Blockbuster will begin testing rentals and sales of High-Defintion DVDs November 5, 2006 1:06 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD, High Definition Optical Disc, Movies, News, Television.add a comment
Beginning this month Blockbuster, the nations largest rental outlet, will start testing high-definition dvd rentals and sales at about 250 of its stores, chosen by the basis of where early adopters are said to be.
The outlets will carry about 40 titles of each current high-def format; Blu-ray Disc and HD DVDs, with prices set at an equal setting.
“It’s a careful selection process,” Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of store experiments. “We’re looking at DVD adoption rate and hardware penetration. We’ll continue to watch the market and monitor to see where additional expansion will be appropriate.”
High-definition rentals is not new to Blockbuster, as their Blockbuster Online brand has been offering both formats on their site for quite some time.
Barkley and Timberlake top MTV Europe Music Awards November 5, 2006 12:49 am
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Both Justin Timberlake and Gnarls Barkley took home two awards at the MTV Europe Music awards this past Thursday in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Timberlake, who was also the host of the show, performed his singles “Sexyback” and “My Love”. He won for best male singer and best pop award.
Gnarls Barkely, composed of producer Danger Mouse and singer Cee-Lo Green, won for best song and the future sounds award, which was voted on by their peers.
Other winners on the evening were Christina Aguilera for best female singer, Depeche Mode for best group, Red Hot Chili Peppers for best album, Kanye West for best hip hop act, Rhianna for best R&B, the Killers were voted best rock band, Muse for best alternative band and the best video award went to Justice vs. Simian’s.
MGM revives United Artists label under leadership of Cruise November 5, 2006 12:36 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News.1 comment so far
Tom Cruise will be taking over the famed United Artists studio with his producing partner Paula Wagner.
Wagner will serve as the studio’s CEO while Cruise will star in and produce pictures from the label.
The arrangement doesn’t preclude Cruise from starring in other films from another label, and as of yet there are no films on the slate.
The main goal of UA will be to develop and produce pictures in the $40 million to $50 million range (though some could rise higher), with the intent of releasing around 4 films per year. MGM will be the distributor and marketer.
“The whole concept is to make movies, and we have a company that is artist-friendly,” Wagner said. “We’re going to do a wide variety of films. We are producers, and we know how to make economically sound choices.”Not all the movies will be produced by Cruise and Wagner, as some will be produced by outside producers.
In a statement Tom Cruise had the following to say: “Paula and I are very respectful of the rich history and tradition of United Artists, and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to that legacy by providing a wide range of releases that appeal to all audiences. It’s our desire to create an environment where filmmakers can thrive and see their visions realized.”
“The O.C.” given a special Wednesday night airing November 4, 2006 6:29 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.1 comment so far
Fox has scheduled a special 8:00PM Wednesday airing of “The O.C.” for next week. The series will also air in its normal Thursday at 9:00 PM timeslot the following evening.
In The Gringos episode of THE O.C. airing Wednesday, Nov. 8 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), Ryan leaves Orange County to put an end to his turmoil, but he comes up empty on his search. Meanwhile, Seth acts like a jackass and finds some new friends (including guest star Steve-O) in Mexico who help him find what hes looking for; Harbor Schools dean forces Kaitlin and Julie to work together on a clothing drive; Julie is ostracized by the Cohens when they learn what shes been up to; and Taylor drops in unannounced on Summer, who continues to separate herself from everything Orange County
Thanksgiving morning finds the Cohen family still dealing with what happened in Mexico in The Cold Turkey episode of THE O.C. Thursday, Nov. 9 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). Sandy makes a deal to help Volchok but lets Ryan intervene and finally settle the score. Wondering if she can deal with Newport, Summer packs to come home for the holiday. And Julie cant deal with Kaitlin or Dr. Roberts and finds herself alone for most of Thanksgiving.
The fourth season premiere, which aired Thursday night to weak numbers, is available free on demand on Fox’s MySpace page and on Fox Television Station Groups MyFoxLocal websites.
“Reba” will return to television via The CW November 2, 2006 1:43 pm
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The CW has resurrected the comedy “Reba”. It will come back starting November 19th and occupy the Sunday at 7:30 PM timeslot leading into “7th Heaven”.
A repeat of the previous episode will also air that same evening at 7:00 PM, leading into new episodes every week.
The series was The WB’s highest rated sitcom for the entire five years it aired on the network.
Kidnapped Pulled From Schedule November 1, 2006 7:43 pm
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Previously put on life support in a Saturday night timeslot, NBC has decided to pull the new series off the air due to low ratings.
When the series was announced, NBC had promised that they would stick to the show for at least the entire first ordered season (13 episodes) due to the show’s serialized nature, which is why instead of pulling it outright, they moved it to the Saturday timeslot.
But NBC couldn’t justify the cost of keeping it on the schedule, and have decided instead to pull it. The most recent Saturday night airing delivered only 3.71M viewers with a 1.2/4 A18-49 rating.
There is good news though for fans who have continued to watch. According to TV Guide, all 13 episodes will be filmed, and NBC will stream the remaining eight episodes for free on their website at NBC.com beginning this Friday.
Bryan Singer Signed for Superman Returns Sequel October 30, 2006 9:02 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Superman Returns.3 comments
Bryan Singer has signed a deal with Warner Brothers to direct and produce the sequel to “Superman Returns”.
Unlike previous rumored reports, there is currently no budget for the movie, but it is expected to have a release of summer of 2009
In regards to casting, the only known is that Warner Brothers has an option on Brandon Routh, though it is expected the entire main cast will be back.
Though even with this information (per Variety) there is currently no script and the sequel hasn’t yet received an official greenlight from the studio.
The movie will be co-financed by Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers.
Star Trek XI is On Track October 30, 2006 8:55 pm
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J.J. Abrams, who is currently writing and will direct the new movie in the Star Trek franchise, told TV Guide that the movie is on track, and everyone involved with the project is extremely excited with what is to come.
VH1 Orders New Series’ October 30, 2006 8:35 pm
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In its ever expanding quest to add more original programming to its line-up, VH1 has greenlit six new unscripted series under the “Wild Life” category, a new brand similar in goals to its current “CelebrReality” brand of series’.
‘Saw III’ Wins Box Office (Oct. 27-29) October 29, 2006 4:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Box Office, Movies, News.1 comment so far
Taking in an estimated $34.300M (All data based on Studio Estimates. Weekend actuals will be released Monday afternoon. Any comparisons will be using actual data.), “Saw III” easily won the weekend and topped the franchise’s previous two openings ($31.726M for Saw II and $18.276M for Saw).
The film opened in 3,167 theaters.
“Show Me The Money” Premiere Date Set October 27, 2006 4:07 am
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Mentioned here back in early October, a premiere has now been set for the William Shatner hosted game show “Show Me The Money”.
The program will premiere Wednesday, November 22nd at 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.
In Show Me the Money contestants must answer a minimum of six trivia questions. After each answer, the contestant chooses from among thirteen stunning dancers on stage, each of whom holds a scroll with a dollar figure to be added or subtracted — for correct or incorrect answers — to the contestants total.
A correct answer, combined with choosing a dancer holding big money, can quickly catapult the players winnings into the millions. But a wrong answer, combined with the wrong dancer, can wipe out winnings in an instant. There is no opportunity to play it safe contestants will be tempted to take the money and run, but this rollercoaster ride of a game show requires that you play to the very end.
“Star Trek: Voyager” Set To Begin Off-Net Run On Spike TV October 27, 2006 3:50 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Sci Fi, Star Trek, Television.6 comments
Acquired a few years back, “Star Trek: Voyager” is finally set to make its off-network debut on Spike TV.
The network will premiere the series with a five day marathon starting on December 18th at 9:00 AM and running to 7:00 PM on December 22nd (all times eastern).
The 3rd installment of the Star Trek television franchise examines the USS Voyager and her crew, who have become stranded in the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand light-years from Earth. Unless they can find some kind of shortcut, it will take them seventy-five years to return to the space of the United Federation of Planets. Starring Kate Mulgrew.
Spike TV currently airs repeats of two other Star Trek series’; “The Next Generation” and “Deep Space Nine”.
Superman Returns Sequel Greenlit? October 26, 2006 11:07 pm
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IESB.net is reporting on their website that a second film in the newly re-established Superman franchise has now been given an official go. The site is claiming that Singer has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. on the sequel, which will apparently start to get underway next fall and feature more action.
There are however, some conditions, mainly with the budget. Unlike the high $208M budget + $50M for prints and advertising of ‘Returns’ (which also included all the failed projects), this movie will range somewhere around $140-$175 million + prints.
“Extreme Makeover” Pulled From Schedule October 26, 2006 1:16 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, News, Television.add a comment
ABC has pulled “Extreme Makeover” from its schedule after only one episode, the season premiere, failed to attract an audience necessary to maintain the four specials that were set to air this year.
