UTA expanding to Gotham

UTA will open a Gotham office this fall, to be staffed with a combination of agents from Los Angeles as well as several new hires. Nancy Gates, co-head of TV Talent at the tenpercentary, will be the first L.A.-based agent to make the move back East. She'll be joined by alternative TV agent Alison Wallach and talent agent Steven Fisher. Agency signed a lease in the 888 Seventh Ave. building near 7th St., which is under renovation. Office opens in November. Plans are to expand UTA's existing theatre, digital media and corporate consulting practices into Gotham, in addition to its film and TV business there. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Watch Spoiler-y and Intriguing International Trailer for In Time

· With an all-star cast of up-and-comers (Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy, Vincent Kartheiser, Alex Pettyfer and Matt Bomer) and Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) behind the camera/typewriter, In Time is potentially one of the more intriguing releases of the fall. Either that or a silly and overwrought mess of hacky future touches. Judging from the new international trailer intriguing could win out, but be careful: heavy spoilers await. Your Friday Buzz Break is here. · Speaking of videos, Christopher Lloyd filmed a commercial for an Argentinean electronics store that featured him in full Doc Brown regalia. [Movies.com] · MTV has released a still pic from the Hunger Games preview planned for the MTV VMAs on Sunday night. Of course they have. [MTV] · Universal has halted Wicked Lovely — Mary Harron’s adaptation of Melissa Marr’s bestselling novel — making it just the latest film the studio has bailed out on. [Variety] · “These are my favorite kinds of guys, part one.” Mindy Kaling, FTW. [Hello Giggles]

Scarface cast reunion rocks LA

People from the Scarface cast stated hello for their not-so-little buddies once more because they reunited in LA for that launch of John P Palma's film on Blu-ray.Stars Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham and producer Martin Bregman collected in the Belasco Theatre within an event full of the type of trappings Tony Montana would recognise. Without the tiger."The Blu-ray is being released also it just keeps going! It is a film that's been near to my heart," stated Pacino, who had been apparently compensated $100k for his services.Co-star Steven Bauer also recognized the HD version from the film, particularly the Scarface Phenomenon, an exciting-new documentary that explores the film's devote cinema history."It is beautiful [on Blu-ray] and also the seem is amazing. It arrives with a documentary that's a killer. It is the ultimate for fans and those that love the film,Inch Bauer stated.Within an on-stage Q&A Pacino noted the rap industry's fascination with the film therefore it was just fitting that Ludacris carried out for visitors in the afterparty.Scarface is launched on Blu-ray on 5 September 2011.

Alex Winter Shooting Napster Documentary

VH1 will share his filesHe initially envisaged and scripted it as being a fictionalised drama, but Alex Winter has made the decision to accept documentary route on his film concerning the go up and down of peer-to-peer file discussing service Napster. The Social Networking rather stole his narrative thunder, but backed through the VH1 division that made the awesome Anvil, Winter is certain that his story continues to be well worth the telling. Napster and also the birth of file discussing technology permitted from Wikileaks towards the ipod device to Facebook, Winter informs Deadline. It grew to become a manifestation of youth revolt, and led to some complete change in how information, media and government authorities work. Which is an amazing human story, where this 18-year-old kid invents a peer-to-peer file-discussing system, and brings it around the world six several weeks later. Napster was, obviously, the organization that first felt the entire weight from the record companies' legal machines, permitting the free installing of Tunes, resurrecting that old home tape is killing music debate, and notoriously much annoying Metallica's Lars Ulrich, among many more. It had been completely busted for assisting mass copyright violation in 2002, and today is available like a compensated subscription service. Winter states it was always supposed to have been a legitimate compensated service like iTunes, employed in tandem using the music business, and just went rogue when stated short-sighted labels wouldn't give founder Shawn Fanning the time. Fanning is associated with Winter's documentary, out of the box Sean Parker (performed by Justin Timberlake within the Social Networking), who had been whether co-founding father of Napster or simply an earlier worker, based on that which you read. Label heads and music artists will even fill the roster of on-screen interviewees, and Winter promises a well-balanced film permitting each side to vent. "It is a gray area, states Winter. I'm able to understand Fanning's side, but I'm also able to empathise using the horror that Metallica felt whenever a single that wasn't even finished wound up about the radio. "

