Report: News Corp Faces Possible US Lawsuit On Hacking Scandal

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday February 13, 2012 @ 6:25am PSTTags: News Corp, Phone-Hacking Scandal

The UK lawyer who represented the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and other hacking victims is in “advanced stages” of preparations to sue News Corp in the States, The Independent reports. Staffers for attorney Mark Lewis are said to have planned several meetings in New York. And Lewis told The Guardian that he is ”not prepared to deny” the report. If he follows through, then the scandal could become far more damaging than it already is for News Corp. For example, a court case here could help the Justice Department in its investigation into whether the media giant violated U.S. laws. The agency is focusing on the possibility that News Corp bribed UK police or officials – which would be a violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch is struggling unsuccessfully to contain his problems in the UK. He plans to visit the country this week following the arrest over the weekend of five journalists at his tabloid The Sun who were charged with corruption and conspiracy for allegedly bribing cops for news tips. The paper’s Trevor Kavanagh likened the police actions to a “witch-hunt” and added in a column that “some of the greatest legends in Fleet Street have been held, at least on the basis of evidence so far revealed, for simply doing their jobs as journalists on behalf of the company.”

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Tribeca Acquires Keanu Reeves Documentary ‘Side By Side’

By MIKE FLEMING | Monday February 13, 2012 @ 5:31am PSTTags: Keanu Reeves, Side By Side, Tribeca Film
Mike Fleming

Berlin/New York, NY – February 13, 2012 – Tribeca Film announced today that it has acquired North American rights to Side by Side, a provocative and illuminating journey through the technical and aesthetic implications of the transition from traditional

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Entertainment One Ditches Sale Plan

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday February 13, 2012 @ 4:50am PSTTags: Entertainment One

Shares for the Canadian film and TV production and distribution company, listed on the UK stock exchange, fell more than 16% today after it announced that it is “no longer considering the outright sale of the business.” … Read More »

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Midnight Madness For ‘Breaking Dawn’ DVD

By NIKKI FINKE | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 11:31pm PSTTags: Breaking Dawn Part 1, movie DVDs, Twilight Saga

Sneak Peek At Twilight ‘Breaking Dawn Pt 2′

SUNDAY: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on opening day starting at midnight Saturday sold an estimated 2.4 million DVD and Blu-ray … Read More »

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‘Tree Of Life’ Top Cinematographers Winner

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 10:45pm PSTTags: 26th Annual ASC Awards, American Society of Cinematographers, Tree of Life

LOS ANGELES, February 12, 2012- Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC; Jonathan Freeman, ASC; Michael Weaver, ASC; and Martin Ruhe claimed top honors in the four competitive categories at the 26th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration

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BAFTA Awards: What ‘Artist’, Dujardin, Streep Wins Mean For Oscar – Hammond

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 3:09pm PSTTags: BAFTA Awards, Christopher Plummer, Jean Dujardin, Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer, The Artist
Pete Hammond

If there was any question before today’s British Academy Film Awards that The Artist was the film to beat for the Oscars, the results in London just cemented it, and in an impressive sweep that portends big things. It wasn’t just the … Read More »

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64th BAFTA Awards Winners: ‘The Artist’, Meryl Streep, Jean Dujardin, Director Michel Hazanavicius, ‘Rango’, Octavia Spencer, Christopher Plummer

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 11:11am PSTTags: BAFTA Awards

LONDON: It’s a chilly evening here in Covent Garden where the BAFTA Awards are underway. The show is held at the Royal Opera House (where earlier I stood aside as Max von Sydow was escorted in through the stage door). The awards … Read More »

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With BAFTA Win UK’s Paddy Considine Confirms Work On ‘The Years Of The Locusts’

By BRIAN BROOKS | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 11:09am PSTTags: BAFTA, Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur

Backstage at the BAFTAs, actor/director/writer Paddy Considine confirmed he is working to adapt Jon Hotten’s book on the world of professional body building, The Years Of The Locust. Hotten noted in a blog post last fall the writer/director … Read More »

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Oscars Q&A: Michelle Williams On How She Morphed Into Marilyn Monroe

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 10:49am PSTTags: Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Playing a Hollywood icon is playing with fire for a performer, especially when that person is Marilyn Monroe. The more popular … Read More »

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Oscars Q&A: Rooney Mara On The Girl Who Would Be Lisbeth Salander

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 9:11am PSTTags: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Lisbeth Salander, misanthropic Watson to Mikael Blomkvist’s investigative journalist Sherlock Holmes in Stieg Larsson’s novel The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is by nature a rule-breaker. Look no further than her day job as a hacker; a means of assaulting … Read More »

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Hollywood Is Paying Close Attention To BAFTA’s Rising Stars

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 5:00am PSTTags: Awardsline, BAFTA, Chris Hemsworth, Eddie Redmayne, Rising Star

BAFTA 2012 Preview: Very British Affair Takes On International Hue

Tim Adler is a contributor to AwardsLine.

It was an overcast morning in London last October when, in the magisterial headquarters of BAFTA, upstairs at 195 Piccadilly, 11 people were seated around a heavy wooden boardroom table, preparing to make a decision that could have a profound impact on some young actors’ future. Black and white photographs of previous BAFTA awards ceremonies — Britain’s closest equivalent to the Oscars — hung on the high-ceilinged walls. Sienna Miller, Simon Pegg and Harry Potter director David Yates were among those deciding who should make it onto the shortlist of eight names being proposed for this year’s Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award. (It would be down to customers of UK telco Orange to decide on the final five young stars being groomed for stardom.) The public votes for the winner, which will be announced along with all British Academy of Film and Television Arts winners tonight in London.

