Tim Minear gets a new deal
May 30, 2008
As Roger Daltry once sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Tim Minear has signed a new seven figure deal that will keep him at 20th Century Fox TV for another two years. His job will continue to involve working on existing shows while developing new drama projects. He’s now been at 20th for over a decade, counting among his credits The X-Files, Strange World, Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, The Inside, and Drive. Currently he is working as a consulting producer on Joss Whedon’s upcoming Dollhouse. Read more
What’s On Tonight: Lost, Last Comic Standing, NBA Playoffs
May 30, 2008
* At 8, FOX has a new, two hour So You Think You Can Dance.
* TCM has A Night To Remember at 8.
* At 8:30, NBC has a new Last Comic Standing.
* At 9, ABC has the two hour season finale of Lost.
* TNT has the Spurs/Lakers NBA Playoff Game at 9.
* At 10, Spike has a new TNA Impact!
* HGTV has a new House Hunters at 10.
* Bravo has the season finale of Step It Up & Dance at 10.
* At 10:30, Comedy Central has a new Reno 911.
Check your local Television listings for more.
Reality show casting calls
May 30, 2008
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Casting
A day hasn’t gone by where we haven’t received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn’t my BFF, so we really can’t help all that much.
The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they’ve given us permission to make mention of them here. We’ll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.
The Nuttiest Fans Award nominees
May 30, 2008
Filed under: Awards, Reality-Free, TV Squad Awards
If we’ve learned anything, it’s that there’s a big difference between being a casual viewer and a truly passionate fan. Whether that means spreading the word, doing charity work in the name of the show or just plain being crazy, fans of Television programs have found various ways to show their love. After some intense responses in the call for considerations post and deep deliberation within the TV Squad team, we have boiled down the list of shows with the most dedicated fanbases. Here, we have five of the finest contenders, each of them deserving recognition for their fans’ contributions.
Yes, it’s obvious that there will be fans angry at the results, regardless of who wins. American Idol fans, form an orderly queue and meet me in the parking lot. But before we’ve an epic throwdown, read after the jump and vote for the Readers’ Choice.
Borrowed ‘Sex’ Scenes
May 30, 2008
Since Sex and the City has screened around the world and critics have weighed in, it’s time for a tiny nitpicking — and nobody seems more up to the task than that unflagging beacon of urban gossip, Page Six. This day, the New York Post column reports that New Line Cinema and Radio City Music Hall are facing off in a blame-fest following the mistake that lead to 1,000 ticket holders getting turned away at the New York City premiere. At the close of the piece, however, the article gets into some of the details of the plot: “Those who’ve seen Sex and the City are buzzing that its story owes much to widely reported episodes involving Jonathan Tisch and Ellen Barkin,” it reads, and that’s just one of the alleged rip-offs. There’s also a supposed reference to Tisch’s canceled engagement to Jill Swid, and a “scene where Carrie freaks out about having a 347 area code seems just like one in an old Seinfeld episode.”
Not having seen the motion picture, I have the ability to only judge from afar, but this sounds like two very separate complaints. That Sex and the City would use real life incidents to inspire its metropolitan plot shouldn’t bother anyone (except the real life inspirations, of course). But borrowing from Seinfeld? Now that’s a low blow.
Is It Time to Give JCVD Some Respect?
May 30, 2008
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me. R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Take care, JCVD!
Okay, so I changed part of Aretha Franklin’s improvised chorus, but it fits! Dear Jean-Claude Van Damme spoke to MTV while in Cannes, and he said: “I’m a brand name. I’m not just a guy. I think I’m ready to be decent. I’m hungry to make movies, but movies with deeper characters. I want respect. I want to believe in myself.” (Tony Robbins might be getting some big-muscle competition soon, at this rate!)
It seems that this desire comes from his realization, after his 37th movie, that “Acting is not acting if you act. You’ve to tell the truth…” I would argue that you have to act to “tell the truth,” but at least the guy is trying to grow. So now he is got JCVD on the way (which premiered at Cannes), and he hopes this is the begin of superior choices for his career.
