Category Archives: Entertainment

Network TV says HALT! to Google TV

News, Technology, Television, , , , , , , , ,

Didcha get yourself a new Sony Internet TV or Blu-ray player or are you thinking about impulse buying the Logitech Revue powered by Google TV?  If you’re contemplating such a purchase did you think you’d have the ability to watch network TV content off their respective websites using the built-in Chrome browser?  Well you thought wrong, unfortunately.  Today the Wall Street Journal confirms that CBS, NBC, and ABC have blocked TV programming on their websites from being accessed on the Google TV platform.  NBC and ABC are allowing select promotional content to be viewed, but if you attempt to stream a full episode of The Office you will fail miserably.  And to top all this off, Hulu is blocked too; and not because it’s Flash-based–Chrome runs Flash content just fine–it’s the networks’ fault.  So what’s Google going to do about this?  In a word, nothing.  In more words: “Google TV enables access to all the Web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform,” said a Google spokeswoman.  News Corp., for the time being, has not opted to block FOX content.

Why is this happening, you ask?  Well in the end it all comes down to making money.  And networks know TV ads bring in a whole lot more cashola than Internet-based ads.  Right now we’re stuck in this weird transition state where TV has snuck into bed with the Internet and just doesn’t know what to do next.  Here’s to hoping that something is figured out real soon.  Because I want my on-demand teevee streaming content this very second.  Boxee, good luck.

[Via WSJ]

24 Hour Coco Cam is LIVE right now!

Hilarity, Television, Video, , , , , ,

On October 20th at 1PM EST/10AM PST Conan’s HQ in Los Angeles started broadcasting LIVE to the Internet!  They shoved a camera in the stairwell of their “comedy bunker” and you don’t want to miss all the crazy shenanigans that’s going down right now.  The camera will remain on for a whole 24 hours.  So far you’ve missed dancing tacos and a dude in a dog suit playing poker and drinking a water bottle through his eye hole.  Watching the live stream is quite mesmerizing in the strangest way possible.  Click here to access the stream.  And if you’re on Twitter, go on and request the production crew/interns that pass by to do something crazy; don’t forget to hashtag your tweet with #LiveCocoCam.  Right now it’s 4:30AM EST on the 21st, and there’s a late-night party going down, so whatcha waitin’ for?

Update: It’s over, folks.  Head over to Team Coco to watch highlights from the 24 hour cam.  Every wonderful shenanigan has been saved for posterity in video and still image formats.  Fun fact: according to early estimates, some 660,000 people tuned into the live stream at some point during the 24 hour period.  As Deadline so emphatically points out, that is the average audience TBS gets in the 11PM hour with George Lopez!  Get ready America, Coco is coming.

[Via TeamCoco]

Band loses gear, rocks out on NYC subway using iPhone instrument apps

Music, Technology, Video, , , , , , , ,

Brooklyn-based band Atomic Tom supposedly had all their instruments stolen earlier this month.  So they decided to hop on the B-train and perform their single “Take Me Out” using nothing but iPhones and musical apps.  The video went viral and has garnered around 2.1 million hits on YouTube.  I say “supposedly had their instruments stolen” because this all went down about three months after their debut album The Moment hit iTunes.  Publicity stunt or not, these guys are super talented.

[Via Digg]

‘The Social Network’ soundtrack is available now

Movies, Music, News, , , ,

If you’ve seen The Social Network you know that one of the most standout redeeming qualities of the movie (besides the stellar writing and acting) is the dark, ominous, electric music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  The 19 track soundtrack is available to purchase today for $7.99; that’s a steal.  Download it at iTunes or order a physical copy from Amazon.

Piranha 3D sequel gets titled, director and writers announced, already being worked on

Movies, News, , , ,

Piranha 3D splashed into theatres last summer, surprisingly cashing in a worldwide gross of $71 million (it cost about $40 million to produce and market).  After a strong opening weekend performance at the box office, Dimension Films announced a sequel would be on its way.  Today Dimension announced the creative team behind the sequel now officially titled Piranha 3DD (get it? boobies!).  John Gulager will direct and Saw 3D scribes Melton and Marcus Dunstan will pen the script.  Gulager, Melton, and Dunstan worked together in the past on Dimension horror flick Feast, a film that was featured in the show Project Greenlight.  No word on why Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja dropped out of the project.  I hope the new team has the creative umph to bring back the perfect summer movie tongue-in-cheek bloody fun the original so successfully made famous and enjoyable.  Dimension does not want to miss a summer release; as long as the writers can pump out a timely script, you can expect 3DD to hit theatres this August.

[Via Deadline]

Conan’s band gets named, fans “voting” for first guest

News, Television, , , , , , ,

Conan’s late night house band has gone through a couple names in recent years.  The Max Weinberg 7 stuck for a whole 16 years during Conan’s tenure at Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  The Tonight Show Band didn’t last nearly as long for reasons you should be aware of.  And it then changed to The Legally Prohibited Band this year when Conan brought the band with him on The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.  Today the house band gets a brand new name that will hopefully stick for years to come: The Basic Cable Band.  It’s got a nice ring to it, huh?  As we already know, drummer Max Weinberg has left the band and guitarist Jimmy Vivino will take over as band leader.  He will be joined by returning band members Scott Healy (keyboards), Mike Merritt (bass), Mark Pender (trumpet), Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg (trombone), Jerry Vivino (saxophone, woodwinds, and vocals), and James Wormworth (drums).

Yesterday it was announced on the TeamCoCo blog that the fans will have the power to decide the TBS late night show’s very first guest.  Potential guests include Tom from MySpace, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Jack Nicholson, Pope Bendict XVI, Vladimir Putin, REO Speedwagon, Hassanal Bolkiah (The Sultan of Brunei), Thomas Pynchon, Gerhard Ertl, Arlene Wagner, and the full cast of the live-action “Fat Albert” movie (not including Kenan Thompson).  Click here and get your vote on!  You are restricted to one vote per day, but you can vote as many times as you want and for how ever many people you want.  Take heed of this disclaimer, though: “None of these people have actually been booked on our show. For one reason or another, we haven’t contacted any of these people – In fact, we’re kind of hoping that, if someone on this poll starts getting a lot of votes, these folks will actually feel a bit guilty and will agree to be our first guest!!”

Conan premieres November 8 at 11PM on TBS.

[Via Deadline; TeamCoCo]

NBC grants ‘The Event’, ‘Law & Order: Los Angeles’ & ‘Outsourced’ full season orders [Update: ‘Chase’ & ‘Chuck’ picked up, ‘Undercovers’ gets 4 additional scripts]

News, Television, , , , , , , ,

Happy times at the Peacock today.  NBC just picked up full season orders for freshman dramas The Event and Law & Order: Los Angeles and the controversial comedy Outsourced.  According to Deadline, the three NBC shows have averaged 9.1 million, 8.7 million viewers, and 6.3 million viewers overall, respectively.  It’s mentioned that although The Event continues to dip in viewership each week since its strong premiere, it has remained a “solid DVR performer” for the network.  So Jason Ritter (above), you can relax a bit; your stay at NBC just got longer.  Legal drama Outlaw is the sole NBC cancellation.

NBC President Angela Bromstad: “We are pleased with the quality of The Event, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Outsourced, and feel they are an important part of helping to re-build our schedule and our studio pipeline.  We believe in these new series and the creative auspices behind them.”

No word on the back nine episode order for other NBC dramas Chase and Undercovers.  Deadline reports that Chase is expected to get it, and Undercovers recently received an order for 6 additional scripts.  That’s a very good sign, Abrams fans.  In addition, Ausiello reports that NBC is about to order more episodes of the fan-favorite Chuck…

Update: NBC has picked up Chase and Chuck for full season orders.  Chuck will receive an additional 11 episodes instead of the standard back nine (so it will air 24 episodes in total).  The network still hasn’t decided the fate of the J.J. Abrams spy series Undercovers, but things are looking up since they’ve ordered 4 more scripts to be penned.

[Via Deadline, here & here; thanks AndrewSeely for image help]

ABC delays ‘V’ season 2 premiere to January [Update: Episode order cut from 13 to 10]

News, Television, , , , , , ,

Missing ABC’s hit sci-fi series V?  Me too.  I hate to say it but we are going to have to wait an extra two months longer to find out what the heck is up with that red sky.  Though ABC initially announced a November return, they have since pushed the premiere to January 4, 2011.  ABC’s other sci-fi show No Ordinary Family will move from Tuesday at 9PM to 8PM from November 30 until January 4; following the return of V it will move back to its 8PM time slot and serve as an appropriate lead-in to the show.  What’s going to take up Ordinary‘s slot when it moves?  Skating with the Stars.  Ugh, I know.

Update: More bad news.  According to Deadline, ABC is prepared to cut the V season 2 episode order from 13 to 10 episodes.  Why the slight but noticable trim?  It’s due to “scheduling reasons” revolving around ABC’s reality programming.  When V was delayed to the January 4 premiere date, it gave the sci-fi series room for a 12 week run precisely until March 29 when the spring season of Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere.  This period between early January and late March is expected to include 2 preemptions, leveling the total number of V episodes to 10.  A sprinkle of good news?  V season 2 is still in production, so the creative staff will have ample to time to adjust the storyline to make it fit in this tighter schedule.  Allow me to fume for a moment.  I can’t stand that network TV has to bow down to mindless reality programming, giving shows like Dancing/Skating with the Stars precedence over stimulating, creative powerhouses such as V.  I understand where is ABC is coming from; Stars is a ratings champ and V certainly does not attract as many eyeballs (though it should).  But STILL.

[Via Deadline, here & here]

‘Iron Man 3’ gets a 2013 release date, Disney will distribute the film

Movies, News, , , , , , , , , ,

Comic book fans and movie-goers, mark down your calendars.  Iron Man 3 will hit theatres May 3, 2013.  Let the countdown begin, right?

In related news, Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Marvel Studios announced in a joint press release that Disney will handle the worldwide marketing and distribution rights for The Avengers and Iron Man 3.  Under the new deal, Disney will pay Paramount $115 million for the transfer of the distribution rights to the two upcoming Marvel movies.  Paramount will remain the worldwide distributor of Thor and Captain America, and the first two Iron Man films.

Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures: “Five years ago, when Paramount and Marvel made our initial deal, both our businesses were in very different places,” said Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures. “We are grateful for the partnership we have had with the terrific Marvel team over these years and proud of the work we have done together. Today, this new agreement is the right deal for Paramount, for Marvel and for Disney. We look forward to working together on Thor and Captain America, and we wish Disney and Marvel the utmost success, in what we know will be a very productive and wide-ranging partnership.”

Reminder: Thor releases May 6, 2011, followed by a July 22, 2011 Captain America theatrical release.  The Avengers is due out in 2012.

[Via Deadline]

It’s (finally) official: Peter Jackson will direct ‘The Hobbit’ [Update: Martin Freeman cast as Bilbo]

Movies, News, , , , , ,

Peter Jackson, the man who helmed the Lord of the Rings trilogy movie adaptations will be back to direct the two-part prequel series The Hobbit.  Originally Jackson was going to serve as executive producer with Guillermo del Toro as director.  But when MGM’s financial woes forced production delays del Toro decided to back out of the project leaving the director spot open for some time.  Since the beginning of last summer it had been rumored that Jackson would take control of the reigns again, and today Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, and MGM finally confirmed it.  In a statement Jackson said, “Exploring Tolkien’s Middle-earth goes way beyond a normal film-making experience.  It’s an all-immersive journey into a very special place of imagination, beauty and drama.  We’re looking forward to re-entering this wondrous world with Gandalf and Bilbo – and our friends at New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and MGM”.

The Hobbit will be cut up into two parts (as originally planned by del Toro) and will be shot in 3D.  Principal photography begins in February 2011.  Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, and Hugo Weaving are locked in to reprise their roles as Gandalf, Gollum and Elrond, respectively.  It has not been confirmed whether or not Ian Holm will return to star as Bilbo Baggins.

Update (10/21): Casting news!  Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz) is Bilbo Baggins.  The following actors comprise Bilbo’s Company of Dwarves who set forth to reclaim a treasure from a dangerous dragon: Richard Armitage (MI-5, Captain America: The First Avenger) is Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves; Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili; Graham McTavish (Secretariat) is Dwalin, John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) is Oin; Stephen Hunter (All Saints) is Bombur, Mark Hadlow (King Kong) is Dori, and Peter Hambleton (The Strip) is Gloin.

Peter Jackson on Freeman as Baggins: “Despite the various rumors and speculation surround this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us.  There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin.  He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave — exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit.”

[Via EW; Wiki; Deadline]