NBC Buys 'Apocalipstick' Comedy, 'Masters and Apprentice' Drama from BermanBraun (Exclusive)

NBC scoops up two more projects from former network honchos Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. The network has purchased scripts for dramaMasters and Apprentice and comedyApocalipstick. The first kind, in the pair's BermanBraun and Universal Television, focuses on a rookie FBI agent who enlists the use of a legendary but mysterious former operative to assist him infiltrate the shadowy group accountable for his parents' dying. The project is going to be written and executive created by Criminal Minds scribesDan Dworkin and Jay Beattie, with Gene Stein(Alphas, The Cape)becoming a professional producer. Berman and Braun are generally attached as non-writing Expanded polystyrene. The second is really a comedy, also from BermanBraun and Universal Television, in regards to a lady's father who eventually ends up dating her senior high school enemy. The project is going to be written and executive created by Julie Klausner (Ugly People in america, Best Week Ever), with Stein, Berman and Braun aboard as executive producers. Karen Spiegel will function as a co-executive producer. Dworkin and Beattle, whose other writing credits range from the Event and Whim, are repped by ICM Klausner is repped by WME. Related Subjects NBC TV Development

Lynne Ramsay Sets Her Sights on Moby Dick... in Outer Space

After writer-director Lynne Ramsay (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar) debuts her latest film, this December’s moody Tilda Swinton-Ezra Miller pic We Need to Talk About Kevin, she’ll set her sights on more classic fare: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick… only, set in space. “We’re taking the premise into the realm of the galaxy; it’s creating a whole new world, and a new alien, a very psychological piece” Ramsay told Radio 5 Live’s Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. “Mainly taking place in the ship, a bit like Das Boot, so it’s quite claustrophobic. It’s another monster movie, in a way, ‘cause the monster’s Ahab.” Stick around for more happenings in today’s Buzz Break. center> [Radio 5 Live via The Guardian] If you caught (and loved) Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene last weekend, you may be delighted to hear that her other Sundance ‘11 picture, the one-take horror remake Silent House, will be in theaters next March. [Cinema Blend] Dark Tower’s not all the way dead yet, says Brian Grazer, who told MTV that they’d shaved $45 million off the original budget and are moving forward by partnering with HBO. [MTV] You can be one of the first to see six minutes of The Dark Knight Rises this December! But only in front of showings of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol on proper 70mm IMAX screens. [Slashfilm] Happy Halloween week! Get in the spirit via Guillermo del Toro, who recently recounted his real-life ghost encounters, one of which was so spooky he had to cleanse by watching The Wire. [Toronto Star]

Exclusive: Vampire Diaries' Arielle Kebbel to Recur on 90210

Arielle Kebbel The Vampire Diaries' Arielle Kebbel continues to be cast inside a recurring role on 90210, TVGuide.com has learned. Kebbel will have Vanessa, a charming, edgy and vivacious former bad girl who likes just a little risk-taking now and then. She'll also become romantically involved and among the show's leading males. 90210 alum Dina Meyer returns towards the zipcode The 26-year-old actress performed Stefan's vampire closest friend Lexi on Vampire Journals and although Damon wiped out her, rumor has it she'll return soon this year. Kebbel's arc on 90210 starts airing in December.

Gotham's Garden can get facelift

Simply what does $850 million allow you to get if you upgrade a structure which brings together the glitziness and vigor in the The The Big Apple and claims itself "our planet's most well-known arena"? Part of the answer will finish up apparent on March. 22 when Madison Square Garden throws open its entrance doors the first time in five several days with World Championship Boxing. The date marks in conclusion in the first phase from the three-part facelift designed to transform the ageing arena in to a sports and entertainment showplace in a position to getting within our prime profile sports, concerts and political occasions of the heyday, additionally to honours shows. The restoration may also be designed to usher in additional earnings per show, to have the ability to encourage tour producers to hold onto discover the Garden over newer arenas like the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. and Prudential Center in Newark, and people being built inside the metropolitan area, such as the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The actual fact a garden is five flooring above ground, requiring more stagehands and teamsters to produce appears, helps it be most likely probably the most pricey venues within the u . s . states to make a celebration. The cost-benefit equation appears like it's sufficient for a number of concert entrepreneurs. Artists already reserved before year's finish include Duran Duran, Enrique Iglesias, Foo Mma fighters, Katy Perry and Taylor Quick. A Garden hosts roughly 350 occasions yearly, which causes it to be the second most widely used arena in the world. Furthermore, it reigns since the third-most popular music arena if this involves ticket sales. The recently completed Phase One centered on remodeling the reduced bowl(the seats within the 100 and 200 levels). Phase II, skedded for next summer season, will target the upper bowl (the seats within the 300 and 400 levels). Phase III, known as for summer season 2013, features a completely new entrance, two spectator bridges within the arena in a position to seating 500 people each, together with a ten,000- fan deck for standing-room attendance. Knicks and Rangers season-ticket holders are chief among people who will have to pony up for your restoration people who've season seats for your Basketball team will dsicover prices jump typically 49%, while their NHL brethren are going through hikes of 23%. Luxury suites, typically a venue's second most critical revenue stream behind television rights, certainly are a focus in the transformation. Really, the refurbished arena was setup while using suites in your thoughts. Right before the overhaul, a garden had 89 luxury suites listed at between $225,000 and $400,000, all situated inside the arena's upper concourse. In 1991, throughout its only prior restoration, the arena spent $200 million to eliminate hundreds of upper-tier seats to have the ability to add suites. The current restoration can provide the arena 167 suites, including 20 so-referred to as "event-level suites," that accommodate around 12 people for individuals Garden occasions where tickets are freely offered, including concerts, the circus and family shows. For hockey, the suites include seats situated inside the first five rows in the arena. For basketball, they include seats in rows 7-12. Fifty-eight new "Madison Suites" will also be built about 23 rows up within the floor, each featuring the identical fundamental layout since the lower suites. For a lot of concerts, happens will probably be situated in the western world finish in the arena or in the heart of the bowl, with no suites behind it. Each suite includes a diner, bar and bath rooms. The kitchen include granite countertops. The suites lease for just about any whopping $millions of yearly, and many types of are spoken for. Garden government bodies declined to show what they're known as of tenants. However, Garden leader and Boss Hank Ratner indicated the tenants just like a Who's Who of corporate America. As well as for your kind of money, there's one extra amenity: Tenants are allowed to choose whether their suite features a working hearth or waterfall. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

B.C. digs for Look

Visual effects house Look Effects has opened up a Vancouver location within the Gastown district. The organization already has offices in La and Gotham. It joins a slew of other production and vfx companies with facilities in Vancouver, including Pixar, Digital Domain, and Rhythm & Hues, amongst others. Look Effects prez Mark Driscoll told Variety that the organization have been searching at Vancouver for "about ten years.Inch The drive to spread out a Canuck outpost "came lower to versatility," he stated. "Clients desired to have the ability to use Look, however in locations where were preferential due to tax incentives and shooting locations." The vfx company will staff the Vancouver branch with Canadian talent. Its first project in Vancouver is going to be Summit's horror pic "Warm Physiques." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Whitaker, Stanton join 'Last Stand'

Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzman, Johnny Knoxville and Harry Dean Stanton are rounding out the cast of Lionsgate's "The Last Stand," which moved into production Monday with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to acting for the first time since leaving the California governorship. Lionsgate, which has domestic and international distribution rights, said the film has pre-sold well in several overseas territories. Jaimie Alexander is in the female lead opposite Schwarzenegger. South Korean helmer Kim Jee-Woon directs the pic, which finds Schwarzenegger playing the sheriff of a sleepy little town who runs up against an escaped drug cartel leader heading for the Mexican border. Peter Stormare, Rodrigo Santoro, Eduardo Noriega and Zach Gilford co-star in the film, which is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Andrew Knauer wrote the original spec script that was subsequently rewritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and more recently, George Nolfi. Schwarzenegger, Knoxville and Jee-Woon are represented by CAA. Santoro and Stormare are represented by ICM, with Guzman represented by the Gersh Agency, and Whitaker and Gilford represented by WME. Stanton is represented by Bresler-Kelly and Associates. Deals were negotiated on behalf of Lionsgate by Robert Melnik, Executive Vice President of Business Affairs. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

New on DVD & Blu-ray, Week of October 11: 'Green Lantern,' 'The Tree of Life' and 'Horrible Bosses'

It's another banner week for home video releases, with a plethora of choices that run the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime: There's the meaningful tale of 'The Tree of Life' set off against the nonsense of 'Horrible Bosses,' while the comic book world of 'Green Lantern' is juxtaposed with the fantasy life of 'Zookeeper' ... and there's all manner of 'B' movies in between. Read on. 'Green Lantern' What It's About: Director Martin Campbell -- best known for hotshot work on 'GoldenEye' and 'Casino Royale' -- tackles the origins of the Green Lantern with mixed results. The Green Lanterns -- some 3,000 of them, each with a ring that grants him the ability to create anything his mind can imagine -- have been the galactic keepers of the peace for eons. That peace is threatened when the worst evil force in the universe -- Parallax, whose strength is based on fear -- escapes its confinement and heads for Earth on its first stop to galactic destruction. Only newly minted Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a cocky test pilot with fear issues of his own stands in the way of total apocalypse. Will he save the world and win the girl? You betcha. It's Kinda Like: 'Hancock' meets 'Spider-Man' What We Say: Green Lantern was one of those DC comic book super heroes that rebellious fanboys turned to when they were fed up with the predictability of Superman, Batman and their minions. The stories were more involving, the villains more complicated, the powers more otherworldly. None of this translates to the film, however. Reynolds is way miscast -- and way too snarky -- as Jordan/Green Lantern, the other Green Lanterns are way too Disneyesque (to coin a word for being too cartoonish) and Parallax looks more like a thunder cloud with dreads than a devourer of galaxies. There's some cool special effects -- and Blake Lively is always nice to have around -- but for the most part, 'Green Lantern' is a dud. • Extras: The Blu-ray disc includes an extended version of the film, several featurettes, a 'Justice League #1' digital comic, additional scenes, and Warner's Ultraviolet Digital Copy, which allows cloud streaming. Rotten Tomatoes Reviews | Buy DVD | Save DVD to your Netflix queue Watch a clip from the DVD: 'The Tree of Life' What It's About: This ambitious story of love, loss and family ties from Terrence Malick, one of America's most highly-regarded filmmakers, tells the story of a small town Texas family in the 1950s that experiences the loss of one of its sons, a tragedy that triggers each family member's deep questioning about their place in the scheme of things. The mother, father, and remaining brother grapple with the way they can absorb horrific change while still retaining their dignity and remaining thriving human beings. It's a tough journey that taxes each family member ... and audiences as well. It's Kinda Like: 'A River Runs Through It' and 'How the Earth Was Made' What We Say: Maverick filmmaker Malick has had audiences and critics severely divided on this one. Some think it's a masterpiece of lyrical filmmaking; others think it's a cinematic journey sorely in need of an editor. We tend to side with the latter. Malick's scope of one family's place on the planet is so overblown and ambitious that he often gets lost in images that have little to do with the family tragedy at hand. When Malick is able to stay focused on his actors (Jessica Chastain as the mother; Brad Pitt as the father; Sean Penn as the grown brother), he creates magic in showing the tenderness and tensions between them. But when he thrusts the story into imagery of the earth's formation, dinosaurs, and what often seem like the insides of a lava lamp, he loses his grip on good, tight storytelling. Yet this is a film that deserves to be seen. It's a pure example of a director whose vision remains unique and uncompromised. Pitt is a standout as the stern but loving father. • Extras: A behind-the-scenes featurette. Rotten Tomatoes Reviews | Buy DVD | Save DVD to your Netflix queue 'Horrible Bosses' What It's About: Three working stiffs -- Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day -- have the worst bosses in the world, but their financial situations and weak job market prevent then from quitting. Tired of putting up with humiliation and (sexual) harassment by the likes of Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston, the three meet with a hustling ex-con (Jamie Foxx) to get some pointers on eliminating these ogres and come up with a plan to kill each other's boss. Naturally everything that can go wrong, does, and the trio soon find themselves way over their heads in deceit, misunderstandings, and mistaken identities. It's Kinda Like: 'Strangers on a Train' meets 'Nine to Five' What We Say: This mash-up of 'Strangers on a Train,' 'Dirty Work,' 'Swimming With Sharks,' 'Throw Momma From the Train,' 'The Devil Wears Prada,' 'The Office,' 'Nine to Five' and 'The Hangover' starts out by promising us the fulfillment of every worker's wildest dream: getting even with your nasty boss. It's a dark premise, but while insinuating that revenge will be sweet, the film quickly devolves into a silly, vapid, nasty mess with bathroom humor, gratuitous sexual innuendo, and a waste of several talented actors. • Extras: Deleted scenes, a couple behind-the-scenes featurettes. Rotten Tomatoes Reviews | Buy DVD | Save DVD to your Netflix queue Watch a clip: Other New October 11 Releases: 'Adventures in Pornoland': (2008) A Canadian couple head to Hollywood to get work in the film industry but reluctantly get involved in the porn biz. 'Arena' (2011) A man kidnapped from his ordinary life is thrust into the savage world of a modern day gladiatorial arena where men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kellan Lutz, Nina Dobrev, Daniel Dae Kim. 'Beautiful Boy' (2010) A married couple on the verge of separation are leveled by the news that their 18-year-old son committed a mass shooting at his college, then took his own life. Stars Michael Sheen, Maria Bello. 'Cafe' (2010) A week in the life of a group of West Philadelphia residents -- who congregate in the local coffee house -- dealing with life's challenges and trying to get things right. Stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jamie Kennedy, Daniel Eric Gold, Alex Vega. 'Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer': (2011) It's summer time and though feisty, fearless Judy Moody finds herself stuck at home with her pesky brother Stink under the watchful eye of Aunt Opal, she uses her imagination and smarts to turn a boring summer into a fun time. Stars Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Jaleel White, Preston Bailey, Parris Mosteller. 'Lunopolis': 2009) Two documentarians accidentally uncover proof of a hidden city on the moon inhabited by people from the future controlling life on Earth. 'Mr. Nice': (2010) The true story of Howard Marks (aka Mr. Nice, a cult figure who inspired books and songs), a middle-class Welsh boy and Oxford scholar who became one of Britain's biggest marijuana smugglers and hobnobbed with Hollywood hotshots, Arab millionaires and IRA honchos until his arrest and eventual 25-year prison sentence. Stars Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Chloe Sevigny, Crispin Glover. 'The Princess of Montpensier': (2010 -- France) The latest directorial outing by French great Bertrand Tavernier sets love and intrigue against the backdrop of the savage Catholic/Protestant wars that ripped France apart in the 16th century. Based on a novella by the celebrated Madame de Lafayette. 'Terri': (2011) A school principal and a shy-but-pretty teen girl take an overweight social misfit, Terri Thompson -- the lone caretaker and guardian for his elderly Uncle James -- under their wings to help him find acceptance in school ... and life. Stars John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Jacob Wysocki, Olivia Crocicchia. 'Zookeeper': Kevin James is the poor man's Dr. Dolittle in this comedy about the animals in a zoo who offer advice on life and love to their zookeeper in order to prevent him from leaving his job. Stars Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb and the voice talents of Cher, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Judd Apatow, Jim Breuer, Jon Favreau, Faison Love and Maya Rudolph. Check out more October 11 DVD releases at OnVideo.