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Zack Braff’ Ends ‘Wish I Was Here’ Kickstarter Campaign With Over $3M In Pledges

DOMINIC PATTEN — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:21:45 +0000

After 30 days and several big name castings, Zack Braff’s Wish I Was Here Kickstarter campaign ended today up $1 million over its initial ask. The final result was just over $3.1 million. When it launched on April 24, Braff initially sought $2 million for the indie film which surpassed its $2M fundraising goal in just three days. ”Thank you, thank you, thank you. I won’t let you down! Lets do this,” posted Braff on Twitter, along with the pic to the right, after the campaign closed on Friday. The crowdfunding effort ended up with 46,520 backers including 3 who pledged $9,000 or more and 1 who pledged $10,000 or more. Kate Hudson, Mandy Patinkin and Josh Gad will join Braff in the film about a thirtysomething actor who is trying to figure out who he is. The former Scrubs star co-wrote the screenplay for Wish I Was Here with his brother and will direct the film. Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg are producing the pic through their Double Feature Films. Worldview Entertainment has stepped in to provide gap financing for the film.

Deadline Big Media With David Lieberman, Episode 36

DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:00:21 +0000

Listen to (and share) episode 36 of our audio podcast Deadline Big Media With David Lieberman. Deadline’s Executive Editor talks with host David Bloom about Apple’s taxing day on Capitol Hill; whether production tax incentives pay off the way the MPAA says they do; and Marissa Mayer’s big gamble with Yahoo’s $1.1 billion Tumblr acquisition.

Deadline Big Media, Episode 36 (MP3 format)
Deadline Big Media, Episode 36 (MP4a format)

The M4A version of this podcast is designed to run on any device using Apple’s iTunes software, and includes enhanced graphics and links to stories and other resources. The MP3 version of this podcast is designed to play on virtually any device capable of playing digital audio.

To hear past episodes of “Deadline Big Media,” go here: http://www.deadline.com/tag/deadline-big-media/

You can also hear the podcast on iTunes and on Deadline’s SoundCloud page. For those using non-iTunes software to listen to the podcast who want to automatically receive the “Deadline Big Media” podcasts in their non-iTunes “podcatcher” software, you can subscribe at http://www.deadline.com/big-media-podcast/

Mike Darnell On His Decision To Leave Fox & His Future

NELLIE ANDREEVA — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:22:27 +0000

Shortly after we broke the news of Fox President of Alternative Programming Mike Darnell‘s decision to depart the network after 18 years, I’ve got to speak to Darnell about the bombshell news. “I remember considering leaving the last time,” he said. “This happens every time my contract is up. It’s always an excruciating decision.” This time he couldn’t resist the temptation of other opportunities. “I love it here, but there are all these other things out there.” What are the things he’s most attracted to? “I will take a little time to feel my way through, but it will be something that is creative and exciting that has a sense of entrepreneurship,” Darnell said, indicating that a career as a producer might be in the cards. I hear he has already signed with Mark Itkin, the co-head of TV at WME.

As for the timing of his decision to leave Fox and likely the executive ranks, “my dream was to work on a big show that will go down in the history books,” he said. “I achieved that with American Idol, which may be the biggest show that ever was.” But Idol, as well as newbie The X Factor, had been taking up a lot of Darnell’s time over the last few seasons with a series of shakeups and attempts to keep Idol fresh and relevant after 10 years amid an expected ratings decline. “The last couple of years have been very intense, with me taking on duties of a current executive and line produce,” Darnell admitted. As for his legacy, “I’ve done good things, I’ve done bad things, I’ve done funny things, and I’ve done evil things,” said Darnell, whose stature in the business is far greater than his 5’2″ height. Fox’s search for Darnell’s successor won’t be easy. “They’ve got some some really small shoes to fill,” he quipped.

