'Mountaintop' plays to bigger Broadway crowd

"The Mountaintop" has began a potential ascent hands strikes office levels, climbing continuously in the frame when a lot of the Primary Stem ongoing to become flat. The Angela Bassett-Samuel L. Jackson starrer, which opened up up March. 13 with a mixed bag of reviews, rose by about $130,000 to $789,727 in Week 21 (March. 17-23), playing close to 94% of capacity. Among plays, that puts "Mountaintop" second only to "War Equine" ($985,848). A few of the Rialto's previewing plays also released increases, although nearly all people boosts may be credited that people plays elevated the quantity of performances they carried out for the standard eight. Almost all Broadway productions barely budged, with lots of sales fluctuations unremarkable, together with a few close to imperceptible. Cume rose a little $200,000 to $21.5 million for your 26 shows round the boards. Attendance walked up slightly to 232,997, or 88%, well while watching 79% drenched throughout the identical frame a year ago.The 19 musicals made $17,744,606 for 82.4% in the Broadway total, with attendance of 187,059 plus an average paid out admission of $94.86.The seven plays made $3,783,343 for 17.6% in the Broadway total, with attendance of 45,938 plus an average paid out admission of $82.36. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Ratings: ABC Line-Up Likes a sizable Evening Due to Rainout

The Middle Wednesday will be a evening for ABC, as comedies The Middle, Suburgatoryand Happy Being all hit series levels in general audiences too as with the 18-49 demo by which tv producers measure their success. Too, newcomer series Revenge released its second-finest amounts with audiences and teens. Weather postpones Game 6 around the world Series There is a classic baseball adage, "Spahn and Sain, and pray for rain ..." Clarified hopes or else, ABC particularly accomplished good success within the rainout of World Series Game 6 involving the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers since it was really the only network that didn't treat Wednesday evening just like a 9- forfeit. Unlike another systems, it went mostly fresh episodes. Fox's rain check to audiences - back-to-back encores of Glee - notched 2.48 million (.7 demo rating) and two.3 million (.7), correspondingly. See the relaxation in the day's news At 8/7, The Middle clicked up 10.19 million (up from 9.03 million the other day) and tied its series high getting a 3.1 demo rating, even though it still finished second to CBS' Survivor: South Off-shoreline, which attracted in 11.57 million audiences (3,4 demo rating. A repeat of NBC's Up With The Evening handled 3.81 million (1.1). Over the following half-hour, Suburgatory attracted 9.83 million (up from 8.79 million yesterday) getting a 3.4 rating. A Whitney rerun totaled 4.11 million (1.2). Another repeat in the CW's Ringer got 1.29 million. America's Next Top Model, which adopted, got 2.23 million (together with single. demo rating that was a season high). Fall Preview: Get scoop inside your favorite returning shows Criminal Minds, typically Wednesday night's most-seen show, will be a rerun and entertained nearly 11.357 million people in prime time's middle hour - only 4,000 behind the present Family Halloween episode repeat, which needed the demo competition, 4.4 to 2.8. A rerun of NBC's Harry's Law enticed 4.42 million (in contrast last week's first-run 8.18 million). Happy Being had 8.34 million people tuning in at 9:30/8:30c - in position from last week's 6.89 million. Its demo rating was 3.5. Inside the final prime-time hour, ABC's Revenge acquired 8.71 million (after 2 days of seven.94 million) and two.8 demo rating versus. repeats of CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Analysis (9.01 million/2.) and NBC's Law & Order: Special Sufferers Unit (3.51 million/.8).

Social TV: The X Factor and Twitter Join Forces

Simon Cowell The X Factor is stepping up its Social TV game: Fox announced late Tuesday that users will be able to vote for their favorite finalists via Twitter, starting with next week's final-12 episode. While Twitter has played an increasingly valuable role in television (Project Runway, The Voice), users have never before been able to manipulate the outcome of a competition through the social networking tool.To vote, fans must follow the official Twitter handle for the show (@TheXFactorUSA), then submit their selections via direct message - it's important to note that tweets themselves will not be counted as votes.The Voice (and former TRL) host Carson Daly: The founding father of Social TV?Besides voting, The X Factor will also feature tweets from the judges, host Steve Jones, and competition finalists. Sounds eerily familiar..."The X Factor has raised the bar for innovative television with its use of Twitter to create a 360-degree experience around the show's judges, finalists and viewers," said Chloe Sladden, director of content and programming at Twitter. "Fans flock to Twitter during live television events and have been voicing their opinions with Tweets for years. We're thrilled to see the creators of The X Factor push the envelope further by being the first television show to formalize this phenomenon through Twitter voting."9 social show integrations we're liking right nowNot a tweeter? Not to worry.You can also vote online at TheXFactorUSA.com, Facebook.com/TheXFactor, text message (for Verizon Wireless users only), and through The Xtra Factor App on Verizon Android devices. And if you're still living in 1995, you can cast your vote via toll-free calling.The X Factor next airs Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 8/7c on Fox.Interested in reading more about Social TV? Check out our coverage here.

With 'Stronger,' Clarkson Finally at Ease

LOS ANGELES (AP) It may have taken some time, but Kelly Clarkson seems to finally be releasing an album without any drama on the side."Everything is good, everything is happy," she said, laughing brightly during a recent interview to promote "Stronger," released this week.It's a different scenario than her last two albums: She went through public disputes with legendary executive and mogul Clive Davis over her third album and with OneRepublic singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder after her last album was released.They were typical of the bold stances she's taken that proved her to be more than the passive, malleable product of a hit TV competition, establishing her as an artist instead of just a voice."I've been a fighter since I started walking," she said, adding casually and genuinely a line that could be lifted from one of her inspirational songs: "We get one life. You want to make sure that you're living it how you want to live it."Since Clarkson became the first "American Idol" a decade ago, she's established herself as one of pop's most formidable, and successful singers. She's sold over 20 million albums worldwide and landed seven singles in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, including "Breakaway," ''My Life Would Suck Without You," "Miss Independent," and perhaps her biggest hit, "Since U Been Gone."Clarkson has maintained creative control of her music and career since her "Idol" days, and has written on all of her albums. But her determination to chart her own course has not come without a few battles. In 2007, Davis became concerned over the less commercial sound of Clarkson's third album, "My December," which Clarkson revealed publicly after rumors of a rift; Clarkson later mended fences and called the tension overblown. Then in 2009, Clarkson called out Tedder for musical similarities between "Already Gone," which he wrote for Clarkson, and Beyonce's "Halo," which he also wrote.Clarkson calls her new collection of 13 songs "the easiest record that I've made with my label." But she makes clear that's because the suits bent to her will not the other way around."I think people project on you like the formula that has worked in the past. And then they get to know you," she said. "(Now) they know me better as an artist, they know me better as a person. They know what I'm going to do and what I don't like, and it just really works."Sonically, "Stronger" doesn't tinker much with the formula that has helped Clarkson become the top-selling "Idol" artist ever, blending clean pop-guitar riffs with contemporary dance synths. But there is an undertone of loneliness and sadness coursing throughout, including some downbeat lyrics co-written by Clarkson herself."Hello, is anybody listening? Won't somebody show me that I'm not alone," she sings on "Hello.""If you look at my whole catalogue, there are far more sadder songs than happy," the Texan acknowledges in her Southern drawl. "But that's only because writing is a form of therapy. So obviously the things that you're getting out are the things that you've been going through and struggling with. You want to keep all the happy inside. If I'm going through a hard time, I write it out."In person, Clarkson is bubbly and quick to laugh, sharing that in her time off, she picked up the violin and started learning Italian with Rosetta Stone. "I'm horrible at it so far," she laments lightly.But she never comes close to revealing the subject of "Stronger's" multiple scornful breakup and kiss-off songs. "You don't know a thing about me," she sings on the first single, "Mr. Know It All." And it's true that the 29-year-old retains an enigmatic air, despite her down-to-Earth image.Toby Gad, who co-wrote and produced two songs on "Stronger," had planned on a 10-minute meeting with Clarkson when the two first met, but ended up at a two-hour dinner."She's a very strong survivor, and very organic and very real," he said. "You can connect with her on a very human level."Still, after the dinner and several days of revising lyrics alongside the pop star, he said he doesn't remember if she ever mentioned her own relationships to him.While Clarkson seems to sing almost exclusively about the ups and downs of love, her songs are often deceptively universal. Clarkson says "Mr. Know It All" could apply to her own record label or to the media, and Gad's "The War Is Over" functions as a coda to a romance or to an actual war."That's the underlying theme for her, to vent emotions that we all feel in our relationships," Gad said.And Clarkson will continue to vent as she sees fit."I'm always vocal," she said. "People ask me and I tell them. If I have a problem, I say it. I'm never malicious about it, I just say what happened. And I think a lot of people don't do that. So I think it maybe catches people off guard. But I don't know any other way to be but honest musically or personally. So I guess that just comes through."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By Ryan Pearson October 26, 2011 Kelly Clarkson PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Matt Sayles LOS ANGELES (AP) It may have taken some time, but Kelly Clarkson seems to finally be releasing an album without any drama on the side."Everything is good, everything is happy," she said, laughing brightly during a recent interview to promote "Stronger," released this week.It's a different scenario than her last two albums: She went through public disputes with legendary executive and mogul Clive Davis over her third album and with OneRepublic singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder after her last album was released.They were typical of the bold stances she's taken that proved her to be more than the passive, malleable product of a hit TV competition, establishing her as an artist instead of just a voice."I've been a fighter since I started walking," she said, adding casually and genuinely a line that could be lifted from one of her inspirational songs: "We get one life. You want to make sure that you're living it how you want to live it."Since Clarkson became the first "American Idol" a decade ago, she's established herself as one of pop's most formidable, and successful singers. She's sold over 20 million albums worldwide and landed seven singles in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, including "Breakaway," ''My Life Would Suck Without You," "Miss Independent," and perhaps her biggest hit, "Since U Been Gone."Clarkson has maintained creative control of her music and career since her "Idol" days, and has written on all of her albums. But her determination to chart her own course has not come without a few battles. In 2007, Davis became concerned over the less commercial sound of Clarkson's third album, "My December," which Clarkson revealed publicly after rumors of a rift; Clarkson later mended fences and called the tension overblown. Then in 2009, Clarkson called out Tedder for musical similarities between "Already Gone," which he wrote for Clarkson, and Beyonce's "Halo," which he also wrote.Clarkson calls her new collection of 13 songs "the easiest record that I've made with my label." But she makes clear that's because the suits bent to her will not the other way around."I think people project on you like the formula that has worked in the past. And then they get to know you," she said. "(Now) they know me better as an artist, they know me better as a person. They know what I'm going to do and what I don't like, and it just really works."Sonically, "Stronger" doesn't tinker much with the formula that has helped Clarkson become the top-selling "Idol" artist ever, blending clean pop-guitar riffs with contemporary dance synths. But there is an undertone of loneliness and sadness coursing throughout, including some downbeat lyrics co-written by Clarkson herself."Hello, is anybody listening? Won't somebody show me that I'm not alone," she sings on "Hello.""If you look at my whole catalogue, there are far more sadder songs than happy," the Texan acknowledges in her Southern drawl. "But that's only because writing is a form of therapy. So obviously the things that you're getting out are the things that you've been going through and struggling with. You want to keep all the happy inside. If I'm going through a hard time, I write it out."In person, Clarkson is bubbly and quick to laugh, sharing that in her time off, she picked up the violin and started learning Italian with Rosetta Stone. "I'm horrible at it so far," she laments lightly.But she never comes close to revealing the subject of "Stronger's" multiple scornful breakup and kiss-off songs. "You don't know a thing about me," she sings on the first single, "Mr. Know It All." And it's true that the 29-year-old retains an enigmatic air, despite her down-to-Earth image.Toby Gad, who co-wrote and produced two songs on "Stronger," had planned on a 10-minute meeting with Clarkson when the two first met, but ended up at a two-hour dinner."She's a very strong survivor, and very organic and very real," he said. "You can connect with her on a very human level."Still, after the dinner and several days of revising lyrics alongside the pop star, he said he doesn't remember if she ever mentioned her own relationships to him.While Clarkson seems to sing almost exclusively about the ups and downs of love, her songs are often deceptively universal. Clarkson says "Mr. Know It All" could apply to her own record label or to the media, and Gad's "The War Is Over" functions as a coda to a romance or to an actual war."That's the underlying theme for her, to vent emotions that we all feel in our relationships," Gad said.And Clarkson will continue to vent as she sees fit."I'm always vocal," she said. "People ask me and I tell them. If I have a problem, I say it. I'm never malicious about it, I just say what happened. And I think a lot of people don't do that. So I think it maybe catches people off guard. But I don't know any other way to be but honest musically or personally. So I guess that just comes through."Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Director Tarsem Singh talks the Immortals script

The boring question to ask the talent is "What attracted you to this project?" That's because the answer is usually, "the script". Unless you're talking to Immortals director Tarsem Singh."Usually, I'm not interested in it if it's a serial-killer film or if it's a space movie or a period film like this," Singh told SFX magazine."In the beginning I saw nothing interesting in it. I read the script. It really was nothing like what it has ended up as in the end. I just said, 'It's got gods, it's got Greeks.' None of that really interested me."We're guessing something must have peaked his interest, given that he took the directing gig."I've been an atheist since I was nine years old. And my mum is really religious, so we have a strange relationship. But if my mother was right, what would be the reason that the gods could let anything bad happen in the world?"I took two or three months and I came up with a reason that I thought was enough and I went with it: if there is a God he's definitely not benevolent. We should mean less to him than ants. And if there is a God or there are gods they would value, more than anything, free will," he explained, getting a bit metaphysical.Then he decided to elaborate using an example we'd like to file under Too Much Information."If a God showed up tomorrow, we'd go, 'Oh my fucking God, he's amazing' and our free will would be compromised. The example I always give is, I'd have a very hard time taking a Barely Legal magazine and masturbating in a bathroom if I knew that Jesus could walk in."Your true nature doesn't come out. So the gods let you do what you want because free will would be compromised if they showed up at the White House saying, 'Take us to your leader'," Singh said.How does all of this end with him directing a film based on a script he originally hated? Keep up people."When I came to the script, it was like, 'Theseus goes to a door and there's a hundred-headed monster there and Theseus fires on it.' I said, 'I don't know how the fuck to do that. But if I can put this theme in, I'll put my take on it. It'll have my DNA.' Relativity went, 'Brilliant.' Or maybe they were thinking, 'How the fuck is he gonna do it?' One of those two. And they left me alone. We got to make the film we wanted to make."

Ofcom begins summary of media plurality in U.K.

LONDON -- U.K. regulator Ofcom has requested distribution to determine its study of strategies to measure media plurality inside the wake in the debate over News Corp.'s abortive try to possess paybox BSkyB outright. The watchdog has given your clients until November. 18 to retort.Move uses media minister Jeremy Search mentioned lately he wanted Ofcom to judge how practical it may be to produce limits on U.K. media possession.Ofcom mentioned that questions for comment include: Are you aware the options for calculating media plurality across platforms? Can it be practical or easier to set absolute limits on news business? What might trigger summary of plurality without a merger? And the way might this be supervised by whom?Furthermore, it desires to hear comments on if study regarding media plurality includes the BBC, a location certain to constitute interest to News Corp., due to the BBC's pole position in broadcast news consumption inside the U.K. The regulator's findings will be provided as evidence for the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics, setup by British Pm David Cameron carrying out a summer's details in regards to the News around the world phone hacking and police corruption scandal. Media plurality is infamously difficult to measure with anywhere of precision, but to have the ability to safeguard media plurality it absolutely was agreed between News Corp. and U.K. policy makers that news web Sky News might be hived off just like a condition in the Murdoch-possessed company getting 100% having BSkyB.But that deal was derailed by law suit when the extent of illegal phone tapping within the Murdoch-possessed tabloid emerged within this summer time. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Twilight Breaking Beginning Part 1 Sneak Look

Another year, another shameless plug for Twilight fan traffic. Below is really a sneak look behind the curtain from the Edward-Bella wedding in Summit Entertainment’sThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning – Part I which releases November 18th.There’s endless promotion from the second-to-last movie within this absurdly lucrative vampires of the underworld and werewolves franchise, together with a concert tour and stars meet-and-greet. The soundtrack is going to be launched on November eighth using the new single “It Will Rain” by Grammy Award-winning Bruno Mars. Personally, i am curious to determine how badly director Bill Condon effed up this Part 1 shot back-to-back with Part 2: the excitement is this fact film is chaotic at best: Meanwhile,Summitis starting off a countrywide Red-colored Carpet event and concert tour for that movie. Fans can easily see stars including Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, and Ashley Greene, in addition to attendperformances ofseveral bands featured within the latest film.The soundtrack includes Christina Perri, Aqualung, Lucy Schwartz, and Sleeping finally. The eventschedule is: November 7, 2011: Atlanta, GA – The Buckhead Theatre. Cast Attending: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone Performance By: Christina Perri November 8, 2011: Chicago, IL – House of Blues Cast Attending: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli, Jackson Rathbone, Kellan Lutz and Elizabeth Reaser Performance By: Christina Perri November 9, 2011: Dallas, Texas – The Palladium Ballroom at Gilley’s Dallas Cast Attending: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone Performance By: Christina Perri November 10, 2011: Bay Area, CA – The Fillmore Cast Attending: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone Performances By: Aqualung, Lucy Schwartz and Sleeping atLast November 11, 2011: Salt Lake City, UT – The Rail Event Center Cast Attending: Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone Performances By: Aqualung, Lucy Schwartz and Sleeping at Last