’t necessarily the most revealing thing, and the line of exploitation both on film and in a relationship.

The Film Stage: This is an understatement, but Flames is a deeply intimate film.

(This is part two of a larger interview. You can read part one right over here.) The Leftovers isn’t playing it safe in its third and final season. Co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta‘s series has grown more ambitious over its three chapters and this season can get pretty bonkers, to say the least. As out there as The Leftovers can get, […]

The post Damon Lindelof on Taking Chances and the Evolution of ‘The Leftovers’ [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are doing something different with their upcoming National Geographic Channel series, “Breakthrough.” But the longtime producing partners say that might be exactly what the TV industry needs. In the era of “too much TV,” Grazer argues that people taking risks is what will help the industry survive. “People just have to make quality programs,” he said in an interview with TheWrap. “Taking chances usually will produce some trend creation that is really valuable to our business.” Howard added that because “Breakthrough” has the potential to stand out. Also Read: Jason Bateman, Adrien Brody Narrate Nat Geo's.

“Baffling.” “Crunk.” “Taking chances.” “Butt booty naked.” “Shrinky dink.” “Bear running through the woods.”

These are just a few of the unexpected words and phrases spicing up the conversation on this week’s installment of Reality Check — where my co-host Melinda Doolittle and I dish the crazy, back-to-back Top 12 and Top 11 performance nights on Season 14 of American Idol. (Sorry, Sarina-Joi Crowe’s elimination left us too devastated to dig into The Voice this time around.)

RelatedCancellation Anxiety: 9 Shows You Should Probably Start Worrying About

What it all comes down to, my friends (yes, that was a sly Alanis reference), is...

Five years after transitioning from producer to director with the HBO veteran drama, Taking Chances, Ross Katz returns to the director’s chair with a comedy about going home. Nick Kroll plays a young entrepreneur whose product launch has flamed out, who has burned through his investors’ dough, and who has lost his girlfriend. He returns home to work as a nanny for his sister’s young child in what is described as a movie about beginning again. Adult Beginners world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, September 8. Filmmaker: After having written and produced your directorial debut, you’re […]...

Five years after transitioning from producer to director with the HBO veteran drama, Taking Chances, Ross Katz returns to the director’s chair with a comedy about going home. Nick Kroll plays a young entrepreneur whose product launch has flamed out, who has burned through his investors’ dough, and who has lost his girlfriend. He returns home to work as a nanny for his sister’s young child in what is described as a movie about beginning again. Adult Beginners world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, September 8. Filmmaker: After having written and produced your directorial debut, you’re […]...

Tonight's elimination/performances show, kicked off with a group performance from the remaining contestants. After that, host, Cat Deeley, introduced the judges. Hot actress, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, was the guest judge. Everyone danced to the music of Michael Jackson. Everyone also did a solo tonight. The contestants danced with returning all-stars again this week. Tanisha hit the dance floor, first, with a solo to the song, "Warrior." Ricky and Jaimie danced Contemporary to Smile by Michael Jackson. Zack did a solo to Gotta Get Through This. Valerie and Ryan performed a Samba to Wanna Be Starting Something. Then they revealed that Valerie was safe. Casey performed a solo to Outro. Rudy performed a solo to Warrior. Casey and Comfort performed Hip Hop by FarSide. Then they revealed that Casey landed in the bottom 2. Jacque performed a solo. Tanisha and Nick performed Contemporary to She’s Out Of My Life by Michael Jackson.

Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Paul Brannigan, Jessica Mance, Joe Szula, Lynsey Taylor Mackay | Written by Walter Campbell | Directed by Jonathan Glazer

When Jonathan Glazer last directed almost ten years ago he polarized audiences with his controversial film Birth. His latest effort will no doubt have a similar effect. Under the Skin is a Kubrikian-esque Science Fiction thriller that will fully transfix some with its eerie imagery and bore others with its cold demeanor and methodical pace. Those who argue the format of movies has become stale will find that Glazer pushes cinema forward by being willing to leave some behind.

