The Bold as well as the Beautiful's Bradley Bell on Sex, Pills and Firing Jack Wagner

Breaking In came back within the dead with a ratings bump Tuesday evening - but it's its not all very good news.The comedy's Season 2 premiere opened up as much as three.6 000 0000 audiences together with single.7 inside the grownups 18-to-49 demo, a 31 percent rise in the demo from ... Discover More > Other Links From TVGuide.com NCISCourteney CoxThe Finest Loser90210Cougar TownNCIS: Los AngelesBody of ProofBreaking InRingerThe RiverLast Guy StandingI Hate My Teenage DaughterNew GirlUnforgettable

Scarlett Johansson Will Be Janet Leigh

For The Making Of PsychoAs Sacha Gervasi gears up to bring a chunk of cinematic history to life with Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho, he's locked down two stars to play the most iconic elements (besides Hitch himself) for the film-within-the-film: Scarlett Johansson will be Janet Leigh and James D'Arcy is playing Anthony Perkins.The Making Of Psycho chronicles the legendary director's struggle to get the horror classic made at a time when the thriller / horror genre was frowned upon and he was ridiculed for even trying the idea.John McLaughlin, Tom Thayer and Stephen Rebello (who wrote the book the film is based on) have written the script and Anvil! director Gervasi already has Anthony Hopkins on board to play Hitchcock with Helen Mirren now confirmed as his wife, Alma Reville.According to Variety, this could end up as a My Week With Marilyn-style awards baiter, with Johansson potentially in line for glory. But that's getting a little ahead of things: first she has to actually appear in the film.Assuming everything comes together, the film should be shooting next month.Johansson will next be seen in that quiet costume drama The Avengers, while D'Arcy has a role (or probably several, given the nature of the film) in Cloud Atlas.

New on-set images of the Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis started filming in NY in early February and a series of on-set photos have arrived online. The new Coen brothers film examines the folk music scene of NY in the 1960s with Llewyn Davis played by Oscar Isaac (Drive), whose star has been gradually rising over the past few years.Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan will also feature as a husband-and-wife couple, with Timberlake's Jim Berkey playing a musical rival to Davis. All three cast members can be seen in the images below. The film is based on the life of folk musician Dave Van Ronk, and the cast is also set to feature Garrett Hedlund and John Goodman. Despite the Coens insatiable work ethic, don't expect to see this until 2013.

'Hugo' sets tech pace with five wins

'Hugo'Martin Scorsese's 3D "Hugo" has scored a quintet of technical wins for cinematography, art direction, visual effects, sound editing and sound mixing. It was the third Oscar for Robert Richardson in cinematography and the third in art direction for the team of Dante Ferretti's production design and Francesca Lo Schiavo's set decoration. It was the first Oscar win for the "Hugo" sound teams -- Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom in sound editing, and Tom Fleischman and John Midgley for sound mixing. The team of Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann and Alex Henning won for visual effects. Legato previously won for "Titanic." "Hugo" came into the race with a leading 11 nominations Sunday. While the Paramount film was not considered the favorite for best picture, its strong early haul is in line with the Academy's occasional practice of giving below-the-line recognition to a widely admired underdog; last year, "Inception" took four Oscars, as many as big winner "The King's Speech." Scorsese's imprimatur as ringmaster of an already heavily Oscar-laureled craft team no doubt helped "Hugo's" sway with voters. "Marty, you're a genius as usual," said Richardson. Lo Schiavo kept her speech short, saying "This is for Martin and Italy." Richardson, who previously won for "JFK" and "The Aviator." He topped Guillaume Schiffman for "The Artist," Jeff Chenoweth for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Emmanuel Lubezki for "The Tree of Life" and Janusz Kaminski for "War Horse." Lubezki had been favored by many to win after dominating the lensing precursors, including the American Society of Cinematographers' top award earlier this month. Ferretti and Lo Schiavo, who won previously for "Sweeney Todd" and "The Aviator." "Hugo" topped "The Artist," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "Midnight in Paris" and "War Horse." Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Kate Walsh Bares All For Shape Magazine

