Cannavale can get the 'Girl'

Bobby Canavale has reserved his next phase gig, signing onto co-star inside the approaching Broadway revival of "Funny Girl." Thesp, who won plaudits for his perf in "The Motherfucker While using Hat" last season, may have Nick Arnstein, the gambler with whom the title character, on-the-rise legit star Fanny Brice, falls for one another. Lauren Ambrose may have Fanny. Bartlett Sher ("South Off-shoreline") helms the revival, which will use a tryout run within the Ahmanson Theater in La early next season. Center Theater Group produces the L.A. run alongside the project's commercial producers: Bob Boyett, Sonia Friedman Prods., Jean Doumanian, Stacey Mindich and Tim Levy. Canavale also came out in Theresa Rebeck play "Mauritius" concerning the Primary Stem too just like an Off Broadway revival of "Hurlyburly." Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Diverse Web Series Evolves Through Social Media

WASHINGTON (AP) After growing frustrated with watching stereotypes of people of color on the watch's screen, Issa Rae created her own vision of reality with "The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl."The Internet-based show follows J, carried out by Rae, and her occurrences and accomplishments in work and love."The Internet series came to exist because I really didn't see anybody at all like me on the watch's screen, nobody that we could interact with,In . mentioned Rae, the show's producer, author and director. "There's a multitude of limited archetypes for black women particularly, and basically people of color generally, which is frustrating to look into the screen and merely be capable of interact with people like Tina Fey or Amy Poehler, people that do not appear much like me.InchSimply because the series first released online in February, the debut episode has brought greater than 240,000 hits. Subsequent episodes have acquired greater than 100,000 hits and 1,000 viewer comments. Nearly 17,000 people are devoted for the show's Facebook page. Rae mentioned she and co-producer Tracy Oliver are packaging "Awkward Black Girl" just like a half-hour comedy to promote with a cable network, but they're strongly thinking about keeping it on the web to create everyone else and more effective reference to audiences."Social networks are precisely what made the show honestly," Rae mentioned. "Been there not been for social media, this show just wouldn't are actually how it is today. I possibly could not did this 10 years ago."Susan Fales-Hill, who produced and written for your extended-running NBC sitcom "Another World," referred to as Rae's work fresh, incisive, and non-stereotypical."She's showing an educated, African-American lady leading a built-around together with an expert lady with pals of several different nationalities and abilities, and basically trying to create her way," Fales-Hill mentioned.She mentioned Rae's guerrilla approach to TV making is brilliant plus an inspiration to veterans on the market like her."The majority of us emerged throughout an occasion when there's a studio system, more jobs and you also emerged using the ranks," Fales-Hill mentioned. "So for people, it's a culture shock. ... I have thought it was very liberating they has created her own show. She's certainly making the majority of us consider how you is capable of doing things and the way much more aggressive you ought to be.InchRae, 26, born Jo-Issa Rae Diop, created the concept for your show couple of years ago throughout a public theater fellowship in New You'll be able to. A La native, she would never know anybody in New You'll be able to, which provided many awkward encounters. After returning for the West Coast, Rae collected a few pals to help her begin shooting the series along with her own cameras within the month of the month of january."I understood essentially didn't shoot it myself it absolutely was not likely to have finished,In . mentioned Rae, who attended Stanford College as well as the New You'll be able to Film Academy in La.Rae employed her friend Andrew Allan James to star just like a, her annoying co-worker and admirer. The diverse cast now includes J's nearest friend CeCe, an Indian-American, carried out by Sujata Day, and her love interests White-colored J, carried out by Lyman Manley, and Fred, an African-American, carried out by Madison T. Shockley III."Diversity is important for the series simply since it is available throughout my existence," Rae mentioned. "In solid existence, I really do happen to experience a Bengali-American nearest friend."Since the show's number of fans is ongoing to develop, so features its own production. By episode four, Oliver, who plays J's co-worker and rival Nina, grew to become an associate of in just like a producer and aided pull together an entire crew for your show. The episodes elevated from four minutes to12.After episode six, Rae and Oliver, former Stanford childhood friends, recognized they may forget about have the ability to fund the series. Rae, about the temp salary, mentioned she couldn't cover the 12-hour-day shoots and production costs.The Two had received a couple of emails from people offering to provide for the show, to ensure that they made a decision to start the state campaign for audiences to provide using the online fundraising event platform Kickstarter.com. With the finish of the very first day, Rae mentioned the show had received $4,000."It absolutely was just overwhelming," she mentioned. "We just understood that individuals had something on our hands which individuals really supported our project which only decided to be very touching."After of a month, the show had greater than $56,000 from nearly 2,000 contributor.Since "Awkward Black Girl" launched, Rae has signed with United states . Talent Agency and three Arts Entertainment. She hopes her success can lead to more options for unprivileged to see their tales."It sends an email to mainstream media that individuals don't have to have these white-colored males and ladies leads for everybody for connecting together,Inch Rae mentioned. "It's type of unfair to think about that, so Hopefully this show influences future casting options just based off what we've been in a position to perform up to now. "Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Diverse Web Series Grows Through Social Media

WASHINGTON (AP) After growing tired of watching stereotypes of people of color on the screen, Issa Rae created her own vision of reality with "The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl."The Web-based show follows J, played by Rae, and her mishaps and successes in work and love."The Web series came about because I really didn't see anybody like me on the screen, nobody that I could relate to," said Rae, the show's producer, writer and director. "There's are just so many limited archetypes for black females in particular, and just people of color in general, and it's frustrating to look at the screen and only be able to relate to people like Tina Fey or Amy Poehler, people who don't look like me."Since the series first posted online in February, the debut episode has garnered more than 240,000 hits. Subsequent episodes have received more than 100,000 hits and 1,000 viewer comments. Nearly 17,000 people are dedicated to the show's Facebook page. Rae said she and co-producer Tracy Oliver are packaging "Awkward Black Girl" as a half-hour comedy to sell to a cable network, but are strongly thinking about keeping it online to build the audience and maintain stronger contact with viewers."Social media is what made the show honestly," Rae said. "Had it not been for social media, this show just wouldn't have been what it is today. I couldn't have done this 10 years ago."Susan Fales-Hill, who produced and wrote for the long-running NBC sitcom "A Different World," called Rae's work fresh, incisive, and non-stereotypical."She is showing an educated, African-American woman leading an integrated life and a professional woman with friends of many different nationalities and backgrounds, and just trying to make her way," Fales-Hill said.She said Rae's guerrilla approach to TV making is brilliant and an inspiration to veterans in the industry like her."A lot of us came up during a time when there was a studio system, more jobs and you came up through the ranks," Fales-Hill said. "So for us, it's a culture shock. ... I find it very liberating that she has created her own show. She's definitely making a lot of us think about how we can do things and how much more aggressive we should be."Rae, 26, born Jo-Issa Rae Diop, created the concept for the show two years ago while on a public theater fellowship in New York. A Los Angeles native, she didn't know anyone in New York, and that provided many awkward experiences. After returning to the West Coast, Rae gathered a few friends to help her begin shooting the series with her own camera equipment in January."I knew if I didn't shoot it myself it was never going to get done," said Rae, who attended Stanford University and the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles.Rae recruited her friend Andrew Allan James to star as A, her annoying co-worker and admirer. The diverse cast now includes J's best friend CeCe, an Indian-American, played by Sujata Day, and her love interests White J, played by Lyman Johnson, and Fred, an African-American, played by Madison T. Shockley III."Diversity is important to the series just because it exists in my life," Rae said. "In real life, I do happen to have a Bengali-American best friend."As the show's fan base has grown, so has its production. By episode four, Oliver, who plays J's co-worker and rival Nina, joined in as a producer and helped pull together a full crew for the show. The episodes grew from about four minutes to12.After episode six, Rae and Oliver, former Stanford classmates, realized they could no longer afford to fund the series. Rae, on a temp salary, said she couldn't cover the 12-hour-day shoots and production costs.The two had received a couple emails from people offering to donate to the show, so they decided to start an official campaign for viewers to donate through the online fundraising platform Kickstarter.com. By the end of day one, Rae said the show had received $4,000."It was just overwhelming," she said. "We just knew that we had something on our hands and that people really believed in our project and that was just extremely touching."After about a month, the show had more than $56,000 from nearly 2,000 donors.Since "Awkward Black Girl" launched, Rae has signed with United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment. She hopes her success will lead to more opportunities for minorities to tell their stories."I think it sends a message to mainstream media that we don't have to have these white male and female leads for everybody to relate to them," Rae said. "It's sort of unfair to think that, so I hope that this show influences future casting decisions just based off what we've been able to do so far. "Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Sci-Fi Title Europa To Orbit Toronto

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s another title which get looked in the 2011 Toronto Film Festival in script stage: Wayfare Entertainment and Misher Films have been in pre-production on Europa, a modern day space adventure that'll be directed by Sebastian Cordero, the Ecuadorian helmer whose credits include Rage and Cronicas. District 9‘s Sharlto Copley is placed to star using the Girl using the Dragon Tattoo’s Michael Nyquist, Anamaria Marinca (she starred within the Palme d’Or winning 4 Several weeks, 3 Days and a pair of Days), and Asian celebrity Daniel Wu. Wayfare Entertainment is fully funding the film, and Misher Films’ Kevin Misher is creating with Wayfare’s Ben Browning. Sierra/Affinity’s Nick Meyer is handling worldwide sales. Scripted by Philip Gelatt, Europa may be the story of the six-person team of astronauts from various worldwide space stations who're sent with a private sector corporation to become the very first manned pursuit to Jupiter’s 4th moon. Eugenio Caballero (Pan’s Labryrinth, is production designer, and also the plan's to start shooting in New You are able to this fall. Wayfare’s Michael Maher and Jeremy Kipp Master is going to be professional producers alongside Andy Berman.

Alcon Kick-Starts Move Into Talent Management With Madhouse Deal

Alcon Entertainment has acquired a controlling stake in boutique managment firm Madhouse Entertainment. Alcon announced today that ithopes the deal will be the first in a series of moves into the talent management biz. Among Madhouse’s top clients are Dave Andron, co-exec producer on FX’s Justified, Liz Garcia andJosh Harto, who created TNT’s Memphis Beat, and screenwriter David Guggenheim, whose horror film Safe House debuts for Universal this month. Alcon’s chief executives Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will oversee the new divison, Alcon Management Enterprises. Alcon, which is backed by FedEx founder Fred Smith, was behind last year’s The Blind Side. It is currentlydeveloping a remake of Blade Runner with Ridley Scott and willnext release “A Dolphin Tale.”

Clothes minded: Fashion flirts with film

Anita Ekberg's black outfits in 'La Dolce Vita' sparked fashion trend.The mobile phone industry's of favor and film happen to be winking at one another increasingly more previously couple of years. Every designer from Prada to Kate Spade to Gareth Pugh has first showed an arty video clip to market an assortment, handbag or limited-edition perfume. Last spring, Miu Miu began a number of shorts directed by women having a moody piece by Hollywood film heiress Zoe Cassavetes. But it is the venerable house of Gucci -- turning an adult yet spirited 90 this season -- which has walked as the premiere stumper for celluloid.In the approaching Venice Film Festival, Gucci will fete women with a brand new award praising Women in Cinema. The runners up are refreshingly diverse, with rising American actress Jessica Chastain ("The Tree of Existence") competing against Italian film writer Federica Pontremoli ("The Whitened Space") -- it is a gracious jerk towards the less glamorous behind-the-moments business of film to incorporate a producer and costume designer among nominees. Gucci will also support documentaries by providing a finishing fund for works happening using the Tribeca Film Institute.But Gucci's major dedication to film -- restoration and upkeep -- implies that the look home is truly acting wear and tear. Previously 5 years, Gucci has contributed a lot more than $1.7 million to Martin Scorsese's non-profit passion project the Film Foundation. Its newest overhauls incorporate a digital facelift for Luchino Visconti's 1963 "The Leopard" and Federico Fellini's 1960 "La Dolce Vita." Both movies feature standout costumes, but it is Anita Ekberg's famous black dress in the fountain scene of Fellini's romp that released a slew of copycats.Actually, the courtship of favor and film is similar to the wedding of two gorgeous celebrities. Designers fawn over lush films, which, showcase stunning clothes. Gucci designer Frida Giannini, who based her last men's collection about the chic '70s look of "The Way In Which I Was,Inch is not the only real fashion maven to title-check film as inspiration. Marc Jacobs has recommended Bernardo Bertolucci being an influence and also the Mulleavy siblings, behind the avant-garde Rodarte label, based among their runway collections on obscure Japanese horror films.One film that Gucci certainly will not be offering may be the much-spoken-about biopic of Patrizia Reggiani that Ridley Scott continues to be threatening to create since 2007. It has been bandied about this Julia Roberts could take part in the femme fatale, who purchased the killing of her ex-husband, fashion titan Maurizio Gucci.Venice Film Festival: Fashion & CinemaFashion flirts with film I fall to pieces Hipster hot spots Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

George Clooney's 5 Most Iconic Roles

George Clooney is making the festival rounds, with his political thriller "The Ides of March" kicking off Venice on Wednesday and the actor-director set to receive the Silver Medallion Tribute at Telluride this month.Meanwhile, another movie he stars in "The Descendants," directed by Alexander Payne -- will premiere at Telluride and close the New York Film Festival next month.In other words, it's going to be a busy fall for Clooney.Here are five of the actor's most iconic roles: "ER": The actor got his big break playing Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama, leaving in 1999 after five seasons on the show to pursue a film career. In 2000, he surprised fans with an appearance for the last episode of Julianna Margulies, whose character, nurse Carol Hathaway, flew to Seattle for a reunion with Ross, her former lover and father to her twin girls. He also appeared in the series finale in 2009."Out of Sight": Clooney received rave reviews for his performance in the 1998 movie, which co-starred Jennifer Lopez. He's said it's one of his favorites movies. "It was the first time where I had a say, and it was the first good screenplay I'd read where I just went, 'That's it,'" he has said. "Even though it didn't do very well box-office wise -- we sort of tanked again -- it was a really good film.""Ocean's Eleven": Clooney led an A-list cast in the movie -- and its two sequels -- playing title character Danny Ocean, a charming thief who leads a group in the multimillion-dollar burglary of a Las Vegas casino."Syriana": It might not be remembered as Clooney's highest-profile role, but the movie -- based loosely on former Central Intelligence Agency agent Robert Baer and his memoirs of being an agent in the Middle East -- won Clooney his first and (so far) only Oscar."Michael Clayton": Clooney plays a corporate "fixer" brought into to fix the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit. His role earned him an Oscar nom. The Hollywood Reporter