Entertaining Posts: 05/16/11

Monday, May 16, 2011

'Survivor' finale wins big for U.S. network CBS

By Philiana Ng

Mon May 16, 2011 5:18pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The finale and reunion show of reality staple "Survivor: Redemption Island" paid off for U.S. network CBS on Sunday, just as upfront presentations begin in New York this week.

The season ender, which crowned "Boston" Rob Mariano sole survivor (and fan favorite), averaged 12.5 million total viewers from 8 to 11 p.m. and drew a 3.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to preliminary numbers. (For the actual two-hour finale, "Survivor" averaged 13.1 million and a 4.0 rating.)

Though "Survivor" easily topped the night in both categories, the 22nd season finale was down slightly compared to the previous season, set in Nicaragua (13.6 million, 4.1). With the help of "60 Minutes" (12 million, 1.7), which led off at 7 p.m., CBS was the Sunday victor by a comfortable margin.

ABC's primetime soap "Desperate Housewives" (10 million, 3.0) sank more than 2.5 million viewers for its supersized Season 7 finale compared to last season, when it drew 12.8 million and a 4.0 in the key demo. In season, "Housewives" did improve slightly from the previous week in the demo. "Housewives" still proved fruitful as it continues to age; the drama was the night's highest-rated scripted primetime telecast.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8.5 million, 2.1) and "America's Funniest Home Videos" (7.3 million, 1.8), up 7 percent, led off the night.

NBC ranked third on the night in viewers and the demo, with the penultimate episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" (6.6 million, 2.4) remaining steady. There had been speculation that Donald Trump would announce a run for presidency but the mogul told ad buyers at NBC's upfront presentation on Monday, to the audience cheering: "I will not be running for president as much as I'd like to."

Fox's animation block was steady for the most part, with rookie "Bob's Burger" (4.7 million, 2.2) jumping the most (10 percent). "American Dad" (3.9 million, 1.7) and "The Cleveland Show's" Comic-Con finale (4.9 million, 2.3) rose slightly. "Family Guy" (6.5 million, 3.3) and "The Simpsons" (6 million, 2.5) were flat.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

Angelina Jolie Bosnia movie gets Dec. release

LOS ANGELES | Mon May 16, 2011 5:33pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Angelina Jolie's directorial debut -- a controversial movie set in wartime Bosnia -- has a name and a release date.

"In the Land of Blood and Honey" will be released in the United States on December 23, producers said in a statement on Monday, just in time for Oscar consideration.

"The film is specific to the Bosnian War, but it's also universal," Jolie said in a statement. "I wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war."

Jolie, who also wrote the screenplay, last year described the then untitled movie as a love story between a Serbian man and a Bosnian woman on the eve of the 1992-95 Balkans conflict, in which 100,000 people died.

But it caused controversy in Bosnia with some female victims of sexual violence objecting to details in the plot and Bosnian authorities canceling a filming permit. As a result, some scenes scheduled to be shot in Sarajevo were moved to Budapest, Hungary.

Jolie, who won a supporting actress Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted", and who is a United Nations goodwill ambassador, has asked the people of Bosnia to withhold judgment until they see the completed film.

"In the Land of Blood and Honey" features a local cast, and was shot in both the English and Serbo-Croat languages.

Producers Graham King and Tim Headington on Monday called it a "bold new film (which) illustrates the consequences of the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

Lady Gaga to perform on Letterman in album media blitz

LOS ANGELES | Mon May 16, 2011 4:39pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lady Gaga will perform on "The Late Show with David Letterman" next week on the day her much-awaited new album "Born This Way" is released, broadcaster CBS said on Monday.

The Grammy-winning New York singer and performance artist will also chat with Letterman on May 23, as part of a huge promotional effort behind the new release.

The title track "Born This Way" became the fastest selling single in iTunes history, selling one million copies in five days, when it was released in February.

Gaga, 25, is conducting a media blitz for the new album, her first since "The Fame Monster" in 2009.

"Hair" -- the fourth single from the new album -- is to be released later on Monday, following her other singles "Judas" and "The Edge of Glory" which have already been released.

Gaga performed briefly on the sidelines of the Cannes film festival last week, was the guest editor on Monday of the London-based global free newspaper Metro, and has teamed up with popular online social game Farmville to stream select songs six days ahead of the May 23 public release of "Born This Way."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

Terrence Malick's long-awaited return splits Cannes

By Mike Collett-White and Nick Vinocur

CANNES | Mon May 16, 2011 3:03pm EDT

CANNES (Reuters) - The long wait for U.S. director Terrence Malick's return to the screen ended Monday with a mix of loud applause and jeers, as his drama "The Tree of Life" appeared to split critics at the Cannes film festival.

The drama starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn tells the story of a southern U.S. family in the 1950s against a backdrop of majestic cinematography, a sweeping musical score, scenery both pastoral and otherworldly, and huge star power.

