Andrew Lloyd Webber night on AMERICAN IDOL

So it’s Andrew Lloyd Webber night tonight, I think this is a make or break night for Jason, Carley, and Brook. The 3 who are going to find the evening the easiest will be Syesha and the 2 Davids.

I’ve been thinking over ALW’s song list and think that the idols will do really well if they opt for these choices.

First off all girls should stay FAR away from “Phantom of the Opera.” None of them have the vocal chops to even try Christine. That out of the way - here are the musicals where I think the idols should pick songs from. Also everyone should stay FAR away from “Cats.”

1) David Archuletta - he should pick something out the “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” songbook. With his big voice I think he’d do great w/ this musical – the musical is not too dark and its uptempo which is something that I think he needs to explore again in order for him to step up and remind everyone of his range. He’s been picking songs every week that sound similar, I think picking something f

rom “Joseph” would be a great choice for him because the songs from that list should challenge him vocally but not be too “big.”

2) David Cook – “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera”…even though I would’ve preferred Michael singing this, David is the one person left in the competition who can take this huge emo song and make it even MORE emo. This isn’t a week for him to be shy – he needs to tackle the biggest song of the night and run with it to remind everyone why he’s the forerunner on the show.

3) Jason Castro - If he’s smart he’ll pick something from “Evita” - the songs have a Latin sound and I think

he could do anything from the songs that Antonio Bandares sang in the film and will do fine. Other than that, I have no idea what Jason could sing, his voice isn’t a real match for most of ALW’s music, I think out of everyone this week, he’s going to have the hardest time finding something.

4) Syesha - there are 2 songs that I’m pretty certain she will pick - she will either pick “Memory” or “Don’t cry for me Argentina.” I’m hoping that she’ll pick the latter. Memory is WAY overdone and is too big for her vocal range…although I think she probably could pull it off. I love Syesha when she really emotes w/ her singing and I think she’d be just magical doing “Don’t cry for me Argentina.” If there’s one Diva who’s range she can match it’s Madonna. She would kill with that song.

5) Carley - Carley needs to pick something from “Sunset Boulevard.” Glenn Close originated the big lead part in the musical on Broadway and her voice is right in Carley’s range. She can pick a big song from there a

nd do well. If she picks “Memory” or something from “Phantom” I think she’ll fall on her face.

6) Brook – There’s a musical that ALW did very early in his career where there’s a song in it that would be PERFECT for Brook. The song is “Tell me on a Sunday, Please.” Brook can sing this on the piano, it’s not well known and as a result so she could own the song. I have a copy of it on an ALW compilation CD and it’s one of my favorite songs that he’s written. The song is all melody and lyrics and I think she’d just do beautifully with it – it could be the song to put her back into the hunt in the competition.

Anyways that’s my thoughts on things for tonight. I’m excited about tonight – if the kids pick the wrong songs they’ll all really fall flat. The thing I’m worried the most about is the kids picking songs that are too big for their vocal range. There are plenty of middle of the road songs that they could pick that will fit their voices – we’ll just have to see if they chose wisely or not.

Stamos turns down ‘ER’ spinoff

John Stamos has reportedly rejected an offer to star in an ER spinoff.

The actor, who has played paramedic-turned-intern Tony Gates since 2006, said he did not want the commitment of his own show.
NBC and Warner Brothers are believed to have approached him to ascertain his feelings about a new project.

An insider told the New York Daily News: “Stamos wasn’t having it. He’s not interested in being locked into a contract right now. He’s got other options open.”

ER is to return for one final season, it has been confirmed.

The long-running medical drama will bow out in February 2009 after 15 years on the air. The last season will run to 19 episodes.

“ER is one of the greatest shows of all time and we can’t wait to deliver to the audience the fantastic stories the series is known for,” said Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. “We will introduce new characters to the great ensemble.”

