Relativity Media punished by Aramid Entertainment

Aramid Entertainment, among Relativity Media's original traders, filed a suit against Relativity in La Superior Court Wednesday accusing the business of fraud together with other charges in relation to its handling in the Beverly film financing deal for that new the new sony Pictures.Complaintant is seeking restitution and damages having a minimum of $44 million. Equity finance giant Fortress Investment Group may also be among the accused.Suit, that's introduced as "the most effective heist tales ever told inside the movie business," is replete with accusations of wrongdoing and takes particular are equipped for Relativity topper Ryan Kavanaugh.Relativity reps did not immediately respond to a request comment.Films stated inside the suit include Sony's "Anonymous," "21 Jump Street" and approaching Adam Sandler pic "I Dislike You Father," which has since been retitled "That's My Boy."Suit alleges that Relativity elevated too big too rapidly, proclaiming that their unprofitable purchases of Rogue Pictures and Overture Films introduced with a massive overhead its finances couldn't sustain.More later on ... Contact Rob Sneider at rob.sneider@variety.com

VIDEO: May Be The Pressure Strong With VW's New Super Bowl Ad?

Volkswagen Your day has showed up. VW's much over-blown Super Bowl commercial continues to be launched, so that as "The Bark Side" teaser ad guaranteed, it calls for dogs and The Exorcist. Super Bowl XLVI: The Titans and Patriots face off in epic rematch Browse the preview of "Your Dog Strikes Back," that the NY Times' Media Coder blog reviews runs one minute and 16 seconds, as the actual game day commercial is only going to run for one minute. Although it is good to determine the Cantina aliens, hear that legendary music and find out the jerk to last year's "The Pressure" commercial, that entire The Exorcist section just feels added on, not necessarily area of the dog and Beetle story. Is Volkswagen stretching the homage here? The ad will have throughout Sunday's Super Bowl, airing live at 6/5c on NBC. Exactly what do you consider "Your Dog Strikes Back"? Share your comments below.

First look at the Django Unchained set

The first images have arrived from the set of Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti western Django Unchained, and it looks as though QT has alighted on the perfect setting for his gun-slinging adventure.The photos were taken by actor Garrett Dillahunt on the Santa Clarita Melody Ranch in California, which serves as a ready-made location for Western-set filmmaking. If it looks familiar, that's probably because all three series of HBO drama Deadwood were filmed here.Dillahunt himself was involved in that production, but newcomer Tarantino has been full of praise for the set's authentic trappings. "It's a blast shooting here," said the director. "Most other western towns look like dollhouses. This has the complete look. It's fantastic."Django Unchained will follow the adventures of Jamie Foxx's freed slave, who teams up with bounty hunter Christoph Waltz to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from the clutches of an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). The film will open in the UK on 26 December 2012.

Russo, Sosenko are 'Too Cool'

Rocky Russo and Jeremy Sosenko happen to be drawn on to pen the bigscreen adaptation of graphic novel "Too Awesome to become Forgotten" from indies Red-colored Crown Prods. and Likely Story. Pic may be the first to leave Likely Story's first-look cope with Top Shelf Comix, whose graphic novel output includes "The League of Remarkable Gentlemen" and "Blankets." Alex Robinson's "Too Awesome" focuses on a guy whose hypnosis session apparently transports him back to his 15-year-old body in 1985. Adaptors Russo and Sosenko will also be one of the authors of approaching sketch-comedy pic "Movie 43." Red-colored Crown Prods.' Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Daniel Crown produce with Anthony Bregman of Likely Story. Stefanie Azpiazu and Riva Marker are onboard as professional producers. No helmer has yet been connected to the project. Likely Story lately bowed the Weinstein Co. pickup "Lay the favouriteInch in the Sundance Film Festival, where Red-colored Crowd Prods. preemed "Goat's." Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Asia boom has got the new the new sony professional positive

In the background from the thriving Asian economy, The brand new the new sony Pictures TV is wanting to mount the growing recognition of Western shows in the region to help it ride off to the East. "We view the Asian TV market as incredibly vibrant, plus it presents fantastic options for people,In . states Keith Le Goy, SPT prexy of worldwide distribution. Le Goy indicates that Western shows, once seen by smaller sized auds, are progressively appealing to Asia's mainstream auds. "There's an enormous hunger for (this)," Le Goy states. "People are interested in a whole quantity of Western content. We are leaving several types of Tv shows, some adaptations and several original productions. A particular adaptation is "The Sport,Inch a 25-episode original drama using the best-selling novel "Feng Zi." The show remains one of the new the new sony TV's large success tales. Overseas licensees include RTM2 in Malaysia and offer day TV in Vietnam. SPT's plan depends on the region's economic expansion. China, for example, is growing inside a rapid clip of 8% to 9% yearly. "China might be the economical giant, but you'll find also India, Korea together with other nations. This is actually the bedrock. Economic growth allows more people to access content," states Le Goy, who also handles worldwide distribution from the new the new sony Pictures' film, television together with other content to all or any media platforms. However, Le Goy is careful to avoid lumping the entire Asian market together rather, according to him, The brand new the new sony TV must fashion a method that really works best for everyone territory, due to the multiplicity in the region's languages and cultures. "We goal to combine the most effective of free air travel with the most effective from the East and the most effective of scripted with the most effective of unscripted," according to him. "We view the requirement to be smart in the manner we link content to technology to acquire our tales into people hands. Asia has extended been a pacesetter in adapting technology. This gives a substantial edge to (suggests that may access people) platforms." Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Ask Matt: Revenge, Glee, Once Upon a Time, Alcatraz and More!

Emily Vancamp, Josh Bowman Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter!Question: This past week marked the 13th episode of the freshman series Revenge. I remember reading that the Labor Day engagement party previewed in the pilot was originally scheduled to be the 13th episode. Have the writers decided to take advantage of the series' popularity and draw out the story by delaying that episode? Will we see the events of the engagement party before the season finale? - TommyMatt Roush: Yes, we'll come full circle to the deadly events of the pilot episode very soon. Your suspicions are correct that when Revenge started strong out of the gate and got an early pickup, the producers decided to let things play out a little longer, and we're expected to find out just who got shot and who the shooter is over the course of the next two episodes, airing Feb. 8 and 15. In this case, more is more - as in fun.Question: In the run-up to last week's episode of Glee, "Yes/No," I saw lots of hype from Lea Michele and Cory Monteith about what a big romantic episode it would be for Rachel and Finn. However, the episode itself left me feeling uncomfortable about their relationship and the proposal. It seemed foolish and desperate, not romantic. As #RachelSayNo was a Twitter trending topic, I don't think I'm alone in that reaction, but I don't get the impression that was the intended response either. Was this a swing and a miss of a story or did they really intend for us to be rooting against the lead couple? - ShanMatt Roush: Maybe this will teach you not to believe in hype, and I'd also caution you into reading too much into the ephemera of trending topics on Twitter, which for all of its usefulness can all too easily become a tiresome echo chamber and Petri dish for knee-jerk haters. That said, it's quite possible that we're meant to feel uncomfortable about Rachel and Finn's situation at episode's end, and you're right that it played like a foolish and desperate gesture, fueled largely by Finn's anxiety over his post-graduation future (one of Glee's strongest ongoing storylines this season for his, Rachel's and Kurt's characters). Which doesn't mean that they don't see this moment as romantic in their own heads, even if we beg to differ. And pray that she refuses. The real problem with that storyline and proposal is that it felt so abruptly shoehorned into an episode that was already overstuffed (a frequent Glee gripe these days).Question: Two questions for you regarding Once Upon A Time: Where did Henry get the fairy-tale book and the idea that everyone in Storybrooke is a fairy-tale character trapped there by his "mother," the evil queen? I don't remember this ever being addressed, yet Henry's knowledge of and belief in the curse, and the book that has become a sort of guide to the characters, was never explained ... was it? Also, if time stands still in this town, why hasn't anyone noticed? Clock hands don't move and nobody gets any older, but this too hasn't been properly explained. I know, I know ... nitpicking a show about suspending one's belief and fairytales. But these two things have just bugged me all season. - KMatt Roush: I think the reason I didn't much enjoy Once Upon a Time until I got to the third episode (with the first major Snow White-Prince Charming back story) was that I couldn't stop nit-picking at some of these same things, feeling that the concept was swallowing the show. Since then, I've relaxed and learned to just roll with it, and it's become appointment Sunday viewing - although I much prefer the fairy-tale twists to the goings-on in Storybrooke. But to your specifics, didn't the clock start moving again once Emma came to town? That was little Henry's first win. And part of the overall premise is that the curse, which keeps them trapped in this town, also keeps them from noticing that they're not aging among other things. As for the book, if its origin has been fully explained, I missed it. But it's still early days, so I wouldn't be surprised if we get a Henry-centric episode laying some of that out.Question: The premiere of Alcatraz really impressed me. It looks like the Lost alums sat down and said, "Whatever was wrong with Lost we'll avoid in Alcatraz." I'd be interested in your takes on its prospects. Once Upon A Time has been the most pleasant surprise of the season. Good characters and production values plus a great story line that's well executed make this one of TV's best hours at our house. Not as much fun, but interesting nonetheless, are the wind-downs of Chuck and Desperate Housewives. Watching the writers cross t's and dot i's holds my interest. - JimMatt Roush: Personally, I would prefer Alcatraz if it had taken a clue from one of the things that Lost did right - vivid characterization (especially where the lead female character is concerned) - but as I noted in my review last week, I am intrigued by the show, and hope that the manhunt-of-the-week stories can start living up to the tantalizing mythology (which owes more than a little debt to The 4400), although it's the procedural elements that could help make it more viable commercially. The show opened strongly, which is a good sign for its prospects, especially if the audience keeps coming back, which I hope they do. And while I'm not a fan of Chuck's or Desperate Housewives' final seasons, I do agree that there are few things more satisfying for a fan than to be able to watch a show end its long run on its own terms.Question: I'm a first-time writer to you. I love Fringe. What do you think of the idea of Fox selling Fringe to Syfy? Cable doesn't need as many viewers as the networks do. - MaryQuestion: Along the lines of other Fringe fans thinking about other avenues for continuing the ratings-challenged show, I can't help wondering why no one at Fox is not seriously floating the idea of moving it to FX for the final year if room cannot be made for it on the parent network. Fox has deals in place with J.J. Abrams and is pushing Alcatraz - surely if Alcatraz is a success, Fox could accommodate Abrams' other show for one more year at FX - and Bad Robot could cut its budget a little without a drop in production quality. And wouldn't the meager ratings at Fox translate into "decent" ratings at FX? - BranimirMatt Roush: Neither of these scenarios is likely to happen (and welcome to the party, Mary). With Syfy, anytime this question has come up of acquiring a show the networks have dropped, the answer almost invariably is: Too expensive. And FX has a full development slate (currently including reworking the fantasy-action pilot Powers) that doesn't lend itself into picking up anyone's castoffs. It's much more likely that if Fringe has a future on TV, it will require Warner Bros./Bad Robot to work out a financial agreement to keep the show alive on Fox, either for a reduced license fee or maybe a reduced episode order. I wouldn't lose hope for a fifth season just yet, but I also wouldn't expect white knights to be lining up to come to the rescue.Question: Live With Kelly's guest co-hosts do not seem able to commit to a permanent co-hosting job. Are they actually looking for a permanent co-host? - LauraMatt Roush: At some point, they will name a permanent co-host. But for the moment, they're getting some good promotional juice with some of the celebrity pairings (often employing people who have other gigs and can't commit to this particular daily grind), so it doesn't look like they're in any rush.Question: I read that you're pushing the show New Girl. Is this a joke? I had watched bits of the show a couple of times before (and it wasn't easy), but decided to watch the whole thing last week. That's a half hour of my life I'll never get back. The girl is annoying as hell and has no acting talent (not to mention she's a little chunky), but that's not the biggest problem, which is that the scripts are awful (which I had noticed on the previous times I watched). Worst sitcom I've seen in I can't remember when. - FredMatt Roush: If by "pushing" you mean enjoying and recommending in my role as a critic, I plead guilty. And I honestly don't feel I'm out on a particularly lonely limb on this one. As always where comedy is concerned, it's a matter of taste, and the aggressively quirky Zooey Deschanel is without question an acquired one, as I suppose is her show - though dwelling only on her doesn't given enough credit to her male co-stars, who I also get a kick out of, especially Schmidt (although they still haven't done much to define late cast addition Lamorne Morris' character). I'll concede that last week's episode built around Schmidt's birthday on a party bus wasn't the show's best, but the montage of his escalating douchery was a hoot. For me, anyway. But really, chunky? For the girl who single-handedly coined the phrase "adork-able?" Even if it were true, what's wrong with that?Question: NBC's The Firm is marginal at best, but my question is about Juliette Lewis in particular. I find her character on this show to be totally out of place, distracting and borderline disgusting. OK, actually disgusting. Is she totally incapable of playing anything other than the proverbial trailer trash, kicked in the head character that I've seen her do almost verbatim for the past 20 years or so? Surely, there must be something other than this particular stereotype that she is able to perform. Why? Why? Why? - SteveMatt Roush: Wow, people, who put the vinegar on your popcorn this week? In my limited exposure to The Firm - with these ratings, I'm not compelled to keep up with something that left such a dismal first impression - I actually preferred the scuzzy company of the characters played by Callum Keith Rennie and Lewis to the wooden Josh Lucas and his simpering family. But you have a point that her garish act is awfully familiar and not as amusing as it used to be. Still, disgusting seems a bit harsh.Question: I just finished watching the latest episode of Hawaii Five-0 and was stunned to see such blatant product advertisement in the show. As viewers, we've gotten used to seeing flashes of logos here and there (as they do for Hawaiian Airlines or Hilton Hawaiian Village), but in this episode, they basically did a Subway sandwich endorsement including giving a rundown of menu items (all they left out was a Jared cameo)! Is this the future of network television? Yikes if it is! If the network execs need to find ways around people fast-forwarding through commercials, is there no alternative? It was an embarrassment and totally off-putting to viewers. - RachelMatt Roush: If you read my Week in Review column late last week, you'll know I agree with this wholeheartedly. This may well be the wave of the future, but there are ways to insert these plugs more adeptly. This was without question one of the worst I've ever seen, and that includes all the times the Buy More folks chomped down on Subways on Chuck - but in that case, the Subway sponsorship helped keep the lights on, whereas CBS and Hawaii you'd think don't really need to do something this blatant.But to be fair, let me share an excerpt from one of the comments generated by my column, from someone going by "Pinkiepie230": "That Subway product placement has gotten more mileague than any other commercial on TV this week. Hate it or love it, it was very effective because everyone's been talking about it since it aired on Monday. Personally, I didn't think it was that awful. The more it's discussed, the more it appeals to networks to add more of these types of endorsements to their scripted shows. Be prepared. Don't like it? Shut up about it and pretend like you didn't notice it. Everyone I know who saw the Subway debacle all mentioned they got hungry and wished they had one too. You're looking at the future."Question: My husband and I were finally convinced by the kids to watch The Big Bang Theory and we were instantly hooked. One thing that us oldies notice, however, is how much this show reminds us of the skits and antics of '60s comedian Ernie Kovaks. Do any of the writers admit, er ... acknowledge any influence by this old master of wildness? - IveyMatt Roush: I can't think of any accolade more flattering than being compared to this early genius of TV comedy. I've never heard the show's producers cite him as a special inspiration - though who doesn't admire him? - and Big Bang isn't nearly as anarchic by nature, with none of Kovacs' groundbreaking out-of-the-box visual insanity, but there is a spirit of fearlessness to the broad characterizations on the show that you have to think he'd appreciate.Question: I'm always surprised to hear Steve Jones isn't loved on The X Factor. He seemed incredibly genial on a recent Ellen appearance. If they do give him the old Dunkleman, maybe she can give him a special correspondent role on her show? - Dennis [from Twitter]Matt Roush: It might be a better fit. There's no question the guy's a charmer - met him last summer before The X Factor premiered, and was won over in person - but on that massive stage, he fell victim to the show's numbing overproduction and terrible direction and most weeks came off like a stiff, bellowing tool. It was painful.That's all for now. Keep sending your comments and questions to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com, and in the meantime, follow me on Twitter!Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

ESPN Reporter Forges "Feud" With Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe Twitter was buzzing after Parks and Recreation's Rob Lowe tweeted that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was planning to retire - news that came as a huge surprise to fans and especially to at least one reporter covering the NFL. In a passive-aggressive (albeit funny) attempt to zing Lowe for encroaching on his territory with false reports, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted, "Increasing chatter that Parks and Recreation is getting canceled."Watch full episodes of Parks and Recreation Lowe has yet to fire back in response to Schefter's "rumor," but he did retweet his son's feelings on the matter: "@MatthewELowe @RobLowe It's okay dad, Johnny and I still love you even if you did stir up the twittersphere... even on the blackout. #SOPA #Faceplam"Lowe's rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Watch Schefter get in his on-air jabs at Lowe and his show: