Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom will get a poster

Moonrise Kingdom, the most recent offbeat adventure from director Wes Anderson, has first showed a brand new poster which consists of brace of youthful stars inside a setting that appears as if it has been plucked in the pages of the fairytale.Despite boasting a star-studded cast that contains the kind of Bruce Willis, Erectile dysfunction Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton, the poster has sidelined its large names to be able to focus upon youthful leads Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.Gilman and Hayward play a set of youngsters who finalise to hightail it together in to the backwoods, like a violent storm prepares to buffet their island home. Because the clouds start to gather, the neighborhood community becomes frantic within their tries to recover them over time...Once we pointed out before, there is a fairytale aesthetic towards the poster, using the two children searching very small , vulnerable, encircled on every side with a thick, impenetrable forest. And out of the box frequently the way in which with Anderson posters, it is rather beautiful.And we have also learned (via Indiewire), that Moonrise Kingdom will open the 65th Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2012. Seems like an ideal, crowd-pleasing opener to us, and it is got us even more looking forward to striking the Croisette this summer time.Moonrise Kingdom will open within the United kingdom on 25 May 2012. You are able to have a look in the new poster entirely, below...

'Terra Nova' Star Joins ABC Drama Pilot 'Americana'

Which was fast: "Terra Nova" baddie Christine Adams finds her next gig.A next day of Fox elected not to get her time-travel drama for any second season, the actress continues to be drawn on to co-star in ABC's drama pilot "Americana," "The Hollywood Reporter" is familiar with.The soapy drama involves legendary designer Robert Soulter ("With no Trace's" Anthony LaPaglia) and the family business. Adams will have Sierra, Robert's ex-supermodel wife.Adams performed Mira, the best choice of renegade settlers the Sixers on "Terra Nova," that was canceled late Monday.Adams, repped by Innovative Artists and also the Hufflund Co., joins a cast which includes Emilie P Ravin, "Twilight's" Ashley Greene, Natalie Mendoza, Ken Olin and Tiffany Hines within the ABC Galleries project."North Country's" Michael Seitzman will write the project and executive produce with Mark Gordon, Nick Pepper and Phillip Noyce, who's set to direct the pilot.After several weeks of indecision all around the fate from the dinosaur drama from Air Steven Spielberg, Fox handed down another season from the large-budget sci-fi series "Terra Nova." Studio 20th Television, meanwhile, will shop the show with other systems.Adams becomes the very first "Terra Nova" cast member to get an airplane pilot this development season. Her co-star, Stephen Lang, lately became a member of USA Network's "In Plain Sight" for any three-episode stint. The Hollywood Reporter

Promocine, Pol-ka in talks over 'Besieged'

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Chilean shingle Promocine is in talks with Pol-ka, one of Argentina's leading production houses, to co-produce "Besieged," a TV series plus movie spinoff that highlight raised fiction production ambitions in Latin America. "Besieged," which was written by Carmen Lopez and helmed by Promocine chief Nicolas Acuna, one of Chile's leading TV directors, recreates the three-year siege from 1599 of a fort in Patagonia by Mapuche natives. Of the 600 besieged Spaniards, 22 survive. Pubcaster Television Nacional de Chile (TVN) will co-produce and put up a third of the around $3 million below-the-line production costs for the 12-seg series and movie. Speaking at Mexico's Guadalajara fest, Acuna said that the budget makes "Besieged" one of Chile's most costly free-to-air series ever. All 12 episodes have been written. Acuna aims to bring in a third international partner and shoot "Besieged" in the second half of this year. Acuna drew international media coverage with last year's TVN co-produced "Los Archivos del cardenal," about lawyers investigating human rights violations under dictator Augusto Pinochet. He now plans a second season and a movie spinoff, he said. Synergies between the TV and movie sectors in Chile allow producers to tackle subjects inconceivable for most standalone films. "Chile's domestic market doesn't allow for a self-sustaining film industry," said Constanza Arena, exec director of promotion board Cinemachile. "So exports and link-ups with TV are ever more frequent and necessary," she added, citing Andres Wood, Parox, Promocine and Fabula as companies bridging film and TV production. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Study: Cable industry fumbled VOD

New information hammers the cable niche for fumbling VOD badly enough to miss out on billions in ad revenue and paving the means by which for your emergence more than-the-top options like Netflix. The Diffusion Group estimations that VOD comprises just 1% of U.S. TV viewing, or 3.6 billion of 350 billion total several hours seen this season. Compared, analyst Bill Niemeyer noted the two billion several hours Netflix mentioned to own streamed inside the fourth quarter of 2011 alone was 80% greater than cable and telco entrepreneurs totalled up for VOD options. While VOD will be roughly 9 million more houses in comparison to 42.9 million houses reported to own video recorders this season, Digital video recorder viewing was eight occasions greater, in line with the research. Keep in mind ads are often better protected inside the VOD atmosphere, where the fast-delivering that allows for rampant ad-missing via DVRs is disabled. If this involves revenue, the $263 million in ad dollars Hulu reported this season was nearly two occasions what MSOs from Comcast to Verizon handled to herald via VOD that year. Niemeyer forecasted multichannel VOD is a $6 billion business had the operators recognized the technology's potential within the last decade, wasting a multi-year headstart before OTT rivals. "Online services are really creating impressive consumer viewing, subscription revenue, internet marketer spend, and network mindshare that well could participate in operator VOD if possibly they'd ready for that inevitable: competition on the internet,In . written Niemeyer. TDG outlines numerous problems that have affected VOD right from the start, including the possible lack of dynamic ad insertion, sufficient measurement techniques and compelling user connects that frustrated designers from giving the working platform any programming beyond whatever they were contractually obligated to supply via affiliate contracts. Niemeyer places blame the cable biz for neglecting to build up VOD because return of investment wasn't easily justified without broad-scale testing, though techniques to VOD's myriad flaws were readily available via providers. Niemeyer also criticizes the MSOs for focusing a lot of on tv Everywhere efforts specific at countering Netflix which is ilk on digital platforms when enhancing VOD would better safeguard the requirement for the core TV product, and open options for interactive advertising too. TDG estimations that Comcast, the only real greatest purveyor of VOD, hasn't seen any growth among VOD usage in the last five years whilst the business has bending the amount of content on the working platform. Comcast and Cablevision recently introduced individually that they're improving their VOD capabilities with dynamic ad insertion, though specifics round the deployment were not revealed. Satcasters were not incorporated inside the study his or her VOD options were thought to minimal to measure. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

'Lorax' boffo at weekend B.O.

'The Lorax'Backed by an aggressive marketing and promotional campaign, Universal's "The Lorax" scored a boffo $70.7 million for the weekend, marking the highest domestic opening for a non-sequel toon, the biggest Stateside bow for Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment, and the best-ever debut for a Dr. Seuss adaptation.U signed more than 70 global partnerships, based primarily on the film's eco-friendly message. Promotional partners included such companies and organizations as the EPA, Hewlett Packard, Seventh Generation and Mazda.The studio held off from releasing "Lorax" day-and-date overseas -- a major push is planned to start over the next few months, timed for Easter and school holidays.Playing second fiddle to "The Lorax," Warner Bros.' R-rated counterprogrammer "Project X" managed to score a hearty $20.7 million domestic bow. "X," which cost $12 million to produce, was projected by most pre-weekend tracking services to land somewhere in the mid-to-high teens.Weekend box office was up more than 23% vs. this time last year, maintaining what's now a nine-week year-over-year streak. Moreover, 2012 year-to-date B.O. is outpacing 2011 by 19%, with admissions up even further by 21%."Lorax" scored 52% of its opening from 3D, including 8% in Imax. That's at the high-end of recent 3D animated fare: "Happy Feet Two" earned 48% from 3D, while "Puss in Boots" had 50%."Audiences were aware of this movie ever since the marketing campaign first popped up last year," said U prexy of domestic distribution Nikki Rocco. "Still, I never thought it would open to $70 million-plus."The specialty biz saw mixed results from new and expanding titles, however.Focus Features' "Being Flynn" opened to a disappointing per-screen average of $11,386 from four locations in NY and L.A.Meanwhile, the Weinstein Co.'s "The Artist," with a cume of $37 million, did well in its first post-Oscars frame, improving by 34% for an estimated weekend gross of $3.9 million. TWC's other Oscar-winning title, "The Iron Lady," at $27 million domestically, was up 29% with 11 fewer locations vs. last weekend. "The Artist" added 790 playdates. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

