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George Clooney Raises $625K For Obama At Geneva Event; Noah Baumbach and Brian De Palma On Tap for New York Film Festival: Biz Break

Also in Monday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, the Hamptons International Film Festival revealed its list of the “10 Actors to Watch” for this October’s event. Minnie Driver joins a “horror musical.” A Toronto and Cannes film is headed for U.S. theaters. Abbie Cornish joins a Fellini pic. And two jail-bound punks flee Russia after being convicted of Russian Orthodox Church offense. Noah Baumbach, Brian De Palma, Abbas Kiarostami Set for NYFF Event Noah Baumbach and Brian De Palma will take part in the “On Cinema” conversation while Abbas Kiarostami, David Chase and Robert Zemeckis will participate in the Directors Dialogues at the upcoming 50th New York Film Festival . The Film Society of Lincoln Center, which organizes the annual festival also said that the the Director’s Cut of Frank Oz’s Little Shop of Horrors restored versions of Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate , Laurence Olivier’s Richard III and Peter Whitehead’s The Rolling Stone – Charling is My Darling – Ireland 1965 will be presented as part of NYFF’s Masterworks program in addition to two sidebar presentations as part of the festival’s 50th Anniversary event. Hamptons International Film Festival to Fete “10 Actors to Watch” The October festival on Long Island’s East End will spotlight the “2012 ‘Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch: Breakthrough Performers’ at the upcoming 20th anniversary edition of HIFF taking place October 4 – 8. This year’s honorees include: Adam Driver ( Inside Llewyn Davis ), Domhnall Gleeson ( Anna Karenina ), Bella Heathcote ( Not Fade Away ), Dree Hemingway ( Starlet ), Boyd Holbrook ( The Host ), Elyas M’Barek ( Turkish for Beginners ), Scoot McNairy ( Killing Them Softly ), Nate Parker ( Arbitrage ), Imogen Poots ( Knight of Cups ) and Alicia Vikander ( Anna Karenina ). Minnie Driver Joins Horror Musical Stage Fright Oscar nominee Minnie Driver is joining Meat Loaf Aday ( Rocky Horror Picture Show ), Allie Mac Donald ( House at the End of the Street ) and Douglas Smith ( Big Love ) in the horror-musical Stage Fright . Jerome Sable (“The Legend of Beaver Dam”) will direct from his own script.  The feature tells the story of a snobby musical theater camp terrorized by a blood-thirsty masked killer who despises musical theatre. Scream  meets Glee in this genre-bending R-rated horror-musical. Driver plays Kylie Swanson, the enigmatic and haunted star of the Broadway stage, and mother of siblings Camilla (MacDonald) and Buddy (Smith) who find themselves at the centre of the unfolding horror at the camp. Toronto and Cannes’ Ernest & Celestine Heads to Theaters Ernest & Celestine is based on the popular children’s book series by author and illustrator, Gabrielle Vincent. It tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a bear, Ernest, and a young mouse named Celestine. The film debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where it received a special mention in Directors Fortnight. Distributor GKIDS will release the film in the U.S. and will have its North American premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. The deal was negotiated by Vanessa Saal for Studiocanal and Eric Beckman for GKIDS.  Around the ‘net… Abbie Cornish Joins Fellini Black And White Cornish will play the female lead Betty in Fellini Black and White . She is the beautiful veterinarian that the Italian filmmaker fell in love with when he traveled to L.A. for the 1957 Oscars in which he won best picture for Nights of Cabiria Directed by Henry Bromell, the film stars William H. Macy, Terrence Howard, Peter Dinklage and Brazilian star Wagner Maura, who’ll play Fellini, Deadline reports . George Clooney Raises $625K for Obama Campaign in Geneva The Swiss contingent of Democrats Abroad raised “at least” $625,000 for the Obama campaign at an evening event in Geneva where George Clooney appeared. Guests paid $15K to have dinner with him and $5K for a photo with him and $1K to attend a reception before the dinner, Deadline reports . Two Pussy Riot Activists Flee Russia Two activists in Russian punk band Pussy Riot have fled the country, their Twitter account said. Three members of the group were jailed this month for staging an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral. The pair who fled have not been named but the husband of one of the jailed women said the duo had taken part in the cathedral protest in February. Their brief, obscenity-laced performance, which implored the Virgin Mary to “throw Putin out”, enraged the Russian Orthodox Church. Many in the West, including recently Madonna, condemned the Pussy Riot sentences as disproportionate, BBC reports .

