'Just Cause: Scorpion Rising' Gaming Adaptation Taps Author (Exclusive)

William Morris Agency's legendary Beverly Hillsides headquarters continues to be offered for $47.8 million. La-based property investor CIM Group bought the 2-building property at 150 and 151 El Camino Drive from Brickman, a NY investment firm.our editor recommendsEXCLUSIVE: Auction for William Morris Headquarters Known as OffEXCLUSIVE: William Morris Headquarters available The 3-story, 116,000-square-feet complex can be found on a lot more than an acre and houses some offices of WME, the successor agency to William Morris. The 12 ,. 9 deal stops working to $412 per sq . ft . -- considered an industry-rate transaction for any Class An industrial property in Beverly Hillsides. The structures is one block in the city's Rodeo Drive shopping area and near WME's 9601 Wilshire Blvd. headquarters, that the agency has occupied since April 2009. "You're one block from the Golden Triangular, among the best marketplaces in La, which draws in lots of entertainment-related clients," saidBob Safai of real estate brokerage Madison Partners, who symbolized Brickman within the deal. In September 2008, William Morris offered the 2 structures and the other at 150 S. Rodeo Drive to investor Cape Horn Group for $143 million, or $783 per sq . ft .. Despite the standard from the resource, the cost compensated through the Chilean company was considered high. Brickman, that was Cape Horn's loan provider around the deal, later acquired the qualities from the organization using a deed instead of foreclosures transaction. Brickman offered the Rodeo property to La-based investment firm Douglas Emmett Corporation. in April for $42 million. As the 151 El Camino Drive building is vacant, the 150 building is fully occupied. WME houses its music division in a lot of that building the organization intends to re-locate from the space, though there's no timetable for vacating it. During the time of the September 2008 property purchase, William Morris stated it might remain at the El Camino property until a brand new Beverly Drive building it planned to occupy was complete. However, the company's 2009 merger with Endeavor transformed individuals plans. WME backed from a lease agreement to occupy the brand new building, built by NY-based real estate firm George Comfort & Sons. MGM has become slated to maneuver in to the 235-269 N. Beverly Drive building, though WME's dispute using the developerwas the topic of an arbitration. THR reported in This summer that WME has become a huge hit an arbitrator's ruling that George Comfort violated its lease using the agency by allowingGersh, a competitor, to maneuver to a different Comfort-possessed building across the street from the suggested WME site, but this breach wasn't material enough to warrant WME walking on the lease. Caused by WME's appeal is not published, which is unclearwhat damages WME be forced to pay towards the developer, if any. CIM Group rejected to comment. Brickman didn't react to emails seeking comment. Email: Daniel.Burns@THR.com Twitter: @DanielNMiller Related Subjects Property

'We Purchased a Zoo' Premiere Red-colored Carpet Arrivals: Matt Damon, Cameron Crowe, Scarlett Johansson, Elle Fanning

Previous Black list script, "Juno," continued to gross nearly $150 million within the U.S. The Black List, Overbrook Entertainment professional Franklin Leonard's annual assortment of the "most-loved" unproduced scripts of the season, hit the city Monday. The La Occasions had the scoop around the ten scripts using the top votes, as selected by 307 industry visitors. The Very Best 10, so as, areThe Imitation Game by Graham Moore (CAA, The Safran Co.),Once the Street Lights Pass Chris Hutton & Eddie O'Keefe (WME,Tariq Merhab Management),Chewie by Evan Susser & Van Robichaux (WME, Industry Entertainment),The Outsider by Andrew Baldwin (CAA, Anonymous Content),Father Daughter Time: An Account of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses by Matthew Aldrich (CAA,Quiet R Management),In case of a Moon Disaster by Mike Johnson (CAA, The Gotham Group),Maggie by John Scott III(CAA, Trevor Kaufman),The Present War by Michael Mitnick (WME,4th Floor Productions),The Finish by Aron Eli Coleite (CAA),Past the Paleby Chad Feehan (CAA,Management 360) andEzekiel Moss by Keith Bunin (CAA,Kaplan/Perrone). PHOTOS: THR's Honours Season Roundtable Series 2011 - The Authors In past years, scripts that capped the Black List that continued being effective films include Juno by Diablo Cody, The Social Networking by Aaron SorkinandFuckbuddies by Liz Meriwether.The very best election-getters within the 2011 list once more highlight relatively unknown authors, providing them with an frequently useful public career boost. As the list doesn't appear in any official capacity, it's frequently proven itself a powerful barometer which new voices are resonating inside the management, agency and studio trenches. The entire Black List, beginning using the top election-getter, below: 133 votes The Imitation Game by Graham Moore 84 votes Once the Street Lights Pass Chris Hutton, Eddie O'Keefe 59 votes Chewie by Evan Susser, Van Robichaux 53 votes The Outsider by Andrew Baldwin 43 votes Father Daughter Time: An