Jamie Lynn Spears by Gregg DeGuire/ WireImage.com
Have you read this story? Time magazine is reporting that a group of high-school girls in Gloucester, Mass., who are all under the age of 16, made a pact to intentionally get pregnant and raise their children together. I'll let you excavate all the sad details of that situation on your own, but it got me thinking: What has happened that teenagers want to have children?The Today show reported on Friday that teenage pregnancy rates have gone up for the first time in 15 years. Referencing the Time story, they offered a group of experts who offered possible explanations for the intention to get pregnant at such a young age. One proffered that having a baby is akin to having a pet that offers you unconditional love. Another argued that having a baby is the latest fashion accessory, made popular by the media coverage of young, unwed celebrities whose "baby bumps" are all the rage these days.At the box office, Knocked Up wrestled — albeit comically — with the difficulties of be...
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Family Guy Digital Copy courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment
A few months ago we took a hands-on look at Digital Copy with Family Guy - Blue Harvest. The show's Star Wars parody came to DVD with an extra disc containing a digital file version of the feature which easily copied to a Video iPod, a PC, or a PC-file compatible device (like an Archos media player). It's a handy way to get a "portable" copy of the DVD you've bought, so you don't have to buy it all over again via download to the hard drive of your laptop or a portable video device. But what else is on the way for Digital Copy?· Fox has the biggest support for on-disc Digital Copy so far, but Family Guy was actually their second. Last November's 2-DVD version of Live Free or Die Hard was first. The Blu-ray version didn't have it, though, and it didn't support iPod copies yet either (leaving iPod users AND Macintosh users out in the cold). But this would quickly and easily transfer a nice-looking copy of the film's unrated cut to a PC or compatible device.· Fox then expa...
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Jason Reitman, hot off his accolades for Juno, and Jim Carrey have said, "Mais oui!" to direct and star in, respectively, the new comedy, Pierre, Pierre. The Fox Atomic film follows a nihilistic, self-indulgent French man who brings a stolen painting from Paris to London. If the premise didn't give it away already, the film will be "politically incorrect," according to Variety.For Reitman, the flick will be a brief break sandwiched by Diablo Cody projects: Next up for him is the Cody movie Jennifer's Body, which is billed as a comedy-thriller about a cheerleader from hell (unlike real-life cheerleaders, with apologies to Hayden Panetierre's Claire). — Anna Dimond
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Ellen Page and Michae Ceral in Juno courtesy Fox Searchlight
Thanks primarily to good timing, this year's Academy Award contenders for best picture drew in an extra $111 million between the Jan. 22 announcement of the nominees and Sunday's telecast, E! reports.Unlike some past years when all of the nommed films were released before November, many of this year's nominees rolled out much closer to the nominations, taking advantage of the buzz. Juno was the biggest earner, adding about $43.3 mil to its previous earnings. There Will Be Blood made 75 percent of its $35 mil post-nominations, having been in limited release until late January.Even Michael Clayton, which had a disastrous box office debut last fall, tacked on nearly $10 mil with a re-release. Atonement earned an extra $16 mil, while big winner No Country for Old Men added a respectable $15 mil to its gross in the past month. — Adam Bryant
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We were rooting for newbie Ellen Page last night at the Oscars, and even though she lost, we were still excited knowing that she at least received a nomination for Best Actress at all. But perhaps if the movie had gone in a bit of a different direction… maybe she could have won if she got to perform this spoof of the infamous pregnancy announcement in Juno.
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Keira Knightley, Atonement by Alex Bailey/Focus Features
If you haven't seen most (or any) of the Best Picture nominees, have no fear: Neither have most of your friends. So here's a quick primer — an Oscars cheat sheet, if you will, to Hollywood's top prize. —Steve PondAtonement• Themes: Love, guilt, war, memory, obligation... and, well, atonement.• Covers six decades, using three actresses (Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave) to play the lead character.• Adapted by Christopher Hampton from the novel by Ian McEwan, an award-winning British writer who, between writing acclaimed novels, also penned the screenplay for the 1993 Macaulay Culkin flop The Good Son.• Acting style inspired by British movies of the '30s and '40s, especially Brief Encounter.• Made use of all eight World War II vintage British ambulances still known to exist.• Includes a mammoth, uninterrupted five-and-a-half-minute tracking shot that covers the British evacuation of Dunkirk; director Joe Wright said he was forced...
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New details are emerging about ABC Family's new Juno-esque drama from 7th Heaven creator Brenda Hampton. And by "new details," I mean the following (rather detailed) synopsis that is making its way to Hollywood casting directors as we speak: "Fifteen-year-old Amy Nicholson, pregnant after having one uncomfortable sexual encounter with the school's Don Juan, Ricky, tries to figure out a way to deal with her dilemma, as all around her peers face the reality of their own sexual (or non-sexual) choices. Unable to face her loving but "nice" middle class parents, Amy confides in her best friends, Lauren and Madison, who are supportive but not too helpful, and struggles to deal with her feelings for Ricky at the same time she's being wooed by the sweet and possibly smitten Ben."So, pretty much, if 7th Heaven got plastered, had a one-night stand with Juno, and gave birth nine months later, this is what their baby would look like. Now, what do you say you give this as-yet-untitled baby a pro...
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George CLooney in Michael Clayton courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
And now to the films that made out like banditsTheres Juno of course and Paul Thomas Andersons bleak There Will Be Blood based on Upton Sinclairs muckraking 1927 novel Oil was nominated for best picture best actor Daniel Day-Lewis best director and best adapted screenplay The quietly effective Paul Dano of last years indie favorite Little Miss Sunshine was passed over for best supporting actor Lewis was widely considered a shoo-in but the rest of the nominations were less than givens despite critical raves for this lengthy 158 minutes epic examination of greed false prophets and near-biblical retributionThinking-mans thriller Michael Clayton scored big with critics without exciting much attention among moviegoers Its nominated for best picture with star George Clooney recognized in the best-actor category Costars Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson were both nominated in the supporting categories and first-time director Tony Gilroy got a nod both for direct
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Ellen Page in Juno by Doane Gregory/Fox Searchlight
Sid Ganis president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and actress Kathy Bates have just announced the major Oscar nominations for last years films and for my money there are some real surprises among themThe critically acclaimed comedy Juno which is also doing strong business has been recognized in a major way especially surprising since traditionally comedies often get short shrift in the major categories Written by first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody starring up-and-coming Canadian actress Ellen Page and directed by Jason Reitman it took a best-picture nomination and major category recognition for the key players a best-actress nom for Page original screenplay for Cody and director for Reitman Tommy Lee Jones nabbed a best-actor nomination for the sober Iraq War picture In the Valley of Elah directed and written by 2005 Oscar-winner Paul Haggis Crash and ignored in all other categories like every other fiction film dealing with the
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Alvin and the Chipmunks courtesy 20th Century Fox
While Nic Cage's National Treasure: Book of Secrets repeated as the weekend box-office champ (taking in another $35.6 million, for a gross of $124 mil to date), the big story belonged to three furry little fellas. In its third week of release, Alvin & the Chipmunks seized the No. 2 spot from Will Smith with a $30 mil haul, and is now on pace to be one of the year's top-10 grossing pics. (Its tally stands at $142.4 mil.) Rounding out the weekend's top five were I Am Legend ($27.5 mil, $194.6 mil to date), Charlie Wilson's War (up 23 percent from last weekend, with $11.8 mil) and Juno (surging 201 percent in wider release, with $10.3 mil).Also this weekend, Katherine Heigl's 27 Dresses is said to have sneak-peeked extremely well, selling out most of its 539 screenings.What's your take? Did anyone out there catch 27 Dresses? Is this the film that shoots Heigl into the movie-star stratosphere?
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