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‘Fast & Furious 6′ Breaks Records In … 
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Bill Hader’s ‘SNL’ Stefon Farewell: Video 
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UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
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After 45 years, the U.S. Open tennis tournament is leaving CBS and moving to cable. Beginning with the 2015 tournament, ESPN networks will air the sporting event exclusively. The U.S. Tennis Association and ESPN announced an 11-year deal today that includes 130-plus hours of TV coverage from the tournament, from the first serve through the men’s finals. The tournament finals had been carried by CBS since 1968. Its current deal expires in 2014. ESPN began televising 100 hours of early-round and some second-week matches in 2009. As part of the new deal, ESPN will televise the middle weekend of play, including Labor Day, in addition to the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals. Starting in 2015, the women’s semifinals will be played on a Thursday in prime time, with the men’s semifinals on Friday. The women’s finals will be on Saturday and the men’s finals on Sunday. This year’s Open is scheduled for August 26-September 8.
US Open Tennis Tournament To Air Exclusively On ESPN Beginning 2015
Hot Trailer: ‘V/H/S 2′
Magnolia‘s Magnet Releasing has not one, but two morbid anthology series churning out sequels. Its summer found-footage follow-up V/H/S 2 features connected segments by Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid), Simon Barrett (A Horrible Way To Die), Adam Wingard (You’re Next), Edúardo Sanchez (Lovely Molly), Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project), Timo Tjahjanto (The ABCs Of Death), and Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun). Pic hits VOD on June 6 and opens July 12. Here’s the redband trailer:
Hot Trailer: Universal’s ‘About Time’
About Time stars Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander and Margot Robbie and was written and directed by Love Actually‘s Richard Curtis. The Universal/Working Title pic centers on a young man (Gleeson) who learns he can travel through time. But as he finds his true love (McAdams) and sets off on their life together, he discovers his gift has its complications too. The movie’s platform release date is November 1 before going wide the next weekend.
2013-14 ABC Schedule
ABC FALL 2013-2014 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8 PM – Dancing With The Stars
10 PM – Castle
TUESDAY
8 PM – MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
9 PM – THE GOLDBERGS
9:30 PM – TROPHY WIFE
10 PM – LUCKY 7
WEDNESDAY
8 PM – The Middle
8:30 PM – BACK IN THE GAME
9 PM – Modern Family
9:30 PM – SUPER FUN NIGHT
10 PM – Nashville
THURSDAY
8 PM – ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND
9 PM – Grey’s Anatomy
10 PM – Scandal
FRIDAY
8 PM – Last Man Standing
8:30 PM – The Neighbors
9 PM – Shark Tank
10 PM – 20/20
SATURDAY
8 PM – Saturday Night College Football
SUNDAY
7 PM – America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM – Once Upon A Time
9 PM – Revenge
10 PM – BETRAYAL
2013-2014 NEW SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Dramas
Betrayal — A chance meeting between photographer Sara Hadley (Hannah Ware) and Attorney Jack McAllister (Stuart Townsend) leads to an instant and undeniable attraction. Sarah’s husband, Drew (Chris Johnson), is a successful prosecutor with political aspirations, while Jack is married to Elaine (Wendy Moniz), the daughter of his boss, Thacher Karsten (James Cromwell). When Karsten’s brother-in-law Lou is murdered, all evidence points to Karsten’s son, T.J. (Henry Thomas). Jack, the company’s lead counsel, will have to defend him, but for Sara’s prosecutor husband, Drew, this is the kind of high-profile murder case that can secure his political future. Just as Sara and Jack’s affair is starting, the lovers find themselves in an impossible situation — on opposite sides of a murder investigation. “Betrayal” stars Hannah Ware (“Shame,” “Boss”) as Sara, Stuart Townsend (“The … Read More »
ABC 2013-14 Schedule: Rebel Wilson Gets Post-‘Modern Family’ Slot, ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ On Tuesday, ‘Dancing’ Shrinks To One Night
ABC is launching eight new series in the fall and taking some big swings, including a Tuesday lineup of all-new series, anchored by Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Rebel Wilson’s hot streak continues, with the rising star landing the post-Modern Family slot for her comedy Super Fun Night. ABC is looking to stem Dancing With The Stars‘ ratings decline by eliminating the Tuesday edition, with the Monday 8-10 PM show incorporating both performances and results. Dancing, as well as The Bachelor, Shark Tank and The Taste have been formally renewed for next season. Here is ABC’s fall schedule, analysis and descriptions of all 13 new series for next season, including newly picked up adventure reality series The Quest from The Amazing Race creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri:
Related: ABC To Air Some Dramas In Two Batches Of 12 Episodes
ABC FALL 2013-2014 SCHEDULE
(New programs in UPPER CASE; all times ET/PT)
MONDAY
8 PM – Dancing With The Stars
10 PM – Castle
TUESDAY
8 PM – MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
9 PM – THE GOLDBERGS
9:30 PM – TROPHY WIFE
10 PM – LUCKY 7
WEDNESDAY
8 PM – The Middle
8:30 PM – BACK IN THE GAME
9 PM – Modern Family
9:30 PM – SUPER FUN NIGHT
10 PM – Nashville
THURSDAY
8 PM – ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND
9 PM – Grey’s Anatomy
10 PM – Scandal
FRIDAY
8 PM – Last Man Standing
8:30 PM – The Neighbors
9 PM – Shark Tank
10 PM – 20/20
SATURDAY
8 PM – Saturday Night College Football
SUNDAY
7 PM – America’s Funniest Home Videos
8 PM – Once Upon A Time
9 PM – Revenge
10 PM – BETRAYAL
From ABC’s returning series, left off the schedule are comedy Suburgatory and reality series The Bachelor, which comes on in midseason, and The Taste.
Hot Trailer: ‘Now You See Me’
Four days after Summit released the first four minutes of its ensemble heist thriller Now You See Me, another trailer has hit the web. The newest look at Louis Leterrier’s first helming effort since Clash Of The Titans shows a group of Vegas illusionists pulling off a trick that leaves their audience in the money. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher and Mark Ruffalo star in the pic that Lionsgate unleashes May 31:
Screen Gems’ ‘Think Like A Man Too’ Adds Adam Brody
EXCLUSIVE: Adam Brody is set for the sequel Think Like A Man Too. His character Isaac is a former frat brother of Kevin Hart’s Cedric who shows up and, to everyone’s surprise, is white. The movie, like the first 2012 Screen Gems film, is based on Steve Harvey’s bestselling relationships book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man. Keith Merryman and David A. Newman, who penned the original, are writing the sequel, which is due out June 20, 2014 from Sony Pictures. Before then, former The O.C. star Brody will be seen in the upcoming Lovelace with Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard and James Franco. After its debut at the Sundance Film Festival this year and getting picked up by Radius-TWC soon afterward, the Linda Lovelace biopic is scheduled to come out later this year. Brody plays Lovelace’s Deep Throat co-star Harry Reems in the film. Additionally, Brody is also in Neil LaBute’s Some Girls, Fox Searchlight’s Baggage Claim and the comedy Life Partners. He is repped by UTA.
Related: Cannes: ‘Life Partners’ Lands Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Adam Brody
Hot Trailer: ‘Fruitvale Station’
Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights) stars in Fruitvale Station as Oscar Grant, the 22-year-old Bay Area man whose fatal 2009 shooting by Oakland BART police sparked outrage and protests against police brutality. The Weinstein Co. nabbed Ryan Coogler’s directorial debut out of Sundance for $2 million before it won the fest’s U.S. Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. Now the pic’s set for a July 12 release, eyeing awards season. Check out the trailer:
UPDATE: ABC Picks Up ‘Once Upon A Time’ Spinoff, ‘Mixology’, ‘The Returned’, ‘Killer Women’, ‘Lucky 7′, ‘Betrayal’, ‘Trophy Wife’, Cullen Bros, ‘Influence’, ‘The Goldbergs’, ‘Super Fun Night’, ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ To Series
When all was said and done tonight, ABC picked up a total of 12 new series — seven dramas and five comedies. All comedies are single-camera as ABC passed on both of its multi-camera pilots. Here is how it all ca
me down today as the network opened the pickup process with one Disney-friendly shoo-in pilot, Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., and closed it with another, the Once Upon A Time spinoff. Descriptions of all ABC series and first-look photos at the bottom of the post.
ABC’s Once Upon A Time is officially a franchise as the network just ordered spinoff Once Upon A Time In Wonderland to series, joining the original series, which also was renewed.
Also picked up at ABC are ensemble comedy Mixology, which had been heating up, drama The Returned, now called Resurrection, said to be one of Paul Lee’s favorite pilots, and female procedural Killer Women, executive produced by Sofia Vergara and Ben Silverman. The Malin Akerman starrer Trophy Wife also has gotten a series pickup.
It’s a great day for David Zabel, who just got a pickup call for both of his ABC pilots, dramas Lucky 7 and Betrayal.
Two more series pickups at ABC to two 20th TV pilots, the Cullen Bros. comedy starring James Caan and executive produced by Aaron Kaplan, titled Back In The Game, and the Steve Zahn-Christian Slater procedural Minds Games (formerly Influence).
Also getting a series pickup at ABC is comedy frontrunner Adam Goldberg, whose autobiographical 1980s dysfunctional family comedy is now called The Goldbergs.
ABC wants to be in the Rebel Wilson business. The network’s first new comedy series pickup went to Wilson’s Super Fun Night. The pilot was not perfect, but with Wilson’s star rising so fast, the network couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have her on its air.
No surprise here — ABC’s first new series order for next season has gone to Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., from The Avengers’ Joss Whedon. The network will air a first-look at the series, officially titled Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., during the season finale of Once Upon A Time on Sunday. This marks the first pilot and first series for Disney-owned Marvel on ABC.
Read More »
Rupert Murdoch Unveils 21st Century Fox Logo: Video
News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch this morning sent this memo to staff everywhere. Again, while the parent company logo changes after the corporation splits, the film and TV studio’s 20th Century Fox name will not:
Dear Colleagues:
A few weeks ago I shared with you the new name for our independent media and entertainment company: 21st Century Fox.
Today I am proud to unveil our new logo, which serves as a powerful symbol of the inspiration and high bar set by our company. Like our name, the logo reflects the rich creative heritage of Twentieth Century Fox and signals the promise of the 21st century and our restless drive toward the future.
Ultimately, our new logo celebrates the powerful commitment of you and your colleagues to the excellence and innovation that will propel 21st Century Fox forward.
Click here and take a look!
Regards,
Rupert Murdoch
Coen Bros’ Red Band Trailer: ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’
The latest from Joel and Ethan Coen screens in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off next week. Inside Llewyn Davis stars Oscar Isaac as a singer-songwriter looking for a break in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham, Adam Driver and Alex Karpovsky also star. CBS Films acquired the film in February and has set a December 6 domestic release. Here’s the latest trailer:
Hot Trailer: Lee Daniels’ ‘The Butler’
A first look at The Butler and the staff that Lee Daniels assembled including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey in her first film since 1998′s Beloved, and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan which raised plenty of eyebrows and rankles last year. The film tells the story of Eugene Allen (Whitaker), who served eight commanders in chief during his 1952-1986 stint as the White House butler. Daniels wrote the screenplay with Danny Strong, based on Wil Haygood’s 2008 article in The Washington Post. The Weinstein Company releases the drama on October 18:
Actress-Turned-Director’s Chinese Drama ‘So Young’ Breaks Local Records
In the past several months, Chinese comedies Lost In Thailand and Journey To The West have laughed all the way to the bank, becoming the top local hits of all time with over $200M in box office each. In the past several days, a drama has been breaking records. So Young, a nostalgic look at college romance directed by actress-turned-helmer Vicki Zhao Wei, broke opening day records for a 2D Chinese movie on April 26 with $7.3M, beating Lost In Thailand‘s previous high mark. It also bested Journey To The West in advance sales, according to reports. Through Sunday, its cume was $76.72M, per Ent Group data. First-time feature director Wei, a star who’s appeared in such hits as the Painted Skin movies and Shaolin Soccer, also reportedly became the first female director to see her debut pass the coveted 100M yuan mark. The film now faces stiff competition from Iron Man 3, but Wei is apparently taking it in stride. She told China Daily, “I’m given box office figures every other day. I feel OK. I am very satisfied with what we’ve taken. You can’t be too greedy.” Here’s a subtitled So Young trailer:
Rush Limbaugh Considering Exiting Cumulus In Sandra Fluke Fallout: Report
With his contract up at the end of the year, Rush Limbaugh is thinking of pulling his radio show off Cumulus Media stations. More than a year after he called law student and activist Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute,” the host is sick of being blamed by company CEO Lew Dickey for the Cumulus’ declining ad revenue, says Politico. On 40 Cumulus stations across the country, Limbaugh believes the real reason ad revenue is down is underperformance by the company’s outlets. The possible talk radio shift comes just ahead of a quarterly earning call tomorrow with Dickey. Last August, Dickey said Limbaugh’s February 2012 remarks calling Georgetown law student Fluke a “slut” cost the company’s top trio of stations about $5.5 million in ad revenue. This March, he referred to the company as revenue “challenged” by the fallout from Limbaugh’s remarks. Year to date, Cumulus’ stock is up 38.6% and up 14.6% over the past 12 months.
Read More »
R.I.P. Mario Machado
Former LA newsman Mario Machado, known for playing reporters and interviewers in movies like RoboCop and Rocky III, died Saturday in a convalescent home in West Hills, CA. He was 78. The LA Times obituary says he had Parkinson’s disease, according to his daughter. Machado worked at LA’s CBS-TV among other local stations, starting his career in 1967 at KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) as an on-air news reporter, a first for a Chinese-American, according to LARadio.com. He also was a soccer commentator. His film and TV credits include Scarface and the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song.
Hot Trailer: Kristen Wiig’s ‘Girl Most Likely’
One the splashiest pickups at Toronto last year was the forgettably titled Imogene. The Kristen Wiig-Annette Bening comedy now known as Girl Most Likely is hitting theaters July 19 via Roadside and Lionsgate. The American Splendor duo of Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini directed the pic about a once-rising playwright (Wiig) whose life goes off the rails. She’s forced to move back in with her estranged — and strange — gambling-addict mom (Bening). Matt Dillon, Christopher Fitzgerald, and Darren Criss also star in the film scripted by Michelle Morgan. Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Alix Madigan-Yorkin and Mark Amin produced it.
‘Criminal Minds’ Showrunner Erica Messer Signs New Deal; Is The Cast Next?
EXCLUSIVE: Criminal Minds executive producer/showrunner Erica Messer has closed a new two-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the pact, she is set to continue as showrunner on the studio’s veteran crime drama. Locking in Messer has been considered key to Criminal Minds‘ renewal. CBS did not pick up the show for another season along with its other series because of too many uncertainties as Messer and key cast members Thomas Gibson, Joe Mantegna, Shemar Moore, Kirsten Vangsness and A.J. Cook all had no deals beyond this season. ABC Studios and CBS are yet to lock in the actors, but Messer’s deal is expected to help the process. I hear besides money, a major holdup in the actors’ negotiations had been the fact that it was unclear who would run the show next season. Messer is very well liked among the cast and crew of Criminal Minds, so her coming back would likely help the actors commit. Of course, the studio and network also have to bridge the salary gaps between what the actors ask for and what they offer, by most accounts nominal raises.
Less than two weeks before CBS’ upfront presentation, I hear there has been little movement on the money issue, leading to speculation that CBS may come out with a best and final offer. The actors don’t negotiate together, so it is conceivable that CBS renews the show with some of the cast signed and continues negotiations with the others after the upfront. That happened two years ago when Gibson and Moore’s contracts were up. Moore closed before the upfronts, while Gibson’s deal didn’t close until late June. And if CBS, which is footing the bill on the show, decides to play hardball and not renew Criminal Minds if agreements with actors could not be reached, the series could potentially move to ABC, whose sibling ABC Studios is reaping the financial benefits of the show’s lucrative off-network deal and strong sales around the world — the way CBS took in NBC’s Medium several years ago. Most insiders stress such a nuclear option is extremely unlikely, and CBS will find a way to bring Criminal Minds for a ninth season. Read More »
Hot Trailer: ‘Violet & Daisy’
Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel star in Violet & Daisy as a pair of hit girls swept up in intrigue with their latest target (James Gandolfini). Precious writer Geoffrey Fletcher wrote and directed the 2011 Toronto Film Fest entry. Cinedigm is promising a June release but has yet to lock down a date. Check out the trailer:
ESPN Moving X Games Out Of LA
Beginning in 2014, LA residents will no longer able to hear the sound of snapping fibulas and ulnas echoing throughout the basin on hot summer days. That’s because ESPN announced today it is officially ending the 10-year run of its made-for-TV extreme-sports event X Games Los Angeles and moving it to one of four cities: Austin, Chicago, Detroit, or Charlotte, NC. The shift comes as the latest four-year LA deal, with AEG, is set to expire after this year; with the company pondering a sale (it eventually reconsidered), no new deal could be reached, the network said today. ESPN whittled down qualifying bids from nine (including Pasadena and Long Beach) to these four, with a winner to be announced this summer. This year’s X Games Los Angeles runs August 1-4 and is part of an expanded schedule of 2013 events that includes overseas stops in France; Brazil, which just wrapped; Spain, the next games on the calendar May 16-19; and Germany. The Winter X Games Aspen were in January and that longtime home likely will shift too after the current contract expires after next year.
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