Christmas Weekend Box Office: 'War Horse' Strong, 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' Stronger

It turns out things at the domestic box office weren't as disappointing as they initially seemed on Christmas morning. Weekend winner 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' grabbed $46.2 million over the four-day holiday, an estimate that is nearly $20 million larger than the $26.5 million that was reported for the three-day frame. The fourth installment of the Tom Cruise franchise might wind up being the most lucrative yet -- proof that perhaps audiences have forgotten/forgiven Cruise for all that couch-jumping hysteria that clouded the box office of 'Mission: Impossible III.' Elsewhere, 'War Horse' opened on Christmas Day to strong receipts. The Steven Spielberg-directed Oscar contender pulled in an estimated $15 million between Christmas and Dec. 26 thanks to an older crowd, 31 percent of whom were over 50. Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin' didn't fare as well; the motion-capture adventure earned $16.1 million over the four-day weekend, with ticket sales only reaching $24.1 million since release on Dec. 21 -- or just $4 million more than weekend two of 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' grabbed over Christmas. As for the other new releases: 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' earned just over $19 million during the four-day holiday, while 'We Bought a Zoo' grabbed just over $15 million. Both are being looked at as disappointments, but with a long holiday week and no new releases next weekend -- plus excellent word-of-mouth -- both films could have long legs. That won't be the case of the unscreened-for-critics 'Darkest Hour'; the alien invasion film was D.O.A on Christmas Day, earning just $5.5 million. EARLER: 'Mission: Impossible' Takes Christmas Crown [via LAT/Company Town] [Photo: DreamWorks] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

New Salmon Fishing Trailer Arrives

Ewan McGregor heads up the YemenPaul Torday's novel was published back in 2006, but it's been caught and reeled in by Lasse Hallstrom and Ewan McGregor, and now a new Salmon Fishing In The Yemen trailer has just gone live at Yahoo.If you've not read the book, you'll need to know that this is the story of a Yemeni sheik (Amr Waked) who has the visionary plan to introduce - you guessed it - salmon fishing in the Yemen. Ewan McGregor is Fred Jones, a lowly fisheries scientist in the British government, who thinks the scheme is ludicrous, but has it forced upon him by the Prime Minister's super-keen press secretary Bridget Maxwell (Kristin Scott-Thomas).On one level it's a satire of spin-centric, media-savvy politics, and on another it's a thoughtful measuring of different belief systems. The emphasis of this trailer, however, seems very much to be on the burgeoning lurrve between McGregor's dull bureaucrat and Emily Blunt's Harriet Chetwode-Talbot, who's acting as the sheikh's consultant on the project. The novel's written in epistolary form - as a collection of emails and diary entries and documents - but there's no sign of any attempt to replicate that here. Which is probably just as well, since it would probably involve voice-over, and voice-over is almost always rubbish.Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is produced by Paul Webster (The Motorcycle Diaries, Atonement) with a screenplay by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire). It was filmed in Scotland and Morocco, and it's out in the UK on March 9.

Mexico's Canana pacts with Netflix

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican indie Canana has inked its first deal with Netflix to use cases of its effective original series "Soy tu fan" (I'm Your Fan), presently on its second season on pubcaster Once TV Mexico. The romantic comedy, starring Ana Claudia Talancon ("The Crime of Father Amaro"), is Canana's initial work with the smallscreen, scoring an average 5 point rating with 7.5 points participate the second season that started in October. Episodes within the first season will probably be designed for both Netflix Latin America and Netflix inside the U.S. and Canada, the first time U.S. audiences may have this program. Canana has produced a standing becoming an innovator in distribution, becoming the first to provide VOD around the major cabler in Mexico, and delivering this year's "Revolucion" omnibus project in theaters, on DVD and free-to-air at the same time. Canana, founded by producer Pablo Crus with thesps Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, features its own religious-designed "Nino santo" TV project inside the pipeline, additionally to 2 other projects under systems. By running on Once TV, "Soy tu fan" directly competes in the TV duopoly of Televisa and tv Azteca, which remedies for 90% of Mexico's business. In the statement, Cruz recognized the Netflix deal, saying it absolutely was meeting the desires "in the consumer, not the programmer." It comes down lower each week after Netflix clients in Mexico and Latin America received ease of access service via Apple TV and iPad/apple apple iphone. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Kasdan's 'Companion' to open Santa Barbara fest

'Darling Companion'Lawrence Kasdan's "Darling Companion" will open the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 26 at the Arlington Theater. Sony Pictures Classics release stars Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Elizabeth Moss and Mark Duplass. "We are privileged to have the world premier of a Lawrence Kasdan film. Marking his return to directing after eight years, Darling Companion is a great choice to kick off the festival," said the fest's exec director Roger Durling. Fest, which runs through Feb. 5, will also feature a Lawrence Kasdan retrospective including "Body Heat" "The Big Chill" and "Grand Canyon" and a Q&A with the filmmaker. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Ryan Murphy Talks Golden Globes: 'American Horror Story' Nomination 'Feels Particularly Sweet'

Peter Iovino/The Weinstein Co. When the Hollywood Foreign Press introduced nominees for your 69th annual Golden Globes on Thursday, 12 ,. 15, The Artist introduced film groups with six nominations, including best film, comedy or musical.our editor recommends'The Artist' Tops Golden Globe Nominations Golden Globe Honours Nominations: The Whole ListGolden Globe Honours Nominations: The Nominees' ReactionsSAG Honours Nominations: The Whole List The black and white-colored, quiet film directed by Michel Hazanavicius and starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, has proven itself a effective honours race contender with three nominations for your SAG Honours introduced on Tuesday. The film only agreed to be beat in SAG Honours nods with the Help, which clicked up four. For that Golden Globes noms, the two films switched positions, while using Artist leading with six, then your Assistance as well as the Descendants with five. PHOTOS: Golden Globe Honours: The Nominees Director Michel Hazanavicius, who lives in Paris, is at a café when he learned The Artist acquired most likely probably the most Globes nominations connected having a film "Among my producers, who was simply watching the nominations being introduced on television, referred to as and mentioned that individuals had four nominations. Then he referred to as me back and mentioned it absolutely was really six. Everybody am excited, including me clearly,Inch Hazanavicius told THR. Berenice Bejo, Haanavicus' wife, showed up a nomination inside the best supporting actress category on her behalf role inside the Artist (she's presently in La). STORY: 'The Artist' Tops Golden Globe Nominations "She was with me at night immediately from the, known as the very first who needed me seriously," he recalls. "I appear just like a have a very large, stupid smile in my face. I selected to create this movie from desire, and never expected this type of response. Everyone loves the film, which i suppose there's something relating to this for people within the united states . States, as it is relating to your movie history." Hazanavicius mentioned it absolutely was thrilling to produce a quiet film. "It's a wonderful format. It's challenging just like a director, and very works diversely round the audience. It enables you utilize fantasy. And black and white-colored might be the actor's nearest friend, because it gives you some mystery," mentioned Hazanavicius. COMPLETE LIST: 2012 SAG Honours TV and Film Nominees Jean Dujardin, who clicked up a jerk for top actor in the drama for his role as quiet celebrity George Valentin, told THR that producing a basic film will be a "liberating, instinctive experience. Your body does the task.In . "I used to be proud and thrilled. It's this type of recognition being nominated alongside such great stars. I appear just like a spoiled child," Dujardin mentioned. He added the Artist, the Weinstein Co. is disseminating inside the U.S., can be a "love letter to Hollywood. It's a visual, emotional experience." Berenice Bejo released a disagreement regarding her best supporting actress, film jerk. "A Golden Globe nomination is unbelievable! I am so happy, and am very grateful for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, also to audiences across America, for support in the Artist," she mentioned. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Your building of 'The Artist' Golden Globes The Artist Golden Globes 2012

USA Network upfront breaks b'cast obstacles

USA will tout numerous new original programming, including drama Common Law, at its upfront event skedded for May 17. USAs Chris McCumber, left, and Rob Wachtel, second from right, join Virginia Williams, NBCs Bonnie Hammer and Sarah Shahi at its upfront this year. It expects to keep next years event throughout bcasters upfront week.USA Network expects to crash the broadcast nets' upfront party next spring. USA mentioned Monday it'll host an upfront presentation round the evening of May 17 at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln subsequently subsequently Center to tout its hot prospects, including dramedy "Common Law" and numerous new projects in development. USA's move aims to bolster to Madison Avenue the NBCUniversal cabler's growing heft with original programming and underline USA's push for parity in advertising rates while using Large Four broadcast nets. To get right into a couple of days when NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and CW hold their upfront fetes in marathon Monday-Thursday fashion, USA is carrying out a lead of Turner, which was the initial cabler to produce a large stand throughout broadcasters' upfront week in 2008. USA Network, which has ranked No. 1 among fundamental cablers in the last few years, has typically held its upfront event a few days just before the broadcast nets, which typically sked their occasions for your third week of May, just right before the conclusion in the TV season. USA's event this year happened May 2 at Lincoln subsequently subsequently Center. Next season, USA's event will cap typically the most popular week of year for media customers and tv journos. "This really is really the best factor for your growth and development of the funnel," USA co-leader Chris McCumber told Variety. "After speaking with ad customers and coordinators, we made a decision to select a larger presentation." Added co-leader Rob Wachtel: "It feels as if the optimum time for people. We'll be capable of achieve increasing numbers of people than before, and that we are searching toward being the grand finale." While many of the ad community relies in Gotham, USA may also be depending on receiving additional PR from out-of-town journalists, who certainly have been in Manhattan that week. That will give USA additional exposure around the customer and business side, reaching more potential viewer eyeballs than previously. As the web may possibly not have the identity of fellow NBCUniversal internet NBC among clients, USA is a lot more from the profit center for your Peacock which is top shows might be competitive with broadcast nets. Understanding that, Wachtel and McCumber plan to push for CPM gains throughout next year's upfront advertising selling craze. The strong scatter market in recent several days remains ideal for USA Network, as well as the internet hopes to help keep its momentum getting a larger-profile upfront event. "This could clearly not only boost the picture of who we are and that which you do, but additionally helps the overall costs,Inch mentioned McCumber. Furthermore to providing the stats on its slate of current hits -- "Suits," "Necessary Roughness," "Royal Pains" and "White-colored Collar," incorporated within this -- USA will tubthumping its approaching skeins to potential entrepreneurs. Cabler is towards the top of dramedy series "Common Law," about some cops who enter into therapy to assist them maintain their professional partnership. Skein was skedded to bow Jan. 26, but professionals made a decision it may be appropriate with a summer season bow. Also coming is Nathan Lane comedy "Local Talent," as USA looks to produce a major push with laffers and reality shows in 2012. And also on the syndie front, cabler acquired "Modern Family" and may be easily notifying the ad community that primetime's finest-rated comedy will cable. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Constraint Order Granted Against Terrence Howard

