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Donald Trump Jr. penned his first Op-Ed for Breitbart on Thursday, blasting the media for their coverage of Covington Catholic High School, and calling their reporting of the story a “hoax.”

“America just got its best look ever at the true face of ‘fake news’ when journalists set their sights on a group of teenagers from Kentucky,” the first son wrote, attacking the media for “taking tiny, incomplete video clips at face value and uncritically reprinting the accounts of left-wing activists.”

“Let me be perfectly clear. The Covington Catholic High School students did nothing wrong,” Trump Jr. continued. “The high schoolers responded more maturely than most of us probably would if someone started beating a drum in our face, and showed far more restraint than the people who called for them to be mutilated and killed.”

Also Read: Roger Stone Arrested in Mueller Investigation, Faces Obstruction Charges

Trump, who has...

Nathan Phillips, the Native American tribal elder who was involved in a tense standoff with Covington Catholic High School students on Friday, said he wasn’t a fan of Nicholas Sandmann’s statements or his “Today” show interview, telling the program that it all appeared fake.

Sandmann and Phillips were the central players in a standoff at the Lincoln Memorial, video of which sent much of social media into a fury over the weekend.

“What did you think about [Sandmann’s] words … and his version of this encounter?” host Savannah Guthrie asked Phillips.

Also Read: YouTube Reinstates Gavin McInnes Just Days After Ban: 'I'm Back, It Won't Last'

“Coached and written up for him, insincerity, lack of responsibility, those are the words I came up with — but then I went to go pray about it and then I woke up, woke up with this forgiving heart, I forgive him.” Phillips said.

Elsewhere in the interview he said,...

Covington Catholic student Nicholas Sandmann spoke out for the first time on Wednesday, defending himself after video of him seemingly taunting Native American tribal elder Nathan Phillips went viral over the weekend.

“As far as standing there, I had every right to do so. My position is that I was not disrespectful to Mr. Phillips. I respect him. I’d like to talk to him,â€. Sandmann told “Todayâ€. host Savannah Guthrie. “But I can’t say that I’m sorry for listening to him and standing there.â€.

Sandmann also denied that he or his classmates had said racist things, noting that such talk would have been forbidden by his school.

Also Read: Vulture Writer Who Wished Death on Covington Students Fired From Job at Ine Entertainment

“We’re a Catholic school, and it’s not tolerated. They don’t tolerate racism, and none of my classmates are racist people,â€. he said,...

The National Review pulled down an article on Sunday attacking the students at Covington Catholic High School, which said their behavior toward Native American elder Nathan Phillips was comparable to spitting on the cross.

“They mock a serious, frail-looking older man and gloat in their momentary role as Roman soldiers to his Christ. “‘Bullying’ is a worn-out word and doesn’t convey the full extent of the evil on display here,” National Review Deputy Managing Editor Nicholas Frankovich said in the original piece. “As for the putatively Catholic students from Covington, they might as well have just spit on the cross and got it over with.”

You can read an archived version here.

Also Read: Daily Beast Suspends Joy Reid Column Over 'Serious' Accusations About Past Homophobic Blog Posts

The piece was pulled down after that narrative around the story began to change as more video footage became available. Frankovich...

Twitter has suspended the account of the self-identified anti-fascist group Smash Racism D.C. after members of the group protested and chanted outside the home of Fox News Channel anchor Tucker Carlson. The group later posted video of the home protest online.

“Racist scumbag, leave town!,” the protesters can be heard chanting.

Carlson later told Fox News that the group broke his door, with one protester mentioning a pipe bomb.

The Tucker Carlson Tonight host and father of four was not home at the time, but his wife was. Carlson told Fox that his wife locked herself in a pantry and phoned police.

“Here’s the problem, I have four children,” he told Fox. “I never thought twice about leaving them home alone, but this is the reaction because this group doesn’t like my TV show.”

Journalists and media personalities, including Fox News rivals, were quick to weigh in on the home protest.

With football season underway, NFL fans are flocking to their TV sets, mobile phones, connected TVs, desktops and laptops waiting for their favorite team to take the field. This week’s “Monday Night Football” game is a face-off between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Pt at the Soldier Stadium Stadium in Chicago, Illinois.

