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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

Brett Ratner Never 'Banged' Olivia Munn Uses Gay Slur to explain Practicing [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Inside a statement to TheWrap, director Brett Ratner apologized for stating that "rehearsals are for fags" following a 'Tower Heist' screening on Friday evening. "I am sorry for just about any offense my remarks triggered. It had been a dumb and outdated method of indicating myself," Ratner stated. "Everybody you never know me recognizes that I do not possess a prejudiced bone during my body. But like a storyteller I ought to happen to be a lot more thoughtful concerning the energy of language and my selection of words." [TheWrap] EARLIER: Today in disgusting things Brett Ratner stated: after leading to an online meltdown on Friday by saying he "bumped" actress Olivia Munn when she "wasn't Asian," the 'Tower Heist' director told Howard Stern on Monday he wasn't totally truthful. "I stated I bumped her three occasions, which wasn't true," Ratner stated. Pressed by Stern whether he'd sex with Munn whatsoever, the director responded, "No." Obviously, that's nothing in comparison towards the homosexual slur he dropped throughout a publish-'Tower Heist' screening Q&A over the past weekend in La. Based on Vulture -- in addition to D.C. Douglas on Twitter -- Ratner was requested after an Arclight screening of 'Tower Heist' about whether rehearsals were useful towards the creative process. His reply? "Practicing is perfect for fags." Ratner is creating the 84th annual Oscars in Feb. [via @oliviamunn, Vulture] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

A Glance At Jurors Just In Case Of Jacksons Physician

First Released: November 3, 2011 8:08 PM EDT Credit: Getty Images Caption Dr. Conrad Murray In The Court: Day 23 - The Prosecution Makes Their Closing Arguments (November 3, 2011) La, Calif. -- Listed here are profiles from the seven males and five women serving around the jury within the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, that has pleaded not liable to involuntary wrongful death within the dying of Michael Jackson. Hispanic guy, 51, from Whittier. A U.S. Postal Service supervisor who runs 30 people and it has some higher education. Thinks celebs bend the guidelines and feel they are able to act as they wish. Views themself keen on Jacksons music. First-time juror. Has five children, five grandchildren. Whitened lady, 57, born in The country, lives in Alhambra. Account manager who supervises others and it has some college. Watches CSI and adopted the O.J. Simpson situation on television. Continues to be on five juries and used to be a forewoman. All individuals juries arrived at decisions. Thinks celebs feel they are able to act as they wish. Not keen on Jackson. Divorced, with two children, two grandchildren. Whitened guy, 45, management consultant from West La by having an Master of business administration. Would be a classical music performer. Watches Law and Order, follows radio and TV news, visits a couple of Websites and it has seen Here It Is however is not a Jackson fan. Was on two previous juries that arrived at decisions. Wife is really a child nurse. Two children. Whitened guy, 32, actor and part-time bookseller from Bald eagle Rock. Some college. Analyzed philosophy and theater. Viewed the O.J. Simpson trial in class being an educational experience. Thinks celebs pull off crimes due to their status. Would be a Jackson fan growing up and is the owner of unhealthy, 'Thriller and Harmful albums. Thinks Jackson was most likely a great person. Was juror on the civil trial. Whitened lady, 48, legal assistant from Temple City. Senior high school graduate. Viewed the Casey Anthony situation from time to time. Feels celebs log off since the system cant afford to safeguard them in jail. Not really a Jackson fan. First-time juror. Married with two grown children. Hispanic male, 39, from Tujunga. Bachelor's degree in sociology. Works in product management. Learns Howard Stern. Thinks celebs use status to obtain what they need. A Jackson fan who saw last couple of minutes of Here It Is on television. Offered on a single civil jury. Married with two children. Hispanic lady, 54, from San Gabriel Valley. Senior high school graduate and office manager at husbands moving van business. Stated the Casey Anthony situation demonstrated a jury that saw evidence in a different way compared to public majority. Was juror on two civil cases that ended with decisions. Watches Fox News, learns talk radio. Not really a Jackson fan but loved his music like a youthful girl. Has four grown children. Hispanic guy, 52, from Lynwood. Chartered bus driver with a few college. One prior jury experience. Thinks celebs pull off crimes due to their status. Not really a Jackson fan but thinks he would be a good artist. Spouse is mail company. Four children and something stepchild. Black guy, 54, from North Hollywood. TV technical director with affiliates degree in TV production. Watches Forensic Files and American Justice. Offered on three juries. Would be a Jackson Five fan like a kid, now much more of a Jay-Z fan. States celebs dont excite him and hes only thinking about justice. Single. No children. Whitened lady, 43. Born in England, lives in Monrovia. Bachelor's degree in biochemistry and medical laboratory sciences. Works in worldwide medical marketing. Watches NCIS. Offered on jury in England. Not really a Jackson fan but bought the Thriller Compact disc. Thinks celebs sometimes bend the guidelines. Married with two youthful children. Hispanic lady, 36, from Whittier. Employees compensation service representative. Some college. Adopted the Casey Anthony situation since it involved a young child. Wounded inside a drive-by shooting in 1993. Once offered on jury that arrived at a verdict. Single with two children, lives with boyfriend that has three kids. Whitened male, 54, from Altadena. College professor who had been a supervisory animator creating figures for movies at Disney and elsewhere. Had brief interactions with Jackson at Disney once the star was making Captain EO film. Thinks Jackson was gifted artist. No prior jury service. Adopted the O.J. Simpson situation, asks Who didnt? Copyright 2011 through the Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

