An Illustrated Guide to the Silliness of Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Illustrator/writer Lisa Hanawalt saw Rise of the Planet of the Apes over the weekend, and came away feeling a bit overwhelmed. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this movie, it’s that apes are CONSTANTLY jumping through glass windows. The shattering glass must feel good on their fur?” [The Hairpin]

Former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels Launches All-News Radio Station in New York

NEW YORK - Merlin Media, the new company of former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels, said on Monday that it has launched FM News 101.9 as the Big Apple's only 24-hour FM all-news radio station. Michaels left Tribune late last year amid controversy and reports that he had hurt its image by encouraging frat boy behavior. Earlier this summer though, he announced the acquisition of majority stakes in two radio stations in Chicago and WRXP-FM in New York with private equity firm GTCR. Merlin Media, which holds the stations, said Monday that the New York rock station will now be a news outfit - as some had predicted - and focus on "the real-life information needs of on-the-go adults and working parents." Beyond the on-air content, the station said it will offer personalized online and mobile content that promotes audience participation through social media and digital video. "As music moves to the mobile device, now is the time to put spoken word on the band most people use," said Merlin CEO Michaels. "Our one-to-many broadcasts will be supplemented by personalized, one-to-one interactive content so that instead of commercials that interrupt a tired music playlist, we offer our marketing partners multiplatform solutions that build brands and move product in the best possible environment." At the end of July, Merlin Media unveiled a similar strategy in Chicago with the launch of what it said would be the Windy City's only 24-hour all-news station - FM News 101.1. "Spoken word, since the beginning of radio, has consistently been the top billing format in the world," said Merlin COO Walter Sabo. "No one gets their news from a singular source in today's fragmented media world," said said Liz Aiello, vp of programming, Merlin Media. "In developing our strategy for FM News 101.9, we really wanted to create a unique environment that presents inspiring, relatable, pleasant and fun content that comes to you just as it would from a friend." Among the New York news station's talent is Steve Langford, formerly the lead reporter for Howard Stern's Howard 100 News. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics Tribune Company

Do We Need a Third 'Bridget Jones' Movie?

It's time to start writing those petition letters to Universal, urging the studio: Please save us all, including moviegoers worldwide and Renée Zellweger's waistline, from a third 'Bridget Jones' movie. You'd have thought, after the raspberries that greeted 2004's sequel 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,' that they'd leave well enough alone. But no, that film earned $262 million worldwide (nearly as much as the $281 million earned by the initial film, 2001's 'Bridget Jones's Diary'), so the studio has been plotting for a couple years ago to make a third installment. Now, according to Entertainment Weekly's Inside Movies blog, they're going ahead with it. Brace yourselves for another round of a zaftig Zellweger being adorably inept and utterly incapable of choosing the right man, and another slap fight between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. There's no firm word on what the plot will be, or whether it will echo that of Helen Fielding's third 'Bridget Jones' novel, also currently in the works. But EW's Dave Karger, while reporting for Access Hollywood, learned a potential plotline from Firth. "I can tell you that Bridget and Mark can't have children," Karger quoted Firth as saying. "So then she makes the huge mistake of going back to Daniel Cleaver [Grant's character] for long enough to get pregnant. And I think he dumps her, and she's left stranded, and guess who comes back to rescue her?" 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' - Clip 1: Downhill The first 'Bridget Jones' movie was a delightful surprise. Not just because the Texas-bred actress pulled off a flawless British accent or made herself look pudgy and frumpy, but also because she gave a fearless comic performance as a smart and spirited woman not afraid to make herself look foolish in pursuit of Mr. Right. She was nominated for an Oscar and should have won (instead of earning a consolation prize Oscar for her supporting role as Granny Clampett in 'Cold Mountain' a couple years later). The second movie, however, ruined everything that was charming about the first. It upped the slapstick, made Bridget stupider, and essentially rehashed the plot of the first one, as if no one had learned anything from events that had taken place just weeks earlier. Despite its success at the box office, it left a sour taste in the mouths of critics -- and perhaps fans as well. It's no wonder that it's been seven years since Universal and production company Working Title have seriously contemplated doing a third movie. By the way, Zellweger is 42 now. That doesn't mean the pregnancy plotline is far-fetched, but it does mean that her character's repeated dithering over these two men, one of whom is clearly wrong for her, isn't as cute and lovable now as it was when she was 32. Also, all that yo-yo dieting that the reed-thin actress has had to do to put on the weight needed play the average-sized Bridget (and then to take it off for all her other roles) can't be healthy. Zellweger hasn't had a hit movie since 'Edge of Reason.' Given the short shelf life of Hollywood leading ladies, that seven years must seem like eons to her. (Grant, too, hasn't had a hit for a while, since 2007's 'Music and Lyrics.' Firth's career, however, is on fire after his Oscar this past winter for 'The King's Speech,' which was also a worldwide smash.) So it's no wonder that Zellweger (and probably Grant) would want to go back to that well. At least it's a proven brand with some residual fan good will. Still, at this stage, for Zellweger to start carbo-loading again in order to recapture long-past glories smacks of the desperation of a star past her prime, sort of like Sylvester Stallone training for another 'Rocky,' or Bruce Willis for another 'Die Hard,' or Harrison Ford for another 'Indiana Jones.' 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' - Clip 3: The Fight Yes, this is Hollywood, where no title with the least bit of familiarity will go unexploited until the last possible drop of inspiration and fan interest has been squeezed out of it. And yes, it's probably even more of a sop to overseas audiences, which are much more forgiving of shark-jumping franchises and lame sequels than domestic audiences are. (After all, 'Edge of Reason' made only $40 million here; it made the other 85 percent of its gross outside of North America.) Still, don't you wish they'd all leave well enough alone? 'Edge of Reason' did plenty to tarnish the reputation of Bridget Jones the character (and Zellweger) the way we'd like to remember them. Is it really worth a few quick bucks to risk ruining those memories completely? Do You Want to See a Third 'Bridget Jones' Movie?YesNoVote Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Big Screen: Demons Never Die

Idris Elba on his new projectHe's played good guys (Luther), bad guys (Stringer Bell) and guys who guard things (Thor's Heimdall). Now Idris Elba is playing what we're calling "the money guy" as executive-producer of new Brit horror Demons Never Die. He, and Demons' director Arjun Rose, rocked up at Big Screen to talk about their new horror. "It's a UK slasher first and foremost," explained Rose. "It's in an urban setting but with kids from different worlds. It's quite stylised: a 'neo-noir slasher'. "Elba said that once Rose had approached him with the script at Takers' premiere, he'd leapt at the chance to spread his wings. "It's a great opportinity for me to do things other than what people expect me of as an actor... plus Arjun had a great sob story. " "And no shoes on," joked Rose. Was there talk of Elba appearing on the other side of the camera, too? "I asked but there's no drug deakers and no cops in it," grinned Elba. So what was the appeal of Demons for him? "Slasher movies are things we see Americans do a lot - we snigger in this country when we see people walk into dark rooms - so it was nice to do something like that with our accents and our sensibilities. We don't walk into dark rooms just because the creepy music's playing. "Elba divulged that he's a big scaredy-cat when it comes to haunted-house movies and that he's had a couple of close encounters of the spectral kind himself ("it's cold and there's a funny smell, although I wasn't sure if that was the ghost. ") He's also finding time to make "two or three" more films with Rose under his production marque, all while juggling a slate that's fuller than Mr Creosote's dinner tray. "Working with Ridley Scott (on Prometheus) and Guillermo del Torro (on Pacific Rim) has been amazing. " And what news of Pacific Rim? "The script is amazing and Guillermo's monsters are going to be something to look. I'm a little daunted. Guillermo is one of the most fearless filmmakers. " And? "I can't tell you anything else. " Phoey. What Idris could tell us is that Demons Never Die is out on October 31. Hang on, that's Halloween. Hmm....

Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon and Richard Jenkins Join Robert Redford's Company

Here’s some big casting news to spice up this particularly slow news day: Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon and Richard Jenkins will star in The Company You Keep, the drama which Robert Redford will direct and star in alongside Shia LaBeouf, Nick Nolte and Brit Marling. The film is being adapted from Neil Gordon’s novel about “an ex-Weather Underground militant wanted by the FBI for 30 years, who must go on the run when his true identity is exposed by a young, ambitious reporter.” Production begins in Vancouver next month. [Deadline]

Lifetime hires 'America's Supernanny'

Applicants to appear on Lifetime's new program may be wise to arrive via umbrella. The femme-centric cabler has greenlit an unscripted series entitled "America's Supernanny" and is holding open auditions for the title role. The reality show is a U.S. remake of Brit program "Supernanny," which follows no-nonsense child-minder Jo Frost. Series has since been retooled for Polish, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Israeli editions, among others. "America's Supernanny" won't be the first "Supernanny" show set in the U.S., but it will be the first made explicitly for U.S. viewiers. Frost has been taming Stateside hellions for five seasons on the BBC, with reruns appearing in the U.S. on Style. Now, though, the format itself is being repurposed, and American moms and dads in search of some televised parenting aid will have a homegrown disciplinarian to tame their kids. Eight hourlong episodes of the series will be produced by Shed Media U.S. for the network. The show will follow the title character around the country as she doles out life lessons to families struggling with childrearing issues great and small. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

'Breaking Bad's' George Mastras Sells Two TV Projects (Exclusive)

AMC Breaking Bad author George Mastras has offered two TV projects. The very first from the pair, a legitimate drama that compares the underbelly of L.A.'s legal world,was bought by Fox Television Galleries. The untitled project, born from a blind script deal, has been developed internally with no network attached. Mastras' other effort comes included in a script development deal at Forex Productions. The project, also untitled at this time, is really a one-hour drama within the vein from the Treasure from the Sierra Madre. These projects will join a resume that already includes AMC's Breaking Bad, which he's offered like a author, in addition to ABC's Evidence and Syfy miniseries The Dresden Files. Mastras, who's also the writer of literary thrillerFidali's Wayand an alumnus from the Disney-ABC Writing Fellowship for Drama, started hiscareer like a lawyer, with stints like a criminal investigator for that public defender service, a counselor in a juvenile correctional facility, along with a litigator both in New You are able to and La. Heis repped by CAA, Management and Alexander, Nau, Lawrence, Frumes & Labowitz. Breaking Bad