With Same Vim, New Animals, Cameron Crowe Returns

NY (AP) Fresh off an inspired writing session, Cameron Crowe is pulsing with enthusiasm.He spent the previous night sitting outside NY's Plaza Hotel, a spot that made him recall one of his first trips to NY as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone in which he stayed at the Plaza while chronicling a Led Zeppelin tour."I was just thinking, 'Man, it's like no time has passed,' says Crowe. "This is the future time. That's what it was. You always wonder, 'In the future time, what will this all mean? What will it all amount to?' That was kind of the revelation of last night: Here I am. And it feels like no time."After six years of uncertainly, the present is feeling good for Crowe, the writer-director of earnest, personal films such as "Say Anything ..." and "Jerry Maguire." He's back with his first feature film since 2005's critical and box-office misfire "Elizabethtown": "We Bought a Zoo," an unabashedly warmhearted family film about a father (Matt Damon) who, after his wife dies of cancer, impulsively buys a rundown zoo to re-energize himself and his two kids."I don't look at the time post-"Elizabethtown" as the bottom of the roller coaster," says the perpetually writing Crowe. "I kind of look at it as a gathering time."In those years, Crowe plotted a film about Marvin Gaye that failed to get off the ground (he hopes to still make it), scripted an adaptation of David Sheff's "Beautiful Boy" and "Tweak" (a pair of books about an addict father and his son) and made two music documentaries (the Pearl Jam retrospective "Pearl Jam Twenty" and "The Union," about Elton John's collaboration with Leon Russell).He was also divorced from his wife of 24 years, Nancy Wilson of the band Heart, with whom he has 11-year-old twin sons. Crowe says Wilson remains a "close collaborator" with the children, and that he eagerly voted for Heart in this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.The parallels with "We Bought a Zoo" which includes moving scenes of Damon's character fondly reminiscing about his wife aren't lost on Crowe."This movie is about keeping souvenirs of a lost love," says Crowe. "Even in the broken relationships or people that have died or moved on, there's valuable luggage to be kept that guides the future."Crowe, himself, is a big collector. His largest collections might be his LPs and various music memorabilia, such as treasured set lists and ticket stubs. But he also keeps things from his movies. The boombox John Cusack raised over his head in "Say Anything ..." sits in his garage. His most cherished item is a signed Vans sneaker from Sean Penn, who played the Vans-wearing stoner Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Crowe's first script.Though no masterpiece, "We Bought a Zoo" is considerably better than its title and plot synopsis suggest. It's a rare film Crowe has directed but hasn't written (he shares screenplay credit with Aline Brosh McKenna, who adapted Benjamin Mee's autobiographical book), and it bears many hallmarks of the director. Last week on "The Daily Show," Damon, realizing the movie didn't sound like the most artistic enterprise, took to shouting at the crowd the simple justification: "Cameron Crowe directed it!"That's often all a film has needed to draw moviegoers. In person, Crowe has many of the qualities of his films: He's uncommonly upbeat, sincere and utterly engaging. Over a lunch interview, he's as likely to learn about a reporter as the reporter is to learn about him. He's one of few famous Twitter users who uses it almost exclusively to reply personally to fans.When Damon first met Crowe (he came to Austin, Texas, while Damon was making "True Grit"), he asked himself, "Is this for real?""But that is him and it's a beautiful thing," says Damon. "It's not that he looks at the world with rose-colored lenses. He's realistic, too. He just chooses to engage with the world from that place of joy instead of cynicism."Asked if Damon modeled his character on Crowe, he says that he's come to think that in Crowe's movies, "everybody's playing him a little bit.""There's a look that he gets," says Damon. "I see it a lot with Rene (Zellweger) and (Tom) Cruise in 'Jerry Maguire.' I have it in this movie. It's that thing where somebody's explaining something to you and you're not quite sure what they're saying and you're trying to figure it out. It's this very Cameron kind of thing that's in all his movies."Scarlett Johansson, who plays the zookeeper in the film, was impressed that after his down years, Crowe has been able to "maintain that enthusiasm and not be jaded or bitter.""When he's nervous about something, he tells you he's nervous about it," says Johansson. "He's got this kind of purity to him."Both actors had to adjust to one of Crowe's now-trademark methods: During the shooting of some scenes, he plays the music he expects to later soundtrack it with a Who song for Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" or a Neil Young tune for Damon in "We Bought a Zoo." Damon thought enough of the tactic that he plans to use it when he directs next year.Asked where he gets his positivity from, Crowe says, "It's innate and a goal, really, to battle back the daily hurdles or the challenges and just say, 'How can I turn this into a positive?' It's interesting how sometimes positivity is the door that opens to a greater understanding of how to deal with the darkness."Crowe's films have often proceeded similarly. "Elizabethtown" begins with a shoe designer (Orlando Bloom) preparing to kill himself. "Jerry Maguire" starts with a sports agent's humiliating loss of his job.Crowe says the idea of making "We Bought a Zoo" was ultimately "to put a little joy into the world, coming from grief." In it, Crowe sees a connection with another film about a widower, Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," which he deeply admires."Hopefully in some distant, rainy day future, the two movies live together in some strange way as, like, stage one and stage one and a half," says Crowe.Another feature hiatus is unlikely. The ever-writing Crowe is eager to work rapidly. He's currently writing a script about a city with a rich music history. He's also focused on rewriting and honing a number of scripts so that he can "deal from a deck.""My dream was always to be able to be like a guy like Spike Lee or Woody Allen or Truffaut where one day you can look at all the stuff and they all come together to give you a portrait of a human life, in different stages of it," says Crowe. "So I'm always looking for what's the next area of life to explore that will help me understand it and bring something universal to other people, too."I'll be doing that as long as I can, as long as there's a camera, or a page and a pen."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Charles Sykes NY (AP) Fresh off an inspired writing session, Cameron Crowe is pulsing with enthusiasm.He spent the previous night sitting outside NY's Plaza Hotel, a spot that made him recall one of his first trips to NY as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone in which he stayed at the Plaza while chronicling a Led Zeppelin tour."I was just thinking, 'Man, it's like no time has passed,' says Crowe. "This is the future time. That's what it was. You always wonder, 'In the future time, what will this all mean? What will it all amount to?' That was kind of the revelation of last night: Here I am. And it feels like no time."After six years of uncertainly, the present is feeling good for Crowe, the writer-director of earnest, personal films such as "Say Anything ..." and "Jerry Maguire." He's back with his first feature film since 2005's critical and box-office misfire "Elizabethtown": "We Bought a Zoo," an unabashedly warmhearted family film about a father (Matt Damon) who, after his wife dies of cancer, impulsively buys a rundown zoo to re-energize himself and his two kids."I don't look at the time post-"Elizabethtown" as the bottom of the roller coaster," says the perpetually writing Crowe. "I kind of look at it as a gathering time."In those years, Crowe plotted a film about Marvin Gaye that failed to get off the ground (he hopes to still make it), scripted an adaptation of David Sheff's "Beautiful Boy" and "Tweak" (a pair of books about an addict father and his son) and made two music documentaries (the Pearl Jam retrospective "Pearl Jam Twenty" and "The Union," about Elton John's collaboration with Leon Russell).He was also divorced from his wife of 24 years, Nancy Wilson of the band Heart, with whom he has 11-year-old twin sons. Crowe says Wilson remains a "close collaborator" with the children, and that he eagerly voted for Heart in this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.The parallels with "We Bought a Zoo" which includes moving scenes of Damon's character fondly reminiscing about his wife aren't lost on Crowe."This movie is about keeping souvenirs of a lost love," says Crowe. "Even in the broken relationships or people that have died or moved on, there's valuable luggage to be kept that guides the future."Crowe, himself, is a big collector. His largest collections might be his LPs and various music memorabilia, such as treasured set lists and ticket stubs. But he also keeps things from his movies. The boombox John Cusack raised over his head in "Say Anything ..." sits in his garage. His most cherished item is a signed Vans sneaker from Sean Penn, who played the Vans-wearing stoner Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Crowe's first script.Though no masterpiece, "We Bought a Zoo" is considerably better than its title and plot synopsis suggest. It's a rare film Crowe has directed but hasn't written (he shares screenplay credit with Aline Brosh McKenna, who adapted Benjamin Mee's autobiographical book), and it bears many hallmarks of the director. Last week on "The Daily Show," Damon, realizing the movie didn't sound like the most artistic enterprise, took to shouting at the crowd the simple justification: "Cameron Crowe directed it!"That's often all a film has needed to draw moviegoers. In person, Crowe has many of the qualities of his films: He's uncommonly upbeat, sincere and utterly engaging. Over a lunch interview, he's as likely to learn about a reporter as the reporter is to learn about him. He's one of few famous Twitter users who uses it almost exclusively to reply personally to fans.When Damon first met Crowe (he came to Austin, Texas, while Damon was making "True Grit"), he asked himself, "Is this for real?""But that is him and it's a beautiful thing," says Damon. "It's not that he looks at the world with rose-colored lenses. He's realistic, too. He just chooses to engage with the world from that place of joy instead of cynicism."Asked if Damon modeled his character on Crowe, he says that he's come to think that in Crowe's movies, "everybody's playing him a little bit.""There's a look that he gets," says Damon. "I see it a lot with Rene (Zellweger) and (Tom) Cruise in 'Jerry Maguire.' I have it in this movie. It's that thing where somebody's explaining something to you and you're not quite sure what they're saying and you're trying to figure it out. It's this very Cameron kind of thing that's in all his movies."Scarlett Johansson, who plays the zookeeper in the film, was impressed that after his down years, Crowe has been able to "maintain that enthusiasm and not be jaded or bitter.""When he's nervous about something, he tells you he's nervous about it," says Johansson. "He's got this kind of purity to him."Both actors had to adjust to one of Crowe's now-trademark methods: During the shooting of some scenes, he plays the music he expects to later soundtrack it with a Who song for Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" or a Neil Young tune for Damon in "We Bought a Zoo." Damon thought enough of the tactic that he plans to use it when he directs next year.Asked where he gets his positivity from, Crowe says, "It's innate and a goal, really, to battle back the daily hurdles or the challenges and just say, 'How can I turn this into a positive?' It's interesting how sometimes positivity is the door that opens to a greater understanding of how to deal with the darkness."Crowe's films have often proceeded similarly. "Elizabethtown" begins with a shoe designer (Orlando Bloom) preparing to kill himself. "Jerry Maguire" starts with a sports agent's humiliating loss of his job.Crowe says the idea of making "We Bought a Zoo" was ultimately "to put a little joy into the world, coming from grief." In it, Crowe sees a connection with another film about a widower, Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," which he deeply admires."Hopefully in some distant, rainy day future, the two movies live together in some strange way as, like, stage one and stage one and a half," says Crowe.Another feature hiatus is unlikely. The ever-writing Crowe is eager to work rapidly. He's currently writing a script about a city with a rich music history. He's also focused on rewriting and honing a number of scripts so that he can "deal from a deck.""My dream was always to be able to be like a guy like Spike Lee or Woody Allen or Truffaut where one day you can look at all the stuff and they all come together to give you a portrait of a human life, in different stages of it," says Crowe. "So I'm always looking for what's the next area of life to explore that will help me understand it and bring something universal to other people, too."I'll be doing that as long as I can, as long as there's a camera, or a page and a pen."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Dark Knight Rises Viral Blitz: Bane's Gotham Attack Plans Revealed? (PICS)

Heads up, Dark Knight Rises watchers: A cool bit of viral marketing just arrived on my doorstep detailing what appear to be the dastardly plans of Tom Hardy’s S&M baddie Bane. If you’re remaining spoiler-free, I’d advise you not to hit the jump for more… not that I can really make heads or tails of the elaborate map of Gotham City he’s marked up with his dastardly plans. Fire’s about to rise, y’all! Okay, so we’re agreed — anything beyond this point could very well be spoilers. (Having pored over the contains of said package, I can at least say that I’m still fuzzy on exactly what I’m looking at.) Also: HOW COOL IS THIS MAP OF GOTHAM CITY?? But I understand if you want to remain as virgin-pure on any details whatsoever for the Dark Knight sequel. In which case, why did you even click this far? Anyways. The package consists of a mysterious mailing tube wrapped in what appears to be a map detailing an attack on Gotham City orchestrated, ostensibly, by Tom Hardy’s S&M villain Bane. Inside, a t-shirt declaring “Fire Rises” emblazoned with Bane’s silk-screened mug. I’m sure you’ll be able to find it at a Hot Topic near you soon enough. But back to that map: Scrawled all over it in red Sharpie are plans for a 5-front attack on Gotham City noting “GPD response time,” “Rally points,” and “Check point: Bridge/tunnels.” I know maps of the fictional Gotham City are nothing new, but still. So. Cool. Take a closer look at the five “strike zones” below. If you can make sense of this, be my guest! And please share your notes with the rest of the class in the comments below. Meanwhile, tremble in fear for the wrath of… The Dark Kitty Rises! Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Her kitty, his hippo

Jim Gianopulos and helmer Cameron Crowe"Zoo" novelist Benjamin Mee meets Matt Damon at the Royalton. Scarlett Johansson with Elle Fanning Richard Lovett, Julie Yorn and Tom Rothman celebrate in Gotham. Ben Seeder and Dustin Ybarra get into the "Zoo" spirit. Since the scene-stealing snakes, tigers, porcupines, monkeys and lions in Twentieth Century Fox's "We Bought a Zoo" weren't invited to either the Ziegfeld preem or the Royalton Hotel after-party, it seemed only appropriate to ask the pic's flock of human actors which critter most reflected their personality. "I always thought that if I wanted to be an animal, I'd want to be a house cat," said Scarlett Johansson, "but there's no house cats in this movie. So I guess a big cat." Like a leopard? "Not as majestic as a leopard," the actress qualified. "I don't see myself in being predatory in that way, although I guess house cats are predatory if you're a mouse." Matt Damon deferred to his co-star's opinion. "Scarlett says I'm a hippo even though there isn't one in the movie," he said. "I think she's been saying I've been eating too much." Elle Fanning picked a co-star from the film. "I love Crystal, the capuchin monkey; I love people and she loves people, too. And I like being goofy and she was pretty funny too, and so cute," she added. "The lion, but the really kind of wise, curmudgeonly lion, not the one that eats you," said Thomas Haden Church. "The one that sits around and looks a little smug; that would be me." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

The Black List 2011: Screenplay Roster

The Black List 2011: By Agencies The Black List 2011: By Managers A screenplay titledTHE IMITATION GAME by Graham Moore, about British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing who cracked the German Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual, tops 2011s THE BLACK LIST. Once again, Deadline Hollywood is first to post in its entirety THE BLACK LIST, which for the uninitiated is film executive Franklin Leonards hot unproduced screenplay pecking order which he began in 2004. Compiled every year from the suggestions of hundreds of film executives, each contributes the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2011 and will not be released in theaters during this calendar year. THE BLACK LIST does catapult dozens of scripts into production and screenwriters out of oblivion. Diablo Codys Juno, Nancy Olivers Lars And The Real Girl, Scott Neustaders and Michael Webers 500 Days Of Summer, are just some of the screenplays which appeared on The Black List and then were made. Ive noticed that its also a big dick measuring contest for the Hollywood agencies and their motion picture lit departments. Problem is, some screenwriters think this list isnt on the up-and-up and accuse junior studio execs and assistants along with self-interested agents and managers of getting together to push their own clients on projects even if already abandoned. Also, if you spot inaccuracies, take it up with Leonard: I do not alter his list. Anyway, climb off the ledge if youre not on THE BLACK LIST. And, if you did make the cut, then congratulations: The Black List was compiled from the suggestions of over 300 film executives, each of whom contributed the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with, 2011 and will not have begun principal photography during this calendar year. This year, scripts had to receive at least six mentions to be included on the The Black List. All reasonable effort has been made to confirm the information contained herein. The Black List apologizes for all misspellings, misattributions, incorrect representation identification, and questionable 2011 affiliations. It has been said many times, but its worth repeating: The Black List is not a best of list. It is, at best, a most liked list. Enjoy. 133 THE IMITATION GAMEby Graham Moore The story of British WWII cryptographer Alan Turing, who cracked the German Enigma code and later poisoned himself after being criminally prosecuted for being a homosexual.. AGENCY: CAA AGENT:JP Evans,Jacqueline Sacerio MANAGEMENT: The Safran Company MANAGER: Tom Drumm FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER:Ido Ostrowsky,Nora Grossman 84 WHEN THE STREET LIGHTS GO ONby Chris Hutton, Eddie OKeefe In the early 1980s, a town suffers through the aftermath of a brutal murder of a high school girl and a teacher. AGENCY:WME AGENT:Simon Faber,Sarah Self MANAGEMENT:Tariq MerhabManagement MANAGER:Tariq Merhab PRODUCER:ImagineEntertainment 59 CHEWIEby Evan Susser, Van Robichaux A satirical behind the scenes look at the making of Star Wars through the eyes of Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca. AGENCY: WME AGENT:Mike Esola MANAGEMENT:IndustryEntertainment MANAGER:Jess Rosenthal 53 THE OUTSIDERby Andrew Baldwin In post World War II Japan, an American former prisoner-of-war rises in the yakuza. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Jay Baker, John Garvey MANAGEMENT: Anonymous Content MANAGER: Bard Dorros, David Kanter FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Linson Entertainment 43 FATHER DAUGHTER TIME: A TALE OF ARMED ROBBERY AND ESKIMO KISSES by Matthew Aldrich A man goes on a three state crime spree with anaccomplice, his eleven year old daughter. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: John Garvey, Stuart Manashil MANAGEMENT: Silent R Management MANAGER: Jewerl Ross FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Pearl Street Productions 33 IN THE EVENT OF A MOON DISASTER by Mike Jones An alternate telling of the historic APOLLO 11 mission to land on the moon that examines what might have happened if the astronauts had crash landed there. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: David Kopple, JP Evans, Matt Rosen MANAGEMENT: The Gotham Group MANAGER: Lindsay Williams PRODUCER: FilmNation 30 MAGGIE by John Scott 3 As a walking dead virus spreads across the country, a farm family helps their eldest daughter come to terms with her infection as she slowly becomes a flesh-eating zombie. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Billy Hawkins, Dan Rabinow MANAGEMENT: Sly Predator MANAGER: Trevor Kaufman FINANCIER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam PRODUCER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Trevor Kaufman, Matthew Baer 30 THE CURRENT WAR by Michael Mitnick Based on the true story of the race between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to develop a practical system of electricity and sell their respective inventions to the country and the world. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Simon Faber MANAGEMENT: Fourth Floor Productions MANAGER: Jeff Silver 28 THE END by Aron Eli Coleite Four people – a veteran broadcaster in London, a sixteen year old girl and her boyfriend in Ann Arbor, and a devoted family man in Shanghai – each try to make peace with their lives before an interstellar event ends the world in six hours. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Matt Rosen, Martin Spencer FINANCIER: Warner Brothers 27 BEYOND THE PALE by Chad Feehan Teenage siblings suspect theyve been ripped off by the town undertaker, but what they discover is much more sinister than either imagined. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Matt Rosen, Jacqueline Sacerio MANAGEMENT: Management 360 MANAGER: Guymon Casady, Mary Lee FINANCIER: Vendome Pictures PRODUCER: The Fort 27 EZEKIEL MOSS by Keith Bunin A mysterious stranger who possibly has the power to channel the souls of the dead changes the lives of everyone in a small Nebraska town, especially a young widow and her 11-year-old son. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Rowena Arguelles MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone MANAGER: Alex Lerner, Sean Perrone PRODUCER: A Likely Story, Mandalay Pictures 24 GRACE OF MONACO by Arash Amel Grace Kelly, age 33 and having given up her acting career to focus on being a full time princess, uses her political maneuvering behind the scenes to save Monaco while French Leader Charles de Gaulle and Monacos Prince Rainier III are at odds over the principalitys standing as a tax haven. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Rich Green, Matt Rosen FINANCIER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam PRODUCER: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam 24 HES FUCKIN PERFECT by Lauryn Kahn A social media savvy girl who is pessimistic about love finds the perfect guy and decides to use her internet research skills to turn herself into his perfect match. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Cliff Roberts FINANCIER: Fox 2000 PRODUCER: Gary Sanchez 23 BETHLEHEM by Larry Brenner A group of people struggling to survive a zombie apocalypse make an alliance with a vampire, trading themselves as food in exchange for protection since zombies dont eat vampire. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Martin Spencer, Jacqueline Sacerio MANAGEMENT: Magnet Management MANAGER: Mitch Solomon PRODUCER: Roth Films 20 THE THREE MISFORTUNES OF GEPPETTO: by Michael Vukadinovich A prequel to the story of Pinocchio in which Geppetto endures a life of misfortune, war, and adventure, all to be with Julia Moon, his true love. AGENCY: ICM AGENT: Ava Jamshidi FINANCIER: Fox PRODUCER: 21 Laps Entertainment 20 POWELL by Ed Whitworth Based on the true story of Colin Powell questioning the Bush administration leading up to his United Nations presentation where he made the case for going to war with Iraq. AGENCY: WME AGENT: David Karp, Cliff Roberts, Dan Cohan MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion MANAGER: Ashley Berns PRODUCER: Spirit Dance Entertainment 19 THE KNOLL: by Christopher Cantwell, Christopher Rogers A rookie cop and his potential flame witness JFK gunned down from the grassy knoll on November 22, 1963. Within hours, theyre on the run from the murderers who desperately need them silenced. AGENCY: ICM AGENT: Aaron Hart MANAGEMENT: Management 360 MANAGER: Jennifer Graham, Chris Huvane PRODUCER: Management 360 17 HOW TO DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY: by Ed Solomon A child prodigy tries to take control of his life away from his demanding parents. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Jay Baker, Todd Feldman, David OConnor FINANCIER: Sony PRODUCER: Escape Artists 17 DESPERATE HOURS by E Nicholas Mariani A small town crippled by WWI and the Spanish flu finds itself facing major moral questions and a brutal invading force when a young girl shows up on a ranchers doorstep covered in blood. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Jenny Maryasis MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion MANAGER: Britton Rizzio FINANCIER: GK Films PRODUCER: Infinitum Nihil 17 A MANY SPLINTERED THINGby Chris Shafer, Paul Vicknair When a charming heartbreaker finally meets a girl he cant have, he discovers the true meaning of love by living out other peoples love stories and writing his own. AGENCY:UTA AGENT:Jon Huddle,Jason Burns,Max Michael MANAGEMENT:Brillstein EntertainmentPartners MANAGER:Missy Malkin PRODUCER:Wonderland Soundand Vision 17 FLARSKYby Daniel Sterling A political journalist courts his old babysitter, who is now the United States secretary of state. AGENCY:UTA AGENT:Julien Thuan PRODUCER:Point Grey Pictures 17 BLOOD MOUNTAIN by Jonathan Stokes After his team is ambushed and killed in Pakistan, a young army ranger must escort the worlds most wanted terrorist over dangerous terrain in order to bring him to justice. While being hunted by both of their enemies, they must find a way to work together in order to survive. AGENCY:UTA AGENT:Ramses Ishak,Michael Sheresky,Geoff Morley MANAGEMENT:Energy Entertainment MANAGER:Brooklyn Weaver 17 BASTARDSby Justin Malen Two brothers, raised to believe their biological father died, find out their mother slept with many powerful and famous men in the 1970s, and the siblings hit the road to find their real father. AGENCY:Verve AGENT:Bill Weinstein,Rob Herting MANAGEMENT:H2F MANAGER:Chris Fenton FINANCIER:Paramount PRODUCER:The Montecito Picture Company 17 CRAZY FOR THE STORMby Will Fetters The true story of Norman Ollestads relationship with his father, who thrust the boy into the world of extreme surfing and competitive downhill skiing at the age of three. But it was that experience that allowed an 11-year old Norman to survive a plane crash amidst a blizzard in the San Gabriel mountains. AGENCY:WME AGENT:Elia Infascelli-Smith MANAGEMENT:3 Arts Entertainment MANAGER:Oliver Obst FINANCIER:Warner Brothers PRODUCER:Billy Gerber 16 THE SLACKFI PROJECTby Howard Overman A hapless and broken hearted barista is visited by two bad-ass soldiers from the future who tell him mankind is doomed, and he alone can save them. AGENCY:UTA AGENT:Julien Thuan FINANCIER:Sony PRODUCER:Matt TolmachProductions 14 THE MUSEUM OF BROKENRELATIONSHIPSby Natalie Krinsky Lucy, a twenty-eight year old junior curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, is sleeping with her boss. When he dumps her she begins a collection of break up items and starts a blog which goes viral. AGENCY:CAA AGENT:Jessica Matthews MANAGEMENT:The Gotham Group MANAGER:Jim Garavente,Jeremy Bell 14 ST VINCENT DE VAN NUYSby Ted Melfi When a twelve year old boy in need of a babysitter moves in next door to a misanthropic aging retiree whose life mainly consists of gambling, hookers, and drinking, the elder becomes an unlikely mentor to the boy. AGENCY:UTA AGENT:Ramses Ishak,Michael Sheresky MANAGEMENT:Infinity ManagementInternational MANAGER:Jon Karas FINANCIER:Fox PRODUCER:Chernin Entertainment,Crescendo Productions 14 DJANGO UNCHAINEDby Quentin Tarantino A freed slave named Django is trained as a bounty hunter by a German dentist named Schultz, and the two men set out to find Djangos enslaved wife. AGENCY:WME AGENT:Mike Simpson FINANCIER:The Weinstein Company, Sony PRODUCER:Double Feature Films,The Weinstein Company 13 THE ACCOUNTANTby Bill Dubuque The Treasury Department pursues a brilliant, autistic accountant who doubles as an assassin and problem-solves with precision in more ways than one. AGENCY:Paradigm AGENT:Trevor Astbury MANAGEMENT:Zero GravityManagement MANAGER:Eric Williams PRODUCER:Silverwood Films 13 SAVING MR. BANKS by Kelly Marcel The story of how Walt Disney got the rights for Mary Poppins. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Phil Raskind, David Karp PRODUCER: Ruby Films 12 BRIDGES ON THE FORT POINT CHANNEL by Chuck Maclean An Irish family in the 1970s, dealing with the loss of their father and the busing of black kids into white neighbor-hoods, decides to blow up all the bridges in Boston. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Billy Hawkins MANAGEMENT: Oasis Media Group MANAGER: Allison Doyle, Ben Rowe 12 THE BIG STONE GRID by Craig Zahler A cop is pulled into an underworld organization that brutally murders people to extort money out of others. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Julien Thuan, Emerson Davis MANAGEMENT: Caliber Media MANAGER: Dallas Sonnier FINANCIER: Sony PRODUCER: Michael De Luca Productions 12 CITIES OF REFUGE by Brandon Willer A former FBI psychologist is called in to investigate when a young girl goes missing after the apparent murder of her father and brother by two strangers in a small Oklahoma town. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Phil Damecourt, Jeff Gorin MANAGEMENT: Benderspink MANAGER: Jake Weiner PRODUCER: Tower Hill, Benderspink, Charlize Theron 12 GOOD KIDS by Chris McCoy Four overachieving high school students in Cape Cod reinvent themselves during the summer after graduation. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Simon Faber, Jeff Gorin, Sharon Jackson MANAGEMENT: The Gotham Group MANAGER: Shawn Simon PRODUCER: Depth of Field 11 LEAVING PETE by Ali Waller, Morgan Murphy A recently divorced author is stunned when his ex writes a popular book about their breakup, and he has to keep that fact secret from his new girlfriend, who works for the books publisher. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Bill Zotti, Andy Elkin 11 HIDDEN by Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer An elevated horror-thriller about a family hiding in a bomb shelter after escaping a mysterious outbreak. AGENCY: Paradigm AGENT: Chris Smith MANAGEMENT: MXN MANAGER: Mason Novick FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Mason Novick, Roy Lee, Lawrence Grey 11 DIRTY GRANDPA by John Phillips A young groom engaged to a demanding woman is forced to spend the week before his wedding with his half-blind, half-crazy, and wholly horny grandfather. Through this wild journey, his grandfather shows him how to take life by the balls and lead with his heart. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Jon Huddle, Steven Fisher FINANCIER: Universal PRODUCER: Josephson Entertainment 11 GRIM NIGHT by Allen Bey, Brandon Bestenheider A family has to defend themselves from the Grims, strange creatures who attack Earth and kill thousands one night every year. AGENCY: Verve AGENT: Bryan Besser FINANCIER: Universal PRODUCER: Marc Platt Productions, Unbroken Pictures 10 WATCH ROGER DO HIS THING by Michael Starrbury A retired hitman gets roped back into his old trade in order to save his friends life and quickly finds himself caught in a struggle trying to finish the job, and get his family out of Chicago alive at the same time. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Bill Zotti, Dan Rabinow MANAGEMENT: Caliber Media MANAGER: Dallas Sonnier, Julian Rosenberg PRODUCER: Tripp Vinson, One Race Films 10 THE FLAMINGO THIEF by Mike Lesieur Grief stricken over his wife leaving him, a man finds solace in an odd activity swiping figurines of flamingos. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Rich Green, Adam Kanter MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone MANAGER: Sean Perrone PRODUCER: Kaplan/Perrone, Red Hour 10 TWO NIGHT STAND by Mark Hammer After an extremely regrettable one night stand, two strangers wake up to find themselves snowed in after sleeping through a blizzard that put all of Manhattan on ice. Theyre now trapped together in a tiny apartment, forced to get to know each other way more than any one night stand should. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz MANAGEMENT: The Safran Company MANAGER: Tom Drumm 10 SEX TAPE by Kate Angelo When a married couple make a sex tape to spice up their relationship, it disappears, and they are frantic to get it back. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Jason Burns FINANCIER: Sony PRODUCER: Escape Artists 10 THE GUN EATERS by Alex Paraskevas, Jordan Goldberg Four hardened NY detectives race to apprehend a relentless spree-killer whos executing victims from Queens to Southampton in the span of a single day. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Rebecca Ewing, Keya Khayatian MANAGEMENT: Oasis Media Group MANAGER: Ben Rowe PRODUCER: Oasis Media Group 10 LITTLE WHITE CORVETTE by Michael Diliberti A down and out brother and sister go to Miami to sell a duffel bag of cocaine that they found in the trunk of a corvette left them by their dead father. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Phil Raskind, Simon Faber MANAGEMENT: New School Media MANAGER: Brian Levy PRODUCER: Scott Aversano Productions 9 JANE GOT A GUN by Brian Duffield After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasnt seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husbands gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job. AGENCY: Gersh AGENT: Devra Lieb, Bob Hohman, Bayard Maybank MANAGEMENT: Circle of Confusion MANAGER: Zach Cox, Noah Rosen 9 THE LAST WITNESS by Stefan Jaworski An FBI Agent interrogates an amnesiac, sole survivor of a Boston bombing in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. AGENCY: Paradigm AGENT: Trevor Astbury, Valarie Phillips, Ida Ziniti FINANCIER: Fox PRODUCER: Davis Entertainment 9 MURDERS & ACQUISITIONS by Jonathan Stokes The world of high-stakes finance collides with that of high-priced hitmen when an ousted CEO decides to hire an assassin to kill the corporate raider who stole his company. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Ramses Ishak, Michael Sheresky, Geoff Morley MANAGEMENT: Energy Entertainment MANAGER: Brooklyn Weaver FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: KatzSmith Productions 9 FLASHBACK by Will Honley A former NASA pilot with amnesia also the first person to travel the speed of light realizes he has the ability to travel back in time and along the way rediscovers his love for his wife. AGENCY: Verve AGENT: Adam Levine MANAGEMENT: Nuclear Entertainment MANAGER: Nick Fariabi, Jesse Silver 9 THE LAST DROP by Brandon Murphy, Phil Murphy A fully functioning alcoholic meets the girl of his dreams and soon discovers that theres a lot more at stake than love if he doesnt clean up his act. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Rich Cook MANAGEMENT: Mosaic MANAGER: Langley Perer FINANCIER: Mandate Pictures PRODUCER: Greg Shapiro 9 FRIEND OF BILL by Harper Dill After a humiliating episode in NY, a young woman returns to her hometown and tries to deal with her alcoholism. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Sarah Self, Jeff Gorin, Sharon Jackson MANAGER: Mike Dill PRODUCER: Marc Platt Productions, Neda Armian 8 DEAD OF WINTER by Sarah Conradt A teenage girl heads to a remote cabin in the mountains with her father and new stepmother – an experience the father hopes will bond the two ladies. But when a mysterious wounded Park Ranger shows up, family bonding will be the least of their concerns. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Jacqueline Sacerio MANAGEMENT: Hopscotch Pictures MANAGER: Sukee Chew FINANCIER: Lionsgate (distrib), Wind Dancer (financing) PRODUCER: Sherryl Clark, Hopscotch Pictures 8 ON A CLEAR DAY by Ryan Engle When a powerful and mysterious force invades an American city, a young father must traverse the battle-torn city in an effort to save his wounded wife and rescue their stranded children. In the process, our hero becomes the target of an enemy who will stop at nothing to kill him. AGENCY: Original Artists AGENT: Chris Sablan, Matt Leipzig MANAGEMENT: Mosaic MANAGER: Michael Lasker, Langley Perer PRODUCER: Ombra Films 8 HOME BY CHRISTMAS – BOB HOPE IN KOREA by Ben Schwartz Young Larry Gelbart goes on tour with his idol Bob Hope in the middle of the Korean War and learns the true price of patriotism. AGENCY: The Nethercott Agency AGENT: Gayla Nethercott PRODUCER: Jon Shestack Productions, Pink Slip Productions 8 THE PRETTY ONE by Jenee LaMarque When a womans identical prettier twin sister dies, the woman assumes her sisters identity, moving into her apartment and the big city. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz MANAGEMENT: Management 360 MANAGER: Mary Lee, Daniel Rappaport PRODUCER: RCR Pictures, Steven J Berger 8 BAD WORDS by Andrew Dodge The bastard child of the organizer of the national spelling bee gets his revenge by finding a loophole and attempting to win the bee as an adult, only to find friendship in a young Indian contestant. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Carolyn Sivitz MANAGEMENT: Fourth Floor Productions MANAGER: Jeff Silver FINANCIER: Darko PRODUCER: MXN 8 JURASSIC PARK by Imran Zaidi A high school couple and two of their friends ditch school to catch a special preview screening of JURASSIC PARK. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Jason Burns, Jenny Maryasis MANAGEMENT: Management 360 MANAGER: Darin Friedman 8 GASLIGHT by Ian Fried Secretly imprisoned in a London insane asylum, the infamous Jack the Ripper helps Scotland Yard investigators solve a series of grisly murders whose victims all share one thing in common: dual puncture wounds to the neck. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Dan Cohan, Mike Esola MANAGEMENT: Prolific MANAGER: Will Rowbotham 7 SUBJECT ZERO by Dave Cohen A Frankenstein-like tale of a scientist who develops a powerful new drug that brings his son back to life after he dies in a terrible car accident. Unfortunately, the desperate experiment of a loving father leads to the creation of a flesh-eating zombie epidemic with horrific consequences. AGENCY: ICM AGENT: Kathleen Remington, Emile Gladstone MANAGEMENT: Generate MANAGER: Jeremy Platt 7 THE HITMANS BODYGUARD by Tom OConnor The worlds best bodyguard must protect his arch nemesis, the worlds top assassinso he can testify against a brutal dictator and save his wife. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Barbara Dreyfus, Emerson Davis MANAGEMENT: Industry Entertainment MANAGER: Andrew Deane, Jess Rosenthal PRODUCER: Skydance Productions 7 CRISTO by Ian Shorr A man is unlawfully sentenced to an infamous prison and escapes, then transforms himself into the mysterious Cristo and systematically destroys the men who manipulated and enslaved him. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Charles Ferraro, Jason Burns MANAGEMENT: Mosaic MANAGER: Langley Perer FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Bellevue Productions, Langley Park Pictures 7 UNTITLED HLAVIN HEIST by John Hlavin An American thief living in Paris is coerced into pulling off a complex heist in order to save his kidnapped wife. AGENCY: UTA AGENT: Jason Burns FINANCIER: DreamWorks PRODUCER: Film Rites 7 LINE OF SIGHT by F Scott Frazier After a military coup takes out the executive branch of government, the countrys survival depends on a Navy Seal sniper extraction team getting the Speaker of the House from Washington DC to NY. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Dan Cohan, Mike Esola MANAGEMENT: H2F MANAGER: Chris Fenton, Chris Cowles FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Silver Pictures 7 PINOCCHIO by Bryan Fuller A wooden puppet, Pinocchio, dreams of becoming a real boy. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Phil Damecourt FINANCIER: Warner Brothers PRODUCER: Dan Jinks Company 7 THE WEDDING by Andrew Goldberg A group of couples deal with their respective issues as they attend a wedding. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Rich Cook MANAGEMENT: Underground Films and Management MANAGER: Josh Turner Maguire FINANCIER: CBS Films 7 77 by David Matthews Two stories from 1974 are linked together – the unsolved murder of an LAPD officer and the nationally televised shootout in South Central Los Angeles between the Symbionese Liberation Army and the LAPD where 50,000 rounds of gunfire was exchanged. The events will be seen through the eyes of a pair of police partners, one black and one white. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Roger Green, Elia Infascelli-Smith MANAGEMENT: The Schiff Company MANAGER: Nicole Romano PRODUCER: Wolf Films 6 GUYS NIGHT by Christopher Baldi Sick of brunches, bosses, and light beer, four co-workers set out on the mother of all guys nights in an attempt to rediscover their manhood. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Bill Zotti MANAGEMENT: New Wave MANAGER: Mike Goldberg, Josh Adler FINANCIER: Millenium Films PRODUCER: Jim Valdez, Matt Bass 6 SELF/LESS by Alex Pastor, David Pastor An extremely wealthy elderly man dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness to the body of a healthy young man but everything may not be as good as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the bodys origins and the secret organization that will kill to keep its secrets. AGENCY: CAA AGENT: Stuart Manashil, John Garvey MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone MANAGER: Alex Lerner FINANCIER: FilmDistrict (distrib), Endgame Entertainment (financing) PRODUCER: Ram Bergman 6 HYPERDRIVE by Alex Ankeles, Morgan Jurgenson When a tough cop recruits a geeky sci-fi author to help him track down a mysterious murder witness, they find themselves in the middle of a space opera playing out here on Earth. AGENCY: CAA/APA AGENT: Bill Zotti (Ankeles), Ryan Saul (Jurgenson) MANAGEMENT: Kaplan/Perrone (Ankeles) MANAGER: Aaron Kaplan (Ankeles), Jonathan Hung (Jurgenson) FINANCIER: Paramount PRODUCER: Disruption Entertainment 6 BEFORE I FALL by Maria Maggenti When a popular teen girl is killed in a car crash, she relives the critical day seven times and makes changes in an attempt to affect the outcome; in the process, she herself changes as she tries to make up for previous heartless, self-absorbed behavior and gains a better understanding of herself and others. As she evolves and makes the connections necessary to save a bullied, depressed girls life, she comes to accept her own fate. AGENCY: Paradigm AGENT: David Boxerbaum MANAGEMENT: Madhouse Entertainment MANAGER: Robyn Meisinger FINANCIER: Fox 2000 PRODUCER: Jon Shestack Productions 6 BREYTON AVE by J Daniel Shaffer A group of teens living without adults and under their own social order in a small fenced-in neighborhood are forced to face what they fear is the inevitable physical danger beyond the fence. AGENCY: Verve AGENT: Bryan Besser, Rob Herting MANAGEMENT: Management 360 MANAGER: Mary Lee, Jill McElroy PRODUCER: Unbroken Films 6 EL FUEGO CALIENTE by Ben Schwartz A remake of SOAPDISH, a desperate telenovela star dreaming of Hollywood stardom has her life implode, making her real life crazier than the insane show she made famous. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Rich Cook MANAGEMENT: Tom Sawyer Entertainment MANAGER: Jesse Hara, Rachel Miller FINANCIER: Paramount PRODUCER: Reiner-Greisman 6 THE DUFF by Josh Cagan Adapted from Kody Keplingers novel THE DUFF, the travails of a seventeen year old girl who believes she is the designated ugly fat friend. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Rich Cook MANAGEMENT: H2F MANAGER: Chris Fenton PRODUCER: Wonderland Sound and Vision 6 UNTITLED ARIZONA PROJECT by Luke Del Tredici A satirically dark comedy about a homicidal foreclosure victim kidnapping a real estate agent and planning to kill her in the housing development where she finagled money from customers like him. AGENCY: WME AGENT: Roger Green MANAGEMENT: Mosaic MANAGER: Christie Smith PRODUCER: Rough House Pictures

Chris Hemsworth and College Hotties Get the Horror Treatment in The Cabin in the Woods Trailer

If a creepy, tobacco-spitting, rural gas station attendant tells you, “I can get you there… it’s getting back that’s your concern,” as you navigate your way to a weekend house so “off-the-grid” that it doesn’t show up on the most advanced GPS system, you might turn around and floor your RV until you’re safely ensconced in suburban civilization again. But the upcoming Joss Whedon-produced horror flick Cabin in the Woods is not about you and your sensible friends — it’s about a bunch of college hotties (Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison) who are willing to ignore a football field’s (or whatever unit of measure popular 20-somethings use) worth of red flags if it means they can have a kickass cabin weekend. Of course, since this is a horror film, these crazy carefree kids get more scares in the form of bear traps and death elevators than they bargained for. Since this is a horror film from Joss Whedon though, Cabin in the Woods is not just a 90-minute cliche-fest but a feature that attempts to turn the genre on its severed ear with a subplot involving Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford as “white-collar co-workers with a mysterious connection to the the cabin.” Cabin was the first collaboration between Thor star Chris Hemsworth and Avengers director Joss Whedon, who co-wrote and produced this horror pic, originally slated for a 2010 release. Here, Hemsworth plays a varsity jacket-wearing jock who carries a football, a beer mug or a look of confusion at all times. After filming, Whedon cast Hemsworth for the title role in his Marvel blockbuster Thor, which was released last May. Finally, The Cabin in the Woods — directed by Drew Goddard (who penned Cloverfield) — arrives in theaters April 13. [via Yahoo!]

TLC's 'Candy Queen' First Look: The Sweetest Lion You'll Ever Meet (Exclusive Video)

NBC"Community" NBC's Community has found a digital community to call home.our editor recommends'Community's' Yvette Nicole Brown Talks Holiday Episode, the Return of Malcolm-Jamal Warner'Community' Cast Members Voice Optimism and Frustration Over Midseason Bump NBC's 'Community' Midseason Hiatus: What the Critics Are Saying Through a deal with production company Sony, episodes of the soon-to-be sidelined comedy created by Dan Harmon will stream on Hulu and Hulu Plus. Hulu Plus will be the only place where the series' entire library will be available. PHOTOS: On the 'Community' Set Beginning today, fans of the comedy starring Joel McHale can stream episodes of the series from the pilot to its most recent foosball-themed episode on the site, with Hulu Plus serving as the exclusive home to the show's complete roster of episodes. STORY: 'Prime Suspect' Future Uncertain, 'Community' Will Be Back on NBC Users of free service Hulu will be able to view Community's five most recent episodes (including current episodes available next day), while subscribers to Hulu Plus' will have next-day access to current season episodes as well as the show's entire library in HD and on Internet-connected TVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and mobile phones and tablets. STORY: 'Community' Stars, Creator, React to Midseason Schedule Change NBC benched the critical darling in November to make room for the return of Tina Fey's 30 Rock, with sources telling THR that the comedy will return to the schedule for a later date. On Thursday, Community's penultimate fall/winter episodeposted its strongest showing among adults 18-49 since Sept. 29 with a 1.7 rating. Diehard fans of the series, meanwhile, have launched a Twitter campaign in an effort to voice support for the series. Community ranked as Hulu's "top-performing comedy" in the site's "Best in Show" competition for two years running. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery On the 'Community' Set Community Sony Pictures Television Hulu

VH1 Launches Biopic Franchise With Film About TLC

VH1 may be the latest fundamental cable network to get involved with the television movie business this season, following similar forays by TNT, CMT, Wager and, to some degree, USA Network. VH1 is planning a number of biopics about music artists and popular culture symbols. To begin with is really a movie concerning the the nineteen nineties R&B/stylish-hop/pop trio TLC. The 2 making it through people from the group, Chilli and Tionne T-Boz Watkins, assists as consultants and executive produce with Bill Diggins and Maggie Malina. Kate Lanier (What is Love Got Related To It) has signed onto write the film. VH1 embarked into scripted programming captured using the series Single Ladies, that was began with a two-hour movie.