DC Comics' Deadman Heading To TV

Supernatural's Eric Kripke overseeingFor years it was being developed by Guillermo Del Toro and Don Murphy for the big screen, but now DC Comics' Deadman is heading to TV, with the CW network grooming the supernatural superhero as a potential replacement for the just-ended Smallville. Arnold Drake and Carmine Infanto created the comics series in 1967. It's centred on Boston Brand, a former trapeze artist murdered mid-act who, as a ghost, is given the power to possess people for crime-fighting purposes by a made-up Hindu goddess called Rama Kushna. He's rarely had his own series, but has regularly turned up in various DC comics, including Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic. The Gaiman connection isn't insignificant: Supernatural showrunner Eric Kripke describes that programme as a cross between Sandman and Gaiman's novel American Gods (itself in development at HBO), and Sandman was the last DC TV project Kripke was attached to. He sadly admitted that plans for the Lord of Dreams had foundered earlier this year (although he was later contradicted by DC honcho Geoff Johns). Will Deadman constitute its permanent replacement?CW is jointly owned by Warner Bros and CBS, meaning that the Warner-owned DC roster can be developed in-house. Warner Bros TV will be producing the pilot, which will get underway for this development season . Supernatural, by the way, isn't going anywhere, although Kripke has now retreated to an executive producer role.

M-Appeal enjoys 'Verano'

MADRID -- In the run-up to next week's Venice Film Festival, Berlin-based M-Appeal has nabbed worldwide rights to Chilean helmer Jose Luis Torres Leiva's "Verano." Torres Leiva's second fiction-feature world preems in Venice's cutting-edge Horizons sidebar. It follows his 2008 debut "The Sky, the Earth and the Rain," which won the Fipresci international critics' prize at Rotterdam film fest. Written by Torres Leiva, and shot at Chile's Cauquenes thermal baths, "Verano" is a choral drama unfolding over one day, and centering on two parallel stories: A couple want to have a child; meanwhile, an Argentine tourist -- played by singer Rosario Blefari, seen in Martin Rejtman's "Silva Prieto" -- discovers she's pregnant. Torres Leiva attempted to capture the warm grainy home-movie tonality of his memories of childhood vacations spent in Cauquenes with his grandparents. He and cinematographer Inti Briones, who was responsible for "Sky's" painterly images, shot in Handycam H18, then re-shot the digital images projected against different backgrounds. The vidcam lensing allowed for far greater improvisation with actors than in "Sky," according to Torres Leiva, who says "Verano" is about "landscapes of characters." A "sunny, contemplative" picture, said M-Appeal sales manager Anne Wiedlack, "Verano" is the second Chilean pick-up from M-Appeal, after Julio Jorquera's "My Last Round." For Wiedlack, "Over the last years, there's been almost a boom in new Chilean films from a fresh, new generation that is not afraid to experiment. There's still a lot of talent to be discovered." Verano" is exec produced by Chilean director Alicia Scherson ("Play" "Tourists"), who is shooting "The Future" with Rutger Hauer. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Al Pacino's 'Scarface' Outlook Changed By Rappers

FROM MTV MOVIES: Hard to believe, but when Brian De Palma's "Scarface" was released in 1983, it wasn't the beloved cult classic it is now. Critics panned the underworld drama in which actor Al Pacino played Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who went from dishwasher to cocaine drug lord. Today, the film lives in infamy with its ultra-violent-yet-indelible scenes and quotable one-liners like "Say hello to my little friend." Most of the appreciation and film's support has come from rappers, a fact not lost on Pacino. "The hip-hop people and the rappers got together and they made a video and they talked about the movie. I don't think anybody's ever talked about it as articulately and clearly. I understood it better having heard them talk about it," Pacino told MTV News on the red carpet for a party celebrating the Blu-ray release for "Scarface" on Tuesday night. "I mean, they really get it and they understand it, and that's a great thing. They've been very supportive all these years. I think they've helped us tremendously." Read the full story at MTV Movies!

B.O. takes side 'Trip'

The Trip required a well planned voyage to U.S. theaters. Opening a made-for-TV movie starring two resolutely British comics within the warmth of summer time tentpole season may not appear just like a guaranteed recipe for box office success. But IFC's discharge of "The Trip," directed by Michael Winterbottom, became one from the summer's niche achievements, with $1.84 million in theatrical B.O. and the other healthy chunk from VOD. Individuals aren't Woodsy Allen-sized amounts, but following a season when several festival pick-ups have battled to locate their aud, "The Trip" is just about the prolific Winterbottom's top U.S. limited release ("A Mighty Heart" went wide).The smartly planned rollout echoed the distrib's summer time 2009 discharge of "Informed,"another BBC telepic starring Steve Coogan.Beginning like a six-part BBC2 miniseries, "The Trip" is really a sardonic travelogue of the freewheeling drive round the British countryside. Coogan plays a food author on the magazine assignment to go to lavish restaurants who drags Take advantage of Brydon along for company and carousing. Though huge within the U.K., the heavens are little-known across water-feature: Coogan made an appearance in "Tropic Thunder," while Brydon is really a longtime British TV actor. When "The Trip" was recut like a feature and opened in Toronto this past year, IFC observed a raucous aud a reaction to the typically British humor, stated IFC senior Vice president of selling and publicity Ryan Werner. The pic's U.S. journey began with April's preem in the Tribeca Film Fest, where Coogan and Brydon did well-received Q&As and many U.S. promotion. IFC introduced in Mark Woollen, creator of trailers for photos including "The Social Networking," to chop trailers, including one featuring the memorable scene where Coogan and Brydon compete to drag from the best Michael Caine impression. After Tribeca, IFC folded out plenty of person to person tests and tested the pic in the Bay Area and Boston Film Fests. Advertising and publicity campaigns were a number of surgical strikes specific in the right niches: IFC recommended the foodie journey position to food writers (the L.A. Weekly's Squid Ink blog known as it "possibly among the funniest food-designed films ever"). Comedy fans were specific by spots bought on comedian Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast, bolstered by flyers at comedy clubs. Werner pegs the humor because the primary driver behind the pic's success. "People wish to feel great,Inch he stated.Because the pic opened up June 10, it tallied up a startling 97% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes' top experts. Although it never performed in additional than 62 theaters at any given time, "it will still play with the fall," based on Werner. Additionally to offered-out shows in cities, an optimistic reception in places like Madison, Wis., and Orlando, Fla., demonstrates the pic's appeal past the shorelines. Like the majority of of IFC's releases, "The Trip" also bowed on VOD around the same time frame because the theatrical opening -- within this situation, not much later, to let it be eligible for a possible honours consideration. VOD performance continues to be "really solid," Werner stated, approaching the boffo sales for "Informed."Though IFC also offers privileges towards the original TV series, which might air sometime, "We wanted individuals to think about it as being a movie first," Werner stated. IFC is getting a powerful summer time, with better still recent results for paperwork "Buck" and "Cave of Forgotten Dreams." However in a difficult season for niche films, IFC's discharge of "The Trip" shows the amount of elements that has to coalesce to have an indie to possess a fighting chance.Werner stressed that an essential component is keeping the pic appear fresh to filmgoers by delivering new posters and trailers on the way. "Are looking for new methods to engage the crowd,Inch he stated. Contact Pat Saperstein at pat.saperstein@variety.com

Robert Rodriguez On His 'Spy Kids' Stinker

Robert Rodriguez took a page from John Waters and used the marketing strategy of billing hisfourth installmentin the Spy Kids franchise asa "4D" flickby adding scratch-and-sniff scent cards for audiences. It'll be interesting tosee if this add-on "Aroma-Scope" value increases moviegoing beyond just the3D higher ticket prices when the pic opens Friday."When it came time to do Spy Kids 4, I couldn't just go back and do 3D like everybody else is now. I had to bring something extra," Rodriguez told the AP. "Just watching my own kids with interactive gaming, you ask them to watch a movie, it just feels so passive to them. I thought, this helps bridge the gap. It's an interactive thing, almost like playing a game while you're watching the movie."In 1981, John Waters releasedPolyester in "Odorama,"while the2003 toon Rugrats Go Wild also used scented cards.One of the Rodriguez smells is aspy baby's diapers."Originally, we didn't have any really rancid smells, but kids wanted something really stinky in there," Rodriguez told AP. "It really doesn't smell that bad. No one's going to get sick in the theater." Now let's bring back "Sensurround".

Mariah Carey to Mentor X Factor Singers From Simon Cowell's Crib?

Mariah Carey Simon Cowell has been vocal about wanting to recruit Mariah Carey for The X Factor from the beginning, and now new details are emerging about her potential role on the upcoming singing competition. Cowell, executive producer and judge on The X Factor, is in final negotiations with Carey to have her mentor his group of contestants from his house, Deadline reports. Add The X Factor to your Watchlist before the new season begins and never miss an episode According to the site, the plan is for each of the four X Factor judges to pick a celebrity mentor to come to their personal homes and coach their singers. This is slightly similar - but obviously much more personal - than The Voice's format, where each coach welcomed someone from the recording industry to help them mold their talent. (The Voice's mentors included Reba McEntire, Monica, Sia and music director Adam Blackstone). The show is in the process of reaching out to more talent now. The UK version of The X Factor reportedly has signed Usher as a mentor. Simon Cowell: The X Factor can top American Idol Cowell confirmed speculation that Carey would appear on the show when he spoke to reporters at Fox's fall TV preview session. "There will be certain sections on the show where we have well-known people helping us. I spoke to her the other day," he said. "She's been enthusiastic since Day 1 - but then she selfishly got pregnant and that's why she isn't a judge." The X Factor premieres Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 8/7c on Fox. Who do you think should serve as a mentor on The X Factor?

Surf's Up For Jonny Weston, Who Lands Lead In 'Mavericks'

EXCLUSIVE: While Gerard Butler was announced as the big name in the Curtis Hanson-directed surf movie Mavericks, the lead role all the young actors chased is Jay Moriarty, the teenage big wave rider who successfully rode Mavericks. That is a body of water in Northern California that became popular with daredevil surfers who braved the structure and rocks to ride waves the size of five-story buildings. Twenty-two year-old Jonny Weston has been offered and is in negotiations for the lead role of Moriarty in the Walden Media-backed film. Kario Salem and Brandon Hooper wrote the script and Hooper is producing with Jim Meenaghan. Butler plays Rick "Frosty" Hesson, the mentor who trained Moriarty to ride the Mavericks when the surfer was just 16. Though Moriarity survived those impossible waves, he died at 22 in a diving accident. But he remains an inspiration to surfers, who coined the phrase "Live like Jay." Weston's is currently shooting Cherry, starring alongside James Franco and Dev Patel in the Stephen Elliot-directed indie drama. He's an accomplished surfer, which helped his cause. Weston's repped by ICM, 3 Arts and Jeff Gill.

Reminder to NYC: Join Movieline and Jesse Eisenberg Tonight at the Apple Store

Just a quick heads-up for our distinguished readers in New York: I’ll be at the Apple Store SoHo tonight with Jesse Eisenberg discussing his new comedy 30 Minutes or Less. It’s out today! You should see it! It will no doubt form the basis of a range of stimulating questions for the actor, though I can think of a certain David Fincher project and/or upcoming Woody Allen film that might come up as well. You never know. The fun begins at 8 p.m. sharp on Prince Street. It’s free to attend, but seats are first-come, first-served, so don’t be shy about arriving a bit early to stake yours out. See you there!