Box office not so battered

Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in "The Help" While Hurricane Irene turned out to be far less devastating than had been forecast on Friday, the storm's impact on weekend box office -- estimated to have cost B.O. $25 million -- was certainly more than a blip, reducing overall U.S. totals 10%, or roughly $9.3 million. Most distribs had overestimated the storm's B.O. effect, with nearly all of the top 10 entries doing better than early weekend estimates. "The Help," for example, won with a revised $14.5 million vs. the the $14.3 million projected for the pic on Sunday. The sunnier figures also resulted in a slight improvement in year-to-year weekend comparisons: Box office totals are now down 18.9% from the same frame in 2010 vs. the originally projected 20%-25% deficit. But Irene's effect on theaters went beyond box office grosses. For some East Coast exhibitors, such as New Jersey-based Clearview Cinemas, which operates 46 locations, virtually all within the New York metro area, theater closings were circuitwide, company-imposed ordeals on Saturday and Sunday. Other theater chains, like Landmark's Sunshine theater in Manhattan, closed some locations because of subway shutdowns, which cut off the primary means of transportation for many employees. "We played the movies for as long as we could," said Landmark Theaters CEO Ted Mundorff. "But when Philadelphia and New York started announcing shutdowns, your patrons can't get there. Neither can your employees." According to one bizzer, some exhibs even filed claims on business-interruption insurance policies after closing several locations over the weekend. But the number of chains able to make such claims was fairly small, since most BI policies have deductibles that range from 24 to 72 hours, meaning the claims paid don't kick in until at least 24 hours after the first closure. (Regal Entertainment pays for such a policy through its overall insurance package, but which deductible it has was not known late Monday.) Regal and AMC Theaters -- the nation's top two chains, respectively -- hold roughly the same market share in the affected states, which make up approximately 16% of the nation's overall box office. AMC reportedly lost $2.3 million in weekend grosses on the East Coast. With the storm dissipated and the new week begun, a good number of theaters are back up and running, though a few are still dealing with power outages. Those locations were expected to reopen within the next day or two. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

John D'Inecco to 'The Chew'

Longtime "Hello America" director John D'Inecco has ankled this program to become listed on ABC's approaching food-centric talkshow "The Chew," that is skedded to exchange "One Existence to resideInch and "My Children" beginning Sept. 26. D'Inecco is going to be changed on "GMA" by Shaun Winn, whose work on ABC News has incorporated a significant role within the relaunch of "Nightline" and pointing "20/20." Winn started employed in TV with ESPN and ABC Sports he'll continue being employed as professional director for ABC News. Tony Barrett will direct "GMA" within the week between D'Inecco's departure and the start of Winn's tenure. "We're able to not have access to requested a steadier hands in the helm through occasions of triumph and tragedy," stated "GMA" professional producer James Goldston inside a letter towards the show's staff. "You want him best wishes because he joins the exciting startup company.Inch Contact Mike Thielman at mike.thielman@variety.com

Take advantage of Spodek SVP/CFO Of Syfy And Chiller

Take advantage of Spodek, who most lately wasSVP from the NBCUniversal Corporate Finance Group, continues to be marketed to SVP and CFO of NBCU’s Syfy and Chiller, where he willoversee all overall costs from the systems in addition to Syfy Endeavors and other associated projects. He'll are accountable to Syfy and Chiller leader Dork Howe. In the corporate finance group, Spodek would be a person in they that oversaw the transition of NBCU from Whirlpool to Comcast. Before that, he was Vice president and CFO of MSNBC.

Verve Ups Zach Carlisle From Assistant To Agent, But Makes Him Work For It

EXCLUSIVE: Zach Carlisle, one of the original five who left WME to form Verve, was promoted Sunday from assistant to agent. These days, dealmaker-minting ceremonies are becoming more and more like Punk'd episodes, and the Verve partners really strung Carlisle along. First, he was asked to come to partner Adam Levine's house yesterday to build a swing set for the agent's sons. As if the indignity of giving up a summer weekend day to build a swing set didn't leave him furious enough, the assistant was greeted in Levine's house by Verve partners Bryan Besser and Bill Weinstein. They conducted a career intervention about Carlisle's "questionable" future. Finally, before the young assistant completely blew a gasket, he was escorted to the backyard. Instead of a swing set, Carlisle was surprised by 25 colleagues, family and friends and told he was being made an agent. But his ordeal wasn't over: he had to perform his favorite karaoke song, I've Got Friends in Low Places for the group, who would then vote on his Hollywood future. Carlisle passed the audition and was promoted on the spot. The captain of the Verve softball team, Carlisle was given a custom-made baseball jersey with the number 5, to denote his position as the 5th agent at Verve. He's the second to be promoted from within, after Rob Herting was promoted last spring.

'The Hunger Games' Photo Gallery

We still have another seven months before the teens in 'The Hunger Games' movie begin savagely killing each other off. Until then, we present to you a gallery of photos from the highly-anticipated film. We will continue to update this gallery until the movie is released in March 2012, so make sure to come back here to see all your favorite characters in action, including Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). 'Hunger Games' Photos See All Moviefone Galleries »

Cinemax Orders Script for Potential Kevin Sausage Star Vehicle

twentieth century Fox Cinemax has founds its Valentine. The premium cable network has purchased one half-hour comedy script that could help as a star vehicle for Kevin Sausage. Sausage assists being an executive producer about the project, alongside Parks/MacDonald Production's Walter Parks and Laurie MacDonald, Ted Gold and Sausage's manager David Schiff. Bryan Sipe (Alpha Mail) is mounted on write Valentine. Sausage, who's also mounted on Cinemax golf comedy project depending on Clint McCown's The Member-Guest, has been eyed for that role of Johnny Valentine, a lower on his luck guy who nabs a talk radio gig. Cinemax teamed with Sausage on Taking Chance, a 2009 war-designed telepic that received the actor an Emmy nomination. Sausage, whose Crazy Stupid Love is presently in theaters, is repped by WME and also the Schiff Company. Kevin Sausage Cinemax

TCA: Tim Allen Talks Return To TV In 'Last Man Standing', Pokes Fun At ABC & Fox

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline's coverage of TCA. Tim Allen was talking trash and slinging jokes at todays TCA panel on the new sitcom from Jack Burditt (30 Rock) Last Man Standing. The show marks Allen's return to ABC after his hit show about a manly man, Home Improvement (1991-1999). A lot has changed since then. I believe that at HI we were doing A 28 share, sometimes into a 30 share, with 30 million viewers, Allen recalled. We could tell the president what to do at that time. Its a tighter leadership now at ABC, he added. I dont want to say cheaper but I just did. Sometimes leaner is better. In this case, its not. We drink water out of a hose. There are no water bottles at ABC. After Home Improvement, Allen cracked that he had received "thousands, hundreds, no, millions of offers for new series. Every day it was an offer. I had an 'offer office.'" He said that he would have liked to do a legal drama: I like Castle, but that was already done, he said. He said he had an offer for a legal series but added Im not going to tell you, its too embarrassing. Its on the air now, and they cast a woman in the part, a hint pointing to Harry's Law whose lead was originally conceived as a man. Other Last Man cast members joked that the series was actually ABCs reboot of Charlies Angels. Yes, I was the middle one. Im very attractive in a halter, Allen joked. Asked why all men on TV these days seem to be douche bags, Allen replied: That was the working title for this show actuallybut Fox got it. they have a lot of douche bags, actually. Jokes aside, Allen actually did focus part of the discussion on his new show, in which he plays a family man with three daughters, but he will be older and more irascible that the father of boys in Home Improvement. What is Glee? he barks at one daughter in the pilot. The new fall season on ABC seems to be a veritable theme park for questioning the modern male ethos, as Last Man Standing-- the working title was The Last Days of Man -- joins Man Up! on the schedule. That show is about three guys in their 30s trying to figure out what it means to be a man in 2011. Allen said that, although this time around he has daughters instead of sons, he would still be portraying a traditional mans man who likes to fix stuff and prefers women who know how to cook. Im going to get in trouble here because Joy Behar and I already had this conversation on The View. Menneed something to do. You should have hobbies and you should be able to fix stuff. He said that Behar got mad at him for saying he likes women who cook: "She said, 'Why dont you marry Betty Crocker? " Allen said he was not going to fall into the todays stereotype of the TV husband, a man in a flannel shirt with a gray T-shirt over it and a wife much prettier than he deserves. We are not going to do that show." He said that the concept of doing a dramedy was just not interesting to me, so he was opting for a traditional sitcom -- except for breaking the fourth wall for comic asides which would provide an arena for his standup comedy skills. After the panel, he stressed that the show is just a sitcom. Hamburgers are back. Maybe this is comfort food for America.

Lollapalooza: Hundreds of Gate-Crashers Rush Fences at Sold-Out Festival

Hundreds of gate-crashers rushed the fence at Lollapalooza on Sunday afternoon, just hours before the three-day music festival came to an end in Chicago's Grant park.our editor recommendsColdplay Debuts New Songs at Lollapalooza; Concertgoers React (Video)Eminem, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Muse to Headline Lollapalooza Organizers told the Chicago Tribune that "fence jumping" incidents were up this year despite an increase in security, with groups of teenagers bringing down several chain-link fences at various points around the sold-out event. Most were turned away before reaching a second, 8-foot-tall fence surrounding the festival by security guards who at one point sprayed a fire extinguisher at the gate-crashers. Some in the crowd yelled "It's tear gas!" and "Music should be free!" while they scattered. According to one concertgoer, a Facebook page had been set up to inform the fence jumpers where to meet. Meanwhile, organizers said this year's even still set an attendance record, drawing more than 270,000 ticketed concertgoers over the course of three days. Sunday also saw a couple of thunderstorms turn the whole area into a "mud pit," according to NBC Chicago. The Foo Fighters closed out the event Sunday night during the second downpour. Other highlights included headlining shows by Eminem, who was joined onstage by Bruno Mars, and Coldplay. Related Topics

TCA: Thomas Schlamme Demands 'Pan Am' Isn't Any 'Mad Men'

Ray Richmond is adding to Deadline's coverage of TCA. The truth that ABC's new drama Pan Am is placed throughout the golden chronilogical age of passenger airline travel is placed, like NBC's Playboy Club, within the sixties is constantly on the bring charges the systems are hellbent on benefiting about the zeitgeist produced by AMC's Mad Males. But veteran producer-director Thomas Schlamme, a director and professional producer on Pan Am, told a roomful of experts today at TCA that Mad Males really is not related to broadcast's sudden passion for '60s culture which it's honestly coincidental. "I believe television is simply execution," Schlamme stated. "It isn't the timeframe it happens in. ... It truly is just execution. So that all I'm able to have to say is (this show) really is not related to Mad Males. It simply has related to the very fact our show, hopefully, is going to be performed inside a wonderful way this will let you kind of wish fulfillment which will bring us a sizable audience." Schlamme ongoing, "I believe we are all fans of Mad Males. But literally you have next to nothing related to another -- in addition to shows I have done previously had nothing related to other implies that might have been effective or otherwise effective. It takes place it's occur the '60s. It's a lot of fun period. I really hope you will find implies that begin to be occur the '70s and 1980s and whenever else we are able to celebrate tales." The Pan Am cast and producers also addressed several questions regarding the sexist and misogynistic facets of the series like a mirror from the era, which manifest itself within the pilot using the stewardesses exposed to girdle inspections and weigh-inches. "That's a very good reason to create a show within the '60s," Schlamme stated. "Was it misogynistic? Were women this, were women that? That's great drama immediately.Inch The panel also covered the truth that male lead Mike Vogel is actually a genuine private pilot, that they known as "among the huge draws for me personallyInch to get cast on the program. "Within the cockpit, we now have business we are able to do and it is authentic business. Added Schlamme: "The good thing is we hired a genuine pilot you never know what he's doing. Unhealthy news is we hired a genuine pilot you never know what he's doing."

CW Orders Additional Episodes Of Four Returning Dramas

EXCLUSIVE: The CW is looking to beat the midseason rerun blues by supersizing the orders of four returning drama series. The network has picked up two additional episodes each of soaps Gossip Girl and 90210, bringing their orders to 24 episodes, and one additional episode each of veteran Supernatural and sophomore Nikita, which will go up to 23 episodes each. Notably missing is CW's flagship dramaThe Vampire Diaries. That stems from the show's inability to accommodate additional episodes because of its extensive post-production process that leads to longer production times. (Additionally, co-showrunner Kevin Williamson is also shepherding the new CW series The Secret Circle). This is the second time the CW has expanded the seasons of existing series -- it ordered additional episodes of Gossip Girls and One Tree Hill a couple of years ago -- but it has never done it on such scale, with four series. It is part of new CW president Mark Pedowitz's plan to bring lull periods of reruns during the season to a minimum. He already ordered three series for midseason at the upfronts: reality series Re-Modeled and The Frame and the final season of veteran One Tree Hill.

VIDEO: Mila Kunis - In Russian - Dresses Down Reporter, Defends Justin Timberlake

· As if your crush on Mila Kunis wasn’t big enough, the Friends With Benefits star used fluent Russian during a press conference last week to dress down a female reporter who wondered why Justin Timberlake stopped being a musician. Sure, you could deduct points from Kunis’s badass scorecard because she was actually born in the Ukraine — thus making her Russian language skills slightly less impressive — but don’t be a hater. Click ahead to watch, then stick around for more Buzz Break. Per Hollywood.com, Kunis says something along the lines of, “Why movies? Why not? What kind of question is that? Why are you here?” Burn. [via Hollywood.com] · The non A-list cast of Wet Hot American Summer (read: not Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks) got together in Brooklyn last night to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that cult film. Rudd and Poehler sent videos along, however, while cast members Ken Marino and Janeane Garofalo showed up in character. [Vulture] · Melisa Wallack — the writer on the Relativity Media version of Snow White — has been hired by Universal for Emily the Strange. Chloe Moretz is attached to star in adaptation as the “punky goth cult figure.” [THR/Heat Vision] · Morgan Spurlock and Hulu are teaming for the online viewing hub’s first ever series, A Day in the Life. The documentary-y series will focus on days in the lives of famous people like Richard Branson, will.i.am and Girl Talk. [Deadline]

Darren Criss Succeeding Daniel Radcliffe On Broadway

FIRST PUBLISHED: August 1, 2011 3:33 PM EDT NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Producers of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying have turned to TV to find a replacement for star Daniel Radcliffe. Darren Criss of Foxs hit show Glee will make his Broadway debut as J. Pierrepont Finch for three weeks starting Jan. 3 until Jan. 22. Radcliffes final performance is set for Jan. 1. On Glee, Criss plays Blaine Anderson, a gay student at Dalton Academy and the leader of the Warblers, an all-male singing group. How to Succeed opened March 27 at Broadways Al Hirschfeld Theatre and was nominated for eight 2011 Tony Awards. Copyright 2011 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.