Climan tops ANEW

Tokyo, japan -- CAA and Universal Galleries vet Sandy Climan continues to be hired Boss of Nippon Entertainment Works, a brand new venture from investment fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to evolve and develop Japanese content for that world market. Former Nikkatsu worldwide professional Kenny Kurokawa continues to be named COO of ANEW, released this month. With offices in Tokyo, japan and L.A., the organization intends to link to Hollywood galleries and global partners to co-produce British-language photos along with other content from Japanese qualities. ANEW was revealed in August, with INCJ carrying out $80 million to the subsid. Their email list of 14 corporate partners include film and television producer Nikkatsu, Japan's five commercial systems, distribs Asmik Ace Entertainment and Toho-Towa, toon makers Production I.G. and Ishimori Prods., ad shops Dentsu and Yomiko, toy makers Tomy and Sega Toys and also the Mitsubishi buying and selling house. Climan stated, "Japan has lengthy been a cultural epicenter from the world's most creative storytelling. ANEW will partner with world-class filmmakers to create these tales to some worldwide audience." After becoming Universal's mind of worldwide business development from 1995 to 1999, Climan released Entertainment Media Endeavors. He headed start-up 3ality Digital from 2007. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

Gaumont ups TV activity

As the box office success of "Intouchables" assisted Gaumont become Gaul's top local film distributor this past year, the 117-year-old French small-major can also be making waves in TV production, coming back towards the medium following a decade-lengthy absence, with seasoned partners as well as an ambitious first slate.Sidonie Dumas, Gaumont's chair since 2004, and Boss Christophe Riandee have re-released a TV division in Paris after getting opened up a La-based smallscreen arm this past year.Gaumont has walked in to the U.S. independent TV landscape with robust allies for example CAA along with a staff of well-respected TV executives, particularly Katie O'Connell, former professional Vice president of drama programming for NBC Entertainment, who heads the La division, Gaumont Intl. Television (GIT) and Erik Pack, an old professional at British indie Energy, who helps secure European presales and scouts co-production possibilities from Gaumont's London office."This complementary TV activity enables us to construct bridges between France and also the U.S.," Dumas states. It may also help Gaumont make the most of its catalog (Gaul's second greatest library) in developing smallscreen series.And also the mix-pollination enables the organization to draw in film company directors with whom it already includes a relationship to operate on television projects.French-Tunisian helmer Mabrouk El Mechri, whose French-lingo films have been created by Gaumont since his directorial debut, "Virgil," in 2005, is writing "Superpower," an illusion comedy skein produced by Gaumont Television's Paris office for paybox Canal Plus.El Mechri most lately helmed Summit Entertainment's "The Cold Light of Day," looking for a U.S. release in April.Gaumont Television's controlling director Omar Brahimi states the organization is also developing an British-language series having a Canadian co-producer for any French broadcaster and it is working together with GIT to locate a high-profile showrunner.GIT already has gotten a warm welcome in the worldwide marketplace, bringing in showrunners Bryan Larger("Pushing Daisies") to create and professional produce "Hannibal," an hourlong drama in line with the character Hannibal Lecter and Michael Hurst ("The Tudors") for everyone within the same capacity on six-hour miniseries "Madame Tussaud."Gaumont Intl. Television is searching to figures, styles and ideas which are relevant within the U.S. and worldwide, O'Connell states.Dumas states GIT is going to be searching to create a couple of series each year, offering talent a after sales on profits. It aims to limit risk by prefinancing the majority of a project's budget through tv stations, without always creating an airplane pilot.GIT has pre-offered "Hannibal" to NBC, and O'Connell states her team is getting conversations with worldwide partners."Madame Tussaud" continues to be at the begining of development stage, and Cinemax Canada has come onboard like a partner. GIT will show the project and material at MIP TV.Meanwhile, inside the French film industry, Gaumont designed a giant step forward this year: The business's French share of the market skyrocketed 209%, comprising almost 10% of local ticket sales and grossing 133.5 million ($177 million). "Intouchables" alone has had 119.two million in France. In Germany, with $32.8 million, the film ranks because the greatest-grossing French film ever."The prosperity of 'Intouchables' in France and abroad is essential for all of us,Inch Dumas states, "since it encourages us to develop and continue taking risks on a number of other original movies that may catch fire locally after which expand with other areas."Although Gaumont's firstlook cope with U.S. producer Nick Wechsler, its partner on Massy Tadjedin's "Last Evening," is no more in position, Dumas states she's still searching for original British-lingo material in film too.Gaumont lately greenlit two British-language films from popular French company directors: Anne Fontaine's untitled drama romance toplining Naomi W and Robin Wright, and Jean Pierre Jeunet's three dimensional pic "T.S. Spivet." It is also joining up with Wild Bunch to co-produce "Only God Forgives," Nicolas Winding Refn's long awaited follow-as much as "Drive.""Present day marketplace is very flexible," Dumas states. "There's room for independent the likes of ours to may play a role in backing worldwide driven films that European marketers are searching for." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

REVIEW: Amanda Seyfried Constitutes A Person Crazy-Searching -- But Encouraging -- Blythe Toy in Gone

Inside the vigilante fantasy Gone, Amanda Seyfried plays Jill, a young Tigard lady who cant shake the memory of her abduction this past year. She handled to slip using the males clutches hed been holding her in the finish from the deep pit in the sprawling local park nevertheless the local cops, after finding no evidence of mentioned hole (its a very large park), made a decision she made the whole factor up. Another evening Jills sister (Emily Wickersham) will get lost similarly: When Jill visits the cops for help, they eye her warily, all except newbie detective Wes Bentley, who purrs at her creepily, in the red-colored-colored-sardines type of way. The main one factor about Seyfried is always that she does look somewhat OK, a good deal -- as being a crazy waif, in a position to creating any factor and assisting you achieve accept it by blinking people saucer-sized Blythe-toy eyes. She does plenty of that here, and shes part of exactly why is Gone reasonably effective: Seyfried look fragile, feral or a mixture of both. Her skin is actually translucent they looks something such as a pond creature, delicate and mysterious but furthermore in a position to remaining underwater for just about any extended, very very long time without breathing basically, she'll surely take proper proper care of herself. Which explains why you will not ever worry a lot of about her character in Gone you understand spend emerge on top, nonetheless its fun to doubt her occasionally in route. The look is very simply built, using believe it or not than techniques since it works its way toward its inevitable conclusion. (The director is Brazilian filmmaker Heitor Dhalia the script is simply by Allison Burnett.) Essentially, Jill stays every day undertaking a sequence of clues: She finds a possibly significant hardware-store receipt and treks for the establishment to quiz its super-friendly owner. (You understand, the kind of guy wholl sell you duct tape, a shovel, a torch together with a little-saw, chuck everything in the paper sack and say, There is a great day now!) In order to her prey, she queries a slacker kid of a mysterious fellow whos resided in the local divey hotel. The child alerts her the man in mind is kind of shady: My girlfriend states he's rapey-eyes. Whatever people are which is quite simple to assume you won't desire to meet these questions dark alley, or in the finish from the deep hole. As vigilante thrillers go, Gone is actually kind of subtle possibly too subtle. The film frequently tosses the Will we believe her or cant we? gold gold coin to the level where we dont even have to guess. But ultimately, the plot doesn't really hinge on who the would-be killer is, in addition to round the question of whether we could believe Jill. The higher resonant question for you is, What continues when authority figures think it normally will not have to take a significant, sweet-searching girl seriously? The creepiest element in Gone isn't the inevitable showdown between Jill and her prey its the way a cops stalk her (shes transporting an illegal gun, which, theyve made a decision, makes her Public Enemy #1), discuss her behind her back as if she were some random loony (she did spend a while in the mental hospital), and rehearse individuals she trusts to help reel her in. The aura of slow-burning paranoia may be the finest factor in regards to the picture, though it's not enough to totally sustain it. Ultimately, Gone truly does have to be about Jills being smart enough to outsmart her possibly imaginary enemy thats just what the audience involves see, ultimately. Seyfried, a little-Valkyrie with flaxen hair, might take proper proper care of herself okay. Still, people moments that you think she might be an attention-seeking hysterical cutie-cake are just what offers the movies ending its satisfying click. Seyfried has spent considerable time lately in automobiles that arent worth her, Red-colored-colored Riding Hood to become probably the most egregious example. Gone no less than takes her seriously except when, to tasty effect, it doesn't. Follow Stephanie Zacharek on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

