November 18, 2011
Creator of UK DangerMouse cartoon dies
LONDON (AP) – Mark Hall, who created much loved British children’s animations including DangerMouse and Jamie and his Magic Torch, has died. He was 75.
His son Simon Hall said Friday his father died overnight in his family home in the northern city of Manchester after a short illness.
Hall worked closely with his college friend Brian Cosgrove. the two met at Manchester’s Regional College of Art in the 1950s and worked as graphic designers for the television channel Granada TV in the 1960s. They formed their own animation company Cosgrove Hall Productions in 1976 and went on to create a series of magical, often surreal cartoons.
Their best known creation was “DangerMouse” – a cartoon secret agent mouse that first appeared on television in the 1980s with his sidekick hamster Penfold. The show attracted 19 million viewers at its peak.
They also created “Jamie and his Magic Torch” cartoons about a boy whose torch takes him to fantasy lands after bedtime. They also produced an animated version of Kenneth Grahame’s book “Wind in the Willows,” about riverside animals including Rat, Mole and Toad of Toad Hall.
Hall and Cosgrove retired in 2000, but had recently reformed their animation company under the name Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment and had planned to produce new animation.
“Mark was one of life’s real gentlemen and it’s wonderful he got to see his company reborn,” said Adrian Wilkins, who is operations director at Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment. Wilkins said Hall’s son Simon will continue his father’s work.
Hall is survived by his wife and two children.
Report: Casting asst. is registered sex offenderLOS ANGELES (AP) – A casting assistant who helped choose child actors for some kid-friendly movies is a convicted child molester, according to a newspaper report.
Jason James Murphy, 35, has worked with children in Hollywood for a decade by using the name Jason James, according to The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/uwCFHp).
California law prohibits offenders like Murphy from working alone with minor children. The Times said police were looking into whether Murphy is in compliance with state requirements for sex offenders.
In his credits, which include the films “Bad News Bears” and “Super 8”, Murphy is listed as a casting director or a casting associate.
Murphy served five years in prison for the 1996 crime of kidnapping and molesting an 8-year-old boy in suburban Seattle and underwent sex-offender counseling.
Murphy was already out on bail and awaiting arraignment on charges of molesting the boy when, as a 19-year-old, he dressed up as a woman to abduct the little boy from his elementary school and flew with him to New York City.
Three days later, “America’s Most Wanted” broadcast a segment on the kidnapping. A New York hotel clerk reported Murphy and the boy as guests, leading to his arrest.
When Murphy moved to California in 2005, the state required him to register as a sex offender. But the listing is under his original last name, in effect screening it from those who know him only as Jason James, the Times reported.
Abrams Artists Agency youth division head Pamela Fisher says she has worked extensively with Murphy, who she knew as Jason James.
Fisher told the Times Thursday that she had no idea of his criminal past and that he was always very professional.
Murphy sent her an email Wednesday “looking for 12-year-olds for a USC student film,” Fisher said.
“It’s shocking and it’s devastating, not just as a filmmaker but as a father and someone who is entrusted to make sure that everyone I work with, especially children, are safe,” “Super 8” director and co-producer J.J. Abrams told the Times. “To think that someone like this was among us is unthinkable.”
There are no known complaints that Murphy acted inappropriately with any minor in his casting business. Murphy did not respond to repeated requests by the Times for comment.
Clooney gets top honors at Palm Springs film fest
LOS ANGELES (AP) – George Clooney is adding another award to his collection.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present the 50-year-old actor with its Chairman’s Award in January.
Festival chairman Harold Matzner said Friday that Clooney is “a consummate actor, director, producer and screenwriter (who has) demonstrated that no discipline within the film industry is beyond his reach.”
He said Clooney is being honored for his performance in “The Descendants,” in theaters Friday, and for writing, producing, directing and starring in “The Ides of March,” which opened last month.
Past recipients of the Chairman’s Award include Ben Affleck, Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman.
Clooney has also won an Academy Award and two Golden Globes.
