Manuel Reis

Exactly a week after its upfront presentation, CBS has picked up another comedy series for midseason, the single-camera Bad Teacher starring Ari Graynor, which has received a 13-episode order. Sony Pictures TV produced the pilot, an adaptation of the 2011 movie, which will now be a co-production with CBS TV Studios. Bad Teacher was among a slew of half-hour pilots that CBS were brass were high on this season. It screened and tested well and, despite not making the cut before the upfronts, talks between CBS and Sony continued through and after upfront week until a deal was reached. Bad Teacher  brings the number of new CBS comedy series on tap for next season to a whooping six, the most in almost two decades. (Last season the network picked up a total of two, only one of which, Partners, got on the air.) CBS’ 2013-14 comedy class is split evenly between multi-camera (fall entries Mom and The Millers and midseason’s Friends With Better Lives) and single-cam (fall’s The Crazy Ones and We Are Men, plus Bad Teacher).

Related: CBS New Series Previews – Video

The pickup brings the number of new Sony broadcast series for next season to eight, a record for the independent studio. It was able to land new shows on every network (The Michael J. Fox Show, The Blacklist, Welcome To The Family and After Hours at NBC, Rake and Us And Them on Fox, The Goldbergs on ABC and Bad Teacher on CBS). Sony was able to get The Blacklist, Welcome To The Family and After Hours picked up and Community renewed for a final season in a complex, hard-fought negotiation with NBC that went down to the wire and resulted in Sony getting all shows involved picked up and securing NBC’s best launching pad, the post-Voice Monday 10 PM slot, for Blacklist. Leveraging the red-hot Blacklist, which had tested through the roof, I hear Sony held firm, indicating it was ready to leave rather than take a bad deal.

The only major setback for the studio came at CBS where frontrunner Beverly Hills Cop did not get a series order. Reasons for the surprising pass vary, depending who you talk to, but politics might have played a role, with former CBS sibling Paramount buying into the show after the pilot order, making for some odd bedfellows in Les Moonves and Brad Grey. The pilot, written by Shawn Ryan and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is being shopped to other networks. In fact, most of Sony’s broadcast pilots are still in play. CBS is considering retooling comedies The McCarthys and Jim Gaffigan, NBC too is taking another look at comedy Brenda Forever. And I hear ABC drama pilot Doubt, David Shore’s follow-up to House, is eying an international broadcaster. Additionally, Sony TV is in negotiations with USA about picking up cult ABC comedy Happy Endings.

Written by Hilary Winston, Bad Teacher stars Graynor as an always inappropriate, fearless and unapologetic former trophy wife who masquerades as a teacher in order to find a new man after her wealthy husband leaves her penniless. The film’s writers, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, executive produce with Winston, Sam Hansen, Jimmy Miller and Michael Lasker for Sony, CBS Studios and Mosaic Media Group. Co-starring on the series are The Talk co-host Sarah Gilbert, who will juggle the talk show and the series; David Alan Grier; Ryan Hansen; Sara Rodier; and Kristin Davis. This marks the third series order for Eisenberg and Stupnitsky, who serve as exec producers/showrunners on ABC’s Trophy Wife and HBO’s Hello Ladies.

Related: Eisenberg & Stupnitsky Sign New Overall Deal With ABC Studios

It may not seem like all that much changed after last night's Apple Store downtime, but the company actually made a number of design changes that, according to MacStories editor Federico Viticci, bring "a cleaner, more subdued style for graphical elements and larger image-centric spots for products and accessories."

Rolled out just in time to start selling the goods for Father's Day on June 16, the new design does away with the thin sidebars in favor of wider blocks that provide space for larger images of items on sale. Here's the old design:

And here's the new:

The changes are more pronounced on the Accessories page. As an example, the old iPad accessories page wasted space by using a short sidebar on the left side to list different categories. The result was that the entire page was narrower than it needed to be:

Now the categories are over on the right side, featuring easy-to-view thumbnails for each category. The individual item thumbnails are larger, and there's actually space (not visible in this image) below the category list that can be filled with product descriptions:

All in all, it's a welcome change to the store, providing a much cleaner look, larger images of products and a less rigid framework for arranging product on the virtual shelves.

Apple applies design changes to online store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 22 May 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[SPOILERS] Pam: “I think an ordinary paper company like Dunder-Mifflin was a great subject for a documentary. There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?”

“The Office” ficará conhecida como uma das melhores comédias alguma vez feitas e por isso merecia um final grandioso que fizesse jus ao legado da série. E Greg Daniels e companhia não desiludiram proporcionando um final que se não foi perfeito esteve lá perto.

 Dwight(Rainn Wilson) está radiante como nunca, gerente da DM e noivo de Angela(Angela Kinsey), tudo lhe corre bem, inclusive tem em Jim um padrinho que lhe proporciona uma despedida de solteiro bem ao seus estilo e só com boas partidas. Se o manuseamento de uma bazuca já não era suficientemente divertido o que dizer da lap-dance em que ele não percebe rigorosamente nada do que está a acontecer. Tipicamente Dwight, carregado de momentos bem estranhos e ao mesmo tempo divertido onde o seu grande amigo Jim foi peça importante ao tentar oferecer-lhe a melhor partida de sempre. Engraçado foi também a despedida das mulheres com Mose a raptar Angela e a coloca-la na mala do carro somente para o noivo a encontrar, isso e aquele stripper que foi simplesmente hilariante. Costumes da família Schrute portanto.

O melhor estava guardado para o fim. Jim avisa que não pode ser o padrinho e que só alguém mais velho do que Dwight o pode ser. Nisto aparece Michael (Steve Carell) que diz a sua catch-frase e emociona tanto os personagens como a mim. Arrepiei-me e emocionei-me ao ver Michael, ele que esteve presente para alguém que o idolatra como Dwight, numa simples cena quase sem diálogos foi possível comprovar a excelente química entre os actores e que as suas reacções foram genuínas, estavam felizes por aquele regresso e nós também. A cerimónia em si foi também ela divertida, onde todos dançaram, trocaram memórias e onde os noivos se beijaram em cima das suas futuras campas.

Mas uma frase ficou na memória quando Michael diz: “I feel like all my kids grew up, and then they married each other. It’s every parent’s dream.” Este foi outro momento de emoção com a frase a fazer todo o sentido, ele tal como nós, está orgulhoso do percurso destas pessoas e do quanto cresceram, é um prazer para ele e para nós ver a evolução delas ao longo de todos estes anos. Michael foi utilizado na medida certa, nem muito nem pouco tempo, alias, eu até esperava bem menos tempo de antena, ele que cumpriu assim o seu propósito na perfeição.

 Kevin(Brian Baumgartner) tal como Toby (Paul Lieberstein) foram despedidos de uma forma muito divertida, se um foi por não ser produtivo (e isto é um elogio) o outro foi por simplesmente ser um chato de primeira. Kevin passou assim a ser dono do bar onde Dwight acabou por ir buscar Angela, estes no final acabam por fazer as pazes e ele regressa ao escritório. Toby esse pobre coitado, foi viver para NY e divide o apartamento com seis pessoas e o afastamento de Nellie (Catherine Tate) só o faz sofrer ainda mais, no final fica sozinho como sempre esteve, e ela por seu lado acaba por ficar mãe, tudo porque um certo rapaz deixou o filho no casamento.

Uma aparição esperada e até ansiada era o de Ryan (B.J. Novak) e Kelly (Mindy Kaling), o sempre disfuncional par voltou em grande com os dois egocêntricos a resolverem fugir e deixar tudo para trás. Aqui tudo funcionou, o seu tempo foi usado correctamente e a história só poderia ser algo como isto com o final a ser digno das personagens.