Ambiguity may not be a strong enough word to describe the films premise. Scarlet Johansson plays an alien dressed in the skin of a woman who prowls around Glasgow seducing young hitchhikers. Her purpose is unstated, but she traps these men in this static state for the benefit of her kind.

Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Paul Brannigan, Jessica Mance, Joe Szula, Lynsey Taylor Mackay | Written by Walter Campbell | Directed by Jonathan Glazer

When Jonathan Glazer last directed almost ten years ago he polarized audiences with his controversial film Birth. His latest effort will no doubt have a similar effect. Under the Skin is a Kubrikian-esque Science Fiction thriller that will fully transfix some with its eerie imagery and bore others with its cold demeanor and methodical pace. Those who argue the format of movies has become stale will find that Glazer pushes cinema forward by being willing to leave some behind.

Ambiguity may not be a strong enough word to describe the films premise. Scarlet Johansson plays an alien dressed in the skin of a woman who prowls around Edinburgh Glasgow, Scotland seducing young hitchhikers. Her purpose is unstated, but she traps these men in this static state for the benefit of her kind.

Since her first English-language album almost a quarter century ago, Celine Dion has become one of the biggest selling artists of all time, with over 200 million records sold, five Grammys, and a Vegas show that is legendary.

This weekend is her 46th birthday, so let’s count down her finest moments. What are her best chest-pounding, sky-pointing songs?

20. All By Myself

Year – 1996

Album – Falling Into You

Hot 100 – #4

Celine took Eric Carmen‘s pity party and turns it on its ear. When she bellows “Don’t want to be all by myself … anymore!,” it’s not a plea, it’s a command, dammit.

19. Love Can Move Mountains

Year – 1992

Album – Celine Dion

Hot 100 – #36

Gospel-infused, it won the Juno Award for Best Dance Recording in 1993, and has been a part of every Celine tour since it was recorded.

18. Only One Road

Year – 1994

Album – The Colour Of My Love

Hot 100 – #93

The fifth single from The Colour Of My Love,...

Celine Dion's "Loved Me Back to Life" and Avril Lavigne's self-titled album arrive in top five.

Eminem makes a splash at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as his new album The Marshall Mathers LP 2 debuts atop the list with 792,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It marks the second-largest sales week of the year, behind only the arrival of Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience, which started with 968,000 in March. The year's second-largest week had been the debut of Drake's Nothing Was the Same (658,000).

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 also logs the sixth-biggest sales week of the past five years. Since November 2008, larger weeks were only earned by Taylor Swift's Red (2012, 1.2 million upon its debut), Lady Gaga's Born This Way (2011, 1.1 million debut), Swift's Speak Now (2010, 1 million debut), Timberlake and Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV (2011, 964,000 debut).

LP2 marks Eminem's seventh No. 1 album. It’s also his seventh consecutive album, and they all debuted at the top.

Celine Dion will perform her new single on The X Factor.

The superstar - who previously appeared on the show back in 2007 - will tape a special performance next week.

She will record the performance on Friday, November 8 ahead of transmission on the results show on Sunday, November 10.

Dion is currently preparing to release her latest English language LP Loved Me Back To Life, which will serve as the follow-up to Taking Chances.

The diva's new album features collaborations with Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder, as well as her recently-unveiled song 'Somebody Loves Somebody' and title track 'Loved Me Back To Life'.

The collection will be released in the Us on November 5 and a week later in the UK on November 11.

Listen to Celine Dion and Ne-Yo's collaboration 'Incredible' below:...

Romance is difficult. Capturing the uniqueness of your generation’s experiences in a movie is even harder, especially given all the easy clichés of modern romantic comedies.

Actor Justin Long has become, intentionally or not, somewhat of an expert in the genre with roles in Going the Distance and He’s Just Not That Into You. For his latest film, A Case of You, he decided to take the pains of a recent breakup and write one of his own, alongside his brother Christian and friend Kier O’Donnell (who plays his roommate Eliot in the film). The movie, which...

I laughed. I cried. I seriously contemplated setting my television on fire.

