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Variety earned 14 first-place wins Sunday night at the 17th annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards, including trophies for print journalist of the year, film critic, investigative reporting and news photo.

Chris Willman, chief music critic and senior writer, packed a punch with four wins including print journalist of the year. Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media, won two top investigative categories. The ceremony was held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles and presented by the Los Angeles Press Club.

“We are so proud of the work produced across Variety every day. These big wins reinforce that we have the largest and strongest team of entertainment business journalists in the world,” said Cynthia Littleton and Ramin Setoodeh, co-Editors in Chief of Variety.

Here’s a rundown of Variety‘s wins:

Chris Willman’s singular voice and prolific output earned him the print journalist of the year honor.

Colleagues and friends gathered today at the Motion Picture & Television Fund to celebrate the life of venerable Deadline labor reporter David Robb who died in December at age 74.

There were many stories, “Dave-isms” and great impersonations of the gravelly-voiced journalist in speeches from people who had worked with him or spent countless Friday poker nights together.

Robb’s passion for poker was front and center at the event, put together by Robb’s widow Kelly Robb, where the round tables were decorated as poker tables. They also were adorned with books from David Robb’s personal library for attendees to take home.

One of the “Dave-ism” coined at the Friday poker nights was literally called “The Dave,” which the gang called the nine in a deck of cards, with the hearts one called “The Dave of Love.

Dave Robb, who spent more than four decades on the Hollywood labor beat for The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and, most recently, Deadline, has died. He was 74.

Robb died peacefully Friday night at his Los Angeles home after being diagnosed in late October with inoperable cancer of the brain stem, Deadline reported. (Deadline, like THR and Variety, are owned by Penske Media Group.)

He spent most of his last year covering the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

A dogged investigative journalist in his day, the gruff yet genial Robb started at THR as an editorial assistant in 1979, the first of his five stints with the paper. On Facebook, former editor Alex Ben Block wrote that he hired him twice and “rarely gave Dave an assignment. Usually he came to me with stories out of the blue that were amazing, brilliant and breaking news.

“I just want to add what a true original he was,...

The Hollywood Reporter thanks the following 322 members of the global film community — listed alphabetically — for taking the time to cast a ballot to help us determine the 100 greatest film books of all time.

Seth Abramovitch

The Hollywood Reporter journalist/It Happened in Hollywood podcast host

Jo Addy

Soho House group film and entertainment director

Casey Affleck

Oscar-winning actor

Rutanya Alda

Author/actress

Stephanie Allain

Filmmaker

Victoria Alonso

Filmmaker/executive

Tony Angellotti

Publicist

Bonnie Arnold

Filmmaker/executive

Miguel Arteta

Filmmaker

Chris Auer

Filmmaker/film professor

John Badham

Filmmaker/film professor

Amy Baer

Executive

Matt Baer

Filmmaker

Lindsey Bahr

Journalist

Ramin Bahrani

Oscar-nominated filmmaker

Cameron Bailey

Toronto International Film Festival CEO/former film critic

John Bailey

Cinematographer/former Academy president

Bela Bajaria

Executive

Sean Baker

Filmmaker

Alec Baldwin

Oscar-nominated actor/author

Tino Balio

Author/film professor

Jeffrey Barbakow

Executive

Michael Barker

Executive

Mike Barnes

The Hollywood Reporter journalist

Jeanine Basinger

Author/film...

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Canadian actor George R. Robertson passed away in Toronto on February 3, 2023. He was 89. 

Robertson is perhaps best known for playing the role of Chief, then Commissioner Henry Hurst in the first six "Police Academy" movies, released yearly from 1984 to 1989. The "Police Academy" series, while not well-reviewed, were massively successful, providing a generation with a cop-themed, National Lampoon-style snobs-vs.-slobs cinematic bedrock. According to the 2010 book "George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success" by Alex Ben Block and Lucy Autrey Wilson, the first "Police Academy" film made nearly 150 million on a 4 million budget. 

