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A straw poll of the average music fan on what the biggest British albums of all time are is likely to consist of: Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd; (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis; probably 21 by Adele; maybe Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits; Queen’s Greatest Hits Vol. 1, perhaps; but most definitely, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. The latter of these has reached the grand old age of fifty, and so in way of celebration has been remastered and re-released in a sparkly new boxed set, which also includes a plethora of alternative recordings, outtakes and interviews, over four CDs and two DVDs and 100 minutes of extra footage. Imagine the 1995 release of The Beatles era defining anthology series, but focused purely on 1967. The release is also supported by a feature length documentary, directed by long time Beatles fan Alan G. Parker...

To mark the 30th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s death, the designers over at Shutterstock have released an eye-catching array of re-imagined posters for the nine films nominated for Best Picture by the Academy, as part of their annual Oscar Pop! poster series.

Read More: David Lynch Turns ‘La La Land’ Into a Twisted Drama in Mashup Video — Watch

Using only images taken from Shutterstock, each poster is inspired by a different pop artist, and riffs on motifs from the films’ original posters. This colorful eye candy is sure to get you in the mood for Sunday night. Check out the posters, with commentary from the designers below:

“Moonlight” (Artist Inspiration: Peter Blake)

“The film is split into three chapters in Chiron’s life, so I incorporated Peter Blake’s use of grids, as well as simplified imagery, to represent the forces that shaped his life.” — Kate Crotty.

Manchester by the Sea...

The BBC is celebrating the work of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and other pop art pioneers with a new week-long series of programming in August.

BBC Four, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC 6 Music will air special documentaries and programmes looking back at one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century.

BBC Four documentary Soup Cans & Superstars: How Pop Art Changed The World will see writer and art critic Alastair Sooke take a closer look at the work of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Stephen Smith's film A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol, A Brief History of Graffiti and What Do Artists Do All Day? will also air on BBC Four over the course of the season.

Pop artists Peter Blake, Derek Boshier and Peter Phillips are also creating three new channel idents for BBC Four.

Content across 6 Music and BBC online will also celebrate the art movement.

This year's Aspen Shortsfest, an Academy Award qualifying festival for short films, screened 70 shorts from April 8-13 and hosted a variety of panels with filmmakers, screenwriters and actors. A special presentation called "Writing for the Screen: How to Create Characters and Keep Your Friends" featured screenwriters and jury members Craig Borten ("Dallas Buyers Club"), Peter Blake ("House M.D." "Elementary," "Hemlock Grove"), and David Pollock ("M.A.S.H."). The panel was moderated by Denver Post film critic and fellow juror Lisa Kennedy and had the trio discussing their humble beginnings, their writing processes, and anecdotes about their projects. Here are ten highlights from the panel. Peter Blake got into the entertainment industry because of his love for "Pulp Fiction." "I went into it, no reviews had come out yet, and I came out and was just completely blown away by that movie. I came out thinking God what am I doing in law school?...

Aspen Film has announced the lineup for its upcoming Shortsfest, to run April 8-13th. The films cover a range of genre and styles, and hail from thirty different countries. Audiences will also be treated to events featuring filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors. "Our 2014 season explores a truly global array of characters, situations and subjects," says Aspen Film Co-Director George Eldred. "From our festival seats we travel together to all seven continents--even Antarctica--to experience the imagination of our talented filmmakers and their creative risk-taking. We look forward to sharing the thrill of discovery with our audiences this spring." Among the special events is a conversation entitled "Writing For the Screen: How to Create Characters and Keep Your Friends" with screenwriters Peter Blake (Elementary, House M.D.), Craig Borten (Dallas Buyers Club) and David Pollock (M*A*S*H), on Saturday, April 12. For the full list of special events and the schedule...

Twenty-seven writers including John Gatins, Quentin Tarantino and David O. Russell were named finalists in nine categories for the 39th annual Humanitas Prize. The writers will compete for $95,000 in prize money to be handed out at the annual luncheon September 20 at the Montage Beverly Hills. The Humanitas Prize was created to honor TV and film writers for telling stories, which “truly and deeply explore the human experience in a way that both entertains and enlightens,” the org says. Of the finalists, executive director Cathleen Young said, “These gifted storytellers made us laugh and cry and ultimately, brought us closer together as a family by deeply exploring what it means to be human!” Click over for the full list of nominees: Feature Film Category Flight Written by: John Gatins Django Unchained Written by: Quentin Tarantino Silver Linings Playbook Written by: David O. Russell Sundance Feature Film Category Fruitvale Station Written by:...

Calling all Beatles fans… the group’s second feature film, 1965’s Help!, will be released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, June 25 and Wamg is giving away copies to 2 lucky readers.

Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help! follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that revolves around Ringo’s possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult members, a mad scientist and the London police.

In addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles songs “Help!,” “You’re Going To Lose That Girl,” “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket To Ride,...

Feature Frances Roberts Feb 15, 2013

After initial negativity, Elementary now has a 10 million plus audience and is likely to make it to season 2. What went right?

Just over a year ago, we reported the news that CBS was developing a modern-day New York-set Sherlock Holmes series with more than a whiff of cynicism: “It’s a good job it won’t be instantly compared to a multi-award winning, commercially successful and critically adored hit show that’s based around a not dissimilar idea…”.

That was nothing though, compared to the vitriol that spewed forth from the comments section (a place, admittedly, where the lingua franca is hyperbole). Disgust and outrage, rounded out with a notable thread of America-bashing, were amongst the gentler reactions.

It was as if, instead of a TV programme, the network had proposed setting fire to a first edition of A Study in Scarlet while whistling a cheery...

Elementary, Season 1, Episode 9: “You do it to yourself”

Directed by Phil Abraham

Written by Peter Blake

Airs Thursdays at 10pm (Et) on CBS.

Starring Jonny Lee Miller (Sherlock Holmes), Lucy Liu (Joan Watson), Aidan Quinn (Captain Gregson), Jon Michael Hill (Detective Bell). Guest starring Adam Rothenberg (Liam Danow), Kristy Wu (Jun Annunzio) and Cameron Scoggins (Brendan O’Brien).

This week’s episode of Elementary is a curious one. We have a murder mystery (nothing new there), but we have Chinese superstitions and troubled exes come into play, establishing the mid-season slump inapplicable.

Although stricken with flu, Holmes investigates a murder of a college professor that was shot in both eyes. In amidst the investigation, Watson revisits a figure in her past, mirroring her relationship with her sober companion.

Watson also continues to develop in terms of crime-solving skill and general intrigue as we see her visit Liam, a former boyfriend,...

Elementary, Season 1, Episode 3: “Child Predator”

Directed by Rob Holcomb

Written by Peter Blake

Airs Thursdays at 10pm (Et) on CBS.

Two episodes in and Elementary hasn’t stood out as a worthwhile UK-to-us adaptation. It may have made us chuckle with choice moments and the chemistry between lead stars Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu slowly simmers, but as a whole, the show has not become compulsory viewing.

After a short two week break, Elementary comes back with an interesting case of a child kidnapper/murderer called as the “Balloon Man”, who leaves ‘thank you’ balloons for his victims’ parents. Delving into his clippings from 2005, Holmes refreshes his theories when a new disappearance is reported, leading to a unexpected outcome.

‘Child Predator’ is more engaging and darker than previous episodes – touching on child abuse, unassuming psychos and kidnap, leading to a genuine sense of danger and a well thought-out police case.

The Beatles’ classic 1968 animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, has been digitally restored and will be presented on the big screen in select theaters across the United States in May. Emi and Apple Corps Ltd. have teamed with D&E Entertainment (www.DandEentertainment.com) to give Beatles fans of all ages the opportunity to come together and share in this visually stunning movie and soundtrack. On May 5 at the famed Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, Yellow Submarine will start its theatrical campaign with an 8pm screening.

Currently out of print, the film has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time by Paul Rutan Jr.and his team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film’s restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand,...

On the occasion of Joseph Nechvatal's upcoming exhibition at Galerie Richard in New York (April 12 through May 26), the recent publication of his new book Immersion into Noise, and a concert of his remastered viral symphOny in surround sound. Taney Roniger is an artist and writer who lives and works in Brooklyn.

Bradley Rubenstein: We really want to get into the new book, as well as the upcoming show, but can you take a minute and give us a little backstory? You have always slipped in and out of categories: actions, painting, sound art, writing....

Joseph Nechvatal: Well, when I was going to undergraduate art school at Southern Illinois University (Siu), I was making drawings and little gouaches and smaller-type paintings on paper, generally. And they were well-received. I was not so interested in painting on canvas at the time. You have to put it in the perspective of the...

Lisa Edelstein may not reprising her role as Dr. Cuddy for the House finale, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing other familiar faces! Though she left earlier in the season to pursue her film career full time, Olivia Wilde has made room in her busy schedule to return to say one last goodbye to Gregory House and the rest of his diagnostic team. I was never a big fan of Wilde’s Thirteen, but there’s no denying she was a big part of the show after it’s big cast shuffle in Season 4.

The finale, which airs May 21st, will bring back Thirteen, TVLine reports, but there’s not word yet on why she is coming back. The last time we saw Thirteen, she had already quit working for House, but was coaxed into coming back to help with one more case. At the end of the episode,...

House closes out its eight-year run on May 21, but the march towards the final curtain call will begin to play out on screen next month.

Series creator David Shore tells TVLine that a storyline will kick off in late April that will “build” to the show’s swan song. “The final four episodes are, to some extent, [part] of a piece,” he explains. “But the last one is very, very much a much separate culmination of those episodes.”

Shore prefers to keep the specifics of the plot under wraps, but describes the hour-long swan song as “a fitting ending” that will...

You already know who won’t be returning for House‘s swan song (R.I.P. Cuddy), so how about we get around to telling you who will?

Sources confirm to TVLine exclusively that Princeton-Plainsboro alumna Olivia Wilde will reprise her role as Thirteen in the show’s May 21 series finale.

Hot House Video: Inside [Spoiler]‘s Big Acid Trip!

Wilde checked out of House in October to pursue her film career full-time. In her then-final episode, Huntington’s-afflicted Thirteen briefly rejoined the team only to get fired by House, who, oddly, issued the pink slip with the best of intentions:...

The Beatles’ classic 1968 animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, has been digitally restored for DVD and Blu-ray release on May 28 (May 29 in North America). The film’s songtrack album will be reissued on CD on the same date.

Currently out of print, the film has been restored in 4K digital resolution for the first time by Paul Rutan Jr.and his team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film’s restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand, frame by frame.

Bonus features for the Yellow Submarine DVD and Blu-ray include a short making-of documentary titled “Mod Odyssey” (Trt: 7:30), the film’s original theatrical trailer, audio commentary by producer John Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann, several brief interview clips with others involved with the film,...

Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Just want to say hi? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com.

Question: Any word on the status of contract talks between Grey’s Anatomy and Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Justin Chambers, etc.? I’m starting to get nervous. —Carrie

Ausiello: No, but remember how Shonda Rhimes hinted to me last month that the season ends in a way that could accommodate any number of possible cast departures? Well, get this: I hear a late April episode will follow Alex, Meredith, Jackson, April...

For all intents and purposes, the House season 8 premiere presents a wonderfully crafted case study, penned by executive producer Peter Blake, on the man that is House, in which Hugh Laurie masterfully traverses a new environment filled with intriguing challenges and compelling characters – all while slowly revealing an elemental depth to the character that audiences haven’t seen in many years.

Unfortunately, the manner in which the House season 8 premiere presents itself feels less like a barely competent introductory episode, with regard to what fans can expect to see in terms of story-arcs as this season progresses and, instead, more like an epilogue to the events that transpired in the House season 7 finale.

While that may not typically be, in and of itself, the best way to kick ...

Click to continue reading ‘House’ Season 8 Premiere Review & Discussion...

Stella McCartney had the company of her famous friends last night to celebrate her 40th birthday. Kate Hudson brought Matt Bellamy along to Asprey House, near Hyde Park Corner, and Gwyneth Paltrow was seen booking it out to her car afterward, holding two celebratory mugs that read "Stella's 40th" and featured a picture of young Stella. Paul McCartney and his fiancée, Nancy Shevell, flew in for the occasion, as did designer Tom Ford. Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and Kate Moss were out for the long haul. They accompanied Stella for some late fun at the Groucho Club. Stella was decked out for the festivities in a blue-sequined dress of her own design while Kate Moss paired her Azarro jumpsuit with one of Stella's bags. Kate Hudson chose to go with a number from Elie Saab. Kate Moss's own significant other, Jamie Hince, wasn't able to join in, since...

The Observer's critics pick the season's highlights, from Degas to Depp, and Britney to the Bard

September

1 Theatre: Decade In a former trading hall on London's St Katharine Docks, Rupert Goold's production evokes the legacy of 9/11, with the help of Simon Schama and Abi Morgan. Until 15 October.

4 Pop: Adele After her summer to die for (No1 album, ubiquitous single), Adele starts her UK tour in Plymouth. She's in London on the 19th and 20th and ends in Glasgow (25).

6 Dance: Tezuka New evening-length piece by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, inspired by the work of renowned Japanese manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Starring Daniel Proietto, the piece features a specially commissioned score by Nitin Sawhney. At Sadler's Wells until 10 September.

8 Pop: Bestival The Isle of Wight weekender always has a hefty line-up: this yearboasts new kids James Blake and Odd Future alongside the Cure, Brian Wilson and Björk.

9 Theatre: We are Three Sisters...

The finalists for the 37th annual Humanitas Prize — which honors writers from both television and film whose work “explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way” — have been revealed, and several fan fave TV shows, buoyed by standout episodes, are vying for recognition.

In the 30-Minute category, How I Met Your Mother‘s Season 6 examination of death and grief will compete with Mitchell and Cameron’s first Modern Family kiss plus two Showtime standouts, while the 60-Minute category includes House’s Season 6 finale — the one from May of last year — and the Friday Night Lights series-ender (which aired on...

House left an impression that he was trying to kill Cuddy in the season 7 finale of "House M.D." after he crashed his car into her living room, but now David Shore has explained that it is not the case. "I'm aware of that reaction [and], though it's not universal, it's something we have to think about. It wasn't intended," the show's creator insisted.

"He was clearly doing something crazy and visceral, but he wasn't trying to kill. If you watch the episode closely enough, [Cuddy and Co.] are leaving the room before he drives into that room. He sees that," Shore continued. "Certainly, it was crazy and irresponsible and dangerous, but it wasn't an attempt to murder her."

Laying another argument, he told TVLine at WGA Foundation event, "Second of all, when he leaves, he says [to Wilson], 'You're right. I do feel better.' And he does feel better, which to me means he got...

The character of Lisa Cuddy wasn’t expected to disappear after House’s seventh season. In fact, executive producer David Shore told EW that he was planning on Cuddy’s alter-ego, Lisa Edelstein, to be back for more after they shot the drama’s finale.

Shore says he would have crafted a different season-ender had he known her plans. (The actress, whose contract expired at the end of season 7, declined to renew her deal.) “I don’t know how exactly ,” Shore told EW during a special charity event for House Thursday that benefitted the Writers Guild Foundation. “I don’t what it would have been.

Summer is in full swing here, as you can tell from the slate of shows on tap this week. And it’s going to be a pretty solid week, Roomies! I’m particularly excited about The Glades and Burn Notice, the subjects of your two pieces of big scoop this week.

Be sure to send me requests for your favorite summer shows via email: You can do so by emailing spoilerroom@ew.com. And, as always, I can be found trolling Twitter @EWSandraG.

‘Burn Notice’: Three Burning Questions, Answered!

The new season of Burn Notice is upon us, readers,...

As soon as we thought we could predict the outcome of the Oscars, here comes another surprise! This one's brought to you by the Writers Guild of America. Picked for Best Original Screenplay was Christopher Nolan's "Inception." The director, famously dissed for not getting a Best Director Oscar nomination, may just win the Best Original Screenplay come Oscar night. Oscar front-runner, "The King's Speech" was not nominated because it didn't quality under union rules which prompted Nolan to say during his WGA acceptance award that he looked forward to a time when he could accept the award "without qualification."

That could be the beginning of a great script Mr. Nolan, go write it :happy

For adapted screenplay, I'm happy to report that Aaron Sorkin's fantastic script won! Based on "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, "The Social Network" was the only film last year that I predicted to win this very category.

"I Love You Phillip Morris" came out of nowhere and secured a nod for the 2011 Writers Guild Awards. Based on the book by Steven McVicker, the film starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGRegor as prisoners in love received a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.

"Phillip Morris" will be competing with awards-favorites "127 Hours" (screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy), "The Social Network" (screenplay Aaron Sorkin), "The Town" (screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard), and True Grit (screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen).

In the Original Screenplay category, critics-darlings "Black Swan" (screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin), "The Fighter" (screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson), "Inception" (Christopher Nolan), and "The Kids Are All Right" (written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg) will be competing with "Please Give" by Nicole Holofcener. Much like "I Love You Phillip Morris," "Please Give," a family dramedy set in New York,...

Writers Guild of America has announced the writers who receive nominations at next year's awards for their work in television. The most nod that one show gets is three, and that number is claimed by "Modern Family", "30 Rock" and "Breaking Bad".

"Modern Family" and "30 Rock", which have won Emmys, will be up against each other in comedy series and have each received two nods for episodic category. Meanwhile, "Breaking Bad" takes a nod in drama field and two additional episodic nominations.

AMC's "The Walking Dead" is vying for new series prize, battling "Boardwalk Empire", "Justified", "Treme" and "Men of a Certain Age" along the way. "Empire" in particular is also nominated for drama series against older and more prominent shows like "Mad Men" and "Dexter".

The WGA Awards will hand out the prizes in a ceremony held February 5 in Los Angeles and New York. Partial list of nominations can be...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West and the Writers Guild of America, East have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2010 season to be honored at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards on February 5, 2011, in Los Angeles and New York.

Television Nominees

Dramatic Series

Boardwalk Empire, Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Tom Schnauz, John Shiban, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC

Dexter, Written by Scott Buck, Manny Coto, Charles H. Eglee, Lauren Gussis, Chip Johannessen, Jim Leonard, Clyde Phillips, Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, Tim Schlattmann, Wendy West; Showtime

Friday Night Lights, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Kerry Ehrin, Ron Fitzgerald, Etan Frankel, Monica Henderson, David Hudgins, Rolin Jones, Jason Katims, Patrick Massett, Derek Santos Olson, John Zinman; NBC

Mad Men,...

The Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, news, radio, promotional writing, and graphic animation during the 2010 season to be honored at the 2011 Writers Guild Awards on February 5, 2011, in New York and Los Angeles.

Here are the television nominees in soap-related categories:

Daytime Serial

* As The World Turns, Written by Susan Dansby, Lucky Gold, Janet Iacobuzio, Penelope Koechl, David Kreizman, Leah Laiman, David A. Levinson, Leslie Nipkow, Jean Passanante, Gordon Rayfield, David Smilow; CBS

* General Hospital, Written by Meg Bennett, Nathan Fissell, David Goldschmid, Robert Guza, Jr., Karen Harris, Elizabeth Korte, Mary Sue Price, David F. Ryan, Tracey Thomson, Michele Val Jean, Susan Wald; ABC

* One Life To Live, Written by Shelly Altman, Ron Carlivati, Anna Theresa Cascio, Aida Croal, Carolyn Culliton, Frederick Johnson, Elizabeth Page, Gordon Rayfield, Melissa Salmons, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Courtney Simon, Chris...

Today the Writer’s Guild of America kept the spirit of awards season happy by revealing their nominations for achievements in writing for television. Plenty of our favorite shows got some love from WGA members including like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, 30 Rock and Modern Family while plenty of new series like Boardwalk Empire, Justified and The Walking Dead also got some praise. Even the finale episode of Lost is in the mix of episodic nominees. Aside from the narrative dramas and comedies, other staple series like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report get their due diligence as well. Check out the full list of nominees, complete with all the writing talents behind them, after the jump.

Drama Series

Boardwalk Empire – Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter; HBO

Breaking Bad – Written by Sam Catlin,...

A fitting tribute to the hugely charismatic poet and unlikely pop star Ian Dury

A fitting tribute to the hugely charismatic poet and unlikely pop star Ian Dury, whose lyrics are among the most quotable ever written. Andy Serkis is 46 but, like his subject, has never seemed any particular age and pulls off a wonderfully entertaining and appropriate version of the original, who died in 2000, getting the roguish, Rabelaisian spirit of the "raspberry" (as the Blockheads called him) without ever stooping to slavish imitation. Style is fitted to subject, with ragged touches among the classy bits, some courtesy of Dury's old mucker Peter Blake, who also contributes lovely opening titles. A very impressive directorial debut by Mat Whitecross, who co-directed Michael Winterbottom's Road to Guantánamo. Olivia Williams and Naomie Harris breathe real life into Dury's long-suffering partners.

Rating: 4/5

DVD and video reviewsRob Mackie

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media...

"The only thing I've ever missed is a few buses," says Ian Dury, as played by Andy Serkis, in "sex & drugs & rock & roll." The film's a biopic about the often decadent, sometimes tragic and altogether rocking lead singer for the Blockheads, one of the first to fuse together rap, rock, reggae and funk to become a sensation in the U.K. It's no surprise then that Serkis doesn't miss a trick in portraying the frontman, who's hobbled by childhood bout with polio, but more than makes up for it with a life spent between two women -- his wife (Olivia Williams) and his girlfriend (Naomie Harris) -- not to mention an overindulgence on available drugs and alcohol, and a flamboyant personality that he attempts to tame in front of his young son (Bill Milner).

Although the actor, best known for suiting up in performance capture gear to portray Gollum and King Kong,...

For tonight’s Tribeca preview, we’re looking at another musician biopic, this time focusing on Ian Dury from the Blockheads. In sex & drugs & rock & roll Andy Serkis plays Dury, and from the looks of the trailer (below), he is knocking another one out of the park. His vocal talents are only matched by the intensity and commitment he brings to every role he’s had the opportunity to embody. From Gollum and King Kong, to even a minor role in The Prestige, Serkis is clearly one of the hardest working (in quality not quantity) performers around today.

On our last live Disc 2, Rudie discussed the film, and that recording should be released on iTunes and up on our blog within the next few days, to hear more about what he thought.

sex & drugs & rock & roll will be screening on April 24th, 26th, 28th, and 29th. For a complete list of screening times and venues,...

Andy Serkis is mesmerising as Ian Dury, the punk hero who defied the crippling effect of polio to pen some of pop's most potent lyrics

A great deal has happened in the 70 years since the inspirational Warner Brothers biopics of the 1930s were challenged by Orson Welles's Citizen Kane. Richard Attenborough is probably the last living director honourably bearing aloft a banner embroidered with Longfellow's words: "Lives of great men all remind us/ We can make our lives sublime". Film-makers now like to present us with portraits of deeply flawed heroes, whether they be rock stars, politicians or military leaders, to discover not just the secret of what motivated them but to reveal the worm in the rosebud. We no longer expect lives to be coherent, and we believe the real man is closer to the picture in the attic than to Dorian Gray.

The production team behind...

Danny Cannon has been tapped to direct and executive produce Fox's drama pilot "The Cure".

Also tapped for drama pilot directing duties are Tony Goldwyn for NBC's untitled Blake/Shore project and Lawrence Trilling for ABC's untitled Rina Mimoun project.

In pilot pickup news, ABC has handed out orders to two comedies from writing duos, one from Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia and the other from Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah.

* "Cure", from Warner Bros. TV and Weed Road Prods., revolves around a group that cuts through the red tape of medical bureaucracy -- often at their own peril -- to get care to those who need it most. For the pilot, Cannon will serve as executive producer alongside Patrick Massett, John Zinman and Akiva Goldsman. Brittany Lovett and Stephanie Koff are co-exec producing. Cannon, who created the distinct visual look of the "CSI" franchise, executive produces "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY".

* The untitled Blake/Shore project, from NBC Universal TV Studio and writers/executive producers David Shore and Peter Blake, is a light drama with procedural elements centered on a female cop (Famke Janssen).

Famke Janssen has signed on to topline NBC's cop drama from House creator/executive producer David Shore.

The untitled NBC Universal TV Studio project, from Shore and House writer Peter Blake, is a light drama with procedural elements that centers on a female cop (Janssen).

"We're thrilled to have her -- she's smart, funny and somewhat attractive," Shore quipped.

Last year, Janssen starred in the summer blockbuster X-Men: The Last Stand, reprising her role as Jean Grey/Phoenix, a part she has played in all three X-Men movies. She most recently wrapped the indies The Ten, which premiered this month at the Sundance Film Festival, and Turn the River.

On TV, Janssen had a role on FX's hit drama Nip/Tuck.

Janssen, whose feature credits also include Don't Say a Word and Hide and Seek, is repped by CAA, manager Emily Gerson Saines of Brookside Artist and attorney Kevin Yorn.

In other pilot news:

* Rocky Carroll is set to co-star in NBC's comedy pilot The IT Crowd. The NBC Uni TV/FremantleMedia North America project centers on three misfits.

House writer-producer Peter Blake has inked a two-year overall deal with NBC Universal TV Studio, the studio behind the hit medical drama. Under the seven-figure pact, Blake will continue to serve as a consulting producer on House, while also developing for the studio. "Peter has written some of the most moving episodes of 'House, ' " NBC Uni TV senior vp drama and cable programming Laura Lancaster said. "We've been interested in developing with him for years, and are truly excited to have the opportunity to do that now."...