BAFTA 2012 Preview: Very British Affair Takes On … 
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Remembered: Jennifer Hudson To Perform Whitney Houston … 
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R.I.P. Whitney Houston 
TOLDJA! Indomina-BET Buy Sundance ‘LUV’ 
Midnight Madness For ‘Breaking Dawn’ DVD 
Saoirse Ronan Bigger Teen Action Queen 
WME Signs Writer-Director Jon Kasdan 
‘Glee’s Jane Lynch Joins Indie Film Comedy 
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Jodie Foster Sending Mel Gibson Film ‘The … 
‘Roseanne’ Reunion: John Goodman To Co-Star In … 
UPDATE: Closing Arguments Conclude In Golden Globes Trial; … 
Series Adaptation Of ‘Legion’ With … 
Lionsgate Calms Investors With Talk About Charlie Sheen, … 
Ridley Scott Commits To Next Direct McCarthy’s … 
Marvel Studio’s Tim Connors Defects To Legendary As … 
UPDATE: Warner Bros Lawyers Dig In Garbage Over ‘The … 
Upstart Shingle Radius Acquires Redo Rights To Nic … 
EXCLUSIVE: Summit’s Erik Feig To Be Named President … 
Weaving together home video, passenger and staff stories, National Geographic Channel will air a one-hour documentary February 13th recounting the recent Costa Concordia ship disaster off the coast of Italy. Titled Italian Cruise Ship Disaster: The Untold Stories, the U.S. documentary will look at the similarities and differences with the Titanic. In January, Carnival Cruise-owned Costa Concordia collided with rocks, tearing a 160-foot hole on the port side of the ship carrying 3200 passengers and 1000 crew, killing at least 17. The doc is produced by Dragonfly TV for National Geographic Channel. Alison Turner, Simon Dickson and Mark Roberts executive produced for Dragonfly; Michael Welsh and EVP Programming Michael Cascio executive produced for NGC. Marc Tiley and Paul O’Connor are producer-directors.
Costa Concordia Disaster Doc Set For National Geographic Channel
UPDATE: ‘Spider-Man’ Sneaks Include New Trailer To Debut Online Tonight
HOT TRAILER: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ 3D
New ‘Spider-Man’ Footage To Screen In Global Sneak Peeks Feb. 6
PHOTOS: Fans in Madrid (above), New York (bottom left) and Los Angeles
UPDATE, 1:30 PM: Sony showed off a new trailer to crowds today that will be released online tonight at midnight PT. In addition, about eight new minutes of footage was screened in each of the 13 cities where the sneak peeks took place.
PREVIOUS, 11:35 AM: Sony’s coordinated effort to offer sneak peeks of new footage of its The Amazing Spider-Man is already attracting fans for today’s noon PT kickoff. Tickets to the events — at New York’s Regal Union Square, Los Angeles’ AMC Century City as well as in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Mexico City, Moscow, Rio, Rome, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo. Fans began lining up today around 7 AM on both coasts, according to the studio (the Madrid crowd is pictured left, with the New Yorkers at right). The Marc Webb-directed reboot opens in Japan on June 30 and in the U.S. and other major markets on July 3.
UPDATE: Super Bowl XLVI Most Watched TV Program Ever, ‘The Voice’ Returns Strong
UPDATE 11:45 AM: With the time-adjusted ratings in, last night’s Super Bowl XLVI squeaked past last year’s game to rank as the most watched U.S. TV program in history. The tight New York Giants-New England Patriots contest, won by the Giants, averaged 111.3 million viewers vs. 111 million who tuned in last January for the Green Bay-Pittsburgh face-off. The big game has been holding the record for most watched TV broadcast in the U.A. since 2010 when the Super Bowl (106.5 million) edged the series finale of M*A*S*H* in 1983 (106 million). The record, which had been untouched for 27 years, was broken again by last year’s Super Bowl (111 million) and then again last night. Super Bowl viewership has now gone up for seven consecutive years. (Below is historic data for the last 10 Super Bowl telecasts.) 
In adults 18-49, the game averaged a 40.5 rating, the highest in 16 years, since Super Bowl XXX in 1996 (41.2). The half-time show headlined by Madonna (114 million) also posted a record for the most watched Super Bowl halftime show ever featuring entertainment. It was up 3% from last year’s show starring the Black Eyed Peas. Of course, the set’s strong reviews and great ratings are being completely overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the middle finger briefly flashed during the performance by featured singer M.I.A.
Following the Super Bowl, NBC’s Season 2 premiere of The Voice (37.6 million, 16.3 rating in adults 18-49) was up 40% in total viewers and 47% in 18-49 from last year’s post-Super Bowl telecast of Glee on Fox. It also squeaked past CBS’ Undercover Boss 2010 debut (38.7 million, 16.2/38) to become the highest rated post-Super Bowl program in 18-49 since ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy (37.9 million, 16.5) in 2006. The Voice benefited from a perfect combination of a competitive game that finished on time, allowing for it to begin at 22:15 PM. (Last year, Glee started at 22:39 PM.) Additionally, The big numbers for The Voice prove once again that reality series on average fare far better than scripted shows behind the Super Bowl. Over the past 15 years, 3 of the Top 4 post-Super Bowl programs have been unscripted, CBS’ Survivor (45.4 million viewers) in 2001, The Voice and Undercover Boss, along with drama Grey’s Anatomy. Read More »
Hacking Update: Hugh Grant Accused Of Hijacking Inquiry By Daily Mail Editor; More News Corp Unit Emails Uncovered
It was a busy day at the Leveson Inquiry into UK media ethics. This morning it was confirmed that police have recovered millions of emails from the main server of News Corp’s News International unit that were thought to have been deleted, while Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre in the afternoon continued to refute Hugh Grant’s earlier testimony that the Sunday newspaper had hacked into the actor’s voicemail for a 2007 story. Sue Akers, the police chief in charge of three investigations into alleged press misconduct, testified that investigators are working to search through the recovered emails, which News Corp’s UK newspaper arm said had been deleted, but that the work will take a few more months. She also noted that the police have a “cooperative working relationship” with News Corp’s management and standards committee, which the group set up when the phone-hacking scandal at the News Of The World blew wide open this summer.
Meanwhile, Dacre spoke to events from November last year when Grant, in the first allegation against a paper not controlled by News Corp., told Read More »
Corey Stoll To Co-Star Opposite Kevin Spacey On Netflix Series ‘House Of Cards’
EXCLUSIVE: Law & Order: LA standout Corey Stoll has joined the cast of Netflix’s first original series, David Fincher’s drama House Of Cards starring Kevin Spacey. The political thriller, based on Michael Dobbs’ novel and the 1990 British series it spawned, stars Spacey as Rep. Frank Underwood, the Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives who after being passed over for Secretary of State hatches a plot to bring down the new president. Stoll will play Patrick Russo, a loose-cannon, womanizing three-term Italian-American congressman, divorced with two kids, who is having a torrid affair with his secretary (Kristen Connolly). When Russo gets caught driving drunk with a call-girl passenger, Underwood intervenes to save him from the scandal — but at a high cost. Stoll received high marks for his performance as Detective Tomas “TJ” Jaruszalski on L&O: LA and was the only full-time actor from the original cast to stay on through the series’ creative overhaul. Stoll, repped by UTA and manager James Suskin, also recently received attention for his portrayal of Ernest Hemingway in Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best supporting actor. He just wrapped the indie Decoding Annie Parker.
Magnolia Acquires U.S. Rights To ‘Marley’
Reggae guru Bob Marley will hit the big screen April 20th via Magnolia Pictures in addition to day-and-date on VOD and digital platforms. Directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King Of Scotland), the documentary will have its world premiere at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival, followed by a North American debut in March at SXSW. Made with support from the Marley family, the feature chronicles the singer’s early days through to his rise to stardom. VH1 is set to license the first TV window of the film as part of the network’s VH1 Rock Doc franchise. Steve Bing of Shangri-La Entertainment and Charles Steel produced Marley, which is executive produced by the musician’s son Ziggy Marley and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. The deal was negotiated for Magnolia by SVP Acquisitions Dori Begley and Head of Business Affairs Chris Matson, for VH1 by Ben Zurier and Brad Abramson, and with Liesl Copland of WME Global on behalf of the filmmakers.
‘Off White Lies’ Nabbed for North America
Film Movement has picked up North American rights to Maya Kenig’s directorial debut Off White Lies. The 2012 Berlinale Generations sidebar debut centers on news stories and family events that Kenig experienced as a young mother during the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon. The feature, in Hebrew with English subtitles, will have a New York theatrical debut in third-quarter 2012 followed by a limited national theatrical rollout in addition to a day-and-date VOD release. Film Movement’s VP Acquisitions and Distribution Rebeca Conget negotiated the deal with Virginie Devesa and Keiko Funato of the newly formed French sales company Alpha Violet.
Sanaa Lathan & Jonathan Groff Join Starz’s ‘Boss’ As New Regulars For Second Season
Sanaa Lathan and Glee heartthrob Jonathan Groff have landed new regular roles on the second season of Starz’s drama series Boss. The Lionsgate TV-produced series stars recent Golden Globe winner Kelsey Grammer as ruthless Chicago mayor Tom Kane. Lathan is finalizing a deal to play Mona, Kane’s incorruptible new chief of staff, who becomes an obsession for him. Lathan, repped by ICM and John Carrabino, voices the female lead on Fox’s The Cleveland Show and was most recently seen in the feature Contagion. Groff will play Ian Todd, a smart and ambitious staffer in Kane’s office who steps into the void Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan) has left to offer astute council to Kane. WME-repped Groff is best known for his recurring role as villain-turned-good guy Jesse St. James on the Fox musical dramedy Glee.
Abel Ferrara and Gérard Depardieu Team For Dominique Strauss-Kahn Scandal Pic
American director Abel Ferrara told France’s Le Monde newspaper that he will make a film about disgraced French politician and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Gérard Depardieu will play the principal role in the film that will revolve around Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York. Isabelle Adjani will play his wife Anne Sinclair. Prior to Strauss-Kahn’s resignation, he had been a frontrunner in France’s Socialist Party to challenge incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency. Wild Bunch’s Vincent Maraval told Le Monde: “It’s true that we’d like Abel to shoot in June, but he has 4 projects in mind and we haven’t yet made our decision.” Ferrara added, “Vincent doesn’t want to talk about this project, that’s normal, he’s the producer. But I’m the director! No one is going to stop me talking about my film.” The charges against Strauss-Kahn were eventually dropped, but the aftermath brought out other accusations of harassment in France and has likely fatally wounded any ambitions for national office.
Oscars Q&A Fever As Campaigns Swing Into Final Stretch: Hammond
Hollywood has caught Q&A fever: I have now learned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences has plans
to keep the Q&A spirit alive year-round and not just “in season”. Academy regulations loosening rules that previously forbid members from attending filmmaker Q&As were severely relaxed this year — particularly in the months leading up to nominations, when members could attend and even be served food and drink at receptions, a past no-no. Post-nomination Q&As are limited to screenings and nominees (or others connected to nominated movies) and members are allowed to appear at just two each, with no food or receptions. But the Q&A craze has spread, and I hear the Academy has decided to make them an option at their own weekend film programs starting in June at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre. The programs (usually two on Saturday and two Sunday) give studios and distributors the opportunity to have filmmakers and actors appear after their movies for Q&As with members. Previously only films were shown, but this could increase overall attendance, a goal of the Academy’s to encourage seeing films on the big screen. Read More »
UPDATE: Can Verizon And Redbox Compete With Netflix, Apple, And Amazon?
