Canadian actors to protest U.S. TV purchases

TORONTO -- Canwest Global Communications Corp. is to draw top Canadian TV stars to its fall 2010 schedule rollout on Tuesday, not to praise the domestic broadcaster, but to protest its recent Los Angeles Screenings purchases.
ACTRA Toronto, the local branch of Canada's actors union, on Monday issued a call to its members to rally outside the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville as top Canwest Global execs unveil their latest American TV buys to the national media.

Leading Canadian actors Eric Peterson, Gordon Pinsent, Leah Pinsent and Colin Mochrie will be in attendance to urge Canwest Global and other Canadian broadcasters to buy Canadian shows as they pitch domestic advertisers on their recent American buys this week in Toronto.
Canwest Global came away from the L.A. Screenings with a slate of CBS Studios product, including the remake of "Hawaii Five-O" for Mondays at 10 p.m., and another package from 20th Century Fox led by the buzz-worthy "Ride-Along."

ACTRA national president Ferne Downey last week criticized domestic broadcasters for stuffing their upcoming fall schedules with rookie U.S. shows as they push local Canadian shows to the fringes of their primetime schedules.
"They've been packing their schedules tight with U.S. programming and ready-to-go promotion packages while enjoying the benefit of protection from foreign competition. Let's hope they surprise us with lots of Canadian programs at their upfronts," Downey said.

Canwest Global and rival Rogers Media will make their glitzy pitches to domestic advertisers Wednesday, followed by market-topper CTV holding its upfront presentation Thursday. Source

'Law and Order' may not be dead

Disorder in the court: "Law and Order" hasn't been handed the death penalty just yet.

NBC and the Dick Wolf camp continue their renewal dance for a record 21st season, even though the music abruptly stopped on Thursday morning.

According to insiders, Wolf has not been officially told yet by NBC that "Law and Order" is dead. And that may be because the Peacock is having second thoughts about unceremoniously axing the show.

Neither side was talking late Thursday, but it appears that NBC and Wolf had agreed in principle to an abbreviated 21st season of "Law and Order" back in March. That also means that the Peacock may be required to pay a penalty to Wolf if the show doesn't return.

As part of that arrangement, it was understood that TNT would be asked to take part in the deal, perhaps financing as many as half of the new episodes -- in exchange for firstrun rights.

But ultimately, things unraveled when NBC asked Wolf to accept a reduced license fee and kick in some production costs -- and the exec producer balked. The Peacock, in turn, was miffed that Wolf would back down from an order or help defray costs; both sides note that the other has made hundreds of millions of dollars on the franchise over the years.

Things got intense enough that folks inside the Wolf camp began assuming that the show wasn't coming back to NBC -- and made calls to cast and crew, relaying that news. Exec producer Fred Berner even told the New York Times that the show was dead.

It appeared that "Law and Order" would suffer a sudden and unremarkable demise.

The relationship between NBC Universal and Wolf has always been a bit tense, but both sides have indeed thrived from the partnership.

And that may be why calmer heads appeared to be prevailing by late Thursday.

"We hope and expect to be in business with Dick Wolf for years to come," NBC U TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin said earlier this week. "We're still working on some details."

Gaspin also didn't dismiss out of hand the idea of sharing the firstrun segs with a cable net.

"We're trying to work out some possibilities with the Wolf camp," he said.

NBC would probably want to milk the marketing opportunity of airing a final season of "Law and Order" and perhaps use the increased attention to help launch "Law and Order: Los Angeles" (which is still in script phase but expected to be ordered, likely for midseason).

Securing a 21st season of "Law and Order" (and beating "Gunsmoke's" record) has been an important goal for Wolf, and he's not likely to let that dream die so easily.

For its part, TNT took the unusual step of sending out a press release, distancing itself from the negotiations.

TNT made a big play for "Law and Order" in 2007. That year, the Peacock instead decided to renew the mothership at the 11th hour and instead shipped "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" to USA.

"'Law and Order' has been a valuable programming asset for TNT," the Turner cabler said. "Currently, we have multiple seasons under license, up to and including season 20. With this series, TNT is the buyer and NBC is the seller. TNT is not in ongoing discussions about picking up the series for firstrun episodes."

If NBC renews "Law and Order," it's more as a favor to Wolf than for the ratings; the onetime powerhouse hasn't made much ratings noise in recent seasons.

Source

NYC to charge $300 for film permits

For the first time ever, television and film productions that come from all over the world to shoot in the city will have to pay for the City Hall permits that have always been free, a major change in policy that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration blames on budget woes. Senior Bloomberg administration officials were to tell representatives from Hollywood studios, advertising and labor unions on Tuesday about the proposed $300 fee for films, commercials, music videos and television series. To be sure, $300 is a barely noticeable budget line in most multimillion-dollar television and screen projects, and most major cities — including Los Angeles, New York's major film competitor — already charge permit fees. But the change is an about-face in policy for a city that has long prided itself on uniquely providing free permits and other perks to lure projects to shoot in the iconic Big Apple. Permits have been free since the city established a film office in 1966. "At this stage with these unprecedented budget cuts, we have no other choice," said Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. "We think this is the best way to go in this environment to address the cuts we are facing." The charge would be required once for every movie, commercial or music video shoot, no matter how many days the production was working in the city, and once a season for television projects. The city said it would waive the initial fee if a low-budget production could demonstrate "unreasonable hardship."

New York requires a permit for any shoot that uses vehicles or equipment other than hand-held devices and cameras on tripods — items such as props, sets, lights, dolly tracks, screens and microphone devices. In some situations, a permit also is needed if a production wants exclusive use of city property. About 3,050 filming applications that would be subject to the fee were submitted to the city last year. Additional permits the city grants to productions — for special locations, for example — would remain free. The city still plans to keep providing production freebies such as parking, street closures and police officers on set for no charge. Los Angeles, where a film permit costs $625 for two weeks of shooting, charges fees for those services as well. New York also provides millions of dollars in free advertising to promote projects shot here.

Source

(This is a movie to be made)Voters rather pick dead man for mayor over the incumbent...they did

Voters in Tracy City, Tenn., have overwhelmingly elected a dead man as mayor, ousting the incumbent, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

Too funny we thought. Democracy working a little too well. As we speak we suspect a script is being penned for this hilarious event in Tennessee where a trace of innocence still lingers. (JaggaJagga)

Carl Robin Geary Sr. died of a heart attack March 10, but still beat incumbent Barbara Brock 268 to 85 on Tuesday, the newspaper reports.

"I knew he was deceased. I know that sounds stupid, but we wanted someone other than her," Chris Rogers, owner of Lunch Box restaurant, tells the paper. "If he were to run again next week I'd vote for him again."

The seat will now be declared vacant and four aldermen will select a new mayor.

Geary clearly had the momentum all along: someone propped up one of his campaign signs among the floral arrangements at his funeral, the paper says.

The defeated incumbent, who was appointed in 2008 when the previous mayor had died, blamed "good old boys" who didn't like change she had brought.

"Tell me something -- why would people vote for a dead man?" Brock tells the Free Press. "That was the only way they could get my job."

As for her own future: "I'll live -- I'm a survivor."

(Posted by Doug Stanglin)

Madness: Tickets get costlier as movie chains seek to cash in on consumers' willingness to pay more for 3-D

Major U.S. movie-theater chains, seeking to accelerate the surge in revenues fueled by such 3-D hits as "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland," are imposing some of the steepest increases in ticket prices in at least a decade.

The new prices take effect Friday in many markets across the country in theaters owned by such major exhibitors as Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc. and AMC Entertainment Inc.

The increases, in one case as much as 26%, vary from theater to theater, but many cinemas are raising prices most—or even solely—for 3-D showings, which accounted for the vast majority of last year's 10% jump in domestic box-office sales. 3-D movies generated 11% of domestic ticket sales in 2009, up from just 2% in 2008.

At an AMC theater in Danvers, Mass., a Boston suburb, 3-D ticket prices are jumping more than 20% to $17.50 from $14.50, while the adult admission price for a conventional film will remain at $10.50. At one Seattle multiplex, adult admission is rising to $11 from $10 for a conventional film, to $15 from $13.50 for a regular 3-D showing and to $17 from $15 for Imax 3-D.

A 3-D Imax movie at New York City's AMC Loews Kips Bay will cost $19.50, up from $16.50.

The increases weren't announced by the theater operators, but were reflected in prices posted Wednesday on movie-ticketing Web sites, such as Fandango.com.

AMC and Cinemark declined to comment. Comment from Regal wasn't immediately available.

The industry's move comes on the heels of a record-setting year at the domestic box office, with revenue surpassing $10 billion for the first time. Movie attendance in the U.S. and Canada grew 5.5% in 2009, with 1.42 billion tickets sold, the most since 2004. Ticket sales so far this year are running 10% higher.

Movie theaters typically charged $2 to $3 extra for 3-D movies. But the brisk demand for the premium-priced tickets led many exhibitors to conclude they were still underpriced. About 83% of the record $2.6 billion in ticket sales for "Avatar" came from 3-D and Imax screens. And Walt Disney Co.'s "Alice in Wonderland" also set records when it hit 3-D screens earlier this month.

While the new prices could boost theater owners' already buoyant revenues, some industry watchers think they could also spark a consumer backlash. Studios, theater operators, and trade groups have long touted films as a bargain, compared with other forms of entertainment. A decade ago, the average ticket at a multiplex was $5.39, but prices have edged up between 2.7% and 6.1% a year since then, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

"The U.S. economy isn't in the greatest shape, and there is definitely risk here in pushing price too far in a weak economy," said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG LLC, who issued a research report Wednesday on the price hikes.

Mr. Greenfield said the next month will serve as a test of the strategy. "We'll have a sense if there is any pushback" from moviegoers, he said.

Some movie-studio executives expressed concern that the price increases might be too much too soon. "The risk we run is that we will no longer be the value proposition that we as an industry have prided ourselves on," said a distribution executive at one major studio.

Other studio executives agreed that the move was risky, but some, like Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., expressed support. "The exhibitors are trying to push the needle on ticket prices and see where it ends up," Mr. Fellman said. "So far charging a $3 or $4 premium has had no effect on consumers whatsoever, so I'm in favor of this experiment to raise prices even more. There may be additional revenue to earn here."

Studios are also in a bind. While many are wary of appearing to gouge consumers, they are also facing higher costs as they produce more movies in the technology-heavy 3-D format. Though ticket prices are set by theater operators, the proceeds are split roughly 50-50 with movie studios.

Five major 3-D films are opening in theaters over the next three months, starting this weekend with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "How to Train Your Dragon." That rich selection is one reason theater owners chose to raise 3-D ticket prices now. It may also help set consumers' expectations for future 3- films.

Imax 3-D tickets to "Dragon" are expected to cost an average $1, or 7%, more than Imax tickets to Disney's "A Christmas Carol," the last children's film to open in the format, just a few months ago.

In his report, Mr. Greenfield said one of the biggest price increases was at an AMC theater in Boston, where a child's 3-D Imax ticket will cost $14.50, up from $11.50. In the 10 markets he surveyed, adult tickets to conventional 2-D films were set to rise by an average of 4%, beginning this weekend.

Price increases on 3-D movies are at least twice as steep, he said, with average adult admission prices rising 8% for 3-D movies and nearly 10% for movies on Imax screens. Source

The Good, the Bad, the Weird

Finally a film we are excited about this year!

See the Oscar Nominees Before They Were Famous or Even Taken Mildly Serious

Chinese Writer Plans To Sue Avatar Director

Avatar director James Cameron is facing a possible £97m lawsuit from a Beijing author who claims the script of the blockbuster sci-fi epic was lifted from his novel.

Zhou Shaomou told the China Daily he spent seven years writing the 1.2 million word book.

"Eighty percent of the plot and the key elements of Avatar are similar to my 1997 science fiction novel Tale Of The Blue Crows," said Zhou.

It tells the story of an epic journey taken by six astronauts to a distant planet which is home to a race of blue-skinned beings.

"I wrote in my novel that their space journey took them six years but in Cameron's movie the journey takes them five years nine months and 22 days," he says.

"I was shocked when I first saw that. It is too close."

Zhou thought there was no market for his novel and signed a contract to have it published online.

He says the £97m he is seeking is for breach of copyright.

"I realise that no one knows me in China but I insist on fighting for my copyright," he told Sky News.

"Over ten million people have read my book over the internet."

And Zhou's legal battles are only just beginning. Two Chinese courts have refused to allow him to submit his lawsuit.

"Nobody was supportive and many asked why someone as famous as Cameron would copy an obscure work from a little-known author," said Zhou.

"I really wanted to argue back 'why not?'.

Yang Huipeng, a Beijing lawyer, said Zhou would have better luck filing his lawsuit abroad.

"He has two options but it is better to sue in America because if the lawsuit is handled in China and James Cameron or his representatives do not come to court then the judgement is unlikely to have much effect," Yang told the China Daily.

This is not the first time the Canadian-born director has faced allegations of plagiarism.

He was previously accused by sci-fi writer Harland Ellison over the film Terminator.

Cameron negotiated and settled out of court.

Source

Another blow:The makers of The Hurt Locker have been hit by a multi-million dollar lawsuit from an American soldier who claims he was the inspiration

Master Sgt Jeffrey Sarver claims the character Will James was based on his life
Master Sgt Jeffrey Sarver filed papers in a US district court in New Jersey which allege that "The Hurt Locker motion picture and DVD are nothing more than an exploitation of a real life honorable, courageous and long-serving member of our armed forces, by greedy multi-billion dollar 'entertainment' corporations".
Sgt Sarver says journalist Mark Boal, who wrote the screenplay for the film after being embedded with a US Army unit in Iraq, based the film's main character on his life but lied by claiming the character was fictional.
The bomb disposal expert's lawyer Geoffrey Fieger said: "They literally transposed his life in the film and then claimed it was a work of fiction.
"The only fiction was the claim it was a work of fiction.
"The screenplay says he is a blonde, blue-eyed trailer trash from Tennessee, but he's blonde, blue-eyed and grew up in a trailer in West Virginia.
"Nobody can claim with a straight face that it's not Jeff Sarver."


Sgt Sarver, who wants the opening credits to list him as the basis for the character Will James, says that Boal was with his bomb disposal unit when he was commissioned to write an article for Playboy magazine in 2005 that led to the Hurt Locker screenplay.
He claims that he spoke at length with Boal and that he coined the phrase "the hurt locker".
Among those named in the suit are Boal, director Kathryn Bigelow and distributor Summit Entertainment.
I've seen the same group of Academy voters attending lunches after lunches, nominally hosted by a neutral director, but effectively a platform for the nominated star and their movie."
Journalist Pete Hammond on lobbying for The Hurt Locker
The case comes as a second blow in consecutive days to the film, which is nominated for nine Oscars this weekend, after an email from producer Nicholas Chartier to Academy voters urging them not to vote for Avatar was leaked to the press.
Attempting to sway voters by disparaging a rival film is strictly against Academy rules and he has been banned from attending the ceremony as a sanction.

Source

Best Actor Nominees

Jeff Bridges is our choice

Woody Harrelson in 'Defendor'

AVATAR

'AVATAR' review by The CONDOR. (Reader discretion advised)

JaggaJagga management asked me to review the movie Avatar. As the reader you should know I am really not motivated to do so. However, since I owe Jagga some money I’m inclined to do so…Ok, Avatar. It was an OK movie. And I can say right now if you’ve seen Star Wars, Pocahontas and maybe even the Matrix you’ve already seen Avatar.

Here’s why: An unknown (Luke Skywalker / The marine in Avatar) gets taken out of their element and put into a situation where they transform from a nobody to an unlikely leader of their people and rally their people to prevent an evil group (The Empire / Mining corporation) from imposing their will on the good / free people. And in both cases against all odds and an overwhelming force the underdog prevails.

Also, the Death Star was basically a "have genocide will travel" machine. The act of wanting to build it showed the intention of the Empire saw / used genocide as a last resort to non-compliance. (As evident in Avatar)

Both the Empire and the Corporation in Avatar wanted compliance from the natives (aka False God complex.) The mineral the mining corp. desired was the why of the story arc but the general plot was how.

Also, if you really want to look into crazy details between the two films:

Both "good guys" used a similar spiritual power (the force / mother nature)

The large machine weapons that the bad guys walked around the woods in were basically imperial walkers in practice. And James Cameron saved a few bucks because he used the same ones that were used in the Matrix. Compare the two…it’s an un-original rip-off.

Oh as to the Pocahontas reference the cliff note version of this comparison is: Nature; Good, Whitey; Bad.

I'm not saying Avatar was a bad movie, it just wasn't very original.

Star Wars, Avatar, and the Matrix even; can all thank Joseph Campbell's use of hero's journey.

Ok, so now you know what’s going to happen in the movie. You’re still forced to see the freaking movie because if you don’t society will consider you a social miscreant; an outcast similar to a guy who quit his wall street job moved into the woods and had lovely marriage ceremony with a raccoon.

For some reason (money) every few years Hollywood makes a movie like this. A water cooler movie, a movie that every one needs to see and even more annoyingly everyone needs to talk to each other about. Forget about the story lines, the shitty acting and glaring flaws in the plot this movie was designed to a movie for everyone. Not something everyone will enjoy, but will have something everyone will want to talk about. For men it will be the action and special effects. For woman, the love story and the beautiful representation of nature. For Democrats and dirty hippies alike it’s a cautionary tale of how were fucking up the environment, global warming rabble rabble rabble. For Republicans / Tea Baggers (By the way leave it to Republicans to soil a word that was previously used to describe a very dirty sexual act…but I digress) it’s just another example of how Hollywood is trying to push their leftwing agenda (Genocide is bad, anti God, anti business pro nature and probably something else.) And Independents and libertarians were simply too high too had noticed or cared and thought Avatar was the single greatest episode of the smurfs to date.

The people who love this movie are acting as if Jesus Christ returned (and apparently as the fourth member of the blue man group) and the people who hate this movie think this movie is Hollywood propaganda with a tree hugging message. The fucker made a BILLION dollars. No one can make a billion dollars in this world and not have large amount of people either loving the ground you walk on or plotting your demise. The reality is Hollywood orchestrated this.

Side note: Oddly enough the most sensible review of Avatar so far actually came from L'Osservatore Romano the official newspaper of the Vatican who called it “…..bland, clichéd and overly-sentimental…… though, that the "spectacle" of the film was worth the price of a cinema ticket.” That’s about right.

As I said before this movie is an ok movie. ****Spoiler Alert**** The rejects for the blue man group beat whitey. But since I’m writing this review about a month after Avatar came out; if you didn’t already know this then I wish you and your raccoon wife a very happy life because I don’t feel like getting stabbed. There will be a second movie probably called “The Empire Strikes Back” (and third…fourth…fifth, probably an animated feature, a prequel, and conventions where people put on blue paint and theorize how many times it would take to watch the 19 hour directors cut of the DVD until the meet a real live girl…etc, etc, etc.)

However, I can tell you one thing I am looking forward to. There is bound to be a porn spoof in the genre of “SpiderBabe” or “Lord of the G Strings”. Personally I would call it “Vaginatar.”

Final note: I saw the regular version of the movie NOT the 3-D version. I’ve taken acid before and have no desire to repeat this process.

-The Condor

Opinions of the Condor are not of JaggaJagga.com

'AVATAR' Cultural Influence already?!

JERUSALEM — Palestinian protesters have added a colorful twist to demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier, painting themselves blue and posing as characters from the hit film "Avatar."

The demonstrators also donned long hair and loincloths Friday for the weekly protest against the barrier near the village of Bilin.

They equated their struggle to the intergalactic one portrayed in the film.

Israel says the barrier is needed for its security. Palestinians consider it a land grab. Source

"A movie of our Times" Reitman

The film most nominated for an Oscar and promoted by the critics is Up in the Air, which has George Clooney as a man who travels America sacking people and collecting frequent flyer points. Before the triteness dissolves into sentimentality, every stereotype is summoned, especially of women. There is a bitch, a saint and a cheat. However, this is “a movie for our times”, says the director Jason Reitman, who boasts having cast real sacked people. “We interviewed them about what it was like to lose their job in this economy,” said he, “then we’d fire them on camera and ask them to respond the way they did when they lost their job. It was an incredible experience to watch these non-actors with 100 per cent realism.” www.johnpilger.com