Biography: Barack Obama

When he called himself "a skinny kid with a funny name" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, his political star was already on the rise. By the time he decimated the competition in 2004 race for the Illinois Senate, he was the bona fide golden child of a Democratic party desperately in need of a winner. In many ways, the story of Barack Obama is a uniquely American tale of the 21st century, where racial lines are blurry and the most interesting chapter is just beginning.

SOAPnet to Air My Children Marathon

Susan Lucci SOAPnet will mark the ending of The Kids having a two-day marathon the weekend prior to the final week of episodes on ABC. Is The Kids in your Watchlist? Add it as well as your other faves now and not miss a chapter A block named "I Really Like Lucci" (Sept. 17 from 7/6c p.m. to night time) will reveal a number of Susan Lucci's most memorable moments as Erica Kane. "My Children: Last Opportunity for Romance" (Sept. 18 from 5/4c p.m. to night time) showcases a few of the series' most beloved couples like Leo (Josh Duhamel) and Greenlee (Rebecca Budig) and Ryan (Cameron Mathison) and Gillian (Esta TerBlanche). My Children's Rebecca Budig: I needed Leo and Greenlee to finish up together Are you going to watch the marathon? My Children's final television episode airs Sept. 23.

East Coast Earthquake: Best Hollywood Quotes

On Tuesday, a 5.9 earthquake hit the East Coast, with the quake's epicenter in Virginia. But people in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. felt it too.our editor recommendsEast Coast Earthquake News Coverage Interrupts ProgrammingDiscovery Headquarters Evacuated After Earthquake Earthquake: Twitter Users Learned of Tremors Seconds Before Feeling ThemEarthquake Videos Hit the Web; DSK Press Conference Interrupted NBC, ABC and CBS all interrupted regular programming to report on the quake -- one of the biggest stories of the day on news sites, second only to the unrest in Libya. CNN reporters were on the scene in New York City for first-hand accounts. An East Coast quake was predicted earlier this year by scientists at the Columbia University's Lamont-Dohery Earth Observatory. "It can happen anytime soon," a seismologist said at the time." PHOTOS: Earthquake on East Coast: Scene from New York and D.C. Here are some of Hollywood's best tweets about the quake: "Is the Earthquake in Mineral Virginia, an alleged 'gold-mining town' related to the island? Hmmm. What date is it today?," Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof tweeted. Film director Frank Marshall wrote, "Had to come all the way from LA to Queens to be in an earthquake!" Elizabeth Banks, who is shooting The Hunger Games film, wrote, "um, earthquake in north carolina? it's nice to feel at home but please, don't go overboard." Albert Brooks wrote, "If congress won't raise the debt ceiling, God will," with a link to a news report on the quake. Jason Biggs joked that the East Coast quake was a result of rumors that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith had split. "Obviously, God is mad about Will and Jada," he tweeted. The Good Wife actor Josh Charles retweeted stand-up comedian Craig Baldo, whose tweet read: "My cat just shit herself." Patton Oswalt joked, "Not to panic anyone in NYC, but a screaming John Cusack just drove by in a limo that was missing a door." Late Night With Jimmy Fallon's head writer A.D. Miles joked, "These hilarious quake tweets ought to be called 'laughter shocks!' " Will Arnett responded with "Ewwww Miles..." 30 Rock actor Judah Friedlander apologized for his contribution to the quake. "Sorry for the earthquake NYC, I just did a couple of intense jumping jacks," he joked before sending out another tweet. "Next time the Virginia Earth shakes, I will hold it still," Friedlander tweeted. Jared Followill, bassist of Kings of Leon, recalled the action on the streets in New York City. "The streets are filling with people. I just heard a vuvuzela. Parades are going on. Children being thrown in the air. What the hell?!" Comedian and frequent The Daily Show contributor John Hodgman wrote, "This guy in the cafe and I agree that we liked the earthquake when it first started. But now it's like, the wrong people are into it." Jersey Shore cast member Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was succinct in her reactions to the quake. "Omg earthquakeeeee," read her first tweet, before she declared "2012 is near, I knew it!" Polizzi ended with "Waahhhhhhh." Related Topics East Coast Earthquake

Autopsy Report: LG's 'Conan The Barbarian'

