Daily Variety articles from December 2010

Daily Variety archives from December 2010

H'wood swing shifts: 'Avatar,' 3D tix buoy year's B.O.
December 30, 2010... With no "Avatar" to provide a higher-than-usual New Year's bump, B.O. observers aren't breaking out the bubbly just yet, with final numbers for 2010 expected to close just down from last year and only holdovers propping up the last weekend of...

H'wood swing shifts: changes loom for studios.
December 30, 2010... Even with the economy rebounding, the majors are scrambling as never before to adjust to a fast-changing environment. This past year saw profound changes in studios' focus, as marketing and merchandising became even higher priorities. And 3D...

Auds savor blurb treats.
December 30, 2010... Betty White and M&Ms made their mark in commercials. NBC's "The Jay Leno Show" managed to rank No. 2 among primetime broadcast TV shows in product placement activity even though it was on for only the first five weeks of 2010. And CBS' "Mike...

'Klown' in town.(Ghetto Klown)
December 30, 2010... John Leguizamo returns to Broadway this winter with his new solo play "Ghetto Klown," which will have a 12-week engagement with previews beginning Feb. 21 at the Lyceum Theater. Opening night is set for March 22. Fisher Stevens directs. ...

A swift end to year: 'Speak' tops final week.(Speak Now)(Brief article)
December 30, 2010... Taylor Swift closes out the year atop the U.S. album chart, as "Speak Now" held steady at No. 1 The country-pop vocalist's Big Machine album maintained its lock on the apex with a 276,000-unit sales week and a 7% gain, according to Nielsen...

Gaul alerts ISPs in antipiracy effort.
December 30, 2010... France's Culture and Internet Law, Europe's most energetic clampdown on Internet piracy, is finally kicking into gear. Since Oct. 2, 100,000 emails have been sent out to Internet service providers requesting that they identify potential...

Letter blasts Jackson spesh.
December 30, 2010... Legal reps for the Michael Jackson estate have written a letter of protest to Discovery Communications, denouncing the plan by the cabler's U.K. channel to air a special billed as a fictional re-creation of the deceased singer's postmortem. ...

Praiser Ott to Film Society.(Courtney Ott)(Brief article)
December 30, 2010... The Film Society of Lincoln Center has tapped Courtney Ott director of marketing and PR. Ott will work with the marketing department on the Film Society's programs, film fests, theaters, educational outreach and community involvement. She...

Howard scores 4 in Oscar nom bid.(James Newton Howard )(music notes)
December 30, 2010... Seventy-seven original scores have qualified for Academy Award consideration, according to the list mailed this week to the 236 voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' music branch. The list contains no real...

Digital dollars music to biz ears.(music notes)
December 30, 2010... With album sales continuing their steady downward trajectory, and the concert business still smarting from a nightmare summer season, the music sector has been desperate for good news. That's why estimated year-end tallies from...

Scribe recently inked CBS sitcom deal.(Obituaries)
December 30, 2010... Aron Abrams, writer and producer on TV comedies "Everybody Hates Chris" and "King of the Hill," died suddenly Saturday on the Big Island of Hawaii while on vacation. He was 50. Alternating between adult-skewed animated series and live-action...

Billy Taylor.(Obituaries)
December 30, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Billy Taylor, the jazz pianist, composer, educator and broadcaster, died Dec. 28 in New York. He was 89. Taylor died from heart failure, according to his official website. A gifted soloist and writer, Taylor was...

Bud Greenspan.(Obituary)
December 30, 2010... Documaker Bud Greenspan, whose riveting tales of the Olympics soared as triumphantly as the men and women he chronicled for more than six decades, died Saturday at his home in New York City of complications from Parkinson's disease, companion...

NFL scores for nets; snow can't stop auds.
December 30, 2010... Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday--it doesn't matter what night--auds are turning out in huge numbers for NFL action. One night after ESPN's "Monday Night Football" capped its most-watched season to date with a season high, NBC's...

Peacock's puck plans on thin ice.
December 30, 2010... NBC could be facing its second postponement of a major sports broadcast in a week, if weather forces the delay of Saturday's NHL Winter Classic. Whereas reports of an impending blizzard led the NFL to delay NBC's "Sunday Night Football"...

Femmes fuel net.(ABC Family gains with adult women viewers)(Brief article)
December 30, 2010... While its ratings growth in teen viewers has been well documented, ABC Family will also celebrate 2010 for the gains it has made with adult women. ABC Family had two of the year's three most-watched scripted cable series among women 18-34,...

