Damon Houx
There were rumors that there was going to be a big 'American Idol' shake-up, but before anything was made official Randy Jackson has given the show his walking papers. Jackson announced today that Season 12 will be his last on the hit show.
'American Idol' used to be the hottest show on television, but after thirteen years, it's starting to show its age. The show's ratings have slipped from regularly having 30 million viewers to now somewhere around 11 million. And though the show has had some different judges over the course of its run, it's now looking to ditch all four current judges to have a fresh face for Season 13.
Though this was rumored last year, it looks like a sequel to 2012's '21 Jump Street' is moving forward. Sony has confirmed that they're going to make the film and that it will have a release sometime in 2014.
'The Hunger Games' proved adept at keeping audiences excited by offering brief glimpses at the movie, and letting everyone know about every casting decision, so it's no surprise that the follow-up 'Catching Fire' is using a similar strategy. We're still more than seven months out from 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,' but it's just released two new images.
Today is a good day for the former cast-mates of 'Harry Potter' as not only is Daniel Radcliffe signing up for 'Frankenstein,' while Emma Watson is now in early talks for 'Cinderella,' which will be directed by her 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' co-star Kenneth Branagh.
Shooting has just started on 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' one of 2014's biggest movies, and Sony has confirmed that Paul Giamatti has joined the cast (as Rhino) along with Colm Feore, and teased what the film is about.
At the end of the first 'Captain America,' Steve Rogers was awoken in a modern world, meaning his date with Peggy Carter had long since passed its expiration date. Well, our Cap is still a red blooded America male, and Peggy is an elderly woman, so it's good to know that the sequel 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' gives him a new love interest. And word is that role is going to Emily VanCamp.
Even though the fourth film in the franchise, 'Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' was the lowest grossing of the franchise domestically, that film - boosted by 3D - managed to make over a billion dollars worldwide. So that a writer has been hired to write 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' should be no surprise.
If things went according to plan, Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' would be hitting theaters next week on Christmas Day, and we might be having a conversation about how Leonardo DiCaprio could be up for both the Best Actor and Supporting Actor Oscar. Instead, the picture moved to May, and we're a little less than six months away from its release. But now there's a new trailer to hold us over.
Yesterday we learned that Michael Arndt had written a treatment for the upcoming 'Star Wars' sequel, currently called 'Episode 7,' but that didn't seem a confirmation that he had the job. Today it looks like his work has been approved and he's the first writer to take a crack at a new 'Star Wars' film.