With Directorial Debut, Angelina Jolie Takes Audiences on Emotional Journey

With Directorial Debut, Angelina Jolie Takes Audiences on Emotional Journey By Melinda Loewenstein December 27, 2011 Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images With numerous blockbusters ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Kung Fu Panda") and an Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted" to her name, Angelina Jolie has stepped to the other side of the camera. Her celebrity status is international, and her humanitarian work with the U.N. and marriage to Brad Pitt have only added to her high profile. With her directorial debut, Jolie is looking to divert the spotlight from herself and raise global awareness. With "In the Land of Blood and Honey," Jolie takes on the controversial topic of the Bosnian war by setting a love story in the middle of the conflict.Falling Into the Film Jolie didn't set out to make a movie about the war. Rather, she wanted to study what happens to human beings during war to better understand post-conflict situations and find a way to help. Film was a natural choice, since that's what Jolie has spent her life doing. When she finished writing the script, she showed it to Pitt. "I just showed it to him as this private little experiment that was on my desk," says Jolie. After reading it, he encouraged her to make the movie. She was aware of the sensitive nature of the topic, so before moving forward, she sent the script to Bosnian Serbs, Muslim Serbs, and Croatians for feedback. Later, Jolie also sought feedback from the actors, who had all been affected by the war. Rade Serbedzija, who plays Nebojsa, credits her with being open to changes in the script so it would be more authentic. At his suggestion, Jolie changed some of the dialogue in the scene where Zana Marjanovic's character, Ajla, paints a portrait of Serbedzija's character. Jolie says her acting background made it easier to write the various roles: "I was able to flip characters in my head as if I was playing the different roles in order to write the different people, because you have to be one person and inhabit him and write from his voice, and then be her and write from her voice."Role Reversal Being an actor, Jolie was careful to make the audition process as painless as possible. Laughing, she says, "I kind of wanted to hire everybody or try to find something for everybody." She credits casting director Gail Stevens for making sure that actors got strong feedback even if they didn't get the part. "It was hard. I didn't want to put the actors through much." She had them do scenes as well as an interview on camera. She explains, "I pretty much cast them from that, and the people that I thought were going to be the ones, and I would say to Gail, 'What were they like when they came in? Were they nice to everybody? Were they humble? Were they gracious?' Because this was very important to me." Jolie then had the script sent without her name on it to the actors they wanted. "We kept our fingers crossed because we knew how sensitive it was."On Authenticity "When she called me and she said, 'I'm going to shoot it in both languages,' I was like, 'Well, wait a minute; you're a first-timer; we don't know the actors,' " producer Graham King recalls. But Jolie was passionate about it and sold him on the idea. Jolie didn't consider language while writing, but when it came time to adjust it to the authentic language, she made sure it was translated more than once: "A translator couldn't be just Bosnian Muslim or just Bosnian Serb or just Croatian, because even the translation would go slightly slanted to one side or the other." Generally they would do the first take in English, which helped the crew with the second take in the authentic language. "We understood exactly what was happening in the scene, and then when it changed languages, somehow in our minds we still understood what was happening completely. For example, the cameraman knew instinctually where to move in on that line because he somehow could feel that was that line," Jolie notes. After shooting in their native language the actors would often want to reshoot the English because their personalities and body language were different in their native language. While shooting she relied on the actors to help her check on performances: "So if Danijel had a big scene, I would pull Zana aside and say, 'It feels right for me emotionally, but textwise was there anything that I need to know?' " Acting Influences Directing Despite Jolie's first-time-director status, King notes that she had command of the set. Marjanovic says working with Jolie was great. "She's an actress, and it didn't feel like it was her first time directing at all. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she would just find an approach that was appropriate for the scene." Serbedzija compares Jolie's directing style to that of Clint Eastwood, and Goran Kostic, who plays Danijel, agrees. "Obviously they've been in front of the camera for such a long time, Clint and Angelina Jolie. And they understand the importance, and she allows time and space for us to bridge these troubles," he explains.The sensitive nature of the film made it especially important for Jolie to create a safe acting environment. One of the hardest days was when Jolie had to ask the old women to strip. "I hated it. I only shot it once." Because the women were Hungarian, she was speaking with them through a translator. "I think I must have gone up to them five times just to say 'Do they completely understand that the people inside have been directed; they've been told, and it's their job to laugh at them. They aren't laughing at them because they are getting naked; it's, they've been directed to do that, so please do not take it personally' and 'I'm so sorry that I need to ask them to do this, but for them to please know how much this is going to mean for people." She ended up having to shoot a lot of the reactions as cutaways, because the actors couldn't laugh at the women: "They kind of had a human reaction, and so then we had to do a cutaway when the women were gone." Jolie also feels that her acting background influenced her directing style: "I hoped that I was able to help the actors by giving them the space and the respect that they needed. I gave them what I always felt I needed when I was working, and I would protect Zana when there were scenes that she was very vulnerable or had to deal with sensuality or nudity, to be very considerate and only put in the film what is necessary for the storytelling. With the big emotional scenes I would kind of try to protect them from the crew, from the noise, from the, you know, so you just try to make these safe spaces and try to help them, because instinctually you know what you would need." Vanesa Glodjo (who plays Lejla) sums up Jolie's style by saying, "I think she fulfilled all her wishes as an actress first by writing the script and then by the way she directed us. I think she said, 'Okay, what I would adore; how would I love to be directed?' So that's how she did it."OUTTAKES "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was nominated for a 2012 Golden Globe for best foreign language film. Jolie says it will take a special project to get her back in the director's seat. Jolie wants to give her children a global experience, and the family has a home in Cambodia. With Directorial Debut, Angelina Jolie Takes Audiences on Emotional Journey By Melinda Loewenstein December 27, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Jason Merritt/Getty Images With numerous blockbusters ("Lara Croft Tomb Raider," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Kung Fu Panda") and an Oscar for "Girl, Interrupted" to her name, Angelina Jolie has stepped to the other side of the camera. Her celebrity status is international, and her humanitarian work with the U.N. and marriage to Brad Pitt have only added to her high profile. With her directorial debut, Jolie is looking to divert the spotlight from herself and raise global awareness. With "In the Land of Blood and Honey," Jolie takes on the controversial topic of the Bosnian war by setting a love story in the middle of the conflict.Falling Into the Film Jolie didn't set out to make a movie about the war. Rather, she wanted to study what happens to human beings during war to better understand post-conflict situations and find a way to help. Film was a natural choice, since that's what Jolie has spent her life doing. When she finished writing the script, she showed it to Pitt. "I just showed it to him as this private little experiment that was on my desk," says Jolie. After reading it, he encouraged her to make the movie. She was aware of the sensitive nature of the topic, so before moving forward, she sent the script to Bosnian Serbs, Muslim Serbs, and Croatians for feedback. Later, Jolie also sought feedback from the actors, who had all been affected by the war. Rade Serbedzija, who plays Nebojsa, credits her with being open to changes in the script so it would be more authentic. At his suggestion, Jolie changed some of the dialogue in the scene where Zana Marjanovic's character, Ajla, paints a portrait of Serbedzija's character. Jolie says her acting background made it easier to write the various roles: "I was able to flip characters in my head as if I was playing the different roles in order to write the different people, because you have to be one person and inhabit him and write from his voice, and then be her and write from her voice."Role Reversal Being an actor, Jolie was careful to make the audition process as painless as possible. Laughing, she says, "I kind of wanted to hire everybody or try to find something for everybody." She credits casting director Gail Stevens for making sure that actors got strong feedback even if they didn't get the part. "It was hard. I didn't want to put the actors through much." She had them do scenes as well as an interview on camera. She explains, "I pretty much cast them from that, and the people that I thought were going to be the ones, and I would say to Gail, 'What were they like when they came in? Were they nice to everybody? Were they humble? Were they gracious?' Because this was very important to me." Jolie then had the script sent without her name on it to the actors they wanted. "We kept our fingers crossed because we knew how sensitive it was."On Authenticity "When she called me and she said, 'I'm going to shoot it in both languages,' I was like, 'Well, wait a minute; you're a first-timer; we don't know the actors,' " producer Graham King recalls. But Jolie was passionate about it and sold him on the idea. Jolie didn't consider language while writing, but when it came time to adjust it to the authentic language, she made sure it was translated more than once: "A translator couldn't be just Bosnian Muslim or just Bosnian Serb or just Croatian, because even the translation would go slightly slanted to one side or the other." Generally they would do the first take in English, which helped the crew with the second take in the authentic language. "We understood exactly what was happening in the scene, and then when it changed languages, somehow in our minds we still understood what was happening completely. For example, the cameraman knew instinctually where to move in on that line because he somehow could feel that was that line," Jolie notes. After shooting in their native language the actors would often want to reshoot the English because their personalities and body language were different in their native language. While shooting she relied on the actors to help her check on performances: "So if Danijel had a big scene, I would pull Zana aside and say, 'It feels right for me emotionally, but textwise was there anything that I need to know?' " Acting Influences Directing Despite Jolie's first-time-director status, King notes that she had command of the set. Marjanovic says working with Jolie was great. "She's an actress, and it didn't feel like it was her first time directing at all. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she would just find an approach that was appropriate for the scene." Serbedzija compares Jolie's directing style to that of Clint Eastwood, and Goran Kostic, who plays Danijel, agrees. "Obviously they've been in front of the camera for such a long time, Clint and Angelina Jolie. And they understand the importance, and she allows time and space for us to bridge these troubles," he explains.The sensitive nature of the film made it especially important for Jolie to create a safe acting environment. One of the hardest days was when Jolie had to ask the old women to strip. "I hated it. I only shot it once." Because the women were Hungarian, she was speaking with them through a translator. "I think I must have gone up to them five times just to say 'Do they completely understand that the people inside have been directed; they've been told, and it's their job to laugh at them. They aren't laughing at them because they are getting naked; it's, they've been directed to do that, so please do not take it personally' and 'I'm so sorry that I need to ask them to do this, but for them to please know how much this is going to mean for people." She ended up having to shoot a lot of the reactions as cutaways, because the actors couldn't laugh at the women: "They kind of had a human reaction, and so then we had to do a cutaway when the women were gone." Jolie also feels that her acting background influenced her directing style: "I hoped that I was able to help the actors by giving them the space and the respect that they needed. I gave them what I always felt I needed when I was working, and I would protect Zana when there were scenes that she was very vulnerable or had to deal with sensuality or nudity, to be very considerate and only put in the film what is necessary for the storytelling. With the big emotional scenes I would kind of try to protect them from the crew, from the noise, from the, you know, so you just try to make these safe spaces and try to help them, because instinctually you know what you would need." Vanesa Glodjo (who plays Lejla) sums up Jolie's style by saying, "I think she fulfilled all her wishes as an actress first by writing the script and then by the way she directed us. I think she said, 'Okay, what I would adore; how would I love to be directed?' So that's how she did it."OUTTAKES "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was nominated for a 2012 Golden Globe for best foreign language film. Jolie says it will take a special project to get her back in the director's seat. Jolie wants to give her children a global experience, and the family has a home in Cambodia.

