Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, September 16, 2008 September 17, 2008 10:30 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.2 comments
While down year-to-year, the fifth season premiere of House in a new time slot easily powered Fox to a first place finish last night. However, the network was helped by an impressive second week showing by new series Fringe, which retained a remarkable 93% of its lead-in’s audience.
Elsewhere on the evening, Big Brother 10 closed out the season on a high note, while Wipeout’s first season finale didn’t fare that well.
The CW, meanwhile, got some good news as week three of 90210 stabilized after a weak showing last week.
Check out all the above and more, including my full analysis of the night’s lineup, after the jump.
HBO Renews “True Blood” September 17, 2008 10:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in HBO, News, Renewals, Television, True Blood.add a comment
Confident in its quality, and impressed by its cumulative audience viewings when repeats are counted, HBO has given an early second season renewal to the Alan Ball vampire drama True Blood. True Blood premiered on September 7th to just 1.4 million viewers, but HBO says that when all the repeat airings were added in, the premiere attracted a total audience of 4 million viewers. The network also noted that the second episode grew by 24%.
“We’re in a business where we have to believe in the show — and the show is fantastic,” said Michael Lombardo, president of HBO’s programming group and West Coast operations. “It gets better in every episode. The show deserves a second year whatever the ratings.”
The network also announced that season two will roll air much sooner than expected, airing next summer as part of HBO’s plan to air year-round programming on Sunday nights.
“Last couple years our volume of Sunday night series went down, and we’re hoping to have a distinctive night of series on for 52 weeks a year next year,” Lombardo said. “Our intention is not to have periods where we’re not delivering originals.”
True Blood airs Sunday nights at 9pm on HBO.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
First Look: “W.” Cabinet September 17, 2008 9:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movie Photos, Movies, W.add a comment
Vanity Fair has a first look at the complete cabinet of the upcoming George W. Bush biopic W., from director Oliver Stone. I gotta admit, save for a few of the actors/actresses, some of these choices look very strange to me. MTV also has a new photo from within the film, which I’ve included below.
Synopsis
Josh Brolin stars as George W. Bush in this Oliver Stone biopic that traces the head of state’s rise to power from a privileged alcoholic to a born-again Christian whose belief in religious destiny helped move him to the top ranks of political power. Co-written by Stanley G. Weiser, Bush is produced by fellow Stone collaborators Moritz Borman and Jon Kilik, with Elizabeth Banks co-starring as the first lady, James Cromwell as the elder President Bush, Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush and Richard Dreyfuss as Vice President Dick Cheney.
W. hits theaters on October 17, 2008.
Sources: Vanity Fair (via The Playlist) and MTV
New Poster for “Frost/Nixon” September 17, 2008 9:23 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Frost/Nixon, Movie Posters, Movies, News.add a comment
Entertainment Weekly has a first look at the new poster for Frost/Nixon. Check it out on the right hand side.
Frost/Nixon hits theaters on December 5, 2008.
Synopsis
Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard adapts playwright Peter Morgan’s West End hit for the silver screen with this feature focusing on the 1977 television interviews between journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) and former president Richard Nixon (Frank Langella). At the time Nixon sat down with Frost to discuss the sordid details that ultimately derailed his presidency, it had been three years since the former commander in chief had been forced out of office. The Watergate scandal was still fresh in everyone’s minds, and Nixon had remained notoriously tight-lipped until he agreed to sit down with Frost. Nixon was certain that he could hold his own opposite the up-and-coming British broadcaster, and even Frost’s own people weren’t quite sure their boss was ready for such a high-profile interview. When the interview ultimately got under way and each man eschewed the typical posturing in favor of the simple truth, fans and critics on both sides were stunned by what they witnessed. Instead of Nixon stonewalling the interviewer as expected, or Frost lobbing softballs as the truth-seekers feared, what emerged was an unguardedly honest exchange between a man who had lost everything and another with everything to gain. In this film, viewers are treated to not only a recreation of that landmark interview, but a behind-the-scenes look at the power struggles that led up to it as well. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Brian Grazer team to produce a film adapted for the screen by original play author Morgan (The Queen and The Last King of Scotland).
Source: Universal Pictures
New Photos from “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” September 17, 2008 4:21 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Photos, Zack and Miri Make A Porno.add a comment
The Weinstein Co. has released a new batch of photos from the upcoming Kevin Smith-directed comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Check some out below (and to the side), and click through the jump for even more. As always, click to enlarge.
Synopsis
Kevin Smith writes and directs his newest comedy for The Weinstein Co. with Zack & Miri Make a Porno, the story of two friends (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who get into the amateur porn business to combat their rising debt, only to realize their underlying feelings for each other while doing so.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno hits theaters on October 31, 2008.
IMDb Begins Offering Online Streaming of Movies and TV September 17, 2008 3:59 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Online Streaming, Television.add a comment
The online movie, and TV, database IMDb.com (a subsidiary of Amazon.com), has started to offer free online streaming from their library of over 6,000 movies and TV episodes. The site will also be offering season premieres of NBC shows such as 30 Rock, Chuck and Lipstick Jungle.
Some of the newer shows already offered include Heroes and 90210 just to name a few.
The full press release follows after the jump.
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