Judging by the turnout and the cool vibe in the room today’s annual luncheon for the AFI Awards has risen
to the top of favorite , must-attend award season events. The crush to get into the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom was well worth it since the people “crushing” were the likes of Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg , Brad Pitt, Viola Davis, George Clooney, Leonardo Di Caprio, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and many others including executive honchos like Jim Gianopulos, Brad Grey, Stacey Snider and of course AFI Chairman Sir Howard Stringer who had some choice remarks in his closing speech.
This event , devoid of thank you speeches or dividing up “winners and losers” is just an old fashioned get-together in which filmmakers, execs and actors can connect, have some fish and watch some killer clip reels of what AFI deems the ten best in both movies and TV. This year’s honorees in film were: Bridesmaids, The Descendants, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Hugo, J. Edgar, Midnight In Paris, Moneyball, The Tree Of Life and War Horse. The top 10 television programs were Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Homeland, Justified, Louie, Modern Family and Parks and Recreation.
After lunch AFI’s President and … Read More
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AFI Awards Lunch Brings Out A-List Of Contenders
No Slump Yet: ‘Contraband’ And ‘Beauty & Beast 3D’ Overperform For Big MLK Holiday
FRIDAY 11:30 PM, 2ND UPDATE: Bigger numbers are starting to come in for this Martin Luther King 4-day holiday weekend which is looking like the 2nd best ever with $165M overall moviegoing, or +9% over last year. The most important news is that there’s no sign of a 2012 box office slump — yet. Hollywood is very encouraged by these North American grosses so far. Both Universal’s Contraband and Warner Bros’ Joyful Noise earned ‘A-’ CinemaScores from audiences which is one reason both films are far exceeding Hollywood predictions for their openings. One note for you snarksters: Paramount’s The Devil Inside, which took big top honors last weekend, fell -84% from last Friday to this Friday and maybe -78% week to week because of word-of-mouth related to that ’F’ CinemaScore. As one rival studio exec told me tonight: “The drop could better depending on the late night moron crowd.”
1. Contraband (Universal) NEW [2,863 Theaters]
Friday $9M, 3-Day Weekend $25M, 4-Day Holiday $30M
2. Beauty And The Beast 3D (Disney) NEW [2,625 Theaters]
Friday $5.5M, 3-Day Weekend $18.5M, 4-Day Holiday $25.6M
3. Joyful Noise (Warner Bros) NEW [2,863 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, 3-Day Weekend $12.3M, 4-Day Holiday $14.8M
4. Mission: Impossible 4 (Paramount) Week 5 [3,346 Theaters]
Friday $3.5M, 3-Day Weekend $12.1M, 4-Day Holiday $14.6M, Est Cume $189.9M
5. The Devil Inside (Paramount) Week 2 [2,551 Theaters]
Friday $2.6M (-84%), 3-Day Weekend $7.5M, 4-Day Holiday $8.7M, Est Cume $47.1M
6. Sherlock Holmes 2 (Warner Bros) Week 5 [3,155 Theater]
Friday $2.5M, 3-Day Weekend $8.8M, 4-Day Holiday $10.6M, Est Cume $172.2M
7. … Read More
Copyright Infringement: British Man Faces Extradition To U.S.
A 23-year-old British student faces possible extradition to the United States for trial on charges of copyright infringement for hosting a website that pointed visitors to illegal download sites. Richard O’
How A&E’s New Western Drama ‘Longmire’ Is Different From FX’s ‘Justified’: TCA
Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.
At a late Friday afternoon panel session promoting A&E’s forthcoming summertime western saga Longmire, the question was asked as to whether the success of FX’s Justified perhaps smoothed the path wheels for Longmire to see the light of primetime. Exec producer John Covony answered succinctly: “The short answer is no.” Why not? “Well, in Hollywood, some ideas are gestating as others are coming to life.” He added that while he’s happy that Justified “helped to make people think about westerns,” he made the point that Justified star Timothy Olyphant and Longmire lead Robert Taylor were quite different in both style and substantive approach to their roles. Exec producer Greer Shephard went further, suggesting that Olyphant’s character “is a man tortured and driven by demons” while Taylor’s is defined by “love and loyalty.” She also doesn’t believe that Justified is even a true western, she thinks it’s more of “a Southern Gothic show.” But Longmire ‘
Starz Stands Behind ‘Boss’, ‘Spartacus’, Touts ‘Magic City’: TCA
Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA
Starz president and CEO Chris Albrecht said today at TCA the cable channel will support its struggling series Boss during its second season, but acknowledged the show needs to begin to ‘
Paradigm Loses Senior TV Talent Agent
EXCLUSIVE: Senior TV talent agent Steve Small told Paradigm today that he is leaving the agency to “pursue a more creative aspect of the business”. 
Small told the tenpercentery he’ll announce his plans next week. He came from Writers And Artists agency when it merged with Paradigm and was head of talent for a couple of years, then began reporting to Norm Aladjem. Small’s departure follows the exit of Alternative TV agent Cameron Kadison last night to start that unit for Principato Young management.
NBC Picks Up Kari Lizer Female Buddy Comedy Pilot
Can women comedy writers be any hotter? Two comedy pilots picked up today — both from female creators! NBC has given the green light to an untitled multi-camera comedy from The New Adventures Of Old Christine creator Kari Lizer. The untitled comedy (form. Lady Friends) hails from Warner Bros TV and Lizer’
Current TV “Going Forward” With Keith Olbermann, And “We’re Not For Sale”: TCA
Keith Olbermann Put In Charge Of Election Coverage On Current TV
Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.
The mercurial Keith Olbermann — who reportedly clashed with his bosses at Current TV last week over whether he would be leading the fledgling network’s election coverage — tellingly wasn’t on hand this afternoon for a Current panel at TCA. Regarding Olbermann’s absence, Current president David Bohrman would say only, “Keith is on vacation.” As for Olbermann’s purported unwillingness to be a part of Current’s campaign coverage, “Keith will do our special election coverage going forward,” Bohrman said. “That’s what we want him to do. That was one of the key reasons he was brought to Current. So I expect that you will see Keith going forward leading our election coverage, and that’s what we want him to do.” When pressed, he added, “I can’t really be much more clear. We had approached Keith to do election coverage a couple of months ago. He declined. We have now been told by Keith that he will lead our coverage going forward and that is what we want to do.”
On another front, Bohrman and Current co-founder Joel Hyatt confirmed to Deadline following the panel that Current UK in England has been dropped from satcaster BSkyB’s subscription tier two months before the contract was up. The withdrawal of funding will force the channel to be shuttered in a move that mirrors the … Read More
ABC Greenlights Sisters Comedy From Stephnie Weir & Claudia Lonow
On the heels of ABC picking up drama pilot Gilded Lillys earlier today, the network just greenlighted a half-hour pilot, multi-camera comedy Counter Culture. Written and executive produced by writer-actress Stephnie Weir and executive produced by Claudia Lonow, Counter Culture revolves around three aging sisters running their family diner together in West Texas who find that sibling dynamics are always getting in the way of getting the job done. Weir won’t act in Counter Culture, which will be co-produced by Sony TV, where Weir has had a deal (she penned the 2010 ABC/Sony TV comedy pilot Wright Vs. Wrong starring Debra Messing), and ABC Studios. Lonow is expected to have a great pilot season. The Accidentally On Purpose creator has another comedy project at ABC through 20th TV and Imagine TV, which is very hot and already has a put pilot commitment, making a pilot order very likely. The pickup for Counter Culture extends female comedy writers’ hot streak this season.
BSkyB Move Could Shut Down Current UK
Al Gore’s Current UK has been dropped from the satellite broadcaster BSkyB’s pay-TV lineup barely two months before the fledgling network’s contract was up. Without funding from the BSkyB contract Current UK isn’t likely to survive. The channel’s 23 staff were warned at a meeting on Wednesday morning that its future is bleak, according to the Guardian. BSkyB, part owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp made a business decision to withdraw funding effectively forcing 
the channel to shut down in a move similar to the action BSkyB took with Current Italia in 2011. Gore and Joel Hyatt launched Current UK in 2007 with the goal of opening British TV to new voices and untold stories but has struggled for ratings. Liberal like its U.S. counterpart, Current TV is still available on Virgin Media and online. It also could remain on the Sky platform as a free channel but low ratings mean it won’t likely generate much advertising revenue. Current TV features news and documentary programming, the bulk of it from independent producers who are new to television. One of its original series is Morgan Spurlock’s 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die. Co-founder Hyatt said “Sky is shutting down an intelligent alternative to mass market programming.” Whatever the case, managing director Jane Mote said “It is looking likely we will have to close on 11 March.”
