Daily Variety articles from July 2005

Daily Variety archives from July 2005

Not so incredible sales pique Pixar.
July 1, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Pixar is trying to avoid pulling a DreamWorks. Steve Jobs' animation powerhouse Thursday cut its earnings projection for the quarter ending Saturday by a third, blaming the shortfall on slower-than-expected homevideo sales for "The...

English lessons for newsie.
July 1, 2005... Al-Jazeera on Thursday started slowly taking the wraps off plans to enter the U.S. market with a round-the-clock English-language version of the Middle East newsie. Execs at the Qatar-based cabler say they are starting talks with cable and...

B.O. alien invasion: 'War' debut best ever for Par, Cruise.('War of the Worlds' starring Tom Cruise does good business for Paramount)
July 1, 2005... "War of the Worlds" snatched up $21.3 million from 3,908 theaters on Wednesday, the biggest opening-day number for Paramount and star Tom Cruise. Pic, whose budget is officially listed at $135 million but believed to be higher, was co-financed...

World class bow o'seas.('War of the Worlds')
July 1, 2005... "War of the Worlds" began taking over the world Wednesday, launching internationally with an impressive $13.4 million at 4,958 theaters in 46 territories. The day-and-date opening established numerous milestones for UIP, which is handling...

DOJ steps up pirate hunt.(Department of Justice)
July 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The cyberseas are getting rougher for Internet pirates as the Justice Dept. has announced an international crackdown. Operation Site Down involves FBI agents as well as law enforcement officers from 10 other nations, Justice...

Lions Gate commits coin.(Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)
July 1, 2005... Lions Gate will pour $182 million into 18 pics in fiscal '06--repping "our biggest commitment ever to our film slate," CEO John Feltheimer said Thursday on conference call to discuss the company's financials for the fiscal year ended March 31....

Lion cables its roar: Robina set to be Comcast/Sony Nets prexy.(Diane Robina)
July 1, 2005... Comcast and Sony took their first major step toward creating a batch of fresh cable networks in the U.S. by hiring Diane Robina, an MTV Networks maven, to the new post of president of Comcast/Sony Networks. Robina's job will be to figure...

ABC dances to a win.('Dancing With the Stars' gets good ratings for American Broadcasting Companies Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... One week from its finale, ABC's hot competition skein "Dancing With the Stars" soared to ratings highs Wednesday night, standing as the summer's top series telecast to date. "Dancing" racked up series-best scores of a 5.6 rating/17 share...

NAC English theater picks a.d.(National Arts Center)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... OTTAWA -- Peter Hinton will succeed Marti Maraden as the artistic director of English theater at the National Arts Center. NAC president-CEO Peter Herrndorf announced Hinton's appointment Wednesday, following a six-month search by a...

Lapenda lifts off with U.S. prod'n banner.(Frederico Lapenda launches Paradigm Entertainment Group)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Brazilian producer Frederico Lapenda has launched a Stateside production banner, Paradigm Entertainment Group. First completed film on the company's slate is "Bad Guys," starring Mexican thesp Kate Del Castillo. Move comes on the heels of...

Time stops the clock on contempt order.
July 1, 2005... Time Magazine said it would turn over documents revealing the confidential sources of reporter Matthew Cooper to the special prosecutor investigating the leak of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court...

Tyro's Reason takes four.(Reason Pictures plans four film projects )
July 1, 2005... Ben Goldhirsh, a 25-year-old financier who started Reason Pictures last year, has four film projects in the works as well as a national magazine, Good, which will launch next spring. Though he looks more like a junior exec than a...

'Tarzan' to go ape in spring.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Disney has officially announced that its long-planned stage musical version of "Tarzan" will come to Broadway next spring. Shuler Hensley is in final negotiations to play a primate, a spokesperson for the actor confirmed. A spokesperson for...

Light on tentpoles: Cinema Expo offers few looks at big titles.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... AMSTERDAM--The "King Kong" trailer, an early look at "Cars" and 40 frenetic minutes from Michael Bay's futuristic "The Island" set pulses racing at the 14th edition of Cinema Expo. Nevertheless, few event movies played at the expo, which...

MTV to air a Blair Q&A.(MTV Networks Inc. to air interview with Tony Blair, question and answer)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... LONDON -- On the eve of the Live8 concerts, MTV viewers from 24 countries--including nine African nations--will quiz British Prime Minister Tony Blair today about the objectives of next week's meeting of the leaders of the world's most powerful...

