Roland Emmerich to Helm Foundation January 21, 2009 1:35 pm
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Late last Thursday, Columbia Pictures won an auction for the screen rights to Isaac Asimov’s science fiction trilogy, Foundation. The studio will be developing the film for director Roland Emmerich, who will also produce with his Centropolis partner Michael Wimer.
Foundation, a complex saga about humans who are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, living under the rule of the Galactic Empire, was first published in Astounding Magazine beginning in 1942 as a series of eight short stories.
Source: Variety
Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, January 19, 2009 January 20, 2009 5:55 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, January 18, 2009 January 19, 2009 5:23 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Saturday, January 17, 2009 January 18, 2009 5:22 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Friday, January 16, 2009 January 17, 2009 5:15 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, January 15, 2009 January 16, 2009 3:34 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, January 14, 2009 January 15, 2009 12:45 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, January 13, 2009 January 14, 2009 4:38 pm
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American Idol Season Premiere Down, But Still Draws 30M+ Viewers January 14, 2009 3:48 pm
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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.
Samuel L. Jackson Says He May Not Be Nick Fury? January 14, 2009 1:07 pm
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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.
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci Talk Star Trek January 13, 2009 11:58 pm
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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
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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.
24 Season Seven Down Double-Digits January 13, 2009 11:39 pm
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While still drawing respectable ratings, the seventh season premiere of 24 was down by double-digits among households, viewers and adults 18-49 from its sixth season debut back in January 2007. This year’s two-night/four-hour event averaged a 7.1/11 HH rating/share, 12.46M viewers and a 4.2/10 A18-49 rating/share. Now, as I noted, that’s still a good performance, but it’s a good deal below how the show started off back on Sunday, January 14, 2007 and Monday, January 15, 2007: 9.0/13 HH rating/share, 15.76M viewers and a 6.0/14 A18-49 rating/share.
That translates into a decline of 21% in household rating, 21% among viewers (-3.30M) and 30% in adults 18-49 rating.
Full ratings results for this year’s two two-hour episodes (with comparisons to their prior season numbers in parenthesis) follow below.
24 – Season Seven Premiere Night 1 (Season Six)
- Households: 7.0/10 (8.8/13 — -20%)
- Viewers: 12.61M (15.79M — -20%/-3.18M)
- Adults 18-49: 4.3/10 (6.1/13 — -29.5%)
24 – Season Seven Premiere Night 2 (Season Six)
- Households: 7.1/11 (9.2/13 — -23%)
- Viewers: 12.31M (15.73M — -22%/-3.42M)
- Adults 18-49: 4.1/10 (5.9/14 — -31%)
Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, January 12, 2009 January 13, 2009 4:56 pm
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President Bush Asks For Time on Thursday Night January 13, 2009 3:09 pm
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Outgoing President George W. Bush has asked the four major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) to set aside 10-15 minutes of primetime on Thursday night so that he can give a live farewell address to the nation.
As of late Monday, the nets were noncommittal, but most, if not all, will likely grant the request.
The address would likely air in the 9PM hour, pre-empting ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, NBC’s The Office and CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Source: Variety
66th Annual Golden Globe Awards Down By Double-Digits January 12, 2009 8:44 pm
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While The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards was the most-watched non-sports program last night, it was far from a success for NBC. According to final national numbers, the event was off 5.43 million or 26% among viewers, 30% among households and 25% among adults 18-49 from the 2007 telecast.
- Households – 13.2/20 to 9.3/14 (-30%)
- Viewers – 20.04M to 14.86M (-26%/-5.18M)
- Adults 18-49 – 6.5/15 to 4.9/12 (-25%)
Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, January 11, 2009 January 12, 2009 7:09 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Saturday, January 10, 2009 January 11, 2009 7:42 pm
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Watch The First 6 Minutes of Valkyrie January 11, 2009 5:36 pm
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Haven’t seen Valkyrie yet? Think the first six minutes might be enough to convince you to go check it out at your local theater? Well, you’re in luck. United Artists has made the first six minutes of the film available to view online. Check it out embedded below.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Watch it in High Definition at Apple.com
Valkryie has grossed $71.7 million worldwide (nearly all of it domestically thus far).
Broadcast TV Ratings for Friday, January 9, 2009 January 10, 2009 6:15 pm
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On the strength of the return of original programming and the second season premiere of Flashpoint, CBS easily won the night. Ghost Whisperer was the night’s most-watched program, but Flashpoint is really the highlight. It improved upon last July’s season premiere by an impressive 24% among viewers (+1.93M) and 16% among adults 18-49.
ABC followed in second place with better than average showings from Wife Swap and Supernanny, which returned with new episodes, and 20/20, which capped off the night as the network’s most-watched program.
NBC even got in on some of the good ratings, with the premiere of Howie Do It posting a respectable near 8-million viewers and improving upon last week’s time-slot occupant Deal or No Deal by 50% in the key A18-49 demo.
The CW failed to break 1.5 million viewers for either of its returning comedies Everybody Hates Chris or The Game, each of which was off by double-digits from their last new episodes.
Fox placed fourth place with a repeat of the movie Bruce Almighty.
Rose Bowl Up 10%, FOX BCS Games Up 13% (12% Overall) January 9, 2009 5:16 pm
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With the College Football season, and therefore Bowl season, over, it’s time to take a quick look at how the ratings turned out for this year’s set of major games: Rose Bowl; Orange Bowl; Sugar Bowl; Fiesta Bowl and the National Championship.
Here’s how the respective telecast’s this year stack up to last season (numbers in parenthesis for the 2009 numbers indicate the change from the year prior–red represents a decrease, green represents an increase):
Rose Bowl (ABC)
- 2009: Penn State vs. USC – 1/1/2009
- Households – 11.7/21 (+6%)
- Viewers – 20.60M (+10%/+1.85M)
- Adults 18-49 – 6.5/20 (+3%)
- 2008: Illinois vs. USC – 1/1/2008
- Households – 11.0/19
- Viewers – 18.75M
- Adults 18-49 – 6.3/18
Orange Bowl (FOX)
- 2009: Cincinnatti vs. Virginia Tech – 1/1/2009
- Households – 5.4/9 (-27%)
- Viewers – 9.32M (-22%/-2.64M)
- Adults 18-49 – 3.0/8 (-30%)
- 2008: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech – 1/3/2008
- Households – 7.4/12
- Viewers – 11.96M
- Adults 18-49 – 4.3/12
Sugar Bowl (FOX)
- 2009: Alabama vs. Utah – 1/2/2009
- Households – 7.8/13 (+11%)
- Viewers – 13.37M (+14%/+1.67M)
- Adults 18-49 – 4.3/12 (-9%)
- 2008: Hawaii vs. Georgia – 1/1/2008
- Households – 7.0/12
- Viewers – 11.70M
- Adults 18-49 – 4.7/12
Fiesta Bowl (FOX)
- 2009: Texas vs. Ohio State – 1/5/2009
- Households – 10.4/17 (+35%)
- Viewers – 17.06M (+40%/+4.90M)
- Adults 18-49 – 6.0/16 (+36%)
- 2008: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma – 1/2/2008
- Households – 7.7/13
- Viewers – 12.16M
- Adults 18-49 – 4.4/12
BCS National Championship (FOX)
- 2009: Florida vs. Oklahoma – 1/8/2009
- Households – 15.8/25 (+10%)
- Viewers – 26.77M (+16%/+3.70M)
- Adults 18-49 – 9.5/25 (+16%)
- 2008: LSU vs. Ohio State – 1/7/2008
- Households – 14.4/22
- Viewers – 23.07M
- Adults 18-49 – 8.2/21
Overall, the four BCS games on Fox and the Rose Bowl on ABC averaged the following numbers this year: 10.2/17 HH rating/share, 17.42M viewers, 5.9/16 A18-49 rating/share. In 2008, the same five games averaged the following numbers: 9.5/16 HH rating/share, 15.53M viewers, 5.6/15 A18-49 rating/share. That represents a change of 8% among households, 12%/1.90M among viewers and 5% among adults 18-49.
If you’re interested in separating out the Rose Bowl from the four BCS bowls, here’s the average, and comparison, of the four FOX BCS games:
- Households – 9.1/15 to 9.9/15 (+9%)
- Viewers – 14.72M to 16.60M (+13%/+1.88M)
- Adults 18-49 – 5.4/14 to 5.7/15 (+6%)
As you can see, despite the weak performance of this year’s Orange Bowl and the slight decrease among adults 18-49 for the Sugar Bowl, FOX still saw a solid increase in viewership over the year prior.
While I wish we could get a playoff system in college football, the sport remains very strong, as is evidenced by the ratings above. Then again, it’s hard to imagine interest wouldn’t grow even more if there was a playoff system. Is there really anyone out there that wouldn’t want to see a matchup between the Gators and Trojans (or even Utah, who afterall did go undefeated)?
Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, January 8, 2009 January 9, 2009 4:00 pm
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FOX’s presentation of the FedEx BCS National Championship Game between the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners propelled the network to an easy win, besting last year’s presentation by 16% among viewers and adults 18-49.
Elsewhere on the evening, ABC returned dramas Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice (which debuted in its new timeslot). The network finished in second place, but it was really at the expense of its programming. Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy fell by double digits among households and viewers. The only bright spot was Private Practice which made a mostly successful jump to a new night, with growth of 37% among viewers and 43% among adults 18-49. Retention levels weren’t great–66% among viewers and 65% among adults 18-49–but it’s a good start.
NBC meanwhile suffered most from the decision to air new programming against the BCS Championship. All of the network’s shows fell by double digits (20%+ in most cases) and 30 Rock, which aired out of a repeat of The Office fell the most. The show was off a depressing 29% among viewers and 39% among adults 18-49.
CBS’s lineup of repeats were good enough to keep the network in third place. The CW was fifth among the five major networks with repeats of Smallville and Supernatural.
My full analysis follows after the jump. (more…)
Broadcast TV Ratings for Wednesday, January 7, 2009 January 8, 2009 7:27 pm
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Broadcast TV Ratings for Tuesday, January 6, 2009 January 7, 2009 3:46 pm
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Olivia Wilde Talks Tron 2 January 7, 2009 2:39 pm
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Olivia Wilde, who stars in the Fox drama House, recently talked with SCI FI Wire about her starring role in Disney’s Tron 2.0, which begins shooting in Vancouver in April. While she couldn’t provide details about her character or her character’s name (though she did say that she’ll be playing a new character), she did have some things to say about the project:
SCI FI Wire: Tell us about Tron.
Olivia Wilde: Oh, yes! I’m so excited, I can’t take it! It’s really exciting.Of course, I’m, you know, in a total cone of silence here, so I can’t give you anything interesting. But the film will be just as impressive for our time as it was in 1982 for the original. The technological advances have, of course, been enormous, and the effects that we have access to have been so revolutionary. … We saw an incredible advancement in technology with the use of the face replacement in Benjamin Button, and I think that is marking some of what’s to come, and certainly …. in the direction of Tron. Just as far as people being incredibly innovative and taking huge steps forward as far as using technology to create alternative realities. And I think that it’s really going to please people that it’s going to be just as kind of huge and shocking and just as much of a new movie-watching experience as the first one was.And I think it’s great that Jeff Bridges is going to be in this one, too.
Wilde also confirmed that Bruce Boxleitner will be in the movie, alongside Bridges; that rather than shooting against green screens, director Joseph Kosinksi is building some massive sets for the movie to represent the virtual world; and that the film will use face-replacement computer technology which was last seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Source: SCI FI Wire
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