Matt's Weekend Picks: Aug. 26-28

Alice St. Clair, Dan Amboyer Who says nothing happens on the weekend before Labor Day? (And we're not talking storm preparations on the East Coast - at least not in this space.) Nowadays, TV almost never takes a holiday, and such is the case this weekend. A few highlights: Torchwood: Miracle Day (Friday, 10/9c, Starz) I wish I could report that last week's terrific episode (Jack's 1920s flashback, which went from romantic to disturbing in a bloody flash as he was revealed as "the blessing") represented a return to form for this otherwise woefully uneven season of Torchwood. But I'm afraid we're back to the present day this week, and the action is just as ridiculously clumsy and the characters (Rex and Esther in particular) as aggravating as ever. Still, with only two episodes to go after this, I'll watch to the end. Doctor Who (Saturday, 9/8c, BBC America) In much happier genre news, we resume the crackerjack sixth season (the second starring the marvelous Matt Smith) with an outing titled "Let's Kill Hitler." The search continues for companion Amy's purloined baby Melody Pond (who we now know to be River Song in her adult incarnation), taking the TARDIS to 1930s Berlin, where (according to the BBCA synopsis) "the Doctor [comes] face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe - and Hitler." Whee! Want more Matt Roush? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now! William & Catherine - A Royal Romance (Saturday, 9/8c, Hallmark Channel) If you must. Take a break from perusing the snaps from the Kardashian wedding to check out this swollen bonbon, the second TV-movie to chart the royal lovebirds' courtship. (Though filmed after the wedding, unlike Lifetime's earlier quickie movie, there's still no attempt to recreate the ceremony.) Most notable for the casting surrounding the bland couple - Wills is played by an American with a full head of hair, if you were curious - which includes Victor Garber as a stuffy Prince Charles, Jean Smart as a good-natured Camilla (talk about your designing women!) and Jane Alexander as an unusually robust, tall Queen Elizabeth, playing yard darts and Wii to endear herself to the commoner who would be princess. MTV Music Video Awards (Sunday, 9/8c, MTV) For one night a year, MTV pretends it's still a music channel, and the 28th annual extravaganza will include performances from Lady Gaga (opening the show with "You and I") - who we hope has left the meat dress in the freezer - Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Adele and other usual suspects. Adding some class to the night: living legend Tony Bennett, there to honor the late Amy Winehouse, with whom he recorded a duet of "Body and Soul" to be released next month. Leverage (Sunday, 9/8c, TNT) Wrapping a strong summer season - new episodes return Nov. 27 - the team heads to Dubai on Sterling's behalf to pull off a high-tech caper during an international chess tournament. Win or lose, they've already been guaranteed a fifth year on TNT. True Blood (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO) Continuing one of the more entertaining seasons of this supernatural free-for-all, "all hell breaks loose in Shreveport" (HBO's words) after the witches' ambush at the Tolerance Festival. And while Bill leads a vampire retaliation against the Moon Goddess Emporium, others (including Sookie, Jason, Jesus and Lafayette) try to rescue Tara and Holly, trapped within. Curb Your Enthusiasm (Sunday, 10/9c, HBO) Larry David clashes with Wanda Sykes (who "pre-empts Larry's training schedule," we're told), which is always good for a laugh. Breaking Bad (Sunday, 10/9c, AMC) The tension continues to mount in the summer's most searing drama, following last week's declaration by Bryan Cranston as Walt White that "I am the danger." This week, he certainly seems a danger - to himself, if not to others, as he leans on lawyer Saul and partner-in-crime Jesse in his frustration over not being able to get near his nemesis, Gus. Meanwhile, brother-in-law Hank is finally mobile enough to pursue his own suspicions, taking a trip to Los Pollos Hermanos, where if the fried chicken doesn't kill you, the boss just might. Absolutely gripping. Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Shonda Rhimes Sells 'Gilded Lillys' Drama to ABC

Ernest M. Brown/Getty ImagesShonda Rhimes Shonda Rhimes is not content to possess just three shows on ABC. The prolific showrunner, via her Shondaland production company, has offered Gilded Lillys to ABC. The time project could be occur 1895 and center around the household who is the owner of New York's first true luxury hotel, employees who work there and those who go through. The hourlong drama project, from ABC Galleries, is compiled by K.J. Steinberg (Gossip Girl, Frame of mind, The Nine) with Rhimes and Shondaland partner Betsy Ales (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice) aboard as nonwriting executive producers. STORY: The Quiet Mystery of Shonda Rhimes Gilded Lillys marks Rhimes' 4th project with ABC: rookie legal drama Scandal is placed for midseason medical dramas Grey's Anatomy and Practice return the following month for his or her eighth and fifth seasons, correspondingly. STORY: 'Grey's Anatomy's' Shonda Rhimes Appears the Warmth in New Series 'Scandal' Rhimes had three series about the air last season, with jungle medical drama From the Map neglecting to earn another-season pickup. Rhimes is repped by ICM Ales is by using UTA. Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com Twitter: @Snoodit ABC Shonda Rhimes ABC Galleries Private Practice Grey's Anatomy TV Development

Raimi Previews Oz The Truly Amazing & Effective

Concept art and much more proven off at D23When you've only began shooting in your latest film, rustling up something interesting to exhibit people could be a daunting challenge. However it was one which Sami Raimi was prepared to tackle for any presentation of Oz The Truly Amazing And Effective only at that weekend's D23 Expo. Since he's knee-deep in production in Detroit, Raimi could only send a relevant video message towards the Disney convention in the group of Oz The Truly Amazing And Effective. But he also provided an earlier peek at exactly what the film might seem like, with concept art and rough footage in the first day's shooting interspersed with seem bites in the cast, including James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff and Rachel Weisz. As Raimi pointed out within the video, the goal for that film is to accept explanations of Oz utilized by L Frank Baum within the Wonderful Wizard of Oz and produce these phones existence with the technological methods of contemporary filmmaking. Therefore we were treated to lush imagery of moving hillsides, mountain tops that was similar to elephant heads and frightening forests, all boasting the legendary yellow brick road. Even though hardly any is really within the can, there is a fast peek at Franco plying his trade like a dodgy circus magician, a guy that has a watch for that ladies. "He's small disadvantage, a little of the Lothario along with a seducer," Franco describes within the video. "When he reaches Oz, it's an opportunity to redeem themself. One quick shot of Franco planning to take on bad weather using the words "Let us go have miracle" wrapped some misconception. Naturally, it is too soon to inform exactly what the final product may be like, or how effective it will likely be, but there certainly appeared to become a large amount of ambition displayed...

Iron Crows

A C&Paperwork and CreativEast presentation of the FNS production. Created by Kim Min-chul. Directed by Park Bong-nam. Compiled by Park, Moon Ye-won.With: Mohammed Rufk, Aktar Rashid. (Bengali dialogue)The arthouse response to "Transformers," Park Bong-nam's "Iron Crows" requires the victory of small humans over mammoth steel monsters -- particularly, the derelict ships which are taken apart across the shoreline of Bangladesh. The earth's center of ship-breaking can also be among its weakest areas, a location where 20,000 barefoot males recycle ships for $2 each day. Virtually an experimental film -- the humanity is wealthy, but pure image and sensation are what causes it to be tick -- this South Korean production opens August. 26 at New York's Film Forum, marking an excellent chance to determine a piece of unorthodox visual art. The impoverished town of Chittagong is definitely an otherworldly place by any assessment. Helmer Park is about textures, images, perspectives and disorienting movement, and that he and d.p. Search engine optimization Yeon-taek provide the mudflats, grey water and imperiled people of the seaside junkyard a hallucinatory spin and a feeling of the tactile. The filth, the warmth and, first and foremost, the requirement emanate from the screen just like a shower of sparks from an acetylene torch. Park does not provide lots of background, particularly throughout the very first two-thirds from the film: The males are basically cogs inside a human machine inside a place where crows make nests from wire, and creatures are sacrificed to maintain ships safe (grains and goat bloodstream are mixed and scattered in a variety of spots on a single ship). Evil spirits are thought to inhabit the ships how else could such behemoths float on the top of water? Magnets stay with the males as you shipyard veteran describes, he's labored among iron such a long time, you will find filings under his skin which will never emerge. People die, individuals are maimed Park talks very briefly, even obligatorily, to some of males who've lost ft to falling ship parts. One worker barely escapes a spead boat tower plunging down. Dying is really as ever-present as poverty. "Iron Crows" constitutes a couple of apparently perfunctory visits towards the men's houses. One visits his newborn daughter, who had been born blind, he states, while he did not feed her mother enough. Mostly, though, the film remains at work, where desperation commingles with a feeling of fatalism: Allah put us here to get this done work, one worker states. Production values are spectacular, especially Yeon's lensing. Pic bowed inside a shorter version in the 2009 Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where it won the prize for the best mid-length docu.Camera (color, HD), Search engine optimization Yeon-taek editor, Lee Chang-kyun seem, Kong Tae-weon. Examined on DVD, New You are able to, August. 22, 2011. Running time: 93 MIN. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

