Ryan Reynolds & Blake Lively Spotted In Vancouver

First Launched: December 22, 2011 9:59 AM EST Credit: Getty Images VANCOUVER, Canada -- Caption Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds provide an award onstage throughout the 2011 MTV Movie Honours at Universal Art galleries Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on June 5, 2011 Conscious of Ryan Reynolds isn't a poor way of investing your holidays! According to multiple reviews, Ryan needed rumored new girlfriend Blake Lively to his hometown of Vancouver now. According to People, the pair was spotted within the Original Cupcake Shop, where they bought several cakes along with other snacks. They made an appearance as being a really sweet couple, an worker told the mag. Us Weekly also reported that Ryan, 35, and Blake, 24, were spotted on Monday evening at Vancouvers Tojos restaurant, while using stars mother and brother. On Tuesday, the pair apparently clicked up a bite to eat at Bennys Bagels, getting a resource telling the mag that they're really friendly, but mostly only interacted with each other. Right before their Vancouver getaway, the Eco-friendly Lantern co-stars were spotted together in NY City and Boston. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Exclusive: Margin Call Clip

Zachary Quinto makes his caseMargin Call might not have quite the thrill of other Oscar hopefuls, but make no mistake, this is often a film being taken very seriously indeed. But merely to prove it isn't every males (and girls) getting a anxiety attack on the top flooring of huge banks, this clip shows that it's also got all the self-knowledge of Skynet on Judgment Day.It's only short but we thought it might tickle you around it did us. Yes, that's someone asking Spock if he's a rocket investigator. Like, durrr. To put the clip into context, Zachary Quinto might be the bank's gun analyst who spots a potential catastrophic problem round the bank's balance sheet. Quickly shepherded using the upper echelons in the corporation to explain his discovery, he's faced with growing levels of incomprehension and sang-froid. Calculates he's aboard The Titanic as well as the captain leaves the wheelhouse. Part drama, part thriller, J.C. Chandor's debut takes a forensic eye for the seismic occasions that introduced around the world financial meltdown of 2008. People 36 several hours are noticed from within the imaginary Wall Street bank (loosely based on Lehman Brothers and sisters) getting a purchasing and selling floor's cost of acting talent scalpelling the icily self-serving logic that introduced capitalism for the side of collapse. This really is really the film Wall Street 2 should have been.With Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker and Stanley Tucci all strutting their funky stuff, Margin Call is unquestionably anyone to mark lower for your Year. It's around the month of the month of january 13.

LISBETH The Fantastic

Stieg Larsson's new-style heroine, pierced punk Swedish hacker Lisbeth Salander, was the red-colored-colored carpet focus for Columbia and MGM's "The Woman While using Dragon Tattoo" 12 ,. 14 preem within the Ziegfeld. "Lisbeth can be a character we've never observed before: Stieg Larsson invented her," mentioned film author Steven Zaillian. "She's a moral character, just one who takes proper proper care of things within their way." Mentioned co-star Difficulties: "The fantastic factor about her is she's somebody who's been roughed up since she will be a child and in some manner arrives another finish and comprises successful of herself. In my opinion we could interact with that." Robin Wright noted: "She is not that essential feminist. She's that quiet elusive strength with this particular sensitivity. She's a dog, right? She's invincible: really tough, but soft." Added Christopher Plummer: "She jogs my memory in the punks in the sixties. We've come full circle." For that actress who plays Lisbeth, Rooney Mara isn't sure that is her a-star-is-born moment. "I am unsure,Inch she mentioned. "I am hoping people like the movie and visit it." n Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Newman: 'Help,' 'Iron Lady' exhibit contrasting styles

Composer Thomas Newman, who rarely does several or two movies yearly, did four this season (together with a fifth being released next season), including a few the year's more spoken-about films: "The Help,In . he provided a warm and gentle score and "The Iron Lady," which known for any bigger, bigger orchestral effort."The Help,In . a box office hit in regards to the uneasy associations between white-colored and black women inside the civil rights-era South, needed especially subtle music: "I desired the music activity to sign up the storytelling to underline character and compel the story. I desired to step away from civil-rights (issues)," according to him.The locale, Mississippi inside the sixties, held a distinctive resonance for your composer. His mother was produced in Clarksdale, Miss., which he frequently remained there just like a boy. "It absolutely was inside the Mississippi Delta, approximately one hour south of Memphis," according to him. "Just the feeling of Mississippi, the perfume from this, was something I really could really interact with.InchThe Ten-time Oscar nominee visited the area (Greenwood, browsing for Jackson, Miss.) throughout shooting, "absorbing the flavour, just the feeling of a evening or perhaps the humidity during the day,Inch according to him. The shades in the score -- which incorporated guitar, dulcimer and glass harmonica -- brought for the atmosphere in the film.Singer Mary J. Blige visited the scoring stage while Newman was recording orchestral passages she incorporated Newman's music in their song, "The Living Proof," which runs beneath the finish game game titles.While Newman reaches London finishing the score for next year's "The Most Effective Exotic Marigold Hotel," he got a telephone call to screen the Margaret Thatcher biopic "The Iron Lady" and talk to director Phyllida Lloyd he spent the next two several days penning music to accompany Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent.This score, Newman states, is "very thematic, much more expressionistic (than 'The Help'). There has been some moments of nearly British military-band (music), some Elgarian influences, some huge orchestral and choral moments." The London ensemble incorporated 87 artists and 28 inside the choir.Newman also written two action-movie scores for movies released this season: "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Your Financial Troubles,In . both hybrid electronic-plus-orchestra scores with, according to him, "some pretty awesome grooves."EYE Round The Oscars: THE MUSICLyrics bring pix to existence Stars optimize plots John goes Gaga over inanimate romanceSCORE CARDFrom rising stars to Oscar individuals who win, seven composers discuss the strategy for his or her seem:Henry Jackman Alberto Iglesias Dario Marianelli Michael Giacchino Abel Korzeniowski Conrad Pope Thomas Newman Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Digital tools add quality, cut costs

'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'The fluid workflow of digital editing is creating a faster, cheaper and -- according to Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter, co-editors of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," -- better way of making movies.What used to be visual effects tasks, such as compositing, can now be handled in the editing bay faster and more cheaply, and the shots can go right back into the cut.Digital tools also empower the editors to grab their favorite elements from multiple takes -- an actor's line reading from one take, another actor's entrance from another -- and combine them. The result, hopefully, is better than any take that happened on the day."When we get into that final level of detail, everything starts to sing," Baxter says. "There's an accumulation of minute details that help an editor give clarity that ultimately creates a better film."

Buzz within the biz

The World 3d Society can have The brand new the new sony Corp. of America having its 2012 Mister Charles Wheatstone Award for advocacy, technology and professional education within the Society's 3rd Annual 3d Creative Arts Honours ceremony being locked in the Beverly Slopes Hotel on February 1, 2012. The honours yearly provide the Lumiere statuette to 3 dimensional movies, TV programs, videogames, and advertising, as selected with the society's voting membership. "Essentially in the Society's charter might be the training and support of filmmakers beginning on 3d projects also to refine the capabilities of 3d veterans," mentioned I3DS chair Jim Mainard. "Understanding that, The brand new the new sony produced of, and implemented, a greatly compelling hands-on 3d program, the outcomes that might be recognized in films for any very long time.Inch * * * Catherine Winder, prexy and professional producer of Vancouver animation studio Rainmaker, hired management and production firm Circle of Confusion to assist their development of its current slate of animated movies by indentifying brand-building options for Rainmaker's library of animated figures and characteristics. Circle of Confusion's David Alpert and Ken Freimann works together with Winder on identifying characteristics and talent for several platforms, including online, mobile and social media. Presently, Rainmaker is at production on "Steer Clear Of The World,Inch an animated feature film which will be compiled by The Weinstein Company in 2012 it stars the voice talents of Brendan Fraser, Jessica Alba, Nicole Kidman and James Gandolfini. * * * Several stars have meet up to start a completely new 7,000-square-ft production space inside the artist district of downtown La. Referred to as Six01, the region features a bow truss ceiling warehouse which is designed for productions and occasions. The heavens mixed up in project include Anthony Ruivivar, Yvonne Jung, Maura Tierney, Louise Fancy-Mirren, Jane McKidd, Sean Wing and Nathan Levine-Heaney. Contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com

Jennifer Aniston and Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson round the Female Director Deficit

