Friday, October 28, 2011

Christina Aguilera Available To Singing In The Super Bowl: Im Up For Just About Any Challenge

First Released: October 28, 2011 10:45 PM EDT Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Access Hollywoods Rob Robinson with Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton around the group of NBCs The Voice, March. 28, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Christina Aguilera is placed to follow along with the Super Bowl this season using the Season 2 premiere of her show, The Voice, but she told Access Hollywood shed most probably to singing in the large game too. Im open. Hey, Im up for just about any challenge, whenever every day, Christina told Access Rob Robinson on Friday. Damn right, Christinas fellow Voice judge Blake Shelton chimed in, mentioning to themself. Youre damn right I'll Ill sing among Christinas song in the Super Bowl. Hey sister, soul sister, he amusingly sang. Christina, Blake, Adam Levine and Cee Lo Eco-friendly are back as coaches for Season 2 of NBCs reality singing competition, The Voice, and also the celebrity singer stated returning for an additional round was a simple sell. I needed to return and perform a second [season]. How could I not? she requested. This is actually the most enjoyable show ever! The suspense value? Its intense I believe I recieve more nervous during these blind auditions compared to actual artists and vocalists which come up here to audition. Its nerve wracking and exciting. The first phases from the Voice auditions are presently happening in La and Christina stated the talent which has come through continues to be of the different quality. Its amazing to understand the truth that the bar continues to be elevated excessive this season and weve really be critical due to it Theres not just one singer that is not good or great which comes through here, she stated. So were extra critical and counseled me searching for something so unique and thus different. Christina had a number of strongly voiced women on her behalf squad in Season 1, and this time around around shes got a far more diverse roster, to date. I've everybody from an opera singer for an MC, she stated. Its amazing after which, obviously, I've my giant, crazy, soulful vocalists that amaze you. Its a thrilling year for diversity. Season 2 from the Voice premieres on Feb 5 on NBC, following the Super Bowl. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Video: Sandra Bullock's Lost 1991 Audition Tape Shows Her Knack for Comedy, High-Waisted Jeans

Since I Have’m finally inside the Blind Side’s undeserved Oscar presence, I am able revisit praising the products I like about Sandra Bullock. She's feisty! And sincere! And funny! In 1991, she’d apparently already nailed lower that Bullockian trifecta, because she's positively charming in this audition tape immediately of her career. Have a look following a jump, with the relaxation of Buzz Break (including Lindsay Lohan’s latest $millions of offer). [via Snakkle] · Adult toy company Fleshlight is supplying Lindsay Lohan $millions of being among their exclusive “Fleshlight Women.” If you are in a position to’t play Linda Lovelace, be Linda Lovelace. [News Release] · Speaking about Lohan, she’s one of many in their Playboy foray — literally. Her little sister grew to become an associate of her on set. [Gawker] · Here’s Nerve’s report on the 50 finest cult movies ever. We never can recognition Barbarella enough. [Nerve] · Amanda Seyfried told Jay Leno they thinks guns certainly are a turn-on. I swear this is not merely a plot increase in Jennifer’s Body. [HuffPost]

Monday, October 24, 2011

Affleck, Damon reteam on Bulger bio

AffleckDamonWarner Bros. gets back the "Good Will Hunting" team, tapping Film Clip to direct and star in the Whitey Bulger biopic through which Matt Damon will portray the mobster.Casey Affleck will co-star, and "Boardwalk Empire" creator Terence Winter is writing the script.Studio confirmed the project Monday, five several days after Bulger, your brain of Boston's Winter Hill Gang, was drawn in Santa Monica after sitting on the lam for 16 years. Bulger fled government physiques in Boston before he was indicted in 1995 for federal racketeering.News in the project was reported in GQ magazine, which asked Damon.Affleck and Damon will produce under their Jewel Street Films shingle through their first-look deal with Warner Bros. Jewel Street's Chay Carter will professional produce, and Sarah Schechter is controlling for your studio.Affleck's made three films for Warners -- "Gone Baby Gone," "The CityInch and "Argo," presently in production.Damon and Affleck, each repped by WME, teamed round the 1997 drama "Good Will Hunting" and won the script Oscar. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Fans Notes Eyes TV Series Adaptation

