Variety articles from October 2012

Variety archives from October 2012

CNN's Next Campaign
October 29, 2012... No matter who wins the presidential election in November, CNN is going to wake up the next day and still be CNN. This represents a problem for the oldest cable-news network, since being CNN has become challenging these past several years....

Media on the Downside
October 29, 2012... Media and entertainment companies had the greatest number of "ratings actions" (bond-rating speak for upgrades and downgrades of credit ratings) in the third quarter, according to Standard & Poor's Global Fixed Income Research. Most of...

Facts on Pacts: The Fallout: AFM-Goers Hope to Fill Void as Studios Axe More Deals
October 29, 2012... It could be good news for the indies gathering at the American Film Market, but it's bad news for studio-based filmmakers: In the past six months, studios have cut their producing deals by 5%. Variety has been compiling the Facts on Pacts...

Facts on Pacts
October 29, 2012... Variety's Facts on Pacts survey concentrates on major studio producing deals. Indies are not included. Because of changes in corporate structures, some of these deals may soon migrate or disappear. New deals appear in green. Disney Boxing...

New Coin Boosts Cautious Indies: AFM-Bound Investors Lay Smart Bets in a Sector Focused on Sensibly-Priced Pics
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the six Hollywood majors chant the tentpoles-and-franchises mantra, coin has been flowing toward the indie sector to fund mid-range films. On the eve of the American Film Market (Oct. 31-Nov. 7), the indies see...

Sampling of Pics That Has AFM Buzzing
October 29, 2012... 5 to 7 DIRECTOR: Victor Levin PRODUCERS: Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn SEX CAST: Diane Kruger, Anton Yelchin LOGLINE: Romantic comedy in which an aspiring novelist has an affair with the beautiful wife of a French diplomat. SALES: The...

Naming Rite: Art & Inspiration: Startup Indies Consider Many Factors in Branding
October 29, 2012... LONDON A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. But would a company by any other name be as successful? In recent months, the indie film business has seen a flurry of ventures launched by well-known executives who left big corporate...

Tricycle Rolls Ahead
October 29, 2012... The 240-seat Tricycle, one of London's most singular off-West End theaters, has been punching well above its weight for decades thanks largely to the 28-year stewardship of a.d. Nicolas Kent, who stepped down in May. Small wonder, then, that new...

Bond's Evolution Is a Sign of the Times
October 29, 2012... I owe my love of movies to James Bond. Of all the vices 007 could have instilled in me--brawling, smoking, womanizing, drinking and reckless driving--a case of cinephilia really wasn't such a bad thing to take away from the experience. As I...

Teuton Indie Gets Altered Int'l Plan
October 29, 2012... BERLIN Since taking the helm at Studiocanal Germany at the beginning of the year, CEO Rodolphe Buet has bolstered the group's operations by strengthening international partnerships, beefing up domestic production and laying out a strategic...

Rights Struggle
October 29, 2012... Politicians like to use popular songs and slogans in their campaigns, and artists often feel helpless when even a portion of their work is used without permission--especially by a candidate they oppose. On the other side, politicos are...

Scaring Up Extreme Halloween Chills
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Gone are the innocent days of interactive theater, when legit lovers could attend "Tina n' Tony's Wedding" or figure out whodunit over over-cooked chicken. Today, there is Blackout Haunted House. The extreme...

Filmmaker Doesn't Sweat 'The Details'
October 29, 2012... NEW YORK Jacob Aaron Estes' 2004 feature debut "Mean Creek," a tense, disturbing story about teen bullying, received considerable acclaim from Sundance, Cannes and the Spirit Awards that year. But the filmmaker, whose sophomore effort "The...

Indie Newbies Fill Distrib Gap: Fresh Blood, Digital Boost Sellers Market
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The world of indie financing has received a major validation in recent months as more distribution players enter the arena--such as Exclusive Releasing, 108 Media-Paladin and A24. All figure to be active during the...

During Precarious Times, Mergers Build Strength
October 29, 2012... LONDON Size isn't everything, but with the independent film market facing strong headwinds all around the world, some of its biggest players are relying on expansion and the $230 million deal for eOne to buy Alliance, Studiocanal's...

Web Makes Fests a Virtual Experience
October 29, 2012... LONDON A buyer who couldn't make it to Cannes this year confides that he didn't mind, because he could watch everything in his office on Vimeo and track the instant reaction on Twitter far more effectively than by loitering outside press...

Thesps Switch to Driver's Seat
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The do-it-yourself low-budget movie that makes a six-figure profit out of the box represents the new financing paradigm that has Hollywood talent buzzing. Forget about the disappointment from endless rejections at...

