Seth MacFarlane Double Grammy Nominee, Faces Barbra Streisand And Tony Bennett

Between juggling 5 series: Family Guy, American Father, The Cleveland Show as well as the approaching Flintstones and Cosmos reboots, his first feature and emceeing duties within the Comedy Central roasts, Seth MacFarlane is fostering a budding music career. And tonight, the uber TV producer acquired 2 Grammy nominations. One was for just about any song from Family Guy, Christmastime Is Killing Us they co-written, inside the Best Song Written For Visual Media category. It absolutely was really the only song in the Tv program to produce the cut. Another jerk was an amount bigger surprise. MacFarlane’s debut album just like a singer, Music Is More suitable To Words, was nominated for top Traditional Pop Vocal Album alongside heavyweights Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Harry Connick Junior. and worldwide sensation Susan Boyle. It's pretty sure this is really the first time MacFarlane’s title remains stated inside the same sentence as Ms. Streisand. (Below can be a snippet in a single of MacFarlane’s offered-out live performances of Music Is More suitable To Words, which was changed into an EPIX special.) MacFarlane was just a few of the creator of primtime comedy series to land a Grammy nomination tonight. 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey acquired one inch the most effective Spoken Word Album category for narrating the audio version of her best-selling book Bossypants, while Louie‘s Louis C.K. is nominated for his comedy album Amusing. Among the primetime stars, New Girl‘s Zooey Deschanel was nominated alongside MacFarlane inside the Best Song Written For Visual Media category for writing the tune This Type Of Very Long Time within the Winnie The Pooh movie, while Hot In Cleveland‘s Betty White-colored will deal with Fey inside the Best Spoken Word Album area along with her In The Event You Request Me (As Well As You Won’t) audio book. The Two faced off inside the Best Guest Actress In The Comedy Series Emmy category a year ago when White-colored won the trophy.

Will 'The Artist' and 'The Descendants' Reverse the Indie Spirit-Oscar Trend? (Analysis)

Francois Durand/Getty ImagesLiev Schreiber Liev Schreiber is heading to Showtime. The Salt co-star and Everything Is Illuminated writer-director has been tapped to star in the Showtime drama pilot Ray Donovan. The pilot takes a novelistic look at contemporary Los Angeles with Schreiber playing the title character, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in Los Angeles. As the go-to guy in Hollywood, Ray deftly solves the highly confidential problems of the city's most intriguing personalities and yet he can't quite escape the damage in his own troubled family. Created by Southland's Ann Biderman, who will executive produce alongside Mark Gordon and Bryan Zuriff for the Mark Gordon Co., production on Ray Donovan will begin in the first quarter in Los Angeles. Schreiber, repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment, next appears in the feature Goon, which bows in March. The actor, who has narrated a plethora of TV specials, would be making his series TV debut should Ray Donovan be picked up to series. His credits also include an arc on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Ray Donovan was one of three new pilots to get the green light under new Showtime entertainment chief David Nevins in August. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 18 Familiar Faces of Fall TV Liev Schreiber TV Casting Showtime TV Development

The Closer Creator James Duff Previews "Unfortunate RequirementInch

Kyra Sedgwick Since The Closer returns due to its last winter several weeks ever (visiting the series finale next summer season), I believe that it is perfect to begin with a periodic expression of gratitude. We are in a position to Not finishing our story on this kind of high note should you have not arrive for your ride.Just what is it possible to expect involving the first Monday after Thanksgiving as well as the last Monday in December? The Closer sparks by considering the dying from the secondary school principal, producing a stark dramatization in the challenges facing people entrusted with teaching our children. Then, inside a couple of days, inside our hundredth episode, Brenda assessments the dying of Santa Claus, who are a target from the rival St. Nick (carried out with the wonderful Fred Willard). Since the holiday draws nearer, Brenda's parents, Frances Sternhagen and Craig Corbin, produce a blitz visit to deliver both gifts and a bit of shocking news that upturns their daughter's existence. We follow Mom and dad getting a unique guest appearance by Elizabeth Perkins, who drives our next-to-last episode into one of the pitch-dark places The Closer has ever gone. Finally, we finish with Brenda facing the murder of Turell Baylor. Will she step aside, as she did before, and let someone else perform dirty use her? Or will she bring Turell's killer to justice, and accept the results?Obviously, we consider the center five episodes - the region between our two summer time season - a perfect vehicle for experimentation and out-of-the-box options. You may question, while using show likely to create its final bow next summer season, why we'd take advantage of innovation. With it, The Closer has not only been a commercial chance, but an innovative endeavor: an chance to reside our creative lives inside an atmosphere of learning. Even if we don't always achieve making the show better, we are hopeful you'll appreciate our attempt.What else can I only say for you about these middle five episodes? Brenda's peerless attorney, Gavin Q. Baker, returns to accomplish fight along with her legal enemy, Peter Goldman. Captain Raydor searches non-stop for your leak inside the LAPD's Major Crimes Division. The federal government suit moves with a conclusion. And Brenda Leigh Manley finds that sometimes, even when shipped to you, you lose.After I finish this little introduction, I move immediately to writing the final episode within our series. This bittersweet project marks the conclusion from the extended and greatly satisfying collaboration getting an awesome cast, an unbelievably devoted crew and many authors and producers I deeply admire. Hopefully, if very little else, we'll finish with as much fortune after we began.Wish me luck! - James Duff

