Judge: Marvel has Ghost Driver rights

Released: Thu., 12 ,. 29, 2011, 4:58pm PTA federal court judge has rejected a comicbook author's claim they can the level of smoothness Ghost Driver, ruling it had been apparent that Marvel Comics had the rights for the superhero. In the ruling launched on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest granted summary judgment to Marvel after concluding that, even though Gary Friedrich produced and written the initial comic that introduced the level of smoothness in 1972, he conveyed rights for the character by marketing assessments from Marvel by signing a 1978 agreement that "effectively ended any remaining possession claims" he may have observed. Friedrich remains pursuing the rights for the character since 2004, as plans were inside the is utilized with a movie adaptation eventually released in 2007 and starring Nicolas Cage. A follow-up is within the works well with release next season. He'd contended he maintained rights as they did his behave as an independent worker, which even though he signed over rights for the character, he did not sign inside the rights to non-comic used in films, TV and selling. But Forrest rejected people arguments. She mentioned that they didn't have to "travel lower the rabbit hole" of when the jobs are made "servicesInch or outdoors of Marvel. She noted that his freelance assessments contained a legend round the back watching that by marketing them, Marvel maintained the level of smoothness rights. "Regulations is apparent that whenever an individual encourages an inspection prone to an condition, he accepts that condition," Forrest written. She also mentioned the 1978 agreement "unquestionably conveyed whatever renewal rights he may have maintained, if any." Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Why the SAG Awards Need to Get Serious (Analysis)

Paramount Pictures has unveiled a new logo that pays tribute to the the studio's 100th anniversary. The new logo will be seen at the opening of Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, which opens on Dec. 16. The studio's logo, which depicts the Wasatch mountain range that stretches from the Utah-Idaho border, was created in 1916. The 100th anniversary logo was created by Devastudios Inc. The logo will be used throughout 2012 and the 100th anniversary wording will be dropped in 2013. Email: Daniel.Miller@THR.com Twitter: @DanielNMiller Related Topics Paramount Pictures

Charlie Sheen's 'Anger Management' Lands First International Deal With Canada's CTV

Casey Nicholaw, who co-directed The Book of Mormon as well as the stage version of Elf, is in talks to direct the Austin Powers musical being developed by Mike Myers and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.our editor recommendsMike Myers Welcomes Baby BoyMike Myers Best Moments in Austin Powers (Video)Mike Myers Expected to Close 'Austin Powers 4' Deal Colin Callender, the former HBO Films president whose run included the acclaimed Band of Brothers and Angels in America, and partner Sonia Friedman are producing the musical, which will be set to the music of Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello. Myers will write the story, which will act as a prequel to the movies, though the NY Post reported that he will not star in the production. Sources tell THR that the musical will be set in 1960s London and detail how Powers first acquired his mighty mojo. PHOTOS: 'South Park's' Most Famous Spoofs The three Powers movies, released by New Line, spoofed the 1960s spy genre popularized by the James Bond series and featured a swinging spy transported to modern times. The movies had a "fake movie" self-awareness to them, sometimes playing up the fact that parts were taking place on soundstages. The movies also featured musical numbers and montages, and Myers is said to consider the movies to be musicals. He also is a fan of Bacharach's music (The Look of Love is Myers' father favorite song). Incidentally, it was first heard in the 1967 Bond satire Casino Royale and was nominated for the best song Oscar. PHOTOS: Tony Awards 2011 Myers also is developing a fourth installment of the Powers movies but that project hasn't yet reached the writing stage. Nicholaw has proven himself adept at wielding a comedic and musical touch. He shared a Tony with Trey Parker for directing Book of Mormon, which swept the Tonys earlier this year. He also did the choreography for the musical. Nicholaw also pulled double duty for the Elf production and choreographed Spamalot. Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Kit PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Modern Film & Television Comedians Related Topics Mike Myers

Kino Lorber Acquires 'Putin's Kiss' Documentary

Replacing Elizabeth Shue with Jonah Hill can't be anyone's idea of an upgrade, but the former's spunky Adventures in Babysitting innocence would be a couple of notches too nice for The Sitter, David Gordon Green's attempt to infuse the 1987 film's setup with the grit and strangeness of other up-all-nighters by Scorsese and Demme. The fusion works far better than Green's sword-and-sandal-and-stoners dud Your Highness, but is unlikely to connect with audiences like his previous '80s riff Pineapple Express.our editor recommendsSeducing Charlie Barker: Film ReviewSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: Film Review Hill plays loser Noah Griffith, who facilitates a rare night out for his divorced mom by babysitting her friend's three children -- any one of whom would be more than he can handle. A coddled neurotic, a wannabe celebutante, and a Salvadoran foster kid who loves blowing things up, the three adolescent nightmares hint at how broadly screenwriters Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka will draw characters throughout the film, particularly when it comes to African-Americans. Hill's character may be less thin than the rest, but little effort is put into convincing us he'd make the series of dumb decisions The Sitter requires in order to keep him running through Manhattan and Brooklyn in the wee hours. A transparently dishonest phone call from Marisa (Ari Graynor) is all it takes to make Noah pack the kids into a stolen minivan and go in search of the cocaine he thinks will convince Marisa to have sex with him. (Where, we wonder, are the siblings supposed to wait during this couple's tender moment?) Before the night's out, he'll be responsible for two stolen cars, a pocketful of diamonds, a few demolished bathrooms and enough wasted coke to turn a pool table snow white. In the midst of the familiar hijinks and confrontations that get between Noah and satisfaction, one is weird enough to remember: Sam Rockwell's "Karl with a K," a gregarious gangster who packs his drugs in dinosaur eggs and hires effeminate bodybuilders as enforcers, isn't really new territory for the actor, but Rockwell gets more than his share of the film's laughs hamming through it. Hill shows less snark and agitation than usual here, and the restraint serves him well during the one sequence -- Noah counseling a kid who doesn't yet know he's gay -- in which the movie actually cares more about believability than retro affectations. All things considered, though, the kids would be a lot better off with Elizabeth Shue. Opens: Friday, Dec. 9 (Twentieth Century Fox) Production Companies: Michael De Luca Productions, Twentieth Century Fox Cast: Jonah Hill, Max Records, Ari Graynor, J.B. Smoove, Sam Rockwell, Landry Bender, Kevin Hernandez, Kylie Bunbury, Erin Daniels, D.W. Moffett Director: David Gordon Green Screenwriters: Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka Producer: Michael De Luca Executive producers: Josh Bratman, Jonah Hill, Donald J. Lee Jr., Lisa Muskat Director of photography: Tim Orr Production designer: Richard A. Wright Music: Jeff McIlwain, David Wingo Costume designer: Leah Katznelson Editor: Craig Alpert Rated R, 81 minutes Ari Graynor Jonah Hill Sam Rockwell David Gordon Green The Sitter

Really? A New American Psycho? (And 5 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today)

Happy Friday! Also in today’s edition of The Broadsheet: The Dark Knight Rises prologue peeks out… Ice Cube recycles some new Friday sequel hype… Guy Ritchie may cry U.N.C.L.E.… Arguably the most inspired Harrison Ford casting rumor ever… and more. · Lionsgate has reportedly commissioned Noble Jones to write and potentially direct a new adaptation of American Psycho, the nightmarishly violent Bret Easton Ellis novel that Mary Harron and Christian Bale turned into one of the early ’00s most searing, memorable films. This would be the same Noble Jones who, as Deadline’s Mike Fleming reminds us, “who cut his teeth directing commercials, videos for Taylor Swift and Mary J. Blige” but also handled second-unit directing duties on The Social Network, so hey. But really? They just made this movie. And it was good! Sheesh. [Variety] · “Mr. Beaks Has Seen The First Six Minutes Of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!” That and other fanboy splooge has commenced rocketing over the Atlantic if you’re into that kind of thing. The Movieline team is checking it out early next week and will report back with our take then. [AICN] · So there’s good news and bad news about Ice Cube. Bad news first: His production team is said to be angling for a fourth installment of the Friday franchise. Good news: This is all reported by very respected trade-news arbiter TMZ, so there’s a very high probability that it’s nowhere close to happening. [TMZ] · Guy Ritchie could direct The Man From U.N.C.L.E. So could I! You never know. Anyway, Warner Bros. wants to stay in business with Ritchie after Sherlock Holmes, so… yeah. [Deadline] · I love love love love love love love the idea of Harrison Ford playing the great Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey in 42, the long-gestating biopic about Jackie Robinson. I want nothing more than to cutout a floating Rickey head for the Oscar Index. Please, Legendary Pictures, please don’t screw this up. [Deadline] · “It’s truly a buyer’s market in the world of Barbie real estate.” Regardless of your feelings about the famous doll, this read will fascinate you. [The Awl]

