The 9 Most Scathing Critical Responses to Project X

The reviews are in for the Todd Phillips-produced uber-party comedy Project X, and three out of four critics agree: It is the douchiest, most mean-spirited debauch of the year. (To date, anyway; we'll see what kind of revisionist zest Steven Spielberg and co. bring to Lincoln.) Hop aboard Movieline's scorched-earth golf cart and let's go for a spin... 9. "Youve got to hand it to Warner Brothers and producer Todd Phillips: They have painstakingly engineered the perfect film for todays attention-impaired audiences. Are you a texter? A talker? Have at it. There is no way you could make this movie stupider or more pointlessly noisy than it already is." - Sara Stewart, NY Post 8."It would be easy to say Project X objectifies women, if the word 'object' didnt imply too much dignity." - Keith Phipps, AV Club 7."Although it behaves as if its closest antecedent is a John Hughes teen movie, Project X plays more like a blend of music video, College Rules-style porn, and apocalypse-gazing. Its all hyper-sensory flash and amateur titillation, aint it cool party-dogging and an ecstatic taxonomy of all the different ways you can drink a beer." - Michelle Orange, Movieline 6."Project Xs title has no bearing on its premise: a teenage house party in a quiet Californian suburb that spirals out of control. Nor is it connected to the 1987 film of the same name in which Matthew Broderick rescues a band of tormented chimpanzees, unless perhaps the chimpanzees wrote it. [...] Overall, its flamboyantly loathsome on every imaginable level, and a great many unimaginable ones besides." - Robbie Collin, The Telegraph 5."[Oliver] Coopers brash, bragging Costa, in particular, is the most annoying movie character since Jar Jar Binks. Youd never tire of punching him. [...] Lets take all prints of the film, and bury them. Dont bother marking the spot with an X." - Chris Hewitt, Empire 4."How bad is it? It kicks off the proceedings with the soundtrack blaring the 2 Live Crew classic 'Hey, We Want Some Pussy,' and that winds up constituting the closest that it comes to both quiet dignity and quality writing. [...] It is so bad that it deploys a running gag featuring shenanigans involving a pet dog that even Michael Vick might take offense at." - Peter Sobczynski, eFilmCritic 3."It is not normal adolescent rebellion depicted here: it is sociopathic insurrection. Its an orgy of destruction that is meant to be cool. And its not a cautionary tale. Its not a warning that recognizes that real-life teenaged boys can indeed be colossal idiots sometimes, and perhaps we need to work together as a society to minimize the damage they can do, like perhaps training up our sons to be responsible citizens. Its a celebration of colossal adolescent idiocy as something we should all aspire to, and would do, if we could only be as awesomely cool as a horny 17-year-old boy." - Maryann Johanson Flick Filosopher 2."Project X is classless, mean-spirited, repugnant, deplorable, off-puttingly sleazy, and thoroughly contemptible. It is also searingly depressing - there isn't a true laugh in sight - as well as worthless on every cinematic level one could name, imagine, or dream up." - Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com 1."[A] certain self-justifying, feel-good impulse compels the filmmakers to imply that, even if [the characters] do nothing further of note in their lives, they'll always have this. Herein lies the film's lack of point-of-view, leaving it to the viewer to decide if the import of the evening is a joke, a tragedy, an irony or a victory. Despite a couple of unconvincingly upbeat tacked-on moments at the end, Project X basically reads as nihilistic, as not believing in or standing for anything. Not even fun." - Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter Reviews via Rotten Tomatoes. Browse more of Moveline's Scathing Critical Response features here. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Broadcasters Ask The Court To Block Aereo, Alleging Copyright Infringement

It didn’t take long for several companies with NY television stations — including PBS, Fox Television, Univision, and WPIX — to challenge the new firm that wants to sell Web streams of the broadcasters’ over-the-air transmissions. (UPDATE: ABC, CBS and NBC Universal also filed a complaint today against Aereo along with a statement: This service is based on the illegal use of our content. Beyond that, we believe the complaint speaks for itself.”) Aereo said last month that it would launch its $12 a month subscription service in the Big Apple on March 14. In addition to retransmitting TV signals, Aereo — backed in part by Barry Diller — would offer customers the ability to record and watch shows on demand,much like they would with a DVR. But the station owners asked the U.S. District Court in NY to issue an injunction, alleging that the new business “free rides on (the stations’) substantial investment in their broadcasting infrastructure.” The rights that they buy to their content are “the economic foundation upon which the television production and distribution industries rest.” If the court doesn’t act, the plaintiffs say, then Aereo will undermine the stations’ ability to create business opportunities by streaming their content. National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton says the group “strongly supports” the suit.”A plaintiffs’ win in this case will ensure the continued availability of (free and diverse) programming to the viewing public.” Prior to today’s action, Aereo said that it was not infringing on broadcasters’ rights: The company has a tiny antenna, about the size of a dime, for each customer.In effect, subscribersrent them to pick up the free, over-the-air signals that they also can receive at home. The argument is similar to the one that Cablevision successfully made in court on behalf of its remote storage DVR.

Remember Leap Year?

In honor of Feb. 29, and just for fun, let's flash back for a moment to the first horrible movie of the '10s. Take it away, Michelle Orange: "It's hard to care about the shabby treatment of the Irish, the Italian, or Amy Adams's poor, spindly ankles when one's own honor is called into question by the film's specious, finger-wagging terms. Every time an Irishman fell off of his chair or dispensed a tediously quaint piece of folklore, every time the decrepitude of Ireland's public works was asserted with a wink, and every time Amy Adams unloaded a shrill expectation that was met with abject humiliation, I felt a little more sorry for myself. Is this really what you think of me, Mr. Tucker? Is this what you think we all deserve? [...] This one's a heart-sinker, fromage of the smelliest order; I am mystified by its existence." Happy leap day!

