Sundance executive director leaving post
PARK CITY, Utah, April 11 (UPI) -- Ken Brecher says he will step down as executive director of the Sundance Institute, the group responsible for the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Brecher, who will instead serve as the institute's strategic adviser effective April 30, said in a statement he was relinquishing his duties at a time when he is confident in the institute's structure, Variety reported Friday.
"I have completed my work in building an outstanding leadership team," Brecher said. "I could not be more confident that the institute is now poised for the next phase of its innovative work in supporting independent artists."
The Sundance Institute credited Brecher, who held his post for 14 years, with establishing its Documentary Fund and overseeing the Sundance Theater Program, while also attracting grants for the film group.
Variety said Brecher's decision comes two months after Sundance Festival Director Geoff Gilmore left his post to serve as Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer.
While programming director John Cooper has been named as Gilmore's successor, the search for Brecher's replacement has yet to begin.
Harrelson compares paparazzi to zombies
NEW YORK, April 11 (UPI) -- The paparazzi photographers who chase celebrities around in pursuit of profitable pictures are like zombies, U.S. actor Woody Harrelson says.
The "Zombieland" actor said in a statement Friday that the aggressive entertainment industry photographers are like the fictional undead flesh-eating monsters, E! Online reported.
The statement from Harrelson, 47, comes after a photographer for the TMZ entertainment news group accused the actor of assault.
The unidentified photographer informed the New York Port Authority Police that Harrelson allegedly shoved the photographer's camera at LaGuardia Airport Wednesday night.
The photographer alleges in a filed complaint that his camera, which struck him in the face, was damaged in the incident.
E! Online said the alleged conflict occurred when the photographer attempted to get a close-up shot of Harrelson.
Showtime passes on Robbins' 'Side Effects'
LOS ANGELES, April 11 (UPI) -- The Showtime cable network says it will not pick up the pilot for the drama "Possible Side Effects" from U.S. actor Tim Robbins.
The Hollywood Reporter said Friday the U.S. cable network made "Side Effects" the fourth series pilot it has passed on during the last week alone.
Showtime previously rejected the comedy pilots "The End of Steve" and "Ronna and Beverly," along with a spin-off of the network's popular drama "The L Word."
"Side Effects," which was written and directed by Robbins, focuses on a dysfunctional family in the middle of a pharmaceutical industry crisis.
The drama pilot, which starred Ellen Burstyn and Tim Blake Nelson, could find a new home on a different network now that Showtime has cut ties, the Reporter said.
Walker says fifth 'Furious' film a go
LOS ANGELES, April 11 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Paul Walker says he and fellow "Fast and Furious" star Vin Diesel will return for a fifth installment in the street racing movie series.
Walker, who plays FBI agent Brian O'Conner in "Furious," said while the latest offering that hit the theaters last week was intended to wrap up the series, it ultimately offered an ending that opens territory for a fifth installment, E! Online reported Friday.
"This was supposed to be it," Walker said of "Furious," which earned $72.5 million last weekend. "There wasn't supposed to be the open-ended closing like there was. When I first read the screenplay, I was like, 'Man, look what they're doing.' But without question, with the way things opened up, Vin and I will be coming back, we're making a fifth one, and we're going to Brazil, that's it."
Walker appeared in "The Fast and the Furious" and "2 Fast 2 Furious" before sitting out the franchise's third installment, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."
