Buble has a big 'Christmas'

Scoring big in the yuletide run-up, Michael Buble's "Christmas" maintained its hold on the No. 1 position on the U.S. album chart despite a formidable holiday surge by Adele's bestselling "21."Buble's Warner Bros. collection topped the list for a fifth consecutive stanza with sales of 467,000, up 4%, according to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week that ended Christmas Day.Total sales for "Christmas" of 2.4 million are second only to "21" among 2011 releases. But Brit thrush Adele's Columbia collection remained puissant in the late going, notching its best sales week with a 399,000-copy frame, good for No. 2. Album debuted in March with a 352,000-unit week.Adele's set is the year's undisputed sales champ with nearly 5.7 million sold to date and could log another week at No. 1 next week as Buble's holiday title loses steam.Just six titles sold in excess of 100,000 during this year's Christmas shopping rush vs. 11 that topped that level the same week in 2010, but the strong performances of the Buble and Adele titles helped balance the books.Pre-Christmas shoppers embraced a late-breaking rap title: Young Jeezy's "TM 103: Hustlerz Ambition" (Def Jam) bowed at No. 3, moving 233,000. It's the Atlanta-bred performer's fourth consecutive top-five entry.Week's other six-figure performers were Justin Bieber's "Under the Mistletoe" (No. 4, 225,000 sold, up 32%), Drake's "Take Care" (No. 5, 131,000, up 71%) and Lady Antebellum's "Own the Night" (No. 6, 110,000, up 36%).Two titles separated by just 70 copies barely missed topping 100,000: Rihanna's "Talk That Talk" (No. 7, up 83%) and Nickelback's "Here and Now" (No. 8, up 23%) both tracked around 99,000 units.The Black Keys' "El Camino" (No. 9, 92,000, up 9%) and the "Now 40" hits compilation (No. 10, 88,000, up 38%) complete the top 10.Next Wednesday, SoundScan will release 2011's year-end figures, which are expected to reveal the music biz's first sales increase since 2004. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

B'way's 'Rebecca' beckons McGillin

McGillin Vet Broadway thesp Howard McGillin is slated to become listed on the approaching Rialto tuner version of Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca," modified for that stage by composer Sylvester Levay and lyricist-playwright Michael Kunze and converted into British by "A Harmful Method" scribe Christopher Hampton.McGillin's most impressive claim that they can fame might be his years-long term within the Great Whitened Way's "Phantom from the Opera," where the actor drenched a lot more than 2,300 perfs within the title role, but younger crowd made an appearance within the Hal Prince-helmed manufacture of Stephen Sondheim's "Bounce" (later reworked as "Road Show") in the Kennedy Center, along with a Broadway revival of "Anything Goes" along with the Rialto's "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." McGillin gained Tony noms for from the latter.New tuner is placed to bow April 22 in the Broadhurst Theater and can star Sierra Boggess, Tam Mutu, Karen Mason and James Barbour. Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Digital divides d.p.'s in roles, pay

DeakinsGoiRichardsonPosterCinematographers sometimes work for no pay.As post-production of films has shifted from photochemical processing to image manipulation in the digital intermediate (DI) suite, d.p.'s have been devoting growing chunks of time to post-production. The problem is, their compensation hasn't always kept up with the extra hours.One d.p. found himself sitting in a digital suite twice this past year, helping out with post on films he'd recently shot."Everyone else in the room was being paid and I wasn't," he said. "The editor, the colorist, the post supervisor -- everyone except me."The d.p. spoke anonymously for fear of being "considered a complainer and casting aspersions on the producers I've worked with," but his plight is common among d.p.'s these days. DI work has divided d.p.'s into haves and have-nots. Many volunteer their labor because their reputation is on the line. "We're artists and trying to make the film the best it can be," one said.But other, high-profile d.p.'s routinely get compensated. Roger Deakins, now shooting Sam Mendes' "Skyfall," the latest Bond picture, has been paid for his DI work ever since he filmed the Coens' "O Brother, Where Art Thou" a dozen years ago. The same goes for Robert Richardson, who's in the middle of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained.""This is a hugely important subject for d.p.'s," said Steven Poster, prexy of the Intl. Cinematographers Guild. "It's been brewing ever since DI came in because of the extended period of time we (now) have to work. "(When) we used to take a short amount of time to do a print, there was no consideration of paying us. It was a courtesy -- two, three or four days, a couple of hours a day."Poster added that most d.p. contracts don't stipulate compensation for DI work. When studios agree to it, they do so only in side letters, which usually allow for two weeks of additional work at half pay."The top third of working d.p.'s at the studio level get paid for DI routinely," said a below-the-line agent. "We try to get it on every deal but we're only successful on certain ones."The agent said the studios use side letters in order to avoid setting precedents, but the letters "might as well be precedential because everyone uses them." Everyone, that is, except for Sony Pictures, which "has kept its finger in the dyke" and steadfastly denied such pay, said the agent.In an email, Sony declined to comment. Five other studios contacted for this column did not return emails.Cinematographers believe studios are short-changing themselves by resisting d.p. input in post. They argue that doing a DI allows the d.p. to reduce certain costs during production, when there's always pressure to cut shooting time, and that the d.p. is the most qualified person to make decisions about the image in the suite."Anybody can sit with a cappuccino and make color-correction judgments," said Michael Goi, president of the American Society of Cinematographers, "But only the d.p. knows the quickest way to adjust all the elements that went into that picture. If you don't involve the d.p. in the process, it'll take longer.""Not to ask the d.p. to be involved is insanity," said Richardson. "The shooting process is now influenced by the DI world. If you know you're doing a DI, when you're on the set you might choose not to correct a color, or change the brightness of a wall, which you can fix in five minutes in post. I don't understand why a studio would question that."For Deakins, it's as much a matter of principle as money. "I would flat-out refuse" to work on a film where I wasn't paid for DI work, he said. "There's been projects where the studios said they won't pay me to do the DI, and I said, OK, well then I won't do the film."However, the "haves" acknowledge that not every d.p. has the luxury of always saying no. "If I were first starting out I'd probably be inclined to do the DI without compensation because I would want the picture to look as good as possible," said Richardson.The bottom line, says Poster, is that "d.p.'s add value to the process and are important to its outcome. And the project will be better monetized if it looks good."BOOKINGS & SIGNINGSMontana Artists booked producers Tony Mark on John Stockwell's "Code Name Geronimo" and Rob Ortiz as UPM on Andrew Niccol's "The Host"; line producer Angie Vlaisavljevic on Brad Parker's "The Diary of Lawson Oxford"; d.p. John R. Leonetti on James Wan's "The Conjuring"; production Designer David Sandefur on Eric Brevig's "William Tell 3D: The Legend"; and editor Gib Jaffe on C.B. Harding's "Complicity." Contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com

All Sheds For Robert Redford

Taking for the water for JC ChandorDebuting his first directorial effort Margin Call at Sundance this year seems to own been a smart move for J. C. Chandor, most notoriously as they caught the interest of festival kingpin Robert Redford. The pair are presently benefiting from serious discussions about cooperating on Chandor's next film All Sheds.Border Call was occur the financial sector through the current economic meltdown, but All Sheds, if he signs on, will possibly see Redford swimming with sharks from the different. Known to love a "guy versus. character" drama, it might seem like it's almost single-guy show, happening situated on water. Apparently a "touchstone" for your film is Sydney Pollack's classic 70s western Jeremiah Manley (which starred Redford), however it doesn't appear as if All Sheds requires fighting grizzly bears or people in the Crow Nation.Like Margin Call, All Sheds will probably be setup by Zachary Quinto's company Just Before The Doorway, as well as the production is searching at Baja Film Art galleries in Mexico, which assists the ginormous water tank employed by James Cameron for Titanic and Michael Bay for Jewel Harbour.Chandor written the script particularly for Redford, if he's to keep his dream star, he may need to delay until Redford has completed using the Organization You Continue before they can get started. Shooting is presently pencilled looking for next May. Redford appeared to become arranging a Walk Inside The Forest with Nick Nolte, consider he's been trying to create that up since 2005, we guess it might wait a while longer.Margin Call is going inside the Uk around the month of the month of january 13.

