The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence): Film Review

NEW YORK - As the writer/director of one of the sickest horror films ever given a mainstream release, Tom Six is in the unenviable position of having to top himself with its sequel. He manages to do so -- at least in terms of violence, gore and body count -- but whatever gothic originality the first Human Centipede possessed is altogether lacking in this sorry follow-up.our editor recommends'The Human Centipede 2': What the Critics Are SayingFull Trailer For 'Human Centipede 2' Slithers Online (Video) Much like Wes Craven eventually did in his Nightmare on Elm Street series, Six has gone all meta-theatrical here, positing that the original was, you know, just a movie, and what you're witnessing now is the real thing. The nefarious main character is Martin (Laurence R. Harvey), a grossly corpulent, asthmatic Brit who lives with his dotty mother (Vivien Bridson) and works as a security guard at an underground security garage. It turns out that Martin's favorite movie is The Human Centipede, which he watches over and over on a tiny television. Despite the lame efforts of his ineffectual therapist (Bill Hutchens), it's clear that Martin is going to go postal. After dispatching his mother by bashing in her skull and propping her up for an intimate meal at the dinner table - Norman Bates, eat your heart out - he goes on a murderous rampage, dispatching his victims in rather unimaginative fashion with guns, knives and blunt objects. His main goal is to outdo the mad scientist who created the infamous titular creation of the first film. To that end, he hogties a dozen victims in an abandoned warehouse. But lacking his inspiration's surgical skills, he resorts to a rather low-tech approach -- binding his victims mouth to anus -- that's none-the-less disgusting. In a wan attempt at cleverness, one of the unfortunates is Ashlynn Yennie, the actress who played the rear end of the human centipede in the first film. Picked up at the airport by Martin under the guise of an audition with Quentin Tarantino, she informs him, in typical actor-speak: "I was drawn to the film because of the medical aspect." In addition to referencing himself with copious clips from his earlier effort, Six provides plenty of stomach-churning sequences, such as Martin knocking out someone's teeth one by one with a hammer and another which should dissuade anyone watching from contemplating natural childbirth. Unlike the original, which was in bright color, the sequel is shot in such dark black-and-white that some of the images are barely discernible. Alas, most of them are. Opens Oct. 7 (IFC Midnight) Production company: Six Entertainment. Cast: Ashlynn Yennie, Laurence R. Harvey, Vivien Bridson, Bill Hitchens. Director/screenplay: Tom Six. Producers: Ilona Six, Tom Six. Executive producer: Ilona Six. Director of photography: David Meadows. Production designer: Thomas Stefan. Costume designer: Harried Thompson. Music: James Edward Barker. Editor: Nigel De Hond. No rating, 88 minutes. The Human Centipede 2

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Alexia Fast joins Cruise One Shot

Actress Alexia Fast has grew to become an associate from the cast of novel-switched-film One Shot.The Christopher McQuarrie celebs Tom Cruise as former military policeman Jack Reacher, considering a sniper billed with killing five people.The Hollywood Reporter stays consistent with its title by revealing that Fast may have "Sandy, an attractive youthful siren associated with something of Cruise's character."Fast's first project was writing, pointing and starring inside the online video The Red-colored-colored Bridge.A commercial adopted before she was cast as Cindy Bottoms inside the zombie drama Fido starring Barbara-Anne Moss and Billy Connolly.She's since came out inside the movies Kickin' It Old Skool (2007), Helen (2009) and Triple Dog (2010), together with the Hallmark Wizard Of Oz small-series Container Guy.One Shot also stars Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins and David Oyelowo and chances are it will begin shooting in Pittsburgh in October 2011.

The Cat Vanishes (El gato desaparece)

