| A fish, an elf and a holiday classic top tonight's TV | | Posted Sunday, December 17, 2006 1:16:53 PM by Blog57 Team | | "Nemo" is a new classic. The story has an earnest fish searching for his son. That allows room for the humor and warmth we expect from a Pixar animated film, plus some great visual beauty. "Wonderful Life" is an old classic. Kids will feel it's too long, too slow and too black-and-white, but they'll want to see it some day. "Elf" is no classic, but it's fun. Will Ferrell brings dignity to the role of a guy who has just learned he's not an elf. There are great supporting characters, led by Zooey Deschanel and Bob Newhart. Other choices today include: "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," 9 a.m., Disney Channel. There are Christmas episodes all morning, including four new ones - this one, "Handy Mandy" at 10, "Doodlebops" at 11 and "Charlie and Lola" at 11:30.... | |
| |
| | | 'Hannah' & her singles | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 7:37:43 AM by Blog57 Team | | 'Hannah Montana'' isn't the first fictional character to appear on a Billboard chart, but the teenage singer portrayed by Miley Cyrus in the Disney Channel series of the same name is the first act to have six songs debut on The Billboard Hot 100 in the same week. Just as ''Sugar, Sugar'' was released under the name the Archies and not Ron Dante and Toni Wine, the songs performed by Cyrus on the TV soundtrack are credited to the character of Hannah Montana. There is a duet on the soundtrack credited to Miley and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, but that song, ''I Learned From You'' is not one of the seven ''Hannah Montana'' songs appearing on this week's chart. You read that number right -- while six singles make their debut: Another song from the album, ''Who Said,'' makes a re-entry at No.... | |
| |
| | | Cheetah Girls tickets go on sale Saturday | | Posted Thursday, October 19, 2006 3:11:12 AM by Blog57 Team | | The Cheetah Girls, the all-girl singing group based on the popular young-adult book series and Disney Channel movies, are set to perform Jan. 9 at the Don Haskins Center. Tickets, $29.50-$39.50, will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday and will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets. Information: www.ticketmaster.com; 544-8444. Times staff report .... | |
| |
| | | Musical has them asking for more | | Posted Friday, October 06, 2006 11:13:07 PM by Blog57 Team | | MALAYSIAN youngsters can't get enough of the hit Original Movie: High School Musical on Astro's Disney Channel 6. The story is all about a basketball player named Troy played by Zac Efron, and a shy, brainy newcomer Gabriella played by Vanessa Anne Hudgens, who both share a secret passion for singing, and decide to join forces and audition for the lead roles in the upcoming school musical production. Youngsters were so mesmerised by the story that they are asking for more of such hit movies. Astro has been repeatedly screening the High School Musical (HSM) for the past few months and the Acts School of Performing Arts (ASPA) in Damansara Heights will be performing the musical on stage. The performance would he held on Dec 9 and 10 at 3pm for the public and a special performance for ASPA teachers and workshop participants' parents at 8pm on the same days. The venue is Actors Studio, Bangsar Shopping Complex. ASPA principal Angeline Yew said the seven-week drama workshop for children aged three to 12 will be held on weekends and will culminate with the High School Musical production. Yew said ASPA has the vision of allowing a child to blossom and express himself, or herself, in many creative genres and the drama course will be a great confidence booster for the children. ?Not only are the children enthusiastic about the concert, parents and teachers have also come forward to show their stuff in a separate show which will also be staged at the Actors Studio on Dec 9 and 10 at 8pm,'' said Yew. Television host and experienced children's theatre tutor and stage actress Farah Ashikin and ASPA music teacher Adrene Wong will prepare the casts for the concert, which is be held annually as part of the school's year-end programme. ?This year's drama workshop will culminate with a performance of High School Musical after the workshop participants have gone through a gruelling 11 lessons,'' added Yew. She said the workshop participants would be taught techniques on developing body, facial and voice expressions in the first six lessons, with the cast for the musical selected in the next four lessons.... | |
| |
| | | Ren & Christy | | Posted Monday, September 25, 2006 3:14:56 AM by Blog57 Team | | As Ren Stevens in the sitcom "Even Stevens" (2000-2003), Christy Carlson Romano helped to define the Disney Channel as a favorite of tweens and teens -- a niche the channel would cement with the likes of Hilary Duff ("Lizzie McGuire") and Raven-Symone ("That's So Raven"). "Before `Even Stevens,' and then `Lizzie McGuire,' they didn't have a name to really call us," Romano recalled. "So we got coined as `the Disney Channel stars.' I felt kind of like, wow, this is for real. It was a big deal at the time." Romano, 22, is all grown up now, but the teenage years are the subject of her new novel, "Grace's Turn," a semiautobiographical tale of a 16-year-old girl juggling the competing demands of ambition, friendship, and romance. In typical young-adult-fiction style, Grace di Giovanni struggles to remain true to herself while navigating a turbulent relationship with a self-absorbed jock and trying out for the lead in a high school musical (hey, there's that Disney Channel connection).... | |
| |
| | | Disney Channel: the mouse that roared back into life | | Posted Wednesday, September 13, 2006 4:55:36 PM by Blog57 Team | | TEN years ago, the Disney Channel was considered a Magic Kingdom backwater. The cable channel reached just 14 million homes with a programming line-up that was little more than a dumping ground for Disney's animation studio and other departments. These days, it stands out as one of the jewels of the Disney palace. The Disney Channel has been the top-rated children's network for 18 months, elbowing aside rivals such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. On that performance, it now commands among the highest fees in the industry from cable operators, who beam it into 89 million homes. The turnaround has been a case study in how to use intensive consumer research to gain a better understanding of the market. As well as helping Disney Channel to outpace its rivals in audience ratings, the research effort - combined with trial and error and a bit of luck - has also helped it emerge as a creative engine in its own right and thereby breathe new life into an established brand.... | |
| |
| | | Disney Wins August Ratings Race | | Posted Monday, September 04, 2006 3:31:21 AM by Blog57 Team | | Driven by a 5.8 Nielsen Media Research rating for it Cheetah Girls 2 premiere, Disney Channel won the primetime ratings battle for the week ending Aug. 27, averaging a 2.5 rating. USA Network placed second, with a 2.4 rating, followed by TNT (2.2); Lifetime (1.6); and ESPN (1.5). Cartoon Network, TBS and Fox News Channel tied for 6th place, each with a 1.4 average primetime rating, followed by Hallmark Channel (1.3) and Nick at Nite (1.2). .... | |
| |
| | | David Levine Promoted at Disney Channel and Jetix | | Posted Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:24:08 AM by Blog57 Team | | David Levine has been promoted to Vice President, Worldwide Programming Strategy and Windowing for Disney Channel and Jetix. In his new role, Levine will oversee all aspects of the worldwide programming strategy group, including facilitating communication between Disney and Jetix channels to coordinate and roll out programming strategies on a global basis. He will report to Scott Garner, Senior Vice President, Programming. Levine has served as Executive Director, Programming Strategy, Toon Disney and Jetix since joining Disney in March of 2004. Click here to read the full press release. Discuss this news in The Disney Animation Forum. .... | |
| |
| | | Disney exec says piracy part of 'consumer coup' | | Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2006 3:09:52 PM by Blog57 Team | | Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney likens technology changes not to a digital revolution but a "consumer coup." "We all thought we were in charge of the consumer experience," Sweeney said. Today, "it's all about when a consumer wants it," what device they want it on and where they want to view it, Sweeney told attendees of the Aspen Summit on Monday. The annual communications summit, sponsored by the Progress & Freedom Foundation, brings together more than 100 leaders from the telecommunications, Internet, and entertainment industries, as well as the federal government. The change was driven home, Sweeney said, when Disney-ABC entertainment executives were congratulating themselves following the 2004-05 season, when hits such as Desperate Housewives and Lost had resulted in a "fantastic rebirth" of the network.... | |
| |
| | | Disney Channel expands to South Africa | | Posted Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:51:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | Disney Channel has signed a multi-year carriage deal with pay-TV platform MultiChoice to bring the kids channel to subscribers across South and sub-Saharan Africa from September 2006. For the first time Disney Channel will be available to over 1.3 million MultiChoice DStv subscribers across the continent. Programming available to viewers in South Africa for the first time on Disney Channel include live actioners That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana while contemporary animation such as Kim Possible and American Dragon will also feature. On the preschool front Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney's Little Einsteins and the forthcoming My Friends Tigger & Pooh will feature, while movies such as High School Musical and classics like Lady & the Tramp will also air.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
