Monday, February 13, 2006

VH1 Announces THE SURREAL LIFE FAME GAMES In Las Vegas

SURREAL LIFE All-Stars Set To Return To Compete In VH1´S First Ever THE SURREAL LIFE FAME GAMES In Las Vegas

This time, what happens in Vegas won´t stay in Vegas. It will be telecast on VH1´s first ever THE SURREAL LIFE FAME GAMES and hosted by the certified bearer of champagne tastes and caviar dreams, Mr. Robin Leach himself (LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS).

VH1 is set to begin production on the fourth spin-off of the successful SURREAL LIFE franchise. This time, ten of the most memorable cast members from all six seasons will come together in Las Vegas to compete in a series of "Fame Games" which will whittle them down to just one winner of a $100,000 grand prize.

THE SURREAL LIFE FAME GAMES will be a ten episode elimination featuring tongue-in-cheek competitions that parody the trappings, costs, conceits and drama of being famous. The Surreal celebrities will have their Hollywood survival skills challenged, their popularity measured and their ability to navigate the treacherous world of tabloid stardom put to the test.

The hour long show will be hosted by Las Vegas local Robin Leach and feature many Vegas locations, events and celebrity cameos. SURREAL LIFE all-stars returning to compete include: Brigitte Nielsen (Season 3), Chyna Doll (Season 4), Vanilla Ice (Season 2), Pepa (Season 5), Emmanuel Lewis (Season 1), C.C. DeVille (yet to air Season 6), Ron Jeremy (Season 2), Jordan Knight (Season 3) and Tracy Bingham (Season 2).

"It´ll be enormous fun to bring all of these larger than life Surreal Celebrities to live together in one place as they compete for the Grand Prize there´s no way there won´t be fireworks," said series Executive Producer and co-creator Mark Cronin. "Hollywood celebrities tend to take them selves too seriously - we´re going to have a great time lampooning the whole celebrity process," added Cris Abrego, the other half of the successful production team behind the SURREAL LIFE, STRANGE LOVE, MY FAIR BRADY and FLAVOR OF LOVE.

Fame Game competitions will include everything from the "Red Carpet Fashion Showdown" to "Paparazzi Hide-and-Seek" to the "Hotel Room Trash-a-thon" to a funny little game called "What¹s Charo Saying?" While the premise of all the games will be fun, the competitions will be real - and in the end, only one Surreal All-Star will claim the final prize.

OXYGEN Network Renews Two Reality Shows

MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE And CAMPUS LADIES Oxygen´s Most Successful Originals Are Both Renewed For Season Two

Oxygen two most successful original shows have both been renewed for a second round, announced Debby Beece, Oxygen´s President of Programming and Marketing. MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE, the reality beauty competition for plus sized women will return in Summer 2006 to crown the second Ms. F.A.T. (Fabulous and Thick).

A second season CAMPUS LADIES is set to start production this summer and premiere in Fall 2006 with ten new episodes.

MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE was cable´s first full-figured reality competition and Oxygen´s highest rated original program in the network´s history. The special is also a 37th Annual NAACP Image Award nominee for "Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)." Oxygen´s critically acclaimed improv comedy series Campus Ladies launched as Oxygen´s highest-rated original series premiere, and the second season announcement comes after just five of the ten episodes have aired. Oxygen will air the current season´s remaining five episodes beginning Sunday, March 12th at 10 p.m. after it rests CAMPUS LADIES during February.

"These ladies have created quite a stir over the past year by being hilarious, over the top women who don´t apologize for being themselves - whether they are fat or forty plus. They have broken out of the pack and demonstrated what we have long suspected - that our audience wants to see diverse women on television, and they want to laugh at the same time," said Beece.

MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE
MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE is network cable´s full-figured beauty special that takes America´s average beauty competition and repackages it for America´s average-size woman. Plus-size icon Mo´Nique (The Parkers) marks her return to the Oxygen network this summer with a three-hour reality special for women who know that spirit outweighs size. The second season of MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE extends the open casting calls to five-cities from three in its first year, starting March 1st in Los Angeles. The other cites include New York, Miami, Baltimore and Seattle. Following the multi- city casting call, 10 full-figured finalists will be flown to Los Angeles to participate in an enhanced version of the first special´s BEAUTY BOOT CAMP, a series of mind and body training exercises focusing on attainable beauty and confidence building. This go-round, contestants will live together in a Los Angeles house where they will be mentored and supervised by a house "den mother." Upon completion, the finalists will compete for the title of "Ms. F.A.T." in front of a panel of expert and celebrity judges evaluating them on beauty, style, poise, and personality and how those qualities are reflected in each woman´s overall transformation.

Mo´Nique serves as creator, host, and executive producer of MO´NIQUE´S FAT CHANCE. Mo´Nique is the recipient of four NAACP Image Awards® for her work on the hit UPN sitcom The Parkers, she is the first female host of the acclaimed Saturday night series, It´s Showtime at the Apollo and she served as host for the 2004 BET Awards. Her film credits include BABY BOY, SOUL PLANE, HAIR SHOW, and the special THE QUEENS OF COMEDY. She was most recently seen in the 2005 motion picture, DOMINO.

CAMPUS LADIES
CAMPUS LADIES, called "infectious" by the LOS ANGELES TIMES and "very, very laugh-out-loud funny" by THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, is an improv comedy series about two middle-aged housewives (one a widow, the other a divorcee), who decide it´s better to be a freshman at 40 than unhappy housewives forever. The series, returning for a second season with 10 new episodes in Fall 2006, chronicles the wild times of Joan (Carrie Aizley) & Barri (Christen Sussin), as they start their lives over as freshman at the fictional University of the Midwest (UMW). The co-eds experience their first keg stand, their first all-nighter, and an experimental lesbian love tryst and frat party gone wild. Each storyline leaves the ladies gliding through the craziest of situations with cheerful abandon along with their dormmates Abdul and Drew, roommate Paige and RA Guy.

Aizley and Sussin developed Campus Ladies while performing with the famous improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Blizzard Postpones THE CONTENDER SPECIAL: EAST COAST PRIDE On ESPN Until Monday

Blizzard conditions in Providence, RI today has postponed the THE CONTENDER SPECIAL: EAST COAST PRIDE that was scheduled for this evening.

ESPN has announced that the fight has been rescheduled for Monday evening (February 14th) at 9:00 pm EST/ 6:00 pm PST and will be shown live on ESPN2.

The feature fight will have CONTENDER runner-up Peter Manfredo with a record of 24-3 and 10 KOs taking on former number one super middleweight contender, Scott Pemberton who has a record of 29-4-1, 24 KOs in the 10-round main event of the evening.

THE CONTENDER SPECIAL: EAST COAST PRIDE On ESPN This Evening Following NFL Pro Bowl

ESPN will be presenting a special edition fight this Sunday evening from the Reality TV Series THE CONTENDER.

The fight entitled THE CONTENDER SPECIAL: EAST COAST PRIDE, will follow the NFL Pro Bowl this evening on ESPN and feature last season´s runner up fighter Peter Manfredo Jr.

Manfredo with a record of 24-3 and 10 KOs will be taking on former number one super middleweight contender, Scott Pemberton who has a record of 29-4-1, 24 KOs in the 10-round main event of the evening.

The event´s undercard will feature fellow CONTENDER alums Alfonso Gomez and Miguel Espino. All the fights will be aired live after the Pro Bowl on ESPN.

THE CONTENDER SPECIAL: EAST COAST PRIDE will take place in Manfredo´s home town of Providence, RI and start at approximately 9:30 pm EST.

Earlier this year, ESPN announced that they have obtain the rights to THE CONTENDER series which was formally seen on NBC. Season 2 of THE CONTENDER is scheduled to begin in July, 2006.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Ooops! AMERICAN IDOL Winner Kelly Clarkson Grammy Dress Reveals A Little To Much

The Internet is abuzz with the photos that were release revealing a little to much of AMERICAN IDOL winner Kelly Clarkson at this week´s Grammy Awards

The website http://www.celebnewswire.com released two pictures that show Kelly Clarkson forget to wear that doublesided tape.

As good things do come in pairs (as the pictures show), Clarkson did come away with a two Grammys that evening winning for Best Pop Album - BREAKAWAY (which seems appropriate since her dress was breaking away from her that evening) and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for SINCE U BEEN GONE.

NBC Announces New Reality Song Competition Show - EUROVISION

American Version of EUROVISION SONG CONTEST Will Feature Performers from All 50 States and District of Columbia

NBC is looking for America´s next great song and performer by partnering with Reveille in a new live, multimedia performance talent competition series based on the legendary EUROVISION SONG CONTEST series that has been a monster hit in Europe for 50 years and helped launch the careers of Celine Dion, ABBA and Olivia Newton-John. The announcement was made by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"EUROVISION is an upbeat and entertaining series that has consistently proven its strong appeal across Europe," said Reilly. "It´s a winning formula and Reveille will adapt it to include a more uniquely American flavor that will build to a dramatic crescendo in the season finale."

"EUROVISION is the granddaddy of all talent shows and the Super Bowl of singing," said Reveille CEO Ben Silverman, who will also serve as executive producer. "I can´t wait to tap into America´s multicultural heritage and see our regional flavor come to life. This will be the first talent show to also tap into the new digital landscape. With the multi-platform success of THE OFFICE and THE BIGGEST LOSER, NBC is the perfect partner."

While more details on the American version of the series are currently in development, the new version will employ a multimedia format, combining both online and televised components. All 50 states and the District of Columbia will be represented after each state completes an online competition that will also feature a digital platform to help site-users select each representative. The state-level winners will then advance to the broadcast series to perform for the title.

The actual voting process will be left entirely to the viewers through an array of similar multimedia and high-tech resources. The performer of the winning original song will receive a recording contract and will see their single produced and released by a major record label. The competition will be open to amateurs and professionals - individual performers, duos or groups.

Before POP IDOL and AMERICAN IDOL, there was EUROVISION. For the past 50 years, millions of Europeans have tuned into EUROVISION, making it one of the most loved and watched international live entertainment shows in the world, attracting up to 100 million TV viewers from across the globe every year.

The show has launched the careers of performers who have become household names all over the world. ABBA won the contest on behalf of Sweden in 1974 with a rousing performance of WATERLOO, while Celine Dion won for Switzerland in 1988. Olivia Newton-John competed on behalf of the United Kingdom in 1974, and in 1958, the now-forgotten third-place Italian winner performed what would become the most widely recorded EUROVISION song of all time: VOLARE.

Tickets Are Now On Sale For THE 33rd ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS

Tickets For ABC´s Telecast Of THE 33rd ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS Will Officially Go On Sale Saturday, February 11

The ABC Television Network has announced that tickets for the network´s three-hour telecast of THE 33rd ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY(r) AWARDS will officially go on sale to the general public Saturday, February 11, at 10:00 a.m., PT.

The tickets will range in price from $60 to $150 and can be purchased directly from all Ticketmaster locations, including the company´s website at ticketmaster.com. In addition, tickets for the broadcast can be purchased Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Kodak Theater Box Office at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood.

The telecast´s host, special presenters and guest stars will be announced at a later date.

THE 33rd ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS will be broadcast live on ABC Friday, April 28, from Hollywood´s famed Kodak Theater, from 8:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT (tape-delayed to the West Coast). This year marks the first time in the ceremony´s history the Daytime Emmy telecast will be presented on the West Coast. White Cherry Entertainment will produce the show.

The Awards recognize outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast from 2:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. during the 2005 calendar year. THE 33rd ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS is a presentation of the National Television Academy in cooperation with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Friday, February 10, 2006

CMT´s Nationwide Bartender Casting Call For THE ULTIMATE COYOTE UGLY SEARCH

Coyote Ugly Takes The Ultimate Roadtrip In A Nationwide Bartender Search On THE ULTIMATE COYOTE UGLY SEARCH Premiering April On CMT

Witness the tantrums, the triumphs and the tears as tough-talking founder of the legendary New York City bar Coyote Ugly, Liliana Lovell, hits the road in a nationwide bartender search in the new CMT original series THE ULTIMATE COYOTE UGLY SEARCH, premiering in April 2006 with eight episodes.

In a plan to breathe life back into her cornerstone New Orleans bar, Lovell hits the road in search of the "Ultimate Coyote" for a colossal re-opening celebration. Only six employees returned to work after Hurricane Katrina, and Lovell plans to put it back on top with only the best Coyotes.

Starting at the original bar in New York, Lovell and two trusted veterans will travel the nation by bus picking up Coyote wannabes with a pension for bar flair in cities including Nashville, Austin, Denver, San Antonio and finally, New Orleans. The drama intensifies as the bus gets crowded and the girls face grueling auditions and emotional cuts in their quest for stardom. In the end, only one will be named the "Ultimate Coyote" and walk away with $25,000 cash in THE ULTIMATE COYOTE UGLY SEARCH.

Coyote Ugly first opened its doors in 1993 to a tough New York crowd under the guidance of owner Liliana "Lil" Lovell. A former Wall Street apprentice, Lovell knew the combination of booze and beautiful women equaled money in the cash register. In 2000, Coyote Ugly received national attention following the box office hit of the same name. To date, there are 14 locations operating across the United States, with two additional locations slated to open in 2006.

Brand New Episode Of FLAVOR OF LOVE This Sunday On VH1

There are six girls left so Flav brings out the big guns. He flies Brigitte Nielsen into town to get to know the girls a little better.

And to really get the dirt, Brigitte has set up a lie detector test for the Flavorettes. After grilling the girls, Brigitte takes them out on the town where the sparks really begin to fly.

Over brunch the next day, Brigitte downloads Flav over who he should keep and who he should lose in the upcoming elimination. It´s a sweetly strange reunion, folks, with a surprise ending even we didn´t see coming.

FLAVOR OF LOVE is on VH1 this Sunday at 10:00pm / 9:00pm CST.

AMERICAS NEXT TOP MODEL 6 To Premiere March 8th

UPN has announced that AMERICA´S NEXT TOP MODEL 6 will premiere with a two hour special on March 8th at 8:00pm EST / 7:00pm CST.

A sneak peek video of the premiere episode called FAIRY TALES COME TRUE is now available at http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model6/

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