BRUCE WILLIS:
‘UNBREAKABLE’ SEQUEL

Now turning to movie news. 

Bruce Willis will reteam with horror director M. Night Shyamalan and make a sequel to 2000 thriller ‘Unbreakable’ about a man who discovers he has superpowers. They also did the ‘6th Sense’ together.

‘Unbreakable’ was originally written as the first film of a trilogy – Willis and the director are considering making part two of their next project now. 

That whole story was written in three parts and Shyamalan just chose to shoot the origin story first where the two characters find out they have superpowers. 

MOVIE PREVIEWS:
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

With The Toronto International Film Festival already announced, we know that there will be 15 Gala Premieres and there will be 35 Special Presentations.

The most anticipated films to debut at the festival include Darren Aronofsky’s follow-up to The Wrestler, the stately-looking Black Swan - a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman and the adaptation of bestseller Never Let Me Go starring new Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. 

Also being presented, Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination drama TheConspiratorstarring James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood and Tom Wilkinson.

The Debt by John Madden has Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington starring in the thriller about three Israeli Mossad agents on a 1965 mission to capture a notorious Nazi war criminal where thirty years later, secrets about the case emerge.

Other presentations include John Cameron Mitchell’s tearjerker Rabbit Hole and David Schwimmer’s melodramatic Internet predator panic movie.

The Toronto International Film Festival will take place from September 9-19 2010. 

Here are some big productions to look out for:

• Barney's Version: starring Paul Giamatti as a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. Also starring in the film are Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver and Scott Speedman.


• Little White Lies: starring Marion Cotillard about a group of friends whose relationships and friendships are tested on their annual beach vacation. They are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they have been telling each other


• The Town: starring Ben Affleck, a dramatic thriller about cops and robbers, friendship and betrayal, love and hope, and escaping a past that has no future. It is based in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown.


• The Way: Directed by Emilio Estevez, Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in a storm. Driven by his profound sadness and desire to understand his son better, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage. Along the way he learns what it means to be a citizen of the world again and discovers the difference between “The life we live and the life we choose.”

MERYL STREEP:
MARGARET THATCHER


Trendsetting roles for movie stars: playing real life people – play a real life person and an Oscar nomination is likely on its way.

The latest real person movie role involves Meryl Streep. She's in negotiations to re-team with her Mamma Mia! director for the 1982-set film to play former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The movie will show Margaret Thatcher in the run-up to the Falklands War.

Moulin Rouge! actor Jim Broadbent has been lined up to play the former British leader's husband, Denis Thatcher.

Margaret Thatcher led Britain for 11 years between 1979 and 1990. Her career famously waned prior to the conflict in the Falklands but she received a boost in popularity after the 72-day war, which saw her win in the 1983 election.

JAMES CAMERON BLACK EYED PEAS:
3D MOVIE


James Cameron is quite the busy guy. He's trying to help fight the oil spill, expanding 3D entertainment to new heights and now he's going to be working with Black Eyed Peas and creating a 3D big screen movie about their world music tour.

Group member Will.i.am told Vibe Magazine: "We have the biggest director because we are the biggest group on the planet."

Black Eyed Peas have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide. The group has toured from America and Europe, to the Middle East, South America, Asia and Africa - this movie will bring it all to us.

James Cameron will be showing us everything, onstage, behind stage and how they handle the pressures of world touring.

Cameron is not the first established director to make a concert film. Martin Scorsese released his Rolling Stones documentary, 'Shine a Light', last year with positive reviews.

NEW BIOPIC:
BARBARA WALTERS


Now turning to a new TV movie.

Barbara Walters, is negotiating with TV executives at HBO to adapt her best-selling memoir, 'Audition', about her 50-year career in journalism into a made-for-TV-movie. In her memoir, the veteran newswoman speaks candidly about breaking the glass ceiling for female anchors at NBC and later ABC, her failures as a mother to a troubled teen daughter, and her secret interracial affair with married Sen. Edward Brooke in the 1970s.

Her representative Cindi Berger has confirmed there is a lot of interest to develop the biopic, but declined to discuss which networks had made serious offers.

Walters, 80, underwent heart surgery to replace a faulty valve in May. On July 12, She made an appearance via video link on her hit ABC network show 'The View' to assure her fans she is fully recovered from the procedure. She will make a full return to the program in September.

MOVIE NEWS:
EAT PRAY LOVE


Based on the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, 'Eat Pray Love' starring Julia Roberts describes a woman's quest for self-discovery. In Italy she discovers the pleasure of eating, the power of prayer in India, and the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali. The movie is directed by Ryan Murphy.

Gilbert says she doesn't want people to see the movie as a travel log: nor does she want readers to emulate her trip exactly in the hopes of finding themselves as she did. Her goal with the book is to encourage people to ask themselves the same questions she did that led to her journey. She says that any epic spiritual awakening starts with self interviewing – "What is it that I really want? Why am I here for? Where am I going? What do I want to do with my one wild and wonderful life?"

MOVIE NEWS:
KITTY KELLY'S UNAUTHORIZED OPRAH BIO


Kitty Kelley's controversial book 'Oprah: A Biography' is being turned into a film.

It will be about her fascinating journey from rural Mississippi to the world stage. The book is filled with simple truths and complicated personalities.

Kelley made a deal with producer Larry Thompson, who wants to get the project on air around the time that Winfrey signs off from her daytime talk show.

The biggest challenge will be finding the right actress for the lead role in the film. They are planning to audition both known and unknown actresses.

News of the project is to be released next year.

The book alleges Winfrey used drugs and embellished stories about her poverty-stricken background.

FILM NEWS:
YOU TUBE MOVIE


YouTube is getting 'Life In A Day,' a historic global experiment to create a user-generated feature-length documentary film, shot by people around the world in a single day.

People were asked to record your daily lives on July 24th and upload the scenes to YouTube. It is a unique experiment in social filmmaking.

The videos will then be edited into a documentary entitled 'Life in A Day,' which will be produced by Ridley Scott, world-renowned producer of Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.

'Life in a Day' is a time capsule that will tell future generations what it was like to be alive on July 24, 2010.

It will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

It hopes to open people's eyes to the possibilities of user-generated film.

Those whose clips are chosen will receive a co-director credit and will be flown to Salt Lake City for the Sundance premiere.

ANGELINA JOLIE:
ACTION STAR


Not only is she getting the biggest salary in Hollywood, Angelina Jolie is breaking down gender barriers when it comes to action movies. No actress in Hollywood history has been able to ever take over the male-dominated genre of the action picture - not until Angelina Jolie that is, commanding 20 million dollars to play in the espionage thriller 'Salt.'

Today she's making what men make and more. This movie was originally written for Tom Cruise but he opted for 'Knight and Day' instead. Now, the unusual move of a female action star has been born. Hollywood doesn't consider Jolie a female action star - it considers her an action star. In the past 10 years, she has starred in five action films

Jolie's action films averaged $124 million in domestic grosses. Worldwide, those grosses totalled nearly $1.5 billion. 58% of Jolie's action grosses, on average, come from international audiences.

These figures are for her action roles alone – 'Wanted', 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith', the two 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider' movies, and 'Gone in 60 Seconds'.

Sony already has Brad Pitt's and her next projects: 'Moneyball' and 'The Tourist.'

'The Tourist,' which stars Johnny Depp and her as a femme fatale, opens in February.

Angelina is now considering playing 'Cleopatra' for Sony.

FILM TREND:
'THE SOCIAL NETWORK' MOVIE


Now turning to a new movie that people are anxious to see: 'The Social Network.' It depicts the launching of the famed social networking site Facebook - a story of greed and obsession.

