Just kidding around

Bryan Batt and Alan Cumming have the drinks. Jonah Hill, Jack McBrayer and Paul Rudd are smiles near the top of the traditional party. Christy Turlington and Erection dysfunction Burns Jennifer Westfeldt and Adam Scott Kristen Wiig ignores Jon Hamm's point. People in the NBC comedy family came through the SVA Theater on Monday evening for just about any Cinema Society screening of Lionsgate's "Pals With Kids," which reunites "Bridesmaids'" cast people Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd and Jon Hamm for author-thesp Jennifer Westfeldt's directorial debut. "It absolutely was really merely a tapestry of watching many people inside our existence get this seismic, profound transition to being a parent and the way everyone handled it in different ways,Inch Westfeldt mentioned. With this particular many comedy stars area, there has been a few shenanigans on set, but no pranks according to Adam Scott, people went while using 1990's. "In my opinion Mel Gibson and Joe Pesci managed to get happen round the 'Lethal Weapon 3' set which involved it," Scott mentioned. Near the top of the traditional afterparty, where the "SNL" gang hung out together, Wiig tossed a cheeseburger with a partygoer alongside her, sang along for the music and spoken with Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Winter lull for Broadway

'The Road to Mecca'Broadway suffered its worst week since the first week of 2012, with overall Rialto box office tumbling more than $3.4 million and attendance down by nearly 25,000, despite the addition of two new previewing productions.The bad B.O. mojo was spread pretty evenly among the 27 shows on the boards, with only smash hit "The Book of Mormon" ($1,493,754 -- up 2% and setting yet another house record at the Eugene O'Neill) and just-shuttered "The Road to Mecca" ($250,244 -- a 14% uptick in its final week) increasing their haul over last week. Among the hardest hit were the recently recast revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" ($530,319), and tourist magnets "The Phantom of the Opera" ($621,644) and "Mary Poppins" ($627,330), all of which were down more than 30% against last week. One-man show "Shatner's World: We Just Live In It" didn't inspire the final week rush that rose to meet "The Road to Mecca," as the renowned actor and Priceline spokesmodel ended his three-week Broadway run with a $295,534 take (albeit for only six performances), down 6%, though that was still enough to beat out "Godspell" ($279,527, down 22%). If there is a silver lining for legiters in this week's numbers, it is in the performance of the previewing productions. The Philip Seymour Hoffman-toplined revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" ($661,262 in seven perfs) cracked the top 10 list ahead of its March 15 opening and suffered the least decline compared to last week, down only 4%. Tuners "Once" ($525,050) and "Jesus Christ Superstar" ($370,699 for four perfs) also opened strong, playing to nearly full houses. Overall Broadway cume was $16,890,525, an increase of almost $2 million against the same time last year, when 26 shows were running. Attendance stood at 192,998, or 75.7% capacity. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Broadcasters sue Aereo startup service

The broadcast networks and a host of stations and studios have filed suit against Aereo, a service seeking to provide customers with Internet streams of major broadcast stations in the NY area. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, is seeking to halt Aereo, set to go public on March 14, as well as unspecified damages. The station plaintiffs -- which include WNET, Tribune's WPIX, the Fox Television Stations and Univision O&O groups -- say that the company's plans infringe on their right to public performance, and that the streams of the signals would represent unfair competition. A separate suit was also filed by ABC, Disney, CBS, NBCUniversal and WNJU, also seeking an injunction and damages. Federal courts have shut down the web streaming of TV station signals by companies like FilmOn and ivi, but Aereo has suggested that it could overcome the legal hurdle by setting up a service in which signals are captured by a tiny antenna for each individual subscriber, rather than the traditional one-to-many transmission The broadcasts are converted to a digital format and sent out over the Internet and to mobile devices. Aereo is charging $12 per month, and investors include Barry Diller's IAC. The problem for broadcasters is such streaming services undercut the lucrative retransmission fees they receive from cable operators. "It simply does not matter whether Aereo uses one big antenna to receive ...broadcasts and retramsmit them to subscribers, or 'tons' of 'tiny' antennas, as Aereo claims it does," the WNET-Fox suit stated. "No amount of technological gimmickry by Aereo -- or claims that it is simply providing a set of sophisticated 'rabbit ears' -- changes the fundamental principle of copyright law that those who wish to retransmit plaintiffs' broadcasts may do so only with plaintiffs' authority." In the other suit, the networks said that Aereo's "miniature antenna scheme is an artifice," and noted that it "digitally transcodes, converts and compresses the programs so they can be retransmitted through the Internet to its subscribers." A spokesman for Aereo said the company had no comment. Contact Ted Johnson at ted.johnson@variety.com

UTA Signs Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi

EXCLUSIVE: Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director who won the Best Foreign Language Academy Award for A Separation, has signed with UTA. The family drama set in Tehran has earned critical and popular support throughout the international film community after its world premiere a year ago at the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran, where it earned Farhadi the Best Director award. It won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and landed Sony Pictures Classics as distributor before making its U.S. debut at the Telluride Film Festival Film. That is where the agents began courting Farhadi. The film also won both a Golden Globe award and a Cesar awards before winning the Oscar. UTA is Farhadis first agency representation.

Weekend Receipts: Act of Valor Blows Away Competition

Hollywood's finest individuals who win a couple of days ago weren't limited only to the Kodak Theater (or what they have to think of it as now). A completely new-release frame well-recognized for its particularly aromatic qualities nevertheless had its success tales, introduced with a top-notch squad of Navy Shuts and our old friend Tyler Perry. Naturally. Your Weekend Receipts are here. 1. Act of Valor Gross: $24,700,000 (new) Screens: 3,039 (PSA $8,128) Days: 1 As predicted, bad reviews couldn't keep the flag-waving faithful away. Meanwhile, proceed and predict the second-week percentage visit should be genuine. I'll say 62 percent. 2. Good Deeds Gross: $16,000,000 (new) Screens: 2,132 (PSA $7,505) Days: 1 Clearly needed more headshots - ideally with Madea doing the shooting. 3. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Gross: $13,475,000 ($76,731,000) Screens: 3,350 (PSA: $4,022) Days: 3 (Change: -32.1%) 4. Safe House Gross: $11,400,000 ($98,100,000) Screens: 3,052 (PSA $3,735) Days: 3 (Change: -51.8%) Both Journey 2 and Safe House still hold remarkably well after 72 hours of release. Which is always to say: Who's still seeing these? Especially round the weekend everyone's allegedly creating ground on Oscar competitors? 5. The Vow Gross: $26,600,000 ($88,527,000) Screens: 2,958 (PSA $8,993) Days: 2 (Change: -35.4%) Seriously, I'm asking. 8. Wanderlust Gross: $6,600,000 (new) Screens: 2,002 (PSA $3,297) Days: 1 It could always worsen, Jennifer Aniston! You may have been... 9. Gone Gross: $5,000,000 (new) Screens: 2,186 (PSA $2,287) Days: -..Amanda-m Seyfried. Or even it couldn't worsen? That's fine, though: Box office aside, I realize a specific distinction that nobody might take from either of individuals bottom citizens. Champion! [Figures via Box Office Mojo] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Pilot Season: Mira Sorvino In Final Predicts Star In CBS' Trooper

Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, remains charged with legal cocaine possession with intent to distribute, TMZ reviews. Mueller, 34, remains charged with one count of having greater than four grams of cocaine on her behalf account then one count of having under four grams. The expense stem from Mueller's 12 ,. 2 arrest in Aspen, Colo. She's also charged with attacking a girl earlier... Discover More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Charlie SheenBrooke Mueller

Exclusive Mad Males Sneak Look: Will Don Cheat Again?

Chris Colfer Glee's Chris Colfer is an extremely busy guy. He stars around the hit Fox musical, is delivering a children's book in May, and makes his screenwriting - and leading guy - debut later this season at nighttime senior high school comedy Struck By Lightning. Within the film, Colfer plays Carson Phillips, a higher school student who blackmails his peers into adding to his campus literary magazine after which will get - yup - struck by lightning. Chris Colfer makes leap to giant screen with Struck By Lightning The film also stars Modern Family's Sarah Hyland, Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and Allison Janney as Carson's mother. Watch the very first trailer: Are you going to see Struck By Lightning?

