Connie Britton, one of the stars of The Last Winter, the just-released Larry Fessenden film, was interviewed on the radio program "Fair Game" last night. Britton played Sharon Gaines in the film Friday Night Lights (she appears in the television series as well). Her first film was indie fave The Brothers McMullen.

Host Faith Salie called The Last Winter "The Shining for environmentalists" (heeeeere's global warming!) and Britton concurred: "That's a great description...I've been calling it an environmental ghost story."

Friday Night Lights notwithstanding, Britton said she was not a football fan, and furthermore, she also wasn't "a big horror fan per se, but this movie is so interesting to me, and it was such a passion project for Larry...it's really a commentary on what we're doing to our earth and just suppose the earth really...came back and decided to have a little vengeance!"

But she noted that although recently seeing the final cut of The Last Winter "really creeped me out," it isn't truly a horror film, anyway, and it has much to offer an audience beyond the considerable scares. Shot in Iceland, "the photography in that movie is some of the most beautiful photography I've seen anywhere. It is just breathtaking, those Icelandic landscapes."

So, go for the thrills, stay for the vistas.

CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves has named Amy Baer to head that company's film division. Baer has been the Executive Vice President for Production at Columbia Pictures since 1998; films under her supervision there include My Best Friend's Wedding, Adaptation and Something's Gotta Give.

Baer, currently Number 44 on the Hollywood Reporter's  "Women in Entertainment Power 100," told that publication that "Leslie Moonves really wants a film division that makes a wide range of films for a broad spectrum of the audience. That's historically what I've always wanted to do. I'm a bit of a generalist. I've never specialized in one kind of movie. She said she intends "to have something in production within the next 12-18 months. 

CBS Films is six months old, and plans are in place for the unit to put out four to six theatrical releases a year. 

Noah Baumbach's new film, Margot at the Wedding, screens at the New York Film Festival on October 7th and 8th (the festival starts Thursday and runs through October 14th). Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh play sisters who spend a (very dysfunctional – you've seen The Squid and the Whale, right?) weekend together. Adding to the usual complications present on any film set, Baumbach and Leigh are husband and wife, and this is the first project they've worked on as a couple.

It certainly sounds like a true team effort. In an interview with New York Magazine, Baumbach said, "I show Jennifer every draft...It's not as if I’m writing a page and ripping it off and reading it to her—but it's a natural outgrowth of everything else we do."

Leigh remembered, "I was so excited to work with him as an actress. It was wonderful, just talking about scripts and film and all of that. When he's given me notes, they've always been good and specific. So I was excited to show off for him in a way—for him to see how easy I am to work with, what a pro I am, you know? I'm not a complain-y girl. I love the work, and I'm really serious, but I’m also easygoing. I couldn’t wait for him to see that side of me."

Last Tuesday, Viacom chief executive Philippe P. Dauman spoke at an investment conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. He praised his company's acquisition of DreamWorks and said of that company's co-founder, "Now, we have Steven Spielberg in the house as part of the deal. He's currently working on 'Indiana Jones,' a Paramount movie, which is releasing next year. We're doing everything possible to make him happy."

But Dauman also referred to speculation that Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner David Geffen would exit the company when their contracts expire late next year, saying that the financial impact on Paramount and Viacom "would be completely immaterial" in the event of their departure.   

 Although DreamWorks' successes have been good for Paramount, Spielberg and Geffen are said to be displeased with the scant credit they've received within Viacom.

The day after the conference, Jeffrey Katzenberg responded to the slight by calling Spielberg "a national treasure" and suggesting that "calmer heads need to prevail here."

By Thursday, Paramount Pictures chairman Brad Grey had acknowledged that the deal with DreamWorks "really accelerated our turnaround" and said he had "the greatest respect for the creativity of Steven Spielberg and the entire DreamWorks team, as well as the immense entrepreneurial business skills of David Geffen."

Perhaps calmer heads have prevailed.