'Chainsaw' chews up rivals with $23M take
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- "Texas Chainsaw 3D" chewed its way to the top of the North American box office this weekend, raking in $23 million.
The gore fest stars Alexandra Daddario, Trey Songz and Tania Raymonde.
"Django Unchained," written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio, was a close second with $20.082 million.
All studio estimates of gross box office receipts are via Box Office Mojo.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was strong in third place with $17.525 million; "Les Miserables (2012) " fourth with $16.117 million; "Parental Guidance" fifth with $10.125 million; Jack Reacher, sixth with $9.3 million; "This Is 40" seventh with $8.559 million; "Lincoln" eighth with $5.258 million; "The Guilt Trip" ninth with $4.53 million.
Gellar in talks for television sitcom
HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is in talks for the role as a wife in a sitcom about what parents do when their children aren't at home, TVLine reported.
The comedy is in development at 20th Century Fox TV, The Hollywood Reporter said Saturday.
It would be Gellar's second attempt at comedy on television; she shot a comedy pilot for HBO in 2009 that wasn't picked up.
The Fox sitcom, a name for which was not reported, was written by "Men at Work" staff writer, Shepard Boucher, and David Hemingson and Margaret Riley are attached as executive producers.
Gellar's most recent television work was CW's "Ringer," which was canceled at the end of last season. She's best known for starring in supernatural drama, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Cher collaborating on TV pilot for LOGO
HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The Logo Network said this weekend it had signed Cher to a development deal for a potential script for a new television pilot.
The cable network, which caters to a homosexual audience, told reporters from the Television Critics Association that Cher and comedian Ron Zimmerman had been collaborating on the script, which is set in 1960s Hollywood.
"We read some of the stuff that Cher and Ron had written and it was really terrific," Logo Senior Vice President Brent Zacky told "The Hollwyood Reporter."
It has not been determined if Cher will have an on-camera role in the proposed series.
Cher and Zimmerman have been romantically linked, The Reporter said. Zimmerman's past TV writing credits include "Til Death" and "Shake it Up!"
BBC America acquires 'Broadchurch'
HOLLYWOOD, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- BBC America has acquired the rights to ITV drama "Broadchurch," staring two "Doctor Who" alums, David Tennant and Arthur Darvill, The Hollywood Reporter said.
The eight-part series will premiere in Britain before an American debut in 2013.
The drama focuses on the investigation of the murder of a young boy in a small coastal town. Tennant and Olivia Colman will play the lead detectives, while Darvill plays the town priest, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Vicky McClure, Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan and Will Mellor also star in the series.
"Broadchurch" is written and created by "Doctor Who" writer Chris Chibnall, Jane Featherstone is executive producer and Richard Stokes serves as producer.
