New Images Of Fincher's Dragon Tattoo

Daniel Craig & Rooney Mara investigateYou've read the book, you've seen the Swedish movie, but if you have a lick of sense you're still excited to see David Fincher's take on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, out on December 26 this year. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, with support from Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson and Goran Visnjic, it promises all the hard edge you'd expect of this particular literary adaptation and none of the subtitles. And here are exclusive new stills from the film, as featured in the new issue of Empire. {Dragon Tattoo Exclusives}The film, which Fincher told us concerns the cultural legacy of denial , is not going to be big on cuddliness. We want to find a place where you can talk about something and be really, really hard-hitting - like the material it's based on - and yet we also want to make it a moviegoing experience. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is out on Boxing Day (if you're British), St Stephen's Day (if you're Irish) or December 26 (everyone else).

Conan The Litigator? Privileges Holder Thinks Suit Is Frivolous

As though Conan the Barbarian did not possess a rough enough weekend finishing in 4th place having a $10.5 million gross for Lionsgate and Millennium (see Autopsy Report: LG's Conan the Barbarian), the privileges holders at Paradox Entertainment awoke to see a study that Stan Lee Media Corporation is suing to recapture the privileges towards the Robert E. Howard-produced character, apparently in line with the notion that the transfer of privileges in the bankrupt company to Conan Qualities constituted fraud along with a breach of fiduciary responsibilities. Paradox bought the privileges from Conan Qualities and is the owner of all 800 tales and poems that Howard produced. While Paradox is not offered using the suit, Paradox general counsel Fred Fierst gave the business's position to Deadline. The bottom line is, they think the beef is not to together. "We haven't yet been offered having a copy from the Stan Lee Media suit so it's certainly premature to comment at length," Fierst authored me. "We did however have the ability to review a duplicate from the complaint online. Frankly it had been the very first anybody associated with Paradox Entertainment, Corporation., or its parent company Paradox Entertainment AB (with each other Paradox), had ever encountered the dispute between Stan Lee Media and also the other accused so it appears continues to be happening for ten years. Suffice to express that Paradox had nothing related to Stan Lee Media so when Paradox acquired the stock of Conan Sales Co, LLC. and therefore the possession from the Conan intellectual property over a number of transactions in 2002 and 2003 it accomplished it for fair market price, compensated in cash, as well as in reliance upon the 2002 Federal Personal bankruptcy Order From The Court approving the return of this stock, and then the Conan intellectual property, from SLM to CSC. Since obtaining the Conan intellectual property Paradox has spent many 100s of 1000's of dollars perfecting its worldwide trademark and copyright registration program, and that we stand firmly behind our chain of title. "Our lawsuit counsel will react to the complaint, after we are offered. At this time around we feel the accusations against Paradox and it is Boss are frivolous, and will in all probability be ignored on statute of restrictions, along with other, grounds. Within the interim we dont think it might serve any purpose for all of us to comment further at this time around."

Rock the Bells

Lauryn Hill delivered radically different versions of her songs. Presented by Guerilla Union. Reviewed August 20, 2011. Performers: Lauryn Hill, Nas, Erykah Badu, Common, Black Star, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., GZA, Cypress Hill, Freddie Gibbs, Childish Gambino.Offering its strongest lineup in years, with some of the biggest names in rap performing their greatest albums in their entirety, Guerilla Union's annual Rock the Bells festival displayed impeccable booking instincts at the San Manuel on Saturday. Yet it still hasn't necessarily found the best way to showcase the assembled talent. It's almost churlish to nitpick: The annual tour, which hits New York on Sept. 3, provides the most reliable hit of pure pleasure a hip-hop-head could ever expect -- but with a little tweaking, it could be a truly great platform. Last year, Rock the Bells made the long-awaited move to a general admission festival grounds, only to see organizational snafus force it back to its previous home at the San Manuel Amphitheater this year. One hopes they will try again. Not only were scheduling conflicts between the four stages unfortunate -- to have to choose between catching Lauryn Hill and Ghostface Killah & Raekwon is every right-thinking rap fan's nightmare -- but the San Manuel's main stage is one of the few venues where a 20,000-person crowd can appear small, with the strictly enforced seating areas making the huge amphitheater feel even less intimate than it actually is. In fact, the only time the main stage saw a full-capacity crowd was for Nas' late-evening run through "Illmatic." One of a very few number of rap albums to inspire multiple book-length scholarly analyses, the 1994 classic is essentially the "Citizen Kane" of hip-hop -- a near-perfection of the form delivered as a debut work, later to become as much a touchstone for young rappers as a millstone for its creator. In past concerts, Nas has often seemed eager to burn through "Illmatic" material as quickly as possible, and there was some trepidation that he would approach this performance with similar nonchalance. He didn't. Performing in front of a re-creation of the rapper's Queensbridge housing project, Nas tackled the record with ecstatic gusto, bringing as much fire to live standard "N.Y. State of Mind" as he did to the rarely performed "Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)." In addition to the full album, the set was packed with delirious Easter eggs, including a beat-battle between DJ Premier and Pete Rock, an appearance from "Illmatic's" lone guest star AZ and even a run through Main Source's 1991 "Live at the Barbeque," on which the then-16-year-old Nas recorded his first head-turning guest verse. Hill managed to retain much of Nas' capacity crowd for the start of her fest-closing run through the multiple Grammy-winning "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," yet only traces of that audience remained by the time Nas re-emerged at the end of her set to perform "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" with the headliner. Hill's eccentricities as a performer have been well-documented, but her insistence on pushing nearly every one of her songs into double-time, hard-funk jams clearly tested audience patience. (One has to go back to "Bob Dylan at Budokan" to find a similarly radical reworking of such canonical material.) Hill's rapping is as good as ever, and the set-opening "Lost Ones" was a blast of frenetic energy, yet the range of her singing voice has contracted in years past, with much of the grace and sensuality of "Ex Factor" and "I Used to Love Him" lost in her large band's pounding tumult. Fellow late-'90s R&B queen Erykah Badu fared better earlier on, easing relaxedly into "Baduism" with her unflappable sense of style. Mos Def and Talib Kweli, reunited as Black Star, missed their inexplicably early 1 p.m. stage time yet delivered a truncated but explosive set just prior to Badu's, which would have been a fest highlight if not for its brevity. Time has not been kind to Cypress Hill's "Black Sunday," a relatively one-note record which they performed with note-for-note fidelity in the afternoon, and Common was tasteful if unexciting. The Paid Dues stage featured blogosphere heroes like Curren$y (who broke his foot during some over-exuberant stage-prowling) and Big K.R.I.T., while the aptly named 36 Chambers stage was host to a quartet of Wu-Tang Clansmen, Mobb Deep and "Community" star Donald Glover's alter-ego Childish Gambino. Aside from the Black Star delay, presenters Guerilla Union ran a tight ship, keeping multiple plates spinning with few issues. Elusive indie rap legend Doom did cancel his scheduled performance a day prior, but that was actually a step up from his last fest booking in 2008, when he infamously sent a masked impostor to lip-sync in his place. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Casey Anthony's Parents to become Questioned by Dr. Phil McGraw

While Casey Anthony has yet to land a publish-trial interview, her parents will break their silence about the Dr. Phil show within an exclusive sit-lower.our editor recommendsBarbara Walters Lands First Interview With Casey Anthonys LawyerHow a Casey Anthony Interview Could Backfire on News OrgsNews Orgs Deny Offering Cash For Casey Anthony Interview PHOTOS: 10 TV Tests that Shook the planet Cindy and George Anthony will speak candidly with Dr. Phil McGraw for his tenth season premiere, to air on Monday, Sept. 12. McGraw promises audiences he will request "some very tough questions" which "there is nothing not allowed.Inch STORY: Casey Anthony, Spencer Pratt are America's Most Hated Celebs (Poll) "We understood that we'd wish to speak sooner or later, and that we figured there is no better place compared to Dr. Phil," stated Cindy. "We're wishing that using this method interview, we'll have the ability to help individuals that might be going through struggles that belongs to them. We certainly do not want anybody to see what we should have these last 3 years.Inch "We appreciate the means by which Dr. Phil has assisted others, and that we trust him enough to totally open our hearts in telling our story," George added. "We understood he'd request the difficult questions, and that we were right." STORY: Casey Anthony Surfaces in Ohio The Anthonys searched for no compensation for that interview, but asked for that the donation be produced to "Caylee's Fund," the charity they're presently developing within their late granddaughter's recognition. "Caylee's Fund" will make an effort to advocate for -- and educate the general public on -- grandparents' privileges, in addition to missing and mistreated children. The pair will get no earnings in the government approved organization. Related Subjects Casey Anthony

Homo@lv

An Elm Media production. (International sales: Elm Media, Riga, Latvia.) Produced by Ieva Ubele. Directed, writted by Kaspars Goba.With: Maris Sants, Linda Freimane, Peter Tatchell, Scot Lively, Ken Hutchinson, Gabriel Strautins, Liga Dimitere. (Latvian, English dialogue)Examining the unexpected repercussions of the first gay pride march in Riga, Latvia, "Homo@lv" offers the daunting spectacle of bigotry in action and a detailed lesson in realpolitik. The celebratory 2005 parade triggered a huge, unforeseen backlash at the grassroots level, and helmer Kaspars Goba captures skinheads and ordinary citizens alike hurling hate-fueled epithets, excrement and holy water at the rainbow-clad marchers. The antigay groundswell quickly gained momentum, adopting the name "No Pride," thus granting its members a negatively defined sense of purpose soon exploited by right-wing politicos. Pic reps a strong entry for gay fests and docu-friendly cable. The escalating homophobic counterdemonstrations cause a split in the beleaguered gay movement: The original planners of the parade explain the need to pull back (many interviewed gay Latvians preferring quiet anonymity to confrontational politics) while a new "Mozaiks" coalition, carrying on the struggle, allies itself with LGBT groups from all over Europe. But this visible international support incites provincial paranoia and church-fueled fears of a takeover by the decadent West, a terror best pictorialized by a shot of cross-clutching woman lying down in the road to block the "infidels."Camera (color, HD), Goba, Margeris Eglitis, Inese Apse, Elga Dudareva, Lelde Goba; editors, Gatis Belogrudovs, Visvaldis Zarakovskis. Reviewed at NewFest, New York, July 23, 2011. (Also in Berlin Film Festival -- Panorama Dokumente.) Running time: 70 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Goggins joins 'G.I. Joe 2' cast

Exclusive: Paramount's "G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation" just enlisted Walton Goggins, adding the Emmy-nominated "Justified" star to its restarted cast.Goggins will have Warden Nigel James within the action follow up, directed by Jon Chu ("Attacking Young Boys: Never Say Never").Though a lot of the important thing cast is finished in the first installment, Channing Tatum returns, became a member of by beginners Dwayne Manley and Adrianne Palicki. Bruce Willis can also be in talks for any role.Script was compiled by "Zombieland" co-authors Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.Production starts later this month in New Orleans, with Vital thinking of getting a June 29, 2012, start date.Goggins, lately cast in Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln subsequently biopic as progressive Democrat Wells Hutchins, is nominated for any supporting actor Emmy for his role as Boyd Crowder on FX's "Justified." He also made an appearance in "Cowboys & Aliens" and stars within the September release "Hay Dogs."Goggins is repped by APA. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

ICM Adds Theater Agent, Promotes 2 in NY

Veteran theater agent Val Day has joined ICM. She previously was at WME, where she repped the estate of Eugene ONeill; playwrights Athol Fugard, Adam Bock, Jordan Harrison, Amy Herzog, Dan LeFranc and Nilaja Sun; lyricist Chad Beguelin; composer Gabe Kahane; and directors David Cromer, Trip Cullman, Gordon Edelstein, Anne Kauffman, Simon Phillips, Hal Brooks and Mark Rucker. Also in the agency's New York office, Sean Liebowitz and Armen Stevens have been promoted to agent in the talent department.

Lifetime Orders 'America's Supernanny'

Lifetime is trying its hand at the nanny business.our editor recommends'Jersey Shore' Producer Launching 'Love Handles' at Lifetime (Exclusive)'The Protector': Veteran Actress Patty Duke Joins the New Lifetime Series The femme-skewing network has ordered eight one-hour episodes of America's Supernanny, a U.S. iteration of the popular global format. The series will center on a nanny who will criss-cross the country visiting appropriately chaotic and tantrum-filled households. To find a stateside "supernanny," Lifetime and producer Shed Media US have launched an open casting call. They're also seeking family in need of help with their "out of control" (read: reality TV friendly) children. "The importance of family and childcare is key to women and we are constantly looking to provide programming that involves what's important to them," said Lifetime president and general manager Nancy Dubuc. "This program will do just that and showcase America's Supernanny's approach and experience to not only entertain parents and their children, but also help them work through any problems they might have." The series will beproduced by Shed Media US' Nick Emmerson and Stephanie Schwam alongside Lifetime's Rob Sharenow, Gena McCarthy and Jim Rapsas. Globally, Supernanny has found success in such regions as Brazil, China, Francy, Germany and Israel. Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com Twitter: @LaceyVRose Related Topics Nancy Dubuc Lifetime