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

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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!

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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

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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.

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