Canuck Distribs Held Up by Obstacles in Road to VOD
October 29, 2012... Canadian film distributors are standing oil the sidelines this year as their U.S. peers ramp up the selection of early-release VOD titles aim reap the benefits. Despite the growing list of successful premium video-on-demand titles Stateside,...

Eat, Drink, Network
October 29, 2012... This year, there's more delicious competition than ever for AFM attendees in Santa Monica. The city has a deep line-up of new and updated restaurants and old favorites. Want a quick bite? A quiet afternoon meeting spot or a laidback, alfresco...

Journo Alters Protagonist's Vision
October 29, 2012... LONDON The arrival of former Screen Intl. editor Mike Goodridge in August to succeed Ben Roberts as CEO of Protagonist Pictures marks the start of a new chapter for the U.K.-based sales and financing outfit, which is backed by Film4, Vertigo...

Competing Incentives Prove Attractive, If Not Too Generous
October 29, 2012... Over the past decade dozens of states throughout the U.S. have used production incentives to lure camera crews in hopes of building themselves up as ideal filming sites. Though most imagined huge boons to their local film business, once the...

'No Reservations' Crew Finds Food for Thought from Culinary Blogs
October 29, 2012... "No Reservations" made its mark by taking viewers to hidden places that only an obsessed neighborhood foodie might know. And producers of the show have a favorite kind of "location scout" they use to source that information --food bloggers. ...

Biz Booming as 22 Shows Clamor for a Piece of Big Apple
October 29, 2012... You don t have to look at the statistics to know that film and television production in New York City is booming. All you have to do is turn on the TV or go to the movies--or simply walk down the street in New York City. "Everywhere you look...

Tax Incentives Are Lacking but Zloty Proves Favorable
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Keenly aware that U.S. productions these days are "a rarity indeed," Poland founded its Film Commission in February to focus on remedying the problem, says commission topper Aleksandra Szczerbak. Bizzers here fondly...

Magyars No Longer Starved for Production
October 29, 2012... Hungary gained a leg up on its old Eastern Bloc and Austro-Hungarian Empire neighbors nearly a decade ago when it launched the region's first tax-incentive scheme for film producers. The plan, which offers up to a 25% rebate on local spend,...

Prod'n Facilitator Gung-Ho in Providing Lay of the Land
October 29, 2012... BEIJING China is an alluring market, but it is also a challenging one in which to work, says Michael McDermott, founder of the production services company Gung-Ho Films, which has offices in Hong Kong and Mainland China. "The challenge is...

World's Largest Foreign Market Loosens Quotas but Investors Advised to Proceed with Caution
October 29, 2012... BEIJING China as a global location has become even more attractive because of the looser quota rules, but tighter conditions for co-prods means Hollywood shingles seeking a foothold need to respect the local rules to take advantage of what...

Impending Studio Facil, Tax Break Prove Magnets
October 29, 2012... Filmmakers are chomping at the bit for the Pinewood Indomina Studios in the Dominican Republic to open. Set on 35 acres, phase one of this massive, state-of-the-art film and TV facility and its 55,000 sq. ft. beachfront water tank are slated to...

New Year to Ring in Generous Rebate Plan
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Colombia unveiled a film law in the summer in a bid to lure more international shoots. Better known as Film Law 2, the legislation allows foreign productions investing more than $500,000 in the country to see a return...

Lessons of Indie War Survivors: Nu Image Greenlights Pricier Projects That Are Still Built by Masters of Bottom-Line Finesse
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until recently, Nu Image Films' Wilshire Boulevard offices were funky, and not in a cool, hip James Brown way. There was dingy Linoleum in the lobby and scuffed walls holding a selection of...

Duo Disdain Prestige without Discipline
October 29, 2012... Nu Image chairman Avi Lerner and the head of his Millennium Films banner come from opposite poles of the independent film world: Mark Gill worked on the prestige end with Miramax and Warner Independent before striking out on his own with the...

From Jo'berg to Big B.O. Bets 1992
October 29, 2012... 1992 Avi Lerner moves to Los Angeles to establish Nu Image with partners Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Danny Lerner. Lerner, who sold South Africa-based Nu Metro Entertainment Group to MGM, plans to produce movies for the booming...

Maestro of Classy Fare Arrives to Lead Millennium's Newly Upgraded Pic Slate
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Mark Gill signed on as president of Nu Image's Millennium Films division in July 2011, many people in Hollywood scratched their heads. The production company known for its meat-and-potatoes action fare seemed like...

