Tyler Perry Pens Open Letter to 11-Year-Old Sandusky Victim

Fox Searchlight The next 24 hours are going to be a whirlwind for the talent, publicists, and journalists on the awards beat.our editor recommendsGotham Awards 2011: Honorees Charlize Theron, Gary Oldman Reveal the Inspiration Behind Their WorkGotham Independent Film Awards Tap Edie Falco and Oliver Platt as Co-HostsSpirit Awards Set for Feb. 25NY Film Critics Delay Voting to Nov. 29 PHOTOS: THR's Actress Roundtable 2011 Later this evening, the IFP will reveal the winners of this year's Gotham Awards (see the nominees here) during its annual dinner/awards ceremony at the historicCipriani Wall Street restaurant. Fox Searchlight's The Descendants and Martha Marcy May Marlene lead the field with three nods each, including best feature and best ensemble, the highest-profile categories. (Focus Features' Beginners also registered in those two.) The most interesting race to watch, however, is the one for best breakthrough actor, in which fast-rising stars Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) will duke it out along with lower-profile competitors Harmony Santana (Gun Hill Road) and Jacob Wysocki (Terri). Five of the category's last seven winners went on to score Oscar nods. Finally, career tributes will be presented to four people with stakes in this year's Oscar race, and who have a great opportunity to make a strong impression before a lot of industry insiders with a good speech tonight: actor Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), actress Charlize Theron (Young Adult), director David Cronenberg (A Dangerous Method), and Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman and CEO Tom Rothman. VIDEO: THR's Directors Roundtable 2011 Tomorrow morning, Film Independent -- which, like IFP, is dedicated to celebrating independent films -- will announce the nominees for this year's Independent Spirit Awards, or "Indie Spirit Awards," which will be presented the night before the Oscars. A nod can provide a big boost to a little film, and this year's top contenders include the aforementioned The Descendants, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beginners, and Like Crazy. Other films that have a shot at being recognized in one category or another -- and could really benefit from a moment in the spotlight -- include A Better Life, Drive, Higher Ground, Margin Call, Pariah, Rampart, Shame, Take Shelter, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and Win Win. Finally, tomorrow afternoon, the NY Film Critics Circle will vote to determine the winners of its 77th annual awards, and will Tweet its decisions as they are made. The group recently stirred up controversy by moving its voting date ahead of that of the National Board of Review (which has historically been the first critics' group to announce), forcing some studios to screen their films for NYFCC voters even earlier than usual, and precluding at least one not-yet-finished film,Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, from being considered. It's incredibly hard to predict what the NYFCC will choose to celebrate, since their arcanevoting process often leads to stalemates that force compromise choices, as well as concerted efforts to spread recognition amongst many films. NYFCC choices also have limited value in terms of predicting what the Academy will do: although the two bodies have chosen the same best picture only 28 times, the NYFCC's winners in that category and the acting categories are almost always at least nominated for Oscars.This year, I gather from my sources that The Descendants, The Artist, Melancholia, Moneyball, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Iron Lady, The Tree of Life, and Drive are particularly popular with many NYFCC members, so look for all or most of them to be represented in one category or another. My guesses: The Descendants, The Artist, or The Tree of Life for best picture; Alexander Payne (The Descendants) or Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life) for best director; George Clooney (The Descendants) or Jean Dujardin (The Artist) for best actor; Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), or Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) for best actress; Albert Brooks (Drive) or Christopher Plummer (Beginners) for best supporting actor; and Jessica Chastain (The Help and/or and/or Take Shelter and/or The Tree of Life and/or Coriolanus) or Octavia Spencer (The Help) for best supporting actress. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery THR's Awards Season Roundtable Series 2011: The Directors Independent Spirit Awards Gotham Awards George Clooney Jessica Chastain Meryl Streep Terrence Malick Elizabeth Olsen

