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Page 1 of 9 February 11, 2013 Da y il weekend b.o.: thief nabs no. 1 PAge 3 argo triumphs at bafta awards PAge 5 nbc cancels do no harm PAge 6 berlin 2013: weinstein has taste for blood PAge 7 berlin review: a single shot PAge 9 Fun. Time Had at 2013 Grammy Awards By Erik Pedersen The Grammy Awards spread its gold around much more liberally than in years past, but New York rock band fun. won two of the traditional Big Four categories — best new artist and song of the year for ”We Are Young” — Sunday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Mumford & Sons won the night’s big prize, album of the year for Babel, spoiling what potentially was shaping up as The Black Keys’ big night. The Ohio duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney won best rock song and best rock performance for “Lonely Boy” and best rock album. El Camino, respectively. And Auerbach also won the last award handed out in the afternoon during the pre-telecast portion of the 55th Grammys, JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images Inside: Fun.’s Andrew Dost, left, Nate Ruess and Jack Antonoff accept their prize for best new artist Sunday night during the 55th annual Grammy Awards. producer of the year (nonclassical); he was the only person to win four Grammys on Sunday. For the first time since 2001, there were four rock acts up for album of the year. Interestingly, two of them — including Mumford’s Babel — were not up for best rock album. In fact, Mumford won only other award on the night, for best longform video (Big Easy Express), a trophy they collected nearly seven hours earlier across the street at the Nokia Theatre. ”We were in the pre-tel,” frontman Marcus Mumford see page 2 Page 2 of 9 February 11, 2013 grammys 2013 FROM page 1 said backstage, “and we sat there with six nominations, and we were like, ’Ah, cool, we’ve got six nominations.’ And then one after the other it was like, The Black Keys and The Black Keys, so we just kinda resigned ourselves. Like last year’s was Adele’s year and we thought Mumford this was gonna be the Black Keys’ year. Now that we’ve got one, it’s fuckin’ awesome!” Katy Perry presented the best new artist Grammy. At the podium, she told the nominees: “If you don’t win tonight, don’t worry: I was never even nominated in this category — and I have my own eyelash line.” When 30-year-old fun. frontman Nate Reuss accepted the nod, he noted a bit of irony in that “the show is in highdefinition, and as you can see, we are old — we’ve been doing this for 12 years.” Fun. also scored with its performance, which was particularly poised considering the fact that the band played “Carry On” in an indoor downpour onstage, which drew big cheers from the crowd. They were buoyed by a chuckle-inducing intro by Neil Patrick Harris, who said, “As legendary gangsta rap icon Katharine Hepburn once said, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Another big winner Sunday was Gotye, whose “Somebody That I Used to Know” won record of the year. The award was presented by Prince — resplendent in dark shades and sparkly walking stick. “Listening to this man growing up, I was inspired to make music,” Gotye said of Prince during his speech. The Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter also won a pair of Grammys during the pre-tel portion. He had a good line while accepting the award for best alternative music album. “Thanks to everyone for making, quote, ‘nonalternative’ albums so this category can exists.” He also Gotye won for pop/ duo group performance for “Somebody,” which features Kimbra. Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull presented the first award, best pop performance. Lopez, who caused such a ruckus with her barely-there 2000 Grammy dress, was draped this time in a black number that showed lots of shoulder and lots of leg.” As you can see, I read the memo,” she said, drawing laughs in reference to the now-notorious missive sent out by CBS last week warning red carpeters not to wear outfits that bare too much T and/or A. “You inspired the memo,” replied Pitbull. Adele won the pop performance award for “Set Fire to the Rain.” That last word could be transformed to “reign” — the Grammy was Adele’s seventh, after sweeping last year with a half-dozen. Backstage later, she was asked how far along she is with her next album. “I’m not very far along at all; I’ve been having lots of meetings,” said the British singer said, who had her first child in October. “I’ve been reading my baby nursery rhymes.” Another fun moment at the podium: While introducing a performance by Justin Timberlake, the normally unflappable Beyonce seemed a mite thrown when her intro partner Ellen DeGeneres stared at her throughout. As Timberlake sang his Adele current single “Suit & Tie,” the