Oscar Documentary Short Records Face Sept. 1 Deadline

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images Documentary filmmakers thinking about posting a brief film for Oscars consideration must submit their work by Sept. 1. To become qualified, a brief doc must develop a seven-day commercial run either in La County or even the borough of Manhattan by 12 ,. 31. All documents should be completed and received through the Academy no after thirty days following the being approved run. For films finishing their being approved pursue August. 1, all documents, including legal contracts, should be completed and received through the Academy by 5 p.m. on Sept. 1. Each completed entry form should be supported by supporting materials, including an British-language synopsis from the film, a listing of film credits, filmographies from the director and producer, 30 DVD copies from the film and evidence of the seven-day being approved displays. Nominations for that 84th Oscars is going to be introduced Jan. 24, and also the honours themselves will occur on February. 26. Oscars Honours

Germany's Fine, But Where Should Woody Allen Film Next?

Following the recent success of Midnight in Paris and the filming of Bop Decameron in Rome, Woody Allen is apparently planning to set his next film in Germany. Exciting! And maybe a little predictable, but I’m enjoying the minor Zelig flashback this news conjures. Do you have visions for locales in the next leg of Allen’s film career? There’s one hope I refuse to let go… I’m craving a Midwestern Woody Allen movie. Yes, Allen’s muses are urbanity, grand romance, city-dwellers, and metropolitan madness (here are 15 European stops Movieline suggested back when Bop Decameron was announced), but ever since the Coen Brothers’ Allenesque A Serious Man came out in ‘09, I’ve waited for him to address the corn belt in film. The overseas locales can get a little misty and precious. You can’t really do the Midnight in Paris thing too often, otherwise the cloying, golden-lit vistas start to seem compulsory. I’m hoping for a down-and-dirty lady-led drama between the coasts. Something between Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. No one in the past 40 years has crafted as many fabulous female roles as Allen, and it might be nice to see one who isn’t living it up in a Starry Night wonderland for awhile. I’m rooting for Julie Bowen for the lead, personally. As always. Where do you think Allen should venture next? Should he stay in Europe or return stateside? Germany next stop on Woody Allen’s European Tour? [THR]

Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' Won't Feature Harrison Ford, Says Producer

The folks over at Alcon Entertainment don't want you to be worried about Ridley Scott's upcoming follow-up to "Blade Runner." They want you to be excited for it. Just don't expect to see Harrison Ford returning to this film, whether he wants to or not. "In no way do I speak for Ridley Scott," producer Andrew Kosove told The Los Angeles Times about the project. "But if you're asking me will this movie have anything to do with Harrison Ford, the answer is no." "This is a total reinvention," he continued, "and in my mind that means doing everything fresh, including casting." With or without Ford, at least the "Blade Runner" remake has a very familiar face in the form of Ridley Scott. "Everything Ridley does as a filmmaker is fresh," said Kosvoe. "I believe he sees an opportunity to create something thats wholly original from the first 'Blade Runner.'" He said they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how exactly they would pay homage to the original movie without ruining it by returning to the concept, and they ended up deciding that the flick should stand as much on its own as possible. How they do so -- either as a prequel or sequel -- still remains to be seen. There's still a lot to be done before the movie makes it to the big screen. A writer needs to be brought on board, the story needs to be agreed upon, and then of course filming needs to start. Kosove said that the earliest we can expect to see this movie is in 2014. "We want people to know that we're very serious about doing this in an artistic way. This isn't just commercial fodder," he said. Does this ease your fears about another "Blade Runner" movie? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Christine O'Donnell Calls Piers Morgan a 'Cheeky Bugger' After Storming Off Show

The storyplot of the way the Help was cast is nearly as scrumptious as author Kathryn Stockett's figures. The storyline starts in Jackson, Miss., where Stockett and eventual Help director Tate Taylor, now 42, was raised together as children and then met eventual Help producer Brunson Eco-friendly. These were within their mid-20s then, and Eco-friendly assisted Taylor obtain a job like a production assistant about the group of A Period to Kill, that was shot on location in Jackson. That's when Taylor grew to become buddies with Octavia Spencer, who had a little part within the 1996 film, her first movie role.our editor recommendsHow 'The Help' Was Cast'The Help': Judge Tosses Suit Declaring Character Stolen From Real-Existence MaidThe Help: Film Review'The Help's' Retro, Southern Style (Photos)'The Help's' Jessica Chastain: 'Torture' Attaining 15 Pounds for Film'The Help' Director Tate Taylor Circling Period Drama 'Peace Just like a River' (Exclusive)Related Subjects•The Help PHOTOS: How 'The Help' Was Cast Not lengthy after, Taylor and Spencer migrated to La, wishing to get involved with the film business inside a real way. Taylor spent his first couple of several weeks crashes with Eco-friendly, who'd already made the trek west. The trio wound up creating a video clip, Chicken Party, which's when Allison Janney, who behaved within the short, grew to become an associate of the posse. In 2006, the 4 teamed about the indie film Pretty Ugly People, which Taylor shot at comparable time Stockett was finishing the manuscript for Help. "Kathryn found Montana to go to the set, and i believe what she really was doing was spying to ascertain if Tate could direct," recalls Eco-friendly. Stockett gave Taylor and Eco-friendly her manuscript, which in fact had been offered but not released, plus they rapidly optioned film privileges. Because the book grew to become an unexpected best-seller, DreamWorks, Participant Media and 1492 Pictures signed to create the film, which Disney is disbursing worldwide. PHOTOS: 'The Help's' Retro Southern Style Most movies take 10 to 12 days to cast. Help -- among the biggest female ensemble photos ever, having a rare selection of stars both older as well as color -- required annually. Leslee Feldman, mind of casting at DreamWorks, labored carefully with veteran casting agents Kerry Barden (he's from Atlanta) and Paul Schnee of Barden/Schnee in addition to with Eco-friendly and Taylor. Due to it's recognition, the dunia ngeblog illuminated with possible candidates for that film -- Hathaway As Catwoman, Jennifer Hudson, Rachel McAdams, The famous host oprah -- but DreamWorks and also the filmmakers didn't want large celebrities. "It could have been jarring since there's no obvious-cut lead," states Feldman. Barden and Schnee add, "It's complex since you are fitting a lot of pieces together." The process is having to pay off, using the film opening to almost $36 million and generating early honours attention. PHOTOS: 15 Movies That Made The Grade: A+ CinemaScore Posse It had been practically confirmed that Spencer would play Minny Jackson because she provided Stockett with inspiration for that character to begin with. Janney signed early too, then Emma Stone and Viola Davis. Spencer offered like a muse through the casting process. At some point, she stored pushing a youthful actress that nobody understood named Ahna O'Reilly. "When Ahna arrived, Tate was ecstatic because she'd a drawl. 'Finally, you will find there's real Southerner,' " Eco-friendly recalls Taylor saying. But O'Reilly have been trained by Spencer and wasn't Southern whatsoever -- she's really from Northern California. Males are almost props within the movie. The best is Leslie Jordan, who plays married newspaper editor Mr. Blackly. Taylor and Eco-friendly didn't want the smoothness to become a stereotypical hard-charging editor, but instead fey, inside a cultural jerk towards the married Southern gay males they understood becoming an adult. "I recall these males," states Eco-friendly having a wink along with a jerk, "and just how I didn't think these were the kind to possess spouses." Searching For Just A Little Help Overseas The Assistance couldn't have wished for a much better start in the U.S. box office, but will the film travel? The film -- about whitened ladies and their black service personnel within the Jim Crow South from the early sixties -- faces a definite marketing challenge overseas, where audiences aren't always thinking about subjects specific to American culture. Although films do considerably more business overseas than locally, 2009's The Blind Side, using its concentrate on football, capped out at $53.two million worldwide, in comparison having a domestic gross of $255.9 million (and in contrast to Help, it had an worldwide star, Sandra Bullock). DreamWorks and Disney, that is disbursing Help worldwide, are gambling that the slow rollout, building about the film's U.S. box-office success and early honours buzz, pays off instead of a far more conventional day-and-date global release. They start their worldwide campaign Sept. 2, when Help opens the Deauville American Film Festival in France -- a stopover made to generate worldwide head lines and woo the foreign press. Next, they'll host a slew of word-of-mouth tests in a variety of nations including Australia, where Help opens at the end of September. Exactly why is DreamWorks so certain of this tactic? It's relying on fans from the book, that is offered around the world and it has been converted into a lot more than 40 languages. Related Subjects Viola Davis Emma Stone The Assistance Kathryn Stockett

TV Rankings: 'MasterChef' Finale Enhances Double Numbers

Greg Gayne/Fox Very good news for Fox: Last evening's two-hour MasterChef season finale enhanced drastically on this past year's. On the effectiveness of MasterChef's (6.5 million total audiences, 2.6 rating in grown ups 18-49 demographic) rankings performance (up 30 % from last season's closer), Fox centered Tuesday evening within the key demo and shipped the network's greatest-ranked evening as a whole audiences to date this summer time. In mind-to-mind competition with America's Got Talent at 9 p.m., MasterChef capped NBC's summer time reality series by 8 percent. NBC placed second about the evening, calculating a couple.2 rating, thanks mainly to some two-hour America's Got Talent (10.a million, 2.7). Talent, however, did sink 10 % which makes it a season low for any Tuesday telecast. An inadequate performance for lead-inside it's Worth What? (4.a million, 1.), striking a set low, didn't help. ABC's Go ahead and take Money and Run (3.six million, 1.4) sank 22 percent, striking a set low, but medical drama Combat Hospital (3.six million, .9) enhanced 13 percent. CBS and also the CW broadcast repeats. Fox - 2.6 · MasterChef: 2.6, 6.5 million NBC - 2.2 · It's Worth What?: 1., 4.a million · America's Got Talent: 2.7, 10.a million ABC - 1.3 · Wipeout (R): 1.6, 5.5 million · Go Ahead And Take Money & Run: 1.4, 3.six million · Combat Hospital: .9, 3.six million CBS - 1.2 · NCIS (R): 1.2, 8.5 million · NCIS: LA (R): 1.3, 7.8 million · Hawaii Five- (RS): 1.1, 5.8 million CW - .3 · 90210 (R): .4, 987,000 · Losing for that Wedding (R): .3, 742,000 TV Rankings

Brad Pitt To Star In Regency's 'The Gray Man'

BREAKING: Brad Pitt will star in the New Regency action movie The Gray Man. James Gray was set in January to direct the film, an adaptation ofMark Greaney's thriller novel. I'd heard Pitt's name back then, but the studio and actors reps denied the Moneyball star was doing it at the time. The question has always been timing, because Pitt and partner Angelina Jolie don't work at the same time. They usually rotate. Jolie directed In the Land of Blood and Honey, and now Pitt is starring in World War Z. Jolie has been seriously eyeing the Disney film Maleficent, but that picture needs a director. If she took her turn, then the timing of The Gray Man gets thrown off. If Pitt makes two movies in a row, he'll finish World War Z in late fall and The Gray Man will begin production in January or February. That's how it's looking now, because I'm told that Pitt has been locked down for that first-quarter 2012 slot. Script for The Gray Man was written by Adam Cozad, who also scripted the Jack Ryan franchise reboot for Paramount with Chris Pine and director Jack Bender. Targeted by a powerful multinational corporation, a former CIA operative-turned-ultimate assassin must fight his way across Europe and past special forces teams from around the world in order to save the life of his handler and the handler's family. New Regency's Navid McIlhargey is steering the film and Shine Pictures' Stephen Garrett is producing. Pitt's Plan B partner Dede Gardner has also come aboard to produce.

