2012 Movie Preview: Large Company company directors, from Steven Soderbergh to Quentin Tarantino

With 2011 within the dying cycle, selection time to anticipate 2012. All this week, Moviefone is previewing the apparently endless method to obtain large-time films striking theaters through the following 12 several days -- from from 'The Demon Inside' to 'Django Unchained' and all things in between. Next: the 12 large-title company company directors with new films in 2012. 2012 Preview: Large Company company directors Steven Soderbergh ('Haywire'/'Magic Mike')Wes Anderson ('Moonrise Kingdom')Ridley Scott ('Prometheus')Woodsy Allen ('Nero Fiddled')Oliver Stone ('Savages')David O. Russell ('The Silver Textures Playbook')Alfonso Cuaron ('Gravity')Healing For Healing For Peter Jackson ('The Hobbit')Ang Lee ('Life of Pi')Kathryn Bigelow (Untitled Bin Laden Film)Quentin Tarantino ('Django Unchained')Baz Luhrmann ('The Great Gatsby')Bonus: Steven Spielberg ('Lincoln') See All Moviefone Galleries » EARLIER: 2012 Movie Preview: Blockbusters 2012 Movie Preview: Comedies 2012 Movie Preview: Family Films 2012 Movie Preview: Romance 2012 Movie Preview: Action [Photo: WireImage] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

'Mission Impossible': Five J.J. Abrams Regulars We Want Recruited Next

Producer J.J. Abrams has established a great tradition within the "Mission: Impossible" franchise: in the last two "M:I" installments, Abrams has called in fan-favorite actors from his television past for brief but awesome roles. First Keri Russell popped into "Mission: Impossible III" in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it death scene, and today's newest movie "Ghost Protocol" introduces "Lost" veteran Josh Holloway to the franchise. Exactly what purpose the former James "Sawyer" Ford plays in the new "Mission" remains to be seen, but no matter how big or small his role, we're psyched to have him on board. With Holloway following Russell's lead, we started wondering which other Abrams vets we'd like to see in future "Mission: Impossible" movies. Our wish list is past the jump! » David Anders: If there's a cooler Abrams villain than Julian Sark, I haven't met himand I've seen a lot of Abrams television! Anders' infinitely badass "Alias" assassin would actually be a perfect fit in the "Mission: Impossible" universe completely on his ownassuming he leaves any and all Rambaldi baggage at the door, of course. » Kyle Chandler: His J.J. connection comes through "Super 8," so technically, he's not an Abrams TV vet. But with "Friday Night Lights" in the rearview mirror, we'll take Coach Taylor any way we can get him. We're hoping to see the actor on a future "Mission," perhaps as a new IMF director to coach some sense into Ethan Hunt. » Amy Jo Johnson: "Felicity" fans remember her best as insecure sweetheart Julie Emrick, but children of the '90s know better: AJJ will forever and always be Kimberly Hart, the original Pink Ranger. We'd love to see Amy bring some mighty morphin' "Mission" mayhem, but only if the Putties come too! » Lance Reddick: The "Lost" alum and current "Fringe" star is a natural fit for a "Mission" movie; just like Chandler, he would be a great IMF foil for Ethan Hunt, especially considering the numerous law-enforcement characters he's played over the years. But Reddick also proved his capacity for creepiness as the enigmatic Matthew Abadon on "Lost," making him a great candidate for an "Impossible" villain. » Ron Rifkin: Is he good? Is he evil? It took a while for us to get a concrete answer, as the deliciously devious Arvin Sloane kept us guessing on his allegiance right up until the "Alias" series finale. Rifkin, an incredibly gifted actor, would bring a similar level of ambiguity as a new "Mission: Impossible" antagonist. Like Sark, Rifkin's Sloane would be more than welcome in the "Impossible" universe. And fine, sure, he can bring Rambaldi into it if he really wants to. Which J.J. Abrams veteran would you like to see in future "Mission: Impossible" movies? Tell us in the comments section and on Twitter!

AP Partners With WhoSay To License Photos, Video

NY (AP) The Connected Press stated Wednesday it has joined right into a partnership with WhoSay Corporation., a business that can help celebs manage interactions with fans through internet sites and traditional media shops.The AP can give celebs who're people of WhoSay the choice to supply exclusive, personal pics and vids towards the AP for certification to major media companies worldwide.The AP will even provide photo services at occasions upon the request of WhoSay people. The people will own the pictures while giving the AP a chance to license them.WhoSay has 100s of film, television and sports personas who're clients, including Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Tom Hanks, Beyonce and Sofia Vergara. The organization was cofounded by talent agency Creative Artists Agency, with funding from traders including Amazon . com Opportunities LLC, Greylock Partners and Peaks Endeavors.The organization puts celebs in greater charge of while offering the chance to learn using their photo taking lives. Additionally, it enables these to spread their social networking posts easily across sites like Facebook. For example, Vergara published an image of the family lunch in Miami recently. The photo includes a copyright symbol, showing she is the owner of it and may earn money from it if, say, the sunday paper really wants to publish it.WhoSay has additionally decided to allow AP journalists to publish pics and vids onto its platform for distribution onto internet sites. Twenty AP journalists will initially take part in the agreement."We still search for new methods to innovate within the social networking space, which agreement achieves this within the photo marketplace with our journalists," stated Lou Ferrara, v . p . and controlling editor who runs AP's social networking efforts.Financial the agreement weren't revealed.Founded in 1846, The Connected Press may be the world's biggest supply of independent information. On a day, over fifty percent the earth's population sees news from AP.Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Paranormal Director Heads Across River

Prepares sacrifice for Akiva GoldsmanHe didn't stay around for Paranormal Activity 3, but the director of the second instalment, Tod "Kip" Williams, is sticking with horror for his next film. He's currently at work preparing Christopher Buehlman's novel Those Across The River for the screen.The book, set in Georgia during the Great Depression, involves Frank Nichols, a disgraced academic and Great War veteran who inherits property in a rural town. Planning to write a book about his grandfather, a horrendous plantation owner who refused to release his slaves at the end of the Civil War, Nichols heads down to his inheritance, and finds a community still darkly in thrall to his family's history. Nobody visits the plantation anymore - abandoned and isolated on the far side of a river - but a long-standing tradition called 'The Chase' sees two pigs sent across the river every month (to an unknown fate) as a ritual offering. When, due to hard times, the townsfolk vote to knock The Chase on the head, things start gettin' bad.Mike Medavoy (Black Swan) picked up the rights to the novel for Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road production company, and Williams will both direct and write the screenplay. It doesn't look as if Those Across The River has been published yet in the UK, but the American edition is easily enough available from Ace Books.

WATCH: Fox News Accuses The Muppets of Brainwashing Children with Liberal Agenda

If this isn’t a good reason to go support The Muppets in its post-opening weekend theatrical run, I don’t know what is: Watch as a Fox News anchor and two right-wing pundit accuse Disney’s The Muppets of brainwashing children with its anti-capitalist message. Then rejoice as Professor Caroline Heldman of Occidental College drops science and keeps her cool in defense of the Muppets, President Obama, and reasonable thinking in general. It’s hard to choose the single most vile sound bite uttered by the trio of Follow the Money host Eric Bolling, The Five’s Andrea Tantaros, and the Media Research Center’s Dan Gainor, but my vote is with Bolling. “Maybe they should have a hungry Muppet — a Food Stamp Muppet — and the evil person be Obama!” he squawks. Heldman, a politics professor, is hilariously cut off by her preening host every time she delivers a reasoned smack down in defense of the film. Warning: Watching the video may lead to high blood pressure and numerous face palms. Muppets marketing team, here’s your next target. (Thanks to Media Matters via Next Movie for the heads up.)

New Showtime Leading Man Liev Schreiber Will Likely Scale Back Role At HBO Sports

With a deal to star in Showtime’s pilot Ray Donovan, Liev Schreiber may one day become the face of the pay cable network. But at the same time, it looks like he will no longer be the exclusive voice of the sports division of rival HBO. I’ve learned that HBO has opted not to renew its overall deal with the actor to be the the voice of HBO Sports, which has included narrating virtually all HBO sports documentaries, the 24/7 reality series, and the NFL reality series Hard Knocks. HBO is not severing ties with Schreiber, who has been voicing HBO Sports’ programs for the past 16 years. Liev is set to start work next week on his next HBO Sports project, ’24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road to the NHL Winter Classic, HBO Sports said in a statement, declining further comment. I hear that Schreiber also is scheduled to do another HBO Sports project in January. According to an HBO source, the network does not plan to sign an overall deal with another actor, opting for a variety of voices. Since starting in 1995, Schreiber has narrated almost all HBO Sports documentaries. (One of very few exceptions was the 2003 Red Sox docu The Curse Of The Bambino voiced by die-hard Red Sox fan Ben Affleck). He has narrated all but one edition of Hard Knocks since the series’ launch in 2001 (the Kansas City Chiefs edition in 2007 was done by Paul Rudd), and of 24/7 since its 2007 start. The move coincides with the leadership change at HBO Sports. Ken Hershman was recently tapped as new HBO Sports president, and he will join the pay cable channel in January. But it also coincided with Schreiber’s high-profile casting as the lead in Showtime’s pilot Ray Donovan in the feature actor’s first regular series gig, with some saying that the decision by HBO was made shortly after the announcement of Schreiber’s Showtime casting. Others inside HBO insist the two are not related.