Expecting

A Banco Estado presentation from the Ondamax Films, Mirera Escondida, Lastarria 90 and Zona Cinema production. Executive producers, Gaston Chedufau, Jose Andres Calderon. Co-producers, Felipe Braun, Juan Carlos Salfate. Directed, put together by Francisca Fuenzalida.With: Maria p la Garcia, Diego Ruiz, Claudia Hidalga, Maite Neira.A effective male lead together with an enthusiastic sense to take advantage from only one location help make "Expecting" more vital than general a view. But despite its talents, this scrappy teen abortion saga from Chilean author-director Francisca Fuenzalida provides extensive tips from the reluctant first feature, as well as the filmmaker's failure to tamp lower her characters' too-abrupt emotional changes turns what needs to be a pokey-writers into an frequently overheated melodrama. Appeal seems mostly limited to fests together with other low-key indie sanctuaries. Pic starts strong having its only outdoors scene, as sexy protag Natalia (Maria p la Garcia) buys a cache of pills in the pernicious nurse (Claudia Hidalga) in the park. Abortion remains illegal in Chile, and Natalia plans to employ a parentless evening in your house to furtively finish her first-trimester pregnancy. Boyfriend Diego (Diego Ruiz) seems to supply emotional support, as well as the two spend the comfort in the evening in your home, talking about should you undergo while using procedure, playing out their class versions and questioning their future together, until a medical emergency throws everything into chaos. "Expecting" is most effective if the stresses the quiet moments of creepingly indefinite terror because the two wait for pills to use. The naive youthful fanatics aren't entirely apparent by what they're participating in, so any minor discomforts or delays inside the pills' effect functions as tripwires of extreme anxiety -- a tense time-killing card-game scene is extremely well carried out, because regard. Yet as deftly since the film navigates these internalized sequences, the even even louder conflicts tend to be clumsily orchestrated, with a lot of storming from rooms, an ill-advised almost-sex scene plus an excessively spiky vacillation between tenderness and hostility making the central couple just a little difficult to believe. Garcia props up camera well, but frequently gives too telenovela-ant a contour to her character's rather rigid emotional arc. Ruiz can be a minor thought, however, effectively offerring a being applied sense of stress and helplessness submerged underneath his teenaged approximation of stiff-upper-lip maleness. Around the technical level, the film does well to use within its limited budget and positioning, remaining from claustrophobia or a sense of visual sameness despite happening almost entirely within the single dwelling.Camera (color), Pablo Letelier editor, Rodrigo Saquel music, Sebastian Jarpa production designer, Pamela Chamorro costume designer, Pamela Paredes appear, Jarpa connect producer, Alvaro Corvera casting, Pilar Zderich, Jimena Rivano. Examined at AFI Film Festival (Breakthrough Cinema), November. 7, 2011. Running time: 83 MIN. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Russell pics marked by raw passion

"People say, 'Oh, he's got bad taste,' or whatever," said composer Peter Maxwell Davies of helmer Ken Russell. "Well, of course he has -- thank God for that!"Indeed, a robust, unabashed vulgarity was essential to the charm of Russell's films. A Romantic in the original 19th-century sense of the word, Russell reveled in the depiction of lush, unbridled emotion, as extreme as it could go, crafting imagery that could be swooningly beautiful one moment and rankly repugnant the next -- often, in films like "The Devils" (1971), only a splice apart. He never, as the English say, did anything by half. If a reader -- say an educated one from Mars, but with some familiarity with culture here on Earth -- knew nothing about Russell, a cursory glance over his filmography would suggest a devotee of high art. His resume features plenty of literary adaptations (several D.H. Lawrence novels, including 1969's "Women in Love," 1989's "The Rainbow" and 1993's "Lady Chatterley" for TV, as well as Oscar Wilde's "Salome's Last Dance" and Bram Stoker's "The Lair of the White Worm," both in 1988), alongside period dramas about writers and performers (1977's "Valentino," 1986's "Gothic") and bio-pics about the classical composers he adored (1970's "The Music Lovers," 1974's "Mahler" and 1975's "Lisztomania"). Russell was also a learned aficionado of opera and classical dance (he aspired to be a ballet dancer in his youth), art forms that feature frequently in his films.However, the passionate, lusty way he tackled such material couldn't be more different from the dry, elegantly restrained style that's come to characterize British period drama and literary adaptations. Well into his dotage, when he started making ultra-low-budget pics literally in his own back garden, Russell remained an enfant terrible of the film world; he even looked a bit like an overblown, florid baby in his later years, with his twinkling blue eyes and colorfully garbed, rotund form. As strange as it might seem to say of a helmer who in "The Devils" filmed a scene of frenzied, naked nuns pleasuring themselves on a full-size effigy of Christ on the cross, there was an essential innocence about his work, a reverence for nature and a rapturous devotion to life's most primal pleasures: sparkly textures, soaring music, beautiful naked women, among many other things.Although born in 1927 and technically too old to qualify as a baby boomer, and politically a conservative according to some reports, Russell hit his artistic stride in the Swinging '60s, and the counterculture sensibility of those times haunted his work. Sure, "Women in Love" is set immediately after WWI ended in 1918, but every frame of it feels embedded in 1969, from the blithe, quasi-hipster way the characters talk to the let-it-all-hang-out exuberance of the famous naked wrestling scene between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed (Russell's male muse), which pushed the boundaries of censorship at the time.He pushed them perhaps too far for some with "The Devils," which shed scenes of sexual explicitness and extreme violence at the behest of first Warner Bros., then of the British censors -- the way an Afghan hound loses hair in summer -- before its release. And yet, it is in some ways Russell's masterpiece, ravishing in every sense, thanks to the outstanding perfs Russell coaxed from thesps Reed, Vanessa Redgrave and Dudley Sutton; the exquisite, starkly monochromatic production design by young Derek Jarman; and elaborate costumes by Shirley Russell, the helmer's first wife, who collaborated closely with him on some his best-known films including "Women in Love," "The Boy Friend" (1971), "Tommy" (one of his rare dalliances with pop music) and "Lisztomania."If his work from the late 1960s and '70s will stand as Russell's best, there was still energy, visual flair and a very English eccentricity to admire in those that followed, even those he shot Stateside such as "Altered States" (1980) or "Crimes of Passion" (1984), or those that were critically reviled at the time, like "Gothic." But then, Russell never much cared what critics thought, and has the distinction of being one of the few directors caught on camera bashing a film critic (Alexander Walker) over the head with a copy of the critic's own review. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

