Spotlight on: Hollywood Game Night

Based on the game nights that executive producer/ creator Sean Hayes would host in his very own home, Glee star Jane Lynch replaces Hayes as host and brings Hollywood Game Night to viewers’ living rooms each Thursday night. Just 3 episodes in, NBC's new game show has already taken to great reviews and is rated #1 in the 10pm time slot.

The game show takes a refreshing twist on traditional TV game shows by bringing together Hollywood celebrities and comedians, throwing liquor into the mix--audience viewers and the guests are encouraged to "drink up"-- and having them play a slew of games that include putting pictures of Jennifer Aniston's hairstyles in chronological order and naming a candy bar by looking at a cross section of it. There’s no surprise that this trifecta of fun has done so well and keeps viewers coming back for more.

The hour long show consists of two “civilians” or non-celebrity contestants playing for the chance of winning some serious cash, as they are teamed together with 3 celebrities and compete in a mix of off the wall and name that celebrity type games. Some of the celebrity teammates have included former SNL cast mates Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Martin short among many others. The upcoming episode’s line-up, which will be airing next Thursday, August 1^st at 10pm, will feature celebrity teams consisting of Tom Arnold, Stacey Keibler, Rose Byrne, Patricia Heaton and Anthony Anderson and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

According to an article on the Futon Critic, the show has not only continues to bring in some big laughs, but has consistently done well scoring high Nielson ratings and is sure to have a bright future ahead! Each week the celebrity game show has drawn in more and more viewers in key demographics, in particular, among 25- 54 year old adults. As a new reality show on network programming this summer, Hollywood Game Night has delivered the best ratings so far for reality programming on NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX tied with NBC’s Get Out Alive. 

Summer of Sequels

Just recently, I was waiting on the subway platform waiting for the train to arrive and across the way I noticed three new movie posters lined up. The movies were Grown Ups 2, Despicable Me 2, and Red 2. All three movies were sequels. Is this what we have to look forward to this summer? An entire season of movies that were OK and the studios decided to make another offspring. It's a topic that has been going around for some time now and poses the question, where are all the original films? Movieinsider.com listed an incredible 35 sequel films to be released this year in 2013... 35!!!  This summer alone, more than half of those sequels are to be released. If you're looking for something original, this is not the summer for you to rush out to theaters.

There is some background to this influx of sequels... Hollywood saw dollar signs last summer and are hopeful those same moviegoers will return this year and support the movie franchises. Just last year, 7 of the top 10 grossing films just so happened to be sequel films. It's a trend that is likely to follow this year being so many of them released during the summer alone.

One studio, however, has promised to cut back on releasing sequels and put a focus on original stories. In an article from cinemablend.com, Pixar studios has made a noble decision to no longer make unnecessary sequels. While the studio does have a sequel out right now, Monsters University, they will now only make sequels if the story demands that it be made. Although they won't stop making them, Pixar studio head Ed Camull, stated they will now be releasing one original story a year. (Which is very promising since they typically release one film a year). Perhaps other studios will follow Pixar's lead and change their focus to producing original stories as well!

Women in Film- a Focus on its Mentorship Program

Originally founded in 1973, the non-profit organization Women in Film is a leading professional organization in the entertainment industry that encourages and promotes the success of women in the film, media and communications industries. Headed by Academy Award Winning producer, Cathy Shulman , the organization provides numerous resources to its members that include mentorship programs, grants and scholarships for film, network opportunities and many other programs geared towards help with women in the industry achieve their goals.

With 40 chapters across the country, the organization’s reach represents over 10,000 members.  Featuring a speaker series and monthly independent film series, the program offers endless resources to help women progress in their careers in the film industry. One of the very valuable programs the organization offers to its members is its mentor program.  In the New York chapter, members are able to apply for an internship allowing them to explore their area of interest in the field and gain hands on experience.  Upon successful completion of the internship program, the candidate is then assigned a mentor in their desired career path to help guide and provide inside insight to what it take to be successful in their field.  Based on the intern’s interests, the organization matches them with a mentor who is specialized in their area.  The mentor and intern are then to meet once a month during the internship and advises him/ her on their professional and personal growth.

