Pilot Season: Stephen Amell Lands Leading Role in The CW's Arrow

Stephen Amell Move over, Justin Hartley: Stephen Amell is stealing your arrows. The actor has landed the leading role in The CW's Arrow, a modern retelling of the Green Arrow's adventures, TVGuide.com has confirmed. Deadline first reported the news. Similar to Bruce Wayne's Batman, Oliver Queen's Green Arrow has no otherworldly superpowers. The playboy-by-day, archer-by-night just has a knack for crime-fighting, archery and martial arts. He is also independently wealthy and has easy access to advanced technologies. Good to be him! Hartley previously played the emerald archer on The CW's Smallville. Pilot Season: The CW orders Arrow, The Carrie Diaries and Beauty and the Beast Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg will executive-produce the pilot, which will be directed by David Nutter. Amell previously appeared on The CW's The Vampire Diaries and 90210. Most recently he played a paramedic and love interest for Violet on Private Practice and also recurred on Hung.

Sundance: Magnolia nabs 'Compliance'

Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to writer-director Craig Zobel's psychological thriller "Compliance." Magnolia is planning a theatrical release for the film later this year.Zobel produced "Compliance" with Sophia Lin, Lisa Muskat, Tyler Davidson and Theo Sena.Based on true events, story follows an overworked manager (Ann Dowd) at a fast food restaurant who receives a call from a police officer accusing one of her teenage employees (Dreama Walker) of stealing from a customer. Taking the officer at his word, the alleged thief is detained, setting into a motion a nightmarish scenario that quickly spirals out of control.Magnolia previously teamed with Zobel on 2007's Sundance entry "Great World of Sound." "We are huge fans of Craig, and have been anticipating his follow-up to 'Great World of Sound' for some time now," said Magnolia prexy Eamonn Bowles. "Compliance is a major step forward -- an artful, remarkably acted, provocative thriller that will stir up passionate arguments and conversations with audiences. We couldn't be more pleased to be working with Craig again.""I'm super happy to come home to Magnolia for this film," said Zobel. "They consistently release movies I love, and are a pleasure to work with. They've been very supportive of me, and I can't wait to team up again. I'm psyched! Rock and roll!"Magnolia's SVP of acquisitions, Dori Begley, negotiated the deal with John Sloss and Dana O'Keefe of Cinetic Media.Magnolia recently bought Ry Russo-Young's "Nobody Walks" and will release the horror anthology "V/H/S" through its genre arm Magnet Releasing. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

Pilot Season: Fox Builds up John Wells-Mike O'Malley Comedy Pilot

Mike OMalley, John Wells Fox has bought an plane pilot for just about any new comedy from John Wells and Mike O'Malley. Based on Hank Perlman's one-minute movies of the title, Prodigy Bully involves a young boy genius who uses his brain and brawn to acquire whatever he wants. Wells will executive-produce with Paris Barclay and Andrew Stearn. Glee's O'Malley, who produces Shameless with Wells, is attached just like a co-executive producer. Prodigy Bully was formerly developed at NBC. Have the latest news on all the pilot pick-ups here Fox formerly acquired aircraft aircraft pilots for comedies Ben Fox Is My Manny, Little Brother, Make the most of McElhenney's Living Loaded and Bill Lawrence's Like Father, along with drama aircraft aircraft pilots Guilty plus an untitled project within the Vampire Diaries' Kevin Williamson.

CBS making drama pilot orders

CBS is starting to produce its drama pilot pick-ups, handing orders to legal-designed drama "Baby Large Shot" together with a contemporary-day to experience a Virtual Detective. The brand new the new sony Pictures TV/CBS Television Studios' "Large Shot," composed by scribe Dana Calvo, is professional produced by Jamie Tarses, Julia Franz and Kevin Falls, through Tarses' The brand new the new sony-based Fanfare banner. Falls assists as showrunner round the project of a lady in the blue-collar background who uses her street inteligence making it the white-colored-shoe arena of Manhattan lawyer. "Elementary," from CBS TV Art galleries, finds the famous detective now dwelling in NY City. Robert Doherty composed the pilot and professional produces with Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly. CBS is predicted to produce a handful of other drama orders today. Among the heatseekers will be the "Rifleman" redo, the procedural drama of a genetic investigator from scribes Shawn Ryan and Simon Mirren and "Golden Boy," an activity of a youthful officer from Greg Berlanti and Nick Wootton. Also creating good buzz is "Mother Track Mysteries," using the quantity of books by Ayelet Waldman, and "The Widow Detective," from scribe Dork Hubbard and Carol Mendelsohn Prods. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

Olbermann role at Current confirmed

Keith Olbermann will lead Current TV's presidential election coverage for 2012, in most probability as soon as the next Republican primary in Sc, professionals within the cabler mentioned Friday. "Keith has told us he's going to do our special election covered ongoing to maneuver forward,Inch Current TV prexy David Bohrman mentioned within the network's Television Experts Assn. panel marketing weeknight series "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm," which Current mentioned would premiere Jan. 30. "That's that which you want him to accomplish that's one of the key reasons he was brought to Current. "Therefore I expect you will observe Keith ongoing to maneuver forward leading our election coverage, which we anxiously want him to accomplish.In . Bohrman and Granholm were grew to become part of in Pasadena by Current TV chairman and co-founder Al Gore, Boss Joel Hyatt and "Youthful Turks" host Cenk Uygur -- while not Olbermann, who was simply mentioned being on vacation, a disagreement that came laughter within the come up with media. But Olbermann, the onscreen touchstone in the network, continues to be primary factor on its election coverage plans. "We wanted him within the get-go," Bohrman mentioned. "We asked for him two several days ago. He declined. They declined." Bohrman declined to elaborate on the explanation for the postponed start, that's been apparently credited with a have to give consideration to improving areas of 8 p.m. show "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Current didn't say positively that Olbermann would participate a policy in the next Republican primary in Sc on Jan. 24, but that is the network's expectation and hope. "We've have have been told by Keith that he'll be leading our coverage continuing to move forward,In . Bohrman mentioned. "That's what we should preferred to complete two several days ago, after we were gearing toward Iowa and Nh, that's what you would like to occur now, which is that which you believe can happen.In . Current professionals might really are actually amazed at how little they were expected to discuss Olbermann and the way much they might assist with their situation just like a necessary anti-establishment network inside the political realm. Uygur was the important thing firebrand, offering harsh critique of Fox News and CNN. Bohrman echoed should be genuine, in rather less incendiary fashion, proclaiming that the task of Current's cable news rivals was "as dysfunctional since the politics it's covering." Gore also needed in the present banner strongly, though his correct one-lining was limited to the Republican race. "It jogs my memory from the reality show where nobody can get selected in the island," the prior v . p . mentioned. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

The Killing Boss Reveals When Audiences Will Really Find Out Who Killed Rosie Larsen

Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman It's officially official: Viewers will find out who killed poor Rosie Larsen at the end of The Killing's second season, according to Written By magazine. This is slightly more specific than what the series' executive producer Veena Sud has said before, that the killer would be revealed during the course of Season 2, which would also introduce a new murder case. AMC responds to The Killing finale backlash AMC's homicide drama faced considerable backlash last summer when the first season ended on a cliff-hanger without revealing who had killed the Seattle teenager. Many of the fans spewed their anger online, and Sud told the magazine, "I started to realize I shouldn't read it, because I shouldn't get swept up too much in either the very good or the very bad, because then it'll start exerting maybe a subconscious influence on how we write, or the story direction... This is not a committee thing." The Killling postmortem with showrunner Veena Sud The Killing, which earned six Emmy nominations for its freshman season, will return for a second 13-episode season in the spring on AMC. Do you still want to find out who the murderer is?

MTV Movie Brawl 2012: 'The Hobbit' Vs. 'Perks Of Being A Wallflower'

The MTV Movie Brawl 2012 is officially on! After the initial play-in and wild card rounds, 16 films have been selected to compete in a series of head-to-head single elimination matches in our March Madness-style bracket. In the end, only one of these flicks can be crowned the can't-miss movie of the year, and the choice is entirely up to YOU. Which movie will win the brawl for it all? Vote at MTV Movies Blog and make your choice known! It's a veritable retelling of David versus Goliath in this Sweet 16 match. In one corner, a film that's literally decades in the making, one that promises to bring moviegoers back to one of the most cherished cinematic worlds of all time. In the other corner... we've got some real wallflowers. With perks! Without further ado, let's dive into the battle. (3) "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Vs. (6) "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" Ask and ye shall receive! After winning its way into the tournament via the Wild Card round, "Perks" proved its staying power by breaking all the way into the 16-film bracket. But does the Logan Lerman and Emma Watson-starring adaptation have enough power behind it to topple "The Hobbit," Peter Jackson's long awaited return to the world of Middle-earth? Fans have been waiting since the closing moments of "Return of the King" for the tale of Bilbo Baggins' greatest adventure, and this year, it finally arrives. What chance does "Perks" stand against such a highly anticipated event? Well... this is the brawl for it all, folks. Surprises are bound to happen, and "The Hobbit" could very well become an unexpected casualty. Watch our MTV Movie Brawl 2012 analysis!

