Rogers taps Schwartz

MONTREAL -- Former senior CTV exec Jordan Schwartz has been tapped to take over the position of VP of lifestyle and entertainment production at Toronto-based Rogers Media. Schwartz will be in charge of improving the Citytv flagship morning show "Breakfast Television" and the national daytime show "CityLine." He will also work with the five Citytv stations across the country to strengthen their inhouse entertainment and lifestyle programming and advise on production at Rogers-owned Omni Television, which runs five multicultural TV channels. Schwartz will report to Jamie Haggarty, executive VP of TV operations at Rogers Television. "Rogers Media Television is committed to increasing the development of entertainment, lifestyle and original programming, and Jordan brings with him the production experience and instinct that will greatly enhance the strength of our local production teams," Haggarty said. Schwartz was most recently senior VP and general manager of the entertainment group at CTV, where he oversaw "Canada AM" and was involved with event programming, including "Live 8," "Concert for Diana, Princess of Wales" and "Shania's Homecoming." Before his stint at CTV, Schwartz was a producer at "ABC Daytime" in Los Angeles and a producer for "NBC News" in New York. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Report: Thatcher Enthusiasts Slam Iron Lady After Early Glimpse

Grains of salt in the ready! The Daily Mail reviews it swept up with audiences following an earlier screening from the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady, and fans from the former British pm were most displeased, I only say. Supported by a listing of 5 things the film apparently will get wrong (e.g. Thatcher’s husband Denis indeed once used a pink turban in India, but no no no he never taunted that old lady with party favors while doing this, jeez), the Mail account cites not-so-pullquotable responses like “insulting” and “I didn’t come here to determine a movie about gran going mad.” The film’s alleged depiction of Thatcher hallucinating struck Telegraph writer Mandrake as especially distasteful, compelling him to create that current pm David Cameron would “come to regret” permitting star Meryl Streep to sit down inside a special Very important personel section while watching and researching House of Commons proceedings. Yes! Please David Cameron, put aside everything phone-hacking and rioting nonsense and regret not… protecting Margaret Thatcher’s legacy via a more stringent standard for Parliamentary Very important personel seating? Anyway, this happened. Apparently. The Iron Lady opens Stateside on 12 ,. 16. · Buddies revulsion at film that shows Lady Thatcher as ‘granny going mad’ [Daily Mail via LAT]

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith: We Are Still Together

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are not splitting up, the couple said in a statement."Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false," the couple said in a statement Tuesday. "We are still together, and our marriage is intact." Check out photos of Will SmithEarlier Tuesday, In Touch reported that the A-list pair had separated after 13 years of marriage, setting off rumors that Pinkett Smith had an affair with her recently single HawthoRNe co-star Marc Anthony. Pinkett Smith's rep and Anthony's rep have both denied the affair.Smith's son, Trey, 19, from his first marriage, had also denied the separation multiple times on Twitter and implored his followers to retweet the message.Check out photos of Jada Pinkett Smith"Did #WillandJada split? No they did NOT split! False information ... its [sic] not true RETWEET!!!" Trey wrote. "Everyone can think what they want ... even if its [sic] not true."Smith, 42, and Pinkett Smith, 39, met in 1990 on Smith's sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when she unsuccessfully auditioned to play his girlfriend - she was deemed too short. They started dating five years later and wed on New Year's Eve 1997. They have two kids, Jaden, 13, and Willow, 10.

Hot Trailer: 'Texas Killing Fields'

A trailer continues to be launched for Texas Killing Fields, the drama that's directed by Ami Canaan Mann and created by Michael Mann. The gritty drama stars Mike Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Moretz and Jessica Chastain. A Brand New You are able to and native detective team to research a number of killings. Production design about the film ended by Aran Reo Mann, the director's sister, who had been also the development designer of Miranda July's film Me and you and Everybody We All Know. Texas Killing Fields is going to be launched October 7 by Anchor Bay. The film may also be proven in the Venice Film Festival.

Should Billy Crystal Host the Oscars Again?