Redbox Parent Buys Maker Of Blockbuster DVD Kiosks
UPDATED, 10:25 AM: The new streaming video deal between Verizon and Redbox-parent Coinstar has all of the hallmarks of an announcement that had to be made — even though the companies weren’t ready. Coinstar CEO Paul Davis promised in October to announce his streaming video plans by the end of 2011, and probably felt he had to say something before he meets with analysts later today to discuss his company’s 4Q earnings. All he has to offer, though, are puffy promises, and few details, about the subscription service to be offered in the second half of this year. We don’t know whether it’ll be competitive with Netflix because the companies won’t say what they’re offering consumers and how much they’ll pay. The proposition will be “simple, affordable, and fun,” Verizon Telecom VP of Consumer Product Management Eric Bruno tells me. We don’t even know what studios — if any — have agreed to participate. “We both spend a lot of money with studios, and they love this idea,” Redbox SVP of Finance Galen Smith tells me. Even Warner Bros? Last month the DVD kiosk company let its disc purchase contract with the studio lapse rather than accept its requirement for Redbox to wait 56 days for new releases. “I wouldn’t presume that because of how things are going on the DVD side that they won’t have their content as part of this venture,” Smith says.
New Regency Inks First-Look Deal With Israel Content Developer ADD
The success in the U.S. of Showtime’s Homeland and HBO’s In Treatment, two shows based on Israeli series, has made other American companies look in that direction for ideas. The latest sees New Regency Productions announcing today a first-look deal with Israel’s largest content agency ADD for access to the company’s film and TV projects for development stateside. ADD represents Israel’s top directors, actors and content developers and specializes in creating and marketing TV — from dramas and comedies to reality and documentaries — and new media for the Israeli market and abroad. New Regency president and CEO Brad Weston said the pact is part of Regency’s “return to the television business.” CAA co-head of television Adam Berkowitz brokered the deal.
Oscar Q&A: Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow & Thomas Horn On ‘Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close’
Warner Bros’ year-end release Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close faced a challenge of being too late and too early — simultaneously. Its late December release and tight post-production schedule meant it wasn’t out in time for many year-end best-of lists, and as a result other films have taken the spotlight
during the past month on the awards circuit. At the same time, for some it might be too early for a film that explores the horrors of the 9/11 tragedy. Still, the drama starring Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn and Max von Sydow did show up on the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Best Picture nominees list. (Warner Bros is promoting von Sydow’s performance with a new featurette that includes new sound bites, behind-the-scenes footage and clips; see it below). Bullock, von Sydow and Horn sat down with Deadline Awards Columnist Pete Hammond for an AwardsLine Q&A following the first industry screening of the film in early December.
On what drew Sandra Bullock to this 9/11 themed feature:
BULLOCK: The way the story was written through Thomas (Horn’s) character Oskar’s eyes, really inspired me, because it allowed you to feel things as an innocent, rather than as an adult. Knowing everything that we knew about the (9/11) events and how much pain it caused everyone and this child’s desire just to understand, “Why?” And there is no answer. It also shows a healing — how it bonded people together that you would never expect to come together. I was in New York that day and you saw every person reaching out to someone else. … There is a great line that Oskar has: “We’re all bonded by loss. If you have a good life, you’re going to experience loss. It connects us all. It makes us all the same.” There’s a healing in that which says, “You’re not alone. You’re not different.” Read More »
PTC Blasts NBC & NFL Over Halftime Flap
Super Bowl Half-Time Show Controversy Prompts Apologies From NBC & NFL
The Parents Television Council this morning criticized NBC and NFL over the Super Bowl halftime show incident involving British rapper M.I.A. briefly flashing a middle finger in front of the camera before the network was able to blur the image. The watchdog called for NBC and NFL to punish those responsible for the flap but stopped short of announcing the filing of a formal complaint with the FCC. At least for now. Here is the statement from PTC president Tim Winter:
“NBC fumbled and the NFL lied because a performer known as M.I.A. felt it necessary to flip off millions of families. It is unfortunate that a spectacular sporting event was overshadowed once again by broadcasting the selfish acts of a desperate performer.
Richard Shepard To Direct CBS Pilot ‘Golden Boy’, Miguel Arteta To Helm ‘Carrie Diaries’
Emmy-winning director Richard Shepard is set to direct and executive produce the CBS pilot Golden Boy. The drama, written and executive produced by Nicholas Wootton and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, hails from Warner Bros TV and studio-based Berlanti Prods. It is a show about the making of a man — it tracks one cop’s meteoric rise from officer to detective to Police Commissioner. In addition to directing, Shepard will executive produce the pilot. He has been loaned out from CBS TV Studios, where Olé, his production company with Sean and Bryan Furst, is under a deal. Shepard, an Emmy winner for directing the pilot for ABC’s Ugly Betty, most recently directed the pilot for the CW’s Ringer. He also directed the pilots for Criminal Minds and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. Read More »
Editors To Honor Alexander Payne As ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker Of The Year
Universal City, CA, February 6, 2012 -Award winning filmmaker Alexander Payne has been selected by the Board of Directors of the American Cinema Editors (ACE) to be honored with the organization’s prestigious ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award. The award will be presented at the 62nd Annual ACE Eddie Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 18, 2012 in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, it was announced today by the ACE Board of Directors. Payne’s most recent film The Descendants recently won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and was nominated for five Academy Awards® including Best Director and Best Film Editing for Payne’s long-time editor Kevin Tent, A.C.E.
EOne Makes Overall Deal With ‘Paranormal’s Steven Schneider and ‘The Grey’s Adi Shankar
Los Angeles/Toronto – February 6, 2012 – Independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year film and television production pact with ROOM 101, Inc. partners Steven Schneider (Paranormal Activity 1, 2 & 3, Insidious, The Devil Inside) and Adi Shankar (The Grey).
Under the terms of the deal, ROOM 101 will deliver on average two premium micro-budget genre titles annually to eOne. The projects will be high-concept and filmmaker-driven, and will encompass both acquisitions and original productions. eOne will finance, co-produce, and distribute globally, with the exception of the United States where distribution will be handled on a per-project basis.
TiVo: Hollywood’s Super Bowl Ads Low Ranked By Viewers
Super Bowl Spot: ‘Star Wars 3D’
Super Bowl Spot: ‘Act Of Valor’
Super Bowl Spot: ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’
Super Bowl Spot: ‘John Carter’
Super Bowl Spot: ‘Battleship’
Super Bowl Spot: ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’
Super Bowl Sneak Peek: ‘The Dictator’
The DVR company can tell what Super Bowl-related ads its customers watched, and re-watched, last night. And movie studios fared poorly in this tally, once again. None of the Hollywood ads made the top 10. The top performer among the movie promos was the pre-game preview for Paramount’s The Dictator, which ranked 24th among all ads in and around the game. Disney’s The Avengers was next at No. 43, followed by Fox’s Star Wars in 3D (No. 48), Paramount’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation (No. 53), Universal’s minute-long spot for Battleship (No. 61), Relativity’s Act Of Valor (No. 66), Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (No. 68), Disney’s John Carter (No. 75), and Universal’s Safe House (No. 100). What ads did viewers like? Nacho Cheese ranked No. 1 and No. 3 with its “Man’s Best Friend” and “Sling Baby” spots, and M&M’s “Ms Brown” came in second.
Nickelodeon Acquires Canadian Comedy Series ‘Life With Boys’
EXCLUSIVE: Nickelodeon has acquired global broadcast rights to Canadian sitcom Life With Boys, created by Michael Poryes (Hannah Montana). Under the deal with Classic Media and the series producer, Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, Nickelodeon will get exclusive TV rights in the U.S. and pay TV rights for its regional channels across Europe including Germany, Benelux, the Nordics as well as Latin America and Asia. The move follows the launch of Life With Boys on Nickelodeon’s UK channel in November under a previous deal with Helion Pictures. “Life With Boys is a perfect addition to our programming lineup,” said Nickelodeon’s SVP programming and acquisition Jules Borken. The 22-episode Life With Boys, which premiered on Canada’s YTV in September, stars Torri Webster as 14-year-old Tess Foster, who navigates her way through the turmoil of teen life while living at home with her single, overprotective dad and three brothers. While its core lineup consists of original series, Nickelodeon supplements it with acquisitions like the Italian animated series Winx Club. Here’s the teaser for Life With Boys run on Nickelodeon UK: Read More »
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News/Opinion Poll
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- Box Office Forecast: Race for #1 at the Box Office This Weekend
- The Vow (THVOW) forecast at $36.7M up $2.1M
- Safe House (SAFEH) forecast at $34.0M up $3.2M
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace 3D (SW13D) forecast at $23.0M down $3.1M
- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (MYSTR) forecast at $20.9M up $2.9M
