This Week in Movie History: 'A Place in the Sun' Lights Up Theaters

Movie: 'A Place in the Sun' Release Date: August 14, 1951 How It Got Made: 'A Place in the Sun' is at once one of cinema's great love stories and one of its great crime dramas, but getting it made was a struggle marked by bitter arguments before, during and after the production. Fortunately, the seamless finished product bore no apparent trace of the strife. Besides becoming an enormous hit upon its release 60 years ago this week, the film won several Oscars, cemented the stardom of Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor (and created the image of adult sensuality that transformed Taylor from a child star into an all-time screen goddess), made a star out of Shelley Winters, and influenced filmmakers for decades to come. The film was based on Theodore Dreiser's 1925 bestseller 'An American Tragedy,' which was in turn inspired by a real-life 1908 murder trial. Dreiser's title came from his take on the crime as an indictment of America's unacknowledged social class hierarchy; indeed, the first person to take a crack at a movie version was the great Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein, who adapted it into a screenplay during his brief 1930 stint in Hollywood. Paramount Pictures rejected the script, in part because of Eisenstein's avant-garde montage technique and in part because of early anti-communist fears in Hollywood. Paramount did make the movie in 1931, with a new script and under the direction of Josef von Sternberg. Dreiser sued the studio, unsuccessfully, to prevent the release of this version, which focused more on psychology than class distinctions, and which Dreiser said distorted his characters beyond recognition. The movie flopped. After Dreiser died in 1945, director George Stevens, a longtime fan of the book, tried to persuade Paramount to do a remake. The studio balked, remembering the earlier lawsuit and commercial flop. Stevens reportedly had to prepare his own lawsuit, alleging breach of contract, to get the studio to relent. Even still, Paramount demanded some changes, starting with the title. Accounts vary as to why; some say Paramount thought 'An American Tragedy' was too glum a title for a movie with a strong romantic element (the studio's preferred title was 'The Lovers'). Others say that anti-communist sentiment, soon to erupt into full-blown McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, kept the studio from wanting to imply that there was anything anti-American about the movie. Stevens' associate producer Ivan Moffat came up with the new, more ironic title that eventually stuck. But the blacklist wasn't finished yet with the filmmakers. 'A Place in the Sun' - Trailer Cast in the leads were 28-year-old Clift (then coming off the successes of 'Red River' and 'The Heiress') and Taylor, who, at 17, had yet to give a truly adult performance. He'd play George, the poor but ambitious social climber, she Angela, the spoiled rich girl of his dreams. As Alice, the third leg of the triangle, the factory girl George impregnates and plots to murder so that he can marry Angela, Stevens cast Shelley Winters. A rising starlet being groomed as Hollywood's next brassy blonde bombshell, Winters persuaded the filmmakers that she could play dowdy and mousy after spending two weeks riding city buses and observing Los Angeles factory girls. Trained Method actors, Winters and Clift brought their discipline to a Hollywood that would soon be revolutionized by the new technique as practiced by Clift, Marlon Brando, and James Dean. In 1949, however, seasoned filmmakers like Stevens found it bewildering and irritating, especially since Clift had Russian-born acting coach Mira Rostova on the set with him at all times, and since he argued with Stevens over how to play just about every scene. Then again, the Method's emphasis on conveying intense emotions did serve Stevens' preference for shooting scenes with minimal or no dialogue, and for shooting extreme close-ups of the actors' faces. The young Taylor also found it challenging to work with the meticulous Clift, but his intense dedication and probing emotional approach to his character inspired her to give a performance that was mature beyond her years. They displayed an intense romantic chemistry that seemed to continue off-screen. Gossip reports at the time (no doubt puffed up by the studio) even speculated that they were planning to marry. In actuality, despite Clift's flirtatious behavior, it's likely that no romance ever took place between Liz and the gay Monty. But they did become close and loyal friends. Excerpt from 'A Place in the Sun' Shooting began in October 1949 with lakeside scenes shot at Lake Tahoe, where it was so cold that the filmmakers had to hose the snow off the trees and the ground before filming. The perfectionist Stevens continued the shoot for another four months, exposing 400,000 feet of film. He and editor William Hornbeck then spent more than a year editing it (though some accounts say he was just biding time so that his movie would get a 1951 release date and not compete with fellow Paramount opus 'Sunset Boulevard' in the 1950 Oscar race). How It Was Received: The film was a big hit, becoming the eighth highest-grossing