 Stanley(Leslie David Baker) finalmente reforma-se e muda-se para a Flórida, algo que ele esperava desde os 18 anos, ele está bem mas apesar de tudo o que resmungou ao longo de todos este anos ele sente saudades do escritório, mas a única pessoa que sente verdadeiramente saudades dele é Phillys (Phyllis Smith) que tenta engordar o seu novo colega como forma de compensar a partida do amigo.

Oscar(Oscar Nuñez) por sua vez decide tentar mudar de vida e passa a ser candidato a Presidente de Câmara, infelizmente o seu tempo foi curto demais, ficando a ideia de tudo isto ser somente uma homenagem.

Andy (Ed Helms), numa clara alusão à moda dos vídeos virais, virou sensação pelos maus motivos depois da sua audição. Ele é agora motivo de chacota, mas aprendeu a não dar importância a isso e ainda bem pois mostrou algum amadurecimento do personagem. Mas depois da tempestade vem a bonança e ele é muito aplaudido pelos muitos fãs do documentário acabando no final a dar palestras na Universidade. O muitas vezes chato Andy teve aqui uma história nada aborrecida onde chegámos a ter pena do personagem, mas no final o desfecho da história foi o mais acertado e a sua frase final é muito boa e que reflecte muitas vezes o que se passa na vida real, em que nos arrependemos por não ter dado importância a certos momentos e pessoas na devida altura e que depois no futuro nos arrependemos de não ter aproveitado mais o momento. Um grande final para Andy.

Erin(Ellie Kemper) descobre finalmente os pais, e que pais. Joan Cusack e Ed Begley Jr foram o casting perfeito e deram conclusão a uma história que parecia confinada ao esquecimento. Quem está muito bem na vida é Darryl(Craig Robinson) que até chega de limusina, mas tal como tantos outros, ele continua a ter muitas saudades do grupo e de todas as peculiaridades.

 Creed (Creed Bratton) teve aqui o seu maior destaque durante toda a série. Ficámos a saber que ele era uma estrela do rock e que contrabandeava drogas. É agora um divertido fugitivo que mora no escritório e que no fim tem um diálogo bastante interessante. Uma despedida rumo à prisão é mesmo a cara do personagem.

 Pam(Jenna Fischer) e Jim(John Krasinski) como esperado partem para outra cidade para ele perseguir o seu segundo sonho. Ela percebeu que era o maior sonho dele e que ele deixou de o perseguir para ficar com a família, mas agora é a vez de ela retribuir e eles partem dando um grande final a este excelente casal com uma química formidável. Uma despedida digna do legado de um grande par e que foi um dos grandes motores de toda a série.

 No final a festa sobre o documentário foi especial. O mural de Pam estava muito bonito e a fotografia em família continha surpresas (Greg Daniels e a equipa estavam presentes). Mas o grupo não queria estar ali, o lugar deles era no escritório e assim foi. Reuniram-se e foram para a sua segunda casa, partilhar memórias e para se despedirem uns dos outros e de nós. Os seus diálogos para a equipa foram uma homenagem (no fundo todo o episódio o foi) aos personagens que aprendemos a amar e ao mesmo tempo uma mensagem sincera de cada actor, cheia de coração e sentimento onde percorrem o seu trajecto na DM e onde partilham tudo o que aprenderam e evoluíram (aqueles vídeos com imagens antigas foram um excelente complemento). Foi um grande final para cada personagem, onde todos tiveram o seu espaço para brilhar com todas as histórias a terem coração e emoção, emoção essa que transbordou ao ponto de me sentir emocionado, tal como os actores estavam.

Muitos podem argumentar que este episódio não teve tanta comédia quanto devia, pois bem, a série nunca foi só feita de humor, uma grande fatia da mesma é composta por amor, afecto e feita de relações humanas, mesmo que por vezes possa não parecer, e este final é um óptimo exemplo daqui que a série sempre foi.

“That’s What She said”

Lista de Episódios	Nota (0.0/10.0)
The Office: 9×01 – New Guys (NBC)	7.5
The Office: 9×02 – Roy’s Wedding (NBC)	7.3
The Office: 9×03 – Andy’s Ancestry (NBC)	7.0
The Office: 9×04 – Work Bus (NBC)	7.0
The Office: 9×05 – Here Comes Treble (NBC)	6.3
The Office: 9×06 – The Boat (NBC)	6.8
The Office: 9×07 – The Whale (NBC)	6.9
The Office: 9×08 – The Target (NBC)	7.0
The Office: 9×09 – Dwight Christmas (NBC)	8.0
The Office: 9×10 – Lice (NBC)	7.3
The Office: 9×11 – Suit Warehouse (NBC)	6.9
The Office: 9×12 – Customer Loyalty (NBC)	8.0
The Office: 9×13/9×14 – Junior Salesman/Vandalism (NBC)	7.1
The Office: 9×15 – Couples Discount (NBC)	5.7
The Office: 9×16 – Moving On (NBC)	7.9
The Office: 9×17 – The Farm (NBC)	7.0
The Office: 9×18 – Promos (NBC)	6.7
The Office: 9×19 – Stairmageddon (NBC)	7.4
The Office: 9×20 – Paper Airplane (NBC)	6.0
The Office: 9×21 – Livin the Dream (NBC)	8.7
The Office: 9×22/9×23 – A.A.R.M (NBC)	8.5
The Office: 9×24/9×25 – Finale (NBC)	9.8

Shortly before Jason Bateman landed the lead role of Michael Bluth on Arrested Development in 2003 he seriously thought about moving away from Los Angeles and retiring as an actor "Things were really tough for me" he tells Rolling Stone "Then this show came along and really hit the restart...

It's official: Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer has gone completely bonkers, as the Yahoo-owned Flickr has just announced that all users now have a free terabyte of storage. That's a thousand gigabytes, folks. For free.

As the Flickr website touts, one terabyte will hold 537,731 photos at an average size of 6.5 megapixels each. No more are you going to need to scale down the size of your images to fit 'em on Flickr -- just upload them at their native resolution.

It's worth remembering that Flickr has a free iPhone app available to facilitate uploading, viewing and sharing your images.

Yahoo raises the stakes for free Flickr storage: 1 terabyte originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 20 May 2013 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saturday Night Live might need to find a new Devil for next season. After Saturday Night Live‘s finale publicly bid

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is a very very tired man For the past two years he's been working like a dog to pull off the impossible bringing back a television series that was cancelled seven years go due to pathetically low ratings If that wasn't ambitious enough he's also...

Fred Armisen might not have officially announced his departure from Saturday Night Live but last night's final sketch seemed like a fitting farewell (According to the New York Post a source at NBC confirmed that Armisen would be moving on) Drawing on his pre-SNL background in music the multi-talented (and well-connected) comedian...

After years of anticipation, The Pirate Bay documentary TPB-AFK was finally released to the public in February.

The film, created by Simon Klose, is available for no cost and has already been watched by millions of people. The public response to this free release model has been overwhelmingly positive, but it’s now meeting resistance from Hollywood, TPB’s arch rival.

Over the past weeks several movie studios have been trying to suppress the availability of TPB-AFK by asking Google to remove links to the documentary from its search engine. The links are carefully hidden in standard DMCA takedown notices for popular movies and TV-shows.

The silent attacks come from multiple Hollywood sources including Viacom, Paramount, Fox and Lionsgate and are being sent out by multiple anti-piracy outfits.

Fox, with help from six-strikes monitoring company Dtecnet, asked Google to remove a link to TPB-AFK on Mechodownload. Paramount did the same with a link on the Warez.ag forums.

Paramount DMCA notice

Viacom sent at least two takedown requests targeting links to the Pirate Bay documentary on Mrworldpremiere and Rapidmoviez. Finally, Lionsgate jumped in by asking Google to remove a copy of TPB-AFK from a popular Pirate Bay proxy.

Lionsgate DMCA notice

While it’s entertaining to think that these takedowns are truly targeted at TBP-AFK, the more likely explanation is that they are collateral damage. Most DMCA takedown processes are fully automated and somehow the TPB-AFK links were (mistakenly) associated with infringing titles.

However, that doesn’t make it less of a problem.

The whole episode shows once again that something is seriously wrong with the current implementation of the DMCA takedown system. At the moment rightsholders get to take down whatever they want, with almost no oversight and no incentive to improve the accuracy of their systems.

Perhaps a six-strikes plan or some other form of “education” is in order for copyright holders who fail to learn from their mistakes?

Source: Hollywood Studios Censor Pirate Bay Documentary

Over the years we have been following various reports on changes in Internet traffic, specifically in relation to BitTorrent.

One of the patterns that emerged with the rise of video streaming services is that BitTorrent is losing its share of total Internet traffic.

This downward spiral is confirmed by the latest Sandvine report which reveals that BitTorrent traffic is now responsible for 9.2% of all U.S. Internet traffic in North America during peak hours, compared to 11.3% last year.

However, if we look at the actual volumes of data being transferred through file-sharing networks we see that usage is still growing. Median Internet traffic increased by more than 50% since last year on fixed networks, so in terms of actual traffic BitTorrent usage is going up.

BitTorrent’s presence is most visible in upstream traffic, with 34.8% of all data transferred during peak hours going through the protocol. HTTP traffic comes in second with 7.5% and Dropbox gets a notable mention with 1.2% of all upstream traffic during peak hours.

BitTorrent usage remains high in other regions as well, and highest of all in Asia-Pacific where it’s credited for 21.6% of total Internet traffic during peak hours. In Europe and Latin America this percentage is 17.4% and 10.2% respectively.

Another trend we noticed is that SSL traffic, used for some VPN services, has increased significantly over the past months. In North America upstream traffic over SSL more than doubled its share in a year, from 2.5% to 5.4%. Again, in terms of actual traffic this increase has been even greater and similar patterns are observed in other regions.

In part this boom in SSL traffic may be explained by the increase in VPN usage among BitTorrent users. A significant percentage of users hide their IP-address behind a VPN or proxy and the numbers are expected to go up even further in the future.

This increase in VPN use also means that the actual percentage of BitTorrent traffic is even higher, since the Sandvine report puts the traffic generated by these users in the SSL category.

It will be interesting to see how the “six-strikes” crackdown in the United States and similar measures around the world will accelerate this upward trend for encrypted traffic, and whether BitTorrent traffic continues to grow in the years to come.

Source: BitTorrent Accounts for 35% of All Upload Traffic, VPNs are Booming

How would hit ABC comedy Modern Family look and sound like if it aired on cable? Co-creator Steve Levitan offers a peek in a promo for the Emmy-winning series’ upcoming off-network launch on USA Network in September. The video, written by Levitan, was a highlight at today’s USA upfront presentation, where Modern Family, its cast and Levitan were the main attraction. Enjoy and keep in mind that the video is the result of what I hear were 17 cuts to tone the original down and make it suitable for public (but definitely not family) viewing.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related: USA Unveils Drama Development Slate, Plans For Daytime

Pura coincidência. Acreditem. Mas de que séries falámos? Saibam quais, cliquem aqui!

Antes de mais, pedimos desculpa pelo atraso. Como os nossos mais fiéis visitantes já devem saber, o Manuel não gosta de “How I Met Your Mother”. E ele prometeu que “o bicho ia pegar” neste podcast. E pegou. Pegou tanto que a gravação teve de ir à censura… E de lá voltar… Mais uma vez… E outra.

Noutros destaques: O Vítor achincalha “Touch” e o Ricardo snifa. Ouçam e saibam porquê… Aqui.

ALINHAMENTO

• 00:00:00 – 00:01:23 — Introdução
• 00:01:23 – 01:32:38 — Balanços de Temporada/Série
  • 00:01:23 – 00:05:29 — Castle
  • 00:05:29 – 00:13:42 — Happy Endings
• 00:13:42 – 00:16:27 — American Dad
• 00:16:27 – 00:19:50 — Person of Interest
• 00:19:50 – 00:24:40 — 2 Broke Girls
• 00:24:40 – 00:35:28 — Community
• 00:35:28 – 00:45:34 — The Americans
• 00:45:34 – 00:55:27 — Parks & Recreation
• 00:55:27 – 01:09:15 — How I Met Your Mother
• 01:09:15 – 01:15:52 — Once Upon a Time
• 01:15:52 – 01:24:25 — Touch
• 01:24:25 – 01:32:38 — Glee
• 01:32:38 – 01:35:31 — Despedidas e uma confusão de caraças!

DOWNLOAD

Subscrever:

• iTunes
• Miro
• Feed

Voltamos na PRÓXIMA SEMANA com mais despedidas e a possível antevisão da nova temporada televisiva.

Já agora, uma questão do Vítor: O que preferem, podcasts mais longos mas em que se abordem mais séries mais exaustivamente, ou podcasts de uma hora, com menos séries?

EXCLUSIVE:When Imagine Entertainment partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard re-upped in their 26th year at Universal in early 2012, like all studio term producers they watched the deal get smaller. They also went from exclusive to first look and while that might have humbled less energetic founders who’d made 50 films for the same studio, Grazer and Howard took it as license to tap into new avenues of distribution and funding to be more productive than ever.

Consider that while Howard tinkers with the finished Formula One drama Rush and casts the Warner Bros adaptation of the Nathaniel Philbrick novel In The Heart Of The Sea with Christopher Hemsworth, Grazer is on the Croisette, beating the drum for a Pele biopic to be directed by The Two Escobars helmer Jeff Zimbalist. Grazer and production president Kim Roth called the film a close cousin to the search for genius depicted in 8 Mile, only here it’s a dirt poor kid’s journey from being part of the Shoeless Wonders (a band of soccer wunderkinds too poor to afford shoes) to a phenom who at 17 led Brazil to the World Cup. Grazer and his partners will have ready the film ready by the time the world is whipped into a frenzy for World Cup action next year.

* While they’ve temporarily halted the move to turn Jack Bauer loose in a 24 feature, they’ve instead decided to bring him back in a limited series, this after selling an Arrested Development revival directly to Netflix. Grazer tells me they are absolutely moving forward with a movie version of another Imagine series, Friday Night Lights, and they will likely use crowd funding to directly tap the rabid fan base of that drama for some of the budget. “We made a terrific feature with Pete Berg, turned it into a terrific TV series and will now make a movie from that series,” Grazer said. “I’m not sure such a thing has been done before.”

* A year after starting the Imagine Reliance Writer’s Lab program and enlisted nine writers to work on scripts and collectively trade ideas to help cohorts the way TV scribes do, Imagine and partner Reliance have 15 make-able scripts they are setting up. One is in production—the Philippe Falardeu-directed The Good Lie with Reese Witherspoon—and among the others is an ambitious reboot of the iconic bloodsucker Lestat from Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire. Scripted by Lee Patterson and godfathered creatively by Alex Kurtzman & Bob Orci, Grazer and Rice and her son Christopher, they have a script they all like, and are in talks with Universal to make The Body Thief. That is the fourth book in Rice’s series, a tale that finds Lestat bored with immortality. He switches bodies with a human for 24 hours, and after relishing the feeling of emotions, conscience and morality, he discovers his trading partner is a psycho doing awful things, and who won’t give back Lestat’s immortal body. “It seemed the best way to relaunch the franchise, because Lestat is such a larger than life vampire than the one who started the mythology,” said Imagine co-president of production Erica Huggins.

* After getting rejected by two studios on an ambitious multi-platform treatment of Stephen King’s seminal novel series The Dark Tower, Grazer, Howard, Akiva Goldsman and King streamlined their original ambition to adapt nine volumes into three features and two limited-run TV series. Now, Media Rights Capital is committed to make a single movie with Russell Crowe as the gunslinger Roland Deschain, with more movies coming if the first gets results. This isn’t set in stone, as Grazer tells me that he has just been approached by a Silicon Valley investor willing to finance Dark Tower as originally constructed, Now it’s a matter of deciding what path to take.

Catalysts for all this activity are Roth, Huggins and Imagine president Michael Rosenberg, and the array of backers and formats have prompted Grazer and Howard to refer to their company as “Imagine 2.0.” Like many vets, they’ve had to remake themselves to adjust to a world where overhead deals are drying up at studios that make fewer movies. But they’ve also quickly discovered that you can get a lot more done, faster, if you become more entrepreneurial and take advantage of all the funding and distribution opportunities in an age where digital is viable, global box office is more important than ever, and where you can throw a rock on the Croisette and hit a billionaire looking to back projects. There’s no need to rely on one studio when there are so many more backers who can say yes.

When I ask Grazer and Howard if it was initially disorienting to have to shop harder, each sounded more energized than cowed. “I never felt we had it easy, and I’ve always viewed the first ‘no’ as my starting point,” Grazer said. “That goes back to our first film, Splash, when everybody said no to a mermaid. We’ve been hearing it all our lives, but since this is about getting your movies made, I’ve never taken ‘no’ personally. To me, that simply tests the strength of the project you want to make.” Howard said they’ve always tried to internally self-scrutinized projects before taking them to Universal, but added that “having to put in extra effort defending your projects to these potential partners is demanded by the current economy of the business, and it’s not a bad thing. To pretend these things don’t apply to us would be smug and short-sighted.”

Being changeable extends to that Writers Lab program. While it elicited promising scripts from the nine writers in the program, Howard and Karen Kehela Sherwood (the longtime Imagine exec who ran it) will improve the model next time around. Having grown up in TV, Howard long wanted to try a collaborative work-shopping system that could help alleviate writer’s block and the solitary prison that surrounds screenwriters by incorporating a free-flowing exchange of ideas from writers working on their own scripts. It’s as promising as he thought it could be, but it will be done different next time. “We learned a lot in our rookie season, but our batting average can be higher, and we probably developed too many comedies when we are looking to international financing to set these movies up. This was fun and exciting, and it validated my feeling that writers could flourish from this environment, and still retain that singular voice. “

Imagine has hardly stepped away from the big-ticket feature, and has numerous ones that are ready to go at Universal.

* That includes Made In America, a film that Howard shot for Imagine and Participant Media, as Jay-Z last year curated the Budweiser Made In America music festival on his home turf in Philadelphia; there is James Brown, a film on the Godfather Of Soul that will shoot late this summer with The Help’s Tate Taylor directing. Grazer, Mick Jagger and the Brown estate are producing a film that will likely discover an actor to lip synch the original masters of Brown’s hits around the tale of a wild life.

* They’ve locked Relativity Media to back The Most Wonderful Time, a film that shoots in September with Jesse Nelson directing the Steven Rogers script, with Diane Keaton, Alan Arkin, and likely Annette Bening, Liam Hemsworth and Amanda Seyfried starring as members of a dysfunctional family that returns home for Christmas with secrets and enough collective drama to spark a holiday ticking time bomb.

* Front and center for Howard is In The Heart of The Sea, the story of a raging whale that became the inspiration for Melville’s Moby Dick. It then becomes a harrowing survival tale as stranded survivors of the split ship try to figure out how to stay alive in uncharted waters. Battling thirst and hunger, cannibalism is on the menu when shooting begins in September.

“It’s a very inspiring combination of narrative pulses in the whale and the survival tale that was the genesis story of one of our great novels,” Howard told me. “It works on visceral and emotional levels, and while it has always been a tremendous challenge because of the water work, technology has made this more reasonable. It’s a big bet for any company, but the technology has made it less expensive than 12 years ago when I prepped a version of Sea Wolf. We could never get a budget in place and we can actually do this movie for less than that budget was so long ago.”

After that comes a line of big projects that have been percolating awhile. At Universal, Will Smith will star in Colossus, based on the D.F. Jones novels that inspired the 1970 film Colussus: The Forbin Project; MRC put The Dark Tower back on track;  Disney is backing a Josh Zetumer-scripted adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book for Howard to direct and Grazer to produce with Gil Netter and Ben Browning and Michael Maher’s Start Motion Pictures; and there is the Robert Ludlum thriller The Parsifal Mosaic, which David Self adapted for Imagine and Captivate at Universal. There is also the Kyle Ward-scripted Arabian Knights being done at Universal with Blacklight Transmedia, and the Jon Krakauer true murder mystery Under The Banner Of Heaven, which Dustin Lance Black adapted for Howard to direct, with Grazer producing along with Jason Bateman, Stephanie Davis and Krakauer for Warner Bros.

“When Brian and I first formed Imagine, we only dreamed it would be the kind of company that could work in all mediums,” Howard said. “The movie business isn’t going anywhere, it’ll find its footing in this new landscape. But there are so many possibilities brimming in TV and internet that while it’s challenging, it certainly has left both of us excited.”

Edição Cannes D'Or, com a antevisão do Festival de Cannes da autoria do Keyzer Soze.

When REM announced their breakup in September 2011 many fans thought it was only a matter of time until they announced a reunion In a new interview with Rolling Stone REM bassist Mike Mills says that any sort of reformation is extremely unlikely "We said we're done and we're done"...

UPDATED: Jimmy Kimmel kicked off ABC‘s upfront presentation Tuesday at NYC’s Lincoln Center in a filmed bit with Scandal‘s Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and Disney/ABC TV President Anne Sweeney. The potshots at NBC also came quickly: “[ABC Entertainment President] Paul Lee isn’t really British – he’s Mexican. We think this is why Univision is beating NBC.” Here’s Kimmel’s full upfronts monologue:

“You’ve seen what we have so far. By show of hands, we’re going to let you vote 1 new show off our schedule. Which will it be? I’m happy to be here. I really do enjoy seeing a lot of you every year coming to New York, but I’d really rather not do the whole song and dance number again so listen, you don’t know if these shows are going to work. I don’t know if these shows are going to work. Just throw your money in these bags, we’ll pass them around and be done with it. It’s time to stop calling this an upfront and start calling it what it really is. Throwing a bunch of shit at a wall to see what sticks. And guess what, you guys are the wall.

Related: Live-Blog: ABC’s Upfront Presentation

This is my 11th year coming to this event and so far this is what I’ve been able to determine. This process is very similar to going to a strip club. We parade out the girls which are the shows to get you excited, and then spend the rest of the night trying to get your money, and tomorrow you have herpes.

