Fox Buys 'Manny' Comedy From 'Couples Retreat' Scribe

Fox is bulking up its comedy stable with a "manny" comedy. The top rated network has ordered a script with a significant penalty for a single camera comedy from feature writer Dana Fox. The project, from 20th Century Fox TV, takes a look at what happens when a single mom's aimless brother moves in to help her raise her baby. Fox (Couples Retreat, What Happens in Vegas) will write and executive the project, with Chernin Co.'s Peter Chernin andKatherine Pope attached as non-writing executive producers. The news comes as Fox Entertainment presidentKevin Reilly has been public about hisdesire toexpand the network's live-action comedies, a high priority this development season. "Since I came back to Fox, the network has kind of lost its pulse on the comedy side," he told THR last month. "It's debatable how much brand association you have with a network, but historically, there has been higher brand association with Fox: "Oh, that's a Fox unscripted show," or, "that's a Fox drama." Fox comedy had been clear at one point, from Married ... With Children to The Bernie Mac Show to Malcolm in the Middle. It really kind of lost its way, and now I finally feel like we've got the makings of getting that built again." He added, "We're going to try four comedies in March [likely to include Christian Slater's Breaking In], and it's something we want to see more of on the schedule next year." Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose Related Topics Peter Chernin TV Development

The Avengers Parody Trailer: Carnage in Cardboard

We’ve already seen one parody of the star-studded, snarky Avengers trailer that was released a couple weeks ago, but we think those Taiwanese geniuses have been topped by Swede Fest organizers Roque & Brian. The flying, lame one-liners, hair-whipping, and general superhero self-importance are all mocked here, and the closing quip seems to sum up the movie pretty nicely. Please watch, or you’ll be Thorry. The lyric, “We are like the Justice League, but we are not the Justice League” should be emblazoned on all Avengers memorabilia, no? ‘Avengers’ Trailer - sweded, parody, remake [YouTube]

Netflix's Reed Hastings Has not Considered Walking Lower, 'Not for any Second'

NY - Netflix Boss Reed Hastings apologized again for that streaming video company's recent problems, telling the NY Occasions that "we all know that we have to fare better moving forwardInch and stating that he hasn't considered walking lower. And that he stressed that Netflix isn't attempting to put Cinemax along with other premium TV services bankrupt. Faced using the company's recent stock decline from a lot more than $300 in This summer to under $120 now, the Occasions requested him if he's considered resigning as Boss. "No, not for any second," Hastings responded. "I founded Netflix. I have built it continuously over 12 years, first with DVD becoming lucrative in 2002, a mind-to-mind ferocious fight with Blockbuster and changing the organization toward streaming. This is actually the very first time there has been material problems. Should you consider the cumulative history, it's very positive." Requested in regards to a recent turnaround of an agenda to split up Netflix's DVD rental from the streaming business by developing a DVD service known as Qwikster, Hastings described: "During the last few years, we have been on your journey to streaming, doing the Starz deal, doing the Xbox 360 deal. We just moved too rapidly, and that is in which you get individuals skipped execution particulars. It's leading to, understandably, an interior reflectiveness...We have to have a couple of deep breathing and never move as rapidly." But younger crowd added that his team doesn't want "to overcorrect and begin moving stodgily." Confronted with the question when the Qwikster plan was an arrogant move, he responded: "No, It only agreed to be an error in underestimating the depth of emotional attachment to Netflix." Requested what Apple co-founder Jobs would say about how exactly Netflix has operated within the last couple of several weeks, Hastings stated: "I am not likely to put words inside a deceased man's mouth." Netflix continues to be focusing on original series House of Cards, that has place the competition in direct competition with Cinemax, Starz and Showtime. Is Netflix's goal to place places like Cinemax bankrupt? "We are not attempting to put Cinemax bankrupt," Hastings told the Occasions. "I am an Cinemax customer, and that i watch a lot of great shows on Cinemax. We did contend with Cinemax for House of Cards. We all do compete for viewers' time, for dollars and content, but they are bigger and definitely the incumbent." Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Subjects Netflix Cinemax

Fox Buys The Punisher Series Adaptation From Erectile dysfunction Bernero & Marvel With Put Pilot

Within the last large drama deals this purchasing season, Fox has handed a put pilot resolve for The Punisher, a set in line with the Marvel comic from Erectile dysfunction Bernero and ABC Galleries. This is just one of two high-profile sales for former Criminal Minds showrunner Erectile dysfunction Bernero. Younger crowd has high-concept Western spec The Attention setup at ABC. The Punisher is referred to being an hour-lengthy procedural having a Marvel signature along with a new undertake among the comic giant’s legendary figures, Frank Castle, a rising star detective using the NY Police Department who moonlights because the vigilante Punisher, seeking justice for individuals program has unsuccessful. Bernero will executive produce together with Marvel. This marks the very first purchase this year and the first ever outdoors of ABC for Disney-possessed Marvel, that is developing TV series according to its qualities through ABC Galleries. Last season, the organization setup Hulk with Guillermo del Toro and David Eick and Also known as Jessica Johnson with Melissa Rosenberg at ABC. Individuals projects happen to be moving forward a reduced development track in the network. This marks ABC-affiliated ABC Galleries’ second high-profile purchase to Fox this year, following another put pilot commitment for that Shonda Rimes-created eighties dramedy Wildwood. It's also a part of Fox’s go back to the comic adaptation business following the recent cancellation of Human Target. Additionally towards the Punisher, Fox has within the works The Spectre, a drama in line with the Electricity Comics super hero character co-produced by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily. For Bernero’s other project, The Attention at ABC, it's a Western having a paranormal twist occur 1871 Arizona and dedicated to a team of Pinkerton Detectives who look for solutions to inexplicable phenomena. Following a lengthy tenure as showrunner of Criminal Minds and it is spinoff, UTA-repped Bernero has lately centered on development through his ABC Galleries-based Bernero Prods run by Take advantage of Kim. This past year, he produced and executive created the ABC/ABC Galleries drama pilot Partners.

Paranormal Activity 3 To Interrupt B.O. Slump

Paranormal Activity 3 opens in France today, Australia tomorrow, and nearly every foreign territory Friday if this also debuts in The United States. Vital is lowballing the threequel togross a minimum of $35M in domestic box office. However the follow up made $40.6M against its 2010 Halloween weekend competitorSaw three dimensional, andhas no such rival this time around around. So Hollywood is expecting a hell of much more money.Nevertheless, PA3 cost only $5M, making the reduced-budget high-grossing franchise “the gift that continues giving,” like a studio professional informs me. (PA1 did $108M/$85M foreign, while PA2 did $85M within the U.S. and $93M foreign.) Paranormal Activity 3‘s strong monitoring is showingwannasee not only with youthful males but additionally with older moviegoers, therefore the bloodless thriller should break Hollywood’s 3-month-lengthy box office slump a few days ago. Not since Fox’s Rise From The Planet From The Apes ($54.8M) on August fifth has there been a large grossing domestic opener. To function upglobal grosses, Vital participated in 20 round-the-world fan premieres in8 nations having a contest in line with the most Twitter activity. The winning metropolitan areas incorporated Melbourne, Tel Aviv, London,Sao Paulo,NY,and Hollywood’sArclight where 1000's of fans switched out for gourmet food trucksandfranchise star Katie Featherston. Photos below:

Legendary Costume Designer Ray Aghayan, Longtime Partner of Bob Mackie, Dies at 83

Ray Aghayan, a two-time Oscar nominee who won the first Emmy Award for costume design, dressed the glamorous Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross and did the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 83.Related Topics•Obituaries Aghayan, the longtime partner of Bob Mackie, who started as his assistant, died of "unknown causes," the Archive of American Television said Wednesday. Aghayan was instrumental in persuading the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to officially recognize the contribution of costume designers. With Mackie, he won the first ever Emmy for costume design in 1967 for NBC's Alice Through the Looking Glass. He went on to earn two more Emmys (amid nine total nominations) and received a career achievement award from the Costume Designers Guild in 2008. A native of Tehran, Iran, Aghayan was nominated for Oscars for Norman Jewison's Gaily, Gaily (1969); with Mackie and Norma Koch for Lady Sings the Blues (1972) starring Ross as Billie Holliday; and, again with Mackie, for Funny Lady (1975) starring Streisand. For Funny Lady, Aghayan and Mackie created 40 complete 1930s-style outfits -- not only dresses and suits, but also the hats, gloves, scarves and shoes -- for Streisand's Fanny Brice. The son of a society couturier in Tehran, Aghayan at age 14 designed the mourning clothes for the wife of the Shah of Iran, Queen Fawzia. Three years later, he convinced his mother to allow him to move on his own to Los Angeles. After several years producing, directing and designing costumes for his own productions, Aghayan got a job on the mid-1950s anthology series Matinee Theater (the live show required a talent for quick costume changes). That led to a stint as costume designer on the short-lived 1963-64 variety series The Judy Garland Show. Aghayan's film resume also includes The Art of Love (1965), Our Man Flint (1966), Dr. Doolittle (1967), Hannie Caulder (1971) with Raquel Welch and three Doris Day films: Do Not Disturb (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) and Caprice (1967). Aghayan designed costumes for such stars asJulie Andrews,Fred Astaire,Pearl Bailey,Lucille Ball,Diahann Carroll,Carol Channing,CydCharisse,Bing Crosby,SammyDavis,Dick Van Dyke,Barbara Eden,Lola Falana,Mitzi Gaynor,Betty Hutton,The Jackson Five,Danny Kaye,Peggy Lee,Shirley MacLaine,Dinah Shore andLeslie Uggams. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1970 for Applause, and he also designed on Broadway for Vintage 60 (which opened in 1960), The Egg (1962), On the Town (1971) and Channing's Lorelei (1974). In a 1997 interview with the Archive of American Television, Aghayan was asked what makes an excellent costume design. One that "gives the actor the character, helps the actor grow into that human being," he said. "And to be able to help the audience to look at that and know what the hell it is they're looking at."In addition to his work on the Los Angeles Olympics, Aghayan produced Consenting Adult, a landmark 1985 telefilm about a gay son coming out to his family that was adapted from the novel by Laura Z. Hobson. He also did more than a dozen Academy Award telecasts from 1968 to 2001. For the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas in 1974, Aghayan and Mackie designed the opening forHallelujah Hollywood, a $3 million tribute to classic MGM musicals that encompassed an astounding 940 costumes. Related Topics Obituaries

