Recently added articles from Daily Variety:
Crash the party: Sony's 'Pelham' aims to cure 'Hangover'.
Jun 12, 2009; ... Warner Bros. comedy "The Hangover" and Disney-Pixar's "Up" are still imbibing plenty at the domestic B.O., enough to pose trouble for new entries "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" and Eddie Murphy comedy "Imagine That." Sony takes out Tony Scott's "Pelham" remake, starring Denzel ...
Mamet show tipped to move to B'way.(Inside Moves)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Broadway looks poised to get a double dose of David Mamet this fall, with a transfer of the scribe's "Oleanna" likely to join a fall sked that also includes the playwright's new play "Race." Doug Hughes-helmed staging of "Oleanna," starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, opened ...
'Fela!' Drums up date.
Jun 12, 2009; ... The much-discussed Broadway transfer of Off Broadway buzz magnet "Fela!" is now official: Producers have confirmed a fall opening for the musical at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. The bio-tuner about Afrobeat musician and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti won strong reviews when it ...
Scribe shows off scary side.(Screen Gems to produce 'Beautiful Girl')(Brief article)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Screen Gems prevailed in a spec auction for "Beautiful Girl," a scary genre thriller from a most unlikely source: Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Hours." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher are producing through their Red ...
Conan trends young: new host corners market on key demo.
Jun 12, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Conan O'Brien's opening-week ratings victory on "The Tonight Show" proved to be even bigger than expected in key demos. Final Nielsen numbers released Thursday showed O'Brien is connecting in a big way with the young adults that NBC was hoping ...
Discovery digs 'Egypt' series.
Jun 12, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Discovery Channel is giving world civilization series "Out of Egypt" a six-episode run over three Sundays beginning Aug. 17 and airing back-to-back episodes at 9 and 10 p.m. "Egypt" was co-created by archeologist and UCLA professor Kara Cooney ...
WMA alum Sara Bottfeld and CAA vet Tracey Murray have joined Industry Entertainment as partners.(Tenpercenteries)
Jun 12, 2009 ... WMA alum Sara Bottfeld and CAA vet Tracey Murray have joined Industry Entertainment as partners. Bottfeld spent 15 years with WMA, ...
Four department coordinators have been upped to agents at ICM: Logan Eisenberg (TV talent), Erik Horine (TV lit), Nigel Meiojas (film talent) and Shah Ray (film lit).(Tenpercenteries)
Jun 12, 2009 ... Four department coordinators have been upped to agents at ICM: Logan Eisenberg (TV talent), Erik Horine (TV ...
Pic leaves this critic at a loss for words.
Jun 12, 2009; ... WITH A FAIR AMOUNT of online hoo-hah and a deserved measure of academic disdain, the English language this week acquired its millionth word--"Word 2.0"--an achievement supposedly merited on the basis of the term having achieved a certain degree of widespread usage. But to me it remains a ...
Paris plans a studio: Besson, Ben Ammar pairing for project.(World News)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and Tarak Ben Ammar's Quinta Communications are partnering to launch the 30 million [euro] ($42 million) Paris Studios, France's first modern megastudio. Paris Studios aims to rival London's Pinewood and Berlin's Babelsberg as home to big Hollywood ...
ESPN not buying Setanta.(World News)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Disney-owned sports web ESPN has moved to end speculation that it wants to acquire cash-strapped international sports paybox Setanta. An ESPN spokesman said: "We have no plans to buy Setanta. There are a lot of stories out there that link ESPN with a possible purchase. We wanted ...
Russian studio starts film fund.(World News)
Jun 12, 2009; ... A leading Russian studio and production company launched a $20 million film finance fund Thursday to kick-start movies that have stalled due to the recession. Russian World Studios--owned by AFK Sistema, one of the country's top industrial companies--said the coin would finance ...
French pubcaster to animate its slate.(World News)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Gallic pubcaster France Televisions will focus more on toons as it battles to win back young auds lured away by cabler TNT. The pubcaster will dedicate every afternoon on its France 4 channel to animated series targeting tweens and teenagers, the company announced at the Annecy ...
Monte Carlo TV fest's mad for ' Men'.(World News)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Lionsgate's "Mad Men," Gallic family comedy "Desperate Parents" and Blighty docudrama "The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall" were the big winners at the 49th Monte Carlo TV Festival, which wrapped Thursday. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Both"Mad Men," which airs on AMC, and ...
Censorship outcry.(CHINA)
Jun 12, 2009; ... The government directive requiring new personal computers to carry Internet filtering software (Daily Variety, Tuesday) has caused a public outcry, with critics saying the plan is intrusive and ineffective. There have even been complaints in the state ...
'Celebrity' for Sony.(INDIA)
Jun 12, 2009; ... Sony Entertainment Television has commissioned an Indian version of ITV reality skein "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" The move follows a strong showing for "I'm a Celebrity" on NBC in the U.S. Show, in Hindi, will be co-produced by India's ...
Building character together: the best roles are often a combo of a writer's vision and an actor's intuition.(CREATIVE INPUT: SHARING THE WEALTH)
Jun 12, 2009; ... For actors in television drama, feeling comfortable with a character can be tricky. How much of the role is what the writer does, and how much is what an actor brings? "It's a coming" together," says John Slattery, who plays rakish advertising exec Roger Sterling on AMC's ...
When the studios don't return your phone call: Helmers look elsewhere for steady employment.(WOMEN IN FILM/CRYSTAL + LUCY AWARDS)
Jun 12, 2009; ... It has been more than 35 years since Women in Film was formed, with the goal to help "women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communication and media industries." In 1973, few females had attained the high-powered position of director in either film or ...
Sisterhood of creative plans: they plot their careers by keeping the focus on the right narratives.(HONOREES: UP TO THE TASK)(Women in Film honors Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Banks and Holly Hunter)
Jun 12, 2009; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jane Fleming applauds this year's WIF honorees for being topnotch multitaskers. "Jennifer Aniston can use her power to start producing. ...
Campaigns are the new career additive: beauty brands and cause marketing are emerging as critical safety nets for hard-working actresses.(ADVERTISING: PLAYING THE GAME)
Jun 12, 2009; ... The new multitasking Hollywood actress needs a smart, innovative business model. She must constantly shift gears asshe goes from acting to directing/producing to hawking for advertisers and then back to acting. The ad campaign, in effect, serves as career insurance, sort of a guarantee ...