Your Christmas Viewing is Settled

“There are three reasons to watch a Christmas film. […] I have the perfect culmination to all three of those scenarios, and it not only involves a shit-ton of novelty songs, but also Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. So here’s the truest thing I’ll ever tell you: Holiday Inn is the Classic Hollywood Christmas Movie to rule them all, and the $2.99 you’ll spend renting it on iTunes is a third of what you’d spend on a glass of wine at a respectable establishment. (That is how I judge expenses: that sparkly Christmas dress costs five G.O.W [glasses of wine]; a ticket to see The Fassbender in the theater costs two.)” [The Hairpin]

Hosoda helps produce 'Wolf Children'

Tokyo, japan -- Mamoru Hosoda, the helmer of hit 2009 toonpic "Summer time Wars," which gained $22 million in the Japanese box office, has revealed his latest project. Known as "Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki" (The Wolf Children's Rain and Snow), it's a fantasy concentrating on two children born to some human mother along with a wolf-guy father. The pic's scripter Satoko Okudera, character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and professional producer Seiji Okuda, from the NTV TV network, also labored together on "Summer time Wars." Okuda has additionally created many photos by toon maestro Hayao Miyazaki. Toho is skedded to produce "Okami" in This summer. An illusion about teen players who thwart a rogue program that intends to paralyze digital world, "Summer time Wars" scooped a Japan Academy Award for the best animation, among a number of other honors, and tested in the Berlin film fest. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

'Heist' hunt finds 52,000 on Facebook

Tower Heist's "Heist It Back" Facebook game Now that nearly every film has its own Facebook page, studios are figuring out how to harness social media more effectively. For November's launch of "Tower Heist," Universal Pictures offered up 1 million Facebook credits to users for the Brett Ratner-helmed action comedy as part of an online scavenger hunt dubbed "Heist It Back." Concept tapped into the pic's plot in which characters, played by Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, seek revenge on the Wall Street swindler who stiffed them. Online players earned Facebook credits by uncovering "Heist" buttons hidden within Facebook pages or getting friends to join the game. More than 52,000 Facebook users played the game during the three weeks prior to the film's release on Nov. 4., according to Universal Pictures, which developed the game with interactive agency the Branding Firm and digital goods developer ifeelgoods. Altogether, players performed 384,391 digital "heists," invited 94,062 friends to participate and posted 18,617 personal stories about the game. Those posts garnered 208,000 likes and comments, propelling the game's total Facebook impressions to 4.1 million. Overall, the promotion generated 157 million page impressions across the site. Players earned two Facebook credits for performing a heist and three credits for referring a friend. The game proved so popular that producers lowered the number of credits earned for posting a story to avoid depleting the promotion's 1 million credits. Users can redeem Facebook Credits (worth 10) for digital movies or other games on the website. For example, Universal rents and sells "The Big Lebowski" on Facebook and had a "Scarface" version of "Mafia Wars" on the site. The key to the game's success was its ability to reward players. "What (traditional campaigns) don't have is the viral effect where you have opportunities for people to engage and share," said Scott Silverman, co-founder and VP of marketing at Ifeelgoods. "You're getting 10-20 times more viral impact than you would on a standard campaign. When you look at the ability to use Facebook Credits, people are so eager to receive them that just getting 50 or a dollar of Facebook credits was an incentive for people to engage." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Ticketmaster E-Mailing Customers About Credits They'll Receive as Part of Class-Action Settlement

Ticketmaster is in the process of sending e-mails to customers about the credits they will be receiving as part of a proposed class action settlement.our editor recommendsTicketmaster to Issue Refunds to Customers Who Purchased Tickets Over Last 12 YearsAEG Takes On Ticketmaster With New ServiceTicketmaster to Implement Dynamic Pricing System Customers who bought tickets through Ticketmaster between Oct. 21, 1999, and Oct. 19, 2011, are entitled to the credits as part of a lawsuit filed in 2003 that alleged the company overcharged them. STORY:Ticketmaster to Issue Refunds to Customers Who Purchased Tickets Over Last 12 Years Two men had sued in Los Angeles over fees they were charged for purchasing tickets to Wilco and Bruce Springsteen concerts, alleging the company profited off dubious "processing fees" and that UPS' price for expedited delivery of tickets is not truthful. The settlement, which received preliminary approval from a judge in October, will give customers a $1.50 credit on up to 17 tickets they purchased that they can use on future purchases. It will also credit purchasers who received tickets via UPS up $5 for up to 17 transactions. The settlement is scheduled to be finalized in May. The credits come with several restrictions: Customers can only use two credits at a time and cannot use them for events scheduled at venues owned by concert giant AEG Live. Customers who were charged the fees also will receive messages after the settlement is finalized with details on how to redeem the credits. Related Topics Ticketmaster

Starship Troopers Remake Planned

Do you want to know more?Somewhere, buried deep in the heart of Hollywood, a pulsing brain bug is slowly making plans to remake every move ever produced. Well, the image is fitting at least, since someone is now planning to tackle a new version of Starship Troopers. First splattering across our screens in 1997, Starship Troopers remains one of the most fun entries in the Paul Verhoeven blood, boobs 'n' bombs era that also spawned the likes of Basic Instinct, RoboCop and Showgirls (we didn't say the bombs were all on screen, now did we?) For all its OTT action, Troopers managed to be a satire of Robert Heinlein-style sci-fi, albeit with a subtlety bypass, since Verhoeven's Hollywood output wouldn't know what subtlety meant even if it had Word Of The Day toilet paper. The movie finds mankind in conflict with giant, marauding bugs, who enjoy swarming human armies and launching giant plasma poops into space. Not known for the calibre of its acting performances, it was nevertheless a chance for Neil Patrick Harris to get some work in the years before his big comeback.The main brain behind the revival is prolific producer Neal Moritz, the man behind the Fast & The Furious films and several thousand other titles. It's not really shocking that he'd turn to Starship Troopers, since he's already shepherding one Verhoeven remake to the screen with Total Recall.Now he's hired Thor/X-Men: First Class contributors Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz to have a crack at a new script. Wonder if they can match original writer Ed Neumeier's cheeky wit?[[Poll559]]

Early B.O.: 'Twilight,' 'Muppets' in the close one

'Breaking Beginning -- Part 1' features a slight edge laminator tl901 office by getting an thought $14 million to $15 million for your weekend.Disney's 'The Muppets' is close behind Summit's vampires of the underworld from the underworld by getting an thought $13 million.Early Friday returns within the domestic box office suggest potential close race between "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Beginning -- Part I" and "The Muppets," with Summit's vampire franchise obtaining the advantage with $14 million to $15 million, in contrast to have an thought $13 million for your Disney family pic. Paramount's "Hugo," growing to a single,840 theaters and coming off a best picture jerk within the National Board of Review, is searching to simply accept bronze with between $6.5 million and $7.5 million in 72 hrs. Meanwhile, B.O. audiences say Warner Bros.' "Happy Foot 2" will most likely gross around $5 million to $5.5 million, slightly below estimations for that new the new sony Animation's "Arthur Christmas." Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants," which acquired some honours warmth early now, isn't lower much from a week ago experts suggest the pic can do inside the $4.5 million to $5 million range. Searchlight also provides the weekend's only notable newcomer, "Shame," which experts say looks to experience a healthy per-screen average near to $35,000 for your weekend at its nine opening locations. Indie game game titles can be challenging to calculate, however, given their addiction to word-of-mouth. Contact Rachel Abrams at Rachel.Abrams@variety.com

VH1 Launches Biopic Franchise With Film About TLC

VH1 might be the most recent fundamental cable network to find yourself in the tv movie business this year, following similar forays by TNT, CMT, Wager and, to some extent, USA Network. VH1 is planning numerous biopics about artists and popular culture symbols. To start with can be a movie in regards to the the 19 nineties R&B/stylish-hop/pop trio TLC. The Two which makes it through people in the group, Chilli and Tionne T-Boz Watkins, assists as consultants and executive produce with Bill Diggins and Maggie Malina. Kate Lanier (What's Love Got Associated With It) has signed onto write the film. VH1 embarked into scripted programming taken while using series Single Ladies, which was started having a two-hour movie.