Dwts Uncovers Season 14 Cast

Smash Ok, large hugs for you if you are still hanging inside with Smash. Following a stellar pilot, a powerful second episode along with a strangely uneven visit to a Area karaoke bar a week ago, NBC's splashy rankings-deterrent returned to being fabulous using the kick-from rehearsals for Marilyn: The Musical last evening. A lot of music, a not-hateful guest place from one of these there Jonas Siblings, an indication concerning the falling-out between former buds Tom and Derek...really, the only real factor missing would be a good Eileen martini-toss and also the violent, sudden and fatal run-among a runaway taxi and awful Ellis that people continue to be praying for. However the real high note would be a much-needed emotional transformation for Katharine McPhee's Karen. Around we like her to be a Broadway newbie having a heart of gold (along with a voice of awesome), if she's gonna have the ability to go foot to foot using the extreme-featured Ivy Lynn, Miss Golden Sprout's gonna require a thicker skin plus some NY-style sass. Which is what she began to build up last evening, because of her three new chorus-klatch besties and what's quickly becoming probably the most overused Adele song. Plus, McPhee is simply flat-out fantastic. Our only wish is the fact that more and more people understood this. With audiences running the show faster compared to crowd inside a burning theatre, they are passing up on a star turn that warrants to appear and heard. Would you agree? Is Smash must still-see for you personally? Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!

Erland Josephson, Bergman Star, Dead at 88

I was just speaking about Moments From the Marriage, too: The Swedish actor-author-director Erland Josephson has died carrying out a protracted fight with Parkinson's Disease. He was 88. Josephson found prominence like a friend, theater friend and eventual ensemble player for that great Ingmar Bergman, finally entering the key-guy ranks within the filmmaker's seminal relationship epic Moments before eventually diversifying with roles in films by Peter Greenaway (Prospero's Books), Philip Kaufman (The Intolerable Light to be) and, most indelibly, Andrei Tarkovsky, who cast Josephson in the 1986 masterpiece The Sacrifice. Very sad. R.I.P. [NYT]

Spartacus Alum Jai Courtney Lands Coveted Die Hard Lead

EXCLUSIVE: An extended search is finished, and twentieth century Fox has set Jai Courtney to experience the boy of John McClane (Bruce Willis) inside a Good Day To Die Hard, the 5th installment from the Die Hard franchise. John Moore will direct a movie that's been dated for Feb 14, 2013 release. Alex Youthful is creating. This can be a large surprise, because the studio, Moore and Willis met a lot of rising youthful stars, simply to expand the search several occasions. Courtney hadn’t been in any one of individuals short lists which i’d heard about, however i accept is as true came lower to Courtney and Liam Hemsworth, the Hunger Games star. Courtney is possibly most widely known for enjoying Varro within the Starz series Spartacus: Bloodstream and Sand. He was the close confidante of Spartacus until these were forced right into a fight towards the dying. Courtney most lately continues to be starring opposite Tom Cruise in Vital’s One Shot, the Christopher McQuarrie-directed adaptation from the Lee Child bestseller. He's also mounted on star opposite Aaron Eckhart in I, Frankenstein. He's repped by UTA and also the Collective. A Great Day to Die Hard puts McClane with an worldwide stage, a classic New york city seafood from water in Moscow, and introduces his estranged boy Jack (Jai Courtney). An apple which has not fallen not even close to the tree, Jack might even become more of the hardass than his father. Despite their variations, they have to interact to help keep one another alive and the planet safe for democracy. This positions Courtney to carry on later on payments from the franchise with Willis, who last reprised his franchise character in 2007. DEVELOPING…

U.S. deal for '28 Hotel Rooms'

'28 Hotel Rooms'Gotham-based distrib Oscilloscope Laboratories has picked up U.S. rights to "28 Hotel Rooms," which bowed earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. Pic is targeted for a theatrical run later this year prior to a VOD release. Writer-helmer Matt Ross' film centers on a couple's increasingly intense romance, starting with a one-night stand that develops into something deeper. Chris Messina and Marin Ireland star. Closed in Berlin, the distribution pact was negotiated by David Fenkel and David Laub of Oscilloscope with Kevin Iwashina, Christine D'Souza (both of Preferred Content) and Elsa Ramo. Lynette Howell, Louise Runge and Samantha Housman produce, with Messina, Andrew Meieran, Stefan Nowicki, Joey Carey and Alex Sagalchik on board as exec producers. Elle Driver is currently hawking rights in international territories at the European Film Market. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Rob Letterman Knows The Paranomalists

More found footage...When you hear that SyFy Films has made a deal for a new project, you'd be forgiving for having your brain head straight towards Monster Squid Vs. Giant Kittenbot territory. But it's actually just a label for the company to work with Universal to release low-budget genre pics that don't always have to feature massive creatures fighting while C-list celebrities spout dodgy dialogue. Which is good news for Rob Letterman and The Paranormalists.Letterman, who made DreamWorks 'toon Monsters Vs. Aliens and (whisper) the shonkyGulliver's Travels, is set to write and direct the film, which will apply the well-established found footage genre to the story of a group entering a haunted house intending to debunk the locals' claims of phantoms. Naturally, because we'd all be disappointed otherwise, things don't go quite according to plan. We're guessing either the place ends up truly haunted or it's Old Man Withers, the janitor, who would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids.The plan is to make this one a little quirkier and funnier than, say, your usualParanormal Activity clones. There's no word on when Letterman will get started on the film.

