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