Saturday, November 26, 2011

Can golf thrive without Tiger?

Tiger WoodsIt remains almost couple of years since Tiger Forest was involved with one-vehicle accident outdoors his estate inside the classy Isleworth enclave of Orlando. His personal existence has switched completely, and also the game of golf derailed. He's had health issues too, and contains not won a tournament since using the BMW Championship in September 2009 his last victory inside a major was the 2008 U.S. Open.And many would say Forest has already established the organization of public golf with him lower to the bunker.Even though sport's core aud of trendy males 35-64 remains substantial (plus an attractive one to find the best-finish entrepreneurs), golf has lost a sizable chunk in the more casual audiences, including women, who'd stay updated only to see Forest to use it. This really is frequently noticed in the viewership amounts within the last couple of years, that don't effectively exactly fresh fresh paint a rosy picture.For instance in 2008, some-day Nielsens for your U.S. Open (which seeping over in to a fifth day that featured a playoff between Forest, your world's top-rated golfer, and Rocco Mediate) cumed a scintillating 47.9 million audiences on NBC and ESPN. The next couple of years, as Woods' game began to founder, U.S. Open ratings showed up at about 37 million audiences. Which year, through which Forest did not play, total audiences for your four-day event fell to 30.2 million. In golf, lower scores are desirable in TV ratings for golf, though, less.Normally, almost always there is the chance Forest could possibly get healthy, re-uncover his swing and claw his sometime ago up. His game for your U.S. within the recent President's Cup shown flashes.Woods' recognition am singular it's difficult to make use of whatever player capable of getting his layer.Luke Jesse from the United kingdom might be the very best-ranked player Steve Strickler, at No. 4, might be the very best American. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, at No. 3, is becoming plenty of publicity. But tend to one lure casual fans to check out?InchThere is nobody that we recognize at this time around (to switch Tiger)," states Art Spander, San Fran sports author and longtime golf author. "The PGA Tour keeps throwing names for you, trying out people. Rory McIlroy seems as being a good kid, having a couple of charisma. However don't think Us citizens follows him like doing Tiger."Still, the fitness of golf is all about perception in the "glass half full or half empty" kind of way. The PGA examines a tournament as two occasions as interesting when Forest takes part, nevertheless the public examines one without him as only half as interesting, States Darren Rovell, sports business analyst for CNBC: "People may define the health of golf as when Tiger is playing perfectly. Nevertheless the PGA Tour doesn't notice by doing this.InchThe strange factor is, the PGA will have a point.In September, the PGA Tour introduced it had made the decision to contract extensions with NBC and Golf Funnel (both possessed by Comcast) and CBS that last until 2021, despite Woods' uncertain future. As the deals were not revealed, affiliates the PGA handled to attain increases over its existing deals.An important reason behind your may be due to the meteoric rise in sports rights. While ratings frequently decrease for many sports because of audiences moving with other kinds of entertainment, that migration doesn't seem to become reflected in sports-rights costs.For instance, in May, NCAA football's Pac-12 conference signed a 12-year contract with ESPN and Fox for close to $3 billion, the greatest rights package for just about any college sports league. In September, ESPN as well as the Nfl introduced an eight-year extension worth $1.9 billion every year, a 72% increase inside the average cost in the current deal. Too as with late October, Telemundo and Fox scooped World Cup soccer rights inside the U.S. for north of $1 billion -- greater than two occasions what Univision and ESPN happen to be needing to pay -- for four competitions, beginning in 2015."I don't think (golf) is because bad from the position," Rovell states. "They wound up obtaining a rights costs increase." Though he allows the hike is "more an problem that TV rights generally tend to be valuable than anything getting associated with Tiger."Ty Votaw, the PGA's executive v . p . of communications, states the PGA Tour works in the different enterprize model than most sports, getting a distinctive major sponsorship mix including financial institutions, insurance companies, vehicle producers, pharmaceutical firms and golf equipment producers."Entrepreneurs wish to be associated with this sport because of the conventional within our audience," Votaw states, adding the PGA Tour does not have ratings guarantees within the television deals.Despite the fact that the normal golf audience may skew older than people of all other sports, Kaira Adgate, senior v . p ./director of research at Horizon Media, states the requirement of brand recognition ultimately surpasses census. In addition, the PGA Tour states its cumulative ratings for telecasts on CBS and NBC this year are up 7% over last season, or even more 17% round the Golf Funnel.So ultimately, when the sport, or its most broadly used player, will discover its way in the rough -- or whether it already has -- depends how one examines it, and who's doing the searching. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Kora (Zhuan shan)

