Shine ink cope with Absolutely Independent

LONDON -- Shine, this news Corp.-possessed shingle, has struck an initial-look cope with Nederlander format house Absolutely Independent because of its continental European off-shoots Shine Iberia and Shine Germany. The move gives Shine Germany and Shine Iberia use of Absolutely Independent's catalog within their particular areas. The shows taught in deal include "The Singing Office," that has been offered to 22 nations, "Find My Loved Ones,Inch that has been offered to 12 nations such as the U.S., "The Exit List," offered to 10 nations such as the U.S., and "The Telephone,Inch that has been offered to fifteen nations. Absolutely Independent was founded in 1996 by Patty Geneste and is an expert in entertainment formats. Shine stated the organization has offered a lot more than 60 created formats to clients in additional than 50 nations. An initial-look deal between Shine and Zodiak Privileges for Italia and Germany was agreed this past year. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

'Ghost Driver: Spirit of Vengeance' Trailer: Nicolas Cage Fights the Antichrist

Great news and not so good news: a brandname-new trailer for 'Ghost Driver: Spirit of Vengeance' has showed up ... but, regrettably, it doesn't feature Nicolas Cage pissing fire. (Curses!) Actually, the brand new trailer does quite a congrats of depressing any trashy anticipation you might have had from 'Ghost Driver: Spirit of Vengeance.' Despite lots of fire-breathing and ass-kicking from Ghost Driver themself, the brand new trailer features a lot of cheesy, cliched dialogue we have come to anticipate from Cage films through the years. 'Ghost Driver: Spirit of Vengeance,' which stars Cage, Johnny Whitworth and Idris Elba, hits theaters February. 17, 2012. [via Yahoo!] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Keck's Exclusives: Start Searching at Sarah's Mother on Chuck

Yvonne Strahovski and Cheryl Ladd As NBC's spy caper Chuck heads toward the series finale, the best batch of shows will focus on Chuck and Sarah's past. Round the emotional December 30 flashback episode, we'll finally be introduced to Sarah's mother, Emma, carried out by former Charlie's Angels star Cheryl Ladd (pictured, with Yvonne Strahovski). "Sarah and her mother share a mysterious that has forced those to be apart," states professional producer Chris Fedak. "After this, you should understand Sarah just like a different character." Expect Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah to talk about baby making and suffer a great loss before the two-hour The month of the month of january 27 finale, featuring the return of Chuck's mother (Linda Hamilton), an individual jet, an excellent concert-hall sequence and visits for the French Riviera and Berlin. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Start Searching: Law & Order: Legacies Gaming

Law & Order Legacies gaming Law & Order was among TV's longest running shows, produced four spinoffs, is constantly air in repeats almost day and night - which is still growing. The arrival gaming Law & Order: Legacies includes a thrilling-star choice of cops and lawyers, including NYPD detectives Lennie Briscoe, Mike Logan and Rey Curtis, Lt. Anita Van Buren, district lawyers Jack McCoy, Abbie Carmichael and Michael Cutter additionally to L&O: SVU detective Olivia Benson.Telltale Games will release Legacies this winter for apple apple iphones and iPads (and lastly for Computer systems and Apple computer systems). It will come in episodic format, with every installment inside the seven-part "series" selling for $2.99. Players might take the roles of either police or attorney, and have a situation from analysis through trial, including gathering evidence, questioning witnesses and making moral options that will dictate the eventual verdict."We really wanted [it to appear like] playing an instalment in the show, then when the analysis phase just like a officer is finished, we transfer towards the court room phase while using district lawyers," states Ryan Kaufman, senior designer at Telltale Games. "We based the tales on current occasions like the Dominique Strauss-Kahn situation as well as the Occupy Wall Street protests, but we pored over cases of the show for the greatest moments, making certain we really taken that classic Law & Order feel."Look at this exclusive trailer for Law & Order: Legacies: Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Why 'Tintin' and 'Rango' Stand Out Among This Year's Animated Awards Contenders (Opinion)

Weta Digital Ltd./Paramount Pictures Mirroring the situation among live-action features, there is no obvious front-runner in the world of animation this year, no roadrunner that has left its would-be competition in the dust. Another way of putting it is that, for the first time in a while, Pixar hasn't delivered one of its timeless classics that leaves virtually no room for argument.our editor recommendsGolden Globes Preview: 'Tintin,' 'Cars 2' Faceoff in Animation Category'Rango' to Receive Animation Award at 15th annual Hollywood Film Awards (Exclusive)'Rio' Dominates DVD Sales Chart for Third Straight Week'Puss in Boots' Box Office Boosts DreamWorks Animation Shares 'The Adventures of Tintin': Never-Before-Seen Footage Promises Plenty of Action (Video) Among the dozen significant animated releases of 2011 were four sequels, including Pixar's Cars 2, which was not as bad as some naysayers insist but lacks the heart associated with the company's best films and was sabotaged by too much hayseed humor. Falling alarmingly short of its predecessor is Happy Feet Two, which simply doesn't offer enough fresh ideas and narrative oomph, and even more excruciating was Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil, a lamentably cheap-looking undertaking so out of synch with current sensibilities that it seems to belong more to the pre-animation renaissance days of the 1980s. PHOTOS: It's a Zoo This Season: 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals The one good sequel by some distance, then, was Kung Fu Panda 2, which takes the trouble to improve upon the original, even if only slightly, in every department, notably with a less generic story and more sophisticated visuals. As for the rest, Gnomeo & Juliet and Mars Needs Moms merit little discussion, while Rio is a fizzy tropical party one forgets the next day. Disney's new rendition of Winnie the Pooh garnered significant praise in some quarters for the delicacy of its animation, but I found it very hard to make it even through the barely one-hour running time, so precisely aimed is it to a pre-literate public. PHOTOS: Steven Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin' In a more irreverent vein, Arthur Christmas cleverly provides high-tech answers to the age-old question of how Santa distributes so many presents around the world. This is not Aardman Animation at its very best, as the climax becomes too protracted, but it's welcome for its non-Hollywood flavor. Similarly good but not great is Puss in Boots, DreamWorks' Shrek spinoff that boasts lively characters and ripping good action in a format that feels more familiar than fresh. Which leaves two films at the top of the animation heap for 2011. After suffering through Robert Zemeckis' repeated attempts to jam a new bastard technology down our collective throats, I never wanted to see another motion-capture film in my life. But from the opening credits of Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, I was entirely disarmed and remained so for the entire film. More than he ever did in the three Indiana Jones sequels, Spielberg has almost entirely recaptured the spirit of genuine adventure and retro insouciance that distinguished Raiders of the Lost Ark. Even though the characters retain a facial blandness and inexpressiveness compared to either live action or expert cartooning, they still come through with real personality, beginning with Tintin himself. The staging and choreography of the action sequences go beyond anything that could be done in live action, and it's exhilarating to discover that Spielberg is still as up for conceiving such exciting roller-coaster rides now as he was 30 years ago. PHOTOS: 'Happy Feet Two' Blue Carpet Premiere Arrivals The great virtues of Tintin notwithstanding, the best and most entertaining animated film for me this year was Rango. A rambunctious, free-spirited mashup of countless cinematic references, this shows director Gore Verbinski making his escape from years in the Caribbean with the feel of a man liberated, putting a wonderful voice cast at the service of a cleverly madcap John Logan script that pushes into unexpected realms verbally and visually. Most immediately apparent is the film's pictorial richness, no doubt raised several notches by visual consultant Roger Deakins; the hyper-realism of the film's style bracingly tips over into surrealism at times but more often plays the trick of making you suspect the picture was actually shot with a camera rather than animated, so attentive is it to such cinematic niceties as framing, use of color, light and shadow and minute detail; visually, despite its confinement to 2D, the film is as stimulating and inventive as anything in 3D. Rango absolutely has the feel of a film buff's lark, not unlike what Quentin Tarantino does, and was criticized by a minority on this basis. But a solid foundation and sufficient narrative progress keep the flights of fancy in manageable orbits, and virtually every scene evinces an intoxicating relish for cinema. To top it off, in the absence of any significant live-action contribution to the genre, Rango did its bit to keep the Western alive in 2011. PHOTOS: 'The Adventures of Tintin' U.K. Premiere Blue Carpet Arrivals 4 ANIMATED LONG SHOTS FROM OVERSEAS: These foreign-language charmers may have what it takes to steal a nom away from the front-runners Wrinkles: Directed by Spanish helmer Ignacio Ferreras, Wrinkles chronicles the friendship between two elderly men as they live out their final days in a retirement home. Alois Nebel: This noirish offering from the Czech Republic tells the story of an isolated train dispatcher who ends up in a sanatorium when recurring nightmares push him over the edge. Chico & Rita: Spanish director Fernando Trueba teams with artist Javier Mariscal for this '50s-era romance that follows two musicians as they pursue their dreams in NY, Havana and Las Vegas. A Cat in Paris: This quirky tale from France centers on Dino, a normal cat by day who, once the sun goes down, joins notorious thief Nico to stalk the roofs of Paris in search of another heist. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery It's a Zoo This Season: 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals Happy Feet 2 Rio Shrek Kung Fu Panda 2 Rango Cars 2 Gnomeo & Juliet Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil Puss in Boots The Adventures of Tintin Robert Zemeckis Steven Spielberg Roger Deakins Gore Verbinski Awards Season Preview Animation

ICM Imploding, Part 2: Chris Silbermann Forces Decision By Biggest Investor And Calls ICM Board Meeting Friday Privately Depending On Mike Ovitzs Help And Advice

ICM Imploding! Chris Silbermann & Shaun Berg Fight For Control: Rizvi Sits On Sidelines How Lengthy Will Warring Last? BREAKING … ICM leader Chris Silbermann and ICM Chief Business Development Officer & General Counsel Ron Levy required the red-colored-eye from L.A. last evening and showed up in NY today to confront the company’s investor Suhail Rizvi and have to have a management buyout as quickly as possible that will get rid of the tenpercentery of majority investor Rizvi Traverse Management. This follows a 13-day-old demand by Silbermann and Levy to Rizvi to permit the management buyout. In those days, Rizvi stated he'd come to a decision by Christmas. But which was not in no time for Silbermann and Levy, who today attempted to pressure Rizvi to create his decision sooner. Rizvi told the executive pair he might have a solution on their behalf tomorrow. Also tomorrow, Silbermann and Levy have required an ICM board meeting to allow them to present the management buyout proposal. At this time, however, sources let me know the pair haven't posted an itemized proposal ahead of time towards the board. If they'd like to present a natural written proposal tomorrow remains to appear. Both Silbermann and Levy are enroute back from NY to L.A. tonight for tomorrow’s board meeting. But what's really startling about ICM and Silbermann at this time is the fact that he's involved the one and only Michael Ovitz in the intends to seize control from the agency. Initially when i first learned about this several several weeks ago, I requested Silbermann and Ovitz individually when they were speaking, planning, or whatsoever involved together in ICM activities. Both Silbermann and Ovitz independently refused it. However I will tell you that Silbermann continues to be speaking just about every day to Ovitz concerning the management buyout plan, as frequently as four occasions each day lately. My sources have experienced the telephone logs. Associates let me know that Silbermann visited Ovitz for assist in acquiring the required financial resources to complete the management buyout. I’m told that Ovitz isn't interested at putting their own money in to the agency at this time, but continues to be attempting to introduce Silbermann to numerous financial backers. The truth that Silbermann has requested and it is receiving Ovitz’s help and advice within this ICM matter will end up a hot-button problem not only inside ICM however in Hollywood generally. Ovitz remains among Hollywood’s most questionable and resented business personas ever to be successful within this town. His status was further damaged lately when he earned a move ahead giant sports and fashion management and production firm IMG when its owner and Ovitz’s longtime friend Teddy Forstmann is at the ultimate stages of dying from brain cancer. (See Michael Ovitz And IMG World And Teddy Forstmanns Brain Cancer: The Actual Story, As Well As What Ovitz Explained About This.) Ovitz’s controlling as part of IMG’s advisory board after he was placed there by Forstmann tried to dislodge Teddy’s hands-selected successor from running the organization. After his controlling is discovered and promoted, Ovitz was began the board. Soon after, Forstmann died. But IMG has become at the disposal of his hands-selected successor. Hollywood responded with outrage to news of Ovitz’s controlling: there’s every reason to think that Hollywood is going to be equally annoyed that Silbermann is including him within the ICM implosion. This is particularly the situation because for many years Ovitz would be a key competitor to ICM chairman and Boss Shaun Berg, whom Silbermann really wants to remove from manipulating the agency. Berg consequently continues to be fighting back. The infighting has torn apart ICM internally to the stage where agents are having to choose sides between your two males. MORE