Watch the Best-Worst Dracula Trailer You'll Ever See, Courtesy of Dario Argento

If Movieline ran a feature to accompany Bad Movies We Love called Bad Trailers We Love, the gory sales preview for Dario Argento’s monsterpiece Dracula 3D would be spotlighted this week. It features everything that is awful about bad horror movies — but in such a straightforward way that you can’t help but watch the trailer in knee-slapping awe. Beware: One gratuitous sponge bath, buckets of movie blood and spoilers galore await you. Argento’s take on the Bram Stoker classic stars Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong) as Dracula, Rutger Hauer (Hobo With a Shotgun) as Van Helsing and Asia Argento (actress and daughter of the director) as Lucy. Shot last summer, this “sales trailer” appears to have been cobbled together from the film’s most climactic scenes before the visual effects have been completed. Enjoy then, the after-school-special quality of acting on both the parts of the humans and the animals (sadly, the woman confronted by wolves did not have minibar booze bottles handy to fend off these beasts). If Uggie were reviewing this movie, which he appears fully capable of doing, he would give this two paws down and a tortured whimper. Also, for those keeping count at home, Dracula 3D does appear to feature: · 1 19th century character with breast implants · At minimum, 3 untraceable accents · 1 fully nude woman baring her fangs while on all fours for no apparent reason · 1 GIGANTIC PRAYING MANTIS WITH OCTOPUS ARMS · 1 man being crudely decapitated by another man’s claws · 1 actor who hisses like a cat every time he reveals his fangs No word yet on when Dracula 3D will see the light of day. VERDICT: I may not admit to it afterward, but yes, I would watch Dracula 3D. [via BadAssDigest.com]

Projecting turmoil

'Martha Marcy May Marlene''Rampart''Shame''Like Crazy'From cult survivors to corrupt cops, angst-ridden lovers to sex addicts, many of the year's most talked-about films revolved around tortured souls wracked by emotional and psychological pain. While the actors articulated this inner turmoil through their performances, the cinematographers behind these movies seized the day with the requisite lighting and composition to underscore the enveloping darkness.Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes helped establish the haunting atmosphere of flashbacks that invade the present-day consciousness of the title character, played by Elizabeth Olsen, in helmer Sean Durkin's maiden feature, "Martha Marcy May Marlene." Lipes achieved this in part by lighting only 20%-30% of the cult's farm locale and underexposing to accentuate the grain and "feeling of film."Throughout the movie, Olsen is framed in tight close-up, but instead of conventional camera placement, Lipes often used a long lens and placed the camera further away to highlight the character's inability to reconnect with the people around her. As Lipes put it, "that feeling of distance is literally a feeling of distance.""Martha" also utilizes long takes, a preferred aesthetic that Lipes shares with the director. One interrupted shot follows Martha in and out of her sister-in-law Lucy's lake house during a bout of public paranoia. The scene posed the logistical issue of working with different light levels, but it was also "liberating for Lizzy," who could focus on her performance without worrying about recreating parts of the scene for coverage.If Martha fails to escape her past, the young lovers of Drake Doremus' "Like Crazy" struggle to rekindle their romance after a prolonged cross-oceanic separation. Lenser John Guleserian gave actors Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin the physical space they needed to bring a sense of realism to the relationship of Anna and Jacob. Simple lighting allowed the actors to improvise their blocking without obstructions, and a 135 mm lens allowed for tight shots even from a distance."We wanted them to be able to forget about the camera," Guleserian says. "It also adds to that intimacy because you get an extremely shallow depth of field."This closeness is traded for colder objectivity after the difficulties of their long-distance romance. For the scene in which Anna finally arrives at Jacob's apartment after their separation, Guleserian wanted to convey emotional distance. Following them with one lens on a camera, he used "the most objective camera placement that there could possibly be."Woody Harrelson's turn as a racist, homophobic L.A. cop prone to violence anchors helmer Oren Moverman's "Rampart." Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski used techniques including slow zooms to highlight the inner psychology of Harrelson's emotionally complex character."Oren is always asking me to respond and react to what Woody is doing," Bukowski says. "The zooms often are just instinct. I want to see in his eyes. I'm trying to discern the truth he's giving or what he's trying to hide."In many scenes, the camera lingers on Harrelson's expressions as he drives through the city. Challenged to maintain the handheld approach used throughout the film, Bukowski either rode in the passenger seat beside Harrelson or drove alongside in another vehicle, rather than using traditional process trailers.The film's use of light often contrasted L.A.'s "sequestered, cave-like interiors" and "barren desert-like exteriors," Bukowski says. To depict the "corrosive and assaultive qualities of the sunlight," he refrained from using anti-halation coating for his lens that would have reduced glare."What we're doing without these coatings is actually inviting flares into the lens," he says. "We were trying to use the light to invade this character."Helmer Steve McQueen's "Shame," presented lenser Sean Bobbitt with the challenge of honestly portraying the sexual obsessions of the lead character Brandon, played by Michael Fassbender, without resorting to pornography or erotica. To do this, he employed a "very frank camera" that observed but did not judge the character. For the NC-17-rated film's threesome scene, Bobbit improvised using low light level and a 100 mm lens."This is where a documentary background comes in very useful. You sort of divorce yourself," he says. "This is what they're doing, and we're going to watch it."Bobbitt and McQueen have collaborated for 10 years, first on installation projects and more recently on films including McQueen's 2008 feature debut, "Hunger." And just as McQueen's photographs invite spectators to project their own thoughts on a subject, Bobbitt uses long takes to engage the audience with the characters."By not cutting away, you don't let the audience escape," Bobbitt says. "It seems a very natural thing for the actors to work through a whole scene in a very organic way. The audience feels like they are actually part of that."EYE ON THE OSCARS: THE CINEMATOGRAPHERLensers aren't afraid of the dark | For 'Hugo,' depth adds to character | Period pics invite wide spectrum of styles | Projecting turmoil Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

'Mission' Accomplished In Dubai: Tom Cruise Edition

By Joel Hanek MTV News reporter Josh Horowitz and producer Joel Hanek are presently in Dubai since the world premiere of "Jason Bourne: Ghost Protocol." They are their tales. If you have been following a adventures of MTV News' own reporter Josh Horowitz and that i now on Movies Blog, you will know we have traveled completely to Dubai for that world premiere of "Jason Bourne: Ghost Protocol." And let us just say, at this time we're sitting on a plane company having a banner behind us that reads: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. OK, that reference is neither timely, accurate, nor funny, so let us move ahead. Things I learned throughout the trip: 1) Scrambled eggs in the centre East are orange. Crazy, right? 2) Simon Pegg is much more amusing than I figured. 3) Tom Cruise is most likely the best guy in the world. After going through the sights of Dubai also known as the center East's Large and Tall Shop, because it has either the greatest or highest everything i was ready for the interviews. Only ft from the beach along with the imposing Burj Al Arab coming, the heavens of "MI:4" were taken into our junket room 1 by 1. Even though they had all been traveling around Asia within the last couple of days, everybody is at great spirits. Director Kaira Bird, the genius behind Pixar movies like "The Incredibles," referred to your brain-coming climbing moments on the top from the Burj Khalifa Anil Kapoor was oddly hypnotic and inspiring Paula Patton was very charming and insanely beautiful and Simon Pegg, among my own geek heroes, were built with a very nerdy and amusing conversation with Josh. Finally, Tom Cruise joined the area. For somebody who defines the term "celebrity," he certainly functions just like a normal human. He showed up within the room all smiles, greeting each and every person. Then you definitely hear that legendary laugh, and you are reminded from the numerous classics and blockbusters you've viewed him in through the years. It had been certainly strange seeing Cruise in Dubai without the assistance of an IMAX theater. After you have the interior scoop on "Jason Bourne," finding some juicy "Top Gun 2" news, and shooting an approaching After Hrs, the job interview ended. One costume change and half an hour later, we showed up in the red-colored carpet for that eighth Annual Dubai Worldwide Film Festival. The show began with (cure?) Tom Cruise striking carpeting. Everyone else went right into a craze, and between chants of his title and camera flashes, Mr. Cruise paused at each person. This isn't hyperbole: he required his time for you to meet each and every individual who showed up in the red-colored carpet. As Josh tweeted, "I believe I simply viewed Tom Cruise autograph something for each citizen of Dubai." And also to think he is doing this in just about every city they visit. For this reason he's the best guy in the world. Him, and my grandmother. And perhaps Santa.

India's Dev Anand dies at 88

Mumbai-- Indian film multihyphenate Dev Anand died london on Sunday after cardiac event. He was 88.Known one of the triumvirate of celebs who ruled Hindi cinema inside the 19 fifties and '60s (with the late Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar) Anand made such hits as "Guide," "Hare Rama hare Krishna" and "Prem pujari."Memorable films from that period include "Taxi Driver," "C.I.D.," "Tere ghar ke saamne" and "Teen deviyaan."His films were renowned for their superb tunes, usually labored with with composer Sachin Dev Burman after which his boy, Rahul Dev Burman. He introduced such stars as Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim, who'd later marry Reliance topper Anil Ambani, to films in 1971's "Hare Rama hare Krishna" and 1978's "Des pardes" correspondingly.Anand first demonstrated becoming an actor in 1946's "Hum ek hain." His first hit film was 1948's "Ziddi." In 1949, he began his production company Navketan Films where his brothers and sisters, helmer Chetan Anand and actor-director Vijay Anand, grew to become part of him. Navketan's "Baazi" (1951) launched the directorial career of Guru Dutt, an excellent of Indian cinema.In 1965, Anand produced and starred inside the Hindi-language "Guide," based on R.K. Narayan's eponymous British-language novel, directed by Vijay Anand. A shorter British-language version with various script by Jewel S. Buck ("The Truly Amazing Earth") and co-produced by Anand and Tad Danielewski ("The Big Wave") was released inside the U.S. and examined again within the Cannes film fest in 2007.Anand made his directorial debut with 1970's "Prem pujari" and acquired a substantial hit along with his 1971 undertake hippie culture "Hare Rama hare Krishna." He directed 17 more films, with him starring, along with his last release being 2011's "Chargesheet."In 2002, Anand was approved India's finest film honur, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Children include his wife, Kalpana Kartik (who co-starred with him in "Taxi Driver"), a boy, a daughter and nephew the helmer Shekhar Kapur ("Elizabeth").Kapur tweeted: "My uncle Dev Anand. We spoke about him as if he'd live forever. Maybe he'll. What made an appearance immortal passes into myth." Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

