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Box Office
Weekend Estimate
March 30-April 1, 2012 (*millions)
FILM GROSS/CUMULATIVE TOTAL
1 The Hunger Games (2012) $61.1M/$251M
2 Wrath of the Titans (2012) $34.2M/$34.2M
3 Mirror Mirror (2012) $19M/$19M
4 21 Jump Street (2012) $15M/$93M
5 Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012) $8.01M/$190M
6 John Carter (2012) $2M/$66.2M
7 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) $1.23M/$3.17M
8 Act of Valor (2012) $1.01M/$67.7M
9 A Thousand Words (2012) $915K/$16.5M
10 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) $835K/$98.5M
Projects Announced
Because Nothing Says Adventure Like A Bunch Of 19th Century Authors In a pre-emptive move, Sony has picked up “The Royal Honour Society,” a literary-themed action-adventure pitch from Ernest Lupinacci. Joe Roth and Palak Patel are attached to produce. Details are vague, but it’s described as the iconic stories of some of England’s greatest writers from the late 19th century — among them H.G. Wells (“The War of the Worlds,” “The Invisible Man”), Jules Verne (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”), Robert Louis Stevenson (“Treasure Island,” “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”) — together in an action-adventure tale. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/royal-honours-society-sony-joe-roth-306044 Is James Vanderbilt Now The Hottest Writer In Hollywood? A $3 Million Sale Says, Probably In one of the biggest spec sales in quite a while, Sony has made a $3 million deal to acquire “White House Down,” an action spec from James Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is a marquee scribe, with credits including “Zodiac,” several “Spider-Man” movies (including the upcoming franchise reboot) and “Total Recall.” He also just booked a rewrite gig on MGM’s “Robocop” remake. Still, the $3 million tag surprised many observers, especially considering there is no stars attached. Vanderbilt also is attached to produce "White House" along with Bradley Fischer and Laeta Kalogridis, his partners at production shingle Mythology. Film is described as being tonally and thematically like “Die Hard” and “Air Force One.” http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/sony-3-million-james-vanderbilt-306192 Uh, Oh. A “Last Of The Dragons” Mini? Someone Call The Sierra Club! “Last of the Dragons,” a fantasy graphic novel by former Marvel comic book writer and editor Carl Potts, is being turned into a TV mini-series. Toronto indie distributor and sales agent 108 Media will be launching the “Last of the Dragons” live action project, which follows a young Ninja who battles against legendary Samurai, warrior priests and American Indians in the 1870s American Old West, at MIPTV. Adam Shully (“The Bridge”) is producing the mini-series, with Mark Schekter executive producing. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/MIPTV-carl-potts-last-of-the-dragons-tv-series-306378 Talk About A “Pretty One”! Kazan And Johnson Teaming For Indie As far as indie matchups go, pairing Zoe Kazan and Jake Johnson? Yeah, we don’t even need to know what it’s about, and we’ll be there. But in case you need a few more details to go on, the duo is set to star in “The Pretty One,” a quirky comedy (of course) penned by Jenee LaMarque that made the Black List last year. She’ll be making her directorial debut on the film about a woman who, after her identical and “prettier” twin sister dies, assumes her sister’s identity, and moves into her apartment in the big city. She winds up falling in love with a neighbor, forcing her to want to reveal the truth about who she really is. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/zoe-kazan-jake-johnson-team-for-black-list-script-the-pretty-one For His Next Flick, Helmer Caruso Comes Down With A Case Of “Invertigo” The story of excitable, if journeyman-level director D.J. Caruso is a long one, with him starting off his career with moodier fare like “The Salton Sea” and the far less impressive “Taking Lives,” before eventually delving into young-adult-prone projects like “Vertigo,” “Eagle Eye,” and last year’s “I Am Number Four.” He’s continuing that string of films with the Val Kilmer, Radha Mitchell, Kate Maberly, Chandler Canterbury, and Annalise Basso-starring “The Goat Island,” his passion project indie, which he’s just locked and will be showing to distributors. Now, Caruso will be taking the director’s chair for “Invertigo,” a sci-fi epic with a script by fanboy punching bag Ehren Kruger (“Transformers”) and Bradley Cramp about a NASA satellite that crash-lands in New York City, creating a “reverse-G vortex” where gravity on earth becomes inverted. If a planned rescue attempt fails, then our planet is doomed. Original Films’ Neal Moritz is on board to produce. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/d-j-caruso-to-helm-sci-fi-disaster-pic-invertigo-set-for-march-7-2014-release Rookie Director Gets A Hot Pair For His First Feature Rising actress Juno Temple has made quite a name for herself recently, playing layered, twisted roles in both William Friedkin’s “Killer Joe” and Gregg Araki’s much-underrated “Kaboom,” and it looks like she will continue the trend as she joins Tony Aloupis’ feature directorial debut, “Truck Stop,” alongside Evan Peters of “American Horror Story” fame. The film, which is set in the 1970s, follows the coming-of-age relationship between a high-schooler with cerebral palsy, played by Peters, and a disturbed runaway battling demons of her own (Temple). http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tony-aloupis-feature-debut-truck-stop-picks-up-juno-temple-evan-peters-for-period-drama Ken Loach Is Ready For His Next Cinematic Socialist Screed Director Ken Loach has always strived for realism in his socially-conscious films, so it’s no surprise that his next project is a documentary about socialism. Enjoying the most prolific decade of his long career, the 75-year-old director’s last film, the 2010 drama-thriller “Route Irish,” examined the corruption of private contractors working in Iraq, while his foray into documentary, titled “Spirit of ’45,” will be an even broader affair — focusing on the changes to the social and political landscape of Britain immediately following the end of World War II. Loach is already hard at work on the seemingly laborious film, which will ultimately study “how the spirit of a new kind of socialism shaped that time and continues to reflect in modern-day Blighty.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ken-loach-to-direct-post-wwii-doc-spirit-of-45-plus-new-photos-from-his-upcoming-the-angels-share And, Of COURSE Angry Birds Is Becoming A TV Show … Angry Birds will be screaming into space in a new animated series announced today at MIPTV. It is the latest bid by the owner of the hit casual game built on Facebook to expand itself into a multi-platform franchise, from plush toys to TV and including plans for a theme park in the UK. The 52-episode animated Angry Birds series — each between two to three minutes in length — is being produced by Rovio at its in-house production studios in Finland but co-production partners are being sought, Rovio’s head of animation Nick Dorra told the Mip TV audience in Cannes. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miptv-rovio-angry-birds-television-series-nick-dorra-306662 Today’s Most Shocking Story: Ashton Kutcher WILL Be Steve Jobs In New Bio Pic Ashton Kutcher is attached to star as Steve Jobs in “Jobs,” an independent biopic being produced and financed by Mark Hulme’s Five Star Institute. Wasting no time, Joshua Michael Stern is set to begin principal photography in May while Kutcher is on hiatus from CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Kutcher is a natural to play Jobs; the resemblance between the two is unmistakable. It’s a high-profile assignment for Kutcher, and “Jobs” looks to get off the ground before Sony pulls together its own Steve Jobs biopic. Last fall, Sony snapped up the film rights to Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Jobs that was published within weeks of Jobs’ death on Oct. 5, 2011. Stern (“Swing Vote”) will direct the film from a script by Matt Whiteley. The film will chronicle Jobs’ meteoric rise from Northern California hippie to co-founder of Apple. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/two-and-half-men-ashton-kutcher-steve-jobs-biopic-306666 Morgan Spurlock Has Decided To Start Picking On Brits Now Morgan Spurlock will be serving a super-sized portion of British humor to global audiences with his witty and off-beat scrutiny of British society, “Morgan Spurlock’s New Britannia,” in a new first-look deal with FremantleMedia. Spurlock’s production company Warrior Poets signed with FME who will launch the Sky Atlantic HD original 10×60’ series in the UK today. The “Super Size Me” director is back taking on the British with his unique perspective of the British class system, the intricacies of their view of foreigners and the British attitude toward fame. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/morgan-spurlock-fremantle-media-new-brittania-failure-club-day-life-306661 Project Updates
Few Things Brighten A Project Like A Paris Hilton Cameo, Which Should Make Everyone More Excited For Sofia Coppola’s “Bling Ring” Sofia Coppola has always managed to put together impressive casts for her movies, and her latest, the currently-in-production “The Bling Ring,” is no exception. After casting Emma Watson, Leslie Mann and, apparently, frequent collaborator Kirsten Dunst (if recent set photos are indeed evidence of her participation), Coppola has brought in an award-winning actress for her latest addition: two-time Gold Raspberry winner Paris Hilton (“The Hottie and the Nottie,” “Repo! The Genetic Opera”). It’s not as bad as it seems. “The Bling Ring” is based on the real-life group of California teens who burglarized over $3 million from the homes of several celebrities, including Hilton, and, after wanting one of the actual victims to appear in the film, Coppola has cast the hotel heiress as playing herself. Besides Watson, Mann and possibly Dunst, the flick is filled with mostly unknowns, including Carlos Miranda, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Pfister, Georgia Rock and Taissa Farmiga. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/paris-hilton-reportedly-shoots-a-cameo-for-sofia-coppolas-the-bling-ring The Latest Videogame Adaptation Snags Itself A Writer Ryan Engle has been tapped to pen New Line’s big-screen adaptation of 1980s video game “Rampage.” The game revolves around a trio of mild-mannered humans who are mutated into a giant Godzilla-like lizard, a werewolf and a gorilla, respectively, and fight the military while destroying buildings. Players controlled the monsters and moved up levels when a city was destroyed. John Rickard (“Final Destination 5,” “Horrible Bosses”) is producing. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-line-rampage-ryan-engle-306428 Committing “Identity Theft” Will Be No Problem For Amanda Peet Amanda Peet will join Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy in “Identity Theft.” Seth Gordon, the man behind “Horrible Bosses,” will direct the movie about a man whose identity is stolen by a woman, and it seems they are keeping further plot details on the downlow for now. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/amanda-peet-will-commit-identity-theft-with-jason-bateman-melissa-mccarthy It’s Now Official, Your New “Madame Bovary” Is … Mia Wasikowska is officially attached to star in Occupant Entertainment’s adaptation of “Madame Bovary” as Emma Bovary, Gustave Flaubert’s ever-hopeful passion-seeker perpetually bound to the banalities of domestic life. Paul Giamatti is circling a key role, with Sophie Barthes (“Cold Souls,” which starred Giamatti) set to direct. (Bovary’s past include Jennifer Jones, Frances O’Connor and Isabelle Huppert.) http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/casting-watch-mia-wasikowska-set-to-play-madame-bovary-paul-giamatti-in-talks-to-co-star It’s Taken A While, But “A Single Shot” Is Being Taken It’s been a long, strange trip for “A Single Shot.” Seemingly stuck in development hell, the project had an array of names circling over the past couple of years — Michael Fassbender, Alessandro Nivola, Emily Mortimer, Terrence Howard, Juliette Lewis, James Badge Dale, Juno Temple, Leslie Mann, Thomas Haden Church — but began finally firming things up this week. Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey Wright, Jason Isaacs and William H. Macy (who has been attached through various incarnations) were confirmed, and now we know the rest of the folks joining them. Brit actress Ophelia Lovibond (“No Strings Attached,” “London Boulevard”) and Melissa Leo round out the cast along with Joe Anderson and Kelly Reilly. Based on the book by Matthew F. Jones, the story follows Rockwell’s John Moon, a hunter who accidentally shoots a teenage girl and then discovers a small fortune while trying to dispose of her body. But he’s soon on the run from killers looking to retrieve their money, and he’s forced to defend his life and his family. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ophelia-lovibond-melissa-leo-more-round-out-cast-for-a-single-shot-starring-sam-rockwell Harumph. So Much For Colin Farrell In That “Arthur & Lancelot” Thing If 2011 was the year when big studios wizened up and shelved big expensive tent poles, then 2012 is the year that those same studios are cutting costs to resurrect a handful of the projects including “Wedding Crashers” helmer David Dobkin’s “Arthur & Lancelot.” While that project kicked back to life when actor Colin Farrell entered into talks with Warner Bros. to take the lead in the film, it looks as if things may become a little grim for the production all over again. Farrell is bowing out of playing Lancelot due to scheduling issues. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/colin-farrell-leaves-camelot-wont-be-starring-in-david-dobkins-arthur-lancelot We Have, Right Here, Your Finalists For “Captain America 2″ Helming Duties Guessing who Marvel are going to pick to direct their movies is increasingly becoming a fool’s errand. We could see why Jon Favreau and Louis Leterrier were picked to helm “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.” But since that opening salvo, they’ve mostly shied away from A-list names and those experienced with action, with names like Kenneth Branagh, Joss Whedon and Shane Black being picked out to helm “Thor,” “The Avengers” and “Iron Man 3.” And now a shortlist has emerged as to who might end up directing the sequel to the company’s other 2011 superhero flick, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and it’s another unexpected, diverse mix. The studio’s longlist of ten for the sequel has been whittled down to three, and they’re three very different names: George Nolfi, who wrote “Ocean’s Twelve” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” before going on to helm “The Adjustment Bureau,” F. Gary Gray, the director of “Friday,” “The Negotiator” and “The Italian Job” and Joe & Anthony Russo, the TV veterans behind “Arrested Development,” “Community” and “Happy Endings,” who also helmed the features “Welcome To Collinwood” and “You, Me & Dupree.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-russo-brothers-george-nolfi-f-gary-gray-frontrunners-to-direct-captain-america-2 Pilot Season
Sara Rue Wants To Spend Some Time With “Guys With Kids” Sara Rue has been tapped to guest star in NBC’s Jimmy Fallon comedy pilot. The multicamera comedy revolves around three thirtysomething guys (Jesse Bradford, Anthony Anderson and Zach Cregger) who enjoy the adventures of parenting despite the fact that they haven’t grown up themselves. In the project, currently titled “Guys With Kids,” Rue will play Sheila, the ex-wife of Bradford’s character, described as an attractive, controlling, ambitious perfectionist divorce attorney who shares custody of their 9-month-old son. Rue replaces the previously cast Courtney Henggeler in the pilot. Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Tempestt Bledsoe co-star in the Universal Television project. Charlie Grandy will write and executive produce the comedy alongside Fallon, Amy Ozols, Rick Wiener and Kenny Schwartz. Scott Ellis will direct the pilot. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/sara-rue-jimmy-fallon-nbc-comedy-pilot-306449 David Slade Is Your Head Director And EP For That New “Hannibal” Series “Twilight: Eclipse” director David Slade has boarded NBC drama series “Hannibal.” The helmer, whose small-screen credits include directing episodes of NBC’s “Awake” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” will direct and serve as an executive producer on the pilot. NBC picked up the Bryan Fuller drama straight to series in February, giving a 13-episode order to the hourlong contemporary thriller featuring the characters from Thomas Harris’ novel “Red Dragon” after pushing back the “Pushing Daisies” creator’s reboot of “The Munsters” to summer. The show revolves around FBI agent Will Graham and his mentor, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who are reintroduced as the beginning of their budding relationship. Hugh Dancy has been tapped to star as Graham. The Hannibal role has not yet been cast. Fuller will write and executive produce the series, with Martha De Laurentiis, Sara Colleton, Jesse Alexander, Katie O’Connell also on board as executive producers. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/twilight-eclipse-david-slade-nbc-hannibal-306432 “1600 Penn” Pilot Has Rounded Out Its Kiddie Cast NBC’s First Family has found its young rebel. Benjamin Stockham has been cast as Xander, President Dale Gilchrist’s (Bill Pullman) youngest son, on the “1600 Penn” pilot. If the comedy project is picked up, Stockham will be a series regular. Little Xander is described as rebellious and always looking for ways to undermine authority. The “Modern Family”-like project follows widower President Gilchrist and his second wife, Emily Nash Gilchrist (Jenna Elfman), as they try to manage his job leading the free world with their complicated family dynamics where all the kids are from perfect. The cast also includes Brittany Snow, Amara Miller, Josh Gad and Andre Holland. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/1600-penn-nbc-pilot-benjamin-stockham-casting-306051 Rosario Dawson Will Re-Enter The Public Eye, Thanks To A&E Even as Rosario Dawson has kept a low profile film-wise this past year, the talented actress has quietly been turning out quality work in other mediums, including comic books. “O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce,” a comic that Dawson herself created with writer David Atchison and illustrator Tony Shasteen, is now being adapted into a scripted drama for A&E. The story follows a female NYPD officer who is drafted into a supernatural crime team, the Occult Crimes Taskforce, who cleans the city streets of demons and criminals alike. Gale Anne Hurd, producer on “The Walking Dead,” is helping to produce the project with Dawson, who will probably take the lead in the series, since the main character in the graphic novel was modeled on her to begin with. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tv-dial-lindsay-lohan-heads-to-glee-tommy-lee-jones-is-all-american-at-amc-jeremy-piven-becomes-mr-selfridge-more It’s Monday, Right? Then There Must Be A Mass Casting Update J.J. Abrams and Mark Schwahn’s CW pilot “Shelter” has found its two leads. “Make It or Break It” star Zachary Abel will play the former town baseball champ-turned-concierge at the historic Shelter Bay Inn, and “The Vampire Diaries” star Malese Jow will play the resort town’s party girl. NBC’s “Munsters” reboot has found its Marilyn. British actress Charity Wakefield, best known for her work in the BBC miniseries “Sense and Sensibility,” will star opposite Eddie Izzard’s Grandpa as the family’s only “normal” cousin in Bryan Fuller’s reboot “Mockingbird Lane.” And, finally, “Banshee,” the new Cinemax series from Alan Ball and Greg Yaitanes, casts two roles. Ryann Shane will play the rebellious teenage daughter of Carrie, the old flame of the show’s thief-turned-sheriff Lucas (Antony Starr). Ben Cross wil play a Ukranian gangster named Mr. Rabbit who’s been hunting Lucas and Carrie for over a decade. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/dermot-mulroney-casting_n_1393614.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 Isn’t It Usually The Other Way Around? Chicago Mayor Getting Into Acting Mayor Rahm Emanuel is slated to make a different sort of silver-screen appearance when he plays himself in a television pilot that NBC may pickup as part of the network’s fall lineup. NBC Chicago reported Thursday that the mayor will be featured in an episode of the “Chicago Fire” television drama, a show produced by “Law and Order” franchise creator Dick Wolf. The show pilot, focused on the lives of members of the Chicago Fire Department, features Jesse Spencer of “House” fame, Monica Raymond and Taylor Kinney, Lady Gaga’s beau, of “Vampire Diaries” fame. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/rahm-emanuel-the-actor-ch_n_1393694.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 North America Is Clearly Too Small, So Jeremy Piven’s Headed To Britain For His Next TV Trick Jeremy Piven has been cast in the upcoming ITV drama series, “Mr. Selfridge,” created by Andrew Davies (“Bleak House”) and based on the book “Shopping, Seduction And Mr Selfridge” by Lindy Woodhead. The series, which is set in 1909 London, concerns the flamboyant American entrepreneur Harry Gordon Selfridge (nicknamed “Mile a Minute Harry”), and charts his pursuit of the ultimate shopping experience for his customers by opening the famous department store Selfridge’s. Mr. Selfridge boasts a supporting cast of European thespians including Frances O’Connor, Gregory Fitoussi, Aisling Loftlus, Trystan Gravelle and Zoe Tapper, and should premiere sometime this year. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tv-dial-lindsay-lohan-heads-to-glee-tommy-lee-jones-is-all-american-at-amc-jeremy-piven-becomes-mr-selfridge-more If There Was Ever Any Doubt, Tommy Lee Jones Is An “All-American” Actor Tommy Lee Jones is in talks with AMC to direct the pilot of “The Real All-Americans,” a drama chronicling the historic Native American college football program in Pennsylvania, most famous for nurturing a wealth of celebrated athletes and coaches including Olympian Jim Thorpe and coach Glenn “Pop” Warner. Football is a subject that Jones (who is part-Cherokee himself) is intimately knowledgeable about, having actually played defensive tackle at Harvard, and recounted the experience for the documentary “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.” The script for “The Real All-Americans,” written by Harry J. Ufland and Nicholas Meyer, is based off the book by Sally Jenkins, and the project itself seems a perfect fit for AMC, who are currently riding high with their period western “Hell on Wheels.” http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tv-dial-lindsay-lohan-heads-to-glee-tommy-lee-jones-is-all-american-at-amc-jeremy-piven-becomes-mr-selfridge-more Business/Legal News
Actress V. IMDb Continues Apace, Thanks To Judge’s Ruling Huang Hoang, the actress who sued IMDb for revealing her real age, got a small boost Friday in Washington federal court. The judge overseeing the case has decided that Hoang’s allegations that IMDb breached contract and violated laws on consumer protection are plausible enough to continue. But the judge also offered some relief to the Amazon.com subsidiary by dismissing two of Hoang’s core claims and striking her wish to collect $1 million in punitive damages. The actress sued anonymously in October, alleging that IMDb had taken her private info when she signed up for a Pro Account and posted the fact that she was 40 years old. Hoang, who goes by her American stage name, Junie Hoang, said that by divulging her secret, the website has cost her acting jobs. She wanted to remain anonymous in the lawsuit, but the judge later made her reveal her identity too. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/judge-allows-actress-suing-imdb-306399 As “Alphas” Heads Into Season Beta, It Re-Arms With New Cast Syfy’s “Alphas” is adding to its core cast as it begins production on the second season. “Private Practice” actress Erin Way has joined the ensemble as Kat, the latest addition to the quirky team of investigators with superhuman powers. Kat is described a mysterious and free-spirited young loner whose Alpha ability allows her to pick up any skill at a glance. The downside is that her memories and experiences are short-lived. The show, produced by Universal Cable Productions and BermanBraun, stars David Strathairn, Malik Yoba, Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Ryan Cartwright and Laura Mennell. Season 2 of the drama series is set to premiere in July. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/alphas-erin-way-syfy-306353 Tic-Tac-Toe With A Hip Hop Beat? It’s The NEW “Hollywood Squares”! Get ready for a few games of tic-tac-toe, hip hop edition: “Hip Hop Squares” (premiering Tues., May 22 at 11 p.m.) is headed to MTV2. A spinoff of the classic Hollywood game show “Hollywood Squares,” “Hip Hop Squares” will be hosted by New York radio DJ Peter Rosenberg and will feature performances by Nick Cannon, “Jackass” crew member Bam Margera, singer-songwriter and “The Vampires Diaries” Kat Graham and more. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/30/hip-hop-squares-mtv_n_1392441.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 Former “24″ Veep Getting A Promotion With “Nikita” Guest Spot Australian actor Cameron Daddo, who played the VP in Season 7 of “24″ is headed to “Nikita” to play the President, who gets blackmailed by Division near the end of the season. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/dermot-mulroney-casting_n_1393614.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 Oh, Good. Someone Else Is Employing Lindsay Lohan. Way To Go, “Glee”! Fresh off her excruciating hosting return to “Saturday Night Live,” self-aware trainwreck Lindsay Lohan has now signed on to appear as national talent judge Lindsay Lohan in an upcoming episode of “Glee,” another pop-culture entity once well-respected but banished to a primetime punchline. Within the show, Lohan herself has been the target of many jokes, but this confirms her comeback strategy to snuff out her detractors by appearing on the offensive source itself. See for yourself when the new season continues on April 10th on Fox. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tv-dial-lindsay-lohan-heads-to-glee-tommy-lee-jones-is-all-american-at-amc-jeremy-piven-becomes-mr-selfridge-more Durmot Mulroney Fans Can Take Heart, He’s Sticking With TV Dermot Mulroney is getting “Enlightened”! Mulroney — who is currently romancing Zooey Deschanel’s character, Jess, in a guest arc on Fox’s freshman comedy hit “New Girl” — will have a major recurring role in Season 2 of HBO’s “Enlightened.” Mulroney is set to play Jeff Flender, an investigative reporter-turned-love interest for Amy (Laura Dern), who wants help bringing her corrupt employer, Abaddonn Industries, down. Mulroney joins previously announced “Enlightened” Season 2 guest star Molly Shannon. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/dermot-mulroney-casting_n_1393614.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Ftvsquad+%28TV+Squad%29 “For Better Or Worse,” Bobbi Kristina Brown Will Be A TV Regular Following the well-publicized tragic death of her mother Whitney Houston, and its aftermath, 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina has reportedly been offered a part in the upcoming season of Tyler Perry’s TBS sitcom, “For Better Or Worse,” which stars Tasha Smith and Michael Jai White — based on the characters from Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married” franchise of flicks. Bobby Kristina’s role will be a reoccurring one, playing the daughter of one of the stylists who works in the salon run by Angela Williams, played by Tasha Smith. http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/tyler-perry-gives-whitney-houstons-daughter-bobby-kristina-role-in-for-better-or-worse Cookie Jar Execs Heading Off To Develop Their Own Tween TV Show Bruce Kalish (“Power Rangers”) has followed Tom Mazza and Maggie Murphy from Cookie Jar Entertainment to Shaftesbury Films’s Los Angeles satellite office to develop the tween series “Fade In.” Kalish, who created and executive produced the tween hybrid series “Mudpit” for Cookie Jar, is now stick-handling a half-hour series about a 15-year-old aspiring filmmaker coping with his eccentric family and friends by documenting his life on camera. Murphy and Mazza last year moved over from Cookie Jar to launch the Shaftesbury U.S. office as co-heads, and are now rolling out their development slate at MIPTV. Kalish earlier worked with Toronto-based Shaftesbury Films on “Aaron Stone” for Disney XD. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miptv-bruce-kalish-shaftesbury-us-306642 Industry Moves
Big Changes Are Happening At RHI Entertainment RHI Entertainment made noise on the Croisette on Saturday with the TV development, production and distribution company announcing a rebranding as Sonar Entertainment under CEO Stewart Till. The company’s chairman of the board of directors Gabriel de Alba broke the news calling the rebrand “a fresh start and a solid business strategy for growth and expansion.” Till was named RHI’s co-interim CEO alongside Mike Corrigan and David Salzman in July of 2011 after working as non-executive chair at Icon UK and chair of Skillset, president of international at Polygram, chair of the UK Film Council and chief executive at UIP. Till will set up shop at Sonar’s New York office just after the market. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rhi-entertainment-sonar-stewart-till-306557 Larry Levinson And SevenOne Are Becoming Bedmates SevenOne International has signed a multi-year exclusive output deal with Larry Levinson’s Larry Levinson Productions for LLP’s upcoming slate of TV-movies. The agreement will give SevenOne distribution rights to Levinson’s entire upcoming output of TV movies outside of North America. Levinson, a veteran TV producer, is a long-term supplier of TV movies and mini-series for both the broadcast networks and cable channels such as TNT, Hallmark and Lifetime. He and his company were a long-time supplier of TV movies for international sales group RHI Entertainment. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/miptv-sevenone-international-larry-levinson-productions-305858 If You’re On DirecTV, And Want Your Tribune Broadcasting, You Are Now Officially SOL Tribune Broadcasting has pulled its content from DirecTV, a move that will affect customers in 19 markets. DirecTV had previously paid to broadcast WGN America, a cable network which carries Chicago Bulls games, but did not pay to broadcast other Tribune stations. DirecTV, which reaches 32 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America, released a statement slamming Tribune Broadcasting’s decision. Tribune Broadcasting began informing DirecTV customers early last week that its programming might be cut from the digital television provider. The companies had been negotiating for months toward an agreement that would have allowed Tribune Broadcasting content to stay on DirecTV, but they failed to reach one by the March 31 deadline. Areas where DirecTV costumers will lose content include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tribune-broadcasting-directv-wgn-306579 Technology/Multi-Platform Content
Excuse Us, But That Is “Innovator” Felicia Day, Thank You Very Much Felicia Day is no stranger to do-it-yourself business plans, having created hit web series “The Guild” from her kitchen. Now, the DIY queen is shifting her focus to more of a producing role with a new YouTube channel, dubbed Geek & Sundry, set to launch April 2 with six new original series. In addition to handpicking and executive producing all six series, Day also will host “The Flog,” a whimsical weekly series exploring her latest hobbies. With each entry, Day hopes to capitalize on the engaged fan community she has established with “The Guild” — which after five seasons has topped more than 150 million views. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/felicia-day-youtube-channel-geek-and-sundry-305480 Around The Web