But not everyone has the cash to put down $50+ on a satellite subscription to watch the game. However, with more consumers now turning to connected TVs and mobile devices for their daily dose of entertainment, the National Football League has made it easier for cord-cutters and cord-nevers to get their football fix without emptying out their piggy bank.

Also Read: Premium Ott Market in the Us to Reach $21B by 2020, Report Says

While fans can watch this upcoming “Monday Night Football” game on the NFL network available on streaming platforms like FuboTV,...

Former MSNBC contributor and Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald is calling for a boycott against Twitter on Sept. 7 as a response to what he says is the platform’s lack of diligence in combating trolls and bots.

“On September 7, tweet nothing but #BoycottTwitter. Force @jack to understand, if users flee this cesspool, he goes broke. Make @twitter do something to attack the trolls, sock puppets and bots that are making the platform toxic,” said Eichenwald.

“The reason why @jack won’t address the sockpuppet, troll and bot problem on @twitter, ignoring users demands? Perhaps he wants @twitter to be the next MySpace,” he added. “Show him we can help him become MySpace. Tweet only #BoycottTwitter on 9/7/2018. Demand they clean the cesspool.”

Also Read: Epileptic Newsweek Reporter Says More Trump Trolls Are Trying to 'Inflict' Seizures Through GIFs (Video)

On September 7, tweet nothing but #BoycottTwitter. Force @jack to understand, if users flee this cesspool,...

The early reactions to the announcement that the Us is bombing Syria in retaliation for chemical weapons use against civilians show a mixed bag of Hollywood, politicians and media types. Reactions have been split so far, reflecting the narrow camps that divide the country.

Among the reactions so far:

The way @maddow responded to Trump’s attack on Syria is a shining an example of why our free press, and those who represent it, must be defended with our lives. She is our best. She is brilliant. She is honest. She has integrity. And she has a soul. I’m grateful to hear her.

— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) April 14, 2018

Just In: @SenJohnMcCain responds to U.S. airstrikes in Syria. pic.twitter.com/hoIZPZhLsZ

— Fox 10 Phoenix (@Fox10Phoenix) April 14, 2018

imagine a better world – we can do better than this – #syria

— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) April 14, 2018

Dated August 30, 2013. #Syria https://t.co...

Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan McCain has been conspicuously absent from The View in recent days. She claimed she had to take time out of her co-hosting gig to recover from food poisoning, but viewers seem convinced she's actually pregnant. "Sorry to have missed the show today," Meghan tweeted on March 27. "Sick in bed, will hopefully be back tomorrow." The next day, she wrote, "Sorry I'm still sick everyone, trying to get better Asap to get back to the show." And the day after that: "It's cold, rainy, and I'm still recovering from food poisoning." A post shared by The View (@theviewabc) on Mar 19, 2018 at 6:52pm Pdt But fans were skeptical. "Is she sick or pregnant or both?" tweeted @WattsTeddy. Asked @solvar, "Is it morning sickness? Can't help but think that you're pregnant because you're getting further and further away from the table." And even a week prior, @cotonluver was pondering,...

Refresh for updates President Donald Trump’s self-pitying, finger-pointing series of tweets this morning accusing San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of “poor leadership” and being “nasty to Trump” have drawn even harsher-than-usual criticism from Beltway pundits and Hollywood/New York celebrities.

“Poor leadership would be hiding at a country club golfing while fellow Americans are suffering and dying,” tweeted Morning Joe‘s Joe Scarborough. Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, in one of a string of tweets, said, “You’re going straight to hell, @realDonaldTrump. “No long lines for you.” (See the tweets below.)

Trump’s latest tweet from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, came this afternoon as criticism to his earlier messages mounted: “Despite the Fake News Media in conjunction with the Dems, an amazing job is being done in Puerto Rico. Great people!”

The president began the morning castigating Cruz and others on the hurricane-devastated island who...

Nick Cannon, Kal Penn and more on Twitter are coming to Jemele Hill’s defense as Donald Trump demanded Espn apologize for the SportsCenter anchor’s comments calling the president a white supremacist and bigot.

“Espn is paying a really big price for its politics (and bad programming),” Trump tweeted Friday morning. “People are dumping it in Record numbers. Apologize for untruth!”

His call comes four days after SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill fired off a series of tweets declaring the president a white supremacist who never would have been elected “if he were not white.” The White House also spoke out against Hill’s comments,...

