Thursday, January 06, 2005

More Entertainment News

Oliver Stone blames the fundamentalists for bad reviews
LONDON - Director Oliver Stone said he was surprised by the critical reaction to his historical epic "Alexander" — and put the blame on the fundamentalist morality in some parts of the United States.

Critics lambasted the film, which stars Irish actor Colin Farrell, and some conservative groups condemned Stone's depiction of the Macedonian conqueror's sexuality.

"I was quite taken aback by the controversy and fierceness of the reviews about a character we don't really know too much about," Stone told reporters in London Wednesday before the film's British premiere.

"I operate on my passion and sometimes I'm naive, I don't think about the consequences," he said.

Stone said the commercial failure of "Alexander" in the United States could be linked to "a raging fundamentalism in morality."
I never trust reviews. I've seen some good films that had very poor reviews and vice-versa.

Brad Grey to run Paramount. The talent agent takes over for Sherry Lansing who was Paramount head for 12 years.
Grey will become chairman and chief executive of Paramount on or before March 1, it was announced Thursday by Viacom Inc., the media giant that owns Paramount. Details on his compensation package were not disclosed.

In addition to running creative aspects of the studio, Grey will assume the business duties that had been assigned to Jonathan Dolgen, who left shortly after Tom Freston and Les Moonves were made co-presidents of Viacom in June.

Grey, 47, has run the talent agency Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and also produced films and television shows, most notably the HBO series "The Sopranos."

Grey is an unusual choice because he has not worked inside a Hollywood studio. But Viacom noted that his relationships with actors, directors and other talent would help reinvigorate the studio, which has languished over the past few years.
I own Disney shares but I watch all the films I want to see no matter who produces it.

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