MUMBAI: This month charismatic adventure seeker and host of The Jeff Corwin Experience on Animal Planet is turning his attention to India.
Corwin faces off against venomous cobras and stalks big cats on the subcontinent in an episode that will air on 30 May at 10 pm.
In the episode, Corwin will provide information to the viewers on each species he encounters. The episode also shows him bargaining with shopkeepers, sharing tea with herdsmen and taking a death defying ride.
MUMBAI: Sony’s English movie channel Pix has announced that it will air its first show Inside The Actors Studio next month.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on this initiative Pix programming head Gitanjali Murari says that the show is in line with the channel’s tagline of We Tell Stories.
“This is an interview based show hosted by James Lipton. He has sat down with some of the world’s most accomplished actors and directors for interviews. What is unqiue about the show is that it is taped in front of students at The Actors Studio Drama School. In addition to his duties as host, Lipton is also the dean of the school.
“The students are learning to become actors and filmmakers. So, each show will see the actor or director talk about how they approach their roles and why they chose to enter the world of filmmaking. Lipton’s studious research and enlightened curiosity inspires his guests to open up and confess their deepest thoughts about the art of acting. Viewers will get a personal insight into each guest which might otherwise not be possible.”
Lipton has been hosting the show for eight years now. His guests have included Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Hugh Grant, director Spike Lee and Julia Roberts.
MUMBAI: Fox Reality has entered into a deal with US/UK co-production with Zig Zag Productions. The new Fox Reality original, My Bare Lady is a series of three, one-hour shows slated to air on the US cable and satellite network in the latter half of 2006.
The series will follow top US female porn stars who want to see if they can give leading British thespians a run for their money.
Many adult film stars think they can act, but can they make it in the refined and stuffy world of an English acting school? My Bare Lady is a reality series in which viewers find out if four female US adult stars can make it as legitimate actors in a matter of weeks, informs an official release.
After a casting call in Los Angeles, an established British theatre director will select his performers. He will bring them to London and put them through an intensive three week transformation. It shows what happens when you take a group of American porn stars and thrust them on stage in London’s famous theatre-land to perform a classic play.
Fox Reality CEO & general manager David Lyle said, “We look forward to working with this great British production company and creating an ambitious docu-soap. And it is a wonderful concept to have a production that shoots on both sides of the Atlantic, highlighting a humorous and all-too-real culture clash.”
“Zig Zag is very excited about this new and irreverent series for Fox Reality,” said Zig Zag managing director Danny Fenton. “We are really pleased to be making one of the first original commissions for the channel and appreciate their boldness and distinct new flavor. It typifies the freshness of Fox Reality to seize on an idea likeMy Bare Lady.”
MUMBAI: Discovery Communications has acquired the U.K.-based Antenna Audio as part of its efforts to build the newly formed Discovery Travel Media group. Antenna Audio is a specialist in audio tours and multimedia interpretation for museums, historical sites and cultural attractions around the globe.
Discovery Communications the president and CEO Judith A. McHale said, “The acquisition of Antenna Audio immediately gives Discovery a major presence in the growing audio and multimedia market around the world. The company’s global assets nicely complement Discovery’s television and digital services as we continue to aggressively pursue business opportunities that extend our trusted brands, increase revenue, and allow Discovery to package top quality content to consumers wherever they are and however they want it.”
Antenna Audio provides audio and multimedia tours in more than 20 countries and offers translations in multiple languages at more than 350 museums and cultural sites worldwide. Discovery plans to draw on Antenna’s resources to expand into the market for downloadable travel guides, as well as destination, city and walking tours. Antenna Audio sold more than 20 million audio and multimedia tours last year.
“Culture travelers are a coveted segment of the travelling public, and the power and reach of Discovery’s assets will allow us to strengthen and expand Antenna Audio’s position even further in the growing consumer travel market,” said head of Discovery Travel Media and the EVP and GM of Travel Channel Patrick Younge.
Discovery Travel Media includes the Travel Channel, available in more than 84 million U.S. homes, online assets including www.travelchannel.com and a broadband offering, Travel Channel Beyond (www.travelchannelbeyond.com) as well as travel related content for VOD and mobile platforms.
MUMBAI: One of the most successful and respected executives working in television today, Peter Roth, has signed a long-term deal extending his tenure as Warner Bros. Television president, while expanding his duties to include oversight of the newly created Warner Horizon Television.
The newly created television arm is designed to create lower-budget scripted and reality primetime series for network and cable. These announcements were made today by Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) group president Bruce Rosenblum.
“Peter’s track record at Warner Bros. Television really speaks for itself, not just in the quantity of successful shows he’s launched, but more importantly, in the quality of the series created under his leadership,” said Rosenblum. “To say that we’re absolutely thrilled that Peter will be with us for many, many more years would be a gross understatement. He is truly the best in class. His creative instincts and execution, as well as his relationships with people both in front of and behind the cameras, from the writers’ rooms to the network boardrooms, are unmatched.
“As the television business continues to change and business models evolve, Warner Horizon Television will enable us to take more creative risks,” continued Rosenblum. “We’re incredibly excited about the prospect of this new television arm at the Studio and know that it couldn’t be in better hands than Peter’s.”
Roth joined Warner Bros. Television as its president in March 1999 and has maintained the company’s position as the industry’s preeminent producer of award winning primetime television series. In addition to being the most prolific television studio in Hollywood the last three years, WBTV has been the leading supplier of primetime series 16 of the last 19 television seasons. For the 2005-2006 season, WBTV placed 33 series on the primetime schedule, including a record 17 returning series, 11 new series and five midseason series.
During his tenure, Roth has been responsible for such series as the multiple Emmy Award winning The West Wing, Two and a Half Men, Without a Trace, The O.C., Cold Case, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, George Lopez, Supernatural, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Nip/Tuck and The Closer, as well as the successful continuation of such series as Friends and ER.
Prior toWBTV, Roth served as Fox Broadcasting Company president. There, he was responsible for the development and programming of the Emmy Award-winning Ally McBeal, That ’70s Show, Family Guy and King of the Hill. He also held posts as president of 20th Century Fox Television, Twentieth Network Television (currently 20th Century Fox Television), and of Production at Twentieth Network Television, where he oversaw such hits as the multiple Emmy Award winning Picket Fences, The X-Files, The Practice, Chicago Hope and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Before working at Twentieth, Roth was president of Stephen J. Cannell Productions, where he was involved with the creation and sale of such critically acclaimed series as 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy and The Commish.
Roth began his television career at the ABC Television Network in children’s programming where he served as both a manager and later a director before moving into current programming where held both director and vice president posts, states an official release.
MUMBAI: I Love Summer! That is the tagline for English movie channel HBO’s summer programming initiative in May and June. The channel will also be running a contest.
The offerings include non-stop thrilling blockbusters, Hollywood hotties, Kung Fu fighting, HBO Whazz up and Sex and the City’ Finale Season Premiere.
The channel gives viewers the chance to be a part of I Love Summer. Viewers just have to reply to the question “Why you love summer on HBO”?. Prizes up for grabs include an all expense paid family trip to Club Mahindra resorts, Nano iPods, HBO premiums and lots more.
The summer kicks off with the sci-fi horror film Resident Evil: Apocalypse on 26 May at 9 pm. All of Raccoon City is contaminated with virus and Alice (Milla Jovovich) is stuck right in the middle. Now, she and a group of survivors must fight to escape the nightmare that has plagued Raccoon City.
The finale of Sex And The City premieres on HBO starting May with more glitz and glamour, humour and trend setting fashion. The HBO Original Movie of the month is Lackawanna Blues, which is fuelled by rhythm, blues and a stellar cast. Based on a true story of the relationship between Ruben Santiago Jr. and his guardian Rachel “Nanny” Crosby, set in 1950’s Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, Lackawanna Blues will air on 2 May, at 9 pm.
As far as HBO Saturday Nights are concerned on 6 May Catwoman will air. Halle Berry’s feline instincts take over as she dons the black leather cat suit and cracks the whip for her role as the glamorous anti-heroine. In Good Company airs on 13 May, a middle-aged ad executive is faced with a new boss who is nearly half his age and who also happens to be dating his 18-year old daughter.
On 20 May Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed takes centrestage. Old villains come back to haunt the team in their hometown, Coolsville making them lose their cool and their reputations. On 27 May the channel airs A Cinderella Story.
HBO has created a new band HBO Whazz Up. Films in this band will air before the 9 pm movie. Films like Connie And Carla, American Ninja, What Dreams May Come, The School Of Rock will air in this band.
MUMBAI: Conservative radio presenter Tony Snow is to be named as US President George W Bush’s new press secretary. Snow is expected to be named on 26 April. He replaces Scott McClellan, who resigned last week.
The 50-year old Snow presently hosts two shows on the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News network, Tony Snow Show on Fox News Radio and Weekend Live with Tony Snow on the Fox News Channel. He has also served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush as White House speechwriting director and later as a deputy assistant to the president for media affairs.
According to the US media reports, Snow however has declined to say whether he had been offered the job. The news was leaked by Republicans close to the White House, who said the press secretary’s job had been offered to Snow and that he had accepted.
MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.
Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC’s Six O’Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.
BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”
“As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”
Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four’s international news programme and began presenting BBC’s Six O’clock News in January 2003.
He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.
Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.
The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.
MUMBAI: HBO Sports introduces an exclusive Spanish-language boxing series that will launch on HBO Latino on 27 April. Five additional boxing events will be presented in 2006.
The Generación Boxeo series, an innovative and dedicated original program created for HBO Latino, will feature the best young Latino fighters, behind-the-scenes interviews and round-by-round Spanish-language commentary by Raul Marquez and Mario Solis.
“The Generación Boxeo series captures the action, spirit and fury of the ring for boxing enthusiasts,” said director Brand Development at HBO Adrion Porter, “This is another great opportunity for us to continue the event-level type of sports programming that “Oscar De La Hoya Presenta Boxeo De Oro” did on HBO Latino previously.”
The 27 April event will feature the delayed broadcast of three fights: Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., son of legendary Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chavez, against undefeated challenger Tyler Ziolkowski in a junior welterweight bout; unbeaten Mexican-American Juan Diaz defends his lightweight title against Jose Miguel Cotto, brother of Puerto Rican boxing sensation Miguel Cotto; and Mexican Jorge Arce, considered one of the best young fighters of the moment, takes on veteran and two-time champion Rosendo Alvarez of Nicaragua in a flyweight title fight.
Available in 45 per cent of HBO’s cable households, HBO Latino is a dedicated Spanish-language channel designed to reflect the diversity of Latino culture in the country. HBO Latino features U.S. premieres of Spanish-language movies and documentaries; music videos; and original short-form programming, such as “Habla,” that spotlights entertainment and cultural issues; plus a mix of popular Hollywood films and the best of HBO’s originals.
Along with Generación Boxeo, boxing coverage on HBO Latino includes HBO’s flagship World Championship Boxing series, with live ringside Spanish-language commentary, and the critically acclaimed HBO Boxing After Dark, states an official release.
MUMBAI: ABC is teaming with many networks around the world to launch a global interactive web-based game inspired by the hit TV series Lost. ABC announced the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost’s signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.
The Lost Experience will feature a parallel story line to the show. Clues will be provided either during the broadcast of the episode itself, or during a commercial break. Not all clues will be given in the U.S, according to media reports.
ABC is teaming up with 19 other media outlets to bring the The Lost Experience to continents the world over. Each part of the world will be receiving different clues.The network also hopes that the game will appeal to both fans and non-fans of the TV show.
Rollout is expected to begin 2 May in the U.K., 3 May in the U.S. and 6 May in Australia. There is no winning prize to the game, but it is expected to provide some extra information to fans of the series. The Lost Experience will require players to trade e-mail messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and websites to gather all the necessary clues.
“It’s like a giant, worldwide mysterious jigsaw puzzle that will come to life for all the world to solve,” ABC Entertainment senior VP of marketing Mike Benson is quoted as saying. “The game reaches back into Lost history and looks forward to future episodes. We wanted to make it so that if you watched Lost from the beginning or if you’ve never watched the show before you can get into this.”
The storyline of the game will be different from the one seen in the show but users will have to watch the show to collect clues and other information for the game. The game will also feature new characters and background on the Hanso Foundation, the mysterious group behind the Dharma Initiative.
ABC also announced earlier this month that it is making new episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias and Commander in Chief, available in May for free online viewing, although fans will have to sit through ads that they can avoid if they download commercial-free shows for $1.99 per episode from Apple’s iTunes Music Store.
Lost, which has averaged 15.4 million viewers this season and is one of iTune’s most popular TV downloads to date, will leave viewers staring into the dark hatch of summer hiatus with a two-hour season finale on 24 May.