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Tag: HBO

  • This Internet/HBO Bundle Is the Closest Thing You’re Going to Get to Standalone HBO Go

    This Internet/HBO Bundle Is the Closest Thing You’re Going to Get to Standalone HBO Go

    People want to pay for HBO Go, this is an established fact. Many people, however, don’t want to pay for the expensive cable packages that are required to access HBO Go. All they want is a standalone HBO Go service that works like Netflix – one in which they could pay a set monthly fee and access all of HBO’s content. But apart from Scandinavia, HBO isn’t interested in offering such a service. It’s quite the bummer.

    But maybe, just maybe, a glimmer of hope?

    It appears that there is now a way to get access to HBO Go without paying for a $100-$150 premium cable package. Comcast is now bundling HBO with its “Internet Plus” package, which offers limited basic cable and high-speed internet for less than $50 per month.

    DSL Reports first broke the news of the deal, and said that sources inside the company planned on launching the “Internet Plus” package some time this month. Lo and behold, it appears to have surfaced on Comcast’s site:

    Right now, this is the closest thing that anyone in the US is going to get to a true a la carte access to HBO Go.

    Bundling HBO with high-speed internet isn’t coming out of the blue. Earlier this year, HBO CEO Richard Plepler threw cordcutters a bone when he said it was possible that HBO could work with broadband partners to offer HBO content without premium cable subscriptions (read: as part of an internet bundle).

    At the time he seemed incredibly skeptical of such a plan, as HBO’s partnership with cable providers is a sound business strategy – at least for now – according to HBO. But what Comcast is offering here is pretty much exactly what Plepler was talking about: HBO bundled with internet access, without the cost of hundreds of cable channels that most people will never watch.

    Of course, there are a boatload of caveats to this deal. First off, the offers expires at the end of January – so there’s a chance that this is just a trial (a strong chance). Also, the package rate jumps to $69.95 per month after the first year.

    Oh, and it’s a regional offering – meaning it’s not available in all areas and pricing is totally subject to local competition.

    But hey, it’s a step in the right direction. What people really want is for HBO to simply offer HBO Go on their own, charge a monthly subscription fee, and let us watch Game of Thrones in peace. For now, that seems like a pipe dream.

    Image via HBO, YouTube

  • “Game of Thrones” Comes to Google Play

    “Game of Thrones” fans, rejoice! HBO has brought the popular fantasy series to Google Play! The cool thing about this is, since HBO is letting “Game of Thrones” slip over to Play, you can skip HBO’s monthly subscriber streaming fee that they charge to watch the shows from HBO’s website, HBO Go. You still have to pay for it, but at least you don’t have to be locked in as a member of the HBO club to watch it!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsrY52mr7O4

    Of course, “Game of Thrones” is already available on Apple’s iTunes store, but the expansion brings it to an even wider audience. You’ll be happy to know that you can now purchase and download the first two seasons of “Game of Thrones”, as well as other popular HBO shows like “Newsroom” and “True Blood”, among others. You can buy these shows by the episode or by the season, whatever your appetite or budget may be.

    “Game of Thrones” is based on the George R.R. Martin series of novels called “A Song of Ice and Fire”, hugely popular for it’s drama, blood, betrayal, redemption, and all that great stuff. “Game of Thrones” was the most pirated series out there in 2012 and 2013, and the reason for that is because it is so hard to come across legally, unless you were an HBO Go subscriber. The rampant piracy didn’t do much to hurt HBO’s bottom line, but it can’t help but be considered money flying out the window.

    Also, it’s easy to see how die-hard fans who don’t have cable, which is becoming more and more common these days, can be irked about the inability to stream a show. So, really, it’s about time HBO got on the streaming bandwagon. The rumor is, that there will be more streaming content to come from HBO, so we will wait with bated breath to see what they put out next.

    Image via youtube

  • Marilyn Manson Unrecognizable in Cameo Appearance

    Marilyn Manson’s signature trademark is his intense make-up. However, the 44 year-old, gothic rocker, was photographed while on the set of the HBO series, “Eastbound & Down”, with no make-up and actually looking quite normal.

    “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,” Danny McBride, the star of the series, said. “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.”

    “Eastbound & Down” is in its fourth and final season. According to IMDb, the show is about a “burned-out major league ballplayer returning to teach phys ed at his old middle school, years after he turned his back on his hometown.”

    Surprisingly, Manson has a weird obsession for the show and has been pestering McBride since the first season for a cameo part. He also attended two season launch parties to show his love for the series.

    “I get weird emails from Marilyn Manson now,” McBride told MTV in 2010. “He sends me weird emails in the middle of the night of what he’s watching on TV, and you can hear him giggling in the background. One time he literally sent me a Peanuts special I guess he was watching, sometimes it’s Eastbound, infomercials, anything.”

    Manson filmed his cameo for the fourth season earlier this week. However, there has not been a date set for when that episode will premiere.

    Image via Twitter

  • HBO Shows Are Now Available on Google Play

    Good news, everyone. Love HBO’s original series but don’t have a subscription? Hate iTunes? Trying to stay away from less legal options? Starting today, a handful of HBO shows are now available for purchase on Google Play in the US.

    Today, you can buy individual episodes or full seasons of Game of Thrones, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Veep, Girls, and The Wire. Check out the HBO collections page here.

    Each episode of Game of Thrones, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire are $2.99 a piece. The rest are available for $1.99 per episode.

    Although there are only 7 HBO series currently available to purchase on Google Play, they promise that more are on the way.

    Image via YouTube

  • Even Netflix’s CFO Thinks HBO Should Probably Offer a Standalone Streaming Service

    Even Netflix’s CFO Thinks HBO Should Probably Offer a Standalone Streaming Service

    Game of Thrones is the most pirated show on TV – and it has more to do with it than just great characters, amazing set design, and Khaleesi’s boobs.

    HBO does not offer a standalone streaming service. Sure, they have HBO GO – which contains pretty much every episode of every series they’ve ever produced. But you must have an HBO subscription through a cable provider in order to access it. That’s the model that HBO has chosen to run with, and it doesn’t look like they are going to change it anytime soon (at least in the States).

    Now, people in the streaming video business are suggesting that HBO could seriously increase their subscriber base if they were to offer such a standalone HBO GO-style service. And when I said people in the streaming video business, I mean Netflix CFO David Wells.

    GigaOm quotes Wells, speaking at a recent Goldman Sachs conference,

    “We believe that if they were direct-to-consumer, there would be materially more subscribers that would pay for it in the U.S.”

    He went on to suggest that HBO could challenge Netflix in terms of domestic subscribers if they were to offer such a service.

    Of course, it’s all about cost-benefit and HBO has done their homework and made their decision. For now, the current model that ties HBO content to a cable subscription is what works for them.

    Of course, that doesn’t mean that the people don’t want a standalone, cable-free HBO GO service. You might remember a campaign that look place last summer called “Take My Money, HBO.” Tens of thousands of people flooded Twitter with pleas for HBO to, well, take their money – basically saying that they would be first in line to sign up for such a service if HBO decided to come around and offer one.

    Some people said they were willing to pay upwards of $20 a month for the hypothetical service, and the average wound up being somewhere around $12.

    It’s not like HBO is unaware of the clamoring. HBO execs have even dropped hints that such a model could, maybe, possibly, probably but probably not, definitely could, definitely couldn’t work in the future.

    “But right now we have the right model,” said HBO CEO Ricahrd Plepler earlier this year.

    Image via HBO, YouTube

  • Game of Thrones Actors Hint About New Season

    The finale of Season 3 of “Game of Thrones” was perhaps the most shocking season ending of a TV show since Season 4 of “Dexter”. At the Emmy’s this past Sunday, actors from the extremely popular HBO series hinted that the upcoming season will be filled with even more drama and surprises.

    “I’m just going to say: The stakes are higher than they ever have been, and it’s getting better and better and better,” stated Lena Heady, who plays Cersei Lannister.

    One of the big appeals of “Game of Thrones” is the political intrigue that results from the show’s feudalist/warring nature. With the stakes being higher than ever, viewers can expect bigger shake-ups in the political landscape of Westeros. However, despite the brief lull in tensions last season, Cersei and Tyrion will not be finding mutual ground anytime soon: “That’s pretty much gone, any sense of that. It’s pretty effed up,” said Heady.

    Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, also took some time to give some thoughts toward the upcoming season. In speaking about his character’s relationship with Cersei, Dinklage stated “Anybody who’s read the books know that that relationship disintegrates quickly, but there’s a lot of fun in that.” Tyrion’s relationship with Sansa, on the other-hand, will seemingly fare slightly better: “It’s respectful. It’s not filled with passion.”