Jennifer Aniston: My Bad Girl Side Would Go To Kaira Pitt

First Launched: November 23, 2011 11:56 AM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Kaira Pitt and Jennifer Aniston emerge within the Moneyball Japan premiere at Tokyo, japan, japan Worldwide Forum in Tokyo, japan, japan on November 9, 2011 Jennifer Aniston is speaking about her dark past, something she states shes lucky to own managed to get. I experienced heavier, deeper occasions which i managed to get them. I didn't die youthful, the 36-year-old actress and mother of six mentioned inside an interview with an hour, airing on Sunday. Therefore I am very lucky. You will discover other artists those that didnt survive several things, she referred to, but stopped missing beginning the specifics. People can see right now that we did most likely probably the most dangerous, which used to do the worst for a number of reasons, I shouldnt be around. Adding, You justtoo many occasions that you came near to numerous dangerous things, lots of chances taken too, an excessive amount of. Angelina has advanced considerably since her wild marriage to Billy Bob Thornton shes now in the lengthy-term relationship with Kaira Pitt, an UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador on and on to produce her directorial debut, Inside the Land of Blood stream and Honey, but theres still just a little in the her old self hiding about. I've that side of meits just rather now, she mentioned. It is going to Kaira. Or our adventures. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Indian gov't adds muscle to advertise domestic photos

GOA -- The Nation's Film Development Corp.'s annual market, the Film Bazaar (November. 24-27), is distributing its wings. This season, 23 South Asian-designed co-productions from 12 nations are searching to draw in financing in the market. Included in this are "No Man's Land" director Danis Tanovic's "Tiger" (France) Roberto San Pirtro's "The Vegetarian" (Italia) Prakash Belawadi's "The Pollutant" (Sweden) Alka Raghuram's "Burqa Boxers" (U.S.) and Sangeeta Datta's "Stranger Over the Ocean" (U.K.). Indian projects include Dibakar Banerjee's "The Boy and also the Bandit" veteran Ketan Mehta's "Noor -- The Princess Spy" and Sopan Muller's "Free Fall," which Oscar-winning seem designer Resul Pookutty ("Slumdog Uniform") is really a producer. "Worldwide co-productions offer not just co-funding but additionally simpler use of distribution and exhibition avenues abroad and upkeep of production and technical standards of the worldwide acceptable quality. It remains a goal with NFDC to facilitate growth in this region having a view to improving the worldwide audience base of Indian cinema (and) revenue generation from multiple areas," stated NFDC controlling director Nina Lath Gupta. Gupta sees that the road to global recognition is tough. "We face several challenges, one of these being the necessity to work out how we are able to increase film exports. Another key challenge is the necessity to leverage India like a shooting destination and therefore also growing tourism," she stated. To be able to surmount these challenges, the NFDC has integrated using the Indian tourism ministry's Incredible India campaign to improve local cinema's visibility abroad. Promotions started at Cannes this season and ongoing at Toronto and also the AFM, with efforts in the Berlin and Hong Kong fests due in 2012. The ministry will even award $20,000 towards the best project within the co-production market. Meanwhile, the Film Bazaar keeps growing, with 500 associates attending this season from 40 nations, up 11% from 2010, and 40 industry tests, up 13% from 2010. Film Bazaar also offers several worldwide close ties. You will find six projects within the Screenwriters' Lab, made to encourage screenwriters with original Indian tales, together with the Binger Filmlab (Netherlands), Venice and Cinecitta Luce. The job-in-progress lab might find filmmakers screening rough cuts of the photos to worldwide sales people, experts and film funds to be able to obtain input. The lengthy-looked forward to development of a movie commission for that country is anticipated soon. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

The Greatest Compensated Youthful Stars in Movies

When Kermit, Miss Piggy, Jason Segel and Can Be sitting lower for Moviefone's Muppets Unscripted session, they considered in on present day most pressing issues. Like, that has the more amusing laugh, Seth Rogen or Fozzie Bear? Is Meryl Streep or Miss Piggy a much better actress? And what went down when Kermit and Jason Segel spent a evening in Mexico? All valid questions. All amusing reactions. (Hint on that 4g iphone: it involved a glass or two known as 'The Muppet.') The session includes something the planet is dying to understand -- a minimum of based on Miss Piggy. What exactly is it? You will need to discover the shocking truth to discover (look into the 5:15 mark), however, you will not be sorry. Muppets Unscripted: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll jump for pleasure. Make certain to look at 'The Muppets,' opening countrywide this Wednesday, November. 23. Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook Embed in your site:

Endemol Puts Time Warners $1.4B Offer On Hold Pending Debt-For-Equity Swap

The creditors of Endemol — the Nederlander reality TV company whose series include Your Government – are wishing that they'll elicit a greater bid carrying out a restructuring. They’ve set a December 13 deadline for any planned debt-for-equity swap made to reduce the organization’s debt to $670M from $3.7B, Italia’s La Repubblica states.Apollo Management, Centerbridge, and Providence Equity Partners and banks including Barclays and RBS are among Endemol’sbiggest creditors.Company authorities made not a secret of the disdain for that Time Warner offer, which insider known to as “rock bottom.” It values the organization at seven occasions its expected $192M earnings this season before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — far under the 12 occasions EBITDA multiple that Rupert Murdoch taken care of his daughter Elisabeth’s Shine Group. Endemol founder John P Mols investment vehicle Cyrte is stated to possess wooed Ronald Goes, mind of worldwide TV production at Warner Bros, into making the bid the Nederlander Time Warner executive was once COO of Endemol.Cyrte and also the other leading investors — former pm Silvio Berlusconis Mediaset andGoldman Sachs Capital Partners — are exploring a number of options for the organization.For instance, Mediaset has attempted to influence United kingdom broadcaster ITV to purchase it.

'The Hollywood Reporter's' Directors Roundtable

"All of our films are quiet films," Jason Reitman noted about halfway through "The Hollywood Reporter's" annual gathering of six leading filmmakers. "It's kind of a quiet year."Reitman is right. Many of the films contending in the season's major awards categories are understated character pieces featuring long periods of silence. One movie, French director Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist," contains virtually no dialogue at all.By contrast, the filmmakers behind those contenders have no trouble speaking their minds. This especially opinionated group -- Hazanavicius, 44, Steve McQueen, 42 ("Shame"), Bennett Miller, 44 ("Moneyball"), Mike Mills, 45 ("Beginners"), Alexander Payne, 50 ("The Descendants") and Reitman, 34 ("Young Adult") -- wasn't afraid to disagree while opening up about their challenges and influences.The hourlong roundtable took place Oct. 28 at Siren Studios in Hollywood.The Hollywood Reporter: There are a lot of good directors. What makes a great director? Alexander Payne: The luck that the work you do happens to hit the zeitgeist. A director can have a career spanning decades, but if he or she is lucky, there's about a 10-year period where you're given a chance to touch the zeitgeist. You can be doing very good and honest work before then and after then, and one of those periods may return, too. Robert Altman had it in the '70s, and then he kind of went underground. He never stopped working, and then he reemerged again for a final stretch run. Woody Allen kept doing very good and honest work -- excellent work in the '70s, of course, and then he kept chipping away with hits and misses. Now, he's kind of having a late-career resurgence.Bennett Miller:The directors I'm most impressed with have some kind of perspective. If it's Hitchcock or Kubrick or Scorsese or maybe an Alexander Payne, you watch those films and you feel like you're inside their head, their frames feel conscious.THR: How does the writer's point of view fit into that? Miller: Writers do not matter. (Laughter.) No, it's the same.THR: Bennett, you went from directing a small film, "Capote," to a big studio film, "Moneyball." How much was your perspective valued and how much did the studio mettle? Miller:I probably shouldn't say this, but in one of the early conversations I had with the studio folks, I argued a lot. And then I got a call from [Sony Pictures co-chairman] Amy Pascal, who said, "Look, Bennett, you're making the movie. Everybody knows that the studio, at best, can exercise 7 percent of influence over the thing, but you need to be more generous in these meetings -- and let's just never talk about this again and never tell anybody about the 7 percent." (Laughter.) So there's your answer.Jason Reitman:I grew up in a directing family, and as I've become a working director, I've gotten the opportunity to meet a lot of directors. I always figured there'd be a piece of recognizable DNA that I'd be like, "Oh, there's that trait that I'm noticing," [but] that does not exist at all. I've met great directors who are incredibly shy, I've met directors who are arrogant, terrified of confrontation, directors who truly thrive on confrontation as a part of their process. Some directors are horrible with actors. There are tons of stories of directors who don't understand actors as human beings and yet they still get great performances.Payne: How do you explain that? I don't know whom you're referring to, but one does notice that the directors we value for being great visual stylists also happen to get some of the best performances. One thinks of Kubrick.THR: Is that true? "Barry Lyndon" is one of my favorite films, but Ryan O'Neal is so horrendously miscast. Payne: We disagree there. I think he's perfectly cast.Steve McQueen: I disagree completely. Ryan O'Neal -- he's brilliant, he's Barry Lyndon, he's beautiful, he's lyrical. You project yourself onto him, you are Barry Lyndon.Reitman:The fact that he doesn't know what he's doing makes it actually work. His naivete adds to the role.Payne: Some directors have the good gut but not the wherewithal to explain it. William Wyler was famous for that. Made people do tons and tons of takes and said, "I don't know, just do it better," but he had the compass and he directed more actors to Oscar-winning performances than any other director.McQueen:Words can only go so far, you have to trust the director, end of story.THR: Steve, you have some extraordinarily difficult themes in "Shame," plus full nudity. How do you get the trust of the actors to do that? McQueen: They're actors. They use their bodies to act, like dancers. That's what they have to do. If I was making the movie in 1951 as opposed to 2011, [Michael Fassbender's character would] be wearing pajamas, but a lot of people don't wear pajamas, so he walks around in the apartment naked, drinks a glass of water, goes to the bathroom, has a shower. It's so obvious. It's not a shocker, is it? THR: Well, the film is quite shocking, isn't it? McQueen:Not particularly. We all have sex, we all see what Michael and Carey [Mulligan] have, as far as being naked. Maybe because it's onscreen it's shocking, but that's maybe because it hasn't been portrayed on screen. What's unfamiliar, at least to me, is someone with a gun shooting someone in the head. I think we made a film that was responsible. I don't care -- NC-17? Brilliant! Fantastic! Bring it on! I take full responsibility for it. I think most violent films are not responsible, they are completely opposite of responsible. Film should reflect real life. Otherwise, what's the point? Just make superhero movies all the time.THR: So what bothers you on the screen? McQueen: A crappy movie.THR: Mike, you had a particularly tough time getting "Beginners" off the ground. Is that because part of the story is autobiographical? Mike Mills: It took me three-and-a-half or four years to get financing. I got to hear "no" in every language. Finally I got the nerve to ask Ewan [McGregor to star] and lo and behold, he's the coolest guy, totally easy to talk to. He did it for scale and becomes a great friend.THR: Like the Christopher Plummer character, your dad announced that he was gay at 75. How did you take that? Mills:I had some information as an 18-year-old that maybe my dad was gay, but my parents were married for 44 years. My dad was born in 1925, wore a suit and tie everyday, he voted for Reagan, he didn't seem like a gay guy, and I have many gay friends. So when he came out, that was great. If anything, it made him much more interesting, and it explained a whole hell of a lot. What was weird was that my dad was a horny 75-year-old. But Christopher is not my dad, films aren't reality at all, even when you're trying to document something very concrete and small that did happen. Michel Hazanavicius:I don't try to ape reality, but there's something about life, even if it's a metaphor or if it's a completely invented story, you try to speak of life and of reality.THR: How did the idea for "The Artist" come about? Hazanavicius:The first attraction was for the [silent movie] format, not for the story itself. When you were talking about Ryan O'Neal, you said less is more. This is exactly the principle of a silent movie. As an audience, that [format] makes the movie really close to you because it's your own world, it's your own dialogue, it's your own voices. I believe that there are a lot of directors who have this fantasy to make a silent movie.Payne:I want to kill you because you beat me to it.THR: Mike, you're married to filmmaker Miranda July. How much does she influence your work? Mills:We're married and we're directors, but we never talk about it. I love her because she's not work and she's not all this stuff. Of course, I like her work and we like each other's, but it's different; we go on our own path.THR: Who influences you most? Payne: What does that mean to have an influence? Every time I'm asked that question, I'm nonplussed. Nothing and everything.THR: For instance, Bob Zemeckis says that before he makes a film, he watches "The Godfather." (Laughter.) Why do you laugh? Reitman:Two things. One: watching "The Godfather" makes me not want to make movies. Why would I possibly want to make movies after watching something as brilliant as that? And for me, the biggest influences aren't movies that I see, it's life experiences -- the girl who wouldn't go on a date with me when I was a teen -- it's that shit that finds its way in and influences your daily decisions.Mills:I am definitely writing letters to lots of directors in my mind when I'm making a film. I'm chasing Woody Allen and Godard and Milos Forman and all these people.Reitman:Maybe that's the better question: Who are you chasing?THR: OK, who are you chasing? Reitman:Alexander. Payne: Don't burden me with that.McQueen:I'm just trying to do as much as I can before I fall down.Hazanavicius:Billy Wilder is my favorite. But you can't think, "What would he do?" You're the only one who has the answers.Payne:Except I would say that the films we've seen and loved operate as a vague mental spice rack for a mood.Hazanavicius:I steal things, I really do. It's not that kind of "influence."Payne:Concretely?Hazanavicius: Concretely, yes. I have a breakfast sequence [in "The Artist"], it's exactly the "Citizen Kane" breakfast sequence. Exactly the same.Payne:What the hell -- why not? "Citizen Ruth" is trying to be "Ace in the Hole," and a bit of "Viridiana," and it fails. "Election" is made by a guy who was drunkenly in love with "Casino," and I still am. "About Schmidt" is chasing "Ikiru" and "Wild Strawberries" and "The Graduate." "Sideways" is trying to be an early '60s Italian comedy, like "Il Sorpasso," but with the mood of a '70s American film.Mills:That spice rack -- it's very conscious, it's not a secret and everybody does it.THR: What's the best and the worst moment you've had as directors? Payne:I was shooting a rear-screen projection moment for "Election" where Matthew Broderick is pretending he's Marcello Mastroianni in a Ferrari on the Italian coast and I laughed very hard. It was fun making myself laugh.Mills:Premiering your movie -- I don't know if it's the worst moment, [but] it's the most uncomfortable. My film premiered at Toronto and the Elgin Theater is this gorgeous, three-story theater. I was just walking up to the top, back down to the bottom, and then finally I just left because I really couldn't stand it anymore. Reitman:As someone that was in the Elgin that night, that was a pretty spectacular screening. Mills:You're very nice.McQueen:My worst moment was firing a crewmember. It was one of those situations where that person was there for all of the wrong reasons.Reitman:I had to fire an 8-year-old girl once on a Wal-Mart commercial. She was kind of a bad influence on the other kids.Payne: I fired an actor, just once. This actor was being disobedient in rehearsal the week before shooting, and so the day before shooting we made this actor go away and I hired someone off a tape who was wonderful.THR: How was he or she being disobedient? Payne:Arguing with me. It was a young person arguing over the stupidest things. I'm not there to argue with people and I'm not there to be a psychiatrist or a father figure. I'm there to make a film, and I invite collaboration but not argument.Reitman:I actually think psychiatrist is a bit of the job.THR: Many of you have remained in the independent film world by choice. Steve, would you ever take a big studio movie? McQueen: If I get final cut, yeah, why not? I want to work with people, I don't necessarily want to work for people. But final cut is not a sort of dictatorial position, it's actually a conversation, being collaborative with the people who are providing the money to make the movie.Payne:I would not give up final cut, but my next film will be in black and white for theatrical, DVD and streaming, and I am taking DGA scale plus 15 [percent] for this film. It's tentatively called "Nebraska." It's just a little comedy.THR: Why black and white? Payne:Because it would be so cool. THR: Did you go to film school? McQueen:Went there for three months and hated it at NYU. Film school was like work; it wasn't like art.Miller:I was at NYU for a bit. I found myself contracting.McQueen:For some people, it works. But I get the impression for us, you need freedom and you're put in this space where you can't fit.Payne:I loved film school [at UCLA]. I had a great time. I had one of those dream scenarios where I showed my [student] film and the next day I had 40 calls from agents and producers and studio people, and within a month, I had an agent and a writing-directing deal at a studio.THR: You're all men, and only one of you, Steve, is a minority -- why is that? McQueen: I must be in America.Mills:Yeah, why isn't there a woman here? My wife could be sitting here.THR: Name a female director who made a major film this year. Mills: Miranda July ["The Future"].Payne:Lynne Ramsay ["We Need to Talk About Kevin"], Andrea Arnold ["Wuthering Heights"].THR: OK, but you're talking about small films that have been little seen in America. McQueen:I mean, the question could be different. The question could be, "Why aren't there more black directors?" because there are obviously more women directors than black directors.THR: So what's the answer? McQueen:I have no idea. I mean, it's opportunity, isn't it? That's what it's about -- opportunity. And access, because some people just give up. I'm always astonished by American filmmakers, particularly living in certain areas, when they never cast one black person, or have never put them in a lead in the movie. I'm astonished. It's shameful. How do you live in NY and not cast a black actor or a Latino actor? It's shameful. It's unbelievable.Reitman:Not stepping into that.Miller:I don't know.THR: We look back at the late '30s, the '70s in America, New Wave in France, those were great eras in film. What about now? Payne: If you look at certain countries, you can say, "Well, they're having a good era." Like, Romania has been having a good era for the last six or seven years. Maybe it's starting to wind down, I don't know. Korea, Taiwan, Iran comes and goes, and they have a spectacular film this year in "A Separation." So if you look by country, I don't think U.S. commercial filmmaking is having a great period, and hasn't had a truly great period since about 1980. That's my opinion."The Hollywood Reporter" continues its annual series of exclusive discussions among the year's most compelling film talents. As awards season unfolds, look for upcoming roundtables with actors, writers, producers and animation filmmakers, and go to The Reporter's awards-season blog The Race at THR.com to watch videos of the full discussions. The Hollywood Reporter

