Earthquake hits Hollywood!!

No it's not what it sounds like, but two major stories dropped today that are just the latest in a series of major entertainment industry shake-ups.

We already had the announcement this week that NBC's disastrous decision to move Jay Leno to primetime had come to a head and that Peacock execs are trying to clean up their mess by moving the Jay Leno Show to 11:35pm EST and pushing The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon back half an hour. All this is contingent on O'Brien and Fallon agreeing to the change. Fallon doesn't have much sway, but O'Brien could easily jump ship and go to FOX where they have publicly stated they'd love to have him. But that could be as risky as the Leno primetime experiment. Chances are good Conan will stay put, but it remains to be seen whether this new schedule will repair the damage caused by a domino effect of bad decisions that have weakened the Tonight Show property, both Leno and Conan, and perhaps most importantly, the local affiliates who have been devastatingly impacted by Leno's weak lead-in to their evening news. The bright side is this means the end of the snoozefest Last Call with Carson Daly, however things are overall not looking good for Sheinhart-Universal.

As if that wasn't enough pop culture drama for you, Simon Cowell dropped the bomb today that he is leaving FOX juggernaut American Idol after this season. Cowell will be working with FOX on an American version of his Brit-hit X-Factor, which unlike Idol has no age limit and also includes groups. The news isn't a shocker as it has been rumored for months, but it could mean the end of American Idol in the long run. Without original judges Paula Abdul and Cowell, it's clear the show loses some of it's ongoing appeal. And with Simon hinting that he's recruiting Paula as a judge on X-Factor, things don't look good for AI's longterm prognosis. Personally, with the combo of Cowell and Abdul on X-Factor, consider me an American Idol defector. NBC should have courted Cowell's stateside X-Factor, but these days we can't really expect them to make smart moves anymore.

And speaking of poor decisions, Sony announced today that after disagreements with director Sam Raimi over Spider-Man 4, the studio has given he and actor Tobey Maguire pinkslips and will instead reboot the franchise with Peter Parker in high school. Now we can all agree that Spider-Man 3 was a serious misstep, but Sony should be glad that Raimi and Maguire were sticking around. That's the proven formula, both critically and commercially. But instead of working with Raimi, they ditch him for what will probably be schlock like Fantastic Four and Elektra (sorry Jen--I still love you!). Even if the rebooted Spider-Man turns out well, it's just too soon. All in all, I think Maguire and Raimi are better off. They can go on to other projects rather than be forced to cave to studio expectations which is exactly what hurt Spider-Man 3.

It sure is looking like Hollywood's 2010 new years resolution was to shock us all. What's next? George Lucas announces a new technology that will erase Star Wars I-III from existence? Bring it!

How far will Avatar go?

If the latest box office figures are any indication, chances are you have already seen James Cameron's sci-fi extravaganza Avatar. In less than three weeks, the film has grossed over $1 billion worldwide. It's currently sitting at #4 on the all-time worldwide list. Numero uno is a little movie called Titanic, the 1997 box-office juggernaut directed by none other than James Cameron. Is it possible for Cameron's long-awaited follow up to surpass Titanic in grosses? Avatar has reached the $300 million milestone in North America roughly three times faster than Titanic. The word of mouth is probably the best since Lord of the Rings. But my guess is Avatar won't make it quite that far. Titanic made $1.8 billion worldwide because movie goers--teen girls mostly--went to see the film over and over again. I don't think Avatar will have those kind of legs. But expect it to top Return of the King in worldwide grosses and nestle in right under Titanic for second place.

O Pioneers!

I'm surprised I haven't heard anyone else talking about his really. In the last several months, Levi's has been airing a phenomenal TV ad campaign using Walt Whitman's famous poem "Pioneers! O Pioneers!", which praises the spirit of westward expansion and the frontier dream. It's one of those rare ads that I stop and watch when it comes on. Having worked in advertising, it's the kind of perfectly crafted spot I wish I could have been a part of producing. I'm sure you've seen it but check it out below. It's a great reading by whoever voiced it over.

Welcome!

Any of my friends will tell you that I am constantly talking about the latest entertainment news and pop culture trend, so I'm laying in bed one night and I get this idea maybe I could do a blog on movies, tv, and pop culture. So here it goes. Expect everything from my Lost obsession, to Oscar buzz, to top 10 lists and rants about the latest crap reality show. Enjoy!