Account of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses by Matthew Aldrich 33 votes In case of a Moon Disaster by Mike Johnson 30 votes Maggie by John Scott III The Present War by Michael Mitnick 28 votes The Finish by Aron Eli Coleite 27 votes Past the Paleby Chad Feehan Ezekiel Moss by Keith Bunin 24 votes Sophistication of Monaco by Arash Amel He's F****n Perfect by Lauryn Kahn 23 votes Bethlehem by Ray Brenner 20 votes Powell by Erectile dysfunction Whitworth The 3 Misfortunes of Geppetto by Michael Vukadinovich 19 votes The Knoll by Christopher Cantwell, Christopher Rogers 17 votes A Many Splintered Factor by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair Bastards by Justin Malen Bloodstream Mountain by Jonathan Stokes Crazy in love with the Storm by Will Fetters Desperate Hrs by E Nicolas Mariani Flarsky by Daniel Sterling How you can Disappear Completely by Erectile dysfunction Solomon 16 votes The Slackfi Project by Howard Overman 14 votes Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino St. Vincent p Van Nuys by Ted Melfi The Museum of Damaged Associations by Natalie Krinsky 13 votes Saving Mr. Banks by Kelly Marcel The Accountant by Bill Duburque 12 votes Bridges around the Fort Point Funnel by Chuck Maclean Metropolitan areas of Refuge by Brandon Willer Good Kids by Chris McCoy The Large Stone Power grid by Craig Zahler 11 votes Dirty Grand daddy by John Phillips Harsh Evening by Allen Bey, Brandon Bestenheider Hidden by Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Departing Pete by Ali Ali Waller, Morgan Murphy 10 votes Little Whitened Corvettes by Michael Diliberti Sex Tape by Kate Angelo The Flamingo Crook by Mike Lesieur The Gun People by Alex Paraskevas, Jordan Goldberg Two Evening Uphold Mark Hammer Watch Roger Do His Factor by Michael Starrbury 9 votes Flashback by Will Honley Friend of Bill by Harper Dill Jane Got a Gun by John Duffield Killings and Purchases by Jonathan Stokes The Final Visit Brandon Murphy, Phil Murphy The Final Witness by Stefan Jaworski 8 votes Bad Words by Andrew Dodge Dead of Winter by Sarah Conradt Gaslight by Ian Fried Home by Christmas -- Bob Hope in Korea by Ben Schwartz Jurassic Park by Imran Zaidi On the Obvious Day by Ryan Engle The Beautiful One by Jenee LaMarque 7 votes 77 by David Matthews Christo by Ian Shorr Type of Sight by F. Scott Frazier Pinocchio by Bryan Larger Subject Zero by Dork Cohen The Hitman's Bodyguard by Tom O'Connor The Marriage by Andrew Goldberg Untitled Hlavin Heist by John Hlavin 6 votes Before I Fall by Maria Maggenti Breyton Ave by J. Daniel Shaffer El Fuego Caliente by Ben Schwartz Men Evening by Christopher Baldi Hyperdrive by Alex Ankeles, Morgan Jurgenson Self/Less by Alex Pastor, David Pastor The Duff by Josh Cagan Untitled Arizona Project by Luke Del Tredici

Survivor Star Hatch Released From RI Prison

First Published: December 12, 2011 3:57 PM EST Credit: Getty Images Caption Survivor 10th Anniversary Party - Richard Hatch: I Dont Regret Being On SurvivorPROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Reality television star Richard Hatch has been released from a Rhode Island prison after serving a nine-month sentence for failing to pay back taxes. A state prison official says the winner of the first season of the CBS reality show Survivor was released Monday. Hatch served six weeks at a state minimum-security facility as a transition after spending most of his sentence in federal prison. The Newport resident had spent more than three years in prison for not paying taxes on his $1 million Survivor winnings. He was released in 2009 and ordered to refile his 2000 and 2001 taxes and pay what he owed. The 50-year-old went back to prison in March for violating the terms of his supervised release by failing to settle his tax bill. Hatch had claimed he was financially destitute. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

New 'Amazing Spider-Man' Teaser Poster Debuts (Photo)

A lot of geek talk this week has been about The Dark Knight Rises footage. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows had its premiere, grabbing some spotlight and getting Robert Downey Jr. talking about The Avengers and Iron Man 3.our editor recommends'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' Gets a 2014 Release DateThe Amazing Spider-Man: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone Get Into Character (Photos)'The Amazing Spider-Man' Teaser Trailer Released (Video) So some of us have forgotten that other superhero movies are coming out. Like The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Well, Columbia is here to remind us and yesterday quietly slid out a new teaser poster for the movie, which opens July 3, 2012. The poster, which debuted on Superhero Hype, is simple but effective, but more importantly, is consistent with comics iconography of having shadows reveal the true soul or identity or whatever the artists wants of a character. It's an effect used from Batman comics to Spider-Man comics and it's used here to show that the man crawling up the stone wall is ... Spider-Man. And it also makes a point to stand apart from the Sam Raimi-directed movies, whose posters slickly had the Arach-Knight stuck or perched to a glass skyscraper. Check it out ... PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 'The Amazing Spider-Man': Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone Appear in New Production Photos Andrew Garfield Emma Stone Amazing Spider-Man

Author pages Hollywood marketing

When "The Lincoln subsequently subsequently Lawyer" author Michael Connelly preferred to spread the word about his new tome, he needed an unconventional approach. At Connelly's behest, author Little, Brown hired L.A. trailer house Guillotine to create 15- and 30-second spots for just about any national-broadcast an online-based campaign that resembles a movie trailer a lot more in comparison to standard book commercial, which typically features a no-extra supplies shot in the jacket."Through the 'Lincoln Lawyer' film campaign taken, I used to be around most of the Hollywood marketing (tools), which i increased being intrigued by the idea of going for a couple of from the techniques of selling a film and taking advantage of it with a book," states Connelly of his latest entry inside the Harry Bosch detective series. "I saw this becoming an chance use a film attract the Bosch books."Though book ads are rare, they're doing every so often surface for big-title best-selling authors like James Patterson, John Grisham and Connelly. With audiences progressively missing ads due to DVRs, streaming content so when Needed, the ads most likely to remain are people that offer the unforeseen.Guillotine executive creative director Peter Walsh, who's concentrating on the newest "Spider-Guy" trailers, confirms that lots of book spots aren't so great. "We preferred to capture the conventional of (Connelly's) books," according to him. "The street we required to walk was and provide people a flavor and hang up within the story, while not hands out a lot of.InchBecause of their first foray to the book-trailer world, Guillotine hired stars together with a complete production crew for your three-day shoot. Walsh used CG artists to create the illusion of untamed wild birds flying in the page, and commissioned a geniune music composition for your spots, which continued CNN, ESPN, USA, E! and Discovery throughout commercial breaks for "Burn Notice," "Law & Order," "Assault Gets worse 360" and "SportsCenter."The spots began airing 2 days just before the book's November. 28 pub date -- another jerk for the film marketing business, which, unlike it-selling world, evolves awareness extended before its distribution are available to clients.The finish result, Connelly states, can be a far stickier ad. "People let me know, 'It's time they started advertising your books on tv.A And I believe that, well, really, they've been doing that for any very long time.Inch Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Old War Horses, Fresh Ponies Face Off for Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AP) While Hollywood advances its 3-D capabilities and other dazzling digital technology, the Academy Awards could be going silent.Not since the first Oscar ceremony in 1929 has a silent film walked away with the top prize. But the 84th Oscars feature a potential front-runner with virtually no spoken dialogue in "The Artist," a loving reproduction of the silent era that has emerged as an early favorite among awards watchers."Early favorite" is a critical distinction, given that the Feb. 26 Oscars still are months away. Awards fortunes rise and fall, momentum shifts back and forth, and other awards shows help sort out winners from losers on the long path to the Oscars. At this stage, unlike past years when clear front-runners emerged from the outset, every major Oscar category is up for grabs.Yet "The Artist," made by a French filmmaker barely known in Hollywood, looks like a solid contender for one of the best-picture slots alongside a lineup of big studio productions such as Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and the hit literary adaptation "The Help.""To be honest with you, that would be totally alien," said French actor Jean Dujardin, who stars with Berenice Bejo in filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." ''I do not think very much about it. Others do that for me. But if there happened to be a nomination, whether for Michel, for Berenice, for me, or for the movie itself, that would be fantastic."Here's a look at the prospects in top categories:BEST PICTURE:Unlike last year, when eventual winner "The King's Speech" and runner-up "The Social Network" quickly stood out as the favorites, this season is murky, right down to the number of nominees.Oscar overseers who doubled the best-picture field from five to 10 nominees three years ago have tweaked the rules again. This time, there will be anywhere from five to 10 nominees, depending on how many films receive at least 5 percent of first-place votes in nominations ballots from the roughly 6,000 academy members.Great reviews and honors from some of the season's initial awards have raised the Oscar fortunes of "The Artist," a black-and-white tale that stars Dujardin as a silent-era star whose career crumbles as talking pictures take over in the late 1920s.But Spielberg's "War Horse" is the sort of sprawling, glorious epic that could gallop in to grab the reins as a front-runner. Gorgeously shot, "War Horse" is one of those big, big pictures that always used to dominate the Oscars.The action follows a resilient horse as it is raised by a British youth, sold into the cavalry during World War I, then passed from side to side amid the battlefields and trenches. The film is based on a children's book and the stage play it inspired that used life-sized puppets to create the horses."I heard about the play and that inspired me to read the book, which I loved," Spielberg said. "Then I traveled to the west end in London with my wife and actually saw the play, and walked out of that marvelous experience with a deep desire to make the movie."Deep desire describes the motivation behind Scorsese's "Hugo," another adaptation of a children's book that allows the director to play with new technology in a ravishing 3-D production while indulging his love for early cinema and devotion for film preservation.The story of a boy and girl caught up in a mystery involving French silent-film pioneer Georges Melies, "Hugo" also has momentum from early awards announcements that could help launch it into best-picture contention.With a stellar cast and box-office success already behind it, the crowd-pleasing civil-rights era drama "The Help" is in the mix, along with "Social Network" director David Fincher's thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."Among other best-picture possibilities: George Clooney's family comic drama "The Descendants"; Brad Pitt's baseball tale "Moneyball" and his family chronicle "The Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick; Woody Allen's romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris"; Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar Hoover biopic "J. Edgar"; and Gary Oldman's espionage saga "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."BEST ACTOR:Tinker, tailor, soldier, Oscar winner? Oldman that scary guy who played Sid Vicious, Lee Harvey Oswald and Dracula in younger days and now has become an avuncular presence as Harry Potter's godfather or Batman's police ally surprisingly has zero Oscar nominations to his credit.As John le Carre's wily, aloof George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Oldman finally could get some Oscar respect for a performance that's a marvel of stillness and subtlety."I'm proud of the work. I'm proud of the movie," Oldman said. "If it was to happen, I can't think of a better project for it to happen with. So, we shall see."Along with Dujardin for "The Artist," other contenders include: Leonardo DiCaprio as FBI boss Hoover in "J. Edgar"; Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in "Shame"; Clooney as a neglectful dad trying to get his act straight in "The Descendants"; Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball"; Michael Shannon as a man beset with apocalyptic visions in "Take Shelter"; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a cancer patient in "50/50"; Daniel Craig as a journalist investigating old serial slayings in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; and Ryan Gosling for two films, as a getaway driver in "Drive" and a White House candidate's aide in "The Ides of March."BEST ACTRESS:Dressing like a man helped Hilary Swank take home her first Oscar. Can five-time nominee Glenn Close finally claim a statue for her anguished role as a woman disguising herself as a male butler to survive hard times in the 19th century Irish drama "Albert Nobbs"?Close isn't counting on anything."I've gone through my whole career not believing anything's going to happen until it happens," Close said. "I don't expect anything. I think, just do your work, and that's what you've got."The competition is fierce, the lineup loaded with outstanding performances, among them two-time Oscar winner and acting nominations record-holder Meryl Streep's turn as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Michelle Williams simply embodies Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." And while Viola Davis has the edge over her "The Help" co-star Emma Stone, they deliver so well that both could end up nominated.Also in the running: Tilda Swinton as a grief-stricken woman in "We Need to Talk About Kevin"; Rooney Mara as an emotionally damaged computer hacker in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; Kirsten Dunst as a manic depressive facing Earth's doomsday in "Melancholia"; Charlize Theron as a writer scheming to steal back her old boyfriend in "Young Adult"; and Elizabeth Olsen as a young woman trying to escape a cult in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."SUPPORTING ACTOR:Christopher Plummer went his long career without a nomination until two years ago, when he made the Oscar short list for "The Last Station." He didn't win, but this could be his time for "Beginners," in which he plays an ailing elderly dad who comes out as gay.It doesn't hurt Plummer's chances that he also delivers a nice turn as a family patriarch in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."Other prospects include: Albert Brooks as a gregarious gangster in "Drive"; Jonah Hill as a number-crunching genius in "Moneyball"; Nick Nolte as a fighter's estranged dad in "Warrior"; Jim Broadbent as Thatcher's hubby in "The Iron Lady"; Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier in "My Week with Marilyn"; Pitt as a domineering father in "The Tree of Life"; Patton Oswalt as Theron's geeky new pal in "Young Adult; Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway in "Midnight in Paris"; and both Clooney as a presidential candidate and Philip Seymour Hoffman as his top aide in "The Ides of March."SUPPORTING ACTRESS:"The Help" could practically fill out this category by itself with great performances from Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain and Sissy Spacek.A fresh face who's suddenly everywhere, Chastain also delivered strong performances in "The Tree of Life," ''Take Shelter," ''The Debt" and "Coriolanus." The latter features an excellent turn by Vanessa Redgrave, who also has a shot as Queen Elizabeth I in "Anonymous."Along with Bejo as a rising film star in "The Artist," contenders include: Judi Dench as Hoover's doting mother in "J. Edgar"; Shailene Woodley as a troublesome daughter in "The Descendants"; Janet McTeer as a cross-dressing laborer in "Albert Nobbs"; Carey Mulligan as a sex addict's unstable sister in "Shame"; Emily Watson as a salt-of-the-earth farm woman in "War Horse"; and Melissa McCarthy as a crude but caring member of the wedding in "Bridesmaids."DIRECTOR:Past winners Spielberg for "War Horse," Scorsese for "Hugo," Allen for "Midnight in Paris" and Eastwood for "J. Edgar" are in the running, along with previous nominees Fincher for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Malick for "The Tree of Life," Alexander Payne for "The Descendants" and Bennett Miller for "Moneyball."Along with Hazanavicius for "The Artist," newcomers to the directing field could include Tate Taylor for "The Help" and Tomas Alfredson for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."The Oscar nominations aren't released until Jan. 24, and momentum will ebb and flow amid an onslaught of lesser awards announcements that come first.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By David Germain December 8, 2011 "War Horses" PHOTO CREDIT Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures LOS ANGELES (AP) While Hollywood advances its 3-D capabilities and other dazzling digital technology, the Academy Awards could be going silent.Not since the first Oscar ceremony in 1929 has a silent film walked away with the top prize. But the 84th Oscars feature a potential front-runner with virtually no spoken dialogue in "The Artist," a loving reproduction of the silent era that has emerged as an early favorite among awards watchers."Early favorite" is a critical distinction, given that the Feb. 26 Oscars still are months away. Awards fortunes rise and fall, momentum shifts back and forth, and other awards shows help sort out winners from losers on the long path to the Oscars. At this stage, unlike past years when clear front-runners emerged from the outset, every major Oscar category is up for grabs.Yet "The Artist," made by a French filmmaker barely known in Hollywood, looks like a solid contender for one of the best-picture slots alongside a lineup of big studio productions such as Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" and the hit literary adaptation "The Help.""To be honest with you, that would be totally alien," said French actor Jean Dujardin, who stars with Berenice Bejo in filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist." ''I do not think very much about it. Others do that for me. But if there happened to be a nomination, whether for Michel, for Berenice, for me, or for the movie itself, that would be fantastic."Here's a look at the prospects in top categories:BEST PICTURE:Unlike last year, when eventual winner "The King's Speech" and runner-up "The Social Network" quickly stood out as the favorites, this season is murky, right down to the number of nominees.Oscar overseers who doubled the best-picture field from five to 10 nominees three years ago have tweaked the rules again. This time, there will be anywhere from five to 10 nominees, depending on how many films receive at least 5 percent of first-place votes in nominations ballots from the roughly 6,000 academy members.Great reviews and honors from some of the season's initial awards have raised the Oscar fortunes of "The Artist," a black-and-white tale that stars Dujardin as a silent-era star whose career crumbles as talking pictures take over in the late 1920s.But Spielberg's "War Horse" is the sort of sprawling, glorious epic that could gallop in to grab the reins as a front-runner. Gorgeously shot, "War Horse" is one of those big, big pictures that always used to dominate the Oscars.The action follows a resilient horse as it is raised by a British youth, sold into the cavalry during World War I, then passed from side to side amid the battlefields and trenches. The film is based on a children's book and the stage play it inspired that used life-sized puppets to create the horses."I heard about the play and that inspired me to read the book, which I loved," Spielberg said. "Then I traveled to the west end in London with my wife and actually saw the play, and walked out of that marvelous experience with a deep desire to make the movie."Deep desire describes the motivation behind Scorsese's "Hugo," another adaptation of a children's book that allows the director to play with new technology in a ravishing 3-D production while indulging his love for early cinema and devotion for film preservation.The story of a boy and girl caught up in a mystery involving French silent-film pioneer Georges Melies, "Hugo" also has momentum from early awards announcements that could help launch it into best-picture contention.With a stellar cast and box-office success already behind it, the crowd-pleasing civil-rights era drama "The Help" is in the mix, along with "Social Network" director David Fincher's thriller "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."Among other best-picture possibilities: George Clooney's family comic drama "The Descendants"; Brad Pitt's baseball tale "Moneyball" and his family chronicle "The Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick; Woody Allen's romantic fantasy "Midnight in Paris"; Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar Hoover biopic "J. Edgar"; and Gary Oldman's espionage saga "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."BEST ACTOR:Tinker, tailor, soldier, Oscar winner? Oldman that scary guy who played Sid Vicious, Lee Harvey Oswald and Dracula in younger days and now has become an avuncular presence as Harry Potter's godfather or Batman's police ally surprisingly has zero Oscar nominations to his credit.As John le Carre's wily, aloof George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Oldman finally could get some Oscar respect for a performance that's a marvel of stillness and subtlety."I'm proud of the work. I'm proud of the movie," Oldman said. "If it was to happen, I can't think of a better project for it to happen with. So, we shall see."Along with Dujardin for "The Artist," other contenders include: Leonardo DiCaprio as FBI boss Hoover in "J. Edgar"; Michael Fassbender as a sex addict in "Shame"; Clooney as a neglectful dad trying to get his act straight in "The Descendants"; Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball"; Michael Shannon as a man beset with apocalyptic visions in "Take Shelter"; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a cancer patient in "50/50"; Daniel Craig as a journalist investigating old serial slayings in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; and Ryan Gosling for two films, as a getaway driver in "Drive" and a White House candidate's aide in "The Ides of March."BEST ACTRESS:Dressing like a man helped Hilary Swank take home her first Oscar. Can five-time nominee Glenn Close finally claim a statue for her anguished role as a woman disguising herself as a male butler to survive hard times in the 19th century Irish drama "Albert Nobbs"?Close isn't counting on anything."I've gone through my whole career not believing anything's going to happen until it happens," Close said. "I don't expect anything. I think, just do your work, and that's what you've got."The competition is fierce, the lineup loaded with outstanding performances, among them two-time Oscar winner and acting nominations record-holder Meryl Streep's turn as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Michelle Williams simply embodies Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn." And while Viola Davis has the edge over her "The Help" co-star Emma Stone, they deliver so well that both could end up nominated.Also in the running: Tilda Swinton as a grief-stricken woman in "We Need to Talk About Kevin"; Rooney Mara as an emotionally damaged computer hacker in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"; Kirsten Dunst as a manic depressive facing Earth's doomsday in "Melancholia"; Charlize Theron as a writer scheming to steal back her old boyfriend in "Young Adult"; and Elizabeth Olsen as a young woman trying to escape a cult in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."SUPPORTING ACTOR:Christopher Plummer went his long career without a nomination until two years ago, when he made the Oscar short list for "The Last Station." He didn't win, but this could be his time for "Beginners," in which he plays an ailing elderly dad who comes out as gay.It doesn't hurt Plummer's chances that he also delivers a nice turn as a family patriarch in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."Other prospects include: Albert Brooks as a gregarious gangster in "Drive"; Jonah Hill as a number-crunching genius in "Moneyball"; Nick Nolte as a fighter's estranged dad in "Warrior"; Jim Broadbent as Thatcher's hubby in "The Iron Lady"; Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier in "My Week with Marilyn"; Pitt as a domineering father in "The Tree of Life"; Patton Oswalt as Theron's geeky new pal in "Young Adult; Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway in "Midnight in Paris"; and both Clooney as a presidential candidate and Philip Seymour Hoffman as his top aide in "The Ides of March."SUPPORTING ACTRESS:"The Help" could practically fill out this category by itself with great performances from Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain and Sissy Spacek.A fresh face who's suddenly everywhere, Chastain also delivered strong performances in "The Tree of Life," ''Take Shelter," ''The Debt" and "Coriolanus." The latter features an excellent turn by Vanessa Redgrave, who also has a shot as Queen Elizabeth I in "Anonymous."Along with Bejo as a rising film star in "The Artist," contenders include: Judi Dench as Hoover's doting mother in "J. Edgar"; Shailene Woodley as a troublesome daughter in "The Descendants"; Janet McTeer as a cross-dressing laborer in "Albert Nobbs"; Carey Mulligan as a sex addict's unstable sister in "Shame"; Emily Watson as a salt-of-the-earth farm woman in "War Horse"; and Melissa McCarthy as a crude but caring member of the wedding in "Bridesmaids."DIRECTOR:Past winners Spielberg for "War Horse," Scorsese for "Hugo," Allen for "Midnight in Paris" and Eastwood for "J. Edgar" are in the running, along with previous nominees Fincher for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," Malick for "The Tree of Life," Alexander Payne for "The Descendants" and Bennett Miller for "Moneyball."Along with Hazanavicius for "The Artist," newcomers to the directing field could include Tate Taylor for "The Help" and Tomas Alfredson for "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."The Oscar nominations aren't released until Jan. 24, and momentum will ebb and flow amid an onslaught of lesser awards announcements that come first.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

REVIEW: Tilda Swinton Keeps Mother-Son Horror Story We Need to Talk About Kevin on Track - Barely

If I had been working as a film critic in 1968, I would have warned pregnant women against seeing Rosemary’s Baby. Today I’d say the same thing about We Need to Talk About Kevin: You don’t know what you might be getting when your little bundle finally arrives, and it’s probably better not to think about it in advance. We Need to Talk About Kevin is the Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay’s third feature and an adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s acclaimed novel. As a piece of filmmaking, it’s bluntly effective; it’s the story that gets in the way. Tilda Swinton plays the mother of a teenager who goes on a killing spree at his school. In the aftermath, her life falls apart — and the aftermath is where the story opens. Ramsay cross-cuts gracefully between past and present: We see Swinton living, apparently alone, in a run-down house on an otherwise nice street. She’s clearly unwelcome there — when we first see the house, it’s been splashed with red paint. Ramsay jostles the narrative backward and forward so we gradually learn how Swinton’s life came to be this way. She and her husband (John C. Reilly) give birth to a son after an unexpected pregnancy. From the moment he’s born, Swinton can’t connect with him, no matter how hard she tries. He screams in the crib and in the carriage: Ramsay shows Swinton pushing the latter along a NY City Street, where the infant’s infernal squalling drowns out even a pneumatic drill. Swinton has the boy tested for autism; she speaks to him kindly or firmly, depending on the situation; she tries to give him hugs. He responds either with outright contempt or total indifference. Meanwhile, he’s all smiles and sun with his dad, who’s convinced (for no good reason) that the kid’s ill humor is all in his mother’s head. One warning signal after another goes unheeded, and by the movie’s last third, the pileup of obvious signs is unforgivable. I know there are no easy answers when it comes to this kind of psychotic behavior. But We Need to Talk About Kevin is a little too facile in the way it sets up the horrific climax: Just one look at this kid and you know he’s trouble, yet no one besides mom can see it. (He’s played, in his teenage incarnation, by Ezra Miller, who’s spookily serene.) I nearly groaned when dear old pops bestowed a shiny, brand-new archer’s bow upon his son, without even the standard dad-style warning of, “Here you go, kid — don’t put anyone’s eye out.” What does work in We Need to Talk About Kevin is the slow-burning, slow-building mother-and-son horror story. The picture is like a nightmare inversion of Mildred Pierce: This mother doesn’t adore her son, and she overcompensates for her lack of feeling by trying harder to win him over. He makes it very tough: As a toddler refusing to be toilet-trained, he glares at her defiantly as he’s soiling a freshly changed diaper. When she tries to coax him into saying “mommy,” he glares at her, Damian-like, and says, “NO!” Swinton is terrific — this is one of her less mannered performances. Her emotional nakedness, her desire to do the right thing by her son even as he saps her dry, are believable every minute. And the more I think about We Need to Talk About Kevin, the more I’m glad that Ramsay was the director who made it. Ramsay may not be a star-name filmmaker, but she’s already proved herself with two distinctive, perceptively crafted feature films, Ratcatcher (1999) and Morvern Callar (2002). She was, for a time, set to adapt The Lovely Bones, but lost the rights to Alice Sebold’s source novel. (Peter Jackson directed the subsequent mess.) For Ramsay fans, that whole subject is almost too difficult to think about — it’s painful to imagine the movie that might have been, given Ramsay’s clear-eyed sensitivity and ingeniousness. Here, instead of trying to do a soft-shoe around the hallowed bond between mothers and sons, Ramsay treads fearlessly into some scary, unspoken territory. When Swinton comes face-to-face with that defiant toddler, it’s clear who has the upper hand, and it’s not because she hasn’t read all the parenting books. The fact that Swinton is such a resolute, efficient actress only makes the point more stark. When one of her son’s surviving victims — he’s in a wheelchair — approaches her on the street to ask her how she’s doing (no one else from the old neighborhood will even speak to her), she responds to his kindness with near-silent yet boundless gratitude. And Swinton playing a woman in need of kindness is something to behold. [Editor’s note: This review appeared earlier, in a slightly different form, in Stephanie Zacharek’s Cannes Film Festival coverage.] Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Latin American market blossoms

BUENOS AIRES -- A powerful 3rd Ventana Sur demonstrated a metaphor for Latin America's film biz in particular. Wrapping Monday evening, the Latin American mart saw remarkable attendance hikes, unthinkable in additional mature marketplaces.Buying and selling trends, meanwhile, underscored a ocean-alternation in distribution worldwide. Opening Friday, Ventana Sur participants jumped 42% versus. this past year to at least one,740. Entirely-flight growth, Versus is catching fire like a regional event: Latin American participants from outdoors Argentina jumped 54% to 405. South america, Chile and Mexico drove that spike.In kudos, Uruguayan Guillermo Rocamora's dead-pan humored mid-existence crisis drama "Solo" required the Haciendo Cine publish-production prize at VS's primary industry draw, Primer Corte, a films-in-postproduction showcase.Set on Colombia's stunning but war-ravaged high flatlands, Juan Carlos Melo's coming-of-age tale, "Area of Amapolas," won its Copia award.By finish-of-play Monday, sales people were circling multiple game titles, most particularly VS's greatest hit, Argentine Benjamin Avila's sincere Dirty War childhood drama, "Infancia clandestina," heartily congratulated in rough-cut in a private screening. "Help You, Father," from Mexico's Lucia Carreras, Chilean Alvaro Viguera's "Perez," Andres Wood's "Violeta Visited Paradise" and Brazilian Luciano Moura's "Father's Chair" -- Sundance-bound like "Violeta" -- also came telemarketer interest.But foreign marketers, not sales people, made the running only at that year's Ventana Sur. Deals sealed or closing, up in number on 2010, show marketplaces in rapid, sometimes turbulent, transition.FilmSharks offered "Saving Private Perez" to Maywin for Russia, and "All-inclusiveInch and "A Boyfriend for My Spouse,Inch to Dalmation, as Russia buys more and more mainstream game titles.Seeking local content and highly competitive, Latin American pay TV operators wield ever-greater clout.Ernesto Munoz p Cote, at Atlanta-based Lap TV, stated he'd finish up purchasing around 10 game titles from Ventana Sur. In a single indicative deal, L.A. based FiGa shipped five game titles to Silvia Cruz's Vitrine Filmes. Films will have six Brazilian metropolitan areas for any week, segueing to cable, stated FiGa's Sandro Fiorin.Based on Udi's Eric Schnedecker, on Latin American photos, a pan-Latin American paybox deal has become worth just like a purchase to France.Versus sales dedicated to accessible art or genre photos: "My First Wedding," a Seventh Art Delivering The United States pick-up "Juan from the Dead," closing a U.S. purchase and M-Appeal's "Hermano," Rezo's "Bonsai" and Udi's "Las Acacias," which all locked four-to-five territory sales.A lot more deals goes lower off Ventana Sur. But more compact or more dark Latin American movies progressively need alternative way of distribution, even just in Latin America itself. A pan-Latin America niche pic VOD service looks only dependent on time. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Billy Graham Put in the hospital with Pneumonia

Billy Graham Billy Graham was put in the hospital Wednesday with pneumonia, but is "reacting well" to treatment, based on his repetition. "According to test results, doctors for Billy Graham confirm proper diagnosis of pneumonia, but they are urged he's reacting well to anti-biotics," Graham's repetition, A. Ray Ross, tweeted on Thursday. Graham's pulmonologist, Dr. Mark Hellreich, also launched an argument which was published on Graham's website Thursday stating that the 93-year-old evangelical is "in stable condition." Take a look at videos of Billy Graham On Wednesday, Ross tweeted that Graham have been accepted to Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., for strategy to his lung area. Based on Ross, Graham was "alert" and smiling and waving in the hospital staff upon his entrance. No date continues to be looking for his discharge, but based on his website, "Mr. Graham is searching toward coming back the place to find spend the approaching Christmas holiday together with his family." Graham, who rose to fame within the '40s when his sermons were broadcast around the tv and radio, has stayed with 12 sitting U.S. Presidents going dating back to Harry S. Truman.