Producer Gary Pearl is putting together a TV series project based on Frederick Exley, Jr.’s semi-autobiographical novel A Fan’s Notes. The 1968 book deals with alcoholism, shock therapy and sports fandom and chronicles a man’s life lived in abject failure while seeking fame and driving himself and all those around him down a path of destruction. “It’s a brilliantly written parable, a diary, for our time about self-destruction in pursuit of personal celebrity and ultimate fame, the kind that lasts beyond one’s lifetime,” said Pearl, who is producing with Jeffrey Shane and David Burton Morris. It took Pearl several years to track down and secure the rights to the book and then spent time trying to make it into a feature film before deciding that a series adaptation would work better, something Exley’s twin sister Francis Brown agreed to. (A Fan’s Notes was previously made into a feature in 1972 with Jerry Orbach playing Exley.) Meetings with writers are underway for the drama project, which is being targeted for basic and premium cable.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

'Real Housewives of New Jersey' Reunion Part 1 Marks Season High

Bravo"Real Housewives of New Jersey" No matter how crazy the catfights and confrontations get, the Real Housewives still proves to be a solid ratings force. Case in point: The first part of the Real Housewives of New Jersey third season reunion delivered its best ratings of the season, drawing 3.4 million total viewers and 2.2 million in adults 18-49 on Sunday at 10 p.m. STORY: Bravo's 'Real Housewives' Taking Over Sirius XM Radio Station The reunion was up 33 percent in 18-49 and 28 percent in total viewers compared with the season ender that aired Oct. 9. The ratings performance boosted the season 9 percent in viewership and 3 percent in the key demo compared to the second season. Bravo also touts that the New Jersey subsite lured 3.7 million page views and roughly 430,000 streams, 14 percent and 23 percent jumps respectively the day following the previous week's episode. The second part of Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Sunday, Oct. 23 at 10 p.m. TV Ratings The Real Housewives of New Jersey

News briefs from round the biz

The Cinema Audio Society opened up the distribution process for that CAS Honours having a large change: scoring mixers will be included to this mixture in three groups: movies, television movie or miniseries, and DVD original programming. For making this transformation, stated CAS Leader David E. Fluhr, "I'm delighted the CAS Board is starting the development in our nominee base Realizing all mixers who lead for an outstanding achievement in seem mixing is really a lengthy-time goal from the CAS, and we'll continue continue.Inch The 48th annual CAS Honours nominees is going to be introduced on The month of january 19 and also the CAS Honours is going to be held Feb 18, in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in La.- * *Todd-AO has completed a technical overhaul of ADR stage 5 at its Hollywood galleries. Among the biggest facilities of their key in Hollywood, the ADR stage continues to be outfitted with a brand new Professional Tools workstation, a Soundmaster ION operating atmosphere along with a Christie HD playback system. The brand new integration offers the stage by having an all-digital infrastructure leading to enhanced quality and efficiency for voice recording. The Soundmaster ION will be employed to synchronize the Professional Tools system having a separate recording system, microphones, remote feeds, samplers, along with a boom recorder employed for back-up."We now have produced a condition-of-the-art recording facility that provides all functionality that producers and talent expect from the world-class ADR room," stated Bill Johnston, senior veep of engineering at CSS Galleries, Todd-AO's parent company. "Our goal would be to make ADR as fast and seamless as you possibly can.InchJohnston adds the new HD video system is able to playback video in almost any format, getting rid of transcoding delays. "It can make an enormous amount of difference," observed Todd-AO ADR Mixer Ron Bedrosian. "The brand new technology provides elevated versatility to ensure that we are able to better satisfy the changing needs in our clients."* * *Addressing the scarcity of skilled developers entering the visual effects area, London vfx house Cinesite's Inspire internship program now features a separate technical effects track that particularly targets grads with an intention in computer-programming or technical effects. "We have had positive results in the last 2 yrs finding gifted graduates to fill our traditional visual effects internship, but we have observed our market is seriously missing youthful gifted computer developers," stated Antony Search, controlling director of Cinesite. "With this particular new strand we are striving to draw in graduates with science levels and educate them on how they may develop a career within this exciting world-class industry."The technical effects internship will run with the visual effects internship. Both positions are compensated positions and can run for six days within the summer time of 2012. The technical effects strand is focusing on individuals with interests on paper shaders and programming for pipelines, in addition to ambitious effects TDs. The vfx track targets individuals with interests in digital matte painting, animation, lighting, texturing, modeling, forex and compositing. Previous Inspire those who win have done "Pirates from the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and therefore are presently focusing on "John Carter" and "World War Z." Since finishing their positions, all the those who win have guaranteed positions at Cinesite. Contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs: Theater Review