James McAvoy, Tom Hardy and Noel Clarke have won the Orange Rising Star in the past. That’s why the honor is important: It acts as a kind of early-warning system for Hollywood about talent coming its way. Hardy is now co-starring in the new Batman movie, while McAvoy was the lead in X-Men: First Class. Clarke will appear in the next instalment of Star Trek. “The Rising Star award is very useful in terms of shining a light on actors who have done a couple of roles but aren’t stars yet,” says jury chair Pippa Harris, producing partner of Sam Mendes. “Because it’s a public vote, it’s fantastic in terms of giving them a platform. The award is definitely something that Hollywood looks at for fresh talent.” Clarke, who got his first break in Doctor Who, is a case in point. WME picked the multi-hyphenate for U.S. representation after he won the Rising Star in 2009. Read More »

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BAFTA 2012 Preview: Very British Affair Takes On International Hue

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 12:32am PSTTags: BAFTA Awards, The Artist, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tonight is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ turn to stand in the awards-season spotlight. Demonstrating increased crossover, this year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) are a mixed bag of international collaboration. The Artist, a French film shot in Los Angeles, leads the pack of nominees with 12 nods. The very British Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, financed by France’s Studiocanal and directed by Sweden’s Tomas Alfredson, follows with 11. The Descendants, Drive (with its Danish director and British co-star) and The Help round out the top film category. Tinker Tailor is shortlisted in both the Best Film and Best British Film races and is the only one to straddle the two. Meanwhile other Best British Film nominees also boast an international feel: My Week With Marilyn has an American star in Michelle Williams, Shame is set in New York, We Need To Talk About Kevin is based on a book by an American-born author, and documentary Senna is about the Brazilian race car legend. And, in her own words, “international star, role model and diva” Miss Piggy is hosting the red carpet show. Read More »

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RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND! 4 Films Open $20+M: ‘The Vow’ $41M, ‘Safe House’ $39M; ‘Journey 2′ $27M, ‘Star Wars 3D’ $23M

By NIKKI FINKE | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 12:31am PSTTags: Hollywood box office, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Safe House, Star Wars Phantom Menace, The Vow

SATURDAY PM, 6TH UPDATE: “Looks like that first-ever 4 openings over $20 mil on a non-holiday weekend … Read More »

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Jennifer Aniston Attached To London-Set Tearjerker ‘Miss You Already’: Berlin

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 11:27pm PSTTags: Embargo Films, Jennifer Aniston, Miss You Already, The Salt Company

Has Jennifer Aniston found her Beaches? The actress is attached to star in Miss You Already, a comedy/drama that follows a pair of lifelong best friends whose relationship gets torn to bits when one becomes pregnant and the other sick. Paul Andrew Williams is directing and co-wrote the script with Morwenna Banks. The film will shoot in London in summer 2012. Samantha Horley, whose UK-based The Salt Company is exec producing and handling international sales, tells me “The idea is that it’s Beaches set in a glossy London, it’s a real old-fashioned tearjerker.” Discussions are underway to cast Aniston’s partner. Horley says the character will be British, although it’s not yet sure if the actress will be. Entertainment One has acquired UK, Canada and Australia rights. Read More »

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Live From NY, It’s Jean Dujardin On ‘SNL!’

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 8:00pm PSTTags: Jean Dujardin, Saturday Night Live, The Artist, Zooey Deschanel
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: I’m hearing that The Artist star Jean Dujardin will make a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live in an hour or so. From what I’m told, the producers wanted him, and it was a dream of his to do the show. So he flew in Friday from Paris for … Read More »

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R.I.P. Whitney Houston

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 5:37pm PSTTags: R.I.P., Whitney Houston
Mike Fleming

Jennifer Hudson To Perform Tribute At The Grammys

UPDATE: I’ve confirmed that a rough cut of Sparkle was turned in, though I’m not sure whether Whitney Houston saw it before she died. Sony publicist Steve Elzer said … Read More »

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AP: Publicist Says Whitney Houston Dead

By NIKKI FINKE | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 5:10pm PSTTags: Whitney Houston

UPDATE: Whitney Houston died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, news reports now say. The AP is quoting the singer-actress’ publicist Kristen Foster as making the announcement today. Deadline is trying to confirm.

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TOLDJA! Indomina-BET Buy Sundance ‘LUV’

By MIKE FLEMING | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 6:37am PSTTags: 2012 Sundance, Berlin, BET Networks, LUV
Mike Fleming

Deadline revealed exclusively Wednesday that Indomina acquired North American theatrical distribution rights to LUV. And that a significant TV component was part of the deal 7-figure deal brokered by ICM and Cinetic. BET is the TV piece. The film is now being screened for international buyers at EFM in … Read More »

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Sneak Peek At Twilight ‘Breaking Dawn Pt 2′

By NIKKI FINKE | Saturday February 11, 2012 @ 3:45am PSTTags: sneak peek, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Midnight Madness For ‘Breaking Dawn’ DVD

This is rough handheld video of a TV monitor showing footage from Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 being shown exclusively inside select Target stores this weekend to promote Part 1‘s DVD and Blu-ray sales. There’s no high res of … Read More »

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