Penthouse 10

Sydney Pollack Passing

Acclaimed Director/Producer/Actor, Sydney Pollack, died yesterday of cancer.  Known for films such as "Tootsie" ('82), "Out of Africa" ('85), "The Firm" ('93), and most recently 'The Interpreter" ('05), Pollack had the respect of many famous actors; 12 of whom he had directed to Oscar nominated performances  (including Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Paul Newman and Jane Fonda).  He will be sorely missed by Hollywood. 

May 27: TV Series Releases

The following TV Series' are out on DVD today!

* Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Everything

* He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - Volume 2

* The Invaders - Season 1

* The Jackie Gleason Show - The Color Honeymooners: Collection 3

* Lipstick Jungle - Season 1

* Wing Chun - Complete Season

Pitch Advice

On the weekend, the LA Times posted an interesting article about "how to pitch".  For all those budding writers and producers, click here to visit the article, written by Turner Entertainment's Michael Wright.

Here's a brief summary:

First rule of successful pitching: knowledge of the buyer.

Second rule: brevity and clarity.

Third rule: "must be able to back up" your pitch.

Nevertheless, remember that rules are meant to be broken - and anything can happen in Hollywood.

Simon's First Kiss!

Love him or hate him, Simon Cowell has made a living with his brutely honest critiques.  However, last night on Idol, it was his lips that were generating the buzz.  During the show's Q&A session, a caller identified herself as Simon's "First Kiss".  People reports that the caller in question is Tara McDonald-Smith, who is a single mother of three teenage boys.  She reportedly kissed Simon when he was 9 years old when both were living in Hertfordshire, England.  Simon seemed pleasantly surprised, and was the butt of jokes on this morning's "On Air with Ryan Seacrest."  Will Simon meet up with his first kiss? Has this reveal softened the public's perception of Simon?  Maybe for the former, but probably not for the latter :)