Martin Freeman joins 'Santa'

FreemanLONDON -- Brit thesps Martin Freeman, Noel Clarke and Tim Curry will all lend their voices to U.K. toonpic "Saving Santa," which is set to begin production on Friday. Pic marks the first toon to come out of Gateway Films, the shingle behind local pics "Anuvahood," "Shank" and "Sket." Joan Collins, Pam Ferris ("Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"), Craig Fairbass ("Call of Duty") and Chris Barrie ("Tomb Raider") will also voice characters in the 5 million ($7.8 million) pic. Story sees a clumsy elf who doesn't fit in with the other elves, but after discovering the secret of Santa's time control device, he sets out on a journey to save Santa's Kingdom after its location is discovered by an evil character. Leon Joosen, whose animation credits include "The Little Mermaid" and "Aliens in the Attic," is set to helm the pic, while Ricky Roxburgh ("The Wild Bunch") penned the script. Gateway's Terry Stone and Nick Simunek will produce alongside Tony Nottage, while Max Howard is exec producer. "We've always wanted to have an animation studio under Gateway," Stone told Daily Variety. "And this is our first step into the animation world. We're not going to stop making feature films, but going forward an animation studio is going to be an arm of our company and we plan on doing one to two animations per year." Gateway is in negotiations with a studio for U.K. rights. Gateway is also in production on $3.1 million "Get Lucky," toplining Luke Treadaway, T.J. Ramini, Emily Atack and James Cosmo, which Universal is distributing in Blighty and Oz. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com

Nominee reaction: J.C. Chandor

Writer/director J.C. Chandor is counting his blessings. After struggling as a docu and commercial helmer, Chandor landed an original screenplay nom for his first feature "Margin Call," a insider's view of the financial meltdown starring Jeremy Irons.Chandor knew there was big news when his Blackberry started ringing non-stop after dropping is daughter off for school. But he had to deal with some domestic reality when his babysitter failed to show up on time."I got an honest dose of humbleness because my one-and-a-half-year-old couldn't care less about the Oscars. I was chasing him around and changing diapers," Chandor said. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Kelly Clarkson Drafted to complete National Anthem at Super Bowl

Kelly Clarkson Let's hope it is going a lot better than it did finally year's large game! Kelly Clarkson works the country's anthem at Super Bowl XLVI, The Connected Press reviews. Clarkson joins formerly introduced musical functions Madonna, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., who'll all perform through the halftime show. Madonna will star in Super Bowl halftime show Clarkson will be the third Americanidol champion to complete "The Star-Spangled Banner" within the large game, following Jordin Sparks and Barbara Underwood. A year ago, Christina Aguilera flubbed the lyrics and sang "what so happily we seen, within the twilight's last reaming" instead of "o'er the ramparts we seen, were so gallantly streaming." Super Bowl XLVI will air live from Indiana on Sunday, Feb. 5 on NBC. Clarkson look on another NBC program - The Voice - becoming an agent on Blake Shelton's team later this year.

Oscars 2012 Trailer Features Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel And Robin Williams

Thank goodness for Funny or Die. The comedy website teamed up with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year to create the funniest trailer we've seen for the Oscars as far back as we can remember. While we aren't so sure Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox are actually the two people the Academy would turn to in a time of need, they certainly sell their roles here. It's their task to go find "The Host" -- aka Billy Crystal -- and convince him to host this year's Oscars. Along the way they get ordered around by William Fichtner, receive some clues from Vinnie Jones and get a ride in a barge from Robin Williams. Because why not. The joy of this trailer is that it's actually really funny and clever, and more epic in scale than previous Oscar commercials. If you remember, last year's Anne Hathaway and James Franco ads featured them working out and going through a training course to prepare for their hosting duties. We'd argue that this trailer appeals more to the Academy's much sought after younger demographic than the hiring of Hathaway and Franco did. Maybe the combination of a smart marketing campaign -- thank you again, Funny or Die -- and the return of Crystal as an Oscar host can help raise the viewership numbers that dropped last year. Did you find this new Oscar teaser funny? Are you looking forward to tuning into this year's award show telecast? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!

Marc Anthony Dating 24-Year-Old Model

First Published: January 4, 2012 9:06 PM EST Credit: Getty Premium NY, N.Y. -- Caption Marc Anthony seen looking sharp at his Signature Collection at Kohls in Jersey City, New Jersey on September 7, 2011 Marc Anthony apparently has a new lady in his life. On Wednesday, both Us Weekly and Radar Online reported the singer is romancing Shannon de Lima, a Venezuelan model, who like Jennifer Lopezs new man, Casper Smart, is 24. The singer himself Tweeted to the leggy lady on Tuesday, writing, To Shannon, my statue of Liberty. Kisses baby, in Spanish. He also posted a photo on his Facebook page of himself, embracing and kissing the model. Click HERE to see the photo. Shannon was a runner up for Miss Earth Venezuela in 2005, but she isnt the only model Marc has been linked to in recent weeks. In December, Life & Style reported the 43-year-old hit a Miami Dolphins game with Adriana Ontiveros, 28. However, adding fuel to the rumors Marc is involved with Shannon? On Tuesday, Marc reTweeted a message from Chase Muniz, his adopted son, calling the two a couple. To all my followers and everybody on twitter follow 2012 best couple and for many more years to come @MarcAnthony and @Shadelima !!!!! Chase Tweeted. Marc also reTweeted Chases message, @Shadelima and. @MarcAnthony sounds sooo right what yah think??!!! sounds perfect to me. Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Hugh Hefner's New Year's Resolution: Stay a Bachelor

Hugh Hefner Hugh Hefner will remember 2011 since the year he almost got betrothed, so on to the year, he expects to stay unattached. "This year is really a very worthwhile year personally, I almost marry,Inch Hefner told People. "To ensure that as Carol [Madison] - a dear friend and former girlfriend - mentioned, 'Well, you missed a bullet.' In my opinion that's accurate. I am clearly not supposed to have been married. Married existence isn't personally.In . Runaway bride Very Harris states sex with Hef made it "two seconds" It appears the Playboy founder affiliate marketers his success with remaining a bachelor. Despite presently dating Shera Berchard and Anna Berglund, according to him he'll be "on top of my game" as extended while he removes walking lower the aisle. Hefner, 85, remains married two occasions before, first to Mildred Williams from 1949 to 1959 after which to former Playmate of year Kimberley Conrad.