Ratings: Football, Wonderful Life Most Popular over Christmas Weekend

It's A Wonderful Life On Christmas Eve and Christmas, people who squeezed in some television amidst all the opening of presents, eating and visiting the folks went with an old holiday standby and - what else? - football. NBC's airing of It's a Wonderful Life was No. 1 on Saturday night, with Frank Capra's 1946 film starring James Stewart grabbing 4.55 million viewers. First runner-up: ABC's rerunning of 1965's The Sound of Music. Check out the best and worst of 2011 NBC's Sunday Night Football trounced the reruns and holiday fare it was competing with. The football game in which the Green Bay Packers clinched home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by decisively beating the Chicago Bears averaged 21.24 million viewers, posting a 6.8 rating among industry-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. It produced the highest overnight rating for a game played on Christmas night since 1995.

Oscars 2012: One Star, Two Oscar-Worthy Performances

Because the Oscar race shapes up, several top stars and filmmakers could find their greatest competition for any nomination is ... themselves. A minimum of 10 of the year's greatest overachievers are able to be nominated for not merely one but two movies. And maybe even a lot more than two if you are running odds for, say, Jessica Chastain, how can you decide whether 'The Help,' 'The Tree of Existence,' or 'Take Shelter' is probably to earn her a go in an Academy Award? By reading through our handicapping, below. For additional around the Oscar race, mind to GoldDerby.com [CLICK PHOTO To Produce GALLERY] Oscars 2012: One Star, Two (or even more) Oscar-Worthy Performances George Clooney in 'The Descendants'George Clooney in 'The Ides of March'Brad Pitt in 'Moneyball'Brad Pitt in 'The Tree of Existence'Ryan Gosling in 'The Ides of March'Ryan Gosling in 'Drive'Jessica Chastain in 'The Tree of Existence'Jessica Chastain in 'The Help'Jessica Chastain in 'Take Shelter'Viola Davis in 'The Help'Viola Davis in 'Extremely Noisy and extremely Close'Michael Fassbender in 'Shame'Michael Fassbender in 'A Harmful Method'Carey Mulligan in 'Shame'Carey Mulligan in 'Drive'Steven Spielberg for 'War Equine'Steven Spielberg for 'The Adventures of Tintin'Steve Zaillian for 'Moneyball'Steve Zaillian for 'The Girl Using the Dragon Tattoo'Abi Morgan for 'Shame'Abi Morgan for 'The Iron Lady' See All Moviefone Art galleries » [Photo: The new sony] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman

Cheers & Jeers: And also the Champion is.

Bill Hader and Seth Meyers Cheers to Saturday Evening Love generating probably the most Cheers this season!Want more Cheers & Jeers? Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!The venerable NBC skitcom received nine Cheers this year, for outbreaks like Bill Hader, musical visitors for example Rhianna and hosts varying from Melissa McCarthy and Miley Cyrus to Steve Buscemi and Jimmy Fallon. Last year's champion, Fallon finished a detailed second with eight Cheers, tying Community and Boardwalk Empire. Lengthy-running hits NCIS and Burn Notice adopted with six each, comparable to late-evening faves David Letterman and Conan O'Brien. Along with a sextet of dark cable/satellite dramas - Breaking Bad, Damages, Save Me, The Killing, Justified and also the late, great Lights Out - received five.Around the downside, the Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad trio combined for six Jeers, tying with last year's large loser, Work. A lot of other past-their-primetime shows - Desperate Average women, House, America's Next Top Model, Glee and Californication - were smacked with four Jeers, as the Talk, Rizzoli & Isles and Weeds got three. Better luck the coming year!What shows do you consider deserved probably the most Cheers and Jeers this season?Sign up to TV Guide Magazine now!

Matthew Lillard on The Descendants, Hollywood Comebacks, and the Soup Commercial That Almost Killed Him

comments: 1 || add yours Matthew Lillard admits he’s had three enduring cinematic moments — in Scream, as its hilariously unhinged killer Stu Macher; in SLC Punk, as the spiky-haired Stevo; and in Scooby Doo, reprising Casey Kasem’s beloved voice role Shaggy Rogers in living color. He is often both goofy and dark, and that dichotomy makes him a weird, but ingenious choice to play Brian Speer, a married real-estate hustler who has an affair with the wife of Matt King (George Clooney) in Alexander Payne’s critical darling The Descendants. Unlike Brian Speer, Lillard doesn’t need to be confronted or challenged into honesty; he’s a mature, yet devilishly candid actor who’s pondered Hollywood’s fickleness and the personal gratification of acting in equal measure. Movieline caught up with Lillard to discuss his improbable quickie audition for The Descendants, surviving Freddie Prinze Jr.’s filmography, and the legacy of Scream. This appears to be your first brush with awards season. How disorienting or fun is it? It’s literally that thing where you’re the fat, ugly kid in high school and all the sudden someone says, “Dude, you have the chance to be the prom king.” You’re like, “What?” You think it’s a joke at first and then it sets in that, wow, you’re on this trajectory. In the back of your mind, you just don’t know if you’re going to get a chance to come back — and I keep talking about this, and I don’t want to repeat shit to you, man — but it’s worth noting because it’s been my life. I’m completely aware of where my career’s been lately, and to have an opportunity to come back like this, with a movie like this and the people I’m with, and to have a chance to put on a tuxedo in March is ridiculous. You also realize that it’s a whole other level of Hollywood; I had no idea the amount of effort that studios graciously and gracefully put into these movies that they care about. Tom Rothman, who runs Fox, I’ve seen him speak about the movie three times. All three times he almost brought me to tears, because he’s so passionate about it. I see the kind of effort they’re putting in — they’re trying to generate the accolades we hope it gets — and it’s really kind of humbling. I’ve heard you talk about being a big Alexander Payne fan. Do you find yourself comparing this movie to his others? My biggest fear about being in an Alexander Payne movie was — I didn’t want to be the joke. I don’t want the whole movie to be like, “Wow. What the hell was she thinking?” in this kind of loose, weird way. Because for a guy who steals from George Clooney, I’m not the typical guy you’d expect, so I was afraid that throughout the course of the movie I’d be a joke. I was happy at the end of the day and I was proud of my work. I was happy about the fact that I wasn’t the joke at the end of the movie. I’ll never forget that one of the first premieres I ever went to in L.A. was Citizen Ruth — Payne turns out these incredible performances. I mean, Giamatti? And now George (Clooney). For me, I feel like the movie as a whole stacks up performance-wise to what he’s done in the past. I’m happy to be a part of that statement. The ensemble of The Descendants is a great mix — veterans, dependable supporting players like you and Judy Greer, newcomers like Shailene Woodley — what was the group dynamic like? I will say that the ensemble as a whole is as diverse and eclectic as the movie. I just think if you put Beau Bridges and Robert Forster against Amara Miller, who plays the young girl, and Nick (Krause, as Woodley’s boyfriend Sid) — that’s just crazy casting. Then there’s Judy and I who come from comedy, and Rob Huebel and Mary Birdsong as well. He just pulls on really eclectic performances and people. It’s funny, because you have these moments — like while taking these spotlight bows at the NY Film Festival — but you realize that this [mix] doesn’t happen very often. Right now we’re all the toast of the town, and that’s fun to be a part of. The weird thing is, across the board, we’re all so appreciative for our own reasons. For Judy and I, we get to change our feathers a little. As Robert Forster says, Alexander Payne has now punched his clock again. He’s given him another breath of life and another kind of — what’s the world I’m looking for? — you know, people see him again. He’s got more time on his clock. And the same with Beau. So we’re all appreciate. The kids have never had a chance, the old guys have their clocks punched, and we get to show our different colors. And George sees this for what it is; he gets to show himself off for the actor that he is. He gets a chance to be seen in a different life. He’s incredible. Your casting story for The Descendants, where you auditioned quickly with your kids waiting in the car, is great. My favorite part of it is when you said you saw a bunch of traditional “leading men” types up for the same role. How did comparing yourself to those types make you feel about the role? I just thought there was no way Payne would see me in that way. I mean, look, once I got the job, I felt great going to set. It’s not like I went to set saying, “Oh God, what am I doing here? I suck.” I have pride in my work, and whether you do great movies or not — and I wish every movie I’ve done in my life could’ve been The Descendants — and whether you’re doing “bad” or “good” movies. Being in this movie was like running with the best of the best. That’s all we want as actors. That’s all anyone wants as an artist or competitor. But walking in the room to get the room, I’d already discounted myself in being able to get it. Do you have a worst audition story? Oh my God. [Laughs.] I’m sure there are so many. I’m going to call you tomorrow and be like, “I have it!” Least favorite audition story. Thing is, I’m a funny actor, but I’m not good at being funny. I’m going to ramble for a second: I’m an actor who can make things funny in the moment, like in stakes or in circumstances or out of character. But if you give me a [mimics rimshot], like a sitcom? I’m not good at that. A good sitcom? I’d be good at that. But a bad sitcom, I’d be bad at. There are several times when I walked into a room and just felt like such a sham. That’s the problem with auditioning. I love auditioning because it’s a chance to work, and if everyone cast like Alexander Payne, I think I’d work more. I’m good in an audition. But it’s those auditions with your hat in your hand and you need the job because you need to make money, and you know you’re not right for it. You just feel like a sham. That’s the bad audition — that’s not a specific audition, but it’s just the overall world of auditions. I did almost choke to death once in a Lipton Cup A Soup audition when I was 21. Um, what? Yeah. I made this choice — my whole life, I’ve made choices in acting for better or for worse — well, I made this choice in this Lipton Cup A Soup audition, and you had to eat the noodles. I thought, “Oh, it’ll be great. I’ll play this college kid.” I must’ve been 19. “I’ll play this college kid who’s just home from school” — I had this whole back story I created — “and he loves, loves Mom’s cooking! Wah-wah!” So I shoved the noodles in my mouth, and then I started to choke to death, which is generally a bad audition. Then I threw it up into the cup and started eating it again. I thought, “That is such a creative and brave choice. I am for sure going to book this.” And you didn’t nab the job? No, shockingly. In recent interviews, you’ve brought up the successful 2004 comedy you starred in, Without a Paddle, and how it mysteriously became your last studio movie until The Descendants. That’s a pretty confounding fact. Do you think about it a lot when you reflect on your career? When it’s hot, I don’t think about it. When it’s not, you’re like, have I done something wrong? You go back and recalculate your own career. You think, have I done something inexcusable where I don’t deserve a break? Or I don’t deserve that comeback? You know what I mean? Why are there guys out there who disappear who don’t get a chance to come back? So you’re sitting there weighing what you’re going to do with your life and how you’re going to pay for your kids to eat, you think, OK, am I crazy? Am I delusional? Because I’m not. That’s the thing about me, I think. I’m the most normal guy in the world, but I happen to be an actor. You look at your life and think, “Where am I at?” And how do you judge that? There’s no rhyme or reason to it. People get hot, and you wonder, “Why is that person electric and getting $10 million a movie? And why does somebody disappear?” I’m not a bad guy, and I know people like me. I’m not a jerk. In fact, I’m on my way to being kind. But maybe I should try drug rehab to benefit my career. You’re faced with that decision: Walk away, or double up your efforts. For me, I’ve been keenly aware that I’d rather be an actor, sell everything, and plug away for another chance. Luckily, look, I got through without hustling on the street. I’ve just been doing bad movies. It’s a declining scale of return. To me, you represent a dwindling class of strong, very likable characters actors. Where have the character actors gone? I think that in general, what’s happened in our world as our industry gets squeezed, guys like that and like me — there aren’t many jobs. If you do get that job, they’re not paying any money. And I don’t want to talk about money in an interview, because I did that once, and I sounded disgusting. And who’s crying about actors acting? But I will say, it’s just really hard right now. Character actors are becoming a thing of the past. They’re just going by the wayside. They’re just cutting through that caliber of acting. I think a guy like Philip Seymour Hoffman is one of the greatest actors we have right now, and I think he is like that guy. Paul Giamatti is a character actor that’s funny and can do straight and serious. Same with Phil. They do huge choices. It sounds crazy, but if you go back and watch Twister, Philip Seymour Hoffman is incredible. Boogie Nights? Incredible. The guy just eats up the screen. I think there are guys out there who transition into being stars. I mean, that’s the hope, right? But I think nobody in their right mind gets into an industry like this and goes, “You know what I want to do? Be a second fiddle.” I mean, maybe they do? I just don’t want to be that guy who gets lost in the lexicon of Freddie Prinze Jr. movies. I’m glad to have them, and I’m glad I did them. I learned a lot in that process of my life. But I was 23 years old — and now I’m 41. I prefer to think of you as the Dorothy Lamour to Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Hope and Crosby. Please tell me you enjoy glamorous escapades. [Screams laughing.] Yes. We do. We eat crumpets and drink champagne almost every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I think that is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Thanks for making my day. No adventures together? Maybe a trip to Morocco or something? Oh my God, that would be amazing. We did soft-shoe all over the south of France. We got into some capers in the Himalayas. You recently directed your first feature, Fat Kid Rules the World. What are you like as a director? Great question, thank you. I am a better director than I am an actor, if that means anything to anyone. In this blue period of my career, I thought, “What am I going to do? Am I going to sell pharmaceuticals to make money or am I going to do something creative that keeps me alive as an actor?” I taught acting. And in teaching acting, I learned more about acting and myself than I ever thought I would. First of all, I love actors. Every question you ask — by the way, you ask good questions because I want to ramble and answer them for 20 minutes. But I direct with energy. I believe in energy. I think energy is an electric thing in actors. I try to inspire, encourage, and make choices with lots of energy. And truth. I’m big fan of truth and being funny. I like leading 50 people into battle every day. Obligatory Scream question: I think it’s one of the few ’90s horror movies that is still terrifying. How do you feel about it now? I’m glad it’s scary and unnerving, because it does hold up. I did watch it recently, and the opening sequence with Drew is terrifying. Having done 40 movies, there are a couple you can be proud of. They’re not all great, and they’re not all terrible. That was one that kind of changed the trajectory of my life. I’ll still walk down the street, and I’ll hear that I’m the guy in Scream. It’s one of three movies they identify me for — Scream, Scooby Doo, and SLC Punk, which are the three biggest movies I’ve done. And now The Descendants! People recognize me. It’s fun. Lastly, you’re a part of Movieline’s magazine past. I heard you ventured to our founder Anne Volokh’s Hollywood manse and played movie clip games with friends. Yes. We used to play this thing called “Coffee and Clips.” This is the greatest game ever. You bring a clip of a movie, you have to have a reason for bringing that clip, and you show a three-to-five-minute clip and everyone talks about it afterward. I was invited randomly one day, and it was the day that Jack Lemmon had passed away. So I brought Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross, and I didn’t know you were supposed to stop the clip. So we watched the last 20 minutes of the movie. I got carried away because, like, I love that movie. Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. Tagged: alexander payne, george clooney, judy greer, matthew lillard, oscar, scream, shailene woodley, the descendants