'Idol' an easy Wednesday winner

Fox controlled Wednesday's primetime ratings race with a two-hour episode that contributed to some series lows on the other networks. Meanwhile, though down a bit more again this year, CBS opened the 24th edition of ''Survivor'' to good numbers.According to preliminary national estimates, "American Idol" averaged a 6.0/16 in 18-49 and 18.6 million viewers overall from 8 to 10 p.m., on par with last week's hourlong episode and easily the night's No. 1 program in all categories. In adults 18-49, "Idol" won its opening hour over "Survivor" by 7 shares, topped "Modern Family" by 5 shares at 9 o'clock and then surged to a 9-share advantage at 9:30 when CBS' "Criminal Minds" was runner-up. If "Idol" edges up to a 6.1 in the nationals, it will edge out the Monday delivery of NBC's "The Voice" to rank as television's No. 1 show among young adults for the week.CBS kicked off ''Survivor: One World'' with a 3.0/8 in 18-49 and 10.7 million viewers overall, down from last winter's premiere (3.2 in the demo) but still a solid second-place finisher to ''Idol'' in the 8 o'clock hour. It was followed by ''Criminal Minds'' at a season low (3.0/7 in 18-49, 11.9 million viewers overall), but ''CSI'' edged up week to week to win at 10 (2.7/7 in 18-49, 11.1 million viewers overall) as auds tuned in to see the premiere of Elizabeth Shue as a regular cast member. For the night, CBS ran second in 18-49, 25-54 and total viewers.At ABC, ''The Middle'' (2.5/7 in 18-49, 8.1 million viewers overall) and ''Suburgatory'' (2.4/6 in 18-49, 6.9 million viewers overall) were down a bit week to week and at season-low levels for a regular original. Similarly at the shallow end of the pool were ''Modern Family'' (4.7/12 in 18-49, 11.2 million viewers overall) and ''Happy Endings'' (2.5/6 in 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall), which had to do battle with ''American Idol'' this week and thus dipped more week to week than the net's opening-hour comedies. And at 10, ''Revenge,'' despite a key episode in the soap's plotline, edged down slightly week to week (2.4/6 in 18-49, 7.6 million viewers overall), placing second in most categories and first among the broadcasters in adults 18-34 (1.9/6).The Alphabet was the only major network to post gains vs. its performance on the comparable night a year ago. NBC's ''Whitney'' (1.6/5 in 18-49, 4.5 million viewers overall) ticked up week to week, drawing its largest overall audience in five weeks, but ''Are You There, Chelsea'' went a bit in the other direction (1.4/4 in 18-4, 3.5 million viewers overall). Also down week to week were 9 p.m. newsmag ''Rock Center'' (0.8/2 in 18-49, 3.0 million viewers overall) and 10 p.m. drama ''Law and Order: SVU'' (1.7/4 in 18-49, 5.8 million viewers overall).CW's ''One Tree Hill'' held steady (0.7/2 in 18-49, 1.4 million viewers overall) while ''Remodeled'' dipped week to week (0.2/1 in 18-49, 0.5 million viewers overall) , but in good news, it really can't dip much farther.Preliminary 18-49 averages for the night: Fox, 6.0/16; CBS, 2.9/8; ABC, 2.8/7; Univision, 1.4/4; NBC, 1.3/3; CW, 0.5/1.In total viewers: Fox, 18.6 million; CBS, 11.2 million; ABC, 7.9 million; NBC, 4.3 million; Univision, 3.4 million; CW, 0.9 million. Contact Rick Kissell at rick.kissell@variety.com

Foreign exchange guru talks Avengers opening sequence

It takes lots of people to make certain a film round the scale in the Avengers looks much like it'll, and SFX specialists Hydraulx will be the team charged with making sure Iron Guy and chums have been in their most visually dazzling. Effects supervisor Chris Wells has already established break from his schedule to lower an update regarding the movie's opening sequence, as well as in the sounds from this, it'll be epic..."We're doing what essentially boils lower for the prelude in the movie," he mentioned. "There's an entire intro that happens before beginning even acquiring the overall game game titles which is pretty large. There's nothing small in this particular movie." "I visited a screening using the temporary visual effects plus it was pretty fleshed out," continues Wells. "It's a extended movie however it doesn't appear enjoy it. Of all of the comic movies and franchises I've done, this really is really the correct one I've come across up to now."To put that into context, Wells has been doing Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Eco-friendly Lantern as well as the X-Males series. The man knows his superhero movies."I promise you it won't be boring," according to him. "This factor went so large that Marvel are dwarfing their other franchises. For individuals who enjoy the comics and haven't really loved the means by that your couple of from the figures were treated in other movies, In my opinion they could be more appeased by that certain." "Specially the Hulk," he continues, enticingly. "They permit the Hulk be Hulk which is excellent. He functions a great deal a lot more like the comic Hulk. It's fun. My finest challenge with every single superhero movie is I don't think the payback ever matches the develop. That certain certainly does."The Avengers opens inside the Uk on 27 April 2012.