The premise of the series was simple: due to a shortage of police officers in an unnamed American city, the local police department has been ordered to accept anyone who applies for the job. This leads to a comedy of errors wherein every weirdo,...

Veteran television producer, Stephen C. Grossman, whose many credits include eight years as coordinating producer on the 1980s CBS sitcom “Newhart,” passed away Thursday from coronavirus complications. He was 76.

Actor Alex Ben Block shared Grossman’s obituary with TheWrap on the family’s behalf.

Grossman’s long career as a producer began at Mary Tyler Moore Enterprises in 1977, where he worked on numerous pilots and series including “The Betty White Show,” “Mary” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Comedy Hour.”

Also Read:

Leslie Jordan Honored in Memorial Montage: ‘Forever Part of the Fox Family’ (Video)

After leaving Mtm in 1990, Grossman was active at several production companies including Warner Bros., Paramount TV, Disney and Carsey-Werner, as well working with Ted Turner, Aaron Spelling and Steven Bochco.

His many TV credits include the 1997 CBS sitcom “George & Leo” with Newhart and Judd Hirsch, and the NBC comedy “Hope & Gloria.”

Grossman also served as co-president...

Guggenheim Media publications The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard have laid off 10 of its employees, including four editorial staffers. Among the cuts: veteran THR senior editor Alex Ben Block and film reporter Tim Appelo, Billboard correspondent Phil Gallo as well as editor-at-large Joe Levy, who was passed over for the music publication’s editor-in-chief job last year. The top editing job went to Tony Gervino who was hired from Hearst Magazines International in April 2014. The remaining six employees who were laid off came from the Billboard’s and THR’s marketing teams. News of the cuts were first reported by THR and Billboard’s sister publication,...

The Hollywood Reporter and its parent company Prometheus Global Media have filed a motion to dismiss film financier David Bergstein's $150 million lawsuit charging the company with defamation, conspiracy and business interference. The motion was filed Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, and asked that Bergstein's “scattershot complaint” be tossed in full with prejudice. The initial suit, filed in February, charged that THR reporter Alex Ben Block wrote numerous stories about Bergstein that damaged his reputation and interfered with his business and earnings. Also read: Hollywood Reporter Slapped With $150 Million Defamation Suit by Film Financier David Bergstein Specifically, Bergstein alleged that Block's stories.

The Hollywood Reporter and parent company Prometheus Global Media have been sued by film financier David Bergstein for $150 million in damages for defamation, conspiracy and business interference. According to the summons filed on Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, Bergstein alleges that THR reporter Alex Ben Block wrote numerous stories about the movie financier that damaged his reputation, interfered with his business and earnings. “Defendants reporting included material misstatements which were not matters of opinion, inference, shading or context, but were simply untrue,” the lawsuit states. The suit further states that the allegedly inaccurate reporting of Bergstein’s legal dealings displayed.

Arsenio Hall will be in Miami Beach this week, promoting his upcoming talk show which premieres Sept. 9 at the 50th anniversary Natpe/Content First market and conference. It's been 19 years since he was last a late-night syndicated talk show host; in this interview with THR senior editor Alex Ben Block, he opens up about the abrupt end of that show, his life in the intervening years, his own self-image and what he hopes his new show will be like. The Hollywood Reporter: When did you decide to return to late-night TV? Arsenio Hall: I’ve been working on this

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The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Ben Block has been nominated for the Press Award by the publicists of the International Cinematography Guild, which announced the nominees for their 50th Annual Awards Luncheon on Tuesday. The luncheon will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, February 22. Among the other nomines for the Press Award, which honors members of the American Media, were Mike Fleming (Deadline Hollywood), Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood), Jeff Jensen (Entertainment Weekly), David Karger (Fandango) and Scott Mantz (Access Hollywood). In June 2012, Block was honored as Entertainment Journalist of the Year at the Southern California Journalism

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Warner Bros. and Peter Jackson are responding to claims that "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is causing motion sickness and nausea among viewers.

Peter Jackson's fantasy flick premiered in New Zealand on Nov. 28 and claims of motion sickness and nausea during early viewings of "The Hobbit" were first reported by The New Zealand Herald, which cited two anonymous sources. This report was followed by a review by Collider critic Dave Trumbore, who wrote: "Definite 'motion sickness' potential during scenes of chaotic action or fast-movement; the increased clarity often feels as if you’re standing on set with the actors/characters, so when they take a crazy tumble down a rabbit hole, for example, you feel just as disoriented."

Warner Bros. released a statement on Wednesday regarding claims of "Hobbit" motion sickness and nausea.

Via Yahoo! Movie Talk:

We have been screening the full-length Hfr 3D presentation of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey...

This story first appeared in the Dec. 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Who’s in charge? Read here to find out. Once again, THR's annual list ranks the town’s top females, from execs to a new TV ‘It’ girl, in order of empire, influence and intimidating intelligence. Edited by Stacey Wilson. Written by Tim Appelo, Marc Bernardin, Alex Ben Block, Kevin Cassidy, Tina Daunt, Eriq Gardner, Lesley Goldberg, Shirley Halperin, Marisa Guthrie, Andy Lewis, Pamela McClintock, Daniel Miller, Michael O’Connell, Lacey Rose, Tatiana Siegel, Georg Szalai and Stacey Wilson. Selection Criteria: For THR's annual Power 100 issue, editors based

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The California Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday to extend the state’s $100 million in annual tax credits for local film and TV production for another two years, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Senate is expected to act on the bill next week. While the tax incentives are part of an ongoing plan to keep industry money local, protect homegrown crew jobs and compete with the many attractive rebates now available in states such as Louisiana, Michigan and New Mexico, the vast majority of the money is earmarked for studio projects and not independent films. The current tax-incentive system also has some large gaps, as outlined in this piece by producer J. Todd Harris: Read More: O California, Where Art Thou: Why Is the Tax Incentives Program Driving Away Indie Film? Read the full story by Alex Ben Block at THR.

The Hollywood Reporter editor-at-large Kim Masters was named print journalist of the year and senior film editor Alex Ben Block was honored as entertainment journalist of the year on Sunday at the Los Angeles Press Club's 54th Southern California Journalism Awards Gala. They were just two of several THR writers and editors honored at the ceremony, which took place at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Chief film critic Todd McCarthy took home the criticism award, and music editor Shirley Halperin won for best personality profile for her cover story on Trent Reznor. Masters also took home a

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The Hollywood Reporter has received 19 nominations for its original reporting from the Los Angeles Press Club's 54th Southern California Journalism Awards. Editor-at-large Kim Masters and senior film editor Alex Ben Block have both earned nominations for Journalist of the Year -- Masters in the Print (Over 50,000 Circulation) category and Block in the Entertainment Journalist category. Senior writer Daniel Miller was nominated for "Scientology's Hollywood Real Estate Empire," film reporter Tim Appelo earned a nom for "The Making of A Separation," and contributor M.G. Lord for "Elizabeth Taylor: How She Broke the Rules" (sub.

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For years, the Academy Awards were largely a nomadic event, migrating between several venues in the Los Angeles area before settling nearly 10 years ago at the sparkling new Kodak Theatre in the heart of Hollywood.

This year, the show will decide whether to pack up its gold statues and move elsewhere.

The Hollywood Reporter quoted Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak as saying the group would exercise a clause in its 20-year contract with the Kodak’s owners, Cim Group, that will allow the non-profit to explore other locations for the show. Representatives for the Academy...

