Former MPAA Chief Jack Valenti Dies

Depending on your point of view, Jack Valenti was either the man who restored a sense of decency to the motion picture industry, or the guy who forced censorship onto thousands of movie maker's creations.

President of the Motion Picture Association of America from 1966 to 2004, Jack Valenti died yesterday at the age of 85, due to complications from a recent stroke. A former aide in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson, Valenti was part of the motorcade when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

After serving for President Johnson, Valenti joined the MPAA and was instrumental in the creation of the current ratings system for theatrically released movies. He was also a huge avocate of copyright enforcement, beginning with the creation of the VCR in the early 1980s, which Valenti saw as a license to illegally bootleg movies. He spoke just as strongly against recent Internet and DVD technologies when those came to fruition.

FOX Crashes Drive

After airing only three episodes, FOX has decided to put the breaks on Drive, their heavily-hyped cross-country race show that has gotten dismal ratings so far.

Drive has only averaged a 2.3 rating (about 5 million homes) since it premiered on April 15th, and this past Monday's episode scored a terrible 1.5, and even resulted in the hit show 24 (which aired after Drive) to score its lowest ratings ever.

Drive is the second FOX failure for star Nathan Fillion. He was also the lead in Firefly, which got pulled from FOX after only 13 episodes.

Hugh Spills The Beans

And you thought getting caught with a transsexual was embarrassing...

Hugh Grant’s latest public scandal has him hurling baked beans at a freelance photographer who was trying to snap a few pictures of the actor.

But that’s not all, Grant reportedly also kicked the photographer several times and kneed him in the groin. Profanity was also allegedly used by Grant who, after asking the photographer if he had any children, reportedly stated “I hope they f***ing die of cancer.”

The incident was serious enough to have Grant arrested by police for suspicion of assault. Grant was released on bail, but is expected to return to face possible charges sometime in May.

Grant has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

3 Is The Magic Number...

Everything old is new again as the summer movie officially begins on May 4th, with the highly-anticipated release of Spider-Man 3.

But Spidey isn't the only familiar franchise returning this summer. Movie-goers will also get to see the third chapters of Shrek, Pirates Of The Caribbean, and Rush Hour, as well as Ocean's Thirteen (the third chapter in the series that began with Ocean's Eleven).

Other sequels are on their way as well...including 28 Weeks Later; Hostel 2; Fantastic Four 2; Evan Almighty; Live Free Or Die Hard; and Harry Potter & The Order Of The Phoenix.

So if your theater experience seems vaguely familar this summer, you know know why.

Christmas Story Director & Son Killed

Bob Clark, director of A Christmas Story and the first two Porky's movies was killed on Wednesday when a drunk driver hit him in a head-on collision. Clark's 22-year-old son was also killed in the crash, which happened in Pacific Palisades, California at around 2:30 AM Pacific Time.

The driver of the vehicle that hit Clark, along with his female passenger sustained minor injuries. He is being charged with driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter.

Bob Clark was 67-years-old.