'Fifty Shades' fallout: Sources cite script showdown

Movies

Tatiana Siegel
The Hollywood Reporter

11 hours ago

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images file

Actor Charlie Hunnam, who currently stars on "Sons of Anarchy."

Universal Pictures and Focus Features haven't yet resorted to posting a woman-seeking-man personal ad on Craigslist. But in the wake of Charlie Hunnam's abrupt departure from "Fifty Shades of Grey" — after what sources say was increasing conflict with the high-profile film's creative team — the studio is left to scramble desperately for another actor to star opposite Dakota Johnson in the role of billionaire S&M fan Christian Grey so the project can meet a looming Nov. 1 start date.

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Universal chairman Donna Langley, producers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, director Sam Taylor-Johnson and author EL James are said to have drafted a list of four men they want to read for the role. Although the list is being kept under NSA-level secrecy, THR.com revealed Oct. 13 that British TV stars Jamie Dornan, 31, and Christian Cooke, 26, are among the targets. Both actors came close to capturing the part the first time around but lost to Hunnam because the "Sons of Anarchy" star is a bigger name. ("True Blood's" Alexander Skarsgard also is being considered.)

Getty Images file

Actor Jamie Dornan.

Dornan could be emerging as a front-runner. Born in Northern Ireland, he's a former Calvin Klein model, dated Keira Knightley for two years and played Sheriff Graham on the first season of ABC's "Once Upon a Time." According to a source, Dornan was contacted by Langley even before Hunnam officially dropped out Oct. 12. But a Dornan confidant says no overtures had been made at press time to the actor, who stars in British series "The Fall," on which he plays a killer terrorizing Belfast. The fact that Dornan's wife, actress-singer Amelia Warner, is pregnant also could complicate matters.

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The last thing Universal wants is another actor to emerge as its "Fifty Shades" protagonist only to waffle. The studio is reeling over Hunnam's exit less than three weeks before the start of production. Sources say his discomfort with the hoopla around the project had been mounting for at least four weeks before he bailed, which officially was blamed on his "Sons" schedule not allowing him time to prepare (the FX series wraps production Oct. 22). After signing Sept. 2, Hunnam faced a public frenzy on social media sites, where fans of the book congregated to fawn over and complain about his casting. Universal was forced to hire bodyguards for the actor at a recent "Sons" premiere, and two appearances to promote the show were canceled — one at Goulet Motosports in Hawkesbury, Ontario, on Sept. 14, and one at Rocky's Harley-Davidson in London, Ontario, on Oct. 13.

In addition, Hunnam, who also is a writer (he penned the gothic horror screenplay "Vlad" for Brad Pitt's Plan B and Summit Entertainment), is said to have submitted his own very detailed script notes on Kelly Marcel's adaptation of the runaway best-seller. The notes were well received, according to sources, but that only led to Hunnam seeking further script approval, which was denied. "That's Charlie, that's who he is. He's particular," says one source.

STORY: Charlie Hunnam Drops Out of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie 

According to another source, Hunnam, who was to be paid about $125,000 for the film, began butting heads with the creative team, including Taylor-Johnson. The conflict reached a fever pitch in early October, though everyone involved thought the issues had been resolved. But the discord spiked again Oct. 11. Hunnam's team at CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners strongly advised him to stay on the project for fear that his exit would embarrass Langley — new to the chairman job — and burn a bridge with one of the major studios. That same day, Universal hired writer Patrick Marber — no stranger to taboo sex themes with his Oscar-nominated screenplay "Notes on a Scandal" — to do a polish and bolster the characters. But by then, Hunnam, whose heart it seems never was in the project, had decided to decamp. The next morning, the studio announced his departure, and James tweeted, "I wish Charlie all the best." Universal and CAA declined comment.

Hunnam isn't the first actor to have doubts about playing the dungeon-loving Christian Grey. James' first choice, Robert Pattinson, never engaged with producers. Garrett Hedlund was heavily courted this summer and even received an informal offer, but the "Tron: Legacy" star passed in July because he couldn't connect with the character. Now he is in Australia to shoot the Angelina Jolie-directed "Unbroken."

EXCLUSIVE: 'Fifty Shades' Movie Hires Writer for Script Work

Fortunately for Universal, its leading lady, Johnson, 24, remains firmly in place, ready to take on the virgin-turned-sexpert Anastasia Steele, a role that has greater dimension than the Grey character. But with the clock ticking, the start of production likely will need to be pushed back at least a week. Still, the studio says it remains committed to making its Aug. 1, 2014, release date.

For her part, the ever-involved James (she has approval rights on cast) is in Los Angeles the week of Oct. 14 as the hunt for a new Christian Grey continues. As the author writes no fewer than 44 times in "Fifty Shades": "Oh my."

Borys Kit contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/fifty-shades-fallout-sources-cite-charlie-hunnam-script-showdown-8C11401094
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“Slumdog Millionaire” Star Freida Pinto Plays Stripper In Bruno Mars’ “Gorilla” (VIDEO)

Freida Pinto, most known for her role as Latika in “Slumdog Millionaire”, has showed off a very different side of herself in Bruno Mars’ new video for his single “Gorilla”.

The 28-year-old actress writhes around a stripper pole in the provocative video released on the singer’s Facebook page on Tuesday.

Freida plays the sultry Isabella, a stripper in a seedy bar, as Bruno Mars sings on stage.

Bruno and Freida are later shown making out in the backseat of a car.

Pinto has yet to comment on the surprising video, but she posted the link to it last night on her Twitter page saying, “Got to admit this was a hard secret to keep! X o.”

Freida is seen striding onstage and taking his guitar from him, before pouring tequila on it and lighting in instrument on fire.

The roof sprinkler comes on and Freida stands there in her underwear as the water rains down on her.

Pinto, who got her start alongside boyfriend of five years Dev Patel, 22, in the Oscar-winning 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire”, has been spicing up her image lately. She appeared on the cover of Vogue India’s October issue with her legs open in a very suggestive pose.

Pinto has yet to comment on the surprising video, but she posted the link to it last night on her Twitter page saying, “Got to admit this was a hard secret to keep! X o.”

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Images: wenn.com/YouTube

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U.S. farm bill negotiators may begin work next week

By Charles Abbott

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House and Senate negotiators could meet for the first time next week to work on the new $500 billion U.S. farm bill, more than a year past due and repeatedly delayed by House Republican plans for steep cuts in food stamps for the poor.

The bill is also expected to cut funding for conservation programs but expand by $1 billion a year the federally subsidized crop insurance program, which now costs around $9 billion annually.

"Depending on the House and Senate schedules, the first, formal conference meeting could be scheduled as early as next week," said an aide to House Agriculture Committee chairman Frank Lucas. Under congressional protocol, Lucas will chair the conference committee formed to write a compromise bill between the House and Senate versions.

If Congress is not in session next week, the negotiators may not meet until the following week, said two other congressional staff workers.

The first meeting of House and Senate conferees is a milestone that marks the final round of work on major legislation. Commonly, a final version emerges within a few weeks.

Lucas says he is confident of consensus on a five-year bill.

Analysts said it will be difficult to reconcile the dramatically different proposals for food stamps.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia spearheaded the Republican drive to tighten eligibility rules for food stamps, ending benefits to nearly 4 million people in 2014, and save $39 billion over 10 years. His targeted cuts are nearly 10 times the amount proposed by the Democrat-run Senate, which focused on closing loopholes on utility costs.

The Republican-controlled House defeated its initial version of the farm bill, with $20 billion in food stamp cuts, because the cuts were too small to satisfy Tea Party-influenced conservatives. Democrats voted solidly against the cuts.

By comparison, disagreements over agricultural programs appear easier to resolve although some are lightning rod issues.

The Senate, for example, would require farmers to practice conservation to qualify for premium subsidies on crop insurance and would reduce the subsidy for growers with more than $750,000 adjusted gross income a year. Both ideas are anathema to Lucas.

The Senate backs stricter limits on who can collect farm subsidies and how much they can get per year. And it says the support prices in the House bill are so high they might result in farmers aiming for a subsidy payment rather than a profit in the marketplace.

Rice and peanut growers say the Senate bill is skewed in favor of corn and soybean growers in the Midwest and that they get a fairer deal in the House bill.

An expanded and stronger crop insurance program was the top goal of farm groups in the bill. The House and Senate bills would do that through a "supplemental coverage option" that is an insurance policy covering up to 90 percent of normal revenue from grains and oilseeds.

Cotton growers would get their a revenue insurance program intended to resolve a World Trade Organization ruling against the U.S. subsidies now in place. Brazil brought the WTO case against the United States a decade ago and has not said if the new scheme is satisfactory.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-farm-bill-negotiators-may-begin-next-week-195110755--sector.html
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Apple Will Announce the New iPads on Oct. 22nd

As was foretold by the ancients, Apple will hold its holiday iPad jamboree on October 22nd. We'll see some new tablets, sure. But there also might be a trove of other odds and ends awaiting us next week.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xDtceDvAev0/apple-will-announce-the-new-ipads-on-oct-22nd-1445584009
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World stocks muted as US debt deal deadline looms

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — World stock markets fluctuated between gains and losses Wednesday as a deadline for divided U.S. lawmakers to agree on a higher government borrowing limit drew ever closer.

