U.K. Press Complaints Commission To Fold Among Ongoing Critique

When Harry Potter author JK Rowling gave evidence for the Leveson Inquiry into Uk media ethics last November, she referred to as Press Complaints Commission toothless. Now, the British newspaper watchdog is going to be formally defanged since it moves to close lower. The org has faced ongoing critique within the last several several days, largely that many consider an inadequate analysis to the phone-hacking scandal within the now-defunct News Around The World. The PCC has handled complaints in regards to the editorial content of magazines and newspapers inside the Uk for 21 years, and may quickly wind lower methods getting a transitional body controlling press regulation until a completely new method is established. More particulars are expected to emerge over the following six days. When the decision is created in principle to shutter the PCC lately, chairman Master Search mentioned, “Were greatly now round the front ft and hearing the sides on and on to create forward the type of independent self-controlling structure that everyone will give you of.

Five Sci-Fi Characters Influenced By John Carter

You may know that the new movie John Carter is based on some very old stories Edgar Rice Burroughs title character first appeared in print a century ago. But you may not fully appreciate the influence that Burroughs creation has had on the sci-fi genre and pop culture in general. So, with a little help from BigShinyRobot.com editor and Burroughs enthusiast Bryan Young, I give you the top five characters influenced by John Carter: 1. Flash Gordon John Carter was a direct ancestor of this early sci-fi hero, as well as Buck Rogers. With the Carter stories, Burroughs created that breathless, serialized style fifteen years before it was popularized in those 30s serials, says Young. He was writing movie serials before movie serials existed. 2. Han Solo & Friends George Lucas has credited the aforementioned Flash and Buck as inspirations for "Star Wars." Its almost the grandchild of John Carter, says Young. And in a more direct way, one can see the parallels between two iconic couples: John Carter and Dejah Thoris, their relationship is very Han Solo and Princess Leia, Young points out. They can be very snippy towards each other but theyre both really strong-willed characters, and the movie actually plays that up even more than the books. 3. Superman John Carters powers on Mars are derived exactly as Supermans are on Earth, where his body is affected by the geography differently, says Young. Because hes accustomed to Earths gravity, when Carter goes to Mars he suddenly has extraordinary physical powers compared to those around him. And John Carter has to go there and find a reason to fight for these people that he should have no vested interest in, except that some of them look like him, says Young. And Superman has to do the same thing here. 4. Malcolm Reynolds John Carter is a Civil War veteran who fought for the losing side quite similar to a certain "Firefly" captain. Mal Reynolds is a guy who lost his battle in the war, and he thought he was fighting for the right, Young says. He has a lot of really deep personal issues about how that conflict went, and thats very much how John Carter is too. And theres also the genre parallel: Firefly is very much a Western in space, says Young, and thats exactly what John Carter has always been, since 1912. 5. Indiana Jones If you go back and read those [John Carter] books and the way theyre set up, theres a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter, says Young. The adventures and predicaments that Carter finds himself in are clear precursors to those of Dr. Jones, a B-movie hero in a polished, blockbuster film franchise. One of the things that people love about Steven Spielberg is that he takes those B movies and adds a layer of craft into them so it elevates them into classic movies that are cross-generational, Young says. You dont have to just be a B movie lover to love Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Its just a well-made movie, and its in that same mold as John Carter. Tell us what you think in the comments section and on Twitter!

Finish Of Watch Release Looking For Sept. 28

Open Road’s deal recently to distribute the cop drama written and directed by David Ayer incorporated a couple,000-screen rollout, the absolute minimum guarantee just north of $two million along with a $20 million P&Dedication. The distributor has set a release date for that film that stars Mike Gyllenhaal (who’s also executive creating), Michael Pena and Anna Kendrick: September 28, 2012. The film, from Exclusive Media in colaboration with Emmett/Furla Films, focuses on a set of LAPD cops (Gyllenhaal and Pena) and it is told via footage in the handheld cameras from the officials, gang people, surveillance cameras, and people caught within the type of fire. Ayer’s Crave Films, John Lesher under his Le Grisbi Prods, and Nigel Sinclair and Matt Jackson of Exclusive Media are producers. Exclusive funded with Emmett/Furla Films.

Sundance LUV Duo Lands At Gersh

EXCLUSIVE: Gersh has signed Sheldon Candis and Justin Wilson. They co-wrote and Candis made his directorial debut on LUV, which premiered at Sundance in the US Dramatic Competition and was acquired by Indomina and BET in a 7-figure deal for North American theatrical and broadcast rights. The film, which stars Common, Michael Rainey Jr, Dennis Haysbert and Danny Glover, premieres in the fall. Candis & Wilson are developing film and TV projects through their Cinephile Academy banner, and they continue to be managed by Jeremy Platt and Jelani Johnson at Generate.

Degrassi: Where We Left Off and What to Expect

Dustin Clare, Spartacus: Vengeance Gannicus! Gannicus! Gannicus! The original Champion of Capua returns to Spartacus: Vengeance on Friday (10/9c, Starz), and like the last time he entered that arena, many will die. But will they perish at his hand? It's been five years since he left a free man, no longer a gladiator for the House of Batiatus. "He's definitely matured," Dustin Clare, who plays Gannicus, tells TVGuide.com. "He's been a journeyman with the rolling sea and that pack on his back. Since philosophy was a big part of that period of time and men were challenging thinking, I'd like to think that he'd had experience with someone like that along his journey, with families, different cultures, different races." From Game of Thrones to Spartacus: TV's unsexiest sex scenes His altered appearance reflects the mishmash of cultures that he's encountered. "We really tried to incorporate that and worked quite closely with the costume designer, who really wanted to play with different textures, fabrics and metals," says Clare. "It was in terms of looking at maps and what cultures were in the vicinity of where he would have been at the time and different accoutrements he would have collected. We just wanted to see a man who's experienced a lot." But don't expect a kinder, gentler or less debauched Gannicus. "I think his obvious weakness is alcohol," Clare says. "He uses it like he did in the past, to distract himself from realities, in the same way he's used sexual gratification." And even though he's no longer required to enter the arena, Gannicus has kept in fighting form. "He does a lot of walking and sometimes he has to swim," Clare jokes, before clarifying, "It's not that he hasn't been fighting at all... I mean, he's the kind of guy who wouldn't back down from a fight." Check out Gannicus prepping for his next fight in this promo for Friday's episode, "Libertus": Somehow, Gannicus has become the Romans' chosen executioner of Spartacus' three captured men. And considering he once wronged his best friend Oenomaus (Peter Mensah) by sleeping with his wife Melitta (Marisa Ramirez), who later died, he should be trying to make it up to Oenomaus, not kill him. "It's a long time passing, but there's definitely going to be guilt there," Clare says. "The circumstances that bring him back to Capua, it's a calling, it's something he has to do to right wrongs in his past." Allegiances will be uncertain this season. Although Gannicus is a former slave and gladiator, that doesn't mean he'll automatically side with Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) and the rebels. "He probably has stronger ideals than he did before and that is really where he clashes with Spartacus when they finally do meet," he says. "They have different ways of seeing what they feel is right and what they feel is just in the world. I don't think that either of them are wrong; they're just different opinions." From Spartacus to Shameless: Winter TV's sexiest eye candy Both men struggled to win their freedom. Spartacus overthrew the House of Batiatus in a bloody massacre, while Gannicus won the Primus and was awarded the rudis -- a wooden dagger etched with the names of the men he's defeated in the arena -- that represents his hard-earned status. "It's his ticket that he can show and prove his freedom," Clare explains. "It means a lot to him, and he keeps it close to him." Spartacus: Vengeance airs on Fridays at 10/9c on Starz. Are you glad Gannicus is back? Why do you think he's facing Oenomaus in the arena? Should Gannicus team up with Spartacus?

Rankings: The Voice Stays Strong, Hawaii Five- Tops Smash

Christine Forest Former FlashForward star Christine Forest has reserved a guest role with an approaching episode of Castle, TVGuide.com is familiar with solely.Have more scoop in your favorite shows within our Winter TV previewWoods, who most lately starred around the short-resided NBC sitcom Perfect Couples, will have Leann Peach, an ambitious youthful reporter. Leann lands the storyline a person can have whenever a explosive device chimes in an anti-Wall Street protest rally throughout her live broadcast. Will Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) have the ability to connect the explosion towards the protesters or perhaps is something a lot more harmful afoot? (You realize, like World War III.)Take a look at our listing of TV's most sexy crime martial artists!Woods' other small-screen credits include roles on CSI: Miami, House, NCIS and also the Closer. She lately arrived charge on NBC's comedy pilot Daddy's Women.Castle airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC. Woods' episode, entitled "47 Seconds," is slated to air at the end of March.

Rob Golenberg Joins Evolution, Launches Company With Alon Aranya

EXCLUSIVE: Rob Golenberg, former Gersh Head of TV Literary and Packaging who left the agency in November amid a restructuring, is moving to the management side, joining Evolution Entertainment as a manager and producer. Additionally, Golenberg has teamed with longtime client Alon Aranya to launch a new production company, Scripted World. This season, Golenberg and writer-producer Aranya, who specializes in getting rights to international formats and bringing them to the U.S., sold 5 projects, three of them based on Israeli formats, and two on European ones. Two of them, ABC’s Penoza, based on a Dutch format, and NBC’s Midnight Sun, based on an Israeli series, were recently ordered to pilot with Aranya executive producing. The new company will focus on scripted foreign formats. While the U.K. has been America’s biggest source of scripted formats over the years, Aranya sees the rest of Europe as the next hotbed. “In the past few years we’ve been seeing a tremendous creative growth in European scripted shows resulting in outstanding drama series such as (Danish) The Killing and Penoza which have been set up for remakes in the US,” Aranya said. I believe that following the success of Penoza at ABC we will see more European TV drama adapted for US remakes. At Evolution, Golenberg re-teams the company president Michael Menchel with whom he worked at AMG. Save for the 4-month stint at the ill-fated AMG, Gelenberg spent the last 22 years as an agent at Triad, Paradigm, WMA and most recently at Gersh where she was for 9.5 years. He brings with him about a dozen of his clients, including Charlie Craig (exec producer showrunner of Eureka), Scott Williams (co-executive producer of NCIS), Melissa Carter (Jane By Design). “For the past few years, I saw the Agency business becoming mainly about Market share, and am much more interested in new business models, and working in a creative position with my clients,” Golenberg said.