ABC Buys Jailhouse Lawyer Drama 'Turner Loose'

ABC gets secured with drama Turner Loose. STORY: Fall TV Premiere Week: The Those who win and Nonwinners The project, which originates from ABC Galleries, focuses on Bobby Turner,a disgraced Wall Street banker switched jailhouse lawyer. He is able to look for a legal loophole for each inmate but themself, until he finds out their own way to avoid it along with a chance at redemption employed by the feminine district attorney who locked him up. STORY: 'Pan Am' Among Season's Most high-priced Aircraft pilots Craig Schindel (Law & Order, Castle, Criminal Minds) isset to create and executive produce.He's repped by CAA. Related Subjects ABC TV Development

Mark Gordon Sells Security Alarm Comedy to ABC (Exclusive)

Mark Gordon has offered another comedy to ABC.our editor recommendsExclusive Q&A: Hot Producer Mark Gordon Discloses What TV Projects the Systems Are BuyingMark Gordon Signs Start Looking Cope With Disney The project, How you can Survive a house Invasion, is really a multi-camera sitcom in regards to a type A, Obsessive-compulsive disorder security alarm specialist who finds themself being pressed from his safety zone when his college-age boy and the seniors mother both relocate with him. David Katz ($#*! My Father States) is mounted on pen the ABC Galleries-based project. Mark Gordon Companycomedy headAndrea Shay andGordon assists as executive producers. This news follows other sales for Gordon's shingle, including comedies afterMoe Jelline'sGenerationEx,Scott King'sStuck in ReverseandVirtual Virgin. Around the drama side, the prolific producer has inked deals fora contemporaryMiami Vice-style crime dramaUntouchable, aCrazy Stupid Love-esque emotional proceduralWinging Itand anadaptation of his filmSource Codeat CBS, amongst others. Katz and Gordon are generally repped by ICM. Email: Lacey.Rose@thr.com Twitter: @LaceyVRose Related Subjects ABC TV Development The Objective Gordon Company

'Immortals' Mondays Launches Using This Graphic Novel Start Searching!

Tarsem Singh's "Immortals" remains days from release, nevertheless the fun is just getting started the next at MTV Movies. Prepare for "Immortals" Mondays, where we'll be doling out exclusive interviews, teaser games, photos plus much more over the following 7 days just before the breathtaking fight between gods and males erupts round the silver screen on November 11, 2011. "Immortals" Mondays starts today by getting a unique start searching at "Immortals: Gods and Heroes," the graphic novel from Archaia Press that actually works like a precursor for the Henry Cavill-starring action epic. An anthology range of 10 tales, "Gods and Heroes" sees divine tales from comic designers including Ben Templesmith ("four weeks of Evening"), Ron Marz ("Eco-friendly Lantern") and Ben McCool ("Captain America") to cover the legacy of Perseus, Ares together with other mythic figures before their tales are told entirely this November. In this exclusive consider first the graphic novel, uncover why the story of "Immortals" gives itself so greatly for the comic form, what each creator found fascinating in the world Tarsem Singh crafted for your silver screen, and even more. Ensure to evaluate back around every Monday for further "Immortals" excellence!

Focus Features Exec Peter Kujawski Takes Acquisitions Exec Veep Post at Universal

Universal Pictures co-chairman Donna Langley appointed Peter Kujawski to the post of EVP Worldwide Acquisitions. Kujawski is currently EVP International Sales for the Universal-owned specialty film label Focus Features. The Universal features team got a vote of confidence when chairman Adam Fogelson was given an early re-up, and Langley is also negotiating to extend her term with the studio. Kujawski is charged with centralizing and streamlining Universal’s acquisitions and to maximize distribution opportunities. He’ll report to Langley and be based in Los Angeles. He isn’t replacing anyone directly, but does pick up some of the slack left when Christian Grass left the studio in July. Kujawski will also work closely with Universal Pictures President of International David Kosse. “Peter’s vast experience selling specialty films gives him a unique perspective on the global marketplace and undeniably qualifies him to lead our acquisitions efforts,” Langley said. At Focus, Kujawski has sold such films as Volver, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Burn After Reading, Lost in Translation, The Constant Gardener, Eastern Promises and Brokeback Mountain. Recent sales include the Joe Wright-directed Hanna, Tom Tykwer and Andy and Lana Wachowski’s Cloud Atlas and the Roger Michell-directed Hyde Park on the Hudson. Kujawski has been with Focus since 2002, and before that he worked with Focus CEO James Schamus at Good Machine before that company was absorbed into Universal when Schamus came aboard.

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Spielberg Can Get 2012 David O. Selznick Award

Steven Spielberg remains named the individual finding the 2012 David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Movies within the Producers Guild of America.In the statement, PGA co-chairs Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim mentioned, "One of the most prolific filmmakers ever, Steven's ongoing genius, imagination and fearlessness in the world of feature film entertainment is unmatched in this industry."Just like a producer, Spielberg had 11 TV and film credits this season, like the summer season blockbusters "Super 8" and "Transformers: Dark in the Moon" additionally to their personal approaching films "War Equine" and "The Adventures of Tintin."The filmmaker can get the award within the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Honours ceremony within the Beverly Hilton Hotel around the month of the month of january 21st, 2012. The Hollywood Reporter

The Voice (and Former TRL) Host Carson Daly: The Founding Father of Social TV?

Laugh if you'd like, but Carson Daly may have started the social TV movement means by 1998 with MTV's interactive call-in countdown show Total Request Live. Today, he hosts NBC's very social singing competition The Voice. (Between, he's situated NBC's late-late-evening show Last Call with Carson Daly.) TRL as well as the Voice can experience miles apart round the music-show spectrum, however they have both brought for the socialization of TV. We spoken to Daly about his role in shaping TRL, adapting the Nederlander formula for your Voice as well as the role of quality in social success. Fall Preview: Get scoop inside your favorite returning shows TVGuide.com: Did TRL invent social TV? Carson Daly: I really think so. It absolutely was possibly the first instance of that which you now consider social or interactive television - in the event you asked for someone for the next example, In my opinion they'd be hard-pressed to find one. In 1997, 1998, producers and systems made television and you also a slave to and just you loved it otherwise you didn't. There's no communication. There's that which you known as the "fourth wall" - you will not ever arrived at play in the procedure. At MTV, we seriously considered awesome, and then we made a decision to state, "We wish you to definitely certainly play in the procedure. Here is your network. Here is your space." TVGuide.com: However, if the show started, it was not interactive whatsoever. Daly: Once I arrived at MTV, i had been trying to build up a concept for your show because Total Request wasn't really working. It absolutely was a show where I used to be alone throughout the evening, in the studio, reading through via a high 10. It absolutely was kind of an emergency. In those days, everybody was approaching in my opinion all the time and would say "Hey, MTV!" -- they'd call me MTV -- "Guy, that video sucks. Why don't you play more Korn?" I obtained so frustrated with hearing that, therefore i came back for the network and mentioned, "Let's function one hour and say, 'Here's our phone number. Here's this new factor known as the digital email address contact information. We will offer you remedies for everything we play, which way if you don't appreciate it - then blame yourself and blame your pals. Because everybody have sh---y taste.'" This is when it started. That was one of the primary occasions we view, in entertainment, relating to this pop-culture scale, social media in the office. Have a look whatsoever from the familiar faces returning to TV this year TVGuide.com: So quick-forward 14 years, and you're simply hosting The Voice - possibly most likely probably the most social shows round the air. Can it be whatsoever like the beginning at TRL? Daly: It's! I really appear such as the Voice's core audience is Generation TRL. There's a interesting correlation of those two. It's almost the adult version of TRL. TVGuide.com: The Voice introduced new elements, like integrating on-screen hashtags, the Social Media Room, a tweet scroll in the finish in the screen, getting a chance to tweet within the idol idol judges. Which kind of team was behind putting my way through position? Daly: In justness, the particular fact is it had been a format that was already used in Holland. The Nederlander version in the Voice really recognized the whole social aspect. Several days in advance, we'd a crew of people which determined the best way to tell others, how you would start letting people participate the understanding online. We start each episode by saying, "Thank you for going to The Voice, most likely probably the most socially and digitally integrated show on television.In . If you're gonna condition that line, you have to support it. TVGuide.com: Simply how much you think the social aspect carried out in to the wealth from the show? Daly: Once the product's bad, it might have observed that same digital imprint, nevertheless it may have been negative. Due to the fact people are interacting and you're simply trending on Twitter, that doesn't imply you'll probably be large. The VMAs had their utmost amounts in 10 years, however, many people online were kinda like, "This show sucks." It absolutely was a greater school train wreck. We appear such as the Voice is a superb show, so when the item is really good, people will believe it is and discuss it. And so they did. I furthermore think one reason this show is actually effective is really because we go very seriously - we're not Idol, we're not The Gong Show. We don't think there's anything funny of a youthful person trying to really make it inside the music business. Gallery: Which Tv shows hopped the shark last season? TVGuide.com: You think that is all merely a trend or perhaps is there endurance? Daly: In my opinion it is the obvious method of the long run. In my opinion the general public will start to dictate plots. There might be also alternate being to films or Tv shows eventually. Social networks are excellent if something is great, people will watch it, after which it they'll tell others virally. This happened when Mad Males first started on AMC. Now it doesn't even matter that you land or what network you are well on, if people as if you, the word could possibly get around. In television now, using social networks are vital to success.