Fox President Of Alternative Programming Mike Darnell To Depart

NELLIE ANDREEVA — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:32:14 +0000

EXCLUSIVE: The reality TV landscape will never be the same. After 18 years at Fox, the dean of unscripted TV executives, Fox’s President of Alternative Programming Mike Darnell, is stepping down. He will stay on through the end of June, when his current contract is up, and help with the transition. Darnell was offered a new long-term deal at the network but, after long deliberation, decided it was time to move on. Darnell faced similar agonizing soul-searching five years ago when he was offered rich producing deals elsewhere but ultimately opted to stay at Fox, where he’s had free rein on the unscripted side. This time around, he decided to leave the network, which he helped build, first with noise-making reality specials like World’s Scariest Police Chases and When Animals Attack! and then with such tentpole series as American Idol and Family Guy. The colorful, unconventional, cowboy hat-wearing Darnell never shied away from controversy, relishing in the blockbuster attention projects like the Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? special and hit series Joe Millionaire brought on. In a testament to Darnell’s importance to Fox and parent News Corp, News. Corp chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has weighed in on his departure. “Mike took risks at a critical time and was a pioneering force in shaping the reality programming genre that exists today,” Murdoch said. “He’s a smart and fearless executive who will be missed.”

Darnell is expected to take some time off before making his next move, which I hear likely will be in the producing/entrepreneurial arena. “I’m extremely grateful that Fox has offered me a new long-term contract (and anyone who knows me won’t believe I’m saying this), but I’ve decided it’s time for a change,” Darnell said. “With my current deal ending in June, and having been here for 18 years (kind of a record in Hollywood), I had to make a decision: either stay (and basically admit to myself I was going to retire at Fox … not a terrible choice) or leave and try something new. I’ve been in ‘Reality’ since before it was even called that, and it has truly been an amazing ride. However, the world has changed drastically over the last few years, and now with hundreds of channels and limitless ways to watch television, I’ve decided this was the perfect time to take advantage of the rapidly changing marketplace. To say I am going to miss everyone here and that the people at Fox are like a family to me would be the understatement of the decade. I have so many people to thank (and I will call all of you!), but first and foremost, I want to thank Kevin Reilly, Peter Rice, Chase Carey and Rupert Murdoch for all their amazing support over these many years.”

Fox is expected to begin the search for Darnell’s successor, who will get to navigate veteran American Idol and The X Factor through their upcoming overhauls. “Mike has been a trailblazer for the entire industry and has made innumerable contributions to the growth and success of the network over the past two decades,” said Rice, Chairman of Fox Networks Group. “His passion for – and dedication to – television knows no bounds. He is like a member of the family, and Fox won’t be the same without him. While we wish he would’ve stayed forever, we regretfully accept his decision.”

Darnell joined Fox in 1994 as Director of Specials after working for eight years at the network’s Los Angeles affiliate KTTV and the Fox Television Station Group. Other series and specials he ushered in include The X Factor; So You Think You Can Dance; Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef; Futurama, Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?; Nanny 911; Don’t Forget the Lyrics!; Guinness World Records Primetime; The Simple Life; My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé; The Moment of Truth; Trading Spouses; Temptation Island; The Billboard Music Awards; The Teen Choice Awards; The Primetime Emmy Awards; The American Country Awards; The Swan; Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction?; Man vs. Beast; Busted On The Job; and Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.

FIRST BOX OFFICE: ‘Fast & Furious 6′ Easy #1 With $35M Friday And $100+M Memorial Weekend For Franchise Biggest; ‘Hangover III’ $14M/$50M; ‘Epic’ $11M/$50M; Records?

NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:32:02 +0000

FRIDAY 1:30 PM, 5TH UPDATE: I’ve just received from my sources the first Friday and Memorial Weekend estimates which assume the four-day (and even 4 1/2-day) holiday period’s total box office can expand significantly over 2011′s record $270M. The easy #1 is Universal’s Fast & Furious 6 is pulling out ahead with $35M today (including Thursday late shows and Friday midnights) to target $100+M for the long weekend from 3,658 domestic theaters. This will be the franchise’s biggest opening by far. The #2 film is Warner Bros’ The Hangover Part III co-financed with Legendary Pictures making $14M today after earning $11.7M for its Wednesday late shows/Thursday midnights. It’s aiming for a $50M Memorial Weekend from 3,555 North American theaters over its 4 1/2 day debut. And #3 right now is Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios’ toon Epic which is looking at $11M today and expecting $50M in 3,882 U.S. and Canadian locations for Memorial Weekend. It’s tracking after what has been a drought of family fare since March.