First trailer for Underworld: Awakening online

War! What is it good for? Usual answer: absolutely nothing. Movie-related answer: giving us a great mix of action and drama, as will hopefully be the case with Underworld: Awakening.The fight seems to be the same as usual in the latest film in this franchise, with lycans and vampires at each others throats once again.However, this time the human race has discovered that vamps and werewolves are real and has decided to join the ruck.Kate Beckinsale returns as the vampire Selene. More importantly so does her tight-fitting leather suit.Underworld: Awakening opens in 3D and 2D on 20 January 2012.

And If We All Lived Together? (Et si on vivait tous ensemble?)

A Les Films de la Butte, Rommel Film, Manny Films, Studio 37, Home Run Pictures production, with the support of Eurimages, La Region Ile-de-France, FFA Filmfoerderungsanstalt, CNC, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, BKM, MFG Filmfoerderung Baden-Wurttemberg, and the participation of Canal Plus, Studio 37, Bac Films, the Match Factory, Pandora Film Verleih, Frenetic Films. (International sales: the Match Factory, Cologne, Germany.) Produced by Christophe Bruncher, Peter Rommel, Philippe Gompel, Aurelia Grossmann. Co-producer, Frederique Dumas. Directed, written by Stephane Robelin.Jeanne - Jane Fonda Albert - Pierre Richard Claude - Claude Rich Annie - Geraldine Chaplin Jean - Guy Bedos Dirk - Daniel Bruehl Sabine - Gwendoline Hamon Bernard - Bernard MalakaFive aging baby boomers band together to find an alternative to late-life problems in the likable, efficient French comedy-drama "And if We All Lived Together?" This sophomore feature for Stephane Robelin ("Real Movie") assembles a tony cast of name Francophone thesps (including Claude Rich and Geraldine Chaplin) together with Jane Fonda -- showing off her fluency in French for the first time in nearly 40 years -- to forge a timely, only-a-little-sentimental portrait of senior citizens defying the dying of the light. If marketed right, pic could strike a resonant chord, especially with mature auds, both domestically and offshore. Retired philosophy professor Jeanne (Fonda) and her spouse, Albert (Pierre Richard), have been best friends for decades with shrink Annie (Chaplin) and her hubby, political activist Jean (Guy Bedos), as well as senior single Claude (Rich), a photographer. With their children all grown up and their careers in twilight, the five live comfortably in well-appointed homes in a nice suburb of Paris. But they're all getting older: Jeanne has a serious medical problem she refuses to tell the others about, Albert is experiencing the beginnings of dementia, and the always sexually voracious Claude now needs Viagra to keep up with the prostitutes he likes to visit. One night, Jean half-jokingly suggests they all move in together, so they can look out for each other. When a fall severely impairs Claude's mobility, his son Bernard (Bernard Malaka) strong-arms him into moving into an assisted-living facility, but Claude's friends bust him out and bring him to live at Annie and Jean's, along with Jeanne and the increasingly forgetful Albert. Jeanne hires German anthropology student Dirk (Daniel Bruehl) to walk their dog for them and ends up befriending him, giving him advice on his lovelife and field of study. Eventually, Dirk moves in with the others in order to help out and study their interaction for his thesis on the elderly. Old love letters discovered in a trunk sow discord among the friends, ensuring drama-furthering conflict, while Albert's mental health and Jeanne's physical health deteriorate. The script by helmer Robelin errs somewhat on the side of predictability, but is nevertheless tightly written and takes robust pleasure in foregrounding everyone's capacity for passion and foolishness at any age. Evincing perhaps the desire to exploit Fonda's involvement as much as possible, there are perhaps a few too many scenes of her and Bruehl chatting with supposedly shocking frankness about sex while dog-walking, at the expense of exploring the rest of the characters. However, the other thesps, especially Rich and Chaplin (the latter looking every bit as sexy as Fonda for her age, but with a more naturally creased face), rep vivid enough presences to compensate for their less generous screen time. Never disguising her American accent (her character is meant to be a Yank) but rattling away in French with a proficiency that impresses, Fonda turns in solid work here as a former radical turned respectable with the patina of age, a type she clearly knows something about. The dialogue makes the characters sound convincing as lefties who came of age in the 1960s (they debate whether their home should be run along collectivist or libertarian lines), but doesn't strain to prove their intellectual credentials on the same scale as, say, the talk in Denys Arcand's somewhat similarly themed "The Barbarian Invasions." Helming has an unfussy, ribald briskness that's characteristic of middlebrow-in-a-good-way Gallic films. Ellipses in the storytelling work effectively to change the emotional weather from comic to melancholy, especially in the last reel, as well as presumably serving to save production coin. HD lensing by Dominique Colin manages to balance the clarity and spontaneity of digital cinematography with light flattering enough to make the leads, especially the femmes, look their best. Though no other department stands out, all tech work is executed with pro polish.Camera (color, HD-to-35mm), Dominique Colin; editor, Patrick Wilfert; music, Jean-Philippe Verdin; production designer, David Bersanetti; costume designer, Juergen Doering; sound (Dolby Digital), Florent Blanchard, Mourad Louanchi, Stephane de Rocquigny; supervising sound editor, de Rocquigny; visual effects supervisor, Thibaut Granier; associate producer, Nicolas Lesoult; assistant director, Juliette Crete. Reviewed at Locarno Film Festival (Piazza Grande), Aug. 12, 2011. Running time: 96 MIN.(French dialogue) Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Shiloh 2 Shiloh Season

After young Marty Peterson rescued Shiloh from his abusive owner, Judd Travers, he thought his troubles were over. But when Judd starts threatening to take "his" dog back, Marty is afraid of losing the best friend he's ever had. Even after Shiloh's keen senses help save Judd's life, the old man refuses to mend his mean-spirited ways, convincing everyone in town he's just too nasty to change. Now, in a long-short gamble to keep the dog he loves, Marty sets out to prove that just like a mistreated animal, a man filled with hate can be healed by the power of kindness.

Alec Baldwin Eyes NYC Mayor Office, but After 2013

NEW YORK (AP) Alec Baldwin says he's thinking of running for mayor of New York, but not until he learns more about the job.The "30 Rock" actor tells The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/mSAkvB ) he'll sit out the 2013 race but will consider running in a later election.In a wide-ranging interview, the 53-year-old says he's talking with two universities about enrolling in a master's program in politics and government. He says he wants to better understand what the fiscal imperatives of the mayor's job are.He says running in 2013 is impossible because he's obligated to complete the current season of "30 Rock."Baldwin says he plans to establish a permanent city residence before running. His legal residence is Amagansett, Long Island. He has owned a Manhattan apartment for two decades.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Alec Baldwin PHOTO CREDIT Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images NEW YORK (AP) Alec Baldwin says he's thinking of running for mayor of New York, but not until he learns more about the job.The "30 Rock" actor tells The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/mSAkvB ) he'll sit out the 2013 race but will consider running in a later election.In a wide-ranging interview, the 53-year-old says he's talking with two universities about enrolling in a master's program in politics and government. He says he wants to better understand what the fiscal imperatives of the mayor's job are.He says running in 2013 is impossible because he's obligated to complete the current season of "30 Rock."Baldwin says he plans to establish a permanent city residence before running. His legal residence is Amagansett, Long Island. He has owned a Manhattan apartment for two decades.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Is The King's Speech the 2011 Best Picture Nominee Most Deserving of a Broadway Run?

The King’s Speech — the cutest Best Picture winner about compelling speech patterns since Rain Man — is rumored to be ticketed for Broadway in Fall 2012. Yep, real actors will be stuttering live, onstage, in an epic epiglottal drama for the ages. That should be adorable — and family friendly — but are you worried that other Best Picture nominees from 2010 are better suited for a stage adaptation? Good! Ahead, some better options. Do you remember that Bad Movie We Begrudgingly Enjoy called Black Swan? That strikes me as a Broadway-bound schlockfest. Give me some shadowy tutus, a musical number about stabbing yourself because the ballet world is too crazy (er, spoiler), and a climactic song about eerie masturbation. Here comes quality, Lerner and Loewe. The next best options would be The Fighter (because screamy insult wars are always a scintillating dramatic element — Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and God of Carnage thrive on them), The Social Network (the Glengarry Glen Ross of au courant cinema), and Toy Story 3 (which has madcap Avenue Q potential). I highly discourage an Inception musical, because the hallucinogenic, aerial stunt work will earn it the name Spider-Man: Turn Off the Lights, I’m Sleeping, Incept Me, Zzzzz, you know? And you can’t recapture the magic of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s stunningly well-fitted trousers on the legitimate stage. Aristotle never figured out that trick either. · ‘The King’s Speech’ headed to Broadway [Showbiz 411]

TCA: 'Man Up!' Is Just One Of The Guys

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline's coverage of TCA. Because they are introducing a show about men into the traditionally female-skewing ABC primetime lineup, the producers and performers of Man Up! were called upon to spend much of their time addressing reporters at TCA today about what it means -- or doesnt mean -- to be a man in America in 2011.The show stars Christopher Moynihan (also the creator and one of the executive producers), Mather Zickel and Dan Fogler (Tony winner for his role in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as three confused guys in their late 30s who would love to grow up if they could only figure out how. One reporter went so far as to ask that, in a new season that includes many of what the network has been calling female empowerment shows, if Man Up! might actually be a show about male emasculation.Fogler thinks not. [It] reflects whats going on with people right now in society, he said. I feel very close to my character, Kenny -- I have a lot of friends out there who will watch thats me up there, man I think theyll dig it. I dont think the show is about men being emasculated; [its about men] finding themselves.Moynihan joked that the three, being actors, are soft guys already face it, I have a lot of product in my hair. On a more serious note, he called current thirtysomethings the generation that has not been made to do anything and has had the luxury of a volunteer army rather than having to man up and face the draft. Cast member Teri Polo cited Susan Faludis book Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women as having a lot to say about todays confusion of gender roles. Our generation of men arent quite sure. Should I mow the lawn, honey? Should I not mow the lawn? What do you want me to do? she said.Producer Victor Fresco, at age 53 somewhat older than the characters in the show, pointed out that TV men have been searching for what it means to be a man since The Honeymooners. Still, he acknowledged that todays technological society has changed the concept of work for both men and women. Life hasnt gotten easier, its just gotten different ... somethings gone wrong," he said. After the session, Moynihan and Fresco were asked whether the recent cancellation of AMCs critically acclaimed but low-rated Men of a Certain Age might represent a bad omen for man shows. Although he acknowledged that there might be something in the ether about examining mens issues right now, Moynihan thinks his new show stands on different turf. Those characters are 10 years older -- they have more serious problems, he said. Fresco pointed out that CBS has had a big success with male-skewing shows, proving that the male audience is in fact out there. I dont think theres any trend, he said. [Men of a Certain Age] was a great show; the cancellation was probably a matter of economics.

Q&A with Academy leader Tom Sherak

SherakTom Sherak, chosen late Tuesday evening to some third one-year term as leader from the Academy of movement Picture Arts and Sciences, spoke with Variety concerning the prospects for his final stint, including online voting, new rules for Oscar parties and exactly what the finish of his tenure means for that former studio executive. You are term-restricted to your period of time like a governor. Can you have gone for any 4th term as leader?Well, I'll just state that this is actually the best non-having to pay job in Hollywood (laughs).You've overseen plenty of alternation in individuals first couple of years, between your expansion of Best Picture nominees, the departure of Bruce Davis and also the separation from the Governors Honours in the Oscar telecast. The other changes are available?We did the ABC contract, that was a positive thing for all of us. I believe that in a organization, especially one the dimensions we're now, that is essentially a philanthropic organization you are likely to see some changes. You need to change. It cannot be static. I believe that Beginning Hudson's leadership will let us do this. One thing concerning the Academy, is the fact that since it is about movies, you fall deeply in love with your work. I'll wager you could not look for a person in the Academy who did not want arrive at work very day. I stated to Beginning, "I understand you will possibly not observe that now, but you are likely to love that which you do." And you will see form that spark that she's fallen deeply in love with it already.We have read that AMPAS is thinking about cracking lower on Oscar parties, however it did not make Tuesday night's agenda. Could it be about the agenda in the near future? The response to that real question is that individuals types of articles appear constantly. We're constantly attempting to fix the guidelines that do not work, in each and every single area, and each single branch features its own rules. We're constantly altering and upgrading individuals rules. The guidelines you are speaking about happen to be checked out, and we are attempting to create an amount playing area.How about online voting? Can we observe that take place in your time and effort?That will get completed in time. Well allow me to clarify. Here's what is going to happen i believe: We're getting closer and nearer to having the ability to test drive it. Hopefully we'll have the ability to test drive it within the fall or first quarter of the coming year. And everything will hopefully maintain spot to institute it for that 2013 show.Will your role change or evolve within the new structure, with Christina Kounelias, Ric Robertson & Beginning Hudson taking recently produced positions? Not a chance, not whatsoever. My job is non-compensated. My job would be to help. I am a assistant. Beginning runs the Academy because the Boss with Ric as her COO. my job is when she needs help, I am there in order for there. Which the desire from the board is adopted. Therefore if I see that isn't happening, I'll part of. But apart from that, Beginning runs the area.What is the greatest challenge the AMPAS leadership will tackle in next season? I believe there's a few things. Outreach is our greatest challenge. Letting the people and also the world know precisely what we should do. Anywhere Time passes, I would like individuals to know who we're. We all do a lot of philanthropic things. Yes, the Academy awards will pay for our existence. But our obligation would be to promote the film industry to advertise the skill of moves. And also to promote the science of movies. I do not think people really realize that we are not only that certain evening. it's a 365-day-a-year organization. We now have among the biggest collections of posters on the planet, and also the film we help restore is unbelieveable. The cash that people spend to revive film there's a lot items that we all do, and our jobs would be to allow the people realize that. We are going to take a university tour with myself and Beginning and Ric and Sid Ganis, on offer the nation. We simply returned from Africa we now have a lot of great minds and talent within our industry who wish to hand back.And where does the museum stand?The museum stands with two-and-a-half blocks of land on Vine and at this time we are still investing time considering it. Put a pin inside it.As soon as you've left the Academy, are you going to have the ability to stay involved by any means?1 of my personal favorite movies was "MacArthur." And I'll never foget Gregory Peck waiting in front of the corp of cadets, saying, "Old soldiers don't die they simply disappear (laughs)." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com