Spike TV says so long to scripted

"Blue Mountain State" might be the last scripted show on Spike TV for years to come.Bawdy college football drama is about to begin its third season on Sept. 21, and while the numbers have been decent -- last season drew 1.3 million viewers -- neither the series, or any other scripted shows, are in the longterm plans for the network."For the near future, we are concentrating on unscripted," Sharon Levy, exec VP of original series, told Variety. "That's based on a strategy that is working."While Levy said she's always open to a scripted pitch, those around town hoping to sell a scripted series are being told Spike is focusing on reality shows.The move shouldn't surprise anyone: Spike has never relied on scripted programming in any serious way. Besides "Blue," the only other scripted skeins from Spike are 2008 comedy "Factory," about four guys who worked together and which ran for only one season; "Blade," which was based on the Marvel Comics property and also ran only one season; and 2007's Marine drama "The Kill Point.""Auction Hunters" is currently Spike's highest-rated series, averaging 1.7 million viewers overall. Skein, which is similar to A&E's "Storage Wars," focuses on the contents of storage units and the value of the items that people can bid on. Other series on the air include "1000 Ways to Die," "Bar Rescue" and "Deadliest Warrior."Spike also announced the pickup recently of four new reality series: "American Digger," "Big Easy Justice," "World's Worst Tenants" and "Undercover Stings" are all set to premiere next year.Spike lost one of its biggest reality players when the UFC, which had aired on the channel for the past seven years, recently signed a multiyear deal with Fox, FX and Fuel. The UFC was a big catalyst in drawing 18-34 men and with the sport no longer on Spike's roster, there is a bigger push to reach a higher-end 18-49 demo."We have to broaden out," Levy said. "Shows that are working for us and have been picked up point to that strategy." Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

Apple Finishes Its 99-Cent Television Show Rental fees

Neitherthe TV systems nor customers will probably complain after Apple today dropped a choice of leasing network Television show episodes for 99 cents. Apple needed to fight challenging thenetworks aboard with theconcept this past year, but consumersproved awesome to rental fees. Apple has lately given clients a chance to watch shows they bought via iTunes whenever they need, on any Apple device, by streaming it from the iTunes within the Cloud service. “iTunes clients have proven they extremely prefer purchasing Television shows,” stated Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr.Fox agreed that single-episode rental fees were a non-starter in the own statement:”After carefully thinking about the outcomes from the rental trial, it grew to become obvious that content possession is really a more appealing lengthy-term value proposition both for iTunes clients as well as for our business. To help enhance the need for possession, we're dealing with Apple to create content available inside their new cloud-based service.”

Rhianna and Cher's Duet Due in September

Rhianna, Cher Rhianna and Cher's lengthy-gestating duet "The Finest Factor" might find the sunshine of day in September, based on a tweet from Cher (via Entertainment Weekly). Rhianna release a photography book The song is anticipated to become charge single off Cher's next album. No release date or title continues to be introduced, though Cher has formerly referred to the gathering as both that contains "a bit more real instruments, like guitars and things like that" after which "WAY DANCE." Whether which means she's modified the album's seem during the period of its creation, or she's opting for a natural disco vibe remains to appear. Cher: I forget to call Chaz "him" Gaga and Cher started their public association once the latter handed the first kind the recording of the season trophy finally year's MTV Video Music Honours. And talking about the VMAs, Gaga just introduced that she'll open the 2010 ceremony. Which will air live from La on Sunday, August. 28 at 9/8c. Lady Gaga's meat dress a part of Rock 'n roll Hall of Fame exhibit Pay attention to Gaga's solo demo of "The Finest Factor" below:

Rooney Mara Talks Incredibly Intense Dragon Tattoo Rape Scene & Two-Month Audition

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Rooney Mara will soon be seen in one of this years most highly anticipated movies, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the 26-year-old actress says nabbing the coveted role of Lisbeth Salander through over two months of auditioning was nearly as tough as the anti-heroine she fought to play. I was just super frustrated. I was like, You have to decide. Either you think Im the girl or you dont. Theres not much more I can do to prove it to you, Rooney told Entertainment Weekly, of her final meeting with director David Fincher before learning she had clinched the title role. I went in there sort of ready to fight. I was pissed. But David sat me down and gave me this long speech about the part. Then he handed me his iPad, and it had the press release on it, she continued. He said, Im prepared to send this out. You have half an hour to let me know if you want the part. Once the casting battle was won, Rooney, who previously worked with David on The Social Network, moved on to the next challenge filming often shockingly violent scenes for the film (based on the first novel of author Stieg Larssons Millennium Trilogy), especially the notoriously disturbing rape act. It was incredibly intense. We did it all in a week the week of Valentines Day, oddly enough, she told the mag of the pivotal scene. We were working 16 hours a day, and it was really, really challenging, not just emotionally but physically. But its such an important scene. We wanted to do everything we could to get that right. As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Daniel Craig, who stars alongside Rooney as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the upcoming American version of the film, cautioned that the movie will not hold back when it comes to Larssons acutely graphic scenes. I was shocked by [the violence] and I literally have seen [only] minutes of the movie, Daniel told Access Hollywood of his surprise at the level of brutality that was transferred from the best-selling book to the film, at the junket for Cowboys & Aliens in Montana last month. But in the books, if you read the books, theres this sort of implicit violence thats going through them all the time that makes you turn the page because youre not ever sure whats going to happen next. And its in the movie. Its there, he added, emphatically. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which also stars Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Joely Richardson and Stellan Skarsgard, is slated to hit theaters on December 21. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

VIDEO: Ruben Fleischer Explains Why He Passed on Mission: Impossible 4 for 30 Minutes or Less

After scoring a critical and commercial hit with his directorial debut, 2009’s Zombieland, director Ruben Fleischer decided to make the relatively humble crime comedy 30 Minutes or Less (in theaters Friday) as his follow-up, rather than take on some huge Hollywood work-for-hire gig like Mission: Impossible 4, which he was once in the running to direct. And as he tells Cinema Blend, when he watched the first trailer for the Brad Bird-helmed spy sequel, he knew he’d made the right decision. “I just felt like if I didn’t do [30 Minutes or Less] then I would never have the chance to, because once you’re in that machine then that’s what you do,” said Fleischer. “I also didn’t have the confidence, to be totally honest. I wasn’t ready to take on that scale of pressure, it sounded really intimidating.” It’s a rational line of thought from Fleischer, whose 30 Minutes or Less — which stars Zombieland’s Jesse Eisenberg as a pizza man forced to rob a bank — feels distinctly his. Besides, Fleischer’s next film, the period crime thriller Gangster Squad, will be a big enough step up in terms of scale. Watch the full video below. Exclusive Video: Ruben Fleischer Explains Why He Turned Down Mission: Impossible 4 [Cinema Blend]

Check Out Six New -- and Unusual -- Posters From 'Contagion'

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Steven Soderbergh's 'Contagion' is opening Sept. 9 and from what we've seen of the trailer, it sure is gonna be a scarer -- possibly because it's so close to reality. The plot line: 'Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart. Warner Bros. has just released six character posters that feature each of the main cast members -- Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and Gwyneth Paltrow -- in various states of disbelief and horror. Check them out after the jump -- and also take a gander at the trailer. And please stay calm. Tip o' the hat to CinemaBlend

'Hunger Games' Sequel Set To Burn In November 2013

FROM MTV NEWS: Get your fire extinguishers ready, because the world is going to be "Catching Fire" on November 22, 2013. Lionsgate announced the release date for the second installment in the "Hunger Games" film series Monday (August 8), following two new stills from the first flick hitting the Web. "The Hunger Games" is still in production and is slated for a March 23, 2012, release. "Catching Fire" is the only movie slotted for the prime 2013 Thanksgiving weekend spot. No word yet on whether "Catching Fire" will maintain Gary Ross as director or whether it will follow "The Twilight Saga" and "Harry Potter" trend of getting new directors for its four installments. But, considering "The Hunger Games" is close to wrapping, the timing of the announcement leads us to assume that Lionsgate is attempting to maintain some continuity from the first movie to the second. The new photos from "The Hunger Games" show that the cast is well into filming. The first still shows off Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the middle of the titular Hunger Games. It is a familiar image from the previously released photos, but the "X-Men: First Class" star looks ready for battle with her quiver full of arrows. If you look close enough, you can even see her mockingjay pin peeking out on her jacket. Read the full story at MTV News!

Sepultura:Under Siege Live in Barcelona

Under Siege (Live In Barcelona) is the first live home video by Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura, released in 1991. It was recorded during their mid-1991 European Arise tour and proeminently features songs from the said album. Interspersed between the songs are interviews with the band members in which they discuss their religious views, how they got together and growing up in Belo Horizonte. The video was later remastered and released as part of Chaos DVD.

Drobnyk moves to Lifetime

DrobnykChristian Drobnyk continues to be drawn on as senior Vice president of arranging and purchases at Lifetime.Located in Gotham and confirming towards the net's topper, Nancy Dubuc, Drobnyk will result in managing all program purchases, arranging and planning Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network and Lifetime Real Women.Most lately, Drobnyk was controller and g.m. of UKTV Entertainment Systems working in london. Before heading overseas, he was senior Vice president of programming and development for TLC and Discovery Home Funnel in the usa. "Once we still increase our original programming slate using more than 175 hrs of recent content, Christian's experience and inventive arranging instincts is going to be an essential element of our pursuit to grow the Lifetime brand," Dubuc stated. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com

DiCaprio Thinking about Creed Of Violence

Another Western for Leo?It has been a couple of years since Leonardo DiCaprio strapped about the spurs for Mike Raimi's The Fast and also the Dead, his last time going in to the dusty deserts from the Western genre. However with Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (of course not really a pure illustration of the flicks), he's returning to it. And today comes the chance that he's being courted for that Creed of Violence. Violence has been around development for a few years, with Todd Area mounted on change and direct the script from Boston Teran's novel. Occur 1910 about the Mexican-American border, the result is a criminal known as Rawbone who buys a truckload of arms to consider to Mexico where revolution is brewing. Apprehended through the Bureau of Analysis, he's pushed into utilizing his plan being an undercover agent, supported by Agent John Lourdes, that has a secret history with Rawbone. The LA Occasions reviews that DiCaprio continues to be offered among the leads, even though he's yet to create up his mind, he could finish up playing either the criminal or even the lawman. Will this make his list? Or become yet another scrap for other people to battle in his wake....