David Attenborough to get Top IBC Recognition

David Attenborough would be the person receiving IBC's 2011 Worldwide Recognition for Excellence -- the greatest recognition that IBC bestows -- in recognition of his career in television and, particularly, natural history.The award -- whose past readers include James Cameron and Jeffrey Katzenberg-- will be provided Sept. 11 in the Worldwide Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam.Attenborough's career spans almost six decades, and the recent Atlantic Productions documentary "Flying Monsters three dimensional With Mister David Attenborough" is amongst the acclaimed programs to possess been commissioned by Sky three dimensional.Attenborough became a member of the BBC in 1952 and immediately found his vocation in natural history programming. He earned his title while watching camera, in addition to creating, with "Zoo Mission" expeditions, by which he along with a small crew trigger having a 16mm camera to some remote corner from the globe, planning to come back having a rare animal for London Zoo and sufficient footage to produce a television series.Within the mid-'60s, he temporarily drawn back from making programs when he was hired the controller from the recently released funnel BBC2. One of the programs he commissioned was "Monty Python's Flying Circus."Then he came back to natural history through credits such as the 1979 series "Existence on the planet.""Mister David Attenborough continues to be known as the 'greatest broadcaster in our time,A and throughout his career he's grabbed upon the most recent developments in technology to light up natural history," stated Peter Owen, chairman from the IBC Council. "Dealing with the BBC Natural History Unit he developed time-lapse sequences in "The Non-public Existence of Plants" and low-light and infrared cameras to capture the behaviour of nocturnal animals. Today he's dealing with Atlantic Productions on stunning three dimensional programs, including Flying Monsters, the very first three dimensional program to win a BAFTA Award." The Hollywood Reporter

New Toy Story Short to Precede The Muppets in Theaters

Disney’s D23 Expo just unleashed a delightful tidbit: The Muppets, which we’re suddenly craving, will play in theaters this November with a new Toy Story short called Small Fry. Earlier this year, Cars 2 premiered with a Toy Story Toon about Ken and Barbie’s Hawaiian Vacation. Any plot guesses for this one? I’m hoping Bo Peep returns bearing, like, 13 Fisher Price Little People children. [/Film]

Poch pockets three pix

BARCELONA -- New Barcelona-based distribution house Paco Poch Cinema has closed Spanish rights to Bela Tarr's Berlin Jury Grand Prix winner ''The Turin Horse,'' Mia Hansen-Love's ''Goodbye First Love'' and Andreas Dresen's ''Stopped on Track.''''Love'' received a special mention at the Locarno fest this weekend; ''Track'' shared Cannes' Un Certain Regard Prize this May.Paco Poch -- whose production credits include Pedro Almodovar's 1979 debut ''Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del monton'' and Jose Luis Guerin's ''Innisfree'' -- has already acquired Spanish rights to Pedro Costa's ''Ne change rien,'' Hansen-Love's ''Father of My Children'' and Lluis Galter's Venice Horizons title ''Caracremada,'' which he also produced.The move into distribution comes out of frustration at not being able to co-produce such titles as ''Rien'' and ''Horse,'' Poch told Variety. Poch's next release, bowing early September, will be Anne Linsel's docu ''Dancing Dreams,'' about teens in Germany's Wuppertal being taught by choreographer Pina Bausch.On ''Dreams,'' Poch partners with Spanish production-distribution house Avalon to launch the pic.''Horse'' opens in Spain this fall after screening out of competish at October's Sitges Festival.Poch plans to attend the Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Karlovy Vary and Rotterdam's markets, and to release around two to five films a year, all subtitled -- an increasingly rare phenom in Spain.''I'm essentially a producer but I cannot accept there's no place in the market for auteur and issue films,'' Poch said.Future Poch Cinema releases include Ounie Lecomte's ''A Brand New Life'' and Goran Olsson's ''The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975.'' ''Life'' will be released with Luis Angel Bellaba's Aquelarre Films.Working out of Mallerich Films, which he founded in 1994, Poch's is producing ''Genet en el Raval,'' based on a book by Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo on Jean Genet's life in Barcelona.(Emiliano de Pablos contributed to this report.) Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Milla Jovovich Battles Face Blindness (True) in Trailer for Faces in the Crowd

Milla Jovovich has squared off against many insidious adversaries in her career, including zombies (Resident Evil), evil itself (The Fifth Element), and critics (The Messenger). So why is it that her latest foe, a real-life affliction known as prosopagnosia — which confuses a person’s ability to recognize the faces of friends and loved ones (or, in Jovovich’s case in Faces in the Crowd, the face of her would-be killer) — seem like the silliest and most far-fetched enemy of all? Prosopagnosia is a disorder in which one cannot recognize familiar faces, usually after suffering a trauma to the brain; Wired wrote about it in 2006, while author Heather Sellers penned her memoirs in 2010 about living with the affliction. So I don’t dismiss the idea of face blindness lightly as the silly horror movie device that writer-director Julien Magnat’s France-Canada co-production Faces in the Crowd makes it seem when a character in the trailer explains to Jovovich why everyone she knows, including herself, suddenly looks blurry-faced or like creepy clones. (Do you think when she looks into the mirror she goes, “Hey, is that the chick from Return to the Blue Lagoon?”) “What you’re experiencing,” a doctor explains, “is FACE BLINDNESS…” Duh-duh-duhn! I’ll give Milla this; she appears to be as committed to the set-up here as she was in the also-silly The Fourth Kind, but the “blink-and-your-husband’s face-becomes-a-stranger’s face” — or friend’s face, or nondescript serial killer guy’s face, etc. — thing gets gimmicky fast. And when was the last time a movie killer used a straight razor so much just in the trailer? Something tells me we’ve seen pretty much all the beats of this film already in just two minutes and 18 seconds of face-blurring, neck-slashing, Milla Jovovich-freaking out trauma. And if you think for a second there won’t be a twist ending, think again. Like Julian McMahon will let those Nip/Tuck slicing skills go to waste? VERDICT: Sigh. It’s too bad I’m not silly movie-blind and will watch anything Milla Jovovich is in, no matter what.

Start Looking at Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover

We have caught glimpses of Leonardo DiCaprio as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover from paparazzi photos, however the first official movie images from 'J. Edgar' are just launched to EW. DiCaprio plays the well known G-guy who totally changed crimefighting because the mind from the bureau with then-cutting-edge forensics, but wound up a energy-mad official who unlawfully recorded phones and threatened civil privileges leaders. How about individuals gossips that Hoover loved to mix-dress? Can we see Leo in drag? Director Clint Eastwood informs EW, "the film leaves it available to interpretation." 'The Social Network's Armie Hammer (pictured with DiCpario within the above photo) plays connect FBI director Clyde Tolson, who had been rumored to become Hoover's lover, such as the expect any love moments between your two. See more photos, and much more concerning the movie, following the jump. With all of individuals secrets and scams at his tips of the fingers, Hoover was untouchable, states Eastwood." Here's this person beginning the Bureau of Analysis, which later grew to become the Fbi, after which continues to remain for 48 years through eight presidents," Eastwood states. "Obviously nobody could fire him, while he had something on everyone." Whether Hoover was keeping a whopper of the secret of their own expires for debate. Eastwood informs EW he deliberately stored Hoover's sex life ambiguous. "Many people might interpret [him to be gay]. Many people might say [he and Tolson] were just inseparable pals. Or whether it's a love story without having to be gay, I'm not sure. But it is quite interesting, the way in which [film writer Dustin] Lance [Black] aid the script. It had been nicely written. It did not visit the apparent." "I began being interested in the 'why,'" states Black, who won an Oscar for 2008's 'Milk.' "He did wonderful things with this country, why did he finish up doing this a lot of things which were heinous and dangerous? It was all within the title of attempting to fill that void, where love goes, with public admiration. This can be a guy who from his earliest years was told he could never express the love he felt." The film hits theaters November 9, before the honours season. Do you consider it'll accrue lots of Oscar nominations? [via EW]

DGA unveils Honors program recipients

The Directors Guild of America has tapped a quartet of recipients for its DGA Honors program -- Director/Writer/Producer Nora Ephron, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), IATSE International President Matthew Loeb and HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins. The DGA made the announcement Friday. The four will be feted at the DGA Honors ceremonies at the DGA Theater in New York City on Oct. 13. The DGA Honors will also feature a special posthumous tribute to pioneering female filmmaker Alice Guy Blach . ''2011 marks the 75th anniversary of the Directors Guild of America,'' said DGA President Taylor Hackford in a statement. ''In this anniversary year of celebrating our history and the people who have made an indelible mark on our community, DGA Honors provides a special moment to recognize a handful of people who have uniquely contributed to the betterment of our community by providing opportunity, safeguarding our livelihoods or using entertainment to open a window onto the human experience.'' Past DGA Honors recipients have included Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Milos Forman, Curtis Hanson, Spike Lee, Mike Nichols, Arthur Penn, Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese, Dick Wolf; Robert De Niro, Lorne Michaels, David Chase; Congressman John Conyers, Jr.; Jane Alexander; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Senator Ted Kennedy; AFL-CIO president John Sweeney; and former IATSE President Tom Short. Ephron's directing credits include ''This Is My Life,'' ''Sleepless in Seattle,'' ''You've Got Mail,'' and ''Julie and Julia.'' She has received three Oscar nominations for screenwriting. The DGA noted Leahy is the lead sponsor of the PROTECT IP Act, legislation to help protect American intellectual property , including the films and television shows created by DGA members , by cracking down on ''rogue'' websites that profit from the illegal distribution of copyrighted content. The DGA noted that Loeb is credited with devising and implementing an aggressive organizing and bargaining strategy that laid the foundation for obtaining more than 1,000 term agreements, the chartering of numerous new locals and the addition of thousands of new members. It also said that under Looeb -- who's been in his current slot for three years -- IATSE has been ''a steadfast partner'' in the fight against digital theft. The DGA noted that Nevins has supervised the production of more than 1,000 documentary programs for HBO and that during her tenure, HBO's documentaries have gone on to win 23 Academy Awards. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Canada's CBC adds Walton to exec roster

TORONTO -- The CBC has tapped former Echo Bridge Entertainment production exec Trevor J. Walton as executive director of commissioned and scripted programming for its English services, the Canadian pubcaster announced Monday. The appointment is effective immediately. CBC English Services executive VP Kirstine Stewart said in a statement that Walton's breath of experience across a wide range of creative development and production is "an excellent fit with our current strategic plan which is all about delivering great Canadian content across all of our platforms." Walton began his career in the U.K., and most recently was an exec producer of "The Amanda Knox Story" (A&E Lifetime). As Lifetime Television's senior VP, he oversaw development and production of the miniseries "Human Trafficking," and has held senior exec jobs with the U.K.'s Witzsend Prods., and Fox Network and CBS in the U.S. "CBC as a national public broadcaster has the strong, successful and engaging platforms to showcase Canadian programming," Walton commented in a statement. "I look forward to working from those positions of strength to create programs that will resonate with audiences here and tell those Canadian stories elsewhere." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Red Bull BC One: Berlin 2005 Breakdancing Championship

Red Bull BC One takes you inside one of the most prestigious breakdancing events in the world, as top breakers battle it out in the fiercest dance competition ever seen. Special performances by a collection of B-boy legends and champions, including hip hop icon Storm and pop and lock duo Hilto and Bosch. Hosted by the Godfather of Noyze, Rahzel (The Roots) also gives a special performance of the sickest beatboxing ever heard.

HFPA's showbiz gifts

'The Red Shoes'HFPA supports many industry causes and orgs. Here's a sampling of five that benefit from its generosity:American Film Institute"All the HFPA funds donated to the American Film Institute go to offset the cost of filmmaker's tuition and expenses for studying at the conservatory," says AFI senior VP Tom West. "We're asking people to take two years out of their lives to work with master filmmakers and make movies. They'll come out of our program with a minimum of four projects, three shorts and a thesis film."Students have to raise money to make their movies so every bit of financial help makes a big difference.The Film FoundationRestoring "The Red Shoes," helmers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 classic took three years, cost a whopping $625,000 and enlisted an army of 35 specialists."It was one of most complicated restorations we've ever done. But it was also one of our greatest achievements," says Jennifer Ahn, the Film Foundation's managing director. "It was a digital restoration and took years to complete because the original camera negative had deteriorated so badly."Over the past 15 years, HFPA has given $3.3 million to the Film Foundation, assisting in the restoration of over 75 titles. This year's $350,000 donation will be used to restore Italo helmer-scribe Elio Petri's "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970), Powell and Pressburger's "The Tales of Hoffman" (!951) and Laslo Benedek's film version of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" (1951).Film IndependentLos Angeles-based Film Independent encourages minority filmmakers through its free nine-month training and mentorships with such industry players as Spike Jonze, Alexander Payne and Rodrigo Garcia."Each year 30 to 40 African-Americans, Asians, Native Americans and Latinos sign up for the free programs for writers producers and directors," says the org's director of diversity, Michael Lopez.Recent grads include filmmaker Javier Fuentes-Leon whose 2009 "Undertow" premiered at Sundance then went on to be Peru's submission in the foreign-language film category at the Academy Awards.FilmAidRefugees in African camps love Looney Toons, "The Wizard of Oz" and Charlie Chaplin."We initially started just driving a truck into the camps and projecting films onto its side," says FilmAid Intl.'s executive director, Liz Manne. Now the org offers filmmaking training programs in two refugee camps in Kenya, one bordering Somalia, and one bordering South Sudan."The current number is over 410,000 refugees in these camps," explains Manne. "We run screening programs where we show some Hollywood fare and films of inspiration that offer hope, diversion and healing to people who are psychologically traumatized."Movies offer us a universal experience. Even if you're a 5-year-old Somali refugee looking at Tweety Bird under stars, your experience is going to be the same as a kid in a mall theater in the Valley." Inner-City FilmmakersScoring jobs for disadvantaged kids with heavyweights James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola are just a couple of the many success stories of Inner-City Filmmakers."Jon Turteltaub hired our kids for almost every film he's made in the last five years," says Inner-City founder Fred Heinrich. "What's most notable is that not only did he give the kids a chance at entry level jobs but that they have risen up through the ranks, have become union members and are constantly employed."Created in 1993, the org offers free year-round hands-on training and job placement for urban kids with no financial wherewithal. To date the program boasts 493 alumni.SHOWBIZ PHILANTHROPY LEADER REPORT 2011:Cause & effect | HFPA's showbiz gifts | Empathy artists Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com