Animated Films May Emerge as Visual Effects Oscar Contenders

Donald Trump may not have been successful in his bid for a Republican presidential nomination, but NBC'sThe Apprentice host has found another way to get involved with the race.our editor recommendsDonald Trump Doc Maker Orders Iranian Regime To Cancel Illegal Screening of His FilmDonald Trump Accuses Jon Stewart of 'Racist Rant' about Herman Cain (Video)Donald Trump Loses Libel Lawsuit Over Being Called A 'Millionaire'Donald Trump Charging $10,000 for Invitation-Only Meet and GreetDonald Trump: I Will Not Be Running for PresidentRelated Topics•Politics PHOTOS: NY City Power List Newsmax Media, a conservative magazine and website, has tapped Trump to moderate a presidential debate in Des Moines, IA Dec. 27, the NY Times reports. "Our readers and the grass roots really love Trump," Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media, told the paper. "They may not agree withhim on everything, but they don't see him as owned by the Washington establishment, the media establishment." PHOTOS: 10 Hollywood Players That Will Make a Difference in the 2012 Elections The Republican candidate participants have not yet been named. Candidates were sent their debate invitation Friday, the same day Trump's moderatorship was announced. Some of the presidential hopefuls have already met with Trump this year. Gov. Rick Perry dined with him Sept. 14. Michelle Bachmann has sat down with him on several occasions and Mitt Romney met with him privately in Sept. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Top Earners The real-estate mogul explored a possible White House bid earlier this year before ultimately announcing he would not run in May. "This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country," he said in a statement at the time. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Box Office Politics: The Movies and Stars Dems vs. GOPers Love (and Love to Hate) Related Topics Donald Trump NBC Politics Rick Perry Mitt Romney

Game-Maker Zynga Reveals IPO Plans As Traders Grow Careful About Tech

Producer of popular Facebook games including FarmVille and Frontierville states today inside an SEC filing it hopes to complete tabs on nearly $890M froma public offering of 100M shares within an expected cost around $9.25 a share. The stock will trade at NASDAQ beneath the symbol ZNGA. The cash will probably be useful for “general corporate reasons”which could include purchases. The business states furthermore, it expects to guide a a couple of from the internet proceeds to charitable causes through its philanthropic initiative, Zynga.org. Today’s announcement follows its disclosure the 2009 summer season it planned to go to public — appropriating on Wall Street’s infatuation with tech companies. Traders are becoming a little more skeptical in regards to the category, though: For example, The earth the planet pandora Media is gloomier about 40% since it went public in June. LinkedIn is gloomier 28% since May. And Groupon lost 27% of the market cost after it become so popular-so fast early lately.Zyngainvestors will even haven't any energy within the organization. The Course A shares the general public will buy have one election per share. But affiliates including founder and Boss Mark Pincus control the course B and class C stock that consider 98.2% of allthe voting shares. Zynga has partners to DreamWorks Animation Jeffrey Katzenberg is a component of their board. The studio also was an early on ad sponsor. For example, players building urban centers in the sport CityVille could add drive-in movie theaters that carried out Kung Fu Panda 2. Zynga states it’s “the cell phone industry's leading social game maker” with 227Maverage monthly active clients in 175 nations. Inside the nine several days ending in September it stood a internet profit of $30.7M, lower 35.5% within the same period a year ago, on revenues of $828.9M, up 106.3%.

ABC Family Renews Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars ABC Family has renewed Pretty Little Liars, TVGuide.com has confirmed. The network has ordered a 24-episode third season of Liars, which returns with fresh episodes on Monday, Jan. 2 (8/7c). ABC Family sets return dates for Pretty Little Liars, Lying Game and more Developed by Marlene King, the one-hour drama debuted to 2.47 million viewers in 2010, while its second season bowed at 3.68 million. Are you excited for more PLL?

Start Searching: 227 Stars' Southland Reunion

Marla Gibbs, Regina King Regina King only decided to be 14 when she started playing Brenda, the smart, sassy daughter of Marla Gibbs' Mary Jenkins round the NBC sitcom 227. 20 years later, King has been careful of 80-year-old inside the The month of the month of january 24 episode of TNT's Southland. "This really is really the first time we now have socialized together since 227," states . "But Regina's still my daughter. I merely love her." , all retrieved in the stroke she experienced a few previously, plays the grandmother from the wrongly accused suspect. "My character features a little Alzheimer's, therefore i call Regina 'Brenda,' thinking she's my grandson's ex-girlfriend." King was touched to reunite along with her former TV mother. "It absolutely was similar to old occasions," she states. "She's as sharp-witted as she was 20-plus in the past.In . Now why don't we get Jackée inside next! Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Katy Perry Jams Pregnancy Gossips

First Launched: November 22, 2011 10:47 AM EST Credit: Getty Premium La, Calif. -- Caption Katy Perry accepts an award onstage through the American Music Award within the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in La on November 20, 2011 First Christina Aguilera, now Katy Perry finds herself the subject of being pregnant gossips carrying out a American Music Honours on Sunday. So, might be the singer/actress expecting? Hell no! the 27-year-old, who's married to funnyman Russell Brand, unquestionably told Hollyscoop when asked for if she and her British husband were getting a baby soon. According to People, Katy joked about her bloated belly the other day within a concert at NYs Madison Square Garden. She apparently told everybody else they have been experiencing NY Citys tasty food and he or she wasnt considering as being a mother at this time around. In Katy news, on Monday it absolutely was introduced the star would host NBCs Saturday Evening Survive December 10. Though she's formerly came out in skits around the program when she was the musical guest in September 2010, this marks her first-time hosting. Robyn will be the musical guest. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Real Average women of Atlanta's Kandi Includes a New Adult Toy Business along with a New Guy for the reason that Order

Kandi Burruss The Actual Average women of Atlanta's Kandi Burruss went in the recording studio towards the sex-toy industry together with her latest business enterprise, Bed room Kandi. "I love to refer to it as a romantic luxury line," she states. Real Average women of Atlanta's NeNe Leakes on boring Sheree, dating and cashing "hater inspections" Fans from the Bravo series, that is presently in the 4th season, realize that Kandi is not shy about sex. But that does not imply that she's prepared to have "the talk" together with her 9-year-old daughter. She does, however, hint within the interview below that they includes a new guy. Be careful interview with Kandi below: The Actual Average women of Atlanta airs Sundays at 9/8c on Bravo.

Woody Harrelson Joins Martin McDonaghs Seven Psychopaths

EXCLUSIVE: Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits and Olga Kurylenko have joined Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken in Seven Psychopaths. Directed and scripted by In Bruges’ Martin McDonagh, the film began production this week in Los Angeles. CBS Films is co-financing and distributing in the U.S. Farrell plays a screenwriter who struggles to find the handle on his script, called Seven Psychopaths. He gets drawn into the dog-napping escapades of his friends (played by Rockwell and Walken). Once the beloved Shih Tzu owned by a psychopathic gangster (Harrelson) goes missing, the screenwriter finds himself fueled with all the drama he needs for his screenplay, if he can stay alive long enough to write it all down. The films produced by Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin, with Tessa Ross exec producing. It’s a production of Blueprint Pictures, and Film4 is co-financing with the BFI Film Fund and CBS Films. Hanway Films is handling foreign sales. Mickey Rourke, who had been in negotiations for a role, never closed a deal and will not be in the picture. Harrelson and Kurylenko are repped by CAA, Waits by WME.

'Franklin & Bash': ''Til Death' Star to Romance Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Peter Bash's sex life will warm up on TNT's "Franklin & Party.""'Til Death's" Kat Promote has reserved a recurring role on Season 2 from the buddy legal drama, "The Hollywood Reporter" has learned solely.Promote, whose credits include arcs on "Weeds" and "Law & Order: Special Sufferers Unit," will have Wendy Cowell, a wise and delightful officer who busts a buddy of Peter's (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) by the pool.Subsequent a unique mix-examination, Wendy concurs to take to start dating ? using the legal ace.Promote can look in 2 instances of the series, that will feature guest turns by Cybill Shepherd, Eric Mabius and Ron Fox.Production on Season 2 started recently.Promote is repped by Paradigm, Authentic Talent and Literary Management. The Hollywood Reporter

'Spider-Guy: Switch Off the Dark' Producers Fire Back at Julie Taymor

After Julie Taymor filed a suit in NY declaring that Spider-Guy: Switch Off the Dark, probably the most costly Broadway production ever, violated her privileges by ongoing to make use of her work without compensation, the producers have released an answer stating that they "have frequently attempted to solve these problems.Inchour editor recommendsJulie Taymor Sues 'Spider-Guy: Switch Off the Dark' for Infringing Her Creative Input'Spider-Man' Musical's Ex-Director Julie Taymor Talks Out'Spider-Man' Owes Julie Taymor $300,000, Union States "Since Ms. Taymor's departure in March, we now have frequently attempted to solve these problems. The development has indeed paid out Ms. Taymor on her contribution like a co-book author," stated lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris inside a joint statement released late Tuesday. The statement continues: "Fortunately a legal court system will give you, for good, an chance to solve this dispute. Welook toward an answer by which everybody is correctly paid out for his or her contribution to Spider-Guy: Switch Off the Dark." The Oscar-nominated director left the musical production in March, before it formally opened up, because of artistic variations. Switch Off the Dark received poor reviews in early stages and injuries to people from the cast, however the musical performed to near-capacity crowd since November, if this opened up on Broadway. After Taymor was release, she filed an arbitration claim from the producers, alleging they still owed her over fifty percent millions of in royalties. Within this new suit, Taymor claims that producers have ongoing to make use of her creative contributions without compensation. "Ms. Taymor regrets the producers' actions have remaining her no choice but to turn to legal option to safeguard her privileges," stated her attorney, Charles Spada atLankler Siffert & Wohl. Eriq Gardner led for this report. Related Subjects Julie Taymor Spider-Guy: Switch Off the Dark

Kris Jenner Says Kim Kardashian Will Give Post-Divorce Interview After 'the Dust Settles' (Video)

It seems Kim Kardashian will be speaking out about her divorce from Kris Humphries after all.our editor recommendsKim Kardashian Divorce: 10 Signs the Marriage Was One Big Hoax All Along Why Kim Kardashian Won't Give an Exclusive Post-Divorce InterviewKim Kardashian, Kris Humphries Meet With Pastor in MinnesotaKim Kardashian's Divorce Exposes Her Ambition for Fame and Money, Say Brand Experts (Analysis)Kim Kardashian Flees Australia Amid Divorce ControversyRelated Topics•Kim Kardashian Kardashian's prenup with the NBA player, whom she married Aug. 20, prohibits her from saying anything negative about her soon-to-be-ex-husband -- and vice versa -- at this time. PHOTOS: 19 of Hollywood's All-Time Shortest Marriages A source close to the Kardashian camp recently told The Hollywood Reporter that it was not clear whether a specific time frame had been set, or if there are loopholes, including a clause that would allow Kardashian to defend false allegations made against her. But it appears that there is an end date on the media blackout. Her mom, Kris Jenner, told Extra on Monday that her daughter will open up about her decision to file from divorce after only 72 days of marriage once "the dust settles." "She needs to do what she's doing now and cry and figure it out," Jenner added. "She's just trying to follow her heart, and she's going to be OK." PHOTOS: Inside Kardashian Inc. The story would have the potential to earn the family -- notorious for making money off selling engagement and wedding photos to the weekly magazines -- a significant payday that could reach an estimated $300,000. It also hasn't stopped Jenner from speaking about the impending divorce as she promotes her new book, Kris Jenner... And All Things Kardashian, in recent appearances on Extra, Today, The View and Good Morning America. Kardashian headed to Australia on Nov. 1 to promote the Kardashian Kollection for Sears, though she promptly fled due to a barrage of media questions regarding her split. In one of her few appearances, the reality star tip-toed around divorce questions, delicately replying that, "There's really no right thing to do. I don't think I'm ready to get into the details of that." PHOTOS: Hollywood's Top Earners For his part, Humphries released two statements. "I love my wife and am devastated to learn she filed for divorce," Humphries told E! News. "I'm committed to this marriage and everything this covenant represents. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it work." A second statement went to TMZ. Certainly many outlets have been vying for Kim's first interview, though the family's tight-knit relationship with E! could bode well for the network, which is home to all Ryan Seacrest-produced Kardashian programming. When news of the Kim's divorce filing broke, E! was the first to confirm, while other networks were forced to wait before receiving correspondence from her reps. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Related Topics Kim Kardashian Kris Jenner Keeping Up With the Kardashians Kris Humphries

Zynga, Groupon Founders Strengthen Voting Power Ahead of Planned IPO

NY - The founders of social video gaming giant Zynga and online deal provider Groupon have boosted heir voting clout over regular shareholders ahead of their IPOs that are expected in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported. It said their new extra-supervoting shares break new ground in terms of how many votes a share can carry and could set a new standard for how founders keep control over key issues after their companies go public. At Zynga, which has done a slew of integration deals that helped promote movies, TV shows and musical talent, including Enrique Iglesias and Lady Gaga, over the past year, founder and CEO Mark Pincus will after the IPO own shares that carry 70 votes each, versus the typical shareholder's one vote per share, the Journal said, citing regulatory filings. With those shares, Pincus controls 38 percent of the shareholder votes despite what is only a 20 percent economic stake, according to the Journal. Meanwhile, five venture capital investors have a combined 26 percent of the votes despite owning a 35 percent economic stake. Pincus' added voting rights could give investors a chance to push the IPO price lower in meetings between management and investors that typically precede IPOs, experts told the Journal. The paper said that Pincus negotiated his 70-vote stock in part because of an earlier experience as chairman and CEO of Support.com after its IPO in 2000. While he held 15 percent of the stock, venture capital firms owned 30 percent, and he left later that year, it quoted a source as saying. Meanwhile, after Groupon goes public, its three founders will own shares that carry 150 votes each, according to the Journal, which cited the company's latest regulatory filings. Groupon and Zynga declined to comment. @font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }@font-face { font-family: "Lucida Grande"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics Zynga Groupon

Imax 3Q revenue jumps 32%

Big screen maker Imax Corp. Thursday mentioned a effective performance at its growing network of theaters introduced to have an earnings uptick last quarter. Revenue hopped 32 percent to $67.5 million for your three several days brought to September. Internet gain rose to $8.4 million from $6.7 million. Imax Boss Richard Gelfond reported a ''combination of strong film performance, an growing theater network and prudent expense management'' and mentioned the quarter ''demonstrates the operating leverage that will propel our growth continuing to move forward.'' Total film revenue rose to $26.6 000 0000 from $21. million. Production and Imax DMR revenues elevated fifty percent to $18.6 000 0000, mainly reflecting the expansion in the Imax theater network around earlier. Gelfond mentioned it absolutely was the finest-grossing box office quarter since the first quarter of 2010 (which incorporated Avatar) driven by ''Transformers: Dark in the Moon'' as well as the last ''Harry Potter'' installment. Gross box office from DMR game game titles elevated 53 percent to $149 million. The normal DMR box office per screen inside the third quarter was $356,200 ($257,200 domestic, $560,000 worldwide). Coming selection includes a five-day preview of ''Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol The Imax Experience,'' ''The Amazing Spider-Guy,'' ''The Hobbit: An Unforeseen Journey'' and ''The Dark Dark evening Increases,'' that's presently being shot using Imax cameras.'' Sales from joint revenue talking about plans elevated 54 percent to $10. Through the quarter, the business installed 14 new theaters under joint revenue talking about plans, versus 18 around-ago period. By Sept. 30, 2011, there has been 218 Imax theaters operating under joint revenue talking about plans, versus 144 the last year. Imax mentioned it must possess between 490 and 500 commercial multiplex theaters functioning by year-finish, implying commercial network rise in 2011 more than thirty percent. Imax mentioned it provides a record backlog of orders for 295 theater systems within the finish in the quarter. Some eighty percent in the backlog is worldwide. Company mentioned worldwide theaters generate two occasions el born area office of domestic theaters. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

'In the Land of Blood and Honey' Trailer: Angelina Jolie, Oscar-Nominated Director?

It's not often you'd put silent film star Harold Lloyd in the same sentence as a children's movie, but that's what makes Martin Scorsese's upcoming 3D adventure 'Hugo' so special. The film -- based on the book by Brian Selznick -- is a master class on film history designed to charm cinephiles and their kids in equal measure. This brand-new poster for the Paramount release highlights that dichotomy, as star Asa Butterfield clings to a clock-hand in a way that recalls Lloyd's silent-era classic 'Safety Last!' Check it out ahead. [Click for full-size image.] Starring Chloe Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emily Mortimer and Butterfield as the titular Hugo, the Martin Scorsese-directed film arrives in theaters on Nov. 23. Watch the trailer below. [Top photo: Paramount] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Who Was Pauline Kael and Why Does She Still Matter?

Pauline Kael is having a moment. The legendary NYer movie critic is the focus of three new books -- an anthology of her work, a biography, and a memoir by one of her disciples -- and the topic of debate among fellow movie critics and pundits at film festival panels. Not bad for a woman who passed away 10 years ago and penned her last review a decade before that. That she still inspires argument and attention after all this time is a testament to her legacy. Kael was not only the most important and influential movie critic of her era but also the one who continues to have the greatest impact on the way we talk about movies today. At a time when film criticism has been thoroughly devalued, when moviegoers would rather glance at a movie's score on Rotten Tomatoes than read a professionally written review, when film critic jobs at newspapers nationwide have either been eliminated or filled by teenagers and writers with no film background, when the non-controversial Roger Ebert is the only movie critic who's famous nationwide, and when the movies themselves hardly seem worth talking about -- it's hard to imagine that there was a time when film critics were taken seriously, when several of them were household names, when their philosophies were the subject of avid debate, and when one cantankerous, ebullient woman dropping rhetorical bombshells from her perch at a highbrow magazine could influence not just which movies people saw but how movies were made. Where did Kael's power come from? Mostly from the forcefulness of her own opinion, as expressed in dazzling prose. Before she wrote her first NYer article in 1967, she was already the author of a best-selling collection of reviews written for various outlets, the provocatively titled 'I Lost It at the Movies.' She had already picked a fight with the then-reigning American film critic, Andrew Sarris, over the auteur theory. (Sarris had popularized in America the French theory that a director is a movie's chief author, one who invests each film with signature themes and stylistic touches. Kael dismissed this notion, though she would later give it credence whenever it suited her argument. Believe it or not, film geeks used to line up behind Sarris or Kael and bicker over auteurism.) Her reviews of movies, both vintage and new, were fun to read, with opinions expressed with breeziness but also absolute certainty. Kael has been painted as a populist, a warrior thumbing her nose at the snobbery of establishment critics and their arty pretensions while championing movies generally considered trashy or disposable. But her taste was a lot more complicated than that. She did enjoy art movies as long as they delved deeply into emotional experience, and she rejected lowest-common-denominator movies if they were crassly tossed off, without creativity or verve. She was capable of appreciating mainstream Hollywood movies and exploitation fare that had some life to it while also recognizing the dangers of a movie industry increasingly focused on profit at the expense of originality and creative risk-taking. She wasn't the first American movie critic to diminish the importance of the line between highbrow and lowbrow (Manny Farber got there sooner), but she popularized the new aesthetic like nobody else had, both in her reviews and in essays like 1969's 'Trash, Art, and the Movies.' For a filmmaker, the way to Kael's heart was through her gut. Movies to her were a visceral experience; she preferred ones that took her on an emotional ride and made her feel more alive. Her writing was similarly visceral, with each review less an essay meant to persuade than a performance, full of sound and fury, meant to overwhelm. It's no wonder that Kael's absolutism attracted ardent admirers and equally fervent detractors. (Nowadays, we expect reviews to be performances, in part because Kael's followers still write that way, and in part because of the TV review format perfected by Ebert and Gene Siskel at the end of the critic-as-household-name era in the mid 1970s.) Kael rose to the top of the critical heap with her epic-length 1967 defense of 'Bonnie and Clyde.' It was published in the NYer, which, along with many other top outlets, had already panned the recent Warren Beatty-Faye Dunaway true-crime saga. Unlike other critics who had dismissed the film as too jokey and too violent, Kael recognized the film for what it was, an attempt to import the techniques of French New Wave cinema to the U.S. in order to create a new American art cinema, one that rushed headlong according to its own rhythms and refused to be limited by old taboos of sex and violence. Her opinion turned the tide for the movie, which soon became a box office success and a multiple Oscar-nominee. And it led to a staff perch at the NYer for Kael, who reviewed movies there for the next 24 years. It's been theorized that one reason Kael became so influential was that she had such revolutionary movies to write about. Indeed, 'Bonnie & Clyde' kicked off a filmmaking renaissance in America, and Kael was an early champion of many of its leading figures, including Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Brian de Palma. And some of them, in turn, solicited her opinion, sought her approval, and reacted with fury or despair when they didn't get it. Veteran filmmaker David Lean reportedly said he didn't make a movie for 14 years after 'Ryan's Daughter' because of his dejection over her pan of the 1970 film. (It's hard to imagine a critic today whose opinion is so respected or feared within the industry; not even a thumbs-up or thumbs-down from Ebert has such impact. But then, it's hard to imagine a contemporary wave of filmmaking so radical and game-changing that it would benefit from an advocate as passionate as the NYer critics was.) Kael and the movies of the late 1960s and early 1970s seemed made for each other. It wasn't just filmmakers who sought Kael's approval. Kael surrounded herself with an avid entourage of young acolytes, sometimes dismissed as "Paulettes" for their lockstep adherence to her opinions and her writing style. By the time Kael retired in 1991, the nation's film critic jobs were filled with Paulettes. Many of them eventually outgrew their emulation of Kael's taste and prose style and developed their own (David Denby, one of her successors at the NYer, famously outlined how he outgrew Kael's early influence on him in a NYer essay entitled 'My Life as a Paulette'), but many of her tics and tendencies are visible in various critics' movie reviews to this day: an emphasis on a movie's plot and acting over its visual and technical elements, a fondness for the second person (writing "you," as if to assume that "you" will experience a movie the same way the critic did), opinions rendered as extravagant praise or snarky dismissal, and insistence that favored directors (especially Brian de Palma) can do no wrong. One of the chief Paulettes was James Wolcott, whose new memoir, 'Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in Seventies NY,' covers the period when he was fresh out of college and a member of Kael's inner circle. He writes fondly of those years now, though he was also one of the first to take down the Paulettes as a group (in a 1997 Vanity Fair article, 'Waiting for Godard'). Of course, Wolcott remains a master of the incisively witty kneecapping. Whatever his feelings are about his fellow former Paulettes, he maintains not only his affection for Kael but also his emulation of her technique. Also new on bookshelves is Brian Kellow's biography 'Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark' and the Library of America's 'The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael,' which collects some of the most re-readable reviews and essays from such Kael anthologies as 'I Lost It at the Movies,' 'Reeling,' and 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (whose title Shane Black borrowed for his 2005 thriller spoof). In conjunction with the publications of these three books, the NYer has posted online a new essay about Kael, a couple of blog posts, and a handful of Kael's most famous and notorious reviews. There's also an impassioned tribute to her by former Paulette Armond White at CityArts and a debate over her legacy by NY Times critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott. Why the sudden vogue for Kael? In part it's because we just marked the 10th anniversary of her death in September, 2001. But it's also because her absence is so keenly felt. There's a longing for a critic like Kael, for whom movies matter so much, because there's a longing for (as the Library of America book calls it) an "age of movies" that matter. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

'Flowers of War' Trailer: Christian Bale's Non-Foreign Foreign Film

We already knew Christian Bale was set to star in 'Flowers of War, but considering it was made by Chinese director Zhang Yimou and submitted by China as the nation's Foreign Film Oscar selection, you'd expect there to be some Chinese dialect in the film. Based on the first trailer, there isn't! In fact, it looks like Bale -- as an American priest -- and the rest of the characters primarily speak English. Though since this is only a three-minute-clip, expect to hear Chinese dialect spoken at some point. 'Flowers of War' follows John Magee (Bale), an American priest who helps save the lives of Chinese citizens during the Nanking Massacre. It will hit theaters in China on Dec. 16. The film currently has no American release date. [via Vulture] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

EFA Reveals Documentary Nominees

The Eu Film Academy has completed its nominees inside the documentary category for your 24th annual European Film Honours, which are searching for December 3 in Berlin. The movies will probably be distributed round the EFA’s 2,500 people, who'll election for your champion. PINA, Germany WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Wim Wenders Produced BY: Gian-Piero Ringel & Wim Wenders STAND VAN P STERREN (Position Among the Stars), holland DIRECTED: Leonard Retel Helmrich Put together By: Leonard Retel Helmrich & Hetty Naaijkens Produced BY: Hetty Naaijkens VIVAN LAS ANTIPODAS!, Germany / holland / Argentina / Chile WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Victor Kossakovsky Produced BY: Heino Deckert

On Set With The Walking Dead

Zombieland Fox is adapting cult hit Zombieland for a television, Vulture reports. The original film, which starred Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg and Easy A's Emma Stone, would be formatted to a half-hour for contention in the 2012-13 season, with original writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick attached. The originals cast members, however, will not appear. Ratings: The Walking Dead Season 2 premiere nabs 7.3 million "The original plan for this was to make it as a TV show," Zombieland producer Gavin Polone told the site. CBS had ordered a pilot script in 2005 before the concept was made into a film, but took "all the good stuff out," he said. Syfy was also reportedly interested, but couldn't financially support it. AMC's The Walking Dead drew a hefty 7.3 million viewers for its second season premiere on Sunday, so it comes to no surprise that another network would attempt to dip into the successful genre. The CW had a zombie series, Awakening, in contention for the fall season, but the network failed to pick it up.

'The Adventures of Tintin': A New Poster and Really Good Reviews

Over the weekend, the first reviews for Steven Speilberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin' began popping up online with almost unanimous praise: "While luxuriating in its pre-existing universe, here is a film imploring you to join in. It would take a hard heart to resist," said Empire Magazine's Ian Nathan. "[The film] showcase[s] Spielberg's talent for creating action that is less about bullets and bombs than in keeping things visually alive," exclaimed Jordan Mintzer of the Hollywood Reporter. It's refreshing to know that a project presented by both Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson may end up living up to its hype. (Spielberg is directing the first film, with Jackson producing; the two filmmakers will switch roles for the sequel.) 'Tintin' is based on the legendary Belgian comic series by Herge (and not Rin-Tin-Tin). Due to the popularity of the original 'Tintin' overseas, the film is set to premiere in the UK on Oct. 26. Unfortunately, Americans will have to wait until Christmas for its release, but you can at least check out the new poster for 'Tintin' -- which depicts the titular hero and his trusty dog, Snowy -- standing tall as a ship crashes and burns behind them. [via HitFix] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Martin Sheen Assumes Liberal Hollywood's Obama Bashing (Video)

If the involves celebrity activism, handful of if any Hollywood liberals wield more gravitas than Martin Sheen. So give consideration, Matt Damon and Michael Moore: Knock-from the critique of Leader Obama.our editor recommendsPresident Obama to Hollywood: 'I Never Guaranteed You Easy'As Obama Involves Hollywood, Showbiz Heavies Plan More Democratic Party FundraisersPresident Obama Sets Two Hollywood Fundraiser (Exclusive)Leader Obama revisit La for Fundraising event Gala (Exclusive)Leader Obama's Jobs Bill Prompts On-Air Explosion From MSNBC's Erection dysfunction Schultz (Video)Rhianna Tones Lower Appearance to fulfill Leader ObamaMartin Sheen on Charlie Sheen: 'I Be familiar with Hell He's Living In'Martin Sheen Stars in Emilio Estevez-directed 'The Way' Trailer (Video) In the segment in the Pleasure Behar Show set to air Tuesday evening on HLN, Sheen, sitting alongside boy Emilio Estevez, is asked for about instances where Moore, Damon while others in Hollywood expressed displeasure with Obama. Knowing in the manner he bristles within the mere suggestion, he is not pleased with them. PHOTO: Best Presidents in Film and tv "Matt Damon and Michael Moore," states Pleasure Behar, "are bashing Obama just a little. It is said they're unhappy in what he's done. Where can you emerge on that?" "Steady, steady. No," Sheen cautions. "You're speaking of a special guy. I like him, but he's doing an admirable job.In . Behar plays the role of devil's advocate inside the segment. "They've been demeaning him mercilessly because the economy has not return," she states. PHOTOS: Stars Who've Carried out People in politics "But had they, you understand, dedicated to the particular problem?" Sheen asks about his celebrity-activist co-employees. Corporate America should be chastised many Obama less, according to Sheen. "You understand, they discuss patriotism. They are curious about profits, you understand? This is when the problem lies. It's corporate America." Estevez enables his father perform the speaking throughout this part of the interview, not showing whether he confirms or else until Sheen -- motivated by Behar -- compares Obama to Robert Kennedy. "He's still really the only adult inside the room, frankly," Sheen states of Obama as Estevez nods in complete agreement. PHOTOS: Leader George W. Rose rose bush on 9/11 "As well as the best guy," Behar reminds them. "The best guy," Sheen confirms. The dad and boy were marketing their film, The Means By Which, which stars Estevez and Sheen and was written and directed by Estevez. As his father bashed companies, Estevez offered his opinion that "keeping the jobs in your homeInch is important, though he acknowledged he shot The Strategies by The nation. STORY: Disappointed Hollywood Giving Obama Cold Shoulder "I really required to meditate on that, plus it was difficult to possess a film in the country," Estevez mentioned. Despite the fact that show hasn't broadcast yet, the political right was already ridiculing the interview. Noel Sheppard of Newsbusters, one in the Media Research Center, for example, dissected virtually every economic claim created through the trio and offered the counterarguments. He finishes his piece with: "Yeah, Obama's the best guy as well as the only adult inside the room. Knowing by his results so far -- Romper Room." Related Subjects Obama Matt Damon Pleasure Behar HLN Michael Moore Martin Sheen Emilio Estevez Politics

Cohans prep Pineiro adaptation 'Betibu'

RIO P JANEIRO -- Miguel Cohan, director of "No Return," is concentrating on a completely new project, "Betibu," an adaptation of Argentine Claudia Pineiro's latest novel. "Betibu" is defined at Argentina's Haddock Films, the co-producer of 2010 Oscar champion "The Important Thing to themInch and Viggo Mortensen-starrer "Everybody Features A Plan." Cohan is concentrating on the script with sister Ana Cohan, co-scribe of "No Return," and Pineiro. A thriller, "Betibu" triggers an ageing, jaundiced crime journalist, a famous lady author together with a thrusting youthful journalist who investigate a suspected murder in the gated community outdoors Buenos Aires. "The story can be a crime suspenser occur the backrooms of journalism," Haddock topper Vanessa Ragone told Variety within the Rio Festival market. Miguel Cohan could make "Betibu" his sophomore outing, Ragone mentioned. Project is co-produced by Gerardo Herrero and Mariela Besuievsky's Madrid-based Tornasol Films, which co-has Haddock. It's skedded to shoot partner 2012 in Buenos Aires and, most probably, Spain's Ciudad p la Luz art galleries. Argentine broadcaster Telefe will connect produce. Money is "large by Argentine standards, mid-budget through the the spanish language language standards," Ragone mentioned. Haddock optioned Pineiro's second novel, which increased being Marcelo Pineyro's 2009 Argentine B.O. hit "Thursday's Widows." "No Return," Cohan's debut, shared the Golden Spike at Spain's Valladolid fest, creating Cohan just like a director to follow and specialist in drama thrillers. "Betibu" explores the same register. The Rio Festival runs March. 6-18. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Jordana Brewster on Fast Five, Ageing Onscreen and the risk of a Sixth Fast & Furious Film

A week ago, Movieline spoke with with Fast 5 star Tyrese Gibson to find the male perspective on being a member of this type of lucrative, testosterone-driven franchise. Wanting to get another take, we arrived at to Jordana Brewster, that has performed the only heroine from the vehicle heist series since the first day. The Yale graduate eagerly talked about her growing role in Fast Five (that is launched on DVD and Blu-ray now), a possible sixth installment and her very own meager understanding of automobiles. It appears like even five movies in, Fast & Furious keeps growing increasingly popular in the box office. Have you have concept that it might be this type of lasting franchise whenever you signed on? No! Whenever we signed on, I had been in senior high school and that i didn’t know much about vehicle culture. I didn’t have my license at that time, and so i understood that people were creating a movie about cars however i don’t think anybody understood that people were onto something stand out that will carry on growing. Justin [Lin] is actually amazing for the reason that he keeps building onto it if you don't take the fans as a given. They know he’s reached keep growing and that he does that if you take us to new places like Rio p Janeiro and adding figures like Dwayne Manley’s character. Our fans are perfect and thus loyal. And not simply the fans however the experts also appear to possess a certain respect with this franchise. Perhaps you have always felt the experts’ support too? I ended reading through reviews like 2 or 3 movies in, and so i do not pay an excessive amount of focus on that. But when they did, that’s awesome. Has your understanding of cars broadened greatly because the first movie? Well, I still don’t drive a stick. Used to do take one class, however i am hopeless, I simply stated, “I’m not getting this” and gave that up. I actually do love driving and be thankful more. There’s no method for you to’t residing in La. I additionally allow us an appreciation just for beautiful cars such as the GT40 I drove in Fast Five. I had been like, “Oh my gosh, I really like the lines on that vehicle.” However someone like Paul knows what’s starting the engine and just how you fix that vehicle whether it stops working. I’m not too savvy. Do you experience feeling any pressure they are driving an incredible vehicle in tangible existence? No, I am talking about, I drive a variety Rover Sport that we love. My dream vehicle will be a Maserati. That might be amazing. Fast Five was this type of fun movie to look at. That which was probably the most fun scene to shoot? My personal favorite scene undoubtedly was the feet chase that people shot in Puerto Rico. Paul and that i reached do many of these stunts that was a lot fun for me personally — not only being an actor because I acquired to kick ass and jump off roofs — but because my character, Mia, reached grow and become away from home using the boys. Which was something which Justin and that i had spoken about, also it really was vital that you evolve. Did you need to do some strong convincing to allow Justin do your personal stunts? No, Justin was like, “I’m likely to push yourself on that one.” It had been just time on her — and me — to become away from home using the boys and safeguard her family. She'd much more on the line about this movie. How can you unwind from standing on this kind of action-heavy, testosterone-fueled set every single day? I meditate, which I like. Just twenty minutes two times each day which really helps. It’s funny because whenever you watch the film it appears enjoy it’s constant adrenaline but there’s a lot preventing and beginning on set that everybody is fairly mellow. That’s the only method to keep the sanity. [SPOILER ALERT] How have you react whenever you discovered that Mia would be pregnant within this movie? I had been excited, because story-smart, I figured it assisted in the ante on her also it assisted her and [Paul Master’s character] John become closer. How can you think this can alter the trajectory from the franchise? I don’t know. I’m excited to determine where they’ll go if there’s a sixth movie. Have you ever heard anything in regards to a sixth movie yet? Nothing official, however i could be up for this. It’s a lot fun since you’re dealing with your buddies and also you’re dealing with these folks that you've a shorthand with. Just how much feedback would you get from female fans? I believe I’ve become probably the most feedback on that one because Mia was more powerful and away from home using the boys and active in the action. Because she would be a more powerful female character, Used to do obtain a great response. I listen to them on Twitter concerning the action sequences. Company, I get lots of questions regarding Paul and what it really’s like to utilize him. [Laughs]

Rankings: Memorable Trends Downward Like The Majority Of Shows in Week 3

Memorable Memorable - the greatest-ranked new drama from the 2011-12 TV season's first week - apparently is not memorable enough for many people revisit. The show's third episode attracted 11.35 million audiences and nabbed a couple.4 rating among industry-valued 18-to-49-year-olds, overnight Nielsen rankings demonstrated. It came 19 percent less audiences two days after its debut, and a week ago it fell behind Person of great interest as typically the most popular new network drama. Still it emerged victorious in prime time's final hour Tuesday against Body of Proof, which went from the grain by enhancing (10.22 million/2.1 Up 11 percent and 17 %, correspondingly), and Being a parent (5 million/2. - lower 9 %). Fall Preview: Get scoop in your favorite coming back shows The very first new show to generate the assurance of full season- New Girl - attracted 8.62 million people and published Tuesday night's high demo rating: 4.3. While keeping Fox's belief, the show also trended downward for that third week (versus. 9.26 million/4.4 rating a week ago, and 10.98 million for that premiere). Glee snapped up 8.$ 30 million audiences and three.5 demo rating (versus. last week's 8.34 million/3.6 and 8.91 million/3.8 for that Season 3 premiere). And when it's Tuesday, this means CBS has won the very first two hrs of prime time with NCIS, which attracted 18.86 million (4.1) and NCIS: La, which attracted 14.sixty five million (3.6). At 9:30/8:30c, Fox's Raising Hope defied the downward trend by reaching 6.51 million people. Read our Dwts recap Against NCIS and Glee at 8/7c, the very first hour of Dwts entertained 9.11 million audiences versus. The Greatest Loser on NBC (5.52 million) and also the CW's 90210 (1.32 million - lower 16 percent). At 9/8c, the DWTS results came 14.83 million versus. Loser (5.69 million) and also the 4th round of Ringer, which, after nabbing 2.01 million a week ago, got just 1.49 million - its cheapest yet and below the two.7 million because of its premiere. Amounts also might have been lower because many eyes, especially in the nation's biggest TV market, were switched towards the playoff game between your NY Yankees and Detroit Tigers. Some 7.01 million fans viewed the best-time game on The best spinner's, which makes it probably the most viewed division-series contest in 4 years.

Oscar Predictions: Even Harvey Weinstein Is a Sucker For George Clooney

“I love George Clooney’s movie, The Ides of March,” Harvey Weinstein raved recently when asked for an Academy Award prediction. “I love politics, and this movie is the best political movie — it’s gotta be right up there with the best of the best. Seriously, it is the toughest, most incisive, no-bullshit movie I’ve seen this year. And [Ryan] Gosling hits it out of the ballpark. And the entire cast is great. Clooney just nailed it. It’s an appropriate movie for these times. So Oscar prediction? That that gets nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. And it’s not mine.” [Vulture]

Cheers & Jeers: ABC Bites Off More Than It Can Chew

Scott Porter You don't have to tell Scott Porter that a show like Friday Night Lights - the football drama that won Emmys, a Peabody and inspired a catchphrase ("clear eyes, full heart, can't lose!") - doesn't come around often. He already knows. "It was a lightning-in-the-bottle moment of magic with Friday Night Lights and I know that I can never do that again. So to do something starkly different, but still try and capture that same type of magic and create and own a character was great," Porter says. "I wanted a show to be able to call my own again." Fall TV: Get the lowdown on this season's must-see new shows Porter's second chance comes courtesy of Hart of Dixie, The CW's new drama following a city slicker doctor, Zoe Hart (Rachel Bilson), whose career forces her to move to the South where she encounters alligators, Southern belles and a charming lawyer named George, played by Porter. "George is a leading man and that's a first for me," Porter says. "I love every bit of George. He's just such a solid everyman and I think guys are going to want to be friends with him and girls are going to want to date him. He's a leader and he's a bit of a town hero." Sure, George and Zoe make sense on paper but there's one snag: George is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Lemon (Jaime King). The love triangle, and the small-town feel, of the series make Hart of Dixie reminiscent of the early WB when family dramas like 7th Heaven, Everwood and Gilmore Girls hadn't yet been replaced by series centered on vampires, witches and demon hunters. And just like when Dawson's Creek and Felicity fans agonized over whether to pick Dawson or Pacey, or Ben or Noel, respectively, Porter says it won't be so easy picking who should end up with whom. Check out our list of favorite TV love triangles "They do everything slower in the South. They take their time with things and that's what we're going to do with this show. We're really going to be to sit in on the relationship between George and Lemon. The audience is going to be able to get very comfortable with them as a couple and see there's a reason they're together. It's not just a plot device," Porter says. "When the other shoe finally falls, and you kind of find out things from their pasts, hopefully the audience is going to be rooting for true love." The role of romantic comedy leading man is a big departure for Porter not only from his role as star quarterback-turned-paraplegic Jason Street on Friday Night Lights, but from his recent gig on The Good Wife. Porter enjoyed a recurring role on the CBS legal drama last year as the manipulative, sneaky Blake Calamar, a private investigator/"fixer" best known for his season-long rivalry with Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) that involved a baseball bat, extensive vehicular damage and the uncovering of a series-changing secret. "Blake's role on The Good Wife was really as a tool - as a blunt-force object, if you will - to crack that hard exterior of Kalinda and to get the audience more connected to her. At the end of the day, he wasn't a character who was there from the beginning and he wasn't a character who was ingrained in that world," Porter says. "I think [creators and executive producers] Robert and Michelle King and I both knew that his story line would have to end as far as this year goes. But there's no reason that he can't come back in a much different way." Check out all the familiar faces returning to TV this year In the meantime, however, Porter is enjoying jumping into the world of Bluebell, Ala., where Hart of Dixie is set. "The one thing in common with the Kings, and with FNL executive producers Peter Berg and Jason Katims and Hart of Dixie creator and executive producer Leila Gerstein is that they all have such a solid grasp on the world in which the show lives," Porter says. "Every scene they write fits because they know what would exist and what wouldn't exist in that world. As an actor, you feel very well taken care of." Hart of Dixie premieres Monday at 9/8c on The CW.

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Large Miracle Trailer Swims In

Came Barrymore saves the whalesBetween Dolphin Tale and today this - formerly entitled Everyone Loves Whales - you may be pardoned for convinced that Greenpeace was sponsoring a couple of approaching films, since helping oceanic animals is everywhere at this time. Have a look in the trailer for which has become known as Large Miracle at Apple. Miracle is dependant on the 1988 true story of three grey whales that grew to become held in pack ice near Alaska's Point Barrow community. Once the local natives discovered the animals, they labored to try and fee them, however when that initial effort unsuccessful, the nearby media (and so the world) got involved, eventually resulting in a formerly uncommon collaboration between your U . s . States and Russia. The film changes a couple of from the elements around, and stars John Krasinski like a news reporter who first breaks word from the whales' plight. He ropes in Came Barrymore's environment crusader, which sets the dominoes falling for anything else that occurs as she attempts to convince the governor (Stephen Root) to locate an ice-breaking ship...While Everyone Loves Whales would be a slightly cumbersome title, we are not 100% believing that Large Miracle is much better - also it leaves the cetacean aspect altogether. Still, people deeply love large animals being assisted, so perhaps it does not matter. Large Miracle will sail onto screens on Feb 10.

New Rules for Oscar Campaigning

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set some new rules concerning campaigning today; you can read their full press release after the jump. Among the big ones: Academy members can now be invited to screening events prior to the Oscar nominations being announced. In the past, they couldn't be invited to screening events with Q&As or receptions at all. This is why studios hold so many "guild" screenings, under the guise of really going after Academy members. It's a pretty huge restriction to be lifting.Also, take a close look at Rule 16:16. References to Other Nominees.Ads, mailings, websites, social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) or any other forms of public communication by anyone directly associated with an eligible film attempting to promote a particular film or achievement by casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film or achievement will not be tolerated. In particular, any tactic that singles out "the competition" by name or title is expressly forbidden. Academy members that violate this Rule 16 will be subject to a one-year suspension of membership for first-time violations, and expulsion for any subsequent violations.Remember the producer of "The Hurt Locker" who was banned from the Oscars for sending that e-mail urging people to rank "Avatar" lowest and "Hurt Locker" highest? That now extends to such social media platforms as Twitter and Facebook, so members need to think twice before Tweeting. Actually, that's good advice in any situation.READ MORE ON BEHIND THE SCENES

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Ask Matt: Entourage, Ringer, Closer, Torchwood and More!

Sarah Michelle Gellar Send questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!Question: I know you weren't too fond of the final season of Entourage (to put it nicely), but I was curious if you thought Jeremy Piven's work this year was worthy of an Emmy nomination? - JoeMatt Roush: Sure. I wouldn't mind seeing him get one last nomination. He used to own that supporting comedy actor category, winning three in a row before he dropped off the radar (along with the show), part of the backlash after his controversially aborted Broadway gig in the Speed the Plow revival. Piven certainly got the best material and storyline in Entourage's final season, and he made the most of Ari's emotional and physical deterioration after the collapse of his marriage. Even if you didn't buy the grand gesture of him ditching the agency to win back Mrs. Ari - although it's pretty clear he'll take up the offer to "play God" as head of an entertainment conglomerate - Piven lit up the screen in a way Vince & Gang had long forgotten how to do. It may still be a long shot, though, for Piven to get back in the Emmy race, given that Entourage will have been off the air for so long before next year's nomination process gets underway, and his work (not to mention the show) may not be as vividly remembered.Question: I was pleasantly surprised by the first episode of Ringer. I was a huge Buffy fan because of the writing of the Whedon crew, so I follow the writers and not the cast. But the show seems to be a good fit for Sarah Michelle Gellar, and it was soapy and suspenseful in a very mainstream way. While the "twist" at the end of the pilot was entirely predictable, there are enough questions to keep me coming back for more. What did you think? I am not one of those people who avoids watching a TV show I think will be canceled (thus encouraging networks to cancel it), but I do hope a show like this is produced in sensible 13-episode arcs. More shows seem to be trying to hedge their bets that way. While I'm not asking for spoilers, do you have any sense of whether or not the show has mini-endgames planned in case the show doesn't go the distance? (Whedon was great at that for most of Buffy's run). - RebeccaMatt Roush: I was more fair to Ringer than many critics. I'm not entirely convinced there's enough material in this set-up to fill an hour every week over the long haul, but I have a soft spot for this kind of glossy mystery melodrama, and I liked her and the cast (especially the two men she's caught between, Ioan Gruffudd and Kristoffer Polaha). So for now, I'm on board. And while a story like this has to stay open-ended by its very nature of building suspense and twists along the way, I agree it would be wise for the writers to cushion the cliffhangers with some sense of resolution at the end of the first 13 - and the back nine, should Ringer be so lucky (which it probably will be) - so that fans won't be too perturbed if the show doesn't make it to a second year. It's awfully hard to predict the threshold of success and failure on a mini-net like the CW.Want more Matt Roush? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!Question: Besides waiting for the premiere of Dexter, any feedback on Homeland, also premiering the same night on Showtime? - MikeMatt Roush: I'm reviewing Homeland in the issue of TV Guide Magazine that will be out this week (also mentioning Dexter and the new season of Luther in a discussion of "TV's Tortured Heroes"), and I'll be posting a review online closer to the Oct. 2 premiere date. I've seen the first three episodes of Homeland and Dexter this season, and while I'm not sold yet on Dexter - it's beginning to feel awfully routine, and this season's theme of faith is very heavy-handed - I am very high on Homeland, which is hands-down the best new drama on TV this fall. Damian Lewis is electrifying as a Marine returning home from eight years in Al-Qaeda captivity, and Claire Danes is his match as an unstable CIA analyst who suspects he may be a sleeper-agent terrorist in war-hero disguise. He's a wreck, she's a mess, and Homeland is riveting. There's also some good work here from Morena Baccarin as Lewis's conflicted wife and Mandy Patinkin as Danes' understandably concerned mentor. Can't wait for people to see this one.Question: Reading last week's Ask Matt column, I was shaking my head yes, it would be nice to see Brenda Leigh go out on top. Then I saw the summer finale. Whoa. I was not expecting that last scene. I certainly hadn't put Brenda in the "above the law, outlaw justice" category, but that was an impressive list and of course I can't remember the details of all of them. I am really looking forward to how this plays out. What did you think? Are you disappointed they didn't put this whole issue to bed? - MeganMatt Roush: Not disappointed at all. It was a good twist, raising the stakes for Brenda while giving the show an opportunity to look back at her entire timeline with Major Crimes. This should keep everyone busy through the winter mini-season - the show returns November 28 with five new episodes - and then we'll see where it goes for the final batch next summer.Question: Since last week was the final "summer" episode of The Closer, does this mean we will still have a winter series to come? I had believed that this was the end of a wonderful show, but I am not sure. I sincerely hope that I am wrong. I will definitely miss this show. Is there a specific reason that Kyra Sedgwick decided to leave after this year? There are still so many wonderful stories to be explored with her and her team. I have read that there is the possibility that the show may continue with all of the other characters remaining? Is this definite or only a possibility? If so, what will happen to Fritz, Brenda's husband? - Mary AnnMatt Roush: There's still quite a bit of confusion among some fans regarding what's happening with this franchise. Here's the deal: After the five-episode run in November and December, The Closer will be back for a final run of episodes next summer, marking the end of Kyra Sedgwick's participation in the series. This transitions directly into a spin-off, Major Crimes, which will be built around Mary McDonnell's character of Sharon Raydor but includes many of the Closer ensemble. Can't really say what part Jon Tenney/Fritz will play in this, because that depends on how they write Brenda out of the show. And I prefer not to know that for now. The main reason Sedgwick has cited for leaving the show at this point is that she prefers to go out on top and not overstay her welcome, plus a desire to get back to her life on the East Coast with her family. Seven seasons is a pretty good run for any character. And who's to say she won't pop back into the world of Major Crimes from time to time?Question: What I liked about the Torchwood: Miracle Day finale: There was more Gwen and Jack. Mekhi Phifer's character got shot. This season was put out of its misery. What I didn't like about the Torchwood finale: There needed to be more Gwen and Jack. Mekhi Phifer's character survived. It didn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. What I HATED about the Torchwood finale: The whole cliffhanger ending with the Families. Russell Davies needs to put this whole plot and the American emphasis to bed. Get Gwen and Jack back to Cardiff. What I REALLY HATED about the Torchwood finale: Jack's immortality was due to the power of the TARDIS being channeled through someone who was never meant to have it and couldn't control it (Rose). Now it turns out Jack could have saved Ianto with a simple blood transfusion? Let's start next season with Mekhi Phifer's death and ret-conning everyone else.On another note, I loved the finale of Rescue Me. It was true to the series (in both the good and the bad) and didn't over-sentimentalize. I will miss this show, particularly the writing - it was always the fastest hour of the week for me because the incredible dialogue made it so much fun to follow. - RickMatt Roush: Good point about Jack's blood. Given all the loss the Torchwood gang has endured over the seasons, to have the most annoying and poorly written character in the show's history be immortalized is a true jump-the-shark moment (and I'm on record for not liking to point such things out). Also agree with you on Rescue Me. Talk about a show that knows how to memorably kill off a character.Question: I know you weren't the biggest fan of Torchwood this season and you can't really speak on behalf of network decision-makers, but can you give us your best guess on its chances for renewal on Starz? Did the audience grow from its former home on BBC America? I would like to hope so. The finale wasn't a 180 in terms of quality, but it had its moments. I would have preferred Esther and Rex to have switched places mortality-wise, but I liked the twist at the end. I want to think of this as an opportunity for Mekhi Phifer to grow as an actor and stop playing the same pompous, arrogant jerk capable of a selfless act once in a blue moon that he's been playing most of his career. More John Barrowman and Eve Myles in American TV and film is an exciting prospect. Despite what some people are saying across the Atlantic, it's not America's fault Miracle Day wasn't nearly as good as Children of Earth. I think they just bit off more than they could chew and didn't have the time to tighten the story and add more meat per episode. I have faith that Russell T Davies can pull it off next season if given the chance.Miracle Day has to be at least a peg or two underneath guilty pleasure True Blood, with its often maddening policy of equal screen time for every single regular cast member. I like the show the best when they get most of the characters in the same place at the same time, but they're lucky if they have two out of five good stories going on simultaneously. Andy's V addiction was the most annoying subplot yet. At least the majority of the heavily proliferated cliffhangers made for a mostly satisfying finale. I'm just wondering how long they can continue to pull this show off in the long run. From what I've gleaned, the show is more or less going through one book per season and the 12th book is set to be released sometime next year. It appears as though HBO is interested in having this show on forever, but what of the actors, contract negotiations and budgetary concerns that tend to swell up over time? Looking at HBO's past, 5-6 seasons is generally the sweet spot for an HBO original scripted drama if it's lucky to get enough public and critical notice. I'm just trying to wrap my head around Stephen Moyer at age 49 in the 12th season of True Blood. My bet is that they're going to skip or amalgamate a few books, or go the Dexter route and splinter off into a drastically different canon (the most logical choice). It wouldn't hurt if they reduced the amount of filler subplots that tend to go on without leading anywhere. Any additional conjecture you'd like to add? - GeneMatt Roush: The future of Torchwood, by all accounts, is in Russell T Davies' hands. (Sort of the way future seasons of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm always hinge on Larry David's own enthusiasm and drive.) If Davies comes up with another grand idea that catches Starz' fancy, there may well be more to the story, but it may not happen on a normal renewal timetable. Maybe a little time and distance would be the best thing for all involved, given how Miracle Day turned out. Regarding True Blood: For better or worse, this is a show about excess, and that includes an overabundance of characters to follow, not all of them earning the attention (Andy and Sam have been the two biggest offenders lately, at least for me). As long as True Blood sustains its popularity, I'm sure HBO will want to keep it around, but I don't see it lasting as long as the book series, in part because these actors and writers will all eventually want and need to move on. But now that they've told the story (from book 4) of Eric's amnesia and love tryst with Sookie - a high point for the book and TV franchise - I'm betting the series will begin veering even further away from the books than it has already. Given how forgettable some of the more recent novels have been, this can only be a good thing for the HBO cast and crew.Question: Eureka was my favorite summer program because it was always fun and never taxing. I will miss all of those sweet characters, just as I will miss the creative Fringe series should it get the axe. Doctor Who will remain my quirky buddy. However, I am very disappointed to learn that certain cable channels which are my refuge from reality shows are leaping on board to soak us with more reality slop. What did we TV viewers do to deserve this reality waterboarding? (Maybe I don't want to hear the answer to that.) - ValMatt Roush: I've also enjoyed what I've seen of Eureka over the summer, and am sorry there's only one more season to go. Very fun show, and Fringe and Doctor Who are among my faves as well. But to your point about cable networks like TNT, USA, FX and AMC getting into the reality biz - these shows being longtime staples of the Syfy and BBC America schedules, by the way - this is an inevitable progression, given the economics of the business and the popularity of unscripted TV across so many platforms. We just have to hope that some of these programmers will be as concerned about quality control when developing these shows as they have been toward their scripted product. Because not all "reality" TV is "slop" - I try not to be a snob about such things - and a creatively produced unscripted program that doesn't degrade its participants or its viewers is something I don't mind recommending or even watching.Question: So I have to comment on how amazing this season of Breaking Bad has been. Just when I think the show can't go any farther, it continues to surprise me. I really loved the "Hermanos" episode giving us the insight on Gus's past before he became the Chicken Man. It was interesting to see the parallels between Gus and Max vs. Walt and Jesse, almost uncanny except for the fact that Walt and Jesse escaped their "meeting" with Emilio, et al. We get to see Gus as his former self, displaying actual emotions for what I think is the last time until we see him in the elevator. We are left wondering if the path for Walt and Jesse will be as grim as Max's outcome. Jesse's downward spiral is fascinating to watch. I am so captivated by the previous images of Jesse in front of his TV while the blood red from the video game encircles his emotionless face. For me it echoes a scene in Taxi Driver. Maybe I am reading too much into that scene, but I can't help but think he is attempting the same as Gus, to hide all evidence of emotion, when he is really an emotional wreck. I also like the so-called coupling of Mike and Jesse, for some reason I find them entertaining in that Hurley and Sawyer kind of way.Meanwhile, Walt has some sort of normalcy as he and Skyler are working on keeping Walt's adventures under wraps by portraying a semi-normal life as far as Hank and Marie are concerned. I like how Skyler is willing to sacrifice her own relationship with her son by having Walt take back the new car he gave him, in order to protect the family image as middle class instead of incredibly rich thanks to meth. She's comfortable being the bitch in this situation because someone has to be. Hank's involvement and determination to uncover the real nature of Gus is perhaps the most nerve-wracking to watch as he is literally sitting on what is likely the biggest drug bust of all time right under his nose. I'd like to know your thoughts on the decision to only have the show go on for five seasons? I am torn by it as I think there is only so much you can tell with this kind of story without viewers getting frustrated. At the same time I am really enthralled by the characters and their actions. It is one of the best character studies I've seen since Lost and I for one will be sorry when it comes to a close. - MayaMatt Roush: Another week, another Breaking Bad rave. Do you get the sense this show is having another outstanding season? I agree with almost all of these observations, and as usual, some of them get turned upside down from week to week - especially after a thrillingly pivotal episode like Sunday's "Salud," with Gus exacting grisly revenge on the cartel, forcing Jesse to shoot his way out of that carnage, while Walt and Walt Jr. have their wrenching face-to-face in the wake of Walt's beatdown from Jesse. This show's level of sustained tension, including of the emotional variety, is so compelling I've sometimes found it hard to focus on this year's Emmy field, because it feels so incomplete without this show and these players. I'm at peace, though, with Breaking Bad heading toward a definite endgame. Much like The Shield, this isn't a narrative that can continue indefinitely without overstraining our credulity. Vince Gilligan has taken Walt & Co. down roads I would never have foreseen, but at some point there will have to be a reckoning. And I can't wait to see what that will be. But yes, of course I'll miss it once it's over. Much as I do The Shield, even though it had one of the most satisfying conclusions I've ever seen.Question: I was devastated to hear that HawthoRNe had not been renewed by TNT. Even though the storyline this season was very depressing, it still had fans hungering for better times and kept them tuning in to see what the writers had done next. Added to this is the fact that there was a great cliffhanger. Could this show be picked up by another network? It has a great fan base. - DeniseMatt Roush: Sorry, but no. It's even less likely for a failed cable series to be rescued than it is when a network series gets dumped and picked up somewhere else (and that's a fairly rare occurrence). To be honest, I was surprised this one made it to a third year, but it's a reminder that no matter the show, there are always going to be fans dismayed when something doesn't make it. (I'm just surprised I haven't heard from the Chloe King fans yet. Not that I'm eager to open that door.)Question: I was just looking over the fall schedule in TV Guide Magazine and noticed that there are NO listings for Saturday. What happened to Saturday? I remember years ago when Saturday night produced some of the best and most successful shows on TV. In addition to the old Mary Tyler Moore Show, there was a whole group of shows that were very popular on that night. Why won't the networks risk putting new shows on Saturday nights? Why aren't the awards shows on a Saturday night? They run so long, you'd think that Saturday would be better than Sunday to show them since people don't have to get up early for work on Sunday. When did the networks decide that they would completely ignore Saturday? I'm sure there has got to be an audience that would stay home and watch TV on that night. What is their reason for making NO attempt at new shows on this weekend night? - LarryMatt Roush: This question tends to come up at least once a season, usually at this time of year, when it's especially obvious that networks continue to sidestep the "Saturday problem." The problem being that long before the networks started ignoring Saturdays, the mass audience began ignoring Saturday TV to the point. I grew up during that classic CBS era of Mary Tyler Moore-Bob Newhart-Carol Burnett, and was covering TV during the Golden Girls era, so I remember when networks could be very profitable on Saturdays. But especially once VCRs began changing home viewing habits, it became harder for any network to launch a successful show on the night, and even CBS, the network with the most traditional viewer base, eventually gave up. This season, CBS is bucking the trend by airing new episodes of longtime utility player Rules of Engagement on Saturdays, but that's more of a burn-off to build up the show's inventory of episodes for syndication. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if it moves back to Thursday eventually, should the horrific How to Be a Gentleman collapses.) Airing major awards shows on Saturday doesn't make sense from a programming point of view because networks want to maximize profits by airing them on nights (like Sundays) with much higher viewing levels. It may be a self-fulfilling prophecy that no one watches network TV on Saturdays because the networks give them no reason to. But in this economic climate, that's hardly going to change.That's all for now. Keep sending your comments and questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com, and in the meantime, follow me on Twitter!Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Paul Williams: Still Alive

A 3W Films presentation of a Mambo Entertainment production. (International sales: WME Entertainment, Los Angeles.) Produced by Jim Czarnecki, Stephen Kessler, Mike Wilkins, David Zieff. Executive producers, Robert Cohen, Lesa Lakin. Co-producer, Alicia Van Couvering. Directed, written by Stephen Kessler.With: Paul Williams, Stephen Kessler, Mariana Williams, Chris Caswell.A funny thing happened to Stephen Kessler on his way to completing "Paul Williams: Still Alive," his affectionate portrait of the diminutive dynamo who loomed improbably large as a pop-culture luminary during the 1970s. After serendipitously tracking down his childhood idol, and starting production on what he clearly intended -- initially, at least -- as a melancholy ode to a faded star, Kessler wound up forging an unlikely friendship and, in the process, making a richer, deeper and more idiosyncratic documentary. Pic could click with baby boomers and Gen-Xers in various formats, but nostalgia will be only part of its appeal. For the benefit of those who tuned in late: Throughout the '70s, Paul Williams earned fame and fortune as a prodigiously prolific songwriter, penning enduringly popular standards such as "Rainy Days and Mondays," "We've Only Just Begun," "I Won't Last a Day Without you" and "Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song" for the likes of Three Dog Night, the Carpenters, Helen Reddy and, no kidding, David Bowie. He wrote for movies (earning Oscars for "Evergreen," co-written with Barbra Streisand for "A Star is Born"; and "The Rainbow Connection" for "The Muppet Movie"), had success as a solo recording artist, and drew wide exposure as a film and TV actor. Kessler covers all of this and more in "Paul Williams: Still Alive," and duly notes that, like all too many '70s celebrities, Williams spent much of the '80s and '90s out of the spotlight while recovering from a personal and professional meltdown fueled by booze and drugs. A TV-commercial director whose feature credits include "Vegas Vacation" and "The Independent," Kessler immediately cops to being a longtime fan of his subject. He reveals that, as a chubby kid growing up in Queens, N.Y., he felt a special affinity with the borderline-elfin Williams and deeply empathized with the songwriter's works about loneliness and longing. When he fortuitously discovers that Williams still is alive and performing, Kessler has mixed emotions: He's glad to see his idol survived his crash-and-burn excess, but a bit sad to see the former superstar now playing gigs in hotel lounges and lesser Vegas venues. Williams, however, doesn't see it as sad at all. There's a fascinating dynamic at play throughout "Still Alive," as Williams -- sometimes politely, sometimes sternly -- repeatedly refuses to fulfill Kessler's expectations, and progressively prods the filmmaker into making a movie far different than the one he set out to make. Early on, Williams convinces Kessler to be an onscreen participant, claiming that it would be difficult, if not silly, for him to pretend to be unaware of the camera following him. Later, when Kessler quizzes Williams about the low points of his '70s superstardom, Williams bristles at the criticism implicit in Kessler's queries. "I feel like this is a dig that I haven't felt from you before," Williams snaps. "And I don't like it." It's very much to Kessler's credit, and to his film's benefit, that he has included this and other scenes that depict him as trying too hard to fix his subject in some preconceived scenario, and Williams as instinctively resisting facile labeling. The two men don't really begin to bond until they share a six-hour bus ride through a possibly terrorist-filled jungle during Williams' tour of the Philippines. But the give-and-take between subject and filmmaker always is the pic's primary focus. Williams readily admits to often being a drug-addled show-off during his '70s heyday -- in one of the pic's discomforting sequences, he's visibly pained as he reluctantly watches video of his spoiled-child arrogance while guest-hosting "The Merv Griffin Show" -- and he makes no excuses for savoring all the perks that came with fame. "To be different is difficult," he says. "To be special is addicting." As Kessler himself observes, there's a tension generated throughout "Paul Williams: Still Alive" by opposite points of view: While the director is looking back at a life to make a documentary, Williams -- who's still living that life -- is looking forward. But the combination of those viewpoints makes for an engrossing and satisfying pic, one that can be enjoyed even by people who have never before heard of its subject. Tech values are satisfactory.Camera (color, HD), Vern Nobles; editor, David Zieff; co-editor, Jonathan Del Gatto; production designer, Perry Andelin Blake; sound, Marcos Contreras. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (Real to Reel), Sept. 10, 2011. Running time: 84 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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Whitney

Filmed in Los Angeles by Stuber Pictures in association with Universal Media Studios. Executive producers, Whitney Cummings, Scott Stuber, Quan Phung, Betsy Thomas, Barry Katz, Andy Ackerman; co-executive producers, John Quaintance, Theresa Mulligan; supervising producer, Adrian Wenner; producer, Nancy Chadrow Haas; director, Ackerman; writer, Cummings.Whitney - Whitney Cummings Alex - Chris D'Elia Lily - Zoe Lister-Jones Mark - Dan O'Brien Neal - Maulik Pancholy Roxanne - Rhea Seehorn Whitney Cummings is one of the new flavors of the fall season, with a hand in producing two fledgling sitcoms -- CBS' "2 Broke Girls" and "Whitney," an NBC sitcom in which she also stars. The eponymous show, however, gets off to a decidedly tepid start, built around the title character's unmarried relationship to her longtime boyfriend, which is thrown for a mild loop by attending a wedding. With Cummings offering a quirky but not particularly compelling presence and scant support around the central couple, viewers who sample this post-"The Office" entry might experience their own fears of commitment. Whitney and b.f. Alex (Chris D'Elia, whose deadpan delivery is the show's strongest asset) seem contented enough in their unblessed cohabitation, even if he winces when she wears a hoodie sweatshirt to a wedding or tries to get him to carry her purse. "Not that whipped," he mumbles. After interacting with an obnoxiously cheery couple, however, Whitney begins to fret about their future. "I don't think we're having sex enough," she says bluntly, proceeding to hatch misguided attempts to seduce him, including the always-popular sexy nurse outfit (if you have the gams for it). The scheme backfires, of course, in "Whitney, you've got some 'splainin' to do!" fashion. Other than Cummings' slightly off-kilter view of relationships as writer and star, "Whitney" as a construct is more spindly than her legs -- the gist being a couple of crazy kids who love each other but have chosen not to tie the knot. This might have seemed truly unorthodox back when "That Girl" was on, but it's harder to see why anyone would make a fuss about it now. Then again, Whitney and Alex provide the show's anchor, surrounded by the requisite assortment of wacky friends, from skirt-chasing neighbor Mark (Dan O'Brien) to her mismatched pals, the chipper Lily (Zoe Lister-Jones) and cynical divorcee Roxanne (Rhea Seehorn). Throw in "30 Rock's" Maulik Pancholy as Lily's boyfriend, and it's about as stock a six-pack as a sitcom can uncork. "Whitney" does possess one pragmatic advantage scheduling-wise, as the lone newcomer joining NBC's Thursday comedy block: Despite critical accolades, that night hasn't set the world on fire ratings-wise -- the benefit being that expectations for the new kid shouldn't be sky high. That said, Cummings' headlong vault into primetime has its best chance of sticking the landing via the show in which she doesn't star. Because while she and D'Elia aren't bad company, there's just no compelling reason to throw bouquets at "Whitney."Camera, Patti Lee; production designer, Wendell Johnson; editor, Richard Candib; music, Ed Alton; casting, Susie Farris. 30 MIN. Contact Brian Lowry at brian.lowry@variety.com

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The Champion of America's Got Talent Is...

Landau Eugene Murphy, Junior. After ten days of dying-repel and frequently absurd functions, America's Got Talent has named its Season 6 champion. Have a look at our fall preview for galleries, scoop, premiere calendars plus much more! The best competition came lower to jazz singer Landau Eugene Murphy, Junior., fan-favorite Silhouettes, music troupe Poplyfe and ballroom ballroom dancers iLuminate. It absolutely was Murphy, who formerly were living all the time and washed cars, who taken America's attention, which makes them the sixth champion of America's Got Talent. Did America comprehend it correctly? Election inside our poll: Who should have won Season 6 of America's Got Talent Landau Eugene Murphy, Junior. (the very best guy won!) Silhouettes Poplyfe iLuminate election view results

Nathan Lane joins 'English Teacher'

With production on Relativity Media's untitled Snow White pic winding down, thesp Nathan Lane is setting his sights on a very different project, as he's in negotiations to join Julianne Moore and Greg Kinnear in Artina Films' indie comedy ''The English Teacher.'' Veteran TV helmer Craig Zisk (''Weeds'') is making his feature directorial debut with the film, which was written by Dan and Stacy Chariton. Moore stars as Linda Sinclair, a high school English teacher whose life is upended when a former star pupil returns to her small town after failing miserably as a playwright in NY. Artina Films' Naomi Despres, Robert Salerno and Matthew Chausse are producing alongside Ben LeClair. Ron Curtis will exec produce the pic, which Kim Fox of Inferno Entertainment is handling international sales for. Production starts next month in Gotham. Lane, who's currently filming Tarsem's big-budget take on the Snow White fairy tale alongside Julia Roberts, is in negotiations to star in and exec produce Douglas McGrath's untitled comedy pilot, which just received a greenlight from USA. Series will find the Tony winner playing an unlucky actor whose Broadway aspirations must be put on hold when his father's declining health forces him to return to his Texas hometown. Lane is repped by ICM and Anonymous Content. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

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Christina Hendricks Want To Play Question Lady

FIRST Launched: September 13, 2011 5:05 PM EDT NEW You'll be able to, N.Y. -- Christina Hendricks might be the entire of office politics on Mad Males, but tend to she play an Amazonian princess? The buxom beauty told Access Hollywood Lives Billy Rose rose bush and Package Hoover that shed enjoy playing Question Lady concerning the silver screen if her Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn, can get an chance to create the legendary superhero for the silver screen. In my opinion [Nicolas] thinks I'd do well because role, Christina Hendricks, who's also starring in I've No Clue How She'll It, mentioned on Tuesday. I loved coping with Nicolas a great deal, hes this type of incredibly gifted director, the 36-year-old Emmy nominee ongoing. If he reaches direct Question Lady, i rapidly need to get it completed with him. In May, NBC passed down David E. Kelleys Question Lady pilot with Adrianne Palicki inside the title role. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved.These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Would You Have Sex With an Arab?

A Studio 37 release of a Screenrunner presentation and production, in association with Phobics, Studio 37, Motek Power Films Factory, Commune Image Media. (International sales: Other Angle Pictures, Paris.) Produced by Yves Chanvillard, Nadim Cheikhrouha. Co-producer, Jean-Luc Ormieres. Directed by Yolande Zauberman. Written by Zauberman, Selim Nassib.With: Gideon Levy, Juliano Mer-Khamis, Gabri, Ibrahim, Ayed, Walaa, Hezi, Yaniv, DJ Samy, Lina, Hanin, Dany, Sivan, Maysaloun, Elanit, Imat, Semaan, Raafat, Ayala. (English, Hebrew, Arabic, French dialogue)Youngsters -- as well as a few old-timers -- roaming the Israeli streets after dark are asked a single provocative question in docu "Would You Have Sex With an Arab?" Paris-born helmer Yolande Zauberman's film is of course less about mixed intercourse than the Arab-Israeli conflict at large, though by arriving at the polarizing subject sideways, answers often feel fresh, with the ideological and frequently abstract clash turned into something tangible and relatable, especially in the more tightly focused first hour. Despite so-so DV lensing and sound quality, pic should pucker up at liberal fests and on the tube. Pic was mainly filmed on the streets of Tel Aviv, though it also contains, per the press book, some (unidentified) footage shot in Jerusalem and Haifa. Using a compact Leica D-Lux 4, Zauberman lobs the titular question at night-owls lurking in or just outside bars and discos. Though it is often forgotten (or conveniently overlooked), a sizable population of Israeli Arabs also lives in Israel, and they are asked the equally revealing question, "Would you have sex with an Israeli Jew?" Some of the interviewees reject the concept outright or think that the idea of an Arab and a Jew making love or being in a relationship is a utopian thing that doesn't happen in real life. But Zauberman, occasionally heard in v.o., interviews enough people to suggest that such lovemaking is something that occurs more often than one might think ("desire can hit you before you can ask where someone stands politically," one of the interviewees wisely underlines). Perhaps tellingly, however, successful ongoing relationships prove about as illusive as long-term peace in the region, though some of the talking heads were in mixed relationships that lasted several years, including an older Arab man whose liaison with a Jewish woman was frowned upon until he told his peers that their being together "changed the mind of the girl about Arabs," after which they were left alone. Though it touches on issues such as sex, love and relationships, the material's recurring theme is political. By turning a faceless, unknown enemy into real people with emotions and opinions, Zauberman accumulates material that suggests harmony and understanding might be possible. It's not a revolutionary insight, perhaps, but still one that remains necessary. The mention of immigrant Maghrebi Jews, relationships with Christian Arabs and plain old foreigners further underlines the complexities of the sociopolitical patchwork that is the Middle East. Last half hour loses steam as Zauberman adds atmospheric footage from a queer Palestinian disco and a beach rave, both in Tel Aviv. They add diversity but little insight, since interview material is lacking. The impact of a prolonged closeup of a kissing couple on the shore is diminished because the lovers remain unidentified (though first names of most interviewees appear in the closing credits). Since it was shot with a tiny camera and mainly in places where loud music and little light are the norm, "Sex" has some sound and image issues. And somewhat mysteriously, Zauberman interviews most of her subjects in English, which occasionally muddles these non-native speakers' arguments. Pic's dedicated to the late Juliano Mer-Khamis, an actor-filmmaker of mixed heritage who's among the interviewees.Camera (color, DV), Zauberman; editor, Basile Belkhiri; sound (Dolby), Bruno Elhinger. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (Horizons), Sept. 7, 2011. Running time: 86 MIN. Contact Boyd van Hoeij at news@variety.com

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