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by Cassie-lee Grimaldi Universal Pictures in a film studio jointly owned by GE at 49% and Comcast at 51%. (1)The President is Eddie Egan, Vice Chairman and C.O.O. is Rick Finkelstein, Chairman is Adam Engelson, Senior Vice President of Corporate … Continue reading
by Tara McHugh
Paramount Pictures 100th Anniversary Logo. © 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION [1]
Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures [2]
Chief Operating Officer, Paramount Pictures [3]
President, Paramount Film Group [4]
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Paramount Pictures Corporation [5]
President, Paramount Studio Group [6]
President, Worldwide Television Distribution [7]
President, Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Paramount Pictures [8]
President, Paramount Worldwide Home Entertainment [9]
The iconic logo was originally created in 1916, displaying a monochromatic symbol of a single snow-topped peak from the Wasatch mountain range.
When Viacom International purchased Paramount in 1994, the byline displaying the corporation’s signature font was added.
The most recently updated logo, released December 14th 2011, was redesigned by Devastudios, Inc. to include the “100 Years” emblem. In 2013, this emblem will be removed, but the design will continue to be used [10, 11].
In honor of the 100th Anniversary, Paramount developed an app, called Paramount100, that offers the consumer an innovative way to access their favorite Paramount productions via a digital timeline composed of exclusive photos, unforgettable film clips, Academy Award® nominations and wins, and timeless music compositions.
It takes the user through the studio’s vast and compelling history, from the release of the first full-length drama Queen Elizabeth in 1912 to the 2011 release Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, including an overview of Paramount’s history.
The app also takes the user on a virtual tour of the Studio and offers hours of interactive entertainment with uniquely developed Scene It? game.
On January 7th 2012, iPad Insight declared Paramount100 as the Best Free iPad App of the Week. The review praised the inclusion of old movie posters and high-quality behind-the-scenes photos [12]. The 1.1 version of the app is free to download on iTunes and may be accessed on the iPad (Updated as of January 11, 2012. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.) [13].
On January 24th 2012, Academy Award® nominations were announced. Paramount nominations included: Hugo (Best Picture, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay)), Kung Fu Panda 2 (Animated Feature Film), Puss In Boots (Animated Feature Film), Rango (Animated Feature Film), The Adventures of Tintin (Music (Original Score)), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects) [14].
Hugo Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures
At the 84th Academy Awards® on February 26th, 2012, Paramount took home six out of the seventeen awards. Five of the six went to Hugo for Cinematography (Robert Richardson), Art Direction (Dante Ferretti & Francesca Lo Schiavo), Sound Mixing (Tom Fleischman & John Midgley), Sound Editing (Philip Stockton & Eugene Gearty), and Visual Effects (Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman & Alex Henning). Rango won for Best Animated Film (Gore Verbinski) [15].
Titanic 3D Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures
Spring 2012 was a season full of re-releases and special screenings for previous Paramount productions, the most pervasive being the re-release of Titanic in 3D. The re-release of the film on April 4th 2012 commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail (coincidentally the same year as Paramount Picture’s 100th anniversary). The original film took home Best Picture, Best Director (James Cameron), and nine more awards at the 70th Academy Awards®.
Digital stereoscopic effects enterprise Stereo D coordinated the 3D conversion, amplified visual effects, and delivered full 3D editorial services for the film. Stereo D formally worked with Cameron on his 2009 Blockbuster hit Avatar [16].
According to Rolling Stone movie critic Peter Travers:
“Titanic 3D is revelatory, not just for scale it brings to the maritime disaster of an unsinkable ship hitting an iceberg and going down, but for the hushed closeness it brings to the interplay between the characters. The 3D intensifies Titanic. You are there. Caught up like never before in an intimate epic that earns its place in the movie time capsule.” [17]
Travers also reviewed the original film back in 1997 [18]. With a production budget of $18 million, the film just missed profit within the first weekend with a total weekend gross of $17,285,453. As per April 29th 2012, the film gross totaled $56,280,875 [19].
On January 26th 2012, Paramount announed the limited week-long re-release of Rango at the ArcLight Hollywood [20]. Presumably, the re-release of this film was due to its Academy Award® nomination, or perhaps it was because the domestic total gross of the film ($123,477,607) did not exceed the budget ($135 million) [21].
On February 28th 2012, it was announced that a restored and re-mastered version of The Godfather will be shown on a limited amount of screens, exclusively Cinemark XD, starting on March 1, 2012. The Coppola Restoration of The Godfather 40th Anniversary Edition was in the works since 2006 when Paramount Pictures and Francis Ford Coppola began to collaborate. Archivist Robert Harris and original cinematographer Gordon Willis also joined the project and the team worked together revising the original prints, re-release prints, and negatives, shot by shot and frame by frame to create the most visually astounding version of the film to date [22].
A Thousand Words Official Movie Poster © DW Studios LLC. All Rights Reserved
Paramount productions currently in theaters are Titanic 3D (tickets) A Thousand Words (tickets), and Jeff, Who Lives at Home (tickets). As mentioned previously, Titanic 3D is a re-release of the 1997 Academy Award® winning film. A Thousand Words stars Eddie Murphy as a literary agent who becomes enchanted by a magical Bodhi tree and his speech becomes limited to 1000 words [23]. Jeff, Who Lives at Home stars Jason Segel as a middle-aged man living in his mother’s basement who, upon a trip to the hardware store, finds the meaning of life while investigating his potentially adulterous wife with his brother, played by Ed Helms [24].
The Dictator Official Movie Poster © 2012 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
The most anticipated Paramount release is The Dictator. As you can see from clicking the link, the movie website was designed specifically to promote the film and legitimize the faux country dictated by Sasha Baron Cohen’s character in the film. There is a ticker at the top of the site displaying false headlines and links such as “Tourism” and “Weather Forecast”. There was also a game created by iTunes for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad called Wadiyan Games. Other upcoming films: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Katy Perry Part of Me 3D, Rise of the Guardians.
All sources cited within links.
This gallery contains 8 photos.
by Malinda Masing (30) ABOUT Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, better known as simple Lionsgate, is a $2 billion international entertainment company with presence in both motion pictures and television productions. It is involved in the development and production of feature … Continue reading
by Elice Miller begin here
This gallery contains 22 photos.
by Sarah Gleason Columbia TriStar Pictures Columbia TriStar Logo[1] Brief History Columbia TriStar Pictures, also called Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group, is a U.S. film production and distribution company located in Culver City, California. The company distributes about 22 … Continue reading
by Kelly Criscione begin here
CBS FILMS
CBS Films is a relatively new production company. It was founded in 2007 and oversees the development, financial components, production, and promotion of theatrical motion pictures and films.
The studio headquarters location is 1800 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Telephone: 310-575-7700
Connect with CBS Films:
CBS FILMS EXECUTIVE LEADERS AND OFFICERS
Co-President Wolfgang Hammer studied at University of Vienna Law School and received a master’s degree from Stanford University. Before working at CBS Films he worked for Media Rights Capital and Lionsgate. Hammer manages the financial and legal aspects of CBS Films.
Co-President Terry Press manages the creative process of the films produced by CBS. She also supervises the distribution and marketing of the films. She also does consulting for many films that are not produced by CBS Films.
Steven Friedlander serves at the Executive Vice President of Theatrical Distribution. Friedlander began his career at 20th Century Fox and has also worked for Fine Line Features and Warner Independent Pictures.
The Chief Financial Officer of CBS Films is Reid Sullivan, a Certified Public Accountant with a degree in Business Administration. Sullivan has managed financial operations at Arthur Andersen & Co., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment, and First Look Studios.
