On the front page of Variety.com they have a photo gallery titled,"10 Comics to Watch". Then there are pictures of the performers and random - out of context but not particularly clever or interesting quotes. Are they from their acts? From interviews? Their blogs? Where did they come up with them?

For example there was a photo of Jon LaJoie and the caption: "If I were to pitch 'Show me your Genitals,' I highly doubt they'd put that on television."

Lame quote. Unless it was by Joe Francis then 'lame quote' would be redundant.

But then we saw that Ralphie May was also on the list. Not exactly a new up and comer. He was on the first and second season of Last Comic Standing, which aired before myspace existed. And in internet terms (or dog years) that's half a century ago. And his quote was:

"If you work with them, a mullet wearer 'Will come and take the tobacco right out of your hand."

A 'mullet wearer'? Is that really a phrase May used? In 2008?! Really? Is it the quotee or the quoter?

The Hollywood Reporter has been "rebranded." Is that corporate speak for "in a death rattle?"

We kid! We kid!

The new look is, well, new.

The 78 year-old logo has been completely changed, and the whole publication has gone way more international. In fact, to hear Eric Mika, Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, talk about various Arabic nations (we're not kidding), click on the video here.

Variety gives social networking the business. Ever think to yourself: If a giant media company was looking for a way to hemorrhage money, why not just give it to me?

Yeah. Us, too.

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The week-old Hollywood Reporter: Premier Edition is already making its corporate parents proud. The publication, which launched Nov. 2 in New York, Miami, Atlanta and Washington D.C. is in 95 newsstands in New York.

At the same time, the trade has launched Hollywood Reporter Direct, a widget that delivers customized news, alerts and video from The Hollywood Reporter directly to subscribers' desktops.

Clearly, the trade is making passes at the expanding global market -- while trying to outdo its competition. According to the Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter has a circulation of just over 25,000 to Daily Variety's 32,000.

FBLA loves hearing that there is still a vibrant corner of the otherwise sad and sorry publishing world. So we eagerly talked with Hollywood Reporter Senior Vice President and Publishing Director Eric Mika about the trade's apparent push to conquer the world -- or at least the world of global entertainment news delivery.

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DreamWorks, Paramount Update
DreamWorks is working through tension with parent company Paramount Pictures with the latter reporting boxoffice receipts for DreamWorks under the newly-created DreamWorks-Paramount banner, Variety is reporting. The move, Var says, "could help pave the way for a scenario in which DreamWorks becomes more of an autonomous production company." Read the rest of the story here.

'Brothers' Love Triangle Set
Natalie Portman will join Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers for director Jim Sheridan, Variety reports. It's a love triangle based on the 2004 Danish pic by Susanne Bier starring Connie Nielsen.

Diesel, Walker Back in Drivers' Seats
Universal is back on track with its Fast and the Furious installment with a reteaming of the first pic's original stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker back on board to star in a fourth film. You may remember that the pic helped boost their respective careers and in turn ditched they franchise. They're back now but obviously THR has already forgotten who Diesel is: on the trade paper's site, a pic of Chris Daughtry is identified as Diesel. Guess it was the bald head that got the editors confused.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Wolf Readies Dynamite New Project
Dick Wolf is taking a dive outside his rich Law & Order pool for a new project on the small-screen, Variety is reporting. He's teaming with Disturbia duo D.J. Caruso and J.H Wyman on a "comic-book style drama that will use the same greenscreen technology utilized in the hit pic 300." It's based on a graphic novel character by Max Allan Collins called Johnny Dynamite. Read the project deets here.

Strike Inches Closer to Reality
Variety also has the latest updates in the potential upcoming writers' strike with a story by Dave McNary about the WGA's Monday email that seeks approval from its members for strike authorization. Check all the facts and the nasty back-and-forth here.

Friday the 13th, Again
Hollywood must be running out of original horror ideas. THR reports that New Line has hired Damian Shannon and Mark Swift to write Friday the 13th, a remake of the horror classic. This time, the trade paper says, the new pic will focus on horror icon Jason again in the infamous setting of Crystal Lake. Oh yeah, and Michael Bay is one of the producers.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Transformers 2 Picks a Date
Paramount and DreamWorks are moving ahead with plans for a Transformers 2 project, stamping down June 26, 2009 as the release date, reports Variety. The story says the date is just a target but isn't "ironclad" as they still need to lock in Michael Bay and work out the ongoing tension between the two studios.

Reiner Backs Clinton
Variety's Ted Johnson writes in today's paper that director Rob Reiner has given Hillary Clinton's campaign a boost by endorsing her in the upcoming election. Johnson writes that Reiner's decision is a "key endorsement" for Hil because he's "one of the entertainment industry's most politically-active figures."

THR reports that Disney is canceling its Disney Mobile MVNO service, the second such Disney-branded project to bite the dust in less than a year following ESPN Mobile. Read the full Disney shuttering story here.

- CHRIS GARDNER

CASTING ROUND-UP
Universal Pictures is back in business with Jennifer Aniston, signing the actress to star opposite Aaron Eckhart in Traveling, Variety reports. Pic will be the directing debut of Brandon Camp who wrote the script with Mike Thompson. You guessed it - it's a romantic dramedy that stars Aniston as a floral designer who factors heavily into a self-help guru's realization that he practices none of the principles he teaches.

Kevin James has signed on to write, produce and star in Mall Cop for Columbia Pictures. We don't really need to tell you the story, which he'll write with Nick Bakay, Variety reports.

Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn will star opposite Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Jason Bateman in State of Play for Universal Pictures/Working Title, writes Variety. Project is an adaptation of the British miniseries.

Will & Grace alum Eric McCormack is headed to cable TV, signing on to star in the TNT drama pilot Truth in Advertising, THR reports. The project is set at multimillion-dollar advertising agency Rothman, Greene & Mohr, where executives must continually prove themselves as their jobs are on the line every day. Sounds a bit like FBLA.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Discovery Channel Back Into 'Wild'
Bear Grylls is back on the air! THR reports on the comeback of his unscripted show Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel, which put the series back on the tube on Monday, re-edited of course.

The network added a disclaimer, THR says, to four episodes from the first season which featured not-so-natural actions by Grylls while "living in the wild." Those acts included checking into a motel and assistance while building rafts or bridges. Read the full report here.

Gordon Finds 4-year Home at ABC
Producer Mark Gordon, known for his big-screen work on Saving Private Ryan and The Day After Tomorrow, continues his winning streak on the small-screen by signing a deal with ABC Studios. The man behind Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Army Wives and Reaper, will be ABC-based for another four years, reports THR.

Disney Jumps on Jonas Bros. Bandwagon
Speaking of the small-screen, the Disney Channel has set its sights on crowning another set of tween royalty by inking the Jonas Brothers, reports THR. The trio, Kevin, Joe and Nick, will star in the spy comedy series J.O.N.A.S. and the telefilm Camp Rock.

- CHRIS GARDNER

Yuma Scores at Boxoffice
James Mangold and producer Cathy Konrad's follow-up to their Walk the Line, the western 3:10 to Yuma starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, took top stop at the boxoffice over the weekend. Variety reports that it played on the high-end of expectations with Ben Fritz writing that it was moved up to "give it more breathing room" before the release of Brad Pitt's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Read about how the rest of the pics played here.

Cates to Produce Oscars, Again
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is standing by its lucky guy Gil Cates who has signed on to produce the Oscarcast again next year. It will be his 14th time driving the Oscar train, a job that in itself has garnered 99 Emmy nominations and 25 wins, Variety reports.

Variety on Blanchett, Elizabeth
On the heels of her best actress win at the Venice Film Festival, Cate Blanchett made her way overseas to Toronto to tout a return to the throne in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Variety's Todd McCarthy is happy to see her reprise the role that made her famous, but that's about it. "Without the pleasure of watching Cate Blanchett…there would be little to recommend this latest of many cinematic and television accounts of the celebrated monarch's life…" If you care to read on, click here.

Penn to Go Gay for Gus
Gay helmer Gus Van Sant is pushing Sean Penn and Matt Damon for a biopic about openly gay politico Harvey Milk. Penn is attached to play Milk with Matt attached to play the assassin who guns him down, reports THR out of Toronto. Sideways Michael London is producing.

Lionsgate loves Mandate
In other Toronto news, Lionsgate said in THR Monday that it has made a buy to acquire Mandate Pictures for $56.3 million in cash and stock. The trade paper writes that the deal reunites Lionsgate with Joe Drake, who prior to launching Mandate served as head of Lionsgate's international distribution. Since he left, he has been involved in Mandate pics like Stranger Than Fiction and the upcoming Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.

- CHRIS GARDNER