Posts with tag starz
Posted Sep 12th 2008 10:03AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Early Looks, Reality-Free
I posted last week about
the new series Crash, premiering on Starz on Oct. 17. It's been a long time coming. I started hearing buzz about a TV series shortly after the film debuted in May, 2005, and the cast looks good (though I know some of you disagree with me).
The lineup of the ensemble drama includes
Dennis Hopper,
D.B. Sweeney,
Ross McCall,
Clare Carey, and
Luis Chavez, among others. I also appreciate the fact that
Paul Haggis and
Don Cheadle, who worked on the film, are producing the TV series. So whatever else happens, I have to think they'll keep the integrity of the film intact.
The
Crash press kit is now online, and it's interesting to watch the trailer and hark back to the movie. Some of it looks the same -- like the shot of a cop feeling up a woman -- and the racial tension is definitely in place.
Continue reading I like Dennis Hopper's character in Crash - VIDEO
Posted Sep 8th 2008 9:24AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Casting, Reality-Free
I've been waiting for
Crash the TV series to materialize ever since I heard about it shortly after the movie premiered in May, 2005. The
Starz/
Lionsgate series will feature 13 episodes with a different cast of characters from the film.
Now I have even more reason to be excited, because
Tom Sizemore has
joined the series in a recurring role. He'll play Detective Adrian Cooper, whose unorthodox methods cause havoc when he investigates a police-involved shooting. Sizemore
joins Dennis Hopper in the series, with
Paul Haggis serving as executive producer.
I've had a major crush on Sizemore since he played Sgt. Vinnie Ventresca on
China Beach during the 1989-1990 season. Sure, he's had some challenging times. According to his
IMDB.com page, in February, 2005, he failed a court-ordered drug test after he was caught trying to use a prosthetic penis to fake the results. And that was the
second time he was caught trying that.
Continue reading Tom Sizemore in for Crash
Posted Jun 5th 2008 9:02PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Dennis Hopper is set to star in the new original series
Crash, produced by Starz and Lionsgate. This is the first drama series for the network. Based on the Academy Award-winning movie,
Crash has begun filming in New Mexico and Los Angeles. Sanford Bookstaver (
Jericho,
Bones,
The O.C.) will direct the premiere episode.
According to the press release, the show "will continue to focus on an ensemble cast of characters" and "will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging at the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream." Hopper will play Ben, a veteran, maverick producer in the music biz who is looking for his last big score. Other stars include Clare Carey, Luis Chavez, Ross McCall, Jocko Sims, Brian Tee, and Arlene Tur.
Crash will come to Starz in October.
Watch your backs, HBO and Showtime! This show looks good. And Paul Haggis is on the team of executive producers. He didn't just give us
Crash. He gave us
thirtysomething and
The Black Donnellys. Don't mess with the Hag.
Posted May 30th 2008 8:22AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, CSI, The Shield, Grey's Anatomy, Entourage, Jericho, Casting, Private Practice, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free
Shortly after the release of 2005's
Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right.
Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam.
The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that
five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle,
Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to
premiere on Starz in 2009.
Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:
Continue reading Crash gears up with cast
Posted Feb 26th 2008 10:38AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, The Shield, Cable/Satellite, Pickups and Renewals, Life
Starz, the cable network, is getting into original production and their first project will be based on the 2005 Best Picture Oscar-winning film
Crash. Glen Mazzara, whose credits include
Life, The Shield, Stand-Off and
Nash Bridges,
has been named executive producer/showrunner for the drama series. Lionsgate TV will co-produce with Starz, and they've greenlighted 13 episodes.
The controversial film, which dealt with the intersecting lives of a myriad of people living in Los Angeles in just 48 hours, centers on the character of Detective Graham Waters. Waters, a police detective, is struggling with his career, his drug addict mother and a criminal brother. The role was played by Don Cheadle (
Picket Fences), who was also one of the film's producers. He is expected to reprise the part in the Starz production and may even direct a few episodes. In addition, director/co-writer/producer Paul Haggis and others from the film are also on board for Starz.
Continue reading Starz first series will be Crash
Posted Sep 4th 2007 2:03PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Casting
Starz Entertainment is getting into the scripted sitcom biz with two new comedy series slated to kick off in January.
The first, Hollywood Residential, focuses on the problems facing a home-makeover show geared toward celebrities. The other new series, Head Case, is about a psychotherapist whose clients are all big Hollywood celebs.
The "celebrity" angle of both shows is not a coincidence: Mike Ruggiero, Starz VP of programming, says it's a way of getting viewers used to seeing scripted shows on the channel by featuring some of the celebrities also seen in the movies that originally made up Starz's programming. I don't quite understand that logic, since HBO seemed to do just fine when it started airing original programs without any big names attached.
Continue reading Comedy news: Starz picks up scripted series, Gilbert joins Big Bang Theory
Posted Dec 18th 2006 10:33AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: FOX, The O.C., Interviews, Celebrities
It's always a nice change of pace to interview someone and not have it feel like you're doing your job during the conversation. For some, that's a tall order and others make it easy. Autumn Reeser made it too easy. I could have talked to her for hours on end glossing on just about any topic and I'm pretty sure she could have matched me in conversation no problem.
Despite the fact that she had been up doing phone interviews and radio spots since early in the morning, she was still just as bubbly and energetic as ever when she called me last Wednesday morning from California. A welcome surprise since I was just starting to adjust to being awake and had barely downed a cup of coffee when Ms. Reeser called me almost 20 minutes ahead of our scheduled appointment. Now maybe it's just me, but that's impressive. You've got to respect someone who shows up to work early and with the way her career is going, you can tell that phoners and radio interviews aren't the only thing that she's putting effort into. With her recent bump to series regular on FOX's The OC, things are looking mighty bright for Reeser. Also bright? Our conversation, which as I said, was far too easy to be called work.