First Launched: December 6, 2011 11:37 PM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Terrence Howard attends a screening of Precious in New you are able to city, November. 5, 2009Terrence Howard was bought Tuesday to stay 100 yards (90 meters) from his estranged wife after she mentioned the Oscar-nominated actor frequently threatened striking her in their marriage. The star declines the accusations. Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon granted the stay-away order looked for by Michelle Howard after she filed a extended declaration alleging abuse began in the week in the couples The month of the month of january 2010 marriage. Michelle Howard declared divorce yearly later. The constraint order remains basically until a Jan. 17 court. In the text the other day, she claims Howard, 42, has frequently hit her and threatened her. She pointed out in the sworn declaration they is at constant concern with Howard and contains chronic health issues triggered with the stars treatment. Howard within the own sworn declaration written he has not threatened his wife which she's frequently vowed to ruin his status and release private particulars. Home is constant concern with Michelles endeavors to ruin my status even delivering this declaration might lead to my being uncovered with a paparazzi blitz which would not be ideal for my career, Howard written. Michelle Howard written that Howardhas hit her several occasions and threatened to throw her in the hotel balcony in Nigeria a year ago. She incorporated a text she mentioned he shipped to her on Thursday through which he begged her not to pursue the divorce and threaten his career, ending the missive, I cant promise the way in which i'll respond. Howard written within the filing he immediately supported this content with another text stating he wasnt threatening her. Despite my efforts to eliminate myself physically from (Howards) existence, his periodic mood changes from anger, risks and violence to claims of love and demands for reconciliation continue and haven't gone away, she written. Howard came out inside the first Iron Guy film and received an Oscar nomination in 2005 for his role in Hustle and Flow. His attorney Christian Markey III did not immediately return an e-mail message seeking comment. Copyright 2011 with the Connected Press. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

9 Milestones in the Evolution of Gerard Butler

This weekend, Gerard Butler revisits the very Shakespeare play that launched his acting career: Coriolanus. This time around, Butler plays Tullus Aufidius, the rival of the title character in Ralph Fiennes’s big screen adaptation. So just how did a Scottish actor who started with Shakespeare boomerang back to the very same play a decade later after achieving Hollywood stardom? You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor’s current success. As such, let’s look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of Gerard Butler. Mrs. Brown (1997) Shortly after finishing college, a 23-year-old Butler moved to Los Angeles for a short period during which he found work as an extra in 1992’s The Bodyguard. Ultimately, after a detour in law school, Butler moved to London to launch his acting career with performances in stage adaptations of Coriolanus and Trainspotting before making his big-screen debut in the British drama Mrs. Brown opposite Billy Connolly and Judi Dench. As folklore goes (on the film’s IMDB trivia page), Butler suffered hypothermia after running naked into the freezing ocean for one scene. Dracula 2000 (2000) After a don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it role in Tomorrow Never Dies (as Leading Seaman of the HMS Devonshire) and his first horror project (Tale of the Mummy), Butler scored his first leading man role as Count Dracula in the campy, Wes Craven-produced cult classic Dracula 2000. Although the film was not received well by critics (who maybe just didn’t get the humor of a permed Count Dracula or vampires being beheaded with garden shears — both are acquired tastes), it proved that Butler could support a just-profitable film that spawned two direct-to-video sequels. Take that, Tom Cruise! Lara Croft Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) Following a starring role in the well-watched (but ultimately forgettable) television miniseries Attila, Butler scored his first blockbuster love interest opportunity opposite Angelina Jolie in the Lara Craft Tomb Raider sequel The Cradle of Life. Here, Butler proved himself capable of the kinds of action stunts that would help him in his breakthrough box office project four years later. Although critics could not claim that the film was anything more than entertaining, Cradle of Life was a serviceable final Lara Croft film chapter for fans. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) After starring in Richard Donner’s sci-fi film Timeline, Butler was summoned by Joel Schumacher to audition for the role of the Phantom in his adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical. (Schumacher had been impressed by the Scot’s performance in Dracula 2000, just like you undoubtedly were after seeing the above clip.) After only four voice lessons, Butler sang “The Music of the Night” for Lloyd Webber and secured the first musical role of his career. Critics gave the screen adaptation mixed reviews and saved their praise for Butler’s co-star Emmy Rossum. The film ultimately went on to earn over $150 million worldwide at the box office.

Bryan Singer Will See The Munsters

He'll produce and direct the pilotThough he's usually found pointing movies, Bryan Singer does every so often flirt with TV: he crafted the pilot for House and also the title remains around the program becoming an executive producer, and he's been connected with a few other, less efficient shows. Now he's been tempted back by Bryan Fuller's planned reboot in the Munsters.Bigger, who last produced Pushing Daisies, remains attached to the work for a while, cooking up what's being known to as "a visually spectacular one-hour drama" rather than the original's sitcom format. The plot will most likely still focus on Frankenstein's monster-alike Herman, vampiric wife Lily in addition to their family simply because they make their strategies by the earth.We're fans of both Bryans, but was the earth really, truly screaming for just about any new undertake nowhere-collar reaction to the Addams Family? The sixties show certainly had its following, controlling a great run of 70 episodes, and contains been reworked several occasions inside the years since, but it has a hefty volume of re-pedaling making it use current day TV audiences. Still, you may have mentioned that about Battlestar Galactica which worked out. Side note: the completely new Munsters can be a awesome project and you'll be round the NBC network across water-feature. Bigger already needed one shot within the project and contains required to redevelop it for your new executive team. Due to the channel's the past of beginning and losing new shows, we offer one season typically, despite Singer aboard.The director's next film, Jack The Big Killer, will probably be on June 15, 2012.

Ron Haskins to stay with CW

HaskinsIt needed a while, but CW boss Mark Pedowitz is becoming his wish and convinced Ron Haskins to stay online becasue it is mind of promoting. The professional may even undertake new digital content responsibilities.Haskins had introduced his plan to step lower last spring, after Pedowitz needed the reins of CW from entertainment prexy Beginning Ostroff. In those days he mentioned he was trying to find new challenges after becoming CW's tubthumper-in-chief since the network was produced in 2006 using the merger in the WB and UPN.Calculates, Haskins learned that challenge at CW. As professional veep of promoting and digital programs, Haskins features a new mandate to supervise creating numerous digital content for your internet -- both material according to its existing Tv shows and wholly original fare."Ron Haskins is hands lower one of the better marketing professionals inside our industry," Pedowitz mentioned. "Ron may also be our foremost authority inside the digital space, helping us extend the CW's presence across different digital platforms, so that it only is smart he oversee our foray into creating and creating original CW content for online, mobile and social media.InchHaskins mentioned he's searching at both longform and shortform content. He sees wide-different options to supply digital entertainment for the over 3 million clients going to CW's website which is 41 million Facebook fans. It's a prime platform for drawing advertising support and stretching the overall achieve in the network's brand."These will probably be programs that have a very digital twist on their behalf, even if they match in what we're already doing with dramas and unscripted programming," Haskins told Variety. "There are many fun, really exciting technology available that people want to see from it. It'll be interesting to be capable of mix technology with great storytelling. One factor we now have learned the best way to succeed within the CW ecosystem is the best way to move people from on-air to online to social media and also to on-air. This new programming will simply enhance which have.InchHaskins works together with CW creative chief Thom Sherman together with other development professionals round the digital content. He expects to cast a sizable internet for up-and-coming creative talents to area material for your digital initiatives. He needs to begin round the first projects within the month of the month of january.Haskins grew to become part of CW in 2006 as professional veep of promoting and brand strategy. He'd formerly labored with Ostroff in their particular tenures at Lifetime, where Haskins will be a top marketing professional for seven years. Before that, he offered stints in marketing for Disney and Procter & Gamble. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

Peter Weir to head Dubai jury

WeirLONDON -- Helmer-scribe Peter Weir will head the jury for the Muhr Arab Features competition at this year's Dubai fest. His fellow jury members include thesp Amr Waked, German filmmaker Emily Atef, Lebanese filmmaker Ghassan Salhab and Moroccan film critic Hamid Aidouni. Fest is home to three competitions: Muhr Arab, Muhr Asia Africa and Muhr Emirati, which will single out the best shorts, docus and feature pics from each domain. Juries will evaluate more than 90 entries, shortlisted from more than 1,000 submissions, to receive 36 awards across all categories for $600,000 of prize money. Additionally, the fest has announced its line up for its Arabian Nights section, which represents pics about the Arab world by Arab and international filmmakers. The section will screen five world preems, two international preems and 13 Middle Eastern preems including Wissam Charaf's "It's All in Lebanon," Christina Foerch Saab's "Che Guevara Died in Lebanon," "Nice to Meet You," from Rodrigue Sleiman and Tarek El Bacha and Aurel and Florence Corre's "October 1961." The eighth edition of DIFF is held from Dec. 7-14. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Forex Passes On Pilot Outlaw Country, Will Retool Forces

Forex has transpired on its Nashville-set drama pilot Outlaw Country and keep its other pilot, Forces, alive. Forces, in line with the comic of the identical title, will undergo retooling and reshoots. The conclusion on Outlaw Country uses it too experienced fine-tuning and reshoots around the original pilot. The crime thriller/family drama set from the backdrop of Southern organized crime and Nashville royalty starred Luke Grimes, Haley Bennett, Mary Steenburgen and John Hawkes. It experienced a lengthy and arduous process: it had been initially purchased to pilot in April 2010, that was shot last fall after which subjected to reshoots earlier this April. In March, Forex leader John Landgraf established that he desired to launch a brand new drama series next winter, with Outlaw Country and Forces because the primary challengers. That won’t happen. In line with the graphic novel by John Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, Forces, compiled by Charles H. Eglee, directed by Michael Dinner and created by The new sony TV and Forex Prods., is really a police procedural occur a global where superpowers are relatively common. It focuses on two detectives, Christian Master (Jason Patric) and Deena Pilgrim (Punch), inside a Homicide department that deals with cases including forces (individuals with superpowers).

Why what is the news Corp. Scandal Will have a Silver Lining

This story initially came out inside the November. 25 problem in the Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsNews in the World's Top ScandalsPrinces William, Harry, Daniel Radcliffe Family Emerge as News Corp. Surveillance VictimsMurdochs Still Believe They Could Run News Corp. Despite Hacking Scandal (Report) When the phone-hacking scandal sent shock waves using the News Corp. world the 2009 summer season, some feared Rupert Murdoch's empire could implode. The daily mind lines are actually dangerous, plus a recent hearing where Work Megapixel Tom Watson told News Corp. deputy COO James Murdoch he "ought to be the initial Mafia boss ever who didn't know he was controlling a criminal enterprise." But no matter the stench of something rotten at its newspapers, there's no sign a News Corp. collapse is imminent. PHOTOS: News around the world's Top Ripoffs Really, a view is developing that, definately not triggering the demise and breakup in the global media conglomerate, the scandal could allow it to relaxation more effective than previously. Sure, the business now must grind through years of reputational damage and legal effects connected with official queries as well as the courts. Nevertheless the negative press also handed energy to people who wish News Corp. to modernize its governance and lower your family's control. STORY: Documents Show 'A Culture' of Illegal Phone-Hacking In News Reports around the world "The business has required to accept a more modern structure in the kind they haven't had with Rupert since the unquestioned decision-maker," states Claire Enders, mind located in london-based Enders Analysis. Nevertheless the overall effect for that organization remains definately not negative, she notes: "The irony is always that because of the crisis, the business is getting increasingly investor-friendly." David Becher, a business governance expert and fasten professor at Drexel College, points with a slew of personnel exits at News Corp. that have removed out many longtime Murdoch affiliate marketers. STORY: New Shocking Nuances of 'News around the world' Hacking Operation Revealed At Leveson Inquiry It has been paid out getting a stable stock cost together with a current investment by British hedge fund Children's Investment Fund, which bought $855 million cost of stock. States Becher, "Once the scandal forces News Corp. to think about changes towards the governance structure and offer greater transparency, this might be beneficial to traders." NEXT IN LINE: Who'll fill James' role if he decides (or possibly needs) to 'move on'? With speculation in regards to the junior Murdoch's future at News Corp.,attention has switched to a number of experienced experts who reportto him and run key companies around the globe. Should James depart,these three could a part of and increase their roles within the organization Tom Mockridge Boss of U.K. newspaper unit News Worldwide Mockridge can be a former Boss of Sky Italia who aided News Corp. navigate the fallout following a phone-hacking scandal broke. He replacedRebekah Brooks, what is the news around the world editor who resigned within this summer time. John Sullivan Boss of 49 percent-possessed German satcaster Sky Deutschland Sullivan was controlling director in the customer group at BSkyB. He was put accountable for the German operation this season. In than 13 years at BSkyB, Sullivan was part of the team that developed its strategy, like the launch from the HD service. Andrea Zappia Boss of Italian pay TV platform Sky Italia Zappia also was customer-group controlling director at BSkyB, controlling sales, marketing and customer relations. He needed his current role inside the summer season, altering Mockridgewhen he gone after oversee News Corp.'s U.K.newspaper methods. Related Subjects Rupert Murdoch News Corp. Phone Hacking Scandal

'The Voice's' Dia Frampton Releases Music Video for 'The Broken Ones' (Video)

There's existence together with work for people who lose possible talent competition. First season runner-up and Blake Shelton's team member, Dia Frampton, has released it for "The Broken Ones," from her approaching album, Red-colored-colored, likely to be on 12 ,. 6.our editor recommendsBlake Shelton Announces US Arena Tour, Premiere of 'Footloose' Video'The Voice' Highlights Blind Auditions in First Season 2 Trailer (Video)'The Voice' Going To Blind Auditions in Premiere Episode PHOTOS: The Hollywood Reporter Cover Tales "It's just a stylish song about loving the issues that people have," Dia states of "Broken Dreams." "I've done that lots of throughout my existence. If somebody has a thing that lots of people think is strange or possibly just a little off, that's something I'm attracted for the most." Aside from its warring boys, it also features numerous Frampton's brothers and sisters, including Meg Frampton, who Dia produced this rock band, Meg and Dia, within 2004. VIDEO: Behind the curtain within the Voice Season 2 Auditions "Once I heard the song, Dia's performance am amazing that immediately I merely got this vision for Where the Wild The Situation Is meets Our god in the Flies meets Peter's Pan's the lost boys," Director David McClister describes video's style. The folk pop singer may even open for Shelton on his "Well Lit and Elevated Tour 2012" starting in The month of the month of january. Uncover the shocking truth below. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro Related Subjects Blake Shelton The Voice

Dodgers Sue Fox Sports, Which Responds That It Will Ask Court To Dismiss Team From Bankruptcy

The Los Angeles Dodgerssued FoxSports on Wednesday, accusing the News Corp-owned network of attempting to”interfere with the sale of the Dodgers and their assets in bankruptcy.” The Dodgers’ goal is to sell the team and its valuable TV rights through separate court-sanctioned auctions to maximize returns. In a sharply worded court response filed Wednesday nightFox said it would ask that the Dodgers be dismissed from bankruptcy, according to the LA Times.Fox slammed Major League Baseball as “Prime Ticket’s former ally” and asserted the only reason Frank McCourt wants to auction the team’s TV rights now is to put “value rightfully belonging to Prime Ticket,in his own pocket” — referring to Fox Sports’ package of programming. The Dodgers’ suit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, whereFox already has a suit pending against the team for alleged breach of contract in the continuing squabble over TV rights. Responding to the latest development, the Dodgers called Fox “obviously desperate” to prevent an auction that would reveal the “enormous value” of those rights and “lead to a record-smashing sale price for the team and benefit not just the Dodgers but all of baseball.” The same court is overseeing the proposed sale of the team, but the sale agreement reached two weeks ago between Dodgers ownerFrank McCourtandMajor League Baseballhas yet to be filed.In an effort to get McCourt the highest sale price, the Dodgers have asked the court for permission to seek separate bids for the TV rights. The Dodgers’ current TV contract forbids the team from negotiating with anyone but Fox Sports Net Westthrough November 30, 2012 — a provision the team has asked the court to declare unenforceable under bankruptcy laws. The Dodgers suit also seeks damages from Fox Sports for its alleged violation of the automatic stay that shields companies in bankruptcy from their creditors.Fox responded earlier Wednesday to the team’s suit in a statement describing it as”the latest chapter in the current owner’s ongoing scheme to avoid honoring his contractual obligations.” In the team’s filing the Dodgers asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross to bar Fox from taking any act that otherwise interferes with any property rights of the LAD estate, including existing and future media rights in response to a letter Fox Sports sent to the investment bank handling the Dodgers sale demanding that it”cease and desist” from claiming it could solicit bids for the team’s TV rights regardless of the current Fox contract. The Dodgers asserted that theletter constitutes a deliberate attempt by Fox to interfere with the ability of LAD and its advisers, including Blackstone Advisory, to sell LADs assets.The team and media rights for the 2014 season and beyond are going up for sale under a settlement McCourt reached with Major League Baseball under which the league agreed to remain neutral in the fight between the Dodgers and Fox.The creditors committee has voiced concern that any delay in the bankruptcy auctions could jeopardize the sale by opening day next season. The dueling lawsuits further jeopardize that goal.

Warren Littlefield Gathers His Former NBC Team To Commiserate About Nets Plight

He presided over one of the strongest decades in the history of NBC. And over the past 11 years, since he left the peacock network in 2000, former NBC president-turned-producer Warren Littlefield has been keeping in touch with his programming team, hosting get-together dinners every couple of years. His next soiree is coming up next month, on the heels of what has been NBC’s worst fall ratings performance ever. “Come celebrate a time when NBC’s Thursday night was must-see and averaged more than a 1.9,” the invites reportedly read. NBC’s once formidable Thursday lineup that Littlefield and his team made into a powerhouse with the addition of Seinfeld, Friends and ER, has dipped below a 2 rating among adults 18-49 this fall. Last week, the network’s Thursday demo average was a 1.9, last night it slipped to a 1.8. besides a slew of primetime hits, Littlefield’s regime is known for assembling one of the strongest network programming teams ever. Many young executives and assistants under Littlefield, who often attend his biyearly gatherings, went on to run networks, production companies or departments. They include Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly, FX president John Landgraf, Showtime entertainment president David Nevins, former ABC president Steve McPherson, former ABC entertainment president-turned-producer Jamie Tarses, ABC Family EVP Kate Juergens, DreamWorks TV co-head Justin Falvey, Fox’s head of scheduling Preston Beckman, former NBC EVP/Katalyst president and current UMS-based producer Kerey Burke, Rat TV president and former NBC head of drama Chris Conti, former NBC TV Studios head of comedy and Working Title TV president Shelley McCrory and former OWN and Regency TV president Robin Schwartz