'Dancing While using Stars' Champion J.R. Martinez Visits Government

DETROIT -- Dr. Feelgood, the Theatre of Discomfort and, clearly, women, Women, Women occupy residency in Las vegas throughout February.our editor recommendsConcert Review: Motley Crue within the Hollywood BowlMotley Crue Rocker Vince Neil Charged With Battery Motley Crue in Vegas will hunker lower from Feb. 3-19, 2012 within the Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The 12-show run includes Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 5), Valentine's Day and Leader's Day, as well as the band individuals are promising an extravaganza that will both meet and exceed their usual theatrical standards. PHOTOS: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers "It's likely to be roughly-the-top craziness," frontman Vince Neil told Billboard.com within a business call with reporters. "Vegas is virtually based on large, large shows, and Motley Crue may also be. We're putting together a show at this time around that's something we've never carried out our life-style. It's a stationary show. It doesn't need to maneuver, and then we are capable of doing an array of stuff we just really imagined about." Neil mentioned the crowd plans for your production being "interactive," with even people sitting for that back or even the top venue "placed inside the show." Drummer Tommy Lee added that, "In my opinion growing amounts of individuals would really like a celebration, which we're trying to create that into this where people aren't forever in the show, they're Inside the show. We're really trying to create something here that, if you leave there, you're wearing the show. You're taking regions of it together with you. It's you ... Why not transform it into a full-on experience, really? We're putting together moments from the show where the actual audience takes part. They're within it. They're around it. It's apt to be really exciting." PHOTOS: Past Grunge in Pictures Neil and Lee did not share specific particulars to discuss in regards to the production but Lee mentioned the show would involve "other artists ... and not in the musical fashion," additionally to ballroom ballroom dancers in a number of stages of undress. "It sure might be fun to really take action Vegas style and possess there be some nudity, or almost nude," Lee mentioned, that Neil added, "Basically, Tommy's saying there'll be lots of naked women on stage." Lee also revealed he'll be making use of an changed, "a lot more crazy" version in the rollercoaster-like track that permit him to play upside lower through the Crue's concerts this year. "Vegas is famous because of its huge, crazy shows," mentioned Neil, who resides there when the band is off course. "That's why In my opinion we're a perfect match this.Inch Lee, meanwhile, noted that "getting (the show) not require to maneuver each night really opens lots of entrance doors for people -- literally trap entrance doors." The Crue, whose last album was 2008's "Saints of los angeles,In . does not plan to include any brand-new music inside the shows, but Lee predicted you will notice some flexibility inside the set list from evening to evening. "I'd imagine our plans are likely to alter up,Inch he mentioned. "Once we're undertaking a Friday, Saturday or sunday, chances are there might be lots of people going to see two shows ore potentially three once they're there. Who knows? Therefore I imagine we'll mix things up.Inch The Motley Crue in Vegas show dates are Feb. 3-5, 8, 10-12, 14-15, 17-19. Ticket pricing is $85 for your general admission pit and reserved floor seating, and $65 for balcony reserved with $129.50-$179.50 Private room packages. The presale has started public sales can begin 10 a.m. Saturday [12 ,. 3] at internet.motley.com, internet.thejointlasvegas.com and internet.ticketmaster.com. Hard Rock may also be offering holiday packages including tickets for the show. Lee and Neil states the Crue will consider returning to Las vegas for the next residency, possibly for greater measures. "Whether or not this's effective and computes for everybody, why not?In . Neil states. "That's what's great about Vegas -- people from around the world are for a few days, then proceed, new people always coming. Basically you're obtaining the planet cross your path.In . Nonetheless, the Crue -- which begins a six-date U.K. tour with Def Leppard and Steel Panther on 12 ,. 6 -- will probably see more around the world throughout 2012. A U . s . States tour is most likely, but Lee mentioned whether it'll be a Crue Fest package hasn't been determined. "We're still speaking about and putting together plans for your summer season ... planning the comfort within our year,Inch the drummer describes. "At this time around we're focusing on acquiring the Vegas residency contacted." The quartet may also be regarded as posting a tenth anniversary extended edition of the band memoir The Muck -- Confessions around the world's Renowned Rock-band, but neither Neil nor Lee specified what new material will probably be incorporated. Related Subjects

House Designed Based on Pixar's 'Up' Sold

As 2011 draws to a close, Taylor Swift took the podium at Billboard's Women in Music Awards to accept the honor of Woman of the Year at the seventh annual NY event.our editor recommendsAMAs 2011: Taylor Swift Wins Entertainer of the Year; Adele Scores Favorite Album; Bruno Mars Upsets Justin BieberNicki Minaj to Be Made Into a $1,000 Barbie Doll for Charity PHOTOS: Taylor Swift Turns 21 Showing off her sleek new hairdo, Swift took the podium to recall her early years in Nashville and religiously reading Billboard, a sister publication of The Hollywood Reporter. "I would go through every single page and every single chart and just daydream about what it would be like to see my name in there someday," she said. "And today I walked in to flashing camera bulbs and all these important people in music, and I thought, 'I guess that's what it looks like.'" PHOTOS: The Best (and Worst) Moments of AMAs 2011 Swift was in the company of Nicki Minaj, who was awarded the honor of Rising Star, and a group of 41 industry executives (due to a tie) topped by Atlantic Records Group Chairman/CEO Julie Greenwald. "Our dream is to build artists with careers," said Greenwald. "To have so many diverse artists breaking in different genres is amazing." Among the artists to break out in 2011, Atlantic's Christina Perri, Wiz Khalifa and Bruno Mars helped the label achieve a banner year, with seven albums debuting in Billboard's top 10. "Yesterday's way of rolling out a record is just that," Greenwald said. "It's all about trying new things. Every day we're experimenting with new strategies and just trying to think differently." For more from the Friday, Dec. 2 ceremony, click here. To read the complete list of Billboard's honorees, click here. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 54th Annual Grammy Nominees: Kanye West, Adele, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Katy Perry Related Topics Taylor Swift Nicki Minaj Billboard

Lionsgate United kingdom To Distribute Icon Game titles, But No News On Library Deal

Lionsgate United kingdom today confirmed its new distribution pact with Icon United kingdom saying it'll handle the discharge of all the latters game titles continuing to move forward. The offer is perfect for all privileges for those films in the future, but, for now a minimum of, the Icon library isn't incorporated. Speculation continues to be that Lionsgate would dominate the library including Oscar-those who win Precious and Guy On Wire Oscar-nominee Just One Guy, genre hit Paranormal Activity and many more. Lionsgate United kingdom already handles the house entertainment privileges for that Miramax and Nu Image libraries and lately joined a multi-year certification cope with Netflix in front of the streaming service’s 2012 United kingdom launch. Symbols releases this year have incorporated Jodie Fosters The Beaver and Nicolas Winding Refns Drive. Lionsgate will handle the discharge of Winding Refns next picture, Only God Forgives together with Walter Salles On The Highway, Adam Wingards Youre Next and also the very British Mail carrier Pat: The Film. Icon Boss Aviv Giladi stated, This move will further assert our position within the competitive United kingdom marketplace. Lionsgate COO Guy Avshalom stated, We're delighted to become dealing with Aviv and the team at Icon and including a number of game titles into our growing theatrical slate.

Jaime Pressly Describes TV Return In I Personally Don't Like My Teenage Daughter

First Released: November 23, 2011 6:13 PM EST Credit: FOX Caption Aisha Dee as Mackenzie, Katie Finneran as Nikki, Jaime Pressly as Annie and Kristi Lauren as Sophie in I Personally Don't Like My Teenage Daughter on FOXLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Jaime Pressly heads back to everything about sitcoms using the new FOX comedy, I Personally Don't Like My Teenage Daughter, however the Emmy champion (for I'm Earl) stated it required an excellent show to woo her back. I truly desired to make certain that things i did wasnt something which just was destined to be half-a**erectile dysfunction, it was something which was destined to be really, excellent, dealing with excellent people as well as from great authors, the actress told AccessHollywood.coms Laura Saltman. We've got all that. After Earl, Jaime required a rest, remaining aware of her boy, Dezi, now 4. He only agreed to be annually . 5 old after i stopped shooting Earl, and so i got 2 yrs to become home with him, that was wonderful, she stated. Still, Jaime stated she was glad to return to work. I couldnt run to work quick enough, though, the funny star stated having a laugh. Whatever you at-home moms? Kudos for you. I am unable to do that which you do. Used to do it also it was tough. I'd help I'd a nanny assist me to also it was still being hard, Jaime added. Jaime plays just one mother raising an average Women-esque teenage daughter alongside her closest friend, performed by double Tony champion Katie Finneran, who also offers a snooty teen. Going from Earls aggressive Pleasure to her IHMTD character Annie was the best project, Jaime stated. Pleasure was this type of large character, I needed to allow that to die lower for a bit after which I recognized it is not dying lower cause shes on 7 days per week now [in distribution], so the only method I had been gonna escape from it had been doing something the entire opposite, that is this character Annie, which show. IHMTD premieres November 30 at 9:30/8:30 C on FOX. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Casting Standout: 'The Ides of March'

Casting Standout: 'The Ides of March' By Daniel Holloway November 22, 2011 Photo by Columbia Pictures Ellen Chenoweth's first feature film as a casting director was "Diner," a classic ensemble picture of its era, with a cast that included Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, and Paul Reiser, all at or near the dawn of their careers. Since then, Chenoweth has cast some of the most acclaimed films of the last three decades, from "Six Degrees of Separation" to "No Country for Old Men." So how does her most recent"The Ides of March," a George Clooneydirected political drama adapted from Beau Willimon's stage play "Farragut North"stack up against its forebears? "It's like asking how your children stack up," Chenoweth says. "I'm definitely really proud of this one. I think it's really, really solid. I didn't cringe at all when I saw it, so that's a good sign." How often does she cringe when watching her films? "I can rip myself to shreds, particularly the first time I see something," she says. "It usually takes me about three viewings to kind of calm down. But I actually didn't go through that agony on this one."Chenoweth didn't have to go through much agony in casting the project, either. At the time Chenoweth came aboard, Ryan Gosling was locked in as the lead, Stephen Meyers, a political staffer for an idealistic presidential candidate played by Clooney. Some supporting partsMarisa Tomei as a driven political reporter, Evan Rachel Wood as a naive internwere also already cast. But there was still plenty of work to do for Chenoweth, who worked with Clooney on his three previous directorial efforts and helped bring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Jeffrey Wright aboard for this one. "One of the great things was that just because [Clooney has] been doing this for a while and acting in so many things over the years, he knows so many actors," Chenoweth says. "So that's a real kind of asset. If you say, 'Oh, that guy who was on some TV show,' chances are he has seen it and probably worked with that person. It just makes my job a lot easier. Also, he has a really good eye for talent and knows what he wants. I find the hardest thing is when a director doesn't know what he wants. But he does, so you just have to zero in on it and help him find it."Among the roles Chenoweth worked the hardest to cast was Ben Harpen, a young staffer who challenges Meyers. The role went to Max Minghella, but not before plenty of due diligence had been done. "It just became a part that all the young guys wanted," she says. "We had people sending us tapes from Australia, England. Even though we didn't cast them, we definitely saw a lot of interesting young guys."Chenoweth also cast several supporting roles using local actors in Michigan, where much of the film's principal photography was shot. Because of a tight budget and a busy travel schedule, she reviewed prerecorded auditions from Michigan actors remotely in NY, then passed the best on to Clooney and producerco-writer Grant Heslov in Los Angeles. Chenoweth credits Michigan's film and television production tax credit program with helping develop a rich community of actors from which she was able to draw. "We definitely had quite a few nice supporting roles come out of Michigan," she says. "I think because of all the production there, I even think people have moved back there from L.A. because there's so much work there. I had worked on [Clint Eastwood's] 'Gran Torino' a few years ago, which was one of the first things there after the big incentive kicked in. I think since then the talent pool has really improved a lot. It's really beefed up."And with "The Ides of March," Chenoweth has beefed up her rsumnot that it needed it.Casting Director: Ellen ChenowethDirector: George ClooneyWriters: George Clooney and Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, based on the play "Farragut North" by WillimonStarring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey WrightThe Pitch: A young hotshot political staffer (Gosling) gets entangled in the backroom dealing of a high-stakes presidential campaign.To read Back Stage's complete coverage of Awards Season, please get our FREE SAG Nomination Committee Guide. Or follow all our daily coverage with Back Stage's new online Awards Season section. Casting Standout: 'The Ides of March' By Daniel Holloway November 22, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Columbia Pictures Ellen Chenoweth's first feature film as a casting director was "Diner," a classic ensemble picture of its era, with a cast that included Kevin Bacon, Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, and Paul Reiser, all at or near the dawn of their careers. Since then, Chenoweth has cast some of the most acclaimed films of the last three decades, from "Six Degrees of Separation" to "No Country for Old Men." So how does her most recent"The Ides of March," a George Clooneydirected political drama adapted from Beau Willimon's stage play "Farragut North"stack up against its forebears? "It's like asking how your children stack up," Chenoweth says. "I'm definitely really proud of this one. I think it's really, really solid. I didn't cringe at all when I saw it, so that's a good sign." How often does she cringe when watching her films? "I can rip myself to shreds, particularly the first time I see something," she says. "It usually takes me about three viewings to kind of calm down. But I actually didn't go through that agony on this one."Chenoweth didn't have to go through much agony in casting the project, either. At the time Chenoweth came aboard, Ryan Gosling was locked in as the lead, Stephen Meyers, a political staffer for an idealistic presidential candidate played by Clooney. Some supporting partsMarisa Tomei as a driven political reporter, Evan Rachel Wood as a naive internwere also already cast. But there was still plenty of work to do for Chenoweth, who worked with Clooney on his three previous directorial efforts and helped bring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Jeffrey Wright aboard for this one. "One of the great things was that just because [Clooney has] been doing this for a while and acting in so many things over the years, he knows so many actors," Chenoweth says. "So that's a real kind of asset. If you say, 'Oh, that guy who was on some TV show,' chances are he has seen it and probably worked with that person. It just makes my job a lot easier. Also, he has a really good eye for talent and knows what he wants. I find the hardest thing is when a director doesn't know what he wants. But he does, so you just have to zero in on it and help him find it."Among the roles Chenoweth worked the hardest to cast was Ben Harpen, a young staffer who challenges Meyers. The role went to Max Minghella, but not before plenty of due diligence had been done. "It just became a part that all the young guys wanted," she says. "We had people sending us tapes from Australia, England. Even though we didn't cast them, we definitely saw a lot of interesting young guys."Chenoweth also cast several supporting roles using local actors in Michigan, where much of the film's principal photography was shot. Because of a tight budget and a busy travel schedule, she reviewed prerecorded auditions from Michigan actors remotely in NY, then passed the best on to Clooney and producerco-writer Grant Heslov in Los Angeles. Chenoweth credits Michigan's film and television production tax credit program with helping develop a rich community of actors from which she was able to draw. "We definitely had quite a few nice supporting roles come out of Michigan," she says. "I think because of all the production there, I even think people have moved back there from L.A. because there's so much work there. I had worked on [Clint Eastwood's] 'Gran Torino' a few years ago, which was one of the first things there after the big incentive kicked in. I think since then the talent pool has really improved a lot. It's really beefed up."And with "The Ides of March," Chenoweth has beefed up her rsumnot that it needed it.Casting Director: Ellen ChenowethDirector: George Clooney Writers: George Clooney and Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, based on the play "Farragut North" by WillimonStarring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey WrightThe Pitch: A young hotshot political staffer (Gosling) gets entangled in the backroom dealing of a high-stakes presidential campaign.To read Back Stage's complete coverage of Awards Season, please get our FREE SAG Nomination Committee Guide. Or follow all our daily coverage with Back Stage's new online Awards Season section.

'Game Of Thrones' Season Two Preview Teases New Characters

Children of summer prepare yourself, because winter is finally returning, and it's not going to be pretty the second time around. HBO has released a behind-the-scenes featurette from the second season of "Game of Thrones" that offers the first glimpse at footage from the highly anticipated show. All our favorite characters -- from Tyrion to Jon Snow to The Hound -- are included, as well as some new ones. And if you wanted another peek at Arya on the lam, then you're in luck. Season 2 - In Production Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss narrate the video and express their excitement for the upcoming second season. "So many great characters arcs and so many great characters and plot twists and reveals," Benioff promised. "I think it's going to be an incredible journey for our audience." The two major scenes revealed in the trailer are one of Jon and Sam beyond the Wall discussing how they are pressing into Wildling territory, and the aforementioned scene where Arya is disguised as the boy Arry, and is close to being caught by the Queen's men. But there are some other great shots of Jorah and Daenerys, Joffrey as king and Bran with Maester Luwin that should get fans counting down the seconds until "Game of Thrones" premieres in April. Also revealed are some of the new characters in the show's upcoming season. Renly Baratheon's new queen Margaery Tyrell -- played by "The Tudors" star Natalie Dormer -- is shown sitting next to her king on the battlefield. And there are some quick shots of Carice Van Houten as Melissandre and Liam Cunningham as Davos tossed in there if you're quick enough to catch them. I personally can't wait to see what Gwendoline Christie looks like as Brienne and how Tom Wlaschiha makes us cringe as Jaqen H'ghar, but hopefully those will be revealed in future promotions. "One of the great challenges with the second season is the world just expanded enormously and not only did we introduce a great number of new characters, but we're journeying to all new locations," Benioff teased for season two. We can't wait! Did this promo get you excited for season two of "Game of Thrones"? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Breaking Dawn Rises To $283.5M Worldwide Debut

First Published: November 20, 2011 3:17 PM EST Credit: Getty Images LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner step out in style the UK premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 at Westfield Stratford City in London on November 16, 2011 The Twilight Saga has staked out another huge opening with a $139.5 million first weekend domestically and a worldwide launch of $283.5 million. The domestic total gives The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 the second-best debut weekend for the franchise, after the $142.8 million launch for 2009s The Twilight Saga: New Moon. 'Breaking Dawn did more than half of its business, $72 million, on opening day Friday, while the movies debut weekend was the fifth-best on record. Opening in 54 overseas markets, Breaking Dawn pulled in $144 million internationally, according to studio estimates Sunday. But the Warner Bros. dancing penguin sequel Happy Feet 2 stumbled in its debut, pulling in just $22 million over opening weekend. Thats barely half what the first film in the animated franchise earned in its 2006 opening. The comparison is even worse considering the original did not have the sequels price advantage for 3-D screenings, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D shows. The previous weekends No. 1 movie, Relativity Medias action tale Immortals, fell to third-place with $12.3 million, raising its domestic haul to $53 million. George Clooney had a great start with Fox Searchlights comic drama The Descendants, which broke into the top-10 despite playing in just a handful of theaters. The Descendants finished at No. 10 with $1.2 million in 29 theaters, averaging a whopping $42,150 a cinema. That compares to an average of $34,351 in 4,061 theaters for Breaking Dawn. Directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways), the film stars Clooney as a distressed dad tending to his daughters after his wife falls into a coma from a head injury. The film expands to about 400 theaters Wednesday. In an industry whose main audience is young males, Twilight is a rare blockbuster franchise driven by female viewers. Distributor Summit Entertainment reported that women and girls made up 80 percent of the audience for Breaking Dawn. The popularity of Twilight has left many men scratching their heads, even those involved in releasing the movies. Im 53 years old, and I havent figured it out yet, said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit. It relates really to young girls and things that are important to them, their romantic ideas of love and relationships, without getting so physical, at least on screen, that it becomes a worry for their parents. Breaking Dawn has brooding teen Bella (Kristen Stewart) marrying vampire lover Edward (Robert Pattinson), whose family strikes an uneasy alliance with jealous werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) to protect the bride and the baby shes carrying. The movies big start points to even better business for next years Breaking Dawn Part 2, the finale in the five-film series based on Stephenie Meyers best-selling novels. Breaking Dawn was a windfall for Hollywood in general, whose domestic revenues continue to trail 2010s despite rosy projections last spring of a record box-office year. Domestic business totaled $222 million, up 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 led with $125 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. The penguins of Happy Feet 2 were left in the cold compared with the big debut for the first film, a critical favorite that won the Academy Award for feature animation. The sequel, featuring returning voice stars Elijah Wood and Robin Williams, received mixed to bad reviews. Still, Warner Bros. reported it earned highmarks from audiences, which could keep it afloat in the coming weeks. We honestly feel well pick up some steam and play some catch-up as we get into the holidays, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution at Warner. But the competition for family audiences turns intense in the next few days with Martin Scorseses youthful adventure Hugo, the musical comedy The Muppets and the animated holiday tale Arthur Christmas all opening Wednesday for the busy Thanksgiving weekend. The newcomers, combined with Breaking Dawn, could lift Hollywood above the Thanksgiving record set in 2009, when New Moon paced the industry to a $273 million domestic haul from Wednesday to Sunday. This could be one of the greatest movie-going weekends ever in the midst of a year that has really had its ups and downs at the box office, said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, $139.5 million ($144 million international) 2. Happy Feet 2, $22 million. 3. Immortals, $12.3 million. 4. Jack and Jill, $12 million. 5. Puss in Boots, $10.7 million ($2.4 million international). 6. Tower Heist, $7 million ($4.5 million international). 7. J. Edgar, $5.9 million. 8. A Very Harold&Kumar 3D Christmas, $2.9 million. 9. In Time, $1.7 million. 10. The Descendants, $1.2 million. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Natalie Wood Scientists to check out Boat in Hawaii Robert Wagner Not just a Suspect

Scientists will examine the boat that moved Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken the evening the actress died three decades ago, the La Sheriff's Department introduced Friday.our editor recommendsNatalie Wood Reopened Situation Prompts CBS' '48 Several hours Mystery' to move Up Air DateNatalie Wood Boat Captain Continues Media Blitz on CNN (Video)Natalie Wood's Boat Captain Confesses to Lounging, States Robert Wagner 'Responsible' on her behalf Dying (Video)Natalie Wood: 5 of Her Most Memorable Roles (Video)Christopher Walken Utilizes Lawyer to cope with Natalie Wood Analysis (Exclusive) Lt. John Corina addressed a throng of media inside a press conference within the Sheriff's Monterey Park headquarters announcing the 30-year-old analysis to the actress' dying remains reopened. Corina rejected to provide particulars round the inquiry to the dying, they mentioned remains considered an accidental drowning. But he mentioned that Wagner is not a suspect, adding the department had received new, credible information that motivated further analysis. PHOTOS: Natalie Wood: A Hollywood Icon Appreciated "We felt you ought to be responsible enough to follow along with-up," Corina mentioned. The boat that moved the trio your evening now resides in Hawaii, and Corina mentioned scientists will examine it concerning the the inquiry. He declined to talk about if there's a suspicion of foul take part in the incident. When asked for whether scientists would interview Wagner or Walken, Corina mentioned he wouldn't consult with whom scientists would speak. Corina wouldn't not address claims by boat captain Dennis Davern, who made media models Friday saying he lied for Wagner throughout previous recounts in the evening when Wood died. In the CNN appearance, Davern mentioned he was asked for by Wagner not to turn incorporated's search light or call a detailed restaurant after Wood went missing utilizing their boat in the coast of La's Catalina Island. More youthful crowd established the married Wood and Wagner, who had previously been fighting due to Wagner's jealousy over his wife's apparent closeness with Brainstorm co-star Walken, needed their fight towards the ship's aft deck before things went quiet. The actress' bruised body was later located in the ocean of a mile within the boat, named the wonder. Wagner has maintained Wood visited bed mattress then when he later came below deck, she disappeared. On Thursday, he gave the following statement for the Hollywood Reporter: "Although nobody inside the Wagner family people happen to be relayed through the L.A. County Sheriff's department relevant for this matter, they fully provide the efforts in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and trust they'll evaluate whether any new information relevant for the dying of Natalie Wood Wagner is applicable so it evolves from the credible source or sources aside from people simply trying to earn money in the 30-year anniversary of her tragic dying." Email: Daniel.Burns@THR.com Twitter: @DanielNMiller Related Subjects Christopher Walken Natalie Wood Robert Wagner

Emma Stone on 'SNL': Exactly what the Experts Say

Emma Stone was back around the Saturday Evening Live stage a few days ago, serving her second stint as host of NBC's late-evening variety show.our editor recommends'Saturday Evening Live' Rankings Lower With Emma Stone, Coldplay'Saturday Evening Live' Promotions Showcase Emma Stone's Comedy Wizardry (Video)'Saturday Evening Live' sets Emma Stone, Charlie Day and Jason Segel as November hosts'Saturday Evening Live': Emma Stone, Coldplay, Penn St. and also the Demon (Video) The actress, who next seems in This summer's The Astonishing Spider-Guy, among other movies, carried out a monologue with Andy Samberg that poked fun the surname of at her Spider-Guy co-star -- and reported boyfriend -- Andrew Garfield, who came out onstage. Meanwhile, skits incorporated one entitled "Bridal Shower Gifts," by which Stone performed the co-worker of the bride-to-be (Kristen Wiig) who wrongly in a bridal shower, giving the guest of recognition rectal lubricant like a present and popping for any "human toilet" as live entertainment. [Discover the shocking truth below.] VIDEO: 'Star Wars' Parody Features Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg What exactly did the experts think about her return engagement on the program? The Houston Chronicle's Therese Odell was included her assessment. "Last night's Saturday Evening Live was neither an outrageous success nor an abject failure, but rather a strange mixture of reheated sketches and dirty jokes," she authored. "It had been as though the authors did not quite trust Emma Stone with new material, and they also encircled her with safe bits they understood works, and a few very raunchy ones they understood would a minimum of shock, otherwise amuse." The Orlando Sentinel's Hal Boedeker was keen on the host's performance, otherwise as passionate concerning the episode. STORY:Saturday Evening Live' Rankings Lower With Emma Stone, Coldplay "Host Emma Stone was lovely and game within an average episode from the NBC show," he authored. "Shewas funniest like a dense guest who presented inappropriate gifts in a bridal shower. Stone would be a cheerful host within the racy final sketch, 'We're Will make Technology Difficulty,' which featured products (like a gaming controller as well as an iPad) setting it up on." Elsewhere, Hitfix.com's Ryan McGee rated the different segments, writing that some worked out much better than others. He gave the monologue a C. "Instead of let Stone drive the monologue, SNL transmits Andy Samberg to decrease in (literally) and audition for that role of Spider-Guy," he authored. "Many a tale is created at the fee for Andrew Garfield's surname, which prompts Garfield themself in the future onstage. "'He's BRITISH?' Samberg cries. Very little for Stone to complete within this besides stare at Samberg attempting to switch while strapped right into a flying harness. Um...this show will not be this weak for the following 80 minutes, right?" VIDEO:'Saturday Evening Live': Emma Stone, Coldplay, Penn St. and also the Demon The Examiner's Scott Wampler, meanwhile, gave the monologue a b --, adoring Stone on her efforts. "The punchlines don't land everything well, but Stone's delivery causes it to be appear better than,Inch he authored. "This sets a precedent for the whole evening, incidentally." Related Subjects Emma Stone NBC Saturday Evening Live

James Murdoch underfire at U.K. Parliament

LONDON -- Embattled News Corp. chief operating officer James Murdoch steadfastly insisted that he was unaware of the extent of the phone hacking activities at News of the World when he appeared before a Parliamentary Select Committee for a second time on Thursday. Sitting this time without his father Rupert by his side, Murdoch Jr. repeatedly denied he had misled Parliament and emphasized that he had no knowledge of how widespread the illegal activities at the now-defunct tabloid paper were as he was fiercely grilled by a group of Members of Parliament in London. Standing by the testimony he gave the committee in July, Murdoch said that wider evidence of phone hacking was not given to him by former NI legal affairs manager Tom Crone nor by former NoW editor Colin Myler, and thus apportioning the blame of the scandal to others. "After the resignation of (Andy) Coulson (former editor of NoW and former spin doctor of Prime Minister David Cameron), (Les) Hinton (the former News International boss) brought Myler in to bring the newspaper forward and if he had known that there was wider spread criminality I think he should have told me," he said. The session, which lasted more than 2 1/2 hours, began with Murdoch denying any knowledge of the so-called "for Neville" email -- the email which revealed exactly how widespread the phone hacking activities were in the org -- and claimed to have only read the email "very recently," despite the fact that it was published in a 2010 committee report. Asked whether he too felt "humbled" by the events that have unfolded, a word his father Rupert used so memorably back in July in front of the committee, Murdoch responded: "I have had some time to reflect on these events. It's appropriate to reflect and I think the whole company is humbled by this. "What I'm trying to do is learn from the events over the last couple of years and try to understand why the company couldn't come to grips with the issues in as fast a way as I would have liked. "We are all humbled by itit is something that we are very sorry about." When he was asked about the legal advice given my Michael Silverleaf QC to News Intl., who emphasized that there was a culture of illegal activities happening at the company in 2008, Murdoch claimed he was not given the right information. "It is clear to me that in 2008 the information I received was incomplete and it's also clear that in 2009 upon allegations that the full extent of the knowledge was not made clear to me and that is something that I am very sorry for." Questioning took a dramatic turn when MP Tom Watson accused Murdoch of subscribing to a Mafia-style "code of silence" over the illegal activities. Asked whether the term "omerta" -- a group of people bound together by secrecy -- was an accurate description of News Intl. in the U.K., Murdoch responded: "Absolutely not, I think it's offensive and it's not true." "I think you must be the first mafia boss in history who didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise," said Watson to Murdoch, before Murdoch called his line of questioning "inappropriate." Murdoch has always insisted that he was ignorant of the fact that phone hacking was widespread when he authorized a payment of 700,000 ($1.1 million) to soccer official Gordon Taylor in 2008 when his phone was hacked. Additionally, Murdoch did not rule out axing The Sun, one of the other three remaining U.K. newspapers at News Intl., if further evidence of phone hacking at the company surfaced. Since the news that phone hacking was endemic at papers under the News Intl. banner, the scandal has had a seismic effect on Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corp. A number of execs have resigned in the wake of the scandal including Rebekah Brooks, former News Intl. topper, and Hinton, former chief exec of Dow Jones and Rupert Murdoch's right-hand man. John Hartigan, long-time chairman and chief exec of News Limited, News Corp.'s Australian operations, stepped down on Wednesday. James Murdoch, who also serves as chairman of U.K. paybox BSkyB, is facing an increasing amount of pressure, challenging his position at the company. In October, he survived an attempt by News Corp. stockholders to remove him as director. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Munecos Animados preps 'Amigos'

MADRID -- The spanish language toon studio Munecos Animados is preparing a 22-seg half-hour pre-school series, "Amigos," targeted at distributing animation abilities and general rise in Guatemala and Africa. The spanish language telemarketer Nottingham Forrest will handle worldwide sales. "Amigos" features six buddies: an elephant, crocodile, bear, fox, a black panther inside a motorized wheel chair, along with a little chicken. Puppets are constructed with curtain or sofa fabric, fleece, polystyrene foam, polyester -- all common materials easily found or available in Africa or Guatemala. Voicing is going to be named in The spanish language for The country, South American The spanish language, French and British. And scripts is going to be prepared of The country, stated Roman. Within an usual link-up, "Amigos" is backed by Spain's Munecos Animados, The spanish language pubcaster TVE, and condition tv stations from Niger, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea. Pubcasters in tobago, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador also back the project. "Amigos" has additionally drawn on finance from Spain's Secretary of state for Culture and Ibero-American Agency for Development. The spanish language bank BBVA has signed a sponsorship and investment deal on "Amigos." "Amigos" goes into production in 2012. Profits would revert towards the nations involved, stated Roman. It'll get into production around March or April. Total series finances are Euros2.5 million ($3.4 million). Munecos is resides in Colmenar Viejo, a village about 50 %-hour's drive north of Madrid. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Because Of Due To Jimmy Kimmel To Host White-colored House Correspondents Dinner

Because Of Due To Jimmy Kimmel infamously skewers the best choice of ABC every year within the network’s upfront presentation. Now he'll get to make it happen for the leader from the united states . States. The host of ABC’s late-evening talk show Because Of Due To Jimmy Kimmel Live! remains attracted onto headline the next White-colored House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 28, 2012. He works recent hosts in the event Wanda Sykes, Jay Leno and several recently Seth Meyers a year ago. “Jimmy’s humor is sophisticated and edgy while appealing to a sizable audience,” mentioned Caren Bohan, a Reuters journalist and WHCA leader. Mentioned Kimmel, “I anticipate being a member of theWhite House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. I like dinner.” The WHCA dinner is attended with the Leader and First Lady together with other senior government government bodies the ones in the press corps supported having a slew of stars.

Bruce Helford On Anger Management, Dealing With Charlie Sheen And The Go Back To TV Following A 3-Year Break

Following a 3-year break, The Came Carey Show creator/showrunner Bruce Helford is creating a splashy go back to the company with Anger Management, the brand new Charlie Sheen sitcom which just offered to Forex by having an initial order for 10-episodes, which if effective is going to be then a 90-episode pickup. Helford will write/run the series, in line with the 2003 Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson movie in regards to a mild-mannered guy (Sandler) purchased to go to group anger-management periods brought with a volatile counselor (Nicholson). But as the movie dedicated to Sandler’s character, the series is going to be concerning the counselor, performed by Sheen, and the existence. “It’s about Charlies existence like a counselor that has as numerous or even more problems than his patients,” Helford stated. “He is really a guy that has anger issues and wishes to focus on them.” Like Sheen’s previous series, 2 . 5 Males, in which the lead character was customized to mirror Sheen’s image during the time of the show’s creation – a poor-boy swinging bachelor – Anger Management too will incorporate components from Sheen’s current existence. His character comes with an ex-wife whom he's near to in addition to a 13-years old daughter. “He is definitely available for his family and the patients,” Helford stated, adding that Sheen’s character won’t only see his patients at work and often will also do visits in tangible-existence social situations. Helford arrived the gig on Anger Management because of his extensive comedy showrunner experience, his instant rapport with Sheen… and Skype. Helford’s last project before Anger Management was the 2008 Fox pilot Beginning Under starring Bernie Mac. Three several weeks after shooting the pilot, Bernie Mac died, and the sudden dying were built with a profound impact on Helford. “I stated to myself: existence is simply too short, I ought to be hanging with my children after so years of barely seeing them due to crazy 18-hour work days.” He did exactly that, however that each of his youngsters are attending college, he began considering coming back to television. (Younger crowd got a nudge from his wife who grew to become progressively annoyed by him hanging out the home for such a long time.) But he didn’t expect to do it immediately and required a summer time vacation. Helford, who doesn’t fly, had just appear a spead boat in NY after a visit to the U.K. to go to his daughter attending college when he got a phone call in regards to a ending up in Sheen and producer Lionsgate TV on Anger Management. “Can someone flies to talk with Charlie?” they requested. “Not really,” was Helford’s answer. “I’m forever in the incorrect place,” he laments. Lionsgate setup the very first meeting between Helford and Sheen via Skype as the author-producer was still being in NY. It required him 4 days they are driving from NY to La. He used that point to flesh out his idea for that show and stored in contact with Sheen via Skype because the two had hit them back quickly the softball bat. Like other people, Helford was conscious of Sheen’s questionable media blitz earlier this spring that led to the actor’s firing from 2 . 5 Males. However when he met him, Helford found him to become exactly the same Charlie Sheen he appreciated using their days at ABC once the two entered pathways numerous occasions, mostly when you are performing promotions for Spin City, where Sheen changed original star Michael J. Fox, and also the Came Carey Show. “He is really a larger than existence character,” Helford stated. “He really was anxious to return to work and make a move wiser, I believe which was extremely important to him. He's a powerful actor. He hasn’t had an chance to make use of that in some time, but he is capable of doing playing a lot more complicated figures.” After three years around the sidelines, Helford will go from to 100 miles per hour very quickly. Lionsgate has already been establishing production offices for Anger Management as filming around the first 10-episode order is slated to start early the coming year for any summer time premiere on Forex. Helford has enlisted comedy veteran Mike Simon (The Simpsons, Taxi, Cheers), who had been a author-director on his Came Carey Show to become listed on him around the new series. Helford is also reactivating his production shingle Mohawk, which in fact had been dormant within the last few years. For the possibilities of creating 100 episodes with an faster agenda for an autumn 2014 distribution launch, it doesn’t phase him. “I’ve run 4 series simultaneously, creating over 100 episodes a season, so for me personally once again to become so unusual, it's virtually me during my normal mode,” Helford states. Although it happened considerably faster than he'd planned, Helford reaches jump from hiatus to some high-profile project a number of other showrunners were going after and it is grateful for that chance. “I’m very fortunate to have the ability to do that with Charlie, Joe Roth and Lionsgate,” he stated. “I don’t think I'd be truly happy without having the ability to create. I required the breather I desired, my batteries are billed, and today I’m all set to go.”

The Great Wife's Alan Cumming: "Eli Is Setting Themself Up For any Fall"

Parker Posey, Alan Cumming The Great Wife audiences are going to see part of Eli that some most likely never even understood he'd - a soft side. "Within this episode, we discover that there's something very shocking that happened when Eli was married," Alan Cumming informs TVGuide.com. "This is why Eli very, very vulnerable the very first time ever." Why? The appearance of Eli's ex-wife, Vanessa, performed by Parker Posey, offers quite a bit related to it. It's really no coincidence the two stars have shared the screen several occasions before (most memorably within the Anniversary Party and Josie and also the Pussycats) and Cumming immediately recommended Posey for that part. "I believe Parker may be the funniest person ever. I possibly could just watch her walking in the pub and think its fascinating. Everything she does, she brings this kind of idiosyncratic energy into it,Inch he states. "She's amusing within this. And you will find several really touching moments inside.Inch Watch full instances of The Great Wife Cumming states he's a lot more than prepared to explore and embrace a much softer Eli, the colorful campaign manager-switched-crisis management expert who chewed out a friend, did a victory dance within the copy room or (amusingly) dropped trou. "Now it's time that emotion arrived on the scene," he states. "We simply shot one scene now in which you see Eli like you haven't seen him before. He isn't winning constantly and he's a little battered, so I am really intrigued by where which will go." Cumming is taking pleasure in Eli's new stability (without the recent thievery of Eli's favorite jellyfish paperweight by somebody that Cumming suspects to become "dark forces"). Following Peter's re-election, Eli setup shop within Lockhart Gardner focusing on crisis management cases between political campaigns. "Last season, I had been totally on location and that i had never done a scene with Archie [Panjabi], I'd just passed Josh [Charles] within the corridor. Therefore it is been really fun to improve my acting partners," he states. "Also, it's nice to possess a base and also to realize that after i do moments during my office, that's my office. I'd, like, five different offices in various locations this past year and so i feel a lot more focused." The Great Wife casts Amy Sedaris to visit facing Eli Gold However, Cumming most likely should not get too comfortable in the new digs. As evidenced by his recent push to snag Peter (Chris Noth) the keynote speech in the Democratic National Convention, Eli is decided to place Peter within the governor's mansion. "Next summer time happens when that keynote speech will occur, and so i imagine the start of the coming year might find Eli back around the political path with Peter," he states. The only real factor standing when it comes to that path is Alicia (Julianna Margulies). Eli guaranteed a prominent politician the Florricks could be together come convention time, so now you ask , what measures he'll visit to be able to bring the fragmented family together again. And can the guy accustomed to winning large be also effective? "I've without doubt that Eli is setting themself up for any fall because he's so going to make Peter into this excellent political phenomenon, and that he needs Alicia to assist him do this. He's type of in denial about this fact," Cumming states. "I believe that he's secured a lot of their own status on that and so i think he'll go so far as he is able to. That may mean adjusting Alicia to obtain what he wants. Who knows, maybe Alicia and Peter will reconcile.Inch "There's certainly a training course to reach that goal by whatever means." The Great Wife airs Sundays at 9/8c on CBS.

Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco Is Engaged

Kaley Cuoco Sorry, geeks: Kaley Cuoco is off the market. The Big Bang Theory star is engaged to Josh Resnik, People reports. "Thanks to everyone's well wishes! So sweet and means a lot to us! #ecstatic" the actress tweeted. Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco reveals past real-life relationship with co-star Cuoco, 25, was previously linked to co-star Johnny Galecki before dating Resnik, an addiction specialist. Cuoco and Galecki dated for two years before breaking up six months before their characters called it off on the CBS series

Hollywood Awards honorees

ACTORGeorge Clooney"Descendants"Two years ago, George Clooney was tubthumping a pair of pics at the Toronto Film Festival when he booked a dinner with "Descendants" helmer Alexander Payne to discuss a possible collaboration. Before dessert arrived, Clooney had committed to play a Hawaiian land baron challenged by bad fortune and parenthood -- a role different from his recent string of confident overachievers."If you stop pushing the limits (as an actor), then you just start thinking, Well, I have a fanbase that I have to perform to," Clooney said before the pic's NY Film Festival preem. "Then you are stuck doing that same guy all the time. I'm just not interested in that."For Clooney, it's more important to seize a career-changing opportunity than to play to previous expectations."When I finally got 'Out of Sight,' which was a breakout part for me, I was at the right age to do that and at the right time in my career," he says. "I was ready to do that role. I think the right roles come around, and you do them. It feels forced otherwise." ACTRESSMichelle Williams"My Week With Marilyn Monroe"Michelle Williams considers her turn in "My Week With Marilyn" the most challenging role of a career that already boasts two Oscar noms."Oh my goodness gracious, it broke me," says the actress. "I've never attempted anything like this. Mostly it's been me making these people up. Their full breadth is sort of in my head and only I know if I'm really living up to it. But there's a certain Marilyn that is very public. So there is a certain amount of other people's expectations. I wish I could play this part for the rest of my life. I miss her like a friend I haven't seen in a while."They key to her perf, Williams reveals, was to realize "the real gulf" between the public persona and the insecure woman. She says MM's greatest role was "Marilyn Monroe the icon. And she played herself to perfection. But it was just that, like Charlie Chaplin twisting his moustache. Then she basically realized she had imprisoned herself."Williams see MM as both manipulator and victim."That's a big question. Was she being played? Or was she the one playing? Is it possible for her to be really that guileless? To be that innocent? I always figured it was a manipulation that she wasn't really aware of."She needed love and she needed attention and she would die and starve without it. So these were moves she made so that she would get what she needed to survive. Some part of me thinks they were unconscious on her part." ENSEMBLE"The Help"Viola Davis speaks for the cast of "The Help," which is receiving the best ensemble award. The shoot in Greenwood, Miss., she recalls, was anything but typical."The cast was 95% women and really different in terms of personalities and different generations and different backgrounds -- and it was a lovefest. I think because it was a small community, 2 hours from a major city, and that it was a piece that wasn't about vanity or sex appeal. And of course," she adds, "it had a lot to do with the leadership, Tate Taylor," who adapted and directed Kathryn Stockett's bestseller for the screen.Taylor didn't pull an Elia Kazan and try to replicate offscreen the onscreen division of the pic's maids and society ladies. "Oh gosh, it was not like that at all! Absolutely the opposite. We needed that, to walk off the set from 1962, and we needed a release to step away from the 1960s era into the 21st century. We needed to have an understanding that we were not in that time period. That was our salvation." SUPPORTING ACTRESSCarey Mulligan"Shame"Carey Mulligan never thought she'd be cast as Sissy, the emotionally unstable sister of the even more troubled brother, in Steve McQueen's "Shame.""She's so far removed from anything I played before," says the English actress. "I thought, I'm the last person you'd think of to play a risque character. He'll want someone sexier and more dangerous than me."Mulligan also had to sing, and her show-stopping version of "NY, NY," performed atop the Standard Hotel, is a first."I've never sung in a film before; I did it at school but never professionally. For me she was trying to speak to her brother rather than give a performance. It's a song about escapism. When she was little, NY was a place she was going to go see, and everything going on when they were kids was going to go away. It would mean everything would be healed. It did turn into an emotional experience doing it."Mulligan is now playing Daisy Buchanan to Leonardo DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's 3D adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. SUPPORTING ACTORChristopher Plummer"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"How is Christopher Plummer doing these days?"I think I'm all right. I have a pulse," jokes the octogenarian whose very good year began with his gay widower in "Beginners" and concludes with a year-end blockbuster, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.""I love that -- 'a Christmas movie.' Just my kind of Christmas: a nice, dark, black Christmas!" he says with a big laugh.Plummer's film career began with "Stage Struck" in 1958. Onstage, he has "played most of the great classical roles ever written." But it was Michael Mann's "The Insider" in 1999 that jumpstarted his movie career again. Plummer recalls, "It sort of lifted me out of the morass of the '60s and '70s" movies, which coincided with his solo turn in "Barrymore" onstage. "So the movie scripts got more distinguished as the years went on."Plummer unspooled a film version of "Barrymore" at the Toronto Film Fest and is hoping for a distribution deal.Last year, he received his first-ever Oscar nom, for "The Last Station." Regarding a possible Acad follow-up with "Beginners," he says he doesn't act for the honors. "But awards are always nice to get. It's ironic how it's given my movie career a little bit of an uplift towards the end of my existence."DIRECTORBennett Miller"Moneyball"Though Bennett Miller grew up a diehard Yankees fan, it wasn't the baseball that attracted him to "Moneyball.""I liked the character, his struggle and the adventure he was on," says the helmer. "When I really explored the story, I was intrigued that there were two things going on. On the one hand, it's a simple story about a guy trying to win baseball games, though the deck is stacked against him. On the other hand, it's a middle-aged guy who is trying to resolve something in himself."Like Miller's previous directorial effort "Capote," "Moneyball" centers on a real-life character, Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, leaving the helmer with little room for dramatic license. Still, Miller found it easier to tackle a protag like Beane than the author of "In Cold Blood." "There are so many people still alive who knew Truman Capote really well, and they have strong opinions about who he was and what he was like," explains Miller. "There was a more rigid demand in that case to be accurate to the details of the person's persona," he says of "Capote."PRODUCER Letty Aronson"Midnight in Paris"As Woody Allen's sister and longtime producer, Letty Aronson has developed a shorthand for communicating with the auteur. It hinges on "the ability to understand the verbal and nonverbal clues in a given situation," explains Aronson, who began working with her older brother nearly two decades ago on "Bullets Over Broadway." For example, "After dailies he tells me a certain shot was not exactly what he wanted, but he can probably live with it. I immediately know that he will not be satisfied and will keep worrying about it if he doesn't reshoot it. So I just say, 'Let's cut our losses, stop talking about making it work, and let's just reshoot.' "Though working in a foreign country poses a huge headache for producers, Aronson says the Paris-shot film's greatest obstacle was a different kind of time difference."Woody is notorious for hating to shoot at night," says Aronson. "Our normal shooting days end by 7 p.m. In this case, it was necessary to work until at least 3 in the morning very often and certainly past midnight the rest of the time. Getting him to accept this schedule was by far the biggest challenge." SCREENWRITERDiablo Cody "Young Adult"Diablo Cody never received the memo that Hollywood's interest in original material hovers somewhere between tepid and repulsed."Original screenplays must not be working as well as movies based on Hasbro toys," quips the "Young Adult" scribe. "Don't get me wrong: I would love to write a movie based on a board game that makes a billion dollars. It's just not in my skill set. I like to write spec scripts about small weird events in a person's life."Following the hoopla surrounding her Oscar win for 2007's "Juno," the scribe could have commanded any studio project with her pick of director. Instead, Cody started writing yet another spec about a flawed heroine for "Juno" helmer Jason Reitman."I was feeling more introspective, and I didn't want to write about teenagers again," recalls Cody, who will soon segue to the director's chair for her next project, an untitled comedy starring Julianne Hough and Russell Brand. "I wanted to write about someone mature. Ironically, I ended up writing about someone less mature than Juno. It just goes to show that age is nothing but a number." ANIMATIONGore Verbinski"Rango"After "Pirates of the Caribbean," director Gore Verbinski was ready to walk the plank career-wise. "I thought the time was right to take on the challenge of my first animated feature," says the "Rango" helmer. "I like to do things that aren't comfortable."Johnny Depp and the rest of the "Rango" cast initially balked at his unconventional ani approach that called for the entire voice cast to be on hand for the full 20-day production. "We did about eight pages a day, give or take, and at first, they were like, 'Whoa, this is a lot of page count,' " recalls Verbinski, who insisted that the actors have their lines memorized. "Eventually, they found it liberating."BREAKTHROUGH ACTORJoseph Gordon-Levitt"50/50"Who does Joseph Gordon-Levitt credit for his brilliant career?"I had a teacher when I was a little kid, Kevin McDermott, who I learned from enormously, from age 8 to about 11," says the star of "50/50." "I learned so much about being an actor as well as being a person."Today Gordon-Levitt doesn't have coaches or do class. He boarded "50/50" with just a week's notice to star as a cancer-stricken young man."It came together very last minute, but for me it never felt like more of a risk," he says. "My process is always the same: I read a script -- I read a lot of scripts -- and it's rare I really find one. And I loved this script. They were human beings and not plot devices or stereotypes. It made me care."In his next outing Gordon-Levitt changes gears, literally, with "Premium Rush," a two- instead of four-wheel thriller. He plays a bicycle messenger in dire jeopardy. "It's a great, classic, popcorn action movie. And I definitely liked riding around on a bike in NY City." As for having a breakthrough year, "I do feel the difference, yeah," Gordon-Levitt admits. "It's been a gradual thing for a long time. I went to Sundance in 2005 with 'Brick' and 'Mysterious Skin' and people recognized there was stuff I could do besides '3rd Rock From the Sun,' and then '(500) Days' came out and I heard, 'We thought he was only doing dark indie things.' And with 'Inception,' it was, 'Oh! he could be in big action things,' so that was a breakthrough. So I'm a believer in the slow boat. I'm not interested in short cuts." NEW HOLLYWOODFelicity Jones"Like Crazy"It took until Drake Doremus' "Like Crazy" for British newcomer Felicity Jones to realize her career had taken off."That film has been a turning point creatively and personally," says Jones despite previous perfs in "Brideshead Revisited," "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Tempest."She won a best actress award at Sundance for her turn as "Like Crazy's" impulsive heroine, a Londoner whose life derails when visa issues prevent her continued affair with Californian Anton Yelchin. Regarding why the pic marks a turning point, Jones wonders, "Well, where do I start? It was a completely new way of making a film, one I'd never done before. They wrote an outline and then the dialogue is improvised. It was all character-driven and a very naturalistic way of acting."As for being discovered at Sundance, "the main thing is it's having these opportunities you'd always hoped you have. The desire is to have really great scripts, and now that seems more of a possibility."She has finished "Hysteria," a comedy about the invention of the vibrator, and David Hare's political thriller "Page 8." Plus she has reunited with Doremus, making "a companion piece in some ways to 'Like Crazy,' " an untitled drama with Guy Pearce and Amy Ryan."But she's a very different, more self-destructive character in a much darker, more complicated, more difficult relationship," says Jones.BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTORMichel Hazanavicius"The Artist"For Michel Hazanavicius, there's nothing incongruous about a lifelong Parisian taking on a classic Hollywood-set love story."I don't think of Hollywood as all that American," says the French helmer about his silent black-and-white film "The Artist," which revolves around the romance between a movie star and an ingenue. "I think of it as fodder for everyone."The helmer, best known for his "OSS" spy comedies, immersed himself in pics like "Sunset Boulevard" as well as Charlie Chaplin's oeuvre. Despite his familiarity with American movies, the director had never worked with American thesps. "It was challenging, but it wasn't so painful," says Hazanavicius of his co-stars John Goodman and James Cromwell. "My English isn't perfect, but I could be understood." EDITOR Stephen Mirrione"Contagion" and "The Ides of March"Since editing George Clooney's directorial debut, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," Stephen Mirrione has cut the helmer's three subsequent films. What keeps the pair's relationship going strong is simple."He does have a real nice editing room in Lake Como," Mirrione quips. "And I have a special skill that makes me invaluable. I can repair and maintain his pinball machine over there."Three years after working together on Clooney's "Leatherheads," the duo picked up where they left off."His work ethic is right in line with my own, and we just sit down and start going through the cut, getting it where it needs to be," explains Mirrione, who also edited Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck." "Once we are there and it feels right, we don't do a lot of second-guessing."Mirrione, who also frequently collaborates with Steven Soderbergh and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, says Clooney's "Ides of March" is the latest in a string of films he has edited that delve into the world of politics."The underlying message of many of these films is that people need to listen to and respect each other as human beings," he says." That's what it all boils down to for me." COMPOSERAlberto Iglesias "The Skin I Live In" and "Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy"After toiling for four months on the score of Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In," Alberto Iglesias tried in vain to relax during a 15-day vacation before embarking on "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.""I tried really hard to read the 'Tinker' script and could not understand a thing -- my English is not the best," quips the Spanish composer. "After that, it was impossible to rest. I was quite nervous.""Tinker" helmer Tomas Alfredson assuaged Iglesias' fears by translating the Cold War-era espionage thriller into a more universal language."He helped me focus on what is not evident -- the underwriting," says two-time Oscar nominee. "I understood through him the cadence that the film needed."When working with frequent collaborator Almodovar, Iglesias enjoys a common language as well as a shared vision."He gives me a lot of information on the characters, but he also wants to be surprised by the music," he explains. "The dream is to create a contagious art, with no fear of complexity and still (accessible) to the public." PRODUCTION DESIGNERJames Murakami"J. Edgar"On "J Edgar," James J. Murakami was faced with the challenge of re-creating periods spanning from the early 1930s to the 1970s in painstaking detail but on a tight budget. The film's $35 million pricetag prompted the production designer and his frequent collaborator, Clint Eastwood, to get creative."Trying to shoot in Los Angeles and make it look like Washington and NY wasn't easy," notes Murakami. "There are very few buildings left in the city that go back that far. There are also locations that we shot 50 or 100 times. We had to find a way to make them look different."His biggest coup was pulling off the Justice Dept. set. "I was surprised by how close we got," says Murakami.VISUAL EFFECTSScott Farrar"Transformers"Scott Farrar received the biggest compliment on his "Transformers" handiwork from an unlikely source."We were filming in Chicago, and there were thousands of bystanders," recalls Farrar of the "Dark of the Moon" lensing. "There was a husband and wife and their two kids, and the husband kept saying, 'Where are the big robots?' And the wife, said, 'Maybe they'll be here tomorrow.' If people think it's that real, I think we've achieved what we wanted to achieve."The Industrial Light & Magic supervisor, who spent 18 months making Megatron, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime come to life in 3D for their third bigscreen outing, says that each frame took a whooping 122 hours to render, up from 72 hours per frame for the 2D "Revenge of the Fallen.""The aesthetic challenge is trying to make it look better than the last," he notes. "We had cooler shots and cooler action this time around, and we allowed the audience to really savor the transformations. (3D) is like taking a really great magic trick and taking the illusion and puffing it out." SPOTLIGHT HONOREESThe Spotlight honorees at the Hollywood Awards are distinguished by their sudden prominence on American screens this yearAndrea Riseborough Andrea Riseborough, already seen as an endangered virginal tea parlor maid in "Brighton Rock," portrays "W.E.'s" Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee whose affair and subsequent marriage with England's king changed the course of British history.Jean Dujardin & Berenice Bejo Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo of "O.S.S. 177" reteam for Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." She plays the movie extra whose relationship with him, a silent-screen star, spans the transition to the talkies.Shaileen Woodley Shaileen Woodley portrays a troubled teen coming to terms with her mother's impending death in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants." The young thesp had logged time guesting on various TV series but her star clicked as the cneterpiece of ABC Family hit "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," which debuted in 2008.Anton Yelchin Playing a British student's American lover in "Like Crazy," Anton Yelchin charts the rough ride to maturity that separation imposes on even the most ardent and amorous of couples.Amber Heard Amber Heard portrays the sexy mistress who jeopardizes her cushy life with Aaron Eckhart for a fling with Johnny Depp's wary journalist in "The Rum Diary."Elle Fanning Until her work as an in J. J. Abrams' "Super 8," Elle Fanning was known as Dakota's little sister. No longer. HOLLYWOOD AWARD Grit & glam in movie mecca | Glenn Close: 30 years of remarkable transitions | Hollywood Awards honorees Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

MSNBC shakes up primetime

'The Ed Show'MSNBC has reshuffled its primetime lineup, with only Rachel Maddow staying in place at 9 p.m. Ed Schultz's "The Ed Show," which was moved to 10 o'clock from 6 p.m. earlier this year, will now start at 8, with Lawrence O'Donnell's "The Last Word" back in its original spot at 10. Move puts Schultz opposite the first showing of "Anderson Cooper 360" and moves O'Donnell opposite that show's 10 p.m. rerun. Similarly, CNN recently reworked its primetime lineup to include two runs of "360" and "Piers Morgan Tonight" while moving its new and new-ish shows ("Erin Burnett OutFront" and "John King USA," respectively) to earlier slots that compete with personalities less well established than, for instance, Fox's 8 p.m. ratings perennial Bill O'Reilly. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

Harry Potter documentary will get a teaser trailer

It appears such as the Harry Potter franchise will obtain a Making Of for that DVD or Blu-ray that goes past the rear-slapping efforts on most Hollywood blockbusters.Documentary maker Morgan Matthews was handed use of the group of The Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and a pair of so when Harry Left Hogwarts may be the result.The teaser begins using the filmmaker fearlessly asking cast people the things they think the doc ought to be about."It might be nice whether it was gifted," states Gary Oldman (Also known as Sirius Black). "Many of these situations are awful."Ouch.Begin to see the trailer when ever Harry Left Hogwarts below...

Euro crisis hits Warsaw

Poland's Warsaw Film Festival wrapped Saturday, following nine times of tests and marketplaces where the impact of Europe's financial crisis was really felt.Fest's CentEast market organizer, Magdalena Banasik, stated production within the former East Bloc has delayed badly that her crew battled to locate quality photos to repetition the location. "Romania had one," she stated, mentioning to Anca Damian's Romanian-Polish animated crimer "Crulic -- The road to Beyond," which won a unique mention competing.She added the condition of Hungarian production was nearly as harsh because of the collapse of public gold coin sources. Budapest includes a new film fund coming online, however the current output is simply a trickle, as with a lot of the relaxation of Eastern Europe.Belgium, having a more powerful economy, is really a rare vibrant place with robust output including fest's primary prize champion, difficult publish-war love story "Rose" by vet horror helmer Wojciech Smarzowski.Local production is bouyed through the Polish Film Institute, which disburses gold coin attracted from ticket sales, distribs and TV, however it covers merely a part of budgets. Pubcaster TVP, which once funded the majority of the country's productions, is just now coming back to that particular role following many years of instability in leadership, say local bizzers.The launch of local shingles, including Wajda Studio, and also the revival of talent incubators for example Studio Munka, signal coming back to relative health in the united states.Fest's helming kudo visited Santiago Amigorena for "Another Silence," an Argentine/Brazilian/Canadian/French co-production in regards to a woman's vengeance against murders.Poland's Robert Wieckiewicz obtained best actor for his role in fraternal competition tragedy "Courage."Russian helmer Angelina Nikonova's "Twilight Portrait" won for the best 1st or 2nd feature because of its "original approach and courage" in offerring the struggle of lady against abuse and indifference. Free Spirit award for unconventionality visited Tamae Garateguy's Argentine mafia film-within-a-film "Pompeya."Docu kudo visited Marina Goldovskaya's "A Bitter Taste of Freedom," concerning the work of killed Russian journalist, a Swedish/Russian/U.S. co-production.American Cindy Meehl's "Buck," the storyline of equine whisperer Buck Brannaman, got a unique mention.Bulgaria's "Ave" by Konstantin Bojanov, about two hitchhikers swept up in lies, required the Fipresci critics' kudo while ecumenical honors visited Poland's "Courage" by Greg Zglinski. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Participant Media Boarding Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' (Exclusive)

Participant Media is re-teaming with DreamWorks on Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, which the director begins shooting Monday in Virginia.our editor recommendsSteven Spielberg Won't Release 'Lincoln' Until After 2012 ElectionTommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Join Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' (Exclusive) The socially minded Participant will co-finance Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, and charting Lincoln's presidency and leadership during the Civil War. Discussions between DreamWorks and Participant about Lincoln first began when the two companies were working together on box office hit The Help. In an interview with THR, Participant CEO Jim Berk and president Ricky Strauss said Lincoln is a natural fit for the company. Also, Participant and DreamWorks have now worked together on multiple projects. "To work with Steven and follow the legacy of The Help with a movie about Abraham Lincoln feels very important." Lincoln is based on presidential biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Spielberg will direct from a script by Tony Kushner. For the full interview with Participant, check out the Oct. 21 edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Related Topics International

Curtains up for Toronto legit

'Wicked'In 2006, Toronto's future on the North American theater circuit seemed singularly grim. Not was only the shadow of the 2003 SARS epidemic still hanging heavily on the city, but the memory of the sit-down productions of "The Producers" and "Hairspray" that folded in record time that year added to the grief.Then, adding insult to injury, was the rise of Chicago as North America's No. 2 theater city, a title Toronto had laid claim to all during the 1990s with its long runs for "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Lion King" and "Mamma Mia!"The Windy City swooped in and got the first sit-down productions of "Wicked" and "Jersey Boys," both of which did very nicely.In 2006, in a flamboyant attempt to regain lost glory, Toronto threw its mojo behind the ill-starred "The Lord of the Rings." It cost $28 million, attracted critical derision and closed with embarrassing speed.To many observers, that meant curtains for Toronto's major legit ambitions.But then, things started turning around. A production of the Queen tuner, "We Will Rock You," lasted for two years. Andrew Lloyd Webber brought his London version of "The Sound of Music" to Toronto, and it filled houses for 18 months."Jersey Boys" arrived in a Canadian production that ran 24 months, and the repeat business for such shows as "Wicked" grew ever stronger."When we were planning 'Wicked's' first North American tour in March 2005, we chose Toronto as our launch city because of its sophisticated audiences and passionate, intelligent theater community," says producer David Stone."We have since returned to Toronto twice and each engagement has been a resounding success, not only from a box office perspective but also from the overwhelmingly supportive audience reaction. It has become one of the cities to which we most look forward to returning."In fact, "Wicked's" 2010 run in Toronto broke all B.O. records in the city's history."The era of shows running four, five or 10 years is over," insists John Karastamatis of Mirvish Productions, the city's major commercial producer. "But you can still enjoy great successes. The trick is trying to decide how long a show should run."In 2011, Toronto's version of "Billy Elliot" bucked the trend across North America. Whereas productions in Chi and San Francisco closed ahead of sked, Toronto's version held over, from its originally scheduled June to Labor Day."The Lion King's" return engagement played to 99% for 12 weeks and the advance sales for "Mary Poppins," skedded to start in November, are equally strong.A sit-down run of "War Horse" begins in February, the Broadway-bound "Private Lives" began its tour in Toronto in September and all the signs are that the city everyone had written off is now writing its own ticket once again.BROADWAY AND THE ROAD 2011Road presenters bank on 'Book' | Tuners dream of Broadway landing | Winning and losing on stage in Vegas | Curtains up for Toronto legit | Tour is booked, options are open Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Woo Hoo! Fox Orders Two More Seasons from the Simpsons

The Simpsons The Simpsons will survive! Fox has restored the longest-running comedy for 2 more seasons, Seasons 24 and 25, that will range from the show's 500th episode in Feb 2012, the network introduced Friday. The Simpsons cast near to signing deal - but exactly how much can they make? The renewal may come as a relief to fans. On Monday, the network apparently gave the cast an ultimatum: Accept have a 45 percent pay cut by Friday or even the animated series is going to be canceled. The brand new deal apparently will not reduce their salaries around Fox initially required, but it won't include any revenue pay. On Monday, it had been reported the stars - Serta Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Cruz, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer - suggested a 30 % pay cut in return for half the normal commission from the show's back-finish profits, including distribution and retailing. But that provide was quickly declined through the network. Early Friday, Shearer spoke out against Fox, saying he'd have a pay cut as huge as 70 % to be able to obtain a share from the sitcom's hefty profits. Shearer stated there have been "virtually no conditions to which the network would consider permitting me or the stars to talk about within the show's success." Fox gives Simpsons stars an ultimatum The show's producers already decided to salary cutbacks, but a number of them curently have deals including compensation from back-finish profits. Produced by Matt Groening, The Simpsons airs Sundays at 8/7c on Fox. Following a World Series, The Simpsons will return with "Treehouse of Disasters XXII" on Sunday, March. 30.

Rosie Returns To TV Talk On Oprahs Network

First Released: October 7, 2011 9:06 AM EDT Credit: OWN: The The famous host oprah Winfrey Network CHICAGO, Ill. -- Caption Rosie ODonnell inside a marketing photo on her The famous host oprah Winfrey Network Show The Rosie Show It required The famous host oprah Winfrey to lure Rosie ODonnell to TV talk. Nearly ten years after she left her effective daily daytime show to consider proper care of her children, ODonnells The Rosie Show premieres Monday around the The famous host oprah Winfrey Network. ODonnell made a decision after Winfrey visited her home for which grew to become a four-hour meeting. I stated I may wish to carry the torch of the items she'd done this well, ODonnell stated within an interview as she sitting in her own office at Harpo Galleries in Chicago, pictures of pets and kids in the shops behind her desk. ODonnell tapes within the same space where Winfrey recorded The The famous host oprah Winfrey Show before it led to May after two-and-a-half decades. They talked about ODonnells existence and why she wanted to return to television, ODonnell stated. In the finish she stated, Allows do that. I stated, Allows do that. Personally i think kind of an obligation to achieve on her standard of excellence, ODonnell stated about Winfrey. The 2 for women who live lots in keeping: Have had self-named magazines both say they'd be instructors when they werent in entertainment both shared the Daytime Emmy for the best Talk show Host in 1998 and today both will share exactly the same cable network and audience. It appears a great fit for ODonnell, a 49-year-old mother of 4 whose show-beginning monologues joke about menopause, putting on weight and depression. She promises longer, in-depth chats having a single celebrity after little if any preinterviewing by her staff for that hourlong show. We must evolve it in ways thats authentic, stated ODonnell, who's buddies with mega-celebs for example Madonna and Tom Cruise. She stated her endearing, fanlike fascination with the famous has changedover time. At almost 50 my curiosity about celebrity is when it affects the west, she stated. ODonnell will require questions in the audience. There might be a musical guest and every show has a game title show segment, ODonnells heart still damaged after losing The Cost Is Appropriate hosting job to Came Carey. In the finish of each and every show were getting our very own Cost Is Appropriate, ODonnell informs her studio audience throughout a tape before a sizable lighted game known as Expensive-O-Matic comes from the rafters. The show has signature Rosie-style charm. She walks round the set throughout commercial breaks to talk together with her audience. You will find free gifts along with a colorful burst of confetti to complete everything off. Winfrey continues to be lending her celebrity to advertise ODonnell. The happy couple seems together in preview spots and Internet videos, and ODonnell became a member of Winfrey around the cover of O magazine. It is the talk-show queens efforts to boost her battling namesake station. ODonnell calls Is the owner of The month of january debut a soft launch and stated she views this Mondays premieres from the Rosie Show then Winfreys Oprahs Lifeclass the systems hard launch. ODonnell is on at 7 p.m. EDT leading into Winfreys prime-time program at 8 p.m. EDT. Oprahs Lifeclass may have Winfrey share her feelings about old segments in the The famous host oprah Winfrey Show. There's some pressure to construct Is the owner of audience, stated Bill Carroll, a tv distribution expert with Katz Television Group in NY. Rosie needs to seriously and become just a little smarter, just a little older, and surely needs to function as the upbeat Rosie because shes on Oprahs network, Carroll stated. It must be fun and it must be some celebrity and it must be strengthening. If you're able to put individuals together then youll possess a reveal that draws in the The famous host oprah/Rosie audience. Many audiences newer reminiscences of ODonnell arent from her the nineteen nineties show, but from dust-ups along with other celebs. She contended with Tom Selleck about gun control and Jesse Trump about Miss USA. When ODonnell was around the View in 2007 she and Elisabeth Hasselbeck were built with a confrontation concerning the Iraq war. It is not what shes opting for this time around around, ODonnell stated. It is not a political show, ODonnell stated. It is not an antagonistic show. I actually do possess a strong political voice and somewhat which will emerge but it is not the entree. Winfrey has known as ODonnell an excellent competitor switched partner and friend. The brand new sign outdoors Harpo Galleries reads: The Rosie Show and also the former home from the The famous host oprah Winfrey Show. I am not someone else in charge, Winfrey stated once the sign was revealed recently. Were partners. We collaborate on everything. You do not tell Rosie how to proceed. ODonnell discusses Winfrey with a feeling of awe, saying shes viewed Winfrey for 1 / 2 of her existence. In my opinion in her own, ODonnell stated. In my opinion in who she's. In my opinion in her own message and that i have for two-and-a-half decades. Winfrey only offered two bits of advice, ODonnell stated: to become herself and never to face up to anything. Fortunately my maturity is on my small side with this, ODonnell stated. I believe I've got a far better knowledge of who I'm, what Im doing and why. A local NYer, ODonnell makes a house for herself on Chicagos North Side and it has been sampling the citys culture. Shes attempted Chicago-style pizza and brought an excursion from the Grant Park area surrounding Buckingham Fountain. She calls Chicago epically beautiful, although shes concerned about the winters. I seem like Im preparing for that frozen tundra, she stated. (Copyright 2011 by Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed) Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ABC's 'Suburgatory' solid in week two

ABC's new comedy ''Suburgatory'' held up well in its second outing, again building on its lead-in ''The Middle.'' The net's ''Modern Family'' was the night's top show in demos, while CBS' ''Criminal Minds'' and Fox's ''The X Factor'' also shined. Fox won the night among adults 18-49, edging out the three-hour averages of CBS and ABC, while the Eye had it in both adults 25-54 and total viewers, with its ''Criminal Minds'' standing as Wednesday's most-watched program overall for the first time this fall. According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, Fox remained strong on the night with a 90-minute edition of ''The X Factor'' (3.9 rating/11 in 18-49, 11.5 million viewers overall), which was on par with last week's performance and again won the 8 o'clock hour. Closing out the night, Fox aired a special original episode of Tuesday comedy ''Raising Hope'' (2.3/6 in 18-49, 6.2 million viewers overall), placing third in 18-49. At ABC, ''The Middle'' kicked things off (steady at 2.7/9 in 18-49, 9.0 million viewers overall), followed by the second week of ''Suburgatory'' (3.0/8 in 18-49, 9.1 million viewers overall), which was down 9% week to week but again was up in 18-49 rating over its lead-in and a nice improvement over last year's ''Better With You.'' ''Modern Family'' followed at 9 and was again the night's No. 1 show in demos (5.6/14 in 18-49, 13.1 million viewers overall), with the net then losing nearly half of that audience by 9:30 p.m. with ''Happy Endings'' (2.9/7 in 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall). And at 10, new drama ''Revenge'' continues to perform reasonably well (2.5/7 in 18-49, 7.7 million viewers overall), down 7% week to week but still second in in demos for the hour and a good improvement over the net's performance in the slot last fall. CBS remained solid throughout the night, starting with ''Survivor'' (3.1/9 in 18-49, 10.5 million viewers overall), which was second to ''X Factor'' for the 8 o'clock hour. ''Criminal Minds'' was up at 9 p.m. (3.8/10 in 18-49, 13.3 million viewers overall), seemingly taking advantage of Fox's shift from ''X Factor'' to comedy at 9:30. And at 10, ''CSI'' remained the hour's leader (2.9/8 in 18-49, 11.8 million viewers overall), but was down a bit week to week. NBC started the night on a positive note as ''Up All Night'' (2.2/7 in 18-49, 5.7 million viewers overall) was up a tick week to week and again provided the net with time period improvement. But ''Free Agents'' held at its low level (1.0/3 in 18-49, 3.3 million viewers overall), and doesn't figure to remain in the 8:30 p.m. timeslot for much longer. The comedy hour was followed by ''Harry's Law'' (1.2/3 in 18-49, 8.2 million viewers overall), which held steady in the demo while growing in total viewers. And at 10, ''Law and Order: SVU'' (2.1/5 in 18-49, 7.9 million viewers overall) was flat while its drama rivals were both down. CW continues to struggle Wednesdays at 8 p.m. with ''Hater'' (0.4/1 in 18-49, 1.1 million viewers overall), while ''America's Next Top Model'' held at its sub-par level (0.8/2 in 18-49, 1.7 million viewers overall). Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 3.5/10; CBS, 3.3/9; ABC, 3.2/9; Univision, 1.7/4; CW, 0.6/2. In total viewers: CBS, 11.9 million; Fox, 10.2 million; ABC, 8.9 million; NBC, 6.9 million; Univision, 3.7 million; CW, 1.4 million. Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com