"Sesame Street" writer Tony Geiss dies at 86

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Tony Geiss, a writer and lyricist who helped give life to the animated characters on "Sesame Street," died January 21 in Valhalla, N.Y., aged 86.

His cousin confirmed the news to the New York Times, citing complications from a recent neck injury.

Geiss spent over three decades working as a staff writer and a composer for "Sesame Street," the award-winning kids show that features Jim Henson's Muppet characters in short skits and animated sequences. Geiss invented several Muppets of his own, including the Honkers and Abby Cadabby, and helped come up with the concept and theme song for "Elmo's World," a segment featuring the furry red monster.

His contributions to the TV show earned him 22 Daytime Emmys screenwriting and songwriting.

"Tony's brilliant words, his sense of humor, his musical virtuosity, and his respect for children in this country and around the world, brought laughter, love and learning together for generations," the Sesame Workshop said in a statement.

Geiss also wrote for a number of popular films geared toward young audiences, including "The Land Before Time," an animated 1988 film about orphaned dinosaurs, several of its direct-to-video sequels, and Steven Spielberg's 1986 children's movie "An American Tail."

Geiss' wife of 60 years, Phyllis Eisen, died December 2009. There are no immediate survivors.

Kristen Stewart courted for "Snow White"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Is Kristen Stewart the fairest of them all?

The "Twilight" star is on the list for the role of Snow White in Universal's "Snow White and the Huntsman."

The movie, being directed by Rupert Sanders, is in deep casting mode, with Viggo Mortensen entering negotiations to play the Huntsman earlier Wednesday. Charlize Theron is in negotiations to play the evil queen.

Stewart's is a name that Universal has kept coming back to since acquiring the project even as it went through a series of screen tests with actresses such as Riley Keough, Felicity Jones and Alicia Vikander. Emily Browning tested this past weekend.

Stewart has reached a point in her career where testing isn't required. She has focused on indie projects in between the vampire romancers, and this could become her first studio project since becoming a big name. It also would put her in the shoes of an iconic character.

She is currently shooting the "Breaking Dawn" movies, but the Snow White team has been making repeated overtures even as late as last week.

The retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale plays up the character of the Huntsman, a secondary character in the centuries-old tale, who becomes Snow White's protector and mentor.

Another Snow White project is in development at indie financier Relativity Media, which has Tarsem Singh ("The Cell") on board to direct its untitled movie. The action begins with the evil stepmother killing Snow White's father and destroying the kingdom. The heroine then bands together with a gang of seven quarrelsome dwarves to reclaim what is rightly hers.

After half century, it's 1 Fantastic's farewell

NEW YORK – It's a Fantastic Four farewell with the revelation Tuesday of who among them has been selected to be written out of the super hero team.

While Marvel Entertainment has made no secret that a member of the quartet, which was introduced in August 1961, would die, exactly who among the group would fall has been a closely held secret, until the release of issue No. 587.

It's the Human Torch, leaving teammates Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and the Thing to pick up the pieces and move forward.

Fifty years after cosmic rays transformed him into a man ablaze, the Human Torch will burn no more as the pop culture purveyor of super heroes and villains embarks on an ambitious story line that ends the Fantastic Four.

In the newest issue of one of the company's longest-running comic books, Johnny Storm's life is taken amid a massive battle that writer Jonathan Hickman has been scripting for a year-and-half. Illustrator Steve Epting did the art.

Hickman, along with his editor, Tom Brevoort, have been unsurprisingly mum on what the future may hold for the characters, but one thing is certain, the end is nigh for the Fantastic Four next month.

Brevoort, senior vice president for publishing at Marvel told The Associated Press that "588 is the final issue of the Fantastic Four. Beyond that, we're not ready to say exactly what we're doing. There won't be an issue 589."

All he would say about the future was that the various subplots and threads that Hickman has written "will converge in a new thing that will be exciting and different and yet, very familiar and very much the same."

Hollywood's newest Olsen makes Sundance debut

PARK CITY, Utah – The younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen is breaking into showbiz with two buzzed-about films at the Sundance Film Festival.

Elizabeth Olsen, 21, stars in "Silent House," directed by the filmmakers who made the 2004 indy hit "Open Water." When it debuted at Sundance, it was sold to Lionsgate for more than $2 million.

Based on a film from Uruguay called "La Casa Muda," "Silent House" is one continuous take as Olsen's character begins to suspect her summer house may be haunted. Olsen compares shooting the film to theater, which she started doing as a child.

"When I was auditioning, I was like, 'Just so you know I'm used to the medium of theater, so like I can stand on my feet for this long,'" she laughs.

Olsen's other film at Sundance is "Martha Macy May Marlene," where she plays a young women trying to readjust to life after escaping from a cult.

"It's hard for independent films when they want to get money," said Olsen. "And to have a lead be an unknown — it's kind of a risk for people to take. And so the fact that they took that risk was like made my year, my life, I don't know! It was really exciting."

The actress may be enthusiastic about her career but turns serious when it comes to the idea of being a tabloid target like her big sisters, now 24, who are chased constantly by paparazzi. The Olsen twins have been in the spotlight since they were hired as infants to share a role in the TV comedy "Full House."

"When I would go shopping with my sisters when I was younger, it would be dangerous. People would almost get us into car accidents. I just think it's crazy in general but I want to be an actor — and I have since I was a little girl — and if that happens, then you figure out how to deal with it where it doesn't completely infringe upon your life," said Olsen. "I haven't experienced that personally yet. Hopefully I don't have to but I think it's a really weird part of this business."

Winfrey promises to spill family secret Monday

LOS ANGELES – Oprah Winfrey has staged many a family reunion on her talk show. But on Monday's episode, she promises, the drama will be about her.

Winfrey told viewers Thursday that she will have a reunion of her own on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." She wouldn't say with whom — only that it involves something she's learned about recently and is known to only a few people close to her.

"I thought I'd seen it all. But this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles," Winfrey says in a promotional spot for the show. The word "miracle" appears on screen, reinforcing her pronouncement.

"I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I'm the one being reunited," she said. "I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you're going to hear it straight from me."

Her production company, Harpo, declined to provide further details Friday.

Given Winfrey's tangled family history, the possibilities for her reunion are many.

She was born to unmarried teenagers, Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee, and raised at various times by a grandmother, her mother, and her father and stepmother in Mississippi, Wisconsin and Tennessee, according to Winfrey and various biographies.

However, Kitty Kelley's unauthorized 2010 biography of Winfrey alleges that Vernon Winfrey isn't Oprah's biological father. Kelley also claims that she discovered the actual father's identity but was keeping it secret until Winfrey learns the truth herself.

Actor David Nelson of famous TV family dies at 74

LOS ANGELES – David Nelson, who starred on his parents' popular television show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," died Tuesday, a family spokesman said. He was 74.

Nelson died at his home in the Century City area of Los Angeles after battling complications of colon cancer, said family spokesman and longtime Hollywood publicist Dale Olson.

Nelson was the last remaining member of the Nelsons TV family, which included actor/bandleader Ozzie, his singer wife, Harriet Hilliard and his teen idol brother Rick. The show originated on radio in 1952 as "Here Come the Nelsons," then ran for 320 episodes on TV from 1952 to 1966 as "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" with some of the story lines taken from the stars' own lives. David Nelson also directed and produced numerous episodes of the show throughout its run.

The show was shot in the Nelson family home in the Hollywood foothills, which remains a popular attraction for visitors on Hollywood celebrity bus tours.

Born in New York City, David attended Hollywood High School and the University of Southern California.

His film credits included "Peyton Place," "The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker," "The Big Circus," "Day of the Outlaw," "30,""The Big Show," `Love and Kisses and "Swing Out, Sweet Land." In 1976, he costarred with his mother in "Smash-Up on Interstate 5."

His television credits included "Up In Smoke," "The Love Boat," "High School USA," and "A Family For Joe." Directing credits included "O.K. Crackerby," "Childish Things," "Easy To Be Free," "Ozzie's Girls," "Death Screams," "Last Plane Out," "Goodnight Beantown" and "A Rare Breed."

Nelson also was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He is survived by his wife, Yvonne; four sons and a daughter; and seven grandchildren. A service will be held Thursday at Pierce Brothers Westwood Mortuary.

'Bullitt' director Peter Yates dies at 81

LONDON – British filmmaker Peter Yates, who sent Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in "Bullitt," has died at the age of 81.

A statement from Yates' agent, Judy Daish, said he died Sunday in London after an illness.

Yates was nominated for four Academy Awards — two as director and two as producer — for cycling tale "Breaking Away" and backstage drama "The Dresser."

A graduate of London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art who directed stage greats including "Dresser" star Albert Finney and Maggie Smith, Yates also created one of film's most memorable action sequences — the much-imitated car chase in the 1968 police thriller "Bullitt."

Born in Aldershot, southern England in 1929, Yates trained as an actor, performed in repertory theater and did a stint as a race-car driver before moving into film, first as an editor and then as an assistant director on films including Tony Richardson's "A Taste of Honey" and J. Lee Thompson's "The Guns of Navarone."

His first film as a director was the frothy 1963 musical "Summer Holiday" starring Cliff Richard — a singer billed, optimistically, as the "British Elvis."

Also in Britain he directed "Robbery," based on a real 1963 heist known as the "Great Train Robbery," which marked him as a talented director of action sequences.

He went to Hollywood for "Bullitt," and went on to make well-received films including the war thriller "Murphy's War," with Peter O'Toole, and the tense crime drama "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," starring Robert Mitchum.

Nothing if not varied, his 1970s movies included crass comedy "Mother, Jugs and Speed," starring Bill Cosby and Raquel Welch, and the critically derided but commercially successful undersea thriller "The Deep."

In 1979 Yates hit another creative high with "Breaking Away," a deft coming-of-age story about a cycling-mad teenager in small-town Indiana. It was nominated for five Oscars, including best director and best picture — giving Yates two nominations, as he was a producer on the film.

Yates received two more nominations for "The Dresser," a 1983 adaptation of Ronald Harwood's play about an aging actor and his assistant, which he directed and co-produced.

In recent years Yates had worked mostly in television. His last theatrical feature was 1999's "Curtain Call," which starred Michael Caine and Maggie Smith as a pair of theatrical ghosts.

Yates is survived by his wife, Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.

Monday's statement said a private family funeral would be held.

Film critics group: `Social Network' is 2010 pick

NEW YORK – The National Society of Film Critics on Saturday selected "The Social Network" as the best picture of 2010.

The fictional look at the creation of Facebook dominated at the society's annual awards, which were voted on by 46 prominent movie critics gathered at a Manhattan restaurant.

Jesse Eisenberg was named best actor for his role as Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the social networking website. David Fincher won for best director and Aaron Sorkin for best screenplay.

The critics reached overseas for the best actress honor, naming Italian star Giovanna Mezzogiorno for her role in "Vincere." The film follows the rise to power of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, with him abandoning his wife and child along the way.

Supporting actor awards went to Geoffrey Rush for "The King's Speech" and Olivia Williams for "The Ghost Writer."

The society, founded in 1966, is composed of 61 film critics from across the country, including Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan, The Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern and David Denby of The New Yorker.

While these critics' choices rarely reflect top honors at the Academy Awards, the New York-based society helps draw attention to new films in advance of the Oscars, staged in late February by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

On Saturday, society members issued a statement calling for a re-examination of the movie rating system set by the Motion Picture Association of America.

The critics praised a decision to change the NC-17 rating for "Blue Valentine" to an R, but they questioned others. They singled out "The King's Speech," a drama about King George VI's attempt to overcome his speech impediment, which was rated R for "language" — moments when he's told to swear to ease his stammer.

"It's clear the board has become an agency of de facto censorship," read the statement from the critics, who suggested a revision of the current system.

The society also condemned Iran's recent sentencing of directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof to six years in prison. Both were banned from filmmaking for 20 years for "colluding in gatherings and making propaganda against the regime."

The critics urged the Iranian government to release the directors, saying their "work can only further the advancement of such values as justice, compassion, tolerance, and human dignity."

Among foreign language films, "Carlos" — French director Olivier Assayas's 5 1/2-hour-look at the life of the global terrorist dubbed "Carlos the Jackal" — was voted best.

Co-host of Roger Ebert's new movie show speaks out

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Ignatiy Vishnevetsky raised a lot of eyebrows when he was announced as the new host of "Ebert Presents At the Movies."

But the 24-year-old critic for the film website Mubi and the Chicago Reader says he is not daunted by the prospect of filling the massive shoes left by the man who hired him for the spot -- former host Roger Ebert.

"You have to be the best you that you can possibly be," Vishnevetsky tells The Hollywood Reporter. "There is a legacy here. But the best way to honor that legacy is not to be Roger Ebert or Gene Siskel."

Already comparisons are being drawn between the Moscow-born Vishnevetsky and former host Siskel, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Everyone has been characterizing me as this cold analytical egghead guy," says Vishnevetsky "But I'm a man of extreme passion."

Besides, he adds, "I lean more toward Ebert who I liked more as a critic."

Vishnevetsky replaces radio critic Elvis Mitchell and will host along with 38-year-old Christy Lemire, film critic for the Associated Press. Ebert will contribute a weekly segment using a computer-generated voice.

"I know it's a big deal," Vishnevetsky says. "But when someone gives you this type of opportunity it makes you want to work a lot harder."

While Vishnevetsky promises to "continue the tradition" of onscreen squabbles started with Siskel and Ebert, he says he gets along famously with his new co-host.

"It helps we get along well because otherwise it would be just endless, endless clashes," Vishnevetsky says.

Meanwhile Vishnevetsky insists he will not be held back by his tricky last name. Roger Ebert's press release announcing the appointment even came with a phonetic guide ("Ig.nah.tee Vish.na.vet.ski").

"It's spelled exactly as it's pronounced," Vishnevetsky says. "And even if someone misspells the name, they remember it."