Rik Toulon is CBS Films’ Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Toulon handles business in connection with the company’s alliances and outside associations. He has a degree from the University of Southern California and a degree from University of California, Los Angeles.
The Executive Vice President of Production, Maria Faillace, manages the production of the films that CBS Films produces. She recently served as the Senior Vice President of Production at CBS Films.
CBS FILMS THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
The studio’s goal is to release four to six movies every year. They have been involved in the production and/or distribution of seven movies thus far.
CBS Films was involved in the production of Extraordinary Measures (2010), The Back-Up Plan (2010), Faster (2010), and Beastly (2011). CBS Films was a distributor for The Mechanic (2011), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), and The Woman in Black (2012).
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CBS Films produced Extraordinary Measures. Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford was released on January 22, 2010. The estimated budget was $31,000,000 and the reported gross was $11,854,694 (USA).
CBS Films produced The Back-Up Plan. The Back-Up Plan, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O’ Loughlin, was released on April 23, 2010. The estimated budget was $35,000,000 and the reported gross was $37,481,242 (USA).
CBS Films produced Faster. Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton, was released on November 24, 2010. The estimated budget was $24,000,000 and the reported gross was $23,240,020 (USA).
CBS Films was a distributor of The Mechanic. The Mechanic, starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, was released on January 28, 2011. The estimated budget was $40,000,000 and the reported gross was $29,121,498 (USA).
CBS Films produced Beastly. Beastly, starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens, was released on March 2, 2011. The estimated budget was $17,000,000 and the reported gross was $27,854,896 (USA).
CBS Films was a distributor of The Woman in Black. The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Janet McTeer, was released on February 3, 2012. The estimated budget was $17,000,000 and the reported gross was 54,279,711 (USA). This CBS Film has been the most successful in the box office.
CBS Films was a distributor of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, was released on March 11, 2012. The reported gross was $7,077,214 (USA).
CBS FILMS UPDATES,NEWS, AND CURRENT EVENTS
CBS Film casted for their comedy Get A Job in March. They are in the pre-production stages. On March 7, 2012, they signed Bryan Cranston, Anna Kendrick, and Miles Teller to a cast already consisting of Nick Braun, Alison Brie, Brandon T. Jackson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jay Pharoah.
Director Dylan Kidd expressed his happiness about the new cast in the press release:
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“We are making an emotionally honest comedy about the challenges that every generation faces in our rapidly changing world. We have assembled an extraordinary cast to make that happen.”
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On March 21, 2012, CBS Films signed actress Marcia Gay Harden to co-star in their upcoming comedy Get A Job. Harden is an Oscar and Tony Award-winner and was featured in Into the Wild and Mystic River.
On March 22, 2012 CBS Films received motion/feature picture rights to the novel The Man Who Forgot His Wife by John O’Farrell. The novel tells the story of a man who develops amnesia and then realizes that he was is in the midst of separating his family by divorcing his wife. He can’t remember why and he attempts to solve the issues, fall in love again, and regain his memory.
CBS Films has made many executive promotions in the last month. They have named new Co-Presidents, and a new Executive Vice President of Production.
On April 23, 2012 CBS Corporation named Wolfgang Hammer and Terry Press Co-Presidents of CBS Films. They both possess the strong qualities needed to lead the company, but their duties will be slightly different even though they will work together in harmony. Hammer will handle the company’s financial state while Press is in charge of all creative processes of the company.
The President and CEO of CBS Corporation, Leslie Mooves, stated:
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“In Terry and Wolfgang, we are fortunate to have two very skilled executives, each with terrific knowledge of the business and strong resumes of innovation.”
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Read more about the promotions by clicking HERE.
On April 25, 2012 Maria Faillace was promoted from Senior Vice President, Production to Executive Vice President, Production.
This year, CBS Films is planning to release four films. 7500 (date TBA), The Words (September 21, 2012), Seven Psychopaths (November 2, 2012), and are in the midst of planning Last Vegas (date TBA). The Words is a romantic drama, Seven Psychopaths is an action comedy and Last Vegas is a comedy.
CBS Films has many motion pictures under the process to be released. Look for them in theaters!
Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244659/ – Extraordinary Measures
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212436/ – The Back-Up Plan
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1433108/ – Faster
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472399/ -The Mechanic
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152398/ – Beastly
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/ – The Woman in Black
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441952/ – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
http://www.cbsfilms.com/about_us/– CBS Overview
– CBS Overview Details
by Rosemary Angelo
Image from Screenrant.com
Overview
20th Century Fox has been making and distributing movies for the past 75 years. They are known for iconic films such as Avatar, Titanic, and the X-Men films. The company is a part of Twentieth Century Fox International which is under Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. (1)
This Season so Far
So far this year 20th Century Fox has released four motion pictures. In January they released Red Tails –in collaboration with Lucasfilm- which has earned a total of $49,621,987. In February they released the Valentines Day flick This Means War, which has since grossed $52,463,012, and Chronicle in which made $63,577,998 as well as a re-release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D which earned $43,430,964. On April 4th, 20th Century Fox re-released Titanic 3-D, and it has so far grossed $56,280,875. The company also released their Three Stooges remake mid-April, and they have made $31,740,544 to date. (2) Overall the company has earned $268 million, the most out of all the ‘Big Six’ companies.
Late in January, before the theatrical release of This Means War, Fox appealed to The Classification and Rating Appeals Board, petitioning to have the R rating lowered to a PG-13 in hopes of being able to attract a larger audience. However, the request was denied due to sexual content in the film. 20th Century Fox later edited the film down to meet these requirements to achieve the PG-13 rating.(3)
Link to ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ reviews of This Means War
Re- Releases
This year 20th Century Fox has been relying on profits from films it is re- releasing, in addition to new motion pictures. They have already re-released two films, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in January, and this month the studio re-released Titanic. Both films were put back into theaters with 3-D effects to draw in an audience, and both contributed significantly to their initial profits.(4) This summer the company will putting a third film back into theaters; Chariots of Fire will be playing in theaters across the UK as a part of the celebrations surrounding the London 2012 Summer Olympics.(5)
Trailer for the re-release of Chariots of Fire (from Blockbuster UK)
Since their re-releases, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace has now grossed $474,519,259, and Titanic has grossed a total of $657,069,063. (6)
Scheduled Releases
Over the course of the spring season 20th Century Fox plans on releasing two more films. These include; Prometheus (June), and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June). (7)
Taken from the 20th Century Fox official website
Prometheus is the “indirect prequel” to the hugely successful Alien films, it is being directed by Ridley Scott, who directed the previous films in the franchise as well. (8)
Prometheus’ Theatrical Trailer
And later in the summer 20th Century Fox will be releasing two family films. In August they plan on releasing the follow up to 2010’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and it’s 2011 sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. The third film will be titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. And in July they will release the most recent film in the Ice Age series; Ice Age: Continental Drift. (9)
Taken from the official 20th Century Fox website.
Hiring and Firing
In February Mary Daily was promoted from her position as top executive of motion picture marketing to President and chief marketing officer of worldwide marketing. (10) In March Debbie Miller was hired as the new Executive VP of marketing. (11) Also in March Chris Aronson was promoted to executive vice president of domestic distribution and general sales manager for the company. (12)
International
Titanic was particularly successful outside the U.S. as well, breaking China’s box office record for an Imax release when it made $7 million on its opening weekend. It passed up the previous leader, last year’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon.(13)
Last year 20th Century Fox also signed a deal with Hopscotch/Entertainment One to have the company distribute their films across New Zealand and Australia. This agreement allowed Fox to start off the year by marketing Midnight in Paris and We Need to Talk About Kevin this past February in those countries. (14)
Link to Hopscotch Distribution’s website
Awards
Paul Higginson, 20th Century Fox’s executive vice president of theatrical in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Todd Huntley the company’s senior vice president are being honored this summer at CineEurope 2012. The two are being honored as distributors of the year for their work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: First Class, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. (15)
It was also announced in February that the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, released by 20th Century Fox last year, will be nominated in the Feature film category for this year’s Genesis awards, sponsored by the humane society. “Animal welfare concerns, such as chimpanzees being used in research which is addressed in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, are reaching huge audiences, thanks to the quality and engaging storylines of these films.” Said HSUS senior director and event EP Beverly Kaskey. (16)
Link to the Website for the 2012 Genesis Awards
Advertising/Marketing
To promote the release of their recent superhero film Chronicle Fox flew human shaped RC planes over New York City. The stunt drew attention from Youtube, as well as several news shows, including the Today Show. (17)
VIdeo of Chronicle Publicity Stunt
To further market 2011’s release of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakqual the company partnered with Walmart to release a line of apparel inspired by the films. (18)
To incite buzz about Titanic’s 3-D release an advanced screening was scheduled for Valentines Day. The effort was hugely successful, screenings around the country sold out within just a few hours of tickets going on sale. (19)
Other Media
Over the past few years 20th Century Fox has produced the popular family films in the Ice Age Franchise. Now the studio is attempting to market the products further, through means other than film. A Live show-to open in November- is currently being produced in London. The show is titled “Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure,” and will feature ice skating, music, puppets and arial arts. Fox signed on last year with European Live and Stage Entertainment, and they are now beginning to promote the show as well as divulging more information. (20)
But that’s not the only market that Ice Age is popping up in. 20th Century fox has also been working on a game which will be distributed through Bigpoint. The game will draw on all of the franchise’s films, and will be released strategically this summer along with the latest addition to the series; Ice Age: Continental Drift. (21)
Sources
by Isaac Davis
Formed in 2008 with the merging of Activision and Vivendi Games, Activision Blizzard is the second-largest video game publisher in North America.
Board of Directors
Robert A. Kotick – President and CEO
Jean-Bernard Lévy – Chairman
Brian G. Kelly – Co-Chairman
Philippe G. H. Capron – Director
Robert J. Corti – Director
Frédéric R. Crépin – Director
Lucian Grainge – Director
Robert J. Morgado – Director
Stéphane Roussel – Director
Richard Sarnoff – Director
Régis Turrini – Director
Notable Franchises
Business (January 2012 – May 2012)
Activision Blizzard’s past fiscal year was “better than expected,” earning $4.49 billion, as opposed to $4.48 billion in 2010. Their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the top-selling title of the year, with its accompanying Call of Duty Elite service hosting over 7 million registered users and 1.5 million paid subscribers. The new Skylanders toy line/children’s game proved quite successful, selling 20 million toys worldwide1.
World of Warcraft (WoW), however, declined from 11.1 million subscribers to 10.2 million this year, with at least some of the decline being attributed to competitor Electronic Arts’ Star Wars: The Old Republic, which released in December 20112.
Following this news, WoW’s development studio, Blizzard Entertainment laid off 600 employees in an “organizational shift,” placing their current staff at around 5,000 worldwide3.
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick
In February, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick became a member of Coca-Cola’s board of directors. He had previously been a board member at Yahoo! from 2003 to 20084.
On March 5th, Activision hired Dennis Durkin, former VP and COO of Microsoft, as their new CFO5.
On April 5th, Worlds, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over the technology used in WoW and Call of Duty (CoD). Worlds holds patents on a “system and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space”, and they had, in 2008, filed a lawsuit against NCSoft over their game City of Heroes, though it was dismissed in 20106.
Infinity Ward Controversy
After the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009, Jason West and Vince Zampella, CEOs and co-founders of CoD development studio Infinity Ward, were fired under mysterious circumstances. Infinity Ward and all CoD IP has been owned by Activision since 2003. Activision claims they were fired over “breaches of contract and insubordination”7.
West and Zampella filed a lawsuit against Activision, leveling at least two fraud claims against them. The claims said that in firing them, Activision “fired them to avoid paying millions of dollars in royalties for [Modern Warfare 2]”. On March 5th 2012, one of these claims was dismissed by the California Superior Court. May 7th is the trial date for the remaining claims8.
On March 26th, Robert Bowling, creative strategist for the CoD series, suddenly left Activision after six years as the public face of the brand, with no indication of why he left or where he was headed9. On April 24th, he revealed that he is starting a new, independent development studio called Robotoki. Their first project is slated for “next-gen” consoles (that is, game systems yet to be announced)10.
Release Schedule (2012)
Prototype 2 (Radical Entertainment) – April 24 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Diablo III (Blizzard Entertainment) – May 15 (PC, Mac OS X)
Battleship (Double Helix Games) – May 15 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, DS)
The Amazing Spider-Man (Beenox) – June 26 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS Vita 3DS, DS)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD (Robomodo) – July (PS3, Xbox 360)
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (High Moon Studios) – August 28 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Skylanders: Giants (Toys For Bob) – Fall (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, PC 3DS, Mac OS X)
Call of Duty 9 [Working Title] (Treyarch) – Q4 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii U, PS Vita, 3DS)
Notes
Picture Credits
http://www.videogameinvesting.com/?page_id=162
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/02/16/bobby-kotick-joins-coca-cola-39-s-board-of-directors.aspx
http://www.giantbomb.com/infinity-ward/65-1526/all-images/52-201193/infinityward_1_/51-186905/
by Melissa Gattuso
TimeWarner was originally two separate companies, Warner Communications Inc. and Time Inc, which had assets of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. The merger occurred on March 4th, 1989. And as of mid 2010, it was the world’s second largest entertainment conglomerate in terms of revenue, only behind Disney, as well as the world’s largest media conglomerate. It’s cable channels include Home Box Office (HBO) and all the channels under Turner Broadcasting System like CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. [2]
Major Competitors
Showtime, owned by CBS
MSNBC, owned by NBC
FoxNews, Fox Entertainment Group
Nickelodeon, owned by Viacom
A&E, owned by the Hearts Corporation, Disney, and NBC Universal
Recent News
May
05/01 – Michael Wright has been promoted to President, Head of Programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). In this role, Wright will continue to oversee all programming and scheduling for TNT and TBS, along with original programming for TCM and original content for all three networks’ digital extensions. [3]
April
04/30 -TruTV has rebranded themselves as “Bigger, Bolder, and Broader”. With this new campaign slogan, they are going to add more original content to their programming. The channel has seen success this past year, posting it’s best quarter ever this year. With the youngest primetime audience of such direct non-fiction competitors as Discovery, History and A&E, the channel is hoping to continue to increase it’s viewers with the new content. [4]
04/15- HBO’s buzzed about show Girls premieres. After a media frenzy of praise for the show created by Lena Durham who also stars, it experienced a flood of backlash. Most of the backlash and negativity resulted from the show’s lack of diverse characters as well as the character’s whining and unrealistic state of entitlement. Despite all this, after the first three episodes aired, the show was renewed on April 30th for a second season of ten episodes. [5]
March
03/20– TBS earned the number 1 spot for basic cable network with young adults. The win can be attributed to the syndication of the popular The Big Bang Theory, as well as TBS‘ late night series, CONAN. Also announced was that the overall primetime audience has grown by 33% to 2.1 million viewers. [6]
03/14- After a third horse died during production, HBO has decided to cancel its horse-racing drama Luck. The show only drew 1.1 million viewers for its premiere and had since since struggled to attract 500,000 viewers during its initial Sunday night broadcast. [7]
03/01– Game Change, a film about Sarah Palin’s role in the 2008 Presidential Election premiered on HBO on March 10th. Sarah Palin’s press released a response video to the original film trailer.
Game Change Trailer:
Palin’s Rebuttal Video:
February
02/15-02/22- TBS renewed two of his very successful shows, CONAN and Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse. CONAN has been renewed through April 2014. And after finishing its first season as the number 1 basic cable sitcom, For Better or Worse, TBS has ordered an additional 35 more episodes. [8] [9]
January
01/29- In recent years, HBO has earned about a quarter of the total annual profits for Time Warner, generating slightly more than $1 billion annually. Showtime is growing, but remains considerably behind. The Golden Globe winning series Homeland has brought recent success to the channel, but one show can barely compete with HBO’s string of successes. A Morgan Stanley report on CBS estimated that the cable channel earned $692 million in 2011. [10]
01/27– Sandra Dewey, who has played an important role in the original-programming business strategies for TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), truTV and Cartoon Network, has been promoted to executive vice president, head of business affairs for Turner Entertainment Networks (TEN) and Cartoon Network Originals. [11]
Upcoming Projects
HBO
An Aaron Sorkin written drama, The Newsroom, is premiering on June 24th.
True Blood is also returning for it’s fifth season on June 10th.
http://youtu.be/H1Jn8P3VS74
Also, the following series have been renewed: Boardwalk Empire, Enlightened, and Treme. And the series Entourage, which finished its final season, will be made into a feature film. [12]
TruTV
New Series Premiering Later this Year
Killer Karaoke featuring host Steve-o from Jackass, Container Wars, and Hardcore Pawn: Fort Braggs.
In Development
Upload with Shaquille O’Neill, Jeff & Curtis Lose Weight, and Turbulence. [13]
TBS
Men at Work, from Sony Pictures Television, centers on four guys who work together at a magazine and are living the life in NYC. The new scripted comedy series premieres May 24th.
Sullivan and Son, stars Pittsburgh native comedian Steve Byrne as a man who leaves his job as a New York lawyer to come back to his hometown of Pittsburgh to run a family-owned bar. With Vince Vaughn among its executive producers, the 10 episode series will premiere on July 19th. [14]
TNT
Returning Summer Series
Both Rizzoli & Isles which will return for its third season as well as Franklin & Bash, in it’s the second season, will premiere June 5th. Falling Skies will return for it’s second season with a two hour premiere on June 17th. The Closer, with it’s final season will premiere on July 9th with the last six episodes. And on July 15th, the 5th season of Leverage will premiere. [15]
New Summer Series
Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray reprise their famous characters as J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing return to Southfork with secrets, schemes and betrayals along with a set of new characters in Dallas which premieres with a two hour episode on June 13th.
A new competition show, The Great Escape, will be hosted by Rich Eisen (NFL Total Access). Teams of competitors try to find their way out of seemingly impossible situations for a chance to take home a cash prize.
Premiering on July 9th, Perception a new crime related drama starring Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award winner Eric McCormack as Dr. Daniel Pierce, who possesses an intimate knowledge of human behavior and a masterful understanding of the way the mind works.
http://youtu.be/mDiGZ0DU1mU
And on August 13th, Major Crimes premieres following the final of The Closer. Two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell will continue her role from The Closer as Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor. [16]
References
1. TimeWarner image: http://www.localizedusa.com/logos/time-warner-inc-logo.jpg
2. http://www.timewarner.com/our-company/about-us/
3. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6071
4. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6067
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/16/girls-reviews-backlash-hbo-show_n_1429328.html
6.http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6018
7. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/14/luck-canceled-hbo-dustin-hoffman_n_1346185.html
8. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5969
9. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5965
10. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/business/media/with-homeland-showtime-makes-gains-on-hbo.html?_r=1&ref=homeboxofficeinc
11.http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5942
12. http://hbowatch.com/hbo-series-premiere-schedule/
13. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6067
14. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tbs-premiere-dates-men-at-work-sullivan-and-son-302146
15. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6008
16.http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=6008