Elizabeth Taylor Laid To Rest

Elizabeth Taylor was laid to rest during a private funeral ceremony at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday. The show-business legend passed away of congestive heart failure on Wednesday.

According to Taylor's publicist, the multi-denominational service began slightly after the scheduled 2 p.m. start time at Taylor's own request. The actress left instructions that the ceremony start at least 15 minutes later than announced because, as the rep noted, "She even wanted to be late to her own funeral."

Though the hour-long service's guests -- numbering approximately 40 --primarily consisted of Taylor's family members, close friend Colin Farrell was on hand to recite the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo. Farrell's reading was immediately followed by other selections read by Taylor's son Michael Wilding, her grandson Tarquin Wilding, and her daughter Lisa Burton Tivey.

Taylor's grandson, Rhys Tivey, performed a solo trumpet rendition of Amazing Grace.

The actress' closed casket was draped with gardenias, violets and  lily of the valley.

'Captain America' Trailer Is Here

Although most everyone was expecting it on Thursday, Paramount Pictures debuted the first full-length trailer for Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger this evening on the Entertainment Tonight website.

Narrated by Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips, the trailer features a lot of footage of a pre-Super-Soldier Serum Steve Rogers, and slowly builds to his transformation into the Sentinel of Liberty.

Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

Directed by Joe Johnston, Captain America: The First Avenger opens on July 22.

PS3 Hack Lawsuit: Suspect Flees To South America

GeoHot, the hacker being sued by Sony for his posts explaining how to hack the PS3, has fled the US to South America to avoid handing over hard drives and other devices. This claim comes from papers filed by Sony in regards to the jurisdiction of the lawsuit,

 

“Most seriously, after magistrate Judge Spero, ordered an inspection of Hotz’s devices and ordered Hotz to appear at a deposition in California, SECA learned that Hotz had deliberately removed integral components of his impounded hard drives prior to delivering them to a third party neutral and that Hotz is now in South America, an excuse for why he will not immediately provide the components of his hard drives as requested by the neutral.”

 

The papers also delve into George Hotz’s PSN accounts, he swore he didn’t have any. According to Sony GeoHotz did have accounts, or at least accounts were registered from his PS3 from an IP address pointing to his residence in New Jersey. The account name was registered as “blickmaniac” a name that also appears in jailbreaking forums.

 

“On January 12, 2011, Hotz submitted a decleration to the court (Docket No 19-1) in which he made unequivocal statements on a number of topics. However when it came to discussing the PSN account, Hotz equivocated, stating: “To the best of my knowledge and belief, I do not have a PlayStation Network account.” Hotz also provided interrogatory responses that he has refused to verify, stating that he has not accessed the PSN. Hotz identified four PS3 systems in his possession. He explained that he had purchased one of these consoles new in February 2010 and provided the serial number for that console. SCEA used that serial number to determine that on February 25, 2010, Hotz purchased the PS3 systems at a Gamestop store just miles from from his home. SCEA’s records show that the same PS3 system was used on March 10, 2010 to create a PSN account under the user name “blickmaniac”. The IP address associated with the registration is located in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where Hotz lives.”

Mortal Combat Creator Drops Hints About Exclusive Xbox Character

Mortal Kombat’s creator Ed Boon dropped some hints about the inclusion of an Xbox 360 exclusive character in next month’s Mortal Kombat. In an interview with Giant Bomb Boon wanted to make it clear there were still plenty of secrets in store for gamers.

“I don’t remember the last time we were this far along in a game and we still had major stuff to announce for it. So not all the characters have been announced; on purpose we really wanted to have a lot of stuff that people won’t know about the game – to me, I’ve always wanted to have a question mark over the game; what’s hidden in the game; there’s a ton of hidden stuff in the game.”

Mortal Kombat will be released on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 on April 19. PS3 gamers will be getting their hands on God of War’s Kratos as an exclusive character. Boon doesn’t think Xbox gamers will feel left out though “Well there’s nothing that we have ready to announce but we love our 360 players and we love our PS3 players and I think everybody’s gonna get something they’ll be happy with.”

Boon also confirmed that there were five or six characters still to be announced, as well as DLC characters that will be unlocked as you progress through the game.

David Slade To Direct New 'Daredevil' Movie

Fresh off David Slade’s $700 million dollar worldwide slaying with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the director of Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night has just signed on to helm a reboot of the Marvel character Daredevil for 20th Century Fox.

