Universal Having Fun With Ouija Again

Michael Bay's Platinum Dune team is backLast year, Universal were built with a large, budget-driven spasm and appeared to jettison nearly every film it had been developing under its cope with games giant Hasbro that wasn't known as Battleship. One of the casualties would be a undertake spooky spirit conjuring lark Ouija overseen by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes company with Micrograms mounted on direct. However it has risen in the development grave because of Paranormal Activity.How so? Well, Paranormal producerJason Blum, that has designed a reputation for themself developing low-budget disasters and thrillers, has become associated with the Ouija film after joining up track of Platinum Dunes' Bay, Kaira Larger and Andrew Form. Based on Deadline, the idea continues to be seriously retooled from the blockbuster budget to some thrifty $5 million. The brand new cost become a huge hit to Universal (which in fact had been threatened having a penalty when the movie wasn't made inside a certain deadline anyway) and it is back on.It's not known whether Micrograms continues to be involved by any means (we'd guess the different companies will would rather go the Project X/ Chronicle route and employ a fresh, cheaper person to call the shots) or that has written the brand new script. We attempted asking individuals questions about work Ouija board, but all we've got was bloodstream running lower the walls along with a fire demon within the loo. You realize: the typical, every single day occurrence at Empire Towers...

Pilot Season: Heroes Alum Hayden Panettiere Joins ABC's Nashville

The Walking Dead [Warning: This story contains major spoilers about AMC's The Walking Dead and the comic book series it originated from.] AMC may have just spoiled what might turn out to be the worst-kept TV secret of 2012. On the AMC website early Thursday, The Walking Dead's second season limited edition Blu-ray set was being promoted. One problem: The item's description included a major spoiler, touting that the bonus features include "Shane's last episode." Does this mean Jon Bernthal's character will soon meet his demise? The Walking Dead Boss: Lori has become Lady Macbeth Bernthal's future on the zombie drama has been in question since his character, the increasingly hot-headed former deputy, died in Issue 6 of the comics on which the series is based. That means Bernthal's incarnation has long outlived his comic-book counterpart. Furthermore, news that Bernthal was in talks for Frank Darabont's new TNT pilot only increased fans' suspicions that the TV series Shane would soon be a goner. "You know the Shane character was killed off in the comic book very, very early," Walking Dead executive producer Glen Mazzara recently told TVGuide.com. "We are a show that is going to surprise people. People can speculate. I haven't read the Frank script, but it is conceivable that Bernthal's character gets offed in that [TNT] pilot. I haven't read it. So I don't want to say anything about secrets or spoilers or anything like that, but I think fans will be satisfied with our story, and I'm just going to focus on that, not other material." By Thursday night, the website had been shut down (you can see a photo of the site below). "The post on the AMC store was completely unauthorized," an AMC spokesperson said in a statement. "The matter is currently under investigation." Have the clues that Bernthal might be leaving the series ruined the season for you? Hit the comments with your thoughts.

New Hunger Games image arrives

The Hunger Games has released another new image of one of its key players, with Donald Sutherland taking centre stage as the villainous President Snow.The President is the autocratic ruler of Panem, and despite his smooth public persona, he's not a very nice chap. After all, it is he who insists on the sadistic practice of pitting teenagers against each other in a televised fight to the death!Sutherland looks suitably heartless in this new snap, coming off as a cross between a slippery politician and a demented preacher. Sticking with the quasi-religious theme, that podium looks very much like a pulpit, doesn't it?The President doesn't have a great deal of involvement in the series' first book, so we won't be expecting to see too much of Sutherland first time around. However, he becomes a more significant player as the trilogy progresses, with his iron-fist style of leadership coming to the fore as Katniss's rebellion gathers pace.The Hunger Games opens in the UK on 23 March 2012. Tired of watching perma-tanned halfwits talk garbage on national television? The Hunger Games' brand of reality telly could be right up your street...

Cablevision profit falls by almost half

Cablevision's net income plunged by nearly half in the fourth quarter absent contributions from AMC Networks, which was spun off last year. Revenue for the NY area company rose 7.3% to $1.7 billion, including the acquisition of smaller cabler Bresnan during the year. Core revenue from cable operations grew 8.3% to $1.51 billion as a slight dip in video subscribers was offset by growth in data and voice. Shares were up 2.1% at $15.97 in early trading. Cablevision profit fell to $60 million from $113 million. Earnings from continuing operations excluding AMC fell 18%. Operating income rose 28% to $346 million Chairman James Dolan called 2011 ''an important year for Cablevision as it marked the culmination of several multi-year initiatives -- spinning off MSG and AMC, completing the Bresnan acquisition, paying quarterly dividends and actively buying back stock. Dolan noted during a conference call that Cablevision hasn't raised its rates for 2012 but is eliminating some low-priced packages. Cablevision ended the year with 3.62 million customers. Video subs dipped by 11,000 own from third quarter but high-speed data and voice were up by 21,000 and 30,000 respectively. Commercial biz Optimum Lightpath saw revenue rise 9.7% to $79 million and operating income more than double to $16 million. Cablevision's other assets include Newsday, News 12 Networks, MSG Varsity, Clearview Cinemas and Cablevision Media Sales (formerly Rainbow Advertising Sales). Revenue fell 5.5% to $117 million, mostly on advertising declines at Newsday. Losses narrowed to $81 million. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Vincent Graeff dies at 80

Vincent Graeff, a youthful child actor who came out inside the "Our Gang" quantity of shorts using the type of George "Spanky" McFarland and Robert Blake, died Feb. 8 in Henderson, Nev. He was 80. Credited as Billy Ray Cruz, Graeff made his debut at 6 in 1937's "The Pigskin Palooka." At the begining of 19 forties he came out in MGM shorts including "Baby Blues," "Fightin' Fools," "Robot Wrecks," "Helping Hands" and "Prone to Press." While he elevated just a little older, the youthful actor came out in several uncredited feature roles, including in notable films for instance "A Tree Evolves in Brooklyn," "The Valley of Decision," "The Harvey Women," "The Dark Corner," "Sister Kenny," "The Babe Ruth Story," "The Set-Up" and "Cheaper with the Dozen." Graeff ended his acting career in 1951. Born in San Ysidro, Calif., Graeff offered inside the Marine Corps through the Korean War, producing a Crimson Heart. He'd work just like a sheet metal worker. Graeff's brother Paul, who also came out in films becoming an adult actor, died this season. Graeff is managed to get by his wife, Pat five children and diverse grandchildren and great-children. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