Watch Potential Future Oscar Nominee Elizabeth Olsen in Two New Martha Marcy May Marlene Trailers

Ever since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Movieline — as well as pretty much anyone who has seen Martha Marcy May Marlene — has been predicting an Oscar nomination for its breakout leading lady Elizabeth Olsen. Now, thanks to two more haunting trailers from Fox Searchlight, you can double dose on Olsen’s apparently brilliant work as a young woman trying to move past her eerie cult experience and wonder again, “Will Olsen be this year’s Jennifer Lawrence?” Either way, one thing is for sure: John Hawkes, who appears in both Martha Marcy May Marlene and Winter’s Bone (for which Lawrence, as well as he, was nominated last year), has cornered the market on backwoods creepy. Martha Marcy May Marlene was directed by Hollywood newcomer Sean Durkin and co-stars Hugh Dancy and Sarah Paulson as the family members who take Olson’s character in after she leaves the cult. The drama arrives in theaters Oct. 7. VERDICT: Fear is the most amazing emotion of all. [via FilmStage]

Jim Belushi Teams With 'Murphy Brown' Creator For New Comedy Series Project

EXCLUSIVE: After taking a stab at light drama with CBS' The Defenders, former According to Jim star Jim Belushi is returning to comedy with a new half-hour project from Murphy Brown creator Diane English. The pairing sparked bidding among studios before ultimately landing at ABC Studios, which also produced According to Jim. The deals are still being finalized, but ABC Studios is expected to re-team with According to Jim co-producer Brillstein Entertainment Partners on the show, about a single father with a teen offspring. Belushi's and English's companies will also produce. With ABC Studios as the studio, it is considered likely that the comedy will end up at ABC, the network where According to Jim ran for eight seasons, but that is not a given as the project is expected to be taken out to other networks. Belushi is the latest sitcom star to be eying a return to primetime. Tim Allen is headlining a new series for ABC this fall, Kirstie Alley is set to star in an ABC comedy pilot, and Roseanne Barr is developing a new starring vehicle for herself at 20th Century Fox TV. Belushi and English are with ICM.

Weekend Box Office: 'Apes' Still Mighty #1, 'The Help' Strong #2, 'Final Destination' #3, '30 Minutes Or Less' #5, 'Glee 3D' Feeble #6

SATURDAYPM: Here's the North American box office. Full analysis and refined numbers coming: 1.Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (Fox) Week 2 [3,691 Theaters] Friday $8.1M, Saturday $10.5M,Weekend$26.5M,Cume$104M 2. The Help (DreamWorks/Disney) NEW (Wed opening) [2,534 Theaters] Friday$7.6M, Saturday $9.7M,Weekend $24.8M,Cume $34.7M 3.Final Destination 5 - 3D (New Line/Warner Bros) NEW [3,155 Theaters] Friday $7.3M, Saturday $6.3M,Weekend $17.5M 5. The Smurfs (Sony) Week 3 [3,427 Theaters] Friday$3.7M, Saturday $5.5M,Weekend $13.7M,Cume $101.7M 5. 30 Minutes Or Less (Sony) NEW [2,888 Theaters] Friday $4.8M, Saturday $4.7M,Weekend $13M 6.Glee - 3D (Fox) NEW [2,040 Theaters] Friday $2.7M, Saturday $1.7M,Weekend $5.5M 7. Cowboys & Aliens (DreamWorks/Universal) Week 3 [3,310 Theaters] Friday$2.2M, Estimated Weekend $7M, Estimated Cume $80.8M 8. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Warner Bros) Week 3 [2,635 Theaters] Friday $2.1M, Estimated Weekend$7M, Estimated Cume $55.3M 9. Captain America (Marvel/Disney/Paramount)Week 4 [2,835 Theaters] Friday $2M, Estimated Weekend $6.5M,Estimated Cume $156.2M 10. The Change-Up (Universal) Week2 [2,913 Theaters] Friday $1.9M (-60%), Estimated Weekend $6M, EstimatedCume $25.5M

Russell Crowe joins Broken City

Paul McCartney: 'I've Been Hacked'

