Movies

The Sci-Fi Channel, in conjunction with the Sundance Channel, is launching an eight-week long short film competition to find the world's next great science fiction auteur.

The competition, aptly titled "Exposure," will search for the best 2-8 minute sci-fi, horror or fantasy short. Films will be judged by a committee of Sci-Fi Channel and Sundance Channel experts, who will post the best flicks on the Internet each week. Fans will then vote for eight weekly champions to compete in an on-air special on the Sci Fi Channel. Viewers will vote online to determine the grand prize winner.

Submissions are welcomed from now until November 20th. Online voting will begin October 23rd.

Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island, one of the attractions personally designed and guided by Walt Disney himself 50 years ago in Anaheim, Calif., might be destined for the wrecking ball in favor of a "Pirates of the Caribbean"-themed area -- replete with an animatronic Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom replacing Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn. According to a report by Disney theme park-watchdog-site MiceAge, the Tom Sawyer Island attraction, full of treehouses, caves, and trails that refer to scenes in Mark Twain's beloved adventures, will be given a $28 million-plus makeover into a full pirate paradise. The original "Pirates" ride, by which the films were "inspired," have been tweaked to reflect Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow.

The opening of the new "Pirates" attraction will be timed, says MiceAge, to coincide with the release of the third "Pirates of the Caribbean" film next summer. A source with knowledge of the park's finances and operations tells TMZ that from a financial standpoint, the move is a no-brainer: "That's very valuable real estate [in the theme park], and if you ask a hundred kids who Jack Sparrow and Tom Sawyer are, what do you think they're going to say?" The two "Pirates" films have grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide.

A Disneyland rep tells TMZ that this was "the first" he had heard of the change, and said that there were no plans to change any of the Tom Sawyer Islands, whether in Anaheim, Calif., Orlando, Fla., or Tokyo.

A friend there sent us the picture below with the following account:

Attached is a picture we took just today at the theater here in Orange City. It appears that someone in the community complained to the theater manager regarding the new "Jackass" movie, so look at how they changed it!!

We're guessing Orange City is the type of city that "Footloose" was based on.

A Jewish organization in the UK says it has had enough of Sacha Baron Cohen's meshuggah Borat act, and is punishing the British-born comic with a £9.000 ($17,000) fine and a ban of six months from any UK synagogue. Or at least that's what it says.

Just as Jews worldwide gathered to observe Yom Kippur, the solemn day of atonement, The Board of Guardians of British Jews made this scathing proclamation on its Web site, www.theboard.co.uk: "We gave Mr Baron Cohen an informal warning over six months ago about the Borat character ... bringing major embarrassment to the Jewish community," says one Harry Greenberg, president of The Board. "Mr Baron Cohen ignored our letters and phonecalls [sic] ... and has been banned from setting foot into any synagogue for six months." Cohen's fake-Kazakh character continually talks about himself and his countrymen abusing and demeaning Jews, jokes that the American Anti-Defamation League and the Kazakh government have rebuked.

Of course, the so-called British Guardians' threats and edicts might be much ado about bubkes. The same organization -- which is not to be confused with The Board of Deputies of British Jews, which is the UK equivalent of the Anti-Defamation League -- put up a posting just after Mel Gibson's DUI arrest and subsequent anti-Semitic tirade in August saying that it had welcomed Gibson to its board as a vice-president, and that, "despite American media trying to imply his is anti-Semitic, Mel is a true lover of all Jews and the Jewish faith." We all know how grounded in reality that is.

Due to Yom Kippur, all parties involved were unavailable for comment or verification.

Admit it... you just can't get enough of "Jackass." You have every episode of the TV show on DVD and you were first in line to see both "Jackass" flicks. Never fear, there's plenty more where that came from.

An insider at Paramount Studios tells TMZ that they have so much video featuring Chris Pontius, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera and the whole crew that they will be releasing never before seen scenes straight to DVD on "Jackass 2.5." The studio was also so thrilled with the huge success of "Jackass Number Two" -- which took in $51.5 million in its first two weeks of release -- that they have greenlighted "Jackass Three" and are speeding up production on that release.

Thank god... and you thought you'd have to wait forever to see Steve-O be used for bait.

While training to play a US Coast Guard in his new film, Ashton Kutcher had one man's body in mind for inspiration -- Brad Pitt.

"I went and saw Troy, I was with my wife and with a friend, and every time Brad came on and he was like naked or whatever, they were like 'Ohh', and I'm like, 'I'm right here, I'm sitting right next to you,'" says Kutcher, "I knew this movie was coming up so I went out and hired Brad Pitt's trainer."

The self-admitted "pack-a-day smoker" who "hadn't really worked out since high school" (damn him for naturally looking so good) had a tough time getting into top shape and admits he's already on a downward spiral since shooting wrapped.

"No. I'm done... I'll train for the next one, it's fine, I'll run a little bit, I'll stay in shape, I can still do some pull-up's and I do some push-up's and stuff but it's just brutal. It's a full time job it keep yourself in that kind of shape, it's no joke."

"The Guardian" and "Open Season," also starring Kutcher, both open this weekend.

Robert Downey Jr. has been tapped to play the Marvel comic book character "Iron Man" in its film adaptation. Downey worked out and grew a goatee in the hopes of convincing the producers that he was the right man for the job.

The complex character of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) is far more complex then meets the eye. In fact, the similarities to Downey's own life are uncanny, as the character is a man whose life is plagued by substance abuse and chaos.

Marvel Entertainment executive Kevin Fergie said "We cannot think of another actor better suited to bring one of Marvel's crown jewels to the big screen."

Filming will begin in February.