Big Screen: Welcome To The Punch Panel

Mark Strong talks kicking McAvoy's arseFor those not in the know, Welcome To The Punch is a slick crime thriller starring the likes of James McAvoy, Mark Strong, Andrea Riseborough and Daniel Mays, currently shooting over in Canary Wharf with directing-duties performed by Shifty's Eran Creevy. With a cast and director like that, it's no great surprise that we were pretty damn chuffed to have some of them along to Big Screen this weekend, including perennial Empire favourite Mark Strong. The plot of the film centres around criminal mastermind Mark Strong squaring off with policeperson James McAvoy, with heists, gunfights and car chases kicking off every other scene - or so it sounds.... "Just stepped off set four hours ago, finishing the night shoot of the opening heist sequence in a skyscraper," says Creevy. "James McAvoy is in hot pursuit of Strong and his crew right now. Actually, they've been closing down Canary Wharf for us - plus, we shot a sequence here in the Indigo2 as well, just up there..." . "You see, the movie has political undertones to a degree, and there's a sequence where there are politicians, all shot here in the O2... It's not just an actioner here. " . So Empire editor Mark Dinning, host of the Q&A, asked what we were all thinking... are we talking a British Heat here? Mark, are you the De Niro character? "I wish!" said Strong. "It has kick-ass sequences, stuff I haven't seen in London before. It doesn't glorify it though, it enjoys a juxtaposition between arthouse examination and all-out action. " . "It really does have some great action sequences, mind. A few days after the movie started shooting, I really realised I was in an action movie as I was picking up an uzi, sliding on the floor. I mean, I've beaten up twelve-year-old girls (in Kick-Ass), but this is different. Look forward to a massive final gun battle around the docks, by the way..." . "After Shifty, my first film," Creevy added, "I want to do a French Connection, or a Heat, an Infernal Affairs, Hard Boiled-style film, but set in London. I wanted it to be aspirational, make London slick - make it all glass chrome, skyscrapers, and nuanced performances. " . "Basically, London is one of the sexiest cities in the world and it's not shown like that in films properly, so we're trying to do our best to show that. "We'll be able to see whether they've pulled it off come sometime 2012. You know, with Welcome To The Punch coming out then and all....

Ron Perlman Would Love To Reunite With George R. R. Martin For Game Of Thrones

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Ron Perlman has his hands busy with the FX drama Sons of Anarchy, but he wouldnt mind reuniting with an old Hollywood colleague George R. R. Martin and nabbing a role in HBOs Game of Thrones. Id love to be in Game of Thrones, Ron told Access Hollywood on Thursday night in Los Angeles at the premiere of his newest film, Conan the Barbarian, which stars GOT Season 1 veteran Jason Momoa. Perlman actually has a major connection with the man behind Game of Thrones author Martin who in addition to writing the A Song of Ice and Fire series, wrote for one of Perlmans early dramas. George R. R. Martin, who wrote all the [Song of Ice and Fire] books wrote for Beauty and the Beast, Perman said, referring to his former show with Linda Hamilton. I go way back with George R. R. I cant believe how through the roof he is. He wont return any of my calls anymore, Perlman said in jest. Its really disgusting what Hollywood can do to a guy. While Perman wouldnt mind a role in GOT, his former Beauty and the Beast castmate, Roy Dotrice, who played his father Jacob Wells in the series, which started airing in the late 1980s, has just joined the HBO drama for season 2. As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Dotrice will play Hallyne, the pyromancer, who will become an associate of sorts with Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) in the imps new role as the Kings Hand. Dotrice was actually cast as Grand Maester Pycelle in Season 1 of the series, but reportedly withdrew due to health issues, according to winter-is-coming.net. Roy is one of the finest actors I have ever had the privilege of working with, and Im thrilled to have him back on the series, Martin said in his blog. Conan the Barbarian hits theaters on August 19. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'The Help's' Jessica Chastain: 'Torture' Attaining 15 Pounds for Film

Jessica Chastain had some trouble attaining weight to experience Lana Turner-esque Celia in "The Assistance.InchInchI needed to be soft and curvy, and so i ate lots of soy," Chastain -- who's a vegan -- informs "E! News.""Soy can help you become curvy since it has oestrogen inside it. What exactly I'd doand this is actually grossis buy cartons of soy ice scream, microwave it and drink it. It had been disgusting [But] wait until the thing is my breasts within the movie," she joked.Chastain added about 15 pounds to her frame."It had been like a kind of torture because you put onto all of this weight after which you are within the South where it is hot and muggy and you are wearing girdles to suck you in," she stated from the Jackson, Miss.-based movie, which opened up to $5.5 million on Wednesday.But she rapidly dropped it after filming wrapped on DreamWorks' adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel."I perform a large amount of yoga," she states. "I am also vegan, to ensure that helps. I slim down really quick." The Hollywood Reporter