The advantages of Women in Film providing programs, such as the mentorship program, prepares women today for successful careers in entertainment tomorrow. Encouraging enthusiastic women of all ages to make their mark only helps create a more experienced/ talented pool of potential job candidates for productions. Women in film today are hugely underrepresented and do not hold nearly as many positions in the industry that men do. Resources such as a mentorship program help promote the integration of women in the industry and serves as a support system that few other programs are able to achieve. 

Gatsby a Hit, the Hangover III a Miss

Making this summer's long list of much anticipated movies include the much talked about Baz Luhrmann film adaptation of The Great Gatsby and the 3rd installment of the comedy the Hangover. Both films were expected to bring in big numbers for this summer and were on my list of must sees for this season.

One of the the few books I actually enjoyed reading in my high school English class was F. Scott's Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, so when I saw last year it was going to be made into a Hollywood film...and starring some of my favorite actors, I couldn't wait for its release! Surprisingly, director Baz Luhrman's over the top style and amazing use of color only enhanced Fitzgerald's classic story, not once taking away from the original book's story line. Luhrmann's approach to the story was very refreshing in that he never veered too far off from Fitzgerald's words (something few film adaptations have done in the past.) The book held its own on the big screen aside from the lavish, jaw-dropping visuals. The film also had solid performances by Leonardo DiCaprio who played the main character, Jay Gatsby. However, with any movie that DiCaprio's character speaks with an accent, I always find myself cringing because each line sounds like a different dialect. In Gatsby, his accent's origins are just as questionable, a far cry from the foreign actresses who did have accents (Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher) were able to carry out their lines in a very believable American accent.

Where Gatsby surprised, the Hangover part III disappointed. I'm ashamed to say I never got around to watching the sequel, Hangover II, but was told from many who did that if you had watched the first Hangover it wasn't necessary to see the second. Now that the third one was released I was curious to see if the film that had me laughing for days after I left the theater would have the same effect on its 3rd installment. With the start of the opening scene of Ken Jung's character, Chao, escaping a prison (which I safely assumed he ended up there from the 2nd Hangover) I was almost sure this movie was going to be non stop laughs. But only about 20 minutes in and only a few laughs brought from the overweight man-child Alan (played by the hilarious Zach Galifianakis) the story took a predictable turn when they began a road trip and the laughs quickly subsided. If they said the Hangover 2 was basically the Hangover in a different location, then the Hangover 3 was the Hangover and Hangover 2 in some of the same locations. The shock value that the original movie had is something that could never be matched in its sequels and the box office sales will surely reflect that. Hopefully this will be the last of the Hangover movies... (even though the ending was perfectly set up for a 4th).

Does our Nation's Conscious Directly Affect TV Programming?

NBCUniversal Executive Vice President, Lauren Zalaznick is responsible for changing the landscape of an entire network because of her innate ability to recognize audience trends. The Bravo Executive changed the networks programming towards the reality television we all love to hate including the Real Housewives franchise and shows like Top Chef.

In a TED speech held by Zalaznick, she explores the relationship between human consciousness and television programming.  The findings in her research showed a common association between the two in that society ultimately determines what shows are put on TV. Depending on the political, economic and social climate, audiences seek TV programming that reflects their moral state. In a time where political and economic morale is low, Zalaznick shows trends that the two are dependent on one another.

In the last 20 years, popular television made a drastic change in the programming that was put out with comedy sitcoms like FRIENDS and Seinfeld ending and more “judgement” reality TV shows becoming popular such as Survivor and American Idol where people’s fates where decided by audience viewers. This shift in programming reflected the country’s state in the early 2000’s when morale was low due to major events such as September 11^th. Zalyznyck argues this correlation to be the fact that audiences were able to redeem a sense of control in a time where most Americans, in particular, felt they did not have much control over anything.

No matter how we feel about the TV programming that is out there today, the research Zalaznick provides directly reflects “the moral, political, social and emotional need states of our nation”. The fact that Lauren points out we watch an average of 5 hours of TV a day, also shows that television takes up a major part of our lives.

This speech is particularly interesting to me because I have always felt that audiences want to see new creative shows, but what her studies find, is that those shows do not necessarily make popular TV, but our nation’s subconscious is what fuels what we collectively consider popular and entertaining. By understanding this point of view, it can be very beneficial to the writers out there pitching their ideas to networks in the future, if they take into account the political and social climate into their storylines.
 

2013 Fall TV Lineup Has Been Announced

Super Fun Night image from examiner.com

This month in TV is a very exciting time as Pilot season has officially wrapped up! The major broadcast networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and the CW have made their selections and announced their Fall TV schedules. Pilot season began in January after nearly 100 pilots were selected to be shot by the major TV networks, of those 100 or so less than half have been green lit for production to be featured this Fall. Those fortunate to have made the cut for programming this fall include the usual mix of comedy and drama--at least one NY detective show and a show that’s title resonates with the likes of Scandal and Revenge, entitled, Betrayal.  There are a handful of new shows that stand out, however, (in a good way) and their original storylines may have a shot of surviving past season one.

Here are some of the highlights from the shows that made this year's list:

Some big names will be gracing the small screen this coming season including Rebel Wilson in ABC’s comedy Super Fun Night, Malin Ackerman in ABC’s Trophy Wife, Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in Fox’s comedy, The Crazy Ones and Minnie Driver in About a Boy (NBC).

The writers of the comedic trilogy, the Hangover, will be writing for ABC’s Mixology- which also happens to be set over the course of one night. Hopefully this off the wall comedy will draw in some laughs just as big taking place in an upscale New York City bar.

The CW will be giving many a history lesson with the historical drama, Reign, a shed light on the early life of Mary Queen of Scots.

Michael Jay Fox will be coming back to TV in his self-titled show, The Michael J. Fox Show. Inspired by his own life, Fox will play a family man returning to work as a news anchor with Parkinson’s disease.

Ah yes, and there will be a slew of cop shows, one spin-off (Vampire Diary fans rejoice), and a common theme present of dysfunctional parents- a show named Dads with Seth Green and another appropriately  named Mom featuring Anna Faris.

To view a full list of the pilots that have been green lit, click here.

How New York is Wooing Major Productions into the City

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If you’re from New York City or have been living in the area for a few years, you may have noticed the streets being lined up with production trucks more and more each day. This increase of productions taking place in the city is due to the recent incentives the State of New York is providing for productions that take place here.

While New York doesn’t have the massive studio lots that most major productions are attracted to, the state came up with incentives a few years ago to lure productions back to the city… and it has been working. In 2010, New York City launched the “MADE IN NY” Incentive Program that provides film and TV productions with major perks such as a 30% tax credit, a “Made in NY” discount card which provides discounts on various production services and vendors and a special concierge service available during the complete duration of the production.

When not filming on location, productions have the opportunity of filming in any of the three major productions facilities (endorsed by the program) located here in New York City, including Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Kaufman Astoria studios in nearby Astoria, and the newest addition Steiner Studios, located in the old Navy Yard in Brooklyn.

According to the Mayor’s office of film theatre and broadcasting’s website, there are at least 60 film and TV productions registered and currently in production.  It has also been reported that next year, The Tonight Show, which has always been filmed in California, will be heading to New York City next year with Jimmy Fallon as its newly revealed host.

New York City’s unique urban allure has been known to attract productions (and is probably Hollywood’s most used and favorite backdrop), but now with the equally attractive incentives offered, it’s hard to imagine why films and TV shows would want to film anywhere else!