'Veronica,' 'Wild' bow in Films in Progress

MADRID -- Brazilian Marcelo Gomes' "Once Upon a Time Veronica" and Chilean Marialy Rivas' "Young and Wild" will unspool in San Sebastian Films in Progress, a films at rough cut showcase. Gomes' "Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures," which played Cannes' 2005 Un Certain Regard, remains one of the most talked-about Brazilian first features of the last decade. "Veronica," about a girl trying to make a new life for herself in Recife, slots into the co-production deal between France's Urban Factory and Sara Silveira's Sao Paulo-based Dezenove Som e Imagem. Another burgeoning Latin American artpic producer with a keen eye for new talent, Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain's Fabula in Chile, is producing "Wild," the feature debut of LGBT pioneer Marialy Rivas, about the bisexual daughter of fervent Evangelist parents. A young love tale set under Argentina's dictatorship, Benjamin Avila's "Clandestine Childhood" is lead produced by Luis Puenzo's Historias Cinematograficas. The three other FIP contenders are less well-known: Gabriel Marino's Mexican road movie, "A Secret World," about a 19-year-old girl trying to find herself; Colombian Juan Andres Arango's "The Beach," a Bogota-set coming-of-age drama; and Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schembori's thriller "7 Boxes," a rare Paraguayan production. Also announced Tuesday, San Sebastian's Arab cinema rough-cut sidebar Cinema in Motion will highlight new productions from Palestinian Annemarie Jacir ("Salt of the Sea") and Lebanese helmer duo Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige ("I Want to See"). Jacir will present '60s-set "When I Saw You," about the 12-year-old son of a Palestinian refugee in Jordan, Hadjithomas and Joreige "Une fusee dans le ciel," a docu-feature about Lebanon's now-forgotten space program. Cinema in Motion also features Lebanese Civil War docu "Confession and Struggle," from Eliane Raheb, and Yahya Alabdallah's "The Last Friday," turning on a broke taxi drivers attempts to win back the woman he loves. Friday" forms part of the Jordanian Royal Film Commission's drive to back low-budget pics with high-profile stars -- such as Ali Suliman ("Body of Lies"). Cinema in Motion takes place Sept. 19; FIP runs Sept. 21-22. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Survivor Champion Richard Hatch Claims He's Destitute

Richard Hatch Survivor champion Richard Hatch is declaring he's destitute and requires a court-hired lawyer to assist him appeal a nine-month sentence he received for neglecting to re-file his 2000 and 2011 taxes returns, The Connected Press reviews. U.S. Justice of the peace Judge Lincoln subsequently D. Almond has suggested that Hatch be refused free a lawyer, stating that Hatch's appeal isn't "drawn in good belief." The very first Survivor champion, who formerly spent 3 years imprisonment after neglecting to pay taxes about the $a million he won about the CBS reality series, declines the judge's claims. Richard Hatch purchased to prison - again In the courtroom filing, Hatch also claims the government hasn't informed him how much cash he owes on his Survivor winnings, and states he might have new evidence showing the taxes are ought to be compensated to Malaysia, in which the first season happened, rather than the U.S. Hatch, who's presently inside a West Virginia prison, is anticipated to become launched in December.

'Transformers: Dark from the Moon' to become Re-Launched in IMAX Theaters (Exclusive)

Vital's blockbuster Transformers: Dark from the Moon has been re-launched in Imax theaters to have an extended two-week run, beginning Friday.our editor recommends'Transformers: Dark from the Moon' Breaks Imax Box Office Record in China'Transformers: Dark from the Moon' Clip Introduces Rosie Huntington-Whiteley'Transformers: Dark from the Moon' Moscow PremiereRelated Subjects•Transformers: Dark from the... Transformers: Dark from the Moon: An IMAX three dimensional Experience continues to be electronically remastered with proprietary IMAX technology. STORY: 'Transformers: Dark from the Moon' Crosses $1 Billion Mark Michael Bay, that has directed the 3 Transformer photos, suggested over the past weekend on his online forum that Vital was thinking about fighting another Imax run. Sources make sure Imax will indeed re-release the film. Dark from the Moon is a runaway success in the worldwide box office, grossing $1.1 billion through Sunday, including $348.5 million in the domestic box office and $747 billion overseas. Based on associates, Dark from the Moon will have in 246 Imax theaters in The United States from August. 26 to Sept. 8. Throughout individuals two days, the film will have concurrently along with other movies already reserved by Imax. STORY: Vital Pictures Worldwide Crosses $2 Billion Box Office Mark Director James Cameron and twentieth century Fox did very similar factor with Avatar. Cameron assisted convince Bay, who once criticized three dimensional, the medium was suitable for the 3rd Transformers film. Dark from the Moon, compiled by Ehren Kruger, was created by Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. Steven Spielberg, Bay, John Goldner and Mark Vahradian are executive producers. Email: Pamela.McClintock@thr.com Related Subjects Michael Bay Shia LaBeouf Vital Pictures Transformers: Dark from the Moon

Morpurgo's Private Peaceful Is Go

War Horse follow-up heads to the screenWhile Empire's planned War Horse follow-up, 'War Badger', shuffles around awaiting a green light, the author of the original story has stolen a march on the lot of us. Michael Morpurgo's follow-up to his wartime tale with a tail, Private Peaceful is gearing up for the big-screen treatment too. Private Peaceful is cut from the same cloth as War Horse. Like that novel, stage play and soon-to-be Spielberg movie, it's set in Devon and the trenches of the Western Front during World War One. The story revolves around young Tommo Peaceful's journey from his Devon home to the carnage of Flanders, via some sticky formative experiences; the death of his father (Stephen Kennedy) and the malign influence of his grandmother (Frances de la Tour) among them. Tommo will be played by Tyrannosaur's Samuel Bottomley as a nipper and George MacKay as a teenager. His older brother Charlie (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Jack O'Connell) eventually follows him to Belgium where the pair find themselves facing the injustice wrath of their own army, as well as the evil Hun. Circle Of Friends director Pat O'Connor is the man behind the camera, directing from a script adapted by newcomer Simon Reade. Interestingly, Mark Knopfler, who did such a fine job with the Local Hero score, has been recruited for composing duties. * . Shooting kicks off at the end of the month with East Anglian locations standing in for the West Country. * please insert 'Brothers In Arms' pun here.

Indie 'Invitation' finds cast

Lainie Kazan, Elliott Gould, Richard Kind, Ian Alda, Keith Robinson and Andrea Bowen are rounding the cast of indie romantic comedy "Divorce Invitation."Jonathan Bennett, Jamie Lynn Sigler and Nadia Bjorlin happen to be formerly introduced as stars for "Divorce," marking the U.S. directorial debut of Indian director S.V. Krishna Reddy. Shooting's set to begin this month in La.Venkat will produce with Ram Reddy Sure becoming a professional producer. M.S.P. Srinivas Reddy is co-producer.S.V. Krishna Reddy, Bala Rajasekharuni, and Robert Naturman authored the script, focusing on a happily married guy who incurs his senior high school sweetheart and becomes convinced she's his true love. But he's one huge problem - he signed an iron-clad pre-nup, and the wife won't allow him to from the marriage.Kazan will next be observed in the "Finding Pleasure." Robinson will next be observed in "Dysfunctional Buddies" and "Caught on Tape." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Paul Goodman Changed My Life

A Zeitgeist Films release of a JSL Films production. Produced by Jonathan Lee, Kimberly Reed. Co-producers, Robert Hawk, Israel Ehrisman. Directed by Jonathan Lee.With: Geoffrey Gardner, Taylor Stoehr, Susan Goodman, Sally Goodman, Judith Malina, Vera Williams, Grace Paley, Neil Heims, Ned Rorem, Jerl Surratt, Michael Walzer.Philosopher, poet, sociologist, pacifist, psychologist, writer, anarchist, open bisexual and spokesperson for a generation, Paul Goodman ranked among the most influential thinkers in the latter half of the 20th century. In his biodoc "Paul Goodman Changed My Life," helmer Jonathan Lee interviews a slew of artists and literati for whom Goodman stood as a seminal figure, while showcasing his famously intransigent personality in excerpts from his public appearances. Skedded to bow at Gotham's Film Forum in October, the docu will reawaken interest in a fascinating, multifaceted figure when it makes the arthouse rounds. Lee opens with an episode of "Firing Line" featuring Goodman's radical views on education, William F. Buckley's usual sneer tinged with a certain grudging appreciation. Goodman's unique voice exerted a certain power even over his enemies; Lee shows him speaking to members of the military-industrial complex by invitation, his impassioned castigation of his audience coming as no surprise. Goodman began as a founder of gestalt therapy, which invited confrontation and sought to break down barriers between patient and therapist (Judith Malina of the avant-garde Living Theater speaks warmly of her sessions). He proposed completely revamping the education system and, together with his brother Percival, co-authored a book about communal architecture. But in whichever field his philosophy manifested itself, it was always of a piece, incorporating every aspect of the man. Friends and colleagues tell of teaching posts cut short by Goodman's sexual passes at anyone who caught his fancy -- old or young, male or female, regardless of how inappropriate the relationship or venue. Though Goodman was well regarded as an author and theorist, the 1959 publication of "Growing Up Absurd" made him an intellectual celebrity. Instead of diagnosing the disturbing "disease" of juvenile delinquency that was then obsessing the nation, Goodman posited that the society to which young people were expected to adapt was so morally corrupt and patently hypocritical that disaffection and rebellion signified mental health. "Absurd," the handbook of the '60s (one interviewee remembers being unable to enter a college dorm without seeing it everywhere), along with Goodman's lifelong pacifism, placed him at the forefront of Vietnam War protests. As the left grew more violent, though, Goodman was stranded by the wayside. He died of a heart attack in 1972. Instead of the usual 1960s stock-footage montages, Lee opts for images that create a context for Goodman's ideas, such as the cross-disciplinary BBC program on which NAACP leader Stokley Carmichael, Allen Ginsberg and Goodman casually discuss sexual vs. racial discrimination. Another striking visual motif here finds the helmer keeping still photos of Goodman front and center throughout, less as illustration than as enticement. Reminiscences about Goodman and readings of his poetry are played over old pictures that capture his singularly seductive appeal and lively sense of humor.Camera (color/B&W, HD), Benjamin Shapiro; editor, Kimberly Reed; music, Miriam Cutler; music supervisor, Brienne Rose. Reviewed at NewFest, New York, July 26, 2011. (Also in Outfest.) Running time: 89 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

'Dark Dark night Rises': Batman Flies a Softball bat-Plane in Pittsburgh (VIDEO)

Who requires a Dark Dark night Increases set visit when you are able go online? Its Christopher Nolan's penchant for secrecy, I suppose it's difficult to possess a veil of secrecy in present day digital-cameras-at-our-tips of the fingers society. And seeking to fly a Softball bat-Plane or Softball bat-Wing (or what you're calling this contraption) in broad daylight in Pittsburgh does not help. This, and several versions from it, were circulating the 'Net on Saturday. Christopher Nolan The Dark Dark night Increases

'Once Upon a Time': 'Lost' Assisted the Designers Begin to see the Story Book Story In a different way

It's Always Sunny Star on Packing on 50 Pounds: "I Tried to Look as Ugly as Possible"

Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Danny Devito and Rob McElhenney Rob McElhenney had just one objective for the new season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but it was a big one. "I tried to look as ugly as possible, basically," he said of his remarkable 50-pound weight gain for Season 7. So what exactly compelled the star to transform his alter-ego's normally fit physique into something a little flabbier? "It came when I was watching a very popular sitcom, and I noticed the people were getting better and better looking as the seasons were going on," McElhenney said at the Television Critics Association fall TV previews Saturday. "I always thought that what we were trying to do on Sunny was the deconstruction of the sitcom." FX orders two more seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia After years of making the Paddy's Pub gang as unlikeable as possible - for example, characters have both become drug addicts to get on welfare and used a baby to score a big Hollywood payday - McElhenney wanted to achieve the same goal through aesthetics. Luckily, the extra pounds are not just a funny sight gag, but also a very believable evolution for the character. "The reality of five people in a dive bar in Philadelphia is that they won't get better abs," said executive producer and star Charlie Day. And although he wasn't able to convince the rest of his castmates to do the same ("We all said no!" McElhenney's co-star and real-life wife Kaitlin Olson said), McElhenney had some major help in the form of Philadelphia Phillies baseball player Chase Utley. Utley set McElhenney up with a sports nutritionist who also works with offensive linemen in the NFL, and soon the actor was chowing down on 5,000 calories a day for five months. It may have been a big sacrifice - McElhenney has since shed 20-25 pounds - but it seems it was worthwhile. Day said he feels the show is just hitting its creative peek in Season 7, a sentiment echoed by FX president John Landgraf, who announced Saturday that the network would order two more seasons of the show, with the option open for one more. "We knew, creatively, we're just sort of hitting our stride now," Day said. "Doing those two additional years doesn't feel like we're dragging it through the mud." Watch full episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia In the wake of the cast's recent success outside of the show - particularly Day's role in the surprise hit film Horrible Bosses - many wondered if the curtain would close for good this year. However, Day said because the show has largely been able to stay "underground," they felt there was an appetite for more. "If we were seven years into an overhyped television show, we would probably be as sick of it as the public," Day said. "There's no reason not to keeping making it if people still enjoy it." The new season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10/9c on FX. Watch a preview with "Fat Mac:"

'Transformers: Dark From The Moon' Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide Mark For Vital

HOLLYWOOD, CA (August 3, 2011) Worldwide box office receipts for TRANSFORMERS: DARK From The MOON, have hit $1 billion, Vital Pictures introduced today. Up to now, the 3rd installment from the hit Transformers franchise, and also the first shot in 3-D, has made $338 million in U.S. (through Monday) and $663 million worldwide (through Tuesday). TRANSFORMERS: DARK From The MOON may be the first big grossing movie within the good reputation for Vital Pictures, marking a considerable milestone within the 99 year existence of the legendary studio," stated Kaira Gray, Chairman & Ceo of Vital Pictures. We're grateful for that remarkable work of Michael Bay and the film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everybody at Vital around the world who performed a component in assisting get this to latest TRANSFORMERS among the 10 greatest grossing films worldwide ever.Inch The 2009 summer time, Vital was the very first studio to achieve $1 billion in domestic grosses, assisted through the $180.7 million opening of TRANSFORMERS: DARK From The MOON within the This summer fourth holiday. This is actually the fifth year consecutively that Vital has arrived at the milestone before every other studio. Vital Pictures Worldwide entered the $2 billion mark on This summer 30th, which makes it the very first for just about any studio this season to achieve the benchmark. The studio has already established six consecutive movies generating over $100 million in the domestic box office this year. TRANSFORMERS: DARK From The MOON is directed by Michael Bay, compiled by Ehren Kruger and created by Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, John Goldner and Mark Vahradian. Whenever a mysterious event from Earths past erupts into present it intends to create a war to Earth so large the Transformers alone won't have the ability to save us. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie Whitened with John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

John Grey Targets 'The Hanging Tree' As 'White Irish Drinkers' Followup

Whitened Irish Consumers author/director John Grey has acquired the Bryan Gruley mystery thriller The Hanging Tree, and he'll write the script to direct. Grey will even produce it under his Ovington Avenue Productions together with partner Melissa Jo Peltier. They labored together on Whitened Irish Consumers, the transitional phase drama which was launched by Screen Media. The Hanging Tree may be the second novel in Gruley's Starvation Lake mystery series. Gus Contractor, an old Detroit Occasions reporter-switched detective, attempts to solve the mystery of the way a former resident from the Michigan resort town ends up hanging from the tree after she returns home. Grey, who produced the CBS series The Ghost Whisperer and authored and directed Martin and Lewis and Helter Skelter for CBS, also directed the characteristics Born to become Wild and also the Glimmer Guy. It deal is made by WME. "Bryan Gruley has written a brillians number of books, with wealthy figures within an incredibly visual and fascinating world," Grey stated. "The styles during this novel resonated deeply beside me and I am enthusiastic about getting it towards the screen."