Search Results for: “titanic”

Jimmy Kimmel At ABC 2013-2014 Upfront: Full Transcript

By JEN YAMATO | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 3:20pm PDTTags: ABC, Jimmy Kimmel

UPDATED: Jimmy Kimmel kicked off ABC‘s upfront presentation Tuesday at NYC’s Lincoln Center with a filmed bit alongside Scandal‘s Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and Disney/ABC TV President Anne Sweeney. The potshots at NBC also came quickly: “[ABC Entertainment President] Paul Lee isn’t really British – he’s Mexican. We think this is why Univision is beating NBC.” Here’s Kimmel’s full network-roasting upfront monologue:

Jimmy Kimmel ABC Upfront 2013“You’ve seen what we have so far. By show of hands, we’re going to let you vote one new show off our schedule. Which will it be? I’m happy to be here. I really do enjoy seeing a lot of you every year coming to New York, but I’d really rather not do the whole song and dance number again so listen, you don’t know if these shows are going to work. I don’t know if these shows are going to work. Just throw your money in these bags, we’ll pass them around and be done with it. It’s time to stop calling this an upfront and start calling it what it really is. Throwing a bunch of shit at a wall to see what sticks. And guess what, you guys are the wall.

Related: Live-Blog: ABC’s Upfront Presentation
Read More »

Comments 23

2013-14 ABC Schedule

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 9:03am PDT

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 »

Comments (0)

ABC 2013-14 Schedule: Rebel Wilson Gets Post-‘Modern Family’ Slot, ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ On Tuesday, ‘Dancing’ Shrinks To One Night

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday May 14, 2013 @ 9:00am PDTTags: ABC, Dancing With The Stars, Super Fun Night
Nellie Andreeva

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.

Read More »

Comments 70

‘The Great Gatsby’ Hip-Hops To Big $52M; But ‘Iron Man 3′ Still Tops; ‘Peeples’ Flops

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday May 11, 2013 @ 10:00pm PDTTags: Box Office, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Warner Bros

Great Gatsby Box OfficeSATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 4TH UPDATE: There’s more good news at the box office for the start of Summer 2013. Domestic grosses for Warner Bros‘ The Great Gatsby (3,035 theaters) just keep going strong. Big online seller Fandango tells me this female-driven film is heading into Mother’s Day and ticket sales show no signs of flagging across the country from city to heartland. Despite audiences giving it a ‘B’ CinemaScore. In addition to moviegoers showing up dressed in 1930s period costumes, exhibitors are reporting some audiences spontaneously bursting into applause when Leonardo first appears on screen. (When’s the last time that happened?) That’s prompted some Hollywood execs to speculate this is the original Titanic crowd. Warner Bros hopes the Baz Luhrmann-directed, DiCaprio starrer ”perfectly counter-programs” all the May action movies. My sources’ latest estimates for the 3D tentpole are $19.4M for Thursday/Friday, and -6% for $18M Saturday. Hollywood is expecting an overperforming $52M first weekend for the romantic drama co-financed by Village Roadshow and based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic novel. The #1 film is still Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (which has the biggest theater count at 4,253) with $19.7M Friday (-72% from last Friday’s huge opening) and a huge $33M Saturday for $75M this weekend. (Last year The Avengers made an incredible $103M in its second weekend…) Before Friday, IM3 grossed $794M — international cume $581.6M and domestic $212.4M. Now the North American cume should be $287.4M through Sunday. Yowza! The only other major newcomer is Lionsgate’s Peeples (2,031 theaters), a ‘Tyler Perry Presents’ comedy not written or directed by him but by Tina Gordon Chism. It received a ‘B-’ CinemaScore and weak grosses even for a tiny budget of $15M: $1.1M Friday and $1.8M Saturday for a $4.2M weekend.

Gatsby‘s success might all seem surprising considering the film’s uneven reviews. Then again these critics — the vast majority white middle-aged men — are complaining about Luhrmann’s supposed “sacrilege” in adding hip-hop to Gatsby which of course is set in the decade dubbed “The Jazz Age”. Way to make themselves look old and out of touch. (Are these the same purists who piled on when Bob Dylan went electric? I found the music a fresh touch.) While Leo’s and Tobey Maguire’s performances are praised, Carey Mulligan’s is not. Then again there were misgivings in the media from the day the extravagant Baz project was first announced – the 4th attempt to film the novel after Warner Baxter starred in 1926, Alan Ladd in 1949, and Robert Redford in 1974. But tracking told a different story: it was strong from the day Lurhmann’s version co-scripted with Craig Pearce came on — especially heavy with females but also registering decently with men. The Great Gatsby kept improving its numbers as the full frills and very effective marketing campaign took hold. Even without P&A, the movie’s cost reportedly ballooned up to $200M. But Warner Bros claims that figure is $160M, which was brought down to $105M because of ”tons of rebates” from Luhrmann’s Australia filming location. That was then split 50-50 between the studio and co-financier Village Roadshow. (Initially the budget was $80M when Sony passed, and then $120M when Warner Bros and Village Roadshow first came aboard.) Read More »

Comments 184

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

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday May 10, 2013 @ 6:13pm PDTTags: ABC, Disney, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Rebel Wilson
Nellie Andreeva

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 came 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 »

Comments 84

Specialty Box Office: ‘The Iceman’ Scores Cool Opening, ‘What Maisie Knew’ Solid

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday May 5, 2013 @ 9:48am PDTTags: Specialty Box Office, The Iceman, What Maisie Knew

Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor.

Indie FilmsMillennium Entertainment’s The Iceman warmed over the specialty box office this weekend despite the Iron Man 3 juggernaut. The film averaged a cool $23,287 from four runs and that wasn’t the only good news for the distributor. Millennium also bowed What Maisie Knew in one location, grossing $23,268. The duo were among a large number of specialty newcomers this weekend, though they did by far the best among titles reporting. Pantelion’s Cinco De Mayo: La Batalla averaged $3,500 from 20 runs, while SPC’s Love Is All You Need averaged $9,739 from its initial four theaters opening. Cannes 2012 debut Post Tenebras Lux took in $5,525 in one theater, while the weekend’s new doc Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s grossed $38,294 for a $9,574 average in four theaters. Meanwhile IFC Films’ French-language Something In The Air bowed in three theaters, averaging a slight $5K.
Read More »

Comments (11)

‘Iron Man 3′ Breaks Records: $175.3M Sets 2nd Biggest Domestic Opening Weekend; Worldwide Totals Franchise Best $680.1M

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 5, 2013 @ 8:15am PDTTags: Box Office, Disney, Iron Man 3, Marvel Studios

SUNDAY AM, 9TH UPDATE:  Walt Disney Company Chairman/CEO Bob Iger has his Wall Street earnings call on Tuesday and more good news to report with the stock already at an all-time high. Disney/Marvel’s 3D Iron Man 3 kicked off the North American summer movie season in 4,253 theaters with $68.3M Friday and a very good hold for $62.2M Saturday. With an estimated $44.7M Sunday, that $175.3M domestic weekend puts it on a path to the #2 biggest Friday-Saturday-Sunday opening ever (previously occupied by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 with $169.2M). But it’s behind Marvel’s #1 The Avengers and its $207.4M. Audiences gave Iron Man 3 a coveted ’A’ CinemaScore so word of mouth should stay strong. Exit polling showed that audiences mostly saw the film in 2D (55%) vs 3D (45%, including 9% IMAX), were overwhelmingly male (61%) and couples (52% vs  families 27% and teens 21%). The age breakdown was 2-11 (9%), 12-17 (13%), 18-25 (23%) 26-34 (26%), 35-49 (20%), 50+ (9%).

Pic’s international cume to date is $504.8M through Sunday for an updated global box office of $680.1M. Iron Man 3 has now passed the franchise total worldwide for Iron Man ($585M) and Iron Man 2 ($624M). Internationally, the 12-day run of the Robert Downey Jr-starring/Shane Black-directed actioner has passed the total international box office of Captain America ($192M), Iron Man ($267M), Thor ($268M) and Iron Man 2 ($312M). Overseas it played in 54 territories by the end of the weekend after beginning its international rollout on April 24, debuting #1 in every territory and setting the biggest opening weekend of all time in Latin America and Asia Pacific and the biggest opening of 2013 in Europe. This weekend’s box office take from Iron Man 3 means that Disney has now crossed the $1B box office threshold internationally and represents the fastest time that Disney has ever achieved this. Here are the new Iron Man 3 cumulative results after the weekend: China $63.5M, Korea $42.6M, United Kingdom $38.3M, Mexico $35.8M, Brazil $30.1M, Australia $28.4M, France $27.8M,  Russia $21.7M, Italy $17.4M, Japan $16.4M, Taiwan $15.1M,   Philippines $12.3M, Indonesia $10.6M, Hong Kong $10.5M, Malaysia $10.5M, Germany $10.5M, other markets $113.8M. Read More »

Comments 210

Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Kiss Of The Damned’, ‘What Maisie Knew’, ‘The Iceman’, ‘Generation Um…’, ‘Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s', ‘Dead Man’s Burden’, ‘Something In The Air’, ‘The Happy House’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday May 2, 2013 @ 5:20pm PDTTags: Something In The Air, Specialty Box Office, The Happy House, The Iceman

Brian Brooks is a Deadline contributor.

Specialty Box OfficeFollowing last week’s hefty rollout of new Specialty films, the coming weekend is also awash in a large number of diverse titles that will hit the limited release slate, including titles with stars, soon-to-be stars and big screen novices. Xan Cassavetes will open her drama/thriller Kiss Of The Damned via Magnolia this weekend with a cadre of French vampires. Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan and Alexander Skarsgard star in Millennium Entertainment’s What Maisie Knew. The distributor is doubling up this weekend, also bowing The Iceman with Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta and David Schwimmer, while Keanu Reeves stars in Phase 4′s Generation Um… Cinedigm will open indie Western Dead Man’s Burden from newcomer Jared Moshé, starring Barlow Jacobs, Clare Bowen and David Call, while First Run Features’ The Happy House will also be looking for its niche among the weekend’s new titles. IFC Films will bow veteran French filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ latest, Something In The Air, while doc Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s joins the weekend’s packed lineup.

Kiss Of The Damned
Director-writer: Xan Cassavetes
Cast: Joséphine de La Baume, Milo Ventimiglia, Roxane Mesquida, Anna Mouglalis, Michael Rapaport
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures/Magnet Releasing

Xan Cassavetes initially had the idea for Kiss Of The Damned after touring a house some years ago. The home eventually became the venue for the thriller/drama which revolves around a vampire, Djuna, who resists the advances of Paolo, but soon gives into their passion. “I went through the house and the nature of its setting felt so transitory — it’s a weekend house and it’s the setting for a transitory vampire,” said Cassavetes. “I looked at the house a year and a half before writing the screenplay.” After working on other projects, Cassavetes recalled the house and wrote the screenplay for Kiss Of The Damned in only three weeks. She and her team were able to put together the financing elements from previous films. “I wanted French actors because the movie has the flavor of a beautiful European flavor,” said Cassavetes. “I also wanted relatively unknown actors because I thought it was more powerful to buy into that.” Read More »

Comments (6)

Jim Broadbent To Star In BBC’s ‘Great Train Robbery’ Serial

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday, 2 May 2013 09:54 UKTags: BBC, Jim Broadbent, Luke Evans, The Great Train Robbery

Oscar winner Jim Broadbent will play Tommy Butler, the detective who relentlessly sought to bring the gang behind the infamous August 8, 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train to justice. The BBC‘s two-part drama The Great Train Robbery kicks off with The Robbers’ Tale, the story of how the heist was planned and executed. Luke Evans will play Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the heist. The second part, A Coppers’ Tale, will feature Broadbent leading the Scotland Yard team Butler assembled to bring the thieves to justice in a race against time. Also joining A Coppers’ Tale are Tim Pigott-Smith (Downton Abbey, Alice In Wonderland), Robert Glenister (Law & Order: UK, Hustle), Tom Chambers (Waterloo Road), Tom Beard (Salmon Fishing In The Yemen), James Wilby (Titanic) and James Fox (W.E., Utopia). Read More »

Comments (0)

Global Showbiz Briefs: BAFTA TV Craft Prizes; BBC Renews ‘The Village’; ‘Oh Boy’ At German Lolas; Al Jazeera

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday, 29 April 2013 05:00 UKTags: BAFTA, BBC, Cloud Atlas, Global Showbiz Briefs

Olympics Score BAFTA TV Craft Awards
The Olympics was a three-time winner in factual categories at Sunday night’s BAFTA TV Craft Awards with the opening ceremony taking honors for multi-camera directing. BBC’s Super Saturday grabbed a prize for sound and Channel 4′s Paralympics earned a nod for digital creativity. Among series winners, Neal Street Productions/BBC One’s Call The Midwife brought Philippa Lowthorpe a directing award and Christine Walmesley-Cotham was honored for make-up & hair. Sheena Napier won for her costume design work the BBC’s Parade’s End and Darryl Hammer won for production design on the BBC/HBO Hitchcock biopic The Girl. Tom Turnbull won in the visual & graphic effects category for ITV’s Julian Fellowes’ penned Titanic. A full list of winners is available here. Read More »

Comments (0)

21st Century Fox Is Rupert’s Renamed Showbiz Giant “To Take Us Into Future”

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday April 16, 2013 @ 1:47pm PDTTags: 21st Century Fox, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch

UPDATE: No Name Change For 20th Century Fox

BREAKING… 21st Century Fox replaces the previously announced name Fox Group for the independent media and entertainment company. The publishing side will retain the name News Corp when the Big Media corporation splits off its two main businesses. The new name will be effective with the separation and “draws on the Company’s creative heritage, while also speaking to the future as well as the innovation that defines its portfolio of businesses,” according to today’s press release. (I hear Rupert Murdoch‘s giant actually hired a naming company for this rather obvious choice unofficially pictured here.) Under the 21st Century Fox umbrella will be a global portfolio of cable and broadcasting networks and properties, including FOX, FX, FXX, FS1, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports, Fox Sports Network, National Geographic Channels, Fox Pan American Sports, MundoFox and STAR; film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film; and television production studios Twentieth Century Fox Television and Shine Group as well as its pay-television services in Europe and Asia, including Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and its equity interests in BSkyB and Tata Sky. On June 28, 2012, News Corp announced the separation of its businesses into two separate independent companies, with the other containing newspapers, information services, and integrated marketing services, digital real estate services, book publishing, digital education and sports programming and pay-TV distribution in Australia. The split still needs federal regulatory approval. Here is Murdoch’s memo to all employees about the new name announcement: Read More »

Comments 26

Three Films Over $20M: #1 ‘Evil Dead’ Fierce $26M Weekend, #2 Tied Between ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ And ‘The Croods’ With $21.1M, #4 ‘Jurassic Park 3D’ $18.2M

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday April 7, 2013 @ 9:55am PDTTags: Box Office, Evil Dead, Jurassic Park 3D

SUNDAY AM, 5TH UPDATE: There was a dramatic change in the Top Five as Box Office Results Evil Dead Jurassic Park 3Dthe biggest grossing three films made over $20M through Sunday for a really big weekend. Total moviegoing looks around $134 million which is +8% over last year. Sony’s TriStar/FilmDistrict/Ghost House’s newcomer Evil Dead is the easy #1 despite dropping an expected -24% from Friday to Saturday for a fierce $26M. Holdovers G.I. Joe: Retaliation from Paramount and The Croods from DreamWorks Animation went up +36% and +39% respectively from Friday to Saturday to take over places second and third. Universal’s new conversion Jurassic Park 3D as expected dropped to #4 and should end Sunday with a decent $18.2M. Analysis coming. Here’s the new Top Ten order:

1. Evil Dead (FilmDistrict/Tristar/Sony) NEW [Runs 3,025] R
Friday $11.9M, Saturday $8.8M, Weekend $26.0M

2 *tie. G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D (Paramount) Week 2 [Runs 3,734] PG13
Friday $6.4M, Saturday $8.9M (-49%), Weekend $21.1M, Cume $86.6M

2 *tie. The Croods 3D (DreamWorks Animation/Fox) Week 3 [Runs 3,879] PG
Friday $6.0M, Saturday $8.8M, Weekend $21.1M, Cume $126.8M

4. Jurassic Park 3D (Universal) NEW [Runs 2,771] PG13
Friday $7.0M, Saturday $7.1M, Weekend $18.2M

5. Olympus Has Fallen (FilmDistrict) Week 3 [Runs 3,059] R
Friday $3.1M, Saturday $4.3M, Weekend $10.0M, Cume $71.1M

6. Tyler Perry’s Temptation (Lionsgate) Week 2 [Runs 2,047] PG13
Friday $3.4M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $10.0M (-54%), Cume $38.3M

7. Oz The Great And Powerful (Disney) Week 5 [Runs 2,905] PG
Friday $2.4M, Saturday $3.4M, Weekend $8.1M, Cume $212.7M

8. The Host (Open Road) Week 2 [Runs 3,202] … Read More »

Comments 56

R.I.P. Juan José Bigas Luna

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday April 6, 2013 @ 7:29pm PDTTags: Juan Jose Bigas Luna, R.I.P.

The Spanish filmmaker, who won Venice’s Silver Lion for directing 1992′s Jamón Jamón and won a Goya for Best Screenplay for 1997′s The Chambermaid on the Titanic, has died in Tarragona, Spain after battling cancer, Reuters reports. He was 67. Bigas Luna wrote and directed his first film, Tatuaje, in 1978. He cast an 18-year-old Penelope Cruz opposite Javier Bardem in her debut film Jamón Jamón, and followed with two more films in his “Iberian trilogy”: Golden Balls (Huevos de Oro), also starring Bardem along with Maria De Medeiros and Benicio del Toro, and The Tit and the Moon (La Teta y la luna). Bigas Luna’s 2010 film Di Di Hollywood starred Elsa Pataky and Peter Coyote. At the time of his death he was developing his next film, an adaptation of Catalan author Manuel de Pedrolo’s sci-fi novel Second origin typescript.

Comments (1)

National Geographic Channel’s EVP Programming Michael Cascio To Depart

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday April 4, 2013 @ 11:59am PDTTags: Michael Cascio, National Geographic Channel
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: National Geographic Channel‘s top programming executive Michael Cascio is leaving his post at the end of the month to segue into producing projects for Nat Geo. Cascio has been at the channel since 2004, and was upped to EVP when Howard T. Owens joined as President in November of 2011. There are no immediate plans for a replacement, with Cascio’s duties expected to be handled by Owens and SVPs Noel Siegel and Alan Eyres.

Cascio was the driving force behind NGC’s Emmy-nominated Inside 9/11, which remains one of the network’s highest-rated telecasts, along with a slew of other specials and series, including Doomsday Preppers, George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview, Wicked Tuna, Titanic: The Final Word, Alaska State Troopers, Dog Whisperer, and Human Footprint. Cascio has earned Emmys, an Oscar and a Producer Of The Year award.

Comments (4)

UK Tax Credit For TV Drama Goes Into Effect April 1 Amid Fears Of U.S. Cannibalization

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday, 27 March 2013 20:40 UKTags: Penny Dreadful, Pinewood Studios, UK Tax Credit

Sam Mendes’ psychosexual horror series for Showtime, Penny Dreadful, will be among the first U.S. TV dramas to benefit from the UK’s newly-approved TV tax relief for high-end productions. Legislation for a 25% tax credit for TV series costing at least £1M per hour to produce — plus animated programs and video games — has been given the state-aid greenlight by Brussels, clearing the last major hurdle before coming into effect April 1. Largely based on Britain’s Film Tax Relief scheme, which has provided about £800M in rebates to more than 800 movies since 2007, the new law requires productions meet a British cultural test. Co-productions made under an internationally recognized treaty may also be eligible, and it’s believed the new regs could inject about $570M into the local industry. But there are concerns that the potential £200M in relief available by 2018 could be gobbled up by U.S. productions that employ British talent on UK shores.

When first announced in March last year, the relief was considered an effort to stem runaway production. Shows like BBC Two drama Parade’s End and the Julian Fellowes miniseries Titanic, were made abroad. Downton Abbey is among the rare exceptions of big-ticket UK shows that have been produced at home, and I’m told it will now look to benefit from the break. But the scheme is also a means to encourage foreign shows to come to the UK. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne consulted both Disney and HBO to lay out the strategy. Read More »

Comments (3)

James Cameron Donates Deepsea Challenger Sub To Help Advance Ocean Sciences

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday, 26 March 2013 10:30 UKTags: Deepsea Challenge, James Cameron

A year ago this week, James Cameron was seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface for the Deepsea Challenge. The unique research and exploration project took him to the bottom of the Challenger Deep — the lowest point of the Mariana Trench — and spurred the upcoming feature documentary special, Deepsea Challenge 3D. After emerging from the successful voyage, he flew to London for the premiere of Titanic 3D, looking none the worse for wear. Today, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says it has formed a partnership with Cameron to advance the ocean sciences by building on the expedition. The filmmaker will donate the Deepsea Challenger submersible system and science platform that he helped engineer to Woods Hole, whose experts will work with Cameron and his team to incorporate the sub’s engineering advancements into future research platforms and expeditions. In a statement, Cameron said Woods Hole “is a place where the Deepsea Challenger system will be a living, breathing and dynamic program going forward.” He’s not done diving in the sub, though, telling The New York Times he’s eager to get to the Sirena Deep in the western Pacific that’s more than six miles down. Cameron has logged more than 3,000 hours underwater, many in aid of the advancement of underwater cinematography and robotics, starting with 1989′s The Abyss. In 1995, he made 12 submersible dives to the Titanic wreck.

Comments (4)

BAFTA TV Craft Nominees: ‘Parade’s End’, ‘The Girl’, ‘Ripper Street’, ‘The Hour’, More

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday, 25 March 2013 08:36 UKTags: BAFTA, BBC, Parade's End

BBC Two‘s five-part period drama Parade’s End leads the nominees for BAFTA‘s television craft awards with five. The adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s novels started airing on HBO on February 26, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Anne-Marie Duff, Rupert Everett and Miranda Richardson. It took mentions for production design and Tom Stoppard’s writing, among others. Also figuring heavily among the nominees are BBC Two and HBO’s Hitchcock drama The Girl, BBC One and BBC America‘s Ripper Street and BBC Two and BBC America’s cancelled The Hour. Other shows known to U.S. audiences, Doctor Who, Call The Midwife, Downton Abbey, Top Gear and The Thick Of It also scored nods. Olympics programming, inlcuding Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony and Stephen Daldry’s closing ceremony are nommed as is the fictional comedy series about the Games, Twenty Twelve. Awards will be handed out on April 28 in London. Click over for a full list of nominees: Read More »

Comments (0)

Lionsgate UK To Back Alan Rickman Directing Kate Winslet In ‘A Little Chaos’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday, 7 March 2013 11:35 UKTags: Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Lionsgate UK

Deadline noted in February that Alan Rickman is set to direct British indie A Little Chaos starring Kate Winslet and Rust & Bone‘s Matthias Schoenaerts. Lionsgate UK has boarded the film as main financier as part of a drive to double its investment in local film. Rickman will also star in the love story about rival landscape gardeners who are competing to design a fountain at Versailles for Louis XIV. Principal photography starts in April. Rickman previously directed Emma Thompson and her mother Phyllida Law in 1997′s The Winter Guest. He recently signed with ICM Partners and next plays Ronald Reagan in the Lee Daniels-directed The Butler. Winslet is next starring in Jason Reitman’s Labor Day. Belgian actor Schoenaerts, who broke out in 2011′s Bullhead, just won France’s César Award for Best Male Newcomer in Jacques Audiard’s Rust & Bone.

Gail Egan, Andrea Caldrewood and Bertrand Faivre are producing with Lionsgate UK’s Zygi Kamasa exec producing. The studio will co-produce alongside BBC Films and Lipsync. Ray Cooper, Christine Langan, Julia Taylor Stanley, Norman Merry will also executive produce. Lionsgate UK will take UK rights and rep U.S. rights with Lionsgate International handling the rest of the world. Australia’s Transmission has Oz. Read More »

Comments (0)

Jon Landau To Keynote NAB Show Tech Summit

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 12:58pm PSTTags: Jon Landau, NAB Show

WASHINGTON–(February 27, 2013)–Academy Award and two-time Golden Globe winning producer Jon Landau will keynote NAB Show’s Technology Summit On Cinema on Sunday, April 7 in Las Vegas. The Summit is co-produced by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education. Landau has produced the two highest grossing movies of all-time, “Avatar” and “Titanic.” In addition, he produced Steven Soderbergh’s “Solaris,” co-produced Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” NAB Show and SMPTE’s Technology Summit on Cinema brings together the world’s leading motion-imaging researchers, scientists, practitioners, manufacturers, filmmakers, movie theater operators and other experts focused on advancing the state of the art in cinema. The two-day summit will address critical topics such as the latest on higher-frame-rate cinema, perceptual requirements for higher quality image and sound, new technologies for exhibition and advantages and pitfalls of 3D film conversion.  The NAB Show is April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

Comments (0)
More Deadline | Hollywood »