I’m surprised that Ashley Tisdale is coming back to The Disney Channel in a High School Musical spinoff when all the news reports about her kept saying she was done playing Sharpay Evans and looking to go edgy as a pop star. But here she is, starring in the Disney Channel original movie slated for a 2011 premiere, Shar…

I just received official notification that, on April 1st, Alan Elliott is resigning from the Organizing Committee of the Association of Media Composers and Lyricists “after four years of dedicated service in advancing our unionization efforts” with Teamsters Local 399. “The Organizing Committee, in recognition of his…

While Leonardo DiCaprio is likely to next star in the Clint Eastwood'-directed Hoover, he's also eyeing another A-list filmmaker for a different screen vehicle. DiCaprio's having early talks with Oliver Stone to direct The Deep Blue Good-By, an adaptation of the John D. MacDonald mystery novel series. DiCaprio and his…

UPDATED: The deadline had been March 31st and then April 1st and now April 5th. So here’s the latest: Disney just a few months ago may have hoped for $700+ million, but it’s not going to happen after the past few weeks of due diligence by potential bidders. Fact is that sources tell me the Miramax auction process is…

UPDATES: ABC/CBS/Fox Affiliates Demand Meeting With Comcast About NBCU Deal With the deadline looming for the FCC to receive comments by May 3rd and reply comments by June 17th, expect to see more opposition surface to the Comcast/NBCU deal. Here’s the letter which Tim Busch, the head of CBS affiliates, just…

CNBC’s Julia Boorstin, whose media outlet is privy to private info surrounding the deal, breaks the news today that independent affiliates of ABC, CBS, and Fox “are raising concerns” about Comcast’s acquisition of rival network NBC Universal. They’re looking to ensure that the Comcast buy won’t hurt their negotiating…

UPDATES Is Betting On Box Office Good For Films? WORST IDEA EVER? Wall Street Plans Futures Exchange Tied To Box Office Washington, DC (March 31, 2010) – A growing coalition of entertainment industry workers, creators, independent producers and distributors, business organizations and theater owners today announced…

EXCLUSIVE: Leonardo DiCaprio is in early talks to play FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in Hoover, an epic drama that Clint Eastwood will direct and that he and Brian Grazer will produce with Rob Lorenz through Imagine and Malpaso. Talks with Leo are just getting underway, but I’m told that DiCaprio will play the lead…

The Treme staff writer and co-executive producer died of a brain aneurism yesterday. He was only 48. HBO just issued this statement: “HBO is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of our dear friend and colleague David Mills. He was a gracious and humble man, and will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved him, as…

Before Tom Cruise chose Knight and Day as his follow-up to Valkyrie, he had every studio custom-tailoring as Cruise vehicles films that included the DreamWorks action film Motorcade, The Tourist (which rebounded as a Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie vehicle), a teaming with Denzel Washington in the Robert Ludlum novel…

Neal McDonough is a marvelous actor who elevates every role he plays, whether it’s in Band of Brothers or Desperate Housewives. So when he was suddenly replaced with David James Elliott 3 days into the filming on ABC’s new series Scoundrels earlier this week, there had to be a story behind the story. The move was…

New Line has set a summer start date on the third installment of the Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle franchise, with the Warner Bros-based company about to hire a director, and seriously considering doing the film in 3D. The film is Christmas-themed, giving Warner Bros a nice R-rated holiday release for 2011 or…