Meet the Key Players
October 29, 2012... Avi Lerner Chairman and co-founder [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nu Image's hard-driving negotiator has produced hundreds of movies, mostly in the action realm. Born in Israel, he managed Tel Aviv's first drive-in before diving into homevideo...

Top 10 Worldwide Grossers
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE EXPENDABLES 2 (2012) $301.8 million worldwide Director: Simon West Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Liam Hemsworth, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme ...

Lerner: 'The Grey Zone' Is My Favorite Mistake
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The one-sheet for the 2001 Holocaust drama "The Grey Zone" hangs above AVI Lerner's desk. An ink-black rectangle with a foggy keyhole image of a hunched man at its center, it contrasts starkly with the other, more...

Sharp Shots Happen on Their Own Backlots
October 29, 2012... During the last six years, Nu Image Films has quietly established not one but two full-service studios in unexpected locations. The distrib bolstered its production power in Bulgaria by purchasing the former state-owned Boyana studio complex...

Classic Name Returns to Bigscreen Roots: BFG Courts International Productions with Renovated Stages and Easy Access to Financing
October 29, 2012... While it owes much of its international renown to an illustrious history that spans more than 90 years, Bavaria Film Group has in the past decade focused more on television production than film. The vast entity, one of the biggest media...

Bavaria Studios Spruces Up for a Comeback: New and Renovated Stages, Green Production Topline Pitch to Producers
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bavaria Studios, the heart of media giant Bavaria Film Group and a key fixture in Germany's film and television industry, is eager to open its newly modernized soundstages to international productions. In the past...

Partner with Clear Idea of Its Mission: Division Will Help in All Aspects of Filmmaking except Creative
October 29, 2012... Bavaria Film Partners has a clear mission: To find partly packaged or financed projects that it can put into production. The division of Bavaria Film Group, established last year, has no interest in developing material itself. "Our main...

BFG's Wings Enfold Services from Production to Rights Management
October 29, 2012... With more than 30 subsidiaries, Bavaria Film Group is one of Europe's biggest media companies. From film and television production and domestic and international licensing operations to a broad range of studio services, Bavaria's vast...

Asian Dealmakers Hit the Beach: AFM Offers More Opportunities for Foreign Players Looking to Do Business in the U.S
October 29, 2012... BEIJING While this year's American Film Market will be more international than ever, featuring more than 50 new exhibiting companies, 2012 marks the first time that several Asian government-backed promotional orgs are coming to the mart. ...

Global Prod'n Mavens Fuel Truly Worldwide Biz: These Leaders of the 'No Borders' Film Industry Philosophy Open Screen Doors in All Markets
October 29, 2012... GHISLAIN BARROIS TELECINCO CINEMA Barrois, the CEO of Telecinco Cinema, broadcaster Mediaset Espana's film production arm, is on a roll, co-producing "Tad, the Lost Explorer," Spain's highest-grossing animated feature, and Juan Antonio...

Upstart Fest Carves Niche as Career Launching Pad: Subsidies Nurture Next Gen Mexican Helmers
October 29, 2012... MORELIA INTL. FILM FESTIVAL When: Nov. 3-11 Where: Morelia, Mexico Web: www.moreliafilmfest.com MEXICO CITY This year the Morelia Festival had the difficult task of plucking nine fiction films for competition from a pool of 70...

Ambulante Gives Docus a Home
October 29, 2012... MEXICO CITY In 2005, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal dined with Morelia's Daniela Michel and Alejandro Ramirez, prexy of Cinepolis, Mexico's largest exhib, to talk about bringing documentaries to commercial screens across Mexico. The...

Main Competition
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Fogo" Dir: Yulene Olaizola. Lensing from Diego Garcia frames contemplative docu-fiction set on the chilly island Fogo in Newfoundland and Labrador. "Halley" Dir: Sebastian Hofmann. Dying from a degenerative disease,...

Market Surveys Tube Landscape: Africa's Only Event Dedicated to Smallscreen Content Unfolds at a Time of Immense Change
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Discop Africa 2012 When: Oct. 31-Nov. 2 Where: Sandton Convention Center, Johannesburg Web: www.discop.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JOHANNESBURG As content producers and broadcasters try to keep pace...

'Wreck'-Ommended
October 29, 2012... FILM: WRECK-IT RALPH (DISNEY) Director: Rich Moore; Voices: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the tradition of "Toy Story," "Wreck-It Ralph" imagines the secret lives of children's...

Promising 'Boots' Has Plenty of Kick
October 29, 2012... The new musical "Kinky Boots," running in Chicago prior to a March launch on Broadway, has a lot going for it. There's a spirited charm; a broad message of acceptance; a surprisingly effective, unsurprisingly bouncy score from Cyndi Lauper in...