Christian Bale assaulted in China

BEIJING -- Thesp Christian Bale was assaulted Thursday by security guards as he tried to visit one of China's best-known dissidents, the blind, "barefoot lawyer" Chen Guangcheng, who has been under house arrest since his release from prison last year. The "Dark Knight" star was with a CNN crew when they were jostled by plainclothes security officials. Footage showed Bale asking "Why can I not visit this man?" as guards tried to take away his camera. Blinded by a fever in infancy and self-taught as a lawyer, Chen was jailed for drawing attention to forced sterilizations and abortions in his locality because of the One Child Policy. Authorities have sealed off Chen's village of Dongshigu and turned his home into a no-go area for activists. Foreign diplomats and journalists who have tried to visit him have been attacked by groups of hired thugs around the house. Bale features in top helmer Zhang Yimou's "The Flowers of War," China's most expensive pic ever. At a news conference at the weekend, Bale denied that "Flowers" was an anti-Japanese propaganda pic. "It's far more of a movie about human beings and the nature of human beings' responses to crisis, and how that can reduce people to the most animalistic behavior, and also raise them up to the most honorable behavior," he said. "The Flowers of War," which is largely funded with Chinese government money, has an undeniably nationalistic and anti-Japanese tone, and Zhang is regularly criticized by young filmmakers in China, who believe that the former rebel has become too cozy with the Communist establishment he used to criticize. This was underlined when he orchestrated the Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, and made films such as "Hero," which were deeply pro-authoritarian in their tone. It's not the first time that Chen's fate has popped up in Hollywood dispatches. In October, Relativity Media came under fire from human-rights groups for shooting comedy "21 and Over" in the city of Linyi, close to where he is being held. The controversy comes as Hollywood companies are trying to forge closer links to the booming Chinese film biz, and shows that human-rights issues have not gone away, and can cause public relations headaches. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Natalie Portman angry over Patty Jenkins leaving Thor 2

Natalie Portman is reportedly most displeased at the exit of Patty Jenkins from superhero sequel Thor 2 earlier this month.Monster director Jenkins had been announced as the replacement for Kenneth Branagh, after Branagh had turned down the opportunity to return. It was an appointment that would have made Jenkins the first female director to head up a major superhero movie, only for her to leave the project abruptly at the beginning of the month.Whilst "creative differences" were mooted, The Hollywood Reporter suggests that Jenkins was fired without warning, a course of events that has riled Portman.It is thought that the star had already been considering her position in the sequel over concerns that it would keep her from spending time with her new baby. However, those issues were apparently resolved, with Jenkins presence a key factor in Portman's decision.Portman is now contractually obliged to appear in the film, although Marvel hope to appease her somewhat by involving her in the search for Jenkins' replacement. Word on who that might be, as we get it.

'Guvnors' to transfer to Theater Royal Haymarket

Nicholas Hytner's National Theater manufacture of the SRO comedy "One Guy, Two Guvnors" will transfer with a brand new cast to the second West Finish home, the Theater Royal Haymarket, from March 2. Owain Arthur, presently understudying the key role produced by James Corden, will require over when Corden leaves using the original company for that Gotham transfer opening in the Music Box on April 18. Further casting for that Theater Royal Haymarket transfer has not yet been introduced. "One Guy, Two Guvnors" is departing its current home from the Adelphi theater to create method for the transfer of Jonathan Kent's Chichester Festival Theater manufacture of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" from March 10. Contact David Benedict at benedictdavid@mac.com

VIDEO: The Fight for the Throne Intensifies in Game of Thrones Teaser

Game of Thrones The new teaser for Game of Thrones sets the theme of brotherly conflict in Season 2. "My brother left no true born heir," new character Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) narrates. "The iron throne is mine by right." Game of Thrones Season 2 Peek: Tyrion, Arya... and Joffrey with a crossbow? Although short, the trailer depicts Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Robb Stark (Richard Madden), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) who are all featured in the next season based on George R. R. Martin's second book in his A Song of Fire and Ice series. Game of Thrones premieres in April, 2012 on HBO. Cold Wind Tease

Box Office Report: 'New Year's Eve' Leads Worst Weekend Since 2008 With $13.7 Million

