'Descendants' scribes sell pitch to Paintbrush

'The Descendants' scribes Jim Rash & Nat Faxon won the Oscar for modified script on Sunday. WiigFresh business Oscar win for "The Descendants," scribes Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have provided to Indian Paintbrush a geniune action-comedy pitch that has Kristen Wiig installed on star. Purchase will be a competitive situation that came multiple offers from art galleries. Kevin Walsh will produce through his banner, the Walsh Co., along with Indian Paintbrush's Steven Rales and Mark Roybal. Faxon and Rash may even work as executive producers. Wiig's deal continues to be talked about. The authors have a very extended working relationship with Wiig utilizing their days undertaking with La improv troupe the Groundlings. Roybal and Walsh both started their film careers utilized by Scott Rudin. Furthermore to writing another script for Fox Searchlight and Alexander Payne, Jim Burke and Jim Taylor's Ad Hominem Companies, Faxon and Rash could make their directorial debut this summer season utilizing their Black List script "The Means By Which, Sometime Ago,Inch with Mike Rockwell and Allison Janney set to star. The pair work as you're watching camera. Rash can be a series regular on NBC's "Community." Faxon on Tuesday was cast since the co-lead inside the Fox comedy pilot "Ben Fox is My Manny." Walsh, who was simply among Variety's 10 Producers to check out a year ago, is creating that pic, additionally to James McTeigue's revenge thriller "The Gringo." Walsh may also be allowing the political action-thriller "Patriot Lower" as well as the comedy "King Dom," co-put together by "The Split UpInch scribe Jay Lavender. Wiig is coming initially from off an Oscar nomination for co-writing "Bridesmaids." The laffer made greater than $288 million worldwide. Indian Paintbrush is poised for just about any busy year, backing Vital Vantage's "Rob Who Lives in your homeInch and David Chase's "Not Disappear," Focus' "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Seeking a pal for your Finish round the globeInch and Fox Searchlight's "Stoker." Customers are planning to shoot Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin set to star. Faxon and Rash are repped by CAA and Principato-Youthful Entertainment, while Wiig is repped by UTA and manager Naomi Odenkirk. Walsh may also be repped by CAA. Peter McPartlin of Indian Paintbrush talked about the deals. Contact Rob Sneider at rob.sneider@variety.com

The Winners Speak! Backstage at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards

"Nothing will come from this if you win! joked Seth Rogen as he opened his hosting gig at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Absolutely nothing. This won't help you get paid anymore -- if anything, it proves you'll work for nothing. That may be painfully true for many of the indie film nominees honored today at the annual Spirit Awards, held in a tent on the beach in balmy Santa Monica. But what does it mean that the nights big winner was the Harvey Weinstein-backed awards season juggernaut The Artist? The Oscar frontrunner swept the Spirit Awards Saturday in a precursor to what most pundits expect will transpire Sunday night at the Academy Awards; the black and white silent film took home four awards, including Best Feature, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), and Best Cinematography, further sealing its grip on the 2012 awards race. Along the road to Spirit Awards victory, the $15 million The Artist went up against the likes of more conventional indies. (Rules of eligibility includes films made for no more than $20 million.) In the Best Cinematography category, the Weinstein-backed favorite competed against, for example, Evan Glodells Bellflower, a film shot on a production budget of $17,000; for Best Feature it vied with 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter, and The Descendants. Additional winners on the night included Dee Rees Pariah, Alexander Paynes The Descendants (which won Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Shailene Woodley), Asgar Farhadis A Separation, Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, and Christopher Plummer for Beginners. (Full winners list here.) In other words on the whole, not quite so different from the field competing tomorrow at the mainstream Oscars. Maybe thats why, after Rogens fantastic Hollywood-skewering opening monologue, the Spirit Awards started to flag a bit in, well, spirit. By the time the absent Jean Dujardin won Best Actor about halfway through (co-star Penelope Ann Miller, the films mascot for the night, accepted on his behalf) the certainty of Artist domination seemed to loom in the air. Once Michel Hazanavicius arrived, fresh from the LAX runway with a police escort minutes before his name was called as Best Director, the sweep was sealed. Would any non-Oscar frontrunning independent filmmaker honorees have gotten the VIP treatment all the way down the 10? Were these the Oscar rehearsals, or the preeminent celebration of American independent film? Well, at least the show had its moments. Highlights included Rogens monologue; John Waters acting as MC for the night; Michelle Williams accepting her trophy with a nod to the very first Spirit Awards she ever attended, back when she wore her own clothes and cut her own hair and felt at home in the room full of misfits, outcast, loners, dreamers, mumblers, delinquents, dropouts just like me. Backstage, winners trickled in throughout the night, sharing their own perspectives on craft and the awards show mania. Christopher Plummer, Best Supporting Actor: The jovial Plummer kicked off the winners room. [Michaels father, his character] was a true character and was written with such affection, such a lack of self-pity. It was fun to do, it made me so relaxed. His marvelous humor against all odds [is] a marvelous lesson to everyone who goes through cancer and dying. He treated it with a sort of carefree sense of humor, no self-pity at all. Hinting at his next gig on an HBO project, Plummer addressed his continuing career at age 82. I have to [keep acting] because I may croak at any moment I have to keep going! How did he keep from being upstaged by Cosmo the dog on the set of Beginners? We had a little private talk, and now that you mention it Cosmo and Uggie, I think our Cosmo was much more human than Uggie. Uggie was just a trickster our dog had soul. Shailene Woodley, Best Supporting Actress: Im so grateful, Woodley began. I dont know if surprised is the right word. I think gratitude kind of fills it all. Its been such a beautiful experience for me in my life and totally transformed me as a human being, so Im grateful to have been a part of the film and to have learned so many valuable amazing lessons. Every single person involved in the film was incredibly positive and had such gentle, kind, graceful souls. Being on the film as an 18-year-old and experiencing that right as I was about to start my life on my own, it was kind of the catalyst for me coming into my own. I dont think there are words for me to express my gratitude for that. As for the Oscars, Woodley has love for the Help star she went up against during the Golden Globes. I am so stoked for Octavia [Spencer] she is so awesome! Shes such a nice human being. [Pause] This is crazy. I was not expecting it and I got up there and said um a lot, Im sure Im going to be mortified when I watch it. The Artist crew, Best Feature/Best Actor/Best Cinematography/Best Director: What did producer Harvey Weinstein bring to the film? His weight, joked producer Thomas Langmann, who credited Weinstein with taking a chance on The Artist when most backers balked. We kept going to try to finance this meeting and we had very short meetings nobody wanted to hear about this one. People told me this is against conventional wisdom. We managed to find the money and wanted to shoot here in Hollywood This movie was made to be a tribute to Hollywood and cinema and especially American cinema. So to come back and be rewarded by the Hollywood community, is a dream come true. Hows life treating director Hazanavicius, whos been on a nonstop tour through the home stretch of his award tour? Its not the worst job you can find, he answered. You come, you receive awards, everyone is smiling at you and is nice and they tell you youre talented and have a very funny, charming French accent. [The police escort from LAX] was great. That was the best part. Its physically tiring but the energy is so good that you dont really feel it, he said. Were really excited and are enjoying every moment we can enjoy. Looking back to the beginning of their journey, did Weinstein promise the Artist crew he could get them to the Oscars? Harvey knows how to promise things like that, yes. Sometimes hes right. Michelle Williams, Best Actress: My friend was joking that until now I have been the Susan Lucci of the Indie Spirit Awards!" Williams said, beaming. "I have been luckier and luckier to be working with better and better people. On how she found her way into Marilyn Monroe: In a way you had to remove the fact that she was an icon, because that was too daunting and think of her as an ordinary girl. There wasnt a direct path in to her, I found. The only way in was time, so much time, and in a way letting her dictate, letting her take shape -- letting all this information take shape instead of me trying to control it. I just do some work. I just sort of keep my head down, which is a very sort of Montana attitude. Theres this Amish thing, this Quaker thing I like Eyes to the ground and heart to the skies. I just keep focused. Steve James, dir. The Interrupters, Best Documentary: It means a lot for a film like this because this is a film about urban violence in Chicago, and when we were making it we never would have anticipated the reaction the film has gotten in the past year. It means a lot for what the films about and for us as independent filmmakers Ive been doing this now for 27 years, so it means a lot. Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Vuguru president Larry Tanz to CEO

Tanz Vuguru president Larry Tanz has been upped to a newly created post as CEO.Tanz has served as president of the digital-minded independent studio, launched by Michael Eisner's Tornante Co. with financial backing from Rogers Media, for all three years of its existence. He's grown Vuguru into one of the biggest suppliers of cross-platform scripted content for the likes of AOL, Hulu and YouTube, in addition to numerous international buyers."Larry's exceptional leadership, ability to attract high-profile talent, identify outstanding material and produce content that consumers want is why we chose to promote him to the position of CEO," Eisner said.Among the Vuguru projects Tanz oversees is an upcoming YouTube channel in collaboration with Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment and an entire slate of female-targeted programming for AOL. Vuguru's next scripted offerings will include thrillers "The Millionaire Tour," starring Dominic Monaghan, and "Crawlspace," with Steven Weber."I just take it as a vote of confidence from the board and Michael that I'm the person to lead this company forward," said Tanz.Prior to Vuguru, Tanz was founder of multiplatform studio Agility Studios. He's served in past stints as CEO of LivePlanet, the production company led by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon where he produced the Bravo/HBO series "Project Greenlight." Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

'Battleship' Director Peter Berg Always Wanted To Make A Navy Movie

It's sort of hard to figure out what Peter Berg's angle is. The same guy who directed the original superhero flick "Hancock" also gave us the wonderful teen TV drama and movie "Friday Night Lights." He also gave us serious thrillers like "The Kingdom." His latest film "Battleship" -- a blockbuster adaptation of the classic game -- also seems at first to come out of left field, but Berg promised MTV News that his involvement in the veritable "Transformers"-meets-"Armageddon" blockbuster actually makes sense. Turns out that this type of film has been a cause close to his heart for a while now. Even though Berg has directed a variety of movies, he's always wanted to do one set in the ocean, and "Battleship" gave him the opportunity to do that. "I've been trying to do a movie set in the water for a long time. My dad was a naval historian, he used to drag me to every Navy museum in the world, anywhere we could go," Berg told MTV News at Toy Fair. "I've always wanted to do a movie about the Navy." But it was more than that. Berg said that he also has always wanted to do a big movie, something even bigger than "Hancock." Berg felt that it was his time to do a summer blockbuster, and that "Battleship" was the film to do it with. "I call these movies, they're like kind of 'super' movies now and they go out all around the world. Movies like 'Transformers,' 'G.I. Joe,' 'Battleship;' these films have such big reach. For me it made sense," Berg said. "Now to actually see all this kind of cross-marketing and see with the Hasbro machine kicking in, it's kind of awesome." Is "Battleship" a movie you're looking forward to? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

OSCARS: Janet McTeer Albert Nobbs

On the morning of Oscar nominations, most actors wait nervously to hear their own name announced. But Janet McTeer, Best Supporting Actress nominee for Albert Nobbs, was hoping to hear another name first: Glenn Close, who stars as Nobbs and has spent 30 years trying to bring this unusual tale to the big screen. The British actress got her wish: Close was nominated for best actress, so the two can enjoy the moment together. She spoke with AwardsLine contributor Diane Haithman. AWARDSLINE: You were nominated for a Golden Globe for portraying Hubert, a woman living as a man in 19th century Ireland, but Close was not nominated for playing Nobbs, also a woman masquerading as a man. You are also in the cast of Closes FX series Damages. You must have breathed a sigh of relief when both of you made the cut for the Oscars. McTEER: If she hadnt been nominated I would have cut my wrists. Oh, yeah. That would have been horrible. I wouldnt have wanted it either. I was watching the announcements on the sofa in the green room at the Todayshow, and I was just sort of holding my breath to see whether Glenn was nominated, and she was. Then I was very excited. AWARDSLINE: I guess for a film like this, awards mean more than they do for, say, a hit film like The Help. Are the nominations alone enough to spur box office for Albert Nobbs? McTEER: Absolutely. All it needs is for people to be made aware of it. Theyll say, “Ooh, gosh, if its got nominations, it must be really good.” Weve already won. AWARDSLINE: We talked to Close before the Oscar nominations, and she spoke about the challenge of promoting the film but still maintaining some elements of surprise, particularly in the case of your character. McTEER: These days were on the Internet — you cant keep things secret in a film anymore. Once you realize the secrets out, you might as well go with it and not pretend that its not there. AWARDSLINE: Glenn described the scene where you reveal yourself as a woman to Nobbs as the surprise appearance of your incredible breasts. Its a very bold move, so opposite of the way the timid Mr. Nobbs would behave. Did you have any hesitation in doing that scene? McTEER: No, not at all. I pushed for it to be as funny as we could make it, like smoking the cigarette, so that the whole thing was funny instead of, “Oh, my God!” — hitting you over the head with a hammer. And it wasnt for cheap thrills. The audience has to understand Albert, the idea that Albert might be exposed by somebody, and how scary that was for him. AWARDSLINE: You have said that in creating the character of Hubert you tried to appear as large as possible, to take up as much space as possible. Were there any costuming or camera tricks employed to play up the contrast of your stature and Glenn Closes Albert? McTEER: The thing is, she actually is just really little, and Im really tall. Im 6 foot and a half-inch and shes 4-foot-1 — no, but shes 5-foot-4 if shes lucky. And she was wearing flat shoes, which she normally never does. But because shes so powerful, you think of her as being bigger than she actually is. I also bought quite big boots, with quite big heels. And I used quite a lot of padding. AWARDSLINE: In interviews, Glenn always seems to refer to Albert Nobbs as he. Do you refer to your character, Hubert, as he or she? McTEER: He. Really. Yeah. I think Hubert just thinks of Hubert as Hubert. I mean, if she had a choice she would still live as a man, so I think Hubert thinks of herself as more male than female. What I wanted to create was somebody who was a little bit the best of both worlds, who had all the great qualities of manliness, you know, that freedom and the confidence and the Alpha maleness, but also the great qualities of femaleness, the nurturing and kindness. AWARDSLINE: Your character is so much less tragic than poor Mr. Nobbs. McTEER: My character isnt tragic at all. He suffers a tragedy, but isnt a tragic character by definition. I think Hubert is upbeat. AWARDSLINE: Even though now weve seen you at the Golden Globes and other awards shows, people will surely be more curious to see you in your evening gown than they will the other actresses. The who are you wearing thing will be elevated to a whole new level. McTEER: Yeah, because the difference will be extraordinary. AWARDSLINE: Have you written a speech? McTEER: I havent even found a dress. Just let me get over this week. (McTeer photo: Getty Images)

Cheers & Jeers: Southland's Above-Person With Average Skills

Michael Cudlitz Cheers to Southland for enabling TV veterans to demonstrate their range. Want more Cheers & Jeers? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now! A few days after Marla Gibbs' impressive guest appearance becoming an addled grandmother, another sitcom alum - Murphy Brown's Joe Regalbuto - shipped a devastating dramatic turn just like a father who fatally shot his still-at-home thirtysomething boy for fear he might turn that need considering a killer. Before his heart-wrenching confession, his character feigned grief using what Det. Lydia Adams (Regina King) referred to as "an Academy Award-winning performance." He is not qualified with an Oscar, but Regalbuto might have an Emmy. Meanwhile, Michael Cudlitz - late in the original Beverly Slopes, 90210 - is constantly impress along with his nuanced behave as gay patrol cop John Cooper. His moments getting a suicidal teen in this particular week's episode were particularly poignant. Coop tried to reassure him that "It'll improve.Inch That is really true for Southland, each and every week. What can you consider last night's Southland? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!

FilmDistrict requires a 'Safety' course

'Safety Not Guaranteed'In its first and likely only pickup from Sundance, FilmDistrict has acquired U.S. right sto "Safety Not Guaranteed," plotting a strong theatrical release for that sci-fi-tinged oddball comedy that marks the feature debuts of helmer Colin Trevorrow and scribe Derek Connolly.Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass topline the Large Beach Films production, whose purchase was repped by ICM and Cinetic. Deal incorporated a seven-figure advance having a significant P&A agreement.As Jeanney and Bob Berney are exiting FilmDistrict, the pickup was somewhat unpredicted, although the distributor that discovered the critics' darling "Drive" could not resist the Sundance Fest script champion.Like "Drive," "Safety" informs the storyline of some other loner -Body who places a free classified for some time-travel partner -- and first showed Sunday within the U.S. dramatic competition. It had been considered one of the most in a commercial sense skewing game titles despite deficiencies in major celebrities.Canada privileges were acquired by Canuck distribber Alliance.Variety's Justin Chang known as it a "scrappy and romantic romp that delivers some nice soul-searching moments alongside a steady flow of laughs" and shuts by having an "suddenly exhilarating finale."ICM, which initially packed the film, reps Trevorrow, Connolly, Mark & Jay Duplass and castmember Shaun Garlin. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com