3 Aug 2014

New Starz TV series based on ‘Outlander’ novels — kilts and all

Diana Gabaldon, the author of eight “Outlander” novels, was recently asked about what the appeal is of a man in a kilt.

“I suppose it’s the idea that you could be up against the wall with him in a minute,” the writer cheekily related to the crowd during a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego last week. It’s a rather provocative image, to say the least.

Now the very devoted fans of the books have something more to get excited about. After more than 20 years, “Outlander” is finally being turned into a TV series. The show will debut Aug. 9 on Starz, though the premiere episode is already available for free online and on video on demand. (Only half of the 16 episodes will air now, with the rest in early 2015.)

Admit it: There's an ugly, useless room (or two) in your house you'd love to smash to pieces and start all over.

"Everybody at one point wants to take a sledgehammer to a room they can't stand," says contractor Jason Cameron, host of the new "Sledgehammer" makeover show (10 p.m. Wednesday, DIY Network).

"Everybody can relate to this show," said Cameron, who filmed 12 episodes in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky with Jay Shatz, the former Channel 9 reporter who runs Jay TV in Covington.

BroadwayWorld TV is currently seeking talented television enthusiasts to add to our TV recapping and feature; coverage for a handful of shows returning and premiering this fall. We currently have a stable of 20 writers recapping over 55 shows this season, but there are a handful of shows that we would still like to cover; check out the list is at the bottom of this post.

All applicants should have excellent writing skills and an interest in the finer points of television. The minimum requirement for the position is to post 700-1,500 word recaps of a specific TV show (or shows) as quickly after its initial airing as possible (preferably within an hour, but no later than 7:00am ET the following morning).

Quite often, awards pundits have observed that the Oscar winner for best score typically goes to a film that has shown traction during awards season. More specifically, in recent years, those films nabbing the score win also were nominated for best picture—from 2010 onward there’s been The Social Network, The Artist, Life of Pi and Gravity all earning Oscars for score. While the final round of Oscar balloting is open to all Academy members, the notion is that those voters favoring a certain film, i.e. The Artist, will simply check off most of the category boxes for one title on the ballot.

Last season, ABC tried a murder mystery reality show with the Whodunnit? series. It didn’t do very well. Now they’re trying another fantasy competition with The Quest. Will this one be a ratings success and be renewed for a second season, or will it be cancelled too? Stay tuned!

On The Quest, a dozen everyday people are transported to a fantasy world called Everealm where they have adventures and compete to be the last “true hero” remaining. The cast includes Peter Windhofer, Jan Hutter, Marcello de Nardo, Susanne Gschwendtner, Stephanie Buddenbrock, Florence Kasumba, Mai Duong Kieu, and Doug Tait.

At the recently concluded Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, a parade of network executives declared that the old concept of distinct TV seasons was a relic of another time. The "fall season," and "midseason" are old news, we were told, as television has evolved into a year-round enterprise, with new shows premiering all the time.

With that in mind, it's useful to have a scorecard of new shows scheduled to debut within the next few months, which remain a busy time of year for networks that want to launch new shows.

So you bought a brand new, expensive LCD TV and now you sit down to binge-watch your favorite show only to find it looks… totally different than it usually does? There’s nothing wrong with the TV or the content you’re watching, Wired explains, although sometimes there can be issues with those things, too. The TV has a built-in feature that turns Hollywood movies in a soap opera-like video mode that makes things look like they have been recorded in a different century.

There's quite the slate of LGBT films heading to theaters in the next couple months, from 5 films during the month of August to "The Skeleton Twins," "Lilting" and "The Imitation Game" soon after. But while we certainly hope they all prove exceptions, the odds are against them managing to make much of a dent in the box office. Only seven films with lead LGBT characters have grossed over $1 million in North American since 2010: "Farewell My Queen," "Kill Your Darlings," "I'm So Excited,"The Kids Are All Right," "La Mission" and "I Love You, Phillip Morris." One could arguably also include "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Your Sister's Sister" and "Beginners," though in all four cases the LGBT characters (played by Ezra Miller, Jared Leto, Rosemarie DeWitt and Christopher Plummer, respectively) are supporting a heterosexual lead. Even so, if you did include them that's still only 10 films in four and a half years where well over 1,200 films crossed the $1 million mark -- most of them just barely.

Check out the surreal international trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu's dark comedy
When a movie trailer opens with a tighty whities-clad Michael Keaton meditating mid-air in his apartment, you know you're in for an absurd three minutes. "How did we end up here?" the gruff-voiced actor narrates. "This place is horrible, smells like balls." And the official international trailer for Birdman, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams), only gets more bizarre from there.

From indie comic book oddities to Saturday morning sensations to the stars of this week’s controversial cinematic reboot, it’s been a long, strange trip for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

As fans old and new brace for Friday’s release of the Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, starring a foursome of computer-generated heroes working alongside the only slightly less artificial Megan Fox, here’s a timeline of the many forms the tenacious terrapins have taken over the decades.

It's the picture of innocence: a country priest in billowing cassock, strolling a rural road in Ireland's windswept West, encountering a young girl, chatting with her about this, about that.

But then her father pulls up in a car, and angrily summons her. With an utterly vilifying look, he warns the cleric off.

"That scene encapsulates everything the movie is about," says Brendan Gleeson, the Irish actor who plays Father James, a good priest in a bad world, in John Michael McDonagh's stormy tale of reckoning, Calvary.

Meryl Streep has been taking guitar lessons in preparation for upcoming film Ricki and the Flash.

The Oscar-winning star will play a struggling rocker in the movie. All music featured will be played and sang by the cast.

Screenwriter Diablo Cody told The Hollywood Reporter: "The reason we haven't shot the movie yet is Meryl's been learning to play. Watching her come along has been really inspiring."

HOLLYWOOD — Time to bid farewell to a familiar fixture in downtown Hollywood.

For 36 years, the 12-story Town House Apartments has occupied the north side of Young Circle.

No more.

The building at 1776 Polk St. was demolished Saturday to make way for what many are lauding as progress: Hollywood Circle, a $160 million project in the works since 2004.

Despite being a new and relatively unknown franchise, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' thunders to the largest opening ever for an August movie.

The galaxy is in safe hands.
Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's latest addition to its superhero canon, invaded Hollywood this weekend with the biggest debut on record for an August movie.

Guardians rounded up $94 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.

Placing 1968’s “Hair” in the cavernous Hollywood Bowl poses a trap. A flamboyant celebration of Aquarius, even at this 50-year remove, couldn’t be easier, but emotionality is diminished when the flower children aren’t climbing into your lap. Still, an energetic troupe led by Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars,” “Frozen”) does well by Galt Macdermot’s muscular melodies, and the three-night engagement showcases some fine young talent on the verge of breakout, and I don’t mean complexion.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It's the Hollywood ending every studio wants: Low-cost production and high returns at the box office.

Filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick seem to have the formula down — grossing nearly $80 million on four films made for less than $4 million combined. Only thing is the Kendrick brothers work far from Hollywood and, outside the world of Christian-themed cinema, many have never heard of their films.

That could change.

Celebrities risk opposition as they speak out on violence in Palestine

When director Jonathan Demme was approached to show support for all victims of the conflict in Gaza, he didn’t hesitate to sign on. Actor Wallace Shawn is willing to put up with jeers on the street for his opinions about the violence. And Mark Ruffalo is determined to air his views about the fighting on Twitter, no matter the cost to his social media numbers.

It broke Lynn Kelley's heart to watch as young girls struggled with confidence in her gym classes in South Lebanon two decades ago.

Back then some families of the then-tiny Warren County community suffered from low incomes while others battled with the usual challenges young girls everywhere face in developing self-esteem, said Kelley.

One day, while teaching jump rope, an idea came to her: Those thin ropes could be an ego lifeline for empowering girls.

The ’60s were a crazy yet influential time in our country’s history. People were fighting for their civil rights at home while debating America’s involvement in a growing conflict abroad, striving to find a place in this world that they could call their own. Half a century later, not much has changed. So reviving the 1967 American tribal love-rock musical Hair at the Hollywood Bowl for a three-night-only run this weekend has a special resonance beyond the potential to see famous people get naked on stage. And though stars like Kristen Bell, Amber Riley, and Sarah Hyland did not take it all off, they lead a spectacular cast of film and TV stars returning to their roots—theatrically if not follicle-wise.

When celebs breakup, they start dating another. However, things start getting really twisted when they get involved in crazy revenge love squares. Check out our gallery of the new revenge love squares and vote for your favorite!

Another day, another celebrity trend! Love triangles are so yesterday and now it’s all about love squares! Our favorite celebs including Justin Bieber, 20, Selena Gomez, 22, Chris Brown, 25, Rihanna, 26, and more are all wrapped up in some seriously complicated love squares. Browse our gallery of these celeb love connections and vote for which one is best!

Several big-budget films have fallen short of box office forecasts
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -
It's been a rough summer for Hollywood.

U.S. box office receipts are down 20 percent from last year, according to data from Rentrak, a company that analyzes movie ticket sales. That's despite the usual big slate of action-packed, big-budget flicks that are the bread and butter of film studios' summer profits.

Paramount's "Transformers: Age of Extinction," Warner Bros.'s "Godzilla," and Fox's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," have all fallen short of domestic box office forecasts. (Warner Bros. is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN and CNNMoney.)

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is interested in signing AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, with £14m thought to be enough to secure a deal for the 23-year-old Italy international. Sunday Express
Arsenal are ready to rival Manchester United in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender Mats Hummels, 25, for £30m. Sunday Mirror
Manchester United also face a difficult task in signing Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria, with German club Bayern Munich also interested in the 26-year-old. Sunday Times (subscription required)
Tottenham are set to make a move for striker Samuel Eto'o, who was at Chelsea last season, and beat West Ham to the 33-year-old's signature on a free transfer. Sun (subscription required)

PLUS: Arsenal step up their interest in £6million rated Swiss international Fabian Schar and Tottenham prepare to swoop for former Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o

The summer transfer window is open, and agents and club representatives are plotting their next moves.

Get the latest transfer news, gossip and rumours from the Daily Mirror and plenty more newspapers and websites below.

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Rangers manager Ally McCoist will hold showdown talks with Bilel Mohsni after the defender was sent off for a headbutt in the friendly defeat to Derby County. (Sunday Mail)

Former Rangers goalkeeper Andy Dibble says the club are lucky to have Ally McCoist in charge, and reckons no-one could do a better job at Ibrox. (Scottish Sun: print edition)

Miss South Carolina K. Lee Graham wowed judges and fans with her blend of beauty, charm, charisma and intelligence to win the Miss Teen USA 2014 title.

"I can't even talk right now. This is literally a dream come true," Graham said after earning the coveted sash. "Thank you for supporting me. We did it!"

A lineup of popular returning events and crop of new ones will be part of the Nebraska State Fair.

The annual celebration held in Grand Island, slated for Aug. 22 through Sept. 1, will have an array of activities.

“It’s all about education and family fun. That’s what the fair is about, providing value to Nebraskans,” said Joseph McDermott, state fair executive director.

A newly built Nebraska Building on the fairgrounds will house two additions to the entertainment this year. The $5.8 million facility that took a year to erect will have a permanent display from the Nebraska Game and Parks and interactive museum.

Jason Deruo knew Jordin Sparks was his match at the beginning of their relationship two years ago.

The 'Talk Dirty' hitmaker was determined to have the 24-year-old singer romantically involved in his life long-term after he broke one of his vertebrae in 2012.

Asked when he realised she was his match, he replied: "I knew that pretty early on. I felt that when I was in the hospital with my neck injury. I felt different ... I felt like I needed her in my world."

ROOTS singer Hal Anthony added his flavour to several well-known festival songs. His album, Jamaican Festival Countdown: 1966 - 1987, will be released on Tuesday, in time to kick off the Jamaica Independence Day celebrations.

Among the tracks on the album are Baba Boom Boom (The Jamaicans, 1967); Intensified (Desmond Deckker, 1968); Sweet and Dandy (Toots Hibbert, 1969); Play Di Music (Tinga Stewart, 1974), as well as Eric Donaldson's treble on Land of My Birth (1978); Sweet Jamaica (1977) and the smash hit Cherry Oh Baby (1971).

Produced on his and Willie Lindo's Heavy Beat label, he said he was inspired to do the album because he "grew up in those times and wanted to relive the moment".

Until recently, there was a place where Michelle Moore didn’t want her kids to hang out: the artesian well in downtown Olympia.

“This was where they could not be,” said Moore, 47, of Olympia.

But this spring, the once-blighted parking lot underwent a $142,000 makeover, and downtown groups are hoping the 0.2-acre space — now known as the Artesian Commons — will become a destination for families.

The postscript episode of pub quiz drama Nothing Trivial tied up loose ends but still left questions unanswered - and not all of them general knowledge

Thank god Catherine lived.

I know it's telly land, and chances seemed slim they would kill Tandi Wright's character off and leave poor Mac (Shane Cortese) a broken man.

Particularly when they only had two hours to leave fans feeling satisfied that all loose threads in Nothing Trivial were tied up. But I did have my doubts.

