Dwight Caines to Head Sony's Domestic Marketing, Replacing Ousted Marc Weinstock

Sony president of worldwide digital marketing Dwight Caines is being promoted to head the studio's domestic marketing operation.

Official word that Caines has been offered the top gig comes only a day after the embattled studio showed Marc Weinstock, who served as president of worldwide marketing, the door. While Caines is expected to take over Weinstock's domestic duties, Nigel Clark, who was promoted to president of international marketing, reporting to Weinstock, in 2011, would oversee Sony's international marketing efforts.

Charles Sipkins, Sony's newly named head of corporate communications, declined to comment.

STORY: Sony Ousts Marketing President Marc Weinstock

Caines, who joined the studio in 1997 as a director of market research, worked his way up through the ranks and was named to his current post heading worldwide digital marketing in 2008. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment chiefs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal decided to make a change in the studio’s marketing team following a downbeat summer where the studio fielded such major disappointments as After Earth and White House Down.

STORY: Sony Publicity Exec Steve Elzer to Exit

The studio's poor performance took a further hit in July from Daniel Loeb, whose New York-based hedge fund Third Point has accumulated nearly 7 percent of Sony's common stock. Calling the studio "poorly managed," he blasted its corporate structure as "bloated" and specifically targeted "marketing budgets that do not seem to be in line with any sense of return on capital investment."

Caines' appointment and Weinstock's departure reflects a larger executive shake-up that is taking place at Sony, where last week Steve Elzer, a 12-year veteran of the studio, announced that he is stepping down as senior vp media relations.

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Found-Footage Tornado Pic 'Into the Storm' to Hit Theaters August 2014

Tornado pic Into the Storm will rip through theaters on Aug. 8, 2014.

Directed by Steven Quale (Final Destination 5), the found-footage film stars Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Nathan Kress, Arlen Escarpeta, Jon Reep and Jeremy Sumpter.

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The Warner Bros. film -- previously titled Black Sky -- follows a group of storm chasers trying to document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes that ravage a small town. While some residents seek shelter, the storm chasers prove just how far they are willing to go to capture a once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Into the Storm opens opposite Paramount's Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles and Lasse Hallstrom's drama The Hundred-Foot Journey, from DreamWorks.

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FX Renews 'The Bridge' for Season 2

FX is heading back to The Bridge. The cable network announced that it has ordered a second season of the detective drama after being greeted by strong ratings stateside and abroad.

The 13-episode renewal comes as little surprise given the show's solid performance -- it has been tracking just shy of The Americans -- and the creative team spoke optimistically of a second season throughout this summer's panel at the Television Critics Association. 

All told, the July 10 series premiere has taken in 5.07 million viewers. That figure, Nielsen's Live+Seven Day returns, marks a 67 percent jump from the original haul of 3.04 million viewers. Both figures just trail The Americans as FX's biggest launch to date. The Bridge ranks as the No. 1 new scripted cable series launch of the summer among adults 18-49. Season one is averaging 3.65 million total viewers and 1.68 million among adults 18-49. When adding DVR numbers, the series jumps 89 percent in total viewers and 105 percent in the demo compared with Live+Same Day.

Abroad, it has fared even better, recently launching to 3 million consolidated viewers in 19 metered pay TV markets and on track to bring in a total 4.5 million viewers.

The Bridge, an adaptation of international hit Bron, came to FX from Shine America and FX Productions. It hails from Homeland writer/executive producer Meredith Stiehm and Hawaii Five-0 producer Elwood Reid and revolves around two detectives, one from the U.S. (Diane Kruger) and one from Mexico (Demian Bichir), who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border.

That serial killer storyline will conclude with the current 13-episode freshman season. Stiehm and Reid recently said that the upcoming finale will act as a launch pad for the sophomore run -- though they won't be taking on a serial killer per season model. Season two will return in summer 2014.

“We’ve been blown away by the compelling performances of Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger and the writing of Meredith Stiehm, Elwood Reid and their team, and are thrilled to be able to continue this journey for another season,” said FX president of original programming Eric Schrier. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Rich Ross, Carolyn Bernstein and everyone at Shine America.”

Added Shine America CEO Rich Ross: "We’re thrilled that viewers and critics alike have embraced Sonya Cross and Marco Ruiz and that our partners at FX are enthusiastically joining us for a continuation of the wild ride in season two."

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Bob Iger: Disney Might Create Content for Netflix, Amazon

Bob Iger says Disney might create content specifically for Netflix, Amazon.com or some other online entity and that the programming could come from a number of Disney-owned assets, including Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar or ESPN.

"I wouldn't be surprised if, sometime in the near future, you didn't hear about Disney making content specifically for one of the platforms you cite and not necessarily making it for one of our channels," the Disney CEO said during an interview on Tuesday on the Fox Business Network when asked about Netflix, Google and Amazon.com.

PHOTOS: When You Wish Upon a Death Star: The Surprising Symmetry of Star Wars and Disney

"Now, we will continue to feed these great (Disney-owned) channels, but these new platforms are voracious in terms of their appetite for good content, and we can make it," Iger said.

Iger avoided specifics, but he said Disney could create traditional-looking TV shows as well as more cutting-edge fare tailored for online viewing.

"You might get a mini-episode of something on one platform and then, you know, tweets about the story on another, and so on," he said. "You also have a huge, huge explosion of shortform content that is designed for mobile and basically social distribution where you actually have people that serve as the distributor of that content."

STORY: Disney CEO Talks Netflix, Cord Cutting, ESPN's Outlook

Also during his FBN appearance, Iger addressed Disney's decision to delay the opening of the Pixar film, The Good Dinosaur.

"If we come out with a great film six months later, no one is going to remember that it was delayed," he said. "If you come out with a bad film early, everybody is going to remember that it was a bad film."

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Music Producer Mark Trombino Opts for 'Completely New' Career, Opens Doughnut Shop

Highland Park’s main drag, York Avenue, is filled with shops, mostly of the eclectic variety, combining new, hip establishments with time-tested standards of the Los Angeles neighborhood. It’s here that Mark Trombino, a music producer best known for working with artists like Jimmy Eat World, Rilo Kiley and Blink-182, has opened a doughnut shop, the first incarnation in what he hopes will be many. The store, Donut Friend, is bright and airy, boasting a massive mural by artist Saelee Oh on one wall. Patrons can select a premade doughnut or elect to create their own from a wide variety of gourmet fillings and toppings. As Trombino puts it, it’s like Pinkberry but with doughnuts.

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“I went to a show in Orange County, and on the way back a friend of mine said, ‘Hey I heard about this doughnut shop in Glendora where they put fresh fruit in the doughnuts,’” Trombino tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It was so good and I was like, ‘Why doesn’t everybody do this? It’s so easy.’ I started thinking about it. I stewed on that for years -- this was like five years ago. The music business is not doing so great and budgets are small, so two years ago it was like I had to either double down and build myself a recording studio or do something completely new. I opted for something completely new.”

Trombino has been working on the shop since 2011, focusing on creating a place that would be inviting and open to any sort of customer -- not just the hipsters who have recently begun to infiltrate Highland Park. The shop will serve regular doughnuts as well as baked, gluten-free and vegan options. They are currently testing recipes for the coveted cronut, a combination doughnut and croissant that has recently been a sensation in New York City. Donut Friend will also serve Klatch coffee, a company local to Southern California.

The preset doughnut menu items trace back to Trombino’s music career and are all puns on various punk and emo band names, many of which he’s worked with. Some highlights include The Starting Lime, Jimmy Eat Swirl and Rites of Sprinkles, which is Trombino’s personal favorite.

“It was this silly concept,” Trombino says. “A friend and I were talking about it, and he came up with Jimmy Eat Swirl as a name for one of the doughnuts and it was just so funny. We started riffing and coming up with all these stupid names, and it stuck. I was nervous about it at first but I think it actually turned out to be a really cool thing.”

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“[Jimmy Eat World] knows about it and they’ve actually submitted an idea for their doughnut because I don’t actually have it on the menu yet,” he adds. “I’m implementing it now. Rocket From the Crypt knows I have a doughnut named after them [called Chocolate From the Crypt], and I think even someone told Ian MacKaye about the Fudgegazi doughnut. I don’t know what his reaction was. He was probably not stoked. But I’ll give Ian MacKaye a free doughnut if he comes in here.”

Donut Friend isn’t just a side project to Trombino’s musical career, however. The shop actually marks a complete career reversal. “I don’t want to admit it yet,” Trombino says when asked whether he’s completely done with music. “But probably. I can still work at home. I have a little setup at home where I can mix or whatever. I knew this would be different than working in music, and that’s why I did it. I know nothing about this business. Every minute I’m learning something new, which is exciting.”

Donut Friend is located at 5107 York Ave. in Highland Park. The shop officially opens Tuesday, Sept. 24. It will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day except Monday.

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Nick Carter on Sobriety and 'Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It' (Q&A)

Though raised in a destructive household, introduced to fame as preteen and surrounding himself with party people like Paris Hilton, Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter takes full responsibility for his problems.