Dave Gibbons On ‘Watchmen’ and Alan Moore
May 30, 2008
Let us close out the week with a third Watchmen story, shall we? Dave Gibbons, the artist behind the iconic book, gave an excellent interview to Den of Geek. Of course, the first questions directed at him centered on the upcoming movie — and while he’s not officially involved, Gibbons visited the set and blogged about it in December. He has been unfailingly supportive of the film and all involved; the guy even created the first promo poster handed out at 2007’s ComicCon.
He was a tiny more guarded during this interview, but still admired what he’d seen of the filming: “The most important thing is that the Watchmen motion picture be a good motion picture. From what I’ve seen of it, I think it is going to be a good movie, and I think it’s going to be as faithful to the original graphic novel as is possible, given the constraints of a motion picture and the nature of a graphic novel. I think that as long as it’s true to the spirit of the comic book, and as long as - in broad strokes - it follows the plot and the characterisations … I don’t think you can ask for each individual detail to be replicated. There are hardcore fans out there who’ll be satisfied with nothing less than a word-for-word, line-for-line, scene-for-scene recreation of the comic book. I didn’t believe that was ever going to happen. Certainly, from what I’ve seen of the movie, it looks like it’ll be a good motion picture and very faithful to the comic book. If it isn’t, it won’t be for want of trying. Everybody’s using the graphic novel as their bible, and really doing their ideal to pay tribute to it, I think. “
via[cinematical]
Fanboy Bites: ‘Rocky 7′, ‘Robocop 3-D’ and ‘Star Trek’
May 28, 2008
Filed under: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, RumorMonger, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Remakes and Sequels
I heard Wednesday is the new Tuesday …
We never thought it would happen, but Hollywood has finally invented a time machine and is using it to resurrect a number of old franchises. From indieWIRE comes news that MGM’s Mary Parent and Harry Sloan are interested in finding out whether audiences want Sly Stallone to return for another Rocky installment. The article adds, “Parent asked for a show of hands from the audience who might be in to that. Though there were a few very enthusiastic responses, many kept quiet.” Hmm, maybe they were just pretending not to listen.
The Adam Finley Award nominees
May 28, 2008
Being the award for Excellence in Animation, this was easily the widest ranging category, and you all really came through in your nomination recommendations (sorry The Venture Brothers doesn’t qualify). With animation owning several channels all to itself and still appearing everywhere else, you’ve got kid’s shows, very much adult only series (did I mention The Venture Brothers can’t get nominated?), gag cartoons, sci-fi cartoons and even gothic horror.
With your help from my Adam Finley Award call for nominations post last week where you tried to trick me into nominating The Venture Brothers, even though I can’t, we’ve managed to narrow down the field of contenders to what we feel were the five strongest entries into the wide world of TV animation in the past season. Don’t forget to check out the Reader’s Choice at the bottom where you can vote for which of the five you think are deserving to win. Next week, we’ll be revealing both your winner and ours. Via [tvsquard]
Rose McGowan is a Woman in Chains for Robert Rodriguez
May 28, 2008
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Though they’re apparently still very busy in the early planning stages on that Barbarella remake, that’s not stopping the dynamo team of Robert Rodrizguez and Rose McGowan from moving ahead on another project. This one, however, is for the small screen. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed a story AICN ran last week about how Rodriguez is shopping a spec script written by Josh Miller and Mark Fortin called Women in Chains to a number of different networks. Essentially, it’s a female prison drama — or as AICN calls it: “… a show with Sadistic Guards, Cafeteria Hosedowns, Mud Wrestling, Violent Vendettas - a women in prison exploitation show called WOMEN IN CHAINS!”
The idea is for Rodrizguez to direct and McGowan to star as “one of five chained women at the center of the show …” Right on! It’s like Desperate Housewives for women who hate Desperate Housewives! Unfortunately, as dirty and nutty as this one sounds, it doesn’t look like HBO will be picking it up; THR notes they’ve already snagged Bad Girls, an American version of the British female prison drama. Knowing Rodriguez and McGowan, though, one hopes this lands at a network that likes to take risks. Via[Cinematical]
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