telecast was shown in living black-and-white. He then was joined by Jay-Z for a rap interlude before Timberlake launched into the also-new “Pusher Love Girl,” amid repeated shrieks from the crowd. The performance drew a standing-O. Of course, one of the Grammys’ signature moves is to pair performers for what the announcer repeatedly referred to during bumpers as “Grammy Moments.” Indeed, there were several that were noteworthy. One of the highlight performances was a tribute to reggae legend Bob Marley. Bruno Mars and Sting sang “Locked Out of Heaven,” following by Sting playing his Police record “Walking on the Moon” and Rihanna and Marley sons Ziggy, Stephen and Damian, who did Dad proud with “Could You Be Loved.” Current Hollywood Reporter cover boy Jack White was backed by his all-female backing group The Peacocks on “Love Interrupted” — during which he dropped a very audible F-bomb — then switched to his all-male band The Buzzards, adding a blistering guitar solo to “Freedom at 21.” Kelly Rowland, fresh off her Super Bowl halftime appearance, and Nas presented the inaugural best urban contemporary album to Frank Ocean. “I hear the way you disarm the audience is to imagine you all naked — but I don’t want to do that,” Ocean said. “I want to picture you all as kids in tuxedos and dresses.” OK. There was something of an upset in the best pop vocal album category, as Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger won over fun., Maroon 5, Pink and Florence + The Machine. Her brief acceptance speech was among the most entertaining. After mentioning alcohol — then quickly adding, “Just kidding, kids!” — and giving shout-outs to some of her fellow nominees, she said, “Miguel, I don’t know who the hell you are, but we need to sing together!” Clarkson’s win made it three for American Idol winners, following a pair by Carrie Underwood for “Blown Away,” including best country solo performance during primetime. A total of 754 individuals were nominated for the 81 total Grammys, only 11 of which were handed out during the primetime show, which was hosted by LL Cool J and delayed in the West. Click here for more 2013 Grammys coverage. Page 3 of 9 February 11, 2013 box office news Identity Thief Absconds With $36.6 Million Bow weekend box office top 10 By Pamela McClintock BERLIN — Winter Storm Nemo was no match for Melissa McCarthy. The actress’s new comedy Identity Thief, co-starring Jason Bateman and helmed by Seth Gordon, soared past expectations to score a $36.6 million debut, one of the top five openings of all time for an original Rrated comedy and the best opening so far of 2013, topping the $28 million earned four weeks ago by fellow Universal pic Mama. Universal estimated that the blizzard, which paralyzed much of New England, took a 10 percent hit on box-office grosses and that without it, Thief would have cleared $40 million. The pic marks McCarthy’s first starring role since Bridesmaids — which opened to $26 million — and was fueled by females, who made up 58 percent of the audience. This week Movie/Distributor 3-day gross (in mil) Percent change # of theaters Pertheater average Cume to date 1 Identity Thief (Universal) $36.6 — 3,141 $11,650 $36.6 2 Warm Bodies (Lionsgate) 11.5 -44 3,009 3,822 36.6 3 Side Effects (Open Road) 10.0 — 2,605 3,845 10.0 4 Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein) 6.9 -11 2,809 2,459 90.0 5 Hansel & Gretel (Paramount) 5.8 -39 3,285 1,750 43.8 6 Mama (Universal) 4.3 -34 2,677 1,615 64.0 7 Zero Dark Thirty (Sony) 4.0 -23 2,562 1,561 83.6 8 Argo (Warner Bros.) 2.5 -23 1,405 1,779 123.7 9 Django Unchained (Weinstein) 2.3 -24 1,502 1,523 154.5 10 Bullet to the Head (Warner Bros.) 2.0 -56 2,404 824 8.2 rentrak Receiving a B CinemaScore, Thief stars Bateman as a guy whose identity is stolen by a woman (McCarthy). Bateman originally pitched producer Scott Stuber on the idea of the two leading characters being men, but after seeing McCarthy in Bridesmaids, they adapted the role for her. The comedy’s supporting cast includes Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau and Tip “T.I.” Harris. Elliot Inc. co-financed the $35 million movie with Universal. Even with the success of Thief, overall box-office revenues were down 45 percent from the same weekend last year when The Vow debuted to $41.2 million and Safe House opened to $40.2 million. Also bowing Friday was Steven Soderbergh’s independently financed Side Effects, starring Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum. The psychological thriller opened to $10 million, roughly in line with expectations, and likewise earned a B CinemaScore. Open Road Films is distributing Side Effects, which delves into the perils of antidepressants and the pharmaceutical industry. Jude Law and Catherine ZetaJones also star. The film — which Soderbergh claims will be his last — makes its international debut this week at the Berlin International Film Festival. Side Effects came in No. 3 after Thief and Warm Bodies, which fell a relatively narrow 44 percent in its second weekend, grossing $11.5 million for a domestic cume of $36.6 million. Silver Linings Playbook continued to enjoy an impressive hold, coming in No. 4 and falling only 11 percent from the previous weekend. The best picture Oscar contender from The Weinstein Co. has now grossed $90 million. see page 4 Page 4 of 9 February 11, 2013 box office news FROM page 3 Among other best picture nominees, Argo made news in its 18th week in release, grossing $2.5 million to reclaim a spot on the Top 10 chart as it upped its theater count to 1,405. The pic, coming in No. 8, has now earned $123.7 million domestically. Debuting in 300 Imax locations across the country was Paramount’s Top Gun 3D. The classic Tom Cruise pic, directed by the late Tony Scott, grossed a respectable $1.9 million for a location average of $6,333. Chinese blockbuster Lost in Thailand didn’t pack much of a punch in its U.S. debut, earning a paltry $29,143 from 29 AMC theaters across the country (AMC Entertainment is now owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda). Lost has grossed nearly $200 million in China. Die Hard 5 Gets Jump OverSeas By Frank Segers While Sony’s Django Unchained remained No. 1 overseas for the fourth consecutive weekend, the highlight of a sluggish session on the foreign theatrical circuit was the limited introduction of the Fox release A Good Day To Die Hard. Getting a jump on its U.S. and Canada bow this week, the fifth installment of the action franchise starring Bruce Willis opened over the weekend in just seven Asian markets and drew $10.1 million at 1,102 locations for a per-screen average of over $9,000. Django Unchained has grossed $187.1 million since opening internationally on Christmas Day. In South Korea, the opening take including previews was $4.2 million from 459 sites. Good Day set a Fox record in Indonesia and set a franchise record in Hong Kong ($1.2 million at 87 spots). The film was “poised to take advantage of the Chinese New Year holiday [which began Sunday], a time audiences tend to flock to cinemas,” said Fox. Over a 25-year span, the four previous Die Hard titles all starring Willis have prospered overseas, grossing a total of $694.6 million, according to Fox figures, with the second sequel of the franchise, 1995’s Die Hard With A Vengeance, leading the pack with an offshore tally of $264.5 million. The 1988 original Die Hard drew $57.8 million in offshore box office, with the first sequel, 1990’s Die Hard 2, grossing $122.5 million. The last sequel, 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, completed its foreign box-office run with $249.7 million. Still dominant in Germany, France, Switzerland and Belgium, director Quentin Tarantino’s Django collected $18.7 million from 5,280 locations in 65 markets. The action Western starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Di Caprio, which earned five Oscar nominations, has grossed $187.1 million since opening abroad on Christmas Day. In Germany, its best market, Django drew $3.9 million in its fourth round at 843 sites for a market cume of $35.6 million. In France, the Sony release has been No. 1 for four consecutive weeks, with the latest weekend tally ($3.3 million) down a relatively benign 33 percent from the prior round. Its market total stands at $27.2 million. Identity Thief, the No. 1 domestic title, opened overseas in an assortment of smaller markets — Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia and Taiwan — and grossed $230,000 at 112 screens. The Universal comedy’s international rollout will intensify over the next three months. Opening No. 1 in Australia ($2.3 million at about 190 spots), Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Paramount/ MGM’s 3D co-production distributed overseas in most territories by the former, grossed $11.6 million on the weekend overall at some 3,600 situations in 45 territories, lifting its overseas cume to $84 million. Universal’s Les Miserables, with its eight Oscar nominations, grossed $10.1 million on the weekend at 3,100 situations in 45 markets, pushing the musical’s foreign gross to $215 million and $359 million worldwide. A Russia bow generated $1.6 million at 470 playdates for a No. 3 market ranking, while the film’s fifth holdover round in the U.K. garnered $2.7 million from 453 sites, enough for a No. 2 market ranking and a 31-day market cume of $53.3 million. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is nearing the $50 million offshore box-office mark ($47.6 million) after a $10 million weekend at 4,080 venues in 50 territories. Openings in seven markets buoyed its results, with a No. 4 Australia bow delivering $1.77 million at 220 locations. Gaining box-office traction in Mexico ($1 million from 273 spots in market debut) was Paramount and other distributors’ Flight, starring best actor Oscar nominee Denzel Washington, which grossed $8 million on the weekend overall in 28 markets. The pic’s foreign cume stands at $34.8 million, with a France debut due this week. Recording the biggest opening in Spain so far this year was Universal’s Mama, which earned a muscular $3.4 million from 324 locations. It was the fourthbiggest original horrorfilm market opening. The weekend take overall for the Jessica Chastain vehicle delivered $6.1 million at 1,358 playdates in 15 territories, seven of which were new. The pic’s early foreign cume stands at $13.4 million. Lionsgate zombie romance Warm Bodies drew $4.6 million from some 2,000 screens in 24 markets, pushing its very early foreign cume up to $8.7 million. The same distributor’s The Impossible, starring best actress Oscar nominee Naomi Watts, earned $4.3 million on the weekend, lifting the overseas cume for the tsunami disaster pic to thr $138 million. Page 5 of 9 February 11, 2013 awards news Argo, Les Mis Take Top BAFTA Honors By Tim Adler emy of Film and Television Arts handed out its awards Sunday night in rainy London, and the stars turned out in full for the event. Lincoln, nominated for 10 awards at the glittery ceremony at the Royal Opera House, won just one prize: best actor honors for Daniel Day-Lewis. Local favorite Les Miserables won four BAFTAs, including a best supporting actress nod for Anne Hathaway. With nine nominations, Les Mis trailed Lincoln in the run-up to the ceremony. Accepting her trophy, a breathless Hathaway even managed to thank Les Mis author Victor Hugo, even though he’s been dead for 128 years. Hathaway praised her cast and crew as the “goodest-hearted group of loves whose talent knocked me sideways.” Argo won three prizes — having been nominated for seven — for best film, directing and editing. “This has been a second act for me,” helmer Ben Affleck said. “You’ve given me that. I want to dedicate this award to anybody out there who’s trying to get their second act.” Argo producer George Clooney added: “Ben, if this is your second act, I don’t know what you’re going to do for your third.” Stuart Wilson/Getty Images LONDON — The British Acad- Argo producers George Clooney, left, Grant Heslov and Ben Affleck pose backstage Sunday at the British Academy Film Awards in London. And Bond was definitely back. Local hero 007 won two prizes for Skyfall for outstanding British film and original music. “This really is the icing on the cake,” said Skyfall director Sam Mendes. I want to thank Ian Fleming for inventing this character. Here’s to the next 50 years.” U.S. pics that went away empty-handed included Zero Dark Thirty, nominated for five awards; The Master, nominated for four; and The Hobbit, up for three. The biggest surprise of the night was 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva winning lead actress honors for the French film Amour, besting Helen Mirren, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain and Marion Cotillard. Amour also won in the category of film not in the English language, although its director Michael Haneke was a no-show. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained won two BAFTAs: best original screenplay and best supporting actor for Christoph Waltz. Tarantino thanked producers Harvey Weinstein and Amy Pascal for having the courage to back what he called “a pretty hot-potato script.” Accepting his supporting actor prize, Waltz added: “The thing that moves me the most, Quentin, is your unconditional trust in allowing me to put your talent to its proper use, you silvertongued devil you.” There were cheers in the auditorium when Life of Pi, nominated for nine awards, won two for cinematography and special visual effects. Celebrities including Jeremy Renner, Hugh Jackman and Joaquin Phoenix braved the pouring rain in London to attend. Rubber-necking fans shivered beneath umbrellas to catch a glimpse of other stars such as Bradley Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson and Sally Field stroll down the sodden red carpet. One no-show was Meryl Streep, who was grounded in New York because of bad weather. Elizabeth Olsen, nominated for the best newcomer EE Rising Star Award, revealed that she only made it to London by catching the last flight out of New York. Commenting on the number of men sporting beards on this year’s red carpet — among them George Clooney, Ben Affleck and Hugh Jackman — ceremony host Stephen Fry quipped, “I’ve got a strong feeling that I’m not the only actor here tonight wearing a beard.” There were jokes aplenty during Sunday evening’s ceremony. Fry, a British TV comedian, took digs at various targets including Scientology