A Taihe Universal Film Investment Co., Millimetre Film Co., Tibet Tourism Co., Atom Cinema Co production in colaboration with China Film Group. (Worldwide sales: Taihe Universal Film Investment, Beijing.) Produced by Qian Shimu, Tao Kun, Nina Han. Executive producer, Chen Kuofu. Directed by Du Jiayi. Script, Chang Chi Alu, Cheng Hsiao-che, good book "Zhuan shan" by Xie Wanglin.With: Chang Shu-hao, Li Xiao Chuan, Li Tao (Mandarin, Tibetan dialogue)Mountaintop scenery offers a pleasing backdrop for "Kora," a transparent propaganda piece embedded within the story from the youthful man's cycling trip from Taiwan to Tibet. This largely China-bankrolled adaptation from the Taiwanese novel can be obtained largely to celebrate the advantages of the country that lies between its beginning point and destination, despite the fact that the thin story virtually works considerably, it's overshadowed with the extreme-travel sales sales brochure imagery and political agenda. Pic opened up up in China on November. 3 to flat B.O. Unskilled cyclist Shu-hao (Chang Shu-hao) has made a decision to bike from Taiwan to Lhasa, Tibet, just like a tribute to his elder brother, who died trying to do exactly the same factor. By getting an excellent assist from lenser Du Jie ("Crazy Stone"), helmer Du Jiayi nicely captures the breathtaking terrain, nevertheless the figures always remain mechanical. Li Xiao Chuan's lively extended cameo because the second cyclist radiates the kind of energy genteel Taiwanese thesp Chang lacks since the primary character. Score by Japanese composer Michiru Oshima is correctly rousing. "Kora" can be a Himalayan word, with sacred associations, meaning "to go to around."Camera (color, widescreen, HD), Du Jie editor, Xiao Yang music, Michiru Oshima production designer, Wang Yi. Examined at Tokyo, japan, japan Film Festival (competing), March. 27, 2011. Running time: 90 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Friday, November 18, 2011