Revenge

Filmed in North Carolina by ABC Studios. Executive producers, Mike Kelley, Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Phillip Noyce; producers, Randy Sutter, Samantha Thomas; director, Noyce; writer, Kelley.Emily Thorne - Emily VanCamp Victoria Grayson - Madeleine Stowe Conrad Grayson - Henry Czerny Daniel Grayson - Josh Bowman Jack Porter - Nick Wechsler Nolan Ross - Gabriel Mann Ashley Davenport - Ashley Madekwe Charlotte Grayson - Christa B. Allen Declan Porter - Connor Paolo The money, power and privilege associated with the Hamptons is a ripe setting for a nighttime soap, and a young woman bent on revenge against those responsible for her father's disgrace and death when she was a child is as good a place to start as any. Yet "Revenge" doesn't quite pop, even with an opening murder to set the wheels in motion. Although the show incorporates the symbol for infinity, in terms of timelines, earning a full season order provides a more pressing concern. Part of the problem has to do with Emily VanCamp ("Brothers & Sisters"), who is simply a little too sweet and apple-pie as Emily Thorne, the alluring young woman who takes up residence among the ostentatiously wealthy set, with an eye on exacting you-know-what. After seeking to hook viewers with the murkily shot slaying on a moonlit beach, the series jumps back "five months earlier," as Emily quickly wangles an invite to a lavish bash thrown by Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), described as the "reigning queen of the Hamptons." Pretty soon, though, that crown begins to rest uneasily, as Emily sets about her elaborate plot against the local gentry, which includes using Victoria's son (Josh Bowman) -- who immediately takes the bait by setting his sights on Emily -- against the family. The first hour (shot in North Carolina, with series production shifting west to Manhattan Beach, Calif.) features philandering husbands and catty snubs, auguring the "Dallas"-like doings to come. Ultimately, though, those elements will have to take on a life of their own, since Emily gaining satisfaction against all the key players will have to be deferred to give the title any meaning or suspense. "Revenge" teases out its story by flashing back in two ways -- not just from where the pilot begins, but also by Emily recalling how each of her targets played a role in the elaborate, high-finance scheme that framed her dad. Judging a series such as this by the pilot and a second episode is tantamount to reviewing a book based on the prologue, but the show mirrors many a Hamptons resident by being too thin for its own good. Stowe (who in an odd footnote co-starred in "Revenge," the 1990 Kevin Costner pic) is the obvious standout as the brittle, ruthless bitch who dominates her status-conscious social circle, but there's not much yet to distinguish Victoria from any number of divas past and present. That leaves VanCamp, whose innocence might disarm her prey but also doesn't establish her as a Machiavellian schemer with the grit or resources to bring the whole stinking (if beautifully decorated) house of cards toppling down. Series creator Mike Kelley did create a compelling soap in CBS' short-lived "Swingtown," and Phillip Noyce directed the pilot. Their resumes, however, bode better for "Revenge" than the timeslot, an hour where ABC has struggled launching new shows. Because even if there are traces of "Desperate Housewives" in "Revenge's" DNA, ABC's latest serial feels oh-so-last decade, which, particularly in the Hamptons, is about as thematically stylish as wearing white after Labor Day.Camera, Chris Manley; production designer, Devorah Herbert; editor, Martin Nicholson; music, Izler; casting, Elizabeth Barnes, Corbin Bronson. 60 MIN. Contact Brian Lowry at brian.lowry@variety.com

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So, How Much Money Will 'Drive' Make, Anyway?

'Straw Dogs' isn't the only wide release hiding some potential audience-alienating elements in its marketing campaign. Out Friday, 'Drive' has been positioned as a revenge tale-cum-love story, with handsome Ryan Gosling and perky Carey Mulligan trying to make it in Los Angeles' seedy underbelly. Sounds great! And it mostly is -- provided you can stand the sight of someone getting their head blown off. (Literally.) 'Drive' might not be the most violent wide release of the year based on sheer body count -- 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' is arguably more violent since that film basically kills every citizen of Chicago -- but the carnage in Nicolas Winding Refn's art-house thriller is brutal, sloppy, squishy and shocking. Which is exactly what Refn had in mind. As he told Moviefone last week, "The first half is very champagne. Very much the purity of love. When it goes to the dark side, it becomes very extreme and violent." And how! Which raises the question: just what will audiences think? Box office figures during opening weekend are invariably the result of marketing campaigns, and the 'Drive' campaign has been a mixed bag. The posters -- built around out-of-context stills from the film -- are coolness cat-nip to those 'Drive'-heads who have already seen the film through press screenings, festivals and the like, but they don't really say much to potential ticket buyers. (Though the cheeky pink-script font certainly may recall 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' for some.) The trailers are better, showcasing the romance, stakes and conflict. As the Yahoo! Projector blog points out, 'Drive' had an unavoidable presence during NFL opening weekend -- prime placement for a film looking to grab male viewers by the handful. Which, seemingly, is the audience FilmDistrict is gunning for. That's what makes 'Drive' an interesting box-office case. It's not an indie release hitting a handful of theaters in NY and Los Angeles with an expanded roll-out to follow: 'Drive' is on 2,886 screens this weekend, more than fellow new releases 'Straw Dogs' and 'I Don't Know How She Does It.' The film is certainly the best of that bunch -- its Rotten Tomatoes rating almost doubles 'Dogs' and 'Does It' combined -- and the studio is likely hoping massive advance word-of-mouth, critical love and the comet-like star-power of Ryan Gosling will help 'Drive' top its new-release competition. Will it work? Per BoxOffice.com, mostly. 'Drive' is tracking to earn around $12.7 million this weekend, good enough for third place behind the re-issue of 'The Lion King 3D' and weekend two of 'Contagion.' If that happens, FilmDistrict, Refn and movie lovers who demand more from the usual Hollywood product will breathe a sigh of relief. How 'Drive' does beyond that, however -- when word-of-mouth about its violence, as well as its art-house leanings, begins to spread -- is still a question mark. For some, that might make 'Drive' more of a destination; for others, it'll be a huge turn-off. Not that Refn is worried either way. When Moviefone asked him about the pervasive images in 'Drive,' he responded like a man comfortable with his own film. "The better the drama, the better the entertainment." Hopefully audiences agree. Photo: FilmDistrict How much money will \'Drive\' make this weekend?Less than $12 millionMore than $12 millionVote

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Toronto 2011: Shailene Woodley how She Ended Up Starring Opposite George Clooney in 'The Descendants' (Video)

