Friday, September 30, 2011

5 Things to Know About the Busan Film Festival

1. Pusan or Busan?: Busan has largely gone with "B" for the past decade, though the festival dates to when Romanization of the name meant it was called the Pusan International Film Festival. Organizers say visitors will no longer be confused about whether Pusan and Busan refer to the same port city (they do). And because BIFF has gone with PIFF for so long, Internet search engines can find information about the festival using either keyword. 2. Ticket Tech:Hur Nam-sik, Busan mayor and festival chairman, says the organizing committee is working to provide more mobile access to tickets. South Korea is one of the world's most tech-friendly countries, and fans can now purchase movie tickets with smartphones that can then be claimed at any Busan Bank location. Advance tickets also can be purchased through the festival's website at www.biff.kr. 3. Kim Kee-duk: BIFF plans to honor the life and career of Kim Kee-duk, the prolific helmer who defined 1960s Korean cinema. Since debuting with Five Marines in 1961, Kim turned out 66 features during a 16-year career through 1977. Hermes Korea, the local branch of the French fashion line, will hold a special reception in honor of 76-year-old director Oct. 7 in the Grand Ballroom of the Paradise Hotel. 4. Luxury Lounging: With fabulous suites that BIFF organizers reserve for the VIPs, the Westin Chosun Hotel - named after Korea's last royal dynasty, the Joseon (Chosun) Kingdom - offers fine dining, spa facilities and a view overlooking Haeundae Beach. The Chosun also offers access to Dongbaek Island and its mysterious mermaid sculpture as well as an open-sea garden for a great view of the Gwangan Grand Bridge. Rooms start at $163 a night. Visit www.echosunhotel.com. 5. Attention, Foodies: Haeundae Beach is a haven for food lovers, offering everything from upscale Italian cuisine to quirky local fare found in an entire alley lined with sogogi gukbap, or beef-stew eateries. Because Busan is a port city, seafood fans should head to Jagalchi Market for fresh fish. Bustling with vendor stalls and makeshift restaurants where you can eat charcoal-roasted clams on the spot, the area offers an experience not to be missed. Related Topics International Asia Busan International Film Festival

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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Software fights piracy

With cyberlockers prepared to store numerous hrs of audio and video files, tech firm Vobile has released vCloud9 like a tool to shut digital doorways on unlicensed material. The Film Assn. of America has tossed its support behind the program technology specific at file-hosting services that identifies and handles unauthorized content that's been submitted for their sites. "vCloud9 provides an important new tool for website operators offering legitimate cloud-based storage services to have the ability to uncover unauthorized content on the internet and ensure copyright compliance, therefore safeguarding the privileges of content proprietors and also the creative community," stated Kevin Suh, senior Vice president, content protection, Internet for that MPAA. With cyberlockers, nearly all unauthorized submissions are saved as compressed files to permit simpler file uploading and installing. Through such file compressions, however, it's frequently hard to discern what the actual submissions are and whether's it has been legitimately bought. When vCloud9 finds new content, it matches its to Vobile's VDNA Database, a registry of copyrighted audiovisual content. If your match is located, business rules based on this content owner are instantly triggered the guidelines vary from serving advertisements from the submitted content to getting rid of the fabric directly from the website. Vobile is really a Santa Clara, Calif.-based creator of multimedia content monitoring and protection technology that's utilized by the main galleries, TV systems, record labels and sports leagues. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Friday, September 23, 2011

