Steve Buscemi: From Jersey Boardwalk To Las vegas For Burt Wonderstone?

UPDATE: A trade report had Olivia Wilde in discussions to experience the feminine lead, however i’m told that although this might happen, it hasn’t yet. Judy Greer and Sarah Silverman also made strong impressions, and also the filmmakers are waiting to ascertain if Jessica Biel eventually ends up reading through for that role. New Lines are smartly making the comedy for $$ 30 million, and after Carell and Carrey, that doesn’t leave a lot of money for supporting roles. Deadline reported that the narrow your search of stars were within the mix for that role. EARLIER, 12:22 PM: New Line wants Steve Buscemi to star opposite Steve Carell and Jim Carrey within the Don Scardino-directed comedy Burt Wonderstone. Buscemi continues to be offered the role of Anton, the longtime Vegas miracle act partner of Wonderstone (Carell). Their split transmits Wonderstone right into a crisis along with a collision having a rival magician (Carrey) to steal his thunder. Buscemi hopes to suit Burt Wonderstone into his hiatus from Boardwalk Empire. When the talks exercise, he'd result in the movie and move directly into the 3rd season from the superb Cinemax drama. He’s repped by WME and also the Gotham Group.

Huayi add heft to 'Starry, Starry Night'

'The Starry, Starry Night' poster.TAIPEI -- When helmer Tom Shu-yu Lin set to make a film version of just one of his favorite books -- Taiwanese author and illustrator Jimmy Liao's "The Starry, Starry Evening" -- he'd in your head just a little arthouse movie made along with Liao. Rather, China's leading private shingle, Huayi Bros., came onboard as well as the teenage coming-of-age movie increased to become completely new type of pic for China -- just a little indie out of the blue transformed in to a $7 million China-Taiwan co-production. Characteristics sometimes undergo this kind of alteration of Hollywood, but it's rare in China."In the beginning, I used to be utilizing a limited budget, however, if it increased to become co-production, your financial allowance elevated," states Lin. "Why not fare best CG, ensure it is more fantastical and very capture the imagination of Jimmy Liao? The right response is bold that Huayi Bros. are trading these funds for this kind of small (film). They're trying to push their restrictions and look for new stuff." Huayi Bros. has acquired numerous accomplishments in China, particularly with helmer Feng Xiaogang's films, including "Aftershock," war epic "SetupInch and numerous comedies of manners, including "If You are the primary one 2."A year ago, Huayi's films made 1.7 billion yuan ($258 million), composed of 17% in the overall Chinese B.O., which year the business introduced a slate including large-budget photos by Feng, Tsui Hark and Jackie Chan.The animation element could boost "Night's" appeal in Asia, specifically in Columbia, Japan and Taiwan.The film is a particular effective co-production between Taiwan and where you live now China, which could frequently be fraught matters because of the tense politics involving the two -- China still sights the greater compact, independent nation a renegade province. Even though relations have enhanced lately, co-productions continue being really examined by censors for political correctness."Co-production is actually complicated, but 'Night' is definitely an very healthy example," states Lin. "There's nothing we needed to alter. Getting a tale similar to this, as it is this kind of mythic, it's OK to acquire a where you live now Chinese actress and hang her getting a Taiwanese actor. Much like extended since they're talking to similar accent, it doesn't matter where they are from."Even though Mandarin Chinese is spoken on sides in the Strait of Taiwan, auds can inform where an actress arises from if accents don't match, and problems can arise.The co-production came to exist because Lin saw where you live now child thesp Xu Jiao in Stephen Chow's "CJ7" and thought she'd perform best using the lady in "Evening." Pic's professional producer Chen Kuo-fu ("Detective Dee") mentioned once they already stood a where you live now actress, an important being approved qualifying criterion for just about any co-production, why not go by doing this, giving the filmmakers utilisation of the bigger money handy round the where you live now.States Lin, "I believed, well if you'll probably up my budget, which i don't have to change anything, why not?InchLin was produced in Taipei, gone after Minnesota when he's at grade school, go to college, his project, "The Olfactory System," won a nomination inside the Taipei Golden Equine Film Festival and Honours. He got his masters at CalArts then came back to Taiwan. "It absolutely was really throughout people couple of years in CalArts that we recognized I used to be Chinese," according to him.His last project was the 2008 coming-of-age drama "Winds of September." He's also drenched time as first A.D. on Tsai Ming-liang and Doze Niu productions."Evening" bowed within the Busan Film Festival and came serious attention inside the New Energy section, which showcases up-and-coming Asian company company directors. It's due for release in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia noisy . November. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Tornatore nabs gold gold coin for 'Best Offer'

ROME -- Italo helmer Giuseppe Tornatore is incorporated in the beginning on "The Best Selection,In . an unconventional romancer by getting an exciting downhill setting being developed with gold gold coin within the new BLS South Tyrol -- Alto Adige film fund. Pic, being produced by Rome shingle Paco Cinematografica, has attracted on into script development funding from BLS. The org can be found in South Tyrol, the autonomous All downhill province at Italy's northernmost point, highlighting with Austria, that's as being a hotspot for Central European shoots. Tornatore also provides large-budget epic "Leningrad" in development. BLS is delivering Tornatore Pounds 50,000 ($70,000) to evolve his script for "The Best Selection,In . that's of a loveless senior citizens guy who intersects by getting an astute youthful guy together with a mysterious lady in the South Tyrol setting. Launched a year ago, the BLS film fund will get eliminate $7 million yearly getting a $2.millions of cap per project. Up to now, it's supported six projects this season, and 19 this season, showing well-loved by Italian, German and Austrian producers. "Our location cheap we are bilingual (Italian and German) make us an ideal co-production partner between Italia and German-speaking nations," boasted BLS film fund topper Christiana Wertz throughout an exhibit within the Rome Film Festival. Photos that have attracted on into BLS so far include Fandango's "Diaz -- Don't Cleanup This Blood stream," helmed by Daniele Vicari, and Austrian helmer Ernst Gossner's "Monte Piano" from Austria's Sigma shingle. Contact Nick Vivarelli at nvivarelli@gmail.com

Torture Porn is Wrecking Halloween

How will you scare people when movies like 'Saw,' 'Hostel' and 'The Human Centipede' routinely feature appendages being slashed off or faces created using other people parts of the body? This is actually the problem theme parks are presently facing each Halloween. The haunted home is a tradition for many years, however, places like Universal Art galleries, which host Halloween-designed occasions each year, are progressively getting trouble losing it audiences who was simply desensitized due to the torture porn genre. Inside the Thursday edition in the NY Occasions, Brooks Barnes talks for the team behind Universal's annual Horror Nights, and discovers difficulties they face every fall. The scarce resource is ideas: approaching with new techniques to entertain a 'been-there, screamed-at-that' customer base elevated on torture movies like 'Saw' and bloody game game titles... To obtain their footing relating to this shifting terrain -- that's, to keep frightening people and generating money out of this -- Universal's fright makers have switched to have an intense, year-round planning and construction regimen. Just what works this season-round planning process contain? Well, everything starts each October -- and then the Universal team is presently planning 2012's Horror Nights -- where several ideas are thrown on the whitened board. Through The month of the month of january, the minds are actually changed into 3d computer models, giving the creative team a "virtual tour" in the set. Once the story's finished, audio and lighting design commences. Construction then happens with the summer season, with stars cast within this summer time. But does planning in advance help much? In line with the Occasions, the revenue stream from Horror Nights is steady. To uncover how Universal intentions of frightening clients this year, see the entire piece over round the NY Occasions website [via NYT] Most likely Probably The Most Banned Horror Movies ever 'A Serbian Film' (2010)'Freaks' (1932)'Hostel' (2005) and 'Hostel: Part II' (2007)'Salo, or perhaps the 4 several weeks of Sodom' (1976)'Last House round the Left' (1972)'The Evil Dead' (1981)'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974)'I Spit inside your Grave' (1978)'Cannibal Holocaust' (1980) See All Moviefone Galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook

New Expendables 2 image released online

A completely new image within the number of The Expendables 2 has came out on the web and it gives action fans their first on-set have a look at franchise newcomer Chuck Norris.The shot features Norris alongside Dolph Lundgren and Terry Deckie's, marking off three large action names.The initial image being released within the shoot in Bulgaria shown Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger buddying up, therefore we are due one with Jason Statham, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li and Randy Couture.Unbelievably, Norris is 71. Do not obtain a face too close when you appreciate this image or perhaps the extra fist he's hiding under his beard will break using the screen and punch you.The Expendables 2 opens August 2012.

REVIEW: Shrek Spin-Off Puss in Boots Purrs with Genuine Charm

Following a Shrek series consumed its charm on rote third and fourth obligations that nevertheless raked in giant piles of box office gold, the options of the spin-off prequel focusing on Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckling, footwear-sporting feline made an appearance as inevitable since it was unpromising. But Puss in Boots, directed by Chris Burns (who also helmed Shrek the next) can be a legitimately entertaining prequel that encapsulates just what the franchise does best: Breezy action, clever twists on classic figures from fables and grown-up gags hidden in among the child-friendly developments. (“You got any idea the items they are doing to eggs jail time? I’ll inform you this — it ain’t over easy!” the Zach Galifianakis-voiced Humpty Dumpty quavers sooner or later, inside the first prison rape joke I am in a position to consider not just to be wound up in to a kiddie flick but furthermore layed out inside the trailer.) It’s become quite simple to consider computer-animated films as falling into the categories of “Pixar” and “Everything Else,” while using former made up of marvels of art and entertainment as well as the latter composed of 80-minute servings of vibrant colors, selling options and outdated popular culture references. But as Cars 2 signifies, not necessarily Pixar might be Pixar constantly, and movies like Rango and Puss in Boots provide a satisfying indication that mainstream animation is able to work through the lucrative niche in the joylessly calculated kid movie. It doesn’t hurt that Puss in Boots gets the participation of Guillermo del Toro, who may serve as executive producer while offering the voice in the Comandante — the man might have a great deal happening at this time, but there’s no questioning his aversion to condescension to audiences and also the reverence for favorite anecdotes. It’s individuals of Jack as well as the Beanstalk that provides the backbone for Puss in Boots’ plot, even though mood is pure spaghetti western. Puss is roped in to a heist through which he and also the cohorts will steal the miracle beans from Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris), who’ve been changed into square-shouldered outlaws bickering in regards to the correct time to decelerate their careers to have the ability to have a very baby. The gang needs to plant the enchanted beans within the best place and climb the resulting vine to steal the golden eggs within the giant’s castle (the giant died age groups ago, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still something fierce standing guard). Further further complicating this course of action is the fact it absolutely was imagined up by Humpty, an ovoid mastermind who had been elevated inside the same orphanage as Puss, with whom the cat shares an unhappy past. Returning with Banderas for just about any non-Robert Rodriguez-introduced outing, Salma Hayek provides the voice of Cat Softpaws, the next cohort, an attractive feline crook by getting an additional light (and declawed) touch. Usually, the adult and frequently risqu jokes put in movies like these, designed to sail inside the heads more youthful audience, hold the tone from the apology, a bone thrown to bored parents. The periodic wink here — there’s a medicinal marijuana crack — seems a little more naughty and good-humored, as if the designers truly couldn’t help themselves. Much less the film demands such credits: Puss in Boots doesn’t have and doesn’t aim for the soul from the Pixar film, and definitely will get pleasure enough from the own figures and how they undertake this cleverly recognized world. Humpty, for instance, his petulant features arranged in the middle of his mind/torso, struggles while using limitations from the egg-created body, including how difficult it might be to acquire up after you have stood a great fall. Puss and also the love interest Cat have touchable-searching fur of assorted length and texture, and relocate a pointing combination of lithe human in addition to lither cat ways, sooner or later participating in a dance competition that can bring in facets of flamenco and poop scooting. The eruption in the beanstalk into the stratosphere as well as the trio’s bouncing around round the clouds upon arrival provides the film’s highlight, not just if this involves the positive thing about its pictures but because of the physicality that complements them. The figures cling for the plant through its like miracle faster growth spurt, grappling with leaves and ricocheting off stems, and so they never display the weightlessness than could affect this type of animation and splinter its manufactured reality. Puss in Boots further plays towards the strong points by placing persons figures without anyone's understanding, aside from Jack and Jill, who look a great deal a lot more like caricatures than people. The film models a lengthy flashback which is central robbery and completes its tale of disloyality and forgiveness by returning for the small capital of scotland - San Ricardo, scene of Puss’ shame and also the ultimate redemption. May possibly not bring a tear for the eye, nevertheless it won’t cause you to feel cheated or spoken lower to, even when the p rigueur credits dance number seems. There’s nary a feel and look from an ogre, without any Donkey, either — that, I’m taking a chance, can be a spin-off for the next day.

McG in Negotiations to Direct 'Puzzle Palace'

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty ImagesMcG McG is in negotiations to helm Summit's Puzzle Palace, a thriller written by Safe House scribe David Guggenheim and being produced by Twilight mavens Temple Hill. The story centers on a lawyer and the son of a veteran police officer who learns his father is framed for murder. When he finds out that there is evidence hidden that could free his father, he is determined to find it, even though it means breaking into One Police Plaza, the most secure building in all of NY City. He ends up being locked inside the police HQ with crooked cops on his tail. McG is already familiar with Guggenheim's work. He is exec producer in Medallion, a thriller Guggenheim wrote. That project is in post-production and stars Nicolas Cage and Malin Akerman. McG, repped by WME, is in post on This Means War, the action movie starring Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. McG

