Entertaining Posts: 07/13/11

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Three "Glee" stars to "graduate" from TV show

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:58pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three of the biggest stars on hit musical TV comedy "Glee" will "graduate" high school next year and won't be back on the show for a fourth season in 2012, the show's creator said on Wednesday.

In an interview with showbusiness website The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Murphy said that Lea Michele (Rachel), Chris Colfer (Kurt) and Cory Monteith (Finn) "are not going to be back at all for Season 4."

Murphy said the decision had been taken in order to keep the dark comedy, which features a group of misfits in a struggling high school choir, more credible.

"You can keep them on the show for six years and people will criticize you for not being realistic, or you can be really true to life and say when they started the show they were very clearly sophomores and they should graduate at the end of their senior year," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

Broadcaster Fox could not immediately be reached for comment.

Murphy suggested that other characters would also be leaving the show when season three comes to an end in May 2012. He said that planning for life after high school will be a major theme of the upcoming third season of the Emmy-award winning show, which starts on September 20.

Colfer, 21, who plays a bullied gay teen on the Fox show, has won Emmy and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance.

Both Colfer and the "Glee" series are expected to feature strongly in nominations to be announced on Thursday for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards -- the highest honors in the television industry.

"Glee" has become a pop culture phenomenon since its debut in 2009, propelling its young stars to red carpet fame, producing several hit albums of songs used in the show and spawning two nationwide concert tours by cast members.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

"Harry Potter" seeks box office magic one last time

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:29pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British boy wizard Harry Potter makes his final return to theaters this week and may bring enough box office magic to score the biggest opening weekend ever for the hugely successful series.

Box office estimates for opening weekend ticket sales of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" in the United States and Canada range from $125 million to $150 million, industry watchers said, putting it in league with the highest-grossing film debuts ever.

The record for best weekend opening belongs to 2008 Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," which collected $158.4 million in its initial three-days.

"Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" is the eighth and final film in the franchise. The Warner Bros. films have generated $6.4 billion in ticket sales since the first movie a decade ago, plus billions more from DVDs and merchandise.

Loyal fans eager to say farewell are expected to drive big numbers for the last installment, industry experts said.

"Harry Potter is remarkably consistent, hitting blockbuster levels each time out. This will be the culmination of everything, this long, nearly 10-year investment," said Brandon Gray, president of industry tracker boxofficemojo.com.

Initial ticket sales will "likely be the highest grossing opening weekend of the series," Gray said.

People with no prior interest in "Harry Potter" will go to the finale "simply because it is the end of an era," said Paul Dergarabedian, who heads up Hollywood.com Box Office. The film's marketing slogan -- "It All Ends" -- stresses that point.

The final film is the first "Harry Potter" offered in 3D, which should help boost sales totals with its premium price. The movie also will be shown on large format IMAX screens.

"Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" opens in some countries on Wednesday and in the key British and U.S. markets on Friday.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, touted the movie's pent-up demand even before the film opened. Advance ticket sales reached more than $32 million, a pre-opening record, with many midnight and first-day show times sold out, the company said.

"Deathly Hallows - Part 1" racked up big sales of $125 million domestically on its opening weekend last November, showing the story still appeals widely after a decade. The new film should beat that total, Dergarabedian said.

The final film "has so much going for it. There's a mystique. There's a fervor," he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Ted Danson joins "CSI" after Fishburne exit

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:39pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Cheers" star Ted Danson is joining TV forensic drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", replacing departing star Laurence Fishburne, broadcaster CBS said on Wednesday.

Danson, 63, will join the hit series in September, playing the new CSI supervisor for the graveyard shift when the show returns for its 12 season.

"You can create a new character on the page, but until the perfect actor comes along and breathes life into it, it's just words," said executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. "We're very excited Ted Danson came along."

The Emmy-award winning actor, best known for his role as skirt-chasing bar owner Sam Malone on the 1980s comedy "Cheers", will also keep his role on the HBO series "Bored to Death."

Danson will replace Fishburne, who played former pathologist Dr. Raymond Langston for two years but who decided last month not to renew his contract with "CSI".

"CSI" is the most-watched television show in the world, according to CBS. It is licensed in more than 200 countries and is one of the top drama series on U.S. television.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)