Food Network makes changes at 'Star'

Alton Brown will change from host to mentor on Food Network Star. As Food Network's "Food Network Star" heads into production because of its eighth season, premiering May 13, it's made plans for changes both onscreen and off. The truth competition skein will change the option of the growing season champion in the idol judges to some fan election that'll be held prior to the season finale. The grand prize remains a show on Food Network, but this time around around, it will likely be created through the winner's mentor. Additionally, Bobby Flay and Giada P Laurentiis will shed their knowing responsibilities and, together with first-time series regular Alton Brown, will each choose a team of runners up to mentor with the competition. "Bobby, Giada and Alton would be the the best in food television," stated Food Network g.m. and SVP of programming and production Bob Tuschman. "Combined, they have created 100s of hrs of award-winning programming. Using their abilities and instincts, those are the perfect individuals to allow us to find, develop and convey our next 'Food Network Star.' " Tuschman and Food Network senior veep of promoting, creative and brand strategy Susie Fogelson will go back to handle knowing responsibilities, assisted by a number of guest idol judges. Tuschman stated the intent from the changes would be to "dial-up your competition and also the excitement." CBS Eye Too Prods. produces "Food Network Star." Principal filming is moving to NY, the show's original home, after several seasons located in La. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Fashion Slam: What's Hot For 2012

First Launched: The month of the month of january 20, 2012 1:43 PM EST Credit: Getty Images La, Calif. -- Caption Avoi Mendes poses onstage throughout the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations press conference within the London West Hollywood on November 30, 2010 I went shopping the first time yesterday since just before the holiday season and boy hold the stores developed a Technicolor transformation! Color, color, color was everywhere- there's no avoiding it! What else will probably be large? People StyleWatch provides the form scoop! Prints are hot this season, states Kate Dimmock, fashion director in the magazine. A few typically the most popular prints at this time around are florals and polka dots. With florals, the recognition this really is really the balance more bold paper, the higher. Choose vibrant colors, adding neutrals for add-ons to balance it. Polka dots are a fun way to update a classic look which makes it new. A polka us us dot top or dress might be chic, or perhaps a chuckle, mix the size and colors to create contrast. Color is showing up everywhere, which is a terrific way to welcome in the new spring season, states Dimmock. Some hot color trends: Mint eco-friendly might be the it pastel colour of year which is huge. Were seeing it on pants and dresses too as with even add-ons. Red-colored-colored lips are globally flattering. Jennifer Aniston had gorgeous red-colored-colored lips within the Golden Globe Honours plus it really attracted together her whole look. Blue-eco-friendly jewelry, these ocean inspired colors are perfect for add-ons. Were seeing this color combo on chunky bracelets and bold rings. Metallic heels are perfect for day and evening. They could amplifier up any spring outfit, and so they go for everything---from jeans to dresses! For further style and wonder inspiration, see the new problem of people StyleWatch. Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Pair join Cruise in U sci-fi pic

KurylenkoRiseboroughUniversal has tapped Olga Kurylenko and Andrea Riseborough as the female leads opposite Tom Cruise in Joseph Kosinski's untitled sci-fi pic. William Monahan and Karl Gajdusek wrote earlier drafts of the script, which is currently being rewritten by Michael Arndt. Futuristic story follows a soldier stationed on Earth, the surface of which has been destroyed by aliens. When he discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off a chain of events that cause him to question everything he knows. Peter Chernin and Dylan Clark are producing through Chernin Entertainment, along with Barry Levine of Radical Publishing and Kosinski. Jesse Berger and Dave Morrison will exec produce. Production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2012. It seems that nearly every high-profile young actress in town has been connected to the project at some point. As Variety first reported, Jessica Chastain landed the other female lead in September, but was forced to pull out after she signed on to Kathryn Bigelow's untitled Osama bin Laden pic and could not arrange her schedule to accomodate both films. Kurylenko tested for a role in August along with Chastain, Olivia Wilde and Noomi Rapace. But after Chastain landed one part, Kurylenko wasn't among a handful of other girls who tested with Cruise in November. Insiders say Cruise liked her from the original test, and remained in the mix despite not testing again in November. As for Riseborough, it's the first time her name has been linked to the project, as she didn't test for either part in August or November. Thesp will make her American debut with the film, as up until now, she has only toplined Brit pics including Madonna's "W.E." Thesp's next film, James Marsh's "Shadow Dancer," preems at Sundance next week. Kurylenko, who played a Bond girl in "Quantum of Solace" and will soon be seen on Starz's upcoming series "Magic City," recently wrapped Terrence Malick's untitled pic starring Ben Affleck. Kurylenko is repped by CAA and Tavistock Wood Management. Riseborough is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Independent Talent Group. Arndt is repped by Verve and McKuin Frankel Whitehead LLP. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

The Voice Star Blake Sheltons Father Dies, Forcing Concert Tour Postponements

First Released: The month of january 18, 2012 9:34 AM EST Credit: Getty Images NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Caption Blake Shelton works on NBCs Today in Rockefeller Center, NY City, on This summer 8, 2011Blake Sheltons father has died, forcing The Voice star to reschedule several tour dates. A news release states Dick Shelton died Tuesday encircled by family members in Oklahoma. The elder Shelton have been in decreasing health. Blake Shelton devoted his win finally several weeks American Country Honours to his father, who had been put in the hospital with pneumonia. Shelton thanked fans: Your support means the planet in my experience. I really like everyone. The nation singer will miss four shows within the Dakotas and Montana now. Individuals shows happen to be rescheduled for March. He'll go back to the street Jan. 26 in Columbus, Ga. Shelton will sing America the gorgeous with wife Miranda Lambert prior to the Super Bowl the following month. The Honey Bee singer can also be up for 3 Grammys. Copyright 2012 through the Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Film Independent names grant visitors

Film Independent grants filmmakers of four features grants or loans or financial loans accumulated to $115,000 at its annual Spirit Honours brunch.Honours were presented Saturday at Boa in West Hollywood.The Jameson "Find Your Audience" award visited Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias for "Incomplete Spaces" with $40,000 grant. The doc follows a trio of Cuban designers who created structures inside the newbie carrying out a 1959 revolution that introduced Fidel Castro to energy.Murray mentioned the grant for "Spaces," which has elevated the is utilized with a decade, will enable him and Nahmias to start setting tests next several several days at museums along with undertaking outreach."I never prone to win," he added.Another three honours each carry unrestricted $25,000 grants or loans or financial loans.The "Truer than Fiction" award visited Louise Courtney for "Where Soldiers Result From.InchThe Piaget Producers trophy visited Sophia Lin for "Take Shelter" as well as the "Anybody to look atInch award was presented with to Mark Jackson for "Without."Presentation opened up track of Film Indepedendent co-prexy Sean McManus stating, "You've inspired a lot of us along with your passion and creativity."The relaxation from the Spirit Honours individuals who win will probably be introduced at occasions held Feb. 26 in the beachside tent in Santa Monica. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

William Brent Bell Away And Off To The Vatican

Thriller time for Demon Inside directorGiven that he's just aided to influence a $millions of allotted found footage horror movie (The Demon Inside) to strong box office success in the united states, director William Brent Bell is probably not too surprised being fielding plenty of job offers at this time around. And he's already stored in a single deal, with Warner Bros. employing him to direct conspiracy thriller The Vatican. While Demon Inside will be a horror with religious overtones, Vatican will apparently whack together conspiracy ideas while using papal tradition. But you will notice some parallels, while using new movie including some found footage elements alongside classical plot lines.Hardly anything else is well known in regards to the movie aside from author David Cohen pitching it for the studio. Among his earlier scripts, Nobody Lives, was already chugging its way through publish-production with Like Evans inside the lead. More youthful crowd showed up round the 2011 Black List with Frankenstein-inspired tale Subject Zero, which sees a investigator developing a new drug to produce his boy to existence, only to to produce spook epidemic all over the world. We doubt you will notice many flesh-eating beasties rampaging using the Pope's gaff in Vatican, but we live in hope...

Marketing prexy Carney departs Disney

CarneyWith MT Carney's quiet exit as Disney president of worldwide marketing, the big question is how the studio plans to fill the position. Disney declined to comment Sunday, but sources said the departure is amicable. When Carney was hired in April 2010, skeptics questioned whether a person without a background in studio marketing could fill the role. Rumors of her exit began almost immediately, but studio execs repeatedly said they were happy with her work. Since she signed on, "Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides" passed $1 billion worldwide, while "Cars 2" hit more than $500 million. An elaborate campaign for the imminent "John Carter" is already in place, spearheaded by Carney.Carney let the studio know several months ago that she wanted to move back to NY, where she worked in the advertising biz and founded the U.S. offices of ad shop Naked. Her family also lives in Gotham. In hiring Carney, studio chief Rich Ross turned to an outsider after conducting an exhaustive search both in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue to market Disney and DreamWorks' films. So the question is whether he will look for another outsider, someone with film-marketing background, or promote from within. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Warren Buffett, crooner

BuffettBeijing-- This is a truly rich way to see in the Year of the Dragon.Billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett is expanding his repertoire beyond canny stock-picking to sing and play guitar on the "Chinese Lunar New Year Gala" on pubcaster CCTV's website.The 81-year-old investment guru, known as the "Oracle of Omaha," has already recorded his performance, which is to be aired on Jan. 23, the official Xinhua news agency said. The song title was not revealed. The Berkshire Hathaway prexy has showbiz form, having dressed up as Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose last year to sing on an advert for Geico Insurance, in which he has shares."Each year we invite Chinese and international celebrities to perform and send greetings," said Luo Yan from Long Legacy Intl. Communications, a company jointly holding the event with China Network Television. "Buffett is one of them."The gala will be broadcast on CNTV.cn, and will also feature Hong Kong multihypenate Jackie Chan. A condensed version of the show will air on CCTV.Buffett, along with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, has been active in encouraging China's growing army of super-rich to get into donating their huge wealth to charity, as he does. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

O'Connor in tune with 'Albert Nobbs'

"Her voice is similar to a vintage fiddle," states John Byrne of Sinead O'Connor. "There's not one other voice in the world appreciate it.In . Which explains why the composer was thrilled when she made the decision to sing "Lay The Mind Lower," the conclusion-credits track for "Albert Nobbs," whose score Byrne written.The lyrics are by Glenn Close, the pic's star together with its co-author and producer. Yet establishing the track was almost an emergency.InchSinead loved the song, but she couldn't record it in Ireland because of an Eastern European tour," Byrne states.Consequently, a web-based set-up was arranged in Bulgaria -- with Byrne in Ireland and Close, connected on the phone, in the united states. Sadly, the equipment eliminate rapidly, and Skype must be utilized rather. "It's good for just about any conversation while not for just about any multitrack recording," Byrne notes.Additionally, O'Connor had barely examined the song just before the session. "The initial three several hours did not go well whatsoever," Byrne recalls. "Sinead would say, 'How does it appear?' And I'd say, 'I don't actually know.A Essentially, i had been rehearse-recording. Glenn finally stuck.InchThen, six and half several hours in, "Sinead was rocking. She mentioned she 'had it in their bones,'" Byrne recalls. "She sang the song 167 occasions, which we found the right performance about 120 in. It shouldn't have meet up. I still can't believe we actually have a very song."Eye round the Oscars: Song & Score Are acad rules from synch? 'Muppety' while not too 'Flighty' Pinch hitter Elizabethan notes culled from big chunks of rock Utility player orchestrates 'Miracle' Powell animated by quartet of pix Animal, mineral add 'Apes' score Gregson-Williams relishes the chase Byrne scores large 'Albert Nobbs' O'Connor in tune with 'Albert Nobbs' Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel Engaged: Report

Guess Justin Timberlake wasn't kidding as he sang, "This ring here signifies my heart." Us Weekly is confirming that multi-hyphenate Justin Timberlake and the on-again, off-again superstar girlfriend Jessica Biel are engaged to become married. Insider sources demonstrate that JT sprang the question throughout a snowboarding trip within the mountain tops of Wyoming. Timberlake and Biel were first linked together at the begining of 2007 the pair split for a short period this past year but rapidly reconciled and started thinking about marriage. Expect plenty of gossipy particulars concerning the ceremony, the gown, the honeymoon along with a 1000 other particulars to softly leak in the exact proper time, within the next twelve to 18 several weeks. [Photo: FilmMagic] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

'Lysistrata' to shut

Lysistrata Johnson collected buzz downtown, however the undertake Aristophanes strugged to dive right in to Broadway. Cheerleader tuner "Lysistrata Johnson," that has battled to create a foothold by itself because it started Broadway previews in November, will shake its last pompom and shutter Sunday. A business buzzmagnet inside a shoestring downtown production this past year, "Lysistrata" was acquired by commercial producers wishing the comedy could snowball right into a sleeper hit around the Rialto. However the production demonstrated not able to beat the twin hurdles of the unfamiliar title along with a cast without any real stars. Show's weekly B.O. tended in the future in at $150,000 or less, using the holiday-increased tally from a week ago, $326,500, repping the best. A contempo college-kid redux from the Aristophanes play, "Lysistrata Johnson" follows a feisty cheerleader who convinces several youthful women to prevent creating before the basketball team wins a game title. Douglas Carter Beane ("Sister Act," "The Small Dog Chuckled") offers the books for any score by Lewis Flinn. Serta Knechtges helms a cast brought by Patti Murin, Liz Mikel, Josh Segarra, Jason Tam and Lindsay Nicole Chambers. Team of producers includes Paula Herold, Alan Wasser, Frederick Cruz, Michael McCabe and John Breglio, amongst others. "Lysistrata Johnson" wooden shutters Jan. 8 in the Walter Kerr Theater. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Goold to co-direct 'Lion'

Goold Broadway and London legit vet Rupert Goold ("Macbeth") will co-direct a new stage production of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" launching in London this summer.Show is the latest multimedia production from Threesixty, the company whose 2009 version of "Peter Pan" proved a hit in Blighty and went on to a U.S. tour, which most recently stopped in Boston. Goold, the a.d. of the U.K.'s Headlong Theater and an associate director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, pens the adaptation and co-directs with Michael Fentiman.Like "Peter Pan," the new production will be staged in a 1200-seat tent surrounded by a circular screen on which 360-degree CGI images are projected. Live thesps and puppets also will be incorporated into the new version of the C.S. Lewis tale.Show will begin perfs May 8 in Kensington Gardens, a part of one of the Royal Parks of London. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

'Naked Boys' hides

Off Broadway longrunner "Naked Boys Singing" can give up within the finish in the month, finishing off a 12 1/2-year run. Show handled a extended commercial existence inside an Off Broadway climate where plenty of producers feeling of-profit stage productions are becoming a smaller amount viable as costs rise and marketing campaigns are surpassed by Rialto options. If the shuts, the musical might have carried out 3,069 perfs, while using show first opening within the Stars Playhouse in 1999 right before shifting to Theater Four in 2004 after which it to " " New World " " Methods in 2005. Show was elevated simply with the crazy novelty title that could attract the eye of tourist auds, frequently the most difficult demo for Off Broadway to capture. Production also provides focused to group auds for instance bachelorette parties while modifying its performance sked to enhance demand. Presently, the tuner plays just two perfs every week. Productions in the show offer carried out urban centers including Las vegas and L.A. additionally to London, where a production is presently round the boards, plus an approaching version in Sydney. Show was produced by Robert Schrock, who teamed getting twelve scribes (including Bruce Vilanch) to pen the revue. Jamie Cesa, Carl D. White-colored, Hugh Hayes and Tom Smedes produce. "Naked Males Singing" shuts Jan. 28. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com