At the end of the movie, in competition for a Palme d'Or prize for best picture and widely considered the most highly anticipated film to be presented at Cannes in years, a blend of loud applause and equally passionate jeers could be heard.

But there were no doubters among Cannes' fans, who shrieked with delight when Pitt, flanked by wife Angelina Jolie and Sean Penn, walked up the famous red-carpeted staircase to the main festival venue wearing a tuxedo and sunglasses.

And while early reviews of "The Tree of Life" have been mixed, its all-star Hollywood cast has injected a powerful dose of buzz to the Riviera festival after a glum 2010 show.

Much discussed was the absence of Terrence Malick himself on the red-carpet or the traditional post-screening news conference, which cast and friends attributed to shyness.

"He is shy, he's just very shy," said French director Luc Besson. "He's not far from here."

"MAGNIFICENT" vs "PRETENTIOUS"

Pitt plays a stern father of three boys in a proper middle class town who is intent on drilling discipline and toughness into his sons -- even as his faith in the material world erodes and he loses his factory job.

"The father is the provider and in the film here you see that the American dream, as we grew up to understand it, is not working," said Pitt, who also produced the movie, at a news conference after the screening.

At a festival that places the limelight firmly on directors, Malick's absence drew many questions.

"He wants to focus on the making of and not the selling of the real estate," Pitt said of Malick. "It is an odd thing for an artist to sculpt something and then be a salesman."

In Malick's film, characters are placed on an equal plane with the natural world as the camera dwells at length on elemental scenes like yawning canyons, erupting volcanoes, explosions on the surface of the sun and primordial forests inhabited by tranquil dinosaurs.

While some critics were taken in -- Peter Bradshaw at the Britain's Guardian daily called it "magnificent," while Variety's Justin Chang said it was "extraordinary" -- others were put off, branding it "pretentious" or "self-absorbed."

"MYTHICAL STATUS"

Malick, who has only made five feature films, famously took 20 years between making his second picture "Days of Heaven" in 1978 and third "The Thin Red Line" in 1998, which won him Oscar nominations for writing and directing.

Secrecy surrounding "The Tree of Life," and Malick's aversion to publicity have given it an almost mythical status among cinephiles, with trailers giving little away.

A version of the film was reportedly withdrawn at the last minute from Cannes, despite being ready, for further editing.

"I wouldn't say there is a huge difference between where we were then and where we are now," said producer Bill Pohlad. "There was no radical change, more a process of refinement."

"The Tree of Life" has an atypical structure, reaching back to the age of dinosaurs in a long opening sequence without dialogue, before jumping into the future to introduce Sean Penn as a grown-up version of Pitt's son.

"The structure is unlike anything you've seen before, it's quite complex," said Pitt. "This film is not going to take the normal gestation period."

Some industry insiders who know the 67-year-old Malick said he had been mulling over the ideas in the movie for nearly 40 years, since the start of his directorial career in 1973 with the release of the acclaimed crime drama "Badlands."

"Terry had been collecting footage for decades, since 'Badlands'," Jack Fisk, the director's longtime production designer and collaborator, told the LA Times. "Things like eclipses and other natural wonders, just for this film."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Lady Gaga swaps music for media, edits Metro paper

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Mon May 16, 2011 7:35am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Flamboyant pop star Lady Gaga ditched the music and switched to the media on Monday with a stint as a guest editor at the London headquarters of the global free newspaper network Metro.

Widely regarded as the world's biggest pop star, the 25-year-old New Yorker has also been busy promoting her second full-length studio album "Born This Way" which is available in stores from May 23.

Gaga arrived at Metro's offices wearing pink hair in a beehive style, black high heels, fishnet stockings and a black brassiere-like top.

"I'm sorry if my business attire is a little different" she joked as she shook hands with staff.

Gaga took charge of the morning editorial meeting, offering her opinion on a range of topics from bullying to the Japan earthquake to who her heroes are.

She immediately set out her vision for the paper in her role as guest editor for the day, touching on themes she has already mentioned as part of her mission as an entertainer.

"I feel so privileged I get to make music every day," she told staff. "If you have revolutionary potential you have a moral obligation to make the world a better place."

Her new record is the follow-up to her 2008 debut album "The Fame," which went on to sell more than 12 million copies and topped the charts. An extended play release "The Fame Monster" came out the following year.

Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, has a huge and famously devoted fanbase around the world whom she calls her "little monsters."

In turn she refers to herself as "Mother Monster" whose every public appearance is a piece of performance art and outlandish fashion statement rolled into one, turning her into a cultural phenomenon as much as a musician.

"I really appreciate the opportunity and it's a wonderful chance for me to show the world that little monsters are not just a fan thing, but exist outside the music world altogether," Gaga said of her editing activities at Metro.

Gaga's more notorious outfits to date have included a raw meat dress she wore to the MTV Video Music Awards last year and her arrival at the Grammy Awards in February encased in a giant egg.

"I'm half living my life between reality and fantasy at all times," the "Just Dance" and "Poker Face" singer recently told the Guardian newspaper. "It's best not to ask questions and just enjoy."

It is not all just about enjoyment, however, and music writers and commentators who have interviewed the singer note a messianic dimension to her ambition which appears to go beyond merely selling records.

Her own online biography concludes: "And, now, I'm just trying to change the world one sequin at a time," albeit with "a wink in her eye."

It is not all plain sailing for the multi-Grammy Award winner, however.

The huge impact of The Fame means the pressure is on for Born This Way to match that commercial and critical success.

Religious groups accuse her of blasphemy, there was dissent in the ranks of her legions of fans over the cover art to Born This Way and she has reacted angrily to suggestions that the first single from the new record was copied from Madonna's 1989 hit "Express Yourself."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Eurovision head says global contest a "challenge"

By Erik Kirschbaum

DUESSELDORF, Germany | Mon May 16, 2011 6:48am EDT

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - The Eurovision Song Contest has become so popular around the globe that there may be scope one day for a Worldvision Song Contest, executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand told Reuters.

The Norwegian director of the 56-year-old contest, watched this year from Germany by more than 125 million people in 55 countries around the world, said Eurovision manages to bring Europe together in a way similar to the Euro soccer tournament.

"This is the one moment that all of Europe shares -- across Europe, people watch and enjoy the same exact TV program," Sand said in Duesseldorf, where Azerbaijan won this year's contest early on Sunday morning. "It's a special moment."

He said the Euro soccer tournament also manages to unite Europe in front of their television sets but is held only once every four years -- making it less of a logistical challenge for broadcasters and organizers than running an annual competition.

There is also a World Cup soccer tournament every four years and the question was raised in Duesseldorf: what about holding a "Worldvision Song Contest?"

"Sure there's a World Cup," Sand said when asked about that in his temporary office in the Duesseldorf arena, a soccer stadium that was temporarily turned into a giant indoor TV studio. "A 'Worldvision Song Contest' would be great if we could do it. But it's not in the immediate plans.

"It's a huge logistics operation and you only have one year to prepare it," added Sand, who was appointed to run the European Broadcasting Union's contest in January.

"If we think out of the box I'm sure we could be able to put up something like that. But that's quite a challenge."

Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut, who won last year's Eurovision Song Contest held in Oslo and came 10th in this year's contest watched by a record live audience of 36,000, floated the idea of a Worldvision contest at a news conference on Friday.

"Maybe the rest of the world can watch it and do something like we do, can do a 'Worldvision'," the 19-year-old high school student said in a passing remark at the end of her news conference. "All countries just having fun."

EUROVISION UNITES CONTINENT

Sand, the executive producer, said this year's Eurovision Song Contest gave Europe a brief and badly needed break from its crisis over debt and deteriorating solidarity.

This year's light-hearted competition featured artists from 43 nations in a good-natured battle for points might not have been a barometer for high culture or good taste.

But he said the contest, won by Azeri duo Ell/Nikki singing a love song in English written by a Swedish composer, might be just the tonic Europe needs at a time when a sovereign debt crisis threatens to undo decades of post-war integration.

"This shows that we can stick together -- at least for entertainment and music," Sand added. "Europe will stay together and be united even though it's in difficult times right now. This is definitely something that shows that Europe is united."

Although the Eurovision Song Contest might be derided as a campish monument to mediocrity and kitsch in some countries, it is for others an eagerly awaited celebration of Europe's diverse cultures and languages.

Part of the contest's charm is its unpredictability. Any nation can win. It levels the playing field, with small nations like Azerbaijan having the same voting clout and chance to win as Germany or the United Kingdom, the home of some of the greatest pop acts in musical history.

Indeed both Greece and Ireland -- small and highly indebted nations at the heart of the euro zone crisis that has battered the bloc's common currency and confidence -- finished ahead of euro zone paymaster Germany and economic powerhouse France in voting by TV viewers and national juries in all 43 countries.

It did not go unnoticed that Germany awarded some of its top scores to Greece (10 points) and Ireland (8 points) even though its public and media has complained about and resisted European efforts to prop up the finances of the two struggling nations.

That a syrupy love song about a love-struck couple performed by an Azeri duo captured the imagination -- and 221 points -- from voters across Europe could also reflect a revival, if only temporary, of solidarity on the shaken continent.

"We want to bring Europe together with our song," Azeri singer Eldar Gasimov said when asked if there was a message from Europe in their win. He said they will make French, Spanish and German versions of their winning song "Running scared."

The extravaganza, conceived by the European Broadcasting Union in 1956, was beamed to nations from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caspian Sea as well as to countries around the world that were not even competing such as Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States.

It has been a launching pad for Swedish pop group Abba, who won in 1974 with "Waterloo," and Celine Dion, who took top honors in 1988 for Switzerland.