Comedy Central Cancels Chocolate News March 11, 2009 2:26 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Cancellations, News, Television.Tags: Chocolate News, David Alan Grier
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Fans of David Alan Grier will have to hope the comedian does well in his gig on Dancing With the Stars, because they won’t be seeing him on Chocolate News. The NY Times has been informed by a Comedy Central rep that the network has decided not to renew Grier’s news/sketch-comedy series, confirming a report that appeared on the website of The Baltimore Sun newspaper.
The series debuted on October 15th and ran for just 10 episodes.
Disney Moves Up The Release of Princess and the Frog March 11, 2009 2:16 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Release Dates, Walt Disney Pictures.Tags: The Princess and the Frog
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Disney has decided to move up the release of The Princess and the Frog from its original Christmas Day, 2009 release date to December 11, 2009. The animated musical will open in limited release exclusively in New York and Los Angeles 16 days earlier on November 25th.
Disney made the decision, so they could take the film out of competition with 20th Century Fox’s family friendly Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel. In its new date, it’ll face off against Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones from DreamWorks and Paramount.
Vin Diesel on Third ‘Riddick’ Movie March 11, 2009 2:04 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Video Games.Tags: Pitch Black, Vin Diesel
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During an interview with GameSpot about the upcoming video game The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (follow-up to the hit 2004 game ‘Escape From Butcher Bay’), Vin Diesel revealed that plans are underway for a third installment in the ‘Riddick’ film franchise:
Maybe we’re too tight-lipped about the next Chronicles of Riddick film, and I think circa the release of [Dark Athena] that’s probably when you’ll start hearing more about the next Riddick film. It is underway and I almost think it’s a coincidence that we haven’t heard anything, that there hasn’t been a lot of public stuff on the Riddick movie.
Diesel later added that Pitch Black/The Chronicles of Riddick screenwriter David Twohy “is finishing up the next script.”
‘Assault on Dark Athena’ will be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on April 7, 2009.
New Dragonball Evolution Clips March 11, 2009 2:01 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in 20th Century Fox, Movies, Video Clips.Tags: Dragonball Evolution
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There are six new clips from 20th Century Fox’s Dragonball Evolution online plus a new TV spot from the UK. Watch the TV spot below, and click through the jump to watch the six clips.
Dragonball Evolution hits theaters on April 9, 2009. (more…)
“Sci-Fi Saturday” at TrekMovie.com March 11, 2009 12:30 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Site Info, Television.Tags: TrekMovie.com
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Every weekend I contribute a column titled “Sci-Fi Saturday” (sometimes “Sci-Fi Sunday”) to TrekMovie.com. If you’re not aware of the site, do give it a browse. The site’s owner/editor, Anthony Pascale, has done a wonderful job making it “the source for everything new in Trek”, as the site’s tag line rightfully claims.
And if you have any sort of interest in Sci-Fi entertainment, I think you’ll enjoy the weekly columns I contribute to the site. To that end, you can find the latest edition of “Sci-Fi Saturday” linked below.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Sci-Fi Saturday: Watchmen, Terminator, Transformers, Tron + Lost, Heroes, Smallville, Doctor Who + more
Note: You’ll always find a link to the most recent article on the newly created Sci-Fi Saturday Page. As I said, the article goes up every Saturday (although occasionally on Sunday).
First Iron Man 2 Set Photo March 10, 2009 10:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies.Tags: Iron Man 2, Jon Favreau
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Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau has released the first photo from the set of Iron Man 2. The photo, pictured above (click to enlarge), features Favreau on the set of Tony Stark’s house (still under construction) with cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
Iron Man 2 hits theaters on May 7, 2010.
Source: Jon Favreau
Friday Night Lights Close to Renewal? March 10, 2009 4:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in DirecTV, NBC, News, Television.Tags: Friday Night Lights
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Just came across this very interesting report over at Michael Ausiello’s EW page. Apparently, and despite declining ratings, NBC and DirecTV are close to renewing their partnership, announced last year, to keep Friday Night Lights on the air.
According to Ausiello, NBC says they’re only interested if they can get a commitment by DirecTV to air TWO more seasons. Although a spokesperson for NBC Universal declined to comment, an NBC insider acknowledged to Ausiello that the studio is “actively looking at ways to keep FNL going,” with another adding, “We’re very optimistic a deal will be worked out.”
About those ratings. Eight episodes into its third season, Friday Night Lights is averaging just 3.99M viewers and a 1.4/4 A18-49 rating/share (its household rating/share is 2.5/4). The season high came with the season premiere (2.8/5; 4.53M; 1.6/5) and the season (also series) low came at episode five (2.1/4; 3.46M; 1.1/3).
Broadcast TV Ratings for Monday, March 9, 2009 March 10, 2009 4:11 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.Tags: Broadcast TV Ratings, Monday
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ABC’s Dancing With the Stars returned strong last night (click here to see the score results of night one and vote for who you believe was the best), improving upon the show’s last season premiere by a solid 11% in adults 18-49 rating.
Meanwhile, the series premiere of Castle drew only so-so ratings, drawing 11.60M viewers and a 3.3 A18-49 rating. That’s merely okay. Half-hour to half-hour double-digit declines and sub-50 percent retention from the last half-hour of Dancing With the Stars is concerning.
Second place was heavily contested, with CBS coming out on top among households, but Fox narrowly finishing ahead in viewers and adults 18-49. Both networks, however, experienced week-to-week declines in the face of stiff competition from Dancing With the Stars. All four comedies on CBS (from 8:00-10:00pm) experienced double-digit week-to-week declines among households and viewers, while House drew lower than average numbers. While its lead-in was down, 24 managed to remain even from the week prior, even managing a slight, but noteworthy, nine percent gain from the week prior in A18-49 rating. Over on CBS, the network saw its best performance at 10:00pm with a new episode of CSI: Miami which easily bested its fellow competition.
Fourth place went to NBC, which had very little to be happy about last night. Most concerning was the continued slide from Heroes, which yet again hit series lows among households, viewers AND adults 18-49. Not good (be sure to check out my extensive feature on the show’s ratings decline at this link).
The CW, the only network running repeats, was last place.
Full ratings and breakdown’s, including my full analysis, week-to-week comparisons, etc., follow after the jump.
(more…)
Russell Brand Talks ‘Pirates 4’ March 10, 2009 11:55 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News.Tags: Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Russell Brand
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Last year there was a rumor that Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) was in talks to play Captain Jack Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) brother in the next Pirates of the Caribbean film. Brand was recently asked about the rumor by Access Hollywood and he said that “There’s been some talk of doing a ‘Pirates’ movie,” but that he has “eight other things to do” including Get Him To The Greek with Judd Apatow, so he doesn’t “know if there’ll be time to be a pirate.”
Get Him To The Greek is the upcoming Forgetting Sarah Marshall spinoff that will have Brand reprise his role as Aldous Snow.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is on record from last November saying that they are targeting a 2012 release for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean.
Recap: Dancing With the Stars – 8×01 March 10, 2009 3:47 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Recaps, Television.Tags: Dancing with the Stars
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The eighth season of Dancing With the Stars kicked off Monday night, a season that has already lost two stars to injury. Both Access Hollywood host Nancy O’Dell and singer Jewel were on hand, as were last minute replacements Holly Madison (announced a few days ago, see related story) and ‘Bachelor’ castoff Melissa Rycroft.
Because I’m not very good with critiquing dance, which is probably a good thing, I’ll simply recap the night’s scores. So, head on through the jump to see who fared the best with the judges and to vote for who you believe was the best. (more…)
Five Join Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods March 10, 2009 3:04 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, Movies, News.Tags: Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Drew Goddard, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Joss Whedon, Kristen Connolly, The Cabin in the Woods
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Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard have cast Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz and Jesse Williams in the duo’s secretive genre project The Cabin in the Woods. The screenplay was written by Whedon who is producing with Goddard (who is also directing).
“Finding this ensemble has been very hard and very rewarding,” Whedon said. “Each of the ‘kids’ is unique, fascinating and talented, and like true friends, the group is more than the sum of its parts. These are people you care about, able to go toe to toe with the amazing actors we’ve corralled thus far, and not unpretty in the bargain. I can’t wait to harm them.”
The Cabin in the Woods is shooting now, but its release has been pushed back from October 23rd to February 5, 2010.
Source: THR
Matt Barr Joins Gossip Girl Spinoff March 10, 2009 3:03 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television, The CW.Tags: Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl Spinoff, Matt Barr
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One Tree Hill alum Matt Barr has been cast in The CW’s Gossip Girl spinoff as Keith van der Woodsen. The character is described as a rich and handsome Malibu prince who is the love interest to Lily Rhodes (Brittany Snow). Although The CW isn’t confirming it, speculation is that the character is Serena’s (from Gossip Girl) father.
The Gossip Girl spinoff, still untitled, is set in 1980’s Los Angeles and chronicles the teen years of Lily.
Source: THR
Ridley Scott Has Found His Merry Men March 10, 2009 2:31 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Movies, News, Universal Pictures.Tags: Alan Doyle, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, Ridley Scott, Robin Hood, Russell Crowe, Scott Grimes
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Scott Grimes, Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle have been cast as the group of adventures in Ridley Scott’s still untitled Robin Hood project, headlined by actor Russell Crowe as Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. The project was written by Brian Helgeland.
From THR:
Grimes has been cast in the role of Will Scarlet, a skilled swordsman and Hood’s nephew.
Durand is playing Little John, Hood’s right-hand man. He is best known in the legends for fighting a duel with Hood using quarterstaves while trying to cross a river.
Doyle is playing Alan a Dayle,CQ who in lore was a roving minstrel and needed help when his love was being forced to marry another man.
Eminem Returning With Two New Albums March 10, 2009 2:11 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Music, News.Tags: Eminem, Relapse, Relapse 2
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Interscope Records has announced that best-selling rapper Eminem will be releasing two new albums this year. The first album, titled Relapse, will be released on May 19th. It’s Eminem’s first original studio album in more than four years.
Relapse will be followed up by Relapse 2 in the second half of the year.
Source: Variety
Watchmen Tops at Box Office With $55.2M Opening March 10, 2009 1:45 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Box Office, Movies, News.Tags: Watchmen
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Zack Snyder’s highly anticipated adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen, opened over the weekend with a solid $55.2 million from 3,611 theaters on 7,500 screens, helping the box office improve a healthy 11% over the same time frame last year. The film opened on Friday with $24.5M before dropping 25% on Saturday to $18.4M and 33% on Sunday to $12.3M.
While still a respectable bow, the picture fell slightly below opening weekend expectations of $60-70M.
The film performed better in IMAX venues. Opening in 124 of the large-screen theaters, Watchmen generated a second-best ever $5.4 million, accounting for nearly 10 percent of its weekend gross on less than three and a half percent of the film’s total theater count. (The Dark Knight holds the record — $6.3 million at 94 sites).
In fact, while Watchmen failed to match Snyder’s last film — March record holder 300 which grossed $70.9M in 2007 — Watchmen’s IMAX gross was significantly above 300 ($3.6M from 62 such venues).
In foreign markets, the film took $27.5 million from 5,097 theaters in 45 territories. Thus far, Watchmen is at $82.7M worldwide, slightly more than its estimated $150M production budget.
Sources: Box Office Mojo and Variety
New Wonder Woman Images + Q&A With Keri Russell March 10, 2009 1:12 am
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Blu-ray, DVD, Images/Photos, Movies, Warner Brothers.Tags: Keri Russell, Wonder Woman
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Wonder Woman, the latest DC Universe DVD/Blu-ray from Warner Bros. is available to now available to own. But I’ve got a few more images and a brand new Q&A with actress Keri Russell, who voices Diana/Wonder Woman, worth checking out. Click through the jump to read the Q&A and see two more images.
Official Plot Synopsis:
Produced by the multiple Emmy® Award winning animation legend Bruce Timm, Wonder Woman is an origin– story and features a stellar celebrity voice cast including Keri Russell (Waitress, Felicity), Nathan Fillion (Desperate Housewives), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Rosario Dawson (Sin City), Oliver Platt (The West Wing) and David McCallum (NCIS). Wonder Woman begins on the mystical island of Themyscira, where a proud and fierce warrior race of Amazons resides. They have raised Princess Diana, a daughter of stunning beauty, extraordinary strength and incredible fighting prowess. Diana possesses a host of super human powers granted to her by the gods and goddesses of Olympus and her strength and stamina are unparalleled. When Air Force fighter pilot Steve Trevor crash lands on the island, the rebellious and headstrong Diana defies Amazonian law by accompanying Trevor back to civilization. Meanwhile, Ares (the God of War) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazons and has decided to exact his revenge by starting a world war that will destroy them all. It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world by using her gifts to become the ultimate Wonder Woman.
http://www.wonderwomanmovie.com
Wonder Woman was released on March 3rd, and is available to own on either DVD or Blu-ray Hi-Def. You can check out my review of the two-disc DVD at this link. (more…)
Broadcast TV Ratings for Sunday, March 8, 2009 March 9, 2009 11:10 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.Tags: Broadcast TV Ratings, Sunday
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Rebecca Romijn Joins ABC Pilot Eastwick March 9, 2009 8:16 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, Casting, News, Television.Tags: Eastwick, Rebecca Romijn
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Rebecca Romijn has joined the cast of ABC’s Eastwick, the networks drama pilot based on the 1987 feature-film The Witches of Eastwick, and based on the John Updike novel of the same name.
Romijn will play the lead character on Eastwick, Roxi Torcoletti, joining previously cast Lindsay Price (who’ll play “Joanna Frankel”), Jaime Ray Newman (“Kat Rougemont”) and Paul Gross (“Darryl Van Horne”).
Source: Variety
Casting Underway for Live-Action Star Wars TV Show March 9, 2009 7:24 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in News, Television.Tags: Rose Byrne, Star Wars
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During a press junket for the Nicolas Cage thriller Knowing, co-star Rose Byrne let slip that George Lucas has begun casting for his live-action TV series based on Star Wars: “A lot of my friends have been auditioning for it,” she said. Byrne (who played Dorme in ‘Episode II’) will not be auditioning for the series, noting she already has a steady gig on the FX series Damages, where she was nomianted for a Golden Globe: “I’m on a show,” she said. “I don’t know if I look that good in space.”
According to past reports, the live-action Star Wars series will focus on minor characters from the franchise and will be set in the time period between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the original Star Wars. Lucas plans to write and shoot an entire year’s worth of episodes before looking for a cable channel to air the series.
Source: MTV Movies Blog
Watch: First 13 Minutes of Castle March 9, 2009 6:54 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, News, Television, Videos.Tags: Castle, Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic
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Tonight is the premiere of the new ABC drama Castle, starring Nathan Fillion (Desperate Housewives, Firefly) and Stana Katic (The Spirit). But ahead of the show’s debut tonight — at 10:00pm following the season premiere of Dancing With the Stars — you can watch the first 13 minutes of the show online, right now. Head on through the jump to watch. (more…)
First Look: Daniel Radcliffe on Deathly Hallows Set March 9, 2009 6:37 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Images/Photos, Movies, News.Tags: Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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The Daily Mirror has published the first photo of Daniel Radcliffe on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A user on the Harry Potter fansite Snitch Sneeker scanned the image, which you can see posted above (along with another one from Oculumedia). Follow the links to see the images in higher res.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I hits theaters on November 19, 2010 followed by ‘Part II’ on July 15, 2011.
via ComingSoon.net
Ashlee Simpsons-Wentz Headed to Melrose Place March 9, 2009 5:07 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Casting, News, Television, The CW.Tags: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, Melrose Place
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Singer/Actress Ashlee Simpson-Wentz will star on The CW’s Melrose Place update, returning to network television seven years after her role on The WB’s 7th Heaven. Simpson-Wentz will play Melrose Place’s newest resident, Violet, a bright-eyed but shrewd small-town girl and recent L.A. transplant who has come to town with a secret. THR reports that the character will draw parallels to the original series’ Sandy Harling (Amy Locane).
Simposon-Wentz joins the previously announced cast of Michael Rady and Katie Cassidy (see related story).
Morena Baccarin Cast in ABC’s V March 9, 2009 5:00 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.Tags: Morena Baccarin, V
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Morena Baccarin (Stargate SG-1, Firefly) has been cast as one of the leads in the ABC drama series V. From Warner Bros. TV, V is a re-imagining of the 1980s miniseries of the same name about an invasion of aliens known as Visitors and the resistance against them. According to THR, Baccarin will be playing Anna, the leader of the Visitors who is remarkably knowledgeable about human culture and media manipulation.
The View Enjoying Its Most-Watched Season Yet March 9, 2009 4:55 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in ABC, News, Nielsen TV Ratings, Television.Tags: Barbara Walters, Broadcast TV Ratings, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, The View, Whoopi Goldberg
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ABC daytime talk show The View is riding a ratings high. The talk show, featuring a panel of Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd, Joy Behar and for a few times a week series co-executive producer Barbara Walters, drew its largest audience ever on the morning after Barack Obama was elected president (6.2 million) and has maintained that momentum ever since, enjoying its most-watched season to date with an average audience of 4.2 million viewers (+20% over last season’s 3.5 million).
ABC Daytime president Brian Frons believes that the election has elevated the series, but that it has been making positive strides over the past few years:
“We used to be an internally focused show, more introspective, but now we’re more outwardly looking,” Frons said. “Rosie (former moderator O’Donnell) looked out into the society, and we have built and grown from that.
“We have a group of diverse, intelligent women who filter the news and say, ‘Here’s how we feel about it and here are some things for you to think about.’ “
Source: Variety
ABC ‘Pulling’ For Success March 9, 2009 4:44 pm
Posted by Rosario T. Calabria in Broadcast TV Ratings.Tags: Pulling
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ABC is importing another British series. The network has closed the deal for Pulling, a single-camera pilot based on the 2006 British series of the same name. To be produced by ABC Studios, Pulling revolves around three single thirtysomething women who live together after one breaks off her engagement the day before her wedding. The pilot was written by Rob Hanning (Courting Alex) and will be directed by Elliot Hegarty.
Stacy Traub ins on board as show runner and will executive produce with Francie Calfo and the creators of the original BBC Three series Sharon Horgan and Dennis Kelly.
Source: THR
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