Pilot Season: Cougar Town's Josh Hopkins Joins NBC's Kari Lizer Comedy

Every week, editors Adam Bryant and Natalie Abrams satisfy your need for TV scoop. Please send all questionsto mega_scoop@tvguide.com. Did Quinn die on Glee? - Kathy NATALIE: Well, probably not. If Quinn was dead, wouldn't they be looking to cast an undertaker instead of a wedding planner? It's up to you decide if Ohio's premier knot-tying expert, who's described as more lumberjack than Jennifer Lopez, is coming to Lima to help Finn and Rachel pick out a chuppah or to find the most sanitary caterer in the Buckeye State for Will and Emma. Either way, you should probably start sending your requests for wedding-themed songs to Ryan Murphy pronto. Is there any reason to hope Castle and Beckett will hook up this season on Castle? - Elizabeth ADAM: Hope springs eternal, Elizabeth, especially after... Read More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Desperate HousewivesBilly CrystalBonesHow I Met Your MotherJay PaulsonKristen WiigEdward KitsisPsychThe Big Bang TheoryCastleAndrew W. MarloweGleeParks and RecreationNCIS: Los AngelesJustifiedOnce Upon a TimeAwakeBridesmaids

'The Artist' rules Spirit Honours

'The Artist'Director Michel Hazanavicius wins for 'The Artist'"The Artist" has centered within the Spirit honours since the tribute to Hollywood's quiet film era needed best feature, best director for Michel Hazanavicius, best cinematographer for Guillaume Schiffman, as well as the best actor award for Jean Dujardin.Hazanavicius turned up just with time to obtain his award once you have a police escort within the airport terminal terminal along with producer Thomas Langmann. They'd experienced Paris on Friday for your Cesar honours."This film am much from the usual understanding," Langmann mentioned within the stage.Dujardin assigned Demian Bechir for "A Far Greater Existence," Woodsy Harrelson for "Rampart," Michael Shannon for "Take Shelter" and Ryan Gosling for "Drive."Michelle Williams nabbed the most effective actress prize on her behalf turn as Lana Turner in "My Week with Marilyn." She outshine Lauren Ambrose in "Consider Me," Rachael Harris in "Natural Selection," Adepero Oduye in "Pariah" and Elizabeth Olsen in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."Christopher Plummer won the supporting actor award for "Beginners" and Shailene Woodley needed the supporting actress trophy for "The Descendants""People four several days created my youthful adult existence," Woodley mentioned.Plummer began his acceptance by quipping, "It's taken us a very long time that you should realize that the Spirit Honours have absolutely nothing associated with booze!"Plummer formerly won Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA honours for your role in Mike Mills' film. Best first feature visited J.C. Chandor's "Margin Call," which needed home the Robert Altman Award."This movie was tough to get made," he mentioned. "It shouldn't are actually very hard.In . Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash won to find the best script for "The Descendants," while Will Reiser won the most effective first script award for "50-50."It absolutely was really the only category that "The Artist" didn't win. Hazanavicius' script was nominated."Pariah" won the John Cassavetes award for author/director Dee Rees and producer Nekisa Cooper.Rees possess a large laugh when she mentioned, "Any Saturday where you are able to use a sparkling hoodie and possess two whiskeys before noon is fucking awesome."Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation" won to find the best worldwide film and Steve James and Alex Kotlowitzwon best doc for "The Interrupters."Seth Rogen emceed but got off several zingers for instance "I handled to obtain using the first a couple of minutes of each and every from the movies."(Erin Maxwell brought with this report.)As well as the individuals who win are:FEATURE"The Artist" - Producer: Thomas Langmann MALE LEADJean Dujardin - "The Artist"FEMALE LEADMichelle Williams - "My Week with Marilyn"SUPPORTING MALEChristopher Plummer - "Beginners"SUPPORTING FEMALEShailene Woodley - "The Descendants"DIRECTORMichel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"SCREENPLAYAlexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash - "The Descendants"FIRST FEATURE "Margin Call" - Director: J.C. Chandor producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary QuintoFIRST SCREENPLAYWill Reiser - "50/50"JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD"Pariah" - Author/Director: Dee Rees Producer: Nekisa CooperCINEMATOGRAPHYGuillaume Schiffman - "The Artist"DOCUMENTARY "The Interrupters" - Director/Producer: Steve James Producer: Alex KotlowitzINTERNATIONAL FILM"A Separation" (Iran) - Director: Asghar FarhadiAUDI Anybody To Look At AWARDMark Jackson - "Without"PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD Sophia Lin - "Take Shelter"TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD Louise Courtney - "Where Soldiers Originate FromInchJohn ALTMAN AWARD "Margin Call" - Director: J.C. Chandor casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard TelseyEnsemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

