'Artist,' 'Tomboy,' 'War' chase Louis-Delluc

PARIS -- Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist," Celine Sciamma's "Tomboy" and Valerie Donzelli's "Declaration of War" are among the nine pics set to compete for the Louis-Delluc award. Headed by Cannes Film Festival's prexy Gilles Jacob, the jury comprises about 20 critics and film journos. As is often the case, the lineup features many films that bowed at Cannes in the Official Selection, notably "The Artist," Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre," Bertrand Bonello's "House of Tolerance," Pierre Schoeller's "The Minister," Bruno Dumont's "Outside Satan" and Alain Cavalier's "Pater." "War" played in Directors' Fortnight. However, Maiwenn's "Polisse," which nabbed Cannes' jury prize, surprisingly didn't make it onto the list. Teddy Lussi-Modeste's "Jimmy Riviere" and "17 Girls," helmed by Muriel Coulin and Delphine Coulin, will vie for the first film nod, along with three other pics. The award was created in 1937 in homage to film journalist Louis Delluc. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Dec. 16. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Palm Springs honors Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams is going to be honored using the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award in the 23rd annual Palm Springs Worldwide Film Festival. The Academy Award-nominated actress will get the award in a gala on Jan. 7. ''Every generation, the cinema includes a couple of entertainers who mesmerize audiences by having an exceptional mixture of talent, flexibility and sophistication,'' stated festival chairman Harold Matzner. ''Michelle Williams epitomizes these characteristics as she is constantly on the accept challenging role after challenging role. In her own latest work, My Week with Marilyn, she perfectly captures the glamour and vulnerability from the legendary Marilyn Monroe who finds respite and solice throughout per week-lengthy hiatus from Hollywood demands.'' Williams, who joins George Clooney and Glenn Close among formerly introduced honorees, presently stars in ''My Week With Marilyn,'' which follows the actual-existence story of Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier throughout their focus on ''The Prince and also the Showgirl.'' Past readers from the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Natalie Portman, Hathaway As Catwoman, Halle Berry, Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron, Naomi W and Kate Winslet. Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

Akiva Goldsman Ink Overall Cope With Cinemax, Creates Western Drama About Doc Holliday With Ron Howard Mounted On Direct

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar champion Akiva Goldsman has signed a 2-year exclusive overall cope with Cinemax. The very first project underneath the pact is definitely an untitled Western drama about Doc Holliday, the famous gambler and gunslinger from the Old West. Adam Cooper and Bill Collage (Recognized) will write the script and can executive produce with Goldsman and the creating partner Kerry Promote. Ron Howard is mounted on direct the possibility pilot. His father, Rance Howard, assists as co-producer together with his wife Judy Howard. The project is inspired by Mary Doria Russells significantly recognized novel Doc, that was released in May. Doc Holliday is frequently described being an ailing partner (he died from t . b at 36), most widely known for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and the participation within the Gunfight in the O.K. Corral (Val Kilmer described him within the movie Tombstone). However the Cinemax project aims to place Holliday in the forefront because the series protagonist, an educated Southern gentleman and dental professional by trade, thrust in to the cruel and violent realm of that old West to be able to salvage his ailing health. The series will feature the never-before-investigated love triangular between Holliday, his prostitute wife, Kate Elder and closest friend, Wyatt Earp — ready from the lawlessness and desperation of the quickly altering society. Goldsman describes the project as “all in the household” if this involves auspices. His partner at Weed Road Promote discovered the origin material. Goldsman pointed out the concept to frequent collaborator Ron Howard as the two were talking about their latest project, The Dark Tower. Howard is placed to direct and Goldsman is writing the variation from the Stephen King’s book series, that is searching for a house like a feature trilogy as well as an associated limited TV series after being place in turnaround by NBCUniversal. Goldsman, who quipped that he's following a rule “work with Ron whenever you can” after his first collaboration using the director, An Attractive Mind, gained him a writing Oscar, also composed the Howard-directed The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Devils and Cinderella Guy. Howard expressed curiosity about the Western TV project, also it switched out that his father, veteran actor Rance Howard, includes a passion for Doc Holliday. So Rance Howard and the wife came aboard as co-producers and Ron Howard grew to become attached as director from the potential pilot. (Howard, whose company with John Grazer Imagine is extremely active in TV, hasn't directed a TV pilot yet.) Meanwhile, Promote’s husband, Adam Cooper, and the writing partner, Bill Collage, came aboard to create the Western. Initially, the project was eyed like a small-series and was pitched as a result to Cinemax. The pay cable network recommended making it a set rather. Goldsman isn't a TV novice. He earned a stealth entry into series with Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe. In the past, author-producer Goldsman was searching to branch out into pointing. Uncle J.J. Abrams offered him to create and direct a chapter in the first season of Fringe, which Abrams co-produced and it is executive creating. Goldsman made it happen after which stuck around being an “eccentric uncle”, because he place it. He is constantly on the function as a talking to producer around the significantly recognized but low-ranked drama, from time to time writing, co-writing or pointing episodes. “Nobody watches us however i’m greatly happy with the show and also the work were done,” Goldman stated of Fringe. “We handled to follow along with that new trend of serialized storytelling. And Cinemax is the greatest in the industry for your.” Goldsman have been searching to grow into TV inside a bigger way. “I believe that the road between film and tv gets blurrier and blurrier, and i believe thats pretty exciting artistically,” he stated. Due to Cinemax’s method of storytelling, it had been the area he wanted to get it done. Especially due to his lengthy history with fantasy and sci-fi and exactly how Cinemax goodies genre series with 2 shows he likes, True Bloodstream and particularly Bet On Thrones (“I worship in the alter of this show,” Goldsman stated.) “What I really like about Cinemax is the fact that storytelling appears to become king which genre appears to become almost irrelevant,” he stated. Also attractive to Goldsman in signing a general cope with Cinemax was the chance to become a writing, non-writing producer and director. He is doing intend to create his first series underneath the pact, probably in the favorite mold of character-driven drama inside a genre framework. For Dark Tower, “we’re still pushing the boulder uphill,” Goldsman stated but is positive the ambitious project will discover a home “very soon.” The writing duo of Cooper and Collage, repped by WME, have done over 24 scripts for major galleries, including NY Minute, Wrong Turn, Ransom and Tower Heist. They most lately authored Exodus for that Chernin Co., Marco Polo for Frances Lawrence and Moby Dick for Timor Bekmambetov at Universal. Goldsman and Howard are with CAA, that also co-repped Russell’s book with Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Wall Street All Ears for Liberty Media's Sirius XM, Starz Plans

NY - After Wall Street chatter last week about a potential spin-off and deal involving Liberty Media-controlled premium TV firm Starz, at least one analyst says that Liberty chairman John Malone and his team could instead plan to spin off Sirius XM Radio. Malone, Liberty CEO Greg Maffei and a range of other executives are scheduled to speak here Thursday at Liberty's annual investor day, which is typically a big draw for analysts and media investors. And Wall Street observers hope for some guidance on Malone's plans for Starz and Sirius, in which Liberty got a stake by helping Sirius out of bankruptcy a few years ago. This year, morning sessions will focus on Liberty Interactive, which is anchored by home shopping network QVC, followed by a focus on Liberty Capital, which includes satellite radio firm Sirius XM, and Liberty Starz. Among the speakers will be Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and Starz CEO Chris Albrecht. Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan said ahead of the Thursday meeting that there are "increased prospects for a Sirius spin." Wrote Eagan: "With the Liberty Media Investor Day this week, we thought we'd write about the strategic alternatives we expect the company is considering." He suggested that the alternatives revolve around two main options. "One, spinning out the Sirius shares from Liberty Capital into their own security and two, spinning out Liberty Starz into an asset based security." Eagan called option one "more likely because it enables Liberty to further monetize its investment in Sirius (without having to increase its stake) and preserves the bulk of the Liberty Starz balance sheet strength for another future transaction." A Sirius spin-off would likely be accompanied by a consolidation of the Liberty Starz tracking stock with Liberty Capital, which could disappoint Liberty Starz investors, Eagan said. He compared a possible Sirius spin to how the company several years ago spun a stake in satellite TV giant DirecTV into a separate stock and ultimately merged it, tax free, with DirecTV. "Should Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin want to "take back" full control of Sirius, he may want to merge with a Liberty Sirius to "take out" Liberty's control," Eagan said. Liberty's Sirius investment has thrown off a lot of money for Liberty. Increasing its stake in Sirius would be a costlier alternative to his scenario though, Eagan highlighted. Several analysts have said ahead of Thursday's meeting though that a Starz spin-off could also be in the offing. BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield had said last week that Wall Street reports about a Starz move to raise debt could signal a spin-off plan. "We find it hard to believe that Liberty/Starz would not have outright denied if the story was blatantly false," he said."It makes far more sense that this was not supposed to be announced until the Liberty Media analyst day." Greenfield argued that the likeliest scenario is that "Liberty is preparing to hard-spin Liberty Starz out of Liberty Media, to enable it to be acquired mid-late next year by a larger media entity," such as Time Warner of NBCUniversal. Maxim Group analyst John Tinker said this week that "it is unclear to us what Liberty Starz's role is in chairman John Malone's media empire." He argued that "at some point, we believe that the company should be merged into a larger entity." Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics John Malone Liberty Media Liberty Starz

CBS preps 'Early Show' alternative

RoseCBS' alternative because of its low-ranked "Early Show" will begin Jan. 9, the internet introduced Tuesday. Chris Licht, who became a member of this news division from MSNBC, will professional produce this program, that will feature Gayle King, Erica Hill and Charlie Rose.Adding Rose have been rumored for days, as the NY Times' John Stelter broke news from the Hill and King hirings Friday.Rose continues his work on PBS additionally to adding towards the as-yet un named CBS program King will leave her show at OWN and can still lead towards the internet "as her schedule enables," based on an argument in the Discovery/Harpo partnership. The program, right now, would be to put Rose and Hill at 7 a.m. and King at 8, however the schedule continues to be fluid.Licht continues in the publish as veep of programming for CBS News one of the show's correspondents is going to be John Burns, Rebecca Jarvis, and Shaun Glor. Licht stated he would not be searching to ape "Today" or "Hello America," that have be similar over recent several weeks and also the demo gap between your two has simplified. "You will find there's first-rate team before and behind your camera,Inch he stated. "Our goal is straightforward: develop a broadcast using its own identity that provides audiences something truly different each morning.Inch Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Shailene Woodley, 'Descendants' Star, Doesn't Want to Hear About Oscar Buzz, George Clooney's Fart Machine

