This Week's New Movies: Will "The Mechanic" Do "The Rite" Thing?

Yes, we're still slogging through the post-New Year movie doldrums, with little relief in sight, but there are two Oscar-nominated performances getting a limited release this week.

"The Mechanic"
Jason Statham stars in this remake of the Charles Bronson classic about a hitman who takes a young upstart, played by Ben Foster, under his wing.

"The Rite"
Based on a true story (aren't they all?) about a young seminary student sent to the Vatican to attend exorcism school, where he meets a strange old priest played by Anthony Hopkins.

"Biutiful"
Javier Bardem stars is this powerful film from Alejandro González Iñárritu, about Uxbal, a hustler who who deals on the fringes of Barcelona's black market. When he is diagnosed with cancer and finds himself in a mad scramble to get his affairs in order tso that his two kids will be cared for when he's gone.

"127 Hours"
James Franco stars in the true story of the guy who ultimately cuts off his own arm to escape the boulder that has him pinned deep in a canyon in the Utah desert. Nominated for Best Picture, Best aActor and four other Academy Awards.

"From Prada to Nada"
It's a modern Latina take on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," in which two young women learn only after their father's death that they are in fact poor, and are forced to move in with their blue collar aunt.

"Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster"
Kung fu grandmaster Ip Man moves his family to Hong King, where he hopes to open a school where he can teach his special brand of Wing Chun martial arts. But first he must prove his mettle in a series of battles with local masters.

"Kaboom"
Director Greg Araki's latest is a comic sci-fi saga about a bisexual film student who starts dreaming about a pair of beautiful women, which is fine until he starts seeing them in real life.

Is Will Ferrell Replacing Steve Carell as Office Boss?

Funnyman Will Ferrell is set to bring his unique brand of humor to "The Office" while guest-starring as a branch manager from the home office who proves to be just as inappropriate as Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott (Steve Carell).

An announcement Wednesday by NBC Universal did not specify how many episodes would feature Ferrell, who will be teaming up again with his co-star Carell from 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.'

"We found Steve Carell when he was nothing but a movie star and we turned him into a television star," said "The Office" executive producer Paul Lieberstein. "We are proud to continue 'The Office's' tradition of discovering famous talent, and we hope that once America gets a good look at Will, they'll see what we see: tremendous raw sexuality."

Carell has said he will not be returning to Emmy Award-winning series after this season.

NHL All Star Game: Sidney Crosby Officially Announces He Will Not Participate

The NHL All-Star Game is almost here. Instead of who’s on the roster, one of the hottest topics has been who may or may not be on the roster. After weeks of speculation, it’s official. Sidney Crosby announced today that he will not be participating in this year’s NHL All-Star Game due to the lingering symptoms of his concussion.

The NHL was giving Crosby (along with other currently injured players Evgeni Malkin and Ales Hemsky) until Friday to announce whether or not they would be able to play. The league, as well as fans, were holding out hope that Crosby would be able to play. After all, prior to his injury, he’s been the most prolific player this year.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Crosby and the Penguins are putting the star’s health first, as they should. As Crosby said in his media scrum, “People say mild concussion, but I’m not sure there’s such a thing. It’s a serious thing.” Since Crosby is still recovering, and has yet to be even cleared to resume skating, he and the Penguins decided to go ahead and announce he wouldn’t be competing, instead of leaving it to the last minute.

What does the face of the league’s absence mean for the All-Star Game? Unfortunately, Crosby hasn’t played in an All-Star Game since 2007 due to injury. Most recently, he missed the 2009 game in Montreal due to a knee injury. However, since the league was (and is) still fighting for attention, Crosby did them a favor and still attended the festivities.

Crosby won’t be travelling to Raleigh though this year. Luckily for the league, they announced a new format for the All-Star Game as their gimmick this year. Hopefully, the new format will build excitement and cause viewers to still tune in to the All-Star Game.

Honestly, I don't think it makes a difference whether Crosby attends or doesn't attend the All-Star Game. If he had missed the Winter Classic, the playoffs, or the Olympics with a concussion, then it would be a big deal.

Sure, the game is still a competition, but it's played for fun and to showcase the league's top talents. Crosby is one of those top talents, but with all the other top names, his presence won't have a huge impact.