'The Descendants': Alexander Payne Goes Behind the curtain of George Clooney Pic

This story first made an appearance within the November. 18 problem from the Hollywood Reporter magazine. "It's difficult to shoot boat moments, it works out," states author-director Alexander Payne inside a resigned deadpan. "I didn't realize that before. Clooney understood it. He stated: 'You hate vehicle work? Boat jobs are vehicle focus on anabolic steroids.' " George Clooney, the star of Payne's new movie The Descendants, certainly understood what he was speaking about: Wolfgang Petersen practically drowned the actor ten years earlier throughout filming from the Perfect Storm. By comparison, the climactic scene Clooney and Payne required to film for Descendants may have been small -- a grieving father and the two kids floating inside a canoe off The island of oahu's Waikiki Beach -- however it needed a lot of heavy equipment and 40 crewmembers on several motorboats rocking in large increases, as well as a preteen actress inside a meltdown and seasick focus pullers. "You're in Hawaii, therefore the weather changes pretty rapidly, and you've got two moving parts simultaneously that aren't controlled by you -- they're controlled through the moon," states Clooney. "It had been frustrating for him while he wanted it simply to become a handful of people heading out having a camera." Payne, 50, pointing his first feature in seven years, typically makes movies which are short on technical complications: His previous film, Sideways, involved two men driving around California's Santa Ynez Valley. But he confesses that on any film, he fears "the frequently unwieldy way of production will hinder the closeness of the items I'm shooting. For this kind of intimate little scene, it had been as if the Marine Corps were performing exercises throughout them." PHOTOS: George Clooney's Career in Pictures However the controlled chaos and uneven waves matched up the turmoil felt by Descendants' central family, the Nobleman, within the wake of private tragedy. Clooney's Matt King is really a effective lawyer and heir to some gorgeous bit of Hawaiian property who must deal with a quartet of sudden challenges: His wife drops right into a coma following a boat accident her absence forces him to navigate a brand new authority role together with his two unmanageable kids his relatives wants him to market their valued landholding and that he finds out that his hurt wife have been getting an affair. Comedy and tears ensue -- and, since this is an Alexander Payne movie, frequently within the same moment. The project took its begin in 2007 when two London agents handed a galley copy from the novel, compiled by native Hawaiian Kaui Hart Hemmings, to Payne's creating partner, Jim Burke. He and Payne loved it and optioned it through their Fox Searchlight deal per week before it hit book shop shelves, though at that time they merely meant to function as producers. Payne, located in Omaha, Neb., was deep into writing a significantly bigger project entitled Downsizing together with his writing-creating partner, Jim Taylor, so Burke hired comedy actor-authors Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (Reno 911!) to tackle the variation. Although numerous filmmakers came knocking and director Stephen Frears demonstrated serious interest, nobody committed. Once Payne recognized Downsizing might have a difficult slog finding financing, he made the decision the time had come revisit pointing, so he dove into Descendants rather. "It had all of the elements -- a pleasant human story someplace and among a category of folks that are unique for any film," states Payne. "I leaped in solid." By This summer 2009, he was focusing on their own adaptation, that was prepared to shoot by March 2010. Within the interim, Payne required two monthlong outings towards the islands to take in the culture, explore locations and select the brain from the novel's author, who had developed within the The island of oahu capital of scotland - Kailua and moved back there 4 years ago, after grad school. "I make narrative films, however i greatly possess the attitude of the documentarian too, what exactly the thing is during my fiction films has great resemblance to real existence," states Payne, that has modified the books Election, About Schmidt and Sideways for that giant screen. "Descendants may be the book I've been most faithful to and many including the author since it's her world. It had been a stretch for me personally, and that i wanted to have it right." PHOTOS: 'Descendants' Star and THR's Next Gen Class of 2011 Once Payne asked Hemmings in to the process like a "guide," she considered in on potential locations, local conversational phrasings, wardrobe options as well as which extra supplies should portray natives. She wasn't shy about adding dialogue suggestions, either. The evening of her 33rd birthday, she stopped through the director's accommodation to go over the script and offered a type of dialogue for Sid (Nick Krause), the unaware teen who's dating King's older daughter: "I'd put his nuts on the dresser and bang all of them with a spiked softball bat." At that time, Payne was noncommittal. "And today it's within the movie!" states Hemmings. "It's my proudest moment." Hemmings also unintentionally designed a larger contribution. "Alexander requested me whom I saw within the role, and my first answer was George Clooney," she states. Because it happened, Clooney, 50, had wanted to utilize Payne because the filmmaker handed down him for that Thomas Haden Chapel role in Sideways. Since that time, Payne have been busy creating and writing projects (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Ray) and finalizing the divorce from actress Sandra Oh. However when Payne, script in hands, met with Clooney again in the Toronto Worldwide Film Festival in fall 2009, the actor with excitement came onto play what he calls a "schlub," an psychologically detached guy who are able to't even win a disagreement together with his teenage daughter. Shailene Woodley, 19, and Amara Burns, 11, who play King's kids, travelled to The island of oahu ten days prior to the 10-week shoot to build up a credible family dynamic with Clooney. "Used to do play a doctor on the show for 5 years, and so i have labored with kids a great deal,Inch states the first kind star of ER. "You simply spend plenty of time together so that they feel at ease enough to provide you with a difficult time." Related Subjects George Clooney Alexander Payne The Descendants Honours Season Preview 1 2 next last

'Breaking Dawn' Cast Joins MTV Live At Red Carpet Premiere!

FROM MTV MOVIES: The echoes of MTV News' "Breaking Dawn" live stream event with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner are still reverberating through Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, but MTV News is already getting set to do it all over again. On Monday, November 14, at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.com, host Josh Horowitz will be streaming live for two hours from the red-carpet premiere of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" outside L.A.'s Nokia Theatre. That means we'll once again be talking to Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner, as well as the rest of your favorite "Twilight" stars. It's all happening just days before the film arrives in theaters on November 18. Read the full story at MTV Movies!

Report: Bradley Cooper Not in 'The Guy From U.N.C.L.E.'

A week ago, Vulture reported that Joel Edgerton was up for among the two lead roles in Steven Soderbergh's 'The Guy From U.N.C.L.E.,' most probably opposite Bradley Cooper who was simply offered negligence Napoleon Solo. About this: TheWrap states that Cooper is no more in discussions for that part, meaning Warner Bros. has returned at where you started with 'U.N.C.L.E.' Not to imply, just saying: this really is becoming a mans version of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.' That isn't a positive thing. [via TheWrap] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Carson fund to learn U of Nebraska students

And here's Johnny's scholarship The John W. Carson Foundation, named for your "Tonight Show" host and U of Nebraska alum, has gifted $millions of for the U of Nebraska Foundation to create the Johnny Carson Chance Scholarship Fund. Gold gold coin aims to assist students who graduated in the Nebraska secondary school and so are presently registered for UN's Hixson-Lied College of a good and Undertaking Arts. Preference will be provided to students inside the School of Theater and Film, which was re-named for Carson after his dying in 2005. In 2004, Carson themselves led greater than $5 million to assist film and theater programs within the college, also to renovate and expand the Temple Building that houses Hixson-Lied's theater program. Carson's estate gave yet another $5 million in 2005, carrying out a TV icon's dying. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

'J. Edgar' Star Leonardo DiCaprio's Approaching Biopics Include 'Bond' Creator, Roosevelt

If Leonardo DiCaprio accumulates an Oscar nomination for his role because the enigmatic mind from the FBI in "J. Edgar," that can make him two-for-two with Academy Award nominations and biopics. (We will not count "Catch Me If You're Able ToInch since it centered on Tom Hanks' character almost around Frank Abagnale, Junior.) Since he was nominated in 2005 for his role as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator," many other biopic projects make head lines with DiCaprio's title mounted on star. A lot of came up, actually, it's been tough to keep an eye on all of them -- so we have put together a listing from the biopics DiCaprio's been a minimum of pointed out with. Try them out beyond the jump! "Fleming" In 2008, DiCaprio started creating a biopic in line with the existence of Ian Fleming, the writer from the Mission Impossible books. The script under went one re-write, along with a rival project put their hands up roughly annually later. Very little continues to be been told by the project in 2 years. "Sinatra" When Martin Scorsese grew to become mounted on a Frank Sinatra biopic, DiCaprio's title was instantly batted around to defend myself against the role of Old Blue Eyes. With "Silence" poised as Scorsese's next, it might be some time before we have seen if DiCaprio will require towards the mic. "The Wolf of Wall Street" An infinitely more low-key biopic, this financial drama DiCaprio's Appian Strategy is developing is dependant on Jordan Belfort's memoir. "Wolf" follows Belfort's rise to stock exchange fame and the eventual and spectacular fall. "Demon within the Whitened City" Though not technically a biopic, this thriller concentrates on two historic figures, one of these was Dr. H.H. Holmes, the well known serial killer. DiCaprio continues to be rumored for around annually because the primary contender for that dark role. "The Imitation Game" Within the suggested Alan Turing biopic, DiCaprio would take part in the math wizzard accountable for the decoding and smashing the Nazi file encryption throughout The Second World War. "An Upswing of Theodore Roosevelt" Another lengthy-in-development Scorsese project, this film in line with the early many years of the Rough Driver had DiCaprio's title attached the moment the famous director grew to become involved. It appears that where one goes, another soon follows. Which biopic do you want to see DiCaprio in? Tell us within the comment below as well as on Twitter!

Even warhol found laugh

"Caroline nurtured everyone. Shes so personable and nice. She was the adult figure, the parental figure should you needed it." -- Paul Ruebens "The crowd is savvy and you need to be in your best game there." -- David Alan Grier"She's the antithesis of the comedy club owner." -- Rita Rudner"NY needed a headline room and she or he gave it one. People would say, 'I wish to play Caroline's.' It had been always something to aim for.Inch -- Lewis BlackComedians are "neurotic and perhaps you can say desperate," confesses Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman. So anybody who makes lots of comics feel content and looked after, decade after decade, should be doing something right. Caroline Hirsch is the fact that someone. "Caroline nurtured everyone," states Reubens. "She's so personable and nice. She was the adult figure, the parental figure should you needed it. But she did not need to be your mother, she might just be a buddy.Inch Rita Rudner puts it more succinctly: "She's the antithesis of the comedy club owner." David Alan Grier indicates other vital characteristics he sees in Hirsch. "She's really hot and filthy wealthy," he quips. "I have routinely requested her to marry me. Even though she has not to date I believe I am breaking her lower gradually." Lewis Black concurs with Reubens, calling Hirsch "encouraging" along with a "sweetheart," but adds that Grier's joke hits a particular truth, that Hirsch's glamorous beauty really has inspired several decades of male comics. "There is a fundamental male instinct that takes over, 'Boy, I wish to impress her,' " he states. Of these comics, carrying out at Caroline's was an essential and memorable milestone within their careers. "She set a higher bar," states Black, adding that even if he would be a playwright before getting into stand-up, he was always conscious of who had been playing at Caroline's. "NY needed a headline room and she or he gave it one. People would say, 'I wish to play Caroline's.' It had been always something to aim for.Inch Reubens designed a reputation for themself as Pee-wee Herman in early eighties having a show in La as well as an Cinemax special but he'd never done stand-up. "I told my agent to express I'd only ten minutes of fabric however i desired to headline," he recalls. A golf club in Ontario recognized individuals conditions and following a week there Herman felt he was ready for any real show. "I stated, 'What's the most popular club in NY,' " he states. His gig at Caroline's in Chelsea elevated his career to an alternative level -- right after he was carrying out at Carnegie Hall and creating a feature film. "The club am stylish, so happening," he recalls. Andy Warhol came by in the pajamas to determine Pee-wee. Reuben's favorite connecting knowledge about Hirsch was departing fake coins on the ground from the club after which sitting in the bar together with her, watching clients bending over on their behalf. Rudner's first Caroline's appearance was in the Seaport. She am thrilled in the chance to headline, she recalls, "I used my only good dress, a whitened dress. I used it five straight nights." The gig went well in a number of regards. To begin with, employees loved her. "Andrew 'Dice' Clay have been there a few days before plus they explained, 'We a lot prefer your crowd -- they do not use the rear and steal the meals,A " she takes note of. More to the point, carrying out there is essential to her career. It gave her polish and confidence carrying out and "hard me like a headliner," she states. Black, who middled in the Seaport before graduation to some headliner, states Caroline's "was huge for me personally in each and every way." Past the exposure in the club, Hirsch gave him his first television break, on her behalf weekly A&E stand-up series. Black also appreciated the brand new room once the club moved uptown. "I'd quit on as being a playwright but it was Broadway and so i was ecstatic -- plus, unlike a theater, there is food and liquor," he states. Grier also loves the thought of carrying out on Broadway, saying, "The crowd is savvy and you need to be in your best game there." (Once, an 18-year-old named Dork Chappelle preceded him on stage and after everyone was saying, "Great to help you, hey, who had been that kid.") He takes note of being reserved there a few days after 9/11 -- the club canceled the gig, thinking it had been too early until 80 people turned up anyway. "We simply sitting and spoken towards the audience," he recalls. "It had been like therapy." He loves Hirsch enough he even allow her to cajole him into doing the worst gig of his existence -- a ten a.m. school enter in the Bronx. "It had been like seeing a funeral or perhaps an execution," he states of attempting to make an set up of high schoolers laugh early each morning.Inch Hirsch composed for this by inviting him to participate her 20th anniversary gala in 2003. "I acquired to experience Carnegie Hall due to her," he states. "She chose me, which would be a great recognition." RELATED LINKS Gotham's first lady of funny Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Pitbull Tests Lindsay Lohan's Questionable New York Residency Claim in Her Lawsuit

