Lawsuit filed against SyFy says "Face Off" stolen from pitch meeting

SyFy and NBC Universal were sued yesterday for allegedly stealing the idea for “Face Off” from a production company called The Results Group. The Results Group claims that in a May 2009 meeting arranged by an agent at William Morris, they pitched a show based on make-up artists which would be hosted by a female actor and involve a prize worth $100,000. The Results Group was told at the end of the meeting that the network had decided not to pursue their pitched TV show based on its idea and materials. The Results Group says that instead, SyFy took their idea and created “Face Off” with it, which has become a huge hit.

The lawsuit filed alleges a breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of confidence and unfair competition, among other charges. The suit seeks damages to cover the cost of lost credit, producing fees, the suit and punitive damages as well as any money the network made off of the show.

The production company got wind that SyFy was producing “Face Off”, and requested evidence that the series was not stolen from their pitch. SyFy responded by producing documents that said that “Face Off” was a result of planning that had been completed before they pitch meeting ever took place.

“Face Off” premiered in January of 2011, and The Results Group immediately felt that it was exactly like their pitched idea. The first episode of the series features contestant using make up on models to create the image of a beetle, an ostrich or an elephant. The lawsuit filed states that this concept is markedly similar to the show The Results Group pitched to SyFy.

Liam McIntyre & Steven DeKnight on Spartacus: War Of The Damned

The creator and star of Starz' Spartacus, spill the beans on the new season...

Tonight sees the premiere of Spartacus' final season, War of the Damned, and to mark the occasion, creator Steven DeKnight and lead Liam McIntryre gave a round table interview about what to expect from the new series.

When was the decision to end the show made in terms of work on this upcoming season? Had production begun?

Steven S. DeKnight: No, thankfully we knew at the end of Spartacus: Vengeance when we were still writing the show. We were writing the last couple of episodes. And we knew there was a 99% chance that the next season would be our last season. So it gave us plenty of lead time to plan the end of Vengeance. So we could springboard into War of the Damned.

So thankfully we had, you know, it’s a very rare thing in television – we had plenty of time to figure out where we were going to go. The only question was how many episodes we were going to do. And we went through a lot of different variations. I mean everything from let’s do eight episodes so we can spend more money on each episode, to how about sixteen episodes and we’ll air it in two parts. But ultimately we thought that ten episodes would give you the most bang for your buck.

And I personally like The Princess Bride, let’s cut out all the boring parts and just give ten fantastic episodes. And hopefully we have.

Was the decision to end the show yours or the network’s?

SD: It was a combination. It really was. There were a lot of factors going into it. My original plan was five to seven seasons. Then we got to the war years, and the more and more I researched, the more and more all of the things that happened in the war were incredibly interesting. Also incredibly expensive and somewhat repetitive.

Spartacus and his band of rebels didn’t exactly have a dramatic three act structure to what they were doing. They were all over the place. They fought among themselves, they split apart, they came back together, they split apart, they went North, they went South, they went East, they went West, they went back North, they went back South. It was really a – when you read it, you really get the sense that there was no plan. It was just, you know, they were out and about.

And then it was one wave after another of Romans going after them and Romans getting defeated. So I really struggled with how to lay this out in an entertaining fashion for two or three more seasons without completely jettisoning history. And I didn’t want to completely turn my back on history and just make it fictional.

So it was a group decision, and a bold one I think for Starz. Everything they’ve done with this show has been a bold choice. But to end – and I kept saying, you know, look we would rather end this show on a high note at its most popular than drag it out for a couple more seasons. And have the audience start to fall away and people starting to get bored. And I totally agreed with that. I thought it was a great opportunity to end it and really end it strong.

Given the real history of Spartacus, should viewers prepare themselves for a downer ending?

SD: Well, you know, I have a long history of ripping hearts out. So, yeah, it’s a gut wrenching finale. It’s so hard to end a series, but I think everyone did such a fantastic job on this. It is a beautiful, powerful, emotional ending. And the trick was, how do you end it – and this was something we talked about before we shot the first episode of the series, was what are we going to do at the end?

I mean, everybody knows how it ends. It would be like doing a movie about the Titanic and the Titanic doesn’t sink.

What can you tell us about Caesar’s entry into this show? How big of a threat is he going to be for our “heroes”?

SD: Oh he’s a huge threat. Early on we had a discussion in the writers’ room, you know, looking at the villain side. We had Crassus which is fantastic. But we felt like we needed another element to bring into it and we hatched this idea, “Well what about Caesar? What about a young Caesar?” You know, really before he came to power.

We knew historically that Caesar of this time period was very much the order and he was a fighter. He was fighting in foreign wars, and he had this fantastic Julian name, but he was also broke. And those elements really matched well with Crassus. And we were also very interested in seeing the early days of Crassus and Caesar, before they joined together with Pompey and overthrew the Republic. We thought that would be a really great story to tell. And you usually don’t see that side of the story in movies and television shows about Caesar. It’s usually after they’ve overthrown the Republic, or right around the time they overthrow the Republic.

From the moment you first see him on screen, it is a different interpretation of Caesar that I think the audience has ever seen. And I think very right for this time period.

How has Spartacus changed going into War of ohe Damned?

Liam McIntyre: He’s a reluctant slave who has the mission to regain his life, essentially. That’s clearly defined in the second season that he’s lost his old life and he’s got the start of this new one as they take on this unique new responsibility that is given to him. Which is, you have the real opportunity to make a difference to so many lives, is that the person you are? And he sort of works that out.

But now it’s about a year later almost in the midst of this war, this full scale rebellion that was made so famous. He’s not the questioning guy that he has been in the past about what he should be doing and how he should do it. He’s no nonsense, kick-ass, take names kind of guy now. And he’s been a lot of fun to play.

It’s a great season for Spartacus this year because he gets to look at the rebels in a different way. Up until now he’s just been trying to get his own personal vengeance and trying to free these people that look to him for leadership. But now he’s seeing that freedom, there’s a different shape to the beast of his rebellion. Are they as good as he wants them to be? Are they doing what he thinks is right? Are they doing the right thing, you know? There are a lot of questions raised about who the good guy is in this series.

Is there a point where Spartacus is going to say, “This is too far? These people are innocent, we need to stop.”

LM: All I can say is that the thing I like about Spartacus is he isn’t necessarily a cut and dried hero character. He’s aware of the world around him and the fact that it’s not a pretty Disneyworld. It’s not something with a Spielberg ending. And he has to take stock of what does he want, what’s it for, and what is he prepared to sacrifice to get it?

And, yeah, there will be many times that the Romans and his own rebels make him look at what he’s created and question whether or not it’s okay what he is doing and the people around him are doing. Both sides. To tell you exactly how he decides that would be ruining the story, but it is part of what makes this character so fascinating.

He’s not always the good guy. And some of the things that make him the hero I like to think he is, are those difficult decisions that aren’t always good guy decisions. And so when he does fight, and fight the good fight, it’s more important. So he will be tested more than he ever has been on what is he doing, and why is he doing it.

Can we expect more epic battles in War of the Damned?

SD: Sure, there are many epic battles. We start off at the tail end of one that we see in the trailer, a great reveal of Spartacus coming up over a hill charging on a horse. And we really wanted to use that image, you know, this season is different. The scope is just spectacular.

There’s a running battle that happens mid-season that I think is pretty damn cool. And, of course, we build to an epic conclusion. I think the biggest battle that we’ve ever attempted, which is truly spectacular and I’m still scratching my head how we actually pulled that one off.

But yeah, the battles are fantastic. But more importantly, just like the early days of this show with the gladiator fights. The important thing for us was, what’s the emotion behind the battle? Who wants what? Who needs what? What are the stakes for the characters? Not just, you know, big fights. And that was a tricky part this season because the battles are so gigantic, but I think we managed to nail that one.

The ‘Revolution’ Effect — Drama Pilots Head To The Future

It is an unwritten rule of network development — if a new show from a genre not currently on TV becomes a hit in the fall, a lot of pilots in that milieu get ordered the following season as networks try to replicate the success.

NBC‘s Revolution. J.J. Abrams/Eric Kripke’s post-apocalyptic series emerged as the biggest hit of the fall, and now the networks are betting heavily on other dramas set in the future. Today alone, three futuristic hourlong pilots received a green light, including one from Abrams, an untitled project at Fox with Fringe showrunner J.H. Wyman set in the near future when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids.

The other two were at the CW — The Hundred, which has a post-apocalyptic setting similar to Revolution, and Oxygen. The Hundred takes place 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization when a spaceship with the human survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth to investigate the possibility of re-colonizing the planet. Oxygen is in the vein of District 9 ans is about a human society where a group of alien visitors are kept in prison. The CW has been the most aggressive in pursuing futuristic dramas.

In addition to The Hundred and Oxygen, the network has ordered a second pilot for the Hunger Games-esque The Selection, which is set 300 years into the future. After building its brand mainly on contemporary teen soaps, the CW has fully embraced genre and high-concept dramas this season. Out of its six pilots only one, Taylor Hackford’s naval base-set Company Town, reflects present America. In addition to the three futuristic dramas, the network also has backdoor pilot The Originals, a spinoff from hit vampire drama The Vampire Diaries, and Reign, about 16th century Mary Queen of Scots.

ABC, which has been consistent in its efforts to get a sci-fi/genre hit on the air post-Lost, has two more hopefuls, Marvel’s comic book-inspired S.H.I.E.L.D., from Joss Whedon, and the zombie-themed The Returned. Other high-concept/genre broadcast drama pilots in contention include Fox’s Sleepy Hollow, from Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci; and Delirium, set in a world where love is eradicated; Abrams’ other pilot, NBC’s Believe with Alfonso Cuaron, about a girl with special power battling evil elements; NBC’s Bloodline, about a young woman from an ancient line of mercenaries, brigands and killers; and the Carlton Cuse-produced comic book adaptation The Sixth Gun; as well as CBS’ summer series Under The Dome, based on Stephen King’s book.

Fox’s ‘Following’ Gets DVR Boost In Live+3

Fox considered DVR play so important for new midseason drama The Following, it ran “Set Your DVR!’ ads for the show as part of the launch campaign, the first time anyone had done that.

Many viewers did put the Kevin Bacon serial killer drama on their DVRs, and in Live +3, The Following’s Monday premiere rose to a 4.3/10 among adults 18-49, up +34% from its L+SD rating (3.2).

The Following remains the second-highest rated drama debut of the season behind NBC’s Revolution (5.4/15 in Live+3, 33% gain vs. L+SD), just ahead of CBS’ Elementary (4.2/12). It also edged Fox’s cancelled 2011-12 dramas Terra Nova (4.1 in the L+3) and Alcatraz (4.0).

Last Resort Series Finale Review: That Sinking Feeling

Did you ever see the episode of South Park called "Casa Bonita"? You know, the one where Cartman gets all jazzed up to go to this weird Mexican-themed restaurant that has a fake pirate's cave, cliff divers, and yummy enchiladas? Well at the end of the episode, the cops are closing in on him (as cops often do with that fatass) and all he can do is run as quickly through the restaurant as he can to experience every attraction one last time, if even only for a microsecond. That's what the conclusion to ABC's miniseries Last Resort felt like, and we all know why.

For future generations that find this article after streaming the finale on their pupil implants and wondering what the fudge was up with that ending, here's the deal. Creators Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek got the call of doom from ABC after writing the episode as though it was just Episode 13 and not the series finale. So the pair got out their erasers and rewrote large chunks of the episode to turn it into the final installment of Last Resort. It's totally shitty that that had to happen, but given the unforgiving circumstances they faced, I'd say Ryan and Gajdusek did a bang-up job. If nothing else, no one can say "Controlled Flight Into Terrain" was boring.
Ryan and Gajdusek insist that the bulk of "Controlled Flight Into Terrain" was just as intended, and the groundwork for another cardiac episode was in place as Prosser's mutiny got Xzibit'd (yo dawg I heard you like mutinies so I put a mutiny in your mutiny) and our loony tunes part-time mercenary, full-time rapist Anders took the con and the launch keys with the intent of selling the Colorado to the Chinese. That's one heck of a mid-season finale if I ever heard of one, and given the quality of the previous handful of episodes, I have no doubt that it would have been amazing.

Instead, about four hours' worth of television drama were compressed into a single episode—three of those hours in the last ten minutes—for a series finale that had no choice but to move at Mach speeds. It was just as much a look into the cruel business of television as it was a hurried wrap-up of an intriguing story. In fact, if you squint your eyes just so and listen very carefully, the episode almost becomes a self-aware metaphor for what was happening behind the scenes.

And in this hare-brained metaphor, Marcus Chaplin, the brave captain who steered the steel tube through troubled waters, represents Ryan and Gajdusek. The USS Colorado is obviously the show itself, and Chaplin's refusal to leave the ship behind and let it fall into the hands of the Chinese is Last Resort's showrunners displaying their belief in the series, giving it all until the very end. Wait! Stay with me here! The FA-18 fighter jets sent to blow up the Colorado were the impending and unstoppable cancellation (FA = "From ABC," 18 = "18-49 demo"), and the sub crew and other horrified onlookers represent us, the viewers who believed in the show and the men behind it. I'm obviously a mix of Sam Kendall and James King because I did 20 pushups the other day and once found a hint of a jawline when I was shaving. Ladies, if you think you can be Tani or Sophie or Christine, go ahead and send me a sexy picture. Let's call the Chinese Zero Hour, the show that will take Last Resorts's slot. The president of the United States is obviously ABC, and the evil puppet masters in Washington are the poor scheduling decisions (or GREAT conspiracy) to put Last Resort in a terrible time slot. (Opposite Thursday-night football, The Big Bang Theory, AND The X Factor? Come on, ABC, this was clearly a 10pm show that needed the male audience that would also watch football.) I'll admit that this metaphor sounded better after five beers last night, but I still think it holds some water.

So what did happen as a result of wrapping things up so quickly? Marcus went down with the ship, which I approve of. Sam, Prosser, Grace and the rest of the crew made it home and the conspiracy was in the process of being revealed to the public. James and Tani's relationship was quickly given one last look, but that's a storyline that needed a lot more time to grow and really, James should have taken the shot on Zheng. I don't think any of us would have complained if the shifty diplomat's brain matter ended up in the back seat of that Jeep. What happened to the island remains unclear, with Sophie pawing at Sam on a video screen (sad) and Serrat left to do who knows what. Kylie got the most insane, bleak, pitch-black ending of all, shooting Robert, because with his involvement in the attempted coup he was fucked anyway and it gave the Washington bad guys reason to believe Kylie was on their side. But Kylie wasn't done, and at the end she strolled into a fancy D.C. politico cocktail hour and shot the president! To death! We didn't see what happened to her, but I'm guessing the carpet ran red with her insides as the Secret Service opened her up with bullet art. And to those of you saying it's preposterous that her dad convinced security to wave her through a pat down, give me a break. The only real crime there is that the extra playing the security guy didn't get to rub his hands on Autumn Reeser. I feel for you, bro.

When you look back at the episode, it's incredible to recount just how much happened in those final moments and how it closed up the series in a mostly satisfying manner. It didn't always make the most sense, but given the constraints of the reality of the situation, I'm impressed. And I was definitely entertained.

Some out there will tell you that the early cancellation was a blessing in disguise and that Last Resort was better off as a miniseries anyway. But they're wrong! I always thought what we saw—the conflict with the U.S.—was a preamble to what Last Resort was really meant to be. With the island's mineral-rich resources, Sainte Marina was about to become one of the richest nations in the world, and Marcus would be sitting on a pile of wealth with tons of nuclear missiles ready to fire in his harbor. That's security. Financial and military independence was half-a-season away, and that's when the real fun would have started as a new superpower suddenly sprang up in the middle of the ocean. Marcus and Sam would've had to build some sort of national infrastructure with laws and public service, causing all sorts of complications as a Constitution was hastily drawn up. Last Resort was about a military standoff. But if it had gotten the chance, it would have been about creating a new nation. This thing was far from over.

But we'll never see Marcus trade his Wayfarers for standard-issue dictator-sized Aviators and carry a scepter as the powerful leader of Marcustan. We won't get to see Sam choose between the blonde attached to his finger or the French brunette right in front of him. We won't see how far into the dark side Kylie would have gone. We won't see James and Tani be Tarzan and Jane of the jungle. Thankfully Last Resort was given the chance to go out partially on its own terms, and it didn't half-sack it. As for you ABC, thank you for giving this kind of ambitious show a chance. But next time, schedule it so it has a chance. You've been warned.

Mark Wright 'had fling with Take Me Out contestant'

Mark Wright allegedly had a fling with a Take Me Out contestant.

The Take Me Out: The Gossip presenter slept with 27-year-old Natalie Hawker after they met in her hometown of Bristol in February 2012, The Sun reports.

Hawker claimed that the pair had sex after Wright picked her up from Faces nightclub in Essex a week later. They then kept in touch for seven months with texts and calls.

However, when the Bristolian appeared on the ITV dating show and was interviewed on its companion programme The Gossip, Wright urged her to keep quiet about their relationship.

She said: "He was scared. It was ridiculous. He would be introduced to me by the crew as a stranger when the fact was I had already ripped his pants off.

"The first time he even knew I was on the show was when we met on set. I didn't say anything and neither did he. But for three episodes of The Gossip he interviewed me like we were strangers. Afterwards he would text me begging me not to say a word.

"He said his producers had grilled him about whether or not we had slept together. He said he'd told them 'No' and I'd have to do the same."

The 27-year-old claimed that she realised Wright did not want a serious relationship and decided to apply for Take Me Out. She said: "He was only after one thing. It was fun for a while but I soon realised he was using me."

Wright is currently dating Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan. Hawker added: "I must have been mad thinking he would want a normal relationship. He loves himself and the idea of fame, so being with a soap star will suit him for now."

A spokeswoman for Take Me Out told the newspaper that producers were aware Wright and Hawker had met before but did not know the nature of their relationship. A representative for Wright declined to comment.

Last week, another former contestant criticised the Paddy McGuinness-fronted show for making her feel "bullied" into selecting a date.

Ratings Rat Race: ‘Nikita’ Hits Season Highs

Against very little competition on the Big 4 networks (only Kitchen Nightmares, Dateline and 20/20 were in originals), the CW’s Nikita posted a modest gain.

The spy drama (1.6 million viewers, up 23% from last week) drew its largest audience in more than a year, since 12/2/2011. Nikita also hit season highs in 18-49 (0.5/2, up a tenth from last week, best since 3/23/12) and in 18-34 (0.5/2, best since last season’s finale on 5/18/12). Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares (1.3/4) was up 18% from its most recent original on Dec. 14.