NY -- It might not be the eulogy the former Apple CEO would have chosen, but Mike Daisey's The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is an eye-opener. Updated but not softened since the recent death of the "techno-libertarian hippie," this provocative monologue pulls no punches in confronting us with the dark side of Jobs' legacy and of our own mass addiction to gadgets.our editor recommendsSteve Jobs Remembered at Private Memorial Service at Stanford UniversityA Studio Chief Pens Revealing First-Person Steve Jobs Remembrance'iGenius: How Steve Jobs Changed the World': Preview the Discovery Documentary (Video)10 Hip-Hop Songs Referencing Steve Jobs (Video)Steve Jobs Bio Could Set New Sales RecordsSteve Jobs: The Apple Co-Founder's Most Memorable QuotesRelated Topics•Steve Jobs This is ideal material for an obsessive personality like Daisey, whose 2001 breakout piece, 21 Dog Years, covered Amazon.com during the Internet boom. Directed by his wife and regular collaborator, Jean-Michelle Gregory, Daisey extemporaneously explores his chosen subject from journalistic and personal perspectives, finding illumination in the overlap. PHOTOS: Steve Jobs' Death: How the Magazines Covered While he has been performing this piece since July 2010, the timing of its NY debut turns up the spotlight. An unapologetic tech geek, Daisey admits to being a longtime worshipper at the Apple altar, confessing that he often field-strips his MacBook Pro and cleans its parts with compressed air just to unwind after a performance. But his voice is definitely a counterpoint to all the warm-and-fuzzy nostalgists getting misty-eyed over photos of candy-colored clamshell iBooks, as if they were childhood pets. Seated at a glass-top table with only some outline notes, Daisey explains that the turning point came when he was surfing the Apple site and found iPhone test photos taken in a factory in China. That made him contemplate, for the first time, how and where those beloved objects were made. "I started to think, which is always a problem for any religion," he says. That process led him to Shenzhen in southern China to interview dozens of workers outside Foxconn, the monolithic manufacturing plant where Apple products (and roughly half the world's electronics) are made. He also posed as a businessman to get inside the factories and witness the dehumanizing labor-camp conditions firsthand. PHOTOS: Apple Products in TV and Movies This will be no surprise to anyone aware of the wave of employee deaths that prompted Foxconn to install suicide-prevention netting around its roofing in 2010. But Daisey makes a chilling narrative out of his findings -- workers as young as 12 or 13, treated as biomass; 12-hour shifts that can stretch to 16 or more when a new product is being stockpiled for release; employees whose hands are permanently warped from endlessly repeating the same task under pressure with no rotation of duty. Daisey recounts how one worker died at the end of a 34-hour shift during his Foxconn visit. He recalls an encounter with a man whose job was terminated without compensation when his hand was crushed while making the metal casing for iPads. "It's a kind of magic," the injured man said when Daisey booted up his own iPad to show him a working model for the first time. Running parallel to the account of his China trip, Daisey provides a selective history of Jobs' life and career. His rigorous design standards and voracious hunger for the new steered Apple to world dominance, not in market share but in "mind share." Describing him as "the master of the forced upgrade," Daisey makes a trenchant case that Jobs turned everyone into covetous tech consumers. "He was so good at making us need things we never even knew we wanted -- like a laptop so thin you can slice a sandwich with it." PHOTOS: Steve Jobs' 10 Memorable Milestones He draws out the contradictions in the tech guru's ability to create fetish objects while never being afraid to "knife the baby." (RIP, iPod Mini.) But while the two sides of visionary aesthete and ruthless businessman are amply illustrated, Daisey gets no closer to Jobs the man than most obits of recent weeks. He had no direct contact with the former Apple chief. A stash of e-mail responses sent by Jobs to people who had written to him after seeing Daisey's show suggests he was aware of the human-rights violations behind the manufacture of his products. The attention to detail throughout Apple's micromanaged history makes any other scenario inconceivable. But merely wondering how Jobs reconciled this via secondhand answers robs the piece of some impact. Daisey's work can veer toward sermonizing. His structure of loose chapters capped by resounding pronouncements becomes self-righteous at times, and at two solid hours, his storytelling here is not without fat. Detours on the nature of geekishness or the inanity of the PowerPoint presentation feel like extended standup bits. VIDEO: Remembering Steve Jobs But Daisey is a compelling polemicist. Beyond an information sheet distributed at the end of the performance, he doesn't offer a solution. But he forces us to examine our acquisitive natures and the degree to which we are all complicit in screening out what we don't want to see. In Daisey's view, it was not Beijing but multinational corporations like Apple that created and continue to enforce the demand for dehumanized labor in places like China. His key point is that, as the P.T. Barnum of his era, Jobs was in a unique position to change things, but he chose not to. Venue: Public Theater, NY (runs through Nov. 13) Creator-performer: Mike Daisey Director: Jean-Michelle Gregory Set/lighting designer: Seth Reiser Presented by the Public Theater Steve Jobs

Friday, October 14, 2011

ABC Cancels Charlies Angels Reboot

Second Time No Charm For Playboy Club Charlies Angels & Prime Suspect: What Went Wrong? ABC has place the flailing Charlie’s Angels remake from its misery. The little rankings uptick last evening didn’t savethe newcomer, that has now been canceled, with production onto it shut lower. I hear ABC expects to operate the episodes which have been already made. The new sony TV has shot an overall total of 8 episodes, such as the pilot. Four of these have broadcast. Following a low-ranked debut, the Charlie’s Angels reboot dropped precipitously for just two days to some 1.2 rankings in grown ups 18-49 last Thursday before posting a small increase to some 1.3 last evening. But that switched to be not enough past too far… This is a summary on where ABC’s fall series with 13-episode orders stand. Freshmen Suburgatory and Revenge have obtained Back 9 orders, while Charlie’s Angels continues to be canceled. Sophomores Happy Being and the body Of Proof happen to be given script orders: 6 scripts for Happy Being and a pair of for Body Of Proof.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

'Lazhar' preem, party start Abu Dhabi Fest

ABU DHABI -- The 5th Abu Dhabi Film Festival bowed Thursday with "Monsieur Lazhar," Canada's entry for foreign-language Oscar consideration. While you will find some changes towards the event -- the emirate's Circle Conference confab, which often draws a slew of worldwide industryites, continues to be nixed -- that did not stop the fest from starting in an instant. "Lazhar," starring Mohamed Fellag, Emilien Neron and Sophie Nelisse, was tested in a new outside venue at the rear of the Fairmont Hotel, marking the very first time the outlet-evening film has unspooled outdoors. Regardless of the Gulf warmth, the big event came a significant crowd and auds later made the short walk towards the trendy after-party in the hotel. "I had been nervous to determine the way the audience would sit by using it being outdoors," stated Abu Dhabi Film Fest professional director Peter Scarlet. "But everybody appeared to savor it." "Monsieur Lazhar," directed by Philippe Falardeau, follows an Algerian immigrant in Montreal hired like a alternative teacher. A notable change only at that year's opening may be the heavy presence of Arab and Gulf industryites and also the slightly reduced quantity of bizzers using their company corners from the globe -- an expression, possibly, from the fest's intention to place more concentrate on creating a regional film infrastructure. A slew of Arab thesps attended the after-party, including Egyptian actor Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Egyptian actress-singer Bushra and Syrian thesp Faris Alhilo. Egyptian thesp Laila Elouis, Iranian thesp Fatemeh Simin Motamed-Ayra and French actress Marianne Denicourt -- all jury people -- also mingled. The 2010 fest includes world preems of Mike Neave's "Almost for each other,Inch Amr Salama's "Asma'a," Michael Brandt's "The Double," Safinez Bousbia's "El Gusto" and Nawaf Al-Janahi's "Ocean Shadow," the very first Abu Dhabi production in the emirate's $1 billion production arm Image Nation. Fest shuts March. 22. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Paramount nabs 'Hyperdrive' spec

Paramount is going into "Hyperdrive," picking up the science-fiction spec script from Morgan Jurgenson and Alex Ankeles for Mary Parent to produce through her Disruption Entertainment banner.Studio acquired the spec preemptively on Wednesday night. Story centers on a tough cop who recruits a geeky science-fiiction writer to find a witness to a murder and is described as "Men in Black" meets "Midnight Run."Cale Boyer of Disrpution brought "Hyperdrive" into the shingle.Jurgenson propduced and co-wrote "Tucker and Dale vs. Evil," which sold at Sundance to Magnolia. Ankeles is a VP at Panay Films.Disruption has been ramping up business since Parent set up the Par-based banner in February, four months after exiting as the topper of MGM's film business. It's developing a sci-fi action script from "Snakes on a Plane" scribe John Heffernan, "The Watching Hour" at New Line with Mad Hatter along with an adaptation of the DC Comic series "The Mighty" along with Chris Bender and JC Spink of Benderspink.Jurgenson is repped by APA and Hung Entertainment. Ankeles is repped by CAA and Kaplan/Perrone. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lee Cowan Back At CBS News After four years At NBC

Lee Cowan will return to CBS News as National Correspondent, CBS News Chairman as well as an hour Executive Producer Rob Fager and David Rhodes, Leader, CBS News, introduced today. Cowan will result in CBS News broadcasts and platforms within the division and he'll be an alternate anchor for CBS SUNDAY MORNING. He'll be situated in La. His appointment is effective November 1. Lee Cowan can be a top quality reporter and one of the better storytellers within the generation of broadcast journalists, mentioned Fager. Its an authentic thrill that he's coming back the place to find us. Lee includes our persistence for original reportingto showing an excellent story, well told, mentioned Rhodes. We are so excited to own him within the fold. “With his style and class, Lee Cowan is exclusive — together with a Sunday Morning natural.” mentioned Rand Morrison, Executive Producer of CBS SUNDAY MORNING. “To condition that people’re thrilled to own him back on we is certainly an understatement.” Most recently, Cowan is really a correspondent for NBC News since 2007, contributing to numerous NBC News shows, including “NBC Nightly News with John Williams,” “Today,” and MSNBC broadcasts. While there, he covered major news tales and occasions, including presidential candidate Obama through the historic 2008 presidential election campaign as well as the tsunami that devastated Japan in March 2011. Right before joining NBC, Cowan will be a CBS News correspondent for your CBS Evening News. Because role, he reported on numerous tales of national and worldwide importance, which incorporated coverage from Ground Zero round the September 11 attacks, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2006 conflict in Beirut as well as the 2006 tsunami in Indonesia. Formerly, Cowan offered just like a correspondent for CBS Newspath, CBS News 24-hour news service, he provided national and global coverage for CBS News U.S. affiliate entrepreneurs. Cowan grew to become an associate of CBS News in 1996 after just as one anchor and reporter for WLWT-TV in Cincinnati. Right before that, he was an anchor and reporter WWMT-TV, in Kalamazoo, Mich., together with a weekend anchor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, Calif. Before joining KCOY-TV, Cowan held positions as news director and anchor at NBC affiliate KIEM-TV Eureka, Calif. Cowan began his career in journalism in 1988 just like a investigator, first for “CBS News Nightwatch” along with the “CBS Evening News” in Washington, D.C. Born in Salt Lake City, Cowan graduated in 1988 within the College of Washington getting a double major in communications and speech communications.

'Attenberg,' 'Kilimandjaro,' 'Play' chase Lux prize

BRUSSELS -- Judging has begun for three films in the running for the European Parliament's 2011 Lux prize. In contention are Greek foreign-language Oscar hopeful "Attenberg" by Athina Rachel Tsangari, "Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro" by French helmer Robert Guediguian and "Play" by Ruben Ostlund of Sweden. A 90-seat cinema has been constructed in the parliament's Brussels complex to screen the films. The 736 members of parliament have a month to see the films and vote. The winner will be announced in Strasbourg, the parliament's other location, on Nov. 16 The prize recognizes films that illustrate European values, cultural diversity or debate on the European project. The winning film will be subtitled into the 23 official languages of the European Union, and it will receive support for its distribution in the 27 EU states. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

BAFTA LA renames award for Broccoli

The British Academy of Film and tv Arts La is renaming its Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Shot Entertainment in recognition of Jason Bourne franchise producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.BAFTA La made the announcement Tuesday. The initial Cubby Broccoli Britannia Award is going to be presented to John Lasseter within the BAFTA La Britannia Honours on November. 30 within the Beverly Hilton Hotel."Cubby Broccoli was the Britannia's initial honoree when the honours were originated from over 2 decades ago," mentioned Nigel Lythgoe, chairman of BAFTA La. "By creating a global phenomenon while using longest-running film series in cinema history, Cubby's legacy demonstrates just what the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution means. We are grateful to Michael G Wilson, Barbara Broccoli as well as the Broccoli Foundation for generous support, and so are delighted to supply this award in Cubby's recognition."Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began the written text photos in 1961 with "Dr. No." Broccoli died in 1996. Besides Lasseter, the 2011 honorees are Warren Beatty (Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film), Helena Bonham Carter (Britannia Award for British Artist of year), Ben Stiller (Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy), and David Yates (John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Pointing).Lasseter was named since the people receiving the BAFTA LA award in June just before being re-named. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Xbox 360 360 lines up programming companies

The important thing component of the look would be the incorporation of Microsoft's Bing internet search engine which will locate content using Kinect's voice and motion controls.Microsoft has arranged nearly 40 new satellite and cable companies, and individual channels to stream live TV and VOD programming through its Xbox 360 360 videogame console in 20 nations. Not surprisingly, Comcast's Xfinity TV, Verizon's FiOS TV, Epix, Cinemax, Bravo and Syfy are included in this ( Daily Variety , March. 3), however the U.K.'s BBC, Canada's Rogers When Needed, Telefonica in The country, Televisa in Mexico, ZDF in Germany, and MediaSet in Italia will even join Xbox 360 Live's selection of content partners sometime this fall. Additionally, Best Buy's CinemaNow will offer you up films alongside Netflix, while online entertainment and news sites AlloCin, Sony's Crackle, Dailymotion, iHeartRadio, MSNBC, NBC's "The Today Show," and TMZ can look on Xbox 360 Live. The integration of YouTube, Vevo and fights from UFC had recently been introduced in the E3 videogame confab in May. All will offer you streams through applications that every company will launch and manage. Generally, the applications will mirror each company's mobile applications like Cinemax Go. However the applications may also be a means for channels or speciifc shows to provide up more video or original programming like web series it does not have enough time to air on television. "By getting their very own, (content proprietors) will have a way to push programming out straight to the customer,Inch Blair Westlake, corporate Vice president from the Media & Entertainment Group for Microsoft, told Daily Variety . "They'll have the ability to tailor the application towards the content they produce." Microsoft has yet to reveal a precise date of once the partners will start showing up around the console, however they will rollout like a relaunch from the interface presently accustomed to control the Xbox 360 Live service, that is being remodeled to higher integrate more programming options. The important thing component of the look would be the incorporation of Microsoft's Bing internet search engine which will locate content using Kinect's voice and motion controls. Microsoft has offered ten million Kinect sensors worldwide. Because of the amount of applications which will show up on Xbox 360 Live, Microsoft is depending on Bing as the best way to cut with the clutter of content. A visit a title, for instance, will identify all content companies that make it as well as other forms -- sequels, videogames, soundtracks -- that could relate. "For several years, we have been speaking about 500 Television channels now we're approaching a lot more than 500 applications," Westlake stated. "This is where search can come greatly into play. A chance to find what you are searching for is going to be key." As viewership of videos around the Xbox 360 360 has tripled in the last year, Microsoft is wanting to up the amount of content deals it's for Xbox 360 Live because it looks to show the console into an exciting-in-one set-top box that may access all types of entertainment, not only games. By adding their services to consoles such as the Xbox 360 360, TV companies believe they are able to put programming in front of players by embracing the unit they are already using instead of wishing they change to other set-top boxes. Microsoft has offered 55 million Xbox 360 360s. Xbox 360 Live has 35 million people who pay to gain access to content, versus Comcast's 22.5 million and Verizon's 3.8 million for FiOS TV. "Present day announcement is really a major step toward recognizing our vision to create all of you the entertainment you would like, distributed to the folks you worry about, done affordably,Inch stated Don Mattrick, leader from the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Mixing the earth's leading TV and entertainment companies using the energy of Kinect for Xbox 360 360 and also the intelligence of Bing voice search can make TV and entertainment more personal, social and easy." The brand new partners join AT&T's U-verse, Netflix, ESPN 3 and Hulu Plus, within the U.S., Telus in Canada, BSkyB within the U.K., Canal Also in France, Vodafone Portugal, VimpelCom in Russia, and Foxtel around australia, which already offered streaming video through Xbox 360 Reside in their areas. Through Verizon's FiOS TV, Xbox 360 Live will offer you up 26 live Television channels, including MTV, Spike, Food Network, Comedy Central, Cinemax, CNN and Nickelodeon. To be able to make use of the services, Xbox 360 Live customers must prove they're customers towards the cablers or satcasters, or perhaps in Bravo or Syfy's situation, confirm that they're having to pay satellite or cable clients. Full Listing of Partners and Areas: Australia: ABC iView, Crackle. Foxtel, SBS When Needed Canada: Astral Media's Disney XD, Crackle, Walnut Leaf Sports & Entertainment/Real Sports, Netflix, Rogers When Needed Online, TELUS, UFC, Vevo France: AlloCin, Canal Plus, Germany: AlloCin, LoveFilm, MUZU.TV, ZDF Italia: MediaSet, MUZU.TV Japan: Hulu Mexico: Televisa Portugal: Vodafone Portugal Russia: VimpelCom The country: AlloCin, Antena 3, Canal Plus, GolTV, MUZU.TV, RTVE, Telefonica U.K.: AlloCin, BBC, blinkbox, BSkyB, Funnel 4, Funnel 5, Crackle, Last.fm, LoveFilm, MUZU.TV, Vevo, U.S.: AT&T U-Verse, Bravo, CinemaNow, Comcast's Xfinity TV, Crackle, Epix, ESPN 3, Cinemax Go, Hulu Plus, iHeartRadio, Last.fm, Manga Entertainment, Netflix, Syfy, "The Today Show," TMZ, UFC, Verizon's FiOS TV, Vevo, Facebook, MSNBC, Twitter, YouTube, Zune can be found in hundreds of marketplaces. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Monday, October 3, 2011

