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Tag: TV Guide

  • Amy Schumer Stunned by Sudden Fame

    Amy Schumer says the success of her Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer took her by surprise.

    “When the ratings first came in, [Comedy Central] was like, ‘Oh, um, 3 million people watched last night.’ I was like, ‘What?’ It sounded like an accident,” Schumer recently told TV Guide.

    When asked about comparisons to actress and comedian Kristin Wiig, Schumer’s response was typically self-effacing: “Um, I hear myself referred to as the next Kristen Wiig zero times per week, but I would love that to be true. Hey, I’ll take Paula Deen’s career if it means money is coming in.”

    Inside Amy Schumer premiered on Comedy Central in April 2013. It was the network’s most-watched series premiere of the year. In May 2013 the show was renewed for a 10-episode second season. Season Two premiered April 1.

    The show features sketches, standup, and interviews from Schumer. Slate has called it “the most consistently feminist show on television,” observing that “nearly every bit is devoted in some capacity to gender politics.”

    Brooke Posch, who is in charge of programming and development for Comedy Central, has said that the network’s viewership is 60% men, and despite the feminist slant of her show, Schumer draws in a 50-50 male-female demographic.

    Schumer says she doesn’t feel any pressure to deliver in Season Two after the smashing success of Season One.

    “Before we went back into the writing room for this season, there was that moment of, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t have anything else to say. What if this season sucks?’ But then we got in there and it was so much more exciting, because this time we knew what we were doing.”

    Paste Magazine praised the Season Two premiere: “Every sketch is a winner from concept to execution, to the point that other comedy writers must get frustrated at how easy they’re making it look.”

    Season Two will see guest appearances from Zach Braff, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Giamatti, and Parker Posey.

    Besides working on her show, Schumer continues to travel with her standup act, Inside Amy Schumer’s Back Door Tour. She’s also writing and starring in Trainwreck which is slated for a July 2015 release and will be produced by Judd Apatow.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Big Bang Theory Raises; Cast Asking For More

    Would you like to make more money? Sure, we all would. Even millionaire television and movie stars would like to make more money. Stars of the hit comedy series, The Big Bang Theory are no different.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch have already received updated contracts with salary increases from Warner Brothers.

    Jim Parsons who is the popular Emmy winner, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco are all in talks to request higher salaries that may reach as high as $1 million per episode. According to TV Guide, the three currently make $325,000 per episode as written in their contracts that will run through this season.

    Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco have fought in the past to have their salaries increased. In 2010, the three stars who play the key trio of Sheldon, Leonard, and Penny were able to negotiate higher salaries. So, this isn’t the first time increases have been requested.

    Kunal Nayyar who plays Raj and Simon Helberg who plays Howard have also been in the process of asking for increased salaries.

    Will the pay increases be worthwhile to keep the cast happy enough to return for many more future seasons? Fans of the show sound very devoted to continuing their support.

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons And Courtesy Of Mihailodalj]

  • Animal Activists Say “No Dolphins” to Anchorman “Ron Burgundy”

    A movie is schedule for release just before Christmas. It features scenes with dolphins and one animal group says they are fighting mad about it.

    The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says the upcoming feature film “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” has scenes they want censored before its release next month. Delcianna Winders, the PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement, says the group wants to protest the efforts of “theme park bosses” who abuse and simply just take animals for granted.They say the movie’s producers should act in good faith toward that end.

    “The constant deprivation that marine mammals face at SeaWorld is suited to a horror film, not a comedy,” according to a report.”PETA is calling on the creators of Anchorman to…leave all SeaWorld scenes on the cutting room floor where they belong.”

    The movie company Pixar, changed the end of one of their upcoming family animation movies entitled “Finding Dory,” the sequel to “Finding Nemo,” after reportedly viewing a documentary entitled “Blackfish.” The documentary reportedly details cruel treatment of marine animals held captive in small tanks.

    Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a comedy movie staring Will Ferrell. Produced by Judd Apatow, it features the misadventures of a 1970s-era, egomaniacal television anchorman named, of course, Ron Burgundy — a character that is said to mirror a real-life news anchorman named, Ron Hunter, a former WWL-Channel 4 anchorman who reports say died in Las Vegas.

    The Anchorman sequel features what happens to Ferrell’s character, Burgundy, years later at the beginning of the 1980s cable television “boom,” as a washed up San Diego, SeaWorld announcer. Directed by Adam McKay, famous for movies such as “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” the second Anchorman movie also features a shark scene shot on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

  • Breaking Bad: A Look Inside “Blood Money” Episode 509

    If you’ve lived in a cave for the past few years, you might not know the story of “Breaking Bad.” Entering into its final season, the story reaches an apex with Episode 509 entitled “Blood Money.”

    The story centers on Bryan Cranston’s character “Walter White.” He is a much beloved high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Concerned for his family’s financial security, White turns to crime. He enlists help from one of his delinquent, former students, “Jesse Pinkman”, played by Aaron Paul; the two partner-up as methamphetamine or “meth” dealers. White takes on an alternate criminal persona he names “Heisenberg,” after one of his favorite physicists. It’s a persona that takes him from mild-manner teacher and husband to wanted drug kingpin and murderer.

    White’s skills as a chemist become the two partner’s “claim-to-fame.” He creates a particularly pure strain of meth drug referred to as “Blue Sky.” The potent drug makes White rich faster than he anticipates; he then expands his business and creates associations with a viscous criminal element. His subsequent success captures the attention of the local DEA. One agent, “Hank Schrader” just happens to be White’s brother-in-law. A series of events transpires and because he believes he will die from the cancer, he rationalizes his heinous crimes which ultimately leave a trail of victims in his wake. Over several seasons, Schrader remains blissfully unaware of his brother-in-law’s secret life until Episode 509.

    In “Blood Money,” Pinkman is beset by depression feeling deep guilt for all the pain both he and White have caused. He tries to pay money to dead victims’ families. White stops him, but Pinkman isn’t deterred. At one point in the show, the young former student starts throwing large sums of cash at passersby.

    The end of Episode 509 is the beginning of the “end” of both White and Schrader’s relation as well as their long, endearing friendship. Schrader reveals to White that he is well aware of his secret identity and tells him of his future plans to send his former friend to prison. With this, White responds calmly.

    “It’s a time for you to tread very lightly,” he said.

  • Amazon Options New Sci-Fi Thriller “Orbit”

    Amazon Options New Sci-Fi Thriller “Orbit”

    Aliens are coming to Earth. The fate of the world depends on a small band of people who must fight the battle of their lives. At least, that’s what the first draft says anyway.

    Amazon has optioned a new science-fiction thriller about an alien invasion called “Orbit.” Bruce Guido, the project’s writer, says he’s now working on the first draft. He reports his efforts are simply a labor of “love.”

    “Orbit emerged out my love for the alien invasion genre, a genre which I have adored my entire life. When it comes to what may happen if aliens wander into our neighborhood, the possibilities are infinite.”

    Guido says his new project centers around a band of workers orbiting the Earth. From a distance, the group witnesses as aliens try to take over the world by force. Powerless and afraid, the salvage crew must figure out how to intercede in time before all is lost. He says what makes his sci-fi story a little different from the more run-of-the-mill features is all a matter of perspective.

    “As I was looking at a photo of Earth, sitting lonely against a sea of black, it just hit me — what if the story was told outside of Earth? … What if we experienced worldwide destruction from the point of view of characters that are isolated, watching from the outside? What would it be like to see our home, our loved ones, everyone we’ve ever known, annihilated from a distance with us powerless to stop it?”

    Guido has had a bit of prior success with his unique vision before. “Third Shift,” a story about a depressed vampire, who works at a convenience store, won him honorable mention at the 2010 Los Angeles Reel Film Festival. Amazon says they anticipate great things from the up-and-coming filmmaker.

    “While it’s a contained story involving only a handful of characters, the scope and stakes of the movie are enormous. This is a movie about the end of the world, but it’s played out entirely with a cast of six people.”

  • TV Guide Launches iPad App

    TV Guide Launches iPad App

    TV Guide has introduced its free TV Guide App for iPad, sponsored by Showtime and featuring social TV listings, entertainment news, and its fall TV preview coverage.

    The TV Guide App for iPad features share buttons for Facebook and Twitter allowing users to share what TV shows they plan to watch via their social networks.

    "Our iPad app makes it easier than ever for entertainment fans to share what they’re watching – and when it’s on – with their friends," said Christy Tanner, General Manager, TV Guide Digital.

     

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    Showtime will be the first network to run a full-length episode on the TVGuide.com iPad app with their new show, "The Big C," starring Laura Linney. The full episode is featured within the fall preview section of the app, along with interviews and preview videos for new and returning shows.

    The TV Guide app also will allow users to keep lists of their favorite TV channels and shows on their iPad. Users can browse listings by time to see what’s on now or up to 14 days in advance, or can search by show name, cast member, episode title and episode or program description. The app also features breaking entertainment news, a day-by-day primetime schedule, photo galleries and original videos from TVGuide.com.
     

     

  • Entertainment Weekly and TVGuide Go with the Meebo Bar

    Meebo announced today that it has added EW.com and TVGuide.com to its list of publishers implementing the Meebo Bar. The Meebo bar is designed to let readers easily connect with the people they’re friends with on social networks. 

    Meebo Bar Goes to Some Big Name Sites"Social connections are an increasingly important traffic source; it’s crucial for websites to take advantage of that," says Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg. "The Meebo Bar makes it easy for publishers to add social functionality to their sites, and provide a persistent, open experience on multiple networks that makes sharing and chat simple, fun and engaging for users."

    "The introduction of the Meebo Bar has added value for both our audience and advertisers," says Tom Kirwan, EW’s National Director of Digital Sales. "The functionality increases users’ engagement and interactivity with our content, while simultaneously allowing advertisers a unique opportunity to be front and center."

    In the fall, Meebo plans to introduce new advertising and branding products, including an interactive ad placement with customized skins and sponsored buttons.

    Meebo claims to reach a quarter of the U.S. Internet population with 52 million unique monthly visitors and 110 million worldwide. Monthly visitors have increased nearly 300% over the last 10 months, the company says.