Peter Jackson had a strong hand in the making — and even unmaking — of New Line’s upcoming fantasy epic "The Golden Compass." When Chris Weitz first signed on to adapt and direct "Compass" in 2004, Jackson, coming off the success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and in the middle of "King Kong," invited Weitz to his abode in New Zealand to offer advice.

"He had liked the books and knew I was going to direct them, and he knew that I didn’t have any CGI experience," Weitz said at the afterparty for the movie’s L.A. premiere at Palomino on Thursday. "He invited me to come to WETA and come see their facilities and to meet with the guys he’s worked with for decades, from the propmakers and armorers to the guys who were doing motion caption … and that’s kindness that I’ll always remember." But by the end of the year, Weitz dropped out, saying the challenges were more than he was prepared to undertake. Usually an excuse of this kind is Hollywood malarkey, but not only was this true, it was Jackson’s random act of kindness that cause Weitz to flee. "Ironically, it was Peter Jackson’s act of kindness that frightened me," Weitz said. "In four days you can learn how little you know about CGI and epic filmmaking. It was enough to terrify me and to think that my life as I know it will be over if I do this movie."

Anand Tucker came on board, then fell out due to creative differences, but Weitz stayed on as screenwriter. Working on the script let him turn in a draft that brought the project into a manageable place for him and to gain confidence. He also met his wife and, in his words, "had a home to come to," which also helped gain confidence. Making the movie was grueling for him — "Now I really understand the summit (Jackson) had to climb because I only made one movie, and he made three at once," he said — but he doesn’t regret it. "I would have regretted it if I had turned it down twice, the opportunity to make a film of these great books," he said.

They’re what old-time columnists used to call a don’t-invite-’em — as in don’t invite them to the same party, because these two just don’t get along.

Earlier this week, FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly (pictured at left) — he of the school-yard name-calling — was lambasting Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban as “a pinhead.” O’Reilly, along with a number of his other Fox colleagues, have been having a field day for several weeks attacking Brian De Palma’s “Redacted,” which examines an atrocity commited by American soldiers in Iraq. Now, “Redacted” was produced by HDNet Films and distributed by Magnolia Pictures, both companies under the umbrella of 2029 Entertainment, headed by Cuban and Todd Wagner.

“Redacted” (pictured at top), like a lot of this fall’s Iraq-set films, hasn’t caused a stampede at the boxoffice. In fact, it’s grossed just $44,651 in two weekends in a handful of theaters. (For the record, the film has also been available as a cable TV, day-and-date video-on-demand offering, so may well have picked up a few more home viewers, whose numbers aren’t reflected in the boxoffice returns.) In any event, the Fox commentariat has taken particular delight in the commerical failure of “Redacted.” And O’Reilly has used the movie to lob attacks at Cuban.

Today, on his web site, billoreilly.com, O’Reilly posted his video “tribute” to Cuban, which aired earlier in the week and which intercuts Iraq war footage with Cuban’s recent appearance on “Dancing With the Stars.” (For the further record, Cuban lasted just five weeks on the ABC dance-a-thon.)

Of course, in addition to being a billionaire, Cuban (right) is also a blogger. And on his blogmaverick.com, he’s taken O’Reilly to task himself. While he hasn’t yet responded to Big Bill’s latest salvo, on Nov. 16, he posted an item headlined “Bill O’Reilly — Principle vs Money?” After enduring weeks’ worth of O’Reilly attacks, Cuban devised a little test of his own: He bought air time for a “Readacted” commercial on O’Reilly’s own show, “The O’Reilly Factor,” and posted his ad, as it appeared on “The Factor,” on google video. Wrote Cuban, ” So Mr. O’Reilly , the king of the O’Reilly Factor, the man who called this movie Anti-American and said erroneously it could cause harm to American Troops, was willing to overlook those points and take our money to promote the movie.”

The ironic part of the dust-up: O’Reilly and the rest of the Fox guys have probably spent more time talking about “Redacted,” even if only to inveigh against it, than almost anyone else around.

By Leslie Simmons

For the writers of the "Late Show With David Letterman," the way to win over supporters is with a cute, cuddly mascot. So, they’ve created Strikey.

Strikey has an impressive background. He’s apparently partnered with former President Bill Clinton to hammer out negotiations between the WGA and AMPTP. He’s also been on a tour spreading the scribes’ message at such fine establishments as the Best Buy in Woodbridge, N.J. Most important, Strikey is single and on J-Date.

The AMPTP also has a mascot, according to the "Late Show" writers’ blog. His name’s Grabby, he loves to drink beer and play with matches, and he apparently dated Carol Channing and is one of those people who won’t shut up about "High School Musical."

It’s no secret Hollywood has for years been accused of taking history and rewriting it to win big at the boxoffice.
The latest accusation comes from a former New York federal prosecutor and a DEA agent who are pissed Universal has credited New Jersey law enforcement for busting and later cutting a deal with 1970s drug lord Frank Lucas in the film "American Gangster."

In a letter to Universal’s general counsel Maren Christensen, and posted on TMZ.com, Dominic Amorosa complains that the film, which stars Denzel Washington as Lucas and Russell Crowe as New Jersey cop Richard Roberts, "is riddled with false information" and has damaged the reputations of "hundreds of honest, decent and courageous agents … who risked their lives daily on the streets of New York in this period of time bringing to justice people like Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes."

Among the alleged false representations: that New York officers and DEA agents assaulted Lucas’ wife, shot his dog and stole millions from a cache of cash at his home during a bust; that dead Vietnam soldiers were used to smuggle heroin into the U.S.; that Lucas was first prosecuted by New Jersey law enforcement; and that convictions of three quarters of New York’s corrupt DEA office was a result of Lucas and Roberts working together.

Amorosa apparently should know. According to his biography, from 1972 to 1974 he prosecuted criminal cases in New Jersey for the federal government, and then from 1974 to 1981, he was a federal prosecutor in New York, assigned to the fraud unit and later became chief of the narcotics unit and later the organized crime unit.

Amorosa also represents former DEA agent Gregory Korniloff, who was part of the January 1975 Lucas bust depicted in the movie. According to Amorosa, instead of millions, only $585,000 was seized that day and Lucas himself told him at the time he had no idea how much cash he had in this home and that $585,000 sounded about right. Now, Amorosa says, the public falsely believes Korniloff was among those agents who allegedly committed egregious acts at the gangster’s house.

"While you may have the right to dramatize actual events, this right does not extend to destroying the reputations of honest and courageous public servants by deliberately misrepresenting the facts," he writes. "You have profited enormously based on these false and defamatory statements at the expense of the individuals who actually were responsible for apprehending Lucas and his gang at great risk to their lives."
While Amorosa isn’t asking Universal to pull the movie, he is asking the studio to remove a post-script at the end of the film that reads Lucas and Roberts’ "collaboration led to the convictions of ¾ of the New York City’s Drug Enforcement Agency."
Universal and Christensen, however, are not commenting on the letter or whether they’ll remove the statement.

By Borys Kit

Chanting "Out, demons, out!" a group of more than 65 horror writers staged an exorcism outside of two gates at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank at noon Tuesday. The turnout was much larger than what the organizers planned for, and the black T-shirts made for the occasion, emblazoned with "Horror Writers on Strike — We Eat Scabs," quickly ran out. Other writers showed up in priest and nun getups and brought along holy water. While the goal was to "get rid of the evil infesting the studios," the rally also had a morale-boosting purpose. "As we enter this new stage of negotiating, hopefully we keep the wind in the sails, and we keep on going strong," "Lost Boys 2" writer Hans Rodionoff said. "This is our horrorific way of trying to shout a war cry to other writers, and hopefully they will top us."

The idea for the exorcism came from Scott Kosar, who wrote the remakes of 1970s horror classics "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Amityville Horror." Being a fan of the ’70s, he remembered reading about an exorcism performed on the Pentagon during the anti-war era. Among the writers putting the fear of God into the studios were Steve Niles ("30 Days of Night"), Mick Garris ("Masters of Horror"), Stephen Susco ("The Grudge") and Drew McWeeny ("Masters of Horror").

The writers also handed out fliers that cited Rentrak Data Service information that stated in the first 10 months of 2007, horror DVD sales grossed $450.2 million, already an increase over last year, when horror grossed $429.8 million.

More photos after the jump.

Sure, Zach Braff and Lisa Kudrow make millions and make independent films, but can they pronounce foreign names? Not really. The two presenters at Tuesday morning’s Sprit nominations struggled to say the names of the likes of actors Tang Wei, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Irrfan Kahn, cinematographers Mott Hupfel and Mihai Malaimare Jr. and director Pernille Rose Gronkjaer. The latter’s last name has the "o" with that confusing and Nordic line through it, so, really, who can blame them?

Braff and Kudrow were troopers and, just like the best presenters, made fun of themselves as they mangled names. When it came time to name the best female leads, Braff began the list saying, "Ange-leena Jo-lee … Jo-lee, is that right?" He got the biggest laugh of the morning.

After the Spirit nominations, held at the Sofitel, were over, there was a mad rush for the door as the multitude of journos and publicists headed for the valet. The line stretched 15 people deep. Then there was Diana Ossana, who is on the Spirit Awards nominating committee. Ossana, looking stylishly more New York than L.A., bypassed the valet line and confidently strode to the curb. Within seconds, a black car scooted out from nowhere, she hopped in, and was off … leaving the rubes to the huffing and puffing valets.

…and has lived to tell about it.

“Cloverfield” is the super-secret J.J. Abrams-produced monster movie. Paramount has been waging a stealth campaign on it, showing teaser trailers, barely giving away the plot, using secret names for the project, strong-arming journos into compliance or risk facing the combined mighty wrath of Abrams and the studio. It set for release Jan. 18.

But last week…well, last week there was a secret screening of the movie on the Paramount lot. People in suits saw it. The movie is close to being done but for some effects shots.

The person we talked to was very afraid of Abrams and Paramount too, but we did find out a few things:

1) The whole movie is in the mold of “The Blair Witch Project”/shaky home video camera. “It was bit disorienting in the beginning, but then you get really into it,” said our guy.

2) Monster…or monsters? There’s more than one!

3) Our guy liked it: “It definitely lives up to the hype.”

There you have it: a vague opinion from someone you don’t know. (By Borys Kit)

Green Team on FunnyOrDie.com

The Sony lot is the latest backdrop for a Funny or Die video from Will Ferrell and friends.

The three-minute PSA parody comes courtesy of Ferrell and his "Step
Brothers" co-star John C. Reilly and the comedy’s writer/director Adam
McKay.

The news that the WGA and AMPTP will resume talks came at a good time for many writers who have already had to cut corners to save money. At a rally outside NBC Studios on Friday, where John Edwards spoke to striking scribes, many discussed what kind of penny pinching they’re doing to make ends meet. "I put my vintage car up for sale — a ‘79 El Camino, completely restored," "Medium" writer Sterling Anderson said.

For "Something New" writer Kriss Turner, "all frills are over. I got invited to a $60 wine tasting — NO." Pilot and feature writer Gary Tieche said he’s curbed his "iTunes addiction. It’s such an easy thing to do." Tieche was also going to buy a biodiesel car, but decided to wait to see how the strike goes. "I’ve sacrificed my back and my legs," "Cory in the House" writer Michael Carrington said. "I have not walked this much in 20 years. I’m sacrificing my body for the cause."

"Cory" writers assistant Josh Silverstein, who had to join the WGA in October in order to work on the show, now eats in a lot. On top of the strike, he’s getting married in March. "It’s definitely hard to pick out tuxes and things like that when your future is financially unstable," he said. "I live pretty sparse," said "Real Time With Bill Maher" writer Jon Schmock, "because of this very reason. There’s certainly no vacations or buying new clothes." "The amount of money I’m going to lose on this strike, I’ll never recoup," writer Aaron Shure said. "It’s all about principal and not about money.

New comedy might be in short supply on network television these days, but it flowed through today’s luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The nationwide organization Girls Inc., which provides education to girls living in high-risk situations, honored "Men in Trees" creator-screenwriter Jenny Bicks, who quipped that after "walking around in circles for the last 10 days" it was great to put on a pair of nice-looking shoes for once. Bicks also mused over the fact that most of people at the bargaining table were men and wondered how different the strike would be if women were negotiating. "I can tell you one thing," she said. "We would have T-shirts that fit over our boobs."

By Leslie Simmons

Seth Green passed out Krispy Kreme donuts. A woman walked around in a yellow No. 2 pencil costume. Professional autograph peddlers chased after stars like Nicollette S
heridan and Ashley Scott, pulling multiple 8×10 glossies and asking them to sign. And TMZ was there filming it all. Yup. J
ust another day in Hollywood, or in this case, outside several entrances to Universal Studios.

Day 9 of the writers strike turned into "Bring Your Star to the Strike Line Day," when, by SAG’s count, 500 of its actors turned up to show their support for the striking scribes. Garry Marshall was there for his fifth strike as a producer, director, writer and actor. "It’s the future, and now at my age, the future is important because I might not be around much longer," joked Marshall, who was with two of his three actor children. "We’re fighting for what’s going to happen."

"Desperate Housewives" star James Denton said the WGA happens to be the one striking because its contract was up first, but SAG members have the same issues with revenue from Internet. That led this reporter to ponder what would have happened if SAG’s contract expired first. Would the outcome be the same, and instead of the writers we’d see our favorite actors out walking the picket lines every day? Or would both sides have had more power sessions, because the actors are the face of the product?

Here were some of the responses by SAG members:

"We used to be right behind the WGA. We were the 1,000-pound gorilla behind them. When we did the one-year extension, that all changed. Now the nearest is the DGA, which has never been on strike. That is why this strike is taking place. What could have been settled was not. It didn’t have to be taken to the streets." — Valerie Harper, member of SAG’s national board of directors

"It makes no difference who struck first." — Christopher Titus, "Big Shots"

"It’s hard to say. I think the actors would have been in the same position." — Charlie Day, "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia"

"I think the companies are clinging to the past. No matter who is striking, they have to do the fair and right thing and they are not willing to listen nor negotiate." — Nicollette Sheridan, "Desperate Housewives"

"I can’t answer that question realistically. I don’t know what’s happening. I just beg both sides to go in a room and talk. I’ve spent my life in this industry. This country needs this industry to thrive. I want them to be talking. They can yell at each other, but talk." — Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"

Meanwhile, around the corner at Warner Bros., scribes continued to walk the line sans stars. Sitting nearby was a Burbank Police Department motorcycle officer assigned to monitor the strike line who decided to use the assignment to her advantage. Perched on her bike, the officer pulled out her radar gun, looking to tag speeders.