FILM/ "SUPER 8" DETAILS REVEALED: The writer-director J. J. Abrams has revealed a few secrets from “Super 8,” the highly anticipated summer tentpole. According to media reports, Abrams, the co-creator of the ABC series “Lost,” would much prefer to keep quiet right up until opening night, but he and producer Steven Spielberg have seen this summer’s intensely dense release schedule and are too invested in “Super 8″ to let it get lost in the crowd. “Super 8″ takes its name from the Eastman Kodak film format that became a sensation with amateur movie-makers in the late 1960s and represented a rite of passage for several generations of aspiring directors, among them Spielberg and Abrams. The Paramount Pictures release is set in Ohio in 1979 and introduces a troupe of 6 youngsters who are using a Super 8 camera to make their own zombie movie. One fateful night, their project takes them to a lonely stretch of rural railroad tracks and, as the camera rolls, calamity strikes, a truck collides with an oncoming locomotive and a hellacious derailment fills the night with screaming metal and raining fire. Then something emerges from the wreckage, something decidedly inhuman. The 1st television teaser for the film was shown as a 30 second commerical last night on the Super Bowl and it has been ranked as one of the best film trailers shown during the game. "Super 8" opens in wide release on June 10.
: Tura Satana, who gained cult status for her role in the 1965 Russ Meyer movie "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" has died of heart failure at age 72. Satana died Friday at a hospital in Reno, Nevada. In "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" Satana played Varla, the leader of a trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers who kills a man with her bare hands. The women then set out to rob a wealthy older man who lives on a desert ranch with his two sons. Meyer has said the movie was an "absolute loser" when released but was rediscovered by the 1990s. It has since been shown at film festivals and art house cinemas. Satana's other credits include the 1963 film" Irma La Douce" and the television shows "Burke's Law" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.". Satana is shown above, at right, with her co-stars in "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!".
TV & MUSIC/ AGUILERA FUMBLES ON SUPER BOWL ANTHEM: Christina Aguilera rushed to defend herself after messing up a line while performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday. The pop singer said she got lost in the moment, and lost her place in the song. "I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through," she said in a statement. Aguilera, who sang "The Star Spangled Banner" ahead of the start of Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas, mistakenly repeated a phrase early in the song. Instead of singing "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?" (changing "hailed" to "watched" the second time around. Aguilera also performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at last year's NBA finals and was part of the halftime show during the 2000 Super Bowl. This years Super Bowl set a record, with 111 million viewers.
(SK COMMENT": Aguilera is being villified on comment boards across the country, with some even calling her "Un-American". Its no surprise to see Conservatives up in arms over this, however their very reaction mocks what the "Anthem" actually stands for).
TV & MUSIC/ "X-FACTOR" TO HAVE $5M PRIZE: FOX has confirmed details of Simon Cowell's upcoming "X Factor" television show today. According to the network, the big prize will be a $5 million Sony Music record deal. Contestants as young as 12 can compete. “I like the idea that a 12-year-old on this show can compete with an older singer and a singing group,” said Cowell in a statement. “I’ve never believed there should be a cut-off age for talent, and we are going to put our money where our mouths are with the $5 million recording contract. I’m doing this show in America because I genuinely believe we can find a superstar.” New judges will be announced "in the coming weeks," and auditions will begin March 27 in Los Angeles.
TV & MEDIA/ CONSERVATIVE PARENTS UPSET OVER COSMO: Conservative groups are up in arms again, this time over the current cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine. "Glee" star Lea Michele takes the cover and parents groups are upset at the amount of cleavage. In light of the developing protest, publisher Hearst released a statement to FOX: "We’re thrilled to feature Lea Michele on the March cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and think she looks stunning. Michele is a grown woman and Cosmopolitan is a magazine is for adults". In October, Michele and her co-stars Dianna Agron and Cory Monteith came under fire for a racy GQ cover, which the Parents Television Council criticized as "near pornographic pedophilia". Agron went on to apologize, Michele did not.
THEATRE/ "LOVE NEVER DIES" TOPS OLIVIER NOMS: "The Phantom of the Opera" sequel "Love Never Dies" lead the way with 7 nominations for London's Laurence Olivier awards. The Andrew Lloyd Webber show is up for best new musical, while its stars Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess and Summer Strallen are in line for acting prizes. The National's revival of Terence Rattigan's "After the Dance" has 6 noms, while the Donmar's "King Lear" and the musical "Legally Blonde" have 5. "Love Never Dies," which received mixed reviews when it opened in March last year, is also nominated for best lighting, set and costume design. Its nominations follow a 4 day closure in November, during which some changes were made to the show. "Love Never Dies" and "Legally Blonde" will compete against "Fela!" and "Love Story" for best new musical. The awards will be held at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on March 13. Full details on all the noms can be found on the Olivier website.
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