‘Ferris Bueller’s Ben Stein Sues Ad Agency & Client Claiming Political Discrimination
Economist and writer and humorist and actor Ben Stein has filed suit against Kyoscera Corp and advertising agency Seiter & Miller alleging that an agreement for him to appear in TV commercials was illegally breached because of his personal and political beliefs about global warming. Stein’s memorable jacket-and-tie deadpan persona has figured in numerous TV commercials and appearances. Not to mention his iconic turn in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. According to Stein’s suit, Grace Jao of Seiter & Miller in December 2010 contacted his agent Marcia Hurwitz of Innovative Artists about appearing in commercials for Kyocera printer products and about speaking at a company function. Over the course of about five weeks, the suit claims, the parties reached an agreement on all significant deal points including payment of Stein’s fee of $300,000 for shooting the commercials and for the speaking engagement. The circumstances led Hurwitz to believe the deal was done, the suit says, and Stein planned accordingly.
Early in February 2011 Jao contacted Hurwitz, the suit says, to inform the agent that questions had been raised over Stein’s beliefs about global warming and the environment and whether they were “sufficiently conventional and politically correct for Kyocera,” according to language in the suit. Hurwitz told Jao that as far as she was concerned the deal was done, the suit said, and Stein’s political and scientific views were not part of his contract for extolling the company’s printers. Stein … Read More
Sundance Opening Night Docu ‘Queen Of Versailles’ Sparks Lawsuit By Resort Developer
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival has sparked controversy little more than a week before it launches January 19th. The Sundance Institute has been hit with a lawsuit over one of the festival’s opening night films, The Queen Of Versailles, directed by Lauren Greenfield. Alleging defamation, the federal lawsuit filed by Florida developer David A. Siegel and his Westgate Resorts targets Sundance Institute, Greenfield and her husband, executive producer Frank Evers. According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, the lawsuit seeks $75,000 in damages from the Institute and another $75,000 from the filmmakers plus “unspecified punitive damages.”
The controversy arises from press and marketing material distributed by Sundance. The festival’s online material describes the film as having “epic dimensions of a Shakespearean tragedy” with the non-fiction feature following “billionaires Jackie and David’s rags to riches story to uncover the innate virtues and flaws of the American dream.” The film opens with the construction of the biggest house in America, inspired by France’s Versailles. The Sundance info described the construction as being financed by a “booming time-share business” that went south following the financial crisis.
An insider connected with the film told Deadline that hardly anybody has seen it, let alone David Siegel and his Westgate Resorts. Deadline called Westgate seeking comment but a voicemail message was not returned. A Sundance statement said only: “Sundance Institute maintains its long-held and firm commitment … Read More
‘Survivor’s Jeff Probst Sets ‘Kiss Me’ Film
Survivor‘s Jeff Probst is moving forward with his sophomore feature directing effort, Kiss Me. It begins shooting next month in Los Angeles, CNN reports. Already set to star in the coming of age story about a girl going “through the physical and emotional growing pains of her teen years” are John Corbett (Sex And The City) and young Irish actress Sarah Bolger (In America). In 2002, Probst wrote and directed Finder’s Fee with Ryan Reynolds and James Earl Jones. Probst is also set to host a syndicated daytime talk show next fall.
Academy Denies Discussions With Nokia About Moving Oscar Telecast From Kodak
To paraphrase Mark Twain, media reports of the imminent death of the relationship between the Oscars and its broadcast home for the past decade, the Kodak theatre, are greatly exaggerated. In fact the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences issued a statement to Deadline tonight saying The Hollywood Reporter‘s claims are “erroneous”. (We hear Academy President Tom Sherak screamed at THR‘s Alex Ben Block and demanded a retraction.) The Academy officially denied to Deadline that AMPAS is already in discussions to move the Academy Awards to AEG’s 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre. ”The Academy has not begun any negotiations for the Oscar telecast beyond 2013.”
Off the record, multiple Academy sources are telling Deadline they are not on their way to terminating the deal for the Kodak. They tell us they want to stay at the venue and have not yet had any discussions or negotiations with the Nokia or anyone else. So what’s going on? This all boils down to THR looking to manufacture news. And normal business posturing so that the Academy can put itself into the best possible bargaining position with the Kodak’s owner CIM group as the two sides start discussing the future. AMPAS wants as sweet a deal as possible, so it exercised an option in its contract to have at least the ability to consider another venue after the 2013 show. If the Academy had not exercised the option 
though … Read More
‘NCIS’ Celebrates 200th Episode: TCA
Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline’
FCC Commish: Did Comcast Buy Airwave Spectrum Under “False Pretenses”?
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell fired an unexpected shot at Comcast today as the regulatory agency invited the public to comment on a recent deal by the company and other operators to sell airwave spectrum they control to Verizon. Noting that Comcast’s CFO recently told analysts that the cable company never planned to built a business for the airwaves, McDowell asked: “Were they purchased under false pretences?” Federal law bars companies from warehousing spectrum. The deal with Verizon must be approved by the FCC and Justice Department before it can close. ”Let’s be careful,” McDowell said at the 2012 International CES. “We want to be sure consumers have a disruptive and constructive marketplace….The commission has not done a good job of that in the past.” Another FCC Commissioner, Mignon Clyburn said that “we look at it on a case by case basis. …We’re not in isolation.”
Aside from those comments, the three current members of the FCC stuck to their familiar positions. Chairman Julius Genachowski says that he’ll continue his effort to secure airwave spectrum from broadcasters and auction it to wireless Internet providers. ”New York has 28 full power over-the-air licenses,” he said. ”No one can name 28 stations in New York.” He also blasted Verizon’s suit to overturn the FCC’s net neutrality rules saying that they ”run the risk of creating uncertainty, unpredictability, and confusion.” Clyburn also favors net neutrality: “Over the last year just look at … Read More
James Badge Dale Saddling Up To Play Lone Ranger’s Brother?
EXCLUSIVE: James Badge Dale is frontrunner to join The Lone Ranger, playing the older brother of the title character (played by Armie Hammer). Dan Reid is an ex-ranger and hero of the Old West. Disney puts the film into production next month, with Gore Verbinski directing Johnny Depp, Hammer, Ruth Wilson, Tom Wilkinson, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter, and Dwight Yoakum. Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.
Dale, who co-starred in Shame, next opens in the Joe Carnahan-directed The Grey, and wrapped the Marc Forster-directed World War Z and the Robert Zemeckis-directed Flight. The Lone Ranger job will knock Dale out of the short list to play John McClane Jr. in A Good Day to Die Hard. I’ve heard that Fox will widen the search for that character in the John Moore-directed film. Dale is repped by CAA.
Universal Launches Centennial Year-Long Celebration; Announces Major Restoration Of 13 Classics
With an ambitious, almost unprecedented film restoration effort, a new logo, a swarm of special edition Blu
-ray movie packages, theme park celebrations emphasizing their film history, special events, premieres and a major social media campaign Universal this month is launching a yearlong 2012 centennial celebration. Like Paramount, which is also embarking on a centennial celebration, the emphasis here is making the old seem new again. Key among U’s plans is the complete restoration of 13 films that showcase a large part of the history of the studio from 1930′s All Quiet On The Western Front to 1993′s Schindler’s List.
When I spoke with Universal President and COO Ron Meyer on Monday morning his excitement about this opportunity to mark the studio’s storied past and take it into the future was evident. “One hundred years is such a great milestone. I am a movie lover. It’s such an important part of the American culture, a part of the heritage of this country. I think we have a responsibility to our employees, to the public to celebrate not just a milestone but celebrate the movie business, and this gives us a reason to do it,” he said while emphasizing the centerpiece of this yearlong effort, the restoration of many Universal classics each uniquely repping their own decades.
Films chosen … Read More
Home Video Shows Signs Of Recovery
The years-long decline of home video sales appears finally to have stabilized, the trade organization Digital Entertainment Group reports. While filmed home entertainment dipped 2% for the year in 2011, there were genuine positive signs. Annual spending on Blu-ray discs rose 20% last year, hitting $2 billion for the first time, the DEG says. Additionally, nearly 40 million homes now have Blu-ray playback devices, 38% more than in 2010. The decline in home video revenues has leveled off, with consumer spending on filmed home entertainment rising 1% for the second half of the year. The third quarter spending actually rose 5%, the first quarterly increase since 2008. Additionally, electronic sell-through was up 9% for the year, and spending on video-on-demand was up 7%. Consumers also continued to embrace HDTV, purchasing 27 million HD sets during 2011. HDTV penetration is now at more than 74.5 million U.S. households.
From the DEG release:
Hollywood’