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‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $164.5M Global: Lower Domestic But +80% Bigger Overseas; ‘Gatsby’ $132.1M Global, ‘Iron Man 3′ $1B

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 19, 2013 @ 9:19am PDTTags: Box Office, J.J. Abrams, Star Trek Into Darkness

Box OfficeSUNDAY 9 AM, 7TH & 8TH UPDATE (WRITETHRU): The iconic space tentpole grossed a lot of money worldwide as May continues to sizzle for Summer 2013. But came nowhere near the $80M weekend and $100M total predicted. Star Trek Into Darkness from Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, and director J.J. Abrams‘ Bad Robot opened with $2M Wednesday from IMAX late shows, $11.5M Thursday, $22M Friday, $27.2M Saturday (for a +25% bump), and an estimated $21.2M Sunday. So that’s a $70.5M weekend from 3,868 theaters and an $84M domestic cume. Exit polling shows that the audience was 64% male/36% female with 27% under age 25/73% age 25 and over. Despite the passage of 4 years and the addition of 3D and IMAX for ticket premiums, 4 1/2 days of Star Trek Into Darkness barely beat 2009′s Star Trek 3-day weekend opening. Rightly or wrongly, fanboys (who are notoriously hard to please) saw the sequel as a ripoff of 1982′s The Wrath Of Khan. I felt the problem was that the latest pic’s marketing assumed people had seen the first installment and therefore didn’t target newbies. The iconic space tentpole in 3D received a coveted “A” CinemaScore to help word of mouth and 87% positive Rotten Tomatoes score setting it up for a strong weekend. The budget was a costly $190M, but the studio was predicting a 3-day weekend domestic estimate of $80M and 4-day estimate of $100M. Abrams’ first grossed $257.7M in North America but only $128M overseas where the franchise has long underperformed. STID was expected to easily beat the North American take so Abrams filmed 30 minutes using high-resolution cameras to increase the IMAX grosses which comprised 16% of domestic. To expand international, Paramount dispatched Abrams’ Bad Robot partner Bryan Burk to share 20 minutes of footage with media and distributors abroad earlier this year. It helped: international told a stronger story. Since sequels usually play well overseas, the total is $80.5 from 40 markets through Sunday, or +80% from the prior film. For comparison, STID is running +33% on a global basis compared to the 2009 reboot. Worldwide total is $164.5M. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto reprise their roles as Kirk and Spock with its ensemble USS Enterprise cast and Benedict Cumberbatch debuts as the movie’s mysterious baddie in this sequel to Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the franchise, which began as a 1960s TV series. Star Trek Into Darkness, based on Gene Roddenberry’s creation, was written by credited scripters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof, who also are producers along with the Bad Robot duo of Abrams and Burk.

1. Star Trek Into Darkness (Skydance/Paramount) Week 1 [3,868 Theaters]
Wed $2.0M, Thurs $11.5M, Fri $22.0M, Sat $27.2M, Est Sun $21.2M
Wkd $70.5M, Dom Cume $84.0M, Intl Cume $80.5M, WW Total $164.9M

2. Iron Man 3 (Marvel/Disney) Week 3 [Runs 4,237]
Friday $9.6M, Saturday $15.8M, Weekend $35.5M,
Dom Cume $337.1M, Intl Cume $736.2M, Worldwide Total $1.073.3B

On May 16, the film crossed the $1B benchmark at the global box office in 23 days and the $300M threshold at the domestic box office in 14 days. Iron Man 3 is now the #9 highest grossing film of all time globally and the #9 highest grossing film of all time internationally. This is the 2nd Marvel Studios film and the 6th Walt Disney Studios release to reach $1B globally, and the 9th Disney release to reach $300M domestic.

3. The Great Gatsby (Warner Bros) Week 2 [Runs 3,550]
Friday $7.6M, Saturday $9.5m, Weekend $23.6M (-53%)

Dom Cume $90.1M, Intl Cume $42.1M, Worldwide Total $132.2M

Baz Luhrmann’s biggest to date here and overseas looks to make $140M domestic all in. “Domestic box office results are excellent,” a Warner Bros exec gushed. “Counter-programming can succeed with great success in a summer of tentpole fanboy event films.” Coming off the heels of a gala opening night event at the Cannes Film Event, The Great Gatsby in 3D released in 49 territories overseas and grossed a big $42.1M (ith 4.6Madmissions from almost 8,400 screens). This was 38% higher than Luhrmann’s Australia in the same markets ($30.4M) and 3x higher than Moulin Rouge ($13.8M). This weekend’s rollout abroad represent 70% of the international box office; major markets yet to launch include Australia (May 30th), Mexico (May 31st), Brazil (June 7th), Japan (June 14th). This weekend’s results included some #1 placements despite stuff competition: Russia $6.2M (Rbl 194M), UK $6.1M (£4.0M), France $4.7M (€3.6M), Korea $4.3M (KRW 4.75B), Italy $3.8M (€2.9M), Germany $3.7M (€2.8M), Spain $2.2M (€1.7M), Taiwan $779K (NT$23.9M).