    The passionate relationship on the show currently belongs to Jon Snow, who is played by Kit Harington. The Night Watchmen’s relationship with wildling Ygritte will continue its steamy beginnings, with Harington promising “plenty of sex”: “Me and Rose, who plays Ygritte, we’re as close to a love story as you get in the show.” When speaking about love in “Game of Thrones” in general, though, Harington was not optimistic: “Love? In ‘Game of Thrones’? Really? You think they’d be that nice?!”

    Harington’s character, Jon Snow, was last seen in Season 3 being attacked by an Eagle and shot at by his love-interest Ygritte. In Season 4, Snow will be wearing the memories of this encounter: “My face is not OK. It’s far from OK! I have to have scars this season… I’m asking to keep one of [the scars]. In the books he’s got a scar that runs (down his face), and so [one] side is going to disappear, but on [one] side I’m gonna have a scar. I thought that would look quite sexy. They’re quite sexy if done in the right way.”

    Unfortunately for the show, the Sunday was not a terribly successful night at the Emmy’s – “Game of Thrones” only won 2 awards out of its 17 nominations. The big winner of the night was “Breaking Bad”, finally winning Best Drama. And if George R.R. Martin is any type of prophet, “Game of Thrones” will lose to “Breaking Bad” again next year: “There’s no way in hell that anyone is going to defeat ‘Breaking Bad’ next year, when their last season is the one in contention.”

    While the statement by Martin may be true, it doesn’t mean “Game of Thrones” is out of the running forever. Martin still has to finish the series, so there will be more years of awesomeness to come. We fans just have to hope that Martin speeds up his writing – something us book readers know will never happen.

    Image via Twitter

  • Anna Chlumsky: From Child To Adult Star

    Anna Chlumsky: From Child To Adult Star

    Anna Chlumsky, the actress known for her childhood roles in My Girl and Uncle Buck, has done the unthinkable. She has adjusted from being a child star to transitioning into an adult acting career. After taking time off for college, Anna has returned to a career in front of the cameras. She currently stars in HBO’s Veep where her role as Amy Brookheimer, the chief of staff to Vice President Selina Meyer, proves she can portray a level-headed adult as easily as she portrayed a spunky adolescent.

    Anny Chlumsky recently gave a phone interview where she spoke about the process of reading lines and reviewing the script.

    “It’s very rare that you’ll find something where you’ll think, “I don’t want to say it.” I always say that our writers know how to use that language very well. There is a difference between just saying bad language and using it. This is just a delight and fun as can be. It spoils you. I have a gauge of what it is to laugh out loud when I’m reading a script, because that is what happens all the time when we read our own show, and that can make it hard for other things to measure up,” Anna said.

    Anna Chlumsky was also questioned about the direction of the show, and quizzed about what fans can expect to see from her character in the near future.

    “We’re just in the middle of the first episode, so we’re still kind of new at it. We left off in the second season with [the president] not running again and Selina ramping up her campaign, even though it’s really early. That’s where we pick up. She’s getting out there more, with the voters and caucus goers and whatnot. In the second season, we see her working a lot in the Beltway; now it’s outside the Beltway. We get to see what everybody’s dynamics are with the public, because that is a different persona they put on. Even the staff, and Amy is part of that, tries to read where we all stand in our public persona,” Anna said.

    Anna shares her ideas about Veep in the following video.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNg1JEaEUcM

    [Image and Video Via YouTube]

  • Why ‘Mr. Show’ Isn’t On HBO GO, According To Bob And David (And Brian)

    Why ‘Mr. Show’ Isn’t On HBO GO, According To Bob And David (And Brian)

    HBO GO has a lot of great HBO shows that have appeared on the network from over the years, but there are certainly some notable titles left out. Perhaps the most notable of all is Mr. Show, the sketch comedy show that would go on to become a cult hit and showcase some of David Cross’ and Bob Odenkirk’s finest career moments (and that’s saying a lot, given that these guys are on Arrested Development and Breaking Bad, respectively).

    Bob, David and fellow comedian and cast member Brian Posehn took to reddit this morning to engage in an AMA (ask me anything) Q&A session with fans. When asked why HBO GO does not include Mr. Show, each of them gave their own answer:

    (Bob here) HBO has a hate-hate relationship with the show.
    (Brian here) They are not aware that we did the show.
    (David, back) They hate having to google Mr. Show.

    So there you have it. These may not be the official HBO-endorsed reasons, but their responses appear to give us a pretty good idea of how much HBO cares.

    The actors/comedians have gone on to become much more well-known since Mr. Show was on the air, so you’d think HBO would want to take advantage of that, but for now, fans will have to consume one of the best-ever sketch comedy shows of all time by other means.

    The three are touring this month, with dates in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Portland, and then in LA next month.

    Check out the AMA, because they obviously talk about a lot more than just Mr. Show and HBO GO.

    Image: Mr. Show/HBO (via YouTube)

  • HBO Releases New Trailer For “Hello Ladies”

    HBO recently released the latest trailer for their dating-disaster comedy series Hello Ladies. The show stars Stephen Merchant, probably better known as the tall/lanky British comedian who often collaborates with Ricky Gervais. Still not sure who Merchant is? Well he can be seen on The Office (BBC series), The Ricky Gervais Show, Extras, and Hall Pass to name a few.

    You can check out the Hello Ladies trailer for yourself below:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAR7YNcNgRU

    If you’re not familiar with Hello Ladies, you can read the official synopsis below:

    “In his first starring series role, Stephen Merchant portrays Stuart, a web designer who recently relocated to LA from England in hopes of finding excitement, romance, and maybe even a soul mate. Working out of his LA home, Stuart has an easy rapport with an attractive roommate named Jessica (Christine Woods), though it is clear she’s not romantically interested in him. Half as charming as he thinks he is — and twice as desperate — Stuart is obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people, and doggedly hits the LA social scene in the company of pals Wade (Nate Torrence), who’s in the throes of a separation from his wife, and Kives (Kevin Weisman), a charismatic paraplegic who fares far better with the ladies than Stuart or Wade.”

    What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comment area below.

  • True Detective, HBO’s New Drama, Gets an Official Trailer

    HBO is all about their original series set in backwoods Louisiana with “True” in the title – and now that one is ending, they’ve got another one to take its place.

    Except this one isn’t about vampires. It’s about a bizarre ritualistic murder and it stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as detectives who might just live on the darker side of the law.

    It’s called True Detective, and HBO has just released the first trailer:

    Here’s HBO’s official 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.

    I mean, this sounds awesome. The first trailer is awesome. But to be completely honest, HBO had me at “starring Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle.” Rust Cohle? Now that’s just way too good.

    Expect True Detective to hit the HBO lineup in January of 2014. The first season will run for 8 episodes. Hopefully, this can be the next great HBO series. I’ve got high hopes for this one.

    Image via HBO, YouTube

  • Eastbound & Down Season 4 Gets a New Trailer

    Last year, when the third and supposedly final season of HBO’s Eastbound & Down completed its run, you were probably bummed out. I was bummed out. I mean, you should have been bummed out.

    But then, like a magical dispatch on high, HBO announced that Kenny Powers would be returning for one final season. I think we all needed to be f@$ked up with a little more truth.

    HBO has just released trailer #1 for the fourth season, set to air on September 29th. It’s as glorious as you would imagine.

    Image via HBO, YouTube

  • ‘True Blood’ Season 7 Will Be The Last One

    ‘True Blood’ Season 7 Will Be The Last One

    HBO’s popular vampire show True Blood is coming to an end. According to multiple reports, the show will end its run in 2014, with Season 7 being the last.

    The news was reportedly announced by HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo. HBO Watch shares what appears to be an official press release from HBO on the show’s end. Here are some quotes from that:

    “TRUE BLOOD has been nothing short of a defining show for HBO,” noted Lombardo. “Alan Ball took the books by Charlaine Harris, assembled a brilliant cast led by the magnificent Anna Paquin in the role of Sookie Stackhouse, and crafted a show that has taken its many devoted fans on an unforgettable journey. Alan passed the baton to Brian Buckner, who led our fantastic writers and crew in crafting a spectacular sixth season, and he will lead us through the seventh and final season of this amazing show. Together with its legions of fans, it will be hard to say goodbye to the residents of Bon Temps, but I look forward to what promises to be a fantastic final chapter of this incredible show.”

    “From the moment I read Charlaine’s books, I thought there was potential for something really special,” says Alan Ball. “Then our amazing writers, cast and crew brought her world to life in a way that exceeded my wildest expectations. I’m deeply grateful to HBO for being true partners and collaborators, and, of course, to the viewers who chose to spend Sunday nights in Bon Temps with us.”

    “I feel enormously proud to have been a part of the TRUE BLOOD family since the very beginning,” says Brian Buckner. “I guarantee that there’s not a more talented or harder-working cast and crew out there, and I’d like to extend a personal heartfelt thanks to them for their dedication and tenacity over the years, especially this past year, as I stepped into a larger role. Thank you also to HBO for their unwavering support and of course to Alan Ball, whose genius enabled all of us to share in this incredible journey. Finally, a huge thank you to the most passionate fans in television. As we take a final walk through Bon Temps together, we will do our very best to bring Sookie’s story to a close with heart, imagination and, of course, fun.”

    The sixth season of the show wrapped up in August, and the seventh and final season is due out next summer. The number of episodes remains to be seen.

    Image: True Blood/HBO (Facebook)

  • “True Blood” Season 6: Will Sookie Become a Vampire?

    Ultimatums in relationships are never ideal, but I don’t believe anyone has received one quite like Sookie Stackhouse did on Sunday’s episode of True Blood: become vampire or your vampire friends will die.

    Season six has found another vampire being in love with Sookie. This time, he’s Warlow, a half-vampire/half-fairy, which apparently still makes his blood as tasty to vampires as Sookie’s. She too seems to have feelings for him, but Warlow was promised Sookie as a lifetime partner. The vampire/fairy hybrid has been in love with her and patiently waiting for her for around 6,000 years. Isn’t that just romantic?

    This season, all the vampires (minus Bill) have been captured and are awaiting possible persecution at Vamp Camp. Until then, they’re being tested in different ways to let the Louisiana Vampire Task Force (LAVTF) understand them well enough to defeat them and end the vampire race.

    Since drinking Lillith’s blood, Bill has been having visions, and now he sees the lot of main vampires meeting the sun, the “true death.” After understanding and experiencing what fairy blood can do for vampires, Bill asks Sookie to bring Warlow to him so the vampires may drink his fairy blood, and not meet the “true death.”

    Because Sookie wants to save her friends, she goes to Warlow, and as much as he hates Bill, he agrees to do it, only if Sookie will let him turn her into a vampire and spend eternity with him. What’s a girl to do? Become a vampire and save her friends, or stay human and let her friends die?

    Grieving since his sister Nora’s death, Eric is determined to save the vampires from Vamp Camp himself because he doesn’t trust Bill. He hopes to find Warlow, but instead, finds Adilyn, Andy Bellefleur’s fairy daughter, and drinks some of her blood.

    For those who are fans of Alcide, he’s back to being a nice guy. Returning Nicole, Sam’s new lady love, and her mother to Sam.

    And speaking of Nicole, apparently she’s pregnant with Sam’s baby. She doesn’t even know herself, but both Sam and Alcide could smell Sam’s scent on her.

    After being put into the general vampire population by Sarah Newlin, Jason has found himself belonging to a very assertive vampire, Violet.

    Sarah has gone crazier than imagined, killing the woman who runs the True Blood company after she inadvertently finds out about Hep V in the True Blood.

    The episode ends with Sookie taking Bill to Warlow, but when they arrive, they see that someone has already gotten to him. He is drained of so much blood and Sookie wonders aloud who did it. Bill responds with, “Eric.”

  • “Cheshire Murders” Offers Grim Look Into Connecticut Homicides

    “The Cheshire Murders”, a documentary for HBO about the brutal slayings of a mother and her two daughters in 2007, debuted this week right before the sixth anniversary of the crimes. For the sole survivor, the last six years have been full of unanswered questions and frustrating knowledge.

    On July 23rd of that year, Jennifer Petit, her 11-year-old daughter Michaela and 17-year-old daughter Hayley were sexually assaulted, tied up, and ultimately doused with gasoline. The girls died of smoke inhalation after the house was set on fire; their mother was raped and strangled to death. Only Dr. William Petit survived the night, escaping from the basement after being severely beaten.

    While most of these atrocities were being committed, the Cheshire Police Department were outside the house.

    In what has been called a tragic bungle on the part of law enforcement, the Cheshire Murders rocked a community and left a husband and father to live the rest of his life with the memory of a night that might have gone very differently. The details have been examined from every angle by filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, who say the local police department refused to comment. Often compared to the story of the Clutter family–whose murders were the subject of Capote’s book “In Cold Blood”–the Cheshire murders play a very real part in every American’s worst nightmare: a home invasion, a brutal interruption of peace, a feeling of helplessness.

    The film tells the story of the murders, the aftermath, and the background of the killers, Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes. Both were sentenced to die by lethal injection, but due to the appeals process, their executions could take years to finally be carried out. There may be little consolation at the end of the documentary, but that’s not what it’s about.

    HBO will be airing encores of the film if you missed it the first time around. But beware; it’s a heartbreaking story with few new answers, as so many tales of murder are.

    Image: WFSB

  • Most-Pirated Show Game of Thrones Is Also Amazon’s Best-Selling Show of the Year

    In another blow to the “piracy kills sales” talking point, it appears that people are buying a lot of Game of Thrones DVDs.

    Why is this significant? Well, it’s because the hit HBO series has gained a reputation as of late as the king of all pirated content on the web. And now the show has just landed at the top of another list – Amazon’s best-seller list.

    According to Amazon, Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season is the best-selling TV show of the year (so far). It beat out True Blood season 5, Dexter season 7, Breaking Bad season 5 and The Bible miniseries.

    Recently, torrenting figures crowned Game of Thrones as the most-pirated show of the year (so far, of course). With an estimated 5.2 million downloads per episode during season 3, GoT tallied over 2 million more downloads per episode than the next most-pirated show, The Big Bang Theory. This isn’t the first time that GoT has been given that title – it was also the most-downloaded how of 2012. Since then, GoT piracy has shot up 25%.

    But even with that uptick in downloading, there are still enough fans buying the show via Amazon to place it atop the bestseller list for TV shows.

    This should come as no surprise if you’ve been following the whole GoT piracy situation and HBO’s response to it.

    HBO programming head Michael Lombardo recently said that all the GoT downloading was sort of a compliment. Not only that, but he said that it didn’t negatively impact DVD sales.

    “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts. The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network,” he said.

    Don’t let Lombardo speak for HBO as whole, however. The network still has plenty of anti-torrenting moves up their sleeves.

    And it’s not like HBO is making it easy for people to view their content unless they want to pony up for a cable subscription. HBO is firmly planted in its current model, which ties subscriptions to cable subscriptions. As long as that’s the case, and there’s no standalone HBO GO service offered in top piracy areas like the U.S., U.K., and Australia, people are going to continue to download it – even though it’s clear that people would pay for such a service.

    And apparently, they will still buy the DVDs too. If a show is great, people are going to want to watch it – by any and all means available.

  • HBO Asks Google To Remove VLC Player Link In DMCA Filing

    In what appears to be a case of either mistaken identity or guilt by association, in one of their recent DMCA filings, HBO included a takedown request link pointing to the VLC media player. For those who are not aware, a DMCA filing, at least regarding search engines, asks for the providing engine to remove links that point to sites offering and/or supporting the distribution of copyrighted content. Google gets over a million of them a month.

    In this case, HBO was going after sites that were pointing to torrents for Game of Thrones and Veep, among others.

    During the process of listing the URLs it would like to see removed from Google’s search index, HBO included a link that points to the aforementioned VLC Player. The link in question was featured on TorrentPortal.com, a site that tracks bit torrent files around the web, much like the name suggests. The site was in HBO’s targets for the following links:

    http://www.torrentportal.com/details/6093717/Twenty+Feet+from+Stardom+(2013)+BRRip+XviD.torrent

    http://www.torrentportal.com/details/6091931/The.Evil.Dead.HD.EXTENDED.%5B1080p%5D.torrent

    http://www.torrentportal.com/details/6093721/VLC-Media-Player-2.0.7-Final-(32-64-bit)-Official.html

    Whatever your position is on file sharing, from HBO’s perspective, it’s easy to see why the first two links were included. They are pointing to torrents that promise infringing content. The third, however, is a innocuous link that points to a legitimate utility that millions of people use. You might also notice that the first two links, while going to infringing torrents, the copyrighted content in question–The Evil Dead and Twenty Feet From Stardom–does not “belong” to HBO. These movies were not titles included in HBO’s DMCA dragnet, but yet, they are part of the takedown request list.

    Is this a case of HBO overstepping their boundaries, or are they simply taking the “It takes a village” approach to ridding the Internet of illegal file-sharing? Furthermore, do takedown requests for legitimate content somehow invalidate the rest of the DMCA filing? Of course, this is just part of a bigger discussion, that is, should it even be illegal to link to infringing content? As Torrent Freak points out, this behavior is par for the course with HBO and its filings:

    Over the past months HBO and many other copyright holders have built up a dubious track record when it comes to DMCA takedown notices. In addition to many “bogus” claims the company also tried to have its own website removed from Google.

    The above mistakes may be relatively harmless to the site owners, but they show once again how much can go wrong with these automated DMCA notices. This is particularly troublesome since Google is down-ranking sites based on the number of DMCA notices it receives for them.

    Is this a case of the “boy who cried wolf” or is HBO just being thorough?

  • Game of Thrones: Martin Shows Real Iron Throne

    The man behind the books behind the HBO hit series “Game of Thrones”, George R.R. Martin, has pulled back the curtain just a tiny bit on what goes on in his head while writing those books.

    In a recent blog post entitled “The Real Iron Throne”, Martin explains what the famed Iron Throne in the stories actually looks like. The throne, which is a set piece familiar to fans of Martin’s stories, whether the HBO televised versions or the books, is said to be built from the swords of conquered armies. For Martin, seeing something that had heretofore existed only in his mind now being built “in real life”, even just for a soundstage, was conflicting.

    When I write about the Iron Throne, I SEE it in my head… and I try to describe it as best I can. Not being a blacksmith or an ironmonger, however, I hammer it together with words, striving to make all of you, my readers, see what I see.

    Most of the time that works… though, the picture in the reader’s head and the picture in the writer’s head do not always line up perfectly. With the Iron Throne, however, the process has been particularly frustrating. A dozen different artists have done versions of the Iron Throne over the years. Some have been very striking, some less so, but none of them have ever been quite RIGHT. Their versions never quite matched what I saw in my mind’s eye.

    Martin goes on to talk about the set pieces built for the HBO series. He says their throne is iconic, and that it will likely be the “official” look for the throne from now on. But, it is necessarily still not quite right.

    It’s not the Iron Throne I see when I’m working on THE WINDS OF WINTER. It’s not the Iron Throne I want my readers to see. The way the throne is described in the books… HUGE, hulking, black and twisted, with the steep iron stairs in front, the high seat from which the king looks DOWN on everyone in the court… my throne is a hunched beast looming over the throne room, ugly and assymetric…

    The HBO throne is none of those things. It’s big, yes, but not nearly as big as the one described in the novels. And for good reason. We have a huge throne room set in Belfast, but not nearly huge enough to hold the Iron Throne as I painted it. For that we’d need something much bigger, more like the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey, and no set has that much room. The Book Version of the Iron Throne would not even fit through the doors of the Paint Hall.

    So what does the Real Iron Throne look like, you ask? Glad you asked. It looks kind of like this:

    (image)

  • ‘Khaleesi’ Is Now a Trending Baby Name

    Khaleesi is a Dothraki word meaning the wife of the khal in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (better known to some as HBO’s Game of Thrones). It’s also a baby name that’s rising in popularity in the U.S.

    Last year, 146 girls were named Khaleesi. That’s 450% more girls than were named Khaleesi in 2011. Before that, well, nobody was really named Khaleesi.

    And it’s almost guaranteed that most mothers are pronouncing it wrong. You probably are too. According to the guy who created the Dothraki language for the series, most people pronounce it “ka-LEE-see,” when it should be pronounced “KHAH-lay-see.”

    But either way, power to them. Khaleesi is the mother of dragons for pete’s sake. She’s Daenerys Targaryen. She’s Dany. You know, Daenerys wouldn’t be a bad name for your little girl either…

    Game of Thrones has been a huge success for HBO – both in official viewership and in terms of other types of viewership. It’s garnered a massive following on the internet, and Dany is one of the most popular character on the show.

    All I’m saying is that this should surprise nobody.

    (image)

    At least it’s not North West.

    [The Baby Name Wizard Blog via The Mary Sue]

  • Warner Bros. Says Piracy Can Be A Good Thing (Sometimes)

    Content curators hate piracy. That much has been obvious for the past few years as the major film and music studios have pushed for stricter enforcement of anti-piracy laws. It all came to a head last year with the introduction and subsequent rejection of SOPA. Now at least one movie studio seems to think that piracy may not be all bad.

    TorrentFreak reports that David Kaplan, Chief of Anti-Piracy Operations at Warner Bros., has come out in defense of piracy… sort of. He’s not outright endorsing piracy, but he admits that piracy is a “proxy of consumer demand.” He uses this information “to adjust or develop business models to take advantage of that demand by offering fans what they are looking for when they are looking for it.”

    This is actually kind of shocking. Most content curators embrace a zero tolerance policy when it comes to piracy. Most don’t care if their enforcement efforts destroy largely legitimate businesses or censor the Internet. To admit that piracy can at times be a good thing only shows that movie studios may finally be coming around to the idea that it should be competing with piracy instead of fighting a losing battle against it.

    Fortunately, Kaplan seems to be joining a growing chorus of studio execs that are coming around to the idea that piracy is not all bad. He joins HBO Programming Head Michael Lombardo who said Game of Thrones piracy “is a compliment of sorts.” He went on to say that piracy shows that “the demand is there” and that it “didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales.”

    Speaking of Game of Thrones, the HBO series was just named most pirated series of the year. The high piracy numbers indicate that people would gladly pay for a standalone HBO streaming service, but that probably won’t happen anytime soon.

    Well, we’re still taking baby steps for now. We can’t expect the industry to start adopting new business models that compete with piracy overnight. What we can do, however, is continue voting with our wallets in telling movie studios that Kaplan’s ideas should be expanded upon, not retreaded.

  • Game of Thrones Is Your Most-Pirated Show of the Year

    Apparently, the Game of Thrones pirating army is one that even Khaleesi could be proud of.

    When it comes to the Spring television season, HBO’s hit show sits atop the iron throne. With an estimated 5.2 million downloads per episode, it’s not even close. The runner up, The Big Bang Theory, only pulled in an estimated 2.9 million downloads per episode . Here’s the rest of the top 10, courtesy of TorrentFreak:

    1. Game of Thrones – 5.2 million
    2. The Big Big Theory – 2.9 million
    3. How I Met Your Mother – 2.85 million
    4. The Walking Dead – 2.7 million
    5. Hannibal – 2.1 million
    6. Vikings – 1.9 million
    7. Arrow – 1.85 million
    8. The Vampire Diaries – 1.8 million
    9. Modern Family – 1.75 million
    10. Revenge – 1.7 million

    According to TorrentFreak, this means that Game of Thrones piracy is way up – a 25% increase from season 2.

    This shouldn’t really come as a huge surprise – all signs have been pointing to Game of Thrones retaining its title as the most pirated show on television. The season 3 premiere broke torrent records, only to have its records beat by the season 3 finale of the show.

    And we should expect this to continue when the show returns for season 4. It looks as if HBO is firmly planted in its current model, which ties subscriptions to cable subscriptions. As long as that’s the case, and there’s no standalone HBO GO service offered in top piracy areas like the U.S., U.K., and Australia, people are going to continue to download it. And it’s not like people wouldn’t be willing to pay for HBO.

    Either way, it’s not clear that HBO even feels that hurt by the piracy. A few months ago, HBO programming head Michael Lombardo said that it’s kind of a “compliment of sorts.”

    “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but it is a compliment of sorts. The demand is there. And it certainly didn’t negatively impact the DVD sales. [Piracy is] something that comes along with having a wildly successful show on a subscription network,” he said.

    And Game of Thrones director David Petrarca said that shows like his rely on cultural buzz that’s tied to downloading. He later walked those statements back a bit, but the thought remains – at what point does the downloading become particularly problematic for HBO?

  • “The Sopranos”: Some Of The Best Scenes

    “The Sopranos”: Some Of The Best Scenes

    With the sudden death of James Gandolfini this week, fans are taking a look back at some of his best roles and, of course, some of the best moments in “The Sopranos”…of which there are many.

    From comedic to heart-wrenching, the hit HBO show ranged the gamut of emotions over the years; from Paulie Walnuts’ wings to Christopher’s ridiculous temper, the episodes that kept us watching were the ones that had a little bit of everything. Here’s a sampling of some of the best moments.

    NSFW, obviously.