Directorial novice Jennifer Aniston("Inside the Land of Blood stream and Honey") and her "Kung Fu Panda 2" director Jennifer Yuh Nelson, the finest-grossing female director ever, were shot by Peggy Sirota for your cover in the current"Hollywood Reporter." Recently, they sitting lower with "THR"senior film author Pamela McClintock for just about any frank discussion on having less female company company directors in Hollywood, their unique directorial mentors, feelings on honours nominations ("Panda 2" leads the Annie noms with 12 and "Blood stream and Honey" could easily get a Golden Globe nomination for top language film) as well as the status from the "Kung Fu Panda 3." Jolie also discloses about like a first-time director, explaining how she got a "infamously not effective" subject (war) funded, when she found time for you to create and what really happened to seal lower the Bosnia group ofInchBloodstream and Honey," which opens in limited release 12 ,. 23. Their interview went included in "THR's" bigger female company company directors package, highlighting Vera Farmiga ("Greater Ground"), Dee Rees ("Pariah"), Phyllida Lloyd ("The Iron Lady"), Lorene Scafaria ("Seeking a pal for your Finish round the globeInch) and Patty Jenkins ("Monster").Whatever They SAY ABOUT HOLLYWOOD'S DEARTH OF FEMALE Company company directors Although neither would label herself an activist for female causes alone, the duo are mystified why there isn't more women company company directors -- only 13.four percent in the DGA's director individuals are female. Too,InchKung Fu Panda 2"is just the second animated studio pic solely directed having a lady, after"The Tigger Movie."Jennifer Aniston:InchIs not too crazy? Animated films are very family-oriented, you'd think that there'd be women."Jennifer Yuh Nelson:I don't think about the gender factor greatly. However, if I speak at schools, I've had female students let me know afterwards, "I never imagined myself like a director, since I have not observed women take action.In . But getting seen me, they could picture themselves pointing, so possibly we'll see more female company company directors. And half of those kids in art and animation schools are women.ON MAKING The 2ndInchKUNG FU PANDA" AND WHY IT Needed three years Nelson:It's a extended process, and you should know exactly what will happen next. You can't do coverage. Everything must be planned ahead of time. Plus you've got to ensure that people continue being motivated and happy and creatively challenged to make sure that it might be stitched together. The voice acting starts after most of the storyboards are completed. With Angie, things would change once we experienced the booth and carried out along with her lines. We'd uncover things inside the moment and rewrite the script round the place. She will tell the level of smoothness, when she'd say, "A tiger wouldn't condition that,Inch she was absolutely right. She gives Tigress that extra level, which describes why people like the character a great deal. Sometimes, Angie's kids might be inside the booth with me at night. [Jolie's boy] Maddox would say, "That take was good," and I'd think, OK, he wants it, let's take that particular.Jolie:Round the first"Kung Fu Panda," I'd fight a line. With Jen, she'd nicely say, "Will we just take a look?In . And you also kind of melt and say, "OK." She's a geniune artist who is able to start to see the problem. And, fortunately, I've acquired several things in your house because of "Kung Fu Panda." They love Tigress, who's my alternate personality. Otherwise, they feel Kaira [Pitt] which i are extremely not awesome.THEIR DIRECTORIAL Heroines Jolie:I've had the fortunate reference to working due to a lot of interesting company company directors, from Michael Winterbottom to Clint Eastwood. Cleaning it once a to think about the encounters that have been my best becoming an actor, and just what a director did to supply me comfort and confidence. Which Cleaning it once a to keep a cheerful crew, that people many userful stuff here about from Clint and Jen.Nelson:From the finding yourself in the middle ofInchKung Fu Panda," which needed three years, and everyone was upset and tired and wondering once we were ever prone to start to see the light within the finish in the tunnel, and Guillermo del Toro stopped by and provided the "guy" speech. He mentioned, "You've gotta guy up and take this, and don't stress of making bold options." He was this kind of great supporter.JOLIE PERSONALLY FUNDED LARGE CHUNK OF "Inside The LAND OF Blood stream AND HONEY'S" $15 MILLION BUDGETGRAHAM KING Setup The Comfort Jolie:I labored with him on"The Tourist," then one day I asked for him if he'd read my script. I didn't know how he'd react, since on many levels, it had been a sizable risk. I wasn't prone to star within it, which i preferred to cast all local stars. It was not a pile of fine news for him. But he was great, which he needed the chance.WHEN SHE FOUND Time For You To Produce The SCRIPT Jolie:I written whenever I really could, when the kids were asleep or possibly within their classes. Half way through most likely probably the most terrible moments, I'd hear, "Mother, I would like another story, I am unable to go to sleep,In . and therefore I'd pause a few things i was doing and go tell happy tales about bunny cities. I examined a good deal in regards to the war, and seen plenty of documentaries.They're not going to look at this movie. They already know that mother, from time to time, chimes to Libya or other places. I make certain they're very conscious that if you have been people fighting through something more important, which i do not safeguard them from the fact war isn't a relevant gaming, it's a very, very horrible factor. The Particular STORY BEHIND THE BOSNIAN Lady WHO PROTESTED HER MOVIE Before reading through through her script, the Bosnian government temporarily suspended Jolie's filming permit when the Association of girls People with War in Bosnia objected with a Muslim lady falling deeply deeply in love with her Serb captor. But, that wasn't the problem -- the two fall crazily for each other just before the war starts -- and so the film's permit was reissued. Jolie:There's one lady who hadn't see the script, and who didn't wish to talk to me. This is often a very sensitive subject for an individual who were living with one of these things. It is only been 15 years since the war which is an uncomfortable memory. Throughout my heart, the film ended regarding everyone who experienced through this. Plenty of women's groups have observed it, as well as the NY premiere in the movie was co-backed by Women for girls Worldwide, another group founded following a war in Bosnia. They thought it absolutely was the very best step to aid it.Nelson:It's certainly not just a passive movie plus it allows you to definitely think.THE STATUS OF "KUNG FU PANDA 3" Nelson:There's plenty left to see.Jolie:We could say we are in discussions. Tigress is my alternate personality, particularly with children. I like animation because you are able to perform items you don't normally achieve. For starters, I really could bring the kids and set on my small pajamas, and spend some time with Jen. And my character is really badass.Nelson:As well as the stunts feel at ease.Jolie:Yes, eating pizza might be the most difficult stunt we did.FEMALE Company company directors On The Planet BOX OFFICE 1."Kung Fu Panda 2": $663 millionDAW/Vital (2011)Jennifer Yuh Nelson's follow-up narrowly bested the $631.7 million acquired with the original"Kung Fu Panda."2."Mamma Mia!":$609.8 millionUniversal (2008)Phyllida Lloyd's film adaptation designed a fantastic $465.7 million overseas.3."Alvin as well as the Chipmunks: The SqueakQuel": $443.1 millionFox(2009)Director Betty Thomas' other credits include"Physician Dolittle"and"4 days.Inch4."Twilight": $392.6 millionSummit (2008)Catherine Hardwicke's pic shown that girls and ladies are as fervent as fans.5."What Women Want": $374.1 millionParamount (2000)Like Nora Ephron and Cent Marshall, director Nancy Meyers has cracked the studio system, mainly with romantic comedies. Anne Fletcher is an additional to check out, with"The Proposal"producing $443.millions of. The Hollywood Reporter

Lindsay Lohan's Playboy Photos Leak Online; Magazine to Release Early

Lindsay Lohan Just days after Lindsay Lohan's Playboy cover leaked online, the rest of her photos within the magazine also hit the internet. Uncensored photos of Lohan's shoot, in which she emulates Marilyn Monroe, appeared online Friday, including on PerezHilton.com. "Someone took photos of Lindsay's pictorial in an advanced copy of the January/February issue," a spokesperson for the magazine initially told MTV News. "They posted the photos online without permission. We are not releasing any official images or information until December 15." TMZ.com reported earlier Friday that Playboy was concerned that the leak will hurt sales of what they expect to be the bestseller of the year. Late Friday, Playboy boss Hugh Hefner tweeted: "Because of the interest & the Internet leak, we're releasing the Lindsay Lohan issue early." The new release date has not yet been announced. The actress was initially slated to appear on Ellen on Thursday, Dec. 15. DeGeneres snagged the only interview Lohan has agreed to do during the on-sale period of the issue.

New Movie Reviews: 'New Year's Eve,' 'Young Adult,' Madonna's 'W.E.' Striking Theaters

Warner Bros. PicturesTom Sturdy as Bane The dunia ngeblog was abuzz Thursday evening with responses for an eight-minute preview from the Dark Dark night Increases which was revealed to press by Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan.our editor recommendsChristopher Nolan Debuts 8-Minute 'Dark Dark night Rises' Preview'Dark Dark night Rises' Prologue Screening at 42 IMAX Theaters Before 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol''The Dark Dark night Rises' Marks the Finish of Christian Bale's Batman EraChristian Bale Rates His 'The Dark Dark night Rises' Co-Stars'Dark Dark night Rises' Director Christopher Nolan Discloses New Particulars Concerning the Plot, Villain Bane The preview, which is seen later this month in choose IMAX theaters before Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, introduced Bane, the Batman movie's major villain, performed with a masked Tom Sturdy. The footage revolved around a heist including an airplane. PHOTOS: The Christian Bale Company directors Posse: 6 Auteurs Won Over Through the Actor Individuals within the audience at Universal City's AMC IMAX theater congratulated following the video ended and shortly after hit the web to publish their first responses towards the footage. The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Package noted the crowd was "certainly impressed" using the sequence, that was "grand in scope" and "filled with many different tension and dread." Some participants "did explain one pickle, however: the seem," he added. "It might be at the start of the seem mixing process, but many of key dialogue, particularly those of Bane, who talks using a mask, was unintelligible." STORY: First 'Dark Dark night Increases' Villain Photo Launched Empire's James Whitened, meanwhile, was among individuals who left the theater surprised about the footage. "A miniature thrill ride by itself, the prologue features some stunning camera work (clearly Nolan felt like using a few of the methods and elegance he mastered on Beginning) and also the opening sequence, which provides us our start looking at Bane (Tom Sturdy), is removed just like a mix from a Bond movie and everything we have arrived at love about Nolan's Softball bat-world," he authored, adding: "The main feeling we wound up with is the fact that you want to see more, and you want to view it at this time.Inch SuperHeroHype's Silas Lesnick echoed individuals sentiments, writing the preview ended having a "rapid montage of shots" that "feature a great deal to excite fans." "Think minus the Dark Dark night and much more Beginning or, even closer, an IMAX version of the Mission Impossible film," he authored from the footage. VIDEO: 'Dark Dark night Increases' Fight Scene Hits Web But younger crowd noted the seem issues. "Although the response in the crowd was extremely positive, there is much discussion about Bane's voice," he added. "Muffled by his mask and including an english accent, it's hard to completely understand precisely what he's saying (but likely deliberately)." Alex Billington of FirstShowing.internet tweeted his ideas around the preview. Younger crowd authored he couldn't understand Sturdy "50 % of time,Inch but was passionate by what he saw. "TDKR IMAX prologue was amazing," he tweeted. "I didn't think he could, however i think Nolan has been doing it, he's designed a movie to top TDK. Holy s--- so great!!Inch COVER STORY: Christian Bale on Why He's Starring inside a $100 Mil Chinese Movie Then he added: "There's Catwoman, Bane, Frederick Gordon-Levitt, it appears like everything I possibly could've wanted for and much more. Nolan, this type of brilliant filmmaker." The film marks Nolan's final film in the Batman trilogy, which stars Christian Bale within the title role. The Dark Dark night Increases -- that also stars franchise beginners Hathaway As Catwoman as Catwoman together with Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Josh Pence -- opens This summer 20. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 'The Dark Dark night Rises' Start Looking: Around the Set Hathaway As Catwoman Christopher Nolan Frederick Gordon-Levitt Christian Bale The Dark Dark night Increases Gary Oldman

Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson Join 'Inescapable'