Eva Longoria on Post-Divorce Weight Loss: It Was The Most Unhealthy Place I've Ever Been

Eva Longoria Eva Longoria says she was unhappy about her weight loss after her November 2010 split from pro basketball star Tony Parker - even though she was getting compliments."I was so thin and everyone kept saying how great I looked and it was probably the most unhealthy place I've ever been," Longoria recalls in the latest cover story of Health magazine.Photo gallery: Dramatic celebrity weight loss"So it was funny what people would see as 'healthy,'" she says. "In my worst time, people were saying I've never looked better."The 36-year-old Desperate Housewives actress also discusses the year she spent being a vegan (she calls it her "biggest health regret") and the fact that she previously worked as a personal trainer and aerobics instructor.Jersey Shore's Snooki reveals dramatic weight loss"[But now] I have a great diet and exercise routine. And I try to have a healthy outlook. I'm your everlasting, hopeless optimist!"

U, Thinkway do 'Despicable' deal

'Despicable Me'Make method for more Minions.Universal is planning for a major retailing push around its "Wretched Me" follow up with an exclusive cope with Thinkway Toys once the film hits theaters in 2013.The partnership is important since it is the very first in a number of deals Universal intends to make round the toon and it is figures -- including individuals mischievous yellow Minions -- to develop it right into a major franchise for that studio and NBCUniversal overall to focus on the children and family market.Additionally towards the follow up, a three dimensional amusement park ride is skedded to spread out at Universal's Islands of chance, in Orlando, Fla., this summer time, that will have retail shops to fill with cool product.InchWe are in the household event business, particularly with Illumination," Stephanie Sperber, prexy of Universal Close ties and Certification told Variety. "This is actually the greatest toy property that Universal has already established since 'Jurassic Park.' It is extremely exciting for everybody involved."Using the toy category usually the anchor for any family film if this involves consumer items, Thinkway assists because the sequel's master toy licensee, using the first items -- featuring the Minions along with other key figures as interactive toys, figures, plush, dolls, playsets, automobiles, role play and novelty products across all pricepoints -- set hitting store shelves globally once the film bows This summer 3, 2013."We is ecstatic to produce an exciting new type of toys for 'Despicable Me 2,'" stated Albert Chan, Boss of Thinkway. "The figures are endearing, full of humor and adventure and that we can't wait to incorporate these components in to the toy line."Thinkway is better noted for creating electronic, interactive and animatronic movie-designed toys around figures in Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story," such as the speaking Buzz Lightyear toy, and also the dancing Erik penguin from "Happy Ft 2." It is also thinking about delivering toys and games around Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers" and Sony's "The Astonishing Spider-Guy," both out this summer time.UP&L brokered the Thinkway deal, working carefully with "Wretched Me" franchise producer Illumination Entertainment to choose the toy partner. Toon studio can also be developing family photos according to "Curious George," "The Addams Family," "Uglydolls" and "Woodsy Woodpecker," amongst others. Its "The Lorax," in line with the Dr. Seuss book, bows in March.While Universal had "Wretched Me" merchandise in shops in summer time 2010, the selection of items at merchants like Best To Buy was small, considering that the home wasn't according to familiar figures or perhaps a follow up.Its pop-culture profile transformed, however, once the film gained $251.5 million within the U.S. and the other $291.six million overseas. Additionally, it would be a hit on homevideo, selling 13 million models worldwide, and is just about the top animated title purchased on VOD since The month of january 2011. What couple of Minion plush toys been around offered out rapidly."The very first 'Despicable Me' surprised everybody in the manner it had been accepted all over the world,Inch Sperber stated. "Gru and also the Minions made 'Despicable Me' a tentpole franchise for Universal and that we know Thinkway's innovation, status and global achieve make sure they are the very best partner for all of us to create the Minions to existence through toys."We have seen this as an opportunity to grow the franchise through consumer items all over the world. It is an enormous global program."U has become closing in on deals for apparel along with other "Wretched" merchandise. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

James Franco Novel: 'Actors Anonymous' Sold to Amazon

James Franco will soon add novelist to a list of credits that already includes movie star, Oscar host and NYU student who gets his teachers fired for giving out bad grades. According to the NY Observer, the 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' actor just sold his first novel to Amazon's fiction editor, Ed Park. The book is called 'Actors Anonymous,' and it will apparently be a fictionalized version of his experiences as an actor. (Fingers crossed for a behind-the-scenes look at 'General Hospital'!) This will be Franco's second book, the first being a collection of short stories called 'Palo Alto.' [via NYO] [Photo: FilmMagic] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook