Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2012 Competition Lineup

Many of the filmmakers whose work has been selected to screen at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival are "questioning the status quo of the American dream," says festival director John Cooper. "Having babies, in a relationship, getting married - a very authentic, independent way of looking at all that stuff."our editor recommendsPlacebo To Rock Sundance London Opening Night The festival unveiled its official competition lineup Wednesday, and that always provides an occasion for independent film watchers to offer up their annual assessments ofthe health of the industry. But to hearCooper tell it, the last few years of contraction and confusion have produced a solid new business. PHOTOS: Actors and Filmmakers of Sundance 2011 "The independent film movement is very healthy right now," says Cooper, in his third year as director. "It's a good place to be. With so many financial challenges you would think it wouldn't be, but maybe that's that whole thing of art succeeding more when there are a lot of challenges to the world itself." The U.S. narrative competition consists of 16 world premieres, including So Yong Kim's For Ellen, about a struggling musician fighting for custody of his daughter starring Paul Dano and Jena Malone; Ry Russo-Young's Nobody Walks, which follows a NY City artist as she wreaks havoc with one family's lives over a weeklong visit in L.A. starring John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt; James Ponsoldt's Smashed, about the effect on a young married couple when the woman decides to get sober; and Youssef Delara and Michael D. Olmos' Filly Brown, a drama about a Mexican girl who copes with her mother's incarceration through hip-hop music. PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes at the Sundance Film Festival Actor-writer Mark Webber, who co-wrote Joshua Leonard's 2011 Sundance premiere The Lie, will appear in two films in competition this year: Save the Datefrom filmmaker Michael Mohan, andThe End of Love, which Webber also wrote and directed. Sheldon Candis' Luvfeatures an orphaned 11-year-old Baltimore boy coming to terms with the truth about his uncle, while Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere follows an African-American woman struggling to keep her identity after her husband is incarcerated. "We are, and always have been, a festival about the filmmakers," saidSundance Institute founder and presidentRobert Redford. "So what are they doing? What are they saying?They are making statements about the changing world we are living in. Some are straightforward, some novel and some offbeat but always interesting." PHOTOS: What to Pack When Heading to Sundance Meanwhile,Antonio Campos' intenseSimon Killer, about a recent college graduate who falls in love with a Paris prostitute, could provide some provocation. (Campos is part of Borderline Films, which also produced Sean Durkin's 2011 drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, and he had his film Afterschool at Cannes in 2008.) "That one's going to rattle some cages," says director of programming Trevor Groth. Every year when the program is announced, journalists and other observers inevitably search for trends and messages in the films and filmmakers that have been selected. The most notable aspect of the festival's 28thedition, however, may just be a surge in quality brought on by the new limitations of the business, particularly on the narrative side. "I was very optimistic putting the program together," says Cooper. "The films that we saw have a general quality that is better. There's a bar that's being raised each year from the filmmakers between themselves, knowing what they have to do to compete in the independent film world. They're a little more exacting in their storylines and characters. That authenticity reads as interesting and fresh and makes you want to see these movies because they don't seem like a rehash of old stories." The fest's four competition categories - U.S. narrative and documentary, world narrative and documentary -include 58 total films, 48 of them world premieres and 26 from first-time filmmakers. The festival program as a whole, which includes six out-of-competition categories (those titles will be unveiled Thursday and Monday), will feature 110 feature-length films from 31 countries, including 88 world premieres. While the total number of feature-length films that will be screened is slightly down, the number of submissions rose once again, about 6 percent, from 3,812 films in 2011 to 4,042 this year (2,059 U.S.; 1,983 international). As usual, the documentary programs cover a host of artistic, political and social issues "in a real, deep, comprehensive way," Cooper says. Included in the U.S. doc category's 16 world premieres are Heidi Ewingand Rachel Grady's look at the collapse of U.S. manufacturing in Detropia; Kirby Dick's exploration of rape in the military in The Invisible War; Eugene Jarecki's assessment of the War on Drugs in The House I Live In; andMacky Alston's look at an openly gay bishop in Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World. The twelve films in the world doc section include Yung Chang's China Heavyweight, about poor rural Chinese teenagers recruited to become Western-style boxing champions; Mads Brügger's The Ambassador, about a white diplomat operating in Central Africa; and Omar Shargawi and Karim El Hakim's ½ Revolution, about the back-alley dramas behind the recent Egyptian revolution. Several years ago when Cooper took over the festival, he discarded the traditional opening-night film and replaced it with a complete mini-program that runs Thursday night, Jan. 19, and includes one film from each of the main competition categories as well as a shorts program. This year, those feature films are the U.S. narrative entry Hello I Must Be Going from director Todd Louiso and screenwriter Sarah Koskoff; the U.S. documentary entry The Queen of Versailles from director Lauren Greenfield; the world narrative entry Wish You Were Here from director Kieran Darcy-Smith, who wrote the screenplay with Felicity Price; and the world documentary entry Searching for Sugar Man from director Malik Bendjelloul. Throughout the fest, Sundance audiences may note an unusual prevalence of films with female protagonists (especially in comedies), from both male and female directors, perhaps stoked by the recent Sundance successes of movies such as Winter's Bone (Jennifer Lawrence, 2010) and Martha Marcy May Marlene(Elizabeth Olsen, 2011). In many cases, these new films provide potential breakout lead platforms for actors typically found in secondary parts - Lizzy Caplan in Save the Date, Olivia Thirlby in Nobody Walks and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Smashed. "The emerging talent, the actors and actresses that we've brought to light in the last couple of years, that's always exciting for us," says Cooper. Also (re-)emerging this year is the Racquet Club Theatre, which traditionally had shown many of the U.S. narrative competition films but was shut down for renovation last year. In January, the venue will be back in action as the MARC (Municipal Athletic Recreation Center), a reconfiguration that involved turning the theater sideways, giving it a better design, a bigger screen and more comfortable, though fewer, seats. Much of the Documentary Premieres program (which will be announced Dec. 5) will take up residence there. The re-instated venue provides some much needed breathing room for scheduling, especially since there will inevitably be more films added, shifted and dropped in the coming weeks - last year, Gus Van Sant's Restlesswas pulled from the line-up not long after it was announced. The festival's runs January 19-29 with screenings and events in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. At the 2011 festival, Like Crazyfrom co-writer-director Drake Doremus won the grand jury prize for U.S. dramatic film, while the grand jury prize for U.S. documentary went to Peter D. Richardson's How to Die in Oregon. Director Anne Sewitsky and screenwriter Ragnhild Tronvoll's Happy, Happy from Norway won the world cinema dramatic grand jury prize, while Danfung Dennis' Hell and Back Again won the grand jury prize for world cinema documentary. The complete line-up follows after the break Back to Risky Business 1 2 next last PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery About Town at Sundance Sundance Film Festival John Krasinski Paul Dano Robert Redford Rosemarie DeWitt

