'Doctor Parnassus' Paid Visit By A Six-Eyed Guardian Angel
· Variety floated the days-old AICN rumors about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus this morning. Namely, they re-report that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell have all signed on to play the role in which Heath Ledger was originally cast. Reps for Cate Blanchett, meanwhile, have yet to confirm her involvement, but it's widely assumed she'll also throw her interpretation into the ring, and walk away with the picture. [Variety]
· The ACE EDDIE Awards give top editing honors to The Bourne Ultimatum and Sweeney Todd. The best reality show editing went to an episode of Cops (for real!), though the winner's acceptance speech was tragically cut short when he triumphantly waved his Golden Scissors trophy above his head and lost his grip. [Variety]
· Variety identifies the true villain of the writers strike: You! "Internet's supporting role in the strike is another reminder of the way the Web has inadvertently helped pollute society, coarsening the level of discourse and incubating online communities prone to wildly lash out at enemies real and imagined." [Variety]
· In the first major post-strike network purchase, one-hit wonders Max "I'm secretly Karen!" Mutchnick and Dave "My writing partner's secretly Karen!" Kohan have sold a sitcom pilot to ABC. The project, originally set up at CBS, follows "a gay writer and a straight writer, who are best friends, and their hot young assistants." Yes, yes, we know what you're going to say—but you didn't let us finish: The writers are cavemen!
· More below-the-line guild awards: Jess Gonchor took the top prize for a contemporary film for No Country for Old Men at the Art Directors Guild's 12th Annual Awards for Excellence in Production Design, while Jack Fisk took best period art direction for There Will Be Blood. The 44th annual Cinema Audio Society Awards, meanwhile, gave Country top honors. (And deservedly so: Anton Chigurh's footsteps alone deserved special recognition.)