Fifty Shades of Grey Passes One Million, Nora Ephron Service Set: Biz Break

Also in Thursday afternoon's round up of news briefs, the folks at the Academy announced some new rules in various categories governing the Oscars. A comedy and a thriller head to U.S. theaters and a Halle Berry thriller gets some legs.

Academy Makes Some Rule Changes for 2013 Oscars
The significant changes are in the Music, Foreign Language and Visual Effects categories. Here's a rundown: A fourth songwriter for an individual song be considered in rare and extraordinary circumstances (previously it was two); Foreign-language films must be submitted to the Academy in 35mm or DCP, but are no longer required to be exhibited in those formats in their countries of origin; The Oscar in the Makeup category will now be known as "Makeup and Hairstyling Award"; In the Visual Effects category, nominees will be selected from a pool of ten films chosen by the Branch Executive Committee by secret ballot (previously, the committee could put forward as many as ten productions or as few as seven).

My Worst Nightmare Heads to U.S.
Strand Releasing picked up U.S. rights to Anne Fontaine's comedy My Worst Nightmare starring Isabelle Huppert, Benoit Poelvoorde and Andre Dussollier. The droll comedy centers on an uptight contemporary gallery owner who falls in an unlikely relationship with a crass contractor who is in the process of remodeling her apartment. 

The Selling Goes GoDigital
The company will release the comedic horror The Selling directed by Emily Lou, which picked up five awards at last year's LA Comedy Film Festival including Best Feature.

Around the 'net…

Nora Ephron Service Planned for July 9th
Ephron's son Jacob Bernstein said details about the service are still in the works. Ephron died Tuesday in New York, age 71, AP reports.

Fifty Shades of Grey Beats One Million Sales Record
EL James's Fifty Shades of Grey has become the fastest adult paperback novel to sell one million print copies. The first in the erotic trilogy passed the million mark in 11 weeks, surpassing the previous record of 36 weeks by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Ryan Gosling has been rumored to be up for the lead in the film version. Universal already has the film rights. BBC reports.

Studios Join Halle Berry Thriller
The Hive production starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin is getting partners. WWE Studios and Toika Pictures are teaming to co-produce and co-finance the thriller about a kidnapping of a teen girl, directed by Brad Anderson, Deadline reports.