Facebook has just surpassed 500 million users and has signed 100 million since February alone. At its current growth rate, it could reach a billion within a year. One out of every seven human beings on the planet has an account. If Facebook were a country, it would be the world's third largest.

The movie is adapted from the 2009 book 'The Accidental Billionaire: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal.'

The film features an ensemble cast including Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake. Shia LaBeouf and Michael Cera were previously considered for the role of founder 26-year old Mark Zuckerberg.

None of the Facebook staff was involved with the project.

Zuckerberg doesn't disclose financial results, but the famous social networking site could top $1 billion this year, up from about $550 million in 2009 and $300 million in 2008.

Facebook has 1,400 employees at its Palo Alto, California headquarters and more than 12 offices around the world.

Facebook saw its international users increase 73% in the last year alone. Some 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States.

Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz called the film a "dramatization of history." He says it's interesting to see his past rewritten in a way that emphasizes things that didn't matter. He says a lot of exciting things happened in 2004 when Facebook was launched, but it consisted mainly of work and stress. The version in the trailer, he says, seems a lot more exciting than it actually was!

Distributed by Columbia, 'The Social Network' opens October 1, 2010.

3-D UPDATE:
SCREENS UP 86%


It used to be that only a select few movies could be seen with 3-D, with very few theaters had the technology to support it. Nowadays, movie-goers are feeling right in the action of their movies with 3-D watching becoming the norm.

Here are some facts :

• There are more than 16,000 digital screens worldwide up 86 percent from last year
• There are 8989 3-D screens worldwide, 6% of the total amount of theaters
• The first 3D film shown to a paying audience was The Power of Love in 1922
• The 2009 Cannes Film Festival opened with a 3D animated film for the first time; the Disney-Pixar movie Up

3-D TREND: JAMES CAMERON BUILDS FOR NASA

James Cameron is now building a 3-D camera for NASA. He's helping to build a 3-D camera on the Next Generation Mars Rover called Curiosity that's set for launch next year. Cameron personally lobbied NASA in January. Remember when he followed up the success of Titanic with a documentary about his actual exploration of the actual Titanic wreck? Well, now there's news that there is more of the Avatar movie you just saw coming in a re-release this summer with deleted scenes.

MOVIE TREND:
PUERTO RICO A HOT SPOT


In the Warner Bros. film The Losers, Puerto Rico portrays a wide variety of locales, including India, Bolivia, Chile, Miami and Los Angeles. Puerto Rico is now in the runaway production game offering filmmakers a 40% tax credit. In the past eight years, film and TV tax credits and rebates have grown in so many states and provinces.

Today, there are significant production incentives in Canada's provinces and 44 U.S. states, up from five in 2002. Filmmakers this year have become savvy shoppers

"There are creative needs, financial needs, quality-of-life issues and travel time"

One of the best locations for this film was in Romania.

"There are gigantic, closed-down factories and steel plants on the same scale as the Northeast."

In addition to warm weather, South Africa boasts a base 15% rebate on qualified expenditures, which Death Race was able to increase to 25% by structuring itself as a German/South African co-production.

MOVIE TREND:
RUNAWAY PRODUCTION


Avatar earned $44.7 million by utilizing New Zealand's 15% tax rebate program. Hawaii's production incentive is relatively small by today's standards.

Hawaii was able to beat other tropical locales, including top contender Puerto Rico, to land 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides', which is scheduled to shoot in Oahu and Kauai in the summer. LA based stars also wanted to be there because its one flight back to home in LA. Hawaii now also has a substantial production infrastructure, with an experienced crew because of the TV show Lost, which is conveniently wrapping its six-season run as 'Pirates of the Caribbean' begins preproduction.

NEW DIRECTION: JENNIFER ANISTON TURNS TO DIRECTING


Jennifer Ansiton's career is taking a new turn: directing.

She will be directing her first feature film. She has announced plans to make her feature debut, following her co-direction of 2006 short film Room 10, but not much more is known at this point.

Aniston says, "I have a project in development I'm going to direct. After you get enough movies under your belt you sit back and go: It's getting to a time where creatively I want to turn in a different direction."

MOVIE TREND: BOXOFFICE TRADING ON STOCKMARKET


Movies are taking on a whole new twist. Not only can you watch the movies, you can now BET on the opening weekend tallies.

The first futures contract based on movie box office results will begin trading this summer. The U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a request by the Trend Exchange to offer futures contracts and options.

The contracts would begin trading four weeks before a movie opened - and end trading on opening weekend.

The first movie to get the green light: Takers, the crime film starring Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen.

Takers opens August 20, which means trading begins the last week of July.

MOVIE DEALS:
CHANGE IN PAY FOR CELEBS


When it comes to how Hollywood celebrities get paid these days, there is a trend that continues.

There was a time, not too long ago, when actors like Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Brad Pitt could earn a $20 million advance, plus 20% of the studio's half of box-office grosses.

The days of movie stars getting such 20/20 deals are over.

Now actors are being asked to become profit participants who earn money if the movie is a big hit. These deals are known as 'cash break zero.'

'Cash break zero' is the point where the studio has recouped production costs, which does not include distribution fees. This means actors are starting to get a participation share at cash break zero and only the highest-level talent are getting that deal.

Ultimately, it means the actor doesn't get back-end pay until the studio makes back its production costs.

MOVIE NEWS:
'TEENAGE PAPARAZZO'


HBO has picked up the rights to Entourage star Adrian Grenier's documentary Teenage Paparazzo

He puts a camera on a young 14-year-old celebrity photographer to document his world.

The movie was an official selection at The Sundance Film Festival this year.

It features interviews with celebrities like Matt Damon, Eva Longoria Parker, Paris Hilton, Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg, along with historians, movie critics, fans, bloggers, publishers and tabloid writers.

As for next season's Entourage, Vince will be shooting a movie, which means we will see a new Vince this year.

MOVIE TRAILERS:
AT ULTIMATE HIGH


Are you noticing there are more and more trailers before a movie begins? Well, there's a reason... theater operators are often being paid to play extra trailers. Trailer numbers have surged in the past decade from two to four per film to a current five to seven, with an additional number of 30-second teaser trailers often tossed in as well. MPAA guidelines set a maximum length of 2 1/2 minutes per trailer, but don't address the number presented by individual studios. Get ready because soon, the new revenue streams may spread to theater lobbies.

MOVIE BUSINESS:
TERRIFIC OR TERRIBLE?


So is the movie business terrific or terrible? MPAA spokesman Howard Gantman says the industry suffers the greatest damage from fraudulent copies. A study released at the end of 2009 reported a 13 percent drop in U.S. DVD and Blu-Ray movie sales, to $8.73 billion. Blu-Ray sales made up roughly $1.1 billion of that total. That made 2009 the first year since 2002 that movie disc sales fell below our box-office revenues.

MOVIE TREND:
A-LISTERS JOIN FORCES


Another movie star is getting into the TV business.

Russell Crowe and Maria Bello have teamed for a series project in the works at HBO.

Bello is set to star in the drama 'Emergency Sex', which is being written by Slumdog Millionaire's writer.

Russell is executive producing.

Inspired by the book 'Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story From Hell on Earth', the project revolves around the larger than-life exploits of expatriate non-government organization workers who find their sanity tested in the face of atrocities, loneliness and primal desires.

MOVIE CASTING:
LEONARDO AS HOOVER


Leonardo Dicaprio is set to star in a biopic of F.B.I.'s first director (and notorious communist hunter), J. Edgar Hoover. The movie will be directed by Clint Eastwood. This will be Leonardo's first with Eastwood.

Hoover's career spanned the late 20's and early 30's, at the height of a wave of gangster violence caused by prohibition and organized crime. The script is written by the writer of Milk.

