Pottermore sets April launch date

LONDON -- J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website will finally launch to the public in April, six months later than originally promised. Pottermore opened for Beta-testing since last July, and signed up 1 million users. It was scheduled to go public in October, but unspecified technical difficulties kept the site under wraps. A statement posted to the "Pottermore Insider" section of the website Friday said it "will be open to everyone in early April." Acknowledging the frustration of fans, the statement explained that the Beta-testing had revealed the original platform "would not be suitable" when "millions more users" came onto the site. As a result, the decision was taken to move Pottermore to "an entirely different platform set-up." "This 'invisible' change has involved a lot of work behind the scenes, but it will enable our users to get the best from Pottermore as it grows and develops." Pottermore will be exclusive platform for the sale of Rowling's e-books. It also aims to provide an interactive and social networking experience for Harry Potter fans, using the shared reading experience as a conduit for them to communicate with each other. Rowling has reportedly written 18,000 extra words of Potter material for the site, which also offers games, discussion forums and access to previously unpublished background notes. Pottermore is regarded as heralding a publishing revolution in the digital universe, the first example of a big-name author using the Web to self-publish their own e-books. Rowling always retained the digital rights to her work from her original publishing deal with Bloomsbury, even though that was long before any viable medium existed in which to exploit them. In the early phase of Beta-testing, Pottermore peaked at 550 million page views per month, although this has reportedly tailed off in recent months after users had exhausted the existing content. The statement on "Pottermore Insider" promises that many new features, including sounds, will be introduced in the next few weeks leading up to the public launch. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

ABC Series Mistresses Casts 2 Of Their Leads

Rochelle Aytes (ABC’s The Forgotten) or more-and-comer Jes Macallan have arrived a couple of the 4 leads in Mistresses, ABC’s drama lately greenlighted right to series for any summer time 2013 launch. The cleaning soap, compiled by KJ Steinberg in line with the British format, is referred to like a provocative thrilling drama thatfinds four women, a couple of them performed by Aytes and Macallan, with scandalous romantic lives, caught in storms of pleasure and self-discovery, secrecy and unfaithfulness, and subject to the complex associations theyve produced. Aytes, repped by Innovative and Zero Gravity Management, will have April, a current widow raising two kids and managing a high-finish linen shop on Robertson Boulevard. Coincidentally, Aytes also performed among the 4 leads in the earlier U.S. Mistresses adaptation, a 2009 Lifetime pilot composed by Melissa Carter. In her own first series regular role, Macallan, repped by Luber Roklin, Momentum and attorney Lev Ginsburg, will have Josslyn, the youngest from the quartet of close buddies, a broker, as well as an unapologetically sensual lady. UTA-repped Cherie Nowlan is placed to direct the pilot for that ABC Galleries series, executive created by Steinberg, Bob Sertner, Douglas Rae and Rina Mimoun.

'Wicked' Flies on the top from the Box Office, 'Mormon' Holds Steady

Duncan Stewart, director of casting at National Artists Management Company, discusses opening every submission and what he really wants to see inside a headshot. casting Duncan Stewart headshot NY city open distribution Duncan Steward, director of casting, discusses what he wants from an actress inside a general meeting, mainly truth, likability, and insufficient ego. advice casting Duncan Stewart NY city tips Duncan Stewart, director of casting, discusses what he needs from an audition and customary mistakes stars make. advice auditions casting Duncan Stewart NY city Alaine Alldaffer stops working the actual role of the casting direcor. Alaine Alldaffer casting casting director Gray Gardens play stage theater Casting director Alaine Alldaffer discusses casting "Saved" and all sorts of myths about becoming an actor in NY City. Alaine Alldaffer casting director New york city theatre play saved NY casting director Bernie Telsey describes what stars have to know before walking into an audition. (Part a couple of) Bernie Telsey casting director We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about focusing on cleaning soap operas. (Part 1 of three) General Hospital Mark Teschner cleaning soap opera NY casting director Bernie Telsey describes how you can give your very best audition. (Part 2 of two) Bernie Telsey casting director We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about focusing on cleaning soap operas. Only need beautiful people apply? (Part 2 of three) General Hospital Mark Teshner cleaning soap opera We spoken with casting director Mark Teschner about who audition for cleaning soap operas. (Part 3 of three) General Hospital Mark Teschner cleaning soap opera Videos for that Back Stage News & Features section.

New character posters for Battleship

[brightcove]1089863873001[/brightcove]Battleship has launched a new range of international posters, showing four of the film's major human players.The new posters show our four heroes looking extremely gruff (well, except for Rihanna, who looks quite pretty), with a short-haired Taylor Kitsch looking worlds away from his John Carter persona.Notable features include Liam Neeson's remarkably youthful face, Alexander Skarsgard's apparent transformation into Dolph Lundgren and a fairly unconvincing naval tattoo on Rihanna's upper arm. We've no doubts that this one is going to be highly ridiculous, but we quite like the premise of one tiny battleship being able to repel an alien invasion more or less singlehandedly. Underneath it all, it's just a classic underdog story.Battleship sets sail for UK cinemas on 11 April 2012. Meanwhile, you can check out those posters in full, below...

Minnie Driver To Star In Kari Lizers NBC Comedy & The Winding Route To Get It Done

EXCLUSIVE: Minnie Driver is positioned to star opposite Andrea Anders in Kari Lizers NBC comedy pilot Lady Pals. The Warner Bros. TV-produced project is about two existence-extended female pals that are living different lives but couldnt do without each other. Nicole (Anders) has everything choosing on her.Her nearest friend, Jen (Driver), has parents who've no belief in their, terrible instincts that introduced her with a 17-day marriage with a guy who left her, and he or she acquired 15 pounds round the lentil soup diet.But, in some manner, she's Nicoles rock. Lady Pals showed up Driver in the nail-biter, carrying out a month-extended pursuit. The producers cast another lead, Anders, in the start of February after they also recognized Driver since the choice for Jen. The problem was that Driver was within talent deal at ABC, which might not release her. Professionals and agents attempted persuasion, which didn’t work. Your network, NBC, used gamesmanship by way of some traditional equine purchasing and selling. ABC wanted Kal Penn, who stood a talent deal at NBC, to star within the comedy pilot Prairie Dogs. NBC presented to release Penn from his deal if ABC would let Driver go so she could do Lady Pals. That didn’t work either. (Penn did finish off doing Prairie Dogs.) Ultimately, persistence and perseverance paid out off. ABC finally released Driver and he or she quickly closed a deal with Warner Bros. for Lady Pals. The Oscar-nominated former Riches star is to apply CAA and Untitled.

Disney forges new playbook with 'Avengers Alliance'

Marvel: Avengers Alliance has a storyline that will play out over two to three years. "The Avengers" is the first Marvel film Disney is distributing itself since acquiring the comicbook company. The superheroes are also now starring in the Mouse House's first Facebook game since it purchased social gamemaker Playdom for $763 million two years ago."Marvel: Avengers Alliance" assembles today on the social networking site, after spending two months in beta mode.Game is expected to be the first of several high-profile properties Disney will launch as its interactive group focuses more on making casual games for online platforms rather than pricier titles for videogame consoles. Facebook has more than 800 million members, providing a sizable audience for such titles.In development at Playdom for more than a year, "Avengers Alliance" turns players into new S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, recruited by Nick Fury, who must lead a team of heroes they work to keep NY City safe from an unknown threat.Given that the game is on Facebook, social elements were added that let players recruit their friends as allies to boost their team's power."This is a social game and the social element is key," said Robert Reichner, senior producer for Playdom. "We're trying to blaze new paths but in a way that works for the Facebook audience."With "The Avengers" pic hitting megaplexes May 4 (and the U.K. on April 27), the timing of "Avengers Alliance" isn't coincidental. But Playdom's designers stressed that the game isn't meant to be a tie-in to the tentpole.Outside of the characters, there will be some references to the film found in the game but "the game is a standalone experience," Reichner said. "This is not a game that ends," with the storyline, penned by Alex Irvine ("Daredevil," "Iron Man: Rapture," "Hellstorm"), designed to unfold over two to three years."The thing that's critical to Marvel's DNA is story," said TQ Jefferson, VP of games production at Marvel Entertainment. The Facebook game allowed the company "to break new ground" in how its superhero stories are told."The game's characters were also designed not to closely mirror those seen on the bigscreen.Artists borrowed elements from the looks of the heroes in Marvel's comicbooks and the previous films to come up with a new overall design that it dubs "filmic" style -- authentic enough for the hardcore Marvel fan, but accessible for a mass audience."The core vision was to take the depth of the Marvel world and bring it to gamers in the most accessible way on Facebook," Reichner said. "We wanted to ground the characters so that they felt believable but weren't too photorealistic."Given Facebook's age limits, "Avengers Alliance" wasn't created for kids, instead targeting males age 20 to 40. Designers also wanted to make sure it didn't appeal just to hardcore comicbook fans or gamers or casual female gamers but a broader audience who may not necessarily be familiar with Marvel's characters."We wanted to reach as broad an audience as possible," Jefferson said. "Marvel has well over 8,000 characters in its roster. With this game, we had the opportunity to present all of the charters that people may not be familiar with."Because of that, "Avengers Alliance" doesn't just feature Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye, but also X-Men's Wolverine, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, among other heroes, to battle villains like Loki, Dr. Doom, Red Skull and Magneto.That broader appeal should help get more moviegoers to see Disney's Marvel actioners in the future. And a successful Facebook game will boost the bottomline of Disney's Interactive Media Group, which Mouse House chief Bob Iger aims to turn profitable by 2013."Avengers Alliance" will be free, but gamers will be able to pay to skip over certain elements of gameplay, as well as take advantage of other transactional incentives.Casual games generated $4.5 billion globally for gamemakers last year. An estimated 126 million Americans, or 87% of the 145 million U.S. gamers age 10-65, play games on social networks or casual gaming dot-coms, according to research firm Newzoo. Online casual and social gaming reps 39% of the 215 million hours spent on gaming each day in the U.S. and 29% of the coin spent on gaming. Facebook dominates the social gaming space in the U.S. attracting 60% of gamers, 41% of the time spent gaming and 38% of the money spent on games.Disney aims for Playdom to tap into the kind of digital dollars Zynga ("FarmVille") has been able to generate. It's Facebook's biggest game publisher, accounting for 12% of the site's overall revenue last year. But the number of people playing games on Facebook remained flat in 2011 compared to 2010, according to research firm IHS, with around 225 million worldwide playing Zynga's games at least once a month in December, according to research firm IHS.Playdom will promote "Avengers Alliance" through its various games, Facebook pages, as well as Disney and Marvel's various digital platforms. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Howard Gordon On Homeland, The 24 Movie And Whats Wrong With Television