Pay TV Industry Customer Counts Nearly Unchanged in Third Quarter

NY - Third-quarter earnings season saw large openly exchanged cable, satellite television and telecom companies add about 146,000 pay TV customers, while customers rejected minimally industry-wide when including more compact and independently-held firms. Most on Wall Street begin to see the trends as positive among cord cutting fears that began about last year, despite the fact that they are saying current industry momentum is certainly not to brag about. Starting the most recent quarterly earnings season, Wall Street experts had a variety of different anticipation, but agreed that video customer trends may likely improve within the year-ago trends and also over another-quarter drop. Based on research firm SNL Kagan, whose information is broadly used, the U.S. multi-funnel world lost 32,000 customers within the third quarter, falling from the total of 100.113 million in the finish of June to 100.081 million in the finish of September. "The pay TV industry seems to possess returned back from the dismal second quarter," stated Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker inside a recent report. "The pay TV industry published strong results, while Netflix lost 800,000 customers which we feel should help assuage investor concerns that "cord-cutting" is definitely an immediate secular challenge. Nevertheless, we feel the pay TV industry will probably remain a zero-sum game one of the incumbent gamers before the economy and housing industry more be fully cured.Inch Barclays Capital analyst James Ratcliffe's conclusion from third-quarter earnings season similarly was that housing weakness remains the dominant element in video sub performance. "U.S. pay TV subscribership was basically flat within the third quarter," he authored in the review. "We still think that the minimal pay TV customer growth we're seeing within the U.S. marketplace is mainly driven by conditions within the housing industry instead of cord cutting, as transmission rates, whilst not rising, are basically unchanged." Ryvicker believed another-quarter lack of 31,000 customers among all video operators - private and public. That even compares to her calculation of 464,000 sub deficits within the second quarter, or 458,000 based on data from SNL Kagan. The slight decline seemed to be much better than the 119,000 sub drop, based on Ryvicker, or 130,000 based on SNL Kagan, within the third quarter of 2010. "The advance was mainly because of better satellite (+216,000, versus -109,000 within the second quarter and +145,000 within the third quarter 2010) and cable (-584,000, versus -771,000 within the second quarter and -741,000 within the third quarter of 2010) results, each of which were on a consecutive and year-over-year basis," Ryvicker stated. "Telco adds (+337,000 versus +416,000 within the second quarter and +477,000 within the third quarter of 2010) were less strong." But Ryvicker contended that "this may be a 1-time 'lip" like a strike at Verizon would be a continue results. Comcast, the biggest U.S. cable firm, and Time Warner Cable were among individuals cable operators that reported narrower declines within the latest period. http://world wide web.hollywoodreporter.com/news/time-warner-cable-third-quarter-25... Within the satellite television space, strong gains from DirecTV due simply to the promotion of free National football league Sunday Ticket to new customers offset a 111,000 decline at Dish Network, which arrived greater than the usual 29,000 year-ago loss, but was much better than some observers' anxiety about a 150,000 customer decrease. DirecTV's addition of 327,000 U.S. pay TV clients within the third quarter in comparison with 174,000 around-ago period and marked the business's most powerful third-quarter showing in seven years. "DirecTV was an anomaly because of their...National football league Sunday Ticket for any year promo," informed Burns Tabak analyst David Joyce though. Overall, "the nearly 400,000 customers who left pay TV within the second quarter didn't return, nor has unemployment enhanced," he added. Pay TV industry customer amounts dropped the very first time ever within the second quarter of 2010, with SNL Kagan confirming a 246,000 decline, starting off the cord cutting debate over whether U.S. customers were searching to cheaper online choices to replace their monthly pay TV bills. The drop within the third quarter of this past year appeared to verify investor fears, however two quarters of growth settled concerns. Experts expect the to determine no major moves either in direction within the near-term. "Essentially, we still see the U.S. pay TV market as stable, but even without the coming back to some more normal degree of household formation (a million-1.5 million each year), the marketplace remains essentially zero sum," Ratcliffe came to the conclusion. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Comcast DirecTV

Jason Segel on The Muppets, Their Evolution, and Frank Oz's Criticism

Jason Segel claims he cried when “meeting” Kermit the Frog for the first time, but the self-declared Muppets purist does not sound like a lachrymose superfan when explaining his update of Jim Henson’s brand. As the co-writer and star of The Muppets (out Nov. 23), Segel proves his Muppet mettle with a slick, but classically jovial take on the old troupe. Its swiftness is reminiscent of charming ’90s efforts like A Muppet Christmas Carol while Amy Adams and Chris Cooper’s performances smack of the original Muppet trilogy’s celebrity gusto; the Muppets themselves even conjure the old-school showmanship of the immortal The Muppet Show. I caught up with Segel to discuss his favorite Muppets, the best Muppet Show host ever, and how he feels about Frank Oz’s less-than-optimistic commentary. You balance kid humor and adult humor well in The Muppets. I can’t even remember the last live-action “family film” that’s tried to do that. You know who does it well is Pixar. Toy Story 3 is the perfect example. Kids were watching a movie about saying goodbye to their toys, and parents were watching a movie about saying goodbye to their kids. Parents and kids are both weeping for totally separate reasons. The parents are crying harder than the kids are, you know? So I thought they nailed it. I think The Simpsons has kind of nailed it too. Kids are watching a fun cartoon show; they have Bart and Lisa. Their parents have Homer and Marge. But there aren’t too many examples. The big mistake is that a family film has somehow come to mean a kids’ film. It shouldn’t. Those are two separate things. I’m sure Muppet zealots have quizzed you on your favorite characters. Do you have a thrillingly bizarre Muppet that you consider a favorite? I do get asked that a lot. I wish there was an answer that would make me seem cool — a really subversive, like obscure Muppet. But it’s Kermit. And Fozzie, but it started with Kermit for me. He was the everyman for a kid. He was Tom Hanks or Jimmy Stewart or something. I really wanted to be like Kermit. There was something about Fozzie Bear that I related to, the total unearned confidence. Even if he’s getting booed, he’s like, “Aaaah! Wakka, wakka!” And he just keeps going with the jokes. [Laughs.] I always liked that aspect, being undaunted by failure. I really liked The Muppet Show’s presence in the movie. Very unexpected. Who’s your favorite Muppet Show host? Peter Sellers. I remember watching the Peter Sellers episode when I was young, and it didn’t really mean that much to me. I didn’t really know Peter Sellers well. Then, I remember watching it as I was older, and I was a huge fan then — he starts that episode with the weirdest monologue of all time where he has this existential crisis after Kermit’s like, “All you have to do is be yourself!” And [Sellers] is like, “Who’s the real Peter Sellers? I lost the real Peter Sellers sometime ago.” I remember thinking, “Of course I didn’t get this when I was a kid. And this is the funniest thing ever.” The best comedian of our generation is — because I know he really felt that way from reading about him. He’s having a total existential crisis in front of a bunch of Muppets on The Muppet Show. It was awesome. It was like he was talking to a psychiatrist. Walter, a new Muppet who acts as your brother in the movie, is a very big presence. How did you feel about introducing a new Muppet that ends up getting more screentime than regulars like Rowlf and Gonzo? Walter was an important vehicle in that he’s the eyes and the ears of the true Muppets fans. He’s like how I felt — the biggest Muppet fan, so wide-eyed, can’t wait to meet them, and he’s devastated to find out they’re not as famous as they used to be. He’s terrified at the notion they could go away forever, which I was. He sets out to reunite the Muppets and put them on a show to bring them back. It’s such a thinly veiled metaphor, what’s happening in this movie. But Walter was important because kids of the new generation might not be that familiar with the Muppets. They get to be introduced to them through sort of an accessible, childlike character. That’s Walter’s function. The current generation of teenage/kid moviegoers may not have any familiarity with the Muppets. What’s it like to cater to them? We didn’t have to change the tone of the Muppets at all. In fact, we reverted back to the late ’70s, early ’80s tone of the Muppets. We tried to go hardcore back to the original tone, because something like The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz is not indicative of the tone of