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Parental Guidance: Film Review

The Bottom Line

It's Grandparenthood, as Billy Crystal and Bette Midler do their best to keep this generic 

family comedy aloft.

Opens

Tuesday, Dec. 25 (20th Century Fox)

Cast

Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott, Bailee Madison

Director

Andy Fickman

Billy Crystal and Bette Midler hustle to peddle the threadbare material that makes Andy 

Fickman's comedy a perfectly tolerable, if uninspired, moviegoing experience.

The schmaltz is piled on thick, and if the comedy were any broader it would require an Imax 

screen, but still there's something touching about how hard Billy Crystal and Bette Midler 

hustle to peddle the threadbare material that makes Parental Guidance a perfectly tolerable, if 

uninspired, moviegoing experience.

As "the other grandparents" who are given a golden opportunity to bond with their seldom-seen 

grandchildren, Billy and Bette work double time, well aware that it's not just the juvenile 

characters they have to entertain, but also the paying audiences who could count on both of 

them for a good laugh back in the day.

That they manage to pull their weight even when the achingly formulaic plotting threatens to 

drag them under is a testament to their "let's-put-on-a-show" spirit. The end result should 

appeal to audiences, including bonding grandparents and grandkids, looking for a little 

undemanding holiday cheer.

Crystal is Artie Decker, who has just lost his longtime gig as "De Voice of the Fresno 

Grizzlies" when the minor-league baseball team decided to upgrade the outfit with the sort of 

talent that knows its way around a Facebook page or a Twitter account.    

Already despondent, he's not exactly jumping up and down over the news that he and his wife 

Diane (Midler) have been recruited to babysit their daughter Alice's (Marisa Tomei) three kids when she and her tech-geek husband Phil (Tom Everett Scott) get a last-minute opportunity to 

have some out-of-town alone time.

As expected, uptight Alice's no-sugar-allowed helicopter parenting clashes mightily with Artie 

and Diane's old-school approach to child-rearing, not to mention the fact that Phil has 

programmed his smart home to be intuitive within an inch of its inhabitants' lives.

Also as expected are the resulting gags built around technologically challenged Artie. 

Fortunately, old pro Crystal comes armed with an arsenal of rim-shot-ready rejoinders that hit 

the mark more than they miss.

While his character has been given more of an emotional arc than Midler's (unsurprising, since 

the genesis of Parental Guidance came from a newly minted grandparenting experience in producer 

Crystal's life), it's still nice to see Midler strutting her stuff in her first onscreen comedy 

role in years.

And Tomei is always a welcome presence, even when she's saddled with what's essentially a one-

note character for most of the film.

It would have been nice if director Andy Fickman (Race to Witch Mountain) and husband-and-wife 

screenwriters Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse (Surf's Up) could have mined some fresher stuff 

from this frequently played ballgame, but at least when you've got Crystal calling the shots, 

you can still count on the occasional change-up.

Chris Rock Settles Hungarian Model's Pellicano-Related Lawsuit

The comic has denied that anything wrong happened between him and Monika Zsibrita, but the dispute triggered a paternity test, the involvement of jailed PI Anthony Pellicano and perhaps the filthiest lawsuit ever.

Chris Rock has reached a confidential settlement to end a lawsuit that involves a Hungarian model, paternity, Anthony Pellicano and a Kleenex tissue kept in a freezer.

The legal claim was filed by Monika Zsibrita in Los Angeles Superior Court.

She brought a paternity action against Rock more than a decade ago, but DNA tests showed that 

he was not the father of her daughter. Nevertheless, according to a later lawsuit that was 

first filed as Jane Doe v. John Doe to keep secrets, Rock and Zsibrita executed a 

confidentiality agreement to cover up what allegedly happened in 1998 in a Four Seasons hotel 

in Beverly Hills.

According to Zsibrita, Rock attacked her and attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him. 

A week later, the two went out on another date, and  there allegedly was forced intercourse. In 

the pleadings, Rock denied all allegations of rape and other wrongdoing.

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Zsibrita became pregnant and believed the child to be Rock's, but the paternity test said it 

wasn't. During the paternity proceeding, Rock hired Pellicano, and Zsibrita reported that her 

house was broken into and pictures of her daughter were taken.

The two sides agreed to confidentiality, but that started to unravel when Rock appeared on the 

Howard Stern radio show, saying that he was scammed, that he was approached by a woman saying 

she was a big fan, that he forgot to wear a condom, that a Nigerian got her pregnant and that 

it was all a setup.

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Also, during the Pellicano wiretapping trial, Rock took the stand and reportedly admitted 

hiring Pellicano to investigate Zsibrita.

These disclosures allegedly violated the confidentiality agreement between Rock and Zsibrita. 

So she sued him (as well as Pellicano, Pacific Bell Telephone Co. and police officials), 

originally for breach of written contract, intrusion, invasion of privacy, wiretapping, 

trespass and more.

The complaint was incredibly salacious. For instance, after Rock allegedly raped her, Zsibrita 

said that she kept a Kleenex tissue of his sperm.