movie of 1951. Clift's performance earned some of the highest praise of his career and spawned a fan club. Taylor astonished viewers with her grown-up sensuality. She'd played a young adult getting married in 1950's 'Father of the Bride' (a film shot after 'Place in the Sun' but timed for release to coincide with the starlet's real-life wedding to Nicky Hilton), but she hadn't turned on the full wattage of her sex appeal until now. The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress (for Winters). It took home six trophies, including Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Screenplay (for Michael Wilson and Harry Brown). Co-star Anne Revere, who played Clift's mother, could trace her lineage back to Revolutionary patriot Paul Revere, but by 1951, she'd run afoul of the House Un-American Activities Committee and was blacklisted by the studios. Her name was purged from all publicity materials for 'A Place in the Sun.' She left Hollywood for Broadway and didn't appear in another movie for 20 years. Long-Term Impact: The blacklisting didn't stop with Revere. Oscar-winning screenwriter Wilson was eventually blacklisted as well. He continued to write acclaimed and even Oscar-winning screenplays (most notably, for 1957's 'The Bridge Over the River Kwai,' with fellow blacklistee Carl Foreman) but didn't receive proper credit from the studios or the Academy until after his death in 1976. The lawsuits continued after the film's release as well. In 1959, the estate of Patrick Kearney, who'd written a stage version of 'An American Tragedy,' sued Paramount, arguing that Kearney had retained the rights to the story. In 1965, Stevens sued Paramount and NBC over the network's plan to broadcast 'A Place in the Sun,' broken up by commercials. He argued that his studio contract forbade anyone from editing the movie without his consent, and that chopping up the film for broadcast would ruin the painstakingly wrought effects of his own lengthy edit process. The legal fight dragged on for two years, with the courts ultimately ruling against Stevens but awarding him token damages of $1. To be sure, Stevens' editing really was one of the key elements of the film. His trademark technique, the overlapping dissolve (which could be traced back to Russian formalist filmmakers like Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov), created a narrative flow, a swirling rush of emotion, and a deliberate contrast of images superimposed on each other. The overlapping dissolve became popular among filmmakers in the 1950s and beyond. Jean Luc Godard made extensive use of it in his series 'Histoire(s) du Cinema,' even using it to contrast Stevens' own work as a wartime documentarian, capturing real human misery, with his work on 'A Place in the Sun,' capturing glossy, manufactured romance. Woody Allen, too, borrowed liberally from 'A Place in the Sun,' sometimes shot for shot, for 'Match Point,' his hit 2005 drama about a social climber who plots to murder his blonde girlfriend in order to marry a brunette society beauty. By the time of Stevens' lawsuit, he had followed 'A Place in the Sun' with two more classics of Americana: 1953's 'Shane' and 1956's 'Giant' (which reunited him with Taylor). Wilson was working on the script for the original 'Planet of the Apes,' while his 'Place in the Sun' writing partner Harry Brown had co-scripted the original 'Ocean's 11.' Among the acting talent, Raymond Burr, who played the prosecutor, had gone on to play the most celebrated defense attorney in TV history, Perry Mason. Winters had proven all too well that she could play dowdy and mousy and spent the rest of her long career specializing in playing hausfraus, harridans and jilted lovers. She won supporting Oscars for two such roles, in 1959's 'The Diary of Anne Frank' (directed by Stevens) and 1966's 'A Patch of Blue.' Even Mira Rostova, Clift's acting coach, went onto a long and successful career as an acting teacher, whose pupils included Alec Baldwin, Jessica Lange, Jerry Orbach and, uh, Madonna. As for Clift and Taylor, their friendship lasted the rest of his short life. They worked together on two other films, and she famously saved his life after his 1956 car crash. (He was leaving her house at the time, and she saved him from choking to death by pulling his broken teeth out of his throat.) By the time he died in 1966, he'd been nominated for four Oscars, including for such classics as 1953's 'From Here to Eternity' and 1961's 'Judgment at Nuremberg.' Taylor, who'd go on to win two Oscars (for 1960's 'Butterfield 8' and 1966's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'), would pass into legend, spending most of her adult career as Angela Vickers, the accessible yet unattainable goddess she'd played during her first pairing with Clift. How It Plays Today: With Taylor's passing in March, 'A Place in the Sun' seems all the more poignant now for its portrayal of two impossibly gorgeous young people who thought they had limitless potential. For anyone too young to remember why moviegoers spent decades swooning over both Liz and Monty, this is a good place to start. Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Exclusive Glee Project Sneak Look: The Ultimate Four Obtain Last Homework Assignment