UPDATE: Comcast Shares As Cable System Strength Exceeds NBCU Weakness And 3Q Earnings Miss

UPDATE, 6:45 AM: The organization’s Universal studio were built with a lousy quarter in the box office, and also the NBC broadcast network is constantly on the struggle. ButNBCU chief Steve Burke told experts inside a business call that advertising, especially in the national level, “continues to become a vibrant place.” NBC has offered 90% from the advertisements for that approaching Super Bowl.The organization is constantly on the talk up its opportunities in programming at cable systems and NBC although Burke states it “is not a large amount.”He states he desired to tell your friends that “this will be a flattish year” for money flow growth at NBCU because he stays for programming such as the recent agreement to create World Cup soccer to Telemundo. “We think we structured a really attractive long-term deal and don’t wish to box ourselves into the inability to make individuals opportunities once they promote themselves.” In the cable operation, Boss John Roberts states he’s passionate about tests in Augusta of Xcalibur, aplan to provide TV programming and data from the web cloud rather than a nearby cable headend. Comcast is testing digital tuners including video games like the Xbox 360, and needs to possess a trial inside a major market within the first 1 / 2 of the coming year. Having a programming guide shipped online, Robers states Comcastcan “move rapidly to create tweaks and modifications…It’s very, thrilling whenever you move the brains as they are and in to the cloud.” The Road was impressed — mostly because of the cable system results. Many experts likely to visit a bigger reduction in video subs. Comcast shares were up 3.6% at the begining of buying and selling. For NBCU “the core from the programming clients are NBCU’s cable systems unit, and results there have been good,” Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffett states. “But the face of NBCU may be the broadcast network, even though traders were braced for any weak result, they didn’t dissatisfy in disappointing.” PREVIOUS, 4:19 AM: The cable giant ended the quarter with net gain of $908M, up 4.7% versus this past year, on revenues of $14.3B, up 51.1%. But experts likely to see earnings per share hit 39 cents, and the organization just shipped 33 cents. Comcast states it had been hit with a $147M investment reduction in the quarter, comparable to 3 cents a share, while this past year it were built with a $109M investment gain that added 2 cents. But Comcast’s procedures will also raise questions. NBCUniversal’s operating income of $1B fell 1.4% — after making accounting changes for that acquisition and this past year’s Olympic games — while revenues elevated 4.6% to $5.2B. Which includes $1.1B in shot entertainment revenues, a 7.8% decline. Cable systems shipped the majority of NBCU’sgrowth, with revenues up 12% to $2.1B. The broadcast business was up 2.9% to $1.5B while amusement parks rose 9.1% to $580M. “Our goal for NBCUniversal would be to improve and make brands, and also to enhance lengthy-term value,” Boss John Roberts states, “Overall, this quarter ongoing our momentum toward a effective integration.” In Comcast’s core cable television business, revenues were up 5% to $9.3B — mostly because of sales of high-speed Internet and business services. Comcast ended the quarter with 22.36M video clients, lower 165,000 versus this past year.

Michael Caine joins Now You See Me

Louis Leterrier's upcoming heist thriller Now You See Me has added a touch of Oscar-winning gravitas to proceedings with the announcement that Michael Caine has joined what was already an impressive ensemble cast.The film follows a crack team of FBI agents attempting to bring down a group of flamboyant magicians, who use their performances to pull off a series of outrageous bank heists.According to The Playlist, Caine will take on the role of Arthur Tressler, the magicians' sponsor. We're envisaging something along the lines of his performance in The Prestige, with a dash more twinkly-eyed mischief thrown in for good measure.Caine becomes the latest member of a thoroughly stellar cast including Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Woody Harrelson. With that lineup, one thing the film shouldn't lack for is star power.Written as a collaborative effort between newcomer Edward Ricourt and Prince Of Persia scribe Boaz Yakin, Now You See Me will arrive in US screens on 18 January 2013.