'Breaking Bad', 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Take Home Saturn Awards

Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Super 8 were the big film winners at the 38th annual Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in the genre world’s version of the Oscars. Breaking Bad, meanwhile, was the dominant force on the television side.

Apes took home honors for best science fiction film, best supporting actor for Andy Serkis and best special effects, while Super 8 received awards for best director (J.J. Abrams), best music (Michael Giacchino) and best performance by a younger actor (Joel Courtney).

Breaking Bad was named best syndicated/cable TV series, and also received Saturns for best actor on television (Bryan Cranston) and best supporting actor on television (Aaron Paul).

In other film categories, best fantasy film was awarded to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo nabbed best horror thriller and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol received best action/adventure film.

Michael Shannon took home best actor for Take Shelter while Kirsten Dunst was named best actress for her performance in Melancholia. Best supporting actress went to Emily Blunt for The Adjustment Bureau.

Puss in Boots was awarded best animated film while The Skin I Live In received the Saturn for best international film.

In television, the Saturn for best network series went to Fringe. Best television presentation went to The Walking Dead while Teen Wolf grabbed best youth-oriented series.

Fringe star Anna Torv picked up the prize for best actress, The Killing’s Michelle Forbest received best supporting actress, while Tom Skerritt was awarded best guest star for his appearance on Leverage.

Among the other notable awards were lifetime career awards to Frank Oz of Yoda fame and actor James Remar, and an innovative award to The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.

'Dark Knight' Shooting: In Gesture of Sympathy, Studios May Not Report Box Office Grosses This Weekend

Hollywood studios are rallying together in the wake of the shooting that left at least 12 dead inside a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises."

In an unprecedented move, no box office numbers could be reported for any film this weekend as Hollywood studios and independent distributors navigate the aftermath of the Colorado theater massacre that left a dozen moviegoers dead and dozens injured.

Warner Bros. said late Friday afternoon that it wouldn't report weekend grosses for The Dark Knight Rises out of respect for the victims of the shooting, which occurred during a midnight screening of the film in the Denver suburb of Aurora.

Throughout the evening, other studios and independent distributors began indicating they would refrain from reporting grosses as well over the weekend. Ditto for Rentrak, the service that collects box office data from theater owners across the country.

That doesn't mean studios won't know how their films are doing, including Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures -- who partnered on Dark Knight Rises -- since the data will still be available via Rentrak.

Box office observers reported late Friday evening that traffic for Dark Knight Rises may have slipped as the evening wore on. But the movie could still score the second-best opening of all time with a three-day gross in the $170 million to $180 million range.

Emmys 2012: 'Downton Abbey' Invades Drama Series Category With 16 Nominations

PBS’ Downton Abbey – last year’s outstanding miniseries winner – this year invaded the drama series category with sterling results. The PBS period soap opera about an aristocratic family and their servants earned nominations for outstanding drama series and lead performers Michelle Dockery and Hugh Bonneville. Additionally, Maggie Smith, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and Jim Carter received supporting performer nominations, giving Downton nominees in all of the main acting categories. And Brian Percival and series creator Julian Fellowes earned nominations for directing and writing, respectively.

Downton received 16 nominations in all. But Mad Men and American Horror Story received the most, with 17 each. Mad Men will be going for its record fifth outstanding drama series Emmy this year.

Downton and Med Men will compete against HBO's Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, AMC's Breaking Bad and Showtime's Homeland. Mad Men stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss are nominees again this year as are Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.

Michael C. Hall (Showtime's Dexter) and Steve Buscemi (HBO's Boardwalk Empire) round out the lead drama actor field.

FX’s Ryan Murphy thriller, American Horror Story received noms in the miniseries category and for lead actress Connie Britton and supporting performers Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange and Denis O'Hare. And History’s Hatfields & McCoys – which premiered to a record 14.2 million viewers in May – broke into the Emmys in a big way. The mini earned 16 nominations overall, including one for outstanding miniseries and lead actor noms for Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. 

With first-time nominees in multiple performance categories and nominations for freshman series including Showtime’s Homeland, Fox’s New Girl and HBO’s Girls and Veep, there will be plenty of new faces walking the red carpet as nominees at the 64th annual Primetime Emmys.

Lena Dunham, the star and creator of Girls – a slacker Sex and the City – scored her first nomination in the lead comedy actress category, where she’ll compete with fellow newcomer and New Girl star Zooey Deschanel. New Girl supporting actor Max Greenfield also received his first nomination.

Dunham and Deschanel will compete with last year’s winner Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly) and the oft-nominated Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and Tina Fey (30 Rock). Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) also scored a nomination for comedy lead — she was nominated multiple times for her supporting role on Seinfeld and won comedy lead for The New Adventures of Old Christine in 2006.

While Girls and Veep did receive outstanding comedy series noms, New Girl did not. The complete comedy series field once again includes The Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock, Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Don Cheadle earned his first comedy series nom for Showtime’s House of Lies. Jon Cryer, Charlie Sheen’s long-suffering co-star on Two and a Half Men, also earned his first nomination as comedy lead. They will be up against last year's winner Jim Parsons (Big Bang) as well as Larry David (HBO's Curb), Louis C.K. (FX's Louie) and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), a multiple winner in the category.

Mayim Bialik (Big Bang Theory) and Merritt Weaver (Nurse Jackie) also are first-time nominees in the supporting comedy performer category.

The outstanding drama series performer category also includes many nominees new to their particular categories. Damian Lewis and Claire Danes scored nominations for their roles in Homeland. Anna Gunn and Giancarlo Esposito snagged supporting noms for Breaking Bad, which recently entered its penultimate season on AMC. And Jared Harris, whose character committed suicide on last season’s Mad Men, scored a nom in the supporting drama series category.

Competing against Dockery, Moss and Danes for the lead drama actress Emmy are: Glenn Close (DirecTV's Damages), Julianna Margulies (CBS' The Good Wife) and Kathy Bates for her role in the now-cancelled NBC series Harry's Law. 

HBO once again had the most nominations with 81, followed by CBS (60), PBS (58), ABC (48) and AMC (34).

The Emmys will be broadcast live Sept. 23 on ABC with first-timer Jimmy Kimmel serving as master of ceremonies.

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Lena Dunham, Girls
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Ed O'Neill, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

Guest Actress In A Comedy Series
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock
Margaret Cho, 30 Rock
Kathy Bates, Two and a Half Men

Guest Actor In A Comedy Series
Michael J. Fox, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Greg Kinnear, Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Jon Hamm, 30 Rock

Writing for a Comedy Series
Community, Remedial Chaos Theory
Girls, Pilot
Louie, Pregnant
Parks and Recreation, The Debate
Parks and Recreation, Win, Lose, or Draw

Outstanding Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men


Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Glenn Close, Damages
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Kathy Bates, Harry's Law
Claire Danes, Homeland
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Jared Harris, Mad Men

Guest Actress In A Drama Series
Martha Plimpton, The Good Wife
Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy
Jean Smart, Harry's Law
Julia Ormond, Mad Men
Joan Cusack, Shameless
Uma Thurman, Smash

Guest Actor In A Drama Series
Mark Margolis, Breaking Bad
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Jeremy Davies, Justified
Ben Feldman, Mad Men
Jason Ritter, Parenthood

Writing for a Drama Series
Downton Abbey, Episode 7
Homeland, Pilot
Mad Men, The Other Woman
Mad Men, Commissions And Fees
Mad Men, Far Away Places

Miniseries or Movie
American Horror Story
Game Change
Hatfields & McCoys
Hemingway & Gellhorn
Luther
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Connie Britton, American Horror Story
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gellhorn
Ashley Judd, Missing
Emma Thompson, The Song of Lunch

Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
Bill Paxton, Hatfields & McCoys
Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gellhorn
Idris Elba, Luther
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or A Movie
Frances Conroy, American Horror Story
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Mare Winningham, Hatfields & McCoys
Judy Davis, Page Eight

Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie
Denis O'Hare, American Horror Story
Ed Harris, Game Change
Tom Berenger, Hatfields & McCoys
David Strathairn, Hemingway & Gellhorn
Martin Freeman, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
Game Change
Hatfields & McCoys • Part 2
The Hour
Luther
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Reality-Competition Program
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance

Outstanding Variety Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live 

For the complete list of nominees, including awards to be handed out during the Creative Arts ceremony, head to the Emmys website.

Viacom Pulled from DirecTV

Apparently, Viacom is looking for a 30 percent rate increase. DirecTV, as you might imagine, isn't down with that.

The sad fact of being a satellite TV subscriber is that you have to deal with seemingly constant struggles for content. Dish has been dealing with the loss of content thanks to their new DVR and now DirecTV faces the loss of channels due to a licensing agreement.

"We have been very willing to get a deal done," says DirecTV EVP of Content Derek Chang, "but Viacom is pushing DirecTV customers to pay more than a 30% increase, which equates to an extra $1 billion, despite the fact that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and much of Viacom's programming can be seen for free online."

"We proposed a fair deal that amounted to an increase of only a couple pennies per day, per subscriber, and we remained willing to negotiate that deal right up to this evening's deadline," says Viacom in a statement. "However, DirecTV refused to engage in meaningful conversation."

Source: Multichannel News

'Amazing Spider-Man' Nets $7.5 Million at Midnight

The Amazing Spider-Man earned an estimated $7.5 million from midnight shows last night. Among comic book movies, that's much lower than The Avengers ($18.7 million) and The Dark Knight, but about on par with Iron Man 2 ($7.5 million). Sony is also reporting that the figure is identical to Spider-Man 3's midnight haul from the first weekend of May 2007. IMAX showings at 300 locations accounted for $1.2 million, or 16 percent of the gross.

While the Spider-Man 3 comparison is a flattering one (that movie wound up earning $151.1 million through its first three days), it isn't really an apples-to-apples one. With kids still in school, the first weekend of May rarely turns out strong midnight numbers, while all kids and many adults are off leading in to the Fourth of July holiday. Also, the way in which audiences attend midnight movies has changed noticeably in the past few years: the top eight midnight openings ever have taken place since 2009 (only five of the top eight opening weekends are in that same time frame). Finally, with the addition of 3D and the drastically increased number of IMAX venues, tickets for The Amazing Spider-Man are much more expensive than those for Spider-Man 3.

Still, The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 3 are very different movies. The Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot with a completely fresh cast and some weird baggage associated with the previous franchise, while Spider-Man 3 was the highly-anticipated follow-up to the first two entries in Sam Raimi's franchise. For The Amazing Spider-Man to have the same midnight haul, even with inflated ticket prices and a more hospitable release date, is a minor accomplishment for sure.

It's hard to predict exactly how The Amazing Spider-Man will fare through its first six days, given the lack of comparable Tuesday releases. It is clear now that $100 million is a guarantee, while $150 million also appears to be a very reachable figure.