Morning Grind: Mickey Rourke Had Some Issues With 'Iron Man 2'

Mickey Rourke was in Los Angeles over the weekend doing press for 'Immortals' (check for Moviefone's sit-down with Rourke closer to release), and when the subject of onscreen villains arose, the Oscar nominee had some pretty strong opinions about his heavy from 'Iron Man 2.' "I try to find the moments where [the villain is] not that cliched, evil bad guy and it's a big fight," he told Coming Soon. "I had it on 'Iron Man' and they won. It was going to work for Marvel and them breaking [Jon] Favreau's balls and wanting just a one-dimensional villain. The performance and all the things that I tried to bring to it end up on the f-cking floor. That can cause you not to care as much. To not to want to put that effort in to try and make it an intelligent bad guy or a bad guy who is justified in what his reasons are." [Coming Soon] It's the 'Elizabethtown' reunion you never wanted! Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst will co-star in 'Cities' with Clive Owen and 'Slumdog Millionaire' game-show host Anil Kapoor. Directed by Roger Donaldson ('Dante's Peak,' 'Species'), the film is a "cautionary tale of greed and ambition" in the lead-up to the market crash of 2008. Think 'Babel' mixed with 'Margin Call.' [Coming Soon] James Gandolfini is negotiating to appear in the comedy 'Burt Wonderstone,' opposite Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. The film is about an aging Las Vegas magician (Carell) who teams with his old partner to take on an outlandish street magician (Carrey). Gandolfini would play Carell's boss, a billionaire casino owner; per Variety, Olivia Wilde and Sarah Silverman are being sought for the female lead. [Variety] What was an offer last week is now a deal: creepy 'Killing' star Joel Kinnaman has signed to play Lancelot in 'Arthur & Lancelot.' [THR/Heat Vision] "I gave him my idea about how this should be turned into a love story and he's really run with it," said James Cameron to Deadline about Shawn Levy's development of the 'Fantastic Voyage' remake. Cameron's plan to refresh up the 1966 film was to have a doctor inject himself into his dying wife in an attempt to save her. [Deadline] Some Academy Awards deck-chair shuffling: Sony Classics will run the four leads from 'Carnage' (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly and Christophe Waltz) in the supporting categories, while the studio will place Keira Knightley in the competitive Best Actress field for her work in 'A Dangerous Method.' [HitFix/In Contention] [Photo: Getty] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Expendables 2 Stuntman Killed in Explosion

An unnamed Expendables 2 stunt performer was killed while filming an explosion scene Thursday in Bulgaria. Another stuntman was critically injured in the scene, which was being handled by the second-unit crew while director Simon West and his cast were shooting several hours away. “It is with great regret that we confirm this unfortunate accident,” said a statement from the producers at Nu Image/Millennium Films. “Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident.” [Deadline]

Ringer Scoop: Save Me's Andrea Roth Signs On As Andrew's Crazy Ex

Andrea Roth Save Me's Andrea Roth remains attracted on for just about any recurring role round the CW's noir thriller Ringer, TVGuide.com has learned. Roth, who referred to the estranged wife of Tommy (Denis Leary) round the Foreign exchange firemen series, may have Catherine, the conniving ex-wife of Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd) as well as the mother of Juliet (Zoey Deutch). When Catherine blows into NY, her vindictive side comes in full pressure, resulting in difficulties for that Martin family. Is it possible to blame her? Ultimately, Siobhan did steal her husband. Exclusive: Ringer to experience a Buffy reunion! The 44-year-old actress, whose credits have Blue Bloods and Dark Blue, will first are available in Episode 12. Ringer airs Tuesdays at 9/8c round the CW.

Legally Blonde's Jennifer Coolidge Joins 2 Broke Girls

Jennifer Coolidge Look who's soon to be knocking on Max and Caroline's door. Jennifer Coolidge is joining the cast of 2 Broke Girls as the new neighbor of Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs), Deadline reports. The recurring role of Sophie was specifically created for Coolidge, according to the site. CBS orders full season of 2 Broke Girls Coolidge, 48, is best known for her roles in Legally Blonde and American Pie. She guest-starred on 2 Broke Girls executive producer Michael Patrick King's previous series, Sex and the City, and most recently appeared as herself on an episode of Bravo's Mad Fashion. 2 Broke Girls airs Mondays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

NBC Lands Comedy From Jack Black

By Lesley Goldberg and Lacey Rose October 26, 2011 NBC is in love -- with the Internet.The network has given a script commitment to a single-camera Internet love story from "30 Minutes or Less" scribe Michael Diliberti with Jack Black attached to executive produce.The untitled comedy, from 20th Century Fox Television, Reveille and Black's Electric Dynamite, revolves around two sweet but colossally unfit young people who meet online and fall into a sudden, uncontrollable bout of true love, much to the disapproval of most everyone in their lives.Diliberti, whose credits also include serving as an associate producer on the feature "Stop-Loss," is attached to pen the project and executive produce alongside Black as well as Reveille's Carolyn Bernstein and Todd Cohen.The project marks the latest project for Black's Reveille-based Electric Dynamite shingle this development season. The company also has a Josh Lieb multicamera comedy set up at Fox about a brother and sister who live together.Diliberti, repped by WME, New School Media and Morris Yorn, also penned the script to the upcoming has "Comic Con" feature. The Hollywood Reporter

Which Old Movie Stars Ranked on Forbes' List of 2011's Top-Grossing Dead Celebrities?

Dead people are arguably less productive than you are, but a bunch of them earned between seven and nine figures for doing nothing this year, according to Forbes. Insulted? I understand. But you may be surprised by which screen stars are still banking well after they’ve left the big screen and the planet. I’ve highlighted the movie stars for you. 1. Michael Jackson: $170 million 2. Elvis Presley: $55 million 3. Marilyn Monroe: $27 million 4. Charles Schulz: $25 million 5. John Lennon: $12 million 5. Elizabeth Taylor: $12 million 7. Albert Einstein: $10 million 8. Dr. Seuss: $9 million 9. Jimi Hendrix: $7 million 9. Stieg Larsson: $7 million 9. Steve McQueen: $7 million 9. Richard Rodgers: $7 million 13. George Harrison: $6 million 13. Bettie Page: $6 million 13. Andy Warhol: $6 million Let’s put aside Elvis Presley, since I doubt that much of his fortune is coming from Viva Las Vegas and Change of Habit. Marilyn Monroe’s iconic pucker is always worth a bunch, so that’s no surprise, and Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds perfume provides an everlasting splash of income. It’s Steve McQueen and Bettie Page who deserve a second look here: McQueen’s image has been licensed for high-end brands like Dolce & Gabbana, and Bettie Page’s estate is scoring off her Bettie Page Clothing stores in Hollywood and Las Vegas. Is it weird that I had no idea McQueen’s appeal is recognizable to a high-end consumer? Or most consumers in 2011? I never hear his films discussed — not even the awesome ones like The Getaway. I’m glad that he’s a bankable persona, but I’m puzzled. He was last namedropped in a Sheryl Crow single about nine years ago, you know what I mean? (On an unrelated note: All hail Charles Schulz forever.) Forbes’ Top Earning Dead Celebrities [Forbes]

Fox unveils scribe training program

Fox is launching an advanced writers program designed to develop diverse voices for film, television and digital productions.Fox Writer's Intensive will offer a four-month curriculum beginning in February that will train participants in the development of original material across the different mediums, while also shedding light on the business of media and entertainment. Fox will then aim to staff graduates on Fox projects as well as give first looks on original scripts.The top graduate from each session will be chosen as the Fox Writer's Intensive Fellow and will receive one-on-one meetings with Fox brass and priority staffing across the company's projects. Fox will also acquire and develop an original submission from the fellow. "Through the Fox Writer's Intensive we are, for the first time, actively investing in experienced talent to bridge the gap between the emerging writer and showrunner," Fox senior veep of audience strategy Nicole A. Bernard said. "We're providing multiplatform learning experiences and, equally important, higher levels of access to top creative professionals and senior executives - an invaluable benefit both to the writers and our entertainment businesses." Candidates can be nominated by agencies, management companies or one of the program's partnering organizations, such as Film Independent (which is administering the program), the NAACP, the NY Foundation for the Arts, the East West Players, the National Assn. of Latino Independent Producers and Women in Film Los Angeles.Deadline for nominations is Nov. 9. For less-experienced writers, Fox has created a Fox Writer's Residency program that is targeted for a fall 2012 launch. Contact Jon Weisman at jon.weisman@variety.com