Aimee Teegarden Friday Evening Lights alum Aimee Teegarden has showed up charge role in CW's The Option, TVGuide.com has confirmed. TVLine first reported what is the news.The drama pilot, known to since the Hunger Games meets The Bachelor, is founded on an approaching book series by Kiera Cass. Teegarden may have a young lady selected by lottery to compete to be the following filled with the war-torn nation.The Whole Pilot Report: The CW's got Eco-friendly Arrow and Barbara Bradshaw!The Vampire Diaries' Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain will write and executive-produce.Teegarden is much better recognized for her role as Julie Taylor on Friday Evening Lights, but she also recently came out in Scream 4 and also on CSI.

Tuner 'Garage Band' will get reading through

DolenzProducer Ken Davenport has drawn together a business reading through of developing musical "Garage Band" having a cast which includes legit veterinarians in addition to former Monkees member Micky Dolenz.Janet Leavel ("The Drowsy Chaperone"), Alexander Gemignani ("Sweeney Todd," "Sunday around the block with George"), Andy Karl ("Legally Blonde," "jobInch) and Amy Spanger ("Elf") also are some of the thesps to look within the reading through.Story of "Garage Band" focuses on an out-of-work 40-year-old forced by his senior high school rival to sign up inside a fight-of-the-bands re-match. Mark Allen, composer of "Tinyard Hill" along with a co-author from the score to "Band Nerds," pens the background music, having a book through the Grundleshotz, an improv-based number of twelve collaborators including Sebastian Arcelus ("Elf") and Sarah Saltzman ("The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee").Davenport's resume includes the present Broadway revival of "Godspell" in addition to Off Broadway excursions "Altar Boyz," "My Very First TimeInch and "Miss Abigail's Help guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage."Reading through of "Garage Band" is placed for March 2. Future plans for that new tuner continue to be up in mid-air. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Keck's Exclusives: Mad Males Pranksters

Fact: The Walking Dead never shies from blood stream, guts and gore. Though Ron (Andrew Lincoln subsequently subsequently) & Co. found "safety" round the Greene Farm in Season 2, the threat of ramblers has ongoing to become. And whether it's a barn full of the undead or simply one hungry zombie from our pharmacy, each master ought to be quickly (and very) sent The Walking Dead Boss: Lori has become Lady MacBeth Watch the exclusive video below to uncover how a hit AMC series puts together its most nasty zombie kills, like the splitting from the overweight, soaking-wet master in 2 or creating the flesh-hungry hoard that descended upon Shane (Jon Bernthal) and Otis... Discover More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Andrew LincolnJon BernthalThe Walking Dead

Ana Ortiz To Steer The Cast Of Marc Cherrys ABC Pilot Devious Service personnel

EXCLUSIVE: Ana Ortiz has came back at ABC. The Ugly Betty alumna remains attracted onto go through the central character inside the ABC pilot Devious Service personnel, from Desperate Regular folks creator Marc Cherry. Using the Mexican format, the cleaning cleaning soap follows four service personnel with ambition and dreams that goes for them once they use the wealthy and famous in Beverly Slopes. Leading the quartet is Marisol (Ortiz), a college-educated lady which has a secret diary for locating behave as a domestic inside the trendy neighborhood. Her beloved boy has recently been billed of murder, and Marisol is placed on finding what she'll in regards to the situation. Ortiz joins recently cast Dania Ramirez. Ortiz, repped by Gersh, manager Geordie Frey and attorney Kaira Small, most recently came out in Martin Lawrences Large Mamma: Like Father Like Boy and did an arc on Cinemax’s Hung.

Joss Whedon talks The Cabin In The Woods

Total Film caught up with Joss Whedon recently to talk about The Cabin In The Woods, the genre-hacking, invention-spewing horror that he produced and co-wrote.Keen to get some insight into the thinking behind it, we asked Whedon about the inspiration behind Cabin."It's basically a very loving hate letter," he told us."On some level it was completely a lark, me and Drew [Goddard, director] trying to figure out what the most fun we could have would be. On another level it's a serious critique of what we love and what we don't about horror movies."On his own genre passion, he added, "I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification/identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they'll go somewhere dark and face something awful."And on the things he hates about lame horror, Whedon said: "The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had sung a little too far in that direction."The Cabin In The Woods opens on 13 April 2012. For much more on The Cabin In The Woods, get the new issue of Total Film magazine, which is out now!And, it's a special interactive issue this month, which means that you can get great extra content through the free Blippar app. Check out the mag for full details!Click here to subscribe to Total Film magazineClick here to get Total Film magazine on iPad and iPhone from Apple Newsstand

'Hobbit' Gains Its Final Cast Member: Billy Connolly

Better late than never! Despite the fact that Healing For Peter Jackson and also the relaxation from the cast of "The Hobbit" happen to be busy filming the approaching two films in Nz, there have been still apparently figures left to become cast. But no more. Deadline is confirming that Billy Connolly originates aboard to act as Dain Ironfoot. The dwarf warrior may be the second cousin of mind dwarf Thorin Oakenshield. Why Connolly could sign up so late in the overall game happens because the smoothness of Dain has only a little role in "The Hobbit," and likely is only going to come in the 2nd "Hobbit" film, "There and Again,Inch which arrives in 2013. Though Dain includes a bigger role within the "The almighty from the Rings" mythology, in "The Hobbit" he only seems after Thorin asks him to assist the dwarves on their own mission to reclaim Erebor. After he receives Thorin's request, Dain sets by helping cover their an military of countless hundred dwarves and arrives just over time to assist his second cousin within the Fight of 5 Armies, a celebration that happens in the finish of "There and Again.Inch To help keep this relatively spoiler free, let us just state that Dain steps right into a bigger role when the fight concludes. "We're able to not think about a far more fitting actor to experience Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and most difficult of Dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Large Yin themself," Jackson stated inside a statement to Deadline. "With Billy walking into this role, the cast of 'The Hobbit' has become complete. We cant wait to determine him around the Battleground!" Connolley joins a star-studded cast which includes Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner and James Nesbitt. "The Hobbit: An Unpredicted Journey" hits theaters on December 14, while "The Hobbit: There And AgainInch will premiere on December 13, 2013. Do you consider Connolly can make a great Dain Ironfoot? Inform us within the comments section below or on Twitter!

Current will get jolt of Reiner's 'Magic'

Nicolas Chartier's Current Pictures has locked a clutch of worldwide sales for Take advantage of Reiner's "The Miracle of Belle Isle."Pic, that was acquired now by Magnolia within the U.S., has offered to Germany (ARD), The country (DeaPlaneta), Canada (VVS Films), Hong Kong (Golden Scene), South America (Imagem) and Israel (Forum).The comedy has additionally offered towards the Middle East (Gulf), Scandinavia (Mislabel), Belgium (Monolith), Romania and Bulgaria (New Films), Benelux (Paradiso), Nigeria (Ster Kinekor), Taiwan (Studio Solutions Group) and India (Tanweer Group Dubai).Pic, which toplines Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen, is presently in publish production.The result is a formerly famous author who tries to recover the talent which had initially made him a large title in a tiny rural town. Along the way, he helps a youthful girl uncover her imagination helping her mother find love once more.Current may also be pushing sales on its slate, including Liam Hemsworth and Dwayne Manley starrer "Empire Condition" and Frederick Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut toplining Scarlett Johansson. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Ol Parker's 'Good' flies to key areas

PARIS -- TF1 Worldwide has closed key territory sales on Ol Parker's "Now's Good," an intimate drama toplining Dakota Fanning like a teen having a terminal illness who falls for each other. The British film, according to Jenny Downham's best-selling novel "Before I Die," also stars Jeremy Irvine, Paddy Considine and Olivia Williams.Pic, that is created by Peter Czernin and Graham Broadbent at Blueprint Pictures, was acquired by Universum for Germany, Vertigo for The country, U . s . Pictures for Columbia, M Pictures for Thailand and Bir Films for Poultry. Previous deals were inked with The new sony Pictures Worldwide Purchases for The United States and Warner Bros. for that U.K.. TF1 will screen "Good" the very first time to purchasers at Berlin's European Film Market. Within the increase to Berlin, TF1 Worldwide has additionally taken worldwide sales privileges to family comedy "Ducoboo 2 Crazy Vacation," animated feature "Aya Of Yop City," and action-adventure pic "Asphalt Playground.""Ducoboo 2" may be the follow up of "Ducoboo," a comicbook-based laffer, which made a proper 9.two million ($12 million) in Gaul. "Aya" is yet another auteur-driven animated set of features up at Joann Sfar's Autochenille Prods., the shingle behind Cesar-nommed "The Rabbi's Cat." Toon can also be with different comicbook. It activates a 19-year-old girl and her buddies living in a tiny African village. Both "Ducoboo 2" and "Aya" is going to be launched in France by UGC Distribution. "Ducoboo 2" will unveil in France on April 25. "Aya" is going to be shipped throughout the other half of the year.Julien Abrahams' feature debut, "Asphalt Playground" follows a gang of troubled kids residing in a French housing project who get involved inside a gang war. It's created by Paris-based outfit Ex-Nihilo and it is now in publish-production. At Berlin, TF1 Intl. will unveil promo reels of Australian surf drama "Drift" and Claude Miller's "Therese Desqueyroux," starring Audrey Tautou. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Shia LaBeouf falls back into 'Necessary Death'

LaBeouf Shia LaBeouf is breathing life back into "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," the actor's long-gestating passion project that briefly had Zac Efron attached to star back when the film was set up at Mandate Pictures.Voltage Prods. and Bona Fide Prods. are now starting pre-production on the film, which acclaimed commercials helmer Fredrik Bond is attached to direct from a Black List script by Matt Drake ("Project X").The gritty pulp romance will find LaBeouf playing the title character, a normal guy who falls for a woman who has been claimed by a violent crime boss. Scheduling issues have kept LaBeouf from the project, which the "Transformers" star initially joined back in April 2010. With LaBeouf's calendar clearing, the actor decided to follow through with his original plan to star.The "Little Miss Sunshine" duo of Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa will produce through their Bona Fide banner along with Bill Horberg ("The Kite Runner"), while Craig J. Flores ("300") will produce for Voltage, whose Nicolas Chartier ("The Hurt Locker") will exec produce. Bona Fide developed the script with Drake and attached Bond, while Voltage Pictures will handle foreign sales for the film, which is skedded to start production in early May in Eastern Europe. "After our fantastic experience collaborating with Shia on 'The Company You Keep,' I jumped at the idea of working with him again on 'Charlie Countryman,'" said Flores. "The spark in this amazing script, mixed with Shia's pure talent and Fredrik's masterful ability to create an elevated love story we just can't get enough of -- will redefine pulp romance."LaBeouf next stars in John Hillcoat's bootlegging drama "The Wettest County" and Robert Redford's political thriller "The Company You Keep," which was also produced by Voltage.CAA reps LaBeouf, Berger, Yerxa and Bond, who's also repped by Management 360 and attorney Warren Dern. LaBeouf is also repped by John Crosby Management and attorney Matt Saver, while attorney Linda Lichter reps Berger and Yerxa. Drake is repped by Original Artists and 3 Arts Entertainment. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Empire's Avengers Covers Assemble

Plus Hunger Games and Bourne Legacy!The brand new problem of Empire hits shelves now (Thursday The month of january 26, fact fans) and it is a doozy. We have switched all Nick Fury and put together The Avengers the same shape as four barnstorming super hero covers. Choose of Black Widow, Thor, Iron Guy and CaptainAmerica. Awesome, non?The finest gathering of superpower in movie history happens within the problem. This is an exclusive, access-all-areas set report in the Marvel blockbuster's Cleveland set. Empire swept up using the whole crew, in addition to a certain villain from the piece. "They know who he's now, and what his forces are," states Tom Hiddleston of Loki. "To ensure that The Avengers to get together, Loki needs to become more menacing, and every one of his malevolence is founded inside a completely delusional dream." Alongside the mighty Avengers, there is a second helping of Jeremy Renner - this time around changing bow for hand gun in Bourne Legacy - a global-exclusive set of The Hunger Games, and that we reunite the cast of yankee Cake for any must-see photoshoot. All of this movie miracle is onsale if this month's Empire hits newsstands on Thursday.

VIDEO: Hilarious! CoverGirls Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Vergara Play with Makeup

Sofia Vergara and Ellen DeGeneres CoverGirl spokeswomen Sofia Vergara and Ellen DeGeneres did a live version of their sassy new ads for the makeup brand on Ellen Monday. In the segment, DeGeneres acts as Vergara's hands, applying makeup according to a script that DeGeneres wrote for the Modern Family actress to read aloud. It's a lot funnier than it sounds - watch it!

Anthony Mackie talks Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Earlier in the week we brought you the latest poster for supernatural action flick Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and now Anthony Mackie has weighed in with a few more details about what we can expect from the film.Mackie plays William, Lincoln's childhood friend turned valet, who assists the President in his nighttime endeavours to slay the forces of evil."We did a ton of training," says Mackie. "I can honestly say that Timur [Bekmambetov] is amazing because he shot this film like it was a real biography of Abraham Lincoln, but the action sequences are unlike anything you've ever seen before. "He realized that this fabricated story is so far out there that he had to go all the way out to make it work. So he just went as far as he could with the CGI and that trademark Timur cranking of shots and the storytelling."And Mackie even goes as far as to compare the finished article to one of the seminal science-fiction movies of the '90s."I feel like the great thing about [my career] is being able to do a pleasant mixture," explained Mackie. "Just recently I was able to do a play, two independent films and one big crazy studio film. But Abraham Lincoln is like the Matrix of the next generation. It's going to do to film what The Matrix did to film."Quite the claim. You can see whether Mackie has been over-egging the pudding when the film arrives in the UK on 2 August 2012.

Fukushima disaster impacts Berlinale Forum

BERLIN -- The March 11 tsunami and subsequent nuclear catastrophe in Japan is the focus of three Japanese films screening in this year's Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival. The Forum sidebar showcases a cross section of arthouse, avant-garde and experimental cinema from around the world. Showing a strong impact by the Fukushima disaster, this year's lineup includes Fujiwara Toshi's "No Man's Zone," which takes viewers into the contaminated zone around the nuclear reactors, evoking images of an invisible apocalypse. Likewise, Funahashi Atsushi's "Nuclear Nation" presents a portrait of a mayor without a town who is desperately trying to keep together a community scattered across different emergency shelters, while in "Friends After 3.11," Iwai Shunji discusses the political, economic and social situation of a country in a state of dependence. American independent cinema also has a strong presence in this year's program. David Zellner's fairytale-like "Kid-Thing" explores the day-to-day life and fantasies of a neglected little girl, while Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's "Francine" follows a shy woman (played by Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo) recently released from jail. In So Yong Kim's "For Ellen," a neglectful rock-musician (played by Paul Dano) attempts to build a relationship with his young daughter. In Ann-Kristin Reyels' German entry "Formentera," a young couple on holiday is confronted with the flower-power ideals of their parents' generation, only to realize how much their own ideas about life diverge from one another. Another German pic set in Spain, Stefan Butzmuehlen and Cristina Diz's "Sleepless Knights," tells the story of gay love in the provinces. A total of 38 films will unspool in the main Forum program, including 26 world premieres and eight international premieres. The Berlinale runs Feb. 9-19. FORUM: MAIN PROGRAM "The Last Friday," Yahya Alabdallah (Jordan/UAE) "The Woman in the Septic Tank," Marlon N. Rivera (Philippines) "Avalon," Axel Petersen (Sweden) "Soldier/Citizen," Silvina Landsmann (Israel) "Bestiaire," Denis Cote (Canada/France) "Negotiating Love," Calle Overweg (Germany) "The Wait," Rodrigo Pla (Uruguay/Mexico/France) "Normal School," Celina Murga (Argentina) "Espoir voyage," Michel K. Zongo, France/Burkina Faso) "For Ellen," So Yong Kim (U.S.) "Formentera," Ann-Kristin Reyels (Germany) "Francine," Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky (U.S./Canada) "Friends After 3.11," Iwai Shunji (Japan) "Living/Building," Clemence Ancelin (France) "Hemel," Sacha Polak (Netherlands/Spain) "Winter Nomads," Manuel von Stuerler (Switzerland) "Jaures," Vincent Dieutre (France) "Choked," Kim Joong-hyun (South Korea) "Our Homeland," Yang Yonghi (Japan) "Kid-Thing," David Zellner (U.S.) "The End of Puberty," Kimura Shoko (Japan) "Condition," Thomas Heise (Germany) "No Man's Zone," Fujiwara Toshi (Japan/France) "Nuclear Nation," Funahashi Atsushi (Japan) "Parabeton -- Pier Luigi Nervi and Roman Concrete," Heinz Emigholz (Germany) "Modest Reception," Mani Haghighi (Iran) "A Night Too Young," Olmo Omerzu (Czech Republic/Slovenia) "Revision," Philip Scheffner (Germany) "Salsipuedes," Mariano Luque (Argentina) "Secret," Przemyslaw Wojcieszek (Poland) "Sleepless Knights," Stefan Butzmuehlen, Cristina Diz (Germany) "Golden Slumbers," Davy Chou (France/Cambodia) "Spain," Anja Salomonowitz (Austria) "Beyond the Hill," Emin Alper (Turkey/Greece) "Keep Me Upright," Zoe Chantre (France) "Everybody in Our Family," Radu Jude (Romania/Netherlands) "What Is Love," Ruth Mader (Austria) "Tomorrow," Andrey Gryazev (Russia) Contact Ed Meza at staff@variety.com

'Young Adult,' 'I, Anna' to unspool in Berlinale Special

BERLIN -- Jason Reitman's "Youthful Adult" and Barnaby Southcombe's "I, Anna" are some of the latest worldwide photos selected with this year's Berlin Film Festival. "Youthful Adult," with Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt, and "I, Anna," a noir thriller starring Charlotte now Rampling, Gabriel Byrne and Hayley Atwell that got a significant boost in the fest's Co-production Market this year, will screen included in the Berlinale Special sidebar. Also unspooling within the section is Doris Doerrie's "Bliss," an appreciation story with different short story by best-selling author and Berlin defense attorney Ferdinand von Schirach that follows a youthful prostitute and her punk boyfriend away from home. The Berlinale Special is featuring 18 features and documentaries, including U.S. records "Alongside,Inch by Chris Kenneally, and Alison Klayman's "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry." Also showing are Bassam Mortada's Egyptian doc "Confirming A Revolution" Nederlander helmer Klaartje Quirijns' "Anton Corbijn ThoroughlyInch and Alvaro Longoria's The spanish language doc "Sons from the Clouds, the final Colony." To celebrate the 60th anniversary of French film journal Positif, the Berlinale Special will even present Volker Schloendorff's 1975 drama "Coup p sophistication" and all sorts of 15 hourlong instances of Mark Cousins' documentary "The Storyline of Film: An Journey." The sidebar will even unspool Ulrike Schamoni's docu "Farewell towards the Frogs" in recognition from the 50th anniversary from the Oberhausen Manifesto that brought inside a new trend in German film. Additional screeners incorporate a restored version of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1943 British drama "The Existence and Dying of Colonel Blimp." Included in Berlinale Retrospective, the Berlinale Special will even unspool a recently restored version of Sergei Eisenstein's 1928 Soviet classic "October," supported through the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra carrying out the initial score by Edmund Meisel. The 2011 Retrospective, named The Red-colored Dream Factory, examines early Soviet socialist cinema. Meanwhile, the Berlinale's Co-production Market will showcase 39 projects including three in the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express initiative with Rotterdam's CineMart and 11 in the Berlinale's Talent Campus program. The producers and company directors from the projects, which range in budget between $1.25 million and $9 million, will come across with a few 450 potential co-production and financing partners. The Berlin Film Festival runs February. 9-19. Contact Erectile dysfunction Meza at staff@variety.com

Post house puts money where its work is

LipSync has equity in several films on which it has done post work, including 'The Deep Blue Sea.'London-based post-production house LipSync -- which for the past four years has been boarding independent films as an equity producer -- is ramping up its efforts to become one of the major players on the post scene.Since 2006, LipSync, headed by Peter Hampden and Norman Merry, has invested 9.2 million ($14.3 million) in 42 films, in which the company joins the production as an equity producer and, in exchange, gets work funneled through its post-production business.It has two services -- LipSync Creative, which invests in films, and LipSync Post.Recent pics boarded at the equity stage include Stephen Frears' "Lay the Favorite," Simon Curtis' "My Week With Marilyn," Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin," Steve McQueen's "Shame," Terence Davies' "The Deep Blue Sea" and an upcoming adaptation of "Great Expectations," helmed by Mike Newell.It's latest investment is Neil Jordan's vampire thriller "Byzantium" -- LipSync will also complete the post work for the pic, which is a co-production between Stephen Woolley's Number 9 Films and Parallel Films."We put cold, hard cash into films at the financial closing stage," says financial director Merry. "Other people may have different structures, but we physically put money in on day one, and then we get treated as a post house when production is shot and editing is done, and they come and buy services from us. We don't inflate or adjust prices. Whatever we agree (to) in a post-production deal here is totally separate from what we agree (to) as a cash investment from financial closing."For a company that started some 25 years ago making trailers and TV commercials (a part of the biz it is still involved in), its business certainly has come a long way.Within a market where prices are falling and volume is increasing, the company has seen its revenues by one third in the past 18 months, bringing in approximately $15.6 million over the past year ."It takes a while to lose the moniker of being the new kid on the block," says Hampden. "I think we've certainly lost it now."He says that the decision to invest in films came not just from a desire to generate business for their own company."We saw a gap in the market," Hampden adds. "And we wanted to help producers. Getting the money for any film deal can be difficult, especially getting that last bit of money; that can be the trickiest part."Merry and Hampden own the business and, as a result, can react quickly to a producer in need of an equity injection. There are no boards or committees to go through, and the fact that LipSync has reinvested its profits back into the company for the past four years coupled with its access to cash for loan purposes, makes it an appealing door for a producer to knock on.For instance, "Lay the Favorite," toplining Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones, hit various hurdles in piecing together its $12 million budget. When producer Paul Trijbits at Ruby Films approached LipSync, there was a week to arrange the financing to make sure it didn't collapse.Within a day, LipSync, which already had a good relationship with Ruby, put up $450,000 of equity into the pic.Number 9 Films' Stephen Woolley, who had already worked with LipSync on pics such as "Made in Dagenham" and "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People," approached the company after one of the elements of U.S. money fell out of upcoming adaptation "Great Expectations" during pre-production."We got involved with BBC and the British Film Institute and helped get the film over the finish line," says Merry. "Between us all, we structured the amounts of money invested and the way that money is recouped."Woolley came back to LipSync for "Byzantium," which is shooting in Ireland and stars Gemma Arterton and Jonny Lee Miller. Post is scheduled to start in June; Studio Canal will release the film this year in the U.K. with West End selling world rights.But it's not just at the critical last minute moments that LipSync boards its projects. For instance producer Iain Canning brought "Shame" to the company at the early stages.Hampden adds that investing in pics has, as a result, caused them to forge closer bonds with producers throughout the years, facilitating future business.And while the two work mainly in indie circles, they still have relationships with the Hollywood majors, making foreign-language trailers and re-versions of features tailored for overseas markets.The company plans to build up its vfx business -- it has worked on pics like "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" and Madonna's "W.E." -- and plans to continue to take advantage of structured finance options, which Merry says are beneficial to producers because the costs are less aggressive."We can help maximize, and we're happy to take a small piece of the bigger pie," he says. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

PGA Awards Contains Few Surprises

PGA Awards Contains Few Surprises By Jenelle Riley January 3, 2012 Photo by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures "War Horse" The Producers Guild of America Award nominations came out today, and the list is looking pretty much as expected. Often considered the precursor to who will win the Best Picture Oscar, the PGA Awards chose "The King's Speech" last year over "The Social Network" when most people thought the latter film was a shoo-in. This year all the front-runners made the list, from "The Artist" to "The Descendants" to "Hugo" to "War Horse" and "Moneyball." Continuing to prove itself more than a spring blockbuster, "Bridesmaids" also made the list. Perhaps more of a surprise was the inclusion of "The Ides of March," which has been feeling like an almost-ran as of late. Other nominees include "The Help," "Midnight In Paris," and--sort of surprising considering the mixed reviews--"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." READ THE FULL LIST OF NOMINEES ON BEHIND THE SCENES PGA Awards Contains Few Surprises By Jenelle Riley January 3, 2012 "War Horse" PHOTO CREDIT Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The Producers Guild of America Award nominations came out today, and the list is looking pretty much as expected. Often considered the precursor to who will win the Best Picture Oscar, the PGA Awards chose "The King's Speech" last year over "The Social Network" when most people thought the latter film was a shoo-in. This year all the front-runners made the list, from "The Artist" to "The Descendants" to "Hugo" to "War Horse" and "Moneyball." Continuing to prove itself more than a spring blockbuster, "Bridesmaids" also made the list. Perhaps more of a surprise was the inclusion of "The Ides of March," which has been feeling like an almost-ran as of late. Other nominees include "The Help," "Midnight In Paris," and--sort of surprising considering the mixed reviews--"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."READ THE FULL LIST OF NOMINEES ON BEHIND THE SCENES

Spoleto sets Egoyan opera

'The Agony as well as the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs' A Chinese opera helmed by Atom Egoyan additionally to stints from Off Broadway alums including Mike Daisey and troupe 7 Doigts are the options on tap within the 2012 Spoleto Festival USA.Also round the docket for your 36th annual undertaking arts fest -- created by Nigel Redden, who also handles NY's Lincoln subsequently subsequently Center Festival -- certainly are a staging of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" from Dublin's Gate Theater additionally to "The Animals and youngsters Needed for the Streets," a multidisciplinary show from U.K. troupe 1927.Egoyan helms composer Guo Wenjing's "Feng Yi Teng," of a meeting that changes Chinese history, getting a design team including Broadway vet Derek McLane ("Bengal Tiger within the Baghdad Zoo"). Just like a co-output of Spoleto as well as the Lincoln subsequently subsequently Center Fest, "Feng Yi Teng" looks poised to to research the 2012 slate within the Gotham arts festival too.Daisey works his monologue "The Agony as well as the Ecstasy of Jobs,Inch which shown popular enough at Off Broadway's Public Theater this year's season to warrant an approaching return run, additionally to some piece referred to as "Teching in India." Canuck company 7 Doigts will stage acrobatics showcase "Traces," also current playing Off Broadway in the extended-term run.Among the other productions round the Spoleto slate are another monologue, "Creating the realityInch from journo Jack Hitt, additionally to bop activities from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Cedar plank plank Lake Contemporary Ballet. Selection includes the U.S. preem of Philip Glass opera "Kepler."The 2012 edition of Spoleto Festival USA runs May 25-June 10 in Charleston, S.C. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com