Also, Universal’s May 24th domestic opener Fast & Furious 6 kicked off its worldwide release in the UK and Ireland this weekend with a record breaking #1 opening. The film grossed $13.8M (£9M) at 460 dates scoring Universal’s biggest 3-day opening weekend in that territory (smashing the previous record set by Les Miserables of $13.1M). It is the biggest opening weekend in the UK for the franchise and the highest opening weekend for Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson. F&F6 is now the 2nd biggest opening weekend of 2013 there behind IM3‘s $17.6M.

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E! Tells Striking ‘Fashion Police’ Writers That WGA Costing Them Money

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday May 15, 2013 @ 12:21pm PDTTags: E! Entertainment, Fashion Police, Suzanne Kolb

E! president Suzanne Kolb wants the writers who went on strike in early April against the Joan Rivers-hosted Fashion Police to know that the WGA West is their real enemy not the network. “The WGA has convinced you that a strike is necessary in order to gain a union contract. But history at E! has shown that not to be true. You are actually losing paychecks because of the guild’s dislike of elections,” she wrote in a letter to the striking scribes that was released today. The writers have said that because a majority of them already want to be represented by the WGA, no election is required. The WGA West assisted the scribes in their complaint last month to the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. In her letter today, Kolb also made a point of deflecting any blame for the situation from WGA member Rivers, whose production company the writers added on April 10 to their complaint to the state. “Joan Rivers has been and remains emphatically supportive of you,” she wrote. “The responsibility of the show lies on my shoulders, not hers,” Kolb added.  The first public remarks from Kolb on the matter didn’t seem to get to her intended audience in a timely fashion. Two writers from the show tell me that they haven’t received a copy of the letter this morning. One writer says he got the letter … Read More »

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Fleming On Cannes: Can Sizzle Reels Make Sizzling Deals This Year?

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 12:35pm PDTTags: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Wrap-Up, Fury, Inside Llewyn Davis, Silence
Mike Fleming

CANNES: Below I’ve compiled this year’s list of what Cannes films are most often being mentioned by potential buyers. But already there’s been a bit of action in the marketplace, with Warner Bros acquiring domestic on the Ryan Gosling-directed How To Catch A Monster. Sellers feel a good appetite for deal-making is in the air. “This has been the busiest month we’ve had going into a Cannes Film Festival. The frenetic activity has never been this intense,” said Roeg Sutherland, who runs CAA’s independent film operation with Micah Green. “It’s not that a lot of new companies are jumping in like they did last year. But we’re seeing those companies coming back here with good slates, which is the healthiest thing for everybody.” I can tell you that sellers this year are cautiously optimistic this Cannes market will be closer to 2011′s when sales were made on the basis of sizzle reels. (Harvey Weinstein made a big bet on The Iron Lady after watching seven minutes of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, and John Hillcoat’s Lawless and Rian Johnson’s Looper sold on the basis of preview reels as well.) Not even rain in the forecast for the next couple of days can depress the upbreat attitudes here. After all, at last Cannes, the sellers market on the Croisette belonged to the umbrella salesman getting 40 Euros a pop in a nonstop torrential downpour that put a figurative damper on the entire market. We all known you cannot measure the success of Cannes the way you can Toronto and Sundance. If buyers don’t buy, sellers are in trouble. Here, a chance conversation with a high net worth individual can make the whole Cannes experience worthwhile. This is a festival of intangibles, and players have to make the time to hustle at the Hotel Du Cap where the billionaire investors roam and the movie stars are stashed until they have to come to the Croisette for premieres. That’s as glitzy as it gets here, but sellers and buyers tell me they do most of their business over a drink at the Carlton and Majestic Hotels, and to a lesser degree the Martinez. Agents especially have “how I won the war” Cannes stories of unexpected encounters that turned into game-changing deals.