Critic's Notebook: CBS at TCA

Ashton Kutcher The trend this season at most networks is that their fall lineups are being upstaged by the anticipation for more promising shows being held for midseason (NBC's Smash and Awake, ABC's Good Christian Belles and The River, to name a choice few). As I was quoted saying in a recent critics' poll: "It's going to be like Christmas for me at midseason, but right now it's kind of like I'm opening underwear."It's a different situation at CBS, which has such a stable and successful prime-time schedule that there's little need for midseason replacements (only a few have been announced so far, and none has generated any real buzz). At the summer TCA press tour, we're definitely talking about what's up on CBS this fall - but once again, it has almost nothing to do with the new product. (Even in a more normal year, it would be hard to get worked up about shows like Unforgettable and How To Be a Gentleman.) Instead, when CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler took the TCA stage Wednesday morning, critics dwelled primarily on the high-profile changes taking place on the long-running hits that for years represented the network's top-rated comedy and drama: Two and a Half Men and CSI.Want more fall TV news? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!A mere 48 hours before the Charlie Sheen-free Men tapes its season opener Friday night under a shroud of secrecy - though spoilers inevitably have already leaked out - Tassler had to explain to an unruly room why the cast and producers, including new series star Ashton Kutcher, were MIA from the press tour. Her defense, that the show was preparing the pivotal two-parter that introduces Kutcher as heartsick Internet billionaire Walden Schmidt, was met with groans, since many shows being presented at TCA are also currently working. (For instance, the much-touted new Person of Interest, shooting in New York, conducted its press session via satellite.) In defense of Men's absence, Tassler observed, "You've got a tremendous amount of weight and effort being put into this episode," while choosing not to confirm the rumored details of the premiere's storyline. More to the point, she stressed, "The mystery is a part of the marketing." And the marketing at this point didn't include a press conference while they're still busy polishing what's bound to be a ratings blockbuster come September.CBS wasn't nearly as reticent about introducing the new blood joining the CSI crime squad: veteran TV star Ted Danson, who appeared on a panel alongside Marg Helgenberger (who insists this will be her last season, having declared the same a year ago), George Eads and the show's producers. Danson's character of D.B. Bennett, unveiled in an appealing clip that shows him disarming a reluctant child witness with a magic trick, is a far cry from his predecessors. Producers described him as more of a Sherlock than a "science nerd" (a la Gil Grissom), as well as a rarity in this world, a well-adjusted family man (unlike the broken, brooding wet blanket of Ray Langston). "Here's this character who has things really in balance: family, work, job, life. And I think that's sort of the key right now for us," said exec producer Don McGill. In other words, he'll lighten things up in hopes of jump-starting the aging show as it makes a critical move from Thursdays to Wednesday at 10/9.For Tassler, landing Kutcher to replace the volatile Sheen and Danson to head up CSI are win-wins: "They are incredibly respected in the creative community. They bring a tremendous amount of goodwill." Stabilizing their shows' ratings wouldn't be such a bad thing, either.But what of the new shows?The brightest new comedy hope is 2 Broke Girls (Mondays, 8:30/7:30c), a tart buddy comedy about a hard-knocks waitress (the terrific Kat Dennings) who takes a ruined heiress (bubbly discovery Beth Behrs) under her wing. Sex and the City's Michael Patrick King co-created the show with stand-up "It Girl" Whitney Cummings (who stars in her own self-titled NBC sitcom this fall, which isn't nearly as fresh). King said he conducted a "Scarlett O'Hara" style talent search - not for his stars, but for his co-writer. Of Cummings, he gushed: "She's smart, she's incredibly ambitious, has great discipline and thinks like a writer and writes really hard jokes like a stand-up." Maybe too hard. Some critics took exception to the pilot's crass ethnic stereotyping, especially of the girls' Korean-immigrant boss, among some of the cruder gags."We will always reach for comedy," King asserted, aiming for a tone that boasts "the irreverent sort of spicy, outrageous, contemporary edge that girls who are 23 living in Williamsburg [Brooklyn] have. ... Will we go too far sometimes? Yes." Call it going for Broke.CBS's other new sitcom, How To Be a Gentleman (Thursdays, 8:30/7:30c), occupies the post-Big Bang Theory slot formerly held by the regrettable Bleep My Dad Says. Aiming slightly higher up the evolutionary scale from execrable to merely mediocre, this show had the audacity to use the classic Odd Couple theme and voice-over in its TCA intro, setting up the trite premise of an anachronistic dandy (the wan David Hornsby) who learns to "man up" - one of the season's most unpromising and ubiquitous themes - with the help of boorishly macho gym bunny Kevin Dillon (Entourage). Felix and Oscar should sue.In drama, the show making the most noise is Person of Interest, a dark thriller from J.J. Abrams by way of Memento/Dark Knight scribe Jonathan Nolan. It takes over CSI's Thursday night anchor position of 9/8c, a risky move considering that Person is hardly a conventional procedural. Lost's Michael Emerson and movie messiah Jim Caviezel star as offbeat vigilantes using a state-of-the-art surveillance contraption (engineered by enigmatic tech billionaire Emerson) to target potential crime victims - or are they criminals? - in an effort to stop crimes before they happen. "I've always been more drawn to characters who were sort of on the periphery or kind of an arm's-length relationship with law enforcement," said Nolan, evoking a "Batman" analogy regarding his off-the-grid crime busters. Emerson's prickly authority and Caviezel's whispery intensity lend gravitas to this intriguing high-tech, high-action mystery series. CBS says Person tested very highly, earning it one of the network's most coveted time periods. I can't say I understand the mechanism that leads our heroes to their persons of interest, but I'm undeniably interested to see more.Joining CBS's Friday lineup, in the 8/7c slot formerly occupied by Medium and Ghost Whisperer and carrying on the otherworldly tradition, is the mystical/medical hybrid A Gifted Man - some have called it House Whisperer - featuring one of the season's most gifted casts: stage/screen leading man Patrick Wilson as a brilliant but aloof neurosurgeon; Jennifer Ehle (Tony-winning actress, beloved by fans of A&E's classic Pride & Prejudice miniseries) as his ex-wife, a clinic doctor who humanizes him when her ghost begins appearing to him; and Justified's extraordinary Emmy-nominated scene-stealer Margo Martindale as Wilson's assistant (a role they promise to beef up). Former ER and SVU exec producer Neal Baer, himself a doctor, joined the show after the pilot, intrigued by Gifted's mix of science, faith and character study. "I didn't want to do just a traditional medical series again," Baer said, and he got his wish. Wilson's struggle to reconcile the rational with the spiritual echoes the show's own battle not to cross the line into sanctimonious schmaltz. Baer likens Wilson's charisma to that of another TV doctor (rhymes with "moony") he saw break out into mega-stardom nearly 20 years ago. And who are we to argue with that?The least memorable of CBS's new dramas is, ironically enough, titled Unforgettable, a gimmicky procedural airing Tuesdays at 10/9c, which may be just formulaic enough to hold on to the mass audience of its NCIS combo lead-in in a way The Good Wife couldn't. Starring Without a Trace's head-turner Poppy Montgomery as a detective with perfect total recall, the show has been using actress Marilu Henner (well-known for her own eidetic memory) as a consultant and may create a role for her in a future episode. Henner showed up at CBS's party Wednesday night and was a big hit - stirring conjecture that her own story might make a better series than this contrived whodunit.Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Comcast Sues DirecTV Over 'Deceptive' Claims of 'Free' Televised NFL Games

JOHN PAUL FILO/CBS After ending an impasse over a new collective bargaining agreement, the National Football League is back. This is a relief to all the television networks that paid billions of dollars for television rights. But one media giant isn't dancing in the end zone. Comcast has taken the end of the labor dispute as an opportunity to settle a beef with one of its rivals, satellite TV company DirectTV, which it accuses in a new lawsuit filed on Wednesday in Illinois federal court of deceptive advertising. According to the complaint, DirectTV allegedly falsely advertises that its consumers are going to see football "free" this season. Comcast's complaint is heavy on heated rhetoric and could easily come from a class action attorney. It doesn't. The lawsuit comes from the nation's largest cable operator against the nation's largest satellite operator, who objected strongly to Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal and pushed the FCC to impose conditionson how its rival would negotiate programming agreements. Now comes a legal counterblow. Here's the opening of this lawsuit, and the boldfacing and underlying is all Comcast: "This is a false advertising case against a serial false advertiser. In the wake of the recent resolution of the NFL's labor dispute, defendant DIRECTV has launched a multi-million-dollar multimedia advertising campaign, baiting consumers with the claim that DIRECTV's popular NFL Sunday Ticket service -- which ordinarily costs hundreds of dollars per year -- is currently available for "free" or at "no extra charge." Unfortunately for consumers the claim of "free" is an outright lie. Asnone of the ads disclose, the offer is not for free NFL Sunday Ticket service-the offer requires a two-year contract with hefty termination fees for early cancellation, with the NFL Sunday Ticket service automatically renewing in the second year at full price. DIRECTV has gone to great lengths to conceal this fact from consumers. Many of its ads, especially those aired on the radio, simply omit this critical fact altogether while DIRECTV's television and Internet ads employ a carefully crafted scheme of purported disclaimers that were intentionally designed to deceive as many consumers as possible." To be sure, false advertising claims are certainly a weapon of choice among TV distributors. Comcast itself has been sued by rivals multiple times for false advertising, including by AT&T over the suggestion of bulky cable boxes placed on consumer lawns, by Verizon over claims of better HD, and even by DirecTV over superior picture quality. Comcast has also gotten served with class action lawsuits claiming false advertising over things like the speed of its Internet service and BitTorrent blocking. Running promotions that claim "free" with "automatic renewal" is certainly not a marketing invention of DirecTV, although it's a practice that certainly gets under the skin of many consumers. Comcast's allegations against DirecTV go beyond the allegedly false impression that customers are getting "free" football. DirecTV is also charged in the lawsuit with "falsely disparaging cable television service generally -- and, by clear implication, Comcast's cable services specifically." In one example, Comcast points out that DirecTV is saying in its advertisments that cable subscribers can only see a single NFL game each Sunday during the NFL season. In another example, consumers in Philadelphia are said to be told that cable customers will be unable to watch Philadelphia Eagles games on Sunday. "On information and belief, DIRECTV deliberately selected the Philadelphia Eagles as the target of this advertisement in order to disparage Comcast, its competitor, and undermine Comcast's sponsorship of the Eagles franchise," says Comcast, Finally, Comcast buttresses its arguments that DirecTV is a "serial offender in the false advertising realm" by asserting that its rival has entered into consent decrees with the Attorneys General of DC and all 50 states over issues like automatic renewal, the pricing of services, and efforts to enroll consumers in additional contracts or contract terms. Comcast is seeking DirecTV's profits resulting from allegedly misleading misrepresentations, exemplary and punitive damages, legal costs, and an injunction. The lawsuit was filed by Douglas Masters at Loeb & Loeb. DirecTV wasn't immediately available to comment on Comcast's lawsuit. E-mail: eriqgardner@yahoo.com Twitter: @eriqgardner