Pockriss, writer of ‘Itsy Bitsy’ bikini song, diesHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Lee Pockriss, who wrote pop hits such as “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” for an eager, youthful post-World War II generation, has died in Connecticut after a long illness. He was 87.
His wife, Sonja Pockriss, confirmed his death. She said Friday he died at home in Bridgewater on Tuesday.
Pockriss, who also worked in musical theater, co-wrote several songs with Paul Vance, including 1957’s “Catch a Falling Star.”
In a 2006 interview, Vance called “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” – about a shy young woman in a skimpy bathing suit – a “money machine.”
He estimated that he made several million dollars from the song, which was recorded by 16-year-old teen idol Brian Hyland, surged to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in August 1960 and has been pop culture staple ever since.
The song has been used in such movies as “Sister Act 2” and “Revenge of the Nerds II” and was more recently revived in a yogurt commercial.
Vance’s death was erroneously reported in 2006. An Ormond Beach, Fla., man named Paul Van Valkenburgh who claimed to have written the song under the name Paul Vance had instead died.
The New York Times reported that Pockriss also worked in musical theater and wrote the music for the 1963 Broadway show “Tovarich,” for which Vivien Leigh won the Tony Award for best actress in a musical. Anne Croswell wrote the lyrics. The two also collaborated on “Ernest in Love,” a musical version of Oscar Wilde’s “Importance of Being Earnest.”
Pockriss in 1969 worked with the lyricist Carolyn Leigh and Hugh Wheeler of “Sweeney Todd” to create “Gatsby,” a musical based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” The Times reported.
He also wrote songs for “Sesame Street,” including “My Polliwog Ways,” sung by Kermit the Frog.
Pockriss also was survived by his brother, Harold.
Tyler Perry defends casting Kardashian in new filmATLANTA (AP) – Filmmaker Tyler Perry is defending his controversial decision to cast reality television star Kim Kardashian in an upcoming film about marriage.
Perry announced that Kardashian will have a role in “The Marriage Counselor” shortly before she ended her 72-day marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, creating a buzz on social media sites.
Perry says he wanted a younger cast, which Kardashian rounds out, to help attract younger viewers. In a statement on his website, Perry says he thinks “it would be a very responsible of her to be a part of this film” and good for young people who see her as a role model to “see her in a film that is about what happens in life when you make the wrong choices.”
Perry asked for his fans’ understanding.
Fandango debuts mobile phone tickets for moviesLOS ANGELES (AP) – Online ticket seller Fandango said Thursday that customers heading to see movies on more than 1,000 screens owned by Regal Entertainment Corp. no longer have to print out tickets – as long as they have a cellphone with a screen.
Fangango will now send movie-goers a bar code that ticket-takers at participating theaters will read using a scanner.
The paperless system is launching just in time for Friday’s debut of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1.”
Regal theaters across the country will accept the bar-code tickets, including in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Knoxville, Tenn., Lexington, Ky., Los Angeles, Nashville, Tenn., New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.
Carol Burnett to Receive Publicists’ Lifetime Achievement Award
Los Angeles – Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) 49th annual Publicists Awards Luncheon to be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 24, 2012, said ICG president Steven Poster and Henri Bollinger, Awards Committee chairman.
In a career spanning 56 years Burnett has won six Emmys®, two Golden Globes®, a special Tony Award® a Peabody Award and numerous other recognitions, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2003) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to her by President George W. Bush in 2005.
Previous recipients of the award include George Burns, Lew Wasserman, Warren Beatty, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Julie Andrews, Harrison Ford and Robert Zemeckis. Last year’s recipient was Sylvester Stallone. All honorees receive their awards in person.
Exec Producer Pat McGoldrick Elected To AICP East BoardNew York – Executive Producer Pat McGoldrick, has been elected to the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) East Chapter Board of Directors.
The news of Pat’s election signals a “changing of the guard” of sorts, as Chelsea Partner & Executive Producer Lisa Mehling steps down from her three-year incumbency. She held one of five seats which were vacated earlier this year.
Chelsea is owned and operated by Allison Amon and Lisa Mehling, with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Ricky Gervais to return as host of Golden Globes
By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Ricky Gervais is returning as host of the Golden Globes.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced through Twitter on Wednesday that Gervais will take his third turn as Globes host in January.
