Warner Bros. and Fox Settle Watchmen Suit January 15, 2009 11:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Watchmen.add a comment
Great news in the Warner/Fox Watchmen suit. The two studios have settled their dispute. The two sides will present a settlement to Judge Gary Feess soon and request that the case be dismissed.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film’s boxoffice grosses; Fox will not be a co-distributor on the film, nor will it co-own the “Watchmen” property, but it will share in revenue derived from it. The studios released a joint statement last night.
“Warner Bros. acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography,” the statement read. “Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith defending against those claims.”
Source: THR
NBC Renews The Office, 30 Rock and The Biggest Loser + Sets Premiere Dates for New Shows January 15, 2009 11:50 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 15660516, Heroes, Kath & Kim, Kings, Knight Rider, The Chopping Block, The Philanthropist.add a comment
NBC has announced the renewal of three of its shows, discussed others still not renewed and set premiere dates for a few new series. First up the renewals. NBC has handed out renewal notices to 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser and The Office, each of which have performed well this season (although 30 Rock continues to struggle with a solid lead-in).
The network also declared that despite low ratings and an expecation among fans and critics that Lipstick Jungle will be canceled, they have yet to make an official decision as to the show’s future.
NBC also set premiere date for the untitled Amy Poehler comedy (8:30pm on Thursday, April 9th, the current Kath & Kim slot) and confirmed that John Wells’ new police drama Soutland will take over ER‘s spot at Thursday’s at 10pm.
New drama Kings will kick off on Sunday, March 15th at 8pm, while the new cooking competition series The Chopping Block will premiere at 8pm on Wednesday, March 11 filling in the Knight Rider slot.
New entertainment president Angela Bromstad said that the network is hoping for six dramas and four new comedies this fall and hopes to have the long-awaited action series The Philanthropist on the air as early as this spring.
And what about the struggling sci-fi drama Heroes? It’s future is safe, very safe apparently:
” ‘Heroes’ is very secure,” she says. “We have a great relationship with Tim Kring. … What’s important is we never lose sight of being responsible in production.”
As to Kath & Kim and Knight Rider, Bromstad says the shows “may or may not come back”.
Source: THR
Jericho Creator Working on Feature Film Version January 15, 2009 11:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in CBS, Jericho, Movies, News, Television, The CW.3 comments
The twice-canceled CBS drama Jericho isn’t dead yet. Executive producer Jon Turteltaub tells iFMagazine that there is a theatrical movie based on the short-lived TV series in development.
…the big news is Turteltaub’s company is currently hatching a potential feature film version of the TV show.
“We’re developing a feature for JERICHO,” says Turteltaub. “It would not require you to have seen the TV show, but it get into life after an event like this on a national scale. It would be the bigger, full on American version of what’s going on beyond the town in Jericho.”
Asked about whether the cast would return, Turteltaub exclaimed “Oh yeah!”. If the project got the green light, Turteltaub expects an adequate budget: “Anything would be a huge budget compared to what we were dealing with,” he adds. “If we had $40 million dollars to make a movie with, that’s 20 times more than we did before.”
The CW is currently airing Jericho repeats on Sunday night’s. Catch the show all over again at 7:00pm.
New Friday the 13th Photos January 15, 2009 11:13 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Friday the 13th, Movies, News, Photos.2 comments
ShockTillYouDrop.com has 15 brand new photos from this February’s Friday the 13th. Click on any of the three I’ve posted here to see the rest.
Friday the 13th hits theaters on February 13th.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, January 14, 2009 January 15, 2009 12:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
Battlestar Galactica Premiere Will Run 3 1/2 Minutes Long January 15, 2009 11:13 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlstar Galactica, News, Sci Fi.add a comment
Battlestar Galactica fans take note. The SCI FI channel is letting fans know that the January 16th return of the series at 10pm will run 3 1/2 minutes long, so make sure you set your DVR if it doesn’t catch the change.
For those who miss it, SCIFI.com will post the extra minutes following the West Coast debut of the series, which ends at 11pm PT/2am ET.
Source: SCI FI Wire
New Kick-Ass Photos January 15, 2009 11:00 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Kick-Ass, Movies, Photos.add a comment
HitFix has three new photos from Mathew Vaughn’s adaptation of the Mark Millar comic-book series, Kick-Ass. Click the image above the check out the other two.
FCC Reviewing NBC’s Golden Globes Telecast January 15, 2009 10:49 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 66th Annual Golden Globes, News, Television.add a comment
You had to see this coming.
After receiving 18 complaints, the FCC said yesterday that it is reviewing the program for possible violations of indecency rules. Seriously? The event was watched by about 14.9 million people, 18 of them complain and that triggers an investigation?
The biggest issue was when director Darren Aronofsky was caught on camera jokingly making the “flipping the bird” gesture at actor Mickey Rourke.
There were also a few other incidents that involved some colorful language, some of which was censored by NBC censors.
“We received 18 complaints about the Golden Globes telecast,” FCC spokeswoman Edie Herman wrote in an e-mail to The Times, “and the commission is reviewing the matter.”
An NBC spokeswoman confirmed that it aired the Aronofsky gesture on the live telecast. “On the West Coast, it went to black for two seconds,” the spokeswoman e-mailed. “Beyond that, we have no further comment.”
Aronofsky’s publicist, Karen Samfilippo, said earlier this week that she had not heard anything from NBC about the matter.
Source: LA Times
Follow Your Entertainment Now on Twitter January 14, 2009 11:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Site Info.add a comment
Updates and more at Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
Emily Blunt As Black Widow in Iron Man 2? January 14, 2009 6:04 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Iron Man 2, Movies, News.1 comment so far
Variety is reporting that Emily Blunt has emerged as the frontrunner to play the role of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the sequel to Iron Man.
Marvel would not comment on the Black Widow casting. Iron Man 2, directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, begins production this spring and will hit theaters on May 7, 2010.
CBS Cancels Swingtown + Other CBS Bits January 14, 2009 5:49 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, CBS, NCIS, News, Swingtown, Television, The Mentalist.add a comment
CBS president Nina Tassler has confirmed what was assumed for some time, Swingtown has been officially canceled:
“We’re not going back to Swingtown,” Tassler said. “At the end of the day the show was well executed, it was well received, the performances were great, the writing was great. It was a risk, we took it, and we’re proud of it.”
Other bits from Tassler:
- CBS will be ordering an additional hour of the successful freshman
drama The Mentalist. - Plans are moving forward for the NCIS spin-off. The new cast will be introduced in an episode of NCIS this spring.
Source: EW
Pushing Daisies the Movie? January 14, 2009 5:42 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Movies, News, Pushing Daisies, Television.add a comment
According to Kristin Chenoweth, who starred in the now-canceled ABC series Pushing Daisies, series creator Bryan Fuller has an idea for a movie that would wrap up a lot of the unanswered questions of the TV show:
“It would wrap up a lot of the unanswered questions that people will have once they finally air our final episodes,” the singer-actress told TVGuide.com.
If the movie gets the go-ahead, Chenoweth says that she would take part and believes her fellow castmembers would as well:
“I’m sure that Bryan Fuller wouldn’t do it without the six main characters,” she said. “Paul Reubens was a big part of it — we have certain guest stars that are standouts that we’d want back. But he has such a great idea for it. … We all want to.”
Ricardo Montalban and Patrick McGoohan Have Passed Away January 14, 2009 5:35 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Television.1 comment so far
Actors Ricardo Montalban and Patrick McGoohan have both passed away.
Montalban, perhaps best known for playing Mr. Roarke on the ABC show Fantasy Island, and the character Khan on the original Star Trek series and later the second film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, died of natural causes in his LA home. He was 88.
McGoohan died in Santa Monica after a short illness. He was 80. Among other roles, McGoohan starred as a British spy in the 1960s TV series Secret Agent and later starred in the series The Prisoner.
New Fast & Furious Trailer January 14, 2009 5:15 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fast & Furious, Movie Trailers, Movies, News.add a comment
Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for Fast & Furious, which opens in theaters on April 3, 2009. Check it out by clicking the image above.
Source: Yahoo! Movies
New Franklyn Artwork January 14, 2009 5:01 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Franklyn, Movie Posters, Movies, Photos.add a comment
BadTaste.it has brand new artwork for the fantasy-thriller Franklyn. Click the poster above to view more.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, January 13, 2009 January 14, 2009 4:38 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.add a comment
American Idol Season Premiere Down, But Still Draws 30M+ Viewers January 14, 2009 3:48 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
Continuing the trend of down performances for some of television’s biggest shows, not even American Idol could escape a season premiere decline. For only the second time in the show’s history (the show declined last season as well), the show’s viewership levels were below those of last season’s premiere.
According to preliminary fast national numbers from Nielsen, the two-hour premiere averaged a 15.8/23 household rating/share, 30.07M viewers and an 11.8/28 A18-49 rating/share. Last season the premiere drew the following numbers: 17.7/26 HH rating/share, 33.41M viewers and a 13.8/32.
The number results in a decline of 11% in household rating, 10% or 3.34M among viewers and 14.5% in A18-49 rating.
Another episode of American Idol airs tonight on Fox, from 8:00-10:00 pm.
Blockbuster Increasing Their VOD Presence January 14, 2009 3:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Blockbusters, Blu-ray, DVD, Movies, News, VOD.add a comment
Blockbuster has inked a partnership with Sonic Solutions to build VOD capabilities into a variety of consumer electronics devices, a practice already being used by rival Netflix.
Without naming names, Blockbuster said it expects the partnership’s VOD technology to be built inot DVRs, Blu-ray Disc players, set-top boxes, mobile phones, Internet-connected television sets and other devices.
Watchmen Hearing Canceled January 14, 2009 3:25 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Watchmen.add a comment
Here’s some good news, hopefully. Next Tuesday’s court conference between Fox and Warner Bros. has been canceled, indicating that a settlement in the case could be near.
Settlement talks between the two sides became serious before the weekend and continued throughout the weekend.
The settlement could cost Warners tens of millions of dollars. Warner Bros. actually had a similar copyright ownership issue ruled against them in 2005 for The Dukes of Hazzard. That settlement cost the studio a reported $17.5 million. Interestingly enough, the same Judge, Gary A. Feess, blocked that release.
The film’s budget is somewhere in the $130 million range, but advertising and other expenses make Warners stake higher (I’ve seen it reported at $150 million, the advertising budget is likely around the $20 million range). THR reports that Fox is asking for upfront fees as well as a percentage of the back-end.
McG Wants Will Smith for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea + Talks Possible Arnold Cameo in Terminator January 14, 2009 3:11 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Casting, Movies, News, Rumors.add a comment
LatinoReview got the opportunity to speak with director McG, and the topic of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, for which he was recently announced to helm, came up.
“How do you go from Terminator to the Captain Nemo story?”
McG talked a bit about his idea and frankly I was getting my jacket to get out of there when all of a sudden I heard him say, “The character Nemo in this film is more about obsession, he is obsessed and people tend to forget that when you become so obsessed you end up being the villain.”
AND THEN THE KILLER ANSWER!! (In an interesting way.)
McG continues, “’Man I’m trying to get Will Smith to do it, been trying to get a hold of him. I’ve been wanting to work with him for a long time already. That guy’s great”
McG was also asked about whether Arnold would make a cameo appearance in Terminator Salvation, where he gave another wait and see answer:
“What the hell. Are we seeing Arnold or not?” to which he responded with a grin saying, “You have to wait and see, can’t give that away cause we’re in the Warner Bros. building and they will shoot me if I say anything”
Samuel L. Jackson Says He May Not Be Nick Fury? January 14, 2009 1:07 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
Samuel L. Jacks told the LA Times Hero Complex blog that negotiations to put him in the role of Nick Fury in any Marvel Studios films have broken down because “there seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world.”
“I saw [‘Iron Man’ and ‘Iron Man 2’ director] Jon Favreau at the Scream Awards and we had a conversation. He said, ‘I hope things are working out for you because we’re writing stuff for you.’ Then all of a sudden last week I talked to my agents and manager and things aren’t really working that well.”
