Academy discloses more Oscar presenters

Oscar-winning stars Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo have became a member of their email list of presenters for Sunday's 84th annual Oscars ceremony, the Academy of movement Picture Arts and Sciences introduced Thursday. Additionally, crooner Tony Bennett will serenade the 2010 Academy Award readers in the Governors Ball, which immediately follows the ceremony. Formerly introduced presenters include Halle Berry, the cast of "Bridesmaids," Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Michael Douglas, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Zach Galifianakis, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez. Chris Rock, Ben Stiller and Emma Stone. The Oscar ceremony, located by Billy Very, will occur in the Hollywood & Highland Center and air survive ABC. Contact Christy Grosz at christy.grosz@variety.com

Pilot Season: Mary McCormack Cast in ABC Comedy, FlashForward Vet Lands Shonda Rhimes Drama

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead. Read at your own risk. ] Lori has come a long way from housewife-turned-zombie apocalypse survivor. Sunday's episode of The Walking Dead proved she would do just about anything to keep her family intact, even if it means planting the seed in husband Rick's head that his best friend Shane needs to die. TVGuide.com turned to executive producer and showrunner Glen Mazzara to get the scoop on Lori's "foolish decision." Plus: What will the future hold for Shane, who's long outlived his comic book counterpart? Find out below: Read More > Other Links From TVGuide.com Andrew LincolnNorman ReedusScott WilsonFrank DarabontSarah Wayne CalliesJon BernthalMichael ZegenGlen MazzaraThe Walking DeadChandler RiggsMelissa Suzanne McBride

Film Commissioners announce Locations show

The Assn. of Film Commissioners Intl. holds its Locations Show on June 15-16 within the La Convention Center. The large event will run simultaneously while using opening weekend in the La Film Festival, held June 14-24 at venues centered on the adjacent L.A. Live complex. ''Film Commissions aren't nearly locations,'' mentioned AFCI Executive Director, Martin Cuff. ''Our annual trade event supplies a unique chance to talk to these Film Commissions who with one another provide over $2.5 billion in annual funding. We're very searching toward our move downtown, creating a genuine worldwide village within the La Film Festival.'' The trade event happened last June at Disney Art galleries using the Producers Guild of America's ''Produced By'' conference. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com

Sky Deutschland to raise $394 million

BERLIN -- Sky Deutschland announced plans on Thursday to raise 300 million ($394 million) this year to finance investments in exclusive new content and innovative new services. News Corp. will backstop the funding, which Sky plans to raise in two steps. The company is looking to secure a minimum of $130 million by March through a rights offering, a private placement or a shareholder loan and the rest by September. It may also issue a convertible bond as part of the process. Sky recently inked an exclusive three-year multi-platform pay TV deal with Warner Bros., and has also beefed up its high-definition TV offerings. In 2011, Sky managed to narrow its losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 42% to $203 million, while revenue climbed 17% to $1.4 billion. Sky also surpassed the 3 million subscriber mark. "In 2011 we delivered a number of key milestones in building our business for a profitable future," said Sky Deutschland CEO Brian Sullivan. "Overall our results reflect the best performance in the history of the company: we are attracting new customers at the fastest pace ever, and customer satisfaction and recommendation levels are at all-time highs. To have over 3 million customers actively choosing Sky is a fantastic achievement, but we expect more to come and there is still more to do. The additional funding announced today will support us to further drive these efforts, to continue building an exciting service for our customers and a valuable business for our shareholders." Sullivan expects Sky's performance to continue to improve this year and "to be significantly better than 2011." Contact Ed Meza at staff@variety.com