84th Annual Academy awards Poster Revealed!

Keep the hats people, this is often most likely probably the most exciting Oscar-designed story you see this week: The Academy of motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released an image from the year's official poster for your 84th Academy awards. Naturally the vibrant, shiny and exalted Oscar statuette is featured plainly, this year round the right side in the poster between eight small black and white-colored circular images that highlight moments from seven previous best picture individuals who win. There's Tom Hanks as "Forrest Gump," searching at this famous bus stop bench, Marlon Brando as "The Godfather," Julie Andrews singing for the slopes in "The Appear Of Music," Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone While Using Wind," Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman in "Driving Miss Daisy," James Dean in "Giant" (the primary one film featured that didn't win Best Picture, but was granted Best Director for George Stevens), Russell Crowe as "Gladiator," Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca." It's all regulated controlled so regal and polished. Along with the weighty tagline "Existence. Camera. Action. Celebrate the flicks in many people.Inch What can you consider the poster? A lot of or otherwise enough? Reveal inside the comments or on Twitter!

Newman: 'Help,' 'Iron Lady' exhibit contrasting styles

Composer Thomas Newman, who rarely does several or two movies annually, did four this year (along with a fifth to become launched the coming year), including a couple of the year's more spoken-about films: "The Assistance,Inch that he provided a warm and gentle score and "The Iron Lady," which known as for any bigger, the much more bold orchestral effort."The Assistance,Inch a box office hit concerning the uneasy associations between whitened and black women within the civil privileges-era South, needed especially subtle music: "I needed the background music to participate the storytelling to underline character and compel the storyline. I needed to step back from civil-privileges (issues)," he states.The locale, Mississippi within the sixties, held a unique resonance for that composer. His mother was created in Clarksdale, Miss., and that he frequently stayed there like a boy. "It had been within the Mississippi Delta, around an hour south of Memphis," he states. "Only the sense of Mississippi, the perfume from it, was something I possibly could really connect with.InchThe Ten-time Oscar nominee visited the place (Greenwood, waiting in for Jackson, Miss.) throughout shooting, "absorbing the taste, only the sense of a evening or even the humidity of the day," he states. The colours from the score -- which incorporated electric guitar, dulcimer and glass harmonica -- led towards the atmosphere from the film.Singer Mary J. Blige visited the scoring stage while Newman was recording orchestral passages she incorporated Newman's music in her own song, "The Living Proof," which runs underneath the finish game titles.While Newman is at London finishing the score for next year's "The Very Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," he got a phone call to screen the Margaret Thatcher biopic "The Iron Lady" and talk with director Phyllida Lloyd he spent the following two several weeks penning music to accompany Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent.This score, Newman states, is "very thematic, a lot more expressionistic (than 'The Help'). There have been some moments of just about British military-band (music), some Elgarian influences, some huge orchestral and choral moments." The London ensemble incorporated 87 music artists and 28 within the choir.Newman also authored two action-movie scores for movies launched this year: "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Your Debt,Inch both hybrid electronic-plus-orchestra scores with, he states, "some pretty awesome grooves."EYE Around The Academy awards: THE MUSICLyrics bring pix to existence Stars optimize plots John goes Gaga over inanimate romanceSCORE CARDFrom rising stars to Oscar those who win, seven composers discuss the technique for their sound:Henry Jackman Alberto Iglesias Dario Marianelli Michael Giacchino Abel Korzeniowski Conrad Pope Thomas Newman Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Global Showbiz Briefs: UK, Bangladesh

Jeremy Clarkson Strikes Again, Fry’s A Gentleman The BBC has put an episode of Stephen Frys game show QI on the shelf following remarks made by Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson last week. The episode of the intellectual comedy quiz show, which Clarkson taped this past summer, was due to air tonight in the UK. But appearing on the BBCs The One Show last week, Clarkson prompted outrage when he commented on the recent public workers strike in Britain, “I would have them taken outside and executed them in front of their families.” Clarkson apologized in due course, but hes no stranger to this kind of controversy. Earlier this yearTop Gear was criticized over comments about Mexicans which were perceived as racist. The Guardian has a compilation of Clarkson’s most famous flubs titled “Jeremy Clarkson: big mouth strikes again.” Meanwhile, I checked Stephen Frys Twitter feed to see if hed made any comment about the networks decision to shelve the show, but hes been busy promoting the Sherlock Holmes sequel in which he plays Holmes brother Mycroft and which premiered last night in London. He did, however, point to a new poll in which Winston Churchill was voted the greatest British gentleman of the 20th century, followed by filmmaker Richard Attenborough and … Stephen Fry. New Appointments At Sky, National Geographic Phil Edgar Jones has been named head of entertainment for Sky. He will have oversight on the bouquet of channels that includes Sky 1, Sky Arts and Sky Living. He will also commission shows for Sky Movies and the recently launched Sky Atlantic which is airing a host of HBO shows. Edgar Jones was previously creative director of independent producer Running Bare and creative director of Remarkable Pictures where he exec produced Big Brother on Channel 4. In related news, Hamish Mykura has been named executive vice president and head of international content for National Geographic Channels International. The former head of documentaries for Channel 4 will also become the London head of global development for National Geographic Channel. Mykura will oversee editorial development and production for the company and will supervise NGCIs networks NGC, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Adventure. Bangladesh Reality Show Seeks To De-Marginalize Transgender Community In an effort to break down barriers and ease taboos, Bangladesh channel ATN Bangla has opened applications for its new transgender reality show Amra Tomadery (We Are For You). Agence France Presse reports that the show will feature about 40 contestants vying for audience votes through their singing and dancing talents. The show is one of a series of recent attempts by the government and the private sector to help integrate the transgender or “hijra” community which finds itself marginalized. The show is to be recorded next month and air in February.

Lifetime cancels 'Against the Wall'

Lifetime has canceled first-year drama series "In the Wall." With just one.6 million audiences tuning in weekly for your 13-episode run, the femme-skewing cabler thought the show was without the next continuing to move forward. Skein, from creator Annie Brunner and Universal Cable Prods., starred Rachael Carpani just like a Chicago cop who joins the department's internal matters division. Co-stars incorporated Treat Williams, Kathy Baker and Andrew Master. "In the Wall" came just one.8 million due to its premiere episode This summer time 31, with "Drop Dead Divas" just like a lead-in. Lifetime, beneath the helm of Nancy Dubuc, has bought numerous aircraft aircraft pilots recently, like the Renee Zellweger-produced "Cinnamon Girl," Eric Stoltz and Ally Sheedy in "Modern Love," and Neve Campbell in "Sworn to Silence," which will run just like a telepic. Also coming 2012 might be the Jennifer Love Hewitt starrer "The Client List," searching for a ten-episode order. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Trio nab Gaul's export kudos

Olivier Marchal's dark-edged crime drama "Braquo," three dimensional toon skein "The Small Prince" and documentary "Gaddafi: Good Enemy" nabbed the very best export kudos at Monday night's 18th French Film and television Producers Assn. (Procirep) Honours. The export nods, passed out by promo org TV France Intl., selected programs that offered in most major areas and gained top rankings. Braquo," co-composed and co-directed by Marchal, was created by Capa Drama and repped by Zodiak Privileges. The show was acquired in Canada (eOne), Italia (Fox Intl. Funnel, RAI Cinema), U.K. (Fox), Scandinavia (Scanbox) and South america (GloboSat). Commissioned by paybox Canal Plus, "Braquo" activates four cops inside a gang-busting unit to avenge the dying of the squad leader. The 2nd season, composed by Abdel Raouf Dafri and co-created by Marchal, presently airs on Canal Plus. "The Small Prince" was created by Aton Soumache's Method Animation and repped by Philippe and Guillaume Soutter's PGS Entertainment in worldwide marketplaces. The animated series, according to Antoine p Saint-Exupery's best-selling novella, was grabbed up in Germany (WDR), Australia (ABC), Canada (Understanding Network, Tl-Qubec), The country (Disney), Italia (RAI) and Russia (Funnel 1), among other areas. "Gaddafi," helmed by Antoine Vitkine and created by Illegitime Defense and L'ensemble des Films du Cabestan, represents Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year reign in Libya and the relations with political leaders in Western nations. It had been acquired in Germany (ZDF), Australia (SBS), Austria (ORF), Canada (CBC), The country (EITB, TV3), Japan (NHK) and Norwegian (NRK). "Braquo's" first season had 15.8 million audiences while, from March. 2009 to November. 2011 "The Small Prince" came an overall total of 13.six million audiences worldwide while "Gaddafi" attracted 10.8 million fans. Vivement Lundi required Procirep's animation producer plaudit. Cpmpany created "Specky Four-Eyes," among 10 animated shorts fighting to have an Oscar. Camera Lucida and Scarlett Prods. required Procirep's docu and fiction drama producer nods, correspondingly. Camera Lucida's credits include "Chernobyl: An All Natural History" for Franco-German internet Arte. Scarlett created "Kaboul Kitchen" for Canal Plus. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Comcast CFO: NBCUniversal Integration Continues to Go 'Really Well'