Here’s the full quote:
“There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury. Maybe somebody else will be Nick Fury or maybe Nick Fury won’t be in it. There seems to be an economic crisis in the Marvel Comics world so [they’re saying to me], ‘We’re not making that deal.'”
When contacted, Marvel Comics suggested that they still want Jackson to play the part
“Marvel does not comment on active negotiations,” was the boilerplate repsonse, but there was that emphasis on the word “active” in the voice of the spokesman who phoned me back.
Jackie Chan In Talks To Join Karate Kid Remake January 14, 2009 12:40 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Karate Kid, Movies, News.add a comment
Hmm, I’m not so sure about this bit of casting news, if only because of it sorta hints at the direction that the project will take. Variety is reporting that Jackie Chan is in final negotiations to join Columbia Pictures’ remake of The Karate Kid. The Film, helmed by Harald Zwart, stars Jaden Smith (Will Smith’s son) in the starring role.
Although its not specified, Chan would likely play the character Mr. Miyagi, who was portrayed by the late Pat Morita in the 1984 original, and subsequentent sequels.
Set in an exotic Asian locale, the new film will borrow elements of the original plot, wherein a bullied youth (Smith) learns to stand up for himself with the help of an eccentric mentor (Chan). Chris Murphy penned the screenplay.
Shooting begins this summer in Beijing.
Crank 2 Teaser Poster January 14, 2009 12:12 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Crank, Crank: High Voltage, Movie Posters, Movies.add a comment
Lionsgate has released the teaser poster for the sequel to Crank, Crank: High Voltage. Click to head on over to Latino Review for a better look.
Crank: High Voltage is scheduled to hit theaters on April 17, 2009.
Crank debuted in 2006 and was a modest hit, based on its small budget of just $12 million, for Lionsgate, taking in 44.78 million worldwide (27.84 million domestically and $16.94 million from foreign markets).
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Talk Star Trek January 13, 2009 11:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.add a comment
FirstShowing.net has posted the first of a two-part interview with Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Here are some excerpts:
First Showing.net: In relation to Star Trek, whose idea was it for the story to take place as a prequel?
Roberto Orci: We came to that independently. Certainly that was Alex and my instinct. The first time we ever heard what Paramount wanted it was the same. I’m not sure if they got it from us or we all arrived at that conclusion simultaneously.
Alex Kurtzman: The other thing was that in looking at Trek in its glorious history, it just shocked us that the story of how the bridge crew came together was never told. It was referenced in bits and pieces but it was never told and it’s only kind of the most epic big bang story that you could possibly tell in Star Trek. So it felt to us like if we were going to bring something new to the table, that that was the place to start. It just always started with Kirk and Spock for us. It was always about Kirk and Spock.
Orci: And even though I loved “The Next Generation,” one of the reasons we felt that Star Trek possibly had passed us by is we never imagined that anyone would want to go back and take on the original Star Trek again. We thought no one would ever go for that and we were not interested in doing sort of the next- next- next- next- next generation. The idea of doing a new crew had already become an old idea and the new idea really was going back to the original crew.
Read the rest of the interview here.
WWE Friday Night Smackdown Sets New Record on MyNetworkTV January 13, 2009 11:55 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings, myNetworkTV, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television, The CW, WWE Friday Night Smackdown.add a comment
Last Friday’s telecast of WWE Friday Night Smackdown set viewership records for MyNetworkTV.
The January 9th episode drew 3.9 million viewers, the most ever for the network, and also matched a network high among households with a 2.2/4 household rating/share.
While they didnt’ make much money from the show, it just really wasn’t such a good idea for The CW to drop ‘Smackdown’ and allow MyNetworkTV to pick it up. MyNetTV has been beating The CW in ratings over the last several weeks, while The CW is struggling, especially on what use to be a reliable night for them, Friday.
By way of comparison, The CW’s lineup that night: original episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game and a repeat of the new reality series 13–Fear is Real, averaged just 1.12 million viewers and a 0.8/1 household rating/share. Yeah, enough said.
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