Coasting on Italo B.O. 'Love,' pic goes to 11.('Manual of Love' distributed internationally)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... ROME -- Romantic comedy "Manual of Love," the only bright note in Italy's slumping B.O., has seduced international distribs, scoring sales to 11 territories, including Germany, Spain and Australia. Produced by Aurelio De Laurentiis'...

India's Reliance buys into Adlabs.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI -- One of India's biggest private-sector groups, Reliance, announced Thursday its plans to acquire a 71% stake in film production and processing company Adlabs for $83 million. Adlabs owns a chain of multiplexes across India as...

Stony Brook fest will turn on the 'Charm'.(Stony Brook Film Festival)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Stony Brook Film Festival will kick off July 21 with an East Coast preem of "Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School," starring Marisa Tomei, Robert Carlyle, Mary Steenburgen, John Goodman and Danny DeVito. Pic preemed...

Rutger Hauer.(signs deal with APA Agency Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Rutger Hauer has signed with APA for representation. Hauer appeared recently in "Batman Begins" and "Sin City." He will next be seen in Lions Gate Films' "Minotaur" and Focus Features' remake of 1986 horror thriller "The Hitcher." He...

Jennifer Jason Leigh.(signs deal with United Talent Agency)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Jennifer Jason Leigh has inked with United Talent Agency. Leigh just wrapped indie "Rag Tale" for director Mary McGuckian and will next star in Mike Leigh's "Abigail's Party" Off Broadway. She also had roles in "The Machinist," "The...

Showbiz stocks: Thursday, June 30, 2005.(WORLD NEWS)(Illustration)
July 1, 2005... SHOWBIZ STOCKS Thursday, June 30, 2005 YTD Name Tkr PE Last Chg %Chg AcmeCm ACME ... 4.02 -.03 -42.7 Actvsn ATVI 25 16.52 ...

Dollhouse.(Theater Review)
July 1, 2005... (Goodman Theater, Chicago; 800 seats: $60 top) A Goodman Theater production of a play in two acts by Rebecca Gilman, adapted from the play by Henrik Ibsen. Directed by Robert Falls. Sets, Robert Brill; costumes, Mara Blumenfeld; lighting,...

Rebound.(Movie Review)
July 1, 2005... A 20th Century Fox release of a Robert Simonds/Runteldat production. Produced by Simonds. Executive producers, Martin Lawrence, Tracey Trench, Heidi Santelli, Paul Deason. Directed by Steve Carr. Screenplay, Jon Lucas, Scott Moore, from a...

Films in the future.(Film Production Chart)
July 1, 2005... ACTION ANGELS THE MOVIE EXP, Tony Kandah, Jeff Centauri; PROD, Kandah: DIR-SCR, Centauri; DISTRIB, Hollywood Wizard. Action Works Pictures (4629 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite A, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403). 9/2, Los Angeles. ALIBI EXP James...

Filming in the U.S.(Film Production Chart)
July 1, 2005... ALLEYBALL Larry Joe Campbell, Keegan-Michael Key, Johnny Ray Meeks, Kellyn Jones Meeks, Heather Landry, Joel Spence, Danny McCarthy, Mike McColl EXP, John Yaworsky; PROD, Dan Cosiglio; DIR, Cosiglio; SCR, Cosiglio, Johnny Ray Meeks;...

Filming outside the U.S.(Film Production Chart)
July 1, 2005... * CHE Benicio Del Torn, Ryan Gosling, Benjamin Bratt, Javier Bardem, Franka Potente EXP, Philip Elway, Andreas Schmid; PROD, Laura Bickford, Steven Soderbergh, Beincio Del Toro; DIR, Soderbergh; SCR, Soderbergh, Peter Buchman. River...

Date book.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Richard Dreyfuss and Francois Truffaut star in one of Steven Spielberg's benevolent-alien films. The Pioneer, 155 E. 3rd St. Midnight. Call (212) 591-0434 or go to twoboots.com/pioneer "Nashville"...

Driving on the Left Side.(Theater Review)
July 1, 2005... (TBG Theater; 99 seats; $40 top) A Blackbird Prods. presentation of a play in two acts by Amy Merrill. Directed by Florante Galvez. Sets, Carlo Adinolfi; costumes, All Turns; lighting, Federico Restrepo; sound, Andrew Fremont Smith;...