The lawsuit also raised doubts about some of the tests. A blood test of both Rock and Zsibrita 

was said to have been performed "under peculiar circumstances" and that an attorney 

"prematurely jumped out of [a] car to deliver the blood samples to the lab, thus destroying the 

chain of control and authenticity so that Plaintiff's attorney could ensure there was no 

tampering of the samples."

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The complaint also included discussions between Pellicano and Rock in which the comedian 

allegedly admitted that he used a condom with her and that it could have contained his DNA. 

Pellicano also allegedly told Rock what Zsibrita had discussed with the police, including that 

she had kept the Kleenex in a freezer.

After the lawsuit was filed, Rock argued that it should be dismissed because, among other 

things, it was filed too late to be within the statute of limitations. A judge threw out 12 of 

the 13 claims on summary judgment but allowed the breach of contract action to survive.

Rock never has been charged with a crime and has denied that a rape ever occurred.

A notice of settlement was filed this week in court. Terms aren't known. Brian Wolf at Lavely & 

Singer, who represented Rock, tells The Hollywood Reporter that the dispute has been "resolved 

amicably."

Neville Johnson represented the plaintiff in the case.

E-mail: eriq.gardner@thr.com; Twitter: @eriqgardner

Disney Severs Ties with Olympic Runner Moonlighting as Sex Worker

Suzy Favor Hamilton, a three-time Olympian living a double-life as a Las Vegas escort, was scheduled to speak at the Disneyland Half Marathon in August 2013.

A three-time U.S. Olympian outed by The Smoking Gun as working a double-life as a Las Vegas escort has been relieved of all future speaking engagements with Disney.

The athlete is Suzy Favor Hamilton, 44, a competitive runner, who admitted on Thursday that she was the woman posing as Kelly Lundy, a $600-per-hour sex worker employed by one of Sin City's premier escort services.

Married and mother to a seven-year-old girl, Hamilton has taken to Twitter to acknowledge the scandal.

"I was drawn to escorting in large part because it provided many coping mechanisms for me when I was going through a very challenging time with my marriage and my life. It provided an escape from a life that I was struggling in. It was a double life," Hamilton explained.

Hamilton had an ongoing arrangement with runDisney, which operates the company's races. She spoke at last August's Disneyland Half Marathon and appeared at the Princess Half Marathon at Floriday's Walt Disney World last February.

RunDisney spokesman Bob Hitchcock tells the Orange County Register that Hamilton is no longer scheduled for future Disney events.

Email: seth.abramovitch@thr.com

Twitter: @SethAbramovitch

Paramount, Mario Puzo Estate Settle 'Godfather' Lawsuit

Deal comes after judge refused to allow Paramount's "Godfather" contract to be cancelled.

Paramount Pictures and the the Mario Puzo estate have settled a legal war over a new Mario 

Puzo estate. On Thursday, the parties told the court about a deal and stipulated to the dismissal of the litigation.

Terms of the agreement have not been made public, but it resolves both a claim and counterlclaim that was lodged this year in New York federal court. Both sides have agreed to bear its own legal costs.

Paramount sued first in February alleging that it had a copyright interest in Puzo's famed novel, The Godfather, and an agreement that granted "the sole and exclusive right to make and cause to be made literary and dramatic and other versions and adaptations of every kind and character."

The studio had alleged that prior "sequel novels" had tarnished the legacy over the Godfather franchise and that it was promised in writing that there would be no more literary sequels. It wanted confirmation to preclude the release of The Family Corleone, which was to detail Vito Corleone's rise to power in Depression-era New York.

In March, the Puzo estate led by attorney Bert Fields responded with their own counterclaims that alleged that Paramount's actions had meant it breached a 1967 rights agreement that purportedly expressly excluded and reserved "book publishing rights" for Puzo, who died in 1999.

As a result of the alleged breach, the Puzo estate sought to terminate Paramount's rights to The Godfather.

In May, the two sides came to an interim deal to allow The Family Corleone to come out. Money from the book was to be put aside in escrow until the parties reached a conclusion to the litigation.

Paramount scored a big win in the case in September when a federal judge in New York dismissed much of the counterclaims, finding the Puzo estate couldn't cancel the contract, nor can it make a rescission. 

The judge said that assuming Paramount had an obligation not to interfere with book publishing, the estate had failed to adequately establish this obligation goes to the "essence" of the 1969 agreement.

The judge allowed a breach of contract counterclaim to continue, and a trial could have clarified rights under deals made in the 1960s, but the two sides have now put the dispute to sleep.

Paramount was represented by Richard Kendall at Kendall Brill & Klieger.

E-mail: eriq.gardner@thr.com; Twitter: @eriqgardner

Mila Kunis Targeted with Nazi-Era Anti-Semitic Slur by Ukrainian Politician

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has called on the country's leader to condemn the attack.

A Facebook rant against Mila Kunis by a Ukrainian politician has drawn the condemnation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for its use of the word "zhydovka" to describe the actress.

The word, which translates to "dirty Jewess," was used by MP Igor Miroschnichenko in a post arguing that the actress was not a true Ukrainian, as she identifies herself. 

The word is an "insidious slur invoked by Nazis and their collaborators as they rounded up the Jews to murder them," says the letter of condemnation, addressed to Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and written by Rabbi Marvin Hier and Rabbi Abraham Cooper.

The letter goes on to explain that Kunis' family left the country to flee anti-Semitism -- she was seven when she arrived in Los Angeles -- and calls on the leader to publicly condemn the attack.

Hollywood's January Violence Spree: Half of Films Show Guns Amid NRA Criticism

The entertainment industry is bracing for an outcry about violence in movies following the Newtown, Conn., school shooting; the NRA is already blaming film, TV and video games for portraying life as a "joke."

On the Monday after the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn., MPAA chairman-CEO Christopher Dodd telephoned the major Hollywood studio heads one by one. Violence in movies often comes under scrutiny following mass shootings, so Dodd wanted to touch base with his bosses, even though there was no indication that Adam Lanza's rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School was inspired by movies (he was an intense video game player, however).

The MPAA issued a statement pledging Hollywood's support in assisting President Obama's call for a special task force on gun violence. "Those of us in the motion picture and television industry want to do our part to help America heal. We stand ready to be part of the national conversation," he said in his statement.

But that conversation comes at a tricky time for Hollywood, which is preparing to release a slew of violence-laced films. January is a favorite time for genre fare, and next month is no exception, with eight of the 10 nationwide releases rated R. Five of those are films that feature an array of guns -- including assault rifles.

National Rifle Association executive vp Wayne LaPierre took direct aim at Hollywood during a press conference Friday in Washington, D.C.

"Thousands of music videos, and you all know this, portray life as a joke and they play murder -- portray murder as a way of life," a defiant LaPierre said. "And then they all have the nerve to call it entertainment. But is that what it really is? Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?"

Studio insiders say gun violence in movies is tempered by the fact that most are about good guys battling villains. At the same time, they acknowledge that the marketing materials might seem insensitive in the wake of the shooting.

Within 48 hours of the Sandy Hook shooting, Paramount reviewed its marketing materials for Tom Cruise starrer Jack Reacher. The movie, opening Friday, begins with a sniper picking off victims on a city street. Among other tweaks, the studio removed a scene from television spots showing Cruise's character firing a semi-automatic weapon.

Warner Bros.' period cop-mob movie Gangster Squad, which opens Jan. 11, features a poster showing Sean Penn's character holding a machine gun, while Josh  Brolin's character is holding a handgun. And some NFL football viewers complained online about a television spot for Gangster Squad that ran repeatedly the Sunday following Sandy Hook because of a shoot-out scene. 

Gangster Squad was already delayed once — after last summer's theater massacre during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. The delay allowed the filmmakers to cut a scene of a shooting inside a theater and replace it with a gunfight in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood.

Lionsgate's Arnold Schwarzenegger action pic The Last Stand, opening Jan. 18, is even more intense in terms of its weaponry. According to the website Internet Movie Firearms Database, the movie features 10 different firearms, including a machine gun, assault rifles and a machine gun.

In the poster, Schwarzenegger is holding a massive Vickers machine gun.

Other January films with guns featured prominently in marketing materials include New Regency's Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg as a former cop who uncovers a political scandal involving the city's mayor, played by Russell Crowe. The movie, opening Jan. 18, isn't as heavy on weapons as other January films.

FilmDistrict's R-rated crime thriller Parker has Jason Statham playing a gun-toting professional thief who exacts revenge on those who betray him. He stars opposite Jennifer Lopez. The film opens on Jan. 22.

In Paramount's fantasy-cation pic Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are heavily armed witch hunters. The siblings are grown up now, and expert hunters. The R-rated movie opens Jan. 25.

If there is one area where Hollywood has been willing to impose rules to assuage Washington, it is in the marketing arena, versus the stories it tells. Such was the case in 2001 when the Federal Trade Commission concluded that Hollywood was marketing R-rated films to kids.

In response, the MPAA, which administers the ratings system, agreed to strengthen self-imposed industry rules about when R-rated trailers and television spots can air. It also agreed to include more information about why a film earns a certain rating.

Several studio insiders say they wouldn't be surprised if marketing rules further tighten in the wake of the Newtown shooting, but say it depends upon the scrutiny Hollywood comes under.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are already zeroing in on violent content. Sen. Jay Rockefeller has introduced legislation directing the National Academy of Sciences to study the impact violent video games and violent programming has on children.

Disney Sets Theatrical Release Date for 'Planes'

The animated movie, inspired by the world of "Cars," initially was slated for a direct-to-home entertainment release.

Disney has set an Aug. 9, 2013, theatrical release for Planes, an animated feature that is "inspired by" the world of Pixar's Cars but is not made by the animated division.

Hailing from DisneyToon Studios, Planes originally was planned for a direct-to-home entertainment release when it was announced several years ago. The movie does for the world of airplanes what Cars did for the world of automobiles and even takes cues from the designs (eyes are the cockpit windows, for example).