TV Ratings: 'Terra Nova' Slips, 'Gossip Girl' Improves

Brook Rushton/Fox"Terra Nova" As Thanksgiving nears, things are beginning to quiet down on the ratings front for the broadcast networks. The majority of nets saw dips in programming on Monday night, with the CW one of the few exceptions. Even so, CBS continued to dominate Mondays, averaging a 4.0 rating among adults 18-49 in primetime -- though down two tenths from last week. PHOTOS: 10 Shows Canceled Faster Than 'The Playboy Club' How I Met Your Mother (10.1 million total viewers, 4.3 rating in adults 18-49 demographic), 2 Broke Girls (11.2 million, 4.4), Two and a Half Men (15.7 million, 5.2) and Mike & Molly (13.1 million, 4.2) all sank at least 4 percent, with rookie comedy 2 Broke Girls seeing the largest drop among the four with 8 percent. Hawaii Five-0 (10.3 million, 2.8) couldn't right itself, slumping 15 percent from its last original, allowing time slot competitor ABC's Castle to nearly tie its demo rating. ABC followed CBS, averaging a 2.8 rating but topping all nets in total viewers with a 14 million average. The first parter of the Dancing With the Stars (20 million, 3.6) finale posted a 27 percent decrease from last fall's finale and is the show's lowest-rated performance finale to date. New reality competition series You Deserve It (10 million, 2.1) debuted following DWTS, down 13 percent from last fall's Skating With the Stars launch (2.1 vs. 2.4). Castle (11.9 million, 2.7) was the exception to the rule, improving 13 percent from two weeks ago. It should be noted that from 9-11 p.m., ABC ratings are inflated due to NFL pre-emptions in some markets. PHOTOS: Fall TV Death Pool: Which New Shows Will Be Axed? Fox followed with a 2.3 average, though Terra Nova (6.5 million, 2.1) saw a 9 percent drop in 18-49. House (7.3 million, 2.5) held steady with the previous week, but grew in total viewers by 11 percent (7.3 million vs. 6.6 million). NBC's The Sing-Off (4.3 million, 1.4) rose 8 percent. Primetime newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams (3.6 million, 0.9), which saw a drastic improvement last week, sank 18 percent without the help of Jerry Sandusky. The CW was the only net to grow in its entire lineup. Gossip Girl (1.5 million, 0.7) -- recently celebrating its 100 episode landmark -- and Hart of Dixie (1.8 million, 0.7) both improved from their most recent originals, with the former notching its most-watched episode of its fifth season. Last night's Monday Night Football telecast between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs (Patriots won 34-3) drew a 8.8 metered market average from 8:30-11:45 p.m. for ESPN. In Kansas City, the football game delivered a 12.8 rating for ESPN and a 17.0 rating on ABC for a 29.8 combined rating in the market. In the Boston market, the matchup drew a 11.0 rating on ESPN and a 21.2 rating on ABC for a 32.2 combined rating. 8 p.m. CBS: How I Met Your Mother (10.1 million viewers, 4.3 rating in adults 18-49) ABC: Dancing With the Stars (20 million, 3.6) Fox: Terra Nova (6.5 million, 2.1) NBC: The Sing-Off (4.3 million, 1.4) The CW: Gossip Girl (1.5 million, 0.7) 8:30 p.m. CBS: 2 Broke Girls (11.2 million, 4.4) 9 p.m. CBS: Two and a Half Men (15.7 million, 5.2) Fox: House (7.3 million, 2.5) ABC: You Deserve It (10 million, 2.1) The CW: Hart of Dixie (1.8 million, 0.7) 9:30 p.m. CBS: Mike & Molly (13.1 million, 4.2) 10 p.m. CBS: Hawaii Five-0 (10.3 million, 2.8) ABC: Castle (11.9 million, 2.7) NBC: Rock Center With Brian Williams (3.6 million, 0.9) TV Ratings

Kenneth Branagh on Mister Laurence Olivier in 'My Week With Marilyn': 'He Was Impatient'

