Trade Round-Up: Relative Unknown Director-Type Ditches X3
· Hillary Clinton is in town to rifle through the pockets of the entertainment industry for campaign donations. Obligingly, there's an opportunity for people of every tax bracket to hobnob and give away money:
$1,000 gets you a chance to dirty the furniture at Warner Bros. COO Alan Horn's house, while a budget-minded $125 cover gets you past the velvet rope at Roland Emmerich's pad (co-hosted by Scarlett Johansson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Xtina, and famed Dem booster Lindsay Lohan). [Variety]
· No-name director Matthew "Who? Oh, I saw the preview for Layer Cake, looks kind of bad" Vaughn leaves Fox's X-Men 3. Desperate to start shooting, Fox is looking to sign up a "promising young helmer" from USC who's made a "kick-ass slideshow" in iPhoto. [THR]
· A $61 million opening for Madagascar isn't enough to keep DreamWorks Animation's stock from dropping 9 percent. Who on Wall Street does studio boss Jeffrey Katzenberg have to climb up on a milk crate and blow to get some respect? [Variety]
· ABC makes $2.7 billion in upfront advertising deals, Teri Hatcher's publicist to immediately start referencing her client's "Billion Dollar Rack." [THR]
· The Farrelly Brothers, the guys responsible for inspiring nearly a decade of splooge jokes in lowbrow comedies, are closing to signing a deal to rewrite and direct a remake of The Heartbreak Kid for DreamWorks. [Variety]