48th Cinema Audio Society Honours: Hugo, Boardwalk Empire, Too Large To Fail, Most harmful Catch

The 48th CAS Honours for Outstanding Achievement in Seem Mixing were presented tonight through the Cinema Audio Society in a banquet within the Very Ballroomat the Millennium-Biltmore Hotel.They come yearly towards the winning Re-Recording and Production Mixers in all of four groups: Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music Series or Special Television Series Television Movies or Small-Series and Movies. Your competition is available to movies and tv programs launched or broadcast throughout the twelve months, and also the those who win are revealed inside a sealed envelope ceremony.The those who win are: Movies: Hugo Production Mixer:John Midgley Re-recording Mixer:Tom Fleischman, CAS Scoring Mixer:Simon Rhodes Television Series: Boardwalk Empire ‘To The Lost’ Production Mixer:Franklin D. Stettner, CAS Re-recording Mixers:Tom Fleischman, CAS Television Movies and Small-Series: Too Large to Fail Production Mixer:James J. Sabat, CAS Re-recording Mixers:Chris Jenkins,Bob Beemer, CAS Scoring Mixer:Chris Fogel Television Non-Fiction, Variety or Music Series or Special offers: Most harmful Catch: ‘New Bloodstream’ Re-recording Mixer: Bob Bronow, CAS Technical Achievement Award Production: Zaxcom Nomad Production Audio System Technical Achievement Award Publish Production: Enthusiastic Professional Tools 10

Eureka Star Colin Ferguson Gets Lead In Bill Lawrences Fox Comedy Pilot

After a six-year stint as the lead of Syfy’s departing drama series Eureka, Colin Ferguson is switching to comedy as the lead in Bill Lawrence’s Fox pilot Like Father. The project, from Warner Bros. TV, is inspired by Lawrence’s real-life experience and centers on a father-son relationship. Ferguson will play the father Van Lyons, nicknamed “The Hurricane” for his bombastic personality. After his wife dies, Van moves into his son Will’s campus apartment. Also cast in the pilot are Phill Lewis (repped by Abrams Artists & KLWGN) as Van’s best friend and Kevin Michael Martin (TalentWorks & Sweeney Entertainment) as Will’s roommate and best friend. Like Father reunites Lewis with Lawrence after doing an arc as Hooch on Lawrence’s medical comedy Scrubs. In addition to writing/executive producing, Lawrence is also directing the pilot. Ferguson, who also served as a producer on Eureka, is repped by manager Perry Zimel and attorney Jeff Bernstein.

USA's Common Law Hosts a Lost Reunion

Shaun Fahey, Kevin Tighe Lost alums Shaun Fahey and Kevin Tighe have arrived roles on USA's forthcoming cop drama Common Law, EW reviews.Fahey - who starred as Captain Frank Lapidus on Lost - will have a drugs detective who struggles together with his own drug abuse issues, while Tighe (who performed John Locke's father, Anthony Cooper), is placed to portray military services weapons persons detective.Obtain the full scoop on pilot season!The duo will join former Lost co-star Sonya Walger , who'll recur as Dr. Emma Ryan, a smart and attractive Beverly Hillsides mental health specialist who splits her time writing pill medications on her wealthy clients and offering low-cost group therapy in the neighborhood center. Walger performed Cent Widmore around the ABC hit.The series, that is slated to premiere this summer time, stars Michael Ealy and Warren Kole as homicide detectives who're purchased into couples counseling by their captain.

AFTRA Appear Recording Agreement Ratified

AFTRA entertainers together with others have ratified the union's appear recording agreement while using major labels, the union introduced Monday. The move, having a election of nearly ninety nine percent for, was expected.The agreement, which was showed up at 12 ,. 15, comes against connection with mixed success in other areas of the music activity business. The American Federation of Artists recently ratified a renewal that belongs to them agreement while using labels, only we've spent for quite a while under an expired contract. Meanwhile, the AFM remains unable to get a contract with Lionsgate covering musicians' use movies and television.Likewise not effective remains AFTRA's campaign to get a contract while using labels covering ballroom ballroom dancers in music videos.The AFTRA agreement ratified today, referred to as Appear Tracks Code, runs from Jan. 1, 2012 through 12 ,. 31, 2014, and was talked about with reps from UMG, The brand new the new sony, Warner, EMI and Disney labels. Zinc raises base rates by 2 percent every year and employer health insurance retirement contributions on royalty earnings by one percent inside the existence in the contract.Furthermore, the agreement enhances the maximum on special employer medical insurance contributions from $5,000 to $6,500 every year. People obligations allow royalty artists around the label's current roster to obtain health improvements even if their earnings fall below being qualified thresholds.In line with the union, the agreement also improves and develops performers' base of participation in revenue from acquisition of digital downloads and determines a structure of revenue-based obligations for completely new parts of poor licenses and licenses for non-traditional usages, for instance re-usage of tracks in novelty consumer products.Anything covers session entertainers, royalty artists, announcers, stars, comics, narrators and appear effects artists who concentrate on tracks in many new and traditional media and many types of music formats, additionally to audiobooks, comedy albums and cast albums. The Code produces greater than $140 million yearly in AFTRA-covered earnings and benefits.The completely new agreement signifies a renewal in the previous pact, which ended 12 ,. 31, 2011.The AFM's corresponding agreement the Appear Recording Labor Agreement was ratified by people on Jan. 13. The completely new three-year contract includes annual increases in scale wages (2 percent inside the newbie, then 1.5 % and one percent), plus health insurance welfare increases and new revenue streams for your union itself as well as the pension fund.Using what AFM leader Ray Hair known to since the first within the memory, the union consulted with AFTRA since it developed its contract plans.The Two unions have complementary jurisdiction inside the recording area: AFTRA signifies entertainers, whereas AFM signifies artists and certain others.Inside the film and television music area, AFM remains seeking an agreement with Lionsgate. They've two occasions picketed "Mad Males" shoots in downtown La, to little effect.Hair blasted Lionsgate's refusal to barter, telling "The Hollywood Reporter" in the recent interview the organization "must treat artists fairly" by adhering to minimums and needing to pay pension, health insurance residuals. "They're doing it for everybody else inside the room,In . he added.Marc Sazer, leader in the La based Recording Artists Association, echoed people remarks, telling THR the disparity was frustrating. "People are based on the healthcare that is included with union contracts," he added.Connected using the AFM, the RMA focuses on the interests of recording artists who be employed in movies and television, one of the areas.Simultaneously AFTRA's own efforts to attain agreement while using labels around the contract covering ballroom ballroom dancers in music videos has furthermore been a continuing slog. Several settling periods are actually held. Further talks are planned for February, but no dates are actually set. The union cites healthcare, working conditions and wages as key issues.The union held a colorful performance and rally in the new the new sony Music's Beverly Slopes offices lately, where dancer Kevin Stea a skilled of film, television, in addition to use Madonna, Michael Jackson together with other functions told THR the union contract was determined by "fundamental rights and respect."Also Monday, AFTRA sent ratification ballots due to its Network Television Code, which takes care of daytime programming and a number of other dayparts and program types aside from scripted primetime programming. Ballots are due back by Feb. 22. The Hollywood Reporter

Justin Timberlake plays ball with Clint Eastwood

TimberlakeEastwood"The Social Networking" star Justin Timberlake is placed to become listed on Clint Eastwood and Can Be in Warner Bros.' "Challenge With the bend,Inch that will mark the directorial debut of Eastwood's longtime creating partner Robert Lorenz. Randy Brown authored the script, which finds Eastwood playing a maturing baseball scout with vision problems who requires a journey to Atlanta together with his daughter to have a look in a hot prospect. Timberlake will have Eastwood's friend Johnny Flanagan, an old pitcher who now functions as a baseball scout for that NY Yankees. His character is really a potential love interest for Adams, who plays Eastwood's daughter. Eastwood and Lorenz will produce through their Malpaso banner, while Michele Weissler may also be involved with a producer capacity, getting who introduced the project to Malpaso. Sarah Schechter will oversee the work for WB. "Curve" will mark the very first film Eastwood has starred in but didn't direct since Wolfgang Petersen's 1993 thriller "Within the Type of Fire." Timberlake, who lately starred in "Bad Teacher," "Over TimeInch and "Buddies With Benefits," will quickly begin filming the Coen Bros.' folk music pic "Inside Llewyn Davis" with love interest Carey Mulligan and star Oscar Isaac. Timberlake is repped by WME, attorney P.J. Shapiro and managers Jennifer Killoran and Ron Yorn. Contact Shaun Sneider at shaun.sneider@variety.com

Scorsese talks tech at DGA

Martin Scorsese thinks "Hugo," a three dimensional film concerning the 20's, is really a precursor -Body that shows his fellow company directors need to sit in the twenty-first century technologies as quickly as possible.'3D isn't a gimmick," Scorsese asserted as Saturday's Company directors Guild of America panel for DGA nominees for that guild's feature award. "It's the way you see existence. Utilize it.''Scorsese told the capability crowd in excess of 400 in the DGA headquarters that his enthusiasm for three dimensional returned to his youth -- before such films as Alfred Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder." 'I'm a three dimensional fanatic," he added. "It dates back towards the Viewmaster."Requested by moderator Jeremy Kagan what advice he'd share with youthful company directors, Scorsese first switched to humor and stated when a director requires a dog to hug an actor's face, sardine oil does the secret. The director, who's won DGA honours for "The Departed" and "Boardwalk Empire," then switched serious and stressed that company directors to remain up-to-date with how films could be shot and showed. "Keep a balanced view about new technology because this is where this really is going," he advised.The panel also featured Michel Hazanavicius of "The Artist," Alexandere Payne of "The Descendants" and David Fincher of "The Lady using the Dragon Tattoo." Woodsy Allen, nommed for "Night time in Paris" would be a no-show and DGA prez Taylor Hackford evoked a large laugh when introduced the panel at the beginning of the big event. "Woodsy Allen can not be around while he can't venture out in public places,Inch Hackford stated.The quartet dissected the particulars of the films, addressing such issues as coping with stars, story structure and also the agonies of editing. Hazanavicius stressed the difficulties of having the storyline right to be able to create a quiet film -- like a key scene by which actor Jean Dujardin admires Berenice Bejo."Whether it had seem, the scene wouldn't be as effective," he added. "The less I actually do like a director, the greater people become involved -- that's how quiet films labored. I must tell the storyline in the best possible way.Inch Hazanivicius asserted the story itself needed he create a quiet film. "'There weren't any criminals," he noted. "The antagonist within the story is seem." Payne searched for to prefer his longtime editor Kevin Tent, who had been nommed to have an editing Oscar on "The Descendants." "He's helpless without me and I am helpless without him," he added.Payne stressed the significance of getting Hawaiian handscapes play a significant role in the film. "I needed to obtain sense of existence within the islands since the overwhelming feeling of character enables you to feel puny -- in a great way,Inch he added.Younger crowd accepted the key beach sunrise scene, by which George Clooney's character finds Matthew Lillard running, would be a happy accident. "The gods smiled on me on that day,Inch he added.Fincher credited star Rooney Mara with meeting the task of the demanding role, observing that they learned how you can skateboard, motorcycle and smoke for that Lisbeth Salander part -- to express nothing of acting in a set of rape moments. "Sometimes to locate a way that they'll release themselves," he added. Scorsese remembered that his key breakthrough with longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker came following the 4th test screening on "Hugo."''We eliminate the majority of the exposition because we recognized we did not require it,Inch Scorsese stated. "We locked ourselves away for four days because we understood what we should required to do."Hazanavicius underlined Scorsese's point the editing process is demanding. "The very first cut is horrible," he added. "In France, it is called the monster." Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Pilot Season: CBS Picks Up Comedies From Raising Hope, Brothers & Sisters Producers

CBS logo CBS has picked up comedy pilots for Friend Me, Partners and an untitled project from Greg Malins and Greg Berlanti. Friend Me, from Raising Hope's Alan Kirschenbaum and Ajay Sahgal, follows 20-something best friends who move to Los Angeles to begin their exciting new lives working at Groupon. Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum will also executive-produce. Partners, from Emmy winners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, is the personal story of two lifelong friends and business partners whose friendship has lasted longer than any of their romantic relationships. When one decides to propose to his girlfriend, the other's neurotic attempts to be supportive nearly result in a breakup. Get the latest news on all the pilot pickups here The Malins and Berlanti project centers on a man who has a health scare, which leads him to realize that his best friend and business partner of 15 years is "the one." CBS previously ordered a pilot for Berlanti's drama Golden Boy. CBS previously picked up the pilots Elementary, a modern take on Sherlock Holmes, a project from Jerry Bruckheimer, the legal drama Baby Big Shot, a half-hour comedy from Bridesmaids' Rebel Wilson, Widow Detective from CSI's Carol Mendelsohn, and an untitled Nick Stoller comedy.On Thursday, the network picked up drama pilots from The L Word's Ilene Chaiken, a Ralph Lamb bio and a project based on Ayelet Waldman's Mommy Track Mysteries book series.

Reid delays election on antipiracy bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stated that he's putting off a election on the Senate version of antipiracy legislation, following a storm of protest along with a defection of numerous supporters managed to get doubtful he had the votes to find the bill towards the floor. Reid had was firm on intends to hold a procedural election around the Safeguard IP Act on Tuesday, but introduced today more there was a time needed to sort out an agreement. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) continues to be ending up in reps from various industries to create changes towards the legislation, but Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Reid more there was a time needed. Reid stated inside a statement, "I admire the job that Chairman Leahy has put in this bill. I encourage him to carry on engaging with all of stakeholders to forge an account balance between safeguarding Americans' intellectual property, and looking after openness and innovation on the web. We made good progress with the discussions we have locked in recent days, and i'm positive that people can achieve an agreement within the coming days." Contact Ted Manley at ted.manley@variety.com

Ti West Feels The Side Effects

House Of The Devil director gets spacedDirector Ti West has had a patchy time of it since his breakout critical hit The House Of The Devil in 2009. He butted heads with Lionsgate over Cabin Fever 2, and pulled out of The Haunting In Georgia when he foresaw similar problems. His The Innkeepers premiered at the South By Southwest festival last spring, but has only just limped to VOD. But thankfully West has still managed to claw together the funding for his next film, The Side Effects: a sci-fi tale about "pharmaceutical testing and paranoia.""I've cast the lead and I've got most of it together," West tells The Playlist, "but it's a science fiction movie, so we need to build spaceships, so it's one of those things I can't really rush into and I can't do it for less than we need for it, because we have to build things."Used to working independently and on the cheap, West says that the budget for The Side Effects is more than he generally needs, but less than his profligate studio funds for Cabin Fever 2. "The smallest amount of money to do what I do is what I want," he enthuses. "I don't want a dime more, but I don't want a dime less either. Like I don't want to go, 'We've run out of money to put that extra thing on the spaceship,' but I don't want to have money for no reason. So I think it's going to happen. It's a great producer, I think it's a good script, and it's a great cast."In the meantime, West also has a hand in two anthology movies. He's directing one of the 26 segments of The ABCs Of Horror, and he's got a "couple-on-a-road-trip" chapter in V/H/S: his concession to the found-footage genre. "That's all anyone wants to do anymore," he laments. "When I say, 'We need three and a half, four million dollars to make this movie,' people are like, 'How about you just make a found-footage movie for fifty grand? We can give you that.' It's a weird time for indie movies."V/H/S premieres at Sundance next week, and West hopes to start preparing forThe Side Effects in February.

VIDEO: Bella Thorne and Zendaya Go From Shake It Up Besties to Frenemies

Frenemies What's so enjoyable for Bella Thorne and Zendaya playing friends turned enemies in the Disney Channel movie Frenemies? Being real-life besties. "It makes [filming] 10 times more fun," Zendaya tells TVGuide.com. "I get to do it with my best friend and someone who I love dearly." VIDEO: Shake It Up stars share how show emulates their real life In the movie, the girls play two friends who come to fight over a fashion editor job. Zendaya describes her character Halley as a "chic nerd" while Thorne says her Avalon is much more of a "girly" fashionista. Watch the video interview to find out more about their upcoming film and to see what's in store on their Disney Channel series Shake It Up. Frenemies premieres Friday at 8/7c on Disney Channel.

Service companies leverage 4G for content deals

Verizon, headed by Ivan Seidenberg, makes high-profile wireless content deals such as the Nfl Super Bowl streaming sponsorship. With faster 4G systems running mobile items, wireless service companies are searching for new techniques to leverage amazing capability to provide video with new content deals. "Verizon Wireless Carrier Company remains most likely probably the most active dealmaker," mentioned Aapo Markkanen, senior analyst, consumer mobility, for ABI Research, mentioning recent handles videogame author Electronic Arts for "Rock-band,Inch user-created content site Ustream, and music sites Rhapsody and MOG. "That has been an all-natural piece for his or her strategy thinking about that they're before others in leaving 4G infrastructure," first introduced at CES this season. What telcos seek, continues Markkanen, is "selling points for completely new, more costly 4G cell phone models plus much more extensive data bundles." "Generally, delivering clients with popular content bundles might be a handy approach to increase customer retention," he mentioned. "They become incentives for clients to remain with the identical company whilst their contract expires." Incorporated in the four-year sponsorship agreement while using Nfl, worth $720 million, Verizon could make history by streaming Super Bowl XLVI live to mobile items fitted with Verizon's exclusive Nfl Mobile application on Feb. 5. Not to be surpassed, Sprint recently signed a multi-year deal with the Basketball being its official wireless service partner, like the Sprint Basketball Mobile Android application for in-game and postgame video highlights, news, scores, together with additional features. The parties did not disclose the the offer. Besides the vibrant host to sports, however, telcos are losing ground. For content entrepreneurs, creating a unique deal with only one mobile company forget about is smart every time they could make handles mobile video retailers and streamers, or simply increase the risk for event available themselves. "A few years back, we familiar with discuss the mobile content ecosystem as on-deck, meaning content preloaded through the organization, and off-deck, which was mostly ringtones and wallpaper," mentioned Fierce Mobile Content executive editor Jay Ankeny. "Since seems prehistoric. I don't go to a return to a period of time where the service companies control what people see." What went lower to fully change that dynamic? "Apple transformed the mobile market space," mentioned Juniper Research research director Windsor Holden. "It needed someone like Apple to produce the help of being able to view content intriguing, notable and simple to use. Service companies are excellent at delivering voice and data, but they're not the most effective source to promote content." Can the service companies even compete in this new atmosphere? "The telcos wish to 't be dumb pipes however i am unsure those are the best people to promote content," Holden mentioned. "Their key assets will be the network as well as the billing relationship. My suspicion is always that they'd generate a lot more revenue by doing this than selling the information themselves." Content deals may also be complicated because Verizon at&T both offer Internet and tv services like FiOS and U-Verse. MetroPCS also introduced a deal with Mobile Content Venture, the mobile TV effort by tv producers including Cox Media Group, Fox, and NBC, to preload their mobile TV service on its approaching Samsung Android items. "They're still quite beginning to determine which techniques the service companies may ultimately adopt," Markkanen mentioned. "But, ideally, clients desire to access their content regardless of time, place and device." Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Jim Carrey in 'Bruce Almighty' Follow up? Authors In Talks For Follow-As much as 2003 Hit

It appears like Jim Carrey wasn't kidding about this "Bruce Almighty" follow up. Universal has started discussions with Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel ("Spa Time Machine," "Yes Males") to create a script for any follow-in the 2003 comedy. Very little else is famous concerning the project at this time around, however the script is going to be fashioned for Carrey to star. The initial film made $484 million worldwide, enough to warrant a follow up -Body that did not really feature Carrey's titular character. That film, "Evan Almighty," centered on Steve Carell's supporting character and moved things more toward family fare. Not remarkably -- despite Carell within the lead -- it cleaned in theaters, generating $310 million less worldwide than its predecessor. For his part, Carrey continues to be talking about a "Bruce Almighty" follow up since last summer time. "We are speaking about maybe coming back with a old figures that everybody continues to be asking about," Carrey told Not Far Off in June of 2011. "There's 'Bruce Almighty' and we are speaking about maybe another 'Dumb and Dumber.'" Whether "Dumb and Dumber" follows around the Carrey nostalgia tour remains to appear. Fingers entered he squeezes in another go at Fire Marshall Bill too. [via Variety] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Anchor Bay nabs 'The Victim'

Anchor Bay Films has snagged North American rights to the suspense thriller ''The Victim,'' starring Michael Biehn, Jennifer Blanc, Ryan Honey, Denny Kirkwood, Tanya Newbould and Danielle Harris. The deal was announced Friday by Anchor Bay Entertainment president Bill Clark. Pic was written by Biehn and is his directorial debut. Story centers on a woman who witnesses a violent act at the hands of two Sheriff's Deputies, flees from attackers and stumbles across a recluse living in the middle of the woods -- which throws his solitary life into chaos. "The Victim" was produced by Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Lorna Paul and Travis Romero of Blanc/Biehn Prods. in association with Pegasus Prods. Exec producers are Brock Morse, Morgan Johnson and Ryan Honey of The Mud Show. Stevan Mena and Vincent Butta of Crimson Films will be handling the theatrical release. "The Victim" is the third project between Crimson Films and Anchor Bay Films. Hogan Entertainment and Pegasus will be handling the college tour of the film. Deal was brokered by Kevin Kasha on behalf of Anchor Bay Films with Preferred Content working on behalf of the filmmakers. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com