Variety broke the news and what’s interesting is that Slade’s film will supposedly be a “continuation” of the material set forth in the 2003 film that starred Ben Affleck, just without the actor’s involvement.

With a director now aboard, it seems like Daredevil will be the next superhero movie out of Fox who currently has X-Men: First Class and The Wolverine lined up. Slade was in talks to direct the latter, but that job went to Darren Aronofsky (who has since bowed out of that project due to the time away from home required to film abroad).

I’m sure we’re all curious to see what Slade thinks of the original film and what he plans to do new this time around. And chances are, he’ll tell us, as he was famously open with Twilight fans when he was directing that film. Daredevil is a very difficult character to bring to screen, though, with his almost comic looking bright red costume and incredibly heightened senses, which seem difficult to represent visually. However, there is most definitely a way to translate it in a way that’s both true to the comic and also accessible to non-fans.

Do you have any ideas of how or what Slade can do to make this project something special?

Kevin Costner Cast As Jonathan Kent In 'Superman' Reboot

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Heat Vision reports that Kevin Costner has closed the deal to play Jonathan Kent in director Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. He joins a cast that includes Henry Cavill as Superman and Diane Lane as Martha Kent in the movie, thought to be called Man of Steel.

Like Lane, Costner is a Hollywood veteran, having starred in such films as Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, JFK and, yes, Waterworld. He also won an Academy Award for his directorial debut on Dances with Wolves.

The role of Superman’s adoptive father was famously portrayed in in 1978′s Superman: The Movie by Glenn Ford.

The new Superman movie is written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan. Charles Rovan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder also are producing. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are executive producers. Filming is expected to begin in June for a December 2012 release.

Director Darren Aronofsky Out Of Next Wolverine Movie

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky has decided to leave the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. According to the site, the director felt that film production would have him out of the country for too long.

In a joint statement with Fox, Aronofsky stated his point of view.

“As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for over a year… I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again.”

Fox also expressed their condolences, but look forward to working with Aronofsky on other projects in the future. Even though the director has left, Hugh Jackman, reprising his role as the title character, and Fox have stated they are still committed to the project and will, according to the site, “move aggressively” to find a new director.

The film is shooting for a 2012 release.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day from all your friends here at SHN.


Have fun, Stay Safe and Don't Drink & Drive!

New 'Friends With Benefits' Trailer

Reasons I’m digging the Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis starring Friends With Benefits much more than its already-released look-a-like No Strings Attached: The film co-stars awesome folk like Emma Stone, Andy Samburg and Woody Harrelson.

Watch the trailer below and hope that the childhood photo of Timberlake is real.

 

'American Pie' Actor Enters Rehab

Actor Seann William Scott has voluntarily entered rehab for 'health and personal issues'.

Hip-Hop Singer Nate Dogg Passes Away At Age 41

Singer Nate Dogg, whose near monotone crooning anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West Coast hip-hop, has died at age 41.

Attorney Mark Geragos said Nate Dogg, whose real name was Nathaniel D. Hale, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes.

Nate Dogg wasn't a rapper, but he was an integral figure in the genre: His deep voice wasn't particularly melodic, but it's tone — at times menacing, at times playful, yet always charming — provided just the right touch on hits including Warren G's Regulate, 50 Cent's 21 Questions, Dr. Dre's The Next Episode and countless others.

While Nate Dogg provided hooks for rappers from coast to coast, the Long Beach, Calif., native is best known for his contributions to the West Coast soundtrack provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, the Dogg Pound and more. Nate Dogg was even part of a "supergroup" featuring Snoop Dogg and Warren G, called 213.

Nate Dogg also put out his own solo projects but was best known for his collaborations with others.

He had suffered strokes in recent years.

UPDATE:

Snoop Dogg Responds To The Death Of His Friend

Rapper Snoop Dogg has released a statement via twitter regarding the untimely passing of one of his oldest friends and long time collaborator.

"We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb. One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met," tweeted Snoop, who grew up with Nate in Long Beach, Calif. "I love u buddy luv. U will always b wit me 4ever n a day u put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit. I miss u cuzz I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up wit u and I will c u again n heaven cuz u know d slogan all doggs go to heaven yo homie n baby brotha bigg snoopdogg [sic]!!"

