Entertainment Tonight.

A sequel to the iconic 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life” is currently in the works, with the release date tentatively set for the 2015 holiday season, Variety reports.

Star Partners and Hummingbird Prods. are collaborating on the production of the sequel, titled “It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story,” and the screenplay has already been written by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton.

Bing: ‘The Best Man Holiday’ strong box office

“The storyline of the new film retains the spirit of the original — every life is important as long as you have friends,” Farnsworth said.

The surprising sequel will even be bringing back a few of the original cast members — most notably Karolyn Grimes, who played Zuzu in the original — who will now appear as an angel who shows George Bailey’s grandson (also named George Bailey) how much better off the world would have been had he never been born.

“The new film will retain the feeling of the original, and it simply must be shared,” Grimes said. “I’ve probably read close to 20 scripts over the years suggesting a sequel to ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ but none of them were any good. The script by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton was wonderful, and I wanted to be involved with his version of the film immediately.”

Jimmy Hawkins (Tommy Bailey) and Carol Coombs (Janie Bailey) are also said to be in talks to appear in the sequel.

But the sequel, of course, has plenty to live up to — besides being a beloved Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which starred Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, was nominated for five Oscars including a Best Actor nomination for Stewart.

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By Todd Cunningham
TheWrap

Suppose you threw a giant reunion party and ended up topping the box office?

That’s what fans of Universal’s “The Best Man Holiday” did Friday, lifting the sequel to a $10.7 million opening night and knocking off the reigning No. 1 movie, “Thor: The Dark World” in the process. The African-American skewing romantic comedy is on course to finish with around $30 million for the three days, well ahead of projections which were for around $20 million.

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Disney’s Marvel superhero sequel wasn’t far behind Friday with $10.4 million and should wind up the weekend at around $35 million for its second win in a row. It’s in a lot more theaters – 3,841 to 2,024 – than “Best Man Holiday” and many are 3D and Imax, so it is expected to dominate Saturday and Sunday.

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But “Best Man Holiday” fans stole the show on Friday by partying like it was 1999.

That’s when the original “The Best Man” opened at No. 1, and Malcolm D. Lee – who writes, directs and produces with Sean Daniel – reassembled the ensemble of the first film for this holiday sequel, the week’s only wide release.  “The Wolf of Wall Street,” directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, had been set to open this weekend, but paramount shifted it to Christmas Day last month.

Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Monica Calhoun and Melissa De Sousa reprise their career-launching roles in “Best Man Holiday,” and Eddie Cibrian joins in a supporting role.

“Last Vegas’ was running a solid third after taking in $2.5 million Friday. That’s just a 20 percent drop from last week and puts the geriatrics-gone-wild comedy on pace for a $9.5 million third week for CBS Films.

paramount’s “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” in its fourth week, was next with $2.2 million Friday. That topped the $1.7 million gobbled up by Relativity’s “Free Birds,” but the 3D animated kids film could overhaul “Grandpa” if families turn out on Saturday and Sunday, and both films will likely wind up with around $7.5 million for the weekend.

“Gravity” is still orbiting in its ninth week, taking in $1.7 million on Friday. That puts the 3D space epic on course for a $6 million weekend. It’s taken in $235 million domestically for Warner Bros., and more than $477 million worldwide.

Summit Entertainment’s sci-fi tale “Ender’s Game” is also looking at $6 million for the three days, after taking in $1.7 million on Friday.

Oscar hopefuls “12 Years a Slave” and “Captain Phillips” were next and should finish at around $4.5 million. The slavery saga brought in $1.3 million from 1,411 theaters Friday for Fox Searchlight in its fifth week; Sony’s Tom Hanks piracy tale brought in $1.2 million from 2,626 theaters and should cross the $100 million domestically this weekend.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — For Angelina Jolie, Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury and costume designer Piero Tosi, Saturday night is Oscar night.

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The four will accept Oscar statuettes at the film academy’s Governors Awards ceremony Saturday night in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood Highland Center in Los Angeles. Jolie will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, while the others will accept honorary Academy Awards for their distinguished careers.

The black-tie dinner ceremony is untelevised to preserve a sense of intimacy and allow for ample tributes to each honoree. This is the fifth year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has presented its honorary awards at a separate ceremony. Clips from the event may be included in the March 2 Oscar telecast.

By Greg Gilman
TheWrap

Miles Scott took a break from fighting cancer on Friday to fight crime in San Francisco, which the Make-A-Wish Foundation transformed into Gotham in Scott’s honor — a spectacle that even Hollywood was impressed by.

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While thousands of citizens rallied behind the young boy in the northern California city, those who couldn’t be there — including “Hunger Games” star Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick and even President Barack Obama — took to Twitter to voice their support.

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Bit late to #BatKid, but damn if he isn’t a ROCK STAR! Also, a great reminder of the amazing work done by @MakeAWish. pic.twitter.com/7TP8ze1b6s

— Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks) November 16, 2013

Just read about #BatKid and I am IMMEDIATELY in tears. Go #BatKid! — Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) November 15, 2013

CONGRATULATIONS, #BATKID!!! Big Salute to the people and city of San Francisco and the Make-A-Wish Foundation! http://t.co/oMeixP4LfV — Pee-wee Herman (@peeweeherman) November 16, 2013

Loved the Batkid story but even more unique was Lil’ Alfred. The kid who wanted to be Batman’s English butler for a day. — Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) November 16, 2013

We list in a post #BatKid world. — Colin Hanks (@ColinHanks) November 16, 2013

San Francisco ! You magnificent bastards. #batkid

— Craig Ferguson (@CraigyFerg) November 15, 2013

I love #Batkid. I’m cheering you on little man!! http://t.co/zqv7rMgbLG

— oliviamunn (@oliviamunn) November 15, 2013

Thank you #batkid for saving the day!! Way to go Miles! — Dr. Phil (@DrPhil) November 16, 2013

No crime left to fight. Thanks #BatKid https://t.co/P708He9hUC — Stephen Amell (@amellywood) November 16, 2013

Goodnight, #batkid

— josh groban (@joshgroban) November 16, 2013

And the biggest honor of all — recognition from the President of the United States himself, Barack Obama:

President Obama’s message to #SFBatKid — http://t.co/O7J4XWwYBs

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 15, 2013

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By Tony Maglio
TheWrap

This is the end for Blockbuster, and how fitting that the final rented film was 2013Â�’s comedy of the same name, starring Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill.

The remaining 300 Blockbuster Videos are in the process of closing their doors, and employees of United States’ furthest-west store in Hawaii posed for a photo with the franchise’s final rental customer.

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Last Wednesday, Dish Network president and CEO Joseph P. Clayton cited the growing shift to digital video distribution while announcing the closures.

“This is not an easy decision, yet consumer demand is clearly moving to digital distribution of video entertainment,” Clayton said at the time. “Despite our closing of the physical distribution elements of the business, we continue to see value in the Blockbuster brand, and we expect to leverage that brand as we continue to expand our digital offerings.”

Dish will retain the Blockbuster brand’s licensing rights, along with key assets, including the company’s video library. Dish, which acquired Blockbuster in 2011, will focus on providing Blockbuster @Home service to its customers and via the Blockbuster on Demand streaming service. All physical stores will be shuttered by January.

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As for the documentation of the final brick-and-mortar transaction, the workers were smiling, either for the sake of the picture, or because they were moments from being free to pursue career opportunities at Redbox.

Here is the tweet:

The last Blockbuster rental 11/9 Hawaii 11PM @ThisIsTheEnd#BlockbusterMemories@Sethrogen@JamesFrancoTV@JonahHillhttp://t.co/RsXABlqfzL

— Blockbuster (@Blockbuster) November 11, 2013

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Kate Upton is being eyed for the female lead in the “Entourage” movie, multiple individuals familiar with the Warner Bros. project have told TheWrap.

Though Upton has not been formally offered the role yet, she is in early discussions to join the cast, according to sources. While a representative for the swimsuit model-turned-actress has denied that any such talks are under way, they acknowledge that there was interest in Upton for the project earlier this year.

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Warner Bros. had no comment.

After heated contract negotiations, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven have all agreed to reprise their iconic roles from the HBO series in the Doug Ellin-directed feature, which is expected to highlight Ari Gold’s new career as a studio head.

Details of Upton’s potential role are being kept under wraps, though she could be playing the latest love interest of movie star Vincent Chase (Grenier), who always had a thing for curvy blondes.

Production is scheduled to start early next year.

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Upton, who appeared in Brett Ratner’s “Tower Heist” and “The Three Stooges” movie, will soon be seen alongside Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Nick Cassavetes’ comedy “The Other Woman.” She’s represented by  IFA Talent Agency.

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Entertainment Tonight.

Though Justin Timberlake is almost universally praised for his singing/performing abilities, the same definitely can’t be said for his foray into acting — and in a cover interview for GQ’s annual Men of the Year issue, Justin gets feisty when addressing the common critique that he should quit making movies.

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Addressing in part Variety’s October op-ed “Why Justin Timberlake Should Stop Acting” after his film “Runner Runner” was a box office disappointment, Tibmerlake tells GQ via UsWeekly, “The movie didn’t do well at the box office, so I should quit? Hold on a second. If I was somebody else, you wouldn’t have said that. I have the number one album this week, and I shouldn’t have released it? Come on, man. You sound like a d***head.”

He then goes a step further, dismissing certain magazines’ importance.

“It just shocked me because, like, you’re trade magazines. None of your opinions count,” he says. “And by the way, none of you can do it.”

But he does admit that the criticism definitely gets to him.

“Where did all this vitriol come from? It’s mean. And I’m not cut out for it,” he says. ” … I grew up with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, so sometimes I find it funny that I’ve been able to acquire the patience it takes to be kind to people in our business. Because sometimes I just want to [expletive] kill everybody.”

And though his film performances haven’t always been well-received, it hasn’t stopped critically acclaimed directors from working with the 32-year-old superstar — he can next be seen in the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis” (out Dec. 20) which also stars Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac.

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maybe they didn’t notice in the comic books .. but Wonder Woman had breasts !!! neither of these woman have them !! Linda Carter had them as well !! come on now !!

Ben Affleck as Batman.. REALLY !! .. are they trying to ruin Batman !!

WENN

Julianne Moore hopes fellow actresses stop complaining about a lack of Hollywood roles for older women.

The star, 52, began her career in the early 1980s and is still enjoying sought-after parts in Blockbuster movies. Other aging screen sirens often say that big roles dry up for female stars as they get older, but Moore is adamant complaining about it only reinforces Hollywood ageism.

She tells InStyle magazine, “I can’t complain. I’ve been pretty lucky. And I think the more we talk about it, the more we make it real. I hate being asked about this stuff! Let’s appreciate where we are. Let’s not wish our lives away.”

By Brent Lang
TheWrap

Fans may soon be able to play “The Hunger Games.”

Lionsgate, the studio behind the dystopian franchise, told analysts on Friday that it has been approached in two different territories about potential theme park opportunities. Presumably, unlike the gladiator games at the center of the Blockbuster films, any park attractions would not involve fights to the death.

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“We’re excited about those opportunities and we’re pursuing them,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said on a conference call shortly after the company reported its quarterly earnings.

Lionsgate said it has been opportunistic in its efforts to bolster merchandising surrounding the film series, signing deals with Subway to promote the release this month of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and partnering with online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter on a new line of ready-to-wear pieces inspired by the movie called “Capitol Couture.”

Getting into the theme park business could dwarf those moves. “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” a theme park attraction based on the boy wizard’s adventures, has been a huge revenue generator for Comcast since it opened in the company’s Universal Studios Orlando resort in 2010. Two other Harry Potter attractions are currently being constructed in Universal’s Tokyo and Hollywood parks.

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” hits U.S. theaters on Nov. 22, 2013.

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