If newly minted Oscar ceremony producer Brett Ratner is serious in his stated intent to make the show funny again, Billy Crystal has an emcee nomination: himself. According to the Los Angeles Times' Awards Tracker blog, Crystal announced on Friday that he'd be willing to return to the Academy Awards podium for the ninth time next winter. He hasn't hosted since 2004, but he says his brief surprise appearance at this year's show, which was greeted by a 35-second-long ovation, has whetted his appetite to return. Crystal's announcement poses a conundrum for Ratner and the Academy. On the one hand, they know he can do the job, but the telecast has tried in vain for years to attract a younger audience, and the 63-year-old comic is probably not the guy to do that. On the other hand, anyone young enough, funny enough and famous enough for the gig is likely to be too edgy not to bite the hand that feeds him or her. Who should land the job if not Crystal? Crystal expressed his willingness to return to the Kodak Theatre during a question-and-answer session at a 20th anniversary screening of 'City Slickers' in Santa Monica. Despite the months of hard work involved in putting together the jokes and medleys for his Oscar hosting gigs (something he did eight times between 1990 and 2004), he said he felt the timing was finally right to get his tuxedo out of mothballs. "It got to be too much after a while and the sameness in my life. That's why I pulled back," he said. "And then when I thought I might want to do it again, they were on to other people. It's always fun. It's really hard, but maybe one or two more times? I don't know. They know where I am." He discussed how much he enjoyed appearing on the Oscar show again this past February, when producers brought him onstage for a segment honoring the only person who has hosted more Oscar shows than he has. "They had called and said would you do this thing and honor Bob Hope and that was a kind of cool thing to do. I said OK. I did it, and people wanted to see me, they stood up, and I couldn't talk for about a minute [until the applause died down]. And, um, I got a little itchy. So we'll see what happens. I can't promise anything." Billy Crystal's Segment at the 2011 Academy Awards To some viewers, Crystal's appearance was a welcome respite from the work of the young first-time hosts, the overzealous Anne Hathaway and the zombiefied James Franco. Here, at last, was a seasoned pro, a star who could get the Oscar crowd in his pocket without seeming to try too hard, a performer who was clearly happy to be there. His presence, along with the Hope clip he introduced, reminded viewers of when the Oscars used to be truly funny. To other viewers, however, there was something creaky and creepy about the segment, with the ghost of the eight-years-dead Hope returning via hologram to seize the spotlight from the living performers, and with Crystal throwing in his lot with the past instead of the future. In a year when the Academy was going out of its way to try to get young people interested, here were Gramps and Great-Grandpa telling you how much better things used to be in the old days. Billy Crystal's Opening Monologue at the 2004 Oscars Crystal can bring the funny, but perhaps not without a whiff of Metamucil. Same goes for such Crystal colleagues as Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin. Then again, the younger comics who have hosted Oscars in recent years (Jon Stewart, Chris Rock) cracked jokes that the Hollywood mandarins at the Kodak found insulting and greeted with stony silence. So going young and edgy doesn't necessarily work either. And going young and not-funny (Hugh Jackman, Hathaway and Franco) is, well, not funny. Somewhere, there has to be a happy medium. Someone like Craig Ferguson, who knows how to be funny and hip without offending the people who invited him, as he proved at the White House Correspondents Dinner a couple years ago. Or Neil Patrick Harris, whose witty hosting gigs have enlivened just about every other awards show. But do either of them have the stature in the movie world to fit the bill? As for Ratner, Deadline quotes him as giving a non-committal response to Crystal's offer, which he said he hadn't heard. "I'm really focused on finishing my film 'Tower Heist' right now," the director said. "I was told by the Academy that I don't have to make a decision until mid-September." Should Billy Crystal host the Oscars again? If not Crystal, then who? Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.

Hugh Dancy to Star in Broadway's 'Venus in Fur'

