Quick Takes: HFPA to honor Morgan Freeman

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will receive the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s 2012 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 69th Golden Globe Awards, the group announced Wednesday. The ceremony will take place Jan. 15.

The Cecil B. DeMille Award is given, according to the HFPA, to “talented individuals who have made an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.” Freeman, 74, joins such past recipients as Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

Freeman earned a supporting actor Oscar for 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby,” directed by Clint Eastwood, and he received a lead actor Oscar nomination for Eastwood’s 2009 film “Invictus,” in which he played South African leader Nelson Mandela. He also received Oscar nominations for supporting actor for 1987’s “Street Smart” and lead actor nominations for 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy” and 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption.”

In June, he received the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award. Recently seen in the box-office hit “Dolphin Tale,” he’s currently in production on “The Dark Knight

Rises,” the third entry in Christopher Nolan’s Batman

films.

—Susan King

Book’s recall seems a draw

Here’s an unusual way to boost sales: Have the publisher withdraw a novel because it contained passages lifted from other authors.

A day after Q.R. Markham’s “Assassin of Secrets” was pulled by Little, Brown and Co., readers are apparently hurrying to snap up remaining copies. The book’s ranking jumped on Amazon.com from 62,924 on Tuesday afternoon to 174 on Wednesday afternoon, making it the online retailer’s No. 2 “Mover & Shaker.”

The book was released Nov. 3 with an initial printing of 6,500, but within days Little, Brown learned that Markham had lifted material from James Bond novels and other sources. A planned second book has been canceled. Markham’s real name is Quentin Rowan, a 35-year-old resident of Brooklyn and an investor in the Brooklyn-based Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers. Markham and his agent, David Peak of Vigliano Associates, haven’t returned phone messages from the AP seeking comment.

—Associated Press

‘Phineas’ boys set for Season 4

“Phineas and Ferb,” Disney Channel’s animated series about two adventurous boys, has been renewed for a fourth season. The show has been TV’s top-rated animated show for tweens in the last four years.

The renewal means that the series will have new episodes rolling out through 2014. Upcoming episodes include the one-hit wonders Phineas and the Ferb-Tones, commemoration of Platypus Day and a winter vacation featuring seasonal sports and a New Year’s celebration.

—Greg Braxton

Stan Lee to get Vanguard Award

The Producers Guild of America announced Wednesday that Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee, whose co-creations include “Spider-Man,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Iron Man,” will receive the 2012 Vanguard Award at the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards Jan. 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Lee, 88, has also executive produced such films as the “Spider-Man” franchise, the “Iron Man” films, “Thor” and “The X-Men” franchise.”

The Vanguard Award recognizes achievements in new media and technology.

“Stan Lee’s creative vision and imagination has produced some of the most beloved and visually stunning characters and adventures in history,” said PGA Awards co-chairs Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim in a statement.

Previous recipients include George Lucas, John Lasseter and YouTube founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Will Wright.

—Susan King

Record art sale for Lichtenstein

A painting by the late Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein has sold at auction in New York City for more than $43 million, a world auction record for him.

The 1961 painting, “I Can See the Whole Room! … and There’s Nobody in It!,” depicts a man’s face peering through a peephole. It sold Tuesday night at a Christie’s postwar and contemporary art sale.

Lichtenstein’s 1964 painting “Ohhh … Alright …” sold for his previous auction record of more than $42 million last November. It’s a comic book image of a distressed woman speaking into a telephone.

Lichtenstein was famous for his cartoon-inspired style and along with artists including Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns helped launch the Pop Art movement. He died in 1997.

—Associated Press