Scribes fitted for 'Fashioning Apollo'

Hoberg LikkelKat Likkel and John Hoberg have signed onto adapt Nicholas p Monchaux's non-fiction book "Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo."Marc Shmuger will produce through his Global Produce shingle together with company prexy Tom McNulty.It recounts the real story of methods a team of bra and girdle makers from Playtex effectively designed and produced the spacesuit that enabled Neil Remedy and Buzz Aldrin just to walk around the moon."This monumental achievement would not happen to be possible were it not for that perseverance and resourcefulness of the memorable team of dreamers," Shmuger stated. "It is a lengthy way in the shop floor of Playtex to the top of moon, which incredible story tracks the way it happened."This marks the very first feature the writing duo has composed. They have formerly labored in television, writing and creating such shows as "I'm Earl" and "Best Ted."They're repped by UTA. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Tribeca lines up art awards

Cindy Sherman, Kara Master and incognito street artist Junior are some of the artists whose works will be presented as trophies towards the filmmakers of winning photos within the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival's jury competitions. Eleven artists are adding one work each, varying from works of art to photos to sculptures. Tribeca's connect to the art world is available in part through fest co-founder Robert P Niro, whose late father was an abstract expressionist painter. Peter Dayton, Stephen Hannock, Clifford Ross, Walton Ford, Kim Keever, Nathan Sawaya, Hugo Tillman and Stanley Whitney complete the adding creatives, whose pieces is going to be granted to filmmakers in competish groups including narrative feature and doc for world cinema and NY-centric photos. Artworks are positioned for public display in downtown Gotham April 5-25, just before the fest's kudo ceremony April 26. The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18-29. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Blagden boards U's 'Les Miz'

George Blagden will play Grantaire in Universal's "Les Miserables," starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. Tom Hooper is helming the pic, which also stars Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne. William Nicholson Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg adapted the Victor Hugo novel. Pic is slated to bow on Dec. 7. Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce for Working Title alongside Cameron Mackintosh and Debra Hayward. Blagden just wrapped shooting on the indie "The Philosophers" and can be seen next in Warner Bros.' "Wrath of the Titans." He is represented by Paradigm, Untitled and Lou Coulson Associates. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Jones out as 'X Factor' host

Jones Steve Jones is officially out as host of "The X Factor."Jones used his Twitter account to announce the news Monday afternoon: "I won't be hosting next season's 'X Factor,' which is a shame but I can't complain as I've had a great time. Good luck to everyone on the show."Fox confirmed that Jones wouldn't be back but wouldn't offer any statement or comment. While former "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell was a well-known personality to "X Factor" viewers, most American viewers had no idea of who Jones was before the singing-competition series launched in the fall. In its first season, "The X Factor," which aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays and ended on Dec. 22, averaged a 4.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and 12.6 million viewers per week.No new audition or production schedule has been set for the second season. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Casting Directors Named for New CW, NBC, CBS, ABC Pilots

