Gotham hunkers lower for Irene

A few braves Occasions Square on Sunday morning, August. 28. Hurricane Irene was downgraded to some tropical storm. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)As Hurricane Irene bore lower on New You are able to City over the past weekend, Gothamites effectively closed up shop, eliminating subway service, shuttering Broadway venues and cinemas and delivering newsies scrambling to pay for the unparalleled formulations. The Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting suspended all filming permits for that weekend (the MOFTB released a terse statement via its website). Productions presently filming apparently include Isla Fisher starrer "Bachelorette" and reality shows "Hoarders" and "House Clean.InchThe evacuation area for that city incorporated parts of all five boroughs, most abundant in severe flooding in Staten Island and Battery Park City. The elements is for certain to affect this weekend's box office, as most of the major theater chains have previously made the decision to shut Saturday or sunday (see separate story).All Broadway cancelled Saturday or sunday performances (see separate story), as did the brand new You are able to Intl. Fringe Festival, Off Broadway theaterplexes " New World " Stages and 59E59, and sundry other venues. It's rarely desireable to shut the theater about the weekend, especially on Broadway (Saturday evening is nearly always the performance that packs the home smallest), and also the multi-billion-dollar damage estimations for that storm include a great deal of lost revenue.With sustained winds as high as 85 miles per hour forecasted, the whole city battened lower the hatches beginning Friday. Hotels downtown closed off elevator service from night time on Saturday to ensure that nobody could be trapped in case of an outage, and flat-fee-only cab service shut lower at 10 p.m., with people needed to talk about taxi seats with any stragglers requiring a good start.Sunday daytime would be a mad dash towards the grocery, or at best the benefit store, for something that wasn't nailed lower. "The scene at our bodega appears like something from 'Under the Dome,'" stated one Brooklynite, "that we guess I'm going to be reading through a few days ago.InchThe majority of the storm's damage was ton-related. Waters in Battery Park City arrived at five ft throughout the storm surge, on Sunday morning, and seven ft in Staten Island. Flooding taken across both FDR Drive and West Side Highway, the 2 streets that permit quick travel in the east and west sides of Manhattan. Standing water three ft deep was apparently obstructing all lanes on area of the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Queens by Sunday ayem.New Yorkers understood in early stages that last weekend will be a lengthy one: Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday introduced the evacuation of low-laying areas across the Large Apple's waterfront areas -- a Gotham first -- and also the Metropolitan Transit Authority shut lower the whole subway system from noon on Saturday, effectively limiting citizens and vacationers to shelter. (The subway has not been shut lower since 2005's transit strike, a move that gained incarceration for Transit Employees Union prexy Roger Toussaint.) By Sunday mid-day, the rain and wind had passed within the city and also the metro area, Irene herself have been demoted to some tropical storm, and many local people were primarily worried about once the subways would be in service. But It Is not searching great for Monday ayem subway service. The MTA is counseling persistence, because the Metro North flooded throughout the storm and initial assessments revealed flooded tracks and fallen trees through the system.Newsies drawn out all of the stops throughout the storm: NBC News started into high gear with corporate brother or sister the elements Funnel assets, while CBS added a unique hourlong Sunday broadcast known as "Irene Strikes" with Scott Pelley anchoring from 11 a.m. -- likely time once the storm is going to be farthest inland. Sunday's "Hello America" broadened to 3 hrs with George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts anchoring from Occasions Square beginning at 7 each morning.Cablers, too, joined the fray: CNN extended coverage for Saturday mid-day and evening, while MSNBC covered with the weekend instead of likely to tape and Fox News preempted programming for storm coverage.Through the finish from the weekend, most Gothamites were searching to wash in the fallen branches, clean up the dirty water, and start it. Within Gotham, your house is is his sleeping box - his clients are his castle. Take Brooklyn's River Coffee shop, a tony DUMBO restaurant located on the spacious boat docked near the Water Taxi station. "I rested here last evening," stated one manager happily, because he lugged a pump along with a period of hose with the flower-petal-thrown entrance. "I was up through the night moving water, and that we endured it simply fine. Buzzy (Michael O'Keeffe, the restaurant's proprietor), too. He's a classic guy, but he got just like dirty because the relaxation people.Inch Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

HAMMOND: Can Indies Steal Oscars Again?