those Muppets. That’s like a Muppet-themed movie. That’s not what the Muppets did when I grew up with them. The only thing we had to adjust from that era was pacing. Kids’ attention spans have gotten a little shorter. If you watch the first Muppet movie, it’s slow. It’s the pace of ’70s movies. So one thing we had to do is be pretty strict about keeping it 90 minutes and keeping it a decent pace. But that’s all. Like those old movies, this one is very scenic — and it’s definitely a love letter to LA. As an LA resident, I feel like the tourist destinations here are often the last place I want to take visitors, but those places are prominently and attractively featured here. How did you feel about “casting” LA as a character in The Muppets? We wanted — and we ended up not making it as heavy a plot point as we envisioned it, because it was too big a tangent and we had so many plots going on — but we really wanted to juxtapose a small town perception of glamorous LA with gritty LA. We wanted stuff to be run down; we had a scene where when they first arrive, they get ripped off by a homeless guy in a Superman outfit in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre. You know, we had those jokes! I grew up in LA and I love it very much, but I feel sort of the way you do that the nice places in LA aren’t necessarily the tourist destinations. So, the idea of these guys being so enthusiastic about the LA they’ve seen in movies and being confronted with the fact that LA’s seedy was funny. Jim Henson is not just Christlike to Muppet devotees — his whole demeanor was downright messianic. Did his rather commanding presence haunt or linger over you? What it did was inform us — so much. We weren’t trying to recreate anything or fill anyone’s shoes. It was more just honoring the legacy he created. What he “preached” with the Muppets, to use your analogy, is very clear. They’re kind, they haven’t lose their sense of childlike wonder, and they’re not even trying to destroy their villains. They’re trying to reform their villains. They’re trying to get their villains to come along. In the first Muppet Movie, Doc Hopper [Charles Durning] was running a frogs legs franchise. He wanted to cut off Kermit’s legs and eat them, but Kermit doesn’t even want to destroy him. He says, “You should think about why you don’t have close friends in your life.” So the road map was really clear as laid about by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. We just had to follow it. Finally, Frank Oz recently criticized the script of the film. Do you regard his comments and think he might just feel precious about the characters evolving? Yeah. I also just wished he had seen the movie. I mean, you saw it. I don’t think you walk away feeling anything but that it’s a total love letter to the Muppets. I get being scared of some new blood coming in, and thinking, “What are they going to do to this?” But I have a hunch that if he sees it, he’s going to walk out feeling really proud of having creating this legacy.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Petition Urges E! to Cancel Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian A petition urging the cancellation of Keeping Up with the Kardashians has accumulated more than 128,000 signatures - a total that was rising quickly Thursday.Cyndy Snider, who started the petition drive on Nov. 2, wants the "Kardashian suite of shows" removed from E!'s lineup.Kourtney and Kim Take NY promo foreshadows what everyone already knows"We feel that these shows are mostly staged and place an emphasis on vanity, greed, promiscuity, vulgarity and over-the-top conspicuous consumption," Snider told Yahoo!."While some may have begun watching the spectacle as mindless entertainment or as a sort of 'reality satire,' it is a sad truth that many young people are looking up to this family and are modeling their appearance and behavior after them.""No More Kardashian," as the petition is called, is hosted on GoPetition.com and states, "We are respectfully requesting that your network find other shows to air. Keeping up with the Kardashians is just not viewing that we the public would like to see from your network. Enough is enough."Kris Jenner: Kim didn't make money off of the weddingThough the website says the petition drive will close on Nov. 30, it probably won't be the last we see of the movement. The "Boycott the Kardashians" Facebook page, an extension of the drive, is growing rapidly with more than 50,000 "likes."The show's publicist at E! refused to comment.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft Strike Internet Advertising Partnership

Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft are teaming up to streamline the process of buying and selling Internet display advertising in the U.S., the companies said Tuesday.our editor recommendsGoogle Shares Soar as Earnings Blow Past Estimates The deal should allow the three to compete better against behemoth Google as well as various ad networks by allowing each of the partners to sell each other's premium, non-reserved inventory to their advertising customers. STORY: Google Shares Soar as Earnings Blow Past Estimates Under the terms of the non-eclusive agreements, each company makes its own decisions about its advertising business and the three will still compete against each other for ad dollars, the parties said Tuesday. Today's announcement sets in motion the opportunity for advertisers to achieve scaled solutions across premium publishers. This should reduce friction in the marketplace," said AOL chief revenue officer Ned Brody. Enhancing choice and scale in today's display advertising market is a rising tide that lifts all boats," said Rik van der Kooi, corporate vp of the Microsoft Advertising Business Group. While the deal concerns the U.S. only, AOL and Yahoo struck a separtate advertising partnership extending to Canada that Microsoft is not involved with. Related Topics Google Yahoo Microsoft AOL

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Oscar Champion 'The King's Speech' Competes for European Film Academy's Top Award

LONDON -- The Oscar-winning film The King's Speechhas another opportunity to increase its burgeoning honours roster getting a tilt as of this year's European Film Academy's best European film award.our editor recommendsEuropean Film Academy Names European Discovery NomineesThe European Film Academy, Asia Off-shoreline Screen Academy Form AllianceStephen Frears to obtain European Film Academys Lifetime Achievement AwardOscar-Winning 'The Nobleman Speech' Makes European Film Academy Extended List The film's Oscar-winning star Colin Firth also finds themselves inside the running to obtain another top class award for his turn since the stuttering King George Mire inside the European Academy's best actor category. When The King's Speech reign round the evening in the honours it has overcome all of the heavyweight arthouse competitors like the Artist, written and directed by Michel Nazanavicius, Susanne Bier's Haevnen (In the Better World) and Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre. Also searching to upset the coronation in the King's Speech is Lars von Trier's Melancholia and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's The Child Getting a bicycle. Firth also finds themselves having a couple of stiff opposition inside the European actor category with several turns within the best film nominations featuring. Jean Dujardinfor his role inside the Artist, Mikael Persbrandt in Haevnen and Andre Wilms for his outing in Le Havre finish up alongside Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam challenging for Firth's crown. The Eu best actress candidate includes Kirsten Dunst, an actress who also provides a German passport alongside her U.S. creditentials, on her behalf submit Melancholia. Dunst finds herself facing fellow Melancholia star Charlotte now now Gainsbourg, Cecile p France for your Kid Getting a bicycle and Nadezhda Markina on her behalf outing in Elena. Nevertheless the actress being likely to conquer is Tilda Swinton on her behalf ruling screen presence in We Must Discuss Kevin. All eyes and ears will probably be round the stage should von Trier triumph inside the evening's best European director category for Melancholia. Challenges vary from Dardenne brothers and sisters (Bike), Bier (Haevnen), Kaurismaki (Le Havre) and Bela Tarr for just about any Torinoi Lo. Best European film author of 2011 may even vary from Dardenne Brothers and sisters (Bike), Kaurismaki (Le Havre), Von Trier (Melancholia) or Anders Thomas Jensen (Haevnen). The nominations are actually simplified lower in the extended list composed with the 20 nations with EFA people, which have selected one national film straight to their email list, while further films were added by EFA board people and experts. In the lead with seven nominations is Melancholia, then four nominations each forThe Artist, The Child getting a bicycle, The King's Speech, Le Havre and Haevnen. Films from 32 European nations were repped relating to this year's extended list. The more than 2,500 EFA Individuals will election for your individuals who win. The 24th European Film Honours is going to be provided in Berlin on 12 ,. 3 this year. Related Subjects Worldwide The King's Speech Melancholia The Child Getting a bicycle The Artist

Thursday, November 3, 2011

'Guillotines' sells to major areas

Hong Kong's We Distribution features a raft of deals for "The Guillotines," the $15-milllion actioner helmed by "Infernal Matters" director Andrew Lau and produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan.Pic started lensing in September making its sales bow at AFM. "The Guillotines" agreed to Well Go USA within the U . s . States, Splendid Films in Germany as well as the Benelux, and Icon Film Distribution around australiaOrNew Zealand. Pic can be a co-production between Chan's We Pictures and Media Asia. Other partners include Stellar Mega Films Limited, Dingsheng Cultural Industry Investment and Polyface Films.Media Asia can do sales in Asia (excluding China), while Chan's sales outfit We Distribution will handle worldwide sales. Movie is slated for just about any 2012 release. Occur the Ming Empire, pic follows several street urchins taught to participate an undercover quantity of assassins employing a guillotine. Chan changed the title to "The Guillotines" to avoid parallels while using 1974 Shaw Brothers and sisters movie "The Flying Guillotine."Pic features Huang Xiaoming from "Ip Guy 2" and "This Content,In . Ethan Juan, which argument won best actor within the Taiwanese Golden Equine Honours for "Monga," and Shawn Yue from "Reign of Assassins" and "Infernal Matters II," additionally to Boran Jing ("Hot Summer season Days"). Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Garrett Hedlund in Discussions to Star in 'Akira' for Warner Bros.

Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images While Tron:Legacy did not lead him to a star, Garrett Hedlund will most likely get another shot in the brass ring with Akira.our editor recommendsJaume Collet-Serra Drawn on to Direct 'Akira' for Warner Bros. The actor is within discussions to star as Kaneda in Warner Bros' adaptation from the Japanese manga classic being directed by Jaume Collet-Sera. To summarize the sprawling plot succinctly: In publish-apocalyptic New Manhattan, a motorbike gang leader (Hedlund) must stop fellow gang member and the brother from mistreating his recently acquired telekinetic forces. The film continues to be lengthy within the works, using its budget finally being qualified two days ago, paving the way in which for purports to venture out. Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman happen to be contacted for roles, as has Keira Knightley. So far, only Hedlund has engaged. Hedlund is better noted for his focus on the film version of Friday Evening Lights, but he's made an appearance in movies for example Country Strong. His first screen appearance is at Troy, where he performed Kaira Pitt's cousin. Disney's Tron, despite making $400 million worldwide, was perceived as being an underperformer because of the big costs for making and marketing the film. Email: Borys.Package@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Package Garrett Hedlund

The Vampire Journals Bite: Ready for any 1,000-Year Flashback?