Samuel To start Sunday's finale from the Glee Project (9/8c on Oxygen), the 4 remaining challengers - Samuel, Alex, Damian and Lindsay - receive their final homework assignment. The theme? Glee-ability, obviously. Meaning the mitts are coming off. The Glee Project runners up seem off on Christianity, reality TV editing and Ryan Murphy "Now I have gotta fight, and this is where it counts as part of your,Inch Samuel states. " I am not going to down again whatsoever." And how about you, Alex? "There's nothing that will stop me from getting this," he states. Watch the clip below to determine what song they will be singing -- "Such a perfect song!" Lindsay screams when it is revealed - not just for any guest mentor, but Ryan Murphy themself: Who do you want to see win? Who do you consider will win? Tell us within the comments.

Conan the Barbarian

Jason Momoa stars in Lionsgate's 'Conan the Barbarian.'A Lionsgate release presented with Millennium Films of a Millennium Films/Conan Properties Intl. production in association with Emmett Furla Films Prods. Produced by Fredrick Malmberg, Boaz Davidson, Joe Gatta, Danny Lerner, John Baldecchi, Les Weldon, Henry Winterstern. Executive producers, Samuel Hadida, Victor Hadida, Fredrick Fierst, George Furla, Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Eda Kowan, John Sacchi, Michael Paseornek, Jason Constantine. Co-executive producer, Lonne Ramati. Directed by Marcus Nispel. Screenplay, Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, Sean Hood, based on the character of Conan as originally created by Robert E. Howard.Conan Jason Momoa Tamara Rachel Nichols Khalar Zym Stephen Lang Marique Rose McGowan Ela-Shan Said Taghmaoui Corin Ron Perlman Young Conan Leo HowardConan has mellowed, if ever so slightly, since the days when a certain Austrian bodybuilder portrayed the pulp fantasy hero. That doesn't mean his latest bloodbath, also titled "Conan the Barbarian," is any tamer; merely that the protagonist in this Marcus Nispel-directed reboot shows a modicum of respect toward the men he slays and topless wenches he liberates. More importantly, the well-executed pic solves the biggest challenge facing those hoping to breathe new life -- however nasty, brutish and short -- into the 79-year-old franchise by finding an actor capable of filling Ah-nuld's shoes, all of which portends brawny international biz, with sequels to follow. Conan rights holder Millennium Films took a considerable gamble in casting little-known Hawaiian actor-model Jason Momoa, who nevertheless as a burly, long-haired horse of a man with biceps the size of battering rams and a big scar running down his left cheek seems made for the part. The bet paid off, as Momoa's star rose earlier this summer, thanks to his role as Khal Drogo on HBO's "Game of Thrones." That break, combined with a slightly more femme-friendly depiction of Conan -- including a gratuitous glimpse of the barbarian's backside -- suggests the producers have figured a way to inject some Harlequin Romance-style appeal into Robert E. Howard's classic hero. The other big wild card in this equation was musicvideo director Marcus Nispel, who has carved out a curious niche for himself rebooting B-movie franchises. After bringing a measure of visual style to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th," the helmer once again exceeds expectations, however modest they may have been to begin with. Audiences headed to a Conan movie already know what they're going to get, so it doesn't make sense to chide those responsible for crafting a work of unrelenting barbarism. There's blood and bare breasts aplenty, from Conan's birth on the battlefield -- where his father (Ron Perlman) can be seen slitting the man-child from his dying mother's womb in an outrageous opening scene -- to his climactic showdown with Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang). In short, like last summer's "The Expendables" (also produced by Avi Lerner), the film delivers hard-R escapism for 13-year-old intellects, aimed to satisfy those looking to rest their brains but not their ears. Attempting to separate themselves somewhat from the earlier, Schwarzenegger-starring pics, Nispel and his cohorts announced a respectful back-to-the-books approach, but it's really more of the same. Like the 1982 John Milius-directed film, "Conan the Barbarian" shows the young Cimmerian (played by Leo Howard) witnessing the death of his parents, hunting down the man responsible for their murder and demonstrating himself worthy of the sword he will wield in later adventures. Joining the monosyllabic hero -- whose mantra amounts to a grunted, "I live, I love, I slay and I am content" -- are such stock characters as a campy sorceress (Rose McGowan), a thieving sidekick (Said Taghmaoui) and a pure-blooded maiden (Rachel Nichols). Screenwriters Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood mercifully spare us most of the arcane mythology with which Howard larded his original tales, putting what little setup auds need into the mouth of narrator Morgan Freeman, whose presence offers the first clue that the project aspires to some sort of respectability. With all earnestness, Nispel embraces the property's classic roots, placing this new "Conan" squarely within the tradition of sword-and-sorcery pics. Visually, the world hews close to the dark, iconic look established by fantasy painter Frank Frazetta, which will no doubt please devotees, but offers as little room for surprise as the film's recycled storyline. Although the battle scenes are updated with the kind of on-camera carnage that 21st-century digital enhancement allows, many of the effects -- ranging from CG cities to a multi-tentacled sea creature -- are just a notch above the high-def TV standard seen on "Game of Thrones." There is, however, one notable exception: An exhilarating mid-movie action scene produced by Tom Horton and Reliance MediaWorks conjures a bunch of impressive, shape-shifting sand warriors, who materialize out of thin air to antagonize the wild-eyed Conan. For the most part, nimble editing makes it possible to make sense of complex action sequences, but often comes at the expense of the film's unnecessary 3D. Overall, the extra dimension doesn't add much, apart from one or two flinch-inducing moments when a weapon goes flying out into the audience. With his bulging physique, Momoa is more 3D-friendly than most stars, but the technique does little to enhance it, serving instead to emphasize the separation between the otherwise flat foreground and background planes. In addition to its epic-scale indoor stages, Bulgaria supplies terrain varied enough to suggest the many kingdoms of Hyboria, but isn't likely to inspire many vacations.Camera (Deluxe color, 3D), Thomas Kloss; editor, Ken Blackwell; music, Tyler Bates; production designer, Chris August; art director, Antonello Rubino; set decorators, Judy Farr, Valya Mladenova; costume designer, Wendy Partridge; sound (DTS/Dolby/SDDS), Vladimir Kaloyanov; supervising sound editor, Trevor Jolly; re-recording mixers, Chris David, Marchall Garlington; special effects supervisor, Alex Gunn; visual effects supervisors, Holly Gosnell, Felix Pomeranz; visual effects, Worldwide FX; makeup and special makeup effects supervisors, Shaun Smith, Scott Wheeler; stunt coordinators, David Leitch, Noon Orsatti; fight coordinator, Jonathan Eusebio; stereoscopic supervisor, Evan Jacobs; assistant directors, Mark Roper, Petya Evtimova; second unit director, David Leitch; second unit camera, Ross Clarkson; casting, Kerry Barden, Paul Schnee. Reviewed at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live, Los Angeles, Aug. 11, 2011. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 113 MIN. Secondary Cast: With: Steve O'Donnell, Raad Rawi, Nonso Anozie, Bob Sapp, Milton Welsh. Narrator: Morgan Freeman. Contact Peter Debruge at peter.debruge@variety.com

See Chris Evans and Joss Whedon on the Cleveland Set of The Avengers

· Medical Mutual of Ohio: Your health care partner since 1934, your source of Avengers spoilers since Monday. The Cleveland-based shoot for the Joss Whedon-directed Marvel blockbuster is in full swing — translation: explosions! — and that means the Medical Mutual of Ohio Facebook page is littered with set photos. Click through to see Whedon and Chris Evans setting up for a scene, then stick around for more Buzz Break. [via Facebook] · Here’s a first look at Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn. [ET Online] · The new trailer for Immortals continues to make the film look Bad Movies We Love-worthy. [MSN] · Bill Paxton will play Randall McCoy opposite Kevin Costner’s “Devil” Anse Hatfield in the History Channel mini-series The Hatfields and McCoys. [Deadline] · Huzzah for Rosemarie DeWitt. Variety reports that the Rachel Getting Married star is in talks to appear opposite Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn in Neighborhood Watch. [Variety]

Filmunio carries on during shake-up

MOSCOW -- Hungary's international film promotion body Filmunio is still working despite reports that it had fallen victim to the country's shake-up of publicly funded cultural bodies. Csaba Bereczki, head of international relations at Hungary's Motion Picture Public Foundation, said Friday that Katalin Vajda, a long-serving official at Filmunio had been appointed as managing director. The announcement comes just weeks after former Filmunio head Eva Vezer exited when her contract was not renewed. Vezer sent a private letter by email to film industry contacts worldwide at the time thanking them for their friendship and support over many years. The changes come as Budapest-born Hollywood producer Andrew Vajna, who has been put in charge of the reorganization of state film funding in Hungary, made a series of staffing decisions. "Contrary to some false information Magyar Filmunio is existing and operating continuously," Bereczki said. "The management and financing of Hungarian film production is being renewed alongside a concept which meets international experience. "Based on Katalin's experience for decades, I am convinced that she will manage Magyar Filmunio successfully and this will contribute to the successful integration of this activity into the recently established Hungarian Film Fund." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Why Renny Harlin Made a Movie About the 2008 Russo-Georgian War

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, 12 Rounds) is not the first director — or the second or third or heck, the 20th — you’d expect to direct a serious movie about a recent political conflict that resulted in numerous human rights violations, civilian deaths, and tenuous relations between Russia and neighboring Georgia. But that’s just what the genre veteran did in the Aug. 19 pic 5 Days of War, telling The New York Times he “wanted to shift to films that he said would ‘allow me to look at myself in the mirror’ in the morning.” Congrats, Renny! You’re that much closer to making up for Cutthroat Island. [NYT]

Dilwale

The Police Commissioner, Advocate Sinha and Police Inspector Vikram Singh arrive at the Central Mental Hospital to speak with an inmate, Arun Saxena. They hope to get Vikram to befriend Arun so that they could unravel the mystery as to why Arun ended up romancing wealthy Sapna, then getting involved with Jyoti, and subsequently killing her. Arun is arrested, confesses to the the homicide and is sentenced to be hanged. This news unsettles Arun to such an extend that he becomes mentally unstable and is institutionalized. Vikram hopes to befriend Arun, get him cured and medically discharged, and ensure that he is hanged.

Bruce Willis In Talks To Join G.I. Joe Sequel

FIRST PUBLISHED: August 10, 2011 5:02 PM EDT LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation reportedly has set its sights set on Bruce Willis to play the original Joe. The star is in talks to play General Joe Colton, the solider who forms the first G.I. Joe strike team, according to The Hollywood Reporter. If cast, Bruce would join a slew of new additions to the franchise, including Dwayne Johnson (Roadblock), Adrianne Palicki (Lady Jaye), Ray Stevenson (Firefly) and the Wu Tang Clans RZA (Blind Master). Channing Tatum (Duke) and Ray Park (Snake Eyes) will return for the action movie, which starts shooting this month in New Orleans. Jon M. Chu, who most recently helmed the music documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never will direct the second installment. G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation is slated to hit theaters on Jun 29, 2012. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Emmys 2011: 10 War Stories From the Writing Trenches

TV scribes are likely the most put- upon of all writers. They not only create the blood and guts of their shows, but many also lead the charge in the writers room, troubleshoot on the set and, in one case, direct, edit and produce. (Looking at you, Louie.) Here, this year's 14 nominated scribes reflect on their toughest creative moments, the power of comic relief and how The Real Housewives can be a terrible distraction.our editor recommendsThe Emmys Revert to (Bad) Form (Analysis)Emmy Nominations 2011: Full ListEmmy Nominations: 'Mildred Pierce,' 'Mad Men' LeadRelated Topics•Emmys COMEDY Greg Daniels The Office "Goodbye, Michael" "My favorite scene from 'Goodbye, Michael' is a talking-head interview with Michael [Steve Carell] just after he has given Oscar [Oscar Nunez] his going-away present, a pathetic homemade burlap doll, which Oscar receives with great seriousness. We cut to Michael, who is laughing so hard he can barely breathe over Oscar's low opinion of him. Michael shows the top of his intelligence here: He is aware people think he's sometimes stupid, and he can play with it and laugh about it. Steve has an incredibly infectious laugh, and it is impossible not to be carried along when he really goes for it, providing a great moment of joy that this somewhat sad episode really needed. Also, for me over the seven years, those interview segments in his office were the most intimate scenes that I did with Steve. I would sit just off to the side of the camera and ask him questions, and he would look at me and often improvise. This scene was shot early in the week, and when Steve left to prepare for the next scene, director Paul Feig and I looked at each other and realized at the same time that, without anywhere near the appropriate fanfare, we had just shot Michael's very last talking-head." VIDEO: Emmy Roundtable: Comedy Showrunners Matt Hubbard 30 Rock "Reaganing" "The idea of Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy talking in the limo about Liz's sexual past was mostly Tina Fey's idea, but it was also an attempt to save some money. It was our attempt at a bottle episode [one restricted to use as few castmembers, effects and sets as possible]. But in classic 30 Rock fashion, we were like, 'Why is there a traffic jam?' The thing we ended up going with was there was this elaborate commercial being shot that was causing the jam, so that meant we needed to actually shoot an elaborate commercial. What we intended initially as something to be a cheap episode of two people sitting in a car talking became one of the most complicated episodes and probably one of the most expensive episodes we've done. It was a bit difficult to do an episode about Liz's sexual past; it was about striking the right tone because it's not traditional to do a comedy episode about someone's horrible sexual experience they had when they were a preteen. The thing that unlocked it was going into flashbacks and seeing Tina with a wig on and roller-skating down the hall. It was originally conceived where she tells the story and you don't see anything. She looks so stupid in that wig; you were allowed to laugh at it and allowed to laugh at the story. That ended up pulling it all together." PHOTOS: Emmy Nomination Snubs, Shockers and Surprises David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik Episodes "Episode 107" Klarik: "Two guys who don't really fight trying to fight? It's silly. My favorite moment of the fight is when Sean [Stephen Mangan] punches Matt [LeBlanc] after he finds out Matt slept with his wife, and he's as shocked as Matt -- like, 'How did I do that?' The other thing that was really fun is that we came up with the Joey Cologne idea in the opening scene when Matt is in bed with Beverly [Tamsin Greig]. And then there was a moment when we realized, 'Oh wait, the cologne could be a weapon later on!' It was really fun. The part that we worked really hard on was the whole long run with Matt and Sean, where Sean puts all of the pieces together and figures out Matt is having sex with Beverly. It's endured in an honest way -- that we're with Sean as he's putting those clues together. And then Matt realized, 'Oh God, [Sean's realization] is getting closer; it's getting closer.' He knows he's drowning, and there's nothing he can do." Crane: "I would say the final scene is probably our favorite. It encapsulates everything: a lot of emotion and pain and some really big comedy. We loved the fact that we bring the characters as low as possible and then at the very last minute say, 'Guess what?' -- and you get to stay there. And we'd been, in the course of the season, building the sexual tension between Matt and Beverly. We'd finally got them together in the previous episode, and it all led to this." PHOTOS: David Strick 2011 Emmy Nominees Louis C.K. Louie "Poker/Divorce" "I generally do a first draft of a script, and then it's mostly done. I e-mail it to my producer pretty immediately. Then, in watching the thing be read by a bunch of actors, I learn a little bit more about the script. I've cut whole scenes after watching the auditions; that's a huge part of the writing process for me. For this episode, I had a lot of my good comedian friends in the poker scene. The central poker conversation about gay sex came from conversations I had with Rick Crum years ago. Jim Norton is always a great voice. Nick DiPaolo has been on the show on and off -- I love using him. But I generally don't ad-lib a lot -- like, say, Larry David does on Curb -- because I shoot the show cinematically and precisely. In that poker scene, most of the exchanges were written precisely. But then, when we were talking about the gay sex club, I let all these guys run through it and we just kept rolling. I'm lucky -- I have a lot of autonomy. FX doesn't give me notes until it's all shot and edited. I don't go through a big vetting process. All that dialogue-vetting tends to perfect scripts to a place where they feel too common. I like putting raw first drafts out there and letting the producing and directing take over." Steve Levitan, Jeffrey Richman Modern Family "Caught in the Act" Levitan: "The story idea came to me after my wife and I realized that our daughter had walked in on us [having sex]. We didn't say anything for a while about it; we just let it hang there for a bit. I brought it up at dinner one night with my daughter in a fun, joking way, and she said, 'Oh yeah, that was horrible.' I keep hearing from people who were involved in one side or the other, and it is apparently much more common than any of us realized. The other funny thing I've heard was because Modern Family is a show that a lot of families watch together, it creates some awkward moments. Everyone felt a bit closer after that episode or totally creeped out." Richman: "I accidentally spilled wine on a friend's expensive rug then tried to turn the rug so that the stain was hidden under a piece of furniture. That was the genesis of the Mitchell [Jesse Tyler Ferguson] and Cam [Eric Stonestreet] story. At one point, we had the boys move the rug, and then we decided that was an unlikable quality. After having pitched the story from my life and finding out I had done something so unlikable, to have actual characters on television do that, I realized America wouldn't like them. That made me think twice about what to pitch next time." DRAMA Jason Katims Friday Night Lights "Always" "I love the scene where Matt [Zach Gilford] asks Coach [Kyle Chandler] for permission to marry Julie [Aimee Teegarden]. My wife and I met when we were