Oprah's Farewell Spectacular

'Surpise Oprah!' Special To Air Before Winfrey's Final Show

Special guests will join to celebrate past 25 years

By Lindsay Rubino -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/28/2011 12:04:34 PM

The Oprah Winfrey Show has announced that it will tape a farewell special from Chicago's United Center on May 17, that will air on May 23 and 24, with the final episode of the show airing on May 25.

The special, called Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular will invite celebrities from television, film and music to celebrate the 25 years of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Harpo Studios will not release the guest list to the public, nor Oprah Winfrey herself.

"As most of our viewers know, being surprised is not one of Oprah's favorite things. In the spirit of our farewell season, she is making a rare exception and we intend to make the most of that opportunity. It will be something to see!" said Sheri Salata, executive producer, The Oprah Winfrey Show.

OWN Network Needs More Money

Discovery To Pump More Money into OWN

Ratings below expectations, but new shows on the way

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/28/2011 12:21:09 PM

Discovery expects to pump more money into its joint venture OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

"While we have made progress with OWN, we believe based on current business expectation we will fun in excess of our prior $50 million incremental estimate," said Singer, CFO of Discovery during the company's first quarter earnings call Thursday morning. "The funding level will be reflective of our ratings progress in the next several quarters."

Discovery has already invested $215 million in the channel, including $57 million in the first quarter.

David Zaslav, Discovery CEO said Discovery remains committed to OWN despite a slow start.

"The ratings have . . . been below our expectations and so we've been digging in. We're focused on what does the audience want from OWN," Zaslav said.

"As with any new cable channel some content is working, while other programming has not connected with an audience. OWN continues to invest in new programming, working hard to create compelling content," Zaslav added. "We're optimistic that the ratings at OWN will build through 2011, with 21 new series set to debut."

He noted that new shows featuring Shania Twain and Rosie O'Donnell are on the way, along with Oprah Winfrey's 25 year library of shows.
"With Oprah's broadcast show coming to a close, we couldn't be more excited that Oprah and her team will be turning their full attention to OWN," he said.


Related post-

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network - The Next Season

From April 2010: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network reveals its upcoming slate of shows

Trying to explain the film 'Inception'

Two great sites make an attempt, a really accurate attempt in my opinion to explain the film Inception.

Cinemablend made up the below great graphic to explain the film.

SPOILER WARNING: What follows should only be viewed by people who have already seen Inception. It contains heavy, critical spoilers which will impact your viewing of the film. If you haven’t seen Inception yet, stop reading and don’t come back until you do.

CLICK on graphic for bigger view

Screen Rant had a great detailed artice "Inception Ending Explained" where they break down all of the characters, their roles and what the HECK they were doing in the dream (yes it was several levels of ONE dream), but wouldn't that in effect be seperate dreams? LISTEN, it makes more sense to think of it as several different floors of the same building. In any case check out Screen Rant's explanation  here

You can go to Cinemablend's site here

Related post-
Cool Black's 2010 Entertainment Review

Best Picture Race 2011

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network - The Next Season

Series Picked Up For Second Seasons Include "Ask Oprah's All Stars," "Enough Already! with Peter Walsh," "In The Bedroom With Dr. Laura Berman" and "Oprah Presents Master Class"

New Series Include "Confronting…," "I Owe You My Life," "Louie Spence Dance Project," "My Mom and Me," "Sweetie Pies" and "Unfaithful: Stories of Betrayal"

NEW YORK, April 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network announced today new original programming coming to OWN including four series pick ups and six new series totaling over 60 hours of television.

"After four months on the air it's great to be able to renew series that connected with our audience," said Christina Norman, chief executive officer, OWN. "Our new shows will continue to bring viewers more compelling characters sharing their real life journeys that entertain, engage and inspire."

"We're excited to give our audience more of what they love along with new series that are fun and relatable," said Lisa Erspamer, chief creative officer, OWN. "We guarantee each new show will get viewers talking."

Joining the previously announced pick up of OUR AMERICA WITH LISA LING are six more episodes of ASK OPRAH'S ALL STARS, six episodes of ENOUGH ALREADY! WITH PETER WALSH, six episodes of IN THE BEDROOM WITH DR. LAURA BERMAN and eight episodes of OPRAH PRESENTS MASTER CLASS.

The six new series include CONFRONTING…, I OWE YOU MY LIFE, LOUIE SPENCE DANCE PROJECT, MY MOM AND ME, SWEETIE PIES and UNFAITHFUL: STORIES OF BETRAYAL.

Brief synopses of the series being announced today follow.

CONFRONTING…

This provocative series documents the powerful and sometimes painful mediation process in which victim and offender come together in the hopes of achieving closure. Currently available in 48 states, mediation programs offer the possibility of catharsis, relief and, at their best, forgiveness. In each episode, viewers follow the real life process of both victim and offender as they prepare to confront each other, face to face, for the most important conversation of their lives. Produced by Relativity Real.

I OWE YOU MY LIFE

TV makes it look easy. Writers know how to make their characters brave in the face of unspeakable dangers, determined when the odds are against them, and focused and virtuous when temptations abound. What about real people? What makes us heroic? These and many more questions will be posed in "I Owe You My Life." The nature of being a hero involves a multi-layered, complex set of circumstances, and this series will delve into the dramatic stories of everyday people from every corner of the world who take risky, even death-defying actions to protect others and right wrongs. Produced by Skip Film.


LOUIE SPENCE DANCE PROJECT

Manhattan, meet Louie Spence: He's a world-renowned choreographer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. Everyone from Mariah to Kylie to the Spice Girls have tapped Louie's creative talent -- and now it's Broadway Dance Center's turn. The much-vaunted New York studio has commissioned Louie to breathe new life into its curriculum, so the flamboyant Brit is jumping the pond, prepped to revamp the program. He's bringing his passion, his impeccable technique and his own unique style to the studio. Broadway Dance won't know what hit it. Produced by Kinetic Content.

MY MOM AND ME

The mother-daughter dynamic can be more than a little tricky -- so how much trickier does it become when kid has to play parent? "My Mom and Me" examines unusual mom-daughter relationships in which "normal boundaries" are challenged. Intimate, heart-warming and at times shocking, the series features mothers and daughters opening up about their atypical relationships and, with the help of a therapist, tackling their deep-rooted issues. Produced by Firecracker Films.

SWEETIE PIES

When Robbie Montgomery, a 1960s backup singer and former Ikette, suffered a collapsed lung and had to stop singing, she decided to pour her talents into another creative venture -- a soul food restaurant. At her family-oriented eatery, Sweetie Pies, both hilarity and drama are offered in equal measure -- and now Robbie's upping the ante with a second location. This docu-series follows the loud, loving and often singing Montgomery family as they work to expand their empire, one soulful dish at a time. Produced by Pilgrim Films & Television.

UNFAITHFUL: STORIES OF BETRAYAL

This compelling series features couples that have suffered and survived infidelity in their marriages. In each episode, couples share their deeply personal stories of heartbreak, while a therapist provides perspective and advice on how to heal. Revealing and surprisingly uplifting, the series illustrates how love can endure even the darkest times. Produced by True Entertainment.

About OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

A joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications, OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN debuted on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what was the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com. For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own and www.press.discovery.com/us/own.


SOURCE OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

On the Net:
http://www.oprah.com/own
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Q&A: OWN CEO Christina Norman on How Oprah's Tweets Help Drive Ratings

4/13/2011 by Georg Szalai - Hollywood Reporter

While there are things to learn from the early days, she says, the Oprah Winfrey Network had a "good" debut quarter in its key target demo and will launch more programming featuring Oprah in September.

NEW YORK -- OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture of Discovery Communications and Winfrey, just finished its first quarter on the air.

Christina Norman, CEO of the network, (pictured left) which replaced the Discovery Health Channel, on Wednesday spoke here on a panel at the MediaPost Outfront Conference.

After the panel, she took a few minutes to talk to The Hollywood Reporter about OWN's performance over the first few months and what is up next for the new channel.

THR: How do you feel about your performance to-date?

Norman: The first quarter was good. It is 13 or 14 weeks that we have been on the air. Our upfront is tomorrow. We have grown primetime ratings by 32% since launch. We have launched 14 original series. We got another 25 to come before the end of the year. We're learning more and more every day about the audience, what works and what they like and don't like.

THR: Some people have said your ratings haven't been that good. What are they missing?

Norman: We are obviously talking about our core audience -- women 25-54. That is who we are primarily focused on. I think the brand is bigger than that. We are talking about the time slots that we are programming. Primetime is where we are putting most of our effort and energy. It's 13 weeks in. If anybody wants to write the story now about what it means and where it is, that's a little premature, and we are trying to stick to our knitting and keep our goals in mind and keep looking forward.

THR: What do they like?

Norman: They like The Judds. 1.7 million people watched that when it premiered on Sunday. That was a nice moment for us. And Oprah is not really on the network yet if you think about it. We've got Rosie [O'Donnell] coming, we've got Oprah coming. We've got more series: a show with Shania Twain, the O'Neals, which will be interesting, and we got non-celebrity stuff. We are announcing a bunch of stuff tomorrow and really trying to take it in, figure out what it means and then be smart and reactive about it.

THR: Any particular lessons or interesting things you have found?

Norman: One thing that's really interesting for us is to see how Oprah's social media profile has grown. She has been twittering for the past couple of Sundays, and the world likes to tweet with Oprah. Of course, they don't think it's her, but they love that.

THR: So is Oprah tweeting herself?

Norman: It's really her. It's actually really her.

THR: People said at least on the first Sunday that the tweeting helped drive viewership. Does it?

Norman: It seems to. It really did. The Judds were the No. 1 social media trend for television this past weekend, and that did really translate into ratings, so it does feel like you can't just rely on one thing. You have to use everything in very different ways. We had the Judds on talk radio in addition to television and then all the social media we did with them. I think that's what's pretty fascinating about right now.

THR: You started with big advertising partners. Where do you stand on ad partnerships? Any new marketers?

Norman: We have massive launch partners who have signed up for multiple years. Managing those relationships is a lot -- everybody from GM to P&G to Kohl's. With some of our partners, we have already gone through a big integration. So, now is an opportunity to say how did that work, what do you guys want to do differently going forward. And for some of them we have barely gotten started. We got Target and Walmart. We're still working on programs with them that will come later in the year. And we can use them as marketing partners for us. It's scratching the surface of where we are. But we have started to sign on some new advertisers for sure. But what's really exciting is that people believe in this brand, they believe in what we are doing and they believe now is the time to do it.

THR: So when will Oprah have a bigger presence on the network after her syndicated talk show ends?

Norman: In September, she will be on the network. And she has been on the network with Behind the Scenes. But new stuff is coming with her in September.

THR: Any details you can share?

Norman: [doesn't immediately answer]

THR: Tomorrow?

Norman: Yeah.

(*Note: Details are ABOVE)

Related post

From April 2010: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network reveals its upcoming slate of shows

Best Picture Race 2011

(Top row from Left to right-Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech.

Bottom row from Left to right-127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit, Winter’s Bone.)

  

For the first time that I can remember I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees of the Academy Awards, in particular the 83rd Annual Academy Awards® .  Quite a feat especially since they expanded the category from five to ten pictures last year. (From 1944 to 2008, the Academy restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year.)

From left to right: Academy Award winner Mo'Nique and Tom Sherak, President of the Academy announcing the nominees for Best Picture January 25, 2011.

Now that the awards are over and I already gave MY pick for Best Picture (linked at the end) here is a more detailed recount of what I thought about each film in alphabetical order. (You can read about each film at Wikipedia by CLICKING each poster below.)

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BLACK SWAN What a wonderfully trippy film. From beginning to end this picture was just a psychotic break without going too over the top…or totally breaking from reality mostly due to great direction by Darren Aronofsky. Mila Kunis gives another good performance (I liked her performance in Book of Eli as well.) Natalie Portman gives a frenetic yet nuanced performance. It could have easily become scenery chewing and over the top yet didn’t.

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THE FIGHTER A really good film that gave a different take on the boxer who must over come odds to become champ. This film focused on the boxer’s dysfunctional, yet supportive family. Melissa Leo was good, but Amy Adams was FANTASTIC. Every scene she was in, she was great. The star Mark Walhberg was good too, but Christian Bale had another FANTASTIC performance. His performance also could have been easily become scenery chewing and over the top yet didn’t.