Lionsgate execs today are despondent as they try to figure out what went wrong for Conan The Barbarian to only earna dismal $10.5M from 3,015 theaters. "It's one of those weekends that gives me a stomach ache," one Lionsgate exec told me Friday night. "It's a headscratcher but it won't kill us." But they also know that with Carl Icahn back breathing down Lionsgate's mane by buying up company shares, and the annual stockholders meeting scheduled for September 13th, this is a really lousy time for this secondary studio to have such a box office bomb. Over the last two weeks Icahn has acquired 756,840 shares in Lionsgate, growing his ownership to 33.2% from 32.6%, presumably in his so-far-unsuccessful effort to gift his son Brent with a Hollywood studio. Last year, Icahn tried but failed to seize control and, after a brief respite, he's trying yet again all the while carping about Lionsgate's profligate management and moviemaking strategy. Here's more ammunition for him. First off, being in business with Avi Lerner's Nu Image/Millenium film company is a dicey proposition at best. Especially when this reboot cost nearly $90M, which makes this weekend's opening disastrous even if Lionsgate's exposure was mitigated by the co-production and co-release. Not even spreading the buzz that previous Conan The Barbarian Arnold Schwarzenegger was treated to a private screening and "really liked it" helped box office which didn't come near to even Lionsgate's low-ball expectation of $15M from a wide release. This R-rated 3D reboot of the 1930s Robert E. Howard original source material, portraying the character as the Cimmerian warrior, was supposed to have a devoted fanbase. And tracking showed strong interest from African-American and Hispanic male moveiegoers. There seemed to be a ton of interest when Deadline's Mike Fleming broke first news of the remake. That is, until Conan was cast. Even Lionsgate admits that the film absolutely hinged on finding the right Conan, and fanboys reacted horribly to then virtual unknown Jason Momoa even though he has since become a break-out star from his role on HBO's Game of Thrones. Problem: "Theres so much history with this character and this brand they needed someone who could both really own Conan (making him feel relatable for this generation), but also who offered continuity with what fans already know and love. Because theres no competing with Arnold, Jasons performance bypasses all of the comparisons, playing the character in a very different way than Arnold did and instead taking inspiration from the written source," a Lionsgate exec emailed me. I happen to think the studios should have bet on a wrestling The Rock-style star with a ready-made fanbase. The concensus among Avi Lerner and Joe Drake, who had successfully released The Expendables together, is that Conan The Barbarian didn't have the "brand equity" they hoped it would. The pair had convinced themselves that the brand was ripe for a reboot and that the fans were ready for it, so they rescued the film from the major development purgatory it had been caught in for so long. The backstory is that Paradox Entertainment bought the rights in 2002 when the brand was hitting rock-bottom, with a bevy of licensed products in the marketplace but also quality and consistency issues at every turn. The duo's first move was to take everything off the market. Then they connected with very select partners to introduce the rehabilitated Conan via just 3 laser-focused licensed products that appealed to a core demo of young adult males (comics, toys, and a computer game). Marketing generated considerable awareness, with a significant Comic-Con presence (which included: talent appearances, bar invasion promotions, interactive fan experiences at the booth). They targeted Hispanic outreach with Momoa traveling to Miami. They also released an online redband clip to reassure young males fearing this reboot would be sanitized. But it was all for naught.

'Planet From The Apes' Carries On Growing In The Box Office

FROM MTV MOVIES: Not just did the apes start to conquer a persons world onscreen, however they handled to retain their top place in the box office too. Despite competition from four diverse new movies, "Rise from the Planet from the Apes" continued to be the #1 movie in the usa over the past weekend. The sci-fi prequel required in another $27.5 million throughout its second weekend of release for any $104.8 million total, based on studio estimations. Starring James Franco, "Rise" is really a descendent of 1968's original "Planet from the Apes" that was itself according to Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel of the identical title. Whereas "Apes" was designed in the '60s but occur a distant future, "The AssistanceInch was written just a few years back but is occur the '60s. The film adaptation from the hit book in regards to a Southern belle who collects the tales of countless African-American service personnel opened up at #2 with $25.5 million, that was much more powerful than experts predicted. Possibly they ought to have known better: It, by Kathryn Stockett, was legendarily switched lower by some 60 literary agents before being a best-seller. Browse the full story at MTV Movies!

Disney Courting Mark Romanek To Direct Re-Imagined 'Cinderella'

EXCLUSIVE: Disney is trying to fit the glass slipper on Mark Romanek. The studio is circling Romanek, the accomplished video director and helmer of the features Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo, to steer a new version of Cinderella, based on the pitch that The Devil Wears Prada scribe Aline Brosh McKenna sold to Disney last year in a seven-figure deal. The studio bought that project after its billion-dollar grossing 3D Alice in Wonderland opened the floodgates on movies based on public domain fairy tales. Simon Kinberg is producing, and insiders describe Brosh McKenna's script as the re-imaging of the classic tale where the prince is set for a politically arranged marriage, until the evil plan is threatened when the prince meets Cinderella. No deal yet, but its moving toward one and the picture is a priority for the studio.

Programming the country?

