Ex-UTA agents get Serious

A pair of former UTA agents have launched Serious Business, a production company aimed at growing Internet content companies and turning their fare into TV programming. Jason Nadler and Jon Zimelis, who were part of UTA's digital division, are teaming up for the venture with Alex Blagg, who led the creation of MSN website Wonderwall and the online companion to VH1 series "Best Week Ever." Serious' first client is Cheezburger Network, a portfolio of popular humor sites including Fail Blog and The Daily What?. With over 20 million unique users per month coming to Cheezburger, Serious will help the company explore opportunities in TV. Cheezburger was a former client of UTA Online, where Nadler and Zimelis also guided Internet sensations including IAC-owned College Humor and Alloy Entertainment-owned Smosh. Serious was recently given a second round of funding from venture capital firm Brave New Ventures. Nadler will lead strategy of the company with Zimelis overseeing partnerships. Blagg will serve as Serious' head of creative. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Jake McDorman Joins 'Are You There Vodka' As Regular, Nick Zano Added To 'Girls'

Greek alum Jake McDorman has landed the male lead opposite Laura Prepon on the new NBC comedy series Are You There Vodka, Its Me Chelsea. He will play a new character, Rick. If you feel like you've already seen McDorman in the pilot for the multicamera comedy, you're not mistaken. McDorman guest starred in it playing a different role, Big Red, which will now be recast. Inspired by late-night star Chelsea Handlers bestselling autobiographical book about her party-rich life in her 20s, Are You There Vodka centers on Chelsea Hanson (Prepon), an alcohol-loving, oversexed cocktail waitress. McDorman's character Rick is a bartender who works with Chelsea. McDorman, repped by UTA and Reel Talent, recently starred in Lifetime's highly rated movie The Craigslist Killer. Nick Zano (The Final Destination) has joined another upcoming broadcast comedy series, CBS' 2 Broke Girls, also playing a bartender. The role will be recurring despite being listed as regular on the casting breakdown. 2 Broke Girls chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their twentiesMax (Kat Dennings), who comes from a blue-collar family, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now down on her luckworking together at a Brooklyn restaurant. Zano will play Johnny, a sexy, funny brilliant street artist using "Jpeg" as his art name. He works as a bartender in a neighborhood bar and has a sarcastic relationship Max as both feel they are too cool to admit to their blossoming feelings for each other. Zano's series credits include Melrose Place and What I Like About You.

Danny McBride on 30 Minutes or Less, Getting Over Your Highness, and How to Act During a Lap Dance

Danny McBride returns to theaters this week in 30 Minutes or Less, an action-tinged “double-buddy” comedy featuring McBride as Dwayne, the hapless mastermind of a plot to strap a bomb to a kidnapped pizza deliveryman (Jesse Eisenberg) and give him mere hours to procure more than $100,000. Director Ruben Fleischer’s film then parallels the stories of Dwayne and his partner in crime (Nick Swardson) alongside that of the deliveryman and his own best friend (Aziz Ansari), whom he desperately enlists to help rob a bank. Much R-rated criminal hilarity and male bonding ensue, and it couldn’t come soon enough for McBride, whose high-stakes writing-starring effort Your Highness performed miserably last spring despite the credentials of director David Gordon Green and co-stars James Franco and Natalie Portman. 30 Minutes or Less also arrives between sessions of McBride’s cult-favorite HBO series Eastbound and Down, which will close out its run with forthcoming third season. Movieline caught up with McBride recently to talk over his 30 Minutes future, his Your Highness past and what his earliest character might be up to 10 years after his debut in Green’s All the Real Girls. You know, when I saw this, I wasn’t sure what to think about Dwayne. He’s a bad guy, but he’s… not? Sort of? What appealed to you about him? I got the script sent to me, and I really liked the idea that it is a buddy comedy, but it explores the buddy comedy from both sides of the moral compass. There’s the good guys and the bad guys, and you see the dynamic between the friendships on both sides. I thought it was interesting. Comedically, I thought it would be interesting for audiences, too. Usually you’d just be following Jesse and Aziz’s characters, and the bad guys would juts kind of show up when they need to and be evil, and that’s that. I like that even amongst the bad guys, Nick’s character kind of has more of a conscience about what they’re doing. It just opens up the villain role in a couple of places where you can dip and dive. If we look at this as a double buddy comedy, how does it affect you and Nick to not really know at any given time what Jesse and Aziz were up to in their scenes? It is tricky, because on a lot of our days, Nick and I would work, and Jesse and Aziz were off, and vice-versa. So the movie just becomes what we’re trying to do to us, you know what I mean? That’s what’s so cool about watching the finished product: It’s awesome to see what Jesse and Aziz were doing the whole time. “Oh, so when you’re sitting in the van, that’s what was happening before that.” That was interesting. I think Aziz and I share maybe three seconds of screen time. Even when Jesse was there, it was only a few minutes that we really shared onscreen with him. It was very much so for Nick and I that we focused on it as just these guys’ story and that’s that. Were you ever bitter that you couldn’t work more with Aziz? I love Aziz, so I would obviously love to have as much working time as I could. This was like our Heat — this was De Niro and Pacino, barely meeting in a caf. There’ll be rumors as to if we were even there on each other’s day of coverage. Exactly! Of course Ruben has cited Heat — especially its bank robbery — as an influence for this film. Was that influence apparent on the set? It was. I’m a big fan of Ruben’s work. I remember hearing the idea for Zombieland and thinking, “Oh, that’s interesting. I thought Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost kind of cracked the comedic version of the zombie movie [with Shaun of the Dead]. But then you see Ruben’s version of it, and it’s totally different and fresh and works great. And so I knew right away that Ruben was going to be capable of blending action and comedy in this film together, which is a tricky thing to do. But with this script, when I first met with him, his points of reference were things like Dog Day Afternoon, Heat, The French Connection — and that, to me, was a really cool angle to be taking on this sort of story. How does one act while receiving a lap dance? I get really weird with any shit that is sexual like that. Like, I have a wife, and she hates me doing this kind of stuff. She doesn’t dig it at all. It’s also just awkward: You don’t know this person, the whole crew is standing around watching you, you just gave your wedding ring to the prop guy, and you’re just like, “Why am I doing this?” So I feel like it’s always a little awkward. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. At the end of the day it’s not really torture or anything. But even kissing scenes, I’m always nervous the day before. I’m like, [whispers to self] “Oh, fuck, I’ve got to kiss this girl in front of all these people.” I guess I’m curious how you did it? How long did it take? I just sat there and let the scene unfold. I think they covered that whole lap dance in the morning, and then you’re on to the rest of the day. Is there anything erotic about it at all in the moment? I mean, it’s a real lap dance! I’m sure there are people [for whom] it is, but for me, no. It feels like work, and it feels fucking super awkward. [Laughs]

Clark Kent Photos as well as an 'Avengers' Video Clip within our Nerd News during the day

Pay attention nerds (and non-nerds, too -- we do not discriminate at Moviefone), because we now have a lot of comic movie- and nerd-related content that you should wrap your mind around today. &bull First of all are photos of Henry Cavill in the group of the approaching Superman reboot, 'Man of Steel.' Cavill is placed to act as Clark Kent also known as Superman within the Zach Snyder-directed project. The pictures, thanks to MrCavill.com, are from the actor in the classy Kent attire. No photos yet of Cavill in the super hero get-up, though: &bull In additional 'Man of Steel' news, Morpheus themself, Laurence Fishburne, will have Daily Planet editor, Perry Whitened. As our buddies at ComicsAlliance stated, Fishburne joins a lengthy list of subscribers who've performed the role, including Frank Langella and Jackie Cooper. Fishburne will join a remarkable listing of stars in 'Man of Steel,' for example Can Be (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent). &bull Everyone's favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Agent Coulson, presently has their own movie -- kind of. A brief film from the character (performed by Clark Gregg) can have on the 'Thor' Blu-ray DVD if this hits shelves on September 13. For the time being, you will find there's preview of what to anticipate. Known as 'The Consultant,' the clip features Coulson and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agent talking about a predicament including General Ross -- in the Hulk story -- and just how they intend on approaching him concerning the recent Bruce Banner problem (they're likely mentioning towards the publish-credits scene in the finish of 'The Hulk' -- the Erectile dysfunction Norton version -- where Tony Stark turns up inside a bar to go over how to deal with the not-so-jolly eco-friendly giant). &bull Who's ready for that return from the three-boobed lady? Hopefully you're, because she'll return for that remake of 'Total Recall.' For individuals who haven't seen the initial, there's a scene where we have seen a lady with three breasts. Director Len Wiseman spoke to Collider about attempting to range from the cult character in the version from the film., &bull Teenage angst is visiting the giant screen! Melisa Wallack, the film writer behind among the several 1000 'Snow White' projects presently in development (we are just kidding, there's only, like, five), is going to be penning a film in line with the popular comic, Emily the Stranger, with 'Kick-Ass' star Chloe Moretz mounted on take part in the gothy lead character. *Top image thanks to ComicsAlliance

