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Will It Be Jay And Conan In Late Night?
8 hours ago
Breaking News! 2nd Update 4:15pm: It's been a day filled with Internet rumors, NBC denials and non-denials, and the network talking out of both sides of its mouth. This has created an uproar around the futures of both The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien while the network talks to both hosts and their reps about how to fix the mess that NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker set in motion. But, to quote the Pottery Barn rule, "You break it, you buy it." Here's what I've learned: Last night, NBC Universal Television Entertainment Jeff Gaspin came to The Jay Leno Show and met for [...] »
- Nikki Finke
B|W|R PR Promotes Matt Labov and Leslie Sloane Zelnik To Co-Presidents
9 hours ago
Exclusive: It's effective immediately. Leslie Sloane Zelnik joined B|W|R Public Relations 1995 and for the last decade has run talent and entertainment in New York. Her clients (some in tandem with Nanci Ryder) include Kate Beckinsale, Patrick Dempsey, Megan Fox, Michael J Fox, Chris Rock, Zoey Saldana, Diane Kruger, Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, and Rene Zellweger. Matt Labov joined B|W|R in 1994 and built a comedy roster of Jack Black, Steve Carell, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Jay Roach, and Jason Schwartzman and consulted on the release campaigns of Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Borat, [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Duncan Millership Joins Management 360
12 hours ago
Exclusive: I'm told Management 360 today internally announced that top UK talent agent Duncan Millership has joined its talent department. Millership, who has served as head of the talent division of United Agents since 2007, will relocate to Los Angeles. “We are continuously looking to recruit new managers whose depth of experience and stellar relationships will serve our clients and our colleagues,” the talent and literary management company’s partners Suzan Bymel, Guymon Casady, Eric Kranzler, Evelyn O’Neill, Daniel Rappaport, and David Seltzer said in the joint statement. “Duncan is one of the most passionate and widely-admired agents in the UK, and [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Shari Redstone And Partners Purchase Russian Theaters From Her Family's National Amusements
13 hours ago
Updates Toldja! Rave Buys Up To 35 of Sumner Redstone's Natl Amusements Theater Complexes Norwood, Ma- Shari Redstone, President of National Amusements Inc., and co-founder of Rising Star Media, announced that she has joined with Charles Ryan of Ufg Private Equity of Russia to purchase Rising Star from Nai. Redstone will be chairman of the new entity and Rising Star co-founder Paul Heth is joining as CEO. Rising Star Media plans to aggressively expand its theater chain in Russia under the well-established brand Kinostar. Redstone and Heth founded Rising Star Media in 2002 with National Amusements. The venture quickly became a significant player [...] »
- Nikki Finke
DGA Award Nominations: Bigelow, Cameron, Daniels, Reitman, Tarantino
14 hours ago
The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry's most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award. Only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award*: Los Angeles, CA: Directors Guild of America President Taylor Hackford today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2009. "The DGA Award is especially meaningful to directors because it is decided solely by their peers - the men and [...] »
- Nikki Finke
BAFTA Award Noms: Long List Revealed
17 hours ago
Today the so-called "Long List" for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2010 was released. This is the preliminary to the actual nominations which are announced on January 21st. The result of Round One voting by members of the Academy which had 220 films entered this year, the first round of voting reduces the films down to 15 in each category. Round Two voting, which opens today, will reduce these down to 5 nominations in each category. Over 6000 members of the Academy vote in the three rounds, with final awards given out at the Royal Opera House on [...] »
- Nikki Finke
'Avatar' Now #2 All-Time Grossing Movie -- And In Just 20 Days!
6 January 2010 11:01 PM, PST
It's no Taylor Lautner story, but I'm told by 20th Century Fox sources that its Avatar will likely be the #2 movie of all time as soon as tonight. Its grosses, helped by higher 3D ticket prices, are overtaking 2D Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King ($1,119,110,941), but is still behind #1, James Cameron's earlier 2D epic Titanic ($1,842,879,955). Its new domestic total, including Wednesday's grosses, is $374,436,685. And it's taken only 20 days! I'll have Avatar's latest worldwide gross in the morning. »
- Nikki Finke
'The Hangover' #1 Comedy DVD Of All Time
6 January 2010 6:28 PM, PST
Updates How 'The Hangover' Got Made Burbank, CA, January 6, 2010 - Warner Bros Pictures and Legendary Pictures' The Hangover has added another milestone to its record-breaking 2009 run. Since its release on Blu-ray and DVD on December 15th 2009, the film has become the #1 comedy of all time on the DVD charts with combined consumer and rental sales topping 8.6 million units with 1.5 million units coming from Blu-ray purchases. Strong sales are expected to continue bringing the six-month estimate to 9.5 million units. The Hangover earned more than $467 million worldwide during its theatrical run, making it the highest-grossing R-rated [...] »
- Nikki Finke
'Up' Not Down With H'wood Guild Awards
6 January 2010 6:01 PM, PST
In answer to your questions: Disney/Pixar's Up is ineligible for the Writers Guild awards because the animation studios are not signatory members of the union. (Kinda bites them in the ass at awards time, eh?) Up is technically eligible for the Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild awards. "But it'll be a cold day in hell before the directors or actors nominate an animated film," one source tells me. Some years the DGA didn't even include animated movies on the "reminders" list to members. »
- Nikki Finke
'Spider-Man 4' VFX Crew Encouraged "To Look For Other Work" Because Of Delays
6 January 2010 6:00 PM, PST
Updates Exclusive: 'Spider-Man 4' Officially Has No Start Date Because Of Script Problems; Sony "Unlikely" To Make Scheduled May 5, 2011, Release So here's the latest email: Hi there. So, it’s official. “Spider-Man 4” has been pushed back several months, both the start of shooting and the release date. At this time, we have no official start date, so I would encourage all of you to look for other work. If/when the situation changes, either Rachelle, Spencer, or I will be in touch. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any questions. -- Josh R. Jaggars Sr. VFX Producer Spider-M4N »
- Nikki Finke
Variety Replaces Its Online Content Editor
6 January 2010 4:37 PM, PST
The trade whose content is now behind a paid wall just announced it has hired the online editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer to become editor of Variety.com and its editorial content. (Sure, because newspapers' websites are so swell... Hilarious!) Chris Krewson begins in February, replacing Dana Harris who segues to a new position as editor of Variety's so-called "paid information product". »
- Nikki Finke
Terrifying TV: Showrunner Ed Bernero
6 January 2010 3:45 PM, PST
First, a little intro: Years ago, entertainment journalist Diane Haithman and I were hired as staff writers at the Los Angeles Times a month apart. Later, we shared duty on the TV beat for Calendar. I eventually left, but she stayed until just recently when she was laid off after 22 years. Their loss is my gain. Now a freelance writer, Diane will be interviewing TV showrunners on assignment for Deadline Hollywood. Here, she sits down with Ed Bernero at his production offices in the Old Animation Building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. Edward Allen Bernero parlayed 10 years as a Chicago [...] »
- Nikki Finke
News On MGM Sale Before Bankruptcy
6 January 2010 3:28 PM, PST
Update: With all the James Bond news (Sam Mendes About To Be "Consultant" On Bond #23), it's high time for me to post an update on MGM as it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. I'm told things are progressing as expected. To date, approximately a dozen parties have signed the Non-Disclosure Agreements (but not News Corp), with a few more expected, and are working toward a January 15th date for submitting their indications of interest. The potential bidders are a "healthy" mix of financial players and studios after the embattled film studio with its crushing $4 billion debt sent the confidentiality agreements to about 20 [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Paradigm Snags NY TV Agent Jim Griffin
6 January 2010 2:19 PM, PST
Updates Big Morris Earner Jim Griffin Pushed Out By Wme Paradigm just sent around this internal announcement: "We are very pleased to announce that veteran agent Jim Griffin has joined Paradigm and will be headquartered in our New York office beginning today. Jim will be spearheading a new Broadcasting department for the agency. Jim has brought with him many of his long time clients including Regis Philbin, Emeril Lagasse, Fred Thompson, Jim Leher, Chris Cuomo, Geraldo Rivera, John Gibson, Bernard Goldberg, Mike Barnicle, Charles Grodin and Willard Scott. The agency will represent these clients in all areas. Additional new clients will be announced in [...] »
- Nikki Finke
7 Features Continue In VFX Oscar Race
6 January 2010 11:28 AM, PST
Beverly Hills, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that seven films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 82nd Academy Awards®. The films are listed below in alphabetical order: “Avatar” “District 9” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” “Star Trek” “Terminator Salvation” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” “2012” On Thursday, January 21, all members of the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration. The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February [...] »
- Nikki Finke
41st NAACP Image Award Nominations
6 January 2010 11:26 AM, PST
Los Angeles (AP) -- The 41st annual NAACP Image Awards honor diversity in the arts and will be presented February 26th and broadcast live on Fox. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire led with 8 film, acting, and directing nominations. Outstanding Motion Picture • "The Blind Side" (Warner Bros Pictures) • "Invictus" (Warner Bros Pictures) • "Michael Jackson's: This Is It" (Sony/Columbia Pictures) • "Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire" (Lionsgate) • "The Princess and the Frog" (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture • Denzel Washington , "The Taking of Pelham 123" (Sony/Columbia Pictures) • Idris Elba , "Obsessed" [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Yes, That Leaked Movie Script Is 'Eclipse'
5 January 2010 9:57 PM, PST
Exclusive: Taylor Lautner Now Hollywood's Highest Paid Teenage Actor The Internet is in a frenzy about what is purported to be the full script of the 3rd installment of the Twilight Saga leaked as a downloadable .pdf file. It appears to belong to Jackson Rathbone who plays Jasper in the film franchise. Now I can confirm that it is an early version of the Eclipse script (not the shooting script) and it is Rathbone's (who probably left it behind at a blood bank). Does it matter? Of course not. Like duh, the script is based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling book. Judging from New Moon's [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Exclusive: Taylor Lautner Is Now Hollywood's Highest Paid Teenage Actor
5 January 2010 6:40 PM, PST
I've just learned that Taylor Lautner is now being paid per ab. That's right, the 17-year-old co-star of the Twilight Saga franchise who's famous for his buff physique that is making girls scream when he takes off his shirt in New Moon, is getting $7.5 million for his next pic. The project is Paramount's Northern Lights, a Tom Cruise vehicle to be directed by John Moore (Max Payne) with a start date of April 1st. The logline says the pic is about "a gifted, young, aerobatics pilot who faces off with his controlling, billionaire father and falls in love with a gifted, female [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Exclusive: Sam Mendes About To Be Hired As "Consultant" On Bond #23
5 January 2010 6:11 PM, PST
As you know, the James Bond filmmaker Eon Productions operates with great autonomy and secrecy. I've just learned that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are in final negotiations with CAA for director Sam Mendes to come on as a consultant to the 23rd James Bond film (as yet untitled). That's right -- not as the director, yet. This is for the film now in pre-production for release in 2011 whose story begins after Quantum Of Solace and again stars Daniel Craig. The actor has been telling folks that filming begins in late 2010. I hear Craig is "insisting" on Mendes' hiring because the actor [...] »
- Nikki Finke
Let Sharon Stone Be A Cautionary Tale...
5 January 2010 3:20 PM, PST
It doesn't matter how big-time you used to be. (And she was.) Or are talented you are. (And she is.) But when thesps treat people badly, and believe their own publicity, and change agents like wardobes, and throw tantrums on sets, and act like a pig in sequel negotiations, then one day they find themselves permanently moving from film to TV. Trust me, Sharon Stone can't get arrested for big film roles these days. Too bad, because she could be having Meryl Streep's career. (No, I'm not kidding. She's got the chops.) So now NBC announced today that Sharon Stone [...] »
- Nikki Finke
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