VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW

PROGRAMMING
Though it isn't traditionally known for garnering high ratings, the end of the summer season was kind to new Fox drama Prison Break. The two-hour premiere of the series, which follows the story of one brother who goes to jail in order to free his brother from incarceration, averaged a whopping 10.5 million viewers. [E! Online]
E! Online

Canucks looking for a dose of entertainment news and gossip are being provided with a one-stop-shop in the form of TV stalwart Entertainment Tonight. A local version of the series, entitled ET Canada will begin airing on Global TV in September. The series will be hosted by entertainment reporter Cheryl Hickey; on-air staff will include former MuchMusic personality Rick Campanelli and former Toronto 1 reporter Roz Weston. [The Globe and Mail]
The Globe and Mail

Though she has made a name for herself on the big screen, Charlize Theron is headed to the small screen to guest star in the critically acclaimed, but ratings deficient, Arrested Development. Theron has signed on for five episodes of the series, in which she will play the series' star Jason Bateman's love interest. [E! Online]
E! Online

BUSINESS
China is playing the role of unrequited lover to American media companies. Despite the fact that Disney, Viacom and News Corp. have consistently attempted to court the Chinese TV industry, the government is putting more limits on what kinds of foreign products enter the country. [The New York Times]
The New York Times

LEGAL
Who says you have to make a movie to make money off of it? New Line has settled a legal wrangle by paying producer Saul Zaentz (whose credits include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient), $138 million because he bought the movie rights to J.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books in 1976. Though he had nothing to do with the making of the hugely successful film trilogy, Zaentz sued New Line, saying they had miscalculated the box office royalties he was owed. [BBC News]
BBC News

ADVERTISING
There is certainly no denying the omnipresence of Google.com in modern day life. And now, broadcast networks are figuring out how to turn Google's popularity into their own profit. Marketing execs at the broadcast nets are buying search keywords, for a nominal fee, in an effort to attract viewers to their websites. For example, Fox just advertised its new series Prison Break by buying the search keyword on Google. [Advertising Age]
Advertising Age

TECHNOLOGY
Soon enough the Beeb will be available on computers and laptops across the U.K. BBC director general Mark Thompson has announced plans to make BBC TV channels available for legal download off the Internet, via a program entitled MyBBCPlayer. Thompson explained that the new Internet presence is in direct response to the burgeoning on-demand techonolgies, which will change the meaning of the word "broadcasting." [BBC News]
BBC News

Disney's done it, NBC Universal's done it, and now it's MTV's turn to take a shot at high-definition. Viacom has trademarked MHD as one of the possible names for its as-yet-to-be-launched HD channel. The channel will feature programming from Viacom sister nets VH1 and MTV. Fox Networks Group also plans to launch two new HDTV channels early next year: Fox HD, and NGCHD, a high-def simulcast of National Geographic Channel. [Multichannel News]
Multichannel News

Interactive TV is coming to a home near you . . . eventually. A new study by Kagan Research projects that by 2009, half the TV households in the U.S. will be equipped with interactive platforms. The three categories Kagan expects to contribute most to the sector are: TV-based gaming, television commerce and interactive or direct-response advertising. [Yahoo Finance]
Yahoo Finance

This is not your grandfather's ESPN. As the cable sports network gears up to broadcast Monday Night Football after 36 seasons on Disney-owned broadcast net ABC, it is also expanding the program to other media. Fans will be able to access pre-game coverage on the Internet and post-game alerts via their cell phones. [Wired]
Wired

CONTROVERSY
You'd be hard-pressed to find a hit cable TV show that doesn't feature a gay character. The same is not true with broadcast television. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) blasted broadcasters for misrepresenting or not representing the gay community at all. GLAAD's Damon Romine said that the departure of cable series Queer as Folk and Six Feet Under, which portrayed gays in a positive light, leaves a tremendous void in gay and lesbian lead characters on TV. [MEDIAWEEK]
MEDIAWEEK

Tony Soprano has always been allowed his share of curse words. Jon Stewart is often heard exclaiming an expletive or two. But that may soon change, as the FCC is set to impose stricter indecency regulations on cable television -- an arena that, unlike broadcast TV, was often left to air as many curses as it pleased. [Salon]
Salon

FILM FESTIVALS
The world's longest-running film festival opens today. It's celebrities and film buffs galore at the 62nd annual Venice Film Festival. The festival will open with the world premiere of Seven Swords (Qi jian), Hark Tsui's martial arts epic set during the Ching dynasty. [The Guardian]
The Guardian

FILM
The film industry is not coming out of Hurricane Katrina unscathed. Millions of dollars of Hollywood money was washed away during the deadly storm. As has become common, some of the major Hollywood studios were filming their movies in Louisiana (a cheaper alternative to Hollywood), when they were told to evacuate immediately. The storm has posed the biggest threat to Disney's D=E9j=E0 Vu and The Guardian, as well as Warner Bros.' The Reaping, all of which were being shot in and around New Orleans. [The Los Angeles Times]
The Los Angeles Times

Though the identity of the next 007 is still unknown, Paul Haggis, writer and director of Crash, has been chosen to rewrite the script for the next James Bond movie. Casino Royale is set to go into production in January. [The Guardian]
The Guardian

Nobody can accuse Universal of being undetermined. Though film stars Jennifer Aniston and Jim Carrey refused to act in the planned sequel to 2003's Bruce Almighty, Universal did not give up on the prospect of making a second edition of the film. Instead, the studio has hired Steve Carell (star of the summer laffer The The 40-Year-Old Virgin and the American version of TV series The Office) to star in the sequel, Evan Almighty. Carell had a bit part in the first movie. [The Guardian]
The Guardian

VideoAge and IPTV at MIPCOM:

IPTV, the industry's new window, will be one of the key features of the VideoAge MIPCOM Issue.

IPTV (e.g. FastWeb, Free and PCCW), will be changing the way TV is sold and consumed; and all production and distribution companies should be looking into, thinking about and selling IPTV rights.

Just imagine, DVR, cable TV and Internet all in one large-screen TV set: the ultimate interactive programming, which promises to change the course of TV.

Don't miss this Issue. For more information contact Dom Serafini at < A HREF="mailto:dsvideoag@aol.com">dsvideoag@aol.com for more info.

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