Former FBI Director James Comey had the nation’s social media attention this morning, for a bit anyway. Then Newsweek senior writer and MSNBC and Vanity Fair contributor Kurt Eichenwald began defending his reasoning for accidentally tweeting a photo that showed one of his browser tabs was open to hentai. Twitter went a little nuts. The saga began when Eichenwald posted a photo of an anti-Semitic flyer he claimed to receive, despite the fact he’s not Jewish, on June 7. It was part of a tweetstorm leveled against Fox News and host Tucker Carlson, after Carlson dropped Eichenwald’s name in a.

Back in December, Tucker Carlson and Newsweek‘s Kurt Eichenwald had one of the most epic on-air battles in recent memory. And apparently Eichenwald is still bitter about it. After Carlson name-dropped Eichenwald in a negative matter on his show on Tuesday night, Eichenwald responded on Wednesday with an hours-long tweetstorm targeting the Fox News host. He began in the […]...

The FBI has arrested the man accused of sending Dallas reporter Kurt Eichenwald a tweet that triggered an epileptic seizure. John Rayne Rivello, 29, of Salisbury, Maryland, was arrested Friday morning on a cyberstalking charge, the agency said in a statement. Eichenwald, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a senior writer at Newsweek, first said in December that a Twitter troll sent him a flashing video with the message, “you deserve a seizure,” which triggered an epileptic episode. Also Read: Newsweek Reporter Claims He Had Seizure After Twitter Troll Sends Flashing Gif Friday, Eichenwald confirmed the chain of events on Twitter,...

Rachel Maddow’s surprise announcement Tuesday night that she would be broadcasting portions of President Donald Trump‘s tax returns created a frenzy on social media.

But by the time The Rachel Maddow Show aired, reaction was mixed. Many liberals were disappointed that Maddow only had two pages of the billionaire businessman’s taxes from 2005 – and no bombshell.

Conservatives – including the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. – crowed that the documents showed Trump paid $38 million on $150 million in revenue, seemingly refuting claims that he dodged taxes.

Kal Penn got bored and changed the channel to Real Housewives of Beverley Hills.

Epileptic Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald said Tuesday that supporters of President-elect Donald Trump are “loading up” his Twitter feed with flashing lights designed to inflict harm. Last week, Eichenwald allegedly had an actual seizure after a Twitter troll sent the veteran reporter a flashing Gif that said, “You deserve a seizure for your posts.” “Apparently a lot of people find this very funny,” Eichenwald told George Stephanopoulos on “Gma,” explaining that he can’t go on Twitter because of copycat offenders. “They knew what they were doing.” Also Read: Newsweek Reporter Claims He Had Seizure After Twitter Troll Sends...

Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald allegedly had an actual seizure after a Twitter troll sent the veteran reporter a flashing Gif that said, “You deserve a seizure for your posts.” Someone claiming to be Eichenwald’s wife posted from his account and said, “You caused a seizure. I have your information and have called the police to report the assault.” Eichenwald, who has been extremely anti-Donald Trump on social media, followed up with another message, “For self-protection, I am taking a short twitter break. I will be spending that time with my lawyers & law enforcement going after 1 of u…...

In a bizarre twist in the aftermath of Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald‘s highly contentious interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Eichenwald announced that he was taking a break from Twitter after a troll caused him to have a seizure. Eichenwald posted over fifty angry and generally incoherent tweets in the aftermath of the interview, eventually deleting most of them. […]...

Tucker Carlson called out Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald for spreading potentially fake news on Twitter without an explanation. The Fox News host started off the interview Thursday night by saying he’s read Eichenwald’s work for “20 years, probably” but has noticed a “partisan turn.” “Do you believe that you’re practicing journalism?” Carlson asked in the testy confrontation. Also Read: Short Hair, Don't Care: Why Tucker Carlson Is Fox News' Latest Star (Exclusive) The Eichenwald tweet that irked Carlson said, “I believe Trump was institutionalized in a mental hospital for a nervous breakdown in 1990, which is why...

Newsweek published a highly anticipated cover story titled “Why Vladimir Putin’s Russia is Backing Donald Trump” on Friday morning, and it’s a meal. Kurt Eichenwald’s reporting paints a picture of Putin as disrupter, seeking to destabilize the global community while boosting Trump’s odds of winning the U.S. presidency, something Russia considers an asset because of the candidate’s perceived instability. Here are the eight biggest takeaways. Also Read: Mike Huckabee Admits Donald Trump Is a 'Car Wreck' in Bizarre Metaphor Trump’s refusal to believe the United States’ own intelligence apparatus has allies on edge Eichenwald writes,...

In an election where anything can happen, CNN's Brianna Keilar was prepared when a so-called "turd tornado" struck – and later when she was faced with interviewing a "human owl."

If you're confused, imagine how Keilar must have felt when Breitbart reporter Ben Shapiro colorfully described Gop nominee Donald Trump as the aforementioned weather event during a television interview on Wednesday.

"As you probably know, I think Donald Trump's a turd tornado, but I also understand that he has no capacity whatsoever to control himself and be this staid politician that everyone wants him to be," Shapiro said. "Telling him...

In an election where anything can happen, CNN's Brianna Keilar was prepared when a so-called "turd tornado" struck - and later when she was faced with interviewing a "human owl." If you're confused, imagine how Keilar must have felt when Breitbart reporter Ben Shapiro colorfully described Gop nominee Donald Trump as the aforementioned weather event during a television interview on Wednesday. "As you probably know, I think Donald Trump's a turd tornado, but I also understand that he has no capacity whatsoever to control himself and be this staid politician that everyone wants him to be," Shapiro said. "Telling...

Slammed by populous opinion, 2009′s The Informant! has been ridiculed for being “dull,” with “laughs far and few between.” Although critically acclaimed with an IMDb rating of 6.5/10 and Metacritic score of 66, a staggering 42% user approval lingers over the film at Rotten Tomatoes, without any signs of it becoming a cult classic. Yet it should be. One might say that the positive critical reviews are biased, based on puffery by pretentiousness; or egotism to be liked by all the cool kids in the movie theater. It’s Soderbergh after all. Even with the divide, The Informant! is a great watch, not one that you might expect initially, but great nonetheless. Are you still baffled by that 42%? Well, here are a few good reasons why you should stop reading into mass opinions, and give this solid biopic a solid watch. Get your hands off your mouse, and rent The Informant! now. Whether...

In 2009, writer Scott Z. Burns scripted a comedy titled The Informant! for director Steven Soderbergh. Based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald, the story was about a dimwitted executive who decides to become a FBI whistleblower when he discovers that his company, Archer Daniels Midland, is price fixing. The film was hysterical and featured an amazing turn by Matt Damon. Now Burns has collaborated with the director and the actor on another project, but this one won.t leave you laughing so much as it will have you compulsively washing your hands. Featuring an ensemble cast with some of the greatest actors in the world, Contagion is not only about the spread of a quick and deadly disease, but also the incredible amount of fear that it can cause around the world. Last week I had the chance to sit down one-on-one with Burns to talk about his process writing...

German director Robert Schwentke ("Flightplan," "Red") is under consideration to direct a new adaptation of 'Bourne Identity' author Robert Ludlum's 1972 novel "The Osterman Weekend" at Summit Entertainment reports Pajiba

The second and shortest of Ludlum's works, the story has the host of an investigative news show becoming convinced by a CIA agent that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a Kgb conspiracy that threatens national security.

The book was adapted once before in 1983 and marked the final film of trend-setting helmer Sam Peckinpah's career. John Hurt, Craig T. Nelson, Rutger Hauer, Dennis Hopper, Meg Foster, Burt Lancaster and Chris Sarandon all starred.

Despite the book's acclaim, the resulting film was a legendarily incomprehensible mess thanks mostly to a convoluted script which took many liberties with the book. Peckinpah's ill health and slow psychological breakdown brought on by years of major substance abuse also didn't help.

The early buzz on Red (a.k.a. the Helen Mirren machine gun movie) has been largely positive on the basis of the trailers alone, and director Robert Schwentke looks to be going in to Comic-Con with a head of steam, the awful adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife notwithstanding. Schwentke, who also directed 2005's Flightplan, may in fact become a very much in-demand director in the next few years.

One of the projects he's now considering, according to The Hollywood Cog, is Summit Entertainment's The Osterman Weekend, which has the double marketing advantage of both being a remake of a 1983 Sam Peckinpah film starring Rutger Haur and Dennis Hopper, as well as being another adaptation for Schwentke to tackle, this one from author Robert Ludlum, he of Bourne fame.

The Osterman Weekend follows a hardworking attorney and loving husband, John Tanner, who is convinced by a CIA agent...

The miracle of Kurt Eichenwald’s book The Informant is how it turned a seemingly mundane biochemical price-fixing case into a thriller as wild and compulsively readable as any John Grisham or Michael Crichton novel. The exclamation point that writer Scott Burns and director Steven Soderbergh put on their adaptation, The Informant! (Warner Bros.), is just the first indication that it goes one step further, into the realm of high comedy. For the most part, it succeeds overwhelmingly, thanks to a breezy tone and Matt Damon’s wonderful turn as a would-be double-dealer awash in self-delusion… Adapting a sturdy Richard ...

The Informant!: "Many of Steven Soderbergh's films in the past eight or nine years can be understood in light of the director asking himself a different hypothetical question: What if I made a slick caper movie cobbled from the emotional remnants of the 1960s? What if I made a stilted, form-driven science-fiction movie cobbled together from the emotional remnants of the 1970s? What if I made a historical drama using period filming techniques cobbled together from the emotional remnants of the 1940s? Etc., etc. Where Soderbergh's earlier films seemed genuinely interested in examining what it meant to pick a certain storytelling approach while never losing sight of the central narrative, his later work is often willfully unclassifiable, as in the deeply flawed and navel-gazing Ocean's Twelve or the passion project Che. But with The Informant!, Soderbergh's finally made a movie that doesn't know whether it's a limp comedy or a slack thriller.

The Denver Film Critics Society, of which I am a member, have announced their nominees for the 2009-2010 Dfcs Awards.

Up in the Air leads the pack with seven nods.

Winners will be announced on January 27, 2010.

Best Film:

A Serious Man, directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman

Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams

The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Best Actor:

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Viggo Mortensen, The Road

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Best Actress:

Carey Mulligan, An Education

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Abbie Cornish, Bright Star

Best Director:

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Duncan Jones, Moon

Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Best Supporting Actor:

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles

Best Supporting Actress:

Mo’Nique,...

Click above for more stills The 11th Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (Mami) began last night in the city with the opening ceremony held at Fun Cinema, Andheri. It was a night to remember with the who's who of world and Indian cinema gracing the event with their presence. The festival was inaugurated by the Information and Broadcasting Minister. Ambika Soni. A visibly impressed Mrs. Soni said, "Indian Cinema has made significant contribution to the nation's growth rate. The film industry's concerns are the concerns of my ministry." Once the action moved from the red carpet to inside the venue, the crowd was pleasantly surprised to see that the emcees for the night were the two whiz kids of Bollywood, Farhan Akhtar and Karan Johar, who were both at their enthralling best. Farhan invited the Chairman of Mami, Shyam Benegal who gave the welcome speech.

The Mami committee led by Chairman Shyam Benegal and trustees Yash Chopra, Jaya Bachchan, Amit Khanna, Shabana Azmi and Amol Palekar unveiled the line-up for the 11th annual Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), which consists of 200 films from 56 countries. All of the international films to be screened in the main sections of this year's festival will be Indian, Asian or world premieres. Mff is a Reliance Big Entertainment initiative and has the distinction of being the only international film festival in India to be organized by an independent body of practicing film professionals. Information and Broadcasting Minister of India Ambika Soni will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony, to be held at the Fun Cinema, Andheri on October 29. Shashi Kapoor will be honoured with the Indian Lifetime achievement award along with legendary Indian director-producer Yash Chopra who will be felicitated by Fiapf, the international federation of film producers association.

The Mami committee led by Chairman Shyam Benegal and trustees Yash Chopra, Jaya Bachchan, Amit Khanna, Shabana Azmi and Amol Palekar unveiled the line-up for the 11th annual Mumbai Film Festival (Mff), which consists of 200 films from 56 countries. All of the international films to be screened in the main sections of this year's festival will be Indian, Asian or world premieres. Mff is a Reliance Big Entertainment initiative and has the distinction of being the only international film festival in India to be organized by an independent body of practicing film professionals. Information and Broadcasting Minister of India Ambika Soni will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony, to be held at the Fun Cinema, Andheri on October 29. Shashi Kapoor will be honoured with the Indian Lifetime achievement award along with legendary Indian director-producer Yash Chopra who will be felicitated by Fiapf, the international federation of film producers association.

Seen on: September 19, 2009

The players: Director: Steven Soderbergh, Writer: Scott Z. Burns, Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Thomas F. Wilson

Facts of interest: "The Informant!" is based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald.

The plot: The film follows the misadventures of a white-collar guy who becomes an informant by helping the FBI expose his company's price-fixing conspiracy.

Our thoughts: Steven Soderbergh’s new movie “The Informant!” may not exactly be what you expect, and that’s certainly one of the reasons the film stands out and works on so many levels. This is an awkward little comedy inspired by a true story, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s one heck of an entertaining ride.

The Informant! Directed by Stephen Soderbergh In 1995, Mark Whitacre shocked the world when he became the highest-ranked executive to turn whistleblower in Us history. For three years, Whitacre worked with the FBI, covertly taping conversations with his employers and competitors to gather evidence of an international price fixing scheme in the agribusiness sector, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. What wasn't immediately known, however, was that Whitacre had also been helping himself to kickbacks to the tune of anywhere from 9.5 to 11.5 million dollars. Also, he was in the middle of a serious bipolar meltdown. Based on the 2000 book by Kurt Eichenwald, Stephen Soderbergh's film takes an unlikely comedic approach to telling the story of Whitacre, played by a hilariously manic Matt Damon. Although ripe with corporate intrigue and personal drama, Soderbergh keeps things absurdist and light. The film is narrated in voice-over by Damon, but his commentary is actually...

The Informant! Directed by Stephen Soderbergh In 1995, Mark Whitacre shocked the world when he became the highest-ranked executive to turn whistleblower in Us history. For three years, Whitacre worked with the FBI, covertly taping conversations with his employers and competitors to gather evidence of an international price fixing scheme in the agribusiness sector, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. What wasn't immediately known, however, was that Whitacre had also been helping himself to kickbacks to the tune of anywhere from 9.5 to 11.5 million dollars. Also, he was in the middle of a serious bipolar meltdown. Based on the 2000 book by Kurt Eichenwald, Stephen Soderbergh's film takes an unlikely comedic approach to telling the story of Whitacre, played by a hilariously manic Matt Damon. Although ripe with corporate intrigue and personal drama, Soderbergh keeps things absurdist and light. The film is narrated in voice-over by Damon, but his commentary is actually...

It's a good time to have a property about corporate malfeasance. There's already a perfectly good documentary about Enron, but that didn't stop Amy Pascal and Columbia for paying for Lucy Prebble's play E.N.R.O.N., which dramatizes the company's story. Variety reports on the deal in brief. Laura Ziskin is producing from Prebble's play, which opened in London this month and may come to Broadway in April 2010. Prebble will adapt; she recently scripted the Billie Piper-starring Secret Diary of a Call Girl. THR notes that Warner Bros. has also been developing an Enron film for some time, based on the novel Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald, who also wrote the book that was the basis for The Informant!. Variety says, "The play is a story of greed and fraudulent accounting practices that transformed Enron into a powerhouse that at one time employed 22,000 people and reported $111 billion in revenues.

Sony has purchased the film rights to playwright Lucy Prebble's "Enron," currently being staged in a sold-out run at London's Royal Court Theatre. A Broadway move is being planned for April.

Like the play, the film will offer an inside look at the most notorious scandal in modern corporate history. Prebble will handle the screen adaptation herself.

Laura Ziskin ("To Die For") will produce; Margo Lion, a Tony winner for producing "Hairspray" and "Angels in America," will serve as a co-producer on the project. Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach will oversee the project for the studio.

Filmmaker Alex Gibney made the Oscar-nominated documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" in 2005.

And Warner Bros. has been developing an Enron movie for years, adapted by Sheldon Turner from the nonfiction book "Conspiracy of Fools" by Kurt Eichenwald. Leonardo DiCaprio is a producer on that project, which director Robert Schwentke ("The Time Traveler's Wife...

Moviegoers rejoice! Five new movies hit theaters this past Friday featuring something for everyone to enjoy whther you care for Drama, Comedy, Horror, Animation or Romance. What did you see this weekend? Which movie are your co-workers talking about this morning?

Bright Star First up is director Jane Campion’s romantic drama ‘Bright Star‘ based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, played by rising stars Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish.

‘Bright Star‘ takes place in 1818 and chronicles the secret love affair begins between 23 year-old English poet, John Keats (Ben Whishaw), and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), an out-spoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair begin at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, while she was unimpressed not only by his poetry but also by literature in general.

However, when Fanny heard that Keats was nursing his seriously ill younger brother,...

Director: Steven Soderbergh Writer(s): Scott Z. Burns (screenplay), Kurt Eichenwald (book) Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey During the mid-1990s there was an organized scheme, you might even want to say international conspiracy, involving several agricultural companies (including Archer Daniels Midland – also known as Adm – from Decatur, Illinois) to raise the price of lysine, the animal feed additive. The scheme was quite successful – resulting in a 70% increase in lysine prices just within the first nine months of the coercion. The FBI learned of the lysine price-fixing conspiracy from Mark Whitacre, a highly degreed Ivy League bio-tech researcher turned Corporate Vice President of Adm. Whitacre agreed to work as an informant (!) for the FBI (becoming the highest ranking executive to turn whistleblower), effectively collecting hundreds of hours of video and audio tapes that documented agriculture executives from around the world fixing the prices of food additives.

Matt Damon's laugh trek.

Matt Damon in "The Informant!"

Photo: Warner Bros.

It's October of 1992, and Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a hotshot executive at Archer Daniels Midland, the giant agricultural conglomerate, is going about his job. He has a full plate at the moment — some mysterious virus is screwing up the company's corn-syrup operation. Did you know there's corn syrup in everything — orange juice, maple syrup? It's true.

So Mark has a lot on his mind. Or at least that part of his mind that's not buzzing with a whole other swarm of odd fixations. Like ... sushi. "I wonder who went first on that one?" Mark wonders. "The guy without the grill?" There's also the threat of poison-winged butterflies. And ... polar bears! Do you realize that polar bears would be impossible to spot in their snowy Arctic habitat if it weren't for their black noses? It's true. Do you...

Matt Damon is on board Clint Eastwood's next film for Warner Bros. The "Bourne Ultimatum" star has been tapped to play a lead role in the thriller, which Eastwood is set to produce and direct.

"Hereafter" will be the actor/filmmaker's foray into supernatural genre. The plot for the film is being guarded a secret, but WB describes it as a thriller in the vein of "The Sixth Sense," Variety says.

Oscar Award-nominee Peter Morgan wrote the script.

Damon is currently starring in Steven Soderbergh's "The Informant!" Based on the non-fiction novel by Kurt Eichenwald, he plays whistleblower Mark Whitacre who helped expose a company's price fixing scheme.

Except for fat-cat execs, who doesn’t love a whistleblower? Okay, besides half of the editorial staff at Fox News, who doesn’t enjoy a good story about a guy/emu/gal who risks it all to expose the truth about a shadowy corporate secret that brings billions upon billions of dollars into the Scrooge McDuck-like vault? In The Informant!, blowing the proverbial whistle is 1.5 hoots.

As American-based corporations engorge themselves on fresh squeezed revenues to feed their top-heavy executives, Matt Damon gained thirty pounds. No, he didn’t do it because he’s a writer who is stuck behind a computer during most of his waking moments, he did it to portray Mark Whitacre, a seemingly naïve, eternally cheery executive for Archer Daniels Midland, one of the largest food-processors in the world. Oh sure, you may think the daily life of a scientist-turned-executive would be filled with ho-hums, blathering...

Except for fat-cat execs, who doesn’t love a whistleblower? Okay, besides half of the editorial staff at Fox News, who doesn’t enjoy a good story about a guy/emu/gal who risks it all to expose the truth about a shadowy corporate secret that brings billions upon billions of dollars into the Scrooge McDuck-like vault? In The Informant!, blowing the proverbial whistle is 1.5 hoots.

As American-based corporations engorge themselves on fresh squeezed revenues to feed their top-heavy executives, Matt Damon gained thirty pounds. No, he didn’t do it because he’s a writer who is stuck behind a computer during most of his waking moments, he did it to portray Mark Whitacre, a seemingly naïve, eternally cheery executive for Archer Daniels Midland, one of the largest food-processors in the world. Oh sure, you may think the daily life of a scientist-turned-executive would be filled with ho-hums, blathering...

The Informant!

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Melanie Lynskey, Joel McHale

Running Time: 1 hr 48 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: September 18, 2009

Plot: Based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald and true events … Mark Whitacre (Damon) chooses to side with the FBI in an investigation into agri-business (mainly corn) price fixing at Adm. Unfortunately Mark has a problem with keeping his truth straight.

Who’s It For? It’s an adult comedy. The Hangover is also an adult comedy. These are two completely different things. The comedy is of the chuckle variety in The Informant! and there’s a lot of it. And if you’re willing to watch Damon in non-Bourne movies, then get in line.

Expectations: Damon is at the top of my list for “if I could only pick one guy’s movies for the rest of my life including the ones he has already made.

As the stars walked the red carpet for the Toronto premiere of "Jennifer's Body," there were fans screaming "Megan!" and "Adam!" and one, just off to the side, holding up a picture of screenwriter Diablo Cody affixed to a piece of cardboard and illuminated like a medieval manuscript. Even during this conclave of international cineastes, you'd have a hard time finding someone who could pick the average screenwriter out of a crowd, let alone find a picture of him or her to decorate. But with only a single produced script to her credit, Cody has managed to make herself the first brand-name screenwriter since Paddy Chayefsky, a celebrity in an industry whose disregard for the written word is practically axiomatic.

"Jennifer's Body," Cody's Opus No. 2, is a horror movie -- or, more precisely, a riff on one, since at no point does the film even attempt to tap the subconscious...

See 20 total videos from Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Nuje O'Mally, Patton Oswalt, Thomas F. Wilson and Tony Hale. The Steven Soderbergh-directed comedy sees theatres on September 18th and is written by Scott Z. Burns based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald. Jennifer Fox and Gregory Jacobs produce the comedy. What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (Adm), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero...

Warning: Very minor spoilers for The Informant!

I imagine it’s a lesser feat to concoct an M. Night Shyamalan-style script. Get a central conceit, form a twist, reverse engineer a story — bing bang boom. A script like Scott Z. Burns’ The Informant! (based on a book by Kurt Eichenwald), however, is a different machine.

That’s not to say there’s a twist in Steven Soderbergh’s film. There isn’t. The progression of the plot is a very natural extension of character that’s so subtle you may not pick up on it until it slaps you right in the face. With the exception of a very routine start to the 2nd act, The Informant! functions as a gradual transition, challenging the viewer to keep up without pandering or even seeming to hide anything.

Hiding anything and everything is really the core of this film. We follow Matt Damon’s Mark Whitacre,...

Chicago – In our latest edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 admit-two passes up for grabs to the upcoming Chicago screening of the new Steven Soderbergh comedy “The Informant!” starring Matt Damon! We’re also hooking our HollywoodChicago.com winners up with 10 books of the true story by Kurt Eichenwald, too!

“The Informant!” stars Matt Damon, Scott Bakula (TV’s “Quantum Leap”), Melanie Lynskey, Clancy Brown, Patton Oswalt, Frank Welker, Tony Hale and Thomas F. Wilson from director Steven Soderbergh (“Che,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve” and “Ocean’s Thirteen”).

This screening will take place on Sept. 14, 2009 at 8 p.m. in downtown Chicago. To win your free movie pass or book to “The Informant!” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer our trivia question in this Web-based submission form. That’s it!

“The Informant!” opens nationwide on Sept. 18, 2009. Directions to enter this HollywoodChicago.com...

See over thirty new images from Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakulam Nuje O'Mally, Patton Oswalt, Thomas F. Wilson and Tony Hale. The Steven Soderbergh-helmed film sees theatres on September 18th. Jennifer Fox and Gregory Jacobs serve as producers. Scott Z. Burns adapted the screenplay based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald. What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (Adm), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero...

Matt Damon has just admitted that he enjoyed the production of his upcoming film "The Informant!". Being met at the Venice Film Festival on Monday, September 7, the actor called his effort to gain 30 pounds to portray Mark Whitacre the funniest moment he has had while working on the film.

"It was very, very easy to gain the weight. I just basically ate everything I could see for a few months," Matt told reporters who interviewed him during the event. The 38-year-old star then added, "It was very, very fun, probably the funnest time I had working because I didn't have to go to the gym after work and I just ate everything I could see."

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, "The Informant!" is based on 2000 non-fiction book "The Informant" by journalist Kurt Eichenwald. The dark comedy/thriller film centers on Mark Whitacre, a rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (Adm), who suddenly turns whistleblower.