'The Hobbit' Trailer: The Five Best Reveals

At long last, "The Hobbit" trailer has finally been unveiled. Ultimately, we've been waiting a decade -- aka since the first "Lord of the Rings" film first hit theaters -- for this movie's trailer to be released finally. Though it's a prequel to the previous movies, "The Hobbit" is a project that has been in development longer than its predecessors. Director Peter Jackson originally wanted to start his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's saga with "The Hobbit", but because of technical issues they had to start with the latter installments of the series. Watch the "Hobbit" trailer! We aren't complaining, but there are a lot of things in this trailer that we have been waiting a good long while to see revealed. After the jump, we list off the five most exciting debuts in "The Hobbit's" first official trailer. Bilbo Baggins It was no big surprise that Bilbo Baggins got his big debut in this trailer. We've seen him in photos, we've seen him in behind-the-scenes videos, and we've pretty much been anticipating his appearance from the get-go. But that doesn't mean his introduction as a youthful hobbit in the teaser wasn't any less exciting. Watching the transition from Ian Holm's portrayal of Bilbo to Martin Freeman's kicked our "Lord of the Rings" nostalgia into high-gear. It only helps that Freeman was basically born for this role. Consider us excited. The Dwarves The dwarves of "The Hobbit" already got a pretty dramatic debut. In addition to all being introduced individually, they all have been featured in various featurettes and stills so often that we feel like we know them as well as our parents. That didn't make it any less exciting when the trailer not only individually introduced our favorite dwarves again, but also featured them in song. It's literally about as Tolkien as it gets with them, and we loved every second of it. Sting No, we aren't talking about the singer. Sting is the sword (well, really an elven knife, but basically fit to be a sword for a hobbit) that Bilbo finds in "The Hobbit" and ends up passing on to Frodo in "The Lord of the Rings." It's a weapon we're all familiar with, so it was exciting to see Bilbo unsheathing it for seemingly the first time in this trailer. His glee matched our own when he saw the sword unveiled, and now we're just biding our time until we see it glow blue again. Galadriel and Gandalf In addition to the main story of "The Hobbit," Jackson has included a new side story that heavily features "Lord of the Rings" characters Galadriel and Gandalf as they explore a rising evil in Mirkwood Forest. They're featured numerous times in this trailer, and it is clear that Jackson plans on having their tale be a major part of the first movie in addition to the second. This is us absolutely, one hundred percent not complaining about this addition to Tolkien canon. Gollum Yes, we had a gut feeling Bilbo's first meeting with Gollum was going to be included in this trailer. It's a scene we've seen played out in "The Lord of the Rings" movies, and it's one we knew we would see again this time around. That didn't stop the reveal of Gollum at the end of this trailer from being any more dramatic, though. We didn't get a very good look at Andy Serkis reprising his role as Gollum, but it's basically one of the high points of this new film for us. And, from what we did see, he and Freeman look freaking awesome together. What were your favorite moments from "The Hobbit" trailer? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

'Mission,' 'Holmes' do a lot more than $1 mil at night time

'Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol''Sherlock Holmes: A Game Title of Shadows'Paramount captivated its week-early domestic run of ''Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol'' in designer, using the pic generating $1.a million from just 425 large-format night time and late-evening tests.In comparison, the final ''Mission: Impossible'' gained exactly the same amount from a lot more than 2,000 night time runs.Warner Bros. also tested this weekend's wide discharge of "A Virtual Detective: A Game Title of Shadows" late evening Thursday for any total $1.25 million from 1,650 locations. (The very first "Sherlock" opened up Christmas Day 2009 without late-evening showtimes.)Componen, which joined mostly with Imax, launched ''Ghost Protocol'' per week before its countrywide release on 12 , 21. solely in particular-format houses -- an initial-ever strategy designed to appeal that format's core fanboy audience. ''Ghost Protocol'' grows within the Christmas frame to a lot more than 3,000 Stateside engagements.The big-format engagement achieved positive results from a typical $3.50 to $5 premium ticket surcharge, however. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Alexander Payne on 'The Descendants'

Alexander PayneAlexander Payne wasn't sure he was the man to produce "The Descendants." In those days the novel showed up to his office, he was busy writing another project referred to as "Downsizing" and situated it tough to "dislodge" out of this. But next script shown hard to finance, Payne states, "I sitting lower anew while using book, reading through through it and re-reading through through it to determine if I really could climb inside.""It absolutely was a sizable job," Payne states. "One factor was the emotional story from the fellow 50-year-old, but was I furthermore ready to battle this documentary project, of showing Honolulu which class of people correctly? It's a unique social cultural fabric which i had been delay due to it. Which I felt a pitchfork constantly behind my back to be right."But "The Descendants" given Payne the opportunity to use among his favorite storytelling items: first-person narration. "I really like voice-over I really like literature and film," states Payne, referencing a slew of classic good good examples within the good status for cinema, including Billy Wilder, Terrence Malick and Stanley Kubrick. "In my opinion it's the most effective contributions to film.""The Descendants" also are a smaller amount cynical than Payne's earlier social satires, for instance "Citizen Ruth" and "Election." One miracles, at middle age, is Payne going soft?"I really do just what the story requires," he responds. "That certain is not 'Election.' It's created by the identical guy, concentrating on the same light touch."Indeed, the film still includes Payne's familiar tonal combination of dark humor and sensitive humanism -- which requires plenty of attempt to get right. "It's all about refining," states Payne, who recalls they were in publish for just about any year on "Election." "The Descendants" needed believe it or not than nine several days to edit."Acquiring the background music right needed a really very long time," Payne states. "It absolutely was an amazing challenge the editor which i'd offer ourselves: Will we score this movie entirely with Hawaiian music, and could it be utilized correctly to assist comedy or support pathos or possibly an unusual combination of both? It absolutely was plenty of learning from your errors.InchAttention Round The Oscars: THE DIRECTOR Helmers hot to globe trotWoody Allen Stephen Daldry David Fincher Michel Hazanavicius Terrence Malick Bennett Burns Alexander Payne Jason Reitman Martin Scorsese Steven SpielbergIn this mix Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Adele Is iTunes' Top Seller in 2011, Foo Fighters' 'Wasting Light' Named Album of the Year by Apple Staff

MythBusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman visited the Northern California neighborhood that was damaged by their cannonball experiment gone wrong earlier this week.our editor recommendsOops, 'MythBusters' Launches Cannonball Through Family's Home'MythBusters' Host Jamie Hyneman Logs 30,000 Followers on First Day of Twitter Account The duo met with families in Dublin, Calif. on Wednesday, and offered to play for property damage and hotel charges incurred by the families affected. PHOTOS: Lights, Camera, Accident! 20 Hollywood Stunts Gone Wrong Savage told the Los Angeles Times, "We feel really lucky and fortunate that, after a nearly perfect safety record over eight years, that this mishap didn't lead to anybody being injured. "We're gathering all the information we can. ... Our main concern is making sure this never happens again." PHOTOS: 10 Broadcast and Cable TV Show Most Watched By Men Savage also wrote in a series of tweets, "It's true, a cannonball got away from a Mythbusters experiment in Dublin, CA. Nobody hurt thank goodness. Jamie and I toured the damage." "Now it's back to SF, to meet and discuss how to keep this from ever happening again. Very intense. We're SUPER relieved no one was hurt." The show's star also assured fans on Thursday that the program would not be cancelled because of the accident, "Tweeps: thanks SO much for all the kind support. FYI, Mythbusters has NOT be suspended/cancelled. We're still in production. Happy holidays." Co-star Hyneman said the accident would not happen again, "Loose cannon: glad no one was hurt. Won't happen again." Discovery Channel and Beyond Productions described the incident as such: "On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, MythBusters was filming on a closed set at the Alameda County Sheriff's Department bomb range in Alameda County, California. During the testing, a cannonball took an unforeseen bounce from a safety berm. No injuries were reported, but damage was reported in one Dublin home and one parked car. "Sgt. JD Nelson, Public Information Officer and bomb technician for the Alameda County Sheriff's office, who is a regular safety explosives expert for MythBusters, was on site and all proper safety protocol was observed. Beyond Productions is currently assessing the situation and working with those whose property was affected." PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Lights, Camera, Accident! 20 Hollywood Stunts Gone Wrong Related Topics Jamie Hyneman MythBusters Adam Savage

Theron and Oswalt Produce a Perfect Imperfect Pair in 'Young Adult'

