Friday, January 27, 2012

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2012

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FilmNEwsBriefs.com
Projects Announced
Cool! Those “Avengers” Movies Will Keep On Coming

That “Captain America: The First Avenger” was getting a sequel was inevitable. The film successfully brought the comic hero to the big screen in a rousing and better than expected tentpole, and with Steve Rogers landing in contemporary Manhattan at the end of the film and heading into “The Avengers,” there is still more to come. Samuel L. Jackson signed a contract for a nine-picture deal and it’s about time his character got a standalone movie that allowed the actor to do more than pop up periodically in everybody else’s pic. Of course, any details on directors or plotlines are way, way too early and nothing is revealed here for either. But at the very least, McDonough is hopeful Marvel decides to keep the rumored ’70s setting for “Nick Fury” that has been tossed around for a while now.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/dum-dum-dugan-neal-mcdonough-says-captain-america-2-will-shoot-later-this-year

“Killshot” Goes To Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. is going for the “Killshot,” picking up a pitch from Ken Woodruff. Plot details are being kept secret but it is known to be an action comedy. No producer is attached.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/warner-bros-killshot-ken-woodruff-285211

Kinnear And Connelly Sign Up To Be “Writers”

Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly are in negotiations to star in the indie “Writers,” which will mark the feature film directing debut of Josh Boone, who has also written the original screenplay. The drama will focus on the complicated relationships between a successful novelist, played by Kinnear, his ex-wife  and their collegiate daughter and teenage son.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/greg-kinnear-jennifer-connelly-writers-285216

Tweet Hints To The Posibility of A “Think Like A Man” Sequel

Words tweeted by Will Packer (Rainforest Films) earlier this morning; let me translate for all of you non-Twitter using folks: the president of Sony subsidiary Screen Gems was apparently on Steve Harvey’s radio show this morning, and announced that a sequel to the film adaptation of Harvey’s best-seller, “Think Like A Man” (the film title) is coming.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/sequel-to-think-like-a-man-coming

“Crime After Crime” Doc To Become A Feature Film

With Sundance 2012 beginning to wind down, let’s briefly rewind back to the 2011 film festival where Yoav Patash’s “Crime After Crime” premiered to a great reception a year ago. The documentary went on to win a slew of awards at festivals around the country, before being picked up by Oprah’s OWN Documentary Club and receiving its television premiere last November. The doc follows the legal appeal process of Deborah Peagler, the victim of domestic abuse who was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in 1983 for her connection to the murder of her boyfriend. Teaming up with two attorneys who believe they have incontrovertible evidence that could free her, and along the way they encounter an atmosphere of corruption and politically driven resistance against her fight for justice and freedom. We were very impressed when the doc aired on OWN, calling it “a devastating portrait of the power of the human spirit,” and “a fitting tribute to the unlikely spokesmodel for the roughly 100,000 female victims of domestic violence who are behind bars today.” It seems we weren’t the only ones blown away by this story, because Chris Columbus’ 1492 Pictures is partnering with ro*co prods. to adapt it into a feature film.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/acclaimed-documentary-crime-after-crime-getting-a-feature-film-adaptation

Project Updates
Sorry Fox, But “This Means War” Is Keeping Its R-Rating

The Classification and Rating Appeals Board on Thursday upheld the R rating bestowed McG’s comedy “This Means War,” which 20th Century Fox opens on Valentine’s Day. “This Means War” – starring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy – was assigned the restrictive rating for “some sexual content.” Fox was appealing in the hopes of lowering the rating to PG-13.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/this-means-war-r-rating-fox-loses-appeal-285147

Sadly, David Fincher’s “The Goon” Is No More

Sad news for all those looking forward to David Fincher’s CG slapstick supernatural noir: it looks very much as if “The Goon” is no longer happening. Fincher always said “adult animation” was a hard sell… Not to be confused with Seann William Scott’s hockey movie (which is still just about playing in cinemas), this “Goon,” based on the comics by Eric Powell, has been in development for some time, and has been a regular fixture at the last few Comic-Cons. It was to be the story of the titular mob enforcer, his short-arse sidekick Frankie and the villainous Priest with his army of the undead. Blur Studios were animating, Clancy Brown and Paul Giamatti were on board for the voices.

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32971

Winslet And Keener Join Already Star Packed “Frank or Francis”

What we can only imagine as the indie film’s answer to “New Years Eve,” Charlie Kaufman has added two big-name actresses to the celebrity bazaar of “Frank or Francis.” In addition to Steve Carell, Jack Black, Nicolas Cage and Kevin Kline, Kaufman-vets Kate Winslet and Catherine Keener have reportedly joined the production. “Frank or Francis,” Kaufman’s second turn directing, is a satirical musical comedy, which imagines Carell as a director’s who is haunted by a message board commenter who ridicules his movies on a Hollywood website.

http://news.moviefone.com/2012/01/26/winslet_n_1234291.html?ref=moviefone

Steven Spielberg To Work Amongst “Gods And Kings”

You just know that the second they hear that Steven Spielberg has so much as looked at their script, all the studio executives involved in a project find their hearts beating faster and their wallets getting itchy. But he’s always so busy and has the absolute power to choose whatever he works on. So you can imagine the scene at Warner Bros. now as the studio creeps closer to locking the director in to make “Gods And Kings,” a new take on the story of Moses. Aside from that slightly popular book starting with the letter B, many people know Moses’ story from Cecil B. DeMille’s epic “The Ten Commandments,” which saw Charlton Heston as the main man. Sent off as baby in a basket down the Nile, adopted, leads the Jews out of slavery in Egypt, forms an army, receives the Ten Commandments and parts the Red Sea on his journey towards the Promised Land.

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32970

Jennifer Lynch Gets Into The Detective Business

Director Jennifer Lynch has more dark corners to look into. Lynch will next helm the thriller “A Fall From Grace,” about a homicide detective tracking a serial killer along the Mississippi River who burns his victims. She wrote the screenplay with Eric Wilkinson, who will produce with Apothecary Films partner David Michaels. Filming will take place in the St. Louis area.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/jennifer-lynch-fall-from-grace-285077

Pilot Season

A New Comedy Is Brewing At Fox

Fox is opening its door for more Mike O’Malley. The network has given pilot orders to a comedy to be written by the “Glee” guest star based on Hank Perlman’s one-minute movies “Prodigy Bully.” The half-hour single-camera project would also reteam O’Malley – who received an Emmy nomination for his turn as father of the year on Fox’s musical dramedy – with frequent “Glee” director Paris Barclay, John Wells and Andrew Stearn on board to executive produce. O’Malley will co-exec produce.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/comedy-john-wells-glee-mike-o-malley-fox-pilot-285188

Everybody And Their Mothers Got A Pilot At CBS

CBS has ordered to pilot dramas from Nicholas Pileggi, Chris Columbus and Ilene Chaiken. The first, the untitled Ralph Lamb project, is a period piece set in the 1960s revolving around the true story of the former cowboy turned longtime Las Vegas sheriff. From CBS Television Studios, “GoodFellas” scribe Pileggi and “Without a Trace” writer Greg Walker will pen the pilot. Second, the network will produce a pilot for Applebaum, an hourlong drama based on Ayelet Waldman’s “Mommy Track Mysteries” series of books in which a former public defender becomes a private investigator to keep from being bored to death as a stay-at-home mom. Columbus will executive produce and direct the project, alongside Jennifer Levin, Sherri Cooper and Waldlman, who will pen the script for the CBS Television Studios project. Third, “The L Word” creator Chaiken will write and executive produce “Quean,” which revolves around an edgy and independent millennial hacker girl who teams with an Oakland police detective to solve crimes.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/cbs-drama-pilots-chris-columbus-nicholas-pileggi-ilene-chaiken-285213

Rebel Wilson Heads Over To CBS

Rebel Wilson, “Bridesmaids” other scene-stealer (besides Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy), has sold a comedy to CBS. Wilson will star in “Super Fun Night,” a multi-camera comedy about three nerdy friends who go on a quest to have an epic night every Friday night. The Australian actress will write and co-executive produce the pilot and Conan O’Brien is on board as a producer.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/rebel-wilson-cbs-comedy_n_1234202.html?ref=tv

Acquisitions/Film Festivals
Sundance Selects Is Interested In Knowing “How To Survive A Plague”

Sundance Selects has acquired the North American rights to David France’s documentary “How To Survive A Plague.”  The film follows a group of mostly HIV-positive young men and women who took on Washington through two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – and whose activism turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-selects-buys-how-to-survive-a-plague

IFC Is Getting To Know “Simon Killer” Better

IFC is in final negotiations to acquire Antonio Campos’ “Simon Killer,” according to a source close to the deal. “Simon Killer” stars Brady Corbet as a heartbroken American college grad who visits Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend of five years. He quickly falls in love with a young prostitute, but that might not be enough to settle his personal issues.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/ifc-takes-on-simon-killer

If The Folks At Entertainment One “Wish You Where Here,” They Bring You Here

Entertainment One has announced that they’ve bought North American rights to Kieran Darcy-Smith’s “Wish You Were Here.” Starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Price, the Australian film was one of the titles that played opening night this year. It’s a psychological thriller that follows four friends who lose themselves after a trip to South East Asia.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/entertainment-one-acquires-wish-you-were-here

