Two new channels expected to emerge from News Corp/Time Warner carriage deal January 3, 2007 12:03 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.add a comment
An expected business news channel moved one step closer to a reality as News Corp. signed a deal with Time Warner (the nations second largest Cable company with about 23 million subscribers) to carry the network when it launches (which is expected to be sometime this year). Comcast (12 million homes) is also signed on with News Corp. for the network.
Time Warner, in the deal, also agreed to carry the Fox Reality Channel when that network launches.
Source: — [TV Week] — Time Warner, Fox News Ink Carriage Deal
Indiana Jones 4 to begin filming in June January 2, 2007 11:45 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Indiana Jones, Movies, News.add a comment
The fourth film in the Indiana Jones saga (currently untitled) will begin filming in June of this year.
The David Koepp penned script will be directed by Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford will star. Frank Marshall will serve as producer, while George Lucas and Kathy Kennedy will serve as executive producers.
Though casting has not begun yet (with the exception of Ford as Indy) both Ford and Lucas have gone on the record stating they hope to have Sean Connery reprise his role as Indy’s father. Lucas said: “we are writing him in whether he wants to do it or not.”
There is still no exact release date set for the movie, but it’s expected to be released sometime in May of 2008.
Source: — [The Hollywood Reporter] — Can you dig it? Fourth ‘Indy’ in ’08
Court TV pulled from DISH Network (video included) January 2, 2007 9:59 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.6 comments
Court TV has been taken off DISH Network’s channel lineup, effective 12:01 AM Monday, January 1, 2007. Both parties say they failed to come to terms on a new carriage agreement.
Turner said that EchoStar (the parent company of DISH Network) is “unwilling to pay…the standard industry rate”, but are willing to work with the company to return the channel to the roughly 12 million DISH subscribers capable of receiving the network.
EchoStar’s Eric Sahl, senior VP of programming for DISH responded, calling Turner’s asking price “unreasonable” adding “It is not fair to ask our customers to pay a DBS premium for a channel owned by the second largest cable operator, Time Warner.”
The Biography Channel will fill the gap left by Court TV while negotiations continue between the two sides.
Turner, in the meantime, began airing a television spot urging their viewers to call DISH Network and register their dissaproval with the loss of the channel. You can view the video of the commerical below.
ABC green lights tv version of “Mr and Mrs. Smith” January 2, 2007 9:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, New Show Orders, News, Television.1 comment so far
In development for a while, Variety is reporting that ABC has given to go ahead on a small-screen version of the hit Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie film Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
The script was originally ordered back in January of 2006. The series will be overseen by Doug Liman and Simon Kinberg as director and writer, and they will be joined by Dave Bartis as executive producers.
“ABC has been amazing in terms of giving us time for development,” Kinberg said. He also added that the plan is to get the pilot out by March.
The show will be more comedic than the feature with a little more darkness, saying: “It’s essentially ‘Married … With Children’ with guns,” Kinberg said. “The show takes all the marital issues a couple has and blows them up to action-genre size.”
So rather than fight about who forgot to pack the toothpaste, “They’ll bicker over someone forgetting to pack the detonator,” he said.
This wil be the second time a TV version of Mr. & Mrs. Smith was attempted, there was a 1996 version of the show that lasted less than 2 months on CBS. It starred Scott Bakula and Maria Bello.
Source: — [Variety] — ABC gets with ‘Smith’
Bravo renews Top Chef January 2, 2007 9:58 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Renewals, Television.add a comment
Bravo has renewed its top-rated food competition program Top Chef for a third season.
Among comparable food programs on cable, Top Chef is the top rated among adults 18-49 (1.224M) and women 25-54 (755,000).”The second season of ‘Top Chef’ has outperformed even our highest expectations both in ratings and the quality of this non-fictional competitive drama,” says Bravo President Lauren Zalaznick. “We look forward to discovering another group of culinary talents with the same passion for food and cooking with commanding personalities that make ‘Top Chef’ a must see every Wednesday night.”
The second series returns tomorrow (January 3) for the first of five remaining second season episodes. The program is up 56% in the key demo viewers compared to its first year (786,000 to 1.224M).
David Tennant (the 10th Dr. Who) to leave show December 29, 2006 9:47 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Rumors, Television.82 comments
UPDATE: There’s an update to this story. Tennant May Not Be Leaving Doctor Who Afterall
Original article follows below:
The Sun is reporting that David Tennant will be quitting his role as the Doctor on the hit BBC series, leaving those in charge looking for yet another replacement.
Tennant will reportedly leave the show during the middle of its fourth season. Possible replacements for the role include Robert Carlye (Trainspotting) and David Morrisey (Basic Instinct 2), both of whom share the Scottish background of Tennnt.
There has been no confirmation of the news, either by Tennant or those at BBC. If it does turn out to be true, it would make the third actor to be replaced on the series. The first Dr. Who (Christopher Eccleston) only lasted one season when he was replaced by Tennant and Billie Piper (who played the role of Rose Tyler: the Doctor’s sidekick) is being replaced by Freema Agyemen for the third season.
Source: — [The Sun] — Tennant set to quit as Dr Who
Indiana Jones 4 to be released in May 2008 December 29, 2006 9:37 pm
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George Lucas let it be known that the fourth movie in the Indiana Jones saga will begin filming next year for a May 2008 debut in theaters.
Lucas went on to say that Harrison Ford will star and that he and Steven Spielberg only recently finalized the script for the film.
“It’s going to be fantastic. It’s going to be the best one yet,” Lucas said, adding that it will be a “character piece” that will include “very interesting mysteries.”
A “Battlestar Galactica” direct-to-video movie in the works? December 29, 2006 1:54 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, Movies, News, Rumors, Science Fiction, Television.add a comment
According Geek Monthly (an online and print entertainment site), they’ve been informed by sources that Universal Home Video is considering greenlighting a Battlestar Galactica direct-to-video film, which would air on Sci Fi Channel.
There is also speculation that the movie which would air before a potential fourth season of Battlestar Galactica would serve as a sort of bridge to the new Galactica-based series Caprica (which has set to be greenlit by Sci Fi).
The series has suffered from declined ratings losing a very large portion of its audience, but it remains a hit among critics and fans alike. It opened this season with a 1.8 household rating, but has fallen to a series low 1.3 household rating.
The third season is currently averaging a 1.5 household rating, down 25% from the 2.0 it averaged during season 2 and down 37.5% from the 2.4 it averaged during the series’ first season. The four-hour two part mini series back in December of 2003 averaged a 3.5 household rating.
Head on over to Geek Monthly for the exclusive scoop.
Source: — [Geek Monthly] — Galactica Direct-To-Video Movie Set To Launch
New clip from “Heroes” to be shown on ‘The Tonight Show’ December 28, 2006 7:48 pm
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From NBC:
Golden Globe nominee and star of NBC’s Golden Globe nominated drama “Heroes,” Masi Oka, will be stopping by “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on January 3. Fans of the hit series won’t have to wait until it returns on Monday, January 22 (9-10:00 pm EST/PST) to get a glimpse into the future as Oka bends time by bringing an exclusive clip from episode 12: “Godsend.”
So “Heroes” fans be sure to set your Tivo’s/DVR’s/VCR’s, whatever it is you use, to get an advanced clip from a future episode of the hit NBC series.
Battlestar Galactica to be made into a RPG December 28, 2006 4:26 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Battlestar Galactica, News, Science Fiction, Video Games.add a comment
Battlestar Galactica, the hit Sci-Fi/Drama currently airing on Sci Fi Channel, will be made into a RPG (Role Playing Game) according to a report on the Gaming Report website.
Margaret Weis Productions has reached an agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to create role playing products based on the series.
“When we established our company we made the commitment to produce character- and story-focused role playing games using the best source material we could find,” says Margaret Weis, New York Times best-selling author and game publisher. “Battlestar Galactica is the kind of science fiction that we do best, where the drama and characters are more important than the guns and the gadgets. The very survival of the human race is at stake in the series and exploring the story possibilities in the setting can make for some very exciting games.”
The game book will be set in space, just like the series, and focus on the same challenges of survival that face the Galactica fleet every day, including the hard choices they are forced to make.
Follow the link to the source below for more details on the project.
Source: [GamingReport] — Margaret Weis Productions Officially Announces Battlestar Galactica RPG
Ugly Betty marathon set for countdown to 2007 December 28, 2006 4:13 am
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ABC Family will be running an all-day marathon of the ABC hit show Ugly Betty on New Year’s Eve.
Starting off at 9:00 AM ET/PT, the network will air all 11 episodes of the series with the last episode airing from 7:00 to 8:00 PM.
The series has been a ratings hit for ABC this season, proving a strong Thursday night lead-in for Grey’s Anatomy.
16.32Ugly Betty premiered with a 10.8/17 rating (16.32M viewers) and has averaged 13.20M viewers this season thus far.
Fox to stream BCS games on the web December 28, 2006 4:02 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in BCS, News, Sports, Television.3 comments
Beginning this past Thursday, Fox will be streaming college football bowl games and preview shows on a few Web sites.
The network also has the rights to the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (not part of the BCS bowl games) which they will stream on New Year’s Day. This will mark the first time a major college bowl game has been streamed online.
Users will be able to download full games, shortened versions and previews/highlights of the Cotton Bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Tostitos BCS National Championship game.
Web sites participating in the venture included FoxSports.com, Fox Interactive, Apple iTunes and AOL Video. Pricing for the content will be $1.99 for game previews (which became available today) and $2.99 for full-length games which will be available to download within 24 hours of the end of the game.
Bravo acquires “Taxicab Confessions” December 28, 2006 3:55 am
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Bravo has made a deal with HBO and aquired nine episodes of the documentary/drama series Taxicab Confessions.
The series will make its basic-cable premiere this Friday with three back-to-back episodes, followed by a New Year’s Eve marathon and then a brand new original episode on Sunday.
SAG Awards nominees to be announced January 4th December 28, 2006 3:53 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Awards, Movies, News, Television.1 comment so far
The nominees for the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be revealed at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles early morning on January 4th.
The nominees will be announced by SAG president Alan Rosenberg who will be joined on stage by Sandra Oh and Elijah Wood, both of whom won SAG awards for their respective work in Grey’s Anatomy and Lord of the Rings.
Those interesting in watching the nominees being announced can watch the telecast live on TNT and E! and check back in on January 28th when the awards are presented to their winners live on TNT and TBS from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.
Spike Lee to direct feature film on James Brown December 28, 2006 3:45 am
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Spike Lee has signed on to direct a feature film for Paramount and Imagine Entertainment which will chronicle the life of James Brown, Variety reported.
The film will be produced by Brian Grazer and will head towards production sometime late next year or early 2008.
Source: [Variety] — Brown biopic in the works
New trailer out for 2nd Fantastic Four movie December 28, 2006 3:37 am
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A trailer has been released for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The movie will be hitting theaters June 15, 2007.
You can check out the trailer at the Apple Quicktime site here.
Broadcast TV Ratings for Thursday, December 21, 2006 December 23, 2006 1:50 am
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CBS takes Thursday night in all main categories. A repeat of ‘CSI’ claims the top spot and “Identity” shows some improvement.
Top DVD Sales for the week ending December 17th December 22, 2006 1:02 am
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Showing just how strong a title it is, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest held off eight new releases this past week to stay atop the DVD charts for a second consecutive week.
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