Gervais left some wondering if he’d be back after his performance at this year’s show, when he took pointed jabs at Hollywood stars and the HFPA, which puts on the annual ceremony.
The 50-year-old comedian posted a YouTube clip on his Twitter page Wednesday of his biting opening monologue from the 2011 show, promising “This (times) 10.”
At the ceremony earlier this year, Gervais joked that the HFPA accepts bribes (just after the group was sued for allegations that it engaged in payola schemes) and swiped at stars such as Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis and Robert Downey Jr.
“I’m telling you now If you don’t like it… (Expletive) you! If you do like it.. Love you!” Gervais tweeted Wednesday.
The HFPA acknowledged on its website that “not everyone is happy with the decision” to bring Gervais back because “his blunt one-liners targeting big-name celebrities caused anger and resentment in some quarters.”
Downey said during the ceremony: “Aside from the fact that it’s been hugely mean-spirited, with mildly sinister undertones, I’d say the vibe of the show is pretty good so far, wouldn’t you?”
The HFPA said after the show that Gervais “pushed the envelope and occasionally went too far.”
Still, the jabs paid off in ratings, drawing nearly 17 million viewers to the NBC broadcast and beating out its network competition in that time slot.
Gervais initially said after the show that he would not return as its host. Earlier this year, Philip Berk, who was president of the HFPA at the time, denied that Gervais had been invited to come back.
But the organization said Gervais “gradually warmed to the idea” and recently discussed his return with the HFPA’s new president, Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly.
The 69th annual Golden Globe Awards will be held Jan. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
January trial sought for Golden Globes disputeAnthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The organizers of the Golden Globe Awards are asking a federal judge to begin a trial to decide who owns the show’s broadcast rights in early January when final preparations for the glitzy gala will be under way.
The request by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a trial during the first week of January is opposed by the show’s longtime producer, dick clark productions. In court filings, attorneys for the producer say holding the trial in early January will disrupt the Jan. 15 broadcast of the 2012 awards ceremony by NBC.
The association argues in a court filing Monday that the case needs to be resolved to remove any uncertainty about the broadcast future of the show, which honors top Hollywood stars from movies and television.
“Delay may mean that potential networks will fill their broadcasting slates, the overall market may depress further, and HFPA will suffer incalculable injury,” the association’s attorneys wrote.
The producer’s attorneys, however, argue the upcoming show will suffer if the trial begins in January.
“A trial that commences only one week before the show is scheduled to air, and that would be ongoing on the actual air date, can be expected to negatively impact the show by focusing attention away from the awards ceremony and towards the parties’ dispute,” attorneys for dick clark productions wrote.
A conference with the judge who will hear the case is scheduled for Nov. 30, but he has already told both sides that a January trial will be difficult to coordinate because of other cases he is hearing.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued dick clark productions in November 2010 after the company negotiated an extension with NBC to broadcast the show until 2018.
The journalists’ group argued the producers overstepped their authority and are asking a judge to invalidate the deal so they can negotiate with other networks.
The production company, however, claims it has rights to stage the Globes as long as the show airs on NBC, and that it was granted those rights “in perpetuity” because it restored the show’s prominence after it was knocked from airwaves by a scandal in the early 1980s.
Tens of millions of dollars are at stake for both sides.
A trial to settle the broadcast dispute had been scheduled for September but was abruptly canceled by a federal judge who said she could no longer hear the case. The two sides agreed to allow dick clark productions to work on the 2012 show, but settlement talks have been unsuccessful so far.
Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi named Iberoamerican Agency of the yearBuenos Aires – For the fifth time, Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi has been named Iberoamerican Agency of the year by El Ojo de Iberoamérica, the annual awards festival that recognizes the best in advertising in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world.
Maxi Itzkoff and Mariano Serkin were also selected Best Regional Creative Directors, granting the agency the night’s two most important awards.
Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi won a total of 37 awards, including one Grand Prix and 11 Gold, with work developed for BGH, Sony PlayStation, Cerveza Andes, Cerveza Norte, Sony Cyber-shot and Sprite Zero.
“This is the fifth time since our launch that the agency has brought home the Ojo’s top prize. We’re very happy with the results, firstly, because they speak to the consistency of our work over time, and also because they demonstrate that Argentina is one of the top countries for advertising in the world,” commented Pablo Del Campo, President and CEO of Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi.
Maxi Itzkoff and Mariano Serkin added: “Our selection as Best General Creative Directors in Iberoamerica for the second consecutive year is an award we share with all the talented people who work with us at the agency as well as with our clients, who always continue to challenge us.”
‘Wizard of Oz’ Munchkin Karl Slover dies at 93
DUBLIN, Ga. (AP) – Karl Slover, one of the last surviving actors who played Munchkins in the 1939 classic film, “The Wizard of Oz,” has died. He was 93.
The 4-foot-5 Slover died of cardiopulmonary arrest Tuesday afternoon in a central Georgia hospital, said Laurens County Deputy Coroner Nathan Stanley. According to friends, as recently as last weekend, Slover appeared at events in the suburban Chicago area.
Slover was best known for playing the lead trumpeter in the Munchkins’ band but also had roles as a townsman and soldier in the film, said John Fricke, author of “100 Years of Oz” and five other books on the movie and its star, Judy Garland. Slover was one of the tiniest male Munchkins in the movie.
Long after Slover retired, he continued to appear around the country at festivals and events related to the movie. He was one of seven Munchkins at the 2007 unveiling of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame dedicated to the little people in the movie. Only three remain of the 124 diminutive actors who played the beloved Munchkins.
“He has a genuine immortality,” Fricke said. “Of the 124 little people, he’s one of the handful who got to enjoy this latter-day fame, to have people know who he was and be able to pick him out of the crowd in the movie.”
Slover was born Karl Kosiczky in what is now the Czech Republic and he was the only child in his family to be dwarf sized.
“In those uninformed days, his father tried witch doctor treatments to make him grow,” Fricke said. “Knowing Karl and his triumph over his early life, you can’t help but celebrate the man at a time like this.”
He was buried in the backyard, immersed in heated oil until his skin blistered and then attached to a stretching machine at a hospital, all in the attempt to make him become taller. Eventually he was sold by his father at age 9 to a traveling show in Europe, Fricke said.
Slover continued to perform into his late 20s, when he moved to the United States, changed his name and appeared in circuses as part of a vaudeville group known as the Singer Midgets. The group’s 30 performers became the nucleus of the Munchkins.
He was paid $50 a week for the movie and told friends that Garland’s dog in the movie, “Toto,” made more money.
The surviving Munchkin actors found new generations of fans in the late 1980s when they began making appearances around the country.
“It wasn’t until the Munchkins started making their appearances in 1989 that they all came to realize how potent the film had become and remained,” Fricke said. “He was wonderfully articulate about his memories, he had anecdotes to share.”
Cineworks Expands To Shreveport-Bossier CityShreveport, La. – Louisiana-based Cineworks has opened a satellite operation at Millennium Studios to support film production there and around the Shreveport-Bossier City area. When fully operational, the new location will employ three to five people full-time, new jobs added to the company’s roster of 15 experienced technical experts. The new operation consists of digital dailies suites with fiber upload capabilities able to work with most of the digital cameras and workflows currently on the market, and provides North Louisiana area productions faster access to Cineworks personnel and capabilities.
Christopher Stelly, executive director of Louisiana Entertainment, the state’s entertainment economic development office, said. “It’s a testimony to the vibrancy and growth of Louisiana’s entertainment industry, and particularly the film production sector, that a company that opened three years ago is now expanding statewide. It’s a great asset to our industry to have a film lab of this caliber here and to have industry members like Vinny Hogan and Tony Maiorana making this kind of investment in and commitment to Louisiana.”
Byyear’s end, Cineworks, which first opened its doors in Louisiana in 2008, expects to open an additional satellite operation in New Orleans, bringing the company’s total number of locations statewide to four.
“Cineworks’ presence brings Shreveport-Bossier up to another level in terms of production capabilities,” said Arlena Acree, director of film, media and entertainment for the City of Shreveport. “Cineworks has already established themselves as a member of our community and committed to being part of the industry here. They’re a tremendous asset.”
Clevver Media Launches CLEVVERTEVE As Part of YouTube’s Original Channel InitativeSan Jose, CA – Clevver Media launched its newest programming channel “ClevverTeVewill” at www.YouTube.com/ClevverTeVe.
ClevverTeVe is the first of three new channels that Clevver Media is providing YouTube as part of its initiative to launch around one hundred new original channels to its platform.
ClevverTeVe brings the leading Hollywood headlines to a Latino audience, delivering daily entertainment, celebrity, and fashion news content completely in Spanish. Latino celebrity entertainer Gwendy Rodriguez will serve as host of ClevverTeVe. Prior to Clevver, Rodriguez has more than ten years of experience working as a writer, producer and reporter for renowned networks, Univision and Telemundo.
The channel will launch with three original programs including: Teve Hollywood – An up-to-the minute daily entertainment news show covering the latest headlines from Hollywood; Radar Latino — A daily news show covering today’s hottest Latin celebrities and entertainment headlines; Teve Moda — Twice a week, the show will feature the latest celebrity fashion coverage hot from the red carpet at major events and premieres.
This winter Clevver will also launch ClevverNews, a daily, up-to-the-minute entertainment news channel and ClevverStyle, a beauty and fashion channel offering advice from savvy hosts, famous style experts and celebrity guests.
Hollywood-China film venture to get cash infusion
By Kelvin Chan, Business Writer
HONG KONG (AP) – A Hollywood-China movie production venture that plans to make big budget films for worldwide audiences has been cleared for an infusion of $220.5 million from an unlikely source – a construction company.
Shareholders of Hong Kong’s Paul Y. Engineering Ltd. on Tuesday approved the investment in the joint venture that is also aimed at China’s increasingly lucrative film market.
The construction firm, which says it wants to diversify and thinks the movie industry has strong growth potential, is taking a 50 percent stake in the production company, Legendary East Ltd., in exchange for the investment.
“Diversification into some unremarkable business is totally useless. Profit margin would be low, risk high,” Paul Y. Chairman James Chiu said. “We decided to seek an innovative growth avenue.”
After the deal, Hollywood production house Legendary Entertainment will have a 40 percent stake while China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp. will have 10 percent.
Legendary Entertainment has produced global blockbusters including “Inception” and the two “Hangover” movies while Huayi releases include the hit Feng Xiaogang disaster epic “Aftershock,” the kung fu drama “Shaolin” and the Tsui Hark fantasy epic “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.”
Paul Y executives promised to leave the movie making to the experts.
“What we’re bringing to table is, practically, cash,” Deputy Chairman Tom Lau said. “We do not understand the business of motion pictures nor do we pretend that we can contribute” anything more than money.
Legendary and Huayi executives will control the film development and approval committees “completely,” Lau said.
The Hong Kong-based venture, which was announced in June, plans to make one or two big budget movies a year starting in 2013 for worldwide audiences that are also commercially viable in China. The movies will be mainly in English and feature themes based on Chinese history, mythology or culture.
Beijing-based Huayi will distribute the movies inside China while Warner Bros. Pictures will handle international distribution.
Movies produced by the partnership will be allowed to bypass Chinese import restrictions that effectively limit the country to about 20 foreign blockbusters a year. Chinese box office takings surged 64 percent to $1.5 billion in 2010 and are expected to grow 30 percent this year to $2 billion.
Legendary East said in August its first film, “The Great Wall,” will be directed by Edward Zwick and look at how the Great Wall of China came to be built.
Chiu said there are many other stories from Chinese history the venture could draw on, such as the epic novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” a fictional account of feuding warlords amid the disintegration of the Han dynasty in the second century.
Chiu said while he enjoyed “The Dark Knight” and “Superman Returns,” both Legendary Entertainment productions, he’s not a big moviegoer.
“I have no patience to sit in the cinema for two hours.”
