Box Office
Weekend Estimate
January 20-22, 2012 (*millions)
FILM GROSS/CUMULATIVE TOTAL
1 Underworld: Awakening (2012) $25.4M/$25.4M
2 Red Tails (2012) $19.1M/$19.1M
3 Contraband (2012) $12.2M/$46.1M
4 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011) $10.5M/$11.2M
5 Haywire (2011) $9M/$9M
6 Beauty and the Beast (1991) $8.56M/$33.4M
7 Joyful Noise (2012) $6.08M/$21.9M
8 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) $5.54M/$197M
9 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) $4.8M/$179M
10 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) $3.75M/$94.8M
Projects Announced
Japanese Auteur Still Focusing On That Tragic Earthquake Is seems Sion Sono isn’t done with last March’s devastating earthquake in Japan just yet. Perhaps best known to genre fans stateside for his thriller “Cold Fish” or the epically bonkers “Love Exposure,” last year Sono went to Venice with “Himizu” his tale centered on the danger zone following the Japanese earthquake. And with cameras now rolling on this next film, he hasn’t left that event behind. Titled “The Land Of Hope” (”Kibo no kuni”), the film is once again set in the Tohoku region, and while exact plot details haven’t been revealed, Sono did tell press, “The story depicts the bonds between husband and wife, between parent and child and between lovers.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cold-fish-guilty-of-romance-director-sion-sono-making-japanese-earthquake-tsunami-pic-the-land-of-hope Pair Of Production Shingles Want To Turn Docs Into Narratives Ro*Co Productions and production company 1492 Pictures have announced a partnership to adapt documentaries into dramatic features. The first project will be Yoav Potach’s “Crime After Crime,” a Sundance 2011 premiere. Doc is the compelling film that follows two attorneys, fresh out of law school, as they fight an uphill battle to free Debbie Peagler from prison 20 years after she was sentenced to life behind bars for her role in the murder of the man who abused her. http://www.indiewire.com/article/ro-co-productions-and-1492-pictures-team-to-adapt-documentaries-first-will-be-crime-after-crime Discovery Jumps On The Italian Cruise Ship Tragedy The Costa Concordia Disaster is getting the Hollywood treatment. This spring, Discovery will premiere a special designed to dissect the devastating disaster that wreaked havoc on a luxury cruise ship off the shore of Isola del Giglio last week. With 11 of the ship’s 4,200 passengers confirmed dead and another 23 still missing, Discovery crews will cover the teams charged with figuring out a way to salvage a vessel that’s larger than the Titanic. Among the many questions the “instamentary,” as the network has dubbed such specials, will look to answer: What went wrong? What role did Captain Francesco Schettino play? How did the crew evacuate the ship? And can — and if so, how do — you salvage the ship? The decision to commission a special within days of the ship running aground is part of a growing trend at the network to remain newsy and relevant for its viewership. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cruise-ship-crash-discovery-channel-costa-concordia-283495 Apparently, There Is No Stopping Abigail Spencer Actress Abigail Spencer, best known for her work on “Mad Men,” has stealthily spread her wings into screenwriting, with her script “Wrong Number” now set for a spring shoot with James Franco as a producer. Spencer will also star in the movie, leading a cast that includes Andrew Leeds, Matt Gould, Griffin Matthews, Camille Chen and Eric Roberts. Franco is producing with his Rabbit Bandini partners Vince Jolivette and Miles Levy, along with Edward Bass. Spencer will also act as a producer. Number is a comedic romance about two people who “meet” on a wrong number phone call at a pivotal moment in their lives. The story centers on a wife dealing with the loss of her father and the stranger she pursues. They strike up an unlikely friendship, which turns romantic, revealing the gray areas and often mixed signals in intimate friendships amongst men and women. AnnaRose King is directing the film, which is eying an April start in New York. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mad-men-abigail-spencer-wrong-number-283616 Legendary Guitarist Slash Can Now Be Called “Hyphen” Anchor Bay has picked up rights to “Nothing to Fear,” a horror movie that is acting as the feature producing debut of former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash and his new horror label Slasher Films. Producing with Slash are partners Rob Eric and Michael Williams. Anthony Leonardi III, a creature artist and storyboard artist who worked on “Rango” and the upcoming “47 Ronin,” is directing the movie, which will begin shooting next month in Louisiana. Film centers on “a family whose journey towards a better life in a small town is savagely derailed by a charismatic but emotionally conflicted man of the cloth.” The movie is in pre-production and has Anne Heche, James Tupper and Willa Holland among the cast. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/sundance-2012-slash-nothing-to-fear-anne-heche-james-tupper-283649 New Horror Flick “Conjures” Itself Up A Cast Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are in final negotiations to star in “The Conjuring,” a supernatural thriller from New Line. The casting will reteam Wilson with director James Wan, who directed the actor in “Insidious,” another supernatural creepfest that was one last year’s most profitable movies. In the film, written by Chad and Carey Hayes, Wilson and Farmiga will play a husband and wife team of demonologists and psychic investigators who enter the most horrifying case of their career, spirits in a Rhode Island farmhouse. The story is based on the real life tale of the Perron family and their ordeals in the 1970s. When New Line acquired the pitch from the Hayes, it included life rights to the Perron family and the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Pete Safran, Rob Cowan, and Tony DeRosa-Grund are producing. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/patrick-wilson-vera-farmiga-conjuring-283665 Reynolds! Witherspoon! Together Again For The First Time! Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds are attached to star in the indie biopic “Big Eyes,” which is based on the true story of Margaret and Walter Keane, whose pop-eyed paintings became a sensation in the 1960s. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will write and direct the film, with Tim Burton set to produce via his Tim Burton Productions. Lynette Howell and Jamie Patricof will also produce through Electric City Entertainment. Principal photography is scheduled to begin this spring. The Keanes’ lives were filled with controversy: Though Margaret (who will be played by Witherspoon) was the true talent, Walter (Reynolds) claimed credit for her work, which was sold under his name. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/reese-witherspoon-ryan-reynolds-big-eyes-tim-burton-283873 Canadian Indie Drama About Mississippi Finds A Helmer Julie Dash (”The Rosa Parks Story”) is to direct the indie feature “Tupelo 77″ from Canadian indie producer Angel Entertainment. Written by Rich Mancuso, the theatrical drama portrays a group of woman of varied ages and races who frequent a roadside diner in small-town Mississippi in the hot summer of 1977, just as Elvis Presley tragically died. Together the women struggle to overcome poverty, racial and religious differences, and the wounds of war. Film is produced by Bob Crowe and Sean Hewitt. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sundance-2012-julie-dash-direct-283886 Project Updates
Next Up For That VOD-Before-Theaters Experiment? Halle Berry! Lionsgate and Wrekin Hill Entertainment are teaming up to try a controversial distribution strategy for Wrekin Hill’s upcoming action film “Dark Tide”: release it on video before it gets to theaters. U.S. rights to the underwater adventure, directed by John Stockwell and starring Halle Berry, were acquired by Wrekin Hill. Lionsgate will make the film available for streaming through a Video-on-Demand service. The full theatrical release will take place on March 30th. “Melancholia” and “London Boulevard” are among recent films to follow this increasingly popular “premium” VOD pattern, which works best on films with name stars. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/lionsgate-wrekin-hill-to-release-dark-tide-on-vod-before-theatrical-run The Next Stephenie Meyer-Penned Blockbuster Series Keeps Casting Continuing her foray into Hollywood that has notably seen her star in “National Treasure,” “Inglourious Basterds” and “Unknown,” Diane Kruger joins “The Host,” a big screen adapation of the novel by Stephenie Meyer. The story is set in the near future, where alien parasite “souls” benevolently take over the consciousness of humans. One such “soul” named Wanderer inhabits the body of a dying woman, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), who just happens to be obsessed with finding the last group of surviving humans. Kruger will play The Seeker, who is tasked with converting Melanie, who is a rebel soldier, in the hopes of quashing the movement. The cast has William Hurt, Max Irons and Jake Abel all on board, with Andrew Niccol at the helm. The film is set to roll soon so it can make its March 29, 2013 release date. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-host-finds-the-seeker-in-diane-kruger We Have Ourselves Confirmation, People: “Sweet Valley High” Film WILL BE A MUSICAL!!!!! Following her coyness with MTV, Diablo Cody has now revealed the unbridled truth about “Sweet Valley High.” “I’ve not told anyone else this yet,” she beamed, “but it’s going to be a musical! It’s pretty awesome. I’m so happy!” Cody previously talked about her film being “to the ’80s what ‘American Graffiti’ was to the early ’60s”, which might in itself indicate the need for an extensive soundtrack. The books were about Elizabeth (the goody two-shoes one) and Jessica (the reckless one) Wakefield, blonde twins with blue-green eyes and perfect size 6 figures (as readers were reminded in every single book) and their trials and tribulations at high school. http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=32889 “Last Exorcism”? Not So Much, As Sequel Nabs A Director While 2010’s “The Last Exorcism” didn’t exactly deliver the scary, it was an intriguing concept — a scamming priest who stages an elaborate show when asked to perform exorcisms actually comes up against a real demon possession — and the under $2 million budgeted film quietly went on to earn over $65 million worldwide. Then, news broke in August that it wasn’t actually “The Last Exorcism” the title suggested as Damien Chazelle, writer/director of the indie flick “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench,” was hired to pen the sequel. Now comes word that “This Beautiful City” and “Small Town Murder Songs” director Ed Gass-Donnelly will be helming the follow-up, with original “The Last Exorcism” star Ashley Bell set to reprise her role as Nell Sweetzer, the one who becomes possessed in the original film. Eli Roth is returning to produce under the Arcade Pictures and Strike Entertainment banner along with with Eric Newman, Marc Abraham and Tom Bliss. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ashley-bell-returns-for-the-last-exorcism-sequel-film-to-be-completed-by-the-end-of-2012 That Cinemax Version Of “Transporter” Is Still In Trouble Cinemax’s cursed “Transporter” action series is in the market for new showrunners. The Canadian-French co-production between local producer QVF and Gallic partner Atlantique Productions last summer hired British director Steve Shill (”Rome,” “Dexter”) to replace the original Canadian showrunners Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Now producers of the 12-part action series based on the Luc Besson film franchise are looking for new showrunners to resume shooting in Toronto in the spring on the final five episodes. Production was halted last October after star Chris Vance suffered an on-set injury. The star is understood to be back in good health. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cinemaxs-cursed-transporter-series-shoot-283533 Ryan Murphy’s “Normal Heart” Adaptation Brings The Heavyweights Ryan Murphy is putting together an all-star cast for his latest film project, the big-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning drama “The Normal Heart,” being produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B shingle. Julia Roberts and Alec Baldwin, plus “White Collar” star Matt Bomer and “Big Bang Theory”’s Jim Parsons, are joining Mark Ruffalo in the autobiographical drama, written by Larry Kramer, that details the rise of HIV/AIDS in New York’s gay community in the 1980s. Murphy, who hit mainstream success with “Glee,” is directing from a script by Kramer. Murphy optioned the rights to the play last August and had Ruffallo attached as Ned Weeks, who is one of the first to raise an alarm when what was then known as “gay cancer” surfaces in New York. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/glee-ryan-murphy-julia-roberts-alec-baldwin-matt-bomer-jim-parsons-283732 Pilot Season
The Devil’s In The Details For New ABC Pilot ABC has made a date with the Devil. The network has picked up to pilot “666 Park Ave.,” an hourlong drama from Alloy Entertainment, the producers of “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Secret Circle” and “Gossip Girl.” From Warner Bros. Television and Alloy, show is based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce. Like the books, the drama centers on an innocent couple from the midwest that moves to New York and gets hired to be resident managers of a building on the Upper East Side. There, unbeknownst to the couple, the residents have all unwittingly made deals with the Devil to have their deepest needs, ambitions and desires fulfilled. David Wilcox is attached to adapt the project and executive produce alongside Alloy’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-orders-supernatural-drama-pilot-666-park-ave-283736 Alex Désert Lands Spot On New Marcia Gay Harden Show Alex Désert (”Becker”) is to co-star in NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot “Isabel,” which also stars Marcia Gay Harden and Sophia Schloss in the title role. Désert’s credits include “Boy Meets World,” a 1990s comedy worked on by Howard Busgang, who co-wrote the “Isabel” pilot with Tom Nursall. Show is based on the Quebec comedy “Le Monde de Charlotte” from indie Sphère Média Plus, whose adaptation rights were picked up by NBC last Fall. Sphère Média Plus president Jocelyn Deschênes and Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment are executive producing the NBC comedy pilot, along with Busgang and Nursall. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alex-d-sert-star-nbc-283855 Acquisitions/Film Festivals
Looking To Catch Some Docs On The Web? SnagFilm’s Got You Covered SnagFilms has acquired digital rights to 16 documentaries including “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “We Live in Public,” “Super Size Me,” “Jesus Camp” and “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” SnagFilms’ rights are exclusive for certain platforms; SnagFilms is in the process of determining release windows, which will start in late February. The films include 12 titles from Magnolia Pictures, plus titles from Samuel Goldwyn Films, The Documentary Group, Interloper Films and City Lights Pictures. http://www.indiewire.com/article/snagfilms-gets-digital-rights-to-16-top-documentaries “Sugar Man” Doc Lands Sweet Deal With SPC Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Sundance’s opening night world doc “Searching For Sugar Man.” The directorial debut of Malik Bendjelloui, the film tells the incredible story of Rodriguez, “the greatest ’70s rock icon who never was.” Director Bendjelloui’s tale follows Mexican-American singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, whose gentle pop tunes and activist spirit came through in a handful of albums that were barely noticed in the U.S. before he found unexpected stardom in South Africa. http://www.indiewire.com/article/sony-classics-takes-sundances-sugar-man Magnolia Gets In On The Buying In Park City Magnolia Pictures has acquired “The Queen of Versailles.” It was the second theatrical distribution purchase announced in as many hours during the first full day of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. TV and international are in discussion for Lauren Greenfield’s documentary, which Magnolia plans to release this summer. The film is the story of billionaires Jackie and David Siegel, who celebrate their wealth by building a 90,000 square-foot home — only to see a dark economic turn of events when the financial market collapses in 2008. http://www.indiewire.com/article/magnolia-acquires-queen-of-versailles Funny French Fest Has Winners Of Its Own A jury of Gallic talent led by actor Gilles Lellouche tuned into “Radiostars” on Saturday, giving Romain Levy’s film the grand prize at the 15th annual Alpe d’Huez comedy festival on Saturday night in the ski resort town. The public event, open to all cinephiles on skis, highlights new French comedies before they open in the territory giving distributors an idea of the response at home. Several successful French titles including Gaul’s current box office champion “Welcome to the Sticks” had their start at the fest before going on to conquer the rest of the country. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alpe-dhuez-comedy-festival-winners-283784 CBS Uses Its “Words” To Pick Up Sundance Flick “The Words” has sold to CBS Films after a heated bidding war that lasted until 4 a.m. on Sunday. The project from directors and screenwriters Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal was sold for for about $2 million with a $1.5 million P&A commitment. Interest in the Bradley Cooper-starring literary thriller was strong after it was shown at a packed P&I screening on Saturday morning. A tentative fall release is planned. Film centers on a hot young author (played by Cooper) who plagiarizes from a forgotten manuscript; the film also features Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana and Ben Barnes. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/sundance-2012-bradley-coopers-words-283786 VOD’s Getting Bigger, But One Flick Still Takes Theatrical Mickey Liddell’s LD Distribution has bought North American theatrical rights to Sundance Midnight Section entry “Black Rock.” According to the film’s rep, Josh Braun of Submarine, he went with LD over a number of other interested companies that wanted to structure deals around VOD day-and-date theatrical or “ultra VOD,” where the film would be available for two to four weeks on VOD before a theatrical run. The film, about a group of girls on a reunion trip to a remote island in Maine that goes horribly wrong, stars Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell and Katie Aselton, who is also the director. The film premiered in the Midnight section Saturday night. While the theatrical deal contains no P&A commitment, LD has agreed to a 25-market commitment. http://www.indiewire.com/article/ld-distribution-buys-black-rock Scott Rudin And HBO Love Them Some “Indie Game” HBO has made its second acquisition at Sundance, buying the remake rights to the documentary “Indie Game: The Movie.” Sources indicate Scott Rudin will develop the film as a fictional half-hour comedy series for the network. Rudin’s currently producing two series for HBO: “Newsroom” and “The Corrections.” Directed by first-time filmmaking duo Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky, “Indie Game” is a heartfelt look inside the life and work of four indie video game developers as they try to get their respective projects off the ground. Before the festival began, HBO bought U.S. broadcasting rights to U.S. Competition doc “Me @The Zoo.” http://www.indiewire.com/article/hbo-and-scott-rudin-to-develop-indie-game-into-tv-series Business/Legal News
Horror Filmmakers Set Up Awesome Deal For Half Dozen More Of Them The producers and funders behind Sundance’s Park City at Midnight film “The Pact,” which premiered Friday night, have announced an agreement to make six more genre movies together. The deal calls for six films in the horror, thriller, sci-fi and/or supernatural genres from Kevin Iwashina and Ross Dinerstein’s production company Preferred Content and financier Content Film. All films will be produced by Dinerstein, with financing arranged by Content Films. The first film is set to go into production this spring. “The Pact,” directed by Nicholas McCarthy and produced by Dinerstein, is a modern-day haunted house tale based on McCarthy’s short film, which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-pact-filmmakers-and-financiers-reach-six-picture-deal From The “It Was Inevitable” File: Web Advertising Overtakes Print The advertising forecast for 2012 is in: online ad spending will surpass print spending for the first time. According to eMarketer, reported by AdAge, online advertisement spending will grow to $39.5 billion in 2012, putting it $3.5 billion above forecasted predictions for print advertising spending, which is expected to be $36 billion this year. Online advertising grew by 23% in 2011 and will grow another 23.3% in 2012, while print advertising is expected to fall 6.1%. Web advertising is still held suspect by some ad buyers: Read Write Web reports that 31% of advertisements purchased on the web are never seen according to a new study from comScore. These 31% of advertisements that remained obscured — because either the viewer never scrolled to the ad or simply scrolled past it — represent about $12.4 billion of wasted investments. Certainly the equivalent happens with print publications as well, but it is easier to record skimmed over advertisements online. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/media-watch-online-advertising-to-surpass-print-for-the-first-time Whoa, Doggie! Soderbergh’s Deal With Annapurna Ain’t Finished Yet Word is that the recently announced deal for Annapurna Pictures and Open Road Films to partner to produce Steven Soderbergh’s “Side Effects” has hit a snag. The film was set to start shooting in April. Soderbergh rushed this into production to fill the slot in his packed schedule left vacant by “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” “Side Effects” (formerly known as “Bitter Pill”) will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Gregory Jacobs from a script by Scott Z. Burns, who penned Soderbergh’s “Contagion” and “The Informant!” Soderbergh’s star-du-jour, Channing Tatum (”Haywire,” “Magic Mike”) will likely star with Blake Lively and Jude Law. Year-old production company Annapurna was founded in 2010, but has some impressive projects in the works, including Kathryn Bigelow’s untitled project about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden and Paul Thomas Anderon’s “The Master.” More details to come. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/soderberghs-deal-with-annapurna-for-side-effects-hits-snag Eager To See Singer’s “Jack The Giant Killer”? Better Be Patient … It looks like the Nicholas Hoult star train has hit some delays. The up and comer — who you might remember as either Beast in “X-Men: First Class” or the boy in “About A Boy” — was poised to have a strong 2012 with starring roles in both “Jack the Giant Killer” and “Warm Bodies,” but Warner Bros. has shifted “Killer” to 2013. The Bryan Singer-directed blockbuster — a reimagining of “Jack the Giant Killer” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” — had been scheduled for release on June 15, but will now hit theaters on March 22, 2013. That time period was open for Warner Bros. because the studio took “Arthur and Lancelot” completely off its schedule; the David Dobkin-direct action drama was scheduled for release on March 15, 2013 with Kit Harrington, Joel Kinnaman and perhaps Gary Oldman all in various stages of rumored involvement. As for the vacated “Jack the Giant Killer” spot on the calendar this year, “Rock of Ages” will take its spot. The musical was initially scheduled for June 1. http://news.moviefone.com/2012/01/19/jack-the-giant-killer-release-date_n_1217957.html Paul Rudd Fans Rejoice! He’ll Be Hanging Around “Parks And Rec” For A While Paul Rudd will be back for at least three more episodes of “Parks and Recreation,” according to reports. How did “Parks” land Rudd? Series co-creator Mike Schur told Vulture he used cast connections to lure the actor to Pawnee. Series stars Adam Scott, Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones have all done film projects with the actor. “A bunch of people just emailed him and asked if he had time,” Schur said. “That’s sort of the way we prefer to do it here.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/parks-recreation-paul-rudd-political-opponent-video_n_1218267.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 Victor Garber’s New “Alias” Is Guest Star On “The Big C” Laura Linney will have company when “The Big C” returns on April 8. Showtime announced that Victor Garber is among the slate of guest stars for the upcoming third season, and he’ll make his appearance during the opener. Details on the character are not particularly generous, but he’ll be some sort of foil for Sean (John Benjamin Hickey) when an accidental phone call “leads to a harassing situation.” http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/victor-garber-big-c-laura-linney-283575 Talk About “Revenge”! Hit Show Gets A Couple New Guest Stars Well, here’s a good reason for Victoria (Madeleine Stowe) to hire a new divorce attorney (played by “Law & Order”’s Courtney B. Vance). Sources have confirmed that James Purefoy has been cast as a love interest for the divorcing Mrs. Grayson on the Alphabet’s freshman hit drama, “Revenge.” He’ll first appear in Episode 17 airing in late-February. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/revenge-abc-james-purefoy-guest-starring-283593 HBO Says “Treme” Will Return, Just Later Than Expected Conspicuously absent from HBO’s spring schedule announcement, “Treme” is now set to return later in the year. A network rep said that the third season of the New Orleans drama will premiere at an unspecified date in the fall. Previously, the show made its debuts in April (last year after “Game of Thrones”), concluding its seasons in a post-”True Blood” time slot. At the start of the current season in November, creator David Simon had expressed that he expected the series to conclude after its 4th season. (HBO has not commented on the plan.) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/treme-season-3-premiere-date-283663 Can You Say “Debt Upgrade”? Lionsgate Might Be Able To Do Just That Moody’s Investors Service on Friday said it was considering a rating upgrade for Lionsgate Entertainment after its $412.5 million leveraged takeover of Summit Entertainment. The ratings agency cited Lionsgate’s acquisition of the “Twilight” franchise and its future cash flows as grounds for optimism about the indie studio’s future market performance and position. The takeover will offset the risk of Lionsgate’s own release slate, the agency added. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/moodys-considering-debt-rating-upgrade-283660 Industry Moves
Cinedigm, New Video Making A Play For That Digital Cinema Market As the many filmmakers at Sundance seek the best distribution they can get, the new partnership between digital exhibitor Cinedigm Entertainment Group and veteran indie distributor New Video to buy and release indie films offers independent directors cross-platform theatrical release as well as digital and physical distribution. Companies will work together to acquire and distribute independent films theatrically in North America, followed by platform release across cable, VOD, digital, and DVD/Blu-ray. Over the last few years Cinedigm has released close to 200 independent films and alternative content events. New Video is the largest aggregator of independent digital content worldwide, with Amazon, Apple’s iTunes store, Hulu, Netflix and Walmart’s Vudu service as key partners. The two companies plan to release films in 2012 in North America through Cinedigm’s theatre network. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/cinedeigm-partners-with-new-video-to-buy-and-release-indie-films It Appears That New Weinstein Brothers Venture Has A Name The Weinstein Company label launched by Tom Quinn and Jason Janego late last year finally has a name. Over the weekend, the duo revealed via Twitter that the multi-platform distribution arm would be titled RADiUS-TWC. According to the description on the official Twitter page, the company is “dedicated to making the highest quality films available where, when, and how you want.” Neither Quinn, who left his longtime post as vice president at Magnolia Pictures for the new venture, or his business partner Janego, a veteran consultant and former Chief Operating Officer at Big Beach Films, have made any formal announcements about the films they plan to release. However, both are currently attending the Sundance Film Festival and have reportedly been scouting for potential acquisitions. http://www.indiewire.com/article/new-weinstein-company-label-gets-name-radius-twc Netflix Makes A Shakeup, Shifts Things In The Marketing Department After months of public-relations missteps, Netflix is shaking up its marketing management. Leslie Kilgore, the company’s chief marketing officer for the past 12 years, will step down but join the board as a nonexecutive director. Kilgore will be replaced on an interim basis by Jessie Becker, an 11-year-veteran who is vp marketing. Also getting a boost is Jonathan Friedland, a former Disney executive who joined Netflix a year ago. Friedland will become chief communications officer at Netflix. Becker and Friedland will report to Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-replaces-chief-marketing-officer-283672 Lionsgate Names Summit Pair To Run Film Group Lionsgate has named Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger as co-chairs of its Motion Picture Group after acquiring their Summit Entertainment as part of a $412.5 million leveraged buyout. Friedman and Wachsberger will oversee Lionsgate’s domestic and international feature film acquisition, production and distribution business, and it home entertainment releases of theatrical feature films. The Summit duo will report to Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-names-rob-friedman-patrick-283538 Relativity Would Like You To Please Not Read Anything Into Last Week’s Layoffs Relativity Media has laid off 10 employees in the operations and marketing departments. While the company had no official comment, a source insisted this was simply a matter of making adjustments to be more efficient and fiscally responsible, and is not due to financial problems at the company. Nor, said the source, is it because they need money to pay for four spots that will appear before, during and after the upcoming Super Bowl telecast promoting their upcoming release of “Act of Valor.” The total number of employees at Relativity is now just below 200, and the source insisted no other layoffs are imminent. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/relativity-media-employees-laid-off-haywire-283597 Technology/Multi-Platform Content
Indie Players Can Celebrate! Slated Is Now Here To Help! As the Sundance Film Festival once again gets underway with its annual showcase of independent filmmakers and their work, Stephan Paternot and Duncan Cork are launching an enterprise that they hope will facilitate even more indie filmmaking. Called Slated, the online hub is designed to provide a private investment network for established independent filmmakers looking for backers, and investors looking for seasoned filmmakers with quality projects and solid reputations. Paternot, the new company’s chairman, and Cork, its CEO, aim to create an exclusive marketplace where filmmakers, distributors, investors and sales agents can interact with each other and track projects in an online environment protected and vetted by the community’s own members. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/sundance-2012-new-online-hub-283760 Fox Adds More Judges To New Writers’ Initiative Fox has announced the slate of writers, producers and executives set to judge its inaugural Fox Writer’s Intensive, a new initiative for experienced writers with diverse backgrounds, including LGBT and people of color. Writer/director Gina Prince Bythewood and producer Suzanne DePasse will join the group of industry veterans from film, TV and publishing who will choose the final 10 writers to enter the program. Film Independent, one of the nominating organizations for FWI, is currently reviewing the hundreds of submissions and will make the first cut, selecting 20-30 finalists. The four-month-long intensive is said to focus on helping writers conceive original material, perfect writing skills for different mediums, and explore the business side of the entertainment industry. At the end of the program, one standout participant will be chosen as the Fox Writer’s Intensive Fellow, and will have his or her script purchased and developed by Fox. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/gina-prince-bythewood-suzanne-depasse-join-slate-of-judges-for-fox-diverse-writers-initiative Time Warner Cable? Yup. There’s An App For That Time Warner Cable said on Friday that it has launched TWC TV for Apple’s iPhone. TWC TV allows subscribers of the second-largest U.S. cable operator to watch live TV from within the home, change channels on their set-top box and manage their DVR from their iPhone. The features are available at no additional cost to Time Warner Cable video customers that have a broadband connection. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/time-warner-cable-twc-tv-iphone-283551 Looking For The “Buzz” From Park City? Chris Kattan’s Got You Covered Actor Chris Kattan will be the host of Sundance 2012 coverage on AT&T U-verse® Buzz. Daily coverage of the festival, including interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, will be offered by AT&T U-verse on their Buzz Channel (Ch. 300 and 1300 HD for U-verse subscribers), Facebook (www.facebook.com/uverse), Twitter (@Sundance2012), Instagram (#Sundance2012), U-verse Online (uverseonline.att.net/uverse/exclusive), as well as this dedicated Sundance website. In addition to the daily coverage, a comprehensive 30-minute special will air on U-verse Buzz February 15 through March 15. http://sundance2012.att.com/ Focus Forward Finds Footing With Short Film Plan CINELAN and Vimeo announced the global day-and-date premiere of the first five three-minute films in the “Focus Forward — Short Films, Big Ideas” initiative, which will be presented at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The films will make their world premiere tomorrow at 12pm EST on vimeo.com and at a special screening beginning 6pm MST at the Holiday Village 1 in Park City. These films will also be paired with features in the U.S. Documentary Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition sections at Sundance. http://vimeo.com/focusforwardfilms Around The Web
Take This Job And Shove It! (Um, On Film, Of Course) — IFC.com
A Media Guide To How Not To Do Sundance — Moviefone.com
A Suggestion To Marvel TV About What Character It Should Develop Next — Comic Book Resources
Apparently, No Actor On "Homeland" Should Feel Too Safe — THR.com
A Counterpoint To Michael Moore And The New Academy Rules For Feature Docs — IndieWire
FNB Editorial
Now THIS Is How You Remake A Movie A couple years ago, a fellow named Casey Pugh got George Lucas to agree to allow him to crowd source a remake of the director’s magnum opus, “Star Wars” (which some, sadly, now call “Star Wars: A New Hope,” like it’s something out of that “Twilight” saga). The quirk behind the idea that made it so winning was that people could reinterpret the movie in 15-second intervals. As in, everyone involved had a single 15-second scene to remake however they wished. Within a few months, the entire thing was done and now it’s complete and viewable online. And it’s a thing of wonder.
The internet was made for stuff like this. Click on the link to see what we mean.
http://filmnewsbriefs.com/2012/01/fnb-editorial-now-this-is-how-you-remake-a-movie/ Website to Watch
http://www.storylineonline.net/
This is a video streaming program from the SAG Foundation that features videos of SAG members reading children's books out loud; it reaches an average of 1 million views per month across the globe. Each book that is read is accompanied with activities and lesson ideas. Fun, and good for you! Additional Source:
www.cynopsis.com | 
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