Garry Marshall's star-studded ensemble pic New Year's Eve stumbled in its box office debut, grossing a tepid $13.7 million as overall box office revenues fell to their lowest levels in more than three years.our editor recommends'New Year's Eve': What the Critics Are Saying'New Year's Eve': Abigail Breslin Talks About Her First On-Screen Kiss (Video)Why 'Moneyball' Star Jonah Hill Is Living With His ParentsNew Movie Reviews: 'Hugo,' 'The Muppets,' 'My Week With Marilyn' Hitting TheatersRelated Topics•Box Office Updates Early and mid-December are always sluggish because of holiday preparations, but Warner Bros. and New Line still expected New Year's Eve to earn $20 million or more in its opening. The pic's cast includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Lea Michele, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Hilary Swank and Seth Meyers. PHOTOS: 'New Year's Eve' Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals "The box office was just in really bad shape," Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said. "While we had the No. 1 movie, we were No. 1 in a very soft market." Overall box revenues for the weekend reached an estimated $78 million, the lowest number since early September 2008, when revenues only reached $68 million over the Sept. 5-7 weekend. This weekend was down 15 percent from the same frame a year ago and 4 percent from last weekend in a sobering reminder of the downturn that has gripped the domestic box office for much of 2011. "There weren't enough moviegoers," said Fellman, "and the only thing you can hope for is that the big Christmas films, which start to kick in next weekend, help to pick up the pace. Overseas, New Year's Eve grossed $12.9 million as it opened in 36 markets, including $2.4 million both in the U.K. and Australia, for a total worldwide bow of $26.6 million. In the U.S., New Year's Eve even scored better exits than Marshall's Valentine's Day, which opened to a massive $72 million over the four-day Valentine's Day/President's Day weekened in 2010. And New Year's Eve received a B+ CinemaScore, compared to a B for Valentine's Day. As expected, the ensemble romantic comedy played heavily to females, who made up 70 percent of the audience. Opening to No. 2 after New Year's Eve was 20th Century Fox's R-rated comedy The Sitter, headlining Jonah Hill in his first starring vehicle. The film debuted to $10 million, in line with pre-weekend tracking. STORY:Jonah Hill on Turning Serious and Earning Oscar Buzz for 'Moneyball' (Video) The Sitter cost less than $25 million, while New Year's Eve's production budget is pegged at $56 million. The comedy, produced by Michael De Luca, played evenly to males and females, with 47 percent of the audience under the age of 25. In the film--which received only a C+ CinemaScore--Hill plays a college student on suspension who is prodded into babysitting the kids next door. Things go askew when he takes them for a wild ride across NY City after being promised sex with his girlfriend. "We opened in line with our pre-release expectations, and we'll continue to play as the college crowd finishes up finals," said Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice president of domestic distribution. Among holdovers, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 1 fell to No. 3 after ruling the top spot for three consecutive weekends. The pic grossed $7.9 million for a domestic cume of $259.6 million. Sony and Aardman's Arthur Christmas fell only 11 percent from last weekend, the best hold of any nationwide release, grossing $6.6 million for a cume of $33.5 million. Overseas, the holiday pic racked up another $14.3 million from 63 territories for a foreign total of $57.5 million for a world cume of $91 million. Martin Scorsese's 3D family friendly film Hugo, distributed by Paramount, fell a narrow 19 percent at the domestic box office as it upped its theater count from roughly 1,800 to 2,608, grossing $6.1 million for a domestic cume of $33.5 million in its third weekend. Paramount believes that Hugo, which received a B+ CInemaScore as it expanded, will remain a player throughout the holidays, since it is appealing to a multi-generational audience. However, whether Graham King's GK Films, which fully financed the movie, can recoup its costs is a question mark, since Hugo cost well north of $100 million to produce. COVER STORY:Martin Scorsese Talks 'Hugo,' Recurring Nightmares and How His 12-Year-Old Rules the Roost Hugo--named best film of the year by the National Board of Review--is among a slew of movies positioning themselves as awards season heats up and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association prepares to announce Golden Globe nominations on Dec. 15. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy scored the third best opening of the year for a limited release, grossing $300,737 from four theaters in NY and Los Angeles for a location average of $75,184. The only films to score a higher theater average this year were Midnight in Paris ($99,834) and The Tree of Life ($93,000). Tinker Tailor--starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy--was produced by Working Title. Focus Features is distributing the British espionage pic in the U.S. Jason Reitman's Charlize Theron starrer Young Adult also opened to strong numbers, grossing $320,000 from eight theaters in five cities for a location average of $40,000. The movie reteams Reitman with Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, and moves into a total of 1,000 theaters on Dec. 16. Domestic Box Office Dec. 9-Dec. 11 Title/Weeks in Release/Studio/Theater Count/Weekend Total/Cume 1. New Year's Eve (1), Warner Bros./New Line/3,505, $13.7 million 2. The Sitter (1), 20th Century Fox/2,850, $10 million 3. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 1(4), Summit/4,406,$7.9 million, $259.6 million 4.The Muppets(3), Disney/3,328,$7.1 million, $65.8 million 5.Arthur Christmas(3), Sony/3,272,$6.6 million, $33.5 million 6. Hugo(3), Paramount/2,608,$6.1 million, $33.5 million 7. The Descendants(4), Fox Searchlight/876, $4.4 million, $23.6 million 8. Happy Feet Two(4), Warner Bros./2,840, $3.8 million, $56.9 million 9.Jack and Jill(5), Sony/2,787,$3.2 million, $68.6 million 10. Immortals(5), Relativity Media/2,286,$2.4 million,$79.8 million PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Movie Report Card: 10 Biggest Flops of 2011 (So Far) PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Box Office Flops of Late Summer 2011 Related Topics Jonah Hill Martin Scorsese Box Office New Year's Eve The Sitter

Exclusive: George Lopez's First Post-Talk Show Project Lands at Fox

George Lopez George Lopez is plotting his return to TV, but this time behind the camera. Fox confirms that it's developing a comedy project from Lopez based on the life of comedian Mark Viera. The untitled half-hour is the first project to be developed by Lopez since TBS canceled his late-night series Lopez Tonight in August. Viera stars as a blue-collar man who buys a building in the Bronx in order to stay close to his roots and teach his son street smarts. The decision surprises his wife and backfires when his extended Latino family moves in. Chris Case (Retired at 35) is writing the script and will executive produce, along with Lopez and Leslie Kolins Small. Warner Bros. TV, which also produced ABC's George Lopez sitcom, is the studio. Case's other credits include Reba, Titus and Spin City. The busy writer also has a script (with Joey Gutierrez) in contention at CBS. Viera, who indeed hails from the Bronx, was featured on Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Stand Up and also guested on 30 Rock. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

William Hurt In Talks For The Host

He'd play JebNow that he's got his female lead in place (that would be Saoirse Ronan) and a couple of blokes to support her (Jake Abel and Max Irons), Andrew Niccol has started looking for the rest of The Host's cast. And his gaze has fallen upon William Hurt, who is now in talks for the movie.Adapted by Niccol from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's alien invasion tome, The Host will follow Melanie Stryder (Ronan) a young woman whose brain is hijacked by one of the extraterrestrials that specialise in replacing their host creatures' personality. But the new arrival, Wanderer, finds that Melanie is more of a challenge than normal, and the joint being, dubbed "Wanda," ends up falling in with a group of humans who are part of the rag-tag resistance.If he signs, Hurt will play Jeb, Melanie's uncle, and one of the early few who realised what was really going on with the stealthy invasion. Initially dismissed as a wacko, he quickly gained more respect when his survivalist hideaway became a key base of operations.Jeb's blend of seeming eccentricity and hard-wired control of situations makes this sound like a solid role for Hurt to play.Niccol aims to kick off shooting in February and the film will be out on March 29, 2013.

New Sherlock Banner Online

Holmes untrousers his MauserGrandstand set-pieces are virtually guaranteed in A Virtual Detective: A Game Title Of Shadows but blow us lower if the new banner does not go ahead and take prize. It's an overflowing train, for heaven's sake. Somebody call Chris Pine, Denzel which dude within the helicopter.We are presuming that this is actually the same locomotive that appears within the trailer bearing Holmes (Robert Downey Junior.) and Watson(Jude Law) in to the mountain tops where uber-enemy Professor Moriarty is based on wait.Along with the fox-cunning crime solver and the medical partner, the most recent in Guy Ritchie's franchise introduces Jared Harris as Moriarty, Stephen Fry as Holmes's brother Mycroft, and Noomie Rapace as mysterious gypsy Sim.A Virtual Detective: A Game Title Of Shadows steams to your nearest multiplex on December 16.

'Girl While using Dragon Tattoo' New Yorker Review: Critic Breaks Embargo, Angers Studio (UPDATE)

Within the files people probably don't care much: venerable NYer film critic David Denby has written summary of 'The Girl While using Dragon Tattoo' which will publish inside the print edition in the NYer on Monday, an entire eight days while watching embargo date on reviews set through the new the new sony. Mentioned The brand new the new sony inside an email to experts on early Sunday morning: "This embargo breach is completely unacceptable." Denby's review won't be online until Monday morning, but NY Publish film critic Lou Lumenick has mentioned it's "positive to mixed" with special notice presented to star Rooney Mara. "You can't take how well you see off Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander," Lumenick quotes Denby as writing. The issue for that new the new sony is becoming trying to manage the relaxation of experts who've seen 'Dragon Tattoo' already. Andre Caraco, the executive v . p . from the new the new sony Pictures publicity, written these email to experts on Sunday morning and guaranteed effects due to not only the NYer, but almost every other pros who break the embargo. "By enabling experts to find out films early, at different occasions, embargo dates level the playing area and enable reviews to use within the films' primary release window, when audiences are most interested. Needs to be principle, the NYer's breach violates a trust and undermines something designed to help journalists complete the job and serve their site visitors. We have been speaking directly while using NYer relevant for this matter and be ready to take measures to make certain this kind of breach does not happen again," Caraco written. "Meanwhile, we've every goal of maintaining the embargo in place and you need to help help remind you that reviews is probably not launched right before December thirteenth." Lumenick, who along with Denby is part of the NY Film Experts Circle, miracles if Denby's embargo-breaking review has anything associated with his displeasure inside the NYFCC moving its honours voting up by 2 days this year. "Denby saw the film on November. 28, yesterday the NY Film Experts Circle selected on its annual honours," written Lumenick. "Just before the screening, Denby -- according to Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly -- undoubtedly opposed the organization's decision to election on honours 2 days earlier than usual, too as with several e-mails advised us to obstruct the election until after we'd seen 'Extremely Noisy and very Close,' a movie many of us haven't even been requested to yet. "Did Denby proceed to fast deliberately making it harder for that NYFCC to find out movies earlier (and election earlier) next season? Thinking about the truth that the NYer frequently prints reviews well after every else, you have to question." 'The Girl While using Dragon Tattoo' is going in theaters on 12 ,. 23. So far, few other experts have broken the review embargo. UPDATE: The Playlist has launched an e-mail thread between David Denby and 'Dragon Tattoo' producer Scott Rudin, where the NYer critic mentioned he broke the embargo because of the season-finish glut of films -- which triggered publication issues for your magazine. "The jam-from important films helps it be very hard on magazines. We shouldn't run lots of small reviews at Christmas. That is not just what the NYer is about. Anthony and I'd rather not write them by doing this, and our site visitors shouldn't read them by doing this.Inch Sadly for Denby, Rudin didn't see things his way. "The needs of playboy cannot trump your word," Rudin written inside an email. "The fact the review is great is immaterial, after i suspect you understand. You've very badly damaged the film that way, which i could not in good conscience invite you to definitely view another movie of mine again." No overreactions here! Mind towards the Playlist to determine the whole email thread. [via NYP, Deadline] [Photo: Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Corporation.] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