Every year we tell you we have a dozen great new shows that people are going to love, and you give us millions of dollars and we put them on and most of them suck, but here’s what’s crazy: Next year you’ll come back and do it again. Every year I wonder, what is wrong with these people? Someone needs to talk to them about their spending! Then it occurred to me, maybe this is a good place for me to sell some of my shit. This is an HP printer, inkjet color copier – $20, no power cord. I’m also selling a Palm Trio cellphone, Verizon, $40. Works pretty good. I’ve got three parrot cages available – make me an offer. And finally, this Bud Light Golden Wheat neon sign – classes up any place, yours for only $175.

But that’s not why we’re here. The reason we’re here is because you are about to invest billions of dollars in a network that rolled a 400-lb. comedian off a diving board last week.

This is an interesting time in television history. It’s a time of great change. We’re seeing more diversity than ever before. ABC has a big hit with the first show in almost 40 years on which the lead actor is an African-American woman, and at the same time more and more traditional white male characters are being portrayed as morally ambiguous, dangerous, and self-destructive villains – Walter White on Breaking Bad, Don Draper on Mad Men, Matt Lauer on The Today Show… the list goes on.

And yes, it’s true, every year our audience does get smaller. To which I say every year Apple products get smaller and nobody has a problem with that. One of the shows previewed today was written by a 3rd grade class – your challenge tonight is to figure out which one it was.

This has been a tumultuous year for late night television. NBC, as you know, is replacing Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show. They did a lot of research and they found that by being #1 in his time slot he was embarrassing their other shows so they had to get rid of him. Jimmy Fallon will replace him. You know, a lot of people still confuse me with Jimmy Fallon. Here’s an easy way to remember which of us is which. He’s the one who sings and plays the guitar, I’m the one who comes here every year and calls you assholes.

Related: ABC 2013-2014 Schedule

NBC is on a roll – oh wait, not a roll. What do you call it? A spiral. It’s important to remember when you cancel one Matthew Perry show, three more rise up to take its place. Things are looking up for NBC since they finally got rid of their worst shows, The Office and 30 Rock. They’re planning a 12-day long game show called The Million Second Quiz. The top prize is $10 million, which is pretty amazing. Not the prize, but the fact that NBC has $10 million.

NBC actually finished behind Univision this year, and they have an interesting strategy for next year. Their strategy for next year is to oppose immigration reform.

By the way, how does it work at the Univision upfront? Do they lie to you in Spanish?

NBC isn’t the only one struggling. Yesterday Kevin Reilly admitted it wasn’t a great year for Fox network either, so this season they’re taking a different approach with what they call ‘limited run’ shows. Which, by the way, we’ve been doing for years. 666 Park Ave, Last Resort, Don’t Trust The B In Apartment 23 – all limited, very limited.

The Fox upfront was interesting. With the exception of the problems they’re having with American Idol, there’s a lot to like about their new schedule. Of course, with the exception of the hole in the side of the boat there was a lot to like about the Titanic, too. American Idol will be hard to replace but Fox has one new show with the potential to do it, it’s called Junior Master Chef and the idea is Gordon Ramsay works with 9-12 year old kids. They were originally going to call it Mommy, A Mean British Asshole Told Me My Pancakes Look Like Goat Dick, but the title didn’t test well with women or goats.

Then we have CBS, those smug motherfuckers. Les Moonves told CNBC that jokes about CBS skewing old are ‘over’. Sorry Les, but those jokes aren’t over til my grandma throws away her Mentalist hemorrhoid donut. In a way it doesn’t matter because NCIS, Criminal Minds, Tom Selleck dressed as a cop – these are shows for young people! CBS has a new show premiering at the end of the month called The American Baking Competition. That’ll get the kids to put down their iPhones. They’d better be baking pot brownies because otherwise no one under 60 is going to watch.

The line between online and television programming has never been less well defined. It used to be that you watched TV on your couch and web videos were something you watched on the toilet. Now you can watch everything on your toilet. The internet poses a significant challenge. It’s been difficult for young viewers who watch online to embrace traditional content because so many of them are masturbating… but we are very excited about our app which lets you watch live content on your tablet or mobile phone. Mow you need never miss your favorite ABC shows just because you’re driving again.

We have two major new initiatives debuting today. The first is WATCH ABC. We call it this because our market research shows that people did not know what to do with ABC. Do I smoke it? Do I eat it? No you watch it and that’s the message we wanted to send.

The other is ABC Unified. ABC Unified means you can spend less time figuring out how to allocate your ad buy across multiple platforms and more time doing whatever the hell else you people do all day. We believe this is a revolutionary new made-up way for us to take your money.

It was a season of many ups and downs for us here at ABC. Our celebrity diving show Splash didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. But we have a great idea for next season. Next season we’re taking the water out of the pool and calling it Splat.

Then we had Shark Tank, which, let’s be honest, sounded like the worst idea for a show. It’s #1 on Friday nights. If you’re not advertising on Shark Tank you’re missing a golden opportunity to connect with the highly desirable Lonely Failed Inventor demographic.

The Bachelor is still going strong. The Bachelor, of course, is a show based on the theory that one in 25 hairstylists is your soulmate.

Related: ABC New Series Trailers

And what a year for Kerry Washington. She has a hit TV show Scandal, starred in the Academy Award-winning Django Unchained, she got to be in a sketch with me and Anne Sweeney…

I just want to take a minute to salute the great Barbara Walters. As you know, Barbara is leaving ABC after more than 50 years, to have a baby. My baby. I love you Barbara. Where is Barbara, is she still here? She left…? Well, we’ll have it terminated.

You have a difficult job this week. You have to somehow figure out which if any of these new shows is going to be successful, which is something we can’t figure out, and we made them. But the thing that’s important to remember is that last year NBC made a show starring a monkey and a lot of you bought advertising on it. So clearly none of us have any idea what we’re doing. As the old saying goes, you can’t polish a turd, but you can buy $100M in ad time on it. So let’s do that. Let’s go in on a turd together.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing you next year, and I return you now to Harry Potter.”

If you are looking for a way to get more out of your MacBook or MacBook Pro, consider a solid-state drive (SSD). SSDs offer faster data read and write speeds, fast file transfers, speedier boot times and will save you some battery life. In the past, SSDs were considered somewhat pricey upgrades and out of reach for many users. Today, prices are dropping and quality drives can be had for a song through retailers like Amazon and OWC.

Today I will show you how to install an SSD, specifically the Samsung 840 series into a June 2012 MacBook Pro. The proceedure in this tutorial video will work for any SATA-based Mac notebook with a few monior adjustments to the physical installation of the disc.

Keys to Success

Remember: before doing a full hard-disc transplant, make a full backup of your computer. Rather than restoring from a backup to a new drive, I used Carbon Copy Cloner and a Seagate Thunderbolt Adapter to clone my internal drive's contents before installing the new SSD. If you don't have a Seagate Backup Plus drive you can pick up a universal drive dock or Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade Kit for about US$30. They're nice to have around anyway.

This whole upgrade process is super easy and you should be able to complete it in a few hours depending on how much data you need to transfer. Now go forth and do yourself a solid.

Disclaimer: Note that opening a new MacBook Pro won't void your warranty, but replacing stock parts with your own third-party parts will void the standard Apple warranty.

Mac 101: Upgrade to SSD originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Andressa Urach, processada por Cristiano Ronaldo e criticada por milhares de portugueses, que a acusam de mentir, afirmou que "quanto mais falam, mais o meu bumbum cresce".

Inside the mind behind “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal.”

The actor’s Fox drama “Touch” steadily lost viewers, but its exit has inspired talk of a return to “24.”

Click to listen to REM's 'Orange Crush (Live)' REM were feeling a little restless when they began recording Green in early 1988 During the previous seven years they'd gone from a completely unknown college rock band to genuine pop stars even scoring a Top 10 hit with 1987's "The One I...

Eis como termina a sinopse oficial da ZON Lusomundo para um dos seus próximos lançamentos, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", de Mira Nair: "Conduzindo-nos através dos mundos culturalmente fascinantes de Nova Iorque, Lahore e Istambul, O RELUTANTE FUNDAMENTALISTA é uma exploração ao fenómeno perturbador mas fascinante da globalização. O FUNDAMENTALISTA RELUTANTE é uma obra da conceituada realizadora Mira Naire, sendo baseado no bestseller de Moshin Hamid".

Estou fundamentalmente relutante. Desculpem, relutante. Fundamentalmente. Assinado: Calros Reise. Perdão, Carlos Reis.

Wrekin Hill Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to the Bille August-directed thriller Night Train To Lisbon from K5 International. Gregg Latter and Ulrich Herrmaa, pic is an adaptation of the Pascal Mercier novel, starring Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Melanie Laurent, Martina Gedeck, August Deihl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee and Charlotte Rampling. It premiered at Berlin. Pic follows follows Swiss professor Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) who meets a beautiful and mysterious young Portuguese woman in Berne. Through her, he learns of a mesmerizing book by Portuguese author Amadeu de Prado, which compels him to spontaneously abandon the boring life he has led, and to embark on an enthralling adventure in Lisbon.

The film has already been released successfully inseveral foreign territories including Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and in Germany, where the film’s German distributor Concorde has already seen the film surpass the $5 million mark at the box office. K5 is handling all international sales.

Não sei se existe um Céu. Ou um sítio qualquer com outro nome, para onde se vai, depois. A existir, confio que terá, ao menos, wireless. Assim sendo, espero que possas ler isto, meu Pai. 

Hoje o iPod esbofeteou-me com aquela música do razoavelmente foleiro Fábio Jr, a canção "Pai Herói". E como sempre, quando isso acontece, fui-me abaixo.

É incrível como perdoamos e nos perdoamos, com o tempo. Não perdoei (falha minha, até porque perdoar ou não é miseravelmente igual) a tua violência com a mãe, mas desconto, à distância, vendo-te hoje, daqui, tão humano, tão afinal de contas aflito e frustrado...saiu-te tudo ao contrário não foi? Foste cruel, tantas vezes. Tonto, quase sempre.

Percebo hoje que sim, é possível sentir saudades do que não se teve, e saudades de ainda ir a tempo de fazer a nossa parte toda, para que tudo fosse melhor. Ou só diferente, que a esperança é uma forma de ingenuidade sonhadora, muitas vezes contra todas as evidências em contrário. 

Sabes? Na segunda-feira queria ter-te tido ao meu lado na bancada. Não para me dares alento a mim, mas para eu te acalmar o teu ataque de fúria. E dizer-te que ainda nada estava perdido, tem calma; agora seria eu assumir um tom paternal, parece que é a ordem natural das coisas, acabarmos pais dos nossos pais. 

Por estes dias queria contar-te da Maria e os dentes a romper. Do Gonçalo e a prova de português que correu bem. A primeira comunhão da Mafalda. Tudo o que aconteceu e tudo o que está a acontecer na minha vida. Os dias em que o chão me foge. Perguntar-te: "O que é que eu hei-de fazer, papá?"

Sei que não eras o Pai ideal para eu perguntar, e muito menos para me responder a resposta boa, aquela resposta que faz sentido e ilumina o caminho. Mas não tive outro pai, só tu. Não tenho ilusões. Hoje a música tocou, e chorei de novo. 

 

Pai, eu cresci e não houve outro jeito
Quero só recostar no teu peito
Pra pedir pra você ir lá em casa 
E brincar de vovô com meu filho
No tapete da sala de estar
Pai, você foi meu herói, meu bandido
Hoje é mais muito mais que um amigo
Nem você nem ninguém tá sozinho 
Você faz parte desse caminho 
Que hoje eu sigo em paz

Nem percebo muito bem porque mexe tanto comigo, tendo em conta aquilo que fomos um para o outro, enquanto cá andaste. Quando me despedi de ti, naquela sala dos cuidados intensivos daquele hospital em Coimbra, onde todas aquelas pessoas de bata eram figurantes fantasmas e só lá estava eu e tu, e tu eras ali o avó, igual a ele, velho, velho velho, nunca mais me vou esquecer, tão velho me pareceste, tão frágilzinho, tão criança perdida, aflita. Não sei se me sentiste. Não falámos, estavas sob o efeito dos medicamentos e da vida toda vivida e não cumprida, e tudo isso se misturava ali, na forma de uns sons que não chegavam a ser palavras, não falámos, não sei se percebeste que o teu filho Pedro estava ali. O único dos teus três filhos que foi lá despedir-se, sim, porque eu sabia bem que era a última vez que te via com vida, uma vida fininha e frágil, a esgotar-se como a areia numa ampulheta, o tempo está a contar, pai, estás a ouvir, vim saber de ti? perguntei, sem resposta.

Queria que no dia 15 pudéssemos ir os dois ver a Final. Lembras-te quando saí da Luz em lágrimas por causa do golo do cabrão do Lozano? E tu me disseste, enquanto passávamos junto do fogo preso, que preso e apagado ficou e que estava montado naquele placar do totobola, topo sul da antiga e eterna Luz? 

"Eles é que ganham milhões e tu é que estás para aí a chorar?". Hoje percebo que eras tu a não querer desatar a chorar, querias tanto ver o Benfica ganhar uma final, e que eu visse como tu tinhas visto antes, há tanto tempo. Mas nunca deixarias cair a tua capa de super fanfarrão. Digo-o sorrindo, para que saibas.

Queria levar-te a Amesterdão. Queria que tivesses conseguido falar, que tivesses conseguido ser melhor pessoa, e que eu tivesse ajudado. Pai eu fui lá, eu quis saber. Foi para meu conforto ou para o teu? Lembras-te das vezes que te levei comida, e tu sozinho em casa, dias a fio sem sair? A vida tão escura, os dias feitos de ressentimento e raiva já meia balhelhas. E lembras-te das pouquíssimas vezes em que até parecia que éramos possíveis, pai e filho, em bom?

 

Pai, me perdoa essa insegurança
É que eu não sou mais aquela criança
Que um dia morrendo de medo
Nos teus braços você fez segredo
Nos teus passos você foi mais eu

 

Sabes, Papá, porque não me aguento, quando esta música toca? Esta semana, um vizinho meu amigo lembrou-me as palavras do padre Tolentino Mendonça, que diz que "Somos mesquinhos, banais, egocêntricos, ressentidos. Se não tomamos consciência disso, não conseguimos a transformação. A primeira condição da transformação é a nudez. Ser capaz de contar a sua verdade." Quem me dera ter conseguido isso contigo. Termos conseguido isso um com o outro. A nossa verdade. Ele também diz isto: "Sermos nós próprios é percebermos o caminho da imperfeição. O que nos mata é essa perseguição da perfeição. Não temos de ser perfeitos. Temos de ser inteiros."

Gostava de ter falado contigo sobre isto. Podia ser que houvesse aí um caminho para nós. Que tivessemos conseguido o milagre de sermos ao menos inteiros, um para o outro.

Afinal fomos o que fomos, agora eu dou comigo a ouvir esta maldita música de uma novela antiga, do tempo antigo em que existias e eras horrível, e a pensar: não te conheci. Não deu. Mas tenho saudades tuas. Ou saudades de que existisses, pelo menos. E eu pudesse ter a ilusão ingénua de ser possível trocarmos umas ideias. Correu tudo mal, não foi? Tivéssemos tido nós a lucidez e a tenacidade para conseguirmos perceber, a tempo, aquilo que Dostoievski quereria dizer quando disse que "a maior felicidade é quando a pessoa sabe porque é que é infeliz."

Não creio que tivesses chegado a perceber. Hoje, quando aquela música tocou, pensei assim: não foi naquele hospital, nem nas irreprimíveis lágrimas naquele gelado crematório em Rio de Mouro ou Rinchoa ou lá o que era aquele fim do mundo, nunca mais lá fui, nem conseguiria se quisesse. Foi hoje que fiz as pazes com a minha ideia de ti. Percebi porque fomos tão infelizes. E está tudo bem. Está tudo bem, papá. Ainda bem que tivemos esta conversa. Quando voltarmos a falar, vai correr bem, vai ser mesmo bom. Começaremos daí. E sim, vamos ganhar. Vamos sempre a tempo de ganhar tudo.

E seguimos o nosso caminho. Em paz.

 

Clear for iOS is an elegant, simple and extremely intuitive to-do list app which adds an element of fun to what might otherwise be rather static and boring lists. Suffice it to say, it's well worth checking out if you find yourself juggling a bunch of tasks on a consistent basis. Notably, the app was listed on Apple's top app picks for 2012.

While the app normally sells for US$1.99, Realmac Software has teamed up with Starbucks to offer the app for free for one day only.

The deal expires today so check it out over here and start planning! The link will whisk you away to iTunes where a promo code will be uniquely generated for you, allowing you to start the download.

Realmac's Clear app is free to download today originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 May 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EXCLUSIVE: This ought to reverberate through the geek realm. Warner Bros has acquired rights to make a movie based on Dungeons & Dragons, the perennially popular role-playing game fantasy game. The studio is actually quite far along in the development of the project, as it will use a script by Wrath Of The Titans and Red Riding Hood scribe and Frank Darabont protege David Leslie Johnson. That script, Chainmail, was acquired last year as a free-standing project, based on an obscure game that was also hatched by D&D designer Gary Gygax before he and Dave Arneson launched D&D. It is being retro-fitted to fit the much bigger game creation. The film will be produced by The Lego Movie producer Roy Lee and Courtney Solomon. The latter actually directed a 2000 Dungeons & Dragons feature, a film that starred Jeremy Irons and did not do well.

Given the heightened interest in sword, sorcery, chivalry and cool creatures within Warner Bros with the HBO series Game Of Thrones and the ongoing Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, it is expected that the studio will expend the necessary resources to create a world around a well-established brand which has generated north of $1 billion in books and merchandise since it was launched in 1974. The studio is going out to filmmakers and I’m told they are treating it as a big priority. Alan Zeman is exec producing. I’ve never played the game, but it is a fantasy universe on the order of The Lord Of The Rings, which was most popular back when players had to use their collective imaginations — before video games became so visually sophisticated that it eliminated the need to do much more than sit back and blast away. The studio’s intention is to reboot the franchise for a new generation.

EXCLUSIVE: Robert Downey Jr is set for another huge payday from a mega-hit Marvel movie, this time Iron Man 3. I’ve learned he’s already made $35 million from the actioner which grossed $680 million worldwide in its first 12 days. He should exceed his biggest payday to date — that $50M from The Avengers which I’ve learned was more like $70M-$80M now that the film is all in. But it’s really Avengers 2 where he’ll clean up big-time — if he wants to reprise the role. He’s hinting to some media it may be time to retire Tony Stark. And saying to other outlets that Marvel better show him more money for Avengers 2. ”I don’t know,” he said on The Daily Show. ”I had a long contract with them and now we’re gonna renegotiate.” (“You are Iron Man! You are!” cheered Jon Stewart.) I’ve learned that Marvel and therefore owner Disney are going to run into big trouble on that sequel because the upfront pay, backend compensation, break even points and box office bonuses aren’t pinned down yet for several big stars and castmates. This is major hurdle which Walt Disney Co Chaiman/CEO Bob Iger hasn’t even mentioned to Wall Street or shareholders although he’s already been hyping Avengers 2 for more than a year now.

First and foremost Marvel does not have Downey in place yet. ”They need him, and they don’t have him. He’s got a lot of leverage,” one insider tells me. Much less so Scarlett Johannsen (paid to pop up in Marvel movie after movie), Chris Evans (whom some sources say made his deal for Avengers 2 when he signed for Captain America 2), Chris Hemsworth (a much bigger star now than before and unsigned for Avengers 2), Mark Ruffalo (whose Hulk role already was cast 3 times and could be the most vulnerable), Jeremy Renner (probably grateful for more exposure), Samuel L. Jackson (Scarlett’s doppelganger) among others who were paid pittances for their first movies, not much better for the sequels, and are counting on at least $5 million upfront and better back ends for Avengers 2. That means much better than what Marvel claimed was Avengers’ break-even point: a whopping $1.1 billion in global grosses. (“If Avengers wasn’t profitable until then, why would you make it?” one rep pointedly asked Marvel top execs Kevin Feige and Louis Esposito.) In a business where studio accounting is known as fatal subtraction and even worldwide blockbusters are still supposedly in the red, Marvel and its famously frugal CEO Ike Perlmutter still give new meaning to the term stingy. I’ve learned that one reason why The Avengers was nominated for only one Oscar – Best Visual Effects – in the 85th Academy Awards contest was because Marvel refused to pay for an awards season campaign for the picture. And even when Disney offered to foot the bill, Marvel still wouldn’t budge. (Yet the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences assembled the cast onstage to create buzz.) Here’s how one exec describes any negotiation with Marvel: “I wouldn’t say it’s brutal. It’s uncompromising, not mean or draconian. The fact is this is the reality of the world we’re living in right now.”

Related: Disney And Marvel Do Damage Control After Media Scrutiny Of Ike Perlmutter

But The Avengers cast are ready to rumble with Marvel for the Avengers sequel slated for a May 2015 release. “Some received only $200,000 for Avengers and Downey got paid $50M. On what planet is that OK?” an insider tells me. CAA represents an overwhelming majority of the Marvel stars and is trying hard to keep the negotiations out of the public limelight and media headlines. But that may not be possible with some reps blaming the studio for ’scorched earth’ tactics past and present. ”Marvel has created so much animosity by strong-arming and bullying on sequels already. It’s counterproductive,” one source tells me. Says another, “I’m sick of Kevin Feige telling me again and again how Marvel is ‘reinventing the movie business’. It doesn’t work like this. They’re reinventing business, period.” I’ve learned Marvel already has threatened to sue or recast when contracts and/or options are challenged. That prompted a few cast members to respond, “Go ahead.” I hear Hemsworth especially wasn’t anxious to go back into that arduous diet and training regimen and subsist primarily on egg whites for Thor: Dark World which hits theaters November 8th. I also understand that Scarlett Johanssen told castmates she’s “not going to cut her quote” for Marvel’s Avengers 2. The actress as butt-kicking operative Black Widow in The Avengers and Iron Man 2 is wrapping Captain America: The Winter Soldier and has a whopping 8 options total.

Already a lot of brinkmanship played out for Captain America 2 and Thor 2. Calling it the “weirdest experience”, one rep still can’;t believe Marvel offered “only a $500,000 raise and then would pay another $500,000 when the movie hits $500M. Are they out of their minds?” When it was pointed out to Marvel that Hemsworth already had received $5M for his starring role in Snow White And The Huntsman, the studio shot back, ”I don’t know why you’re complaining when Marvel only has hit movies.” To which the response was, “He’s happier working at a place like Universal.” After hard-fought bargaining, Chris Evans for Captain America 2 and Chris Hemsworth for Thor 2 wound up with deals still weighted on the back end but at least with attainable break-even numbers and small upfront guarantees and box office bonuses.

The issue going forward is how many of the Avengers stars and starlets are still bound by early agreements and longterm options which Marvel can continue to exploit individually. To counter, I’ve learned the Avengers cast are becoming united behind Robert Downey Jr who is seen as the “leader” – like “a big brother” in the words of one rep - for all the younger actors in the ensemble. “He’s the only guy with real power in this situation. and balls of steel, too. He’s already sent a message that he’s not going to work for a place where they treat his colleagues like shit,” one source explains. Another rep tells me, “I have four words for Marvel – ‘Fuck you, call Robert.’” As Downey himself has said publicly about his $50M-plus payday, ”I’m what’s known as a strategic cost,” adding that Marvel is “so pissed” he earned that much. At this point also, no one is talking Iron Man 4 yet but it’s hard not to anticipate. Don Cheadle predicted there’s “potential” for a 4th installment. “No one has been specific about what that might look like or what the story could even be,” he said. “First we have to see how this one plays and if people have an appetite for it, and then we’ll figure out if there’s a way to convince Robert to come back and do another one.”

Some reps tried to go straight to Iger in hopes of discussing renegotiations since Disney purchased the multimedia empire in 2009 for $4.3B - but were rebuffed. “Wait, that’s Marvel. You need to talk to them. I can’t have this conversation,” Iger replied, thus totally distancing himself. Other reps hoped Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn would be helpful. But Horn made clear that Marvel greenlights their own movies and only “coordinates” with him. Besides, he tells reps, “Marvel is doing such a great job running itself.” (In fact Horn himself only met Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter last fall and told a pal about their get-together. “It could not have gone better. We had a meal. I was very impressed with his directness. We’re the same age: how could we not have a good time together?”)

The sad truth is that both Iger and Horn are scared stiff of Perlmutter and want to steer clear of the inevitable nightmare negotiations. Reps predict Ike is “going to create a lot of drama and going to want to prove a point and not look like he’s going to get run over”. Says one out of frustration: “I’m so bent out of shape by this asshole. He now works for a public company so I don’t understand how he can keep hiding behind the curtain.” Easy, because the Israeli-born and reclusive Perlmutter, worth $2.4B, is Disney’s third largest individual shareholder. (He had been the second biggest shareholder but that changed when Disney added Star Wars to its empire and handed George Lucas a ginormous compensation package. Disney’s top shareholder remains the Steve Jobs Trust.) Disney never dared hope that The Avengers would reap $1.5 billion in worldwide box office revenue, the third highest global gross ever. Yet no castmember has ever heard from Ike. True, Kevin Feige phoned the cast that weekend opening, but it was a first. And Iger did pick up the phone to congratulate filmmaker Joss Whedon who recalled to Deadline recently: “He couldn’t have been sweeter. He said ‘This wasn’t about the other movies — you did this’.”

Acknowledging “I’m doing okay” compensation wise, Whedon reportedly has a “really rich deal” worth and astronomical $100M for several pics, consulting work, a put pilot at ABC, and many other elements,” one source tells me. But even Whedon admits that “Marvel can be very cheap” and believes the reason the cast aren’t ”getting giant quotes” is because of ”the element of the opportunity here for something that is both popular and very human, and usually you have to choose as an actor”. But he does see the potential contract hardball as “an issue”.

Here are the pertinent parts of that interview:

DEADLINE: Marvel is notoriously cheap and some of the Avengers cast will want more money for the sequel. How could that affect Avengers 2?
WHEDON: I’m not going to comment specifically because I’m not privy to that sort of stuff and I don’t think it’s my place to talk about. In general terms, yes – Marvel can be very cheap, God knows. They can also be sensible and frugal. They have a very small infrastructure and they’re not heaping this money on themselves. I don’t know a producer who’s done more and is paid less than Kevin Feige. I think that it’s an issue but it’s part of a bigger issue, which is there was a time when there was a crisis in the acting community where stars were getting $20 million and character actors were disappearing as a concept. There were no middle class actors. It was suddenly bit players and Jim Carrey, and that was it. Now the studios have gotten to a point where they’re like, “Do we need that star?” With what they’re able to to digitally and the way they create franchises there’s a little bit of a feeling of, maybe we can eliminate the actor – not totally and not totally cynically, but I’ve literally heard people at the agency say, not about Marvel, “This studio is eliminating the middle movie. They’re not making dramas or prestige pics or anything that isn’t either a franchise or a Paranormal-style found footage”. I think that changes the landscape for actors because really good actors are interested in doing a franchise because they need something.

DEADLINE: So are you worried about losing talent over these kinds of disputes?
WHEDON: I feel good about Avengers because I feel everyone who took it got something to sink their teeth into. They weren’t hung out to dry. It’s not a soulless piece of work. It may be inept in some places but I meant every word. Marvel distinguished themselves by going after good actors, writers, and directors who were unexpected choices. One side to that is they don’t have to pay them as much. Me, [Jon] Favreau, [Kenneth] Branagh, James Gunn – we don’t have giant action quotes, but we’re all filmmakers who want to do something with a giant action movie instead of just accomplish it. And the actors, from Downey straight on through, they only went after the people who could get it done. So how come they’re not getting giant quotes on this movie? There’s the element of the opportunity here for something that is both popular and very human, and usually you have to choose as an actor.

DEADLINE: A movie makes a billion dollars and an actor is looking at their contract for the next sequel…
WHEDON: And they’re probably going to mention that.

DEADLINE: You don’t think this could conceivably create any problems for Avengers 2?
WHEDON: I don’t, because that would make me sad and I tend to be a bit Pollyanna. I tend to think these roles can alter the course of a career. Not that Mark Ruffalo needs this or is in pursuit of this. That man will always work. But it doesn’t suck. We had an amazing time making the movie and that kind of recognition doesn’t hurt, if it’s not with Marvel or the next guy. It’s useful.

BitTorrent seems an unlikely ally for content creators given its past association with online piracy. But the file sharing site today unveiled yet another tool designed to help media makers to connect with fans – and profit from it. Its latest initiative, the BitTorrent Bundle, introduces a “gated” multimedia torrent designed to boost engagement within its 170 million-strong user base. The format allows creators to put content on offer on BitTorrent, add supplemental multimedia content of any file format or size, and set parameters for how fans can access the bonus materials, potentially via email gate, donation, or pay gate. BitTorrent’s Bundle launches in alpha with EDM music label Ultra Music but the company hopes film and TV creators take advantage of the program as an option for digital distribution. Bundle’s gated torrent could be unlocked, for example, by driving fans to Netflix, iTunes, a movie theater, or a Facebook page for a like. The file sharing site got a huge response last month when it partnered with Cinedigm to release the first seven minutes of Arthur Newman free to BitTorrent users, even if the experiment was more of a success for BitTorrent than for the film. The promo had 1.4 million downloads with 150,000 of those downloaders subsequently visiting the movie’s website for more information.