George Michael Getting 'Better per hour,A States Boyfriend

La will rapidly follow in NY's actions, disbanding its primary encampment of Occupy protesters.our editor recommendsOccupy Wall Street to create Benefit AlbumFox News Anchor Calls Pepper Spray 'A Food Product' After Occupy Altercation (Video)Occupy Wall Street: News Organizations Complain About Police Treatment PHOTOS: The Scene at Occupy La Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave a press conference Friday mid-day, telling the Occupy L.A. protesters that they need to leave their City Hall camping with the finish of Sunday. "The movement has awakened the country's conscience, it's given voice to people who weren't heard," Villaraigosa mentioned, adoring their motivations, but he was adament arrived to enable them to customize the venue for protest. PHOTOS: 'Occupy Wall Street' Artists On Scene of Protests Roughly 485 tents are presently setup outdoors City Hall, something the mayor developed a reason behind watching wasn't sustainable. "You're ready to close the park and repair the reasons,In . he ongoing, "to make sure that we could restore public utilisation of the park." Occupy L.A. leaders released a disagreement Thursday they'd reject orders to go away, as well as the AP reviews this official order from Villaraigosa has yet to prompt the state response. PHOTOS: The Scene at Occupy Wall Street "I'm proud that this can be a peaceful non-violent protest," Villaraigosa mentioned. "It's peaceful because we've made a decision to accomplish things inside a different means by La. We've not looked each other lower across barricades and barbed wire." The city's official deadline for Occupy L.A. to abandon City Hall is 12:01 a.m. on Monday. Watch Villaraigosa's press conference below: PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 'Occupy Wall Street Hollywood': Artists On Scene of Protests PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery The Scene at Occupy La Related Subjects Antonio Villaraigosa Occupy

Jean Dujardin, 'The Artist's' Quiet Star, on American Audiences and Uggie your dog

It's ironic that George Clooney's greatest competition in the Oscars for the best Actor might be Jean Dujardin. In the end, Dujardin -- probably the most popular stars in France, with 23 film credits to his title -- has already been being referred to by some as "in france they George Clooney." Like the dashing 39-year-old has got the looks and charm of the matinee idol -- or Clooney, 2011's nearest factor to some matinee idol. It is also why Dujardin is the best option to lead 'The Artist,' in france they import that's already the talk of Oscar season -- despite the fact that it's completely quiet. Directed by Michel Havazancius, 'The Artist' informs the storyline of quiet film star George Valentin (Dujardin, who won Best Actor honors in the Cannes Film Festival captured), a titan of industry who ends up around the outdoors searching in whenever a new industry, talkies -- embodied onscreen by Berenice Bejo's Peppy Burns -- removes his livelihood. The quiet film (also is in black and whitened) is really a love letter to Old Hollywood and also the miracle of movies, an ideal antidote to some world where 'Jack and Jills' and 'Tower Heists' routinely hit the giant screen. Dujardin spoke to Moviefone, via his interpreter, about filming 'The Artist,' the variations between French and American audiences, and Uggie your dog. 'The Artist' is clearly no easy sell. Could it have been a hardship on Michel to convince you it was advisable for the career? The very first time he pointed out it, I stated yes. Then, I'd a large doubt as it were. I wasn't sure whatsoever basically must do it, simply because I did not know enough about this. Michel stated, "You are the one that needs to get it done nobody else can perform this. I authored it for you personally. I can not pressure you, but..." I known as back and stated, "Pardon me. I am thinking like another person. Obviously, I am going to get it done.Inch For me personally, I loved it. I simply want to make quiet movies now. [Laughs] That which was it concerning the experience that actually made you fall deeply in love with the quiet format? Michel had the background music survive set. That, to have an actor, multiples your feelings. It is the only film it can be done in. You are live. Within the movie, you are live. You are already within the editing from the movie throughout. He'd placed on music in line with the scene. It had been 35 incredible days. You are a significant star in France, but a novice to American audiences. Do you consider that mystery helps the film whatsoever? Yes, absolutely. There is no judgement or expectation. They do not know Berenice, Michel or me. They are beginning from nothing. In Cannes, it had been exactly the same factor. It is extremely comfortable. There is no pressure. It's all regulated pleasure. Individuals are kind once they begin to see the movie... But does that frustrate you -- needing to maybe prove yourself once again to a different audience? No, since the jobs are done. It's on screen. Used to do my job. After, I'm able to explain it. It needs to be wondrous. I'm not going everybody to love me, and that i don't choose who likes me. You need to provide them with the option, provide them with the choice. Vincent Cassel involves mind like a French actor who stars in films both here and abroad. Does that kind of career appeal to you? Would you like to star in American films? It would need to be considered a role that's for me personally. It is the encounter, using the director and also the story, that counts. It comes down to the associations -- a persons associations. It isn't in regards to a Hollywood machine. I wish to make use of a director who becomes my buddy, my dad, for 2 several weeks. You allow yourself to that individual. Like, in France, you refuse to numerous items to have real yeses. You've labored with Michel three occasions now, so you have clearly discovered that great human relationship. What exactly is it about him that keeps you returning? He's very calm. He never yells. Not once in three films together. He's reassuring. He's anxious, but he keeps it to themself -- he's elegant for the reason that way. He's a tough worker and that he jokes around a great deal. So if you have both, it is good. Your previous films with Michel -- the 'OSS 117' films -- were parodies. 'The Artist' might have easily drifted into that arena, however it will not do. How difficult could it have been to keep the tonal balance? Not to allow it to be an excessive amount of a goof? Michel wanted two tales. His idea ended up being to develop the smoothness at first from the movie -- the film inside the film, the Douglas Fairbanks references. However it wouldn't have organized to have an hour and half. So, it went to some more 'City Girl,' F.W. Murnau type of story. Just telling a tale. That's cinema. It isn't quiet, black and whitened. It is a simple story that's well-crafted. 'The Artist' has been doing perfectly in the French box office, but there's some question about whether or not this will interact with American audiences. Do you consider there's that a distinction between the 2? Maybe in france they tend to be more cineastes. People in america tend to be more relaxed. Films really are a spectacle [to People in america]. Entertainment. Here, people comment live. They laugh. They live it. This is the best gift you could have. In France ... it isn't more intellectual, but there's a bit more judgement. To become relaxed is much more of the problem. It's much more of a modesty. It's more prudish -- but it is not the sexual side of prudish. More modesty. There is a distance. I must mention Uggie your dog, who had been nearly my personal favorite onscreen dog ever he's like George's right arm within the film. The length of time did you need to place in to create that relationship work? I understood it was an additional value towards the project, and that he is really a part of George's existence. They're Siamese twins. It had been really really simple to utilize Uggie, because he's a very properly trained dog. Very gifted. I simply needed to follow him a bit, improvise a bit. Sometimes he'd follow me. Especially due to the sausages I'd during my pocket. [Laughs] 'The Artist' comes to limited release on November. 25. Return to Moviefone for additional in the film's key gamers in a few days. [Photo: TWC] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

'Breaking Dawn': Bella's Wedding Dress For Sale (Well, a Copy Anyway)

If you loved Bella's wedding dress in 'Breaking Dawn Part 1' and want to wear it on your big walk down the aisle, you're in luck: The official licensed replica of the gown by designer Carolina Herrera is now available. You'll have to shell out $799, but as far as wedding dresses go, that's still on the somewhat reasonable side. The copy of the '30s-style movie dress was created by Alfred Angelo and features lace-covered long sleeves, a cut-out back with lace appliqué trim, fabric-covered buttons down the back, and a long train. And if you're not as petite as Kirsten Stewart, fear not: The replica comes in sizes 0 to 30. Head over to Alfred Angelo's site for more looks at the wedding dress. [via Us] [Photos: Summit, Alfred Angelo] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

Chloe Moretz Says 'Dark Shadows' Gets Back To Vintage Tim Burton

Judging by the early promotions for Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows," it should come as no surprise that the "Edward Scissorhands" director is going back to his gothic roots in this film. The remake of the cult classic TV series stars all his regular actors and, judging by the set photos released, is a return to form for Burton after "Alice in Wonderland" and "Sweeney Todd." That's why it should come as no surprise that leading lady Chloe Moretz is thrilled to be working on the film with him, especially because Burton is her dream director. "It straddles the typical Burton line: camp and drama," Moretz explained. "This is a really good role for Johnny [Depp] I think because he totally sold it because it's so weird. It's such a weird character and he can do weird. He does so much with his hands." Moretz described the look of the film as "amazing," and said it blew her mind when Burton offered her the part of Carolyn Stoddard. Burton called her up to say he wanted her for "Dark Shadows," and Moretz recalled that she "immediately hopped on board." Now that filming has wrapped, she said it was an incredible all-around experience. "It's an amazing movie. Going in and working on this movie with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfieffer and Helena Bonham-Carter, It really does get back to Tim's roots. It gets back to 'Beetlejuice,' 'Edward Scissorhands,' back to true Burton," she said. "So working on this movie was epic for me because he's always been my dream director to work with because, god, he's so iconic." Is "Dark Shadows" one of your most anticipated movies of 2012? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Altering studio system reduces minorities' Oscar hopes

'The Help'Focus will release 'Pariah,' featuring Adepero Oduye, in December. When Denzel Washington and Halle Berry made history by winning 2001's top two acting honors for his or her particular turns in "Training Day" and "Monster's Ball," it made an appearance the floodgates had opened up for racial unprivileged in the Academy awards.The year after, only two minority thesps, Salma Hayek ("Frida") and Full Latifah ("Chicago"), were nominated, with neither winning. Still, every subsequent Oscars featured a minumum of one minority actor or actress within the Oscar search, with several notable those who win including Jamie Foxx for "Ray" and Forest Whitaker for "The Final King of Scotland."Then came earlier this Oscar ceremony, which shipped not really a single Acad acting nominee of color.Were yesteryear Academy awards an anomaly or an indication of items to come? WME agent Charles King is worried, stating the ever-diminishing studio slate because the greatest reason for that dearth of meaty roles filled by thesps of color."The whole film companies are altering," states King, who reps Tyler Perry and "Pariah" author-director Dee Rees. "Galleries are centered on content that talks to some large worldwide demographic and can have significant appeal for the reason that marketplace. With less greenlights, movies which have a far more multiethnic perspective happen to be hit more negatively than the others.InchWhilst there has been jobs inside a general sense for unprivileged -- a 2008 SAG report states 27.5% of roles are filled by stars of color -- the Academy awards underscore how rare it's for stars of color to obtain substantial roles.Wants Latin-American and Asian-American entertainers this kudo season are again bleak. There's a powerful chance not less than one African-American acting nom, particularly among "The AssistanceInch co-stars Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, and concentrate Features thinks we have an outdoors shot at garnering some Oscar fascination with its late-December bow "Pariah," a Sundance darling in regards to a Brooklyn teen battling to be released like a lesbian. But it is not quite an overflow of challengers.Although the honours months are early, not one other films with prominent minority roles have yet emerged as you possibly can challengers within the acting warms."It is a rarity," states Chris Columbus, producer on DreamWorks' Mississippi-set period drama "The Assistance,Inch of weighty films toplined by non-whitened thesps. "Regrettably, we are inside a world high aren't lots of great roles for African-American stars."2 yrs ago, a set of thesps -- Morgan Freeman ("Invictus") and Gabourey Sidibe ("Precious") -- taken part within the lead actor and actress groups, while Mo'Nique arrived the supporting actress trophy on her role being an abusive mother in "Precious." But possibly tellingly, of individuals two films, just the Clint Eastwood-helmed "Invictus" arrived on the scene from the studio system. By comparison, "Precious" only managed to get towards the bigscreen because of angel traders Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness and also the backing of professional producers The famous host oprah Winfrey and Perry.Regardless of the $64 million worldwide haul for that low-budget "Precious," corporate-possessed galleries have grown to be progressively loath to invest in minority-designed dramas -- the most well-liked genre of Academy voters."You'd have believed that in line with the success of 'Precious,' there could have been other films like this,Inch notes King. "But there weren't many."Columbus and author-helmer Tate Taylor looked around a script for bestseller "The Assistance,Inch which goes in to the rarely seen realm of black service personnel within the South throughout the civil- privileges movement, to numerous galleries and production companies, which passed."It required the idea of Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider at DreamWorks who stated, 'Yeah, we'll support this picture,' " recalls Columbus. "They required a significant leap of belief."Although the film would be a bonafide box office hit locally and so far worldwide, "The AssistanceInch courted critique at least again relegating black stars to service personnel quarters. (Meanwhile, Sidibe accompanied her "Precious" turn by playing a maid within the studio actioner "Tower Heist.")Winfrey, who nabbed an Oscar nomination on her supporting submit Spielberg's "The Colour Crimson," sees the glass as half-full if this involves minority representation in film."I not obsess with the negative I select to obsess with so what can be," states Winfrey, who's being honored through the Academy this season using the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award."I am really excited to determine what's going to happen with 'The Help.' Even when nothing happens with 'The Help' using the Academy, I believe that the truth that 'The Help' is available is fantastic. It reveals the possibilities for some individuals who're like, 'Hey, individuals will take a look at films which have dramatic impact which involve black ladies and black figures.' I select to remain in the realm of what's possible and also the doorways which have been opened up and never lament what is not happening."Eye around the Academy awards: Talent RaceStrength of comics in dramatic roles should not surprise Altering studio system reduces minorities' Oscar hopes Chastain, Fassbender everywhere on bigscreen Top thesps take kudo sabbatical Grand globetrotters Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Oprahs Out-Of-Studio Next Chapter Debuts Jan. 1: Aware Of Steven Tyler

The famous host oprah Winfrey’s new primetime out-of-studio show The famous host oprah’s Next Chapter will debut at 8 PM Sunday, The month of january 1, 2012 having a two-hour segment featuring Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler from his home in Nh. The OWN show will after that broadcast from 9 PM to 10 PM every sunday beginning The month of january 8. For that premiere, Winfrey met Tyler in the home on Lake Sunapee. He foretells Winfrey about his many years of fighting substance abuse, his associations together with his spouses and the new gig on The American Idol Show. Future episodes may have Winfrey going to a Hasidic Jewish family, fire-walking rich in-energy motivation Tony Robbins and taking her first visit to India with Deepak Chopra.

Rules of Engagement's Patrick Warburton: We now have Never Become Any Support

Patrick Warburton It cannot be described as a Rules of Engagement season withoutmore bumps inside the road.Just when things were trying to find for your sitcom - moving to Thursdays after being scheduled on Saturdays - it absolutely was labored a blow now: CBS will accomplish it the schedule at midseason to produce way of Make the most of Schneider's new comedy and contains cut its episode order lower to 15.Cbs television galleries replaces Rules with ¡ROB! sets return date for Undercover Boss What is the news is just another chapter inside the topsy-turvy existence in the show, that's been shuffled across the schedule since its midseason premiere in 2007, plus it has come about as not surprising to star Patrick Warburton."If they're prone to pull one show for midseason, they will probably pull us. They've done that each year,Inch he notifies TVGuide.com. "They will not pull a Chuck Lorre show. He's so firmly established and she or he includes a uniform ratio together. ... They haven't supported us at first. After we finish off in the decent time slot, we always succeed, however they haven't provided us any support."After Rules bailed CBS out two occasions a year ago - when $#*! My Dad States got axed and Charlie Sheen's crazy antics forced Rules to produce extra episodes to cover two and a half Men's reduced season - the network exiled it on Saturdays this season, which Warburton referred to as a "sh-Time slot." It absolutely was knocked around Thursdays before its scheduled premiere when How to be a Gentleman got canceled plus it is constantly pull in solid ratings, calculating about 11 million audiences."[The Saturday slot] was bullsh-- at first. I possibly could not accept it,In . Warburton states. "Really the only reason we ended up inside the Thursday slot was because another show was tanking and so they were anxiously searching for us. It's been an authentic rocky road for your show. The initial season, we just did seven episodes. ... In those days, they wanted they'd more episodes. We have got an entire season the year after plus it was the writers' strike. I furthermore felt like the writing will be a little bumpy then. I was not consistent either. And have been to midseason. We now have be a raw finish in the deal a good deal, but that's precisely how a ball bounces."Rules of Engagement boss: We're the stepchild in the schedule, but we're always thereWarburton is actually vocal in regards to the network's control over Rules, but he demands it is not because of sour grapes. For starters, it is not exactly a completely new development. "This isn't news. News is always that Iran has nuclear capabilities which an institution like Penn Condition and Joe Paterno can swipe child rape beneath the carpet," according to him.Whilst creator Tom Hertz sees Rules' second-stringer rank as half-full, Warburton states his outlook has sullied as time continue. Nevertheless the vibe round the set is actually positive. "These bankruptcy aren't absurd tears in the sitcom clown. ... We've a pleasurable experience. This is our sixth year to become came back around. It's good to find out excellent amounts at this time around, but everyone knows that that doesn't change anything," according to him. "One should question when the will be a reveal that they nurtured and saved within the same location, promoted it, maybe we are able to perform better yet now and be a better show with this. The show's good, but there are many elements to success."One element is what Warburton calls an "very, very loyal number of followersInch that has adopted Rules wherever it continues the schedule. The actor chalks up for the show's relatable focus on associations, they states remains enhanced by Adhir Kalyan's promotion to series regular in Season 4. "Plenty of shows are excellent, but aren't relatable," according to him. "Anybody who's in the relationship can interact with our show. Rob and Audrey - if you've been in the relationship for 10, 15 years, there's stuff in every single episode you could laugh at and say, 'I've labored with this particular sh--.' In my opinion that's something that has been a hook while using audience."How Rules of Engagement handles to live as TV's stealth hitJeff (Warburton) and Audrey (Megyn Cost) expect via their surrogate Brenda (Sara Rue), the birth that was specific for your season finale. It's unclear how a episode cut will customize the plans - or you will discover a seventh season. Rules' status just like a reliable, steady, go-to player would bode well due to its renewal chances, but like other things such as the show, Warburton knows a lot of things sometimes happens.InchThey will know that might be there's solid show getting a good audience with plenty of [episodes] to syndicate, so they'll do what they desire to accomplish,In . according to him. "Our responsibility is just to go to work and perform best job we could and hope all went well.Inch

George Tilman Directs Miles Davis Biopic

Jazz legend to acquire Ray treatmentDon Cheadle remains developing a biopic of jazz legend Miles Davis for some time, but director George Tilman Junior might have the visit him: he's now mounted on another Davis project, while using participation of Davis' own boy Gregory.Miles Davis will be a trumpeter and band leader, together with a central estimate jazz music for several years. Additionally to as being a vital figure in the age themselves, he labored with everyone else you have ever experienced, including best like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Art Blakey and John Coltrane, and was right in the heart of practically every scene - bebop, awesome, fusion - that emerged involving the 19 forties and seventies. He won Grammy honours inside the sixties, 70s and 80s, then one for Lifetime Achievement in 1990. He died, aged 65, in 1991.The completely new film, tentatively titled Miles, is founded on Dark Magus: The Jekyll And Hyde Information On Miles Davis,Gregory's own biography of his father. That title means "prince of darkness" sobriquet that Miles acquired due to his whispering voice, nocturnal lifestyle, together with a hard period inside the 50s when, like lots of his contemporaries, he was totally hooked on heroin. He'd a very-publicised "disagreement" with Theolonius Monk, then one famous story saw a drug-addled, rain-drenched Davis, along with his trumpet in the paper bag, entering a gig by Max Roach and Clifford Brown, playing an impromptu solo after which it disappearing once again to the evening. Davis always declined the story, nevertheless it appears like great cinema.George Tilman Junior recently made the not-very-fast Rock vehicle Faster, nevertheless the best job on his CV can be a rather different kinc of musical biopic, Well-known, good information on rapper Biggie Smalls. Producer Nick Raynes states that, "Our intention is to produce a feature film that will appeal beyond the worldwide audience of Miles Davis' die-hard fans, and to include people that don't be familiar with first factor in regards to the guy, and introduce new ears to his music. In the identical thatWalk The LineandRaywere capable of open our planet's eyes for the existence tales of Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, you need to produce a film that's likely to do the identical for Miles Davis, whose fifty-year career just like a music artist goes past a while and race."Gregory Davis meanwhile, states, "I trust George Tillman will state the actual story of my father, without any sugar-coating. My father was an amazing guy who supported the commitment of America. I realize this film can do him justice."

Senate Defeats Bill That Would Have Limited FCC Control Over Internet

It was close but the U.S. Senate has voted down a bill that would have killed the FCC effort to exercise control over the Internet -- the so-called Net Neutrality rules -- which is a victory for the White House and a defeat for conservatives who believe any rules of the road online may inhibit free enterprise.our editor recommendsPresident Obama Promises to Veto FCC Resolution Aimed to Control Internet House Republicans Vote to Kill FCC Net Neutrality Rules The bill was defeated by three votes. This means the FCC rules will go into effect November 20 as planned, unless there is a legal challenge by Verizon or another Telco or cable company, all of whom lobbied hard to kill the new rules. PHOTOS: Democrats and Republicans' Favorite Movies A similar bill had passed the House of Representatives, but it would not have become law even if the Senate passed it as well. That is because President Obama had said he would veto any such bill. The supporters say the FCC needs to have oversight of the Internet much as it does broadcast and telephone businesses in order to ensure that gate keepers (Telco's, cable companies) cannot slow down or stop certain kinds of use whether to charge more for use or other reasons. Opponents say the Internet has fostered great growth and the FCC will only create a bureaucracy that will inhibit that kind of entrepreneurial activity. Related Topics Net Neutrality Politics

May Be The Muppets Host The Oscars?

You are ready to get familiar with the background music. You are prepared to light the lights, so when you request the roughly 36,000 individuals who've grew to become an associate of online campaigns on Facebook, it is time for your Muppets to host the Oscars. After a couple of days of stealing mind lines, the 84th Academy awards have founds themselves without any host. This didn't take extended after Eddie Murphy introduced his resignation as host for just about any Twitter account, @MuppetOscars and Facebook group "The Muppets Should Host the 2012 Oscars" to start to attain momentum. Both accounts go back to before Murphy was selected in those days-producer, Brett Ratner, to host the show, now while using new hosting flux, the accounts have skyrocketed in recognition. Each profile acquired thousands of fans within several hours. And permanently reason. We are during the time of the Muppet renaissance. The completely new movie, likely to be out later this month, has become raves from test audiences, while using film even benefiting from audiences to tears! Kermit came out round the cover of Entertainment Weekly the other day. There's grounds why the movement to snag the puppet stars for your Oscar gig has acquired traction. Individuals want Muppets. Whether a Muppet-situated Academy awards could really happen remains to look. Disney has both Muppets and ABC, the network that airs the award show, to make sure that can make certification simpler, but research from Variety claims the source near the show mentioned that it's going to never happen. But we won't know certainly until a completely new host is hired, in addition to then, after we learned now, everything is not formally closed prior to the credits operate on this program. "The Muppets" hits theaters November 23. Would you like to go to a Muppet-situated Oscars ceremony? Inform us inside the comments below and also on Twitter!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's 10 Best Pop Song Covers

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a conundrum: He’s an immensely likable actor, though he’s also very self-serious. He’s hammy, yet pretentious. He’s always rousing crowds with spirited acoustic covers, yet he’s always pimping that website of his. Bottom line: He’s an interesting mix, and because he gave an amazing performance in Mysterious Skin, I grant him extra leeway — and a tribute to his best moments as a viral singing sensation! Yesterday we watched him strum the bejesus out of R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)” and today let’s tally up all his fun covers, sort out our favorites, and declare one favorite. 10. “You Can’t Hurry Love” JGL opts for a disturbing falsetto that Robin Thicke might admire with his cover of the Supremes classic. Apparently, you also can’t hurry this song, since he sings it at roughly half-speed. 9. “Don’t Look Back in Anger” He interrupts his fine piano work and rollicking vocals before the song can really pick up steam, but JGL’s cover of the Oasis tune is perfectly salable. 8. “Who’s Loving You” I prefer JGL’s fast-strumming, crowd-energizing moments, but he goes for gusto with this longing Jackson 5 track. I can hear Simon Cowell muttering, “It was loud, screechy, self-indulgent…” but I’d rather he be bombastic than simpering. Thumbs up, I say. 7. “La Valse Mille Temps” I won’t knock the singing (which is very good), but I will knock JGL’s girl-baiting French trilling. Come on. That’s level-one pandering in the flirt world. 6. “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” I’m sticking mostly to live performances on the list, but his version of the heartbreaking Sesame Street song “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” would do Aaron Neville and Ernie proud.

Beyond the boards

'Carnage''The Ides of March''A Dangerous Method'This year's bumper crop of plays-turned-films sheds light on the varied transposition tactics available to the adapter, while continuing a love affair between stage and screen dating back to the medium's birth.Ever since future Paramount mogul Adolph Zukor made his bones in 1912 by advertising "Famous Players in Famous Plays," theater's endless supply of tight plots has been catnip to moviemakers.Over time they've tested the boundaries of what "opening up" a play might mean.These days "you need to go for the grand gesture, you need to be bold," says John Logan, adapter of 2009's "Sweeney Todd" and this year's "Coriolanus.""You can't just turn the camera onto the set. That's just an act of reportage, a work of nonfiction. To tell a story cinematically, you have to shake things up, which he hopes to resurrect in the future you have to look at it as a filmmaker."Comparatively little shaking up, but plenty of cinema savvy, went into Yasmina Reza's "Carnage" which, except for an outdoor prologue and coda, essentially restricts itself to the same urban apartment as in her Tony-winning "God of Carnage."The piece's stage unity was part of what attracted helmer Roman Polanski, Reza believes. "The play unravels in 'real time,' without any jump in time, without any 'fade to blacks'; the characters come and go without our really leaving them. Roman absolutely wanted to maintain this principle."Moreover, when they sat down to write the screenplay "the problem of 'opening' the play was a non-issue," she says. "Theater offers the spectator a horizontal approach to space and time. Cinema opens that up to multiple angles. It allows us to see two scenes happening at the same time," with the resulting "increased sense of intimacy" adding an extra cinematic dimension.Extra dimensions of plot, character and theme emerged when George Clooney and Grant Heslov turned Beau Willimon's "Farragut North" into "The Ides of March." Willimon's screenplay version came to the "Good Night, and Good Luck" team's attention while the pair were working on a political story of their own.The projects meshed, Heslov says, but "we were interested in doing a morality play with some thriller elements to it, and the play is more 'inside' than that.""Beau had created these beautiful characters whom we liked, all very flawed; the amount of change Stephen (the political operative played by Ryan Gosling) goes through is very small, and on stage it all works very well."They retained "huge chunks" of the stage dialogue, but "we felt that for film, the stakes needed to be higher. What interested us was, at what cost? How much of your soul are you willing to sell in order to win?"Ryan's character does something despicable. But in the end does the right person, the best man, get nominated? I don't even know if I have the answer to that. But if it gets people thinking and talking, that's a good thing."Thought and talk are the stock in trade of Christopher Hampton's "A Dangerous Method," adapted for David Cronenberg from Hampton's 2003 play "The Talking Cure," which was itself based on an original 1997 screenplay. (The latter centered on Sabina Spielrein, famous patient and later colleague of Dr. Carl Jung, whereas both play and film focus on the conflict between Jung and Sigmund Freud, with Sabina caught in the crossfire.)Now, Hampton says, "you get a more vivid impression of the relationship between Jung and Sabina. I just think we were able to extend it over more scenes. And whereas we cut back some of the other areas of the play, we actually extended or expanded the Freud sequences. Those scenes are very entertaining, I think, despite the fact that they're rather verbally dense."The extent to which theatrical verbosity is indulged is often a matter of directorial taste, Hampton says. While "Dangerous Liaisons" helmer Stephen Frears "gets extremely nervous if a scene is longer than a page," Cronenberg "was very relaxed about these long dialogue scenes. He was very clear as to where he was comfortable just to sit and watch the scene develop, and where he felt it would help to get some fresh air, as it were."No play this year enjoyed more fresh air than Shakespeare's "Coriolanus," pared down by Logan and helmer-star Ralph Fiennes to just over two hours, and set in a modern context -- think civil war in the Balkans -- where political protests go viral on cell phones, and handheld desert battle footage is broadcast as network news: Ye Olde Hurt Locker."The cinema landscape for Shakespeare is now very elastic," Logan says. "It can encompass surrealism and abstraction like Julie Taymor's 'Tempest,' and also absolute literalism like Kenneth Branagh's 'Hamlet.' Both are legitimate storytelling methodologies."Like Heslov and Clooney, Logan and Fiennes brought laser-like attention to their central character's psychological journey, from "this superpatriot, tormented, Norman Bates/mother-obsessed neurotic, to someone willing to destroy the city that shaped him.""Elements of the play that didn't deal directly with Coriolanus' journey were the first to go," Logan reports. "Ruminations on the nature of the military and society became for us not as important as telling the story of this driven central character."His two cinema adaptations to date enjoyed different degrees of latitude." 'Sweeney Todd' is built around music. Everything we did had to slot and refract off of Sondheim's great, great score," Logan says. "Whereas with 'Coriolanus,' I felt the freedom to go in and muck around with the guts of the engine."And how might his long-dead playwright react? "In my office I have a bust of Shakespeare, and while I worked on 'Coriolanus' I put a blindfold around it. And when I finally took it off, he didn't look horrified, he looked OK. I could still look him in the eye with respect."Of course, the Bard probably hadn't yet seen the final cut.EYE ON THE OSCARS: BEST PICTURE PREVIEWReading the voters' minds | Rewriting history to suit the demands of drama | Veterans back in action | Beyond the boardsAWARDS SEASON CALENDARNovember | December | January | February Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com