Thomas Gibson on How Two and a Half Men Pulled Off a Dharma & Greg Reunion

Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson The biggest surprise of Monday night's big Two and a Half Men season premiere may have been the unexpected appearance of Dharma & Greg stars Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson. While much of the episode's secrets had already leaked - from the death of Charlie Harper to the funeral appearance of his old girlfriends - the show managed to keep the cameos by Elfman and Gibson a complete secret. Turns out that's because Elfman and Gibson weren't actually at the taping of Two and a Half Men's season opener. Instead, they shot their cameo days later, and didn't do it in front of a studio audience. The clip of Elfman and Gibson was later shown to another audience in order to record their reaction and laughter - and that crowd, which signed a non-disclosure agreement, managed to keep it quiet. "Nobody seemed to put it out there, which was kind of nice," Gibson says. Two and a Half Men executive producer Chuck Lorre was also the creator behind Dharma & Greg, which ran on ABC from 1997 to 2002. (Trivia note: It's the first show to feature Lorre's now-famous weekly vanity card messages.) Gibson, who's already a team CBS player (as the star of the network's long-running drama Criminal Minds), was immediately game to the idea. "I got a call and Chuck wanted to have some surprises and make a really big splash for the first episode," Gibson says. "I thought it was a really funny idea." That's why, nine years after Dharma & Greg went off the air, Elfman and Gibson - bickering like a couple that has now been married 15 years - were among the guest stars showing up to take a look at the Malibu beach house formerly occupied by Charlie, and now on the market. John Stamos was another cameo. One hiccup: Dharma & Greg was produced by 20th Century Fox TV, while Two and a Half Men is a Warner Bros. TV show. Lorre didn't secure permission to use the characters, but technically he didn't need to: Elfman and Gibson never referred to each other as "Dharma" or "Greg", and they were simply billed as special guest appearances, without actual character names. "I don't know if it was Dharma and Greg," Gibson says with a wink. "It could have been a different couple." But even casual Dharma & Greg viewers probably picked up on the similar character types. Elfman, for example, walked down the stairs marveling about the home's "feng shui." Then the two start squabbling, Gibson suggests a divorce, and Elfman promises to "take you and your uptight bourgeois family for everything you've got." (If you recall, the conflict between Dharma's hippy character and Greg's uptight family provided the backdrop for the show.) So are Dharma and Greg on the outs? "They certainly seem to be having some issues," Gibson says. "I'd like to think things are still OK between them, even though they might have been at each others' throats there." Gibson says the scene took about an hour to shoot, and that he had a chance to catch up with Elfman. "I hadn't seen her in a while," he says. Much of the Two and a Half Men crew once worked on Dharma & Greg, which made for another type of homecoming, he adds. "To get the chance to get together again, even for just an hour or so, was cool. It was a family reunion and a great experience for us." It's been a good week for Gibson. Besides appearing in the top-rated Two and a Half Men episode, Criminal Minds returned for its seventh season with a roar. The show averaged a strong 14.1 million viewers and a 4.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic - a stunning accomplishment for a show so late in its run. "Never underestimate the American public's taste for gore and mayhem and serial killers," quips Gibson. But the star also credited the return of stars Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook and a "new infusion of energy" on the show. "It feels like what we've done so far this season is some of the best stuff we've ever done," he says. Of course, following his Two and a Half Men gig, Gibson admits that he may have been bitten again by the comedy bug. "You can't substitute the act of making people laugh," he says. "It's definitely something that actors like to do." Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Global Showbiz Briefs: Russia, Canada, Italia

Did Kremlin Have Its At Work Russia’s Selection For Oscars? Russian experts are accusing the Kremlin and lamenting the country’s option for top language film entry within the Oscars. Most likely probably the most pricey film inside the nation’s history — Burnt with the Sun-2: Citadel– was selected despite being abox office blast. It absolutely was directed by Nikita Mikhalkov, an in depth friend of pm Vladimir Putin. The choice panel’s chairman, Oscar-winning director Vladimir Menshov, rejected to sign off round the election in protest. Your final decision was unfair, he told a correspondent within the Uk’s Telegraph. It absolutely was very badly received by experts, its box office receipts flattened plus it did not have worldwide festival success. There has been no less than two other films that have been more deserving, he added. Citadel can be a 3-hour undertake the Red-colored-colored Armys fight in the Nazis starring Mikhalkov themselves which is the next instalment from the epic saga. The initial film inside the trilogy, Burnt with the Sun, won an Oscar to find the best language film in 1995. But Mikhalkovraised eye eyebrows in those days developing a two-part follow-up throughout a time of eight years inside a combined cost of $54M. Canada Bars TV Firms FromExclusive TV, InternetOffers Canadian media government physiques today blocked businesses that own TV systems from offering their programs exclusively for his or her mobile or Internet clients. Any program broadcast on tv –including hockey games, and that means you know they’re serious– ought to be distributed around rivals under fair and reasonable terms. “Canadians shouldn’t need to buy a mobile device in the specific company or subscribe to its Websites simply to access a typical television programs,” the controlling panel’s chairman Konrad von Finckenstein mentioned in statement. Not remarkably, professionals at Canada’s finest media congloms, Bell Canada Companies and Quebecor Cable, were disappointed. BCE representative Mirko Bibic mentioned your final decision will stifle innovation. “The capacity to check things out in the marketplace to be able to differentiate yourself with clients is what levels of competition are about.” Companies could offer exclusive programming for his or her Internet or mobile clients whether it's produced particularly for your that purpose. Rome FestivalTo Recognition Richard Gere With Career Award The American star of Pretty Lady plus an Officer Together with a Gentleman can get the Marcus Aurelius career award, planners mentioned today. The sixthedition of theRome Worldwide Film Festivalwill run fromOctober 27 to November 4. The fest will screen a restored version of Terrence Malick’s 1978 Occasions of Paradise, through which Gere starred. Gere will discuss his use Malick and retrace the very first stages of his career.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Dye's World Cafe celebrates

