New Viacom role for Phelps

PhelpsJulia Phelps is crossing over from Viacom's corporate office to serve as senior veep of corporate communications for Viacom Intl. Media Networks.Phelps will over-see communications and media relations for international brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, VH1 and Tr3s. She will report to Bob Bakish, prexy and CEO of Viacom Intl.Phelps previously worked as veep of corporate communications for Viacom; in the new role, she will head up strategy for the global communications arm, as well as managing the division's internal teams as they work with the press. Business units are also included in the new gig -- notably ad sales and consumer products. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com

How I Met Your Mother's Alyson Hannigan Expecting Second Child

Alyson Hannigan In a case of life imitating art, How I Met Your Mother's Alyson Hannigan is pregnant with her second child, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Fortunately for the 37-year-old actress, her Mother character also happens to currently be pregnant, so she won't have to hide behind giant purses or take part in hot dog eating contests. Check out the rest of today's news This is the second child for the Buffy alum and husband Alexis Denisof, 45, who also have a 2-year-old daughter named Satyana. The couple wed in 2003.

Hendes Zimmer Talks 'Sherlock' Sequel's Human Rights Awareness Connection

You'll find lots of good reasons to like and appreciate composer Hendes Zimmer and not for film score brainiacs like us. The latest being the fact while doing research for music to incorporate in towards the "An Online Detective: A Game Title Title Of Shadows" score, he was uncovered for the human rights abuses and infringements being triggered upon the Roma people, a minority population (also known as gypsies) in Central and Eastern Europe. For people who know anything about "Wager on Shadows," you might recall that new addition Noomi Rapace's character is known to love a gypsy. Zimmer recently told MTV News he wanted the music activity for Rapace's character together with a few other assorted moments being authentic so to be able to know the culture in the Roma people better he pitched a "journey" to director Guy Ritchie and introduced along his daughter Zoe Zimmer who's a means digital digital photographer. Their experience introduced with a moving range of photos taken by Zoe and hang displayed in the "Deserve Dignity" photo exhibit praising Worldwide Human Rights Day. MTV News taken track of Zimmer recently to acquire his undertake the understanding and becoming concentrate on someone that are being declined equal rights as people. "On that certain once i started reading through with the script I saw the whole movie had moved a little more into that [deeper] patch," mentioned Zimmer. "I known as Guy which i mentioned, 'Road trip! Let's visit,A we didn't define where 'there' was and through NDI [the country's Democratic Institute] who've been really helpful in this particular, we discovered once we visit eastern Slovakia you'll find every one of these Roma funds.Inch "I needed my daughter along, Zoe Zimmer who's an electronic digital photographer, because I believed it may be interesting to document that part, that people, I didn't know, that none people saw,Inch he added. "I'd this strange idea of the Roma people, I'd this strange idea of all the cliches. I'd this strange concept famous this music throughout my thoughts however i didn't define anything, to go to and feel it made an appearance as a key point to accomplish.In . Reveal what you consider inside the comments section and also on Twitter!

Krapp's Last Tape

John Hurt in 'Krapp's Last Tape.'A presentation through the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival from the Gate Theater Dublin manufacture of a play in a single act by Samuel Beckett. Directed by Michael Colgan.Krapp - John HurtJohn Hurt's resided-in and existentially walked-on face is really familiar from films (presently "Mess Tailor Soldier Spy"), it is a shock to understand this excellent British actor hasn't made an appearance with an American stage. He's, however, been inhabiting "Krapp's Last Tape," Samuel Beckett's searing meditation around the regrets of senior years, since 1999, inside a production that came from in the Gate theater underneath the direction of Michael Colgan and through the years has already established a few go-models around the West Finish. At this time, Hurt not just is the owner of the role, he seems to become living it. Before thesp opens his mouth, his riveting stage presence keeps the home completely hushed for many lengthy minutes of silence while his character gathers his ideas -- giving BAM auds sufficient time to contemplate exactly what a perfect setting the artfully corroded Harvey Theater creates this bleak theater piece. Whatever Krapp thinks about the problem because he sways over his huge empty desk, every worry line on his rough face emphasized underneath the glare of James McConnell's unforgiving lighting, it's apparent the non-public relaxation techniques of the thought-out and spoken-out author aren't happy ones. It is not until this old wreck shuffles offstage to sneak a glass or two and also to have an ancient tape recorder and stacks of audio tapes that the reason for his discontent becomes obvious. It's Krapp's 69th birthday, an event he ritualistically observes by looking into making a tape recording of his ideas concerning the year just passed by hearing his recorded ideas on years passed by. But this season he stalls around the tape he earned when he would be a cocky fellow of 39, filled with ambition and triumphant in the sexual conquests. Over and over, Krapp returns towards the vibrant voice of his dissolute youth, savagely contemptuous of their own hubris, but progressively succumbing towards the memory of his youthful aspirations and promise -- and also to the despairing realization of the items he's lost. Hurt uses the lyrical instrument of their own voice to follow along with that old man's emotional trajectory. He seems like a gravel pit when Krapp rumbles his scorn for that "stupid bastard" which was his more youthful self. But his voice assumes a musical lilt when he accumulates the cadences of their own language. (How he loves the seem from the word "spool," or, because he comes it around in the mouth like a bit of chocolate, "spooool.") But when the time comes for Krapp to make use of his last remaining tape to record his ideas around the existence lucrative leads, he surrenders in despair, hurling his books aside and strongly knocking all of the tapes towards the floor. "Absolutely nothing to say -- not really a squeak," he confesses, with what may be probably the most devastating line within the whole play. Inside a performance that's an excursion p pressure from starting to finish, a couple of things stick out relating to this "Krapp." Hurt causes us to be understand that Krapp is, indeed, a classic guy with physical infirmities as enfeebling as his mental degeneration. Shoulders stooped, chest caved in, he forces us to have the effort it requires with this aged recluse to haul themself up from his chair and shuffle to search for any blueberry in the desk drawer, and also the sheer agony it's for him to tug his bones offstage to steal a glass or two and cough his guts out. Another factor that impresses relating to this performance is what's missing from this -- the trend. Krapp continues to be an angry guy, but it is a melancholy anger, tinged with self-recrimination and regret for any existence not fully recognized, their own unspeakably sad and empty existence. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Large Media versus Google On Capitol Hill Today

MPAA Arranges Studio-Guild D.C. Lobbying Here’s much more about that joint MPAA/studio moguls/Hollywoodguilds lobbying in Washington Electricity today from news reviews. The MPAA mogulsled byNews Corp’s Rupert Murdoch incorporated Fox Shot Entertainment’s Jim Gianopulos, Warner Bros’ Craig Meyer, and also the new the new sony Pictures Entertainment’s Michael Lyntonconverged on Capitol Hillto solidify support for just two antipiracy bills moving through Congress –the Senate’s Safeguard IP Act as well as the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Hollywood Large Mediaare lined facing Internet companies for instance Google. Its Chairman Eric Schmidttoday toldlawmakers that Congress might be developing a large mistake to feed the Hollywood-backed laws and regulations and rules.Rivals including lots of Plastic Valley plan to present alternative legislation Thursday, each week just before the scheduled markup of the house measure.Backed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or) and Repetition. Darrell Issa (R-Ca), itwill narrow the saying a rogue website and curb private law suits. The Hollywoodstudios are among350 large companies who've emerge for SOPA and PIPA. Rivals besides Google together with other Internet companies are the Electronic Products Associationwhich according toForbesclaims SOPA”allows movie art galleries, foreign luxury goods producers, patent and copyright trolls, and then for any holder connected having a intellectual property to focus on approved U.S. websites and technology companies”.Each side has spent roughly $90 million on lobbying efforts. Accusations are thatBig Mediahave led vast amounts to individual senators and reps supporting the legislation throughout the time of the careers.

Wim Wenders Explores New Dimensions With 'Pina'

BERLIN - A picture of German choreographer Pina Bausch hangs, in memoriam, in the Spartan hallway of Wim Wenders' Berlin office.Bausch, or Pina to everyone who knew her, died in 2009, just as Wenders was about to begin shooting a movie about her and her work.What was planned as a documentary became something else: the world's first 3D art house film and Wenders' true testimonial to the woman many credit with revolutionizing the art of dance.The film, Germany's official entry for the 2012 foreign language Oscars and a frontrunner in the best documentary category as well, is the culmination of an obsession with Pina's work that Wenders says began the moment he saw Bausch's Tanztheater in 1984."I saw the first piece of Pina's and immediately saw five more I saw everything she did," he says. "I'd seen some classical dance, but I was always bored. Here was something completely different. Even calling it modern dance is inappropriate. She created the word tanztheater, dance theater. What she does is plays where the acting is done by dancers."Bausch's work is, on the surface, worlds away from the films of the German auteur. Although her pieces often contain snatches of dialogue itself scandalous for classical-dance purists there is no discernable narrative. Wenders had done documentaries, but the subject in "Buena Vista Social Club" and "The Soul of Man" was always music. In his huge body of work, there are no overt references to dance.But from the moment he saw it, Wenders knew Bausch's Tanztheater belonged on the big screen. The only problem was, the director of "Paris," "Texas" and "Wings of Desire" had no idea how to do it."It became a running joke," Wenders says. "She'd say, 'Wim, when are you doing that movie on me?' and I'd say, 'Pina, I don't know how.' "The problem was space. Imagine shooting a dance performance: Where do you put the camera? Do a close-up of a single dancer, and you miss what's going on behind, in front of and beside them. Pull back for a wide shot, and the scene flattens out; you can see everyone, but the emotion is gone. And Pina's dances are emotional to the core."The more I got to know her work, the less I thought I was able to shoot it in a way that was valid," Wenders says.Then, in 2006, he saw an early cut of the groundbreaking digital concert film "U2 3D" in Cannes."It was the first 3D film, the first to use this new technology," Wenders says. "I called Pina from the screening. I said, 'Now I know how.' "3D might have solved the problem of space, but when Wenders did his first tests, there was another problem: movement. In 2006, the best 3D cameras still had difficulty capturing rapid motion. There was a shuttering effect: A dancer running across the stage would suddenly seem to have three legs or four arms."Even in 'Avatar,' if you look at the original, real-life footage not the stuff done in computer you realize it is less elegant, clunky," he says. "Four years ago, the technology couldn't handle natural movement. So we had to wait."By summer 2009, the technology had advanced to the point where they could start. Then Pina died of cancer in her home town of Wuppertal. She was 68."I had dinner with her eight days before she was taken from us," he says, his voice catching. "She looked tired. We all thought she was exhausted, which with Pina was a constant state. She checked in to the hospital for what we thought was a routine examination. Five days later, she was dead."Wenders immediately canceled the film. How could he continue without a single second of footage with his protagonist? He had planned to follow Pina around the world and chronicle her unconventional working method. When developing a performance, she would ask her dancers questions about their characters, and they would answer with gestures and movement. From that, she would build the performance.It was to be a film about Pina, and Pina was gone. But her worldwide fan base and dance troupe had not given up. They spoke with Wenders, telling him to keep going.So he did. He and Bausch had selected five plays to perform at Tanztheater. He shot those, then stopped."I had to change the entire concept of the film; I had to find a substitute for Pina's presence," Wenders says. "Finally, I realized it had to be the people who knew her best. It had to be the dancers."Wenders took Pina's method of interrogating her dancers and adapted it to the documentary, but with a twist: He asked them about the choreographer, and they answered with movement. The result is a doc with no narrative and practically no dialogue, but with an emotional power that's hard to deny.Then, struggling to finish the film in early 2010, he added another wrinkle: Wenders took the dancers offstage and had them perform outside on the streets, in the factories and along the open-faced coal pits of Wuppertal, Pina's hometown.It was an inspired move. Taking the 3D cameras outside opens up "Pina." The dancers dip and bob on a traffic island as cars zip by. A woman pirouettes onto a hanging rail car. Another moves across the floor of an abandoned mine, struggling under the weight of her male partner."3D really thrives on space the 3D camera loves infinity, the horizon," Wenders says. "It's a shame the 3D most people have seen wasn't shot in the real world but in the studios because it's in the real world where 3D really comes into its own."The result is arguably the most innovative and powerful film Wenders has made in a decade. "Pina" has already got the nod at the German Film Awards and European Film Awards for best documentary and, judging by the critical response to the film, is probably Wenders' best-ever chance ever to win an Oscar - one of the only major film honors the German auteur has yet to claim. But for Wenders, the only critical opinion that really matters is the one of the woman whose absence fills the screen."I would have liked to show it to Pina," he muses, softly. "Of course, that wasn't possible. I only hope it's a proper homage to her by the people who knew and loved her best: her own dancers." The Hollywood Reporter

Keck's Exclusives: Will Arnett Gets an Up All Night Brother, Plus New-Episode Sneak Peek!