Ray Richmond is a Deadline contributor This is a very good time to be Howard Gordon. At the same time he published his second novel in as many years — the acclaimed Hard Target,released in January — hes the toast of television … again. Less than two years after serving as an executive producer on 24, hes co-creator and exec producer of the first-year Showtime drama Homeland. The series just took home two Golden Globes — for top drama and lead drama series actress Claire Danes — as well as a pair of WGA Awards and the AFI honor for TV Program of the Year. All of that, plus Gordon is helping to ramp up the coming 24 feature and has another series premiering tonight at 10 on NBC: the midseason drama Awake starring Jason Isaacs. Gordon took time out from his insane schedule to speak with Deadline Hollywood about the insta-classic that is Homeland,how writing novels is different from crafting TV, and why hes often mistaken for being a hardcore political conservative (blame his friend Joel Surnow). DEADLINE: How is writing books different than writing for TV? GORDON: When youre writing a novel, youre still telling a story. But youre telling it very differently. Its a craft like anything else. Im still probably on the early part of the learning curve. I have a ways to go as a novelist. But whats great is, well, I frankly enjoyed the solitude. And I enjoyed being able to tell characters what to say and do without negotiating with an actor. In a novel, the only budgetary limitations are that of your imagination. In a novel, the relationship between writer and reader is such a pure one. DEADLINE: Can you go into The Forbidden Zone and manipulate characters in a book in a way that you cant in television? GORDON: I think you can. In some ways a book is a lot more forgiving. It isnt a lazier medium, but you can digress more. You can get deeper into the mind and interior life of the characters youre depicting. In some ways, a novel isnt as structurally rigorous as a screenplay or a TV show, which have finite real estate. In a novel, you can more deeply illuminate a characters interior and get away with digressions. DEADLINE: By contrast, what can you do in a TV show that you cant in a novel? GORDON:When you do a TV show, the cumulative intimacy you develop with the audience through your characters is pretty profound. It may be the most profound storytelling there is, because the character gets to live and roll around in the audiences mind week after week. The relationship thats developed through the storytelling week after week and year after year turns into a very powerful thing. DEADLINE: Why did you decide to do your book Hard Target as a novel instead of a screenplay or TV show? Is there still a chance youll adapt it? GORDON: Im not averse to it. But with both Hard Target and my novel that preceded it, Gideons War, a series or movie was never the point — and still is not. Some people may kick the tires on that. But its not the reason I wrote it. Its simply about the pleasure and privilege of doing a book, not to have a thousand notes and options on the story. The novel remains a very special form for me. I started Gideons War during the writers strike. But I guess Ive always been an aspiring novelist. I went to Princeton and wrote a novel for my thesis. Thats where Alex (Gansa, co-producer and showrunner on Homeland) and I met. We were both aspiring novelists. Then we decided to try our luck in Hollywood back in 1984, and weve never stopped working. The WGA strike was the first time Id had a chance to consider doing anything else. I sold Gideons War based on 150 pages and wound up with a two-book deal. DEADLINE: So are you a novelist first or a TV writer-producer first now? GORDON: Oh please. I think Im done with novels now. Im just too busy. It was so hard struggling to fit this in within the margins of my day job. If Im going to try it again, I should probably see a therapist first. DEADLINE: What is your involvement with the 24 movie? GORDON: Im involved intimately with all of the drafts and with all of the people, including Mark Bomback on the rewrites and with Kiefer (Sutherland). There are a lot of people involved from Imagine and 20th. Ive kind of been enlisted as the keeper of the flame from the TV show and representing it in its next iteration. Im not sure what kind of credit Ill be having on it yet. DEADLINE: How worried are you about the box office slump and how it could impact the 24 movie, particularly given how few TV shows wind up making the successful transition to the big screen — Mission: Impossible being a notable exception? GORDON: You know, Tom Rothman is a very smart guy. He wouldnt do a 24 movie just to do it but only if he honestly believed it could stand on its own. So Ill leave that part of it in his capable hands. DEADLINE: So how did this Homeland phenomenon happen? GORDON: Ill be honest, it caught me completely off-guard. Ive never experienced anything close to this in my career. I mean, trust me, I really, really like the show. But I never could have imagined the kind of response its gotten. Did you see? Its one of (President) Obamas two favorite shows on TV right now, along with Boardwalk Empire. Thats just astounding. I just keep waiting for the other show to drop, as I perpetually do. Well just have further for the shoe to fall next season. But basically Im kicking myself every day. Whats particularly gratifying about it is, Ive been bracing for the inevitable 24 comparisons and they really havent come. Its a deal-with-the-devil thing, and I still have eight fingers left with him. I have to say, a lot of the credit for this has to go to my longtime writing and producing partner Alex Gansa, who also happens to be my best friend. He has impeccable taste and is just a phenomenal showrunner. DEADLINE: OK, so if you wont, let us make the comparisons to 24. It seems that 24 was a lot more violent than is Homeland. Did you make a conscious effort to tone it down? Why didnt you go farther? GORDON:Youre right. The violence is more implied in Homeland. Even Im surprised with how restrained we were in terms of death and violence in Season 1. We were cognizant about not wanting to overdo it. When a lot of people die, that can work or work against you. We decided to let the story tell itself and not try to retrofit it with any kind of aesthetic. In that sense, Homeland is kind of a psychological thriller rather than the action thriller that 24 was. Of course, 24 also never received the full credit, I dont think, for having as much going on as it did. It had other elements too. But whats different about Homeland is we dont have to turn up the heat to the level thats a requirement of network television. We dont have to write in artificial breaks in the story to carry in five minutes of commercials. Were on Showtime now, so we can take our time and breathe. The comparative freedom we have now is just tremendous. But it isnt just because were on pay cable. Its also because (Showtime programming chief) David Nevins gets it. Thats already made this one of the best collaborative experiences Ive ever had. DEADLINE: Whenever you heard the producers talk about making 24, it always included a heavy sigh. Often two or three heavy sighs. Why is that? GORDON: Im still twitching from doing 24. We all are. It was traumatic. Im still experiencing some TV PTSD. There was so much energy that needed to be expended in order to tell that story in terms of format. We felt obligated to tell it until its end. I think Ill always carry that pressure around. But it also took 24 much longer to become what it became. Its seemed to happen much more quickly and steeply for Homeland, which is particularly surprising since the show isnt on a broadcast network. DEADLINE: What are your expectations now with Awake? Is another phenomenon afoot? GORDON:You just never know with these things. This show came about out of a spec pilot written by (creator and showrunner) Kyle Killen which struck me as ingenious and an incredibly original voice. I was shown a copy of it fairly early on. When NBC was considering picking up the pilot, they attached me to it as well. I was really intrigued by that pilot. It really spoke to me, dealing with a man doing his best and coping with loss in a very unique way. Here we are now almost a year later. Its been a challenge getting the show to where it is now, but at the same time incredibly gratifying. DEADLINE: Awake seems like a particularly high concept for broadcast TV, telling the story of a man struggling to reconcile two dueling realities following a tragic car accident involving his wife and teenage son. How did you manage to land a show like this in network primetime? GORDON:I think its illustrative of what networks are being forced to do these days in order to stay in the game. They are having to compete not only with other distractions like video games and DVDs and Internet streaming; theyre also needing to draw attention from cable networks putting on more compelling fare. Broadcasters are finding themselves in a post-ER world. Im not sure those fastballs down the middle work like they used to work. DEADLINE: Whats wrong with television? GORDON:Well for starters, there are too many time slots and not enough good shows to fill them. It isnt that every show has to be good enough to win an Emmy. But there is a lot of waste. And good TV is generally a very Darwinian enterprise. I think most good shows find their audience. But the process is messed up. The way TV is created, that system needs fixing. Im talking about the piloting of all of the shows, and the sort of musical chairs game they make the talent play every year. Its an imperfect process that people keep saying needs to be changed, but no one has managed to do it in the 25 years Ive been involved with TV. DEADLINE: You seem to be talking more about the process for broadcast network primetime. How is it different for cable, having worked in both over the past couple of years? GORDON:Its all about the freedom. You cant underestimate it. That, and not having to worry about commercials. And the fact that the audience youre required to get is so much smaller. Plus the standards-and-practices latitude with content, with language. Theres a misconception that doing 12 or 13 episodes as you do in cable is far easier than the 22 or 24 in broadcast during a season. Its really not easier at all. But you can do it better by concentrating on fewer episodes. On 24, we constantly were forced to sprint a marathon. We would barely be catching our breath from the end of one season and we already were starting the next one. With 12 episodes, you can see a beginning, middle and end of an arc. DEADLINE: Your friend and 24 colleague Joel Surnow is a very public conservative, which makes him something of a pariah in Hollywood. Yet he continues to be very successful. What about you? Where do your politics fall? GORDON:Im a registered Democrat. But it happens that one of my strengths as a writer is one of my weaknesses as a person. Im not very political or polemic. I tend to see all sides of an issue a bit too readily. My greatest fear is that my headstone will read, He Had a Way With Words But No Point of View. Im equally disappointed with both of the main political parties right now. If there were a Republican Presidential candidate who captured my imagination and inspired me, Id vote for him in half a second. The same goes for the Democrats. For me, its really about the person rather than the party. And I have to say Im disappointed with where we are with our leadership. DEADLINE: So youre a registered Democrat but you dont necessarily vote that way? GORDON: Id have to call myself an Independent at this point. Im not really for joining any club. I think the fact that 24 became such a lightening rod regarding torture and Islamophobia, combined with Joels politics, perhaps caused people to draw some conclusions about me and the show staff as a whole. But that show and our writers spanned the political spectrum. There were a lot of fights in the writers room that werent reflected in the pages and the stories. DEADLINE: Do you believe that conservatives have been blacklisted in Hollywood lately? GORDON: I have bona fide dyed-in-the-wool conservative friends, like Joel. And Ive seen that it can absolutely be hard being one. I have many liberal friends who dont give that point of view a fair shake, thats for sure. But in my opinion thats nothing like a formal blacklist. Its just that there are obviously far more people who lean left than right in Hollywood, and people are parochial and feel more comfortable being with people like them. Ive personally never heard anyone say, “I wont hire this guy because hes a conservative”.