REVIEW: Cameron Crowe Tries, and Fails, to Freshen a Treacly Tale in We Bought a Zoo

Cameron Crowe can be a big old cheeseball, but he’s never been a filmmaker to come across as cynical or calculatedly manipulative. That’s one of the reasons We Bought a Zoo doesn’t leave your heartstrings feeling brutally manhandled, despite being a treacly tale about how a widower in search of a fresh start buys and moves to a struggling animal park with his two beautiful, sad children. The other reason is Matt Damon, who underplays the role of still-grieving dad Benjamin Mee as much as possible and brings an edge of genuine frustration to his relationship with his teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford). Though overall the film’s still as honey-toned as the golden sunshine that slants through most of its scenes, the occasional glimpse of a rough human edge means this isn’t just an exercise in mawkishness, though it’s also nowhere near as emotionally resonant as it strives to be. We Bought a Zoo is based on a book by the real-life Mee, a former Guardian columnist who with his family bought and reopened the Dartmoor Zoological Park in southwestern England. The film transports the action to Southern California, where Damon’s Benjamin finds himself unable to move on with his life, running into memories of his dead wife all over his Los Angeles neighborhood. He decides it’s time for a move, and in his search for a new home for his family, he stumbles onto a gorgeous 18-acre space with a slight complication — it’s also a zoo that contains 200 animals, some endangered, and it has to be brought up to standard or dismantled. Benjamin is a reporter at the LA Times and knows nothing about animal care, but one glimpse of his cherubic daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) communing with some peacocks and his mind’s made up. He quits his journalism gig, packs up his kids and heads off to head up Rosemoor, a slightly shabby attraction that nevertheless boasts a bear, some tigers and love interests for both him and the sulky Dylan (the film’s working title presumably being We Bought a Zoo and Some Girlfriends). We Bought a Zoo is Crowe’s first narrative film since the big-hearted mess that was 2005’s Elizabethtown, and it finds the director working off an adapted screenplay originally written by Aline Brosh McKenna, the writer behind slightly cruel chick-flick fare like I Don’t Know How She Does It, 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada. The film has the feel of something deeply conventional that Crowe, who’s also credited as a screenwriter, has tried with very mixed success to punch up with personality. The tentative start of a romance between Benjamin and his gruff, overworked zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson), for instance, has a subdued, prickly sweetness once the pair get past her exasperation that a stranger has taken up as an apparent hobby something of great importance to her. But the puppy love that sparks between Dylan and Kelly’s sheltered young cousin Lily (Elle Fanning) seems extraneous, other than as the latest showcase of how good Fanning is: She conjures out of little material a girl of heartbreaking vulnerability and openness. Damon has already played one struggling but quietly heroic single father this year, with the stakes considerably higher in Contagion, and his clashes and reconciliations with Dylan are the film’s strongest scenes, all-too-recognizable examples of how two people fight when they have more in common than they’d like to admit. It’s unfortunate that so many other relationships in the film feel underdeveloped — Thomas Haden Church, playing Benjamin’s brother, is there to deliver exposition and offer doubt, Peter MacCready (Angus Macfadyen), who’s developed the zoo’s animal enclosures, is a broad caricature, and the glimpses we get of Benjamin’s late spouse are glowingly idealized (best of luck competing with that, ScarJo). Benjamin himself tends toward the blurry — as a reporter, the film’s introduction insists, he embarked on adventures around the world, but always as an observer. This is meant to be his first real adventure — except running a zoo is a business, not a jaunt through the woods, and the magic fails to materialize. Instead, he finds himself having to do things like shell out bankruptcy-worthy amounts of money to fix up the park and make the difficult decision as to whether or not to put an aging, ailing animal to sleep (a call the movie clumsily tries to connect with his need to let go of the memory of his wife). We Bought a Zoo is the story of a nice guy, which is the kind of story in which Crowe has specialized. But despite moments of promise it never kicks into gear, never gets us attached to either the animal park or the family trying to save it. and never convinces us of the wild moment of giddy conviction needed to make a decision like the one in the title. Buy a zoo? Unlikely. Sublet, maybe. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

'The Hobbit' Trailer: Bilbo Baggins and the Many Dwarves Head Out on an Unexpected Journey

Awesome trailer week rolls on! Just one day after the first trailer for 'The Dark Knight Rises' released online and two days before 'Prometheus' arrives, Warner Bros. has unveiled the first teaser for 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.' So, how does it look? Like 'Lord of the Rings,' but with Tim from 'The Office' (UK version, natch), Young Gandalf and Cate Blanchett. Also, dwarves singing! You crazy for this one, Peter Jackson. Head over to Apple to watch in HD or check it out below. Starring Martin Freeman (that's Tim), Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett and precious Andy Serkis, 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' arrives in theaters on Dec. 14 2012. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Makeup magic turns Streep to Thatcher

Meryl Streep applies finishing touches to her Thatcher makeup on the set of 'The Iron Lady.' Behind her: helmer Phyllida Lloyd.Margaret Thatcher, 1981Whether playing a Holocaust survivor, a doubting Catholic nun, the self-absorbed editor of a fashion glossy or a celebrity chef, Meryl Streep is best known as an actress whose characters inhabit and consume her.She has no small help in these roles from teams of craftsworkers who attend to the costumes, hair and makeup that are an intrinsic part of people she portrays. This is perhaps clearest in her latest film, "The Iron Lady," in which Streep channels Margaret Thatcher, Britain's prime minister from 1979 to 1990."I pored over scads of archival photos and newscast footage, carefully examining each photograph (of Thatcher). I wanted to have it all in my head," says hair and makeup designer Marese Langan. "We filmed initial hair and makeup tests with Meryl. We did other tests with Alexandra Roach (the actress who portrays the younger Thatcher) to see how they matched up." Langan adds: "Meryl was involved in every step of the process and did her own research as well. From the first moment on the set, Meryl had (the Thatcher character) down. It was amazing."Langan also did the makeup, hair, and brow pieces for all 30 actors portraying members of parliament.Mark Coulier, head prosthetic makeup designer, had responsibility for Streep's aging and also created makeup for Roach and Jim Broadbent, who played Thatcher's husband."It took me -- along with my assistant Barrie Gower -- four days to sculpt and refine the nose piece that Meryl wears to create a nose nearly identical to Mrs. Thatcher's," Coulier says. "After the makeup tests were done on four different bridges I'd designed, we decided on using the first one we'd tested. Both Meryl and I felt it was the most accurate and least detectable."Accuracy and comfort were top priorities on Meryl's list," he adds. "I tinted the material to create a flesh-colored base and then treated it with finishes to allow it to absorb the different makeups and rouges" used by J. Roy Helland, Streep's longtime personal makeup artist. "Roy was there with Meryl every morning at 6. Following the 2 1/2-hour makeup process, he was responsible for placing each wig on Meryl's head."All along, Meryl kept telling us, 'less heavy prosthetics, less makeup.' Meryl is a stickler for accuracy, but didn't want her performance hindered by the appliances. We worked so bloody hard, but no one worked harder than Meryl."Eye on the Oscars: Art Direction, Costume Design & Makeup:Terrific pix, period | Paris' palette competes with L.A. duotone | Makeup magic turns Streep to Thatcher | Older crafts rise to the challenge of 3D Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

WME Signs Commercial Directing Duo

WME has signed British directing team Tom Jenkins and Simon Sharp who have their own London-based commercial production company, The Theory. The two are looking to branch out beyond commercial directing and may have found their calling card in Address Is Approximate, a video short produced by Sharp and directed by Jenkins. The stop-motion animation short, about a lonely office desk toy taking a cross-country trip with the help of Google Street View, has gone viral, amassing 1.6 million viewers since it was posted 12 days ago.

Liev Schreiber to Star in Showtime Pilot 'Ray Donovan'

George Harrison, acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of one of the world's most famous pop groups, the Beatles, died 10 years ago today at age 58.our editor recommendsPaul McCartney, Ringo Starr Hit London Premiere of Martin Scorseses George Harrison Doc'George Harrison: Living in the Material World': What the Critics Are Saying (Video)TRAILER: George Harrison: Living in the Material World Harrison lost a years long battle with lung cancer in 2001 but his life was also threatened in 1999 when he was stabbed by an intruder at his home in at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. STORY: George Harrison's Life Was Transformed By India, Says Olivia Harrison The former Beatle, who met his fellow band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr where they grew up in Liverpool, was just 27 when the band split in 1970.They managed to conquer the world musically, achieving 27 number one records in the UK and the US during their career.Their most recent album,1, compiling all of the band's number one hits, topped both the UK and the US charts in 2000. REVIEW: 'George Harrison: Living in the Material World' Harrison's post-Beatles career started with the critically acclaimed solo album All Things Must Pass. His role as a film producer took off when he launched HandMade Films with business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978, producing Monty Python's Life of Brian in 1979.He was also responsible for The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, Mona Lisa and Withnail & I. This year, director Martin Scorsese made Harrison the subject of an HBO documentary, Living in the Material World, borrowing the title from the name of Harrison's 1973 solo album. In the 1980s Harrison teamed up with Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison as The Travelling Wilburys. The supergroup's debut album sold more than 3 million copies in the US. Watch the Wilburys' 1988 hit "Handle With Care" along with four more musical moments from the Harrison archive below. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (1968) Eric Clapton played the guitar solo on this Harrison-penned Beatles classic. It was inspired, Harrison said in interviews, by the I Ching, a book of eastern philosophy that he was immersing himself with at the time. The 2006 Love remix features a string arrangement by Beatles producer George Martin. "Here Comes The Sun" (1969) During a trying year during which Harrison was arrested for marijuana possession and the band was increasingly involved in business affairs came one of the Beatles most popular songs, "HereComes the Sun" from the albumAbbey Road. "My Sweet Lord" (1970) Harrison's first post-Beatles single, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1970 and stayed there for four weeks. With references to Jewish, Christian and Hindu prayers, it features Eric Clapton on guitar,Billy Preston on piano,Klaus Voormann on bass andRingo Starr on drums. Shortly after it was released, a copyright infringement suit followed claiming that it lifted a melody from the Chiffons' hit "He's So Fine." The case dragged for10 years with a U.S. district court finding that Harrison had "subconsciously" copied the earlier song. The Concert for Bangladesh(1972) Harrison organized two benefit concerts and played to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in NY City. The purpose: to fund relief efforts for refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and atrocities during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Joining Harrison on the bill were performers Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Badfinger, and Ringo Starr. "Handle With Care" (1988) In the late 1980s, Harrison was one-fifth of pop-rock supergroup Traveling Wilburys, which included legendary artists Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner. The band recorded two albums in 1988 and 1990, though Orbison died just after their debut was finished, and saw two modest hits, 1988's "Handle With Care" and "End of the Line." Twitter: @shirleyhalperin Related Topics The Beatles

Charlotte Church Says She Was 'Pressured' Into Waiving Fee for Singing At Rupert Murdoch's 1999 Wedding.

