HBO to air 'Raymond' doc

HBO has acquired rights to Phil Rosenthal's "Exporting Raymond" and will premiere the feature documentary Feb. 16. "Exporting" chronicles the efforts of Rosenthal to adapt the hit sitcom he created, "Everybody Loves Raymond" (starring Ray Romano) for a Russian TV audience in 2009, prompting Rosenthal to call himself "the James Bond of Jewish television writers." The project won audience awards at the Austin Film Festival and at Edinburgh. Rosenthal wrote and directed "Exporting," which was exec produced by John Woldenberg. "Exporting" grossed slightly below $100,000 in 21 days of release last year. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

Atlantis Rising Again

Immortals producer assumes the projectMuch like the tales that surround the region itself, the film adaptation of Platinum Studios' comic series Atlantis Rising will not stay sunk. Now Immortals co-producer Mark Canton has hopped aboard for your latest effort to be on-screen.Created by Scott Michell Rosenberg, Atlantis Rising initially found a highly effective solution just like a five-problem miniseries, which chronicled what continues when the world's militaries investigate numerous deep-sea earthquakes. Due to the title from the one factor, you won't be blown away to know they uncover the lost kingdom of Atlantis, whose residents are none too pleased in regards to the sudden invasion formerly pointed out. Occasions escalate next and very soon it's all regulated controlled-out war.It's a tempting title for anyone arranging a franchise, though due to the scope as well as the likely effects costs, it's also not the easiest target budget-conscious art galleries. One attempt has floundered, with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman searching to setup a version at DreamWorks which in fact had Len Wiseman pointing in 2008. Now though, Rosenberg and also the Platinum team hold the rights back, and they're trying again getting a brandname-new undertake the story. And Canton seems to think about there are many chance here: "Atlantis Rising gets the franchise potential of Males In Black, that people greenlit for Scott while at Sony's Columbia TriStar," Canton notifies Variety. "I'm searching toward setting it up for the screen with Platinum just like a dynamic, condition-of-the-art action thriller." Given his understanding about Immortals and 300, he's doing no less than possess some understanding about producing large films work...

Grimm Exclusive Start Searching: Who's Been Beating Up Monroe?

Silas Weir Mitchell A awesome Blutbad, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) has removed up his act. Exactly why is he still feeling the hate? On Friday's Grimm (9/8c, NBC), titled "Of Mouse and Guy," the apparently mild-mannered Marty (guest star Fred Koehler) may be taking matters to their own hands after past abuse. But simply what does this have associated with Monroe? Possibly nothing particularly, nevertheless it seems like his decision to help Nick (David Giuntoli) with homicide scientific studies are costing him. Look at this exclusive sneak look of "Of Rats and Guy": That is not awesome. Monroe just desires to live an regular existence, fix watches, play in the cello. Hopefully whoever did this to him can get some payback. Grimm airs Fridays at 9/8c on NBC. How do Nick keep his pals and family safe? Who's your chosen character on Grimm?

Technicolor pacts with IndoorDirect

Technicolor's Premier Retail Systems and also the Restaurant Entertainment Network operator IndoorDirect have created a partnership to grow their digital channels into merchants and restaurants. IndoorDirect co-founder Michael Winton and board member Charlie Rutman will operate the brand new venture, that could provide Hollywood with a brand new outlet to advertise their qualities. The Restaurant Entertainment Network unspools on screens in additional than 1,200 junk food restaurants over the U.S., including Wendy's, Wendy's, Denny's, Carl's Junior., Hardee's and Arby's. The network is seen by a lot more than 150 million customers yearly. PRN's own network plays in 8,550 retail locations within the U.S. and Mexico, including Albertsons, Costco, Jewel-Osco, Sam's Club, Target and Walmart locations. Company's major marketers range from the major film galleries, TV systems, record labels and magazine and newspaper marketers. Underneath the agreement, PRN will require a 50% equity position within the partnership in return for an undisclosed capital investment. The rest of the half is possessed by a few traders, with Syncom Venture Partners because the biggest. The duo aspire to expand the network to two,500 dining locations by the center of the entire year. PRN will even manage all advertising sales, programming and network procedures, while IndoorDirect will lead a number of assets, for example its brand, existing dining venue contracts, technology infrastructure and personnel. PRN and Dallas-based IndoorDirect formerly brokered a proper alliance in '09 for PRN to supply national and regional advertising sales services for that Restaurant Entertainment Network. "We value our effective relationship with PRN, which commitment will let us further expand our platform, achieve more diners and supply entrepreneurs a far more efficient way of reaching customers during the day,Inch Rutman stated. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Ricky Gervais delivers relatively inoffensive monologue

"So, where was I?" asked Ricky Gervais at the beginning of last night's Golden Globes monologue. However, anyone expecting the same kind of insult-laden offend-a-thon as last year might have been disappointed, as this time around, things were a little easier on the star-filled audience.Word was doing the rounds before the ceremony that Gervais had to turn his script in to FPAA bigwigs for approval, and the end product did indeed seem to be a little tamer. Put it this way, Tim Allen wouldn't have been crying into his tux this time around.That said, Ricky still found plenty of time to puncture the inflated sense of importance of the ceremony as a whole. "For any of you who don't know," he explained, "the Golden Globes are just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem."And errant Oscar host Eddie Murphy also got a bit of a going over. "Bit of trivia for you actually," smirked Gervais, "Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler, between them, played all the parts in the movie The Help!"You can watch Ricky's opening monologue in full below... Not quite so skin-crawlingly awkward then, but pretty chucklesome nonetheless. Looks like a fourth consecutive year on hosting duties is likely in the bag...

'Ray' sees bump in ratings

The Philadelphia and Gotham markets have been key for 'Rachael Ray.'CBS Television Distribution's "Rachael Ray," a mediocre ratings performer as syndicated talkshows go, last week was renewed through two more years, extending the program's run through season eight.The show, which was spun out of "Oprah" in 2006, has chugged along at a mid-1.0 rating throughout its run -- well below its premiere frame, when its 2.3 national household rating average made it the top-rated new syndie talker since "Dr. Phil" bowed with a 4.4 in 2002. In the week ended Jan. 1, "Rachael" hit a season-high 1.8 same-day national household rating, up 6% week to week and 13% better than the comparable week a year ago -- the biggest improvement for any talker. For the season, "Rachael" ranks sixth among all talkshows. In the November 2011 sweep, "Rachael" averaged a 1.7 household rating and 1.93 million viewers. That's up 6% from last November in households and up 92,000 viewers. Among the key women 25-54 demographic, "Rachael" improved 22% from November 2010 to November 2011. While the show sits in the middle of the talkshow pack, it has recently perked up, helping CTD make its case. It's also advertiser-friendly and lends itself to plenty of product placement.Moreover, the departure of Oprah Winfrey and the cancellation of two soaps -- "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" -- means that the ABC-owned stations are seeing more change than they have in years. Keeping "Rachael" on WABC NY and WPVI Philadelphia allows those two powerhouse affils to retain some stability on their daytime schedules.Indeed, the two stations, two of the country's strongest, are key to "Rachael's" national clearance. On WABC, "Rachael" declined 14% from November sweep 2010 to November 2011 -- from a 2.1 rating/8 share to a 1.8 rating/7 share -- but that's still a strong performer in NY at 10 a.m. On WPVI, "Rachael" was up significantly at 10 a.m., improving 25% from a 2.7/10 in November 2010 to a 3.4/12 in November 2011. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com