News Bytes Archive

4/6/2008

Charlton Heston dies at 84

Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84.
The actor died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with his wife Lydia at his side, family spokesman Bill Powers said.

Powers declined to comment on the cause of death or provide further details.

Heston revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's disease, saying, "I must reconcile courage and surrender in equal measure."

Read the complete story...

3/29/2008

A-TOWN OMNI MEDIA, LLC is bringing the glitz and glamour of network television to the rural towns and cities of the southeast (Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee).

A-TOWN's main objective is to give everyone in the six states selected a chance at making it big! The winning contestant will be awarded $100,000 in cash, prizes and recording contracts!

A-TOWN OMNI MEDIA, LLC has embarked on a journey to find the best talent in the southeast (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee). This endeavor will be the largest talent competition in the history of the six states. More than 60,000 contestants will be registered in five categories, including:

• Rhythm & Blues
• Rap & Hip Hop
• Gospel
• Groups
• Musical Instruments

There are three phases of competition for which you can register between April 1, 2008 and August 1, 2008.

3/22/2008

ITC to probe Sony Blu-ray patents

Afterdawn.com reports that the U.S. International Trade Commission will be investigating possible patent infringements related to Blu-ray players and peripherals, and that Sony was one of 30 companies that are included in the probe.

The probe began because of a complaint filed in February by a Columbia University Professor Emeritus who claims that short-wavelength light-emitting diodes and laser diodes used in Blu-ray players infringe her patent.

Read the complete story.

3/18/2008

Remembering Johnny: 30 years of laughter on late night TV

by Ben Anton

The 30-year run of Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show was both memorable and historic. It was the setting for a number of classic TV moments remembered by television watchers of several generations. Though many people remember Carson for his hilarious characters and skits, he was not one to shy away from controversial topics when it was something that he truly believed in. Many of his best-known moments have been captured on various classic TV DVD's, enabling fans of Carson to watch their favorite bits over and over again.

One of Johnny Carson's best known moments, one that demonstrated to the world just how quick his wit really was, happened two years after he began his run on The Tonight Show. On April 29, 1965, Ed Ames of the Daniel Boone television series was Carson's guest. Ames was demonstrating how to throw a tomahawk using a wooden silhouette of a man, and when he threw the tomahawk it landed squarely in the silhouette's crotch. As the crowd laughed, Carson quipped, "I didn't even know you were Jewish." This piece of classic television comedy was so popular that it was often replayed on the show's anniversary.

Other classic moments on The Tonight Show revolved around some of the recurring characters that Johnny Carson portrayed, often with the help of Ed McMahon. Quite possibly the most famous of these classic television characters was Carnac the Magnificent, a mentalist played by Carson who would claim to be able to answer questions sealed in envelopes without ever seeing the question. The answers, of course, would never be straight answers and would instead be puns. When the audience didn't like one of the jokes, he would respond with equally outlandish curses, such as "May a diseased yak befriend your sister." Carson had a number of other popular characters as well, such as Floyd R. Turbo, Ralph Willie, and Aunt Blabby.

Not all of the comedy sketches that Carson did contained these repeating characters. There were a number of one-shot skits which appeared on the classic television show, including Carson's portrayal of Hamlet delivering the famous "To be or not to be..." soliloquy. In the Johnny Carson version, however, were a number of product advertisements which flowed directly from the famous Shakespearean lines to create one of the funniest portrayals of the play to date.

In addition to providing laughs and unexpected punchlines, Carson would from time to time use his show as a means of exposing scams and fakes who were taking advantage of the public at large. Famed psychic Uri Gellar appeared on the show in 1973. Carson himself set up the props for Gellar's act without Gellar or his manager being able to see them before filming. Despite Gellar's claims of having genuine mental powers, he was unable to reproduce his usual tricks with the props that Carson provided. This method of proving Gellar a fraud had been suggested by Carson's friend James Randi, a trained stage magician (like Carson himself) who later appeared on the show in 1987 to expose the supposed faith healer Peter Popoff. Though Popoff claimed that his knowledge of the audience's problems came from "Godly visions", Randi provided Carson and his audience with video that showed Popoff's wife describing the people for him to heal via a microphone which broadcast to a speaker hidden in his hearing aid.

