Happy 45th Birthday, Adam Sandler! What's His Finest Onscreen Moment?

Forty-five years ago today, a baby boy named Adam Richard Sandler was born to an electrical engineer and a nursery school teacher in Brooklyn. After breaking big on Saturday Night Live at the age of 24, Sandler would go on to become one of the most successful actor-comedians of our generation and an even more successful movie producer. In spite of the scathing reviews that his films generate, we still love him as an entertainer, laugh maker and occasionally dramatic actor. So gather around the cake, sing-squawk a few off-key bars of “Happy Birthday” and let’s name Sandler’s finest onscreen moment. So many movies to choose from! Although the Saturday Night Live alum has had some funny — adorable even — moments in legitimate comedies like Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer, showed some dramatic range in Spanglish and Reign Over Me, and you know, successfully fit into a pair of tight jean shorts in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, I think his finest moment onscreen occurred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2002 drama Punch-Drunk Love. In an unlikely turn for Sandler, the actor provided depth, darkness and sadness as Barry Egan, a lonely, harmonium-tapping executive who flies into occasionally violent bouts of rage. In the following [NSFW] scene, watch as Sandler’s character is pushed to his limit after being scammed by a phone-sex company and demands to speak with a supervisor (Philip Seymour Hoffman). For this role, Sandler earned his first and only Golden Globe nomination. Now, what do you consider to be Sandler’s finest onscreen moment?

NRK, TSR buy 'Jews and Muslims'

BIARRITZ -- French shingle Phares et Balises has inked pre-sales handles Norway's NRK and Switzerland's TSR on four-part docu series "Jews and Muslims: To Date, So Close" at TVFI's Rendez-Vous mart in Biarritz. The organization can also be in discussions with purchasers from Sweden, The other agents and The country.The Pounds 1.7 million ($2.3 million) skein, which blends 2D watercolor animation with archive material, was commissioned by Franco-German internet Arte. Directed by Karim Miske, who formerly helmed "Muslims in France," it had been composed through the helmer with Sylvie Grunberg-Jezequel, an old Arte France professional, and historian Emmanuel Blanchard.Docu compares the relationship between Jews and Muslims in the seventh century up to the current day, and takes the crowd to Andalusia, Bagdad, Cairo, Istanbul, Palestine and Israel.It offers interviews with European and American historians, authors and humorists.The concept is to possess a historic approach as opposed to a polemical one, and narrate the film within an engaging and aesthetically appealing way," stated Phares et Balises' topper of worldwide development Yasmine Benkiran.The animation is produced by Thomas Azuelos, who highlighted the animated film "Chienne d'histoire," which won the video clip award in Cannes this past year. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

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Latest Clip From 'The Thing' Reminds Us Why We Do Not Defrost Aliens (VIDEO)

Set 72 hours prior to the occasions of John Carpenter's 1982 remake (also entitled 'The Thing'), the approaching horror thriller 'The Thing' follows an Arctic scientific team that stumbles upon a crashed alien ship, accidentally energizes the creature hidden inside, after which discovers hard method in which the alien is really a shape-shifting killing machine. All inside a day's work. In the end have no idea the very first factor about Arctic research (or the way you would react after this type of find), we have seen enough horror movies to understand that you simply let sleeping monsters lie. As you can tell within the latest clip from MTV, though, these researchers are clearly this is not on the amount. Switch off your blowtorches and click on through for that latest creepy clip from 'The Factor.' Mind to MTV to see what Mary Elizabeth Winstead needed to say concerning the film and search for 'The Thing' in theaters on March. 14. How can you think the 2011 prequel will rival the 1982 remake? [via MTV] Photo thanks to Universal Pictures.

Gary Oldman Wants to Direct Colin Firth in His Next Film

Two great Brits that go great together: Fresh off a promotional stint for their spy thriller 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' Gary Oldman is planning to direct co-star Colin Firth in his next film. "I can't say what it is, but it's a remake," Oldman told Esquire magazine, "and when I worked with Colin I thought: here's the guy to do it with." We can't imagine what it could be, although we're going to speculate it's something classically British. Oldman made his directorial debut with the grim, semi-autobiographical 'Nil by Mouth' in 1997 and this unnamed remake would be only his second time going behind the camera. ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' which is getting fantastic reviews, by the way, is also a remake, of course. It was previously filmed for television with Alec Guinness in the role of retired spy George Smiley. "We're as different as chalk and cheese," Oldman said of filling the late Guinness's shoes," but I'm still playing Smiley, same text, pretty much. That was in the back of my head a bit, the ghost of Sir Alec, knowing that you're not going to completely reinterpret." What movie do you think Oldman has in mind to remake? [Via Daily Mail] image courtesy of WireImage

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Japanese TV Host's Resignation Shines Light on Showbiz Mob Ties

TOKYO -- The sudden retirement of Shinsuke Shimada, one of Japanese TV's biggest stars, on Aug. 24 after links to a boss in the largest yakuza gang were exposed is bringing attention to the long and deep ties between organized crime and showbiz. 'Various parts of society have made active efforts to eradicate links with crime syndicates, but the entertainment world is yet to follow suit," opined an Aug. 30 article in the Daily Yomiuri, the English edition of Japan's, and the world's, biggest newspaper by circulation. Police are now asking for an explanation of the underworld ties from Shimada's powerful agency, Yoshimoto Kogyo, which has been rapidly expanding overseas in recent years, signing deals from Hollywood to Shanghai. Shimada hosted no fewer than six weekly TV shows on some of Japan's biggest networks until it emerged that a weekly magazine was about to run an article detailing his friendship with Hirofumi Hashimoto, head of the Kyokushin-Rengo, a gang affiliated to the huge Yamaguchi-gumi. Shimada's troubles started 10 years back when, during a variety TV show, he compared the chrysanthemum-shaped symbol of an ultra-nationalist group to a certain nether region body part. With the chrysanthemum also being the symbol of the Japanese imperial family, the extreme right-wingers were not amused. They sent sound trucks blaring out abuse about Shimada -- a standard modus operandi of Japanese nationalist groups --- to his house, the offices of Yoshimoto Kogyo and the TV station in Osaka. Using an ex-world boxing champion with gangster links as an intermediary, Shimada turned to the gang boss to help fix his noisy problem with the ultra-rightists, many of whom have close ties to the yakuza. The two remained friends and exchanged text messages, and the gangster frequented a restaurant run by Shimada. Cavorting with gangsters may have gone to Shimada's head, and in 2004 he beat up a female employee of Yoshimoto Kogyo who he felt had failed to greet him with proper respect. He was fined 300,000 yen ($3,750) by an Osaka court; the woman later won 10 million yen ($130.000) in a civil case against Shimada and the agency. The openness with which Japan's yakuza gangs have been permitted to operate in Japan is often difficult for Westerners to comprehend. Membership of the self-styled "chivalrous organizations" is not illegal: They have registered offices and can be found in the phone book. The Yamaguchi-gumi gang federation in which Shimada's tattooed acquaintance was an underboss is estimated to have around 40,000 members, accounting for about half of Japan's yakuza. Gangsters from another Yamaguchi-gumi group, the Goto-gumi, slashed the face of renowned director Juzo Itami in 1992, angry at the depiction of the yakuza as clowns and bullies in his film Minbo no Onna (Minbo is the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion). When the director jumped to his death five years later, many suspect the yakuza provided a helping hand. In 2007, in an episode that could have been written for a comedy crime film, a detective in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was downloading porn onto his computer when he accidentally shared a gigabyte of police files. The files listed front companies for the Yamaguchi-gumi and Goto-gumi and included the name ofBurning Productions, one of Japan's major talent agencies. Although the files spread around the Internet like wildfire, no mainstream media organization -- most of which have major interests in TV and movie production -- named the agency in their reports of the story. "Everybody in the business knows about Burning, it's a kind of open secret," said an industry source who asked not to be identified. Ironically, a penchant for mixing with stars and attracting excessive media attention led to the downfall of Tadamasa Goto, the leader of the Goto-gumi. Following a celebrity-studded birthday celebration and news that Goto had done a deal with the FBI to get a liver transplant at UCLA Hospital in California, he was driven out of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Goto has now supposedly become a Buddhist priest, but there are rumors that it was he who leaked the information to the media about Shimada's links to the underworld. Goto felt that Shimada had been disrespectful to him in the past and described the TV host as a "chimpira" (low-level punk) in his autobiography. In recent years, the National Police Agency, under the leadership of Takaharu Ando, has finally made serious attempts to curtail the power of the yakuza. "We want them to disappear from public society,"Ando told journalists in Tokyo last year after a meeting of police chiefs from across Japan that he called to discuss anti-gang strategies. In October, a new law banning all interaction with gangs comes into effect, and this may have prompted Yoshimoto Kogyo, Shimada's agency, to force his resignation, despite the big financial hit it will take from his departure. The agency, Japan's biggest, was taken over in 2009 by a consortium of all the major TV networks. "One of the reasons for the takeover may have been an attempt to cut out the influence of the yakuza, which has long been rumored to have links with company," said a Yoshimoto Kogyo staffer. Related Topics International Asia