Shailene Woodley likes to say "fuck." Unfortunately, as the star of the ABC Family series 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager,' she isn't often afforded the chance to do so. That changed during the filming of Alexander Payne's 'The Descendants,' an R-rated George Clooney vehicle that has thrust Woodley into the Oscar discussion. Just don't ask her about the Oscar discussion. In 'The Descendants,' Woodley plays Alexandra King -- the often surly teenage daughter of Matt King (Clooney) -- who must not only cope with the fact that her mother is in a coma after a boating accident, but that her mother had been cheating on her father. Moviefone spoke to Woodley about her much "buzzed-about" performance (a term she hates), her somewhat mixed feelings about the two years she has left on her television contract, and why her late puberty cost her the role of Kaitlin Cooper (a role she already had) on 'The O.C.' (This was one of Woodley's last interviews of the day. As this interview starts, we were joking about the amount of times that she has to answer the same questions.) "You're in a movie. What's that like?" "What is it like to work with George Clooney?" How many times have you been asked that? Many. [Laughs] Many, many, many, many. And I don't mind answering because he's a good one to talk about. Right. It's not like asking what it was like working with Gaddafi. It might be weirder, yeah. I feel like a lot of people in your position, with the television show that you're on, get cast in teen comedy movies or the shitty horror movie, but you got George Clooney's potential Oscar movie. For me it's always been about truth, and for being on a show for as long as I've been on it -- and being in a contract for another two years -- I've learned a lot about making commitments and really paying attention to the material that you work on. And I'm so grateful for the show, oh my gosh, it's been such a fun ride ... But when you mentioned being in a contract for another two years, you made a distressed face. What did that mean? Do you not want to do the show for another two years? No, no, no. I would love to do it for another two years. I made a commitment for another two years. But ... it definitely ... I mean, I think doing anything in life you learn things. And the biggest learning lesson from that was actually paying attention to what you do. Because when you do sign a contract, you do sign -- I don't want to say a portion of your life -- but you make a commitment. And you stick to that commitment. And I think with this movie, or in every movie -- I've been acting since I was five -- it's always just been really fun and never anything that I had to do or have been pushed to do. It's something I've enjoyed doing, so if I read a script and it's cheesy -- I mean, everyone depicts cheesy differently -- but if I don't feel anything inside me, then I'm obviously not meant to do that movie. And when I read this script, I got the biggest guttural feeling of immense passion. And that was the signal that I want to work for this. And, to be fair, when you signed that contract, you weren't in 'The Descendants' yet. Yeah, but that's the whole strategy part of acting and I refuse to ever take part in that because I think it's all BS. Can you screw yourself up by doing that? Not necessarily. I know a lot of people who have done it and they're very successful with it. But, for me, acting isn't my only passion in life, so I refuse to give it more than it is. And all that it is is fun. And I'm passionate about it and I have a good time doing it. And if I have to strategize how I do this in order to do that, it's boring! And it's stressful and it makes me anxious and that's not fun at all and it would make me want to quit. So, I refuse to take part in the politics. I did the show because I thought it would be fun, not because I thought it would take me anywhere. When I booked the movie, everyone was, "Oh, you booked the movie because you did this show -- that's why you got this movie." And Alexander [Payne] told me, when I first booked it, "I wish you hadn't done the show because I wanted someone who hadn't done anything." You're angry a lot in this movie. I know, it's acting, but it has to come from somewhere. Yeah, you know, it was fun. It was really fun to argue and spar with George. Because, first of all, he's not George Clooney, quote, famous man, end quote, to me anymore. He's George Clooney, guy from Kentucky. Just a good guy. So to be able to spar with him and argue -- and be in a movie where you're allowed to say words like "fuck" and the "t-word" -- I don't even know if I should say it right now... It's the Internet. All words are allowed. It's fun! In most movies they're like, "Oh, no, no. We need it PG-13 We can't say that." And to be able to say them to an actor like George Clooney, who can spit right back at you -- it was fun. I love arguing. I always say that I'll never win a physical battle, but I can always win a mental battle. I mean, not really, because I never really argue with anyone. Is he still a prankster? That's always the story, "George Clooney is a prankster!" We didn't get any infamous "George Clooney pranks,' because it was a very family based environment because we had a 10-year-old. But we did get a lot of practical jokes, like the fart application on the phone would come out. That sounds like a very lame George Clooney joke, actually. Usually they're elaborate. A fart application sounds quite disappointing. We didn't get any typical George Clooney pranks. Listen, he does all of those good pranks on like 'Oceans Eleven' and movie like that -- where it's him and all of his buddies. How would you describe your character, Alexandra? Ornery? I think she's obtuse. Do you like her? Yeah. I mean, I think she's a normal 17-year-old going through the dysfunction of what it's like to have a family. Every family is dysfunctional, whether you want to admit it or not. Do you think about awards season? Um ... no. I mean, yes and ... I don't know. It's weird. Everyone today is like, "Shailene, you're getting so much buzz. How does the feel?" It's the most odd question because it's like asking a kid who got into Cornell how it feels to be the top of your class at one of the Ivy League schools. How do you answer that? You just go, "I don't know." I used to say that this is just the maraschino cherry on top, but decided maraschino cherries are awful. So I'm going to start now preaching the Bing cherry on top. Maraschino cherries are delicious. They're so full of artificial chemicals! I know they're not good for you, but the chemicals are what's delicious. OK, they may be delicious, but they're so bad for the environment. If you had a sundae, would you rather have a real cherry over a maraschino cherry? Oh, a real cherry. For sure. But, yeah, I'm just endlessly grateful and taking it all in stride. You should just go all in, "Goddammit, I want an award." [Laughs] Honestly, it's flattering. When it comes down to it, I'm just a girl who wears those five-finger weird toe shoes. You were on 'The O.C.' as Kaitlin Cooper. You were replaced by Willa Holland. Did you consider that a setback? No. I was 11 and I was on as a guest, recurring character, or whatever. My character went to boarding school and when they decided to bring her back, they actually re-auditioned me to bring her back. But I didn't go through puberty until late: I was the 15-year-old who had no boobs. So, at 11, I was like a little mouse-child. I looked like an 8-year-old. That same year, I filmed a movie in which I was playing a 9-year-old. So, there was no weirdness when Willa Holland got it because she was so obviously right for the role... and I was so obviously not [laughs]. [Photo: Fox Searchlight] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter

'Tintin' Reviews: Steven Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin' Receives Mixed Reaction at AFI Fest

With $125 million in worldwide ticket sales already, 'The Adventures of Tintin' is well coming toward as being a worldwide smash for director Steven Spielberg. How American audiences will react to the eu flair of film -- modified within the famous comic strip by Belgian author Herge -- remains to look, though once the critical a reaction to north of manchester American debut of 'Tintin' within the AFI Fest is any suggestion, expect many houses divided. Carrying out a screening on Thursday evening, many authors and film experts taken care of immediately 'Tintin' the simplest way they understood how: via Twitter. "'Tintin' is great!In . written Movieline's Jen Yamato. "Feels a great deal a great deal a lot more like 'Raiders [in the Lost Ark]' than 'Captain America' ever did." "Snowy 4ever!!" tweeted a thrilled Devin Faraci from Badass Digest, mentioning to Tintin's trusty dog Snowy. Thompson on Hollywood proprietor Anne Thompson agreed with both Yamato and Faraci, but noted the film didn't hold together due to its running time. "'Tintin' is great-searching fun, and Snowy might be the star. Amazing camera be employed in digital atmosphere. Nevertheless it expires of narrative steam." The sentiment was echoed by Slashfilm's Peter Sciretta, who, while experiencing 'Tintin,' noted it "felt just a little extended" with an animated film that they didn't care enough in regards to the star in the show, Tintin themselves. Esteemed Oscar blogger Sasha Stone being more deflated, evaluating 'Tintin' to 'The Polar Express,' because of the lifeless figures created with the advanced motion-capture technology. "Cold," she written. "Not my bag.Inch Stone also reported that upon departing the AFI Fest screening, she heard one fellow festival goer say, "'Tintin' would suck balls, whether or not this had any." No proof whether that was the curmudgeonly Rob Wells from Hollywood Elsewhere, nevertheless the veteran author did offer this Twitter review for Spielberg's latest: "'Tintin' is popcorn punishment. It's so marvelously congratulations I desired to think about cyanide. Exact same youthful Indiana Manley rollercoaster garbage." LA Weekly film editor Karina Longworth put it a tad more succinctly: "A great deal a lot more like Shit Container," she written. Clearly, not everyone used 140 figures use a point of view Spielberg's action-adventure: In Contention blogger Kris Tapley written an entire summary of 'Tintin,' calling it "handily one of the year's best films." 'The Adventures of Tintin' opens inside the U.S. on 12 ,. 21. [Photo: Vital] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Nia Long Gives Birth To Baby Boy

First Published: November 9, 2011 6:58 PM EST Credit: LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Nia Long arrives at the 2010 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on June 27, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.Its another boy for Nia Long. A representative for the 41-year-old actress says Long gave birth Monday to son Kez Sunday Udoka. Spokeswoman Priscilla Moralez says both mother and child are healthy and happy to be home. Kez is the first child for Long and Ime Udoka. Long has a 10-year-old son, Massai, from a previous relationship. Longs credits include the films Soul Food, 'Love Jones and Big Mommas House and TV shows such as Boston Legal, 'Judging Amy and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Oldman Wanted For Arthur & Lancelot

Warners is hunting for a Merlin...Warner Bros. is actually searching to help keep onto Gary Oldman's services. Getting labored with him round the Book Of Eli, Red-colored-colored Riding Hood, several Harry Potters and Christopher Nolan's Softball softball bat-trilogy, the studio was already trying to create a deal for him to star in Akira. Now comes word he may also play Merlin in Arthur & Lancelot.The Alteration-Up's David Dobkin has written and may direct the Arthurian adventure, which, he's mentioned, will re-invent the mythology somewhat making the figures more "grounded." Hhhm.... Even Merlin? Well, once the BBC can offer it a crack...Joel Kinnaman, who came out in the usa TV remake in the Killing in addition to crops up in Safe House as well as the Pitch-dark Hour, is presently stored directly into experience Lancelot and Dobkin is trying to find an Arthur to star alongside him.Oldman is a great choice as Merlin, giving some gravitas in the younglings. He's also proven he's a dab hands at miracle, so he's that utilized by him...