Kimmel to Host White House Dinner; 'War Horse' Star to Play Young Colin Firth; Hollywood Conglomerate Earnings Season: A Preview; Faith-Based 'Left Behind' Books Getting Film Reboot; 'Dictator' Star Signs With UTA; How to Improve 'X Factor' (Analysis)

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TOP STORIES Hollywood Conglomerate Earnings Season: Ad Outlook, Digital Deals to Be in Focus Many film units are projected to report quarterly gains amid solid box office growth, while cable network divisions should see continued ad improvements despite mixed ratings trends. EXCLUSIVE: 'War Horse' Star Jeremy Irvine to Play Young Colin Firth in 'The Railway Man' The actor will co-star in the project based on the experiences of Eric Lomax, who penned a memoir about his life during and after World War II. Faith-Based 'Left Behind' Books Returning to Big Screen Paul Lalonde and John Patus, who worked on the original films based on the Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins books about the End of Days, have written a screenplay that plays like a disaster movie Jimmy Kimmel Tapped to Host White House Correspondents' Dinner Kimmel will emcee the April 28 event, joining a roster of past hosts that includes Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers. EXCLUSIVE: 'The Dictator' Star Jason Mantzoukas Signs With UTA The actor-producer-writer will next be seen as the co-lead of Sacha Baron Cohen's next film. ANALYSIS: 'The X Factor': 10 Tips to Improve the Show Hint: No more Simone Battle nonsense, writes THR's Tim Goodman. FILM REVIEW: 'Tower Heist' Features Return of Smart-Mouthed Murphy Brett Ratner's comic caper about coworkers who turn the tables on a Bernie Madoff type is a smoothly engineered crowd pleaser. MOVIES 'Puss in Boots': How It Won the Weekend Box Office, But Disappointed Wall Street "Unexpected weather played a role," says Janney analyst Tony Wible, adding that its opening implies that the "Shrek" franchise "is completely out of momentum, which will increase pressure on DWA to find new franchises." EXCLUSIVE: Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson's 'Adventures of Tintin' to Close Out AFI Fest U.S. audiences will get a sneak-peak of the animated features ahead of its Dec. 21 debut. Octavia Spencer Cast in Diablo Cody's Directorial Debut The actress joins Julianne Hough and Russell Brand for the Mandate project. EXCLUSIVE: Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi in Talks for Steve Carell's 'Burt Wonderstone' Wilde is in talks to play the love interest to Carell's magician, while Buscemi will tackle the role of his longtime friend and former partner. EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Gosling's 'Logan's Run' Remake Enlists New Screenwriter Andrew Baldwin has boarded the Warner Bros. project, to be directed by "Drive" helmer Nicolas Winding Refn. TV DirecTV, News Corp. Reach Broad Carriage Deal A new deal unveiled late Monday covers FX, National Geographic, 19 regional sports networks, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Soccer, but also local Fox stations, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. Kim Kardashian Divorce: E! Caught by Surprise, Holding Emergency Meetings The network had already wrapped filming of "Kim and Kourtney Take New York"; cameras not on Kim in Australia. Don Mischer to Receive the PGA's Norman Lear Achievement in Television Award The Oscar-show producer will be the first producer of live events to be recognized with the honor. FX Renews 'American Horror Story' for Second Season The drama from "Glee" co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk stands as the network's No. 1 premiere in the cabler's history. Queen Latifah Tapped to Host Daytime Talk Show Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment and Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit will produce the daytime effort in association with "Dr. Oz" home Sony Pictures TV.

THE BUSINESS Hi-Def Consumer Spending Up 58 Percent Over Same Quarter Last Year The surge is due in part to a 60 percent jump in sales of catalog Blu-Ray releases, including "Star Wars," "Citizen Kane" and "The Big Lebowski." VIDEO: Bill Gates Returns Steve Jobs' Criticism With Praise The Microsoft chairman responded to a quote from the new biography "Steve Jobs" in which the deceased Apple CEO calls Gates unimaginative and accuses him of "shamelessly ripp[ing] off other people's ideas." PHOTOS: Hollywood's Biggest Real Estate Deals of the Week Who's buying, who's selling and who's chopping prices for the week ending October 30. NBC Must Defend Conduct in 'To Catch A Predator' Lawsuit Says Judge A lawsuit brought by a humiliated man suing the network for violating his privacy and inflicting emotional distress continues after a judge refuses to dismiss the case. Disney-ABC Television Signs Streaming Deals with Netflix, Amazon Prime Among the content covered by the Amazon.com deal will be ABC Family's "Greek," ABC's "Lost" and "Grey’s Anatomy," Disney Channel's "Phineas & Ferb," and Marvel's "Spider Man" and "X-Men Evolution." Bernie Madoff's Future Daughter-in-Law Only Person to Profit From New Book Some victims of the convicted Ponzi schemer are upset over the news, which comes as the family faces a multimillion-dollar lawsuit from the trustee appointed to recover money for them.

STYLE Dolce & Gabbana to Toast Italy's Oscar Entry 'Terrafirma' The Italian design duo will support their native Sicily by touting the film, which was shot there, at a Nov. 9 event in their Beverly Hills store. Rebecca Taylor to Open Store on Robertson Blvd., But the Stores Who Carry Her Aren't Happy When a bestselling designer turns into her own retailer, how do her other retailers feel?

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