Movies
+ It's been four years since M. Night Shyamalan was last able to scare
up much interest in one of his mind-bending thrillers, so this time the
master of the twist ending is resorting to a trick he hasn't tried
before: a first-ever R rating. And Twentieth Century Fox, the studio
behind The Happening, is running with it, having chosen to tout the
rating in large, bright-red type on virtually every piece of marketing
material for the June 13 release. Starring Mark Wahlberg as a high
school teacher on the run from an invisible deadly force, The Happening is one of only a few movies in recent history that have used the rating
as a cornerstone of their promotional campaigns. But with the R-rated
Sex and the City, The Strangers, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall having
done boffo business at the box office this year, and with a bunch more
potential R hits coming down the pike (Wanted, Pineapple Express, Tropic
Thunder), it couldn't come at a better time to reignite M. Night's
career. So is all this R talk rankling the MPAA's ratings board, which
discourages studios from sensationalizing restricted content in movies?
Surprisingly not. The MPAA says all the ads were approved by the
advertising administration. And John Fithian, president of the National
Association of Theatre Owners, who is constantly asking the studios for
more family-friendly films, is actually happy with the emphasis on the
rating. ''Everybody now has the information that it's a different type of
film from a filmmaker they know. If that means more people will go, then
more power to them.'' — Nicole Sperling
Television
+ Now that the networks have set their fall schedules, the fun begins. A
couple of high-priced series are being totally overhauled. Life on Mars,
one of just two new shows on ABC, is getting new executive producers (a
team from canceled drama October Road are in for David E. Kelley) and
possibly a new cast. Only Jason O'Mara (Grey's Anatomy), right, may
remain on the adaptation of a BBC series about a time-traveling
detective. Over at NBC, the network is starting from scratch on The
Philanthropist now that Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson (Homicide: Life
on the Street) have left the drama about a Richard Branson type who uses
his wealth and power to improve lives. Peter Horton (Dirty Sexy Money)
is set to direct and exec-produce the show for midseason along with
David Eick (Bionic Woman) and Charlie Corwin (Miami Ink). — Lynette Rice
Music
+ It took seven years, $300,000, and countless trips to Home Depot, but
Wayne Coyne has finally finished the Flaming Lips movie Christmas on
Mars, which premiered May 25 at Washington's Sasquatch! Music Festival.
Shot largely in black and white, the kooky experimental film centers on
the story of a depressed space colony's Santa salvation. ''I want kids to
fill in every gap with their imagination,'' says Coyne. ''I did that with
movies my whole life. I never really knew what f---ing 2001: A Space
Odyssey was about.'' Look for screenings at festivals this summer
(including Bonnaroo) and a DVD release planned for the holidays. — Whitney Pastorek
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