'Oz' ruby slip-ons to Academy Museum

'The Wizard of Oz' Ruby Red-colored Slip-ons worn by Judy Garland in 1939 happen to be contributed towards the Academy Museum of Movies.The Academy Museum of Movies has acquired a set of Dorothy's ruby slip-ons from "The Wizard of Oz," its initial acquisition since announcing fund-raising chair Bob Iger in December.Leonardo DiCaprio brought several "angel contributor" whose gifts towards the Academy Foundation enabled the acquisition. Additionally towards the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, an element fund of CCF Environment and Humanitarian Causes, donations originated from producer-director Steven Spielberg and Terry Semel, co-chair from the La County Museum of Art and also the former chairman-Boss of Warner Bros. and Yahoo, together with other contributor. "The ruby slip-ons occupy an remarkable devote the hearts of movie audiences around the world," Iger stated. "This can be a major acquisition for the collection.""Leo's passionate leadership has assisted us buy this legendary bit of movie history," added Academy Boss Beginning Hudson. "It is a wonderful gift towards the Academy museum project along with a perfect representation from the work we all do year-round to preserve and share our film heritage."These slip-ons, referred to as "the Witch's Footwear," have been in probably the most pristine condition from the four pairs of ruby slip-ons recognized to exist. It's broadly thought that fundamental essentials slip-ons Judy Garland used in closeups and place shots, most notoriously when Dorothy clicks her heels three occasions revisit Kansas. They're known as "the Witch's Footwear" since they're likely the happy couple seen around the ft from the Wicked Witch from the East after Dorothy's house falls around the witch.The Academy introduced a partnership with LACMA in October to lease the previous May Co. building at a corner of Wilshire and Fairfax for everyone because the movie museum's home. Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

Hulu Pacts To Stream PaleyFest Sections

PaleyFest 2012 Sets Panel Schedule Beverly Hillsides, CA, Feb 22, 2012 The Paley Center for Media today introduced Hulu is really a partner for PaleyFest 2012. Included in the agreement with PaleyFest, beginning March 15, Hulu will stream full-length content and short form clips solely on-demand from nine from the festivals sections around the free, ad-supported Hulu and also the Hulu Plus subscription service at http://world wide web.hulu.com.Hulu may be the premier movie streaming service offering current season Television shows, classic series and acclaimed movies from a lot more than 350 content partners, including five from the six major broadcast systems. Hulu will stream PaleyFest2012 sections featuring the casts of Community, Not so long ago, New Girl, Work, Bones, Castle, The Vampire Journals, Revenge and Modern Family. PaleyFests two-week celebration of great television runs March 2-14, 2012 in the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hillsides.

Hot Worldwide Trailer: Prometheus

There’s a brand new worldwide trailer for Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s go back to the terrain he investigated within the sci-fi classic Alien. It’s making the net models on sites like Aint It Awesome News. Harry Knowles states there isn’t an excessive amount of new within this trailer, even though he's the geek cred, I must state that as i might have seen it anyway, this trailer makes Prometheus essential-see. Fox releases the three dimensional film June 21, with Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Noomi Rapace, Patrick Wilson and Guy Pearce heading the cast.

Oscar 2012 Snubs & Surprises!

