Daily Variety back issues from November 2005:
ICM fills its coffers from Rizvi reservoir.(International Creative Management, Suhail Rizvi )
Nov 01, 2005; ... International Creative Management has completed a deal to make Connecticut-based equity fund operator Suhail Rizvi a substantial investor in the talent agency. Deal gives chairman-CEO Jeff Berg an immediate $75 million with which to retire the company's debt and pave the way for ...
Peacock takes a hostage.('Kidnapped' television program)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... NBC has snatched the pilot "Kidnapped," which follows abduction over the course of a season. The one-hour drama comes from scribe Jason Smilovic ("Karen Sisco"), who will exec produce along with Michael Dinner. Sony TV, 25C Prods., which is based at the studio, and NBC Universal ...
Blighty alrighty: as Europe B.O. drops, U.K. holds steady.
Nov 01, 2005; ... As box office continues to dip and dive in so many foreign markets this year, it's looking like the U.K. is one piece of turf that might offer a Hollywood ending. For the Jan. 3-Oct. 30 period, box office grosses were down 20% in Germany, 21% in France, 18% in Italy, and 12% in ...
Case closed on TW board.
Nov 01, 2005; ... Steve Case is ankling Time Warner's board of directors, five years after the conglom's disastrous marriage with America Online, the company he co-founded and ran. Case said he wants to focus on his new company, Revolution. "Leaving Time Warner's board will give me a ...
ABC's 'Grey's' bowled over.("Grey's Anatomy", American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Hit medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" has beat out all comers to score the winning post-Super Bowl XL timeslot. It's a big coup for "Grey's," which has become a huge asset for the Alphabet web--and now stands as the fourth-highest ranked TV show among adults 18-49. "Grey's" is also ...
Helmer is lord of 'Flies'.(Shannon Burke novel Black Flies)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Paramount Pictures has made a preemptive acquisition of the Shannon Burke novel "Black Flies," and the studio is negotiating with Darren Aronofsky to direct it. Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce with Eric Watson, Aronofsky's partner in Protozoa. Novel, which has ...
Stranger than fiction: N.Y.'s future debated.(New York)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Presidential candidates Matt Santos and Arnie Vinnick found themselves waiting for their stage cues in the kitchen of the Waldorf Astoria on Sunday's episode of "The West Wing." Without handlers in tow, they found themselves spontaneously agreeing to a face-to-face debate, ...
L'Oreal, Weinsteins look good.
Nov 01, 2005; ... The Weinstein Co. and L'Oreal Paris have inked a two-year marketing and product-placement partnership, with the cosmetic company set to provide beauty products for the company's pics and co-host preems and other events. In return, L'Oreal products will be integrated into ...
FSG's top editor books his exit.(Farrar, Straus and Giroux's John Glusman)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... The editor-in-chief of one of the country's major literary publishers is ankling his post. John Glusman, the No. 2 at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, announced Monday that he will step down at the end of the year. No replacement has been named. Glusman ascended to the ...
NBC spins Web version for 'Nightly News' aud.(National Broadcasting Company Inc)
Nov 01, 2005; ... NBC News will oiler its flagship "Nightly News With Brian Williams" online, in its entirety, in a bid to broaden the audience for the newscast. It will be made available, along with an archive of previous newscasts, at the Web address of nightlynews.msnbc.com starting Nov. 7, ...
'Lost' finds new method of synergy.(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Can you have product-placement for a product that doesn't exist? ABC thinks so. In an eerie synergy, scribes for ABC's "Lost" will soon be writing a subplot about a character named Gary Troup who didn't survive the crash but left behind a manuscript he was working on. ...
More face time for Cooper?(Cable News Network)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... CNN is weighing another primetime shuffle in a bid to highlight its marquee talent, Anderson Cooper. Net is considering making Cooper a permanent fixture at 10 p.m. and moving Aaron Brown to 7 p.m., a drastic shift that would again change the face of CNN's primetime. ...
Torch passed at CBS Sports.(Tony Petitti )(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Four days after he landed the job of president of CBS News, Sean McManus has named Tony Petitti as the executive who'll succeed him in running CBS Sports. Petitti will keep his title of executive producer but add the new one of executive VP of CBS Sports, taking over the ...
