The Voice Season 2 Scoop: More Blind Audition Rounds, Bigger Teams, Savvier Contestants

The Voice When NBC's The Voice returns next season, it will be bigger than ever. There will be more blind audition rounds, in which singers perform for the coaches sight unseen, and 12 contestants per team, up from Season 1's eight. The Voice names Christina Milian as new social media correspondent It's not yet clear exactly how many more blind audition episodes will air - they ran for two weeks earlier this year - but executive producer Mark Burnett says the decision to expand came from viewer feedback and having more time to produce them. "We put the show on so quickly last year. We only had four months," he told TVGuide.com after a press conference Friday. "And the biggest complaint that we got was, 'Awww, the blind auditions ended so early.' It was a quick blip. So I managed to make a lot more blind auditions and clearly we're responding to what our fans are asking for." Series coaches - Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton - told reporters they remain unworried about the glut of music shows. The Voice returns in February after the Super Bowl, and after The X Factor wraps in December, but it will still have to contend with a new season of American Idol. Aguilera says The Voice's process when it comes to selecting singers -- the coaches listening only to a performer's voice and then swinging around in those huge red chairs - remains unmatched. "There's not a more suspenseful TV show out there," she said. (Burnett added: "These chairs have become stars in their own right.") Is Carson Daly the founding father of social TV? Asked specifically about the similarities to Simon Cowell's X Factor, Burnett told TVGuide.com he'd only seen "maybe 10 minutes" of the show. "They certainly spent a lot of money, it's certainly big. I don't think it's different from anything else I've seen," he said. So while X Factor will award its winner with a $5 million recording contract, The Voice will stick with its $100,000. "Do you know what that reminds me of? It reminds of Austin Powers. 'One meeeellion dollars,'" Burnett said. "I mean, people aren't watching the show for that." As for the new crop of Voice contestants - all selected now that the show has finished filming Season 2's blind auditions -- the coaches say they got extra competitive when it came to filling out their rosters. "We know the game now. It's an intense competition this year," Aguilera said. She boasted that her team includes an opera singer "who makes you cry." "You sit there wondering why these people don't have record contracts," she said. Those contestants are also savvier than ever when it comes to picking who they want to work with. "Now, they're all like, 'What can you do for me?'" Aguilera said. "They know how it works" when more than one of the coaches want in. "All of a sudden, we're the ones pitching ourselves," Levine said. Season 2 of The Voice returns Sunday, Feb. 5 after the Super Bowl on NBC.

Blockbuster to supply VOD on Facebook

Blockbuster expects to create 8,000-10,000 films on its Facebook page using a new video-on-demand service that will integrate social media tools like comments and emoticons. Blockbuster will rent the movies in the manner similar to how Warner Bros., Vital and Universal offer game game titles around the Facebook pages. Audiences will have a way to choose from numerous reactions as moments play and discover comments from pals. Move will enable Blockbuster to supply up "Appear Video"-like commentary from filmmakers, getting a director like David O. Russell, say, speaking about his applying for grants "The Fighter." "For people it's determined by optionality and which causes it to be available," mentioned Neil Davis, Blockbuster's mind of corporate and digital development. "Everyone knows everybody else sourcing is becoming more valuable if the involves what people watch and get,In . he added, therefore the organization preferred to provide audiences a choice regarding simply how much they wish to connect with the movies they watch. Offering could also eventually serve for art galleries to check on screen films online, rather than through proper research tests in theaters, and offer filmmakers and professionals with real-time feedback. Blockbuster remains waiting for Facebook to understand the social-media functions before beginning the service, that might exist in the conclusion of November. It presently doesn't rent films on Facebook. The completely new offering was revealed within the Authors Guild of America West early Thursday throughout an early on have a look at January's Electronic Products Show in Las vegas as well as the Entertainment Matters program that will guide Hollywood using the massive tech confab. Davis also mentioned the rental chain may return to acquiring independent films given that it could monetize the overall game game titles better across various platforms -- stores, DVD-by-mail, online, kiosks -- this didn't have if the first started acquiring indies and supplying the flicks strictly within the physical stores. Davis mentioned Blockbuster will launch more VOD services afterwards incorporated in the acquisition by Dish Network, which expects to pony up around $100 million to market the organization inside the U.S. and overseas. "I had been inches in the grave" before Dish acquired the business, Davis mentioned. "For people, this is often a phoenix project and letting people know we're still alive." Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com

Auteur Ex Smackdown: Will Madonna or Guy Ritchie Have the Better-Received Fall Film?

This coming winter will bring us two major showdowns: Glenn vs. Meryl in the Best Actress race, and now ferocious exes Madonna and Guy Ritchie are officially duelists: Her W.E. debuts Dec. 9, and his Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows follows up on Dec. 16. Place your bets now: Which of these dubious, aggressively modern “old-fashioned” films will critics and audiences enjoy/tolerate more? First, here’s Madonna’s W.E., an unofficial adaptation of the esteemed children’s book The English Roses (if you ask me), in all its watercolored, scone-nibbling bliss: And as we just posted, here’s Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows — or as I call it, The Ham of the Baskervilles. I can’t believe I’m doing this to my sweet panther sorceress Madonna, but I think Sherlock’s Meta-score will top hers. Critics will be willing and primed to accept the nonsense whizzbang of Sherlock’s adventures, but there’s no prefacing Madonna’s waterlogged pretension. Every character in W.E. looks more static than the last, and I can’t say Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law lack personality. Ugh, why! Why does Madonna’s movie have to be so bad? Why! I thought I’d seen the worst of it in I Am Because We Are, but no, now accents, crinkly royal smiles, and that stupid fucking monogram have to come into play. I’ve worked too hard for Madonna to blow this. I tolerated American Life for this queen. I think I even called Jesus Luz “potentially all right” once. Is anyone else even remotely upset by the outlook of this bomb? It’s the unsightly hydrangea of the season, and now Arthur Conan Doyle’s Adderall-addicted, gunpowder-fed step-grandchildren are better than it. This? This is true blue sads. Follow Louis Virtel on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter. [Photo: Getty Images]

Joss Whedon Films Movie in Secret

Joss Whedon Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon has completed a movie he filmed in secret. On Sunday night, frequent Whedon collaborators Nathan Fillion and Sean Maher tweeted a link to the website for the project, Much Ado About Nothing. "Bellwether Pictures is proud to announce the completion of principal photography," the site reads, adding that it's a film by Joss Whedon and "based on a play." Cobie Smulders to join Joss Whedon's Avengers? Um, Shakespeare's? Among the cast: Fillion, Maher, Reed Diamond, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof.

UPDATE: Occupy L.A. Targets News Corp. Meeting At Fox Studios

UPDATE, 9:59 P.M.: A British Member of Parliament scheduled to join News Corp. stockholders inside Fox’s Zanuck Theatre is expected to address protesters in front of the studio on Pico Boulevard before heading into the meeting, one of the organizers told Deadline late Thursday. Labor Party MP Tom Watson, a key figure in the Parliament’s investigation of the phone hacking scandal, has said he plans to present new allegations of other types of technological surveillance methods News Corp. has used in addition to phone hacking by representatives of the now-defunct News of the World. Holders of proxy shares — apart from institutional and other groups who plan to vote against Murdoch-allied board members — are also certain to have harsh questions for company execs. PREVIOUSLY, 7:31 P.M.: News Corp. shareholders arriving for their annual meeting Friday at the Fox lot on Pico Blvd. in West Los Angeles will encounter some uninvited greeters bearing unhappy tidings. Occupy Los Angeles, according to information posted on the Occupy Wall Street offshoot’s website, plans to protest “one-sided reporting, job cuts, phone-hacking, and bad governance.” Rupert Murdoch and other company leaders are expected to hear from a major pension funds and other stockholder groups disgruntled by the way members of the Murdoch family and their supporters on the board have handled the phone hacking scandal in the U.K. and other company activity. Those shareholders may be allowed to lodge their complaints but lack the clout or votes to remove any of the Murdochs or their supporters from the board. At least they’ll get inside the meeting. Occupy L.A. protesters are extremely unlikely to get beyond the front gate or anywhere on the lot, let alone near the studio’s Zanuck Theater where the meeting is being held. Studio security will be tighter than usual, and anyone without authorization won’t get beyond the gate. Efforts to reach protest organizers were unsuccessful.

On The Download: Death Cab for Cutie - KCRWs Berkeley Street Sessions

First Published: October 18, 2011 11:09 PM EDT Credit: Jeremiah Garcia. Caption Death Cab for Cutie perform at KCRWs Berkeley Street SessionsLOS ANGELES, Calif. -- KCRW hosted a private Death Cab for Cutie show at Bob Clearmountains Berkeley Street studio in Santa Monica. This intimate setting is a perfect venue for watching a band you truly love. The past few times Ive seen Death Cab in concert I was really far away amongst a crowd of thousands, so it was such a treat to see them up close and personal. The excited crowd of 150 people stood shoulder to shoulder in eager anticipation waiting for the band to take the stage. After 14 years together, Ben, Chris, Jason and Nick released their seventh studio album, Codes and Keys, back in May. Throughout their ten-song set, they performed songs from the new album as well as some fan favorites. Opening with Crooked Teeth (one of my favorites) from their seminal album Plans, the quartet seemed right at home on a relatively smaller stage than theyre used to. They led right into A Movie Script Ending, followed by a song from the new album, Doors Unlocked and Open, which had everyone moving in unison to the strong and steady beat. Thats just one of the many things I love about this band. No matter how mellow they may seem, their live shows always get people moving. They performed the new albums lead single, You Are a Tourist next. The audience hung on to every word as lead singer Ben Gibbard sang define your destination/theres so many places to call home. Following Tourist, there was a mini-break in the show where the band was interviewed by KCRWs Annie Litt and we got to know a little bit more about the quartet. For any Death Cab fan, it was a brilliant dialogue where they discussed their lyrics, music, touring, books theyre reading and how theyve managed to stay strong as a band throughout the last decade and a half. After the interview, they kicked back into gear with Portable Television laden with a groovy tambourine (tambourines are ALWAYS groovy!) and a predominant drum beat. After Blacking Out the Friction, they played a couple more songs from Codes and Keys, including the album closer, the sweet and carefree Stay Young, Go Dancing. For their non-core as Ben called it they closed with the full and rich Sound of Settling. The show was over way too soon, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. This really was an incredible venue and the acoustics were top notch. The performance and interview will air on Tuesday, November 1 on KCRWs Morning Becomes Eclectic. Be sure to tune in! It will also be streaming live on line during the radio broadcast. You can catch Death Cab for Cute currently on tour and their Keys and Codes Remix EP will be available on November 22. Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Justin Bieber's 'Mistletoe' Debuts on Ryan Seacrest (Video)

Justin Bieber's new Christmas song "Mistletoe" premiered on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio show Monday morning.our editor recommends Justin Bieber Is the 'Real Deal' and Will Have a Long Career Says Reality TV Producer Ne-Yo Pens Tunes for Justin Bieber, Rihanna PHOTOS: Justin Bieber's Top 10 THR Outtakes The song also hits iTunes Monday. It's off his holiday album, Under the Mistletoe, which will be released on Nov. 1 and also feature a duet with Mariah Carey. PHOTOS: Top 10 Highest Paid Music Artists Bieber told Seacrest: "I wanted to make a Christmas album, because my fans haven't heard my music in a long time. I wanted to do something that was charitable, but was also something that people haven't heard before. Because there are a lot of Christmas songs on my album that are new and original that people haven't heard." PHOTOS: The Most Watched Holiday Specials of 2010 The album will also include Band Perry, Usher and Boyz II Men. Bieber has hinted that Taylor Swift and Sean Kingston will be involved. Bieber also announced that he'll perform alongside Lady Gaga at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (hosted by Seacrest) this year. Related Topics Justin Bieber Mariah Carey Ryan Seacrest

George Clooney And Carl Reiner Reminisce

Last evening the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honored Carl Reiner. Deadline’s own Pete Hammond (Pete describes the evening here) moderated sections which incorporated Dick Van Dyke, Bill Persky, Bonnie Search, Avoi Marie Saint, Gary Shandling, Ray Matthews, Lily Tomlin, and Paul Reiser. Pete then intro’ed an unpredicted guest, George Clooneywho found the final outcome the evening by getting an award presentation. Here’s the footage: rtmp://streaming.deadline.com/ondemand/video/Carl_Reiner_George_Clooney_2011-10-14.flv

Large Brother's Cassi Colvin Will get Sudsy around the Bold and also the Beautiful

Cassi Colvin Your Government 13 contestant Cassi Colvin - a genuine-existence model and Olivia Wilde lookalike - makes her acting debut around the Bold and also the Beautiful October 20 inside a role that will not require heavy-lifting. She plays one, easily named Cassi, who's dealing with up-and-coming designer Hope Logan (Kim Matula) around the new "Hope for future yearsInch fashion line. "Thankfully I had been responding to to my very own title and so i did not miss a signal!" states Colvin, a 15-year vet within the modeling biz who began appearing appropriately at 11 and continued to lucrative contracts in NY, Milan, Sydney and Hong Kong. "I'd a lot of fun around the Bold and also the Beautiful however the job came right without warning - I'd never even seen the show," Colvin states. "I am not searching for an acting career whatsoever. My large dream is to buy my wings!" While waiting for your call from Victoria's Secret, the twangy Texan continued Your Government last summer time and attempted to cover her profession to prevent jealousy. It did not work. The eventual champion, Rachel Reilly, required an immediate dislike to Colvin making sure she was rapidly returned. "I am comfortable during my own skin and that i like who I'm inside and Rachel could not handle it due to her very own various insecurities," Colvin states. "I wasn't impacted by what she considered me which would be a large threat to her." Damn! Inside a near collision we'd have appreciated, Reilly may also be a guest on B&B - but simply a couple of days after Colvin. Particulars on that in a few days! Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!

Talent Agencies Provide the La Regional Food Bank

Talent Agencies Provide the La Regional Food Bank By Gregg Kilday October 12, 2011 Hollywood's major talent agencies have banded together to assist a extended effort benefitting the La Regional Food Bank that begins today.The foods and cash drive is titled Hatch -- Hollywood Agencies Together Combat Hunger. The site for Hatch can be found at internet.lafoodbank.org/hatch and site site visitors are requested to guide for the site.ICM agent Todd Hoffman, inspired having a similar initiative round the part of the legal community, showed up at to a different agencies involved to set up your time and energy. The participating agencies are ICM, CAA, WME, UTA, Paradigm, APA, Abrams Artists Agency, Gersh, Innovative Artists, the Kaplan Stahler Agency, Montana as well as the Osbrink Agency.The La Regional Food Bank provides food to greater than 1,000 charitiable groups throughout La County. It provides enough food for 770,000 meals every week, forty percent which visit children under 18. In line with the agency, every dollar reaised means 5 pounds of food for people in need of funds. The Hollywood Reporter Talent Agencies Provide the La Regional Food Bank By Gregg Kilday October 12, 2011 Hollywood's major talent agencies have banded together to assist a extended effort benefitting the La Regional Food Bank that begins today.The foods and cash drive is titled Hatch -- Hollywood Agencies Together Combat Hunger. The site for Hatch can be found at internet.lafoodbank.org/hatch and site site visitors are requested to guide for the site.ICM agent Todd Hoffman, inspired having a similar initiative for that legal community, showed up at to a different agencies involved to set up your time and energy. The participating agencies are ICM, CAA, WME, UTA, Paradigm, APA, Abrams Artists Agency, Gersh, Innovative Artists, the Kaplan Stahler Agency, Montana as well as the Osbrink Agency.The La Regional Food Bank provides food to greater than 1,000 charitiable groups throughout La County. It provides enough food for 770,000 meals every week, forty percent which visit children under 18. In line with the agency, every dollar reaised means 5 pounds of food for people in need of funds. The Hollywood Reporter

Stephen Root Steadily Built His Career With Perseverance and Nerve(s)

Stephen Root Steadily Built His Career With Perseverance and Nerve(s) By Dany Margolies October 6, 2011 Photo by Getty Images Stephen Root It's too difficult to calculate the number of projects Stephen Root worked on this year. "It keeps mushrooming. I'm very, very lucky that people think of me," he says. Projects onscreen in 2011 include "Rango," "Justified," and "Raising Hope." He won't, however, admit he's more skilled than others. "There's a lot of people who are a lot more talented than I who've gone by the wayside during the years because they can't take looking for a job every day or can't take the idea of not-secure employment," he says.Root graduated with a degree in theater from the University of Florida, where the sagest words a teacher ever gave him were "to listen," even though one is not speaking. That teacher was Dr. Leland L. Zimmerman, then of the university's theater department. Around that time, Zimmerman phoned him one morning, asking why Root wasn't at auditions for the school's summer repertory season. "If it hadn't been for him calling me up," says Root, "I probably wouldn't be here." Root dressed, ran to the audition, and won the lead in a show. Eventually, Off-Broadway and Broadway roles followed, until the time came to head west for on-camera work.1. He Didn't Take 'No' for an Answer. "The reason I'm still acting is because, even though I had been turned down by a big audition, I went to NY and said, 'No, I didn't get that letter,' and auditioned again and got it. Persistence is key in this business." The audition was for the National Shakespeare Company, a bus-and-truck troupe based in New York City. The year before, Root had earned a callback through Southeastern Theatre Conference auditions, but he opted for another year of university training. The following year, when he again auditioned at the SETC, he received that letter stating he wasn't accepted into the company. "So I went on my own to NY and said, 'I didn't get that letter. Let me do it for you right here in the room,' " he recalls. "Persistence." After a while, he says, "I felt like I had some sort of a rsum that people would go, 'Oh, I know his work,' " he says. "Then I could get into more auditions. It's the same everywhere: The more you have on your rsum, the more auditions you could get into, and the more comfortable a casting director will be putting themselves out, saying, 'Yes, I know this guy's work.' "2. He Has First-Day-Itis. When was Root the most nervous on a first day of a project? "Every day!" he proclaims. "Every first day of a new project is always very, very crazy for me. It's just being the new kid at school: The first day of any project has always been hard for me. I've learned to deal with it, but it's always the same, and it doesn't matter if you've worked with the people before. It's a new situation, a new role, a new slate. And then you do one scene, or one rehearsal, and then you're fine. And I think that's true of a lot of people."3. He Got His Irish On. "I was doing an Off-Broadway show called 'The Au Pair Man,' which is a two-hander about an Irish au pair, and I had to do a complete Irish accent and submerse myself into being Irish," he recalls. "That took a while. It took two weeks of the director just beating me over the head'No. No. No. No.' So it was a thrilling experience to get to opening night and go, 'Ah, I can relax. I've got the guy; now I can have fun.' But you really can't have fun until you, quote, get the guy. I kind of heard that through Charles Laughton. He was doing a movie called 'The Big Clock.' He couldn't get the guy, and you could see it in some early scenes; he wasn't there. Then finally he turned one day to his colleague and went, 'I've got him.' And then there's this brilliant character you see for the rest of the film. So you can't really relax and play until you've got it."4. He Had to Start Over. "What discouraged me when I first got to L.A. was the fact that you start over," he says. "You could do three Broadway shows in a row, and then you get to L.A. and you might get a guest-star on "Roseanne" for three lines. That was discouragingto come to a screeching halt and hear, 'No, you go start over again.' I'm glad it worked out that way, because it takes you a period of adjustment not to do too much on film. You can't project like you do in a play. You're not trying to hit the back wall; you're trying to convey something more subtle. So that's an adjustment that some people make easily. It took me longer. I'd hit myself in the face and say, 'Stop "acting." ' "5. He Keeps It Moving. Animation has in effect taken the place of theater in Root's arsenal of skills, allowing him to experiment and do characters he wouldn't be right for on film. "So you're able to stretch what you normally do out a little bit, and it's nice to be able to play that way. But when you're doing animation, you're still using your body. Your head hasn't detached itself from your body. You're still doing the character; you just have to be seated and have less motionor whatever, however you do it. I stand up and do mine. I feel like you have to commit to being that character, no matter what it is. And you can't just limit that to your head and your throat. When we did 'Rango,' the Gore Verbinski animated movie, he actually shot the whole movie as scenes. We did them as rehearsal scenes, so even if I'm playing a muskrat, I have to come up with some kind of physicalization of that for his camera, so he can use that later on in the animation. So that was the first time I'd experienced that, but they're doing that more and more, filming you as you do your animation." Root says he works on animated projects between his other film and TV work. It's apparently a great way to keep himand his careermoving right along.Stephen Root will appear on the "Working Actor" panel at Back Stage's Actorfest LA trade show on Nov. 5. For more details, visit BackStage.com. Stephen Root Steadily Built His Career With Perseverance and Nerve(s) By Dany Margolies October 6, 2011 Stephen Root PHOTO CREDIT Getty Images It's too difficult to calculate the number of projects Stephen Root worked on this year. "It keeps mushrooming. I'm very, very lucky that people think of me," he says. Projects onscreen in 2011 include "Rango," "Justified," and "Raising Hope." He won't, however, admit he's more skilled than others. "There's a lot of people who are a lot more talented than I who've gone by the wayside during the years because they can't take looking for a job every day or can't take the idea of not-secure employment," he says.Root graduated with a degree in theater from the University of Florida, where the sagest words a teacher ever gave him were "to listen," even though one is not speaking. That teacher was Dr. Leland L. Zimmerman, then of the university's theater department. Around that time, Zimmerman phoned him one morning, asking why Root wasn't at auditions for the school's summer repertory season. "If it hadn't been for him calling me up," says Root, "I probably wouldn't be here." Root dressed, ran to the audition, and won the lead in a show. Eventually, Off-Broadway and Broadway roles followed, until the time came to head west for on-camera work.1. He Didn't Take 'No' for an Answer. "The reason I'm still acting is because, even though I had been turned down by a big audition, I went to NY and said, 'No, I didn't get that letter,' and auditioned again and got it. Persistence is key in this business." The audition was for the National Shakespeare Company, a bus-and-truck troupe based in NY City. The year before, Root had earned a callback through Southeastern Theatre Conference auditions, but he opted for another year of university training. The following year, when he again auditioned at the SETC, he received that letter stating he wasn't accepted into the company. "So I went on my own to NY and said, 'I didn't get that letter. Let me do it for you right here in the room,' " he recalls. "Persistence." After a while, he says, "I felt like I had some sort of a rsum that people would go, 'Oh, I know his work,' " he says. "Then I could get into more auditions. It's the same everywhere: The more you have on your rsum, the more auditions you could get into, and the more comfortable a casting director will be putting themselves out, saying, 'Yes, I know this guy's work.' "2. He Has First-Day-Itis. When was Root the most nervous on a first day of a project? "Every day!" he proclaims. "Every first day of a new project is always very, very crazy for me. It's just being the new kid at school: The first day of any project has always been hard for me. I've learned to deal with it, but it's always the same, and it doesn't matter if you've worked with the people before. It's a new situation, a new role, a new slate. And then you do one scene, or one rehearsal, and then you're fine. And I think that's true of a lot of people."3. He Got His Irish On. "I was doing an Off-Broadway show called 'The Au Pair Man,' which is a two-hander about an Irish au pair, and I had to do a complete Irish accent and submerse myself into being Irish," he recalls. "That took a while. It took two weeks of the director just beating me over the head'No. No. No. No.' So it was a thrilling experience to get to opening night and go, 'Ah, I can relax. I've got the guy; now I can have fun.' But you really can't have fun until you, quote, get the guy. I kind of heard that through Charles Laughton. He was doing a movie called 'The Big Clock.' He couldn't get the guy, and you could see it in some early scenes; he wasn't there. Then finally he turned one day to his colleague and went, 'I've got him.' And then there's this brilliant character you see for the rest of the film. So you can't really relax and play until you've got it."4. He Had to Start Over. "What discouraged me when I first got to L.A. was the fact that you start over," he says. "You could do three Broadway shows in a row, and then you get to L.A. and you might get a guest-star on "Roseanne" for three lines. That was discouragingto come to a screeching halt and hear, 'No, you go start over again.' I'm glad it worked out that way, because it takes you a period of adjustment not to do too much on film. You can't project like you do in a play. You're not trying to hit the back wall; you're trying to convey something more subtle. So that's an adjustment that some people make easily. It took me longer. I'd hit myself in the face and say, 'Stop "acting." ' "5. He Keeps It Moving. Animation has in effect taken the place of theater in Root's arsenal of skills, allowing him to experiment and do characters he wouldn't be right for on film. "So you're able to stretch what you normally do out a little bit, and it's nice to be able to play that way. But when you're doing animation, you're still using your body. Your head hasn't detached itself from your body. You're still doing the character; you just have to be seated and have less motionor whatever, however you do it. I stand up and do mine. I feel like you have to commit to being that character, no matter what it is. And you can't just limit that to your head and your throat. When we did 'Rango,' the Gore Verbinski animated movie, he actually shot the whole movie as scenes. We did them as rehearsal scenes, so even if I'm playing a muskrat, I have to come up with some kind of physicalization of that for his camera, so he can use that later on in the animation. So that was the first time I'd experienced that, but they're doing that more and more, filming you as you do your animation." Root says he works on animated projects between his other film and TV work. It's apparently a great way to keep himand his careermoving right along.Stephen Root will appear on the "Working Actor" panel at Back Stage's Actorfest LA trade show on Nov. 5. For more details, visit BackStage.com.