Elizabeth Gabler reups at Fox

GablerFox 2000 Pictures prexy Elizabeth Gabler has restored her deal with Fox. Additonally, Fox 2000 has hired Jessica Goodman as professional V . p . of production and upped Marisa Paiva from creative professional to director of development.Among the movies Gabler has overseen at Fox 2000 are literary adaptations "The Demon Wears Prada," "Marley & Me," "Water For Tigers" and "Diary from the Wimpy Kid," together with the arrival films "Information on Pi" from Ang Lee, "Guernsey" from Kenneth Branagh and follow-up "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters," furthermore to "Walk the roadInch as well as the billion-dollar grossing "Alvin as well as the Chipmunks" franchise. Her career at Fox includes oversight in the hit photos "Cast Away," "Waiting to Exhale" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos pointed out: "In the last twelve years, Elizabeth's savvy, vision and taste has already established Fox 2000 Pictures to some success and accomplishment that exceeded our already high anticipation. We're able to 't be more comfortable they is constantly on the advice the division inside the years ahead," mentioned Fox Shot Entertainment chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman in the joint statement.Goodman joins Fox 2000 from Warner Bros., where she's labored since 1998, most recently as professional V . p . of production. At WB, Goodman was responsible for controlling projects for instance "Contagion," "I am Legend," "Michael Clayton," "The Informant" as well as the "Oceans" trilogy."It's with tremendous excitement that individuals welcome Jessica to 20th Century Fox also to they at Fox 2000 Pictures," mentioned Gabler. "She's a substantial informative experience and shares our passion and respect for wonderful material and filmmakers. Her fresh perspective and desire for her work will probably be inspiring to many of us.InchPaiva, who was simply the creative executive on "Water For Tigers," it's presently working "Information on Pi." Contact Rob Sneider at rob.sneider@variety.com

Mirror Mirror gets a new TV spot

It's fair to say that up until this point, we've been fairly disappointed by the trailers for Tarsem Singh's Snow White story, Mirror Mirror. However, a new TV spot has now been released and... well, we feel pretty much the same, to be honest.The new spot places the spotlight firmly on Julia Roberts' Queen, making the point that she "radiates crazy" before going on to describe her as both "wicked" and "evil". Quite the rep she's got there!Take a look at the new teaser below... Those wise-cracking dwarves are on hand again with another batch of witless quips ("Do you think she has a boyfriend?") whilst Armie Hammer still looks a bit glazed as Prince Andrew (no, not that one).That said, it's still an improvement on the teeth-grindingly awful first effort, so perhaps we shouldn't be quite so scathing. Here's hoping there are some top notch gags in reserve for when the film opens on 2 April 2012.

'Gossip Girl' Cast and Producers Reflect on the Road to 100 Episodes

When the CW launched in 2006, both its name and mission were something of a mystery. Formed from the ashes of the defunct UPN and The WB networks, the joint venture of CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. was desperately seeking programming that would not only lure younger viewers but also create an identity for its brand. "Gossip Girl" became that show. Based on Cecily von Ziegesar's young-adult books, the show centered on a circle of uber-privileged, impossibly attractive prep school students on Manhattan's Upper East Side whose world revolves around sex, drugs, high fashion and, naturally, text-messaging. What the series long has lacked in traditional Nielsen ratings (it's averaging only 1.7 million viewers this season) it has more than made up for in pop-culture cachet. As it readies for its 100th episode (Jan. 30) in what is most likely its penultimate season, "Gossip Girl" can lay claim to nearly 11 million Facebook fans, 197 international editions and an enviable median viewer age of 32. Along the way, a series that spoke to the digital generation has raised eyebrows, created stars and defined a network.A SHOW IS BORN Leslie Morgenstein, Alloy Entertainment CEO: We had taken a couple of cracks at developing the "Gossip Girl" books elsewhere. There was a script at Fox, and then we took a shot at a feature. The rights came back to us a couple months before the CW merger. We spent some time talking about how both Fox and The WB really broke through with sexy teen soaps: 90210 on Fox, "Dawson's Creek" on The WB. It seemed to us like "Gossip Girl" had the potential to be that for The CW. We talked to our studio partners, who got the books to [then-CW entertainment chief] Dawn Ostroff.Peter Roth, Warner Bros. TV President: In 2007, The CW was in its infancy and looking for a signature series. These books spoke magnificently well to the possibilities of the network. As far as a producing team, Josh [Schwartz] and Stephanie [Savage] were the only choice. Coming off of "The O.C.," I've always thought of Josh as the pied piper of this generation. Dawn Ostroff, former CW Entertainment Chief: We knew we wanted to go after 18- to 34-year-old women and do scripted content that was going to be bold. "Gossip Girl" fit so many of the characteristics that we were looking for. Josh Schwartz, Co-Creator: Just as The O.C. was ending, Alloy sent me the first "Gossip Girl" book. I thought it was interesting, so I sent it to Stephanie. I said, "If you like this, we should do it."Rick Haskins, the CW Executive vp Marketing and Digital Programs: It was fresh and fun and really captured how people talk about each other. It spoke for the first time to a digital audience in a very honest way. The premise of "Gossip Girl" -- a blogger with her own reporting website -- was very much a precursor to the reign of Facebook. Stephanie Savage, co-creator: We pitched the network our take of how we would do this show.Schwartz: It was a super-elaborate pitch of this NY fairy tale -- very archetypal characters: a princess, a knight in shining armor. I remember when it was all over, Dawn said: "You guys know we already bought this, right? You didn't really need to do that much."Ostroff: It was very easy to see their vision. There were so few notes. There's just no way we wouldn't have made this. When we saw their pitch, we thought: "This is it! This is everything we want!"SEEKING STARDOM Schwartz: When we first started casting, we read a lot of blogs that said, "You need to cast Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen." We were like, "Isn't that the girl from the [Sisterhood of the] Traveling Pants movie?" After we convinced her to do television, the network was concerned that she was "too California." So we dressed her up in boarding school attire -- clothes out of Stephanie's closet -- and straightened her hair to prove that she could look NY.Savage: I had worked with Penn Badgley [on WB's "The Mountain"] and had told him several times to stop doing WB pilots. Then I had to go back and say, "OK, one more!" Schwartz: Ed Westwick came in and blew us away. He originally read for Nate, but Stephanie and I looked at each other and wrote, "Chuck?" on a piece of paper. Once we cast him, he had to figure out his green card. We got several calls that he actually wasn't going to get it in time.Savage: The network was like: "You have to have a backup choice. We can't delay production. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars."Schwartz: But we refused to make the pilot if Ed wasn't Chuck Bass. Chace Crawford was very new and probably read 30 times.Chace Crawford, actor: I went back and forth to countless auditions because [CBS president and CEO] Les Moonves needed to sign off on me. They stuck me in this empty room with a hundred vacant chairs around a conference table. I sat down and this girl swiveled around in her chair, and it was Leighton [Meester].Schwartz: Leighton was a blonde when she came in to read, but Blake was the blonde, so we asked her to color her hair. A risky move on her part in the middle of pilot season, but she did a sink-rinse dye job to audition as a brunette.Leighton Meester, actress: I started auditioning back in December 2006. The process was really long. At the time, I wanted to move to NY, but I didn't have a reason or any money. So when my agent sent me the "Gossip Girl" script, I thought Blair was perfect for me. Originally the script had my character suffering from an eating disorder, but they ended up taking it out.Schwartz: Taylor Momsen [who played Jenny Humphrey and has since left the series] was an innocent 13-year-old when she came in. She played us the sweetest, poppiest Gwen Stefani music. (Laughs.) As for Matthew Settle and Kelly Rutherford, we really had to fight to get more money to pay for them. It was important to have adults to anchor the show.CREATING A STIR Haskins: The hardest thing about launching a new show is that people don't know the characters yet. You have to do an overall concept sell. We launched with a tagline: "You're nobody until you're talked about."Schwartz: When it premiered in September, it got a lot of buzz, but we didn't necessarily come out of the gate and pop a number. Ostroff: It was incredibly frustrating. Nielsen doesn't have a great grasp on measuring younger viewers. You couldn't go anywhere in the country without finding people obsessed with the show. Where "Gossip Girl" ranked No. 100 on the Nielsen list, it was No. 13 when you looked at the power-content ratings -- a combination of Nielsen ratings, traffic online and buzz.Schwartz: Everyone told us these shows take time.Meester: When we first started filming, people would walk by and ask, "What are you filming?" Once we aired, the whole mania started.Crawford: We were shooting on the Upper East Side one afternoon and must have been outside three all-girl schools. Within an hour, 10 girls multiplied to 300. I mean, we weren't the Beatles. Ed and I were crossing Park Avenue and had a ring of girls around us. We got stuck on the median and our make-up people had to fight them off. They were getting their hair pulled and had to throw elbows to get us through.Ostroff: I'll never forget, I had someone come in from China to talk to us because the series was the No. 1 downloaded show in China -- obviously not legally, but it had created a huge phenomenon.Schwartz: Then the writers strike hit. It was devastating and scary. Initially, we wondered whether the show would ever come back.Meester: I thought every episode was going to be the last one.Schwartz: We ended up being one of the few shows that came back that year with new episodes, but because we had been off the air for so long, The CW had to relaunch the show.Haskins: We used an outside research company and went to different markets to sit in living rooms with viewers: Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas and NY. We began to see how viewers were talking about the show. They would text each other about it, even if they were sitting on the same couch. That really was our "Aha!" moment. We realized we could flip our marketing and talk about this show the way they talked about it.OMFG Haskins: When I saw the "OMFG" ads, I knew that was it, but then I had to sell it internally. A lot of people didn't know what "OMFG" meant, so I had them call in assistants to get their reaction. The assistants would either smile or gasp. Once that happened, I had 100 percent support.Ostroff: As controversial as it may have been, the campaign set the tone for the network and the brand.Haskins: That's when "Gossip Girl" went from 60 to 120 miles per hour. We planted a very strong flag in the marketplace, and to this day we're known as the "OMFG network."Savage: We loved it. It was using the language of the show to promote the show. It felt smart and had attitude.Haskins: A lot of companies would not put "OMFG" on billboards or [run it on] certain cable stations, so we created two alternatives: for some an emoticon and for others we changed "OMFG" to "OMG."Crawford: I remember Jay Leno doing a bit where he asked an old grandma what "OMFG" meant. (Laughs.) Oh, and being shirtless on a poster with some girl.Haskins: The message got out loud and clear. We had a lot of negative things said about it. For phase two, we took negatives and turned them around. We used the "Mind-blowingly inappropriate" and "Every parent's nightmare" quotes to sell the show. The Parents Television Council gave me the nickname the "snake in the grass at The CW."Lisa Gregorian, Warner Bros. TV Chief Marketing Officer: It was provocative, but we didn't want to do it just for the sake of getting attention. The show had to back it up.Haskins: The next year we did the "WTF" campaign. We'd show provocative scenes that were coming, and then we'd cut to a card that said, "WTF?" before panning out and seeing "Watch This Fall." We were in a groove; we really understood what the brand was and, more importantly, we understood how to talk to our viewers.Savage: Like the campaign, the show is edgy, but we have a great relationship with the network's standards-and-practices people. Whenever we do anything where we feel like we might be controversial, we have a lot of conversations. When we did our threesome episode in season three, we definitely caught some flack.Meester: We're not whitewashing on this show. We're talking about issues people hold back on: drinking, drug use, sex. We're not pretending it's glamorous; we're just portraying something teenagers do.Morgenstein: I live on the Upper East Side, and the reactions shifted from moms of young teen girls being upset about the show to those same moms being fans of the show and wanting set visits. BREAKING OUT Savage: All of a sudden, people wanted to do cameos. During Lily and Bart's wedding episode, I was working with [baker] Sylvia Weinstock on the cake and thought: "Sylvia is a NY celebrity. She should come to the wedding." [Socialite] Tinsley Mortimer came to our white party, then Michael Kors, Tim Gunn and Vera Wang.Ostroff: It started a fashion craze. During the second season, there was a front-page article in The NY Times about "Gossip Girl's" fashion and how stores like Bloomingdale's couldn't keep the show's clothes on shelves. People watch the show the way they read a magazine: They want to know where to get the clothes, where to get the music and where to go in NY.Schwartz: NY really embraced us. When you're first shooting, nobody wants you there. All of a sudden, bars and restaurants were opening their doors. Our NY magazine cover was a big deal because it was a larger NY cultural magazine. The pinnacle, though, was Rolling Stone. It's really very gratifying because you believe in these actors early, but there's no evidence to suggest you're correct yet.Meester: You always want to grow and change, and the show has allowed me time off to pursue other projects and parts of the business. The biggest highlight for me is the 100th episode. It was a dream because my character wears this gorgeous Vera Wang dress. And because it took eight days to film, I wore my wedding gown way more than a typical bride would.BIDDING FAREWELL Mark Pedowitz, CW President: This is the first CW show to hit 100 episodes, and we have great pride in it. We hope that it lasts for a long, long time. Time will tell how things go.Schwartz: We're very proud of the 100th episode, but my favorite scene has to be Chuck and Blair's first moment in the back of the limo [during season one]. There's also a shot of Dan kissing Serena on a cobblestone street in the Meatpacking District -- it's moments like that when you say, "This is the show."Roth: This was defining, much the same way CSI has been defining for CBS and Lost and Desperate Housewives were defining for ABC.Gregorian: And it's resonated worldwide. It's in 197 territories and No. 1 with young adults and women on the channels they are on in Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Finland, Greece, Romania, Sweden and the U.K.Schwartz: You hope that these shows can serve as time capsules. Hopefully this one will be remembered for the characters, how we were ruled by gossip and technology in a way that feels true. And hopefully we're remembered for capturing NY and what it was to be young there.Savage: We have no plans to wrap things up this season. The actors' contracts expire at the end of next season, so that feels like probably an organic ending point.Roth: I certainly hope we get at least one more season. We're contracted for another one. The show has had an extraordinary impact on all of us, and I'd be thrilled to be able to appropriately say farewell after six remarkable seasons.MEET THE PARENTS: On the eve of "Gossip Girl's" 100th episode, here are the key strategists behind the CW series that shaped and defined the 6-year-old, femme-focused network.Dawn Ostroff, Former CW Entertainment Chief: The "Gossip Girl" cheerleader greenlighted the series shortly after launching The CW network in 2006.Peter Roth, Warner Bros. Television President: As a top executive at The CW's co-parent, Roth has played an instrumental role in the series' success.Josh Schwartz, Co-Creator: After making his mark as one of TV's youngest showrunners on Fox's The O.C., he was the network's first choice to develop the young-skewing series.Stephanie Savage, Co-Creator: Together with Schwartz, Savage launched production company Fake Empire, which is developing The Carrie Diaries for The CW.Leslie Morgenstein, Executive Producer: The Alloy Entertainment chief executive has overseen the young adult books on which the series is based.Joshua Safran, Executive Producer: The onetime screenplay scribe has penned 18 episodes for the teen soap series, including the 100th episode: "Father and the Bride." The Hollywood Reporter