'Christmas' shopping: Dimension to distrib 2929's horror remake.(Dimension Films, "Black Christmas")(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Dimension Films has bought up U.S. distrib rights to 2929 Prods.' horror remake "Black Christmas," from the filmmaking team James Wong and Glen Morgan. Pic, which will begin lensing in January, is slated for a Christmas 2006 release. Wong and Morgan are producing, with Morgan ...
'Grey's' gold in solo run.("Grey's Anatomy")(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... "Desperate Housewives" helped make "Grey's Anatomy" one of television's most popular programs, but the latter ABC drama proved Sunday that it's a hit in its own right. Despite airing behind a repeat of "Housewives," the second-year medical drama cleaned up in the ratings and ...
'Woman' lights up B.O. on the Great White Way.(The Woman in White)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... "The Woman in White" is no wallflower. The latest Andrew Lloyd Webber tuner to arrive on Broadway roared out of the starting gate, taking in a boffo $351,682 for its first three previews. Attendance was up at 95.7% of capacity. That's better than half the entries in the top 10, ...
Trinity Rep discovers Columbus.(Trinity Repertory Company appoints Curt Columbus)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Curt Columbus, the associate artistic director at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, has been appointed artistic director of Trinity Repertory Company. He succeeds longtime theater head Oskar Eustis, who left the Providence, R.I., company last season to run the Public Theater in New ...
Lions stock on tear: 'Saw II' bow pumps shares.(Lions Gate Entertainment Corp)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... After pushing it to the top of the box office, "Saw II" helped Lions Gate to an 8% boost in its stock price Monday. Jump was particularly significant as Lions Gate, like most media companies, has seen its stock fall substantially this year amid industrywide concerns over ...
TNT shoots hoop chat to broadband.(Turner Network Television)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... TNT's roster of National Basketball Assn. analysts, led by Charles Barkley, will get lots more screen time this season--only the screen will be the one on your computer. The network has created what David Levy, president of Turner Sports, calls "a daily broadband product" that ...
Stations rule in favor of 'Lopez'.('Judge Maria Lopez')(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... The TV-syndication marketplace is heating up, ignited by news that Sony Pictures TV has cleared "Judge Maria Lopez," its proposed daily syndicated TV courtshow, on TV stations in seven of the top 10 markets. The "Lopez" clearances follow last week's announcement that NBC ...
Apple seeds 1 million in vid sales for iPod.(Apple Computer Inc., videos)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Apple has hit the 1 million sales mark for video content in its iTunes Music Store three weeks after launching. It's just a fraction of the company's online music sales, which now total more than 1 million per day. Video-enabled iPods have also only been on the market ...
WGA armistice ends money, turf disputes.(Writers Guild of America)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Peace has broken out between the WGA West and WGA East with the two unions agreeing to settle their bitter battle over money and jurisdiction. In a joint communication sent Monday to the 13,000 WGA members, new presidents Chris Albers and Patric Verrone announced they've ...
Showbiz stocks: Monday, October 31, 2005.(Illustration)
Nov 01, 2005 ... <Pre> Showbiz Stocks Monday, October 31, 2005YTD NameTkr PE Last Chg %Chg AccessITAIX ... 8.91-.39 +129.0 Acmecm ACME ... 3.91+.01-44.2 Actvsn ATVI 3615.77 ...
Film box office wrap: for the weekend of Oct. 28-30.(Illustration)
Nov 01, 2005 ... <Pre> Weekend Stats Domestics Box Office $102.1 million October 28-30, 2005 vs. last week +14% vs. last year+1% Daily Breakdown (in millions of $) FRI. $34.1 SAT. $41.1 SUN. $26.9FRI. SAT. SUN. vs. last weekend ...
The Feast of the Flying Cow and Other Stories of War.(Theater Review)
Nov 01, 2005; ... (Adrienne Theater, Philadelphia, 106 seats; $25 top) An InterAct Theater Company presentation of a play in three acts by Jeni Mahoney. Directed by Seth Rozin. Sets, Jorge Cousineau; costumes, Karen Ledger; lighting, Peter Whinnery; sound, Cousineau; fight director, John V ....