Screen Media buys, re-game game titles 'Fifty Nothing'

Screen Media Films has acquired Thomas Johnston's "Fifty Nothing" and may release the adult comedy in November beneath the new title "About Fifty."Known to love a coming-of-age story in regards to the transitional phase, pic stars Wendie Malick ("Hot in Cleveland"), additionally to Martin Grey Gottlieb and Came Pillsbury, all of whom co-written the script. Duo play longtime golf pals who trek to Palm Springs for just about any weekend to revealed and revive their youth. Fighting to become together with the greater youthful crowd, they find comfort with women closer to their own personal age, but since the weekend advanced, both need to face mid-existence difficulties."Glee" thesp Jessalyn Gilsig co-stars alongside Anne-Marie Manley ("JAG"), Steve Hytner ("Hung") and Michaela McManus (NBC's "Awake"), who makes her feature film debut. "About Fifty" will be the opening evening film in the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, which runs from March. 21 to November. 12. Fest assists since the launch for your film's theatrical release in florida. Pic was shot on location in Palm Springs and first demonstrated within the 2011 Palm Springs Film Fest."This type of pleasure being coping with Thomas Johnston and also the team relating to this funny and informative film keen on the '30-somethings' that are the '50-somethings,'" mentioned Screen Media prexy Suzanne Blech."We percieve firsthand exactly how this film plays towards the audience which we're excited being coping with Suzanne Blech as well as the team at Screen Media," mentioned professional producer Melanie Becker. "We are feeling this really is really an ideal company to obtain the film towards the audience."Repped by Becker, the sale was brokered with Blech, Screen Media Endeavors professional V . p . David T. Fannon and attorney Robert L. Seigel of Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard. Contact Rob Sneider at rob.sneider@variety.com

How to Be a Gentleman Canceled After Shutting Down Production

How to be a Gentleman Production on How to Be a Gentleman has shut down, effectively canceling the struggling series. CBS moves How to Be a Gentleman to Saturdays; Rules takes Thursdays slotThe CBS sitcom, starring David Hornsby and Kevin Dillon, halted production after filming its ninth episode Friday, according to Deadline. Earlier Friday, CBS moved the show from Thursdays to Saturdays at 8:30/7:30c, starting Oct. 15, where it will now burn off its remaining seven episodes.Gentleman is the fourth casualty of the fall season, following NBC's dismissals of The Playboy Club and Free Agents, and The CW saying "later" to H8R. It's also the highest-rated show to be canceled so far, as it averaged 8 million viewers in its first two airings - a big drop-off from The Big Bang Theory's gigantic 14 million lead-in.NBC orders Up All Night and Whitney, cancels Playboy ClubRules of Engagement, which was previously scheduled on Saturdays, will take over Gentleman's Thursdays-at-8:30 berth on Oct. 20 with its Season 6 premiere. A repeat of Big Bang will air in Gentleman's slot next Thursday.

BBC Slashes Budget By $1B a Year, Cuts 2,000 Jobs, Scales Back U.S. Imports

The BBC has slashed its budget for foreign TV imports such as AMCs Mad Men and Danish thriller The Killing, which was a hit for the broadcaster. Budget cuts announced this morning mean that talent may also quit for rival channels because the BBC cannot afford them. Mark Thompson, BBC director general, said in London that the BBC will cut its budget by around $1 billion a year by 2016/17. Around 2,000 of the broadcasters 17,000-strong workforce will lose their jobs 9% of employees. It is thought half of the redundancies will come from BBC News. The Beeb also plans to move out of its west London headquarters, possibly knocking down its huge offices and maybe sell the land to Chelsea soccer club, which has been looking for a new home. The Corporation, which, in economic terms matches the size of the British film industry, is cutting its budget by 20% to $5.4 billion a year for six years. Last October the Beeb rushed into what many saw as a hastily-agreed deal with the UK government, agreeing to have its state grant cut by 16%. Plus the BBC is looking to divert 4% of the money it currently spends into programming and technology rather than on back-office operations. In 2010s UK government spending review, the BBC licence fee the compulsory tax which everybody must pay — was frozen at $225 per head until 2016-17. Much of what Thompson announced this morning seems like good sense. Rival TV broadcasters complain that the BBC has far too much freedom to map what they do already. Anything the private sector does, the BBC can ape using billions of public money, they complain. Thompson has stopped short of scrapping any individual channels or services. Rather, he has trimmed round the edges: BBC2, the BBCs second channel for more offbeat shows, will scrap most of its afternoon programming; there will be more TV drama repeats; and some local radio stations will share shows outside breakfast and drive-time hours. Big outside broadcast events from pop festivals such as Glastonbury will be scaled back. The BBC has been criticised for the amount of money it squanders staging these outside broadcasts for its pop radio channels.

CBS' '2 Broke Girls' Will get Full-Season Order

Richard Cartwright/CBS"2 Broke Women" Whitney Cummings is two-for-two this TV season. CBS has given a complete-season order to newcomer comedy 2 Broke Women, which counts stand-up comic Cummings among its executive producers. The network sent a tweet Wednesday mid-day announcing the pickup. Janet Ales and Kat Dennings star as two 22-year-old women from different skills who find yourself waiting tables in the same diner and start a friendship using the about starting a effective cupcake business within the series co-produced by Cummings and Sex and also the City's Michael Patrick King. STORY: NBC Orders Full Seasons of 'Up Through The Night,' 'Whitney' The multicamera comedy released to 19.4 million audiences along with a 7.1 rating within the marketer-coveted grown ups 18-49 demo following a heavily over-blown Ashton Kutcher-fronted reboot of 2 . 5 Males. PHOTOS: 10 Television Shows Canceled Faster Than 'The Playboy Club' The Warner Bros. Television comedy settled directly into it is time period the next week -- like a lead-directly into Males -- sinking 37 percent but nonetheless bringing in a proper 11.six million audiences along with a 4.5 rating within the demo, remaining steady inside it third week out. Cummings professional produces and stars in NBC's Whitney, that also received a complete-season pickup. Broke Women joins other rookie series generating full-season orders including NBC's Up Through The Night and Fox's New Girl. Kat Dennings Whitney Cummings 2 Broke Women Fall TV Preview

NBC Orders Up With The Evening and Whitney, Cancels Playboy Club

Up With The Evening, The Playboy Club, Whitney NBC has bought Up With The Evening and Whitney for full seasons, and contains canceled The Playboy Club.Have a look at our fall preview for galleries, scoop, premiere calendars plus much more!InchWe made comedy an important goal for people this season and i'm pleased to become making full-season obligations to both Whitney or even more With The Evening," Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, mentioned. "We're thrilled while using creative direction of both shows together with the possibility to enable them to still build loyal audiences inside the coming several days. We're proud of all of the producers, authors, stars, and company company directors who've labored so desperately to produce these shows to existence."Up With The Evening, starring Christina Applegate and may Arnett as new parents, and Whitney Cummings' eponymous sitcom have both averaged about 6 000 0000 since their premieres.The pick-ups follow Fox's full-season order of latest Girl the other day.Mom and father Television Council wants more entrepreneurs to lower Playboy ClubMeanwhile, The Playboy Club becomes the initial cancellation in the year. The drama, starring Eddie Cibrian, has fought since its premiere, calculating about 3 million audiences. The other day, the oldsters Television Council advised sponsors to tug in the show and known for NBC to cancel the "degrading and sexualizing program immediately."NBC will air reruns of latest drama Prime Suspect in Playboy's Mondays-at-10 berth until John Williams' newsmagazine show, Rock Center, debuts inside the slot on March. 31.

ADG renews professional Scott Roth

The Art Company directors Guild's board of company directors has restored anything of professional director Scott Roth for 3 years to 2014. ADG leader Tom Walsh made the announcement Monday. Roth has held the positioning since 1997. Roth, a labor lawyer, was West Coast counsel for that National Assn. of Government Employees from 1978-81. From 1983-88 he was connect general counsel for that Company directors Guild of America. The Art Company directors Guild works as Local 800 from the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It's a couple of,000 people and signifies production designers, art company directors, scenic and graphic artists, set designers, modelmakers, illustrators and storyboard, matte and previs artists. The guild introduced a week ago it had elevated efforts to unionize previs artists, who create computerized images which allow company directors to previsualize their films just before production. It released an educational website at Directactionartist.com with information about how organize their places of work and join the Art Company directors Guild. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com