Source - DS

8 New Smallville “Sleeper” Promo Photos

Uninspiring American Idol Top 8 Review

Uninspiring American Idol top 8 Review

By Erika Blake

Pictures courtesy of WireImage

Talk about a weird night on AI. Last night’s Top 8 theme was Inspirational songs and I think what best can be shown about last night’s overall competition is what the show would be like if our forerunners were not on it…the show would just fall flat. All of the top leaders bombed or didn’t quite hit that perfect mark leaving the weight on the shoulders of the less qualified to really pick up the slack.

I honestly can’t rank the performances last night, in the words of Gordon Ramsey – we’ll examine the worst and work our way up to “the best of the worst.”

My choices for the bottom 3 are – Syesha, Carley, and Brook.

Syesha Mercado -

Syesha made a HUGE song choice blunder in picking Fantasia’s “I Believe” to sing. Why she chose one of AI’s winning songs is beyond me, but it bordered on desperate. She started off shaky and although her voice was pleasant, like Randy said it was impossible not to miss Fantasia’s unique gravel in the song.

That aside, I personally hate the diva comparisons that Randy and Simon are constantly harping on, especially considering in the weeks ahead Mariah Carey – the ULTIMATE Diva – will be on as a mentor and everyone will have to sing one of her songs.

Syesha’s take on the song was solid, but she just didn’t do the song justice and unlike last week where her performance dripped w/ emotion, this week she fell flat.

Carley Smithson –

I really hate putting Carley in the bottom 3 this week, but her performance put her here. I’ve never been a huge Carley fan but last night as she belted out Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” (an ODD choice for the theme btw) I started seeing glimmers of the artist that expect to see whenever she takes the stage. Simon commented that she sounded angry in the song – frankly, it was that raw anger that appealed to me the most in her performance. After weeks and weeks of her doing one sappy torch song after another, I realized what I’ve been wanting from her – I want her to be the next Alanis. Carley looked fantastic last night, she got up there and for once could’ve had all of the makings of a killer performance – I was actually awake and grooving with her rendition of the song, then ½ way through she fell completely flat and didn’t even end the song on a long high note.

Carley’s been really inconsistent, she’s got a great voice, but she’s done nothing to define herself throughout this competition. She should’ve come out as the hard rocker chick like Alanis from the outset, if she’d done that she’d be unstoppable. Unfortunately, I think it’s possible that the show WILL not go on for her after this week.

Brook White –

Brook probably had one of the overall best vocals of the night with James Taylor’s You’ve got

a Friend, her voice was magically pure and 100% Brook White, however, the performance was rather blah. Rather like the crooning songs that Chikezie insisted on singing that eventually got him booted off, this performance came off as very old fashioned and could’ve been on the radio in the 70’s but certainly wouldn’t be on pop charts today. Brook seems to have lost her confidence some and if she stays in another round needs to get back to just enjoying herself by being true to her voice and style, her fans love her, but she’s slowly losing her sparkle and needs to get it back quickly to make it to the top 5.

Disney unveils animation slate

Schedule includes ‘Toy Story 3,’ ‘Cars 2′

By BEN FRITZ, DADE HAYES

After years of relative reticence, the Mouse House is strutting over its animation slate once again.

With Disney chief exec Robert Iger and the investment community looking on in Gotham Tuesday, John Lasseter presented an uncharacteristically detailed road map of the next four years of Pixar and Disney animation.

Two years after the pair’s $7.4 billion merger, the Mouse House is eager to tout the lineup and keep Pixar’s momentum going after “Ratatouille” and “Cars.” Studio is also looking to pump up the fortunes of Disney’s own animation unit, now under the control of Lasseter and former Pixar prexy Ed Catmull after suffering a string of disappointments, including last year’s “Meet the Robinsons.”

Lineup includes a Pixar film every summer and a Disney Animation Studios toon every holiday season, save for 2011, when Pixar is releasing two films and Disney Animation Studios will take a breather. All of the films starting with this November’s “Bolt” will be released in digital 3-D, except for 2009 Disney toon “The Princess and the Frog,” the only pic being made in traditional 2-D.

Disney studio chief Dick Cook said it was the first pure animation presentation for the Mouse House in more than a decade.

Official Description for Smallville 7×17 SLEEPER

SMALLVILLE: “SLEEPER”

The CW has released a description of “Sleeper,” the Thursday, April 24 episode of Smallville.

Here’s how the network describes the episode:

“Clark (Tom Welling) desperately searches for Kara (Laura Vandervoort) and Brainiac (guest star James Marsters, as Brainiac is the only one who can reverse Lana’s (Kristin Kreuk) condition. Clark asks Chloe (Allison Mack) to check any large power surges in the area, so she breaks into several government computers, setting off alarms.

“Jimmy (Aaron Ashmore) is caught between the Department of Security - who threatens him with jail time unless he helps them arrest Chloe - and Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), who offers to help clear Chloe if Jimmy agrees to be in his debt.”

The episode is written by Caroline Dries and directed by Whitney Ransick.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan joins ‘All Good Things’

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has joined Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst in ’80s drama All Good Things.

The movie tells the story of a member of a New York real estate dynasty (Gosling) who becomes involved with a girl from the poor side of town (Dunst).

The former Supernatural star will play the downtrodden detective called to investigate when Dunst’s character goes missing. Frank Langella also stars.

The project is the feature film debut of documentary-maker Andrew Jarecki (Capturing The Friedmans), who will direct from a script he co-wrote.

Filming begins in Connecticut later this month.

Dean Morgan is currently shooting his role as The Comedian in Zack Snyder’s superhero comic adaptation Watchmen.

Source

Ackles Boards Bloody Valentine

Ackles Boards Bloody Valentine

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

“Supernatural” star Jensen Ackles is in final negotiations to play a lead in Lionsgate’s My Bloody Valentine 3-D, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In director Patrick Lussier’s remake of the 1981 horror film, Ackles will play Tom, a handsome, principled man who returns to his home in Harmony, Mo., 10 years after 22 people were murdered on Valentine’s night. Back in Montana, Tom finds he still is smitten with his first love, Sarah (Jaime King), and is now a murder suspect.

Zane Smith wrote the screenplay.

Jack Murray, John Dunning and Andre Link will executive produce. Executive producers for Lionsgate are Mike Paseornek and John Sacchi.

Production begins May 12 for a release on January 23, 2009.

Source- Coming Soon.net

American Idol Gives Back Preview Photos

Sneak Preview photos from tonight’s AMERICAN IDOL GIVES BACK show. Sizes of photos are either 400×600 or 1200×1600.

All of the Contestant photos are smaller because that’s what I have access to in my paid account on WireImage, so far it doesn’t look like anyone is seeking out Hi-Res versions of their photos so that might be all that we get.

The rest of the hi-res photos are courtesy of GettyImages. I will add more photos as they become available.

AI Season 7 Contestants

Click Below to view photos of the Judges, guest celebrities and singers!

Profile: GEORGE CLOONEY PUTS HIS ‘LEATHERHEADS’ TOGETHER

The third times charming, as the Academy Award winning actor also directs this new romantic football comedy

By PAMELA HARLAND, Managing Editor
Published 4/7/2008

George Clooney continues to grow as one of Hollywood’s leading contenders with his talent insuperable. Acting, directing, writing and producing, Clooney sets his own standards and then exceeds them by leaps and bounds. And yet he never takes himself too seriously, a wise trait that keeps him working and thriving through the trenches of the most perilous profession. In fact, he downplays everything. His tongue in cheek humor lets you know, “I am aware of how silly this business is…wink, wink.” His answers are always wry with wit and less about getting to the truth of the matter than they are about getting a laugh or two. He is a consummate entertainer. But he never compromises that world-renowned sense of humor for quality. In between the laughs he is a hard worker who strives to get things just right for his craft, compromising nothing.

With LEATHERHEADS (which netted $13.5 million at the boxoffice this weekend), Clooney stars in and directs. The film, set in 1925, needed to be shot a certain way so it didn’t look like a bunch of adults playing dress up and Clooney knew what he needed to get the right look.