Point, man! Giving credit where it's due in 2010.(V)(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 30, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MAY 16: Jeffrey Katzenberg and Mike Myers at the "Shrek Forever After" preem in Hollywood [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FEB. 25: Johnny Depp at the "Alice in Wonderland" bow in London [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AUG....

It's about time: DVRs drive TV evolution.
December 29, 2010... For better or worse--and there are good arguments both ways--the DVR has forever changed the primetime economic model. Americans are watching more primetime television than ever thanks to the time-shifting gizmos--but not necessarily live, or...

Bows look to get a leg up.
December 29, 2010... After years of playing off Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest on the "American Idol" stage, Paula Abdul will be in the small-screen spotlight as the broadcast TV calendar turns to 2011 and a wave of premieres looks to find some January traction. ...

A key add for Oprah.(OWN)(OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network L.L.C. has signed a deal with Cablevision)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... Just in time for its Jan. 1 launch, the Oprah Winfrey Network closed a gaping hole in its distribution base by cutting a carriage deal with Cablevision that was announced on Tuesday. Cablevision had not previously carried the Discovery Health...

Arachne phobia.(Natalie Mendoza)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" co-star Natalie Mendoza, injured during the first preview of the new Broadway tuner, has departed the $65 million production, which is still in previews. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mendoza suffered a concussion...

Nets' ho-hum holiday: Fox, CBS lead pack in low-rated frame.
December 29, 2010... The Christmas holiday, oodles of repeats and a postponement of "Sunday Night Football" resulted last week in one of the lowest-rated frames of the calendar year. Fox, which benefited from the early-evening Sunday NFL overrun, emerged...

Anika Noni Rose.(Tenpercenteries)
December 29, 2010... Anika Noni Rose has inked with Paradigm. She can currently be seen in pic "For Colored Girls." She is managed by David Williams Management. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Don Buchwald & Associates.(Tenpercenteries)
December 29, 2010... Melanie Nicholls-King has signed with Don Buchwald & Associates. King can currently be seen on ABC's "Rookie Blue." Past credits include "A Cool, Dry Place" and "How She Move." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mavrick Artists Agency.(Tenpercenteries)
December 29, 2010... Ant has signed with Mavrick Artists Agency. He is the host of VH1 skein "Celebrity Fit Club." Past credits include "Unhappily Ever After" and film "Twin Falls Idaho." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Colin Michael Day.(Tenpercenteries)
December 29, 2010... Imode Management has inked Colin Michael Day for representation. Day most recently starred in feature "The Loneliest Road in America."

Phoenix Crix bow to 'King's'.(Phoenix Film Critics Society has chosen 'The King's Speech' as best film of 2010)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... The Phoenix Film Critics Society has picked its bests of 2010, including best picture "The King's Speech." "Inception" drew the most wins with eight, including director, original screenplay, original score and editing. Acting kudos went to...

L.A. viewers warm to dueling yule logs.
December 29, 2010... Los Angeles TV viewers, still recovering from last week's rain, gathered 'round the yule log as they dried off on Christmas morning. Combined, KCAL and KTLA averaged 212,000 viewers for their dueling yule logs from 6 to 10 a.m. on Christmas Day....

KCET preps for new era.
December 29, 2010... Pubcaster KCET Los Angeles is overhauling its digital multicast channels in preparation for its split from PBS. 0The KCET Orange channel that previously helped distrib the station in Orange County will transition as of Saturday to KCET Kids...

No Lowry column.(Column)
December 29, 2010... Brian Lowry is on vacation. His column will return Jan. 5.

'Holmes 2' uncovers Gallic tax rebate.
December 29, 2010... "Sherlock Holmes 2" is the latest Hollywood studio movie to draw on a French tax rebate for foreign shoots. Directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Warner Bros., and toplining Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and new franchise addition Noomi Rapace,...

Rival toon fair for Tokyo.(Anime Contents Expo)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... Eight companies that have pulled out of next year's Tokyo Anime Fair (TAF) have set up a competing event, called Anime Contents Expo. The new tradeshow is set to unspool March 26-27 at the Makuhari Messe event space, while TAF is skedded for...

WGA hews to script: several crix faves deemed ineligible.(Writers Guild of America)
December 29, 2010... The Writers Guild of America has held tough on qualifying scripts for its awards, this year yielding just 76 eligible screenplays-down seven from last year's total and less than half the figure from 2008. The guild's tough...

Scramble for scripters: Screenwriting apps face new competish.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once upon a time, screenwriting was a labor-intensive vocation. And that labor was hardly confined to the age-old challenges of storytelling. "Just the sheer physical pain-in-the-ass quality of typing out a script in...

Security questioned as content moves to cloud.(Tech Tussles)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... Screenwriters who use Web-based software and cloud storage face a new fear in their trade: security. Write Brothers veep Chris Huntley, for one, is skeptical that studios will adopt widespread online exchanges of information until...

Christmas chill: CafeFX closes.(Tech Tussles)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... The California visual effects industry got a big lump of coal for Christmas with the news that the highly regarded studio CafeFX has permanently closed. CafeFX had been on hiatus for more than six months as it attempted to find new investors...

"True Grit" marks the Coen brothers' fourth movie with visual effects studio Luma Pictures.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... "True Grit" marks the Coen brothers' fourth movie with visual effects studio Luma Pictures. Luma produced 360 vfx shots for "True Grit," many of them realistic elements that become "invisible effects".

The Senate Visual Effects contributed 225 effects shots to "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.".(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... The Senate Visual Effects contributed 225 effects shots to "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Key sequences with work by the Senate include Coriakin's Library and the Ramandu's Island scenes.

Grid Prods.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... Grid Prods. hired Vicon House of Moves for stunt motion capture on "Tron: Legacy".

NEC Display Solutions.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... NEC Display Solutions is giving away $100,000 worth of NEC productions in a series of contests, $25,000 each for its education, health care, theater and small-to-medium-business programs.

Panasonic is shipping the new AJ-HPX3100.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... Panasonic is shipping the new AJ-HPX3100, which the company calls its most compact and lowest-priced 2/3" 1080p 3-CCD camcorder.

Software company Auryn has released its "Auryn Ink" app for iPad.(Tech Tussles)
December 29, 2010... Software company Auryn has released its "Auryn Ink" app for iPad, which simulates watercolor painting.

Film board nixes doc.(Inshallah, Football)(Brief article)
December 29, 2010... Helmer Ashvin Kumar, whose 2005 short "Little Terrorist" was nominated for a live-action short-film Oscar, has run afoul of India's Central Board of Film Certification. Kumar's documentary "Inshallah, Football" looks at soccer in Kashmir...

Nielsen primetime ratings report.(Statistical table)
December 29, 2010... Total Viewers (live plus same-day DVR playback) Week 14 Dec. 20-26, 2010 Nielsen primetime ratings report abc MONDAY 3.85 8:00 Skating With the Stars ...

Weekly network rankings.(Statistical table)
December 29, 2010... Weekly network rankings 2+ aud Total viewers in millions CBS 7.12 ESPN 5.24 Fox 5.23 ABC 4.94 NBC 4.73 USA...

Broadcast season-to-date.(Statistical table)
December 29, 2010... BROADCAST SEASON-TO-DATE Net Viewers 18-49 25-54 18-34 ABC 9.00 (-3%) 2.6/7 (-7%) 3.2/8 (-6%) 2.0/6 (-9%) CBS 12.01 (+2%) 3.1/9 (Even) 4.0/10 (+5%) 2.0/6 (-5%) NBC 8.01 (+2%)...

25 keepers: registry picks hits, rarities.(Library of Congress' selection of movies)
December 28, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a typically eclectic mix, the Library of Congress' selection of 25 pics to join the National Film Registry runs the gamut of obscure experimental and avant-garde works to mainstream hits including "The Pink...

Changing of guard tests TV's mettle.(5 BURNING QUESTIONS)
December 28, 2010... Jeff Zucker and Jeff Gaspin bid adieu to NBC U while Bob Greenblatt made plans to move in. Simon Cowell bowed out of "American Idol." ABC said goodbye to "Lost" and Steve McPherson. Conan O'Brien said so long to broadcast TV entirely, and Oprah...

B.O. haul: gifts & coal.
December 28, 2010... The holiday B.O. was all bad news/good news, depending on how you look at it. Whenever Christmas falls on a Saturday, expectations are low, and actual figures came in on average 10% lower than initial studio estimates. However, the B.O. was up...

Same-day fuels VOD.
December 28, 2010... "The Blind Side" led the list of top-performing films on video-on-demand in 2010, according to Comcast. Nine of the 10 top pics on VOD were available day and date with retail DVD re leases, showing that auds place significant value on seeing...

Putting the perfs first in low-budget pic.(BELOW THE LINE)
December 28, 2010... John Cameron Mitchell had never spoken to Nicole Kidman before he agreed to direct "Rabbit Hole," the first movie from her Blossom Films shingle, in which she cast herself as a grieving mom coping with the loss of her 4-year-old son in an auto...

Local pics boost China B.O.
December 28, 2010... The Chinese box office looks set to top 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2010 after a strong performance by key homegrown movies in the last weeks of the year, the head of China Film Group said this week. Han Sanping told Hunan TV that there...

Springs kudo to Douglas.(Michael Douglas)(Brief article)
December 28, 2010... The 22nd annual Palm Springs Film Fest will fete Michael Douglas with the lifetime achievement Icon Award. Kudo will be presented at a ceremony on Jan. 13 following an onstage conversation with Variety's Peter Bart and followed by a screening...

Oscar nom ballots out to members.
December 28, 2010... Oscar ballots are in the mail. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences sent nomination ballots for the 83rd annual Academy Awards on Monday to its 5,755 voting members. The ballots, which are numbered to ensure that each one is...

Online crix log in with nominations.(Online Film Critics Society)
December 28, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Online Film Critics Society has tapped "Black Swan," "Inception," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone" as its best picture nominees. "Black Swan" led the way with seven...

SAG voting set to begin.(Screen Actors Guild)(Brief article)
December 28, 2010... Voting for the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in six film and nine TV categories will open Wednesday with the mailing of postcards to the entire active membership of SAG--nearly 100,000 actors. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The official...

Stuntman in recovery.
December 28, 2010... Warner Bros. says stuntman Scott McLean is expected to recover from a traffic accident in Thailand on the set of "Hangover II," after being recently put into a medically induced coma. The experienced Australian stuntman was in a traffic...

NBA Christmas heat: Miami-L.A. duel is Yule fuel for ABC.
December 28, 2010... ABC drew big ratings for its marquee NBA game on Christmas Day, racking up the best number for a regular-season hoops game in six years. Total viewer information won't be available for a few more days, but Saturday's 5 p.m. ET tip-off between...

Comcast OK near, with conditions.
December 28, 2010... Comcast's proposed combination with NBC Universal looks more than likely to obtain clearance from federal regulators, but as word of the approval conditions leaked out over the holiday weekend, the question now is just how restrictive the...

The Kennedy Center Honors.
December 28, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (Special; CBS, Tue. Dec. 28, 9 p.m.) Taped in Washington, D.C., by Kennedy Center Television Prods. Producers, George Stevens Jr., Michael Stevens; line producer, Bill Urban; coordinating producer, Danette Herman;...

Love Never Dies.(Theater review)
December 28, 2010... (Adelphi Theater, London; 1,469 seats; 67.50 [pounds sterling] ($104.37) top) A Really Useful Group presentation of a musical in two acts, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, additional lyrics by Charles Hart, book by Lloyd...

'Lovergirl' singer was James protege.
December 28, 2010... Teena Marie, the white soul singer who rang up more than 20 R&B hits during the funk era of the '70s and '80s, was found dead at her home Sunday. Her daughter found her unconscious, but a cause of death has not been released. She was 54. ...

Film box office wrap: for the weekend of Dec. 24-26.
December 28, 2010... Film box office wrap box office wrap for the weekend of Dec. 24-26 Ranking Reported This Last weekend Week Week Title (Distrib/Financier) box...

Gift guide.
December 23, 2010... Need a last-minute holiday present? Cutting-edge gadgets are profiled on Variety.com/technotainment

Scribe wish list: screenwriters aim high for studio talks.
December 23, 2010... Hollywood's seen a low-tension, rhetoric-free negotiating season so far but that's likely to change considerably in the coming months. Three years removed from a memorably acrimonious 100-day strike, showbiz scribes have started gearing up...

Full-court yule press.
December 23, 2010... ABC is expecting a bountiful gift on Christmas Day as it telecasts one of the most anticipated NBA matchups of the year, when the LeBron James-infused Miami Heat take on Kobe Bryant and the Lakers from Los Angeles. Sports talkradio and the local...

Neverending 'Story'.
December 23, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From humble beginnings, a cottage industry has grown. "A Christmas Story," the 1983 MGM/UA release starring Peter Billingsley as a 9-year-old Indiana boy who yearns for a BB gun for Christmas, has not only joined...

Web of hurdles.
December 23, 2010... Producers of Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" canceled a second performance Wednesday evening to allow time to institute new actor safety measures even as a New York state assemblyman said he was considering a hearing to...

