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Hart of Dixie reminiscent of the early WB when family dramas like 7th Heaven, Everwood and Gilmore Girls hadn't yet been replaced by series centered on vampires, witches and demon hunters.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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Cinedigm uncovers Indie Direct

Cinedigm Digital Cinema has released Indie Direct like a distribution and advertising tool for controlling theatrical digital distribution.Chris McGurk, Chairman and Boss, made the announcement Wednesday."With Indie Direct, we now have drawn on into our years of experience and expertise to pioneer a turnkey way of indie producers to enjoy the flexible, precise and efficient distribution model digital cinema allows," he stated inside a statement. "Now, indie producers can make use of a complete service studio inside a one-stop shop." The very first two production organizations to enroll in Indie Direct are ARC Entertainment and Seven Arts Pictures. ARC is applying Indie Direct for "Zombie Journals," "Hellraiser," "Odor of Success," "Facts," "Killing Bono," "Bunraku," "Greening of Whitney Brown," "Knuckle" and "Snowmen." Seven Arts Pictures is going to be using Indie Direct for that US discharge of "The Pool Boys." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com