The Inquisitr » abc

ABC’s John Stossel Joins FOX News, Fox Business

Duncan Riley — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:58:14 +0000

Co-anchor of ABC’s 20/20 program John Stossel is leaving the network for greener pastures on Fox News and Fox Business.

According to a release from Fox News, Stossel will anchor “Stossel,” a weekly program on FOX Business Network, and make regular appearances on FOX News Channel.

The one-hour program will feature in-depth reports on domestic and international libertarian issues and will debut during the fourth quarter of this year in Fox Business News’ primetime lineup. Stossel and a panel of experts will explore a wide range of topics including civil liberties, the business of health care and Social Security.

Stossel will also host a series of one-hour specials on FOX News Channel and write a blog called “Stossel’s Take.”

Stossel’s libertarian leanings are well known, so the move to Fox isn’t that surprising. Lets hope that he keeps his head and doesn’t go all Glenn Beck on the new show.

Marvel and Disney Together Is a Bit Weird

Kyle Brady — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:42:58 +0000

By way of introduction, Marvel is now owned by Disney. Yes, as of yesterday, the decades-long king of children’s entertainment, the reinventor of fairy tales, and clearing house for all things Mouse has ownership of one of the leading comic entertainment enterprises that is not necessarily known for being child-friendly.

I find this a bit weird.

Marvel’s cornerstones over the last seven decades have been Spiderman, The X-Men, The Hulk, Captain America, and a handful of other big-name titles, most of which have either already seen the silver screen or are slated to in the coming years. In fact, Marvel proved in 2000 that a comicbook-based movie could be not only highly successful but quality entertainment as well, arguably starting the the modern age of book-to-screen transfers that has produced gems like The Dark Knight along with utter abominations such as Punisher: War Zone.

But for Disney to purchase Marvel is a decision that makes me curious: besides the obvious financial benefits of merging two of the most successful entertainment operations of all time, what motivations could the Head Mousekeeter have? Disney’s productions, like Cinderella, The Lion King, and Bolt, are very different from the graphic and dark nature Marvel usually favors.

To be fair, a few of Disney’s arms produce slightly less G-rated material, such as Pixar’s Wall-E or ABC’s Lost, but even then the themes, or visuals, don’t approach the supreme violence of Wolverine, the adult lifestyle themes of Spiderman, or even the complex continuity of the Marvel Universe. So it makes sense that Disney has announced no intentions, for the foreseeable future, of influencing the production staff of Marvel, or even of disrupting the movies-in-progress.

This is good news, so long as they keep their promises – a cheery, joke-telling, lighthearted Logan would be entirely more disturbing than his modern depressive, angry, violent self. Perhaps Disney is truly interested in simply the financial benefits of owning the massively successful enterprise and will truly leave it to operate on its own, much as they have with Pixar.

Or maybe Disney is curious about turning Marvel’s creative talents inward to their own core cast of characters, in order to produce more adult-themed versions of popular titles.

Now that I can get behind.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction. He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Jimmy Kimmel is insane, and that’s why we love him

Duncan Riley — Thu, 21 May 2009 06:06:04 +0000

The announcement of the fall television lineups for the US television networks also goes hand in hand with a process called “upfronts,” where the networks pitch their shows to advertisers.

Usually these events involve stars rattling off numbers about how great their show is, and how much better it will be next year, or as Gawker so nicely puts it: “one enormous act of autofellatio, an endless stream of workers sucking the c***s of the companies they work for in order to hold on to their jobs and continue to cash ridiculously large paychecks.”

But this year was different. ABC Late Night Talk Show host Jimmy Kimmel decided to channel Jerry McGuire and tell it like is:

“Let’s get real here. Let’s get Dr. Phil-real here. These new fall shows? We’re going to cancel about 90 percent of them. Maybe more.”

“Every year we lie to you and every year you come back for more. You don’t need an upfront. You need therapy. We completely lie to you, and then you pass those lies onto your clients.”

If ABC is so confident in its new fall shows, he asked, why is it announcing them at the same time it announces the midseason shows that will replace those fall shows? “This show ‘Shark Tank’ has the word tank right in the title,” he said.

“Next year on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ your product could kill Dr. Izzie. It just depends on how much you want to pay.”

“I think all our shows are going to work this year. I really do. I don’t, really.”

“The important thing to remember is: who cares, it’s not your money.”

Kimmel also took a shot at NBC and Jay Leno, whom ABC once courted to possibly replace him when his contract with NBC expired, saying that they’re “giving Jay’s viewers exactly what they want. An early-bird special.”

As the NY Times notes, the chances of Kimmel’s show lasting much longer are very slim indeed. He’s insane, and that’s why we love him.

Chelsea Stone Accuses Lost actor Henry Ian Cusick of Sexual Harassment

Paul Short — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:47:09 +0000

A woman, Chelsea Stone, filed suit in an L.A. court on Friday, charging both Lost actor Henry Ian Cusick and ABC with sexual harassment, claiming she was groped by the actor then fired by ABC shortly afterward.

The lawsuit that was filed Friday in L.A. says that Cusick, who plays Desmond Hume on the show Lost, fondled Chelsea Stone’s buttocks and breasts while trying to kiss her on the lips in October of 2007. The lawsuit claims that Stone reported the incident to ABC, her employer, but was simply told to try to avoid being near Cusick. She is claiming she was fired 12 days later as retaliation for reporting the alleged sexual abuse. The filing says Stone had worked for ABC since 1997, around 10 years.

The lawsuit documents do not specify how much Chelsea Stone is seeking for damages from Henry Ian Cusick and ABC, but you can expect it to be a significant sum.

ZillionTV: yet another set-top box, or game changer?

Duncan Riley — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:11:46 +0000

New Internet TV provider ZillionTV launched today, offering yet another set-top box that brings internet television to the lounge room.

The tech specs are reasonable. On the plus side, ZillionTV will offer High quality streams, a Wii like remote for navigation, the ability to pay or opt-in to ads for content, and the ability to pick which type of ads you see. The rest of the specs are nothing we haven’t already seen from boxes like Roku, AppleTV and numerous others.

Most sites have been quick to write the ZillionTV off as yet another player in a market that continues to offer promise, but has never really taken off in a big way. But ZillionTV has a couple of advantage that could make it a game changer.

The strongest part of the offering is the content. Yes, many boxes already offer movies and television shows on demand, but the range of content providers has often been somewhat limited. ZillionTV is backed with content and investments from ABC/Disney, Fox, NBC/Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. The only content missing is CBS, but compared to other offerings out there, this offers a deeper range, and better choice between free and paid. Consumers don’t care for content deals and who owns what; what they care about is having access to their favorite shows, and ZillionTV looks like they may well offer a superior lineup.

The other factor that may make this a game changer is how it’s distributed. ZillionTV isn’t going to appear at your local computer or electronics store, and will instead be offered exclusively via partner ISP’s. Which ISP’s haven’t been disclosed as yet, but given the strong backing by media companies, it’s not unreasonable to expect that they’ll be distributed via large ISP’s. Some have suggested that this path may come up against network neutrality; this could happen if ISP’s decide to prioritize traffic to ZillionTV users, but there’s actually a better pitch: cap exemptions.

The box costs $50, and ISP’s get a cut from the ongoing revenue on each box. These same ISP’s are currently introducing capped internet access throughout the United States, and HD video gobbles up bandwidth. A likely outcome is that partner ISP’s will offer cap exemptions to ZillionTV traffic, so that although data traffic to the box may not get a speed priority, it will allow users to consume more without breaking their data caps. A not-dissimilar setup happens in Australia today; my ISP offers unlimited “free zone” data for content from iTunes and Australia’s ABC iView TV on demand service. This could well become a game changer as users hit cap limits; you can pay $50 to get a ZillionTV with data that doesn’t count towards your cap, or a Roku or AppleTV that does. If you like to watch TV on demand, which one would you pick?

ZillionTV launches in the 4th quarter in what will likely still be a difficult economic climate. It may fail as many have before, but the approach is different and it has strong potential.

No related posts.

Melissa wins Bachelor finale, gets dumped 6 weeks later for the runner-up

Duncan Riley — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:46:37 +0000

Fans of TV series The Bachelor are up in arms after a rather cruel twist.

Bachelor Jason Mesnick proposed to Melissa Rycroft in Monday night’s season finale, as we predicted back in January. But a follow up special taped 6 weeks after the finale disclosed that Mesnick had a change of heart, and had dumped Rycroft for runner-up Molly Malaney

Mesnick said he hated himself for what he was doing, but that didn’t console Rycroft who said “Don’t call me and don’t talk to me. Leave me alone.” Maleny then agreed to give her relationship with Mesnick another go.

Fansites and forums nearly universally attacked Mesnick, calling him virtually everything under the sun.

Radio legend Paul Harvey dies aged 90

Duncan Riley — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:13:27 +0000

Radio legend Paul Harvey has died at the age of 90.

Paul Harvey was a long standing American radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Network. He broadcasted News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his The Rest of the Story segments. As of September 2008, Harvey the oldest syndicated radio personality in America, having been heard nationally since 1951.

His list of awards is nearly as long as his career. Harvey won Salesman of the Year, Commentator of the Year, Person of the Year, Father of the Year, and American of the Year. He has been elected to the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Hall of Fame and appeared on the Gallup poll list of America’s most admired men. He received 11 Freedom Foundation Awards as well as the Horatio Alger Award. In 2005 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ most prestigious civilian award.

Although not a strict partisan, Harvey was considered a conservative, and over the years supported the McCarthy witch-hunt, professed his love for Richard Nixon (while disagreeing with him), and attacked people on welfare. He was also a high ranking Mason.

Harvey died Saturday at his winter home in Phoenix, surrounded by family. The cause of death was not available.

Nicollette Sheridan leaving Desperate Housewives

Duncan Riley — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:37:40 +0000

Nicollette Sheridan has called it a day, and is leaving Desperate Housewives.

Sheridan plays Edie Britt on Wisteria Lane, a role that made her globally famous, although she has a long career on television, having appeared in Knots Landing, Spy Hard and Beverly Hills Ninja.

ABC confirmed her departure, but did not say when she would last appear on the show.

ABC orders pilot episode of V remake

Duncan Riley — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:28:29 +0000

ABC has officially ordered a pilot for a remake of V, the 1980s sci-fi mini-series, later TV series dealing with visitors from out of space.

The new series comes from the co-creator of The 4400 Scott Peters, with Warner Bros. TV producing.

According to Variety, the new V centers on Erica Evans, a Homeland Security agent with an aimless son. Like the original series, the aliens say that they’re here in peace, but the truth is their intentions aren’t great.

The original V appeared as a mini-series on NBC in May 1983, followed by a short lived TV series spin off lasting only one season over 1984-85.

The Bachelor Season 13 Winner Revealed in First Episode

Duncan Riley — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:24:09 +0000

The 13th Episode of ABC’s The Bachelor may have turned out to be unlucky for the network, with the season preview revealing the shows winner.

The revelation was made by a home user on YouTube, who noticed a defining feature on the hand of the women the Bachelor proposes to.

If you simply don’t want the show spoiled, don’t watch the clip, and don’t keep reading as we’re about to give the answer:

The winner is Melissa, 25 years old from Texas. The identifier: her gold pinky ring.

(via realityblured)

Patrick Swayze Speaks Out About Pancreatic Cancer: “I’m Going Through Hell”

Meieli Sawyer — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:50:55 +0000

Patrick Swayze opened up in an interview with Barbara Walters recently, in which he proclaimed that he is “going through hell” while battling cancer. In the interview, which will air on Wednesday, January 7th at 10 p.m. EST, Swayze admits that it’s been emotionally taxing and added ”I’ve only seen the beginning of it.”

He said that the first sign of a problem was indigestion, and that on New Year’s Eve in 2007, ”I tried to have champagne, and it would be like pouring acid, you know, on an open wound.” From there, he reports that he lost 20 pounds “in the blink of an eye.”

Swayze was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer soon after, and tried to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. When the tabloids found out and reported that he had five weeks to live, he told Walters that his response was “Watch me! You watch what I pull off.” While his public appearances have been limited, Swayze did attend the Stand Up to Cancer fundraiser in September and filmed The Beast for five months in Chicago, which premieres on January 15th.

Swayze has exceeded medical and professional expectations after being diagnosed, but he admits that “There’s a lot of fear here. There’s a lot of stuff going on. Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m angry. Yeah, I’m [asking] why me. Yeah, I’m all this stuff.”

“I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life,” Swayze said, “not lived in the shadow of cancer, but in the light.”

Desperate Housewives Renewed to 2013

Duncan Riley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:00:55 +0000

Soap come drama come occasional bitch fest Desperate Housewives will be back next year, and every year until 2013, which a spy tells us is the year the guarantee on Eva Longoria’s plastic surgery runs out.

The show has rated well this year despite tired cast and poor story line, but perhaps overplayed escapism is hot this recession, how else could you explain another 5 years of overpaid acting.

Desperate Housewives first hit ABC in 2004 and stars Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Hodge, Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle Solis, Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt and, from season four onwards, Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair. Brenda Strong narrates the show as the deceased Mary Alice Young.

T.R. Knight leaving Grey’s Anatomy

Duncan Riley — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:05:56 +0000

Actor T.R. Knight has asked to be released from his contract with ABC’s hit show Grey’s Anatomy.

According to an exclusive from EW, the request is set to be granted by ABC and Grey’s show-runner Shonda Rhimes with a source saying “They’re working out the details now.”

Contrary to other reports, Knight is said to be still working on the show, and hasn’t walked out, at least not yet.

Knight was the center of a scandal in 2007 involving Isaiah Washington referring to him as a faggot (Knight is gay). Various reports since have Knight being unhappy working on the show despite Washington being fired.

Eliot Spitzer’s hooker Ashley Dupre goes for another 15 minutes of fame

Duncan Riley — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:14:55 +0000

Ashley Dupre, the $2000 an hour hooker favored by disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is going for another 15 minutes of fame this week with an interview with Diane Sawyer on 20/20.

The rumors of Ashley Dupre making a TV appearance started doing the rounds late last week, and now ABC has confirmed it with this official statement:

“A Diane Sawyer exclusive: In her first television interview, Ashley Dupre, the woman at the center of the scandal involving former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, speaks candidly about what life as a high-end escort is like, how an upper middle-class, girl next door got into the profession and the psychological journey she continues to experience. The interview is a continuation of Sawyer’s recent and extensive reporting on prostitution that was the basis for an in-depth look at the profession, which aired in March of 2008.”

The Dupre/ Spitzer story was a sensation when it broke, but despite initial offers to star in porn films, Dupre quickly disappeared from the limelight. Here’s betting that this 15 minutes of fame may last even shorter than her first.

The interview will be broadcast on ABC this Friday.

Pushing Daises may be canned

Duncan Riley — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:30:56 +0000

ABC’s comedy-drama Pushing Daisies may be canned, with the show rapping up filming for the season without yet receiving a renewal.

Pushing Daisies debuted in October 2007, but dropped off air early in its first run due to the Hollywood writers strike. The “forensic fairy tale” revolves around a pie-maker who has the power to bring the dead back to life.

The show met widespread critical acclaim, but its ratings didn’t fire, with the show averaging 6.6 million viewers and a 2.3 in the 18-49 rating this season.

THR reports that ABC execs are officially saying no decision has been made, but talk around town has the show not being renewed, although it may never officially get that description as ABC is often reluctant to “officially” can shows.

King of the Hill may be saved by ABC

Duncan Riley — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:32:26 +0000

Animated series King of the Hill may be given a lifeline, with news that ABC is in negotiations to pick up the show.

King of the Hill looked set to close at the end of its 13th series after Fox passed on renewing the series for a 14th season, as we reported October 30.

According to Variety, King of the Hill would make a strong companion to ABC’s upcoming animated comedy The Goode Family, which comes from King of the Hill executive producers Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky.

If ABC does pick up the show, new episodes may not appear on ABC until the second half of 2009 or early 2010.