Biz's year of legal limbo.
December 23, 2010... Was the past year more fraught than usual with legal disputes? It's hard to say, but many of 2010's juiciest battles seemed to either end with a whimper or drag into next year. Roman Polanski never had to return to the U.S. Carl Icahn's bid...

Festival bookends: Palm Springs plants 'Potiche,' 'Grader'.
December 23, 2010... The Palm Springs Film Festival has set French farce "Potiche" as its opening film on Jan. 6 and Justin Chadwick's "The First Grader" as its final feature on Jan. 16. Festival lineup includes 193 films from 68 countries, including 59...

'Shore' bet for MTV.
December 23, 2010... "Jersey Shore" cast member Paul DelVecchio, aka DJ Pauly D, has signed a series option deal with MTV. A pilot presentation featuring DelVecchio has been shot by 495 Prods., the company behind "Jersey Shore," which has become MTV's...

Merger mired 'til 2011.
December 23, 2010... With the year end looming, it's clear that the FCC will not complete its review of the proposed Comcast-NBC U merger until January at the earliest. But the five members of the regulatory body will have a draft copy to consider. D.C. sources...

L.A. force raids pirates.
December 23, 2010... The Los Angeles Anti-Piracy Task Force conducted "Operation Chimney Sweep," the largest anti-piracy raid in Los Angeles history, this holiday season, arresting 10 and seizing $4.06 million in counterfeit goods. The task force comprised of...

Spidey didn't invent dangers of showbiz.(TECH BYTES)
December 23, 2010... Monday night's accident during a preview of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" prompted calls for the show to be shut down for good--or at least for the tech effects to be scaled back. It appears few of those raising those calls have actually...

Gulliver's Travels.(Movie review)
December 23, 2010... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 20th Century Fox release of a Davis Entertainment Co. production in association with Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Media, Big Screen Prods., Ingenious Film Partners, Phoenix Film Partners. Produced by John Davis,...

A rush for thrush: Swift tops Boyle, retakes No. 1 spot.
December 23, 2010... The victory belongs to the Swift--Taylor, that is--as the country-pop vocalist won a yuletide faceoff with Susan Boyle and retook the No. 1 spot on the U.S. album chart. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Swift's "Speak Now" (Big Machine) rose one...

Grammys dig Dolly.
December 23, 2010... The Recording Academy has announced its lifetime achievement, Trustees and Technical awards honorees for 2011. Recipients will be feted at a private event during Grammy Week in February. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Garnering lifetime...

'Blood' delays opening date.(Blood From a Stone)(Brief article)
December 23, 2010... It's not just megabudget Broadway superhero musicals that can push back an opening date: The New Group's Off Broadway staging of "Blood From a Stone"--with a cast that includes Ethan Hawke, Natasha Lyonne and Gordon Clapp--has reskedded its...

Aud chimes in on latest at Vineyard.
December 23, 2010... A solo show from Zach Helm, the screenwriter of "Stranger Than Fiction," and the latest play by Christopher Shinn are on tap this spring at Off Broadway's Vineyard Theater. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Helm's "Interviewing the Audience" and...

Lifeline for Italo biz: 6 months more for tax credits.
December 23, 2010... The cash-strapped Italian government approved the country's tax incentives for film production for another six months Wednesday, giving local industry some relief but leaving producers concerned about the future beyond that. After the...

Tune play for Sony.
December 23, 2010... TOKYO -- Sony has unveiled a cloud-based digital music service with access to about 6 million tunes from major labels. Called Music Unlimited Powered by Qriocity, the service is rolling out in the U.K. and Ireland first, followed by...

Soviet-era pics go digital.
December 23, 2010... Indian media giant Reliance is helping restore and digitize a treasure trove of Soviet-era movies in Russia's state film archives. The deal between Reliance Media Works, Russian World Studios and the State Film Collection was signed Wednesday...

Finns pin record B.O. year.
December 23, 2010... LONDON -- Finnish films have had a record year at the local B.O., according to the Finnish Film Foundation, with admissions and grosses at the highest level in 30 years. More than 1.9 million tickets were sold for the 23 homemade films...

Gov't change boosts Rupe's bid for BSkyB.
December 23, 2010... News Corp.'s $19 billion play to own U.K. paybox BSkyB outfight has been boosted by the fact that Media Minister Jeremy Hunt is now responsible for ruling on the deal. The satcaster's shares rose by almost 2% on the London stock exchange,...