 
 
 

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INCEPTION Talk about a trip, like Black Swan, this film was sort of a psychotic break WITH ACTION. An excellent film that, even though it had a mind bending story, had an underlying storyline about guilt, grief and love loss. About 30 minutes into the movie I thought, yeah Paris folds onto itself that’s cool, but what else? Well when one of the antagonists interrupts the dream I started thinking “What was that about?” From that moment until the end I was completely into the picture. Great direction by Christopher Nolan and yes the picture is a special effects extravaganza, but great performances by Leonardo DiCaprio,  Marion Cotillard and the rest of the cast add to it. Last, but not least I have to point out Hans Zimmer’s work on the score.  The score is original music written specifically to accompany a film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scenes in question and Zimmer’s pulsating score did just that! Great direction, special effects, performances and score equal an excellent motion picture.

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THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT A really nice “dramedy”. Every year the academy tends to nominate a really good film that blends comedy, drama and good performances and this was it. Yes Annette Bening gets all the attention (and has some great dramatic scenes) but the rest of the cast, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska  & Josh Hutcherson are also very good. Mark Ruffalo in particular gives a performance that makes you like him, but makes you also think he’s kind of a jerk. A subtlety that’s not easy to accomplish.

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THE KING’S SPEECH An excellent film all the way around. Great story, direction and pitch perfect acting by and Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. I expected this film to be a nice story of overcoming odds and I’ve read about the great acting, but EVERYTHING about the movie was excellent including the direction by Tom Hooper.

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127 HOURS How can a movie about some guy who gets his arm trapped by a rock be interesting? Fantastically so. With a great performance by James Franco, the director Danny Boyle really finds ways to make a mostly solitary story interesting. I won’t tell you how, you just have to see it, but the ending is really emotional and I’m not talking about the “pivotal scene”. Great direction by Boyle and a REALLY great performance by James Franco.

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THE SOCIAL NETWORK Another excellent film all the way around. Great direction, an excellent script and great acting. The WHOLE cast, even the supporting cast, gave great natural performances aided by the director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Fincher and Sorkin made a story about a bunch of geeks writing computer code interesting and compelling by combining it with a story about power, success and envy.

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TOY STORY 3 Not much to say other than rarely (if ever?) is a second sequel good, nonetheless excellent and this one was. A very nice and touching way to tie up the trilogy. 

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TRUE GRIT A really good film, with really good direction, script and performances. The true standout performance though was Hailee Steinfeld (pictured below right) who was EXCELLENT and commanded many scenes she was in. The story starts out with this little girl in pigtails making arrangements for her father’s burial and “making arrangements” is an understatement. She convincingly negotiated the price and the eventual bounty for her father’s killer with men twice (three times?) her age. That kind of convincing portrayal is quite an achievement for a 14 year old.

Hailee Steinfeld

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WINTER’S BONE This film was so authentic in its story and acting it kind of turned me off when I watched it. It was only in retrospect that I realized what an achievement it was. Some of the most truly authentic acting I have seen in ANY picture last year. Jennifer Lawrence was EXCELLENT in the lead and many of the supporting cast was equally gritty and authentic. An excellent authentic film.

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I can truly say that EACH OF THE TEN PICTURES I SAW deserved to be nominated for Best Picture. Each film was fantastic in its own right and while the award went to The King’s Speech, for each it SHOULD be an honor to be nominated. I have seen three of my favorites twice now and those being The Social Network, The King’s Speech, and Inception and they still hold up as excellent.

The Oscar is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and having watched ten of their honorees, I have to say yeah, they know what they’re doing.

You can read MY picks for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards by CLICKING the graphic below

Related posts-

Lack of Diversity at the Oscars 2011

African Americans at the Academy Awards

Cool Black's Oscar Recap Past & Present

Cool Black's Entertainment Review 2010-Best Movie

BET Announces MORE New Shows

BET puts more original players on 'Game' field
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY
April 12, 2011

BET is playing The Game, riding the success of its football-themed comedy into a new wave of scripted programming.

The top network for African Americans announces plans today for Reed Between the Lines, a family comedy starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show) and Tracee Ross Ellis (Girlfriends), due in October. They'll play professional parents (she's a psychologist, he's an English professor) of three kids. Two more new comedies are on tap for next summer, and BET is exploring its first foray into drama, developing a movie for 2012.


From left to right: Malcolm Jamal Warner and Tracee Ross Ellis

The stunning success of The Game has been a driving force. In January, two years after CW canceled the comedy about football players and the women in their lives, BET — which had been airing syndicated reruns of the series — launched new episodes.

The fourth-season premiere drew 7.7 million viewers, cable's biggest comedy opener ever, more than doubling the show's previous peak. All told, the winter season averaged 5.3 million; companion series Let's Stay Together claimed 2.9 million; and BET's prime-time audience jumped 24% to 950,000 viewers, its most-watched quarter ever.Both shows have been renewed for 22-episode seasons and return in January.

BET's CEO, Debra Lee, calls the results an "empowering and satisfying" payoff for its entry into scripted programming, years after the network took heat for a steady diet of suggestive hip-hop videos. (Somebodies, a 2008 comedy, fizzled.) "Our community is still starved for good original programming," Lee says. "The networks haven't had much to offer the last few years, and people are hungry."

Fox, WB and UPN, partly built on programming aimed at black audiences, have dropped it or no longer exist, and CW stopped airing comedies in 2009.

So the success reminded Hollywood and Madison Avenue about the value of African-American viewers, who watch more TV than any other group. The audience "is extremely loyal," says original-programming chief Loretha Jones, "and if you deliver a quality show to them week to week, they'll show up."

Game creator Mara Brock Akil says the new home is a better fit with more marketing support. At CW, "our numbers were competing with Gossip Girl, which got all the money and attention." And unlike Tyler Perry's broad family sitcoms on TBS, the show's adult appeal "allows us to deal with characters who are more complicated and flawed," she says.


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The Game Season Finale Ratings

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From 2009: Q & A with BET CEO Debra Lee

From May 2009: CW Cancels Two Black sitcoms

Interview with Hollywood Producer Debra Martin Chase

Debra Martin Chase (pictured left), one of very few Black female producers in Hollywood, has definitely made her distinctive mark in the rough-and-tumble world of moviemaking. The Great Lakes, Ill., native was originally a lawyer; her film career began when she joined the legal department at Sony Pictures. She went on to run Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston’s production companies.


Since establishing her own production company in 2000, Chase has gone on to produce many successful film and TV projects such as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Princess Diaries, The Sisterhood of theTraveling Pants and its sequel, and The Cheetah Girls TV movies. Her latest project, the original TV movie Lemonade Mouth, will premiere on the Disney Channel on April 15.

Ebony magazine recently had the opportunity to talk to Chase about the realities of the Hollywood today, and what it takes to survive and succeed in this unforgiving business.

Read it at the Ebony magazine website here

60 Minutes - Gospel for Teens

Gospel for Teens
April 3, 2011

Lesley Stahl spends a year following the inspirational leader of a gospel music program for teenagers in Harlem and her students as they learn to sing this original American art form and build the confidence and character it inspires.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I'm posting this because this is the BEST segment I've seen on 60 Minutes in a long time and 60 Minutes is an excellent show.

Gospel for Teens, Part 1


Gospel for Teens, Part 2

LAPD: Leads Have Been Exhausted in Biggie Murder Case

LAPD: Detectives have exhausted leads in Notorious B.I.G. murder case


 April 7, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

As the FBI released hundreds of pages of investigative documents related to the unsolved slaying of rapper Notorious B.I.G., Los Angeles police said they have no new leads in the case.

LAPD Capt. Kevin McClure, head of the department's Robbery Homicide Division, said Wednesday that the LAPD's investigation into the killing of the rapper, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, remains open, but that detectives have exhausted the leads they were pursuing.

"We have followed up on all of the leads we have at this time to the best of our ability. If anything new comes along we will certainly look at it," he said.

The FBI documents, released on the bureau's website, come from its probe into who killed the rapper, also known as Biggie Smalls, and whether any Los Angeles police officers were involved. The records include internal LAPD and FBI memos, witness statements and stakeout notes.

The New York rapper was gunned down outside the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Miracle Mile area on March 9, 1997, as he was leaving a music industry party.

The FBI's probe was closed in 2005 with few answers after investigators looked into various theories.

The FBI opened its probe after Wallace's family accused the city of covering up LAPD involvement in the rapper's slaying. The suit was dismissed last year.

The FBI was responding to unconfirmed allegations that police officers were present at the party Wallace attended before he was killed, talking on cellphones before the shooting. It was alleged by some sources that the professional nature of the slaying suggested it couldn't have been pulled off by a single gang member, but rather a larger group of people or officers.

Most of the allegations contained in the documents had been reported in news stories over the years. Because the FBI redacted the names and affiliations of many of the informants and witnesses cited in the documents, it is difficult to independently assess their credibility.

At the time of his death, Wallace was one of the biggest stars in rap music. His slaying shocked the hip-hop community, coming just months after the Las Vegas slaying of another marquee rapper, Los Angeles-based Tupac Shakur. Once friends, the rappers became rivals whose respective camps regularly traded violent barbs in song lyrics and in interviews. Shakur's slaying also remains unsolved.



Christopher Wallace

 Various theories have linked the two homicides. Some believe the two men were killed as part of a rivalry between East Coast and West Coast rappers, or between their two music labels at the time, Los Angeles-based Death Row and New York-based Bad Boy Entertainment.

--Robert Faturechi



FBI file on Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace


The FBI has released hundreds of pages of records from their investigation into the 1997 slaying of rapper Notorious B.I.G. The records, which contain FBI files spanning eight years, come from a civil rights probe the bureau launched into the killing.

The Los Angleles Times posted them on its website. CLICK the graphic below to see them

FBI DOCUMENTS

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The Game Season Finale Ratings

BET's 'The Game' Season Finale Draws 4.4 Million

The half-hour sitcom, which drew record numbers for its premiere, averaged 2.1 million viewers on its old network the CW.

by Philiana Ng - The Hollywood Reporter

3/30/2011

The fourth season finale of BET comedy, The Game, drew 4.4 million total viewers Tuesday night.

That’s still a ways off from its premiere in January when it debuted on its new network -- when it attracted 7.7 million viewers (read more about that at the link below) -- but still a major boost from its CW days. The Game averaged 2.1 million viewers on the CW.

BET’s launch of the half-hour sitcom, which originally aired on the broadcast net for three seasons before getting the axe in May 2009, was the series’ best showing ever and the cable network’s most-watched telecast.

Related posts-
Social Media Has Got 'Game'

From May 2009: CW Cancels Two Black sitcoms

New Broadcast Net Aimed at African Americans, To Launch in Fall

EXCLUSIVE: Bounce TV, New Broadcast Net Aimed at African Americans, To Launch in Fall

Andrew Young, Martin Luther King III among founders

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/3/2011 10:15:00 PM

A group led by Ambassador Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III is expected on Monday to announce plans to launch a new over-the-air television network aimed at African-American audiences in the fall.

Based in Atlanta, Bounce TV, is trying to line up distribution through the digital signals of local television stations. It plans to broadcast a mix of theatrical movies, live sports, off-net series and original programming aimed at adults 25-54. It has made deals to acquire TV rights to 400 African-American oriented films from NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Television, Codeblack Entertainment and Image Entertainment.

Bounce TV will be run by a founding group comprised of Young and King and Andrew "Bo" Young III. The co-founders of African-American-owned production company Rainforest Films are also involved, with Rob Hardy serving as chief content officer and Will Packer holding the title chief strategy and marketing officer. Also involved in management are two former Turner Broadcasting executives, Ryan Glover and Jonathan Katz, who have been named executive VPs.

"My father envisioned the day that African Americans would play major roles in entertainment within ownership, not just serve as entertainers on the stage or in front of the cameras. That's what makes this even more exciting to me as we embark on this new endeavor of an independently owned and operated broadcast television network featuring African Americans," said King

Former executive VP of U.S. syndication sales for Sony Pictures Television, Jeffrey Wolf, will handle network distribution of Bounce TV. The network plans to offer half of its ad time for insertion by local affiliates.

Bounce TV will be televising football and basketball from the nation's largest African American athletic conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, under a rights agreement with Urban Sports Entertainment Group. The network will air the CIAA Championship football and some quarter and semi-final CIAA tournament basketball games.

Atlanta -based CSE, an independent sports, entertainment and television production agency, will provide marketing, digital, post-production and operational resources.

In targeting African-Americans, Bounce TV is moving into territory already occupied by cable networks such as Viacom's BET and TV One, a joint venture of Comcast, NBC Universal and DirecTV.

"There are nearly 13 million Hispanic television households that are served by dozens of Spanish and Spanish-language versions of networks. Yet, the more than 14 million African American TV households have just a few dedicated cable channels - and no over-the-air networks," said Glover. "Bounce TV will fill the need for an over-the-air television network exclusively for African Americans. At the same time, local broadcasters are looking for digital programming, as well as African American-skewing product. Bounce TV will fill both of those market needs for local broadcasters."

"I am proud that our network will deliver free programming exclusively for our under-served community and be accessible to all homes around the country and not just those who pay for television," added Young.

A couple of networks targeting Hispanic viewers have used broadcast station digital networks to gain distribution, including Estrella TV and LATV.

Most TV stations are still trying to figure out the best way to make use of the extra channels they got when broadcasting converted from analog to digital. Some stations have used the channels to provide news or weather services.

ABC last year launched the Live Well channel designed to air high-quality programming produced by its owned and operated stations. A few Belo stations have signed up for Live Well.

"Bounce TV is a new model; a demo-specific network designed for digital carriage that we believe is well-timed for the marketplace," said Wolf. "We have built a smart and efficient business model created by people with the decades of television and entertainment experience. The initial response from stations has been overwhelmingly positive and we expect advertisers to embrace Bounce TV as well."

Bounce TV's package of films from NBCU is comprised of about 200 titles including Ray, The Hurricane, Do the Right Thing and Car Wash. Sony Pictures has licensed 100 titles, including Philadelphia, Glory, Ali and Boyz' n The Hood.

Codeblack Entertainment is a new content company focused on African-American and urban audiences. The package it has licensed to Bounce TV has 50 movies and documentaries featuring such stars as Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Williams, Bill Cosby and Terrence Howard. Bounce is also getting 50 comedies and dramas. The stars of the comedies include Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Charles Dutton, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

"We are launching as an entertainment-based network, built upon a foundation of movies for the African American audience," said Glover. "As the network grows we will execute on Rob Hardy's creative vision for original programming, plans of which are already in development."

UPDATE: May 6, 2011 - Read about the network's new distribution deal and a link to their website here

The Mystery of Jaden Smith

If you notice the "Popular Posts" to the right>>>> You'll see that Jaden Smith (pictured left) is a HUGELY popular draw on this site. The stats that I read are ASTRONOMICAL. I thought he was really good in 'The Karate Kid' and judging from the box office, and yes the traffic to this blog a lot of other people do too. Congratulations to him and his success!

For his fans-more pics

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Jaden Smith is the Karate Kid 

Will Smith & Jaden Smith Together in New Flick

Left to Right-Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow Smith, Will Smith and Jaden Smith

Family Business: Will Smith To Star With Son in M. Night Shyamalan Flick
By: Erica Ho - Time

The Smith family is turning the Hollywood biz into a family affair.Will Smith and son Jaden [Smith] plan to co-star in a new M. Night Shyamalan-directed flick.

Shyamalan, best known for great movies like The Sixth Sense and some not-so-great movies like The Happening, is sticking to the genre he knows best. The untitled movie is a futuristic sci-fi story set 1,000 years set in the future. A young boy and his father, presumably Smith and Smith, crash into an unknown, empty Earth. NewsFeed assumes there will be a twist ending.

Jaden's mother, Jada Pinkett Smith, is co-producing the Shyamalan flick, along with dad Will Smith himself. Jaden is no stranger to acting either. He starred in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid.

Update-September 8, 2011: The M. Night Shyamalan film now titled  “One Thousand A.E.” with Will Smith and Jaden Smith is now set to hit theaters on June 7, 2013 with filming slated to begin in early 2012.

Related post-

Jaden Smith is the Karate Kid