Blu-ray pals Facebook to keep sales up

With Blu-ray sales growing this year, digital Entertainment Group desires to keep the momentum going through the holidays and contains enlisted Hollywood as well as the electronic products biz to create the greatest social media campaign for your format through Facebook. Since the overall homevideo biz is experiencing a 5% rise in revenue through the 3rd quarter -- its first quarterly sales increase since 2008 -- greater than 100 Facebook pages will launch a "Win large with Blu-ray" contest that will "educate movie fanatics on the benefits of Blu-ray home theatre,Inch the DEG mentioned. Bert Kreischer, host of Travel Channel's "Bert The Conqueror," has become representative for your contest, through which individuals who win will probably be granted a Blu-ray prize pack each week. Kreischer as well as the DEG produced three short videos that will show on participating partners' Facebook pages. Effort launches now and runs using the next 15 days. Virtually all of the art galleries are involved in the campaign, similar to indie distribs like Anchor Bay and Image Entertainment and electronic products producers like LG Electronics, Panasonic, The brand new the new sony Electronics and Toshiba America Information Systems. "The most effective 20 Hollywood film pages alone on Facebook have an overabundance than 250 million collective 'likes,' so by joining up exceeding 100 similar partners, we understood this might be one of the greatest contest ever being completed on Facebook," mentioned Amy Jo Cruz, executive director in the DEG. "Clients are trading nearly eight several hours monthly on Facebook now. There's no better approach to tout the benefits of Blu-ray to engaged and receptive clients nationwide.In . Promotion is powered by Peer Squared, designers in the ShareAndTell Professional social contest and rewards platform. The DEG reported Monday that third-quarter sales of homevideo game game titles inside the U.S. totaled $3.9 billion, up from $3.7 billion this past year. Blu-ray created $423 million through the 3rd quarter, due to top merchants like "Transformers: Dark in the Moon," "Thor," "X-Males: Top Quality,In . "Bridesmaids," "Fast Five" and "Alien: The Whole Saga." Streaming, electronic sales, and VOD elevated 50% to $812 million through the quarter, with VOD alone, producing $420 million of the through the 3-month period, up 5%. The rental biz still created $607 million from subscription-based disc-by-mail services like Netflix, which elevated 5%, and $414 million hauled in by rental costs from kiosks like Redbox through the quarter. DVD sales were off 15% to $1.3 billion. Overall, purchasing Blu-sun sun rays acquired $1.23 billion for your first seventy five percent of year, compared to $1 billion for a similar period this past year. Many of the uptick remains credited to "Avatar," which offered 11 million models on Blu-ray. Before that film, game game titles created 16% from the sales, normally, within the Blu-ray format. Now, it's around 25%, with a lot of game game titles moving greater than 50% on Blu-ray. An thought 52% of houses inside the U.S. now own a Blu-ray player, representing 33.5 million houses, the DEG mentioned. However, the entire home theatre sector remains lower 2% to $12.3 billion for your first seventy five percent. Still any signs and signs and symptoms of growth and development of physical dvd disks is welcomed by Hollywood's homevid divisions, given how art galleries are trying to coax more clients to buy rather than rent movies. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Jacqueline Paige...Got the Part

Jacqueline Paige...Got the Part Role: An alpha female in 'No Shelter,' a Katie Costello music video By Jesse Landberg October 29, 2011 "I look at this quite strategically," says Jacqueline Paige in reference to her increasingly well navigated (if not yet extensive) acting career. "I'm excited, but I do realize this is a business." Armed with business acumen and a drive to "infiltrate the industry from every way possible," this former business and legal studies major has found no shortage of eager investors in her talent since leaving college radio for TV, theater, and, most recently, music videos.With "No Shelter," a video for singer Katie Costello, Paige gained dynamic reel footage and great connections and became SAG-eligible, thanks to the producers' use of the Screen Actors Guild's New Media Agreement. Not a bad return for about 12 hours of work. Yet Paige candidly admits that when she first saw the project's casting notice in Back Stage, she was less interested in the music than in a timely deliverable."I'm currently trying to work on building up my reel," she says, and she felt that a music video would "be something interesting to transition between one major scene and another major scene, just something different. I love that music videos are finished in a daythat's amazing. When you're doing a movie, you do one scene in a day." But Paige did not submit herself for the gig right away. "I normally shy away from music videos, as unfortunately most times you're asked to be scantily clad," she explains. "But I looked up Katie Costello, and I liked her music, her look, and her vibe."The video's director, Matthew Pizzano, is grateful that Paige took a chance and sent in a submission. He eventually cast her as one of two "alpha females," a synchronized duo of snooty fashionistas who try to turn the video's naive protagonist into one of them. "This role needed to come from the actress's look and how she carried herself," Pizzano says. "Her movements needed to be rhythmic, and the character needed to have a certain degree of haughty status. [Jacqueline] had the look we were going for, and just from doing some minor direction exercises, it was clear that she could hit the notes she needed to hit during the course of the shoot."A former model, Paige used her fashion industry experience to create a unique body language for the largely dialogue-free role. "I remember what those people are like: the mentality, the lingo, the walk, everything. Even the facial expressions," she says, revealing the slightest trace of an English accent. "Drawing on that was helpful, because that's not naturally who I am."It wasn't the first time her fashion background gave her a leg up in the acting business. Of her headshot, Paige says, "I know it's different; it's more of a fashion shot. But I can't tell you how much more work I book with that shot than my general headshot, so I keep using it."Has Back Stage helped you get cast in the past year? We'd love to tell your story. Be in the weekly column by emailing casting@backstage.com for NY or bswcasting@backstage.com for Los Angeles with "I Got the Part" in the subject line. Jacqueline Paige...Got the Part Role: An alpha female in 'No Shelter,' a Katie Costello music video By Jesse Landberg October 29, 2011 "I look at this quite strategically," says Jacqueline Paige in reference to her increasingly well navigated (if not yet extensive) acting career. "I'm excited, but I do realize this is a business." Armed with business acumen and a drive to "infiltrate the industry from every way possible," this former business and legal studies major has found no shortage of eager investors in her talent since leaving college radio for TV, theater, and, most recently, music videos.With "No Shelter," a video for singer Katie Costello, Paige gained dynamic reel footage and great connections and became SAG-eligible, thanks to the producers' use of the Screen Actors Guild's New Media Agreement. Not a bad return for about 12 hours of work. Yet Paige candidly admits that when she first saw the project's casting notice in Back Stage, she was less interested in the music than in a timely deliverable."I'm currently trying to work on building up my reel," she says, and she felt that a music video would "be something interesting to transition between one major scene and another major scene, just something different. I love that music videos are finished in a daythat's amazing. When you're doing a movie, you do one scene in a day." But Paige did not submit herself for the gig right away. "I normally shy away from music videos, as unfortunately most times you're asked to be scantily clad," she explains. "But I looked up Katie Costello, and I liked her music, her look, and her vibe."The video's director, Matthew Pizzano, is grateful that Paige took a chance and sent in a submission. He eventually cast her as one of two "alpha females," a synchronized duo of snooty fashionistas who try to turn the video's naive protagonist into one of them. "This role needed to come from the actress's look and how she carried herself," Pizzano says. "Her movements needed to be rhythmic, and the character needed to have a certain degree of haughty status. [Jacqueline] had the look we were going for, and just from doing some minor direction exercises, it was clear that she could hit the notes she needed to hit during the course of the shoot."A former model, Paige used her fashion industry experience to create a unique body language for the largely dialogue-free role. "I remember what those people are like: the mentality, the lingo, the walk, everything. Even the facial expressions," she says, revealing the slightest trace of an English accent. "Drawing on that was helpful, because that's not naturally who I am."It wasn't the first time her fashion background gave her a leg up in the acting business. Of her headshot, Paige says, "I know it's different; it's more of a fashion shot. But I can't tell you how much more work I book with that shot than my general headshot, so I keep using it."Has Back Stage helped you get cast in the past year? We'd love to tell your story. Be in the weekly column by emailing casting@backstage.com for NY or bswcasting@backstage.com for Los Angeles with "I Got the Part" in the subject line.

Large Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco Is Engaged

Kaley Cuoco Sorry, brainiacs: Kaley Cuoco comes from the marketplace. The Big Bang Theory star is engaged to Josh Resnik, People reviews. "Due to everyone's well wishes! So sweet and means a great us! #ecstatic" the actress tweeted. Large Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco unveils past real-existence relationship with co-star Cuoco, 25, was formerly connected with co-star Johnny Galecki before dating Resnik, a dependancy specialist. Cuoco and Galecki dated for just two years before separating six several days before their figures referred to as it well round the CBS series

OWN looks at journey to 'Lovetown'

TranterOWN is developing BBC Worldwide Prods.' "Lovetown, USA," an original unscripted TV project about mass matchmaking in an American town, for a potential 2012 series bow. In the show, a group of expert matchmakers would set up operations for 30 days in a city of approximately 15,000 people, looking to pair up as many eligible singles as possible. The mayor, local business and community leaders and everyday citizens would participate. On Monday, the show's casting began its search for the centerpiece town. Izzie Pick Ashcroft, Jane Tranter, Rob Bagshaw, Charlie Debevoise and Mark Hickman will exec produce. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Networks Hedge Gadhafi Coverage as Rebels Take Credit for Killing Him

Libyan rebels took credit Thursday for capturing and killing Col. Moammar Gadhafi.our editor recommendsGadhafi's Son Fails in Attempts to Be Hollywood MogulNo Hollywood Ending for Gadhafi Later Thursday, Libya's prime minster confirmed he had been killed. UPDATE: CNN, MSNBC, Fox Air Gruesome Cell Phone Video of Dead Gadhafi Before the confirmation, multiple spelling's of Gadhafi's name instantly became Twitter trending topics as people speculated whether the controversial leader had been shot to death. VIDEO: Journalists Under Attack A graphic photo was also posted that purported to show the Libyan leader with gunshots to the head. CNN also posted what they say is video of his capture. CNN's Anderson Cooper hedged his reports online, warning on Twitter, "Conflicting unconfirmed reports on #Gadhafi's condition and status. Rumors quickly spread and get repeated as facts. Best to wait and see." "#libya fighters say #Gadhafi has been captured. But this is unconfirmed, and they've made false claims in past," Cooper added. Most other outlets also wrote about Gadhafi, but made sure to indicate the news had not yet been confirmed. PHOTOS: The Most Talked-About TV News Faces GlobalGrind Global Grind Speaking to Al Jazeera, NTC military chief Bel Haj confirms that #Gadhafi has been killed. bit.ly/oUipBW P The Associated Press NATO confirms it hit a convoy of Moammar Gadhafi loyalists fleeing Sirte as the city fell today: apne.ws/okjiAd -EC #Libya poniewozik James Poniewozik [Time Magzine] Reports: Qaddafi dead, Gadhafi wounded, Khadafi arrested, whereabouts of Gaddaffi and Qadafy unknown. WSJ Wall Street Journal Breaking: Misrata Military Council, which claimed to have captured Moammar Gadhafi today, says he has died in custody. wsj.com PHOTOS: Rachel Maddow On... NBCLA NBC Los Angeles BREAKING NEWS.. Unconfirmed reports .. Gadhafi is captured and may be killed.on.msnbc.com/nj8vmN ktla ktla #BREAKING NEWS: NTC Official says #Gaddafi has died of his wounds bit.ly/ogonQT #libya #gadhafi CNNLive CNN Live Unconfirmed reports former Libyan leader #Gadhafi has been captured. Watch Libya's Al Ahrar network live: on.cnn.com/cnndcl1 AP The Associated Press RAW VIDEO: Libya fighters fire guns in the air as they celebrate getting full control of Gadhafi hometown: apne.ws/nnQSjk -EC 1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply Viewers took issue with the conflicting reports, with one named shawneemon Tweeting, "The reporter on CNN said the they "think" they have 100% confirmation that Gadhafi is dead. Something is very wrong with that statement." Related Topics CNN Anderson Cooper

Showmanship in the office in TV debates

The large set that CNN has sprawled out on the floor in the Sands Exposition Center for your Western Republican Debate on Tuesday fits the dimensions in the Vegas strip, but it's also suggestive of some other trend in the 2012 election cycle: The debates are not only found drawing ever-bigger audiences, they are progressively ambitious as occasions. With cable news systems planning for a nearly weekly stream of debates -- more than twelve are planned through the relaxation in the primary race, with three introduced just on Monday -- pressure is onto stand out, through elaborate production values and huge in-studio audiences. CNN's 266-ft-extended and 90-ft-wide makeshift auditorium, by getting an arc stage thrusting into the audience, is "actually the greatest free-standing debate set that anybody has ever useful for presidential debates, to date as we could tell," states Mike Feist, CNN's Washington bureau chief and senior V . p .. Some 1,500 people will probably fill everyone else. Anthony Crivello, a Tony-award champion starring in "Phantom -- A Las vegas Spectacular," is scheduled to sing the country's Anthem, and Feist states the opener "will feel just a little like the opening from the Olympic telecast." This can be a extended means by the quaint Chicago studio where John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon met for your first public presidential debate in 1960. How large a couple of from the debates reflects the evolution of political coverage, particularly for your cable news systems which wrap their brands around presidential campaigns, marketing not just 24/7 coverage round the trail, however personas and categories of writers. The occasions are often sparse in ads, and so the assistance to channels is at promotion, not necessarily revenue. In the last cycle, CNN began in the standard mold by placing Republican candidates before Air Pressure One for just about any debate within the Reagan Library -- a venue repeated by MSNBC this year -- after which it adopted that tabs on a Democratic debate before a star-studded audience within the Kodak Theatre. Fox News has attracted the greatest audience up to now, with 6.millions of who seen the Sept. 22 debate it backed with Google. MSNBC's coverage from the debate within the Taxation Presidential Library on Sept. 7 came 5.4 million. Bloomberg TV, which backed a debate the other day, doesn't freely release its ratings but it is been thought around millions of, that's low this cycle but strong by Bloomberg's viewership standards. CNN's coverage in the Tea Party-backed debate on Sept. 12 came 3.6 000 0000 audiences, up from the 3 major major.2 million who seen the Nh debate. Facing "Monday Evening Football," it absolutely was nevertheless enough to win the evening against its cable news rivals. What's ironic is the amounts, oftentimes, are greater in comparison as to the these were inside the same period in the last cycle, which came record interest for just about any race readily available for parties. While polls show huge public distrust of people in politics and Washington, that has not saved audiences away. Alan Schroeder, connect professor at East U. in Boston and author of "Presidential Debates: four decades of High-risk TV," states the GOP debates this cycle "have carried out out just like a extended-running TV series, getting a familiar cast of headliners and supporting players gathering regularly to fit wits before larger than usual audiences." He notes the cycle got away and off to a later start in comparison to 2008, which this year there is the "unsettled character in the area, increased with the schism between traditional Republicans and Tea Party Republicans." More youthful crowd indicates another factor: the debates are seen not just through the telecasts though broadly circulated clips online together with other video sites. That was the situation using the final cycle, however the introduction of Twitter together with other social networks have aided get targeted traffic to the occasions. E-mailed questions are actually transformed by people Tweeted instantly, as CNN can do on Tuesday. Some form of social media or public participation is becoming routine, along with the Commission on Presidential Debates, which will sponsor the fall 2012 matchups between each party's nominee, is trying to find techniques to modernize what are actually most likely probably the most formal in the occasions. But CNN's Feist disputes notions -- advanced even by Sarah Palin -- the debates and campaign coverage are becoming a completely new kind of reality television. Around CNN together with other news systems may search for superlatives for occasions, the occasions are actually make-or-break for campaigns just before the onslaught of 30-second ad spots. Audiences have many userful stuff here in regards to the candidates "because of the debates," Feist states. The primary focus at CNN's debate, moderated by Assault Gets worse, is predicted being on Herman Cain given his dramatic rise in the polls. "We take these very seriously," Feist states. "We feel they are essential national political occasions. It becomes an event that's prone to help Republicans choose their nominee for leader. The champion in the Republican nomination process might be the next leader from the united states . States. Would you like to ensure we still get it done. It is a large important event, and you need to address it as being a large important event. That's any particular item here." Kate Lunger, senior executive producer of CNN's special events team, mentioned that deckie's labored day and night since 6 p.m. on Friday to create the venue, since the space wasn't available because of an early on convention. The setup includes seven matching Fleetwood RVs for each candidate to relaxation and confide, arranged so by poll position. Because the set is certainly an extended version of people found in two other CNN debates, the Vegas locale will probably be apparent diversely. Likely to remain in everyone else is really a city legend, Wayne Newton. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com

U.K. makes its way into 'Patagonia' for Academy awards

"Patagonia"LONDON -- The U.K. has selected "Patagonia" by Welsh director Marc Evans since it's submission for that foreign-language Oscar."Patagonia" may be the story of two parallel journeys, one with a Welsh couple to vacation to Argentina to operate on the relationship, and the other by an seniors Patagonian lady, and her nephew who visit Wales looking for their loved ones roots.It stars Matthew Rhys and pop star Duffy. Dialogue is within Welsh and The spanish language.BAFTA's film committee chose "Patagonia" for Academy Award submission. BAFTA only makes its way into a movie for that foreign-language Oscar race in a long time if this views there's a contender having a realistic possibility of a nomination. The final film it submit was "Afghan Star" last year.The U.K. has posted nine films previously two decades, seven of these Welsh. A couple of these, "Hedd Wynn" in 1993 and "Solomon and Gaenor" in 1999, received Oscar nominations, however the U.K. hasn't won the award."Patagonia" opened in the Dallas Film Festival this year, and subsequently performed in the Rio p Janiero, Mill Valley, London, Gothenberg and Glasgow fests, prior to getting a little U.K. theatrical release this March, grossing $84,000. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com