Weird. Here I am, a member of the MTV Movies blog team, and I'm reporting on the news that HBO intends to launch a new series... about film blogging. I don't have to watch it. I live it.

Kidding aside, this is something that's happening. The series, called "Tilda," is being developed by "Dreamgirls" and "Kinsey" director Bill Condon and Cynthia Mort, who developed the HBO series "Tell Me You Love Me," The Hollywood Reporter reveals. The show will focus on a female online entertainment journalist with "a no-holds-barred style." The description has drawn immediate comparisons to noted real-life reporters Nikki Finke, Anne Thompson and Sharon Waxman. Read more...

In the midst of the 2010 Sundance and Slamdance film festivals we've got good news regarding a film that premiered in Park City last year. Jordan Galland's vampire movie "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead," which has been described as a cross between Terry Gilliam, Woody Allen and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," has finally been picked up for distribution, according to Variety. Indican Pictures scored the rights, and currently plans to release the comedy in theaters on April 16 of this year.

I'm surprised it's taken this long for the movie, which takes its name from the Tom Stoppard play "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead," to be acquired. When we debuted a clip from the film a year ago, "Rosencrantz" had some great buzz around it. And in the 12 months since, it has amused audiences at other film fests, such as Dallas, Hollywood and Stony Brook. Plus, it's a movie about vampires, which I'm sure you've heard are hot right now thanks to "Twilight" and "True Blood." Read more...

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: Kristen Stewart's punk role in "The Runaways" isn't her only showing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. She's also appearing in "Welcome to the Rileys," which sees the "Twilight" star as a troubled young stripper named Mallory who becomes a surrogate daughter to a grieving father played by "Sopranos" kingpin James Gandolfini. So naturally, we were curious whether Stewart thought her darker turn will surprise or shock her Twilighter fanbase.

As it turns out, Stewart says the most shocking part of her role is that it's really not that shocking.

Continue reading "Will Kristen Stewart's Stripper Role Surprise Twilighters? The Star Says No" at Hollywood Crush.

"Lost" is coming to an end. Considered by many, including yours truly, to be one of the single greatest television shows of all time — heck, one of the most compelling stories ever told — there's an understandably high level of interest from fans as the mysterious show ramps up for its final episodes, beginning in February. While ABC has refused to air preview footage from the upcoming season based upon the requests of executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, that's not stopping them from creating their own brand new promotional campaigns.

Case in point — the latest "Lost" promo images depict the final season's regular cast as participating in "The Last Supper," the famous religious image that's been replicated for other shows in the past, such as "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Sopranos."

But as "Lost" is already a show based entirely upon paying attention to the details, it's clear that this new image is anything but an arbitrary repetition of a previously successful marketing move. Here are just a few of the interesting tidbits that we might want to pay attention to. Read more...

It's hard to believe, but Judd Apatow, the mega-filmmaker who has changed the face of Hollywood comedy, has only directed three films. Having made his mark in television ("Freaks & Geeks," "Larry Sanders") and some screenwriting, Apatow finally exploded into the theatrical world on the back of 2005's "The 40 Year Old Virgin." "Knocked Up" would follow in 2007, and then in 2009, "Funny People," a decidedly more mature comedy that straddled serious dramatic elements. Now arriving on DVD and Blu-ray, will the pic -- which stars Adam Sandler as a dying comedian who mentors younger upstart Seth Rogen -- finally grab a wider fanbase than it found in cinemas?

"Funny People" features a strong audio and video transfer, and comes in both theatrical and unrated versions. Extras are plentiful as well, with the two-disc edition featuring filmmaker commentary, on-set diaries, gag reels, deleted and extended scenes, featurettes on subjects like stand-up, vintage prank calls and more (including a great discussion with Seth and Judd from Charlie Rose). Read more...

