Noticias

Will Arnett’s new animated superhero comedy, Super Team Canada, is set to premiere on May 16 on the Canadian streaming service Crave. The show arrives at a time when tensions between the U.S. and Canada are rising due to a trade conflict.

The series follows six Canadian superheroes as they try to save the world from giant evil robots, a jobless octopus, and an overly clingy hardware store clerk. The characters are not the most famous heroes, but when the world’s more well-known protectors are trapped or defeated, this unlikely group must step up.

Arnett voices Breakaway, a former minor league hockey player who fights crime using his skates, hockey stick, and special pucks. Other cast members include Cobie Smulders as Niagara Falls, Kevin McDonald as the Canadian prime minister, and Charles Demers as Poutine, a French Canadian crime fighter.

The show also features Brian Drummond, Ceara Morgana,...

Will Arnett’s animated comedy Super Team Canada is set to bow May 16 on Canadian streamer Crave, just in time to ride a surge in Canadian nationalism amid an escalating cross-border tariffs war with the United States.

The series about six Canadian superheroes saving the world from giant evil robots has an all-Canadian cast that includes Cobie Smulders voicing the role of Niagara Falls, Kevin McDonald as the Canadian prime minister and Charles Demers as Poutine, a French Canadian crime fighter.

Arnett voices the role of Breakaway, a former minor league hockey player who uses his skates, stick and special pucks to fight crime as the unofficial leader of Super Team Canada. The ensemble voice cast also has Brian Drummond, Ceara Morgana, Veena Sood and guest star Jay Baruchel.

Super Team Canada from Arnett’s Electric Avenue and Thunderbird Entertainment’s Atomic Cartoons is written by Emmy winners Robert Cohen...

Quick LinksJennifer Tilly Is More Than Just a Poker StarThe Writers Were Keen to Give Tilly Some Breathing SpaceJennifer Tilly Also Lends Her Voice to Another Animated Sitcom

Although The Simpsons introduced audiences to the most iconic animated family on the planet, it also welcomes a plethora of hit celebrities. Very few stars refused to appear on the show, and the vast majority are more than happy to transform into yellow representations of themselves. So, even though the Simpsons are an institution in their own right, Springfield relies on celebrities in order to maintain its appeal.

Jennifer Tilly made a very brief appearance in Season 24, Episode 4, "Gone Abie Gone," and fans didn't really bat an eyelid. Yet, this renowned actress and poker star has a unique link to The Simpsons that a lot of fans miss. However, those in the know understand that Tilly and the animated powerhouse go hand in hand.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for May the 12th Be with You!

May the 12th Be with You is a new Simpsons Disney+ short celebrating Mother's Day with a galactic adventure. Co-showrunner Al Jean breaks down when he had the initial idea, how he built out the special's story, and whether fans can find every Disney character and Easter egg in the short. Jean was also thrilled to include Seth MacFarlane in a cameo appearance as Family Guy's Stewie, though he cautions about expecting future crossovers and when The Simpsons Movie 2 will happen.

The Simpsons is celebrating Mother's Day in a unique new fashion with its May the 12th Be with You short. The Disney+ short sees Marge joining up with a variety of mothers and mother figures from Disney's 100-year roster of characters to go on a special intergalactic adventure to celebrate the May holiday. Between trying to find...

Exclusive: Will Arnett is helping to assemble Super Team Canada.

The Bojack Horseman and Arrested Development star’s production house, Electric Avenue is co-producing the animated show alongside Thunderbird Entertainment’s Atomic Cartoons in association with Bell Media’s streamer Crave.

Robert Cohen and his brother, The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live‘s Joel H. Cohen are the creators of the comic superhero series.

We can reveal the 10-episode, half-hour animated comedy is currently in production ahead of a premiere date in 2025. It will be Crave’s first adult animation. Voice cast details are being kept under wraps for now, so we don’t yet know if Arnett, who voiced Batman in the Lego movies and the title character in Netflix’s Bojack Horseman, will feature.

The series will focus on the exploits of six little-known Canadian superheroes trying to save the world from evil giant robots,...

The Simpsons season 35, episode 10 is based on a real-life viral news story, showcasing the show's ability for timely political satire. The episode references various real scandals, such as the Lake Erie Walleye Trail scandal, Varsity Blues scandal, and Lance Armstrong's doping scandal. Despite the show's tendency for quirky misadventures, the episode strikes a better balance by grounding its inciting incident in reality, making Bart and Homer's antics feel believable.

Warning: This article contains Spoilers for The Simpsons season 35, episode 10.

While the story of The Simpsons season 35, episode 10 might seem too silly to be true, the outing’s events are based on a real-life viral news story. The Simpsons often features elements of timely political satire. The Simpsons famously had a long-running feud with former President H. W. Bush after disparaging comments he made about the show in 1992, and it's skewered everything from political figures to social movements. However,...

Cheating pays — for Bart and Homer, that is. This Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons” takes on sports cheating, college admissions scandals (like “Varsity Blues”) and more, as father and son become kings of the blue-collar sports circuit. But in “Do the Wrong Thing,” Marge soon suspects that there’s something dishonest going on.

“It airs this Sunday right after the Cowboys/Dolphins game – a good lead-in and also sort of appropriate since the episode is about cheating and I suspect the NFL game will be won by cheating,” quips episode writer Joel H. Cohen.

Dan Patrick makes a guest voice appearance in the episode, which is timely given the recent University of Michigan football sign-stealing cheating scandal, and other allegations of cheating in smaller contests. In the B-story, Lisa attempts to get into summer camp, and that storyline plays with the headlines about college admissions cheating scandals.

“The premise...

As one of the most famous superheroes ever created, there have been plenty of parodies of Batman over the years. Plenty of franchises have taken shots at the concept, riffing on different elements of the character from different perspectives. Notably, though, Batman is so broad that one show has parodied the character in surprisingly different ways.

In two separate episodes, The Simpsons directly parodied Batman by turning one of their major characters into a riff on the Caped Crusader. Bart got his chance in a non-canon Season 18 episode that largely mocked the Tim Burton Batman, while Mr. Burns became a bat-themed superhero in Season 24 to surprisingly effective results. Both are fun turns for the character, but only one of them showcased the positive impact Batman can have on the world.

Related: The Simpsons Once Gave Lisa Her Own Nelson Muntz - But Why Didn't She Stick Around?

How The Simpsons...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2023 Emmy Predictions:

Outstanding Animated Program Rick and Morty, S7. Adult Swim.

Weekly Commentary: Netflix’s “Entergalactic,” the animated accompaniment to Kid Cudi’s album is competing against long-standing series such as “Bob’s Burgers,” “Rick and Morty” and “The Simpsons.” The streamer pulled off a surprise win last year with “Arcane,...

The teen years of The Simpsons was an interesting period for the show. The humor became noticeably harsher as the show became less grounded in Springfield and more willing to go on broad, silly turns. This was an era of South Park and Family Guy, shows that embraced shock humor to strong effect, and The Simpsons followed suit. But one episode, in particular, pushed the family to the breaking point.

Directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Joel H. Cohen, Season 13's "Brawl in the Family" is nominally a way for the Simpsons to resolve a lingering plot thread from Season 10's "Viva Ned Flanders." However, the episode also tackles a lot of the show's other elements and plays them especially dark. All of this coalesces to make "Brawl in the Family" one of the darkest episodes of the long-running show.

Related: The Simpsons Brings Back a Long-Dead Character for...

D’oh! Homer’s in over his head on this Sunday’s episode of “The Simpsons,” and Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman is to blame. (Scroll down for an exclusive clip.)

In episode 689, “The 7 Beer Itch,” Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie head to her relatives’ home in Martha’s Vineyard, but with a catch: Homer isn’t invited. Left at home, he is “unwittingly tempted by a British femme fatale,” according to the show’s logline. “Then Mr. Burns makes Homer his romantic go-between with extremely unintended consequences.”

Colman, currently starring on Netflix’s “The Crown” as Queen Elizabeth II, plays Lily, the “British femme fatale” in question.

“She’s the woman every man falls for, she’s so charming,” executive producer Al Jean said. “But the one man she wants is someone who doesn’t want her, Homer.”

Colman recorded her part over three sessions, remotely from London. Jean said...

China’s Wink Animation, a division of Huayi Brothers, is a Chinese animation company that creates both Chinese-language films and globally-skewing features for the young adult market. It produces both fully animated and hybrid content that combines live action with animated characters.

The company is led by CEO Joe Aguilar, former CFO of Oriental DreamWorks, who led the flagship Sino-Hollywood co-venture while it produced “Kung Fu Panda 3,” the highest-grossing animated co-production of its time. Aguilar will be at FilMart on Tuesday to deliver a keynote address on co-productions in the animation space.

According to Aguilar, it will still be quite some time before globally successful animated co-productions explode onto the scene. “It’s not going to go as fast as everyone wants it to happen. There’s a lot to learn in terms of the risk factors, and culturally about how to work together,” he told Variety.

Since a...

It’s well-established at this point: Even in a rarified tropical environment, nothing good happens inside a glass-walled circular travel pod. That lesson seems to play a part in the upcoming “Treehouse of Horror Xxix” episode of “The Simpsons,” which sees the family trapped in a “Jurassic World”-style park. The twist here seems to be that someone has infused dinosaurs with DNA from some familiar faces.

It’s the latest installment of the long-running animated series’ annual Halloween episode, a tradition that dates back to the Season 2 in 1990. This year’s edition featured prominently in the show’s San Diego Comic-Con poster, unveiled back in July. Last year’s “Xxviii” featured riffs on “The Exorcist,” “Coraline” and general cannibalism.

True to “Treehouse” form, this is just one of the segments from this year’s 29th edition. Aside from the dino-infused Mr. Burns shenanigans, other parts include an eating contest...

For the 29th edition of its annual Halloween-themed “Treehouse of Horror” franchise, “The Simpsons” are taking a trip… to “Jurassic Park.”

Only these dinosaurs are more of the Grandpa Simpson variety. “Geriatric Park” is among the highlights of this year’s “Treehouse of Horror,” as evidenced by a new poster that Fox and “The Simpsons” will pass out at next week’s San Diego Comic-Con. Fox has given IndieWire a first look at the one-sheet — and fans of the show’s annual horror parody won’t be disappointed. Scroll down for a view of this year’s Comic-Con poster, devoted to “Treehouse of Horror Xxix.”

Executive producer Al Jean had earlier hinted on Twitter that the next “Treehouse” edition will satirize “Jurassic Park,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “The Three Faces of Eve,” and that appears to be borne out on the poster. Here’s the logline for “Treehouse...

Chicago – Having lived in both the suburbs and in major cities throughout my lifetime, I can say without hesitation that the suburbs tend to be dull, boring and bereft of creativity. To be fair, it’s not their fault since they’re built for efficiency and with placidity in mind. “Surburbicon” is made in much the same way, becoming the one thing a film shouldn’t be: boring.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

In the film industry, George Clooney is considered the equivalent of a Renaissance Man. He can act, write, and direct a film with the best of them, often taking on more than one simultaneously. Nothing seems like too much for this man to handle, that is, until he came across this Coen Brothers script. Joel and Ethan Cohen have delivered over a dozen films that tackle social complexities and mix them in with a complex tone that tends to be a...

Exclusive: Suburbicon and The Founder among marquee deals for The Searchers.

Benelux distributor The Searchers has finalised deals on marquee titles out of the Berlin Efm including FilmNation’s The Founder, Bloom’s Suburbicon and Good Universe’s Billionaire Boys Club.

As previously reported, from Sierra Affinity the company pre-bought Ethan Hawke thriller 24 Hours To Live about an assassin who seeks redemption after being given a second chance at life.

Michael Keaton stars in John Lee Hancock’s buzzed-about upcoming drama The Founder, the story of McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc. TWC will release in the Us in August.

Bloom’s crime-comedy Suburbicon, one of the hottest properties at the Efm, will see Clooney direct Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Josh Brolin in the story of a quiet 1950’s family town called Suburbicon where the best and worst of humanity is reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people.

When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect...

Sneak Peek footage, plus images from "The Simpsons" episode "Cue Detective", written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Timothy Bailey, airing October 4, 2015 on Fox:

"...'Scotty Boom', a 'Chew Network' super-chef, challenges 'Homer' to a smoke-off.

"But when someone steals Homer’s secret weapon – a smoker he bought off a mysterious man at a BBQ shack – 'Lisa' and 'Bart' are on the case..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "The Simpsons: Cue Detective"...

As we learned earlier this week, Emmanuelle Bercot’s Standing Tall (La Tête Haute), will open the festival at Cannes on May 13. More titles are expected to be added to...

The Official Selection of the 68th Cannes Film Festival in full.

At a press conference at the Ugc Normandie movie theatre on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux revealed 44 films selected for inclusion in this year’s festival, which runs May 13-24.

As previously announced, Emmanuelle Bercot’s Standing Tall (La Tête Haute), will be the opening film on May 13.

Also previously announced, the competition jury will be presided over by former Palme d’Or winners Joel and Ethan Coen.

Competition

Jury chair: Joel Cohen, Ethan Coen

Dheepan (working title), Jacques AudiardA Simple Man (La Loi Du Marché), Stéphane BrizéMarguerite And Julien, Valérie DonzelliThe Tale Of Tales (Il Racconto Dei Racconti), Matteo GarroneCarol, Todd HaynesThe Assassin (Nie Yinniang), Hou Hsiao HsienMountains May Depart (Shan He Gu Ren), Jia Zhang-KeOur Little Sister (Umimachi Diary), Hirokazu Kore-EDAMacbeth, Justin KurzelThe Lobster, Yorgos LanthimosMon Roi, MaïwennMia Madre, Nanni MorettiSon Of Saul (Saul Fia), László NemesYouth, Paolo SorrentinoLouder...

The Official Selection of the 68th Cannes Film Festival being announced now. Screen is updating the line-up of titles as they come in and live streaming the press conference here… Refresh this page for the latest updates (Competition titles now being announced)

At a press conference at the Ugc Normandie movie theatre on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux is set to reveal the 49 films selected for inclusion in this year’s festival, which runs May 13-24.

As previously announced, Emmanuelle Bercot’s Standing Tall (La Tête Haute), will be the opening film on May 13.

Also previously announced, the competition jury will be presided over by former Palme d’Or winners Joel and Ethan Coen.

