Quantum of Solace Becomes Top Bond of All Time

At the motion picture box office, there is one man who keeps showing that nobody does it better: Bond. James Bond.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures'/Columbia Pictures' Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond adventure, has taken in over $167.1 million to become the most successful Bond film of all time in North America, surpassing the $167 million grossed domestically by Casino Royale, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, chairman of Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution. The film is still playing in 891 theaters in the United States.

In addition, Quantum of Solace has grossed another $382.9 internationally, with the important market of Japan still yet to open. Taking in a worldwide gross so far of $550 million, Quantum of Solace is already the second-highest grossing Bond film of all time worldwide, trailing just "Casino's" $594.2 million.

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, "It is always gratifying when the audience responds to a film, but to be working with a character as successful as James Bond and see the two films Sony has handled become the two most successful films in the history of the franchise makes us all tremendously proud. It has been a special thrill to work on the Bond films, and we couldn't be more excited by the success of 'Quantum of Solace.'"

NBC Trumps Up New Celebrity Apprentice Cast

A whole new round of celebs better get ready to hear "You're fired!"

NBC and Donald Trump announced Thursday the all-star celebrity cast for the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice.

The upcoming season will feature 16 new celebrities, with the men competing against the women once more. The men include everyone from musicians to athletes to comedians including Clint Black, Andrew Dice Clay, Tom Green, Scott Hamilton, Jesse James, Brian McKnight, Dennis Rodman, and Herschel Walker.

The women include reality stars like Khloe Kardashian, mother and daughter duo Joan and Melissa Rivers as well as Annie Duke, Natalie Gulbis, Claudia Jordan, Brande Roderick and Tionne Watkins.

"Last season's Celebrity Apprentice became one of the hottest shows on television - and this season will be even better," said executive producer Donald Trump. "We have an amazing cast of celebrities and we are looking forward to some fantastic entertainment."

All the celebrities will be vying for the coveted title as they fight for their respective causes. They will ultimately face judgment in the boardroom by Trump, his two children, Donald Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump, and trusted advisor George Ross.

The new two-hour-long episodes begin on Sunday, March 1 at 9 pm/ET.

Rourke and Rockwell are the Iron Man 2 Villains!

Rourke and Rockwell are the Iron Man 2 Villains!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter January 7, 2009

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon) are in talks to star as the villains in Marvel Studios' Iron Man 2, being directed by Jon Favreau from a script by Justin Theroux, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

THR says that Rourke would play a tattooed Russian heavy named Ivan who becomes a man with deadly, technologically enhanced coils. Variety adds that Rourke would play the Crimson Dynamo. "He's considered to be an evil version of Iron Man because he battles the superhero in a nuclear-powered suit of armor," says the trade.

Rockwell would play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire businessman and a rival of industrialist Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, being played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.

Rourke and Rockwell would be joining a cast that also includes the returning Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle, who is replacing Terrence Howard.

Another part -- one for Stark's assistant Natasha -- is still open.

The project is eyeing a spring start in Manhattan Beach. Paramount will release the movie May 7, 2010.

Scrubs' Janitor Cleans Up as Patricia Heaton's Sitcom Hubby

Sacred Heart's resident janitor is scrubbing into a new role. Scrubs star Neil Flynn has been tapped to play Patricia Heaton's husband in ABC's sitcom pilot, The Middle, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The family comedy will focus on Flynn's and Heaton's middle-class characters struggling to raise their three children in Middle America.

Flynn's casting comes on the heels of Scrubs' eighth season premiere on ABC Tuesday night, which is likely to be its last.

The actor was most recently seen in May's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Heaton last graced the boob tube on Fox's Back to You with Kelsey Grammer — who has landed his own ABC pilot.

Kelsey Grammer Goes Corporate for ABC Sitcom

Frasier and Back to You alum Kelsey Grammer is coming back to TV.

The five-time Emmy winner has signed on to headline a sitcom for ABC, Variety reports. To be shot multi-camera, the as-yet-untitled series will center around Grammer's corporate executive who reconnects with his family after losing his cushy job.

Grammer will executive produce the show with Good Humor TV's Tom Werner and Mike Clements, and Tucker Cawley (Everybody Loves Raymond). Cawley is writing the pilot.

This is the actor's second pilot for the Alphabet. His adaptation of the British sitcom Roman's Empire failed to make their schedule this year.

Grammer was last seen on TV on Fox's Back to You, which was axed after one season in May.

CBS Books Return Engagement for Rules of Engagement

CBS has set a Monday, March 2, premiere date for the third season of Rules of Engagement.

Starring Patrick Warburton, Megyn Price, Oliver Hudson, Bianca Kajlich and David Spade, the sitcom last season averaged nearly 11 million viewers. Once again, it will air Mondays at 9:30, leading out of Two and a Half Men.

(Have I ever done for you my shtick on how the titles of most of CBS' Monday sitcoms have "expiration dates"? I mean, Ted will meet the mother one day, there soon will be three men, and Rules' Adam and Jennifer will eventually tie the knot. But I digress.)

As previously and exclusively reported by TVGuidecom, this season's guest stars will include Brian Dennehy, playing Warburton's dad.

Horton Helmer Directing Jonah Hex

Jimmy Hayward, who directed the animated Horton Hears a Who! will make his live-action debut with Jonah Hex, the Warner Bros. western based on the DC Comics character.

Josh Brolin is attached to star in the film, which previously had Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank) on board as directors. The duo, who also wrote the script, bowed out over creative differences in November.

The studio hopes to put the movie into production in March or April.

The character of Hex, known for having the right side of his face disfigured and wearing a Confederate army uniform, was a rough-and-tumble gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter whose adventures always ended in blood. One incarnation of his comic book series saw the Western genre combined with supernatural elements, and it's this aspect that was featured in Neveldine and Taylor's script.

Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance and Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road are producing.

NBC's in Tune with Jared Bush's Soundtrack

NBC is developing writer Jared Bush's music-themed drama project "Soundtrack," reports Variety. The hourlong script revolves around a misguided man whose life begins being accompanied by the music in his head.

In "Soundtrack," the lead character has lost his job and his ex-girlfriend has gotten engaged to someone else. That's when he starts to hear the music -- the same, iconic song, over and over again, which doesn't go away until he figures out its significance -- and then it's on to the next track.

"I was trying to find a way to combine TV and music in an organic way," Bush said. "What we come to realize in the show is this guy has been given an opportunity to start his life over, and this music will help him find a way to become truly happy."

Bush's TV credits include "All of Us," "Baby Bob" and "Still Standing." More recently, he's been busy in the features world, writing the movie Giants for Sony and doing a rewrite of American Neurotic.

HBO Joins Remake of British Series Shameless

HBO is teaming with Warner Bros. and writer-producer John Wells on a U.S. version of the British iconic blue-collar TV drama "Shameless," says Vareity.

The move follows protracted talks between the series' creator British screenwriter Paul Abbott, Wells and various U.S. networks in recent years including NBC, which at one point was poised to remake "Shameless" starring Woody Harrelson.

In the British version, set on a public housing estate in the northern English city of Manchester, the leading character is feckless but lovable Frank, an alcohol and drug abuser living on the margins of society who is the head of the chaotic Gallagher clan.

Paramore's Hayley Williams On Next LP: 'I've Got A Lot That I Want To Get Out'

'We're trying to figure out how far we can go with it but still keep it Paramore,' bassist Jeremy Davis says.

It sounds like we're getting close to a new Paramore album. Or, you know, at least closer.

For months, Paramore have maintained that they were in "the very early stages" (or,"stage 0.5," to be exact) of work on the follow-up to their Riot! album, with guitarist Josh Farro working on "tons of ideas" and frontwoman Hayley Williams penning fragments of lyrics based on the rather tumultuous year the band has endured.

But nothing appeared to be set in stone. Then, in early December, Williams told Spin magazine that the band had decided to record the album in Nashville and hoped to have it in stores by next summer. So, when MTV News caught up with the band backstage at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas in Los Angeles, we decided to get a status update. And it sounds like things are finally starting to come together.

"[We've been getting inspired by] life, really. It's not one specific instance or record or book or anything. We're constantly taking in new music — that's what we're passionate about — but I think life has given us a lot to say, and I'm really excited," Williams said. "Josh has been writing really cool riffs and really cool music that I can't wait to write over. Lyrically, I think it's going to be a very different record — we've learned a lot about relationships and friendships and life in general, and I'm stoked because I don't really know what I'm going to say about it, but I've got a lot that I want to get out."

And just what will the album sound like? Well, Farro wouldn't say, but according to bassist Jeremy Davis, it could be an all-over-the-map affair. Or, you know, just another Paramore album.

"I think everyone's just growing, you know? Growing up. And I feel like we all kind of know what the Paramore sound is, but we're all experimenting and trying to figure out how far we can go with it but still keep it Paramore," he said. "We've all been getting into different music ourselves, which is just going to be better in the long run. When we get into the studio, there's going to be a lot more different things going on."

When the band does head into the studio in '09, it sounds like it's going to be all business — which is only more good news for Paramore fans hungering for a new album.

"I mean, this last record did really well, and it's not that we didn't appreciate it, but we always want to do better," drummer Zac Farro said. "Just because we did well on the last one, we don't think we can go in and make a great record without having to try. We're going to work just as hard, if not harder, this time around."