An Worldwide Film Circuit and Buzzledom discharge of an Ignite production in colaboration with Digital Media Factory. Created by Marty Collins, Shaun Warrick. Executive producer, Lynda Stewart. Directed, compiled by Shaun Warrick.With: Eldon Taylor, Howard Shevrin, Geoff Tate, August Bullock, Noam Chomsky.Helmer Shaun Warrick's "Programming the country?Inch about subliminal advertising, is really a conspiracy theorist's dream, worrying about hidden naked women in beer advertisements and "s-e-x" among the cleaning soap suds. Facing media's alleged manipulation of images and meanings in order to keep customers hungry, libidinal, frightened -- and purchasing, the docu finds a cabal behind every rose bush. When you are pissed off is not enough to become convincing inside a film that discloses hardly any that's new the pic's personalized approach and kitchen-sink structure don't help, either. Brief theatrical might be then TV, inside a reduced version. Corralling everybody from Noam Chomsky towards the lead singer of Queensryche -- and addressing from commercial brainwashing to Hitchcock's utilization of seem in cinema -- Warrick simply bites off a lot more than he, or we, can chew. Whether it were a focused primer on subliminal advertising, "Programming the country?Inch may have labored, despite the fact that the topic is half urban myth, and many of Warrick's references are 3 decades old. However the film follows a lot of tangents, including film editing, seem and also the allegedly evil results of rock lyrics, to adequately consider them.Digital camera (color), Marty Collins editors, Warrick, Stefan Hacker, Catherine Nightingale music, Evan Evans, Robin Macomber. Examined on DVD August. 1, 2011. Running time: 104 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

'Damages' draws 1 million to DirecTV bow

Viewers flocked to the season bow of "Damages" on DirecTV. In the July 13 premiere episode of its new season, "Damages" attracted slightly more than 1 million viewers over four telecasts on DirecTV. The satcaster declined to reveal aud totals for the debut telecast, rather offering only the higher live-plus 7 number. DirecTV said it was happy with the "Damages" returns, and added that it had performed better than the final-season premiere of "Friday Night Lights," which drew just over 900,000 viewers in live plus 7. However, Sony Pictures TV-produced "Damages" is far more expensive than "Friday Night Lights" -- Glenn Close is paid a sizable salary -- and the acclaimed high school football drama was shot on a small budget in Austin, Texas. Total viewers for "Damages" are much smaller on DirecTV than FX, the former cable home of the series. However, FX has a much wider total audience reach, with approximately five times as many households than the 19 million that receive DirecTV. Ratings for "Damages" had been troubled for most of its run on FX, which canceled the show after season four. After months-long negotiations, DirecTV came in and decided to air a new season on its renamed Audience Network. DirecTV is contracted for a 10-episode fifth season as well. The series premiered on FX to 3.7 million viewers in 2007 and fell drastically to 1.7 million for the season-two debut. Less than a million tuned in for the season-three finale. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Yep, That's Superman: Your First Look at Henry Cavill in Man of Steel

Look, all over your Internet browser. It’s not a bird! It’s not a plane! It’s the first still from Man of Steel! Warner Bros. has released a first official image of Henry Cavill as Superman in the 2013 summer tentpole, and he looks like… well, like the Man of Steel. Click through for your first look. [Click for bigger] The handwringing over Zack Snyder directing Man of Steel aside, this looks promising. Downright cool, even. Cavill certainly has that steely Superman gaze down — along with the perfectly pomaded hair — while the suit is both retro and modern. So far, so good! Man of Steel arrives in theaters on June 14, 2013.

Spurlock, Herzog pix to preem at Toronto fest

'Sarah Palin -- You Betcha!,' a docu co-directed by Nick Bloomfield and Joan Churchill, can make its world premiere in the Toronto Film Festival.Werner Herzog's 'Into the Abyss' will bow in the Toronto Film Festival Masters section.TORONTO -- Docus from Nick Broomfield, Morgan Spurlock and Werner Herzog and night time fare from "Blair Witch Project" co-director Eduardo Sanchez, Bobcat Goldthwait and Adam Wingard will world preem in the Toronto Film Festival, it had been introduced Wednesday morning.The fest revealed the ten-feature slate for Night time Madness, including world preems of Douglas Aarniokoski's "Your Day,Inch Alexandre Courtes' "The Incident," Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's "Livid," Gareth Evans' "The Raid," Frederic Jardin's "Sleep deprived Evening" and Katsuhito Ishii's "Smuggler," additionally to Sanchez's "Lovely Molly," Goldthwait's "God Bless America" and Wingard's "You are Next."The docu roster for Masters (two photos) and Real to Reel (22 photos, including 14 world preems), the Vanguard program (seven photos, including two world preems), three world preems in TIFF KIDS (formerly referred to as Sprockets) and also the selection for City to City, which this season puts the spotlight on cinema from Buenos Aires, were also introduced Wednesday. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com