Mario Anzuoni/Getty ImagesLindsay Lohan IsLindsay Lohan really claiming to be living in NY when for the next few months, she'll be working at a morgue in California to complete community service and avoid a jail cell? Yes, and the lawyer for rapper Pitbull is pointing out exactly how ridiculous that is.our editor recommendsLindsay Lohan to Pose Nude for Playboy for $1 Million (Report)Pitbull Responds to Lindsay Lohan Lawsuit; Invites Actress to MTV Video Music Awards (Video)Lindsay Lohan Suing Pitbull Over Song Lyric Lohan is currently suing Putbull for rapping about her. The lyric that set off a lawsuit went like this: "Hustlers move aside, so I'm tiptoein', to keep flowin' / I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan." Many folks have noted the absurdity that Lohan would test the First Amendment by claiming Pitbull's words caused her "tremendous emotional distress" and were "destined to do irreparable harm" to her image as "a professional actor of good repute." The silver prize in silliness has to be that Lohan filed the lawsuit in Nassau County, NY, claiming to be a resident there in her mother's home. In an effort to get the case transferred from county court to a federal one, Pitbull's lawyers have filed a notice of removal that talks about how Lohan made a sworn declaration that "falsely attested" to her residence. As proof, it's pointed out that Lohan has a California driver's license, leases a home in Venice Beach, and that "given her frequent legal troubles, Ms. Lohan possesses irrevocable ties to California that are likely to keep her there for the foreseeable future." But it doesn't stop there. Pitbull's lawyers also direct attention to the fact that Lohan provided a sworn affidavit of her California residency in a lawsuit involving allegations of a stolen spray tan formula, and last year, a judge ruled in Lohan's lawsuit againsteTrade over its "milkaholic" baby commercialthat she had not proven residence in Nassau County and ordered a change in venue. Maybe on further reflection, saying one has "got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan" means the power of being slippery, or a stubborn refusal to be pinned down to any location. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner Lindsay Lohan

Roland Emmerich talks filmmaking, tools

Creating digital conditions has freed up filmmakers from needing to shoot on location or recreate pricey takes hold soundstages, but "you usually need an excellent floor," recommends director Roland Emmerich. "If there is not a great floor, do not do it.Inch Emmerich, who's most widely known for his effects-heavy tentpoles like "Independence Day," "Godzilla," "The Next Day Of Tomorrow" and "2012," surprised the biz when he made a decision to result in the much more compact drama, "Anonymous," that explores whether William Shakespeare really composed his tales. The film is short on explosions and destruction. "I am not an individual who walks around and states, 'What else can one destroy?' " Emmerich stated Monday at Variety's first annual Film Technology Summit at Hollywood & Highland. "For me personally being an artist, there is something within the story that spoke in my experience of the guy that authored amazing work and could not put his title onto it.Inch However the director switched to most of the same tools he applied to his more costly photos. Actually, technology enabled him to chop your budget around the pic and obtain The new sony to greenlight the film. Emmerich described how he'd initially desired to result in the movie in 2005, filming on location or building lavish takes hold a conventional way. The plug around the project was drawn if this demonstrated too costly to create. Yet re-creating large setpieces like cathedral using greenscreen, enabled Emmerich to inform The new sony, "I do not need $40 million or $50 million but $25 million." "Whenever we were making '2012' I needed to portray the planet but we never left Vancouver," he stated throughout the Q&A with Variety film editor Josh L. Dickey. "I saw the amount of photo-realism which was arrived at and felt that may bring your budget lower." "Anonymous" was the very first time visual effects assisted Emmerich create a movie cheaper, he stated. "This is a thrilling factor," he stated. "People always stated effects will make things cheaper however it never happened. They were given more costly. However it will make small movies look very costly." Large effects setpieces are actually "only a matter of money," he stated. "That you can do anything you like however it all comes lower to money and be it worthwhile.Inch "Anonymous" continues to have 400 visual effects shots, just like "Next Day Of Tomorrow," where the world is frozen over. Emmerich still is not keen on three dimensional and feels it especially affects the household film market, making ticket prices too costly. "Personally, i can't stand three dimensional," he stated. "You will find a lot of movies completed in three dimensional. I usually get into a conference and hope they do not request me to create the film in three dimensional." He confesses you will find some films, like "Avatar" or "Fantastic Voyage" that lend themselves to three dimensional, because of the mobile phone industry's they've created. Otherwise, "it does not add anything." Emmerich also stated "2012" may have labored in three dimensional, but "we already were built with a high budget also it might have be costly." Emmerich is not concerned about the backlash he may get from Shakespeare fans. "With this particular movie, I only desired to please myself," he stated. "I needed to complete things i wanted ti see. I went a bit available and stated, 'Look, literary establishment, stop lying.A There wan an amazing potential to deal with the film that we understand fully, however i made it happen anyway." Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

TV News Blankets Verdict As Conrad Murray Billed

Television news moved into Dr. Conrad Murray mode right after 11 today after it absolutely was introduced the verdict happen to be showed up at inside the involuntary wrongful dying trial inside the dying of Michael Jackson. While using news the jury’s verdict will probably be read at 1 PM PT, the feeding craze commenced: In your town in La, NBC/4, KTLA/5, ABC/7, KCAL/9and Fox/11 allcut live for the L.A. Criminal Courthouse downtown to cover the breaking story, as did CNN, HLN and truTV with pictures, speculation and interviews while using multitudes collected as you're watching courthouse. The systems all ready to both stoke the suspense and capture the tensionof the moment. Particularly, CBS/2 didn’t break in the Youthful As Well As The Restless, nor did KCOP/13 in the regular programming (including reruns of I Like Lucy and Bewitched). And strangely enough, FoxNews and MSNBC covered the breaking story in their bigger newscasts rather than exclusively. Murray is billed with resulting in Jackson’s dying after giving an overdose in the drug propofol, suggested to cope with Jackson’s insomnia. The arrival verdict culminates a days-extended trial and a pair of occasions of jury deliberations. If billed, Murray may be sentenced to four years jail time. MORE

'G.I. Joe' Sneak Peek: Rock Goes Behind The Scenes

If "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" left you cold, its sequel "Retaliation" should warm you right up. The Rock is on board as Roadblock, leading an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis as the original Joe, Ray Stevenson as bad guy Firefly, RZA as the Blind Master and returning "Joe" veterans Channing Tatum as Duke and Ray Park as Snake-Eyes. It's a strong cast and a great assortment of classic "Joe" characters that has at least this fan very, very stoked. We haven't seen much from the film yet, but a new "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" sneak peek courtesy of Entertainment Tonight is shining some light on the subject. Read what ET found out on the set of the "Joe" sequel beyond the jump. Roadblock Is A *Bleep* Easily one of the all-time most popular G.I. Joe characters, Roadblock finally makes his big-screen debut courtesy of Dwayne Johnson. Comic book and cartoon fans know Roadblock best for his excellent cooking and his tendency to rhyme all the time, but what else is there to know about the Rock's character? "Roadblock's a BAMF," Johnson told ET, which he translated as "bad-ass mother-f****r." He's not just a BAMF, though Johnson also describes Roadblock as "the glue of the G.I. Joes." Rock And Willis Go Way Back Another major draw of the new "G.I. Joe" movie is Bruce Willis, who joins the team as Joe Colton, founder of the titular elite squad. Working with Willis has been a real highlight for Johnson, based on his description of his co-star. "Bruce is the man," he said. "We've been buddies for some time now. It's been not only a pleasure working with him, but considering everything he's done in movies, the guy is iconic in our business on many levels. This type of movie in this setting where he is the creator of the Joes he's Joe Colton we get together and save the world together and kick all kinds of ass." Lady Jaye & Flint Show Up Two other fan-favorite characters making their long-awaited arrival are Flint and Lady Jaye, critical members of the core Joe team who happen to have an extensive romantic history with each other. No word on whether or not that carries over into the film, but actress Adrianne Palicki's description of Lady Jaye has us excited nonetheless. "My character is a strong woman," she said. "She's in this world that women arent usually allowed into. I think she's constantly trying to prove herself and she does it really well. She's the intelligence of the group. She holds her own." Tell us what you think in the comments section and on Twitter!

Ratings: Rock Center Meets Low Anticipation

John Williams, Jon Stewart NBC saved ratings anticipation low for Rock Center with John Williams - and met them. Well, maybe they surpassed them a little. The newsmagazine's debut spurred the curiosity of 4.13 million people, posting single. rating inside the 18-to-49 demo, Nielsen's fast overnights show."I realize we're getting crushed," John Williams mentioned on MSNBC the other day, toeing the party line uttered by NBC News Leader Steve Capus. The initial show also was tepidly examined.See the relaxation in the day's news on TVGuide.comThe Monday at 10/9c time slot is really a black hole for NBC inside the first 7 days in the 2011-12 TV season. The Playboy Club tanked in just 72 hours, getting 3.39 million together with single.2 inside the demo due to its last airing it absolutely was transformed by reruns of Prime Suspect (which, that it's worth, snagged 2.50 million getting b .7 rating the other day).For your seventh straight week in the year, Castle nabbed most likely probably the most audiences inside the final hour of Monday's prime time - 12.94 million versus. 10.28 million for CBS' Hawaii Five-. Inside the demo fight, they tied at 2.9.Read our Dwts recapA 90-minute Dwts, beginning at 8:30/7:30c on ABC, averaged 16.28 million fans and two.8 demo rating. NBC's The Sing-Off attracted in 4.39 million (1.4) over two several hours.CBS' comedy block had its usual solid showing: The Way In Which I Met Your Mother (10.70 million/4.1 demo rating) 2 Broke Women (11.14 million/4.2) two and a half Males (13.81 million/4.7)) and Mike & Molly (11.53 million/3.8). Though folks out trick-or-coping with for Halloween, virtually every show except Castle was lower. Scared Shrekless, which broadcast the first time a year ago on NBC, attracted 8.68 million audiences (1.7) on ABC.Back-to-back reruns in the CW's Ringer averaged 941,000 (.3).

Damian McGinty Discusses How 'Glee Project' Prepared Him for 'Glee'

When "The Glee Project" co-champion Damian McGinty makes his "Glee" debut Tuesday, audiences will already appear like they do know his Rory Flanagan. Through the Oxygen reality competition series, "Glee" executive producers imagined an Irish foreign-exchange student going to McKinley and completely confusing Louise Morris' Brittany which is strictly who audiences will probably be introduced to now.InchThe Hollywood Reporter" taken track of McGinty to talk about how his "Glee Project" training prepared him, Rory's romantic mission for Brittany and the way Cory Monteith has already established him under his wing both on-screen and off.The Hollywood Reporter: Simply how much did "The Glee Project" enable you to get ready for the details of "Glee"? Damian McGinty: "The Glee Project" certainly was in several ways a perfect preparation to become on "Glee." No. 1, the orders on "The Glee Project" were really like the orders on "Glee." There has been occasions on "The Glee Project" where i had been shooting for 25 several hours every day which is the identical on "Glee" where some days are actually extended. Because respect, it prepared you for the as well as the workload you are receiving, all the various dance programs and singing inside the recording studio. It's people aspects are very similar. But "Glee" is most definitely an entirely different experience than "The Glee Project." "Glee" isn't a hostile atmosphere so that it is much more enjoyable than "The Glee Project." On "The Glee Project," there's more pressure than usual and a lot of ragging inside your performance whereas using this you'll be able to have fun and supply your absolute 110 percent best.THR: Throughout "The Glee Project," Ryan Murphy and company imagined you want a forex student which we have seen that has been developed in. What from the products they spoken about through the Oxygen show has converted for the screen on "Glee"? McGinty: On "The Glee Project," Ian Brennan and Ryan did explain that Brittany wouldn't understand plenty of what I believe that, which she'll think I'm her leprechaun. The means by which no less than for your first episode, that's the way is. I accept Brittany and Rory features a factor for Brittany which he really loves her but Brittany thinks Rory is her own personal leprechaun who nobody are able to see. It's a very funny script. Rory is similar to Brittany getting a few of his one-card inserts. You'll be able to consider what Brittany must say using the Irish stereotypes. Money for hard times, it comes down lower to Rory trying to easily fit into and be a part of McKinley High and be recognized.THR: Simply how much of just coping with Brittany's family will probably be incorporated inside the show? McGinty: We have not necessarily looked into that lots of yet however think eventually there's probably plenty of mileage with this particular narrative and you also probably will see Brittany's family.THR: We view that Rory takes an immediate liking to Brittany, will she be receptive to his advances? McGinty: It'll be interesting to look for the way the entire Brittany and Santana narrative pans out. I am unsure if Rory will most likely work within the advances. Rory's only like 15, he's very youthful therefore it could just be a crush or possibly he really, truly likes Brittany. Whether it will interrupt Brittany and Santana, I'm not one hundred percent sure. We'll have to wait to find out.THR: The way in which Santana (Naya Rivera) respond to Rory's arrival? McGinty: In my opinion she'll respond in a really angry and Santana-like way (laughs). Let's just say she's not Rory's finest fan. THR: Finn will have you ever gotten Rory straight into New Directions. Will that be why she splits from New Directions? McGinty: She isn't keen on Rory and Rory auditions for completely new Directions. In my opinion Santana's narrative is much much deeper than her departing because this Irish kid who she isn't keen on has grew to become an associate of. She's more specific reasons which is part of her incredible narrative that she's presently beginning on.THR: Will Finn take Rory under his wing and very consider him one of the bulling that's coming his way? McGinty: That relationship is actually like real existence: Cory remains such as this personally. We now have done plenty of moments where Finn is teaching Rory and showing him the means by which and like a real mentor, as being a government-little brother factor. It shows several things: Finn isn't the child he was couple of years ago any more he's now a grownup adult who's certainly a good example to somebody like Rory who's really youthful and vulnerable and contains just can be found in.THR: Does his arrival in New Directions threaten others inside the group? McGinty: Using this whole [rival] girl group establishing New Directions knows they require new blood stream. Once I audition for completely new Directions it absolutely was inside the script that Kurt (Chris Colfer) at the outset of my song required to look somewhat threatened because I kind of showcase a greater part of my voice and perform a good deal in the song in falsetto which is Kurt's factor: he's recognized for singing high. Within the finish in the song Kurt seems and states, Oh, this Rory kid, maybe all of us do need some of Rory ultimately.THR: What else is it possible to share about Rory's personality? He seems to experience a very rockabilly style. McGinty: Rory's style is almost opposite from his personality. His style is kind of retro, kind of old however Rory is youthful really youthful soul and he's very innocent and extremely vulnerable. He's ready to take anybody's word within the minute and trust what they're saying as they desires to easily fit into -- he's no pals which he just travelled over from Ireland to McKinley High and he's trying to easily fit into. He's ready to trust anybody and he's trying to find to anybody and everybody however the one factor about Rory is he's always got a grin on his face, even if he's getting cajolled he'll smile. And so the clothes and also the personality certainly are a fairly large contrast.THR: What tunes are you currently presently searching toward approaching? McGinty: This episode, I'm singing "Being Eco-friendly" (from Sesame Street) and "Take Proper proper care of Yourself" (by Level 42). "Being Eco-friendly" is Kermit the Frog nobody sang it and I'd never learned about it. I checked it on the internet plus it actually was sad when Kermit was singing it and very touching. I believe that it is an attractive song. And "Take Proper proper care of Yourself" can be a song I'd never learned about that Ryan gave in my opinion. I believe that it is an attractive song which i really hope I did so it justice. I'm searching toward singing many I'm getting a lot of fun living my dream. McGinty makes his "Glee" debut Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Fox inside the "Pot O' Gold" episode. The Hollywood Reporter

ACLU Sues LA Sheriffs Dept Over Alleged Harassment Of Photographers

Asserting that harassment of photographers taking pictures in public places is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds, the ACLU has filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles against the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. Video shows photographer Shawn Nee’s encounter with a deputy who stopped Nee for taking photos of then-newly installed turnstiles at the Metro station in Hollywood. Photographer Greggory Moore was surrounded by eight deputies on a public sidewalk in Long Beach while photographing traffic for a story on Distracted Driving Awareness Month — across the street from a courthouse. We’ll leave to commenters any exploration of the ironies within that situation. Sheriff’s Dept. contends deputies were just doing their jobs investigating suspicious activity.

'Hunger Games' Posters, Rue's Song & Peeta Versus. Gale

"Hunger Games" fans, today may be the day. Desire a unique have a look in a completely new poster of Josh Hutcherson's Peeta? We now have first first got it. How about some talk from Amandla Stenberg about playing Rue inside the Gary Ross-directed picture? Got the exact same thing, and even more! Click past the jump to satisfy all of your "Hunger Games" needs! Posters By the bucket load Brand-new "Hunger Games" posters have put their hands up all around the internet, such as the following at MTV News. Our pals at Hollywood Crush include a unique consider first the brand new Peeta poster, showing Josh Hutcherson since the baker's boy. Have a look by yourself right the following. Does he meet your anticipation? Whistle Away Now when was a whistle not just a whistle? When it's changed into a sound lesson, apparently! Amandla Stenberg, who plays Rue in "Hunger Games," told us within the Halo Honours since her character's famous whistlea signal she uses to attract Katniss Everdeen, the story's hero carried out by Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Lawrenceis now a sound lesson. I'm not bothered with the change, especially in the impossibly adorable Amandla. See what she required to say inside the video below. Peeta versus. Gale Amandla and her co-star Jacqueline Emerson, who plays the crafty tribute Foxface, also considered in on whether or not they affiliate with Peeta, Katniss' partner in crime through the titular games, or Gale, our hero's love interest who still resides inside their shared home of District 12. See who's side they're consuming it below. Reveal everything you consider current day "Hunger Games" roundup inside the comments section and also on Twitter!

Jackson Doctors Defense Case Drawing To A Close

First Published: October 27, 2011 4:40 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images Caption Dr. Conrad Murray In Court: Day 7 - The Jury Hears More Of Michael Jackson At His Worst LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The defense of the doctor charged in Michael Jacksons death will shift away Thursday from personality to the science that his attorneys hope will prevent the physician from being convicted. The final witnesses testifying for Dr. Conrad Murray will be fellow doctors, one an expert in addiction and the other in the powerful anesthetic that the Houston-based cardiologist was giving Jackson as a sleep aid. Their testimony could make the difference in whether Murray is convicted or acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jacksons June 2009 death. Authorities contend Murray gave Jackson a fatal dose of propofol and botched resuscitation efforts. Murrays attorneys contend Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol when his doctor left the room, but have not yet shown evidence about how that theory is even possible. Several prosecution experts have said the self-administration defense was improbable and a key expert said he ruled it out completely, arguing the more likely scenario is that Murray gave Jackson a much higher dose than he has admitted. The scientific testimony of Dr. Robert Waldman and Dr. Paul White comes a day after jurors heard from five of Murrays one-time patients, who described the cardiologist as a caring physician who performed procedures for free and spent hours getting to know them. When Ruby Mosley described Murrays work at a clinic he founded in a poor neighborhood in Houston in memory of his father, tears welled up in the eyes of the normally stoic doctor-turned-defendant. Waldman is an addiction expert who may try to bolster the defense theory that Jackson had become dependent on propofol to sleep and was driven to self-administer it when Murray left his bedside. It will be up to White to explain whether that was possible. He sat in court throughout the testimony of prosecution propofol expert Dr. Steven Shafer, at times shaking his head and furiously passing notes to defense attorneys. In the courthouse, he has been seen conferring with Murray in the hallway outside the courtroom where the case is being heard. White and Waldman do not necessarily have to convince jurors that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose, but merely provide them with enough reasonable doubt about the prosecution case against Murray. While prosecutors have portrayed Murray, 58, as a reckless physician who repeatedly broke the rules by giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid, jurors heard a different portrait of the doctor on Wednesday. Several of the character witnesses called described Murray as the best doctor they had ever seen and highlighted his skills at repairing their hearts with stents and other procedures. Im alive today because of that man, said Andrew Guest of Las Vegas, who looked Murray. That man sitting there is the best doctor Ive ever seen. Another former patient, Gerry Causey, stopped to shake Murrays hand in the courtroom and said the physician was his best friend. A prosecutor noted that none of them were being treated for sleep issues, although Causey and others said they didnt believe the allegations against Murray. Defense attorneys have told Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor they expect their case to conclude on Thursday. Pastor has said if that happens, closing arguments would occur next week. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Cannes man keeps busy