Magnolia Pictures Decides To Ditch Technology And Go Back To “V/H/S”

Magnolia Pictures has bought the North American rights to Sundance Midnight entry “V/H/S.” A “found footage” anthology of twisted tales all recorded on VHS tapes a group of robbers watch during a robbery, the shorts were directed by Adam Wingard, Glenn McQuiad, Radio Silence, David Bruckner, Joe Swamberg and Ti West.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/magnolia-gets-v-h-s

IFC Midnight Signed “The Pact”

Hours after IFC Films acquired Josh Radnor’s “Liberal Arts,” IFC Midnight has purchased North American rights to Midnight section fave “The Pact.” Based on director Nicholas McCarthy’s 2011 Sundance short of the same title, McCarthy’s debut feature is a haunted-house tale about a young girl who returne home to attend her much-despised mother’s funeral. The film also stars Casper Van Dien, Haley Hudson, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Sam Ball, and Agnes Bruckner.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/ifc-nabs-haunted-house-thriller-the-pact

IFC Films Goes Back To College For A “Liberal Arts” Degree

IFC Films has taken North American rights to Josh Radnor’s “Liberal Arts,” which debuted in the Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend. In the film, bookish and newly single Jesse Fisher, played by Radnor, returns to his alma mater for his favorite professor’s retirement dinner. A chance meeting with Elizabeth Olsen’s Zibby – a precocious classical music-loving sophomore – awakens in him long-dormant feelings of possibility and connection.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/ifc-takes-sundances-liberal-arts

Business/Legal News
Tom Selleck Stars In “Jesse Stone”

Tom Selleck is hanging up his New York City Police Commissioner uniform on “Blue Bloods” to don a different look as super sleuth Jesse Stone in the eighth installment of the detective TV movie series, “Jesse Stone.” Selleck, who co-penned the screenplay with Michael Brandman, stars as the title character, Jesse Stone, who will find himself struggling to get his job back as the Paradise police chief, and he is forced to rely on his cop intuition to sort through a maze of misleading clues and hidden meanings as he attempts to solve a shocking and horrifying mob-related double homicide.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/tom-selleck-jesse-stone-benefit-of-the-doubt-premiere-date_n_1234445.html?ref=tv

TNT Is Being Sued For Using Fonts Wrong

Just days after NBC Universal settled a lawsuit that claimed the studio had stolen the font on Harry Potter merchandise sold at Universal theme parks, another entertainment company is facing a font-face problem. Turner Broadcasting is now being sued over the TNT series “Falling Skies,” a show about an alien invasion that is executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The plaintiff in the case is a German designer who is upset about the way the show has been marketed. Matius Gerardo Grieck, founder of the +ISM studio, has brought his claims in a New York federal court, and is alleging that TBS and Titleboy Films have breached the licensing agreement on the company’s Anthropolymorphics font software.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/falling-skies-lawsuit-tnt-font-285103
Industry Moves

Brad Pelman Says Goodbye To Alliance Films

Maple Pictures co-founder Brad Pelman has left Alliance Films six months his company was acquired for $38.5 million as part of a three-way deal that included Lionsgate Entertainment. Having helped integrate Maple into Alliance Films, Pelman on Thursday said it was time to step down as executive vp and seek out new opportunities.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pelman-exits-alliance-films-285065

TruTV Has A New Vice President Of Original Programming

TruTV has promoted network executive producer and editorial director Angel Annussek to vice president of original programming. Network SVP of programming, production and development Darren Campo announced Thursday that Annussek will assume her new position, helping expand the cable network’s current slate of original series.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trutv-angel-annussek-original-programming-285067

Around The Web
According to IMDb, "Donnie Darko" Has Been On Top For Years-Indie Wire
What Is Modern Animation?-EmpireOnline
Ferris Bueller Is Back!-IFC
The Ever Present "It" Girl Obsession-IndieWire
Website to Watch
http://vault.australianopentv.com/
Big fan of Pro Tennis? If so, you have to check out the AOTV Vault. The site has videos of 113 full-length matches and memorable moments at the Australian Open from 1998 to 2011. Matches featuring Agassi, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sampras, Hingis and many more all on the site for you to stream, for free. You can browse the matches by player, year, championship matches, comebacks or great upsets. If you’re looking for a specific highlight, you can search the vault by various different types of shots (“cracking aces”) and moments (“match points”). Each video comes with full commentary as well. Developed for Tennis Australia by Thought Equity Motion, the site is powered by the video management and licensing services provider’s T3 platform. As part of their agreement, Thought Equity Motion will continue to work with Tennis Australia to manage and curate both archival and future matches.
Additional Source:
www.cynopsis.com






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