The Modification-Up

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds star in Universal's body-swap comedy 'The Change-Up.'A Universal release presented in colaboration with Relativity Media of the Original Film/Large Kid Pictures production. Created by David Dobkin, Neal H. Moritz. Executive producers, Joe Caracciolo Junior., Ori Marmur, Shaun Kleeman, Jonathon Komack Martin. Directed by David Dobkin. Script, Jon Lucas, Scott Moore.Mitch Planko - Ryan Reynolds Dork Lockwood - Jason Bateman Jamie Lockwood - Leslie Mann Sabrina McArdle - Olivia Wilde Valtan - Craig Bierko Flemming Steel - Gregory Itzin Mitch's Father - Alan ArkinIf "Freaky Friday" had an impudent, foul-mouthed little brother, it might be "The Modification-Up," an frequently needlessly crass, bromance-oriented spin on our bodies-swap comedy. As the reliable Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman wring some laughs from the creaky but durable setup, playing polar-opposite pals who end up by walking outdoors themselves, the script takes R-ranked gross-out humor to such forced extremes that it is later bid for sentimental sweetness feels disingenuous and unearned. Easily marketable cast and concept should help this Universal release shake some take off moviegoers not exhausted with this summer time of gratuitous vulgarity. The generally bottom-feeding character from the material here should come very little surprise to individuals who recognize the raunchy imprimatur of "Wedding Crashers" helmer David Dobkin and "The Hangover" scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (although the writing duo's more salient credit might be the supernatural-tinged 2009 comedy "Ghosts of Female friends Past"). At various points, "The Modification-Up" appears set on setting a brand new record for F-tanks dropped each minute, also it hits a nadir in early stages using the picture of a principal character getting hit hard with projectile poop while altering his kid's diaper. The man carrying out that thankless task is Dork (Bateman), a straight-laced family guy battling to boost three kids, make his wife Jamie (Leslie Mann) feel appreciated and preferred, and seal a significant deal in the firm where he works like a corporate attorney. By convenient contrast, Dave's nearest friend, Mitch (Reynolds), is really a pot-smoking, sexually hyperactive layabout without any job and little relationship together with his disappointed father (Alan Arkin). Following a evening of booze-drenched commiseration, Dork and Mitch relieve themselves inside a public (and miracle) fountain, an action of minor desecration with major effects. Following the uncomfortable shock of recognizing they have switched physiques wears off, the mutual advantages of the arrangement enter into focus: Dork can get to unwind and have sexual intercourse and among Mitch's many female friends, while Mitch will need to handle some responsibility for something new and have sexual intercourse with Jamie (despite Dave's protests). Since neither scenario would square using the film's eventual endorsement of monogamous commitment, multiple cases of pre-coitus interruptus ensue. Throughout "The Modification-Up," one senses the filmmakers elevated this hoary chestnut of the tale so that they could provide the crudest version possible -- a bawdy-swap comedy, for a moment -- more to fulfill presumed market demands rather than increase the story's potential. Thus, together with the expected farcical moments of topsy-turvy romance and job-performance catastrophe, we obtain a monologue about genital electrocution, a bizarre fetish including women that are pregnant, a scene of noisy intestinal release, along with a couple of whose-penis-is-it-anyway jokes which are of course pretty funny. Much more repugnant is really a scene that grotesquely exaggerates the challenges of being a parent, using fake-searching CGI to put sharp instruments at the disposal of several small children. It's awfully tough to swallow family values from the film whose concept of humor frequently edges on child abuse. While superior records within this subgenre have handled the fight from the sexes ("All Me") or even the generation gap (the different versions of "Freaky Friday"), "The Modification-Up" is less-than-hilariously predicated on the clash between opposing life styles. To ensure that this specific dichotomy to operate, both leads would need to be convincing as pals to start with because it is, Mitch results in because the kind of overgrown frat boy Dork might have cast off eons ago on his route to social respectability. The truth that Reynolds is seven years more youthful than Bateman, and appears it, only stands for the sense these two are somewhat mismatched, their amusing back-and-forth rapport notwithstanding. Bateman, usually cast because the straight guy (as with the current "Horrible Bosses"), has fun releasing his id inside a couple of indulgently coarse pep talks by comparison, Mitch's transformation allows Reynolds stay with his familiar wise-and-sensitive persona. But since the stars aren't especially different comedy types to start with, changing details does not permit them the kind of virtuoso shows of physical comedy this kind of material typically offers. About the distaff side, Mann complains and scolds in roughly exactly the same unhappy-wife role she performed in "Knocked Up" and "Funny People," though she bares much more of her body here, otherwise her comedy gifts, than she did either in of individuals photos directed by her husband, Judd Apatow. Giving the fabric an unpredicted jolt may be the exquisitely beautiful Olivia Wilde (also in the present "Cowboys & Aliens"), who brings a tart, breathily self-assured presence for an underwritten role as Dave's paralegal. Pacing is brisk, and tech credits are fine, with nary just one pop-obtained character-development montage unnatural.Camera (color, widescreen), Eric Edwards editors, Lee Haxall, Greg Hayden music, John Debney music supervisor, Matt Aberle production designer, Craig Robison supervisory art director, Ian Gracie art director, Thomas Minton set designers, Jann Engel, Marco Rubeo set decorator, Debra Schutt costume designer, Betsy Heimann seem, Joe Foglia seem designer/supervisory seem editor, Tim Chau re-recording mixers, Chau, Andy D'Addario effects coordinator, Joey Di Gaetano stunt planners, Jack Gill, Daniel Stevens assistant director, Jonathan McGarry second unit director, Jack Gill. Examined at Arclight Movie theaters, Hollywood, This summer 25, 2011. (In Deauville American Film Festival -- Premieres.) MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 112 MIN. Contact Justin Chang at justin.chang@variety.com

Galleries win injunction versus. Zediva

Hollywood galleries have won an essential legal victory within their effort to seal lower the net service Zediva, a tech startup that buys up lately launched Dvd disks, plays them from the own banks of disc gamers and streams them when needed to clients. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter granted an initial injunction against Zediva inside a ruling on Monday, concluding that the organization violated the studios' right of public performance. Despite the fact that Zediva contended that it is service was just like a brick-and-mortar video rental business, by which proprietors don't obtain studio permission to rent Dvd disks to clients, Walter came to the conclusion that Zediva violated the "transmit" clause within the Copyright Act, for the reason that the copyrighted works were sent "towards the public on the internet.Inch He also on the sides using the studios' arguments that Zediva threatened the "home windows," or even the timeline by which releases are distributed around various media because Zediva could stream movies into houses sooner than these were licensed to services like Netflix in order to on-demand cable clients. "Judge Walter declined Zediva's argument it was 'renting' movies to its customers, and ruled, by comparison, that Zediva violated the studios' exclusive privileges to openly perform their movies, for example through approved video-on-demand services," stated Serta Robbins, senior Vice president and connect general counsel for that MPAA. The situation now will go to your final resolution. Zediva, which released in March, permitted clients to select a lately launched DVD and control such things as start, stop and pause. However the company's machines were playing the disc. Zediva stated inside a statement that it'll continue its fight and also the ruling "signifies a setback for that 100s of 1000's of customers searching for an alternative choice to Hollywood-controlled online movie services. Zediva expects to appeal, and can keep fighting for consumers' to watch a DVD they have leased, whether that rental reaches the neighborhood shop or by mail or on the internet.Inch Contact Ted Manley at ted.manley@variety.com

News Corp.-Possessed Wall Street Journal Polls Visitors on Scams Impact

The Wall Street Journal has not requested its employees to start saving documents like staffers from the New You are able to Publish, however the News Corp.-possessed paper is coping with now-shuttered sister-paper News around the globe's phone-hacking scandal in different ways.our editor suggests Rupert Murdoch 'Very Humbled' because he Apologizes Personally towards the Group of Killed Schoolgirl Milly DowlerWall Street Journal Responds to Experts Among Murdoch Phone Hacking Scandal PHOTOS: News around the globe's Top Ten Scams Journal customers were sent a questionnaire a week ago asking visitors what impact the illegal activities from across water-feature have experienced on the belief in the own content, reviews the brand new You are able to Occasions. STORY: Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, Rebekah Brooks Summoned to Parliament to reply to Phone Hacking Accusations Laptop computer, which first asks "Have you ever heard or seen anything in news reports or elsewhere in the last couple of days about News Corp. or News around the globe, a U.K.-based tabloid?", also incorporated an issue about whether visitors understood Rupert Murdoch was the chairman of Dow Johnson, the Journal's writer, and when they feel he's enhanced the paper since his 2008 takeover. Visitors will also be requested to rate the question of if the Boss of the company ought to be held accountable "for the actions of their employees, regardless of how large the organization is" on the scale of one to ten (1 meaning they "disagree completely" and 10 meaning they "agree completely"). STORY: News Corp. Uncovers $5 Billion Stock Buyback After Shares Plummet Among Phone Hacking Scandal To encourage its customers to sign up, the questionnaire also stated two records is going to be selected randomly to select a prize: a camera, an ipod device Touch or perhaps a Kindle e-readers. Related Subjects Rupert Murdoch The Wall Street Journal News around the globe