and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a pic in which his own part ended up on the cuttingroom floor. “If they can squeeze — I mean, lovingly craft — another six films of out of Tolkien’s slim volume, the final film should be called The Hobbit: Are We Nearly Bloody There Yet?” quipped Fry. Meanwhile Field, presenting the award for best original screenplay, joked that Eddie Redmayne (Les Misérables) was backstage “puking his guts up” from food poisoning before faking a barf herself. And Samuel L. Jackson joked there were so many Hollywood agents on the plane coming over from Los Angeles, he felt like he was in a remake of Snakes thr On a Plane. Page 6 of 9 February 11, 2013 tv news NBC Axes Do No Harm After Two Episodes Raver secures central Role in NCIS: LA Spinoff By Michael O’Connell and Philiana Ng CBS’ potential NCIS: LA spinoff has found its leading lady. Grey’s Anatomy’s Kim Raver has landed the central role in the Shane Brennan vehicle, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. NCIS: Red revolves around a mobile team of agents forced to live and work together as they crisscross the country solving crimes. The back-door pilot will air in the spring as an episode of NCIS: LA. Raver (24) will play Special Agent Paris, the leader of the Red team, who is athletic, smart and witty with a degree in forensic science. She can drive a golf ball 300 yards and has an IQ in the 98th percentile. She prefers to (and often does) work alone. The actress joins a cast that includes co-lead John Corbett (Parenthood) as former NCIS special agent Roy Mills; ER’s Scott Grimes as the team’s forensic specialist Dave; NCIS: LA’s Miguel Ferrer, who will reprise his role as NCIS assistant director Owen Granger; Red Dawn’s Edwin Hodge, who will play Special Agent Kai; and Damages’ Gillian Alexy, who will play Special Agent Claire. Repped by WME and Mosaic, Raver most recently starred in the Lifetime pilot Secret Lives of Wives (which did not move forward) and did an arc on NBC drama thr Revolution. Do No Harm is officially done. After earning the distinction of becoming the lowestrated scripted premiere in the history of the Big Four networks, the midseason drama has been taken off NBC’s schedule following two low-rated episodes. The widely panned medical series from creator David Schulner was a modern update of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It opened to just a 0.9 rating in the adults 18-49 demo and 3.1 million viewers, then dipped even lower in week two to a 0.7 demo rating. Starring Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) as a doctor with a split personality, the cast also included Alana de la Garza, Phylicia Rashad and Samm Levine. With just two episodes aired, Do No Harm stands with CBS’ Made in Jersey as the fastest cancelations to come during the 2012-13 TV season. NBC will replace previously scheduled episodes of Do No Harm on Feb. 14 and Feb. 21 with encore broadcasts of the “Friending Emily” and “Dreams Deferred” episodes of long-running procedural Law & Order: SVU. The 10 p.m. Thursday time slot has proved problematic for NBC, which has struggled to successfully launch With just two installments aired, Do No Harm stands with CBS’ Made in Jersey as the fastest cancellations to come during the 2012-13 TV season. scripted dramas in the period since ER left the air in 2009. In the past few seasons, the network failed with Prime Suspect and another dualreality drama, Awake, before dropping newsmagazine Rock Center With Brian Williams — now airing Fridays — into the slot. Do No Harm’s cancellation comes days after Smash made a weak return to NBC’s midseason schedule, dropping more than 70 percent in adults 18-49 to a meager 1.1 rating compared to last year’s anticipated debut, and hours after news broke that Christina Applegate was exiting the retooled Up All Night. Fellow midseason entry Deception also opened softly in early January, and White House comedy 1600 Penn has not been able to sustain The Office’s audience. Do No Harm continues the broadcast networks’ struggles with dual-universe dramas. Despite positive reviews, NBC canceled underperformer Awake after one season, and Fox axed Lone Star after two episodes. In 2008, NBC canceled Christian Slater’s splitpersonality series My Own Worst Enemy after a handful of airings. Since the beginning of the year, NBC has gone from first to last among the Big Four networks without The Voice and Sunday Night Football. Tuesday comedies Go On and The New Normal have dropped substantially without a rich Voice lead-in. NBC, meanwhile, still has Anne Heche’s Save Me — which recently tapped The Big C’s Darlene Hunt as its new showrunner — on the bench, with high-concept Revolution returning in late March. On the drama side, Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal, which was picked