Cheers & Jeers: Top Model Ewww, Baby!

Phillip Phillips, American Idol American Idol finalist Phillip Phillips received emergency medical treatment Thursday hours before the Top 13 results show, TMZ reports. Phillips, 21, complained of intense pain in his abdomen before he was taken to a doctor. The cause for the pain remains unclear, but people close to the singer think it may be gallstones, according to TMZ. Meet the American Idol finalists: Who was in Hannah Montana? Who collects knives? A source at the Georgia Pawn Shop where Phillips used to work told the site that the contestant was hospitalized for a similar condition in January. Almost exactly one year ago, Idol Season 10 finalist Casey Abrams was hospitalized for severe stomach pains the day of the Top 13 results show and was forced to miss the taping. Abrams, who ended up finishing sixth, was also hospitalized during the Top 24 round. A show rep could not be reached for comment on Phillips' status.

Local stations at nexus of storm relief

The Fox affil in Indiana elevated $236,000 for your sufferers and cities in Southern Indiana devastated with the recent tornadoes. Other local stations started similar efforts. Local Tv producers in Indiana and Kentucky have rallied to help raise relief funds for your sufferers in the violent storms that ravaged the location the other day, proclaiming the lives having a minimum of 40 people. The outpouring underscores the primacy of local tv producers in occasions of major crisis. The tornadoes that taken through small metropolitan areas in southern Indiana and rural Kentucky on Friday knocked out cell-telephone service in many the place and hampered using other wireless items for several hours. Tv and radio stations in Indiana, Terre Haute, Ind. and Louisville, Ky. offered since the information lifeline for people in the most difficult-hit areas. Tribune Broadcasting's Fox affiliate WXIN-TV Indiana introduced in than $236,000 in promises on Monday following a station placed multiple pledge breaks every hour, from 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., featuring station talent while others appealing for donations for the Salvation Military. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels given his support for the telethon in the live shot inside the station's 6 p.m. newscast. CBS affil WISH-TV Indiana elevated greater than $220,000 in phone promises in the last weekend. Terre Haute's NBC affil WAWV-TV and sister station WTWO-TV and went appeals from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Tuesday from our Red-colored-colored Mix headquarters. CBS affil WKYT in Lexington, Ky. plans a ten a.m.-7 p.m. telethon on Friday. WXIN news director Lee Rosenthal mentioned most likely probably the most impressive part of his station's effort was that 85% in the promises showed up modest batches from people rather than corporate or business sources. Rosenthal credited the response to "the Hoosier spirit of empathy. We're 90 miles away (within the damage) however, you would not have known it within the response." News coverage in the dramatic tales stemming as a direct consequence in the storm also provide touched audiences -- such as the tragedy from the infant contained in a debris-tossed area who later died, or perhaps the lady who lost all of her legs while saving her youthful children. Local news reporters have swarmed the location throughout yesteryear day or two. Getting pictures in the area for the station in Indiana was challenging inside the several hours following a storm because satellite reception am spotty, Rosenthal mentioned. A cool snap that adopted the storm has compounded the misery in a few areas. "Within 48 several hours it absolutely was freezing out," he mentioned. "I've come across plenty of tornadoes, but I have not observed the remains and debris in the tornado covered by 50 percent inches of snow." Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