Paul Reubens joins Charlie Kaufman pic

ReubensCharlie Kaufman has cast Paul Reubens in the approaching musical comedy ''Frank or Francis.''Reubens will have a movie critic within the pic which Anthony Bregman is creating.A satire of Hollywood set to music, "Frank or Francis" stories the rear-and-forth from a representative as well as an online blogger who loves berating his motion picture talent. Nicolas Cage, Steve Carell and Jack Black topline the pic, Kaufman's sophomore feature, while thesps Kevin Kline and Elizabeth Banks complete the cast.Reubens newest recent credits range from the Todd Solondz drama "Existence Throughout War time" in addition to Broadway tuner "The Pee-wee Herman Show," that was nominated for 3 Emmys. Reubens also offers a Pee-wee movie in development at Universal with Judd Apatow creating. He's repped by WME. Contact Shaun Sneider at shaun.sneider@variety.com

Winningham joins 'Tribes'

WinninghamMare Winningham is probably the thesps signed onto appear this spring available Off Broadway production "Tribes." Shaun Perry, Susan Pourfar, Will Brill, Russell Harvard and Gayle Rankin will also come in the show, to become helmed by David Cromer ("Home of Blue Leaves"). Nina Raines' play, which gained critical plaudits in the 2010 preem at London's Royal Court, focuses on a hard of hearing youthful guy and the hearing family. Design team for that U.S. version includes Scott Pask (sets), Tristan Raines (costumes), Keith Parham (lights), Daniel Kluger (sounds) and Shaun Sugg (forecasts). "Tribes" marks coming back to Off Broadway's Barrow Street Theater for Cromer, whose staging of "Our Town" saw an abnormally long term there. "Our Town" producers Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian and Tom Wirtshafter reteam to create the commercial staging of "Tribes," which starts previews February. 16 in front of a March 4 opening. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Jennifer Lawrence to Unveil Oscar Nominations

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Lawrence will join Academy of motion Picture Arts and Sciences Leader Tom Sherak to announce the 84th annual Academy Award nominations, the academy introduced Monday. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, Sherak and Lawrence will disclose the nods for 10 in the 24 groups throughout an energetic announcement at 8:30 a.m. EST. The conference is seen round the official academy website. Regions of furthermore, it are addressed by the network morning shows and cable news. Oscars Promo: Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox synergy to discover "the primary one they call the host" Lawrence, 21, was nominated in addition to Actress a year ago for Winter's Bone. She'll be viewed within the approaching film The Hunger Games, in theaters March 23. The Academy awards will probably be broadcast survive Sunday, Feb. 26, on ABC.

Quiet Birthday For Kate Middleton As She Turns 30

First Published: January 8, 2012 11:19 AM EST Credit: Getty Images LONDON, U.K. -- Caption Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrives at Summerfield Community Centre, in Birmingham, England on August 19, 2011 The former Kate Middleton turns 30 on Monday but royal fans expecting a lavish birthday bash to mark the milestone will be disappointed. Palace officials say the Duchess of Cambridges birthday celebration will be a low-key and private affair, appearing to quash press reports that she will see off her 20s with a fun 80s themed party, complete with karaoke, in a throwback to her more carefree bachelorette days. The choice of a muted event seems appropriate: After all, the duchess is not just starting the fourth decade of her life she is also embarking on her career as a future queen, charged with renovating a monarchy that has become somewhat creaky with age. Shes done very well, playing a very good supporting role to Prince William and complementing him as part of a team, commentator Robert Jobson said of her first few months as a royal. Weve not seen much of her, but when shes in public she has performed with aplomb, added Jobson, who is the author of William and Kate: The Love Story. The past year has seen momentous changes for Kate, with a fairytale wedding to Prince William, travels around the world and glamorous appearances that marked her transition from commoner to the worlds most talked-about princess and style icon. She has won rave reviews for her sparkle, her elegant sense of style, and her common touch with the public. The media, yearning for a young and beautiful royal, documented and largely admired her every move. But now that the excitement around her grand wedding has subsided, she is expected to quietly settle down into her royal duties and for much of this year, that means helping Queen Elizabeth II celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, without upstaging the monarch in her moment of glory, and also playing a supporting role at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Until recently, palace officials have been quiet about what exactly her role will be, keen to protect her transition into a fully fledged royal from the glare of the media limelight. The newlyweds, who live in a remote corner of north Wales, were said to favor a quieter life after the massive global media coverage of their April wedding. Outside of a tour of Canada and California in the summer, the duchess has only taken a handful of official engagements. The former Middleton ventured out on her first solo engagement in October a private charity dinner for about 30 guests but is yet to make a public speech on her own. That is set to change. This week, royal officials finally gave the first insight into her new role when they announced which charities shes supporting, including the Scouts and a group that helps drug addicts. More organizations will follow later, officials said. The royal family considers patronage of charities an important aspect of their social role, and frequently makes visits and attends events to boost the charities profiles. William is involved in many diverse nonprofits, while his mother, the late Princess Diana, was well known for her active support for numerous charities including organizations that helped AIDS patients. Even after her separation from Prince Charles, Diana actively campaigned for a ban on land mines, and visited Angola to champion that cause. The former Middleton is expected to take on a similar role, eventually designating more charities she wants to be involved with as a way for her to carve out her own niche, based on her own priorities and concerns. She has already taken on an unofficial role as a champion of the British fashion industry, wearing the creations of British designers at home and abroad, showcasing their work in the best possible light. On top of such duties, the duchess also has a busy year ahead with the queens jubilee, a major celebration of the monarchs 60 years on the throne that will take see numerous celebrations throughout Britain and the Commonwealth, peaking in a major celebration in London in early June. The royals are expected to play a supporting role by traveling overseas to represent the queen. William and Kate are due to journey to Malaysia, Singapore, the Solomon Islands and the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu as part of the festivities. The queen and her husband will avoid overseas travel because their advanced years make such trips challenging. The queens husband, Prince Philip, recently spent time in hospital with a heart problem. William and his wife have also indicated that they intend to take up residence at an apartment in Londons Kensington Palace once his military commitment at an air base in Wales has been met. That will give the likely future king and queen even more visibility in the capital. Inevitably, much of the speculation about the duchesss future has centered on royal lineage Is she going to start a family soon? That, however, is anyones guess, and despite incessant tabloid baby chatter, there doesnt yet appear to be great pressure on the newlyweds to produce an heir. Its early days yet, and theyre both getting used to their roles, said Jobson, adding that the presence of other young members of the royal household, such as Prince Harry, helps to ease the pressure on William and Kate. Many of the more senior women in the royal family were mothers in their 20s, but times and expectations have changed both inside and outside the royal household. By the age of 30, the queen had given birth to two of her four children. Her daughter, Princess Anne, married at 23 and had her first child, Peter Phillips, four years later. Diana also married early and gave birth to William, her first child, at 21. Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Q&A with Gore Verbinski

Verbinski'Rango'Gore Verbinski's leap into feature animation pointing with "Rango" has gotten the film a Golden Globe nom and multiple experts honours. The helmer recently spoken with Variety's Christy Grosz in regards to the learning curve in moving from live-action to toon helming.Grosz: Was 3d ever part of the conversation if you started concentrating on "Rango?"Verbinski: Not in the beginning. In my opinion i had been midpoint when "Alice's adventures in wonderland" showed up in this area. There's a bit of the discussion in those days. We actually did a few tests, but we kind of felt like the film wasn't missing a dimension. It absolutely was late in the sport and cost a lot of in those days to come back.CG: I'm supposing you're towards changing the film to 3 dimensional?GV: That was not likely to occur. That was your dream that individuals required to win.CG: Could it have been hard to sit within the rate of interest of used in animation versus. live action?GV: It was not a great deal a pace problem. We type of broke the film into three sections. There has been 18 several days of story reel, that's working out of the home with seven artists together with a Mac computer together with a microphone. It's just really lo-fi -- hotdogs around the grill, extended walks, just identifying the story. Every line was written, and every character was produced. We needed a really tight blueprint -- we're no animation house. It's about execution. 18 several days, an organized while not crazy pace and 20 days while using stars recording every line. That was pretty frenetic because everybody required to do about 10 pages every day -- around the live-action movie they're doing two pages every day. We wanted that being frenetic since they only had time to respond with ease to anything happening to real-time. Your relaxation is an additional 18 several days up at ILM, trying to guard that liveliness and not let animation destroy it because the computer loves perfection. We really preferred to abnormally create a sense of uncertainty, as if things were occurring and there's a camera inside filming a lizard together with a tortoise talking with each other.CG: Perhaps you have feel you'd any longer remedies for that performances?GV: The entire film was key-frame animated. There's no motion capture inside the movie. Once we recorded the heavens, we folded some video cameras for reference, but basically i had been mostly concerned about an energetic audio track. The key factor-frame animation, yeah, you'll find no gifts. You are trading days speaking a great involuntary twitch beneath the eye, so you've ultimate control, but it's type of missing living-action factor -- something happened and you also were poised to capture it which is done. That is frame-by-frame discussions about trying to make a chameleon interpretation from the products that moment might be. CG: Perhaps you have enjoy used in animation?GV: It's funny because we're in active prep on "The Lone Ranger," and there's this annoying little factor referred to as gravity, which may be a bitch. We have trains and horses, and there's a great deal, "Well, you can't do that, as well as the camera won't do that.In . In several ways, it's liberating to accomplish an animated film because the only limitation may be the imagination. But concurrently, when you're developing a live-action movie, you're type of orchestrating chaos. There is a plan, but also you are really reaping helpful benefits from gifts that occur because an actress does a thing that he didn't even expect.CG: Speaking about "The Lone Ranger," there has been plenty of reviews in regards to the budget in the film GV: Oh my gosh god, absurd. We'd not really shot a frame of film. I'm under sure why it absolutely was news. There has been probably three other films concurrently that have been coping with exactly the same component that weren't reported on. It absolutely was kind of odd to own your allowance battles freely displayed. It's a $209 million (film) -- when you are getting because range, (the film) must be a meeting. We needed the equipment to complete that, which we fought. It's happened on virtually every movie I've made, and certainly other company company directors I realize feel it constantly. However type of appear like this movie's been discussed a great deal, it is therefore nice to go to in the radar, ensure it is and possibly we'll have something we could discuss again. Every movie gets the same fundamental part of the amount that they must grind lower. That's things i was doing. That's what we should are ongoing to accomplish.CG: "Lone Ranger" marks another collaboration to suit your needs and also the Actor-kaira Pitt. Things that work nicely because relationship?GV: I don't have a very soundbite answer for the. It comes down lower to trust. We'd just started shooting the second "Pirates," which i had been talking with him relevant for this lizard project, this chameleon by getting a name crisis within the civilized world, which he was only like, "I'll do that!In . Never read a script. We didn't talk more to do with it. Once in awhile, I'd say, "Fogged headlights I'm doing round the lizard project." We clearly wouldn't have grown to be the film made if he wasn't aboard. He's greatly a couple- or three-take actor and very knows where the camera is. He isn't type of improvising with techniques that's useless when you're getting to the edit room. (He gives) apparently wild performances, but they're really in the frame, which is actually wonderful for just about any director. He's very responsible for his instrument. (Getting that) relationship by getting an actress where he's ready to throw people eggs against a wall, this is when the pleasure will come in. We're both fans in the awkward moment. The mission for your awkward moment is when (the bond) becomes symbiotic.CG: Can you generally rehearse before beginning shooting?GV: It's a funny question because I miss practicing anxiously. In my opinion the ultimate time I'd real proper testing was probably on "The Sun And Rain Guy." These large movies, stars can be found in from London yesterday you shoot the scene. We'll block it, chalk mark out all the camera moves. Stars would go to makeup, and we'll start lighting making formulations the task throughout your day. Maybe it's a modern-day action set piece, I have storyboards. Maybe it's a dialogue scene, we rehearse it your entire day of. But the month of rehearsals right before shooting together with your stars area, that's so challenging nowadays. CG: How important you think the role of franchises is always to the art galleries at this time around?GV: They're a type of reducing risk because you have data. Before there is a franchise, there's no data it is therefore kind of horrifying. However think details are the enemy of creativity, too. Four-quadrant movies used to be any kind of accident, now people discuss it as can make a four-quadrant movie. If all we made were sequels and zilch new has been launched in the pipe, you'll find no new franchises being created. Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com