The real question is how much this Memorial Weekend box office can expand over last year’s to accommodate all 3 new tentpoles. There’s also 3 proven blockbusters still in the marketplace: Disney/Marvel’s Iron Man 3 in 3,424 theaters, Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s The Great Gatsby in 3,090 locations (which today crossed $100M domestic after only 14 days and is the first Baz Luhrmann film to do so), and Paramount/Skydance’s Star Trek In Darkness in 3,907 theaters. Big online ticketseller Fandango reports this is its biggest Memorial Day weekend for sales ever with Fast & Furious 6 selling 53% more Fandango tickets than The Hangover Part III.

After 12 years, five films and more than $1.5 billion at the global box office, the sixth Fast & Furious installment should successfully transition from street racing to heist action to terrorist plot as it opens wide today. F&F6 debuted in 2,409 North American theaters for Thursday 10 PM late shows and Friday midnights and made $6.5M which speeded past Fast 5‘s $3.8M late show grosses from an uncrowded April 29, 2011. F&F6 debuts day and date in 59 total international territories this weekend after popping Universal’s biggest opening in the UK and Ireland last Friday. Pic already has $53.4M from 34 international markets, opening #1 in all of them as the franchise’s biggest opener. Another 25 territories release today.

THURSDAY 11:30 PM, 2ND UPDATE: Warner Bros’ The Hangover Part III co-financed with Legendary Pictures went wide in 3,555 North American theaters today and my sources say it opened to $11 million which includes Wednesday late shows and Thursday midnights. That’s miniscule compared to The Hangover Part II‘s Thursday opening of $31.6M - 3,615 locations on May 26, 2011 - which was the highest-grossing opening day ever for a live-action comedy. (H3‘s also is less than Thursday’s $13.5M debut a week ago for Star Trek Into Darkness.) Plus audiences only gave The Hangover Part III a ‘B’ CinemaScore compared to the ‘A-’ which the sequel scored. This threequel also scored even worse reviews (only 26% positive on Rotten Tomatoes) than H2 (34%) which was considered embarrassingly awful. By contrast, F&F6 and Epic both scored 70+% positive RT reviews. But H3 is still going to make a lot of moolah: worldwide moviegoers really like this mindless crap especially during the summer months. Internationally, the comedy is taking off in 3 markets this weekend – the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The studio tells me early numbers in Australia indicate a strong opening day of A$1.75M from 494 screens, dominating 80% of the Top 5. NZ also opened big, controlling over 70% of the Top 5. Next weekend H3 opens in 32 markets, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil. Here in the U.S., the Hollywood studios now think weekends should start on Wednesday just to wring every last dollar from moviegoers (and ensure I’m even more sleep deprived than usual). The result is a norm of 4 1/2-day holidays. Warner Bros claims H3 got off “to a great start” with $3.1M from Wednesday late shows and Thursday midnights. But that’s still a lot less than the last one.

What I don’t comprehend is why the weekend of May 31st stayed open for so long until Sony Pictures at the last minute moved Will Smith’s After Earth there. Hollywood expected either Warner Bros (who was Johnny-come-lately to Memorial Weekend and then moved from a Friday to Thursday wide release) or Universal (who tagged Memorial Weekend from the beginning) to blink. “But they just stared each other down as they both were driving off a cliff,” one rival studio exec says.

Meanwhile, one Hollywood marketer needs a vacation after positioning the pic with the words ‘epic’ and ‘Hangover Part III‘ in the same sentence: “It’s the epic conclusion to the trilogy of mayhem and bad decisions. Fans have to see how the most popular comedy franchise of all time ends. This time there’s no wedding, no bachelor party – just one simple road trip. What could possibly go wrong?” Not much considering again the brief running time of only 1 hour and 40 minutes for the Todd Phillips-directed repeat antics that return Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and nemesis Ken Jeong to las Vegas where it all began. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I want my 2-hour money’s worth. More Friday.