VIDEO: Anna Faris Meets Her Match, Channels Sailor man Moon on Saturday Evening Live

Anna Faris, Saturday Evening Live Anna Faris met her match when she located Saturday Evening Love the 2nd time. While fielding questions regarding the Greek economic crisis and which religion is the greatest on the planet, Faris came in person with audience member, look-alike and kindred spirit Hannah Garis (Abby Elliot) - sporting exactly the same haircut, same dress and same slightly air-headed disposition: Faris, outfitted inside a Sailor man Moon-esque outfit, compensated homage to Japanese culture when she performed a Michigan Condition student using the biggest anime video collection on campus around the student-created cable show J-Pop American Funtime Now show: Watch more videos from Saturday Evening Live The actress opted for an infinitely more conservative search for the fake Lifetime game show, Wrong With Tanya?!, where moms from Lifetime original movies must guess wrong using the various troubled teenage women and boys (all named Tanya). Drugs? Eating disorders? The wrong relationship having a teacher? You guess: Faris also shared happens with musical guest Drake, who made an appearance inside a "Weekend Update" segment concerning the werewolf phenomenon: That which was your preferred sketch from the evening?

Former Agent Sue Mengers Dies

Sue Mengers, one of Hollywood's most influential and colorful agents, died October 15 at her home in Beverly Hills after a series of small strokes. Her death was first reported by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter in a blog post at VanityFair.com. Mengers, who claimed to be 78 although some sources list her age as 81, was surrounded by her friends Ali MacGraw, Joanna Poitier and Boaty Boatwright, Carter wrote. Mengers, who at her peak in the '70s represented such stars as Barbra Streisand,Bob Fosse, Michael Caine, Peter Bogdanovich, Ryan O'Neal and Faye Dunaway, blazed a trail for women agents in Hollywood. PHOTOS: Hollywood's Notable Deaths The child of German refugees, she began her career as a receptionist at MCA talent agency before being hired as a secretary at the William Morris Agency. She would go on to become an agent in 1967 at Creative Management Agency, which merged with International Famous Agency in 1975 to become ICM. Mengers stepped down from ICM in 1986, returned to two years later for a brief stint at WMA, before permanently retiring. "Her name became synonymous with women and what she helped us all to accomplish," said Boaty Boatwright, a talent agent at ICM and one of Mengers' closest friends, "but her legend is really the vitality with which she lived life, and her wit, which will be celebrated in stories throughout our community for years to come." Famous for her sharp, often caustic wit and her star-studded dinner parties, the larger-than-life Mengers was the inspiration for the character played by Dyan Cannon in the 1973 comedy mystery The Last of Sheila, co-written by Anthony Perkins, who was another of her clients. "When she wound her career down in the '80s, Agent Sue became Hostess Sue-and she was even more successful in her new vocation. Dinner at Sue's was like stepping into a Hollywood you imagined, but almost never experienced," Carter recalled. Looking back on her career in a 1993 Los Angeles Times profile, Mengers said, "Emulating the people I knew in the field--entirely male--I was tactless, contemptuous and made enemies needlessly. If I had to do it over again, I'd take on a bit more of the personality of (Paramount motion picture chief) Sherry Lansing, who has the ability to make people feel good. I rolled in there like a tank . . . but in any revolution you have to do something to get their attention. Women don't have to act like that these days." Her husband, director Jean-Claude Tramont, who she married in 1973, died in 1996. Related Topics Obituaries

'Avatar' and 'The Dark Knight' One of the most Unlicensed Movies Ever

Imagine how much cash "greedy motherf--ker" James Cameron might have made on 'Avatar' whether it wasn't stolen by dastardly Internet pirates. Based on a study in the website TorrentFreak, 'Avatar' -- the greatest grossing movie ever -- is easily the most unlicensed movie ever. The film -- which, as THR notes, was recommended through the director as the best hope against piracy due to three dimensional -- continues to be unlawfully downloaded 21 million occasions, 2 million a lot more than runner-ups 'The Dark Knight' and 'Transformers.' The 3 films made over $700 million worldwide, however their DVD revenues might have been hurt through the illegal downloads. Elsewhere out there, blockbusters like 'Inception,' 'The Hangover,' 'Star Trek' and 'Pirates from the Caribbean: At World's Finish.' Probably the most surprising records? 'Kick-Ass' -- the only film one of the ten not to gross $100 million in the box office -- and also the significantly criticized 'The Incredible Hulk' with Edward Norton. Mind to TorrentFreak for that full list. [TorrentFreak via THR] [Photo: Everett Collection] RELATED: 'Avatar' along with other Movie Amusement Park Rides 6 Other Movie-Based Amusement Park Rides In recognition of 'Avatar' being a ride, six other films which have become the amusement park treatment. To the FutureStar TrekIndiana JonesHostelHarry PotterStar Tours (The Exorcist) See All Moviefone Art galleries » Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook RELATED

Pete Travis and Alex Garland set the record straight over Dredd

On Friday The LA Times broke the story that Dredd director Pete Travis was no longer working on the project and that writer/producer Alex Garland had taken on editing duties.However, an official update from both parties claims that's not actually what's happened.According to them, it's just all gone a bit "unorthodox" and been "misinterpreted"."During all stages of the filmmaking, Dredd has been a collaboration between a number of dedicated creative parties," read the statement released by both Travis and Garland."From the outset we decided on an unorthodox collaboration to make the film. This situation has been misinterpreted. To set the record straight, Pete was not fired and remains a central part of the collaboration, and Alex is not seeking a co-director credit."The clarification goes on to say, "We are all extremely proud of the film we have made, and respectfully suggest that it is judged on viewing when it's released next year."Now that sounds more orthodox.Dredd is based on the 2000AD comic strip about a futuristic lawman and the film opens 21 September 2012.

The spin on stats

Attached to the wealth from the film "Moneyball," the NY Occasions went a present business piece identifying exactly what it recognized to as "Generation Moneyball" -- youthful Master of economic administration types smitten by Michael Lewis' book and the thought of using statistics to "exploit issues, allocate assets and challenge the typical understanding."Despite hostility toward science in a few political quarters, there's appeal in this perception of better -- or maybe more productive -- dealing with new techniques for utilizing data, in from fixing crime to greater understanding and anticipating media and cultural trends. Yet ultimately have moved into a time period of virtually infinite data, lots of it's suspect, and making sense of the chaos frequently appears well beyond our grasp.Naturally, it has not dissuaded media shops from pursuing such large-picture tales and corporations from attempting to make use of the Web's treasure chest of understanding to unearth the next Large Factor. Indeed, each day seems to produce a completely new player pitching breakthrough technology regarding social media, wanting to find out itself becoming an arbiter in the public pulse. This look for meaning, however, frequently doesn't survive close scrutiny. Proceed and take survey through which almost another of U.S. participants mentioned they designed to watch the Emmys (overstating the specific rating having a factor around 10), or other putting fascination with Comedy Central's Charlie Sheen roast far while watching "two and a half Males" premiere -- which outdrew it ratings-wise by greater than four to at least one.Over-worked after we are, the media were not especially good at going through this lot of ancillary data and separating what's truly significant from what essentially sounds interesting, and what's essentially meaningless.The Wall Street Journal, for example, gave considerable play with a story about "decoding" the conversation on Twitter. Stating "the scientific appetite for your go through the information can yield," the paper reported an professional saying what exactly could be culled from people 140-character bursts is "the very best customer research tool."Twitter unquestionably has value just like a communication medium, though altering that in to a apparent referendum on virtually anything remains questionable. Due to the limits the format imposes, there's ample room for skepticism about having the ability to yield identifiable designs, except possibly for everybody their have to reshape its chorus of voices in to a marketable product.Others, for instance TiVo, may also be attempting to package their databases into something they could sell. It's another permutation on spinning ratings, which now includes such elements as postponed Dvr viewing plus much more detailed audience profiles, for instance ABC's recent news release offering its performance among "trendy groups, including high-earnings professionals or managers and people with four-plus years of college."Or, reading through through involving the lines, "Hey entrepreneurs, less many people seen us, nevertheless the best ones did." If this involves the zeitgeist, scientific understanding as a means of thwarting evil has furthermore taken a next factor forward. CBS' intriguing new series "Person of great interestInch relies on a device in a position to spitting out vaguely predictive data inside the war against terror, moving the sci-fi of "Minority Report" in to a present-day milieu.Ultimately, the allure of analyzing reams of come up with research is dependant on achieving a sense of security not readily associated with creative endeavors. The primary challenge is separating what's true real-world implications from pointing nonsense -- namely, opt-in polls, immediate online comments together with additional information that could fill time on cable news but which are only connected with whatever yahoo happened striking "send" the fastest. Although "Moneyball" focuses on baseball, since the Occasions piece noted, for professionals receptive to new techniques of mining data, "it's a short answer to using similar concepts in their own personal organizations" -- a workout that could gain momentum as generation x ascends the business ladder.Just like a Jewish mother might say, it couldn't hurt.However when she eventually ends up getting a effective boy or daughter, she could also explain how when push involves shove, have confidence in stomach and swing for your fences. Contact John Lowry at john.lowry@variety.com

Sony to make Steve Jobs biopic

Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire feature film rights to Walter Isaacson's upcoming authorized biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Sony had no comment on the book deal. Mark Gordon will produce the picture through MG360, the film production partnership between Gordon and Management 360. Originally skedded for release on Nov. 21, Simon & Schuster will now publish "Steve Jobs" on Oct. 24 in lieu of Jobs' death on Oct. 5. The 448-page book features two years worth of interviews with Jobs, who agreed to participate while he was battling cancer so that Isaacson could better capture his legacy. As of mid-August, Jobs had not yet read the book, which has seen its pre-sales skyrocket. Isaacson, the former CNN chairman and Time Magazine managing editor, has previously written biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Henry Kissinger and Albert Einstein. In the wake of Jobs' passing, TNT has announced it will re-air the 1999 telepic "Pirates of the Silicon Valley," which chronicled Jobs' rivalry with Microsoft visionary Bill Gates. Sony is no stranger to movies about technological entrepreneurs, having recently released "The Social Network," which chronicled the rise of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

'Life Unexpected's' Shiri Appleby to Star in Alloy's 'Dating Rules' (Exclusive)

The business behind Gossip Girl as well as the Vampire Journals has attracted on Shiri Appleby to star within the approaching web series, Dating Rules From My Future Self.our editor recommends'Life Unexpected's' Liz Tigelaar, Gary Fleder Sell Drama Project to ABC Art galleries Dating, a geniune Alloy Entertainment concept put together by Wendy Weiner, concentrates on a 29-year-old lady (Appleby) who'll get texts from herself 10 years afterwards warning her to considerably change her dating strategy. STORY: Emma Roberts, AnnaSophia Robb to Star in 'Anything But Regular' The first sort Existence Unforeseen star may even produce the project, slated for nine episodes, with Alloy's Josh Bank, Bob Levy and Tripp Reed. Production is positioned to begin in La this month, with plans for just about any The month of the month of january 2012 premiere. STORY: ABC Nabs Drama From 'Vampire Journals,' 'Gossip Girl' Producers What is the news has come about as Alloy is constantly build its programming slate web TV. Dating will probably be the business's six Web effort, joining First Day 2: First Dance and Wendy, starring Tyler Blackburn and Meaghan Martin. On television, Alloy may also be behind the CW's newcomerThe Secret Circleas well as ABC Family'sPretty Little Liarsand the recently uppedThe Lounging Game. The business will unveil live-action music seriesHow to Rockon Nickelodeonin The month of the month of january. Appleby is repped by Gersh and John Carrabino. Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com Twitter: @LaceyVRose Related Subjects The Vampire Journals Shiri Appleby The CW Gossip Girl

Williams Apologizes For Hitler-Obama Example

First Released: October 5, 2011 9:14 AM EDT Credit: -- Caption Singer Hank Williams Junior. seems around the area before a National football league game between your Gambling and also the Miami Whales at Sun Existence Stadium on September 12, 2011 Hank Williams Junior. is apologizing for implementing an example to Adolf Hitler in talking about Leader Obama that motivated ESPN to drag his classic intro song to Monday Evening Football. Williams stated inside a statement published on Facebook and the website Tuesday that the love for politics and sports got the very best or worst of me. Within an interview Monday on Fox News Fox&Buddies, Williams, unprompted, stated of Obamas outing around the links with House Speaker John Boehner: Itd end up like Hitler the game of golf with (Israeli Pm Benjamin) Netanyahu. Requested to clarify, Williams stated, Theyre the enemy, adding that by they he meant Obama and V . P . Joe Biden. Williams backed off Tuesday. The idea of the leaders of both sides jukin and fiven on the course, while a lot of people are battling to manage simply helped me boil over making a dumb statement, Williams stated. I'm very sorry whether it upset anybody. ESPN had no further comment. It's not known when the intro, symbolic of Monday Evening Football since 1989, could be recycled. (Copyright 2011 by Connected Press. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Corporation. All privileges reserved. These components might not be released, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Zach Gilford Takes 'Last Stand' With Arnold Schwarzenegger

Obvious eyes, full hearts, bad one-inserts? Apparently! Deadline reviews that 'Friday Evening Lights' star Matt Saracen Zach Gilford can look opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'The Last Stand,' the first kind Governator's first starring vehicle since departing office. Directed by Kim Jee-woon, 'The Last Stand' concentrates on a little-town sheriff (Schwarzenegger) who must stop a lately steered clear of drug cartel leader from crossing the border. Gilford will have a youthful cop assigned to helping Schwarzenegger within this variation on 'High Noon.' Arnold will next be viewed co-starring in 'The Expendables 2' in 2012 'The Last Stand' is scheduled for 2013. [Deadline] Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty

Showtimes New Drama Homeland Has Solid Premiere, Dexter Posts Record High

Showtime’s new drama Homeland premiered with 1.08 million viewers last night, delivering the pay cable networks highest-rated drama debut in eight years, since Dead Like Me’s 1.11 million in June 2003. It was the third consecutive Showtime drama series premiere to post Showtime’s best numbers since Dead Like Me, starting with Shameless (982,000) in January and Borgias (1.06 million) in April. But while Shameless and Borgias aired at 9 PM, Homeland ran at 10 PM, following the blockbuster sixth season premiere of Dexter (2.2 million), which was 24% from last year and marked the hit series’ highest-rated premiere ever and Showtime’s best original series opener in 14 years, since Stargate in 1997. Including the 11 PM and 1 AM, encores, the Dexter premiere averaged 2.76 million viewers, up 18% from last year. Homeland, which held onto half of its Dexter lead-in, averaged a total of 1.38 million viewers for the night, factoring in the 12 AM and 2 AM encores. Including online/on-demand pre-premiere viewing, the Homeland premiere episode has been seen by 2.78 million.

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'American Horror Story' Brings the Haunting Home

NEW YORK (AP) Just when you needed it, the FX network is throwing "American Horror Story" at you.To judge from its first two episodes, it's a robust diversion from the real-life droughts and hurricanes, joblessness and political stalemate that were already giving you the willies. It aspires to be "The Shining"-meets-"Rosemary's Baby," with "Carrie" and "Don't Look Now" tossed in. But more than a dead-on horror show, it's a homage to cinematic spookery. And a good one.In short, "American Horror Story" doesn't really scare you. It just gets in your head.The big unknown: Is it wily enough to stay there, week after week?Alert: Spoilers coming up which is another way of saying you might just as well apply the time you'd spend reading this to watching the premiere (which airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. EDT), then making up your own mind. You'll find it a memorable experience, at least.From the fertile imaginations of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk ("Glee," ''Nip/Tuck"), "American Horror Story" has a premise that is simple and time-honored: A haunted house is occupied by a likable, remarkably unsuspecting family.Ben Harmon (played by Dylan McDermott) is a Boston psychiatrist who has been caught cheating by his wife, Vivien (the wonderful Connie Britton of "Friday Night Lights"). She already was reeling from a late-term miscarriage. They need to make a fresh start. They and their teenage daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga) pull up stakes and head cross-country for Los Angeles."This place is our second chance," Ben tells Vivien, whose forgiveness he desperately seeks if for no other reason than because she hasn't slept with him for almost a year.This place, the family's new homestead, is a looming "classic L.A. Victorian from the 1920s," according to the real-estate agent showing them around. But it seems more like a vestige of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater," a domicile whose past residents have, of course, died gruesomely.Sold!If the elements of this horror story seem second-nature (there are also creaking doors and jars of icky lab specimens in the basement), they take the form of striking imagery that, at times, makes them as unsettling as they are familiar.It need hardly be mentioned that the house, restored from its previous ramshackle condition, retains disturbing artifacts upon which the Harmons will stumble. For example, a fetishist's vinyl bodysuit, complete with hood, is found hanging in the attic, with kinky consequences.The house also comes with strange neighbors. Jessica Lange plays Constance, a busybody Southern belle with an even more intrusive daughter, Adelaide, who (like Jamie Brewer, portraying her splendidly) has Down syndrome. Adult but childlike, the irrepressible Adelaide keeps busting into the Harmon's home."Addie will always find a way in," Constance tells Vivien matter-of-factly. "She has a bug up her ass about this house. Always has."With his practice set up in the family home, Dr. Harmon's ill-advised first client is a teen psychopath (Evan Peters), who bonds with the Harmons' troubled daughter after they meet cute (if bizarrely) in the bathroom, where she's cutting herself.That's not all the weirdness in store. Did we mention Moira, the longtime housekeeper (played by Frances Conroy, past matriarch of "Six Feet Under")? She's the sort of spectral figure who warns these new owners that the house "has a personality; feelings. Mistreat it and you'll regret it."But Ben sees Moira another way. Spinsterish, middle-aged Moira appears to him as "Moira, Jr." (played by Alexandra Breckenridge), a sexy young temptress with a scanty French-maid outfit and a come-on look.This problematic illusion sparks the premiere's raciest interlude. Emerging nude from the shower, Ben spies Young Moira alone in a bedroom pleasuring herself. Inflamed by the vision, he retreats to another room, still in the buff, where, moaning and whimpering, he gets himself off vividly.Speaking of flames, the house seems to impose pyromania on those who inhabit it. Just consider former resident Larry Harvey (played by Dennis O'Hare), who a while back incinerated his entire family, then emerged with grotesque scars from the inferno he set.Could such an incident repeat itself with the Harmons? Ben, suddenly seized by the urge to strike matches while sleepwalking, seems, under the house's spell, to be a firebug in the making.The premiere dumps a number of major questions on the audience, including the most fundamental: Why do the Harmons stick around in this crazy house? By the end of the second episode, Vivien is already fed up. She's ready to vacate. And no member of the audience would argue with her.So who knows what the future will bring for "American Horror Story"? Can it continue to jolt and engage the audience? Will the rationale for keeping the Harmons chilled in their macabre manse be sufficient to keep viewers coming back every week?Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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