'Dancing With the Stars' Winner J.R. Martinez Visits Pentagon

DETROIT -- Dr. Feelgood, the Theatre of Pain and, of course, plenty of Girls, Girls, Girls are taking up residency in Las Vegas during February.our editor recommendsConcert Review: Motley Crue at the Hollywood BowlMotley Crue Rocker Vince Neil Charged With Battery Motley Crue in Sin City will hunker down from Feb. 3-19, 2012 at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The 12-show run will include Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 5), Valentine's Day and President's Day, and the band members are promising an extravaganza that will both live up to and surpass their usual theatrical standards. PHOTOS: 20 Best and Worst Music to Movie Crossovers "It's gonna be just over-the-top craziness," frontman Vince Neil told Billboard.com during a conference call with reporters. "Vegas is pretty much based on big, big shows, and Motley Crue is also. We're putting together a show right now that's something we have never done in our lives. It's a stationary show. It doesn't have to move around, so we can do all kinds of stuff we only really dreamed about." Neil said the group plans for the production to be "interactive," with even those seated towards the back or the top of the venue "encompassed in the show." Drummer Tommy Lee added that, "I think more and more people are wanting an experience, and we're trying to bring that into this where people aren't necessarily at the show, they're IN the show. We're really trying to design something here that, when you leave there, you're wearing the show. You're taking parts of it with you. It's on you ... Why not make it a full-on experience, really? We're putting together moments of this show where the actual audience participates. They're in it. They're around it. It's going to be really exciting." PHOTOS: A History of Grunge in Pictures Neil and Lee did not share specific details to share about the production but Lee said that the show would involve "other entertainers ... and not in a musical fashion," as well as dancers in various stages of undress. "It sure would be fun to really do it Vegas style and have there be some nudity, or almost nude," Lee said, to which Neil added, "Basically, Tommy's saying there'll be lots of naked girls on stage." Lee also revealed he'll be using a modified, "even more crazy" version of the rollercoaster-like track that let him play upside down during the Crue's concerts this year. "Vegas is known for its huge, over the top shows," said Neil, who resides there when the band is off the road. "That's why I think we're a perfect fit for this." Lee, meanwhile, noted that "having (the show) not have to move every night really opens a bunch of doors for us -- literally trap doors." The Crue, whose last album was 2008's "Saints of Los Angeles," does not plan to include any brand new music in the shows, but Lee predicted there will be some flexibility in the set list from night to night. "I would imagine our plans are probably to switch it up," he said. "If we're doing a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, chances are there might be some people coming to see two shows ore maybe even three if they're there. Who knows? So I imagine we'll mix it up." The Motley Crue in Sin City show dates are Feb. 3-5, 8, 10-12, 14-15, 17-19. Ticket prices are $85 for the general admission pit and reserved floor seating, and $65 for balcony reserved with $129.50-$179.50 VIP packages. The presale has already started; public sales begin at 10 a.m. Saturday [Dec. 3] at www.motley.com, www.thejointlasvegas.com and www.ticketmaster.com. The Hard Rock is also offering vacation packages that include tickets to the show. Lee and Neil says the Crue will consider returning to Las Vegas for another residency, perhaps for even greater lengths. "If it's successful and works out for everybody, why not?" Neil says. "That's what's great about Vegas -- people from all over the world are here for a few days, then move on, new people always coming in. Basically you're having the world come to you." That said, the Crue -- which begins a six-date U.K. tour with Def Leppard and Steel Panther on Dec. 6 -- is planning to see some more of the world during 2012. A North American tour is likely, but Lee said whether it will be a Crue Fest package hasn't been determined. "We're still discussing and putting together plans for the summer ... planning the rest of our new year," the drummer explains. "Right now we're focusing on getting the Vegas residency dialed in." The quartet is also reported to be publishing a 10th anniversary expanded edition of its band memoir The Dirt -- Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band, but neither Neil nor Lee specified what new material will be included. Related Topics

Jay-Z's Lyrics Analyzed as Subject of College Course

NY - Cable giants Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable along with smaller cable firm Bright House Networks have agreed to sell wireless spectrum to telecom company Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion.our editor recommendsVerizon's FiOS TV Subscriber Growth Slowed in Third Quarter'The X Factor' Partners with Verizon WirelessComcast Executive Reiterates Confidence in NBC Turnaround OpportunityTime Warner Cable Mulls Bid for L.A. Dodgers TV Rights (Report)Viacom, Time Warner Cable iPad Dispute Heats Up The companies also struck agreements that will see the cable firms and the telecom giant sell each other's products. SpectrumCo, a joint venture of the cable companies, said Friday that Comcast will receive approximately $2.3 billion from the sale. Time Warner Cable about $1.1 billion and Bright House $189 million. Analysts said the deal was evidence that the cable operators have decided against spending a lot of money to build out their own wireless network and services. "The agreement comes at a time when consumer demand for wireless services and bandwidth is increasing rapidly," the firms said. "This sale of spectrum is an important step toward ensuring that the needs and desires of consumers for additional mobile services will not be thwarted by the current spectrum shortage." Government action to free up more spectrum is expected, but the deal partners said their transaction that available spectrum is used effectively for the benefit of customers. The deal partners said Friday that they have also formed an "innovation technology joint venture" for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services. "We're excited to be able to offer the nation's best wireless services to our customers and to have Verizon Wireless as a sales channel for our superb wireline services," said TW Cable president and COO Rob Marcus. "We're also pleased to have obtained an attractive price for the spectrum we're selling." "These agreements, together with our Wi-Fi plans, enable us to execute a comprehensive, long-term wireless strategy and expand our focus on providing mobility to our Xfinity services," said Neil Smit, president of Comcast Cable. Dan Mead, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, added: "Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the...spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers." Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com Twitter: @georgszalai PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery 20 Best Taglines From Movies Over the Last 30 Years Related Topics Verizon Communications Time Warner Comcast Verizon Wireless

Magic Johnson to Bid to Buy Los Angeles Dodgers

This article appears in the Dec. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.our editor recommendsThe Making of Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse'From 'The Artist' to 'War Horse,' 23 Awards Contenders That Prominently Feature Animals (Photos)'War Horse': Newest Trailer Heavy on Orchestration, Heartstring Pulling (Video)'War Horse' Star Jeremy Irvine to Play Young Colin Firth in 'The Railway Man' (Exclusive)Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson: The Titans Behind 'The Adventures of Tintin' In October 2010, Steven Spielberg fell in a hole. "I was walking in a trench with my viewfinder and the crew following me, and all of a sudden I disappeared," recalls the director of the time when he was shooting War Horse just outside London. "It was a hole dug for explosive charges, and a storm had washed away the warning cones and filled it up. I was totally under ice water. I threw my hands over my head, and two big grips pulled me out." Now, 13 months after wrapping his World War I epic, Spielberg can laugh about "the murder hole." But that was only one of the challenges involved in bringing his movie to the screen, along with fighting freezing weather, dealing with an army of 5,800 extras and about 300 horses, and turning to filmmaker Peter Jackson for crucial wartime artifacts from his private collection -- all within a 63-day shoot and with an exceptionally tight $70 million budget ($65 million after tax breaks). PHOTOS: The Making of 'War Horse' Spielberg first heard about War Horse in the summer of 2009. That's when his longtime producer Kathleen Kennedy mentioned the West End adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel, which centers on a British horse named Joey that we follow from birth through four years of war. During that time, he is enlisted by the army, captured by Germans and hidden by French farmers, all while being trailed by Albert, the young Englishman who raised him. When Kennedy spoke of the project, Spielberg was on the scoring stage for The Adventures of Tintin. Having finished 31 days of motion-capture work, he was in a yearlong holding pattern until animation was completed and he could return to the film. To his surprise, he discovered that the book's movie rights had not been optioned, so Kennedy flew to England, where she had breakfast with Morpurgo, then hired Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall to craft an initial draft. COVER STORY: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson -- The Titans Behind 'Tintin' "What was irresistible for me had nothing to do with global war," says Spielberg. "It was how Joey linked disparate characters together and the length to which Albert went to find him." After working briefly with Hall, Spielberg moved on to a second writer, Four Weddings and a Funeral's Richard Curtis, in an attempt to bring the screenplay closer to the book. Curtis was nervous: He'd met Spielberg only once before, at France's César Awards in 1995, when the presenter declared Spielberg's Schindler's List a masterpiece and said, "If any other film wins, it will be a disgrace to the honor of France" -- only for Four Weddings to pick up the best foreign film trophy. PHOTOS: Steven Spielberg on Set But Spielberg was more interested in the new picture, and he was clear it should focus on the horse -- like the novel, the movie was to be told from the horse's point of view -- rather than intercutting that story with the boy's. Curtis became convinced this would work when he read the book aloud to his 14-year-old daughter while she was in bed, awaiting an operation. "I found it hard to read the last 10 pages to her because they were so emotional," he recalls, declining to say more about the operation. "I thought immediately, 'If it works in the book, we can do it in the film.' " PHOTOS: 'The Adventures of Tintin' Now he moved fast, whipping through more than a dozen drafts in three months while conducting two-hour telephone conversations with Spielberg. On one occasion, he had to hide in a hospital medicine cabinet while discussing the script, "surrounded by syringes and pills, because I couldn't talk in my daughter's room." As he wrote, a research team plowed through troves of artifacts at England's Imperial War Museum, frequently copying photos that would be used to stage scenes. Spielberg was fascinated by their discoveries. "I was not prepared for how many millions of horses perished during the Great War -- it was over 4 million," he says. "And it wasn't all in close combat; a lot was just through malnutrition and mistreatment. But don't forget that the Humane Society was born out of the First World War, and it was a huge turning point in technological warfare that supplanted the horse once and forever." PHOTOS: 23 Awards Contenders Featuring Animals In addition to the material his researchers found, Spielberg drew on an unexpected source: his Tintin producer Jackson, who collects war memorabilia. "He's even got about 15 working biplanes, which we didn't need," marvels Spielberg. "He sent about three cargo containers to the U.K., free of charge. He pretty much lent me his entire World War I collection." As all of that fell into place, a critical matter loomed: finding the right actor to play Albert, who ages from 15 to 21. "I looked for months and months," says Spielberg. "I was running out of hope, then Jeremy Irvine came in toward the last third of the casting process." There was one snag: The 20-year-old Irvine's most extensive acting experience had been playing a tree in the chorus of the Royal Shakespeare Company. "I had a couple of months of going in to audition two or three times a week, sometimes doing videotape and knowing it would be shown to Steven," he says. "It was quite intense." Weeks after his first audition, adds Irvine: "I got a call at about 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., saying, 'Can you meet Steven for tea in a hotel in London tomorrow morning?' I did what any actor would do: I freaked out." He won the role regardless, and shooting commenced Aug. 6, 2010, in Dartmoor, in the south of England. Production designer Rick Carter had searched for British locations that would be convincing, such as the bucolic farm where Joey's story begins and the no-man's-land where the war is fought. A crew of 750 worked ferociously so each location would be ready when filming took place. Operations revolved around seven locales, ranging from the untamed moors of Dartmoor to a derelict airfield in Surrey, England (where land could be dug up to look like a battlefield) to the Duke of Wellington's storied estate west of London. Each had its share of difficulties. In Dartmoor, a nature preserve, the land couldn't be touched. "We had to put down netting and bring the dirt in and plant what looked like rocks and dig into that," says Carter. The appalling weather created some "nail-biting situations," he adds. Right before the shoot, a terrific storm blew away part of a thatched roof on Albert's farmhouse -- in actuality, made of Styrofoam. "We had to have a crew repaint it every day because it was falling apart," Carter notes. For one shot, in which men and horses emerge like ghosts from a field of reeds, the plants were moved from another part of the country and set in place individually. "There was a marsh somewhere in the south of London still in bloom; we went there and paid a farmer to cut his whole field down, then we put the reeds in Styrofoam." Even the 250 yards of trenches Carter dug, which might seem a simple task but involved laying down an infrastructure to keep them in place and allow tracking shots, required six weeks of preparation alone. "It was like a construction site, with 20 Caterpillars running around," he says. Creating clothing for the men who would inhabit those locations was no easier. "[Costume supervisor] Dave Crossman would trawl through eBay, seeing what we could get -- the hardware and the insignias," says costume designer Joanna Johnston, a longtime Spielberg collaborator. Beyond the beauty of the uniforms, she was surprised at the real-life parallels she discovered with the movie. "The great-grandfather of a girl who worked with us was a milkman whose horse was taken during the war -- and amazingly, the horse made it back," she says. As far as the present horses were concerned, Kennedy brought one huge advantage: Having produced 2003's Seabiscuit, she knew the ins and outs of working with equines. "That was one of the biggest departments on the film, with 200 to 300 people," she says of the animal unit. "You'd sometimes have as many as 180 to 280 horses in a scene. You'd have groomers and drivers to haul the horses and the feed, people to set up portable barns, vets and everyone else who handled the tack and the horses' makeup." Fourteen horses in all played Joey, the most prominent being one named Finder, which had starred in Seabiscuit. "We had bought horses for Seabiscuit, then we sold them -- and Bobby Lovgren, our lead trainer, bought Finder," says Kennedy. "He turned out to be one of the best horses Bobby had ever worked with, so he brought Finder with him to England." Except for one notable shot in which the horse stumbles and falls into a trench, most of the work was done without CGI effects. That added pressure to the shoot, as did the ever-changing British weather. "It was unbelievably rainy and cold," says Kennedy. "Even when you had your wellies on, sometimes you'd just take a step and one would be left stuck in the mud. It was freezing and raining, but then there would be these amazing skies and the whole crew would stop and gaze out at the landscape because it was so beautiful." Moments like these vanished during the hardest part of filming, when the trench warfare took place. "As soon as your big woolen uniform gets wet, the weight is unbelievable," says Irvine, "and you'd be running across no-man's-land, right through the mud and dirt. There were sequences where explosions would take place next to me and three or four stuntmen would fly through the air -- and then there'd be other scenes where you're just soaking wet. I got trench foot [a medical condition contracted through lengthy contact with dampness]. The soldiers used to get it all the time. And then there were the rats." Several dozen rodents were released into the trenches with the actors, much to their horror. But the rats were even more of a nightmare for the producers. "When you put mud on a rat, it immediately starts to clean itself. We could never keep them covered in mud," says Kennedy with a laugh. Shooting wrapped Oct. 27, 2010, following five days of studio work. Audiences will see the finished movie when Disney releases it domestically on Christmas Day through its distribution pact with DreamWorks, which financed the film through its partnership with Reliance Entertainment. (The picture unfurls internationally starting Dec. 26 in Australia.) The U.S. opening comes four days after the Dec. 21 North American release of Tintin, which already has proved an international blockbuster. In some ways, War Horse is more important for DreamWorks -- Tintin, a joint venture between Sony and Paramount, wasn't financed by the company. The former's success is critical for the studio, which has had some recent disappointments along with one megahit, The Help. Spielberg says he'll cherish the memories of making the film -- the tenderness of working with the horses, the miracle of the sunsets and the chance to bring history to life -- despite all the obstacles he encountered. "The thing about filming is, [almost] everything goes wrong," he says. "It's using the parts that go right in the finished film that counts." PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery The Making of Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse' Related Topics Steven Spielberg International Kathleen Kennedy War Horse Awards Season Preview