After the Quake.(Theater Review)
Nov 01, 2005; ... (Steppenwolf Upstairs Theater; Chicago; 250 seats; $60 top) A Steppenwolf Theater presentation of a play in one act by Frank Galati, adapted from stories by Haruki Murakami. Directed by Galati. Sets, James Schuette; lighting, James Ingalls; costumes, Mara Blumenfeld; sound, ...
ACLU makes Court date.(American Civil Liberties Union partners with Courtroom Television Network Inc.)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Court TV and the American Civil Liberties Union will partner on a programming initiative aimed at civil rights issues called "The ACLU Freedom File." Created by Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films and directed and produced by Jeremy Kagan, "Freedom File" will reveal how civil ...
Top 10 films in Manhattan: for the weekend of October 28-30, 2005.(Illustration)
Nov 01, 2005 ... <Pre> Top 10 Films In Manhattan For the weekend of October 28-30, 2005 % change vs. last Week Rank Wknd. B.O. Film (distributor) wknd. No. Engmnts. 1. $401,299...
Broadway top 10: Oct. 24-30, 2005.(Illustration)
Nov 01, 2005 ... <Pre> Broadway Top 10: Oct. 24-30, 2005Week's ShowNet Receipts (Theater)(Prod. Potential Prev Week's$Change Category)(Seats)Net Receipts Net Receipts Avg. Tick Wicked ...
Fest not at its best: organizers throw in towel on Montreal event.(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... This might be the end of the road for the fledgling New Montreal FilmFest after just one edition. Organizer L'Equipe Spectra wants to merge the event with the smaller, well-established Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema. If that fails, Spectra will drop out of the FilmFest. ...
ER buys stake in Express papers.(Express Newspapers, Entertainment Rights)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Classic children's character Rupert the Bear will soon rub shoulders with Postman Pat, Basil Brush and He-Man after U.K.'s Entertainment Rights bought a controlling stake from Express Newspapers in a deal valued at 6 million [pounds sterling] ($10.6 million). Express Newspapers ...
BSkyB bows TV pack.(UNITED KINGDOM)(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... British paybox BSkyB will today launch a 19-channel TV package for mobile phone users in the U.K. The service, available to Vodaphone's 250,000 3G customers, includes CNN, Discovery, live coverage of the English cricket ...
Topper hangs up Hat.(Denise O'Donoghue quits Hat Trick Productions)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... One of the pioneers of Blighty's TV indie sector is quitting after two decades at the helm of Hat Trick. Denise O'Donoghue, who co-founded the outfit in 1986 with Jimmy Mulville, ankles in January. "It is time for something different," she said. "What that will be I ...
MTV exports Logo.(LATIN AMERICA)
Nov 01, 2005; ... MTV is bringing its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-oriented net Logo TV to Latin America, its first launch outside the U.S. Logo will bow on pay-per-view targeting auds ages 25-49. The six-hour programming block launches Friday in Mexico and on Nov. 18 in Brazil on ...
TNZ CEO Fraser quits.(NEW ZEALAND)(Ian Fraser of Television New Zealand )(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Kiwi pubcaster Television New Zealand is searching for a new CEO after topper Ian Fraser stepped down Sunday, saying he had lost confidence in the board. The final straw for Fraser came last week when the board asked him to negotiate salaries with the more highly paid members of ...
EM.TV says no go.(GERMANY)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Sports and entertainment TV group EM.TV has nixed paybox Premiere's offer to buy its free-to-air sports channel DSF. Premiere recently bought pay- and free-TV rights to UEFA Champions League soccer and said it planned to buy a terrestrial channel or launch a new web to showcase ...
The Screening Room.
Nov 01, 2005 ... The Screening Room runs Tuesdays and Fridays. Screenings are open to Academy and guild members. For a complete list, visit Variety.com/screenings. <Pre> The Screening Room The Screening Room runs Tuesdays and Fridays. Screenings are open to Academy and guild members. For a ...
Exclusives report: for the weekend of October 28-30, 2005.(Illustration)
Nov 01, 2005 ... <Pre> Exclusives Report For the weekend of October 28-30, 2005 NEW YORKNEW THIS WEEK Film Weekend (distributor) Circuit Theater, city B.O. gross Paradise Now Local ...
CPB accused of hiring partisans.(Corporation for Public Broadcasting)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Watchdog groups accused Corp. for Public Broadcasting topper Patricia Harrison of hiring fellow partisans for senior jobs. Groups also demanded that CPB make public a soon-to-be-released Inspector General's report about possible malfeasance and political interference with programming. ...
Romeo and Juliet Get Married.(O Casamento De Romeu E Julieta)(Movie Review)
Nov 01, 2005; ... (O CASAMENTO DE ROMEU E JULIETA) (Brazil) A Buena Vista Home Entertainment release (in Brazil) of an LC Barreto, Miravista, Globofilmes production. (International sales: Grupo Novo de Cinema e TV, Rio de Janeiro.) Produced by Paula Barreto. Executive producer, ...
Floating with 'Hi Hi Puffy'.("Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi" )(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Kicking off the Cartoon Network's latest merchandising effort for its original children series "Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi," net will re-create toon as a float for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov. 24. "Hi Hi Puffy," which debuted in 2004, follows the adventures of two rock ...
Whistle stop: Weinstein Co. bows pic and logo.(V)
Nov 01, 2005; ... WHAT: The Weinstein Co.'s "Derailed" train whistled through Gotham Sunday for the thriller's preem. WHO: Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein; director Mikael Hafstrom; pic's Jennifer Aniston, Clive Owen, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, Addison Timlin, RZA and Xzibit; plus ...
'Jarhead' mans the war zone.(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... HOLLYWOOD -- "It's an archetypal journey: A young man goes to war. It's Holden Caulfield having his rite of passage in the Saudi desert," producer Doug Wick said of "Jarhead" Thursday at the ArcLight preem. Wick's wife and producing partner, Lucy Fisher, had another take on the ...
Sutherland takes 'Pride" in Austen.("Pride and Prejudice", Donald Sutherland)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... HOLLYWOOD -- The American Cinematheque's unspooling of "Pride and Prejudice" Friday at the Aero Theater enticed throngs to the Santa Monica landmark to see Donald Sutherland, who proved a lively raconteur. Thesp told the full house that "P&P's" romantic coda was tacked on for ...
Broadway reunites 'Couple'.('The Odd Couple')(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... WHAT: Thursday's opening night bash for "The Odd Couple"--the Broadway revival that was a sold-out smash even before it began performances. WHO: Neil Simon, who took a bow alongside Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick; show's Brad Garrett; plus Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Jessica ...
BET grooves to silver tune.(Robert Johnson quits Black Entertainment Television Inc.)(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005; ... HOLLYWOOD -- "Thank you, Bob Johnson" was uttered time and again at the taping of BET's silver-anni fete and salute to outgoing founder Robert Johnson Wednesday at the Shrine Auditorium. Donnie Simpson kicked off the show, and Earth, Wind & Fire got the music started--just as ...
"The Weather Man" scribe Steven Conrad sat down with Variety Screening Series Q&A moderator Pete Hammond Thursday at the ArcLight in Hollywood.(V)
Nov 01, 2005 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: "The Weather Man" scribe Steven Conrad sat down with Variety Screening Series Q & A moderator Pete Hammond Thursday at the ...
Donald Trump, with Al Sharpton and boxing promoter Don King, emceed a Friars Club.(V)
Nov 01, 2005 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: Donald Trump, with Al Sharpton and boxing ...
A funnyman for all seasons.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... There is magic, as well as genius, in the work of Harold Lloyd. Not only does his comedy play to any audience of any age in any country, but it's just as funny today as it was in the 1920s. That's no small achievement. I base this statement on considerable fieldwork. I've ...
New Line Home Entertainment introduces Harold Lloyd DVD set.(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Harold Lloyd was one of Hollywood's first true movie stars, ranking alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as one of the most popular and influential film comedians of the silent film era. "Lloyd played a seminal rote in film history as both a comedian and the creator of the ...
The thrill of it all: the man who dared.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Harold Lloyd teeters perilously on a high ledge of an office building. There's nothing below him but the pavement. Desperately, he tries to enter the closest window. As he approaches safety, the window suddenly opens ... outward, knocking him off the ledge! Grabbing frantically ...
All-American boy makes good: the life of Harold Lloyd.(Biography)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Aug. 24, 1919, was supposed to be a good day. Twenty-six-year-old Harold Lloyd was in the studios of Witzel Photographers in Los Angeles, sitting for a series of portraits to publicize his comedies. His life seemed to be just beginning. Yet that date and its events never left his memory ....
It's not a competition.(greatest silent film comedian)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Who was the greatest silent film comedian, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin? The debate rages on. But should it? All three made great films that have stood the test of time. All three made people laugh in the 1920s and continue to make people laugh today. ...
From silent to sound: conquering the entertainment universe.(Harold Lloyd )(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005 ... If Harold Lloyd were still around today, it's a sure bet he would be experimenting in new media, making movies on his home computer, designing Web sites or using digital technology, because whatever came along, Harold Lloyd explored it. Although he's best known for his silent ...
The look of Lloyd.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Harold Lloyd )(Brief Article)
Nov 01, 2005 ... The glasses stayed the same, but Harold Lloyd played many characters in his feature films. With each successive picture, he portrayed a different type of boy, both in motivation ...
The father of romantic comedy and the grandfather of the sitcom.(Harold Lloyd)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... You know the scene. The wedding is taking place, but the gift is being forced to marry the wrong guy. Suddenly, the desperate hero bursts in to break up the nuptials, carrying off the bride in all her finery. It's the ending to a famous romantic comedy. The Graduate, right? ...
How Grandma's Boy changed the face of comedy.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Biography)
Nov 01, 2005; ... "Grandma's Boy told much more of a story than we ever had put in a picture before," Harold Lloyd remembered. It was 1921, short comedies were big business, and Harold Lloyd was one of the major stars of the short comedy field. The story Lloyd refers to amounted to virtually a ...
After the films: Harold Lloyd's other life.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)
Nov 01, 2005 ... Life was never dull for Harold Lloyd. When he wasn't making movies, he plunged into other interests, giving them as much attention as he had his films. "The real pleasure of a hobby," said Lloyd in 1966, "lies in its ability to obsess you, to pull you into its complexities." Just some of ...
The boy with the classes.(Harold Lloyd )(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... "There is ... magic in a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, ... With them I am Harold Lloyd. ... Without the glasses I can stroll unrecognized down any street in the land." What set Harold Lloyd apart from other comedians of the silent screen was that most early film comics came from ...
The Lloyd gag.(Harold Lloyd)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... What is a Harold Lloyd gag? What did he do to make audiences laugh? To find the heart of Lloyd and his approach to comedy, think of a small bit of business in his last silent film, Speedy. Harold and his girlfriend (played by Ann Christy) are standing on a crowded subway on the ...
Locations, locations, locations.(silent movies)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005; ... Hidden in and around the Los Angeles of today is the Los Angeles of 100 years of moviemaking. On the surface, Los Angeles seems to be a city that is constantly redefining itself--a modern city bearing little resemblance to the place where silent movies were filmed. Now, as then, ...
Harold Lloyd's family of comedy.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Advertisement)(Biography)
Nov 01, 2005 ... "We." When Harold Lloyd talked about the films he starred in, he always used the word "we." He knew how important it was to have good people around him, and he made sure everyone else knew he didn't do it alone. He worked with a talented team, both in front of and behind the camera. Here ...
The public is the doctor: Harold Lloyd and the preview.(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005 ... Can you imagine being able to get a superstar to change his film--reshooting, even deleting scenes--based on your outlook? Think it's impossible? Think again. Think Lloyd. Harold Lloyd's modus operandi was to show an unsuspecting audience a film in progress, monitor the ...
Greenacres: the estate built by laughter.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005 ... As he lay dying of prostate cancer, Harold Lloyd felt the unmistakable tremor of a major earthquake. The date was Feb. 9, 1971. What he felt was the powerful Sylmar earthquake, which killed 65 people and caused millions of dollars' worth of damage. When the shaking subsided, ...
Daddy's little girl: growing up with Harold Lloyd in the 1920s.(Gloria Lloyd)(Advertisement)
Nov 01, 2005 ... "Like angels that sing, a heavenly thing ... you're daddy's little girl." The year Gloria Lloyd was born, 1924, was the year her daddy began producing his own films. In the first decade of her life, Gloria's father made nine films. He was an international superstar, and yet to ...