LONDON - Charlotte Church, the singer who was just thirteen when she sang Pie Jesu at Rupert Murdoch's 1999 wedding to Wendi Deng, told the Leveson Inquiry that she had been "pressured" into waiving her $165,000 fee in order to guarantee "good press" from News International in the future.our editor recommendsCNN's Piers Morgan to Be Called to Leveson Inquiry to Explain Comments on Phone HackingNew Shocking Details of 'News of the World' Hacking Operation Revealed At Leveson InquiryHugh Grant Accuses 'The Mail on Sunday' of Phone HackingCEO Rupert Murdoch Sells Block of Non-Voting News Corp. SharesAnother Investor Refuses to Support James Murdoch's Re-Election at BSkyB PHOTOS: News of the World's Top 10 Scandals Church, who gave evidence on oath at the Inquiry into press standards and behavior Monday, said she had been advised by her management and record company to sing for the media mogul for free because of Murdoch's power and influence. "I remember being told that [there would be] the offer of money or the offer of the favor, in order, basically, to get good press," she told the Inquiry, adding that she and her mother had been mystified as to why anyone would trade the offer of so much money for good press, she told the Inquiry. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Memorable Mea Culpas "I remember being 13 and thinking 'why would anyone take a favor over £100,000?' ...but I was being advised by my management and certain member of the record company that he was a very, very powerful man and could certainly do with a favor of this magnitude." In her witness statement Church had said "Despite my teenage business head screaming 'think how many Tamagotchis you could buy!' I was pressured into the latter option. But the strategy failed. In fact Mr Murdoch's newspaper's have since been some of the worst offenders, so much so that I have sometimes felt there has actually been a deliberate agenda." STORY: Daily Mail Accused of 'Intimidating' Hugh Grant After the Actor's Leveson Testimony News International has denied any suggestion that such an offer was made and said that the singer's appearance had been planned as a "surprise" for the News Corp CEO and his new bride. But Church told the Inquiry she had a different recollection and that the specifics of what she was to sing had been negotiated with Murdoch and that it was Murdoch who made the specific request for Pie Jesu. STORY: Steve Coogan Calls For Greater Rights of Privacy, Tells Leveson Inquiry: 'I Have Never Wanted to Be Famous' "When we raised the point that Pie Jesu was a requiem, it was a funeral song...he (Murdoch) didn't care. He liked that song and he wanted me to sing it, so I did." The singer told the Leveson Inquiry that child stars such as herself needed special protection because of their youth and said she wanted to be able to protect her family and children from further press intrusion. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery The Rise of Rupert Murdoch Related Topics Rupert Murdoch News Corp. News International

Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan Starts Wrestling Company

Shareif Ziyadat/ABC On a quiet Thanksgiving evening, specials, movies and repeats ruled the roost on Thursday evening. The highest-profile program airing on primetime was Lady Gaga's much-anticipated (and hyped) 90-minute Thanksgiving special, which the singer conceived and directed herself. Featuring a slew of performances (one with Tony Bennett) and an interview wtih Katie Couric, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (5.5 million total viewers, 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 demographic) proved to be beneficial for ABC, boosting the network's time period performance from last year (when it aired a Beyonce music special) by 23 percent in the core adults 18-49 demo and drew more than 1 million more viewers. The 90-minute special helped ABC post its best Thanksgiving ratings since 2007. Charlie Brown Thanksgiving drew slightly more viewers at 8 p.m., luring 5.7 million and averaging a higher 1.8 rating. But, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving was not the highest-rated or most-watched program of the night. That honor goes to CBS, which dominates even with reruns of top-rated and most-watched The Big Bang Theory (11.2 million, 3.6) and Rules of Engagement (7.9 million, 2.4). An encore of Person of Interest (8 million, 1.7) topped the 9 p.m. hour and a rerun of The Mentalist (7.8 million, 1.5) also helped the network win in the demo (2.1) and total viewers (8.4 million). Fox followed CBS in the demo with a 1.7 demo average. ABC placed third with a 1.6 in primetime. NBC, airing Horton Hears a Who (3.7 million, 1.1), placed fourth. The CW followed. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Lady Gaga's Fashion Forward Style TV Ratings

Casting Standout: 'The Girl Using the Dragon Tattoo'

Casting Standout: 'The Girl Using the Dragon Tattoo' By Jessica Gardner November 18, 2011 Photo by Columbia Pictures Director David Fincher and casting director Laray Mayfieldcollaborators on "The Social Networking," "The Curious Situation of Benjamin Button," "Fight Club," and "Zodiac"have partnered once again to tackle Fincher's much-anticipated adaptation from the novel "The Lady Using the Dragon Tattoo."Mayfield, who won an Artios Award in the Casting Society of America this past year for "The Social Networking," began speaking with Fincher concerning the casting from the new film in May 2010. "I had been both excited and overcome," she states about dealing with the highly anticipated project. To organize, she read all of the books in Stieg Larsson's trilogy. Then, to possess a reason for reference, she viewed this year's Swedish film version from the novel. "There's always a concern when there's pre-existing material," Mayfield states. But she highlights that Fincher was basing his film around the book, this is not on the prior movie: "David is really honorable towards the books, figures, and Sweden, and so i wasn't worried."Their central challenge was casting the primary character Lisbeth Salander, referred to within the books like a small-in-stature 24-year-old computer hacker having a photo taking memory, past violence, along with a tragic past. The role visited Rooney Mara. Apparently, nearly every female actor in Hollywood desired to play Lisbeth. However, producer Scott Rudin states Fincher's idea right from the start ended up being to cast a family member unknown, to ensure that audiences would take their own ideas about Lisbeth onto whomever was playing her. Fincher wanted "someone who we did not have history with," Rudin describes. "Brilliant people examined for this. I am talking about, lots of stars examined for it, and were fantastic, but there is something about Rooney. She am exciting inside it, and thus fresh, and completely unpredictable. The truth that we simply have no idea her that well managed to get, gave it a type of kinetic souped up that I believe most likely wouldn't have happened with someone else."Mayfield introduced Fincher to Mara throughout auditions for "The Social Networking," by which he cast her as Erica Albright. "David loved her on 'Social Network,' " states Rudin. "From the moment we began focusing on 'Dragon Tattoo,' I believe David always really wanted Rooney to experience it. In deference towards the scale from the decision, he experienced a really lengthy process and labored with lots of people and several times of shooting film teststests with sets, tests with costumes, hair, makeup, the entire deal. And That I think back in internet marketing now and i believe, 'Why did we all do all that whether it was going to become Rooney?' "Additionally to Lisbeth, Mayfield states, there have been a number of other casting challengesmainly the generational casting of countless roles cheap most of the figures are based on one another. "We required to make that credible," she states. Another challenge was casting the role of nasty Nils Bjurman, Lisbeth's legal protector, who terrible items to her. Nederlander actor Yorick van Wageningen ("The Way In WhichInch) submitted an audition tape from Europe. "He was fantastic," states the Compact disc. Later she was surprised to locate out how different van Wageningen was from his character. "After I met him personally, I melted. He's a stuffed animal."Mayfield states she's thrilled with the way the film switched out: "I'm always excited for audiences to determine everything David does." Casting Director: Laray MayfieldDirector: David FincherWriter: Steven Zaillian, in line with the novel by Stieg LarssonStarring: Difficulties, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgrd, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Yorick van WageningenThe Pitch: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) seeks out a youthful computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Mara) to assist him in his visit a missing lady. Casting Standout: 'The Girl Using the Dragon Tattoo' By Jessica Gardner November 18, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Columbia Pictures Director David Fincher and casting director Laray Mayfieldcollaborators on "The Social Networking," "The Curious Situation of Benjamin Button," "Fight Club," and "Zodiac"have partnered once more to tackle Fincher's much-anticipated adaptation from the novel "The Lady Using the Dragon Tattoo."Mayfield, who won an Artios Award in the Casting Society of America this past year for "The Social Networking," began speaking with Fincher concerning the casting from the new film in May 2010. "I had been both excited and overcome," she states about dealing with the long awaited project. To organize, she read all of the books in Stieg Larsson's trilogy. Then, to possess a reason for reference, she viewed this year's Swedish film version from the novel. "There's always an issue when there's pre-existing material," Mayfield states. But she highlights that Fincher was basing his film around the book, this is not on the prior movie: "David is really honorable towards the books, figures, and Sweden, and so i wasn't worried."Their central challenge was casting the primary character Lisbeth Salander, referred to within the books like a small-in-stature 24-year-old computer hacker having a photo taking memory, past violence, along with a tragic past. The role visited Rooney Mara. Apparently, virtually every female actor in Hollywood desired to play Lisbeth. However, producer Scott Rudin states Fincher's idea right from the start ended up being to cast a family member unknown, to ensure that audiences would take their own ideas about Lisbeth onto whomever was playing her. Fincher wanted "someone who we did not have history with," Rudin describes. "Brilliant people examined for this. I am talking about, lots of stars examined for this, and were fantastic, but there is something about Rooney. She am exciting inside it, and thus fresh, and completely unpredictable. The truth that we simply have no idea her that well managed to get, gave it a type of kinetic souped up that I believe most likely wouldn't have happened with someone else."Mayfield introduced Fincher to Mara throughout auditions for "The Social Networking," by which he cast her as Erica Albright. "David loved her on 'Social Network,' " states Rudin. "From the moment we began focusing on 'Dragon Tattoo,' I believe David always wanted Rooney to experience it. In deference towards the scale from the decision, he experienced a really lengthy process and labored with lots of people and several times of shooting film teststests with sets, tests with costumes, hair, makeup, the entire deal. And That I think back in internet marketing now and i believe, 'Why did we all do all that whether it was always likely to be Rooney?' "Additionally to Lisbeth, Mayfield states, there have been a number of other casting challengesmainly the generational casting of countless roles cheap most of the figures are based on each other. "We required to make that credible," she states. Another challenge was casting the role of nasty Nils Bjurman, Lisbeth's legal protector, who terrible items to her. Nederlander actor Yorick van Wageningen ("The Way In WhichInch) submitted an audition tape from Europe. "He was fantastic," states the Compact disc. Later she was surprised to discover how different van Wageningen was from his character. "In him personally, I melted. He's a stuffed animal."Mayfield states she's thrilled with the way the film switched out: "I'm always excited for audiences to determine everything David does." Casting Director: Laray MayfieldDirector: David FincherWriter: Steven Zaillian, in line with the novel by Stieg LarssonStarring: Difficulties, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgrd, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Yorick van WageningenThe Pitch: Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) seeks out a youthful computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Mara) to assist him in the visit a missing lady.

'Star Trek 2' To Feature Klingons, No Khan?

If this rains, it flows. Or at best such may be the situation with "Star Trek 2" gossips. After several weeks of silence around the approaching follow up, an entire slew of production particulars -- together with a shooting start date -- hit the net the 2009 week. Now comes a juicy new plot rumor from Think McFly Believe that the Klingons will have a prominent role within the follow up like a nomadic group of players leading to difficulties for the Federation while battling Tribbles. (Yes, Tribbles!) Also, they are saying there will not be any Khan within this flick. Obviously, none of the is proven by J.J. Abrams' camping, to help you either go or let it rest. Browse the relaxation of present day film news following the jump! John Williams Reteams With Steven Spielberg For "Lincoln subsequently" Great news, film score fans! Based on Variety, John Williams is going to be creating Steven Spielberg's approaching biopic "Lincoln subsequently." Williams and Spielberg have lengthy been creative partners, and also have lately teamed on "The Adventures of Tintin" and "War Equine." It will likely be exciting to determine whatever Williams handles to develop for "Lincoln subsequently" along with the other two films. Keira Knightley Never Heard About "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies" Though Keira Knightley has clearly heard about Jane Austen's classic "Pride and Prejudice" -- she starred within the 2005 Joe Wright adaptation from the novel -- she apparently has skipped the boat on "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Vulture questioned the "A Harmful Method" celebrity, who accepted she'd never heard about the novel coupled with no clue they'd be making it a film. When requested if she'd every considered on set that "Pride and Prejudice" can use more undead figures, she chuckled and stated, "It never happened in my experience. That clearly just proves which i don't have a very good enough imagination." Can Be Offered Role In New Clint Eastwood Film Clint Eastwood is planning his triumphant go back to acting, and that he plans to possess a strong leading lady alongside him. Variety is confirming that Can Be continues to be offered a job in "Challenge with the bendInch as Eastwood's onscreen daughter. She requires a journey to Atlanta together with her father, a maturing baseball scout, to look at a possible player. The film may be the directorial debut of Eastwood's friend Robert Lorenz. Illumination Entertainment Developing Woodsy Woodpecker Film Well, why don't you? Based on Warmth Vision, "Rotor blades of Glory" authors John Altschuler and Dork Krinsky are creating a potential feature film starring Woodsy Woodpecker for Illumination Entertainment. It should be a up-to-date version from the character and apparently has franchise potential. Again, why don't you? Inform us your ideas on present day Dailies within the comments section below or on Twitter!

German film industry can get boost

BERLIN -- Germany's film industry has reason to celebrate carrying out a contract involving the country's Finance Ministry and congress round the 2012 federal budget. This program includes a 50 million ($67.5 million) increase -- a rise of 5.1% -- for the federal government Commissioner for Culture as well as the Media, work held by Bernd Neumann that runs, among other activities, federal film funding initiatives. An upswing is predicted to be certain the continuation of federal-level film funding initiatives, like the $80 million yearly German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). Just like 2011, the Culture and Media office will again allocate $5.4 million for your digitization of film theaters. Funding for your Deutsche Kinemathek, worldwide film promotion as well as the German Film Institute also remains stable. A lot of the budget increase, however, would go to non-film-related projects, such as the protection of national monuments. Neumann recognized fellow cabinet people and congress for supporting the country's cultural heritage. Furthermore to saying because of the Bundestag's budget committee, Neumann stressed that "the fact the folks in the coalition government are not only found not making cuts, but they're growing your financial allowance for culture no matter the economical and financial crisis is exemplary much more comparison together with other European government government bodies." Contact Erection dysfunction Meza at staff@variety.com

WGA East Cuts Deal With Daily Show And Colbert Producer

NY — The Writers Guild of America, East has negotiated improvements to its collective bargaining agreements with Hello Doggie, Inc., the production company which produces the hit cable shows The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Stephen Colbert Report. The agreements significantly improve the formula for calculating residuals paid to WGAE members for basic cable replays. The WGAE estimates that residuals payments will increase approximately 20% in 2012, despite a reduction in the number of replays which began in September 2011. It makes a real difference when Guild members are actively engaged in negotiations and when the employer recognizes how integral writing is to the shows success, said WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson, who was the unions chief negotiator. The members working on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report ratified the new agreements on November 9th and 10th. The employer had already implemented improvements that were part of the industry-wide Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) negotiated by the WGAE and the Writers Guild of America, West earlier this year. The 2012-2015 MBA includes increases to minimum compensation and increased contributions to the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan.

Michael Emerson Took a Long Time to get Where He is Today

Michael Emerson Took a Long Time to get Where He is Today By Daniel Holloway November 9, 2011 Photo by Sebastian Piras Michael Emerson Michael Emerson is sitting in Trattoria Dopo Teatro, an Italian joint tucked between Broadway and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 44th Street, nursing a glass of water while his manager and twotwo!publicists eat a schmancy pizza a few tables away. It took him a long time to get here. Not to "here" as in the restaurant but "here" in the metaphysical sensebig city, big career, big group of 10 percenters structuring their days around his interviews and photo shoots. For an actor who waited until he was nearly 40 to go to conservatory, it's not a bad place to be. Not that he didn't want to get here sooner. Emerson has been feted on the NY stage, has become recognizable to millions as a fan-favorite villain on "Lost," and is now the co-lead in his own new show, CBS's "Person of Interest." But decades ago he was a 21-year-old kid from small-town Iowa who came to NY wanting to be an actor. Things went badly. "The city just knocked the wind out of me," he says, his voice eerily, inevitably calling to mind Benjamin Linus, the character he played for five seasons on "Lost." "I didn't know where the auditions were or how you got into them or anything like that. So I lost track of my dream, which is a bad thing to do."It certainly is. And if you've ever been to Jacksonville, Fla., you know that moving there is usually a bad thing to do, too. Emerson did it anyway, and it turned out to be the first step on a long road to success. Not that it seemed like it at the time. Emerson was working as a magazine illustrator until "that career sort of went up in flames, and I thought, 'Well, here I am. There's nowhere to go but up, and I might as well do what I please, since I was at the bottom of things.' " He started doing community theaternot just acting but also designing scenery, building sets, and directing. He was able to make "half of a sensible person's living" as a jack-of-all-trades in the local scene. If there was a role he wanted to play, he would mount the production. "A lot of times I would sleep in the theater at night, just trying to keep body and soul together," he says. "But it was a good apprenticeship in the theater. I found out I had a knack for it, and I grew in confidence."Eventually he branched out, working a circuit of regional theaters in the Southeast. He played the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock and New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Miss. He traveled to Montgomery, Ala.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Savannah, Ga. And he grew as an actor. "I reached a point where I thought, 'I'm too good at this now to keep doing obscure plays in obscure towns,' " he says. "I either needed to go back to NY or I needed to get into a conservatory program. I chose the latter."Roll Tide Emerson enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's MFA program at the University of Alabama. He was 39 and looking to check out of the world for a couple of years, lead "a sort of monastic experience," and focus on acting. "I guess I would have said then that I meant to commit my life to playing the classics, which isn't a bad commitment to make," he says. "It's taken me a lot of different places."The Alabama program focused, unsurprisingly, on Shakespeare and classical verse. In the mornings, Emerson and his classmates would study movement, voice, and text. In the afternoons, they had rehearsals. Occasionally students would be cast in small parts on ASF's main stage. Emerson was something of an anomaly, being middle-aged and having years of experience under his belt. The same qualities that made him stick out from his peers also made him a commodity for the main-stage productions. "I was useful," he says.Alabama proved useful to him as welland not just for the training he received. He met his wife, the actor Carrie Preston, while working in an ASF production of "Hamlet." After he graduated, he followed her back to NY. His second run in NY didn't start off much more auspiciously than his first. His training had sharpened his skills, and he had a wealth of experience performing in some of the greatest plays ever written. But his rsum was filled with names that no one in the city had ever heard ofSouthern names."I thought surely, for the love of God, someone wants a grown man who can speak the verse, just to carry a spear, or deliver a message, or something," Emerson says. "But it's not as easy as that. I still had some illusions about that kind of thing." Preston, in contrast, was working steadily, having already established herself in NY. (She has, like her husband, built a strong on-camera career; she is now best known for playing the high-strung waitress Arlene on HBO's "True Blood.") Emerson knew that if she continued to book work while he foundered, they would feel the resulting pressure. He gave himself two years to catch traction in NY, after which he would return to the South, where he still had contacts in the theater community. He and Preston would manage a long-distance relationship.Then, shortly before the two years were up, Emerson became involved in playwright Moiss Kaufman's "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," then still nascent. The play draws on the three real-life courtroom trials concerning Wilde's relationship with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas. In readings and workshops, Emerson played Wilde's attorney. But just before the play was set to open Off-Off-Broadway, Kaufman fired the lead actor. Emerson asked if he could audition for the roleand won it. He had fewer than three weeks to prepare.Emerson drew on his training at Alabama, where instructors had drilled into him the importance of making not just psychological choices but also choices about the carriage of the body, the quality of the voice that a character lives in. He felt he had watched the previous Wilde make choices that were logical but ultimately incorrect. Emerson knew he could make better ones.In his review of "Gross Indecency" for the NY Times, Ben Brantley, who called the play "the must-see sleeper of the Off Off Broadway season," wrote, "[T]he Wilde of Mr. Emerson, making his NY debut, is stunning as he progresses from epigrammatic assurance to a public role for which he is no longer writing the script. By the production's end, he is majestically pathetic, a man who is still unable to understand completely what happened to him."The play was a hit and enjoyed an Off-Broadway run and stints in San Francisco and Los Angelesall with Emerson in the lead. "We got a good review in the NY Times, and we were off to the races," Emerson said. "I guess I have made my living as an actor since that time."Act 2 Over the next few years, Emerson appeared in enough impressive plays to make him a bona fide NY theater actorincluding Broadway productions of "The Iceman Cometh" and "Hedda Gabler," as well as "Le Misanthrope" and "Give Me Your Answer, Do!" Off-Broadway. In 2000, he booked a part on ABC's "The Practice," playing a man who confesses to being a serial killer but whose guilt is in doubt. The role recurred, and Emerson won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor. When Emerson's life-changing job came, it didn't at first look like that kind of role. He was not a loyal viewer of "Lost," but his wife was. "We always had it on," he says. "Sometimes I'd be doing the dishes or something, and I'd look over and go, 'Oh, that's preposterous.' "The part of Benjamin Linusthe villain who became one of the series' definitive characterscame to Emerson as an offer. It was initially a guest spot. The story line called for a meek-tempered man to be captured and held prisoner by the suspicious island castaways around whom the show was centered. Eventually, the character was revealed to be the leader of the Others, the mysterious group that terrorized the show's heroes for most of its run. Between filming sessions in those earlier days, Emerson would cool his heels in a hotel in Hawaii, where the series was shot, missing Preston and NY, and waiting to find out whether his character would survive to the next episode. Around the time of his fourth episode, Emerson realized something big might be happening."One day a director came to me and said, 'When you talk about the leader of the Others, he must be terrifying to you,' " Emerson says. "I said, 'Okay, that's cool. I can play that. But wouldn't it be a gas if it turned out that I was the leader of the Others?' And he said, 'I can't talk about that.' I thought, 'Are you kidding me? Is that where we're going to go? Because that could be fun.' "For "Lost" fans, it certainly was, and Emerson's career reaped the benefits. He won a second Emmy in 2009, this time for outstanding supporting actor. But he always kept one eye eastward."I never stopped being the gypsy actor in my mind," he says. "I would never buy property in Hawaii or get settled too comfortably, because that just seems to invite the theater gods to pull it out from under you. I always thought of it as temporary. It was never home to me."Home was still NY, and Emerson settled back there after "Lost" ended in 2010. His first thought was to lay low for a time, knowing that whatever his next project was, it would be overscrutinized, thanks to the hype generated by his last job. He figured that a theater project would arise and spark his interest, and he tinkered with a pilot idea that he and "Lost" co-star Terry O'Quinn had developed. But the right play never came, and the pilot never matured into script form.Emerson spent close to a year out of work. With pilot season nearing, he approached Bad Robot, the company that had produced "Lost," and asked if there was anything he might be suited for. "They had this nice script at Bad Robot that I liked for a lot of reasonsnot least of which was that it was set in and had to shoot in NY City," he says. "If you start looking around at pilots, you dig deep and you find that not very many of them will be shot in NY or L.A. I had already done my time on the other side of the earth. It was important to me to have a family life again."The script was for "Person of Interest," in which Emerson stars as Harold Finch, an eccentric billionaire and tech genius who has developed a machine that anticipates terrorist acts. Jim Caviezel co-stars as an exCIA agent who, with Finch's voice in his ear, tries to stop those events before they happen. The character has been compared to Benjamin Linus, and Emerson admits that there are similarities. But the actor is comfortable with the overlapwhich is good, because the show has proved a solid ratings draw and recently received a full-season commitment from CBS."Maybe Ben Linus worked so well for me because it tapped into some core aesthetic I have as an actor," Emerson says. "I prefer mystery over obviousness. I prefer ambiguity to definition. And the only way I'm ever going to be able to put that aside is to do a completely different kind of material, probably on the stage."What type of material? He would love to do Shakespeare in the Parkwhich would bring him back to his roots in the classics at Alabama. Or maybe a comedy. "I was always a funny guy," he says, "before I got these frightening roles." And you know what? Emerson is a funny guy, because after talking to him for an hour, you forget that he sounds exactly like Benjamin Linus. Michael Emerson Took a Long Time to get Where He is Today By Daniel Holloway November 9, 2011 Michael Emerson PHOTO CREDIT Sebastian Piras Michael Emerson is sitting in Trattoria Dopo Teatro, an Italian joint tucked between Broadway and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on 44th Street, nursing a glass of water while his manager and twotwo!publicists eat a schmancy pizza a few tables away. It took him a long time to get here. Not to "here" as in the restaurant but "here" in the metaphysical sensebig city, big career, big group of 10 percenters structuring their days around his interviews and photo shoots. For an actor who waited until he was nearly 40 to go to conservatory, it's not a bad place to be. Not that he didn't want to get here sooner. Emerson has been feted on the NY stage, has become recognizable to millions as a fan-favorite villain on "Lost," and is now the co-lead in his own new show, CBS's "Person of Interest." But decades ago he was a 21-year-old kid from small-town Iowa who came to NY wanting to be an actor. Things went badly. "The city just knocked the wind out of me," he says, his voice eerily, inevitably calling to mind Benjamin Linus, the character he played for five seasons on "Lost." "I didn't know where the auditions were or how you got into them or anything like that. So I lost track of my dream, which is a bad thing to do."It certainly is. And if you've ever been to Jacksonville, Fla., you know that moving there is usually a bad thing to do, too. Emerson did it anyway, and it turned out to be the first step on a long road to success. Not that it seemed like it at the time. Emerson was working as a magazine illustrator until "that career sort of went up in flames, and I thought, 'Well, here I am. There's nowhere to go but up, and I might as well do what I please, since I was at the bottom of things.' " He started doing community theaternot just acting but also designing scenery, building sets, and directing. He was able to make "half of a sensible person's living" as a jack-of-all-trades in the local scene. If there was a role he wanted to play, he would mount the production. "A lot of times I would sleep in the theater at night, just trying to keep body and soul together," he says. "But it was a good apprenticeship in the theater. I found out I had a knack for it, and I grew in confidence."Eventually he branched out, working a circuit of regional theaters in the Southeast. He played the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock and New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Miss. He traveled to Montgomery, Ala.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Savannah, Ga. And he grew as an actor. "I reached a point where I thought, 'I'm too good at this now to keep doing obscure plays in obscure towns,' " he says. "I either needed to go back to NY or I needed to get into a conservatory program. I chose the latter."Roll Tide Emerson enrolled in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's MFA program at the University of Alabama. He was 39 and looking to check out of the world for a couple of years, lead "a sort of monastic experience," and focus on acting. "I guess I would have said then that I meant to commit my life to playing the classics, which isn't a bad commitment to make," he says. "It's taken me a lot of different places."The Alabama program focused, unsurprisingly, on Shakespeare and classical verse. In the mornings, Emerson and his classmates would study movement, voice, and text. In the afternoons, they had rehearsals. Occasionally students would be cast in small parts on ASF's main stage. Emerson was something of an anomaly, being middle-aged and having years of experience under his belt. The same qualities that made him stick out from his peers also made him a commodity for the main-stage productions. "I was useful," he says.Alabama proved useful to him as welland not just for the training he received. He met his wife, the actor Carrie Preston, while working in an ASF production of "Hamlet." After he graduated, he followed her back to New York. His second run in NY didn't start off much more auspiciously than his first. His training had sharpened his skills, and he had a wealth of experience performing in some of the greatest plays ever written. But his rsum was filled with names that no one in the city had ever heard ofSouthern names."I thought surely, for the love of God, someone wants a grown man who can speak the verse, just to carry a spear, or deliver a message, or something," Emerson says. "But it's not as easy as that. I still had some illusions about that kind of thing." Preston, in contrast, was working steadily, having already established herself in NY. (She has, like her husband, built a strong on-camera career; she is now best known for playing the high-strung waitress Arlene on HBO's "True Blood.") Emerson knew that if she continued to book work while he foundered, they would feel the resulting pressure. He gave himself two years to catch traction in New York, after which he would return to the South, where he still had contacts in the theater community. He and Preston would manage a long-distance relationship.Then, shortly before the two years were up, Emerson became involved in playwright Moiss Kaufman's "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," then still nascent. The play draws on the three real-life courtroom trials concerning Wilde's relationship with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas. In readings and workshops, Emerson played Wilde's attorney. But just before the play was set to open Off-Off-Broadway, Kaufman fired the lead actor. Emerson asked if he could audition for the roleand won it. He had fewer than three weeks to prepare.Emerson drew on his training at Alabama, where instructors had drilled into him the importance of making not just psychological choices but also choices about the carriage of the body, the quality of the voice that a character lives in. He felt he had watched the previous Wilde make choices that were logical but ultimately incorrect. Emerson knew he could make better ones.In his review of "Gross Indecency" for the NY Times, Ben Brantley, who called the play "the must-see sleeper of the Off Off Broadway season," wrote, "[T]he Wilde of Mr. Emerson, making his NY debut, is stunning as he progresses from epigrammatic assurance to a public role for which he is no longer writing the script. By the production's end, he is majestically pathetic, a man who is still unable to understand completely what happened to him."The play was a hit and enjoyed an Off-Broadway run and stints in San Francisco and Los Angelesall with Emerson in the lead. "We got a good review in the NY Times, and we were off to the races," Emerson said. "I guess I have made my living as an actor since that time."Act 2 Over the next few years, Emerson appeared in enough impressive plays to make him a bona fide NY theater actorincluding Broadway productions of "The Iceman Cometh" and "Hedda Gabler," as well as "Le Misanthrope" and "Give Me Your Answer, Do!" Off-Broadway. In 2000, he booked a part on ABC's "The Practice," playing a man who confesses to being a serial killer but whose guilt is in doubt. The role recurred, and Emerson won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor. When Emerson's life-changing job came, it didn't at first look like that kind of role. He was not a loyal viewer of "Lost," but his wife was. "We always had it on," he says. "Sometimes I'd be doing the dishes or something, and I'd look over and go, 'Oh, that's preposterous.' "The part of Benjamin Linusthe villain who became one of the series' definitive characterscame to Emerson as an offer. It was initially a guest spot. The story line called for a meek-tempered man to be captured and held prisoner by the suspicious island castaways around whom the show was centered. Eventually, the character was revealed to be the leader of the Others, the mysterious group that terrorized the show's heroes for most of its run. Between filming sessions in those earlier days, Emerson would cool his heels in a hotel in Hawaii, where the series was shot, missing Preston and NY, and waiting to find out whether his character would survive to the next episode. Around the time of his fourth episode, Emerson realized something big might be happening."One day a director came to me and said, 'When you talk about the leader of the Others, he must be terrifying to you,' " Emerson says. "I said, 'Okay, that's cool. I can play that. But wouldn't it be a gas if it turned out that I was the leader of the Others?' And he said, 'I can't talk about that.' I thought, 'Are you kidding me? Is that where we're going to go? Because that could be fun.' "For "Lost" fans, it certainly was, and Emerson's career reaped the benefits. He won a second Emmy in 2009, this time for outstanding supporting actor. But he always kept one eye eastward."I never stopped being the gypsy actor in my mind," he says. "I would never buy property in Hawaii or get settled too comfortably, because that just seems to invite the theater gods to pull it out from under you. I always thought of it as temporary. It was never home to me."Home was still NY, and Emerson settled back there after "Lost" ended in 2010. His first thought was to lay low for a time, knowing that whatever his next project was, it would be overscrutinized, thanks to the hype generated by his last job. He figured that a theater project would arise and spark his interest, and he tinkered with a pilot idea that he and "Lost" co-star Terry O'Quinn had developed. But the right play never came, and the pilot never matured into script form.Emerson spent close to a year out of work. With pilot season nearing, he approached Bad Robot, the company that had produced "Lost," and asked if there was anything he might be suited for. "They had this nice script at Bad Robot that I liked for a lot of reasonsnot least of which was that it was set in and had to shoot in NY City," he says. "If you start looking around at pilots, you dig deep and you find that not very many of them will be shot in NY or L.A. I had already done my time on the other side of the earth. It was important to me to have a family life again."The script was for "Person of Interest," in which Emerson stars as Harold Finch, an eccentric billionaire and tech genius who has developed a machine that anticipates terrorist acts. Jim Caviezel co-stars as an exCIA agent who, with Finch's voice in his ear, tries to stop those events before they happen. The character has been compared to Benjamin Linus, and Emerson admits that there are similarities. But the actor is comfortable with the overlapwhich is good, because the show has proved a solid ratings draw and recently received a full-season commitment from CBS."Maybe Ben Linus worked so well for me because it tapped into some core aesthetic I have as an actor," Emerson says. "I prefer mystery over obviousness. I prefer ambiguity to definition. And the only way I'm ever going to be able to put that aside is to do a completely different kind of material, probably on the stage."What type of material? He would love to do Shakespeare in the Parkwhich would bring him back to his roots in the classics at Alabama. Or maybe a comedy. "I was always a funny guy," he says, "before I got these frightening roles." And you know what? Emerson is a funny guy, because after talking to him for an hour, you forget that he sounds exactly like Benjamin Linus.

'Breaking Dawn' Cast Solutions Important Questions Within The Yes/No Show

Do Taylor Lautner's buddies call him up "Sharkboy"? Is Taylor Lautner maintaining using the Kardashians? Has Peter Facinelli ever wiped out a guy? Fundamental essentials burning questions that MTV News has fearlessly requested the cast of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning -- Part 1" within the latest edition from the globally beloved worldwide phenomenon referred to as Yes/No Show. Cast faves like Pattinson, Lautner, Elizabeth Reaser, Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Julia Johnson and Booboo Stewart all took part in what has to be our greatest contestant pool up to now. The same is true Lautner only eat Slim Jims and drink Fanta? Has Pattinson seen Kristen Stewart's early film "Zathura"? Can Rathbone title two Attacking Young Boys tunes? Discover by watching the above mentioned video, and tell us that which you think about the "Breaking Beginning" special within the comments section below or on Twitter!

Henry Cavill Talks New Superman On Leno

Immortals star confirms on The Tonight Show that he almost became the new James Bond (“down to Daniel and me”) and was Stephenie Meyer’s first choice for Twilight (“she apparently was very keen on me playing it but by the time it came around to casting I was too old”). InMan Of Steel, Russell Crowe plays his father. But 11 years ago Cavill appeared as an extra in the Crowe pic Proof Of Life. Cavill walked up to Crowe and asked what it was like to be an actor. And 2 days later received a photo of Russell in Gladiator signed, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. Cavill says he trained 2 hours a day for 8 months to play Superman and talks about the new look here:

Disney reups Mayhem Pictures deal

Ciardi GrayDisney has reupped its first-look deal with Mayhem Pictures producers Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, the duo most broadly noted for feel-good sports films like "Secretariat," "Invincible," "Miracle" and "The Rookie."Mayhem is constantly develop sports photos, including an uplifting tale about Greek marathoner Stylianos "Stelios" Kyriakides, who played inside the 1936 Olympics baseball project "Big Arm," and "McFarland," of a California secondary school track and area coach. Nevertheless the producers may also be branching out into other genres while using Reese Witherspoon comedy "Wish List" and fantasy series "Fallen," good youthful adult book series by Lauren Kate, along with an adventurous undertake Disneyland's Tomorrowland, all for your Mouse House.There is also the Chuck Russell-helmed actioner "Arabian Nights" inside the works at FilmDistrict, as well as the Dwayne Manley actioner thriller "Protection" with IM Global. Mayhem also labored with with Manley round the CBS Films thriller "Faster" and comedies "Your Tooth Fairy" for Fox and Disney's "The General Strategy."Mayhem showed up its deal at Disney in 2002, right after the wealth of "The Rookie." Their shingle had formerly been situated at Revolution Art galleries, where they produced "The Completely New Guy." Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Zooey Deschanel, Husband Split

First Published: November 1, 2011 6:43 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanl arrive at the 2011 BAFTA Brits To Watch Event at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles on July 9, 2011New Girl star Zooey Deschanel may be in the market for a New guy. Zooey and husband Ben Gibbard have split, a rep for the actress confirmed to Access Hollywood on Tuesday. Zooey, 31, and Ben the 35-year-old frontman for the band Death Cab for Cutie tied the knot in September 2009, in a ceremony near Seattle, Wash. According to Us Weekly, the split was mutual and amicable. This was the first marriage for Zooey, who stars in FOXs freshman hit comedy New Girl, which was the first fall TV show to be picked up for a full season back in September. In the show, Zooey stars as Jess, who moves into an apartment with three guys after a bad breakup. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Muppets guest on 'Raw'

Video: Muppets guest on 'Raw' With guest hosts like Hugh Jackman, Pee Wee Herman and Bob Barker, WWE's "Monday Night Raw" has looked like "The Muppet Show" for several years. Tonight, it actually turns into the Muppets' show. As a promotion for "The Muppets" movie, out Thanksgiving weekend, Disney offered WWE its felt-covered stars to serve as hosts of the company's weekly series, appropriately enough, during the company's Halloween episode, airing live from Atlanta.WWE had long been looking for a way to work with the characters, but couldn't come up with the right reason -- until Disney greenlit the new Muppet movie. Nine of the film's characters, including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, will appear during segments of the two-hour show in which they interact with WWE's wrestlers. The film's live action stars, Jason Segel and Amy Adams will not be present. Disney wanted to work with WWE again after it arranged Jackman to host "Raw" on Sept. 19 to promote DreamWorks' "Real Steel," in which he stars.That stunt wound up getting picked up by a large number of media outlets, giving both companies a considerable PR payoff. Both companies now expect the Muppets to generate even more attention. WWE started promoting the Muppets' appearance on "Raw" in mid-September with promos featuring Kermit and Miss Piggy during the company's shows and social media platforms, giving Disney months of exposure for "The Muppets" before its bow with a specific audience it may not normally reach.Ever since WWE switched to an all-PG format in 2008, the company has aggressively courted families and kids to watch its programming as a way to boost ratings and attendance figures of its live events, but also create a following among a younger demo that it hopes will grow up with the brand. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Top Moments From Leader Barack Obama's Visit to The Tonight Show

Obama, Jay Leno Before saying goodbye to Hollywood on and on to San Francisco Bay Area, Leader Obama tossed with the Tonight Show Tuesday for his fourth appearance as Commander in Chief. Obama opened up up up about from recent mind lines, including Moammar Gadhafi's dying, to Halloween within the White-colored House. See the highlights: Obama campaign adds Tumblr to President's social-media platforms 1. Round the dying of Gadhafi: Obama had formerly referred to as Gadhafi's dying a "momentous day inside the good status for Libya." He told Jay Leno that even though you will not ever need to visit anybody meet that finish, "it clearly sends a effective message around the globe to dictators that people extended being free, and they've to respect an individuals rights as well as the universal aspirations of people.Inch 2. Round the GOP opposing the withdrawal from Iraq: On Friday, the best choice introduced the whole withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. GOP candidate Mitt Romney referred to as Obama's decision "a remarkable failure." "It's shocking they opposed something I recommended," Obama mentioned getting some lighter moments. Obama's teleprompter stolen How can he do without one? 3. Round the GOP debates: Obama in contrast the GOP debates to Survivor, watching he is not maintaining. "I will hang about until everybody is selected in the island," he mentioned. "Once they narrow it lower to a few, I'll start needing to give consideration." 4. On Halloween within the White-colored House: Obama poked fun at wife Michelle, who in the past has given out fruit and raisins to trick-or-treaters. "I mentioned, 'The White-colored House can get egged when the keeps up. You need to throw some chocolate inside!AInch Leader Obama's appearance round the Tonight Show airs Tuesday at 11:35/10:35c on NBC.

Why Attacking Young Boys Will not Visit Jail For Posting Tunes Online (Analysis)

Jason Merritt/Getty Images The possibility spectacle ofJustin Bieberbeing extradited from Canada towards the U . s . States for everyone 5 years imprisonment has turned into a new flashpoint inside a debate over whether copyright law ought to be amended. Do you know the chances the teenager heartthrob could finish up in jail? Congress is presently weighing new legislation (S. 978) that will make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted work a criminal offence punishable by as much as 5 years imprisonment. The balance, based on many within the entertainment industry, was introduced last May but began to collect common attention earlier this week after following a non-profit organization, Fight for future years, released an internet site and campaign titled "Free Bieber." PHOTOS: Attacking Young Boys's Top Ten THR Outtakes Fight for future years highlights that Bieber grew to become famous consequently ofposting allegedly unauthorized covers of popular R&B tunes to YouTube, like the following video where Bieber does his version of the Chris Brown song. Tiffiniy Cheng, director of Fight for future years, states the issue using the suggested legislation is the fact that "since copyright law is really expansive, it is applicable to plenty of completely harmless and common things: like singing an audio lesson, dancing to music, or posting a relevant video of the kids' school play." STORY: Attacking Young Boys, Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5, Others to do At 2011 American Music Honours Or Attacking Young Boys videos. The audience thinks that in videos like the one above, Bieber might be breaking the general public performance privileges to Chris Brown tunes. Since "Free Bieber" released, applications happen to be collected and also the press is beginning to see. One problem: Even when the balance passes, Bieber is protected in the slammer. At Copyhype, your blog dedicated to copyright issues, IP attorney Terry Hart displays a compelling situation why Bieber isn't really threatened whatsoever. PHOTOS: Attacking Young Boys's Moustaches Gallery An audio lesson consists of distinctive underlying privileges -- including privileges towards the original master recording, privileges release a derivative versions from the composition, and privileges to openly perform the fabric.By addressing streaming, the balance concentrates on the general public performance aspect, but as Hart notes, "somebody that uploads a relevant video to YouTube isn't carrying out the recording - YouTube is." A representative for that bill's sponsor, Senator AmyKlobuchar verifies just as much, telling Hillicon Valley the bill "doesn't criminalize uploading videos to YouTube." For YouTube, the net-video company securesblanket licenses from performance privileges organizations. YouTube and ASCAP haven't always seen eye-to-eye on everything, getting been in the court to determine such things as the correct rate to become compensated and just how YouTube should take into account downstream uses of their broadcast content, for example whenever a blog embeds a YouTube video, but hardly anybody thinks YouTube is around the hook for doing something similar to operating an illegal streaming service. You will find other questions, such as the responsibility to get so-known as "synch privileges" on cover tunes published online, but there is nothing preventing Bieber from being punished or prosecuted for breaking copyrighted material today. That's, if he doesn't possess a proper license already. Also it doesn't seem like YouTube has gotten any takedown notices on individuals cover song videos. Certainly, Bieber isn't relaxing in a jail cell right now. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner Chris Brown Attacking Young Boys

Kim Kardashian lands a job in Tyler Perry's next movie

Kim Kardashian, the American socialite most likely most widely known for reality TV series Maintaining Using The Kardashians, has arrived her initial film role.Based on Deadline, she'll co-star in Tyler Perry's next, The Wedding Counselor.She will not play Judith, the titular agent (that's Jurnee Smollett), but she'll play Ava, "a co-worker who gives Judith a large city transformation and new confidence as she struggles together with her personal issues."Based on your stance on Kardashian, this either seems like the next favourite movie or even the four-minute warning to have an impending apocalypse.Tyler Perry's films have consistently defied the experts being box office dynamite, and given Kardashian's ubiquitous celebrity, that's unlikely to alter here.Kardashian has formerly behaved in Disaster Movie and Deep Within The Valley, and she or he has already established guest spots in Television shows Past The Break and CSI: NY.

Lindsay Lohan Late To First Day's Community Service At Morgue

First Launched: October 20, 2011 2:32 PM EDT Credit: Getty Premium La, Calif. -- Caption Lindsay Lohan sometimes seems within the Poor Courthouse after her probation was suspended in La on October 19, 2011Lindsay Lohans first visit to the La County Morgue got away and off to a shaky start. Craig Harvey, Chief of Methods at La County Morgue, told Access Hollywood the actress was scheduled to achieve 8 AM on Thursday, but she did not appear until 8:40 AM. Harvey noted the actress referred to as at 7:40 AM saying she was 10 mins away. However, she did not arrive for the next hour. After coming, the 25-year-old actress was told she was too far gone to learn the appropriate orientation, but they was thank you for going to return tomorrow to start her court bought community service. The actress repetition told Access Hollywood her tardiness was due a mixture which entrance to take advantage of and photography fanatics waiting to snap an image in the headline-maker. Lindsay turned up within the morgue roughly 20 minutes late and you'll be returning for orientation tomorrow. Her lateness was due to a mixture of unsure what entrance to endure and confusion triggered with the media waiting for her arrival, the repetition mentioned. Lindsay spoke while using managers within the morgue, they shown her methods for getting in and situations are all removed up. Throughout her amount of time in the morgue, Lohan will probably be designated to carry out a quantity of tasks including cleaning, cleaning, draining trash cans, cleaning lavatories and doing laundry. Later on Thursday morning, Lohan released an email on her behalf account WhoSay page, writing, With the stress and pressure from yesterday now, Ive never been so pleased to visit therapy!!!! Also, Im sorry for your confusion that we may of triggered to people within the Coroners office. Wont happen again, it's true that how to proceed! Thank you for help. AH Nation Poll: Would more incarceration help Lindsay Lohan? Election HERE. As formerly reported on AccessHollywood.com, the actress came out in the courtroom on Wednesday, where Judge Stephanie Sautner suspended her probation due to not ongoing to accomplish her community service several hours within the Downtown Womens Center in LA. Lohan was introduced in the court room in handcuffs, posed on her behalf fifth booking photo after which it released bail and was released. Lohan arrives in the court the next month. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Chris LeRoy joins Lionsgate

Lionsgate has brought on Chris LeRoy as interim president of distribution. The studio had no official comment Thursday, but a person close to the situation confirmed that LeRoy began working at Lionsgate this week. Leroy resigned his post as exec VP of distribution at Disney early this year. The distribution prexy slot at Lionsgate has been vacant since 2009 when Steven Rothenberg died of stomach cancer. The top Liosngate distribution execs are David Spitz, exec VP and general sales manager for theatrical distribution; and Mike Polydoros, exec VP of exhibitor relations and operations. Lionsgate's "Abduction" has grossed $23 million domestically in its first three weeks. It has a busy first quarter with "The Possession" on Jan. 6, followed by "One for the Money" on Jan. 27, "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds" on Feb. 24," "Safe" on March 6 and "The Hunger Games" on March 23." Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Judge Dredd Director Declines Firing

Pete Travis remains the lawRumblings began from the LA Occasions a week ago that director Pete Travis was facing some issues within the Judge Dredd editing room coupled with been "requested to step aside". This news was jumped upon with glee through the fans who're perversely desparate for that film to fail, but Travis and film writer Alex Garland have finally launched some pot statement scotching the reviews of Dredd's demise. Absolutely nothing to see here, perps. Move along.Anonymous LA Occasions sources "near to the production" had reported that there have been tensions and "creative arguments" between your producers and professionals responsible for saving Joe Dredd in the ignominy from the Stallone film. Based on the story, author/producer Garland (4 weeks Later, Sunshine) was running publish-production alone, and looking a co-director credit for his efforts. Potential reshoots were also pointed out, having a question mark over who'd guy the cameras on their behalf.But, say Travis and Garland now, "Throughout all stages from the filmmaking, Dredd is a collaboration between numerous devoted creative parties. In the start we made the decision with an unorthodox collaboration to create the film. This case continues to be misunderstood. To create the record straight, Pete wasn't fired and stays a central area of the collaboration, and Alex isn't seeking a co-director credit. Many of us are very happy with the film we now have made, and professionally suggest that it's judged on viewing when it is launched the coming year.InchThe reality, or damage limitation? Are Travis and Garland the Reynolds and Costner from the twenty-first century, or could they be really the very best of pals being misconstrued? We'll help you stay up-to-date around the drama.Dredd, starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby, shot within the Mega-Town of Cape Town, and it is out next September.

Not really a 'Material' guy

Beatlemania started 49 years back, as well as on March. 4 at Alice Tully Hall, it had been obvious many maniacs are alive and well. For Martin Scorsese's 3 1/2-hour, two-part docu "George Harrison: Residing in the fabric World," every interviewee from Billy Preston to Eric Clapton were built with a entertaining section. Scorsese thanked Harrison themself ("the guy, the artist, and also the soul"), as the singer-songwriter's widow, Olivia Harrison, stated, "I wasn't i desired to open our way of life such as this, but I am so glad we did." Scorsese was granted permission to create the Cinemax docu while he assured the Harrisons he would concentrate on George's spiritual side in addition to his rock 'n' roll career. But there have been lots of folks pleased to hear the background music, too. :- Mike Thielman Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Hugh Hefner: The Playboy Club Should Have Been on Cable

Hugh Hefner and Amber Heard Now that the dust is starting to settle, Playboy founder and CEO Hugh Hefner says he knows why The Playboy Club was canceled. "I'm sorry NBC's The Playboy Club didn't find its audience," Hefner tweeted late Tuesday, hours after NBC announced that the remaining episodes of the show would be pulled. "It should have been on cable, aimed at a more adult audience." NBC orders Up All Night and Whitney, cancels Playboy Club The Playboy Club became the first freshman series of the 2011-2012 TV season to get the axe after the '60s-set drama averaged about 3 million viewers for its first three episodes. In addition to low ratings, the series was met with resistance from the Parents Television Council, which urged advertisers to boycott The Playboy Club and called for NBC to cancel the "degrading and sexualizing program immediately." In June, NBC's Salt Lake City affiliate announced it would not air the show. My Network TV picked it up weeks later. However, Hefner also noted that there is "renewed interest" in making a film based on his life and the start of the sexual revolution. Are you sad The Playboy Club is gone? Do you think it would have worked on cable?

Hoberman to MPAA general counsel

Entertainment industry attorney Henry Hoberman has been named global general counsel of the MPAA. Hoberman, who will start in November, will oversee all legal, content enforcement and rights management programs within the MPAA. He also will carry the title of senior exec VP. "Henry's experience within the film and television industry and his breadth of knowledge of the many serious challenges facing the entertainment community will be a tremendous resource to the MPAA,'' the org's chairman, Chris Dodd, said in a statement. Hoberman has been general counsel and secretary of RHI Entertainment since 2008. Before that, he spent a decade at the Walt Disney Co., including a stint as senior VP of ABC Inc., responsible for overseeing litigation and employment practices for all business units of ABC. Before joining ABC and Disney, Hoberman was an equity partner in the Media and Communications Group at Baker and Hostetler and an assistant United States attorney in Washington, D.C. He has also served as chairman of the board and a director of the Media Law Resource Center, a nonprofit, NY-based industry group dedicated to protecting freedom of the press. "For the millions of people whose jobs and livelihoods are dependent on the film and television industry, it is critically important that we protect the creative content that is at the heart of our industry, and it will be at the core of my mission at the MPAA," Hoberman said in a statement. Daniel Mandil, who had been the MPAA's general counsel and chief content protection officer, departed his post in March to join Viacom. Contact Ted Johnson at ted.johnson@variety.com

Watch Movies For Free Online

Owen Wilson Talks Zoolander 2

Hansel not-so-hot right nowBen Stiller talked to us exclusively back in May about the prospects for a Zoolander 2. Now his fellow male-model Owen Wilson, currently doing the publicity rounds forThe Big Year*, has given a few clues about the plot in an interview with MTV."Hansel, he's fallen on hard times. There's been a disfiguring injury. Think Vanilla Sky."The horror!He was so hot right then!We already knew from Stiller that the film would be set 10 years after the original (so make it now already!)Stiller added, "Then there are things set up at the end of the first movie that we're able to build on, like Derek and Matilda have a son, and Mugatu went to jail. There's a lot there, I'm excited about the idea of doing it. It feels like it's getting close to going."Zoolander 2, or as Wilson calls it variously Twolander and Zoo 2, will be out not soon enough by half. Cross your fingers, and if you happen to be head of development at Paramount, make this happen now!

Watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows The Movie

Joe Trippi on Why 'Moneyball' is More Like the Howard Dean Campaign Than 'The Ides of March'

Last week, Joe Trippi Tweeted that he felt the Brad Pitt baseball movie 'Moneyball' was a better representation of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign than this coming weekend's new release 'The Ides of March.' It was an interesting observation for a couple of reasons: Trippi was Dean's campaign manager during the former Vermont governor's failed election run in 2004 and -- more important -- 'The Ides of March' was partially inspired by the Dean campaign. Based on the play 'Farragut North' by former Dean staffer Beau Willimon, 'Ides of March' follows an idealistic campaign worker (Ryan Gosling) who learns the ups and downs of the political machine while on the trail with his candidate (George Clooney). Moviefone spoke to Trippi (who was a consultant to 'Ides' screenwriter Grant Heslov) about his observation -- which was less about 'Ides of March' drifting away from its source material and more about an organization applying controversial new tactics to win, only to have those tactics later emulated by opponents. Why would you say that 'Moneyball' reminded you more of the Dean campaign than a movie based on the Dean Campaign? I'd just seen 'Moneyball' and it was eerie how much it reminded me. It's about baseball, obviously, but it's really about what happens when somebody breaks down the wall of how it's always been done. There are elements of people in the characters I recognize, but it's not at all about what resembles the Dean campaign. Whereas, for me, 'Moneyball' was pretty damn close for what it felt like to be inside the Dean campaign. Are there still any similarities left in 'The Ides of March'? I heard things that I know I said. There's a line about "seventy-three Democrats have run for President," and I say that all the fricking time. And I said it 18 billion times during the campaign. What I'm saying is that there are elements. I don't think George Clooney or anybody wanted or thought it was about the Dean campaign. Not even the play, really, was about it -- in my view. So exactly what is it about 'Moneyball' that reminds you so much of the Dean campaign? With 'Moneyball,' all the institutions within the Democratic party -- all the institutional players within it -- thought we were insane. Thought it was a new system that was a fad and would never work. Guys on my own team thought we were crazy -- just like the coaches and the scouts. They thought we were all crazy. They were always trying to do it the old way and thought we were insane for trying to put the campaign together differently. The 20-game winning streak felt a lot like when we were on the Sleepless Summer tour. I'm not trying to make it an exact, "Oh my gosh, it's really about us" bullshit. And then two years later the Red Sox win doing exactly what those guy with the A's were doing. So Obama is the Red Sox? The thing that rang the truest to me is the Red Sox owner [John Henry], at the end, turning to Beane and saying that the first guy that breaks down the wall of how it's always been done always comes out the other side bloody. Well, trust me: I know exactly what that means. It turns out that the two movies that are out right now, the one that comes closest to giving you insight to what it was like inside the Dean campaign is 'Moneyball'... of all things. I wouldn't have expected that. I didn't expect it. I went to the movie and came out with a lot of bad memories. You've worked for John Edwards. Do you think 'The Ides of March' is a better representation of that campaign. The idealistic guy that staffers find out is not so idealistic later on? That's right. What I'd say about 'The Ides of March': it does an incredibly good job of being entertaining drama, but at the same time really capturing the cross pressure of idealism versus dirty, real-life reality. I think it does that better than any movie on politics that I've ever seen -- that is what that movie does. It captures exactly what it's like to be idealistically enamored with your candidate: believing in them and, at the same time, having everything at stake and you can't believe you made that decision. That you became part of that. Do you see yourself in Ryan Gosling's character? That you had to make concessions for a guy who doesn't live up to his image? That's everyone who's ever been a presidential candidate. That's something that happen to anybody who has been in any presidential campaign. That moment happens. Why did Obama win and Dean didn't? Is it just as simple as "more money"? The difference in a lot of ways was the money. Just like the Red Sox, it was the blend of the establishment and the new way. In other words: Obama was basically taking what works. One of the things that happened was -- you gotta understand, in 2003, there was no such thing as YouTube. Facebook was on one or two college campuses. There was something like 1.4 million blogs the day the Dean campaign was over; there were 77 million blogs the day Obama started. So they had even better data and stats than Dean and his guys had. They had better tools than we had to pull it off. And it's not just Obama. The entire Democratic party -- and now all of the Republicans -- are doing the same things that got pioneered in the Dean campaign. That's not saying they're also not taking every new trick that Obama taught everybody. But it's the same thing with every team in baseball: It didn't change the game, but what happened is that it married those techniques with teams that had the most money. It's the same thing: now everybody in politics does the stuff we did. But we did it because we didn't have the money John Kerry and these guys had, so we had to come up with a new way to get the money to compete. And we did and we scared the shit out of them all, but we lost. Four year later, everybody's using the same stuff we were doing, but now they have money. The little guys were doing it, too, but it's not an advantage anymore. It's the status quo now. Beane stays in Oakland, it doesn't matter. He's still a small market team up against the big team that went to school on him. That's where I see the synergy: You went up against the status quo, you got bloodied, and what happened? They just steal it and move on. Some of those things are unbelievably the same -- including, by the way, throwing over my desk. Have assumptions been made that if it happened in 'The Ides of March' or the play, it must have been something that you actually did? In the play, in the second scene, Chris Noth [the campaign manager] is bopping the intern. The manager and press secretary is having the affair with the intern. We're there at the premiere and my wife is with me and I have to explain to her that I never slept with an intern. When I asked Beau, "Hey, dude, what's the deal with the manager doing the intern? Everybody thinks this is about the Dean campaign. Come on, dude." And he just looked at me and goes, "Joe, it's fiction, there's a lot that has to happen in a play over two hours to keep everybody entertained." What's your grade for 'The Ides of March' and 'Moneyball'? I give them the same score, but for totally different reasons. I'd give them an eight. I usually rank most movies a five -- like, I'm disappointed and I can't believe I wasted money on that, which happens to be a lot these days. These were both two very good movies. So, for me an eight is like a big deal. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter. Follow Moviefone on Twitter. Photo: Sony Pictures

Watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Movie Online

You Know What? J.J. Abrams Includes A New Secret Project

Because the only factor J.J. Abrams loves a lot more than lens flares are secrets, this shojuld not be a large surprise: The Super 8/Star Trek director is planning for a new Vital joint with film writer Billy Ray (Flightplan, Shattered Glass, and also the approaching Channing Tatum Peter Pan reimagining), that the duo devised together. The particulars they are under systems, natch, however it’s referred to like a “mystery adventure.” Thanks for your clue, fellas! In the end wait for more information hitting the wires, see what potential Abrams-Ray fantasy pitches you are able to develop within the comments below. (Anybody still ready for Slusho: The Film?) [Deadline]

Coroner: Jeff Conaway's Death Was Caused by Infection

Jeff Conaway An autopsy has revealed that Jeff Conaway's death was accidental and caused by a major internal infection, the coroner told The Associated Press. Grease actor Jeff Conaway dies at 60 Los Angeles County coroner Craig Harvey told the AP that a toxicology test was not conducted because Conaway had been hospitalized for weeks leading up to his death and his blood would've come back clean. However, Harvey did note that the actor's blood contained traces of opiates and other drugs when he was originally admitted to the hospital. See other celebs who have died this year Conaway died at the age of 60 on May 27, 2011. The actor, who was best known for playing Kenicke in Grease and his role on the TV series Taxi, continually struggled with addiction, some of which was documented on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Watch The Hangover 2 The Movie

Fake Empire Comedy Among Latest Pilot Script Sales

Known mainly due to its hourlong series, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire has offered half-hour comedy pitch to Fox. The only real-camera comedy three childhood pals that are all now fathers with teenage sons, will probably be put together by Craig Schwartz who'll co-executive produce. Fake Empire’s Schwartz, Savage and Len Goldstein will executive produce for Warner Bros. TV. Fake Empire has 3 series round the air this season, NBC’s dramedy Chuck as well as the CW dramas Gossip Girl andHart of Dixie. Round the feature side, Schwartz, repped WME as well as the Gotham Group, soldBromance to Montecito and DreamWorks and Parents Weekend to Kopelson Entertainment. Author-director Nancy Hower and her writing/creating partner, actor John Lehr, have offered half-hour comedy pitch to NBC. Titled Retreat, the project is occur a business retreat. The acquisition is made from different demo Hower and Lehr shot, which Hower directed and Lehr starred in. The demo, produced in colaboration with EUE/Screengems, was probably helpful, since the duo relies on a hybrid scripted/improv style where their scripts are actually detailed but dont feature any dialogue. ABC has bought an untitled time travel drama project from author Scott Veach, with ABC Art galleries and Warren Littlefield creating. This marks a reunion of parties. A year ago, Veach, repped by CAA and Leverage, and Littlefield produced a drama for ABC and ABC Art galleries good book Capital of scotland - Dreams.

Dexter Scoop: Will Dexter Find a New Love This Season?

Dexter, Michael C Hall, Aimee Garcia After Dexter's titular character lost his wife to a devious serial killer and his girlfriend to a happier life without her Dark Passenger, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is on his own this year as he tries to figure out single fatherhood. Fortunately, he'll have the help of the new nanny, Jaime Batista (Aimee Garcia), who happens to be the younger sister of Sgt. Angel Batista (David Zayas). Dexter Exclusive: In Season 6, Dexter finds... faith? Last season Dexter finally opened up to the possibility of love, so there's hope that a new relationship could blossom between the blood splatter expert and his child's caretaker, even if their dispositions are polar opposites. TVGuide.com chatted with Off the Map's Garcia, who also discusses Jaime's relationship with her brother and the constant danger a nanny to a serial killer faces, especially when she's practically living with him: What can you tell us about your character, Jaime? Aimee Garcia: She's a carefree, smart graduate student. She's studying Child Psychology, so being a nanny is a perfect job for her. She's a very good nanny and absolutely adores Harrison and equally adores Dexter and thinks he's the best dad in the world. She's completely unaware of his extracurricular activities. What is the dynamic like between Batista and his sister? Garcia: She has the typical little sister-older brother relationship where he gets super-protective, so much so it may get him into trouble. They have a good bond and healthy relationship. He's almost like a second father to her, though they didn't grow up in the same household. She's equally as protective of him, and she's realizing he's gone through a lot, with two divorces under his belt, and he loves the ladies, like any Cuban man would. Dexter exclusive: How far will Season 6 jump ahead in time? How does her carefree attitude compare to Dexter's dark side? Garcia: Dexter carries the weight of the world on his shoulders...all of his dark secrets weigh heavily on him. But Jamie has no cares in the world. She's fun, free and doesn't question if she's a good person. That'sthe kind of positive energy Dexter wants around Harrison. Dexter always has a cloud over his head, but she probably just thinks it's because he's stressed out at work and is a single dad. Their chemistry is great and their dynamic is interesting. It's a good mix where he's kind of death and she's almost life, kind of a yin-yang type of thing. Dexter's old nanny pushed Dexter to be more involved in Harrison's life. Will Jamie do the same? Garcia: She's very, very protective of Harrison and she actually doesn't have a beef with Dexter. She has a beef with somebody else who you'll see early on in the season who she goes toe-to-toe with. She doesn't really chastise Dexter. She lets things roll of her back. Because she's a student, she has tons of studying to do and she frequently spends the night in Harrison's apartment. She's also smart and very aware of what's going on with the late nights, but chalks it up to processing a really big loss in Rita [Julie Benz]. They're more buddies than being at loggerheads. Because Dexter was able to open himself up to the possibility of finding love, will a relationship develop between them? Garcia: Maybe. I can't say. I always joke about being on the show, I feel like I work for the CIA and on a need-to-know basis. I do know that they're in close quarters and she's basically the mother of his kid right now in raising him, changing his diapers and feeding him. Harrison means the world to Dexter, so anyone who's helping Harrison live a healthy life in his developmental years, obviously holds a good place in his heart. You only get one true love in every lifetime, so Lumen [Julia Stiles] was probably that for Dexter. Fall Preview: Get scoop on your favorite returning shows How do you think she would feel if she did find out his secret? Garcia: I think it's so out of the realm of possibilities for her. She really is such a beam of positivity and sees the best in people that I don't think it would ever cross her mind. If she ever did discover Dexter's dark secret, I think she would be shocked and mortified and obviously concerned for Harrison. She'd be like, "No, no, no, you've got the wrong guy." Because they're in such close quarters, should we worry about what might happen if she does figure out his secret? Garcia: When you're on a show with a serial killer, your head could roll at any time, which keeps everyone on their toes. Dexter leads a double life, and the underground life is dangerous, not only for him, but for people close to him. She might be in danger, we'll see. The sixth season of Dexter premieres Sunday at 9/8c on Showtime.

Watch The Hangover 2 Megavideo

'Dark Knight' cheers LA film prod'n

"The Dark Dark night Increases" ongoing to embellish La film production, because the latest Batpic was probably the most active offlot shoot a week ago for that third week consecutively -- and also the 4th week within the last five. The Batman follow up from director-producer Christopher Nolan -- for auction on permits as "Magnus Rex" -- tallied up 35 allowed days a week ago, based on figures provided Tuesday through the FilmL.A. enabling agency. Warner Bros. has set This summer 20, 2012, because the release date going back installment in Nolan's trilogy, that has done a lot of its shooting in Pittsburgh. Total feature days allowed a week ago were up 47% to 176. Additional features presently shooting in La include "Argo," "Benjamin Troubles," "Gus," "Safe House," The L Lounge," "Water & Energy" and "Tag." Feature activity arrived at its peak this season throughout the final two days in June, when allowed days totaled over 200 both days. Because of the lure of incentives outdoors California, feature production is all about half the amount it had been fifteen years ago, when monitoring started. Total allowed production days rose 16% to 690 a week ago as third quarter production continued to be well in front of the same period this year. TV shooting rejected slightly to 325 days, off 12 in the same week this past year. Sitcoms "Up Through The Night" and "Raising Hope" were probably the most active a week ago with 11 days each. Other television productions presently shooting in La include "Prime Suspect," "Work,Inch "Celebrity Wife Swap," "Face Off," "How Do You Look" and "Shahs of Sunset." Commercial shooting was up 39% to 189 days with Picrow's CCI commercial shot accumulating probably the most days at 40. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Toronto: The Raid Helmer Gareth Evans Signs With Management 360

EXCLUSIVE: While customers were slightly lukewarm about most of the 2011 Toronto Film Festival fare, there's much buzz in regards to the Raid, the Gareth Evans-directed fighting styles film that won the Evening time Madness Award. The distribution rights compared to that movie are actually controlled through the new the new sony, and so the action round the film composed of art galleries competing for remake rights and agents and managers trying to sign Evans, the Welsh filmmaker who lives and makes his movies in Indonesia. Evans has signed with Management 360, and will also be that company that can Evans around to fulfill art galleries that have been screening his movie within the last week. The brand new the new sony Pictures Worldwide Purchases Group smartly bought world rights based on partial footage in Cannes, which supplies the studio this news round the remake rights that are controlled with the film’s producers at Abc Films. While Evans may ultimately sign by getting a company, he doesn’t need a job at this time around as they wants revisit Jakarta and shoot a larger-scale film which includes the heavens and story lines within the Raid. Then he will turn to produce a Hollywood film. Here’s a clip:

Discoverys Boss David Zaslav Urges United kingdom To Help Keep Its Light Discuss Media Regs

A next day of the United kingdom’s Culture Minister sailed the thought of tightening media regulation within the wake of News Corp’s hacking and bribery scandal, Discovery Communications Boss David Zaslav put some cold water about the idea. Zaslav today toldthe Royal Television Society Convention in Cambridge the UKneeds to help keep its “light touch” along with a “level playing area” for foreign gamers. Discovery has reason to stress about changes, because it spends a lot more than $300M annually within the United kingdom, where it broadcasts12channels.Its our biggest market outdoors from the U.S., weve been here since 1989, and were wishing it is not likely to change, Zaslav stated. Discovery had a yearly profit of $1.6B and nearly $4B in revenues this past year. United kingdom congress are speaking harder media rules after accusations the News around the globe reporters compromised the telephone of the killed schoolgirl forced Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.tofold the tabloid and abandon its bid to consider over BSkyB.