Tom Hardy rides with WB biker film

HardyUnder his new first-look deal with Warner Bros., Tom Hardy is on board to star in and produce an outlaw biker feature.The "Dark Knight Rises" star is partnering with Art Linson and John Linson of Linson Entertainment to produce via his newly minted Executive Options banner, which Variety first reported Wednesday. Story, penned by "Vacancy" scripter Mark L. Smith and based on an original idea from John Linson, centers on a wounded Vietnam veteran who returns home to San Francisco at the height of unrest of 1969. Amid clashing cultures of the Haight Ashbury district, he emerges to become the leader of California's most violent outlaw biker club.Sarah Schechter overseeing for the studio.Hardy came on board in late 2010 to portray the villain Bane in the studio's "The Dark Knight Rises." The English actor's recent roles include "This Means War," "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and "Warrior."The Linsons, Hardy, and Smith are represented by CAA. Hardy is also represented by Lindy King at United Agents UK and attorney Jason Sloane.Smith is managed by Anonymous Content. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Gravitas, Variance pact on indies

Gravitas Ventures and Variance Films are teaming to acquire and co-release seven to eight independent films a year theatrically in the U.S. and Canada and on VOD.Companies made the announcement Thursday, a day before the opening of South by Southwest, where the companies plan to use their acquisitions teams to seek out independent, documentary and foreign films that will benefit from a day and date theatrical/VOD release. Both companies will also continue to acquire films separately for their individual slates.The partnership will utilize a P&A fund created by Gravitas while retaining key long-term rights. Variance will execute the theatrical release Gravitas will handle the film across VOD operators.The companies touted the alliance as a natural extension of a relationship built over the last two years where Variance has handled theatrical and Gravitas has handled VOD include "American: The Bill Hicks Story, "Amigo," "Ip Man," "Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster," "Until the Light Takes Us," "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen," "The Lottery," "White on Rice" and "Passport to Love.""This partnership breaks down yet another barrier for filmmakers, creating an exciting and financially viable new alternative for those who might otherwise be forced to either accept a less-than-adequate arrangement or be forced back into the world of fundraising to search for P&A," said Dylan Marchetti, founder of Variance Films.Six-year-old Gravitas is owned by founder Nolan A. Gallagher and financed by cash flow. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com

Fremaux spotlights Lumiere brothers

Just as Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" is popularizing George Melies, Cannes topper Thierry Fremaux was in Madrid recently at the Filmoteca Espanola's Cine Dore to underscore the efforts of two other French founding fathers of film, Louis and Auguste Lumiere. The presentation said a lot about the Lumieres, and about Fremaux, as he advances on the lineup for Cannes in May. Via an improvised Spanish-language audio commentary over a 69-minute anthology of the Lumieres' 50-second movies, Fremaux sought to enthuse a largely young crowd with cinema's origins. "Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory" -- whose exhibition at Paris' Grand Cafe on Dec. 28, 1895, marks cinema's birth, by the reckoning of some -- screened in three versions: two with workers and a horse; yet another sans horse. That means, Fremaux quipped, that the Lumieres made not only the first film but also the first remake. There was a serious purpose to the presentation. As director of Institut Lumiere in his home city of Lyon, Fremaux dispelled century-old notions, such as -- quoting Wikipedia -- that the brothers called cinema "an invention without any future." That, Fremaux argued, was a ruse to discourage competition, including from Melies himself who, attending the Grand Cafe screening, sought to buy the Lumieres' Cinematographe camera-projector patent. Commenting on many of history's oldest films, then leading a Q&A, Fremaux spotlighted his faith in the future for film thanks to the collective experience of cinemagoing, the nearest movies come to a live event. Cannes' red-carpet glam, world preems and auteur attendance gives its movies natural event status. But Fremaux has begun to take this sense of moviegoing as live communal entertainment further afield. Prix Lumiere ceremonies for Clint Eastwood, Milos Forman and Gerard Depardieu at the Lumiere-Grand Lyon Festival, launched in 2009, pack a 4,000-seat auditorium at a festival dedicated to retros, revivals and restorations. With plans to expand the European Film Week and the Institut Lumiere celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, Fremaux's enthusiasm for cinema as an event both historic and contemporary will manifest in even wider spheres. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Nicole Kidman to star in 'Railway Man'

LONDON -- Nicole Kidman has been cast as Colin Firth's wife in ''The Railway Man,'' replacing Rachel Weisz in the role.Weisz was forced to drop out of the project because she's required to do additional shooting on ''The Bourne Legacy'' and ''Oz: The Great and Powerful.''''The Railway Man,'' directed by Jonathan Teplitzy, is in pre-production to start shooting in April. A U.K.-Australian co-production backed by Lionsgate Intl., it's based on Eric Lomax's autobiography about his horrific experiences as a Japanese prisoner in World War II, and his remarkable reconciliation with one of his captors 30 years later.Lomax's wife Patti, who will be played by Kidman, took a key role in helping him to face up the longstanding psychological damage caused by his wartime horrors, and in bringing him back together with one of the Japanese officers who had participated in his torture.Jeremy Irvine (''War Horse'') plays the younger Lomax in the WWII scenes.Producer Andy Paterson co-wrote the adaptation with Frank Cottrell Boyce.''The Railway Man'' will shoot in Scotland with Firth and Kidman, before moving to Australia's Gold Coast for the WWII section. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Exclusive: Revenge Enlists Breaking Bad Mom for Mysterious Guest Spot

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers about AMC's The Walking Dead and the comic book series it originated from.] AMC may have just spoiled what might turn out to be the worst-kept TV secret of 2012. On the AMC website early Thursday, The Walking Dead's second season limited edition Blu-ray set was being promoted. One problem: The item's description included a major spoiler, touting that the bonus features include... Read More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Glen MazzaraFrank DarabontThe Walking DeadJon Bernthal