Jonathan Toomey: Hello?
Autumn Reeser: Hey, Jonathan. It's Autumn Reeser. I'm totally calling you early... I hope you don't mind.
JT: Hey that's fine. I've been sitting at my desk for about half an hour, just having some coffee.
Continue reading Autumn Reeser: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Nov 30th 2006 4:40PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Video, Web, Watercooler Talk
I think that at this point the bit torrent technology has become so ubiquitous that some people might not even know that there is an actual
Bit Torrent Inc. But there is, and they have
announced that they are partnering with a bunch of TV and movie companies to distribute content through their website using torrent technology. Among those in the announcement are 20th Century Fox, G4, Paramount Pictures, Kadokowa Pictures USA, Lionsgate, MTV Networks, Starz Media, and Palm Pictures. The partnership agreements have also helped them to secure another round of financing in the
15 to 25 million dollar ballpark.
That's the happy fluffy bunny part of the announcement. What none of the stories floating around get into is how this is all going to shake down for the customers. This is certainly a case where the devil will be in the details, and knowing only what we know now, I'm not too excited about the service's prospects.
Continue reading BitTorrent makes a deal for TV and movie downloads
Posted Oct 13th 2006 4:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Premium Cable, Horror, Documentary
Back in July
I mentioned Starz would be airing the documentary
Going to Pieces: The Rise and the Fall of the Slasher Film on October 13th. Well, that just happens to be today, so horror fans like myself should check it out. Masters of the genre such as Wes Craven, Sean S. Cunningham and John Carpenter will talk about their favorite horror films and discuss the genre that made them famous. Craven did an interview with
TV Guide where he talks about the scariest films he's ever seen (
The Exorcist and
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and about his remake of
Last House on the Left. Unfortunately, I don't have Starz, so if you do watch this documentary, think kindly of me while you do, for I shall be sad. You'll have to imagine a violin playing while you read that last sentence. The documentary airs tonight at 9 pm.
Posted Aug 4th 2006 2:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Premium Cable, OpEd
When we received a screener of the Starz Comedy channel's new show
Stand Up or Shut Up (Fridays at 7:50 PM ET), I thought, "Oh, great, another stand-up competition." I figured the show would be
Last Comic Standing with dirty words. But this is a little bit different; the show is a series of ten-minute vignettes that follow around six aspiring stand-up comedians as they navigate the rough waters of the business while honing their craft at an American Comedy Institute workshop.
The screener I saw contained the fifth episode, which revolves around how comedians handle political humor. Host Michael Somerville -- a well-known stand-up around the New York scene -- gets insights from each comic on how dicey inserting political humor into their routines can get. They have to consider things like how to not go for the easy joke -- i.e. Bush's malapropisms -- and what the audience reception is going to be. Yes, it's a lot of talk about comedy theory, but for anyone who's interested in the nuts and bolts of the genre, it's interesting to watch. And the five comedians profiled, while a bit on the unpolished side, seem to be funnier than most of the people I saw on
LCS this year. So, if you get the Starz Comedy channel, check it out.
Posted Jul 14th 2006 1:03PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Cable, Horror
On Friday, October 13th, horror legend Wes Craven and several others will discuss slasher films for a documentary on Starz titled Going to Pieces: The Rise and the Fall of the Slasher Film. The documentary is based on Adam Rockoff's book, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978 to 1986. Wes Craven, the man behind such modern horror classics as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Last House on the Left, and The Hills Have Eyes has been doing a lot of press lately for the special. As a fan of horror movies, specifically of this era, I always love to hear his philosophical take on what many consider to be a genre not worthy of serious consideration. Craven disagrees, claiming such movies can reflect what's happening in society at the time. Other directors such as Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th) and John Carpenter (Halloween) will also appear, along with actors such as Johnny Depp and Jamie Lee Curtis who got their first big breaks in horror films.
Posted May 24th 2006 11:37AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Premium Cable, Programming
Starz is getting in on the reality show phenomenon (arguably, a little late). Starting June 19, it will air ten-minute episodes of a new reality show where the winner gets a role in a new movie starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, and Jessica Biel. The series follows more than 200 actors from auditions to the winner's appearance on set of the movie,
Next. I'm not sure if the series is meant to deter people from becoming actors or inspire them-- or maybe it's simply a behind-the-scenes look at landing a role in a movie. The series is called
Looking for Stars.
Posted Jan 3rd 2006 12:40PM by Ryan j Budke
Filed under: Premium Cable, Programming, Video, Web
Now,
knowing me - and just reading that title - you'd think this article was something perverted, but believe it or not,
it's a little on the technical side. The Starz premium cable channel has just launched a new service named
Vongo, hoping to be the "iTunes for movies." You can download and install
the program for free and have access to a number of movies, TV shows, and concerts on up to three portable media
devices. There is a $9.99 subscription fee, which allows you to download as many of their offerings as possible. On top
of that, there's also a $3.99 charge for "first run" movies that have just been released. This announcement
comes just in time for the
Consumer Electronic Show (CES), starting this week in
Las Vegas, and is, I'm sure, timed to give those new devices a little extra "presence" there.
Personally, I love my Windows Portable Media Player and Windows Media Center Edition PC, so I can't wait to play with
this new service more. I just downloaded it a couple of minutes ago, and will get back to you in a week or so and let
you know what I think of it. In the meantime, let me know what you think.
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