Trendy Reel

“Hancock” director Peter Berg is spearheading a fresh take on Hercules for Universal.

Berg will produce and will develop to direct “Hercules: The Thracian Wars,” a co-production of Spyglass Entertainment, Berg’s Film 44 and Radical Pictures. Spyglass and Universal will co-finance the film.

Ryan Condal will write the script, based on a five-issue comicbook series by Steve Moore that debuted in May through Radical Publishing.

Spyglass’ Jonathan Glickman, Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber will produce with Berg and his Film 44 partner Sarah Aubrey, with Barry Levine producing for Radical. Jesse Berger will exec produce.

Levine said the creative partners came together because Glickman, Berg and Aubrey wanted to develop a film that stayed true to the comicbook.

“What resonated for them was that this was character driven, about a character who’s more man than god, with conflicts and redemption,” Levine said.

Radical’s the most recent company making an aggressive push for its comicbook properties in motion pictures. Radical Pictures is also teamed to produce “Caliber” with Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and John Woo’s Lion Rock, with Woo attached to direct. The publishing company recently closed a funding deal through a privately held company called Lacho Calad, with coin coming from Singapore. The money includes a discretionary fund for script development of Radical comicbook properties.

Berg is also set to direct and produce a new version of the Frank Herbert sci-fi novel “Dune” for Paramount Pictures.

Variety

Each year Forbes ranks the stars under various titles.  Back in June they told us that Oprah has the most power. Now it’s all about the cash.

Here is the list of stars that have made the most in the past year, all from just signing there name on a few film contracts. Unfortunately this list features no female actors. For Shame.

Best Paid Stars

1. Will Smith-$80 million

2. Johnny Depp-$72 million

3. Eddie Murphy-$55 million

4. Mike Myers-$55 million

5. Leonardo Dicaprio- $45 million

6. Bruce Willis-$41 million

7. Ben Stiller-$40 million

8. Nicholas Cage-$38 million

9. Will Ferrell-$31 million

10. Adam Sandler-$30 million

Now here are the stars that bring the studios back what they invested, in other words they are the bankable stars that bring butts to the seats of theaters.  In the end that may count more than how much they make per film.  If a 20 million dollar a film actor has flop after flop, then what’s the point of paying them ridiculous amounts of money?

Ultimate Star Paybacks

1. Vince Vaughn

2. Tobey Maguire

3. Julia Roberts

4. Brad Pitt

5. Naomi Watts

6. Matt Damon

7. George Clooney

8. Jennifer Aniston

9. Hugh Jackman

10. Ben Stiller

Get the complete list can be found at Forbes.com

Weekend
Box Office
1. The Dark Knight (WARNER BROS.) 4,366 $155,400,000
2. Mamma Mia! (UNIVERSAL) 2,976 $27,600,000
3. Hancock (SONY) 3,776 $14,000,000
4. Journey to the Center of the Earth (WARNER BROS./NEW LINE) 2,830 $11,900,000
5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (UNIVERSAL) 3,212 $10,000,000
6. Wall-E (DISNEY/PIXAR) 3,310 $9,800,000
7. Space Chimps (FOX) 2,511 $7,300,000
8. Wanted (UNIVERSAL) 2,433 $5,000,000
9. Get Smart (WARNER BROS.) 2,135 $4,000,000
10. Kung Fu Panda (PARAMOUNT/DREAMWORKS) 1,505 $1,700,000

Outstanding drama series

Boston Legal (ABC)
Damages (FX)
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
Lost (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)

Outstanding comedy series

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
30 Rock (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)

Outstanding miniseries

The Andromeda Strain (A&E)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Tin Man (Sci Fi Channel)

Outstanding made-for-television movie

Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (HBO)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (Lifetime)
A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)
Recount (HBO)

Outstanding variety, music or comedy series

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
Late Show With David Letterman (CBS)
Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Lead actor in a comedy series

Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)

Lead actor in a drama series

James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment (HBO)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)

Lead actor in a miniseries or movie

Ralph Fiennes, Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Ricky Gervais, Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (HBO)
Paul Giamatti, John Adams (HBO)
Kevin Spacey, Recount (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson, Recount (HBO)

Lead actress in a comedy series

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)

Lead actress in a drama series

Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)

Lead actress in a miniseries or movie

Catherine Keener, An American Crime (Showtime)
Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Judi Dench, Cranford (PBS)
Laura Linney, John Adams (HBO)
Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)

Supporting actor in a comedy series

Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
Kevin Dillon, Entourage (HBO)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)

Supporting actor in a drama series

William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)

Supporting actor in a miniseries or movie

David Morse, John Adams (HBO)
Stephen Dillane, John Adams (HBO)
Tom Wilkinson, John Adams (HBO)
Denis Leary, Recount (HBO)
Bob Balaban, Recount (HBO)

Supporting actress in a comedy series

Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)

Supporting actress in a drama series

Candice Bergen, Boston Legal (ABC)
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)

