Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, August 20, 2008 August 21, 2008 9:23 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
“Quantum Of Solace” Moved Up A Week August 21, 2008 8:48 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Quantum of Solace.add a comment
Sony/Columbia Pictures have announced that the latest James Bond adventure Quantum of Solace will be releasing in North America on November 7, 2008, a week earlier than originally schduled:
“We believe Nov. 14 is a great date that allows us to play straight through Thanksgiving and right into Christmas,” said Jeff Blake, chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group.
The film will have its worldwide debut on October 29th in London, England.
Did Harvey Dent Live or Die? The Dark Knight Script Reveals Fate of Character August 21, 2008 3:40 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, The Dark Knight.4 comments
Spoilers follow, but has anyone really not seen this movie yet? When The Dark Knight ended I know I wasn’t the only one unsure about the extent of the injuries sustained by Harvey Dent/Two-Face during his fall. However, the script has been released for purchase, and it reveals the fate of the character. On page 163 of the 167 page script, the stage direction reads as follows [SPOILERS–Highlight to reveal]:
“Dent lies at the bottom of the hole, his neck broken. DEAD.”
The capital letters are what’s written by brothers Jonathan and Christopher Nolan, who wrote the screenplay.
So there’s that. If you still had any questions about the character, we now have confirmation that he died.
Source: MTV
Jon Favreau Begins Work on “Iron Man 2” August 21, 2008 3:26 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Movies, News.add a comment
Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau told the Los Angeles Times that work has begun on the sequel:
I just talked to Jon Favreau a bit ago, and he said that while there hasn’t been an formal announcement on the sequel to “Iron Man,” he’s begun developing it. “We’re working on it now,” he said, “which hasn’t been officially announced. It will be released in 2010.”
Iron Man has grossed over $570M worldwide and is currently the year’s second highest-grossing film at $317.15M. The sequel will hit theaters on April 30, 2010. Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) is writing the script, while Robert Downey Jr. will return as Iron Man/Tony Stark and co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are expected to return.
“Stargate Atlantis” Canceled; Movies Planned [Updated With Press Release and New Chart] August 21, 2008 3:08 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, News, Sci Fi, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, Television.10 comments
UPDATED ON AUGUST 22ND AT 4:00PM: Because some wondered how the other SCI FI shows have fared, I’ve gone ahead and posted a chart detailing the ratings of Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica and Eureka as well as Stargate Atlantis. Check it out by clicking this link.
UPDATED ON AUGUST 21ST AT 2:45PM: I’ve attached the press release from SCI FI confirming the cancellation and announcing the two-hour TV movie (then video release). Check it out after the jump.
The SCI FI Channel is ending Stargate Atlantis after five seasons on the air, that according to a report by Multichannel News. There is still good news, however, as MGM and SCI FI will continue the straight-to-video venture that has proven successful thus far with the first Stargate TV franchise Stargate SG-1, which has already had two movies released on DVD to financial success. The movie will air on the network in 2009 and then be released on DVD (and presumably Blu-ray as well).
Airing in 10-episode blocks since its premiere in July 2004, the series has seen declines with each string of episodes, until the later half of last season. Its current viewership level of a little over 2 million viewers (includes a mix of live and delayed ratings data per Multichannel’s report) and a 1.22 household coverage rating (Live+Same Day only) through the first five episodes of this season is an increase over the comparable season four start. However, it’s still barely half of where the show started off at (4.2M viewers and a 3.2 household coverage rating) for its series premiere in 2004. Season five’s household rating average of 1.22 is 15% higher than the beginning of season four.
Nevertheless, and regardless of the fact that it picked up viewers when Live + 7-day ratings were factored in, a show with a respectable budget going into its sixth season of production on a cable network available to more than 80% of the nation should be attracting a larger audience.
In the meantime, fans can appreciate that SCI FI has decided to air the season straight through, foregoing their hiatus between 10-episode halves (I suppose that announcement was a hint at things to come huh?) as well as an extended life through straight-to-video movies:
“We’re excited to tell Atlantis stories on a bigger canvas,” Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and currently executive producers on Atlantis, said in a statement. “The successes of the two original Stargate [direct-to-video] movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum have shown us the opportunities that the movie format offers. We have plans for both SG-1 and Atlantis to remain vital as we expand the franchise.”
Other than it being announced that Stargate writers and producers (and current show runners) Joseph Mallozzi (who has a blog you can check at this link and confirmed the cancellation in this comment on his site) and Paul Mullie will write the first Atlantis movie script, there is no information about what the movie would be about, how many of the cast members would participate and who would direct. GateWorld.net’s report of the news indicates that MGM will make an official announcement on Thursday, so perhaps will get some more details at that point.
I know cancellations are hard to handle for some people but keep in mind that this is a business and sometimes regardless of how much you enjoy a show, the economics don’t warrant it staying on the air. At least it got five seasons,much more than several other series even get a chance at. Plus in this age of DVD and Internet entertainment there’s always the opportunity to revisit the material in some other form.
Also, Wright and Cooper are developing a third TV series in the franchise — called Stargate Universe –- and pitched it to the network in late 2007 (read a report on that from an April 2007 GateWorld.net article here). SCI FI has made no announcement regarding that proposed new series.
I’ve included a chart below tracking the entire run of the show via the household coverage rating (click to enlarge).
Note: Two-hour episodes/nights are counted as one rating. All data based on live or live+same day ratings.
Ratings for Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica and Eureka (click to enlarge)
My complete analysis, including a season-by-season breakdown, of the above chart follows directly after the jump.
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