Universal buys alien invasion pitch of F. Scott Frazier

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - F. Scott Frazier moved out to sell land selling spec scripts for: universal bought pitch of a young writer for movie alien Invasion for a mid-six figure prices, TheWrap has learned.

Writer and producer Chris Morgan was the project universal, where he has a contract. His company will produce entertainment in partnership with the strike.

Frazier is hot. He sold his first specification, "the numbers station", in 2010. Malin Akerman and John Cusack star in this film, the shooting last month entered into. The film content distribution.

Warner Bros. records. its specification bought "focus line" last spring. Joel Silver is set to produce this film, which will lead and Ben Affleck star.

And between the eyes, "Highway" in AFM bought British financier of its specification last fall. This film is expected to begin shooting in Germany in May.

While is added at this time, British film director and writer, such as John Crowley recently at the "Embassy", direct Frazier will star Tobey Maguire.

Netflix caves on Warner Bros. 56-day rental delay

LOS ANGELES Jan 11 (TheWrap.com) - Crisis somewhat averted.

Netflix and Warner Bros. have reached an agreement over longer rental windows, but Redbox and Blockbuster do not appear ready to back down from their opposition to a 56-day delay on offering new releases from the studio.

In an announcement touting the pact, Warner's said that extending the delay from 28 days to 56 days will bolster sales of movies and television shows.

The home-entertainment market has been hard hit by the sharp declines in DVD sales in recent years, and studios have moved aggressively to stop the bleeding by promoting Blu-rays and cloud-based technology such as UltraViolet.

When Netflix previously acceded to rental delays, it received discounts on the discs it purchased, as well as content for its streaming library. A Netflix spokesman declined to comment on what the deal holds for the red-envelope company.

The company released a terse statement about its change of position:

"Netflix wants to ensure members have continued secure access to Warner Bros. DVDs and Blu-ray discs and, as such, is accepting the 56 day holdback," said Netflix Vice President of Content Anna Lee.

It seems logical that other members of Warner's big studio brethren will now push for longer rental delays. They may have success with Netflix, but Redbox and Blockbuster do not appear ready to cede ground on the issue.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Redbox said that the kiosk operator has not altered its distribution agreement with the studio.

"The current agreement Coinstar has with Warner Bros. is to receive movie titles 28-days after their release. No revised agreements are in place," the statement read.

Meanwhile, Blockbuster is pushing back against any delays on when it can offer new films.

"Our Blockbuster customers enjoy watching movies day and date and we plan to continue offering that service," Marc Lumpkin, a spokesperson for Blockbuster's parent company Dish Network, told TheWrap.

Even without an agreement in place with Warner Bros., the companies can still buy discs from third-party distributors, thanks to the First Sale doctrine which allows companies to resell pre-recorded discs.

Doing so, however, will likely be more costly, but it may not be as costly as waiting to rent the latest movies for another month.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Douglas Trumbull gets Gordon E. Sawyer award from Academy

LOS ANGELES Jan 11 (TheWrap.com) - Visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull, who was already enjoying his most high-profile year in some time, has been voted the Gordon E. Sawyer Award by the Academy's Board of Governors.

Trumbull will receive the award, an Oscar statuette, at the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards presentation on February 11 at the Beverly Wilshire.

Perhaps best-known for creating the outer-space effects in Stanley Kubrick's landmark film "2001: A Space Odyssey," Trumbull also worked on films that include "The Andromeda Strain," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Star Trek - The Motion Picture" and "Blade Runner."

More recently, he worked with his friend Terrence Malick on the visual effects for "The Tree of Life," which recently made the list of 10 finalists in the Academy's visual effects category this year.

He was recently named recipient of the George Melies Award from the Visual Effects Society, which he will receive four days before the Sci-Tech Awards.

In an interview with TheWrap earlier this year, actor Bruce Dern -- who starred in the Trumbull-directed film "Silent Running" -- described Trumbull as one of the four geniuses which whom he had worked. The other three: Alfred Hitchcock, Elia Kazan and Francis Coppola.

"When he looks through the eyepiece, he sees something no one else sees," said Dern. "Magic. He sees something magical, day after day after day."

The Academy press release announcing Trumbull's award describes his career this way: "In the course of his work, Trumbull created, developed or improved numerous filmmaking techniques and tools. These include slit-scan photography, process photography, miniature compositing, interpositive matte painting, large-format filming, high frame rate photography and projection, synchronized multiscale filming, motion control photography, virtual reality systems, interactive motion simulators and digital cinema. He has been awarded more than a dozen related patents."

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

'Orphan' star to join M. Night Shyamalan's 'After Earth'

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (TheWrap.com) - "Hunger Games" actress Isabelle Fuhrman is in negotiations to co-star alongside Will Smith in M. Night Shyamalan's sci-fi film "After Earth," TheWrap has confirmed.

Also, the Columbia movie has a new name. It was previously titled "1000 A.E."

If Fuhrman's deal is finalized, she would play a friend of the central character, a young boy played by Smith's son, Jaden Smith. In the movie, the boy navigates an abandoned Earth 1,000 years in the future to save himself and his estranged father (Will Smith) after their ship crashes.

"After Earth" is currently in preproduction. Shooting is to begin in March, and a theatrical release date of June 7, 2013, is targeted.

The project is being developed at Overbrook, the production company Smith operates with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter and Ken Stovitz. All four of them will produce "After Earth," along with Shyamalan.

The screenplay was written by Stephen Gaghan and Gary Whitta.

The cast also includes Zoe Kravitz and Sophie Okonedo. Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper and Gwyneth Paltrow had previously been attached.

Fuhrman will play Clove in "The Hunger Games," which is one of 2012's most-anticipated films. She also played the creepy kid in 2009's "Orphan."

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Cory Hardrict, Debi Mazar join 'Lovelace' cast

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (TheWrap.com) - The "Lovelace" cast list just keeps getting longer.

Cory Hardrict ("Battle: Los Angeles") and Debi Mazar ("The Women") have joined Millennium Films' biopic about porn actress Linda Boreman (a.k.a. Linda Lovelace), it was announced Wednesday.

Hardrict will play DJ Frankie Crocker. Mazar will play Dolly Sharp, who co-starred alongside Lovelace in "Deep Throat."

They join recently announced cast members Demi Moore, Adam Brody and Eric Roberts.

Amanda Seyfried will play Lovelace in the movie, which Millennium Films is making with the cooperation of Linda Lovelace's estate.

Peter Sarsgaard will portray Lovelace's husband, Chuck Traynor, and James Franco will play Hugh Hefner. Other castmembers include Hank Azaria, Bobby Cannavale, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick, Wes Bentley, Sharon Stone and Juno Temple.

"Lovelace is directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman ("Bowl," "The Celluloid Closet"). The screenplay was written by Andy Bellin ("Trust").

"Lovelace" began shooting on location in L.A. in late December. It is being produced by Heidi Jo Markel, Laura Rister, Jason Weinberg and Jim Young. Boaz Davidson, Danny Dimbort, Mark Gill, W. Merritt Johnson, Avi Lerner, Trevor Short and John Thompson are executive producing.

A release date for the film, which has an estimated budget of $10 million, has not been set.

"Lovelace" is one of two Lovelace projects now under way.

Writer-director Matthew Wilder's "Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story," based on Lovelace's autobiography, is due in 2013. Malin Akerman will star in that movie.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Matt Damon new voice of TD Ameritrade

(Reuters) - So long, Jack McCoy, hello Jason Bourne.

Discount brokerage TD Ameritrade has replaced its longtime frontman and "Law & Order" star Sam Waterston with Matt Damon.

The star of the 'Bourne' movie franchise signed a multi-year deal to become the new voice of TD Ameritrade as the company seeks to refresh its brand.

"Our old advertising worked well, but it was getting a little bit tired," Fred Tomczyk, chief executive of TD Ameritrade, told Reuters.

The two stars couldn't be more different.

Waterston, 71, a Shakespearean actor who also spent 18 years as a small screen star playing district attorney Jack McCoy in the "Law & Order" TV series, exudes an old-school charm.

Damon, 41, made his mark on the big screen in movies such as "Good Will Hunting" -- the screenplay for which he won an Academy Award -- and more recently, the action-packed, assassin-turned-good-guy "Bourne" movie franchise. He was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2007.

Tomczyk said Waterston had been a "fantastic" spokesman, particularly through the financial crisis, with his steady, no-nonsense delivery, but the company decided to go in a different creative direction.

Waterston had been the face and voice of TD Ameritrade and predecessor firm TD Waterhouse USA since 2003.

Phillip Bowman, chief marketing officer at TD Ameritrade, said Damon was "probably one of the most talented and recognizable voices in the world right now, and we want every edge we can get for the campaign."

Damon plans to donate the money he makes from the ads to charity, as Waterston did before him, Bowman said.

The first of the new commercials, called "Common Sense," airs on Monday. The spot combines live action and animation with Damon's voice in the background promoting TD Ameritrade's investment consultants with a calm, straight-forward delivery.

(Reporting by John McCrank in New York; Editing by Walden Siew)

UK royals, Joey the horse share Spielberg red carpet

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge shared the red carpet late on Sunday with Hollywood royalty and a horse called Joey who appeared in Steven Spielberg's latest movie "War Horse."

The film, based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo which was turned into a hit West End and Broadway stage show featuring puppet horses, has opened in U.S. theatres already and reaches British cinemas on Friday.

Spielberg said he had been inspired to take on the World War One drama both by the book and the play.

"What attracted me to it beyond my admiration for the puppeteering was simply the amazing story that Michael Morpurgo first told in his 1982 children's book," he told Reuters.

Jeremy Irvine, the British newcomer who stars in War Horse, said he was overwhelmed to have found success so suddenly.

"I wasn't getting any work so suddenly just to have a job, let alone have lines, let alone be in a film with Steven Spielberg, is kind of more than I can really take in and I still haven't really taken it in," said the 21-year-old.

"I'm still trying to take in how on earth I could have fooled them to let me be in this movie."

The highlights of the red carpet premiere in London's Leicester Square were Joey the horse and the Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton, who celebrates her 30th birthday on Monday.

Kate and William, A-list celebrities whose every appearance is followed by the world's media, added a touch of glamour to the event held in aid of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, of which the duchess is a patron.

She wore a floor-length black lace dress designed by Alice Temperley, while William was in a double-breasted dinner jacket and black tie.

Before meeting the couple, Spielberg was asked whether he had rehearsed his royal etiquette.

"I don't know," he replied. "Something about tonight has to be spontaneous which means if I make a faux pas it will be an honest one."

About 600 British military personnel and their families also attended the premiere.

Reviews for the film about a boy and his horse separated by war have been generally positive, with critics praising its emotive power and predicting plenty of tears among audiences.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)