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Tag: HBO

  • Sam Berns: Inspirational Teen Battling Progeria Dies

    The Progeria Research Program tells us that Sam Berns, the well-loved boy who helped the world become more aware of Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, has died this Friday at the age of 17.

    Sam Berns became an inspiration for many due to his positive perspective about his condition and life in general. In various interviews, his theme was often one of encouragement to enjoy each moment, stay happy and definitely do not participate in any pity parties. He lived what he preached– Sam played the snare drum in his high school’s marching band, went to school dances and mainly concentrated on being happy despite the obvious obstacles.

    Progeria is pinpointed by a child’s rapid aging symptoms such as loss of hair and body fat and degenerating organ productivity within their first year of life. According to the Progeria Research Foundation, an estimated 200-250 children are living with Progeria worldwide, and it equally affects both sexes and races. The average lifespan of children with Progeria is 13 years.

    Both doctors, Bern’s parents took an active role in Progeria research after their son was diagnosed with the syndrome. The Progeria Research Foundation is one result of their efforts to save their son and others with the condition.

    The New England Patriot’s coach had planned on Sam climbing aboard as an honorary captain for Saturday’s game, but instead the Boston stadium held a pregame ceremony along with a moment of silence for Sam Berns. One New Englander aptly captured the sentiments worldwide, ending the moment of silence with an emotional yell to “Do it for Sammy!”

    Be sure to check out his HBO documentary, Life According to Sam, and visit the Progeria Research Foundation website to see how you can further the research on this mysterious disease. His Boston Globe Obituary is available here.

    Image via NDN

  • ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Cancelled By HBO

    ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Cancelled By HBO

    The executive decision was highly expected, and HBO has made the final call. According to Yahoo! News, on Thursday, Jan.9, the network confirmed that the upcoming fifth season of Boardwalk Empire will conclude the series.

    “It has been an incredible honor to bring this powerful and groundbreaking series to our subscribers,” said HBO programming president Michael Lombardo. “Terry Winter has created one for the ages,” said Lombardo of the Boardwalk Empire front runner.

    Winter, highly lauded for his writing expertise with The Wolf of Wall Street, premiered the serial drama on September 19, 2010. He has had all long lineage of success with the HBO network, as he was also a writer and executive producer for the hit mob drama series The Sopranos.

    In wake of the premium cable network’s announcement, Winter shared his take on their mutual decision to end the show. “We’re thrilled to get the go-ahead for a fifth season of Boardwalk Empire,” said Winter. “After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we’ve decided to wrap up the series after such a great run and look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion.”

    The publication also reports that the decision to conclude the series appears to be directional, as the storyline may have reached a point of finality. Although the show’s ratings saw a slight decline in season four, the drop wasn’t substantial enough to cancel the series. Boardwalk Empire was still considered one of HBO’s most watched programs, ranking right alongside Game of Thrones and True Blood.

    The critically acclaimed series has also garnered a number of prestigious accolades, including forty Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with seventeen wins. The series also won the Golden Globe Award for ‘Best Television Drama Series’ 2011, and two SAG Awards for ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series’ in 2011 and 2012.

    The HBO Network took to Twitter to publicly share the announcement with the avid Boardwalk Empire fans.

    Season five is set to return sometime this fall on HBO.

    Image via Twitter | Boardwalk Empire

  • Boardwalk Empire Renewed for Fifth and Final Season

    HBO’s popular hit series Boardwalk Empire is coming to an end. The upcoming fifth season will be its last. The show’s creator Terence Winter said, “We’re thrilled to get the go-ahead for a fifth season of Boardwalk Empire. After much discussion with my creative team and HBO, we’ve decided to wrap up the series after such a great run and look forward to bringing it to a powerful and exciting conclusion.”

    The show takes place in 1920s and 30s Atlantic City, NJ. It features Steve Buscemi as power-hungry millionaire Nucky Thompson. The drama examines the corruption of power and politics during the prohibition era when many politicians were just as crooked as mobsters.

    The show is not ending because of a lack of popularity or ratings. Although the period drama never reached the heights of The Sopranos or the critical acclaim of The Wire, it has been a steady earner for HBO and currently ranks third in the ratings to Game of Thrones and True Blood. The show has won a total of five Emmy Awards.

    There are plenty of loose ends for season five to tie-up. Nucky’s brother Eli, who ratted him out to the Feds, has been sent to Chicago where he’ll meet up with the likes of Al Capone. Gillian is in prison and suffering from a nervous breakdown. Chalky will certainly look to avenge the death of his daughter. What’s to become of the evil Dr. Narcisse? How far will J. Edgar Hoover go in his war on the mob?

