HBO:
MIC JAGGER IN ‘THE HISTORY OF MUSIC’

Martin Scorsese is teaming up with musical legend Mick Jagger for a new HBO project. 

The series, titled History Of Music, will follow the lives of two friends through 40 years in the music business. 

‘History Of Music’ originated with Jagger as a possible feature film for Disney, but the project ended up at Paramount. 

HBO is now reportedly working with Paramount to develop a pilot based around the concept. 

Scorsese and Jagger would all executive produce with Scorsese having first shot at directing the pilot. 

HBO:
DUSTIN HOFFMAN TV SHOW

HBO now has a new pilot called ‘Luck,’ a drama from the writer of Deadwood, starring Dustin Hoffman and directed by Michael Mann.

‘Luck’ is a provocative look at horse racing -the owners, gamblers, jockeys and diverse gaming industry players.

The show begins production this fall at Santa Anita and other Los Angeles locations.

Hoffman is producing the series.

He's had a hugely successful career but he does feel, whether it be on the big screen or small screen, often people around you change.

“People are rarely the same when you know (them) before you’ve become famous…They always says you change or you didn’t change… you’re displaced as a person because you feel you’re the same or there’s an underneath hostility which they’re not even aware of because somehow they’re presented with something that makes them feel less valuable to themselves. Suddenly their whole sense of lack of worth is increased.”

: DOCUMENTARY FILM CLUB:
ROBERTS, WHITAKER, HAWN, BURN AND HEMMINGWAY

Julia Roberts, Forest Whitaker, Goldie Hawn, Gabriel Byrne and Mariel Hemingway will be making their way to TV. They are each producing a documentary for Oprah’s OWN TV network, set to launch next year in 2011. The shows will be part of a monthly ‘Documentary Film Club.’

Roberts will present and executive-produce Extraordinary Moms - a film looking at the power of mothers who have fought to make their kids - and the world – better.

Whitaker will produce and narrate One Last Shot - a film that goes inside Louisiana's Angola prison.

Goldie Hawn will produce, host and narrate Searching for Happiness - a documentary that will focus on positive psychology.

Gabriel Byrne will look at homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee with the film Tent City.

Hemingway will explore the legacy of suicide in her own family in the film Seven Suicides.

All of these documentaries fundamentally explore human interaction, relationships and emotions. The network says it hopes to provide viewers with new perspectives and new ways of looking at core themes that shape and affect our lives.

Others already working with Oprah’s network include country music singer Shania Twain in Why Not? which will follow her life on the rebound after a messy public divorce, Jenny McCarthy who has reportedly landed a deal for her own talk show and former British royal Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York who is in talks for an OWN "docu-series.”

TV NEWS:
BIZOGRAPHY


CNBC's Bizography is a new series for anyone who likes to learn from the powerful titans of business. It launched August 11, 2010 on CNBC which is a recognized world leader in business news.

The show highlights the business minds of the empire builders and titans such as George Forman and Ted Turner.

Those who watch CNBC are looking for more in-depth and behind-the-scenes stories in primetime of the companies and business leaders that CNBC covers during Business Day.

The first episode of CNBC Bizography told the story of George Foreman from a life of poverty to a world-class heavyweight champion boxer to a millionaire businessman.

Others that will be highlighted are Merv Griffin, a pioneering singer, talk show host, and media mogul. Griffin created some of the most timeless game shows of all time, including Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. Although he was also a Tinseltown personality who knew everybody in the biz, it was his business prowess in real estate that would eventually make a billionaire.

Also being featured:

Ted Turner: American media mogul who made his fortune with the first 24-hour cable news network. CNN.

Quincy Jones: Jazz musician, arranger, composer, first black executive of a major record company, producer, entrepreneur, and social activist. Quincy Jones is a one-person history of the entertainment industry over the past 60 years, going from be-bop to hip-hop. 

Target: Company that donates 5% of its revenue to charitable causes.

For more information visit www.cnbc.com/id/38347294/

LARRY KING:
MOVES ON


Larry King Live, will be off-air taking effect sometime this fall. Having conducted roughly 50,000 interviews, he says "It's time to hang up the suspenders". The first broadcast ever of Larry King Live took place 25 years ago where he interviewed New York governor Mario Como. Decades later, he announced to CNN that he was putting an end his much-watched Larry King Live talk show.

He doesn't say why exactly, but it seems as though King is looking to take on the role of more of a family man. He says "I'm looking forward. I feel open to so many things…Leaving me more time for my wife and I get to go to the kids' little league games."

Now who's going to fill Larry King's shoes? The big name who's close to signing a deal with CNN is former British publisher and America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan.

Larry King says there was absolutely no pressure from CNN. He goes on to say he loves what he does and won't be fully retiring – he says he will be doing specials on major national and international subjects from time to time.

NEW BIOPIC:
BARBARA WALTERS


Now turning to a new TV movie.

Barbara Walters, is negotiating with TV executives at HBO to adapt her best-selling memoir, 'Audition', about her 50-year career in journalism into a made-for-TV-movie. In her memoir, the veteran newswoman speaks candidly about breaking the glass ceiling for female anchors at NBC and later ABC, her failures as a mother to a troubled teen daughter, and her secret interracial affair with married Sen. Edward Brooke in the 1970s.

Her representative Cindi Berger has confirmed there is a lot of interest to develop the biopic, but declined to discuss which networks had made serious offers.

Walters, 80, underwent heart surgery to replace a faulty valve in May. On July 12, She made an appearance via video link on her hit ABC network show 'The View' to assure her fans she is fully recovered from the procedure. She will make a full return to the program in September.

TV TECHNOLOGY:
SHARP LE700 AQUOS


LED is making a big impact on the LCD market. Ask anyone who has seen an LED display - such as the Sharp LA70 AQUOS LED LCD Series - and they will swear by them: higher contrast, crisper visuals, lower power usage.

LED displays still use LCD technology but use a different kind of backlight for a brighter screen. Sizes range from 32-inch to 52-inch and (at least with the Sharp) only cost a small premium more than older LCD's.

LOONEY TUNES:
THEY'RE BACK!


Bugs returns! They are re-doing Looney Tunes! Cartoon Network is launching a new version of the classic Warner Bros. series Looney Tunes. The Looney Tunes Show will star Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, along with Yosemite Sam, Tweety, Sylvester - the whole gang. Weirdly, the network is having each episode as a half-hour story along with cartoons within a cartoon. The concept takes Bugs and Daffy out of the woods and puts them into the suburbs with colorful neighbors. I've seen the preview art and it is smack on. Even better, Looney Tunes will also have classic characters singing original songs in two-minute music videos called Merrie Melodies and the Road Runner and Coyote in CG shorts (that's more like it).

TV NEWS:
WILLIAM SHATNER DOCUMENTARY


New in television: A documentary about the life of William Shatner. The film will trace his extensive career including his earliest days in Montreal and Stratford Ontario, and moving on to Star Trek.

At the Banff World Television Festival, Corus Entertainment's Movie Central announced they were partnering with William Shatner's production company Melis Productions and Ballinran Productions Limited to produce the new documentary.

The tentative title for the film is The Captains. Production begins in July and will be on the air Winter 2011.

TV TRENDS: TWITTER TV


Now turning to a brand new TV trend - shows originating from TWITTER!

There's a new show, starring William Shatner coming this fall, based on a humor Twitter account called Shit My Dad Says.

CBS has picked up on the comedy from this account, which has enlisted more than 700,000 followers since its launch in August 2009. This is a trend that has opened a whole new door to unemployed bloggers - such as Justin Halpern the creator of this Twitter page. Justin is now an internet star who casually just came up with the name of this golden Twitter account.

BEN STILLER:
NEW CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW


Ben Stiller is making an online video TV show and he's doing it for Yahoo!

He's recruited his parents, comedy double act Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, to appear with him in the upcoming current affairs show, which will see them discussing news items.

The three will film short episodes, which are set to appear on Yahoo.com at the end of the year.

EPSN: GOES 3-D


3-D television sets are making their debut on store shelves as Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic take the leap to 3-D. Meantime, World Cup soccer, the 2011 BCS National Championship game and dozens of other sporting events will be shown in 3-D by ESPN in the coming year.

ESPN launched a new channel, ESPN 3D with it's three-dimensional broadcast of a FIFA World Cup soccer match between South Africa and Mexico. In the next 12 months, the network will show at least 85 games in 3-D. The network has been testing its 3-D technology for more than two years. The new network will require a 3-D television set. Initially, the channel is expected to be dark between live events. ESPN probably won't be the only player in the 3-D TV game.

TV TRENDS: FALL 2010


What are the new shows and which ones are cancelled?

Networks have announced LOTS of cancellations this year and they've reduced episode orders.

Yes, Law and Order is gone so are 24, Heroes and Lost but add to that:

• Melrose Place (FOX)
• Cold Case (CBS)
• FlashForward (ABC)
• Christian Slater's The Forgotten (ABC)
• Jay Mohr's comedy Gary Unmarried (CBS)
• Jennifer Love Hewitt's Ghost Whisperer (CBS)
• Kelsey Grammer's short-lived comedy Hank (ABC)
• Mercy (NBC)
• New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS)
• Numbers (CBS)
• Scrubs (ABC)
• 'Til Death (Fox)

What's exciting though is all the new shoes coming out this fall.

New shows at CBS:

• Hawaii Five-O (police drama remake of the original Hawaii Five-O series that aired for 12 seasons from 1968-1980)
• Blue Bloods (NYPD police drama starring Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg)
• Mike and Molly (working class Chicago couple who find love at an overeaters anonymous meeting by Lorre who does Two and a Half Men and the Big Bang Theory)
• The Defenders (police comedy about two wild lawyers in Las Vegas starring Jerry O'Connel and Jim Belushi)

New Shows at NBC

• Undercovers (spy drama from director JJ Abrams about a married spy couple who get involved in the living dangers of spy life)
• Love Bites (comedy about two single women exploring the ups and downs of dating, love, and sex, while dealing with the fact that all their other friends have gotten married)
• The Event (conspiracy thriller about a man who, while investigating the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, ends up unraveling the biggest cover-up in U.S. history, involving an assassination plot against U.S. President Eli Martinez)
• Outlaw (courtroom drama produced by Conan O'Brien starring Jimmy Smits who quits his job to start his own law firm)
• Outsourced (workplace sitcom set in Mumbai, India at a call center where an American novelties company has recently outsourced its order processing)

New Shows at ABC

• The Whole Truth (legal drama which stars Nip Tuck's Joely Richardson about the building of cases from both the defense and prosecution perspective)
• No Ordinary Family (smart family super hero comedy drama starring Micheal Chicklis)
• Body of Proof (crime show starring Dana Delany from Desperate Housewives as a neuro-surgeon turned medical examiner whose expertise helps solve murder cases)
• Detroit 1-8-7 (police crime drama set in Detroit starring Sopranos star Michael Imperioli)
• Better Together (comedy starring Jennifer Finnigan about two sisters whose attitudes toward life and love are different)

New Shows at Fox

• The Good Guys (starring Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks' son and West Wing's Bradley Whitford)
• Lonestar (modern day soap set in the Texas oil industry starring Jon Voight)
• Raising Hope (family comedy following a well meaning mess up trying to raise his infant daughter with the help of his eccentric family starring Cloris Leachman as the mother)
• Running Wilde (comedy starring The Arrested Development's Will Arnett and Mitch Hurwitz and Felicity's Carrie Russell about a playboy trying to win the heart of the woman he loves)

TV NEWS: MARTIN SCORSESE "BOARDWALK EMPIRE"

Martin Scorsese turning his attentions to the small screen and for his debut, and he's doing a 1920's gangland New Jersey to life in the story of America's Prohibition Era. He is spending quite a bit, and I'm confident this will be great TV. The first episode has set back HBO 50 million dollars! It's a huge period piece with a gigantic cast. The rest of the episodes are cheaper because they'll reuse props, sets and costumes, but the first one was really pricey. It's called Boardwalk Empire. HBO has picked up the series about Atlantic City in the early 20th century. The network has ordered 12 episodes. The series stars Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson, a Prohibition-era bootlegger and prominent figure in the Atlantic City of the early 1920's, someone who's described as "equal parts politician and gangster." Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men), Michael Pitt (The Village), Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), and Dabney Coleman also star. Terence Winter, a writer and producer for The Sopranos, created the show and will executive produce along with Scorsese, who will remain involved in the show and may direct another episode. Entourage's Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson are also exec producing. It's expected out later this year. Boardwalk Empire is one of two new drama series HBO has on tap for 2010. The other is Treme, a New Orleans-set show from Wire creator David Simon. The network also has the World War II miniseries The Pacific that will likely debut in March.

'ENTOURAGE' NEWS: FEMALE SPIN-OFF


'Entourage' has become so popular Mark Wahlberg, who also executive produces the show, is now developing a spin-off featuring a group of four female friends living in Los Angeles.

Casting details have yet to be announced.

The new female-centric comedy would "focus on a group of female friends who are trying to balance work and love in Los Angeles." Technically it's going to be a spin off of 'Entourage' but it wont be as Hollywood/celebrity based, but more like 'Entourage' meets 'Sex and the City.'

MOVIE TREND:
BOX OFFICE BOOMING


Now to a trend that just won't let up: the movie-going boom. The recession still can't touch the box office. Global box office receipts have reached an all time high of $29.9 billion, an increase of 7.6% over 2008 and almost 30% UP from 2005. The Canada and the US market increased more than 10% to $10.6 billion. Ticket sales in Canada and the US rose more than 5.5% from 2008, the first admissions increase in two years.

ROBERT KENNEDY:
ON THE BIG SCREEN


Robert Kennedy will be portrayed on the big screen again. Robert has been played on the big screen by many actors, and now the director of Seabiscuit, Gary Ross is making a movie based on the biography of Robert Kennedy called ‘His Life'. After turning down the lead role in Avatar, Matt Damon is in talks to take the iconic role. Damon has confirmed he'll take the starring role if he likes the script. He says it would be a lot of research and time put in.

NEW MOVIE:
FBI DIRECTOR J. EDGAR HOOVER


Ok, now here's another that has Oscar all over it. Clint Eastwood is teaming with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Films for his next directing project, a biopic of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935 and remained its director until his death in 1972. During his tenure, he employed the FBI to harass political activists and used illegal methods to make secret files on leaders.

OPRAH TV CHANNEL: PLANS


Oprah's TV channel is bound to be a hit. Following along the lines of her book club, her channel is going to have a feature film club series, like her book club, and the movies will have inspirational themes. OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is dedicated to self-discovery, and it's a platform to elevate documentary films. She's partnered with a documentary film distributor, to do a primetime monthly documentary film series. Some of the movies will get nationwide theatrical screenings. OWN is planning to create communities that can screen the films together and take part in a live, moderated panel discussion. OWN is a co-venture between Harpo and Discovery Channel, which is scheduled to premiere in January 2011.

MOVIE ECONOMICS: TRENDS STUDY 2010


Now turning to movie trends, and how much they really make. A study called the "Economics of Motion Pictures" looked at 764 films and found that a total of 83 movies that cost more than $100 million, averaged a net profit of $247 million dollars. Movies that cost $90 million-$100 million averaged a net profit of almost $118 million. What movies make the most money? Animated films. 50 animated movies averaged $220.5 million in net profit under a major-studio deal. Sci-Fi fantasy films are the next most profitable genre.

MOVIE MARKETING:
TRENDS SUMMER 2010


Now turning to Movie Marketing, and ad campaigns trends. It seems the way the studios do their TV ads are not what they should be doing their online ads. Digital-advertising is a must in today's world, but its now been discovered that what works well in traditional media does work the same way digitally. For television, movie studios use Thursday as the day to launch TV ads for a film, but when it comes to online, a new study shows the consumer watches about the same amount of movie-related video on weekdays and even more on the weekend with the least amount of viewing movie-related video on Thursdays! Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the big online viewing days, and in fact, we watch more movie-related video online on Mondays than on any other weekday. Seems people are thinking about movies as the weekend ends.

New Show: Donald Trump's ‘The Ultimate Merger'

Donald Trump Productions is doing a new dating show, called The Ultimate Merger. Donald will be the matchmaker to help a well-known bachelorette achieve the "ultimate merger”, a successful relationship.

The show will put 12 bachelors through many challenges and obstacles in the quest to finding true love with ‘The Apprentice's' Omarosa.

The bachelors will stay at Trump's Hotel in Las Vegas. They want American bachelors who are “financially secure” with “outgoing big personalities."

The series is supposed to air by Spring 2010.

FOX:
TURNS TO TAPED AUDITIONS

Fox Network has a new way to audition actors for pilots. It's shifting to taped auditions instead of actors being there in person. The network has announced that it is phasing out in-person tests, in which finalists auditions for each role for network executives. Now, after passing live tests, performances are being filmed and sent to the network for judging. The upside is that there will be no long lines of actors in hallways. It also gives actors a chance to get it right, as they can record it many times, and now just send in the best one, whereas in live auditions, actors have one shot. The downside is that agents and managers never know when executives will be watching the tapes, therefore they don't get answers anymore on the spot.

YOU TUBE: STUDIO MOVIES NOW AVAILABLE

One of the biggest trendsetters in the world today is You Tube, the truly revolutionary video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. The new trend now is for Hollywood movie studios to use You Tube. Recently you tube reached an agreement with MGM, Lions Gate Entertainment and CBS which will allow the companies to post full-length films and television shows on the site, accompanied by advertisements. The move is intended to create competition with websites such as Hulu, which features material from both NBC and Fox. As you many know, ingenious YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees. In November 2006, it was bought by Google  for $1.65 billion, and is now operated as a subsidiary of Google.

MOVIE MARRIAGES


Movie marriages....Actor/director combos are a hot trend in Hollywood these days. Big stars keep working with big directors. Russell Crowe is in every movie that Ridley Scott directs these days.

He did A Good Year with him...American Gangster and Body of Lies and the two are at it again - Scott is doing Nottingham with Russell, his adaptation of the Robin Hood legend. As for Leonardo DiCaprio...his guy is Martin Scorsese as you know. He's now doing his 4th film with Martin - 'Shutter Island' coming out next year. Scorsese had done 8 movies with Robert DeNiro.

They are doing one more - based on true mob story called "I heard You Paint Houses" and DiCaprio is doing two more with Martin...The Wolf of Wall Street" and "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt."and director Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan...they have done Freaks and Geeks, 40 year Old Virgin and next summer's "Funny People."

TV STATS: UNHAPPY PEOPLE WATCH MORE

Ok I've got some new stats to tell you about....How much do you like watching TV?

New research shows that unhappy people watch more TV while those who are happy - spend more time reading and socializing. The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45 thousand participants and found that watching TV might make you feel good in the short term but is more likely to lead to overall unhappiness. Unhappy people watch more than 30 per cent more TV than happy folks. TV is not judgmental or difficult, so people with few social skills or resources for other activities can engage in it.....Even the unhappiest people can click a remote and be passively entertained....and...Unhappy 'married couples' also watch more TV...meantime - the worsening of the economy is said to be good for TV producers as more people will likely watch more in these tough times.

TV TRENDS:
THE SCIENCE AND ENTERTAINMENT EXCHANGE

Since science and technology have become staples of TV these days - the bar has been raised for better and more accurate science. Forensic investigation and medical shows such as CSI, House, and ER routinely incorporate cutting-edge science into their scripts. Get ready for better TV crime shows...

The National Academy of Sciences just announced the creation of "The Science and Entertainment Exchange," an initiative designed to connect entertainment industry professionals with top scientists and engineers to help the creators of television shows, films, video games, and other productions incorporate science into their work. The Exchange represents the Academy's first formal effort to reach out to the entertainment community and provide the creative minds of Hollywood with a direct connection to the creative minds of science. "Television and film" involve the public in the latest advances in science, medicine, and technology." Relying on the special connections - the Exchange can make introductions, schedule briefings, and arrange for consultations for anyone developing science-based entertainment content. The plan is endorsed by the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, and Women in Film.

It's being promoted to all levels of writers, directors, producers, and others in the entertainment industry. Professionals involved in the creative process may contact the Exchange to be connected with scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts for help with their productions and stories. Movies like Children of Men, Mission Impossible, Déjà Vu, and A Beautiful Mind enlisted some aspect of science and technology to help tell their stories, while Iron Man, Minority Report, and the Star Trek series depend very heavily on a foundation of science.

TELEVISION JEWELS


By the way - there's a hot trend in Hollywood now with people who want to wear such gems but can't afford them and don't have access to wearing them. They rent them. These jewels are called television jewels because they look so real under the brightest lights and camera shots. They're made from crystals and zirconias but shine just like the real thing.

You get them from the website: borrowedbling.com. The stuff looks amazing! Bracelets, rings, earrings, belts and evening bags in stones. You pay 30 to 100 dollars a month and you borrow. They're cut with diamond facets set in 14 carat gold or sterling silver then they're coated with a platinum sealer. They really look good!

TV HOT TRENDS: SHOWS THAT LOOK LIKE MOVIES

There's a trend in the world of television...TV shows that feel like one-hour cinematic movies. AMC is leading the pact.

It's a big new project, is a show about MARS based on the 1992 sci-fi novel RED MARS.

AMC says it fits with its bigger vision of wanting series to look like movies and it's always looking now for big genres. Cable networks remain the hot trendsetting show leaders. AMC has become a trendsetting network hot on it's Mad Men Emmy and Golden Globe wins for the first cable show to win best drama...What's also hot today: shows that are done in slightly different ways so they feel fresh and new and the other huge trend that keeps getting stronger and hotter: the biggest movie stars doing TV shows. AMC is doing a miniseries remake of the 1960's sci-fi series "The Prisoner" starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen. It's a combination of sci-fi, drama and psychological thriller...Other AMC movie feel shows in the works are: ICE - about a family in New Yorks Diamond district and CARTER BEATS the DEVIL about magician Charles Carter and his role in President Harding's death. Another TV trend: Some networks are integrating even more advertisers into their shows, product placement. For The CW, which targets women ages 18-34, product placement isn't a distraction for young viewers.

And the final big trend this fall: (and this one drives me nuts too, let me watch a program in peace) Smarter use of on-screen promos: Some viewers have expressed exasperation over animated promotions for other shows that pop up at the bottom of the screen, distracting from the program currently on the air.