Arden Myrin.(signs deal with Innovative Artists)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Innovative Artists has signed Arden Myrin. Thesp-comedian has joined the cast of Fox's "Mad TV" starting next season. She also appeared in features "Kinsey" and "Christmas With the Kranks." Myrin continues to be managed by Sanders...

Mouse tries new strategy.(Walt Disney)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Walt Disney has tapped Internet exec and consultant Kevin Mayer, along with TiVo and NBC alum Marty Yudkovitz, to head a new Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Technology Group. Move comes about three months after Disney...

Thesps ready to meet Fleck 'Half' way.(Ryan Gosling and Anthony Mackie to act in Ryan Fleck's 'Half Nelson')(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Ryan Gosling and Anthony Mackie will topline the indie pic "Half Nelson," a feature adaptation of helmer Ryan Fleck's Sundance-winning short film "Gowanus, Brooklyn." Drama--lensing this month in Gotham--follows a unique relationship...

Weekend box office preview.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
July 1, 2005... RELEASE DATES AND CHANGES As of June 30 Pic New date Old date FOX Supercross Aug. 19 Aug. 10 FOX SEARCHLIGHT Bee Season Oct. 21 Sept. 30 NEW...

Hitched.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Miriam Holzman and Jason Sharman, June 5, Arcadia. Bride is director, Fox Mobile Entertainment; groom is a freelance TV producer.

Invaders mint mega moolah: Spielberg sci-fier soars to $113 million.(Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds)
July 5, 2005... Though it didn't match the results of last year's record-setting Fourth of July holiday frame, Paramount and DreamWorks' "War of the Worlds" turned in an impressive $77.6 million opening over the Friday-to-Monday long weekend. Playing...

The whole world's now at 'War'.(foreign ticket sales of War of the Worlds)
July 5, 2005... It's a "War of the Worlds" world as the Tom Cruise-Steven Spielberg tentpole dominated foreign box office with $102.5 million at more than 4,900 playdates in 78 countries. "War," which opened in most markets Wednesday, set records as the...

New view at Allen retreat.(Allen and Company Inc.)
July 5, 2005... What a difference a year makes. Of the media moguls currently massing at Sun Valley, Idaho, today for Allen & Co.'s storied annual retreat, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Edgar Bronfman Jr. both are heads of newly public companies. Rupert Murdoch...

Small gain for scribe tribe.(growth seen in screenwriters ernings)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Hollywood writers saw slow growth in their paychecks last year, particularly in features, as 2004's gain in overall earnings didn't even match the 3.3% hike in the consumer price index. Earnings edged up 2.5% to $866.5...

Tentpole two-fer at Par.(The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- David Fincher will direct a pair of tentpoles--"Zodiac," starting Mark Ruffalo, and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett--back-to-back. Paramount will distribute both domestically, with Warner...

Live 8.(Television Program Review)
July 5, 2005... (Special, MTV, Sat. July 2; noon ET) Broadcast live and on tape from London; Philadelphia; Berlin; Paris; Barrie, Canada; Johannesburg; and Tokyo by MTV Networks. 8 HOURS. At Live Aid 20 years ago, U2 gave a magnanimous performance that...

Watch the Skies!(The Thing From Another World)(Television Program Review)
July 5, 2005... (Docu; Turner Classic Movies, Tues. July 5, 8 p.m. ET) Produced by Turner Classic Movies. Producer, director, writer, Richard Schickel; co-producer Dougl Freeman: camera, Harris Done, George Lang, Daryl Studebaker; editor, Bryan McKenzie;...

R&B crooner wooed women, Grammys.(Luther Vandross)(Obituary)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Luther Vandross, the smooth-voiced R&B crooner who suffered a severe stroke more than two years ago and never fully recovered, died Friday at the age of 54. Vandross died at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Edison, N.J....

U fetes its Legacy on DVD.(Universal Studios Inc. releases To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting and The Deer Hunter on DVDs)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Universal will release new special editions of three of its notable library titles "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Sting" and "The Deer Hunter"--Sept. 6 to launch its Legacy Series line of DVDs. Each two-disc limited edition...

Fox's 'Arrested' nabs Nymph.(Monte Carlo Television Festival and Market)
July 5, 2005... MONTE CARLO -- Fox's "Arrested Development" walked away Friday with a Golden Nymph for producer of the year in the category of comedy at a glitzy awards ceremony that closed the 45th edition of the Monte Carlo Television Festival. Michael...

Comcast adds logo: channel expands reach on biggest cable system.
July 5, 2005... Logo, the Viacom cable network targeted to gays and lesbians, has landed a carriage deal with Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., giving the network one of the best new-channel launches in years. Over the next three months,...

WB finds king of 'Kings'.(Warner Bros. Television inks deal with Lester Lewis)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Former "Larry Sanders" scribe Lester Lewis has landed at Warner Bros. TV, inking a two-year overall deal with the studio. First up for Lewis: Serving as showrunner of NBC midseason laffer "Four Kings" for series creator-exec...

Sony develops reality exec.(Sony Pictures Television appoints Kerry Schmidt Hardy.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Former "The Bachelor" and "Big Brother" producer Kerry Schmidt Hardy has been tapped VP of development at Sony Pictures Television. Hardy will work in the studio's syndie/reality division, developing programming for both...

Herzog locks exec roster in programming.(Doug Herzog, Pancho Mansfield)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Spike TV chief Doug Herzog has finalized his new programming team, naming longtime Showtime exec Pancho Mansfield as exec VP of original programming. Herzog, who added Spike to his Viacom bailiwick in January, recently...

TW interest lifts ITV: web's stock soars on talk of takeover bid.
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- A report that Time Warner is preparing a bid for ITV, Blighty's biggest commercial terrestrial web, sent the broadcaster's stock soaring Monday here. Shares in the web rose 8% to 134.75p ($2.37), a 15-month peak, in early trading...

Extra subs fuel XM stox.(XM Satellite Radio Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Shares in XM got a boost Friday as the sat-caster revealed better-than-expected subscriber figures for the quarter ended June 30. Keeping up a tradition of revealing sub adds as soon as the quarter ends and before earnings, XM...

Bourne hones 'Scissorhands'.(Matthew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- "Edward Scissorhands" is ready to cut loose. Director-choreographer Matthew Bourne's dance musical version of the Tim Burton film will start an 11-week run with previews on Nov. 22 at Sadler's Wells, Bourne's new London base. It...

Showbiz stocks: Friday, July 1, 2005.(Illustration)
July 5, 2005... SHOWBIZ STOCKS Friday, July 1, 2005 YTD Name Tkr PE Last Chg %Chg AcmeCm ACME ... 4.08 +.06 -41.8 Actvsn ...

Solons raise static: House Dems call for CPB chief's resignation.(democrats call for Kenneth Tomlinson's resignation)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and 52 of his fellow House Democrats sent a letter Friday to Corp. for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Tomlinson saying he should resign. Alleging Tomlinson has a "zeal to impose a political...

Pols gush bill for ratings accreditation.(television audience ratings)
July 5, 2005... WASHINGTON -- A bill introduced in the Senate on Friday would require that all media ratings services--such as Nielsen's local people meters be accredited by the Media Ratings Council before they can he deployed. The Fairness, Accuracy,...

Comedy net to roast Anderson.(Comedy Central Roast)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Pamela Anderson will become the first female recipient of a "Comedy Central Roast" spec, skedded to tape Aug. 7 for an Aug. 14 airdate. Jimmy Kimmel will host the roast, which Tenth Planet Prods.' Joel Gallen is exec...

Dallas Roberts ("A Home at the End of the World") has joined "The L Word" as a series regular.(PLAYERS)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... * Dallas Roberts ("A Home at the End of the World") has joined "The L Word" as a series regular. He'll play a musician named Angus on the Showtime skein, in production on its third season. Roberts' upcoming pics include Fox 2000's...

Penn Badgley ("The Mountain") will star in 20th Century Fox and Landscape Films' "John Tucker Must Die.".(Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... * Penn Badgley ("The Mountain") will star in 20th Century Fox and Landscape Films' "John Tucker Must Die." Betty Thomas-directed laffer concerns several girls who seek revenge on a high school heartbreaker (Jesse Metcalfe); Badgley plays...

Jason Statham ("Cellular"), Ron Perlman ("Hellboy"), Matthew Lillard ("Scooby-Doo"), John Rhys-Davies ("The Lord of the Rings"), Leelee Sobieski ("The Glass House"), Kristanna Loken ("T3") and Butt Reynolds have joined the cast of Brightlight Pictures'.(PLAYERS)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... * Jason Statham ("Cellular"), Ron Perlman ("Hellboy"), Matthew Lillard ("Scooby-Doo"), John Rhys-Davies ("The Lord of the Rings"), Leelee Sobieski ("The Glass House"), Kristanna Loken ("T3") and Butt Reynolds have joined the cast of...

Follies.(Theater Review)
July 5, 2005... (Consolati Performing Arts Center; Sheffield. Mass.; 498 seats; $52 top) A Barrington Stage Company presentation of a musical in two acts, music by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Goldman. Directed by Julianne Boyd. Choreography. Lara...

Granada growing in U.S.(Granada America teams with National Broadcasting Company Inc. )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- NBC and Granada America are teaming up to develop a telepic about last year's Asian tsunami. Pic is one of several scripted projects in the works from the U.S. arm of Brit giant ITV, which has rapidly expanded its Stateside...

B'way tuners dancing to London's Sheffield.(Broadway musicals Promises, Promises and Assassins)(works of Samuel West)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- Revivals of the Broadway musicals "Promises, Promises" and "Assassins" are among the shows on tap for actor-director Samuel West's first season as artistic director of Sheffield Theaters. So is a rare revival of Englishman Howard...

'Highlander' at Lions Gate.(Lions Gate Films Inc. obtains rights of "Highlander--The Journey Continues" )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- Lions Gate has picked up North American rights to "Highlander--The Journey Continues," the fifth film in Davis-Panzer's lucrative "Highlander" franchise. Pact is one of 20 distribution deals struck by sales agent IAC Film for the...

End of renaissance: Brit film unit shutters amid bankruptcy.(Renaissance Films Ltd.)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- Renaissance Films, once one of the biggest names in the British film industry, is history. Employees at the London-based sales outfit were pinkslipped last week, as managing director Angus Finney started the process of taking the...

Oz gov't finance group spends big bucks on pix.(Australian Film Finance Corp. spent A$87 million )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... SYDNEY --- Earnings for Aussie films might be at a low ebb, but expenditure during the financial year, which wrapped Thursday, scaled new heights. Australia's government agency the Film Finance Corp. spent A$87 million ($66 million) on a...

Gilliam joins kudos roster at Locarno.(Locarno Film Festival., Terry Gilliam.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- In an unprecedented move, the Locarno Film Festival has added a third honoree to its major kudos lineup this year. U.S.-born, U.K.-based writer-director Terry Gilliam will receive a Leopard of Honor, for career achievement, joining...

New Spanish outfit tags Canuck TV exec.(WORLD NEWS)(Factoria de Canales appoints Graeme Stanley )(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... MADRID -- Canuck TV exec Graeme Stanley has been tapped general director of Spanish niche-channel packager Factoria de Canales. One of Stanley's main goals will be to consolidate the new company in Spain's growing cable TV market, as well...

Picturehouse follows 'Khan'.(obtaind rights for "Mongol The Early Years of Genghis Khan" from Beta Cinema)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... BERLIN -- Picturehouse, the newly formed distrib venture of HBO and New Line Cinema, has picked tip North American rights to Sergei Bodrov's "Mongol The Early Years of Genghis Khan." The co-production from Russia's CTB and Germany's X Filme...

Wong exec makes Impact.(Impact Pictures appoints Damon Chua., Wong Kar-wai.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... LONDON -- Impact Pictures has tapped Damon Chua vice president and general manager of its Los Angeles office. He will oversee all business development and finance activities, as well as be responsible for pumping up the shingle's...

Students draw NATPE kudos.(National Association of Television Program Executives)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- The National Assn. of Television Program Executives (NATPE) has honored four students with its annual Student Video & Film Production Awards. Deborah McDonald of San Francisco's Academy of Art U. took the top prize, raking in...

Taylor Dooley ("The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D"), Jake Thomas ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie"), Nikki Griffin ("The OC") and Matthew Lawrence ("The Hot Chick") will star in "Trick or Treat.(National Lampoon Clubhouse.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... * Taylor Dooley ("The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D"), Jake Thomas ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie"), Nikki Griffin ("The OC") and Matthew Lawrence ("The Hot Chick") will star in "Trick or Treat," the first film from National Lampoon...

Max & Grace.(Movie Review)
July 5, 2005... A Full Glass Films production, in association with Three Picture Deal Prods. and Grace Films. (International sales: Lantern Lane Entertainment, Calabasas, Calif.) Produced by Gene Miller, Ron Brown, G. Mac Brown, Michael Parness. Co-producer,...

Nicktoons resurrects 'Ren'.("The Ren and Stimpy Show".)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's 24-hour digital net dedicated to animation, is bringing back "The Ren & Stimpy Show." Series, which originally launched on Nickelodeon in 1991, will air weekdays at 11:30 and weekends at 11. Nicktoons...

Nine's news chief ankles.(Nine Network Australia Ltd.)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... SYDNEY News topper Max Uechtritz is the latest casualty as terrestrial web Channel Nine continues to shed staff in its struggle to beat rival Seven in the news game. Recruited from pubcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corp. just 15 months...

RTL firms up plans for succession.(RTL Group and RTL Television)(Gerhard Zeiler and Anke Schaeferkordt)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... COLOGNE -- While the future ownership structure of Germany's largest TV family, ProSiebenSat 1, remains unsettled, RTL has become explicit about the management of the country's main commercial channel, RTL TV. "It's no secret that Anke...

Karlovy Vary gets political.(film festival)(Brief Article)
July 5, 2005... KARLOVY VARY, Czech Republic Stars at Central Europe's Karlovy Vary film test haven't been slay about talking politics as the nine-day gala reaches its midpoint. Robert Redford, attending as recipient of a lifetime-achievement Crystal...

Pics thrive amid talk and tabloids.(WORLD WATCH)
July 6, 2005... While "War of the Worlds" was the latest event pic to test overseas waters this past weekend, Fox's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" showed off some impressive international legs. Tabloid reports haven't been a problem for either: Off-screen buzz...

Kudo countdown: plenty to ponder at Oscar's midway point.
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- The year is half over, but in terms of awards, the fun is just beginning. Only a few serious kudos contenders have so far emerged, such as "Cinderella Man" and "Crash"; the bulk of hopefuls arrive, as usual, in the second half of...

Globe-trotting Acad woos 91 nations.(Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)(Brief Article)
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD--The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has invited 91 countries, two more than last year, to submit films for consideration in the foreign-language film category for the 78th Academy Awards. The new kid on the awards...

Nixon digging 'Hole' at MTC.(Cynthia Nixon to act in 'Rabbit Hole' at Manhattan Theater Club )(Brief Article)
July 6, 2005... Cynthia Nixon trades one Manhattan Theater Club play for another, signing on for the lead role in David Lindsay-Abaire's play "Rabbit Hole." which goes up next winter in MTC's Broadway venue, the Biltmore Theater. MTC originally cast Nixon...

'Cradle' to rock with DiCaprio.(Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production to make 'Cat's Cradle')(Brief Article)
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production shingle will develop and produce a feature film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's classic dystopian novel "Cat's Cradle," in partnership with manager-producer Hillard Elkins' Elkins...

ABC casts lot with Lee.(ABC Entertainment Television Group, Keli Lee )(Brief Article)
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- ABC and Touchstone have found a new lead player for their casting division, tapping Keli Lee as exec VP of casting for the ABC Entertainment Television Group. Gig gives Lee oversight of primetime casting for skeins set up at...

Golden age scribe dies.(Ernest Lehman)(Obituary)
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- Writer and producer Ernest Lehman, who penned screenplays for such classic pics as "Sweet smell of Success," "North by Northwest," "West Side Story," "The sound of Music," and "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?," died Saturday at...

Friday nights light a new fight for viewers: nets could escape the ratings ghetto by adopting an age-before-beauty sked strategy.(Tuning In)
July 6, 2005... AS STUDENTS OF "The Karate Kid" movies can attest, true wisdom comes from transforming weakness into strength, using an opponent's force to your advantage and, of course, painting fences and washing cars. Such serenity, alas, has eluded...

Solons: push Russia on piracy.
July 6, 2005... WASHINGTON -- More than two dozen Democratic and Republican members of Congress have sent a letter urging President Bush to pressure Russia at the upcoming G-8 summit to make good on previous promises to crack down on piracy. "To ensure...

Emmys grab Grammy guru for kudocast.(Ken Ehrlich)
July 6, 2005... HOLLYWOOD -- CBS and the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences have enlisted Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich to help revamp this year's Emmys kudofest. Ehrlich was named executive producer Tuesday of the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards telecast,...