NEW You are able to (AP) Hugh Dancy continues to be drawn on to star opposite Nina Arianda when "Venus in Fur" hits Broadway.Producers stated Monday that Dancy come in Manhattan Theatre Club's production playing a playwright. He's made an appearance in HBO's "Elizabeth I" and Showtime's "The Large C."Performances begin March. 13 in the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 47th Street. The show will run until 12 ,. 18. The abide by David Ives made its world premiere off-Broadway in The month of january 2010.Within the play, an actress' audition for any new play according to an erotic novel will get emotional and kinky.Dancy made his Broadway debut within the 2008 Tony-winning revival of "Journey's Finish." He came back towards the New You are able to stage within the 2009 manufacture of "The Pride." He's married to actress Claire Danes.Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Hugh Dancy PHOTO CREDIT AP Photo/Matt Sayles NEW You are able to (AP) Hugh Dancy continues to be drawn on to star opposite Nina Arianda when "Venus in Fur" hits Broadway.Producers stated Monday that Dancy come in Manhattan Theatre Club's production playing a playwright. He's made an appearance in HBO's "Elizabeth I" and Showtime's "The Large C."Performances begin March. 13 in the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 47th Street. The show will run until 12 ,. 18. The abide by David Ives made its world premiere off-Broadway in The month of january 2010.Within the play, an actress' audition for any new play according to an erotic novel will get emotional and kinky.Dancy made his Broadway debut within the 2008 Tony-winning revival of "Journey's Finish." He came back towards the New You are able to stage within the 2009 manufacture of "The Pride." He's married to actress Claire Danes.Copyright 2011 Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Ashton Kutcher's 'Two . 5 Men' Trailer: Inside Look (Photos)

Ashton Kutcher apparently has some pretty nice digs to remain in while shooting 2 . 5 Males.our editor recommends'Two . 5 Men' New Promo Shot: Sings Support? (Photo)'Two . 5 Men' Poster Features (Maybe) Naked Ashton Kutcher'Two . 5 Men's' Chuck Lorre, Meet (Photo) The actor -- who makes $700,000 per episode from the CBS comedy -- continues to be setup having a two-story, 53-feet-lengthy, 30-ton trailer from Anderson Mobile Estates which costs $8,750 each week, based on the U.K.'s Daily Mail. STORY:'s 'Two . 5 Males' Trailer Dwarfs Charlie Sheen's The posh home features "side sections an additional floor that hydraulically leave the primary body to provide a total space on the floor of just one,100 sq ft." Additionally, it features a whopping seven 60-inch three dimensional plasma screens, two lavatories, a kitchen with granite counter tops along with a conference area. STORY: , Tim Allen, Kiefer Sutherland Are TV's Greatest-Compensated Stars Video security cameras are installed on the outdoors from the trailer giving 360-degree surveillance. So when someone rings the doorbell, the stereo system system and TV volume drops, using the picture of the customer being projects about the screens inside. STORY: Will Have Internet Billionaire on 'Two . 5 Males' Other stars who've adopted residence in a single of Anderson's luxury trailers during set include Will Cruz, Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone and Vin Diesel, based on the Daily Mail. Related Subjects CBS 2 . 5 Males

The Tuche Family (Les Tuche)

A Pathe Distribution release of a Pathe, Eskwad production, in association with Serenity Films, TF1 Films Prod., with the participation of Canal Plus, Cinecinema, TF1. (International sales: Pathe Intl., Paris.) Produced by Richard Grandpierre. Directed by Olivier Baroux. Screenplay, Philippe Mechelen, Chantal Lauby, Baroux, based on a screenplay by Mechelen.With: Jean-Paul Rouve, Isabelle Nanty, Claire Nadeau, Theo Fernandez, Sarah Stern, Pierre Lottin, Fadila Belkebla, David Kammenos, Sami Outalbali, Karina Testa, Philippe Lefebvre, Guy Lecluyse, Hugo Brunswick, Kad Merad.A lottery win allows a clan of unemployed, not particularly refined French yokels to move from the litter-strewn sticks to uber-chic Monaco in Gallic laffer "The Tuche Family." Latest mainstream success from helmer Olivier Baroux ("The Italian," "Safari") again marries an unoriginal conceit and assembly-line gags with shiny production values, broad-brushstroke storytelling and easily recognizable sentiments. Fittingly for a film that includes a protag obsessed with the Monegasque Princely Family, pic went out in France July 1, the day of Prince Albert's wedding. Though it sold 1.4 million tickets locally, offshore chances look less rosy. The proudly plebeian Tuches -- the surname's a pun on "tous," as in everyone or Everyman -- are headed by frizzy-haired, happily jobless paterfamilias Jeff (Jean-Paul Rouve) and his Rubenesque wife, Cathy (Isabelle Nanty), who idolizes Princess Stephanie and everything Monaco. When they win 100 million, they move from their provincial backwater to the principality, where their lack of style and manners is as conspicuous as their newfound fortune. Sitcomish situations are mostly predictable, with the solid ensemble working overtime to ensure laughs keep coming. French Riviera locations sub decently for Monaco.Camera (color, widescreen), Arnaud Stefani; editors, Richard Marizy, Florent Vassault; production designer, Perrine Barre; costume designer, Sandra Gutierrez. Reviewed at Cine Cite Bercy, Paris, July 28, 2011. Running time: 93 MIN. Contact Boyd van Hoeij at news@variety.com

Melrose Place Alums Heather Locklear, Jack Wagner Engaged

Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner Heather Locklear is engaged to Jack Wagner, People reports. Locklear, 49, and Wagner, 51, began dating in 2007. The pair played love interests on the original Melrose Place. Check out the rest of today's news The actress was previously married to Tommy Lee and Richie Sambora, while Wagner was once married to his General Hospital co-star Kristina Wagner.

Schwentke Considering Poison Kitchen

Tracing the rise of the Nazi partyAlthough his work up to now - including Flightplan, The Time Traveller's Wife and Red - has been largely fictional, director Robert Schwentke always seems to be pondering the idea of making something based in fact. Case in point: he's now attached to make The Poison Kitchen for Constantin Film. Written by Ninja Assassin's Matthew Sand (a worrying sign, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now), Kitchen traces the true story of the Muenchener Post, the Munich-based newspaper that traced the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party and was ringing the alarm bells about their plans long before anyone else. Such was Hitler's anger at the paper's actions that he called it the Munich Pest and, once he rose to power in 1933, sent storm troopers to destroy the editorial office and printing presses and throw the staff into prison. "We've always wanted to do a movie about the ramp up to 1933: what happened in the early years, how did Hitler get to where he ended up and how did that work? That's really about this time, said Constantin's Martin Moszkowicz in a statement picked up by Variety. This isn't the first historical piece Schwentke has considered - he's still interested in real-life sub drama Shadow Divers. But the real world will have to wait until next year at the earliest, as he's busy getting ready to make R. I. P. D. , featuring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as dead cops battling evil for Universal...

VIDEO: Cleveland Residents Use Lunch Hour to Spy Avengers Set Construction

This is how it begins, Marvel. First, fans are checking out construction on the Cleveland set of The Avengers; next, they’re posting videos, spy pics and scene descriptions to the Internet at a pace that can only be described as break-neck. (If you don’t believe that, just ask Christopher Nolan.) ABC affiliate WEWS in Cleveland hit the still-building set of Joss Whedon’s superhero supergroup spectacular during lunch hour, and found many local residents delighted at the prospect of a Hollywood production shooting on their very own streets. Never mind that Cleveland is reportedly being used as a stand-in for New York. Click through to see what foam rubble looks like. Bonus points for the newsman saying “hey, Clevelanders!” in a tone reminiscent of Perd Hapley. [NewsNet5 via Coming Soon]

London Riots: Official Calls for Blackberry Service to Be Shut Down

VIDEO: Switched at Birth's Vanessa Marano Calls Bay and Emmett Kindred Spirits

Sean Berdy, Vanessa Marano Switched at Birth's Bay (Vanessa Marano) and Daphne (Katie Leclerc) have a lot on their plate. After learning they were swapped as newborns and that Daphne's mom, Regina (Constance Marie), has known for quite some time, Bay's MIA biological father (guest star Gilles Marini) returns in Monday's finale. Exclusive: Gilles Marini joins Switched at Birth as Bay's biological father "We're not sure if he's a good, well-meaning guy," Marano says. "He's coming into this thinking he didn't have a daughter because, where we left off with him, he thought [Regina] had an affair with someone else and Daphne was a lovechild." Exclusive: Gilles Marini joins Switched at Birth as Bay's biological father In the interview below, Marano and Leclerc also talk about Bay's new romance with Daphne's best friend, Emmett (Sean Berdy). While Marano calls the pair "kindred spirits," Leclerc reminds us that Daphne gave up her relationship with Liam for Bay, yet Bay continues to date Emmett. Will the girls force Emmett to choose between them in the finale? Plus: Leclerc shares the reaction she's received from the deaf community. Switched at Birth airs Monday at 9/8c on ABC Family.