Yep, it’s just another Wednesday night watching The X Factor, the show where every audience reaction shot looks like it’s coming from a wannabe actor feigning enjoyment rather than an actual human who’s digging the music. And yes, now that you ask, I was trying to bury that bit about being moved to tears under a blanket of bitchery.

What can I say? The story about Carlos Guevara — the kid with Tourette’s whose genuine talent trumped his backstory — gave me a case of the weepies.

Pay no attention to the man alongside the curtain!

Yes, folks, this week on American Idol, Jimmy Iovine surrendered his “mentoring” role and pre-performance “advisory” sessions and instead put on his Justin Bieber Bigboy Collection (Tm) cap to bark like a snake-oil salesman and rally a nation of speed-dialers behind Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb after their Round 1 “Songs From the Year They Were Born” numbers.

Did Jimmy possibly pre-tape his commentary before the live Top 5 telecast? It sure felt that way, considering his effusiveness about Amber’s moderately successful stab at Mariah Carey and Angie’s vocally dubious Pretenders...

It was the final day of Hollywood Week and there were 47 women angling for a spot in the top 20. In order to move from Hollywood to Las Vegas, the women had to sing for their lives (or at least for that part of their lives they wanted to spend on reality television). Contestants were given the choice of singing a song from a list of Idol-approved numbers or performing a royalty-free original song. Opting for the latter was 18-year-old Angela Miller, who easily earned herself a spot in the...

Hollywood week continued, giving us all the highs and lows we’ve come to expect this season of ‘American Idol’. But you might be surprised to learn which singers were sent home!

Now that Hollywood week has (finally) come to an end, will we be seeing the first signs of a potential female winner on American Idol after a six year absence? The way they’re framing the season so far, it looks like they’re hoping for that to happen!

As the Feb. 14 episode began, we were greeted with a video reminding us that a girl hasn’t won the show in six years. Even though Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban basically forced down our throats that this has been the best set of girls ever on the show, I’d like to see what they’d say if Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood walked in the room!

Now to the performances…...

Thirty-nine talented young singers stand on the precipice of superstardom. And so does one kinda crazy chick who has only one drum stick (musical, not chicken) as well as the potential to turn American Idol bandleader Ray Chew’s job into the kind of situation that might pique renewed interest in a revival of Discovery Channel’s recently departed Dirty Jobs.

Yes indeed, tonight’s final installment of Season 12 Hollywood Week put the women through their final paces, narrowed their numbers to a lean 20, and — if the “we need a girl to win this year, Please!” intro is to be...

Kara DioGuardi has sold her Studio City French Chateau, toofab exclusively reports.The former "American Idol" judge originally put the 5 bedroom, 6.5 bathroom house on the market back in 2011 for $10 million, but sold it on December 28, 2012 for $6.3 million.Kara still sold it at a profit; she bought the home in 2007 for $3.5 million.The gorgeous home possesses the architectural elements from the original 1923 construction, with lots of modern touches added. Just look at the amazing kitchen, which boasts Calcutta gold marble counter-tops, a large island and Ann Sachs tiling. The outdoors are just as lovely -- pastoral greens and a 50-foot long infinity pool. See the amazing photos below:If you're wondering how a singing competition judge could afford such a nice property, many people forget Kara is an award-winning songwriter who has written hits for the likes of Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion.As a bonus, check out Kara singing Celine's hit "Taking Chances,...

Clybourne Park Walter Kerr Theatre, NY

Writing a prequel/sequel to Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun sounds like a chancy and potentially gimmicky proposition, bordering on infringing upon the merits of another author, but playwright Bruce Norris has cleared the inherent hurdles and written a masterpiece with Clybourne Park. Making its Broadway début at the Walter Kerr with a cast and production that do it every bit of justice, this is easily one of the greatest original plays to hit New York City in the last decade.

Writing no heroes and few clear-cut villains, Norris has created one of the most honest and galvanizing plays about the current state of racial tension. Unlike so many others, he does not look to shock with epithets and extreme versions of racism to lend weight to his words, but rather works subtly, even-handedly distributing comedy and drama, using each to...