Frederick Morgan, Claire Holt On Thursday's episode from the Vampire Journals, Alaric will start to identify the story - attracted in Viking script - from the Original family. And we'll finally meet a vital estimate the show's mythology: Esther. Vampire Journals exclusive start looking: Meet Klaus' mother Within this edition from the Vampire Journals Bite, we explore the bond between Esther and also the talisman, Mikael's connect to the household, and why he and Gem would be the only two who understand how to kill Klaus. Make certain to transmit your ideas, questions and comments to TVDBite@tvguide.com we may feature them within an approaching video.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The 'Project X' Trailer: The Found-Footage Teen Sex Rave You've Been Waiting For

.post-content img {display:none;} What do you get when you combine the found-footage genre with MTV's version of 'Skins' and 'Hangover' producer Todd Phillips? Apparently, 'Project X,' a quasi-found-footage teen romp about a high school party gone ridiculously awry. Think: flamethrowers out of 'Bellflower,' minimally dressed girls, and the geeky leads from your favorite teen comedies. Fun? It's unclear. The trailer is certainly loud, though! It's like a commercial for an energy drink or body spray. As Slashfilm reports, test screening audiences are comparing 'Project X' -- with its cast of mostly no-name non-stars, as Phillips wanted -- to 'Superbad,' which is just plain wrong. At least judging from the trailer. After all, where's the "These Eyes" part? 'Project X' arrives in theaters on March 2, 2012. Watch the trailer in HD over at Apple. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

John Carney May Tame Dogs Of Babel

With Steve Carell still attached...When music-fuelled romantic drama Once hit it big back in 2006, you might have expected writer/director John Carney to be snapped up to direct some work on some Hollywood project starring a big name. But instead, he opted to handle a remake of his own comedy short Zonad before switching tracks for supernatural drama The Rafters. Now, though, he might be on to a bigger job, entering final negotiations to direct Dogs Of Babel.We talked about the project back in February, when Steve Carell first became attached. Don't go worrying that this is going to be some huge action comedy, though: Dogs is a rather more maudlin drama about a linguistics professor investigating his wife's death.You see, while the police consider her death an accident, Paul Iverson (Carell) thinks otherwise. And with the couple's dog Lorelei the only living witness to the incident, Iverson begins to try to teach her to speak so she can reveal what really happened.It's an odd premise, adapted from Carolyn Parkhurst's novel by writer Jamie Linden. There's no word on when it'll start shooting, but if Carney locks in a deal, that should put it on track for filming next year.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

AFM 2011: Terrence Malick Announces Next Two Films, 'Lawless' and 'Knight of Cups'

Terrence Malick has assembled all-star casts for his next two films, which he'll shoot back to back in 2012: Lawless and Knight of Cups. Glen Basner's FilmNation will launch both projects to foreign buyers at the American Film Market, which gets underway Wednesday in Santa Monica.our editor recommendsFirst Look: Terrence Malick's Big Romance With Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams8 Reasons Why Monte Hellman and Terrence Malick are Actually the Same Person Ryan Gosling will stake a starring role in Lawless, while the supporting cast includes Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennett. Bale will take the lead in Knight of Cups, which also stars Blanchett and Isabel Lucas. Malick is in pre-production on both films, but is keeping mum as to the plots of each. Sarah Green and Nicolas Gonda, Malick's longtime producers, are reteaming with the filmmaker on Lawless and Knight of Cups. FilmNation, which handled foreign sales on Malick's The Tree of Life, will represent international rights, while CAA is representing domestic rights. "FilmNation couldn't be happier to continue to act as Terrence's international sales agency. Terrence is a brilliant filmmaker and an enormous drw for talent and filmmakers alike. We look forward to robust sales at AFM on both of these films," Basner said. FilmNation is virtually sold out of Malick's currently untitled film starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Rachel Weisz. That movie is in post-production. Related Topics AFM Ryan Gosling Christian Bale Terrence Malick AFM 2011