REVIEW: Cluttered, Noisy Lorax Doesn't Speak for the Trees, or For Anyone Else

He is the Lorax, he speaks for the trees or at least he would, if he could get a word in edgewise. Because Dr. Seuss The Lorax, as directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda, is so cluttered -- with extra narrative, extra characters, extra everything -- that its famously mossy and bossy central figure barely figures into the plot. More a bowdlerization than an adaptation of the great Theodor Geisels somber plea for environmental preservation, The Lorax is so big, flashy and redundant that it courts precisely the kind of blind consumerism its supposed to be condemning. It doesnt trust kids to sit still and pay attention for even a minute. In the book, a young boy approaches the dark lair of the Once-ler, situated in the middle of a bare wasteland. The Once-ler spins a tale about what this godforsaken patch of land used to be like: It was dotted lavishly with Truffula Trees, their tufty heads looking like psychedelic dandelions and smelling of butterfly milk. This was a land populated by humming fish and bearlike creatures known as Bar-ba-Loots (frisking about in their Bar-ba-Loot suits), and guarded over by the stern, if noodgy, Lorax, who is especially protective of the areas chief natural resource, those Truffula Trees. The Once-ler begins cutting down the trees for his own gain, initiating a destructive spiral that the book resolves only tentatively with a single Truffula seed held out as a symbol of hope for the future. Those simple but potent ingredients arent enough for this Lorax, which was adapted maybe mauled is the better word by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul. The boy who sets the whole story in motion is a pre-teener named Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), who lives in Thneedville, a town thats completely made of plastic air is pumped in by an evil and very short entrepreneur named Mr. OHare (Rob Riggle). Ted takes an interest in trees because the girl on whom he has a crush, Audrey (Taylor Swift), thinks theyre neat and wishes they werent all gone. So he approaches the lair of the reclusive Once-ler (Ed Helms), who spins the sad and sorry tale of the long-lost Truffula Trees, and of his encounter with the Lorax (Danny DeVito), who tried to stop their destruction before it was too late. But wait, theres more much, much more. Ted has a mother who tries to convince him that the artificial trees of Thneedville are perfectly adequate, as well as a grandmother who secretly advises him otherwise. The Once-ler has a family of social-climbing boobs who persuade him to ax the Truffula forest, a touch thats designed, maybe, to make the Once-ler more sympathetic, but whats the point? The Once-ler wriggles his way into the good graces of the Bar-ba-Loots (who arent referred to by their right and proper name but who are treated as if they were simply garden-variety bears) by showering them with marshmallows. And so forth. The great marvel of Dr. Seuss work in addition to his noodly characters, silly-brilliant drawings and captivating rhyme schemes -- was its economy: Dr. Seuss books tell fairly complex and imaginative stories in a remarkably simple way. (Even One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish has a narrative, albeit one with a streak of Dada madness.) These books are never overpopulated Seuss never, for example, threw in extra parental characters just to give his characters something to rebel against. Adolescent boys trying to impress girls? Please. But the story Seuss tells in The Lorax is almost completely obscured here, buried beneath needless extra details. The look of the film nods adequately to certain Seussisms the tops of those Truffula Trees do look pretty luxurious, like Troll-doll hair in unbelievable shades of magenta and citrus orange. Yet theres so much to look at that almost nothing registers. The town of Thneedville is elaborate and plasticky-looking, populated largely by fat, lazy people. The Truffula wonderland is much prettier to look at, but its almost too much of a good thing. The creatures who populate it like those humming fish, who spend a great deal of time bouncing around dry land on their flexible tails may be cute, but they also seem like afterthoughts; theres just too much business happening all around them. Even the Lorax himself despite DeVitos singular vocal charms comes through as a blur in the midst of a hyperactive muddle. When it comes to this mess, whos left holding the Truffula-stuffed bag? Renaud was one of the directors (with Pierre Coffin) of what was, for my money, the best and most gleefully disreputable animated film of 2010, Despicable Me. That picture was relaxed and loopy; The Lorax is stiff and junked-up. The casual details that Seuss would drop so effortlessly are belabored here. For example, when the butterfly-milk scent of those Truffula tufts comes up in conversation, Ted and Audrey cant let this magical true-fact pass without comment: What does that even mean? I know, right? they counter, compelled to show how hip they are to the idea that, you know, butterflies cant actually produce milk. Thanks for that, masterminds behind Dr. Seuss The Lorax. It saves me a lot of time feeling around for those really tiny butterfly nipples. I should have known Theodor Geisel made it all up. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