Principal photography should begin later this year.

CELEB SIGNING:
JULIA ROBERTS FOR LANCOME


Julia Roberts is definitely a trendsetter in her longevity as an A-list movie icon. Now she's making her debut as Lancôme Ambassador at Paris Fashion Week in France.

She says she's thrilled she's still considered an icon. She says, "It's kind of like every girl's dream, really, to be 42 and have three kids and be a workingmom. It's a great moment to be asked to do this and to be able to do it."

I think it says a lot about Lancôme and what they stand for.

SUMMER MOVIE: 'KNIGHT AND DAY' SALARY CHANGES

There's a movie out there this summer that you may have seen, 'Knight and Day' starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.

Well, as we're seeing with this movie - trends in Hollywood are changing - EVEN for Tom Cruise.

It used to be an actor of his stature commanded "first dollar gross" revenue and 20 million dollar paychecks, but now the trends have changed so much for actors. Hollywood is doing business differently. OK so here's the scoop.

'Knight and Day' cost over $125 million.

Production partners, New Regency and Dune Entertainment offset financing for the film by paying Tom a lower advance fee than he normally received. He used to get that $20 million or higher in an 'advance' fee, but he only received $11 million for 'Knight and Day' with no first dollar gross", which was customary. This means that he is not receiving a share of the film's revenue, until 'Knight and Day' funding investors have first gained back THEIR investment in the production. Not only are the trends for the big stars changing...look what's happening to the writers.

Over 12 writers contributed to the film, and the Writers Guild of America West decided, due to this large number of contributors, to only credit Patrick O'Neill - who had put in effort on the beginning layout of the script.

The film was marketed towards older over 40 moviegoers, as a cool adult movie. The marketing for the film, included an attempt at pushing a "viral video" of the two main stars. Didn't work and some have predicted the film would not do well because of the age of its two stars, some say Cameron Diaz "was" a star, but she's no longer a star.

'Knight and Day' didn't do well opening weekend. $3.8 million in Canada and the US. It's the worst attended movie for Tom in almost 25 years and his lowest grossing opening day in over 15 years. Ahh Tom :-( Among teenage and college-age males, the movie is barely registering!

So trends have changed in this recession - even for Tom Cruise.

MOVIE TREND:
BOX OFFICE BOOMING


Now to a trend that just won't let up: the movie-going boom. The recession still can't touch the box office. Global box office receipts have reached an all time high of $29.9 billion, an increase of 7.6% over 2008 and almost 30% UP from 2005. The Canada and the US market increased more than 10% to $10.6 billion. Ticket sales in Canada and the US rose more than 5.5% from 2008, the first admissions increase in two years.

ROBERT KENNEDY:
ON THE BIG SCREEN


Robert Kennedy will be portrayed on the big screen again. Robert has been played on the big screen by many actors, and now the director of Seabiscuit, Gary Ross is making a movie based on the biography of Robert Kennedy called ‘His Life'. After turning down the lead role in Avatar, Matt Damon is in talks to take the iconic role. Damon has confirmed he'll take the starring role if he likes the script. He says it would be a lot of research and time put in.

NEW MOVIE:
FBI DIRECTOR J. EDGAR HOOVER


Ok, now here's another that has Oscar all over it. Clint Eastwood is teaming with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Films for his next directing project, a biopic of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935 and remained its director until his death in 1972. During his tenure, he employed the FBI to harass political activists and used illegal methods to make secret files on leaders.

OPRAH TV CHANNEL: PLANS


Oprah's TV channel is bound to be a hit. Following along the lines of her book club, her channel is going to have a feature film club series, like her book club, and the movies will have inspirational themes. OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is dedicated to self-discovery, and it's a platform to elevate documentary films. She's partnered with a documentary film distributor, to do a primetime monthly documentary film series. Some of the movies will get nationwide theatrical screenings. OWN is planning to create communities that can screen the films together and take part in a live, moderated panel discussion. OWN is a co-venture between Harpo and Discovery Channel, which is scheduled to premiere in January 2011.

MOVIE ECONOMICS:
TRENDS STUDY 2010


Now turning to movie trends, and how much they really make. A study called the "Economics of Motion Pictures" looked at 764 films and found that a total of 83 movies that cost more than $100 million, averaged a net profit of $247 million dollars. Movies that cost $90 million-$100 million averaged a net profit of almost $118 million. What movies make the most money? Animated films. 50 animated movies averaged $220.5 million in net profit under a major-studio deal. Sci-Fi fantasy films are the next most profitable genre.

MOVIE MARKETING:
TRENDS SUMMER 2010


Now turning to Movie Marketing, and ad campaigns trends. It seems the way the studios do their TV ads are not what they should be doing their online ads. Digital-advertising is a must in today's world, but its now been discovered that what works well in traditional media does work the same way digitally. For television, movie studios use Thursday as the day to launch TV ads for a film, but when it comes to online, a new study shows the consumer watches about the same amount of movie-related video on weekdays and even more on the weekend with the least amount of viewing movie-related video on Thursdays! Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the big online viewing days, and in fact, we watch more movie-related video online on Mondays than on any other weekday. Seems people are thinking about movies as the weekend ends.

New TV Show:
Donald Trump's ‘The Ultimate Merger'

Donald Trump Productions is doing a new dating show, called The Ultimate Merger. Donald will be the matchmaker to help a well-known bachelorette achieve the "ultimate merger”, a successful relationship.

The show will put 12 bachelors through many challenges and obstacles in the quest to finding true love with ‘The Apprentice's' Omarosa.

The bachelors will stay at Trump's Hotel in Las Vegas. They want American bachelors who are “financially secure” with “outgoing big personalities."

The series is supposed to air by Spring 2010.

FOX: TURNS TO TAPED AUDITIONS

Fox Network has a new way to audition actors for pilots. It's shifting to taped auditions instead of actors being there in person. The network has announced that it is phasing out in-person tests, in which finalists auditions for each role for network executives. Now, after passing live tests, performances are being filmed and sent to the network for judging. The upside is that there will be no long lines of actors in hallways. It also gives actors a chance to get it right, as they can record it many times, and now just send in the best one, whereas in live auditions, actors have one shot. The downside is that agents and managers never know when executives will be watching the tapes, therefore they don't get answers anymore on the spot.

YOU TUBE: STUDIO MOVIES NOW AVAILABLE

One of the biggest trendsetters in the world today is You Tube, the truly revolutionary video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. The new trend now is for Hollywood movie studios to use You Tube. Recently you tube reached an agreement with MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment and CBS which will allow the companies to post full-length films and television shows on the site, accompanied by advertisements. The move is intended to create competition with websites such as Hulu, which features material from both NBC and Fox. As you many know, ingenious YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees. In November 2006, it was bought by Google  for $1.65 billion, and is now operated as a subsidiary of Google.

MOVIE MARRIAGES


Movie marriages....Actor/director combos are a hot trend in Hollywood these days. Big stars keep working with big directors. Russell Crowe is in every movie that Ridley Scott directs these days.

He did A Good Year with him...American Gangster and Body of Lies and the two are at it again - Scott is doing Nottingham with Russell, his adaptation of the Robin Hood legend. As for Leonardo DiCaprio...his guy is Martin Scorsese as you know. He's now doing his 4th film with Martin - 'Shutter Island' coming out next year. Scorsese had done 8 movies with Robert DeNiro.

They are doing one more - based on true mob story called "I heard You Paint Houses" and DiCaprio is doing two more with Martin...The Wolf of Wall Street" and "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt."and director Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan...they have done Freaks and Geeks, 40 year Old Virgin and next summer's "Funny People."

TV STATS: UNHAPPY PEOPLE WATCH MORE

Ok I've got some new stats to tell you about....How much do you like watching TV?

New research shows that unhappy people watch more TV while those who are happy - spend more time reading and socializing. The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45 thousand participants and found that watching TV might make you feel good in the short term but is more likely to lead to overall unhappiness. Unhappy people watch more than 30 per cent more TV than happy folks. TV is not judgmental or difficult, so people with few social skills or resources for other activities can engage in it.....Even the unhappiest people can click a remote and be passively entertained....and...Unhappy 'married couples' also watch more TV...meantime - the worsening of the economy is said to be good for TV producers as more people will likely watch more in these tough times.

TV TRENDS:
THE SCIENCE AND ENTERTAINMENT EXCHANGE


Since science and technology have become staples of TV these days - the bar has been raised for better and more accurate science. Forensic investigation and medical shows such as CSI, House, and ER routinely incorporate cutting-edge science into their scripts. Get ready for better TV crime shows...

The National Academy of Sciences just announced the creation of "The Science and Entertainment Exchange," an initiative designed to connect entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to help the creators of television shows, films, video games, and other productions incorporate science into their work. The Exchange represents the Academy's first formal effort to reach out to the entertainment community and provide the creative minds of Hollywood with a direct connection to the creative minds of science. "Television and film" involve the public in the latest advances in science, medicine, and technology." Relying on the special connections - the Exchange can make introductions, schedule briefings, and arrange for consultations for anyone developing science-based entertainment content. The plan is endorsed by the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, and Women in Film.

It's being promoted to all levels of writers, directors, producers, and others in the entertainment industry. Professionals involved in the creative process may contact the Exchange to be connected with scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts for help with their productions and stories. Movies like Children of Men, Mission Impossible, Déjà Vu, and A Beautiful Mind enlisted some aspect of science and technology to help tell their stories, while Iron Man, Minority Report, and the Star Trek series depend very heavily on a foundation of science.

TELEVISION JEWELS


By the way - there's a hot trend in Hollywood now with people who want to wear such gems but can't afford them and don't have access to wearing them. They rent them. These jewels are called television jewels because they look so real under the brightest lights and camera shots. They're made from crystals and zirconias but shine just like the real thing.

You get them from the website: borrowedbling.com. The stuff looks amazing! Bracelets, rings, earrings, belts and evening bags in stones. You pay 30 to 100 dollars a month and you borrow. They're cut with diamond facets set in 14 carat gold or sterling silver then they're coated with a platinum sealer. They really look good!

TV HOT TRENDS: SHOWS THAT LOOK LIKE MOVIES

There's a trend in the world of television...TV shows that feel like one-hour cinematic movies. AMC is leading the pact.

It's a big new project, is a show about MARS based on the 1992 sci-fi novel RED MARS.

AMC says it fits with its bigger vision of wanting series to look like movies and it's always looking now for big genres. Cable networks remain the hot trendsetting show leaders. AMC has become a trendsetting network hot on it's Mad Men Emmy and Golden Globe wins for the first cable show to win best drama...What's also hot today: shows that are done in slightly different ways so they feel fresh and new and the other huge trend that keeps getting stronger and hotter: the biggest movie stars doing TV shows. AMC is doing a miniseries remake of the 1960's sci-fi series "The Prisoner" starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen. It's a combination of sci-fi, drama and psychological thriller...Other AMC movie feel shows in the works are: ICE - about a family in New Yorks Diamond district and CARTER BEATS the DEVIL about magician Charles Carter and his role in President Harding's death. Another TV trend: Some networks are integrating even more advertisers into their shows, product placement. For The CW, which targets women ages 18-34, product placement isn't a distraction for young viewers.

And the final big trend this fall: (and this one drives me nuts too, let me watch a program in peace) Smarter use of on-screen promos: Some viewers have expressed exasperation over animated promotions for other shows that pop up at the bottom of the screen, distracting from the program currently on the air.