Reality competition concentrates on Ford Escape

Ford is joining with NBC and Telemundo's mun2 cabler for your reality skein "Escape Routes," which will reveal the 2013 Ford Escape.The program airs on Saturday nights at 8 p.m. beginning March 31 on NBC. It will air at 11 p.m. on mun2, which targets youthful, bilingual Latino auds.Inside the series, six categories of two will compete in the road-trip challenge while using the new vehicle, which can also be incorporated inside the grand prize. The vehicle maker earlier used social media to exhibit the Fiesta and Explorer. Despite the fact that series concentrates on Ford, the program will feature advertising off their sponsors and is not a period of time-buy deal."Escape Routes" is produced by Elise Doganieri, longtime professional producer of CBS' "The Astounding Race." The six hourlong episodes will probably be situated by Rossi Morreale, who situated ABC's "Dating at night time.Inch Participants will visit urban centers including L.A., NY, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco Bay Area and Las vegas.Challenges will stream survive Escaperoutes.com, and fans will have a way to change the outcomes of the sport.InchThis really is really the first time an vehicle maker provides prime-time television to make a completely new vehicle," mentioned Jim Farley, Ford group veep for global marketing, sales and repair. Contact the number newsroom at news@variety.com

Universal in the home for Broadway

Using its brewing musical version of "Animal House," Universal Pictures Stage Prods. has teamed with several legiters which are becoming frequent collaborators using the Hollywood studio's legit arm. Also around the creating team are prolific Rialto producers Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel ("Hair," "August: Osage County") in addition to James L. Nederlander, prexy of Broadway landlord and creating/showing company Nederlander Org. Universal was one of the producers of Richards and Frankel project "The Merchant of Venice" along with the current "Gore Vidal's The Very Best Guy" and "Porgy and Bess" -- using the latter now playing within the Richard Rodgers, a Nederlander house. Another Universal title, "Wicked," continues to be packing the Nederlander's Gershwin Theater for near to ten years. Such bicoastal working together -- together with a roster of qualities which have hit happens such as the tuner version of "Take It On," a present tour which Universal also produces -- has assisted result in the movie studio a normal presence around the Rialto. Recent excursions also provide incorporated "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" (another Richards-Frankel production), "Cry-Baby" and also the Tony-sweeping "Billy Elliot." Creating for that stage is definitely an iffy business, but U executives know from first-hands experience that the hit often means large money. "Wicked," a regular top grosser on Broadway, became one from the studio's most lucrative qualities before a film has been made from the "Wizard of Oz" prequel tale. Happens version of Universal's 1978 screen comedy "Animal House" includes a creative team which includes Canuck band Barenaked As well as book author Michael Mitnick, whose play "Sex Lives in our Parents" received a Gotham run included in Off Broadway's Second Stage Uptown series this year. Casey Nicholaw ("It of Mormon") will helm and choreograph. Production timeline for "Animal House: The Musical" has not yet been set. Richards stated the creatives started work on the program a few several weeks ago and hopes with an initial reading through from the show later this season. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com

Etan Cohen to helm 'Boy Scouts'

CohenParamount has tapped its "Tropic Thunder" scribe Etan Cohen to make his directorial debut on the horror-comedy "Boy Scouts vs. Zombies."Studio had no comment.Disney Writing Program alums Carrie Evans and Emi Mochizuki wrote the script, which appeared on the 2010 Black List.Story follows three high school Boy Scouts who must use their skills to save their small town from a vicious zombie outbreak.Todd Garner's Broken Road is producing with Andy Fickman and Betsy Sullenger of Oops Doughnuts, as well as Bryan Brucks' Brucks Entertainment. The scribes' manager, Sean Robins, will exec produce.Cohen, who wrote "Tropic Thunder" and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," is among the writers credited on Sony's upcoming tentpole "Men in Black 3." His script "Revenge of the Jocks" is also in development at Warner Bros.Cohen is repped by CAA, Mosaic and attorney Peter Nichols. Contact Jeff Sneider at jeff.sneider@variety.com

New Author For Your Lost Symbol

Serta Brown 3 can get an overhaulAngels And Demons didn't do too, box office-wise, since the Da Vinci Code (most most likely because lots of its potential audience saw The Da Vinci Code), but nevertheless, half a billion dollars in ticket sales is not being sniffed at. The brand new the new sony remain likely to crack the script for Serta Brown's third Robert Langdon conspiracy epic The Lost Symbol, and Danny Strong might be the most recent guy for the job.Strong's task would be to overhaul the script already attempted by Brown themselves and Steven Dark evening (Eastern Promises, the completely new Rebecca). He's faced having a tale set following a Da Vinci Code, happening this time around around situated on American soil, including a massive secret plot about freemasonry. Langdon will decipher clues, and may explain what he's doing the entire time, whether there's anybody there to speak with or else.Effective written the arrival Sarah Palin film Game Change for Cinemax, so he no less than includes a feeling of the unlikely already.Ron Howard isn't pointing The Lost Symbol (while he did The Da VinciCode and Angels &Demons), and Deadline appear reasonably sure that, as formerly reported, Mark Romanek remains aboard. Tom Hanks is predicted to come back, and Howard remains creating, along with his regular cohort John Grazer.The Lost Symbol might be the fastest-selling adult novel ever. It's 2012 as well as the world is ending.