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George Clooney Raises $625K For Obama At Geneva Event; Noah Baumbach and Brian De Palma On Tap for New York Film Festival: Biz Break

Ben Affleck Ends Justice League Rumors; Jamie Bell Takes On Nymphomaniac: Biz Break

Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, accused Dark Knight Rises killer James Holmes told a classmate he’d intended to kill people ahead of the theater shooting that left 12 dead. Sleepwalk with Me soared atop the new specialty box office releases becoming one of the biggest this year. And Adrien Brody will play a villain in a new role. Jamie Bell, Connie Nielsen Join Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac The drama that has been dubbed “pornographic” starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Shia LaBeouf and stellan Skarsgard begins shooting in Germany Tuesday and now Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell and Danish star Connie Nielsen ( Boss ) have joined the cast, THR reports . Ben Affleck Kills Justice League Rumors The actor-director laid to rest rumors that he’d join Warner Bros.’ Justice League project, saying he isn’t involved in the studio’s planned superhero ensemble. “Justice League sounds really exciting, but it’s not something I’m working on,” he said. THR reports . Sleepwalk with Me Wows in 1 Theater, Samsara Very Strong: Specialty Box Office Sleepwalk with Me as predicted lead the pack of new specialty releases. With $65,000 at only one engagement, the feature nonetheless sprinted into very specific record-breaking territory. Also opening with a strong start in its debut, Oscilloscope’s Samsara averaged a fantastic $37,500, Deadline reports . James Holmes Told Classmate He’d Kill People Ahead of Dark Knight Rises Shooting Four months before he allegedly opened fire in a crowded theater in Aurora, CO, James Holmes told a classmate at the University of Colorado that he intended to kill people before flunking oral exams in his graduate studies program, THR reports . Adrien Brody Joins Motor City He will replace Gary Oldman as the villain in Albert Hughes’ Motor City , which also stars Gerard Butler and Mickey Rourke, Variety reports .

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Ben Affleck Ends Justice League Rumors; Jamie Bell Takes On Nymphomaniac: Biz Break

WATCH: Star Wars: Detours Unveiled By Robot Chicken Team

The Farce is still strong in Seth Green and Matt Senreich.  The boy geniuses behind Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken series joined collaborator Todd Grimes at Star Wars Celebration VI on Friday to unveil footage of their new animated series Star Wars: Detours . IGN reports that the comedic CGI animated series — which depicts the very familiar Star Wars crew in “exaggerated Chibi/super deformed style” (translation for the uninitiated: small bodies, massive heads) — takes place in-between Episodes III and IV of George Lucas’ Star Wars canon and will focus on the what these characters do in their downtime. “Where do Gamorrean Guards grocery shop? Does Darth Vader do online dating? The answer is yes,” Grimes told the gathered Star Wars super fans. ” We answer all these things.” Among the footage fans saw was Obi-Wan using a Jedi Mind Trick on his audience after he bombs at stand-up comedy. (“That joke was hilarious and you all liked it.”)  In another scene, Jar Jar Binks asked Dexter Jettster why everyone hates him and Jettster replies by asking the Gungan how honest he wants him to be. According to IGN,  the Star Wars: Detours team did not announce a debut date or even if they’d been picked up by a TV network yet, but the site estimated that the show would probably bow in 2013. That sounds promising. Earlier this year , when I spoke to   Star Wars creator George Lucas — who was working with Green and his team, on the show — he told me: “We just can’t get anybody to put it on the air” because, he explained, the show doesn’t fit into a neat demographic package. Check out the clips: [ IGN ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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WATCH: Star Wars: Detours Unveiled By Robot Chicken Team

Actor Vivek Shah Arrested In Harvey Weinstein Extortion Plot: Where You’ve Seen Him Before (VIDEO)

Aspiring actors are a dime a dozen in L.A., but few would go as far as attempting to extort one of Hollywood’s most powerful movie moguls for their big payday. (One would hope… but we all know a few kooky actors, don’t we?) Not so for Vivek Shah of suburban Illinois by way of West Hollywood, who was arrested this week for allegedly threatening Harvey Weinstein and his family if the superproducer didn’t pay him millions. The Smoking Gun has the affidavit naming Shah, a 25-year-old bit actor seen on a 2012 episode of “Bones” and in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (per his IMDb page), as the alleged extortionist who contacted Weinstein and four other high profile figures threatening their safety and that of their families. Although Weinstein is named only as “A Connecticut resident and co-founder of a film studio,” Deadline’s Nikki Finke confirmed Weinstein was the targeted victim. Above: Shah (right) posing with actor Donald Faison and Relativity Media CEO Ryan Kavanaugh at the Anti-Defamation League Entertainment Industry Awards Dinner at The Beverly Hilton hotel on October 11, 2011. It’s an exhaustive document detailing the authorities’ investigation of Shah, who bought prepaid phone cards and debit cards, used multiple false identities, and set up foreign bank accounts apparently to receive the extortion moneys in locations all over the familiar turf of L.A. actors — the West Hollywood Rite-Aid! The Gelson’s on Santa Monica! — in what the affidavit refers to as “The Scheme.” Most concerning is the bit at the end, which reveals that authorities who had been tailing Shah discovered that he was “scheduled for training in handgun shooting” at a local gun range after his return to the Los Angeles area earlier this month. Shah was arrested outside of Chicago and charged with “two counts of interference with commerce by threats, and two counts of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce” and could face as many as 20 years in prison. [ The Smoking Gun , Deadline ]

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Actor Vivek Shah Arrested In Harvey Weinstein Extortion Plot: Where You’ve Seen Him Before (VIDEO)

David Koepp Says Kristen Stewart-Rupert Sanders Media Frenzy Was ‘Sad For All Involved’

Don’t tell David Koepp that scandal is good for box office. The screenwriter ( Jurassic Park , Indiana Jones: The Return of a Legend ) and director of this week’s Premium Rush  told Movieline that speculation that the media scandal involving Kristen Stewart, her Twilight co-star and reported off-screen beau Robert Pattinson and her Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders is somehow good for business is “a cynical response” to the situation. “The people involved in any kind of scandal like that might want to respond,  Who gives a shit? I didn’t say you could eat my head . You know?” Koepp told me. John Kamps, his writing partner on Premium Rush, agreed: “I think historically scandal has never done well for movies.” (Movieline will post an interview with both regarding their new film on Friday.) When I asked Koepp what he made of the media frenzy surrounding Stewart, Sanders and Pattinson, he replied: “I think it was sad for all involved.” Koepp was hired by Universal to write a script to Snow White and the Huntsman but explained that he departed the project on friendly terms because the producers wanted to pursue a different direction. “I felt like there was a good path with her, but they wanted to explore a different thing I had no ideas for,” said Koepp, who told me  he couldn’t picture SWATH 2 without Stewart and, therefore, “couldn’t follow through.” Koepp observed that the proliferation of social media has made it difficult for  just about anyone, not just Twilight cast members, to maintain privacy. “In  the past — in the long past now — actors were able to keep their private lives much more separate,” the filmmaker said. “Now, no one really has a private life. I don’t think it’s just actors. I have teenage sons and they’re of the social media generation. That sort of living out loud is just weird to me. “I can’t understand why you would want so much of yourself revealed to just anyone, because it is inevitably — inevitably — a target of derision. It’s impersonal, but hurtful,” he said. “You see people really get hurt by Facebook attacks. Particularly in the junior high sort of level.” Noting that “Hollywood kind of is junior high,” albeit with more money and drugs, Koepp added: “There’s a lot of pain out there for people who are exposed. I feel very bad for actors in that regard. I think it’s a suckie part of the job and, when people say, Well, you asked for it — no they didn’t. “They asked for a bunch of other stuff and were willing to make a bunch of other sacrifices,” he said. “Just because you’re in the public eye doesn’t mean that you agree that there will be a complete abrogation of decency.” Nell Alk is an arts and entertainment writer and reporter based in New York City. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal , Manhattan Magazine, Z!NK Magazine and on InterviewMagazine.com, PaperMag.com and RollingStone.com, among others. Learn more about her here . Follow Nell Alk on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.

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David Koepp Says Kristen Stewart-Rupert Sanders Media Frenzy Was ‘Sad For All Involved’

WATCH: The Upside To Universal Remaking Cronenberg’s Videodrome

I know none of you David Cronenberg fans out there are super juiced about the Videodrome remake at Universal first time feature director Adam Berg is in talks to helm. Many of you may even be straight up livid . But there’s a silver lining to this latest move on Hollywood’s part to unnecessarily remake our best-loved film classics… That would be “Carousel,” the 2009 commercial directed by Berg, commissioned to promote the company’s Philips Cinema 21:9 LCD televisions. If you recall, “Carousel” was a visual marvel of a short that maneuvered its way through a cops vs. clown robber shoot-out in one glorious continuous CG-aided tracking shot; it went on to win the prestigious Grand Prix award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and, apparently, earned Swedish music video veteran Berg Hollywood notice. So sure, it might make your cinephile skin crawl to hear that Universal’s Videodrome update aims “to modernize the concept, infusing it with the possibilities of nano-technology and blow it up into a large-scale sci-fi action thriller.” I mean, whatever. And yes, Michael Bay’s frequent Transformers scribe Ehren Kruger ( The Ring , Scream 3 , Reindeer Games ) is writing the screenplay. You probably can’t expect anything really resembling Cronenberg’s totally ’80s VHS/cable TV techno-paranoia thriller in Videodrome 2.0. , but on the bright side, it could be a watch-worthy directorial debut. Long live the new flesh? [ Deadline ]

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WATCH: The Upside To Universal Remaking Cronenberg’s Videodrome

Anti-Obama Doc 2016 Tops Fandango Sales; Ellen Page Set For Gay Rights Pic: Biz Break

Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Toronto 2012 Sci-Fi horror John Dies at the End heads for theatrical release. Also headed to theaters is Ernest Borgnine’s final film. Ellen DeGeneres is in talks to reprise a Pixar favorite. And Tribeca Film Institute gives $400K in grants for transmedia projects. Toronto 2012 Sci-Fi Horror John Dies at the End Heads for Release Magnet Releasing will bring cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End to theaters and VOD. The genre label of distribution company Magnolia Pictures will release the title via VOD in late December, followed by a theatrical release in early 2013. The feature will screen in the Midnight Madness section of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. Check out the film’s description here . Anti-Obama Doc Tops Online Ticketer Fandango 2016: Obama’s America is selling more advanced tickets than any other film, Fandango said. The feature, which is based on conservative author Dinesh D’Souza’s book The Roots of Obama’s Rage , expands nationwide Friday after posting solid numbers in limited release. Ernest Borgnine’s Final Film Vicente Fernandez Heading to Theaters Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine’s final film, The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernández will head for theatrical release via Indican Pictures which acquired North American rights to the title. The film will open in Los Angeles this October, with additional select cities to follow, and will launch an awards campaign centered on Borgnine’s final performance. The pic debuted at this year’s Newport Beach Film Festival where the actor won the Acting Prize. He passed away in July. Tribeca Film Institute Grants $400K to Transmedia Projects The program is in partnership with the Ford Foundation. Six interactive non-fiction projects explores a range of topics ranging from Guatemalan street gangs in Alma, A Tale of Violence to rural West Virginia issues in Hollow . Question Bridge explores black male identity. New Day New Standard centers on workers’ rights, while Laika’s Adventure is an educational story revolving around Connected Sparks, an online social change platform for children. And Immigrant Nation involves personal stories and multiple entry points surrounding U.S. immigrants. The TFI New Media Fund supports non-fiction film projects that go beyond traditional screens, exploring storytelling that is interactive, multi-platform and participatory. Around the ‘net… Ellen Page Set to Star in Pic Based on Landmark Gay Rights Case Ellen Page will play Stacie Andree who was denied pension benefits from her longtime partner Laurel Hester, a New Jersey police detective who became terminally ill. The story is based on the Oscar-winning short documentary Freeheld , which production company Incognito Pictures is developing, Deadline reports . Ellen DeGeneres Eyes Finding Nemo Sequel The comedian is in talks to reprise her role in the wildly popular underwater animated feature from Disney/Pixar. She would again voice Dory, the blue tang fish with the short-term memory challenge that she played in the 2003 original, THR reports .

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Anti-Obama Doc 2016 Tops Fandango Sales; Ellen Page Set For Gay Rights Pic: Biz Break

Natalie Wood’s Death Certificate Amended; LL Cool J Nabs A Robber At Home: Biz Break

Also in Wednesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, after Robert Pattinson joked he needed a personal publicist, potential reps went into overdrive. And Mila Kunis and Max Martini eye separate upcoming projects. Natalie Wood’s Death Certificate Amended Thirty years later, authorities have changed Natalie Wood’s death certificate from an “accidental drowning” to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” The new document also says that the circumstances of how the actress ended up in the ocean off of Catalina Island in California in 1981 was “not clearly established,” A.P. reports . LL Cool J Captures Robber at L.A. Home He plays a special agent on NCIS: Los Angeles , but he took matters into his own hands in real-life Wednesday morning. L.A. police say the rapper nabbed a burglary suspect in his Studio City home and held him downstairs before 1 a.m. while police arrived, A.P. reports . Publicists Go Head to Head to Rep Robert Pattinson Pattinson said during an appearance on The Daily Show that his “biggest problem in life” was not hiring a publicist, setting off a frenzy among the Hollywood publicity machine to rep the actor, THR reports . Mila Kunis Joins Third Person Kunis is joining the cast of Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis’ drama set in Rome, New York and Paris centering on three overlapping love stories. James Franco and Casey Affleck are in negotiations to join the project, set to start in mid-October, The Wrap reports . Max Martini Eyes Breacher Martini is in talks to join Breacher playing Pyro, a member of the DEA team, which also stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington and Terrence Howard and directed by David Ayer, Deadline reports .

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Natalie Wood’s Death Certificate Amended; LL Cool J Nabs A Robber At Home: Biz Break

Daniel Day Lewis’ Lincoln Hits In Black & White

A pensive Daniel Day-Lewis turned Abraham Lincoln appears in this black and white poster of DreamWorks’ Lincoln due to hit U.S. theaters in November – actually only days after the 44th POTUS or the 45th POTUS wins the U.S. election. Directed by Steven Spielberg , Lincoln spotlights the 16th President of the United States during his final months in office. On set, Spielberg revealed that he’d refer to Day-Lewis as “Mr. President” along with referring to all the film’s actors by their character names, ML noted via a report by EW when the first color images of Lincoln appeared two weeks ago. If the sneak looks are any indication, an Oscar-nomination for Make Up and even Costume Design cannot be far off the mark. A quick look at Lincoln’s actual beard in an actual photo of the President shows his beard to appear less whiskery in the mid-jaw area. And voila, such is the facial hair as it manifests in the Lincoln version of Lincoln. Though obviously some time before audiences will first see Lincoln , with two-time Academy Award-winner Daniel Day-Lewis as the Civil War leader, more Oscar nominations will likely be in the offing come January. And who knows what Joseph Gordon-Levitt will do as Robert Todd Lincoln (the First Son) and Sally Field as the sometimes maligned wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Dreamworks revealed its official log-line for the feature: Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.   Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” is produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox film, in association with Participant Media, releases in U.S. theaters exclusive on November 9, 2012, with expansion on November 16, 2012.

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Daniel Day Lewis’ Lincoln Hits In Black & White

High and Low: Haigh’s Sexy Weekend Stands With Lean’s Brief Encounter, The Rescuers Go Blu-Ray

This week’s DVD releases encompass everything from the sublime — Richard Linklater’s Bernie , one of the best films of the year so far (Millennium Entertainment; $29.99 Blu-Ray, $28.99 DVD) — to the ridiculous — the DVD debut of the 1980s T&A epic Joysticks (Scorpion Releasing; $19.95 DVD). For my tastes, however, the highlights include a subtle but powerful British romance along with some animated Disney faves that are available for the first time on Blu-ray. HIGH: Weekend (The Criterion Collection; Blu-ray $39.95; DVD $29.95) Who’s Responsible: Written and directed by Andrew Haigh; starring Tom Cullen and Chris New. What It’s All About: Soft-spoken lifeguard Russell (Cullen) and cynical artist Glen (New) hook up in a British gay bar, but what begins as a one-night stand unfolds over the course of the titular time span into something else entirely. As they spend time together, the two open up about their lives, let down their defenses and appear to be on the brink of falling in love. There’s just one problem: Glen is about to go to the United States for a two-year arts program. Why It’s Schmancy: Following its debut at South by Southwest in 2011, Weekend felt like a revelation, not only to gay audiences, who are always starving for fresh and intelligent — and sexy and romantic — examinations of their lives, but also to mainstream critics. The latter group recognized that, with only one previous feature to his credit, Haigh had turned out a poignant tale of love and missed opportunity that can stand alongside David Lean’s Brief Encounter and Linklater’s Before Sunrise and Before Sunset . Why You Should Buy It: Although there’s no commentary track, this release includes several illuminating documentaries, including one where Haigh explains the mechanics of the sex scenes.  In another, scenes that the actors used to audition for their roles are compared to corresponding scenes in the the finished movie.  There’s also a video essay on artists Quinnford + Scout, who shot stills and home movie footage on the set. Two of Haigh’s short films, Cahuenga Blvd. — which has some thematic parallels with Weekend — and Five Miles Out (starring Dakota Blue Richards of The Golden Compass ) are also included. Finally, there’s a fine Dennis Lim essay that contextualizes Weekend in contemporary queer cinema. LOW: The Rescuers: 35 th Anniversary Edition/The Rescuers Down Under (Walt Disney Home Entertainment; $39.99 Blu-Ray, $29.99 DVD) Who’s Responsible: Directed by John Lounsbery, Wolfgang Reitherman and Art Stevens ( Rescuers) ; Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel (Down Under). Both films star Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor. What It’s All About: A mouse organization known as the Rescue Aid Society operates alongside the United Nations to help abduction victims around the world. The glamorous Hungarian agent Miss Bianca (Gabor) enlists janitor Bernard (Newhart) to help her on her missions: In the 1977 original, they track down a young girl held captive in the Louisiana bayous by the treasure-seeking Madame Medusa (Geraldine Page). For  the 1990 sequel, they head to the Australian outback to save a boy in the clutches of a vicious poacher (George C. Scott). Why It’s Fun: Based on the novels by Margery Sharp, both of these movies are cracking adventures for kids that possess enough sly wit to keep adults entertained as well. The original Rescuers was one of the few entertaining cartoon features to emerge from Disney’s bleak period between the death of Uncle Walt in 1966 and the resurrection of the studio’s legendary animation department with 1989’s The Little Mermaid . Also, as any fan of Green Acres knows, Gabor works best with a slow-burn straight man. Lucky for her — and us &mdash: Newhart ranks among the greatest comic foils. And speaking of Green Acres, character actor Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney on the comedy series, loans his distinctive voice to the first Rescuers . Why You Need to Buy It (Again): This release marks the Blu-Ray debut for both features, and both the Blu-Ray and DVD editions include a making-of for Down Under , an animated short ( Three Blind Musketeers ), a Disney True-Life Adventure ( Water Birds ), and a sing-along for the first film’s theme song, “Someone’s Waiting for You.” The Blu-Ray also includes a deleted tune, “Peoplitis.” Alonso Duralde has written about film for The Wrap , Salon and MSNBC.com. He also co-hosts the Linoleum Knife podcast and regularly appears on   What The Flick?! (The Young Turks Network) .  He is a senior programmer for the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and a pre-screener for the Sundance Film Festival. He also the author of two books: Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas (Limelight Editions) and 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men  (Advocate Books). Follow Alonso Duralde on Twitter .  Follow Movieline on Twitter .

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High and Low: Haigh’s Sexy Weekend Stands With Lean’s Brief Encounter, The Rescuers Go Blu-Ray