How 'Pan Am,' 'Playboy Club' Re-Created Iconic Looks From the '60s

TV's obsession with early-'60s style shows no sign of stopping. This fall, new series Pan Am and The Playboy Club are showcasing two iconic looks long identified (for better or worse) with the era: the stewardess and the Bunny.our editor recommends'Pan Am': What the Viewers Are Saying'Pan Am' Among Season's Priciest PilotsHugh Hefner: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Playboy Founder, Reality Star and Jilted Groom'The Playboy Club' Showrunner: 'There's a Perception of the Show That's False' PHOTOS: Fall TV's 12 Most Anticipated Shows For both, authenticity was paramount in re-creating Pan Am's blue uniforms and the Playboy Club's cotton-tail suits. In the case of Playboy Club, costume designer Isis Mussenden (The Chronicles of Narnia series) was unable to find even one original uniform. "We started scouring photos," says Mussenden, who consulted with Hugh Hefner on the outfits for the NBC drama series, set in Chicago in 1960. To create costumes to withstand 12-hour filming days, she chose a lustrous cotton-backed satin in a rainbow of colors, from red and hot pink to cobalt. Each suit -- two for each of the five leads -- took 10 hours to construct. The total cost per uniform? $3,000 including built-in bra, French cuff, Playboy cuff links, bow tie, satin ears and dyed-to-match 3-inch heels. Mussenden created 50 additional, less-expensive suits for extras. PHOTOS: ABC's New Season TV Shows: 'Pan Am,' 'Charlie's Angels' and More Hefner had comments, including one that the suits weren't cut high enough on the leg. "I sent Mr. Hefner a photo of him with five bunnies and the leg was exactly the height we used," says Mussenden. "We featured the lower leg cut." The makers of ABC's Pan Am were able to track down the airlines' original uniforms. Exec producer Nancy Ganis, a former flight attendant for the airline, located a collection of originals in Palo Alto, Calif. PHOTOS: Preview NBC's Fall Key Art for 'Playboy Club,' 'Grimm,' 'Whitney,' More "We copied them exactly," she says. "The only thing we had to adjust was the color. Because of high definition, the suit looked too blue-gray on camera. Now it's very close to the original blue." Costume designer Ane Crabtree (FX's Justified) notes the new twill uniforms are a bit more form-fitting through darting. Otherwise, the original specs were retained: below the knee pencil-skirt; 3-inch heels while greeting passengers in the airport (the stewardesses could change into 1 ½-inch heels in the cabin); and pillbox hats complete with a brass Pan Am logo. TV REVIEW: Pan Am While the Playboy Club creators worked closely with Playboy execs from the start, Pan Am's makers had more of a battle. "The rights to the logo are owned by a New England group, some of whom had been on the Pan Am board," says Ganis. "They wanted to protect the legacy." After three years of negotiations, Ganis went East to win over the board. "I explained it would be about an adventure of young women discovering the world," she says. "They understood what it meant to me. For a young girl to be able to travel and be so independent, it was just extraordinary." TV REVIEW: The Playboy Club GET THE LOOK: To capture the fresh-faced beauty of the Pan Am flight attendants, series makeup head Patricia Regan consulted the airline's official handbook provided to stewardesses in the 1960s. It required that ladies establish a defined eye "to give the appearance of big round eyes" and a touch of pink or coral on the cheeks and lips, as seen above on series star Margot Robbie [pictured right]. Related Topics Hugh Hefner Pan Am The Playboy Club Fall TV Preview Margot Robbie

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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Elizabeth Hurley Is Engaged

Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Hurley is engaged to Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Us Weekly reviews. Warne, 42, sprang the question throughout dinner within the Old Course Hotel in Scotland on Friday, in line with the magazine. See other stars who've become engaged this year "Interesting congratulations," Hurley, 46, tweeted Saturday. This is actually the second marriage for Hurley and Warne, who began dating 10 several days ago. Hurley, who's presently guest-starring on Gossip Girl, completed her divorce from Arun Nayar in June.