Related: Hammond: Festival Kicks Off With Most Anticipated Slate In Years

“Beyond the competition and the exposure that is so good for the careers of your clients, it is an important place to create a moment that leads to films getting financed,” said UTA’s Rich Klubeck. “Two years ago, we met with the guys at Studio Canal who’d said they missed being in business with Joel and Ethan Coen. We had another meeting in New York and they wrote the check for Inside Llewyn Davis, which premieres here. It could not have been a better situation. They have proven to be perfect partners.” That deal allowed the Coens and producer Scott Rudin to shoot the 1960s folk movie without pressure to find early domestic distribution. The picture went to CBS Films after the filmmakers showed the finished product to a crowd of buyers. “We got to take our time, hear the marketing plans offered by each distributor, and pick the perfect situation,” Klubeck told me. “This is a good place where a lot of stuff happens.” Read More »

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Cannes: Lionsgate Lands North American Distribution Rights To ‘The Quiet Ones’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 10:33am PDTTags: Cannes Wrap-Up, Exclusive Media, Jared Harris, John Pogue, Lionsgate, Sam Claflin, The Quiet Ones
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: In what becomes the second significant domestic distribution deal on the eve of Cannes, Lionsgate closed a deal with Exclusive Media for North American distribution rights to the Hammer production of The Quiet Ones, the John Pogue-directed supernatural thriller that stars Mad Men‘s Jared Harris and Sam Claflin, who starred in the last Pirates Of The Caribbean. Craig Rosenberg and Oren Moverman wrote the script with Pogue.

This follows Warner Bros’ deal for the Ryan Gosling-directed How To Catch A Monster. The Quiet Ones will open April 25, 2014. Pogue wrote the script and Exclusive’s Tobin Armbrust and Simon Oakes will produce with James Gay-Rees, Steven Chester Prince and Ben Holden of The Travelling Picture Show Company. Lionsgate already had UK rights. It’s a nice start for Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. The film is inspired by true events, and tells the story of a prof who uses controversial methods and engages his students in an attempt to raise a poltergeist from negative human energy. That can’t turn out well, can it? Read More »

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Cannes: HBO Acquires North American Rights To Alec Baldwin/James Toback’s ‘Seduced And Abandoned’ Feature Docu

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday May 13, 2013 @ 10:27am PDTTags: Big Deals TV, HBO, James Toback, Seduced And Abandoned

HBO acquired all television rights for the U.S. and Canada to James Toback‘s feature documentary Seduced And Abandoned. Produced by Michael Mailer, Alec Baldwin and Toback and exec-produced by Morris Levy, Alan Helene, Larry Herbert and Neal Schneider, the pic will premiere as a Special Screening in the Official Selection this month at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival. Guided by Baldwin and Toback, Seduced And Abandoned is a cinematic exploration of several interconnected subjects: The Cannes Film Festival and cinema art, money, glamour and death. Shot during the 65th Anniversary Festival in 2012, it features original portraits of Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Ryan Gosling, Jessica Chastain, Berenice Bejo, Diane Kruger and James Caan. Seduced And Abandoned is produced by Michael Mailer Films. The deal was negotiated with HBO by Jeff Berg at Resolution on behalf of the filmmakers. International sales are being handled by Hanway. Toback’s most recent film was the documentary Tyson.  His other credits include Fingers, Love & Money, Exposed, The Big Bang, Two Girls And A Guy, Harvard Man, The Pick-up Artist, Black And White and When Will I Be Loved. Toback also wrote the original screenplay for the Karel Reisz film The Gambler.

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Nicole Kidman To Star In And Produce ‘Reconstructing Amelia’ Film For HBO

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 3:15pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, HBO Films, Nicole Kidman, Reconstructing Amelia
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: On the heels of her starring role in Hemingway & Gellhorn, which earned her Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations, Nicole Kidman is back in business with HBO Films on Reconstructing Amelia, a film adaptation of Kimberly McCreight’s best-selling debut novel recently published by HarperCollins. Kidman is set to star and executive produce the project, now in development, through her Blossom Films. Reconstructing Amelia centers on a workaholic single mother (Kidman) who, after her teenage daughter’s apparent suicide at her tony Brooklyn private school, attempts to reconstruct the events leading up to the girl’s death, drawing her into the world of teenage social media and revealing the secrets mother and daughter were keeping from each other. CAA-repped Kidman is executive producing with Blossom Films’ Per Saari. McCreight is with Resolution and Marly Rusoff.