As the number of truly independent radio programmers seems to dwindle even further on the terrestrial dial, broadcasters have a reason to celebrate as David Dye's World Cafe marks its 20th anniversary on Philadelphia's WXPN. The tastemaking show will commemorate the milestone with a two-day concert at the end of October featuring John Hiatt, Feist, Dawes and the Band's Robbie Robertson, prefaced by a series of 20 retrospective broadcasts. Yet Dye will also carve out time in each show for a new artist spotlight -- an appropriate format for a show that has given key early exposure to the likes of Coldplay and My Morning Jacket while also delving deep into blues and jazz catalogs. Sometimes they're so big and so obvious," Dye said, recalling the acts he'd had a hand in breaking. "Jeff Buckley would be one. And we were earlier than early with Norah Jones, and man, you could tell right from the beginning... Looking back, those seem like no-brainers, but at the time they weren't." But Dye still hasn't found the magic formula for new artist discovery. "Sometimes it's difficult to find anyone with exclusivity who's any good. I can play a lot of new music, but is it gonna have any staying power? Is it going to be something where our audience says, 'Oh I heard of them when'?" All the same, "It still always starts with me listening to something and saying, 'Wow.' " Dye's show is syndicated on 185 public radio stations, and he shows little sign of losing his touch. Yet Dye casts a bit of a wary eye on the future of the format in its current state. It's hard for me to be really optimistic," Dye said. "But that said, I can point to those people who really give a quality niche product of some sort -- be that a quality hip-hop station, or something like what NPR music does, or what we do. I do worry about exclusively Internet-based radio, just in the sense of making sure that stations are connected with some sort of terrestrial source or publication. A Pitchfork radio station might do really well, for example. But you have to have some sort of a double-whammy to get your audience there. Niches are going to remain niches, but this mass broadcasting thing is clearly in trouble." n Longtime TV writer and showrunner Rene Balcer may have been at the helm of one of the smallscreen's more lucrative spinoffs in "Law and Order: Criminal Intent," but it's hard to think of any obvious precedent for his latest venture -- as a songwriter for North Carolina bluesmen, in collaboration with a Chinese artist and MacArthur "genius" grant recipient. Balcer's debut as a blues lyricist can be heard at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, accompanying Chinese artist Xu Bing's exhibit "Tobacco Project Virginia." An admirer of Xu's, Balcer composed a poem, "Backbone," to be incorporated into his art; the poem, a tribute to the women who worked on tobacco plantations, is based entirely on phrases taken from stencils used by 19th century growers to trademark their wares. For an exhibit that takes place in Virginia, the blues somehow has to be a part of it," Balcer recalled. Balcer and songwriter Michael Sackler-Berner (who contributed music to the "Law and Order" franchise) sought for blues artists to interpret the poem into song, even reaching out to Robert Johnson contemporary David "Honeyboy" Edwards, who died last month. They eventually found a pair of North Carolina veterans, vocalist Captain Luke and guitarist Big Ron Hunter, both of whom coincidentally had childhood experiences on tobacco farms. The words basically come from 19th century Virginia, so it felt authentic. I certainly don't think I'm going to be writing blues songs about waking up this morning and finding out my Maserati got repossessed," he laughed. "But this one just felt appropriate." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Victoria Negri... Got the Part

The idea of confronting a possessed murderer was not the most frightening part of Victoria Negri's audition for the feature-length horror film "The Murders of Cane Hill." What terrified her was that the entire audition would consist of completely improvised scenes."It was pretty scary," Negri recalls. "A bunch of improv auditions with high stakes. If you don't go full out, it's not going to be realistic or believable."A nonunion actor who spent four years at NY University, through which she studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and Stonestreet Screen Acting Studios, Negri is constantly checking BackStage.com, refreshing the casting calls and reading advice columns, while she sits in front of a computer all day at her job as a transcriptionist. After submitting her headshot and rsum for Poseidon Productions' "The Murders of Cane Hill" on BackStage.com, she was given three scenarios for the character Izzy Conrad that she would have to improvise, one of which involved witnessing a friend's murder."The real difficult part of it for me was finding a point of focus," Negri says. "I had to show these characters next to me who weren't even there and the balance of someone trying to comfort me but also watching this horrific event happen."For writer-director T.J. Collins, improv is always part of his audition process. "It allows me to experience the full range of the actor's abilities," he says. Collins was searching for actors who could react, solve problems, and, of course, scream loudly when placed in dramatic situations, like seeing a friend violently murdered. He admired Negri's full commitment to screaming and crying during her audition."Finding an actor that fits the criteria is not an easy task," Collins admits, "but when it came to Victoria, she managed to balance strength and vulnerability, which is essential to her character."Aside from the unusual audition, Negri calls "The Murders of Cane Hill" "basically just your straightforward horror movie," complete with Ouija boards, possessed spirits, murder, and a creepy abandoned house. Negri is an avid fan of horror and zombie movies, but this is her first foray into the genre. "Getting murdered sounds really fun to me," she says of the chance to experience the physicality of a thriller and her first onscreen death.If her experience with "The Murders of Cane Hill" taught Negri anythingother than how to handle possessed spiritsit was to trust herself. "Just to go with your gut and fully commit," she says, "and have fun with it. Horror is fun."Has Back Stage helped you get cast in the past year? We'd love to tell your story. Be in the weekly column by emailing casting@backstage.com for NY or bswcasting@backstage.com for Los Angeles with "I Got the Part" in the subject line.

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'Real Average women of recent York': Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, and Kelly Bensimon Formally Out, Too

It appears like Bravo makes up its mind. As we were the first one to are convinced that Cindy Barshop is not requested back for Season 5 from the Real Average women of NY City, Bravo verifies that Alex McCord,Jill Zarin, andKelly Killoren Bensimon won't also be returning.our editor recommendsBethenny Frankel Ink 3 Book Fiction Cope With Touchstone FiresideBravo Professional Andy Cohen Scores Seven-Figure Advance for Memoir (Exclusive)Bethenny Frankel Responds to SkinnyGirl Margarita Debate STORY: 'Real Average women of NY': Cindy Barshop Formally Out "Ramona Singer, Sonja Morgan and LuAnn DeLesseps is going to be coming back for season five from the Real Average women of NY City," a Bravo representative informs The Hollywood Reporter. "We have were built with a fabulous run with the as well as appreciate them discussing their lives with this audiences. It's a friendly departure one of the other as well as we keep having ongoing discussions together.Inch This news arrives after times of backwards and forwards using the women whether the network would request it well. Zarin, McCord and Barshop told THR that they are in limbo the 2009 week and were awaiting Bravo to see them when they'd be asked back. STORY: 'Real Average women of NY': Within the Inevitable Cast Shakeup Meanwhile sources near to the production told THR that Morgan, Singer and DeLesseps were already in discussions to come back now and today clearly they've completed their contracts using the network. Zarin's repetition,Darren Bettencourt,released the next statement to THR: "Jill has run out of town together with her husband Bobby plus they are going to herdaughter Ally at college to see relatives weekend so she's not talking to the press. I will tell you that they is extremely happy and very busy using the national launch of her bodyshaper line Skweez Couture by Jill Zarin that will debut at The almighty and Taylor stores across the nation this month after which unveil at other national merchants within the coming several weeks. Jill is humbled through the remarkable quantity of media curiosity about her response and appears toward personally opening about all this soon and announcing some exciting new projects." STORY: 'Real Average women' Song Sales: The Way They Compare We spoke to McCord and her husband, Simon van Kempen, right after Bravo informed us of their decision and also the couple told us: "Alex and that i are sad it's arrived at this. We'd an excellent 4 years. We don't intend with this to become the ultimate time you'll see us on tv. Everything happens for any reason. We're not happy, we're not sad. It's what it's. We thank our fans. We now have tremendous, tremendous outpouring of support. I believe even Bravo is surprised at just how much support Alex has already established. It didn't change their opinion or didn't change their decision. And may possibly not function as the finish of seeing us on Average women. May possibly not function as the finish of seeing us on Bravo. We don't realize that yet either. There's a great deal to be talked about within the approaching days. You want the following season well. We're not disappearing. We remain happy and lengthy may that continue." All ignored average women are positively going after companies outdoors from the series. McCord andvan Kempenare starting ahome bedding businesscalled Aluxe Home. Apart from Squeez pointed out above, Zarin can also be working onher home collection. Barshop is the owner of Completely Bare, a national chain of laser hair removal spas. And Bensimon continues towrite about fashion and design jewellery. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro Related Subjects Bravo The Actual Average women of NY City

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Plea deal with feds for SAG member

An connect in the Screen Stars Guild has showed up in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after he was billed with uploading an award-season screener of "Black Swan" for the Sailing Bay file-talking about site.In the filing with U.S. District Court in La, Wes DeSoto made the decision to plead guilty to infringing a copyrighted work being ready for commercial distribution. He made the decision to pay for restitution, and prosecutors decided to not seek a prison term, meaning probation is most likely. A sentencing date isn't set.The FBI completed searching of DeSoto's apartment in April, seeking computer hard disks together with many other materials, on suspicion he was the foundation from the month of the month of january uploads of screeners of "Black Swan," "The King's Speech," "The Fighter" together with other movies. The movies were distributed around SAG people on iTunes, as well as the FBI mentioned it used the foundation code concerning the screeners to follow along with these to DeSoto. Contact Ted Manley at ted.manley@variety.com

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

NBC News Andrea Mitchell Discloses She's Cancer Of The Breast (Video)

Andrea Mitchell, NBC News' chief foreign matters correspondent, revealed openly on MSNBC on Wednesday that they have been identified with cancer of the breast. However, she was quick to reassure audiences the cancer have been caught early and she or he is "already back at the officeInch and it has "a good prognosis."our editor recommends'Vertigo' Star Kim Novak Identified With Cancer Of The Breast Mitchell, who hosts Andrea Mitchell Reviews on MSNBC and it is married to former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, told audiences inside a personal note on her behalf broadcast, or as she place it, "Generate An Income spent my summer time vacation." She stated, "I'd planned to become hiking in Wyoming a week ago, but rather discovered that i'm now one of the one out of eight women within this country -- incredibly, one out of eight -- who've cancer of the breast." She ongoing, "I'm searching only at that among existence's training" and advised women to possess regular cancer of the breast tests. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news concerning the economy Related Subjects MSNBC

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Stars on Premiere, Russell Armstrong's Suicide

David Livingston/Getty Images Real Housewives of Beverly Hills stars Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump and Adrienne Maloof returned to the Today show Tuesday morning to discuss how the premiere handled Russell Armstrong's suicide. STORY: 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Premiere Will Not Be Pushed Back "I thought they [Bravo] handled it respectfully in light of the situation. I'm pleased with the outcome," Richards told Ann Curry, adding that Taylor Armstrong "was supportive of the series being shown" about three weeks after her estranged husband hanged himself in the Los Angeles home he was renting after their separation. STORY: Bravo Denies Taylor Armstrong Will Discuss Russell's Suicide on Special Curry asked if Vanderpump was "upset" that producers left in a comment about her husband, Ken, talking about therapy and Russell. "I think everything changes in light of what happened, but it was accurate. It was his opinion regarding himself, not Taylor," said Vanderpump. "He apologized to Taylor the next day after she realized how fragile she was." STORY: 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Husband Russell Armstrong Slams Bravo in One of His Final Interviews Added Richards, "I think honest, it's very difficult in a situation like this. Bravo has tried to handle this as responsibly and respectfully as possible. The show is not just about them. It's about six women and their lives. It's a part of it, but so much is going on in the show." Richards says the suicide came as a shock to everyone. "We had finished filming. I don't think even Taylor was aware of his mental state," she said. STORY: 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills': Bravo Family Reacts to Russell Armstrong's Death Maloof went on: "I believe the network with us agreed to take the higher road and do something positive to get the message out about suicide prevention, mental illness and depression. They're taking a negative and making a positive and [we'll] try to save one life..." When asked if the producers of Bravo exploited their lives -- and Armstrong's suicide -- Maloof said, "[They couldn't] sweep it under the rug and not talk about it. What good does that do?" Richards said she received "an enormous, overwhelming amount of support and people thanking us for addressing it. People who lost family members..." "I did research and suicide is the third leading cause of death among young adults and teenagers," added Maloof. "Those statistics are very scary, so if we can get the word out and look for warning signs... somebody needs to start that, and we are the perfect platform for that." RELATED: 'RHOBH's' Taylor Armstrong: Russell's Suicide Is 'Tragic' Ice-T Criticizes 'RHOBH' Russell Armstrong's Suicide, Slams 'Jersey Shore' 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Premiere: Cast Members Discuss Russell Armstrong Suicide on 'Today' (Video) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills