Wilson to star in Girlfriend Experience

Rainn Wilson will star in the DreamWorks comedy Girlfriend Experience, which is being produced by Montecito partners Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock. The story, which Wilson came up with himself, is about a lonely geek who hires a prostitute to pretend to be his girlfriend. Cousins Mark and Brian Gunn will write the screenplay. Wilson approached the writers after reading Juvie, a Universal script they wrote for the actor’s Office co-star Steve Carell, about a grown man sentenced to a prison for juveniles. Wilson just finished acting in the Jason Reitman-directed Juno and is now writing another script for him to direct. (Variety)

Gwen Stefani releases “4 In The Morning” as single

Gwen Stefani has officially released “4 In The Morning” as the third single from her platinum selling album, The Sweet Escape. This was my personal favorite before the album was released last December, but since it has been replaced by the stellar album cut, “Wonderful Life.” This is still an instant Stefani-classic and sure to be a bigger Top 40 smash than the previous singles (“Wind It Up [hit #6 on The Billboard Hot 100]” and “The Sweet Escape [hit #2 on The Billboard Hot 100 and remains in the top 5 after more than 15 weeks!]“), expect “4 In The Morning” to be The Sweet Escape’s “Hollaback Girl.” Without any more waiting, here it is: the new steamy video featuring Gwen at her hottest ever.

4 In The Morning

Express Yourself and let us all know what you think of the song and video.

Golden Door scores Scorsese

Martin Scorsese has attached his name to Miramax’s Italian movie Golden Door, Emanuele Crialese’s tale of Sicilian immigrants to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century. Scorsese has been added to the film’s marketing materials and will introduce the movie at a Tribeca Film Festival screening next week. It opens May 25 in New York and June 1 in Los Angeles. (Variety)

Crossing Over: LL Cool J

This is a new feature about musicians who have made the leap to acting and the results. Some have gained acclaim while others have become Razzie hall-of-famers. Either way when a musician tackles the silver screen we all take notice and savor the outcome.

James Todd Smith
Born: January 14, 1968
Musicial Credits: Solo Artist
1986: Radio (Peaked at #46, Platinum)
1987: Bigger And Deefer (Peaked at #3, Double Platinum)
1989: Walking With A Panther (Peaked at #6, Platinum)
1990: Mama, Said Knock You Out (Peaked at #16, Double Platinum)
1995: Mr. Smith (Peaked at #20, Double Platinum)
1996: All the World: Greatest Hits (Peaked at #29, Platinum)
1997: Phenomenon (Peaked at #7, Platinum)
2001: G.O.A.T. (Peaked at #1, Gold)
2002: 10 (Peaked at #2, Gold)
2004: The Definition (Peaked at #4, Gold)
2006: Todd Smith (Peaked at #6, Gold)

Highlights:
LL Coo J came to the forefront of Hip Hop when he was still a teenager. He scored multiple platinum records and hit singles before he was even old enough to legally drink. LL Cool J was one of the artist responsible for expanding raps’ appeal beyond its core audience.
With good looks and even tighter rhymes, LL Cool J tallied hit after hit and slowly began to make a name for himself outside of the Hip Hop realm. By 1990, the rapper had 4 platinum records under his belt and was developing a persona that would eventually bring the artist to the silver screen.
With the rap world under control, LL Cool J stormed the multiplexes with a string of not-so-memorable performances in a few not-so-good films, Halloween: H20, Deep Blue Sea and Any Given Sunday – just to name a few. The rap star tried to turn himself into a double-threat, but it just wasn’t so. And while he plugged away making numerous film appearances, the rap climate changed, leaving LL Cool J out in the cold.
G.O.A.T., 10, Todd Smith all underperformed on the charts barely achieving gold status (sales of 500,000) and failed to released any memorable hit singles.
His latest film, Slow Burn tanked bringing in a rather unimpressive $778,123 during its opening weekend. The subsequent weekend was even more horrifying as the film plummeted 84.7 percent to a marginal $119,150.
LL Cool J should just take a very long hiatus from acting and focus on re-mastering his craft, then maybe after a few hundred-thousand acting lesson return to the small screen. It is very clear, LL Cool J is not going to be the next movie star.

Top Tracks
“Around the Way Girl”
“Mama Said Knock You Out”
“Hey Lover”
“Loughin’”

Trivia
>Almost always wears a hat, and wears one of his pant legs rolled up.
>LL Cool J stands for “Ladies Love Cool James.”
>Hosted the 2001 American Music Awards with Britney Spears. [2001]
>Has four children (one boy and three girls): Najee (b. 1989), Italia (b. 1990), Samaria (b. 1995), and Nina Simone (b. 2000).
>Wrote and performed the first ever rap love song “I Need Love” in 1985.

Here is the trailer from the Slow Burn:

The Simpsons replace Back to the Future at Universal

A new ride tied to the Simpsons movie will launch in Spring 2008 at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. The deal also includes provisions that allow actors dressed like Simpsons characters to roam the parks, and the creation of new souvenir stores dedicated to selling Simpsons-themed merchandise. ”The ride is designed to duplicate the Simpsons home-viewing experience, only at high speed and with lots of screaming,” said Simpsons creator Matt Groening. The ride will replace the long-running Back to the Future attraction, which will shutter at both parks after Labor Day. (Variety)

Kevin Bacon to star in HBO Iraq War film

HBO has tapped Kevin Bacon to star in Taking Chance as Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, an officer in the Iraq War who accompanies the body of fallen U.S. soldier Chance Phelps as it is returned home for a burial in Wyoming. Ross Katz, who produced In the Bedroom and Marie Antoinette, will make his directorial debut on the movie. Katz is also writing the script with Strobl, adapting it from the soldier’s short story of the same name. The project is set to start shooting this summer with HBO planning to air it some time in 2008. (Variety)