Charlize Theron is stretchingand not in the fun way."I'm so old," she croaks, her back an apparent way to obtain discomfort. Patton OswaltTheron's co-star inside the new Jason ReitmanDiablo Cody picture "Youthful Adult"chimes together with a helpful journalism tip. "To ensure that the first words will probably be 'Wracked by weak bones, Charlize Theron '." Theron laughs, and Oswalt continues. "Which will be your opening sentence."Well, third sentence will have to do. Nevertheless the easy patter involving the two stars implies that the chemistry they participate "Youthful Adult" isn't limited to the screen. Theron is, clearly, a ten-ft-tall Oscar-transporting screen goddess who wields all the knock-Them-dead looks in the fashion model she was formerly. Oswalt can be a short comedian's comedian whose acting chops lead him to a sizable-screen ace within the hole utilized in films as varied since the Pixar blockbuster "Ratatouille" as well as the indie darling "Large Fan." These two should, according to all laws and regulations and rules of character, Not pals. Yet they are. That's kind of the reason.In "Youthful Adult," put together by Cody and directed by erstwhile nominee Reitman, Theron plays Mavis Gary, an alcoholic freelance worker of kids' fiction who, near bottoming out, returns to her Minnesota hometown with designs to seduce her secondary school squeezenow married getting a young child. Her plan goes sour within the get-go, to ensure that as Mavis falls apart, she finds herself going out progressively more with Matt Freehauf (Oswalt), a classic classmate whom she overlooked in secondary school, when she was full bee which he was the victim of shocking abuse consequently of everybody else she opted for. Reunited, they form an unlikely (and unhealthy) but credible pair.The written text the heavens developed was apparent from the first time they met, inside a table read in the script. "We just clicked on on," Oswalt states, addressing his co-star. "I understood that [Reitman] wanted you for your role really bad, which i didn't understand that we'd click how you did."Working Holiday For Theron, the task before her wound up being to portray Mavis as she saw the level of smoothness round the page: A girl whose actions are horrible but who's ultimately a enjoyable person. "In my opinion, while you are reading through a personality such as this, you'd have to be an idiot not to start to see the possibility of this," Theron states, "particularly for a girl in this particular era. In my opinion that you will find something unusual when something of this character leads to, if you see a girl character be that conflicted, and showing the not-so-pretty side of human behavior if the involves women. People will be the gems. And within reach of someone like Jason Reitman, they're lottery tickets." Theron signed on for your role just days before shooting wound up being to start. Then she needed the script along with her on vacationto Bora Bora."You visited Bora Bora?" Oswalt states, showing genuine surpriseor a convincing facsimile from this. "Goddamn it. I hired an acting coach." Oswalt labored with coach Nancy Banks, whom he calls "amazing," to help him prepare. Together they experienced the script, line by line. Banks told the actor don't worry about creating too detailed a backstory for his character, fighting that nobody, real or imaginary, knows an individual's own story correctly. Theron confirms while using approach. "I don't spend lots of time on backstory," she states.Nevertheless the biggest challenge facing Oswalt was nailing Matt's physical disability. The level of smoothness walks getting a serious limp and relies on a stick. "I desired to sort out how the tibia bone labored after which it didn't work, and the way the stick would replace that," according to him. "My physical counselor offered us a sheet wonderful these exercises about it and mentioned, 'At the conclusion throughout your day, do these stretches, because if you don't, you are able to permanently walk by doing this.A That was really nerve-racking."Unrehearsed The "click" that Theron and Oswalt felt only at that first table read was shown to suggest a significantly much deeper bond: Both Theron and Oswalt are dismissive of extended testing periodsa positive factor, thinking about the truth that their director feels much the same way. "In the event you overthink the specific scene in testing a lot of, it'll just freeze you up as well as the existence is completed,In . Oswalt states. "It's better enter, create a couple of mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes can be better than the written word."Both stars, clearly, heap plenty of credit on Cody's written word, watching they stuck for the script for almost all the shootsave one scene that Reitman tossed out and bought Theron and Oswalt to improvise. It absolutely was one of several in which the actors' appreciation for each other elevated."Not to blow smoke your ass," Oswalt notifies Theron, "in people moments together with you, you most likely did the primary one component that many stars not have the heart to accomplish, which was in a few moments you'd produce fucking nothing. Most stars are similar to, 'I wish to be present, and i'm listening.' But Mavis, you will discover in just minutes where she's not there." Because it was part of Mavis' character not to appear, Theron's readiness to accomplish the identical aided Oswalt thrive inside their moments. "I lucked out," he notifies Theron. "You, Diablo's script, Jason, boom. I hit the trifecta. Thanks.InchTheron smiles at her co-star. "Oh, my God," she states."And Bora Bora," Oswalt adds. "I have to thank the country of Bora Bora."Charlize Theron Outtakes Won an Oscar in 2004 for top actress on her behalf submit "Monster" and was nominated in 2006 for "North Country"Trained just like a ballet dancer within the Joffrey Ballet School in NY until a knee injuries ended her dance careerWill next be seen as Full Ravenna alongside Billy Burke and Chris Hemsworth in "Snow White-colored as well as the Huntsman"Patton Oswalt Outtakes Co-founded "The Comics of Comedy" tour with Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis, and John PosehnEarned a Grammy nomination for his 2009 comedy album, "My Weakness Is Strong"Was nominated for your breakthrough award within the 2009 Gotham Independent Film Honours for his role inside the film "Large Fan"

VIDEO: Covert Affairs' Sendhil Ramamurthy: What Jai Does Is "Pretty Severe"

Sendhil Ramamurthy, Covert Matters What's Jai's anticipate Covert Matters?Once you have promoted to director of special projects - due to blackmailing his father, clearly - Jai (Sendhil Ramamurthy) has since laid relatively low to date as his endgame is anxious. But that will all alteration of Tuesday's season finale once we learn who he's concentrating on.Hidden Affairs' Kari Matchett: Joan won't make an effort to eliminate Jai again"You really see at what measures he's prepared to trip to obtain what he wants," Ramamurthy notifies TVGuide.com. "What he's doing is rather severe, but he's literally kind of experienced and alienated everyone around him."Have a look at our interview below to find out what's available and cure Ramamurthy thinks must be in the dream ab-offered by Christopher Gorham.Covert Matters airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on USA.

Blackberry Maker Hit With Charge on Weak Tablet Sales

NY - Cable giants Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable along with smaller cable firm Bright House Networks have agreed to sell wireless spectrum to telecom company Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion. The companies also struck agreements that will see the cable firms and the telecom giant sell each other's products. SpectrumCo, a joint venture of the cable companies, said Friday that Comcast will receive approximately $2.3 billion from the sale. Time Warner Cable about $1.1 billion and Bright House $189 million. "The agreement comes at a time when consumer demand for wireless services and bandwidth is increasing rapidly," the firms said. "This sale of spectrum is an important step toward ensuring that the needs and desires of consumers for additional mobile services will not be thwarted by the current spectrum shortage." Government action to free up more spectrum is expected, but the deal partners said their transaction that available spectrum is used effectively for the benefit of customers. The deal partners said Friday that they have also formed an "innovation technology joint venture" for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services. "We're excited to be able to offer the nation's best wireless services to our customers and to have Verizon Wireless as a sales channel for our superb wireline services," said TW Cable president and COO Rob Marcus. "We're also pleased to have obtained an attractive price for the spectrum we're selling." "These agreements, together with our Wi-Fi plans, enable us to execute a comprehensive, long-term wireless strategy and expand our focus on providing mobility to our Xfinity services," said Neil Smit, president of Comcast Cable. Dan Mead, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, added: "Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the...spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers." Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics

Bad Movies We Love: O

Ralph Fiennes’s sweeping Coriolanus arrives this weekend. See that shit. Fiennes whips up a batch of thundering personal conflict, the kind that made Quiz Show so awesome, and Vanessa Redgrave gives a supporting performance far worthier of an Oscar than her work in Julia. She is angst and fury. She’s like Coriolanus Morissette up there. But if Shakespearean seriousness isn’t your thing, please circle back to 2001 when Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett served up a Shakespearean telenovela in O, based on Othello. Hope you like hip-hop, opera and Josh Hartnett’s “evil” face, because this movie is a green-eyed monster that’s trying so hard not to be funny. Famously, O was filmed in 1999 but not released until 2001; the Columbine shootings made high school violence an unsavory topic for a couple years. Fact is, we could’ve used the chuckle that O provides. It is such an unyielding, self-serious melodrama that I deemed it appropriate to laugh randomly as the scenes progressed. It’s like reading a high school sophomore’s handwritten summary of Othello, one he wrote while listening to his favorite 2Pac album and doing his darnedest not to transcribe some of the lyrics on accident. In this retelling, Othello is a star basketball player named Odin or “O” (Mekhi Phifer), the only black student at his southern high school. He loves his girlfriend Desi (Julia Stiles), but his envious teammate Hugo (Josh Hartnett) starts to manipulate him into believing she’s duplicitous. You know Othello. Jealousy takes over, O loses control, and the story ends in tragedy. Fine, great. But the torrid basketballing has to be seen to be believed. Like all Bad Movies We Love, O breaks down into five lovable attributes. Let’s count ‘em down like hip-hop moves in Julia Stiles’s repertoire. 5. Martin Sheen loves Odin like a son, but not like his horrible son Hugo. Martin Sheen, one of our best presidents, plays a bulldog basketball coach who thinks O will lead the team to its 20th state victory. During an assembly he proclaims, “I’m not ashamed to say I love him like a son!” Now, that’s weird, because Martin Sheen has another son in this movie, and it’s the nefarious Hugo —- who plays on the fucking team. That slight really gets Hugo riled and scheme-y! Here, we see some of the merciless grit that marks Sheen’s performance. We also see John Heard (AKA Macaulay Culkin’s father in Home Alone) fight with his daughter about her personal affairs. 4. Modern-day Shakespearean translations are sometimes… dumb. Othello is filled with literary iconography: the “green-eyed monster,” Othello’s c-section scar, Desdemona’s dropped handkerchief. Sinister stuff. Too bad O proves that these items can seem awfully dull when revived in a moody hip-hopera. If the names “Odin” (for Othello), “Desi” (for Desdemona), and “Hugo” (for Iago) didn’t feel like Malt-O-Meal versions of the real things, check out other dubious updates: The “monster” lurking over the proceedings is a hawk that acts as the school mascot, and a major scene in which Othello overhears Iago’s manipulated conversation about Desdemona’s alleged wrongdoings is played here like an average episode of I Love Lucy’s mistaken identities — and with no studio audience to provide the right guffaws. 3. O cordially welcomes you to the space jam. Yes, O is an Othello retelling, but it doubles as an unofficial Space Jam sequel too. Here, Odin’s crazed energy culminates in a massive slam dunk that ruins a backboard. This is a man who’s ready to do something really serious — like star in a Gatorade commercial or befuddle Wayne Knight. 2. Julia Stiles as you’ve never seen her before: emoting Loved her on Dexter, loathed her onstage in David Mamet’s Oleanna, and on the big screen, I find that Julia Stiles is often — uninspired? Or just aloof? In O, the 10 Things I Hate About You’s titular hater surprises us all with a fresh, even harrowing performance. In one partially disturbing (but mostly over-the-top) scene, Othello’s rising rage and suspicions bubble over in a sexual assault. She looks pained here. Not to defend Odin, but the floating image of Andrew Keegan in flagrante delicto might inspire me to do sex a little faster too. Likely for a very different reason. 1. Josh Hartnett, super-villain The most lame/fantastic parts of O belong to the man who spooked us in Halloween H20, glowered at us in The Virgin Suicides, and shocked us with samurai-western credibility in Bunraku: Gen Y figurehead Josh Hartnett. It’s just inconceivable that a man as doe-eyed and baggy-sweatered as Hartnett would be so jealous of a teammate that he’d drive him to suicide. It’s even more inconceivable that he’d spout the following dialogue to Odin: “LIsten, I know you grew up in the hood, so you’ve seen a lot of hustlers, but the one thing I do know better than you is white girls.” That was real. Hartnett can’t handle the profound villainy of Iago or the slangy dialogue of O, so there’s no telling why he was cast here. All I know is I love that Iago’s most damning trait is his adorableness; it makes his lines like, “The point is, I’m the MVP on this piece of shit team!” seem cute — and true. You are the MVP, Mr. Hartnett. Even though your performance here makes Ryan Philippe’s in Cruel Intentions seem like dramatic masterwork. Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Trio Of Stars Cast In Lifetime, USA Aircraft aircraft pilots