Every three years, the U.S. Copyright Office hears petitions to exempt certain activities from being illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention protections.our editor recommendsHow Controversial Antipiracy Laws Could Be Enacted Even Without Congress (Analysis) The triennial process has started anew, meaning that consumers will soon get some direction on whether it's proper to remove digital rights management software to make backup copies of music and movies, meaning that documentarians and educators will soon hear whether it's OK to break access controls on DVDs to get ahold of clips for their use. It also means that tinkerers will find out whether they can take iPhones and other mobile devices and "jailbreak" them for interoperability. In total, the Copyright Office will review 20 commentsfrom public advocates, libraries, documentary filmmakers, and individual consumers expressing various proposals. PHOTOS: Crazy Cases! 18 of Hollywood's Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits Among the highlights: Public Knowledge is requesting the right to rip purchased DVDs so that consumers will have the right to transfer their lawfully acquired movies onto computer hard-drives and other digital devices. The group believes that the time has come for consumers to be able to make "personal place shifting," especially as DVDs go out of style, and says there will be no piracy repercussions. According to the group's comment, "The Register is in the enviable position of balancing a clear benefit to the public against no cognizable harm to rightsholders because the harm they fear already exists." The Electronic Frontier Foundation is proposing the right to "jailbreak" smartphones, electronic tablets and video game consoles. The group says that manufacturers impose technical restrictions that hamper the ability of independent applications to run on these devices. Allowing users to have work-arounds that achieve interoperability will allow "competition, consumer choice, and innovation," according to EFF. The International Documentary Association is requesting the ability to strip away the encryption on DVDs, Blu-Rays, and digitally transmitted video so that filmmakers can gain access to clips for their own works. The group says that filmmakers have long had fair use to copyrighted material, but they are increasingly stymied by new digital protection methods and a complicated clearance process, which has harmed their access and increased burdens when attaining insurance. The group points to several recent documentaries that wouldn't have happened had the Copyright Office not granted an exemption on DVDs the last rule-making go-around, and says it needs to broaden the exemption this time to Blu-Rays and digitally transmitted video. It's unlikely that all of the exemptions will be granted. At the last review, the office's rejections included such proposals as bypassing region codes on DVDs, unlocking DRM on audiobooks distributed by libraries, and stripping works protected by a broadcast flag. But the hearings can be entertaining. For instance, in 2009, Apple vigorously objected to requested exemptions on "jailbreaking" mobile phones. The company warned that if the Copyright Office permitted such a request, it would lead to chaos, including crashes and instability for iPhones, invasion of privacy, the exposure of children to age-inappropriate content, viruses and malware, the crashes of cellular towers, increased piracy, limitations on innovation, and real harm to the Apple/iPhone brand. The Copyright Office granted the "jailbreaking" exemption anyway. And Apple is doing fine. According to a report put out by UBS today, Apple is on pace to sell a record 30 million iPhones in the current quarter. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Crazy Cases! 18 of Hollywood's Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits Apple Piracy

Neil Patrick Harris Apologizes for Saying "Tranny" on Live!

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris apologized Friday for implementing the term "tranny" throughout Thursday's Accept Kelly. After Kelly Ripa and Harris, who's guest-hosting as Live looks for a lasting alternative for Regis Philbin, breathed in sulfer hexafluoride - "helium's evil twin" - throughout a science experiment, the The Way I Met Your Mother star joked, "I have never seemed a lot more like a tranny during my existence." Dancing's Derek, Jerry O'Connell, Josh Groban to Guest-Host Live! "Truly sorry for saying the term 'tranny' on Live now. Two times! Must have been more thoughtful. Did not whatsoever mean to offend," he tweeted Friday. GLAAD recognized Harris' apology, observing, "It's heartening to determine a high profile of Harris' stature recognize and apologize for implementing the slur in this timely manner, as well as for greater media attention being compensated to the use." Take a look at a clip of Harris on Live:

Yorkey: Screen meets stage in unusual profession

John YorkeyBrian Yorkey became a member of the area of screenwriting a great playwright and lyricist -- he composed it and lyrics for "Alongside Normal," the 2010 Broadway musical of a mother battling with bpd, which won three Tony Honours together with a 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.Because the cell phone industry's of stage and screen rarely mix, Yorkey sees a fuzzy area involving the two, which he approaches new material for very much the same.InchAfter I will be a kid, whenever we'd go anywhere new, I'd be less considering seeing tourist stuff in comparison to searching within the houses and houses and racking your brains on exactly what it was would rather live where these people were living," according to him. "So whether I'm writing a sound lesson or possibly a script or possibly a musical or stage play, I start by asking myself one question: What's that world like?"His approach produced original story lines that have been wealthy in character, and Hollywood soon needed notice. He's been busy since.Initial, his feature pitch "Over And Over" offered in the investing in an offer war to Universal to find the best six figures, compelling Summit Entertainment to fast-track the project.Next, Yorkey and composer Tom Kitt preemptively offered a script for feature "Score!" to Warner Bros. The musical, which notifies the story of two lower-on-their-luck Broadway songwriters taking jobs as experts inside a theater camping, will probably be co-produced by Anonymous Content and Team Downey. Robert Downey Junior. may also be slated to appear one of the film's leads.And finally, Yorkey and Kitt are actually busy writing original tunes for Diablo Cody's reimagining of "Sweet Valley High," a component setup at Universal with Marc Platt ("Wicked") creating.Still, Yorkey hasn't forgotten his theater roots. Furthermore to concentrating on an untitled Broadway project he's also working with Sting on a little of musical theater which will be good songwriter's 1991 album "The Soul Cages."Due to a lot of film projects inside the works, how can he experience now getting a chance to add "accomplished film author" to his resume? "I'll let you know should this happen.Inch10 SCREENWRITERS To Check Out 2011:Josh Applebaum & Andrew Nemec Jay Baruchel & Jesse Chabot Justin Britt-Gibson Neil Mix Andrew Haigh Kurt Johnstad Lauryn Kahn Paula Pell Jon Spaihts John Yorkey Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Bids for Yahoo Minority Stake Value Company at $20 Billion-Plus

The director from the only film to ever star Natalie Wood's Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken and her husband, Robert Wagner, went on record together with his belief that neither guy was associated with her dying almost 30 years ago. Tony Vitale also is actually shopping the film, Existence's a seaside, to marketers.our editor recommendsNatalie Wood Dying Analysis ReopenedChristopher Walken Employs Lawyer to deal with Natalie Wood Analysis (Exclusive)Natalie Wood Researchers to look at Boat in Hawaii Robert Wagner Not really a Suspect Robert Wagner Responds to Natalie Wood InvestigationRobert Wagner Blamed Self For Natalie Wood's Dying in MemoirChristopher Walken Offered Natalie Wood Dying Theory in Past InterviewRelated Subjects•Natalie Wood Walken and Wagner -- each of whom were around the yacht Beauty once the actress drowned off Los Angeles's Santa Catalina island 3 decades ago -- don't share any moments together within the romantic comedy, that the helmer states he planned intentionally. He told Fishbowl LA, "I was responsive to that moving in.Inch PHOTOS: 12 of Hollywood's Most Mysterious Deaths Vitale states he's skeptical associated with a theory connecting the stars to Wood's dying, particularly if it's related to Dennis Davern, the boat captain who now states he lied towards the original researchers concerning the situation, "Getting labored with both Wagner and Walken, and becoming a feeling of them, I actually do believe whatever happened was any sort of accident. I believe this captain is attempting to make the most of a wedding anniversary moment and it is stirring up lots of garbage... Just searching for an position." VIDEO: Natalie Wood's Boat Captain Confesses to Laying, States Robert Wagner 'Responsible' on her Dying Vitale thinks the actress' dying was "a regrettable accident" that's a danger of boating. He stated, "We shot this movie lower around the [Turks and Caicos] island, and there is that feeling of being around water again. Moving a great deal people off and on motorboats, which occur in the films, it is easy to determine how one can slip off a ship. Particularly if they did must much to drink, and also the stress that develops. PHOTOS: Hollywood Icon Natalie Wood Appreciated "In the accounts which i read online, In my opinion it had been a regrettable accident." The La Sheriff's Department introduced November. 17 it had reopened the analysis into Wood's dying after receiving more information about her drowning. A representative for Wagner stated inside a statement towards the Hollywood Reporter the Wagner family fully supports "the efforts from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and trust they'll evaluate whether any new information relevant towards the dying of Natalie Wood Wagner applies which it develops from a credible source or sources apart from individuals simply attempting to make money from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic dying." PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths Meanwhile, Walken hired Mathew Rosengart, an old federal district attorney switched lawsuit specialist, to advise him within the inquiry. Existence's a seaside doesn't presently possess a U.S. distributor, but Vitale states "Canadian privileges were lately offered" for that picture which he's wishing an international deal "will be carried out by the finish of the season.Inch Related Subjects Christopher Walken Natalie Wood Robert Wagner

In Honor of ScarJo's Dean Martin Duet, 5 of the Most Random Celebrity Holiday Tracks

It’s the week after Thanksgiving which means that it’s time to start firing up some holiday playlists. Here to help is Scarlett Johansson, whose virtual duet with Dean Martin hit the Internet today. Is their posthumous rendering of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” creepy? A little. A necessary addition to the holiday track canon? Not at all. But random? Completely! In honor of this Christmas-time cut, let’s review five of the other most random celebrity holiday recordings to confound the masses. 1. David Hasselhoff, “Silent Night” (In German!) Granted, David Hasselhoff lip sync-ing to “Stille Nacht” on a winter wonderland soundstage (complete with dry ice snow effect) may seem semi-relevant in Germany — the nation that made the Baywatch actor a pop star in the late ’80s — but in the U.S., this clip is just deliciously irrelevant and completely random. Dig in! 2. Heidi Klum, “Wonderland” German beauty Heidi Klum is already a successful model, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer and television producer. So why would she dare try her hand at singing? Because she can and because someone — again in Germany — hired her to do so. Here lies the multihyphenate’s 2006 debut single “Wonderland,” which was penned for a series of German ads. 3. Kathie Lee Gifford, “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” (Hip Hop Version) Startling news: Back in 1995, shortly before her sweatshop scandal, Kathie Lee Gifford recorded a Christmas album Rock N Tots Cafe: A Christmas “Giff” Song Album by Kathie Lee Gifford. Even more frightening than the title was her attempt at hip hop with the track “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Below, find the damning music video evidence in which Kathie Lee wears a waitress uniform and bops around a Pee-wee Herman-style set. You’ve been warned. 4. Ozzy Osbourne and Jessica Simpson, “Winter Wonderland” You may not want to put your eyes back into their sockets for the next selection on Movieline’s ode to random holiday tracks. For 2003’s long-forgotten Osbourne Family Christmas Special, mismatched former MTV stars Ozzy Osbourne and Jessica Simpson recorded a duet in which Simpson tried to sexily shimmy up to Osbourne while he shrieked into the microphone like an off-key scarecrow. 5. Bea Arthur and Assorted Aliens, “Good Night, But Not Goodbye” Back in 1978, CBS aired The Star Wars Holiday Special, which followed Chewbacca and Han Solo as they traveled back to Chewie’s home world to celebrate a very special holiday, Life Day. While franchise stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher took part in the small-screen, variety show-style festivities, Bea Arthur inexplicably appeared as a Mos Eisley cantina bartender who sings to a set of aliens including Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes. Enjoy with furrowed brow. Now that you’ve survived the above, what is your favorite celebrity holiday track?

Walking Dead's Sarah Wayne Callies: Lori's Afraid Rick and Shane Might Kill Each Other

Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies The secret is out! In last week's episode of The Walking Dead, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) finally came clean to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), not just about being pregnant, but also that she had had an affair with his best friend Shane (Jon Bernthal). (To be fair, they both thought Rick was dead.) The Walking Dead Boss: Shane's living on borrowed time -- but hasn't worn out his welcome yet Now, Lori and Rick will face a challenge more treacherous than ravenous zombies: saving their marriage, a task complicated by Lori's pregnancy. Is it Rick or Shane's kid? TVGuide.com chatted with Callies to get her take on the venomous threesome. Now that Rick knows about the affair, how will that change things between them?Sarah Wayne Callies: Andy and I have been playing with the idea for a while that Rick has known for a long time and it was a test of whether or not Lori would be honest with him and when and why. It actually opens the door for things to begin to heal for them. He deeply needed to hear her say that she thought he was gone. She wasn't secretly burning a candle for Shane for the last eight years of their marriage. You say he needed to hear that, but do you think that's the truth? Lori doesn't have any feelings for Shane?Callies: I don't think Shane ever crossed Lori's mind as anything other than a dear friend until she was in his arms the night that Atlanta fell. There's something about memory that's really tricky, that when you go back to an event in your mind, it can actually change. Lori's having a much harder time putting it out of her mind and putting Shane out of her mind than she ever would've anticipated, given that it was really just a purely physical thing at its inception. Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman: Lori's surprising results are only the beginning How will Shane react to the pregnancy? Will he assume it's his?Callies: That's her biggest fear right now, because there's no way to be sure whose baby it is, unless it turns out that she's two months pregnant and it happened before Rick was shot. But at this point, there's no timeline, so she's really afraid. Quite frankly, one of the reasons that she considered terminating the pregnancy is because it has the ability to tear these men apart, and that has huge implications not just to her personal life, but to everyone's safety. There's a part of her that's afraid they might kill each other. This is the kind of thing men kill each other over. What will Shane do to cement himself in Lori's life?Callies: For a while now, Shane has been trying to protect her and Carl (Chandler Riggs), and has been doing that from a distance and trying to take Rick's place. He's posturing. I'm thinking of the Planet Earth films, where the men of a species are trying to demonstrate to the females that they're bigger, stronger and better. Shane has a new level of investment in Lori's safety, if he does believe it's his child that she's carrying, and that means Rick's protection of Lori has to be that much more complete. It all gets very futile. At a certain point, this culture has devolved into a place where, as a woman, maybe you have to decide who you're with based on who can keep your child alive, rather than who's the best communicator, or who makes the best spaghetti Bolognese. The Walking Dead: Can the survivors coexist with the family at Hershel's farm? The Walking Dead's community has regressed to caveman-like conditions. Who can build fire? Who can protect you? That's who you should be with.Callies: That's exactly right. We talked a lot in the first season about a certain Camelot prospective. You have three people who really do love each other equally. The longer we go on, the more it feels medieval, where there are moments where Lori looks at these guys and goes, "Jesus Christ, if I'm not careful, one of you is actually going to throw me over your shoulder and ride off on a horse with me." [Laughs] It's kind of amazing, especially coming from a woman who six weeks ago was driving a station wagon and shopping at Walmart. Will Rick use Lori's pregnancy as a card to play to be able to stay on the farm?Callies: The effect it has on him is more about the need to stay, not just because there's safety, but the need to stay close to the only person who practices medicine, veterinarian or no, and the need to make things right with Hershel (Scott Wilson) and the need to be able to make a home there. The pregnancy heightens all of that because Lori is not going to be able to run forever. There's a time bomb growing in her. The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden: Andrea greatly admires Shane How will the survivors deal with the barn in the midseason finale?Callies: It speaks a lot to what we were discussing before about Rick and Shane. When people find out what's going on, there are very different perspectives on how we should proceed because there are different perspectives on what the true danger is. Is the true danger a bunch of walkers in the barn? Is the true danger Hershel throwing us off his farm? Could Hershel even do that? We outnumber them, we're armed, and who do we become if we make that kind of decision? Those become the questions that are raised with the barn and it deeply, deeply, deeply divides people. The whole thing blows sky-high. The first half of the season is interesting because you have the illusion of safety for a minute, for a few episodes. You have people experiencing the problems you'd have when you're not necessarily running for your life every second. What the barn does is bring us back into a world where everybody realizes that we're not safe and we're not going to be safe. While it's the end of the first segment of the second season, the second half of the season has a very different character because of what the barn represents and how the situation is handled. The Walking Dead's midseason finale airs Sunday at 9/8c on AMC.