Competition

Jury chair: Joel Cohen, Ethan Coen

Dheepan (working title) by Jacques Audiarda Simple Man (La Loi Du MARCHÉ) by Stéphane BRIZÉMARGUERITE And Julien by Valérie Donzellithe Tale Of Tales (Il Racconto Dei Racconti) by Matteo Garronecarol by Todd Haynesthe...

In 1996, the cult classic film "Fargo" was nominated for four Golden Globes and -- wouldn't'ya know? -- it lost all of its bids: Best Comedy/Musical Film, Best Director (Joel Cohen), Best Screenplay (Joel and Ethan Coen) and Best Comedy Actress (Frances McDormand). Almost two decades later, the FX miniseries adaptation by the same name is in the running for a series-high five Globes. Can it redeem the franchise in the eyes of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association? You betcha, according to Gold Derby's exclusive racetrack odds. -Break- Editors' slugfest: Best TV of 2014 includes 'Fargo,' 'Hannibal,' 'Shameless' ... Let's take a closer look at "Fargo's" Golden Globes chances, nomination by nomination: Best TV Movie/Limited Series: "Fargo" "Fargo" is the reigning Emmy champ for Best Miniseries, but it didn't have to battle chief rival "True D..."'...

The term “box office” might become an anachronism if this catches on. MovieTickets.com says today that it will roll out a technology that makes it possible for theaters to authenticate tickets bought and displayed on smartphones without the need for what it calls “costly scanners.” Ticket takers will look at the phone display to see if it has the ticket’s animated watermark, and a confirmation number. “These security features can be changed as often as once per showtime and are concealed from users until the tickets are activated prior to the performance,” the company says. “This new technology will also include a virtual ‘tear’ feature that will allow a user’s mobile device to act as their ticket stub during their visit to the theater.”

“Our new mobile ticket is a game changer,” says CEO Joel Cohen. “Not only will this make going to the movies more enjoyable for audiences,...

It was a cult classic back in 1996 and now “Fargo” is getting the television treatment thanks to the FX Network.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Kate Walsh, Bob Odenkirk and Colin Hanks, the forthcoming dark comedy TV series is slated to premiere on April 15th.

And the full-minute teaser is stirring up plenty of excitement, especially given that the original Oscar-winning film’s producers Ethan and Joel Cohen are serving as executive producers for the project.

Per the synopsis, “A drifter named Lorne Malvo arrives in small-town Minnesota and influences the population with his malice and violence, including put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard.”...

First stop, the Annie Awards which honor excellence in the animated world. And the winners are:

Best Animated Feature:

Frozen, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production:

Chipotle Scarecrow, Chipotle Creative Department, Moonbot Studios

Best Animated Short Subject:

Get A Horse!,Walt Disney Animation Studios

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial:

Despicable Me 2, Cinemark - Universal Pictures

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children:

Disney Sofia the First - Disney Television Animation

Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children.s Audience:

Adventure Time, Cartoon Network Studios

Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production:

Futurama,20th Century Fox Television

Best Animated Video Game:

The Last of Us, Naughty Dog

Best Student Film

Wedding Cake, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Viola Baier, Iris Frisch

Animated Effects in an Animated Production:

Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer, The Croods, DreamWorks Animation

Animated Effects in a Live Action Production:

Michael Balog,...

Her, Stories We Tell and Captain Phillips took home top honors on Saturday night as the big winners of the 2014 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen. Television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing were also recognized at simultaneous ceremonies at the Jw Marriott L.A. Live in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City. It’s the final precursor guild award leading up to the Oscars.

Below is a complete list of the winners.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay (matched up with the Academy Awards nominations)

Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.

Nominees included American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, Her and Nebraska.

Adapted Screenplay (3 for 5 Oscar nominations)

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the book A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea by Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty; Columbia Pictures

In addition to Captain Phillips,...

Spike Jonze’s philosophical sci-fi love story Her, and Billy Ray’s harrowing true-life hostage saga Captain Phillips earned best original and adapted screenplays, respectively, from the Writers Guild Awards on Saturday.

In the original category, Her was facing its four rivals for the Oscar: American Hustle, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, and Nebraska, so its victory can be seen as a strong harbinger of where the Academy Award could go on March 2. In anecdotal sampling of Academy members, EW’s Prize Fighter has also determined that Her is far and away the front-runner for this category.

The WGA’s...

Tonight, the Writers Guild of America presented their awards for excellence in film and television for 2013. All eyes were on their top two categories, Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplay, and while the former went to Spike Jonze’s incredible Her as expected, the latter went to Billy Ray’s Captain Phillips, which was completely out of the blue.

Her was widely expected to win due to its immense popularity throughout awards season, taking 20 screenplay wins from groups such as the HFPA and Bfca. However, Captain Phillips was a complete surprise given that it had not managed to win a single screenplay award prior to tonight, but as I’ve said before, it was going to be hard to tell which nominee was the favorite given the fact that the disqualified 12 Years a Slave has been the clear frontrunner throughout the season. However, it’s still quite shocking that Before Midnight...

Working on yesterday's article about recent classical Christmas albums and looking back at my original Christmas album article got me thinking about old favorites I hadn't included in my 2005 article. Here they are. It says something about their popularity that they have all stayed available, in some cases for decades.

Anonymous 4 On Yoolis Night (Harmonia Mundi) This gorgeous collection contains Advent and Christmas music from 13th through 15th century English sources -- with one piece traceable all the way back to the 5th century. The ethereal beauty of these devotional antiphons, motets, carols, etc. is about as far from the usual hackneyed Christmas carols as one could get. Some of the Latin texts are familiar (Hodie Christus natus est, Ave maria, Videntes stellam), but this is largely fresh, relatively unexplored repertoire.   Russian Patriarchate Choir/Anatoly Grindenko Russian Christmas (Opus 111) This is no cheesy Red Army Chorus holiday collection, but insteada...

Working on yesterday's article about recent classical Christmas albums and looking back at my original Christmas album article got me thinking about old favorites I hadn't included in my 2005 article. Here they are. It says something about their popularity that they have all stayed available, in some cases for decades.

Anonymous 4 On Yoolis Night (Harmonia Mundi) This gorgeous collection contains Advent and Christmas music from 13th through 15th century English sources -- with one piece traceable all the way back to the 5th century. The ethereal beauty of these devotional antiphons, motets, carols, etc. is about as far from the usual hackneyed Christmas carols as one could get. Some of the Latin texts are familiar (Hodie Christus natus est, Ave maria, Videntes stellam), but this is largely fresh, relatively unexplored repertoire.   Russian Patriarchate Choir/Anatoly Grindenko Russian Christmas (Opus 111) This is no cheesy Red Army Chorus holiday collection, but insteada...

Netflix's critical hit "Orange Is the New Black" picked up four nominations for the 2014 Writers Guild Awards -- where it's entered as a comedy series.

The show (and its cast) is entered in the drama field for some other upcoming awards shows, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. It's a bit of a tweener show, mixing both comedy and drama, but as there are no "dramedy" awards anywhere, it's a comedy for writing purposes.

Other multiple nominees for the WGA Awards include "Breaking Bad," "Modern Family," "30 Rock," "Masters of Sex," "The Simpsons" and another Netflix series, "House of Cards."

The full list of series nominees is below. You can go here to see all the WGA TV and radio nominees, including those for news and children's programming. The awards are scheduled for Feb. 1.

Drama series

"Breaking Bad"

"The Good Wife"

"Homeland"

"House of Cards"

"Mad Men...

Nominations for the 2014 Writers Guild Awards were announced Thursday, and AMC’s Breaking Bad and Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black (which entered as a comedy) led with four nods apiece.

Netflix’s other freshman entry, House of Cards, also fared well with three nominations, tying Modern Family, Futurama and The Simpsons.

Scroll down for the nominations list…

Related | Awards Shock: Orange is the New Black to Enter Emmy, Golden Globe Races as a Drama Series

Drama Series

Breaking Bad

The Good Wife

Homeland

House of Cards

Mad Men

Comedy Series

30 Rock

Modern Family

Parks and Recreation

Orange Is the New Black...

Alex Russell has joined the cast of Angelina Jolie's Unbroken.

The film traces the story of Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), an Olympic runner taken prisoner by Japanese forces while serving in the Us Air Force in World War II.

Russell will play Louis's brother Pete, who encourages the serviceman as he pursues a career as a track star, reports Inside Film.

Directed by Jolie, Unbroken also stars Tron's Garrett Hedlund and Domhnall Gleeson of the Harry Potter franchise.

The screenplay has been written by Joel Cohen, Ethan Coen and Richard Lagravenese, who adapted the film from Laura Hillenbrand's novel Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.

Russell is best known for his roles in Chronicle and The Host. He is to appear in the new remake of Carrie as well.

Watch a clip for Carrie below:...

Banff, Alberta -- CAA has snagged five Hollywood-based Canadian screenwriters for its comedy department. The agency will represent the quintet’s new Los Angeles-based company, Maple Gravy, as it focuses on making comedy in all formats for North American broadcasters and the world market. Maple Gravy is led by five Canadian TV scribes with Hollywood credits and addresses: Robert Cohen (The Ben Stiller Show, The Big Bang Theory), recurring The Simpsons writers Joel Cohen and Tim Long, Chuck Tatham (How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development) and Dan Signer, creator of Disney Channel’s A.N.T. Farm. Photos: Secrets of

read more...

The Simpsons The Longest Daycare Short Film. David Silverman‘s The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare (2012) short film was written by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Joel H. Cohen, and Michael Price. The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare‘s plot synopsis: “Maggie Simpson attends the Ayn Rand Daycare Center, where she finds a [...]

Continue reading: The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare (2012) Short Film: David Silverman...

Ethan and Joel Cohen's Inside Llewyn Davis lands at CBS CBS has sent along news that they've picked up Stateside domestic distribution rights to the film which reteams producer Scott Rudin with Ethan and Joel Coen after winners like True Grit and No Country for Old Men. Starring in the drama are Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Alex Karpovsky, F. Murray Abraham and Max Casella. The film's soundtrack is produced by Grammy®-winner T Bone Burnett, which includes music performed by, among others, Isaac, Timberlake and Marcus Mumford.

Ethan and Joel Cohen's Inside Llewyn Davis lands at CBS CBS has sent along news that they've picked up Stateside domestic distribution rights to the film which reteams producer Scott Rudin with Ethan and Joel Coen after winners like True Grit and No Country for Old Men. Starring in the drama are Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Alex Karpovsky, F. Murray Abraham and Max Casella. The film's soundtrack is produced by Grammy®-winner T Bone Burnett, which includes music performed by, among others, Isaac, Timberlake and Marcus Mumford.

You need only 5 minutes to check out David Silverman‘s 3D animated short film titled The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare! Just in case your favourite member of the Simpsons family is little Maggie – this is the perfect movie for you. In this Oscar-nominated short, she attends the Ayn Rand Daycare Center, where she finds a caterpillar and faces off against her nemesis. Sounds spooky but trust me – fun is guaranteed! David Silverman directed the film from a script written by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Joel H. Cohen and Michael Price. It is based on characters from the popular...

Vol. I Issue 3

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Chasing Ice directed by Jeff Orlowski

Chasing Ice is the story of James Balog’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

In a year where the Short Listed Academy documentary features deal with issues ranging from sexual harassment in the military to the Catholic Church’s cover-up of sexually molesting children, Chasing Ice deals with arguably the most important issue proving that the ice caps are melting and that the warming of the planet will have a catastrophic effect. But this is a year where the MPAA rating of a film about bullying school students has seemed to get the most press. That’s a shame. Chasing Ice needs to be seen. It is the most important short listed documentary film of the year. Like Davis Guggenheim’s Al Gore PowerPoint presentation, this film is scary. With never-before-seen time lapse photography we can dramatically see the ice caps and giant glaciers shrinking. A chunk of ice the size of lower Manhattan crashes into the sea. The ice flows like a river into the sea. We all know that when the ice melts, it releases its fresh water into the sea and that the water will rise. In time a few feet. Say good bye to land that several hundred million people live on.

So what’s the problem? They don’t have the press machine of Bob and Harvey Weinstein that makes a mountain out of an MPAA rating. Can the Oscar nomination go to the most important film? (could this paragraph go after next paragraph?)

But wait, there is more. This is a strikingly well made film. It has a compelling character, James Balog, who is giving his body to science and this cause. The cracks we hear are not chunks of ice but his knees disintegrating as he scales cliffs of rock and ice. The filmmakers really are risking their lives making the film, the ice takes no prisoners, the small planes and helicopters regularly crash. The film unfolds with precision; we are moved and awed by the characters and the stunning photography. The score is first rate as is the editing. This is a work that should be short listed but might be overlooked because it lacks the political coolness of some of the other films. This would be a shame.

The Filmmakers

Chasing Ice is directed by Jeff Orlowski, cinematographer for the Extreme Ice Survey, and an award-winning filmmaker. A Stanford University graduate, he has been working with Balog since 2007 and has shot over 300 hours of footage of Eis in the field. His work for Eis has screened on NBC, CNN, PBS, National Geographic, and hundreds of other venues around the world.

The film is produced by Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, the winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary and 2010 Producers Guild of America ‘Producer of the Year’ for her role on The Cove. She has also served as producer on three Harry Potter films, Rent, and Mrs. Doubtfire. The film is also produced by Jerry Aronson, nominated for an Academy Award for the documentary The Divided Trail, and the director of The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg.

Credits:

Director/Producer: Jeff Orlowski

Producers: Paula DuPre’ Pesmen, Jerry Aronson

Executive Producers: David and Linda Cornfield

Writer: Mark Monroe

Cinematography: Jeff Orlowski

Music Composer: J. Ralph

Editor, Mark Monroe

Production: Diamond Docs (in association with)

Exposure Production, Exposure

Distributors (Us): Submarine Deluxe and National Geographic Channel

Maggie Simpson a short animated film by David Silverman

The Longest Daycare is a four-and-a-half-minute-long animated 3D short animated film based on the animated television series The Simpsons.

Directed by David Silverman The Longest Daycare is one of my favorite short animated films short listed for the Oscar this year. Silverman, credited with creating the look of the Simpsons, has directed numerous episodes of this hit series. Daycare has no dialogue. It is hilarious in part because of its silent film style. It is smart and fun. Maggie is a delight. This short film is really special. Between the 3D, the super clever writing and the stunning animation style, it is one of the very rare animations that can be enjoyed by any audience. Silverman’s work deserves an Oscar.

Scored by Hans Zimmer, best known for his work on Hollywood blockbusters, the score references numerous films scores and adds another layer of meaning to this magnificent (really?) work. Silverman attended the University of Maryland College Park and studied animation at UCLA.

Credits:

Directed by: David Silverman

Produced by: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Richard Raynis, Richard Sakai

Written by: James L. Brooks, Joel H. Cohen, Matt Groening, Al Jean, David Mirkin, Michael Price

Music by: Hans Zimmer, James Dooley (addition music)

Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Running time: 4:30

Academy announces 15 feature documentary films shortlisted for the Documentary Film Nomination

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the short listed documentary features on December 3, 2012. Under the new documentary branch rules all of the branch members as well as documentary nominees and award winners from other Academy branches could vote for the short listed films. About 180 Academy members participated. Dropping the committee process where four committees would screen one quarter of the submitted films, Documentary Branch Governor Michael Moore pushed the branch to use a preferential voting system with all branch members and other qualified Academy members participating. As this writer expected, works with a lot of hype, such as Bully, were short listed. One can wonder how many members who voted for this film actually saw it. In addition to changing the short listing process, the branch demanded that films had to have been reviewed in either the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times. Voters received 126 DVDs in the mail.

A number of worthy films were omitted, as is always the case, including: The Central Park Five (directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon), West of Memphis (directed by Amy Berg), The Queen of Versailles, directed by Lauren Greenfield. I also really liked Bad 25 (directed by Spike Lee) and Love Marilyn (directed by Liz Garbus). Samsara (directed by Ron Fricke) is the year’s best documentary for its sheer poetry

The Academy can choose to nominate up to three people. However, only the director has a lock on the nomination. Individuals credited as “Producer” are vetted by the Producer’s Guild. Each must prove that they did a majority of the producer roles. This is the third year that this rule has been in force. Many of the films have multiple “producers” so it remains to be seen who will receive nominations. The decision of the Academy will be announced once the films are nominated. This has been somewhat contentious in the past.

AMPAS rules follow:

The nominee(s) should be the individual(s) most involved in the key creative aspects of the filmmaking process. A maximum of two persons may be designated as nominees, one of whom must be the credited director who exercised directorial control, and the other of whom must have a producer or director credit. If a producer is named, that individual must have performed a major portion of the producing functions, in accordance with Academy producer criteria. No more than two statuettes will normally be given in the Documentary Feature category. All individuals with a “Producer” or “Produced by” credit on films that reach the semifinal round will automatically be vetted. The Documentary Branch Executive Committee will determine which producers, if any, are eligible to receive an Oscar. In the unlikely event of a dispute, filmmakers may appeal the committee’s decision. In extremely rare circumstances, a third statuette may be awarded. Production companies or persons with the screen credit of executive producer, co-producer or any credit other than director or producer shall not be eligible as nominees for the motion picture.

The Short List:

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman

Bully, directed by Lee Hirsch

Chasing Ice, directed by Jeff Orlowski

Detropia, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Ethel, directed by Rory Kennedy

5 Broken Cameras, directed by Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi

The Gatekeepers, directed by Dror Moreh

The House I Live In, directed by Eugene Jarecki

How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France

The Imposter, directed by Bart Layton

The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, directed by Alex Gibney

Searching for Sugar Man, directed by Malik Bendjelloul

This Is Not a Film, directed by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi

The Waiting Room, directed by Peter Nicks

The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced at 5:30 am (Pst) on Thursday, January 10, 2013. The awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 24, 2013.

Mitchell Block specializes in conceiving, producing, marketing & distributing independent features & consulting. He is an expert in placing both completed works into distribution & working with producers to make projects fundable. He conducts regular workshops in film producing in Los Angeles and most recently in Maine, Russia and in Myanmar (Burma).

Poster Girl, produced by Block was nominated for a Documentary Academy Award and selected by the Ida as the Best Doc Short 2011. It was also nominated for two Emmy Awards and aired on HBO. He is an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Carrier, a 10-hour series that he conceived & co-created. Block is a graduate of Tisch School and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. He is a member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, a founding member of BAFTA-la and has been teaching at USC School of Cinematic Arts since 1979. Currently Block teaches a required class in the USC Peter Stark Producing Program.

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©2012Mwb All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. All information and designs on the Sites are copyrighted material owned by Block. Reproduction, dissemination, or transmission of any part of the material here without the express written consent of the owner is strictly prohibited. All other product names and marks on Block Direct, whether trademarks, service marks, or other type, and whether registered or unregistered, is the property of Block.

Updated: Animated series writers are protesting a decision by the Television Academy to allow NBC’s Community to compete for Emmys in animated categories, arguing that they should be allowed similar cross-genre privileges.

Community made it onto the Emmy nomination ballot in several categories, including best animated program — along with 33 entries from full-time animated shows. The episode, “Digital Estate Planning,” features the cast rendered into 8-bit characters to compete in an old-school-style video game.

Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), David X. Cohen (Futurama) and Al Jean (The Simpsons) are among the 52 writer-producers who signed a letter to the TV Academy arguing...

Jeremy Devine has joined MovieTickets.com as vice president of exhibitor and studio relations. He will be charged with spearheading new programs and will work closely with Greg Sica, who was recently promoted to vice president of business development in developing relationships with the company’s client base, film studios, alternative content providers and third party corporations. His appointment was announced Monday by MovieTickets.com CEO Joel Cohen, to whom he will report. A veteran marketing and sales executive, Devine worked at Paramount Pictures in branch sales and management in Chicago, Washington, D.C, Minneapolis and Dallas. After Paramount, he joined Rave

read more...

Oscar Isaac remained busy in Manhattan filming the ‘60s-set folk music drama Inside Llewyn Davis for co-writers/directors Ethan and Joel Cohen. Isaac joined Inside Llewyn Davis as a struggling folk musician and the 32-year-old Guatemalan native stayed busy joining Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton and Glenn Close in the period drama Therese Raquin. Deadline reported today that Isaac looked to play Laurent, the best friend to Felton’s character Camille, and the secret lover to Camille’s unhappy wife Therese (played by Olsen). Glenn Close joined the film as Therese's mother, Madame Raquin, who forced Therese to marry Felton's character, with veteran theater director Charlie Stratton on board both as the film's writer and director.

Oscar Isaac remained busy in Manhattan filming the ‘60s-set folk music drama Inside Llewyn Davis for co-writers/directors Ethan and Joel Cohen. Isaac joined Inside Llewyn Davis as a struggling folk musician and the 32-year-old Guatemalan native stayed busy joining Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton and Glenn Close in the period drama Therese Raquin. Deadline reported today that Isaac looked to play Laurent, the best friend to Felton’s character Camille, and the secret lover to Camille’s unhappy wife Therese (played by Olsen). Glenn Close joined the film as Therese's mother, Madame Raquin, who forced Therese to marry Felton's character, with veteran theater director Charlie Stratton on board both as the film's writer and director.

Oscar Isaac remained busy in Manhattan filming the ‘60s-set folk music drama Inside Llewyn Davis for co-writers/directors Ethan and Joel Cohen. Isaac joined Inside Llewyn Davis as a struggling folk musician and the 32-year-old Guatemalan native stayed busy joining Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton and Glenn Close in the period drama Therese Raquin. Deadline reported today that Isaac looked to play Laurent, the best friend to Felton’s character Camille, and the secret lover to Camille’s unhappy wife Therese (played by Olsen). Glenn Close joined the film as Therese's mother, Madame Raquin, who forced Therese to marry Felton's character, with veteran theater director Charlie Stratton on board both as the film's writer and director.

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) tonight announced the winners of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay:

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay:

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson,...

Well you don't have to tell me twice, after Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash were awarded the USC Libraries Scripter Award on Saturday I got a feeling the Writers Guild would be going the same way, and just that has happened. Last night the WGA awarded The Descendants for Best Adapted Screenplay while also awarding Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris for Best Original Screenplay. As a result I have had to change my Oscar predictions in the Best Adapted Screenplay category as it would appear all heat was on the adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings's novel and not on Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian's script for Moneyball. You can see those updated predictions right here. In the Original category I have had Allen's script at the top since the beginning and I see no reason to change that now. Granted, The Artist is expected to...

The Descendants, Breaking Bad, and the other winners for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.”

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards winners is below.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay:The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

Documentary Screenplay: Better This World, Written by Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega; Loteria Films

Television Winners

Drama Series: Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win,...

Midnight in Paris and The Descendants, along with Showtime’s Homeland and ABC’s Modern Family, were among the big winners at the annual Writers Guild Awards, held Sunday at ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City. The WGA honors achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, and news, among for other forms.

The night’s big winners were:

Original Screenplay Midnight in Paris, written by Woody Allen

Adapted Screenplay The Descendants, screenplay by by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Documentary Screenplay Better This World, written by Katie Galloway...

"Homeland," "Breaking Bad" and "Modern Family" each won two honors Sunday (Feb. 19) at the Writers Guild of America Awards.

On the film side, the scripts for "The Descendants" and "Midnight in Paris" earned awards from the guild. The WGA gave Laurel Awards -- for writers who have "advanced the literature" of movies or television -- to "Forrest Gump" and "The Insider" scribe Eric Roth for film and to "thirtysomething" and "Once and Again" creators Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for television.

Here's the complete list of winners.

Television

Drama series: "Breaking Bad"

Comedy series: "Modern Family"

New series: "Homeland"

Episodic drama (tie): "Box Cutter" ("Breaking Bad"), written by Vince Gilligan; and "The Good Soldier" ("Homeland"), written by Henry Bromell

Episodic comedy: "Caught in the Act" ("Modern Family"), written by Steven Levitan and Jeffrey Richman

Long form - original: "Cinema Verite," written by David Seltzer

Long form - adapted: "Too Big to Fail,...

Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...