teenagers, so their story reminds me a lot of us -- at least some of us. That moment where you saw Matt and Julie as a married couple, it was like a mini Coach and Tami [Connie Britton]. The mall scene was the biggest and longest conflict Coach and Tami ever had to work through, and you really didn't know how that was going to resolve itself. The thing that was most moving to me was the silent sequence of the final football game leading into the ending. It was something that I felt was such an important goal to all of us as writers in that last season, to send the show off in a way that we felt was worthy of all the episodes that had come before it. When I was writing the script [for the finale], my father was dying, so I was writing during the last weeks of his life. A lot of that wound up in the script because this episode was about an ending and saying goodbye to something you really weren't ready to say goodbye to. When we wrapped the show, a bunch of people decided to go to the field, and we played touch football. I had been a part of making the show for 76 episodes, but that was the first time I felt like I was experiencing a real Friday Night Lights moment." David Benioff, D.B. Weiss Game of Thrones "Baelor" "Originally we planned on shooting a large-scale battle scene. Tyrion [Peter Dinklage] rallies his troops and leads them into the fray. As we neared the end of the shooting calendar, though, we realized the battle wasn't going to work. We didn't have the money for all the extras and VFX work, we didn't have the shooting days to cover all the various set pieces properly, and Belfast in December gets about eight hours of daylight. So we had to come up with something else, fast. We ended up with a drinking game involving three of our favorite characters: Tyrion, Bronn [Jerome Flynn] and Shae [Sibel Kekilli]. Aside from a few nighttime scenes becoming daytime scenes, there were no drastic changes from the final shooting script. One of the reasons we love working with [director] Alan Taylor is that the scenes remain true to our conception but also mysteriously become much better. In the drinking-game scene, we were nervous about shooting nine pages in a tent. However, with those actors and that director, we could've set a whole episode there. But we are probably most proud of the execution scene. It was key to the whole season. It was complicated because it involved crowds and CG backgrounds. Typically we don't have time for writer's block. There's too much to write and revise, in addition to producing duties. Because of the complexity of the schedule -- this season, we're shooting in three different countries with 150 speaking roles -- we have to shoot scheduled scenes on the scheduled days. That means the writing deadlines are merciless. If one of us stalls, the other has to shove the car down the road. If both of us stall out? Luckily, that hasn't happened yet." Veena Sud The Killing "Pilot" "I wrote the diner scene late at night, in the middle of producing and doing 10 million things big and small. I had no real idea what this huge scene would be about, except 'Sarah [Mireille Enos] and Holder [Joel Kinnaman] talk about shit and get to know each other,' and Holder explains 'his weird-ass philosophy of life.' I went into it blind and hoped those two would know what they were going to talk about; I certainly did not. Thankfully they did because I think that was a five-minute scene! By the time we shot it, watching Mireille and Joel hit it out of the park in, like, three takes was one of the most satisfying moments I've had as a writer. We had about five minutes to shoot the most important scene in the script because a storm just came in, blowing the blinds in the background all over the place. They had no choice but to crush it. Joel ate so many of those disgusting burgers; I think he would have killed me if he had to eat one more. Looking back, there was only one moment I hit writer's block during the season. I wrote, 'Blah blah blah' for the first half-page until the writing just took over, and I knew I wouldn't get up again to make a sandwich or watch Real Housewives." Matthew Weiner Mad Men "The Suitcase" "Conversations have to become more revealing and deep right away. But you don't want it to feel mechanical, discussing the same thing over and over again. The scene with Don [Jon Hamm] and Peggy [Elisabeth Moss] in the diner, which was kind of a transitional scene between the things that came out in the bar and her in the super-confrontational scene, 'That's what the money's for.' To us, it was like, 'Why do we need this scene?' It was a challenge figuring out how to give a lot of information that the characters have never shared: Don talking about his father; Peggy talking about her father, how he died. It was tough to get all the information in, still beat and still have it transition into more intimacy. I had to strike the balance between the work conversation slowly becoming personal. Don never really talks about himself, and Peggy really hasn't had a chance to talk about herself to him, like when she says she'd never been on a plane. And then Don talked about going to Korea. And then she asks, 'Did you kill anybody?' That script was magical. Maria and Andre [Jacquemetton] structured the story very well." Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton Mad Men "Blowing Smoke" Andre: "The scene that really resonates for me is the one with Midge [Rosemarie DeWitt], when Don comes to her apartment. He's shocked to see how crummy it is, meet her loser husband, see she's given up on her art and is now a heroin addict. She is his old flame, someone he really cared for. We thought, 'Let's bring back Midge; let's do a twist.' We always try to go down an unexpected path. Maria: "There's that end sequence where Don is writing the letter, and it's a voiceover. You cut from him writing to Henry Francis [Christopher Stanley] reading it, Pete Campbell [Vincent Kartheiser] reading it with the piece of toast in his hand, and then Roger [John Slattery] reading it. You get everyone's reaction. It ends with Don coming into the office and getting the reaction from his staff, and then you see all the partners behind him, waiting. And he just ignores them and goes into his office. They come in and read him the riot act for pulling this maverick move that had nothing to do with being a partner. Don's coming at it from, 'I had to save our company.' He's self-righteous, full of himself. And then he gets this call from Robert Kennedy's office, and it turns out it's his rival pranking him. I love how we were able to do a scene like that, taking the audience on this emotional ride and you're totally rooting for Don. That's the great thing about Mad Men: We're given the freedom to do scenes where the hero doesn't always have to be heroic." -- Reporting by Tim Appelo, Sarah Ewald, Lesley Goldberg, Philiana Ng, Lindsay Powers and Lacey Rose. COMEDY NOMINEES Greg Daniels, The Office (NBC) Matt Hubbard, 30 Rock (NBC) David Crane, Episodes (Showtime) Jeffrey Klark, Episodes (Showtime) Louis C.K., Louie (FX) Steve Levitan, Modern Family (ABC) Jeffrey Richman, Modern Family (ABC) DRAMA NOMINEES Jason Katims, Friday Night Lights (DirectTV/NBC) David Benioff, Game of Thrones (HBO) D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones (HBO) Veena Sud, The Killing (AMC) Matthew Weiner, Mad Men (AMC) Maria and Andre Jacquemetton, Mad Men (AMC) Related Topics Emmy Awards Matt Weiner Mad Men 30 Rock The Office Game of Thrones Friday Night Lights Emmys 2011 Greg Daniels Louie

'Smurfs' Sequel Set for Aug. 2013 Release

Since The Smurfs has established itself as one of the summer's hits, triumphing over higher-profile fare like Cowboys & Aliens, Sony Pictures is moving forward with a sequel.our editor recommends'The Smurfs' Reviews: What Critics SayBox Office Update: 'Smurfs' is No. 1 Pic in North America, 'Cowboys' Falls to No. 2 It is targeting a release date of August 2, 2013 for The Smurfs 2. Jordan Kerner will return as producer of the project. The Smurfs, a CG/live action combo, has grossed $78.8 domestically and $135 million worldwide to date. Last weekend, it opened in the number one position in 23 markets overseas. Related Topics The Smurfs

Rankings: Falling Skies Finishes on the High, Teen Choice Honours Fall

Falling Skies, Noah Wyle Some 5.62 million audiences caught both-episode finale of TNT's Falling Skies, ending nearly as strongly because it began, based on preliminary Nielsen data. Of this total, Sunday night's Season 1 conclusion also snapped up 2.53 million among 18-to-49-year-olds. Once the Steven Spielberg-created show starring Noah Wyle first showed on June 19, it attracted 5.9 million people. However in the wake of V and also the Event crashes and burning, the question was whether Falling Skies - concerning the aftermath of the alien invasion that devastated much of the world - would plummet following a promising start. The cast of Falling Skies talks about why their alien invasion tale perform Clearly, this didn't. The show averaged about 4.8 million audiences throughout its 10-episode run. That performance gained the show a renewal for Season 2 - scheduled for next summer time - lengthy prior to the finale broadcast. "The terrific performance of Falling Skies implies that a compelling series attracts people of each and every background," stated Michael Wright, executive v . p . and mind of programming for TNT, The best spinner's and Turner Classic Movies. TNT renews Falling Skies for second season On broadcast television, Your Government ongoing its steady performance, tugging 7.76 million audiences, easily beating its competition at 8/7c and scoring a couple.8 rating among marketer-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. It easily outdrew the teenager Choice Honours, which averaged 3.17 million over two hrs beginning at 8 o'clock - and merely single.one in the grown-up demo, that was lower 27 percent in comparison to this past year. However, its rating among teens was 2.8, the greatest since 2008's honours.