March 16, 2012
Mueller Named Director of Rome Film FestivalROME (AP) – Marco Mueller, the longest-running creative director of the Venice Film Festival, is moving to the Rome International Film Festival.
The Rome festival’s president Paolo Ferrari announced the appointment Friday, saying Mueller was “esteemed in Italy and abroad.”
Mueller, whose eight years at Venice were widely regarded as a success, was not confirmed to a third stint last year. He said in a statement he was looking forward to working at the Rome festival, “which wants to better meet the needs of those who make movies … and those who see them.”
The Rome Film Festival launched in 2006, resulting in a short-lived spat over cinematic pre-eminence. Venice, nonetheless, prevailed in terms of star power, world premieres and cinematic successes. Alberto Barbera is the new Venice director.
Film Club Productions Winds Best 2D Commercial at the British Animation Awards for “Tempo Bike.”LONDON – The commercial, “Tempo Bike,” was created by Film Club’s director Vida Vega as part of a pan-European ad campaign for the tissue brand, and was commissioned by its agency Publicis London.
The commercial promotes the Tempo Hanky Classic pocket packs of tissues. It brings to life a classic boy meets girl love story as it shows a boy racing on his bike to catch up with a girl, helpfully dispensing Tempo tissues to people he passes on the way.
Brought to life by Vida Vega’s signature style of calligraphic brushwork and exquisite 2D animation the ad reflects how Tempo is a constant, caring companion throughout life.
Wait shortens for shows like ‘Vampire Diaries’
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Fans of shows on The CW like “The Vampire Diaries” no longer have to wait three days after broadcast to watch them online.
Starting Thursday night, the wait time will be, at most, eight hours before The CW streams a full episode on CWTV.com and its mobile apps.
Shows will stream with the same number of ads they had on TV.
The move is designed to cut into the popularity of pirated streams.
The network, jointly owned by Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. and CBS Corp., said 20 percent of online streams of its shows were unauthorized. Half of those were within three days of the original broadcast.
The shortened wait times have been available since last year to subscribers of Hulu Plus, which streams the shows with fewer ads.
MTV launching broad online store for musicians
Jake Coyle, Entertainment Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – MTV is launching a broad platform of musician Web pages in a bid to replace MySpace.
MTV Music Group President Van Toffler announced the initiative Thursday at the South By Southwest Music Conference.
The site, Artists.MTV, will launch this summer. It will begin with more than 10,000 artist pages and an expectation to expand. Musicians can customize their pages with music, video, merchandise and ticket sales.
Artists.MTV will be open to established acts and aspiring ones. MTV describes it as a chance for acts to have “a digital homestead” to gather their presence across MTV and its myriad sister channels and websites.
“There is infinite choice out there, but with this artist platform, we want to provide a meaningful road map for consumers to weed through the chaos and discover the musical gems that should break through,” Toffler said in a statement.
MySpace, the once-popular social network that was dethroned years ago by Facebook, has been reconfigured to focus on its still visited music section. The site, once valued in the billions of dollars, was sold last year to Specific Media for $35 million.
Toffler said MTV also will hope to bridge digital fame to its television networks, which include VH1 and CMT. A monthly contest called “Full Frontal” will select an artist to be featured on MTV, VH1 or CMT. The act will be chosen from fan votes and then a revolving panel of musicians, industry members and music producers.
The site will launch in private beta in May.
Fiona Apple makes return to spotlight at SXSW
Chris Talbott, Entertainment Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – At turns frenetic, contemplative and whimsical, Fiona Apple made her return to the stage Wednesday at the South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival.
The singer-songwriter debuted a handful of new songs from her upcoming album slated to be released this summer at NPR’s showcase at Stubb’s Barbecue.
The show was one of the most anticipated at South By Southwest this year, and a large crowd turned out to her early evening set. It’s been five years since Apple played a live show outside of Los Angeles and seven years since her last album “Extraordinary Machine.” She’s got a second performance at a Pitchfork showcase in a church scheduled at SXSW before hitting the road for a short eight-date tour Sunday in Chicago.
Apple talked very little with the crowd during the performance, joking that she may have forgotten to sing the second verse of a new song, but pleased fans with some of their favorites, including “Criminal,” ”Fast As You Can” and “Sleep to Dream.”
She turned in a spirited performance, overcoming a muggy evening and muddled sound that left her lyrics inaudible occasionally to many in the crowd. Wearing a black dress with a pink tank top underneath and her hair in a ponytail, she used a mug of hot tea to ease her voice through the final few songs. At one point she laid her head on her piano for about 45 seconds, then lifted it slightly as she watched rapturously as her guitar player finished off a song.
Twitter was afire with fans around the country expressing dismay at not being able to attend the event, but videos of her performance and the new songs were quickly fed to the Internet.
The only details released about the new album have been its title and imminent release. Her publicist said Wednesday that “The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do” will be released in June.
Academy Sets 85th Academy Awards Date
Beverly Hills, CA — The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, and the Oscar telecast will be presented on Sunday, February 24th.
The ceremony will take place at the Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network to more than 225 countries.
War filmmaker Pierre Schoendoerffer dies at 83
PARIS (AP) – Pierre Schoendoerffer, an Oscar-winning French filmmaker who was held prisoner in Indochina and chronicled war on screen and on the page, has died. He was 83.
The French military health service confirmed that he died Wednesday. France’s Le Figaro newspaper said Schoendoerffer died in a hospital outside Paris after an operation.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement that “France will miss him.” Sarkozy praised the “legendary filmmaker and novelist” for risking his life for France and “helping us better understand our collective history.”
Schoendoerffer won an Oscar in 1968 for his documentary “The Anderson Platoon,” filmed in Vietnam.
He served as a cameraman in the French army and was captured in the fortress of Dien Bien Phu before going on to make documentary and fiction films.
Hit TV series ‘Homeland’ Coming Home to Israel to FilmJERUSALEM (AP) – The hit TV series “Homeland” is heading home – to Israel.
Showtime says its Golden Globe-winning thriller will film part of its second season in Israel. It’s adapted from the Israeli drama “Prisoners of War.” The network says “Homeland” is the its highest-rated new drama series ever.
It tells the story of an American soldier released from captivity and a CIA officer who suspects him of being an al-Qaida turncoat.
“Homeland” is one of several American TV shows inspired by Israeli programs in recent years.
The network says the second season of “Homeland” will premiere on Sept. 30.
Small parts of the first season were also shot in Israel. Showtime spokeswoman Chloe Comins said Tuesday that most of the second season will again be shot in Charlotte, North Carolina.
‘Hunger Games’ fans devour film’s world premiereSandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – When it comes to predicting the big-screen success of “The Hunger Games,” the fans have spoken. Actually, make that cheered.
Hundreds of fans who won tickets to Monday’s world premiere cheered for hours before any stars arrived, screamed when they did and kept the applause going right through the film.
“I thought it was amazing,” said Ruzena Zatko, 28, a fan of “The Hunger Games” books who drove from Las Vegas and spent two nights’ camped out in front of the Nokia Theatre to win passes to the premiere. “He stayed true to the book.”
Based on the best-seller by Suzanne Collins, “The Hunger Games” stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth as teens fighting for survival in a government-controlled world that hosts annual televised games in which young participants are forced to kill their opponents. It opens in theaters March 23.
Fans Ariel Pemberton and Amanda Shultz loved the book so much they doubted the film could match it, but they came away impressed with its look and feel.
Box-office prognosticators say anticipation for “The Hunger Games” matches and may even surpass that for the “Twilight” movies. (The last “Twilight” film is due in the fall.) They predict “The Hunger Games” could bring in more than $100 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend.
Some have compared the two series. Each is aimed at young adults and features a female heroine with two potential suitors. But fans say the similarities end there.
“This doesn’t focus on the love triangle,” said 22-year-old Stephanie Zatko, a “Twilight” fan whose sister-in-law convinced her to check out “The Hunger Games.” ”She’s actually doing something. Bella just sits there.”
“Katniss is a stronger female,” said Alyssa Walker, 20, who read all three books in the series. “The guys are a thing, too, but she does her own thing.”
Still, some in the crowd held homemade posters declaring themselves members of Team Peeta or Team Gale – Katniss’ two prospects.
“Hottest thing since sliced bread: Peeta,” read one sign. “Gale ensnared my heart,” read another.
About 400 fans lined the black carpet where the film’s stars arrived and sat alongside them at the premiere. Hundreds more lined up behind barricades across the street, toting cameras and signs.
“The passion of these fans is unlike anything I have ever been involved with,” said Elizabeth Banks, who plays Effie Trinket in the film. “For me the biggest star here is Suzanne Collins, who wrote the books and is the creator of this entire universe, all this pandemonium.”
Director Gary Ross thanked the author from the stage before introducing the film’s stars, saying, “None of us would be here without the wonderful, brilliant mind and imagination of Suzanne Collins.”
Meanwhile, as the premiere wrapped, Zatko prepared for the long drive back to Las Vegas.
“We’re totally sleep deprived,” she said. “But it was all worth it.”
Entertainment Writer Natalie Rotman contributed to this report.
Stay-At-Home Dad’s Petition Gets Huggies To Embrace ChangeNEW YORK–Huggies has committed to redesign its “Dad Test” campaign and film a new ad after a stay-at-home father launched a campaign on Change.org asking the company to make new ads showing dads as competent and committed caretakers.
Chris Routly, the father of two young sons, started the petition to Huggies after he saw what he says were offensive ads that portrayed fathers as incapable of performing even the simplest parenting tasks. After the petition received more than a thousand signatures and garnered national press coverage in the Washington Post and CNN, Huggies released a statement announcing its commitment to air a new television spot that shows “incredibly loving, competent Dads caring for their babies.”
“I could not be happier with the response to my petition,” said Routly, who started the petition on Change.org, a global social network for good. “I am incredibly grateful that so many people took the time to sign it, share it, and engage in so much public discussion on the issue of how dads are portrayed in the media.”
In addition, Huggies announced it has begun redesigning the copy on its Facebook page to further respond to Routly and the petition signers’ concerns. Huggies also plans to hold a round table discussion of real dads, including Routly, to ensure future ads are respectful of the commitment fathers have to their families.
New digital TV network to feature Larry King
NEW YORK (AP) – A new online programming venture bankrolled by the world’s richest man will launch with the return of a veteran television personality – Larry King.
King will start up a new daily talk show later this year for Ora.TV. The new service, backed by Mexican communications billionaire Carlos Slim, will provide programming for tablets, cellphones, computers and Internet-connected TVs.
King hosted a nightly interview program on CNN for 25 years. He retired in 2010.
Ora.TV is being run by Jon Housman, most recently president of digital journalism for News Corp.
No date has been set for when Ora.TV will become available. The company says it has other programs besides King’s in development, but wouldn’t discuss them on Monday.
Iran cancels home ceremony for Oscar winnerBy Nasser Karimi
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iranian authorities canceled a ceremony Monday in honor of the country’s Oscar-winning director even though the government had hailed his win as a triumph over a competitor from Israel.
The event for Asghar Farhadi, whose movie, “A Separation,” won the Oscar for best foreign film last month, was abruptly scrapped after authorities denied permission, according to the semiofficial Ilna news agency.
There were no details as to why a permit was denied but some Iranian conservatives were upset with the film’s themes: domestic turmoil, gender inequality and the desire by many to leave the country.
Ilna said two cinema groups, the Center for Directors of Iranian Cinema and the High Council of Producers of Iranian Cinema, issued a statement decrying the cancellation. All public events in Iran need government approval.
“We indented to have a simple and friendly meeting to say ‘thank you’ for the great achievement you brought Iran and Iranian cinema but the cultural custodians did not let us realize this,” said the statement, addressing Farhadi.
“We deeply regret this,” the statement added. There was no immediate reaction from Farhadi.
Iran had welcomed Farhadi’s Oscar as the movie beat an Israeli film and three others in the foreign language category, describing it as a conquest for Iranian culture and a blow for Israel’s perceived outsized influence in America.
But Iranian hard-liners were also upset by the movie’s exposure of the troubles in Iranian society through the story of a collapsing marriage.
Authorities have long had an uneasy relationship with the country’s filmmakers and influential clerics have often denounced the domestic cinema as dominated by Western-tainted liberals and political dissenters. Some directors and actors have faced arrest or fled the country.
In January, authorities ordered the closure of the House of Cinema, an independent film group that had operated for 20 years and counted Iran’s top filmmakers, including Farhadi, among its members.
Last year, film director Jafar Panahi, who won awards at Cannes, Venice and other major film festivals, was sentenced to a six-year house arrest and a 20-year ban on filming after being convicted of “making propaganda” against Iran’s ruling system.
Rare movie posters found in Pa. attic are for saleBy Joann Loviglio
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A group of rare classic movie theater posters found in a northeastern Pennsylvania attic is going on the auction block.
The 33 posters from the Golden Age of Hollywood found in Berwick are expected to bring at least $250,000 at auction in Texas on March 23.
They were stuck together with wallpaper glue when they were purchased for around $30,000 at a country auction last fall.
The buyer, who is remaining anonymous, consigned them to Heritage Auctions in Dallas. That’s where the stack of posters was steamed and separated over the course of several weeks.
The one expected to get the most bites from bidders is a 1931 poster for “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi. Actor Nicolas Cage sold an identical poster in 2009 for $310,000.
MVPA Awards Return June 1; Submissions Now Open
LOS ANGELES – The MVPA Music Video Production Association — representing production companies and directors, plus freelance workers and other music video related companies — announce the return of their MVPA Music Video Awards, scheduled for June 1 in Los Angeles.
Members and non-members are welcome to participate in the Awards.
For the first time, voting will be open to the entire professional music video community, per the approval by the MVPA board of directors. Interested voters should email votemvpa2012@gmail.com by March 31st, 2012 with a credit list or a link to your work.