A Bavaria Film Intl. presentation of a Guacamole Films, Patagonik production, with support of Incaa. (International sales: Bavaria Film Intl., Geiselgasteig, Germany.) Produced by Patricia Bustamante, Juan Pablo Galli, Juan Vera, Alejandro Cacetta. Directed, written by Carlos Sorin.With: Luis Luque, Beatriz Spelzini, Maria Abadi, Norma Argentina, Damian Guitan, Javier Niklison, Hugo Sigman.Playing with '40s-era Hitchcock as a cat would toy with a mouse, Argentine writer-director Carlos Sorin's "The Cat Vanishes" cleverly updates the likes of "Spellbound" and "Suspicion" with its slow-burning tale of a Buenos Aires woman (Beatriz Spelzini) whose fear of her psychologically recovering hubby (Luis Luque) gradually drives her as crazy as he was -- and maybe still is. Subtly and acerbically funny, Sorin's pic also works as a dead-serious study of marital mistrust and potentially murderous impulses. This "Cat" might not have nine lives at the international B.O., but fests far and wide will undoubtedly want to pounce. Stylishly shot in widescreen, the film is named for the sudden disappearance of Donatello, the married couple's pitch-black feline, who hisses at the husband and scratches his face before departing for places unknown. Seems Donatello may be the cat who knew too much, at least about Luis (Luque), a middle-aged university prof newly sprung from psychiatric lockup after having brutally assaulted a colleague whom he had believed to have stolen his research. Suspicion evidently runs in the family. Initially thrilled about Luis' return home, his wife, Beatriz (Spelzini), develops a sneaking sense that Luis' previously diagnosed "psychomotor agitation with behavioral disorder" may not have been cured. Give or take the vanishing cat, Sorin ("The Window") rather brilliantly renders the sources of Beatriz's mounting anxiety as falling somewhere between legitimately frightening and absurdly misconstrued. The pic twists its familiar setup by calling the wife's sanity into question as much as the husband's, even as it characterizes the threat of male violence as a pervasive fact of life for a woman. Will Beatriz ever be able to trust or forgive her husband again? And if she can't, will Luis explode? En route to a satisfying climax, Sorin has infectious fun teasing the viewer with the possibility of Luis' malevolence, beginning with the very first shot of him as he's released from the psycho ward looking roughed-up and surly. If curiosity didn't kill the cat, Luis -- an amateur chef who seems to relish the act of severing fish heads with oversized knives -- might well have done the deed himself. Tech credits are topnotch, with Julian Apezteguia's increasingly shadowy widescreen cinematography a particular standout. Nicolas Sorin's old-fashioned, string-based score plays up the pic's enjoyably melodramatic elements, which include the director's pre-film warning not to give away the ending.Camera (color, widescreen), Julian Apezteguia; editor, Mohamed Rajid; music, Nicolas Sorin; art director, Margarita Jusid; costume designer, Ruth Fischerman; sound (Dolby Digital), Jose Luis Diaz; assistant director, Fabiana Tiscornia. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (City to City), Sept. 9, 2011. Running time: 89 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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When Promotional Artwork Is Better Than a Movie: Justice Edition

Nicolas Cage in a glittery face mask. January Jones inexplicably playing bass guitar. Jones being held hostage at gunpoint. Cage getting handcuffed. Jones and Cage raging at Mardi Gras. Separately, all of these images could be part of an entertaining movie. Unfortunately, when strung together though, they give us the curious marketing for Roger Donaldson’s long-delayed thriller Justice. Formerly titled The Hungry Rabbit Jumps (your guess is as good as mine), the Tobey Maguire-produced picture features Cage as a husband who enlists a vigilante group to help him “settle the score” after his musician wife (Jones) is assaulted. Guy Pearce co-stars as a mysterious stranger who approaches Cage about revenge. As the revenge plan unfolds though, Cage undoubtedly learns that justice (the moral quality and not the most generic movie title ever) comes at a price. First, the lackluster trailer. Now, if you had only seen the following images, you might be interested in seeing what the movie entails, right? Justice will premiere in the UK on Nov. 18 but still has not locked a U.S. distributor or release. [via The Playlist]

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'Wilderness' to Animal Planet

The Vikings are visiting pillage Animal Planet: Discovery Communications' fauna-centric cabler has purchased a four-part small known as "Viking Backwoods" which will explore the Arctic parts of Europe, including footage of volcanic fires and duels between musk oxen. Show is created by Carl Hall and Amanda Theunissen for Parthenon Entertainment Mick Kaczorowski produces for that network. Each HD seg will run an hour or so the series is placed to premiere on Tuesday, March. 4, at 9 p.m. Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

CBS grabs 'Greatness' laffer

Greatness now has a home. CBS has nabbed the ensemble comedy "On the Verge of Greatness" from scribe Tom Gormican and 20th Century Fox TV and 3 Arts. The single-camera project revolves around a group of twentysomething friends. Gormican is writing and will exec produce with Jake Kasdan, who is attached to direct should the project go to pilot. Howard Klein and Oly Obst of 3 Arts are also exec producing. Gormican's pitch piqued the interest of CBS, NBC and ABC. The Eye ponied up a script commitment with a penalty to seal the deal. Gormican has come on strong in his first major stab at TV development. He's also fielding a handful of feature scripts and is a co-producer on Relativity's upcoming Farrelly brothers feature set to bow in April. He's repped by WME and 3 Arts. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

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Rooney Mara Takes Out a Chunk of Daniel Craig's Face in 'Dragon Tattoo' Secret Poster

In 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,' the story's two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, work together to solve a cold case. Now, the duo's unique relationship is on display in this unofficial movie poster for the upcoming David Fincher-directed flick. Not nearly as risque as the official one -- which saw Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) grabbing a topless Salander (Rooney Mara) -- this new image features Mara's silhouette carved into Craig's face. The poster comes courtesy of the cryptic Mouth Taped Shut blog, which may or may not be (but probably is) related to the actual movie. After all, the site has a trove of behind-the-scenes 'Dragon Tattoo' photos and also tipped people off about the eight-minute sizzle reel from the movie, which was shown during advance screenings of 'Straw Dogs' last week. [via Mouth Taped Shut]

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EMMYS: Producers Under Pressure To Cut Charlie Sheen From Broadcast

Charlie Sheen To Make Surprise Appearance On Sunday EXCLUSIVE: I hear that there has been some pressure put on the TV Academy and the producers of tonight’s Primetime Emmy Awards telecast not to have former Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen as a presenter. Here is what I’ve learned has happened: Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre, who was the subject of many of Sheen’s public insults last spring and is currently being sued by the actor over his termination from the show, confronted TV Academy chairman John Shaffner, who is the production designer of two of Lorre’s comedy series, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. I hear that Lorre demanded that Sheen’s planned appearance be cut from the broadcast. Meanwhile, Warner Bros Television Group president Bruce Rosenblum — who oversees the studio producing Men, Warner Bros TV, which also is being sued by Sheen — made a call to Fox chairman Peter Rice asking whether it would be possible for Sheen to be dropped. After Rice couldn’t commit to doing so, Rosenblum asked him to at least not give Sheen an open mike that the actor may use to embarrass Lorre or the other Emmy nominees from his shows, all produced by WBTV. Making things even more sensitive is the fact that I’ve learned Sheen has been eyed to present the Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series category, which features two nominees from a Lorre series, Big Bang‘s Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki. Ironically, this is the category Sheen was eligible for but opted not to submit himself this year. As of now, I hear that the Emmy producers are sticking to their plan to go with the Sheen appearance, but the final decision may come down to the last minutes before showtime. He may not be in the clip packages included in the broadcast, though, as I hear that at the last minute WBTV asked that Sheen be cut from any Men footage used on the show. Lorre is slated to attend the Emmys as he is nominated for Big Bang, which is in the running for best comedy series.

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ABC Family Renews Ensure It Is Or Break It Orders More Lounging Game Cancels Georgia

Ensure It Is Or Break It ABC Family has restored Ensure It Is Or Break It and given a 12-episode back-order for the Lounging Game, the network introduced Friday. Furthermore, the network has acquired four new aircraft aircraft pilots.However, Condition of Georgia joins The Nine Lives of Chloe King inside the canceled pile, Deadline reviews. Ensure It Is Or Break It wrapped its second season in May, because the Lounging Game is in the heart of its 10-episode first season.Fall TV: Have the lowdown relating to this season's must-see new shows"ABC Family extended its schedule to supply three nights of original programming this summer season, which we had our best on record, the one that gave us our personal 'triple-threat' - Switched at Birth, The Important Thing Existence in the American Teen and Pretty Little Liars," ABC Family Leader Michael Riley mentioned in the statement. "Joining the dpi of series will probably be another season of Ensure It Is or Break It, just with time to ignite Olympic fever, together with a back-order in the Lounging Game. Our momentum grows, and i'm thrilled with the potency of our schedule having a great combination of returning faves, breakout series and what will definitely be new hits."The completely new aircraft aircraft pilots include two dramas and a pair of comedies. Bunheads, a drama from Gilmore Women creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, is about a Las vegas showgirl who marries a man impulsively and moves to his small town to make use of her mother-in-law at her dance school."I spent 2 decades of my existence with my hair in the bun. I used to be stated to become a dancer," Sherman-Palladino mentioned. "My mother will be a dancer. Her finest heartbreak was once i got on 'Roseanne'. So, while scripting this will not ever equal playing 'Rumpelteazer' in the bus and truck tour of Cats, it'll let me to tip my hat with a really special in time my existence."ABC Family kills Nine Lives of Chloe KingIntercept is certainly an action-thriller about several college students who get roped into fixing crimes when one of these simple creates a tool that intercepts conversations with the West Coast.Baby Father, from executive producer Serta Berendsen in the just-canceled The Nine Lives of Chloe King, can be a half-hour comedy follows Ben, a twentysomething who's thrown into fatherhood when his ex leaves their daughter on his doorstep. Village People can be a comedy of a single, career lady who retreats into a baby in the teen mother and finally eventually ends up being careful of all of them. Are you currently presently sad to find out Condition of Georgia and Chole King disappear?

New York Acting Teachers on Their Influences and Mentors

Here we are in the second decade of the new millenniumone or two generations removed from the seminal American acting teachers of the previous century. Those icons, mostly Group Theatre alumni, carried the teachings of Stanislavsky into the modern era: Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Bobby Lewis, Harold Clurman, and the likea handful of dynamic personalities who shaped acting techniques and approaches to teaching that are still in use.Some of the most important acting teachers in NY today were trained by that first generation; others learned from their protgs. Back Stage spoke with seven of these acting gurus about the 21st-century challenges of actor training in an ever-changing field. They represent a sample of the many prominent teachers in the areaabout 250 acting teachers, studios, and coaches in all. We decided to focus mainly on individual teachers with studios rather than on larger acting schools. See Our Comprehensive List of NY Acting Schools and Coaches William Esper: Simplicity and Imagination "It's a different world," says William Esper, who is, among those interviewed, the closest link to that first generation. For the earlier teachers, "the pressures and sensibilities were different."Esper began his acting training with Meisner in 1962 and continued to work closely with him, as director and teacher, for the next 15 years. He established the William Esper Studio in 1965 while continuing to teach at NY's Neighborhood Playhouse, then went on to found the MFA and BFA actor training programs at Rutgers University in 1977, leading that department until 2004. He currently teaches both beginning and advanced students at his studio, which has seven other acting faculty members, including his wife. Esper is also the co-author of "The Actor's Art and Craft" with Damon DiMarco."The actor today has to be able to come up with wonderful results in a brief space of time," Esper says, referring to today's truncated rehearsal periods for the stage, and virtually no rehearsal at all for film and TV. "One of the reasons I've stayed with Meisner's work," he adds, "is the improvisation," a necessary skill for contemporary actors. His own son and daughter act in theater, film, and TV.For Esper, the essence of Meisner's teaching is simplicity. Meisner taught him that for something to be truly profound, it must be very simple"so look for the simple, direct way of achieving something." And ultimately, he says, it's all about the imagination, and the teacher must have imagination and a poetic sensibility in order to instill those essential qualities in the student.Esper often asks prospective students why they want to act. "If they come up with some intelligent answer," he says, "I know they're not actors. If they choke up and can't speak and can't say why, I know this is an actor."Maggie Flanigan: Always Starting Over One of Esper's protgs, Maggie Flanigan worked with her mentor for almost 20 years, training as an actor and teacher and serving on the faculty of Rutgers' professional actor training program for 18 years.Eventually she left to establish a smaller studio of her own. At the Maggie Flanigan Studio, students enroll in a two-year Meisner-based conservatory program: exercises the first year, character work the second. Flanigan herself teaches the more experienced actors. Classes include movement, voice and speech, audition technique, and acting for the camera.Now with 30 years of teaching under her belt, Flanigan says Esper taught her how to "take in" as a teacherto absorb what's going on with each student and address each one's specific needs. She worked as an actor for a while but loves teaching. "I felt I'd have something to say as a teacher bringing this work to the next generation," she says. "I wanted to carry over what was given to me, and the way it was given to me. I've always been passionate about acting, about truth in the art, about script interpretation and finding the character in the textreally serving the textusing one's imagination to bring yourself to the part. "As you work on something and solve it," she continues, "then another problem presents itself. You solve that and another presents itself. You live your life like thatsolving problems. That's what it means to be creative. You're always starting over."Terry Schreiber: Your Own Instrument Four years after Esper founded his studio, Terry Schreiber opened the T. Schreiber Studio, which now offers a variety of classes and a three-play season. He studied acting with Michael Howard (who still teaches today, although minimally, about a block away from Schreiber's studio in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood) and Hagen, and he learned about directing in Clurman's classes.Schreiber, who also directs, says Howarda tough teacher who combined the methods of Strasberg and Meisneropened up the whole world for him. Although Schreiber had been acting in summer stock, he took Howard's advice and studied with him steadily for two years before getting an Actors' Equity card."When I first became an actor, it was to escape me and be someone else," he recalls. "I found in working with Michael, if you want to be a really good actor, you have to go deeper into yourself than you've ever gone. You are your own instrumentyou've got to dig deep into yourself to find these characters."For Schreiber, relaxation is paramount. "Tension blocks feelings," he says. His classes (he himself teaches only advanced students) include relaxation exercises. But he differentiates between nervousness and tension. "If you're not nervous, you don't have the passion for acting," he declares, adding that "relaxation is the only way into in-depth imagination."Over the years, Schreiber has brought in teachers for speech and movement. "I've become more speech- and vocal productionconscious, movement- and body-conscious," he explains. "It's not about being all emotional anymore. The emotional response is the resultand I'm more word-conscious. I frequently say, 'What? What point are you making? What are you saying?' " The be-all and end-all, though, is objectives, Schreiber says. Without them, the scene is general.He says the teachers on his staffunlike some teachers he has previously worked withdo not attack students. Nor do they sugarcoat. "We're not looking for a performance or a definitive interpretation of a scene, but how to break down a script," he explains. "Judgment stays outside the door. No screaming or yelling."Ron Van Lieu: A Variety of Influences When Esper was establishing his studio in 1965, Ron Van Lieu was a high school English teacher studying acting at NYU under Olympia Dukakis (who still teaches off and on amidst acting gigs) and others. Dukakis asked him to substitute-teach one of her classes one day, and Van Lieu stayed at NYU for 29 years, founding and heading a developmental workshop for graduates of the school's graduate acting program. Now he is chair of the acting department at the Yale School of Drama and also teaches at the Actors Center in NY.The late Lloyd Richards, dean of the Yale School of Drama for 12 years, was also one of Van Lieu's primary influences, along with '60s experimentalist Joseph Chaikin. "I draw freely upon the very strong teachers I had," Van Lieu says, "each of whom had strength in particular elements of the work."Sometimes when teaching he can feel himself channeling his mentors. "With Olympia, it's when I'm trying to get somebody to be honest and revelatorythat's what she was about," he says. "With Lloyd, it was all about analysis of character, what questions you're asking yourself. Peter Kass"Dukakis' mentor and a Group Theatre alumnus"was a madman, and I mean that as a compliment. He was obsessed and driven about the concept of pursuit of an objective. From those three, I understand what personalization is, what actions and objectives are, what character creation is. I sort of put those three together and I have a pretty sound way of helping actors in those areas."Acting," Van Lieu continues, "is primarily about the body of the actor. When I was a student, that was the most difficult area for me to yield to. Trying to help an actor to free the body and imagination simultaneously became a very personal kind of quest for me." To help actors develop a clear mind-body relationship, to teach them to think of the body as an expressive instrument and to bring playfulness and spontaneity to the workthose are his lifelong goals.In class, Van Lieu is likely to be heard saying, "Breathe and believe," "I don't believe you want anything!" and "Think like a person, not an actor!" The actor's responsibility is to illuminate the human condition, he explains, so you have to think like a human being.Bob Krakower: Talk Like a Person Like Van Lieu, Bob Krakower tends to say to students, "Don't talk to me like an actor; talk to me like a person." He shies away from acting jargon, even terms such as "objective" and "action." He recently asked an actor what he was doing in a scene. The actor said he was "yearning." "I said to him, 'Do you really talk like that?' 'No.' 'Okay, let's try it again.' 'I come into her apartment and I ask for a beer and I hope she's going to give it to me.' "Okay!' "When Krakower went to William Ball's American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco at age 22, he knew even then that he wanted to teach, and now, more than a quarter-century later, he says he's never had a bad day at it: "I figured out pretty early that everybody's different and no one system works for everybody."Since his ACT days, when the late Allen Fletcher was his mentor, Krakower taught at the Actors Theatre of Louisville under Jon Jory and established film classes there. He has also taught in NY at the Atlantic Acting School, NYU, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, the Actors Center (as a founding faculty member), and elsewhere, and has written plays, worked as a casting director, and coached on films and TV shows."Trying to help people actually work as opposed to simply act well became interesting to me," Krakower says. At his studio, he teaches scene study geared mostly toward film and TV. Stage acting and on-camera acting share a lot of elements, he points out, but they require two very different skill sets.Over the years, his approach to teaching has become more focused on the script. Even in situations that call for improvisation, if you don't understand the script, you'll be lost when improvising, Krakower warns. He finds the built-in paradox of acting to be eternally intriguing and mystifying: "You have to express the importance of life, and on the other hand you're just goofing around." He tells his students, "Learn to live with the paradox that storytellers are vital to societybut it's only a play!" Caymichael Patten: Whatever Works Just as in directing, men dominate the field of actor training, but Caymichael Patten has been doing both in NY, as well as adapting plays, for 25 years. She was also a founding member of the theater company the Women's Project. She studied with legendary teacher Wynn Handman, artistic director of the American Place Theatre, before opening the Caymichael Patten Studio in 1988."Wynn bridged the Meisner work with some real work on text that shaped a lot of my thinking," Patten says. "I concentrate on the use of the selfalmost finding a biological set of principles to guide you in your work. It's pretty individually worked out. I'm a 'whatever works' person. I think I've stolen from all the good teachers!"In addition to Handman, Patten studied a little with Clurman and Meisner, and she sat in on some of Adler's classes, all of which gave her an appreciation of how different teachers work. She was especially inspired by the stories Clurman toldin a class that began at 11:30 p.m.of his life in the theater.Patten's background in casting helps her, but most important, she understands that today's actors, faced with minimal rehearsal, have to learn to work on their own and know how to use themselves and their time effectively. And as more of her students are doing film work in front of a green screen, classroom sensory work has taken on a new significance.Patten teaches the advanced students. "I take them further along" in the craft, she says. "That's where I'm most comfortable and have the most to offer."Larry Moss: The Scene Is The Thing "One of the things I find lacking in a lot of actors today is physical choices, specific expressions of their body in relationship to how [their characters] live day to day," says Larry Moss, who now teaches four-day, 10-to-12-hour-a-day workshops in NY (and elsewhere) twice yearly. Previously he taught full time for 30 years, at the Juilliard School and Circle in the Square, among other places, as well as acting and directing. He continues to coach for films and direct. His 2004 book "The Intent to Live," which he says took three years of agony to write, still garners grateful emails from actors worldwide.Moss learned about being in the moment from Meisner, his first teacher, and about understanding the background of the play and the character from Adler. "I don't like personality acting," he says. "We don't think about the specificity"race, nationality, educational level, socioeconomic class, era"because we are taught everything is us. If you saw Tartuffe discuss religion with Martin Luther, or Martin Luther King talk to Lorraine Hansberry about race, you'd understand what character is."In his workshops, students come in fully prepared for scene work. "I don't believe in just acting exercises," Moss says. "Sensory work, animal exercises, private momentsall are wonderful and essential, but without seeing the work added to them, it brings actors down to a common level because they're not working on great literature."He examines his students' headshots and rsums and picks material for them from among the best plays past and present. Works by Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Shakespeare, and Nol Coward never die, he says. Al Pacino needs to do "The Merchant of Venice," Moss feels; Philip Seymour Hoffman needs to do "Death of a Salesman.""Having success in my field doesn't make me special," Moss says. "I'm just lucky to be in that world. I've given my life to it. It's about the writer and the actors who have enough discipline and desire to give something"to teach us, he says, who we are, and the price of being the worst of what we are."I'll probably die teaching," he continues. "It's the happiest and most fulfilling and joyful thing that I do." Of himself, Schreiber, Esper, and a few others, Moss adds, "We're the guys that have lasted and handed down what we learned from Strasberg and Meisner and Adler. We were lucky enough to be asked to pass it on."

Tom Hardy's Bane will have a voice box in The Dark Knight Rises

Tom Hardy's Bane will sound scarier than Scream's Ghostface killer if the latest Dark Knight Rises set reports are to be believed.The actor is apparently using a voice box to control the pitch and tone of Bane's villainous vocals.Despite the original rumour source being The Sun - the hallowed tome that once reported Eddie Murphy playing the Riddler in Batman 3 as fact - this one seems fairly realistic.Bane's voice needs to be intimidating, to match Bale's intense delivery of Batman's lines, as the characters are supposed to be equals in the terror stakes.So we're going to chalk this one down as a very realistic rumour.After all, ifChristian Bale and Tom Hardy are both doing gravelly voices using only their vocal chords, the production crew would have to double the throat-sweet budget.That could run to billions.But let's face it, even if they both sounded like Alvin from Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Threequel, we'd still be at the front of the queue when The Dark Knight Rises is released on 20 July, as we're pretty sure it's going to be the most awesome thing ever.

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Study: Fast-Paced Cartoons Harmful To Children Brains Sorry SpongeBob

Research launched today inside the medical journal Child medicine has found the final outcome that preschool-aged children who watch fast-paced TV cartoons completed substantially worse on executive function (like self-regulation, working memory and attention span) than children who seen an academic cartoon or came for a similar period of time. Researchers used a 9-minute snippet from the chapter of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants for your fast-paced area of the lab study — versus. a PBS series and drawing with crayons – through which 60 4-year-olds were examined after which it examined. Initially, it seems they may have saved some money lab costs for your one, since it’s less than breaking news that busy, fast-cut programming with noisy noises and fantastical images can alter kids’ brains to mush. Still, there is little data come up with about the subject, as well as the researchers found the final outcome: “This result's consistent with others showing extended-term negative associations between entertainment television and attention. Due to very good of some fast-paced television cartoons among youthful children, it's important that parents understand the potential of 'abnormal' levels of [executive function] in youthful children no less than right after watching such shows.”

Toronto: Myriad Takes On Knife Fight

Sunday, September 11, 2011, Toronto.. Myriad Pictures will handle sales outside North America for Academy Award-winner Bill Guttentags political drama Knife Fight, starring Rob Lowe (The West Wing, Parks & Recreation, Breakaway), Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Horrible Bosses, Boston Legal), Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch, The Hangover, Part II), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix trilogy, Disturbia, Chocolat), Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, Textuality, The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Richard Schiff (The West Wing, Solitary Man, The Lost World: Jurassic Park). The screenplay was written by Guttentag and prominent political consultant Chris Lehane who as a White House advisor to President Bill Clinton earned the reputation as Master of Disaster and later served as Al Gore’s Press Secretary. This is Lehanes first feature film script. The film follows three political candidates running for public office. Rob Lowe plays a hard-ball political crisis manager in the middle of the dirty campaigns whose clients are hip-deep in scandals involving drugs, sex, money and lies. Chung plays his smart administrative aid, and Bowen plays a hot shot reporter who sleeps her way to major news stories. The film is produced by Guerrino De Luca of delucafilms, and Daniel Dvila and Catherine Dvila of Davisidero Pictures (Splinters, Harrison Montgomery). The film completed principal photography earlier this year in San Francisco. Myriad Director of Development Ari Haas brought the project to Myriad. Haas and Catherine Davila attended graduate school at USC together. Myriad Pictures CEO Kirk DAmico shared his enthusiasm for the project. ”Knife Fight is a compelling satirical comedy which comes at the perfect time as we embark on an election year. Chris’ script is especially non-partisan in that it skewers politicians on both sides of the aisle. We are so pleased to be working on this film with the producers Guerrino De Luca, Daniel Davila and Catherine Davila and with Bill Guttentag as such a talented director and this extraordinary cast.” Director Guttentag, commented on the timeliness of the story. The film tells how modern political races are a blood sport where the campaign that wins is almost invariably the campaign that does the best job of mastering the dark arts of politics - and in the end, all hotly contested races for political office become a knife fight in a telephone booth. All of us on Knife Fight are thrilled to be working with Myriad on this project as the election season heats up. Lehane added There is keen interest around the world in American politics, and Knife Fight takes you into the back room to see what our political leaders are really made of and to explore a central tension in modern day U.S. politics: that the people who lead us are individuals with both extraordinary talents and extraordinary flaws that often lead them to the breaking of their promises. Myriad plans to create a trailer for the American Film Market in November. The film will be ready to screen for the early 2012 festival season.

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Participant Media Can Boast Contagion #1 & The Assistance #2 Warrior #3 In Less Runs Bucky Dent Tanks, Kevin Hart Makes its way into #10

FRIDAY PM/SATURDAY AM: This really is shaping as 2011′slousiest box office weekend in The United States with only $70M total grosses. Yes, a whole lot worse thanHurricane Irene’s. Lots of surprises in Friday’s amounts. But no real surprise which new United States movie isn't any. 1: 1.With $8M Friday as well as an believed $22+M weekend, Warner Bros’ Contagion is playing in 42% more theaters — 3,222 — than its nearest newcomer.This Participant Media-backed disease movie appeared as if yet anotheryikes-you’re-all-going-to-die formula pic. However I’m surprised it didn’t generate more appeal what withOscar-winning Steven Soderbergh pointing 6Academy Awardwinners or nominees: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow,Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne.That added oomph tocredited script author Scott Burns’ material. “Yes, it was vital to beprovocative and also to scare people,” a Warner Bros professional informs me concerning the $60M-budget pic. “But both print and trailer and TV campaignpresent a far more well-rounded look at themystery. We did sell the visceral experience — a wise and thrilling take a look at a killer virus, the science behind it, and also the aftermath.” Warner Brostook the film to Venice to solid reviews and carried out anaggressive consumer campaign. Besides, adult movies will work in the box office. 2. Entering its fifth weekend in release, DreamWorks/Disney’s hit dramedy The Assistance also is backed by Participant Media made $2.7M likely to $9M from 2,935 locations for that weekend.It’s estimatednew cume of $137.4M by Monday. 3.Thisseemingly anticipated fighting techinques drama Warrior starring Tom Sturdy (Bane within the next Batman) and Joel Edgerton was just launched for 1,869 runs. It openedwith $1.8M Friday for which could simply be a $6M weekend. Another disappointing opening for Lionsgate. Did last weekend’s sneaks letsome wannasee steam escape? Will this hurt Sturdy whom Hollywood executives think about a hot soon-to-be-star? 4.Focus Features’ adult holdover Your Debt gained $1.4M Friday (-45% from the other day) from 1,874 theaters along with a forecasted $4.5M weekend to have an believed $21.6M cume by Monday. 5. The new sony Pictures’ holdover Colombiana made $1.1M Friday from 2,354 runs for near to a $4M weekend and $29.7M cume. However I get it on good authority that The new sony executives were hiding out in the Toronto Film Festival (where better-than-expected Moneyball formally opened Friday evening) instead of get labeled by Screen Gems’ R-ratedBucky Larson: Born To Become A Star which in fact had probably the most annoying TV ad campaigns I’ve have you been attacked by. Thankfully, its box office take was tiny: $540K Friday and just $1.4M expected for that weekend. That wasn’t even enough to really make it in to the Top Ten. Before I provide you with the relaxation from the Top Ten, you need to know that refined amounts are in possession of Kevin Hart’sLaugh Inside My Discomfort at No. 10 despite Hartbeat Productions and Codeblack Entertainment delivering it into only99 theaters. It opened up to$758K Friday and anestimated weekend of $2M.Harts fans switched out with this profanity-filled film version of his recent stand-up tour. It provides under an hour or so of Hart onstage but additionally includes such bonus footage as Hart touring his old neighborhood in Philadelphia and faking a bank heist. Directed by Leslie Small, this 1-hour, 28-minute pic and it is entry in to the Top Ten now determines Hart like a bonafide star beyond just his YouTube videos that have attracted hundreds of an incredible number of sights. Search for the main galleries to take serious notice. Larger analysis coming:6. Rise From the Planet From The Apes (Fox) Week 6 [2,887 Theaters] Friday $1.1M, Believed Weekend $3.4M, Believed Cume $167.4M 7. Shark Evening three dimensional (Relativity) Week 2 [2,848 Theaters] Friday $1M (-64%), Believed Weekend $3.5M, Believed Cume $14.8M 8. Apollo 18 (Dimension/The Weinstein Co) Week 2 [3,330 Theaters] Friday $875K (-69%), Believed Weekend $3M, Believed Cume $15.1M 9. Our Idiot Brother (The Weinstein Co) Week 3 [2,396 Theaters] Friday $835K, Believed Weekend $2.6M, Believed Cume $21.3M 10. Laugh Inside My Discomfort (Hartbeat Prods/Codeblack Ing) NEW [99 Theaters] Friday $758K, Believed Weekend $2M

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Lelouch will get 'Come while you Are'

Gallic director Claude Lelouch's distribution operation L'ensemble des Films 13 has clicked up French privileges to Belgian Geoffrey Enthoven's Montreal fest hit "Come when you areInch (also known as "Hasta la vista"). Deal may come as another title offered through the Berlin-based and flicks Distribution-possessed Films Boutique, Alexander Sokurov's Venice Competish player is visiting a flurry of sales while offering after an upbeat Lido reception. Compiled by Pierre P Clerq, seriocomedy "Come" activates three special-needs males taking a road-trip together to get rid of their virginity. "Come" is going to be launched theatrically in France on 100-150 prints, a substantial print run for pic, which won Montreal's Grand Prize from the Americas. " 'Come while you Are' totally got me," Lelouch stated. "Whenever a film handles to become a skill film in addition to a popular comedy, then you're near to a masterpiece." K Film Amerique has acquired Canadian Privileges. Screening at Toronto's market, "Come" is going to be launched in Belgium by Kinepolis later this month. Films Boutique Boss Jean-Christophe Simon told Variety that it's talking about remake privileges to "Come" with "different U.S. majors." Simon meanwhile is settling sales for "Faust," a retelling from the Goethe tragedy, which received some rave reviews at Venice. Archibald required Italian privileges prior to the fest. Pic has since closed Portugal (Clap Filmes), the Czech and Slovak republics (Film Europe), Taiwan (Atom Cinema), A holiday in greece (Artplex Attica) and Poultry (Kalinos Ing.). "Faust" has become under settlement in several areas including France, U.K., Mexico and Germany, Simon stated. The film has its own United States premiere at Toronto. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Cinemax Accumulates Aaron Sorkins Pilot To Series

It’s official: Cinemax has acquired Aaron Sorkin’s hourlong cable news network pilot to series. The now untitled drama (formerly More Because This Story Evolves), that has been an online lock for any series order, focuses on a cable news anchor (Shaun Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (Alison Pill, John Gallagher, Junior., Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Thomas Sadoski) as well as their boss (Mike Waterston). Together they put down on the loyal and quixotic pursuit to perform the news well when confronted with corporate and commercial obstacles as well as their personal entanglements. Sorkin authored the pilot after extended research throughout that they stayed at Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews MSNBC shows in addition to behind-the-moments of Fox News Funnel and CNN programs. Sorkin executive created the pilot, that was directed by Greg Mottola, with Scott Rudin and Alan Poul. This really is Sorkin’s 4th series after Sports Evening, the Emmy-winning Free Airline Wing and Studio 60 About the Sunset Strip and the first on cable. Sorkin, who won an Academy Award in March for penning The Social Networking, has become the 2nd author-creator to complete an Cinemax series immediately after winning an Oscar. Alan Ball adopted his Academy Award for American Beauty with Cinemax’s Six Ft Under.

NBC's 'Talent' dominates Tuesday ratings

In a meager viewing night that was nearly a carbon copy of a week ago, NBC took the Tuesday crown with a dominant performance of summer reality staple ''America's Got Talent.'' Peacock's winning skein drew a 2.9 rating/8 share in the 18-49 demo, with 11.4 million overall viewers tuning in. That, despite the net's subpar 8-9 p.m. opener ''It's Worth What?'' (1.1/3, 4.7m), gave NBC a win across all significant demos. CBS drew consistent numbers for its ''NCIS''-fest across primetime. A repeat of the original ''NCIS'' (1.6/5, 9.3m) served as lead-in to a pair of ''NCIS: Los Angeles'' telecasts (average 1.6/4, 7.9m). ABC finished off the summer runs of ''Take the Money and Run'' (1.5/4, 3.8m) and ''Combat Hospital'' (0.9/2, 3.2m). Alphabet started the night with ''Wipeout,'' which was best for the net (1.9/6, 5.9m). Fox didn't gain any traction with a ''Glee'' repeat (0.8/2, 2.3m) and a pair of ''Raising Hope'' reruns (average 0.8/2, 2.2m). CW offered an episode of ''90210'' (0.4/1, 1m) and ''Shedding for the Wedding'' (0.3/1, 646,000). Spanish-language Univision's ''La Fuerza del Destino'' (The Strength of Destiny) tied ''Wipeout'' for second-best ratings of the night with a 1.9/5 and 4.2 million viewers. Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: NBC, 2.3/6; CBS, 1.6/4; Univision, 1.6/4; ABC, 1.4/4; Fox, 0.8/2; CW, 0.4/1. In total viewers: NBC, 9.1 million; CBS, 8.4 million; ABC, 4.3 million; Univision, 3.7 million; Fox, 2.3 million; CW, 836,000 Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com