Hollywood Private-Eye Trial Begins

Sundance speech gets testy

(NEWSER) - Spike Lee screened his latest film—Red Hook Summer, a quasi-sequel to Do the Right Thing—at the Sundance Film Festival last night, but what really got people talking was the profanity-laden tirade he delivered in the Q&A afterward. The fireworks started when surprise attendee Chris Rock stood up and asked how the movie would have been different if Lee had gone through a studio. "What else would have happened? Would you have blown up some shit?" he asked, according to the Wrap . More»

Stallone's interested in starring

(AP) - Hollywood has produced no shortage of movies and TV shows about the mob, but this one's coming straight from the most high-profile source imaginable: John "Junior" Gotti has sold the rights to his life story. The 46-year-old son of the late, legendary Gambino crime family leader, "Dapper Don" John Gotti, has agreed to a deal with independent production company Fiore Films. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but a film about Gotti's life is in the works with a production budget of $15 million. More»

Really? 'Hot Tub Time Machine' is the best we can do?

(NEWSER) - “2010 very possibly is the worst year in the history of motion pictures,” declares Joe Queenan in a hilarious Wall Street Journal piece bemoaning the downfall of American cinema. You know things are bad in Hollywood when:

• “Shia LaBeouf—who looks a bit like the young George W. Bush” is being passed off “as the second coming of Tom Cruise.”
• The top contenders for Next Big Action Star are Jake Gyllenhaal and Adrien Brody. “None of these are logical heirs to the throne abandoned by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. They may not even be legitimate heirs to the throne vacated by Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.”

(NEWSER) - Some of Hollywood's biggest names are lining up behind Roman Polanski, but Chris Rock is not among them. On last night's Jay Leno Show, Rock ridiculed the notion of defending the fugitive filmmaker because of his art. "He made good movies 30 years ago. Even Johnnie Cochran don't have the nerve to go, 'Well, did you see OJ play against New England?'" He added, "Thirteen is thirteen." New York points out that Kirstie Alley, on Twitter, was the first celeb to blast Polanski publicly. More»

(NEWSER) - Former Hollywood detective Anthony Pellicano was sentenced 15 years in prison today, Variety reports. Convicted earlier this year on 78 counts including wiretapping and conspiracy, Pellicano was also told to pay $2 million with two other defendants. Former Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch, who helped bring Pellicano to trial, admonished him before sentencing: "I battled constant fear," she said. More»