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MTV Video Music Honours Champion Katy Perry: Firework Is really a Movement (Video)

Katy Perry walked from Sunday's MTV Video Music Honours a large champion with two trophies. Additionally towards the triumph of winning Video Of The Season for "Firework," she also won for the best Collaboration with Kanye for "E.T."our editor recommendsMTV Video Music Honours: Tyler the Creator Still Hates Bruno Mars' Music (Video)MTV Video Music Honours: Rhianna Does not Break From Foul-Mouthed Drag King Act (Video)MTV Video Music Honours: Nicki Minaj Talks Her Approaching Album (Video) PHOTOS: MTV VMAs: Best and Worst Moments "I had been just shocked," Perry states backstage within the pressroom about her Video Of The Season Award. "Because there's lots of great people for the reason that category, especially Adele, who I really like and it is most worthy of anything, any nomination." "I felt like I had been in the best place tonight, particularly with that award," she continues. "Everyone knows 'California Girls' is a superb song, but it will not alter the world or anything like this. But, 'Firework' in my experience, it feels as though it is a movement. I seem like you could sing tunes about clubs and bub and b---hes and hos, however it takes a bit more to sing tunes like 'Firework.'" PHOTOS: MTV VMAs Red-colored Carpet Perry's husband, actor and comedian Russell Brand, required charge about the event's tribute towards the late Amy Winehouse and Perry states, "I am happy with him, whatever arrives of him." "I believe he was directly on," she then adds. "I believe not just was he supplying the gorgeous color scheme that Amy was, but he seemed to be supplying an authentic perspective, too, and giving aspire to anybody available that felt like they needed hope. So, I felt enjoy it really was well rounded and wise which explains why I married him, because he's wise. I become familiar with a lot." She also spoke concerning the difficult tour she's on and her reasoning for that night's unique outfit options. Watch the entire interview below. Email: Jethro.Nededog@thr.com Twitter:@TheRealJethro Related Subjects Katy Perry Russell Brand Video Music Honours VMAs 2011

T Bone Burnett Reflects on 'O Brother Where Art Thou' Soundtrack

Plenty of films have soundtracks that surpass the critical success of their movie, but the album for 'O Brother Where Art Thou' was a whole different monster. Not only did the record sell more than eight million copies worldwide, it won the 2001 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Recently, music producer/archivist T Bone Burnett sat down with HuffPost Culture to discuss his role in picking the music for the film, the process of recording it and, most importantly, whether George Clooney has a good voice. A few of Burnett's choice quotes are below. If you are a big 'O Brother' fan (of the film or movie), head on over to HuffPost Culture to read the entire piece. What it was like working on the film 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' became much more than a killer gig. It was a fulfillment of a life of chasing down the old music without ever knowing where it was leading me. We were tapping into a beautiful and powerful musical stream. What is often called Bluegrass may have been in the middle of this stream, but it's all part of a long history that includes everyone from Duke Ellington to Lefty Frizzell, from Billie Holiday to Elvis Presley, and maybe most of all, to Louis Armstrong. This stream we explored is the extraordinary music of the last century -- an incredible treasure that comes to us directly from an age when music was made by everyone. It was analogue. It was made before the rise of the machines. On choosing the movie's top song, 'Man of Constant Sorrow' We recorded the music before the movie. The first song we had to get was "Man Of Constant Sorrow." The song is, of course, a standard -- there are probably fifty versions of it. The version we used for our template was the version the Stanley Brothers had done with two singers answering the last line of every verse -- which is, of course, comedic and paradoxical as the tune is about a tore-down, blown-out cat with these other voices attesting to the veracity of his tragic state of affairs. Somehow this song captured the tone of the movie--epic and dead serious on the one hand and comic and affable on the other. On George Clooney singing 'Man of Constant Sorrow' As many people know, Dan Tyminski from Alison Krauss and Union Station sang "Man Of Constant Sorrow" in an original and soulful way on the soundtrack. He also wrote and played the guitar part that gave the song a new life. But just for the record, George Clooney is a very good singer. We'd already recorded Dan singing the song to find an arrangement and, at the very least, give George something to work with. If there had been more time to get George up to speed, he could have sung that song himself.