While waiting for actor Kenneth Branagh to call me last Saturday, I happened upon 'Harry Potter as well as the Chamber of Secrets.' Particularly, the scene where Professor Gilderoy Lockhart (carried out by Branagh), flies to safety with Harry, Ron and Ginny Lockhart screams, "Amazing! Situation like miracle!" After I seen, it absolutely was difficult to imagine Branagh yanking off the sorts of jobs he's been in his career -- a wizard, a prince, a Confederate investigator, a director round the blockbuster superhero epic, 'Thor' -- without some Hogwarts charm. In Branagh's approaching movie, 'My Week with Marilyn' (good books by Colin Clark), the actor once again showcases his versatility by playing Mister Laurence Olivier. If you think about the type of career Olivier had, that is very hard task -- particularly because the Mister Laurence in 'My Week' is not the main one audiences are likely familiar with. Here, he's frazzled and bitter, while he attempts to direct and star alongside Marilyn Monroe (carried out by Michelle Williams, already garnering Oscar buzz) in 'The Prince as well as the Showgirl.' The situation is complicated right from the start, as Olivier can get frustrated while using sex symbol's tardiness and acting style. It's funny, before you referred to as I used to be funnel surfing and situated 'Chamber of Secrets' using TV Really? Oh ... sigh. The right response is striking really if you see the very first films the truth is how a central three have changed, they're like babies inside the initial few. Moving to 'My Week With Marilyn,' where can you begin to research you aren't as storied act as Laurence Olivier? The positive thing is that you simply have plenty of material. I started with stuff that I'd not necessarily examined before, which have been his autobiography, 'Confessions from the Actor,' after which it another book he written referred to as, 'On Acting.' After which it, while using wonderful benefits from the web and YouTube, I possibly could haunter the web archives and uncover lots of interview material with him where he spoke directly in regards to the Marilyn experience [on 'The Prince as well as the Showgirl'], where he was very honest relating to this. He was an actress who ongoing record as saying he loved to see roles starting in the outside in. He was always trying to find the look -- hair, the walk, the mitts -- he's a fantastically handsome fella, which he stood a great square jaw... which i mentioned, "Well, listen, in this part of his existence he doesn't have a very beard, he doesn't have undesired facial hair -- I don't cash to pay for behind that assisted me to type of transform, so will we get yourself a prosthetic face piece which will produce that square jaw?" Also, there are many audio stuff he'd do -- short tales round the radio. And a few things i hadn't known about before is he did an entire reading through through in the bible, a dramatic reading through through in the Bible. Once I found be shooting 'My Week,' formerly have a couple of several hours per morning to actually have the prosthetic in and begin the whole process of the makeup. Therefore I required directly into Laurence Olivier reading through with the Bible every single day. So, I not only arrived at play Laurence Olivier, I increased to become much more religious on the way. I am surprised to hear that you just used an imitation face for your role. I wouldn't have suspected any time watching the film. It's good watching another side of Olivier in 'My Week' -- he's clearly frustrated. Well, the face area piece certainly aided [round the look]. Olivier had an imperious quality to him. He was utilized to playing a pacesetter, he was utilized to playing nobleman, he was utilized to being the boss ... You will discover pictures of him where he seems stern and possibly authoritarian -- exactly what Marilyn may have been scared of. As referred to inside the film, while shooting 'Prince,' there just made an appearance being this impending disaster that his career is going to an in depth -- compounded because filming the film was driving him mad. He talks very honestly relating to this, if this involves what he wanted for from coping with Marilyn -- she will make him awesome again. He felt he was incredibly well-respected and revered, but he had been a dinosaur, he was in some manner museum-like, as well as the mark of his work have been being dangerous ... Therefore I think he opposed being a lot of "Mister Laurence." It's just interesting because after 'The Prince as well as the Showgirl' he ongoing to own this kind of distinguished career. He was impatient, In my opinion, which he appeared to become confused by why [Marilyn] didn't be lured by him. He wanted that in some manner, otherwise literally, but possibly literally, he'd seduce her and they'd be capable of talk which he'd produce the fantastic performance and she'd win an Oscar or something like that like this and it may be a relationship created in paradise, properly. Nevertheless it just wasn't that. He didn't direct another movie for virtually 2 decades, which he mentioned Marilyn was the primary reason -- it put him off. Which he loved pointing movies. However think he felt their very own performance experienced consequently in the situation in this movie, i believe for a while he was quite perplexed precisely how good she being despite him, while he type of comically states. Exactly what are your opinions on Marilyn Monroe's impact on modern society? How will you see her legacy playing by helping cover their youthful decades? In my opinion it is really an interesting question. In my opinion this film may well be a fascinating one whether it sends individuals to a few of her work and whether you will notice a rise in rental costs for things like 'Some Appreciate it Hot' or 'Gentlemen Prefer Blonds' ... In my opinion for most of us, she's an incredibly vivid face, an legendary face that's always part of movie montages. It is a kind of legacy of movie images. Nevertheless the actual work remains overlooked. Coming back to Laurence, Someone said that Anthony Hopkins advised you to definitely certainly play in the role... We certainly discussed this a good deal. Hopkins' acting emergence have been an understudy to Laurence Olivier within the National Theater in England inside the sixties, which he will be a great favorite of Mister Laurence's. Hopkins just described a good deal in what Olivier was like throughout anybody day, this type of great leader he was, this type of sharp spontaneity he'd, how camping they're sometimes. Only to be, type of amusing [and] gossipy, very generous along with his stars, greatly of the kind of an all-natural leader. This might be an entirely coincidental however was thinking about careful analysis cast Anthony Hopkins as Odin in 'Thor,' since Hopkins was an understudy to Olivier, who ended up playing the same god, Zeus, in 'Clash in the Leaders.' In my opinion what people males are apparent is if you've been inside the National Theater and you've carried out the classics, and you've spent lots of time with large robes on and enormous items of armor, and playing either God or perhaps the commander or perhaps the general, all of them had huge encounters of the. But it's a enjoyable touch to think about that each of them, at various points, [were] ruling the planet. [Photo: The Weinstein Company] 'My Week With Marilyn' Photos Michelle Williams as Marilyn MonroeEddie Redmayne as Colin ClarkKenneth Branagh as Mister Laurence OlivierEmma Watson and Eddie Redmayne as Lucy and Colin Clark See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Which Famous Friend's Movie is George Clooney's Favorite of 2011?

George Clooney is great. He's furthermore a loyal friend. He just told the LA Occasions that -- furthermore for the much-buzzed-about 'The Artist' -Body of his favorite movies of year stars an excellent buddy of his. Will it be 'Drive,' featuring his 'Ides of March' co-star Ryan Gosling? (Sorry, Gos. You lose again.) Or 'Contagion,' with 'Ocean's 11' friend Matt Damon? Well, his other 2011 favorite does feature an 'Ocean's' castmate, but it's not Don Cheadle inside the little-seen indie 'The Guard.' Quit? "You know what happens [else] I merely saw that we really loved," Clooney told the Occasions. "I made the decision to savor it anyway since they're all pals of mine -- however really loved 'Moneyball.' You understand I'm still a baseball nut. It's good. Kaira [Pitt] is among people stars that we think is certainly type of underrated ... and the fact remains he's great because movie." Besides Pitt, the film co-stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, who's also in 'The Ides of March,' and Jonah Hill. And that is it. But what's Pitt's favorite movie? She's no less than two Clooneys to choose from, but we will probably guess he'd go for Angelina Jolie's directorial debut 'In the Land of Blood stream and Honey.' [via LA Occasions] [Photo: FilmMagic] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Contender: 'Midnight in Paris'

'Midnight in Paris' Browse the Variety reviewDespite Woodsy Allen's insoluble connection to NY (along with a more-than-implied aversion to La), the author-director found new vitality inside a lighthearted sojourn abroad this season with "Night time in Paris" -- the most recent inside a series recently-career photos occur the earth's most scenic metropolitan areas.But after opening the Cannes film festival in May, "Night time" continued to seduce audiences like not one other Allen pic before, which can't hurt its chances within the pointing, original script and possibly even performance groups. Set among the literary Paris from the '20s, time-traveling fantasy charmed the experts, while word-of-mouth stored it in theaters through the summer time, making "Night time" Allen's greatest hit ever. (Having a worldwide cume in excess of $128 million, it positively dwarfs the nearest Allen film, "Hannah and her Siblings." It is also remade its budget three occasions.)The director is a regular title around the Oscar ballot since "Annie Hall" required 1977's best picture, author and director awards, but, from the 18 nominations he's received since, the only real other time he won was for writing "Hannah" -- two-and-a-half decades ago.When the Academy is not wanting to fete Allen themself, acknowledging Corey Stoll's turn as Ernest Hemingway could be just one way of realizing a film which has resuscitated the helmer's career.Release date: June 10 The new sony Pictures Classics Browse the Variety review Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

MTV's David Janollari Reveals About 'Jersey Shore's' Uncertain Future, 'Teen Mom' Debate and What's Next

This story first made an appearance within the November. 18 problem from the Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsMTV Orders Two Scripted, Four Reality SeriesMTV Nabs Latina Comedy From Jennifer Lopez (Exclusive)MTV Finalizes Cast for 'My Super Psycho Sweet 16 Part 3' (Exclusive)MTV's 'Teen Wolf' Captures Second Season RenewalMTV's David Janollari: 'Teen Wolf' is 'Like Adolescence Gone Wild' (Q&A) After many years spent teetering around the edge of irrelevance, MTV is staging a comeback. Because of such culture-determining hits as Jersey Shoreline -- no. 1 series on cable among more youthful audiences -- Teen Mother andits first scripted breakout, Awkward, programming chief David Janollari has something to crow about. PHOTOS: The Jersey Shoreline Hits Italia MTV is taking pleasure in its greatest-ranked year since 2007, with seven consecutive quarters of growth along with a concerted push in to the scripted space. In October, MTV started to construct an animation block having a restarted Beavis and Butt-Mind, which drew3.3 million audiences in the debut, and new entry Good Vibes. PHOTOS: The Very Best and Worst Moments of 'Jersey Shore' Which's only the start, based on the Rhode Island native, who became a member of the Viacom-possessed network in The month of january 2010. Before that, Janollari, 48, would be a producer and co-founding father of the Greenblatt/Janollari Studio -- the organization behind such shows as American Family, The Hughleys and also the Emmy-winning Six Ft Under -- then was entertainment leader in the WB network. PHOTOS: MTV VMAs Finest Feuds The travel aficionado sitting lower using the Hollywood Reporter in the Santa Monica office to go over what's next for Jersey Shoreline, training learned in the failure of Skins and the way forward for MTV. How does one define the MTV brand today? The core audience that people target, 12- to 34-year-olds, is searching not only to have some fun but get their lives reflected back at these questions increased way. Our internal mantra, which we stole from your audience, is "our way of life, increased." Therefore we're always searching for the MTV hook. Within the situation of teenybopper Mother, it's a dramatic consider a real situation increased with a baby within the mix. With Teen Wolf, we set to tell a coming-of-age tale of transformation, with teen milestone issues like first loves, relationships and conflicts in school increased through the wolf mythology. Exactly what do you search for in development? You will find some basic principles: Will it take risks? Could it be provocative? Could it be irreverent? Could it be wise and funny? Could it be in some way resonating using the lives in our audience? Could it be delivering large, relatable figures with emotional core underpinnings? What's transformed internally from the couple of years back once the network was battling? I arrived immediately after the organization began to consider where we went wrong. There was many years of rankings erosion, also it was in those days -- also it continues even today -- that people recognized the most crucial factor is perfect for us to remain in touch with this audience. There's a feeling that previously i was chasing after and seeking to program for Generation X if this totally new generation had come together with another group of interests. What have you gain knowledge from the failure of Skins? Skins would be a valiant effort, and for the right reasons it had been the best foray into scripted drama for all of us. The debate from it [marketers fled over its racy content] overshadowed the particular content, and that i don't believe this content warranted the type of debate it got. Maybe it had been a little in front of it is time, considering the fact that we didn't possess a scripted presence at that time. Awkward, that is sweet and significantly admired, feels as though a departure for MTV. Fair? About 18 or 19 several weeks ago, whenever we began introducing scripted, i was focus-testing numerous aircraft pilots, and at the outset of that process we'd hear, "MTV doesn't do this.Inch They'd say, "Oh wow, that feels as though it ought to be on Forex," because there is no reference point. Now, they are saying: "Ok last one, I recieve it. That's an MTV scripted series." Then, whenever we were on the point of launch Teen Wolf, we heard such things as, "That's Skins with fangs." It had nothing related to Skins, but which was their reference point. What genres do you want to start developing for the reason that you haven't yet? Musicals? Music is a vital piece for all of us to reinvigorate around the funnel. It's part of our DNA should you request anybody who watches MTV exactly what the first factor that involves thoughts are, they'll most likely say music. The Recording Music Honours certainly cement our flag firmly for the reason that territory, and [America's Best Dance Crew] is certainly going into its seventh season. But we'd love to stay in the musical space more, whether or not this's with scripted, reality or simply a hybrid. Are we able to reside in the serialized world? Can a nongenre hour work? It's something interesting to try and crack. As well as on thereality side, we always asks ourselves: "What's the following Jersey Shoreline or Teen Mother? What's the following large, broad, galvanizing hourlong reality series?" Where's the road on Jersey Shoreline or Teen Mother? Through the good reputation for MTV -- and also you can return to the initial version of Beavis and Butt-Mind or Jackass and, most lately, Jersey Shoreline -- debate frequently surrounds our shows, however the audience is only going to stay with a show since it wants it. We'd fail as we set to be noisy with regard to being noisy or perhaps be questionable with regard to being questionable. However, many of the greatest shows work since they're noisy and questionable, no? Yes, also it's great to possess strong reaction some way. I usually say anything center of the road hasn't done MTV, so for all of us to behave that doesn't feel frank, honest so that as contemporary as you possibly can, we'd fail. What won't you show on Teen Mother? I'm unsure. I'm sure there's a line where we'd go, "We're not going to achieve that.Inch Teen Mother and 16 and Pregnant were born from an observation of the items's happening on the planet around us. Not one other network might have done individuals shows, there's debate that surrounds individuals shows for a number of reasons, however it wasn't the main reason individuals shows got made. After Beavis and Butt-Mind, are you currently brushing the MTV library for other shows to bring back? Daria, possibly? You will find some franchises that people're searching at potentially restarting. We'd enjoy having a substantial animation presence moving forward, so might that take part in it? Sure. What lengths are you able to go ahead and take Jersey Shoreline brand? We communicate a lot concerning the fact that in the past, all reality franchises achieve a place where linked with emotions . diminish. Fortunately, we're not there yet. So at this time, the show includes a good existence into it. We've introduced that people'll make two spinoffs, with possibly more in the future. Where does the truth genre go next? It's interesting because years back, once the Hillsides and Laguna Beach were greatly popular, these were a brand new form. It had been a scripted/reality hybrid. But our audience finally stated: "We don't need to see the puppet strings any longer. We don't need to see the fake version provide us with the actual version." So that they gravitated to shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mother and Jersey Shoreline. The docu-reality show will take part in our fabric for any very long time. You're a large traveler. Any favorite outings? I'm a scuba diver, so I love to visit places such as the South Off-shore, someplace sunny and warm and Indonesia. I've traveled the planet a few occasions. The very first time, I had been two-and-a-half decades old. A university buddy and that i checked out one another and stated, "There's reached be some thing than this." I was 25 what did we all know? Therefore we quit our jobs and backpacked for any year. We wound up circling the world and heading back through L.A. I've been here since. 5 SHOWS Visiting MTV The Inbetweeners: An adaptation from the U.K. comedy, the scripted series referred to as Superbad meetsFreaks and Nerds follows four suburban teens. Catfish: In line with the 2010 Sundance darling,the unscripted effort is going to be shepherded towards the small screen through the film's producers. Zach Stone is Destined To Be Famous: The scripted series, co-produced by and starring comedian Bo Burnham, hilariously explores this generation's wish to be famous. Among The Finest my Pants Back: The dramedy adaptation focuses on the characterJason Strider, whose heart and pants were stolenby a 1-evening stand. The scripted ensemble centerson him obtaining the jeans -- and hopefully the lady. Wait Until The Coming Year: Named a real possibility docudrama version of Friday Evening Lights, the result is a higher school football team because it triesto reverse a five-year losing streak off and on the area. Related Subjects MTV Jersey Shoreline Teen Mother David Janollari Beavis and Butthead

Gallic B.O. stacks up after recording-breaking 2010

After breaking revenue records this season, the Gallic box office has ongoing to become stable this year, bolstered having a slew of high-undertaking local photos released this fall, particularly Maiwenn's "Polisse," Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist," starring Jean Dujardin, and Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache's "Intouchables." Some 166.8 millions tickets are actually offered up to now this year, grossing roughly 1.15 billion ($1.56 billion), lower .9% on Jan.-March. 2010. Another half of year was marked by strong perfs from local films, a couple of which were Cannes standouts. "The Artist," that is released by TWC Stateside on November. 23, made $11.23 million "Polisse" has already established $14.4 million and Bibo Bergeron's retro toon, "A Monster in Paris," has already established $12.09 million. "Intouchables" can be a surprise hit. Getting a $12.9 million budget together with a cast featuring one major French star, Francois Cluzet, or even more-an-comer, Omar Sy, the pic has already established the B.O. by storm, grossing $18.8 million in just 2 days. An advantageous tale, "Intouchables" is founded on the actual story from the aristocrat guy who increased to become quadriplegic after any kind of accident and hired a far more youthful guy within the projects to think about proper proper care of him. "Intouchables" was produced by Quad Films, the shingle behind Pascal Chaumeil's "Heartbreaker," and was released by Gaumont on 500 copies. "Our strategy was simple: We made a decision to demonstrate 'Intouchables' whenever you can before its release to produce word-of-mouth because we understood we'd a stylish, rare and moving film inside our hands," mentioned Gaumont Boss Sidonie Dumas. "We spent a really very long time marketing it in and surrounding and surrounding suburbs and provincial metropolitan areas." Acquired by TWC for U.S. remake rights and U.S. distribution, "Untouchables" is provided out worldwide, per Yohann Comte, Gaumont's worldwide sales director. Comte and Cecile Gaget, their worldwide sales prexy, looked the pic within the AFM which is closing the ultimate areas, including Japan. Marc-Olivier Sebbag of FNCF, french exhibitors' org, states the strong final results of French films in recent several days comprises for your weak performances of local game game titles inside the first half. "In The month of the month of january to October, the business of local films was 35.6%, it is therefore still underneath the average 37% (good last decade's ticket sales reviews)," he mentioned. American photos needed a 50.6% share -Up 1.5% on a year ago. "Harry Potter as well as the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," "Pirates in the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin" needed the second, third and fourth slots, correspondingly, in 2011's rankings. Released on friday, "Tintin" thrilled the B.O., taking an thought $41.5 million through November. 8. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Jay Duplass on Jeff Who Lives at Home, Austin's Slacker Savants and the Duplass Secret to Success

comments: 0 || add yours For Mark and Jay Duplass, the sibling team behind The Puffy Chair, Baghead, and last year’s Cyrus, success came only after years of frustration — and only by happy accident. “All we were doing in the late ’90s, in our twenties, was trying to be the Coen brothers,” Jay Duplass laughed to Movieline, “and failing at that, because the Coen brothers are awesome and they’re already the Coen brothers.” It was only when the brothers Duplass stopped trying so hard, at the end of their creative rope and after years of fruitless attempts, that they found the formula for personal filmmaking that would become their signature. After releasing their 2008 indie horror Baghead, the Duplasses ventured into studio territory with 2010’s Cyrus, their first mainstream venture with studio backing (courtesy of Fox Searchlight) and name actors (Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, and Marisa Tomei); next March, Paramount Vantage will release the slacker comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home, starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms. But, as Duplass explained via phone from the Savannah Film Festival, where he and his brother received the Cinevation Award for “imagination, inspiration and innovation in cinema,” they haven’t deviated from the indie spirit with which they work — they just select their projects, and their collaborators, more carefully. Read on for more with Jay Duplass on accidentally discovering his method (after years of post-film school frustration), why famous actors want to work with him and brother Mark, the security in having Sundance as a fall back plan, the Austin-area slacker savants who inspired Jeff Who Lives at Home, and the current status of the next Duplass release, the back-to-indie-roots sibling comedy The Do-Deca-Pentathlon. Jeff Who Lives at Home plays tonight and tomorrow at AFI Fest in Los Angeles. The award you’re receiving in Savannah isn’t just any award — it honors “imagination, innovation, and inspiration” in filmmaking. What does that represent to you? I can’t believe it… honestly, it’s very surreal, it’s thrilling, and it’s very hard to believe, honestly. You know, I didn’t make a decent movie until I was 30 years old, and that was a seven-minute movie that cost $3. I think it’s mainly because I went to film school, I tried really hard to be innovative and be interesting and be riveting and shit, you know, and my brother and I always wanted this stuff — but really, all we were doing in the late ’90s, in our twenties, was trying to be the Coen brothers. [Laughs] And failing at that, because the Coen brothers are awesome and they’re already the Coen brothers. It might be a good idea not to try to be them, they already have that down pretty good. How did you get from that to where you are now? What ended up happening is, we ended up kind of just really losing it. Me in particular, in my late-20s, just kind of feeling like approaching 30: I have to get a real job, it sucks, I’ve been working on this for over a decade, I haven’t made anything that I can say is even worth watching. And basically, in the basement of that awful time period, which lasted a couple of years, my brother said, “We’re going to make a movie today.” This was when digital cameras were first coming out. We made this movie this one day in Austin called This is John with our parents’ video camera, where Mark acted in it and I shot it. It was like how we used to do it when we were kids. We made this movie, basically, about a guy who’s trying to perfect the personal greeting on his answering machine and fails to do so, so much to the point that he’s about to have a nervous breakdown, which is basically something that had happened to me a month before. It was the first time that we made a movie about what we go through in life. And it was literally just like, this happened to me, it’s fucking totally embarrassing and tragic, but it made us giggle. So my brother improvised it and I shot it and we cut it together, and it went to Sundance and got written up as this innovative, groundbreaking film. [Laughs] Which is what we were trying to do the whole time before, but we were just doing derivative shit! The first time we actually winged something, and did something deeply personal, they called it innovative and groundbreaking and all this stuff. So that’s why I say that it’s so surreal and counterintuitive to me, because we’re not trying to be groundbreaking. We’re just trying to not make something that sucks. And I honestly feel like that is still what we’re trying to do. I know from talking to press now that we’re doing deeply personal stuff. That seems like a great revelation to have as an artist — that what actually works is doing things your own way and telling personal stories. Do you feel like that negates all those years of going to film school, all that stuff — could you have accomplished this at 20 if you had just let go and done things this way? I doubt it. Because it wasn’t a realization; it was an accident. It took me getting pounded down into nothing, and us having no money just picking up a camera saying, let’s just see if we can make something that doesn’t suck at this point. I really believe it had to happen this way. Or, it didn’t have to happen this way but this is the way it happened, you know? It’s only by talking about it in retrospect that we realize how it happened and why we did it. For us it was just the willingness to put our heads down and keep doing it. The struggling filmmakers of the world will be happy to hear that, I’m sure. Your work together with Mark is known for a consistent style, not only in your cinematic sensibility but in your process. Does this revelation give you more confidence in the way you work? Has it been easy to stick to your guns as you work more and more with studios? No, it wasn’t easy to transition. It just took a lot of steadfastness and a lot of conversations, honestly. Just a lot of care. Because a lot of people have this strange idea that we made Puffy Chair, we made Baghead, and then we just switched and did a studio film. But the reality is that after we made Puffy Chair we got tons and tons of meetings in L.A. because people wanted to take what we were doing and make it in the studio setting. That was 2005, when we premiered Puffy Chair at Sundance, and we didn’t release Cyrus until 2010. We developed a bunch of different projects during that time at different studios and it took basically five years, and Fox Searchlight, to feel comfortable enough to know that we were going to be able to make a movie and it wasn’t going to suck. We had other opportunities but we were going to be working in such crunched, or constricted, environments that we felt scared that we weren’t going to be able to do and offer what we thought we had to offer. So it was a very careful process, even hiring crew people on Cyrus; we interviewed everyone ourselves, which people don’t do, because we wanted to make sure people had the right intentions and the right vibes. Everyone had to like what we were doing before, because we don’t assume that everyone’s going to like our movies. They’re very specific, and we work in an unorthodox way. If people aren’t excited about what they’re making we don’t want it to be a drag for them, and consequently a drag on our process. We don’t really work in a framework of hostility and war, which most film sets are in my experience. We’re making movies about subtle, personal things and if the sets aren’t calm we feel like the subtle things can get lost. You two are a unique case in that regard. We’re just careful, because for us it’s not just about making a movie. We’re also lucky in the sense that we can always go and make a $50,000 movie and if it doesn’t suck we can sell it at Sundance for a lot more than that. So we rest very easy in our ability to make independent film, and not only that, we’ve really been fortunate and lucky that movie stars like what we do. We get a lot of phone calls and emails and messages from movie stars who are basically saying, ‘I don’t know what the hell y’all are doing over there but I like it and I want to be in it. And I’ll sleep on your sofa.’ For us that’s been very empowering to know. Because that’s where the real power lies, with distributing films: Having famous people in your movies, for better or for worse. But there’s a great advantage to it. When we’re on set it’s hard, what we do with actors is very painstaking and there’s a lot of chaos and a lot of confusion involved. [Laughs] What we have to go through to get what we get. But the upside of that is that people seem to be pretty attracted to acting in our movies. It probably allows actors to exercise muscles, and in different ways, than they do on more traditional sets. Yeah, and they get to have real moments. They get to do a whole scene all at once, which never happens, and to have a real moment with someone. It’s almost like being in a play, but it’s even better because it doesn’t have to be that controlled. You can let it rip and see what happens and if it doesn’t work out you can do it again. I think it’s a pretty rewarding, and exhausting, way to work. You filmed The Do-Deca-Pentathlon before Jeff Who Lives at Home, but we’ll see Jeff in theaters first. Why is that? The Do-Deca-Pentathlon we actually filmed before Cyrus. And right when we started editing Cyrus we got the greenlight from Fox Searchlight , because we had been developing all kinds of stuff and they weren’t going and it wasn’t ready, so we made Baghead, then we made The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, too. We got greenlit and we brought all of our crew over to Cyrus, and that included our editors. And everyone was thrilled because we were actually going to get paid real money for the first time. So we made Cyrus and we released it, and we got greenlit for Jeff Who Lives at Home immediately, which is the luckiest and most amazing thing in the world. So we made Jeff Who Lives at Home and when we finished editing Jeff we started back on The Do-Deca-Pentathon and we’re actually fine-cutting it this fall. When will it be released? I don’t know. I think it will be released sometime after March, because Jeff is released March 2. You mentioned being confident that you could always take a smaller movie to Sundance, so there’s a degree of security at least in that option. Definitely. And you know, we’ve always tried to remember to make movies, not meetings. So many of our friends have gotten caught up in developing something for six years and then they wake up like, “Shit, we haven’t made a movie in half a decade.” That’s crazy. In Jeff Who Lives at Home, Jason Segel plays a slacker hero-basement dweller, which brings to mind the Japanese phenomenon of hikikomori — grown single men who still live at home, a total psycho-social phenomenon. What’s behind Jeff’s psyche in your film? Well the movie is kind of inspired by us living in Austin, Texas and going to school there and watching a lot of really smart dudes kind of transfer out of academia into basements and efficiencies around Austin, Texas, engaging in philosophical thought and the nature of the universe, destiny, and their part in it all… and also potentially smoking some marijuana while doing that. A lot of people look at those dudes and call them stoner or slacker or laugh at them, and we do that too. But also, if you have breakfast with those dudes at like 7pm at a diner when they’re wearing their cargo shorts, you realize how intensely thoughtful they are and how conscientious they can be, and honestly, how idealistic and hopeful and radical they are, too. Mark and I are at the same time amazed, but also their lives are kind of sad and tragic. But they’re exciting and they’re exciting to talk to, and there’s that hopefulness there. So that’s what the movie’s about. It’s about one of these guys going out into the world and actually interacting with the universe, when his thoughts about his destiny begin to interact with the real world. That’s just exciting to us. Talk about perfect casting — how did Jason Segel get involved? We had known him a little bit socially, and Jason Reitman as a producer was involved. We were talking about how he’s kind of the perfect person to play this part. He read the script and just loved it, and we talked over dinner and knew we were going to make the movie. Jeff Who Lives at Home is schedule to hit theaters March 2. Tagged: afi fest, afi2011, baghead, cyrus, duplass brothers, jason reitman, jason segel, jay duplass, jeff who lives at home, mark duplass, puffy chair, savannah film festival, scad, the do-deca-pentathlon, this is john

Emergency Alert System being Examined Wednesday

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SC Group premieres 'You Might Not Hug the Bride'

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