Locked-Out Basketball Stars Explore Hollywood

NBAplayers as time passes available due tothe league's ongoing labor dispute have discovered that showbiz offers an opportunity to fill their agendas.Even though some star sports sports athletes have extended maintained production companies or record labels, the lockout offers an chance for completely new business.our editor indicates Attacking Youthful Boys MVP of Basketball All-Star Celebrity GameJay-Z and Cohorts Punished for $5 Billion Over Brooklyn Basketball Development'Basketball Wives' Scores Slam Dunk in Social Media Study Earlier in October, NY Knicks starAmare Stoudemirepitched to numerous major systems half-hour scripted comedy that he's developing with producersJeff KwatinetzandHappy Walters, who's Stoudemire's agent and leader of Rogue Sports, Relativity Media's sports business. In September, the Oklahoma City Thunder'sKevin Durantdecamped to Baton Rouge, La., to see themselves oppositeBrandon T. Jacksonin Warner Premiere'sSwitch, a family group comedy devoted to some miracle twist that transfers Durant's capabilities to have an passionate fan. Such deals aren't nearly cashing an income.Rob Marksof sports business becoming a consultant Premier Partners states the projects are crucial for developing sports sports athletes' brands. "They aren't transporting this out totally free, however in the conclusion throughout your day, Amare Stoudemire doesn't need one more endorsement deal or two," Marks states. "It is among the personal brand." Philadelphia 76ers forwardElton Brandis leader of Gibraltar Films, which producedWerner Herzog's 2007 dramaRescue Beginning.Baron Davisof the Cleveland Cavaliers can be a co-founding father of L.A.-based Verso Entertainment, which producedStacy Peralta's 2008 documentaryCrips and Bloods: Created in the usa. Davis is trading the lockout focusing on creating the documentaryAmerican Schlub, which explores the undoing of males's style, and starring in the pilot for just about any variety show. Davis, who's concentrating on a film and TV studies minor at UCLA, can also be taking acting classes. Whether he'll have plenty of time being star in the court remains to look, however when the Basketball several weeks are canceled, the projects include an additional benefit. States Marks, "It is also about keeping these males busy." Related Subjects

Bette Davis Appreciated at Private Memorial Service

Bette Davis's family and pals paid out tribute for the late actress within a personal memorial held Sunday round the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.our editor recommendsElizabeth Taylor Dies at 79Barbara Walters Recalls Last Hospital Conversation With Elizabeth TaylorDebbie Reynolds, Madonna Remember Elizabeth TaylorDebbie Reynolds Unveils How She Forgave Elizabeth TaylorRelated Subjects•Elizabeth Taylor (1932-20... Nearly 400 people attended the memorial, which happened inside the Steven J. Ross Theater, to cover their respects for the actress, who died March 23 of congestive heart failure at 79. PHOTOS: Bette Davis's Existence in Pictures Colin Farrell situated the large event, throughout which sound system including Michael Caine and Taylor's stepdaugher Kate Burton paid out tribute for the late actress' existence and career and shared tales about her humor, generosity and determination to accomplish operate that she supported. Mike Nichols, who directed the actress to have an Oscar-winning performance in Who's Frightened of Virginia Woolf?, brought videos message. Grand boy Rhys Tivey carried out "Amazing Sophistication" round the trumpet, a sound lesson that his grandmother loved. Meanwhile, Elton John closed the program getting a performance of "Blue Eyes" just like a tribute to Taylor. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths The program also featured tributes to Taylor's career outdoors of Hollywood, including her effective Elizabeth Arden fragrances White-colored Diamonds and Passion additionally to her advocacy regarding people dealing with Helps/Helps. "My mother was an amazing lady whose existence touched lots of, nearly all whom we can not know," boy Michael Wilding mentioned. "Our whole household is extremely pleased with her accomplishments, and know very well what a unique and special feel it wound up being to possess her inside our lives. Today it absolutely was especially significant for people to obtain together with lots of good pals to celebrate her spirit, that is around forever." Wilding was at her mother's side when she died along with many other children: Christopher Wilding, Liza Todd and Maria Burton. REPORT: Bette Davis Worth Around $1 Billion sometimes of Dying Planners of Sunday's event are asking people who would like to pay tribute to Taylor to guide for the Bette Davis Helps Foundation at internet.elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org. Related Subjects Colin Farrell Elton John Michael Caine Obituaries Bette Davis

Rade Sherbedgia Cast as Villain in Liam Neeson's 'Taken 2' (Exclusive)

Getty ImagesRade Sherbedgia Serbian actorRade Sherbedgia continues to be cast because the villain in twentieth century Fox and EuropaCorp'sTaken 2, which stars Liam Neeson and it is set to start filming in Poultry and France later this month. Sherbedgia will have Murad, the daddy of the kidnapper slain by Bryan Mills (Neeson) within the first film. Murad is referred to like a vengeful guy who gives orders and doesn't drive them. When Murad takes Mills and the wife hostage, their daughter is enlisted towards saving them. Taken 2, which willbe launched March. 5, 2012, also starsFamke Janssen and Maggie Sophistication. Colombiana helmerOlivier Megatonis pointing the pic. Luc Besson, who co-authored the script withRobert Mark Kamen, isproducing through his EuropaCorp banner. Besson and Kamen also co-authored the very first Taken film, which wasreleased in 2008 and would be a surprise hit, grossing $224 million worldwide. Sherbedgia will next star inAngelina Jolie's directorial debut, Within the Land of Bloodstream and Honey, which is launched in December.Sherbedgia's credits include Batman Starts,Mission: Impossible IIanda memorable turn as Boris "The Edge" Yurinov in Snatch. Sherbedgia is symbolized by Innovative Artists and also the U.K.'s U . s . Artists. Email: Daniel.Burns@THR.com Twitter: @DanielNMiller Liam Neeson Maggie Sophistication Worldwide Famke Janssen Luc Besson

'Die Hard 5' to reach Valentine's, 2013

2007's 'Live Free or Die Hard' cumed $383 million in the global box office. Last Century Fox has dated a slew of tentpoles within the next 2 yrs, most particularly, the studio's fifth installment in Bruce Willis' "Die Hard" franchise, "A Great Day to Die Hard," on February. 14, 2013.Among Fox's 2012 records, Liam Neeson actioner follow up "Taken 2" and surfer biopic "Of Males and Mavericks" will bow March. 5 and March. 26, correspondingly, while Billy Very-Bette Midler starrer "Parental Guidance" is placed to produce on November. 21."Die Hard" begins the studio's recently dated 2013 slate: "Percy Jackson: Ocean of Monsters," the follow up towards the $227 million worldwide inventor "Percy Jackson and also the Olympians: The Lightning Crook" this year, follows on February. 14, with three dimensional prehistoric pic "Walking with Dinosaurs" moved from 12 ,. 20 to some March. 11 date.The Valentine's release marks the very first time the "Die Hard" photos will launch throughout the very first quarter.Most lately, 2007's "Live Free or Die Hard" opened up throughout the summer time for any global total of $383 million. Fox aims for everyone as counterprogramming towards the holiday's typical fare, though lots of date crowds likely will come out for Willis' latest "Die Hard."In comparison, Fox moved its "Taken" follow up towards the fall the initial grew to become a sleeper hit in The month of january 2009, grossing a lot more than $225 million worldwide. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com

CBS moves 'Gentleman' to Saturdays

CBS will replace battling Thursday comedy "How To become a Gentleman" with "Rules of Engagement." By March. 20, the veteran half-hour starring David Spade will trade its Saturday 8 p.m. time slot with rookie "Gentleman," which unsuccessful to hold onto its Thursday 8 p.m. lead-in, "Large Bang Theory." "Gentleman" will proceed to Saturday on March. 15. "Gentleman" basically signaled its departure in the plum slot when Thursday's episode sank to 7.8 million total audiences, a precipitous plunge in the 13.six million who updated in "Theory." Whilst not the cancellation some might have expected after two woeful rankings performances up to now, moving "Gentleman" may be the first rejiggering CBS has been doing to the fall schedule, that has otherwise seen some impressive begins from "2 Broke Women" and "Memorable." Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

Seth MacFarlane Unveils Years-Old Feud With Jon Stewart (Video)

Getty Images Seth MacFarlane has revealed a years-old debate he'd with Daily Show host Jon Stewart that sprang from Stewart's decision not to shut lower The Daily Show through the 2007 Authors Guild strike. Throughout the interview with CNN's Piers Morgan scheduled to air Wednesday evening, your family Guy creator recounted an hour or so approximately-extended "angry call" he and Stewart been in 2008 carrying out a joke went round the Family Guy poking fun at Stewart. "In my opinion his response was 'Who the hell made the moral arbiter of Hollywood?'" MacFarlane told Morgan. Morgan made an appearance quite gleeful in news reports and pressed MacFarlane to elaborate round the point, saying, "There's a specific irony in Jon Stewart ringing up and haranguing you for mocking him." PHOTOS: Hollywood's Twitter Feuds MacFarlane demurred, responding, "If I believe that yes, he'll crucify me on his show for just about any year." MacFarlene's trouble with Stewart came following a Daily Show host chose revisit work through the strike instead of letting his show go dark. The Daily Show went through the strike, however this did not use its authors and reran formerly broadcast material. VIDEO: Charlie Sheen Roast: Start Searching at Seth MacFarlane's Performance Authors walked in the work for three several days within the finish of 2007 into 2008 for reasons that incorporated, among other activities, demanding more residuals from content broadcast online. "People have arguments about unions...Because situation It's incumbent on people in the certain position to manage up for individuals who haven't handled to obtain yet," MacFarlane mentioned. MacFarlane was shocked Morgan even introduced the phone contact in their interview. "How will you uncover relating to this stuff?Inch he mentioned. "My publicist has forbidden me to go over this since it happened." Jon Stewart Piers Morgan Seth MacFarlane

TV Land sets 'Dick Van Dyke' tribute

'The Dick Van Dyke Show.'At a minute when primetime comedy is creating a comeback, it's fitting that TV Land is mounting a 50th anniversary salute now to probably the most long lasting sitcoms ever: ''The Dick Van Dyke Show.'' From Monday through Friday, the cabler will run prime segs of ''Dick Van Dyke'' from 6-9 p.m., to commemorate the show's March. 3, 1961, bow on CBS (within the Tuesday 8:30 p.m. slot sandwiched by ''Gunsmoke'' reruns and ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis''). There will be considered a noon-9 p.m. marathon on Saturday or sunday prior to the show forms into its regular 7 p.m. weeknight slot. The storyline of methods Carl Reiner found his experience employed by Sid Caesar to produce ''Dick Van Dyke's'' central character, TV author Take advantage of Petrie, established fact. But what is not broadly known is always that each one of these years later, the show continues to be possessed by its four original partners: Reiner, Dick Van Dyke and also the estates of Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard. They have had an abundance of offerings to market through the years -- ''Dick Van Dyke's'' 158 episodes will be a jewel in a major studio library -- but they have never been enticed. ''I was always afraid terrible things happens into it,'' Reiner told Variety. ''We always aspired to function as the show's parents.'' As a result, the reveal that hasn't been from the distribution for just about any period of time has shown to be a pleasant allowance for that partners, too for WME. William Morris Agency notoriously designed a fortune within the sixties around the prosperous partnership of Thomas and Leonard, and individuals packaging costs continue to be having to pay returns. It had been WMA's late biz matters maven Ruth Englehardt who emerged using the ''Dick Van Dyke'' holding company moniker of Calvada Prods., based on a mash-from Carl, Leonard, Van Dyke and Danny. As the amount of program-hungry platforms is continuing to grow recently, the partners maintained vintage TV specialist Paul Brownstein to deal with distribution privileges. ''Dick Van Dyke'' was a standard feature of Nick at Nite and TV Land within the eighties and 1990's, but have been from the Viacom cablers for several years. The brand new pact was completed within days a week ago to permit TV Land to mark the show's golden anni. Included in the deal, ''Dick Van Dyke'' segs will be receiving a aficionado and polish and transfer to some high-def format. ''I'm very proud these incredible talents entrusted their loved ones jewels in my experience,'' Brownstein stated. Contact Cynthia Littleton at cynthia.littleton@variety.com

Melissa McCarthy Is Having Her Moment

Melissa McCarthy Is Having Her Moment By Lacey Rose September 30, 2011 Photo by Mary Rozzi It's been five days since Melissa McCarthy won her first Emmy on Sept. 18, and she is still visibly overwhelmed by emotion when she arrives at a photo shoot for "The Hollywood Reporter" at a Los Angeles studio.Variations on "I can't believe all of this is happening to me" are uttered often by the "Mike & Molly" star, who greets a photographer, hairstylist and reporter without makeup or Hollywood pretense. If her career-making character in this past spring's surprise box-office smash "Bridesmaids" was forceful, masculine and raunchy (propositioning an air marshal midflight), then McCarthy, 41, in person is precisely the opposite: gentle, feminine and exceedingly polite.Mention the statuette she has housed between family pictures on the mantel in her L.A. house, and you can see tears form. Push McCarthy on its significance, and you get the feeling she's doing all she can to keep them from streaming down her face.Still, she's more than willing to share details of her win -- by all accounts an upset of "The Big C's" Laura Linney, "Nurse Jackie's" Edie Falco and "Parks and Recreation's" Amy Poehler, all considered stronger favorites -- but confesses her memory is spotty from shock and genuine disbelief."I remember my knees went first, and I thought, 'Oh God, please don't fall down,' " she says of her thought process in that moment. "Just keep it upright. You're in a dress. Your mom and dad are watching."She was standing beside fellow nominees Tina Fey, Martha Plimpton, Linney, Falco and Poehler, having rushed the stage when their names were announced, part of an unrehearsed comedy routine conceived days earlier by Poehler. By the time presenters Rob Lowe and Sofia Vergara began placing a tiara on McCarthy's head and a bouquet of roses and Emmy in her arms, McCarthy recalls registering a second thought: "Is this still the bit? Oh, this is going to be so awkward if this is part of the bit."But bear hugs followed from the women, and McCarthy was pushed toward the microphone. She let out a "Holy smokes," the broadcast-appropriate version of another phrase she'd mouthed seconds earlier. Then she apologized to a U.S. TV audience of 12.5 million for being a crier, with tears in her eyes as she uttered such lines as, "I'm from Plainfield, Ill., and I'm standing here, and it's kind of amazing."For McCarthy, the leapfrog over better-known nominees marked the official Hollywood coronation of an actress so outside the realm of convention that it gave the broadcast one of its few genuine surprises. Indeed, it would seem McCarthy has plenty working against her, a plus-size fortysomething in an industry that traditionally favors sample-size females two decades younger. But what she lacks in dewy ingenue sex appeal, she makes up for with depth, comedic timing and sheer likability.In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a working actress more successful than -- or certainly as busy as -- McCarthy right now. Not only does she have a starring role on CBS' hit sitcom "Mike & Molly" -- the second season bowed Sept. 26 to a series-high 4.8 rating in the adults 18-to-49 demographic and 13.9 million viewers -- and an Oct. 1 gig as "Saturday Night Live host," but also she recently sold a road-trip comedy pitch to Paramount (with "Bridesmaids" writer Annie Mumolo) and a TV comedy project to CBS (with her actor-producer husband, Ben Falcone). All of it comes on the heels of McCarthy's scene-stealing turn as Megan, the unfiltered, unconventional and undeniable standout of the May release "Bridesmaids," a role so well-received it has Universal positioning her as awards-season bait on the film side."It's truly her moment," says CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler. Adds Peter Roth, president of "Mike & Molly" studio Warner Bros. TV, "This is the year of the McCarthy." It's a label he claims is richly deserved, adding: "Everything about her is relatable. You root for her; you want her to win."So what's it like to be at the white-hot center of Hollywood's attention, after nearly two decades working on the fringes? Overwhelming, exhilarating and utterly surreal are among the descriptors McCarthy uses. Earlier this summer, she was out rug shopping with Mumolo -- the longtime friends shop often for their homes, with Mumolo insisting McCarthy could be an interior designer if she weren't an actress -- when McCarthy's "team" called to see if she was up to do episode two of "SNL's" 37th season."I went into such an embarrassing, weird, inappropriately loud cry," says McCarthy of her response, laughing about a story she shares often. "Annie was running in circles. She thinks something horrible is happening because I'm bent over, literally, in the rug section of Living Spaces wailing." Mumolo cracks up at the story's retelling, adding, "I thought someone had died."If you believe the actress, the crying stopped only recently. On this day, McCarthy -- set to leave for "SNL" rehearsals in two days -- is focused on preparing for the gig and calming her nerves for the show she calls the Holy Grail of comedy. She claims she'll fly to Manhattan with a trunk filled with sketches and characters from her decade-plus tenure with L.A. improv group the Groundlings. Among them: Marbles, a cross-eyed, eccentric genius she'd love to work into a skit on "SNL." "If I get Marbles on 'SNL,' you can hit me with a bus right after that and I'll be OK," jokes McCarthy.It was this Groundlings character that won over "Mike & Molly" creator Mark Roberts during the series' casting process in early 2010. "When I saw Marbles [on McCarthy's reel], all I could think was this woman was an absolute genius," he says. "There's an off-handedness and unpredictability to her comedy that just makes it engaging." (It's worth noting that Marbles is also among the characters that won over Falcone, a fellow Groundlings alum. "She'll do anything for a laugh," he says, recalling his wife falling into splits onstage without stretching.)To hear McCarthy tell it, Marbles is precisely the type of character she's drawn to: those who are notably different but still confident and comfortable in their skin. "Bridesmaids'" Megan, in particular, fits into that category, though only after McCarthy got to put her stamp on the hard-to-cast character. What was initially conceived as a nervous oddball McCarthy reimagined as an uber-confident misfit.McCarthy went into her audition for "Bridesmaids" with Dockers, no makeup and a force-of-nature attitude. In her mind, she was channeling past Groundlings characters with the physical appearance of the Food Network's Guy Fieri, from one of her favorite shows "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" (other favorites include "Top Chef" and "Chopped"). She remembers leaving the audition horrified by her performance: "The whole ride home, I was like, 'God, you get one shot, and you go in and you act weird,' " she says. "I was like, 'You idiot, you idiot.' "Fortunately, producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig, along with writers and former Groundlings members Kristen Wiig and Mumolo, appreciated her take on weird. "My jaw hit the ground," recalls Feig of McCarthy's audition. "I remember watching the first time, and we almost couldn't laugh because we were like: 'Oh my God. What is she doing? This is amazing.'"That her improv skills were similarly top-notch -- Feig is fond of telling the story of a scene that didn't make the cut where McCarthy's Megan starts ad-libbing about a squirrel infestation in her house, revealing there's "a squirrel burrowing its way into her vagina and living inside her" -- made her casting a no-brainer.For Mumolo and Wiig, who had recommended her for the role, "Bridesmaids" was an opportunity to share the side of McCarthy that fans of her TV work did not know. "She'd just get on the stage [at Groundlings] and grab the crowd by the balls," says Mumolo, who acknowledges she was initially thrown when McCarthy was cast as the "nice little chef" on "Gilmore Girls." Her husband, who played Air Marshal Jon in "Bridesmaids," agrees, arguing, "'Bridesmaids' was really the first chance for Melissa to show what exactly she can do."So where does McCarthy's gut-busting humor come from? As noted in her Emmy speech, she was raised in Plainfield, some 45 minutes southwest of Chicago, on a working corn and soybean farm. (Her parents remain there, though they've since moved off the farm.) Without neighborhood kids to play with, she and her older sister spent much of their childhood creating characters and an imaginary world -- a skill that would clearly serve her well later in life.By the time she hit her teens, a social McCarthy had joined the cheerleading squad and student council. But by her sophomore year, boredom had set in. "I turned intensely gothic," she laughs, reflecting on her attention-grabbing uniform of kabuki makeup, combat boots and shaved patches of her head. "I think I just loved all of the pageantry of it."At that time, McCarthy had her heart set on a career in fashion. She and close friend and fellow goth Brian Atwood, now a well-known women's shoe designer, would tear out pages of Vogue and fantasize about their own lines. Her parents beat down the idea of her attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY, so she settled on Southern Illinois University, where she briefly studied clothing and textiles before dropping out.With boredom having seeped in again, McCarthy decided to follow her sister Margie to Boulder, Colo., where she found a gig making costumes for a dance company. But a visit from Atwood, who had already moved to NY, convinced a then 20-year-old McCarthy to pack her bags and join him in Manhattan. Once there, it was he who suggested she try her hand at stand-up, a genre with which she'd had no previous experience."It was terrible," she says, describing the wig and gold leather jacket Atwood squeezed her into for her first open-mic night at Stand Up NY. She hadn't realized most comics come with material and that the light that blinks after an allotted period is a signal to wrap it up. "I just told these long, bizarre stories," she chuckles. "I had no idea what the light meant, so I was winking and nodding at it like: 'Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.' I kept going and going." Perhaps surprisingly, she was invited back.At first, a young McCarthy loved it. "This idea of really being able to pace an audience and make strangers laugh, I just thought it was the greatest thing," she says. But she grew tired of the hecklers fairly quickly and turned her attention to theater, studying and performing in off-off-Broadway productions for several years.The inability to make a living finally caught up to her, and she packed her bags again and moved to Los Angeles, where she moved into a friend's kitchen to save money. Her sister had sent her a newspaper clip about The Groundlings, so she boarded a city bus, auditioned and got in. "It changed my life," she insists. "It taught me to write and how to do a character rather than just play crazy." (McCarthy is set to return to the Groundlings with a special performance in October.)After a string of lower-level production gigs (the first on her cousin Jenny McCarthy's eponymous MTV sketch-comedy show) and small roles in film ("Go", "Charlie's Angels"), she landed a supporting role on "Gilmore Girls," a coming-of-age drama on the now-defunct WB (and later on spinoff the CW). The series, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as mother and daughter, ran from 2000 to 2007. Within months of wrapping, McCarthy was hitched to another friend role in ABC's short-lived Christina Applegate vehicle "Samantha Who?"Then came "Mike & Molly," in which executive producer Chuck Lorre decided the longtime supporting actress "was more than ready to step into the lead role." The first time McCarthy read with co-star Billy Gardell, says Lorre, "was one of those moments you dream about. They were perfect together. I like to imagine that Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows were smiling down on us." (She was eight months pregnant with her second child at the time.)When "Mike & Molly" premiered in fall 2010, critics were struck by its premise. Rather than feature impossibly thin characters living upper-class existences, as many primetime offerings do, the CBS series centered on a blue-collar cop and schoolteacher couple who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. The plotline stirred early controversy when a Marie Claire writer claimed on the magazine's website that she would be "grossed out if [she] had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kiss each other."But Roberts believes the realness of the series' characters -- and their waistlines -- has helped make "Mike & Molly" a success, regularly garnering 10 million viewers during its first season. "I had gotten very tired of watching people on television that were just sort of improbable," says Roberts of his thought process while penning the pilot. "They were too perfect, they made too much money, and their apartments were way outside of their economic abilities."For Gardell, a long-time stand-up comic, that authenticity was part of the characters' appeal. "We're not the norm on TV, and I think we take great pride in representing down-to-earth people who are just trying to get better," says McCarthy's co-star. "I think you have to have a deep soul to do that, and Melissa definitely has one."McCarthy agrees, claiming she was drawn to the idea that the show features real people with real jobs. "I don't know any neighborhoods where everyone's walking around in seven-inch heels and perfect makeup," she says, arguing she has been less bothered by criticism of her physical appearance since becoming a mother to daughters Vivian, 4 -- who has been parading around for days with her mother's Emmy tiara -- and Georgette, 1 ."The stupid stuff like what I wear or how I look I can't control, so I just try not to give too much energy to it," she continues, noting later that after having her second child, her body is a work in progress. "At 20, I would have been like: 'Don't they like me? Was it my hair?' At 41, I think the things that define me, I hope, are a lot more than those kinds of petty things."With her raised profile, McCarthy is getting ready to launch a retail line for other plus-size women. "Trying to find stuff that's still fashion-forward in my size is damn near impossible. It's either for like a 98-year-old woman or a 14-year-old hooker, and there is nothing in the middle," she laughs, recalling her recent struggles to find a dress for the Emmys. After combing through "9 million dresses with taffeta or shiny bows," she opted to channel that teenage passion and design her own (with couture dressmaker Daniella Pearl).She could need more of her own creations as the awards circuit heats up. McCarthy is likely to garner attention for her role in "Bridesmaids," a rare female-lead comedy hit with both critics and viewers. The movie earned nearly $170 million at the domestic box office, making it the No. 2-grossing comedy of the year behind "The Hangover Part II." (By comparison, Apatow's earlier hits "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" banked $109 million, $149 million and $121 million, respectively.)What's more, it solidified something so rare it's almost unheard of in Hollywood circles: a posse of female comedians, including Groundlings alumna McCarthy, Wiig, Mumolo, Maya Rudolph and Wendi McLendon-Covey. For the genre's males, there has been the Adam Sandler crew, the Will Ferrell clan and even the Jason Segel-Seth Rogen gang. But outside of Fey and Poehler's East Coast tribe, there has never been a network of female comedians as powerful as this one. "We all keep texting and calling each other, going: 'Are you freaking out right now? I don't know what's happening,' " says Mumolo of the troupe. "I think we're all still spinning from the summer. And Melissa, Melissa is in outer space."Now, McCarthy and Falcone, currently in Atlanta filming "What to Expect When You're Expecting," are busy prepping a production company. The pair is leaning toward naming it On the Day, a phrase McCarthy utters often. "Whenever someone wants to really rehearse a part, I always say, 'Oh, on the day, on the day it will be fine," she says, referencing her distaste for over-rehearsing.It's a fitting next step given how many projects McCarthy has in the works, a byproduct of her recent success. "To have the opportunity to start developing and being on the creating side of stuff, for me, is one of the most amazing and exciting things that's happened," she says, back in gush mode. "I've been writing for 15 years, and now, suddenly, people are like, 'Oh, what's in that drawer?' It's like, 'Well, I'll show what's in the drawer.' "In addition to being in negotiations to star opposite Jason Bateman in "Identity Thief," McCarthy and Mumolo are co-writing another McCarthy star vehicle. The project, set up at Paramount, will feature McCarthy as the mastermind of a plan to hijack the Stanley Cup in order to cheer up her sick husband.Then there's the multicamera comedy concept about a woman having a midlife crisis that was recently sold to CBS, which she and Falcone will co-write and co-executive produce. "When you hear a pitch and the writer knows every aspect of that character's life, you feel the reality," says CBS' Tassler of McCarthy's animated sell. "There was crying in the pitch, and then there was laughter and outrage. She painted the full picture."McCarthy's drawer also houses a dark comedy feature script that's about halfway complete from McCarthy and "The Help" writer-director Tate Taylor, another fellow Groundlings alum. But it's a project titled "Tammy" that McCarthy claims has her heart."It's so funny, and it also kind of breaks my heart," she says of a film script of hers centering on a woman who is leading an exceptionally unfulfilled life. The character wakes up one morning as things are crumbling around her and decides she has to get out of town -- and the only way to do so is in her grandmother's car. When her heavy-drinking grandmother insists on going along, they end up on a wild road trip to Mount Rushmore. "It's these two women who are not where they thought they'd be, and they kind of band together," she says, her excitement on display.The "Bridesmaids" team is not through with her, either. Apatow already has locked her into his still-untitled "Knocked Up" spinoff, and Feig says his "Dumb Jock" project at Universal has been set up for her to star in. "She's really one of my new heroes," says Feig of McCarthy. "I'll do anything to keep working with her. When you find someone like her, you don't let them go." The Hollywood Reporter Melissa McCarthy Is Having Her Moment By Lacey Rose September 30, 2011 PHOTO CREDIT Mary Rozzi It's been five days since Melissa McCarthy won her first Emmy on Sept. 18, and she is still visibly overwhelmed by emotion when she arrives at a photo shoot for "The Hollywood Reporter" at a Los Angeles studio.Variations on "I can't believe all of this is happening to me" are uttered often by the "Mike & Molly" star, who greets a photographer, hairstylist and reporter without makeup or Hollywood pretense. If her career-making character in this past spring's surprise box-office smash "Bridesmaids" was forceful, masculine and raunchy (propositioning an air marshal midflight), then McCarthy, 41, in person is precisely the opposite: gentle, feminine and exceedingly polite.Mention the statuette she has housed between family pictures on the mantel in her L.A. house, and you can see tears form. Push McCarthy on its significance, and you get the feeling she's doing all she can to keep them from streaming down her face.Still, she's more than willing to share details of her win -- by all accounts an upset of "The Big C's" Laura Linney, "Nurse Jackie's" Edie Falco and "Parks and Recreation's" Amy Poehler, all considered stronger favorites -- but confesses her memory is spotty from shock and genuine disbelief."I remember my knees went first, and I thought, 'Oh God, please don't fall down,' " she says of her thought process in that moment. "Just keep it upright. You're in a dress. Your mom and dad are watching."She was standing beside fellow nominees Tina Fey, Martha Plimpton, Linney, Falco and Poehler, having rushed the stage when their names were announced, part of an unrehearsed comedy routine conceived days earlier by Poehler. By the time presenters Rob Lowe and Sofia Vergara began placing a tiara on McCarthy's head and a bouquet of roses and Emmy in her arms, McCarthy recalls registering a second thought: "Is this still the bit? Oh, this is going to be so awkward if this is part of the bit."But bear hugs followed from the women, and McCarthy was pushed toward the microphone. She let out a "Holy smokes," the broadcast-appropriate version of another phrase she'd mouthed seconds earlier. Then she apologized to a U.S. TV audience of 12.5 million for being a crier, with tears in her eyes as she uttered such lines as, "I'm from Plainfield, Ill., and I'm standing here, and it's kind of amazing."For McCarthy, the leapfrog over better-known nominees marked the official Hollywood coronation of an actress so outside the realm of convention that it gave the broadcast one of its few genuine surprises. Indeed, it would seem McCarthy has plenty working against her, a plus-size fortysomething in an industry that traditionally favors sample-size females two decades younger. But what she lacks in dewy ingenue sex appeal, she makes up for with depth, comedic timing and sheer likability.In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a working actress more successful than -- or certainly as busy as -- McCarthy right now. Not only does she have a starring role on CBS' hit sitcom "Mike & Molly" -- the second season bowed Sept. 26 to a series-high 4.8 rating in the adults 18-to-49 demographic and 13.9 million viewers -- and an Oct. 1 gig as "Saturday Night Live host," but also she recently sold a road-trip comedy pitch to Paramount (with "Bridesmaids" writer Annie Mumolo) and a TV comedy project to CBS (with her actor-producer husband, Ben Falcone). All of it comes on the heels of McCarthy's scene-stealing turn as Megan, the unfiltered, unconventional and undeniable standout of the May release "Bridesmaids," a role so well-received it has Universal positioning her as awards-season bait on the film side."It's truly her moment," says CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler. Adds Peter Roth, president of "Mike & Molly" studio Warner Bros. TV, "This is the year of the McCarthy." It's a label he claims is richly deserved, adding: "Everything about her is relatable. You root for her; you want her to win."So what's it like to be at the white-hot center of Hollywood's attention, after nearly two decades working on the fringes? Overwhelming, exhilarating and utterly surreal are among the descriptors McCarthy uses. Earlier this summer, she was out rug shopping with Mumolo -- the longtime friends shop often for their homes, with Mumolo insisting McCarthy could be an interior designer if she weren't an actress -- when McCarthy's "team" called to see if she was up to do episode two of "SNL's" 37th season."I went into such an embarrassing, weird, inappropriately loud cry," says McCarthy of her response, laughing about a story she shares often. "Annie was running in circles. She thinks something horrible is happening because I'm bent over, literally, in the rug section of Living Spaces wailing." Mumolo cracks up at the story's retelling, adding, "I thought someone had died."If you believe the actress, the crying stopped only recently. On this day, McCarthy -- set to leave for "SNL" rehearsals in two days -- is focused on preparing for the gig and calming her nerves for the show she calls the Holy Grail of comedy. She claims she'll fly to Manhattan with a trunk filled with sketches and characters from her decade-plus tenure with L.A. improv group the Groundlings. Among them: Marbles, a cross-eyed, eccentric genius she'd love to work into a skit on "SNL." "If I get Marbles on 'SNL,' you can hit me with a bus right after that and I'll be OK," jokes McCarthy.It was this Groundlings character that won over "Mike & Molly" creator Mark Roberts during the series' casting process in early 2010. "When I saw Marbles [on McCarthy's reel], all I could think was this woman was an absolute genius," he says. "There's an off-handedness and unpredictability to her comedy that just makes it engaging." (It's worth noting that Marbles is also among the characters that won over Falcone, a fellow Groundlings alum. "She'll do anything for a laugh," he says, recalling his wife falling into splits onstage without stretching.)To hear McCarthy tell it, Marbles is precisely the type of character she's drawn to: those who are notably different but still confident and comfortable in their skin. "Bridesmaids'" Megan, in particular, fits into that category, though only after McCarthy got to put her stamp on the hard-to-cast character. What was initially conceived as a nervous oddball McCarthy reimagined as an uber-confident misfit.McCarthy went into her audition for "Bridesmaids" with Dockers, no makeup and a force-of-nature attitude. In her mind, she was channeling past Groundlings characters with the physical appearance of the Food Network's Guy Fieri, from one of her favorite shows "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" (other favorites include "Top Chef" and "Chopped"). She remembers leaving the audition horrified by her performance: "The whole ride home, I was like, 'God, you get one shot, and you go in and you act weird,' " she says. "I was like, 'You idiot, you idiot.' "Fortunately, producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig, along with writers and former Groundlings members Kristen Wiig and Mumolo, appreciated her take on weird. "My jaw hit the ground," recalls Feig of McCarthy's audition. "I remember watching the first time, and we almost couldn't laugh because we were like: 'Oh my God. What is she doing? This is amazing.'"That her improv skills were similarly top-notch -- Feig is fond of telling the story of a scene that didn't make the cut where McCarthy's Megan starts ad-libbing about a squirrel infestation in her house, revealing there's "a squirrel burrowing its way into her vagina and living inside her" -- made her casting a no-brainer.For Mumolo and Wiig, who had recommended her for the role, "Bridesmaids" was an opportunity to share the side of McCarthy that fans of her TV work did not know. "She'd just get on the stage [at Groundlings] and grab the crowd by the balls," says Mumolo, who acknowledges she was initially thrown when McCarthy was cast as the "nice little chef" on "Gilmore Girls." Her husband, who played Air Marshal Jon in "Bridesmaids," agrees, arguing, "'Bridesmaids' was really the first chance for Melissa to show what exactly she can do."So where does McCarthy's gut-busting humor come from? As noted in her Emmy speech, she was raised in Plainfield, some 45 minutes southwest of Chicago, on a working corn and soybean farm. (Her parents remain there, though they've since moved off the farm.) Without neighborhood kids to play with, she and her older sister spent much of their childhood creating characters and an imaginary world -- a skill that would clearly serve her well later in life.By the time she hit her teens, a social McCarthy had joined the cheerleading squad and student council. But by her sophomore year, boredom had set in. "I turned intensely gothic," she laughs, reflecting on her attention-grabbing uniform of kabuki makeup, combat boots and shaved patches of her head. "I think I just loved all of the pageantry of it."At that time, McCarthy had her heart set on a career in fashion. She and close friend and fellow goth Brian Atwood, now a well-known women's shoe designer, would tear out pages of Vogue and fantasize about their own lines. Her parents beat down the idea of her attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in NY, so she settled on Southern Illinois University, where she briefly studied clothing and textiles before dropping out.With boredom having seeped in again, McCarthy decided to follow her sister Margie to Boulder, Colo., where she found a gig making costumes for a dance company. But a visit from Atwood, who had already moved to NY, convinced a then 20-year-old McCarthy to pack her bags and join him in Manhattan. Once there, it was he who suggested she try her hand at stand-up, a genre with which she'd had no previous experience."It was terrible," she says, describing the wig and gold leather jacket Atwood squeezed her into for her first open-mic night at Stand Up NY. She hadn't realized most comics come with material and that the light that blinks after an allotted period is a signal to wrap it up. "I just told these long, bizarre stories," she chuckles. "I had no idea what the light meant, so I was winking and nodding at it like: 'Thanks, guys. I appreciate the help.' I kept going and going." Perhaps surprisingly, she was invited back.At first, a young McCarthy loved it. "This idea of really being able to pace an audience and make strangers laugh, I just thought it was the greatest thing," she says. But she grew tired of the hecklers fairly quickly and turned her attention to theater, studying and performing in off-off-Broadway productions for several years.The inability to make a living finally caught up to her, and she packed her bags again and moved to Los Angeles, where she moved into a friend's kitchen to save money. Her sister had sent her a newspaper clip about The Groundlings, so she boarded a city bus, auditioned and got in. "It changed my life," she insists. "It taught me to write and how to do a character rather than just play crazy." (McCarthy is set to return to the Groundlings with a special performance in October.)After a string of lower-level production gigs (the first on her cousin Jenny McCarthy's eponymous MTV sketch-comedy show) and small roles in film ("Go", "Charlie's Angels"), she landed a supporting role on "Gilmore Girls," a coming-of-age drama on the now-defunct WB (and later on spinoff the CW). The series, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as mother and daughter, ran from 2000 to 2007. Within months of wrapping, McCarthy was hitched to another friend role in ABC's short-lived Christina Applegate vehicle "Samantha Who?"Then came "Mike & Molly," in which executive producer Chuck Lorre decided the longtime supporting actress "was more than ready to step into the lead role." The first time McCarthy read with co-star Billy Gardell, says Lorre, "was one of those moments you dream about. They were perfect together. I like to imagine that Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows were smiling down on us." (She was eight months pregnant with her second child at the time.)When "Mike & Molly" premiered in fall 2010, critics were struck by its premise. Rather than feature impossibly thin characters living upper-class existences, as many primetime offerings do, the CBS series centered on a blue-collar cop and schoolteacher couple who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. The plotline stirred early controversy when a Marie Claire writer claimed on the magazine's website that she would be "grossed out if [she] had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kiss each other."But Roberts believes the realness of the series' characters -- and their waistlines -- has helped make "Mike & Molly" a success, regularly garnering 10 million viewers during its first season. "I had gotten very tired of watching people on television that were just sort of improbable," says Roberts of his thought process while penning the pilot. "They were too perfect, they made too much money, and their apartments were way outside of their economic abilities."For Gardell, a long-time stand-up comic, that authenticity was part of the characters' appeal. "We're not the norm on TV, and I think we take great pride in representing down-to-earth people who are just trying to get better," says McCarthy's co-star. "I think you have to have a deep soul to do that, and Melissa definitely has one."McCarthy agrees, claiming she was drawn to the idea that the show features real people with real jobs. "I don't know any neighborhoods where everyone's walking around in seven-inch heels and perfect makeup," she says, arguing she has been less bothered by criticism of her physical appearance since becoming a mother to daughters Vivian, 4 -- who has been parading around for days with her mother's Emmy tiara -- and Georgette, 1 ."The stupid stuff like what I wear or how I look I can't control, so I just try not to give too much energy to it," she continues, noting later that after having her second child, her body is a work in progress. "At 20, I would have been like: 'Don't they like me? Was it my hair?' At 41, I think the things that define me, I hope, are a lot more than those kinds of petty things."With her raised profile, McCarthy is getting ready to launch a retail line for other plus-size women. "Trying to find stuff that's still fashion-forward in my size is damn near impossible. It's either for like a 98-year-old woman or a 14-year-old hooker, and there is nothing in the middle," she laughs, recalling her recent struggles to find a dress for the Emmys. After combing through "9 million dresses with taffeta or shiny bows," she opted to channel that teenage passion and design her own (with couture dressmaker Daniella Pearl).She could need more of her own creations as the awards circuit heats up. McCarthy is likely to garner attention for her role in "Bridesmaids," a rare female-lead comedy hit with both critics and viewers. The movie earned nearly $170 million at the domestic box office, making it the No. 2-grossing comedy of the year behind "The Hangover Part II." (By comparison, Apatow's earlier hits "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Knocked Up" and "Superbad" banked $109 million, $149 million and $121 million, respectively.)What's more, it solidified something so rare it's almost unheard of in Hollywood circles: a posse of female comedians, including Groundlings alumna McCarthy, Wiig, Mumolo, Maya Rudolph and Wendi McLendon-Covey. For the genre's males, there has been the Adam Sandler crew, the Will Ferrell clan and even the Jason Segel-Seth Rogen gang. But outside of Fey and Poehler's East Coast tribe, there has never been a network of female comedians as powerful as this one. "We all keep texting and calling each other, going: 'Are you freaking out right now? I don't know what's happening,' " says Mumolo of the troupe. "I think we're all still spinning from the summer. And Melissa, Melissa is in outer space."Now, McCarthy and Falcone, currently in Atlanta filming "What to Expect When You're Expecting," are busy prepping a production company. The pair is leaning toward naming it On the Day, a phrase McCarthy utters often. "Whenever someone wants to really rehearse a part, I always say, 'Oh, on the day, on the day it will be fine," she says, referencing her distaste for over-rehearsing.It's a fitting next step given how many projects McCarthy has in the works, a byproduct of her recent success. "To have the opportunity to start developing and being on the creating side of stuff, for me, is one of the most amazing and exciting things that's happened," she says, back in gush mode. "I've been writing for 15 years, and now, suddenly, people are like, 'Oh, what's in that drawer?' It's like, 'Well, I'll show what's in the drawer.' "In addition to being in negotiations to star opposite Jason Bateman in "Identity Thief," McCarthy and Mumolo are co-writing another McCarthy star vehicle. The project, set up at Paramount, will feature McCarthy as the mastermind of a plan to hijack the Stanley Cup in order to cheer up her sick husband.Then there's the multicamera comedy concept about a woman having a midlife crisis that was recently sold to CBS, which she and Falcone will co-write and co-executive produce. "When you hear a pitch and the writer knows every aspect of that character's life, you feel the reality," says CBS' Tassler of McCarthy's animated sell. "There was crying in the pitch, and then there was laughter and outrage. She painted the full picture."McCarthy's drawer also houses a dark comedy feature script that's about halfway complete from McCarthy and "The Help" writer-director Tate Taylor, another fellow Groundlings alum. But it's a project titled "Tammy" that McCarthy claims has her heart."It's so funny, and it also kind of breaks my heart," she says of a film script of hers centering on a woman who is leading an exceptionally unfulfilled life. The character wakes up one morning as things are crumbling around her and decides she has to get out of town -- and the only way to do so is in her grandmother's car. When her heavy-drinking grandmother insists on going along, they end up on a wild road trip to Mount Rushmore. "It's these two women who are not where they thought they'd be, and they kind of band together," she says, her excitement on display.The "Bridesmaids" team is not through with her, either. Apatow already has locked her into his still-untitled "Knocked Up" spinoff, and Feig says his "Dumb Jock" project at Universal has been set up for her to star in. "She's really one of my new heroes," says Feig of McCarthy. "I'll do anything to keep working with her. When you find someone like her, you don't let them go." The Hollywood Reporter