Here's the Scoop...
Leonardo DiCaprio will be portraying famous artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci in an upcoming biopic that is being setup at Paramount.
Paramount won a seven-figure bidding war over Universal for the rights to author Walter Isaacson's upcoming book on da Vinci which the film will be based on, Variety reported.
DiCaprio will also be producing the project under his Appian Way banner alongside Jennifer Davisson.
Isaacson has previously penned books based on Albert Einstein, Henry Kissinger, Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin. His work on Jobs was turned into a 2015 film starring Michael Fassbender and recently National Geographic adapted his book on Einstein for the series Genius.
The author's da Vinci book will be released on Oct. 17.
DiCaprio is said to have been named after da Vinci by his mother after she felt her unborn son kicking while she was observing a da Vinci painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, Entertainment Weekly reported.
I'm looking forward to the scene when da Vinic is attacked by the grizzly bear and fights him off. It's gonna be exciting!
Be Well,
Steve
Comments? Questions? Nooz?
Email Steve
************************
Bruno Mars donates $1M to aid the victims of the Flint water crisis
Bruno Mars announced at a Michigan concert he is donating $1 million to aid the victims of the Flint water crisis.
E! News said the 31-year-old music superstar stopped his show at the Palace in Auburn Hills to say some of the proceeds from the event would go to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
"I'm very thankful to the Michigan audience for joining me in supporting this cause," Mars said in a statement. "Ongoing challenges remain years later for Flint residents, and it's important that we don't forget our brothers and sisters affected by this disaster. As people, especially as Americans, we need to stand together to make sure something like this never happens in any community ever again."
"God bless you Michigan!" Mars later said in an Instagram post, which accompanied a selfie of him smiling, and wearing a Motown T-shirt and sunglasses.
Hacker leaks episodes of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', new HBO series
A hacker or hacking group has released several unaired episodes of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm alongside episodes from upcoming series' The Deuce and Barry.
Curb You Enthusiasm, which is returning from a long hiatus, is scheduled to premiere Season 9 on Oct. 1. The Deuce starring James Franco will premiere on Sept. 10 while Barry with Bill Hader, will air arrive sometime in 2018.
Other series' affected in the leak included Insecure and Ballers. HBO first had episodes of Game of Thrones released early online in July after hackers claimed to have acquired up to 1.5TB of data in hopes of extorting the network, The Guardian reported.
"We are not in communication with the hacker and we're not going to comment every time a new piece of information is released," HBO said in a statement. "It has been widely reported that there was a cyber incident at HBO. The hacker may continue to drop bits and pieces of stolen information in an attempt to generate media attention. That's a game we're not going to participate in."
"Obviously, no company wants their proprietary information stolen and released on the internet. Transparency with our employees, partners, and the creative talent that works with us has been our focus throughout this incident and will remain our focus as we move forward. This incident has not deterred us from ensuring HBO continues to do what we do best," they continued.
In May, streaming service Netflix was also attacked by hackers who leaked online new episodes of Orange is the Black.
LOOSE LIPS:
"When your friends invite you for dinner and you end up doing all the work."
--Salma Hayek, cooking dinner while carrying Ryan Reynolds' daughter Inez, on Instagram
??? Guess Who ???
Which actor says that Kurt Russell is 'solely responsible' for success of 'Tombstone'?
Shonda Rhimes leaves ABC for Netflix in multi-year deal
Screenwriting and producing mogul Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland have signed a new multi-year deal with Netflix.
Rhimes is best known for working with ABC and handling a number of the network's hit dramas including Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.
The 47-year-old is moving to the streaming service along with her longtime producing partner Betsy Beers as well.
"Shonda Rhimes is one of the greatest storytellers in the history of television," chief content officer at Netflix Ted Sarandos said in a statement Sunday. "Her work is gripping, inventive, pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, taboo-breaking television at its best. I've gotten the chance to know Shonda and she's a true Netflixer at heart -- she loves TV and films, she cares passionately about her work, and she delivers for her audience. We're so excited to welcome her to Netflix."
"Shondaland's move to Netflix is the result of a shared plan Ted Sarandos and I built based on my vision for myself as a storyteller and for the evolution of my company," added Rhimes. "Ted provides a clear, fearless space for creators at Netflix. He understood what I was looking for -- the opportunity to build a vibrant new storytelling home for writers with the unique creative freedom and instantaneous global reach provided by Netflix's singular sense of innovation. The future of Shondaland at Netflix has limitless possibilities."
Rhimes also stated that Shondaland's current shows will "continue to thrive on ABC" with the company being there "every step of the way."
"I am a huge fan of the talented team and amazing programming at Netflix. The ability to create content for our new partners is an exciting challenge. I am grateful to everyone at ABC for their continued support and I look forward to beginning this next chapter at Netflix," said Beers.
Shondaland is the latest entertainment company Netflix has partnered with after the streaming giant's recent acquirement of comic book publisher Millarworld to develop new content.
NBC developing 'Munsters' reboot with Seth Meyers
Late Night host Seth Meyers is executive producing a reboot of 1960s sitcom The Munsters for NBC.
Meyers is executive producing alongside Jill Kargman, who is also penning the script, and Mike Shoemaker who works with the talk show host through their company Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions, Variety reported.
The rebooted series will follow the offbeat family based on classic horror movie characters as they struggle to fit into modern day hipster Brooklyn, Deadline reported.
The Munsters originally ran for two seasons and 70 episodes from 1964-1966 on CBS. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monster Herman Munster, Yvonne De Carlo as bride of Frankenstein Lily Munster, Al Lewis as vampire Grandpa Munster, Beverly Owen and then later Pat Priest as normal teenage niece Marilyn and Butch Patrick as werewolf child Eddie Munster.
NBC previously tried to reboot The Munsters in 2012 with Mockingbird Lane, a Halloween special directed by Bryan Singer that starred Jerry O'Connell, Portia de Rossi, Eddie Izzard and Charity Wakefield. The special was not picked up to series.
??? Guess Who ???
Which actor says that Kurt Russell is 'solely responsible' for success of 'Tombstone'?
Val Kilmer is crediting his co-star Kurt Russell with the success of their classic 1993 western, Tombstone.
Kilmer posted a lengthy essay on his website, explaining that he wanted to set the record straight about the famously tumultuous production and whether it was true Russell essentially helmed the film after George Cosmatos replaced Kevin Jarre as director.
"Kurt is solely responsible for Tombstone's success, no question," Kilmer wrote. "I was there every minute and although Kurt's version differs slightly from mine, the one thing he's totally correct about is, how hard he worked the day before, for the next day's shot list, and tremendous effort he and I both put into editing, as the studio wouldn't give us any extra time to make up for the whole month we lost with the first director. We lost our first director after a month of shooting and I watched Kurt sacrifice his own role and energy to devote himself as a storyteller, even going so far as to draw up shot lists to help our replacement director, George Cosmatos, who came in with only 2 days prep. I was very clear and outspoken about what I wanted to do with my role, and actors like Powers Boothe, who we just lost, and Bill Paxton, were always 100 percent supportive, even in the blistering heat and sometimes as the day would fade, at the possible expense of their own screen time. Kurt did this for the film virtually every hour. ... Everyone cared, don't get me wrong, but Kurt put his money where his mouth was, and not a lot of stars extend themselves for the cast and crew. Not like he did."
Kilmer went on to say he "eventually moved in with [Russell] and slept on the sofa when Goldie wasn't in town, so we could use the extra 20 minutes writing or going over schedule etc. And I got all the best lines and he knew it and still laughed and joked every single day."
The actor also praised Russell for being a good father to his son and step-children and devoted partner to his girlfriend, Goldie Hawn.
"He's a true superstar and wildly underrated as an actor. Not many guys with his range," Kilmer concluded.