up straight to series, has yet to be slated. By Lesley Goldberg Page 7 of 9 February 11, 2013 berlin 2013 TWC Acquires Rights to Vampire Pic Blood By Pamela McClintock BERLIN — Hoping for a franchise, The Weinstein Co. has won a bidding war for U.S. rights to Mark Waters’ bigscreen adaptation of Blood Sisters, the first book in Richelle Mead’s bestselling Vampire Academy series. Insiders said the deal is valued at north of $30 million, between the acquisition fee and marketing commitment. TWC struck the pact with financiers Reliance Entertainment and IM Global, and has a rolling option on subsequent installments. At least two Hollywood studios were bidding for U.S. rights to the movie, which stars Zooey Deutch, Lucy Fry and Danila Kozlovsky. Blood — set to hit theaters on Feb. 14, 2014 — is one of the biggest U.S. deals ever to emerge from the European Film Market in Berlin, which runs in conjunction with the Berlin International Film Festival. IM Global has sold the film to many key foreign territories as well, including to eOne in the U.K., Universum in Germany, Metropolitan in France, West in CIS, Hoyts in Australia and New Zealand, eOne in Canada and Intercontinental in Hong Kong. Other Berlin titles that U.S. domestic distributors are keen on include Grace of Monaco, starring Nicole Kidman (CAA screened the movie for buyers Sunday). Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy book series has sold more than eight million copies worldwide. In Blood, Rose Hathaway develops a mental and spiritual bond with her “BVFF” (best vampire friend forever), Princess Lissa. The two girls attend a strict school for vampires designed to retain their humanity, where it is Rose’s task to protect the Princess. Among the everyday issues faced by teenage vampires, Rose falls for Dimitri, their dreamy guardian, and together the three battle the mysterious forces of the evil Moroi who are set on destroying the Princess’s bloodline. Blood marks Harvey Weinstein’s first foray into the young-adult franchise arena. His company is currently riding high on the critical and box-office success of best picture Oscar contenders Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook. “I am thrilled to be working on the first feature for Vampire Academy,” said Weinstein. “This series is fantastic and I am excited to bring it to the screen for diehard fans and introduce the stories to a whole new audience.” The Vampire Academy book series has sold more than eight million copies in 35 countries. To date, there are six titles. Blood will be produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, Michael Preger and Deepak Nayar of Kintop/Reliance. IM Global CEO Stuart Ford will executive produce. Added Murphy: “The addition of Harvey and the TWC distribution and marketing team gives us the opportunity to present this wonderful franchise to the world in a bold, unique fashion and only adds to Vampire’s considerable momentum.” The Kintop Reliance/IM Global film will go into production in early summer. Picturehouse Is Back: Berney grabs Gilly Pic By Stuart Kemp and Pamela McClintock BERLIN — Bob Berney’s re- cently relaunched Picturehouse has inked a deal for U.S. rights to Stephen Herek’s The Great Gilly Hopkins, which has Oscar winner Kathy Bates and Danny Glover attached to star. Gilly is an adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s Newbery Award-winning young-adult novel about a wisecracking, gum-chewing 11-year-old who is moved from foster home to foster home, outwitting them all. When she is placed in the home of Maime Trotter (Bates), the weirdest foster mom yet, she fights her way out — but her plan doesn’t go as intended. Berney’s U.S. deal, struck with producer William Teitler, marks a return to the front lines for the veteran marketing and distribution executive. Berney relaunched Picturehouse in January. The company he founded in 2005 as a joint venture with HBO Films and New Line had been shuttered by Warner Bros. in 2008. In Berlin, the familiar face at the markets arrived with a company now boasting an exclusive, multiyear output deal with Netflix. U.K. sales and finance banner WestEnd Films also has come aboard Hopkins to shop rights to international buyers. “Stephen Herek and Bill Teitler understand the importance and success of the Katherine Paterson pedigree around the world,” said Berney. “The story is heartwarming and true, funny and touching. The film will register with young audiences and families because of its authentic approach to the material. We look forward to working with the creative team and WestEnd see page 8 Page 8 of 9 February 11, 2013 berlin 2013 FROM page 7 Films to make this movie a breakout success.” In January, Paterson received the 2013 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, a U.S. prize that honors authors and illustrators whose books have made a lasting contribution to children’s literature. Aniston Joins Bogdanovich’s Funny that way By Georg Szalai BERLIN — Jennifer Aniston will join Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Cybil Shepherd, Eugene Levy, Kathryn Hahn and Brie Lawson in the Peter Bogdanovich comedy She’s Funny That Way (aka Squirrels to Nuts). Bogdanovich and Louise Stratten wrote the script. Red Granite Aniston International, the foreign sales arm of L.A.-based film production, finance and international sales firm Red Granite Pictures, will handle international sales on the film. Red Granite International co-presidents Danny Dimbort and Christian Mercuri will tout the project in Berlin. Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach are producing. Principal photography is set to begin in June in New York. Funny That Way tells the story of a married Broadway director (Wilson) who falls for a prostitute-turned- actress and works to help her with her career. Aniston, repped by talent agency CAA and management company Brillstein Entertainment Partners, will play a therapist whose mother is in rehab for alcoholism. McHale, Graham, Williams Unite for Christmas By Pamela McClintock BERLIN — Joel McHale, Lauren Graham and Robin Williams are set to star in the dysfunctional holiday comedy A Friggin’ Christmas Miracle, written by Wreck-It Ralph scribe Phil Johnston. Prolific television helmer Tristram Shapeero, whose credits include Community, Parks and Recreation and Veep, is attached to direct Christmas in his feature debut. Production is set to begin in late March in Atlanta. Christmas follows Boyd Mitchler (McHale) and his wife Luann (Lauren Graham) as they spend a dreaded Christmas with Boyd’s father Mitch (Williams) and his family of misfits. Upon realizing that he has left all of his son’s gifts at home, Boyd hits the road with his father and younger brother in an attempt to make the eight-hour round trip before sunrise. Sycamore Pictures, which turned out the Sundance hit comedy The Way, Way Back, is producing Christmas. Hyde Park International is repreClick here for more news and reviews from the Berlin Film Festival. senting foreign rights and is shopping the project to buyers gathered here at the European Film Market. WME is arranging financing and representing U.S. rights. “After an extremely exciting and successful week in Park City, we are very excited to head to Atlanta to begin production on Phil’s heartfelt comedy surrounding a lovable but dysfunctional family, with another ensemble cast that is an embarrassment of riches,” said Sycamore’s Tom Rice, who is producing Christmas with Joe and Anthony Russo. McHale’s credits include Community, and Graham’s include Parenthood. Williams recently wrapped production on Phil Alden Robinson’s Angriest Man in Brooklyn and soon will begin production on Dito Montiel’s Boulevard. Williams is repped by WME and MBST; McHale and Shapeero are with WME; Graham is repped by ICM; and Johnston is with CAA. Gordon-Levitt OK With Making Cuts to His addiction By Scott Roxborough BERLIN — Joseph GordonLevitt will cut out the most graphic sex scenes from his directorial debut, Don Jon’s Addiction, in order for the film to qualify for an R rating in the U.S., the actordirector said Friday. “Yes, we expect we have to do that, and I’ll be getting started on it as soon as I get back,” Gordon-Levitt said at a press conference during the Berlin International Film Festival, where Voltage Pictures’ Don Jon’s Addiction is screening in the Panorama section. Questions about whether the romantic comedy — in which Gordon-Levitt plays a modern-day Lothario addicted to pornography — would have to be toned down for U.S. release have been swirling since the film premiered in Sundance. Relativity Media snagged U.S. rights to the film, which also stars Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza, from Voltage after a fierce bidding war. But the size of the Relativity deal — $4 million upfront and a guaranteed $25 million P&A spend — made it clear an R rating likely was essential if Ryan Kavanaugh’s company was to have any chance of making a profit. To achieve that, the festival version of Addiction will have to be neutered. But the director said he didn’t think cutting out the egregious images would affect the story. “I think it is important that those images are in there, but what precisely you see isn’t that important,” Gordon-Levitt said. “What’s important is the rhythm of the film, the repetition of what the Don Jon character does, over and over.” And while pornography and sex addiction are key themes, the helmer stressed that Addiction was “really a love story” that aims to explore ideas of intimacy and the media’s obsession with sex, packaged in the form of thr an edgy comedy. Page 9 of 9 February 11, 2013 berlin review A Single Shot Sam Rockwell searches for an opportunity in A Single Shot. By David Rooney BERLIN — In the grisly backwoods yarn A Single Shot, William H. Macy makes a couple of brief appearances as a low-rent small-town lawyer. He wears a screamingly obvious toupee, a cheap plaid jacket and garishly mismatched floral tie, plus he has a limp, a gammy arm and a chronic case of the shakes. All that’s missing are ill-fitting dentures. In many ways, this heavy-handed caricature epitomizes David M. Rosenthal’s misjudged thriller, an inbred child of A Simple Plan and Winter’s Bone that aims for atmospheric literary tragedy but instead delivers overripe pulp with pretensions. Given that Matthew F. Jones adapted his own novel for the screen, much of the blame for this lurid mess lands on the writer’s shoulders. But director Rosenthal (Janie Jones) — while he loftily cites the inspiration of Terrence Malick, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa and other filmmaking luminaries in press notes — is no slouch when it comes to adding crude, derivative layers. This is especially the case with some of the chewier performances, which seem to be reaching for Coen Brothers-style idiosyncrasy but consistently overshoot or fall short of that mark. As crack-smoking whitetrash ex-con Obadiah “The Hen” Cornish, for example, Joe Anderson appears to be worshipping at the shrine of Robert De Niro’s hammy turn in the Cape Fear remake. But he’s far from the only purveyor here of Southernfried cliche. Aside from glowering skies over misty forest locations (the Vancouver area stands in for West Virginia), what A Single Shot has going for it chiefly is the lead performance of Sam Rockwell, who lends the material more conviction than it merits. He plays John Moon, who has lost his livelihood and his family since his parents’ dairy farm went into foreclosure and his diner-waitress wife Jess (Kelly Reilly) exited with their baby son. Living alone in a trailer, John is a skilled rifleman who has been charged multiple times for poaching game on Nature Conservancy land. During one illicit hunt, he shoots at a moving target through the trees and accidentally kills a teenage runaway. While still absorbing the shock he finds the dead girl’s hideout and discovers a case full of money stashed there. Desperately figuring this might be his best chance at winning back his family, he covers the body and takes the loot. But before long, all kinds of skeevy backwater types start closing in, bringing escalating violence. One of the key problems with Jones’ script is that he’s been unwilling to pare down the novel into clean cinematic lines. There are too many characters and too much plot, which may have worked with the breathing space of prose fiction but seems hopelessly crammed and lacking fluidity on the screen. For instance, much time is spent on John’s hope of saving his relationship with Jess, but the climactic redemption comes while protecting a neighbor’s daughter (Ophelia Lovibond) who barely exists as a character. (In all honesty, less of the unconvincing Reilly is not necessarily a bad thing.) And by switching midway from Obadiah to an equally onedimensional antagonist in the sinister Waylon (Jason Isaacs), the villains pretty much cancel each other out with their badass posturing. Other than Rockwell’s intense John, whose unhinged panic climbs as he gets in deeper and deeper, none of the characters makes much of an impression. And both the director and writer show such patchy story sense that a lot of the buildup to the final bloodshed and malevolence registers as suspensefree clutter. The pic’s splashes of seediness and brutality seem more like gratuitous flourishes than any serious attempt to capture the grim Americana shadow-world so rivetingly explored in films like Winter’s Bone. Shot in murky tones by Eduard Grau and wildly overscored with Atli Orvarsson’s agitatissimo string section, A Single Shot becomes both laborious and clumsy at wrangling all its plot points. This is particularly evident when it falls to Jeffrey Wright, as John’s hooch-swillin,’ fornicatin’ old friend Simon, to explain the origins of the cash in a cumbersome monologue. “The drunker I get, the more reasonable the most un-fuckin’-reasonable things seem to me,” says Simon at one point. Unfortunately, most audiences won’t have a jug of applejack to help them along. Venue: Berlin International Film Festival (Forum). Production: Bron Studios, Unified Pictures, Unanimous Entertainment, in association with Media House Capital, Demarest Films, Visionary Pictures. Cast: Sam Rockwell, Jeffrey Wright, Kelly Reilly, Jason Isaacs, Joe Anderson, Ophelia Lovibond, Ted Levine, William H. Macy, Amy Sloan, Heather Lind, W. Earl Brown, Jenica Bergere. Director: David M. Rosenthal. Sales: Inferno Entertainment. No MPAA rating, thr 116 minutes.