Awards 2015: ‘Birdman’ BTL, Rep Moves For 12/17/14, Sony Cancels Release Of ‘The Interview’ In Wake Of Theater Chains Dropping the Film

SSN AWARDS ORIGINALS

BELOW THE LINE: ‘BIRDMAN’

Awards 2015: Filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu Speaks On ‘Birdman’s Phenomenal Below the Line Talent

The director of Amores Perros and 21 Grams not a filmmaker who is afraid to take chances. His films are uncompromising, but none of them would ever be considered a dark comedy. And then, Birdman came along. (SSN)

TODAY’S HEADLINES

Rep Moves For 12/17/14: Ashley Benson Picked Up By CAA, The Green Room Signs YouTube Sensation Jimmy Wong, and More

Just about all the major agencies get in on the action, including WME, UTA, ICM and the above-mentioned CAA and The Green Room, as well as ESA, to boot. (SSN)

Scared By Terrorist Threats, the Five Largest Theater Chains Will Not Screen ‘The Interview' ...

AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Cineplex, and Carmike--as well as Bow Tie Cinemas have all dropped the movie, even though the Department of Homeland Security says there is no active plot against movie theaters. (VUL)

And, In Response, Sony Cancels the Christmas Day Release Of the Film

The studio did not say it would never release the picture theatrically. Insiders tell Variety it is exploring all options, including offering the picture on premium video-on-demand as a way to recoup at least some of its investment. (VAR)

Thanks To the Sony Hack, Another North Korea-Set Film Project Falls Apart

Pyongyang, based on a graphic novel about a westerner in North Korea accused of espionage, was to have starred Steve Carell and be directed by Gore Verbinski, but production company New Regency has dropped the project. (THR)

Legendary Picks Up Film Rights To Novelist Andrew Pyper’s Upcoming Supernatural Thriller

The novel, The Damned, is described as being in the vein of Jacob’s Ladder and The Sixth Sense, and will be published in February by Simon & Schuster. (DH)

There’s Been a Lot Of Talk About a Potential ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel, and Now Tim Burton Says Winona Ryder Is On Board

The Big Eyes director has said there is a new script that he likes, and that Michael Keaton will do it if Burton comes back to direct, and now comes word that Ryder is interested, as well. (WF)

Charlie Sheen Is Heading To ‘The Goldbergs’ To Play a Familiar Role

The actor will reprise his strangely prescient stoner criminal character from the 1986 John Hughes comedy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for the ABC sitcom. (ITV)

Behind the Scenes: ‘The Jungle Book’

Director Jon Favreau shares the first on-set photo, as well as behind-the-scenes shots of voice actors Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken and musician Kermit Ruffins. The film will hit theaters October 9th, 2015. (COL)

Black Christmas: Scandal, Schadenfreude, and the Spectacle of the Sony Hack

That this is an incredible attack on the freedom of speech should have been the headline all along, but of course it wasn’t — not with insider swipes at Angelina Jolie and similar diversions-in-every-sense competing for our attention. Only the hackers’ threat to go 9/11 on theaters showing The Interview revised our appraisal of the stakes involved. (GL)