Casting Child Stars for Next Jason Reitman Film, 'Labor Day'

Casting Child Stars for Next Jason Reitman Film, 'Labor Day' By Daniel Lehman The month of january 24, 2012 Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images Kate Winslet Chrystie Street Casting is casting three major child roles for the approaching film "Labor Day," starring Kate Winslet as Adele, a depressed single mom who helps an steered clear of convict (Josh Brolin) find shelter on the Labor Day weekend. The film is going to be directed by Golden Globe-champion Jason Reitman ("Youthful Adult," "Up in mid-airInch), who modified the script from Joyce Maynard's novel of the identical title. Production is scheduled to do this summer time in Massachusetts.Casting company directors Suzanne Cruz Crowley and Jessica Kelly are casting a ten- to 14-year-old boy to experience charge role of Adele's boy Henry, and are generally searching for a youthful girl along with a youthful boy to play his buddies Eleanor and Craig. They're seeking distribution from union and nonunion stars of these roles. For additional details about the project and just how to submit, see the full casting notice on BackStage.com. (Subscription needed.)Chrystie Street Casting has cast the flicks "Youthful Adult," "Precious," "Shakespeare for each other,Inch "Good Will Hunting," "Cider Your Laws," "Pineapple Express," "The Wrestler," and 200 other major films, along with the TV series "Pan Am." Casting Child Stars for Next Jason Reitman Film, 'Labor Day' By Daniel Lehman The month of january 24, 2012 Kate Winslet PHOTO CREDIT Ian Gavan/Getty Images Chrystie Street Casting is casting three major child roles for that approaching film "Labor Day," starring Kate Winslet as Adele, a depressed single mom who helps an steered clear of convict (Josh Brolin) find shelter on the Labor Day weekend. The film is going to be directed by Golden Globe-champion Jason Reitman ("Youthful Adult," "Up in mid-airInch), who modified the script from Joyce Maynard's novel of the identical title. Production is scheduled to do this summer time in Massachusetts.Casting company directors Suzanne Cruz Crowley and Jessica Kelly are casting a ten- to 14-year-old boy to experience charge role of Adele's boy Henry, and are generally searching for a youthful girl along with a youthful boy to experience his buddies Eleanor and Craig. They're seeking distribution from union and nonunion stars of these roles. To learn more concerning the project and just how to submit, see the full casting notice on BackStage.com. (Subscription needed.)Chrystie Street Casting has cast the flicks "Youthful Adult," "Precious," "Shakespeare for each other,Inch "Good Will Hunting," "Cider Your Laws," "Pineapple Express," "The Wrestler," and 200 other major films, along with the TV series "Pan Am."

Actor James Farentino dies

Actor James Farentino has died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in La. He was 72. A mainstay of television for several years, Farentino guested on a lot of shows, different from "Route 66," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Ironside" inside the sixties with a role as Simon Peter in 1977's "Jesus of Nazareth," a recurring stint inside the eighties on "Empire" as Dr. Nick Toscanni together with a tale arc since the father of George Clooney's character on "ER" in 1996. Farentino was married to four stars: Elizabeth Ashley, Michele Lee, Debrah Farentino and Stella Farentino. He's managed to get by Stella together with a boy by Lee. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Raising 'Kane'

It took 71 years, but "Citizen Kane" is finally coming to Hearst Castle. The San Luis Obispo film fest has skedded a Hollywood to Hearst Castle event for March 9 including two screenings of Orson Welles' landmark pic inspired by the erstwhile owner of San Simeon. Harrison Ford and photog Timothy White will start off the festivities by flying into Hearst Ranch's private airfield, just as William Randolph Hearst's Hollywood friends once did. Wendy Eidson, fest exec director, said: "We'd been trying to do an event with them for years and when I suggested showing 'Citizen Kane' as kind of a joke, they didn't laugh. Then we reached out to Harrison Ford, because he flies his own plane, and he thought it was a great way to honor Timothy White." Great-grandson Steve Hearst, a veep of Hearst Corp., says the screenings will help place "Kane" in its proper context. " 'Citizen Kane' is a classic American film but is in no way a historically accurate depiction of William Randolph Hearst or his favorite place in the world, his ranch." Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

LL Cool J Tapped As Grammy Host

First Published: January 18, 2012 10:34 AM EST Credit: Getty Images LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption LL Cool J attends the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Monte Carlo TV Festival at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel on June 9, 2010The 2012 Grammy Awards are about to get a little bit more Cool. Two-time Grammy winner LL Cool J has been selected as the host of musics biggest night, making him the first host the awards ceremony has had in seven years, Access Hollywood has confirmed. Im thrilled to be part of Musics Biggest Night, he said in a statement. I will always have fond memories of my first Grammy Awards and to now be hosting the Grammy show, in the company of so many other incredible artists, is a dream come true. The 44-year-old star is a Grammy favorite and has hosted the Grammy Nominations Concert Live show since 2008. Previous hosts include Queen Latifah who was the shows last host in 2005 Rosie ODonnell, Billy Crystal, Jon Stewart and Ellen DeGeneres. Confirmed acts performing at the 54th Grammy Awards on February 12 on CBS at 8 PM ET/PT include Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, The Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars. Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kelsey Grammer & Wife Expecting