Leonardo DiCaprio on Embodying J. Edgar Hoover

Leonardo DiCaprio on Embodying J. Edgar Hoover By Jenelle Riley November 23, 2011 Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images Leonardo DiCaprio has been a star for so long, it can be easy to forget he is also an actoran amazing one at that. He is an instinctive talent whose first major film role was opposite Robert De Niro in "This Boy's Life" and who earned his first Oscar nomination at 19 for his flawless portrait of Johnny Depp's mentally challenged brother in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Although the 1997 phenomenon "Titanic" turned him into a worldwide celebrity, DiCaprio never took on the kind of easy paychecks that might have tempted others. Even from a young age, he seemed determined to seek roles that challenged him personally and paired him with top filmmakersSteven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Clint Eastwood heading the list. But it often seemed that even though DiCaprio is beloved by the masses, his most solid work has gone unnoticed. He was praised for lending his star power to "Inception," Christopher Nolan's art house film disguised as a big-budget blockbuster. Yet his heartbreaking performance remained largely underrated. Accolades and awards are often lavished on his co-stars, be it Daniel Day-Lewis in "Gangs of NY" or Kate Winslet in "Titanic" and "Revolutionary Road," while DiCaprio has consistently made his job look easy. Instead, DiCaprio is an inherently talented actor who studies and prepares intensely for his roles. His abilities are currently on display as the title character in "J. Edgar," a biopic about FBI head J. Edgar Hoover (18951972), whose contributions to crime fighting might be overshadowed only by his controversial tactics. For that role in the Eastwood-directed film, the actor took a fraction of his $20 million fee and studied every angle of trivia, including assertions that Hoover was gay and a cross-dresser. It's a bravura performance, one that's sure to net him his fourth Academy Award nomination, if not the win. After all, DiCaprio gets the golden trifecta as Hoover: He gets to play gay, age 50 years, and die.Back Stage: You started in commercials at a young age; at what point did you realize acting was a career? Leonardo DiCaprio: I've used this quote before, but I really mean it: I always felt like being an actor was an elite club I never really belonged to. My stepbrother was an actor in commercials and TV shows all throughout my youth, and I loved acting. I loved imitating people I loved drama class; I loved joking around with my parents and creating different characters. I liked doing my own little homemade skits. I always wanted to be an actor, but no agent would accept me for many years. I tried to go to many different agents, and they didn't want to accept me. I think because I was break dancing at the time and had a weird, punkish haircut and dressed like a street kid. Back Stage: When did you finally get a foothold in the business? DiCaprio: I finally got accepted by an agent when I was 12 or 13 years old. If it wasn't for the fact I lived in Hollywood, I don't think I would be an actor. I grew up in the heart of Hollywood, on Hollywood and Western, for the first nine years of my life. It was kind of Prostitution Alley back then. But I got to go to this really wonderful school, which was University Elementary School, UES, which is a magnate program of UCLA. They accepted me on scholarship. So my mom sacrificed her time every day driving from Hollywood to Westwood, stuck in traffic every day. It would be a 45-minute ride there and back every day; she had to pick me up because the bus didn't go there. And when I started to be an actor, she let me go on auditions and would drop me off. If I was born in Ohio and had the dream of being an actor, I don't think I'd be here today. Financially, we couldn't have uprooted and moved here. Back Stage: Well, it might have happened; it just would have taken longer, don't you think? DiCaprio: To be honest, I think that life is a series of being incredibly prepared for that one opportunity. And that one opportunity may have never come along for me, you know? I had that one opportunity with "This Boy's Life," and I was lucky enough to have gotten that role. I was in the right place at the right time.Back Stage: Is it true Robert De Niro handpicked you for the role of his stepson in "This Boy's Life"? DiCaprio: It was the director, Michael Caton-Jones, and De Niro. It was a very coveted role, there were hundreds of kids auditioning for it, and it came down to the wire with myself, Tobey [Maguire], and one or two other kids. I just got lucky that day. We did this final audition with De Niro and Michael, and luckily, they saw something in me. I believe it was De Niro who said they should go with me, but you'd have to ask him that question; I don't know exactly how that went down. And when you ask him, I'd love to hear the answer! [Laughs.]Back Stage: Is there anything that stands out about that audition that might have helped you snag the role? DiCaprio: I remember screaming at De Niro in the audition. We did a scene where he's ramming a mustard jar in my eye and yelling at me, and I remember he was getting really intense with me because, you know, the character is an abusive father. He was getting in my face, and I remember yelling at him. It wasn't in the script; it was improvised. And then there was sort of a chuckle in the room; I remember them laughing and not really understanding why they were laughing. I think it was because he got me really angry, and they liked how I responded. That's what my memory serves, but his could be a completely different interpretation. They could have sat there and said, "Wow, this kid's ridiculous, but let's give him a shot."Back Stage: You were working with icons like De Niro at an early age, which had to be intimidating. By that same token, are you aware of how you might be intimidating to some of your co-stars? DiCaprio: I definitely can see how people in the public eye can make others comfortable or uncomfortable, and I try my best to let things sort of happen naturallyon set and in life, too. I don't think about it that much, because I do consider myself a pretty relatively normal human being, although my life is incredibly bizarre. I sometimes try to figure out how people perceive me, but it's something you can never truly understand. I know how I feel amongst people who are in the public eye, and there's always a little bit of wariness around themit's like there's an elephant in the room. So I try my best not to think about that type of thing, or I could be endlessly trying to figure it out. Back Stage: Because you are a celebrity, do you ever feel you don't get the respect you deserve as an actor? DiCaprio: I think that it's incredibly important to listen to criticism. I consider myself what I consider myself, and that is somebody that's always trying to be better. No matter what anybody thinks about my work, I'm constantly trying to improve, and I really do care about what I do on a very deep level, and it does affect my life on a very deep level. It is my life's passion. I'm very lucky to know this is something I wanted to do ever since I was very young. It's my earliest memory. And I feel fortunate for that. With every role that I've chosen or every movie I've been a part of, I always think about the unbelievable accomplishments of actors and directors in the past and how many great performances have been given, and how many great films there have been in cinema's history. And I have a great amount of respect for that. So I suppose my endless, unattainable goal is to do something that is as good as I see in cinema's past. And I don't know if I will ever, on a personal level, believe that I have accomplished that. I don't know if I'll ever sit here and see a film and say, "This is absolutely everything I ever dreamed of on a personal or cinematic level." But that's what sort of drives me. When I was 15 and I got that part in "This Boy's Life," I sat for a year and just watched every damn movie I possibly could, and I was just awestruck by what's been accomplished. From first seeing Jimmy Cagney in "Public Enemy," all the way to some of the great actors of today, there have been so many great performances. Back Stage: From a young age, you've made interesting choices in your roles. Were you operating on instinct, or did you have a plan for your career? DiCaprio: From the beginning, I considered it an honor, and I still do, just to be able to do what I do professionally. I never forget I came from a group of young actors, and not everyone gets to be so lucky to do what we do. It's a huge honor, and something I don't want to disrespect. I remember my second movie being "Gilbert Grape" I remember having the opportunity to do another type of movie at that timeI think it was "Hocus Pocus"and I was offered more money than I ever dreamed of in my life in one go. But there was something about that role in "Gilbert Grape" that made me say, "You know what? I'm going to pass on this and go for this other role." I don't know quite where that came from as a 16-year-old kid, but seeing all those movies in that time period made me really want to play that Arnie Grape character. And for whatever reason, I was just hooked at that point. Back Stage: Have you ever taken acting classes or worked with a coach? DiCaprio: I took junior high and high school drama class. From a young age, I read a lot of books about the Meisner technique and Stanislavsky. But I never reconnected with it until I got to start working with Larry Moss in my 20s. Larry's class is an amazing one. He takes it from a psychological level of conquering your own fears and fighting your inhibitions and taking chances. We all have these emotions we carry around within us, but to be able to release them as an actor is fundamental. Acting and psychology are two sides of the same coin for him. Back Stage: What was the first film you worked with him on, and do you still work with him? DiCaprio: "The Aviator." And I consult with him all the time. If it's not a series of meetings, I always consult with him before every movie, just to bat around different character ideas and talk about the creation of what kind of decisions I want to make as an actor. It's incredibly beneficial to have that bouncing board and somebody to challenge you artistically like that.Back Stage: What sort of practical advice would you offer actors? DiCaprio: I've had young people come up to me and ask me about acting and how to get into the industry, and I always talk about preparation. Go to acting class; learn the fundamentals. Then go to L.A., where all the auditions are. Those are the first two things. And the third thing is, know your damn lines. Know your lines inside and out, to the point at which they become secondhand. Like everyone else, I'm a big fan of Stanley Kubrick; I really wish I could have worked with him. There was something about the way he worked with his actors, a certain exhaustion all his actors had and a certain naturalness in the way they said their lines. It's because they were doing 50 to 100 takes sometimes. There's no way they didn't know every next word that was coming out of their mouth. There was a certain calm and easeeven when you're insane like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"there's a certain ease that you have with your dialogue where you can play around. And the ability to play around comes with being prepared and knowing who your character is and what they're going to say. Then you can improv and do other things, because you have the roots and you can create the branches and leaves. But you have to know the fundamentals, and the most important fundamental is: Know what you're going to say.Back Stage: What interested you in playing J. Edgar Hoover? DiCaprio: I'd been involved with another project for a few years, "Public Enemies," where I started to read up on Hoover. I was involved in the development process with Michael Mann, but I forget what happened. I think it was scheduling conflicts, and then Michael started developing it on his own for a while, and it became more of an all-Dillinger story as opposed to a two-hander. So the idea of doing a movie about that era and J. Edgar Hoover was always sort of in my subconscious. When I heard that Dustin Lance Black, who did "Milk," had done a script, I immediately got it and read it. It was one of those screenplays that brought up a million more questions for meabout his personal life, what motivated him, who he was, what he was involved with historically in our country and government. Dustin really captured the essence of him. And who doesn't want to work with Clint Eastwood? I knew it was a character I had to sink my teeth into. I started to research him immediately, even though I didn't necessarily have the role yet. Back Stage: How did you go about getting into the skin of Hoover? DiCaprio: It was incredibly challenging; I put a lot of research and preparation into it. I got to go to Washington, D.C., and retrace Hoover's steps, and go into his old house and see the place where he died in his living room. I got to go to the FBI and stand in his office and see the view and where he ate with Clyde Tolson every day in his corner booth. I got to fly down to North Carolina and meet Deke Deloach, the last man who worked with Hoover who knew him on an intimate level. It really was a lot of fun and really shaped the Hoover I tried to put up onscreen. Back Stage: You've played your share of real-life people; what's the appeal for you? DiCaprio: I do love playing historical figures simply because there's so much incredibly diverse interesting information about a character when you can research their life. A lot of the stuff you'd never be able to make up as a writer. You'd say, that's completely unrealisticHoover would never do that! It's just so interesting to try and embody somebody like that. It's a different process on something like "Inception," where it's more months of sitting down with the director and shaping the character's subplot and making up their history. I enjoy them both, but I must admit I love playing people where a lot of the answers are already out there, because it's shocking to find out what people have really done in the real world.Back Stage: You've also played your share of unreliable narrators; any reason you're drawn to those roles? DiCaprio: Yeah. I like that term, "unreliable narrator." Recently, people have been asking me about the type of decisions I've made, and I think something I'm going to continue to do is not question why I'm drawn to certain types of roles or genres of movies. You feel like you have to be of service to something, and I feel like whatever it is about those characterswhether they're unreliable narrators or some sort of dysfunction, or have some sort of similarity to other charactersthere's a reason I want to play them, and I don't want to question that. Like I said, I feel very honored to be able to pick and choose what I do. So I'm just going to continue not questioning it.Outtakes Received Oscar nominations for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Aviator," and "Blood Diamond" won a Golden Globe Award for "The Aviator"Is shooting "The Great Gatsby" with director Baz Luhrmann, then set to film a role in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained"An active environmentalist, he produced and narrated "The 11th Hour," a documentary about the global environment.His company, Appian Way Productions, has produced such films as "Red Riding Hood," "Orphan," and "The Assassination of Richard Nixon." Leonardo DiCaprio on Embodying J. Edgar Hoover By Jenelle Riley November 23, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Kevin Winter/Getty Images Leonardo DiCaprio has been a star for so long, it can be easy to forget he is also an actoran amazing one at that. He is an instinctive talent whose first major film role was opposite Robert De Niro in "This Boy's Life" and who earned his first Oscar nomination at 19 for his flawless portrait of Johnny Depp's mentally challenged brother in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Although the 1997 phenomenon "Titanic" turned him into a worldwide celebrity, DiCaprio never took on the kind of easy paychecks that might have tempted others. Even from a young age, he seemed determined to seek roles that challenged him personally and paired him with top filmmakersSteven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Clint Eastwood heading the list. But it often seemed that even though DiCaprio is beloved by the masses, his most solid work has gone unnoticed. He was praised for lending his star power to "Inception," Christopher Nolan's art house film disguised as a big-budget blockbuster. Yet his heartbreaking performance remained largely underrated. Accolades and awards are often lavished on his co-stars, be it Daniel Day-Lewis in "Gangs of NY" or Kate Winslet in "Titanic" and "Revolutionary Road," while DiCaprio has consistently made his job look easy. Instead, DiCaprio is an inherently talented actor who studies and prepares intensely for his roles. His abilities are currently on display as the title character in "J. Edgar," a biopic about FBI head J. Edgar Hoover (18951972), whose contributions to crime fighting might be overshadowed only by his controversial tactics. For that role in the Eastwood-directed film, the actor took a fraction of his $20 million fee and studied every angle of trivia, including assertions that Hoover was gay and a cross-dresser. It's a bravura performance, one that's sure to net him his fourth Academy Award nomination, if not the win. After all, DiCaprio gets the golden trifecta as Hoover: He gets to play gay, age 50 years, and die.Back Stage: You started in commercials at a young age; at what point did you realize acting was a career? Leonardo DiCaprio: I've used this quote before, but I really mean it: I always felt like being an actor was an elite club I never really belonged to. My stepbrother was an actor in commercials and TV shows all throughout my youth, and I loved acting. I loved imitating people I loved drama class; I loved joking around with my parents and creating different characters. I liked doing my own little homemade skits. I always wanted to be an actor, but no agent would accept me for many years. I tried to go to many different agents, and they didn't want to accept me. I think because I was break dancing at the time and had a weird, punkish haircut and dressed like a street kid. Back Stage: When did you finally get a foothold in the business? DiCaprio: I finally got accepted by an agent when I was 12 or 13 years old. If it wasn't for the fact I lived in Hollywood, I don't think I would be an actor. I grew up in the heart of Hollywood, on Hollywood and Western, for the first nine years of my life. It was kind of Prostitution Alley back then. But I got to go to this really wonderful school, which was University Elementary School, UES, which is a magnate program of UCLA. They accepted me on scholarship. So my mom sacrificed her time every day driving from Hollywood to Westwood, stuck in traffic every day. It would be a 45-minute ride there and back every day; she had to pick me up because the bus didn't go there. And when I started to be an actor, she let me go on auditions and would drop me off. If I was born in Ohio and had the dream of being an actor, I don't think I'd be here today. Financially, we couldn't have uprooted and moved here. Back Stage: Well, it might have happened; it just would have taken longer, don't you think? DiCaprio: To be honest, I think that life is a series of being incredibly prepared for that one opportunity. And that one opportunity may have never come along for me, you know? I had that one opportunity with "This Boy's Life," and I was lucky enough to have gotten that role. I was in the right place at the right time.Back Stage: Is it true Robert De Niro handpicked you for the role of his stepson in "This Boy's Life"? DiCaprio: It was the director, Michael Caton-Jones, and De Niro. It was a very coveted role, there were hundreds of kids auditioning for it, and it came down to the wire with myself, Tobey [Maguire], and one or two other kids. I just got lucky that day. We did this final audition with De Niro and Michael, and luckily, they saw something in me. I believe it was De Niro who said they should go with me, but you'd have to ask him that question; I don't know exactly how that went down. And when you ask him, I'd love to hear the answer! [Laughs.]Back Stage: Is there anything that stands out about that audition that might have helped you snag the role? DiCaprio: I remember screaming at De Niro in the audition. We did a scene where he's ramming a mustard jar in my eye and yelling at me, and I remember he was getting really intense with me because, you know, the character is an abusive father. He was getting in my face, and I remember yelling at him. It wasn't in the script; it was improvised. And then there was sort of a chuckle in the room; I remember them laughing and not really understanding why they were laughing. I think it was because he got me really angry, and they liked how I responded. That's what my memory serves, but his could be a completely different interpretation. They could have sat there and said, "Wow, this kid's ridiculous, but let's give him a shot."Back Stage: You were working with icons like De Niro at an early age, which had to be intimidating. By that same token, are you aware of how you might be intimidating to some of your co-stars? DiCaprio: I definitely can see how people in the public eye can make others comfortable or uncomfortable, and I try my best to let things sort of happen naturallyon set and in life, too. I don't think about it that much, because I do consider myself a pretty relatively normal human being, although my life is incredibly bizarre. I sometimes try to figure out how people perceive me, but it's something you can never truly understand. I know how I feel amongst people who are in the public eye, and there's always a little bit of wariness around themit's like there's an elephant in the room. So I try my best not to think about that type of thing, or I could be endlessly trying to figure it out. Back Stage: Because you are a celebrity, do you ever feel you don't get the respect you deserve as an actor? DiCaprio: I think that it's incredibly important to listen to criticism. I consider myself what I consider myself, and that is somebody that's always trying to be better. No matter what anybody thinks about my work, I'm constantly trying to improve, and I really do care about what I do on a very deep level, and it does affect my life on a very deep level. It is my life's passion. I'm very lucky to know this is something I wanted to do ever since I was very young. It's my earliest memory. And I feel fortunate for that. With every role that I've chosen or every movie I've been a part of, I always think about the unbelievable accomplishments of actors and directors in the past and how many great performances have been given, and how many great films there have been in cinema's history. And I have a great amount of respect for that. So I suppose my endless, unattainable goal is to do something that is as good as I see in cinema's past. And I don't know if I will ever, on a personal level, believe that I have accomplished that. I don't know if I'll ever sit here and see a film and say, "This is absolutely everything I ever dreamed of on a personal or cinematic level." But that's what sort of drives me. When I was 15 and I got that part in "This Boy's Life," I sat for a year and just watched every damn movie I possibly could, and I was just awestruck by what's been accomplished. From first seeing Jimmy Cagney in "Public Enemy," all the way to some of the great actors of today, there have been so many great performances. Back Stage: From a young age, you've made interesting choices in your roles. Were you operating on instinct, or did you have a plan for your career? DiCaprio: From the beginning, I considered it an honor, and I still do, just to be able to do what I do professionally. I never forget I came from a group of young actors, and not everyone gets to be so lucky to do what we do. It's a huge honor, and something I don't want to disrespect. I remember my second movie being "Gilbert Grape" I remember having the opportunity to do another type of movie at that timeI think it was "Hocus Pocus"and I was offered more money than I ever dreamed of in my life in one go. But there was something about that role in "Gilbert Grape" that made me say, "You know what? I'm going to pass on this and go for this other role." I don't know quite where that came from as a 16-year-old kid, but seeing all those movies in that time period made me really want to play that Arnie Grape character. And for whatever reason, I was just hooked at that point. Back Stage: Have you ever taken acting classes or worked with a coach? DiCaprio: I took junior high and high school drama class. From a young age, I read a lot of books about the Meisner technique and Stanislavsky. But I never reconnected with it until I got to start working with Larry Moss in my 20s. Larry's class is an amazing one. He takes it from a psychological level of conquering your own fears and fighting your inhibitions and taking chances. We all have these emotions we carry around within us, but to be able to release them as an actor is fundamental. Acting and psychology are two sides of the same coin for him. Back Stage: What was the first film you worked with him on, and do you still work with him? DiCaprio: "The Aviator." And I consult with him all the time. If it's not a series of meetings, I always consult with him before every movie, just to bat around different character ideas and talk about the creation of what kind of decisions I want to make as an actor. It's incredibly beneficial to have that bouncing board and somebody to challenge you artistically like that.Back Stage: What sort of practical advice would you offer actors? DiCaprio: I've had young people come up to me and ask me about acting and how to get into the industry, and I always talk about preparation. Go to acting class; learn the fundamentals. Then go to L.A., where all the auditions are. Those are the first two things. And the third thing is, know your damn lines. Know your lines inside and out, to the point at which they become secondhand. Like everyone else, I'm a big fan of Stanley Kubrick; I really wish I could have worked with him. There was something about the way he worked with his actors, a certain exhaustion all his actors had and a certain naturalness in the way they said their lines. It's because they were doing 50 to 100 takes sometimes. There's no way they didn't know every next word that was coming out of their mouth. There was a certain calm and easeeven when you're insane like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"there's a certain ease that you have with your dialogue where you can play around. And the ability to play around comes with being prepared and knowing who your character is and what they're going to say. Then you can improv and do other things, because you have the roots and you can create the branches and leaves. But you have to know the fundamentals, and the most important fundamental is: Know what you're going to say.Back Stage: What interested you in playing J. Edgar Hoover? DiCaprio: I'd been involved with another project for a few years, "Public Enemies," where I started to read up on Hoover. I was involved in the development process with Michael Mann, but I forget what happened. I think it was scheduling conflicts, and then Michael started developing it on his own for a while, and it became more of an all-Dillinger story as opposed to a two-hander. So the idea of doing a movie about that era and J. Edgar Hoover was always sort of in my subconscious. When I heard that Dustin Lance Black, who did "Milk," had done a script, I immediately got it and read it. It was one of those screenplays that brought up a million more questions for meabout his personal life, what motivated him, who he was, what he was involved with historically in our country and government. Dustin really captured the essence of him. And who doesn't want to work with Clint Eastwood? I knew it was a character I had to sink my teeth into. I started to research him immediately, even though I didn't necessarily have the role yet. Back Stage: How did you go about getting into the skin of Hoover? DiCaprio: It was incredibly challenging; I put a lot of research and preparation into it. I got to go to Washington, D.C., and retrace Hoover's steps, and go into his old house and see the place where he died in his living room. I got to go to the FBI and stand in his office and see the view and where he ate with Clyde Tolson every day in his corner booth. I got to fly down to North Carolina and meet Deke Deloach, the last man who worked with Hoover who knew him on an intimate level. It really was a lot of fun and really shaped the Hoover I tried to put up onscreen. Back Stage: You've played your share of real-life people; what's the appeal for you? DiCaprio: I do love playing historical figures simply because there's so much incredibly diverse interesting information about a character when you can research their life. A lot of the stuff you'd never be able to make up as a writer. You'd say, that's completely unrealisticHoover would never do that! It's just so interesting to try and embody somebody like that. It's a different process on something like "Inception," where it's more months of sitting down with the director and shaping the character's subplot and making up their history. I enjoy them both, but I must admit I love playing people where a lot of the answers are already out there, because it's shocking to find out what people have really done in the real world.Back Stage: You've also played your share of unreliable narrators; any reason you're drawn to those roles? DiCaprio: Yeah. I like that term, "unreliable narrator." Recently, people have been asking me about the type of decisions I've made, and I think something I'm going to continue to do is not question why I'm drawn to certain types of roles or genres of movies. You feel like you have to be of service to something, and I feel like whatever it is about those characterswhether they're unreliable narrators or some sort of dysfunction, or have some sort of similarity to other charactersthere's a reason I want to play them, and I don't want to question that. Like I said, I feel very honored to be able to pick and choose what I do. So I'm just going to continue not questioning it.Outtakes Received Oscar nominations for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Aviator," and "Blood Diamond" won a Golden Globe Award for "The Aviator"Is shooting "The Great Gatsby" with director Baz Luhrmann, then set to film a role in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained"An active environmentalist, he produced and narrated "The 11th Hour," a documentary about the global environment.His company, Appian Way Productions, has produced such films as "Red Riding Hood," "Orphan," and "The Assassination of Richard Nixon."

Sarkozy to setup national music org

Leader Nicolas Sarkozy has confirmed he sets in the Center National p la Musique to aid in france they music business in the same manner the CNC backs the neighborhood film biz. Sarkozy stated his government aims to produce the org by next spring by having an annual budget of E145 million ($195 million), which is funded mainly by taxes collected from online service companies, and also to a smaller extent by taxes on ticket sales for live occasions. The background music org would centralize, regulate and distribute existing assets and subsidies supplied by various institutions like the Authors Rights' Collective Management, and Civil Society of Phonographic Producers, along with the French Secretary of state for Culture. "We will setup something for music that's like the system utilized by the CNC to aid cinema," stated Sarkozy in a forum on digital creation in Avignon. "I'd like the web service companies, that are very prosperous and that is great for them, to lead to music creation just like many industry gamers lead to film creation. Your day you will find no more any music artists, filmmakers and authors, what's going to your generation search for on the web?Inch The program continues to be cordially received through the music biz. "Thinking about the down sides faced through the music sector, that has been destabilized with a 60% fall on recorded music, and the possible lack of substantial contributions, we're favorable, in principle, to the development of the CNM," stated Bernard Miyet, Boss and chairman of France's Society of Authors, Composers and Editors of Music. "We're, however, looking to see particulars concerning the board's management and financing before we give our full approval." Sarkozy also stated the anti-piracy law, Hadopi, is going to be extended to use to customers of illegal streaming websites. Sarkozy stated that Hadopi has triggered peer-to-peer piracy to visit 35% since its beginning in June 2009, even though figure continues to be disputed by numerous French journos. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

CEO Rupert Murdoch Sells Block of Non-Voting News Corp. Shares

NY - News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch has sold most of his non-voting shares in the entertainment conglomerate, according to a regulatory filing. A source said the sale, disclosed in a regulatory filing late Friday, was a pure financial planning move that will not reduce his voting stake in the company. Some other moguls and industry executives regularly sell small amounts of stock in their companies to raise money that they can use or put into their estate. The Financial Times reported that the sale reverses stock purchases made in February, which had been highlighted as a signal of Murdoch's confidence in the company's outlook. A News Corp. spokesman declined to comment on the stock sale. According to the regulatory filing, the 80-year-old Murdoch sold 3.63 million class A non-voting shares at prices of between $16.60 and $17.26. Overall, the sale netted him around $61.7 million, according to the FT. Because the sale was of non-voting stock, it won't dilute the Murdoch family's 40 percent voting stake in News Corp. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics Rupert Murdoch News Corp.

CBS' Leslie Moonves on Charlie Sheen Debacle: 'S--- Happens'

Television's biggest cheerleader Leslie Moonves was at it again Thursday. The CBS Corp. chief executive sat down for the Hollywood Radio and Television Society's newsmaker luncheon series at the Beverly Hilton, where he spent much of the hour beating the broadcast drum. "I think the broadcast model is better now than it was five years ago because there are all of these places to take your content," he said, acknowledging that he's been listening to the "networks are dying" rants for as long as he's been in the business. As he sees it, technology has been a friend to the content business. "It's a good thing for content providers."our editor recommendsCBS Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Eye LogoCBS Films: What Happens Now PHOTOS: Hollywood's Biggest Blunders What's more, he said, "broadcast advertising is strong," which his company has long been more dependant on care of its limited cable portfolio, with a windfall expected to come from the 2012 election. "Sometimes the amount of contention going on in Washington is a very good thing for our business." True to form, Moonves used the HRTS platform to defend what many have dubbed the "CBS formula," an older skewing array of high-performing procedurals. He blasted the press for calling the 18 to 49 demographic the "only" one advertisers are interested in reaching. In making his case, he pointed to a "very profitable" CBS show like Blue Bloods, which he said CBS sells based on a 25 to 54 demo or in some cases total viewers. What he'd like to have more of, of course, is sports. But without the sub fees that a cable rival like ESPN can derive, he recognizes that there's slim chance of that happening -- even with the $250 million retransmission fees expected to come in in the next year. "ESPN has a perfect model," he said. "They paid $1.7 billion for one game a week,18 to 19 games a year. That's a lot of money." Try as he might, the CBS honcho couldn't sit up on stage for an hour without being hurled a few Charlie Sheen questions, which he managed to dodge with a handful of quips. "One thing you know from being in this business as long as I have is shit happens," he said, adding: "It was unfortunate... I'm glad that it's a chapter that's closed. It just wasn't fun. It's no good when there's rancor; it's no good when you have lawyers involved in a TV show." Attempting to shift focus, he waxed on about the show's recent ratings --up from last year, even without the early weeks-- and the addition of Ashton Kutcher, who he was highly complimentary of "aside from his comments about Penn State." Moonves, a self-described "TV guy," lacked the same enthusiasm for his film division, which has struggled to get off the ground. "I don't think it was the wrong strategy; I think it was the wrong films," he said, referring to its focus on mid-budget fare. He added of the five films, three of which he says broke even: "They aren't movies that I'm proud of... none of them are going to be nominated for Academy Awards." The CBS chief was similarly realistic about the state of the network's little-watched morning show, which announced yet another anchor shakeup earlier this week. "To do a poor imitation of the Today show or [Good Morning America] is not the way to go, so they're going to do something different," he says of a potentially very profitable day-part. As for the evening news division, Moonves is pleased with Scott Pelley's evening newscast, which has seen its ratings rise as a strategically harder bend in a post Katie Couric era. Still, he added, "the news division is never going to be a major profit center, but we wouldn't be a network without it." Related Topics Les Moonves Charlie Sheen CBS

La Auto Show Preview: Ford, Fiat, BMW, Mitsubishi

This short article first made an appearance within the November. 25 problem from the Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsLake Bell Test Drives the Fiat 500 AbarthHollywood's Next Large Vehicle StarsRIAA's Mitch Bainwol Leaves Music Trade Group for Auto Industry Cary Sherman Named New CEOActress Lake Bell Joins The Hollywood Reporter as Automotive Critic It was once that vehicle companies would make use of the La Auto Show to debut the kind of cars symbolic of Los Angeles: swoopy coupes and luxury drop-tops. Meanwhile, its northern border American Worldwide Auto Show, locked in Detroit each The month of january, would obtain the car manufacturers' bread-and-butter (and, more essential, bottom-line-driven) items. However the times of $4-a-gallon fuel and endless belt-tightening have brought to some change. This season, the L.A. show -- which runs November. 18 to 27 in the La Convention Center -- is scoring lots of debuts of cars which are less about turning heads on Rodeo Drive and much more about getting from One place to another in sensible fashion. The exhibition is continuing to grow in prestige since 2006, when L.A. increased its dates to preempt the Detroit event. STORY: Lake Bell Test Drives the Fiat 500 Abarth Throughout the show, La might find the planet or United States debuts in excess of 50 production and concept cars, lots of what are kind of practical automobiles lengthy popular in Asia and europe only now being accepted stateside. That doesn't mean these rides aren't mind-turners or tech tours p pressure. But that will Hollywood embrace? Auto product-positioning expert Cat Stone, someone at L.A.-based Stone Management, and Mark McFann, chief marketing officer at automotive oil company Royal Crimson, offer their assumes four cars which will likely understand onto both small , silver screens. FIAT 500 ABARTH: The souped-up two-seater will get turbocharged The Vehicle:The conventional Fiat 500 packs only 101 horsepower -- hardly what fanatics covet. Enter the organization's Abarth version of these two-door hatchback. Looking for its United States debut in the L.A. show, the Abarth is anticipated to have a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that may released around 160 horsepower, in addition to a retuned suspension. It will likewise fit the part, sporting an aerodynamic body package and also the distinctive Abarth badge, featuring a scorpion. (Abarth would be a race-vehicle maker Fiat acquired in 1971.) Expect a cost premium around $4,000 in comparison using the standard 500 (see review at right) once the vehicle continues purchase within the first 1 / 2 of 2012. Wager on Fiat spokeswomanJennifer Lopezappearing in advertisements offering the Abarth. The Casting Couch:Stone envisions the Abarth driven byCourteney Coxon Cougar Town(ABC) orYvonne StrahovskionChuck(NBC): "I take a look at who's a effective lady -- it's an attractive vehicle. I selected women that individuals may wish to emulate." Small COUPE: The legendary hatchback manages to lose two seats, takes layer of quickest small ever The Vehicle:Since being reintroduced by parent company BMW in 2002, the Small Cooper went onto come in several variants: There's a crossover, a extended three-door or even a convertible. However the new Small Coupe, which continued purchase in October and will also be on show in the L.A. Convention Center, takes the company to an alternative degree of sportiness. The conventional version creates 121 horsepower, but a supercharged S model ratchets up to 181. And also the two-seater tops by helping cover their a John Cooper Works edition (named after Small's in-house tuning division) that creates 208 horsepower. That's great for a -to-60 amount of time in the reduced-six-second range. The JCW version can cost you: It begins at $31,200 -- $10,000 a lot more than the bottom Coupe. The Casting Couch:"The Small am great within the Italian Job, why don't you take it back for that Brazilian Job?" states McFann from the planned follow up towards the 2003 heist film. MITSUBISHI i:The 4-door would be the least costly electric vehicle available in The United States The Vehicle:The 2012 Mitsubishi i made its debut at this past year's L.A. show, which year your final production version from the four-door all-electric vehicle is going to be available. The i, which continues purchase in November, will have a base cost of $21,625 after tax credits, about $6,000 under Nissan's all-electric Leaf. The i's 66-horsepower motor unit propels it to some top speed around 80 miles per hour it'll have a variety of about 62 miles per charge. The 4-seater could be fully billed in four hrs and billed to around 80 % full in half an hour. The Casting Couch:McFann states the i'd work best with Legendary Pictures' Off-shore Rim, the forthcoming Guillermo del Toro sci-fi film starring Charlie Day and Idris Elba. The pic is stated to feature giant monsters, compelling McFann to notice, "I simply have this visual of the cute little vehicle getting squashed with a monster like Godzilla." FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC: The all-electric four-door ride could deliver range as high as 100 miles on one charge The Vehicle:Vehicle beat rival Ford towards the punch within the tech wars using its discharge of the gas-electric Chevrolet Volt this year. However, Ford returns fire by having an electric version of their remodeled Focus. The vehicle, which continues purchase in November, includes a 123-horsepower motor that propels the 4-door to some top speed of 84 miles per hour. Features have an eight-inch touch screen, a navigation system that computes routes according to making the most of range as well as an apple iphone application for monitoring the charging status and range. After tax credits, a completely loaded Focus Electric will definitely cost $32,495. The Casting Couch:Stone thinks the electrical Focus is sensible for that "youthful, stylish and cool" parents on Being a parent (NBC) or Mary-Louise Parker's Nancy on Weeds (Showtime). "Nancy was once inside a Prius, and this is actually the new and version of the eco-friendly vehicle on her character." And Today for SomethingCompletely Different ... it's not electric also it's certainly not petite. The development version from the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 convertible will debut like a 2013 model in the L.A. show, packing a supercharged V-8 that creates 580 horsepower. That's sufficiently good to allow it to be Chevrolet's most effective convertible ever. Muscle vehicle, that will continue purchase at the begining of 2012, is really a solid wager to have an appearance within the inevitable nextTransformersfilm -- Camaros happen to be previously three. The ZL1 is anticipated to begin at about $47,000. There's not sure yet on gas mileage, but when that's of interest, kindly avert your vision. Related Subjects

Bravo Announces Series Documenting Kim Zolciak's Wedding

Kim Zolciak It's one thing to be tardy for the party ... but when it comes to Kim Zolciak's wedding? Don't even think about it.The Real Housewives of Atlanta star wed football player Kroy Biermann on Nov. 11, and now audiences will be able to share the experience on Bravo's Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding. The 30-minute episodes will document Zolciak's journey (and obstacles) while planning an extravagant wedding in less than two months.Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kim Zolciak gives birth to baby boyNo word yet on a premiere date and number of episodes."I am so excited to give an up close and personal look at the next chapter in my life," Zolciak said. "My life has turned into a true Cinderella story and to watch the pieces unfold is going to be great! I can't wait to share with all of you!"NeNe's stripper past, Kim's bad perm: Special looks at life before Atlanta HousewivesZolciak, 33, met Beirmann, a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, during the filming of last season's Housewives. The two welcomed a baby boy, Kroy Jagger Biermann Jr., in May. Zolciak has two daughters, Brielle and Ariana, from a previous marriage.