"Marie Antoinette" star Kirsten Dunst traded in her 1780s corsets for some 1980s suspenders.

Kirsten roamed the streets of Hollywood earlier this week sporting suspenders, skinny jeans, flats and amber vision-like sunglasses.

While she didn't dredge up shoulder pads, Kiki wore enough 80s trends to fill an entire season of "Dynasty."

She may have dazzled you in a guest spot as a lesbian cheerleader on "Veronica Mars," but now Kristin Cavallari is making the giant leap to saucy sorority girl for the upcoming remake of "Revenge of the Nerds." Robert Sanchez of IESB.net reports that the socially ubiquitous "Laguna Beach" star will start shooting on the film in October; "Charlie's Angels" director McG is one of the producers, and among the writers is Adam Jay Epstein, who penned "Not Another Teen Movie."

Cavallari's character Kailey, according to reports, will put the nerds through their sexual-awakening paces as she twirls them around her well-manicured finger, and she's the best friend of the Pi Delta Pi sorority queen, played by Katie Cassidy.

Borat -- the faux-TV-reporter from Kazakhstan and alter-ego of comedian Sacha Baron Cohen -- went all the way to the gates of the White House yesterday to invite, as he put it, "Mighty Warlord Premier Bush" to a screening of his upcoming movie, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

The bushy-moustachioed Borat was turned away by Secret Service agents as he tried to hand a paper invitation through the White House gates to a security guard -- without an appointment. Earlier, Borat, to the giggles of the press, "blasted" the "mythmaking "of the rival Uzbek government and their assertions that Kazakhs "do not drink fermented horse urine, give death penalty for baking bagels, or export over 300 tonnes of human pubis per year." (Kazakhs don't, of course, do any of these things, as far as we can discern.)

If Bush does end up accepting Borat's invitation, he'll be in some seriously glorious company -- Borat said that he invited other "American dignitaries" like O.J. Simpson and "Mel Gibsons." Meanwhile, President Bush is meeting with Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev today.

How many tattoos does Nicole Richie have?

Nicole Richie sports nine (at least) tattoos on her body, Stephanie. The favorite seems to be this rosary she had tattooed around her ankle. She also has a spider-shaped one on her lower stomach, as well as a pair of ballerina slippers she got in honor of the song her father, Lionel Richie, wrote for her. (For you young'ins, that song was "Ballerina Girl.")

Make sure not to miss out on Nicole's fab photo gallery!

That's the situation Emma Watson has potentially created with her inability to make her mind up about signing up for the last two films. Emma, who plays Hermione Granger told Newsweek on a recent visit to the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" set, " I don't know yet... I love to perform, but there are so many things I love doing."

Now before everyone panics and starts hiding beneath their invisibility cloaks, producer David Heyman says that Emma went through the same questioning process before signing on for the third and fourth films and he is cautiously optimistic that she will sign on for the last two.

Just to ease the situation, it might help if you keep your fingers crossed, your dragons in a row and chant a few spells and hopefully Hermione will stay enrolled at Hogwarts for a few more years.

"Lolita" star Dominique Swain was once again causing a controversy at Wednesday's Stuff magazine party at the Arclight in Hollywood.

Swain, who was cast at 15 to play the lead role in the provocative 1997 film "Lolita," appeared to be really, really exhausted as she needed assistance in maneuvering her way up the stairs of the parking garage. Swain missed a step and almost bit it big time.

Luckily, her friend allowed Dominique to lean on him as they made their way to their car, where autograph hounds awaited the wobbly star for her John Hancock.

Swain, despite her extreme level of tiredness, obliged their requests, but seemed to have difficulty focusing and maintaining a firm grasp on the pen. Don't you just hate when that happens!

Once the impromptu meet and greet was over, the duo made their way out of the parking structure.

The special four-page insert entitled "Kazakhstan in the 21st Century" features a photo of the country's president Nursultan Nazarbayev on its front page shaking hands with President George W. Bush -- good timing, considering that Nazarbayev is scheduled to be at the White House this coming Friday. And the thirteen articles contained within propagandize broadly over such topics as "Transforming the mixed blessing of a nuclear legacy" and "Petroleum players seek their fortune in the City of London" (that's what it says, folks).The ad likely cost somewhere around $300,000 - $400,000 to run; Kazakhstan's per capita income was approximately $7,500, according to 2004 estimates.

But there's at least one piece that Borat might appreciate : "Combining business with pleasure in cosmopolitan Kazakhstan."

Craig tells the new issue of Parade magazine "All I can say is there are millions of fans, and I don't want to let them down. I've worked my butt off for this movie. I'm not going to foul it up."

The buff actor may be the first non-brunette Bond, but he definitely has one thing in common with the super agent -- the ladies. Although he is currently dating film producer Satsuki Mitchell, in the past he has been linked to hotties like Kate Moss and Sienna Miller.

But one thing you won't see the latest Bond doing is lighting up a cig. While producers didn't want to send a wrong message to kids, Craig had no issue with the change because in reality he says "I can blow off someone's head at close range and splatter blood, but I can't light a good Cuban (cigar)."

If you drove almost an hour to see a film and while it was playing it broke down, wouldn't you be a little bit peeved?

Well, you wouldn't if you were the picture of patience Mr. Cuba Gooding Jr. himself. The "Snow Dogs" star was staying in Park City, Utah when he had a hankering to see the OutKast film "Idlewild" at a theater approximately an hour away. Unfortunately for Mr. Gooding, the film broke during the screening. When Cuba came out of the theater to see what happened, the staff report that Cuba was the model of patience and was extremely nice about the entire situation.

It just goes to show that not all celebrities are cheapos who spout tirades of obscenities. You've raised the bar Mr. Gooding.