Ryan Gosling Fans, Your Christmas Originates Early This Season

This publish is out to any or all the Ryan Gosling fans around the globe. The 2009 week, the fine folks at Best Week Ever produced an interactive wall of Ryan Goslings. Featuring a few of the actor's classic moments, like that certain with Justin Timberlake throughout the Donald Duck Club which rain-kissing moment in 'The Notebook.' Anyway, we now have only a sample from the page below. If you wish to begin to see the entire factor (and, once we stated earlier, if you're a Ryan Gosling fan you certainly do), then mind on to Best Week Ever.

Can The Avengers Make Cleveland Look Like Times Square?

The Dark Knight Rises isn’t the only 2012 summer blockbuster filming on the streets of an American city: Marvel Studios has staked out Cleveland, Ohio to shoot a climatic battle in The Avengers starting next week. Which would be great, if Cleveland wasn’t supposed to stand-in for Times Square. Yes, that Times Square. Production crews are currently busy making Cleveland’s East 9th street (between Euclid and Prospect avenues) look like the famous Manhattan thoroughfare of tourist gridlock, and judging from some Google Street View shots of both areas, it’ll be easier said than done. [Click for bigger] Good luck, VFX team! Filming on the Joss Whedon-directed film begins Aug. 15, and the production will continue throughout Cleveland until Labor Day weekend. “We have to keep people back a bit for safety reasons — there will be explosions — but they will be able to see the actors and their favorite Avengers on the street during the filming,” said Patty Whitcher, an executive producer on The Avengers. Be careful what you wish for, Patty. Just ask Christopher Nolan. · ‘Avengers’ workers start transforming East Ninth into scene for epic battle [Cleveland.com via Coming Soon]

Glam Slam: Hot Bodies Week Achieve Anistons Legs

By Ryan PattersonLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Jennifer Aniston has been giving us plenty of reason to talk about her legs lately showing off her shapely gams time and time again while recently promoting her film Horrible Bosses. Today kicks off our week-long Hot Bodies series with leg toning tips from celeb trainer Joe Dowdell, who has worked with Natalie Portman, Eva Mendes, Anne Hathaway and Claire Danes. Everyone knows that Jennifer Aniston has an amazing set of legs and truth be told, you can train your legs all you want, but if youre not following a clean diet you are never going to lose enough body fat in order to get that lean look, Jim says. I always tell my clients and athletes, that leanness starts at the mouth. Here is Jims comprehensive plan to get that lean, sculpted look that you truly desire. Dumbbell Plie Squat: Set Up: While holding a dumbbell in front of you, stand with your feet turned outward and slightly wider than shoulder width. Keep your torso as upright as possible.Movement: Brace your abdominals, bend your knees and lower your hips into a squat position so that your thighs are parallel to the floor or just slightly above. Take 2 seconds to lower yourself, pause for one second and then 1 second to return to the start position. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.Tips: Make sure your knees are in line with your toes throughout the movement. Keep your shoulders blades drawn down and back. And, as you rise back up, push down through your heels/mid-foot and contract your glutes powerfully.The Details:Sets: 3Reps: 10-12Rest Period: Wk 1 - 60 secs, Wk 2 - 45 secs, Wk 3 - 30 secs, Wk 4 - 15 secs Reverse Lunge: Set Up: Stand with the feet hip-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells at arms length next to your sides with palms facing each other. Pull shoulder blades down and back; keep your chest up; brace the core (i.e., tighten) and hold it that way throughout the movement.Movement: Step backward with your right leg. Then, lower the body into a lunge while keeping your torso upright. The front lower leg should be nearly perpendicular to the floor and the rear knee should nearly touch the floor. It should take 2 seconds step back and lower yourself; no pause and one second to return to the start position. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions on one side then do the other.Tips: Keep your shoulders blades drawn down and back.The Details:Sets: 3Reps: 10-12/sideRest Period: Wk 1 - 60 secs, Wk 2 - 45 secs, Wk 3 - 30 secs, Wk 4 - 15 secs Low Box Lateral Shuffle:Set Up: Stand with your left foot on the center part of a low box (like a 3-4 inch aerobic step) and your right foot on the floor and about a foot from the box. Lean your torso slightly forward (i.e., an athletic ready position) and both knees should be slightly bent.Movement: Jump sideways so that your right foot lands on the top of the box and your left foot on the floor. Continue to shuffle on and off the step from side to side for 30-45 seconds. The speed of movement should be as quick as you can while maintaining good posture and control. Tips: Keep your shoulder blades drawn down and back. Form before speed. Master the shuffling movement before you increase the speed of movement. Once you have mastered the movement, you can attempt to increase the speed of movement.The Details:Sets: 3Reps: 30-45 secondsRest Period: Wk 1 - 60 secs, Wk 2 - 60 secs, Wk 3 - 60 secs, Wk 4 - 60 secs Rest Periods: Each week you do the circuits, lessen your seconds of rest between each exercise. For example: Week 1: Rest 60 seconds between each exercise. Week 2: Rest 45 seconds between each exercise. Week 3: Rest 30 seconds between each exercise. Week 4: Rest 15 seconds between each exercise. Weeks 1-4: Rest 60 seconds after each circuit. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sympathy for Delicious

Dean O'Dwyer, also known as ""Delicious D," is an up-and-coming DJ on the underground music scene in Los Angeles. When a motorcycle accident leaves Dean paralyzed, he abandons his turntables for a wheelchair as his once promising career disappears before his eyes. Forced to live out of his car on skid row, Dean begins his descent into depression when he meets Father Joe Roselli, a passionate young priest. Father Joe introduces Dean to the world of faith-healing, an unlikely way for him to begin his quest to walk again. He soon discovers that he possesses the otherworldly power to heal people, but in an odd twist of fate, he is utterly unable to heal himself. Despite Father Joe's warnings, Dean angrily decides to use his newfound gift for fame and fortune. He joins a rock band led by charismatic front man The Stain with bassist Ariel, and manager Nina Hogue. But his newfound notoriety is unable to cure the hurt that encompasses his life. To find true healing, Dean must ultimately confront his worst demons and come to terms with his own humanity.

Hop's Tim Hill Takes Over Short Circuit

From rabbits to robot remakes.... He's brought us Muppets from Space. He pushed the Garfield sequel out into the world. He launched Alvin and the Chipmunks in their current cinematic incarnation. And, this year, he jazzed up the Easter Bunny with Hop. So what's next on director Tim Hill's agenda? Well, it doesn't seem like the biggest leap from animated animals to talking robots, so Dimension Films has hired him to take over its planned Short Circuit reboot. For all those who have never seen the 1986 original (Steve Guttenberg is scowling at you, we hope you realise this), it featured The Gutte and Ally Sheedy in a tale of two people whose lives are forever altered when a military robot is struck by lightning and achieves sentienceThe star of the show, of course, is the 'bot himself, Johnny 5. Boasting a wide array of kiddie-pleasing catchphrases and a knack for slapstick learned from watching Three Stooges movies, he stole the heart of a generation. And then crushed it by appearing in the sequel. But now Dimension is hoping to win a whole new fan base, and has been hard at work on a remake since 2008, and originally hired Robot Chicken writer Dan Milano and Daddy Day Care director Steve Carr. Now, though, Hill oversee a new draft of the script and call the shots... No disassemble our childhood memories!

Rough House signs deal with Fox TV

Rough House Pictures is looking to break into broadcast television, signing a development deal with 20th Century Fox Television.The one-year pod deal is aimed at yielding series from the Mandate Pictures-backed outfit behind theatrical "Pineapple Express" and HBO's "Eastbound and Down." Principals are Matt Reilly, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill and Danny McBride.20th TV co-chairman Gary Newman acknowledged that while Rough House is best known for comedic stylings quirkier or racier than what you typically see on broadcast TV, that's exactly their appeal. "I think you've got broadcast networks who know they have to continually push boundaries if they want to be relevant and competitive," said Newman. "I know these guys will find a way to work within broadcast standards."No specific projects have been teed up yet, but the deal could yield animated series as well as scripted comedies. 20th TV produces several animated series for Fox, including "Family Guy" and "The Simpsons."Green is directing the forthcoming Jonah Hill comedy "The Sitter" for 20th Century Fox Studios. McBride, Hill and Reilly are currently in production on the third season of "Eastbound." Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

Just For Laughs Goes Global For Discovery Talent

MONTREAL -- Just For Laughs COO Bruce Hills can finally exhale, now that the 29th edition of the Montreal comedy festival wrapped Sunday night.He's been directing a lot of Hollywood foot traffic in the last few days, as Los Angeles and New York talent scouts in search of the Next Big Thing mostly flit from venue to venue to venue in the streets round Place des Arts and the Hyatt Regency hotel."You want to hit five shows, now you give four minutes to get from the Astral to the Imperial, or to the Gesu, or Club Soda," Hills explained.The irony is that, just as Just For Laughs performances have coalesced round a downtown Montreal hub, the festival is targeting an increasingly global comedy business, online and around the world, thanks to the digital age."This (Just For Laughs) will always be a place where people will find people to cast," the festival's talent producer Robbie Praw said."But everyone knows this isn't the 1990s," he adds.That means Just For Laughs no longer depends on a nucleus of returning U.S. stand-up comics to entice Hollywood execs and scouts with comedy talent.The Canadian chuckles festival is instead bringing more international acts to Montreal, especially from the UK and Down Under, to get the attention of industry scouts.Typical was the Craig Ferguson-hosted Saturday night gala "The International House of Comedy" at the Salle Wilfred Pelletier, which featured Aussie Adam Hills, Brits Eddie Izzard and Russell Howard, and Scottish comic Danny Bhoy.While showing off their talent in Montreal, international comics are also featuring in varied TV shows that Just For Laughs now makes for the international market."Besides performing, I tell the talent I'm going to give you a North American TV audience," Bruce Hills explained.The latest TV deal for Just For Laughs includes two one-hour stand-up comedy specials for BBC America.Just For Laughs is also producing two TV specials for Network Ten in Australia, six shows for Sweden and The Netherlands, one hour of stand-up comedy each for Germany and Spain and shows for, in all, four Canadian networks, including the CBC and HBO Canada.Hill insisted the increased international TV exposure for Just For Laughs illustrates how the comedy business is changing, as festival headliners this year like Russell Peters, Eddie Izzard, Tim Minchin, Jimmy Carr, John Oliver and Beardyman have gone from being homegrown to global talents, aided by their online fan base and exposure.The British comic and ventriloquist Nina Conti this past week in Montreal signed with the Gersh Agency for U.S representation on the strength of her one-woman show, "Nina Conti Talk To The Hand," which she performed at the festival."We met once and now I've lots of ideas of what I'd like to do over here," Conti said after inking a deal with Gersh.Just For Laughs' Hills underlines that the current overhaul of the festival has responded to a changing business."There's still (U.S.) TV execs coming up. But deals are not done at the (hotel) bar anymore. And now international TV execs and festival artistic directors are circulating round the festival," he said.Just For Laughs is also deep into social media, has dedicated Youtube channels and branded smartphone apps are in the works.Ultimately, the festival's growing international focus makes sense for the digital age.Despite the weird and wild comedy that filled varied venues over the last three weeks within a stone's throw of the Place des Arts, Just For Laughs is not Montreal anymore, but someplace and everywhere else in an increasingly borderless and digital entertainment business.The Just For Laughs festival wrapped Sunday night with the "Decline of the American Empire?!" gala, hosted by "The Daily Show with John Stewart's" John Oliver. The Hollywood Reporter