'The Tree of Life''Moulin Rouge''Moulin Rouge' opened the 2001 Cannes fest, while 'Melancholia' and 'The Tree of Life' were among thies year's selections. Cannes' Thierry Fremanx has done much to restore Hollywood's presence on the Croisette during his decade at the festival.FremauxThierry Fremaux isn't going anywhere. But if the man who has steered the Cannes Film Festival for the past decade were to step down tomorrow, at least two things are certain: He'd be going out on a high note, and he'd have plenty to keep him busy.At 51, the Lyon native continues to head his hometown's Institut Lumiere (alongside helmer Bertrand Tavernier), a film museum located in the birthplace of the cinema. In that capacity, he just wrapped a popular second edition of his Festival Lumiere, a cinephile buffet devoted to classics and retro-spectives -- as well as an implicit retort to those who questioned his decision to stay in Lyon when he took the Cannes reins in 2001.These days, few would dispute Fremaux's ability to multitask. (He shows up for his sit-down with Variety on his Trek bicycle, and admits he often negotiates film deals by phone while riding through the streets of Lyon and Paris.) Similarly, few would dispute his talent for making unpopular choices that pay off down the line.Since his first day as artistic director at the grande dame of international cinema events, Fremaux has been conscious of his place as a leading force in the ongoing evolution of film festivals as a species. He's fulfilled that role by embracing new technologies while remaining an advocate for the bigscreen experience, welcoming genre fare as well as traditional art cinema and generally refusing to settle on any simple definition of a festival film.As he prepares to set the table for Cannes' 65th anniversary in 2012, he's still basking in warm notices for his most recent selection -- a program that seemed emblematic of his largely acclaimed, sometimes controversial tenure, while effectively realizing almost everything he set out to accomplish 10 years ago."In a way, last year was my first real year," Fremaux tells Variety. "Over the last five years I've had more freedom, but last year I had the most, the best freedom I could have had."Largely absent was the tension between old and new that has occasionally dogged his selection: Here was a festival boasting career-highlight work from heavyweight auteurs like Aki Kaurismaki and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, programmed alongside down-and-dirty genre fare like Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive." Here, too, was a festival reasserting its ability to command media attention like no other, serving up its juiciest, ugliest scandale in years courtesy of Lars von Trier.Most crucially, from an industry perspective, the 2011 slate offered an encouraging sign that relations between Cannes and Hollywood remain as strong as ever. Apart from obligatory big-ticket attractions like "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," the fest reasserted its importance as a Stateside-friendly arthouse platform with warmly received premieres for "Midnight in Paris," "The Artist," "The Tree of Life," "Melancholia" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin," all stirring an appreciable degree of year-end buzz alongside films from the more recent Venice and Toronto fests.To that end, Cannes couldn't have scripted a happier Hollywood ending than the Palme d'Or win for Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life," itself an emblem of the contradictory forces of rarefied auteurism and red-carpet glamour that have long defined the festival."Cannes is a small village in the South of France that becomes a world village for two weeks. It's the place of the auteur film and the place of the red carpet. It's all of that," Fremaux says. "It's a collective property. It's not mine, it's yours. The filmmakers, the producers, the professionals, the press, the market -- they all trust us to keep Cannes safe."Safeguarding Cannes' legacy for the future, particularly with regard to Hollywood, was one of Fremaux's unspoken mandates when he was tapped to replace Gilles Jacob as a.d. (he was upped to delegate general in 2007). He stepped in at a time when the festival and the studios didn't always get along so swimmingly, following a few years of mutual near-neglect during which Berlin and Venice had begun to rival Cannes in terms of Stateside cachet.Since then, Fremaux has restored the balance, making frequent trips to the U.S. and lobbying hard for studio pics; those that have made the trip to the Croisette range from classy critics' darlings ("Mystic River," "No Country for Old Men," "Zodiac," "A History of Violence") to big-budget popcorn fare ("Troy," two "Star Wars" prequels, "The Matrix Reloaded," "Kung Fu Panda").One of his boldest early moves -- virtually a statement of intent -- was to invite Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" to open the 2001 festival. Yet he maintains such decisions are always governed by more than desire for a splashy studio title."I don't select studio films just to have studio films. I do it because David Fincher, for example, is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today," Fremaux says. " 'Moulin Rouge' was an auteur film, a mainstream film and a big-star film. It was exactly what we wanted."Fremaux has long sought to eliminate easy distinctions between high and low, serious and mainstream, art and commerce. "When people ask me, 'What is your genre of film?' I say the genre of good films. I don't want to wait 20 years to recognize that an exploitation film was made by a great director. My job is to get it now."At times, he may have gone too far, turning down more traditional work as part of what struck many as a misguided anti-auteurist statement. Slamming programmers for their high-profile rejections is a time-honored festival sport, and it was under Fremaux's leadership that Cannes turned down Mike Leigh's "Vera Drake" and Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." But for the most part, Cannes a la Fremaux has tended to operate in a spirit of generous inclusion. Last year, he famously went to bat for Olivier Assayas' 5 1/2-hour epic "Carlos," asking the festival's board of directors to let the film compete even though it was a TV miniseries (they refused). He's proven particularly friendly to animation, giving studio toons ("Shrek," "Shrek 2") and hand-drawn documentaries ("Waltz With Bashir") pride of place in competition. He opened the 2009 festival with Disney-Pixar's "Up," taking the stage before its press screening to snap an impromptu photo of the assembled journos in their 3D glasses. And this year, Takashi Miike's live-action "Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai" became the first 3D pic to screen in competition.At a time when technology is continually reshaping modes of production and exhibition, Fremaux fondly recalls the 2002 fest, when two pics that could hardly be more different -- Alexander Sokurov's "Russian Ark" and George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" -- both seemed to herald the exciting possibilities of a digital filmmaking revolution. Since that year, Fremaux has given filmmakers the option of screening either in 35mm or in digital, and he reckons that in 2011, about 60%-70% of all Cannes films were projected in the DCP format. Fremaux's goal to democratize Cannes in terms of genre and aesthetics hasn't gone uncriticized over the years. But he takes with a grain of salt the sometimes negative coverage his wide-ranging programs have received in French publications. "I know exactly what I have to do to ensure only good reviews from certain newspapers, but it won't make a good film festival," he says. "The journalists here criticize me by saying, 'We don't know his taste.' I think it's a good sign. I'm proud of that."As any fest director knows, learning to separate individual taste from programming decisions is an essential part of the job anyway. For Fremaux, the question of whether he likes what he shows is far less important than the question of whether it's important for the festival to show it."I can refuse a film I love, and I can accept a film I don't like. I don't like to say that Cannes represents me and my taste. No, no, no. Cannes is about a world image of cinema. If you tell me you hated the film yesterday, but you could understand why I put it there, it's a compliment." Contact Justin Chang at justin.chang@variety.com

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Red Band Trailer Promises the Most F-ed-Up Film of the Holiday Season

If you’ve always wanted to see Santa Claus take a bong rip, two topless nuns kiss, a toddler get high off of second-hand marijuana inhalation and Neil Patrick Harris get an under-the-pants hand job in a night club called Heaven, you’re in luck. The red-band trailer for A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas is here and offers all of those NSFW things — and more! More A Very Harold %26 Kumar 3D Christmas Videos So to reiterate, this is not a film for the whole family this holiday season — just the family members that enjoy R-rated claymation and humor about Santa getting shot in the head. Kal Penn, John Cho and Neil Patrick Harris (playing a twisted, R-rated version of himself) star alongside Patton Oswalt, Thomas Lennon, Danny Trejo, Eddie Kaye Thomas and David Krumholtz. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas hits theaters November 4. Verdict: I don’t have words for a trailer that ends with Thomas Lennon declaring, “My baby is f*cked on cocaine.” [via SlashFilm]

Keck's Exclusives: Hot in Cleveland's New Coupling

Hot In Cleveland Hot in Cleveland's latest stunt reunites Wendie Malick with Laura San Giacomo, her costar from NBC's Just Shoot Me! Laura guest stars on the December 14 episode of the TV Land hit, but most of her scenes are with Valerie Bertinelli's Melanie. "I play Valerie's [estranged] sister, Caroline," says Laura. Caroline reveals she's a lesbian involved with a character played by Sandra Bernhard. Turns out ex-soap star Victoria (Wendie) is pretending to be gay after her fake marriage to Joy (Jane Leeves) reignites her celebrity. "They're all at this lesbian event where I am, and therein lies the hilarity," adds Laura. But Wendie says the episode also has a serious message. "Laura has a fabulous scene talking about growing up gay and not being able to tell your family," she says. "It should earn her a GLAAD Award nomination." Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Sean Penn Calls Tea Party the 'Get the N-Word From the Whitened House Party' (Video)

Sean Penn originates out swinging from the Tea Party, accusing the ultra-conservative moment to be motivated mainly with a racist agenda.our editor recommendsSean Penn Performed Role in assisting Free Two American Hostages in IranMorgan Freeman Sparks Outcry After Calling Tea Party RacistMatt Damon Jams Republicans, Tea Party To Handle of Debt Ceiling Crisis (VIDEO) Throughout his appearance Friday on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, the actor accused the Tea Party to be a "distraction" within the approaching presidential elections. PHOTOS: Sean Penn's Humanitarian Operate in Haiti "Yet there's one other issue,Inch he started. "You've things i call the 'Get the N-word from the Whitened House party,' the Tea Party. This type of sensibility, which is a lot more of the distraction." Penn stated he thinks the Tea Party is available simply to get Leader Obama from the Whitened House which its people don't know much concerning the issues themselves. PHOTOS: Box Office Politics: The Films and Stars Dems versus. GOPers Love (And Like to Hate) "I don't think there's question about this: Should you request any associated with the Tea Party, 'OK, Social Security, socialist, eliminate it?'' they're getting very confused. In the finish during the day, there's a large bubble being released of the heads, saying, 'Can we simply lynch him?" PHOTOS: Stars Who've Performed Political figures Penn's remarks echo similar comments produced by Morgan Freeman recently, also on Piers Morgan Tonight. The Dolphin Tale star then stated the Tea Party's "mentioned policy, openly mentioned, would be to do whatever needs doing to ensure that Obama only serves one term. What ... underlines that? Screw the nation. We're likely to do whatever we all do to obtain this black guy ... out of here." THR COVER STORY: Sean Penn in Haiti The Great Wife's Alan Cumming also offers accused the Tea Party to be motivated by "homophobia and racism." Related Subjects Alan Cumming Morgan Freeman Piers Morgan Sean Penn CNN Piers Morgan Tonight Politics

DeAPlaneta leads Shochiku up 'Blind Alley'

SITGES, Spain -- Japan's Shochiku has acquired all Japanese rights to Spanish horror film "Blind Alley," which world preems in Competition Friday at the Sitges Festival.Spain's DeAPlaneta closed the deal. It adds to other pre-sales struck on "Alley" before DeAPlaneta took on sales duties on the title, such as for Mexico (Corazon Films), Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.The feature debut of Spanish screenwriter-turned director Antonio Trashorras, whose credits as a scribe include Guillermo del Toro's 2001 "The Devil's Backbone," "Alley" turns on a young cleaning woman at an off-season hotel in Benidorm who accidentally locks herself up in the laundry with an apparent psycho-killer."'Blind Alley' observes the rules of the horror genre: It takes place over one night, there's a beautiful girl in distress, and a threat in the shadows," said Gorka Bilbao, DeAPlaneta sales exec.Cuban-born Ana de Armas, one of Spain's fastest-rising young film/TV actresses ("Sex, Party and Lies," "7 Days in Havana"), plays the young woman. Chile-born Leonor Varela ("Blade II," "Arrested Development") and Colombian TV and film actor Diego Cadavid ("A Ton of Luck") co-star."Alley" is produced by Miguel Angel Faura's Roxbury, one of Spain's top quality-genre producers, TV-turned-film production house Esa Mano Amiga and Antena 3 Films, co-producer of Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's current Spanish chart-topper "Intruders," as well as Dynamo Capital, Colombia's biggest private equity film fund.Dynamo has rights to Latin America, DeAPlaneta to the rest of the world outside Spain, Bilbao said.After Sitges, "Alley" will next be seen at Fanomenon in Leeds in the U.K. Market premiere will be at November's American Film Market.Catalonia's Sitges fest closes Saturday. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Yellow Bird producer flies to Film London market

LONDON -- Marianne Gray, a producer from Sweden's Yellow Bird, can provide the keynote address within the Film London Production Finance Market, which happens March. 19-20 through the London Film Festival. Gray, who started her career in La utilized by various major art galleries, produced Norwegian feature "Headhunters" in addition to produce the U.S. remake with Summit Entertainment. Yellowbird may be the organization behind the first Swedish film adaptations of author Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy of books. The initial, "The Woman While using Dragon Tattoo," remains remade by helmer David Fincher. Starring Difficulties, it opens inside the U.S. on 12 ,. 21. Over 60 producers have registered with this particular year's Production Finance Market, getting development projects to talk about with 57 bankers, including private equity finance traders, sales companies, entrepreneurs, tv producers and tax funds. Among the projects, with total production budgets of $330 million, are John Maybury's "Atomic Blonde," Sally Potter's "Elsewhere" and Gillian Armstrong's "The Fantastic,In . that Mia Wasikowska and Annette Bening are apparently attached. Companies attending include Vital Pictures Intl., Focus Features, Endgame Entertainment, Pinewood Films, Wild Bunch and Entertainment One. Several new areas will probably be represented, including Luxembourg, Macedonia and Belgium. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Robot Real Steel Wins Weekend By TKO George Clooneys The Ides Of March #2

SATURDAY PM,second UPDATE: Following a mammoth marketing push to function up mediocre monitoring, DreamWorks/Disney’s Real Steel centered its northern border American box officeall weekend with Disney confirmingrosses up +30% from Friday to Saturday for any $29M opening weekend.The Rob levy directed bot fight starring Hugh Jackmanreceived an uncommon’A’ CinemaScore overall and’A+’ from moviegoers under age 25.Issue is Hollywood might have beenimpressed only when the end result was mid-$30sM as this action pic includes a family overlay and it is budget was $110+M. By comparison, director, star, author, and producer George Clooney’s newcomer The Ides Of March had merely a $12.5M production budget after rebates. But this R-ranked adult political thriller co-starring Ryan Gosling washard to market for The new sony Pictures. Though well-examined along with a hit at both Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, audiences gave it simply a ‘B’ CinemaScore and individuals under age 25 presented a ‘B+’.The piceked out $10.5M, under the modestweekend whichHollywood expected. Alcon Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Dolphin Tale held well again making $9M by Sunday evening. Same good hold for The new sony Pictures’ baseball pic Moneyball with $7.3Mbut less so forthe studio’s belief-based Sherwood Pictures’ Courageous with $4.6M. Summit Entertainment’s cancer dramedy 50/50 held perfectly and wound up with $5.3M range. Universal’s Dream Home is not too dreamy having a pretty hefty weekend-to-weekend percentage drop. And Disney’s Lion King three dimensional might be securely in the cage after its Blu-Ray release. Listed here are the Top10 movies in the United States box office tonight. Analysis coming: 1. Real Steel (DreamWorks/Disney) NEW [3,440 Theaters] Friday $8.5M, Saturday $12M,Weekend $29M 2. The Ides Of March (Smokehouse/The new sony) NEW [2,199 Theaters] Friday $3.4M, Saturday $4.3M, Weekend $10.5M 3.Dolphin Tale (Alcon/Warner Bros) Week 3 [3,478 Theaters] Friday $2.4M, Saturday #3.7M,Weekend $9M, Cume $48.9M 4. Moneyball (The new sony) Week 3 [3,018 Theaters] Friday $2.2M, Saturday $3.1M,Weekend $7.3M, Believed Cume $49.1M 5. 50/50 (Summit Entertainment) Week 2 [2,479 Theaters] Friday $1.7M, Saturday $2.2M,Weekend $5.3M (-39%),Cume $17.1M 6. Courageous (Sherwood/The new sony) Week 2 [1,161 Theaters] Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.8M,Weekend $4.6M (-49%), Believed Cume $15.9M 7. Lion King three dimensional (Disney) Week 4 [2,267 Theaters] Friday $1.2M, Saturday $1.9M,Weekend $4.5M,Cume $85.9M 8. Dream House (Universal) Week 2 [2,664 Theaters] Friday $1.3M, Saturday $1.9M,Weekend $4.4M, Cume $14.4M 9. What’s Your Number? (Fox) Week 2 [3,011 Theaters] Friday $1M, Saturday $3M,Weekend $3M, Believed Cume $10.3M 10. Abduction (Lionsgate) Week 3 [2,591 Theaters] Friday $865K, Saturday $1.3M, Weekend $3M, Cume $23.4M

The 10 Greatest Performances in Political Thrillers

If The Ides of March has taught us anything before its release, it’s that the political thriller is a fabulous forum to act well, build a surprising character and look amazing doing it. The genre of “political thriller” is an ill-defined one with many subgenres (including “supernatural political thriller”!), but it’s always an opportunity for great characters to emerge through intriguing twists, red herrings and explosive climaxes. Movieline ranks the 10 best performances in the genre after the jump; please abort any nuclear wars you may have started before reading on. 10. Joan Allen in The Contender (2000) Joan Allen scored her third Academy Award nomination as Laine Henson, the shrewd vice presidential candidate who is stalwart in protecting her past, even if exposing it would clear her of damning allegations. In this climactic scene, Henson opens up to the president (Jeff Bridges) and scintillates with her straightforward morality. 9. James Stewart in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) James Stewart frequently played deep, aloof protagonists who found themselves in dizzying circumstances in Hitchcock’s movies, and The Man Who Knew Too Much is no exception. As Dr. Ben McKenna, whose son has been kidnapped in a predictably crazy plot, Stewart finds himself trying to save the life of a head of state at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Stewart’s hustle as we await the all-important crash of cymbals makes for one of Hitchcock’s most thrilling climaxes. You can stop singing “Que, Sera, Sera” now, Doris Day. 8. Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon (2008) It may be a slightly arch impersonation, but Frank Langella’s performance as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon required a plainspoken charisma that the actor brings thoroughly. All of Michael Sheen’s reactive mugging is justified thanks to Langella’s offbeat provocations.

Bono on Steve Jobs: 'We Will All Miss the Hardware Software Elvis'

U2's Bono praised Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as the "hardware software Elvis" and "one of a very small group of anarchic Americans who through technology literally invented the 21st century" in a statement Thursday.our editor recommendsGeorge Lucas Reacts to Steve Jobs' DeathSteve Jobs Death: Tech and Entertainment Industry Reacts10 Hip-Hop Songs Referencing Steve Jobs (Video)Steve Jobs Remembered by Edgar Bronfman Jr., Martin Bandier and Other Executives Steve Jobs Remembered By Disney, Pixar ExecsRelated Topics•Steve Jobs Jobs, who died Wednesday at the age of 56, collaborated with the singer on a U2 iPod, and more importantly for Bono, on the (RED) Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. PHOTOS: 10 Memorable Milestones of the Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs' Career Bono said, "What made Steve Jobs truly great is that he was only interested in doing truly great things. He was bored by an easy ride or easy profit. In a world littered with dull objects, he brought the beauty of clean lines and clear thought. This rhyme of intellect and intuition could be applied to a wide range of subjects from the US education system, to sculpture, to the fight against HIV/AIDS where his support of (RED) literally transformed the lives of two million people in Africa." Bono had defended Jobs' philanthropic efforts in a NY Times op-ed piece in early Sept. in response to an article by Andrew Ross Sorkin accusing the tech innovator of not contributing enough of his fortune to charity. Bono wrote at the time, "Steve Jobs said when we first approached him about (RED), 'There is nothing better than the chance to save lives.' " He also pointed out that Apple was (Product)RED's largest contributer with "tens of millions of dollars" in donations from the sale of (RED) iPods and other products. VIDEO: Remembering Steve Jobs In his statement Thursday, Bono also hailed Jobs as a true innovator "I already miss him...one of a very small group of anarchic Americans who through technology literally invented the 21st century. We will all miss the hardware software Elvis." He added, "He changed music. He changed film. He changed the personal computer and turned telephony on its head while he was at it. He was tenacious in the extreme, his toughness never more evident than these past few years in his fight for his life as well as his companies. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths "Steve told me as proud as he was of Apple and Pixar, his real pride was his family. He was a thoughtful and tender father, and loved nothing more than hanging out in the house with his belle Laurene and the kids." Jobs died after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Related Topics Steve Jobs Bono