First Released: The month of january 15, 2012 5:22 PM EST Credit: Getty Images Caption Kelsey Grammer and Kayte Walsh get through to the W Magazine Best Performances Problem and also the Golden Globes celebration located by Dom Perignon and W Magazine held at Chateau Marmont in La on The month of january 13, 2012LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Kelsey Grammer has baby # 5 in route! Based on People, in charge star who's nominated tonight for any Golden Globe and wife Kayte Walsh Grammer, 32, expect a brand new accessory for their loved ones. This marks the stars fifth child and Katyes first. She formerly experienced a miscarriage this year. Kelsey, 56, is father to boy Jude, 7, and daughter Mason, 10, using the Real Average women of Beverly Hillsides star Camille Grammer. He's also father to Greer, 19, with Barrie Buckner, and Spencer, 28, with Doreen Alderman. The longtime TV, film and stage veteran is another grandfather to Spencers boy Emmett, who's 3 several weeks old. Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

On The Set: Glee's Michael Jackson Tribute Episode

Glee The thunder's just stopped rumbling, but a storm's still a-brewin' in a chilly parking garage just outside the Paramount Studio gates on a gusty Hollywood night. Inside, oblivious drivers exiting for the evening pass choreographer Zach Woodlee putting the warmly bundled-up Glee kids through a rigorous routine. Having only just been introduced to their complicated dance moves, the physically drained troupe will be in costume and before cameras in less than an hour shooting their big "Bad" production number - the crown jewel in a tribute episode to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, that airs on Tuesday, January 31. As the deafening prerecorded track plays "I'm bad, I'm bad/Come on/You know it," Woodlee, a recognizable face himself as one of the judges on Oxygen's The Glee Project, shouts his marching orders: "Walk, walk. Swipe, swipe, punch. Now swing! Ladies, you have to start backing up against the wall like you're scared." Woodlee separates Lea Michele (Rachel), Naya Rivera (Santana), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Heather Morris (Brittany) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) from the boys in a dance-off pitting the New Directions against the Warblers. "I promise you this will work. Well... maybe." This ambitious homage - which includes 10 of Jackson's hits, such as "Rock With You," "Smooth Criminal" and "Black or White" - is an enormous undertaking pulled together in platinum-record speed after receiving the blessing of the überprotective Jackson estate. "It's a different thing to do a posthumous [tribute] episode as opposed to dealing directly with Madonna, Britney [Spears] or Lady Gaga," explains exec producer Ryan Murphy. "Michael's kids are somewhat fans of the show, so the estate was lovely. In fact, they liked the writing so much that halfway through the planning they asked us to do another one about him next year." (Murphy has not yet confirmed a follow-up.) When Woodlee gives the gang a quick breather, Michele cuddles with Darren Criss (Blaine) to keep warm, while Kevin McHale gets up out of Artie's wheelchair for a stretch and Mark Salling (Puck) lightens the mood by parading around in a red Cheerios skirt. While the skirt will never actually be seen on Puck, Glee's costumers stretched their budget considerably, just as they did for their first-season Madonna and Lady Gaga tributes, decking out the cast in flashy fedoras, red leather jackets, sparkly rhinestone socks and gloves and other Jackophernalia. One standout is Chris Colfer, who as Kurt is rocking a black leather jumpsuit. "This is the closest I'll ever get to playing Catwoman," cracks Colfer, who has been entertaining his cohorts with his imitation of Meryl Streep as Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher. But who was Michael Jackson to this cast of twentysomethings? Many were far too young (or even yet to be born) during Jackson's 1980s firestorm when Thriller became the top-selling album of all time. Like many of his cast mates, Colfer remembers his first "conscious awareness" of Jackson was "seeing him going from hospitals to courtrooms, which overshadowed all the amazing music." Echoes Criss, "Unfortunately for our generation, it was a dark time in his life." "When I was in high school, there was definitely a lot of controversial stuff going on," adds Michele, doing her best to remain upbeat despite the gnawing pain of wisdom teeth soon to be extracted. "That's what I remember. But his best friends were Liz Taylor and Liza Minnelli, so he was always good in my book." For more with the Glee cast, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide Magazine, on newsstands Thursday, January 12! Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

Katee Sackhoff Joins Riddick

She'll play the female leadWe've become so used to getting all the news about the currently untitled Chronicles Of Riddick sequel from Vin Diesel's Facebook page that it's almost a surprise to see something crop up elsewhere. But Deadline is the site reporting that former Battlestar Galactica star Katee Sackhoff is now in final negotiations to take the female lead.Sackhoff, who cemented herself into sci-fi history as the cigar-chomping, bar-brawling, viper-flying Starbuck, is locking in a deal to play Dahl, a Nordic mercenary on the hunt for Richard B. Riddick.The actress was rumoured as being involved as far back as November last year, along with Bokeem Woodbine and Dave Bautista, but the casting process was put on hold when the finances looked a little wobbly and production on the new film was briefly shut down. Things seem to be fully back on track now, and we expect the others to sign on shortly, assuming they haven't had to move on to other projects.They'll all join Diesel and Karl Urban, who is reprising his role as Necromonger Vaako. With David Twohy back on writing and directing duties, Riddick (or whatever it ends up being called) should be out either later this year or mid 2013.Sackhoff, meanwhile, has The Haunting In Georgia, Lockdown and Sexy Evil Genius set to arrive over the next year or so, and has also scored a role in TV cop drama Longmire.

Crisis jams Hollywood in Southern Europe

Hollywood may be buoyant in Germany and solid in France -- but it's doing harm to in southern Europe. Drawing an absolute north-south divide, twelve month 2011 figures for a lot of of Europe's Large Five nations raise a apparent question: Are U.S. 3d films, whose premium ticket pricing is driving box office hikes in northern the location, too pricey for the money-careful families inside the south? German B.O. elevated 3.8% this season to $1.17 billion, thanks largely to 3 dimensional perfs of "Harry Potter as well as the Deathly Hallows, Part 2" ($74.millions of) and "Pirates in the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"($57 million), plus German comedy hit "Kokowaah" ($39.3 million). Eight from Germany's top films were Hollywood fare. France smashed all-time records this season. Tix sales rose 4.2% to 216 million, repping around $1.9 billion. Goosed having a 2.5% rise in vat, 2011 U.K. B.O. is nearly 4% on 2010 around 1.1 billion ($1.7 billion). In France and U.K., local fare -- French comedies "Intouchables" ($138.7 million) and "Nothing to Declare" ($67 million) in Blighty "The Inbetweeners" ($73.4 million), "The King's Speech" ($71.7 million) and U.K.-U.S. hybrid "Hallows, Part 2" ($118.6 000 0000) -- largely explain B.O. spikes. "U.K. cinema has received a really buoyant year," mentioned Film Distributors' Assn. Boss Mark Batey. "Local product a year ago just completed from the skin. U.K. cinemagoing has shown being facing the current recession.Inch Italia and also the country hardly invite such optimism, with Hollywood losing significant traction. Italia is monitoring for just about any 10% drop on 2010's $947 million B.O. -- U.S. movie business has dropped from 60% to 48% while local photos showed up in an astonishing 40%. Clunkers in Italia this season incorporated 3d movies "Tintin" ($4.7 million) and "The Lion King" release ($5.millions of). Total The the spanish language language B.O. fell 2.7% a year ago as Hollywood perf walked. Three U.S. blockbusters made north of $26 million this season, none this season. Driven by 3d prices, average The the spanish language language tix prices have risen 35% since 2004 to $8.70. This attempts family film attendance, mentioned an origin at Spain's Acec cinema circuit. During Germany, Cinemaxx's Arne Schmidt mentioned, "Industry was already partly flooded with 3d. We'd 'The Smurfs,' 'Kung Fu Panda 2,' 'Cars 2' and 'Rio' very close together. It absolutely was an excessive amount of.Inch The lesson for 2012? 3d hasn't morphed from B.O. remedy to poison however it may be showing too pricey for a number of cash-strapped Males and ladies. Nick Vivarelli in Rome and Erection dysfunction Meza in Berlin brought with this article. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

New Girl's Zooey Deschanel Files for Divorce

Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel Zooey Deschanel has filed for divorce from Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard after two years of marriage, People reports. The New Girl star, 31, filed the paperwork on Dec. 27. Court documents list their date of separation as Oct. 31 and Deschanel cited irreconcilable differences. Zooey Deschanel and husband Ben Gibbard separate The couple married in September 2009. Deschanel, who recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a TV comedy, also released a Christmas album with She & Him bandmate M. Ward in October.

Michael Caine: Other Films 'More Interesting' Than Batman

Michael Caine is an integral part of Christopher Nolan's Batman films as fatherly butler Alfred, but the Oscar-winning actor says -- gasp! -- that those movies aren't really all that interesting to make. On a set visit to his new film, 'Mr. Morgan's Last Love,' Caine told THR, "Batman has very good actors in it, but it's all about the special effects. A film like this is about the people. It's more interesting as an actor." That's a markedly different attitude than, say, Gary Oldman, who happily chatted up the series to Moviefone, even while promoting the more actor-driven 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.' One of the advantages Caine's new film has over working with Nolan, apparently, is a trip to Paris, where the film is being made. (Those Paris-set scenes in 'Inception?' Actually filmed in a studio.) "Choosing films is like real estate. It's all about location, location, location. I've filmed in Paris, but I've never done a movie that took place in Paris entirely," the actor said. His new film is based on the French novel 'La Douceur Assassine,' by Françoise Dorner's novel but was adapted with Caine in mind. "I wrote the second script entirely for him," said writer/director Sandra Nettelback. "I said If he turns me down, I'm really screwed. I couldn't stop seeing him in my mind when I was writing the script... It's a match made in heaven to see Michael Caine playing Matt." The film, about a widower living in Paris, co-stars Clemence Poesy of the 'Harry Potter' films, Gillian Anderson and Jane Alexander, as Caine's late wife. [via THR] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook