No Aussies On The Lot

Budding Aussie directors have missed out on a chance at Hollywood in the new reality series by Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, On The Lot.

Despite 12,000 entries from across the globe, barely a handful of non-US residents have made the final 50.

Similar in style to Project Greenlight, the series has contestants pitch, shoot, edit and compete for a chance at Hollywood fame via Dreamworks.

All 50 finalists are brought to Hollywood for the upcoming Audition Round, but the only non-US residents are two contestants from the UK and one Canadian. The remaining 47 are universally American.

The series will air here on FOX 8 from Tuesday May 29 at 9.30pm but is preceded by Audition episodes on Wednesday May 23 at 8.30pm and Monday May 28 at 8.30pm

www.thelot.com Read more...

Seven jumps into The Pacific

The Seven Network has signed as a production partner to the Steven Spielberg / Tom Hanks war series The Pacific.

The production will be shot almost entirely in Melbourne with a smaller contingent in Queensland and New South Wales.

The huge production is seen as a follow-on from the Speilberg / Hanks series Band of Brothers.

Seven will have the right to screen concurrently with HBO, anticipated in early 2009.

Press Release:

Channel 7 today announced its involvement with HBO Films’ new Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman produced miniseries event - The Pacific – to be filmed in Australia later this year.

Seven is a production partner in The Pacific, a follow up to the hugely successful miniseries Band of Brothers. The epic World War II tale, which tracks three US Marines’ experiences in the war, will be filmed at Melbourne's Central City Studios in Docklands, and on location in Queensland and New South Wales later this year.

Seven’s Head of Programming and Production, Mr Tim Worner, said today: "This is one of the biggest productions ever undertaken in Australia with filming across three States and over many weeks. Seven is proud to have been chosen as the Australian partner and to be a part of something so crucial to the local production industry."

The 10-hour miniseries is produced by HBO Films in association with Playtone and DreamWorks Television and in collaboration with Film Victoria, the Pacific Film & Television Commission, Ausfilm and the New South Wales Film & TV Office.

HBO Films president Colin Callender said of the project: “We’re proud to be reuniting with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to complete the story of the combat experience of World War II.

“This epic miniseries is based on the true stories of three marines whose experiences in the Pacific embodied the unique nature of that theater of war, and dramatize how it profoundly differed from the European front. This was a different sort of war fighting a different sort of enemy.”

The miniseries - based on the books With the Old Breed (Eugene Sledge) and Helmet For My Pillow (Robert Leckie) - tracks the intertwined odysseys of three US Marines – Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge – across the vast canvas of the Pacific.

The extraordinary experiences of these men and their fellow Marines take them from the first clash with the Japanese in the haunted jungles of Guadalcanal, through the impenetrable rain forests of Cape Gloucester, across the blasted coral strongholds of Peleliu, up the black sand terraces of Iwo Jima, through the killing fields of Okinawa, to the triumphant, yet uneasy, return home after V-J Day. Read more...

Axed: Jericho, What About Brian.

It's the time of year when US networks are renewing, cancelling or greenlighting shows for the upcoming Fall Season.

Jericho, What About Brian and Close to Home have all been given their marching orders.

Law & Order was given a reprive by NBC but Law & Order: CI will move to NBC's cable network, USA.

24 has also been given another two seasons despite some criticisms of this season.

Veronica Mars' future remains unclear. Same for The Apprentice.

ER's 14th season may be its last.

UPDATE: An earlier post announcing Smallville was axed was based on incorrect information cited in The Daily Telegraph. It has been renewed by the CW Network.

To read up on some of the new shows being approved check out:

Axe / Renewals Watch
ABC Fall preview. and ABC line up
NBC line up
CBS line up

Thanks to 'Liyster' for the Smallville heads-up. Daily Telegraph is quoted as:

Australian fans of some US series may be disappointed, with the axe falling on several locally-screened shows, including drama The Nine, post-apocalyptic Jericho, Superman spin-off Smallville, comedy What About Brian and teen drama One Tree Hill. Read more...

Gone: 2 & Half Men: Returning: Crime & Justice

Oh dear, Nine is scrambling to fix its Tuesday programming after Two and a Half Men failed to fire last night. Frankly, it should never have been tried in the first place.

The show only attracted 699,000 against NCIS' 1.36m and It Takes Two 1.54m (over two hours).

So Nine has moved quickly to drop it altogether. It's the right response, but it certainly doesn't look good. As I've said before, Nine has a window of opportunity to build on its Tuesdays now that Dancing with the Stars is in hiatus, but you would have to argue it needed better planning than this.

Instead Nine will replace the sitcom with CSI New York on a new night at a new time (Tue 8:30pm) from May 29.

It will be preceded by the return of The Code now known simply as Crime & Justice at 7:30pm. I think Nine was a bit premature to pull this so soon after only 3 episodes. It will be doubled with Neighbours at War, yes another New Zealand factual show about misbehaving Wellington residents. The official site boasts information on "Read The Stuff Council Put In Your Mail Box , Don't Expect Your Landlord To Tell You He's Moving A Nightclub In Downstairs and Ramming Your Neighbour's Car Will Land You In Court."

In place of the old CSI NY Monday slot we have, you guessed it, a CSI repeat (which if you're keeping up, used to be on Tuesdays).

That only leaves 20 to 1 on the outer at 7:30pm Tuesdays, which last night had 1.1m.

Meanwhile a show with a loyal following, Survivor is starting at 10:30pm Sundays. Why? It may not be the huge rater that it was in years gone by, but the new season builds to a terrific finale, it could have deserved a better timeslot than before we all retire to bed for the working week.

I hope Nine's audience can keep up with these changes!

Two and a Half Men returns to our Missing in Action page after 1 day of being taken off!

Kindly credit this website when posting in messageboards, thanks!
Read more...

Wed May 16

[ABC/8:30pm] Spicks And Specks. Joining Adam Hills this week are Gina Jefferies, Juanita Stein, Anh Do and Frank Woodley.
[ABC/9:00pm] The Chaser's War On Everything.
[ABC/9:35pm] The Robinsons. Premiere. The Robinsons aren't related to any of the famous Robinsons - Sugar Ray, Edward G, or even Smokey. No, they're a bog standard, run-of-the-mill family from Wimbledon, South London who have done 'quite well'. All of them, that is, except the youngest Ed, the black sheep of the family who's 32, recently divorced after a disastrous marriage that lasted five and a half months, doing a job that he hates and living in his aunt's dilapidated council flat. What's gone wrong in his life? How difficult is it to find a girlfriend, a decent job, a good dry cleaners and the meaning of life? When Ed is told by his wife, 'you're not the man I married,' he is forced to ask himself 'who am I?' The answer he gets back - 'Ed Robinson' - doesn't satisfy him. Ed's search for himself takes him to many places… but nowhere more intriguing than his own family, or indeed, family history. Starring Martin Freeman (The Office, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Hugh Bonneville (Tipping the Velvet), Anna Massey (He knew He Was Right) Amanda Root (Enduring Love, The Forsyte Saga), Abigail Cruttenden (Hideous Kinky) and Richard Johnson (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Whistle Blower).
[ABC/10:05pm] At The Movies. 28 WEEKS LATER -The creative team of Danny Boyle, Alex Garland and Andrew McDonald are back to reinvent the zombie movie yet again with the sequent to 28 Days Later. Lead by director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 28 Weeks Later picks up six months after the Rage virus has decimated the city of London. The US Army has restored order and is repopulating the quarantined city, when a carrier of the Rage virus enters London and unknowingly reignites the spread of the deadly infection, wreaking havoc on the entire population. INFAMOUS + INTERVIEWS - starring Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Jeff Daniels, Sigourney Weaver, and Isabella Rossellini What starts out as the humorous journey of the openly gay writer Truman Capote as he moves through the elegant circles of Manhattans sophisticated cafe society, turns darker as he becomes increasingly consumed by a murder case. ZODIAC - From the director of SE7EN and PANIC ROOM comes the gripping new thriller about the rampage of a madman who has never been caught; the elusive cipher slayer who gripped the nation in fear, America’s very own Jack the Ripper. Directed by: David Fincher, Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. DELIVER US FROM EVIL + INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR AMY BERG -Documentary about the chilling true story of Father Oliver O’Grady, the most notorious paedophile priest in the modern history of the Catholic Church. Completely lacking in moral fibre and devoid of any sense of shame or guilt, O’Grady used his charm and authority to violate dozens of faithful Catholic families across Northern California for two decades. His victims ranged from a nine month old infant to the middle-aged mother of another adolescent victim. Despite early warning signs and complaints from several parishes, the Church, in an elaborate shell game designed to avoid liability and deflect criticism, lied to parishioners and local law enforcement, while continuing to move O’Grady from parish to parish.

[Nine/8:30pm] Cold Case. “Red and the Blue.”
[Nine/9:30pm] Without a Trace. “The Thing with Feathers.”

[Ten/7:30pm] Oprah. The Secret. Rpt.
[Ten/8:30pm] House. "One Day One Room"
[Ten/9:30pm] Medium. “Second Opinion.” Allison has a dream that takes place about 20 years in the future in which Marie dies of leukaemia. Upon waking up Allison is determined to keep Marie safe no matter what needs to be done.

[Seven/7:30pm] Last Chance Learners.
[Seven/8:30pm] Heroes. CHAPTER SIXTEEN 'UNEXPECTED'. Peter painfully learns that someone close may have betrayed him. Matt's world spirals out of control when two 'heroes' drop into his life and recruit him on a mission. After blood is spilled, Hiro makes a difficult decision about his future. Claire is unable to contain her anger at her father. Guest starring CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON and MATTHEW JOHN ARMSTRONG.
[Seven/9:30pm] Prison Break. CHICAGO. When the diner they are eating in is robbed, C-Note must weigh his daughter's health against the life of a young waitress. Kellerman solves the riddle of Sara's key, but it could be a trap for Michael and Lincoln. Mahone makes Bellick and Haywire an offer they can't refuse. Starring WENTWORTH MILLER, DOMINIC PURCELL, WILLIAM FICHTNER, AMAURY NOLASCO and PAUL ADELSTEIN.
[Seven/10:30pm] 24. 12:00 A.M. - 1:00 A.M. Jack prepares to meet Cheng against the wishes of the White House, while Daniels prepares to address the nation. Guest starring RICK SCHRODER.

[SBS/7:30pm] Eco House Challenge. Final. Final Countdown - The families have just two days to go and nerves are starting to fray. Have the Shepherds taken too big a risk putting their kids in control? Over at the Edwards home, Spike has taken a leaf out of Cam's eco book and he too has drawn up a master plan. However, Mary thinks it's all too late. Before the families can complete the waste hotspot, they must dispose of their pre-challenge waste. Wheeling their bins onto buses and trains, they make their way through the city streets towards the tip. (Commissioned by SBSi, in English) (Documentary Series) (FINAL) PG CC WS
[SBS/8:00pm] Inside Australia - Short Stories - Ammie's Story is the story of a young girl from a broken home who travels to Singapore for a stage show but realises that what's important is the family she has left behind. But which family? Is it her average-statured mother, or the short-statured woman she calls her "adopted mum"? (Commissioned by SBSi, in English) (Drama Series) PG
[SBS/8:30pm] Dateline - An international current affairs program, presented by George Negus. (An SBS Production, in English) G CC WS
[SBS/12:50am Thu] Love For Sale - The American Dream - The brothels attract girls from all over the United States and from a variety of different back grounds. Most of the girls come from other parts of the sex industry - strip bars, escort agencies and the street. For all their differences, they are united in a common dream of earning big money, fast. Sierra and Misty offer a two girl party. But mixing business with pleasure has meant that Sierra has fallen in love with the glamorous and soulful Misty. They have moved in together. Unfortunately for Sierra, Misty is not quite so committed. (From the US, in English) (Documentary Series) (Rpt) (Part 7) MA (L,A,S) CC [SBS/1:25am Thu] Drawn Together - Tonight, notorious billionaire Bucky Bucks comes to the house and hosts an Apprentice-style boardroom, to answer the demands of the housemates for prizes. Toot tries to convince the housemates to blow up the house and because they were double-crossed, they blow it up while trying to escape in the producer's helicopter. (From the US, in English) (Animated Comedy Series) (Rpt) M (A,S) CC WS
[SBS/4:30am Thu] UEFA Cup Final 2007 - LIVE from Hampden Park, Glasgow. Kick-off at 4.45am. Read more...