WB relationship Tom Cruise for 'A Star is Born'

CruiseBeyonceWith professionals buzzing about his performance becoming an 80s rock star in Warner Bros. and New Line's approaching musical "Rock old range," Tom Cruise finds themselves being courted by WB to topline Clint Eastwood's "A Star makes the worldInch along with Beyonce. Cruise starts shooting Universal's untitled, Ernest Kosinski-directed sci-fi pic inside a couple of days, and after wrapping production on that film, he's skedded to star in Doug Liman's "You Simply Need Kill" for Warners. While there were not any discussions, as well as a deal, the studio remains talking with Cruise to gauge his fascination with the project, a prospect that Cruise didn't immediately reject, because of the chance to make use of Eastwood the first time. It's unclear whether WB could be ready to accommodate Cruise's schedule, but should he pursue the project, he'd play an over-the-hill music artist who falls for just about any youthful singer who he's attempting to make a star. Within the this past year, WB has eyed Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Leonardo DiCaprio for your plum part. Contact Rob Sneider at rob.sneider@variety.com

Phase 4 Films snags privileges to 'Bindlestiffs'

Berry Meyerowitz's Phase 4 Films has acquired U.S. and Canadian privileges to Andrew Edison's raunchy teen comedy "Bindlestiffs" and can release the pic through its new "Kevin Smith's SModcast Pictures Presents" banner. Pic made its world premiere in The month of january in the Slamdance Film Festival, where it won the crowd Award for the best Feature Narrative. Edison authored the script with Luke Loftin, and also the duo created our prime school laffer with Mike Akel and Matt Patterson. Edison and Loftin star alongside John Karna. Trio play wise-mouthed virgins who flee towards the inner city to reside the plot of "The Catcher within the Rye" after being suspended from soccer practice on the graffiti charge. Phase 4 will release the film in June included in a theatrical tour which will features Q&A's with Cruz and also the filmmakers. A few days ago, Meyerowitz and also the Phase 4 team is going to be on the floor with Cruz and the SModcast Pictures team at SXSW searching to get other films for that label. "'Bindlestiffs' is the best first film for all of us to produce under our new partnership with Kevin Cruz," stated Meyerowitz. "It's raunchy, crazy and shockingly funny, and showcases the immense talents of Andrew Edison and Luke Loftin. The support that people and Kevin brings towards the film will expose it to countless fans and help transform it into a classic." "SModcast Pictures Presents is ecstatic about our first feature, a ballsy senior high school comedy which was created by real, live high schoolers (who're really way more amusing compared to 20-something grown ups who usually play teens in movies)," stated Cruz. "This mind-bendingly original and stomach-bustingly hysterical first film is really with confidence made and something-of-a-kind, I am unable to wait to face on the stage near the 'Bindlestiffs' boys and smell the area following the audience has pissed themselves poking fun at their debut film." "We're beyond stoked to possess Kevin Cruz present 'Bindlestiffs,'" stated Edison and Loftin. "If he did not already pave the way in which with 'Clerks' for films like ours to locate a crowd, he's certainly doing that now in the partnership with Phase 4. For all of us, this really is a classic dream become a reality.Inch Phase 4 and SModcast Pictures' distribution partnership, that was introduced at the begining of 2012, allows Phase 4 to get exclusive privileges to demonstrate and distribute as much as 12 films each year under Smith's banner. Phase 4 will release four of those films theatrically every year, which includes an active tour with Cruz. The offer for 'Bindlestiffs' was discussed by Phase 4's Ray Greenberg and Katharyn Howe with William Morris Global and Quality Media with respect to the filmmakers. Contact Shaun Sneider at shaun.sneider@variety.com

Major Spoiler: Desperate Average women Trial Discloses Who's Dying on Sunday!

Laurie Holden and Jeffrey DeMunn [Warning: This story consists of major spoilers about AMC's The Walking Dead and also the comic series that inspired it. Read at the own risk.] The Walking Dead has constantly shocked fans and comic visitors alike because the AMC series is constantly on the deviate from Robert Kirkman's source material. Last week's surprising dying would be a best example. After investing two seasons because the group's moral compass, Dale (Jeffrey DeMunn) met his demise far sooner than his comic counterpart. Due to this, the lengthy-looked forward to and surprising relationship between Dale and Andrea (Laurie Holden) created within the comics won't ever begin to see the light of day around the hit Tv show. TVGuide.com swept up with Holden to obtain her undertake the large dying and just how the audience will grieve continuing to move forward. Plus: It's all regulated Carl's fault, right? three reasons we are annoyed through the Walking Dead's latest dying How have you experience Dale's dying? Holden: It had been heartbreaking. I did not realize it was coming until a script was shipped to my trailer and that i was browsing through it and found that scene and literally I'd the response enjoy it was real, like someone I truly loved died. I burst into tears and went from my trailer and visited my various colleagues and stated, "Perhaps you have look at this? Is true? Is true?" I had been pretty bereft, I must admit, for a lot of reasons. To start with, I really like Shaun DeMunn and that i loved every moment of dealing with him. I have done two other movies with him and also the third time's a charm. Personally i think so fortunate to possess had that have. But additionally, I really like the Dale-Andrea dynamic and that i felt like we'd a lot more story to understand more about together also it was cut a little short. Had you been impressed by his dying since Andrea and Dale eventually experienced rapport within the comics? Holden: Yeah, because which was always the program, but it is not a secret the tv program does veer removed from the graphic novel also it would be a creative decision that [executive producers] Glen Mazzara and Robert Kirkman emerged with and was behind. It made sense when it comes to story and just how we are continuing to move forward. This past year you pointed out that you simply were excited for that Dale-Andrea relationship and stated the show would recognition the comics for the reason that regard. At that time, have you think these were heading down that path? Holden: Absolutely. Absolutely. This tough factor about our show is the fact that we must help remind ourselves it's a zombie apocalypse, the rules change, that any character will go anytime and often you will find likely to be diversions in the source material. This just been the main one character Irrrve never expected it to occur to. Did AMC's website spoil a significant event around the Walking Dead this year? Given all of the dying lately, how worried are you currently about Andrea's fate? Holden: To tell the truth, I am not worried. Should you browse the latest problem from the graphic novel, she's alive and powerful. Personally i think certain that Andrea's likely to be around for some time. Using the group still divided when it comes to Ron (Andrew Lincoln subsequently) and Shane (Jon Bernthal), will Andrea affiliate with Shane? Holden: I believe she has, to tell the truth. Like she stated within the episodes, it is simply his presentation that lacks something to become preferred. She admires Shane, but is not exactly fond of how he's gone about doing things. But the earth has transformed and he's made some pretty wise moves. Does she think Shane is bad or good for that group? Holden: She thinks he's an excellent guy, but you need to realize that she's not privy to numerous his personal conversations with others. She's not aware of what went down between him and Dale. She's not necessarily conscious of the fighting between Ron and Shane. Individuals are isolated situations. All Andrea knows is the fact that he's been a very awesome cat that actually mentored her and demonstrated her how you can safeguard herself and shoot a gun, and often he will get a little hot headed and she's searching at him like, "Hey, you have to type of have it together." But apart from that I believe that they still really thinks in him. The Walking Dead Boss: Lori is becoming Lady Macbeth So how exactly does the audience handle the dying of Dale? Holden: Clearly the dying of Dale is extremely difficult on Andrea because it is on Glen (Steven Yeun) a lot more than anybody else within the group. There's lots of guilt and lots of regret. She wasn't particularly easy on him for quite a while and Andrea wasn't in an exceedingly good mind space. When Dale passes, every move that Andrea makes from there forward is all about praising Dale, which means as being a leader, getting a more powerful moral compass, being compassionate and extremely lending her hands much more than she'd have before. I recall noticeably for that relaxation of year, each and every factor which i did before every scene, I figured, "Andrea, you have to recognition Dale." And when there is ever a caption to explain Andrea's mind space, there you have it. The way Carl (Chandler Riggs) handle Dale's dying since he's partly to blame? Holden: Bless his little heart. There's a lot hate for your character at this time, and that i keep telling everyone on Twitter that he's only a child. He earned an error. He's an infant. Provide him some slack. The guilt and remorse that that poor child will carry, I would not wish that on anybody. And So I hope people can understand that he's 12 and forgive him since i don't believe that he will have the ability to forgive themself. The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Shawn Christensen To Write The Man From Nowhere Redo For Dimension Films

EXCLUSIVE: Bob Weinstein and SVP Matthew Signer acquired rights to the South Korean action thriller The Man From Nowherethis year and will supervise development of their English-language take. Weinstein personally sought out Shawn Christensen after reading the spec draft of the writer’s Abduction, which was sold last year in a bidding war to Lionsgate. Directed by Lee Jeong-beom, the original Nowhere follows aquiet pawnshop keeper with a violent past who takes on a drug- and organ-trafficking ring to save the child who is his only friend. The film opened No. 1 at the Korean box office in August 2010 and held the top spot for five weeks in a row, becoming that year’s highest-grossing Korean film. Christensen recentlywon the International Audience Award for Curfew, which he wrote, directed and starred in, at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival in France, one of the world’s most important short film events. Lionsgate will soon release Enter Nowhere, which he co-wrote with Jason Dolan. He previously sold the Black List spec Karma Coalition to Warner Bros and is developing Sidney Hall with Scott Free, which he co-wrote with Dolan.Christensen is repped by Verve, Caliber Media and attorney Alan Hergott.

Could Netflix Evolve In To A Premium Cable Funnel? Possibly, Boss States

Pay TV companies already “know how to overcome Cinemax and wish to have a very competitor to Cinemax,” Netflix Boss Reed Hastings mentioned today within the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference. So even though he doesn’t expect Netflix to participate the pay TV line-as reduced funnel soon, “it’s inside the natural direction over time” and “might be extremely effective, especially after we have an overabundance original content.” But Hastings won’t quit the business in return for carriage, the means by which many cable channels have. Also according to him that in any distribution arrangement it’s necessary that “the consumer knows they’re using Netflix and possess our application round the TV.” Meanwhile, according to him that cable operators have justification to like getting Netflix on broadband — despite their frequent complaint the recording services really are a bandwidth hog. “They’re developing a fortune,” according to him. “Comcast while others sell a (broadband) service for $40, $50, $60, $70 monthly with no content costs.” Hastings states that Netflix will benefit from getting exclusive content, including re-runs of Mad Males, but notes it wasn’t initially an element of the organization’s strategy. Tv producers and cable systems that buy syndicated shows “won’t inform us. They’re just following rules capitalists. Therefore we must buy more exclusives.” Now he must improve his trading on original unique content. He notes that Cinemax stays about 60% of the programming dollars certification movies from art galleries, adding to 40% on original content. “Maybe we’ll make it.” But he still likes buying re-runs. Indeed, he defended Comcast’s new movie service due to its clients, Streampix, which some consider a possible Netflix competitor even though it initially will contain older content. “You might say, it’s only re-runs. But have a look in the best spinner's. It’s a very valuable franchise.” For the moment Hastings states that Amazon . com . com will most likely become among his finest rivals — but he’s not concerned. “Amazon’s strength is that they’re super lengthy-term (coordinators) and everyone taking a chance, especially me.”But because the online shop might have “some business,” according to him that Netflix can fight by supplying a far greater buyer experience. “We’re not trying to win when you're broad. That’s their game. We’re super focused” on particular kinds of content — and becoming an imaginative interface which will help clients locate the types of content they need. “When you mix (if needed) with personalization you obtain high several hours and satisfaction,” according to him. “When you select within the handheld handheld remote control might be as soon as of truth. Can you turn on the energy power grid, or can you turn on Netflix?”

Salma Hayek Helps Make The Prophet

Creating Kahlil Gibran adaptationIt was initially released in 1923 and stays among the best-selling books ever, therefore it appears remarkable that nobody has attempted a movie adaptation of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet before. That's going to change, within an ambitious project being shepherded by Salma Hayek and producers Clark Billings and Ron Senkowski.Gibran's book is really a lengthy-form poem (designed in British, although Gibran generally authored in Arabic), the narrative which sees the prophet Al-Nabi going to attempt an sea voyage, but waylaid on his method to the docks with a succession of people that prompt him into discussions of existence, the world and everything. It is a "spiritual classic", but adaptable to any or all faiths, whether deeply or delicately held, because it does not stick to any sort of religion.Like a film, the program would be to make an animated anthology shipped by multiple company directors. One of the contributing factors are Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), Tomm Moore (The Key Of Kells), Nina Paley (Sita Sings The Blues), Joan Gratz (Hireling Shepherd Climbing down A Staircase), Mohammed Saeed Harib (Freej) and Bill Plympton (Guard Dog). Each will require an instalment, and also the connecting story is going to be thanks to Roger Allers (The Lion King)."The Prophet continues to be an amazing supply of knowledge and inspiration for huge numbers of people around the globe,Inch states Hayek. "Being of Lebanese descent, I am particularly proud to participate a task which will present this masterpiece to new decades, in ways never witnessed before."Harib states, "This is an immense recognition to have the ability to translate the whole shebang of among the Arab world's most valued authors in to the visual realm. I'm thrilled to become among such esteemed animation company directors designated to create The Prophet towards the giant screen and also to the twenty-first century.InchBefore-production starts later this month.

Academy awards: Hotel Rwanda Author-Director Terry George Takes Shorts Cut To 3rd Nomination

Whenever talk pops up about getting rid of certain Oscar groups — or at best taking them from the primetime telecast — inevitably leading their email list would be the three video clip groups: Documentary Short, Live Action Short and Animated Short. They represent an application that isn’t seen much in theaters any longer and the majority of the nominees aren't recognized to everyone watching. For a lot of, their sole purpose would be to function as tiebreakers at work Oscar pools. However a few of these films are really much better than many features nominated, but for the past couple of years because of ShortsHD and distributor Magnolia Pictures they've been finding progressively bigger audiences with compilation theatrical releases featuring 5 challengers in each one of the three groups. Last week,The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2012 opened up on 120 screens over the U.S. and Canada and broke its previous record from the prior year having a gross of $412,304, that is up a lot more than $100,000 from 2011′s release. The businesses plan to achieve the programs on over200 screens prior to the Oscarsnext weekend. This season’s nominees for Live Action Shortare Norwegian (Tuba Atlantic), German (Raju), Irish (Pentecost and also the Shoreline)and American (Time Freak)productions, which makes it a noticeably worldwide selection. Only one of individuals, The Shoreline, really caught my attention because it originates from author-director-producer Terry George, a 2-time screenwriting Oscar nominee and prominent feature director who presently has handled to seize his third nomination by downsizing to everything about shorts. He’s also proud to possess managed to get a household affair and it is part ofone from the couple of father-daughter combinations in Oscar history to become nominated together. Daughter Oorlagh George, who created the film, shares thehonor with father. For Terry George, it had been pure frustration with getting his feature projects off the floor that brought him for this moment. “In 2010 I'd done lots of script work and rewrites and focusing on projects that didn’t fly for any year . 5 approximately, and ok last one, the awful Dream House, and was type of exhausted because of it all, and so i thought I'd return to things i make and stuff I actually do,” stated the director of these films as Some Mother’s Boy (1996), Reservation Road (2007)and Hotel Rwanda (2004).The second introduced him 1 of 2 screenwriting nominations together with Within The Title From The Father (1993),that they distributed to director Jim Sheridan. George requested his daughter if she may find the cash to perform a short story he'd develop, and she or he did. The film concerning the love triangular and reunion of two boyhood buddies (performed by Ciaran Hinds and Conleth Hill) who have been divided for twenty five years within the “troubles” in Northern Ireland grew to become an immediate family theme, with Oorlagh as producer, George’s boy as second AD and the sister as costume designer. The 30-minute film was shot in six days essentially in the Northern Ireland yard, but he wasn't afraid of the schedule since younger crowd has been doing plenty of TV — most lately Dustin Hoffman’s new Cinemax seriesLuck. He has turned into a large believer within the video clip process. “The film (together with another nominees) averaged $18,000 in the IFC Center in NY last week,” he stated. “That’s a lot more than most films available. With iTunes, Netflix TV sales, there’s a larger existence into it, possibly a larger existence than say Reservation Road,which rapidly disappeared [laughs]. It’s interesting. It’s a mix of the web, and individuals’s attention spans and the requirement for shorter material, so it features a good existence I really hope”. He’s additionally a believer within the video clip groups, that they hopes aren’t endangered. “I have serious competition. This ain’t a walk-in-the-park when it comes to your competition. They all are great especially visual and powerful,” he stated. “Next year they're altering the procedure to ensure that screeners goes to all of the Academy, which’s great (presently people must go to special showings of allshort films nominated and election at individuals specific tests). It’s an application that accustomed to exist, there is a brief film prior to the feature in theaters. You have to distill the storyline lower in individuals 29 or half an hour and understand it properly. And So I think it ought to be compensated more attention. And given how hard it is to buy money for independent features now, it’s something which makes it possible for youthful filmmakers or any filmmaker that has a tale to visit off and get it done and progressively look for a market,” added George, who wouldn’t mind doing the work again using the right project. However, he's already completed his next feature –Whole Lotta Sole,starring Brendan Fraser and Colm Meaney, that will premiere in the Tribeca Film Festival in April. “I am always doing lots of college lectures and telling students that it is now time when youthful filmmakers should escape and merely shoot a movie themselves, therefore it grew to become type of ‘practice that which you preach’ ” he stated. “With shorts you literally are the own fundraising event, producer, crew, editor, postproduction supervisor and marketing person.” Doing everything, Terry George is going to discover if he'll finally nab that elusiveOscar if you take thedo-it-yourself “shorts” cut towards the Oscars.