'The Artist': How a Silent Movie Became an Oscar Contender

Somehow, Michel Hazanavicius managed to come up with something that even the French thought was loopy. For years, the Parisian writer-director -- an analytical guy who sees filmmaking as what he calls "playing with codes" -- had been captivated by an idea. But financiers got cold feet just hearing about it; the boutique television stations that typically fund sophisticated European films walked away. Even in a nation of cineastes and revival houses -- a country in which a major film movement was once launched by a band of movie critics -- his dream looked to be dead on arrival."I wanted to make one for a long time," the director says about his fascination with doing a black-and-white silent set in the 1920s. His long limbs folded over a table at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, he talks about his heroes like F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. "But it's even difficult to convince myself, or to convince anyone else, it is even possible. I found that some producers -- really all of them -- were a little bit cold." It didn't help that the 44-year-old Hazanavicius was known in France for the box-office-friendly, period-conscious "OSS 117" spy parodies, in which a kind of Gallic Bond scampers through the 1950s and '60s. "What I needed was a crazy guy," he says.Enter Thomas Langmann, 40, whom Hazanavicius calls "the craziest producer in France." Langmann, the son of Oscar winner Claude Berri (who directed "Manon of the Spring" and produced Roman Polanski's "Tess"), worked a bit with Soderbergh and Coppola as a young man and produced some French smashes in his 30s. Langmann sees producing as a species of gambling. "It was always about betting on directors," he says of the philosophy his father passed down. "I knew if we made a film in black and white and we succeeded, it would be original."It took director and producer awhile to sync up -- early ideas such as a feature with an invisible protagonist didn't make the cut. "I really wanted to make an entertaining movie," Hazanavicius says, noting that many European silents were tragic romances. "I thought it was unfair to ask people to come to a black-and-white silent movie that was also dark -- it would be too much." But finally the two came up with an idea that worked: a film about a '20s matinee idol who struggles with the advent of talkies.The movie that resulted is being talked about as the first silent film with real best-picture Oscar chances since "Wings," the 1927 Clara Bow film that arrived soon before the talkies changed the game (it won). "The Artist" opened in the U.S. on Nov. 25 -- just two screens each in NY and Los Angeles -- but already has banked an impressive $12 million since its release in France in October. More important, the film took the best actor award at Cannes, where it played to rapturous audiences, and it has gone on to seduce judges at festivals around the world and sweep the season's audience awards from Chicago to the Hamptons to San Sebastien."It is as wonderful a film as it is modern," says silent-film collector and producer Serge Bromberg, who has seen the movie six times at festivals, "with jaw-dropping cinematography, good acting, wonderful knowledge of classic cinema. And it has the flavor of the old. But it is not a film of the '20s; the pace is not the same, and its constant humor gives it some distance from what a film of the '20s would be."Hazanavicius was already an admirer of the silent era, but as he wrote, he immersed himself deeply for several months, reading actors' biographies, going to screenings of Murnau and Frank Borzage and early John Ford at Paris' Cinematheque, studying photographs and playing music of the '20s and early '30s.He wanted Jean Dujardin -- a bankable French star known mostly for comic roles -- to play the lead, Valentin. "Of course, I said: 'You're crazy. It's impossible,' " says Dujardin.Hazanavicius also asked his girlfriend, Berenice Bejo, the Argentina-born French actress who appeared in "A Knight's Tale" and in his "OSS" films, to play a studio extra named Peppy, shot into fame by a chance encounter. "I said, 'No way -- no way,' " recalls Bejo, who has two children with the director. "Not with me."The two eventually were persuaded, and their presence caused a change in the movie itself. The original vision for the film focused on Valentin's isolation. But as Hazanavicius got deeper into the film, Peppy began to seem major, and the movie became a romance.Dujardin had only ever scratched the era's surface. "I knew only the masterpieces of Keaton and Chaplin," he says. "It was a real discovery for me to find King Vidor's 'The Crowd,'" a film about a man lost in the big city of the 1920s that the actor calls "very modern, very touching; it helped me to assemble all the different references."As a model for his character, he found Douglas Fairbanks -- the actor who started making films in 1915 and whose career faded as talkies ascended. "In all his films," Dujardin says, "he doesn't ask himself any questions," never straining against the limits of the swashbuckling style required by such films as "Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro." "It's pathetic when you know the talkies are coming, but he's also very generous. He's like my character George Valentin: He can be arrogant, but he has integrity. He believes in his art. He fights for it."(Valentin needs that integrity -- as he spirals downward, it's all he has, besides liquor and an attentive, scene-stealing dog to keep him warm.)Bejo's research found inspiration in Gloria Swanson -- who, unlike Fairbanks, excelled after the silent era. She fell for Swanson's autobiography, which describes a life very different from the desiccated former star she played in Sunset Boulevard. "She started in the silent period and then went to the talkies and then to TV," Bejo says. "I got a sense of the atmosphere of the period."To make a film about Hollywood, Langmann reasoned, you had to shoot there. By now he'd drawn some funding from French station Canal+ and invested considerably from his own company, La Petite Reine. But the costs of coming to America -- and surrendering French government subsidies -- raised the stakes substantially. (The film's eventual budget came close to $20 million.)Shooting at the Paramount and Warner Bros. lots -- as well as locations like the beautifully lit center court of downtown L.A.'s 1893 Bradbury Building, known to film buffs for its role in Blade Runner -- inspired the crew over the 35-day shoot. (Dujardin was put up in an old house in the Hollywood Hills -- he thinks to amplify his isolation for his slide in the movie's second act.) "Hollywood, in my opinion, is the big star of the movie," says Hazanavicius.Also crucial to re-creating the era onscreen was the work of costume designer Mark Bridges, who worked on all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films, including "Boogie Nights" and "There Will Be Blood." Some of his vision for "The Artist" came from the MGM documentary "1925 Studio Tour." "You could see what the carpenters, what the plasterers wore," he says. "Even those guys in their bib overalls had a necktie. And a lot of hats, either for warmth or bad hair days."Surprisingly, director of photography Guillaume Schiffman shot the film in color because today's black and white is too sharp, not grainy enough. He used unusual filters to diffuse the whites and mute the blacks slightly -- and as the film went on, with its main character losing some of his sheen, the light got grayer.Although Hazanavicius deliberately had chosen very expressive actors -- Americans John Goodman, James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller round out the cast -- they found the limitations were difficult at first. For Bejo, working without lines threw her off. (The actors improvised in English while onscreen, to give their mouths something to do, mixed with a few of the "lines" shown to the audience on intertitles.) But she eventually found a way to inhabit the role. "If it was a talking movie, she would have been the same -- would have moved the same way, winked the same way, danced the same way," she says. "The challenge was to try to focus on the body language, but the rest of it was finding a way of being an American actress. I think of American actors -- they take up a lot of space, they talk really loud, they talk with their hands. So I had to find that, since being a French actor, everything is more petite."To keep communing with the past, the director kept the music of the era -- George Gershwin, Cole Porter -- in constant rotation while they shot, and he brought cast and crew to see films at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax, and to the Nuart for its revival of Murnau's Sunrise: "A Song of Two Humans" (a morality tale about the corrupting influence of the city Murnau made for Fox in 1927) . The director applied some of what he learned: Murnau, for instance, had instructed his protagonist from Sunrise to wear heavy, weighted shoes on set after he fell on hard times; Hazanavicius did something similar when he dressed his fallen star in suits slightly too big for him. "He's not as perfect as he was in the first act," he says.Hazanavicius credits the world's fascination with Hollywood for the film's international appeal, but the enormous enthusiasm of Harvey Weinstein is the reason it has exploded out of the gates during the festival season into the awards race. Weinstein, who had enjoyed the "OSS" films, had heard about the movie from Langmann and in March flew to Paris, where he saw the film alone in a screening room. Weinstein was not ambiguous in his praise. "The Artist," he says now, "treasures the American cinema I love. It's an inspiration, everything about the movie -- where they shot the movie, the way they used American cast and crew. It's just a love letter to American cinema."Langmann was impressed with Weinstein's urge to pull the trigger without any associates along to vet the decision. It was still months before Cannes -- it was not even assured at this point that the film would be released in France -- but by the time of the festival, the deal to distribute in the U.S., the U.K. and other regions was done.The film ends with a tap dance that required more work than anything else in the film. "I think 95 percent of the preparation was for the tap dancing," Hazanavicius says. Bejo recalls her practice with both pleasure and exasperation: "Five months, every day."The film was shot in as close to real sequence as possible -- in part to give the actors time to learn to tap dance, and partly so they would travel the same journey as George and Peppy before arriving at the climactic scene. "The dance is all about their characters," Hazanavicius says. "If it's just a performance, it's not interesting."Bejo's attitude toward the conclusion captures some of the quality that makes her character -- and the film -- so winning. "I kept telling myself: 'Just smile, look at each other, enjoy the moment. The happier you are, the less people will look at your feet. Just act, don't try to be good -- your feet will follow.' " The Hollywood Reporter

Miley Cyrus Supports Occupy Movement With 'Liberty Walk' Clip (Video)

ESPN sat on a 2002 taped conversation between Laurie Fine, the wife of recently fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, and Bobby Davis, the man accusing Fine of molesting him, for nearly a decade. The sports network says it did not broadcast the phone call until this Sunday because it did not have corroboration on the charges.our editor recommendsBob Costas on Jerry Sandusky's Sex Scandal: 'There Will Be More' to Come Out of the Investigation (Video)Howard Stern on Jerry Sandusky: 'They Should Cut His B---- Off' (Video)Penn State Scandal: Bob Costas Lauded for Jerry Sandusky 'Rock Center' Interview Syracuse fired Fine Sunday after ESPN's Outside the Lines played the tape. University Chancellor Nancy Cantor said in a statement addressed to students, faculty and staff on Sunday: "I am writing to let you know that Bernie Fine's employment at the University has been terminated effective immediately. Frankly, the events of the past week have shaken us all. The taped phone call that ESPN revealed today was not provided to the university by Mr. Davis during the 2005 investigation by our legal counsel. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Memorable Mea Culpas Davis is one of three men that has said Fine molested them during his tenure as the Orangemen's coach. Davis was a ball boy for the team for six years and told ESPN that the abuse "occurred at Fine's home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four." An excerpt of the conversation between Davis and Mrs. Fine indicated that she was aware of her husband's crimes: Davis: "Do you think I'm the only one that he's ever done that to?" Laurie Fine: "No ... I think there might have been others but it was geared to ... there was something about you." As for why ESPN sat on the tape for so long, reporter Mark Schwarz said on air Sunday: "We didn't have a corroborating second alleged victim and so we kept the tape for eight years not really knowing what to do with it until the second alleged victim, Mike Lang, came forward." Many comments on ESPN's website fault the Disney-owned channel for not doing anything about the alleged abuse earlier. Levans4692 wrote, "Where is ESPN's culpability in this? They held onto that tape for more than six years and didn't act. Isn't this what ESPN just lynched Joe Paterno for doing? Why didn't ESPN take it a step further. They possessed an actual tape of admission of abuse and didn't act??? Where is the morality? This sickens me...hypocrites." Pjrcol wrote, "Wait what ESPN knew someone was potentially molesting kids and sat on it!!???!!?? fuc% that espn that is bullcrap especially given the fact that you had pretty much all your analyst air their displeasure on Paterno and Penn St. when it quite clearly looks like you sat on info yourself." Porch 33 stated, "ESPN should be held just as accountable if all this is true. Why didn't they go to the police??" The Fine case is the second major molestation-related scandal for college sports in the past two months, following similar allegations against Penn St. assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Related Topics ESPN

EC uncovers $283 mil guarantee fund

The city -- Plans to produce a 210 million ($283 million) financial guarantee facility for Europe's cultural and inventive industries were revealed Wednesday through the European Commission. Move could unlock as much as $1.35 billion in bank financial loans for small operators within the sector, it states, including for film and TV production.Facility will participate Creative Europe, a brand new program running from 2014 to 2020 which will absorb current Eu support for film and TV, such as the Media Program.The guarantee facility continues to be mooted because companies within the cultural and inventive industries are poorly offered by Europe's loan companies and don't fit well with existing systems to assist unlock credit. Obstacles incorporate a reliance upon intangible assets, for example intellectual property, as well as an output that's not prone to mass production. "Every film, book, opera, videogame is visible like a unique prototype," the Commission observed.The Commission has road-examined the guarantee idea within the film and TV industry having a $10.8 million Media Production Guarantee Fund. The EU contribution up to now of $2.7 million has produced financial loans to film producers worth $24.two million, it stated. If this finishes in 2013, this Media fund is going to be made available to the brand new, larger initiative, which is available to the entire cultural and inventive sector.The Commission continues to be careful to stress Creative Europe's ongoing support for that film and TV industry after reviews from the Media Program's imminent dying triggered a business stress captured.Below Wednesday's plans, a lot more than $1.2 billion will visit the cinema and audiovisual sector, from an overall total budget of $2.4 billion. This signifies a small increase around the $1 billion plowed into Media and it is worldwide companion program Media Mundus from 2007-13.However, your budget still must be examined by European government authorities and also the European Parliament before these figures are occur stone. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Christopher Walken Impersonator Who Fooled The AP Speaks Out

First Published: November 21, 2011 3:33 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption ESPN 980s Marc Sterne talks to Access Hollywood Lives Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Nov. 21, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- On Friday, the Associated Press had to issue a retraction when a writer for the news service included quotes from a man who they thought was Christopher Walken, taken from what they believed was a legit interview with ESPN 980. Unfortunately for the AP, it wasnt actually Walken talking about the night of Natalie Woods death, but rather ESPN 980s Marc Sterne doing an impression of the actor on The Tony Kornheiser Show. During the impersonation, Sterne acted as Walken speaking out about the re-opening of the investigation into Woods death. Walken, along with Robert Wagner, was aboard the yacht with the actress when she drowned in 1981. Lets be honest, Im sure Julia Roberts does a better Christopher Walken than I do and Im embarrassed for the AP reporter, Sterne told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover on Mondays Access Hollywood Live. Christopher Walken hasnt spoken about this in 30 years, do they really think hes calling into a D.C. sports show, to talk about Natalie Wood, and then, by the way, give fantasy football tips? It was absurd. And the interest in the faux interview only grew when AP published its report, under the impression the interview was real. After it aired and AP ran with it, everybody was calling the radio station saying we need the audio, and finally there was a producer that tracked me down and said, Can you just send me the audio? and I said, Oh sweetheart, youre going to be really embarrassed in about three seconds. And she said, Why? And I said, (puts on Christopher Walken voice) Because its me Chris right here, talking to you Its me doing the Chris Walken voice. As for AP, the wire service took credit for its mistake on Friday afternoon. The Associated Press has withdrawn the 12th and 13th Ld-Writethrus of its story about the Natalie Wood investigation. The story mistakenly quoted Christopher Walken as telling Washington, D.C. sports talk radio station ESPN 980 about his recollections from the night that Wood died. An Associated Press reporter mistook what was actually a station employees impersonation of Walken as a real interview, the news wire services correction read. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Cinthia Leon...Got the Part

Cinthia Leon...Got the Part Role: Ana Maria Pro in "Viva Cristo Rey," a nonunion play By Michael Coughlin November 19, 2011 Once in a while a simple hunch, with perhaps a bit of faith, may provide sufficient confirmation that a play is just right for an actor. With a heavy theater background and a strong foundation in the church, Cinthia Leon realized that a casting notice for 'Viva Cristo Rey' blended her craft and her faith. It was an exceptional opportunity on BackStage.com that she could not bypass.Initially, the title of the play (meaning "Long live Christ the King") was the hook for Leon. After beginning research, she says, "what grabbed me was the entire play. Every character is unique, and without one of them you're missing something." The role of Ana Maria Pro gave the actor a call of duty: to portray a real person with little documented history to go on. Much of the play is about Ana Maria's brother, Miguel Pro, who was executed in Mexico in 1927 for being a priest. Leon's journey to her character was lengthy. "On a personal note, I had been praying and trying to really find what this person was about," she says. "There was not a lot of literature about Ana Maria." After coming across a family portrait of the Pros, Leon noted that Ana Maria was the only one wearing a white dress, providing a clue to her role in the family: "She was the caregiver. The mother passed away, and she took care of all her brothers."Peter Gallagher, president of the G.K. Chesterton Theatre Company, instantly knew Leon was "a professional." He says, "She has a certain quality about her that gifted actors can show you in an audition. After her first cold read, we knew that she would be in the mix, and from there, it was just a matter of getting the family put together." Working with director Angel Duran, Leon welcomed being "challenged" and considered her experience "beneficial." She is quick to note that benefits only come with some degree of effort: "My mindset when I go to work is that I am there to work. [Angel] would push me, and I would keep going."Rehearsals in a church, complete with bells ringing at strangely opportune times, only heightened Leon's experience. In a moment when the villain of the play spews hateful dialogue, followed by the toll, she recalls, "Those bells would go off perfectly. There was something symbolic about it. It was not a clich momentit was beautiful." Just as moving were the performances. There were several after-show discussions, with audience members sharing their personal experiences about the religious persecutions in Mexico during the era of the play. "Coming from musical theater, doing 'Guys and Dolls' and 'West Side Story,' you touch people," Leon says. "But, it's completely different when you have a true experience. People [in the audience] are crying and talking about their actual families."Leon's L.A. theater roots provided one of the most valuable lessons she has learned to date, taught by her sixth-grade teacher Dave Ferris. Leon remembers, "I learned at 10 or 11 years old that even though you perform your best at an audition, you may not get the part." Of casting Leon as Ana Maria, however, Gallagher says, "Cinthia is probably a little younger than we had anticipated going, but she was so good, we couldn't let the age thing get in the way." Leon says she gained another lesson with the project: "I've learned a lot about what it means as an actor to really do your research." She also acknowledges being taken with G.K. Chesterton Theatre Company's mission of producing work based on true stories of faith and heroism. A hunch tells her to pursue more work with the company. For more information, visit www.cinthialeon.com.Has Back Stage helped you get cast in the past year? We'd love to tell your story. Be in the weekly column by emailing casting@backstage.com for NY or bswcasting@backstage.com for Los Angeles with "I Got the Part" in the subject line. Cinthia Leon...Got the Part Role: Ana Maria Pro in "Viva Cristo Rey," a nonunion play By Michael Coughlin November 19, 2011 Once in a while a simple hunch, with perhaps a bit of faith, may provide sufficient confirmation that a play is just right for an actor. With a heavy theater background and a strong foundation in the church, Cinthia Leon realized that a casting notice for 'Viva Cristo Rey' blended her craft and her faith. It was an exceptional opportunity on BackStage.com that she could not bypass.Initially, the title of the play (meaning "Long live Christ the King") was the hook for Leon. After beginning research, she says, "what grabbed me was the entire play. Every character is unique, and without one of them you're missing something." The role of Ana Maria Pro gave the actor a call of duty: to portray a real person with little documented history to go on. Much of the play is about Ana Maria's brother, Miguel Pro, who was executed in Mexico in 1927 for being a priest. Leon's journey to her character was lengthy. "On a personal note, I had been praying and trying to really find what this person was about," she says. "There was not a lot of literature about Ana Maria." After coming across a family portrait of the Pros, Leon noted that Ana Maria was the only one wearing a white dress, providing a clue to her role in the family: "She was the caregiver. The mother passed away, and she took care of all her brothers."Peter Gallagher, president of the G.K. Chesterton Theatre Company, instantly knew Leon was "a professional." He says, "She has a certain quality about her that gifted actors can show you in an audition. After her first cold read, we knew that she would be in the mix, and from there, it was just a matter of getting the family put together." Working with director Angel Duran, Leon welcomed being "challenged" and considered her experience "beneficial." She is quick to note that benefits only come with some degree of effort: "My mindset when I go to work is that I am there to work. [Angel] would push me, and I would keep going."Rehearsals in a church, complete with bells ringing at strangely opportune times, only heightened Leon's experience. In a moment when the villain of the play spews hateful dialogue, followed by the toll, she recalls, "Those bells would go off perfectly. There was something symbolic about it. It was not a clich momentit was beautiful." Just as moving were the performances. There were several after-show discussions, with audience members sharing their personal experiences about the religious persecutions in Mexico during the era of the play. "Coming from musical theater, doing 'Guys and Dolls' and 'West Side Story,' you touch people," Leon says. "But, it's completely different when you have a true experience. People [in the audience] are crying and talking about their actual families."Leon's L.A. theater roots provided one of the most valuable lessons she has learned to date, taught by her sixth-grade teacher Dave Ferris. Leon remembers, "I learned at 10 or 11 years old that even though you perform your best at an audition, you may not get the part." Of casting Leon as Ana Maria, however, Gallagher says, "Cinthia is probably a little younger than we had anticipated going, but she was so good, we couldn't let the age thing get in the way." Leon says she gained another lesson with the project: "I've learned a lot about what it means as an actor to really do your research." She also acknowledges being taken with G.K. Chesterton Theatre Company's mission of producing work based on true stories of faith and heroism. A hunch tells her to pursue more work with the company. For more information, visit www.cinthialeon.com.Has Back Stage helped you get cast in the past year? We'd love to tell your story. Be in the weekly column by emailing casting@backstage.com for NY or bswcasting@backstage.com for Los Angeles with "I Got the Part" in the subject line.

New Red-colored-colored Band Trailer For Your Sitter

Jonah Hill has one wild nightSince he apparently switched tracks to check his hands at stoner/action comedies, David Gordon Eco-friendly has family member moderate hit (Pineapple Express) then one large box office disappointment (Your Highness). Thinking about the truth that he's his eye on something altogether more well toned-lower afterwards, The Sitter might be his last chance to hack the crazy formula again for a while. And there's a completely new red-colored-colored band trailer for your film below.The Sitter finds Jonah Hill as Noah Jaybird, a stalwart slacker who's compelled by his mother to discover work. He confirms to help take proper care of some kids mostly must be) he figures it is easy money and B) he finds their mother attractive.But his charges use substantially greater than they can really handle, then when his girlfriend (Ari Graynor) cajoles him into visiting a party, he drags the sprogs by helping cover their him. Not suggested when he first needs to produce a pause and acquire some illegal substances... And things go downhill next.This like a red-colored-colored band effort, it's naturally full of promising, violence, drugs and general madness. The jury's still on where it'll fall inside the Eco-friendly canon, nevertheless it does boast the help of Mike Rockwell, Curb Your Enthusiasm's JB Smoove and Where The Wild Things Are's Max Records, among others.It is going to hit our cinemas around the month of the month of january 20.

Access Hollywood Live: Go Eco-friendly With Meatless Monday Quality quality recipes!

First Launched: November 14, 2011 3:54 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Billy Rose rose bush and Package Hoover talk Meatless Monday with chefs Laurie David and Kristin Uhrenholt on Access Hollywood Survive November 14, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- To begin NBCUniversals Eco-friendly Week, author Laurie David and chef Kirstin Uhrenholdt visit having a couple of high quality quality recipes utilizing their book, Your Family Dinner, about the easiest method to not only eat healthy but save the climate too! Moninas Wheat Berry Salad Elements: 2 cups wheat berries (wild grain or farro will also be good) 1 cup dried red-colored grapes or cherries 1/3 cup canola or toasted walnut oil Zest and juice of two oranges Zest and juice of a single lemon Pepper and salt to taste 1 cup frozen edamame beans, defrosted (you don't have to prepare) 1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts Optional additions: feta, chopped dried apricots, chopped scallions, parsley, dill arugula, eco-friendly green spinach, pine nuts, or any other things your really wants to MAKE 6 Portions: In the large pot, mix the wheat berries with 6 portions of water. Give a boil and prepare, uncovered, for approximately 60 to 80 minutes, thinking about that they are quite unpredictable, so start tasting them after 45 minutes. When they are tender but nevertheless soft, drain and let awesome. Chuck the ball wheat berries while using red-colored grapes, oil, and zest and juice in the oranges and lemon. Season gener- ously with pepper and salt. Permit the salad spend some time not under 2 several hours and so the elements understand each other. Before serving, toss while using edamame and nuts. ********** Lentil Stew with Taters and Warm Indian Spices or herbs or herbal treatments Elements: 2 tbsps . essential essential olive oil 2 medium let us eat some let's eat some onions, chopped 3 cloves garlic clove clove, carefully chopped 2 tbsps . grated fresh ginger root root 1 tablespoon high quality garam masala 1 cup diced celery 1 large potato, peeled and cut into small cubes 2 cups brown peas, cleaned 1 14-ounce can diced tomato vegetables, undrained 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or light coconut milk) 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted Pepper and salt to taste Yogurt, for garnish To Produce 46 Portions Within your soup pot, warmth the fundamental essential olive oil and fry the let us eat some let's eat some onions until wilted and golden, adding the garlic clove clove, ginger root root, and spices or herbs or herbal treatments and stir so to speak until they are aromatic. Be careful not to burn the spices or herbs or herbal treatments, because this means they are bitter. Take half of the mix and hang up it aside for later. Add the celery, potato, peas, tomato vegetables, coconut milk, and stock. Permit the stew simmer, without any lid, for approximately 30 to 40 minutes prior to the taters and peas are tender. Fold inside the remaining onion-and-spice mixture. Add the peas for the stew last to obtain their brilliant color. Simmer for the next short while prior to the stew is heated through. Season with pepper and salt. Serve getting a dollop of yogurt, warm naan bread or pita, and perhaps some brown grain, plain or cooked getting a 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth cardamom pod. ********** Oven Grains, Veggies and Cheese, Please Elements: 2 tbsps . essential essential olive oil 2 medium let us eat some let's eat some onions, sliced 2 cloves, garlic clove clove, chopped 2 cups sliced mushrooms Pepper and salt 2 bunches kale, chopped 2 bunches Swiss chard, chopped 1 cup grated Mozzarella dairy product 1 egg, beaten Squeeze of lemon 6 cups cooked, mild-tasting grains, like quinoa, barley or wheatberries 6 cups Aromatic Tomato Sauce (p. 98 within our book or possibly a simple marinara sauce like here or possibly your preferred store-bought tomato sauce, plus extra for everybody silently 2 cups mixed cheeses, as being a soft goat cheese, fresh mozzarella and Fontina To Produce 6 Portions (plus leftovers): Warmth a substantial nonstick skillet over medium warmth and drizzle in enough oil to cover the bottom. Saute the let us eat some let's eat some onions, garlic clove clove and mushrooms until they are soft and golden. Season with pepper and salt and dump them in to a bowl. In the large pot or pan getting a lid, steam the veggies until tender, 4 to 5 minutes (you might want to understand this completed in a couple of batches). Put the cooked veggies in the clean dishtowel or salad spinner and wring out all the excess water. Chuck the ball veggies while using Mozzarella dairy product and egg. Season getting a squeeze of lemon, pepper and salt. Pre-warmth the oven to 400 levels. Now treat all the elements like a lasagna. Put a layer of grains within your baking dish, top with tomato sauce, a layer of veggies, the mushroom mixture, together with a layer in the mixed cheeses. . . .and so on before you decide to finish getting a layer of tomato sauce and cheese. Top the dish with foil or possibly a lid, put it to the oven, and bake until bubbling, about 35 minutes. Then take away the lid and return the dish for the oven for 10 mins. To learn more, visit internet.TheFamilyDinnerBook.com and internet.MeatlessMonday.com. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kourtney and Kim Take New You are able to Promo Foreshadows What Everybody Already Knows

Kim Kardashian The promo for Season 2 of Kourtney and Kim Take NY has appeared, and something factor is obvious: the writing was around the wall for Kim and Kris. (He traveled overseas and she or he discovered via Twitter!) E!'s Maintaining using the Kardashians spin-off will premiere Sunday, November. 27, and considering the tabloid craze all around the couple, it'll be rankings gold for that network.The trailer's tagline? "Its not all story book may have a happy ending."Kris Jenner: Kim did not earn money from the weddingEven though everyone knows the foreboding message refers back to the couples' impending divorce, it does not mean every gossip-fiend in the usa will not be watching. Browse the trailer on your own:

Barry Josephson steers sci-fi pic

Straight Up Films has partnered with producer Barry Josephson on an untitled sci-fi project with siblings David and Ian Purchase directing. Script is being penned by Edward and Chris Borey ("Continue") with Straight Up financing the development. Details are being kept under wraps. Straight Up partners Marisa Polvino and Kate Cohen will produce alongside Josephson. Annie Marter, who brought the project to Straight Up, will exec produce along with Alexander Young for Josephson Entertainment. The Purchase brothers directed short film "Escape From City 17." "We're very focused on developing studio-caliber fare and saw this as a great opportunity to get on board a high quality project from the ground up," Cohen said. Josephson produced "Enchanted" and "Life as We Know It."CAA reps the Boreys and the Purchases. It will represent the film's distribution rights. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

'Melancholia' leads EFA noms

SEVILLE, The country-- Lars von Trier's finish-of-the-world drama "Melancholia" tops nominations with this year's European Film Honours -- Europe's same as the Academy awards -- with eight mentions."Melancholia's" noms include best pic, director, actress (both Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte now Gaingsbourg) and film writer.Von Trier's film vies for that pic prize with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "The Little One Having a Bike," Susanne Bier's "Inside a Better World," Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre," Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" and Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." "Melancholia's" rivals within the category all snagged four nominations. Introduced Saturday at Spain's Seville Film Festival, noms claim that EFA people haven't let Von Trier's episode and prohibit at Cannes in Damages "Melancholia's" likelihood of a best pic award, a minimum of only at that nomination stage.The Cannes fest declared Von Trier "persona non grata" after he declared he felt "sympathy" for Adolf Hitler at "Melancholia's" press conference. "Hopefully nominations free audiences from prejudices from the film plus they view it as only a film," stated Golem's Josetxo Moreno, who releases "Melancholia" a few days ago in The country.The lion's share of EFA noms visited box office hits or auteurs who command worldwide audiences. Inside a obvious wager on established European helmers, the director award sees exactly the same rivals because the pic prize, changing Hazanavicius with Hungarian Bela Tarr ("The Turin Equine").The 24th EFA those who win is going to be revealed 12 ,. 3 in Berlin. And also the nominees are: EUROPEAN FILM 2011-"The Artist," France directed by Michel Hazanavicius created by Thomas Langmann & Emmanuel Montamat -"Le gamin au velo" (The Little One having a Bike) Belgium, France, Italia directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne created by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Denis Freyd and Andrea Occhipinti -"Haevnen" (Inside a Better World), Denmark Susanne Bier created by Sisse Graum Jorgensen -"The King's Speech," U.K. directed by Tom Hooper created by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin -"Le Havre," Finland, France, Germany directed by Aki Kaurismaki created by Aki Kaurismaki and Karl Baumgartner -"Melancholia," Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany directed by Lars von Trier created by Meta Louise Foldager and Louise Vesth EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2011-Susanne Bier for "Inside a Better World"-Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for "The Little One having a Bike"-Aki Kaurismaki for "Le Havre"-Bela Tarr for "A Torinoi Lo" (The Turin Equine)-Lars von Trier for "Melancholia" EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2011-Kirsten Dunst in "Melancholia"-Cecile p France in "The Little One having a Bike"-Charlotte now Gainsbourg in "Melancholia"-Nadezhda Markina in "Elena"-Tilda Swinton in "We have to Discuss Kevin" EUROPEAN ACTOR 2011-Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"-Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"-Mikael Persbrandt in "Inside a Better World"-Michel Piccoli in "Habemus Papam"-Andre Wilms in "Le Havre" EUROPEAN Film writer 2011-Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for "The Little One having a Bike"-Anders Thomas Jensen for "Inside a Better World"-Aki Kaurismaki for "Le Havre"-Lars von Trier for "Melancholia" CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2011-Manuel Alberto Claro for "Melancholia"-Fred Kelemen for "The Turin Equine"-Guillaume Schiffman for "The Artist"-Adam Sikora for "Essential Killing" EUROPEAN EDITOR 2011-Tariq Anwar for "The King's Speech"-Mathilde Bonnefoy for "Drei" (Three)-Molly Marlene Stensgaard for "Melancholia" EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2011-Paola Bizzarri for "Habemus Papam"-Antxon Gomez for "La piel que habito" (Your Skin My home is)-Jette Lehmann for "Melancholia" EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2011-Ludovic Bource for "The Artist"-Alexandre Desplat for "The King's Speech"-Alberto Iglesias for "Your Skin My home isInch-Mihaly Vig for "The Turin Equine" Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn Looked for for 'The Revenant'

Because Leonardo DiCaprio isn't attached and/or wanted for enough roles in Hollywood, Deadline reviews that director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu wants DiCaprio for 'The Revenant,' where he'd star just like a frontiersman hellbent on revenge. Inarritu also wants Sean Penn for your film, which focuses on Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a 1820s fur trapper who'll get mauled having a bear to such extremes he can't even get moved in the forest for help. He utilizes two males to stay with him (Penn would play one) -- who rapidly double-mix Glass by leaving him to die. Spoiler: he doesn't, and heads on trips of retribution. DiCaprio and Penn have only spoken with Inarritu, so there's nothing occur stone 'The Revenant,' good novel by Michael Punke, is positioned to shoot next fall. [via Deadline] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Back Stage Seeking 2012 Take Five Columnists

Duncan Stewart, director of casting at National Artists Management Company, talks about opening every submission and what he desires to see in the headshot. casting Duncan Stewart headshot NY city open distribution Duncan Steward, director of casting, talks about what he wants from an actress in the general meeting, mainly truth, likability, and inadequate ego. advice casting Duncan Stewart NY city tips Duncan Stewart, director of casting, talks about what he needs from an audition and common mistakes stars make. advice auditions casting Duncan Stewart NY city Alaine Alldaffer reduces the particular role from the casting direcor. Alaine Alldaffer casting casting director Grey Gardens play stage theater Casting director Alaine Alldaffer talks about casting "Saved" and many types of the misconceptions about just as one actor in NY City. Alaine Alldaffer casting director New you are able to city theatre play saved NY casting director Bernie Telsey describes what stars need to know before walking into an audition. (Part a few) Bernie Telsey casting director We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about concentrating on cleaning cleaning soap operas. (Part 1 of three) General Hospital Mark Teschner cleaning cleaning soap opera NY casting director Bernie Telsey describes the best way to give your better audition. (Part 2 of two) Bernie Telsey casting director We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about concentrating on cleaning cleaning soap operas. Just have beautiful people apply? (Part 2 of three) General Hospital Mark Teshner cleaning cleaning soap opera We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about who audition to clean cleaning soap operas. (Part 3 of three) General Hospital Mark Teschner cleaning cleaning soap opera Videos for your Back Stage News & Features section.

Bill Gates Returns Steve Jobs' Critique With Praise (Video)

isn't holding any ill-will towards his former rival, Jobs, regardless of the critical comments the Apple co-founder made about him before his dying March. 5.our editor recommends'60 Minutes' Interview Discloses Steve Jobs' Little-known Bad Side (Video)'iGenius: How Jobs Transformed the World' Airs Sunday on Discovery5 Facts From Steve Jobs' BiographyBill Gates bids a teary farewell to Microsoft PHOTOS: Jobs: 10 Memorable Key events In the lately-launched biography, Jobs had some harsh words for that Microsoft chairman, who had been his company's number 1 competitor. PHOTOS: Apple Items in TV and films "Bill is essentially unimaginative and it has never invented anything, and that's why I believe he's much more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology," Jobs, who died of respiratory system arrest after fighting pancreatic cancer for a long time, is cited as saying, adding, "He just shamelessly scammed others's ideas." But, when requested what he considered the claims throughout a job interview on ABC's Now with Christiane Amanpour. PHOTOS: Probably The Most Spoken-About TV News Faces "Jobs did an admirable job,Inch Gates stated within the interview, ABC news reviews. "Whenever you consider exactly why is the planet better today, the web, the pc, the telephone, how you can cope with details are so phenomenal." Younger crowd pointed out that Jobs wasn't always so harsh. STORY: Eulogy by Jobs' Sister Sparks Sincere Responses "During the period of the 3 decades we labored together, you realize, he stated lots of excellent reasons for me and that he stated lots of tough things," Gates stated, mentioning their collaboration around the software for that first Macs computer. "We started work together. We spurred one another on, even while rivals. None of this bothers me whatsoever." Discover the shocking truth below Related Subjects Jobs Now Apple Microsoft

Let's Hear Your #RejectedPeanutsSpecials!

comments: 4 || add yours I think of Charlie Brown as a movie star since some of his best work is in full-length features like Snoopy, Come Home and Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. Now I can also call him a Twitter phenomenon since he’s subject of the joke meme #RejectedPeanutsSpecials. We love that hashtag so much that we’re contributing a bunch of our own ideas after the jump. The Great Pumpkin has never been scarier. First, here are a few we liked from the Twitterati: #embedly_twitter_69635129{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/profile_background_images/72466264/Pimpwear.jpg) #022330;padding:20px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 0px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .embedly_tweet_content{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:0px;height:40px;padding-bottom:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p span.metadata span.author{line-height:15px;color:#999;font-size:14px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p span.metadata span.author a{line-height:15px;font-size:20px;vertical-align:middle;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0px;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 p a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .embedly_timestamp{font-size:13px;display:inline-block;margin-top:5px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .components-above span.embedly_timestamp{font-size:10px;margin-top:1px;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-screen-name {font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-full-name {padding-left:4px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions{margin-left:10px;font-size:13px;display:inline-block;width:250px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .components-above span.tweet-actions{font-size:10px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .controls{line-height:12px!important;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions a {margin-left:5px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions a b{font-weight:normal;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .components-above span.tweet-actions a b{vertical-align:baseline;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .components-above .tweet-text{font-size:13px;vertical-align:baseline;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-image {float:left;width:40px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-user-block-image {float:left;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-row {margin-left:40px;margin-top:3px;line-height:17px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-user-block {}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .stream-item {padding-bottom:0px;margin-left:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .simple-tweet-image img {margin-top:4px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .simple-tweet-content {margin:0 0 13px 0px;font-size:14px;min-height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .in-reply-to-border {border-color:#EBEBEB;border-style:solid;border-width:1px 0 0;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .in-reply-to-text {margin-left:4px;padding-left:8px;padding-right:10px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions i {background:transparent url(http://a2.twimg.com/a/1306889658/phoenix/img/sprite-icons.png) no-repeat;width:15px;height:15px;margin:0 4px 3px;outline:none;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions a.retweet-action i {background-position:-192px 0;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions a.reply-action i {background-position:0 0;}#embedly_twitter_69635129 .tweet-actions a.favorite-action i {background-position:-32px 0;}@MJMcKeanMichael McKean It’s a Grand Mal, Charlie Brown! #RejectedPeanutsSpecialsOct 28 via TwittelatorFavoriteRetweetReply #embedly_twitter_75095926{background:url(http://a2.twimg.com/profile_background_images/8569456/twitter.jpg) #9AE4E8;padding:20px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 0px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .embedly_tweet_content{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:0px;height:40px;padding-bottom:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p span.metadata span.author{line-height:15px;color:#999;font-size:14px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p span.metadata span.author a{line-height:15px;font-size:20px;vertical-align:middle;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0px;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 p a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .embedly_timestamp{font-size:13px;display:inline-block;margin-top:5px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .components-above span.embedly_timestamp{font-size:10px;margin-top:1px;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-screen-name {font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-full-name {padding-left:4px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions{margin-left:10px;font-size:13px;display:inline-block;width:250px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .components-above span.tweet-actions{font-size:10px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .controls{line-height:12px!important;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions a {margin-left:5px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions a b{font-weight:normal;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .components-above span.tweet-actions a b{vertical-align:baseline;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .components-above .tweet-text{font-size:13px;vertical-align:baseline;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-image {float:left;width:40px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-user-block-image {float:left;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-row {margin-left:40px;margin-top:3px;line-height:17px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-user-block {}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .stream-item {padding-bottom:0px;margin-left:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .simple-tweet-image img {margin-top:4px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .simple-tweet-content {margin:0 0 13px 0px;font-size:14px;min-height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .in-reply-to-border {border-color:#EBEBEB;border-style:solid;border-width:1px 0 0;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .in-reply-to-text {margin-left:4px;padding-left:8px;padding-right:10px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions i {background:transparent url(http://a2.twimg.com/a/1306889658/phoenix/img/sprite-icons.png) no-repeat;width:15px;height:15px;margin:0 4px 3px;outline:none;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions a.retweet-action i {background-position:-192px 0;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions a.reply-action i {background-position:0 0;}#embedly_twitter_75095926 .tweet-actions a.favorite-action i {background-position:-32px 0;}@sepinwallAlan Sepinwall You’re a Good Man, Peppermint Patty #rejectedpeanutsspecialsOct 28 via TweetDeckFavoriteRetweetReply #embedly_twitter_8911800{background:url(http://a0.twimg.com/images/themes/theme15/bg.png) #022330;padding:20px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 0px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .embedly_tweet_content{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:0px;height:40px;padding-bottom:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p span.metadata span.author{line-height:15px;color:#999;font-size:14px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p span.metadata span.author a{line-height:15px;font-size:20px;vertical-align:middle;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0px;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 p a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .embedly_timestamp{font-size:13px;display:inline-block;margin-top:5px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .components-above span.embedly_timestamp{font-size:10px;margin-top:1px;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 a {color:#0084B4;text-decoration:none;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 a:hover{text-decoration:underline;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-screen-name {font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-full-name {padding-left:4px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions{margin-left:10px;font-size:13px;display:inline-block;width:250px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .components-above span.tweet-actions{font-size:10px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .controls{line-height:12px!important;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions a {margin-left:5px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions a b{font-weight:normal;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .components-above span.tweet-actions a b{vertical-align:baseline;line-height:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .components-above .tweet-text{font-size:13px;vertical-align:baseline;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-image {float:left;width:40px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-user-block-image {float:left;width:48px;height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-row {margin-left:40px;margin-top:3px;line-height:17px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-user-block {}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .stream-item {padding-bottom:0px;margin-left:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .simple-tweet-image img {margin-top:4px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .simple-tweet-content {margin:0 0 13px 0px;font-size:14px;min-height:48px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .in-reply-to-border {border-color:#EBEBEB;border-style:solid;border-width:1px 0 0;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .in-reply-to-text {margin-left:4px;padding-left:8px;padding-right:10px;color:#999;font-size:12px;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions i {background:transparent url(http://a2.twimg.com/a/1306889658/phoenix/img/sprite-icons.png) no-repeat;width:15px;height:15px;margin:0 4px 3px;outline:none;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions a.retweet-action i {background-position:-192px 0;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions a.reply-action i {background-position:0 0;}#embedly_twitter_8911800 .tweet-actions a.favorite-action i {background-position:-32px 0;}@theharryshearerHarry Shearer You Stopped Being Funny in the 70s, Charlie Brown #RejectedPeanutsSpecialsOct 28 via ProxletFavoriteRetweetReply And now, ours: · You’re an Unfeeling Misanthrope, Charlie Brown · You’ll Settle for Marcie, Charlie Brown · It’s the Great Sadness, Charlie Brown · You’re a Disturbingly Good Dancer, Charlie Brown · You’re a Server at Chili’s, Charlie Brown · Linus is Nailing Your Sister, Charlie Brown · A Charlie Brown Antichrist Summoning · You are Lucy’s Bitch, Charlie Brown · Snoopy Doesn’t Exist, Charlie Brown · It Has to Be Syphilis, Charlie Brown · Your Ears Look Exactly Like Your Nose, Charlie Brown · Peanuts are Raceless, So Please Explain Franklin, Charlie Brown Your turn. Got any? Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter at @louisvirtel Follow Movieline on Twitter at @Movieline Tagged: alan sepinwall, charlie brown, harry shearer, michael mckean, twitter

Robert Pattinson: 'People Hate When Actors Become Musicians'

While several of Hollywood's A-listers have made names for themselves on the music circuit, Robert Pattinson isn't convinced that he could be one of them.Currently in Paris promoting "Breaking Dawn" with co-star Ashley Greene, Pattinson fielded more questions regarding any potential musical ventures. Though he loves to perform, Pattinson has postponed any plans to follow in the footsteps of Jeff Bridges, Hugh Laurie, Steve Martin and countless others."I'm always playing and recording but I don't know. People hate when actors become musicians so I've been avoiding it for the longest possible [time]," he told reporters, according to E! Online.The actor slammed rumors in September that he was planning to release a solo album, though he previously contributed to both the original "Twilight" and "How to Be" soundtracks. The Hollywood Reporter

'Bang' big for CBS on Thursday

Facing atypical competition this week, CBS comedy ''The Big Bang Theory'' remained Thursday's No. 1 program while matching its best demo rating since moving to the leadoff spot on the night more than a year ago. Fox's ''World Series,'' down slightly from Wednesday's Game 1, figures to win the night in all key categories. According to preliminary national estimates from Nielsen, ''The Big Bang Theory'' averaged a strong 4.9 rating/15 share in adults 18-49 and 14.7 million viewers overall , up week to week and again ruling as the night's No. 1 program. It was followed by the season premiere of ''Rules of Engagement'' (3.7/10 in 18-49, 11.5 million viewers overall), which topped its premiere-week average of last fall on Monday by about 20% and was in line with the performance of a repeat ''Big Bang'' in the 8:30 p.m. Thursday slot last week; both ''Rules'' and ''Bang'' benefited from repeat comedy competition on NBC, and another change this week was baseball in for ''The X Factor'' on Fox. Following the comedies, ''Person of Interest'' (2.7/7 in 18-49, 12.3 million viewers overall) was in line with its recent averages, placing third in demos and leading all entertainment series in the 9 o'clock hour among total viewers. ''The Mentalist'' closed out the night (2.5/7 in 18-49, 12.5 million viewers overall), matching last week's delivery and likely headed for a third-place 18-49 finish in the nationals behind baseball and MTV's ''Jersey Shore'' season finale. Fox's coverage of Game 2 of the World Series, which saw the Texas Rangers rally in the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, averaged a 3.7 rating/10 share in adults 18-49 and 12.9 million viewers overall on the net's stations from 8 to 11. Based on how Game 1 translated in the nationals, Thursday's Game 2 (which also ended around 11:15 p.m. ET) should come in around 14 million viewers, enough to give Fox a victory for the night in 18-49, 25-54 and total viewers. The Fall Classic, tied at one game apiece, is now guaranteed of extending through at least Monday's Game 5. At ABC, the canceled ''Charlie's Angels'' (1.2/4 in 18-49, 5.6 million viewers overall) was down a tick week to week to match its season low, and from 9 to 11 p.m., ''Grey's Anatomy'' (3.5/9 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall) and ''Private Practice'' (2.4/6 in 18-49, 6.6 million viewers overall) performed on par with week's levels. ''Grey's'' will again be the night's No. 1 drama in 18-49. NBC generated low numbers (sixth place among the broadcasters in 18-49) with repeats of its comedies ''Community'' (0.9/3 in 18-49, 2.5 million viewers overall), ''Parks and Recreation'' (1.1/3 in 18-49, 2.5 million viewers overall), ''The Office'' (1.5/4 in 18-49, 9.4 million viewers overall) and ''Whitney'' (1.1/3 in 18-49, 9.3 million viewers overall) and drama ''Prime Suspect'' (0.8/2 in 18-49, 2.8 million viewers overall). At CW, ''The Vampire Diaries'' (1.3/4 in 18-49, 2.9 million viewers overall) was in line with last week, and 9 p.m. rookie ''The Secret Circle'' (0.9/2 in 18-49, 2.1 million viewers overall) was up in most categories. Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 3.7/10; CBS, 3.2/9; ABC, 2.4/6; Univision, 1.5/4; CW, 1.1/3; NBC, 1.0/3. In total viewers: Fox, 12.9 million; CBS, 12.2 million; ABC, 7.2 million; Univision, 3.3 million; NBC, 2.7 million; CW, 2.5 million. Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com