Murdoch charge of BSkyB in danger

LONDON -- The inquiry into whether BSkyB is really a "fit and proper" who owns a U.K. broadcasting license continues to be walked up by local media regulator Ofcom. The Financial Occasions has says a team, referred to as Project Apple, was placed in The month of january in the regulator to scrutinize the ever-growing mountain of evidence which has emerged from such sources because the Leveson inquiry into press ethics, politicians' committees and police research. News Corp. is the owner of 39% of BSkyB. Within the worst situation, Ofcom could revoke its U.K. broadcasting license if the organization unsuccessful the "fit and proper" test.Other available choices available to the regulator include putting pressure on James Murdoch to face lower as chairman from the satcaster, and forcing News Corp. to scale lower its stake in BSkyB, a move that will finish its charge of the highly lucrative operator.Ofcom started preliminary queries into whether BSkyB would be a "fit and proper" who owns a broadcasting license last summer time, after phone hacking grew to become toxic if this emerged the mobile phone owned by killed schoolgirl Winnie Dowler have been compromised through the News around the globe. The paper, possessed by News Corp. off-shoot News Worldwide, was subsequently shuttered. Since This summer the crisis is becoming much more harmful for News Corp.Lately 10 of journalists in the Sun, also possessed by News Worldwide, were arrested. They're purported to have bribed public authorities. A Freedom of knowledge request through the Foot says in The month of january the media regulator established Project Apple. The regulator pays special focus on a study with a committee of pols on phone hacking, because of be released this spring. Both Rupert and James Murdoch, who a week ago ankled as executive chairman of News Worldwide, were grilled with this committee. The regulator stated: "Ofcom includes a duty underneath the U.K. Broadcasting Functions 1990 and 1996 to become satisfied that anyone holding a broadcasting license is, and stays, fit and proper to do this.InchNew evidence continues to be emerging from hacking and corruption accusations. Ofcom is ongoing to evaluate evidence, such as the new and emerging evidence, that could assist it in discharging its responsibilities."Ofcom authorities are thought to become liaising using the London police teams which are looking into hacking and bribery accusations, and inspecting evidence provided to Leveson.Reviews claim that the regulator might make a ruling around the "fit and proper" status of News Corp. in front of the conclusion associated with a criminal tests. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Hell On Wheels Star Anson Mount To See Villain In Hiatus Feature Supremacy

EXCLUSIVE: Anson Mount, the protagonist in the AMC series Hell On Wheels, has signed onto play a terrible villain inside the indie racial drama Supremacy. The Deon Taylor-directed drama also stars Danny Glover, Joe Anderson, Derek Luke, Evan Ross, Stacey Dash and Beginning Olivieri. The drama will depend on an authentic story. A paroled white-colored supremacist just destroyed a cop, and takes an Black family hostage around the extended evening of terror as government physiques cordon in the neighborhood where he and also the lady accomplice are relaxing low. Mount plays the role of Sobecki, a heavily inked maximum security prison inmate who’s your brain in the Aryan Brotherhood and runs his criminal empire from in jail. He’s the kidnapper’s leader rather than thrilled because he finds out of his charge’s screw-as he’s approached by government physiques to barter while using kidnapper. This can be Mount’s second film throughout hiatus from Hell on Wheels, which returns for just about any second season this fall. He just completed Code Title: Geronimo for Tony Mark and Current Pictures, opposite Cam Gigandet, Freddie Rodriguez and William Fichtner. He’ll next be seen starring opposite Jason Statham in Lionsgate’s Safe, being released April 26th. He’s repped by Innovative and Brookside Artist Management.

Pilot Season: Cougar Town's Serta Byrd Joins Louis C.K. Comedy

Serta Byrd Someone else in Cougar Town's cul-p-sac crew may fly the coop. Serta Byrd, who plays Courteney Cox's boy round the ABC comedy, has signed onto star in Louis C.K.'s untitled CBS comedy, Deadline reviews. The pilot notifies the story of countless youthful people trying to follow along with their creative dreams no matter the challenging economy. Byrd may have Fred, a smart film editor who functions as a sardonic observer of others in addition to their flaws. Pilot Season: Cougar Town's Josh Hopkins joins NBC comedy Byrd's casting is at second position to Cougar Town, meaning once the ABC comedy is restored for Season 3, Byrd will have to be recast inside the new project. Byrd's co-star, Josh Hopkins, also signed on for just about any comedy pilot in second position. Cougar Town's latest episode clicked up 4.3 million audiences together with single.5 rating inside the grownups age groups 18-49 demographic.

