'The Americans' Is Officially a Hit Now
FX's new, not so good spy series The Americans premiered Wednesday night, and the numbers are solid. It earned 3.22 million viewers in its initial broadcast (and 4.7 overall), besting numbers posted by American Horror Story in the fall. That's very good! AHS is a big show for FX, so if The Americans can beat it, that's quite something. Too bad the show isn't very good. I mean, I know lots of other people really liked it, but eh... great premise, poor execution. That's what I say, anyway. At least with numbers like these — if they hold, that is — the show will have time to get better. That's the problem with all bad shows, right? They just need more time? I mean, NCIS is bound to figure out in season twelve, right?? [Deadline]
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Kenneth Branagh, inventor of Shakespeare, is currently in negotiations with Disney to direct the studio's planned Cinderella live-action movie. So, that could be interesting. This is the one that has Cate Blanchett playing the mean stepmother, which is thrilling. The production has not been smooth sailing — initial director Mark Romanek walked off the project earlier this month — but hopefully Branagh's hiring will steady the ship. Because we all want to see Cate Blanchett play the wicked stepmom to some pretty young Disney thing, don't we? Between this and Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, drag queens are going to have a lot to deal with in the coming couple of years. [Vulture]
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Oh, dear. Someone's gone and given Cody Horn more work. Cody Horn is the young lady from Magic Mike — you know, the love interest who spoke in a weird, sad monotone the whole time? Yeah, her. She just happens to be the daughter of former Warner Bros. COO and current Disney chairman Alan Horn. But that's not why she keeps getting work! She's getting work because she showed such a depth of range and talent in Magic Mike. That is why. Anyway, she has just been cast in a thriller about ghosts alongside Maria Bello. Horn "will play a ghost hunter." Haha. Really? Guess so. Guessss so. Well, better a ghost hunter in some sad movie that's way beneath Maria Bello's talents than, say, Cinderella, right? At least she wasn't cast as Katniss! It could have been a lot worse, Cody Horn-wise, is what I'm saying. We should take ghost hunter. If Cody Horn's gonna happen, ghost hunter is probably the best we're get. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Nut farmer Roseanne Barr has another show in development at NBC, her second in as many years. There's no word on what it's going to be about or anything, but a good guess is that it will be about someone very much like Roseanne. 'Cause that's kinda what Roseanne does. So she's got that in the hopper, and a three-episode stint on The Office, so I wonder who's watching the nut farm? Who is tending to the nuts?? [Deadline]
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Here is the lineup for this year's South-by-Southwest Film Festival, an event that coincides with the SXSW tech show and the music thing. You know, "South by." That whole nightmare. So, if you're going, and want to know what movies are playing, here you go. But you really shouldn't be going. That way lies ruin. [SXSW]
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Here's a preview clip of an ad for Iron Man 3 that will play during the Super Bowl. Except at the Super Bowl, Beyoncé will perform the whole thing live. So this is just a preview of backing track for an ad for Iron Man 3. That's all.