Jon Cryer initially was announced as the lead voice star but is no longer involved. Disney is now looking for a new actor.

Altthough it might not have the Pixar stamp, it does have the oversight of Pixar's John Lasseter, who oversees Disney Toon as well as Walt Disney Animation, the division behind such features as Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph.

This is not the first time Disney is bumping up an animated movie to a theatrical level. Toy Story 2 initially was planned for direct-to-video release during the late 1990s, but those plans were revised when execs saw early reels. (Planes already was scheduled to hit theaters internationally.)

The late addition of Planes to the studio's release calendar brings the number of movies it will open in 2013 to 10.

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Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden Join JFK Drama 'Parkland'

Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone is producing the historical drama with Exclusive Media.

Zac Efron and Marcia Gay Harden are joining the cast of John F. Kennedy ensemble drama Parkland.

Journalist and novelist Peter Landesman is writing the adapted screenplay and will direct. The project marks his directorial debut.

Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone is producing the feature with Exclusive Media. The film also stars Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton and Jacki Weaver.

This fall, Exclusive Media came abord to finance Parkland, which draws from author and former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's epic Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Bugliosi, a three-time Edgar winner, also wrote Helter Skelter, And the Sea Will Tell and Outrage.

Parkland recounts the true story of the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day Kennedy was murdered in November 1963. The film, to be shot in Austin, is eyeing a 2013 theatrical release timed to the 50th anniversary of the assassination.

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"Zac Efron continues to impress us with his recent shift into more dramatic roles which showcase his exceptional acting skills and Marcia Gay Harden is an unparalleled actress who gives tour de force performances in every film she appears. We look forward to seeing their combined talent in Peter Landesman's powerful and mesmerizing story alongside the excellent cast already attached to this film," said Exclusive Media co-chairman Guy East and Nigel Sinclair.

The film is intended to be released in November 2013, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death.

Efron is repped by CAA; Harden, by UTA.

Fox Picks Up 'Theory of Everything' From Top Cow Comics

Dan Jinks will produce the adaptation, which was co-created by one of his VPs.

Twentieth Century Fox has picked up the rights to Top Cow comic Theory of Everything.

The comic was created by Dan Casey and Nick Nantell, the former a senior vp at the Dan Jinks Co. Dan Jinks, a producer on American Beauty and Milk, will produce the adaptation.

The comic was a one-shot that came out of Top Cow's "pilot season" in 2011 where the company published a series of comics to test their popularity and soundness.

Grounded in string theory and quantum physics, Everything is a sci-fi, action thriller that follows a disgraced scientist as he seeks to rescue his thought-dead wife from a parallel dimension.

Matt Hawkins and Marc Silvestri of Top Cow are executive producing and Nantell is co-producing.  

Casey, a newbie scribe, is repped by WME and Circle of Confusion. Top Cow is repped by Circle of Confusion and attorney Harris Miller.

From 'Hobbit' Legos to Thor's Helmet: A Last-Minute Geek Gift Guide

Plus, "Dr. Who" kitchen essentials -- and what to give the "Star Wars" fan in your life.

If you're like me, you're busy watching (and talking about) movies ... and you're a procrastinator. Then you look at the calendar, realize it's a week before Christmas, and that you haven't done any shopping.

But fear not. Just because my loved ones aren't going to get presents doesn't mean yours don't have to, either.

Here's Heat Vision's guide to late-season gift-giving:

The Kitchen Ware:

Yes, fanboys can step out from behind a comic or away from the console and go to the kitchen and cook. 

It just takes encouragement.

And nothing says encouragement like these Doctor Who salt and pepper shakers ($19.98 at BBCAmericaShop.com) and the Doctor Who teapot (on sale right now for $35.98). The shakers  - a Tardis for salt, Dalek for pepper – are hand-painted porcelain. The teapot is ceramic and can hold more than 25 ounces.

The Toy:

All those men buying Legos are buying them for their kids. "Bricks," as constructor sets are called, have become highly sought after by collectors (have you seen the Star Wars Death Star selling for $399.99?). And studies have shown that playing with the toys is good for the brain, kids and adults.

But they are, most importantly, fun.

The Hobbit, nicely timed to the movie, has two sets to watch for: 1) An Unexpected Gathering ($69.99 online at Target), which comes with Gandalf, Bilbo and four dwarves, and may be the first time in Lego history that a set called for rounded windows which had to be specially designed; and 2) The Goblin King Battle ($89.99) which is all odd-angles and irregular shapes, out of step with the Lego usual. And who doesn't want to fight goblins?

The Star Wars Item:

Four words for you: 

Han Solo ice cubes. Whether you're gaming by yourself or entertaining your understanding family, nothing says cool drinks like a set of "Han Solo in Carbonite" ice cubes. Officially called the Han Solo in Carbonite Ice Cube Tray, available at ThinkGeek.com, for $9.99, the item is basically a tray that houses six small 1.75" Han Solos and one large, 3.5" Han Solo.

The Book:

Marvel Comics: 

The Untold Story ($26.99) tells the history of the comics company, its heroes and the all-too-human men behind it.

No one walks away clean, and the book pulls Stan Lee away from the image of Smiling Stan and paints him as (sometimes sadly) passive-aggressive. 

Some will quibble it doesn't go deep enough, but that just leaves work for future historians.

It's a great and entertaining read, informative even to those who know a lot of the stories by reading blogs from Jim Shooter and John Byrne or old fanzines.

The Ultimate Procrastinor's Gift:

Ok, you screwed up. There's no way a gift is going to get to your giftee in time. So why not make your gift the promise of an item that isn't even available yet?

And what an item: A life-size Thor helmet replica from eFX. It's made from the original master patterns and molds used to create the helmet seen in The Avengers, complete with a display hand and certificate of authenticity. It's available for pre-order now but won't be ready to ship  until in first quarter 2013.

One caveat: Only 250 of these are being made and they  are going for $599. Each. (Lateness has a price, I'm sorry to say.)

Happy shopping!

'Perverted and Reprehensible': Scarlett Johansson Speaks Out on Nude Photo Hacking

Fellow victims Christina Aguilera and Renee Olstead also issued statements about the invasion of privacy.

Christopher Chaney, the skilled, 35-year-old hacker who infiltrated the email accounts of 50 celebrities and disseminated nude photos of Scarlett Johansson, is serving 10 years for his crimes -- and Johansson's testimony in part helped put him away.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, in a taped deposition played ahead of Chaney's sentencing on Monday, Johansson said Chaney's hacking of her then-husband Ryan Reynolds' account -- where Chaney obtained the nude photos which he later forwarded to a second hacker and two celebrity websites -- left her "truly humiliated and embarrassed." She later characterized his actions as "perverted and reprehensible."

Another victim, Christina Aguilera, also taped a statement, telling Judge S. James Otero, "That feeling of security can never be given back and there is no compensation that can restore the feeling one has from such a large invasion of privacy."

A third victim, The Secret Life of an American Teenager's 23-year-old star, Renee Olstead, appeared in court to testify in person.

"I just really hope this doesn't happen to someone else," Olstead said, weeping. "You can lose everything because of the actions of a stranger." 

Olstead said she comes from a conservative family and that she considered suicide after the nude photos were released.

A press release announcing the verdict from  law enforcement authorities warned that citizens need to do more to safeguard their identities and personal information from being stolen on the Internet.

Ben Affleck Drops Out of Warners Heist Movie 'Focus'

Kristen Stewart remains attached to the heist movie project.

Ben Affleck has dropped out of Focus, a Warner Bros project that would have teamed the hot actor-filmmaker with Kristen Stewart.

Focus, which John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Crazy Stupid Love) are writing and directing, is a two-hander about a con man who becomes romantically involved with a novice. He is then thrown off his game when the former flame shows up just as he's staging an elaborate con in Buenos Aires.

Affleck would have played the con man opposite Stewart's novice.

But now it's back to the drawing board for the male lead.

Sources confirm that Affleck has bowed out because of too many commitments. He is making Warners' adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Prohibition Era novel Live by Night, which he is to direct, write and star, his next priority. On top of that are his attachments to several other projects such as an adaptation of The Stand.

Piled on top of that is the heavy awards season schedule for Argo, which is one of the top movies of the year and most assuredly an Oscar contender.

President Obama Plays Spider-Man Villain With a Staffer's Child (Photo)

In a photo released for Time's "Person of the Year" issue, the commander-in-chief is seen playing with a White House staffer's son.

Maybe Mitt Romney should have made Peter Parker his running mate, not Paul Ryan.

A new photo featured in Time's profile of "Person of the Year" winner Barack Obama shows the president playing some geeky games with the child of a White House staffer. The child, dressed in a Spider-Man costume, pretends to sling web at Obama, who stands back like he's been pinned to the wall.

Obama has long professed his enjoyment of comic books: A photo of him posing in front of a Superman statue in Metropolis, Illinois in 2008 once went viral, and he was featured in a special edition of The Amazing Spider-Man in 2009.

Nielsen to Buy Arbitron for $1.26 Billion

Media research giant makes a play into the radio measurement business.

Nielsen said Tuesday that it plans to buy Arbitron in a deal valued at about $1.26 billion.

The acquisition would give Nielsen, the largest media research firm in the world, reach into the world of radio measurement. Arbitron has long been the leader in that sector, with a strong footprint inside the U.S. radio market.
 
In announcing the deal -- which needs to pass regulatory scrutiny -- Nielsen said it would be purchasing all of the outstanding common stock of Arbitron for $48 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 26 percent to Arbitron's closing price on Dec. 17.
 
With $422 billion in revenue last year, Arbitron is selling its business at three times sales. Nielsen chief executive David Calhoun commented that the acquisition is necessary to grow. Together, Nielsen and Arbitron generated total revenue of $6 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
 
The transaction already has been approved by the boards of both companies.
 