Other classic TV moments on The Tonight Show included visits from zoologists such as Joan Embery and Jim Fowler. They brought animals which Carson would often interact with in some way; many episodes featured Carson being crawled on by smaller animals. One famous incident often shown as a clip featured Carson leaning down too close to a panther's cage which caused the cat to swipe at him with its paw. Carson ran across the stage and jumped into Ed McMahon's arms for comedic effect.

When Johnny Carson retired from the show, his final episodes were considered major events. The most sentimental moment came on the next-to-last of his episodes. Bette Midler and Robin Williams were his guests. After Carson revealed in conversation some of his favorite songs, Midler began to sing one. The song soon became a duet between her and Carson. She finished her appearance by singing "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)." An emotional Carson began to tear up on camera. This historic and touching moment was caught on film using a long camera angle never used in the previous 30 years of Carson's run. One of his most emotional classic moments became a historic milestone in late night television filming.

Carson was an amazing entertainer, a charismatic personality and a moment maker. His appeal as a celebrity and a comedian carries on to future generations as classic television shows become available on DVD.

3/18/2008

The Battlestar Galactica Television Phenomenon

By Morgan Kelps

For decades, we have been fortunate to submerge ourselves in an amazing void that is SciFi. Old Classics ranging from Star Trek to Dr. Who and new classics like Stargate, challenge our mind and take us to a world we have never before imagined.

In 1978 we were treated to a dark vision of the Future and the battle between good and evil that is Battlestar Galactica. Originally created by Glen A. Larson and pitched in the 60s, the idea was scoffed at Hollywood executives. Then, in 1978 after the huge success of Star Wars, Glen's opportunity arose and with the backing of Universal Studios the Battlestar Galactica television pilot was created.

The pilot and the series started off with a bang attaining the 1979 People's Choice Award for Best New TV Drama Series, however after just 24 episodes, the Battlestar Galactica television series was canned by ABC. In 1980, the series was reprised as Galactica 1980 which lasted just ten episodes before one again having the plug pulled by ABC.

Over the years, there were multiple attempts to recreate the series as well as the creation of three films (Battlestar Galactica, Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack, Conquest of the Earth) with limited domestic and international distribution.

Then, in 2000 Bryan Singer (X-Men, Usual Suspects, Star Trek Nemesis, Superman Returns) got involved and the revival finally stood a chance. Then joined the likes of Edward James Almos, Sky One (UK), the Sci Fi Channel and in 2003 a three-hour miniseries was created and aired. Although short in nature, the miniseries was the highest-rated cable miniseries of that year and turned received overwhelming positive feedback and with it the rebirth of the Battlestar Galactica Television Phenomenon.

Since 2003, there have been 3 full seasons which have created a loyal fanbase for the series and attained multiple accolades including being named by the American Film Institute as one the ten best shows on television. In 2005, the Chicago Tribune, Rolling Stone magazine, and Newsday also named the series one of the best on television. In 2006, the series won a prestigious Peabody Award in recognition of its creative excellence. Then, in 2007, Battlestar Galactica was nominated for four Emmy Awards including: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Special Visual Effects and Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series.

The fourth season is set to debut in March of 2008 and the hype is building. If by chance, you are new to the phenomenon do yourself a favor and check out the last 3 seasons on DVD or stop by one of the many Battlestar Galactica Television series fan sites to catch up on what you have been missing out on.

"Be dee be dee beep" -Twiki

3/18/2008

Universal Studios - The Home Of All Movies

By Scotie Keithlow

Universal studio was founded by Carl Laemmle, a German Jewish and is the second oldest studio in Hollywood. He realized the potential of the moving pictures and the success of Universal Studio has proved him right.

Hollywood has been credited with many successful and memorable movies over the years. The movie industry began in the early 1900s and as of now, there are many famous studios involved in the production of movies and their brand names and logos have become familiar among people.

Of these studios, Universal studio is credited with some of the biggest hits that Hollywood has seen. It goes to the credit of Universal studio that they have been successfully able to tide over the hard times that the movie industry had to face from time to time. It started with the switch from the era of silent movies to the talkies and Universal Studio was able to manage the transition successfully.

The next issue that faced the movie industry was the breaking away of movie stars from the production houses in an effort to be more independent. This happened in the 1950s and Universal Studio again managed to pull up act together by channeling its energy into making of TV shows and movies made especially for television.

In the initial years, Hollywood was churning out low budget westerns and serials. Over time, the standards of scripts and production also improved. In the 1930s, Universal Studio released 'All Quiet on the Western Front', a movie based on World War I. It went on to win the Academy Award for the Best picture.

Subsequently, Universal Studios became synonymous with horror movies after they produced successful movies like Frankenstein and The Mummy and Dracula. Some of their lighthearted movies have featured memorable performances from Mae West, Deanna Durbin and WC Fields. In the 1950s, many stars including the heartthrob Cary Grant were on contract with Universal Studio. Other stars like Doris Day and Rock Hudson helped create magic with the romantic comedy 'Pillow Talk' whereas James Stewart helped create another sensation by talking to a giant rabbit in the movie 'Harvey'.

Universal Studio has taken risks to produce movies that had difficult subjects. These movies like the depiction of Nazi Germany through the holocaust movie 'The Schindler's List' was not supposed to appeal to a larger audience. But its success took everyone by surprise. Similarly, 'Twelve Monkeys', a movie dealing with the subject of mental illness also received critical acclaim. And who can forget the blockbusters like the 'Jurassic Park' and 'ET'. It is surprising to note that Universal Studio has had hits to its credit in every decade.

3/15/2008

Universal Pictures and Dark Horse Entertainment sign worldwide production and distribution agreement

Universal City, CA and Milwaukie, OR – 14 March 2008 – Universal Pictures and Dark Horse Entertainment have signed a three-year production and distribution agreement that establishes a studio home for all of Dark Horse’s creative properties going forward. The agreement was jointly announced by Marc Shmuger and David Linde, Chairman and Co-Chairman of Universal Pictures; and Mike Richardson, founder and President of Dark Horse.

Under the terms of the deal, Universal would have creative access to all Dark Horse characters and properties, as well as any material that Dark Horse might acquire on its own and want to develop as a motion picture. In addition, Dark Horse would have the opportunity to distribute movies through Universal.

Universal Pictures is opening Hellboy II: The Golden Army, directed by Guillermo del Toro and based on Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse Comics character, on July 11, 2008.

“Dark Horse is one of the most creative and innovative brands in the entertainment industry, as well as an incredibly supportive home for some of the most exciting storytellers working today,” said Shmuger and Linde in a joint statement. “Their unique connection to youth culture is proven, and we are thrilled to be part of their expanding film production work.”

Mike Richardson responded, “We’ve worked with many studios and have had several great experiences, but we are particularly happy to be joining forces with Universal Pictures in this deal. We feel a real connection with their vision and the energy and creativity they bring to developing our properties. We are also excited by the option that we’ll have to independently produce our own material and distribute it through Universal; their flexibility in this collaboration is what we were looking for, and we’re glad we found it.”

Donna Langley, President of Production, Universal Pictures, added, “We are very much looking forward to working with Dark Horse’s talented writers and artists, and to realizing their wealth of creative content onscreen.”

Dark Horse Entertainment is represented by Endeavor and The Gotham Group.

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as The Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, their highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, and Serenity. Today Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic-book publisher in the U.S. and is recognized as the world's leading publisher of licensed comics material.

About Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

3/14/2008

Boldly Going...

At Fox, Boldly Going Nowhere is a single-camera half-hour is a high-concept comedy set in the future and focused on the mundane world of a spaceship captain when he's not on a mission. Fox has ordered five additional scripts beyond the pilot.

"We grew up watching shows like Star Trek, anything having to do with the future, and it was always about the adventures they'd go on," series co-creator Rob McElhenney said. "We thought it would be funny to watch what goes on in between those adventures, when they're waiting for the next big thing to happen. How do they keep themselves busy?"

The pilot is based on an idea that came from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia writers' assistant Adam Stein; as a result, Stein will get a "written and created by" credit alongside the creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton.

"I wish it was less rare that when you get a comedy script, you laugh out loud," said Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly. "This really felt like a bull's-eye for Fox. It's a concept I've seen developed before badly, many times. These guys nailed it."

Boldly Going Nowhere will contain characters that greatly vary in age, sex and race. The series won't begin shooting until October, which likely means a mid-season premiere date.

3/12/2008

Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island caught with Mary Jane

Actress Dawn Wells will serve probation for reckless driving

Dawn Wells, who played the wholesome Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," was allegedly caught with marijuana in her car.

The actress is serving six months of unsupervised probation stemming for an October incident in Idaho, report news sources.

Read the whole story

3/6/2008

The Spectacular Spider-man swings into Saturday mornings

Spider-man comes back to Saturday morning TV on March 8th, the soon-to-be-shuttered Kids' WB on The CW. This series skips past the now familiar story of how Spider-man came to be, and instead deals with the problems of being a 16-year-old superhero.

There's plenty of action in the series opener... enough to satisfy even the adults who are comics aficionados or those who tune in if only to see ol' Spidey in action again! Unfortunately, the familiar theme (Spider-man, Spider-man... Does whatever a spider can...) is not present in this series.

Curiously, this series is premiering only a short time before The CW will be joining the other networks in farming out its Saturday line-up to a third party. So while Sony's Culver Entertainment is producing a second season of this series, as of this writing, it's uncertain just where it will air.

Stay tuned. We'll have more developments as they happen... with film at 11.

3/4/2008

Composer Leonard Rosenman dies

Leonard Rosenman, a two-time Oscar-winning composer who was credited with helping to modernize film music in the 1950s and '60s, died Tuesday of a heart attack at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 83.

Rosenman composed the scores for about four dozen films including the James Dean classics East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, as well as such science-fiction films as Fantastic Voyage and Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and period pieces including A Man Called Horse.

He won back-to-back Oscars in 1975 and 1976 for adapting the classical music of Barry Lyndon and the Woody Guthrie songs of Bound for Glory. He also received Oscar nominations for the original music of the mid-1980s films Cross Creek and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and a Golden Globe nomination for his music for the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings.

Rosenman emerged from the New York concert music scene in the early 1950s to bring a more contemporary approach to film music. He applied 20th-century compositional techniques -- including serialism, atonality and microtonality -- that were not then in common use among the more traditional Hollywood composers but are widely accepted today.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he studied with composers Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions and Luigi Dallapiccola and was writing chamber music and teaching piano when director Elia Kazan invited him to compose the score for "East of Eden" in 1954.

Rosenman, a frend of Dean's, was on the set during shooting and remained in California to score Dean's next film, "Rebel Without a Cause." His subsequent scores for "The Cobweb" and "The Savage Eye," among others, were notable for their complexity and dissonance.

The composer was also active in television, winning Emmys for his TV-movie scores for "Sybil" and "Friendly Fire" and scoring such prominent weekly series as The Defenders, Combat! and Marcus Welby, M.D. He wrote the music for about three dozen TV movies and miniseries including Vanished, Murder in Texas and Celebrity.

Throughout his Hollywood career, he continued to write music for the concert stage, including numerous chamber works, two violin concertos and a symphony.

Survivors include his wife, Judie Gregg Rosenman; three children and two grandchildren.

A memorial service is being planned; donations are suggested to the Motion Picture & Television Fund or to the Association for Frontotemporal Dementias.

Source: Variety

3/3/2008

Will new Blu-ray drives suck your laptop battery dry?

Watching a Blu-ray movie in all its high-definition glory on your laptop may finally become an affordable prospect this year. Just don't wander too far from a power outlet.

WIRED magazine has a fascinating and enlightening article on the little-known fact that Blu-ray consumes about three times the power required by HD-DVD drives.

This author wonders if this is just one of those pesky details that Sony kept to itself while it bribed offered economic incentive to all of the largest movie studios.

Blu-ray also reportedly scans both the hardware and software (the disc) for Digital Rights Management (DRM) compliance, not just at load time... not just the first play... but at 5 or 10 minute intervals, depending on the manufacurer.

Presumably, that's just in case the disc magically morphs into pirated software while still in the drive and spinning. Hey, it could happen! Right?

Read the entire WIRED article for more information.

3/3/2008

CW renews Gossip Girl and several long-running series

The CW has announced that it's bringing back several of its long-running series. At this time, however, only one new show is being renewed for a second season: Gossip Girl.

The other shows being renewed are America's Next Top Model, Smallville, Supernatural and One Tree Hill.

The CW has also picked up Everybody Hates Chris, which was recently sold in syndication, including a cable sale last week to Nick at Nite.

As of this writing, is it as yet uncertain whether or not Reaper, Aliens in America and Crowned, as well as Pussycat Dolls Present, The Game and Beauty and the Geek will return.

The CW has already announced the series end of Girlfriends, and WWE Smackdown moves to MyNetworkTV this fall.

2/29/2008

Scrubs moving to ABC?
NBC says "No"

Rumors have made the rounds that “Scrubs” may be moving to ABC. The network is said to be picking up an 18 episode season of the series, produced by ABC Studios and starring Zach Braff.

If true, ABC Studios would be in breach of contract, says NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-chair Marc Graboff. He indicated that appropriate legal action would be taken.

"NBC has a license agreement with ABC Studios, which includes a right of first negotiation and first refusal to extend the series term beyond this season," Graboff said. "We're living under the terms of this license agreement, and we expect ABC Studios to do the same."

ABC Studios hasn’t commented on the rumors that discussions have commenced between ABC and ABC Studios.

NBC executives were in talks with ABC Studios over whether the network would commit to a big series finale on the air. NBC wanted assurances, before spending that money, that "Scrubs" wouldn't wind up squeezing out an other season on ABC.

There has been a great deal of contention between ABC Studios and NBC regarding "Scrubs." ABC Studios has complained that "Scrubs" was never promoted the way that it should have been. Moreover, the series has suffered through countless timeslot changes.

Indeed, “Scrubs” has changed timeslots 17 times since its premiere in October of 2001 and seven seasons on the air.

Also, for the past several years, NBC has entered the May upfront season with "Scrubs" facing cancelation - and every year, conventional wisdom has put ABC as the likely benefactor should NBC decide to pull the plug. But every year so far, "Scrubs" has received a last-minute order from NBC - until now.

With the recent end to the writers strike, scribes returned to work, and the impression was that “Scrubs” would indeed be returning to NBC this spring.

But with no deal in the offing, ABC has once again entered the picture. Network entertainment president Steve McPherson developed "Scrubs" as the head of ABC Studios, then known as Touchstone TV. McPherson remains a fan of the quirky comedy, and has expressed interest in adding the show to ABC's lineup - giving the network an instant comedy franchise.

Should "Scrubs" continue, it would be with the entire cast - including star Zach Braff. The actor signed a rich deal with ABC Studios last spring that made him one of the top-paid actors on TV. Show's seventh season was originally expected to be its last - and NBC has marketed it as such.

In TV history, NBC shows that have hopped to ABC include "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Something So Right."

Source: Variety

2/29/2008

From "That was fast" department: NBC pulls plug on Quarterlife

Quarterlife made a hasty exit from NBC, but is likely to resurface on Bravo later this year.

After one woefully low-rated airing Tuesday night, NBC has tabled plans to run five additional episodes of the Marshall Herskovitz-Ed Zwick show, which was originally produced as a Web serial for viewing in eight- to 10-minute bites. NBC Universal representatives indicated the show would be re-routed to Bravo.

NBC picked up Quarterlife for broadcast play in mid-December, when the TV business was stuck in the quagmire of the writers strike. NBC characterized the deal as an experiment, citing the pedigree that the low-budget (by broadcast TV standards) production had in being shepherded by Herskovitz and Zwick. The license fee that NBC paid for the rights was considerably less than the going rate for even modestly budgeted drama series.

Quarterlife made its world premiere November 11 as a Web serial distributed by MySpace and its dedicated quarterlife.com website. Segments of the serial have regularly drawn about 100,000 views. Tuesday's 10 p.m. premiere of the hourlong version on NBC pulled in 3.1 million viewers, marking the network's lowest ratings in the slot in years.

"Of course it's a disappointment," Herskovitz told Daily Variety. "There's no way to look at that and not say it's a disappointment."

Herskovitz acknowledged that he'd had his doubts about whether the show would work on network TV.

"We live in a world where success can be defined in many ways," he said, noting that a show with much lower ratings can be considered a hit on cable.

Herskovitz added that he was grateful to NBC and programming chief Ben Silverman for being game enough to try and for giving the show "energetic support."

NBC will fill the Tuesday 10 p.m. void next week with an episode of Deal or No Deal, followed the next two weeks by repeats of Law & Order.

Source: Variety

2/28/2008

Comcast to restrict Internet, pays seat warmers, shuts out public during FCC hearing

SaveTheInternet.com's February 25th article goes into great detail and even provides apparent evidence that Comcast paid disinterested parties to fill seats at a hearing to discuss the importance of an open Internet, thereby shutting out those who would speak out against the desire by Comcast to dictate which web sites and services go fast, slow or don't load at all. Even worse, they're backed by other would-be gatekeepers at Verizon, AT&T and Time-Warner.

This would definitely have an effect on freedom of speech and effectively make the gatekeepers the dictators who control who can say and do what on the web. This was never the idea behind the Internet. Indeed, freedom of speech and free enterprise are what have driven the web's popularity and profitability. Now, it seems, there are those who want to control all of that.

This author wonders just how large a piece of the pie they're seeking. Large companies don't do anything where profit is not involved. So one can only assume we're talking webmasters paying certain fees (taxes?) for different levels of access. No fee paid? No access given.

That's my theory, anyway.

We urge you to read this article in its entirety! This is a classic example of how Big Money shuts out the concerned citizen.

Read the blog in its entirety

2/28/2008

HEROES to resume production

The upcoming third volume will be called "Villains." Lee said that he's personally looking forward to working again with Masi Oka who plays Hiro Nakamura. "I know that people are excited that Ando and Hiro are back togetrher again after their little stint away [in] different timelines," Lee said. "I think more adventures and mayhem ensue for us."

2/27/2008

NBC shuts down Las Vegas

NBC has decied not to resume production on the Universal Media Studios drama, Las Vegas, despite the fact that its last original episode ended with a "to be continued" cliffhanger.

Las Vegas creator and executive producer Gary Scott Thompson said in a TV Guide.com interview on Tuesday that that show was a casualty of the writers strike, and that the decision was driven by the high cost of restarting production.

Las Vegas, which premiered in 2003, had been on the bubble for renewal even before the strike hit in November.

2/27/2008

Classic TV series casts reunite on Today Show

In a weeklong series of cast reunions of classic TV shows, NBC's The Today Show is featuring Happy Days, Family Ties, The Waltons and more. Click the links below to watch.

Happy Days

Family Ties

The Waltons

Donnie and Marie (and the rest of The Osmonds)

2/27/2008

Warner Bros. to serve Justice in 2009

In January, it was reported that Warner Brothers had put the project on an indefinite hold and allowed the cast options to expire. At the time, the studio said that it did not want to move forward until more work could be done on the script.

The cast has been advised to keep training for their superhero roles. The cast includes Adam Brody as the Flash, rapper Common as the Green Lantern, Armie Hammer Jr. as Batman and Megan Gale as Wonder Woman.

Justice League is based on a DC Comic and is apparently a huge priority for Warner Brothers. It is considered to be a launching pad for future superhero projects.

2/23/2008

CBS now offering classic shows on the web

In order to watch shows onliine, you'll need to have the latest version of Flash Player installed. As of this writing, unlike NBC, there is no option at CBS.com for full-screen viewing.

The available shows include the first seasons of MacGyver, Melrose Place and Hawaii Five-0, the first two seasons of The Twilight Zone, and all three seasons of Star Trek.

Check it out yourself at CBS.com.

2/19/2008

BBC and Apple reach agreement for iTunes content

The BBC and Apple have agreed to a first-of-its-kind deal that allows users to download shows like “Life on Mars” via iTunes for a projected $3.70 an episode.

Tuesday’s agreement between the Apple, the BBC’s commercial division and BBC Worldwide marks the first time a U.K. broadcaster has made its content available on iTunes.

Ten series, including “Little Britain” and “Robin Hood,” are available on the U.K. iTunes store for viewing on a PC or Mac computer, video-enabled iPod, iPhone or via Apple TV.

Recently aired shows like “Ashes to Ashes,” the follow-up to “Life on Mars,” will be made available once they have run on the BBC iPlayer on-demand catch-up service.

“We want to give audiences a wide variety of options on how and where to view their favorite BBC shows," says Simon Danker, director of digital media at BBC Worldwide.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s VP of iTunes, added, “Television programming has been incredibly popular with iTunes customers in the U.K.”

The move marks the first time the BBC has asked British audiences to pay to download content, and the results will be watched with interest by privately funded rivals.

The BBC already runs download-to-rent and download-to-own services in the U.S.

2/19/2008

Knight may ride this fall. Watch it again!

NBC's Sunday showing of Knight Rider drew impressive numbers, the best demographic score for a television movie in nearly three years!

The film, a retelling of a 1980s story featuring a cime-fighting, wise-cracking car, was a hit among young adults. It averaged a 5.0 rating and a 12 share in adults ranging from 18-49 and 12.7 viewers overall from 9-11 pm. No movie, including made-for-TV movies, theatrical or multipart miniseries, has scored ratings this good since ABC's airing of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" back in 2005.

This bodes well for a return of some kind next season. Keep an eye out when NBC announces its new fall schedule in May.

On the off-chance that you missed it, or maybe you'd just like to see it again, you can watch online right now.

2/17/2008

Toshiba pulls the plug on HD-DVD, format war over

Japan's NHK reports that HD-DVD manufacturer Toshiba is prepared to cease manufacture of HD-DVD hardware and software. This means a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the company. As we reported here just over two weeks ago, Time-Warner had announced that they were backing Blu-Ray, probably the biggest nail in the coffin for HD-DVD. Indeed, after media GIANT Time-Warner pulled the plug, all the signs were on the wall. This week, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Netflix announced they would no longer support the format.

This author's opinion on the matter is this: If you haven't bought a higher definition player yet, then WAIT! Blu-Ray is NOT a standardized format yet. Why a major studio would back it is beyond me... except that it would seem to me that there might be some stock in Sony involved. That, and the promise of Digital Rights Management (DRM) which continues to cause compatibility issues, according to many sources.

HD-DVD was a finalized format and every HD-DVD disk would work in every HD-DVD player. Not so with Blu-Ray. So long, HD-DVD.

2/16/2008

Star Trek pushed back to May 2009

Paramount Pictures is pushing back the release date of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek film from December 25th, 2008, to May 8, 2009. They say that the gross potential of the film is greater during that time than during the Christmas season. This move comes amid a major reshuffling of the studio's release calendar.

This author can only speculate, but given the additional time and the coincidental and timely end to the WGA strike, this should bode well for a more polished script. We'll see on May 8, 2009.

A teaser trailer is available.

2/16/2008

WGA strike is officially over!

The strike, which began November 5, 2007 and had basically halted production on all motion picture and television production in the U.S., is finally over.

"This is a day of relief and optimism for everyone in the entertainment industry," so said a statement credited to CBS' Leslie Moonves, MGM's Harry Sloan, NBC Universal's Jeff Zucker, News Corp.'s Peter Chernin, Paramount Pictures' Brad Grey, Sony Pictures Entertainment's Michael Lynton, Walt Disney Co.'s Robert Iger and Warner Bros.' Barry Meyer.

Indeed, it's a day of relief and optimism for the audience, as well. New episodes of some of your favorite shows may appear as soon as March, while others will appear as late as June. Still more shows may not return at all this season (NBC's Heroes is on this list).

Sadly, the strike seems to have hastened the cancelation of some more deserving shows. NBC's Journeyman is among those considered canceled.
[Also see Cancelation Alert: Save NBC's Journeyman on this site]

Mercifully, the strike also seems to have taken out less deserving shows, such as NBC's Bionic Woman.

2/11/2008

Actor Roy Scheider dies at 75

Roy Scheider, perhaps best known for his roles as fearless poilce chief Martin Brody in "Jaws," died Sunday, February 10th at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock.

Scheider was born on November 10th, 1932 in Orange, New Jersey. As a young man, he was an athelete, competing in baseball and boxing. In college, his interest turned from sports to drama.

His film career began in 1964 with "The Curse of the Living Corpse." In 1971, he received his first Oscar nomination for appearing with Gene Hackman in "The French Connection."

TV audiences will remember him best as Captain Nathan Bridger on "SeaQuest DSV."

Scheider is survived by his wife, Brenda, two daughters and a son.

2/3/2008

Knight Rider: KITT's NEW new voice

Will Arnett has been replaced by Val Kilmer as the voice of K.I.T.T. for NBC's upcoming TV movie, Knight Rider, a remake of the 1980s TV series starring David Hasselhoff.

While producers Doug Liman, Dave Bartis and Dave Andron were all happy with his performance, it seems that there was a contractural conflict of interests in the fact that Will Arnett, who was originally going to play the part of K.I.T.T. (now a Ford Mustang), has been doing voice-over work for General Motors as the voice behind GMC trucks for many years.

Whoops!

Not surprisingly, GM has asked that Arnett pull out of the project.

"I was very excited at the prospect of playing the part of KITT in the new Knight Rider movie," Arnett said. "However, because of a long relationship with General Motors as the voice of GMC Trucks, I had to respectfully withdraw from the project."

Although NBC/Universal will have to scramble to replace Arnett's voice with that of Kilmer's in order to make the airdate, the up-side is that they got a well-known name for the part. Kilmer is known for his roles in Batman Forever, The Saint and Top Gun. Kilmer has also done voice-over work for plenty of other productions, including the voice of Moses in The Prince of Egypt.

Knight Rider airs Sunday, February 15th at 9/8c on NBC.

More on Knight Rider at NBC.com

1/31/2008

Time-Warner pulls all support for HD-DVD.
Is Blu-Ray the winner? Most experts say it's still too soon to tell

Are the higher definition DVD wars over? With more and more companies stopping releases on HD-DVD, it looks like Blu-Ray could be the victor. AfterDawn.com is reporting that HBO has confirmed they will be dropping HD-DVD support, thus following in the footsteps of its parent company, Warner Brothers.

That said, it's important to understand just how many subsidiaries there are of Time-Warner. Those include New Line (Cinema AND Home Entertainment), Warner Brothers, HBO, Court TV (now Tru TV) with Liberty Media, Hanna-Barbera cartoons, Telepictures Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment, and more! Naturally, it follows that if a parent company takes an action, the subsidiaries will follow suit.

Paramount Pictures, however, denies that it is dropping the HD-DVD format. It should be noted here that Paramount's parent company owns only Paramount Pictures and Paramount Home Entertainment. Viacom's other holdings include only a number of cable stations.

That's quite a stark contrast to the behemoth that is Time-Warner. Make what you will of this, but THIS author wonders what kind of association Time-Warner has with Blu-Ray manufacturer, Sony.

2/19/2005

NBC to launch year-round new programming

In April, for the first time in television history, NBC will unveil a 52-week primetime programming schedule.

This is not business-as-usual, folks. The disruption caused this season by the 100 day long writers' strike was the catalyst in president and CEO of NBC Universal, Jeff Zucker, being outspoken about overhauling many of the traditional business practices held by NBC. This would include the pilot devlopment process and launching programming on a year-round basis.

For three days in April, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and Univeral Media Studios, Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, will meet in New York with ad agency execs and media buyers regarding the network's 2008-09 strategy.

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