NBCU wing taps marketing topper

NBCUniversal has tapped John Shea to lead marketing initiatives at its Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media. Shea, who has just finished a quarter at the division as its "CMO in residence," will take on the chief marketing officer title permanently and add exec vice president. He reports to division topper Lauren Zalaznick. It's the Integrated Media part of that long title that will keep Shea busy -- cross-brand initiatives Women at NBCU, Hispanics at NBCU, Healthy at NBCU and Green is Universal will fall under his oversight. An unconventional aspect of the hire is a first-look deal for any content the exec produces. Shea's background includes producing branded shorts series for MTV with Unilever and Verizon. The media initiatives, for which NBCU creates bespoke ad campaigns across its television and digital properties, have been a large part of the company's advertising strategy as it seeks to find ways to incorporate its ad partners into a media landscape that includes fewer and fewer traditional spots. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

Olsen And Close Headline Therese Raquin

A new adaptation of the Zola novelThey're tipped to be rivals for the next Best Actress oscar, but Elizabeth Olsen and Glenn Close will shortly be joining forces in a new version of Therese Raquin.Emile Zola's naturalist 1867 novel involves the eponymous orphan heroine being railroaded into an unhappy marriage by her overbearing aunt, Madame Raquin. Chained to the feeble Camille, Therese begins an aggressive affair with the dashing Laurent, but its future is not a happy one, and there's murder afoot...Therese is a meaty role for Olsen, following her breakout performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene. Likewise Madame Raquin is a strong part for Close, who'll want to capitalise on her big "comeback" in Albert Nobbs (although Therese Raquin will involve her being paralysed for a large portion of the run-time if it remains faithful to the novel).The adaptor is Charlie Stratton, an actor (he was in the Dirty Dancing TV series) turned writer and producer, who started to cut his teeth as a director on series' like Everwood and The Beautiful Life. Therese Raquin will be his first gig as principal director on a big project, and shooting starts in the spring.

Arthur Christmas: Film Review

Leave it to the folks who brought us Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Flushed Away to bring a delightful blast of fresh air to the conventional Christmas genre.our editor recommends'Arthur Christmas' Trailer: A 'Glitch' Threatens Christmas (Video)James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie Join 'Arthur Christmas' Voice CastJustin Bieber Gets Animated for 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' (Video) Aardman's Arthur Christmas is that and more - an endlessly amusing 3D, CG-animated Yuletide romp with lively innovation at every turn and a dream voice cast headed by James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie and Bill Nighy. While longtime Aardman adherents might find this Sony Pictures Animation collaboration to be slightly more mainstream than some of those earlier productions, there's still sufficient evidence of an agreeably subversive spirit lurking just beneath the obligatory ribbons and bows. The story of the heroic journey undertaken by Santa's youngest son upon discovering an undelivered present may dutifully hit all the seasonal emotional posts, but the route it chooses to take is anything but predictable. Audiences should be cheerfully transported, especially across the pond, where the film opens Friday. It opens in the U.S. one week later. The forecast for North America, meanwhile, is for solid but likely more modest numbers, given all the British accents (not to mention comic sensibility), as well as a marketing campaign that really doesn't quite capture the essence of the film. Starting off by addressing the nagging question, "Just how exactly does Santa deliver all those presents over the course of one night?" the film depicts the seemingly impossible mission by doing it up Mission: Impossible style, complete with millions of elves schooled in covert ops and a hi-tech sleigh equipped with stealth cloaking technology. The sequence moves like the dickens and effectively sets the pace that follows back at the North Pole, where Santa's (voiced by Jim Broadbent) headstrong firstborn son Steve (Laurie) runs the Christmas Eve command with crack precision while coveting his aging dad's gig. Despite his not-so-secret ambitions, Steve is destined to be the subordinate Claus while sweet but klutzy younger brother Arthur (McAvoy) contentedly heads up the Letters to Santa Department. But when a wrapped bicycle destined for a little girl in Cornwall turns out to have missed the big shipment, Arthur, determined that no child be left behind, goes on a rogue mission to personally deliver the present with the help of his not-quite-with-it Grandsanta (a terrific Nighy) and his old-school sleigh. In her first feature animated outing, director and co-writer (with Peter Baynham) Sarah Smith not only successfully keeps this intricate operation humming, she instills a welcome female sensibility long missing from the boy's club that is Santa's workshop. This time, Mrs. Claus (Imelda Staunton) is no longer the only woman in town thanks to the presence of Bryony (a wonderful Ashley Jensen), a fiercely devoted member of Santa's Giftwrap Battalion - and likely the only elf ever presented sporting an eyebrow ring - who manages to steal most of her scenes. Visually, Arthur Christmas is splendidly state-of-the-art and vividly appointed right down to the tiniest detail. The frosty milieu may at times be reminiscent of Polar Express but with much more personality. Maintaining the warmly playful tone is Harry Gregson-Williams' buoyant score; while Justin Bieber's Jackson 5-flavored take on "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town" manages to sneak along for the ride without feeling gratuitously out of place. Opens: Wednesday, Nov. 23 (Sony) Production companies: Aardman, Sony Pictures Animation, Columbia Pictures Voice Cast: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen. Director: Sarah Smith Co-Director: Barry Cook Screenwriters: Peter Baynham & Sarah Smith Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Carla Shelley, Steve Pegram Director of photography: Jericca Cleland Production designer: Evgeni Tomov Music: Harry Gregson-Williams Costume designer: Yves Barre Editor: James Cooper Rating: PG, 97 minutes Bill Nighy Hugh Laurie James McAvoy

'Slumdog Millionaire's' Anil Kapoor to see Indian Jack Bauer (Exclusive)

This story initially came out inside the November. 18 problem in the Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsAnil Kapoor Features In CNN Freedom Project Doc To Show India's Trafficking TraditionAnil Kapoor joins Fox's '24'Kiefer Sutherland: '24' Movie Is 'Very Close' The hero of Fox's 24 is making his approach to India. Slumdog Uniform's Anil Kapoor, who carried out Kamistan Leader Omar Hassan inside the final season in the extended-running counterterrorism action series, will star in the local iteration in the show and help usher Jack Bauer into his home country. "The timing could not much better,In . states Kapoor, watching that such subjects as terrorism and upheaval are top-of-mind for Indian audiences. "It's very, very relevant the following.Inch The variation was produced from Kapoor's desire for the series, they introduced for the attention of showrunner Howard Gordon throughout filming round the U.S. version's eighth season. Kapoor recalls Gordon telling him he'd help under one condition: that Kapoor play in the Indian Jack Bauer. STORY: Kiefer Sutherland States པ' Movie Is 'Very Close' Gordon in April 2010 introduced the star to Marion Edwards, mind of worldwide television at last century Fox, which began yearly-and-a-half process to finalize a deal to license the series to Kapoor's production company, step one to get the particular-time drama format to India's tv producers. "Sadly, India features a much closer relationship to terrorism in comparison to U.S. does," notes Edwards. "They've had hotels absorbed, they've had bombings, they've had people destroyed inside the streets." Kapoor, whose clout just like a film star in India aided move the project along, hasn't made a decision just what the home country or motivations in the series' terrorists will probably be but guarantees that his character will probably be relatable very much the same Kiefer Sutherland's wound up being to U.S. audiences when the series of a counterterrorism unit first demonstrated 10 years ago, two several days following a Sept. 11 attacks. Although few other worldwide deals are actually struck for your series, Edwards remains approached about local productions in Japan as well as the Middle East. It's part of a larger proceed this news Corp. division, which has had success with local versions of Prison Break and the way I Met Your Mother in Russia, with Bones along the way. Recognizing the chance gains that rival The brand new the new sony has recognized with formats for instance Married ... With Children, Edwards' team is settling to produce older half-hour efforts Malcolm within the center plus an up-to-date The Question Years to foreign areas, getting an offer already in place for Modern Family in Israel. "Fox will be a little later to find yourself in the sport [when compared with a couple of other art galleries]," Edwards values. "The suggests that people're recognized for are the type like 24 and Prison Break, which are serialized, pricey and difficult, as well as for your reason, it has been somewhat harder for people to discover people partners who is able to give these shows what they really want being fully recognized." Next steps for 20-four: India, since it's being referred to as internally, includes having a writing staff and casting the series, which no less than in the beginning will carefully resemble the story arc in the U.S. iteration. Kapoor needs to offer the series round the air in 2012, but his schedule, which has incorporated filming and marketing Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, has not handled to obtain easy. One of several facets that excite Kapoor might be the apparent departure the big-budget, serious drama will give you Indian audiences, that are more acquainted with lighter family fare that skews female. States the star, "It's apt to be a game title title-changer." Related Subjects 24 Anil Kapoor Kiefer Sutherland Worldwide Asia Modern Family Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol