Singer, Actress Kaye Stevens Dies in Florida

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) Singer and actress Kaye Stevens, who performed with the Rat Pack and was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," has died at a central Florida hospital. She was 79.Close friend Gerry Schweitzer confirmed that Stevens died Wednesday at the Villages Hospital north of Orlando following a battle with breast cancer and blood clots.Stevens, a longtime South Florida resident, performed with Rat Pack members including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop. She also sang solo at venues like Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room in NY City.During the Vietnam War era, Stevens performed for American soldiers in the war zone with Bob Hope's USO tour.According to a handout from friend Rhonda Glenn, Stevens was born Catherine Louise Stephens in Pittsburgh. Her family eventually moved to Cleveland, where a teenage Stevens got her start as a drummer and singer. She later married now deceased bandleader and trumpet player Tommy Amato, and the couple performed throughout the eastern U.S.During a gig in New Jersey, Stevens was discovered by Ed McMahon, Carson's longtime sidekick, which led to new bookings. Her big break came when she was playing a lounge at The Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Debbie Reynolds became ill and was unable to perform in the main room. Stevens filled in and was an instant hit.Besides singing, Stevens also acted in film and television. She appeared in six movies, earning a Golden Globe nomination in 1964 for "The New Interns." She was a regular celebrity player on game shows and appeared as a regular on "Days of Our Lives" from 1974-79.During the past two decades, Stevens started her own ministry and began performing only Christian and patriotic music. She staged benefits to help build St. Vincent Catholic Church in her longtime home of Margate, Fla., where city officials named a park in her honor.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) Singer and actress Kaye Stevens, who performed with the Rat Pack and was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," has died at a central Florida hospital. She was 79.Close friend Gerry Schweitzer confirmed that Stevens died Wednesday at the Villages Hospital north of Orlando following a battle with breast cancer and blood clots.Stevens, a longtime South Florida resident, performed with Rat Pack members including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop. She also sang solo at venues like Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room in NY City.During the Vietnam War era, Stevens performed for American soldiers in the war zone with Bob Hope's USO tour.According to a handout from friend Rhonda Glenn, Stevens was born Catherine Louise Stephens in Pittsburgh. Her family eventually moved to Cleveland, where a teenage Stevens got her start as a drummer and singer. She later married now deceased bandleader and trumpet player Tommy Amato, and the couple performed throughout the eastern U.S.During a gig in New Jersey, Stevens was discovered by Ed McMahon, Carson's longtime sidekick, which led to new bookings. Her big break came when she was playing a lounge at The Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Debbie Reynolds became ill and was unable to perform in the main room. Stevens filled in and was an instant hit.Besides singing, Stevens also acted in film and television. She appeared in six movies, earning a Golden Globe nomination in 1964 for "The New Interns." She was a regular celebrity player on game shows and appeared as a regular on "Days of Our Lives" from 1974-79.During the past two decades, Stevens started her own ministry and began performing only Christian and patriotic music. She staged benefits to help build St. Vincent Catholic Church in her longtime home of Margate, Fla., where city officials named a park in her honor.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Winona Ryder Joins The Iceman

She's replacing Maggie GyllenhaalThe cast for true-crime contract killer drama The Iceman has just seen a change, as Winona Ryder has signed on, replacing Maggie Gyllenhaal. Ryder will play Deborah Kuklinski, a woman who had no idea that her husband Robert (Michael Shannon) who appears to be a regular businessman, was in fact a hired killer for the mob.It's not the first shift for the movie, which was announced in January this year with Shannon, Gyllenhaal and James Franco as Robert Pronge, who teaches Kuklinski the ways of the assassin.Now, Chris Evans is playing Pronge, with Ray Liotta as mob boss Roy Demeo and David Schwimmer circling the role of a fellow assassin.Ariel Vromen is behind the camera for this one, using the script he co-wrote with Morgan Land based on Anthony Bruno's book The Iceman: The True Story Of A Cold-Blooded Killer.Ryder, who was last seen in Black Swan and The Dilemma, has just shot indie pic The Stare and will next be heard rather than seen in Tim Burton's stop-motion 'toon Frankenweenie.

Liz Hurley Shares Her Methods For Remaining Slim & Fashion After 40

First Launched: December 12, 2011 3:56 PM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Liz Hurley comprises an individual appearance to enhance awareness for Breast Cancers Awareness Month at Edinburgh, Scotland on October 4, 2011 Elizabeth Hurley may be 46, but shes turning heads alongside Blake Lively and Leighton Meester on Gossip Girl, and he or she referred to one of the large strategies for searching good as she inches toward 50. [Once I was youthful], I really could look excellent on three several hours sleep, Liz told Uk magazine Zest, per The Daily Mail. Now, I appear just like a lunatic essentially dont achieve least double that. Throughout my 20s Used to do formerly be capable of exist on coffee, cigarettes and crisps, however, a couple of times of this now and Id look and feel really frightening! Beyond getting her beauty sleep, Liz, which has a swimsuit line, which she herself models, recognized it's not tough to keep up with the motivation to work through, especially throughout the cold several weeks. I put myself pressurized to remain slim because I still model my own, personal bikinis but it is much more tough to feel motivated inside the gloomy winter, she mentioned. I wrap myself up and continue to walk each day with my dogs and frequently pressure myself to use just a little however hate it. I like Yoga and yoga but, again, am more vulnerable to do them in the year and summer season. And Lizs new love, Australian cricket star Shane Warne, helps out too. Hes naturally very sports because hes been a specialist sportsman in excess of 2 decades. He keeps threatening to produce me run with him, but Ive opposed up to now, she added. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Diane Neal to Lawyer On A Gifted Guy

Diane Neal Diane Neal is coming back towards the court docket to have an approaching episode of CBS' A Gifted Guy. Neal's casting reunites her with showrunner Neal Baer, whom she labored with on Law & Order: SVU. "@DianeNeal Great to possess yourself on A Gifted Guy grilling Patrick Wilson around the stand," Baer tweeted on Friday. CBS orders three more instances of A Gifted Guy "I am playing an attorney,Inch the actress added by herself Twitter page. "A DEFENSE attorney, with better suits-'!"Neal, who's recurring on SVU this year, has additionally lately made an appearance on such shows as NCIS and Whitened Collar. A Gifted Guy airs Fridays at 8/7c on CBS. It's unclear when Neal's episode will air.

Harry Morgan of M*A*S*H Dies at 96

Harry Morgan Harry Morgan, best known for his role as Col. Potter in M*A*S*H, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, The NY Times reports. The longtime actor was 96.Morgan's performance in M*A*S*H, in which he co-starred from 1975 to '83, earned him an Emmy in 1980 as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He reprised the character in a spin-off titled AfterMASH. Morgan also is fondly remembered for his portrayal of Bill Gannon, the partner of Jack Webb's Joe Friday in Dragnet from 1967 to 1970.See what other stars we lost this yearThe Detroit-born actor's other TV credits included December Bride and the spin-off Pete and Gladys. According to the Times, he once estimated that he was seen in prime time for a span of 35 straight years.Morgan's film credits were similarly extensive, going all the way back to 1943's The Ox-Bow Incident and 1945's A Bell for Adano. He also starred in The Teahouse of the August Moon and Inherit the Wind among more than 100 movies.Check out the rest of today's news"My dad would read a script the way somebody else would read Time magazine and put it down and be on the set the next day," said son Charles.He is survived by wife Barbara Bushman, three sons from a previous marriage -- Christopher, Charles, and Paul - and eight grandchildren. His first wife, Eileen Detchon, died in 1985; they were married 45 years.

Shailene Woodley: Clooney Trained Me How To Become A Better Individual

First Released: December 6, 2011 4:27 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Shailene Woodley stops by Access Hollywood Survive December 6, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- George Clooney were built with a major effect on the existence of his The Descendants co-star, Shailene Woodley. Hes really trained me how to become a better individual throughout this method. Hes so grounded and generous and grateful he emanates the term gratitude, the actress told Billy Rose bush and Package Hoover on Tuesdays Access Hollywood Live. Hes awesome and hes so lower to earth that there is no violence factor. The youthful star stated her The Descendants family members have been very encouraging throughout her rise to giant screen fame. [George and director Alexander Payne] have been such great mentors and type of guiding me so as to, the 20-year-old, most widely known on her role on ABC Familys The Key Existence from the American Teen, ongoing. Using the accolades already moving within the actress only agreed to be granted the nation's Board Of Reviews Best Supporting Actress award Shailene continues to be taking in most the thrill. Its crazy, its surreal, without a doubt I simply feel so grateful, she told Billy and Package concerning the buzz on her performance, that also includes rumblings of the Oscar nomination. Despite the fact that the star may be the talk of Hollywood, the actress stated she'd really rather would rather spend her time outdoors from the limelight. Honestly I had been just prefer to be putting on no makeup, hiking somewhere within the mountain tops, than likely to boat loads of parties constantly, she added. For additional with Shailene including her parents three rules to help keep her grounded, Click The Link! The Descendants is within theaters now. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Just What If David Denby Broke The brand new the new sony/Scott Rudins Dragon Tattoo Embargo? Fuck It!

Embargoes are dumbass, in addition to a lot more after they involve matters of no consequence like showbiz. But nonetheless a lot more when the movie review at problem was positive like David Denby’s critique in the Girl While Using Dragon Tattoo inside the NYer. For me personally, no film rater should ever accept embargoesbecause doing just what the art galleries want can be a slippery slope. It’s merely a short hop to becoming part of Hollywood’s publicity machine.In this particular situation, producer Scott Rudin might be the finest baby on the planet. (Remember how, when the Social Media began losing for the King’s Speech last honours season, he stopped attending every adoring ceremony like the Oscars? No class.) And Also The new the new sony Pictures Entertainment’s Amy Pascal around the telephone right now told methe studio remains “wrestling” using this since Friday evening. Yet shecouldn’t explain the embargoes are even necessary or this villification of Denby, who's really the most popular film critic, is even warranted. I asked for once the review is great. She clarified they’d heard it absolutely was. Just what’s the problem?Paradise let us when the art galleries finally achieve controlling allmedia… Here’s the letter that the new the new sony sent at 2 AM: Dear Friend, All who attended tests in the Girl While Using Dragon Tattoo agreed in writing to withhold reviews until closer to the date in the films worldwide release date. Sadly, your co-employees, David Denby in the NYer, has made a decision to destroy his agreement and may run his review on Monday, December fifth. This embargo breach is completely unacceptable. By enabling experts to find out films early, at different occasions, embargo dates level the playing area and enable reviews to use within the films primary release window, when audiences are most interested. Needs to be principle, the NYers breach violates a trust and undermines something designed to help journalists complete the job and serve their site visitors. We have been speaking directly while using NYer relevant for this matter and be ready to take measures to make certain this kind of breach does not happen again. Meanwhile, we've every goal of maintaining the embargo in place and you need to help help remind you that reviews is probably not launched right before December thirteenth. We urge all who had been due to the opportunity to determine The Woman While Using Dragon Tattoo to recognition the obligations made the decision to love an ailment of having early utilisation of the film. Thanks in advance for that cooperation. Sincerely, Andre Caraco, Executive V . P ., Film Publicity The brand new the new sony Pictures Entertainment

SAG Foundation Presents Occasions With 'Melissa & Joey,' 'Raising Hope,' 'Suits'

SAG Foundation Presents Occasions With 'Melissa & Joey,' 'Raising Hope,' 'Suits' November 30, 2011 "Raising Hope" "Melissa & Joey" Screening a Q&A with Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler, Nick Robinson, and executive producersWednesday, November 30th7pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos AngelesIn ABC Family's hit comedy series "Melissa & Joey," Melissa Joan Hart shows Mel, the grown-up former wild child from the political family who's now a close politician herself. When her sister eventually eventually ends up jail time and brother-in-law flees carrying out a scandal hits, Mel need to take responsibility on her behalf teenaged niece, Lennox, and adolescent nephew, Ryder. Spread too thin to deal with manually, help will come in the unlikely kind of Joe (Joey Lawrence) who, looking forward to employment, moves in and becomes the household's "manny.""Melissa & Joey," can be a half-hour multi-cam comedy executive-produced by Bob Youthful & David Kendall, Paula Hart, Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, and stars Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler and Nick Robinson. The series launched in summer season 2010 as ABC Family's No. 1 comedy debut ever as a whole Audiences. . "Melissa & Joey" is presently in production on Season 2 and may return wonderful new episodes on ABC Family in 2012."Raising Hope" Screening a Q&A with Garret Dillahunt, Lucas Neff, Shannon Woodward, and Gregg BinkleyFriday, December 2nd1pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos Angeles"Raising Hope" might be the considerably acclaimed single-camera comedy from Emmy Award champion Greg Garcia that follows the chance family simply because they finish up raising the most recent addition for the household.With very handful of useful capabilities however hearts in where, will the odds work inside the unpredictable and greatly challenging arena of being a parent?InchFitsInch Screening a Q&A with Patrick J. AdamsSaturday, December 3rd5pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos AngelesPatrick J. Adams stars round the USA Network's his show, "Suits." While running in the drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a great youthful college-dropout, slips in to a meeting and among NY City's best legal closers, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Frustrated with cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by using Mike round the place after he recognizes his raw talent and picture taking memory.RSVP at Conversations@sagfoundation.org. Please add your title, which occasions you need to attend and the amount of site visitors you need to bring. SAG Foundation Presents Occasions With 'Melissa & Joey,' 'Raising Hope,' 'Suits' November 30, 2011 "Raising Hope" "Melissa & Joey" Screening a Q&A with Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler, Nick Robinson, and executive producersWednesday, November 30th7pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos AngelesIn ABC Family's hit comedy series "Melissa & Joey," Melissa Joan Hart shows Mel, the grown-up former wild child from the political family who's now a close politician herself. When her sister eventually eventually ends up jail time and brother-in-law flees carrying out a scandal hits, Mel need to take responsibility on her behalf teenaged niece, Lennox, and adolescent nephew, Ryder. Spread too thin to deal with manually, help will come in the unlikely kind of Joe (Joey Lawrence) who, looking forward to employment, moves in and becomes the household's "manny.""Melissa & Joey," can be a half-hour multi-cam comedy executive-produced by Bob Youthful & David Kendall, Paula Hart, Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, and stars Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence, Taylor Spreitler and Nick Robinson. The series launched in summer season 2010 as ABC Family's No. 1 comedy debut ever in general Audiences. . "Melissa & Joey" is presently in production on Season 2 and may return wonderful new episodes on ABC Family in 2012."Raising Hope" Screening a Q&A with Garret Dillahunt, Lucas Neff, Shannon Woodward, and Gregg BinkleyFriday, December 2nd1pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos Angeles"Raising Hope" might be the considerably acclaimed single-camera comedy from Emmy Award champion Greg Garcia that follows the chance family simply because they finish up raising the most recent addition for the household.With very handful of useful capabilities however hearts in where, will the odds work inside the unpredictable and greatly challenging arena of being a parent?InchFitsInch Screening a Q&A with Patrick J. AdamsSaturday, December 3rd5pmSAG Foundation Stars Center5757 Wilshire Blvd, MezzanineLos AngelesPatrick J. Adams stars round the USA Network's his show, "Suits." While running in the drug deal gone bad, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), a great youthful college-dropout, slips in to the interview and among NY City's best legal closers, Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht). Frustrated with cookie-cutter law school grads, Harvey takes a gamble by using Mike round the place after he recognizes his raw talent and picture taking memory.RSVP at Conversations@sagfoundation.org. Please add your title, which occasions you need to attend and merely the number of site visitors you need to bring.

George Clooney is excellent

When Moviefone spoken with Shailene Woodley about her role in "The Descendants', she said on the amount of time she has been requested the question, "That which was it like to utilize George Clooney?" When Jason Reitman was marketing 'Up up,A he produced a cake chart that recorded the amount of occasions he was requested each question. Number 1? "That which was it like to utilize George Clooney?" Hey: Everyone loves George Clooney! Though, I had been curious, what exactly is it like to utilize George Clooney? Following a quick Search for "dealing with George Clooney," here is your answer: apparently the correct answer is great! (I am talking about, seriously: great. People, you are just going to need to face details: George Clooney is fairly great.) "He's great." (Anna Kendrick) "He's great." (Cate Blanchett) "He's great." (Max Minghella) "He's great." (Grant Heslov) "He's great to utilize.Inch (Catherine Zeta-Johnson) "He's just like a little kid" (Renee Zellweger) "George is a superb guy to dedicate yourself.Inch (Max Casella) "It had been great, and that i heard it is always good.Inch (Paul Giamatti) "We chuckled a great deal.Inch (Ewan McGregor) "He's this type of goofball" (Vera Farmiga) "He wants everybody to enjoy yourself.Inch (Evan Rachel Wood) "He is doing promise you that you will have fun." (Marisa Tomei) "Which was an excellent, great experience." (Take advantage of Huebel) [Photo: Fox Searchlight] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook You are able to contact Mike Ryan on Twitter

CBS preps 'Early Show' alternative

RoseCBS' alternative due to its low-rated "Early Show" will start Jan. 9, the web introduced Tuesday. Chris Licht, who grew to become an associate of the news division from MSNBC, will professional produce the program, which will feature Gayle King, Erica Hill and Charlie Rose.Adding Rose happen to be rumored for the days, because the NY Times' John Stelter broke news in the Hill and King hirings Friday.Rose continues his focus on PBS furthermore to adding for the as-yet not named CBS program King will leave her show at OWN and may still lead for the internet "as her schedule allows," according to a disagreement within the Discovery/Harpo partnership. This program, at this time, is always to put Rose and Hill at 7 a.m. and King at 8, nevertheless the schedule remains fluid.Licht continues within the publish as veep of programming for CBS News among the show's correspondents will probably be John Burns, Rebecca Jarvis, and Rob Glor. Licht mentioned he wouldn't be searching to ape "Today" or "Hello America," which have be similar over recent several days as well as the demo gap involving the two has simplified. "There exists a first-rate team before and behind the digital camera,In . he mentioned. "Our goal is easy: create a broadcast having its own identity that delivers audiences something truly different every morning.In . Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Weekend Receipts: Immortals Sends Jack and Jill Downhill to Number 2 Slot

While it didn’t quite slay Jack and Jill at the box office — a more resounding spanking might’ve restored my faith in humanity, but many, many folks still came out for the Adam Sandler twinsies comedy — Tarsem’s fantasy actioner Immortals exceeded expectations on its way to a surprising $32 million number one opening, the best ever debut for studio Relativity Media. Also: Puss in Boots and Tower Heist continued to slide down the ranks, with J. Edgar making a decent go of things to round out the Top 5. Dive in for your Weekend Receipts! 1. Immortals Gross: $32,000,000 (new) Screens: 3,112 (PSA $10,283) Weeks: 1 Pundits had Tarsem’s bloody spin on Greek mythology pegged to fall behind the dual star power of Adam Sandler playing opposite himself, but surprise! Immortals shot to number 1 from the get go, thanks to a mostly young crowd and a marketing campaign that invoked the name of 300, Zack Snyder’s stylized period ab-fest. The auspicious opening is a good sign for future Superman Henry Cavill, who makes his action debut as the sword-swinging, sandal-wearing Theseus. 2. Jack and Jill Gross: $26,000,000 (new) Screens: 3,438 (PSA $7,563) Weeks: 1 It may have come in just a smidge under the $30 million opening range typical of an Adam Sandler movie, but $26 million worth of ticket buyers still looked at the trailer and ads and abysmal reviews for Jack and Jill and thought, “Gee, why not?” (Add to that the fact that it got an A- rating from the under-18 segment of the polled audience.) I weep for humanity. When is Adam Sandler just going to completely give up and make Re-Do, already? 3. Puss in Boots Gross: $25,500,000 ($108,809,000) Screens: 3,903 (PSA $6,533) Weeks: 3 (Change: -22.9%) The Shrek spin-off broke $100 million domestic this week, showing some staying power in its third week of release. Guess this means that Puss in Boots 2 announcement is due any day, right? 4. Tower Heist Gross: $13,200,000 ($43,900,000) Screens: 3,370 (PSA $3,917) Weeks: 2 (Change: -45.1%) Give Tower Heist another few weeks and it’ll fade from our collective memory, like that fever dream we all had where Brett Ratner was directing the Oscars. Ha! As if. 5. J. Edgar Gross: $11,470,000 (new) Screens: 1,910 (PSA $6,005) Weeks: 1 Clint Eastwood’s would-be Oscar heavyweight shrank in stature this week thanks to mixed reviews; the great Academy Awards powerhouse of the season it ain’t. Even combined, the prestige sheen of the biopic and star power of Leonardo diCaprio (in old man makeup! Making eyes at Armie Hammer! Talking with a funny accent!) couldn’t even buoy J. Edgar to match the opening numbers of Hereafter, and that was just a movie about Matt Damon seeing dead people. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Camelot, Showbox ink three-pic deal

Camelot Entertainment Group and Camelot Distribution Group have closed a deal with UK's Showbox Media Group Limited for a trio of titles -- "A Warrior's Heart," "Attack of the Herbals" and "Norman."Camelot announced the deal Sunday at the American Film Market. "Warrior" stars Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz and follows the story of a troubled teenager who turns to his new love interest to find his way."Herbals" is centered on experimental Nazi tea washing up on the shores of Scotland, turning those who drink it into kill crazed zombies.Family drama "Norman" stars Emily VanCamp and Dan Byrd with original music by Andrew Bird."Warrior" was also sold in Latin America to CDC and Eagle Pictures bought "Never Sleep Again" for Australia. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Woodley: Teen intersects fine line between comedy, drama

Shailene WoodleyImagine your first meaty movie role. Imagine it involves a long shoot in Hawaii. Then imagine George Clooney is playing your dad."Yes, on the surface that sounds pretty great, doesn't it?" Shailene Woodley says of being cast in the Alexander Payne drama "The Descendants." "Then being a part of it, that actual doing of it, was even better than I could have imagined."Woodley's nuanced work as the problem child daughter in "The Descendants" won raves when the movie premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September. Playing the combative Alex, Woodley displays both an edge and vulnerability as an adolescent who, in some ways, possesses more wisdom than her father and, in others, is simply yearning to give him a chance to act as her parent.The material, like Payne's previous films, varies in tone, which sometimes posed a challenge for the 19-year-old actress."While we were filming I was thinking, 'Are we doing a drama or a comedy?' " Woodley says. "We'd do a scene I thought was supposed to be serious and Alexander would say, 'No, I want you to come at it from this point of view.' And then you see the way he combined the laughter and the gut-wrenching moments. He knew what he was doing."The Simi Valley native began auditioning when she was 5 years old and landed her big break playing a con artist's daughter in the 2004 Hallmark TV movie "A Place Called Home." Woodley is finishing her fourth season of ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," which has followed her character from a pregnant 15-year-old to a young mother juggling a baby with the demands of school and relationships."I'm almost out of my teens," Woodley says, "so I feel ready to move on to more mature roles. Making 'The Descendants' gave me a great start."Lucky break: "Honestly, my big break was being born to my family. I started when I was 5 and my mom drove me to auditions, not because she pushed me but because I wanted to do this."Favorite film: "This is really dorky, but I love 'The Goonies.' I don't eat Spaghetti O's any more, but I still watch 'The Goonies.'"Career I'd like to emulate: "A mixture of Marcia Gay Harden and Natalie Portman. I worked with Marcia when I was 13 and just think the world of her. And every single role Natalie Portman chooses, it's out of passion."10 ACTORS TO WATCH 2011:Benedict Cumberbatch | Jean Dujardin | Luke Evans | Josh Hutcherson | Felicity Jones | Taylor Kitsch | Brit Marling | Elizabeth Olsen | Octavia Spencer | Shailene Woodley Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Barack Obama Campaign Strategy Keeping Hollywood Out of Sight

Like every Democrat, President Barack Obama covets Hollywood's financial support. But there's a growing sense that he doesn't want to be seen with industry figures.our editor recommendsThe First Lady Sends First Tweet (Video)Iraq Withdrawal: What the Media Are SayingWhite House Shows Support for Spirit Day PHOTOS: Best Presidents in Movies and TV A source close to the White House tells The Hollywood Reporterit was no accident stars were absent from an Oct. 13 state dinner for Korean president Lee Myung-bak. Industry attendees included only American Beauty producer Bruce Cohen and the evening's performers, the Ahn Trio sisters and singer Janelle Monae. Celebrities have long been a fixture at White House gatherings. Obama's previous state dinners have included such A-listers as Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. But Obama might want to put visual distance between himself and boldface names. Facing a close race, strategists might want to head off allegations that he is starstruck, as GOP candidate John McCain portrayed him in 2008 ads. PHOTOS: President Obama and Four More Memorable Oprah Winfrey Show Moments Obama seems to be positioning himself as a guy on the side of the middle and working classes. Being photographed with wealthy celebrities while preparing for a possible run against Mitt Romney could undermine his effort, especially if he intends to portray the former Massachusetts governor as a rich man who doesn't care about working people and who laid a fair number of them off. "State dinners need to make an imprint, but they shouldn't be ostentatious at a time when Obama is spending all day talking about jobs and the economy," says Donna Bojarsky, a public policy consultant. "Everyone gets it." The president's longtime friend George Clooney stayed mostly out of sight in 2008, saying he'd learned a lesson when his father lost a congressional seat after a campaign in which his celebrity son was very visible. Still, Obama will be back in Hollywood on Oct. 24 for private fund-raisers co-hosted by Eva Longoria, Melanie Griffith and Will Smith. Related Topics Barack Obama Politics

Robbie Williams Leaves EMI for Universal: Inside the Deal

Robbie Williams has long been one of EMI's marquee artists, having sold over 60 million albums worldwide (some 15 million in the UK alone), but 14 years after being signed as a solo singer, in what was then one of the biggest payouts to an artist on record -- an estimated $100 million for six albums upon renegotiating in 2002 -- the 37-year-old pop star is leaving for Universal.our editor recommendsEMI: With Bids Low, Company Considers Whether to Split Up or Postpone SaleQ&A: Roger FaxonCan Doug Morris Lead Sony Past Universal Music Group to Be the No. 1 Label? According to a source familiar with the deal, which covers international territories, Williams has joined the Universal Music Group roster for one album, which he has basically completed. The label designated to handle his future solo release -- be it Polydor, Mercury or Island -- has yet to be determined, but what is known is that David Joseph, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK, will personally oversee the effort. STORY:CAA-Partnered Private Equity Firm, Owner of 'American Idol' CKx Consider EMI Bids "Having had the chance to listen to the music, I've no doubt that Robbie is currently at his most creatively inspired," Joseph tells British newspaper The Guardian, where Williams' longtime manager Tim Clark also comments: "This great new deal puts Robbie Williams firmly in control of his own destiny, but with the most muscular of partners." "The deal is customized around Robbie and what best fits him," says an insider who points to Williams' recent success with his original boy band Take That as proof of his continued relevance. Another reason for his exit? "He was fed up with EMI," adds the source. "He wasn't feeling the love and with the company's sale and constantly rotating management structure, there's something to be said for stability." STORY: EMI Gears Up for 'Possible Sale' Read CEO Roger Faxon's Memo to Staff No doubt it also helped that Williams and UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge go back and that Take That's reunion album, Progress, released by Polydor in 2010, has been certified eight-times platinum in the UK, moving more than 2.4 million copies (he left the group for a second time, mate and X Factor UK judgeGary Barlow revealed last month). In fact, Williams is the best-selling British artist ever, but in the U.S., where he remains a Capitol Records artist for at least another 12 months, he's struggled to find his footing in a fickle pop landscape. Although it's worth noting: in recent years, the American market has come around to the sort of dance-heavy pop that emanates from Europe. Still, his move certainly doesn't help EMI's current auction by corporate holders Citigroup, believed to be considerably short of the $4 billion price they hoped to bring in after the first round of bidding. According to Billboard.biz, the company has been "cleaning up" the second-round bids, but its owners are still considering whether to split up the label and publishing divisions or postpone the sale altogether. Among the reported bidders? Universal, which is in the running to acquire EMI's recorded music operation, home to Coldplay and The Beatles. A source tells THR that Citigroup is planning to announce its choice for preferred bidders in seven days. Williams' Universal debut is slated for release in fall of 2012. Twitter: @shirleyhalperin Related Topics The Beatles Universal Music Group EMI Coldplay Robbie Williams Lucian Grainge

A Round-Heeled Lady

Sharon Gless in "A Round-Heeled Lady"A John Eastman presentation from the play in one act written and directed by Jane Prowse, good true story of Jane Juska.Jane - Sharon GlessAt age 66, outdated San Fran schoolteacher Jane Juska placed an personal advertisements ad inside the "NY Summary of Books" stating she preferred to possess "plenty of sex getting a man I loveInch before her next birthday. She chronicled her resulting encounters in the memoir that has now been modified in to a star vehicle for Sharon Gless, which preemed a year ago in Miami. Even though venture clearly aspires to entertain and enlighten in regards to the emotional and physical details of golden-age sex, pedestrian text and adapter Jane Prowse's old-fashioned production comparable to a expected 100-minute narrative of self-discovery and redemption. There's an attempt inside a mildly shocking opener after we are welcomed through the look at Jane (Gless), resplendent in the flowing red-colored-colored nightie, lounging on her behalf account bed mattress and coping with the truly amazing part of a round of phone sex. But production determines it is a fact tone as, carrying out a laugh line, Jane "realizes" everyone else will there be and starts to cope with us directly. Show is basically a lengthy monologue, separate with passed moments between Jane and her various suitors (carried out with the multi-role stars Craig McCarthy, Neil McCaul and Michael Thomson), female buddies (Jane Bertish and Jesse Cordingly), and, since the therapeutic length of the narrative progresses, dead mother (Bertish) and estranged adult boy (Thomson). And guess what happens? The dating scene after 65 isn't that remote the higher mediatized encounters more youthful people: Jane meets a few cads, some nice-males-with-a-catch (addiction, disease), has some mediocre sex after which it progressively better sex, but eventually knows her real problem is self-acceptance and emotional skeletons inside the closet. The emotional terrain and narrative level here's redolent from the eighties-era Movie every week, an effect furthered with the handsome but stolid home-interior set (by Ian Fisher) and several interspersed moments of attempted comedy in the salsa dancing class with the sport Thomson attired being an extra from "Flashdance." Gless looks splendid which is never within likeable and understanding presence, but sometimes one feels her pushing to produce her charisma attain the rear from the 400-chair auditorium. She's being made to work too much to keep the whole evening afloat. A London run was most most likely produced because Prowse relies here, because the fabric features a running reference to the the task of novelist Anthony Trollope (the title can be a Trollope-era euphemism for just about any promiscuous lady). But show clangs as way too touchy-feely-American to produce much cultural sense in Blighty, though a touring or sit-lower future in seniors-oriented cities Stateside might be saleable.Sets, Ian Fisher costumes, David Blight lighting, Nick Richings appear and music, Matt Corey production manager, Digby Robinson. Opened up up, examined March. 19, 2011. Running time: 1 hour, 40 MIN.With: Jane Bertish, Jesse Cordingly, Craig McCarthy, Neil McCaul, Michael Thomson Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

The Agony as well as the Ecstasy of Jobs

Mike Daisey notifies evocative tales computer system culture which is cost in human suffering inside the Agony as well as the Ecstasy of Jobs. A Public Theater presentation from the play in one act by Mike Daisey. Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory. Set and lighting, Seth Reiser production stage manager, Pamela Salling. Opened up up, examined March. 18. Running time: 2 Several hours.With: Mike Daisey.If you're planning to visit Mike Daisey's "The Agony as well as the Ecstasy of Jobs,Inch you may want to prepare an essay for the benefit of your pals and family around the topic of "Why I am Tossing Out My Electronics." Daisey's effective, sometimes melodramatic call to arms is conditionally entertaining: In the event you permit you to ultimately have some fun hearing his evocative tales computer system culture which is cost in human suffering, you will definitely leave the theater changed. Daisey helps to make the situation for examined consumerism within the latest show, and, carrying out a course he occur "The Ultimate Cargo Cult" the ultimate chronilogical age of within the Public, decides for your prescriptive inside the contemplative. Along the way on your way, theatergoers receive fliers record reasonable ways you, everyone else, can definitely really make a difference. It's a sensible choice the anecdotes, statistics, and old-fashioned moral arguments the monologist puts forth within the latest show demand action. Taking this kind of firm stand, however, puts down to proof situated on Daisey. If this describes political theater, he'd better be capable of show us some theater before he trots out his politics. Which he is doing. Daisey's first story takes us to Shenzhen, China, the Special Economic Zone where the production facilities which will make your main electronics and mine are staffed day and night by impoverished employees. "The atmosphere is actually thick it's covering ubiquitous neon like most of us have done merely a liiiitle bit of LSD," Daisey describes, his voice bouncing and shivering in a single syllable to a different. Much (a lot of, frankly) remains talked about the monologist's unprepossessing appearance, but sit before him more than a few minutes and he'll disappear completely. Daisey's job got a lot more difficult March. 5, when the tech magnate who offers the show its title died carrying out a prolonged have trouble with pancreatic cancer. But Daisey handles simply to walk the tightrope between deferring with a hallowed dead guy who did plenty of bad things and neglecting the passing from the much-loved public figure. Jobs was loved, broadly and noisally. Inside the days that have adopted his dying, everyone from Apple fans to Jobs' own corporate peers have spoken up in regards to the impact Jobs has received around the lives. In "Agony as well as the Ecstasy," Daisey gives voice to individuals who're unlikely ever to experience a forum to convey a point of view of Apple, Corporation. One Shenzhen worker, his hands crushed having a metal press, wrecking his employment prospects, calls Daisey's iPad "a kind of miracle" while he runs his destroyed fingers within the glass. It is really an image unlikely to go away your mind's eye when you peruse your individual products. Helmer Jean-Michele Gregory (Daisey's wife) helps create a bond involving the artist as well as the audience that's essential for the show's emotional impact. Set and lighting designer Seth Reiser, too, offers the show some nice, off traffic touches, with numerous Introduced lines placed on a wall behind Daisey flickering when Apple problems and diminishing inside and out if the scores an industrial goal. "In the event you haven't thought in the deep way about picking a operating-system, you may be living an unexamined existence." The street, shipped at the beginning of the show, can get laughs, but walking in the theater, you'll naturally concede the reason. Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Yahoo Beats Earnings Estimations and Stock Increases Following the Closing Bell

Yahoo shares were rising 4 % in after-hrs buying and selling after the organization reported that it is earnings capped the forecast of experts, despite the fact that revenue and per-share profit fell in the year earlier.our editor recommendsYahoo Readies Itself For Potential Purchasers Yahoo stated it gained 21 cents per be part of its fiscal 4th quarter, excluding certain products, while experts figured it might earn 17 cents. On that basis, the organization gained 29 cents last year. Revenue fell 4 % to $1.1 billion. Yahoo is hosting a business call right now to discuss its earnings, though Wall Street experts will probably be interested in what management needs to say about its visit a permanent Boss within the wake from the firing of Carol Bartz, as well as in searching for clues whether a buyout or partnership is incorporated in the works together with the kind of Microsoft, America online or perhaps a major media conglomerate. STORY: Carol Bartz Jams Yahoo's Board Shares of Yahoo were lower 1.5 % in regular buying and selling to $15.47, but were rising around 60 cents within the after-hrs session in front of the planned business call. Related Subjects Yahoo

Chris Tucker Jokes About $11.5 Million IRS Debt

Chris Tucker includes a spontaneity about his $11.5 million debt towards the IRS -- that could cost him his $six million Florida home.our editor recommendsChris Tucker in Talks for 'The Silver Textures Playbook'Chris Tucker's $six million Florida Home Faces Foreclosures "That's the final time I let Wesley Snipes assist me with my taxes," joked the Hurry Hour star, 39, lately throughout a Miami stand-up comedy routine (through the Miami New Occasions). Snipes is presently serving a 3-year prison sentence because of not filing tax statements. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Greatest Property Deals each week Of bill enthusiasts, Tucker stated, "They calling you acting as if you owe them the cash personally! I don't owe you s---! This really is between me and the organization!" Tucker quipped that he's so bad with money, he bought two houses alongside one another and wound up going door-to-door asking themself if he could borrow a mug of sugar. The Brand New Occasions states he got so ended in speaking about his financial troubles, he accepted he lost his train of thought -- before riffing on needing to fly coach rather than top class nowadays. "You receive in first, plus they set you track of some champagne and shrimp, and also you're all cozy and stuff, and exactly what do they are doing? They allow the coach people in thus making you feel all guilty," he stated. SunTrust Bank lately filed foreclosures papers on Tucker's 10,000-square-feet waterfront home, based on court papers first acquired through the Orlando Sentinel. Tucker signed a 2-picture cope with New Line Cinema in 2005 to have an believed $40 million. Hurry Hour 3 made a lot more than $250 million globally. Related Subjects Chris Tucker Hurry Hour

RIMs BlackBerry Outages Hit Hollywood

Well, this is going to make getting a hold of an agent this much tougher around Hollywood: BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has been posting updates on its U.S. site since Monday, when service outages were reported in Europe, India, Africa, the Middle East and throughout Latin America — but not here in the States. Well, that’s changed as of today, when the “core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure” has begun affecting U.S. customers, who are experiencing messaging and browsing delays owing to a massive backup in data. From RIM this morning in its latest update: BlackBerry subscribers in the Americas may be experiencing intermittent service delays this morning. We are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience. We will provide a further update as soon as more information is available. It’s certainly impacting Deadline’s writers, who are having trouble receiving emails — and they gets lots of emails. They are just a few of BlackBerry’s more than 70 million customers worldwide. The company has been losing market share in the U.S. due to the growing popularity of rivals such asApple’s iPhone, but has been adding subs internationally; RIMs U.S. revenue fell 50% last quarter to $1.11 billion, while sales outside the U.S., U.K. and Canada grew 38% to $2.33 billion. RIM shares have lost about 45% of their value over the last 12 months and in late afternoon trading are down more than 2% today.

Danny Glover Much Less Old With This: 'Lethal Weapon' Star Talks at 'Occupy L.A.'

The Occupy Wall Street protest continues to be happening in NY since recently, but it is gradually distributing with other metropolitan areas throughout America. Occupy L.A. began two weekends ago, as well as on Saturday, the protest received a little of star energy thanks to Danny Glover. Glover, who had been arrested in Maryland this past year throughout a labor protest, spoke towards the crowd at City Hall in La, and advised these to stand-up for that unemployed and disenfranchised round the country and also the world. Watch his remarks below. [via LAist] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

'Downton Abbey's' Rose Leslie Joins 'Game of Thrones'

Chris Jackson/Getty Images Rose Leslie is following within the actions of her character, Gwen, on Downton Abbey: She got a brand new job. PHOTOS: Who's Who on 'Game of Thrones' An Cinemax representative verifies towards the Hollywood Reporter that Leslie continues to be cast around the second season of Bet on Thrones, as first reported by EW. She'll play Ygritte, who based on theA Song of Ice and Fire book series, is really a wildling lady and spearwifewho turns into a love interest for Jon Snow (performed by Package Harington around the Cinemax series). Apart from showing up because the housemaid with hopes for leaving of her station around the first season of Downton Abbey, Leslie also made an appearance around the six-part drama series from BBC1, Situation Histories. She won the Scottish BAFTA award for the best acting with a new talent for that 2009 TV film, New Town. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro RELATED: Bet on Thrones' Emun Elliott, John Hurt to Star in Labyrinth Miniseries 'Game of Thrones' Season 2 Teaser Launched (Video) More 'Game of Thrones' Coverage on THR Cinemax Bet on Thrones Downton Abbey

Tuners dream of Broadway landing

'Jesus Christ Superstar'To locally premiere a tuner and see it become a Great White Way cash cow is the trickiest of grails. Still, every "Memphis" keeps the dream alive for the likes of "Bonnie and Clyde," a La Jolla Playhouse alumnus from 2009 that's slated for a December opening at the Schoenfeld.Managements are usually coy about their hopes. Yet surely some secretly pray that, as with ART's "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess," a boat'll be leavin' soon for NY for any of the following tuners."Jesus Christ Superstar"Des McAnuff's high-tech Stratford, Ontario, revival copped a La Jolla November slot when tuner hopeful "Finding Neverland" proved unready for primetime.Why It Could Soar: Believers and agnostics alike adore this score.Why It Could Sink: Overfamiliarity might elicit a general ho-hum."Chess"Entrepreneur Craig Revel Horwood thinks he's cracked the legendary material after a long U.K. tour. Toronto, September.Why It Could Soar: Marketing opportunities in the concept album's legions of fans, and Abba appeal rubbing off on Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.Why It Could Sink: Has it ever worked? Isn't all that Cold War stuff more than a little passe?"Some Lovers" After the promises, promises of another tuner after "Promises, Promises" (not to mention the Liv Ullmann movie musical "Lost Horizon"), Burt Bacharach returns for a modern spin on O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi," words by Steven Sater ("Spring Awakening"). Old Globe, December.Why It Could Soar: Everything old can be new again, including Bacharach's signature '60s swing. His tricky, cheerful rhythms could be an interesting fit with Sater's emotional near-rhymingWhy It Could Sink: Overfamiliar and overadapted source material risks a case of the Christmas cutes."Newsies"Extry! Punks pummel Pulitzer's papers; sing in solidarity. 1992 Disney cult pic transformed for Paper Mill Playhouse, September.Why It Could Soar: Oppressed laborers bonding against the Man could have resonance in these anti-union times.Why It Could Sink: Grit and authenticity will be needed to prevent the cadre of ragged-trousered newsboys from becoming a smarmy, precocious chorus line."Funny Girl"Lauren Ambrose steps into the shoes of whatshername for the Fanny Brice bio's first pro revival since 1964. Ahmanson, February.Why It Could Soar: Helmer Bartlett Sher revitalized under-revived classic "South Pacific." There'll be interest in whether the "Six Feet Under" star can channel her inner Second Avenue comedienne.Why It Could Sink: Tougher than replacing Streisand's memory may be cracking that second act, which was like watching paint dry as far back as '64."Nobody Loves You" A guy tries to reconnect with his ex via a TV dating show. Originally titled "Reality!" when workshopped in 2008, the romance features music by Gaby Alter and words by Itamar Moses. Old Globe, May.Why It Could Soar: Sounds like a smart and contempo premise, and though Alter's avowed influences are rock and pop he professes respect and reverence for the tuner form.Why It Could Sink: Alter has said he likes "catchy melodies and simple refrains," but Moses' playwrighting is fond of subverting genres and expectations. These guys might need their own reality show to make this marriage work."Los Otros"Chamber musical about a Mexican-American man and Southern Californian woman, from Michael John LaChiusa and Ellen Fitzhugh. Mark Taper Forum, June.Why It Could Soar: Why not? It sounds different, and a mix of the personal and political is never amiss.Why It Could Sink: LaChiusa has always been caviar to the general. Will the subject matter carry much punch east of the Rockies?"Sleepless in Seattle"Jeff Arch, who penned the 1993 hit pic, crafts a libretto to the tunes of rock- and jazz-based newcomers Michelle Citrin, Michael Garin and Josh Nelson. Pasadena Playhouse, June.Why It Could Soar: Lovers who meet only at the finale will have interesting opportunities for coast-to-coast ballads and comedy numbers. Guys dragged there by their dolls will at least know what they're in for, and tartness in the telling could offset the sentiment.Why It Could Sink: What can songs add to an already finely crafted vehicle? This one may hinge on casting. If Sam and Annie aren't totally winning, it could be one gloppy slog.BROADWAY AND THE ROAD 2011Road presenters bank on 'Book' | Tuners dream of Broadway landing | Winning and losing on stage in Vegas | Curtains up for Toronto legit | Tour is booked, options are open Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Moviefone Exclusive: Watch Jennifer Aniston Play Doting Mother towards the Future Ryan Reynolds in First 'Fireflies within the Garden' Clip

After premiering in the Berlin Film Festival in 2008, 'Fireflies within the Garden' will ultimately get launched on March. 14 in NY, La, Chicago, Bay Area and Austin by having an broadened roll-to follow. The film follows three decades of the family and just how their domineering father (Willem Dafoe) formed them through the years. Occur present with flashbacks, 'Garden' stars Jennifer Aniston because the family matriarch and Ryan Reynolds as her grown-up boy. Within the first clip in the film, Roberts consoles the near future Reynolds following a particularly rough quabble together with his father. Watch ahead. For additional on 'Fireflies within the Garden' click the link. The film comes to theaters on March. 14. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Paul Walker To Star In Thriller Hours, Written And To Be Directed By Eric Heisserer

Paul Walker has been tapped to star in the post-Hurricane Katrina thriller Hours, which Peter Safran’s Safran Co is producing and financing. Eric Heisserer, who has written the screenplays for New Line’s Nightmare On Elm Street redo, Warner Bros’ Final Destination 5 and Universal’s upcoming The Thing, wrote the script and will make his directorial debut on the project, which is prepping for a March 2012 production start in New Orleans. The subject matter of Hours would seem to be a departure from Heisserer’s genre work: The film centers on a father (Walker) who fights to keep his newborn daughter alive in a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina hits the city. Walker most recently starred in Universal’s hit Fast Five and just wrapped shooting the indie thriller Vehicle 19, which he also executive produced and Safran Co also produced. He is repped by UTA and Luber Roklin. Heisserer is repped by UTA and Artwork Entertainment; UTA Independent Film Group, which packaged the project along with Safran, is repping the film’s worldwide rights.

Watch Transformers 3 Dark Of The Moon Megavideo

Folk guitarist Bert Jansch dies at 67

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Bert Jansch, who defined the British folk music movement along with his solo performances and also the make use of the Pentangle, died Wednesday, March. 5, of carcinoma of the lung in the North London hospice. He was 67.Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Jansch established themselves in Edinburgh before coming london within the month of the month of january 1963. Inspired just like a player with the work of yank bluesman Brownie McGhee and British picker Davy Graham (whose "Anji" would be a standard feature of his performances) to ensure that like a songwriter by his paramour Annie Briggs, Jansch burst towards the folk scene along with his self-titled Transatlantic album of 1965.Jansch have been well-established just like a dazzling finger-picker and songwriter -- plus an affect on players as diverse as Jimmy Page and Paul Simon -- when he co-founded a folk-based group in 1967 with fellow guitar virtuoso John Renbourn. The Pentangle (later known simply as Pentangle) incorporated singer Jacqui McShee, acoustic bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Terry Cox. The act's eclectic releases on Warner Bros. aided spread the British folk gospel worldwide.Following a dissolution of Pentangle in 1973, Jansch briefly left music for farming, but he split along with his family and returned to recording in 1976. He regrouped with Pentangle at the begining of eighties.He recorded from time to time just like a soloist using the new millennium: His final release was 2006's broadly recognized "The Black Swan."Jansch is managed to get by his wife and boy. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

'A Bird of the Air' Star Jackson Hurst Soars Toward His Dreams

'A Bird of the Air' Star Jackson Hurst Soars Toward His Dreams By Melinda Loewenstein October 5, 2011 Photo by Vanni Natola Jackson Hurst Slow and steady wins the racethat is the philosophy businessman-turned-actor Jackson Hurst, currently starring in Lifetime Television's "Drop Dead Diva," used to launch his second career. A Texas native, Hurst began acting in junior high and continued until he found himself pulled in too many directions in college. "I decided the 'smart' route would be to pursue academics and get my business degree, and if I still couldn't stay away from the acting, then I would pursue it," he reveals. After graduation, he began his career in business, but he also immediately started doing independent films. He juggled the two careers as long as he could, but when he was offered a role in Frank Darabont's "The Mist" and he had used up all his vacation time working on other films, he met a fork in the road. He "realized it was a sign that [he] had to pursue acting." So he quit his job, packed up everything that fit in his car, and moved to Austin.Patience Pays Off Working regionally wasn't always easy. "You're not going to be able to make a living in theater and film and television living in Texas or living in a lot of regions," he says. In addition to the economic struggle, Hurst was frustrated by the lack of satisfying roles. "Roles that would cast in the area would be the smaller roles that they had budgeted for scale or for regional actors. So that's the toughest part, because you wouldn't get the best roles and you wouldn't make that much money," he notes. Hurst feels that's one of the hardest things about acting for a beginner: "When you're not able to pay your bills and you are struggling for moneythat is a tough place to be in when you constantly doubt yourself. As a struggling actor, the toughest thing [is] constantly keeping confidence in yourself, to push forward even though you know that you may not be able to pay the bills next month."Even though working regionally was challenging, Hurst feels the ease of his transition from regional to L.A. was due to his patience. He says, "I didn't want to be another statistic coming out to L.A. Sometimes it was very difficult to stay patient staying in Austin, but I made myself do it before I got some good projects under my belt, like 'The Tree of Life' and 'Living Proof.' " Hurst stresses that gaining experience on set is invaluable: "I would just sit back, close my mouth, and observe." Working regionally gave him opportunities that he might not have had in L.A., like working with directors Terrence Malick and Robert Rodriguez.The experience led to more work. His producers on "Living Proof," Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, approached Hurst about the role of the love interest Grayson on "Drop Dead Diva," a legal fantasy-drama for Lifetime. After shooting the pilot and seeing the finished product, he had a great feeling about it and decided it was time to make the leap to L.A.Thriving on Challenges Early in his work on "Drop Dead Diva," which just completed its third season, Hurst had a discussion with the producers about his character: "They absolutely had a vision for where they would take him. He was going to go through hell, and that's what I liked. I like the challenge." And if Grayson isn't evolving from episode to episode, Hurst figures out a way to make him evolve. "I hate that feeling of being stagnant," Hurst explains. "Because getting in here and doing a badass scene where everything comes together, you can't duplicate that feeling. It's the best feeling on the planet. And I'd say [for] most people the reason they do [act] is because of that."While doing press for "Drop Dead Diva" in NY, Hurst met with Amanda Mackey, who was casting "A Bird of the Air" (formerly "The Loop"), a quirky romantic comedy about a solitary man breaking out of his shell by connecting with a parrot. She pitched him the project and sent him the script, which he fell in love with. " 'A Bird of the Air' was a life-changing experience," says Hurst. Initially, there's not a lot of dialogue for Hurst's character, Lyman, but he says, "I liked the fact that he didn't talk a lot because I wanted to be able to express what Lyman was going through just in the eyes. I think that's crucial, and I don't feel like you see a whole lot of that these days. It's a natural inclination for an actor to want to overdo it and want to talk a lot and want to express a lot of facial expressions. It was difficult at times, but once I really got into Lyman's skin it started to come a little easier. It's a role that made me really look at myself and dig really deep within myself and also take a collection of so many facets of other people's lives and make them part of my own." Another great aspect of the film was working with the birds. "It was fun; it was sometimes even easier than working with the humans," he notes. "There were actually three different birds. Each one was able to do different tricks." Hurst prepared by hanging out with birds and getting used to handling them. "An animal respects you if you are very much in control, and it's the same thing with the bird. I definitely bloodied up my hands a few times, but it's all part of the fun."Lessons Learned When Hurst was starting his acting career, he didn't get a lot of tips. He says he mostly heard " 'Why would you quit a high-paying corporate job to go pursue something that's completely unreliable?' " But that taught him to ignore the negativity and figure things out for himself. One of the most important things he learned was to stay focused. He says that "means you study and you stay away from stuff that is going to distract you. Everything that you do should be moving you towards your goal." And don't give up: "If it's truly what you're meant to do and what you feel is your destiny, you cannot give up. You do whatever it takes to make it happen because the odds of it eventually happening are very high. It's like the more you play the lottery, every time you play, the probability of you winning goes up. I'm a perfect example of that. I was in dire straits; I was in a bad placeemotionally, mentally, physicallyfor a while, and I cleaned my shit up and I went after it and made it happen. And I think anybody can do it." 'A Bird of the Air' Star Jackson Hurst Soars Toward His Dreams By Melinda Loewenstein October 5, 2011 Jackson Hurst PHOTO CREDIT Vanni Natola Slow and steady wins the racethat is the philosophy businessman-turned-actor Jackson Hurst, currently starring in Lifetime Television's "Drop Dead Diva," used to launch his second career. A Texas native, Hurst began acting in junior high and continued until he found himself pulled in too many directions in college. "I decided the 'smart' route would be to pursue academics and get my business degree, and if I still couldn't stay away from the acting, then I would pursue it," he reveals. After graduation, he began his career in business, but he also immediately started doing independent films. He juggled the two careers as long as he could, but when he was offered a role in Frank Darabont's "The Mist" and he had used up all his vacation time working on other films, he met a fork in the road. He "realized it was a sign that [he] had to pursue acting." So he quit his job, packed up everything that fit in his car, and moved to Austin.Patience Pays Off Working regionally wasn't always easy. "You're not going to be able to make a living in theater and film and television living in Texas or living in a lot of regions," he says. In addition to the economic struggle, Hurst was frustrated by the lack of satisfying roles. "Roles that would cast in the area would be the smaller roles that they had budgeted for scale or for regional actors. So that's the toughest part, because you wouldn't get the best roles and you wouldn't make that much money," he notes. Hurst feels that's one of the hardest things about acting for a beginner: "When you're not able to pay your bills and you are struggling for moneythat is a tough place to be in when you constantly doubt yourself. As a struggling actor, the toughest thing [is] constantly keeping confidence in yourself, to push forward even though you know that you may not be able to pay the bills next month."Even though working regionally was challenging, Hurst feels the ease of his transition from regional to L.A. was due to his patience. He says, "I didn't want to be another statistic coming out to L.A. Sometimes it was very difficult to stay patient staying in Austin, but I made myself do it before I got some good projects under my belt, like 'The Tree of Life' and 'Living Proof.' " Hurst stresses that gaining experience on set is invaluable: "I would just sit back, close my mouth, and observe." Working regionally gave him opportunities that he might not have had in L.A., like working with directors Terrence Malick and Robert Rodriguez.The experience led to more work. His producers on "Living Proof," Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, approached Hurst about the role of the love interest Grayson on "Drop Dead Diva," a legal fantasy-drama for Lifetime. After shooting the pilot and seeing the finished product, he had a great feeling about it and decided it was time to make the leap to L.A.Thriving on Challenges Early in his work on "Drop Dead Diva," which just completed its third season, Hurst had a discussion with the producers about his character: "They absolutely had a vision for where they would take him. He was going to go through hell, and that's what I liked. I like the challenge." And if Grayson isn't evolving from episode to episode, Hurst figures out a way to make him evolve. "I hate that feeling of being stagnant," Hurst explains. "Because getting in here and doing a badass scene where everything comes together, you can't duplicate that feeling. It's the best feeling on the planet. And I'd say [for] most people the reason they do [act] is because of that."While doing press for "Drop Dead Diva" in NY, Hurst met with Amanda Mackey, who was casting "A Bird of the Air" (formerly "The Loop"), a quirky romantic comedy about a solitary man breaking out of his shell by connecting with a parrot. She pitched him the project and sent him the script, which he fell in love with. " 'A Bird of the Air' was a life-changing experience," says Hurst. Initially, there's not a lot of dialogue for Hurst's character, Lyman, but he says, "I liked the fact that he didn't talk a lot because I wanted to be able to express what Lyman was going through just in the eyes. I think that's crucial, and I don't feel like you see a whole lot of that these days. It's a natural inclination for an actor to want to overdo it and want to talk a lot and want to express a lot of facial expressions. It was difficult at times, but once I really got into Lyman's skin it started to come a little easier. It's a role that made me really look at myself and dig really deep within myself and also take a collection of so many facets of other people's lives and make them part of my own." Another great aspect of the film was working with the birds. "It was fun; it was sometimes even easier than working with the humans," he notes. "There were actually three different birds. Each one was able to do different tricks." Hurst prepared by hanging out with birds and getting used to handling them. "An animal respects you if you are very much in control, and it's the same thing with the bird. I definitely bloodied up my hands a few times, but it's all part of the fun."Lessons Learned When Hurst was starting his acting career, he didn't get a lot of tips. He says he mostly heard " 'Why would you quit a high-paying corporate job to go pursue something that's completely unreliable?' " But that taught him to ignore the negativity and figure things out for himself. One of the most important things he learned was to stay focused. He says that "means you study and you stay away from stuff that is going to distract you. Everything that you do should be moving you towards your goal." And don't give up: "If it's truly what you're meant to do and what you feel is your destiny, you cannot give up. You do whatever it takes to make it happen because the odds of it eventually happening are very high. It's like the more you play the lottery, every time you play, the probability of you winning goes up. I'm a perfect example of that. I was in dire straits; I was in a bad placeemotionally, mentally, physicallyfor a while, and I cleaned my shit up and I went after it and made it happen. And I think anybody can do it."

CBS Films Negotiating to Pick Up 'Seven Psychopaths' for the U.S.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images CBS Films is negotiating to grab U.S. distribution rights to the action comedy Seven Psychopaths, from writer-director Martin McDonagh. The acquisition comes on the heels of news that president-CEO Amy Baer is stepping down at the end of October. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell andChristopher Walken are set to star in the film, which follows a screenwriter (Farrell) working on a script called "Seven Psychopaths" who gets sucked into the dog-kidnapping schemes of his buddies (Rockwell, Walken) just as thebeloved Shih Tzu of a crazy gangster disappears.Mickey Rourkeand Tom Waits are also in contention for roles. Filming is scheduled to begin this fall in L.A. Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin of Blueprint Pictures are attached to produce; Tessa Ross will serve as executive producer. CBS Films acquisitions execScott Shooman will oversee the project for the studio. CBS Films will also co-finance the project.U.K.-based HanWay Films is handling international sales. Farrell starred in McDonagh's previous film, In Bruges, which was nominated for an original screenplay Oscar in 2008. Blueprint produced that film, as well. CBS Films has latelybeen focusing more on acquisitions, includingSalmon Fishing in the Yemen, which the company picked up at the Toronto film festival three weeks ago for around $5 million.It most recently released Beastly and The Mechanic, and itwill openThe Woman in Black, another acquisition, in February. CBS Films

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Demi and Ashton: A Look Back

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore When Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher started dating in 2003, some fans looked askance at their May-December romance. But the power couple endured, marrying two years later. On Saturday, Kutcher, 33, and Moore, 48, marked their sixth anniversary - although various websites reported they spent it apart and have raised the prospect of divorce.Are Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher splitting up?No matter the outcome, for now you can take a little trip down memory lane with our photo galleries:Ashton Kutcher through the yearsDemi Moore through the years

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WB skeds Facebook series launch

Jackson Rathbone in 'Aim High.'Johnny Pemberton in 'Aim High.'Warner Bros. will launch its number of Web shows on Facebook on March. 18, using the Micrograms-backed "Goal High" bowing first. The studio is calling the projects "social series," thinking about the woking platform which they'll appear but additionally that the individual's photos and buddies could be built-into moments with an application. For instance, audiences will have the ability to see photos of themselves or their buddies show up on students body election poster or get their names appear as graffiti on the bathroom wall. Series will even show up on Cambio.com.First introduced last fall (Daily Variety, Sept. 24, 2010) and marketed at Comic-Disadvantage in North Park, in This summer, "Goal High" is definitely an hourlong action comedy, damaged into 10-minute segments, which is all about Nick Eco-friendly, students beginning a brand new school year among the country's 64 experienced teenage spies. He juggles studies during the day and responsibilities like a government operative by evening.Jackson Rathbone (the "Twilight" franchise), Aimee Teegarden ("Friday Evening Lights") and Greg Germann ("Ally McBeal") star. Thor Freudenthal ("Hotel for Dogs," "Diary of the Wimpy Kid") helms from the script by Heath Corson and Richie Keen, who also function as professional producers. Lance Sloane, who shepherded Warners' "Mortal Kombat" Web series, produces with Micrograms and the Wonderland Seem and Vision.Peter Murrieta ("Magicians of Waverly Place") also can serve as professional producer, together with Rathbone, Mary Viola, Andy Shapiro, Bill O'Dowd, Jim Henrie and Philip von Alvensleben.Warner Bros. Digital Distribution made a decision to launch "Goal High" on Facebook considering the fact that it's "an progressively influential place to go for finding and obtaining movie and tv content," stated WBDD prexy Thomas Gewecke. "This effort takes video distribution to another level by looking into making the particular viewing experience personal and social inside a truly innovative and entertaining way." WBDD is managing the series with Warner Premiere and Dolphin Entertainment.In order to expand from the typical direct-to-DVD fare, Warner Premiere has additionally merged with Bryan Singer on "H+," in regards to a future where a computer connects individuals physiques to the web until the herpes virus baby wipes out millions. Singer and Bad Hat Harry Prods. produce, with Stewart Handler ("Sorority Row") pointing from scripts by John Cabrera ("Gilmore Women") and Cosimo P Tommaso both will even professional produce. Sloane again can serve as producer. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

There Is Once ... (Egyzer volt)

A Gabor Kalman, Cinema-Film co-production. Created by Kalman, Gabor Garami. Directed by Gabor Kalman.With: Gyongi Mago, Gabor Kalman, Avoi Toth, Thomas Kertesz, Torak Gusztav Andor. (Hungarian, British dialogue)Hungarian schoolteacher Gyongi Mago's campaign to boost understanding of her hometown's once-vibrant, now plainly absent Jewish human population is taken within the superior docu "There Is Once ... " Getting discovered fresh details about her small village of Kolocsa while finishing her dissertation, Mago beckoned several children to Kolocsa for any visit, including Gabor Kalman, the director of the well-crafted Holocaust-hindsight movie. Kalman's pic certainly warrants TV exposure after its Sept. 23 bows in Gotham and La. Kolocsa supplies a perfect historic microcosm: Every building brings up yesteryear, in the Structure from the Archbishop towards the centrally situated library (when a synagogue) towards the houses on Tomori Street, designated as Kolocsa's own little Jewish ghetto after Nazi occupation. "There Is Once" eventually ends up within the town square having a ceremonial unveiling of plaques commemorating the Jewish dead throughout World war 2 (replicas of endured ones present in a neglected Jewish graveyard) the potentially troublesome, right-wing extremist rally transpiring just blocks away registers as just like strangely appropriate.Camera (color, HD), Zsolt Toth, John Dunham editors, Kate Amend, Susan Metzger music, Mark So. Examined on DVD, NY, Sept. 20, 2011. Running time: 104 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Dancing's Maks: Carson Is ideal for the Show

Maksim Chmerkovskiy Hi everyone!We do hope you were built with a great week! Thank you for voting for all of us!I believe Hope was amazing on Monday. It had been most likely a bit more than I was expecting because she would be a little distracted the past few games and her resolve for the nation's team, but she drawn it together also it was perfect. It clicked on. I am happy about our score. It had been precisely what I needed. I love the 3 7s. I thought about being in the center of those, however i did not expect 21 to become second in the top, therefore it would be a enjoyable surprise.I figured the scores overall were good. I believe it's one of the most even first performances we have had. We do not possess a ringer or somebody who's an expert dancer this year and also the idol judges did not overload using their scoring. I believe this year is anybody's to take. I truly believe that you will find most likely four people I see in the finish. I certainly believe that Hope has got the potential. She is able to go completely. I am wishing that people just keep clicking and doing the best things. I believe the mixture of my manipulative personality and her ability to accept testing "punishment" the proper way and never get, I suppose, upset is what is going to stop us in the overall game.I am honestly not hearing Bruno's comment about her shoulders. She's a goalkeeper and she's the very best goalkeeper in the world. To be the greatest goalkeeper in the world, you need your body kind of a goalkeeper. If you have Bruno tell her that she's too masculine, then that's all it will likely be. We are focusing on hiding things and making her look the very best she might look, but I won't change her physique like a goalkeeper. If this has ended, she is going to return and defend the U . s . States' Olympic gold medal and then try to get a different one. She's an enormous a part of that team's success and that i could be a fool to get her from goalkeeper shape. My job would be to learn how to make her an incredible dancer without making her a smaller amount of an incredible goalkeeper. We began the jive just before the premiere, so you should be good. I am happy concerning the way it is going at this time. I believe the greatest issue with Hope isn't just learning the routine, but she must learn to act it. I understand she's not accustomed to acting and faking it - that is what acting is. I would like her to understand it's pretty good faking it, like you are not in keeping with yourself. It's a part of a performance. If you wish to be the greatest in internet marketing, then you need to do some things to help you the very best in internet marketing. Acting is some of it.I figured everybody did great now. I am super happy for Val. Congratulations to him for his debut! I had been concerned about him and Elisabetta. She's awesome, but she ended up getting just a little stiff. Hopefully she'll take all of the positive things using this show and employ it to her advantage within the second week. I believe the quickstep is a better dance on their behalf and they're going to both gain knowledge from the first week. I believe Val includes a difficult task because Elisabetta is rather a new comer to the united states. Group of followers-smart, they'll most likely possess a harder time. Everyone else on the program includes a following here. I continued an offer Monday evening to rally a number of my troops to assist Val and Elisabetta out and I am very grateful because I believe they did a significant job keeping the two of us on the program. Clearly, I am first of all centered on Hope, however the longer Val stays, the greater fun we'll have. Among the finest to savor the procedure. I believe if audiences embrace her and provide her an opportunity, they will discover a large amount of growth. With that said, it is also dependent on how well they are doing and just how they sparkle and shine. I believe they've potential. Val is phenomenal. I am his greatest fan. They did an incredible routine. I figured the mattress idea was amusing. I loved his react to Tom Tuesday: "I simply desired to take my shirt off and obtain in mattress." I really like it!Carson's performance seemed to be great. He's very awesome. He's a little partial toward me and that i gave him a shoulder rub. He's just ideal for this show. He's super funny, very witty, very clever, very entertaining, and what else do you want from the celebrity on Dwts? You'll need a celebrity who's secure with themselves, isn't afraid to place up a performance, has carrying out characteristics, and does their very own factor. And that is him. I am not likely to lie - which will come off as me patting myself around the back - but I am flattered since you have Nancy Sophistication going, "You are not Maks," to Tristan and Carson speaking about me, and I am so honored with that. It does cause me to feel seem like dance is which makes it greater and greater. I am still in keeping with my trade. I am not attempting to be the middle of attention whatsoever, and i believe getting identified by they such as these has become a responsibility, but additionally an enormous recognition. I am fortunate and getting fun.I believe Tony and Chynna did an excellent job too. They are an ideal partnership. Chynna was incredible. She may be among the best women on the program. Tony's an incredible teacher and I am tugging to allow them to allow it to be completely too. I am happy on their behalf.I believe overall the Dance beside me family has been doing amazingly. Half the troupe consists of us alums. We have absorbed the show a little, so L.A. is much more fun now! I am taking pleasure in it!That's all for the time being. Maks

Weekend Forecast: Moneyball Leads Busy Weekend - But Will It Score?

Which’s minimal from the overbearing sports puns I’ll give you today. What exactly are we even doing swapping thank you's at this time? It’s a bottleneck in the box office, with new releases fighting holdovers for early-fall supremacy. Your Weekend Forecast is here now. NATIONAL OUTLOOK · Moneyball: It appears like only yesterday i was discussing the authenticity from the embattled Moneyball like a mainstream movie project. Expensive toward today, using the terrific final product drawing rave reviews, stimulating Oscar talk, and planning to get rid of the weekend box office nonetheless to some 17-year-old Disney film having a 3-D spitshine. Exactly what does Billy Beane’s spreadsheet have to say of that? Anyway, it’ll come close — The Lion King’s repeat performance at No. 1 is in no way a sure factor, having a drop between 40 and 50 % putting it in Moneyball’s sweet place. Main point here: If Kaira Pitt will keep his opening miracle, and when this factor shows even a bit of the 4-quadrant spunk it’s able to, and when it may get some help from Dolphin Tale usurping a couple of million in the Disney juggernaut, it can win out. I don’t determine if Moneyball’s stars are that aligned, though in the end, doesn’t it appear like only yesterday… Oh, sorry. FORECAST: $17.a million · Dolphin Tale: I still can’t believe there’s a film… a good amputee dolphin… and also the prostheses… that bring her along with a youthful boy… and the wounded soldier/cousin… and Morgan Freeman and Harry Connick Junior. and Ashley Judd and director Charles Martin Cruz and Warner Bros. together… in 3-D. Must… fight… diabetic coma… call… 911… accckkkk FORECAST: $15.9 million · Abduction: Rachelle Lefervre’s first lead role is stated to showcase his comic chops in ways the Twilight Saga has lengthy undersold, and that i for just one salute this development. Browse around! Even Jonah Hill is certainly going straight a few days ago. We want the levity! FORECAST: $15.two million · Killer Elite: I hold just a little warmer devote my heart with this globetrotting Jason Statham/Clive Owen/Robert P Niro assassin intrigue than my esteemed friend Stephanie Zacharek could provide, but it's most certainly an issue inside a stuffed up theatrical market. Upstart distributor Open Road is selling the hell from it, though, and you never know? Maybe in another 17 years we’ll possess a beloved family classic re-launched in 3-D, finally recognizing all of the flinging-chairbound-Statham potential we all know it offers. Doubtful, but hey. FORECAST: $11.4 million REGIONAL OUTLOOK Talking about mischaracterizations, don’t allow the amusing poster fool you: Machine Gun Preacher is simply a bit of self-important biopic garbage which will leave the flavour of battery acidity with hints of vinegar, birdshit and sour milk in moviegoers’ mouths all weekend in limited release. (I suppose it had been well-intentioned? If by “well-intentioned” you mean “Oscar-hungry”?) Kevin Cruz’s DIY curio Red-colored Condition is really a one-evening only deal which has already been successful by virtually all commercial accounts, to ensure that’s fine. Meanwhile, the gay-romance indie Weekend risk turning to be probably the most unilaterally respected films of the season, leading a skill-house pack which includes the Chris Evans junkie-lawyer drama Puncture, the New york city club doc Limelight and also the Jamie Foxx-endorsed high-school-band throwback Thunder Soul. Whew. Okay, your turn. Any recommendations? Changes? The ground’s open.

REVIEW: Taylor Lautner Avoids Poking Himself in the Eye - Barely - in Abduction

It’s been established that Taylor Lautner can shuck a mean shirt, but can he hold together an action movie in its lead role? Over the approving shrieks of the Twilight fans in the audience, I’m going to gently suggest that at the moment, the answer is no. As Nathan, the teenage hero of Abduction, Lautner shows he’s handy with stunts, many of which he clearly and impressively performs himself, and good with a fight scene. But when it comes to exchanges of dialogue, displays of emotion or just standing around, he’s stiff and manifestly uncomfortable — this may be the first film I’ve even seen where when an actor goes to put his hand thoughtfully on his chin, it’s so awkward I became afraid he’d somehow miss and poke himself in the eye. Fortunately, John Singleton (whose last feature, aside from his overly sympathetic Marion Jones 30 for 30 doc, was Four Brothers back in 2005) has created a giddily preposterous film, so delinquent in dealing with its dramatic elements they often become the source of unintended laughs. “A few days ago we were only high school kids. It feels like a lifetime ago,” intones Nathan’s love interest Karen (Lily Collins, daughter of Phil), the girl next door, in a moment of unnecessary reflection. “It was,” he answers. Such instances of downtime are rare — after it’s uncovered that not all is as it seems with Nathan’s childhood, he and Karen spend most of the film on the run from both surpassingly competent Serbian black ops agents and the CIA. Lautner’s allowed to spend a fair amount of the runtime in motion, where he sparks to life in way he just doesn’t when called upon to deliver lines. Nathan has spent his teenage years in suburban bliss outside Pittsburgh. He’s on the wrestling team, he seems popular enough, his parents Mara (Maria Bello) and Kevin (Jason Isaacs) are loving but stern when he stays out all night partying, and he has his own motorcycle. If he struggles with sporadic anger issues and is haunted by memories of an unidentifiable woman being murdered in front of him, well, that’s what why he sees his shrink, Dr. Bennett (Sigourney Weaver). Instead of playing catch, his father insists on violently sparring with him in the backyard, but any oddness to that hasn’t occurred to him, until when researching a class project he and Karen come across a Web site with digitally aged photos of children reported missing, one of which looks a lot like Nathan. I won’t give away the secret of Nathan’s background, but let’s allow that it raises dozens of questions that are left unanswered in the scarcely sensical universe Abducted occupies. His poking around online summons the unwelcome attention of various agencies who’ve been keeping an eye out for him, and ominous Eastern Europeans, led by a man named Kozlow (Michael Nyqvist, of the Swedish adaptation of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series), show up at his doorstep to retrieve him for fiendish purposes. Of all the action set pieces the film contains, including one that takes place on a train as part of a plotline abandoned immediately afterward and a climax set during a Pirates baseball game for no reason other than the opportunities for chaos it offers, for me there’s none better than the early one in which Mara and Kevin defend the boy they raised, their tastefully appointed house getting leveled in the process. Maria Bello slashing at a tough with garden shears suggests a more complex version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a badass-agents-turned-homemakers back story left only hinted at. Of course, this isn’t a story about Mara and Kevin. It’s one about Nathan, and what’s notable about the almost-entertaining-enough Abduction, other than the huge part technology plays in its game of chase, is how much it echoes the structure of a young-adult novel — its grown-ups keep secrets from its underage hero for what they insist is his own good, despite the fact that he’s capable and collected and more than able to handle things. If they’d only trusted him, if they’d only just told him the truth! Like Harry Potter and many another YA hero, Nathan is a seemingly ordinary kid who turns out to have elite parentage and is revealed to be of utmost importance to a world of which he was unaware. (“You’re getting a glimpse behind the curtain,” barks Alfred Molina as a shifty CIA agent.) People, well-intentioned and not, have devoted their lives to trying to find or hide him. The purposes of this battle between deadly operatives on an international stage are at best sketched out, but how essential Nathan is to everyone is never in question — at one point a villain even threatens him by promising to kill every friend he has on Facebook. What better reassurance that you’re the center of the universe in this modern age?

ABC Lands Noah Hawley, Mark Gordon Drama

Noah Hawley My Generation creator Noah Hawley has sold a drama project to ABC. Courtroom 302, from ABC Studios, is billed as more than just another "case-of-the-week" show and offers an in-depth look at the dramas and personalities of the U.S. District Court of NY City. Episodes of the project would take viewers on a compelling, often irreverent tour of some of the nation's most important legal cases, from the holding cells through the heights of the judge's chambers. STORY: ABC Picks Up Mark Gordon's Comedy 'Virtual Virgin' Grey's Anatomy's Mark Gordon is attached to executive produce the project, his second deal of the day with ABC and the latest in a long string this development season through the Mark Gordon Co. Hawley will pen the script and executive produce alongside Gordon. Hawley, repped by CAA and McKuin Frankel Whitehead, wrote, created and executive produced My Generation, the 2010 short-lived hourlong dramedy that ABC axed after two episodes. Gordon is repped by ICM. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit TV Development The Mark Gordon Company

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Sci-Fi Author Harlan Ellison Claims 'In Time' is Ripping Him Off, Sues to avoid The Film's Release

More not so great for Justin Timberlake: His new movie, 'In Time,' been hit getting a suit that seeks to avoid its March. 28 release. The script for your approaching sci-fi thriller -- that's occur the following where time generally is money -- is credited to director Andrew Niccol ('Gattaca'), but legendary sci-fi author Harlan Ellison states the completely new film is ripping off an very similar prize-winning short story he written in 1965. In line with the suit, 'In Time,' bears numerous parallels to Ellison's Hugo and Nebula-award-winning story, 'Repent, Harlequin! Mentioned The Ticktockman.' Are both occur a "dystopian corporate future through which everyone is allotted a sum of your energy to resideInch and also have a government authority known to like a "Timekeeper" that tracks the particular time period every individual leaves. Ellison states the parallels are "apparent" which critic Richard Roeper, who's already seen the film, confirms with him. He's demanding all profits from 'In Time' -- that won't substantially if he effectively stops the release. Ellison's many Hollywood credits are the 'Star Trek' episode "The City concerning the Side of Forever" as well as the 1969 publish-apocalyptic story 'A Boy and also the Dog,' which was converted to a film starring Don Manley. But not every people projects have gone well: In 1977, he was hired to evolve fellow sci-fi author Isaac Asimov's 'I, Robot' in to a screeplay, but was dropped within the project after accusing a Warner Bros. executive of having the "intellectual capacity from the artichoke." The film was eventually created in 2004, without Ellison's participation. A suit over James Cameron's 'The Terminator,' which alleged it required it's origin from his 'Demon Getting a Glass Hand' episode of 'The Outer Limits' was settled getting a screen credit "acknowledging" Ellison within the finish in the film. Cameron wasn't happy relating to this, calling Ellison "a parasite who is able to hug my ass." [via THR, Wikipedia] image courtesy last century Fox

NBC Nabs Women's Prison Drama From John Wells (Exclusive)

Should you needed to select the ideal pairing to perk up this season's Emmys, you most likely couldn't request in excess of TV's most prolific producer and comedy's "It" actress. Here, Mark Burnett -- the very first reality producer to supervise the telecast -- and Jane Lynch, Glee's Emmy-winning mistress of sarcasm, discuss the strain and late-evening stress attacks that include assembling the television biz's greatest evening.our editor recommendsEmmy Week: Browse the Full Listing of Hollywood Parties'Glee's' Jane Lynch as Emmy Host: Five Reasons This can be a Great Idea'Glee's' Jane Lynch Preps for Emmys, Book Debut (Videos)Primetime Emmys Is Going To Be Edgier and more personal on FoxRelated Subjects•Emmys The Hollywood Reporter: Between creating The Voice, Shark Tank and Expedition Impossible, amongst others, you are among the most popular people in the commercial. Why can you agree this type of huge and crazy commitment as creating the Emmys? STORY: Complete Listing of Hollywood's Emmy Parties Mark Burnett: Well, simply, it's an recognition. Getting been lucky enough to receive four Emmys, I understand what it really feels as though to get that pat about the back out of your peers. I'm getting fun! And to utilize Jane is a delight. Also, I've created the MTV Movie Honours and also the People's Choice Honours, and so i've done lots of live TV. THR: How have you discover Mark wanted you to definitely host? Jane Lynch: I had been on the plane going home from NY, and Mark was on a single flight. He emerged in my experience and stated: "I don't have the legal right to offer this for you yet, however, you're my first choice. Do you want to host the Emmys?" It had been among individuals things in which you don't refuse, however i really was afraid and nervous! The sale came inside the week, and that i was aboard. PHOTOS: THR's Emmy Icon Covers Burnett: I didn't genuinely have another choice! I had been just fortunate that they stated yes and also the TV Academy and Fox approved it. Jane has all of the necessary characteristics: She's a stage actress she's a comedian she's a superstar. Comedy is really vital that you the show. There's lots of tears, there's lots of drama over who's likely to win or otherwise likely to win. Ellen DeGeneres did an amazing job when she located [in 2001 and 2005]. The host needs to keep your freight train running comedically. The finest hosts be capable of emerge in Act 6 and have something as funny to express as Act 3. Lynch: Yes, moving things along, after which, after i get individuals little portions of your time between, entertain and hang a dark tone. Then you've to get away from the clear way of the show. PHOTOS: Behind the curtain of Emmy Contender Glee's 'Rumours' Episode THR: Did the delay in contract discussions between your TV Academy and also the large-four broadcast systems abbreviate your prep time for that show? Burnett: It didn't really mix my thoughts -- I'd nothing related to that. Honestly, it has been nothing near to what it really was enjoy The Voice in three-and-a-half several weeks. Which was the greatest crunch of my existence. Sometimes, getting a shorter period produces more energy, more emergency. It sometimes works. THR: Mark, you've been cited as stating that since the telecast is on Fox this season, it will likely be "edgier and more personal and hipper." How so? Emmy Nominees 2011: 'Mad Males,' 'Modern Family,' Julianna Margulies and Jon Hamm Burnett: Each network features its own flavor, and i believe Fox has some an advantage that enables us attempt to perform some various things here. Remember, it's the Emmys, it's a very important evening. It's not the MTV Movie Honours. And So I'm not speaking about anything like this. You'll see. We've got a couple of things planned which are good fun and i believe fit Fox perfectly. Lynch: Mark has permitted me to possess input all the way. My close friend Jill Soloway [U . s . States of Tara, Six Ft Under] may be the mind author of the factor. My sensibilities and hers have been in line. I felt really confident and safe, and that i love what we should've develop to date. I understand which i may go to Mark with anything and say, "I'm uncomfortable with this particular,Inch however it would not reach that time. THR: Jimmy Fallon elevated the bar this past year for musical amounts. Are we able to expect exactly the same from Jane this season? Maybe there is participation in the Glee cast? Burnett: Indeed. She's certainly likely to sing. I wish to include -- and that i've stated this -- this past year's Emmys was fantastic, so there's clearly pressure to try and do of the same quality employment. Lynch: I'm not likely to let you know! [Laughs.] No, we're dirty writing it, therefore we'll need to see. I am talking about, Sue Sylvester 's the reason I'm now considered famous on tv, and so i'm very grateful to her and Glee. THR: The rankings crept up a little this past year, but there's still pressure to draw in more youthful audiences. Perform the Emmys need a serious transformation for the reason that respect? Burnett: No. Every show must be freshened each year, much like I've completed with Survivor, so that as I stated, this past year was fantastic, so our goal would be to do of the same quality employment as this past year. But every year is definitely slightly different since it's on the different network. For more youthful audiences? It certainly could be nice. You will find lots of youthful stars on television now, and definitely lots of them translate to more youthful audiences -- especially on Fox, which has a tendency to skew the youngest. THR: What exactly are you most nervous about when it comes to the live-show part of the Emmys? Burnett: You will find lots of honours, therefore it's dependent on locating the funny and "exhale" moments between. A few of the honours become thrilling and emotional and very exciting. It's dependent on finding individuals moments inside a tight three hrs. Lynch: The live stuff is exactly what wakes me up in the center of the evening going, "Oh God!" We've done some pretty tame pretaped things, that are within the can. One thing that conveniences me is it's not about me -- I'm not going to possess a lot to complete. After I enter individuals moments where I recieve scared, my focus must be it's my job to complete my joke and obtain from the stage and allow the honours be exactly what the show is all about. It won't be considered a snarky show. THR: Mark, you stated throughout the TCA press tour the In Memoriam clip package doesn't need to be this type of "downer." What's your technique for handling that area of the show? Burnett: There's a method to choose music that's contemporary and remembers the job left out -- that's really things i meant with that. You consider the package the ones could possibly get passed over, plus they're really skipped. It may be upsetting, specifically for the families. But when it comes to e-commerce, the job does survive. The individual leaves the earth, however their spirit continues as well as their work continues. Honoring the job is exactly what I'm attempting to do. I believe how you do that's through clips that demonstrate the job and, obviously, the background music. THR: Jane, you're nominated again for the best supporting comedy actress for Glee -- a category you won this past year -- while Mark's Survivor was snubbed the very first time. Could it be simpler or harder as being a nominee while planning the Emmy telecast? Lynch: I've barely seriously considered a nominee this season. I'm so focused on the program, which is nice. Frankly, I had been really glad to stay in the musical opener this past year because I didn't need to consider accepting an award or otherwise accepting an award. Burnett: Whenever my shows aren't nominated, Personally i think snubbed. However I can't go too personally. We now have about 60 nominations and four wins for my shows. We're shooting season 24 of Survivor, season 12 from the Apprentice, season 3 of Shark Tank and preparing season 2 from the Voice. It's tough to complain. THR: Jane, what advice would Sue Sylvester have for "Jane Lynch, Emmy host"? Lynch: "Make certain it's about you, and discover a way to assert all the honours on your own.Inch EMMY PRESENTERS Just Introduced (THR exclusives): Jimmy Fallon, Due To Jimmy Kimmel, Came Barrymore and (below, from left) Annie Ilonzeh, Minka Kelly and Rachael Taylor Formerly Introduced: Ashton Kutcher, Julianna Margulies, Don Cheadle, Kaley Cuoco, Take advantage of Lowe, Melissa McCarthy, Jum Michele, Zooey Deschanel, Ian Somerhalder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Sofia Vergara Related Subjects Emmy Honours Glee Jane Lynch Mark Burnett Emmys 2011