Fun Size
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the great late-20th-century philosophers Calvin and Hobbes once observed, a good compromise leaves everyone unsatisfied. Convincing proof of that axiom can be found in the Halloween-set teen comedy "Fun Size," a...

Stand Up Guys
October 29, 2012... Veering between buddy movie and action-thriller, "Stand Up Guys" is a mildly raunchy, modestly entertaining geriatric comedy starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin as retired gangsters who reunite for one last night on the town....

A Caretaker's Tale
October 29, 2012... VICEVAERTEN Denmark "A Caretaker's Tale," the sophomore feature of Danish helmer Katrine Wiedemann, is a provocative parable centered around the bitter, nasty custodian of a grim housing complex and the mute, naked woman he discovers in an...

Full Circle
October 29, 2012... FEI YU LAO REN YUAN China Intrepid seniors rebel against their nursing home in order to fulfill their dream of participating in a talent show in "Full Circle," a heart-tugging comic drama from mainland helmer Zhang Yang ("Sun Flower,"...

Marie Kroyer
October 29, 2012... Denmark-Sweden Life as an early-20th-century artist's muse proves far less pleasant than it sounds in "Marie Kroyer," an exquisite-looking but low-pulse period drama that reps helmer Bille August's first Danish pic in 25 years. Set during the...

The Dandelions
October 29, 2012... DU VENT DANS MES MOLLETS France Initially a sweetly entertaining Franco-Jewish family saga set in the drab 1980s, writer-director Carine Tardieu's "The Dandelions" slowly slides from dramedy into full-on drama. Adaptation of a novel by...

The Lookout
October 29, 2012... LE GUETTEUR France-Italy-Belgium Italo thesp-turned-helmer Michele Placido ("Vallanzasca") crosses the border into France for "The Lookout," a gritty cops-and-crooks caper in which the bad guys are in cahoots with a sniper. Placido brings...

Private Peaceful
October 29, 2012... U.K. Many of the elements that worked for Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" are present and correct in WWI drama "Private Peaceful," which, like "Horse," was adapted from a Michael Morpurgo novel. But this film's much more modest budget, absence...

Whole Lotta Sole
October 29, 2012... U.K.-Ireland Brendan Fraser plays a Yank who crosses the Atlantic, fleeing one organized-crime scrape and running right into another, in "Whole Lotta Sole." Change-of-pace comedy for director/co-scenarist Terry George starts pleasantly if...

Abigail Harm
October 29, 2012... A Korean folk tale is transferred to contempo New York in "Abigail Harm," an uneven fantasy-flavored art movie toplining Amanda Plummer as a loner whose yearning for love magically materializes in the shape of a handsome young man. The third...

Azooma
October 29, 2012... GONG JEONG SA HOE South Korea A wrenching yarn about a mother seeking justice for the rape of her daughter, "Azooma" is more about bullying as a social malaise in South Korea than about sexual assault. Effectively inflammatory in depicting...

The Gardener
October 29, 2012... BAGHEBAN Documentary--Iran Exiled Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf and his son Maysam debate the personal and political roles of religion in entertaining docu "The Gardener." Taking their cameras into the magnificent gardens of the...

I Have to Buy New Shoes
October 29, 2012... ATARASHII KUTSU O KAWANAKUCHA Japan Seducing with whispers of sweet nothings, "I Have to Buy New Shoes" follows a casual fling that trails off on a wistful note and leaves one with an unquenchable longing. Produced by Shunji Iwai and...

Kayan
October 29, 2012... Lebanon-Canada "Kayan" offers a glancing impression of Middle Eastern diaspora life through a vivid rendering of a busy Lebanese restaurant in Vancouver. Iran-born helmer Maryam Najafi films an actual eatery, enlisting its staff and clientele...

Modus Anomali
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Indonesia A brainteaser that's intriguing and frustrating by equal measure, "Modus Anomali" sends auds into the woods with a man whose family vacation appears to have become a nightmare. Indonesian helmer Joko Anwar...

Wild with Happy
October 29, 2012... Public Theater; 165 seats; $85 top Scribes who are determined to shoot themselves in the foot usually direct their own plays. Colman Domingo, a thesp with notable pro credentials ("The Scottsboro Boys," "Passing Strange"), wisely avoids that...

Disgraced
October 29, 2012... LCT3, Lincoln Center Theater; 112 seats; $20 top Playwright Ayad Akhtar really sticks it to upper-class liberals in "Disgraced," his blistering social drama about the racial prejudices that secretly persist in progressive cultural circles....