Taking Chances with her wardrobe proved not to be the best bet for Celine Dion. The superstar singer gave fans a little more than they bargained for when she took the stage in a short dress…and accidentally flashed them during her performance at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Jamaica Friday night, E! News has learned exclusively. "The short gold dress was Balmain....was that short enough?" Dion said with a laugh when "The Trend," a fashion series on Zappos Couture, asked Celine about her fashion choices. "Because normally when people are level the length is fine. But people were like this (looks up).... So it was like I didn't think of the people...

Comes a Bright Day

"With another twelve world premieres and three international premieres, Generation’s feature-length film program is now complete," the Berlinale's announced today. "A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions." Straight from the release, then, with descriptions from the festival:

Generation 14plus

Comes a Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere. Site.

Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others.

The Berlin International Film Festival's Generation program, featuring films selected for kids and young adults, turns 35 this year. Today, the Berlinale's announced the first round of 14 titles to screen in the two strands of the program. Straight from the release:

Generation Kplus:

Kauwboy (Netherlands, by Boudewijn Koole) – A young jackdaw falls out of its nest straight into Jojo’s hands. The 10-year-old feels great empathy for the baby bird, which has no mother and is looking for a loving father just as he is. World premiere

Die Kinder vom Napf (The Children from the Napf, Switzerland, by Alice Schmid; documentary) – They take an aerial cable car to school and when class is out they work in the fields. The cycle of the four seasons, a wolf in the woods and 50 mountain farm children in the “Wild West” of Lucerne Canton. International premiere

Lotte ja kuukivi saladus (Lotte and the Moonstone Secret,...

Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle has revealed that she is working on Celine Dion's comeback project. The singer has claimed that the Canadian icon's people approached her to work on the album, which will be Dion's first since 2007's Taking Chances. Coyle told The Sun: "I'm working on a Celine Dion project - her comeback. Her people contacted my people and now I'm doing that. "And I wrote another song for my album with a great producer and he contacted me saying Aretha Franklin wanted to try my song." She added: "It's (more)...

Chicago – I fall a bit more in love with “Raising Hope” every week. I went as far as to suggest that the series deserved Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Martha Plimpton), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Garrett Dillahunt) — one out of three came true as Plimpton actually made a run at the trophy. This show just kept getting better as the first season progressed. Check it out now on DVD and see what the growing buzz is about.

DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

He starts the first season a bit unsure of his place on the show but Lucas Neff eventually becomes an engaging and likable lead as Jimmy Chance, essentially a straight man surrounded by the quirkier characters at his home and in his personal life. Said characters include his parents — Virginia (Martha Plimpton) and Burt Chance (Garrett Dillahunt) — wacky grandmother (Cloris Leachman...

Scotty McCreery also goes uptempo as James Durbin slows things all the way down.

By Gil Kaufman

"American Idol" top 9

Photo: Fox

There are plenty of ways that "American Idol" is mixing things up and dragging the highest-rated show into the present this season. But after taking a bedazzled trip to the 1970s last week with Elton John, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame theme on Wednesday night's (April 6) performance episode was yet another example of why "Idol" is your granny's favorite show.

The search for today's new star made yet another pit stop in the past, inviting the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am in to mentor the top nine as they dug into rock's back pages. Some balladeers rocked it out (Pia Toscano, Paul McDonald), while the rockers got mellow (James Durbin, Casey Abrams) and Scotty McCreery proved he's no one-trick cowboy.

Jacob Lusk was up...

The films Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, a documentary by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn, along with This Movie Is Broken, a feature film directed by Bruce McDonald, received a nomination at the Junos (Canada's Grammy Awards) for the Best Music DVD of the Year.

Other nominees include:

* The Lost Tapes, a music DVD by Ferry Corsten.

* The Virtual Haydn.

* Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, a documentary about Céline Dion's 2008-2009 Taking Chances world tour.

Below are the trailers of Rush: Beyond Lighted Stage and This Movie Is Broken.

Another week, another list of DVDs and Blu-rays out to buy from today. It’s a mixed bag this week, with killer sharks, elevator accidents, blackploitation, scary homes and plenty of arse-kicking!

Black Dynamite (DVD)

When “The Man” murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages, and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to fight all the way from the blood-soaked city streets to the hallowed halls of the Honky House. Michael Jai White stars as Black Dynamite, a gun-toting, nunchuck-wielding, ladies man and soul brother.

Circle Of Pain (DVD)

After a fight that went tragically wrong, Mma champion Dalton Hunt (former world karate champion Tony Schiena) retired from the ring vowing never to return. But when a ruthless promoter discovers there s one fight left on his contract, a clash is set up with The Brick, the fearsome new and undefeated title holder.

Tune-in alert for Canada's .Heartland., a top-rated family drama. The next episode will air this weekend (October 9 or 10) locally. Click here to find local listing/marketing information: http://www.theheartlandranch.com/watch-by-location.html Ep. 104 . Taking Chances While Amy and Lou empty their mother.s room, they find a letter dated seven years earlier from their father. A new guy, Ben, is sent to Heartland by his Aunt and nobody likes him, especially Ty. Amy gets knocked off her horse while trying to take Ben.s horse across river. Ty is offered a job at Briar Ridge even after Amy accidentally tells Ashley that Ty is on probation. When Amy hears that Ty might take the job, she snaps at him. The...

If you’ve listened to the HeyUGuys Mouth Off podcasts about nostalgia this week (here and here), or indeed followed the news of endless remakes and franchises in development over the last year, you know the eighties are very current right now. Periods always come back in vogue, and we look back fondly at the great times we remember. This is very much the influence behind Hot Tub Time Machine, the new comedy from director Steve Pink. John Cusack is Adam, who has recently been dumped by his girlfriend. Rob Corddry is Lou, a party guy who can no longer find a party. Craig Robinson plays henpecked Nick, a man at the beck and call of his wife. Clark Duke is Adam’s nephew Jacob, a video game obsessed geek, who spends his life in the basement. All four men have had nothing but bad luck, and when the opportunity...

The feature debut from director Talmage Cooley - who by all accounts garnered great acclaim with an engaging documentary short about blind teenagers in a Buffalo ghetto - this terribly incoherent genre splicer is as badly thought out an idea as you will ever see on screen if you live to be a thousand. Purportedly a romantic comedy with a social message, it's painfully unfunny, incredibly patronizing, borderline misogynistic, and after boring you into a coma for the better part of two hours, gives up on its numerous flailing plot strands and freely admits via a final reel voiceover to not really being about anything at all.

Set in some random, economically depressed, Midwestern berg named Patriotville, geeky twenty-something Chase diligently curates the town's one-room historical museum, commemorating it as the site of some forgotten Civil War skirmish. Mostly this serves simply as an excuse to have him bike about...

Tom Hanks is back as the almighty all-knowing symbologist Robert Langdon this week as Ron Howard's Angels & Demons hits DVD and Blu-ray, along with Judd Apatow's underperforming Funny People and the Robert Rodriguez family adventure flick Shorts. Also this week, Criterion releases the acclaimed mafia film Gomorrah, Uwe Boll's Far Cry video game adaptation goes direct to DVD, and Spike Lee's Kobe Bryant doc Kobe: Doin' Work finally hits stores. On Blu-ray we have Fred Dekker's The Monster Squad, Jackie Chan's New Police Story, and the first season of The Sopranos. What will you be renting or buying this week? Angels & Demons [1] (DVD, Blu-ray [2]) Four Christmases [3] (DVD, Blu-ray [4]) Funny People [5] (DVD, Blu-ray [6]) Shorts [7] (DVD, Blu-ray [8]) Gomorrah: Criterion Collection [9] (DVD, Blu-ray [10]) The Golden Age of Television: Criterion Collection [11] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [12] Far Cry [13] Three Monkeys [14] Santa Buddies [15] (DVD, Blu-ray [16]) Taking Chances [17] National...