First Published: January 24, 2012 11:37 AM EST Credit: Fox Searchlight Caption Ryan Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love / Michael Fassbender in ShameLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The 84th Annual Academy Award nominations were announced Tuesday morning with some surprising nominees but not all of this years favorite big screen performances and films were honored with a nomination. Martin Scorseses Hugo surprising led the nominations with 11, edging out silent film The Artist for most nods, which earned an equally impressive 10 nominations. Demian Bichir, who might be best known for his role on Showtimes Weeds where he played the father Mary-Louise Parkers baby, is up against Hollywood heavyweights like Brad Pitt and George Clooney in the Best Actor race for his work in A Better Life. Another surprise was the love the Academy gave Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullocks post 9/11 drama, which has polarized audiences and critics. The movie scored a Best Picture nomination and a Best Supporting Actor nod for Max von Sydow. Bridesmaids star Melissa McCarthy was a nice surprise nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her hilarious performance in the breakout comedy. Co-star Kristen Wiig and writer Annie Mumolo also earned a nomination for Best Original Screenplay for raucous box office hit. And then there are the stars whose phones did not ring with good news this morning. Despite his powerful performance and nod of approval from George Clooney at the Golden Globes Michael Fassbender was shut out for his role in Shame. Ryan Gosling who went into award season with major buzz for three films Drive, The Ides of March, and Crazy Stupid Love was also snubbed. Other acting snubs included Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar, Albert Brooks for Drive, Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin, Charlize Theron for Young Adult, and young star Shailene Woodley, who many thought would earn a nomination for her work as George Clooneys daughter in The Descendants. The snubs continued with Steven Spielberg who failed to earn a Best Director nomination, even though War Horse was honored with a nod for Best Picture. The Hollywood veteran did earn a nod for producing War Horse. A surprise snub came in the Best Animated Feature category for The Adventures of Tintin, which took home the Golden Globe in the same category, but failed to get any Oscar love. And there wont be any musical catfights on Oscar night between Elton John and Madonna (or Eltons partner David Furnish), who were shut out of the Best Song category. For a complete list of this years nominees, CLICK HERE! Find out who will take home Oscar gold on February 26, with host Billy Crystal, live on ABC at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT. -By Jesse Spero Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'Smash': And the Marilyn Role Goes To...

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Monday's "Callbacks" episode of Smash.] Pitting the girl next door up against the Broadway veteran, NBC's "Smash" crowned its Marilyn Monroe during Monday's "Callbacks" episode, with Megan Hilty's Ivy getting the pivotal role in the play at the center of the musical drama.In the hour, Ivy was presented with the same circumstances the morally upstanding Karen (Katharine McPhee) faced in the premiere when, during a coaching session, Derek (Jack Davenport) made a move on the longtime ensemble player. After struggling for more than 10 years, Ivy opted not to shun his advances and instead put her career first and slept with him.So how close was Karen to landing the part? Very close, it turns out. In an early draft of the 70-page "Smash" pilot -- which creator Theresa Rebeck cut 20 pages from as it evolved when the project moved from Showtime to NBC -- the newcomer winds up landing the coveted role."On the pilot, we actually had Team Ivy and Team Karen people on the set saying, 'I think Ivy should get it,' and 'I think Karen should get it,'" Rebeck tells "The Hollywood Reporter." "So I went to [executive producers] Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and I said, 'Let's be realistic.' I was writing Episode 2 and asked, 'Would you really take this seriously? For the first workshop of a brand new musical, would you give it to her?'"Shaiman and Wittman both said the same thing: that Karen was pretty green when it came to Broadway experience. Ironically, the duo were going through the exact same thing when it came to casting the Broadway production of "Catch Me If You Can" lead with Aaron Tveit, who, Rebeck recalls, they said was too green at the time to star in the production."That's actually -- literally -- what you would do with someone who has no experience but is a clear tremendous talent," Rebeck says. "You put them in the ensemble and season them. So that's where we're going."And that's what happened with Tveit, who ultimately landed the lead in "Catch Me."While it appears that McPhee's Karen is ensemble-bound, that doesn't mean that "Smash's" Marilyn will remain the same during the show's 15-episode run, considering Ivy's early misdeeds with Derek and the high-profile role."I've done a lot of these workshops and reading and there's no such thing as job stability," Broadway veteran Hilty ("Wicked") says. "You can be replaced in a heartbeat and it sets the stakes really high and makes people behave in ways they wouldn't normally behave."While the workshop role is Ivy's, it's anyone's guess whether or not it's a part she can hold on to, especially with Karen likely landing in the ensemble. The two-way race could likely expand to include a third when Uma Thurman arrives to play a famous and difficult movie star flirting with the idea of starring in the production."The casting of Marilyn [revealed in Episode 2] may not be who it is at the end of the season," NBC Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt told reporters at January's Television Critics Association's winter press tour.What do you think of Ivy as Marilyn? Who would you ultimately like to see star in "Marilyn"? Smash airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC. The Hollywood Reporter

Shoreline has 'Secret'

L.A.-based sales company Shoreline Entertainment will handle worldwide sales outdoors Mexico on Gabriel Marino's "A Secret World," which world preems in Berlin's Generation section today.Also compiled by Marino, it activates an 18-year-old middle-class girl who embarks on the journey across Mexico.Shoreline professional Vice president Mike Eigen stated he first seen the pic in the San Sebastian's Films happening rough-cut showcase after which went after it strongly.The "Secret" deal continues Shoreline's resolve for Latin American films. Its first Latin American pick-up, Sebastian Silva's "The Maid" clinched 35 worldwide sales deals, Eigen stated. It's also seen large revenue achievement with Javier Fuentes-Leon's "Undertow."Created by Tatiana Gullera and Sobrevivientes Films' Jesus Magana, a director in the own privileges ("Abolicion p la propiedad," "Sobreviviente"), "World's" key finance was set up by Switzerland's Visions Sud Est Fund. It had been developed at multiple filmmaking initiatives including Argentina's screenwriting lab TyPA Foundation."I needed to film a portrait of Mexican youth. There's lots of violence in Mexico, social instability, the future's uncertain, but for the youthful, there's little possible ways to work or study," Marino stated. "World" is "an effort to exhibit how youthful People in mexico think and feel." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Incentives ready for savvy co-prods

Various regional incentives are available in Salzburg.The Austrian Film Institute, the official government funder, had $21.35 million available under its FISA film funding scheme. The good news, says AFI director Roland Teichmann, is "there's the political effort to get it up to $25.9 million" when its three-year renewal comes up this year. Local producers rely on government support since the country's tax and investment regime is not particularly film-friendly. Still, there is money available to overseas producers, who are welcome to apply, either through co-producing with a local partner or setting up a local entity. FISA offers a 25% rebate, capped at $1.7 million per project. Teichmann points out that although Germany's federal fund is larger, Austria still nabbed projects such as "360," which filmed in Vienna, as well as others from the U.K. and Germany, such as "Ludwig II." "Our producers are very open to international co-productions," he says. In addition, there are various regional incentives, as offered by the federal states of Tyrol, Styria, Salzburg, Lower Austria and the capital, Vienna. "(Fox) got $388,000 from Salzburg, for 'Knight and Day,'?and spent almost $2.3 million here," says Austrian film commissioner Arie Bohrer. "We get many enquiries from Americans filming in Hungary and the Czech Republic, whom we can serve through the regional funds. Each region has its own film commission: They are skilled and all happy to help. Our crews are very professional with international expertise. Language is never a problem." The real attraction, of course, is Austria's great natural beauty. "We have locations from modern cities to castles and stately homes in excellent condition," says Bohrer. "Wonderful landscapes, a super infrastructure with five-star hotels, we can accommodate crews very near to all locations and the quality does not stop when you step outside the front door, as it does in some countries." Location Austria serves as a one-stop shop for filmmakers looking to shoot in Austria, offering help in finding co-production partners, crews, obtaining production funding, location scouting support and other services. Austria also offers top post-production facilities with state-of-the-art hardware and software and its proximity to Germany also offers easy access to leading post and vfx players in Munich and Stuttgart. Berlin Daily Spotlight: Austrian Cinema Austria builds on big year | Incentives ready for savvy co-prods | Austrians on the rise Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Opposition to SAG, AFTRA merger begins

Opposition has began emerging for the recommended merger involving the Screen Stars Guild as well as the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, 72 hours before ballots head out.Rivals say the merged union, named SAG-AFTRA, will finish up less democratic with leaders more insulated from people. They've scheduled an anti-merger rally for 1 p.m. Friday before SAG and AFTRA headquarters in La.InchThey are dangerous occasions for stars," longtime guild activist Scott Wilson told Variety. "70-eight years of a democratic union will be in peril because the board could make unilateral options without regard for the membership."The merger proposal is going to be shipped to 120,000 SAG people and 70,000 AFTRA people, who include stars, tv producers, DJs, entertainers and ballroom ballroom dancers. To feed, the referendum want a 60% approval margin from both orgs among votes cast. SAG and AFTRA will mail out ballots Feb. 27 to 120,000 SAG people and 70,000 AFTRA people, getting a tabulation date of March 30. Being approved, the merger must receive no less than 60% in the votes from each union.Governance in the merged union will be based partly on AFTRA's current system of voting by affiliates selected with a biannual convention. Beneath the new metabolism, future mergers may be approved having a 60% election in the affiliates as opposed to the present direct election of individuals.Rivals may also be objecting to having less a comprehensive analysis of mixing the SAG and AFTRA pension and health plans through the claims with the unions inside their "feasibility study." The overview of the study, based on opinions by lawyers, found there's no legal obstacle to merging the plans which multiemployer plan mergers don't pose any elevated possibility of insufficient benefits."There's no substantion in the benefits by creditable study," Wilson mentioned.Wilson, whose credits go back to "In Cold Blood stream," can be a regular on "The Walking Dead."SAG's board appproved the merger anticipate Jan. 27 with 88 percent supporting and AFTRA's board OKd the proposal the very next day with 94 percent support. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com