Frances Fisher Joins The Host

Modified from Stephenie Meyer's novelFrances Fisher includes a inclination to focus on tough, no-nonsense matriarchs, which is what the Host's director Andrew Niccol is trying to find while using Stephenie Meyer adaptation. It is therefore not just a shock to know that Fisher has grew to become part of the cast. The Host finds the Twilight author in alien mode, chronicling the aftermath from the invasion by parasitic extra-terrestrial burglars known to as Souls. These sneaky types merge with human minds and bring them over, departing a rag tag quantity of non-converted Earthlings to mount a resistance.Saoirse Ronan is starring as Melanie, a young lady taken and resided on with a skilled Soul named Stryder, but who proves more effective compared to creature's previous hosts. She eventually eventually ends up mixing her ideas with this particular in the enemy, and heads to reside in getting an individual resistance cell where Melanie's soul mates still lives.Among the youngsters are the type of Uncle Jeb (William Hurt), and also the sister, the stern Maggie (Fisher). The actress is joining a cast including Diane Kruger and Mike Abel. Niccol just started filming in Louisiana as well as the movie is scheduled for release on March 29 next season.Fisher, meanwhile, was last noticed in The Lincoln subsequently subsequently Lawyer, and may next display within the Quiet Crook and Retribution.

Greg Grunberg To Co-Star In CBS Greg Malins/Greg Berlanti Comedy Pilot

EXCLUSIVE: It’s The Greg Show! Heroes alum Greg Grunberg has been cast in CBS’ untitled comedy pilot from Greg Berlanti and Greg Malins. The Warner Bros./Berlanti Prods. project, also known as Oh Fuck It’s You, centers on Nick, a notorious womanizer who, after surviving a health scare, realizes that The One he has never found is actually his best friend of 15 years, Wendy (JoAnna Garcia). The problem is that Wendy is engaged to a guy Nick likes; she and Nick own a business together; and their attempt at dating back in college was a disaster. Grunberg will play Wendy’s brother Charlie, beaten down by life, outrageously acerbic and in the midst of a bitter divorce. He went to college with both Wendy and Nick and is Nick’s best guy friend. He was there when they dated, knows what a horrible couple they were, and warns Nick about the dangers his confession could bring. The casting stems fro the talent holding deal Grunberg signed with Warner Bros. TV in October. This marks a rare venturing into half-hour comedy for Grunberg, repped by ICM and Mosaic, who got his break on the WB’s Felicity. His only regular comedy series gig to date was on the 2006 sitcom The Jake Effect.

Gaines, Colin join 'Columnist'

Boyd Gaines and Margaret Colin have signed onto join John Lithgow inside the approaching Broadway bow of David Auburn's latest, "The Author." Colin ("Arcadia") may have the wife of Ernest Alsop, the titular journo carried out by Lithgow. Four-time Tony champion Gaines is onboard as Stewart, Joseph's brother together with another journalist. New follow "Proof" scribe Auburn is founded on the late Ernest Alsop, who was simply a effective estimate the Washington politico circuit. Story concentrates on the intersection in the scribe's career and existence. "Author" features its own world preem on Broadway this spring in the production from Manhattan Theater Club, the Gotham nonprofit where "Proof" originated from before producers selected up for just about any commercial Rialto transfer that went more than couple of years. "Proof" helmer Daniel Sullivan directs "Author." Further casting remains being stored in for your show, which begins previews April 4 before an April 25 opening at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theater. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

UPDATE: Charlie Sheen Resumes Two & Half Males Insults Should Forex & Lionsgate Be Concerned?

UPDATE, TUESDAY AM: After skewering his old showTwo . 5 Menwith a barrage of insults a week ago, Charlie Sheen drawn back today but somewhat. Sheen published on his website instructions to his alternative on Males, Ashton Kutcher, apologizing for telling him he drawn. But Sheen declined to consider back his comments that Males is becoming “a steaming pile of ass” with “bad writing.” Here's Sheen’s letter signed as his now-deceased Males character Charlie Harper. Dear Ashton- My bad. I had been disrespectful to some guy doing his best. I acquired excited and put you right into a crossfire. The relaxation of my statement I support. You, however, deserve better. Safety inside your travels good mister. - The “late” Charlie Harper PREVIOUS, FRIDAY PM: Just like his new show, Anger Management, is gearing for production on its initial 10-episode order from Forex, its star/producer Charlie Sheen embarked on the kind of verbal rampage that got him in danger together with his previous employer Warner Bros. TV and ultimately got him fired from his previous show, CBS’ 2 . 5 Males. In the last a couple of days, Sheen dropped the Mr. Nice Guy persona he'd cultivated since he signed on for Anger Management last summer time revisit his infamous warlock days. “Perhaps if Warner Bros. spent just as much time and effort concentrating on THEIR show, it wouldn’t be this type of steaming pile of ass,” Sheen stated of Males on Wednesday when requested by TMZ for reaction to the cease-and-desist letter in the studio banning using images of Sheen as his Guy character to advertise his new show. Then today, he known as into TMZ Live, also reverting for an old habit he'd throughout his wild days last year as he would regularly call into live radio shows to vent. “I’m fed up with pretending Ashton doesn’t suck,” he stated, an 180 degree in the thumbs-up he'd openly given his alternative . “I’m fed up with laying … I’m fed up with pretending the show doesn’t suck … I’m fed up with pretending Ashton doesn’t suck…It’s nothing personal … I simply shame him … he’s saddled with your bad writing,” Sheen came to the conclusion, shifting his insults to his favorite target of this past year, 2 . 5 Males showrunner Chuck Lorre. There's no such factor bad publicity, they are saying, along with a new show needs all of the attention it may get. However I doubt this is actually the kind of attention the marketing teams at Forex and Anger Management producer Lionsgate TV are striving for. Seeing glimpses from the foul-mouthed, loose-cannon Charlie Sheen of 2011 so early along the way on Anger Management will without doubt raise concern at Forex, Lionsgate and particularly Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury division, whose model’s success is associated with a show’s capability to go all out, striking the 100-episode mark and beyond. Was mtss is a brief episode triggered through the WBTV legal move or an indication of relapse? Or possibly Sheen is embracing Daniel Day-Lewis type of method acting, embodying his anger management issues-affected character off and on-work.

Pilot Season: John Stamos to Star in Fox's Little Brother

John Stamos John Stamos is returning to Fox. The prior Glee guest-star has showed up the important thing role in Fox's Little Brother pilot. Stamos, best-recognized for playing Uncle Jesse on Full House, will portray a sum-headed guy who finds out he's half brother (T.J. Burns) who's an ex-disadvantage. Pilot Season: Have the scoop! Mike Royce (Males from the Certain Age) will write and executive-produce alongside Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Shawn Levy, Michael Thorn, Fintan Ryan and Jimmy Mulville.

'Midsummer' dreams up cast

Mac Greenspan Downtown veterinarians Taylor Mac and David Greenspan can look in Classic Stage Company's approaching manufacture of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," toplined by Bebe Neuwirth and Christina Ricci.Mac, the hyphenate whose repetition in Gotham was establishd by shows including epic "The Lily's Revenge," will have central sprite Puck alongside Neuwirth, who stars as fairy full Titania. Anthony Heald ("Love! Valour! Empathy!") seems as Titania's estranged husband, Oberon.Together with Ricci, the play's youthful enthusiasts is going to be described by Jordan Dean, Halley Wegryn Gross and Nick Gehlfuss. Steven Skybell seems because the donkey-headed Bottom, with Greenspan playing another laborer.Helmed by Tony Speciale, "Midsummer" may be the latest inside a string of star-driven stagings from CSC. Current offering "Galileo," toplined by F. Murray Abraham, adopted a significantly-famous version of "The Cherry Orchard" starring Dianne Wiest and John Turturro."Midsummer" starts previews April 4, by having an exact opening date still to become set. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Sanity prevails at busy Sundance 2012

'The Surrogate'Elizabeth Olsen and Josh Radnor in "Liberal Arts" Everyone has been keeping their cool, meaning the right films have been going to the right distributors for the right price at Sundance. The consensus at this year's fest is that sanity has prevailed, with buyers taking care not to overspend and sellers waiting to carefully vet all offers before pulling the trigger. "The cautiousness of distributors is providing for respectable deals to both buyers and sellers," said Kevin Iwashina, whose Preferred Content sold genre pic "The Pact" on Thursday, has buyers interested in "28 Hotel Rooms" and recently screened "The End of Love" for acquisitions execs. "From the deals I've seen, everyone's satisfied," Iwashina said. "When both sides are happy, everybody wins." Three of the biggest deals of the fest so far -- all of which Variety first reported -- included "The Surrogate," which sold to Fox Searchlight for an estimated $6 million; psychological thriller "Red Lights," which Millennium Entertainment picked up for $4 million; and Sony Pictures Worldwide and Samuel Goldwyn Films' $2 million acquisition of "Robot & Frank," slated for an awards-season release. Also getting deals in the $2 million range were Focus Features' buy of "For a Good Time Call..." and Lionsgate/Roadside's pickup of "Arbitrage." Bizzers ascribe the genteel pace of sales to two factors: Too many distributors got burned by overpaying for films during last year's feeding frenzy; and in turn, no single buyer is creating anxiety by aggressively throwing huge wads of money at movies in the early goings. Also aiding the cause: A deeper across-the-board understanding of how video-on-demand and digital distribution components of deals contribute to the revenue ultimate. ICM's Hal Sadoff, who repped sales for "Frank" and has the commercially skewing "Safety Not Guaranteed," Jesse Eisenberg-starrer "Predisposed" and rapper Common vehicle "Luv" still in the market, said a sense of calm from both buyers and sellers has made it easier on everyone. "With more caution in the market this year, distributors have had the opportunity to take the time and find the movies that are right for their model at the right price, he said. "The deals aren't coming as fast as they did last year, but they are making a lot more sense. Iwashina added, "Everybody went into the marketplace with at least a perfunctory understanding of where VOD platforms and digital distribution fit into the monetization equation. When buyers and sellers comprehend how revenues are being generated, everyone soon begins to understand the economic limitations and/or upside. It eliminates a lot of guesswork." "I didn't believe in VOD at first, but it worked so well on 'House of the Devil' that I couldn't argue with it," said "V/H/S" co-director Ti West during a post-screening QandA. Having said that, West would prefer genre fans to see his movies theatrically. "We spend a lot of time meticulously crafting a movie to be seen in the theater, so I always prefer you to see it in the theater because that's what we do." West's co-director Joe Swanberg said he also sees an advantage to VOD, but hoped that "V/H/S" got a theatrical release, which it did on Wedneday night via Magnolia Pictures. "Usually I don't care, but after seeing this movie here in the theater, this would be the first time I'd feel sad if it went straight to VOD." The lack of a consensus top film has also tempered the once-frenzied atmosphere. With a plethora of well received, quality movies, buyers can feel at ease that their preferred targets are no more or less desirable than the competition's, and second-choice may be every bit as good as their first. It all translates into a Sundance sales season that will extend well beyond the official close on Saturday. "It was a different year in terms of sales," said David Ginsburg, whose Cohen Media hasn't made an acquisition, but is content to bide its time for now. "I think you'll see activity in the weeks to come, but much less the week-of than last year." The programming efforts of Sundance director John Cooper and programming Trevor Groth have been universally praised for maximizing films' exposure to buyers, making it easier for the most number of acquisitions execs to see as many films as possible. "The films have played incredibly well; the audience reaction has been as great as it's ever been," Groth said. But not all's been sunny at Sundance 2012. "There've been strange occurrences outside the festival that have put an imprint on what people will remember -- the tragedy of Bingham Ray passing in particular," Groth said. "When people look back at the 2012 fest, that's what a lot of people will remember. What's been great about the response to that is that Bingham, being who he was, and his passion about film, allowed people to still keep celebrating the films that were here. It's been a very emotional year because of that." Ray died Wednesday at age 57 after suffering a stroke days before in Park City. A memorial that started just a few hours after the news broke began as a few dozen people, nearly all with tears in their eyes, and quickly grew into more than 200 prominent indie figures who raised a glass at the High West Distillery on Main to their departed friend, mentor and colleague. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Reese Witherspoon Will Answer Your Questions For 'MTV First'

FROM MTV MOVIES: Reese Witherspoon, the star of the upcoming action-comedy "This Means War," could answer your question on MTV. All you have to do is ask it. It will all happen Tuesday, January 31st on MTV and MTV.com. MTV News' Josh Horowitz will sit down with the Academy Award-winning actress for an interview and premiere a never-before-seen clip from "This Means War" starting at 7:56 pm EST on MTV. Immediately afterward, the interview continues for 30 minutes over on MTV.com. Maybe you want to know what it's like to have Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fighting over her in "This Means War." Or perhaps you have a nagging Robert Pattinson question you've been pondering since "Water For Elephants." Whatever your burning question may be, Witherspoon could answer it. All you have to do is sent a text or video question via MTV.com or Twitter, using @MTVNews with the hashtag #MTVFirst. So start asking now, and tune in next week to see if you get the answer you've been looking for.

Swinton, Bell in talks for 'Snow Piercer'

SwintonBellTilda Swinton and Jamie Bell are in talks to join Chris Evans in the indie drama "Snow Piercer."Bong Joon-ho is helming from a script he penned with Park Chan-wook producing.Set in a world covered in snow and ice, the story follows a train full of travelers who struggle to co-exist.Park is producing through Moho Films. Production is expected to start in March, though no distributor is yet in place.The pic marks Bong's domestic directorial debut and similar to Park, who also just wrapped production on his first U.S. film, the Korean helmer is drawing notable thesps because of his track record overseas.Bell was most recently seen in "The Adventures of Tintin" and can be seen next in Summit's "Man on a Ledge." Swinton can be seen next in Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom." On Tuesday, she snagged a BAFTA nom for her work in "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Bell is repped by WME and Vanessa Pereira at Artists Independent Management. Swinton is repped by WME and London agent Christian Hodell. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Chris Davis dies at 65

Published: Mon., Jan. 9, 2012, 10:57am PTBy VARIETY STAFF Former worldwide telemarketer Chris Davis died Jan. 4 following a lengthy illness. He was 65. The British-born Davis began within the movie business 4 decades ago as the organization accountant for Avco Embassy Pictures, the U.K. subsidiary from the American production and worldwide distribution company. There he grew to become familiar with issues related to physical theatrical distribution and was deeply active in the U.K. discharge of Oscar champion "A little Class" in addition to "Soldier Blue" and John Carpenter's "The Fog." Within the mid-1980s he became a member of the business's worldwide division, where he was active in the distribution of films including "Avoid NY" and "The Howling." 3 years later he became a member of Lorimar Intl., focusing on the sales and distribution of movies including "Victory," starring Sylvester Stallone, and Mike Fuller's "The Large Red-colored One." Then he required employment as mind of worldwide distribution for Trans World Entertainment, where he was active in the marketing and purchasers of some 30 films. In 1988 he became a member of the recently created Imperial Entertainment, possessed collectively by Scanbox Denmark, then labored briefly for Franchise Pictures as leader of worldwide distribution before coming back to Imperial. When Scanbox Intl. was shuttered by new proprietors in 2002, Davis was hired by production and development company Filmengine, where he was mind of distribution. Later, being an independent, he would be a consultant to producers including American Cinema Group and Filmwerks. Davis is made it by his wife, Maryl a boy and 2 kids from the previous marriage. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

'Relatively Speaking' to seal

'Relatively Speaking'"Relatively Speaking," the trio of Broadway one-operates by large-title scribes Woodsy Allen, Ethan Coen and Elaine May, will near the coast the conclusion in the month.Show becomes the second to reduce bait inside the wake in the holiday B.O. boom (and while watching early-winter chill), carrying out a recent announcement that fighting tuner "Lysistrata Manley" will close Sunday."Relatively Speaking" initially attracted in healthy sales for just about any play, which don't frequently log the razzle-dazzle levels of crowdpleasing tuners. Show's debut week assigned $700,000, as well as the next several seshes weekly tallies hovered between $650,000 and $750,000 per frame.Getting a cast including Steve Guttenberg, Julie Kavner, Mark Linn-Baker and Marlo Thomas, the show did not have single toplining star, nevertheless the authors were apparently high-profile enough to be the draw. Since late November, however, box office has declined.The other day, throughout our prime-traffic frame between Christmas and New Year's, the play attracted within $450,000. Up to now the expansion makes $8.7 million since it began previews Sept. 20.Julian Schlossberg and Letty Aronson produce "Relatively Speaking" with co-producers Edward Walson, Leroy Schecter, Tom Sherak, Daveed D. Frazier and Roy Furman. Show wooden wooden shutters Jan. 29 within the Brooks Atkinson Theater. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com