    Winter and company will have to complete their series arc in just 12 episodes. The final season will air this fall.

    Image via Facebook

  • Was “Breaking Bad” Better Than “The Sopranos?”

    For those Netflix customers who need their Walter White fix, they won’t have to wait too long, because the comapny just announced that it will be releasing the final eight episodes of “Breaking Bad” for streaming. So for those who want to re-live all the craziness of the last season they’ll be able to do so on Feb. 24, according to The Huffington Post.

    It’s been almost four months now since the show about a teacher turned meth-dealer went off the air, and ever since, loyal fans have been dying to get their hands on the final season to see if they can pick up anything that they missed before. And if you’ve never seen the show before, Feb 24 will be a great time to experience all the drama and humor the show has to offer, and you can also include yourself in the many “Breaking Bad” conversations that seem to happen at just about every workplace and dinner table.

    Since the show went off the air, many people on social media and on blogs have asked if “Breaking Bad” is better than “The Sopranos?” If Walter White is more compelling than Tony Soprano. And what if you compared Skyler White to Carmella Soprano, which character was it easier to feel empathy for, and which actress played the role more convincingly?

    And if you took a look at the rest of the supporting characters, which ones were more interesting to watch? Chrissy Moltisanti or Jesse Pinkman? Hank Schrader or Paulie Walnuts? And finally, which of the series’ plot lines rang more true? The questions could go on forever and one could probably come up with a million hard-to-call comparisons, because both shows were incredible.

    But based on this writer’s take, “The Sopranos” wins the prize every time, although I’m sure many people would disagree. For one, the story lines were a little more realistic, as Walter White and company did a lot of improbable-made-for-TV-things to get out of jams. “The Sopranos” did the same at times, but far less frequently. For example, reality might have been stretched a little when the mob characters did a “hit” and all they did was clean up the blood and not worry about the DNA. But for the most part, the “The Sopranos” was more gritty, had darker, yet funnier story lines and the writer’s added a philosophical component to each episode than “Breaking Bad” didn’t have, which is not an easy feat when you’re writing a show about a bunch of sociopaths.

    Don’t get me wrong, “Breaking Bad” was obviously right up there with “The Sopranos,” in terms of quality and plot twists, but due to the fact that AMC wasn’t able to show as much as HBO, I think “Breaking Bad” suffered a bit for it, and “The Soprano’s” writers had little more room to be creative.

    But either way, you can judge for yourself next month when you sit back, grab some good eats and enjoy “Breaking Bad’s” last eight episodes. And when you’re done, watch a bit of the “The Sopranos” and make the comparison yourself, but both shows were so well-made it might be hard to make a final decision. Unless of course you’re just a bigger fan of one show over the other. Then your decision will be easy. It’ll be biased, but it’ll definitely be easy.

    Image via YouTube

  • Girls TV Show Nude-ispute: Reporter Relays His Side

    Whenever an argument gains momentum, trends, and turns into gossip fodder – on the internet or otherwise – it’s always best to hear both sides before making an assessment.

    Today, the tiff in question is a debate between Lena Dunham her Girls TV show associates versus a reporter at the Television Critics Association press tour panel. During their winter press tour, reporter Tim Molloy inquired about the level of nudity on the show – comparing it to Game of Thrones, before deducing that the latter had purpose while the former did not. Tim had commented during his question:

    “They’re doing it to be salacious. To titillate people. And your character is often naked at random times for no reason.”

    Affronted, Dunham retorted, “It’s because it’s a realistic expression of what it’s like to be alive, I think, and I totally get it. If you are not into me, that’s your problem.” Lena’s colleagues then chimed in, chastising Molloy for his unfavorable phrasing.

    But what about the reporter’s side of the story?

    Well, in his online recollection of the story, Tim Molloy addresses Lena’s comment, saying: “Huh? But I didn’t say that,” recalling that subsequently the “conversation continued its personal turn as Apatow asked if I had a girlfriend.” During the panel, Apatow had followed up Molloy’s affirmative reply with, “Let’s see how she likes you when you quote that with your question.”

    Molloy’s online response went on to say that his girlfriend “wondered about it too” and was “cool with it”.

    Ultimately the problem wasn’t so much about the question of nudity so much as how Molloy asked it. By saying it was “for no reason”, the implication was that it had no artistic merit. By highlighting the disparity of thread-shedding in Thrones versus Girls with the adjectives he did, the inference could be made that Dunham’s natural nudity is merely pointless and “random”, while saline tits are “titillating”. That adjective, however, he omitted as recalled the exchange and stood his ground online:

    The happy ending to this story is that all press it good press for professionals whose livelihood depends on it – especially when it’s so well timed. Oh, gee. Did I leave that out? Yes – since the first episode of Girls premieres Jan. 12, 2014, it’s such a happy accident that this amplified coverage of perceived body-shaming will ignite a buzz-trend on Twitter to remind viewers to watch it on Sunday.

    Meanwhile on Twitter, Mr. Molloy seems to be enjoying his 15 minutes of infamy from Lena’s legions of followers as his article gets heaps of hits from haters.

    But I’m, like, totally sure this little dispute wasn’t blown out of proportion or planned for publicity… whatsoever.

    I mean, what would either party possibly have to gain?

    Image via Youtube

  • Jim Parsons And All-Star Cast Highlight Ryan Murphy’s Upcoming HBO Film

    The news just continues to pile on for the HBO network today. HBO already announced that its hit comedy Girls would be returning for a fourth season, and the premiere date for season four of Game Of Thrones.

    The most recent news comes for an upcoming film that will air on HBO, which is likely to be up for several awards next year.

    Two openly gay men, Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer, play the leads in the film’s adaptation. Parsons is known for playing the part of Sheldon Cooper on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, earning him multiple Emmys, and Bomer is the star of USA’s White Collar.

    Ryan Murphy has said that “it is sort of thrilling” to feature two gay men in an AIDS TV drama.

    The film is called The Normal Heart, and is directed by Ryan Murphy, who has assembled an all-star cast for the HBO project. The film is also being written by Larry Kramer, who is an Academy Award nominee for the film Women In Love.

    Ryan Murphy has previously worked on a series of successful shows including Glee, which he has won multiple Emmys for. He also works on American Horror Story, and was the director of Nip/Tuck. Murphy will join Kramer who wrote the film as well as the groundbreaking play that it is based on to make the film that is presented by HBO Films.

    The Normal Heart is a drama that tells the story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s.

    The film will take a look at the nation’s sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

    Kramer’s play debuted at New York’s Public Theatre in 1985 and was revived in Los Angeles and London, and off-Broadway. Jim Parsons plays gay activist Tommy Boatwright, reprising his role from the 2011 Broadway revival. The 2011 Broadway revival garnered five Tony nominations, winning for Best Revival, Best Featured Actor and Best Featured Actress.

    In addition to the lead actors being played by Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer, many other actors have joined on in an outstanding ensemble cast. The cast includes Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo, Oscar winner Julia Roberts, Alfred Molina, Corey Stoll, and several others.

    The Normal Heart is set to debut on HBO in May, although it has not been given an official premiere date yet.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • HBO’s “Girls” Has Been Renewed For A Fourth Season

    With all of the hype and excitement over the upcoming season of HBO’s Girls, and the acclaim that it has received from fans and critics everywhere, this news certainly does not come as a shock.

    Girls is getting ready to premiere its third season on Sunday January 12th, and the show will do something that most shows do not do, and air two episodes on the first night. The show has created a star out of Lena Dunham, who plays the main character Hannah on the show.

    While the third season has yet to begin, a network spokesperson announced at the top of its Television Critics Association winter press tour panel that the show would continue, and premiere its fourth season in 2015.

    The show centers on Hannah, a twentysomething girl living in New York with a few of her closest friends from college. It showcases her life and all of the outrageous situations that she gets in, including raging parties, boyfriends and ex’s.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRtwqdQ6UdI

    Marnie, Jessa, and Shoshana are her three friends that are featured prominently throughout the show, and they each have their own unique personalities.

    In addition to being the star of the show, Lena Dunham is also the creator and one of the producers. Judd Apatow is also a producer on the show, which could explain some of the success that the show has had.

    While it is not a hit for people to watch on the same day as it airs, it ranks as one of HBO’s biggest DVR growers. The most recent season also netted more than 6 million weekly viewers with time-shifting and additional plays.

    Girls has been very popular since its start and could be the most talked about show on HBO if it were not for Game Of Thrones, which announced the premiere of its fourth season today.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnU13ZHxjGk

    With the Golden Globes just two nights away, Girls took home two Golden Globes in 2013 for best comedy and for star Dunham. Girls received nominations for both the show and its star again this year.

    Although the first two seasons of Girls only had 10 episodes, when the third season premieres on Sunday, fans will be able to see a total of 12 episodes throughout the season.

    Image via Facebook

  • Game of Thrones Season 4 Trailer Debuts Sunday, but HBO Offers Some Sneak Peeks via Vine

    HBO recently announced that the season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones will air on Sunday, April 6th – which means that we’re all going to have to survive this long, cold winter before winter actually comes. Or something like that. HBO also said that they will unveil the first taste of the new season-the first official trailer-at 8:58 pm ET (right before the series premiere of True Detective).

    Well, I guess HBO knows that it’s cruel to not give us anything today – so they’ve released a series of Vine videos that serve as short sneak peeks of the new trailer.

    Thank the gods, old or new!

    Get excited, people.

    Image via HBO, Game of Thrones Facebook

  • Game Of Thrones Announces The Premiere Date For Season 4

    Fans of the fantasy world of HBO’s Game Of Thrones can start getting excited now. An official premiere date has finally been set for the fourth season of the critically acclaimed show that has also become one of the biggest fan favorites of all time.

    The fourth season of Game Of Thrones will premiere on April 6th. It will be followed by the third season premiere of Veep, and the new comedy from Mike Judge called Silicon Valley.

    While plot details have not been revealed yet, fans can get a glimpse of what the new season will be like with the preview that will be show before the series premiere of True Detective this Sunday. With HBO’s hit comedy Girls returning with two episodes this Sunday, people will likely be tuning into the network all night.

    Meanwhile, Game Of Thrones‘ young star Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, is also set to play the part of Sarah Connor in the upcoming Terminator film. There is no release date yet for the film, but sometime in 2015 is likely. Coincidentally, her co-star on Game Of Thrones Lena Headey already played Sarah Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the show that aired on Fox.

    The Game Of Thrones television series is based on the book series by George R.R. Martin called “A Song Of Ice And Fire,” and it is a series that is still being written. The format of the show has translated to about two seasons per book so far.

    The fourth season is expected to chart the events chronicled in the latter half of the Martin’s sprawling third book in the series, “A Storm of Swords,” but will also introduce characters and occurrences from other novels.

    Fans, be sure to tune into HBO at 9 p.m. on April 6th to catch an all-new season of Game Of Thrones.

    Image via Facebook

  • Olivia Munn: Not So Bad After All

    Olivia Munn: Not So Bad After All

    Just in case you were wondering, Olivia Munn is not a pill on-set, despite the rumors.

    The Magic Mike actress has scoffed at the recent whispers stating that she has a “know-it-all attitude” and is “overstepping” her boundaries on her most recent gig, The Newsroom. And so has its creator Aaron Sorkin.

    “The story bears no resemblance to reality,” stated Sorkin in a report. “Olivia is a perfect cast member who is loved and respected by the entire cast, by the crew and the producers, by HBO, and especially by me.”

    This is a far cry from what the scathing report stated, including that Munn was acting more like Sorkin’s co-writer instead of an actress, and was even causing waves with the show’s star, Jeff Daniels.

    “Olivia and Aaron’s relationship soured so completely during season two of  The Newsroom that it created a poisonous atmosphere on the set,” said the source.

    Like most celebs, Munn took to Twitter to defend herself:

    Some are wondering if this recent gossip is just a ploy to create a buzz for the upcoming season three of the show. As you may recall, it ended quite a while ago, and perhaps this is a way to get people thinking of the show again. Featuring some seriously zany story lines, such as a doll coming to life, an elderly witch, and an orangutan nurse, such a twist wouldn’t be that unheard of.

    Munn has been on the show since 2012, and plays Sloan Sabbith, a socially awkward senior financial reporter for News Night.

    Image via Wikimedia

  • Emilia Clarke Cast In Upcoming “Terminator” Film

    In the newly announced and upcoming Terminator reboot, Emilia Clarke has been chosen to play the role of Sarah Connor. It is a role of high demand, and one that was made famous by Linda Hamilton in James Cameron’s classic 1984 film, The Terminator.

    The casting for Sarah Connor was initially narrowed down to two remaining actresses, Emilia Clarke and Brie Larson, and it was recently reported that Clarke has emerged as the choice for the role.

    The new film is being directed by Alan Taylor, who previously directed Game Of Thrones, giving Emilia Clarke a bit of an edge over Larson, and others competing for the role. Clarke has secured the iconic role of Sarah Connor, a central role in the upcoming film, which has yet to be given a title.

    She is the future mother of John Connor, who grows up to be the leader of the human resistance in the war between humanity and the cyborgs. The role of John Connor has not been cast yet, however Jason Clarke is in talks for the role. This film will include a young Kyle Reese and an adult Connor, the Terminator robot is tasked to protect Sarah Connor from childhood and into young adulthood.

    After receiving much support from her beloved Game of Thrones fans, the casting of Emilia Clarke is likely to make a lot of people happy. She plays the role of Daenerys Targaryen in the popular HBO series, and in addition to her upcoming role of Sarah Connor, she is set to appear in the upcoming film Dom Hemingway.

    The new Terminator film will be presented by Paramount, Annapurna Pictures and Skydance Productions in a a collaborative big-budget effort that will also see Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the terminator.

    In addition to the new film, fans of the Terminator series are also able to get excited over a new television series that will be made in conjunction with the film. The television idea has already been done once, and while The Sarah Connor Chronicles proved to be a failure for the most part, perhaps another shot at the idea could give it success. Emilia Clarke also has an interesting connection to the first series since her Game Of Thrones co-star Lena Headey was the one who played Sarah Connor in the show.

    With Emilia Clarke cast in the role of Sarah Connor in the upcoming Terminator film, the 26-year-old actress will be looking at even more success, and expanding on her career with another big role in a fantasy series.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Breaking Bad Snags Multiple Golden Globe Nominations

    Breaking Bad just finished its five-year run, and as one of the most popular television shows of all time, it is no wonder that the show received all of the television nominations that it could get at the Golden Globe Awards. The fan favorite aired on AMC, and it is the only show from the channel that also includes hit shows The Wakling Dead and Mad Men, to get a nomination.

    The Golden Globes have several surprises in terms of shows that are nominated this year, although everyone knew that Breaking Bad would come up big when the Golden Globe nominations were announced. Breaking Bad was very popular in its final season especially, after all of its fans were able to catch up, and had one of the best series finales in history.

    The nominations were announced this morning for the show that honors the top performers in both film and television. The full list of nominees can be seen here, with Breaking Bad leading the pack, along with The Big Bang Theory, and the Netflix original, House Of Cards.

    With the success of House Of Cards, among others, Neflix was able to earn six nominations for this year’s award show, second to only HBO, which tends to dominated TV cateogries.

    Breaking Bad also came away with similar results when it came to the nominations at the SAG Awards, which were released yesterday. 30 Rock is also a big contender this year, despite only airing a few of its episode this year.

    In terms of films at this year’s Golden Globes, American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave will be leading the way with seven nominations each.

    Breaking Bad features an outstanding cast that was also nominated for the Best Ensemble category in the SAG Awards, and the show received Golden Globe nominations for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Best Television Series-Drama. Coming off of the success of Breaking Bad, Aaron Paul also recently got a new gig accompanying a talking horse in an animated Netflix original show called BoJack Horseman.

    While it is nominated for everything else, the surprising snub for the show is the fact that Anna Gunn, who played Skylar White, was not nominated for her performance. One of the other biggest snubs is certainly completely leaving out both HBO hit Game of Thrones and Showtime’s Homeland.

    It is no surprise that Breaking Bad has snagged more nominations than other television show after becoming Netflix’s most popular show, being ranked far ahead of its original shows House Of Cards, and Orange Is The New Black, which was surprisingly left out of the Golden Globes ceremony in the Best Television Series-Drama category.

    Breaking Bad leads the pack of television shows, in a very competitive year that saw Netflix change the way people watch television more than before with its own original shows. Tune in on Sunday, January 12th in order to see who will win.

    Image via Facebook

  • Niecy Nash and Cast of ‘The Soul Man’ Returning

    TV Land’s sitcom, The Soul Man, starring Niecy Nash and Cedric the Entertainer, was announced to be returning for a third season this spring. Executives at TV Land, Keith Cox and Larry W. Jones, announced the news on Wednesday. Currently, there are 8 episodes scheduled for the third season.

    The Soul Man portrays a former soul singer who has now moved to the midwest to pursue the calling of ministry. Reverend Boyce ‘The Voice’ Ballentine (Cedric), and wife Lolli (Nash), relocate from Sin City to St. Louis with Boyce’s brother Stamps (Wesley Jonathan) in tow.

    The list of popular stars who made guest appearances last season will be hard to top next season. Nash’s former costar on Reno 911! , Cedric Yarbrough, Jamie Kennedy, and Kim Wayans all had guest spots, as well as many more.

    The network waited nearly two months after last year’s ratings were released to announce the good news. In the first two seasons of Soul Man , gains among African-American adults and women in the 25-54 age category rose +103% and +111%, compared to the network’s prime average as a whole.

    The Soul Man is produced by some famous comedic professionals, including actor Sean Hayes, who won an Emmy award and six Goldern Globe nominations for his portrayal of Jack McFarland on the NBC comedy, Will and Grace. As well, Hayes’ partner at Hazy Mills Productions, Todd Milliner, and their fellow Hot in Cleveland co-executive producer, Suzanne Martin, also produce Soul Man.

    You can also catch Niecy Nash on a new comedy on HBO. Getting On portrays three women working with elderly, and dying, patients at a medical facility set in Long Beach, California. The half-hour comedy can be seen on HBO on Sunday night at 10 p.m.

    Main image @NiecyNash/Twitter.

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Gleeson To Quit Acting

    Game of Thrones star, 21-year-old Jack Gleeson, says that he doesn’t want to make a career out of professional acting. Gleeson is a student in Dublin, and now wants to focus on his theatre company, studies, and doing relief work with charities.

    Gleeson plays the deplorable King Joffrey Baratheon on HBO’s hit series, Game of Thrones. The series is based on a set of books by author George R.R. Martin, and has already been aired for three seasons.

    Jack Gleeson, a.k.a., King Joffrey, is an Irish actor and student at Trinity College in Dublin. His studies there, philosophy and theology, have him “re-evaluating” what he wants to do with his life, as well as his work with an aid agency.

    The actor recently returned from a mission trip to Haiti with the charity agency Goal. He now says that doing charity work is where he would like to focus his time after Game of Thrones, and his acting stint, ends.

    Gleeson was just 17 when he auditioned for the role of King Joffrey, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that his life interests and goals have changed. However, the public isn’t used to, and doesn’t understand, someone who doesn’t want the life of fame and fortune. Many fans of Thrones are livid about Gleeson’s lack of interest in the art.

    The Trinity student recently told Dublin’s The Independent, “It was always a recreation beforehand, but when I started doing Game of Thrones perhaps the reality was made too real for me. The lifestyle that comes with being an actor in a successful TV show isn’t something I gravitate towards.”

    Gleeson also says that his character doesn’t make for an easy character to like, or a difficult one to give up. The actor said of King Joffrey, “In terms of redeeming qualities, there wouldn’t be many.”

    The series is expected to return to HBO in the spring of next year.

    Main image courtesy @GameOfThrones via Twitter.

  • “Girls” Season 3 Trailer Is Here, And It’s Glorious

    “Girls” is one of those shows that elicits strong reactions from everyone who sees it; it’s a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing, and those who love it have been breathlessly awaiting the premiere of the third season to find out what happened after Adam showed up to rescue Hannah, or where the hell Jessa went off to. A new trailer for the show doesn’t give us all the answers, but it does at least give us something to whet our appetites until the January 12 premiere.

    Season 3 looks like it will not be a disappointment to those who tune in for 20-something life advice and the snappy witticisms that are the trademark of anything Lena Dunham/Judd Apatow does. It’s got Hannah inexplicably twerking on a headstone, for one thing, and the drama that played out between Shosh and Ray is still happening. But what will become of Charlie and Marnie?

    Image: YouTube

  • HBO Go Now Features Chromecast Support

    HBO Go Now Features Chromecast Support

    When the Chromecast was first announced back in July, it only supported a handful of video streaming services. The list of supported services has steadily improved over the last few months, but a few noteworthy streaming services were still not supported. Now one of the biggest names in video streaming is finally on Chromecast.

    Google announced today that HBO Go now supports Chromecast. In other words, the HBO Go app on Android and iOS can now send the video you’re currently watching to your TV through Chromecast. Google notes that you can also stream HBO Go content from the Web using the HBO Go Web site on either the Chrome browser or Chromebook.

    If you want to start watching HBO Go via Chromecast, the updated apps for Android and iOS are now available for download. The Android app supports Android versions 2.3 and up while the iOS app supports iOS 6 and up. I’m going to assume the Web app now supports Chromecast as well.

    So get on it folks – all those episodes of Game of Thrones aren’t going to watch themselves.

    [Image: Google Chrome/YouTube]

  • Whoopi Goldberg Honors Iconic Comic, Moms Mabley

    Veteran actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg recently announced her latest project, however, it isn’t a television show or motion picture she’ll be starring in. It’s actually a HBO documentary that she’ll be directing. The “Ghost” actress will be debuting an honorary film entitled, “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley.”

    For those who aren’t aware of who she is, Moms Mabley was one of the first African American stand-up comedians, and a veteran actress in the ‘Chitlin’ Circuit.’ As an teenage runaway, Mabley began her career on the Broadway stage. She was an entertainer in more than 10 Broadway shows over a 20-year span, appearing alongside prominent musicians like Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.

    Mabley evolved to become one of the most successful acts of the Chitlin’ Circuit, garnering an impressive $10,000 each week at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. By the 1960s, Mabley had become a mainstream entertainer playing New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall in 1962.

    Mabley also made several mainstream appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, Bill Cosby Show, and the The Smothers Brothers’ Comedy Hour. Mabley also appeared in a number of films including the “Boarding House Blues,” (1948) and the 1965 release of “The Cincinnati Kid.” At the time of her death in 1975, Mabley had become a household name and comedic legend with a career that spanned over 50 years, reports the New York Times.

    (image)

    So, with Mabley esteemed background and legacy, it’s quite befitting that an actress of Goldberg’s caliber would find it necessary to pay homage to the “Amazing Grace” actress.”Moms Mabley has been a huge inspiration to me and so many others, but not a lot of folks outside of the comedy world know about her legacy,” said Goldberg. “Her impact on me was profound.”

    Mabley has also been noted as a major career influence for other veteran actors like Sarah Silverman, Phyllis Diller, Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Wanda Sykes, Kathy Griffin, Richard Pryor and Bernie Mac. “She was like a real person, like someone in your family,” admitted Eddie Murphy.

    The film will chronicle Mabley’s life and legacy, however, the obvious topics aren’t the only subject matter to be discussed. Mabley’s personal life and sexual orientation will also be explained in the film. She liked women,” said Goldberg. “We had heard that Moms was gay. This is a rumor that had been around forever. And then when we started talking to folks, we talked to the dancer Norma Miller,” a business acquaintance Mabley performed with at the Apollo Theater. ‘We never called Moms a homosexual. we never called her gay. We called her Mr. Moms,’ ” admitted Miller.

    “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley” premiered Monday Nov. 18. However, the documentary will air several times throughout the month of November. Air dates include: Nov. 18 (4:45 a.m.), 21st (1:45 p.m.), 24th (5:45 p.m.), 26th (11:15 a.m.) and 30th (1:30 p.m.).

    Image(s) via Wikimedia Commons | Whoopi Goldberg  Wikimedia Commons | Moms Mabley

  • John Oliver Leaving The Daily Show, Coming to HBO Sunday Nights

    John Oliver’s star is rising, thanks to a truly great 7-year run on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Now, he’s saying goodbye to the show that kickstarted his career and saying hello to HBO.

    HBO has announced that Oliver will star in a “topical comedy series” slated to debut next year. The show will air on HBO’s packed Sunday night lineup, and will air weekly.

    Earlier this year, Oliver filled in for Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show while the latter worked on a film project. Although it’s hard to match Jon Stewart in the late-night comedy arena, John Oliver did a great job – apparently good enough to catch the eye of HBO’s programming head Michael Lombardo.

    “We weren’t otherwise searching for another weekly talk show, but when we saw John Oliver handling host duties on ‘The Daily Show,’ we knew that his singular perspective and distinct voice belonged on HBO,” said Lombardo. “We are extremely excited that John has agreed to make HBO his home.”

    The show will “present a satirical look at the week in news, politics and current events,” according to HBO – a format that definitely suits Oliver’s talents.

    “I’m incredibly excited to be joining HBO, especially as I presume this means I get free HBO now. I want to thank Comedy Central, and everyone at ‘The Daily Show’ for the best seven and a half years of my life. But most of all, I’d like to thank Jon Stewart. He taught me everything I know. In fact, if I fail in the future, it’s entirely his fault,” said Oliver.

    Oliver first joined The Daily Show back in 2006. Along with various stand-up specials, Oliver has also had a recurring role on NBC’s Community.

    Image via John Oliver, Twitter

  • Marilyn Manson Makes Odd Cameo on Eastbound and Down

    “Can I take your trash?” Talk about awkward. You know may know Marilyn Manson as a cross-dressing, goth, cult-figure with a face covered in thick makeup. But if you tuned into HBO’s comedy series Eastbound and Down on Sunday night, you got the opportunity to see Manson as a nerdy waiter at a roller rink.

    If you missed the Antichrist Superstar singer’s 20-second cameo, you can now check it out for yourself:

    It was just a month ago when we first heard that Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, was a huge fan of Eastbound and Down. The show’s star, Danny McBride, decided to give the goth-singer a small cameo in one of the scenes.

    It all stemmed from a 2010 interview with Vulture.com when McBride described the oddness of Manson actually being a huge fan of the show. “It was pretty insane that Marilyn Manson was a fan of the show. He came to the season-two premiere. Jody and I are both fans of his and it was just nuts that he would watch. For some reason, I don’t imagine Marilyn Manson sitting on a couch watching TV. I picture him hanging out in a torture chamber or something. We were definitely flattered and creeped out and felt great that he liked the show.”

    (image)

    The 44-year-old is not a total stranger when it comes to acting. He made his big screen debut in David Lynch’s surreal neo-noir Lost Highway in 1997. In addition, Manson has appeared in both cameo and minor roles, including the independent films Jawbreaker in 1999 and Party Monster in 2003. Manson also recently appeared as himself in the Showtime television series Californication .

    The series Eastbound and Down is about a washed up, rude, obnoxious, mullet-sporting former professional relief pitcher played by McBride. It is currently airing its fourth and final season on HBO. The show is co-produced by Will Ferrell and plenty of A-list stars including Matthew McConaughey and Don Johnson have appeared on the series.

    Images Via Facebook, Twitter

  • Entourage Movie: Get Ready Fans, It’s Official!

    The Entourage movie has finally been made official after years of delay, and speculation about the fate of the film. Members of the cast and director, Doug Ellin continued to tweet about the fate of the film recently, until yesterday when it was finally revealed that it would be made.

    Entourage was a very popular television show that aired on HBO from 2004-2011. After the show’s finale, an Entourage movie was rumored to be made almost as soon as the show’s emotional end. The film was originally green-lit in January, but has been delayed several times since.

    The show featured Adrian Grenier as the star of the show, Vincent Chase, a Hollywood actor. He is joined by his “entourage” of Eric, Turtle, and Johnny “Drama” Chase, his brother. The crew all originated from New York, and came to Hollywood where they meet Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), and the show focused on the ups and downs of Chase’s career.

    The Entourage movie’s original announcement came from Jerry Ferrara, who played Turtle on the show, and it came in the form of a tweet. Earlier in the day, he also appeared on the Wendy Williams show in order to promote his new film Last Vegas, when of course, he was also pressed on the fate of the Entourage movie. On the show, he told Williams “It’s looking good. It’s looking real good. It could be closed today.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2iFnsXJLcw

    There has been much controversy over the film, and the reasons for it being delayed. The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that the reason for the delay was because of Jeremy PIven’s high paycheck, and his co-stars wanted a similar deal to Piven’s.

    Despite those reports, Ferrara claimed that the problems have just been due to scheduling, and that he would be happy to do it for free. He went on to mention that they hope to start shooting in January, and in fact, the Entourage movie needs to start shooting by January 2014 in order to be eligible for the California tax credit, which Warner Bros. has made a condition of the film being made.

    Adrian Grenier aslo humorously posted this fake driver’s license on both his Facebook and Twitter.

    When fans last saw the Entourage gang, many people probably remember an emotional finale with everyone seeming to go separate ways, at least temporarily. Eric finally proposed to Sloan, Vince was off to work on a new film, Turtle was making more moves as a businessman, and Johnny was even starting to see a bit of success, with Ari becoming the head of his own studio.

    Perhaps the most important tweets of the night came from Doug Ellin, who in one tweet, even responded to NBA star Kevin Durant saying that this is arguably the best day of his life.

    The Entourage movie will pick up six month after the series’ finale, with Ari being featured as a powerful head of a studio. Well, the emotional roller-coaster for fans is finally over, and we can all rest assured knowing that the film will begin shooting in a matter of months.

    Image via Youtube

  • True Detective Gets Another Great Trailer – HBO Drama to Premiere in January

    In January, HBO will premiere a new series called True Detective. It stars Matthews McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as Louisiana detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart (yep, Rust Cohle), who through flashbacks convey the story of a bizarre, ritualistic murder case from nearly 20 years ago.

    If that doesn’t hook you and you need more convincing, HBO has just released the second trailer for the series and it’s pretty great.

    If you want more, HBO has an interestingly mysterious little site for the series. It’s called DarknessBecomesYou.com. Yeah, I’m looking forward to this one.

    Here’s HBO’s full synopsis:

    In 2012, Louisiana State Police Detectives Rust Cohle and Martin Hart are brought in to revisit a homicide case they worked in 1995. As the inquiry unfolds in present day through separate interrogations, the two former detectives narrate the story of their investigation, reopening unhealed wounds, and drawing into question their supposed solving of a bizarre ritualistic murder in 1995. The timelines braid and converge in 2012 as each man is pulled back into a world they believed they’d left behind. In learning about each other and their killer, it becomes clear that darkness lives on both sides of the law.

    Oh, and you can also watch the show’s first trailer.

    Image via HBO, YouTube