Previously in Pete Hammond’s 3-part series: Woody Allen, Brad Pitt, ‘The Help’ Among Early 2011Oscar Contenders Clooney, Clint, And Spielberg Put Major Studios Back Into Oscar Race After looking last weekat the potential awards landscape for the first eight months of 2011, and then at what Oscar-pedigreed filmsthe major studios have in store for fall and holiday slots, it’s time to turn to the independent world, which has become such a key force in the season. For the majors, Oscars are nice but not vital. For the indies, award strategies are key and could mean the difference between a hit filmor amiss. With little-pictures-that-could Best Picture triumphs in recent years like Crash, The Hurt Locker and last year’s The King’s Speech, indies have proven that with less money to spend,a savvy campaign and a little luck, the right film at the right time can grab the gold. Ever since the advent of screeners evened the playing field to some extent, it’s been a different ballgame. And the indies use the fall festival circuit (starting next weekat Venice, followed by Telluride and Toronto) tostart up the awards buzz.Already this year, indies likeWoody Allen’s Midnight In Parisand Terrence Malick’s Cannes Film Festival winner The Tree of Life are seriously in the hunt for those prized Best Picture slots and, as detailed by the soon-to-be-released contenders from thecompanies below, they may not be alone among upstart pictures this year. Here’s a look at what possible award contendersfrom the indie sector will be coming our way in the last four — and most crucial — months of the year. The Weinstein Company With The King’s Speech last year, the Weinsteins scored their first Best Picture triumph since the heady days of Miramax. Can they do it two years in a row with another British bio, The Iron Lady? Just about everyone agrees Meryl Streep’s still-unseen portrait of Margaret Thatcher in this Dec. 16 release will put her in strong contention to finally win that thrd Oscar, but can the movie score too? Time will tell, although it would seem to be a better shot in the Actress category. Harvey Weinstein had a big Cannes triumph with the crowd-pleasing black-and-white French-producedsilent pictureThe Artist (Nov 23),and it could have the same effect on the Academy audience that it did with the French, therebyleading to one of those Best Picture slots, even though the movie maynot have enough “gravitas”to sneak in. The Weinsteins will get a good ideawhen it launchesin the English-speaking world next week on the fest circuit. Certainly Cannes Best Actor Jean Dujardin is a great bet for a nomination no matter what. With a busy fall, thecompany is hoping Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh — who play Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn (Nov. 4) — will land actingkudosalongwith Ralph Fiennes (who also directed) in the title role of the contemporary Shakespeare adaptationCoriolanus (Dec. 2).As his mother, Vanessa Redgrave isextraordinary in a beefy supporting turn.She should start getting the gowns for the awards circuitready now. Awards prospects are anybody’s guess for Madonna’s latestdirectorial stab,W.E. (Dec 9), which with its storyline involving Wallis Simpson is certainly different for the pop star. And I hear there is the possibility of a late-season qualifying run for the Jennifer Garner filmButter that has been described as a Capra-esque comedy/drama set in the cutthroat world of competitive butter carving. Fest auds will see this first, and their reaction will probably weigh heavily in Weinstein’s decision to enter that other cutthroat competition. Focus Features With a sterling cast including Gary Oldman as British spy George Smiley and newly minted Oscar winner Colin Firth, this latest adaptation of John Le Carre’s novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, could be butter itself for Oscar voters.There’s lots of buzz already around Oldman’s performance, which the world will see when it premieres at the Venice Film Festival in early September, followed closely by its Sept. 16 opening in England. American audiences will have to wait much longer as I have just learned Focus has switched its statesidedebut from the previously announced date of Nov. 18 to the heart of the holiday (and Oscar) season Dec. 9. Focus will also have its Sundance winnerPariah entering the fray in December and is fully committed to campaigning it as well, particularly for its 17-year-old star Adepero Oduye, who plays a Brooklyn high school student who isn’t exactly what she seems, at least to her more conservative parents. Certainly the success of Precious with Academy votersshould giveFocus hope this can follow a Sundance path to Oscar attention, and definitely Indie Spirits. Fox Searchlight The Fox specialty division has enjoyed consistent success with its awards campaigns, landing eight Academy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire and lots of acting awards, most recently Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Searchlight’s two big upcoming fall hopefuls include another Sundance pickup, Martha Marcy May Marlene (Oct. 21),with a breakout performance from Olsen twin sister Elizabeth Olsen, who they hope will be the Jennifer Lawrence of this year. Then Oscar winner Alexander Payne (for Searchlight’s Sideways) is back with the George Clooney Hawaiian-set family dramaThe Descendants (Nov. 23), which along with Sony’sThe Ides Of March gives Clooney a one-two punch. Buzz is strong and we’ll see how it plays in Toronto, and before that almost certainly I would guessin Telluride, where Payne is a favorite and frequent visitor. Searchlight also finally has Kenneth Lonergan’s (You Can Count on Me) 2006 dramaMargaret in a limited opening Sept. 30 after years of legal battles reportedly over an initial three-hour running time. With a cast including Oscar winners and nominees like Anna Paquin, Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo you don’t want to discount it, but no one seems to be whispering Oscar Oscar on this one. Sony Pictures Classics Fall is always prime time for the now-20-year-old SPC, and co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard seem to be banking on world-class directors to put them back in the Oscar race, where they seem to be every year. There’s Pedro Almodovar’s creepy but terrificThe Skin I Live In (Oct 14), which should have won him something at Cannes but didn’t (you made a mistake, jury). There’s David Cronenberg’s period dramaA Dangerous Method (Dec 9), a filmwith tremendous buzz that premieres in Venice on its way to just about every other fall fest. And there’s Roman Polanski’s adaptation of the Tony winning comedyGod of Carnage, now simply renamed Carnage, with a cast including Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John O’Reilly and Christoph Waltz. With superstar directors like that on your slate, who needs Woody? (Oh wait, they have him too). Another SPC film, Take Shelter, which was a Grand Prize winner during Critics Week in Cannes, comes from director Jeff Nichols, whose only previous feature was Shotgun Stories. But it is just as accomplished as some of the best work from any of SPC’s other directors this year and could figure heavily in the Indie Spirits this year if not beyond. Summit With one Best Picture (The Hurt Locker) already in its young history, Summit’s big fall play is of course The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Nov 18), the beginning of the end for the Twilight series. While not an Oscar contender unless director Bill Condon is a miracle worker, it should figure heavily just like its predecesors did in the Teen Choice, People’s Choice and MTV Movie Awards if that is any consolation. But in addition to their summer releaseA Better Life, Summit could find serious awards traction in the honest,touching and surprisingly funny cancer drama50/50 (Sept. 30),which offers award-level work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anjelica Huston among others. It should play well in Toronto and could be on its way to a niceawards-season run if audiences aren’t turned off by the subject matter. Roadside Attractions With their first Best Pic nominee Winter’s Bone and Foreign-Language and Best Actor nominee Biutiful, Roadside announced last year it was a major new indie force in the Oscar race (it also won Best Documentary Feature for The Cove two years ago). This year its hopes are pinned on the Sundance