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Movie Box Office - July 24th, 2023

1. #BarbieTheMovie - $162.02M

2. #Oppenheimer - $82.46M

3. #SoundOfFreedom - $19.83M

4. #MissionImpossible - $19.35M

5. #IndianaJones - $6.68M

6. #InsidiousMovie - $6.64M

7. #Elemental- $5.72M

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IMDb

Box Office Mojo

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Wikipedia (Box Office)

Local pop culture and arts agency excited about Randwick Ritz cinema having reopened its doors

Sports movies and documentaries; Wrestling, Lucha Libre, NRL, Baseball, Surfing and more

Movie trailer promotions; Good, bad or indifferent for movie goers, critiques and the business of film making

Profiles

SKYFALL The Man With The Iron Fists Amazing Spider-Man Thor The Avengers

Les Misérables The Dark Knight Rises The Expendables Expendables 2 Gangster Squad

Casino The Bourne Legacy Mission: Impossible The Great Gatsby Pulp Fiction Jaws

War Of The World's The Incredible Hulk X-Men Origins Ghost Rider

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RAMBO THE TERMINATOR SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER HIGH NOON TOP GUN

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Media Man Movies Blog Entertainment News

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Runner Runner movie review and trailer

Human Statue Bodyart contracted for Warner Bros. - DC Comics - Injustice Gods Among Us; Creates Wonder-Woman and Green Lantern

Human Statues Bodyart ramps up movie themes: James Bond - Goldfinger and Skyfall

Fast 6 exceeds projections - 25th May 2013

The Rock VS CM Punk pro wrestling news; Dwayne Johnson Hollywood movie news

'Star Trek: Into Darkness' Sydney, Australia movie premiere - 23rd April 2013

The Great Gatsby: Leonardo DiCaprio,Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan will host ‘The Great Gatsby’ Australian Premiere

The Avengers wins three MTV movie awards - 15th April 2013

Dwayne Johnson Talks G.I. Joe, Teases Hercules and Fast 6

The Rock VS CM Punk pro wrestling news; Dwayne Johnson Hollywood movie news

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Hollywood movie news wrap-up: Marvel Entertainment news and Marvel Comics movie themes

The Amazing Spider-Man™ 2 begins production in New York

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Brings His Action-Oriented Brand to TV: New Reality Show 'The Hero' Poised to Premiere in 2013

Marvel's The Avengers Tops 2012 Box Office Takings

The Rock VS CM Punk pro wrestling news; Dwayne Johnson Hollywood movie news

Superhero movie line-up for Australia in 2013

James Bond VS Goldfinger showdown voted greatest 007 movie moment

Bond film Skyfall breaks $1bn record at global box office; Global and Australian box office numbers

James Packer going to Hollywood to help make movies; Big money still talks in showbiz -
13th December 2012

News

'The Wolverine' claws way to top of box office - 28th July 2013
(AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Wolverine" slashed monsters and minions to debut atop the weekend box office.

The Fox film featuring Hugh Jackman's sixth turn as the claw-wielding superhero opened with $55 million in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Last weekend's top movie, Warner Bros.' low-budget horror "The Conjuring," slipped to second place, adding another $22.1 million to its take.

"Despicable Me 2" was in third with $16 million. The Universal animated sequel, with its cast of cute, yellow minions, has made more than $600 million worldwide since it came out four weeks ago.

"The Wolverine," which is set in Japan and features an international cast, earned another $86.1 million overseas. The film's opening-week take surpassed the $120 million it cost to make, said Chris Aronson, Fox's head of domestic distribution.

"It's a huge opening for the clawed one," he said. "It played equally well from Maine to Maui."

Another Fox film, the animated snail-racing tale "Turbo," was in fourth place with $13.3 million. Adam Sandler's "Grown Ups 2" followed with $11.5 million.

Woody Allen's latest, "Blue Jasmine," enjoyed a stellar opening of its own, though on a much smaller scale. Starring Cate Blanchett, the film opened in just six theaters but still collected $612,767.

"It's one of the biggest opening per-theater averages ever for a non-animated film," said Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Ticket sales this weekend were up almost 30 percent over the same weekend last summer, he said.

"It was a good weekend to be a moviegoer because the choices just got a lot more interesting," Dergarabedian said, noting a mix that includes animated, independent and big-budget action offerings.

"Fruitvale Station," the Sundance winner already generating Oscar buzz, expanded to theaters across the country and edged its way into the top 10, contributing to a summer box office that is up more than 10 percent over last year.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.

1. "The Wolverine," $55 million ($86.1 million international).

2. "The Conjuring," $22.1 million ($6.9 million international).

3. "Despicable Me 2," $16 million ($24.5 million international).

4. "Turbo," $13.3 million ($12.5 million international).

5. "Grown Ups 2," $11.5 million ($4.2 million international).

6. "Red 2," $9.4 million ($6.1 million international).

7. "Pacific Rim," $7.5 million ($14.25 million international).

8. "The Heat," $6.85 million ($3.1 million international).

9. "R.I.P.D.," $5.85 million ($3.1 million international).

10. "Fruitvale Station," $4.65 million.

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "The Wolverine," $86.1 million.

2. "Fast & Furious 6," $25.3 million.

3. "Despicable Me 2," $24.5 million.

4. "White House Down," $19.8 million.

5. "Monsters University," $15.6 million.

6. "Pacific Rim," $14.25 million.

7. "Turbo," $12.5 million.

8. "The Conjuring," $6.9 million.

9. "Red 2," $6.1 million.

10. "World War Z," $5.6 million.

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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Stan Lee Media sues Disney for billions over Marvel copyright et al - 10th October 2012

Pop culture and comic icon Stan Lee fighting Disney re Marvel; Not a Marvel video game!; Stan Lee takes gamble on legal fight with Disney...

Stan Lee Media (SLM) has launched info a multi-billion dollar legal lawsuit VS entertainment and media giant Disney claiming the entertainment king does not own the rights to the Marvel Comics characters depicted in its films. Huge claim, we know.

The company, which Stan Lee himself is no longer associated with, claims that the comic book icon signed over the rights to the superheroes and villains he created to its corporate predecessor in a deal inked back to 1998.

SLM claims that an amended version of that agreement was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2000 - that's almost a decade before Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment, online publisher Deadline reports.

The company is seeking $5.5 billion in damages, an amount calculated based on the profits from movies such as The Avengers, X-Men: First Class and Thor, as well as the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. These are some of the most popular movies of the current Hollywood era.

"Defendant The Walt Disney Company has represented to the public that it, in fact, owns the copyright to these characters as well as to hundreds of other characters created by Stan Lee," read SLM's complaint.

"Those representations made to the public by The Walt Disney Company are false."

Disney, which acquired Marvel in a massive financial deal in 2009, is yet to respond to the allegations.

Stay tuned to the Media Man agency for more news as it comes to hand true believers.

News

Movie, celebrity, entertainment and gaming news: James Bond, WWE, Wrestling...
- 6th October 2012

Entertainment news, WWE, Hollywood, Australia, Sin City, Las Vegas, gaming and more...

What an exciting time for entertainment, movies, gaming and wrestling fans. WWE new angles and storylines, plus Main Event hits Australian TV, Bwin.Party has just released a new game, and you must check out the new Marvel Heroes online game. We've also got Hollywood box office reports, pro wrestling scoops, celebrity news and lots more. The Media Man agency with the latest...

James Bond new documentary...

The highs and lows of the James Bond film franchise have been brought into the spotlight with the release of a new documentary.

'Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007' charts the story behind the movie franchise and has been launched to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the films.

Director Steven Riley told Reuters he was pleased the producers let him delve into the story behind the stories.

'I wanted to tell a real truthful history of the franchise, so I had requested that we could tackle some of the tricky areas, some of the hard luck story of Bond and they were thankfully very open about that,' he said.

'There were many obstacles in the way, there were changing times to cope with changing generations, tastes, there were changing relations - well personal struggles and personal relationship failures and really how did the films survive despite those obstacles in the way was something I really wanted to get to the root of.' Riley said.

The documentary interviews five of the six official bond actors with the original Bond, Sean Connery, a noticeable absence after turning down interview requests.

Former Bond girls mingled with the biggest names in James Bond at the premier screening in London earlier this week.

Among the guests were the children of the pioneering producers of the film franchise Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.

'Well you know it's our baby and we feel very very protective over the Bond franchise, it's something our father started over 50 years ago and he had great passion for it and we have just been carrying the flame.' Cubby's daughter Barbara Broccoli told Reuters.

'Everything or Nothing' was released in theatres on Friday October 5, branded 'Global James Bond Day'.

Adele's Bond theme tops iTunes...

Adele's theme for the new Bond film Skyfall has shot to the top of the iTunes chart within hours of its release today.

The track is hotly tipped to become the first 007 theme to make it to number one in the official chart when it is announced on Sunday.

The song - also called Skyfall is her first new material since her career exploded following the success of second album 21 early last year.

Vince McMahon returning to WWE television on Monday's Raw (U.S Report)...

WWE head Vince McMahon will return to WWE television on Monday's Raw. WWE said Friday that McMahon will deliver a "State of WWE Address."

Potential topics hinted at by WWE include Raw GM A.J. Lee's job performance, McMahon's future in WWE (storyline-wise), and the fictional Board of Directors.

McMahon's return to television follows a typical pattern. When WWE Raw TV ratings slide to alarmingly-low levels, which was the case this week, it usually leads to McMahon returning to television.

The pattern was in-play this spring when Raw slipped below a 3.0 rating during the post-WrestleMania lull period, which prompted McMahon to return to television. Raw then received an artificial boost leading into the Raw 1,000 episode.

Following the Raw 1,000 episode on July 23, Raw's TV ratings sunk back to the 3.0-ratings level. Raw then dipped below a 3.0 rating the previous four weeks against football before tumbling to a 2.5 rating this week.

WWE News: WWE and Ion release "Main Event" TV ratings info - how did the premiere episode fare? (U.S Report)...

WWE and Ion Television issued a press release Thursday evening announcing they are pleased with the ratings performance for the premiere episode "WWE Main Event" on Wednesday, October 3, which featured WWE champion C.M. Punk vs. World Hvt. champion Sheamus.

The press release did not provide an official TV rating, but noted average male viewership was 876,000 and average female viewership was 518,000. It translates to an average audience of about 1.4 million viewers. Additional information provided:

- Main Event drew the "highest male audience in the last year" on Ion Network in males 18-49 (422,000 viewers on-average) and males 25-54 (444,000 average viewers).

- Main Event ranked #4 during its time period among males 18-34 & males 18-49. The show ranked #5 in males 25-54.

- WWE and Ion claim Main Event topped the MLB regular season finales on ESPN and ESPN2 among key male and adult demos.

- Main Event topped most female cable networks with the average female viewing audience of 518,000.

WWE CEO Vince McMahon commented in the press release: "Our partnership with ION Television is off to a strong start. We expect our fans will make WWE Main Event the number one show on the network as they have done for WWE programs with all of our other TV Partners.”

The press release also slipped in a note about "Main Event" being comparable to the U.S. presidential debate between U.S. president Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, which immediately followed WWE's show. The release headlines: "Obama vs. Romney was not the only match viewers tuned into on Wednesday night."

The Rock on: Dwayne Johnson’s new competition series, The Hero; U.S auditions...

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will headline and executive-produce a new competition series, The Hero, set to premiere in the summer of 2013 on TNT. Producers are going on a seven-city U.S. casting call for the series, searching for “competitors who display the physical, mental and emotional strength to participate in a battle of brains, brawn and morality, resulting in one winner being named the ultimate hero.”

The show will host Dallas auditions on Oct. 20 at the new Studio Movie Grill, 13933 N. Central Expressway at Spring Valley Road, Far North Dallas. For more information, visit theherotnt.com.

The show will “bring together 10 ordinary people in a house, and then assign them various missions … [it] will challenge the competitors to prove that they’ve got what it takes to be heroes, pushing them to the limits to see what they are willing (and able) to overcome, undergo or sacrifice for their fellow contestants,” the press release continues. “Johnson will serve as The Hero‘s mentor and motivator. … In a unique twist on the reality-competition format, The Hero will incorporate social media into every facet of the show, from pre-production and casting to on-location shooting and live broadcasts. Through the show’s interactive digital platform, viewers will be able to vote each week for the contestant they consider to be the most heroic.”

Off beat festival fires up...

A Tasmanian festival combining music and art has been launched with a drumming performance in Hobart's River Derwent.

A drummer wearing zebra print gumboots strode into the water in front of Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art, to launch the upcoming MONA FOMA Festival.

She played for about ten minutes on a drum kit in the river.

The upcoming festival will include Indian bongo drums, theatre performances and quirky art installations all over Hobart.

Curator Brian Ritchie is expecting a big crowd and says last week's Helpmann Award for best contemporary music festival in Australia is likely to boost numbers.

"We have seen steady growth of visitors coming for MONA FOMA and we would expect that to increase," he said.

The festival runs from the 16th to the 20th of January.

Former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista weighs in for MMA fight...

Former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista weighed in at 265.5 lbs. for his MMA debut tomorrow against Vince Lucero (20-22), who weighed in at 300 pounds. The two heavyweights will square off at "Real Pain" from The Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I.

"I'm doing this for my love and passion of MMA, not for personal reasons," Bautista said of the fight. "I'm tired of talking about myself at this point, but I want to thank everyone who has supported me and supported this event."

Batista also spoke to "The Nick and Artie Show" to promote tomorrow's fight, you can listen to the interview below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eKZAfZ-nq8&feature=player_embedded

Arnie admits cheating with Stallone's ex-wife...

Arnold Schwarzenegger had an affair with Brigitte Nielsen shortly before she wed Sylvester Stallone.

The philandering actor has revealed he had a steamy fling with the actress - who was once married to his good pal Sylvester - during the early years of his relationship with now ex-wife Maria Shriver.

Arnold has confessed to having an affair with the Danish actress while he was dating Maria in his new autobiography, according to US gossip website TMZ.

He wrote that he and Brigitte became close while filming 'Red Sonja' together in 1985; the same year she married Sylvester.

The 'Terminator' film star's admission comes more than a year after Brigitte originally blew the whistle on their "outrageous affair" in her own memoir 'You Only Get One Life', in which she claimed she didn't know he was living with Maria at the time.

Maria is said to be furious with the actor for doing an interview about her reaction to his new book on '60 Minutes' because she did not receive an advance copy of his tell-all and was not contacted by the show to give her own reaction before their interview.

He has also reportedly told Maria that she should not expect a share of the profits from his autobiography, 'Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story', even though much of the book is about their relationship.

Arnold recently admitted his affair was the "stupidest thing" he ever did in his marriage.

He said: "I think it was the stupidest thing I've done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids."

WWE Studios 'The Day' positive movie reviews...

"The Day" hit theaters this week and the positive reviews are in on WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films' chilling horror film about a day in the lives of a group of people living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Variety by Marc Graser

" 'The Day' is one of the most effective horror movies made in years, successfully delivering a feeling of dread that so many films in the genre lack these days, along with a unique story and captivating characters. Douglas Aarniokoski doesn’t take the easy out in his direction and never relies on camp or amps up the gore quotient to thrill audiences. He’s an impressive filmmaker who is worth keeping an eye on."

HollywoodLife.com by Russ Weakland

"WWE Studios and Anchor Bay Films have always delivered films all over the spectrum and with 'The Day' they continue to entertain us with a story of humanity torn by war, destroying civilizations and most of all life on earth, which makes those that are the survivors realize they must do whatever it takes to stay alive." ...

"So if you want to go out and see a film that will make you think and give you some jumps and chills 'The Day' is your movie. You will not be disappointed!"

The Los Angeles Times by Mark Olsen

"Luke Passmore's screenplay is stingy with his explanations about who these people are or how the world came to be in this state, and that turns out to be one of the film's greatest strengths." ...

"As Mary, the most recent enlistee to the tribe, [Ashley] Bell has a secretive reserve and steely resolve."

The Rock 'foils would-be burglars in London'...

The Rock has apparently foiled an attempted burglary in London

The actor - also known as Dwayne Johnson - was working on his new movie Fast and Furious 6 in Hackney when he spotted the group of would-be thieves as they attempted to break into vans.

Johnson, who was dressed as an FBI agent for filming, was said to have abandoned a fight scene mid-take in order to confront the group.

"It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand," an insider recalled to The Sun. "All of a sudden, there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down. The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace.

"It was like the Only Fools [and Horses] 'Batman' sequence - they must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie."

The source also quipped that the crew have suggested that actor - wrestler Johnson should be single-handedly responsible for security on the Fast and Furious 6 set.

The source said: “It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand. All of a sudden there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down. The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace.

“It was like the Only Fools Batman sequence — they must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie.

“Now the crew are joking that they should drop security and just have The Rock do it.”

Dwayne Johnson wards off burglars...

London - Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson scared off a gang of would-be thieves on the set of his latest film.

The 40-year-old actor spotted a group of youths breaking into a warehouse in Hackney, East London while filming The Fast and the Furious 6 and stormed off the set mid-scene - dressed in full FBI agent costume - to chase the burglars away.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "It was so funny. The Rock looked like an action hero because he had his flak jacket on and an FBI badge in his hand.

Quick thinking

"All of a sudden there was loads of gunfire and this giant dressed as a copper was about to mow them down.

"The lads jumped out of their skin and scarpered down the canal path and left the crew in peace. They must have thought they were in the middle of a real-life action movie.

"Now the crew are joking that they should drop security and just have The Rock do it."

The former wrestler managed to prevent the theft of expensive equipment thanks to his quick thinking and his impressive 6'5" frame.

The Fast and the Furious 6 also stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and singer Rihanna, who is set to play a villain in the popular film franchise.

Box Office results for new WWE movie...

WWE Studios's latest movie, "The Day," drew an estimated $10,100 in its first full weekend in theaters. The movie, which was shown in 12 theaters, ranked 52 out of 54 movies tracked over the weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. (Pro Wrestling Torch) - U.S news report

No Holds Barred star facing prison time...

Tommy "Tiny" Lister, who was back in the spotlight this summer when WWE re-released "No Holds Barred" on DVD, faces up to five years of prison time for alleged mortgage fraud. Lister, who played Zeus in the WWE movie, pled guilty to "conspiring to commit mortgage fraud" in federal court on Friday, according to a TMZ report.

According to the plea agreement, Lister and other individuals conspired to obtain mortgages worth $5.7 million, costing lenders $2.6 million. Lister was also accused of defrauding lenders of another $1.1 million. Lister is due back in court in September for sentencing, which could be up to five years in federal prison.

David Otunga talks WWE and movies...

WWE wrestler David Otunga said in a recent interview that he hopes to eventually advance to the top of the card in WWE. "I am very goal oriented and want to see my character go to the top. I am hoping to have the creative freedom to do that and let it pan out the way I would like. It’s exciting for sure and hopefully in the next few weeks my character continues to grow," Otunga told ChicagoNow.com promoting Raw.

Otunga also discussed his recent movie role for WWE Studios's "The Hive." Otunga said, "The film was unbelievably fun because it came to me second nature. With the WWE, the acting classes, and the improv I do it was very easy to blend in. The only major difference was me having to shave. I haven’t shaved in many, many years but it had to be done and it helped me get into character."

WWE Interested In Lingerie Football Star...

The WWE NXT website has added a profile for Summer Rae and in that profile they acknowledge her past career with the Lingerie Football League. On a related note, WWE apparently has interest in another LFL star - Zipporah Chase.

NWA documentary news...

Charleston Post & Courier columnist Mike Mooneyham's Sunday column features a review of a new NWA documentary, "History and Tradition: The Story of the National Wrestling Alliance," which focuses heavily on the history and prestige of the NWA World Title. The story also reviews the current state of the NWA, which is being re-organized by R. Bruce Tharpe after buying the rights to the organization. Included are quotes from PWTorch senior columnist Bruce Mitchell on the history of and state of the NWA and his view on whether the organization has a place in today's wrestling era.

WWE News: Jericho details WWE's lack of long-term planning & day-of-TV-changes in interview on his 2012 WWE run...

In an interview with the Busted Open satellite radio show, Chris Jericho highlighted WWE's lack of long-term planning and changes on the day of TV tapings, which has been exacerbated by Raw shifting to three hours, in a review of his 2012 WWE run.

Notably, Jericho said he did not find out about his "Contract vs. Contract" send-off match against Dolph Ziggler on the August 20 Raw the night after Summerslam until ten minutes before Raw started.

"I didn’t know until the day I showed up, actually ten minutes before Raw started in Fresno that we were doing this contract vs. contract thing. So, I didn’t even know this was going to happen. I just figured I would have a match with Dolph and that would be the end of it," Jericho said.

"So, people who think that there is some long, drawn-out, plan, it really wasn’t. It was about ten minutes before the show started and I was like 'Oh, we are doing a contract vs contract thing? Oh okay.' So there you go, a little special behind the scenes look."

Jericho also said WWE did not have a plan for his feud with Dolph Ziggler when it started after the Money in the Bank PPV in July. Jericho said he pressed for a back-story to their feud before their strong opening promo.

"I couldn’t wait to work with Dolph but I needed a story. What’s the story? They said, 'we will think of one later.' I said, 'I don’t like that.' I need to think of one now since I have a promo tonight with Dolph. We can't think about this next week," Jericho said.

Jericho added, "That’s when I came up with the concept of everyone was bitching that Jericho never won a match on PPV... I thought it would be real interesting to go with the 'you can’t win the big one' scenario. But sometimes the writers will write 'this old broken down guy who is on the last legs of his career.' I’m like, 'Wait a second, broken down? I’m in the best shape of my life, never been hurt, I’ve never missed a match...' I wanted to focus on the storyline of 'he can’t win the big one.' It gave us a great place to go."

Jericho has said in recent interviews that he wasn't supposed to feud with Ziggler in his send-off program culminating at Summerslam. Jericho expanded on his reaction to being told he wouldn't be feuding with the other candidates, Sheamus and Daniel Bryan.

"Originally I was supposed to feud with Sheamus, and then it was Daniel Bryan. Then the day of Raw, they said I was doing something with Dolph. I was like, 'What happened to Daniel Bryan and Sheamus?' They said it changed and I was fine with it. I’ve been doing this long enough that I roll with the punches," Jericho said.

Regarding future stars on the roster replacing the old guard, Jericho talked about the uphill battle that wrestlers like Ziggler and Miz have in front of them not being having well-rounded wrestling experience outside of WWE. Jericho said, "When that light bulb comes on and they already have ninety percent, but that last ten percent is what makes you a great performer; some guys never figure out that last ten percent and when the guys do, that’s when they become guys you can base companies around and put in main events."

Specifically on whether Ziggler can be a future main-eventer, Jericho said, "Dolph is one of the best guys on the roster, but he is still learning as are a lot of the other guys. People say, 'Oh, Damien Sandow is the next guy or Kofi.' These guys are still learning. In time, I think these guys will be amazing, amazing performers. But, right now they are still on their way up the learning tree. So, yes, I think Dolph is going to be an amazing performer. Yes, I think the Miz is going to be a great performer. Lots of guys are getting into that zone, but they are still learning... It’s a different world out there right now than the way it used to be. There is a lot of great, great performers or potential great performers that are on the way to getting there." [ FYI: Busted Open with Dave Lagreca and Doug Mortman can be heard from 2:00 to 4:00 EST on Sirius 94, XM 208, and Sportszone 860 on the Internet ] (Pro Wrestling Torch)

Ric Flair Comments On 'Hangover 3' Campaign And His Daughter Working For WWE NXT...

We noted before that fans online are trying to get WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair a cameo appearance in The Hangover 3 movie. Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald spoke with Flair this weekend about the campaign and The Nature Boy is perfectly fine with it.

"Oh man, I love my fans. So cool they started this whole campaign. I could play anything, as long as I'm not the guy getting married."

Flair also says he's proud of his daughter Ashley, who is currently working as Charlotte in WWE NXT. Flair said:

"It's my hope that people see that her accomplishments aren't a result of me. She's worked extremely hard for this. It's a very physically and mentally demanding business, and I really just couldn't be more proud."

You can check out the full article by clicking here.http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/01/2980014/hangover-suits-wwe-hall-of-famer.html

Ric Flair going through fourth divorce, waiting for WWE call up...

Details are scarce at the moment, but Dave Meltzer, in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, reported that Ric Flair is currently going through a divorce, his fourth one, with his current wife, Jacqueline Beems. Apparently, Flair is the one who filed for divorce and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their break up.

The news is unsurprising as less than two months ago Flair was assaulted by Beems at his home, according to a local police report. This wasn't the first such incident during their marriage together, as Beems was arrested for simple assault on February 21st, 2010 after getting into a fight with Flair upon their return to their residence after a night out. They managed to patch things up after that highly publicised and embarrassing affair, but obviously the second fight that required police intervention was the straw that broke the camel's back.

The cause of their second fight together never came out publicly. But Ric Flair still living The Nature Boy lifestyle and their money problems worsening, what with Flair losing his job with TNA, were all likely at least partly to blame. Ric's adultery was at the heart of his divorce with second wife, Beth; while third wife, Tiffany VanDemark, quickly "had enough" of his inability to retire gracefully and lead a more normal lifestyle with her.

Expect a fifth marriage in the not too distant future for Flair, as he obviously has a psychological need to be in a serious relationship at all times, even though he clearly finds it difficult to fully commit to a partner and amend his behaviour to ensure that a marriage lasts the test of time.

Meltzer also had the latest on his status with WWE:

There was talk surfacing of Flair replacing [Vickie] Guerrero with [Dolph] Ziggler but I don't know how serious that is. Plus, even though Flair can legally start with WWE on 9/10, WWE has yet to sign anyone from TNA since the lawsuit was filed.

This may explain why Ziggler is currently in a holding pattern of putting over the likes of Randy Orton and Sheamus on a seemingly weekly basis. WWE may not want to pull the trigger on him cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase and winning the World Heavyweight Championship until TNA's lawsuit against them for contract tampering has been dealt with and Flair can return to WWE as his manager.

I have mixed feelings on Flair becoming Ziggler's new manager. Though it should help Ziggler to be taken more seriously, there is the risk that he will be overshadowed by Flair and make it more difficult for him to get heel heat. At least being managed by Vickie ensures plenty of boos. Personally, I think Flair would be much better utilised in an onscreen figurehead role - what do you think Cagesiders? (Cageside Seats)

Joss Whedon: 'The Avengers isn't a perfect movie'...

Joss Whedon has claimed that The Avengers isn't "a great movie".

The film has met with critical acclaim and outstanding commercial success, becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time in just a few months, but Whedon, the superhero blockbuster's writer and director, is determined to keep his feet on the ground.

In an interview with Vulture, the 48-year-old claimed that the box office numbers became, ultimately, "meaningless".

He said: "They're large, and you can't really count that high."

Describing what his goals were with The Avengers, he claimed: "I felt like I had a particular mission in making what I felt was a slightly old-fashioned movie, because I grew up wanting to make summer movies and wanting to make superhero movies, and I got to do both at once.

"I felt like summer movies haven't been what I remember them to be, so I felt like I would love to evoke something that's less hip and ironic and more heartfelt and character-driven, and apparently, other people cared about that in a large way."

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly creator then conceded: "I don't think it's a perfect movie. I don't even think it's a great movie. I think it's a great time, and I'm proud of it, but for me, what was exciting is that people don't go to see a movie that many times unless it's pulling on something from within, unless there's a need there. That's very gratifying."

Whedon will oversee a Marvel-produced SHIELD television show for ABC, before starting work on the Avengers sequel, due for a summer 2015 release.

The Avengers Crosses $1.5 Billion At Worldwide Box Office...

While the re-release of The Avengers at the U.S. box office might have failed to break into the top ten Labor Day weekend movies, it did help The Avengers reach another major milestone. The Avengers has become the third movie in history to cross the $1.5 billion mark at the worldwide box office.

While retaining its number three position on the worldwide box office list, The Avengers took in another estimated $1.7 million over Labor Day weekend, which brought The Avengers U.S. box office total to $619.5 million and The Avengers worldwide box office total to $1.501 billion.

Interestingly enough, The Dark Knight Rises also reached a milestone today, surpassing $1 billion at the worldwide box office, which means that combined The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises have accounted for $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office this year. If you add in The Amazing Spider-Man, which currently sits at number four on the 2012 worldwide box office list with $734.9 million, then the total rises to $3.2 billion. It’s definitely a good time to be in the superhero movie making business.

Jim Carrey joins Kick-Ass 2 cast...

Jim Carrey has been offered the role of Colonel Stars in Jeff Wadlow's superhero comedy, director Jeff Wadlow has strongly hinted.

Director Jeff Wadlow and creator Mark Millar have hinted that the 50-year-old funnyman has landed the coveted role of Colonel Stars in the sequel to 2010's wacky superhero comedy.

Jeff tweeted: "6 days till we start shooting... and we officially have our Colonel. Alrighty f'n then! @ChloeGMoretz @MintzPlasse @donald_faison #kickass2. (sic)"

After Christopher Mintz-Plasse replied asking who his new co-star was going to be, the original comic book's author Mark replied: "Clue - he lives with 200 raccoons and parrots, owns the mask of Loki and named by spielberg as a genius. (sic)"

During Jim's 1994 film 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective', which sees him play the titular character, his alter-ego is a private investigator who specialises in the retrieval of captive animals.

'The Mask' star Jim is reportedly a big fan of the original 'Kick-Ass' film by Matthew Vaughn and was being courted to play the born again Christian superhero, who assembles a motley crew of superheroes to help fight evil.

The sequel will see several new additions to the cast, including 'Scrubs' actor Donald Faison as Doctor Gravity and John Leguizamo as Red Mist's bodyguard, Javier.

The comedy will begin shooting this Friday (07.08.12) and sees Aaron Johnson returning as the lead Kick-Ass, while co-stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage are also reprising their roles from the first film.

'Kick-Ass 2' is set for release in June 2013.

Aussie actors Crowe and Jackman at war...

Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman are at war!

According to various news reports, the actors having been fighting like catty tween girls while shooting the new Les Miserables movie.

“They refuse to be in the same room – trying to get them to promote a film together is a nightmare,” a source tells Star magazine.

“They’ve known each other for a decade, but during this shoot, any shred of civility was thrown aside. They can’t stand each other, each calling the other an embarrassment to the profession.

“Russell sneers at Hugh’s musical-theater background. But Hugh says Russell embarrassed his country with his bad reputation in Hollywood.”

Costar Anne Hathaway has tried to mend fences, but the actors won’t budge.

“Producers hope she can convince them to come to a truce, but it’s not looking very promising,” said the source

Idea of the moment: Crowe VS Jackman at WWE WrestleMania (Jackman is a known massive WWE fan and has participated in a physical WWE angle in the past, so here's hoping).

Howzat: Kerry Packer's war on cricket may be missing Dennis Lillee...

Many in media and sports circles are now buzzing that the true founding father of one-day cricket was not Kerry Packer but Dennis Lillee - yet the TV smash Howzat! whitewashes him from history, one of the original World Series directors has revealed.

In an rocket on Channel 9's ratings blockbuster, World Series Cricket director Austin Robertson - who also featured as a character in the mini-series - said Australians should thank Lillee for creating the one-day game.

In response, the show's producers launched a broadside of their own, claiming they asked Lillee to contribute but the bowling superstar refused to because he wouldn't get any money.

Mr Robertson, who worked closely with the former Nine king and the rebel team, also defended "the Big Fella" and said he was not the bully he was portrayed to be. Nor was the late batting star David Hookes the simpering and indecisive vacillator depicted in the show.

Mr Robertson said Howzat! was great entertainment and brilliantly produced but riddled with inaccuracies.

"The producers made a nonsense of the way they treated the man really responsible for the whole thing - Dennis Lillee," he said.

"Dennis was visible enough but he is not given the acknowledgement for having the idea in the first place, and his contribution in putting the entire thing together. Other people have put their hands up for having the brainchild of WSC but I am here to say that, without Lillee, it would never have happened at the time.

"Though Packer was determined to get the precious television rights, they would never have been delivered at that time without having the best fast bowler in the world in his corner.

"Curiously, the producers of the show, in the curtain-call of the program, in the segment 'Where are the main players today,' DKL was again overlooked.

"I had to ask myself, why did they do that? It was Lillee who delivered the players and, while it was great to be playing on the Packer team, without Lillee it would have never got off the ground."

Southern Star producer John Edwards, who made the show, hit back at Mr Robertson. He said Lillee boycotted the show and "shut down" Mr Robertson after learning no money was on offer.: "He (Robertson) was invited. There's nothing more to say really. He was mad keen on being involved and Dennis got to him and he was shut down. Dennis wanted money.

"We tried to speak to everybody and not everybody wanted to speak. Some people had grievances and grudges.

"(Writer) Chris Lee tried to involve them as much as as possible in the story and they chose not to be involved."

Mr Robertson confirmed he and Lillee had been approached but declined to take part. He declined to comment further or say whether money was an issue.

Lillee could not be reached but he has consistently refused to comment on Howzat!.

Mr Robertson praised Mr Packer and revealed the media tycoon was not as aggressive as the show portrayed: "The portrayal of Kerry as a constant bully and user of foul language is far from the truth. He could bully. I saw him on many occasions rise up like an out-of-control bull elephant and reduce a grown man to tears. I heard him swear like a storm trooper when out of control. But I never saw him chuck a plate of food.

"I thought Kerry was in the main a humble man, often revealing great compassion, a gentle giant who would talk issues out for hours before making a decision, and then following it through.

"The mini-series gave everybody the impression he was a loud, foul- mouthed bully and we saw precious little of his other side."

Channel 9 declined to comment however sources at the network said they felt the show was spot on in capturing Mr Packer.

Mr Robertson also rejected Howzat!'s portrayal of friend David Hookes, who died after an altercation with a bouncer in Melbourne in 2004.

"David was not a weak, indecisive and nervous character who 'spilled the beans' to The Age's Peter McFarline."

And as for his own portrayal Mr Robertson said: "From birth, and throughout the many years I have enjoyed on the earth I have never had a moustache."

Prince Harry; casino tycoon Steve Wynn and fun and games in Las Vegas and beyond...

As the UK's Daily Mail states it's a rare man who walks away from Las Vegas with nothing to regret.

Prince Harry counts the cost of his escapades in Sin City, he may just be coming to regret the day he ever made the acquaintance of casino tycoon Steve Wynn.

Wynn, the self-proclaimed King of Las Vegas, is the billionaire owner of the five-star Encore Wynn resort, the opulent hotel-casino in whose eight-room, £5,100-a-night suite the prince was photographed playing strip billiards.

Unsubstantiated reports this week have suggested that cocaine was snorted in the suite, and that a known prostitute was among the guests. There are even rumours of a video tape capturing the night's events. So how did the third-in-line to the throne come to meet – even befriend – a septuagenarian gambling mogul?

Steve Wynn, a flamboyant showman with a surgically-enhanced, wrinkle-free face, carefully coiffed hair, a volcanic temper and a trophy wife, is famous for befriending celebrities whose patronage would be good for business.

Last November, 70-year-old Wynn was spotted having dinner with the prince in one of his Vegas steakhouses while the Prince was enjoying a weekend break from an advanced helicopter training course in Arizona.

Waiving the bills of celebrities is common practice in Vegas, and it remains unclear who paid the estimated £30,000 bill for Harry's recent stay. According to Wynn's spokesman, the tab was not picked up by either the tycoon or his hotel.

Is the prince welcome to return? I can't see why not,' the spokesman said.

Wynn is unlikely to be perturbed by Harry's naked shenanigans, but if drugs do turn out to have been involved, he may swiftly seek to distance himself from the events. He may be Las Vegas's most revered casino owner, but he still has his gambling licence and his reputation to think about. It is a reputation that Wynn is eager to protect. He has worked hard to erase the stains of the past.

Today, he is widely credited as the man who single-handedly cleaned up' Vegas and made it into a place in which Wall Street could invest and young families could holiday (if parents don't mind their children collecting the prostitutes' calling cards which litter the pavement).

Yet for all his denials, Wynn, who is worth $2.5 billion, has never shaken off accusations that he was linked for many years to the mobsters who once ruled Las Vegas.

He has weathered successive U.S. investigations over everything from drug-dealing to money-laundering, and has never been found to have committed any wrong-doing.

In Britain, the authorities have proved harder to convince. When he tried to open a casino in London to exploit the influx of rich Arabs in the early Eighties, Scotland Yard denied him a licence. But in the desert city of Las Vegas, he remains a swaggering icon. He has a reputation for being sophisticated' but that's by Vegas standards.

This is a man who bought Impressionist masterpieces only to hang them on the walls of his casinos; who reputedly blew his finger off while playing with a gun given to him by a former Mob hitman, and who boasts that his wife Andrea has the greatest butt in the world'.

Money is no object. In 2005, Wynn sank $2.7 billion into building just one hotel the curved glass and steel Wynn Las Vegas. He then did the same again a few years later with the Encore.

So enamoured is he with the idea of himself as Sin City royalty that he arranged his wedding last year to coincide with that of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Hollywood star Clint Eastwood was best man and lingerie model Caprice a bridesmaid. The reception, held in the ballroom of Wynn's Encore resort, boasted a 500-strong guest list which included Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, Lionel Richie, Sir Philip Green and Celine Dion.

Each guest left with a five-inch high replica of the tiered wedding cake, but it's unlikely Wynn or his rake-thin new wife enjoyed much of the banquet. Both are vegans, and the youth-obsessed Wynn, who exists on a diet of vitamin pills, liquidised walnuts and the occasional indulgent dribble of olive oil, boasts that he still has a 32in waistline.

After years of hard graft and wheeler-dealing, he has earned the right to behave as he wishes. The son of an East Coast bingo parlour operator and hardened gambler, the brash and handsome Wynn Jnr expanded the family business to Las Vegas with a string of clever investments and ambitious hustling.

In the Seventies and Eighties, when Wynn was building his empire, Las Vegas was full of the mobsters who had originally built its gambling industry.

Some say it was impossible to work in the city and not come into contact with mafiosi, even unwittingly. Others have suggested that, even so, Wynn had an unusually large number of brushes with the Mob.

Wynn himself has vigorously denied any involvement with the Mob, and none of the numerous law enforcement investigations for gambling licences have ever concluded that he worked for or with organised crime.

In 1967, he was with some business associates of noted mobsters on a private yacht cruise on a lake in Nevada when a naked young woman somehow fell over the back of the boat and was chopped almost in half by the propeller blades. Her death prompted an investigation, but everyone on board denied having seen the incident.

And he had trouble with officials in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1986 after investigators discovered mobster Tony Castelbuono, a friend of Wynn, was laundering the profits of heroin trafficking at his gambling tables. Wynn almost lost his gambling licence.

Today, such tales of the Mob are just water under the bridge. Wynn has re-invented himself as the business genius who demolished seedy gambling joints along the Vegas Strip and replaced them with slick hotel-casinos such as the Mirage (the city's first 3,000-bed hotel), the Treasure Island and the Bellagio.

Part of his success has been his ability to turn on the charm with important people. But Wynn is notorious, too, for his temper. In 1991, he reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum with the former president of Wynn's Golden Nugget casino, who described Wynn as a womanising, brutal boss.

In allegations made in documents lodged at court, it was said that he would get so angry that his eyes bulged and he started screaming at the top of his lungs and banging his head on the table'. There was no admission of liability by Wynn, who denied the allegations.

His mother Zelma claims his tyrannical behaviour is the result of frustration over his failing eyesight. The tycoon suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive genetic disease which effectively gives him tunnel vision by destroying his ability to see peripheral images. In a dark room, he is completely blind.

His vision may be failing, but for years he was infamous for his roving eye, keeping keys to empty rooms at his various hotels for trysts. He was known to favour his female blackjack croupiers.

All that came to a stop when he met the beautiful Mrs Wynn. Usually described as a British socialite, 48-year-old Andrea was, in fact, born in New York but, as her proud husband likes to stress, was raised in England and France. Tres sophistique.

It all sounds rather less chic when you learn that the family moved to France because her father, a wheeler-dealer named Victor Danenza, fled there in 1976 to escape an FBI fraud investigation.

Before becoming the second Mrs Wynn, Andrea had lived in London with her first husband, Texan banker Robert Hissom, a former polo-playing friend of Prince Charles.

She met Wynn in 2008 in St Tropez, where he keeps a yacht, and the couple began a very public romance. Wynn divorced his long-suffering first wife Elaine, after 46 years of marriage, and wed Andrea last year.

Elaine made around $740 million from the settlement one of the biggest payouts in U.S. divorce history. The costly divorce appears not to have troubled Mr Wynn, who is delighted with his new wife.

It's like God made a woman for me,' he once said, before pointing out the part of his wife he most admired the greatest butt in the world'.

It all goes to show that money can buy you neither taste nor manners. Even Wynn's attempts to acquire a collection of old masterpieces have invited accusations that he was vulgar and greedily acquisitive.

He has, since the late Nineties, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on paintings by Picasso and Degas, Caravaggio and Titian. He has several times scooped the world's great galleries at auction, only to horrify the art world by hanging his purchases in his casinos.

At 70, he shows no sign of slowing down though controversy continues to dog him. He was until recently embroiled in a three-year court battle with Joe Francis, founder of the soft porn video empire Girls Gone Wild.

In documents lodged at court, Francis claims Wynn threatened in an email that he would kill him over a $2 million gambling debt. Wynn is alleged to have written that he would hit Francis in the back of the head with a shovel'.

Wynn denies the allegations and claims no such email exists.

In Asia, where Wynn now earns 70 per cent of his profits from the gambling mecca of Macau, a resort on the South China Sea, he is embroiled in a battle with a former business partner, Kazuo Okada.

This week, Okada sued Wynn for $140 million for libel after each accused the other of paying bribes within the Asian gambling industry. No amount of black marble and old masters can hide the sleaziness at the heart of Las Vegas.

It is hard to believe Wynn when he claims he could just as easily have gone into family theme parks if Walt Disney hadn't done it first. Indeed, it seems about as likely as Prince Harry settling for free entry to Sleeping Beauty's Castle rather than a weekend with his colourful acquaintances in Sin City.

One ponders if the prince may be planning to visit in any casino - hotels in the near future, and little doubt that Australia's The Star or Crown Melbourne would love to have him. The smart money say's Prince Harry will no be stepping into any casino in Australia or anywhere else in the near future, perhaps more positive PR appearances will be on the cards however.

Bwin.party losing its poker face...

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Online gaming titan bwin.party says revenues in the first half of 2012 grew at its casino and gaming offerings but poker has been hit by strong competitors and difficulties in southern Europe.

The group was formed last year by the merger between German outfit bwin Interactive Entertainment and British firm PartyGaming and still has co-Chief Executives Norbert Teufelberger and Jim Ryan.

On a pro forma basis (comparing the results of both companies before the merger), total revenue increased by 3% to €410.0m (2011: €398.0m). This was achieved despite an 11% increase in gaming taxes so that the pro forma “clean” earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 13% to €92.3m (2011: €81.9m). This is better than the forecast of €89m made by analysts at Peel Hunt.

Bwin.party has also had to take a nasty one-off charge of €31.5m after the Spanish authorities contacted all of the major online gaming operators making clear any online operator that had ever accepted customers from Spain had an obligation to pay Spanish taxes.

The group offers four online “experiences”: sports betting produced revenues of €128.1m in the first half, versus €125.7m in 2011; casino and games delivered €139.7m, against €124.3m in the prior year; bingo was down from €33m to €31.5m; while the weakest performance was from poker, which fell from €104.9m to €96.4m.

In a joint statement, Ryan and Teufelberger said they were "determined to return [poker] to growth through execution of a detailed plan that includes pooling our poker liquidity as well as repositioning our flagship PartyPoker brand.”

The interim dividend has been increased by 10% to 1.72p per share although the company warned that net gaming revenue since June has fallen 8% as the end of the Euro 2012 Championships and a late start to the Bundesliga hit takings.

Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment: PartyCasino gets new 'Under the Sea' slot game...

Check out PartyCasino via the Media Man network for more on this exciting new slot game which can be played for free or played for money. Bwin.Party is one of the most financially stable gaming companies on the planet and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They also high security and high excitment online poker, sports betting and more.

New Trailer For Marvel Heroes..

Gazillion Entertainment is proud to show off a new trailer for Marvel Heroes. The new trailer announces 3 new playable heroes in the game – Daredevil, Punisher, and Squirrel Girl. The trailer made its debut at the Marvel Heroes panel at PAX 2012. The panel featured Gazillion President David Brevik (one of the creators of Diablo!), legendary Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man! Avengers vs. X-Men! And) and Marvel’s mighty VP of Games Production TQ Jefferson. If you look closely, you’ll also see a bunch of villains were also revealed in the trailer, including Mr. Fisk the notorious crime lord.

Website:
http://www.youtube.com/marvelheroesonline

About Marvel Heroes...

Marvel Heroes is a FREE-TO-PLAY action-packed massively multiplayer online game created by David Brevik, the visionary behind Diablo and Diablo 2. Set in the iconic Marvel Universe, Marvel Heroes combines the core game-play style of Diablo and MMOs with the expansive library of heroes from the Marvel Universe. In the game, players can collect and play as their favorite Marvel Superheroes (including Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider Man, Captain America and many others). Team up with friends and try to stop Doctor Doom from devastating the world with the power of the Cosmic Cube in a story crafted by comic-book super-scribe Brian Michael Bendis.

The Top 10 best MMA fights of the rest of 2012...

There are plenty of exciting fights to look forward to before 2013. Here’s a look at our top 10 (barring injuries):

10. Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le (UFC on Fuel TV 6, Nov. 10 in Macau)
This one isn’t as much about the fight as it is about the significance of the event – the UFC’s first in China. Neither of these guys is currently in their prime, but they always give crowd-pleasing performances. Le, a native of Vietnam, should have a massive Asian following.

9. Eddie Alvarez vs. Patricky Freire (Bellator 76, Oct. 12 in Windsor, Ontario)
Alvarez might have dropped the Bellator title last year to Michael Chandler, but he’s still one of the top 15 lightweights in the world. This also could be his last Bellator fight with his contract expiring – don’t be surprised if he’s in the UFC in 2013. Explosive knockout artist Freire will be a game opponent.

8. Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, UFC flyweight title (UFC 152, Sept. 22 in Toronto)
Don’t blink. These are two of the fastest guys in MMA and both challenged for the bantamweight title before the UFC created its flyweight division. This bout will determine the company’s first-ever flyweight champion and these are legitimately the top two guys in the world at 125.

7. Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson (TUF 16 finale, Dec. 15 in Las Vegas)
There’s very little chance this one leaves the first round. Carwin and Nelson love to slug it out and after coaching against one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” they probably won’t be too friendly. It’ll be nice to see Carwin, a former heavyweight top contender, back in the cage.

6. Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir (Strikeforce: Mir vs. Cormier, Oct. 27 in TBA)
This might be a Strikeforce fight, but it has UFC implications. Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion, takes on Strikeforce champ Cormier in somewhat of a crossover matchup. But Cormier will be in the UFC right after this fight courtesy of Strikeforce's heavyweight division being disbanded and a win here puts him on path for a title shot in 2013.

5. BJ Penn vs. Rory MacDonald (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
The trash talk has already been fun between the two, but things will really heat up when they enter the Octagon. Think of this as something of a passing of the torch fight. Penn, in the twilight of his career, will put up a strong challenge against the young lion, but the multi-faceted MacDonald is nearing superstardom in the welterweight division.

4. Benson Henderson (c) vs. Nate Diaz, UFC lightweight title (UFC on Fox 5, Dec. 8 in Seattle)
This could easily be a Fight of the Year candidate if it goes how it’s supposed to. Neither of these guys gives an inch – both Henderson and Diaz are perpetually moving forward. A win here, against a superior standup fighter in Diaz, would put Henderson’s name among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

3. Jose Aldo (c) vs. Frankie Edgar, UFC featherweight title (UFC 153, Oct. 13 in Rio)
Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Aldo was supposed to defend his title against Erik Koch, but Koch had to pull out with an injury and his loss is the fans’ gain. Edgar was the UFC lightweight champion for more than a year and his last two losses were by the slimmest of margins. Aldo, meanwhile, is a buzzsaw – one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This is, indeed, a superfight.

2. Georges St. Pierre (c) vs. Carlos Condit, UFC welterweight unification (UFC 154, Nov. 17 in Montreal)
It seems like it’s been forever since St. Pierre has fought. One of the best MMA fighters of all time has not competed in more than a year and a half due to injuries, including a torn ACL. He returns to face red-hot Carlos Condit, who is coming off a win over Nick Diaz in January. St. Pierre, a dominant champ, has never faced anyone with the combination of speed, athleticism and technique that Condit has.

1. Junior dos Santos (c) vs. Cain Velasquez, UFC heavyweight title (UFC 155, Dec. 29 in Las Vegas)

This time, we’ll get the incredible battle of wills that we were promised last year. Velasquez lost his title to dos Santos last November in just over a minute via stunning knockout. To make matters worse, it was the UFC’s first show on Fox and the company took undeserved criticism for the quick, flash KO.

Who knew that dos Santos-Velasquez wouldn’t be a war? This one will make up for it, closing the year on a huge high note – the two best heavyweights in the world trading in the center of the cage. Only one will be standing at the end. (New York Post)

Australian And Hollywood Entertainment, Celebrity and Gaming News; Jackman, Crowe, WWE.. - 20th March 2012

Hollywood And AussieWood Celebrity News, Wrestling, WWE Et Al - 13th March 2012

Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios news: Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America - movies, games and auction - 8th March 2012

News

Kevin Nash teases NWO - New World Order return...

Kevin Nash, who was likely joking, teased an nWo reunion on his Twitter account recently, writing, "A lot of you wanted an NWO reunion,there will be one.As you know we only come in take over mode.Stay tuned!!!" The message was then re-tweeted by TNA Executive Eric Bischoff.
Nash later wrote, "Rock will never walk out of the Rumble with the belt we got Phils back... Sorry @CMPunk we got your back!!!!"

Nash also stated that Punk would be the leader and that the nWo army would be there "to protect the gold."

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and 'Iron' Mike Tyson at WWE Summerslam weekend function...

WWE Hall of Famers "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Mike Tyson are scheduled to attend a Summerslam Weekend function in Los Angeles, according to WWE announcer Jim Ross. Ross wrote in his latest blog on jrsbarbq.com: "If you see me wandering around L.A. Summerslam weekend, I'm there for a major, THQ function at the Grammy Museum the night before the PPV. Among those scheduled to attend the private affair are @steveaustinBSR and @miketyson, among many others."

TNA Video: Funny or Die Olympic training featuring Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam...

TNA stars Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam are featured in Funny or Die video. The theme is Angle returning to the Olympics with RVD as his trainer. You can check out the video at Funnyordie.com/videos/636c3d08e1/olympic-trials-with-kurt-angle?playlist=featured_videos

Jackman to Begin Filming ‘Wolverine’ in Australia...

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman will begin filming the next installment of his “X-Men” spin-off movies in Sydney next week, even though the female lead is yet to be confirmed.

Jackman, who admitted struggling to get into shape after packing on the pounds to play Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables,” said his role as Wolverine, which he first played 12 years ago, was “the backbone of my career.”

“I love the character. I still love the character,” he said. “I had no choice at the time, I was going to take anything that came along, but I happened to have walked into probably the most interesting and complex of the superhero characters.”

“I’ve always loved playing it and when I stop loving it I’ll stop doing it,” he added.

First Second unveils André the Giant comic...

First Second has confirmed its André the Giant biography.

Cartoonist Box Brown is working on the book charting the life of the professional wrestler and actor, reports ICv2.

André Roussimoff was a star and one-time champion of the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE).

He is also known for his role in cult classic movie The Princess Bride.

Roussimoff has the condition acromegaly, which saw him grow to 7'4" in height. He died of heart failure in 1993 at the age of 46.

Box is the author of Xeric grant-funded graphic novel Love Is a Peculiar Type of Thing.

The untitled André the Giant biography is scheduled for release in 2014. (Digital Spy)

The Expendables 2 slapped with R rating for extreme violence...

Action star-laden sequel The Expendables 2 has been given an R rating for its violent and sexual content in the US.

Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and co will even be throwing some bad language into the mix as they bat off hostile attackers in this follow-up to the 2010 action-packed extravaganza.

Lionsgate was rumoured to have been considering a PG-13 rating for the film, which is due for release in the States on August 17th.

Once again, Stallone assembles his hardened team of old-school mercenaries for a special mission - taking revenge after one of their squad is murdered on the job.

Director Simon West was never in any doubt that the film would receive such a high rating, given the 'very hard' violence and language perpetrated by the all-star cast throughout the film.

'I'm sure there were some financial people who wanted it to be PG-13 because they thought it would somehow make more money or have a broader audience, but there was no way,' he told wegotthiscovered.com.

'When you get these guys on the set, they can't say a line without putting the F-bomb in it, and they can't pick up a gun without blowing several limbs off.' (Metro)

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Gaming, Entertainment, Hollywood and Celebrity News - 12th July 2012

Gaming, Entertainment, Hollywood and Celebrity News: Sydney casino, Spider-Man movie, movie ratings, The Wolverine, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, James Bond 007 in Skyfall, Highest paid actors includes "The Rock" and more...

'Amazing Spider-Man' Tops Box Office, Snares $140 Million Over Six Days...

After a record-setting opening day, "The Amazing Spider-Man" remained strong through the weekend, helping the Sony/Columbia production earn $140 million in less than a week in theaters. Oliver Stone's "Savages" also opened with a decent $16 million in revenue, though music documentary "Katy Perry: Part of Me" struggled to find an audience and racked up just $7 million. Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" also continued to hit with its target demographic, hauling in $32 million and pushing its 10-day total to an enormous $120 million in domestic revenue.

With a $230 million production budget and a very large built-in fan base, expectations were understandably high for "The Amazing Spider-Man." The Sony/Columbia reboot didn't take long to find its audience, racking up $35 million in revenue on Tuesday alone and putting up solid numbers throughout the rest of the week. "The Amazing Spider-Man" ended up with $65 million in weekend revenue, helping it to hit the lofty industry expectations.

Globally, "The Amazing Spider-Man" also got off to a good start by bringing in more than $200 million in revenue outside of the U.S. After already eclipsing $340 million worldwide, "The Amazing Spider-Man" will easily cruise past $500 million in worldwide revenue in the coming weeks, though it's still unclear whether it will be able to challenge the franchise-best $890 million that "Spider-Man 3" brought in. Without any major new competition until "The Dark Knight Rises" opens in a couple weeks, "Spider-Man" should remain a box office stalwart and continue to put up some big overall numbers throughout the rest of the month.

As mainstream action audiences came out in droves to see the new version of "Spider-Man," older audience members turned up for Oliver Stone's thriller "Savages." Backed by some decent critical reviews, "Savages" ended up with a decent $16 million in opening revenue - a strong total for a $45 million production. "Savages" also doesn't have to worry about too much new competition next weekend, opening the door for another decent revenue haul.

While "Spider-Man" and "Savages" mainly hit with their target demographics, "Katy Perry: Part of Me" wasn't quite as fortunate. "Katy Perry" managed just $7.15 million over the weekend and $10.25 million in its first four days following its Thursday release. Though these are unimpressive numbers for a release of more than 2,700 total venues, "Katy Perry" also comes with a slender production budget of just $12 million. "Katy Perry" won't end up as one of the most lucrative music documentaries released in recent years, but it should end up as an overall success for distributor Paramount.

Aiming at a much different demographic than "Katy Perry" this weekend was "Ted," which headed into its second weekend with plenty of buzz. After dominating the box office a week ago and posting $54 million, "Ted" dipped just 40% from its opening totals and finished the weekend with $32 million. Now with $120 million domestically in just 10 days in theaters, "Ted" is easily the top R-rated hit of the year and might even challenge $200 million in the U.S. if it can remain strong in the coming weekends.

Also continuing to hit with its intended audience was Pixar/Disney's "Brave." "Brave" earned $20 million in its third weekend in theaters, pushing it to a very solid $174 million in its first 17 days. Foreign numbers have been slow so far for "Brave," though that should also change as it gets released in its biggest overseas markets in the coming weekends. The only real problem for "Brave" is the impending release of "Ice Age: Continental Drift," which opens this weekend with an enormous built-in family audience.

Next weekend, the release schedule will slow down, as "Ice Age: Continental Drift" is the only new title slated to hit theaters in wide release. Though not as touted as some other animated franchises, "Ice Age" has been a great success for Fox, with enormous worldwide revenues despite production budgets roughly half the size of Pixar releases. The following weekend, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" brings a similar amount of hype as "The Avengers" and is a lock to dominate the box office well into August.

Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 7/6/12 - 7/8/12 (In Millions):

1. The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony/Columbia): $65 [$70]

2. Ted (Universal): $32.59 [$32]

3. Brave (Disney): $20.16 [$18]

4. Savages (Universal): $16.16 [$13.5]

5. Magic Mike (Warner Brothers): $15.61 [$21]

6. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection (Lionsgate): $10.20 [$11.5]

7. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Paramount/Dreamworks): $7.70 [$6.4]

8. Katy Perry: Part of Me (Paramount): $7.15 [$13]

9. Moonrise Kingdom (Focus): $4.64 [$2.6]

10. To Rome with Love (Sony Classics): $3.50 [N/A]

Hugh Jackman Joined By Six Additions to Cast of The Wolverine...

If director James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) The Wolverine hadn't been beset by weather, script and scheduling problems — title star Hugh Jackman opted to star in the musical version of Les Miserables rather than wait for those issues to be sorted out — the movie would currently be in post-production, with potentially enough edited footage to offer at least a teaser at this week's San Diego Comic-Con. As it is, Mangold is spending his time in the casting room, rather than the editing room, as he tries to put together a cast to support Jackman. In the last several days, six actors have joined the cast of The Wolverine, which takes Logan (Jackman) far away from his X-Men teammates and his wilderness retreat in Canada to Japan, where he must fight against the Silver Samurai and the deadly Hand ninjas at his command.

Written by Chris McQuarrie (Valkyrie), with rewrites by Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard), The Wolverine is based on the classic Marvel Comics limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, creator of Sin City and 300. The series stripped away Wolverine's superhero trappings and thrust him into a Japanese underworld brimming with feudal warriors and mystical ninjas. According to the list compiled by Empire from various sources, the cast will include: Hiroyuki Sanada (Speed Race) as Japanese crimelord Shingen Harada, leader of Clan Yashida; Tao Okamoto as Shingen's daughter and Wolverine's love interest, Mariko Yashida; Will Yun Lee (Total Recall remake) as Mariko's mutant half-brother, Kenuichio Harada, a.k.a. the Silver Samurai; Rila Fukushima as Yukio, an assassin who drugs Wolverine before his duel with Shingen; Hal Yamanouchi (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) as Yashida; and Brian Tee (Wedding Palace) as Noboru Mori, a corrupt minister of justice betrothed to Mariko.

The Wolverine is set to begin shooting next month. It will primarily be filmed in Jackman's native Australia, but will also shoot on location in Japan.

Next Showing:The Wolverine is slated to open July 26, 2013 (Reelz)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson In Highest Paid Actors List...

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was listed at #4 on the Forbes annual list of the highest paid actors in the world over the past year. Johnson was reported as earning $36 million this past year, behind only Tom Cruise ($75 million), Leonardo DiCaprio ($37 million) and Adam Sandler ($37 million).

'Amazing Spider-Man' finishes weekend with $62M...

LOS ANGELES (AP) "The Amazing Spider-Man" had a slightly slower start at the box office than initially estimated, taking in $62 million domestically over opening weekend.

The final numbers Monday came in $3 million lower than the $65 million that distributor Sony had projected a day earlier, but it still was a healthy start for the new take on the Marvel Comics superhero.

Since opening last Tuesday, "The Amazing Spider-Man" has taken in $137 million domestically. Its worldwide total is about $340 million since it began rolling out overseas the previous week.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "The Amazing Spider Man," Sony, $62,004,688, 4,318 locations, $14,360 average, $137,022,258, one week.

2. "Ted," Universal, $32,202,395, 3,256 locations, $9,890 average, $119,849,740, two weeks.

3. "Brave," Disney, $19,612,370, 3,891 locations, $5,040 average, $173,969,341, three weeks.

4. "Savages," Universal, $16,016,910, 2,628 locations, $6,095 average, $16,016,910, one week.

5. "Magic Mike," Warner Bros., $15,642,337, 3,120 locations, $5,014 average, $72,829,107, two weeks.

6. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," Lionsgate, $10,177,029, 2,161 locations, $4,709 average, $45,822,984, two weeks.

7. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," Paramount, $7,520,690, 2,861 locations, $2,629 average, $195,905,126, five weeks.

8. "Katy Perry: Part of Me," Paramount, $7,138,266, 2,730 locations, $2,615 average, $10,240,213, one week.

9. "Moonrise Kingdom," Focus Features, $4,519,195, 884 locations, $5,112 average, $26,780,989, seven weeks.

10. "To Rome with Love," Sony Pictures Classics, $3,104,328, 806 locations, $3,852 average, $4,863,538, three weeks.

11. "People Like Us," Disney, $2,194,535, 2,055 locations, $1,068 average, $9,190,902, two weeks.

12. "The Avengers," Disney, $2,168,124, 1,125 locations, $1,927 average, $611,127,884, 10 weeks.

13. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," Fox, $1,944,534, 1,657 locations, $1,174 average, $34,050,910, three weeks.

14. "Prometheus," Fox, $1,815,500, 1,105 locations, $1,643 average, $122,390,274, five weeks.

15. "Snow White & the Huntsman," Universal, $1,768,355, 1,152 locations, $1,535 average, $149,756,565, six weeks.

16. "Men in Black 3," Sony, $1,680,714, 879 locations, $1,912 average, $173,089,690, seven weeks.

17. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," Fox Searchlight, $741,091, 359 locations, $2,064 average, $41,991,873, 10 weeks.

18. "Rock of Ages," Warner Bros., $639,406, 701 locations, $912 average, $36,974,619, four weeks.

19. "That's My Boy," Sony, $621,656, 400 locations, $1,554 average, $36,100,833, four weeks.

20. "Bol Bachchan," FIP, $561,996, 98 locations, $5,735 average, $561,996, one week.

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Roger Moore croons 007 birthday song...

PARIS — One-time 007 Roger Moore has teamed up with a former Bond Girl to record a song marking 50 years of the spy's on-screen adventures, a James Bond fan club said on Wednesday.

The 84-year-old British actor took over Bond film duties from Sean Connery in 1973, making his debut in "Live and Let Die" before completing the sequence with "A View to a Kill" 12 years later.

He teamed up with Irka Bochenko, his co-star in the 1979 film "Moonraker", for the anniversary duet titled "Happy Birthday Mr. Bond!", the spy's French fan club told AFP.

Extracts will be posted online at www.jamesbond007.net ahead of the record's release in September.

Hundreds of items -- from tuxedos to bikinis and vodka martinis -- went on show at London's Barbican Centre last week to mark 50 years since Bond made the jump from Ian Fleming's novels to the silver screen with the 1962 "Dr No".

The next Bond movie, "Skyfall", directed by Sam Mendes with Daniel Craig as the glamorous spy, will hit world screens from October.

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Marvel Entertainment Movies: Amazing Spider-Man, Thor 2, The Avengers Et Al Boost Popularity Of Marvel Slot Games...

The Media Man agency reports that Marvel themed online slot games across the network, and featured at partner PartyCasino, are boosting the popularity of the superhero themed online slot games. Bwin.Party currently offers The Incredible Hulk, Thor, The Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, with more expected to soon hit the popular gaming and entertainment website destination.