Glee (TV) fans now have something else to be gleeful about: not only is the show going great and already picked up for a full season, but Glee: The Music, Volume 1 is out now, and in 17 songs spread across a full hour it captures everything that's fun and offbeat and daring about the hit Fox ensemble show that follows the highs, lows, loves, and trials and tribulations of a high school glee club (and those affected by it, including faculty members, the cheerleading squad, and the football team). On the show, the pop hits and show tunes are usually employed to express a particular character's feelings -- or those of the group collectively -- at a given moment, but the numbers also, for the most part, hold up on their own, separate from the series. Fans know that the songs are as ecclectic as the characters. Other than a...

The following is a series of interviews with directors whose films screened at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival, which took place this past week. A Total Artwork: “Asylum Seekers” Director Rania Ajami Owning His Film: “Easier with Practice” Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez A Good Crisis: “Daylight” Director David Barker Tackling Corruption, Greed and Love: “Patriotville” Director Talmage Cooley The Right Script: “Mercy” Director Patrick Hoelck Blaxploitation Meets Art-House: “Modus Operandi” Director …...

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of interviews with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. “Patriotville” (USA, 2008) Director: Talmage Cooley Cast: Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Corddry, Keir O’Donnell, Missi Pyle An idealistic museum manager and a beautiful troublemaker go to war with a corrupt mayor to stop a casino from being built on their town’s “historic” battlefield. What initially attracted you to …...

Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of interviews with directors whose films are screening at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. “Patriotville” (USA, 2008) Director: Talmage Cooley Cast: Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Rob Corddry, Keir O’Donnell, Missi Pyle An idealistic museum manager and a beautiful troublemaker go to war with a corrupt mayor to stop a casino from being built on their town’s “historic” battlefield. What initially attracted you to …...

Hue Rhodes' "Saint John of Las Vegas" will have its world premiere as the opening-night film at the 11th annual CineVegas Film Festival, which will be held June 10-15 at the Palms Casino Resort and Brenden Theatres in Las Vegas. The film stars Steve Buscemi as an ex-gambler-turned-fraud investigator who returns to Vegas to investigate an insurance claim.

"Saint John" also stars Sarah Silverman, Romany Malco, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho and Emmanuelle Chriqui.

Eight other films will have their world premieres at the fest, overseen by artistic director Trevor Groth.

Slated in the narrative competition, they are Rania Ajami's "Asylum Seekers," a story of six people trying to escape modern life; David Barker's "Daylight," about a pregnant woman caught in a life-or-death situation; Kyle Patrick Alvarez's "Easier With Practice," based on the true story of a writer's long-distance relationship with a mysterious woman; Jeff Mizushima's "Etienne!

Scott Glasgow, who is best known for his dark orchestral scores for films such as Chasing Ghosts, Hack! and Bone Dry, is currently writing the music for a comedy entitled Patriotville. Film stars Justin Long, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Rob Corddry and is directed by Talmage Cooley, an award-winning director who is making his first feature film with Patriotville. The story depicts life in a small town where local forces rise to protect its history against an Indian casino opening over the town's historic battlefield. Scott Glasgow recently scored Lo and is also doing the music for The Bridge to Nowhere starring Ving Rhames and Bijou Phillips.

Missi Pyle, who is guest starring on the first episode of Wedding Bells, David E. Kelley's upcoming series for Fox, has joined the cast of the show as a regular.

Meanwhile, Henry Simmons, who has recurred on CBS' Shark since the series' second episode, has been upped to a regular. Also promoted to a regular status is Alicia Coppola, who has recurred on another freshman CBS drama, Jericho.

Bells, from David E. Kelley Prods. and 20th Century Fox TV, revolves around three sisters (Teri Polo, KaDee Strickland, Sarah Jones) running a family wedding-planning business. In the first episode, Pyle guest stars as a high-maintenance bride client, a character that is featured prominently in the on-air promos for the show. After her wedding, the former bridezilla will go on to become a board member of the company.

Pyle guest starred on Kelley's legal drama for ABC Boston Legal in November, which led to her guest stint on Bells. She also recently did a two-episode arc on NBC's Heroes.

On the feature side, she is filming Harold & Kumar 2 and next will be seen in Feast of Love, Spring Breakdown and Patriotville.

Pyle is repped by UTA, McKeon-Myones and attorney Neil Meyer.