While the rest of the planet is looking forward to "New Moon," here in the world of home entertainment it's all about looking back...specifically to two of the summer's biggest films which are now hitting store shelves. From space cadets to a fashion-savy Austrian, this is your DVD Report for Tuesday, November 17.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a group more anxious than "Star Trek" fans on the date director J.J. Abrams was tapped to reboot the franchise. It was a tall order. "Trek" had notably faltered at the box office after the dreadful "Nemesis," and had been unceremoniously dumped from the airwaves after the lackluster "Enterprise." And now here was a guy who openly boasted that he had barely watched "Star Trek." Even his directing credentials were thin -- a few television episodes here and there and one feature film in "Mission: Impossible III." It all made for a very skeptical fanbase for a franchise many thought should lay dorment to catch its breath. Read more...

Call them "cult classics." "Guilty pleasures." "Comfort movies." We all have a mental rolodex of flicks that may not be terribly popular but, for one reason or another, they resonate in a very special way. Maybe you saw it at the right moment. Maybe you just see gold where everyone else sees feces. Whatever the case, these are the special favorites that you keep stashed away for sick days. Here are some of ours.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that 1999 was a definite turning point in cultural history. The music of '99 was truly excellent (the entire year was soundtracked by TLC's "No Scrubs," Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba," 702's "Where My Girls At?" and Rage Against the Machine's "Guerilla Radio"), television saw the beginning of its new golden age ("The Sopranos," "Futurama," "SpongeBob Squarepants," "Angel," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "The West Wing" and "WWF Smackdown!" all debuted that year) and it's one of the greatest film years of the modern era ("Fight Club," "Magnolia," "Being John Malkovich," "The Sixth Sense," "The Matrix," "Toy Story 2," "Go" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" all came out, just to name a few).

As a result, most of my movie nostalgia is tied to 1999. I wasn't doing anything particularly interesting (outside of taking voice lessons and buying Silkk the Shocker albums), but the culture was so good that I didn't notice anything else. So whenever the sniffles attack, I don't turn to a warm blanket movie from my childhood. Rather, I turn to my very favorite movie from my very favorite year. That's why I always watch "Varsity Blues." Read more...

There are some mornings when I fire up my news feeds and have to hit refresh because the words I'm reading make no sense together. Today is one of those mornings, with Variety reporting that "The Sopranos: Road to Respect" video game writer Malcolm Spellman is adapting the hit music TV series "Soul Train" for a narrative feature. The article also lists "Dead Presidents" among Spellman's previous credits, though I can't seem to find any evidence of his involvement in that film.

The TV series ran from 1971 to 2006, though Spellman's story is said to be set in the '80s. The protagonist, a Los Angeles native, wants out of the 'hood and his ticket is his gift for "popping", a hip hop dance style that originated in California during the 1970s. The aspiring dancer will pursue some kind of break on a fictional hip hop dance/music tour. Read more...

Lots of variety from Variety today. See what I did there? Yeah? Long day. Almost over. Enjoy the Dailies.

-- "School of Rock" writer Mike White sold the script for his "Babe in the Woods," an action-comedy in which a new student at Yale University somehow becomes the target of the New Jersey mob. I envision this as a cross between "PCU" and "The Sopranos." (Variety)

-- The announcement that Steven Spielberg's next project would be an adaptation of the Jimmy Stewart classic "Harvey" led many to speculate that Spielberg pal Tom Hanks would step into -- or at least be approached for -- the Stewart role. Fox hasn't exactly put those possibilities to rest, but they did issue a statement saying that the actor "has not read the script and speculation about him and this project has been inaccurate." So there you have it. (Variety) Read more...

“Sex and the City” did it. “Da Ali G Show” did it too (well, kinda). “The Sopranos” have been rumored to want to do it for years. Given the seeming inevitability these days of hot HBO properties becoming movies, why is it that we haven’t ever heard anything about a possible big-screen “Entourage.”

Cause it probably ain’t ever going to happen, Jeremy Piven insisted.

“We’ve never discussed an ‘Entourage’ movie and I think we have a few years left in us [on TV]. We’re just about to finish our fifth season and it does feel like our best yet,” Piven told MTV News. “So I think we have a few more years and then if they’re not sick of us, maybe we’ll do a movie.” Read more...