Each honours season, it appears, I interview a youthful, little-known actress who's about the edge of full-fledged fame -- only, at that time we speak, she doesn't define it yet. We usually connect throughout or right after the Toronto Worldwide Film Festival, where "theInch will get a sneak peak in the good movies that everyone is only going to see a couple of days or several weeks down the road, after which she's as happy to talk with me like me to talk with her... then a few several weeks pass before I see her again, throughout which period the film is launched and everybody else sees what individuals people about the festival circuit saw... after which, next time we mix pathways about the honours trail, she's little if any recollection people ever getting spoken to begin with, since it is blurred in her own memory using the 100s of other interviews that they continues to be nudged to complete included in the honours "campaign" that's been installed on her account. TELLURIDE REVIEW: The Descendents When I think back, there is Junebug (2005) and Can Be The Demon Wears Prada (2006) and Emily Blunt Juno (2007) and Ellen Page Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and Sally Hawkins Instruction (2009) and Carey Mulligan and Winter's Bone (2010) and Jennifer Lawrence. This season, there's The Descendants and Shailene Woodley -- or, because the sexy, spunky 19-year-old introduces herself in my experience before our interview a couple of days ago, just "Shai." (I'll tell you if that changes to "Ms. Woodley" within the next couple of several weeks... my stomach feeling, though, is this fact particular youthful lady won't be transformed for that worse -- or much whatsoever -- in what's available on her.) Woodley, it works out, comes from Simi Valley, California, only a half-hour from Hollywood, where her father is really a school principal and her mother is really a guidance counselor. She began taking acting classes at age five, and shortly after a real estate agent known as her mother and expressed a desire for representing her. Her parents, she states, only decided to allow her to operate appropriately if she guaranteed to stick to three rules: "I needed to [1] stay the individual they understood I had been [2] have some fun and [3] do good in class.Inch She did, and hasn't looked back since. THR'S Complete Toronto 2011 Coverage She began out doing a large number of advertisements then co-starring roles on television shows then guest-starring roles on television shows then major roles in small movie-of-the-week type Television shows after which -- in the center of her junior year in senior high school (which she wound up graduation together with her class) -- reserved the starring role in ABC Family's "teenage cleaning soap opera" The Key Existence from the American Teen, that has been her greatest showcase up to now. (I am sorry to her because of not being more acquainted with it, but she laughingly reassures me, "You aren't the best demographic, so don't even be worried about that!"). "It's been this ladder which i've been climbing up," she states, "and that i'm still climbing!" Woodley's ultimate goal happens to be to get involved with film, and she or he finally got that chance to do this -- in certain pretty elite company -- when Oscar champion Alexander Payne cast her as Alexandra, the edgy daughter of the lady inside a coma (Patricia Hastie) and also the husband she'd been cheating on (George Clooney), within the Descendants, Fox Searchlight's large Oscar hopeful this season. Woodley fell deeply in love with Payne and Nat Faxon's script the very first time she see clearly -- "[I] immediately grew to become so fascinated by using it, so enthusiastic about it. I loved how human it had been, and just how raw it had been, and just how it didn't hide the untidy shit that continues in everyday existence, 'cause a lot of Hollywood films do." -- but really obtaining the part was not easy. The Key Existence wouldn't offer her time off work to audition when Payne was seeing youthful stars in La she is at Toronto when she learned he was seeing other women in NY, so she travelled lower during the day, experienced the "standard who audition process," and apparently designed a strong impression. ("I don't recall the audition," she states, "that we take like a positive thing.") The following factor she understood, she'd been cast, and everything went pretty quickly next: a table read across from Clooney per month in Hawaii before shooting commenced ("to find the vibe... since it's quite different from elsewhere") rehearsals after which three several weeks of production, which she takes note of like a magical time. PHOTOS: Toronto Film Festival: 13 Films to understand Woodley has four really important moments within the film (spoiler alert): when she's relayed through her father that her mother will die while she's in the household's pool when she informs her father that her mother have been cheating on him so when she defends her father to her mother's father in her own mother's hospital room. (She shares her reminiscences of all of them at the end of the publish.) Through the entire film, though, she provides a raw, real, convincing portrait of the teen in crisis (for an ever greater degree than normal). After I request what she came upon to do this -- stuff that she'd read, stuff that she'd experienced, etc. -- she was adamant, "There is no research there is no hooking up her to my very own personal existence. It had been just being contained in as soon as.Inch Quickly following the Descendants opened in the Telluride Film Festival two days ago, people began honoring the film and recommending that does not only Clooney but additionally Woodley might find yourself with Oscar nominations (the first kind for the best actor, the second for the best supporting actress). Woodley states that they treasured the chance simply to attend that festival and find out films with individuals who truly love them for the private acclaim that they has brought, she states that they is simply taking everything in stride, "daily, with gratitude." She continues, "I'm a painter. I'm not really a celebrity, or famous, or perhaps a star, and that i never, ever, ever is going to be, because that's not transpire... Things I'm really looking forward to -- also it required us a very long time to have it, to comprehend it -- is the fact that I be capable of spread love and empathy into the world. That's why I'm here." On meeting George Clooney "We met in the first table read... I wasn't intimidated with 'George Clooney' until I saw him, and my heart began pounding, and that i was like, 'Oh, that's George Clooney!' After which he came over, and offered me a giant hug, and stated, 'Welcome, sweety!' Something really warm. And, from that moment on, he wasn't 'George Clooney' during my eyes he was George Clooney from Kentucky." In this area by which she will get some not so good news "The script stated, 'She goes under water and distorts her face,' or something like that much like that. I'm really comfortable within the water -- I had been born within the water, began swimming at one-and-a-half, therefore the water happens to be Shai's safe zone. Therefore it really was exciting that i can have a character that has just heard this... awful news about her family -- her mother -- and also to have the ability to escape in to the water... It had been just like a baby inside a womb -- no-one can hear you you may be vulnerable and nobody knows. And i believe which was a very special moment, not just for Alexandra, but, selfishly, for me personally. It had been like my very own therapy session!" In this area by which she gives some not so good news "To cry wasn't hard -- I'm very in contact with my emotional side I don't know why. But to cry wasn't hard since the words evoked the emotion. That which was fun about this scene ended up being to not cry, to hold it in. I understand that sounds strange, but that's almost harder sometimes than really crying... It had been an attractive moment for me personally because I truly reached express her in the manner I needed with no sense of being rushed, or annoying, or anybody knowing me." In this area by which she talks up on her father "Which was an excellent moment because, at first from the film, Alexandra is extremely estranged from her family, and Matt is, too, in different ways. I'd prefer to believe that, when she was more youthful, they'd an extremely close relationship, and, through a number of occasions in her own existence, they, type of, grew to become detached... I believe that scene in the finish -- when she stacks up for him, so when Nick Krause's character Sid stacks up for him -- is really beautiful since it's the ultimate arc from the story... It's the very first time, I believe, she recognizes her father, or at best shows other people that they sees him as a person. It had been full circle." Toronto Worldwide Film Festival George Clooney Shailene Woodley The Descendants

Peter Bogdanovich Joins Supernatural Thriller 'The Healer' (Exclusive)

Peter Bogdanovich has joined the cast of the supernatural thriller, The Healer, playing a mysterious character inspired by Charon, the ferryman in Greek mythology who carries souls across the River Styx.our editor recommends'The Healer' Starring Isabelle Fuhrman and Joel Courtney Set to Film in North Carolina Written and directed by Giorgio Serafini, the film stars Isabelle Fuhrman and Joel Courtney as teenage twins who go on a camping trip with their father, played by James Le Gros, only to become lost in a haunted forest. The movie, which begins filming in North Carolina on Sept. 14, is being produced by Giuseppe Pedersoli and Susan Johnson through Pedersoli's Italy-based Smile Prods. Although best known as a director, Bogdanovich, repped by Abrams Artists, Original Artists and Management Production Entertainment, makes frequent appearances before the camera as well, with acting gigs in such recent films and TV series as Humboldt County, The Sopranos and Infamous. Related Topics Peter Bogdanovich Super 8

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Cheers & Jeers: Molly Shannon Talks The Talk

Molly Shannon Jeers towards the Talk for turning Molly Shannon right into a parody of herself. Want more Cheers & Jeers? Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now! The skilled sketch comic accustomed to spoof tacky Television shows like CBS' daytime trainwreck throughout her Saturday Evening Live stint. As guest cohost throughout September, Shannon continues to be reduced to talking with Jennifer Love Hewitt about her "questionable" new haircut and learning easy back-to-school quality recipes from Giada p Laurentiis. This gig is beneath this type of Celebrity. Still, Shannon is really a step-up in the departed Leah Remini, whose penchant for screaming left audiences diving for his or her remote controls hitting the mute button. The Talk's other new guest cohost, standup Sheryl Underwood, is every bit noisy, but a minimum of she will be amusing. If they might just eliminate the forever grating Sharon Osbourne, this show may be worth Talk-ing about. Exactly what do you think about The Talk's new selection? Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!

David Bergstein Wins in Court As Judge Refuses to Give Control of Film Companies to Trustee

Michael Buckner/Getty Imagess In a set back for the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy case involving ThinkFilm, Capital Film and other movie companies that were overseen by David Bergstein, a federal judge on Tuesday denied motions to consolidate all of the companies and their related subsidiaries and give complete control over all of their operations to the court appointed trustee. After an intense day of debate by teams of lawyers on both sides, Judge Barry Russell denied the motions by trustee Ronald Durkin, who contended the five entities in the involuntary bankruptcy and a dozen subsidiaries were "hopelessly entangled," and that the only way to get back any of the money lost by creditors was to allow him complete freedom to administer them. "In this case I am not satisfied at all," said the judge. "I find that there is not sufficient evidence for consolidation or to take control." The judge said that the trustee, who was represented by his attorney Leonard Gumport, could re-file for consolidation, but it had to be done on a company by company basis, and not as group of entities that are all related. This was a blow to the strategy that Durkin has pursued to treat all of the companies that Bergstein controlled, and a number of entities owned by his former business partner Ronald Tutor, as one big inter-related matter. Lawyers for Tutor argued that he is the largest creditor in the case and as such should not have his interests subordinated behind smaller creditors, or erased completely. Tutor is said to be owed in all more than $90 million. Tutor's attorney also insisted his client has no more connection in his business activities to Bergstein. An attorney for Raspberry Financial, an entity that recently took control of the assets of the unreleased movie Nailed, insisted that his company is separate from Tutor, although it appears Tutor still holds some interest in the movie. Although the director of Nailed, David O. Russell, has left the project, the rep for Raspberry insisted they are spending at least $750,000 more, beyond $7 million already invested, to complete the movie. It is unclear where Durkin goes from here. He has spent over a year working on the case as trustee and has not been paid anything. His money comes out of the estate of the bankrupt companies, but if Tutor is able to claim he gets whatever there is to get, it is not clear it pays for Durkin to continue. David Bergstein

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NBCUniversal taps Morgan Stanley exec as CFO

NBCUniversal has tapped Morgan Stanley's Stuart J. Epstein as chief financial officer. Stanley, who has been managing director of Morgan Stanley and global head of the firm's media and communications group, will join the company in mid-October. Epstein had been a strategic adviser to Comcast, a Morgan Stanley client, as it acquired a controlling stake in NBCU from GE and Vivendi. He will report to NBCU CEO Steve Burke. Burke said in a statement that Epstein "is a smart, capable leader with a deep understanding of the media business. Having known Stuart for years, I am also certain that he will be a great cultural fit for NBCU." Epstein first joined Morgan Stanley in 1984, rising through the ranks before he was named global head of the media and communications group in March 2008. Contact Ted Johnson at ted.johnson@variety.com

Toronto: Content Film Acquires Foreign Rights To The Day

Content Film announced today that it has landed foreign sales rights to Doug Aarniokoski’s action thriller The Day ahead of its world premiere screening in the Midnight Madness section of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. The film, which stars Shawn Ashmore, Ashely Bell, Michael Eklund, Cory Hardrict, Dominic Monaghan and Shannyn Sossamon, revolves around a group of survivors who fight to stay alive amid a war against humanity. Luke Passmore wrote the script, and Guy Danella is producer; Aarniokoski, Michael Finely, Tim James, Antonina Armato and Ross Dinerstein executive produce. Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content is handling North American sales. Content also will be selling at Toronto foreign rights on the Sarah Palin documentary Sarah Palin: You Betcha!, which was acquired earlier today for domestic release by Freestyle Releasing, and the Chloe Moretz-Blake Lively pic Hick.

'The Help' Fights Off Sharks, Spies and Aliens: Box Office Report September 2-5

Appropriately, moviegoers celebrated Labor Day weekend by watching a movie about underappreciated household employees. For that third straight weekend, period dramedy 'The Help' was the very best movie in the box office, ending the summer time season by fending off three more action-packed beginners: 'The Debt,' 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Evening three dimensional.' From Friday to Sunday, 'The Help' gained an believed $14.two million, a microscopic dip of just 2 percent from last weekend. That's almost unparalleled for any movie in the 4th week of release. Credit the truth that the film added 65 more screens a few days ago (for any total of two,843), together with the weakness from the competition. Within the full holiday weekend, the film gained an believed $19. million, for any four-week total of $123.4 million. 'The Debt' surprised experts by opening in second place. The Helen Mirren spy thriller had the most powerful reviews from the three new wide-release movies, it had the fewest screens, just 1,826. Still, like a wise, grown-up thriller, it had strong appeal for older audiences (76 percent who were over 35, based on studio polling), which will help explain why it did not create the online buzz this is a key predictor for box office tea-leaf visitors. They expected 'The Debt' to spread out within the $7 to $8 million range within the four-day weekend, however it surpassed that by Sunday by having an believed $9.7 million. Within the full holiday weekend, it gained an believed $12.six million. Its six-day total, since opening last Wednesday, involves $14.5 million. Inside a close race for third, 'Apollo 18' and 'Shark Evening 3D' were separated just by $400,000 based on four-day estimations, with 'Apollo 18' getting a small edge by Monday with $10.7 million, in comparison to $10.3 million for 'Shark Evening.' (The Friday-to-Sunday race being closer, using the astronauts edging the maneaters $8.70 million to $8.64 million.) It had not been said to be that close. 'Apollo 18' opened up on 500 more screens than 'Shark Night' and was likely to earn around $15 million for that weekend. However it was poorly examined and didn't have the bikini factor of 'Shark Evening,' that was competing for basically exactly the same audience. Opening in 4th place by having an believed $10.3 million over four days, 'Shark Evening 3D' underperformed too, although not by much pre-weekend forecasts been with them opening around $11 or $12 million. Opening within the same late-summer time slot where 'Piranha 3D' been successful this past year, 'Shark Night' had a few additional advantages. First, it had been ranked PG-13, not the limited R that marked 'Piranha.' Second, some 80 % of their screens were three dimensional, so audiences had little choice but to pay for the surcharge. Rounding the top 5 was 'Rise from the Planet from the Apes,' still supporting well in the fifth weekend. From Friday to Sunday, it gained an believed $7.8 million, lower just 12 % from last weekend. Its four-day total was $10.3 million - a lot better than the forecasts around $7 million for the entire holiday. Up to now, 'Apes' has gained $162.5 million. The summer time ended with domestic box office receipts lower half a percent from last summer time, at $4.19 billion in comparison to. 2010's $4.21 billion. Attendance was lower too, some 1.6 %, with sales of 525.5 million tickets offered in comparison to 534.two million last summer time. Which makes four summer season consecutively of decreasing attendance. 'The Help' - Trailer No. 1 The entire top ten (four-day totals): 1. 'The Help,' $19. million (2,843 screens), $123.4 million total 2. 'The Debt,' $12.six million (1,826), $14.5 million 3. 'Apollo 18,' $10.7 million (3,328), era 4. 'Shark Evening three dimensional,' $10.3 million (2,806), era 5. 'Rise from the Planet from the Apes,' $10.3 million (3,193), $162.5 million 6. 'Colombiana,' $9.4 million (2,614), $24. million 7. 'Our Idiot Brother,' $7.a million (2,555), $17.3 million 8. 'Spy Kids: Constantly on the planet,A $6.six million (3,007), $31. million 9. 'Don't Hesitate from the Dark,' $6.a million (2,780), $17.six million 10. 'The Smurfs,' $5.six million (2,706), $133.six million Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman. Photo credits: DreamWorks ('The Help'), Focus Features ('The Debt'), The Weinstein Company ('Apollo 18'), Incentive Film Procudtions ('Shark Evening 3D')