"U.S. consumers spend almost two hours a day with radio. It is and will continue to be a vibrant and important advertising medium," said Calhoun. "Arbitron will help Nielsen better solve for unmeasured areas of media consumption, including streaming audio and out-of-home. The high level of engagement with radio and TV among rapidly growing multicultural audiences makes this central to Nielsen's priorities."
 
It's the second big announcement by Nielsen in two days. On Monday, the company said it had reached a multiyear agreement with Twitter to create the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating for the U.S. market. As a result, Nielsen will be pushing into the world of social media, attempting to introduce a standardized metric capturing the reach of the TV conversation on Twitter.
 
The Arbitron deal is intended to further recognize the inclusive media consumption habits of consumers. Nielsen president Steve Hasker noted that Nielsen will be expanding its audience measurement across screens and forms of listening. "These integrated, innovative capabilities will enable broader measurement of consumer media behavior in more markets around the world," he said.
 
Twitter: @eriqgardner

 

'The Master' Named Best Movie by Toronto Film Critics

Paul Thomas Anderson also took the best director and best screenplay prizes for his cult-leader drama, while Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best supporting actor.

TORONTO — The Toronto Film Critics Association has named The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson's cult-leader drama, as the year's best film.

Michael Haneke's Amour and Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty emerged in the voting as the runner-ups.
 
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The group also gave Anderson top honors for best director and best screenplay, while Philip Seymour Hoffman was named best supporting actor.
 
The Master, which earned awards for Anderson, Hoffman and co-star Joaquin Pheonix after it bowed in Venice, more recently dominated the award-giving from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and was named the best picture of the year by the San Francisco and Kansas City film critic groups.
 
After meeting Sunday night to vote their own annual awards, Toronto film critics also named Haneke's Amour the year's best foreign-language film after the Jean-Louis Trintingnant-Emmanuelle Riva starrer won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
 
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In voting for the acting categories, Denis Lavant won the best actor prize for his star turn in Holy Motors, while Rachel Weisz took the best actress prize for her performance in Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea.
 
And Gina Gershon was named best supporting actress for her work in William Friedkin's Killer Joe.
 
Toronto film critics also named ParaNorman, Chris Butler and Sam Fell's stop-motion horror comedy, as the year's best animated feature.
 
The Canadian critics also named the three finalists for their association's best Canadian film award: Denis Côté's Bestiaire; Goon, directed by Michael Dowse; and Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell.
 
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The top Canadian film will win $100,000, while the two runner-ups will earn $5,000 each.
 
Polley's Stories We Tell was also named the best documentary film of the year by the Toronto film critics, while Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin, and Panos Cosmatos' Beyond the Black Rainbow shared the best first feature prize.
 
The Toronto Film Critics Association will hand out its awards Jan. 8 in Toronto.

'Bully' Doc Awarded Producers Guild's 'Stanley Kramer' Award

 

Lee Hirsch's look at the impact bullying has on the lives of children and families is honored for "illuminating and raising public awareness of important social issues."

Bully will be honored by the Producers Guild of America at its annual awards show in January.
The 2011 documentary directed by Lee Hirsch, which tracks the tragic impact that bullying has had on five students throughout the nation, will be given the Stanley Kramer Award, which honors productions and individuals that "illuminate and raise public awareness of important social issues."
 
Hirsch and producer Cynthia Lowen will accept the award.
 
"The social action campaign for Bully raised significant funding that allowed for over 250,000 students nationwide to take field trips within an educational framework to see the film," the PGA said in a statement. Bully sparked a movement, sparked a shift in consciousness and rallied people of all ages to stand up against intolerance and hate. It's a film that I believe Stanley Kramer himself would applaud and we're thrilled to recognize it with this honor."
 
The film was the subject of multiple organized drives, with students campaigning to change its rating from R to PG-13 (Harvey Weinstein, the film's executive producer, ultimately agreed to some edits to make it so), while students also worked to make sure their classrooms were able to travel together to see the movie.
 
The PGA Awards will take place on January 26. Previous winners of the Stanley Kramer Award include Hotel Rwanda and An Inconvenient Truth.

Danny Boylr Declined British Knighthood (Report)

The "Slumdog Millionaire" director was allegedly asked if he'd accept the honor after this summer's Olympics.

Having already tossed her from an airplane, Danny Boyle has no need for the Queen of England's highest honor.

According to reports, the Oscar-winning filmmaker was nominated for a knighthood by the UK's arts and media honors committee for his direction of the massive, very British opening ceremony for the London Summer Olympics; when the committee approached him to see if he'd accept the honor, however, he declined.

PHOTOS: Inside the Olympics Opening Ceremonies

As Boyle told Mark Lawson in an interview on BBC radio earlier in December, he considers himself a populist, and the ceremony he created -- which included tributes to the National Health Service and a pre-recorded scene between James Bond and Queen Elizabeth -- was a celebration of all of Britannia.

"I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the Opening Ceremony was actually about," he said.

THR's critic David Rooney agreed, writing of the ceremony, "Boyle's epic opera of social and cultural history was a vibrant work of unfettered imagination that celebrated a nation, but even more so, its people."