Are The Kids and One Existence to reside Moving to Cable?

Susan Lucci Within the latest chapter of daytime drama surrounding the way forward for My Children and something Existence to reside, both canceled soaps are increasingly being pitched to cable systems, Deadline reviews. Both shows are becoming interest from cable systems to air new episodes once they premiere online. After both series were axed by ABC in April, the network offered their online privileges to Prospect Park, which intends to air new episodes online. Prospect Park is brought by Wealthy Frank and Shaun Kwatinetz, executive producers behind the cable breakout hit Royal Pains. VIDEO: Josh Duhamel returns to any or all The Kids Despite hesitations about how exactly My Children and something Existence to reside could be transformed for that web, Prospect Park guaranteed that both series will "be shipped with similar cast as well as in exactly the same format and length." It's unclear just how much earlier episodes would premiere online before they air on cable. Both shows presently air repeat episodes on SOAPnet, that will switch to an alternative Disney Junior funnel the coming year. However, My Children's move online - that was set to occur at the end of September - has hit a snag, because of contract discussions and also the formation of recent budgets. (One Existence to Live's Internet launch isn't likely to be postponed). Contract discussions may delay My Children's online launch My Children will air its last episode on ABC on Sept. 23. One Existence to reside will leave the network in The month of january. Would you like to see My Children and something Existence to reside on cable?