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

Julia Roberts to Produce, Star in Workplace Comedy 'Second Act' (Exclusive)

In the current issue of The Hollywood Reporter, senior film reporter Pamela McClintock sat down with the notoriously press-shy Christian Bale, 37,and famed 60-year-old Chinese director Zhang Yimou(Raise the Red Lantern), who together just finished making the most expensive Chinese movie ever, the historical epic, The Flowers of War. The movie centers on Bale as a mourning American mortician who seeks refuge in a Catholic cathedral and finds himself in the middle of a war, in a story based on the Rape of Nanking, the brutal invasion of Nanking by the Japanese army in 1937. The movie will be released for one week in America in late December; it premieres in China on Dec. 16. In this exclusive interview, the men, who clearly like each other enormously, reveal how an American actor came to be the star of a Chinese major motion picture, Bale's 20-year fascination with the director, and how they overcame cultural and language barriers.our editor recommends'Flowers of War' Trailer: Christian Bale Protects Girls From Invading Japanese in 1937 China (Video)Christian Bale Chinese Epic 'Flowers of War' Nears U.S. Distribution Deal (Exclusive)'The Dark Knight Rises' Marks the End of Christian Bale's Batman EraHow Christian Bale Is Raising the Bar in ChinaZhang Yimou To Be Honored at Asia Pacific Screen AwardsChina Chooses Zhang Yimou's Christian Bale starrer 'Flowers of War' for Oscar Foreign Language SubmissionToronto 2011: Top U.S. Buyers Get First Glimpse of Christian Bale's 'The Flowers of War' PHOTOS: The Christian Bale Directors Posse: 6 Auteurs Won Over By the Actor BALE SAYS SIGNING ON TO THE FILM WAS A 'NO-BRAINER' With a penchant for demanding and far-flung assignments, Bale says he quickly accepted the offer to star in Zhang's epic when it came to him through his William Morris Endeavor agentsPatrick WhitesellandBoomer Malkin, even though he spoke no Mandarin (Mou Mou translated on the set)."Some people scratched their heads when I told them I wanted to do the project and said, 'Really, why?' I don't understand that sort of thinking," says Bale. "I like the adventure aspect of making movies, so the opportunity to work in China, not on an American movie, but on a Chinese movie, really appealed to me. How many times do you get that sort of opportunity, and on top of that, get to work with a fantastic director? It was a no-brainer."Says Whitesell: "One of the reasons I was excited was that this will up Christian's exposure in China. It could be China'sSaving Private Ryan." PHOTOS: First Look On the Set of 'The Dark Knight Rises' Bale was in the midst of preparing for the release ofThe Fighterwhen he received the script, and was immediately drawn in by the story."This was a very poignant and painful moment in Chinese history and I was drawn to the radical difference between the atrocities that happen, versus the incredible humanity that emerges," Bale says. "Yimou and I had spoken a little about the character, and this was not a guy who was a hero from the get-go, this was a guy who really just wanted to have a good time in China and make a buck." PHOTOS: 10 Top Summer Superheroes Of All Time WHY BALE WAS UNNERVED WHEN HE GOT TO THE SET Bale was baffled to find stone-cold silence when he arrived on the set of Yimou's $100 million historical epicThe Flowers of Warin January. After the 14-hour flight from Los Angeles to Nanjing, China, Bale found it downright unnerving. Sets are usually noisy hubs, not mausoleums."There were a couple of hundred people just staring at me. Even Yimou was whispering. I thought to myself, 'I guess this is how it's done in China,' " Bale recalls. "It turns out they'd all gotten together the day before and said that in the States, everybody is quiet on the set. I told them, 'Please, start shouting.' " One of the more awkward moments of the shoot came when Zhang asked Bale if he would instruct the first-time actors. Bale was stunned, since no director he's ever worked with would tolerate such an intrusion."Yimou explained that it's different in China, and that the more experienced actor is considered rude if he or she doesn't tell a less-experienced actor how to do a scene," Bale says. "What we had was a culture clash of what's acceptable, and what's not. I mean for me to tread on Yimou's toes would be incredibly arrogant. I just couldn't do it. At the same time, I didn't want to be perceived as being rude myself."Bale came up with a plan -- he was willing to leave the set and speak to an actor, but only if Zhang came along. VIDEO: 'Flowers of War' Trailer HOW ZHANG CONVINCED THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT TO GREEN LIGHT HIS SENSITIVE-SUBJECT FILM Over the years, Zhang has had his issues with the Chinese government -- several of his films were banned -- and on its face,Flowers of Warwas potentially problematic."This is not the sort of mainstream movie the Chinese government would usually approve," Zhang says."The story of the Rape of Nanking has been told before in films, and is a very political and serious subject," Zhang says, "but what intrigued me about this story was that it's actually told from the female perspective, so it's more humane and has a personal touch."Zhang researched the Rape of Nanking for more than three years, and some of the film's more graphic scenes were drawn from actual photographs, while the movie itself was based on Geling Yan's novelThe 13 Women of Nanjing. "Topics about foreigners, about religion and about World War II are not well-received by the government, but because this movie is about who we are as humans, and what we would do to save other people, the government actually supported it." STORY: Christian Bale Goes to China STEVEN SPIELBERG AND DAVID LINDE BOTH RECOMMENDED BALE TO ZHANG Zhang Yimou and producing partnerZhang Weiping knew from the start that they would need to land a Western actor to play the central character in the book. (Westerners played a crucial role in documenting the invasion of Nanking since the Japanese were not targeting them and they could evade danger and even get out.).Bale was at the top of the list, based on his ability to adapt and be completely in tune with new situations. Steven Spielberg, who had cast Bale inEmpire of the Sunyears earlier, also recommended the actor to his friend Zhang Yimou. Zhang is certain of one thing -- Bale is about to become famous at the Chinese box office. Many of the actor's films haven't been released in theaters there, includingThe Dark KnightandThe Fighter, although Bale reports with a laugh that pirated copies of both films were widely available on the streets of Nanjing.Indeed, the first time Zhang watched a copy ofThe Fighter, the subtitles were botched. After he was done shootingFlowers of War, he watched another copy. This time, the subtitles were right.With a glint returning to his eye, and the end to the interview at the Montage approaching, Zhang tells Bale: "I regret that I didn't seeThe Fighterwith the good subtitles the first time. Your performance was so good, I would have added more scenes for you inFlowers of War." STORY: Top U.S. Buyers Get First Glimpse of Christian Bale's 'The Flowers of War' WHAT THIS MEANS FOR HOLLYWOOD AND CHINA China's cash-flush film industry and box office are exploding, and Hollywood is feverishly trying to gain entry to a marketplace severely restricted by the government's quota limiting the annual number of Western films to 20.IfFlowers of Warworks, a whole new revenue stream could open up for Western actors (not to mention producers, directors and writers). At a $100 million budget, Zhang's movie is the most expensive production ever mounted in China, and Bale likely received millions for his work and perhaps a piece of the back end in an era of shrinking U.S. budgets.For their part, Hollywood studios have been busy focusing on striking co-production partnerships with Chinese film companies, such as Legendary Pictures' newly announced pact with Huayi Brothers and the creation of Legendary East. The first project is theEdward Zwick-directedThe Great Wall, which won't be subject to the quota."China is the fastest-growing market in the world. Co-productions are advantageous both for revenue share purposes and the challenges of the quota system," says Sanford Panitch, president of Fox International Productions, which has made four films in China with a local partner, including box-office hitsHot Summer Daysand its sequelLove in Space. Intentions are one thing, carrying out that vision is another. American audiences are notoriously finicky about watching a movie with subtitles, even if that movie stars a famous actor and is 40 percent in English. (The highest-grossing Chinese movie to date is 2000'sCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which earned $128.1 million domestically.) PHOTOS: Hollywood's Top 10 Grossing Films WHAT'S NEXT FOR BALE The interview took place just three days after Balewrapped production onthe last Batman movie,The Dark Knight Rises, shot in India, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and NY City.But the actor isn't fazed by the end of the Batman franchise, and already has moved on. "I'm not really thinking about what's next. Butthere's a couple of projects I'm doing withTerrence Malick, but it won't befor a while. So I'm going to have a little bit of a break." ZHANG YIMOU'S WORLDWIDE BOX-OFFICE TALLY: Ju Dou, raise the Red Lantern and hero were the first Chinese films nominated for foreign language Oscar Hero(2002) -- $177.4 million House of Flying Daggers(2004) -- $92.9 million Curse of the Golden Flower(2006) -- $78.6 million Raise the Red Lantern(1991) -- $2.6 million (U.S. Only) Ju Dou(1990) -- $2 million (U.S. only) To read the complete THR cover story, click here PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 'The Dark Knight Rises' First Look: On the Set Related Topics Steven Spielberg Christian Bale The Dark Knight Rises Zhang Yimou