News

William H. Macy is getting through the Primetime Emmy Awards with some liquid courage. The Shameless star told People about his awards night go-tos at Showtime's Emmy Eve Party at the Sunset Tower Hotel on Saturday night. The 12-time Emmy nominee mentioned that he requires three essentials going into any awards night. "Yes, the three F's: Food, bring a power bar, something like that. Flask, bring a little alcohol. Pharmaceuticals." This year marks Macy's third Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his role as Frank Gallagher in Shameless. He was also nominated for his roles...

I made another visit to The Numbers website today, and I've come back with another interesting list, this time of the biggest financial failures of all time, in terms of absolute money lost.

I should also preface the list with some additional information. The Numbers website based their figures on the fact that the studio only received 50 percent of the box office revenue, which is probably a fairly close estimation. In reality, studios do spend a lot of money on marketing, which is not reflected in the production budget. Moreover, studios do not receive 100 percent of the the box office revenue. It is my recollection that studios generally receive around 80 percent of the revenue for the first week or two, and the percentage decreases the longer a movie stays in the theater. This is why budget theaters exist: They can charge much less for ticket prices because they only have...

Actor James Russo has signed on to star in the upcoming horror film “Dark Woods” starring Tracy Coogan and John Muscarnero. Russo appeared opposite Johnny Depp in Roman Polanski’s “The Ninth Gate” (1999), and portrayed mobster Victor Mura in TV’s short-lived “Falcone” the following year. More recently, he offered a penetrating cameo as Frank Sinatra in “Stealing Sinatra” (2003). Other Russo films include Kevin Costner’s “The Postman” (1997) and “Open Range” (2003), plus “Beverly Hills Cop”(1984), “We’re No Angels” (1989), “Donnie Brasco”(1996), “No Way Home” (1996), and a number of low budget crimers. On stage, he has “Welcome to Andromeda,” “Deathwatch,” “Marat/Sade” and the afore-mentioned “Extremities” to his credit. Dark Woods follows a couple who moves to a secluded cabin in the [...]...

Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton is in negotiations to star in TNT's telefilm The Goodbye Girl, Neil Simon's updated take on his 1977 feature, sources said. Goodbye, from Warner Bros. TV and TNT, centers on the relationship between a dumped-on divorcee (Heaton) and an aspiring actor who become unwilling co-tenants in a New York apartment. The original film starred Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss, who landed Golden Globe awards and Oscar nominations for their performances. Dreyfuss won the Oscar. Simon, who won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination for his original Goodbye Girl screenplay, is penning the remake and is executive producing with Ron Ziskin and Dave Collins (Showtime's Stealing Sinatra) with Don Safran co-executive producing (HR 10/29). Heaton's role as no-nonsense mom Debra Barone on CBS' hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond has earned her four consecutive Emmy nominations, with wins in 2000 and 2001. Her recent credits also include the CBS telefilm A Town Without Christmas. She is repped by UTA.

American Pie star Thomas Ian Nicholas is readying to slice up his own feature film. Nicholas, who is soon to star as Frank Sinatra in Stealing Sinatra for Showtime, is heading behind the camera to make his feature directorial debut on the independent film L.A. D.J. The project -- financed partially through private investors and out of Nicholas' own pocket -- centers on two talented brothers, Tim and Thom (played by Nicholas and his real-life brother Tim Scarne), who live in a small town and dream of becoming famous club DJs. They go to Los Angeles to pursue their dream, only to wind up working at bar mitzvahs.