Los Angeles Woman Who Pepper Sprayed Black Friday Shoppers Surrenders to Police

This story first appeared in the Dec. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsThe Iron Lady: Film ReviewMeryl Streep's 'The Iron Lady' Sparks Internet Frenzy Following Early ScreeningsMeryl Streep Debuts New 'Iron Lady' Poster and Trailer in U.K. (Video)Meryl Streep Movie 'The Iron Lady' to Open Dec. 30 Less than two months ahead of The Iron Lady's U.K. release, Meryl Streep's portrayal of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is generating a growing furor among British conservatives bristling at what they consider an unflattering portrayal. Director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) is unfazed by the uproar. "People have been arguing about her [Thatcher] for months and months," Lloyd tells THR. "She certainly burns brightly as a still very divisive character." The movie, made for an estimated $13 million, has been penciled in for a Dec. 30 U.S. release by the Weinstein Co., bowing in exclusive runs in NY and Los Angeles before going wide Jan. 13. It is scheduled to hit U.K. screens Jan. 6 via Pathe's distribution pact with 20th Century Fox. PHOTOS: Best Presidents in Movies and TV Set in the present, the film uses flashbacks to depict Thatcher's life from 1979 through 1990 and includes her later battles with dementia. (Thatcher, now 86, lives a very private life in London.) Much of the opposition to the drama comes from Tory stalwarts and former cabinet ministers who served under Thatcher. None has seen the film, but the movie's trailer -- which mixes elements of gentle comedy with scenes of Thatcher's personal and political life -- was enough to set them off. Former conservative MP Norman Tebbit wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Thatcher was "never, in my experience, the half-hysterical, over-emotional, over-acting woman portrayed by Meryl Streep." He also questions why he and others who knew and worked with Thatcher weren't consulted by the filmmakers. (Abi Morgan's script is based on a number of sources, including material from politicians and civil servants on condition of anonymity.) "You might think that if you were setting out to make a so-called 'biopic' about such a dominant figure on the political stage of the late 20th century," Tebbit wrote, "your researchers would have sought out those who were closest to her." Tim Bell, one of Thatcher's key PR advisers, also has taken exception with the film, describing it as a "non-event" and declaring that he has no interest in seeing it. U.S. conservatives have been equally critical of Iron Lady ever since an early script was leaked. Andrew Breitbart's BigHollywood.com complained a year ago that the movie features the ghost of Thatcher's late husband, Denis, downplaying his wife's accomplishments, which "would have happened anyway, darling." "Not one of those people have seen it," Lloyd said. "It's very far from a biopic. You're only seeing some fragments of her political career and life from how it might have been, not how it was." Whether the controversy helps the film at the box office remains to be seen -- the furor over Oliver Stone's W. sure didn't do that political drama any favors -- but a strong Oscar push is likely given Streep's perennial awards-season dominance and the backing of Harvey Weinstein. Streep hasn't commented directly on the controversy, telling The Daily Mail that while she didn't agree with many of Thatcher's policies, it was a privilege to delve deeply into her life and play her onscreen. Lloyd defends her leading lady, adding that Streep's performance was never meant to be mean-spirited or exploitative. "Those of us [on set] who witnessed her both as Thatcher in her prime and as the more fragile old lady saw something I have never experienced before," Lloyd said. "She [Streep] just disappears as an actress and is Thatcher." ♦♦♦♦♦ POLITICAL DRAMAS AT THE BOX OFFICE: From JFK to J. Edgar, these biopics about political figures have connected JFK (1991) Oliver Stone The grassy knoll conspiracy plot enraged supporters of the one-gunman theory but helped JFK win two Oscars and become a global hit. Stone had less luck with his cinematic character assassinations of Nixon (1995) and George W. Bush. (W., 2008). Global Box Office: $205 million The Queen (2006) Stephen Frears Focusing on one of the few controversial moments in Queen Elizabeth II's long reign, screenwriter Peter Morgan zeroes in on her reserved public response to the death of Princess Diana. Helen Mirren's classy Queen united royalists, republicans and Oscar voters. Global Box Office: $123.4 million J. Edgar (2011) Clint Eastwood Already an Oscar favorite -- Leonardo DiCaprio, as Hoover, seems guaranteed a best actor nom -- J. Edgar is still rolling out at the box office. Domestic Box Office: $20.7 million (still in release) PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Best Presidents in Movies and TV Related Topics Meryl Streep International The Iron Lady

Bravo Strips Watch What Happens, Shifts Host Andy Cohens Network Executive Role

Bravo will strip its weekly interactive talk show Watch What Happens: Live to five nights starting Jan. 8. Hosted by Bravo executive Andy Cohen, the sixth season of the show, which started off as blog that spawned a Web series before migrating to TV, will air live every Sunday through Thursday. It will be the only nightly late-night TV show to air live. As part of the transition, Cohen will keep his EVP title at the network but will shift executive responsibilities. Currently EVP of original programming and development, Cohen will now serve as EVP of development and talent, focusing on creating new original content. He will continue in his role as executive producer on Top Chef and the Real Housewives franchise. Meanwhile, longtime Bravo executive Jerry Leo has been upped to EVP, Program Strategy and Production. Leo, most recently SVP, Program Strategy and Acquisitions, will expand his duties to include the current Bravo slate of originals.

Tom Hanks and other self-censored celebs

HanksDiCaprioThe time-hallowed institution known as the celebrity interview seems ready for the endangered list. With stars growing ever more wary of the media, last week's imbroglio involving Brett Ratner underscored yet again the hazards of any misstep at a time of political correctness.Only during awards season do stars dare to share a stray moment of candor. It was refreshing last week to hear the ever-cautious Leonardo DiCaprio critique opposition to gay marriage or to learn Clint Eastwood's rejection of the "personhood" movement -- "Don't give me that sanctity crap."The publication of a memoir can also bring down the walls of caution. In "Then Again," the famously private Diane Keaton reveals her "highlight reel" of past lovers: She found Warren Beatty "romantic and very kind" but she was blown away by her first Mel Gibson kiss and ultimately decided that Al Pacino was "the love of my life." On the other hand, her discussion of Woody Allen is more anatomically detailed -- "I loved his body; he is beautiful."OK, that's what memoirs are all about. But for Keaton to discuss her romantic past comes as a surprise. During her previous interviews, when asked about Beatty, she would usually ask, "Warren who?" At age 65, Keaton, a truly gracious person, is bringing up two kids as a single mother and clearly relishing her new writing career.Tom Hanks, another veteran of the interview circuit, probably would not match her candor. He went so far as to write a survival guide for fellow stars, which appeared in Entertainment Weekly. Calling the circuit "the celebrity mule train," Hanks recommends that colleagues "prepare a set of obvious answers" that can be recited at least 30 times in a given day. It's OK to introduce small variations, says Hanks, but stars must stay on message and must keep telling themselves, "You can do this for a few more days, can't you?"The Hanks mandate may make sense today, but it would have seemed alien to the stars of a generation ago. I did my first "star interviews" back in the '60s (I was newly arrived in town as a reporter for the NY Times and didn't know better) and, sorting through my old clips recently, I was surprised at the candor displayed by celebrities of that era.Cary Grant, during one meeting, gave me a half-hour lecture on the pleasures of dropping acid. Walter Matthau informed me he wouldn't even start talking unless I promised to describe him in print as "the Ukrainian Gary Grant." Paul Newman, when asked about his latest movie, responded: "Why talk about Hollywood crap when we should be talking about Vietnam?" We did. Natalie Wood, having just finished shooting a movie, complained "I've made 40 movies in 22 years starting from the age of 5, and no one has ever given me the chance to get a decent education." She said she wanted only to chat about the author she was now reading, T.S. Eliot (I panicked, having dozed through my only Eliot lecture). Steve McQueen, who was under instruction by the studio to sing the glories of "Sand Pebbles," which had been shot in Taiwan, instead ranted, "Anything I ever did wrong in life, I paid for on Taiwan. The baddest bad scene ever."If stars often refused to stay on message, the corporate icons of the day could be equally rebellious. Seated in his commissary, Walt Disney said that his chief of publicity wanted him only to talk about Disneyland, but he wearily told me, "I like to say what's on my mind." He continued: "People are trying to push me into making Don Quixote, but I don't want to. I figure we'll be crucified in the Latin countries if we don't get it right. I got trapped into Alice in Wonderland against my better judgment and it was a terrible disappointment. I loved the illustrations in the book, but I never exactly died laughing over the story. It's tough to translate whimsy to the screen."Walt's conclusion: "I do best sticking to my own instincts and my own stories." He apologized if he seemed grumpy. "Can I give you my personal tour of Disneyland?" he asked.I had a tough time thinking it over before accepting.None of today's studio chiefs would speak with Walt's blunt candor. I even doubt if any would offer a tour. n Peter Bart peter.bart@variety.comvariety.com/bart Contact Peter Bart at peter.bart@variety.com

Lady Gaga's Former Manhattan Apartment Readily available for rental

Before Stefanie Germanotta was Rhianna, the long run pop star would hang her unquestionably fashion-forward hat in the modest apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side.our editor recommendsLady Gaga's Former Creative Director Laurieann Gibson Talks On Split (Exclusive)Rhianna Splits From Longtime Creative Director Laurieann Gibson, Repetition ConfirmsOprah Winfrey's Primetime Series to create on New Year's Day PHOTOS: Rhianna's MTV Evolution Now, the primary one-mattress room residence could be acquired for just about any new tenant and rents at $1,850 monthly. According to CitiHabitats, Gaga's former abode boasts French entrance doors, a marble bath together with a spacious floor plan, in just minutes from trains as well as the "most widely used evening existence in New you are able to city." Check out photos. PHOTOS: Top Finest Paid out Artists The apartment was featured briefly on Gaga's an hour or so interview in February 2011. She attempted to exhibit Assault Gets worse her former digs, only to be shut lower with the resident in those days, asking that cameras Not allowed inside. If luxury celebrity baby baby cribs tend to be wish, The famous host the famous host oprah Winfrey has listed her Chicago apartment -- which, according to Gawker, she never really resided on -- for just about any mere $15,000 monthly. The Two-mattress room property features two-master bedrooms, 2.5 bath rooms, an individual elevator, wood-paneled library, wine room, Jacuzzi jet tubs, granite counter tops, and wooden flooring. Related Subjects Rhianna The famous host the famous host oprah Winfrey

News Bits: Carol Burnett To Be Honored, PaleyFest Sets Dates, Kinetic Promotes EP

Carol Burnett will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Cinematographers Guild’ 49th annual Publicists Awards Luncheon, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 24, 2012. Previous recipients of the award include George Burns, Lew Wasserman, Warren Beatty, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Julie Andrews, Harrison Ford, Robert Zemeckis and last year’s honoree Sylvester Stallone. The Paley Center’s 29th annual PaleyFest: The William S. Paley Television Festival, will take place from March 2-14 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. FX’s new drama American Horror Story will serve as the gala opening, Modern Family will close out the festival, with Mad Men also on tap for a session. Chris Coelen’s Kinetic Content, producer of the upcoming game/reality shows You Deserve It on ABC and Betty White’s Off Their Rockers, has promoted Emma Conway to Executive Producer in charge of Development. Additionally, Zach Green (American Chopper, Survivor) is joining the company as Executive Producer.

Poongsan

A Next Entertainment World presentation from the Kim Ki-duk Film production. (Worldwide sales: Finecut, Seoul.) Produced by Kim Ki-duk, Jeon Youn-chan. Directed by Juhn Jai-hong. Script, Kim Ki-duk.With: Yun Gye-sang, Kim Gyu-ri, Kim Jong-su, Han Gi-jung, Choi Mu-seong, Yu '-bok, Kim Yun-tae, Bae Yong-geun, Kim Jeong-seok, Jo Jae-ryeong, Lee Nak-jun, Kim Yeong-hun, Jin Seon-gyu, Boy Yeong-sun, Kim Jae-rok, Yu Sun-cheol.Kim Ki-duk must have had fun writing "Poongsan," an action-romancer of a South Korean guy whose capacity to smuggle people and objects from North Korea can get him twisted tabs on the important thing service. Helmed by Kim's former assistant director Juhn Jai-hong (whose debut, "Beautiful," preemed at Berlin in 2008), the pic plays being an enjoyable Cold War-designed TV pilot getting a mute protag of uncertain political persuasion whose physical endurance puts him inside the near-superhero category. Financial restrictions are apparent, evolving the sensation of the smallscreen caper fests and ancillary should get some good traction. Poongsan might be the title from the cigarette brand from North Korea as well as the nickname from the mysterious smuggler (Yun Gye-sang) hired to acquire people and things within the Demilitarized Zone from North to South. When he's caught by secret-service agents within the South, they decide to test his claim of getting from Pyongyang safely within the border in three several hours. His mission: to produce in-oak (Kim Gyu-ri), the g.f. from the recent high-level defector (Kim Jong-su) who'll not fully cooperate with intelligence until she's at his side. The right path is fraught with conflict, although not remarkably whether they have had their adventure -- under three several hours -- her old b.f. isn't searching as appealing, following Poongsan's impressive display of brawn and wherewithal. The first sort lover, an arrogant, tricky type, senses something's changed in their and colludes with South Korean intelligence (much less intelligent) to offer the guy tortured on suspicion to become a North Korean agent. However, Poongsan's talents are crucial, as well as the DMZ can get joined more occasions in comparison to Ventura freeway, resulting in kidnappings, torture together with just a little duplicity. The perimeters aren't super easy to differentiate, plus it can get confusing racking your brains on who's doing items to whom and why, but through everything, our guy Poongsan keeps his mute appeal even under extreme discomfort (though he's doing scream in discomfort). Thinking about the truth that this is often a Kim Ki-duk-scripted pic, the knowledge moments are leavened with humor, and there's a specific early eighties charm in seeing the subtitled exclamations of "You commie bastards!" The middle unquestionably sags just a little, however how much energy in the last quarter barrels forward toward a enjoyable climax. Yun's charisma and physicality provide a pleasingly ambiguous anchor for the ensuing chaos you can imagine him since the star from the TV series good Poongsan character. Production values reflect the tight finances, using noir-like techniques for instance short space and a lot of black shadow across the edges. Digital lensing looks cold and hard round the bigscreen.Camera (color, HD), Lee Jeong-in editor, Shin Cheol music, Park In-yeong production designer, Lee Jong-geon costume designer, Shin Ji-yeong appear (Dolby Digital), Lee Seung-yeop, Kim Sang-woon. Examined at Rome Film Festival (competing), March. 30, 2011. Running time: 121 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

'Homeland' Air Talks 'The Killing' Effect, Teases Major Brody Thought

Showtime If there's one component that haunts completely new TV thrillers getting a central mystery essentially of the drama, it's the effect The Killing had by having an audience's trust. The AMC show which is creator, Veena Sud, angered lots of its fans if the didn't answer a unique question: Who destroyed Rosie Larsen? Homeland co-creator and Air Alex Gansa addressed the controversy according to the completely new Showtime series.our editor recommendsDo TV Series Get or Deserve Second Chances? 'American Horror Story' Adds 'Homeland' Actor (Exclusive)No Laughing Matter -- Drama remains King in the Small ScreenShowtime Renews 'Homeland' for Second Season PHOTOS: 10 Showrunners to check out in 2012 "I'd rather not cast gems within the Killing, because I believed The Killing was unbelievable, and very evocative," Gansa notifies The Hollywood Reporter. "And That I know how hard it's to accomplish these items. You have to understand that The Killing also was at kind of a hurdle in up to now just like a murder had lately been committed." "Therefore the detectives lost trying to resolve that murder," he continues. "But there wasn't actually the sense that another factor will be a threat, that another factor would happen. They were trying to patch together what went lower formerly. Which is not the same as the issue that individuals have." In contrast, Gansa describes that Homeland includes a dynamic terrorist threat for the U.S. that Barbara (Claire Danes), Saul (Mandy Patinkin), and David Estes (David Harewood) can stop. STORY:Top 50 Energy Showrunners 2011 "So whether Brody is guilty," Gansa states. "Whether he's been finished captivity, whether, hypothetically, he'll undergo while using terrorist act, there is a genuine and genuine plot against America." "So, clearly The Killing can be a cautionary tale at some level to us," He is constantly on the express. "However this didn't influence our storytelling." Gansa states he and co-creator Howard Gordon had the initial season fairly prepared before Showtime gave it an entire season order. Despite the fact that the summer season pivots round the guilt or innocence of Sgt. Brody (Damian Lewis), the threat to America could result from other sources, too. STORY: Dvr Dump Vol. 2: 10 Newcomer Series I'm Keeping But, clearly, that may not satisfy audiences who really wish to determine whether Brody has truly been switched against America while being held captive by Al-Qaeda. And Gansa notifies THR we'll certainly be familiar with reaction to that mystery with the finish of the year and possibly much sooner. "There is a significant, major thought over the following episode," according to him. "Inside the episode that airs this Sunday, you'll learn whether Brody is innocent or guilty." Homelandairs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Showtime. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro Showtime Homeland

UPDATE: Madison Square Garden Scrambles For Concerts To Replace Lost NBA Games

UPDATE, 8:10 AM: MSG CEO Hank Ratner told analysts that he can’t say muchabout the lock out “in light of (NBA) league restrictions.”But it hascreatedproblems. “We are exploring opportunities to bring other live events to the Garden” to replace the lost games, Ratner says. It’s been tough to do so at the last minute, though. He has scheduled two performances and adds that “we’re going to use the influence that we have as Madison Square Garden to schedule as many dates as we can.”Can companies that have bought suites at the Garden cancel them? Thecompany saysnot to worry — butwon’t give specifics.Season ticket holders can get refunds, including for the eightKnicks home dates that have been lost. MSG is required to send the cash out within 10 days and include a 1% annual interest rate payment retroactive to Oct. 1. The company says the lost games won’t cause its sports TV channels to run afoul of its cable and satelliteaffiliation agreements.The deals have provisions for work stoppages; hockey and Knicks-related programs will fill in for some of the lost games.MSG Media President Mike Bair says that “the vitality of the market for hockey has been better than last year and better than our plan.” Meanwhile the company continues to upgrade the Garden, and says the total bill should come to $980M. PREVIOUS, 5:42 AM: We’ll have to wait for the company’s quarterly conference call with analyststo find out what how badly the NBA lock out might hurt the owner ofthe NY Knicks, MSG regional sports networks, and the Madison Square Gardenarena.There was no mention of it in this morning’s earnings report.But the disruption follows a strange quarter as the company closed Madison Square Garden and the Theater at Madison Square Gardenfor upgrades.MSG reported net income of $21.3M, up 10.5% vs the same period last year, on revenues of $177.6M, down 6.9%. The revenue figure was well ahead of the $173.88M that analysts expected. And earnings, at 28 cents a share, zoomed past the 10 cents the Street anticipated. Revenues at MSG Media — withcable networks including the regional sports channels and Fuse Networks –were up 3.9% to $138.6M. Ad sales rose $1.25M, but the company says that a $4.5M increase in revenues from pay TV distributors was “significantly offset” by the expiration of some affiliation agreements. MSG Entertainment, which includes the company’s venues, saw a revenue drop of 27.7% to $27.6M from the shut down of The Garden. And MSG Sports — with teams that also include the NY Rangers and NY Liberty — was down 21.9% to $28.8M, again attributed to the closing of The Garden. “We re-opened The Garden on schedule in late October and are pleased with the progress we have made on all fronts with respect to the Transformation project,” CEO Hank Ratner said. “We remain focused on our company’s business objectives and are confident in our ability to drive long-term growth.” Following the earnings release, Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce upgraded his stock recomendation to “buy” from “neutral.” In addition to the results, which beat his expectations, he says there’s been”creeping positive speculation in the stock that the NBA lockout could be coming to an end soon, as both sides have continued to work hard in the negotiations.” Although games have been cancelled through November, “there is still hope.”

Time Warner Beats Wall Street Expecations With More powerful Third-Quarter Results

Time Warner on Wednesday reported enhanced third-quarter financials since it's film unit a lot more than bending its main point here thanks simply towards the final installment from the Harry Potter series. The entertainment conglomerate, brought by Boss Shaun Bewkes, published an every three months profit of $822 million, in comparison with $520 million around-ago period. Revenue rose 11 percent to $7.1 billion. Among other subjects, the organization's Wednesday earnings business call with experts is anticipated to relate recent digital distribution deals from the CW, which TW co-is the owner of with CBS Corp., with Netflix and Hulu. Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Related Subjects Time Warner Shaun Bewkes Earnings