CBS Films hooks up with Sony Nov 18, 2009
By Peter Bart and Michael Fleming. CBS Films has made a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group for offshore marketing and theatrical distribution, and worldwide video distribution. (Variety)
Hollywood reporting legend Army Archerd dies Sep 10, 2009
"Army's finest hour was his courageous stand against the blacklist at a time when almost all other Hollywood columnists were red-hunting," said Peter Bart, vice president and editorial director of Variety. "He really was a passionate reporter and a champion of causes he believed in.". (CNN -- Showbiz)
Spielberg takes 'Harvey' as next pic Aug 3, 2009
By: Published: Sun, August 02, 2009, 10:08 AM. Steven Spielberg has committed to his next film, and it will be an adaptation of the Mary Chase Pulitzer Prize-winning play Harvey, which will be done as a co-production between 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks. (Variety)
Media players plot survival at Sun Valley confab Jul 6, 2009
Variety's Peter Bart last month named the DreamWorks Animation movie studio as a target, and Viacom, which distributes DreamWorks movies through its Paramount division, as a rival suitor. Paramount is already in talks to combine its DVD manufacturing and distribution operations with a rival studio such as News Corp's Fox or Sony Corp's Sony Pictures to cut costs, a source told Reuters last week. (Yahoo News -- Technology)
Littleton on the Air Jul 5, 2009
Tonight's tribute to director Hal Ashby at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, co-hosted by Variety's Peter Bart and Cameron Crowe, was a treat from start to finish. And the bar was pretty high, given that the evening started with a three-song set by Yusuf Islam (known in the "Harold and Maude" era as Cat Stevens). (Variety)
Launch Party for Larry King's My Remarkable Journey Jun 19, 2009
Among the attendees at the star-studded event included Phoenix Chairman Dwight D. Opperman, Larry King, Bill Maher, Cindy Adams, Variety's Peter Bart, Jose Eber, David Foster, Rosey Grier and Mary Hart. The highlight of the evening was Larry King's hilarious impromptu interview with Bill Maher. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Cruise, Diaz, Apatow Chat On AMC's 'Storymakers' May 12, 2009
"One day I will do it, but right now, I'm having so much fun as an actor," Cruise says on AMC's "Storymakers." The special is co-hosted by show-biz veterans Peter Bart and Peter Guber. Other guests include Judd Apatow, Nick Cassavetes and Cameron Diaz, who stars in "My Sister's Keeper," directed by Cassavetes. (KIRO TV, WA)
Movies that won’t help, “The Godfather” Wars and “Chicago Ten” Apr 17, 2009
Author Mark Seal writes that in many ways, the men who made The Godfather -- director Francis Ford Coppola, producer Al Ruddy, Paramount executives Robert Evans and Peter Bart, and Gulf rn boss Charles Bluhdorn -- were as ruthless as the gangsters in Mario Puzo s blockbuster. After violent disputes over the casting of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, they tangled with the real-life Mob, which didn t want the movie made at all. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
Peter Bart To Quit Top Post At Variety Apr 6, 2009
Peter Bart, Variety's legendary and longtime editor-in-chief, is stepping down as head of the entertainment-industry bible he's run for 20 years, according to well-placed Hollywood sources. An announcement could come as soon as today, and includes word that Editor Tim Gray will take over the Hollywood trade paper's day-to-day operations. (New York Post -- Business)
Will 'Slumdog' have its day? Feb 21, 2009
Indeed, as Variety editor Peter Bart writes in the March issue of Vanity Fair, not even the studios -- almost all owned by major media conglomerates -- appear very engaged. "With very few exceptions ... companies were not out there pitching their projects to Oscar and Golden Globe voters with the sort of passionate advocacy of a [Oscar-winning producer] Harvey Weinstein," wrote Bart. (CNN -- Showbiz)
Waiting for Whedon Feb 13, 2009
Launching tonight, this new program brings veteran film producer Peter Guber and Variety's Peter Bart hosts of AMC's popular Sunday Morning Shootout series into prime time to converse with various big-screen movers and shakers. The hosts rarely agree on cinematic matters, but they provide insiders' perspectives to the business. (Globe and Mail)
