Category The Hollywood Reporter

Feb 4 2013

Laurie Holden Talks About The Walking Dead + Norman Reedus as The Punisher

Laurie Holden Talks to TV Guide; Variety on The Walking Dead vs. Downton Abbey – The Walking Dead – AMC.

As I was watching the Walking Dead marathon yesterday during the Super Bowl, I realized just how far our band of survivors has come. It’s always good to be able to see the beginning and then reflect what shapes characters.

Take for instance Laurie Holden (Andrea) losing her sister (Amy) and then, when she wants to leave her misery and pain behind her, Dale won’t let her (in the last episode (TS-19) of Season 1).

The Walking Dead, Season One, episode "Vatos"

The Walking Dead, Season One, episode “Vatos”

I also realized that Glenn got kidnapped in the first season by the homies in the episode “Vatos,” which is actually one of my favorites. “Vatos” is the episode where Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and Glenn return to Atlanta to retrieve Merle and the bag of guns Rick dropped when he was taken down by the gang of walkers.

It turns out that for all the machismo they’re showing, the homies are just trying to keep a well hidden assisted living center running. Guillermo (Neil Brown, Jr.) was the custodian and is elevated to “leader.” He uses one street credit line in there that’s hysterical, claiming he’ll feed “Glenn to his dogs that he stole from Satan’s backyard.” The dogs turn out to be 3 toy chihuahuas.

This episode (Vatos) attained general acclaim from the TV critics because it successfully made the viewers experience the daily life of the show’s characters. Upon initial airing it attained 4.75 million viewers according to Nielsen. It became the highest-rated cable program of the day and the ninth most-watched cable program of the week.

Now click on the link above and read all the interesting things about the Walking Dead which returns with new episodes this Sunday. Set your DVRs.

Dec 27 2012

The Story Behind the Movie “Argo”

How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran | Wired Magazine | Wired.com.

Keyart from the movie "Argo"

Keyart from the movie “Argo”

I was doing my day job yesterday, processing photos for movies that are On Demand in February, one of those being the Ben Affleck directed “Argo.” While I was checking out the information on imdbpro.com, I discovered it was produced by George Clooney‘s Smoke House production company.

Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on an article by Joshuah Bearman entitled “Escape from Tehran” (the link above will take you to the article).

Thinking that reading the article would help me put the 63 pictures I downloaded from the Warner Bros. in perspective (it did), I went ahead and tore right into and was thoroughly entertained.

Ben Affleck plays Tony Mendez to put it into perspective for you, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. Read the article, see the movie and enjoy your self. I intend to see it when it’s available on DirecTV On Demand, I don’t even want to wait for Netflix.

Oct 22 2012

FX’s ‘American Horror Story’ Ends Season With Record 3.22 Million Viewers – The Hollywood Reporter

FX’s ‘American Horror Story’ Ends Season With Record 3.22 Million Viewers – The Hollywood Reporter.
This is a short, but interesting article to read because of the demographic facts (18-49) and also talks about factoring in DVR viewership. Now aren’t you glad you did some reading up of that in my recent post “2012-13 DVR Hits Tipping Point” so you know the lingo?

The AHS they’re talking about is last season’s, not the one just starting.

Oct 16 2012

2012-13 DVR Hits Tipping Point

Almost 46 percent of all households now own a DVR, up 4% from last year. We now watch less “live” TV, but more programming, thanks to DVRs (digital video recorders).

Younger viewers have been setting their own schedules via streaming, ondemand, delayed and what they have on their DVR, but new and returning shows “are adding significant audiences as nearly 46 percent of U.S. households now have a DVR (up from 42 percent last season)” according to The Hollywood Reporter 10.19.12.

From a February 29, 2012 Nielsen Wire article some old school and new school statistics dating back to 1960:

Then (1960): 7% of households received cable.
Then (1990): 56% received cable and 66% owned a VCR.
Then (2006): 89% of TV content is viewed live.

  • DVR usage accounts for 1.6% of our TV time.

Today:

  • 98% of homes own a TV and most have some kind of device hooked up to their television.
  • 85% of TV content is viewed live.
  • DVR usage accounts for 8% of our TV time.

With the increase of DVRs in viewer’s homes, episodes and series are now “scored” in a new way. For example, the second episode of NBC’s Revolution jumped more than 50% to a 5.2 rating among adults 18-49 with three days of delayed viewing (according to The Hollywood Reporter 10.19.12).

If you look at Nielsen, who has been providing timely information on media and consumer trends on TV since 1950 (radio since 1930) their “source” states: Live viewing and DVR playback on the Same Day, defined as 3am-3am. Ratings are the percentage of TV homes in the U.S. tuned into television.

But the whole point of having a DVR is to watch a show when it’s convenient for you. Copper on BBC America comes on at 9pm CST on Sunday I’m fast asleep by then. Since it’s on DVR I’m not that much in a hurry to watch it, but because I really enjoy the show and love Tom Weston-Jones, I sit down on Monday night and watch it.

DISH’s new “Hopper” aka the commercial-killer was the talk of the cable show in Boston in late May this year. While the Hopper’s automatic ad-skipping is limited to recorded broadcast TV for now, cable networks and distributors said it was a worrisome development.

Oct 12 2012

‘Friday Night Lights’ Creator Accuses Mitt Romney of Plagiarism in Threatening Letter – Hollywood Reporter

‘Friday Night Lights’ Creator Accuses Mitt Romney of Plagiarism in Threatening Letter – Hollywood Reporter.

I really don’t enjoy “pressing” articles from other news sources, but I find that The Hollywood Reporter is far less “sensational” as some. I came across this particular article when I was on imdb.com this afternoon (Friday, Oct. 12).

I find in interesting that Mitt Romney has again found himself with his foot in his mouth once again.

It’s an interesting read.

The letter to Mitt Romney from Peter Berg

Sep 27 2012

Prison Gang Whistleblower Sues A&E for Broadcasting His Picture – Hollywood Reporter

Prison Gang Whistleblower Sues A&E for Broadcasting His Picture – Hollywood Reporter.