pickup Margin Call (Oct 21), starring some terrific actors including Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons in a riveting dramathat may hit too close to home for stock market investors. Their ace player though could be recent pickup Albert Nobbs, in which Glenn Close reportedly hits it out of the park as a woman who must disguise herself as a man in order to survive in 19th century Ireland. The five-time nominee looks to be back in the race for the first time since 1988, especially if the performance turns out to be as good as the advance buzz among pundits who still haven’t seen it. Toronto is likely their first opportunity. Lionsgate Still a true indie, Lionsgate hasn’t been able to replicate its 2005 Best Picture heist with Crash, one of the all-time great Oscar-campaignsuccess stories. Last year they made a buy of Rabbit Hole at Toronto and turned it around quickly to get Nicole Kidman a Best Actress nod. Failing that kind of quick step again, their hopes seem to ride on the Sept. 9 release of Warrior, an emotional drama from director Gavin O’Connor set in the world of mixed martial arts that has been getting lots of traction in early screenings. Some are comparing it favorably, even more so,to The Fighter.Whether the distrib finds it profitable enough to goon an all-out campaign remains to be seen, but stars Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy are great and Nick Nolte as their n’er-do-well father could land a supporting nod no matter what happens to the film, which will undoubtedly draw strong word-of-mouth. Film District Graham King’s new FilmDistrict boasts Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney on its executive team, some early boxoffice successes like Insidious and Soul Surfer, and now could have the stuff for a few Oscar nominations. With its Cannes-winning (Best Director for Nicolas Winding Refn) noirDrive (Sept 16), Ryan Gosling (who is also in Ides Of March) is great and Albert Brooks is definite supporting fodder as he isuncharacteristically cast as a heavy. Critics will continue to love it, and that could keep it going through the season. Their other contender comes from Angelina Jolie, who makes her directorial and writingdebut with the Bosnian War-set drama In The Land ofBlood and Honey, and Berney tells me she is the real deal and says he was very impressedwhen he saw the film.But we’ll have to wait until Dec. 23 to find out as the film is not currently set to hit the fest circuit. Certainly Oscar voters have rewarded actors-turned-directors, before from Warren Beatty and Robert Redford to Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson. Could Jolie be the first female actingsuperstar to pull off a nomination? Oscilloscope Theboutique company landed a couple of nominations for The Messenger in 2009 and now have their Cannes competition pickupWe Need To Talk About Kevin (Dec. 2) to carry their banner this year. Oscar winner Tilda Swinton’s performance was critically praised, although the filmdeals with heavy subject matter (her son goes on a high school shooting rampage) and got mixed reaction. It won no prizes, although Swinton was certainly deserving.With her serious credin the Academy’s actors branch, she could turn up in a very competitive Best Actress race. Magnolia Magnolia is charging ahead with its beautifully shotend-of-days drama Melancholia evendespite the unfortunate Hitler and Nazi rantings of its director Lars von Trierat his Cannes press conference.Inspite ofhis being banned from the festival, the film still went on to win Best Actress there for star Kirsten Dunst and Magnolia plans at the very leastto make sureawards voters rememberher and not the words of her director. Magnolia quietly qualified the film already in a one-week run deep in the San Fernando Valley. Relativity When Lionsgate said they couldn’t release the film this year, Relativity came to the rescue of Machine Gun Preacher(Sept 23) and are planning their Torontounveiling ofthe true story of a former drug addict turned Christian who helps save orphans in East Sudan. Relativity is hoping to gain traction for star Gerard Butler’s fine performanceina filmthat is much more subtle and affecting than its title might indicate.

Christian Bale may join Oldboy

With filming on The Dark Knight Rises coming to a close in the autumn, Christian Bale is on the lookout for his next big project. And from the sound of things, he won't be stuck for options.Variety reports that top of Bale's list of options is the role of the villain in Spike Lee's Oldboy remake. To clarify, that's the chap who locks up the film's hero in a hotel room for a soul-sapping 15 years.If the film is anything like the Korean original, the character will be a fiend the like of which Bale has never played before, and might make for a good change-up from his recent cape-clad heroics.However, there are plenty of alternatives for him to choose from. Clint Eastwood's Beyoncé-starring remake of A Star Is Born is also believed to have tickled his fancy, as is Michael Mann's treasure-hunt thriller Gold.On top of that, Bale has been linked to Out Of The Furnace, the latest film from Crazy Heart's Scott Cooper, and Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah. As we mentioned before, Bale is a man in demand.One project he won't be involved in however is Zack Snyder's The Last Photograph. Bale had been said to be starring in the Afghanistan-set war thriller, but is no longer attached to the project.The next confirmed film on his slate will be Terrence Malick's next picture, which currently remains unnamed.

Playboy Celebrity Photographers Vol. 2

Join Miss May 1998 Deanna Brooks as she takes you through some of the best moments when celebrities and playmates meet. See William Shatner Rob Schnieder Flava Flav Joe Don Rooney Pharrell Williams and Jenny McCarthy get behind the lens to test their skills with some of the world's most beautiful women including Playmate of the Year 2005 Tiffany Fallon

TV Ratings: Rollercoaster Stock Market Delivers Boost for CNBC

NEW YORK - Financial news networks, led by NBCUniversal's CNBC, have seen ratings gains amid the recent stock market turmoil and U.S. debt downgrade, the New York Times reported.our editor recommendsCNBC in fourth year of profit growthApple Most Valuable U.S. Company on Stock Market as Thursday Trading Starts As is typically the case when stock markets crash or volatility threatens 401k plans, the largest business news channel has benefited from consumers' interest in the markets, but so have News Corp.'s Fox Business Network and Bloomberg Television. CNBC seems to have benefitted the most this month, the paper said. Through the first two weeks of August, CNBC had 378,000 at-home viewers on average during market hours, up from 224,000 in July, the Times said. The network has long argued that Nielsen data doesn't capture significant out-of-home viewing though. Still, the paper said that CNBC's at-home audience has not been this large since May 2010. Fox Business had an average of 107,000 viewers, up from 76,000 in July, according to the Times. News Corp. executives said on their quarterly earnings call last week that Fox Business broke even for the first time in the conglomerate's fiscal year that ended June 30. Kevin Magee, who is in charge of the Fox Business Network, which launched late in 2007, said that periods of major financial news tend to boost "the new guy." Once new viewers find the network, "they have a tendency to stay with us after that," he told the Times. Bloomberg Television is part of privately held Bloomberg and is not publicly rated. But the Times said it has also seen a ratings increase. The Times said that wild market swings are not necessarily profit generators for financial networks as advertisers typically buy ad spots well in advance. Related Topics News Corp. NBCUniversal CNBC Fox Business Channel

ROLL CALL: Is Paula Abdul Asking Staffers To Call Her Warrior & Gift?

by Jesse SperoLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Your Everyday Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans Forever Our Gift!: Paula Abdul has returned plus some say shes a present and that we couldnt agree more! Based on Us Weekly, a couple of interesting information have appeared about alleged demands The X-Factor judge has lately been making from her staffers. The mag claims that Paula asks that they be known as warrior, survivor and gift. She also apparently wants all her conversations recorded because she does not trust her very own conversations. A mag source also stated, She also means they are look into the TiVo for just about any reference to her and use it a DVD. We might don't know if these claims are true, but there is no denying that Paula is really a present regardless! Lil Lohan Gives Good Face!: Ali Lohan is walking in the spotlight. Lindsay Lohans 17-year-old sister has become one. The very first photos of Alis campaign for PRVCY Premium jeans has appeared. Browse the shots HERE! Supermodel or still just Lilos lil sis? Lil Schwarzenegger Gives Good Chest: Patrick Schwarzenegger, boy of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, can also be basking the main attraction shirtless. The 17-year-old is featured inside a billboard ad for Hudson jeans, that is conspicuously shown on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Based on Radar, Patrick is wishing to land more use Rob Lauren and Armani. See his billboard, HERE! Depp? Mayer?: A guy, who TMZ claims is John Mayer, appeared yesterday searching nearly the same as The Actor-brad Pitt. Following a detailed analysis and repeated viewings, remained as unsure who it's! Browse the mystery guy, HERE! Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved.These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Island

Based on 'Jane Rogers' acclaimed novel, "Island" is a tale of yearning and retribution. Abandoned at birth, Nikki Black has spent most of her life in care sustained only by fairy-stories. Incapable of love, fearful and desperate for revenge, she decides to find her birth mother, confront her, and bitter enough to consider murder. She travels incognito to a remote Hebridean island where Phyllis now lives as a recluse with Calum, her son.