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A24.

The screenwriter of Speed and showrunner of FX's Justified, Graham Yost, is the star attraction at Spa's upcoming Screen Forever conference, joined by execs from Sky Drama, CAA, AMC and A24.

.We are thrilled to have such esteemed industry leaders at the Screen Forever International Partnership Market," Screen Producers Australia Chief Executive Matthew Deaner said..

The line-up so far includes the Vice-President of I.P. Sales, Acquisitions and Co-Productions from Technicolor, Alison Warner (UK); Sky Drama Head of Development, Lindsay Salt (UK); Creative Artists Agency TV Scripted Agent, Michael Gordon (Us); Steel Springs Pictures Producer Peter Lawson (Us); Cornerstone Films Co-President, Mark Gooder (Us); Head Gear Films Finance Associate Marlon Vogelgesang (Us); A24 Films Head of International Business, Sasha Lloyd (Us) and AMC/Sundance Vice President of International Programming, Chris Loveall (Us).

"Each brings with them outstanding experience from around the world and invaluable insights into developing and overseeing successful film and television productions,...

The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.

Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...

The Writers Guild of America announced some of its nominees for its 2015 awards on Thursday, including television, new media, and radio, and among the TV nominees are series both new and old, and all beloved.

In the comedy series category, freshman Netflix show "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" scored a nomination for best series, as well as an overall best new series nod. "The Last Man on Earth" also landed in that latter category, and was singled out for its pilot episode writing, too.

On the drama side of the equation, lauded "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" also got best series and best new series nominations, in addition to a an episode writing nod. Newly-minted Emmy winner "Game of Thrones" also scored a best drama citation, as well as an episodic writing nomination.

The full list of nominees released this week are below. Nominations in the theatrical and documentary categories will...

Robotech: A new attempt is being made to bring a live-action movie version of the popular 1980s anime series Robotech to the big screen. The story revolved around the crash of a spaceship that allowed humans to make highly advanced robotic technologies, which were then used to battle alien invasions. Multiple filmmakers have tackled the project in the past without success; now writer Michael Gordon (300; G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra) has been hired to draft a new screenplay for Warner Bros. [Deadline]   The Woods: Adam Wingard, who most recently helmed last year's action-thriller The Guest, will next make the horror movie The Woods. The tale follows a small group of college students on a fateful and no doubt frightening camping trip. Simon Barrett wrote the...

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Robotech: A new attempt is being made to bring a live-action movie version of the popular 1980s anime series Robotech to the big screen. The story revolved around the crash of a space ship that allowed humans to make highly-advanced robotic technologies, which were then used to battle alien invasions. Multiple filmmakers have tackled the project in the past without success; now writer Michael Gordon (300; G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra) has been hired to draft a new screenplay for Warner Bros. [Deadline]   The Woods: Adam Wingard, who most recently helmed last year's action thriller The Guest, will next make the horror movie The Woods. The tale follows a small group of college students on a fateful and no doubt frightening camping trip. Simon Barrett wrote the...

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The anime series Robotech may finally be heading to the movies - and not at the first attempt...

80s anime series Robotech has long been linked with a Hollywood film adaptation. Over the years there's certainly been no shortage of people linked with the project. That said, the last we heard of a possible feature though was back in 2013, when Nic Mathieu was apparently in talks to direct the film.

Back then, other people involved were Tobey Maguire, Akiva Goldsman, Joby Harold and Matthew Plouffe. But it seemed to come to nothing, and from what we can gleam, the assorted personnel have now moved on.

Moving forward to now, though, and there appears to have been progress on a Robotech movie.

New producers are attached to the project, with Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton now trying to shepherd Robotech to the big screen. And they've already hired Michael Gordon to pen a screenplay for them.

The Florida premiere of Uruguayan black comedy Mr Kaplan will kick off the Miami Jewish Film Festival, set to run from January 15-29.

The festival closes with the Florida premiere of documentary The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story Of Cannon Films.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with this year’s festival programme,” said festival director Igor Shteyrenberg.

“Its diversity and artistic uniqueness will delight, surprise, and reward those who share our passion for exploring cinema in all its forms.”

The festival’s 18th edition will present 74 films from 20 countries across eight venues including a free outdoor short film showcase and a drive-in presentation of Israel’s first sci-fi film.

Experimental filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer Michael Gordon will stage an event featuring live music by members of the New World Symphony.

This year there will be a focus on German cinema.

Last year’s edition saw audience attendance grow by 250%. The festival is backed by the...

James Garner movies on TCM: ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Victor Victoria’ among highlights (photo: James Garner ca. 1960) James Garner, whose film and television career spanned more than five decades, died of "natural causes" at age 86 on July 19, 2014, in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. On Monday, July 28, Turner Classic Movies will present an all-day marathon of James Garner movies (see below) as a tribute to the Oscar-nominated star of Murphy’s Romance and Emmy-winning star of the television series The Rockford Files. Among the highlights in TCM’s James Garner film lineup is John Frankenheimer’s Monaco-set Grand Prix (1966), an all-star, race-car drama featuring Garner as a Formula One driver who has an affair with the wife (Jessica Walter) of his former teammate (Brian Bedford). Among the other Grand Prix drivers facing their own personal issues are Yves Montand and Antonio Sabato, while Akira Kurosawa’s (male) muse Toshiro Mifune plays a...

Indeed it is sad news to acknowledge the passing of Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor James Garner (1928-2014). The Hollywood icon Garner has endured a remarkable show business career during a five-plus decade stretch as he has entertained generations of TV and film audiences throughout the ages. Upon the death of this immensely likable leading man on both the small and big screen many are probably wondering about their mortality at this point. After all, you either grew up with James Garner as a peer or spent your childhood watching him in your living rooms on the boob tube or at the local movie theater.

Although the majority of folks associate Garner with television from his first western series Maverick in the 1950′s to his landmark role as ex-con Pi Jim Rockford in the 1970′s The Rockford Files (some teens and young adults may recall his brief stint as grandfather Jim...

When you’re hosting the MTV Movie Awards and promise viewers “The Biggest One You’ll Ever See,” opening with any old been-there-done-that monologue is no longer an option. Conan O’Brien was acutely aware of that challenge when he opted to attempt the Movie Awards’ boldest coup yet and score 50 celebrity cameos within the first five minutes of the show.

As you’ve now seen, O’Brien managed to pull off the feat. But he didn’t do it alone. Director Troy Miller tells EW how MTV assembled this “whirlwind of a celebrity-fest” (full list at bottom), which included appearances by Taylor Swift,...

What do Walter White and Phil Dunphy have in common? They’re both at the center of the TV shows most honored by the Writers Guild of America today. The group just announced the nominees for its annual awards, which will be handed out Feb. 17 at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York. Breaking Bad garnered five nods; Modern Family drew four. Here’s a list of all the primetime and late night series in contention for the event’s biggest prizes:

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Dave Flebotte, Diane Frolov, Chris Haddock, Rolin Jones, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki,...

Mumbai, Oct 15: Popular celebrities trademark the names by which they attain popularity. For example Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has his initials Srk trademarked. The makers of Ferrarri Ki Sawaari had to take his permission to use his name in multiple places in the film. In the West, getting a trademark on one's name is quite common. Roger Federer, Michael Gordon and Jennifer Lopez are among some of the names that have been trademarked.

Now Bollywood Badshah wants to join those list of celebrities by trademarking his initials 'Srk' by which he is popularly known as..

From JDate (for Jewish singles) to Veggie Date (for vegetarians), online courtship is becoming an increasingly niche industry. The website Theatre Buddies is hoping to bring this model to lovers of musicals and plays who also happen to be unattached. With the launch of the U.S. version of their site, Theatre Buddies is now connecting roughly 8,500 theater aficionados and, according to them, “[raising] the curtain on a cultural alternative to the ‘first date.’” Founder Michael Gordon said in a statement, “Most dating websites connect people on one similarity—the fact they are both members of a dating site. However, what we are doing is to create companionships that begin with a love of the theater. This produces instant rapport and greatly increases the safety and enjoyment of the first meet.” Theatre Buddies has established a series of country-specific websites including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, U.K., Ireland, and South Africa,...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) tonight announced the winners of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles and the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay:

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay:

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash; Based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings; Fox Searchlight

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian; Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson,...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the winners of the WGA Awards for outstanding achievement in writing. In the Screenplay category, "Midnight in Paris," written by Woody Allen, took home the Original Screenplay award while "The Descendants," written by Alexander Payne, and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash based on the novel by Kaui Hart Hemming, received the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

Winners of the WGA awards were announced Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Zooey Deschanel and Joel McHale served as hosts of the ceremony.

Here is the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2012 WGA Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, visit our Awards Avenue coverage right here)

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

*** (Winner) Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win,...

Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream has been recreated with puppets for the Fake Film Fest. Thanks to Vulture, we have the must-watch video. Here is a description from the YouTube page:

Everything's better with puppets, and the fur really flies in this tragic tale of addiction.Re-created by Brendan James Boyd, Jess Wood, Matthew Jacques, Marcela Rausch, Ali Hasan, Dusty Hagerud, and Karla Kampars with music by Michael Gordon.

Check it out below, and share your thoughts.

Follow me on Twitter @Jim_Napier and Tumblr

Source: Vulture (http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2012/02/requiem-for-a-dream-puppets.html)...

You’d think adding puppets might lighten the mood for anything, but as a Fake Film Fest entry proves, that’s not necessarily true. A video posted by Skelemo on YouTube depicts Darren Aronofsky’s classic Requiem for a Dream with puppets, and the result is, well, super creepy. The re-imagined clip was done by Brendan James Boyd, Jess Wood, Matthew Jacques, Marcela Rausch, Ali Hasan, Dusty Hagerud, and Karla Kampars with music by Michael Gordon, Live for Films pointed out. Take a look below to see the film’s most recognized scenes recreated, including the signature shot of an eye dilating, only this...

Midnight in Paris, Young Adult, and the other nominations for the 2012 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The 64th Annual Writers Guild Awards is “a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different Us labor unions: The Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae), representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi. The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw), representing TV and film writers in Hollywood and southern California.” The 2012 Writers Guild Awards will be held on February 19, 2012.

The full listing of the 2012 Writers Guild Awards nominations is below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Pictures

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni; Fox Searchlight

Young Adult, Written by Diablo Cody; Paramount Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne...

The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen in both film and television for 2011. Winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, during simultaneous ceremonies in Hollywood and New York.

Categories for film include Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Documentary Screenplay. The TV nominations are a little more extensive, offering awards for Best Drama Series, Best Comedy Series, Best New Series, Best Episodic Drama, Best Animated Series, Best Comedy/Variety Series, and Best Daytime Drama.

To find out what got nominated, check out our full list of nominees below.

Screenplay Nominees

Original Screenplay:

50/50, Written by Will Reiser; Summit Entertainment

Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig; Universal Studios

Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics

Win Win, Screenplay by Tom McCarthy; Story by...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2011 season. The winners will be honored at the 2012 Writers Guild Awards on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

Television Nominees

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, George R.R. Martin, D.B. Weiss; HBO

The Good Wife, Written by Courtney Kemp Agboh, Meredith Averill, Corinne Brinkerhoff, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Karen Hall, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Steve Lichtman, Matthew Montoya, Julia Wolfe; CBS

Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell,...

[1] The company that once seemed like it could do no wrong as of late seems like it can do no right. In a blog post published Sunday night, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings apologized [2] to customers for "lack[ing] respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes," and revealed that the company would now be splitting off its DVDs-by-mail service completely into a new service called Qwikster. But rather than soothing irate customers, the move has seemingly only further antagonized members and shareholders. Read on after the jump. In his post [3] Sunday, Hastings humbly acknowledged his mishandling of the Netflix price change and resolved to be "extra-communicative" going forward. He then explained the decision to separate DVD and streaming services into two totally separate services, and added that video games would now be available through Qwikster. However, Hastings' announcement seemed to have...

Exclusive: Motion picture literary agent Doug Johnson is expected to join ICM from UTA this week. Until now, most of the movement has been from ICM to UTA. Johnson’s client list includes Vanessa Taylor (co-executive producer of HBO’s Game Of Thrones and writer of Sony’s upcoming Great Hope Springs with Meryl Streep), director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer, Zookeeper), multi-hyphenate Nick Cannon, writer Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl) who recently sold a pilot to NBC, screenwriter Michael Gordon (300), and writer Steve Leff.

Exclusive: Motion picture literary agent Doug Johnson is expected to join ICM from UTA this week. Until now, most of the movement has been from ICM to UTA. Johnson’s client list includes Vanessa Taylor (co-executive producer of HBO’s Game Of Thrones and writer of Sony’s upcoming Great Hope Springs with Meryl Streep), director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer, Zookeeper), multi-hyphenate Nick Cannon, writer Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl) who recently sold a pilot to NBC, screenwriter Michael Gordon (300), and writer Steve Leff.

A good looking and well coiffed crowd caught an advance screening of Craig Teper's documentary "Vidal Sassoon The Movie," earlier this week in at MoMA in Manhattan. The posh event featured an after party at Michael's where guests, including Vidal himself, sipped on Remy Martin and Cointreau. Pictured above is producer and founder of Bumble and Bumble, Michael Gordon (left), and Vidal. Grace Coddington, who makes an appearance in the ...

Reviewed by Lila Nordstrom

(February 2011)

Directed by: Craig Teper

Featuring: Vidal Sassoon

Vidal Sassoon, as it turns out, is not just a line of hair-care products. It’s not just the name of an expensive salon in New York and London. Not just a hairstyling school in your nearest major city. It’s a man. An 83-year-old man who, perhaps thanks to his three years of elocution lessons to rid him of his Cockney accent, is well spoken and charming. He is also still somewhat bewildered by the narrative of his life spent working with hair.

That’s a fair reaction for a Jewish boy who was placed in an orphanage during the Great Depression and began cutting hair at the age of 14 during WWII, right in the crosshairs of all the action in London and the threat of Nazism. He was essentially a frustrated architect who turned to hair...

Reviewed by Lila Nordstrom

(February 2011)

Directed by: Craig Teper

Featuring: Vidal Sassoon

Vidal Sassoon, as it turns out, is not just a line of hair-care products. It’s not just the name of an expensive salon in New York and London. Not just a hairstyling school in your nearest major city. It’s a man. An 83-year-old man who, perhaps thanks to his three years of elocution lessons to rid him of his Cockney accent, is well spoken and charming. He is also still somewhat bewildered by the narrative of his life spent working with hair.

That’s a fair reaction for a Jewish boy who was placed in an orphanage during the Great Depression and began cutting hair at the age of 14 during WWII, right in the crosshairs of all the action in London and the threat of Nazism. He was essentially a frustrated architect who turned to hair...

Sneak Peek the poster supporting director Craig Teper's upcoming documentary "Vidal Sassoon: The Movie" :

"...'Vidal Sassoon: The Movie' is a true rags-to-riches tale, tracing Sassoon's path from a London orphanage to international success and celebrity. Producer Michael Gordon, founder of hair care company Bumble and bumble, first set out to document Vidal's life in a richly visual book about icons in the world of hairdressing. What started as an 80th birthday tribute to Sassoon became a movie when Gordon brought on director Craig Teper.

"While chronicling the fashion, style and social revolutions of the 1960s, 'Vidal Sassoon: The Movie", shows how Sassoon revolutionized the world of hair with his pioneering, geometric, Bauhaus-inspired styles and 'wash and wear' philosophy, literally changing the way women look and cut their hair today..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Vidal Sassoon: The Movie"...

Welcome to your Monday morning television briefing. Kathryn Erbe will be heading back to Law & Order: Criminal Intent for the series' tenth and final season, where she will reunite with Vincent D'Onofrio. “I’m excited and grateful that Katie has decided to rejoin one of the best detective teams in the history of television,” said executive producer Dick Wolf in a statement. The eight-episode final season is expected to premiere sometime in 2011. (via press release) NBC has ordered a pilot script for sci-fi/espionage drama Echelon from 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Entertainment. Project, written by Michael Gordon (300), will revolve around Echelon, the electronic eavesdropping technology that sifts through all data signals. According to the project's logline, while the data is sent out to various law enforcement agencies, "there is, however, less than one percent of the data that nobody wants to touch. These are the classified video files...

If Valentino: The Last Emperor taught us anything it's: you can make a mint with a fashion-related docu. Phase 4, the distributors of Italian fashion icon Valentino are now moving onto London, home of hairdressing icon Vidal Sassoon. A release is expected early next year on the Tribeca preemed doc. Vidal Sassoon the Movie is a true rags-to-riches tale, tracing Sassoon’s path from a London orphanage to international success and celebrity. Producer Michael Gordon, founder of hair care company Bumble and bumble, first set out to document Vidal's life in a richly visual book about icons in the world of hairdressing. What started as an 80th birthday tribute to Sassoon became a movie when Gordon brought on director Craig Teper. While chronicling the fashion, style and social revolutions of the 1960s, Vidal Sassoon The Movie shows how Sassoon revolutionized the world of hair with his pioneering, geometric, Bauhaus-inspired styles and “wash and wear” philosophy,...

Former Disney chief Michael Eisner, who is in talks to become chairman of Tribune Co.'s board, recently played reporter to write his upcoming book, "Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed." Here is an e-mail he sent to friends about the book Wednesday.

Dear Friends,

 

As the summer comes to a close, I wanted to send you a note to let you know that I'm eagerly anticipating the release of my book, Working Together: Why Great Partnerships Succeed, which will be published by HarperCollins on September 14th.

 

This all began about a decade ago when I found myself trying to figure out why my partnership with Frank Wells at Disney was so magical for us. Then I started thinking about partnerships in general, about great combos in business and in life, about the elusive nature of "working together." We're all brought up in a world of sharing, from birth to at least through 6th grade,...

Michael Eisner is not a man with many close friends. But John Angelo is one of the few.

Angelo is co-founder of hedge fund Angelo, Gordon & Co., one of the senior creditors in the complex Tribune Co. bankruptcy. And he's the person who approached Eisner about joining the board of a reconfigured Tribune Co.

Formidable legal obstacles must be overcome before new management can be installed at the troubled media company. But Eisner, formerly Disney chairman and CEO, is in talks to become chairman of the board, possibly with former colleague Jeff Shell, now president of the Comcast Programming Group, as his CEO.

A source close to Eisner said he believes Tribune is "a massively undervalued asset" that "if managed properly could be turned around."

The Tribune Co. owns 23 television stations, including Ktla-tv Los Angeles, and a group of newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. The L.

"Iconic Production Designer Robert F Boyle, who collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock and Norman Jewison, and [was] the recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 2008, died Sunday," reports Andre Soares at the Alt Film Guide. "He was 100. The Hitchcock films on which Boyle worked are: as associate art director, Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943); as production designer, The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964), and most notably North by Northwest (1959), which features Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint facing nasty spies atop Mount Rushmore.... In addition to Hitchcock and Jewison, Boyle worked with the likes of Richard Brooks, Michael Gordon, Alexander Hall, Penny Marshall, Budd Boetticher, Joe Dante, Sylvester Stallone, Hal Ashby, Arthur Hiller, Don Siegel and Tom Mankiewicz (who died this past Saturday)."

"Boyle is the subject of Daniel Raim's Oscar-nominated documentary The Man on Lincoln's Nose (2000), which refers to Hitchcock's North by Northwest," notes the Hollywood Reporter. "He also is a prominent subject...

A trio of seasoned stunt actors are pooling their resources and producing a horror film called Fear Lives Here in the Los Angeles area. Tina Sen, Ben Bray and Frank Torres all have a history in stunts on some major big budget flicks, however, we have learned they're getting behind director Michael Gordon's film. The story tells of five friends who are stranded in the woods only to find themselves unwilling participants in a deadly game with a boy who's been dead for decades. Here's a casting breakdown we received: Alex: early 20s, any ethnicity, student, nerdy, quirky, tries hard to be hip, dreams of being a successful Hollywood director, Lead Gisela: early 20s, Latina, athletic, beautiful, tough, sexy, street smart and book smart, enjoys life, but don't piss her off,...

As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, someone (or someones) actually sits down and writes a movie or TV show before you end up seeing it at your local multiplex or on your favorite TV network. The people who do the sitting and the writing are, surprisingly, called writers and, like the Directors, the Golden Globes and the Oscars, they have their own awards show.

This week, the Writers Guild of America, which is the trade group and advocate for writers, announced its nominations for outstanding achievement in feature film and television, radio, news, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2009 season to be honored at the upcoming 2010 Writers Guild Awards on February 20, 2010, in Los Angeles and New York.

We realize that these nominations may not be as glamorous as the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but we kinda like writers around here and think they do a pretty important job.

It’s mid-December and that can only mean one thing: awards season. Today, the WGA announced their TV nominations (feature nominations will be announced Jan. 11th) and it’s the usual suspects for the most part with a couple of surprises. Mad Men, 30 Rock, The Office, and newcomer Modern Family earned 3 nominations each. Meanwhile, popular fan favorite Glee received two. There are a lot of categories and nominees so I’m just going to mention the two big awards before the jump.

The nominees for Best Drama Series are: Breaking Bad, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Lost, and Mad Men. The nominees for Best Comedy Series are: 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Glee, Modern Family, and The Office.

The WGA will announce the winners on Feb. 20th. Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees.

Drama Series

“Breaking Bad” - Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, George Mastras,...

Awards heavyweights "Mad Men," "30 Rock" and "The Office" and buzzed-about newcomer "Modern Family" led the TV field for the 2010 Writers Guild Awards with three nominations each.

AMC's "Mad Men" and NBC's "30 Rock" and "The Office" are in the running for best drama/comedy series, and each received two nominations for episodic writing. "Family" made the cut for best comedy series, best new series and best episodic writing for a comedy series.

ABC's "Family" was one of two new shows to break into the best series categories along with Fox's quirky high-school dramedy "Glee," which faces "Family" in the best comedy series and best new series fields.

While the WGA Awards are still in its nomination phase, Fox's "The Simpsons" can already uncork the champagne. The veteran series is assured to win the animation category after landing all five nomination slots.

The biggest surprise among the series nominees was HBO's low-key baseball comedy "Eastbound & Down,...

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s production house The Tornate Company have bought the rights for another game-to-film adaptation “MechWarrior,” according to joystiq.com. Last we heard, Dean Devlin — who produced Godzilla — was developing the project but nothing ever came from it. The source also reports that Michael Gordon (writer of 300 and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra ) has been hired to write the script.

It sounds like any Mechwarrior movie is still a long way from completion but with the financial success of the Transformers films perhaps Hollywood will be more interested in such a project.

MechWarrior Full Debut Trailer [HD]:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night... did you tune in? I hear it was a good show even though a lot of the winners were pretty much a given. 30 Rock and Mad Men both took home the big awards, but the hardware was spread out a bit more among other shows than in previous years. At any rate, just in case you missed it, we've got the full list of major award winners right here for you to review. Do you agree with the majority of the choices? For those who did watch the show, what were some of your favourite moments? What did you think of Neil Patrick Harris as the host? Check out the list of winners after the jump. Comedy Series "Entourage" "Family Guy "Flight of the Conchords" "How I Met Your Mother" "The Office" Winner: "30 Rock" "Weeds" Drama Series "Big Love" "Breaking Bad...

So another year has passed and its time for another round of awards for the people who make the television shows we like to watch.

Television is interesting these days. Never before have we seen such great, creative output. Never before have we been subjected to such drivel. It all gets paraded before us tonight, as we watch the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (handed out, it should be noted, by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) on CBS, CTV in Canada.

8:00

Interesting that the Emmys chose to introduce the 2009 edition of the Primetime awards by harkening back to the early days of television. Especially as the business of television has never been closer to a complete collapse. Oh, announcer who is trying so hard to sound like a TV host from the '50s. You don't sound at all like you're a three pack-a-day smoker.

8:01

Okay, here comes Neil Patrick Harris,...

Bronson (cue “Digital Versicolor [1]” by Glass Candy) While non-Americans win very few of the top acting awards at the Oscars, we see it happen from time to time (Daniel Day-Lewis, Roberto Benigni, etc). As a result, I’d love to see Tom Hardy, the English actor who brilliantly portrays Michael Gordon Pederson in Bronson, be considered for an Oscar next spring for his performance in this film. He has an excellent chance of winning - because if he’s not nominated, he’ll probably brutally murder half of the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences… First, you have to understand that this is a fairly accurate biopic of Pederson’s exploits in and out of prison (but mostly in). I only found out after I’d seen the movie that this was based on real events, and I can assure you that this man is the epitome of a nightmare.

"The Dark Knight," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Doubt," "Frost/Nixon," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" are among the nominees in the Adapted Screenplay category for the WGA's (Writers Guild Awards) 61st Anniversary awards show.

Winners will be announced February 7th, and will be held simultaneously between two ceremonies -- West Coast at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, and the East Coast at the Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

What about "Milk" or "The Wrestler?" Click Read More to see full list of nominees!

Original Screenplay

Burn After Reading, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Focus Features

Milk, Written by Dustin Lance Black, Focus Features

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Written by Woody Allen, The Weinstein Company

The Visitor, Written by Tom McCarthy, Overture Films

The Wrestler, Written by Robert Siegel, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Adapted Screenplay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Screenplay...