|
VIDEOAGE "PAPER CLIPS": A WEEKLY PRESS REVIEW PROGRAMMING
After
six years and countless laugh tracks, the CW is letting Reba go. The sitcom
returned to the airwaves on Sunday, November 19 after an extended limbo period
in which the freshman net decided the show's fate. After realizing it needed
as much help as it could get from an old standby, The CW ordered up 13 new
episodes of the Reba McEntire vehicle. A two-part series finale is scheduled
for February 18.
E! Online
ABC's The View has drawn the biggest audience in its nearly 10 years on the
air, according to the latest daytime ratings from Nielsen Media Research. The
show, which has been in the news lately due to outspoken new moderator Rosie
O'Donnell's onscreen antics, including feuds with Donald Trump and Live host
Kelly Ripa, averaged 4.2 million viewers for the week of January 15-19. The
previous high of 4.1 million was posted nearly three years ago.
E! Online
BUSINESS
Nowy Sscz-based Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu National-Louis University, one of Poland's
leading private business schools, has revealed plans for an EU-funded Multimedia
Town, a cluster of cutting-edge media and entertainment ventures and facilities,
complete with state-of-the-art film, sound and design studios. The Multimedia
Town will also feature a data-transmission and processing infrastructure.
Warsaw Business Journal
DreamWorks Animation and
its partner, U.K.-based Aardman Animation, have dissolved their exclusive
partnership. The move comes a week after Flushed Away, a critical darling
but box-office bomb, failed to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Animated
Film. DreamWorks and Aardman inked a five-year deal in 1999, and together
put out stop-motion animation films Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit:
Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
E! Online
PIRACY
When Montreal police moved in on a ring of bootleggers in mid-December in the
working-class Rosemont neighborhood, they found cases of contraband liquor
and illegal cigarettes -- and 9,000 counterfeit DVDs. Both law enforcement
and film industry officials say the illegal discs were evidence of a disturbing,
but growing trend that finds Canada becoming a world leader in pirated movies.
Movie industry bigwigs are fighting back, pressuring Canada's cinemas by
threatening to delay film premieres and the distribution of first-run blockbusters.
Toronto Star
GAMING
Nintendo's Wii, which uses a wireless controller to translate players' motions
onto the screen, has upset the order of the video game world. Sony PlayStation
3, which has broken ground in processing power and graphics, was expected
to be the hot new product, but the Wii has quickly taken the lead in buzz
and sales over the PlayStation. Sony has reported disappointing profits,
but Nintendo's third-quarter sales were up 40 percent from a year ago --
due largely to Wii sales.
International Herald Tribune
TRAGEDY
A Toronto man died instantly last Thursday January 25, when heavy debris from
a film set fell and hit him. Set-dresser David Ritchie, 56, was helping to
disassemble an outdoor set used for Samuel L. Jackson film Jumper , when
a prop wall collapsed on him and two other men. One of the men suffered minor
injuries, while the third escaped unscathed. Ritchie was a veteran set-dresser,
known for his work on television series Road to Avonlea and feature film
X-Men.
Toronto Star
FILM
The Ontario Superior Court ruled yesterday that the Alliance off Canadian Cinema,
Television and Radio Artists can continue its strike against the Canadian
Film and Television Production Association, and also continue to make special
arrangements with individual producers to prevent labor disruption. However,
the judge did grant the CFTPA's request that an arbitrator be brought in
to settle the legal dispute.
The
Globe & Mail
VIDEOAGE AT MIP-TV '07 FOR YOU
2007 will bring VideoAge's 26th MIP-TV monthly and 22nd annual Daily at MIP-TV.
VideoAge's MIP-TV editorial vehicles are:
Monthly Issue: Joy & Pain of New TV Season
Saturday-Sunday Daily: Focus on Milia/ Mip-Doc
Monday Daily: Focus on New Shows at MIP
Tuesday Daily: Focus on Canada, Germany, U.K., Italy
Wednesday Daily: Focus on Latin America
Thursday Daily: Road to the L.A. Screenings
At MIP-TV 2007, leverage VideoAge's editorial and distribution strengths to
get your message across to your buyers.
LINKS NOT TO BE MISSED
VideoAge's Streaming Media
VideoAge's Water Cooler
|