Repeats of “Grey’s Anatomy”, which had originally been airing in the time-slot, will once again occupy the 8:00 PM hour.
The season premiere averaged only 4.83M viewers, second to last for the network on the week.
NBC Restructures Thursday Nights October 25, 2006 5:51 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Fall 2006 TV, News, Television.add a comment
Beginning November 30th, NBC will premiere and new line-up on Thursday nights, removing Deal or No Deal and replacing it with two sitcoms; the new “30 Rock” and the returning “Scrubs”.
“Deal Or No Deal” will not be moved to a new night, instead that franchise will go on with just two episodes a week; Monday and Friday.
The new line-up will be as follows:
- 8:00 PM – “My Name Is Earl”
- 8:30 PM – “The Office
- 9:00 PM – “30 Rock”
- 9:30 PM – “Scrubs”
That obviously means there will be three scripted medical shows on the evening; Grey’s Anatomy at 9:00 PM on ABC, and Scrubs at 9:30 PM and E.R. at 10:00 PM on NBC.
“Twenty Good Years” (which currently leads out of “30 Rock” Wednesday’s at 8:30 PM) has been put on an indefinite hiatus.
Cruise May Make Cameo Appearence In New Trek Movie October 25, 2006 5:46 pm
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According to a report by WENN (World Entertainment News Network), Tom Cruise is in negotiations to make a cameo appearance in the next Star Trek movie.
Cruise has a relationship with JJ Abrams (exec-producer, writer and possible director of the new Trek movie), as they both teamed up in the most recent Mission Impossible movie, M:I3.
“Superman Returns” Passes $200M Domestic Mark October 23, 2006 7:11 pm
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“Superman Returns” has surpassed $200,000,000 in domestic box office since its release this past May.
The movie made $173,300 over the weekend frame, passing the mark on Sunday.
Its current domestic box office total stands at $200,006,305 and its current foreign total stands at $190,000,000 for a total worldwide take so far of $390,006,305.
“Superman Returns” is the highest grossing ‘Superman’ movie in both domestic and worldwide takes.
It is the 5th highest domestic grossing movie of the year and is Warner Bros. 10th highest grossing domestic movie of all time, directly behind “Batman Begins'” $205,343,774 of last year. Compared to “Batman Begins”, however, “Superman Returns” has a nearly $20 million advantage in worldwide box office thanks to a higher overseas gross.
A sequel to ‘Returns’ is in the planning stages and is rumored to have a release set for a May 2009 debut.
Free Blu-ray Movie to Be Bundled With PS3 October 20, 2006 10:06 pm
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On launch day, The Playstation 3 will be bundled with a free Blu-ray movie, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”, the Nascar racing comedy starring Will Ferrell.
That addition was one of many announcements given at a Sony’s Gamers’ Day conference yesterday, including free online gameplay from launch.
The Sony Playstation 3 will go on sale November 17th in two flavors; a full-featured WiFi enabled version with a 60GB hard drive for $599.99 and a non WiFi enabled 20GB version for $499.99.
Microsoft is expected to release their HD DVD Add-On for $199.99 in mid November. That will enable Xbox 360 users to add HD DVD playback (the other high definition optical disc format). It will also be bundled with a free movie, the 2005 hit “King Kong”.
At 8:00 PM on NBC, It’s Reality Only October 20, 2006 9:54 pm
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As part of its restructuring plan announced by NBC Universal, NBC will no longer program any scripted series in the 8:00 PM time-period on weeknights beginning next season.
Citing increased development and production costs as the reasoning, NBC network chief Jeff Zucker has announced plans to replace all drama in the time-period with reality or game-shows only. “It’s good economics,” Zucker says, “concentrate the high-cost shows at 10 p.m. and the inexpensive game and reality shows at 8 p.m., and you won’t need to air as many expensive shows.”
Only time will tell if this strategy will pay off, but one wonders what will happen to the few shows currently airing in the 8PM time-period. Those shows include “Friday Night Lights” on Tuesday, “30 Rock” and “Twenty Good Years” on Wednesday, and “My Name Is Earl” and “The Office” on Thursday nights.
Fox/TBS to Rotate MLB ALCS and NLCS Playoffs [Update] October 20, 2006 8:59 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Sports.add a comment
Update: Final figures reveal that the deal is for $70 million per year.
Original October 20, 2006 article:
In a deal reportedly in the $45-50M range per year, TBS has secured the rights to the 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013 National League Championship Series and the 2008, 2010 and 2012 American League Championship Series (Fox will air the series’ in the years between).
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