'Hereafter' DVD Sales To Aid Japanese Disaster Relief

While Hereafter has been pulled from theaters in Japan due to its devastating tsunami scenes, Warner Bros. has announced plans to pledge funds to the disaster relief. According to the Los Angeles Times, an unspecified percentage of video sales, estimated to yield about $1 million will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

In a statement, director Clint Eastwood said,

“The devastation and loss Japan is facing is almost incomprehensible. I’m glad to join Warner Bros. in this effort to help the Japanese people.”

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the disaster in Japan and giving to the Red Cross is a great way to help.

Snyder's Superman Movie Will Have No Ties To The Previous Films

When Bryan Singer made Superman Returns, he was very specific in making a film that felt in many ways  like a sequel to the original 1978 Superman by Richard Donner. The titles, the music, the costume — all were chosen to reflect the ’78 film. That became one of many discussion points for the movie. For some the homage to Richard Donner was a great thing; for others it was one of several big missteps in Bryan Singer’s movie.

Now Zack Snyder says that we should expect his Superman, which stars Henry Cavill as the man from Krypton, to be tied to no previous film featuring the character.

The director tells the LA Times,

“Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies. If you look at  Batman Begins, there’s that structure, there’s the canon that we know about and respect but on other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies.  In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies.”

Zack Snyder also says something that may perk up the spirits of Superman fans who thought the Bryan Singer film didn’t have enough action:

“Our Superman, he’s got things to figure out but he’s a physical cat.”

Not that we’d expect anything else from the guy who made 300 and Watchmen, the latter of which featured more violence than some people expected.

Other than a seeming confirmation that Kevin Costner will play Jonathan Kent, the article offers no new casting info (the director says it will be “consistent in its … awesomeness“) and there is no word on the costume, though we can expect to see an official shot before shooting starts, so that spy photos won’t get to scoop that reveal. He praises Christopher Nolan as a collaborator, and seems to suggest that this vision of Superman will go beyond what we’ve seen before:

“You know that if you do Superman right or at least if you do him with respect — you know you end up with something great…. [but] in some ways [beyond] that is virgin territory. No one knows what that is. In some ways Superman is the most recognizable superhero on the planet but also the most unknown. Just what he can be? People have preconceived ideas about him but probably all of them are wrong.”

Megan Fox In Talks For Judd Apatow's 'Knocked Up' Spinoff

After getting fired by Michael Bay from the Transformers movie franchise and having several flops to her credit, Megan Fox is currently undergoing a career reinvention. She recently wrapped the indie film Friends With Kids and now she’s adding a new role to her plate in a move that will certainly get people talking.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Megan Fox is in negotiations to join Judd Apatow’s currently untitled Knocked Up spinoff. The movie stars Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, who are reprising their roles Debbie and Pete, in a film that will follow their relationship five years since the first. Apatow recently revealed that he’s hoping to bring back more members of the cast from the previous film but it will depend if schedules will allow it.

Assuming no delays, the movie is set to open June 1, 2012.

Tom Hanks To Play Heroic Captain In Pirate Movie

Actor Tom Hanks will star in a new movie about the cargo ship that was attacked by Somali pirates back in 2009.

The 54-year-old will play Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, who heroically gave himself up as a hostage to save his crew from the hijackers.

The film is based on his memoir, A Captain's Duty, which tells of how he spent three days on a lifeboat with his armed captors before a daring Navy SEALs rescue.

'Battle Los Angeles' Lands In First, 'Mars Needs Moms' Needs Help

This weekend, aliens attempted to storm your local Cineplex and America decided it likes its space invaders to shoot lasers at L.A rather than just nab some moms. Battle: Los Angeles took the box office crown this weekend, while the Robert Zemeckis-produced Mars Needs Moms crash-landed at number five. And occupying that middle ground was Red Riding Hood, which had a so-so debut at so-so number three.

The weekend played out pretty much as expected after Friday’s estimates, except for one factor, final weekend tallies ended up on the low end of projections across the board. We are still dealing with box office totals that are down over 10% from 2010 but, compared to the 45% we were down last weekend, that’s progress!

 1.      Battle: Los Angeles
Gross: $36,000,000

2.      Rango
Gross: $23,050,000

3.      Red Riding Hood
Gross: $14,135,000

4.      Adjustment Bureau
Gross: $11,459,000

5.      Mars Needs Moms
Gross: $6,800,000