Dean Winters NBC's Up All Night is giving Will Arnett's Chris a brother, and the actor playing him has some impressive TV street cred.Actor Dean Winters - known for his roles as Rescue Me's Johnny Gavin, 30 Rock's Dennis Duffy, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicle's Charley Dixon, Oz's Ryan O'Reily and Law & Order: SVU's Brian Cassidy - will appear on the NBC sitcom in early 2012 as Chris's competitive brother, Casey.And as a bonus for you Up All Night fans, here's an exclusive preview clip from this week's episode, "First Christmas," airing Wednesday, December 7 at 8/7c, with guest appearances from Jason Lee and Blythe Danner.The freshman sitcom's first holiday episode finds Christina Applegate's Reagan going to great lengths to make daughter Amy's first Christmas picture perfect. That means swallowing her pride and getting help from her own mom (Danner). Meanwhile, Chris hits the mall in search of the perfect gift for his wife, and over at the TV studio, Maya Rudolph's Ava frets that she may lose boyfriend Kevin (Lee), when he opts to spend the holiday with his ex-wife. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

ICM, Part 3: Agency Board & Rizvi Blow Off Chris Silbermanns Demands (For The Time Being)

ICM Imploding, Part 2: Chris Silbermann Forces Decision By Biggest Investor And Calls ICM Board Meeting Friday Privately Depending On Mike Ovitzs Help And Advice UPDATE: ICM investor Suhail Rizvi and also the ICM Board today blewoff yesterday’s demands byICM Leader Chris Silbermann for adecision andboard meeting concerning the management buyout. The main reason citedis that Silbermann hasyet toput anything on paper. “I think there’s lots of concern whether his plan's deliverable or executable. There’s absolutely nothing to consider until it is available,” one insider informs me.”He’s learned to place it on paper.” Another of my sources particulars, “There was today a casual boardconversation so early and fractious and ill-informedthat we’re not calling it a board meeting since there’s insufficient information from Silbermann to refer to it as a board meeting.” Now the onus is on Silbermann.For now,nobody will knowwhether Rizvi Traverse Management need abuyout of their 40% stake in ICM. Or if the ICM Board will accept it too.All of this begs the question whySilbermann behaved so prematurely.”Chris visited NY Thursday while he felt he wasn't obtaining a serious enough consideration by Suhail. So Chris attempted to goose the problem,” among my sources describes. That, after Silbermann hasbeen threatening for several weeks he and the clique could leave the company if he doesn’t get what he wants. Meanwhile, Silbermann’smanagement buyout plan remains so ill-created he can’t even explain it at length yet to ICM’s agents. At one recentpoint, Silbermann confessed to many agents in the camping they may need to expect a substantial pay cut –even a halving of the salaries –if financial resources or perhaps an resource-based loan can’t be acquired. That required the agents unexpectedly, as you would expect. Also,Silbermann stated that ICM Chairman Shaun Berg was aboard with this particular management buyout when, actually, Berg is neither for or against it since his camping hasn’t received any particulars about this yet. For Silbermann requesting Michael Ovitz’s help and advice to boost money, it’s well-known in Hollywood that Silbermann and the family have experienced many personal and professional ties to Ovitz. Also, Wall Street investment bankers involved with studio slate financial deals are verifying they’ve been contacted by Ovitz on Silbermann’s account. “Ovitz continues to be running everywhere attempting to raise money for Chris to consider over the organization,” one sources informs me. But with no success, I’m told. “No one thinks Ovitz can raise $50 million not to mention the $200 million essential to cash out Rizvi. The vista of that's ‘good luck’,” one source informs me. That Ovitz is involved whatsoever has put ICM’s status in risk and brought to consternation in lots of Hollywood circles. As you major player whose phone continues to be ringing free about this summarized the response for me personally, “They believe that Mike Ovitz may be the greatest doofus in the world, and Chris Silbermann may be the second greatest doofus.” Another latest development is the fact that Bob Broder and Ted Chervin are no more steadily in Silbermann’s camping due to the ongoingdivisiveness and destabilization from the agency since i have first broke this story. (ICM Imploding! Chris Silbermann & Shaun Berg Fight For Control: Rizvi Sits On Sidelines How Lengthy Will Warring Last?) Clients as well as their managers and agents are calling daily to request questions and express fears whether ICM is imploding. Had Silbermann presented a properly thought-outplan and stored his disappointment private(rather than speaking about this freely with Hollywood inside a succession of bars, for instance), all of this might have remained nowadays. Rather, his handling of the situation has elevated questions regarding onetime heir apparent Silbermann’s maturity level to consider within the agency now.