Trans-Tasman pop star Stan Walker is getting another chance at movie stardom.

The singer, who starred in 2013 local hit Mt Zion, has been cast in Born to Dance which is described as a "multi-million dollar international hip-hop film" that is starting shooting in New Zealand in October.

"I am very excited to be part of the very first major dance film to come out of New Zealand" says Walker. "New Zealand is one of the biggest hip-hop dance nations and it will be awesome to get our story and our dancers showcased to an international audience."

Former colleagues and friends of former Radio 1 presenter Mike Smith have taken to Twitter to pay their respects following his premature death at the age of 59.

Smith, who was previously presenter of major BBC shows including Breakfast Show, has passed away reportedly due to complications related to a heart surgery operation.

Underbelly, Edinburgh

New Zealander Trygve Wakenshaw, of Squidboy cult fame, takes a skilful tour of an imaginary shape-shifting world

It’s hard to get Doctor Brown out of your mind when watching Trygve Wakenshaw’s Kraken. That’s not (all) Wakenshaw’s fault: his style of silent comedy was around long before Dr B made it hip again. But there’s more to the similarity than that. Wakenshaw starts his show with a brilliant entrance sequence that recalls the intro to Brown’s Edinburgh comedy award-winning show in 2012. He walks a similar line between childlike innocence and sexual threat. Even the venue’s the same: Brown performed on this stage for three years running, and made it his own.

Surat: The hugely-popular 'Comedy Nights With Kapil' has completed 100 episodes and the show's host-producer Kapil Sharma says that initially he was asked to do only 26 episodes.

The comedy show, which went on air in June 2013 on Colors, gives a distinctive take on the everyday life of a common man as the show explores the story of every household and how the show's common man played by Kapil is affected by the simplest issues in life around him.

Busy? Yes, comedian Peter Helliar is plenty busy right now, preparing for stand-up comedy dates in Sydney, editing the second season of the ABC TV series It’s a Date and flying by the seat of his pants as one of the team on Channel 10’s five-evenings-a-week panel show The Project. But don’t tell him he looks tired.

“It’s a bit of a rant I go on in my show,” Helliar says. “I want people to know that it’s actually quite a rude thing to say – especially if you don’t know me. It’s one thing for my wife to tell me I look tired. But if a complete stranger says it, that’s something else. Part of doing a live show is me putting it out there that it’s not appreciated!”

Popular host takes on accusations of bias in American media coverage of the month-long war.

Stephen Colbert, the host of the satirical fake-news program "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central, threw in his two cents this week on the raging debate over the perceived fairness of the news media in reporting on the war between Hamas and Israel.

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Edinburgh festival 2014 comedy review – from a young Mary Berry to liberal smugness

Psychics and the school staff room – what's not to laugh at?

"Who'd have thought the Scots would be so good at sport?" one promoter muttered darkly on the first day of the fringe, referring to the fact that the first couple of days of previews have seemed quieter than usual, perhaps as a result of the Commonwealth Games luring crowds to the other side of the country. The usual endearing chaos of the preview days has been compounded this year by building work in Bristo Square and well-meaning anti-Israel protesters disrupting the wrong venue. But somehow the shows have gone on, in more strange and exotic locations than ever. And there's plenty to suit all tastes if you're tired of watching pole‑vaulting.

A new study suggests that the extent to which stand-up comedians succeed at entertaining their audiences is determined by how adept they are in linking humor and emotion.

"Comedy has often been seen to be a bit frivolous, but it's actually something really important," states Dr. Tim Miles of the University of Surrey in the UK.

"Research shows that we laugh not so much because something is objectively funny, but because we want people to like us, or we want to feel part of a group that's laughing - it's all about making connections."

Dr. Miles analyzed dozens of questionnaires and interviews with comedy fans and comedians - including the likes of Russell Brand and Robin Williams - and found that both groups place a strong emphasis on "emotional experience."

The best comedy shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe this year

Nish Kumar: Ruminations on the Nature of Subjectivity

Where: Pleasance Courtyard, Beside
When: 7.15pm
Until: August 24

In a nutshell...

Ruminations on the Nature of Subjectivity? Doesn’t sound like a barrel of laughs, eh – but don’t be fooled. Despite both its fancypants title and the fact that this is a show largely about the infinitely thorny topic of race, it proves a laughter-filled hour. A high-energy performer – smart-alec, but also immensely likeable – Kumar has not only packed his second Fringe show with pithy anecdotes and observations about how we see ourselves and those around us, but has also woven an abundance of wit into them. You’ll leave both thinking hard - about, say, the 16 per cent of Britains apparenty happy to bring mixed-race children into the world and yet bizarrely unhappy with the idea of a non-white PM - and having had a cracking good time.

This week, Jamestown pauses to honor its most famous former resident with the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival

Jamestown is the largest city in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region of New York, and over the years it's evolved to become a popular upstate destination.

But this week, Jamestown pauses to honor its most famous former resident with five days of fun for anyone who — in the spirit of Lucille Ball and her starring role in the iconic program "I Love Lucy" — enjoys a good laugh.

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, who has acquired the image of an action hero, today said he enjoys doing action-comedy films.

The 46-year-old popular star started his acting career with action films, but later branched out to genres like comedy, romance and drama.

"Each genre is difficult. Comedy is the most difficult genre. But I like if comedy is done with action. I enjoy this genre (action-comedy) the most," Akshay said at an event here tonight.

There are a lot of famous names in town for Lollapalooza weekend – and many of them are repeat customers.

Ed Westwick ("Gossip Girl") took in the Lolla festivities in 2010 with ex-girlfriend Jessica Szohr and is back this year, only this time with Mark Salling ("Glee"). The two actors had dinner Friday at RPM Italian with Claire Holt ("The Originals") and then hung out at Paris Club Bistro & Bar’s upstairs club, Studio Paris.

Like Salling, Jennie Garth (“90210”) returned for the second straight year. She dined Friday at Beatrix, as did pop star Joe Jonas, separately. Jonas DJed the Hard Rock Hotel Sound of Your Stay Music Lounge party later that night.

The adrenaline-fuelled activity has taken the rich and famous by storm, including 1D star Liam Payne and Hollywood supremo Leonardo Dicaprio

Check out the latest high-adrenaline craze that has turned all the celebrities into shooting stars

Michelle Rodriguez became the latest to try out FlyBoarding when she took off during a holiday in Ibiza on Wednesday, reveals the Sunday People.

Charles Bronson - the man dubbed “Britain’s most violent prisoner" was approached to star on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! once he’s made a free man, his younger brother has claimed.

Mark Peterson told WalesOnline that Bronson was asked about going on the jungle reality show a few years ago, "should he ever get parole".

Mr Peterson said: “He’d be great on TV, I think – he’s a very bright, charismatic man."

“He’d be brilliant on that show because no matter what they’d find to throw at him he’d have already had it 100 times worse.

The tragic blonde told mothers group pal Michele Kavanagh before her death that she wanted to escape the “shallow” world of celebrity to focus on raising sons Phaedra and Astala.

Peaches Geldof longed to be a stay at home mum and was tormented that her fame was the only way she could support her family it was claimed tonight.

The tragic mum of two felt forced to work because she was the main breadwinner in her family, according to close friend who she confided in during the months leading up to her fatal drugs overdose.

Looking back on four decades of "Saturday Night Live" impersonations, it's cool to see how many ways a celebrity impression can be hilarious, provocative, or just plain effective. Sometimes an impression works because it's a dead-ringer for the real thing (See: most of Dana Carvey's work), but sometimes a twisted or loopy take on a familiar figure is even more engrossing and funny.

It's no secret the former Corrie star is an absolute babe, but even we yelled "wow!" when we saw her latest Instagram effort

Michelle Keegan sent us all running to the nearest gym when she shared a seriously impressive selfie of her perfectly chiseled abs .

It's no secret the former Corrie star is an absolute babe, but even we yelled "wow!" when we saw her latest Instagram effort.

A NEW television pilot will centre around Southbank’s Eve nightclub.

The pilot that will be pitched to the major networks is called The Guestlist, and will be based around the club’s owners, brothers Nick and Daniel Russian.

Nick and wife Rozalia, who has a huge following on social media with 73,000 Instagram followers, are expected to be the central characters in the show.

In 'I'll Be Back Right After This,' Pat O'Brien details his lavish celebrity lifestyle and road to 'emotional suicide.' With searing honesty, O'Brien rips 'Access Hollywood' co-anchors, recounts problems with alcoholism and describes road to sobriety in his new memoir, which hits stores Aug. 19.

Before Pat O'Brien became a fall-down drunk, “The Insider” host lived a life of celebrity riches. Everywhere he turned, it seemed a famous face was smiling back at him.

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