Jackson Doctor Seeking Indigent Status For Appeal

First Published: December 13, 2011 3:14 PM EST Credit: Getty Images Caption Dr. Conrad Murray In Court: Day 23 - The Prosecution Makes Their Closing Arguments (November 3, 2011) LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson asked a court Tuesday to appoint a publicly funded attorney to handle his appeal because he cannot afford to hire counsel. Dr. Conrad Murray filed an amended notice of appeal stating he is indigent and unable to pay for an appellate lawyer to try to overturn his involuntary manslaughter conviction. The 58-year-old cardiologist intends to argue his case before the California 2nd District Court of Appeal, based in Los Angeles. Murrays filing states that a court-appointed attorney would decide how to frame the appeal after reviewing transcripts and rulings from the case. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that felony convicts have a constitutional right to assistance of counsel. A jury convicted Murray last month in Jacksons June 2009 death. Murray is expected to serve roughly two years in jail, half of the four-year sentence that Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor handed down on Nov. 29. Murrays had sought to present evidence to jurors about Jacksons finances, details of his deal for a series of comeback concerts, and information about other doctors treating the pop superstar. But the judge refused and stated the trial would be about Murrays care of the singer. The Houston-based doctor had been giving Jackson nightly doses of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. The drug is normally given in hospital settings with extensive monitoring equipment, but testimony showed Murray had only basic equipment and left Jacksons bedside on the morning of his death. Pastor has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 23 to decide whether to order Murray to pay any restitution to Jacksons family or reimburse them for funeral expenses, which totaled more than $1.8 million. Jacksons estate estimated the singer would have earned at least $100 million if he had performed his This Is It concerts planned for Londons O2 arena. Murray will lose his medical license. He remains in a single-man cell in the Mens Central Jail, which is the address he listed on his appeals filings. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Relativity sees gains, faces pains

Relativity's "Immortals" has made $77 million domestically. The departure last week of Brian Edwards as Relativity Media's chief operating officer has fueled a fresh round of speculation about financial strain and management woes at Ryan Kavanaugh's company (Daily Variety, Dec. 9).But behind all the drama, Relativity is about to conclude its first year as a soup-to-nuts film production-distribution entity with some notable accomplishments, and plans to adjust to new realities for the coming year. Relativity ranks No. 3 among indies in domestic B.O. for the year, with $225.4 million and counting. That puts it behind only Summit Entertainment and its "Twilight" juggernaut ($383.9 million), and the Weinstein Co. ($283.6 million, fueled by "The King's Speech"), and outpacing such established players as Lionsgate.Relativity was also the only indie to have two No. 1 openers this year, with "Limitless" and "Immortals."According to people familiar with Relativity's financials, each of the pics that the studio oversaw from production through to distribution have either made money or broken even, including "Immortals," its first tentpole, which has grossed $77 million domestic since opening Stateside on Nov. 11. While not an overwhelming hit, the pic's performance has exceeded Relativity's expectations and pushed Tarsem Singh's 3D sword-and-sandals epic close to the black, sources say.The first pic Relativity distribbed, "Season of the Witch," bowed in early January and topped out just short of $25 million domestic.B.O. aside, there's no question that the company has endured growing pains in the 18 months since it acquired the distribution assets of Liberty Media's Overture Films, the deal that put Relativity on the path to mini-major status in enabling it to distribute its own pics.Edwards' exit marks the fifth high-level exec to depart Relativity in the past year. And it is no secret in the biz that Relativity's talks for financing with JP Morgan have come to a halt (Daily Variety, Nov. 11). Kavanaugh had been courting JP Morgan to replace its primary investor Elliot Management. Elliot, the NY-based hedge fund that helped get Relativity off the groundmostly by backing its co-financing deals with Universal, is looking to cut its ties to Relativity, and that feeling is mutual.With funding sources in flux, Relativity has not surprisingly been adjusting its its plans for 2012. Part of the reason Edwards left, insiders say, is that Relativity's scaling-back and Kavanaugh's hands-on style left him with not enough to do. Edwards was only with Relativity for five months before he opted to return to the job he left, as COO of Mark Burnett Prods. "I had to follow my heart, which was in being in business with Mark (Burnett)," Edwards told Variety.Relativity is already on the lookout for a new COO, though with its next release being the acquisition "Act of Valor" in February, there isn't immense pressure to find a replacement. Studio insiders say Kavanaugh is making adjustments to be more fiscally responsible and tailor the company's corporate needs to its upcoming slate.Relativity has seven releases set for next year, including inhouse productions "Haywire," "Mirror Mirror," "Raven" and "21 and Over"; plus acquisitions, including "Act of Valor," "House at the End of the Street" and an untitled comedy. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

Global Showbiz Briefs: Hong Kong, Europe, UK, Australia

Run Run Shaw To Retire – At 104 At 104-years-old, legendary producer and TV mogul Run Run Shaw is to retire as chairman of Hong Kongs Television Broadcasts Ltd. Shaw is lately known for co-founding TVB which is one of the worlds biggest producers of Chinese-language programming, but he started his career in the film business dating back to 1920s China and has produced hundreds of films. He is also known for having been one of the backers of Ridley Scotts Blade Runner. TVB has been something of a proving ground with such talent as Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau getting a start there. Bloomberg reports that Shaw will step down at the end of the year to be replaced by the quarter-century younger Norman Leung. EFP Names Shooting Stars Ten European actors have been selected as Shooting Stars 2012. European Film Promotion will showcase the newcomers at the Berlin Film Festival in February. In all, 23 candidates were nominated by a jury of internationally established film industry pros. Shooting Stars is supported by the EUs MEDIA Programme and EFPs member orgs. The chosen group has had breakout perfs in their home territories and are those considered most ripe to make the jump to international work. Previous talent selected as Shooting Stars includes Carey Mulligan and Melanie Laurent. The Shooting Stars 2012 (pictured above) are as follows: Adele Haenel (France), Anna Maria Muhe (Germany), Hilmar Gudjonsson (Iceland), Antonia Campbell-Hughes (Ireland), Isabella Ragonese (Italy), Jakub Giersza (Poland), Ana Ularu (Romania), Bill Skarsgard (Sweden), Max Hubacher (Switzerland) and Riz Ahmed (UK). Shine Group To Mentor Young, Diverse Content Creators Elisabeth Murdochs Shine Group has announced the launch of a production company created exclusively for young content makers from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. The as-yet unnamed venture is a partnership with youth engagement specialists Livity which will develop a self-sustaining outfit with work commissioned for broadcasters, brands, online and mobile platforms. Ben Hall, who was previously managing director of Shine Network, will run the company. A four-stage recruitment process will whittle applicants down to a team of 8 18-24 year-old non-graduates. Those accepted to the program will spend a year training to become a professional production unit with mentoring provided by staff from across Shine Group divisions. After the initial year, trainees will have the opportunity to stay and continue to work on any commissioned projects, apply for roles on productions within Shine Group or leave with industry recognized accreditations. Further details are available at www.shinetraining.tv. Sony To Preem ‘The Firm’ Globally In Day-And-Date Event Sony Pictures Television’s networks are to debut The Firm on SPTs global network of channels in a two-hour event on Feb 19. The move marks the first time the channels will launch a day-and-date premiere across international regions and will reach 126 million households. The Firm is the series continuation of the 1993 film based on John Grishams best seller. Josh Lucas stars as Mitch McDeere alongside Juliette Lewis as his assistant and Molly Parker as his wife. The release is in line with SPTs strategy to produce more tentpole original series for its global portfolio. Oz Goes FanDependent Screen Australia is to invest in alternative distribution outfit FanDependent via its Innovative Distribution program. The company was founded by veteran international sales agent and online media guru Thomas Mai and Josh Pomerantz, chief of post facility Spectrum Films. The duo will partner with 10 filmmaker teams over two years to help producers build buzz and raise financing through crowd funding. Selected teams will receive marketing help and sell and release the pics with the support of FanDependent and the Oz org. Funding for FanDependent will cover 2012 and 2013 at which time Screen Australia expects it to be self-sufficient.

Hot Trailer: The Pirates! Gang Of Misfits

The most recent feature in the United kingdom’s Wallace & Gromit gang Aardman Animations arrives in america together with The new sony Pictures Animation. Directed by Peter The almighty and co-directed by Shaun Newitt, the stop-motion three dimensional adventure is dependant on books by Gideon Defoe, who also scripted. Using the voices of Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant, it opens March 30.

Happy Hour

Clark Gregg, Gordon MacDonald, Lenny Venito in "End Days," part of Atlantic Theater Company's "Happy Hour." An Atlantic Theater Company presentation of three one-act plays in two acts by Ethan Cohen. Directed by Neil Pepe.With: Gordon MacDonald, Clark Gregg, Lenny Venito, Ana Reeder, Rock Kohli, Joey Slotnick, Aya Cash, Cassie Beck, Amanda Quaid, Susan Hyon.With or without his brother Joel, Ethan Coen has long been partial to characters who function beyond the social pale. (The protagonist of his creative contribution to "Relatively Speaking," now playing on Broadway, is a murderous psychopath.) Although there are no actual criminals in "Happy Hour," the misfits, losers, and malcontents in this omnibus of one-act plays are still pretty sour specimens of humanity. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but for some reason, scribe has also made them devoid of any redeeming charm whatsoever. Which is exactly how helmer Neil Pepe has cast, directed, and essentially damned them. Hoffman (Gordon MacDonald), the central character in "End Days," is far and away the crankiest one in the bunch. A doom-and-gloom merchant who combs the newspapers for every sign that mankind is going down the tubes, Hoffman takes his discontent from one bar to another, ranting and raving to perfect strangers about wars, energy crises, global contraction, galloping consumption, and all the other "serious social shit" that's driving him crazy. The man actually makes some intelligent points, but his rage makes him so incoherent, he's a galloping bore. Ted (Joey Slotnick), the 1970s session musician in "City Lights," is no more sociable (or less boring), but his self-loathing makes him marginally more sympathetic -- at least, to the first grade teacher who overlooks his atrocious manners because she finds him "sad and lonely." But Coen squashes that compassion as effectively as he undermined whatever respect we might have felt for Hoffman's intelligence. And just to give himself a perfect batting average, scribe also demolishes any attention-must-be-paid concern for the sad-sack traveling salesmen in "Wayfarer's Inn." Shooting the breeze in their cheap motel room, Buck (Clark Gregg), an enthusiastic womanizer, and his depressive pal Tony (Lenny Venito) get into an existential discussion about the alienation of modern life that isn't half bad. But, true to form, Coen veers off-point into the mannered conversation of a surreal dinner date. Coen's world view is dyspeptic to say the least, but the last thing any play about alienation needs is an alienating production. The curious thing about this show is how conscientiously helmer Neil Pepe (the Atlantic's a.d.) works to keep the material from being fun. The sets are dismal, the production style is lugubrious, and the quirky characters ill-served by the dour performances. Coen can certainly write a scathing line. A character in a morbid funk tries to reassure a friend that he's not really suicidal "I'm just feeling a little, I don't know -- Canadian." (Which is just plain brilliant.) But he desperately needs a dramaturg, or an editor, or maybe just a director who knows how to save him from himself.Sets, Riccardo Hernandez; costumes, Sarah Edwards; lighting, Jason Lyons; sound, David Van Tieghem; production stage manager, Alison DeSantis. Opened Dec. 5, 2011. Reviewed Dec. 1. Running time: TWO HOURS, 10 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

It's Official: Madonna Will Perform During Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show (Video)

NBC and the NFL confirmed Sunday night that Madonna will perform during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLVI, set to air Feb. 5 on the network.our editor recommendsMadonna and NY Neighbor Settle Lawsuit Over 'Unbearable' NoiseMadonna's 'W.E.' Pushed to Feb. 3 Release After Awards-Qualifying RunMadonna's Rumored New Single Leaked Online (Audio)Madonna Launches Her First Fragrance, Truth or Dare. What Took So Long?Madonna Defends Herself at London Premiere of 'W.E.' Madonna has partnered with a creative team from Cirque du Soleil, choreographer Jamie King and multimedia artists from Moment Factory to create the performance. PHOTOS: Top 10 Highest Paid Music Artists The news, which had been widely rumored for some time, was confirmed during NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage of the game between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions. Super Bowl XLVI is set to take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. PHOTOS: 7 Music to Movie Directors More than 162 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's halftime show, which will again be broadcast around the world. Previous halftime performers include the Black Eyed Peas, the Who, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and U2. Counting Madonna, the average age of the Super Bowl halftime performers since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "Wardrobe Malfunction" in 2004 is 54.8 years old, while the average age of the viewers is 43, according to CNBC's Darren Rovell. PHOTOS: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers Madonna is currently in the recording studio working on a new album scheduled to be released next year. Her new film, W.E., which she directed, wrote and produced, is opening in a limited one-week awards-qualifying run Friday in Los Angeles and will open nationally on Feb. 3, two days before the Super Bowl game. The halftime show is an NFL Network production and will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and directed by Hamish Hamilton. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Top 10 Highest Paid Music Artists Related Topics Madonna W.E. Super Bowl

Keck's Exclusives: Chuck Books Linda Hamilton for Final Episode

Linda Hamilton, Zachary Levi As a special gift to Chuck fans, Linda Hamilton will return as Chuck's mama, Mary Bartowski, for the show's two-hour series finale, airing January 27. Asked what brings Mary back into her son's life, executive producer Chris Fedak would only tell me, "If I said anything, I'd be ruining too many good spoilers." November 30 marked the shooting of the finale's final scene. "There were a lot of tears," Chris says. "It was a very dramatic, tear-filled experience. We have been cherishing each day as we've neared the end." Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!