NY - Comcast's integration of NBCUniversal has continued to go "really well" and "according to plan," Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis told a Wall Street crowd here on Monday morning.our editor recommendsUnivision Vows to Remain Player in Soccer Despite Telemundo Winning World Cup RightsNBCUniversal Posts Mixed Third-Quarter Financials Speaking at the 39th annual UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in a fireside chat led by Aryeh Bourkoff, vice chairman, head of investment banking, Americas at the bank, he said that at the end of the year that saw Comcast buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal in January his company is "enthusiastic" about the entertainment company's business and its executives. "So far, so good," he said. Asked about the broadcast business, Angelakis reiterated that there are "some challenges" at NBC, but sees "great opportunities" and upside at the network and Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo. "They got to put better shows on," Angelakis said, but expressed confidence that the respective management teams will "deliver results over time." Discussing sports, Angelakis said "we're not interested in losing money on sports." He cited the recent soccer World Cup rights deal signed by Telemundo as "a game changer for Telemundo" that made sense because "we are a distant number two - we should do better." Importantly though, "we think we can make some money on it," he added. Asked about other parts of NBCUniversal, Angelakis said Comcast understands that the film business is volatile and hit-driven. Meanwhile, the cable networks are "really the driver of profitability" for NBCUniversal, and management is "delighted" with their performance, Angelakis said. Just like at USA, which has been the leading cable network for five consecutive years, the goal is to use original programming to help boost ad rates, carriage and affiliate fees, he said. Angelakis also said that advertising is holding up well across NBCUniversal and that demand for the Super Bowl and Olympics is robust. Meanwhile, NBCUniversal's theme parks business is also doing well, the executive highlighted. Asked about potential addition of Harry Potter attractions in additional theme parks, he didn't comment. But he said: "Harry Potter Orlando has really been a reset mechanism for that park." Neil Smit, the head of Comcast's cable systems, joined Angelakis on stage. "There is no tension here," Angelakis quipped when asked about retransmission consent fees that broadcasters have been getting from cable operators. "I don't think NBC is going to drive the market here," Angelakis said, but acknowledged that retrans fees are now a reality and here to stay. Asked about last week's $3.6 billion wireless spectrum deal between telecom Verizon and a group of cable firms, including Comcast, Angelakis said the deal is "strategically terrific and financially terrific." On the financial side, he highlighted that Comcast is getting $2.3 billion in the deal - a gain of about $1 billion compared to what Comcast paid for the spectrum. Smit said among the likely innovations are allowing consumers the ability to start watching a video on a wireless device and continuing to do so at home. The integration aspect of developing new concepts together will be a key benefit of the deal, he said. The partners will start promoting new bundles under the commercial arrangements of the deal early in 2012, Smit said, suggesting a possible triple-play bundle with security aspects added, as well as a quad-play offer of four services. What will the company do with the $2.3 billion in proceeds from the deal, Angelakis said he expects the deal to close in the next year and any new cash will go to whatever Comcast's capital plan calls for then. Asked about his thinking on offering channels on an a la carte basis in the future, Smit said the company is more looking at offering "more choice" via a smaller content package, called My TV Choice, that is being tested in three markets with 55-60 channels. Sports, movies and kids theme packs on top of that cost $10 each, he said. "I wouldn't call that a la carte," he added. While some cable operators have focused on the increasing financial contribution and growth of broadband Internet services, Smit told the UBS gathering that "video is still a core offering" and provides 53 percent of revenue, even though Internet services are the biggest growth driver. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics

Ailey Pulls Out the Stops at Festive Season Opener

Ailey Pulls Out the Stops at Festive Season Opener By Jocelyn Noveck December 2, 2011 Photo by AP Photo/Mark Lennihan NY (AP) You can always count on a few things about the annual Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gala at City Center.It will be a grand occasion. The audience will be packed, enthusiastic, beautifully dressed. Much money will be raised, and "Revelations" will be on the program.Not that it should be any different. But this year's event posed a unique challenge: How to make "Revelations," that crown jewel in the Ailey repertoire, shine even brighter, to mark the ascendance of new artistic director Robert Battle and the dawn of the post-Judith Jamison era? (Plus the sparkling renovation of City Center, the company's performing home.)Clearly, a special weapon was needed. Live music? That was great, but they've done it before. Dancers spilling into the aisles and balcony? Not bad. But the surefire winner was to bring on the children.Six children as young as 7 students of the Ailey school's junior division were a delightful and moving addition, gazing heavenward with intensity and splaying their hands in the distinctive moves of "I've Been 'Buked," then sashaying across the stage with their elders in "Wade in the Water." Considering that "Revelations," Ailey's masterpiece, is more than 50 years old and shows no signs of fading, it didn't seem too farfetched to imagine these kids taking the leads in 15 years or so.The evening was peppered with guest appearances, the first by singer John Legend, crooning Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" as the returning Alicia Graf Mack, even more lithe and statuesque than most Ailey dancers, performed a solo choreographed in 2004 by none other than Jamison, who stepped down last season after more than two decades at the helm.Jamison's hand-picked successor, Battle, was eager to show off the sense of humor that has become a hallmark of his public appearances, tossing off jokes, hogging the spotlight just a little and making it clear he intends to be a colorful, jovial presence for years to come.Battle was welcomed warmly by the Ailey board's chairperson, Joan Weill, who told the crowd the event had raised $2.5 million. Speaking later was the glamorous Iman, one of the evening's honorary chairs. The other was first lady Michelle Obama, who remained in Washington and sent a statement instead.From John Legend to Paul Taylor: The 81-year-old master of modern dance was on hand to see his 1981 classic, "Arden Court," tackled by the Ailey dancers. The men in particular gave the piece a thrillingly muscular feel; obviously new to it, they seemed to relish the speed, particularly an ending that has them literally flying across the stage and into the wings.The graceful Clifton Brown, performing as a guest artist this season, had a romantic but too-brief duet with the lovely Linda Celeste Sims, "Prelude to a Kiss" by Lar Lubovitch. And then the piece de resistance of any Ailey gala: the amazingly durable "Revelations," this time performed by an exuberant though sometimes unwieldy cast of 50 including 12 dancers from the junior company, Ailey II, and 20 from the Ailey School.The youngest pupils Yana Gupta, 7, Rohan Mehta and Kelsey Lewis, 8, Alex Haskins, 10, Kaitlyn Benzant, 12, and Leo Hishikawa, 14 were probably all having an experience they will remember for a lifetime.After all, they were sharing the stage with veterans such as Matthew Rushing and Renee Robinson, whose joy in the choreography and music was evident as always. Just catch Rushing's face in "Rocka My Soul" if you want to see a dancer loving what he does, no matter how many times he's done it. It's hard to imagine the final number without him, front and center.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Ailey Pulls Out the Stops at Festive Season Opener By Jocelyn Noveck December 2, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Mark Lennihan NY (AP) You can always count on a few things about the annual Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gala at City Center.It will be a grand occasion. The audience will be packed, enthusiastic, beautifully dressed. Much money will be raised, and "Revelations" will be on the program.Not that it should be any different. But this year's event posed a unique challenge: How to make "Revelations," that crown jewel in the Ailey repertoire, shine even brighter, to mark the ascendance of new artistic director Robert Battle and the dawn of the post-Judith Jamison era? (Plus the sparkling renovation of City Center, the company's performing home.)Clearly, a special weapon was needed. Live music? That was great, but they've done it before. Dancers spilling into the aisles and balcony? Not bad. But the surefire winner was to bring on the children.Six children as young as 7 students of the Ailey school's junior division were a delightful and moving addition, gazing heavenward with intensity and splaying their hands in the distinctive moves of "I've Been 'Buked," then sashaying across the stage with their elders in "Wade in the Water." Considering that "Revelations," Ailey's masterpiece, is more than 50 years old and shows no signs of fading, it didn't seem too farfetched to imagine these kids taking the leads in 15 years or so.The evening was peppered with guest appearances, the first by singer John Legend, crooning Stevie Wonder's "If It's Magic" as the returning Alicia Graf Mack, even more lithe and statuesque than most Ailey dancers, performed a solo choreographed in 2004 by none other than Jamison, who stepped down last season after more than two decades at the helm.Jamison's hand-picked successor, Battle, was eager to show off the sense of humor that has become a hallmark of his public appearances, tossing off jokes, hogging the spotlight just a little and making it clear he intends to be a colorful, jovial presence for years to come.Battle was welcomed warmly by the Ailey board's chairperson, Joan Weill, who told the crowd the event had raised $2.5 million. Speaking later was the glamorous Iman, one of the evening's honorary chairs. The other was first lady Michelle Obama, who remained in Washington and sent a statement instead.From John Legend to Paul Taylor: The 81-year-old master of modern dance was on hand to see his 1981 classic, "Arden Court," tackled by the Ailey dancers. The men in particular gave the piece a thrillingly muscular feel; obviously new to it, they seemed to relish the speed, particularly an ending that has them literally flying across the stage and into the wings.The graceful Clifton Brown, performing as a guest artist this season, had a romantic but too-brief duet with the lovely Linda Celeste Sims, "Prelude to a Kiss" by Lar Lubovitch. And then the piece de resistance of any Ailey gala: the amazingly durable "Revelations," this time performed by an exuberant though sometimes unwieldy cast of 50 including 12 dancers from the junior company, Ailey II, and 20 from the Ailey School.The youngest pupils Yana Gupta, 7, Rohan Mehta and Kelsey Lewis, 8, Alex Haskins, 10, Kaitlyn Benzant, 12, and Leo Hishikawa, 14 were probably all having an experience they will remember for a lifetime.After all, they were sharing the stage with veterans such as Matthew Rushing and Renee Robinson, whose joy in the choreography and music was evident as always. Just catch Rushing's face in "Rocka My Soul" if you want to see a dancer loving what he does, no matter how many times he's done it. It's hard to imagine the final number without him, front and center.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Voir, Niko, Oceano link for 'Escafandra'

BUENOS AIRES -- Edgard Tenembaum, Paris-based producer of Walter Salles' "The Motorcycle Diaries," is making his latest incursion into Latin American filmmaking with "Escafandra." Directed and written by Pablo Reyero, whose multi-prized 1997 shanty life portrait "South Dock" established him as a seminal figure in the new Argentine cinema, "Escafandra" is structured as an international co-production between Tenembaum's shingle Tu Vas Voir, Reyero's Oceano Films and Germany's Niko Film. It has just tied down a top-notch Argentine cast: Leonardo Sbaraglia ("Red Lights"), Carlos Belloso ("The Holy Girl") and Mariana Anghileri ("Aballay"). In it, Sbaraglia plays Pedro, who returns to his childhood town to come to terms with the violent suicide of his father (Belloso), while his mother (Cecilia Rossetto) and sister wage a silent war with his father's concubine (Anghileri). One of the Argentina's most artistically ambitious films set to shoot in 2012, "Escafandra" mixes past, present and future, Greek myths, ghouls, beasts and a dream-like narrative, Reyero said. "An intimist story with elements of science fiction, eroticism and horror," in Reyero's words, "Escafandra" is the director's attempt to exorcize his own father's violent suicide and his own painful and surrealistic experiences dealing with it, he added. "Escafandra" will roll September in HD in Villa Gesell, Buenos Aires province. Film will use "realistic" special effects in the style of "Let the Right One In," Tenembaum said. Reyero's "The Southern Cross," a tough drug heist fall-out drama, played Cannes 2003 Un Certain Regard. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com