New viral video for Prometheus

Prometheus has released a canny piece of viral marketing, in which Guy Pearce's character Peter Weyland gives a TED talk (a non-profit organisation dedicated to the sharing of ideas) on artificial intelligence.The video shows Weyland addressing a packed auditorium in the year 2023 (a few years before the events depicted in Prometheus are set), and giving them a rundown on the story of Prometheus, the man who attempted to steal fire from the Gods.From his assertion that the Gods subsequently "overreated" to the rather lofty conclusion that "we are the Gods now", the theme of overreaching ambition is there for all to see, spelling trouble for the crew of the Prometheus in the following years.Take a look at the new video, below... Other key points to note are Weyland's assertion that cyborgs will soon be indistinguishable from humans (Michael Fassbender's character is a cyborg) and his promise to change the world. We still don't know what his Prometheus crew are looking for, but it's clearly something that will have a huge impact on civilisation.Pearce is both charismatic and menacing throughout this new teaser, and hopefully we'll hear more from the slippery businessmen in the coming weeks. In the meantime you can check out the Weyland Industries website, another part of the film's viral campaign.Prometheus opens in the UK on 1 June 2012.

'Act of Valor,' 'Good Deeds' enter box office

Two half way decent allotted beginners as of this weekend's domestic B.O. want to outshine holdovers: Relativity Media's Navy Shuts pic, "Act of Valor," and Lionsgate's Tyler Perry film, "Good Deeds."A week ago, holdovers "Safe House" and "The Vow" handled to fight a trio of wide openers. But bizzers are torn regarding where this week's new films will land.Both Relativity and Lionsgate predict conservative bows for "Act of Valor" and "Good Deeds," inside the mid-teens. Other bloggers predict amounts north of $20 million each.Summit's femme-specific thriller "Gone" will even vie for audience attention, with anticipation inside the mid-to-high teens, while Universal's Paul Rudd-Jennifer Aniston laffer "Wanderlust," skewing towards over-25 women, is forecasted striking the top single amounts.The Oscars won't cash effect on the weekend box office, with handful of expansions among nominated fare, apart from "The Artist," the Weinstein Co. is broadening to 966 from 808 Stateside locations. TWC expects to grow the film to as much as 2,000 locations after Sunday's ceremony.After last weekend's game game titles separate the winnings, moviegoers again are needed to spread the wealth.For a "Valor" win, some bizzers indicate Thursday's healthy bump in pre-weekend monitoring. However, you'll find handful of comparative game game titles for your military actioner, featuring real active duty Navy Shuts."Valor" was produced and funded by Bandito Brothers and sisters for just about any reported $12 million. Relativity acquired the pic for $13 million their exposure was cut to $5.5 million after foreign pre-sales, put in a P&A spend north of $20 million.For "Good Deeds," which cost under $15 million, Lionsgate demands "Safe House" could steal away numerous Perry's usual African-American aud, among which "Safe House" is drawing 21% of first-choice votes versus. "Good Deeds" at 28%, according to one monitoring service. Perry photos usually score inside the 30%-40% range among African-Us citizens.In the weekend's opening quartet, "Act of Valor" and "Good Deeds" offered most likely probably the most advance tickets on Thursday via Fandango, with 7% along with a pair ofPercent, correspondingly. "The Hunger Games," which opens March 23, centered Thursday's ticket sales with 82%.The wide openers are low-risk projects.Allotted inside the $Thirty Dollars million range, comedy "Wanderlust" should play well in ancillary areas. "Gone," meanwhile, reps a internet risk for Summit around $2 million.InchGreat Deeds" could surprise a couple of days ago, based on support for Perry. The filmmaker's spring releases typically open north of $20 million. For instance, last year's "Madea's Large Happy Family" launched with $25 million, while Perry's "For Colored Women" bowed November 2010 to $19.5 million. "Good Deeds" should over-index in areas for instance Atlanta, Philadelphia and Baltimore.Likewise, "Act of Valor" features a potential upside considering Relativity's specific screening campaign for military and belief-based demos. Relativity situated two tests of "Valor" within the Navy Memorial in Washington D.C.Within the overseas box office, Warner Bros.-New Line's "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" should have another solid weekend, depending mainly on holdover areas. Pic acquired $27.5 million a week ago -- its second consecutive frame on top -- for just about any fantastic worldwide cume of $130 million. "Journey 2" opens today in Italia. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Peter Jacobson Joins Ray Donovan, Zach Cregger Cast In NBCs Jimmy Fallon Pilot

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Jacobson has become the first House co-star to line up a new TV gig following the recent announcement that the veteran Fox medical drama will end its run in May. Jacobson has joined Showtimes drama pilot Ray Donovan starring Liev Schreiber in a recurring role. Written by Ann Biderman and directed by Allen Coulter, the Showtime-produced project centers on Ray (Schreiber), a professional fixer for LAs rich and famous who can make anyones problems disappear, except the ones created by his own family. Jacobson will play Lee Drexler, a hard-driving, foul-mouthed wheeler-dealer who relies on Ray as Mr. Fixit whenever his high-profile clients get into hot water. Lee also loves to bust Ray’s chops at every opportunity. Zach Cregger has landed one of the leads in NBC’s untitled Jimmy Fallon comedy pilot. The multicamera comedy, written by Charlie Grandy, centers on three 30-something guys enjoy the adventures of parenting despite the fact they havent grown up themselves. Cregger will play one of them, a laid-back programmer who is doing his best to balance his great job, two kids and marriage. This is Cregger’s third consecutive NBC comedy pilot. He also co-starred in Friends With Benefits, which went to series, and The Pink House.

Berlin festival bows with 'Queen'

Jury people Mike Gyllenhaal, Mike Leigh and festival director Dieter Kosslick attend the outlet Ceremony from the 62nd Berlin Worldwide Film Festival.Diane Kruger, star of opening evening film 'Farewell, My Full,' arrives around the red-colored carpet outdoors the Berlinale Palast theater in Germany.BERLIN -- Snowfall and icy temps welcomed red-colored carpet visitors because the Berlin Film Festival began on Thursday with Benoit Jacquot's historic drama "Farewell, My Full."Ever the comic, fest topper Dieter Kosslick opened up the proceedings having a Statler and Waldorf-like skit full of the balcony from the Berlinale Palast theater bantering with show host Anke Engelke.The festivities required on the sobering tone as German culture minister Bernd Neumann rose happens to create the reality that "the Berlinale is much more political than ever before -- indicated by upheaval and new origins.""Because of the numerous courageous filmmakers, activists and artists who've a forum this season in the Berlinale, extensive pictures is going to be seen of occasions in North Africa along with other places suffering suppression, brutal violence, despotism and human privileges abuses. Regrettably we're presently seeing these images every day from Syria and every one of our solidarity is out for them.InchNeumann stated it was twelve months ago throughout the Berlinale that protesters in Egypt drove Mubarak from energy in Egypt but that individuals, particularly artists, ongoing to suffer under oppressive routines in nations for example Iran and China."It's therefore essential that in the Berlinale, the festival using the greatest audience on the planet, flags are waved for human privileges and also the freedom of art. Because democracy needs culture and culture needs freedom."Well in tune using the fest's political message, "Farewell, My Full," which stars Diane Kruger and Jum Seydoux, draws parallels to the current day because it stories the very first times of in france they Revolution in the perspective from the servants at Versailles. The styles of freedom and energy will also be investigated in most of the films unspooling within the next ten days within the Competition section, including Paolo and Vittorio Taviani's documentary "Caesar Must Die," about criminals who stage a theatrical performance of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod's "Bel Ami," starring Taylor Lautner and Uma Thurman Christian Petzold's "Barbara," a good East German physician who's roughly punished for attempting to leave the GDR and Nikolaj Arcel's "A Royal Affair," a good 18th-century physician who uses his closeness towards the Danish throne to change the political landscape.The styles will also be apparent in Brillante Mendoza's "Captive," about several vacationers and missionaries taken hostage by Filipino terrorists, and Frederic Videau's kidnapping drama "Returning Home.InchViewing the 18 films which are competing for that Golden Bear this season would be the worldwide jury presided over by Mike Leigh. People include Anton Corbijn, Charlotte now Gainsbourg, Mike Gyllenhaal, Francois Ozon, Algerian author Boualem Sansal, German actress Barbara Sukowa and Iranian helmer Asghar Farhadi, whose Oscar-nominated "A Separation" won the Berlinale's Golden Bear this past year."The trip began here," Farhadi stated. "And perhaps I'm going to be here again with my next movie." Contact Erectile dysfunction Meza at staff@variety.com