'The Master' And 'Amour' Lead London Critis ' Circle Awards' Nominations Pack :

Paul Thomas Anderson and Michael Haneke's movies will contest for seven awards including best film, best director and best screenplay nods.

LONDON – Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master and Michael Haneke's Amour lead the field of nominations for the annual London Critics' Circle awards with seven apiece.

Anderson and Haneke find themselves going head-to-head in the best director, best film and best screenwriter categories.
 
PHOTOS: SAG Awards 2013: The Complete List of Nominees
 
The Master also picked up nomination berths in the best actor and best supporting actor categories for Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman respectively while Amy Adams is in the running in the best supporting actress section for her turn in the film.
 
Haneke's Palme d'Or winner Amour, recently crowned best film by the Los Angeles Film Critics, is also up for the best foreign film award while Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are nominated for best actor and best actress respectively.
 
The film's Isabelle Huppert finds herself in the best supporting actress race.
 
And it's another first for Skyfall, the box office record-breaking James Bond outing starring Daniel Craig as 007 for the third time in his career.
 
The movie now becomes the most fêted Bond film at the London Critics' Circle Awards.
 
The movie leads the British field with five nominations including for British film, British actor of the year for Craig, and best a supporting actor slot for Javier Bardem.
 
PHOTOS: Golden Globes Snubs: 'Mad Men,' Jamie Foxx, Robert De Niro
 
Judi Dench is nominated in two categories both for supporting actress and British actress of the year, the latter of which is shared between her role in Bond and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
 
Should The Master or Amour fail to take the best film nod, it will be either Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Life of Pi that will walk away with the prize.
 
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon A Time In Anatolia) and Ang Lee (Life of Pi) will contest in the best director category against Haneke and Anderson.
 
Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) and Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt) will battle it out with Phoenix (The Master) and Trintignant (Amour) for the actor of the year nod.
 
And Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone), Helen Hunt (The Sessions) and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) will take on Riva (Amour) to win the actress of the year crown.
 
Alan Arkin (Argo), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Michael Fassbender (Prometheus) and Bardem (Skyfall) all find themselves in the running for best supporting actor.
 
STORY: 'The Master' Named Best Movie by Toronto Film Critics
 
The best supporting actress nod will go to one from Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) or Adams (The Master), Dench (Skyfall) and Huppert (Amour).
 
Alongside Craig (Skyfall) and Day-Lewis (Lincoln) in the British actor of the year category is Charlie Creed-Miles (Wild Bill), Toby Jones (Berberian Sound Studio) and Steve Oram (Sightseers).
 
And should Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Skyfall) fail to secure the actress of the year award, it will have gone to one from Emily Blunt (Looper and Your Sister's Sister), Alice Lowe (Sightseers), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock) or Andrea Riseborough (Shadow Dancer).
 
The London Film Critics' Circle comprises over 120 members of U.K. film critics, broadcasters and writers, who this year voted for more than 200 titles on their nominations ballots.
 
The Circle's chairman Jason Solomons said the selections indicate "how the London critics view all films from around the world on a level footing -- brilliance is the only benchmark."
 
The 33rd annual edition London Critics' Circle Film Awards will be dished out Sunday Jan. 20th at the May Fair Hotel in central London.
 
PHOTOS: The Making of Michael Haneke's 'Amour'
 
The nominations in full:
 
The Sky Movies Award: FILM OF THE YEAR
 
Amour(Artificial Eye)

Argo (Warners)

Beasts of the Southern Wild (StudioCanal)

Life of Pi (Fox)

The Master (Entertainment)
 
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Amour (Artificial Eye)

Holy Motors (Artificial Eye)

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (New Wave)

Rust and Bone (StudioCanal)

Tabu (New Wave)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)

London: The Modern Babylon (BFI)

Nostalgia for the Light (New Wave)

The Queen of Versailles (Dogwoof)

Searching for Sugar Man (StudioCanal)

 The May Fair Hotel Award: BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR

Berberian Sound Studio (Artificial Eye)

The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)

Les Miserables (Universal)

Sightseers (StudioCanal)

Skyfall (Sony)

 The Spotlight Award: ACTOR OF THE YEAR

 Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (Fox)

Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables (Universal)

Mads Mikkelsen – The Hunt (Arrow)

Joaquin Phoenix – The Master (Entertainment)

Jean-Louis Trintignant – Amour (Artificial Eye)

 ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

 Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)

Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone (StudioCanal)

Helen Hunt - The Sessions (Fox)

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook (Entertainment)

Emmanuelle Riva – Amour (Artificial Eye)
 
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
 

Alan Arkin – Argo (Warners)

Javier Bardem – Skyfall (Sony)

Michael Fassbender – Prometheus (Fox)

Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master (Entertainment)

Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln (Fox)
 
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

 Amy Adams – The Master (Entertainment)

Judi Dench – Skyfall (Sony)

Sally Field – Lincoln (Fox)

Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables (Universal)

Isabelle Huppert – Amour (Artificial Eye)

 BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR – In association with Cameo

 Productions

 Daniel Craig – Skyfall (Sony)

Charlie Creed-Miles - Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln (Fox)

Toby Jones – Berberian Sound Studio (Artificial Eye)

Steve Oram – Sightseers (StudioCanal)

 BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

 

Emily Blunt – Looper (eOne) and Your Sister's Sister (StudioCanal)

Judi Dench – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Fox) and Skyfall

(Sony)

Alice Lowe – Sightseers (StudioCanal)

Helen Mirren – Hitchcock (Fox)

Andrea Riseborough – Shadow Dancer (Paramount)
 
YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

 Samantha Barks – Les Miserables (Universal)

Fady Elsayed – My Brother the Devil (Verve)

Tom Holland – The Impossible (eOne)

Will Poulter – Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)

Jack Reynor – What Richard Did (Artificial Eye)
 
The American Airlines Award: DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

 Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master (Entertainment)

Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (New Wave)

Michael Haneke – Amour (Artificial Eye)

Ang Lee – Life of Pi (Fox)

 SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR

 Paul Thomas Anderson – The Master (Entertainment)

Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty (Universal)

Michael Haneke – Amour (Artificial Eye)

Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained (Sony)

Chris Terrio – Argo (Warners)

 
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER

 Ben Drew, writer/director – Ill Manors (Revolver)

Sally El Hosaini, writer/director – My Brother the Devil (Verve)

Dexter Fletcher, co-writer/director – Wild Bill (The Works/Universal)

Bart Layton, writer/director – The Imposter (Picturehouse/Revolver)

Alice Lowe & Steve Oram, writers – Sightseers (StudioCanal)

 
The Sky 3D Award: TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Anna Karenina – Jacqueline Durran, costumes (Universal)

Argo – William Goldenberg, film editing (Warners)

 Beasts of the Southern Wild – Ben Richardson, cinematography

(StudioCanal)

Berberian Sound Studio – Joakim Sundstrom & Stevie Haywood,

sound design (Artificial Eye)

Holy Motors – Bernard Floch, makeup (Artificial Eye)

Life of Pi – Claudio Miranda, cinematography (Fox)

Life of Pi – Bill Westenhofer, visual effects (Fox)

The Master – Jack Fisk & David Crank, production design

(Entertainment)

My Brother the Devil – David Raedeker, cinematography  (Verve)

Rust and Bone – Alexandre Desplat, music (StudioCanal)

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Sponsored

by PREMIER Helena Bonham Carter

'Hangover' Knock-Off Pushes 'Life of Pi' From Top Spot in China

 

Ang Lee's epic maintains its momentum in China, but domestic comedy "Lost in Thailand" takes the lead with a $47.3 million haul.

HONG KONG – Going into its fourth week of release in Chinese theaters, it was suspected Life of Pi might finally leave the top slot of the Chinese box-office. And it did -- but what surprised many China industry watchers was the way it went. Its position was taken over not by the much-hyped domestic historical epics now in release, but by a local comedian's mid-budget directorial debut about a Chinese trio's fumbling mishaps across Thailand.

Opening on Dec. 12, Xu Zheng's Lost in Thailand has grossed 295 million yuan (US$47.3 million) up until Dec. 16, according to figures revealed in a Weibo post on the state-backed China Film News portal. Its takings amounted to nearly 60 per cent of total box-office revenue in the country during the past week.
 
The film, which revolves around a trip in Thailand involving a business executive (played by Xu), a rival colleague (Huang Bo, Crazy Stone) and a country bumpkin (Wang Baoqiang, A World Without Thieves) fighting and finally reconciling, is now on-track to break the highest first-week gross record for a domestic release in China (the previous record was held by Painted Skin: Resurrection, which took 298 million yuan ($47.8 million) during its first seven days of release in July).
 
Despite being relegated to second place in the rankings, Life of  Pi has took 100 million yuan (US$16 million) last week – a solid figure given its long run in theaters and also the fierce competition it has faced from local productions. The film has now accumulated 540 million yuan (US$86.5 million) in the country – an amount which has made up two-thirds of the production's total takings outside the US.
 
STORY: Ang Lee's 'Life of Pi' Beating Highly Touted Local Epic
 
Lost in Thailand's performance will be put to a test later this week, however, as Jackie Chan's heist-caper Chinese Zodiac 12 and Andrew Lau Wai-keung's period martial arts drama The Guillotines open in Chinese cinemas.
 
One film that has fallen prematurely out of contention is Feng Xiaogang's Back to 1942, which is now in third place, taking just 65 million yuan (US$10.4 million) and now totaling 340 million (US$54.5 million) – falling far short of the director's publicly stated goal of pulling at least 800 million yuan for his financiers at Huayi Brothers studio.
 
Critics have expressed reservations about the film's success during the festive season, as it tackles the very heavy topic of the real-life famine in Henan province in 1942, which left 3 million people dead. Ironically, it was Feng who pioneered the cultural institution now known as the "New Year Comedy" in China with a string of contemporary urban satires in the mid-1990s, before he turned to broaching more serious matters with his December-January outings in recent years.