Musician Mike Melvoin dies at 74

Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, former Recording Academy president and prolific studio musician Mike Melvoin died on Feb. 23 in Burbank. He was 74. Sporting a recording resume that included the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" as well as key recordings from Frank Sinatra, John Lennon, the Jackson 5 and Tom Waits, Melvoin was also active as a film and TV composer and released a number of respected jazz recordings under his own name. Born in Oshkosh, Wisc., Melvoin began singing at age 2 and playing piano at 3. He told William Grimm in a 2003 interview, "(I thought) the alphabet ended with G." He attended Dartmouth College in the late 1950s and in 1961 moved to Los Angeles, where he became a fixture in the city's jazz scene, playing with the likes of Joe Williams and Peggy Lee. Melvoin released his first album as a bandleader, "Keys to Your Mind," on the Liberty label in 1966, a year that also saw him notch studio time on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" single and "Pet Sounds" LP, as well as Sinatra's "That's Life." Studio work on Lennon's "Stand by Me," Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen," the Jackson 5's "ABC" and Waits' live album "Nighthawks at the Diner" would follow. Melvoin began composing for TV and film in the early '70s and contributed scores to skeins "Fame" and "MacGyver." He had a small role in the Robert De Niro-directed "The Good Shepherd" in 2006. Melvoin was the first active musician to serve as topper of the Recording Academy. He received a Grammy nomination in 2003 for his recording of "All or Nothing at All," as well as lifetime achievement awards from the Friends of Jazz at UCLA and Los Angeles Jazz Society. Continuing the family tradition, Melvoin's twin daughters Wendy and Susannah played and recorded with Prince in the 1980s (with the former forming half of the Wendy & Lisa duo), and his son Jonathan was a touring member of the Smashing Pumpkins until his death in 1996. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Imax profit plunges to $6.3 mil

Imax net profit plunged last quarter to $6.3 million from $54 million, mostly on a major tax benefit the year before. Revenue eased to $67 million from $69 million.Backing out the tax item and others, net income fell to $9 million from $14 million. That was in line with Wall Street expectations given the quarter's soft box office.Company said 2011 was a year of record signings and installations with 497 Imax theaters installed in commercial multiplexes, up 33%, driven by China, Russia and North America. In 2012, CEO Rich Gelfond said the company will focus on South America, including four new theaters in Brazil, Western Europe and India, where a recent deal will bring Bollywood titles to Imax.Earlier this week, Imax named London-based Andrew Cripps, prexy of Paramount Pictures International, to oversee the rollout in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.Fourth quarter's film highlight was the December early release of Paramount's ''Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol,'' with scenes shot using Imax cameras. The five-day window when Imax had the pic to itself helped ''helped lead to its status as the must-see film of the holiday season,'' said Gelfond.Separately Thursday, Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that the next James Bond pic ''Skyfall'' will be released in Imax theaters simultaneously with its international release Oct. 26, and its domestic release on Nov. 9. It will be the first Imax installment of the franchise.Imax said it signed contracts for 209 theater systems last year, including 26 in the fourth quarter, and installed 170 systems -- 57 for the quarter. At year end, there were 263 theater systems in backlog. The company expects to install 95 to 100 new theater systems in 2012, 45-50 under revenue sharing pacts and about 50 under sales arrangements.''Overall, 2011 was highly productive from a strategic perspective,'' Gelfond said, and that's carried into 2012 ''as the recent WTO agreement with China, highlighting IMAX, should enhance programming flexibility in our biggest international market.''''We believe we are positioning ourselves for both financial and strategic success, through our continued focus on differentiation, executing on network growth, and creating a compelling film slate,'' he said.The 2012 lineup is anchored by key franchise titles including ''The Dark Knight Rises,'' which will feature more footage shot in IMAX than any feature film to date; ''The Avengers,'' ''Men in Black 3,'' ''The Amazing Spider-Man,'' ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' and ''Skyfall.'' Gelfond said Imax also plans to expand local film releases. It's been been active in China and will move into Russia and France. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

David Stainton ankles Vital animation

StaintonWith the announcement of David Stainton's resignation carrying out a short tenure as mind of Paramount's fledgling animated film division, the question becomes: Without any films yet slated for release, where will it move from here?Four several weeks after employing the previous Disney feature animation leader, Vital introduced Wednesday that Stainton could be departing for private reasons, adding that Vital Movie Group prexy Adam Goodman will take control from the animation team of developers.InchWe're grateful for that time David spent in the studio and that we wish him well in the future endeavors," Goodman stated inside a statement.Vital hired Stainton in October to mind its new in-house animation division, that was introduced last This summer after "Rango" -- its first animated pic not created by DreamWorks Animation -- made a lot more than $240 million worldwide.At that time, this news seemed to be considered a settling tactic with DWA, whose distribution cope with Vital was set to run out in the finish of 2012. Both sides stated that the division might have no relation to discussions -- which were not even designed to begin until early 2012. But sources outdoors the studio saw the initiative as leverage that Vital could provide.The first arrange for the brand new division ended up being to release one pic annually starting in 2014. Though no film continues to be slated for any release yet, studio has stated several viable candidates have been in the whole shebang, including an adaptation from the graphic novel, "New Kid." Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is the leader of a team of special agents belonging to the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) Major Case Response Team. Gibbs, a former Marine, is a tough investigator and a highly skilled interrogator who relies on his gut instinct as much as evidence. Gibbs' second in command is Senior Field Agent Tony DiNozzo, a womanizing, movie-quoting former Baltimore Homicide Detective, who despite being the class clown always gets the job done. The team also consists of probationary field agent Ziva David, a former Mossad officer who is a skilled fighter, as well as Junior Field Agent Timothy McGee, a computer-savvy agent often mocked by DiNozzo. Assisting them are Abby Sciuto, the energetic-but-Goth lab tech who is like a daughter to Gibbs, and Dr. Donald Mallard, nicknamed Ducky, the eccentric medical examiner full of unusual stories. This team of elite agents, based in Washington, D.C., solve criminal cases involving Marine and Navy personnel and their families, sometimes traveling the United States - or the world - to do it.

Reel Suspects shuts deals on erotic 'X-Femmes'

Because the EFM systems up, Matteo Lovadina's Reel Suspects is closing further deals on "X-Femmes" and it is Jean Rollin Collection. "X-Femmes" is definitely an omnibus pic featuring erotic shorts directed by French filmmakers and thesps, including Lola Doillon, Tonie Marshall and Melanie Laurent. It had been acquired by Njutafilms in Sweden and Imovision in South america. Earlier within the mart, the pic was grabbed up by 8 Films in Germany, Eco-friendly Narae Media in Columbia and Ripleys in Italia. Reel Suspects has additionally offered his Jean Rollin Assortment of five remastered seventies horror films to Linetree in Columbia. The Paris-based shingle has already established an active mart. It closed a slew of deals across its slate, with films including "Disappearing Waves," "The Entire Year Dolly Parton Was My Mother" and "The 2nd Dying," Argentine helmer Santiago Fernandez's feature debut. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

China film fund goes Hollywood

BEIJING -- Whilst Hollywood seeks to go in china market, China's government is wanting to destroy into Hollywood.The country just setup its first condition-backed film fund make it easy for co-production between China as well as the U.S. Referred to as China Mainstream Media National Film Capital Hollywood, the fund might have offices in Beijing and Beverly Slopes and you'll be introduced by former China Film Group prexy Yang Buting, per local media reviews."Getting a Western movie-making approach and management according to financing from China, the business will finish up a gateway partner to Hollywood," according to Yang. He gave no particulars about how exactly large the fund, the primary focus that might be to co-finance and co-produce projects that have worldwide box office potential.L.A.-based film financier Endgame Entertainment, introduced by James D. Stern, is really a partner inside the initiative. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Social TV: Madonna's Halftime Performance Luv It or Hate It?

Madonna Was there a football game last evening? Because it seems as though Madonna's halftime show might be the only real factor that has everyone speaking! We received an outpouring of comments about Madge's performance, and therefore, Super Bowl XLVI is holding steady since the No. 1 most spoken-about show inside our Social Energy Rankings. @Jasdestiny tweeted, "That was the most effective #superbowlhalftime show inside a very long time. Stage was crazy." On Facebook, Jamie Durkin loved the show too. "I loved the fact she'll still do that at her age. In my opinion Gaga must remember who managed to get happen first. Madonna was which is the Icon." Super Bowl Halftime Show: Did Madonna get all your Luvin'? While not everyone was feeling the romance for your "As being a Virgin" singer. @Camicoquin tweeted, "Sad, pathetic, uninspired, absurd, lame, boring, silly." Reveal how you sense! "I've come across Madonna positioned on one heck from the entertaining show which one wasn't whatsoever entertaining personally,In . TVGuide.com user Humminbirdy stated. Inside our poll, 48 percent of voters thought Madonna was great, while only fifteen percent thought she was horrible -- and 36 percent of people didn't care either in situation, they just wanted a artist who didn't lip-sync. Whatrrrs your opinion? Did Madonna kill it, or are you currently searching for that 53-year-old to think of it as quits? Return anytime to look for the newest Social Energy Rankings, which are up-to-date instantly with the week.