Casting Directors Named for New CW, NBC, CBS, ABC Pilots By Pete Keeley January 23, 2012 CBS's 1987 series "Beauty and the Beast" Mark Saks will cast the first NYbased pilot of the 2012 season, CBS's "Elementary," a modern take on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries set in NY City.Another modern take on a classic, NBC's "Do No Harm," a Jekyll-and-Hyde retelling centering on a neurosurgeon who develops an immunity to the drug he uses to keep his destructive alter ego in check. Liz Dean at Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer is casting this project.Speaking of beast mode, The CW's new "Beauty and the Beast" also signed a casting team, Sari Knight and Mandy Sherman. This show doesn't come from the Disney version, but is based on the 1980s series starring Ron Perlman as a lion-man who lives in a secret subterranean world and falls for an assistant NY D.A. That show was actually pretty awesome, so here's hoping this one is too.Another pickup from the TV-casting machine that is Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer is NBC's Western drama "Frontier," which centers on a wagon train that sets out from Missouri in the mid 19th century. Eric Dawson will run point on this one.Finally, ABC's comedy pilot "Counter Culture" will be cast by Jill Anthony. The pilot, based on a book by Candace Taylor, follows three sisters who run a diner in Texas. Obviously, their personalities are perfect fits, and they agree on everything all the time. Wait, no. Scratch that last part.Back Stage wasn't able to confirm shooting schedules for any of the above projects. Casting Directors Named for New CW, NBC, CBS, ABC Pilots By Pete Keeley January 23, 2012 CBS's 1987 series "Beauty and the Beast" Mark Saks will cast the first NYbased pilot of the 2012 season, CBS's "Elementary," a modern take on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries set in NY City.Another modern take on a classic, NBC's "Do No Harm," a Jekyll-and-Hyde retelling centering on a neurosurgeon who develops an immunity to the drug he uses to keep his destructive alter ego in check. Liz Dean at Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer is casting this project.Speaking of beast mode, The CW's new "Beauty and the Beast" also signed a casting team, Sari Knight and Mandy Sherman. This show doesn't come from the Disney version, but is based on the 1980s series starring Ron Perlman as a lion-man who lives in a secret subterranean world and falls for an assistant NY D.A. That show was actually pretty awesome, so here's hoping this one is too.Another pickup from the TV-casting machine that is Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer is NBC's Western drama "Frontier," which centers on a wagon train that sets out from Missouri in the mid 19th century. Eric Dawson will run point on this one.Finally, ABC's comedy pilot "Counter Culture" will be cast by Jill Anthony. The pilot, based on a book by Candace Taylor, follows three sisters who run a diner in Texas. Obviously, their personalities are perfect fits, and they agree on everything all the time. Wait, no. Scratch that last part.Back Stage wasn't able to confirm shooting schedules for any of the above projects.

Football fuels Fox to Sunday victory

The NY Giants' overtime victory within the Bay Area 49ers in football's NFC Championship game obtained monster rankings for Fox on Sunday -- drawing a lot more than four occasions the combined youthful-adult viewership of ABC, CBS and NBC. ABC's ''Once Upon a Time'' was the very best-ranked series, lower only a tick from a week ago. Reliable preliminary Nielsen estimations for that NFC Championship will not be accessible until later today, but Fox's stations averaged an 18.7 rating/40 be part of grown ups 18-49 and 50.a million audiences overall for that full amount of primetime Sunday. These amounts are required to develop nicely within the excellent because they don't precisely reflect West Coast viewing, and the overall game began around 6:40 p.m. ET. The internet than adopted at 10:57 p.m. ET having a special ''American Idol,'' which came a 7.9 demo rating and 19.8 million audiences, based on time zone-modified preliminary Nielsen amounts purchased by Fox the internet had wished to obtain ''Idol,'' around the air earlier, however the late football finish resulted in the background music series wound up airing from primetime in much of the nation for basically its first couple of minutes. Earlier within the day on CBS, the network's coverage from the AFC Championship between your Gambling and Baltimore Ravens came a 29.1 household rating/51 be part of Nielsen's metered-market overnights -- the very best score to have an mid-day AFC title game in 18 years game peaked having a 34.9/56 in the final fifteen minutes. In primetime, the internet broadcast ''60 Minutes'' (1.5/3 in 18-49, 7.9 million audiences overall), then ''Undercover Boss'' (2.2/5 in 18-49, 9.two million audiences overall) and repeats of ''The Good Wife'' (1.1/2 in 18-49, 5.six million audiences overall) and ''CSI: Miami'' (1.4/3 in 18-49, 6.two million audiences overall). ''Boss'' was lower dramatically from a week ago if this did not face football. ABC tied to its regular selection, opening with ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' (1.2/3 in 18-49, 5.two million audiences overall) after which surging at 8 p.m. with ''Once Upon a Time'' (3.2/7 in 18-49, 9.3 million audiences overall), which while substandard, only agreed to be slightly removed from a week ago if this faced just the concluding ten minutes of football. Also inside a tick was ''Desperate Housewives'' (2.6/5 in 18-49, 7.5 million audiences overall), and ''Pan Am'' closed the evening (1.3/3 in 18-49, 3.9 million audiences overall) up slightly from a week ago. NBC broadcast a 2-hour ''Dateline'' (1.1/2 in 18-49, 5.two million audiences overall) then two special original instances of the canceled cop drama ''Prime Suspect'' (.8/2 in 18-49, 4.3 million audiences overall at 9 and .7/2 in 18-49, 3.six million audiences overall at 10). Preliminary 18-49 earnings for that evening: Fox, 18.7/40 ABC, 2./4 CBS, 1.6/3 NBC, .9/2 Univision, .8/2. As a whole audiences: Fox, 50.a million CBS, 7.two million ABC, 6.4 million NBC, 4.six million Univision, 2.5 million. Contact Ron Kissell at ron.kissell@variety.com