Hot Trailer: ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’

THE DEADLINE TEAM — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:29:40 +0000

The first trailer has come out for the David Lowery-directed drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. The film, which IFC picked up at Sundance this year, stars Casey Affleck as a man who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Rooney Mara, Ben Foster, Nate Parker and Keith Carradine fill out the top flight cast. IFC Films have set the movie to come out on August 16. Check out the trailer here now.

NBC Sets Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert For May 29

DOMINIC PATTEN — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:38:19 +0000

Blake Shelton’s relief benefit concert for victims of the tornado that hit The Voice judge’s native state of Oklahoma will air live on NBC at 9 PM ET May 29, the network announced today. Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire and Vince Gill are the only other musicians set to appear right now, but sources say Shelton’s fellow Voice judges likely will perform in some capacity as well. The concert for the United Way will also air on Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis.

Read the full release from NBC below:

OKLAHOMA CITY - May 24, 2013 - Blake Shelton has organized and will headline the telethon “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert” on May 29, to take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Reba and Vince Gill will also perform. Additional guests for the concert will be announced shortly. The concert will be televised live at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. It will also air on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis.
“Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy,” Shelton said. “This is why I want to do this special and especially hold it in Oklahoma City, which is near ground zero.”

The event will raise funds for the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund. Working with their local community partners, United Way of Central Oklahoma will use the Fund for immediate, intermediate and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in Oklahoma following the tornadoes that devastated Moore earlier this week.

Born and raised in Oklahoma and currently residing in the city of Tishomingo, the recent tragedy that struck the state this week hit close to home for Shelton. The one way the country singer knew he could help immediately would be through the “Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert” aiding the United Way of Central Oklahoma. This isn’t the first time Shelton has reached out to those in the wake of tragedy in Oklahoma. In 2011, Shelton and long-time friend Reba went back home to Oklahoma to host the “Tornado Relief Concerts” for victims affected by the Atoka County tornadoes. The two-sold out concerts, which featured special guests and over two hours of entertainment, raised $500,000 for the Oklahoma victims.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on May 25. Tickets are $25, with a limit of eight per person. Tickets can be purchased at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com.

CW Schedules Unaired Episodes Of ‘Cult’

NELLIE ANDREEVA — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:05:25 +0000

Cancelled midseaosn CW drama Cult will return on the air June 28, with the six unaired episodes slated to run in two-hour blocks from 8-10 PM over three consecutive Fridays. The show’s creator Rockne S. O’Bannon shared the news on Twitter last night. With Cult’s scheduling, all serialized freshman dramas which had been pulled this past season are getting a chance to air all produced episodes. ABC recently slated burn-off runs for 666 Park Ave. and Zero Hour.

Ian Anthony Dale Joins TNT’s ‘Murder’, Aaron Hill Added To ABC Family’s ‘Twisted’

NELLIE ANDREEVA — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:53:17 +0000

Ian Anthony Dale (The Hangover, NBC’s The Event) has joined the cast of TNT’s drama pilot Murder In The First as a series regular. Co-created by Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal, the project is a murder mystery that centers on San Fransisco PD homicide detectives Terry Seagrave (Taye Diggs) and Hildy Mulligan (Kathleen Robertson), as they take on a case that seems more like a maze. Dale will play Lieutenant Jim Koto, a no-nonsense homicide police lieutenant with movie star good looks who is Hildy and Terry’s superior. The actor, repped by A Management, Kohner Agency and Derek Kroeger, is recurring on CBS’ a Hawaii Five-O as Adam Noshimuri, son to head of the Yakuza and boyfriend of Five-O officer Kono Kalakaua (Grace Park).

Greek alum Aaron Hill has landed a recurring role on ABC Family’s new mystery drama series Twisted, centered on a charismatic 16-year-old (Avan Jogia) with a troubled past who becomes the prime suspect when a fellow student is found dead in her home. Hill, repped by SMS Talent and The Marshak/Zachary Co., will play Eddie, the kind of guy that you would bring home to meet your parents who also a brave and fearless cop. He also recently wrapped work on Ivan Reitman’s Draft Day.