Prescreen Partners With Facebook For VOD

Movie sites and distributors continue to tout their partnerships with Facebook, allowing their content to be accessed and shared through the massive social networking site. Streaming video on demand site Prescreen unveiled plans to make its long form content available via Facebook’s Open Graph Platform. For a 60-day window users can watch trailers from Prescreen’s curated selection of films and rent desired selections on-demand. Prescreen titles include hundreds of films from film festivals worldwide. The site is also spotlighting the arrangement with Prescreen due to “real-time analytics and detailed demographic information provided by content users,” allowing marketers to target audiences through online advertising and other channels. Users will have an option to turn off their social settings and Prescreen says it will only share trailer viewing history, not rental or sales records.

BBC draws 640 purchasers to Showcase

LONDON -- BBC Worldwide's annual U.K. sales market, Showcase, is expecting a lot more than 640 worldwide purchasers to go to the 2011 event, a hike of just about 100 on last year's Showcase. Happening within the British town of Liverpool the very first time, Worldwide is beefing in the market's appeal by staging a 1-day speaking shop concentrating on the growing need for digital distribution. The keynote speaker is Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. Other contributing factors include social TV specialist Miso's Boss Somrat Niyogi, IPTV combo Maxdome Germany's controlling director Christoph Bellmer, and also the Boss of IPTV company FetchTV Australia Scott Lorson. Steve Macallister, prexy and controlling director, sales and distribution, BBC Worldwide, stated: "Having a significant rise in associates from America and Asia, and several digital clients attending the very first time, including Hulu, Netflix, Yota, Onet, CME and FetchTV Australia, we've exceeded our anticipation and anticipate welcoming an archive breaking quantity of associates for this legendary city." Showcase runs February. 26-29, and it is likely to gross more than 50 million ($75.8 million) for Worldwide.Shows being pressed by Worldwide at Showcase include Sky TV dramas "Sinbad" and crime caper "Mad Dogs," ITV's detective skein "Whitechapel," and also the BBC's Edwardian saga "Parade's Finish," as well as the Corp.'s domestic new breakout hit "Call the Midwife." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

The new sony acquires 'Fin' in The country

The new sony Pictures Delivering Espana has acquired The spanish language theatrical and DVD/VOD privileges to "Fin" (The Finish).A mountain vacation cabin chiller with supernatural elements, "Finish" is composed by "Cell 211" scribe Jorge Guerricaechevarria and Sergio G. Sanchez ("The Orphanage").Now in publish-production, it's also a higher-profile 2012 illustration of a The spanish language film which - because of the weakness of Spain's DVD and pay TV marketplaces - is made to transfer to profit primarily off theatrical and worldwide. Using its E5 million ($6.six million) budget, film sports elevated production values from first-time helmer Jorge Torregrossa."Finish" is created by three of Spain's top worldwide clothes: Apaches Entertainment ("The Impossible," "Burglars"), Mod Producciones ("Agora," "Biutiful") and Antena 3 Films ("You'll Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," "Red-colored Lights"), the film division of broadcast network Antena 3.Vicente Canales' Film Factory Entertainment was drawn on through the producers before Toronto 2011 to create it to the worldwide market. The producers are actually tying lower distribution in The country having a studio.Maribel Verdu ("Pan's Labyrinth"), Daniel Grao ("Julia's Eyes") and Clara Lago ("Primos") star.The new sony will release "Finish" at the end of summer time, prime box office property in The country. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com

House Pulls the Plug After Eight Seasons

Hugh Laurie The time of death is eight seasons for House. On Wednesday, series executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and star Hugh Laurie announced that Fox's medical drama will end after its eighth and current season. They released the following statement: After much deliberation, the producers of House M.D. have decided that this season of the show, the 8th, should be the last. By April this year they will have completed 177 episodes, which is about 175 more than anyone expected back in 2004. House Postmortem: Can Chase and House coexist after "Nobody's Fault"? The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years - but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved... Since it began, House has aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying world in which everlasting human questions of ethics and emotion, logic and truth, could be examined, played out, and occasionally answered. This sounds like fancy talk, but it really isn't. House has, in its time, intrigued audiences around the world in vast numbers, and has shown that there is a strong appetite for television drama that relies on more than prettiness or gun play. But now that time is drawing to a close. The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature; he should never be the last one to leave the party. How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air. The producers can never sufficiently express their gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated artists and technicians who have given so generously of their energy and talent to make House the show it has been -- and perhaps will continue to be for some time, on one cable network or another. The makers of House would also like to thank Fox Broadcasting and Universal Television for supporting the show with patience, imagination and large quantities of good taste. The Studio-As-Evil-Adversary is one of the many clichés that House has managed to avoid, and for that the cast and crew are deeply grateful. Lastly, the audience: some have come and some have gone, obviously. This is to be expected in the life of any show. But over the course of the last eight years, the producers of House have felt immensely honored to be the subject of such close attention by an intelligent, discriminating, humane and thoughtful -- not to mention numerous -- audience. Even the show's detractors have been flattering in their way. Making the show has felt like a lively and passionate discussion about as many different subjects as could possibly be raised in 177 hours. The devotion and generosity of our viewers has been marvelous to behold. So, finally, everyone at House will bid farewell to the audience and to each other with more than a few tears, but also with a deep feeling of gratitude for the grand adventure they have been privileged to enjoy for the last eight years. If the show lives on somewhere, with somebody, as a fond memory, then that is a precious feat, of which we will always be proud. Everybody Lies. Check out the rest of today's news Shortly after the statement was released, the series' cast and crew (past and present) tweeted their reactions."House lovers, it's the end of an era," former series regular Olivia Wilde wrote. "Shows like that don't happen, well, ever. I'm honored to have been a part of such a brilliant story." Jesse Spencer, one of the show's few remaining original cast members wrote: "Fare thee well, House." And longtime executive producer Greg Yaitanes tweeted, "Thank you to our crew and our fans for 8 amazing seasons of House," "The team has an amazing series finale in store for you." Check out photos of the House cast Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly also released a statement on behalf of the network: "While it's with much regret, and a lump in our throats, we respect the decision Hugh, David and Katie have made. A true original, on the page and amazingly brought to life by Hugh Laurie, there is only one Dr. House. For eight seasons, the entire House team has given us -- and fans around the world - some of the most compelling characters and affecting stories ever seen on television. They have been creatively tenacious and collaborative throughout this incredible run, and they are amongst the most superior talents in the business. For all the above, we wholeheartedly thank them, and the fans who have supported the show." House stars Laurie as Dr. Gregory House, a misanthropic medical genius with a prescription drug habit and relationship issues who leadsa team of diagnosticians at New Jersey's Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Are you sad to see House go? Vote in our poll below: Are you sad to see House go? Yes! I will miss the curmudgeonly genius. No. It's time to put the show out of its misery. vote view results

Eurekas Erica Cerra Expecting Her First Child

Erica Cerra Erica Cerra is pregnant with her first child, People reports. "I am so thrilled I am going to be a mother," Cerra tells the magazine. "I fall in love a little more each time my baby moves. So far, pregnancy has been a breeze. Sciatica can be difficult, otherwise I have been very fortunate. Ultrasounds are probably my favorite - being able to see my little one. It's all an amazing experience." Check out the rest of today's news The Eureka star and husband Raffaele Fiore, who wed in Nov. 2010, are expecting the baby in May.