The Playlist

'Battle Royale' Might Get Turned Into A TV Show For CW

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 26, 2012 6:10 PM
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6 Comments

Television

Last fall, it was with a small amount of irony that producer Roy Lee revealed that the long-gestating Hollywood remake of the Japanese cult hit "Battle Royale" was essentially put on the back burner due to a similar film that has since become a massive hit. "'Hunger Games' definitely took a lot of wind out of the sails because it definitely has a very similar storyline and so I’m not actually sure if any studio…I’m not even sure if before 'Hunger Games' any studio would have been able to take the creative risks you need to make the movie right and now so [making the movie] would be even harder," Lee explained. But never say die, as the edgy, violent movie may find a home on a channel favored by tweens.

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Watch: First Footage From 'Parade's End' With Benedict Cumberbatch; 'The Girl' With Sienna Miller & Jane Campion's 'Top Of The Lake'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 25, 2012 5:43 PM
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13 Comments

Television

It's easy to get lost in the bombast of the blockbuster season and the allure of festivals just around the corner. But BBC2 is here to remind you they've got some tremendously promising, high calibre wares coming to a small screen near you, that might be enticing enough to skip heading the multiplex altogether. The station has dropped a trailer for their new season of original programming, and there are some highlights and first footage worth paying attention to.

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TNT To Develop Navy SEALS TV Show With 'Act Of Valor' Director Scott Waugh Helming Pilot

By Charlie Schmidlin
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July 25, 2012 11:37 AM
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0 Comments

Television

After initially finding life as a training film for Navy SEALS, the action film “Act of Valor” nevertheless was fashioned into something of a blind success, hitting $80 million worldwide when it was released this past February. Naturally, interest in military projects has grown again since the film's opening, and now a major cable network looks to bring the film's creative team in for a small-screen endeavor.

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'Ruby Sparks' Directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris Talk Lighting A Scene With An iPad, Digital Vs. Film & A Brewing HBO Pilot

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 25, 2012 10:56 AM
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1 Comment

News

Six years in a long time. Back in 2006 when Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' "Little Miss Sunshine" got huge buzz out of Sundance before hitting theaters, Steve Carell was just entering the third season of "The Office." Paul Dano was probably still best known as that guy from "The Girl Next Door." And when the little indie movie that could made its way into the Best Picture race, it was facing off against "The Departed," "The Queen," "Babel" and "Letters From Iwo Jima." It seems a lifetime ago. And while the directors had various projects brewing that never quite came together since then, their sophomore effort "Ruby Sparks" has been worth the wait. Penned by Zoe Kazan, and starring the actress alongside her boyfriend Paul Dano, it's a film that finds the directors once again flexing their comedic muscles, while also finding new notes and textures we haven't seen from them before, all in a hugely enjoyable and entertaining film.

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Director Martin Campbell Reviving Cult Brit Sci-Fi Series 'Blake's 7'

By Joe Cunningham
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July 25, 2012 10:22 AM
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2 Comments

Television

Okay, you’re planning to reboot an established property. Who do you call on? Well, after he managed to breathe new life into Bond on two separate occasions with “Goldeneye” and the frankly sublime “Casino Royale” – and not to mention 1998’s “The Mask of Zorro” - then you’d have to say Martin Campbell would be a pretty good shout, even after that “Green Lantern” debacle. This time Campbell’s been tapped up to direct a potential reboot of the cult British sci-fi series “Blake’s 7” which is being shopped to U.S. networks.

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HBO Picks Up Stephen Merchant Comedy 'Hello Ladies'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 24, 2012 9:36 AM
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0 Comments

Television

Is it just us, or does HBO seem to be becoming a lot more auteur-driven as of late? Their three big commissions for 2012 were Lena Dunham’s “Girls,” Armando Iannucci’s “Veep,” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom,” and then they co-produced Ricky Gervais’ “Life’s Too Short” with the BBC. All of those shows very definitely bear the mark of their creator and said creators are all very hands on in all of those cases. That trend looks set to continue with HBO picking up the pilot for a new comedy called “Hello Ladies.”

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Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci Pitching Modern 'Sleepy Hollow' TV Show With Len Wiseman To Direct

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 20, 2012 3:21 PM
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28 Comments

Television

After their attempt at non-explosions filmmaking earlier this summer with "People Like Us" fizzled out, it looks like "Transformers" and "Star Trek" franchise writers/producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are going back to their bread and butter. Only this time, it's in the shape of Hollywood's latest faovrite trend -- take very old (and more importantly, likely copyright free) fairy tales and popular stories, and goosing them up for modern audiences. And the latest to get the treatment is Washington Irving's "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow."

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Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' Gets A Writing Staff Shakeup

By Joe Cunningham
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July 20, 2012 2:52 PM
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2 Comments

Television

It was little over a year ago that Aaron Sorkin was celebrating an honor that (arguably) represents the pinnacle of his craft – an Academy Award – but after airing just four episodes of his new show “The Newsroom” things are looking considerably less rosy. Sorkin hasn’t had the easiest time on television before, but the likes of “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” at least had the backing of the critics even when they struggled to find an audience to sate their networks. But while anticipation was high for Sorkin’s return to the small screen, by an large critics don’t seem to have warmed to his recent work as they have in the past and some have really given "The Newsroom" a kicking.

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John Cusack & Matthew Broderick Could've Been Walter White & What 'Breaking Bad' Looks Like As A Kickstarter Campaign

By Joe Cunningham
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July 19, 2012 11:43 AM
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3 Comments

Television

If you’re a fan of “Breaking Bad,” chances are you probably couldn’t imagine anyone other than Bryan Cranston in the role of Walter White. But it should come as no surprise that back in 2008 he wasn’t AMC’s first choice to lead their new series. After all, would the Dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” be the first person you’d have in mind when trying to cast a terminally ill school teacher who turns to producing and selling meth? Casting Cranston was ultimately a very brave and very wise choice…but it almost wasn’t to be.

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'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Says He's Thinking About A Saul Goodman Spinoff

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 18, 2012 5:01 PM
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6 Comments

Television

"The Dark Knight Rises" isn't the only bit of popular entertainment out there that is causing those who have yet to see it -- which is most of us -- to keep their Facebook page closed, and Twitter feed turned off for fear of spoilers. "Breaking Bad" is back with the first eight of the final sixteen episode season airing this summer, with the show off and running this past weekend, and if you're not caught up, you may want to avoid as much chatter about the series as possible. But once the show ends, is that it for Walter White and rest of the characters? Perhaps not. Bryan Cranston has already teased about the possibility of movie followup once the show is done, and it looks like another character might be getting their own vehicle.

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'Battle Royale' Might Get Turned Into A TV Show For CW

Watch: First Footage From 'Parade's End' With Benedict Cumberbatch; 'The Girl' With Sienna Miller & Jane Campion's 'Top Of The Lake'

TNT To Develop Navy SEALS TV Show With 'Act Of Valor' Director Scott Waugh Helming Pilot

'Ruby Sparks' Directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris Talk Lighting A Scene With An iPad, Digital Vs. Film & A Brewing HBO Pilot

Director Martin Campbell Reviving Cult Brit Sci-Fi Series 'Blake's 7'

HBO Picks Up Stephen Merchant Comedy 'Hello Ladies'

Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci Pitching Modern 'Sleepy Hollow' TV Show With Len Wiseman To Direct

Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' Gets A Writing Staff Shakeup

John Cusack & Matthew Broderick Could've Been Walter White & What 'Breaking Bad' Looks Like As A Kickstarter Campaign

'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Says He's Thinking About A Saul Goodman Spinoff

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