The Closer Creator James Duff Previews "Road Block"

The Closer For many in our last season, the questions we have been asking about love cope with its passionate side. Within the five winter episodes, we've veered gradually for the costs of this passion. When I have noted before, really the only promise you get with love is it must finish that people continue loving, when confronted with certain loss, is among the nobler traits of humanity actually, it might be our savior like a species.Devotion and adoration aren't limited to stuff that are great for us. Many people, actually, love stuff that are extremely clearly harmful to them, we can't but marvel at their options. Such may be the situation in tonight's episode, "Road Block," which signifies the most effective of the items The Closer needs to offer. You will find several interesting firsts within this psychologically billed story, not minimal which will be the premiere looks of Elizabeth Perkins and Mark Moses as LAPD Police Commissioner and the alcoholic wife. The script, composed with a author who became a member of our rotation this year, the truly amazing Jim Leonard, and directed by Nelson McCormick, who supplies a giant boost of adrenalin for each tv program that he is applicable his enormous energy, "Road Block" takes Major Crimes on the wild detour that dramatizes precisely how hard law enforcement need to work to find the goods on someone they are fully aware is guilty. As Peter Goldman keeps telling Brenda, "What one knows and what it's possible to prove are two entirely various things.Inch And coping with drunks is tricky, even just in the very best of conditions.A vehicle crash, popular-and-run that transforms into murder and 2 families, torn apart by one addiction, pulse with an interesting chase for Deputy Chief Manley and her division, even though "Road Block" isn't...really Christmassy, it will carry by using it an alert or two concerning the double-edged sword we call Holiday Cheer.I have to leave off writing during the day and go back to Griffith Park where, today, we shoot The Closer's last crime scene. When I finish the wintertime blogs, we'll have completely finished filming our series finale. There's much to think about between now and also the hour it airs, but it is never inappropriate to stop and thank you for adhering around completely towards the bittersweet finish.Until in a few days...- James Duff

'Harry Potter' Star Daniel Radcliffe To Host SNL!

by Kat Rosenfield Set your DVRs, Potterheads: after vanquishing the Dark Master inside the eighth and final film in the H . p . franchise this summer season, Daniel Radcliffe will undertake the Voldemort of television hosting duties along with his initial turn on Saturday Evening Live! The actor will need happens at Rockefeller Concentrate on the month of the month of january 14th, along with musical guest Lana Del Rey, a couple of short days before his new movie "The Woman In Black" premieres in theaters. Considering Daniel's immense fame, it's a little surprising he's not acquired an SNL hosting gig before -- which suggests that, the first time ever, the show's clever crew of authors may have their way and one of the "Harry Potter" cast people. What exactly are we able to expect within the show? It's anyone's guess, but we're wanting for sketches that showcase Daniel's unique history on stage and screen. For instance... Song-and-Dance After Daniel's starring submit "How you can achieve Business" this year, we're expecting him to follow along with together with inside the actions of Christopher Walken by getting an exciting-out, fully choreographed singing monologue to start the show. Scared Straight, Hogwarts-style! Kenan Thompson is often grew to become an associate of by guest hosts in this particular sketch, where the two play convicts charged with terrifying several juvenile delinquents into remaining from trouble. The dementor jokes are writing themselves nowadays. Harry Potter As Well As The Digital Short Ultimately these extended years of waiting, it will likely be truly devastating if Andy Samberg and co don't jump as of this chance to create a pokey, sensuous ballad full of wand-related double entendre. Also, Lots of auto-tune. Got any sketch recommendations for Daniel's first turn on SNL? Inform us inside the comments section and also on Twitter!

Hugh Hefner Talks Spicing Up Lindsay Lohans Playboy Reshoot

First Released: December 16, 2011 6:11 PM EST Credit: Access Hollywood Caption Access Hollywoods Rob Robinson and Playboys Hugh Hefner, December 15, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Lindsay Lohans Playboy problem hit newsstands today and Access Hollywoods Rob Robinson swept up with Hugh Hefner to find the particulars around the actress Marilyn Monroe-inspired shoot. Hef states the tribute would be a last-minute choice after he was disappointed using what the digital photographer first shot with Lindsay. I saw the outcomes of the very first day of shooting and it wasn't things i was searching for, Hef told Rob within an interview in the Playboy Mansion on Thursday. [Lindsay] hadnt bared everything in the first and she or he appeared as if she'd just emerge from rehab She appeared as if she just woke up each morning. I needed her to behave that might be truly memorable, he added. Within the pages of Playboy, Lilos poses are nearly just like individuals of Marilyns legendary 1953 spread within the mens mag. While Lindsay was aboard for that reshoot, her handlers in the beginning weren't, because this time around she'd be fully nude. They wanted a bit more clothing and that i stated, You realize, this will probably be what its likely to be, because used to do a tribute here towards the original nudes, Hef described. Marilyn Monroes comment following the original shoot was, once they requested what she was putting on, [she] stated, All I'd on was radio stations. All Lindsay Lohan had on throughout it was radio stations! When requested when the actress showed up towards the photo shoot promptly, the Playboy magnate wasnt in a position to offer an answer, but stated if she was truly directing Marilyn, punctuality wouldn't be among her most powerful points. I have no idea the response to that, [but] if shes carrying out a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, I suppose which means she most likely didnt show on time because Marilyn didnt show on time, he told Rob. Marilyn was late also? Rob requested. Indeed, with regularity, Hef clarified. Regardless of the unauthorized, premature discharge of Lindsays pictorial, Hef continues to have high wants the problem. I believe you are able to rely on it, he told Rob, when requested if he thinks Lindsays problem is a bestseller. The publicity surrounding it and also the anticipation is amazing. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

'Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol' Rio Red Carpet Premiere (Live Video Stream)

On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 10 live action short films that will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards.our editor recommends10 Animated Shorts Move On in Oscar RaceAcademy's Doc Shortlist Includes -- and Leaves Out -- Plenty of Great Films (Analysis) PHOTOS: It's a Zoo This Season -- 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company: Je Pourrais Être Votre Grand-Mère (I Could Be Your Grandmother), Bernard Tanguy, director-producer (Rézina Productions) Love at First Sight, Michael Davies, director and Sandra Gorel, producer (Spellbound Films) Pentecost, Peter McDonald, director (EMU Productions) Raju, Max Zähle, director and Stefan Gieren, producer (Hamburg Media School/Filmwerkstatt) The Road Home, Rahul Gandotra, director-producer and Ameenah Ayub, producer (London Film School) The Roar of the Sea, Ana Rocha Fernandes and Torsten Truscheit, directors (Niama Filmproduktion GmbH) Sailcloth, Elfar Adalsteins, director-producer (Berserk Films) The Shore, Terry George, director-producer (All Ashore Productions Limited) Time Freak, Andrew Bowler, director and Gigi Causey, producer (Team Toad) Tuba Atlantic, Hallvar Witzø, director (The Norwegian Film School/Den Norske Filmskolen) The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012. The Oscars telecast will take place on Feb. 26, 2012. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery It's a Zoo This Season: 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals Oscars Oscars 2012

Kenneth Branagh on Playing Laurence Olivier in 'My Week with Marilyn'

Kenneth Branagh on Playing Laurence Olivier in 'My Week with Marilyn' By Scott Feinberg December 12, 2011 Photo by Laurence Cendrowicz/The Weinstein Company Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Kenneth Branagh, one of the most revered stage and screen actors of his era, and not a bad writer or director either, about his remarkable life and career. Branagh is probably best known for his work in the theater, but has, over the past 30 years, accomplished a great deal in the world of film, as well, most notably writing, directing, and starring in three of the finest adaptations ever made of William Shakespeare's "Henry V" (1989), "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), and "Hamlet" (1996). Branagh has four Oscar nods to his name -- for best director and best actor for "Henry V" (1989); best adapted screenplay for "Hamlet" (1996); and best live action short for "Swan Song" (1992) -- and may soon add a fifth, for best supporting actor, for his portrayal of Laurence Olivier, one of his greatest acting heroes, in "My Week with Marilyn." Branagh rang me from Sweden, where he is now at work on his next film, and, over the course of 30 minutes, we discussed all of the above and more.Branagh was born in Belfast, Ireland into a working-class family. His father was a carpenter and his mother worked at the local fish-and-chips shop. When he was 10 years old, the family moved to Surrey, England, at which point Branagh undertook his first acting project: losing his Irish accent to avoid mockery in the classroom. By the age of 16, he was acting in serious school productions, and it was then that a teacher nonchalantly suggested to him that he possessed the talent to pursue acting for a living. The idea that he might be paid to do something that he so enjoyed made a profound impact on him, and became his greatest ambition. Just three years later, he was a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and also made his big screen debut in a brief uncredited part in "Chariots of Fire" (1981), which went on to win the best picture Oscar, and by the age of 28 he had already accomplished enough to write an autobiography.In the early years of Branagh's career, in particular, he was frequently compared to the greatest actors of all-time, including and especially one of his own acting heroes, Sir Laurence Olivier.Of those sorts of comparisons, he says today, "Quite frankly, of course you can't live up to it, and you feel, sort of, overwhelmed and humbled by it." He didn't help to make them go away, though, when he elected to follow in Olivier's ambitious footsteps by adapting, directing, and starring in big screen adaptations of "Henry V" (Olivier in 1944, Branagh in 1989) and "Hamlet" (Olivier in 1948, Branagh in 1989); in-between those two, Branagh tackled the Bard's "Much Ado Nothing" (1993), as well. Branagh acquitted himself very well in those efforts -- so well, in fact, that many people have struggled to see him in any context but a Shakespearean one. ("I might have been boxed in by the association with Shakespeare or these kinds of parts," he acknowledges.)Consequently, his filmography since those movies has been less impressive than many expected it would be. His own take on "Frankenstein" (1994), Barry Sonnenfeld's "Wild Wild West" (1999), Chris Columbus' "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002), his remake of "Sleuth" (2007), and Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" (2008), to name a few projects, aren't all bad films... but they don't exactly sound like the sort of thing with which Olivier -- or "the next Olivier" -- would associate himself.So how was Branagh able to get out of this rut, of sorts? The solution came in the most unexpected but appropriate of opportunities: a chance to play Olivier himself in Simon Curtis' "My Week with Marilyn," which centers around the brief relationship that developed between Marilyn Monroe and a young stagehand during the making of the 1957 film "The Princess and the Showgirl," a troubled production that Olivier directed and in which he played the male lead. Who, after all, could be better qualified to play Olivier at the age of 50, in a bit of a career rut, but still one of the all-time greats, than Branagh, who currently fits precisely the same description.Branagh, who as a 19-year-old student at RADA exchanged letters with Olivier but never saw him in-person, says that he quickly embraced the opportunity to play the great actor, rather than run away from it, as many expected him to because it would inevitably reawaken those decades-old comparisons. He says, "I was grateful -- I felt as though I had, in some way, humbly earned the right to try and bring something to him." He goes on, "I did feel that I had a kind of understanding of the essence, the very particular and specific kind of effort, of entrepreneurial energy, and, you know, sort of, creative drive that would allow any actor to, you know, direct and play the title role in "Hamlet" or "Henry V" -- that takes a very particular, unusual set of circumstances and abilities." Above all, though, he says, "It felt like a sort of debt of gratitude... [I] felt totally, totally motivated to get it right for him."And so he set to work.Before "My Week with Marilyn" got underway, he visited many of the places that Olivier passed through during the making of "The Princess and the Showgirl," and revisited that film and many of Olivier's others. Once the production got underway, he would arrive on set early each morning, have a cup of coffee with costar Michelle Williams, and then spend two-and-a-half hours in a makeup chair listening to Olivier's rendition of the Bible as prosthetics were applied to give him a cleft chin; makeup was used to reshape his eyebrows and heighten his forehead; and Brilliantine was slicked through his hair. Once on set, he learned to wear a monocle like the one that Olivier wore in "The Princess and the Showgirl," and wore specially-commissioned shoes from the same shoemaker that Olivier used. And, now that the film has been completed and is out before the world, he hopes that it will have the same sort of rejuvenating impact on his professional life that "The Princess and the Showgirl" had on Olivier's.Branagh tells me, "This film, which was a glorious and joyous experience for me, leaves me wanting to have the same kind of bravery going into the next part of my career -- to jump in and be as brave, and courageous, and as artistically-adventurous as Olivier was." The Hollywood Reporter Kenneth Branagh on Playing Laurence Olivier in 'My Week with Marilyn' By Scott Feinberg December 12, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Laurence Cendrowicz/The Weinstein Company Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Kenneth Branagh, one of the most revered stage and screen actors of his era, and not a bad writer or director either, about his remarkable life and career. Branagh is probably best known for his work in the theater, but has, over the past 30 years, accomplished a great deal in the world of film, as well, most notably writing, directing, and starring in three of the finest adaptations ever made of William Shakespeare's "Henry V" (1989), "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), and "Hamlet" (1996). Branagh has four Oscar nods to his name -- for best director and best actor for "Henry V" (1989); best adapted screenplay for "Hamlet" (1996); and best live action short for "Swan Song" (1992) -- and may soon add a fifth, for best supporting actor, for his portrayal of Laurence Olivier, one of his greatest acting heroes, in "My Week with Marilyn." Branagh rang me from Sweden, where he is now at work on his next film, and, over the course of 30 minutes, we discussed all of the above and more.Branagh was born in Belfast, Ireland into a working-class family. His father was a carpenter and his mother worked at the local fish-and-chips shop. When he was 10 years old, the family moved to Surrey, England, at which point Branagh undertook his first acting project: losing his Irish accent to avoid mockery in the classroom. By the age of 16, he was acting in serious school productions, and it was then that a teacher nonchalantly suggested to him that he possessed the talent to pursue acting for a living. The idea that he might be paid to do something that he so enjoyed made a profound impact on him, and became his greatest ambition. Just three years later, he was a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and also made his big screen debut in a brief uncredited part in "Chariots of Fire" (1981), which went on to win the best picture Oscar, and by the age of 28 he had already accomplished enough to write an autobiography.In the early years of Branagh's career, in particular, he was frequently compared to the greatest actors of all-time, including and especially one of his own acting heroes, Sir Laurence Olivier.Of those sorts of comparisons, he says today, "Quite frankly, of course you can't live up to it, and you feel, sort of, overwhelmed and humbled by it." He didn't help to make them go away, though, when he elected to follow in Olivier's ambitious footsteps by adapting, directing, and starring in big screen adaptations of "Henry V" (Olivier in 1944, Branagh in 1989) and "Hamlet" (Olivier in 1948, Branagh in 1989); in-between those two, Branagh tackled the Bard's "Much Ado Nothing" (1993), as well. Branagh acquitted himself very well in those efforts -- so well, in fact, that many people have struggled to see him in any context but a Shakespearean one. ("I might have been boxed in by the association with Shakespeare or these kinds of parts," he acknowledges.)Consequently, his filmography since those movies has been less impressive than many expected it would be. His own take on "Frankenstein" (1994), Barry Sonnenfeld's "Wild Wild West" (1999), Chris Columbus' "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (2002), his remake of "Sleuth" (2007), and Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" (2008), to name a few projects, aren't all bad films... but they don't exactly sound like the sort of thing with which Olivier -- or "the next Olivier" -- would associate himself.So how was Branagh able to get out of this rut, of sorts? The solution came in the most unexpected but appropriate of opportunities: a chance to play Olivier himself in Simon Curtis' "My Week with Marilyn," which centers around the brief relationship that developed between Marilyn Monroe and a young stagehand during the making of the 1957 film "The Princess and the Showgirl," a troubled production that Olivier directed and in which he played the male lead. Who, after all, could be better qualified to play Olivier at the age of 50, in a bit of a career rut, but still one of the all-time greats, than Branagh, who currently fits precisely the same description.Branagh, who as a 19-year-old student at RADA exchanged letters with Olivier but never saw him in-person, says that he quickly embraced the opportunity to play the great actor, rather than run away from it, as many expected him to because it would inevitably reawaken those decades-old comparisons. He says, "I was grateful -- I felt as though I had, in some way, humbly earned the right to try and bring something to him." He goes on, "I did feel that I had a kind of understanding of the essence, the very particular and specific kind of effort, of entrepreneurial energy, and, you know, sort of, creative drive that would allow any actor to, you know, direct and play the title role in "Hamlet" or "Henry V" -- that takes a very particular, unusual set of circumstances and abilities." Above all, though, he says, "It felt like a sort of debt of gratitude... [I] felt totally, totally motivated to get it right for him."And so he set to work.Before "My Week with Marilyn" got underway, he visited many of the places that Olivier passed through during the making of "The Princess and the Showgirl," and revisited that film and many of Olivier's others. Once the production got underway, he would arrive on set early each morning, have a cup of coffee with costar Michelle Williams, and then spend two-and-a-half hours in a makeup chair listening to Olivier's rendition of the Bible as prosthetics were applied to give him a cleft chin; makeup was used to reshape his eyebrows and heighten his forehead; and Brilliantine was slicked through his hair. Once on set, he learned to wear a monocle like the one that Olivier wore in "The Princess and the Showgirl," and wore specially-commissioned shoes from the same shoemaker that Olivier used. And, now that the film has been completed and is out before the world, he hopes that it will have the same sort of rejuvenating impact on his professional life that "The Princess and the Showgirl" had on Olivier's.Branagh tells me, "This film, which was a glorious and joyous experience for me, leaves me wanting to have the same kind of bravery going into the next part of my career -- to jump in and be as brave, and courageous, and as artistically-adventurous as Olivier was." The Hollywood Reporter

Alec Baldwin Angers Greyhound in Backhanded American Airlines Apology

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesLionel Wigram and Guy Ritchie After losing one film team, Warner Bros.' Man from U.N.C.L.E. could be gaining a new one. Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram, the director and a producer of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes sequel, are in talks to come aboard the project. Ritchie would direct with the duo producing via their recently formed, Warners-based shingle. Steven Soderbergh was to direct the project but dropped out in mid-November due to casting and budgetary issues. The project shouldn't lose any steam though, since it was well-developed and was teed up to go next year. The only real question is whether or not Ritchie and Wigram keep the previous project's 1960s setting. Soderbergh, meanwhile, is setting up a pharma-psychological thriller The Bitter Pill at Summit. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens December 16. Ritchie directed the movie with Wigram, who came up with the concept of the modern-style take on the famed detective, producing with Joel Silver, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Guy Ritchie International

G.M. Offers to Buy Back Chevy Volts

NY - Yahoo has decided to shutter four entertainment blogs, the online company said Friday.our editor recommendsBids for Yahoo Minority Stake Value Company at $20 Billion-PlusYahoo Exec Touts Success of 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1' Premiere Coverage Movie blog The Projector and TV blog The Set, music-focused The Amplifier and gossip site The Famous are the sites on which Yahoo is pulling the plug. Mark Lisanti, a former Movieline.com writer and Defamer editor who joined Yahoo last year to oversee new entertainment blogs as deputy editor, tweeted: "Yeah, so: Yahoo's shutting down our blogs. (Oh, and us.) Couldn't be more honored and proud to have worked with such talented people..." Sibyl Goldman, vp Yahoo Entertainment, said in a statement: "We are continuing to invest in original content and expert voices on the entertainment topics the fans want most, such as Awards Season, first looks at blockbuster movies and Red Carpet Fashion, including welcoming Oscars expert Thelma Adams earlier this week." Yahoo has also continued to invest in premium video content, such as female-targeted online video series announced this fall. "With over 80 million users across all of Yahoo's entertainment properties, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality, premium experiences for both users and advertisers," Goldman said, citing comScore data. It was not immediately clear how many staffers were affected by the shutdown of the sites. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai Related Topics Yahoo

Rankings Corporate Jungle: Community & Prime Suspect Rise, Parks & Entertainment Slips

Against lighter competition, The X Factor‘s Top 7 results show last evening (3.1/9) being using its last Thursday episode two days ago or more 19% from a week ago’s results edition, which broadcast on Wednesday. Bones (2.8/7) was up a tenth from two days ago. Fox (3./8, 9.5 million) won the evening in grown ups 18-49 and total audiences. NBC was the only real other broadcast network to air its regular selection in originals last evening. For any second consecutive time since NBC introduced it had been benching Community for midseason, the off-beat comedy (1.7/5) increased a tenth, matching its best demo delivery in 2 several weeks. But after rising by two tenths in the last original airing two days ago, Parks And Entertainment (1.8/5) dropped just as much last evening. Work (2.9/8) and Whitney (1.9/5) were both flat using their newest originals and tied as season/series low. Without any original series competition at 10 PM, canceled Prime Suspect (1.3/4) was up two tenths (13%) from two days ago. With all of originals, NBC (1.8/5, 4.4 million) still finished behind CBS (1.9/5, 8.4 million), which broadcast all reruns. ABC went holiday special offers Father Christmas Is Visiting Town (2.2/6) and CMA Country Christmas (2.1/5). The CW broadcast repeats.