Stephen Gaghans Backstrom Cop Drama Goes To Fox With Put Pilot Commitment

He has been described as a detective version of Dr. Gregory House. Now Evert Backstrom is heading to the same network that houses the brilliant but flawed doctor. After a heated bidding, Fox has landed the TV series adaptation of the Backstrom books by renowned Swedish criminologist and novelist Leif G.W. Persson with a big put pilot commitment. I hear every network went after the project, produced by 20th Century Fox TV. The studio won the rights to the books in a bidding war earlier this month for Gaghan, who is under an overall deal at the studio. The project is based on the central character in Perssons books, homicide detective Evert Backstrom. An equal-opportunity misanthrope, Backstrom is always miserable, and only a good murder case can cheer him up. Persson and his literary agent Niclas Salomonsson serve as executive producers alongside Gaghan. This is Gaghan’s second TV series project. The first one, Metro, which he originally developed at ABC, was picked up to pilot by NBC this past season, missing the cut to series.

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Match Of The Day

Gary Lineker introduces highlights from the Premier League, with analysis and comment from Alan Shearer and Lee Dixon. The pick of the action includes newly-promoted Norwich's trip to Chelsea, and the West Midlands derby between Aston Villa and Wolves. games include Liverpool against Bolton, Swansea at home to Sunderland, QPR's trip to Wigan and Blackburn v Everton.

Broadway's 'Chicago' to Celebrate Making History

NEW YORK (AP) The cast of "Chicago" plans to celebrate their show reaching a Broadway milestone a day early.The actors and crew will host a small backstage party at intermission during Friday evening's performance to mark the moment when it becomes the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history.The cake-cutting and champagne toast will technically be a little premature: The matinee on Saturday will actually be the show's 6,138th performance, the moment it jumps over the original version of "A Chorus Line" into the record books.The achievement also means "Chicago" becomes the longest-running American show in Broadway history. Ahead of it are "The Phantom of the Opera," ''Cats" and "Les Miserables," all British imports.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By Mark Kennedy August 26, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT The Publicity Office/Jeremy Daniel NEW YORK (AP) The cast of "Chicago" plans to celebrate their show reaching a Broadway milestone a day early.The actors and crew will host a small backstage party at intermission during Friday evening's performance to mark the moment when it becomes the fourth longest-running show in Broadway history.The cake-cutting and champagne toast will technically be a little premature: The matinee on Saturday will actually be the show's 6,138th performance, the moment it jumps over the original version of "A Chorus Line" into the record books.The achievement also means "Chicago" becomes the longest-running American show in Broadway history. Ahead of it are "The Phantom of the Opera," ''Cats" and "Les Miserables," all British imports.Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Paul Solet To Direct Thriller The Faces

Paul Solet (Grace) will directthe thriller The Faces, FilmNation Entertainment announced today.TheFaceswill be produced by FilmNation and Sonny Mallhi (The Strangers, The Roommate). Eric Reese’s script involvesa pair of newlyweds who discover the existence of an elite underworld society which uses terror as a means of entertainment. Chuck Simon will executive produce andFilmNation will handle international sales. FilmNation recently completedHouse at the End of the Streetstarring Jennifer LawrenceandThe Ravenstarring John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe. The company is also in pre-production onMudstarring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey. Solet is managed by Principato-Young Entertainment.

Al Pacino's 'Scarface' Outlook Transformed By Emcees

FROM MTV MOVIES: Tough to believe, however when John P Palma's "Scarface" was launched in 1983, it had not been the beloved cult classic it's now. Experts panned the underworld drama by which actor Al Pacino performed Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who went from dishwasher to cocaine drug the almighty. Today, the film lives in infamy using its ultra-violent-yet-indelible moments and quotable one-inserts like "Greet my little friend." The majority of the appreciation and film's support originates from emcees, a well known fact not lost on Pacino. "The stylish-hop people and also the emcees met up plus they designed a video plus they spoken concerning the movie. I do not think anybody's ever spoken about this as articulately and clearly. I understood it better getting heard them discuss it," Pacino told MTV News about the red-colored carpet for any party honoring the Blu-ray release for "Scarface" on Tuesday evening. "I am talking about, they have it plus they comprehend it, and that is an excellent factor. They have been very encouraging each one of these years. I believe they have assisted us greatly." Browse the full story at MTV Movies!

'Treme' actor found dead in New Orleans

Actor Michael Showers, who recurred about the Cinemax drama "Treme," was discovered dead off New Orleans' French Quarter on Wednesday morning. He was 45. Showers' reason for dying has not been revealed by police.His body was misidentified as what guy who had leaped off a close bridge.In "Treme," a set about existence in publish-Katrina New Orleans, Showers performed police captain John Guidry.Showers guested about the smallscreen in CW hit series "The Vampire Journals" and AMC's "Breaking Bad." Film credits includce Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" (2000) "I Really Like You Phillip Morris," starring Jim Carrey Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Existence," presently in theaters and "Colombiana," which opens Friday, August. 26. The actor had tallied up minor roles in 20 films, some designed for video, since 2007. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

Whoops Apocalypse

A little British colony is penetrated by its Communist neighbour. Recently chosen female Leader from the U . s . States, Barbara Adams, attempted to work through the mess however the British underneath the leader of PM Mister Mortimer Chris transmits inside a task pressure to get the hawaiian islands back. For revenge, General Mosquera, leader from the Communist country, employs the very best terrorist on the planet, Lacrobat, to kidnap the British princess Wendy to keep her to ransom to find the British out. Now Barbara hasn't only got to cope with Mosquera and Lacrobat, she's also to cope with Mister Mortimer, who totally goes mad and thinks up really stupid ideas (for example pushing the unemployed on the high cliff which the whole employment issue is triggered by evil pixies.) but additionally with the truth that Russia is searching to assist the Communist country which could start World War III...

Morrison ankles Anonymous commercials division

Anonymous Content's Dave Morrison has exited as head of the commercials division, a post he's held since the company's inception. Morrison did not immediately return an email, and Anonymous did not comment on the reason for his departure. Anonymous CEO Steve Golin formed the company in late 1999, tapping Morrison, his former colleague at Propaganda, to run the new venture's commercials division. Like at Propaganda (which Golin also founded in 1986), Anonymous' core business was commercials and musicvideo production, bringing over prominent Propaganda discoveries like David Fincher, Gore Verbinski and David Kellogg. Under Morrison, Anonymous grew to become one of the industry's top commercials production houses. As producer on many top helmers' commercial projects, Morrison focused almost exclusively on the medium -- though he was listed as an exec producer on two features during his time at Anonymous, "44 Inch Chest," and "Pandorum," both in 2009. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Lone Ranger Filming Shut Down Over Budget Issues

FIRST PUBLISHED: August 13, 2011 5:29 PM EDT LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- A source close to Walt Disney Studios much-anticipated big-screen adaptation of The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer says the production has been shut down. The source says those involved are figuring out their next steps, and its possible filming could resume. The source asked to remain anonymous because theyre not authorized to speak publicly about the discussions. The development was first reported in Deadline Hollywood, an entertainment industry news website. It cited difficulties with reducing the movies estimated $250 million cost to $200 million. Jerry Bruckheimer was set to produce the film with a script by Justin Haythe. Hammer was expected to play the title character, and Depp was set to play the Lone Rangers partner, Tonto. The Western was scheduled to be released Dec. 21, 2012. Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Crowe Will Be Mayor Of Broken City

With Mark Wahlberg running around itAfter some jostling between the project and another possible "City" title (more on that in a second), it would seem as though gritty noir Broken City is now cementing itself as Book of Eli co-director Allen Hughes next, solo, film. Why so? Try the fact that Russell Crowe has jumped aboard. You may remember that last week, reports surfaced about Hughes also considering Motor City, which was trying to attract Captain America himself, Chris Evans, to star. But since that one is further away from production, and with Mark Wahlberg having jumped from David O Russell's Silver Linings Playbook to Broken City's other big leading role, it seems that'll be the one to go first. Wahlberg is playing a former cop who, like so many of his cinematic counterparts, is filling his time as a private eye. We're guessing they don't go to work on ice cream vans because that would be dull. Anyway, he gets hired by the mayor (Crowe) to look into whether Mrs mayor is cheating on him. She is, and then her lover turns up dead, leading the dogged PI to start digging into the politician's business and uncovering a real estate scandal. Crowe, who has just finished working on RZA's martial arts action fest The Man with the Iron Fists, will slip into costume as Jor-El for a brief appearance in Man of Steel before heading to Broken City. According to Deadline, Hughes has the cash in place to start making the thriller from Brian Tucker's Black Listed script in November.

TCA: 'Desperate Housewives' Stars React To Show Coming To An End

It was a mob scene at ABC's TCA party tonight where reporters swarmed several Desperate Housewives stars who made their first public appearance following ABC's official announcement this morning that the upcoming eighth season of the veteran dramedy will be its last. Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Doug Savant and Brenda Strong were on hand to patiently answer questions about the Marc Cherry-created series coming to an end and reflect on the past seven years. "I think Marc is right; this is the time; this is the moment," said Cross who got the news from her manager, calling it "bittersweet." Her wish for the final season is to have all of Brie's former flames return for a visit. "I want to see my fellows again' I had the best male co-stars; I want to see them back," she said. Huffman was in high spirits, almost giddy when she talked about Desperate Housewives but admitted that that was not her original reaction when she found out about the end of the show in an email she received from Cross. "I wasn't exactly shocked but you always hope for the best, so I was really sad," she said. She said she understands Cherry's desire to wrap up the series by revisiting the Mary Alice mystery that started it all but was also warned of the dangers of going back to a storyline that has already been resolved once. "It will have to be a new well, you can't go back to the same well twice," she said, later adding, "You don't want to jump the shark in your final season." Savant said that he had a feeling the end was coming and that he feels "grateful to have been there from the beginning." Strong, who narrates Mary Alice whose murder opened the series but has rarely been seen on the show, expects to be on more often this season. "Marc has always said that he intended for Mary Alice to have a bigger presence in the final season," Strong said.

Ex-UTA Client Files $10 Million Suit; Alleges Improper Personal Relationship (Exclusive)

A reality TV producer has filed a bombshell lawsuit including salacious accusations that UTA and one of its top agents convinced him to quit a high-paying job and take a lesser position without disclosing a professional and personal conflict of interest. Scott Einziger, whose credits include CBS' The Amazing Race and Big Brother, filed suit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking more than $10 million from UTA and reality agent Michael Camacho for allegedly steering him into an "unfavorable" job that helped another UTA client, which paid the agency a rich packaging fee and whose top executive was allegedly involved in a "serious personal relationship" with Camacho. Reached in his office, Camacho referred the call to UTA litigator Bryan Freedman, who tells THR: "UTA and Michael Camacho fully deny the malicious allegations contained in this lawsuit, which not only makes baseless assertions in a blatant attempt to extort payment, but, incredibly, also seeks to reward Mr. Einziger for career difficulties he apparently attributes to anyone but himself. UTA and Michael Camacho will vigorously defend themselves against this meritless lawsuit." Einziger says he was employed as an executive producer on Big Brother for Seasons 10 and 11 and received an offer to return to the hit show for Season 12 with the potential to become the showrunner. But Einziger says UTA and Camacho instead encouraged him to take a job with a new company being formed under the RelativityReal banner, which was to be operated by former Oprah producer turned reality executive Ellen Rakieten. While UTA would only receive a standard 10 percent commission from Einziger if he took the Big Brother job, "UTA and Camacho represented RelativityReal as a packaging agent and stood to obtain lucrative fees from projects developed under the auspices of RelativityReal that came to fruition," the complaint alleges. Einziger also claims Camacho had another reason to steer him into the RelativityReal job: Camacho and Rakieten secretly were involved in a personal relationship, he claims. The lawsuit says that Einziger passed on the rich CBS deal on Camacho's advice but the subsequent offer from RelativityReal was so bad his longtime attorney refused to negotiate the contract. The employment was on a trial basis and Rakieten was allegedly inexperienced, requiring Einziger to run the business aspects of the company rather than pursue showrunning opportunities. The lawsuit alleges that working with Rakieten became "toxic" as the nature of Camacho's personal relationship with Rakieten became clearer. Einziger says Camacho referred to Rakieten as his "soul mate" and Rakieten told him Camacho " was 'in love' with her and was acting 'out of control' with respect to their personal dealings." The suit says Camacho often called the office asking about Rakieten. As Camacho's behavior became more erratic, the lawsuit alleges, Einziger quit Rakieten's company in May and Camacho fired him as a client via text message with no explanation shortly afterward. Einziger "ultimately lost millions of dollars in compensation, career momentum and reputation because he followed [Camacho and UTA's] advice without knowing Camacho's true motivation and conflicts of interest," according to the complaint. The complaint, filed by Marty Singer and Paul Sorrell of Lavely & Singer, alleges causes of action for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and breach of oral contract. Damages are estimated as in excess of $10 million. Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com Twitter:@THRMattBelloni Big Brother