Johnny Depp was interviewed by Vanity Fair on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and had one interesting revelation: "They couldn't stand him. They just couldn't stand him," Depp says of Disney's reaction to his controversial interpretation of Sparrow. "I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time…

Culver City, CA – November 30, 2010 – Andrew Gumpert has been promoted to President, Worldwide Business Affairs and Operations for Columbia Pictures, it was announced today by Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Amy Pascal, co-chairman, to whom he will jointly report. Gumpert will work…

Analyzing today's 26th Annual Independent Spirit Award nominations, I would say Winter's Bone, the film that led with the most nods, is also the one to beat, particularly after its triumphs at Monday night's Gotham Awards where it took the Best Ensemble and Best Feature awards. It is the kind of movie that personifies…

UPDATE: I can confirm that 23-year-old Eric Kuhn is joining UTA's digital media department where I'm told he will specialize in social media strategies for the agency's talent and corporate clients. This is one of the agency world's early moves to bring in an agent focusing specifically on social media and outlets…

EXCLUSIVE: Primetime musical series are red-hot courtesy of Fox’s Glee, and ABC, whose sibling Disney Channel started the genre’s resurgence with High School Musical and Hannah Montana, is developing a couple of music-themed series for next fall. Leading the pack is a drama with musical elements from writer Bob…

EXCLUSIVE: USA has given a formal green light to the Burn Notice movie prequel starring Bruce Campbell, which will be directed by Burn Notice star Jeffrey Donovan. The two will also executive produce with Burn Notice creator Matt Nix, who wrote the movie, and  the series exec producer Mikkel Bondesen. The untitled…

ABC’s hourlong procedural Body of Proof starring Dana Delany will succeed Detroit 1-8-7 in the Tuesday 10 PM slot. In preparation for the move, the network last month gave the modestly rated freshman cop drama Detroit 1-8-7 a short, 5-episode back order. Body of Proof will premiere on March 29, following Detroit‘s…

Erica Hill’s star is rising fast at CBS. In an overhaul of the anchor team at The Early Show, which has been trailing the morning program competition, co-anchors Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez and weather anchor Dave Price are out. Hill, who joined The Early Show 10 months ago as news anchor of the weekday program…

EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Jones (Sons of Anarchy) has landed the lead in the J.J. Abrams-produced Fox pilot Alcatraz. The drama project, from Warner Bros. TV and Abrams’ Bad Robot, centers on a group of missing Alcatraz prisoners and guards who reappear in the present day. It chronicles the efforts of a team of FBI agents to…

This is a throwback to the dog days of summer: CBS’ all-rerun Monday lineup dominated the original competition last night. The network’s comedy reruns – Two And A Half Men (3.0/8), How I Met Your Mother (2.7/8), Rules Of Engagement (2.4/6) and Mike & Molly (2.3/6) – ranked as the 4 highest-rated programs on the…

Pete Hammond: Indie Spirit Nominations Could Predict Oscar LOS ANGELES (November 30, 2010) – Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations this morning for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards.  Eva Mendes and Jeremy…

NBC, which has 8 comedies on tap for this season – all single-camera – is mulling a return to the multi-camera genre. In one of the last comedy buys this season, the network went for a multi-camera project from sitcom veteran Peter Murrieta. It is one of several multi-camera comedies NBC has put in development this…