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Official Marvel's The Avengers Blu-ray and DVD Announcement

Press Release (U.S)...

Coming this fall, the third highest-grossing movie of all time and the #1 movie in the world, “Marvel’s The Avengers” assembles as you’ve never seen it before on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray™, DVD, Digital and On-Demand platforms on September 25, 2012. In anticipation of this release, Marvel is also launching an all-new App in July - “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App” (available for the first time on iPhone) – that gives fans unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release.

The announcement comes as “Marvel’s The Avengers” crossed the incredible $600 million domestic box office threshold on June 26 – only the third film in history to do so. It has now grossed an estimated $1.44 billion globally.

Providing viewers with the ultimate in-home experience, the premium 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack provides 5-unique ways to enjoy “Marvel’s The Avengers” (on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy and Digital Download of “Avengers Assembled” Music from and inspired by the film) and brings to life the Super Hero team-up of a lifetime in a whole new dimension on Blu-ray hi-def with stunning visual effects, superior sound and unparalleled bonus content.

Extras include a gag reel, a first for a Marvel Studios film, the chance to hear from the cast and Joss Whedon on their experiences in bringing these larger than life characters to the big screen, a behind-the-scenes look at the groundbreaking visual effects and stunning cinematography, the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier, Soundgarden’s “Live to Rise” Music Video, deleted scenes and more!

Also for the first time ever, fans will be able to enjoy even more of the Marvel Universe via the all-new “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App.” By downloading this onto a secondary device, consumers will be able to gain unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release on September 25. Pieces will be unleashed bi-weekly in July & August and weekly in September leading up to a full immersive experience accompanying the film on Blu-ray. Content includes special access to the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, invitations to “special missions” either remotely or in the field, links to character profiles, stories and scenes, interactive Marvel digital reader comic books and more. App owners will receive push notifications whenever new content is uploaded and available for their viewing.

The suggested retail price for “Marvel's The Avengers” is: 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack = $49.99 U.S./$59.99 Canada; 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack =$39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada; 1-Disc DVD = $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada. And for Digital & On-Demand platforms, please check with your television provider or favorite digital retailer for pricing.

Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
June 29, 2012

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Australian And Hollywood Entertainment, Celebrity and Gaming News; Jackman, Crowe, WWE.. - 20th March 2012

Hugh "The Wolverine" Jackman punches Russell "The Gladiator" Crowe in play...

Hugh Jackman tried to punch Russell Crowe as many times as possible during rehearsals for theatre production Les Miserables.

The Australian star keeps asking to re-shoot fight scenes where he knocks Crowe out, because he enjoys it so much.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "The crew find it hilarious as Crowe would obviously sweep the floor with Jackman in real life.

"Hugh keeps ribbing Russell and winding him up but he's been getting his own back by calling Hugh a twirlie, which is showbiz speak for a singer/dancer."

Although Jackman has always had to be in good shape to play muscular superhero Wolverine in the X-Men films, he was recently told he had to bulk up to play the character in the next movie, The Wolverine, as he had lost so many pounds while appearing in Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway.

He said: "The studio wants me to bulk up. Singing and dancing makes the suits nervous because weight just falls off me, but I'd rather sing and dance on Broadway than make movies."

Crowe is also no stranger to long fight scenes, having undergone gruelling shoots against Michael Shannon in Superman: Man of Steel, in which he played the titular superhero's father.

He tweeted: "15km bike ride, umpteen hours fighting Michael Shannon. He's very hard to put down. Hard to tell who wins, we are still fighting tomorrow. (sic)"

Bruce Willis and his heavily-pregnant wife make the most of their freedom on a double date with Sylvester Stallone...

They may be two of Hollywood's biggest action stars but recently Bruce Willis and Sylvester "Rambo" Stallone showed off their softer sides.

The actors enjoyed a double date with one another and their wives as they met up for dinner in Los Angeles.

As they emerged from Craig's Restaurant, Willis and his wife Emma Heming looked in good spirits following their meal, as they were making the most of their freedom before the birth of their first child.

Perhaps Stallone and his wife of almost 15 years, Jennifer Flavin, had been giving Heming some parenting advice.

Willis and Heming announced that they were expecting their first child together last year, and judging by the brunette's large bump, it won't be long until the baby arrives.

The model was glowing as she left the restaurant holding her husband's hand and smiled for the cameras.

She wore a black and white printed dress that highlighted her stomach with a waist belt, and completed her look with a black jacket and matching flats.

Die Hard star Willis had also dressed for the occasion and wore a smart dark suit and a shirt but looked less enthusiastic as he left the building.

Stallone followed closely behind the couple wearing a red two-tone blazer with grey trousers and a shirt.

His wife dressed down in a pair of jeans and a blue leather jacket, but she did make sure she was taller than her husband by wearing a pair of black knee-high boots.

Willis and Stallone recently reunited with one another to star in the upcoming action sequel, The Expendables 2.

The film, which is due for release in August this year, features an array of well-known action stars including Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Are Bruce Willis And Sylvester Stallone’s Wives Joining Season 3 Of Real Housewives of Beverly Wills?...

Maybe! There has been many rumors that Sylvester Stallone’s wife, Jennifer Flavin was asked to join season 3 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills but no confirmation just yet. The National Enquirer is now reporting that Jennifer is "heavily recruiting" close friend and Bruce Willis wife Emma Heming to join the show as well! A Hollywood pal told The Enquirer, "They know each other from their modeling days, and Jen thinks the two of them together can ‘take over’ the show – and she loves that their hubbies are friends too!"

So how exactly does Bruce and Sly feel about this? The leak says, "While Jennifer says Sly is totally supportive of the idea, she’s trying to get Emma to convince Bruce that this would be a good thing. He’s wary because Emma is about to become a first-time mom. He’s also not thrilled about having a reality TV crew following them everywhere." The two couples were seen having dinner last week and apparently "Bruce told Jennifer he would consider the idea. But first he wants to get past the impending arrival of his new baby."

Jagger and Richards mend relationship...

We all need someone to lean on, and the founding duo of the Rolling Stones say they are doing just that after overcoming three decades of misunderstandings with a year of that including some heavy conversation.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards said they rebuilt their friendship after guitarist Richards's best-selling 2011 memoirs Life laid bare his pent-up frustration with the snake-hipped frontman.

"In the 1980s, for instance, Keith and I were not communicating very well," Jagger told the pop culture magazine, which celebrates the band's 50th anniversary in its current issue.

"I got very involved with the business side of the Stones, mainly because I felt no one else was interested - but it's plain now from the book that Keith felt excluded, which is a pity. Time I reckon to move on."

"Mick's right," said Richards. The pair the Stones in 1962 after they met in a London train station and discovered their mutual love for American blues music.

"He and I have had conversations over the last year of a kind we have not had for an extremely long time and that has been incredibly important to me," Richards said.

"As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be - but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick and I regret that."

Rolling Stone reported earlier this week that the Stones are planning no concert tour for its 50th anniversary, although it quoted Richards as suggesting that 2013 was a "more realistic" target for hitting the road. (AFP)

Souris in the dark about casino sackings...

The New South Wales Gaming Minister George Souris says he knows nothing about the latest sackings at Sydney's Star casino.

An official inquiry is underway into the sacking last month of Star's managing director Sid Vaikunta, for allegedly inappropriate behaviour.

Now, the casino has reportedly sacked three mid-level managers for breaches of its internet and email policies.

One manager is believed to have forwarded an email explaining why responsible gambling rules do not apply to international guests.

Mr Souris says it is news to him.

"Whatever matters relating to the operation of the casino that arise during this inquiry are matters not for me," he said.

"They are matters for the independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, and are specially in the hands of the independent inquiry that has been commissioned by the authority in the hands of Gail Furness SC."

Mr Souris was confronting a media pack for the first time since allegations were raised about the government's involvement in the Sid Vaikunta episode.

The state opposition has claimed the Premier's former communications director Peter Grimshaw used his position and his friendship with George Souris to conduct a personal vendetta against the casino operators.

Mr Souris says he has done nothing to compromise the government over the affair.

He has confirmed that he spoke to Peter Grimshaw about keeping some information secret, but said it had nothing to do with government policy.

"The conversation was deeply personal." he said.

"It had nothing to do with any decision the government was considering or any matter of policy whatsoever - nothing reflected or compromised the government."

Peter Grimshaw has was stood down from his role pending an investigation into allegations he forwarded confidential work emails.

Souris fronts media over Star allegations...

NSW Tourism Minister George Souris has defended his role in The Star casino scandal a week after being accused of hiding from the media.

Mr Souris has distanced himself from the widening scandal that began with the sacking of the The Star's boss Sid Vaikunta in February.

"This whole issue of the casino really does not reflect on anything I have done," Mr Souris said, speaking to journalists at the launch of the Sydney Racing Carnival at Bondi.

"There is nothing whatsoever that I have compromised - everything that I have done has been proper."

Mr Souris has become the lightning rod for opposition attacks over the casino, with Labor Leader John Robertson saying he had breached the ministerial code of conduct by withholding information from Premier Barry O'Farrell about an investigation into The Star.

In a text leaked to the media, Mr Souris told Mr O'Farrell's communications director Peter Grimshaw he hadn't informed the premier that one of Mr Vaikunta's alleged harassment victims was in fact Mr Grimshaw's partner.

Mr Grimshaw - who has been stood down by Mr O'Farrell over another matter - has been accused of waging a secret campaign against the casino, his former employer.

Mr Souris has been grilled in question time for two weeks over his dealings with Mr Grimshaw, with the opposition calling for him to be sacked.

He has also been accused of hiding from the media after refusing to do interviews about The Star and being absent at major announcements such as Thursday's launch of the Vivid Sydney festival.

On Monday, Mr Souris said the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) inquiry into Mr Vaikunta's sacking would focus on the "real substance of the matter".

"Matters concerning the operation of the casino itself, that is the true focus," Mr Souris told reporters.

"I can assure you not one breach of the public trust has occurred in anything that I have been involved in. No government decisions whatsoever have been compromised."

Mr Souris once again defended his decision not to tell Mr O'Farrell that Mr Grimshaw's partner was one of the casino boss's alleged victims.

"The conversation was deeply personal. It had nothing to do with any decision the government was considering, or any matter of policy whatsoever," he said.

"Nothing reflected or compromised the government. They were deeply personal, and I believe I was able to offer him a personal hearing board from which I respected the confidentiality of it."

Mr Souris's comments came as three more managers, including one who forwarded an email revealing that the casino allowed international high rollers to gamble non-stop for more than 24 hours, were sacked from the casino, Fairfax reported on Monday.

"I just don't even know anything about that," Mr Souris said.

Mr O'Farrell said he was concerned about the latest alleged breaches at The Star but was confident ILGA would investigate.

"That authority is independent, doesn't operate at the direction of government, but has shown itself proactive in the past on these issues," he told reporters in Sydney.

EPIX Celebrates Superheroes and the Legendary Stan Lee With Marvel Heroes Weekend April 27-29
--Hosted by Lee, Event Features World Television Premieres of Captain America: The First Avenger & EPIX Original Documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story --National Free Preview Makes Marvel Heroes Weekend Available to Subscribers of Affiliated Partners...

NEW YORK, March 19, 2012 - EPIX, the multiplatform premium entertainment service, will present Marvel Heroes Weekend, April 27 - 29, a marathon of superhero movies including Iron Man 2, Thor, the world television premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger and the EPIX Original Documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story. Hosted by legendary comic book creator Stan Lee, the marathon also includes EPIX Extra: Mighty Movie Superheroes, examining the origins and fan following of the mighty team. The weekend celebration of Marvel's famed superheroes and their creator features the movies that have led up to the highly anticipated theatrical release of The Avengers on May 4.

The EPIX Original Documentary With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story follows the life and creations of Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, Captain America, Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and over 200 other characters that can be found in Marvel comic books, on movie screens and in retail stores around the world.

"These action-packed superhero films are some of the most highly viewed titles among EPIX audiences across all platforms," said EPIX CEO and President Mark Greenberg. "We're excited to give fans more access than ever before to the mastermind behind it all, Stan Lee."

Marvel Heroes Weekend is part of a free preview of EPIX for all subscribers of affiliate partners, which will also showcase Hollywood blockbusters Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Rango, Conan the Barbarian, True Grit, The Lincoln Lawyer and more, along with EPIX original comedy and music events Lewis Black: In God We Rust, Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell and Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball. Over 30 million homes nationwide will have access to the free preview, including over 150 titles available On Demand and more than 3000 movie titles available online at EpixHD.com and through EPIX apps.

The weekend event and free preview will be supported by television, print, online and out of home advertising and a national contest hosted by EPIX which will send winners to the Hollywood premiere of The Avengers. For more information or to enter, visit the EPIX Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EpixHD . Additionally, EPIX has partnered with Clear Channel Media and Entertainment for Avengers-themed sweepstakes promoted across Ryan Seacrest's nationally syndicated radio shows and website and across several local Clear Channel stations in the top 10 media markets.

Disney in the red after film flop John Carter...

This film has got a mixed bag of reviews. Most American media are panning it and most Australian media love it, so go figure!

John Carter is expected to lose $US200 million for Disney, dragging the studio's whole movie budget into the red.

Disney says it will take the huge operating loss on the movie, made by Oscar-winning director Andrew Stanton about a Civil War veteran transplanted to Mars, in its second fiscal quarter.

"In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter ($US184 million global box office), we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $US200 million during our second fiscal quarter ending March 31," Disney said in a statement.

"As a result, our current expectation is that the studio segment will have an operating loss of between $US80 and $US120 million for the second quarter."

Starring Taylor Kitsch and Willem Dafoe, the movie cost an estimated $US250 million, but was met with a mixed bag of reviews from critics when it was released earlier this month.

It was the first live action movie for Stanton, who won best animated film Oscars for Finding Nemo in 2004 and Wall-E in 2009.

He also wrote for all three Toy Story movies as well as Monsters Inc.

2013 Oscars date set...

The annual Academy Awards will be held on February 24 next year, organisers say.

And nominations for those shortlisted for prizes on Hollywood's biggest night will be unveiled on January 15.

"The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood and Highland Centre ... and will be televised live by the ABC (America) Television Network to more than 225 countries," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement.

The name of the show's venue - the Kodak Theatre, in the heart of Hollywood - was changed at the last minute this year after the bankrupt photo company negotiated an end to its sponsorship deal.

It is unclear if the name will change by next February or remain the Hollywood and Highland Centre.

French-directed silent movie The Artist was crowned best picture at this year's show.

Theron talks about motherhood...

Actress Charlize Theron has opened up about motherhood, while promoting her new sci-fi thriller 'Prometheus' at California's 'wonder-con' convention.

The 36 year-old says it is everything she wanted, after adopting her son Jackson four months ago.

'Prometheus' is set for release later this year, marking Ridley Scott's return to the sci-fi film-making industry.

Australian actor Guy Pearce also stars in the film. Early buzz is that the film will be a hit.

Stacy Keibler to judge X Factor?...

Stacy Keibler is in talks to join 'The X Factor'.

The former professional wrestler - who is the main squeeze aka girlfriend of actor George Clooney - has reportedly been involved in a series of secret meetings about the possibility of becoming a judge on the upcoming second series of the US version of Simon Cowell's pop star search TV show.

While the blonde beauty and pop superstar Britney Spears are believed to be filling the two panel slots left vacant by axed judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, insiders have suggested Stacy's "lack of experience" in the music industry means she could be more likely to take over from former host Steve Jones.

An leak said: "Stacy Keibler is also in talks to join the show, but her lack of experience in the music business may make her more appropriate as a host. She looks fantastic and has bags of charisma."

Although Britney is believed to have been offered a deal worth $10 million to become a judge, it is alleged she is demanding "a lot more money".

A source added to the New York Post newspaper: "Talks are still ongoing with Britney and she is asking for a lot more money than was originally offered. But producers are confident Britney will realise this is a great opportunity for her to reinvent herself and accept their deal."

Show boss Simon - who is joined on the judging panel by record label chief L.A. Reid - has previously admitted he is keen for the presenter of the series to not come from a hosting background.

He said: "I always wanted a boy and a girl to host the show. And I like hosts who don't kind of have a hosting background, it's a different kind of dynamic."

HBO cancels Luck after horse deaths...

It's Dustin Hoffman's television series Luck, which earned some of its critical acclaim for its portrayal of thoroughbreds racing around the racetracks of southern California.

Off camera however the show has had some very bad luck.

The horseracing drama series Luck has been cancelled after the deaths of three horses, TV network HBO and producers say.

HBO, which is currently filming the drama's second series, has abruptly suspended the use of horses on its set following the sudden death of yet another one of its equine performers.

The series won't return for the second season run that began production last month, it said.

A horse was put down on Tuesday after it reared, fell over backwards, and hit its head.

The incident, which occurred on location at Santa Anita racetrack north of Los Angeles, was the third fatal accident involving horses in Luck's short history.

Animal rights activists are understood to be outraged by the development, and have called for police to launch an investigation into possible breaches of welfare laws.

They blamed the "outrageous" deaths on "sloppy oversights" by the makers of the show, created by the Hollywood director, Michael Mann.

HBO, for its part, can barely afford more negative publicity for the expensive show, which recently debuted in the UK on Sky.

Though heavily marketed, and despite receiving positive reviews, Luck has underperformed commercially, attracting just 625,000 viewers in the US.

In a statement, the network said it was "deeply saddened" by the horse's death.

It promised "full co-operation" with an investigation by the American Humane Association [AHA].

"Recent assertions of lax attitudes or negligence could not be further from the truth," it read.

"We will not be filming horses until AHA completes its inquiry."

This week's fatal accident was witnessed by Gary Beck, a vet.

"The horse was on her way back to the stall when she reared, flipped over backwards, and struck her head on the ground," he said, in a statement.

Since the injury was too serious to respond to treatment, euthanasia the only appropriate move, he added.

The California Horse Racing Board, which has allowed HBO to use Santa Anita during its off-season, said that a full post mortem will now be carried out on the creature.

"Unfortunately, we see several of these injuries in the stable area every year," said its equine medical director, Rick Arthur.

"They are more common than people realise."

Hollywood's local animal welfare lobby is unlikely to be impressed with the statement.

Even before this week's events, they were investigating Luck's treatment of its equine stars, alleging that two other horses who suffered fatal accidents during the filming of the show's first series should never have been allowed on set.

The first season of Luck premiered in Australia on Showcase last Sunday.

Australian TV Ratings - Sunday 18th March 2012

1 My Kitchen Rules 1,710,000 2 Aust FIA Formula One 1,399,000 3 Sunday Night 1,304,000 4 60 Minutes 1,187,000 5 Seven News 1,179,000

Australian Box Office...

This Week TITLE Weeks In Release Last Weekend ($) Total Gross ($)

1. John Carter NEW 3,092,526 3,092,526

2. Project X 2 1,098,478 2,920,967

3. Contraband 3 727,100 4,474,648

4. This Means War 4 673,397 7,263,919

5. The Vow 5 550,206 10,439,780

6. Safe House 5 429,402 8,131,194

7. The Artist 6 406,205 3,375,922

8. The Devil Inside 2 380,884 1,339,572

9. Hugo 9 296,163 9,830,145

10. My Week With Marilyn 4 228,551 2,161,960

11. Headhunters NEW 190,187 222,992

12. A Separation 2 173,093 563,630

13. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 3 145,330 1,187,455

14. The Grey 4 132,988 2,295,195

15. The Descendants 9 120,235 14,930,061

Taylor Swift Unveils Hunger Games Song "Eyes Open"...

Taylor Swift fans who can't wait to see The Hunger Games got a special treat over the weekend.

The country pop princess performed, for the first time ever, "Eyes Open," the tune she contributed to the would-be blockbuster hitting theaters this weekend.

Listen here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7b-3MhTbJU&feature=player_embedded

"I'm really excited about it…but, I mean, you don't think I'd get in trouble if I played it now? Probably not, right?" Swift teased the thousands of screaming concertgoers who packed Auckland, New Zealand's Vector Arena last night.

She then launched into a solo acoustic rendition of "Eyes Open" that began with the refrain: "Everybody's waiting/Everybody's watching/Even when you're sleeping/Keep your eye-eyes open."

The song is one of the best cuts off the Hunger Games soundtrack, which hits stores tomorrow and also includes "Safe & Sound," which Swift wrote and performed with the singer-songwriter duo Civil Wars, along with ditties from Arcade Fire, Maroon 5 and Miranda Lambert among others.

"Do you like it?" Swift asked the crowd, and her fans do nuts.

WWE Sheamus Visit To Sydney On St. Patrick's Day News...

It was great to see WWE make the effort to bring Sheamus to Sydney, Australia this past Saturday. Sheamus was friendly to all of the fans (he got to meet). What wasn't so great was the way many fans missed out on the opp to meet him, and the miscommunication of information about the visit. One DVD - music distribution company published the wrong venue in their media and fan send outs, so some fans and media ended up going to Blacktown Big W instead of Bankstown Big W. Many fans and a number of media were also treated poorly by some security guards. It's a shame that one or two bad apples can spoil the show and put a black mark on the event. Media Man is hopeful that Sheamus goes on to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 28 as he faces champion Daniel Bryan. By the way, check out the revamped WWE website which is very social media focused and looks fantastic.

WWE signs Australian Wrestler...

WWE has signed an Aussie! Sonny Elliot (formally Danny Bolton). Sonny was South Australian based and trained with Lance Storm in Canada. He was recently added to the main FCW roster. We wish Sonny well as his career continues.

That's it fans. Stay tuned to Media Man and Street Corner for more entertainment news and scoops daily.

News

James Bond 007 News, by Greg Tingle - 11th July 2011

Media Man Entertainment News; Marvel Entertainment; Paramount Pictures, Casinos, James Bond, WWE - 7th July 2011

Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics; Warner Bros, Marvel Comics Et United In Spirit By Death Of Gene Colan; Friendly Rivalry Continues - 28th June 2011

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Marvel Entertainment Movies: Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, The Wolverine and Ghost Rider - February 2012

Hollywood is continuing its lover affair with superhero themes, movie revamps and the like, and Australian fans are lapping it up with the superhero jackpot bonanza.

This year we're looking at a bush tucker bag of sequels, prequels, remakes... you name it. The Hollywood studios will be pumping out their best efforts in order to make as much money as they can muster, and who can blame them.

Entertainment kingpin Marvel Entertainment are going to be spinning out their “The Amazing Spider-Man”, hitting us hard with "The Avengers", "Ghost Rider" is about to ride into "Sin City" Sydney, Australia, and then there's Australia's favorite son, Hugh Jackman back in "The Wolverine".

The Warner Bros. - DC Comics tag-team is going to attempt to combat that Marvel onslaught with the next instalment of Batman - "The Dark Knight Rises", but most tipsters are picking Marvel to win the movie superhero fight over DC Comics this year, but time will tell.

Here’s a peek at some of this year’s coming attractions...(US dates)

Nicolas Cage provides a winter warm-up with “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” (Feb. 17), returning as the bounty hunter from hell on a mission to rescue a child from the devil.

“The Avengers” (May 4), teaming Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as the Incredible Hulk, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.

Next is “The Amazing Spider-Man” (July 3), with Andrew Garfield taking over as Peter Parker in director Marc Webb’s new take on how a mutant spider bite turns a teen into a web-slinging hero.

Christian Bale returns as Batman in “The Dark Knight Rises” (July 20), director Christopher Nolan’s third and final tale of the well to do vigilante with all the cool gadgets. Anne Hathaway joins the cast as Catwoman.

After the late Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” Nolan went with a lesser-known villain: This time, it’s Bane (Tom Hardy), known to comic-book fans as the brute who breaks Batman’s back and puts him in a wheelchair.

The Avengers are assembling...

Disney released more stills from its superhero superteam movie reving up fans who are eagerly awaiting the answers to the age-old question, who would win in a fight between The Incredible Hulk and The Mighty Thor.

The first image shows Captain America (Chris Evans) in full updated costume and shield, flanked by Avengers teammates Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Joahnsson), the three heroes walking as if they mean business. The second still is slightly less dramatic, simply showing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gripping a conference room chair, pondering heavy thoughts next to S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).

"When you walk out of your trailer and you bump into Chris Hemsworth with the cape on and you see Downey in the Iron Man suit and that’s when you really get excited and you start geeking out a bit,” Evans told The News last year from the film's New Mexico set.

Fans are already starting to geek out, more than two months before the film's May 4 (U.S) release date.

The Marvel Studios movie, which is directed by fanboy favorite Joss Whedon, unites three franchises (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk) within an even bigger franchise that’s expected to be one of the biggest box office hits of all time.

Avengers News cont...

Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures “Marvel’s The Avengers”--the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon from a screenplay by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

Marvel Release Dates Updated (U.S)

In addition to "Marvel's The Avengers," Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including "Iron Man 3" on May 3, 2013; and "Thor 2" on November 15, 2013.

Andrew Garfield as Spiderman Featured in an Avengers (English, 2012) Cameo...

Mumbai, Feb 13, 2012 - A few days ago we reported the rampant Internet rumor that Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman would be featured in an Avengers cameo. All of this was built off a statement made by actress Jenny Agutter who has a small role in the Whedon production. Well, we’ve stumbled across another source who confirms Spider mans cameo in Avengers.

“This will be similar to how Wolverine made a quick cameo in X-Men: First Class and Sony’s going to make sure to promote their new Spiderman movie any way they can. Andrew (Garfield) isn’t a widely known actor so they want to get his face on everything, including The Avengers even if it’s for a couple seconds.”

This is an absolute multiple bonanza for the superhero fans.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since.

“Marvel’s The Avengers” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures. The film is being produced by Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige and executive produced by Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Patricia Whitcher, Victoria Alonso and Jeremy Latcham. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

The movie is to release in India on 27th April, 2011.

The Wolverine Gets Release Date...

It is official, a sequel to that 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie will be coming to a theatre near you on or around July 26th 2013 (depends if your in the U.S, Australia or elsewhere). After months of production delays, including replacing Darren Aranofsky as director, that cigar smoking, 'bub' saying, furry Canadian Logan will once again rip things up. The film sequel is running with the title: The Wolverine and will take Logan to Japan where he finds a forbidden romance and the Silver Samurai to deal with. Hugh Jackman has already praised the script as being "one of the best we've ever had." This is good news for those fans and critics who felt the first Wolverine movie offering could have been better. We trust that director James Mangold and Hugh Jackman deliver on this to keep both Marvel hardcore and casual fans happy. What the critics will think is anyone's guess, but as a few stars have noted - movies are made for fans (not critics).

'Ghost Rider' movie controversy; Red hot back story...

The new "Ghost Rider" movie's ticket sales are not very strong, but the controversy raging in the comic-book community is like a mega fireball.

The story begins back in 1972, when the flaming motercyclist was created at Marvel Comics by writer Mike Friedrich, editor Roy Thomas and artist Mike Ploog. Comics creators in those days - and often today - don't own anything they create for the major publishing houses, because of a contract called "work for hire." But when the first "Ghost Rider" movie came out in 2007, Friedrich sued Marvel for partial ownership of the character on a technicality - which would result in a windfall from the movie.

He desperately needed the money. Friedrich, now 69, is unemployed, broke and suffering from liver problems. He has been getting through the days by selling autographed "Ghost Rider" items at conventions as a paid guest, which according to documents amounted to a total of $17,000.

But ownership of trademark and copyright isn't something that comics publishers take lightly. Both of the major comic publishers (ala Marvel and DC Comics) make more income from licensing their library of characters than they do selling comic books. Here's the thing: According to U.S. law, failure to defend a trademark can lead to losing it.

So Marvel - and parent company Disney - went after the lawsuit, including a countersuit demanding the $17,000. They were victorious. In December, the court threw out Friedrich's suit and ordered him to pay Marvel. Also, his future income was constrained, in that he can sign and sell only "Ghost Rider" material that he buys retail.

The creative and fan community responded with fury. Blogs across the Internet excoriated Marvel, or started petitions for the $17,000 to be forgiven. Steve Niles, creator of "30 Days of Night," led a charge on Twitter and set up a Facebook page for contributions (www.steveniles.com/gary.html). Creators such as Gail Simone ("Batgirl") and Jill Thompson ("Scary Godmother") tweeted encouragement. Longtime creators'-rights champion Neal Adams was one of many who auctioned original art, with proceeds going to Friedrich.

As you might expect, there were calls to boycott the new film, "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance." That might have contributed to the film's disappointing third-place finish on its opening weekend in the U.S, with $22 million at the U.S box office.

If the movie did well, it would still be overshadowed by the back story - comics creators and fans rising up like a tidal wave to help one of their own.

What a red hot and real superhero story.

Check out the "Support Gary Friedrich" Facebook page (www.facebook.com/supportgaryfriedrich) for more.

Marvel Comics and Movies Alive And Well At Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment...

Marvel superhero fans - great news... more superhero themed online games rumoured to be soon hitting PartyCasino. Stay tuned to the Media Man network for more on that.

If it sounds like 2012 is going to be a pretty good year for superhero movies, both on an entertainment front (for fans) and business angle (for studios etc), that's because it is. Enjoy brigadiers, and as Marvel living legend Stan Lee would say - Excelsior!

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Australian And Hollywood Gambling TV Movie News, by Greg Tingle - 10th April 2011

Australian's Kerry Packer and Ita Buttrose In New Cleo TV Show...

Gambling and media fans. You won't have to wait much longer. The late Kerry Packer (played by actor Rob Carlton) will be returning to Australian TV screens (and internet). Paper Giants: The Birth Of Cleo, promises to be a quality production that will also show some of the more intimate details of the relationship between the late Packer and Ita, as well as show us a bit of our mate, Jack Thompson (in a Cleo spread no less). Jack is understood to be pleased with the choice of model just quietly. Yeah, we're going to get some nudity boys and girls. The telemovie stars Asher Keddie as Ita Buttrose and will tell the story of the magazines' rise in the Australian media circa 1970s. The viewer will also get some solid insight into the lives of Packer and Buttrose. What do our friends at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation have to say about it? "In early 1972, 30 year old journalist and editor, Ita Buttrose (Asher Keddie) and 35 year old Kerry Packer (Rob Carlton), heir to what was then Australia's most ruthlessly powerful and influential publishing family, got together to create a magazine that became one of the most dramatic sensations in Australian publishing history. CLEO went on to help define women, Australia and the relationship between the two." Buttrose, who first cemented her place as the magazine's editor, was a consultant on the production. "If there was a supposed affair it didn't happen in this timeframe. I have no idea if there was, we didn't raise it with her," said producer John Edwards. A 2007 feature article by The Sydney Morning Herald revealed on Packer - Buttrose: "He soon proposed marriage and, despite rumours to the contrary, she accepted him. But she was less committed to the idea of marriage than he was. She already had one failed marriage behind her," we were told. That marriage to Alasdair Macdonald produced Buttrose's two children, Ben and Kate. "After Ita accepted Kerry's proposal, Kerry told his wife Ros, who knew about the affair anyway. She threatened to take half his wealth and deny him custody of his children, Gretel and James. Kerry found himself weighing up the loss of half of his riches and the loss of his children and finally had a change of heart. He didn't want to lose either." Actor Carlton says he approached the role of Packer with "an equal dose of terror and exhilaration. Like most encounters with Kerry Packer, I'm told". The two-part telemovie will go to air at 8.30pm, Sunday 17 April (and) the same time on Monday, 18 April, on ABC1. News media is speculating is the son of the late KP, James Packer, may get any positive spin offs or PR's from the telemovie which is being touted to be the talk of 'Sin City' Sydney, and perhaps even across Australia, such is the interest in Packer and Buttrose. Buttrose is managed by the Harry M. Miller Group, and Packer is well... not easy to get in touch with, but the right approach to Crown Casino directly can sometimes work wonders. No, please don't ask us for more information on how to, and no, we don't manage them either, but offer online profiles on the two for folks who are interested. From the leaks we've got on Paper-Cuts so far; 4 out of 5 stars. "It's 1972. Skirts are up, pants are down". Spin to win with Cleo, the telemovie, not the slot!

Boardwalk Empire On Australia's Foxtel ...

Tonight's the night if you have pay tv service Foxtel. The much hyped Boardwalk Empire continues it's dream run on Australian screens. We're 3 episodes in now and the storyline is awesome. We hear that tonight a fella... a bad guy arrives in hospital, giving a shit load of problems for corrupt Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). Thompson's bro Eli, the city sheriff (Shea Whigham), to make sure the witness dies in hospital. Michael K. Williams (The Wire's Omar) plays Chalky White, a black leader. It's a bit like a Yankee version of Underbelly, but most critics say the acting and production is much better than the Aussie equivalent. No offence Firass Dirani or John "Vulcan" Seru. Just saying.

Boardwalk Empire official website

'Gotti: Three Generations'; Travolta...

The flick stars John Travolta as the leader of the legendary and notorious Gambino crime family is: "Gotti: Three Generations." Film spokesman Steve Honig confirmed the title Saturday and says the biopic about "Dapper Don" John Gotti will be shot on a budget of roughly $75 million this year. Honig says details would be released April 12 at a news conference in New York, where the project will be filmed. An insider spoke on condition of anonymity. It will be produced by Marc Fiore and directed by Nick Cassavetes. The infamous mob leader died in prison in 2002. His son, 47-year-old John "Junior" Gotti, sold film rights to Fiore last year for an undisclosed figure.

Sylvester Stallone Movie And Casino Industry Hotshot To Do Rambo Style Fashion...

Living legend Stallone reckons he has what it takes for men's fashion. The 64-year-old actor is working on his own clothing line, inspired by his two iconic characters in "Rambo" and "Rocky,". The collection, set to debut in 2012, will fall under his new men's lifestyle brand Sly Inc. and will feature "looks for the rebel and the gentleman." "I thought the time is now," Stallone said. "I've lived a life where I know what has worked and what hasn't worked. Clothing is the first step to building a character." According to Sly Inc. president Michael Henry, the collection, to be sold in mid-tier department stores like Macy's, will first debut with jeans, shirts, outerwear and watches, and will then follow by eyewear, fragrance, shoes and grooming products. Stallone, who recently starred in "The Expendables" with Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke and Steve Austin, said the idea to start his own line came up when he lost 45 pounds between "Rambo 2" and "Rambo 3." "Nothing fit so I started buying custom clothing," he said."I found out I really like this world." He added, "I pay a great deal of attention to the way I dress. When men learn to put things together, they start taking care of themselves better." I hope that what worked for me will work for others," he said. "I really believe I have an understanding of the male psyche on all levels. I want to expose people to things that will work and this is the apropos time. I'm not experienced in this field, but we have the proper team to move this vision along."

Snoop Dogg Does 'Sin City' Sydney's Star City; Official Presser...

Not only is SNOOP DOGG a living legend in hip-hop, he is also one of the greatest rappers and pop culture icons of our time. In a musical career spanning over two decades, Snoop has amassed an impressive discography consisting of ten solo albums and has sold tens of millions of albums worldwide. He has scored acting roles in over 40 movies, featured in his own reality show and has endorsed numerous pop culture brands. It’s his natural appeal to both the hood and Hollywood that has allowed Snoop to stay tremendously relevant through the years. Since bursting into our consciousness alongside famed producer Dr. Dre on the 1992 classic “The Chronic”, Snoop has remained a constant force in hip-hop and a household name around the world. With 18 Top 20 singles in Australia, including 3 number ones, NELLY is a Grammy Award winning artist that has been topping the charts for over 10 years. With a genre-defying discography, its easy to see why Billboard Magazine recognized Nelly as the #3 artist of the decade (2000-2009). Hailing from St. Louis, Nelly first burst onto the scene with the massive worldwide hit “Country Grammar”, and continued to consistently return to the charts with hit after hit including “Hot in Herre”, “Dilemma” and “Over & Over”. Nelly became a rapper capable of crossing practically all boundaries from the Dirty South to MTV and everything in between. With 21 million album sales under his belt, Nelly is also a successful actor and entrepreneur, owning two clothing lines, Apple Bottoms and Vokal, plus the energy drink Pimp Juice. Nelly’s latest album “5.0” is out now featuring the hit single “Just A Dream” which peaked at #3 on the Aria Charts. *Snoop Dogg has also appeared in various film and TV shows such as Scrubs, Old School, Bigg Snoop Dogg: Raw 'N Uncut Vol. 1, Snoop Dogg: Drop It Like It's Hot, "Snoop Dogg's Father Hood", Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents: The Adventures of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, Snoop Dogg: On the Record with Fuse, Snoop Dogg: On the Record with Fuse - The Lost Tapes, Doggy Dogg: Smokefest 1996 Tour Video, Hood of Horror, Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror, Gang of Horror, Bigg Snoop Dogg's Puff Puff Pass Tour, Youth Authority: California and Snoopadelic Films Presents: Welcome to tha House - The Doggumentary DVD.

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Aussie Celeb News; James Bond Casino Icon Connection, by Greg Tingle - 29th December 2010

Season's Greetings punters, entertainment news junkies, one and all. Today we have a look at the latest from Aussiewood and Hollywood powerhouses James Bond, with a Bondi Beach twist, Marvel Entertainment (go Wolverine)..we love you Hugh, Spider-Man, Underbelly and more.. Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com and Gambling911 with your celebrity and entertainment news fix, just in time for the New Year. Ho Ho Ho!...

MGM Emerging from Bankruptcy; Wants To Produce James Bond 23...

MGM Studios is emerging from bankruptcy with a $500 million line of credit, and its first Xmas wish is to produce James Bond #23, rumoured to be directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig (again), despite many leaks saying that means it will be a gay Bond (for real), if you follow.

The James Bond franchise has long been a fav of casino and gambling lovers, with Casino Royale being the top pick for most punters.

MGM Studios has been going through the wars as of late, with the filing of bankruptcy hanging around their neck. Their massive financial troubles led to the delay of not only The Hobbit, directed by New Zealander Peter Jackson, but also James Bond 23 starring the Daniel Craig.

The studio just underwent a giant restructuring and was able to acquire $500 million worth of credit from financial powerhouse JP Morgan, a good lot of which will likely be spent on the sequel to Quantum of Solace. MGM is expected to partner with Sony for co-financing, as it has done a few times previously with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

Bond fans, did you know that 2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Dr. No (1962), the very first James Bond movie ever, which makes it bloody good timing to release a new Bond movie. The studio will be attempting to secure and shore up its cast, director, and screenplay for the new movie in very short order.

The studio had previously announced that Peter Morgan, and frequent Bond collaborators Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, would be penning a draft of Bond 23. Purvis and Wade have worked on every James Bond flick since The World Is Not Enough, and that includes Die Another Day, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace - the last two of which were rewritten, to some extent, by Paul Haggis.

Rumors have been flying for months have indicated that Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) is leading the pack to direct the new movie. Now, Mendes is not a filmmaker known for his action style skills. He did however direct Road to Perdition, co-starring none other than Daniel Craig.

As of press, James Bond will not be film in 3D. Oh, did we mention Media Man is the agent and manager for John Seru who played bad guy Gabor in Bond's 'The World Is Not Enough'. In Nine's 'Underbelly' Seru placed Kiwi Steve in the following episodes: Alpha and Omega, The Good Lieutenant, Hurt on Duty (2010), Saving Face and Women in Uniform.

MGM is still technically under bankruptcy protection for a couple more months.

Marvel Entertainment's The Avengers: New Mexico Connection...

Marvel Entertainment's biggest film project of all time is is now New Mexico’s biggest film production ever as 'The Avengers' confirms its 2011 shooting locations.

Thor not only hits off the summer movie season of 2011, but it sets up events that will culminate in the Marvel superhero team-up epic, The Avengers, the following year. With story elements of Thor taking place in New Mexico, and the production shooting in Santa Fe and Galisteo, it’s of little surprise to see Marvel Studios returning once again for their biggest project ever.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Marvel Studios officially announced the agreement making The Avengers the single largest film production in the state’s history. The current schedule has Joss Whedon’s The Avengers shooting in New Mexico between April and September of next year, using both Albuquerque Studios and of course, the beautiful and vast surrounding locations that so many other major Hollywood flicks have used.

The Avengers also is set to shoot action in Michigan and New York but production will primarily take place in New Mexico’s largest city Albuquerque.

Governor Richardson talks to local economic benefits to New Mexico: "In addition to being our biggest production to date, The Avengers will be the most technologically advanced and will provide cutting-edge training opportunities for our crew… I’m announcing this as a Christmas present of sorts to the people of New Mexico. This is a perfect example of the incredible job creation, economic impact and global visibility this industry has brought our state over the past eight years, and of the need to keep it moving forward."

So Marvel heroes fans, be looking out for Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson.

Thor opens May 5, 2011; The First Avenger: Captain America hits July 22, 2011 and The Avengers is scheduled to debut May 4, 2012.

Spider-Man: Broadway No Match For Movie; Spidy Fans Disappointed; Would Rather Play Spider-Man Games And Play Dress Up...

The new and much talked about Spider-Man musical has another problem stuck in its web. Sick to death of waiting for the problematic Broadway show to officially open, critics for two mainstream news companies released early and negative reviews of the $65 million musical, which won't officially open until February 7.

Writing for Bloomberg News, the influential financial news wire service, veteran critic John Simon slammed the show as "an unfocused hodge-podge of story-telling, myth-making and spectacle that comes up short in every department. A few good songs would help, in which department the show is sorely lacking," Simon wrote in the review late Sunday night. Like most rock stars, Bono and The Edge haven’t a clue about writing for the theatre."

The U2 legends wrote the score for the show, which was directed by Lion King helmer Julie Taymor.

Both Simon and Newsday's Linda Winer defended their premature reviews on the grounds that the show was charging full ticket prices in some cases more than $200 a seat for the performances, and that the opening date had been pushed back twice.

Winer called the show's infamous high-flying acrobatics "exciting and scary, in a circus way" but dismissed the second act as "weak."

Simon was also impressed with the flying scenes: "An hour of anticipation for about 90 seconds of exhilaration," he wrote.

Would you believe four actors have been injured during the show's rehearsals, including a horrible injury to lead aerialist Chris Tierney last week.

Critics almost never publish their reviews of productions before the official opening night. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has pushed back its debut twice.

The New York Times said in a posting to its arts blog that it would not review the show until the official opening.

Media Man loves Marvel Entertainment, Spider-Man and U2, but this project does not sound good. Sorry guys.

Underbelly TV Movie Legal Problems...

Network Nine may be forced to shelve forever one of its Underbelly telemovies because of legal action in the state of New South Wales.

Tell Them Lucifer Was Here, the first of 3vtelemovies being made under the Underbelly Files title, tells the story of the 1998 murders of Victoria cops Rod Miller and Gary Silk.

After a probing investigation by the Lorimer Task Force, Bandali Debs and Jason Roberts were found guilty of the double murder in 2003. Debs was sentenced to life in prison, Roberts to 35 years.

The subject seemed relatively safe... for true crime. Reader may recall the first Underbelly could not be screened in Victoria.

However, anything that identifies "Debs" could be a bit no go zone in NSW.

On September 24, the Victorian Government Solicitor applied to the Melbourne Magistrates Court to have Debs transferred to a NSW prison for questioning over the death of a Sydney prostitute 15 years ago.

Debs's lawyer, Michael De Young, did not oppose the application, saying his client maintained his innocence and was confident of being acquitted and returned to Victoria.

New South Wales Police have been trying for 2 years to question Debs...also was convicted in 2007 of the 1997 murder of 18-year-old sex worker Kristy Harty...and reckon they have enough evidence to link him to the killing.

The transfer order was granted by the court, but Debs had 14 days to appeal the decision.

Channel Nine has 3 options: rush the Silk-Miller telemovie out before NSW police have laid any charges that might arise from the interview; release the telemovie in all states bar NSW if charges are laid; or hold off for a national release until any case has been heard.

Nine has has yet to comment on this matter.

Underbelly #4 To Hit Aussie TV...

A 4th Underbelly series to screen in 2011 promises to showcase the birth of organised crime in Australia.

Based in Sydney in the roaring 1920s, Underbelly Razor tells the story of the bloody battle between "vice queens" Tilly Devine and her rival Kate Leigh.

The Nine Network are calling it their most "ambitious and daring" Underbelly series yet.

It will be joined by 3 Underbelly telemovies - Tell Them Lucifer was Here, Infiltration and The Man Who Got Away...which were announced earlier in the year.

Aussie Poker Celeb King Shane Warnie Tag Team With Wolverine Hugh Jackman In Cricket Nets; Jackman Hit In Balls (Almost) In Lead Up To Boxing Day Ashes Test...

The tag team led the celebrity contingent to the Melbourne Cricket Group for the prestigious Boxing Day Test. 'Our Hugh' got hit in the balls by a Warnie spinner, so it seemed, but he had a cup on, perhaps taking safeguards, after getting hit in the eye with a foreign object at his Oprah Winfrey grand entrance via way of flying fox a couple of weeks ago. Wolverine Jackman joined other famous mugs in the crowd, including Opposition Leader Tony 'The Bruiser' Abbott and veteran English talk show king Sir Michael Parkinson aka 'Parkie'. Premier Ted Baillieu and wife Robyn also tagged along, as did Eddie "Everywhere" McGuire, Cathy Freeman and Molly Meldrum. In a smart and rather cunning move, just outside the MCG sports stars and entertainment biz celebs tag teamed a game of cricket which raised money for the McGrath Foundation. The foundation ambassador Lee Furlong joined ex-cricketers Justin Langer and Michael Slater, Glen Moriarty, Kris Smith and Guy Sebastian at the friendly game. Earlier, Shane Warne made one of his very first public appearances since the "Hurley-burley", acting as host for his fav Shane Warne Foundation's annual Boxing Day breakfast at Crown. Warne mate, James Packer, attended, along with wife Erica in a show of support. Singer Leo Sayer also entertained to an appreciative crowd that included Glenn Robbins, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Aaron Hamill and Bill Brownless. A great day was had by all, as best we can tell.

Aussie Poker Celeb Shane Warne And UK Sort Liz Hurley: Come Down Under And Come In Spinner?...

Is Liz Hurley coming to Australia? Getting spotted at Heathrow Airport sent press into a frenzy and created munch speculation she will keep her date with Warnie. Friends of Hurley told the Pommie press she had dumped the cricket spin legend after learning he had sent more than 100 sexy text messages to another woman behind her back. Warnie is known for his ability to sent sexy texts that can get the right response. Now it appears Liz may have reconsidered after attempts to stop an imminent divorce and rekindle her relationship with husband Arun Nayar reportedly failed. During her public flirtation with the spinner on Twitter, Hurley wrote that she was keen to attend the January 3 "Pink Test," which supports the Jane McGrath Foundation. Talk about a play on words "Pink Test", got to love her form. Liz also told Warnie she would "definitely" make an appearance on his Channel Nine chat show if she made it to Sydney. Sources close to the Aussie spinner have said the cricketer was devastated after being apparently dropped by Hurley, having previously confided his desire to marry her. Both Hurley and Warne announced on Twitter that they had split from their respective partners shortly after spending 2 delightful, fun filled nights together at a luxury London hotel earlier this month and being papped kissing outside a restaurant. Warne was last week caught in the outfield sending erotic texts, including, "I want to see you riding me" to middle-aged Melbourne mum Adele Angeleri. In an apparent attempt to win Hurley back after the messages were published in the British tabloids he logged back on to Twitter to pen "No matter what anyone says if you know in your heart… who cares what people think / say !!!" Hurley was snatched in the airport mess at Heathrow, where snowy conditions caused widespread cancellations from Saturday, leaving over 100,000 punters stranded, having their patience tested. A fellow traveler said the swimwear model and well loved celeb babe "looked nervous" as she attempted to blend in with the crowd, wearing large sunglasses and dressing down. "She'd dressed down and it was clear she wanted to be left alone," the witness told The Sun. "She looked like a woman with a lot on her mind." Liz’s office refused to comment on her travel plans. Whatever the case, we wish Liz (and Warnie) well on any of their upcoming travel plans.

Betting For Aussies On TV And Film Success: Not Yet...

Many Australia's remain pissed that they are not able to bet on financial outcomes of upcoming TV shows and motion pictures. Passionate Aussies has been reading reports filed by Media Man and Gambling911 on Box Office betting exchanges, but none of the action has come to Australia, so us Aussies can't be on it. We're not sure any Yankees of Canooks got to bet on outcomes either. Sly, Arnie and Wall Street - when you read this, give us an update please. We want to bet on movie and TV outcomes. PartyGaming and Virgin were rumoured to have some interest in the concept, but nothing has eventuated from our probe as yet. Oh, if you want to see the way Hollywood used to work, do yourself a favor and rent or buy 'The Last Mogul', which told the career story of the late Lew Wasserman. Oh, we heard you want a review, so here it is mates...

The Last Mogul: The Life And Times Of Lew Wasserman...

For the second half of the 20th century, Lew Wasserman was without question the most powerful money man in show business, even if most people had no idea who he was. Born in Cleveland, OH, in 1913, Wasserman started out booking music gigs for mob-controlled clubs, and quickly became an agent for Music Corporation of America, which became the most lucrative music agency in America. Funny that. As Wasserman rose through the ranks at MCA, he established such innovative business practices as "packaging" talent i.e: booking hot acts and artists only in a package deal with other artists who were not as talented, to put it politely, and took the company into managing acting talent in Hollywood, where he re invented the film industry forever by negotiating a ground-breaking deal for James Stewart on the film Winchester '73, which reduced the actor's up-front salary in favor of a cut of the movie's profits, earning the actor a mint in the process. Under Wasserman's lead at MCA, the company took over Universal Pictures, established the studio's television branch and made it the most important production outlet in the business), created the hugely successful Universal City studio tours, and expanded MCA's recording branch into one of the biggest record companies in the world. Wasserman was also politically well connected. Ronald Reagan was one of his early clients when MCA want Hollywood), and was reputed to have some handy connections to organized crime. Wasserman was a secretive fellow who did not give interviews or commit anything to writing if it could be avoided, but he knew nearly everyone in show business. The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman is a documentary that through interviews with his friends and business associates beautifully showcases his remarkable career, from his childhood in Ohio to his death in 2002. Yep, there's mob ties and such, but hey, that's show business.

Wrap Up...

Readers... er, punters, how did you like our report? What films and celebs take your liking? As Shane Warne says, 'How good was that?!". Have you been naughty or nice? Did Santa give you what you had hoped for? What have you got planned for New Year's Eve? Tell us in the forum.

If you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over it, and for God's sake, have fun.

*Greg Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911

*Media Man http://www.mediamanint.com is primarily a media, publicity and internet portal development company. They cover a dozen industry sectors including gaming and offer political commentary and analysis.

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Aussiewood - Hollywood Entertainment News, by Greg Tingle - 29th November 2010

Sylvester Stallone Sex Film 'The Party at Kitty and Stud's' Sells For $400K on eBay...

Sly, The Italian Stallion himself, is back in action…erotic action, sort of... The rights to a soft-porn film starring Sylvester Stallone four decades ago, was sold on e-Bay for $412,100. The then strapped-for-cash star made his on-screen debut in the 1970 film "The Party at Kitty and Stud's." Stallone played Stud, a young man who, along with his oversexed lover Kitty, enjoys inviting various women into their bed. The 71-minute movie was eventually renamed "The Italian Stallion" by Bryanston Distributors after the actor became famous in "Rocky." Now that the rights have been purchased (the owner has not yet been identified), it's likely the film will be re-released, The Sun reported. In an interview in the 1970s, Stallone, now 64, told Playboy that he was so poor that he had to take the role. "It was either do that movie or rob someone because I was at the end—at the very end—of my rope. Instead of doing something desperate, I worked two days for $200." After filming "Rocky," the erotic filmmakers tried to sell the movie back to Stallone for $100,000, but the actor said he "wouldn't pay two bucks for it," according to AOL's Moviefone. Last year MGM unsuccessfully tried to buy the flick. Sly, you've cum a long way since then.

U2 legend Bono Waits For Table At Australian Bondi Beaches' Icebergs...

Bono snuck into 'Sin City' Sydney on Saturday. He headed for a eat and a drink as he often does when down under. The renowned Irish rock singer, who spent two weeks at Sydney's Bungan Beach with his family in 2006 completely undetected, casually strolled into Rose Bay nosherie Catalina on Sunday for a seafood feed with guitarist The Edge (David Evans) and the eatery's owner, Michael McMahon. On Saturday night he arrived unannounced at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar at Bondi Beach and like a normal person waited or a table at the "no reservations" restaurant. "He was having a red cocktail but didn't finish it because a table became available," advised a deepthroat. No, not a Stallone type of deepthroat you rascals. The U2 360 tour begins in Melbourne this Wednesday night.

Avatar Michelle Rodriguez Star Teams Up With Sea Shepherd In Perth...

Hollywood babe actress Michelle Rodriguez, star of Avatar, was in Fremantle supporting anti-whaling activist group Sea Shepherd. Rodriguez has been aboard Sea Shepherd’s flagship vessel MY Steve Irwin. The crew are replenishing supplies before heading to the Southern Ocean in December. The trip, dubbed 'Operation No Compromise', will be Sea Shepherd’s seventh mission into the frigid waters of Antarctica to attempt to stop the slaughter of whales by Japanese "scientific researchers". Among the crew are three Perth residents including former Labor Attorney General Jim McGinty’s brother Kevin McGinty, Steven Bennett and Georgie Dicks. Captain Locky MacLean said the crew are looking forward to having Rodriguez on board. The group, which uses rather militant art of war tactics in its fight against whaling, made headlines early this year when their stealth vessel the Ady Gill was "cut in half" by Japanese whalers. This year, a new monohull fast vessel called the Ocean Adventurer will replace the Ady Gill. SS are currently seeking a large sponsor which would give them the naming rights to use 'Godzilla'. Something like that. Sea Shepherd’s Australian Director Jeff Hansen said: "It is great to see high profile people like Miss Rodriguez giving up their spare time to help promote our fight to defend the whales being illegally targeted in New Zealand and Australian waters". Media Man lost good mate Peter Carrette this past weekend, approximately 48 hours after doing photography at the Bondi Beach 'No Compromise' gig at Bondi Beach last Friday. R.I.P Peter. We miss you mate.

Darren Aronofsky Explains 'The Wolverine' Aussie Hugh Jackman...

If you're wondering why "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky was hired to tackle "The Wolverine" for 20th Century Fox, wonder no more. Aronofsky himself has broken his silence on the "Wolverine" front in an extensive interview with Movie City News. According to the filmmaker, his reasons for choosing the "Wolverine" non-sequel as his next project are quite simple: in the end, he just wanted to have a good time. "I'm just trying to have fun," he said. "I think, for the first time in my life, you know, every single film that I've done so far I've been the only person in the room who wants to make the movie. And, I kind of am excited about doing a film where actually everyone wants to make it just to see what the experience is like and to see if I can do what I do in that world." It's not like I'm going to change my process," he added. "I'm going to be working with the same team, and making, you know, really trying to do something very, very different and see what happens." During the interview, Aronofsky said that he's received a large amount of support both from franchise lead Hugh Jackman and Fox Studios head Tom Rothman, joking that Rothman "doesn't even know how gutsy it is" that he hired the outside-the-box filmmaker for "The Wolverine." "I've been looking for a situation where everything lines up really well. This just makes sense; I think I'm being hired because of who I am. I'm not being hired to turn into someone. I'm being hired to do what I do. I don't know if (Rothman) knows exactly what he's bought, but we're definitely going to make something great, you know, but it will be very different, and that's what I do. We're going to try and have a great time with it."

John Travolta and Kelly Preston 'Overjoyed' With New Baby Benjamin; Travolata Not Gay...

Living legend and iconic star of Saturday Night Fever (the movies and the online slot game), is delighted with his new baby, but very unhappy about the gay rumours. Actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston took to Travolta's website earlier this week to announce the birth of their 8-pound, 3-ounce son, Benjamin Travolta. "We are overjoyed to announce the arrival of our son, Ella's baby brother, Benjamin Travolta. Born November23, 2010 in Florida, Benjamin is healthy and doing beautifully. Thank you for the congratulations messages and wishes...we are beyond happy about the newest addition to our family," the family said in the message. Travolta, 56, and Preston, 48, announced the pregnancy earlier this year, celebrating with a dozen close friends at a shower held at their Los Angeles-area home. "This baby is such a healing baby," a family friend told People magazine. The pregnancy was the first bit of good news they had shared in a long time. "It's impossible to keep a secret," they wrote in a statement on Travolta's website in May, "especially one as wonderful as this." We want to be the first to share this great news with everyone that we are expecting a new addition to our family," the online statement continued and like this week's update, was signed "Love, John, Kelly and Ella." John Travolta's family has been dealt another blow as reports emerge that he has been allegedly cheating on his wife...engaging in "lewd sex acts with other men" as part of a "secret gay spa subculture." Perez Hilton posted the story on his website along with a cover of the National Enquirer, carrying the headline "John Travolta Caught In Cheating Scandal! "John Travolta has been cheating on Kelly for years!" said Robert Randolph, author of the memoir, You'll Never Spa in This Town Again. "And when the details emerge, he's gonna make Tiger Woods look like a boy scout." John has been married to Kelly Preston for 19 years, with the pair expecting their third child this year. They lost their eldest son Jett in 2009 to an autism-related seizure.

WWE Studios Films Flop At Box Office; Perform Well In DVD Rental Market...

Entertainment trade publication Variety published a report today on WWE Studios's new films strategy "flopping" at the box office, but perhaps finding a market on home video. Variety followed up on WWE's third quarter earnings report last Thursday by noting WWE reported $3.8 million in revenue related to "Legendary," despite the movie drawing a measly $200,000 at the box office. WWE executive Jim Connelly told Variety that WWE is banking on strong storefront marketing at retail locations such as Walmart to help boost DVD and Blu-ray sales of their movies. Variety also reported on WWE pushing their slate of movies to theaters simply for marketing purposes before pulling the movies and releasing them on DVDs. That was apparent with WWE Studios's theatrical release schedule for "Legendary" and "Knucklehead." Related to the planned launch of the WWE TV Network potentially in 2011, Variety reports that WWE is looking to their slate of movies to serve as "more high-profile programming" on the new cable tele channel. Going forward, Jim Connelly told Variety that WWE will be re-evaluating their movie release schedule for 2011 as they begin to roll out the next slate of low-budget movies in theaters with an eye on home video. Variety concluded: "For now, it appears as if the future of WWE Studios will play out on the smallscreen."

Aussie's Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban To Appear On Oprah Winfrey Show Tomorrow; Australia Catches Oprah - Oprah House Mania...

Australian actress Nicole Kidman and huby singer Keith Urban will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow. Urban has earlier confirmed that he would be performing in the shows Ultimate Australian Adventure episodes to be filmed later this year. "Tomorrow, two of the hottest Aussies are here! Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban! The countdown to Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure starts now!," says a post on the official Facebook page for The Oprah Winfrey Show. Keith Urban was in The Oprah Winfrey Show earlier this November where he confirmed his performance at the much anticipated episodes set to be shot in Sydney this December. Urban promoted his sixth studio album Get Closer to in the United States. However, the Australia singer did not comment on rumours that his wife Nicole Kidman will also be on Oprah's Australian show. Tomorrow's episode might just confirm if Nicole Kidman will indeed be a guest on December 14 and 15 at the Sydney Opera "Oprah" House.

Mad Max Revamped Movie #4 Will Happen Says Aussiewood Insiders; Fury Road?!...

Remember the Aussie cult film classic that went on to mainstream...Max Max. They got to #3, always with Aussie tough guy Mel Gibson in the lead as 'Max Rockatansky' aka 'The Road Warrior'. Filming will take place near Broken Hill, New South Wales. Gibson will not be reprising his old role in Mad Max 4: Fury Road which will star British actor Tom Hardy alongside Charlize Theron. In November 2006, George Miller had stated that he still had full intentions to make Fury Road, telling the press that he was considering doing the film without Mel Gibson, saying, “There's a real hope. The last thing I wanted to do is another Mad Max, but this script came along, and I'm completely carried away with it." The film's screenplay was co-written with cult British comic creator Brendan McCarthy, who also designed many of the new characters and vehicles. Miller again confirmed his desire to make another Mad Max at the 2007 Aurora film maker initiative. However, he did say he thought Mel Gibson would not be interested in the film because he is too old (not too nuts!)

Billionaire Branson To Launch Apple iPad Lifestyle Mag...

Aussie's live Branson and Virgin, so you'll love this...Word of Sir Dick's plans to publish "Project" for delivery on iPads came shortly after media mogul Rupert Murdoch hinted that his News Corp empire will soon publish a digital newspaper for the hot Apple gadgets. News Corp, owner of The Australian, has been tight-lipped about the project but 79-year-old mogul Murdoch acknowledged in an interview last week that "The Daily" is in the works. Sir Richard said in invitations to the press that "Project" themes will include entertainment, travel, business, design, and international culture. The event in New York City on Wednesday did not indicate whether "Project" would be provided as passenger reading on flights. Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard owns about half of Virgin Atlantic airline with its aircraft that boast internet-age amenities such as power outlets at seats and wireless connections to the web. He recently said that his Virgin Galactic enterprise is on track to offer commercial space travel within 18 months, and that space hotels are next on the drawing board. Yeah, we know, Branson has appeared in films such as Casino Royale, Around The World in 80 days, and a good spread of other movies and TV specials. If your going to be a media tart, you might as well be very good at it.

Lachlan Murdoch Acquires Ten Network Stake, Joins Shareholder Aussie James Packer...

Lachlan Murdoch, son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert, has recently acquired a little over half of James Packer’s stake in Ten Network Holdings Ltd. Packer bought a 17.88% stake, or 172.2 million shares, in the media group last month through Cavalane Holdings Ltd. Murdoch, through Illyria Nominees Television Pty Ltd. has agreed to buy 93.4 million shares for A$128.2 million, according to a regulatory filing to the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange). The two gents will act in concert in relation to the exercise of their votes, the statement said. Packer and Murdoch agreed to join the board of Australia’s third-ranked television broadcaster last month. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, lifted her stake in the company to 10%. Packer also owns 49% of Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. which in turn has 25% of Foxtel, down under's largest pay television operator.

Media Man Showcases Movies; Reviews...

Want more? Check out Media Man Movies here and Media Man Movie Reviews here.

Try not to get square eyes. We're told PartyGaming still has the best movie blockbuster themed slot games on the planet, but you be the judge, jury and executioner. The Media Man has left the building.

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Rocky Slot Game Hits PartyGaming - Noble Casino

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The great features of Playtech’s video slot have made the game one of the most popular of all time. Rocky Slots sets the pace for PartyGaming and Playtech, with Pink Panther soon to follow.

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Playtech have upped the ante with Rocky Slots as the game features more advanced graphics, better sound and more sophisticated detail than other similar games. This makes Rocky Slots an absolute knock out to play.

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Perhaps the more impressive feature of the Rocky Slots game from Playtech is the Knockout Bonus Round. This is where players choose from three prize fights to spar against Rocky in a ten round match – including the famous film world champion Apollo Creed. The player watches the stunning fight from a front line seat, featuring real footage from the fight scenes in the film.

During the Knockout Bonus Round players have the chance of winning up to a 30x total bet payout if Rocky manages to knock his opponent out in a fast enough time. Go Rocky!

PartyGaming also offer PartyCasino.com which offers dozens more movie and TV themed slot games, as well as other online casino games that can be played for free or played for money.

PartyGaming was established in 1997 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

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