Keith Olbermann Will No Longer Engage With His Twitter Followers

Keith Olbermannis going on a Twitter silence of sorts.our editor recommendsKeith Olbermann Calls Canada's Rob Ford 'Worst Person In The World'Keith Olbermann Mocks Newsweek's '150% Insane' Michele Bachmann Cover (Video) Keith Olbermann Slams 'Very Stupid' Sarah Palin, Jokes About Anthony Weiner The Current TV host announced Wednesday via his Twitter stream that he no longer would be engaging with followers via the site's "at replies." PHOTOS: Hollywood's Twitter Feuds Following a Monday interview with comedian Richard Lewis in which the duo broke down the Republican field of presidential candidates, Olbermann on Tuesday had a tense exchange with a follower he thought insulted Lewis, ultimately blocking her. STORY: Keith Olbermann Breaks Silence on MSNBC Exit; Could Earn $100M at Current TV After the follower blogged about the exchange late Tuesday, Olbermann's followers took to Twitter to question him about the exchange, prompting him to declare that he'd no longer respond to his at replies. "I'm more confused than anything else right now, but there's some undeniable sadness and anger," the blogger wrote. "Mr. Olbermann, I think what you did was extremely petty. Not just blocking me but blocking anyone who you construe as disagreeing with you or daring to question you." PHOTOS: Keith Olbermann's Famous Feuds "Ok, my thanks to everybody, but life is brief. TFN I won't be replying to tweets. #ShowPlugs, photos, Baseball Nerd updates will continue," he tweeted. PHOTO GALLERY: View Gallery Keith Olbermann's Famous Feuds Related Topics Keith Olbermann