But the All-Star Game is really for those flashy personalities to show off in the skills competition. Crosby has never been one of those flashy personalities, a fact that he's been criticized for in the past. It's also another way for the league to show off their top talent and attract new fans.

Crosby's presence will be missed for that, but it's more important for him to focus on his health. That makes him an even bigger role model for young hockey players, showing them that they need to be wary of their health. This reflects even better on the league, having smart players like Crosby will portray a better image for the face of the NHL.

Will Johnny Depp Agree to a Role in Jonah Hill's New '21 Jump Street' Remake?

'Get Him the Greek' star Jonah Hill wants Johnny Depp to get back to his roots.

Depp rocketed to fame in the late-'80s on '21 Jump Street,' one of the original series to air on Fox during the years when the network was just starting out. Now that Hill has written a new take on the hit show about cops working undercover in a high school, he's been issuing a 'Depp Wanted' casting call to bring the A-list star on board.

Not that Depp, 47, will recognize much about the new film version -- according to 27-year-old Hill, "It's an entirely new imagination of what '21 Jump Street' is." He added, when describing his script to MTV News recently, "We're not doing a spoof whatsoever."

When asked for an update at Friday's Critics' Choice Awards, Hill confirmed that filming will begin April 11 in the Big Easy. "I'm excited. I've never been to New Orleans before." But has Depp's participation been locked up?

Hill said late last year, "Hopefully, he does it...It would be awesome if he did," and in a separate interview, Depp soon followed up by saying, "It could be very funny...I'm in, I'm in."

But on Friday, Hill wasn't saying whether Depp's enthusiasm about a cameo had actually led to a deal.

Channing Tatum is confirmed to co-star, yet Hill was coy about naming any other names: "It was really important to get the main two characters together, and then now we gotta fill out the rest of the cast," he told MTV.

Back in 2009, Hill took a crack at describing his remake, expected to be a rated-R comedy, saying, "What happens is, they get caught up in the high school-ness as opposed to the police work....And whenever they get too caught up in the high school drama, police work comes in. And whenever they get too caught up in the police work, high school drama comes in."

The Beaver' to Premiere at South by Southwest; Will Mel Gibson Show?

Mel Gibson and his beaver are headed to Texas.

No, that's not slang for something dirty. Academy Award winner Gibson and his feature film 'The Beaver' will be premiering at the Austin, Texas international film festival 'South by Southwest.' AP reports that 'The Beaver' will one of five films premiering there this March.

Jodie Foster directed and co-stars in the quirky movie, which features Gibson's character developing an unusual relationship with a beaver puppet he created to help separate the whirlwind stresses of his life.

This July, Gibson was dropped by his talent agency in light of domestic violence allegations. The actor has maintained a low profile since the incident, which was one of many since 1991 that have all but mauled his public image. An appearance at 'The Beaver's' premiere would be a big step for Gibson, although his current publicist is unsure whether the actor will be in attendance. Check out the trailer for 'The Beaver' after the jump.

'American Idol': Will all the new changes fill the void left by Simon Cowell?

When “American Idol” returns for its 10th season on Fox Jan. 19, it will have two fresh (and very famous) faces at the judges’ table. And it will also feature, the network promises, a renewed focus on the warbling would-be stars who are supposed to be the singing smash’s reason for existence in the first place.

Ah, but something will be missing. Oh, right — the sassy guy with the flattop and tight T-shirts.

The big suspense surrounding the new “Idol” isn’t whether Steven Tyler will be introduced as Liv Tyler’s father or Jennifer Lopez will salvage her fading career. The Aerosmith frontman and Bronx-born J-Lo were picked as new judges amid a seemingly endless carnival of speculation last summer. Instead, the real story centers on whether the show will survive the departure of Simon Cowell, the caustic lead judge who rode his merciless putdowns of auditioners to high-powered stardom.

The stakes are incredibly high for Fox. “Idol” is the No. 1 series on television and has propelled Fox to repeated victories in the crucial demographic of adults ages 18 to 49, according to the Nielsen Co. The singing contest has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Fox and made it nearly impossible for ABC and NBC to compete in midweek during the winter and spring months.

CBS, the most-watched network, has fared much better but has nevertheless been held to a counterprogramming strategy, batting back the “Idol” threat with franchise crime series such as “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS,” which skew heavily toward older viewers. And at a time when broadcasting was supposed to be slumping off into irrelevance, “Idol” proved that 30 million viewers will still crowd around a network show, provided it’s the right network show.

At least for the record, Fox executives insist there’s little cause for concern. “Idol” — produced by Fremantle Media and 19 Entertainment — just needs a few tweaks and, in any event, a somewhat less big “Idol” is still huge.

“For any show in its 10th season to be holding up as well as ‘Idol’ is a testament to the show,” said Preston Beckman, Fox’s research and scheduling guru. “It’s been about 60 percent higher than the next highest-rated show, so worst-case scenario, it’ll still be the biggest show on television.”

“Idol” indeed has a long way to fall before it could be considered in trouble. It has been the No. 1 program for a record six straight years — longer than any show, scripted or otherwise, including “All in the Family,” “The Cosby Show” and “I Love Lucy.”

This season, the network is hoping “Idol” can push it to the top of the heap on Thursdays, a night where Fox has historically been weak. Executives made the decision to move the results show there (after following a Tuesday-Wednesday schedule in years past) after CBS pulled “Survivor” off the night.

“We could go into next season as the No. 1 network on Thursday night,” Beckman said.

But there is a sense that Fox is on the defensive, that the network must stop more air from escaping the “Idol” balloon. Last May’s finale drew 24.2 million total viewers — still an enormous figure, but “Idol’s” worst season closer since its first back in 2002. Critics griped about the perceived blandness of the contestants, including runner-up Crystal Bowersox and the self-effacing winner Lee DeWyze.

Even the show’s once formidable infrastructure seemed out of whack. Ellen DeGeneres, who was hired to replace Paula Abdul on the judge’s table, proved an awkward fit. Trying to accommodate reactions from a quartet of judges — actually the same number as on “Pop Idol,” the show’s British predecessor — threw off the pacing and often made the program run long. Cowell exited after last season to prepare his own talent contest, “The X Factor,” for a Fox run later this year.

“In the past couple years, it was like so much oxygen seemed to be consumed by everything going on the judges’ panel that the poor kids hardly had a chance to introduce themselves,” said Richard Rushfield, author of the forthcoming book “‘American Idol’: The Untold Story.”

Perhaps as a result, the last few crops of “Idol” singers haven’t broken through to mainstream success the way earlier performers did, such as Season 1’s Kelly Clarkson, Season 4’s Carrie Underwood and Season 5’s Chris Daughtry (who did not win or make the finals of the contest).

“The biggest thing that ‘Idol’ needs to do this year,” Rushfield said, “is produce a major recording star. They haven’t done that in a lot of years, and it’s sort of the premise of the show.”

Thus, what those close to the show promise will be a return to roots. Nigel Lythgoe, the producer and “So You Think You Can Dance” judge who left “Idol” in 2008 after reportedly tangling with Cowell, has come back to oversee the show.

Meanwhile, the producers are hoping to beef up “Idol’s” musical credibility with the addition of Jimmy Iovine, a leading record producer and music-label executive who will serve as a permanent mentor to the contestants.

“He’s going to fill some of that Simon void, of being the industry veteran who’s not going to pull any punches,” Fox’s Beckman said. “Even though he’s not going to be a judge, he’s going to have an impact throughout the season on the kids.”

The very fact that Fox is talking about a “Simon void” suggests how much “Idol” must prove this season. Whether Tyler, J-Lo & Co. are up to the task remains to be seen. Early promos have given little indication what type of style the new judges will bring (Randy Jackson is the only one of the original three judges to remain).

“He was the master of brutal honesty, but he really knew the business,” industry analyst Shari Anne Brill said of Cowell. “If the replacements and the new formatting of the show (don’t) get people from the beginning, it’s going to hurt.”

But a few weeks can make a huge difference in the life of a TV show. When “Idol” premiered during the summer of 2002, few viewers or media outlets paid it much attention at first. And practically no one had ever heard of Simon Cowell.