Alex Ben Block

Score a victory for Ronald Durkin, the trustee in the involuntary bankruptcy case involving Capitol, ThinkFilm and three other companies that were run by David Bergstein. On Wednesday, federal Judge Barry Russell granted the trustees motion to take control of Pangea Media Group, a company that Bergstein ran until it shut its doors earlier this year. Photos: 9 Highest Paid Entertainment CEOs This is the first big victory for the trustee after several setbacks. The judge had earlier this year refused to allow Durkin to consolidate a number of the subsidiaries related to the bankrupt companies, which frustrated the trustee’s

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Alex Ben Block

The trial to determine who controls the TV rights to the Golden Globe Awards is now scheduled to start January 24, a little more than a week after the awards are held. The decision on the trial date was determined in a status conference Wednesday with federal Judge Howard A. Matz and lawyers for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the awards, and Dick Clark Productions, its longtime producer of the popular awards show. Photos: 8 Possible Hollywood Targets for Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes The HFPA has said it wants an early trial date but not

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Alex Ben Block

Thanks to an improving economy and deep discounts, the just concluded Black Friday weekend set sales and traffic records, and was especially bountiful for the industries near and dear to the heart of Hollywood. Among the most popular purchase was electronics, according to a survey conducted by BIGresearch for the National Retail Federation, led by the sale of video game consoles. Other items on Santa's electronic hot list included digital cameras, TV sets, laptop and notebook computers, smart phones, MP3 players, e-readers and tablet computers. Photos: Hollywood's Toy Wars Much of that was driven by deep discounts offered by

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Alex Ben Block

Two of Hollywood’s biggest independent producer/distributors have resumed talks about a merger. Summit Entertainment, currently riding a huge box office success with Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, and Lionsgate Entertainment, presently in production on the first of a series of movies based on the Hunger Games books, are once again discussing a merger, according to a THR source who confirmed the talks and a report that first appeared Monday on the Bloomberg News website. Both companies declined to comment on the reported discussions. Photos: New Images of 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn' The two mini-majors have held merger talks

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Alex Ben Block

The Two and A Half Men producer that took on Charlie Sheen, the biggest name in Spanish TV, the former head of Disney, and Fred and Ethel Mertz are among the latest inductees into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. The executive producer of Two And A Half Men as well The Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly is Chuck Lorre, who survived Sheen's anger to see his show become even stronger in the ratings. Photos: Hollywood's Biggest Blunders He is joined among the 21st annual Hall of Fame inductees by Michael Eisner, who was

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Alex Ben Block

A proposed nationally syndicated talk show to be hosted by reality TV star Bethenny Frankel will not go forward for fall 2012 as hoped, according to a source. Photos: NYC’s Biggest Showbiz Players In the wake of new talk show commitments for Katie Couric, Steve Harvey, Jeff Probst and others, Frankel’s distributor Telepictures (a division of Warner Bros.) could not land a commitment from a major U.S. station group for her proposed talk show, despite strong support from Ellen DeGeneres, as first reported by the New York Post. Bethenny Ever After has completed production on a new season and will continue

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Lisa Kudrow’s LStudio-funded and Intelligent Life-produced original web series, Web Therapy has not only attracted the powers that be at Showtime, but also a bevy of big names in Hollywood. Meryl Streep, Courtney Cox, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Molly Shannon, Dan Bucatinsky, Jane Lynch, Alan Cumming and a laundry list of other famous actors have all channeled characters with various kinds and degrees of neuroses who have looked into their computer screens and engaged with Kudrow’s highly insecure Fiona Wallace in a sort of short-form psychological treatment for the internet age. You can now add Conan O’Brien to the list. Alex Ben Block at The Hollywood Reporter broke the news the host of TBS’ late night talk show and leader of Team Coco will appear in a three-episode arc of the online original as himself dealing with issues of anger management. The first of the O'Brien installments is...

Alex Ben Block

Continuing to ramp up its event programming for theaters, Cinedigm Digital Cinema will distribute a new full length feature Pokémon the Movie: White — Victini and Zekrom on the weekend of Dec. 3 and 4 on 375 screens in North America, which the company said is a new record for digital distribution of a children’s special event movie. The movie targeted at an audience of children and families is being presented by Cinedigm in partnership with The Pokémon Company International. Among the exhibitors carrying the program are AMC Theatres, National Amusements, Reading Entertainment, UltraStar Cinemas, Carmike Cinemas, Rave Cinemas, and

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Alex Ben Block

This story first appeared in the Dec. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Entertainment studios that are accustomed to dominating the licensed toy market have a formidable, feathered foe this holiday season. Angry Birds, the online app from Finnish company Rovio that has been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide, is now a line of plush animals, balls, pillows, key chains and more that are expected to be hot sellers this holiday. "It's phenomenal," says Alec Kessler of Commonwealth Toys & Novelties, the New York company that in 2010 licensed toy rights for Birds, its fastest-growing

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Alex Ben Block

This article appeared in the Dec. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Will the stars show up? That was the big concern when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association met Nov. 16 to vote on whether to bring back controversial Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais for another turn. NBC and Dick Clark Productions had argued that a return to the podium by the bomb-throwing Gervais would juice ratings for the Jan. 15 telecast. But before saying yes, the Hpfa and its PR firm undertook an informal poll of talent publicists, which revealed that the A-list film and TV

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Alex Ben Block

Talk show host Conan O’Brien becomes the first celebrity to play himself on the improvisational comedy series Web Therapy, which stars Lisa Kudrow, when he seeks help from therapist Fiona Wallace in the first of a three-episode arc premiering Dec. 14 on LStudio.com. The fourth season of Web Therapy kicked off last week with a story that stars Rosie O’Donnell as an editor at a book publisher handling Fiona’s tell-all memoir. In that episode, Minnie Driver plays a B-movie actress who acquires rights to the book for a TV movie. [Watch the episode below.]

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Alex Ben Block

MPAA President and CEO Chris Dodd announced two key appointments Monday that he said would broaden the “depth and breadth of our team.” Cybele Daley is the new senior vice president, government affairs, and Anna Soellner is named as vice president, corporate communications. Story: Chris Dodd Issues Stern Warning to Silicon Valley Daley has been promoted to job formerly held by Michael O’Leary, who was promoted. She now will report to O’Leary. Daley will be responsible for developing the agenda for activities on the federal level, including strategy and implementation. That includes congress, agencies and regulators. She will also

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Alex Ben Block

Kevin Beggs, president of the Lionsgate Television Group, will be honored as the executive of the year by the Caucus of Producers, Writers & Directors at its annual awards show in Beverly Hills on Dec. 4. The caucus also announced that Kevin S. Bright will receive the chair award, Dennis Doty will receive a lifetime achievement award, Syd Vinnedge will get the distinguished service award, and Tanya Hart and Philip Hart will receive the diversity award. The group’s 29th annual awards show will be hosted by Bruce Boxleitner. Mark Harmon of NCIS and Jon Feltheimer, chairman of Lionsgate, will be

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Alex Ben Block

Marti Rulli said Friday, Nov. 19, she felt a sense of relief after years of effort to convince authorities to reopen an investigation into the 1981 death of actress Natalie Wood. The New Jersey freelance writer more than 20 years ago joined forces with Dennis Davern, who was captain of the yacht Wood and husband Robert Wagner were sailing on the night she died in the waters off Santa Catalina Island. Video: 5 of Natalie Wood's Most Memorable Roles She has spent those years researching, investigating and writing about what happened that night. Rulli and Davern published a book two

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Alex Ben Block

As Regis Philbin walks onto the New York set of Live With Regis And Kelly for the last time Friday, Nov. 18 as the official host, many of his longtime fans wonder why they won’t be sharing their morning with him every day beginning next week. Philbin has been cryptic about his reasons, but even at age 80 after over 56 years on TV in L.A. and New York, he has repeatedly insisted he is not retiring. He also has said how much he has enjoyed the show he has done since 1988 (first with Kathie Lee

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Alex Ben Block

The year 2008 was frought with turmoil for Michelle Williams. Heath Ledger, her estranged husband, died of an accidental overdose in January, leaving her a grief-stricken single mother. Although fresh from an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain, her career was in limbo -- her passion project, Blue Valentine, had yet to materialize, and she considered leaving acting altogether. Photos: The Lost Marilyn Monroe Photos "I wasn't sure if acting was the right place for me," she says. "Or if I was any good or liked what I was doing anymore." It was also around that time that Williams first

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Does the growing popularity of VOD and online film streaming diminish the importance of the theatrical run? At this weekend's Produced By conference in Burbank, it was a matter of perspective. Harvey Weinstein said that for now, theatrical is still vital. Per Alex Ben Block at The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s become much more of a theatrical business because the movie has to work in theaters,” says Weinstein, who appeared by ...

There never seems to be enough time to deal with all the things I’d like to write about. Fortunately, other people have covered some of these topics, so I’m happy to serve as your tour guide to some worthwhile articles, blogs, and web postings.First and foremost, Ty Burr has just written a vital and incendiary article for the Boston Globe about the dim state of digital projection—literally—in his home town, and how the problems he has uncovered are infecting theater screens nationwide. It’s a must-read Here. My friend and colleague Alex Ben Block has penned a timely tribute to veteran…...

Exclusive: I have learned that editors of The Hollywood Reporter this month deleted embarrassing information about Summit Entertainment principals from a financial story about the studio's refinancing in order to "horse-trade" it for the cover story interview with Jodie Foster that appears in this week's print edition. No one is denying to me this occurred. But both THR and Summit agreed to keep the horse-trading secret. So much for real journalism taking place at that Hollywood media outlet under its new ownership. In fact, showbiz sources tell me that this incident is "just the tip of the iceberg" about what's going on there. So here's what happened in this case: THR's Alex Ben Block was writing a financial story about Summit Entertainment's recent $750 million refinancing and obtained some very pertinent information slipped him about what portion of a $200M distribution would be paid to the studio's principals and investors.

Variety: Dave McNary shares the news that the Directors Guild of America, which earlier this week announced its five DGA Award nominees in the feature film category, has now unveiled its five DGA Award nominees in the documentary category. They are: Lixin Fan for “Last Train Home,” Charles Ferguson for “Inside Job,” Alex Gibney for “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” Davis Guggenheim for “Waiting for ‘Superman’,” and Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger for “Restrepo.” All are first-time DGA nominees except for Gibney, who was previously nominated for “Taxi to the Dark Side” (2007), which went on to win the best documentary (feature) Oscar. McNary notes that only three of this year’s DGA-nominated docs — “Inside Job,” “Restrepo” and “Waiting for ‘Superman’” — also made it onto the Academy’s shortlist of 15 docs from which its documentary branch will ultimately select five nominees. Last year’s DGA winner, Louis...

After three years of twists, turns, tense negotiations and litigation, Barry Diller and John Malone have finally unraveled their complicated, 17-year business "marriage."

In a deal announced Thursday, Liberty Media has traded its 34% interest in Diller's Iac for $220 million in cash and the assets of Evite and Gifts.com. In classic Malone fashion, the deal is tax free to Liberty shareholders (of whom Malone is the largest).

And in an even bigger surprise, Diller also announced that he will surrender his duties as CEO of Iac to Greg Blatt, now CEO of one of his subsidiaries, Match.com, but will remain active as chairman of the board.

"It's been clear to me for some time that this company needs a full-time aggressive and aspirational executive in the CEO role," Diller said in a statement.

That seemed to suggest that Diller wasn't full time, when every indication is that he has...

The complicated relationship between Barry Diller and John Malone has seen the two men as close allies and bitter protagonists -- at this point, mostly the latter. With the news this week that Diller will exit as chairman of the Live Nation board, it appears that a tense detente has been broken and hostilities are out in the open.

As The Hollywood Reporter first reported, Diller said he would resign as chairman but remain on the board of the giant music company. Sources said Diller left after clashes with board members including Irving Azoff, the top executive at Live Nation; Mark Sharpiro, former CEO of Six Flags; and Ari Emanuel of Wme.

But Malone is also a board member, and his role was key. Sources said Malone had been waiting for an opportunity to settle some scores with Diller.

Those sources say that if there is animus between Diller and Malone,...

The complicated relationship between Barry Diller and John Malone has seen the two men as close allies and bitter protagonists -- at this point, mostly the latter. With the news this week that Diller will exit as chairman of the Live Nation board, it appears that a tense detente has been broken and hostilities are out in the open.

As The Hollywood Reporter first reported, Diller said he would resign as chairman but remain on the board of the giant music company. Sources said Diller left after clashes with board members including Irving Azoff, the top executive at Live Nation; Mark Sharpiro, former CEO of Six Flags; and Ari Emanuel of Wme.

But Malone is also a board member, and his role was key. Sources said Malone had been waiting for an opportunity to settle some scores with Diller.

Those sources say that if there is animus between Diller and Malone,...

Ryan Kavanaugh's theory of Relativity

In a little more than five years, Ryan Kavanaugh has become a major player in the movie business -- and in the past two years, also in TV. Surrounded by the memorabilia, framed photos, collections, toys, posters and proclamations that fill his West Hollywood office, Kavanaugh recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Ben Block.

The Hollywood Reporter: You're like Houdini to much of Hollywood. Why do so many people think you either have some secret formula or it's all a trick?

Ryan Kavanaugh: It's funny. Because there's so many people that love to talk s*** about me. At first it used to really bother me. Like, why these rumors? There is always some "rumor of the month." People are like, "Why don't you just show everyone your business plan and numbers? And then nobody will talk s***." Why do I want to...

Big news on the 3D front.

Sources indicate that George Lucas is set on rereleasing the "Star Wars" franchise in new 3D conversions beginning in 2012. Although 3D versions have been rumored for some time, Lucas purportedly was waiting until there were enough screens available to make the release a sizable event.

Fox, which released all six original "Star Wars" films, also would release the 3D versions.

Episode I, "The Phantom Menace," would be first out of star-dock during early 2012. After that, each film would be released in order at the same time in consecutive years, depending on how well the first rerelease does.

Each conversion takes at least a year to complete, with Lucas overseeing the process to make sure each is as perfect as possible. He has said that the "Avatar" experience convinced him that "Star Wars" is ready for the state-of-the-art 3D treatment.

Starting with "Phantom Menace," Lucasfilm...

The Emmys are done, but the analysis of the show and who won isn't quite over yet.

Zap2it's Rick Porter was a guest on the Showbiz Sandbox podcast this week, discussing the show, the winners, host Jimmy Fallon's performance and how the telecast could possibly have been improved.

Showbiz Sandbox hosts J. Sperling Reich, Karen Woodward and Michael Giltz also break down last weekend's box office numbers; talk to one of the Emmy show's writers, David Wild; and discuss the future of TV with journalist Alex Ben Block.

The podcast is below. The Emmy segment starts around the 7:30 mark.

Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Facebook for the latest TV, movie and celebrity news.

Photo credit...

Bryan Cranston, Outstanding lead actor in a drama series, "Breaking Bad"

After winning outstanding lead actor in a drama series, Bryan Cranston threw a faux fit backstage when a reporter quizzed him about not being eligible for an Emmy next year. (The fourth season premiere date of his show, "Breaking Bad," was pushed back, missing the TV Academy's deadline.)

 

"What! That is bullsh*t!" Cranston fumed jokingly. "I'm not eligible for next year?"

Switching gears, the third-time winner said, "I'm so grateful. It's like having a great meal to do the show, and then to be awarded an Emmy is a beautiful dessert. Last year was another dessert on top of that, and I feel gluttonous. It's more than I can take in. It really is. I feel like I'm going to become diabetic. It's actually a reprieve I can relax next year and let things go."

Jim Parsons, Outstanding...

Dan Glickman was a Kansas congressman and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture before becoming the second person to head the MPAA. He held the job from 2004 until early this year and now is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington. He talked Tuesday with THR's Alex Ben Block about his former job.

The Hollywood Reporter: Has the MPAA job become tougher?

Dan Glickman: Yes, it is a very different job for a couple reasons: The days are past when you dealt mostly with content and censorship issues. Today, we have this overwhelming piracy and intellectual-property issue, coupled with the complexities of all these new delivery systems and new ways to get content and information into people's hands. So you need somebody who's not only familiar with the business of making movies, but you have to become an expert in how the movies are delivered, and that is a whole new world.

If you think Hollywood's top lobbying group will rush to find the next Jack Valenti now that former Sen. Bob Kerrey is out of the running, think again.

There appears to be little urgency among the studio chiefs who must make the selection, several of whom are on summer vacation. It's likely they won't have the next CEO of the MPAA in place before January.

Annoyed and embarrassed after the dragged-out, all-too-public negotiations with Kerrey, they will let things settle down while the search begins anew, probably with a new executive recruiter to seek candidates -- which could include government officials who will be unemployed after November.

The search that led to Kerrey was conducted by Korn Ferry, but a studio source said the studios are "not that thrilled" with the results and likely will talk to others, such as Spencer Stuart and Heidrick & Struggles, before making a choice about whom to work with.

The question about former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey taking the former Jack Valenti role at the MPAA as Hollywood's chief lobbyist is not if but when.

Two months after he was offered the job, and a week after confirming on a radio show that he was in final negotiations, THR has learned that the deal is all but done. His compensation of about $1.2 million a year and job description appear set. The unanswered question is when he will come on board as the movie and TV industry's global face and spokesman.

"I do think it's a done deal," a Washington insider with strong ties to Hollywood said Thursday. "It's just a question of picking a starting date."

That might be why the often impatient major studio chiefs on the search committee -- a group that includes Warner Bros.' Barry Meyer, Sony's Michael Lynton, Fox's Jim Gianopulos and Disney's...

When federal regulators this month approved the first of two proposals for financial derivatives based on film box-office numbers, it put the work of screen actors on the same plane as pork bellies, arugula, and natural gas—commodities that investors wager on through futures markets. Such markets originated as ways for buyers and sellers of commodities to avoid risks. But over at the offices of the Motion Picture Association of America, the plans put forward earlier this year by the firms Media Derivatives and Cantor Fitzgerald represented an intolerable risk to its member companies. Being one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Washington, the MPAA politely asked Congress to put the kibosh on movie futures trading. Congress dutifully obliged.Last week, in a massive financial reform package expected to be signed into law before July 4, a House-Senate conference committee included an amendment that would ban box-office derivatives markets. The...

Dennis Hopper, who personified Hollywood rebellion, both on screen and off, died Saturday at his home in Venice, Ca. after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 74.

Having made his big screen debut in 1955's iconic "Rebel Without a Cause," opposite his friend James Dean, Hopper biked to fame as director/co-writer and finger-flashing cyclist, along with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson, in 1969's "Easy Rider." That movie, which was embraced by the burgeoning youth culture, signaled a generational change in Hollywood and also earned Hopper a best original screenplay Oscar nomination, which he shared with Hopper and Terry Southern.

He was also nominated for an Oscar for his performance as an alcoholic high school basketball coach in 1986's "Hoosiers."

Hopper, like many of the characters he played early in his career, was known for his sometimes anarchic off-screen moves and drug use in the first half of his life.

By Robert W. Welkos

After someone slipped “The Hollywood Reporter” the script for the HBO comedy “Tilda,” the trade publication said it looked as if the title character, a controversial showbiz blogger, bore a striking resemblance to the real-life Nikki Finke of Deadline.com

The script, according to THR, describes Tilda “as ‘50ish’ with long blonde hair, the last vestige of the prep school girl she once was, and a demeanor that alternates between charming and monstrous.”

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Resemblance or not, if Hollywood truly wants to shine a spotlight on the Wild West World of online entertainment journalism and its best-known bloggers, there is no shortage of characters or story-lines that could keep viewers glued to their TV sets.

Like fictional mobsters in those early Bogart movies, today’s showbiz bloggers invite parody. For humor’s sake, they could even be given colorful monikers: Nikki “The Rat” Finke, Sharon “Bubble Wrap” Waxman,...