Nicollette Sheridan Takes Stay At Home Desperate Regular folks Trial

‘Desperate Regular folks’ Trial Puts Behind-The-Moments Drama In Spotlight Freelance author Dominic Patten can be a Deadline contributor Nicollette Sheridan wants the jury to know she's not Edie Britt. “She can be a character I play,” the actress mentioned in the courtroom today on day one of testimony in their suit against Desperate Housewivescreator/executive producer Marc Cherry, ABC Art galleries and ABC for wrongful termination and battery. “Honesty was really the only factor we shared.”Sheridan, co-requested by her co-counsel Patrick Maloney, might be the very first witness in the trial prone to latter days. She's prone to testify all day long lengthy today and all of Friday’s half-day session. Cherry, who's in the courtroom today, is predicted to testify inside a couple of days, an origin told Deadline. Starting with biographical questioning from Maloney and persistent objections from defense lawyer Adam Levin, Sheridan told the jury that despite missing the 2010 pilot season the actress has labored fairly continuously since departing the hit ABC series noisy . 2009 following a alleged abusive circumstance this is the core of her situation. Maloney stressed within the questioning Sheridan’s professional attitude and the way it had been appreciated with the producers and network behind Desperate Regular folks.The jury saw the actress’ initial seek Desperate Regular folks as well as the $125,000 first-season bonus Sheridan received, in addition to were treated to videos of Sheridan around the program. People incorporated the infamous vehicle-washing scene from at the beginning of the series while others showing the Britt character, in Sheridan’s own words, as “sexy overt and audacious.” The silence following a lights elevated following a clips were carried out was broken by Sheridan saying, “That was embarrassing” to chuckles within the judge and jury.

Meaghan Rath Is Not Your Typical Ghost on 'Being Human'

Were playing normal people that have these afflictions that happen to be supernatural," says Meaghan Rath, who plays Sally on Syfys re-imagining of the BBC series Being Human. "Thats what so special about the show."The Montreal-native portrays a ghost who lives with a vampire (Sam Witwer) and a werewolf (Sam Huntington). Even though Rath has been acting regularly in Canada over the last decade, she is still considered a new face in America. "It definitely helps to have some material to show before coming here," Rath says of her earlier work. "When the show was coming out last year, I read articles saying, 'Newcomer Meaghan Rath,' and Ive been doing this for years. But I love that. You can do a lot in Canada, and it gives you enough time to practice and improve."Back Stage: How did you get into acting? Meaghan Rath: When I was younger, I wasnt really sure what I wanted to do, but I told a lot of lies in school. I told my friends once that I was playing John Travoltas daughter in a movie. I also told people that I had this romantic affair with Jonathan Taylor Thomas over a summer. Then I started these workshops on the weekends at the Montral School of Performing Arts. Once when I was about 12, a casting director came in that was casting a schoolgirl for Lost and Delirious. My school picture, in which I was wearing a uniform, was on the wall. She asked me to audition and I got role. I played Allisons Friend Number Three, my best work to date. (Laughs) Back Stage: Did your ethnicity help your career initially or present more challenges? Rath: My dads family is part British and Austrian, and my mothers family is from Goa, which is in the south of India. I looked different from everyone one else, which now is such a blessing. It was harder at the beginning of my career. There aren't as many roles for people who look like me, and it was always complicated when it came to casting my parents. But now I couldn't be more grateful that I have a different look. Back Stage: How did you get introduced to Being Human? Rath: I hadnt heard of the British series. I received the breakdown from my agent and I connected immediately with Sally. I got the first two scripts and I thought, I need to do this.Back Stage: What was the audition process like? Rath: I auditioned a bunch of times in Montral. Then they flew me to Los Angeles to screen test with potential guys. The process was about a month. Back Stage: Did they make you wear a sheet? Rath: No. (Laughs.) I wore a white dress and tried to look as haunting as I could. I didnt do like arm waving or weird vocal stuff. I didnt wear makeup either because were playing against type. But I am very superstitious and if I get it a call back, Ill wear the same thing I wore the first time. Back Stage: How did you research the role? Rath: Ive always been into the horror genre, so Ive seen a lot of movies with ghosts and supernatural stuff. I looked more into the ghost lore, but I feel like Sally is such a new ghost in the beginning, I was kind of learning with her.Back Stage: What is challenging about playing a character that is mostly non-corporeal? Rath: In the beginning, I never got any props, and when you talk to someone, sometimes you touch them without thinking about it. Those were habits that I had to break, which I think helped me as an actor. Also, when I sit on the couch, the pillows are made out of concrete, so I dont make an imprint. Thats uncomfortable. Back Stage: What advice would you give to actors who have to re-imagine a character? Rath: Dont watch it. We were trying to create our own thing and that was done by avoiding the other show. If you spend a lot of time thinking, I hope ours is as good or better, then youre not focusing on the work. You just do your best and tap into what you can offer for the role. Being Human airs Mondays at 9 p.m. EST on Syfy.

Pilot Season: The CW Orders Dramas From J.J. Abrams and Mark Harmon

J.J. Abrams The CW has picked up three drama pilots from J.J. Abrams, Mark Harmon, Mark Schwahn, and Kim and Eric Tannenbaum.From Abrams and Bryan Burk, and written by Schwahn (One Tree Hill), Shelter is set at a historic New England summer resort where the new and returning staff attend to the needs of the guests while navigating their own friendships, rivalries and romances.Pilot Season: Fox picks up OB/GYN comedy starring Mindy KalingHarmon will team with the Tannenbaums and Martha Haight (Chaos) to executive-produce Joey Dakota, based on the Israeli series Danny Hollywood. In the time-travel musical, a documentary filmmaker travels back to the 1990s, where she meets and falls in love with the rock star/subject of her film. When she unexpectedly returns to present day, she must find her way back to the past to reunite with him and prevent his untimely death. Bert Royal (Easy A) wrote the script.The third pilot, The Selection, will be based on the upcoming book series by Kiera Cass. The project is an epic romance set 300 years in the future about a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads. Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain (Vampire Diaries) will write and executive-produce.

Sundance Fest Embraces Hip-Hop on Stage and Screen

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Hip-hop is making itself heard and seen at the Sundance Film Festival.Along with a slew of performances by rappers and DJs around town, this year's festival includes documentary and narrative films about hip-hop culture."It's a beautiful thing to see," said Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame, who stars in a short film playing at the festival called "The Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke." ''When you look at the success of Ice Cube and Will Smith, these are traditional hip-hop guys that are very successful in the movie business, so it's a great thing and I'm happy for all the other guys who are here."Rapper-actor Ice-T made his directorial debut at Sundance with the documentary "Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap," which features interviews with hip-hop artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Eminem, Mos Def, Run-DMC, KRS-One, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.Ice-T said he made the movie to give viewers "a better understanding of what it takes and what we do.""I wanted to talk about the craft, not the cars, the money, the girls," the 53-year-old entertainer said. "How do you write rhymes? Let's go into the songwriting process. And everybody was really excited because they were like, 'Nobody ever asks us that.'"After interviewing his friends and colleagues on both coasts, Ice-T ended up with a four-hour film that he trimmed down to 106 minutes for festival consideration."Our only ambition was to make it to Sundance," he said. "This is a festival about art, and this movie's about art."Another film with a hip-hop focus is dramatic-competition contender "Filly Brown." The film starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos and newcomer Gina Rodriguez tells the story of a rising Hispanic hip-hop star and the challenges she faces on the way to fame."Hip-hop, the soul of hip-hop and the foundation of hip-hop is just staying true to who you are and your voice, and so I think it's really nice that the Sundance films are reflecting that," said Rodriguez, who raps on screen."We didn't set out to make a hip-hop movie," added co-director Youssef Delara. "We set out to tell the story of this young woman in music, and it's just like hip-hop is so ingrained in our culture, and a lot of different types of culture, that you really can't tell a youth story without some element of hip-hop."The Sundance Institute Film Music Program hosted a concert at the ASCAP Music Caf featuring Ice-T, Chuck D of Public Enemy and rap pioneer Grandmaster Caz."Every year the films are so wonderful here and so diverse, and they keep adding new elements and experiences to the festival to keep it current and fresh," said Loretta Munoz, producer of the ASCAP Music Caf. "I'm very happy about 'The Art of Rap' and seeing how that goes forward."In addition to the films and official music programs, various corporate-sponsored locations held their own parties with big-name rap stars.Common, a star and producer of "LUV," a contender in the U.S. dramatic competition, celebrated the film by performing into the wee hours at the Express afterparty. Drake and Wiz Khalifa each took the stage at the Bing Bar, and Drake also hosted a gathering at Park City Live, where Ludacris headlined earlier in the week.Lil Jon took to the turntables at the Skullcandy Compound above a massive disco ball and Kendrick Lamar inspired the crowd to sing along at Sugar nightclub on Main Street, where Nas is set to perform Friday."Hip-hop changed the world," Ice-T said. "I'm amazed it took so long to get here."Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. By Sandy Cohen January 27, 2012 Luther Campbell PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Victoria Will PARK CITY, Utah (AP) Hip-hop is making itself heard and seen at the Sundance Film Festival.Along with a slew of performances by rappers and DJs around town, this year's festival includes documentary and narrative films about hip-hop culture."It's a beautiful thing to see," said Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew fame, who stars in a short film playing at the festival called "The Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke." ''When you look at the success of Ice Cube and Will Smith, these are traditional hip-hop guys that are very successful in the movie business, so it's a great thing and I'm happy for all the other guys who are here."Rapper-actor Ice-T made his directorial debut at Sundance with the documentary "Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap," which features interviews with hip-hop artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Eminem, Mos Def, Run-DMC, KRS-One, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.Ice-T said he made the movie to give viewers "a better understanding of what it takes and what we do.""I wanted to talk about the craft, not the cars, the money, the girls," the 53-year-old entertainer said. "How do you write rhymes? Let's go into the songwriting process. And everybody was really excited because they were like, 'Nobody ever asks us that.'"After interviewing his friends and colleagues on both coasts, Ice-T ended up with a four-hour film that he trimmed down to 106 minutes for festival consideration."Our only ambition was to make it to Sundance," he said. "This is a festival about art, and this movie's about art."Another film with a hip-hop focus is dramatic-competition contender "Filly Brown." The film starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos and newcomer Gina Rodriguez tells the story of a rising Hispanic hip-hop star and the challenges she faces on the way to fame."Hip-hop, the soul of hip-hop and the foundation of hip-hop is just staying true to who you are and your voice, and so I think it's really nice that the Sundance films are reflecting that," said Rodriguez, who raps on screen."We didn't set out to make a hip-hop movie," added co-director Youssef Delara. "We set out to tell the story of this young woman in music, and it's just like hip-hop is so ingrained in our culture, and a lot of different types of culture, that you really can't tell a youth story without some element of hip-hop."The Sundance Institute Film Music Program hosted a concert at the ASCAP Music Caf featuring Ice-T, Chuck D of Public Enemy and rap pioneer Grandmaster Caz."Every year the films are so wonderful here and so diverse, and they keep adding new elements and experiences to the festival to keep it current and fresh," said Loretta Munoz, producer of the ASCAP Music Caf. "I'm very happy about 'The Art of Rap' and seeing how that goes forward."In addition to the films and official music programs, various corporate-sponsored locations held their own parties with big-name rap stars.Common, a star and producer of "LUV," a contender in the U.S. dramatic competition, celebrated the film by performing into the wee hours at the Express afterparty. Drake and Wiz Khalifa each took the stage at the Bing Bar, and Drake also hosted a gathering at Park City Live, where Ludacris headlined earlier in the week.Lil Jon took to the turntables at the Skullcandy Compound above a massive disco ball and Kendrick Lamar inspired the crowd to sing along at Sugar nightclub on Main Street, where Nas is set to perform Friday."Hip-hop changed the world," Ice-T said. "I'm amazed it took so long to get here."Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.