Matthew MacCaull (The Killing) and Ken Luckey (Mission Park) are actually cast in Lifetime’s drama pilot American Housewife starring Melanie Griffith, who's executive creating with husband/creating partner Antonio Banderas. The Fox TV Art galleries-produced project concentrates on Leila (Griffith), a apparently perfect housewife living the American Dream inside an affluent neighborhood married to wealthy up-and-coming politician Stanford (Jeffrey Nordling) with whom she's three grown or almost-grown children. McCaull, repped by Off-shoreline Artists Management, may have a awesome but brilliant campaign aide for Stanford, on whom Leila’s youngest daughter (Kacey Rohl) features a crush. Luckey, repped by Greene & Affiliate marketers and Emerald Talent Group, may have the first boy, a gifted but somewhat tough to depend on artist and painter who's thinking about his mother’s odd behavior. Brandon Jay McLaren has grew to become part of USA’s untitled drama pilot from White-colored Collar creator Rob Eastin. The project, also from Fox TV Art galleries, follows agents from various federal and local agencies (DEA, FBI, LAPD) who reside in an undercover house in La. McLaren, repped by Pakula/King & Affiliate marketers and Hofflund/Polone, may have Dale Jakes, a quick-tempered U.S. Customs agent living in the home.

Olympian Lindsey Vonn Divorcing Husband Thomas Vonn

Lindsey Vonn and Thomas Vonn Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has began divorce proceedings along with her husband and chief agent, Thomas Vonn, Yahoo! reviews. Become popular current day latest news Vonn, additionally to her husband, rose to fame a year ago when she won the gold medal for downhill skiing within the Vancouver Olympics. Thomas, a 2002 Olympian, transformed Lindsey's father, Alan Kildow, as her coach. Father and daughter remain estranged, according to Yahoo!. "It becomes an very difficult time throughout my own existence which i really hope the media and my fans can respect my requirement of privacy relating to this matter," she mentioned in the statement. Lindsey, 27, and Thomas, 35, married in September of 2007.

'John Carter' Poster: Finally Learn What Was Stalking Val Kilmer in 'Red Planet'

'John Carter,' based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel 'A Princess of Mars,' is set to hit theaters in March. There's going to be a new trailer on Thursday, but, to hold you over, there's also a new poster which is... not a lot different than other movie posters that have "Mars" in the title. I mean, it's red because Mars is the Red Planet. And 'Red Planet' was the name of a 2000 Val Kilmer film that came out only eight months after a movie called 'Mission to Mars' -- which also has a red poster. Since the new 'John Carter' poster isn't very interesting on it's own, it is kind of fun to imagine that John Carter is walking, ever so stoically, over to Val Kilmer -- casting that elongated shadow as a result of the blazing hot sun in the background. What will happen when they meet? Will Kilmer chomp his teeth -- a la Tom "Iceman" Kasansky -- at John Carter? Will John Carter respond, "Hey, Val, my movie is going to make a lot more than the paltry $33 million your movie made worldwide." Well, we'll find out on Thursday! Until then, here's your new poster. [via Apple] You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter. Follow Moviefone on Twitter.

'Twilight' boffo with $283.5 mil worldwide

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning -- Part 1'Summit's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning - Part 1" may have fallen missing a collection-best domestic debut having its thought $139.5 million, nevertheless the penultimate "Twilight" still handled to overcome its three forerunners around the worldwide scale, gathering an impressive $283.5 million."Breaking Beginning" first demonstrated just before "New Moon," which made $274.8 million throughout its first worldwide weekend. That pic, however, opened up up inside the U.S. this same weekend this past year with $142.8 million. (The franchise's third offering "Eclipse" bowed mid-week a year ago, producing $157.6 000 0000 in your area within the first five days, getting a worldwide debut of $261.6 000 0000.)The second-to-last "Twilight" pic now stands since the fifth-finest domestic opening ever directly behind "New Moon" as well as the tenth-finest global launch ever.Overall weekend totals were up roughly 15% inside the same sesh a year ago, when "Harry Potter as well as the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" set the bar high by getting a dent of $125 million.Warner Bros.' 3d toon follow-up "Happy Foot Two," meanwhile, drastically underperformed its predecessor, bowing to have an thought $22 million versus. the 2D original's $41.5 million opening in 2006.The toon, which skewed 54% female, may have lost numerous its femme base to "Breaking Beginning," especially moms taking teens and tween women.Allotted for just about any reported $135 million, "Happy Foot Two" should have better luck with family auds next weekend, even though it also faces a crowded area as three other mostly family-skewing photos bow country wide on Wednesday."We must have that holiday play time under our belt," mentioned Warner domestic distribution prexy Serta Fellman. "By next Monday, we should have a better concept of where we stand."Just like a more efficient counterprogramming bid, Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants" broke to the domestic B.O.'s top by getting an thought three-day take of $1.2 million from just 29 locations. Pic, which bowed Wednesday for just about any five-day cume of $1.3 million, carried out to offered-out tests and accomplished good success in the mainly art house run through which "Twilight" likely was absent.Searchlight expects to supply the film a considerable mug Thanksgiving weekend, by getting one more roughly 400 playdates set to bow November. 23. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

'Chuck' Star Yvonne Strahovski to experience Researcher in 'I, Frankenstein' (Exclusive)

Yvonne Strahovski Chuck star Yvonne Strahovski is within final discussions to become listed on I, Frankenstein, the experience monster movie starring Aaron Eckhart. Miranda Otto, most widely known for taking part in Eowyn within the The almighty from the Rings movies, is also aboard.our editor recommends'Chuck's' Yvonne Strahovski Talks the ultimate Season: 'We're Pushing It'Reason No. 1 The Reason Why You Need THR's Comic-Disadvantage Problem: Yvonne Strahovski Having a Lightsaber Stuart Beattie is pointing the Lakeshore/Lionsgate movie, which follows Frankenstein's monster (Eckhart) vacillating between humanity and monsterdom while being went after by devils attempting to gain the key of his reanimated corpse. Strahovski will have the feminine lead, a researcher focusing on reanimating the dead and fooled into employed by devils trying to create an military from the undead. Otto is playing the full from the gargoyles who would like to help Frankenstein. Bill Nighy has already been in discussions to experience the best choice from the devils while Socratis Otto (no regards to Miranda) is his right hands guy. The film, with different comic by Kevin Grevioux, is because of shoot this winter around australia. Hopscotch Features is joining up with Lakeshore to create the film. Lionsgate will distribute. Strahovski, repped by IFA Talent Agency and KcKeon Myones Management, is overall her operate on Chuck, that is in the final season. She was last seen around the large-screen using the Killer Elite with Robert DeNiro and Jason Statham. She lately wrapped the Anne Fletcher-directed comedy My Mother's Curse, which stars Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. Australian actress Otto starred within the pilot for Locke & Key, which modified the Joe Hill comic, and starred in ABC's Cashmere Mafia. She's repped by Gersh and Management 360 in addition to U . s . Agent's around australia. Email: Borys.Package@thr.com Twitter: @borys_package Yvonne Strahovski

'The Help's' Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer to provide at THR's Women in Entertainment Breakfast

La, CA - November. 16, 2011--The Hollywood Reporter introduced the Help co-stars Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, will join Kathryn Stockett, author from the novel The Assistance, inside a special presentation at THR's 20th annual Women in Entertainment breakfast, presented by Lifetime, on December seventh.our editor recommendsTHR's Actress Roundtable: Six A-Listers Seem Off on Bad Reviews, Nudity and Playing HitlerBehind the Moments of THR's Actress Roundtable 2011The Help's Retro, Southern Style Jane Fonda to become Honored at THR's Women in Entertainment Breakfast The Assistance stars and author is going to be announcing The Hollywood Reporter's Coaching Program, which pairs around 15 inner-city women between your age range of 16-17 with top-level female professionals within the entertainment industry. PHOTOS: Behind the curtain of THR's Actress Roundtable 2011 This program, produced 3 years ago together with Large Siblings Large Siblings, has incorporated mentors like Anne Sweeney, Sue Kroll, Nancy Josephson, Melanie Prepare and Abbe Raven. This season's mentors and protégées is going to be introduced in the honours by Spencer, Davis and Stockett. THR's Actress Roundtable: Six A-Listers Seem Off on Bad Reviews, Nudity and Playing Hitler THR's Women in Entertainment breakfast, presented by Lifetime, recognizes the 100 most effective women in the market. This season, the big event will recognition Academy Top rated actress Jane Fonda using the 2011 Sherry Lansing Leadership Honours and can pay tribute towards the late producer Laura Ziskin. PHOTOS: How 'The Help' Was Cast Additionally for their presentation, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, both Oscar challengers for his or her performances within the Help, were the only real two stars in the same movie selected to sign up in THR's first honours roundtable of year. The stars have previously won the very best Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award for his or her roles within the Help in the 15th annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Honours, the very first honours show from the Oscar season. Related Subjects Viola Davis The Assistance Octavia Spencer

'Breaking Dawn' Premiere: Christina Perri Goes Behind the curtain

Since you clearly can't get an adequate amount of 'Breaking Beginning,' here comes pop singer Christina Perri having a behind-the-moments look in the large 'Twilight' premiere in La on Monday evening. "It's surprising this really is real existence," self-referred to Twi-hard Perri told America online Music. (Perri led the song "A 1000 Years" towards the 'Breaking Dawn' soundtrack.) You can observe Perri's own photos at Moviefone sister site America online Music, and appearance back here all week for many broadened 'Twilight' coverage. Watch Perri's video for "A 1000 Years" ahead. 'Breaking Dawn' has gone out in theaters on Friday, y'all! [via America online Music] [Photo: Christina Perri] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

ABC Charging $1.6-$1.7 Million For Oscar Ad Spots

The 2012 Oscars broadcast is being sold to advertisers for slightly less than its 2011 counterpart.our editor recommendsHave The Oscars Gone to the Dogs?!Billy Crystal Replaces Eddie Murphy for Oscars: What Hollywood is SayingRicky Gervais Offers to Host Oscars Following Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner ExitsEddie Murphy's 6 Biggest Missteps Before Bailing on the Oscars ABC, which is airing the 84th annual awards show telecast Feb. 26, is seeking between $1.6 and $1.7 million for each 30-second spot of advertising to air during the Academy Awards, Advertising Age reports. PHOTOS: Oscar Hosts Through the Years These figures are slightly below the 2011 broadcast, which netted closer to $1.7 million per ad, but still higher than the most recent low of $1.3 million in 2009 (brought on by the show's continually decreased ratings and the country's recession). PHOTOS: Oscar Show Moments Last year's widely-criticized show, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, may be partly to blame for the decrease, which also saw a nine percent drop in ratings from 2010's telecast. 37.9 million viewers watched The King's Speech take home Best Picture in 2011 while in 2010, 41.7 million were tuned in to see The Hurt Lockerwin the top honor. VIDEOS: The Biggest Failed Jokes at the Academy Awards The upcoming show has already seen its share of drama, with producer Brett Ratner and host Eddie Murphy stepping down from their duties last week (amidst controversy surrounding Ratner's use of a homophobic slur), four months before the show is set to air. Brian Grazer and veteran host Billy Crystal have since been named as their replacements. Related Topics ABC Billy Crystal Brett Ratner Brian Grazer Eddie Murphy Oscars Oscars 2011

'The Iron Lady' UK Trailer: Meryl Streep Is Margaret Thatcher

This past August, the first teaser for Meryl Streep's 'The Iron Lady' debuted, and although Streep is terrific in pretty much everything, her portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher didn't go over well with some in England. Well, perhaps this new UK trailer will change their minds. Despite drawing the ire of a few across the pond, Streep's already been generating early Oscar buzz for her role as Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady,' which follows the former prime minister's transformation from research chemist to politician. Also, is that 'Our House' by English ska band Madness playing in the background? Possibly! Let's hope there's more British '80s music going on throughout the movie. 'The Iron Lady' hits theaters on Dec. 30. [via The Daily Mail] [Photo: The Weinstein Co.] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Prolific Kenya biz looks for support

'The First Grader,' starring Lwander Jawar and Emily Njoki, was a big winner at Kenya's film festival, but helmer Justin Chadwick had to go to the U.K. Film Council to fund the pic. NAIROBI -- Justin Chadwick's "The First Grader," a BBC Films/U.K. Films Council co-production shot on location in Kenya, swept the awards at Kenya's recent film festival. But the success of the movie, which is based on a true story, underscored some of the problems facing the fledgling industry in this East African nation.Though Kenya has often served as a picturesque backdrop for big-budget foreign productions, the local biz has struggled to find its own footing, even when telling its own stories.Steep lensing fees and poor distribution networks have handcuffed independent helmers, while the thriving Riverwood industry, which churns out hundreds of low-budget, straight-to-video pics each year, hasn't generated enough revenue to spur growth and reach a mass-market audience.Filmmakers are hoping the long-awaited creation of an official film policy will address some of the industry's biggest challenges.According to Kenya Film Commission CEO Peter Mutie, the policy will allow for the creation of a film fund; the introduction of incentives for local and foreign productions; the establishment of a national film institute; and increased coordination between the various government agencies involved in the filmmaking process.The policy will also require Kenyan broadcasters to make at least 40% of the content they air local, and will put pressure on pubcaster KBC to invest more heavily in the Kenyan industry; both measures should be a shot in the arm for local filmmakers.But while the policy is comprehensive as drafted, it could have a long legal road ahead, according to Jim Shamoon, managing director of production services company Blue Sky Films. The introduction of a new constitution this year, which transfers a significant amount of power to local governments, means that the policy will now have to be negotiated with dozens of county legislatures."We don't think it's going to be implemented anytime soon," Shamoon says.Still, Shamoon says the government has shown a commitment to pushing the policy through, and expects it to continue to do so in the industry's bid to strengthen its role as a regional powerhouse.With nearly two dozen East African filmmakers invited to take part in the 10-day festival, KIFF underscored the growing efforts to increase cooperation between the region's film industries.Rwandan helmer Eric Kabera, who recently launched East Africa's first film institute in Kigali, says regional filmmakers "need to have a platform to share and exchange ideas."And while last year's formation of the East African Community Customs Union should eventually allow for the free flow of labor and goods between the region's member states, Mutie also points to the widely spoken lingua franca of Swahili as another advantage for East African filmmakers."The population within the region is almost 140 million," Mutie says. "That is a big market for the film industry."So far, though, the desire to integrate hasn't translated into concrete results. Just two of the five member states of the East African Community have their own film commissions, and talk of co-production treaties and an East African film fund have stalled."To engage effectively, we also need that structure (in other countries)," Mutie says. "You are as strong as your weakest link."East African filmmakers are nevertheless building ties on their own, with international collaborations on the rise and plans to integrate local film festivals into a regional network. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Brett Ratner's Oscars Alternative Is John Grazer

Developments round the Academy awards front are coming fast and furious. First came word that Brett Ratner was resigning as Oscars producer thinking about the questionable remarks he gained within a "Tower Heist" public screening the other day. Under 24 several hours later, Eddie Murphy dropped out since the show's host, departing the finest evening in Hollywood without a few its most critical creative support beams. Well, one or more of people holes continues to be filled: Imagine Entertainment co-founder John Grazer remains attracted onto exchange Ratner as producer in the 2012 Academy awards. "John Grazer can be a famous filmmaker who within the last two-and-a-half decades has produced an assorted and amazing body at work,In . Academy leader Tom Sherak mentioned in the statement released on Oscars.org. "He'll certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and associations for the Oscars." Grazer is positioned to co-produce alongside industry veteran Don Mischer. "It's very satisfying to sign up a demonstrate that honors excellence inside the medium that i have devoted lots of my career," Grazer mentioned of his appointment. "Don can be a legend, and i am excited to make use of him." It must be a significant friendly vary from the guard on all fronts: Grazer and Ratner labored carefully together round the recently released "Tower Heist," and so the handoff feels natural externally and, one imagines, internally. Furthermore, you will find talk by utilizing Grazer locked and loaded, possibly Murphy will reconsider his decision to go away the Oscars. However, who knowsperhaps its perfect time for your Muppets to a part of and save the following day of! Who you think should host the Oscars? Reveal inside the comments section and also on Twitter!

'StreetDance' helmers attracted on for 'Walking on Sunshine'

Vertigo Films has attracted on "StreetDance 3D' company company directors Max and Dania to helm the 3 dimensional musical "Walking on Sunshine." IM Global originates aboard as worldwide telemarketer with Vertigo disseminating inside the U.K. Companies made the announcement Friday within the American Film Market. British-based Max and Dania first demonstrated with "StreetDance 3dInch and so are in publish-production on "StreetDance 2." The duo's wrapped on "Let us Say...?,Inch a short film for your cultural Olympiad in the Olympic games after being attracted onto represent commercial British cinema with the BBC and Film Four. "Walking on Sunshine" is positioned striking tunes in the eighties and focuses on a parent or gaurdian and daughter who unconsciously fall for a similar guy in sun-drenched The nation. Producers are planning a release for 2013 and possess introduced in John O'Connell ("Moulin Rouge") since the musical choreographer. Producer James Richardson mentioned, "While using huge worldwide success in the first 'StreetDance' movie, Max and Dania are presently two of the extremely commercial company company directors in the U.K. and there is nobody better placed to direct a sizable, commercial, fun-filled musical." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Altered distrib landscape

The Weinstein Co.$277 millionThanks to the Oscar-winning hit "The King's Speech," the Weinstein Co. was the royalty of the 2011 indie realm. This year, "The King's Speech" tallied $115.9 million of its remarkable $138.8 million domestic total, which repped 42% of TWC's entire year-to-date tally. Other than "Speech," TWC has had a just-tolerable year, with its second-best title so far, "Scream 4," earning just $38.2 million. That's a far cry from the franchise's third entry, which grossed $89 million Stateside in 2000. The distrib's summer entries, "Spy Kids: All the Time in the World," "Our Idiot Brother" and "Apollo 18" round out TWC's top five, though none of them became major B.O. players. Up Next: "My Week with Marilyn" and "The Artist" (Nov. 23), "W.E." (Dec. 9), "The Iron Lady" (Dec. 16)Lionsgate$183 millionIf only Lionsgate could have ended its year back in April. The minimajor had notable spring successes, "The Lincoln Lawyer" and Tyler Perry's "Madea's Big Happy Family," before winding down with a string of late-summer B.O. duds, including "Conan the Barbarian," "Warrior" and "Abduction." (Lionsgate won't have another release until "The Possession" on Jan. 6.) "Lincoln Lawyer," a modestly budgeted courtroom potboiler, grossed $58 million, followed closely by Perry's latest offering, which ended its U.S. run with $53 million. Though Lionsgate has an ace on the horizon, with "The Hunger Games" franchise. Up Next: "The Hunger Games" (March 23)Relativity Media$145 millionRelativity Media made an auspicious start for a rookie, collecting enough coin for third place. But like Lionsgate, Relativity saw most of its biz come from the first quarter, with March release "Limitless" leading the pack with nearly $80 million. Otherwise, it's been a pretty uneven year for Relativity, since the $40 million "Season of the Witch" -- the company's first inhouse release -- ranks second with $24.8 million. "Shark Night 3D" ($18.8 million) and "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" ($15 million) both proved underwhelming for Relativity this summer. Relativity has something to prove with "Immortals." Up Next: "Immortals" (Nov. 11)Focus Features$123 millionLast year, Focus made good with summer hit "The Kids Are All Right," grossing more than $20 million through mid-October. And in 2011, the company has done even better, though the majority of its year-to-date tally comes from a pair of first-quarter wide releases, "Hanna" and "The Eagle." The former stands as Focus' best performer so far, with $40 million domestically, while "The Eagle" at No. 3 tallied just shy of $20 million. Focus acquired distribution rights to Miramax title "The Debt," which launched Labor Day weekend and has cumed a respectable $31 million in the U.S. "One Day," Focus' other summer wide release, struggled to build much buzz, earning $13.8 million. Results for the distrib's platform rollouts were mixed: "Jane Eyre" did well in March with $11 million, while "Beginners" -- Focus' attempt at duplicating "Kids"-like indie success -- topped out at just shy of $6 million. Up Next: "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (Dec. 9), "Pariah" (Dec. 28)FilmDistrict$117 millionThe year's second rookie distrib to focus on mid-range-budget fare, FilmDistrict, has made the most out of only a few releases. As of mid-October, the company launched just three films: "Insidious," "Drive" and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark." With "Insidious" grossing a stellar $54 million, FilmDistrict took a page from Par's "Paranormal Activity" success (pic was produced by "Paranormal" alum Jason Blum and Oren Peli). "Drive," which FilmDistrict acquired late last year, has grossed $34 million as of Oct. 31, while "Dark," another orphaned Miramax title, should top out Stateside somewhere north of $25 million. Johnny Depp starrer "The Rum Diary" bowed soft on Oct. 28. Up Next: "In the Land of Blood and Honey" (Dec. 23)Summit Entertainment$116 millionWithout a summer "Twilight" entry, 2011 year-to-date totals for Summit seem a bit depressed vs. this time last year. But give the distrib a couple of weeks for things to pick up, as penultimate "Twilight" offering "Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" launches Nov. 18. Other than the mega-hit franchise, Summit had success with April release "Source Code," which grossed $54.7 million domestically. The company's fall pic "50/50" did OK business at the box office; 3D pic "The Three Musketeers" struggled, as did specialty pair "The Beaver" and "A Better Life." Up Next: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" (Nov. 18), "The Darkest Hour (Dec. 25)Fox Searchlight$102 millionIn typical Fox Searchlight fashion, the majority of its year-to-date grosses came from an awards heavyhitter released the year before -- think "Crazy Heart," "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Juno." Add to that list "Black Swan," of whose total domestic cume ($106 million), nearly half of that ($59 million) was earned in 2011. But beyond Searchlight's Oscar fodder, little else has worked -- "The Tree of Life" and "Win Win" are important exceptions with $13 million and $10 million, respectively. A trio of Sundance pickups saw mixed results: "The Art of Getting By" and "Another Earth" both stalled at the B.O., while "Martha Marcy May Marlene" got off to a strong start on Oct. 21. Expect George Clooney family-dramedy "The Descendants" to occupy one of Searchlight's top B.O. slots next year. Up Next: "The Descendants" (Nov. 16), "Shame" (Dec. 2)Sony Pictures Classics$86 millionIt's been a Woody Allen-dominated year for Sony Pictures Classics. The helmer's latest film, "Midnight in Paris," not only debuted with the year's highest opening per-screen average for a traditional theatrical release ($99,834) but also turned in the best perf of a specialty pic this year so far, with $55 million domestically. "Midnight" provided a nice cushion for SPC, whose other 2011 releases haven't reached "Midnight's" lofty heights, although Sundance pickup "The Guard" perfomed decently ($5 million), as has Pedro Almodovar's Cannes pic "The Skin I Live In" released Oct. 14. SPC's other fest buys, including critical hits "Higher Ground" and "Take Shelter," have had a tougher time at the B.O., struggling to crack the $1 million mark. Up Next: "A Dangerous Method" (Nov. 23), "Carnage" (Dec. 16), "A Separation" (Dec. 30)CBS Films$57 millionA pair of pics landed CBS Films among the year's top indie distribs, but one of them, "Beastly," had been pushed back from 2010 to March 4. The teen-targeted film was positioned to be the distrib's "Twilight"-esque offering, though it cumed just $27.9 million. "The Mechanic," CBS Films' second 2011 release, did only slightly better with $29 million domestically. And that's it for the distrib this year; it'll kick off 2012 with Daniel Radcliffe horror-thriller "The Woman in Black" on Feb. 3, followed by "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," which CBS Films bought at the Toronto Film Fest on March 2.Open Road Films$25 millionAs the newest company to enter the distribution game, Open Road Films hardly has had time to prove itself. But with one release under its belt, "Killer Elite," the startup did well enough to land a spot among the top 10 indies. Launched earlier this year as a joint venture between AMC Entertainment and Regal Cinemas, Open Road faced skepticism straight off as some bizzers questioned whether exhibitors (particularly AMC and Regal) would play favorites with Open Road pics. That hasn't happened. Open Road has two pics skedded for 2012, "The Grey" and "Silent House," with a potential gem in 2013, "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer's "The Host" feature adaptation. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Ratings: Man Up! and Tim Allen's Sitcom Continue to Slide

Man Up! If life is tough for today's men, getting folks to watch that is even tougher. ABC's tandem of Man Up! and Last Man Standing keeps losing viewers, though the downward spiral has stabilized. The half-hour ABC sitcom about guys grappling with what it's like to be a modern man rustled up 6.41 million people and notched a 1.8 rating among industry-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. Last week it rousted 6.75 million viewers - down about 13 percent from the 7.80 million who tuned in for its debut -- and it sank in the demo to a 1.9 rating from 2.4. Photo timeline: The emasculation of men on TV Tim Allen's new sitcom, which precedes it at 8/7c, grabbed 9.30 million and notched a 2.6 demo rating. Last week, it enticed 9.82 million and a 2.8. So, there's been a leveling off of the tune-out: Some 10.20 million watched Week 2, after 12.95 million checked out the debut. Also in the first hour of Tuesday's prime time, CBS' No. 1 show NCIS attracted 19.38 million viewers (3.9 demo rating) while Fox's Glee and the first hour of NBC's The Biggest Loser lured 7.48 million (2.9) and 6.48 million (2.2), respectively. The CW's 90210 delivered 1.50 million (0.7). Read our Glee recap At 9/8c, NCIS: Los Angeles attracted 15.59 million (3.4 demo rating) vs. Dancing with the Stars' results show (15.21 million/2.8) and the second part of Loser (6.28 million/2.4). On Fox, fresh outings of New Girl and Raising Hope aired after a month's hiatus, luring 7.53 million fan and 3.5 demo rating and 5.49 million/2.5, respectively). All of the Fox shows - absent most of October because of the baseball playoffs and The X Factor - were down from their previous first-run episodes. A new Ringer episode had 1.80 million (0.8) on the CW. Unforgettable won prime time's final hour Tuesday with 11.27 million viewers (2.3 demo rating) vs. Body of Proof (10.06 million/2.2 - its biggest audience of the season) and Parenthood (5.29 million/2.2).

Time Warner posts boffo third quarter

Time Warner revenue jumped 11 percent to $7.1 billion last quarter powered by a rocking Warner Bros. and reflecting the highest growth rate since the third quarter of 2007, the media giant said Wednesday. Net profit surged to $822 million from $52 million. Studio revenue grew 19 percent to $3.3 billion led by the strong theatrical performance of ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'' and higher television license fees from the ''The Big Bang Theory.'' The last installment of the Harry Potter franchise took in $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the third highest grossing film ever, the company said. Studio operating income jumped 162 percent to $524 million on higher revenue, lower film valuation adjustments and lower pre-release advertising expenses. The company led by Jeff Bewkes stressed its focus on experimentation with new platforms to keep the business vital. Last month, Warner Home Video released the first two movies with UltraViolet-enabled digital copies, ''Horrible Bosses'' and ''Green Lantern.'' Consumers can access these pics and others as they come up on multiple platforms through Flixster and going forward through a growing number of UltraViolet services. Other highlights during the quarter include a licensing pact with Netflix to stream previous seasons of scripted series on The CW network or that will premiere on the network through the 2014-15 season. The CW also announced a five-year licensing agreement with Hulu last week for the rights to stream in-season episodes of its programming on the Hulu Plus subscription service and Hulu's free ad-supported service. ''Our results demonstrate the success of Time Warner's focus on investing in great content that audiences love and leading the evolution of how it's delivered,'' said Bewkes. . At cable networks, Turner Broadcasting and HBO, revenue rose 7 percent to $3.2 billion. Subscription revenue rose 6 percent and advertising revenue jumped 9 percent. Operating income slipped by 4 percent on higher sports and entertainment programming and marketing costs. Highlights include TNT's ''Falling Skies,'' which the company said ranked as basic cable's highest-rated new series during the quarter. CNN viewership was up nearly 50 percent year-on-year among adults 25-54 in prime time. Time Inc. publishing, revenue was about flat at $889 million, reflecting flat subscription revenue and a 3 percent dip in advertising revenues -- partly due to the transfer of management of SI.com and Golf.com to Turner in the fourth quarter of 2010. Time Inc. operating Income fell 12 percent to $124 million on lower revenue and higher expenses, including increased paper costs. During the first nine months of 2011, Time Inc. maintained its 21.1 percent leading share of overall domestic magazine market. It also said it had repurchased $3.7 billion worth of shares year to date. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

DreamWorks Animation Stretches Chief Marketing Officer Anne Globe's Contract

NY - DreamWorks Animation mentioned it's extended the utilization contract of chief marketing officer Anne Globe. She'll keep getting responsibility for individuals global marketing activity, including corporate brand building, additionally to theatrical, television and ancillary marketing efforts its DreamWorks Animation's characteristics. The business revealed in the controlling filing that her new contract runs through Jan. 1, 2014, while using studio obtaining a option to increase it having a year. Mentioned Boss Jeffrey Katzenberg: "Her creativity, dedication and amazingly effort throughout the final 15 years are actually vital to making DreamWorks Animation just like a premiere family entertainment company." Globe mentioned: "Since the DreamWorks Animation brand evolves within the U.S. and worldwide, I anticipate coping with my team inside the mission for global marketing efforts that highlight the astounding creative work produced by our artists each day.In . Globe is presently dedicated to now's launch of Puss In Boots. She grew to become an associate of DWA in 1996. She formerly offered as v . p . of promotions at MCA/Universal. Globe began her marketing career within the Wally Disney Art galleries. The controlling filing mention an annual salary of $862,000 incorporated in Globe's compensation package. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Jeffrey Katzenberg DreamWorks Animation

Ask Matt: Walking Dead, Homeland, Terra Nova, Dexter and More!

Walking Dead Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!Question: I'm new to The Walking Dead this season, but I did catch up on all of Season 1 with the marathon presentation before the Season 2 premiere. I mostly like it and I know we're supposed to suspend disbelief, especially when watching a show about zombies. However, I do think they try to make it seem "real" plot-wise, and I especially like the explanation provided during the Season 1 finale where only the brain stem comes back to life which would account for the mobility and other "mindless" behavior. However, it also occurs to me that these are supposed to be smart people caught up in this fantastic scenario from hell. So why don't they just make it to a marina and procure a nice big boat and hang out on a lake somewhere? The way these zombies move, it's clear they can't swim or otherwise follow, and they could just cruise around and make the occasional raid to get gas and hunt, not to mention just fish for sustenance. I know that wouldn't make for great drama, but one thing I always like about Breaking Bad for instance is that the characters behave intelligently and the plots are very realistic, even if you don't always see it right away. -SamuelMatt Roush: As much as I love Breaking Bad, I'm not sure realism is its strong suit, though in the moment, the tension certainly always feels real. Same goes for the incredibly intense Walking Dead, which I see as a search for community as much as a quest for survival, so isolating this group in a boat wouldn't really float. The idea of these characters heading out to sea might work for an episode, but as we saw in this week's cliffhanger, a raid for supplies can be as treacherous as any other activity in this apocalyptic world. The premise of the show, at least at this point, is that there really is no safe harbor, and if there was, it probably wouldn't stay that way for long. Because as you noted, what fun would that be?Question: I'm loving Homeland, and I wonder if part of the success is because many of us associate Damian Lewis with his role on Band of Brothers. When we see him, we subliminally see Dick Winters, who we already accept as a hero and can't imagine becoming a traitor. It's like a WWII movie where John Wayne is captured by the Germans and becomes a sleeper agent - you just can't accept that the Duke could betray his country. -CharliyMatt Roush: An interesting point, although I'd hate to think an actor as gifted as Damian Lewis is being typecast. Still, any successful actor brings the baggage of their most successful roles, and Band of Brothers is iconic. So if it adds to the tension that we don't want to believe Lewis-as-Brody could be a sleeper terrorist in hero's clothing, so much the better. He's so wonderfully inscrutable and unpredictable in this role, I'm loving the not knowing for now.Question: Terra Nova has all this great medical, weapons and transportation technology from 2149, and the producers have been very careful and thorough in creating the mythology and the science of the settlement. So why is there no air transportation? -ChristinaMatt Roush: Here's an answer courtesy of executive producer Rene Echevarria: "Most of the technology in Terra Nova is sent back through the portal in pieces from 2149 and reassembled on our end. What to send back is a matter of priorities since the portal can only be kept open for a short time. Priority is given to mission-critical supplies such as medicines, weapons for self-defense and, of course, the pilgrims themselves. As for air power, every now and then you'll hear references to "RBs," short for research balloons. These are tethered to the ground at fixed locations outside the compound perimeter, and can provide live security/surveillance footage as well as atmospheric/scientific data."And now, as sometimes happens, two contrasting views on a popular long-running show:Question: I've been a big Dexter fan, but find myself not enjoying this season. Maybe it's because the time between last season ending and this season beginning was so long - I'm just not back into the groove. I am definitely not enjoying this "spiritual" journey Dex is taking, which is for Harrison for sure, but also for himself. Somehow the "code" has been superseded by a higher-power influence, and it's shifting the show's direction. I'm also finding it implausible that Dex locked in on the old guy without much information, and abandoned home and work in pursuit of payback. I don't know... the character seems to have shifted and the show is lacking something for me. I am, on the other hand, enjoying Deb's dilemma and the mess she finds herself in. More Deb would be a good thing; less murderous Dex also desired. Odd. Are you enjoying this season? -EllenQuestion: I think so far this year you have been off-base about Dexter. While religion is part of this season's theme, it is by no means being shoved down our throats (if you want that, watch Touched By An Angel reruns). I actually find the back and forth between the flawed but sincere believer (Brother Sam), religious extremists (Travis & Gellar), and atheist (Dexter) an interesting scenario. I find they are handling this very well and it's not insulting to the viewer's intelligence. And last week gave us a great surprise with a terrific turn by Ronny Cox as a killer Dexter used to idolize (somebody give Ronny a "Cheer!"). What I still have issue with is the subplots of almost everyone else. Dexter has never really been that good at handling its supporting players or giving them much good to do. I'm starting to wish [BOOK SPOILER ALERT] that LaGuerta would meet the fate she did in the first book. What is your opinion of the issues with the supporting players? And while I don't think you are ready to give up on Dexter just yet, do you think it would be wise to start thinking up some kind of end game for the series? Dexter can't get away with it forever, can he? -BrandonMatt Roush: I have no real trouble with the season's Big Theme of faith, and have especially enjoyed the rapport of Dexter and Brother Sam (Mos), the ex-con preacher who's acting as Dexter's spiritual sounding board. But I do think the way it's being handled is awfully heavy-handed, not so much an insult to the intelligence as it is unnecessarily obvious, with Dexter's voice-overs underscoring and belaboring what is already so clear. It sometimes takes a while for a season of Dexter to get into full gear - having Gellar and Travis finally get on the cops' and Dexter's radar this week is, let's hope, a turning point - but while this is far from my favorite season, I've enjoyed some moments along the way. I can handle the improbabilities of Dexter's various missions; Ronny Cox was so outrageous as the grumpy old "Tooth Fairy" killer, I enjoyed that subplot a great deal. It's the stuff happening in the police station that tends to bore me to distraction, because the supporting cast is so erratic. That said, I enjoyed the moment when Debra's nervous profanity on live TV didn't result in a dressing-down, but an "attagirl." Hoping the season picks up steam, not that I'm in any danger of breaking up with Dexter yet. As for an endgame: It could be a financial as much as creative decision that determines how long Dexter keeps going - I'm still enjoying the book series, for what it's worth, but a TV show is by necessity a different animal, and this one peaked in the John Lithgow season, so I'd like to see it try to go out with a little juice left in the tank. But as long as Dexter remains this popular, it's hard to imagine Showtime not doing what it can to keep it on the air for the foreseeable future.Question: I've always enjoyed the NCIS episodes that feature Special Agent Abigail Borin, the redheaded, CGIS Gibbs counterpart played by Diane Neal. Do you think that they'd ever create a Coast Guard-based TV show with her as the lead? -JamesMatt Roush: Do I think they would? Maybe. CBS has already cloned NCIS once successfully (not to mention CSI and, with less positive results, Criminal Minds). Do I think they should? Not really. I'd rather see characters like Agent Borin stay within the NCIS universe to add some variety and spice to the show. While a Coast Guard spin-off might perform well for CBS, this kind of recycling isn't the best thing for network TV, which could use a few more fresh ideas.Question: I know that all of this season on How I Met Your Mother is leading up to Barney's wedding, but I was wondering if it is all a big fake-out. We keep hearing about a wedding, but have we heard anything about an actual marriage? If next season involves a married Barney and Lily and Marshall's baby, the show takes on a whole new dynamic. If we assume that Barney might marry Robin, that leaves only Ted single on the show. So my question is, in all of the interviews with the producers, have they ever mentioned Barney actually being married on the show? I wonder if it all plays out that Barney chickens out because he is marrying Nora but loves Robin.On an additional note, I love that Sue Heck finally stood up for herself on The Middle, great episode! Plus as a parent who had a son who took the PSAT's last Wednesday, I could relate to that storyline as well. I figured out what I like about The Middle and why it works. So many shows play the parents as clueless or foolish and the kids are smart alecks who are always playing them. The parents love the kids, but the kids are portrayed as smarter than them (i.e. every Disney Channel show). But on The Middle, the parents are just real people, overwhelmed at times, but never portrayed as dumb. They want the best for their kids but don't always know the best way to achieve that. Just like most of us parents. -CarolMatt Roush: Regarding Mother: Nothing would surprise me on this show when it comes to an endless tease, and the expectation that having information withheld from us somehow constitutes entertainment. At the moment, we're to believe that Barney is heading toward the altar, but to whom and for how long are plot points that don't seem to have been specifically addressed or spoiled. (And if they had been, I wouldn't spoil them here.) To be honest, I've grown weary of the producers' "all in good time" approach to hyping their show, so if they've projected about Barney's future as an actual husband, I've missed it.On to The Middle, a comedy I'm really enjoying and recommending as often as possible: I agree that one of its greatest strengths is how relatable it is to so many people, especially parents (but really, to anyone who's part of a family). The Hecks are strapped in every way possible: for money, for time, for the patience and energy to deal with their exasperating kids, who are each distinctively funny but not so precocious they get the last word. Because unlike on most sitcoms, no one really gets the last word here (not even Frankie the narrator), because they often realize the only way to keep going is to just give up and move on. Their lives are such a mess, it's usually not the sort of thing that can be fixed in a half-hour episode.Question: My family and I would love to watch Grimm, but NBC put it on opposite Supernatural and Fringe, so our DVR is already taken. Given that those shows cater to the demographic they would like to reach, doesn't it make sense to put it on at a different time? -WilliamMatt Roush: The scheduling really is puzzling, and feels like further cannibalization of an already smallish pool of genre enthusiasts on what has become TV's cult night. I'm trying to keep an open mind until I see more episodes beyond the pilot, but Grimm seems the least interesting and promising of the three, so that helps take care of the problem at least from my perspective. But I'm expecting NBC will make the show readily available on other platforms (nbc.com, On Demand, etc.) so others in your boat have a chance to at least sample it. But programming it against such similar competition doesn't seem like much of a vote of confidence.Question: I've been watching A Gifted Man. I like the premise of the story, but the casting is awful. I get that Patrick Wilson's character, Dr. Michael Holt, is a driven doc with little bedside manner. That understood, does he always have to be so wooden? I mean, there is seemingly no personality underneath the intelligence. Then again, I get that it's a typical doc, but it's not very entertaining. Just sayin'. I also don't think Jennifer Ehle, the dead ex-wife, brings any sort of chemistry to the show. She is a fine actress, but there is no way in real life those two would have ever been together. However, my biggest issue with this show is the sorely underused talent of Margo Martindale. She is a firecracker of an actress and to see her relegated to this non-essential character with no meaningful dialogue is just a waste. I want to see her in a vehicle that will showcase her acting chops. Those who don't know her as Mags Bennett have no idea what Martindale can do. She deserves better! Thanks for letting me vent. -StaceyMatt Roush: Couldn't agree more about Margo Martindale, and I hope the show figures out a way to capitalize on her newfound Emmy-winning star status. I'm somewhat encouraged by the news that they've cast Tom Wopat to play her husband, which indicates they're planning to expand her role. But in general, I think it's the show that's letting down these terrific actors, not vice versa. They're playing what they've given, and when I checked back in last week (for the Eriq La Salle episode), I was discouraged to see Ehle's character still being such a cloying, coy nag. I'm seeing more charisma from Wilson than you do, but the role is so earnestly conceived at this point there's not much he can do with it.Question: Why does the CW snub Supernatural? Despite seven years on the air, the network barely advertises Supernatural even after the way Supernatural has been received by fans. Over half a million voted for Supernatural's TV Guide Magazine cover and yet CW ignores the show. They depend on word of mouth by fans to get viewers for the show. Maybe they should pay the fans for doing their advertising for them? -PhoenixMatt Roush: Snub? For a show to last seven seasons on any network should be a cause for fans to rejoice, not to complain. But the big-picture, common-sense answer to this gripe is that especially in the fall, any network's priority is to promote the new series in hopes of creating new hits, with far less attention given to the long-running shows with a loyal fan base that (much like its time-slot competition Fringe) isn't likely to grow substantially in its latter seasons. Supernatural does tend to have to sell itself these days, enhanced by appearances at fan-oriented events like Comic-Con. When I tune into the CW (usually later in the week), I see a fair amount of on-air promotion for the Friday series Nikita and Supernatural. I'm not sure what fans expect, but I am sure it would never be enough.Question: I'm having a hard time caring about Project Runway any more. After the move to Lifetime and a different production company, I feel the show has shifted the focus to more drama and less design. Granted, drama has been there from the beginning (Hi, Wendy Pepper!), but there seemed to be an emphasis on designing clothes and a thoughtful critique of them. Now, we get a pretty poor pool of designers producing less than spectacular garments, bizarro challenges and all-over-the-place judging. It's so obvious the producers wanted to keep Anya (and Josh all season, for that matter), despite her presenting the worst designs last week. Yet they allowed her to show at Fashion Week anyway! Do you think Project Runway can return to its former glory, or has it settled into its current rut? Are we in for another Gretchen-sized upset? -AaronMatt Roush: There was a lot of chaff this season, it's true. And it did seem preordained almost from the start that the stunning Anya and the annoying Josh (who has often made this season more of a chore to sit through than usual) were going to make it to the end, even when they choked - Anya at the 11th hour - so what a relief for Viktor to quietly upstage the rest of the cast with actual talent and (usually) taste. If there's more drama than design these days, it may have something to do with the bloated 90-minute episodes, but heightened conflict has always been a big part of these shows, giving us "characters" to root for and against, so I'm not sure much has really changed in that aspect. Runway's reputation may not yet have recovered from the controversial Gretchen win, and cop-out episodes like last week's, when all four finalists were let through to Fashion Week despite some major faux pas, aren't likely to help. Maybe the All-Stars version (pushed back until 2012) will put some oomph back in the franchise. I know I'd be more eager to see that than Project Accessory, the desperate-sounding spin-off that premieres after this Thursday's finale - which we can only hope won't be as big a let-down as the Gretchen-beats-Mondo fiasco.That's all for now. Keep sending your comments and questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com, and in the meantime, follow me on Twitter!Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Herzog holds court at DGA

HerzogWerner Herzog likes dwelling in La nevertheless the German director won't be a U.S. citizen -- unless of course obviously the nation removes the dying penalty. "I'm a guest within your country and not someone to show you what's right and wrong," mentioned Herzog throughout Saturday morning's keynote address within the seventh annual Film Independent Forum in the organization company directors Guild of America headquarters. "I'm not able to become a citizen of the nation which has capital punishment." Asked for whether he'd change that belief were his wife being wiped out, Herzog responded, "For no reason when the condition keep up with the positioning to kill anybody." The dying penalty will be a frequent subject throughout Herzog's hour-extended appearance, which incorporated clips from his documentary "Into the Abyss," devoted to two males on dying row for just about any triple homicide in Texas. IFC releases "Abyss," which opened up within the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, on November. 11. Herzog, who's directed over 60 films, mentioned that because of time restrictions round the interviews with inmates, he must be particularly straightforward inside the interviews. "On Dying Row, they could place a phony miles away," he added. Herzog come up with only 10 total several hours of footage when he started editing, a process that was so demanding he needed up smoking and limited themselves to five several hours every day at work. He told everyone else it's important to edit quickly to have the ability to have a obvious mind, watching he completed the editing on "Unhealthy Lieutentant: The avenue for call, New Orleans" within 2 days after finishing shooting. Herzog advised everyone else to think about the same approach in filmmaking, watching that by monitoring daily earnings on "Bad Lieutenant," he found that costume costs were far too high due to purchases of duplicate clothes for players with basically a few lines. That film, he noted, showed up $2.6 000 0000 under budget and a pair of days early. "If you undertake that, you'll probably get serious attention,Inch Herzog added. Responding with a question about whether he'd do just about anything in different ways, Herzog was emphatic inside the negative, responding, "I accept my errors and many types of my films are full of errors." He then noted he throws away all the out-takes, adding that as it is pricey to help keep footage and counter-productive to get this done, adding, "A contractor does not sit back on his contaminants." Herzog's concentrating on a four-part "Dying Row" documentary for TV into December and may then portray a villain opposite Tom Cruise in "One Shot." "I'm always advantageous just like a debased villain on the watch's screen,In . he added, evoking laughter within the audience of 200. The director also declined that he's reckless, despite his status, by stating that no actor's are you currently hurt inside a of his films. Which he advised everyone else to take advantage from the lower costs of filmmaking. "For my first eight films, We used a camera I'd stolen," Herzog recognized. "You've utilization of high quality cameras and you'll edit around the laptop. You'll be able to execute a film for $10,000." For financing, he suggested working outdoors from the office and getting a powerful enviroment, quipping, "Be described as a bouncer in the sex club." Asked for about his worst job, Herzog responded by recounting becoming an 18-year-old car park attendant through the Oktoberfest in Munich. "Dealing with 3,000 very drunk people throughout the evening is not fun," he noted. Herzog found the final outcome by adoring La, watching that he'd chosen to exist in La after concluding that San Francisco Bay Area was "too chic." "I desired to keep the city with cultural substance," he asserted. "In 15 years, everybody will probably be proclaiming that about La.Inch Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

'Paranormal Activity' conjuring big B.O.

'Paranormal Activity 3'With $8 million in midnight grosses and a strong Friday performance, box office observers expect "Paranormal Activity 3" to earn a total of $22 million by Friday night and $44 million to $46 million for the weekend.Based on early Friday numbers, B.O. watchers also estimate that "Real Steel" will drop 30% from last weekend, coming in at $11 million-$11.5 million for its third frame. "The Three Musketeers" will most likely land somewhere in the $11 million range."Ides of March" may drop 35%, but observers note that the pic could show a bounce Saturday, ultimately earning in the $4.5 million to $5 million range over the frame."Dolphin Tale" is holding over well, with estimates pegging the pic at $4.7 million to $4.8 million."Martha Marcy May Marlene" had grossed about $35,000 as of Friday afternoon, with estimates putting the pic's weekend total at $100,000-$120,000 for its limited release."Johnny English Reborn" looked to gross around $1 million today, with total estimates for the pic around $3 million to $3.5 million over the frame. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com

'Margin Call' Clip: Demi Moore and Kevin Spacey Meet the Financial Crisis (Moviefone Exclusive)

.post-content img {display:none;} Out in limited release and video on-demand next week, 'Margin Call' focuses on a group of employees at an investment bank over the course of 24 hours at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. A murderer's row of talent -- Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Stanley Tucci and Simon Baker -- star in J.C. Chandor's timely film, and in this exclusive new clip, Spacey, Moore and Baker are faced with some fairly bad news. Hold tight to your 401Ks and watch above. 'Margin Call' hits theaters and video on-demand services on Oct. 21. Watch the trailer by clicking here. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

ESPN.com Launches Web Video Series 'Kenny Maynes Wider Arena of Sports'

NY - Wally Disney Co.'s ESPN.com mentioned Wednesday it's launched new movie series Kenny Mayne's Wider Arena of Sports, an homage to ABC's classic Wide Arena of Sports. Inside the Web series, Mayne travels the planet to check out off-beat sporting occasions. Covering six nations on five continents, the show will feature one country every week over the following six days with four to five segments each studying the unique sports of indigenous people. Segments include Mayne involved in the King's Cup elephant polo tournament in Thailand, playing extreme golf round the world's longest componen 3 around the mountain in Nigeria, playing soccer with Brazilian star Ronaldinho and learning footvolley round the beach in Rio. Mayne can be a former SportsCenter anchor and star of ESPN.com's Mayne Street video series. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects ESPN

Harto, Garcia sell 'Meadows'

Joshua Harto and Liz Garcia, the couple and artistic team behind TNT's "Memphis Beat," have offered an hourlong drama script to NBC.Occur 1960's Las vegas, "The Meadows" can also be produced by Scott Stuber and Quan Phung beneath the Stuber Pictures banner. Universal Television is creating.Harto and Garcia are repped by CAA and Madhouse Entertainment. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com