Bender/Helper teams for int'l PR network

PR consultants Bender/Helper Impact and German-based Indigo Pearls have launched the Surround Group, an international network for PR, social media and digital marketing, the companies announced Thursday. The venture will focus on entertainment, media and consumer tech. Services in local constituencies will include crisis management, video content creation and Web development. Other participants will include Marketingworks, Argentina's Dixit Communicaciones, Australia's Red Agency, Brazil's Grupocasa, Canada's Webidiotz, Chile's HiLinks, India's Approach Communications and Mexico's Joint Communications and 3NMedia. Partners in Korea, China and Japan will soon be announced. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Hugh Hefner's Son Busted for Allegedly Assaulting Playmate Girlfriend

Marston Hefner, Claire Sinclair Hugh Hefner's son has made headlines, but not for following in his father's footsteps. Marston Hefner was arrested Sunday night in Los Angeles for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend, Playmate Claire Sinclair, E! Online reports. Hugh Hefner on Lohan Playboy cover: I pushed for more nudity Police were called to the couple's home in Pasadena shortly before 11 p.m. where they found Sinclair suffering from minor injuries. Hefner, 21, was taken into custody and charged with battery. He was released later after posting $20,000 bail. A court date has yet to be set. On Monday, Sinclair posted a thank you to her supporters on Twitter: "There's two types of pain in the world - pain that hurts you, and pain that makes you stronger. All of your positivity is giving me strength." Marston Hefner is one of two sons that Hugh Hefner had with second wife, 1988 Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad.

See Michael Shannon's Best 'Take Shelter' Scene In Exclusive Featurette

Watching Michael Shannon play a potentially disturbed guy in "Take Shelter" was probably the most harrowing movie-going encounters this year. Within the film, he plays Curtis, a guy that has apocalyptic visions and it is unsure whether or not to drive them seriously or otherwise. Just safe, he starts to grow his family's tornado shelter, to be able to safeguard his family. The film's most frightening scene comes close to the finish from the film in a community seafood fry, whenever a friend confronts Curtis about his strange behavior. Shannon erupts in fury within an memorable scene, made even more real since the extra supplies within the shot did not understand what would happen. Within this exclusive featurette in the approaching DVD discharge of "Take Shelter," Shannon and the co-star Shea Whigham share their encounters filming the scene in a SAG foundation Q&A. Shannon and Whigham have labored together before, including showing up as regulars around the Cinemax series "Boardwalk Empire," therefore the scene in the Tiger Club where Shannon needs to emotional explode came as second character for them. However for everybody else on set, it had been an overall total shock. "People needed to leave. It had been intense," described Whigham throughout the Q&A. Browse the exclusive featurette from "Take Shelter" above. "Take Shelter" arrives on DVD on Feb 14. What have you think about the exclusive featurette? Tell us within the comments below as well as on Twitter!

Prop 8 call sets next phase

The government appeals court ruling that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional was praised Tuesday being an important victory through the organization of entertainment and political activists spearheading your time and effort to overturn California's prohibit on same-sex marriage -- and possibly legalize it through the country.Dustin Lance Black, a board person in the building blocks, noted the change in public places opinion toward support of same-sex marriage because the situation began. The result, he stated, "is that you simply obtain the feeling the nation has accepted you."Now you ask , what the next phase is going to be.Advocates of Prop 8 could request the situation be reheard through the entire ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A judicial panel of this court ruled 2-1 that "Proposition 8 adds no value, and it has no effect, apart from to reduce the status and human dignity of gay males and lesbians in California," within the words from the author of the perception, Judge Stephen Reinhardt.Advocates also could request the Top Court to accept situation, typing up for any showdown that will have significant implications.By now, partnerships won't immediately resume considering that there's a stay pending lawsuit. There's expectation that advocates will seek another stay because they appeal. Ted Olson, attorney for that two couples trying to overturn Prop 8, stated they'd likely oppose this kind of effort.Even though some expect the situation to visit completely towards the Top Court, you will find doubts how the court would go ahead and take situation.Showing up in a press conference in downtown La in the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral, now a celebration space, Olson stated it "could be very difficult from the Top Court to disregardInch the situation. But another attorney around the situation, Ted Boutrous, noted the appellate decision narrowly depended on past precedent through the high court, together with a decision knocking over a Colorado initiative that removed away discrimination protections for gays and lesbians.The way in which the ninth Circuit decision was written, Boutrous stated, "causes it to be more difficult to obtain Top Court review."The appellate court also was obvious that it hadn't been determining on if the Metabolic rate guaranteed the right to marriage for same-sex couples, but was ruling around the conditions from the situation itself. Two California couples who searched for marriage licenses after Prop 8 was passed prosecuted the condition in May, 2009, saying it violated their constitutional privileges to equal protection and due process.The ninth Circuit ruling mentioned, "Even though Metabolic rate permits towns to enact most laws and regulations they feel to become desirable, it takes there attend least the best reason behind the passage of the law that goodies different classes of individuals in a different way. There is no such reason why Proposition 8 might have been passed."The situation has been funded and directed through the American Foundation for Equal Privileges, brought by political consultant Chad Griffin. Griffin and the client, Take advantage of Reiner headed the situation, selecting Olson and pairing him by having an unlikely partner, David Boies. Olson, a conservative, symbolized the George W. Rose bush campaign within the 2000 election challenge, while Boies symbolized Al Gore."Receiving treatment with similar respect and dignity as everybody else -- that's all we're speaking about today," Griffin stated at Tuesday's press conference.Reiner stated the ruling would be a "large bit of the puzzle.""As Ted Olson stated, this can be a very, very large part of the large goal of achieving marriage equality for individuals round the country," Reiner stated. Contact Ted Manley at ted.manley@variety.com

Kinetic, Calamari team for 'Parole'

Kinetic Content and Calamari Prods. are joining forces on a new reality skein. First up is "Parole," which offers insight into the juvenile parole process and its impact on young people, their family and society. Calamari has experience with the subject matter, having exec produced MTV's "Juvies" and MSNBC's "Young Kids, Hard Times," and has access to the juvenile justice system that few other shingles can offer. The partnership between Calamari, which is run by topper Karen Grau, and Chris Coelen's Kinetic Content is expected to include other projects. Before forming Kinetic in 2010, Coelen was the former chief of reality powerhouse RDF USA. NBC's "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" is also on the Kinetic programming slate, along with "You Deserve It," which aired on ABC Kinetic is owned by Red Arrow Entertainment, a subsidiary or European-based ProSiebenSat.1 Media. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

The Voice of God?

As one of the auspicious few who have successfully navigated the world of voiceover acting, I couldn't be more appreciative than I am. I have had the opportunity to work with great producers, writers, and voiceover actors around the world. I'm thankful every day for this extraordinary career. And yet I am often reminded of the voiceover industry's limitations when it comes to advancing women fairly.I have been blessed with a combination of the "what it takes" factors for getting ahead in the voiceover industry: a resonant vocal instrument, performance range, acting technique, industriousness, and a pleasant way with people. But I, as is true for all women in voiceover, am rarely appreciated as having the "Voice of God," as it is commonly called by insiders. To achieve that, I would need a pair of balls, which I only have metaphorically.Indeed, to achieve the highest level of success in this industry, you must possess the Voice of God. This is the authoritative, bigger-than-life, rumbling male voice that advertisers and even everyday consumers assume to be a key factor in capturing the attention, trust, and therefore money of the consuming population.It goes without saying that our society has a patriarchal idea of God that long precedes audio recording. Never mind the fact that many of us can vividly recall the power of our own mothers' voices to make us sit up straight and take note. God as male, however faulty the premise, is deeply intrinsic and will have enduring reverence for years to come. As a result, the choice to use women in voiceover, whether it be made by a man or a woman, is first and foremost governed by this misguided social conditioning.And based on this imperfect logic, the lucrative voiceover contracts (the meat of the industry) that are regularly feasted upon by men are for women sparingly sprinkled around like so much salt on a thick juicy steak. While Barbara Jordan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and other heroines have paved the way to gender "enlightenment," professionals in the advertising world are able to get away with statements like "Her demo reel sounds great, but we don't use female voices." A prominent executive for a major TV network reported that his network president (a woman) looked him straight in the face and said, with great managerial brio, "I think our network voice should be male. I'm very sexist when it comes to that." Again, consumers never complain about the chosen voice unless it simply lacks talent. It's the industry insiders who are unwittingly forwarding these archaic assumptions. Unenlightened executives wax philosophical about how focus groups show that male voices are preferred over female voices. But what these executives fail to see is that when you compare male and female voices side by side in a focus group, you are inviting the very social misunderstanding that is thwarting a fair analysis. A more honest assessment would be to ask random people to recall the last time they rejected a product because they were turned off by the voice gender. The answer will undoubtedly be "Never." Yet our patriarchal thinking is so ingrained in us as insiders that we're blind to the availability of choice or the moral imperative to change the paradigm.All of us in the industry have the opportunity to jettison our biases against female voices, challenge the old Voice of God assumptions, and look upon all voiceover actors with open minds. Let us understand that the Voice of God refers not to a gender but to any voice with the necessary authority to fully and powerfully convey the message. Obviously, the issue is far bigger than advertising and promotion, but what a great place to start the revolution: in an industry with such deep and global influence.Joan Baker is a voice actor, the author of "Secrets of Voice-Over Success," and spokesperson for Neumann microphones. She provides private voiceover coaching for newcomers and professionals in her NY office and via Skype. She is also a co-creator of That's Voiceover (www.thatsvoiceover.com) and a partner with Push Creative Advertising. Go to www.joanthevoice.tv or joanbaker.tv/voice-over_coaching.php for more info.

Halle Berry Engaged to Boyfriend Olivier Martinez

Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry Halle Berry and boyfriend Olivier Martinez are engaged, Us Weekly reviews.Berry "had quit on being married, but she trusts Olivier. He makes her feel safe. He's a keeper!" a resource informs playboy.The 45-year-old Oscar champion had her 3-year-old daughter, Nahla, with Gabriel Aubry, whom she dated for 5 years (but never married). Before her relationship with Aubry, she was married to singer Eric Benet and baseball player David Justice.Photo Gallery: Halle Berry with the yearsMartinez, 46, suggested within the holidays. He was formerly married to singer Kylie Minogue. The 2 split in 2007.Berry and also the French-born actor met while cooperating around the thriller Dark Tide, and also have been dating since fall 2010.