Dish Network launches streaming service

Dish Network unveiled a streaming product utilizing the brand of Blockbuster, the company it rescued from bankruptcy five months ago. Launching Oct. 1, Blockbuster Movie Pass will be a $10 supplement to Dish Network subscribers; it won't be available to those who don't subscribe to the satcaster. That may have drawn sighs of relief over at Netflix given widespread anticipation that Dish would be launching a standalone product to rival the dominant upstart as pricing changes and restructuring sent its stock price plummeting earlier this week. The package boasts over 100,00 movies and TV shows available by mail, as well as 3,000 game titles. More than 3,000 movies streamed to TV, 4,000 movies streamed to your computer. More than 20 premium movie channels are also part of the service. Backed by a national promotional campaign, Blockbuster Movie Pass will have a DVD-by-mail component as well as a streaming to both TV and computers. Wireless devices won't be available for streaming at launch. "While the physical channel continues to be very important to the Blockbuster brand and product, we recognize more consumers are tuning into digital as a means of consuming entertainemnt," said Michael Kelly, president of Blockbuster, at a press conference in Friday San Francisco. The service will also be bundled free for one year to new subscribers who buy the America's Top 200 tier for $40 per month. Kelly also indicated that there may still be a standalone streaming service under the Blockbuster brand that won't be packaged with the Dish subscription, but gave no specifics. The product essentially discourages the cord-cutting that would endanger Dish's core service by melding its linear channels and TV Everywhere selections with Blockbuster's existing mail-based and streaming services. Dish CEO Joe Clayton touted the ability to combine all of the above on one bill as a feature that would allow Blockbuster Movie Pass to stand out from the crowd of video services ranging from Amazon to DirecTV. Among the differentiating factors from the competition Dish execs sought to highlight was the free exchange of discs in Blockbuster stories and no additional charge for Blu-ray rentals. Netflix charges an extra $2 for Blu-ray rentals. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

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Horror Thriller Silk Nabbed For Remake

Ghost child alert!You do not think that the three authors who cranked the script this year Halle Berry drama Frankie & Alice make the perfect people to evolve Silk, a chilling Taiwanese tale from the dead child as well as the driven investigator who captures his energy inside an old apartment building, for Western audiences, but Gold Circle Films disagrees. The business has hired Marko King, Mary King and Jonathan Watters to get the job done. The 2006 original, directed by Chao-Bin Su, found a crippled investigator using his new invention, the Menger Sponge, to capture the essence from the vengeful ghost child. Employing the help of a lip-reading through through detective to discover why the spooky sprog's energy remains so effective, they eventually determine poor people lad's mother destroyed the tumor-ridden tot and hidden him near a nuclear plant. Naturally, things go scare-created next. In line with the Warmth Vision Blog, Gold Circle plans to offer the writing trio forge a completely new path beyond the fundamental concept. The producers aren't letting any real particulars slip yet, even though idea would be to merge Michael Crichton while using Sixth Sense. So expect the same story of technology meeting the supernatural and extremely bad things happening. There's not sure on any casting or possibly a director being hired yet, but it's still beginning....

'Friends With Kids' U.S. rights sold

"Friends With Kids"Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired U.S. rights to Jennifer Westfeldt's ensemble comedy ''Friends With Kids,'' a week after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.Roadside Attractions will release "Friends with Kids" theatrically in the spring.Deal closed Sunday on the final day of the festival. Deal was the first TIFF sale to Lionsgate. Roadside Attractions will release "Friends with Kids" theatrically in the spring.''Friends with Kids,'' shot in NY early this year, stars Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Adam Scott, Megan Fox, Kristen Wiig, Edward Burns, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd. Written and directed by Westfeldt (''Kissing Jessica Stein''), pic centers on a group of friends whose lives are changed as the couples in the group begin to have children. Westfeldt and Scott portray best friends who launch a romance while attempting to avoid the expectations of a married relationship. Hamm, Wiig, Rudolph and O'Dowd are among the pals with kids. ''Friends'' is produced by Westfeldt and Hamm's Points West Pictures and Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland's Red Granite Pictures. Pic is the first for both production companies. Producers are Westfeldt, Hamm, Joshua Astrachan, John Kasdan, Joey McFarland and Riza Aziz. Executive producers are Mike Nichols, John Sloss, Lucy Barzun Donnelly and Joe Gatta with Kathryn Dean co-producing.Cinetic Media handled U.S. rights and Red Granite is handling international sales. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

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Agent Coulson to die in Iron Guy 3?

With Joss Whedon responsible for The Avengers, almost always there is the worry a reasonably major character will not reach the finish. As well as in the Marvel world that individual would appear to become Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson."I have look at this! I am flattered that individuals care, but If only they'd stop saying this because they are likely to place it in somebody's mind!" Coulson told Crave Online when requested if he was worried Whedon might kill him off."I am speaking for them about doing Iron Guy 3 at this time, and somebody's going 'Maybe Agent Coulson should die,' and I am like, 'Hey, hey, hey! This is actually the best job I have ever endured! Stop speaking about killing Agent Coulson off.'"Same with he a minimum of safe within the Avengers?"I spoken to Joss Whedon in early stages. I stated 'Hey, exactly why is everybody saying this?' And that he stated, 'Yeah, I have done that before. Don't be concerned. You are safe.'"Actually it had been Whedon who gave SHIELD's Agent Coulson this type of large role within the Avengers."Whenever we used to do the panel for Thor at Comic Disadvantage, before we continued stage Joss Whedon comes over and introduces themself and states, 'I authored a really large part within the Avengers, um... Can One introduce you included in the cast from the Avengers, with Robert Downey, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo? Everyone's here.' And That I was like, 'Yeah, I believe that might be okay!'" Gregg stated.

Joe Wright and Keira Knightley Reunite for 'Anna Karenina'

After trying his hands in the action game within this year's 'Hanna,' director Joe Wright is returning to period pieces with 'Anna Karenina,' and he's getting a familiar face with him. (Hint: she's pictured.) Modified by film writer Tom Stoppard ('Shakespeare in Love') from Leo Tolstoy's landmark novel, Wright has called 'Atonement' star Keira Knightley for that titular role. Jude Law has signed onto play Knightley's husband Aleksei Karenin, while Aaron Manley will have Count Vrosky. Based on Deadline, 'Anna Karenina' is placed hitting theaters within the other half of 2012. That provides you ample time for you to finally pull out Tolstoy's 800-page behemoth when preparing. [via Deadline] Photo thanks to Jon Furniss/WireImage.com.

Hermann, Moreira bow investigative org

BIARRITZ -- French TV journos Luc Hermann and Paul Moreira have launched the European Network of Investigative Journalists with Italian, German and British news agencies. Hermann and Moreira are at the helm of Premieres Lignes, a Paris-based press agency that specializes in hard-boiled, one-hour investigative documentaries. Premieres Lignes has teamed up with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London, Invisible Dog in Italy and Filmtank in Berlin to produce "large-scale investigations examining international issues that are aimed at global audiences," said Hermann at TVFI Rendez-Vous in Biarritz, France. The Gallic company will exec produce and have the final cut on the docus. Hermann explained that he and Moreira had the idea of creating this European org after the success of "WikiLeaks: War, Lies and Videotape," which sold to every major territories, including the U.S. (Current TV), Discovery Channel U.K., Discovery Europe and Africa, ABC in Australia and NDR in Germany. Good investigative documentaries take a very long time and require large resources: That's why we want to work with locals who know the codes and have the connections," said Hermann, who added he's looking to make thought-provoking and engaging documentaries in the vein of PBS' "Frontline." The French shingle has already collaborated with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Invisible Dog to produce "Euroscroqueries" (working title), a documentary helmed by Pierre-Emmanuel Luneau-Dorignac that examines the distribution of European funds and subsidies. Docu has been pre-bought by France 2 and is repped by Arte in international markets. Premieres Lignes is producing "The Day China Will Relocate in Europe," an investigation looking into Chinese investments in Europe, with Invisible Dog. Docu has been commissioned by Franco-German net Arte, which handles international pre-sales and sales on the program. It will be delivered in spring 2012. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

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Greg Daniels To Adapt British Comedy Friday Night Dinner For NBC

EXCLUSIVE: After successfully adapting British workplace comedy The Office for NBC, Greg Daniels is taking on another half-hour British format for the network, this time a family comedy. I hear that NBC has put in development a U.S. version of the UK series Friday Night Dinner with Daniels at the helm. It is unclear whether Daniels will write, co-write or supervise the writing of the adaptation for UMS. Created by Robert Popper, Friday Night Dinner, which debuted on Channel 4 in February, centers on the Goodmans, a traditional but not strictly observant Jewish family, and chronicles their Shabbat dinners. Every Friday night, brothers Adam and Jonny reluctantly visit their parents — mom Jackie, who is obsessed with Masterchef, and dad Martin, who loves to walk around shirtless — for a home-cooked meal. Adding to the gallery of oddball characters is a grandmother who struts her stuff in a bikini and eccentric neighbor Jim who constantly interrupts dinner. Friday Night Dinner, which has been renewed by Channel 4 for a second season, airs in the U.S. on BBC America. The show hails from Big Talk Prods, the UK production company also behind another Channel 4 comedy series that is being remade by NBC, Free Agents. NBC’s version, starring Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn, was picked up to series and launches this fall. Daniels is expected to executive produce Friday Night Dinner with his producing partner Howard Klein, Popper and Big Talk. The project falls under the new two-year overall deal Daniels recently signed with UMS. In addition to developing and executive producing the Emmy-winning The Office, WME-repped Daniels also co-created and executive produces another NBC Thursday comedy series, Parks and Recreation. Both shows are nominated for best comedy series Emmys, making Daniels the first comedy writer-producer to have two shows competing against each other in that category since 1975, when James L. Brooks and Allan Burns were nominated forMary Tyler Moore and Rhoda. Additionally, Daniels is nominated in the comedy writing category for penning Steve Carell’s farewell episode on The Office. Here is a trailer for the British Friday Night Dinner: