Despite the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike, a New York judge has ordered on Wednesday a theater owner to reopen Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical.
State Court Justice Helen Freedman has granted an injunction sought by the popular musical’s producers, who argued that their contract was not subject to the strike and who had the backing of the stagehands union, who wanted the show to continue at the St. James Theater.
So, Jujamcyn Theaters LLC, the owner of the St. James Theater and of four other Broadway theaters affected by the strike, had decided to lock out the popular music until the new labor agreement was reached. But as no new talks scheduled and with the strike in its 12th day already, Jujamcyn Theaters LLC’s decision was likely to ruin the limited-engagement run for the holiday musical, which attracts lots of children from out of town and not only.
“I think that one Grinch in this city is enough,” Judge Helen Freedman said the courtroom, adding that “The interests of the public are overwhelming. For the sake of our city, I’m granting an injunction.”
The judge’s injunction saves 11 Grinch shows over the Thanksgiving weekend, which represents one of the busiest times of the years for Broadway. Then the show will continue until January 6.
In a separate case caused also by the strike, the producers of nine Broadway shows sued the striking stagehands of Local One of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and their president James Claffey Jr. for $35 million, seeking to recover their lost revenues.

The two-week-old twin children of actor Dennis Quaid are currently recovering in a Los Angeles hospital, after they have been mistakenly given a large overdose of a blood thinning drug.
Although it is one of the United States leading hospitals, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has to officially apologize on Wednesday for what it called the “preventable error” that led to the actor’s children and another unidentified child being given 10,000 units of an anti-coagulant compound called Heparin, instead of the normal 10 units dose that is usually given to babies.
Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace Quaid were born via a surrogate mother on November 8, 2007.
A publicist for Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberley Buffington, said that the couple “appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers, and hope they can maintain their privacy during this difficult time.”
The actor married Kimberley Buffington in 2004, after he had broken up with his previous wife, actress Meg Ryan. Quaid is famous for his roles from “The Parent Trap” and “The Rookie”.
According to Doctor Michael Langberg, Cedars-Sinai’s chief medical officer, the actor’s children and the other child affected by this serious medical mistake were recovering without any apparent ill effects after being treated with another drug that had to reverse the effects of Heparin.
Michael Langberg said that the overdose of Heparin that caused the babies to “bleed out” on Sunday, as TMZ.com reported, was the result of a human error by the hospital staff and that investigations are being currently conducted by both the hospital and the Los Angeles health authorities.
“This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai. Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously,” Michael Langberg said.

Angelina Jolie’s partner, Brad Pitt, stepped out of Universal’s political thriller “State of Play” reportedly because of script concerns. The popular actor and the movie’s director Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland) had met for several times this month, but it seems that Macdonald’s attempts to iron out these concerns weren’t able to convince Brad Pitt to join his cast.
The movie’s script could not be worked on because of the Hollywood screenwriter’s strike.
After Brad Pitt has now officially stepped out of the movie project, Universal has already started to look for an actor to replace Pitt. Sources have reported that the studio would like to welcome aboard its movie’s cast team actor Johnny Depp, whose movie “Shantaram” has just got postponed at Warner Bros., or Russell Crow.
Brad Pitt was set to star alongside actors like Oscar-winning Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman and others in the Matthew Michael Carnahan-scripted adaptation of the British miniseries. He was to play the role of a political consulant-turned-journalist who headed a newspaper’s murder investigation involving a fast-rising politician, played by Edward Norton.
Because of the fact Brad Pitt changed his mind and stepped out of the movie project, he might be sued by the studio.
Universal confirmed the actor’s departure through the following statement: “Brad Pitt has left the Universal Pictures production of ‘State of Play.’ We remain committed to this project and to the filmmakers, cast members, crew and others who are also involved in making the movie. We reserve all rights in this matter.”

The New York City’s popular Mayor Michael Bloomberg will become even more famous, as he has been recently announced to star as himself in “Sex and the City: The Movie”.
According to his spokesman Stu Loeser, on Tuesday evening, Mayor Michael Bloomberg will shoot an appearance in the highly expected movie at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan. The spokesman has not given any details about the New York City’s mayor’s role in the popular movie.
“Sex and the City: The Movie” is based on the HBO movie series with the same title that has won also the Emmy Award for television series. The filming has started in September after all the four female stars from the series have eventually agreed to play their roles also in the movie.
Sarah Jessica Parker and her rival Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis have returned to reprise their roles as Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, respectively. They have been also joined by Chris Noth, who plays the popular charming character of Mr. Big, Carry Bradshaw’s frustrating commitment-phobic lover.
The hit TV movie series have ended in 2004, after no less than six seasons, but now everybody is happy that “Sex and the City: The Movie” will eventually hit the big screens. The movies’ story is based on the work of the best-selling author Candance Bushnell
The former New York Mayor Ed Koch has appeared in many television shows and films, including also a role as himself in an episode from “Sex and the City”. Now, Bloomberg seems to follow in his footstep.

James Marsden has drawn the public’s attention thanks to his role as Cyclops in the “X-Men” fantasy-action movie series, but now it seems that he will have the chance to star opposite one of the most beautiful and famous actresses of all times! That is Cameron Diaz.
James Marsden has been announced to be in final negotiations with the producers of the horror movie “The Box”.
James Marsden and Cameron Diaz will play an unhappily married couple that will be the receivers of a box. The stranger who will bring them the box will also tell them that if they push a button of the box, they will receive a hefty amount of money. But on the other hand, someone they do not know will die.
“The Box” represents director Richard Kelly’s $30 million adaptation from the Richard Matheson short story “Button, Button”, which has been first published in 1970 in the popular magazine for men “Playboy”. Richard Matheson’s short story has also represented an adaptation from the story for an episode of CBS’ popular mid-80s revival of “The Twilight Zone”.
James Marsden has recently appeared alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and others in the comedy “Hairspray”. James Marsden’s credits also include “Superman Returns”, but he will as well star opposite Katherine Heigl in the upcoming romantic comedy title “27 Dresses”.

As the “Spider-Man” installments have been a real hit, and the “Spider-Man” franchise still represents a gold mine, “Spider-Man 4” is coming up next. And as the fantasy and action movie’s producers have no time to waste, they have already hired a screenwriter for doing the job for “Spider-Man 4”.
And it will be the writer of the serial-killer thriller “Zodiac” that will write the scrip for “Spider-Man 4”. James Vanderbilt has been recently announced to take over from David Koepp, who worked on the first installments of Columbia Pictures’ billion-dollar franchise.
However, no deals been announced to have been made yet for bringing back the series’ director Sam Raimi or the popular “Spider-Man” stars actor Tobey Maguire and actress Kirsten Dunst.
Although the plot points are being closely guarded by the studio, it seems that the intent for the new installment is to scale back the story for including only two villains instead of repeating the “Spider-Man 3” model.
In the third installment of the “Spider-Man” franchise, the super-hero had to battle against a triumvirate of evil-doers in the forms of Goblin, Sandman and Venom. The installment grossed no less than $336.5 million domestically this year.
Although many writers have been considered for this fourth installment of the “Spider-Man” movie, James Vanderbilt seems to have been chosen among all of them for his character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on the special effects of the action movie.

The popular British actor Rupert Friend has been announced to join Emily Blunt in the historical drama movie, “The Young Victoria”. Rupert Friend will take the role of Prince Albert.
Jean-Marc Vallee’s historical drama follows the romance and marriage of Queen Victoria to her first cousin Albert during her famous tumultuous 19th-century reign. The film will start shooting next month in the United Kingdom.
Rupert Friend has co-starred alongside Keira Knightley in the same-British-spirit movie “Pride & Prejudice”. He has starred also alongside Johnny Depp in “The Libertine”, which brought Rupert Friend also the 2005 British Independent Film Awards honor fo most promising newcomer.
“The Young Victoria” will be only one of the more than half-dozen movies that Rupert Friend will be starring in or filming this year; many of them are also historical dramas. The actor’s most recent appearances include “The Moon and the Stars,” “Outlaw,” “The Last Legion” and “Virgin Territory”.
He is to star also in the following movies: “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “Jolene” and “The Other Side”.

Angela Bassett and Noah Wyle have been announced to co-star in Rod Lurie’s legal thriller “Nothing but the Truth”. They will star opposite actors Kate Beckinsale and Matt Dillon.
For this movie Kate Beckinsale will take the role of a reporter that will reveal the identity of a CIA agent, but she will as well be sent to jail because of her refusing to reveal her source. Angela Bassett will play the reporter’s Washington paper’s supportive editor in chief, while Noah Wyle will play the lawyer that will be placed in charge of defending the reporter.
Other actors that will be involved in this Yari Film Group project will be Alan Alda, David Schwimmer, Harry Lennix and Vera Farmiga. The filming will begin in Memphis this month.
Angela Bassett has recently starred in the movie “Akeelah and the Bee”, while Noah Wyle has appeared in “Boy of Pigs”.

When it happened for you to become a star, you are not allowed anymore to make mistakes, although it is in man’s nature to make mistakes. However, when you reach that faze and you are called a very important person or a movie or music (or whatever) star, you become also very responsible. It is not only your personal life that becomes part of everybody’s daily business, but it is especially your public life that starts to be so important. And obvious what you do in your field (theater, cinema or music) is the subject of everybody’s top expectations.
Unfortunately, to make mistakes is something common for everybody. Although some of us live by having high hopes and desires for reaching perfection through every move, the other really need only good results in their career. However, unfortunately and once again unfortunately, mistakes happen. The media goes crazy and you get really ashamed of yourself when have disappointed so many people, but making mistakes is part of your life, so be brave!
So, be brave, you too, Mr. Francis Ford Coppola, although your latest movie “Youth without Youth” has proved to be a big mistake! Be brave and walk like a man; no one will over contest your previous works and your talent! You’re an Oscar winning director and that’s what counts for us.
Still, it seems that in Francis Ford Coppola’s case waiting too much has proved to do rather wrong to his directing talent. It has been no less than about 10 years since the Oscar-winning director has last worked behind the camera. His known talent, however, has made everybody have high expectation for his new movie charmingly titled “Youth without Youth” that has been just screened on Sunday at the RomaCinemaFest. Although the movie’s title could have been hiding a wide range of movie styles, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Youth without Youth” has proved to be muddled fantasy about the souls’ transmigration.
Still, the movie has also its qualities: firstly, it has been made on a low budget; secondly, there is something within it that shows that it is really a Francis Coppola movie after all. But, the bad parts of the work are there and they are also important: first of all the movie’s story is full of arcane references that most of us will find rather nonsensical; then the actors’ performances are a letdown. And last but not least the movie lacks suspense and coherence, while the movie becomes probably more attractive for some strange cult, than for Francis Ford Coppola’s fans.
When Tim Roth’s character gets struck by the lighting, he starts not only to grow younger and younger, but he starts also to master languages he has never known. So maybe the religious cult that will be mostly attracted by Coppola’s movie will be the Pentecostals, after all.
The action of “Youth without Youth” will begin in 1938, in Bucharest, Romania, and it will also feature Nazi spies, fascists, but also a beautiful young woman, who will also get struck by the lightning. However, the woman will get the reverted process of the lighting strike, as she will start aging with the speed of light. She will as well be turned into a seventh century disciple of Chandrakirti and she will also be able to speak ancient languages and so on.
The movie’s action gets even more complicated that this, but it will never get to a meaningful end. The action seems not only nonsensical, but it is neither coherent. Although the movie was based on the very important fantastic (and no only) novelist Mircea Eliade and although Francis Ford Coppola appears to be clearly captivated by the Romanian author’s mystical contemplations, unfortunately the director’s fascination hasn’t been translated into a fascinating movie after all.
The movie features mostly Romanian actors and cinematographers such as actresses Alexandra Maria Clara, Alexandra Pirici, actors Marcel Inures, Florin Piersic Jr. and late Adrian Pintea, as well as cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. and the production designer Calin Papura and others.
But, unfortunately, everybody’s efforts have been translated in nothing else but a big disappointment. This sometimes has to happen too, isn’t it, no mater that you’re Francis Ford Coppola or another big name…

The Romanian director Cristian Mungiu has reached international stardom when his second film, “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”, has won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. But the Romanian director has said that reaching a wider audience is more important to him than the glory of awards. However, the Palme d’Or Award is really something, after all!
Cristian Mungiu’s “4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days”, which is currently showing at the New York Film Festival, is based on the true story of two students from the communist Romania who are trying to arrange an abortion.
But the 39-year-old Romanian director currently hopes to translate his Palme d’Or award from the Cannes Film Festival into a mainstream success in the United States of America too.
“I don’t see myself as an arthouse filmmaker, making films for small theaters and few people.” – Cristian Mungiu has told Reuters in an interview.
While he was pleased to be the first Romanian to win the top award at Cannes, he said, “it is not like I am jumping for joy every day, it doesn’t work like this. I care about awards … but I just want to reach more people who would get something from the story.” Still, the award from Cannes really represents the sharpest way of reaching more and more audiences, isn’t it?
However, the director has welcomed early positive reactions from the U.S. audiences, but on the other hand he does not expect his European success will translate to film awards on this side of the Atlantic.
“It would be a huge bonus for us to be nominated for the Oscars, but it is not necessarily … the kind of cinema that would normally be awarded here.” – has said director Cristian Mungiu.
“4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days” is a movie that takes a bleak look at two girls that will be negotiating an abortion during the regime of leader Nicolae Ceausescu, when abortion is illegal.
But Mungiu, who directed and wrote the screenplay, has said that this movies hasn’t been munch about abortion, than about a personal story reflecting the hardships of every day life at the time.
Nicolae Ceausescu was deposed and shot by a firing squad in 1989 after a secret military tribunal found him and his wife guilty of crimes against the state.
“If you have this ability to find a relevant story that is close to you, it is going to be much more complex than if you start writing a piece about communism or abortion or whatever.” – Cristian Mungiu has said..
Other Romanians, including directors Corneliu Porumboiu and Cristi Puiu have had success in recent years, but Mungiu’s win set off the biggest celebration yet among Romanians.
“They felt the joy as if we won something in football, in sport,” he said. “It showed how much this (film) did for the image of the country in a way.”
He hopes a series of films he is producing from the same communist era would be seen by just as many people worldwide.
“I can’t compete with Spiderman 3 and it is OK they will go and see that film, but there are people who want to see a film like mine too.”