Unless Congress acts by Thursday, the government will lose its ability to borrow and will be required to meet its obligations by relying on cash in hand and incoming tax receipts. That could mean the U.S. is unable to repay holders of Treasury bills that mature in coming days, or that it could miss interest payments on longer-dated Treasurys, and would be in default on its debt.

In early European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent at 6,521.86 and Germany's DAX fell 0.1 percent to 8,792.94. France's CAC-40 was 0.7 percent lower at 4,226.88.

But U.S. stock futures made modest gains, auguring well for trading on Wall Street. Dow futures were up 0.4 percent at 15,155 and S&P 500 futures also gained 0.4 percent, to 1,699.30

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent to close at 14,467.14 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.5 percent to 23,228.33. China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.8 percent to 2,193.07. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 percent to 5,262.91.

Stock indexes in Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Philippines eked out modest gains.

"The market is still relatively calm waiting for the storm to hit tomorrow, when the U.S. will reach its debt ceiling and then default will follow and all hell will break loose," said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Finance Group in Hong Kong.

"Everybody is thinking the inevitable now. It is inevitable that the U.S. will miss an agreement before the deadline," he said.

Tuesday on Wall Street, stocks were flat or down all day Tuesday, but the size of the losses waxed and waned depending on which politician was giving a press conference about the budget impasse. The market closed with its first loss in a week. Yields on short-term government debt rose sharply as investors worried about the possibility of a default.

Many market commentators still hold out hope that reason will prevail and Democrats and Republicans will reach a deal at the last minute. But another reason for pessimism was that any deal reached this week might simply set up another showdown a few weeks or months down the road.

Lawmakers are also trying to agree on ending a partial government shutdown that has resulted in many Federal workers idled without pay.

In the energy markets, benchmark crude for November delivery was steady at $101.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The euro rose to $1.3532 from $1.3522 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar rose to 98.41 yen from 98.22 yen.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-stocks-muted-us-debt-deal-deadline-looms-093149434--finance.html
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Praise for those who cross shale's fault lines

Americans may not know it but other countries with shale deposits of gas or oil now look to the United States for leadership on two fronts:

One, how to best use the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). And two, how to resolve the competing values of even tapping this abundant source of petroleum.

In large part because of fracking, the US is now on course to become the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, creating jobs in many areas and a hope of energy security for the nation. But the US has only begun the difficult task of finding a consensus on whether fracking’s hazards outweigh its benefits, and what to do about those hazards, such as methane release and water pollution.

Both sides in the debate have long armed themselves with studies, polls, pressure groups, and even movies to promote or prohibit fracking. Local citizens living over shale formations are often at a loss, perhaps fearing the potential health effects while eyeing the potential wealth bonanza.

But some courageous individuals in the energy industry and among environmentalists have reached out with respect and dispassion to listen to each other in hopes of finding a fact-based consensus.

Last spring, for example, a coalition of gas developers, green activists, and foundations started the Center for Sustainable Shale Development to certify fracking companies that want to implement high standards for protecting air quality, water resources, and climate.

The center’s aim is to imitate the success of the independent certification regime for green buildings known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. The first certifications are now in the works.

Another example is a law passed last month in California that strikes a middle ground in both allowing and regulating fracking. With the state’s Monterey Shale formation perhaps able to produce 15.4 billion barrels of oil, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) backed the measure, taking a moderate approach in balancing contending interests.

Only two years ago, California passed a law requiring the state to be using 33 percent renewable energy by 2020. But in now setting up a favorable regulatory scheme for shale oil production, it is showing how one state can have a healthy debate over rational management of productive resources and the environment.

Local differences in shale exploitation – such as geological structure and water resources – almost dictate local or state solutions on whether to ban it (as New York has done twice) or to regulate fracking with effective rules. The quality of the debate – a dialogue among listeners rather than a Washington-style clash of power plays – could serve as a model as more countries move to either tap this resource or ban its use.

In August, another consensus-seeking group, the Shale Gas Roundtable, issued a 139-page report with a number of recommendations. One of its strongest suggestions is to set up a fund to do independent research on shale exploitation. Too many studies are funded by the industry or environmental groups, leading to a perceived bias in much of the data.

Trust is the first requirement in resolving such disputes. The past year has seen the US make great progress in settling the future of shale fuels. Other nations are watching, eager for a model on how to deliberate the value of shale in both its possible harms and expected benefits.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/praise-those-cross-shales-fault-lines-211925350--politics.html
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Help Make Daniel Radcliffe's Sex-Filled Kickstarter A Reality

In the latest 'After Hours,' the 'Kill Your Darlings' star and his co-star Dane DeHaan need your help.


By Kevin P. Sullivan

Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715610/daniel-radcliffe-sex-filled-kickstarter.jhtml

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