Oscars: Street closures announced

Street closures to accommodate the live telecast of the 84th Academy Awards will begin at 10 p.m. Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the City of Los Angeles announced Tuesday.To ensure public safety, support security strategies and facilitate the production of the awards, Hollywood Boulevard will be closed in front of the Kodak Theater between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive Sunday evening and will remain closed until 6 a.m. Feb. 28.The closure will allow construction of press risers, fan bleachers and pre-show stages along the Academy Awards red carpet.MTA subway trains will bypass the Hollywood & Highland station after the last regularly scheduled train on Feb. 25, until 6 a.m. Feb. 27. Service at the station will resume with the first scheduled train after 6 a.m.Between Feb. 19, and Oscar Sunday, Feb. 26, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods.Details of the closures and maps of affected areas are available from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Sixth and the Thirteenth District City Council field offices, at navigatehollywood.com, and oscars.org/closures. Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

Jirafa readies Leiva's 'Groenlandia'

Bruno Bettati's Jirafa Films, whose "The Summer time of Flying Seafood" reaches the Berlinale Co-Production Market, is preparing "Groenlandia," helmer Jose Luis Torres Leiva third film.Occur the Valdivia mountain tops in the lakeside village of Puerto Fuy, pic follows a 73-year-old retired person whose much more youthful g.f. announces she's pregnant."The landscape is again a personality in Torres Leiva's film, but 'Groenlandia' could be more dramatic and actor-driven, and employ professional stars," Bettati stated.A black-humored family dramedy, "Flying Seafood," may be the fiction debut of Chilean-French helmer-scribe Marcela Stated, whose third documentary, "The Youthful Butler," performed Berlin's 2011 Forum."Seafood" has drawn lower Chilean subsidy funding plus gold coin from France's " new world " Movie theaters Aid plan. It'll begin lensing in November, stated Bettati, who, with Sergio Gandara, has walked lower as professional director at film promotion board CinemaChile. Chilean TV producer Constanza Arena has changed them.Chilean cinema appears to become transitional phase with projects including "Groenlandia," Pablo Larrain's Gael Garcia Bernal-starrer "No" and Alicia Scherson's "The Near Future,Inch with Rutger Hauer, which Jirafa co-produces, mixing art along with a commercial tilt. Bettati noted that "5 years ago, i was searching for funding and funding and funding and purchasers were something you accomplished later on."Now, he stated, Chilean producers secure sales representatives before a movie is completed. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Euro cold spell can't slow 'Ghost'

In the Feb. 3-5 weekend that saw lots of northern Europe digging from under snowstorms, Paramount's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" collected $24.3 million, notching its third-straight frame atop the overseas box office (and fifth overall towards the top) and pushing the pic's worldwide take past the $400 million mark. Getting an international cume of $626 million, "Ghost Protocol" might be the finest-grossing pic globally for Tom Cruise, whose previous best, "War in the Cell phone industry's," made $591.7 million in 2005. "Ghost Protocol" is playing in 64 overseas areas, including China, where the film made around $20 million in 72 hrs. That reps a 46% gain round the film's two-day opening the last weekend, getting a present local cume of $55.7 million. "Ghost Protocol" accomplished good results in the stockpile of screens in China -- roughly 3,000 -- in contrast together with other areas like Italia, where the pic examined at 367 locales for just about any weekend total of $1.6 000 0000, losing a great 47% within the second outing, getting its local cume to $5.5 million. Also undertaking well overseas, last century Fox's teen thriller "Chronicle" first demonstrated in 3 3 areas for just about any three-day gross of $12.9 million. It bowed finest in the U.K., where it assigned the chart, at $3.5 million, then Australia and Russia, which brought $3.millions of and $2 million, correspondingly. Pic bowed at No. one out of Oz, too as with second-devote Russia. Winter in the united states will be a primary factor because market's so-so results, particularly to see relatives films like Disney's "The Muppets," which completed slightly under anticipation, collecting just $millions of on 360 screens. "The Muppets" collected a reported weekend total of $3.5 million, pushing the pic's offshore cume to $30.2 million. Emilio Mayorga brought with this report. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Machete sequel could film in April

Good new for fans of B-movie trashiness, as Robert Rodriguez has set the wheels in motion for action sequel Machete Kills. And what's more, it could be with us sooner rather than later...Having seen the first film make a respectable profit (a $44 million take against a $10.5 million budget), a script is reportedly in place for the sequel, with Rodriguez hoping to start filming in April.Danny Trejo is reportedly in talks to reprise his role as the badass Mexican hit-man, and from the sounds of it, the new plot is even more out there than the original.Machete Kills will see Trejo's character attempting to foil the villainous machinations of a billionaire arms dealer, who plans to spread war across the globe with the assistance of a mega weapon... in space.How Rodriguez has managed to resist calling this one Machete In Space is beyond us, but if the second film is a success, we could see him complete the trilogy with mooted second sequel, Machete Kills Again.However, given that the long-promised Sin City 2 still remains no closer to fruition, we'd advise taking these grand plans with a pinch of salt...

Nine chosen for TV Acad exec committee

Gail Berman, Jason Kilar, Steven Lafferty, Steve Mosko and Dana Walden have been appointed to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences executive committee for 2012-13 by chairman/CEO Bruce Rosenblum. Rosenblum, who was elected to the post by the Academy's board of governors in November, filled five of his six slots with the appointments, approved by the board, which also elected Beth Bohn, Michael Olman, Lori Schwartz and Rob Swartz to the exec committee. "I couldn't be happier that this esteemed group of industry leaders and colleagues has agreed to join the Academy's executive committee," said Rosenblum. "I have great respect for each of these executives and feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with them along with the board of governors as we look to expand our mission and elevate the profile of the Television Academy." Berman is co-owner and founding partner of production company Berman Braun, Kilar is CEO of Hulu, Lafferty is CAA head of television and managing partner, Mosko is Sony Pictures TV prexy and Walden is, along with Gary Newman, chairman of Twentieth Century Fox TV. Bohn is president of Beth Bohn Management and represents the professional representatives peer group. Olman comes from the Cinema Audio Society, on behalf of the sound peer group. McCann Worldgroup chief technology catalyst Schwartz will represent the interactive media peer group, while independent producer Swartz will represent the TV execs peer group. Rosenblum outpolled Nancy Bradley Wiard in November's election to become the highest-ranking exec to head the organization, which presides over the primetime Emmy Awards, since then-Walt Disney Studios chief Richard Frank in the 1990s. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Chris Smith's United kingdom Film Report Released

ITV and Sky told to step upA week on from David Cameron's questionable comments apparently promoting the mainstreamification from the British film industry, The almighty Smith's review has been released, showing less inflammatory than we may have feared. The report champions "as wide a variety of films as you possibly can,Inch Cruz guaranteed, "in the overtly commercial towards the overtly arty and far among.InchThe Pm "knows, just like we all do, that there's an entire selection of movies and kinds of movie that people support. He's very obvious on that," he added."We're not attempting to dictate a creative vision. We are attempting to occur place a variety of financial and legislative plans that will enable an extensive selection of movies to become made. We're not creating a distinction within the review between something known as mainstream then one known as... another thing.InchThe report's 56 recommendations include elevated film education in schools a plan to obtain projection equipment into towns that do not possess a local cinema more powerful purchase of training and abilities development, having a beady eye on technology elevated measures to combat piracy and also the inauguration of the annual celebration, like a "British Film Week" to "provide audiences over the United kingdom with access fully spectrum of British film, providing them with a larger understanding of its breadth, depth and originality."Outdoors that British Film Week however, the report does not cash to say of the distribution systems that make independent British films hard to catch in United kingdom movie theaters. Therefore if you are outdoors London and you are not lucky enough to get possess a Watershed or perhaps a Cornerhouse or perhaps your own regional equivalent, you might still find it difficult to see a small fraction of what's created.Call-Me-Dave's comments concerning the industry increasingly "dynamic and business", will have some roots within the report's strategies for leaving an "overall reliance on public funding" and rewarding commercial success. The report advocates using test tests to gauge potential audience response before a movie is completed, to ensure that it may be modified accordingly (out of the box common Hollywood practice). Also it indicates that the film's profits visit its producers, director and authors (instead of their needing to return their lottery funding) for reinvestment later on projects."The key of rewarding success is essential if [film-makers] did it once, they are likely to get it done again," stated Cruz. The federal government won't dictate towards the BFI which films should receive its support, however the BFI "should bear the crowd in your mind.InchThe almighty Smith's independent review panel also designated tv stations Sky and ITV because of not doing enough within their support of British film. "They're doing hardly any, and that we believe they must be doing more," Cruz stated."We've recommended the federal government sits lower with each one of the tv stations to ascertain if a contract could be arrived at to make sure greater purchase of and purchase of British films.We've also recommended when agreement works out to become impossible it's something the federal government might turn its focus on within the Communications Act that is suggested for a while within the next couple of years. Hopefully that will not be necessary and tv stations may wish to step-up towards the plate under your own accord."Both Sky and ITV protested this via claims, with Sky saying it intends to increase purchase of "homegrown content" to £600m by 2014, and ITV trumpeting it makes Downton Abbey.Work welcomed the report, with shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Harriet Harman saying it "provides an important chance for that Government to provide the film industry the support it requires and warrants, and also to welcome a brand new era for British film."Shadow Culture Minister Serta Jarvis stated, "The Federal Government now needs to hear The almighty Smith's review and make up a climate by which our film industry could flourish."Erectile dysfunction Vaizy, the Conservative Minister for Culture, Communications and inventive Industries, who commissioned the report, states the federal government can make a proper response inside a couple of several weeks time.

Is Sweet Valley High A Musical?

Diablo Cody teases the possibilityWhen Diablo Cody promised back in November that her in-the-works new Sweet Valley High movie would be "a feast for the senses", we didn't quite expect this. Speaking to MTV, Cody has teased that we might possibly expect her Francine Pascal-inspired opus to arrive as a musical."There's original songs being written for it right now," she revealed, "which is the most exciting development. They're amazing. They're being written by these Tony and Pulitzer winning songwriters from Broadway who are the best!"Asked if that actually meant SVH is going to be a musical, she grinned "Perhaps it is..."Cody previously talked about her film being "to the '80s what American Graffiti was to the early '60s", which might in itself indicate the need for an extensive soundtrack. But George Lucas' nostalgia trip used wall-to-wall classic choons, whereas Cody's hints at all-new Broadway showstoppers now suggests something slightly different...Whatever, we can certainly expect "glamorous and bubblegum". And perky twins, since the books were about Elizabeth (the goody two-shoes one) and Jessica (the reckless one) Wakefield, blonde twins with blue-green eyes and perfect size 6 figures (as we were reminded in every single book) and their trials and tribulations at high school. Sweet Valley High is still officially "in development", so it's a while away yet. In the meantime, Cody's death metal crisis-of-faith drama Lamb Of God is in pre-production, and Young Adult, which she wrote for Jason Reitman, is out on February 10.