QuickShots | Grauman’s Chinese, Wolfe, Gravitas, MJ, Hughes Doc, Porn Woes & “Blair Witch”

Michael Jackson will be hitting the big screen on one of the toughest dates of the year at the box office. Sony Pictures today confirmed the long-reported deal that it is joining with Sony Music Entertainment to release a movie featuring behind-the-scenes and rehearsal footage from preparation for the late singer’s “This Is It” concert series in London. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Ann Arbor Film Festival Launches Michigan Edition of Tour

The Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) is presenting free public screenings in a variety of Michigan communities in August and September, through a MCACA funded edition of its annual traveling tour of short films. Titles include Michael Langan’s “Dahlia,” Peter Rose’s “Studies in Transfalumination,” “Utopia, Part 3: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall,” “Cattle Call” by Mike Maryniuk & Matthew Rankin, Takeshi Kushida’s “Reincarnation,” Georges Schwizgebel’s “Retouches” and “A City to Yourself” by Nicole Macdonald. For more information, visit the festival’s website.

Tough times in the porn industry

The adult entertainment business, centered in the San Fernando Valley, has weathered several recessions since it took off with the advent of home video in the 1980s. But this time the industry is not dealing with just a weakened economy. A growing abundance of free content on the Internet is undercutting consumers’ willingness to pay for porn, and with it the ability of many workers to earn a living in the business. Ben Fritz reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Completely Cool at the “Inglourious Basterds” Premiere

No one seemed to worry much about the graphic violence as the movie unspooled at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, especially not Brad’s German-born co-star Diane Kruger, who wore a minidress made with black glass fringe and a daringly low-cut open back. Jenny Peters reports for Fashion Wire Daily.

“Sideways” director to lead humorous family drama

US Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne will direct his fifth feature, an adaptation of the family drama novel “The Descendants,” AFP reports.

The legend of the Witch lives on

Now, ten years on from the original, writers/directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick - whose subsequent careers haven’t quite matched the early zenith of Blair Witch - are working on another sequel. BBC reports.