Supporting actress in a miniseries or movie

Eileen Atkins, Cranford (PBS)
Ashley Jensen, Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale (HBO)
Alfre Woodard, Pictures of Hollis Woods (CBS)
Audra McDonald, A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)
Laura Dern, Recount (HBO)

Guest actor in a comedy series

Shelley Berman, Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Rip Torn, 30 Rock (NBC)
Will Arnett, 30 Rock (NBC)
Steve Buscemi, 30 Rock (NBC)
Tim Conway, 30 Rock (NBC)

Guest actor in a drama series

Stanley Tucci, ER (NBC)
Glynn Turman, In Treatment (HBO)
Robin Williams, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Robert Morse, Mad Men (AMC)
Oliver Platt, Nip/Tuck (FX)
Charles Durning, Rescue Me (FX)

Guest actress in a comedy series

Polly Bergen, Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Sarah Silverman, Monk (USA)
Carrie Fisher, 30 Rock (NBC)
Edie Falco, 30 Rock (NBC)
Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock (NBC)

Guest actress in a drama series

Ellen Burstyn, Big Love (HBO)
Diahann Carroll, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Cynthia Nixon, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Anjelica Huston, Medium (NBC)
Sharon Gless, Nip/Tuck (FX)

Individual performance in a variety or music program

Jon Stewart, 80th Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
David Letterman, Late Show With David Letterman (CBS)
Don Rickles, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (HBO)
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Host for a reality or reality-competition program

Ryan Seacrest, American Idol (Fox)
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal (NBC)
Heidi Klum, Project Runway (Bravo)
Jeff Probst, Survivor (CBS)

Directing for a comedy series

Entourage — No Cannes Do; Dan Attias, director
Flight of the Conchords — Sally Returns; James Bobin, director
The Office — Money (Parts 1 & 2); Paul Lieberstein, director
The Office — Goodbye, Toby; Paul Feig, director
Pushing Daisies — Pie-Lette; Barry Sonnenfeld, director
30 Rock — Rosemary’s Baby; Michael Engler, director

Directing for a drama series

Boston Legal — The Mighty Rogues; Arlene Sanford, director
Breaking Bad — Pilot; Vince Gilligan, director
Damages — Pilot; Allen Coulter, director
House — House’s Head; Greg Yaitanes, director
Mad Men — Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (Pilot); Alan Taylor, director

Outstanding animated program (less than one hour)

Creature Comforts America (CBS)
King of the Hill (Fox)
Robot Chicken (Cartoon Network)
SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)
The Simpsons (Fox)

Outstanding animated program (one hour or more)

Blue Harvest (Fox)
Imaginationland (Comedy Central)
Justice League: The New Frontier (Warner Bros. on Demand)

Hollywood Reporter

Hey,

So I hear that the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards are being held September 7, 2008 in Los Angeles. Cool. Ahh I remember last time you were out west; Aerosmith, Green Day rocker Tre’ deciding to climb the Universal globe while Kurt Loder looked in horror and Marilyn Mason’s ass cheeks. Good Times. Anyway, wouldn’t it be cool MTV if John and Fall Out Boys play “Beat It” live on the show? Do you hear that John and Fall Out? Beat It live, so I can see you, John shred. So what if MTV is probably still figuring out who is going to host. Early bird catches the worm right?

Tis is all,

Trendy

Oh and for those out in the internets who don’t know what a John Mayer, Fall Out Boy, or Beat It is here is videos of the Original by Michael Jackson featuring Eddie Van Halen and the redo by Fall Out Boy featuring John Mayer Oh and for good measure Eddie performing live with Michael. Now if only I didn’t procrastinate and got my John Mayer tickets for this weekend on time before they were all gone. Whole other story.

Beat It (The Original)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_8bFwDdISM

Beat It (2008)

Beat It live w/Eddie Van Halen

Yesterday was the deadline for AFTRA to accept their deal and they did.

After a bitter feud with sister union SAG over its primetime/TV contract, AFTRA’s membership on Tuesday approved the union’s new deal with the studios .

Slightly more than 62% of the voting members said yes to the pact.

“Today’s vote reflects the ability of AFTRA members to recognize a solid contract when they see it,” AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said late Tuesday. “We were faced with an unprecedented situation of another union mounting a well-funded and ferocious attack on our contract-ratification process. In the face of that kind of attack, I think the percentage that ratified this contract is really good, and I’m thrilled.”

SAG, whose leadership had contended that a separate deal with AFTRA would dilute its clout at the bargaining table, asserted that the referendum was skewed by nonactor members of the union.

“Clearly, many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign and voted against the inadequate AFTRA agreement,” SAG president Alan Rosenberg said. “We knew AFTRA would appeal to its many AFTRA-only members, who are news people, sportscasters and DJs, to pass the tentative agreement covering acting jobs. In its materials, AFTRA focused that appeal on the importance of actor members’ increased contributions to help fund its broadcast members’ pension and health benefits.”

Hollywood Reporter

SAG is set to make a decision on the contract proposed to them tomorrow.