Ricky Gervais: I'm Never Hosting the Golden Globes Again

Ricky Gervais "Phew! Thank f--- that's over." That's how Ricky Gervais described completing his third stint as host of the Golden Globes... and his last. The British comedian and creator of The Office insists he will not be making it a four-peat. "I've told my agent to never let me be persuaded to do it again though," he wrote on his blog. "It's like a parachute jump. You can only really enjoy it in retrospect when you realise you didn't die and it was quite an amazing thing to do." Ricky Gervais on returning to the Golden Globes: "What's the worst that could happen?" Gervais, 50, came under fire last year for his offensive jokes that skewered Hugh Hefner, Charlie Sheen, the cast of Sex and the City 2 and Scientologists, among others. During this year's telecast, save for one bleeped f-bomb, Gervais seemed to be holding back, with just a few zingers on Justin Bieber's manhood, Jodie Foster's Beaver and Elton John. Still, Gervais says this was his favorite time hosting. "The crowd were great this year too," he wrote. "I think they finally worked out that my gags only seemed rude and nasty but were actually not too scary at all. Or they were just drunker. Either way, it was fun..." Do you think Gervais should host the Golden Globes again?

Top Moments: Late Night Settles a Beef and Revenge Gets Relative

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Our top moments of the week: 12. Most Sympathetic Plea: Resident One Tree Hill villain Dan Scott returns to town after his diner and home burn down. Dan tears up when he begs Haley tohelp him get back on his feet, and we actually feel bad for him for the first time ever. It may have taken nine seasons, but it looks like Dan Scott is finally back in our good graces... for now. 11. Funniest Hunger Strike: In preparation for his wedding, Castle's Ryan goes on a nine-day cleanse with his fiancée Jenny. The poor guy resists the urge to give in to solid foods until Esposito takes a tad too long eating a donut in front of him. "Do you have to be such a cliché? Stuffing your face with that th-th-thing?!" Ryan sneers. He proceeds to jump over Esposito to reach for the powdered confection, but sadly, Esposito finishes the donut and Ryan is left to explain himself. "He was flaunting that donut!" he says before apologizing and taking another swig of his green cleanse juice. Oh Ryan, nobody looks at the groom at a wedding, so why deprive yourself of all the donuts you can eat? 10. Most Cringeworthy Diss: David Cross has made no secret of his disdain for the Alvin and the Chipmunk films, but he takes things a little too far on Conan when he details how he was legally obligated to "spend a week on a cruise ship" dressed as a pelican for Chipwrecked - a move he claims came from an unnamed producer who has it out for him. "[The producer is] the personification of what people think about when they think negatively about Jews," Cross says, drawing nervous laughter from the audience as Conan promptly changes the subject. Hey, David? It's fine that you're doing the movies just for the money, but don't bite the hand that feeds you. 9. Cheating Death Award: When Renee gets the sneaking suspicion that Ben is cheating on her with Bree on Desperate Housewives, she barges into Bree's hotel room to confront her. Instead, she finds a despondent Bree, alone, with a gun, a bottle of booze and a suicide note on the table. Renee quickly susses out the situation and convinces Bree not to pull the trigger. For once, we're grateful that Renee is so paranoid, territorial and obnoxious. 8. Best Rise to the Occasion, Part I: On House of Lies' series premiere, Marty Kaan makes the best of a misunderstanding and invites a stripper to pretend to be his wife at an important business dinner with a potential client. Although she plays the part well, things spiral out of control quickly when his date ends up having sex with the client's wife in the restaurant bathroom. The client finds out, punches Marty in the face and storms out. But the next day, Marty so impresses the client's boss that he's hired anyway. Celebratory dinner, anyone? 7. Worst Skin-Baring: On The Bachelor, one woman's poor fashion choice is one man's gain. Blakeley, a VIP cocktail waitress, sports a tight, cleavage-baring jumper for a group date to a community-theater production, leaving very little to Ben's imagination (and likely scarring the kids in attendance). And because that's not enough skin, Blakeley wastes no time jumping into the pool with Ben and kissing him when they return home, sealing her chances at getting the group date rose. Next time, leave the kiddies out of it. 6. Most Painful Way to Turn Down a Proposal: What's the best way to apologize to your long-distance girlfriend for standing her up? If you're NCIS' Ray, you propose. "I love you. Now or never, Ziva David," he says. "Will you marry me?" Though Ziva doesn't immediately reply, she seriously considers becoming Mrs. CI-Ray - but then she learns that Ray once killed a Navy commander on U.S. soil. Because a simple "no" won't suffice at that point, she punches Ray in the face, putting us all one step closer to the elusive dream that is Tiva. 5. Best Rise to the Occasion, Part II: Today's weather report: cloudy with a chance of... penis? Noting the lack of snowfall in most of the U.S. compared to last year, Good Morning America weatherman Sam Champion illustrates the point further by outlining the snow-less northern part of the country. Which is fine - except his drawing resembles a certain part of the male anatomy. ("He so did not just do that," Robin Roberts says later.) What makes his gaffe even better? An oblivious Champion carries on with his forecast, reporting that a forthcoming arctic air may "last a little bit longer." 4. Worst Continuity: The dissolution of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries' marriage kicks off on Keeping Up with the Kardashians when Kim nonchalantly confesses to her mom Kris Jenner in a dark car that she's not excited to return home from Dubai to her husband. "There's something in my relationship that I just feel, like, isn't right," she says. "Is this normal? Should I be feeling this way?" "No, Kim, it's not normal," mama Kris replies. You know what else doesn't feel right, Kim? How you're wearing the exact same outfit, makeup and nail polish coming out of a studio two months after this soul-bearing heart-to-heart was supposedly shot halfway around the world. At least your mom changed into her Dubai outfit! 3. Best (and Bloodiest) Kept Secrets: Parks and Recreation didn't win any People's Choice Awards, but its pre-taped skit is totally winning. The cast shows off their hidden talents that include "wearing the hell out of a suit" (Aziz Ansari), smashing a laptop with a hammer (Adam Scott), making funny sounds with her mouth (Amy Poehler), growing a beard within seconds (Nick Offerman and Rashida Jones), making any woman fall in love with him (Rob Lowe) and, most hilariously, swallowing swords (Chris Pratt and Aubrey Plaza). "He's so relaxed," Plaza observes as she forces a blade down her on-screen hubby's throat. "Not after I tickle him though." Cue major blood splatter. Your turn, Aubrey. 2. Best Reveal We Should Have Seen Coming (But Totally Didn't): On Revenge, Emily takes down her latest victim - an author who crucified her father in a popular Hamptons society novel way back when- by burning down his house and taking all of the interview tapes for the book in question. However, Emily's victory lap comes to a screeching halt when she watches her father's interview and learns that Charlotte is his daughter, which makes her Emily's half-sister. Hey, at least she now has something else in common with her beau Daniel, who is also now Charlotte's half-sibling. Oh, wait, is that weird? 1. Most Delicious Display of Brotherly Love: After ?uestlove called out Tina Fey on Watch What Happens: Live for "never [being] nice" to her Philly brethren The Roots, it was obviously going to come up when the 30 Rock star dropped by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. "I [saw it and] was like, 'What?! What is ?uest talking about?'" Fey says. "And I am from Philly, so I had a very Philly reaction. I was like, 'I'm gonna kick his ass. I'm gonna key his car, I'm gonna drag him behind a Wawa and we're gonna fight!" ?uest explains that it was a misunderstanding. But to ensure that it's all water under the bridge, Fey suggests they "do the Philly ritual - we have to bite the Hoagie of Forgiveness." With an assist from Fallon, the two bite into the gigantic sub, Lady and the Tramp-style ("With this hoagie, I thee friend," ?uest declares), and put their, uh, beef behind them. Now that's what you call swallowing your pride. What were your top moments?

Sony, Will Smith pump 3D at CES

StringerHiraiSony Corp. issued a vote of confidence for 3D movie exhibition at its presentation Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show with some help from the star of one of its biggest upcoming blockbusters, Will Smith.The "Men in Black 3" star was joined by its director, Barry Sonnenfeld, who Smith praised but also singled out the other man standing on stage with them: Sony Corp. chairman-CEO Howard Stringer."Barry did an amazing job directing the movie and you did a good job paying for it," Smith joked."Let's hope you do a good job paying me back," Stringer shot back.Smith and Sonnenfeld took to the stage after the first 3D exhibition of the teaser trailer for "MIB3," which is one of at least four new films Sony has coming out this year that utilize the technology, including the latest installments of the "Spider-Man," "Ghost Rider" and "Underworld" franchises."Some may be skeptical about the future of 3D but I think the numbers speak for themselves," said Phil Molyneux, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, noting the $6 billion in revenue worldwide 3D pics brought in last year.Smith's appearance was one highlight of a wide-ranging event that offered nary a word about two of the bigger issues Sony has made headlines with over the past year: the security breaches on the Playstation Network and the question of who will succeed Stringer, who is expected to hand over his CEO duties to Kazuo Hirai, executive deputy president of Sony Corp. Sony has declined comment on the latter issue.What the presentation did put heavy emphasis on was integrating the conglom's many devices into one connective experience. "There's more to the Sony story than great standalone products," Hirai said.The TV is the centerpiece of the connected experience, with everything from the Xperia smartphone to the Bloggie camera envisioned as a wireless feeder of content via WiFi from smaller screens to the living room.Stringer touted Sony as an over-the-top player to be reckoned with given the company's breadth of products."Wireless connectivity is making TV the entertainment center of the home once again," said Stringer, who noted Sony has manufactured 100 million connected TVs. " This network of connected viewers dwarfs in every size every cable and satellite company on earth."Sony's own connected TV line, Bravia, will be enhanced with X Reality Pro, a "picture engine" that undoes the compression that creates the grainy, pixilated nature of YouTube content for better exhibition of digital content.Sony Entertainment Network is the linchpin of the conglom's efforts to push premium content across its products, allowing users to stream or download content to myriad branded devices via a single ID and digital wallet.Music Unlimited is a big piece of SEN, with a global catalog of 12 million songs available in four new countries, Hirai revealed, bringing its total footprint to 13. Its counterpart for TV and movies, Video Unlimited, is in nine.Sony also touted its PlayStation Vita portable gaming device, noting it isn't entirely for gaming. When the device hits stores in U.S. and Europe next month, Netflix will be a charter member, and Music Unlimited will also be available.The conglom also announced that its new mobile unit, Sony Ericsson, will be renamed Sony Mobile Communications. Hirai said the rebranding will give its smartphones a fresh start as Sony aims to fight for a bigger presence in that market, especially in the U.S.Sony is also focusing on improving capabilities for customers using its cameras to shoot personal photos and video. PlayMemories Online allows users to upload photos and clips that can be easily played across a range of Sony devices.While Sony stood by its 3D capabilities, the company also touted the new technology of 4K, which promises images with four times the resolution of HD. Molyneux explained Sony was well positioned to be a dominant force deploying that technology on TVs because it already utilizes 4K on the production side. The company already has a 4K home theater projector and a Blu-ray player with 4K upscale functions.But the device that may have drawn the most oohs and aahs was Sony's new Tablet P, which has a dual screen that allows it to be folded into a pocket or purse.On the 3D side, Stringer also touted cable channel 3Net, the company's joint venture with Discovery and IMAX.Sony closed the event with a live perf from Kelly Clarkson, who sang "Mr. Know It All," the first single from her new album. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

Jennifer Lawrence To Announce Oscar Nominations

First Launched: The month of the month of january 9, 2012 4:02 PM EST Credit: Getty Premium La, Calif. -- Caption Jennifer Lawrence reaches the 83rd Annual Academy awards locked in the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on February 27, 2011 Jennifer Lawrence might help announce the 2010 Academy awards nominees. The 21-year-old actress will join Academy of motion Picture Arts and Sciences Leader Tom Sherak within the nominations announcement on Jan. 24. Lawrence acquired her first Oscar nomination a year ago for Winters Bone. She stars inside the anticipated adaptation in the Hunger Games, searching for release in March. Sherak and Lawrence will announce 10 of Oscars 24 groups in early-morning press conference. The 84th annual Academy awards is going to be provided on Feb. 26. Copyright 2012 with the Connected Press. All rights reserved. These elements is probably not launched, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Distribs, exhibs flock to Paris

'La Vie d'une autre''38 Witnesses''Ernest and Celestine''Cloclo'Sylvie Testud's "La Vie d'une autre," Lucas Belvaux's "38 Witnesses" and Philippe Lefebvre's "Paris by Night" will screen at the 14th Unifrance Paris Rendez-Vous, which will run Jan. 11-16.A marriage-on-the-rocks dramedy, the Kinology-sold "Vie" stars Juliette Binoche and Mathieu Kassovitz.Films Distribution's crime drama "Witnesses" opens January's Rotterdam fest. With Roschdy Zem and Sara Forestier, "Night," which tracks a night-shift vice-squad cop, is one of multiple Rendez-Vous thrillers. TF1 Intl. also brings four.The Rendez-Vous also testifies to France's ongoing comedy boom, showcasing Gaumont sales hit "The Chef," with Jean Reno, and Other Angle's potential B.O. juggernaut "Would I Lie To You? 3."Among debuts: EuropaCorp's romcom "Love Lasts Three Years," starring Louise Bourgoin ("Adele Blanc-Sec") from writer-turned-helmer Frederic Beigbeder; Films Distribution's thriller "Paris Under Watch," by Cedric Jimenez and Arnaud Duprey; and Pathe's "Sunday Dads" from helmer Louis Becker. Studiocanal will unveil "Cloclo," a biopic of famed French singer Claude Francois.It seems every year, two or three films break out at the Rendez-Vous. Candidates for 2012 include Studiocanal's 2D toon pic, "Ernest and Celestine," warmly received as a work-in-progress at Annecy, and Pyramide's "Here Below," from Jean-Pierre Denis ("Murderous Maids"), the true story of a nun's love for a French Resistance fighter.Under Regine Hatchondo's direction, the Rendez-Vous will invite a delegation of 30 exhibitors from arthouse and multiplex theaters to sample upcoming releases. "The diversity of multiplexes in France is exceptional," Hatchondo says. "Overseas distributors are faced with a completely different situation."Hatchondo notes that since 2010, the number of screens has multiplied in places such as China and India, but "this has not benefited arthouse European cinema" and distributors are focusing instead on Americal films and local features.Unifrance will also invite seven European TV channel toppers to participate in a workshop during the Rendez-Vous. "The place of French cinema on European channels has changed," says Hatchondo. "The sales volume has remained roughly the same, but European pictures are seldom programmed for primetime; as a result acquisition prices have gone down."For the second edition of its online experiment, My French Film Festival -- set for Jan. 12 to Feb. 1 -- Unifrance teamed with Allocine and attracted new partners: China's Youku, U.S.'s SnagFilms, Germany's Filmstarts.de, and Brazil's Terra.TV, in addition to Mubi, Filmin, KT in Korea and J.Com in Japan.Lineup boasts titles that are still available in most territories, notably Valerie Donzelli's goofy feature debut "The Queen Of Hearts" and laffer "Back To Square One," directed by comics Thomas Ngijol and Fabrice Eboue."We think that the VOD market will eventually prove highly complementary to theatrical activity. And in many instances, a VOD release doesn't impact negatively the theatrical rollout," Hatchondo points out. "The idea behind the online festival is not only to analyze the different VOD markets, but also to bump up the international exposure of emerging French directors to help them for their next films."Hatchondo is optimistic about next year's B.O. prospects for French films. Citing "The Artist," "Intouchables," "Declaration of War" and "A Gang Story," she thinks there's a good chance many Gallic titles will translate to international auds.RELATED LINKS: Gallic laffers get guffaws Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com