The ‘haunting tale’ of Terry Gilliam’s infamous project starring Johnny Depp : ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ just shows how film production can go horribly wrong even with the best preparation and crew. The 2002 documentary ‘Lost In La Mancha’ shows the wrath of nature, injuries, sabotage that made ‘The Man who Killed Don Quixote’ never to be.

Fast forward to ‘World War Z’, and it has been reported that both Ed Harris and Matthew Fox have pulled out of the movie. Fox had a scheduling conflict while Ed Harris has yet to reveal why. Sure, they can be re-cast, but with the film already set up over in Malta, finding great talent to replace these two actors in double-quick time is not going to be easy.

Are you looking forward to this Zombie thriller?

The settlement is anticipated to be one of the biggest in entertainment history, as Arnold Schwarzenegger will most likely have to split his earnings from his Hollywood movies since 1986.

However, according to the divorce papers filed in a Los Angeles court, there was no indication that Schwarzenegger nor Maria Shriver has a prenuptial agreement that would divide their wealth.

When news came out earlier this spring about Arnold’s secret affair, the painful revelation sent shock-waves through the media, as Arnie had just finished his two terms as California Governor. What if it had been made public during his term in office? Countless gossip stories shrouded the Schwarzenegger family including conspiracies on Arnie’s other potential secrets yet to be revealed.

Schwarzenegger and Shriver have 4 children, two of which are minors, aged 13 and 17. Maria Shriver is seeking joint custody of her two younger sons.

With the couple’s personal fortune estimated to be around $480 million, don’t be surprised if this divorce settlement enters the ‘hall of fame’ as the biggest settlement we’ve seen in the entertainment business.

There was much anticipation ahead of its theatrical run because of our fond memories of Ben Stiller and Diaz in ‘There’s Something About Mary’. ‘Bad Teacher’ had the characteristics and the potential to be another runaway hit for comedy, and shine a spotlight on Justin Timberlake as a leading man.

Well, now the reviews are out, and the reaction is fairly negative, it looks like this one was a misfire. Although Cameron Diaz pulls off a superbly offensive character, the story doesn’t put enough intrigue into them for the audience to get in to it. For the sake of fun, it delivers, but this could have been so much more, according to a wide range of reviews.

Check out some of the reaction to ‘Bad Teacher’ below :

Media reaction to Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher

“Though the movie drags through some dull and witless sections, Bad Teacher can be funny” – Forbes

Bad Teacher
Stars : Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake and Jason Segal
Directed by : Jake Kasdan
Opening weekend (US) : $31,603,106

The Hasbro Toy line turned super 3D action figures in Michael Bay’s last action movie of the franchise are a sweet candy for adrenaline junkies and action sci-fi fans, but what about the story?

It is inevitable that there will be some criticism for ‘Transformers Dark Of The Moon’, particularly because we have seen 2 prequels, the movies are blockbusters, and film critics always lay in to ‘commercial movies’. When have we ever seen a blockbuster movie that received general praise?

Reviews and feedback from the film industry

“While filled with a cavalcade of mind-blowing effects, ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon”’once again relies on those effects to make you forget the movie is supposed to be telling a story” – HeraldBulletin

“Too long, too dumb and too loud, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is at least an improvement on its immediate predecessor. That’s not much to get excited about, but if you’re looking for a reason to justify seeing it and millions will see it I suppose it’s something.” – Floridatoday

“If you’re a fan on the franchise, prepare to be immersed, once again, in 2 1/2 hours of metal mayhem which is sure to morph into more cash for Michael Bay… and another sequel.” – WLTX

“British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is awful – awful! – as LaBeouf’s new love interest, sucking the life out of every scene she appears in like some pneumatic Dyson sextet.” -Totalfilm

Have you seen Transformers Dark Of The Moon? What do you think of these reviews and opinions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H8bnKdf654

For the cast and crew of Harry Potter, the journey has been one of transformation and enlightenment. Working on a big budget movie set with Warner Bros has taken these young actors to new heights, and has been part of their upbringing.

Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have bright careers ahead of them, with millions of fans around the world, and are firmly sealed in motion picture history.

In Deathly Hallows Part 2, Harry Potter and the gang must confront their ultimate enemy, the Dark Lord, and recover three remaining Horcruxes. The stakes are high , and things get even tougher when Lord Voldemort finds out about their mission.

Will Harry, Hermione and Ron make it out live? Is this the end as we know it, or will this final movie lead us to a distant sequel if J.K Rowling decides to write more books?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mObK5XD8udk

The final installment of Harry Potter opens in cinemas July 15th.

James Franco recently featured in a new music video with Kalup Linzy, but does the former Oscar host, and Spider-man star have the musical edge?

Featuring some very cheesy 80s style editing, some green screen smoke intercut with some slightly painful strobe lighting and clouds, does this feel like a misfire to you?

Sure, James Franco can do whatever he likes in his career, but when actors turn to music, it puts them on a very different destiny. So far, the video has attained over 60,000 views.

Rising – James Franco featuring Kalup Linzy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uv9VVpgxpo

Just looking at this video, you can see that Franco only appears in a faded version of himself, sitting on a sofa, dreaming (or getting very high).

What do you think the budget of the video was? If its more than $20, they definitely need a new producer.

The new EP called ‘Turn It Up’ will be released July 12th.

It was announced today that digital ad network Specific Media acquired Myspace for a figure that was close to $35 million. While Myspace may have suffered a steady decline in recent years, it is not the only social network feeling the pinch. Triumphant and unbeatable Facebook is also losing members in the US, and has notably passed saturation point and its inevitable dip. The nature and high speed pace of change on the web is making it more difficult for other social networks to even make an impact as new technologies continue to alter our needs. With iPads and Iphones selling by the truck load in many markets, the web is going micro, but will social media have a home on the go?

Well, as for the price tag for Myspace, $35 million is a bargain compared to its initial purchase price tag of $580 million, a bet that proved catastrophic for News Corp.

Even though Myspace is widely seen as ‘yesterday’s social network’ it still has close to 130 million members according to CNN. This makes it a formidable marketing engine for advertisers, and will prove its worth in the market. However, for Specific Media, turning a profit on a brand that is struggling to maintain its once dominant presence, won’t be easy.

After Tom Cruise made his come back to the Mission Impossible franchise, news was buzzing over whether he could deliver a death-defying stunt packed action movie fans demand. Well, after watching the first preview trailer for Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the standard looks very high, and one to top the list of Tom Cruise movies we have seen these past few years.

From climbing sky scrappers in Dubai, to kicking butt in Canada, the Mission Impossible film set has taken many twists and turns, and with Brad Bird directing (The Incredibles) you can expect some superb visual splendor.

Not too long ago, Tom Cruise was deemed to be at a career low, as his co-starring role with Cameron Diaz in ‘Knight And Day’ didn’t blow up the box office. In fact, the movie turned out to be quite a success and Tom Cruise looks set to make a massive, action packed comeback.

The script for ‘Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ was written by both Tom Cruise and ‘Star Trek’ director J.J Abrams. MI4 stars Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Josh Holloway and Paula Patton and reportedly had a $140 million budget.

Are you ready to see Tom Cruise in action again?

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol trailer starring Tom Cruise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QteCmX15Olo

The news will be met with praise from the film industry as the study from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp proves how vital film tax rebates are to luring production and inward investment in the region.

With added production, more jobs have been created, particularly in areas where special skills are needed. Hollywood is home to the American movie industry, and boasts an enormous workforce of highly skilled labor.

From post-production houses to film studios and indie production companies shooting HD promos, LA and the region has always been a production center.

Film tax rebates awarded in the state these past two years went to 110 different projects which produced over $800 million in production spending alone.

Even though California’s state tax is less competitive than that of other states, which offer up to a 40% rebate such as in Michigan, many productions shoot their because of the facilities available.

What does this mean for the wider film industry in America? Should tax rebates be expanded or albeit a government body set up to fund financially viable movies that can earn big both domestically and internationally?

Brief Synopsis:

Project Nim is the riveting story of one chimpanzee’s extraordinary journey through human society and the enduring impact he makes on people along the way.

Jinx Godfrey and James Marsh previously collaborated with Superfad on the titles for Red Riding: 1980.

Project Nim Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxQap9AAPOs

Superfad director Kinda Akash spoke about the collaboration for the documentary and the techniques used :

“We initially met with James and Jinx a number of times to brainstorm over the role of typography and language in a documentary that ultimately had more to do with the humans involved than science and linguistics,….Reams of data had been accumulated during the length of the actual Project Nim, including charts illustrating Nim’s progress and eventual plateau in learning words. The vernacular of these were the basis for the animated charts in the film; but a simple piece of white type on black from a Godard film served as the spring-board for our design inspiration.”

Over the next 6 months, working with James and Jinx, the Superfad team developed a design strategy for the documentary: bold, simple, large scale typography juxtaposed over footage for words Nim learned to sign; simple, repetitive, accumulative animation to speak to his progress; and subtitles for silent, signed exchanges with humans.

“Collaboration is something that runs through all of our work at Superfad, but with this project we had the opportunity and honor of working closely with two incredibly talented people over an extended period of time,.” notes Akash.

“It is the sort of project that keeps us all inspired, and reminds us why we are graphic designers first and foremost. We are thrilled to make a contribution to such an amazing film.”

‘Project Nim’ will released by Roadside attractions on July 8th in the US. The documentary will air on HBO in 2012.

For more on the theatrical release, please visit: http://www.project-nim.com. For more on Superfad go to www.superfad.com.

Michelle Yeoh plays Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson’s upcoming film ‘The Lady’. Michelle Yeoh, who is of Malaysian nationality went to Burma on June 22nd but was officially banned from entering the country and subsequently blacklisted.

The Burma regime his highly sensitive about the pro-democracy movement and has kept its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for 15 years. She was finally released last November under huge international pressure.

Michelle Yeoh was likely barred because of her portrayal of a figure whom the current regime deem to be unacceptable, and a threat to their governance.

However, the subject of the movie is not well known and no trailer has yet been released (or leaked). Luc Besson is one of France’s most prolific directors and is the country’s top film producer, with his company Europa Crop.

His films include 1994 classic ‘Leon’ starring Jean Reno (The Professional) and ‘The Fifth Element’ with Bruce Willis.

Check out Luc Besson’s iconic trailers below.

Leon Trailer starring Natalie Portman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcsirofJrlM

The Fifth Element Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoKssDjs64o

After many one-liners, Charlie Sheen has captivated American audiences, breaking a world record on twitter and going on a media-induced rampage. Sheen appeared on virtually every show when he was fired from ‘Two And A Half Men’. The blitz was almost his own personal vietnam war to clamour back the spotlight after his image turned from his show to him.

So what’s this comeback? Charlie Sheen and Lionsgate Television have reportedly signed to create a comedy show that is based on a character similar to his own on ‘Two And A Half Men’.

Other TV Networks have already started bidding according to Radar, with TBS as a front runner.

The new Charlie Sheen show which has yet to be given a name will have 10 initial episodes with the option of continuing a further 90 should he win big time with TV audiences.

On top of this, Charlie Sheen will get some added winning because Lionsgate Television will be releasing his own infamous ‘My Violent Torpedo Of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option Tour’.

We would like to congratulate Charlie on his new winning campaign, and just to give homage to the man that re-invented the wheel when it comes to self-campaiging, below are some classic Charlie Sheen remixes and quotes.

Charlie Sheen re-mixes

Charlie Sheen – Bi Winning Parody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0NIMTPYYcU

Charlie Sheen Dubstep mix

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1hLduV1p88

The Best Charlie Sheen Quotes

“Fame is empowering. My mistake was that I thought I would instinctively know how to handle it. But there’s no manual, no training course. “

“I’m bi-winning.”

“I will not believe that if I do something then I have to follow a certain path because it was written for normal people. People who aren’t special. People who don’t have tiger blood and Adonis DNA.”

“I am on a drug, it’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body.”

“I’m different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man.”

“Dying’s for fools, dying’s for amateurs.”

“I was banging seven-gram rocks, because that’s how I roll.  I have one speed, I have one gear: Go.”

“Look what I’m dealing with, man, I’m dealing with fools and trolls.”

“I’m tired of pretending I’m not a total bitchin’ rock star from Mars.”

“I’m sorry, man, but I’ve got magic. I’ve got poetry in my fingertips. Most of the time – and this includes naps – I’m an F-18, bro. And I will destroy you in the air. I will deploy my ordinance to the ground.”

“The only thing I’m addicted to is winning. This bootleg cult, arrogantly referred to as Alcoholics Anonymous, reports a 5 percent success rate. My success rate is 100 percent.”

“We are high priests, Vatican assassin warlocks.”

Selena Gomez

Released today, Selena Gomez and the Scene’s ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ will be available online on itunes and Amazon. Ahead of today’s webcast, Selena reached out to her fans to let them know that they could send her questions via twitter and Facebook.

Youtube is a great place for artists and filmmakers to discuss with fans, either with regular blog updates, or via a live feed. For Selena Gomez, this week is packed full of promotion, and her movie ‘Monte Carlo’ opens in theatres on July 1st.

Apart from her budding entertainment career and Disney history, the star is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and regularly promotes the NGO with various charitable initiatives and PSAs.

Will you be watching Selena’s new movie this coming week or catching a glimpse of her album?

Live Chat details

You can send your questions to Selena via youtube.com/selenagomez — Or on Twitter by using the hashtag #heyselena.

Chat starts at 12.15pm EST (New York time)

Check out Gomez’s new music video ‘Love you Like A Love Song’ which came out just a few days ago to promote the new album.

Love You Like A Love Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgT_us6AsDg

Monte-Carlo Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxm_bVVhbr8

Just after the crisis unfolded in earthquake hit Japan, Lady Gaga was one of the first artists in the entertainment industry to issue a fundraiser in order to help victims and relief efforts on the ground.

The devastation of the Japanese earthquake was met with a somewhat more subdued response than the one that we saw after Haiti’s shock earthquake. Did Lady Gaga really purposely make the bracelets purely for profit?

It is not hard to see how the Japanese Bracelets became a success as many media outlets promoted the cause. For one thing, any profiteering of a charitable cause is highly unethical if you are making a direct gain from the products you sell to help others. A charitable fundraiser should ensure that 100% of profits after cost are sent to organisations. However, the grey area comes into question when the costs to make something are unsubstantiated.

There is not sufficient evidence at this stage, and in this report to suggest Lady Gaga is deemed guilty for having inflated the price of her bracelets, but the truth will inevitably come out, and it is not great news for one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

Even while Lady Gaga was preparing her Japan relief gig, the lawsuit was being filed in The Sun’s report

Quotes from the lawsuit

In the alleged lawsuit, lawyers from the 1-800-LAW-FIRM want to hold Gaga accountable for using her celebrity status to make money through a charitable cause :

“When we tried to communicate with the defendants in this lawsuit, all we got was: ‘Well, some of the money is being retained, but we don’t really know how much.’

“I’m suing Lady GaGa simply to hold her accountable for giving the money that she was raising for charity to the cause that she was trying to raise it for.”

From domestic violence to awards, Chris Brown has made amends to rekindle his relationship with Rihanna (on twitter at least), changed the station on his past, and adapted himself to restart a strong career.

Critics bashed Chris Brown for months on end, his musical ambitions seemed over. In fact, it was pretty much accepted he would never rebound, but his story is just proof that you can’t rule out trying.

As the music industry embraces Brown at the BET Awards with 4 wins is it safe to say nothing can go wrong now? Chris Brown also left Sunday night with best video of the year for ‘Look At Me Now’.

When comparing Chris Brown’s fall from grace to Kanye’s outburst, you could say Brown was getting a much bigger rebound than Kanye West, at least for now.

Look At Me Now : Video Of The Year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gyLR4NfMiI

Other attendees of this year’s BET Music Awards included Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Kelly Rowland.