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NBC Pickups Update: ‘Chicago Fire’ Spinoff, ‘Ironside’, ‘Undateable’ Ordered

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 11:05am PDTTags: Ironside, NBC, Undateable
Nellie Andreeva

Refresh for latest…

2ND UPDATE 11:05 AM: The Chicago Fire franchise is expanding on NBC as the network has picked up Chicago PD, a spinoff from Chicago Fire, to series. That brings Dick Wolf’s series on NBC next season to 3, including the recently renewed Law & Order: SVU and Chicago Fire. Chicago PD originated as a back-door pilot in the first season finale of Chicago Fire. We’re still waiting for the resolution of the NBC-Sony TV negotiations that involve three pilots in contention, dramas Blacklist and Night Shift and comedy Welcome To The Family, as well as bubble comedy Community.

UPDATE, 9:54 AM: Also getting a pickup is drama Ironside, a reboot of the 1967 series, with Blair Underwood in the title role. Ken Sanzel is in negotiations to serve as showrunner on the project, written/exec produced by Mike Caleo. Universal TV is the studio.

Related: NBC Pickups: Sean Hayes, DJ Nash, ‘Crisis’, ‘About A Boy’, ‘Believe’

PREVIOUS, 9:35 AM: I’ve learned that NBC has kicked off the second day of new series pickups with an order to the Bill Lawrence-produced comedy Undateable, written by Adam Sztykiel. It stars Chris D’Elia, who became officially available yesterday when NBC cancelled Whitney. This marks the second pickup for Lawrence, who also is producing new Fox comedy series Surviving Jack, and the second new series at NBC for Warner Bros., which also has J.J. Abrams’ Believe.

Here are the network’s descriptions of the new series: Read More »

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Erica Jong’s ‘Fear Of Flying’ Getting A Movie After 40 Years In Print

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 9:59am PDTTags: Blu-Sky Media, Cannes Wrap-Up, Envision Entertainment, Erica Jong, Fear Of Flying, Laurie Collyer, Piers Ashworth
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Laurie Collyer will next direct an adaptation of Erica Jong‘s iconic Fear Of Flying. This was the erotic publishing phenomenon a la Fifty Shades Of Grey, selling over 27 million copies worldwide to become one of the top 50 bestselling novels in publishing history. Donald Kushner (Tron Legacy, Monster), Leigh Ann Burton and Piers Ashworth have set up the project to produce for Blu-Sky Media, along with Mark Damon and Remington Chase (Lone Survivor, End Of Watch) via his Envision Entertainment. Nostradamus scribe Piers Ashworth wrote the script, and producers plan to begin production later this year, shooting throughout Europe. Nice to see the groundbreaking book is still viable as it gets an international re-release marking its 40th year on bookshelves.

Fear Of Flying tells the story of Isadora Wing, who combats her failing marriage by taking an existential sexual odyssey across Europe. She searches for the “zipless fuck”, which is sex for the sake of sex without any attachment beyond carnal pleasure, something she discovers is elusive because of the baggage each partner brings when they get between the sheets. The book turned the author into a household name and became a ’70s culture phenomenon. “I am so excited to be directing a film about a woman’s sexuality that is in turn smart, sensual, neurotic, erotic, charming and real”, says Collyer. “I embrace the challenge of taking Erica Jong’s iconic novel from the … Read More »

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Resolution Signs ‘Revenge’s Gabriel Mann

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 3, 2013 @ 12:21pm PDTTags: Gabriel Mann, Resolution, Revenge
Nellie Andreeva

Actor Gabriel Mann has signed with Jeff Berg’s Resolution Entertainment. He was at APA. Mann co-stars as tech billionaire Nolan Ross on the ABC drama Revenge. He will next be seen in Diego Luna’s Chavez, a biopic of civil-rights activist Cesar Chavez. His previous credits include features The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Life Of David Gale and a recurring role on Mad Men. Mann continues to be managed by Van Johnson and repped by attorney Allison Binder.

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Haley Joel Osment To Co-Star In IFC’s Will Ferrell Miniseries ‘Spoils Of Babylon’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 3, 2013 @ 10:22am PDTTags: Haley Joel Osment, IFC, The Spoils Of Babylon
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Haley Joel Osment is set to co-star opposite Will Ferrell, Tobey Maguire and Kristen Wiig in The Spoils Of Babylon, IFC’s  six-episode miniseries produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Funny Or Die. In the vein of The Thorn Birds and Winds Of War, the epic story of The Spoils Of Babylon chronicles the sexy and dramatic lives of the Morehouse family who made their fortune in the oil business. Read More »

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MPAA Ups 3 In Communications

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 2:57pm PDTTags: MPAA

WASHINGTON – The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) today announced key changes to its communications team, led by Executive Vice President for Global Communications Laura Nichols. Kate Bedingfield has been elevated to Vice President, Corporate Communications and will report to Nichols. In her new capacity, Bedingfield will serve as the association’s chief spokesperson and continue to be a critical player in developing and implementing communications strategy behind all of the MPAA’s policy priorities. Howard Gantman will assume a new role as Vice President, Global Strategic Communications. In this role, Gantman will focus on global message coordination and communication strategies for international initiatives, litigation, research and internal communications for the MPAA. He will also work with key stakeholders, entertainment industry alliances and other third parties on strategic communications priorities. Additionally, TJ Ducklo has been promoted to Deputy Director, Corporate Communications and will report to Bedingfield. In this newly created position, Ducklo will play a key role in advancing the association’s communications initiatives and assist Bedingfield with her responsibilities.

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Jeff Berg’s Resolution Signs Patti LaBelle

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 9:40am PDTTags: Patti LaBelle, Resolution

Grammy winner Patti LaBelle has signed with Resolution, where the newly formed agency will oversee the booking of her concerts and speaking engagements as well as her TV and film opportunities. She will be repped by Jeff Franklin and Phil Casey, and Everly Lee for movies and TV. LaBelle is currently recording new music and will announce summer tour dates soon; she also has written five books and has signature food and bedding lines. She continues to be managed by Zuri Edwards.

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Yahoo Paid CEO Marissa Mayer $36.6M In 2012

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday April 30, 2013 @ 6:32pm EDTTags: Marissa Mayer, Yahoo

Not bad for six months of work. To be fair, though, the tally includes $14M in restricted stock units to replace some of the compensation that Marissa Mayer forfeited in July when she left Google to take the top job at Yahoo, according to the proxy filed today at the SEC. There’s also a one time retention award of worth $30M that vests over five years. Her package for last year included $454,862 salary, $35M stock awards, $1.1M in non equity incentives, and $40,540 in other compensation. Almost all of the last category is for personal security services. Mayer wasn’t even Yahoo’s highest paid employee last year: The crown goes to COO Henrique de Castro who made $39.2M after joining in November from Google. Yahoo laid out a lot of cash to take care of all the execs who came and left last year. Former Interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, who held the top job from May to July, made $13.4M including a $1.5M severance payment. His predecessor Scott Thompson, who served from January to May, made $24.3M. Shareholders will have a chance to register their opinions about the outlays in an advisory vote at the annual meeting to be held June 25 in Santa Clara, Calif. Also on the agenda is a vote on a shareholder resolution asking Yahoo to publish an annual Corporate Social Responsibility report. The company opposes the move, saying that it is “working proactively … Read More »

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Don’t Like The “Found Footage” Look? Tough, Says Paramount’s Adam Goodman

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday April 29, 2013 @ 12:31pm PDTTags: Adam Goodman, Digital Hollywood

David Bloom is a contributor to Deadline

The video look of fast-twitch films such as Cloverfield the Paranormal Activity franchise and Rachel Getting Married will be increasingly common in the future because filmmakers aren’t bothered by it and audiences get a visual jolt. “I believe it’s something that’s here to stay”, said Adam Goodman, president of the Paramount Film Group, during the Digital Hollywood conference today in Marina del Rey. “It’s a terrific medium for filmmakers. They don’t see the medium as a barrier to entry. They don’t care about shaky cameras. For whatever reason, it just makes for a much more visceral experience for the audience”. But if shaky videocam movies are too much for your tender orbs, you’re going to hate the widespread adoption of Google Glass, the eyeglass-like devices Goodman predicted will be used to capture first-person footage of skydiving or other action sequences. “I want to see the first Google Glass movie”, he said. Read More »

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UPDATE: Regal And AMC End Disney Renegotiation Dispute: Advance Ticket Sales Begin For ‘Iron Man 3′

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday April 25, 2013 @ 2:42pm PDTTags: AMC Entertainment, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

2ND UPDATE 2:30 PM: The largest domestic movie theater chain Regal Entertainment says this post is going up on its Facebook page: “Regal has Iron Man 3! After some extensive talks with Disney, we’re glad to say that Tony Stark will definitely be in our theatres for Iron Man 3. We’ve got Fandango working overtime right now to place tickets back on sale at all Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theatres.”

UPDATE 12:37 PM: AMC just released this pro forma statement. (Don’t you love how everybody is friends again?): “Iron Man 3 tickets are now on sale and we’re excited to welcome guests to the 9 PM debut and Marvel’s Iron Man Marathon at AMC, both on May 2. We thank our partners at Disney for working with us to achieve economical terms so we can present our guests with one of the biggest blockbusters of 2013 and solidly kick off the summer movie season.”

BREAKING… As I first broke the news on April 16th, AMC was one of the biggest theater chains refusing to put Iron Man 3 tickets on advance sale even though this summer’s hotly anticipated movie opens on May 3rd. That’s because Disney decided to leverage the film in order to renegotiate the studio’s future terms with the chains beginning with this humongous Marvel blockbuster. At one point AMC, Regal, and Carmike were among those holding out. On … Read More »

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Sony Pictures Acquires Publishing Phenomenon ‘The Rosie Project’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday April 25, 2013 @ 1:55pm PDTTags: Graeme Simsion, Matt Tolmach, Michael Costigan, Sony Pictures, The Rosie Project
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures has optioned screen rights to The Rosie Project, the global breakout novel by Australian writer Graeme Simsion. The film will be produced by Sony-based Matt Tolmach and Michael Costigan, both of whom were longtime colleagues as Sony execs and get to work together again for the first time as producers. The deal was closed by Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad and production president Hannah Minghella. The author will write the script. Simon & Schuster will publish in the U.S. in October.

The Rosie Project centers on Don Tillman, a professor of genetics who may suffer from Aspergers and has never been on a second date until he embarks upon The Wife Project, designing a questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner: a punctual, non-drinking, non-smoking female who will fit in with his regimented lifestyle. When the unorthodox and free-spirited Rosie appears on the scene, it is clear that she fits none of his selection criteria, but she still may just be the perfect match to help turn his life around. Read More »

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WME Signs ‘My Left Foot’ Helmer Jim Sheridan

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 24, 2013 @ 10:48am PDTTags: In The Name Of The Father, Jim Sheridan, My Left Foot, WME
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: WME just signed Jim Sheridan, the Irish filmmaker who has been in play since his CAA agent Bob Bookman left to join Paradigm. Sheridan also signed with Manage-Ment’s Dan Halsted to be his manager. I kind of figured Sheridan would follow Bookie. But WME pulled off a coup, just as the agency did when it shook loose Paranormal Activity helmer Oren Peli after his agent Martin Spencer left CAA to join Resolution. In the case of Sheridan, WME gets a director responsible for what in my book are three bonafide classic films–My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father, and The Boxer. He also helmed the autobiographical In America, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and Brothers. His last film, Dream House, was a misfire, and he had long fought to bring I, Claudius to the screen to no avail, but a good filmmaker is a good filmmaker. I’d love to see him focus again on those Irish-centric tales, but whatever he does, his deals will be made by WME. He continues to be repped by longtime lawyers Ira Schreck and Joe Dapello.

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WME Signs Mitch Glazer

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday April 23, 2013 @ 2:51pm PDTTags: Magic City, Mitch Glazer, WME
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Mitch Glazer, the veteran screenwriter who has been spending most of his time recently writing his Starz dramatic series creation Magic City. Glazer had long been a client of Jeff Berg, and moved with him when he formed Resolution. He most recently wrote and directed the art house film Passion Play, which starred Mickey Rourke and Megan Fox, and his scripting credits include Scrooged and Great Expectations.

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Patricia Ciano Joins ‘The Test’ As Executive Producer

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday April 22, 2013 @ 10:18am PDTTags: CBS Television Distribution, Patricia Ciano, The Test

CBS Television Distribution announced today that veteran daytime producer Patricia Ciano has been named executive producer of the syndicated daytime strip The Test, which will debut in the fall. The conflict-resolution talk show from Jay McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions is sold in more than 90% of the country, including 49 of the top 50 markets. Ciano joins McGraw and Carla Pennington as EP. Ciano most recently launched and executive produced syndicated talker The Jeremy Kyle Show. Her other producing credits include This Morning With Mike And Juliet, Life & Style, The Ricki Lake Show and The Jenny Jones Show. Ciano won a Daytime Emmy in 2011 as co-executive producer of the court show Judge Pirro. She also was a supervising producer for Judge Hatchett and Judge Lopez from 2006-07. The Test will launch with Tribune Broadcasting’s 17 stations as the anchor group in major markets. Tribune is also a partner in production of the show.

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