He says he was naïve, didn’t know what to do during touring downtime, and just “doing like the Russians” while in Russia. He even pokes fun at the title to his 2005 album Never Gone for being inaccurate, because he was “way gone” during much of the recording of it.

STORY: Backstreet Boys Serenade Crowd at Fashion Charity Event

But not anymore. Out Sept. 24 by Bird Street Books, Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It is equal parts memoir and self-help book, outlining his battle with alcoholism and drugs, sharing his epiphanies about the reasons – and the repressed memories – that drew him to the substances in the first place.

Carter is frank about envying the grounded religious upbringings of Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson, severing professional ties with manager Lou Pearlman (known to the Boys as “Big Poppa”), learning from A.J. McLean’s road to sobriety and trying to save his late sister, Leslie, from her own demise.

Carter invites the reader to take stock of their own lives with action items and provoking questions in each chapter. “Now, what about you?” he writes when discussing self-motivation. “What are your strengths, talents, gifts and pas­sions? What can you build your life around? There are a few telltale signs to look for if you haven’t yet identified a strength.”

Carter recently took a break from the Backstreet Boys’ In A World Like This tour to chat with THR about the temptations of touring, his upcoming VH1 reality show and whether he’s completely sober.

Rather than writing a traditional memoir, why did you include self-help language in your book?

I related it to what I’m inspired by. I love books that teach and that I can learn from, and self-help books, in a way, fulfill that for me. They helped me in a time of need, so I wanted to write a book like that, but then give actual stories that were interesting, entertaining and of real life at the same time. Sometimes self-help books come off a little bit aggressive -- 'You have to do this; you have to do that.' I wanted it to just be a nice, easy read, something people can turn to if they need a little help.

STORY: BMG Signs Backstreet Boys for Publishing, Recordings

Which sections were the most difficult to write?

Writing about my family, because when you tell the truth about things and then read them back, you’re actually looking in the mirror and reliving these things, having to accept that they’re a reality and something you can’t change. You just face it. Coming to terms with who they’ve been and who they are, and how it hasn’t been perfect and may never be perfect – that was more difficult.

In a way, though, it was cool to get my experiences down on paper so that I can always be reminded about what I’ve gone through. For me, that was fulfilling and helped me evolve to be a better person. I’m happy the book came out the way it did.

What do your fellow Backstreet Boys think about the book?

It was funny -- we were on a flight to do a radio show in Boston, and A.J. looked at me and said, 'Hey, Nick, somebody said that you wrote something really …' and then I thought, 'oh, my god, what did I write in the book?' He’s like, '… really good about me in the book!' [laughs] I haven’t given them a copy yet, but I know the curiosity is going to kill them, and they’re gonna read it.

Are you completely sober?

I am completely drug-free. I have had occasional drinks at times, and it’s something that I struggle with because I’m not perfect. But at the same time, I enjoy being clean and sober more. Alcoholism is definitely a struggle for me. I’m taking it one day at a time, working on myself, and I’m winning the battle.

VIDEO: Backstreet Boys Look Back on 20 Years in the Biz, New Influences and a Poop Cruise Plan B 

You share that you used to drink on tour buses and hit clubs after concerts. Is it hard to be back in certain environments, especially as you’re on tour again?

Absolutely. I think it’s all about learning from those experiences and continuing therapy, continuing to work on the reasons why someone turns to alcohol. That’s why I wrote this book -- this is just the beginning, the first chapter, really. I’m 33 years old, I’m still living life. What I’ve done up to this point, who I am now, the steps that I’ve taken to get to this point, are tremendous and huge. And thank god I made those moves, but it’s still a work in progress. I haven’t figured it out -- I have issues, I definitely have problems, but I start with acknowledging that I do have a problem and face it head on.

Performing and interacting with fans -- is it different now that you are drug-free?

The way my body feels when I stay away from partying in general, I feel so much better. I can think so much better, I can do more things, set more goals. And when it comes to the experiences with the boys, being on the road, I cherish it a lot more -- performances, playing guitar onstage with the guys, writing new songs. It’s nice to be all there instead of being in a club, having to substitute and try to replace or fill a void.

You reflect a lot about things that came out in your family’s House of Carters reality show. Are you nervous about what might come out this time around?

The cool thing about the book is I’ve been able to be open up about the past and the future, so it kind of goes hand in hand. The show is based on my future marriage with my fiancée, Lauren [Kitt], and us basically making it -- starting over again, creating a new and better life. That’s what our relationship has been based off of -- helping each other evolve. I think it can be very inspirational to the world out there.

I thought about it, and who I am now, versus the person I was before, I’m completely different. I’m almost not afraid -- actually, I’m not afraid to show the world who I am now. I’m not afraid to show that I am weak at times, but I am making it. It’s not easy, and it’s a process, but it’ll be interesting to show the world. It’s gonna be cool.

Twitter: @cashleelee

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Geoffrey Rush Joining Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler in 'Gods of Egypt' (Exclusive)

Geoffrey Rush has closed a deal to join Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gerard Butler in Summit's epic fantasy Gods of Egypt.

Alex Proyas is directing the project, whose story is set in motion when one ruling god, Set, kills another, Osiris. When Osiris' son Horus fails in his attempt to get revenge, and has his eyed plucked out, it's up to a young human thief in love with a slave to help defeat the mad god.

STORY: Gerard Butler to Join Summit's 'Gods of Egypt'

Coster-Waldau is playing Horus. Butler is in talks to play Set, the god of the desert. 

Rush will play the sun god Ra, the father of Set and Osiris who is also Set’s ultimate target.

Proyas will share screenwriting credits with Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazamat.

Basil Iwanyk will produce via his Thunder Road Productions banner along with Proyas and his Mystery Clock Cinema banner.

Rush, who has spent the last decade nicely chewing scenery as the pirate Barbossa in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, has The Book Thief, the adaptation of the Markus Zusak novel, coming out in theaters Nov. 15.

He is repped by CAA.

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Sierra Pictures Sets Film Adaptation of Graphic Novel 'Ciudad'

John Pogue will direct action-thriller Ciudad for Sierra Pictures, based on the upcoming Oni Press graphic novel by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Ande Parks and Fernando Leon.

Joe Russo -- who co-directed Marvel's upcoming sequel Captain America: The Winter Solider with his brother Anthony -- is writing the adapted screenplay for Ciudad, about a weary mercenary who is hired by a Brazilian drug lord to extract his daughter from Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, one of the world's most corrupt cities.

Sierra Pictures is financing and producing the movie alongside Eric Gitter and Peter Schwerin of Closed on Mondays Entertainment. The Russo siblings and Closed on Mondays’ Joe Nozemack will executive produce with David Guillod of Intellectual Property Group. Sierra's Nick Meyer and Marc Schaberg will also executive produce the project.

Sierra Pictures is a division of Sierra/Affinity, which will sell the film overseas. Pogue is set to begin shooting this spring in Colombia, with Sierra/Affinity senior vp production and acquisitions Kelly McCormick overseeing production.

Pogue's credits include the upcoming horror film The Quiet Ones, produced by Hammer Films.

He's represented by Resolution and Circle of Confusion, while the Russo brothers are represented by WME and 3 Arts.

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Entertainment One: Full-Year Earnings on Track to Hit Expectations

"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

LONDON – Canadian producer and distributor Entertainment One on Wednesday said that earnings for its fiscal year are on track to hit management's expectations.

The company's fiscal year started in April, and the firm provided an update on its performance ahead of the half-year mark.

Entertainment One's financials have benefited from the $230 million acquisition of Alliance Films in January. The deal created the largest independent film distributor in the U.K. and Canada. The merged company also has broader international reach across the U.S., Australia, the Benelux countries and Spain.

"On a reported basis, group revenues and [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] are significantly higher than the comparative period, reflecting the acquisition of Alliance Films Holdings," the company said about the first half of the year. "Trading in the first six months of the current financial year has continued in line with management expectations."

Full-year earnings are "anticipated to be in line with management expectations," Entertainment One added. The company didn't detail any of its figures, which it is expected to release at a later date.

Entertainment One also reiterated Wednesday that its investment in content for the full fiscal year will rise to more than $385 million (£250 million).

The group plans to release more than 250 films during the current financial year, including The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Ender's Game. Prisoners and 12 Years a Slave are also part of the company's release slate.

Entertainment One also mentioned on Wednesday that film revenue for the first half of its fiscal year was up "driven by increased number of box office releases and the performance of the enlarged library of films across the group." But when adjusted for the Alliance deal, film revenue was in line with the year-ago period.

Entertainment One's theatrical releases have included Now You See Me, Rush, The Place Beyond the Pines, Scary Movie 5, Insidious: Chapter 2 and Behind the Candelabra. Its DVD releases have included Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook.

"Digital revenues in the division have more than doubled in comparison to the prior year," which has boosted the film unit's margins, the firm said.

In its TV business, Entertainment One highlighted the continuing success of kids show Peppa Pig, which it said "continues to perform well internationally." In the U.S., the show airs in one-hour primetime slots on Nick Jr. Monday to Sunday.

"Year-to-date, television production is in line with management expectations, and the production slate for the financial year includes commissioned renewals for season two of Saving Hope and Rogue, season three of Hell on Wheels and season four of Haven," Entertainment One also said.

The company recently signed a new three-year output deal with AMC Networks, under which it will handle international distribution for all original scripted series from the cable networks operator's U.S.-based channels.

E-mail: Georg.Szalai@THR.com?
Twitter: @georgszalai

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Lifetime Cancels 'Army Wives' After Seven Seasons

Lifetime is closing the book on Army Wives.

The female-skewing cable network has opted to cancel its longest-running original scripted drama after seven seasons, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The series, which hails from ABC Studios, wrapped its final season in June and will conclude with a two-hour retrospective special with the cast that will air early next year.

PHOTOS: Faces of Fall TV 2013

"There is no denying how special Army Wives has been to both Lifetime and the television landscape," Lifetime GM Rob Sharenow said of the series following women and their spouses and families living on an active Army post. "By taking on a very relevant and timely issue, it has brilliantly captured the challenges our military families endure and the bravery they and their loved ones display while serving our country. It has been an honor to be the home of Army Wives. We also want to thank Army Wives’ passionate legion of fans and everyone involved with the series: ABC Studios, Mark Gordon and Jeff Melvoin, Tanya Biank, every single castmember, as well as the crew and community of Charleston, South Carolina. Without their dedication, effort and loyalty, Army Wives’ seven wonderful seasons would not have been possible; and for that we are very grateful.”

Season seven averaged 2.5 million total viewers, down from season six's 3.2 million average. The series returned in March without star Kim Delaney and co-star Sally Pressman having a reduced role. In a bid to replenish its ranks, Army Wives added Ashanti, Torrey DeVitto, Jesse McCartney and Brooke Shields, among others new regular and recurring players. 

Army Wives helped put Lifetime on the original scripted series map. Moving forward, the network has drama Witches of East End due this fall as well as the second season of Marc Cherry's Devious Maids set for next year.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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Hart Hanson, Andrew Miller Developing 'Good Thief's Guide' Adaptation at ABC

"The Good Thief's Guide to Paris"

ABC has added another drama to its development slate, the first sale of the season for Bones creator Hart Hanson and Secret Circle executive producer Andrew Miller.

Hanson and Miller have teamed to write, create and executive produce an adaption of Chris Ewan's best-selling book series The Good Thief's Guide at the network, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The duo, who set the project up at 20th Century Fox Television, have received a script plus penalty commitment from the network. 

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Good Thief's Guide follows charming criminal Charlie Howard, a globe-trotting pincher who blogs about his adventures stealing for fun and profit. Each season would take the series to a different exotic city, much as the different books have focused on Amsterdam, Paris, Las Vegas, Venice and Berlin. Each locale also serves as the catalyst for one perfect heist.

For Hanson, this marks his first project of the development season. The veteran showrunner's most recent pilot, CBS' Backstrom, was still being considered for a pickup after failing to make the first round of series orders ahead of the May upfronts -- but ultimately did not pan out. He previously tackled Bones spinoff The Finder at 20th TV. (Both Miller and Hanson's overall deals are at 20th.)

It's also the first sale this season for Miller. The Secret Circle creator had several projects in development last season, including a sci-fi drama at ABC and a rodeo project at Fox with Ruben Fleischer. 

Hanson is repped by WME and Jeanne Newman at Hansen Jacobson. Miller also is repped by WME, as well as Matt Johnson and Jamie Afifi at Ziffren Brittenham.

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'Agents of SHIELD' EPs on Expectations, Lessons From Joss Whedon, Marvel's 'Code of Silence'

Clark Gregg with Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (inset)

ABC is looking to Joss Whedon and Marvel to rebuild its Tuesday night with The Avengers follow-up Agents of SHIELD, a drama that lives in the comics world of the feature film but tells its own story about the group of secret officers.

SHIELD is based on Marvel Comics' intelligence organization that has appeared in countless titles including Iron Man, Captain America and The Ultimates since being introduced in the 1960s. The military law-enforcement agency's moniker stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, which has also evolved over time in the comics. The series hails from executive producer Whedon, his brother, Jed Whedon, and the latter's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen -- the trio behind three-part Emmy-winning web musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Fox's two-season drama Dollhouse.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Jed Whedon and Tancharoen to get the scoop on Agent Phil Coulson's (Clark Gregg) mysterious return, how they plan to court families to open Tuesdays, the pressure -- and demands -- of working with Marvel and more.

PHOTOS: Faces of Fall TV 2013

SHIELD represents getting back into the sci-fi genre. What's the best lesson you learned from working with Joss on Dollhouse?
Maurissa Tancharoen: In season two, Joss was very busy and he entrusted us with a lot of producer-type duties, so we had our hands in a lot of the episodes. I think that's the reason he came to us to help co-create this show. The main lesson we learned from Dollhouse is that it's very hard to do a show based on a character who doesn't know who she is, who doesn't have their own identity. What's really nice about this show is our characters are very distinct, so they know who they are. They might still be trying to find their way but that's the fun journey that we're taking them through.
Jed Whedon: In terms of story, the main thing we're finding in everything we work on is that if you build a story from a place of emotion and character, it doesn't matter how much cool you have or don't have that will keep people engaged and make it rewarding to watch.

So much about SHIELD has been kept under wraps. How much of that comes from Marvel?
Whedon: Plenty (laughs).
Tancharoen: All of it (laughs). It's a rule when you're welcomed in the Marvel family that you have to understand that you're going to be living in a code of silence. There obviously are benefits to it because you have people anticipating what you're finally going to come out with. It's taken us some time to get used to it. Everyone that comes to visit us has to sign a million NDAs, give their blood and bring their grandmother's urine. It's a very interesting process (laughs).

STORY: Inside Marvel's Secret 'Agents of SHIELD' Security

Has that helped or hurt the show in terms of creating expectations?
Whedon: We are big fans of not spoiling things, and we think the less people know, the more they want to know and to a certain extent that goes against what most networks usually do. ABC embraces that with their SHIELD logo billboard and the simplicity [of its marketing campaigns]. Knowing very little intrigues people. We know that people will have eyes on it, so we like the secrecy. Going in there without knowing anything is more rewarding.
Tancharoen: Being Marvel's first live-action television show, there are already so many eyes on it. And there are many, many expectations. And having the Marvel secrecy adds to all that.
Whedon: It certainly doesn't hurt. On our first day of shooting we signed a thousand NDAs and everybody was being super secretive. We walked off the set and before we even started blocking everything, one of our producers holds up an iPad and a picture of one of the vehicles had already leaked from when it was on the freeway, driving to the location. The tarp had blown off and it was already online. We don't know if it generates interest, but it certainly hasn't hurt the hunger for knowledge.

What kind of ratings expectations do you have considering the amount of eyes already on SHIELD?
Whedon: We're not thinking about that. The expectations are high from fans and from the people making the show from ABC and from Marvel. We can't really let that get into our heads right now because we are trying to make a cool show. If we start thinking about that, we will make nothing.
Tancharoen: We're going to think about that the day after we air.

PHOTOS: ABC's 2013-14 Season: 'S.H.I.E.L.D.,' 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,' More

How are you guys handling all the pressure from ABC and Marvel?
Whedon: We're just smoking weed (laughs).
Tancharoen: We're smoking tons of weed?! No, we're not! Don't worry! (Laughs.) What we try to do is focus on making a show that we would like to see. We've always been Marvel fans and we love the Marvel movies. Everyday we think of crazy things, and there are hundreds of people working their butts off to make it come to life. We try not to focus on the pressure; but we're very aware of it. We're very mindful of all the expectations the fans and the studios have, and we're just doing our best to make the best show we possibly can.
Whedon: We're trying to respect what Marvel has already generated and what the fans want to see -- both movie fans and the comics universe. That's as far as we let it affect us. Other than that, we're trying to treat it like we're making a YouTube video and make it entertaining.
Tancharoen: It 's much like the way we made Dr. Horrible. We started from a place of fun, and if it ever stops feeling that way we have to check in with each other again and make sure we come from that place.

The series has been described as a procedural with an adventurous twist. How accurate is that?
Whedon: Somewhat. This isn't about the case of the week. It's about our people being the case of the week and we're going to take them on adventures and have cool gadgets. We're going to have monsters of the week and challenges, but we think it's about our people more than the case, solving the mystery and the clue.
Tancharoen: The cases will have a beginning, middle and end, but we are focused on the serialized nature of our characters and there will be mythology woven throughout the season with little bits and pieces.

STORY: 'Agents of SHIELD' Cast, Creators on Movie Synergy, Joss Whedon's Involvement

Can we expect Smallville villain of the week or will there be one "big bad" per season a la Buffy?
Tancharoen: Marvel is a very vast and diverse universe.
Whedon: There are gods and aliens. So we have a lot to play with. There's a spy aspect of the show and SHIELD is some of the most sci-fi in the Marvel universe because it's about gadgets. So we have a lot of different things to play with. It will be a mixture of both. We will be focusing on having every story having a beginning, middle and end, but some of it will be mythology and some of it will standalone. And our character runs will continue through all of that.

The pilot sets up the story about Level 7 clearance and bringing Coulson back. What kind of balance will we have in terms of setting up that central story?
Whedon: We're going to try to tease it out slowly enough to make it thrilling and not drive people crazy. A lot of shows will keep having a hatch within a hatch or keep asking questions without giving answers or payoffs. We're definitely focused on paying off anything we bring up and making it as rewarding as possible.
Tancharoen: I like to look at Coulson's journey to the answer as a sort of existential crisis with a Marvel twist.

The CW's Arrow had its roots in comic series Year One. Is there a specific SHIELD story or comic you're inspired by?
Whedon: We have new characters, so while we're pulling from the comics and being faithful to the whole Marvel brand, we're creating new people. We're pulling more from a general Marvel universe than a SHIELD comic.
Tancharoen: We've have had a lot of Marvel homework to do. Everything is very much influenced by the history of SHIELD, but we are inventing our own and our main cast of characters is new. So it will be a mixture of all those things, new and old.

STORY: A Comic Expert's Primer to ABC's 'Agents of SHIELD'

Is there anything that fans should be reading or watching from the Marvel universe?
Tancharoen: We're hoping that the general audience, those who haven't seen the Marvel movies, will be able to come to the show and enjoy it as much as Marvel fans will enjoy it. If you are a Marvel fan and you've seen all the movies and have read all the comics, then it will be all that more of an adventure for you because there will be Easter eggs that we use just to flesh out story, but as a fan you'll pick up on them. [It helps] if you've seen all the movies -- especially The Avengers -- because we take place on the heels of the battle of New York, so the world is a different place; people are rattled because they know there are aliens and superheroes. That's a huge part of our show. The team of our regular people are going to help the general population cope and push through this new sort of way of life and their new view of the world.

What kind of rules exist in the SHIELD universe?
Tancharoen: We can't ever say "mutant."
Whedon: There's a database that's tailored to our show with the properties we can use as well as the properties that are owned by other studios and things that are flagged for major franchises. There are certain areas we can't go because we don't want to step on the toes of the movies. We've had free reign. There are certain rules in terms of the Marvel brand. Marvel is very focused on being grounded -- and it is our world with the one twist that they're superheroes. There's no Metropolis, there's no Gotham. It's New York City and Chicago, and in the cinematic universe the process of powers is pretty young. They say it's only been a couple years since Iron Man in terms of our timeline in the universe. So the idea in our world that powers exist is new to the population and SHIELD's job description. It used to be keeping those things secret and that has now changed, so we're dealing with some of that.

ABC's Paul Lee has said repeatedly that this is a four-quadrant show and appeals to families. How are you making this series accessible for non-comic fans?
Whedon: We have plenty of "Marvel cool" for the 14-year-old and the emotion for his mom. But we really believe the humor is what makes the Marvel movies so successful. We've talked many times about the end of The Avengers and there's 20 minutes of action. But when you walk away, you remember The Hulk punching Thor out of frame, the Hulk beating up Loki, the team coming together and Hawkeye calling out moves to Iron Man. You remember those humorous moments, so we think the humor is the center for everything to rally around.
Tancharoen: That's a huge reason as to why all of Joss' shows have been successful and why everyone responded to them. You have these very strong and poignant moments and then they're always undercut by the humor. There's always levity. We're dealing with this post-disaster world and with the emotional turmoil that people are going through, and it's nice to bring some levity to that. People who are not Marvel fans can come to this show because we're focusing on the human experience within a superhero world and that human experience is only amplified because superheroes, aliens and gods exist. We're exploring that feeling of being less than. Even though our main cast of characters are all highly skilled and part of this giant bureaucratic organization that has insane gadgetry, they're really just people trying to get by and also trying to help others.

STORY: Could Cobie Smulders Return to 'Agents of SHIELD'?

Cobie Smulders reprises her role in the pilot. Why was it important to bring someone else from The Avengers in so early on?
Whedon: We're bringing back Coulson and there's a question mark as to how that happened. We don't want people to feel like we disregarded The Avengers. We thought it was important for his character to show that this isn't some spinoff. This exists in the world and he's the same guy. Plus we like Cobie (laughs).
Tancharoen: Having characters like Agent Maria Hill legitimizes his return, as well as the show, right from the top. This isn't some spinoff. We're taking this seriously. We're paying respects to what did happen in previous movies and we're not disregarding any of that. This is a new story we're telling from that point onward.
Whedon: The character was a way for us to deal with the emotion of Coulson's death again and put that in the pilot. Our whole team is meeting him again for the first time. It was a way of bringing that up again and stirring the dirt on that for the audience who may not have seen it.

How are you going to handle crossovers moving forward when it comes to integrating film characters? Samuel L. Jackson has said he wants to do the show. Can we expect people from the movies to pop in for sweeps?
Tancharoen: If he wants to come and play with us he is more than welcome!
Whedon: I sent him my phone number (laughs).
Tancharoen: We're open to those opportunities, but we just don't want to set that precedent. We don't want that to be an expectation that somebody is always going to show up. We want our show to exist on our own. But the opportunity for synergy is always welcome.
Whedon: We're in contact with the features people, and we're hoping to tie in with storylines since we have stuff in their films and play with the fallout of their films. But we are focused on establishing ourselves as our own franchise and getting people to fall in love with our characters instead of just wondering when Iron Man is going to fly in.

Some of the early promos had Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. Is that something you are actively looking at?
Whedon: We're not. To do something like that involves many minds and many people's schedules. It's a big machine over here. We're open to it. It's not something we're focused on. We do need to flesh out our world so you know and feel we're in the same universe. We're pretty confident that people will like the people that we've surrounded Coulson with and that they'll have their own appeal. Anything like that can be icing on the cake, but right now we're just looking to make a good cake.

STORY: What ABC's 'Agents of SHIELD' Will Need to Do to Get an Audience -- and Save the Network

Looking at the SHIELD universe and comics, there's so much crossover. Can we expect any other comic characters or is that off limits?
Tancharoen: We can solidly say we do not see any of the X-Men. That belongs to someone else.

What's the script process like? At what point does Joss weigh in?
Tancharoen: He has a lot on his plate, but he's capable of holding a very big plate. Although he's not here on a day-to-day basis, his presence is always felt. He sees every story, he sees every script and he weighs in on everything. So we are in constant contact with him, thanks to the Internet (laughs).

Is there one piece of advice Joss has given you about showrunning?
Whedon: He has a lot of good tidbits, but the main thing for him is that we build the story from the emotion first. He will not respond to the story if we pitch him the moves. He wants to know what the characters are going through and what they're feeling. If we build it from that, we're in a good place. Making sure that we're putting them through their cases and making it realistic with how they're reacting. The character is way more important to him than the other stuff, so those are our marching orders.
Tancharoen: The tagline "Not all heroes are super" is something he came up with on a car ride over to a meeting that we had with ABC to pitch the show. That is the heart of the show. It is about the little guy. It is about the person who doesn't feel special because the guy standing next to him is able to punch holes in a building. If we focus on that and our main cast of characters, it's going to be a really nice show.

There was Defamer report that suggested Joss was having to do page one rewrites on scripts. Care to respond?
Tancharoen: That is not true.
Whedon: If he has been doing it, then he's changed the lines to what they were before (laughs).

What can you say about the second episode of SHIELD?
Tancharoen: Episode two is even bigger than episode one, and we hope you like it!

We have to ask: Where are you guys with the Dr. Horrible sequel?
Tancharoen: We wish we could be doing everything at the same time, but it's always something that is in our hearts and always something we desperately want to do. But now Joss is away. He's in London prepping, and we are here everyday consumed by this. But there are about six songs ready to go.
Whedon: In some form or another, it will exist. Obviously we've been saying that for a long time and it's been slow going. But we never forget. It lives in our hearts.
Tancharoen: I will play Groupie #1 before you can call it Old Hag #1 (laughs).

Agents of SHIELD airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Hit the comments below with your thoughts. Are you in?

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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'Big Bang Theory' Books Kate Micucci for Return Visit (Exclusive)

"Big Bang Theory's" Kunal Nayyar and Kate Micucci

Is love blooming again for The Big Bang Theory's Raj?

Kunal Nayyar's season-six love interest Kate Micucci has booked a return trip to the CBS comedy, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

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Micucci, who played Lucy, the socially awkward woman who opted to break up with Raj rather than expand her comfort zone, will return to reprise her character in the eighth episode of the upcoming seventh season.

Plot details on the episode, slated to air Nov. 14, are scarce but Lucy will bump into Penny (Kaley Cuoco) during the episode. It's unclear whether Raj, who in the sixth-season finale overcame his selective muteness after having his heart broken, will cross paths with his ex.

"I'm not sure it's a good thing that Raj can talk to women because he's going to put his foot in his mouth a lot," Nayyar told The Hollywood Reporter of Raj's newfound abilities.

PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes: 'The Big Bang Theory'

"I love Kate Micucci and would love for her to come back and for Lucy and Raj to have a relationship," Nayyar said in August of his biggest hope for season seven. "Theirs is a really wonderful relationship. She's so good and talented and just a wonderful human being and a great addition to have on set."

STORY: 'Big Bang Theory' Boss Previews New Pairings in Season 7

Micucci joins Christine Baranski and Regina King as guests slated to reprise their roles this season.

The Big Bang Theory returns Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS. Hit the comments with your thoughts -- are you excited to see Micucci return?

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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Dr. Drew Reveals Prostate Cancer Battle: 'Without Surgery, I Would Have Died' (Q&A)

Oversharing is a way of life for Dr. Drew Pinksy, who encourages the patients he treats, the teens to whom he dispenses advice and the guests who appear on his HLN show to speak to him as they would to a, well, trusted doctor. So it’s surprising to learn that Pinsky has been harboring his own secret for some time. As he revealed on On Call with Dr. Drew on Sept. 24, he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The good news: the cancer was “low grade and localized,” Pinsky tells The Hollywood Reporter, and now post-surgery, is gone. The scary part was how close a tumor came to exacting serious damage in the center of his prostate. “If my urologist hadn’t pulled the trigger on the surgery, I would’ve died of prostate cancer, for sure,” he adds.

Dr. Drew has his wife Susan to thank for her vigilance and pestering. Noticing that he had been sick quite often in 2013, she encouraged him to go in for a closer look. Wouldn’t you know, even doctors dread going to see the doctor. “Doctors are the worst patients,” Pinsky says with a laugh. “Men are terrible patients too. It’s like asking for directions, I won’t do that either. It was so ridiculous. … Listen to your wives, gentlemen!”

The eternally optimistic Dr. Drew can laugh about it now, but for two weeks in late June and early July, after he had the painful procedure at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, he was of a different mind. “The surgery is brutal,” he says. “I don’t recommend it as a pastime. It risks incontinence, erectile dysfunction. … It’s a big one and took me a couple months to recover, but I’m completely back now.”

PHOTOS: 'The Newsroom': Exclusive Photos of Aaron Sorkin and the HBO Cast

In truth, the admitted workaholic only took two weeks off, but slowed down his insane schedule somewhat by bringing Loveline duties home (an ISDN line was set up to patch him into the syndicated radio show’s broadcast). “In retrospect, it’s remarkable I did,” he adds. “I mean, I was out of it. But after a horrible ten days, I kind of limped back.”

In typical Dr. Drew form, he hardly missed a beat. Now confident that the worst is behind him, he’s talking about his experience, appearing on The Dr. Oz Show Sept. 25 and revealing the news to his HLN audience on Sept. 24, a day after speaking with THR.

First, how are you feeling?

Really good, actually. I’m running again, working out.  

How did you first come to discover the cancer?

My wife first insisted I go get a physical. She was like, “You’ve been sick a lot lately. Something’s wrong. I’m going to make you see an internist.” So, I get a physical and my prostate-specific antigen – or PSA – had climbed all of a sudden. It was still normal, but it climbed. Now, people debate whether we should even be measuring the prostate-specific antigen, but it was my position of judgment that it should happen. It was also his judgment that we should do a little more looking around. So, he sent me to a urologist who said, “No big deal, it’s got to be prostatitis. I’ll treat you for prostatitis.” But, it didn’t go down. So again, his judgment was, “I think we need to do a biopsy.” … And lo and behold, cancer.

What came next?

Because it was low grade and well-localized, I knew I didn’t have to rush to do anything. This was a couple years ago, and I knew eventually I had to have a prostate surgery, but I thought, “Maybe I’ll do it next summer.” I eventually went into an active surveillance program at Tower Urology Group at Cedars where they biopsy you on a regular basis, but the whole while, I had a little more volume of tumor than it should be. Even though it hadn’t spread anywhere, it was still more than usual. After a series of biopsies, this June, my urologist, Dr. Stuart Holden, was like, “Okay, it’s go time.” It was his intuition. It wasn’t anything explicit, but the tumor was heading for the surface. We didn’t know that with the biopsies, but a few more months, it would have been out. So, it was timed just right. If he hadn’t pulled the trigger on the surgery, I would have died of prostate cancer for sure. These are guidelines out there. Let your doctors use their judgment.

VIDEO: Dr. Drew Issues Warning to Madonna Fans: 'MDNA' Could be Addictive

What was the surgery like?

Not fun [laughs]. It’s a big one. It used to be three weeks in the hospital for that procedure, now it’s done with a Da Vinci robot and you’re out the next day.

Any chemotherapy or radiation?

No. If [the tumor] had gotten out of the capsule, I would’ve needed radiation.

What kind of conversations did you have with your family? How did you break it to the kids?

We sort of told my kids in drips and drabs. Like, “I’m probably going to do the surgery – no big deal. It’s going to be fine.” When it came time to have it, two of my kids were across the country and one was stuck home. I was really like a full assist – that poor guy had to really help me out. For him, it was a little rough. My wife -- again, I gave her the, “Oh, it’s a low grade tumor. These are no big deal.” And then slowly revealed the details as time progressed. When it came time for the surgery, I knew what I was getting into, clearly. For her, it was more of a black box. She was more concerned that our relationship would be disrupted. We have an intense, good physical relationship, and she was fearful that it would be gone – what that would mean for us. She was way more freaked out than I realized at the time. I think she was hiding it because she’s not the one with the cancer. She didn’t really want to encumber me any further. You always forget about the caretakers. They carry a big burden in all this.

Were your bosses at CNN aware of what was going on?

Yes, they were very supportive. Jeff Zucker has been through some stuff himself. Scot Safon, who was head of HLN at the time, has been through a major surgery. They were extremely supportive.

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What kind of consideration did you give to revealing the news via Dr. Oz, People and THR?

I first thought I wouldn’t say anything. I definitely didn’t want to say anything until I was clear about what the course was going to be. I wanted to give a message about the active surveillance to men, and if my course of active surveillance turned sour, that would not be a very good prospective message. I mean, this is cancer – things can go bad with cancer. I was confident, but it’s not 100 percent ever with cancer. I still could have trouble. It’s a low percentage chance, but it’s there. So, I was tempted not to say anything until I was on the other side. … I’ve known Dr. Oz forever and it seemed like the right place. I trusted him to do it right and let me tell the story. He’s a peer, and I know he understands the issues I’m trying to promote here with health messages.

Did you have discussions with Dr. Sanjay Gupta?

I have discussed it with him. He and I were talking about doing something maybe -- it’s up to him, really.

Dr. Gupta’s CNN special on marijuana concluding with  him changing his mind about medical marijuana and advocating it. You’ve been somewhat anti over the years…

No. I am anti using my profession to promote a political agenda. I’m anti in the way medical marijuana has been promulgated in California. Every drug addict I treat has a prescription. So, nobody is being screened. Number two, you barely have to slow your car down to reach out to get a prescription for marijuana. It’s a miscarriage of my profession – that’s what I don’t like. It’s clearly been done to try to move towards legalization. And my thing is, then just legalize it! Don’t use my profession to promote a sham. By the way, I have prescribed marijuana before. When it’s appropriate, though it’s a pretty narrow frame in my world. Like I’ve given morphine to heroine addicts because my job is to reduce suffering, not to judge. That’s the part that I was sort of curious about with Sanjay -- he seemed to have a judgmental stance. … I’m very neutral. I don’t judge. I do have a concern in Colorado, though, that we’re going to see a Big Cannabis that’s very much like Big Tobacco. That’s not right. And that’s going to mean something to young people, at least.

Did your own cancer experience change your perspective at all? Did you consider what would happen if you had to go through chemo? Would you have thought about using marijuana to gain weight or an appetite?

I did. There are 30 other medications that are way, way better than pot. … There’s no such thing as a good drug and a bad drug. There’s just consequences for humans of their relationship with substances, and I try to be honest and clear about that.

When Angelina Jolie announced that she had preemptive preventive double mastectomy, it got attention on a global level…

I thought she absolutely did the right thing. Given today’s surgical techniques -- for that procedure particularly -- it was very smart. People argue that surgery is too aggressive, that it’s putting people in harm’s way. But again, that’s the moment where a physician and a patient have to make that call together. I experienced that for sure. I think a lot of men could really learn from my story, so I’m hoping they’ll listen carefully.

Twitter: @shirleyhalperin

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Stephen King Blasts 'Twilight,' 'Hunger Games,' 'Fifty Shades' in New Interview

They may be pulling in big bucks, but don't count Stephen King among the legions of Twilight, Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey fans.

The iconic horror author, whose newest book, Doctor Sleep, is a sequel to 1977's The Shining, took aim at Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins and EL James and their respective book series in a new interview with the U.K.'s The Guardian.

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In his remarks, King calls Twilight "tweenager porn," implies that The Hunger Games is dull and derivative and disagrees with Fifty Shades' "mommy porn" categorization.

Speaking about Twilight, King said that the books are "really not about vampires and werewolves. They're about how the love of a girl can turn a bad boy good." Still, the 65-year-old opted to read the latest buzzy titles out of a professional interest.

"I read Twilight and didn't feel any urge to go on with her. I read The Hunger Games and didn't feel an urge to go on. It's not unlike [my novel] The Running Man, which is about a game where people are actually killed and people are watching: a satire on reality TV. I read Fifty Shades of Grey and felt no urge to go on. They call it mommy porn, but it's not really mommy porn. It is highly charged, sexually driven fiction for women who are, say, between 18 and 25." he said.

He also rejected the popular opinion that we're currently in a golden age of horror.

"A golden age of horror? I wouldn't say it is. I can't think of any books right now that would be comparable to The Exorcist," he said.

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King did have kind words for Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, calling her non-Potter debut, The Casual Vacancy, "fabulous." 

"Do you remember Tom Sharpe? It's a bit like that. And it's a bit like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It's f---ing nasty. And I love it," he said. "The center of the book is a dinner party from hell and you say to yourself, 'These little people in the town of Pagford are a microcosm not just of British society, but Western society as a whole, of a certain class.' The fact that she set it around this little election that nobody cares about in a shit little town is fabulous. She's a wonderful storyteller and the writing is better than in any of the Harry Potter books, because it's sharper."

Doctor Sleep, King's Shining follow-up, is out Tuesday, Sept. 24, and follows Danny Torrance, the boy from The Shining, as an alcoholic adult.

To read King's full interview with The Guardian, click here.

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Sony Options Film Rights to David Baldacci's Children's Book

Sony has optioned the rights to David Baldacci's upcoming fantasy novel, The Finisher.

The book, aimed at readers between the ages of 9 and 13, will follow a 14-year-old girl who lives in a village called Wormwood where the people have been told that the forest surrounding them is full of monsters. When her mentor disappears, the young girl begins to realize that everything isn't as it seems in her hometown.

Matt Tolmach is producing the project.

Scholastic is releasing the book, which will be Baldacci's first stand-alone children’s book, in March 2014. Baldacci's first novel was Absolute Power, which was made into a film starring Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman. He's published more than two dozen novels since, many being adult thrillers. He's dabbled in children's novels before, writing Day of Doom, the final book in the best-selling multiplatform The 39 Clues series.

Columbia Pictures production president Hannah Minghella and production vp Lauren Abrahams, with Aaron Priest at The Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency and Lucy Stille at Paradigm closed the deal. Kate Checchi will oversee the project for Tolmach.

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Batman Prequel Series Coming to Fox

Fox has given a straight-to-series order for comic book drama Gotham, based on Batman character Commissioner James Gordon.

The origins tale centering on the DC Comics fixture comes to the network from Warner Bros. Television. The series will be executive produced and written by The Mentalist showrunner Bruno Heller. News regarding Gotham City's most notable police officer comes on the same day that ABC launched its own comic franchise, Agents of SHIELD -- from corporate sister Marvel -- based on the long-running intelligence group featured in the comics.

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WBTV and DC are already in the TV business with The CW's Arrow and potential spinoff Flash in the works, but Gotham takes them into more familiar territory. A description for the series says that in addition to showing the history behind Gordon, it will focus on the villains that made the fictional city famous.

Since it chronicles events before Gordon meets Batman, the superhero will not be part of the series -- but Gordon's roots in the Batman universe go quite deep. He first appeared in Detective Comics #27, the same issue that introduced the Dark Knight. He was famously portrayed by Gary Oldman in the Christopher Nolan trilogy and the late Pat Hingle in the 1989-97 Batman features.

The series also isn't Fox's first flirtation with Batman this development season. The network recently gave a pilot order to The Middle Man from director/exec producer Ben Affleck, who is set to play Batman opposite Henry Cavill's Superman in the upcoming Zack Snyder feature.

Gotham joins Fox's Tina Fey-Matt Hubbard-Robert Carlock comedy as the only projects that have landed the rare straight-to-series orders for the 2014-15 broadcast season. (CBS' Steven Spielberg-produced Extant also was picked up straight to series for summer 2014.)  

Gotham marks the latest comic book adaptation in the works at Fox. The network is also adapting Alan Moore's Vertigo comic League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which received a put-pilot commitment in July. And Homeland's Howard Gordon is prepping Boom Studios' Unthinkable, which also received a hefty commitment from Fox earlier this month. 

The Gotham series also comes as The CW is still mulling Amazon, a potential Wonder Woman prequel series recounting the early days of the Justice League heroine. NBC tried to bring Wonder Woman to the screen two years ago with prolific producer David E. Kelley attached, but the much-maligned pilot failed to move forward. If The CW's Wonder Woman and Flash projects were to move forward and Batman were to appear on Gotham, DC could see the bulk of the Justice League either on TV or on the big screen.

Heller is repped by WME.

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NBC Prepping 'Traffic'-Like Thriller Pilot (Exclusive)

A day after opening the 2013-14 TV season, NBC has ordered its first pilot for the 2014-15 season.

The network has picked up to pilot Odyssey, a Traffic-like thriller from The Following writers Adam Armus and Kay Foster to be executive produced and penned by Peter Horton, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The drama centers on three families who are torn apart when a stranded female soldier, a disillusioned corporate attorney and a disrespected political activist are pulled into the same shocking international military conspiracy.

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Horton, Foster and Armus will co-write the pilot and executive produce alongside Horton (thirtysomething, Grey's Anatomy). Horton will direct the pilot and write selected episodes if the drama is ordered to series. The project hails from Universal Television, Fabrik Entertainment and Red Arrow Entertainment Group. Fabrik's Mikkel Bondesen (The Killing) and Kristen Campo, who worked together on The Killing, will also executive produce alongside Simon Maxwell (Off the Hook) and Henrik Bastin (My Generation).

Odyssey marks Horton's latest pilot directing gig. Of the nine he's overseen, seven have gone to series -- including NBC's Ironside. His credits also include helming Dirty Sexy Money, The Philanthropist and Deception. He earned a Golden Globe and PGA Award for his work on Grey's Anatomy, where he also served as an executive producer. The drama falls under Horton's two-year overall deal with Universal, which he inked in 2011.

Horton is repped by UTA, N2N Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson; Armus, Foster, Fabrik and Red Arrow are with WME.

Odyssey marks NBC's first pilot order for the 2014-15 broadcast season and the second drama overall, joining Fox's Ben Affleck-produced entry The Middle Man. On the comedy side, Fox has already ordered a comedy from Tina Fey, Matt Hubbard and Robert Carlock to series and CBS is redeveloping The McCarthys and its Jim Gaffigan half-hour.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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'The Voice' Recap: Jamaican Rocker and Indie Introvert Top Blind Auditions Night 2

Night two of the Blind Auditions showcased an eclectic group of The Voice auditionees, including a Rugrats voiceover actress, an Air Force veteran and a human flugelhorn, along with a handful of musicians’ talented kids.

And besides hearing Christina Aguilera's best impression of Blake Shelton (as approved by Adam Levine), we learned a few of Cee Lo Green’s Blind Audition gimmick weaknesses – either audition with a sitcom theme song or imitate an instrument with your mouth. Otherwise, just settle for wearing studded biker boots that make him wonder where you shop more than how you sound.

STORY: 'The Voice's' Christina Aguilera Returns Refreshed and Ready to Rumble

Meet the latest singers to join The Voice’s fifth season (and the ones who couldn’t turn a chair):

Jaquie Lee
Song: “Back to Black”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Shelton, Aguilera
The 16-year-old sweetheart often sings for charity events and cancer patients, and held her own on the Amy Winehouse hit. Shelton touted his three-peat record, and though Green didn’t turn his chair, he had to ask the best question of the night: “Did you buy those boots from Aldo?” just before taking a picture of them.

Barry Black
Song: “What You Won’t Do For Love”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Levine, Shelton
Leaving the family hotel business to pursue music, the self-taught guitarist and band singer showed off his instrument-less flugelhorn imitation abilities. We’re convinced the Maroon 5 frontman turned purely for curiosity – Levine didn’t fight for the contestant as hard as he did for, say, Donna Allen or Nic Hawk last night – but Black got the spot on Team Adam anyway.

Mike Unser
Song: “Dirty Little Secret”
Coaches who turned their chairs: none
The misunderstood band member who struggled with his parents’ divorce tried his hardest on the All American Rejects song, and though he didn’t turn a chair, we’re hoping he tries out for his local production of Rent or any other rock opera ASAP.

STORY: Nigel Lythgoe Angered, 'Shocked' by 'The Voice' Emmy Win

Destinee Quinn
Song: “Cowboy Take Me Away”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Aguilera, Green
Currently a bar musician, the country singer once won Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding talent competition. Her Dixie Chicks cover didn’t turn Shelton’s chair (who then expressed his regret), but she happily opted for Aguilera.

Cole Vosbury
Song: “Movin’ On Up”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Green
The bearded musical prodigy (his grandmother, she says, is the only girl who ever turned down Elvis Presley) took a risk by performing a rock rendition of The Jeffersons theme song. “Anybody who has the audacity to do this song, I need to be associated with,” says Green, who was also coach to similar singer Nicholas David in season 3.

Holly Henry
Song: “The Scientist”
Coaches who turned their chairs: all four
The 19-year-old indie introvert sees herself more as a songwriter than a performer – a stage fright she sidestepped to helm this Coldplay cover that charmed all four coaches. In the end, she chose Shelton, who pressed his button first and we think would best help her emerge into a serious contender.

Sammy C.
Song: “Where Is The Love?”
Coaches who turned their chairs: none
The Newport Beach teen was diagnosed with alopecia as a child, and performed both the rap and singing sections of the Black Eyed Peas breakout. “I was actually confused about whether or not it was a duo up there,” said Green, commending his emcee abilities. Like Morgan Mallory, Shaymari, and Seth Cook, he walked away without a coach.

VIDEO: 'The Voice' Featurette Goes Backstage With the Reunited Coaches

Austin Jenckes
Song: “Simple Man”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Green, Shelton
The part-time tour guide (via scooters!) grew up with a musical father who eventually took his own life. His performance of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song on his father’s guitar scored him a spot on Shelton’s team.

E. G. Daily
Song: “Breathe”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Shelton, Green
The seasoned voiceover actress (of Rugrats’ Tommy Pickles and Powerpuff Girls’ Buttercup!) hoped to return to music with a raspy rendition of the Faith Hill hit. After her speaking voice triggered Aguilera’s memory, Daily went for the coach who she thinks appreciated her singing voice more – Shelton.

Jonny Gray
Song: “All These Things That I’ve Done”
Coaches who turned their chairs: Green, Levine
The Air Force veteran heals from his time overseas through music – Maroon 5’s Songs About Jane actually eased him while he was deployed – and he echoed the Killers’ hit with ease. Though he went into the audition hoping for Levine, Gray heard Green’s poetic plea and joined Team Cee Lo.

Tessanne Chin
Song: “Try”
Coaches who turned their chairs: all four
The Jamaican singer who grew up with musical parents and sang backup for Jimmy Cliff actually loves rock music (think Papa Roach). She unanimously dropped jaws with her P!nk performance, and then selected a lucky Levine.

After the second night of Blind Auditions, the contestant count puts Team Adam and Team Christina with five singers each, and Team Cee Lo and Team Blake with four each.

Twitter: @cashleelee

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Miley Cyrus on 'Racist' VMA Criticism: 'I Don't Keep My Dancers Around 'Cause it Makes Me Look Cool'

Miley Cyrus dancing with Robin Thicke during their VMA performance

Miley Cyrus is still talking about the twerking VMA performance that launched a thousand complaints.

This time, she lashes out at critics who think her performance was racist or a "minstrel show," in which she used her black dancers as props.

"I don't keep my producers or dancers around 'cause it makes me look cool," Cyrus tells Rolling Stone. "Those aren't my 'accessories.' They're my homies."

PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus' Most Controversial Moments

She also disputes the notion that she's pretending to be black. "I'm from one of the wealthiest counties in America," she says. "I know what I am. But I also know what I like to listen to. Look at any 20-year-old white girl right now -- that's what they're listening to at the club. It's 2013. The gays are getting married, we're all collaborating. I would never think about the color of my dancers, like, 'Ooh, that might be controversial.' "

Cyrus also thinks it's a double standard that people are criticizing her for grinding with Robin Thicke but not bashing the "Blurred Lines" singer.

"No one is talking about the man behind the ass," she says. "It was a lot of 'Miley twerks on Robin Thicke,' but never, 'Robin Thicke grinds up on Miley.' They're only talking about the one that bent over. So obviously there's a double standard."

And, she thinks it's strange that MTV bleeped her singing "molly" but showed her performance, comparing it to how Breaking Bad shows people cooking crystal meth but bleeps out the F-word.

PHOTOS: From Adam Levine to Miley Cyrus, Hollywood's Most Daring Magazine Nudity

"America is just so weird in what they think is right and wrong," she says. "Like, I was watching Breaking Bad the other day, and they were cooking meth. I could literally cook meth because of that show. It's a how-to. And then they bleeped out the word 'f---.' And I'm like, really? They killed a guy, and disintegrated his body in acid, but you're not allowed to say 'f---'? It's like when they bleeped 'molly' at the VMAs. Look what I'm doing up here right now, and you're going to bleep out 'molly'? Whatever."

In terms of non-VMA topics, Cyrus talks about another controversial young pop star, Justin Bieber, whom she says she's been mentoring, discouraging him from doing things that might make people not take him seriously.

She also reveals that she grew up and out of her Hannah Montana image while she filmed LOL with Demi Moore in Detroit and spent a summer in Philly, where Liam Hemsworth was filming Paranoia.

In Detroit, she started going to clubs and got a tattoo of a heart on her finger, which she hid from her mom by wearing a Band-Aid for two months, and she bonded with Moore, who was going through a rough patch with then-husband Ashton Kutcher, she tells Rolling Stone.

In Philly, she shaved her head, bought a pair of Doc Martens and her first chain and "started feeling [her] own vibe," Cyrus adds.

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Paramount Could Shift 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' 'Jack Ryan'

Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street -- headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio -- won't be ready for its scheduled Nov. 15 release, raising the possibility that it won't be a contender in this year's Oscar race.

Insiders say Scorsese's cut of the film is 180 minutes long, and that he's currently in discussions with his producers about how to shorten the running time. Red Granite is fully financing and produced the drama, with Paramount handling the film domestically.

PHOTOS:  25 of Fall's Most Anticipated Movies: 'Ender's Game,' 'Catching Fire,' 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and More

Paramount and Scorsese are hoping that the movie, based on former broker Jordan Belfort's best-selling memoir, will be completed by Christmas in time for an awards run. If not, Wolf  would be pushed back to next year. Either way, it won't be ready for a sneak screening at the upcoming New York Film Festival.

If Wolf is done in time for a holiday release, Paramount will push back the opening of Kenneth Branagh's Jack Ryan from Christmas Day to Jan. 17 and give Wolf of Wall Street the Christmas Day slot, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. Jack Ryan would open over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, a lucrative moviegoing weekend that saw Paramount's Cloverfield gross north of $40 million in 2008.

Jack Ryan, starring Chris Pine and Keira Knightley, hopes to relaunch Paramount's marquee spy franchise. Skydance Productions is Paramount's partner on the film, which also stars Kevin Costner. While based on the hero of Tom Clancy's best-selling book series, the movie is an original story that traces how a young Jack Ryan joined the CIA.

PHOTOS: Big Stars, Big Bombs: A-Listers Fall Victim to Summer Box Office Flops

Wolf also stars Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Margot Robbie, Jon Bernthal, Cristin Milioti, P.J. Byrne and Ethan Suplee.

Terence Winter adapted the screenplay, which chronicles Belfort's dramatic rise and fall on Wall Street, his hard-partying lifestyle and tumultuous personal life, which included drug and alcohol addiction.

Red Granite's Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland are producing with DiCaprio, Scorsese, Emma Koskoff and Alexandra Milchan.

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Lamar Odom Breaks Twitter Silence, Defends Khloe Kardashian

Lamar Odom, who has been going through drug addictions and marital issues with wife Khloe Kardashian, is not happy with his father, Joe Odom, and took to Twitter to tell his followers on Tuesday.

After a nearly two-month hiatus on the social media platform, the NBA player first tweeted "Seeing the snakes," before posting a longer tweet that expressed his frustration with his father. Odom wrote, "He wasn't there 2 raise me. He was absent ALL of my life due to his own demons. My mother and grandmother raise me. Queens raised me."

PHOTOS: Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom's Love Story in Pictures

Lamar continued, defending his marriage and in-laws, "For the first time since they left, came a blessing of a FAMILY that I married into. FAMILY. That man wasn't even invited to my wedding. He has never met my mother in law and some of my other family."

"He is my downfall! His own demons may be the ONLY thing he gave 2 me. He disrespecting the ONLY FAMILY that has loved me without expecting anything in return. They are the ONLY ones that have been here consistently 4 me during this dark time. Only person 2 blame is myself," wrote the NBA player. Lamar's entire tweet can be read here.

Lamar's angry reaction comes after his father's interview on Tuesday with Radar Online, where he told the gossip website, "Someone's got to speak out, I've got to do something about this. It's simple. They brought him down. He would be better off without them. Let him go and get his life together. I think the best thing for him would be to have a clean break, divorce Khloe and as a single man try and get his life back together."

STORY: Lamar Odom Charged With DUI

He also added, "Without them, he'd still be in the NBA playing basketball. He'd be playing for the Lakers and be one of the top players in the league." The 14-year NBA veteran is currently a free agent.

Most recently, Lamar was charged with a DUI while driving on the 101 Freeway. He is set to appear in Van Nuys Superior Court on Sept. 27.

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Could Cobie Smulders Return to 'Agents of SHIELD'?

Cobie Smulders in "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD"

Cobie Smulders is poised to have a grand start to the 2013-14 TV season.

The actress on Sept. 23 will launch the ninth and final season of CBS' How I Met Your Mother followed on Sept. 24 by a high-profile cameo in ABC's Avengers follow-up Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

STORY: Combie Smulders' Comic-Con Reveal: Secret 'Agents of SHIELD' Role

Smulders is set to reprise her Avengers role as Agent Maria Hill in the Marvel drama from Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. She signed on as a cameo in the pilot as the Command Center boss to Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) -- who was mysteriously brought back to life after the character perished in The Avengers.

While Smulders is contractually obligated to How I Met Your Mother, the actress remains open to returning to ABC's SHIELD.

"I'm up for it. It's just a matter of the direction that they decide to go with the show," she tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I don't know how much they'll be at the Command Center and how much they need me around. If it works out organically with the storyline, then I'd be happy to come in, but I truly don't know."

STORY: 'Agents of SHIELD' Cast, Creator on Movie Syngergy, Joss Whedon's Involvement

While SHIELD is considered one of the biggest sure-fire hits among the broadcast networks' freshman class, Smulders didn't seem interested in returning full-time for the drama's potential second season once her commitments to Mother conclude.

"It's hard to say. I'm planning a big move to New York, so that's a pretty huge factor in doing another series in Los Angeles," she says. "This is the joy and the terror of coming off of a show after nine years: What should I do, what should I not do?! If the right project comes along, of course I'd return to TV. But I'd like to focus on film and on theater right now."

PHOTOS: ABC's 2013-14 Season: 'SHIELD,' 'Once Upon a Time in Wonderland,' More

One thing that's certain, though, is that Smulders has a lot of love for the brain trusts behind SHIELD.

"I was so excited to work with Joss again and to meet his brother, Jed, and his wife, Maurissa, and get to hang out with them again," she says of filming the SHIELD pilot. "They're all geniuses. Joss sent me my scenes and it was so great to see this character interacting in a different way and to basically get to tell the world that Coulson is 'alive' and back with a TV show where you can watch him every week. I was excited about that more than anything."

In the meantime, Smulders will focus her attention on Mother, calling the final season an "array of emotions" on set. "Some days, it's business as usual and others it's really nostalgic," she says, noting she'd love to keep the Robin Sparkles jacket as a keepsake. "It's joy, sadness and overwhelming gratitude for having been employed for a good nine years. How often does that happen in this industry?"

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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'Agents of SHIELD' Recap: The Wait Is Finally Over

As this is The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural Agents of SHIELD recap, it seemed like the perfect time to get a couple of things to get out of the way right up front.

1) There will be spoilers. Given that you’re all experienced internet-wielders, I’m sure you understand how recaps work, but if you don’t want to be spoiled, just keep on trucking.

PHOTOS: Two-Timing Superheroes: Ben Affleck and 10 Actors Who've Played Multiple Comic Characters

2) Understand that this comes from a place of love. I am a dyed-in-the-wool Whedonite. A Browncoat, foremost, and on the Scoobies’ waiting list. But nothing that one loves is perfect. Part of love is understanding that. And, occasionally, one is disappointed in the things one loves. So, yes, when something feels off, or unearned, or just plain silly, we’re gonna ding it. Remember...from a place of love. In Joss We Trust, But We Also Reserve the Right to Pick Nits.

So, here we go.

THR’s chief TV critic Tim Goodman has given his official word on the show itself, and I’m not going to contradict him. It’s a good pilot, but not a great one, primarily because of all the heavy lifting it needs to do to set the table for the episodes that will follow.

So, in short order, we have to meet the case of the week, Mike Peterson (J. August Richards), who is totally not Luke Cage but absolutely could’ve been. And maybe should’ve been. (Or maybe will be if SHIELD can remove the cocktail of enhancements that the evil-crazy-crazy scientists juiced him with and gives him a new identity -- after all, Luke Cage is totally a made-up name.) He used to be a factory worker before he got hurt. Then his wife left. And went broke. And can’t buy his kid one of the “heroes of New York” toys. It’s very sad.

Then he saves a woman from a burning building by Spider-Manning his way up a wall and jumping a few stories to safety, all in front of Skye (Chloe Bennet) and her enterprising camera phone. Meanwhile, Agent Grant Shaw (Brett Dalton) gets all smashy-smashy in Paris while uncovering some illegal Chitauri tech and a link to a, let’s admit it, silly freedom-of-information band of rebels called the Rising Tide.

PHOTOS: ABC's 2013-14 Season: Marvel's 'SHIELD,' 'Once Upon a Time' Spinoff and 'Trophy Wife'

Shaw gets airlifted back to a mysterious SHIELD field office where Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders, prepping for her post-HIMYM life) tells him that he’s been recruited for a response team the not-at-all-dead-probably Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) is assembling with Director Fury’s permission.

And it’s on. They collect a bunch of other team members: the mysterious Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), who “drives the bus” and “kicks the ass,” and Agents Leo Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), the comic-relief scientists who will clearly turn evil at some point during season two. A bit of handy-convenient detective work leads them to Skye, who then leads them to the About to Explode Man of the People. Big fight in Union Station, big speech from Coulson, happy ending, flying car.

A lot happens, with the same silky smart sensibility that Whedon — who directed and co-wrote, with his brother and sister-in-law, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen — gives to everything he does. Everyone's got some semblance of a character mystery that we'll explore over the course of the first season, maybe the entire series.

But Whedon has never been very good at beginnings. Every season of every show he’s produced (save Firefly) started very slowly, and took a bit to find its legs. He ends those seasons like an all-star — Angel’s “Not Fade Away,” Dollhouse’s “Epitaph One,” Buffy’s “The Gift” — but he needs some track before he can work up a head of steam. And that’s just fine. This one is good enough to get us to the next one...which is all, ultimately, a pilot needs to do.

PHOTOS: Iron Man on Screen: From '60s Cartoon Star to 'Avengers' Blockbuster

Some stray thoughts:

First Theory About Coulson’s Not Death: He’s a Life Model Decoy, an android that looks, feels and has been programmed to act human. In The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark tosses off a throwaway line when Coulson interrupts his wee date with Pepper Potts: “Hi, you’ve reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark.” The wrinkle here is that the Coulsonbot doesn’t know he’s a Coulsonbot. Just a theory. (Which is totally what it is. But we’ll play along, Whedons...for now.)

The Rising Tide. Is not, apparently, a detergent. It’s a young woman. Who probably smells Downy fresh while podcasting a bunch of rhetoric that apparently has SHIELD all in a tizzy. Why? Kind of unclear. Also unclear: Why, if Skye and the Rising Tide is such a problem, couldn’t they find her before...especially if she’s just in a van down by the river? On that, if Skye has the web-fu to erase her own identity and hack into the SHIELD database, why can’t she convince a car dealership’s computers to give her a less-crappy ride?

The Deeper Meaning. It’s buried among all the set up, but that final speech from Peterson/Cage feels like something you’d have heard from a frustrated Freedom Rider. “You said if we worked hard, if we did right, we’d have a place. You said it was enough to be a man, but there’s better than man. There’s gods. And the rest of us, what are we? They’re giants, we’re what they step on.” Those are strong words, good words, but from the mouth of a black actor, they gain more resonance. And I think that’s exactly what the producers were going for.

PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes of Marvel's 'The Avengers'

Ron Glass. Yay!

Just Once. It’d be nice to see the team of super-accomplished awesome people who weren’t all people who chose not to be supermodels because it got in the way of all that book learning. Yes, this is TV, and I understand the necessities thereof, but I’m all for diversity in casting and I wanna stick up for the ugly people. They deserve their heroes, too.

At least they’re not trying to fake New York. Because TV shows shot in L.A. that try and fake New York never do it right. And yet...they’re not even faking East Los Angeles all that well, either. I’m pretty sure that the street where Mike Peterson gets all heroic is the same exact backlot street where Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer fought it out.

The Coolest Thing in the Episode. Lola. Not just that it’s a hovercar right out of the SHIELD comics — the hoverjets look like they came right off of Jim Steranko’s pen.

Speaking of Steranko...we got the man himself to chime in with his thoughts on the episode and what it’s like for the man who created so much of SHIELD’s magic goodness to see it up on the small screen. Stay tuned to hear what Steranko Says...

E-mail: marc.bernardin@thr.com
Twitter: @marcbernardin

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