REVIEW: Appalling Act of Valor gets a War, And Everybody's Requested

Well, it finally happened. The street separating America from America: The Film found a means to arrange itself in to a stick figure and walk in the scene in disgust. In Act of Valor, a more elaborate branding exercise for your U.S. Navy Shuts by way of a Hollywood action blowout, the two mingle freely and freely finally. The film opens getting an argument from company company directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. They describe the value of casting real Navy Shuts the best action heroes famous them, in line with the films press notes to possess film much-preferred feeling of authenticity. It absolutely was all for people, McCoy and Waugh agree. They preferred to exhibit everyone else what it really feels as if to fire place a mechanical weapon and burst somebody's mind open from 50 foot away. And in addition they drawn two chiseled people (uncredited, they're as Dork and Rorke), from active duty even though watching camera and forced those to perform inside a bad war movie. Act of Valor was produced by getting an unequalled amount of Government cooperation. four years ago, when the film was produced, the Navy was trying to find 500 new recruits, together with a film made an appearance like only the one factor. Top Gun infamously elevated recruitment by 500 percent, as well as the military now uses popular entertainment automobiles to produce its pitch needs to be course. Americas Military, the 2002 gaming created with the military to mimic free free war games like Cod, now seems as being a proper part of the run-around the Iraq war. So with the audience McCoy and Waugh mean American boys. And also the goal of showing them the actual way it feels to become SEAL means mixing the look of war they understand from movies and gaming while using exhilaration of revealing actual American might. There is however a larger us addressed with the heavily written narration (the script, by 300 film author Kurt Johnstad, gives new meaning for the phrase fog of war). All Valor is built to stress the direct impact of military action on American safety, within the opening save from the female CIA agent (Roselyn Sanchez) who's being tortured to in a inch of her existence (as well as the integrity of her tshirt) inside the Costa Rican jungle for the interception of high-tech suicide vests making their approach to major American urban centers. The plot might be summed up using this method: Americas obtaining a war, and everybodys requested! Everybody, oddly enough, except Iraq and Afghanistan. After an inexplicable explosion kills a u . s . states diplomat together with an entire mess of youngsters in Manila, we meet a SEAL platoon around the Hillcrest beach, where they are planning deployment. Chief Dork has transpired his Tom Brady genes onto five kids Lieutenant Rorke will have his first child. Like a father appears a good deal. They never use each other between kill shots and swap being a parent tips, however when they managed to get happen would your look to the scripts awkward try to jam portrayal directly into both of these beefy avatars. You can't help thinking these males got hosed: Everything lethal know-how and theyre bested by dopey dialogue. Inadequacies in continuity, both within and between moments, comprises a reasonably simply set-up oddly strict. The crooks are childhood pals Abul Shabal (Jason Cottle), a Ukrainian become Islam who's mad about Chechnya, and Christo (Alex Veadov), an arms dealer with unclear motivations. But they are desultory villains, there to provide minimal narrative hinge action. The bigger story is always that we are fighting an international enemy with weapons connections without any respect for own lives or perhaps the lives of anybody else. Within the Philippines and Panama And Nicaragua , we remain in Somalia, Mexico, and regions of Eastern Europe, and so they hate us everywhere. There exists a couple of competitors within our edges: the media as well as the economy are reported as key allies in any terrorist plan to take lower the united states . States. Each location offers a stage for a lot of serious military peacocking: The opening save has some thrilling shots from the amphibious operation watercraft dropped from helis! as well as the showing up from the nuclear submarine is actually colossally breathtaking its hard to believe that it is no action of character. Much gadgetry is wielded to no noticeable purpose, at virtually every stop live ammunition discharges as being a five-cent video slot on somebodys lucky evening. There is however little sense of how these teams work and plan together, exactly what may really lead to an amazing story. The finale can be a first-person-palooza round the Mexican border, a crescendo of incoherent carnage that requires one of the Shuts to complete their very own dying. The sacrifice and ceremony of the performance is most sickening if the spreads throughout the protective layer of numbness that builds up throughout the time associated with a movie getting an appearance count this high. To feel something means the ignoble plan's working. Yeah, its another movie with things approaching in highly realistic fashion, however it includes the insidiousness from the culture attracted by sensation and jingoism. Because despite the fact that last decade of war is doing much to convince us otherwise, america is not a film we are watching, and people do die ultimately. Follow Michelle Orange on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

New Avengers Still Emerges Online

Strutting out the pages of Empire...Empire subscribers will have already seen this brand new Avengers still of course, but just as a tease for those of you still looking forward to pick up a copy tomorrow, here's a picture of Cap', The Black Widow and Hawkeye strutting towards the camera to get you all excited.{Avengers Strutting Still}Giving us a much clearer look at Captain America's new, modernised outfit - in particular his more rounded head gear - it also tells us more about how the team will inevitably seperate to kick extra Loki ass.So take a look at the snap above and let us know what you think. Have you barely handle the excitement?Are you still desperate to see more Ruffalo's Hulk?Have you worked out who the other bad guys in the film will be?Let us know in the comment box below.Elsewhere in the new issue, there's a interview with the man behind Marvel's superhero supergroup, Joss Whedon himself, where he reveals more about how on earth he's going to pull off such the monumentally difficult task of making sure it's not another Iron Man /CaptainAmerica / Thor /Hulk movie.The Avengers is out on April 27, and Empire's new blockbuster special is on shelves tomorrow, February 22.