Wait, An Hour-Long Chat With Terence Stamp? Where Do We Go To Listen? Oh, Right Here — EmpireOnline
This Is The Latest List Of "10 Actresses To Watch" We've Found, But At Least This One Is From Indiewire — Indiewire
Behind The New Move To IMAX Over 3D — Movieline
Chevy Chase Has A Very Complicated Relationship With His Show, "Community" — TV Squad
Ah, What Does He Know? Billy Wilder Has Tips For Writers? Yeah, Like He Ever Did Anything — The Uncool
Website to Watch
http://www.mousetrapfilms.com/ The great thing about indie film is that, whenever a small distributor fails, another almost immediately rises up to take its place. Lately, though, there have been more and more new approaches, with fewer and fewer deaths to report. Leading this indie Renaissance is MouseTrap Films, a new venture designed to find those film festival “gems” that fall through the cracks and bring them to a larger audience. In the words of President and CEO Benjamin Oberman, “We present great films and the film festival experience, monthly in your community, and make the films available to independent film enthusiasts on multiple platforms.” VP of Theatrical Distribution, Jill Gray Savarese, is designing a syndicated festival-like brand through MouseTrap’s Film Festival Flix platform. The plan is to release three films per month into theaters across the US with Q&A and day and date VOD/DVD (the first purchases are “Face to Face,” “The Calling,” “The Holy Land of Tyrol” and “Rancid”). The films will be available for purchase on DVD, Download to Own and Streaming Rental through a soon-to-be launched website. We’ll feature them again when that site goes live, but in the meantime, indie filmmakers should rejoice. There’s always room for more buyers. FNB Editorial
Regarding Second Chances Last night was the first episode of the second season of “The Killing,” an interesting case study in the way we watch television. Last year, when the series premiered, it dropped like a bomb, exploding in an incredible array of fantastic reviews, water cooler conversations and internet chatter. The terrific pilot got everyone’s attention, and had us all asking the question, “Who killed Rosie Larsen?” But then, as the season went on, we started asking questions like, “Why is it always raining?” And, “Is it always going to be this … slow?” And, “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PEOPLE! WHO THE HELL KILLED ROSIE LARSEN?” When the season ended and we still didn’t know, another bomb dropped, but this time it was one of anger and betrayal. How dare the producers not reveal the identity of the killer before the end of the first season? Don’t they have any respect for their viewers? There was lots of crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and we’re not shy about saying we were among those involved in self-flagellation. We’ll admit it. We were pissed. We did feel the show’s producers betrayed us, and got even angrier when we read an interview with showrunner Veena Sud, who said she didn’t pay any attention to what viewers said or thought about her show. We’ve covered this once before, so we won’t delve too far into it, but that level of pretentiousness, self-absorption and presumption was something we just found incredibly galling. We then vowed we were done — Yes, DONE!!! — with the show forever. We’d show them! Who cares who killed Rosie Larsen? This show would be dead to us! But then, well, curiosity got the better of us and we sat down to watch the new season last night because, truth be told, we do still care. And that’s how it should be. See, we changed our minds about the show when we stopped and realized that this is exactly the kind of television — the kind that really hits home and makes you madder than hell — that we should be watching. This is the kind of stuff that should be on TV. “The Killing” may have aggravated the heck out of us, but the fact that it had gotten so under out skin made us forgive it and, yes, tune back in to see what was going to happen. But seriously, if they finish this season without telling us who the killer is … well, then we’re really through. And this time, we’ll mean it. Editor@filmnewsbriefs.com | |
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