SOAPnet Unable to Produce Lather

       Burbank - Disney announced three years ago its plan to fold SOAPnet, a channel it created 14 years ago to wring extra life from some daytime and nighttime dramas. "General Hospital", "All My Children," "The Young and The Restless", "Falcon Crest", "Knotts Landing", and more, were all part of the programming of SOAPnet. SOAPnet was intended to give working women the opportunity to catch up on their favorite soaps at night, after they got home from work. Technology forced a shift in the corporate priorities of Disney. When SOAPnet first launched it was in the days of the videocassette recorder (VCR). Digital video recorders allowed viewers to record multiple shows, while still fast forwarding through commercials. Advertisers migrated to other platforms and SOAPnet became less profitable. See also, www.soap.net.

British Awards Show Tapes in Los Angeles

       Hollywood - With more than 35 Hollywood award shows on prime-time television it seems that one more won't make a difference. TV networks like award shows because, like most reality shows, they're relatively inexpensive to produce, and they bring a lot of star power to the set. Stars love the gold, silver, or crystal award that validates their work, gives them approval of their peers, and place them in history. We, as fans, love watching the money, power and good looks. Award shows allow us to see our ultimate entertainers be winners and losers, just like us. This time it is the Britannia awards to be presented at the Beverly Hills Hotel saturday night, November 09, 2013. The show will be broadcast on BBC America the next night. Handed out by the Los Angeles branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, The Britannia Awards promise an all-star cast. Presenter include, Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Kathryn Bigelow, George Clooney, and Sacha Baron Cohen. See also, www.variety.com.

Xbox One Voice and Motion Recognition

      Redmond, Washington - Microsoft announced that streaming content apps like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, VUDU, Crackle, ESPN, Univision, Fox, CW, HBO, and the NFL will all be on Xbox One, some as soon as Spring 2014. Graphically, the Xbox One interface is able to switch between video games, watching live episodes of television, and viewing the channel guide. Xbox One can also, record and upload footage captured from video games and the Kinect motion sensor. Microsoft introduced the machine as an all-in-one entertainment solution for living rooms, that allows users to switch between activities on a TV screen, by just telling the machine what to do without needing to press buttons. Rather than the previous super-powered gaming console that the Xbox 360 is, Microsoft has included other audiences than just gamers. See also, www.xboxone.com.

Possible Hunger GamesTheme Park

        Entertainment Wire - Lions Gate Entertainment will release a second film, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", on November 22, 2013. "The Hunger Games", which stars Jennifer Lawrence, was the third best-selling film in the United States theatrical market in 2012, according to the site Box Office Mojo. Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, the studio that produced "The Hunger Games", says it is studying proposals for a theme park based on the futuristic movie. "We have been approached in two different territories by potential park opportunities, which gives you some sense of the cultural impact of this franchise," said Lions Gate Chief Executive, Jon Feltheimer. See also, www.hungergames.com. 

Marilyn Manson...Unmasked

      Singer, American Goth Medieval Rock performer, whose name is a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson, Marilyn Manson, that was discoverd by the group Nine Inch Nails and has created such medieval songs as "Anti-Christ Superstar and "Smells Like Children." The Journalism and Theatre major formed a band called Marily Manson and the Spook Kids, later simply known as Marilyn Manson, that earned a record contract in 1993 and a spot on Nine Inch Nails tour and spawned a cult following after the album "Portrait of an American Family, went make up free on the set of HBO's "Eastbound and Down". See also, www.hollywoodreporter.com. 

Enders Game Explores a Not So Perfect Future

       Hollywood - "Enders Game" is part of a recent wave of young adult movies exploring not so perfect futures. Led by the success of last year's "The Hunger Games", the movie is based on a trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins and distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. The second installment to "Enders Game" ("Catching Fire") is due out on November 22, 2013. "Enders Game" spotlights 16-year old British actor Asa Butterfield, who gained prominence as the lead in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy adventure "Hugo." Butterfield said, "Ender Game", while written three decades ago, was 'scarily accurate', in how it echoed with present day issues. See also, www.endersgame.com.

World Series and Pre-Game Show Boosts Fox

      For the week of October 21-27, 2013 Fox TV was in the top 10 of television networks and viewership. World Series Game One, World Series Game Two, and World Series Game Four Pre-Game Show were responsible for giving Fox a combined viewership of 59.19 million viewers for the baseball events. Among the top 20, adding Game Three made Fox TV the most-watched network in prime-time, averaging 11.4 million viewers. The previous matchup between The Boston Red Sox and The St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 represented the most-watched World Series since 1995. This year an average of 14 million people watched the first four games. See also, www.sportsillustrated.com.