Radha Mitchell

With her leading roles, so to speak, in "Melinda and Melinda," Radha Mitchell has joined a select sorority that includes Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, Judy Davis and Mira Sorvino -- actresses chosen by Woody Allen to bring his complex and funny female characters to life. Mitchell had never met the Oscar-winning auteur when he called to ask if she would play Melinda, the woman around whom he'd woven an intricate, twice-told tale. Startled, the Australian actress thought the call was a prank.

To create a successful antihero, a writer must pull off a narrative sleight of hand, convincing the audience that black is white, or at least an acceptable shade of gray. The trick is to pull it off without getting caught, which is the first failure of ABC's high-aspiring but poorly executed "Red Widow. " In the series, which premieres Sunday, the antihero is Marta Walraven (Radha Mitchell) living the uber Mommy high life in Marin County until her husband is gunned down in her driveway.

"The short version is that, yes, it's an Indian name, and, no, I'm not Indian," Radha Mitchell says with a laugh, refraining from further elaboration on the origins of her ethnic first name.

With her leading roles, so to speak, in "Melinda and Melinda," Radha Mitchell has joined a select sorority that includes Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, Judy Davis and Mira Sorvino -- actresses chosen by Woody Allen to bring his complex and funny female characters to life. Mitchell had never met the Oscar-winning auteur when he called to ask if she would play Melinda, the woman around whom he'd woven an intricate, twice-told tale. Startled, the Australian actress thought the call was a prank.

To create a successful antihero, a writer must pull off a narrative sleight of hand, convincing the audience that black is white, or at least an acceptable shade of gray. The trick is to pull it off without getting caught, which is the first failure of ABC's high-aspiring but poorly executed "Red Widow. " In the series, which premieres Sunday, the antihero is Marta Walraven (Radha Mitchell) living the uber Mommy high life in Marin County until her husband is gunned down in her driveway.

Woody Allen will open the 52nd San Sebastian Film Festival in September with the world premiere of his new film, "Melinda and Melinda." The 68-year-old Allen also is to be honored with a lifetime achievement award, and the festival in Spain will show a retrospective of his work as a writer, director and actor, organizers said Friday. His new romantic comedy stars Radha Mitchell, Chloe Sevigny and Jonny Lee Miller. It will not be competing for the festival's top Golden Shell prize.

Two great, thoroughly inhabited performances -- by Paddy Considine and Oscar Isaac -- drive "PU-239," a dark, sometimes funny, often violent HBO movie about fatherhood, set in the lawless Wild East of a cutthroat, capitalist Russia. Written and directed by Scott Z.

Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 24 - March 2, 2013 in PDF format This week's TV Movies       CBS This Morning Nancy O'Dell ; CEO Dana Fiser, Jenny Craig. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Michael Phelps; Oscar fashion; La La Anthony; Melissa D'Arabian. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC Good Morning America Oscar highlights. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Live With Kelly and Michael At Hollywood & Highland Center the morning after the Oscars celebration.

Marc Forster's "Everything Put Together," one of the American Cinematheque's most exciting presentations last year in its ongoing Alternative Screen series, is now the first new film to be offered in the Cinematheque's latest venture, a distribution company in partnership with Vitagraph Films. It opens today at the Monica 4-Plex and moves to the Cinematheque's venue, the Egyptian, where it will commence a regular run on Nov. 16.

"Pitch Black," a routine sci-fi/horror action-adventure, takes us where we've been countless times before--a forbidding distant planet--and offers nothing new along the way. Director David Twohy, who co-wrote the script with Jim and Ken Wheat, seems to understand this because he brings maximum razzle-dazzle and energy to the film, which is certainly the way to go with such trite material, even if ultimately a flashy technique is not enough.

"The short version is that, yes, it's an Indian name, and, no, I'm not Indian," Radha Mitchell says with a laugh, refraining from further elaboration on the origins of her ethnic first name.

The indie drama "Henry Poole Is Here" tells the story of a lonely, hopeless soul (Luke Wilson) who retreats to a newly bought house in the neighborhood where he grew up, only to see his planned solitude intruded upon by neighbors and strangers who believe a water stain on his house is the image of Jesus.

For years Melissa Rosenberg toiled away as a TV writer, jumping from one show to the next, never finding the right fit for her voice and personality. Then she landed on Showtime's "Dexter" and the combination of her dark sense of humor and the show's edgy story lines melded together in a frothy mixture of critical acclaim and avid viewership. Rosenberg was on the Emmy-winning show for four years, convinced it was the best job she would ever have in television. Until now. The 50-year-old writer-producer, now best known for her screenwriting work on the wildly successful "Twilight" movie franchise, is the show runner behind ABC's new female-driven series "Red Widow.