Build
October 29, 2012... Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles 112 seats; $72 top Michael Golamco's "Build" is alarmed by, among other things, the Internet generation's tendency toward soulless solitude, and the programmer's potential for virtually Godlike creation. Bringing...

A Summer Day
October 29, 2012... Cherry Lane Theater, New York 179 seats; $75 top Love must be blind. How else to explain Rattlestick's infatuation with "A Summer Day," a peculiar piece by Jon Fosse that returns Karen Allen to her stage roots? Of all involved, the truly...

The Road: A Story of Life and Death
October 29, 2012... Documentary U.K. British documaker Marc Isaacs ("Men of the City") scores once again with his latest depiction of contempo London, the extravagantly titled "The Road: A Story of Life and Death." While there's certainly ample attention to life...

The Body
October 29, 2012... EL CUERPO Spain Like the forensic lab in which it's set, Oriol Paulo's debut, "The Body," is darkly fascinating, full of secrets and highly polished, if also a little too clinical for comfort. Bringing together a number of contempo...

Crix' Picks
October 29, 2012... Crix' picks U.S. Alex Holy Paranormal The Cross Motors Activity 4 Sessions Studio Release date Summit Indomina Par Searchlight Variety.com ...

Capital
October 29, 2012... LE CAPITAL France A cracking good melodrama set in a contemporary world of high finance and low cunning, Costa-Gavras' "Capital" nimbly plays on our worst memories of the 2008 economic meltdown with a persuasively detailed tale of...

Malibu Country
October 29, 2012... Series; ABC, Fri. Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m. Normally, screening a pilot yields about a page of notes. By contrast, sitting through "Malibu Country," ABC's twangy and rusty Reba sitcom vehicle, produced nothing but an empty pad. Granted, nobody is...

Serial Chiller Scares O'seas B.O
October 29, 2012... Paramount's "Paranormal Activity 4," with $29 million, couldn't scare up enough domestic box office in its opening weekend to beat its three predecessors, but the serial chiller was able to scream past the original pics at the international...

International Box Office
October 29, 2012... International box office Weekend ended 10/21/2012 JAPAN $1 = [yen] 79.80 Rank Title (local distributor) Week's B.O. 1. The Expendables 2 (Shochiku) 2,112,912 2. Tsunagu (Toho) ...

Box Office Report
October 29, 2012... Box office report Reported B.O. Oct. 19-21 % chg. in Title (Distrib/Partner) (weekend) B.O. Paranormal Activity 4 (Par) 29,003,866 ...

'Argo' Shows Strong Legs
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Warner Bros.' "Argo" scored one of the best soph-sesh holds ever for a live-action film during a non-holiday period with just a 15.5% dip domestically, signaling perhaps one of this year's best Stateside multiples based...

Nielsen Scorecard: Top Primetime Shows of the Week
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nielsen scorecard Top primetime shows of the week (Oct. 15-21, 2012) Adults 18-49 Overall and Rank Series (Net) rating/share in millions 1. ...

'GMA,' 'Evening News' on the Rise
October 29, 2012... The battle for ratings supremacy among the daily broadcast news shows is heating up this fall, with longtime leader NBC losing ground both in the morning and evening--though it's still on top in the latter. All news programs, meanwhile,...

Pacino's 'Ross' Is Boss of Broadway Box Office
October 29, 2012... Al Pacino cemented his status as one of Broadway's top box office draws in week 21 (Oct. 15-21), with the Pacino-toplined revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross" logging stellar sales in a frame that launched similarly strong B.O. at Frankie Valli's...

Legit Grosses
October 29, 2012... Week 21: Oct. 15-21, 2012 Show Week's Gross Receipts (Theater)(Prld. Category) (Seats) Potential Gross Receipts The Book of Mormon * $1,655,294 (Eugene O'Neill)(M)(1,066) ...

Road Grosses
October 29, 2012... Four of eight shows pulled in more than $1 million in Week 21 (Oct. 15-21). Total box office increased 2.71% on the frame thanks in part to "Wicked"'s broken house record at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. "The Book of Mormon" in Los Angeles kept...

The Plane Truth
October 29, 2012... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Even though it's been 12 years since his last live action film bowed, it was business as usual for Robert Zemeckis at the L.A. preem for Paramount's "Flight" on Oct. 23. Zemeckis was joined...

Complete Fulfillment
October 29, 2012... How do you make more than $2 million in one night for a great cause? You get Tom Sherak to run your live auction. "Sinbad couldn't be here tonight," the AMPAS prexy told the crowd at the BevHilton on Oct. 24, "so I am here to twist your...