Todd Berger to Pen 'Where's Waldo' for MGM (Exclusive)

It's a task as tough as spotting a bespectacled adventurer in a sea of humanity. PHOTOS: 10 Biggest Book-to-Big Screen Adaptations of the Last 25 Years Screenwriter Todd Berger is taking on the job of adapting the popular children's book series Where's Waldo? into a film for MGM. Created by illustrator Martin Handford, the books feature Waldo, dressed in a red-and-white shirt and carrying a walking stick, hidden in plain sight amid crowded scenes. STORY: 'Where's Waldo?' Headed to the Big Screen Via MGM MGM picked up film rights in early November following unsuccessful efforts by Paramount/Nickelodeon and Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment. The Paramount/Nickelodeon project would have featured Waldo, a grown man, traveling through various eras after accidentally activating a time machine, but MGM is keeping the story of its project under wraps. Berger (Kohner, Kaplan/Peronne, Eclipse Law Group) is known in Hollywood for writing the puppet crime mystery The Happytime Murders, a Black List script that is in development at Lionsgate with Cameron Diaz attached. He's now finishing It's a Disaster, a comedy he wrote, directed and stars in with Julia Stiles, David Cross and Rachel Boston. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 10 Biggest Book-to-Big Screen Adaptations of the Last 25 Years Related Topics MGM

'The Iceman' Cast: Chris Evans Replaces James Franco

Are James Franco and Chris Evans the identical person? One studio thinks so! According to Deadline, Evans remains cast in 'The Iceman,' employment that Franco had initially recognized, simply to stop (probably because of his 5,241 other projects in development). The film, good Anthony Bruno book, follows a contract killer for your mob (Michael Shannon is installed on play in the killer) the Franco/Evans role was for your killer's mentor. Evans is much better recognized for his role as Captain America, in this past summer's 'Captain America: The Initial Avenger' after which year's 'The Avengers.' So, if he and Franco have anything to keep, it's they have both came out in blockbuster superhero movies. [via Deadline] [Photo: Getty Images] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Netflix will get capital infusion

Netflix introduced a set of deals late Monday which will offer an infusion of $400 million in capital, punctuating each day that introduced its stock to new lows. Netflix investor Technology Crossover Endeavors bought $200 million in convertible debt. The offer grants or loans TCV zero-coupon notes due in 2018. Additionally, Netflix is selling 2.86 million in keeping stock towards the mutual funds and accounts operated by T. Rowe Cost Affiliates. The selloff may be worth $200 million in the public offering cost of $70 per share. Netflix filled dropped as little as $73.26 on Monday, its cheapest level since March 2010. It dropped one more 6% in after-hrs buying and selling. The money infusion should help Netflix afford its rising content costs, that are forecasted to achieve $3.3 billion the coming year through the company's own estimation. The most recent addition to individuals costs would be a deal Netflix introduced last Friday with twentieth century Fox TV and Imagine Television to create new instances of the defunct Fox series "Arrested Development." "With this particular additional capital from two lengthy-term oriented traders, we now have increased our balance sheet and remain centered on growing our streaming monthly subscriptions and coming back to global profitability after our launch from the U.K. in 2012," stated Netflix CFO David Wells. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

Strength of comedians in dramatic roles shouldn't surprise

'Drive' shows a side of Albert Brooks that film auds have rarely seen. 'Everything Must Go''Moneyball'Albert Brooks recalls meeting with "Drive" director Nicolas Winding Refn about taking the role of the film's heavy, gangster Bernie Rose. Though Refn had expressed interest in casting Brooks, he peppered the actor -- known primarily for a celebrated string of neurotic comedies -- with questions about why he'd be good for so serious and menacing a part."My answer was, 'Go ahead and cast the six people who always get this role, then as soon as they come onscreen, people know what's going to happen,' " Brooks recounts. "It's nice when you don't know where a character is going. I haven't done 11 of these in a row."The result was a sharp portrait of calculated viciousness from Brooks, and the kind of acclaim -- thousands of "who knew?" tweets, he proudly cites -- that could land him a second Oscar nomination.But this year has also seen buzzworthy praise for other funnymen making dramatic strides, including typically bluster-filed onscreen motormouth Jonah Hill as quietly brilliant baseball thinker Peter Brand in "Moneyball" and frequent wacko Will Ferrell as a shut-down, alcoholic salesman in "Everything Must Go."Any of these actors could follow in the footsteps of laugh legends like Jackie Gleason ("The Hustler"), Peter Sellers ("Being There") and Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls"), who scored Oscar noms for more sobering roles. The irony is that the Acad's acting branch is typically more likely to recognize their funnier peers when they show "range" -- think Bill Murray ("Lost in Translation") and Robin Williams ("Dead Poets Society," winning for "Good Will Hunting") -- than when they succeed at what made them famous: setting of spasms of laughter.But for Brooks, who entered showbiz wanting to be an actor before turning to standup and subsequently making his own films, the ability to do "Drive" was in him already, he says. The reason Refn got excited about him in the first place was that the director remembered the actor's portrayal of a cornered yuppie in the comedy "Lost in America.""He got afraid when I yelled at (Julie Haggerty)," reports Brooks, laughing. "So great!"The perception problem lies in the bum rap comedy gets, he says. There's so much variety under that umbrella that to say a pure joketeller like Henny Youngman and Richard Pryor -- who augmented his humor chops with serious work ("Blue Collar") -- do the same thing is silly."The big scenes in 'Broadcast News' had to get tears," he points out, referring to his Oscar-nominated performance in James L. Brooks' bittersweet hit. "I've grounded my own comedy in so much reality, that I don't see a big difference between the two."The actors you really like have to do both. Because people are both. Your buddies are both. You laugh with them, and you have terrible moments with them. It's being able to walk the line.""Moneyball" director Bennett Miller says it was considered an eccentric, even risky move to cast "Superbad" star Hill opposite Brad Pitt. But Miller sensed a shared outsiderdom in Hill and the character of Peter Brand."He's a character that, though, awkward, if given a little opportunity, some sunshine and water, could grow into something formidable," Miller says. "And Jonah really owned this thing. People have not seen the full measure of what Jonah can do."Miller cites Jerry Lewis' no-frills turn as an egocentric Johnny Carson type in Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" as a benchmark for how comedy stars can achieve a new level of authenticity with the right kind of dramatic role."He was just so complete and truthful, that in a flash everything you know about Jerry Lewis is dismissed," Miller says. "Frankly, it was easier to accept him, that this was the real Jerry Lewis. And I think Jonah in this role is revealing more of who he actually is than in his more comedic roles."Film critic Leonard Maltin, meanwhile, looks at Ferrell in "Everything Must Go" and his earlier straight-faced turn in "Stranger Than Fiction" and sees the A-list star's best work."He never strained for credibility," says Maltin of Ferrell's "Everything" performance. "I believed him completely as this clueless, self-destructive guy who hits bottom and doesn't quite know where to turn. It's not a somber performance, but it's a serious one."The situation Ferrell's character finds himself in could just as easily have been turned into a manic comedy showcasing the performer's gift for out-of-control lunacy. Therein, perhaps, lies the key to why comedians can switch gears so well."The same instincts that fuel a great comedian help make a solid dramatic actor," says Maltin. "Good comedians need good natural instincts about human nature, and that intuitive quality serves them well if they get hold of a good part."Eye on the Oscars: Talent RaceStrength of comedians in dramatic roles shouldn't surprise | Changing studio system reduces minorities' Oscar hopes | Chastain, Fassbender everywhere on bigscreen | Top thesps take kudo sabbatical | Grand globetrotters Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Open Road Films Takes U.S. Privileges to Dax Shepard's 'Outrun'

Open Road Films has acquired all U.S. privileges towards the romantic action comedyOutrun, starring,written and co-directed by Dax Shepard, who plays an old getaway driver residing in the Witness Protection Program.our editor recommendsExclusive Media Assumes Dax Shepard Action Comedy 'Outrun'Bradley Cooper Is Individuals Most sexy Guy Alive and States He's 'Single' The plot kicks into gear when Shepard's character concurs they are driving his girlfriend, performed by Kristen Bell, to La only to discover themselves went after both through the feds, brought by Tom Arnold, and the former gang, headed by Bradley Cooper. The cast includes Love Bridges, Kristin Chenoweth, David Koechner, Michael Rosenbaum, Pleasure Bryantand Ryan Hansen. David Palmer co-directed with Shepard. Outrunwas created byAndrew PanaywithNate Tuck,Kim WaltripandJim Casey.Exclusive Media Group has acquired the worldwide privileges. The offer wasnegotiated with respect to Open Road Films by Boss Tom Ortenberg, general counsel andexecutive vice president of procedures and business matters Elliott Kleinberg, andsenior vice president of purchases Ben Cotner. Jamie Feldman and Linda Lichter of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler and Feldman discussed on account ofthe filmmakers. Related Subjects Dax Shepard Kristen Bell Bradley Cooper

Attacking Young Boys Paternity Suit Dropped (Report)

Pop's most adorable couple can relaxation easy. Single mom Mariah Yeater has dropped her paternity suit against Attacking Young Boys, TMZ stated Wednesday.our editor recommendsJustin Bieber Declines Ever Meeting Lady Suing Him For Paternity (Video)Justin Bieber's Paternity Suit Spoofed By Jimmy Fallon (Video)Attacking Young Boys Accuser Makes Appearance on 'The Insider' PHOTOS: MTV EMAs 2011 Entertainers TMZ reported that Yeater had separated company together with her legal team Lance Rogers and Matt Pare which the costs have been withdrawn. Yeater had stated her four-month old boy Trystyn was the effect of a backstage concert tryst with Bieber last October. She'd told The Insider that they had met Bieber after his show in the Staples Center in La. VIDEO: Attacking Young Boys Declines Ever Meeting Lady Suing Him For Paternity "He immediately required a liking in my experience. We simply reached speaking," Yeater recounted around the Insider. "Eventually he requested me, he stated, 'Would you mind as we may go somewhere and become alone?" Yeater stated that they has "provided evidence" to her lawyers that will prove her accusations true in the court. PHOTOS: Attacking Young Boys's Moustaches Bieber, who's presently dating Selena Gomez, had refused the claims and apparently decided to take dna test disproving the claims. "I'd much like to express essentially that none of individuals accusations are true," he stated around the Today Show. "I understand which i'm likely to be a target however i'm not going to be considered a victim." "It's crazy because every evening following the show I'm gone, from happens to my vehicle therefore it's crazy that many people need to make up such false accusations but to create the record straight, none of it is a fact. I've never met the lady," Bieber added. Related Subjects Attacking Young Boys

Actorfest NY and LA Connect Actors With Career Resources (Video)

Actorfest NY and LA Connect Actors With Career Resources (Video) November 11, 2011 With workshops, focus sessions, auditions, vendors, and more, both Actorfest NY and Actorfest LA provided actors with invaluable career resources and information.Actorfest NY, which took place on Oct. 23 at the Metropolitan Pavilion hosted casting calls with Nickelodeon, NBC, Telemundo, Mun2, and Grant Wilfrey, and one attendee has already landed a featured background roles ABC's "Pan Am."Actorfest LA took place on November 5th at the California Market Center.Watch video about both events below: Actorfest NY and LA Connect Actors With Career Resources (Video) November 11, 2011 With workshops, focus sessions, auditions, vendors, and more, both Actorfest NY and Actorfest LA provided actors with invaluable career resources and information.Actorfest NY, which took place on Oct. 23 at the Metropolitan Pavilion hosted casting calls with Nickelodeon, NBC, Telemundo, Mun2, and Grant Wilfrey, and one attendee has already landed a featured background roles ABC's "Pan Am."Actorfest LA took place on November 5th at the California Market Center.Watch video about both events below:

Jum Michele States Tuesdays Glee Is A Conversation Starter

First Released: November 8, 2011 5:08 PM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Jum Michele attends the 21st annual Glamour Women of the season Honours at Carnegie Hall, New york city, on November 7, 2011 Jum Michele includes a warning to oldsters likely to watch tonights Glee using their youngsters. It will cause you to speak to your kids about stuff especially this episode will, Jum told Access Hollywood at Monday nights Glamour Women of the season Honours in NY City, mentioning to Tuesdays episode, which is designed to concern Finn and Rachel possibly going completely. Prepare you may need to have a little conversation later on, Jum added. Thats what our show does. It can make people discuss stuff. For Jum, she was speaking on Monday evening about newcomer towards the series, Damian McGinty, who lately became a member of the cast as Irish foreign currency student Rory Flanagan. Damian is on our show now like a regular, and that i adore him, Jum stated. Every single day, he states in the heavy Irish accent, hes like, Youre so beautiful. I had been like, I really like you. Take notes, boys. Hes so sweet and hes so wonderful. Basically ever endured any doubts concerning the Glee Project meeting him, I had been like, This really is this type of great show to possess that people are now able to find these amazing kids in the future take part in us. Glee airs at 8/7 C on FOX. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Casting Couch: Who's Testing for Company directors Roland Emmerich, Akiva Goldsman and 'Die Hard 5' (Exclusive)

Stars will rise (or otherwise), careers will live (or die), and agents will sweat (tons).our editor recommendsChanning Tatum, Jonah Hill Get Trained in '21 Jump Street' Red-colored Band Trailer (Video)Liam Hemsworth: What's Next For that 'Hunger Games' Star The following couple of days are shaping as much as deliver a maelstrom of casting news as galleries try to construct large projects. These days can give contour around large-budget tentpoles and passion projects, and since the businesses aren't always searching for brand-title stars, the roles might be large breaks for individuals competing on their behalf. Most of the stars in contention have names that middle America hasn't heard yet, as galleries try to handle the proven fact that no stars have started to the forefront in ways that Kaira Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio as well as Mike Gyllenhaal have. PHOTOS: Hollywood's 10 Greatest-Grossing Stars "The city is turning around six or eight males at this time,Inch states one agent. Author-director Akiva Goldsman is attempting to maneuver forward on the love project Winter's Tale, a period of time reincarnation story that's setup at Warner Bros. Chemistry reads including Tom Hiddleston (Loki in Marvel's Thor) and Benjamin Master (the approaching Abraham Lincoln subsequently: Vampire Hunter) are scheduled with this weekend as each one is stated to stay in this mixture for that male role of the criminal away from home. For that female a part of a crictally ill lady, their email list includes Bella Heathcote (on the watch's screen presently in Over Time), Elizabeth Olsen, Gabriele Wilde (Three Musketeers) and Sarah Gadon (A Harmful Method). Russell Crowe is loosely attached because the villain, even though entire project may hinge onto it getting a third-party financier. More relative unknowns can get their chance in the large-time with Singularity. In a few days, Roland Emmerich's latest sci-fi extravaganza will look for its male lead once the director reads stars to act as Adam, a youthful guy whose body is composed a swarm of nanobots, giving him a variety of energy. What they are called out there to see include Luke Grimes (who made an appearance in TV's Siblings and Siblings making his feature debut with the Boys Love Mandy Lane), Logan Marshall Eco-friendly (from TV's Dark Blue, who seems in Ridley Scott's Prometheus), Julian Morris (who made an appearance in TV's Pretty Little Liars and also the short-resided ABC show My Generation) and Thomas McDonell (who made an appearance in Promenade and it is playing a youthful The Actor-brad Pitt within the approaching Dark Shadows) among other names. Other names circling the part (although not active in the reading through) are Ben Barnes and Luke Bracey. PHOTOS: Hollywood's 10 Greatest Compensated Stars Tuesday is going to be Akira's turn at softball bat. Warners' adaptation from the Japanese classic is searching for the actor to experience Tetsuo, a youthful guy with telekinetic capabilities who turns into a harmful weapon. (Garrett Hedlund is within discussions to experience Kaneda, the teenager's older brother and leader of the motorcycle gang.) Ezra Burns, the emerging star of indie thriller We Have To Discuss Kevin, and Alden Eherenreich(who starred in Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro) would be the names appearing most frequently using the reading through. Warners can also be attempting to nail lower its Arthur for David Dobkin's Arthur & Lancelot. Package Harrington is re-testing and also the studio is attempting to make test handles Richard Madden, who plays Robb Stark in Cinemax's Bet on Thrones, and Luke Evans, who's presently in theaters with Three Musketeers and it has Immortals out in a few days. Toby Kebbell, who started in RocknRolla, may also be active in the testing, that is stated to become in a few days. (The Killing star Joel Kinnaman is within discussions to portray Lancelot.) Die Hard 5, that is now known as A Great Day to Die Hard, will look for the youthful guy to experience Bruce Willis' boy, with management Liam Hemsworth, Aaron Paul, and Ben Promote among individuals who'll be a part of chemistry reads with Willis, reprising his role of John McLane, on November 12 and 13. (We¹re hearing negligence Hemsworth's to get rid of.) Email: Borys.Package@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Package Related Subjects

The Pastor's Wife

Rose McGowan is the talk of the town after shooting her husband in The Pastors Wife. Filmed in Vancouver by Preacher Road Prods. and Front Street Pictures. Executive producers, Gerald W. Abrams, Harvey Kahn, Michael Moran, Juliet Smith; director, Norma Bailey; writer, Robert L. Freedman, based on the book by Diane Fanning.Mary Winkler - Rose McGowan Mathew Winkler - Michael Shanks Steve Farese - Martin Cummins Hannah Winkler - Julia Sarah Stone Emily Winkler - Lilah FitzgeraldFrom the pre-opening credit moment when authorities roll out a shrouded body as concerned neighbors look on, it's clear "The Pastor's Wife" is a Lifetime movie like momma used to make 'em: Fact-based, trashy and featuring an imperiled young woman. Still, this is an eminently watchable take on the old formula, anchored by Rose McGowan, whose pained expressions each time someone calls her handsome husband a treasure pretty much speak volumes. Mostly, it's a reminder of what amounts to TV movie law: Slap your wife around in the Deep South, and someone's gonna wind up on "Nancy Grace." Promoted from a berth on Lifetime's movie channel to the flagship network, the pic stars McGowan as Mary Winkler, the mother of three who shook up her Tennessee town in 2006 by shooting husband Matthew (Michael Shanks), the popular local pastor, in their bedroom. Only through flashback do we learn about the abuse he allegedly heaped upon her, making the movie as constructed less about whodunnit than why. But with no witnesses and little evidence to validate her story, can she actually make a self-defense plea fly? If the subject matter is as old as "The Burning Bed," writer Robert L. Freedman and director Norma Bailey have managed to present Winkler's tale of woe with a degree of style, including direct-to-camera testimony from other townsfolk that provides a sense of documentary-style authenticity. And while McGowan has a diverse resume, she's perfectly convincing as the Southern wife who can solemnly drawl of her late husband, "I could never do anything right in his eyes." Among the drawbacks is the lack of memorable supporting performances, even within the inevitable courtroom scenes, which feature Martin Cummins as Mary's lawyer. (Video of the aforementioned Grace is included, by the way, with video of the HLN host pithily referring to Winkler's case the "Tennessee minister murder mystery.") While broadcast networks once went overboard dramatizing such cases, the pendulum has swung far enough in the other direction that devoting a TV movie to this true-crime yarn -- as opposed to an episode of "48 Hours," "Dateline" or a reality show with cheesy reenactments -- actually feels like a small luxury, or at least a greasy junk-food meal as opposed to the usual snack. Besides, the ratings ought to be boffo. What better way could there be for a predominantly female audience to vicariously escape on Saturday night than watching a woman kill her husband?Camera, C. Kim Miles; production designer, Monika Choynowski; editor, Lara Mazur; music, Schaun Tozer. 120 MIN. Contact Brian Lowry at brian.lowry@variety.com

'Breaking Dawn' Exclusive Preview Teases Bella's Wedding

FROM MTV MOVIES: Can you stand it, "Twilight" fans? There are only a few hours until the premiere of an exclusive clip from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1," followed by a lengthy Q&A with stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner as part of "MTV First: Breaking Dawn" tonight at 7:56 p.m. ET on MTV and MTV.com. For those dying to know more about the clip Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner will be introducing, we have a special sneak peek for you right here, right now. The clip opens with Bella's mom entering the room in which Alice and Rosalie are helping Bella get ready for her wedding day. Read the full story at MTV Movies!