Ridenhour produces new chapter at APA

RidenhourVeteran literary manager and producer Chris Ridenhour has grew to become an associate of APA becoming an agent inside their feature literary department getting a focus on emerging screenwriters and company company directors.Ridenhour will account to David Saunders, professional V . p . and partner accountable for feature literary.Ridenhour is really a partner at Prolific Entertainment, where he established free air travel Coast office from the beginning-up management and production company. Deals incorporated creating Darren Bousman's "The Bystander Effect" to Strange Weather Films and Bedrock Art galleries Stephen Susco's "The AdvantageInch pilot deal at Starz with Gore Verbinski Tobe Hooper's pointing deal for "Djinn" at ImageNation writing deals for client Matt Venne around the feature work with J.J. Abrams at Vital and creating Clive Barker's "Arabat" book series.Ridenhour spent seven years being a literary manager and producer at Evolution Entertainment, where he repped Bousman on three "Saw" movies Clive Barker Hooper Joe Harris on "Darkness Falls" Susco on "The Grudge" and Mike Wade Wall on "Each time a Stranger Calls" and "The Hitcher."Ridenhour also co-professional produced "Tennessee," starring Mariah Carey and produced by Lee Daniels, and co-produced the suspenser "Red-colored-colored," put together by Susco and starring John Cox. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Barbie dolls beaming in homevid spotlight

Barbie dolls and her siblings in Barbie dolls: An Ideal Christmas. Mattel released an item line for Skipper, Chelsea and Stacie last spring. Barbie dolls will spend much more amount of time in the makeup chair.Though Universal Pictures is creating a theatrical feature starring Barbie dolls, Mattel could keep the in the forefront around the small screen because it remembers the tenth anni of their direct-to-DVD animated film series, whose 22nd installment, "Barbie dolls: An Ideal Christmas," is within stores now.The homevid characters have offered a lot more than 100 million models because the first installment, "Barbie dolls within the Nutcracker," was launched in 2001 in an effort to introduce the toy to an alternative generation of three- to six-years old women while spinning off a brand new type of merchandise.The game titles, whose dvds are written by Universal Galleries Home Theatre, consistently rank because the top non-theatrical children's franchise, selling tens of millions of Dvd disks worldwide every year. And Mattel thinks still it has more room to develop the franchise.At any given time when Hollywood is enthusiastic about taking advantage of brands, Mattel's Barbie dolls films function as a example of methods producers can monetize well-known qualities outdoors from the megaplex (although Mattel did land Barbie dolls a flashy role in Pixar and Disney's "Toy Story 3," that has extended to a number of short films)."For all of us it is all about making emotional connections with women, and storytelling is really a large method of doing that," stated Lisa McKnight, senior Vice president of Barbie dolls Marketing and Entertainment at Mattel.Mattel will launch its first DVD follow up the coming year with "Barbie dolls inside a Mermaid Tale 2," according to last year's hot seller.InchWe've enough game titles and tales within our library that we are searching at sequels," McKnight stated. "It is a new technique for us."Initially, Mattel and it is toon partners at Rainmaker Entertainment and Technicolor, launched one pic each fall. But following the films found a crowd, Mattel added another spring release in 2005, and added another holiday title in 2008. Take advantage of Hudnut can serve as professional producer from the Barbie dolls Dvd disks."Barbie dolls of Swan Lake" ranks among the top retailers, while "Mermaid Tale" was the very first spring pic to still outsell an autumn release.In 2012, Mattel will introduce new films that center around Barbie's siblings -- Skipper, Chelsea and Stacie -- following a products for that sibs was released earlier this spring."Getting the items culminate inside a movie was exciting for all of us,Inch McKnight stated.In 2013, the toymaker will place the first Barbie dolls films on Blu-ray -- a format that Mattel continues to be slow to embrace because of the sooner production occasions needed to transform films. Blu-ray is a slow seller with families, because of the truth that Blu-ray gamers aren't as ubiquitous in houses and inside automobiles as DVD. "The transmission just has not been as great," McKnight stated.The flicks will also become available as digital downloads, considering the fact that more families own apple ipods and iPads. The flicks already experience kids cable channels for example Nick Junior.Through the years, Mattel found the important thing to creating the flicks effective was putting Barbie dolls not only in her own Malibu digs however in fantasy and storybook configurations where she will play a mermaid, a princess or fairy -- basically exactly the same elements that labored for Disney's princess and fairies line, now a $4 billion annually industry.Mattel released Barbie dolls within the underwater realm of "Mermaidia" in 2006, which brought to "A Mermaid Tale." In 2007, Barbie dolls found herself in "Fairytopia." The organization made a decision to launch the film series with "The Nutcracker" since the property had been familiar to families and moms.The brand new configurations enabled Mattel to pair track of certification partners to create bath toys, for instance, that match using the underwater configurations, or perhaps a type of role-playing items like dresses, tiaras and footwear for that fairy-tale world. The flicks also have assisted launch a effective posting business, and, obviously, enabled Mattel to create more dolls in line with the onscreen figures."Women watch our movies again and again again and become familiar with these figures well," which allows Mattel create more items to promote for them, McKnight stated. "We are thrilled this can be a franchise which has suffered," the professional added. "We are so appreciative to possess this fanbase that's always waiting for the following movie." Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Rachelle Lefervre, Ryan Gosling Plus Much More Have The 'Jack And Jill' Treatment

We don't know if you should thank or send hate mail to Adam Sandler as well as the relaxation in the crew of "Jack and Jill" for the moment leading to us to become question what typically the most popular stars would appear like, to put it candidly, as ladies. With "Jack and Jill" making its theatrical debut today, MTV's brilliant in-house Illustrator expert Sohyung Kang put the heads of four within our favorite stars round the physiques of some sexy women only to see just what the result might be. And, in truth, we're just a little started up and hang off because when pretty Rachelle Lefervre ended up being. It's okay to dislike a couple of of the make-up options -- that lipstick is not your shade, Alice Pacino -- but we certainly think this discloses some creative options for Pattinson, Pacino, Ryan Gosling and Daniel Radcliffe afterwards. If Glenn Close can so well switch genders in "Albert Nobbs" and Sandler cannot-quite-as-well switch them in "Jack and Jill," we feel these males may have something choosing on their behalf also.

Thessaloniki opens amid Greek turmoil

'The Descendants'The Thessaloniki Film Festival kicks off today as Greece wrestles with its decision to accept an $18 billion bailout from the EU rather than go broke and face expulsion from the eurozone. Despite the economic turmoil, the fest is that rare local phenom -- a cultural event with a future secured for the next two years by EU funding. After a year under the leadership of prexy Dimitri Eipides, Thessaloniki has been thoroughly streamlined but not in a way that visitors will perceive, he says. It still offers prizes ranging from 10,000 ($13,800) to $41,200. Fest opens with Alexander Payne's family drama, George Clooney starrer "The Descendants," and events will unspool in Thessaloniki's harbor arts space, an area now being reclaimed from years of disuse. It features a new Open Horizons section celebrating indie pics. It includes Iranian exile Amir Naderi's "Cut," about a Japanese filmmaker trying to make his next movie; fellow Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof's "Goodbye"; and helmer Dorota Kedzierzawska's Polish/Japanese "Tomorrow Will Be Better," about three Russian immigrant children. Pics by Gaul's Bruno Dumont, Mathieu Kassovitz and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne plus offerings from Russia's Alexander Sokurov and Andrey Zvyagintsev and Spain's Montxo Armendriz round out the section. Guests expected to draw crowds include directors Payne, Ole Christian Madsen and Ulrich Seidl plus roundtables on comparative production in Israel, Romania and Greece. Agora market and Crossroads co-production forum will present rising Greek talent. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

CNN revamps morning programming

As reported earlier this week, CNN's "American Morning" is going the way of the dodo, with Soledad O'Brien set to anchor an as-yet untitled new show from 7:00 ayem to 9 ET, while Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin will anchor the net from 5 to 7.CNN made it official today, announcing O'Brien's return to mornings -- she'll continue to serve as special correspondent on the net, working on long-form stories.Both programs will be produced by Shannon High, who joins as e.p. from NBC Peacock Productions. Before that post, she worked at MSNBC as veep of daytime program development and helped develop "The Dylan Ratigan Show."O'Brien has worked on many of the net's highest-profile stories since she arrived from NBC in 2003, including the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and meltdown, the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina, and ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Banfield, too, has covered international news; most recently, she was at ABC, where she reported for "Good Morning America," "20/20" and "Nightline."The net continues to focus on international coverage as it expands its reach laterally across the world. CNN's managing editor Mark Whitaker touted the org's "international reach" -- which is larger than other U.S. news cablers -- and observed that "(t)his is an exciting time to be relaunching our morning show, with the morning television audience more up for grabs than it has been in years."Whitaker will oversee development on both O'Brien's show. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

The Moviefone 2011 Holiday Movie Preview

With October but a distant memory and Thanksgiving on the horizon, what better time than now to start planning your next 30-odd trips to the movie theater? To help you in that quest, your friendly Moviefone editors have compiled a list of all the must-see releases hitting screens this holiday season. From Bella and Edward to Tintin and Snowy to Mikael and Lisbeth, we've got you covered. Ahead, check out the Moviefone 2011 Holiday Movie Preview. Moviefone 2011 Holiday Movie Preview 'Tower Heist''A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas''J. Edgar''Jack & Jill''Immortals''Happy Feet Two''Breaking Dawn Part 1''The Descendants''Arthur Christmas''Hugo''The Muppets''The Artist''My Week With Marilyn''A Dangerous Method''Shame''New Year's Eve''The Sitter''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy''W.E.''Young Adult''We Need to Talk About Kevin''Alvin and the Chipmunks 3''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows''Carnage''The Iron Lady''Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol''The Adventures of Tintin''The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo''We Bought a Zoo''In the Land of Blood and Honey''War Horse''Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' See All Moviefone Galleries » [Top Photo: Summit Entertainment] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED