#but i want the biggest primetime network drama on tv right now who did the risky thing and made their nominally straight hunk get a bf seven

[epiphainie]

if bucktommy's conflict, or more specifically buck's spiraling, is about an old relationship/commitment etc. and in some aspect addresses this being buck's first relationship with a man (based on josh's presence in his scene with maddie) i have this tiny tiny tiny hope that we see buck call himself bisexual. it can be anything from a passing comment or him embracing the label within this storyline

[calzona-ga]

Showrunner Krista Vernoff and stars Ellen Pompeo and Giacomo Gianniotti defend Meredith and Andrew's season 15 romance.

Of all the empowering storylines she has done in Grey's Anatomy's record 332 episodes, portraying a woman who has lost the love of her life — and her survival — has been the one that stands out the most for star Ellen Pompeo.

And that journey has been heating up of late in season 15 of the ABC series which, last week, snapped ER's record as primetime's longest-running medical drama. This season, Pompeo's Meredith has re-entered the dating world as she looks for love some four seasons after the shocking death of her "person" in Patrick Dempsey's Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd. After a series of bad dates (sorry, Josh Radnor) and romances that didn't seem quite right (apologies, Martin Henderson), Meredith and surgical resident Andrew DeLuca (star Giacomo Gianniotti) have slowly started telling their inner-circle that they're romantically involved.'

Showrunner Krista Vernoff, Pompeo, 49, Gianniotti, 29, are all equally excited about flipping the script on Meredith and Derek's relationship that served as the cornerstone of Grey's Anatomy when "McDreamy" (and, later, Eric Dane's "McSteamy") became a pop culture phenomenon a decade and a half ago.  

"All the time on television you see older men with younger women and it is so common that it isn't even a thing that people notice," Vernoff told The Hollywood Reporter during a set visit for the record-breaking episode. "It was not a conversation that Derek was so much older than Meredith. It was just that he was the senior surgeon. The age difference wasn't a conversation. I find it delightful to have the opportunity to flip that script. And when people buck against their age difference, my response is to say, 'So? Let's not fall into weird stereotypes.' People are people — and people fall in love."

In season one, Meredith was an intern at then-Seattle Grace who, after a one-night stand, wound up working — and falling in love with — her attending, Derek. Now, Meredith is head of general surgery and a member of the board of directors at Grey Sloan Memorial while Andrew is a surgical resident. Viewers, naturally, are fiercely protective of Meredith — whose half-sister, Maggie, previously dated Andrew.  

"The age difference between Meredith and Andrew is something that we're trying not to talk about because we've been preaching that love is love — and that includes age. It doesn't make sense for people to say, 'Love is not love because he's too young' and compartmentalize love," says Gianniotti, whose fiancée is nine years his senior.

For Pompeo, who last year set her own TV record as the highest-paid actress on a primetime drama series, age doesn't even enter her mind when she thinks of herself or Meredith in the storyline with Andrew.

"I have a hard time even seeing myself as an older woman! I still feel like I'm 25 — although I'm so much better now! It's like, 'Wait, I'm the older woman?! When did that happen?!" Pompeo says with a hearty laugh. "But it's so true. And there's still plenty of older guys that are with much younger women and no one says anything. But hopefully we're past people saying that about an older woman with a younger man. Hopefully people don't even clock that because men have been doing it forever and continue to do it and no one bats an eye."

As with many of Grey's Anatomy's topical storylines and romantic pairings, Vernoff hopes Meredith and Andrew's romance will help viewers in similar relationships feel seen. "There are people who are going to feel witnessed in this story," she says.

The showrunner, who spent the first seven seasons on Grey's before being hand-picked by Shonda Rhimes to take over the series after the creator's move to Netflix, is keenly aware of the trepidation that comes with writing a new relationship for one of TV's most beloved characters — who also happens to be the face of a $4 billion franchise.

"What I realize as I write Meredith and Andrew is that I can have all the trepidation or fear or nerves that I want to have but any time you write for Ellen Pompeo and someone else the chemistry is different. The magic is different. It comes alive in a different way," Vernoff says. "You can do what you can do to make sure it's new, unique and fresh but what's fresh is the combination of actors and the magic that comes from that. And if it's too close to something we've done before, Ellen calls me and we fix it!"

That line of thinking is a prime reason why Meredith and Andrew shared a pivotal scene in the hospital's famed elevator of love that became so iconic during Grey's Anatomy's McDreamy era. The scene — in which the duo was trapped in the elevator — featured a heartfelt conversation in which Andrew revealed his father (played by Lorenzo Caccialanza), too, was a famous surgeon in Italy but, unlike Meredith's award-winning surgeon mother, his dad killed a number of patients during a "manic phase."

"We wanted to use those elevators in a new way and wanted to wink at the history and at what those elevators mean on the show," Vernoff notes. Adds Pompeo: "I don't necessarily love when everybody else gets in the elevator! I feel ownership over the love scenes in the elevator. Now, when other couples are in the elevator, I'm like, 'That's my juj in the elevator!"

Gianniotti, meanwhile, is having fun working with Pompeo as the duo formed a friendship after he joined Grey's in 2015. "When this was proposed to us, we both thought, 'We just get to hang out and laugh more!'" he says. "I get a lot of people asking if I feel like I'm filling Derek's shoes or in his shadow and I can't say I feel any of that. … The biggest thing that Ellen and I have fought for most is that this romance and the unfolding of it be as different by design so the audience doesn't feel like they're reliving someone else going through the same falling in love steps."

The romance comes after Pompeo was critical about how fast top executives wanted to bring in a new love interest for Meredith after Derek's death. "I couldn't believe how fast the studio and network felt like they had to get a penis in there," she told The Hollywood Reporter in a January 2018 cover story. Now, the actress — who also has a producing credit on both Grey's and spinoff Station 19 — is excited to see Vernoff and company write for Gianniotti and expand Meredith's world.

"We brought a couple other people in and it didn't seem to work and the story has to keep moving," she says of Meredith's love life. "Giacomo is someone who we know, love and adore — and he's so handsome! — and it's time for him to step up. He is an incredible actor and he has such a nice presence and I'm really looking forward to building up his character more and letting him have his moment because I really think he deserves it. I want Krista to write for him more and I'm excited to see him take off and grow as an actor and get a chance to show what he can do."

As for the age difference between their characters, Gianniotti hopes viewers find Andrew and Meredith's romance empowering.

"These things are becoming more common and acceptable and I'm happy that I get to be a part of telling that story," he says. "It's about showing the world that it's normal, that it can be sexy and empowering for someone who is in an older position to be in that and that there's not this weird shame or stigma that they have to feel about it. I'm hoping it can empower people and I hope it can be sexy and fun for the viewers to see this romance unfold."

[highconcentration-blog]

Atlanta and the changing climate of mainstream entertainment

It’s the 74th Golden Globe Awards, where all the stars and producers of the biggest TV shows and movies of the year come together to receive awards and praise from their peers. With the awards being decided by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who founded the Golden Globes. Everyone puts on their best dresses and tuxedos in hopes of hearing their name called to walk across the stage, receive the illustrious award and hopefully give a profound 30 second to 1 minute speech that will be talked about on social media the next day. For one TV show and its creator, it quickly became a reality. The category was “Best Television Show-Musical or Comedy” and the crowd sat with anticipation as the 5 nominees were read aloud including Black-ish, Atlanta, Mozart in the Jungle, Transparent, and Veep. The envelope was slowly opened, “and the winner is...Atlanta.” The show’s creator and lead actor Donald Glover along with the rest of the cast came on stage. Glover received the award and came to mic doing the usual acknowledgement of everyone involved in the production of the show and its success but then he ended it with an odd sentence, “I’d like to thank the Migos—not for being on the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’” A shout out to a rap group who had nothing to do with the awards didn’t seem to make sense, until it did. The Migos with hit song, “Bad and Boujee” had a rap song that was #1 on Billboard's Top 100 and stayed there for 14 weeks. A song that even if you didn’t listen to rap you knew about it because it was on every and any pop radio station non-stop. And if you haven’t guessed by now, yes, Migos is from Atlanta. Both “Atlanta” and Migos were at the top of their professions, both black, both from urban areas, both coming from low economic statuses, both entering the “mainstream.” “Atlanta” is a TV show on FX written, directed, and starring the talented Donald Glover who might also be known by his musical stage name of Childish Gambino. The show follows Earn (Glover) who dropped out of Ivy League school, Princeton, choosing to head back to his hometown of Atlanta to work a dead-end job. Meanwhile his cousin, local rapper Paper Boi, played by Brian Tyree Henry, comes out with a song that becomes a hit locally with potential to blow up further. Earn sees the opportunity and volunteers to be Paper Boi’s manager. The show follows their attempt to make it in the music industry and survive through Atlanta’s crime and poverty ridden neighborhoods. From the summary above, the show sounds like a drama but its main focus is comedy, finding comedy in relatable struggles and trauma. The show premiered on FX to a total of 1.8 million viewers including DVR replays which was FX’s biggest comedy since ‘Wilfred’ debuted in 2011. The entire season 1 with 10 episodes had an average of 880,000 viewers per episode (Jezabel). The show was received critical acclaim winning 2 Golden Globes, 4 Primetime Emmys, 1 BET award, and a plethora of other achievements (IMDb). Season 1 seemed to thrive with both critics and the general public, but why? When I first saw the trailer for ‘Atlanta’ I was immediately intrigued not due to the content of the vague trailer but instead due to it staring and being directed by Donald Glover. A star well rounded in music, TV, movies and stand-up comedy, you couldn’t help but be interested in what he would do next. The oddest thing to me from the announcement was the show would run weekly on FX. Before ‘Atlanta’ I had never watched a series on FX, especially a comedy where the top comedy TV shows came from channels like NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. FX is reported to be 20th most popular network on TV yet Atlanta still thrived. In the age of streaming with Netflix taking over cable and network TV, people love to binge watch shows including ‘Stranger Things’, ‘13 Reasons Why’, ‘Game of Thrones.’ The ability  to watch seasons quickly, eating up all the content in short periods of time was a welcome addition. Some even choose to wait until a series comes out on Netflix or a streaming platform before watching. Yet, ‘Atlanta’ draws viewers into weekly 30 minute episodes, that is more of an experience than just an episode. With the help of social media, viewers nationwide would live tweet quotables from the week, controversial comedy skits, and special guest appearances. Each week’s episode was different from the previous which forced the viewers to tune it to see what direction Glover would go each week. For example, Episode 6 followed Van, the mother of Earn’s child, focusing solely on her with no other main characters appearing in this episode meanwhile the next week, Episode 7 is centered around a parody talk show titled ‘Montague.’ Each week differs so much from next, deciding not to stick to a linear storyline to force the viewer to tune in each week for surprises that you don’t want to miss out on live with others around the country. ‘Atlanta’ is considered a comedy, which it is but it does it in a way that isn’t familiar to primetime TV. The standard has been generic sitcoms like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, etc on big TV networks. Yet, ‘Atlanta’ features an all black cast set in a city of crime and poverty it is unlike any comedy on TV while choosing to be surrealist as well. Introducing bizarre scenarios in a realistic world to force the viewers to question our societal norms and our own morales. In Episode 5, ‘Nobody Beats the Biebs,’ Justin Bieber is depicted as an African American performing wild antics throughout the episode, planting the question in the viewer’s mind, if white celebrities can get away with the things they do because of the color of their skin and if their race changes our perception. It is easier to laugh when the situation is overdramatized, we laugh because we know it isn’t actually Justin Bieber in the episode yet it draws attention to the larger societal issue. Glover makes our struggles and trauma into these surrealist situations that we can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, it’s funny but also thought provoking. We walk away from the each episode questioning how we perceive others, how we function as a society, and our own beliefs. ‘Atlanta’ is the epitome of it’s funny cause it’s true. The truth itself is something that's getting more difficult to distinguish as each day passes. Our media outlets that provide us with news tend to be biased tailoring a story to their liking or failing to include all the details. We are plagued with constant news headlines regarding police brutality, mental illness, and violence in urban areas. We hear about these stories but it can be difficult to understand the deeper social issues and empathize with the situations because to us they are just headlines not something we can relate to or genuinely understand. ‘Atlanta’ isn’t afraid to tackle these controversial issues through the use of social commentary and comedy. For example, in Episode 2, ‘Streets on Lock,’ contains a scene where a man who is said to be in prison waiting area each week with a clear mental illness is violently restrained by cops after he spits water on a nearby cop. Earn goes on to question why they let him dance around the area each week when he clearly needs medical attention and help. The scene can be funny at first but you quickly after you realize how our prison system truly works and how we as a society see mental illness as a personal problem instead of a legitimate illness. Glover and his writers aren’t being biased but instead giving you visual interpretations of an overarching societal issue and letting the viewer dictate how they feel about the situation. The show isn’t here to make you change your position or opinions but instead to show you scenarios that are thought provoking enough to question your stance and perspective on various ideas. Glover once stated about his intent in making the show, “I wanted to show white people, you don’t know everything about black culture.” It goes beyond race though, Glover introduces us to situations that we don’t know about or think we know about, forcing us to reevaluate our stereotypes and perceptions. Not many shows on TV can both humor the viewer and provide them with social commentary, it is a unique niche that really ‘Atlanta’ alone occupies. Most of the popular comedies in the past have been mindless humor where you could just kick back and get a good laugh like ‘Friends’ and ‘How I Met your Mother.’ Social commentary wasn’t welcome or wanted in our comedy shows, what’s changed? The biggest visual difference when looking at a show like ‘Friends’ vs ‘Atlanta’ is the cast. With the first featuring an all white cast and the former having a nearly all black cast. This wouldn’t have been possible a near 10 years ago but it seems viewers are welcoming and responding to diversity more than ever, specifically the younger generations. Out of the 1.8 million viewers that tuned in for Atlanta’s premiere, 1.2 million of the viewers were under the age of 50. Millennials are becoming more diverse in ideas, politics, and race as time passes which makes sense why a younger age group would be the target audience for ‘Atlanta.’ It seems that audiences are starting to embrace diversity in our TV shows, the all black writers group for ‘Atlanta’ allows the show to explore ideas that shows like the ‘Big Bang Theory’ or basic sitcoms can’t. Diversity equals different perspectives and different stories. Our society is changing becoming more diverse so it is only right that TV changes right along with it. ‘Atlanta’ shows us life as an African American and life in urban poverty stricken areas, things most viewers aren’t familiar with. It can make the viewer feel uncomfortable but the humor eases the discomfort, creating a welcoming atmosphere to the show for all viewers no matter race, gender, sexuality, etc. The key to embracing diversity is being able to understand and have empathy for other groups even if you can’t fully relate. ‘Atlanta’ does a great job of this, showing the struggles of its characters, struggles that certain groups go through daily. An important perspective to understand and accept those around us as the world gets increasingly more diverse and unique.We can see celebration and acceptance of diversity on the silver screen throughout with shows like Black-ish, Empire, Master of None, etc receiving critical praise and high streaming and viewership numbers. The audience themselves are getting more diverse and so are the creators wanting to tell stories that we have yet to see on the silver screen. In 2008 there was not a single minority lead on a large network TV show (Andrews, The Washington Post). ‘Atlanta’ is paving the way for diversity in regards to race but also in regards to genre. The same all white, relationship based sitcoms with laugh tracks are no longer the only comedy on the market. The show isn’t afraid to tackle big social ideas with a mix of surrealist and realistic comedy, standing out from its comedy peers. And it isn’t afraid to bolster an all black cast when most TV shows appear to be white washed, ushering in a new era of diversity in Hollywood. ‘Atlanta’ seems to be successful because audiences want something different, something diverse. You could argue that the show’s success is due to popularity of Donald Glover or that the show is simply for pure comedy purposes with no emphasis on its surrealist and social  commentary aspects. But if we look further outward, it’s nearly impossible to deny that diversity is now “mainstream.” Look at Migos impact on rap and pop music, look at Moonlight’s dominance at the 2017 Oscars, look at ‘Atlanta.’ Some may not like diversity but these trends prove it is popular and it is here to stay. ‘Atlanta’ is here to aid that transition, the more we understand, the more we can relate and accept. It is better to acknowledge and learn about our differences then act like they don’t exist so in the famous words of Childish Gambino, “stay woke.”

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/selena-gomez-long-weeknd-ends-wendy-williams-faints-kim-k-offends/

Selena Gomez long Weeknd ends, Wendy Williams faints and Kim K offends

It’s officially over…the whirlwind romance between young Hollywood stars Selena Gomez and The Weeknd (legally named Abel Tesfaye) has come to a close. On Monday, numerous sources reported that the two artists called it quits after several months of dating. While the break-up was shocking in and of itself, Selena’s recent reconnection with her ex-Justin Bieber is making the situation seem even more messy. As we reported earlier, Selena was spotted hanging out with Justin Bieber a few days ago. In addition, the two stars also attended church and had breakfast together on Sunday. According to sources, Selena hopes to make amends with Justin, as her perspective on things has changed ever since she went through serious health troubles this year (note: Selena underwent a kidney transplant at the beginning of the summer). While it is unclear whether there is going to be a romantic reconciliation between the “Bad Liar” songstress and Justin, there are several clues on social media that hint at a not-so-amicable break-up between Selena and The Weeknd. In fact, on Monday, soon after reports of the break-up made waves on the internet, fans noticed that The Weeknd unfollowed all of Selena’s family and friends on Instagram, as well as Selena herself. Now rumors are circulating about Justin and Selena. Media outlets are reporting that Justin is trying to prove to Selena that he is a changed person, worthy of a second chance. In a new People magazine article, a source close to the Biebs explained that the singer is trying to win over Selena’s family. They told the publication, “Justin is aware Selena’s family is not thrilled they are hanging out. They think he caused Selena a lot of grief. Justin hopes he can prove to them that he has changed.” “House of Cards” has suspended production on season six, in light of recent sexual assault allegations leveled against star Kevin Spacey, media outlets have confirmed. “MRC and Netflix have decided to suspend production on ‘House of Cards’ season six, until further notice, to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew,” said the companies in a statement. Yesterday the companies announced that the sixth season would be the last for the series, which was currently in production in Baltimore. “Media Rights Capital and Netflix are deeply troubled by last night’s news concerning Kevin Spacey,” they said in a statement. Netflix and MRC also said that they had sent executives to Baltimore Monday to meet with cast and crew after actor Anthony Rapp (“Star Trek: Discovery”) told Buzzfeed in an interview that Spacey had sexually assaulted him when Rapp was 14 years old. Spacey is not currently on set for “House of Cards.” He issued an apology for his “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior,” that was widely criticized given that he also used it to come out as a gay man. Media outlets broke the news yesterday that producers have been exploring spinoff possibilities, all of them set in the same universe as “House of Cards.” “House of Cards” is widely credited as the show that put Netflix on the original programming map when it premiered in 2013. The series has been nominated for 53 Primetime Emmy Awards — including five nominations for outstanding drama series. Spacey has been nommed five times for his work. News of the shutdown was first reported by Deadline. Of course, Kim Kardashian has stumbled into yet another controversy. This year, the reality star announced that she was going with a music icon theme for her various Halloween costumes. Leading up to October 31st, Kim has sported a number of flashy ensembles, including a Cher and a Madonna get-up. Unfortunately, one of her outfits was not received well by fans and followers of the star – specifically her tribute to the late singer Aaliyah. After showing off her Aaliyah-esque look, Kim’s social media feeds were flooded with criticism, as people felt that Kim should not have been dressed up the black artist. One Twitter follower replied to Kim’s costume saying, “Legend or not, Aaliyah is a black woman, and you’re not. It’s offensive, and you shouldn’t push the limit, but okay…” Kim K follower, Twitter post: https://twitter.com/LAGrlCrookdSmle/status/924484787699453953 Fortunately, in addition to the thousands of trolls and haters, Kim also received notable support from other social media users. Furthermore, Kim has not taken down the posts of her dressed up as Aayliah and has yet to comment on the controversy. Wendy Williams gave viewers a scare Tuesday morning when she passed out on-the-air during a broadcast of her syndicated chat show. Williams was introducing a segment while wearing a Statue of Liberty Halloween costume when her speech suddenly became slurred. She began shaking and seconds later collapsed on the stage. Stagehands rushed in to help her while the crowd screamed. Williams was back on camera after a break and told the audience the moment “was not a stunt” and she passed out because she was overheated in her costume. Williams’ publicist Alexandra Sinclair tells media outlets the host is “feeling much better” and was able to finish the show OK. Sinclair says Williams will “address the incident on tomorrow’s show.” Netflix is exploring a “House of Cards” spinoff as the show’s final season nears amid controversy surrounding star Kevin Spacey. The streaming channel, which reportedly is weighing different concepts for the spinoff, said Monday that the upcoming sixth season will be the last for “House of Cards.” The announcement of the Emmy-winning political satire’s end came amid fallout from Spacey’s alleged sexual advances toward a 14-year-old actor in the 1980s. But Netflix had already decided to end the show and was pursuing a spinoff. Spacey has apologized for the incident which he said he doesn’t recall but would have stemmed from “drunken behavior.” He also spoke publicly for the first time about being gay. The final “House of Cards” episodes are in production, with a release date yet to be announced. Follow-up heart surgery for Jimmy Kimmel’s infant son was postponed because of family colds. In a statement Monday, Kimmel’s publicist said that Billy Kimmel’s scheduled operation was delayed as a precaution. His publicist said Kimmel had planned to take the week off from ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” for his son’s surgery, but he instead is sharing sneezes with his wife and children. Guest hosts filling in for Kimmel include Shaquille O’Neal, Dave Grohl, Channing Tatum and Jennifer Lawrence. Billy was born last April with heart defects that required surgery immediately after his birth and another operation at about six months. The experience prompted Kimmel to use his show as a platform to advocate for every family’s access to equal medical care, including those unable to afford it. Tessa Thompson hated having to wear a cape in 'Thor: Ragnarok'. The 34-year-old actress stars as the cape-wearing Valkyrie in the new Marvel movie, and Tessa - who trained diligently for the high-energy role - admitted her on-screen attire made filming awkward for her. She explained: "I know that sounds like - not a champagne problem, but like a weird superhero problem that we don't think about. "You just trip on them and then the wind machine gets going and it smacks you in the face. So, it felt like a quick boot camp in superhero-ness." The American star also revealed that she and the rest of the cast - which includes Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba and Cate Blanchett - would stand around on set joking about the challenges of playing superheroes. She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "We all stand around with half of our costume off and weird suspenders ... We have conversations about navigating the demands of superheroes. "[And] the sometimes adventurous positions you have to get yourself in to be able to, you know, pee in between takes." Meanwhile, Tessa recently revealed that her character Valkyrie was pitched to her as the "Han Solo of the movie" by director Taika Waititi.

MTV is reviving its “Jersey Shore” franchise, this time down South.

The network said Monday it will debut “MTV Floribama Shore” later this month, following a cast of eight young adults who spent a summer together in Florida’s Panama City Beach with the expected personal dramas. It’s being made by the same production company as “Jersey Shore,” which aired from 2009 to 2012.

“Jersey Shore” was the network’s highest-rated original series, making stars of characters like Snooki and The Situation, and spawning worldwide spinoffs like “Warsaw Shore” in Poland.

MTV is becoming the reboot channel, recently reviving “Total Request Live” and “Unplugged.” Its new “Siesta Key” is inspired by “Laguna Beach.”

“Floribama Shore” debuts Nov. 27, the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Although she is only 25 years old, singer and actress Miley Cyrus has already had a long career in the entertainment industry. For several years, Miley was one of the biggest stars on the Disney Channel, as she portrayed Miley Stewart on the hit TV series Hannah Montana. On Sunday, Miley did an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, in which she reflected back on her days as a Disney starlet. The “Younger Now” songstress admitted that she was under an immense amount of pressure while acting on Hannah Montana. Miley noted, “I liked being in the Disney universe ’cause I didn’t know anything else. I knew I was getting to live what I wanted to do. I think now that I’m older now, I realize that’s a lot to put on a kid, It’s a lot to put on a kid to have them have to get their makeup done and then also balance school and then also have me dress up in a wig. It’s a little like Toddlers and Tiaras.” When asked if she views her Disney days in a positive light, Miley responded, “I definitely look back on it as a good time. I think what was hard for me was balancing everything. I think it got harder when I started touring as both – toured as Hannah Montana and as myself.” She went on to add, “I loved being that character. And honestly, music is everything and all people wanna have is great music and for that audience, for what that was, that was great music for kids to listen to. There’s a song called ‘Life’s What You Make it, so Let’s Make it Rock.’ Never forget that— wise words. That’s a good thing to tell kids,” Nowadays, Miley is keeping herself busy with both her music career and her role as a judge on the TV singing competition The Voice. One of Bachelor Nation’s fan favourites may be off the market… After weeks of exchanging flirtatious comments on each other’s social media posts, it appears that Bachelorette alum Wells Adams is seeing Modern Family’s Sarah Hyland. According to sources, the duo is still in the very early stages of their relationship and they are keeping things casual. One source told People magazine, “They’ve been friends for a while and now they’ve been hanging out and spending more time together. They’re flirty.” Back in the summer, Sarah Hyland split from her long time boyfriend, actor Dominic Sherwood. On October 11th, Sarah tweeted out a post about the struggles of being single, indicating that she was ready to find a new beau. She posted, “The problem with being single isn’t the fact that you’re alone. It’s that you can’t puppy dog eye a guy into getting you Starbucks in bed.” Sarah Hyland, Twitter post: https://twitter.com/Sarah_Hyland/status/918165564580753408 Over the past weekend, Sarah and Wells were spotted hanging out in Nashville. While Sarah lives in California, she made the trip out to visit the radio host and join in on some Halloween festivities. On Saturday, Sarah posted a photo of her and Wells dressed up for a Halloween party. The actress went as Dustin from Stranger Things, while Wells dressed up as Eleven from the Netflix hit show. When Alex Rodriguez first met Jennifer Lopez, the former baseball player wasn’t sure if their dinner was a meeting or a date. “He was sitting there in his white shirt, very confident and manly, but then he was just so talkative!” the “Shades of Blue” stunner recalled to Vanity Fair. “I think he thought I was going to be this loud person, but I’m not,” she continued. “I just listen. So he’s talking, talking about his plans, about how he had just retired from baseball, about how he saw himself getting married again, all these things you wouldn’t normally talk about on a first date. I don’t know if he thought it was a date. I thought it was a date. Then I knew he was nervous because he asked me if I wanted a drink. I said, ‘No, I don’t drink,’ and he asked if I minded if he had one.” Rodriguez, 42, admitted feeling “uneasy” going into the night, “not knowing her situation” ahead of time. “It would be incredibly productive for me to sit with one of the smartest, greatest women in the world, especially for a guy like me who is coming through tough times, rehabbing himself, re-establishing himself to folks out there. I thought it would be a win-win no matter what,” he explained. After Lopez, 48, confirmed her single status “around the third or fourth inning,” Rodriguez then let his fingers do the talking. “I had to get up and go readjust my thoughts,” he said. “I went to the bathroom and got enough courage to send her a text.” Lopez received the text from the father of two, which read, “You look sexy AF.” “And then it took a turn,” she said. “The fire alarm went off, and we had to evacuate.” The red-hot pair, who confirmed their romance earlier this year, have been attached at the hip since their Bahamian getaway in March. Lopez, who shares 9-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex-husband Marc Anthony, revealed in September this is the first time she’s been in a “good relationship.” “We complement each other, and there’s really pure, true love. Just wanting to support the other person and make them happy. So there’s a different selflessness in the love that’s beautiful and different. And healthy!” Lopez told Hola! USA in September.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[njawaidofficial]

'American Idol' Producer Talks Revival Salaries, New ABC Home

http://styleveryday.com/2017/08/03/american-idol-producer-talks-revival-salaries-new-abc-home/

'American Idol' Producer Talks Revival Salaries, New ABC Home

“The show is not more expensive than its competitors,” says FremantleMedia Group CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz as she discusses the tough Ryan Seacrest deal and why Katy Perry is worth $25 million.

FremantleMedia Group, based in London, has 3,000 employees working across 31 markets, meaning CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz rarely has time to fixate on one country, let alone a single show in the Bertelsmann-owned company’s global suite of 423 programs. But she made an exception during the first half of 2017 for American Idol. Once the company’s gilded show pony, the talent competition was absent from U.S. airwaves for the first time in 15 years. To ensure a revivial, the married mother of two daughters, ages 13 and 8, became a regular again at the Burbank office she had called home for a decade. Ultimately, ABC struck a deal to bring Idol back in 2018 with original host Ryan Seacrest, $25 million judge Katy Perry and, producers hope, some respectable fraction of the show’s peak of 37 million viewers.

Now, Frot-Coutaz, 51, can turn her attention back to the rest of FremantleMedia’s global purview: the world’s biggest reality formats (see megahit America’s Got Talent), a growing number of niche scripted plays (HBO’s The Young Pope and Starz’s American Gods) and an estimated $1.6 billion in annual revenue and rising profits. But, sitting in the spartan glass box she’s using as an office during a July visit to Los Angeles, the French-born executive readily acknowledges what people want to hear about. “I spent the best part of the last five years trying to diversify our business,” says Frot-Coutaz, with a mix of a smile and a sigh. “But it always comes back to American Idol, no matter how hard I try.”

Negotiations to bring back Ryan Seacrest lasted nearly two months. What finally sealed it?

It was always going to happen. It’s hard for Ryan. He’s on the East Coast now and had to figure out how to make it work, but he’s the hardest-working man in show business, so there will be some flying back and forth. But, as I said, it was always going to happen. He’s the face of Idol.

Idol creator Simon Fuller has said that Seacrest is the show’s “single most important element.” Is there one essential piece?

It would be very strange to make American Idol without Ryan, but the danger is to forget that it’s the contestants that make the show. The key factor to a successful season is finding the right contestants.

Why not wait longer to bring Idol back?

When Idol wrapped, we did extensive research. We found that we’d recruited new, much younger viewers. Do you wait five or six years, with the landscape continuing to evolve, and risk losing those followers? In thinking about doing the right thing for the brand and franchise, it felt to us that it was an unfinished story. Even though the show lived on Fox for 15 years, its audience is actually closer to that of ABC or CBS.

Each broadcast network was in some sort of talks for Idol. Fox TV Group co-chair Dana Walden said that bringing it back felt “extremely fraudulent” for Fox, and Leslie Moonves said the economics wouldn’t work for CBS. What do you say to that?

Fox made a decision to move away from it, and I understand why they did. It was taking up a lot of real estate on the network. Dana and [co-chair] Gary [Newman], who were new, needed that real estate to develop shows. Dana’s absolutely right. For that Fox network and for that Fox audience, it probably would’ve been too soon.

Katy Perry’s judge’s salary alone is $25 million, and there are at least two more slots to fill. How are you making sure the new Idol makes financial sense for ABC?

The show is not more expensive than its competitors in the genre. If other networks can make it work on similar properties, then there’s no reason why ABC couldn’t. This notion that the show [costs] a lot more than any other is completely untrue. We know that because we’ve made other shows in other genres. ABC wouldn’t order something that didn’t work for them financially.

What convinced you that Katy Perry would be worth the price tag?

Katy is in a transition in terms of her own career. It has been shown now what these platforms can do for artists. It has been beneficial to other people, whether it’s on Idol or The Voice. But I think she genuinely cares. She auditioned when she was a guest judge on Idol in 2010 and then on the [U.K.] X-Factor. She’s brilliant.

Paula Abdul was Idol‘s only household name when the show premiered. Can a reality show launch without marquee talent?

It hasn’t been done recently. I would like to think that you can — but because there is a certain bar that has been set, there is now an expectation from the audience that you would have at least one, if not two, stars with a lot of credibility.

Simon Cowell said he turned down an offer to return. What was that conversation like?

I’m not going to comment on that. Simon is on NBC on America’s Got Talent, and I think therein lies your answer.

Speaking of Talent, it’s in the middle of its most watched season. Why is that happening 11 years in?

Simon coming back is for sure a factor. But, by the nature of the show, the clips play incredibly well online. There’s a virality that feeds into the success. That video of [12-year-old singing ventriloquist] Darci Lynne is the most watched clip on Facebook. My nanny in London had seen it within 24 hours of broadcast. My 77-year-old mother, who’s somewhere in the middle of France, had seen it within three or four days of broadcast. That, to me, is extraordinary.

You have reboots of Celebrity Family Feud, Match Game and To Tell the Truth on ABC. Is there an end to the nostalgia mine in alternative programming?

Our business is very cyclical. Five years ago, you wouldn’t see any game [show] in primetime. More fundamental, in a world this fragmented, it’s hard to launch new brands. Pairing existing brand equity with proven talent, from a broadcaster’s standpoint, is a lower-risk proposition than starting from scratch. But as with everything in our business, if something works, everybody does it, exhausts it, and it goes away. Then it comes back a few years later.

What are your scripted priorities?

Our ambition is not to compete with American studios. We’re always going to be more of a niche player, but I’m excited to lean into our global footprint. In Italy, our company has some brilliant shows coming up — including the adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. [The drama series will] be in Italian, shot in Naples and air on HBO in America.

Five years ago, people were talking about adapting those dramas for English markets.

Which I don’t believe in. The world has become so global. Most people will have already seen the original version — unless you can do what Homeland did so well in reconceiving a premise for a different market.

Steve Harvey, who hosts Family Feud for you, got a lot of bad press over a leaked memo that told his staff to leave him alone. Is that the sort of thing that gives an executive heart palpitations?

“Only worry about what you can control” is my mantra.

This story first appeared in the Aug. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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'Big Brother 19' Allison Grodner Rich Meehan Preview Interview

New Post has been published on http://styleveryday.com/2017/06/29/big-brother-19-allison-grodner-rich-meehan-preview-interview/

'Big Brother 19' Allison Grodner Rich Meehan Preview Interview

Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan had toyed with naming their production company Human Zoo, and an afternoon spent at the Big Brother season 19 house reveals why.

Inside the house, the 16 houseguests are seen sitting on one another’s laps, dancing while doing the dishes in the kitchen, and even screaming. Observing them just inches away are the longtime executive producers behind the CBS reality series, who settled on Fly on the Wall Entertainment instead. 

And that’s exactly what The Hollywood Reporter was when invited for a close-up look behind the scenes of the summer staple: a fly on the wall.

While the houseguests are trapped inside the house as they fight for half a million dollars, Grodner, Meehan and a staff of over 400 are locked away outside of it, in a compound with several floors, multiple rooms and hundreds of monitors.

In Grodner’s main office, there’s a flat screen mounted on the wall to keep an eye on what they still refer to as the human zoo. (She says the houseguests often compare themselves to the dolphins at Sea World.)

Next door to Grodner’s office is Meehan’s, both located on the “story” floor where they have just finished editing the season’s premiere episode. Upstairs is the control room, where a team sits intensely focused on logging the cast’s every move. Next to that is a room housing the audio crew who are tasked with listening to what the houseguests are saying. Farther down the hall is the operating station that connects directly to the famous diary room, where one houseguest is currently discussing religion and how another player’s story made them cry.

It’s just another day at the Big Brother house as the long-running reality hit gears up for its 19th season. After pulling the Big Brother curtain back, THR sat down with the producing team behind the series to discuss what fans can expect this season, their recent live-stream collaboration with Katy Perry and why an all-stars season may never come to fruition. 

The name Fly on the Wall Entertainment is a nod to the show, yes?

Allison Grodner: It’s also the programming and unscripted world that we’re in. I come from a documentary background and the way that we like to do these shows is [to be] a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on real life. Big Brother is an example of that. Maybe it’s not completely real life, but within the confines of this bubble it is as real as can be. It’s the ultimate social experiment. 

What were the other names that were tossed around?

Rich Meehan: The Human Zoo! And you now know why! 

Your first all-online version of the series, Big Brother: Over the Top, was also the first series for CBS All Access. Will it come back? 

Grodner: CBS and CBS All Access were really happy with how it did. It’s just a matter of what’s going on with CBS All Access, which we don’t know yet.

Meehan: Star Trek: Discovery is coming out and that’s their next thing. I don’t know what their strategy is.

Grodner: We all learned a lot. It was fun to try and re-imagine this series and how to do something in a live 24/7 format as its primary outlet. We learned what works with the audience and what doesn’t. 

Last year it premiered a week after season 18’s finale wrapped. If it does come back do you want it to air immediately following this season again? 

Grodner: Well, personally … (Laughs.)

Meehan: The big thing is, what is that time frame? How soon after the summer? But you also have to keep it away from the next summer. What is that perfect time period in the middle? I’m not sure. 

Grodner: You want them to be separate. Part of the reason we have survived as long as we have is that it’s a summer event. Other shows do multiple seasons. With Big Brother it’s that one-time special event. You don’t want to infringe on that.

In partnership with YouTube, another digital venture you produced this year is Katy Perry’s Witness World Wide where she invited fans in to watch her live for 96 hours in an effort to promote her latest album. Throughout the live stream she confessed her fandom for Big Brother with guests including Sia pointing out how similar the setup of her special was to the show. How were you approached for this?

Grodner: Live-stream has been a big part of Big Brother since the very beginning, and it’s interesting how technology has caught up with it. We’ve always been a multiplatform show. Katy Perry had this idea to live-stream her life at the launch of her album. It had a lot to do with the themes of her album. It was all her idea. Her and her camp came to us —

Meehan: And said they wanted to do a reality event. 

Grodner: We thought it was an interesting way to use the live feed. 

What were the biggest challenges you faced with this project specifically?

Meehan: Trying to build the production, scheduling it, booking it all while keeping everything a secret. We had six weeks to pull the production together. It was like putting together a reality show, a talk show and a musical performance all at once with limited time. 

Was it produced here out of this studio, like Big Brother?

Grodner: Not at all. It was a four-day event on location. It was very different in terms of the way that it’s technically set up. We had to invent how to do live-stream from a remote location, not a studio where we have the infrastructure and the wiring and everything that’s here. Because of our experience with BBOTT and Big Brother, we were a logical company for them to come to. This year we’ve been doing more live programming.

We also had This is Life Live on TLC. It was a four-day event as well, just by coincidence. We went live across the country where we did four nights in a row, two cities each night, opening it up to live moments for each episode. TLC announced that we are doing it again. It’s something we’re uniquely qualified for and something we really like. The way to use live and/or live feed in unscripted is fascinating. With Katy Perry, it was a giant marketing stunt.

What was Perry looking to get out of this?

Grodner: She wanted it to be streamed live and she didn’t want to see any of the crew. She wanted to feel like she was just her and not on a television show.

Meehan: She wanted just real people around her. Why we’re diving more into the world of live streaming is it seems like you need to figure out ways to get something to cut through. What the cool part of Witness World Wide was was something would happen and it would become the pop culture news of the day.

What makes someone an ideal subject for this format?

Meehan: You need a subject who is willing to allow an unfiltered look at their lives. If you are going to be live 24/7, you can’t hide who you are and the audience is savvy enough to know when you are not being genuine. 

This summer there’s has been the return push for unscripted content on broadcast networks. Why do you think that is? 

Meehan: One hour dramas were ruling for a long time. 

Grodner: Budgets for unscripted tend to be lower. That’s something that works better in the summer. There’s a ton of unscripted shows in the pipeline along many networks right now, which is good. There was a little less in the past years. [For newer shows,] it is really hard to cut through though. When you got a new show now everyone just wants a second season. It’s amazing that we’re on season 19 of this show and there are only a handful of shows like that right now. We have a fan base that has grown with us generationally. In casting, we see people in their early 20s say, “I’ve been watching this with my mom since I was a kid.” That’s nice that we’ve been able to hold on to more generations, but that’s hard. 

Which reality series do you view as your biggest competitor?

Grodner: Biggest competitor? Is there one? (Laughs.) We’ve been able to hold steady where we are.

Meehan: If we can have three shows in the top 10 every week, we’re happy. We tend to start out strong and then slowly grow. Some shows start big and then fade. 

Grodner: Slow and steady wins the race! We’re not going to pretend we’re number one all the time. America’s Got Talent is having a great season. We have a company that’s doing more than just Big Brother. We want to be working all through the year. When unscripted shows do well, it’s good for the genre. Even though Big Brother has been on the air for this long, it is still very cutting-edge in what we do. We’re turning out three hours of primetime television every week, going live to the internet and having this complete multiplatform experience. So, what’s the next place to bring the reality genre? One of the places that has really been popping for us and is the future of unscripted is working within a live space. 

One of the biggest conversations in reality TV right now is the Bachelor in Paradise controversy. They have resumed filming, but what do you make of how everything went down?

Grodner: We’re dealing with real people and real situations on all of these shows. I don’t work on that show, but I believe they feel the same: that the safety of our contestants is a priority and always has been. 

On the Bachelor franchise, it’s known that alcohol is unlimited. On Big Brother, the alcohol provided to the contestants is scarce. What’s your philosophy behind that? 

Grodner: It’s a controlled amount. We are dealing with a very intense situation in tight quarters and they can be locked in the house for days, so everything that is consumed in the house is controlled by the production.

Meehan: It’s a pressure cooker in there, and anytime we put alcohol in, it’s a very small amount. 

What were the conversations like ahead of this season and deciding on the twist?

Meehan: [We decided on the temptation twist] in March. We had multiple concepts that we really liked and we presented them to CBS. We landed on this as the one we were going with. We walked them through the basic strokes of it. 

Grodner: Temptation has always been a theme throughout the show. It’s something that happens. Are you tempted to get into a showmance? Are you tempted to go against a group because something is being offered to you? If we made that the theme of this whole summer we thought we could make it bigger and better. 

Throughout the years, the cast of Big Brother has been diverse in terms of their backgrounds, religious values and political views, but usually politics doesn’t come into play. With the current political climate, how do you see that changing this season?

Meehan: There’s definitely different political views in the house.

Have they been talked about yet?

Meehan: I have not heard it. People are smart enough to know it’s a hot-button issue. But they’re still getting comfortable in there.

Grodner: They haven’t been in there long enough to see the differences. We absolutely are representing the country and have a cross-section of voters, supporters and non-supporters of our current president. But I don’t know if that will become a big topic in the house. Even though we are representing that cross-section here, I really hope that Big Brother becomes an escape from what we are all being bombarded with. 

As it stands now, who are the early standouts who have a real shot at winning?

Grodner: (Looks at the live monitor of all the houseguests.) If Megan [Lowder, the 28-year-old dog walker who once worked in a prison in the Middle East] doesn’t burn herself out early it’s very possible because she is smart and a leader. Do you know who is playing a great social game right now? Dominique [Cooper.] 

Are there any showmances already blossoming in the house?

Grodner: There’s certainly attraction for sure. Mark, who is a romantic, is already smitten with Jessica [Graf.] 

Meehan: He hangs out with Christmas a lot too. 

Grodner: There are a lot. You just saw as we were walking through Christmas and Matt [she was sitting on his lap.] But earlier I saw Raven [Walton] and Matt!  

What have the past few days looked like in the house?

Grodner: Right now, we’re in the only time of Big Brother where we’re not live. But already within the first 48 hours we have seen flirting, lines drawn, alliances and our first big fight!

Who are the likely suspects for that fight?

Groder: Strong personalities. 

Meehan: It was a man and a woman, and a temptation played into it. 

Grodner: It’s in the Thursday night show. There are temptations everywhere and when you take a temptation, there’s a consequence. It’s bound to spark drama if someone takes a temptation. 

Meehan: In night two, there was a temptation in the head of household competition that someone took. It shocked people and caused a bit of an argument. 

On premiere night, how are the first temptations presented to them?

Meehan: They were tempted by money, safety and power. The first one was a large cash temptation. 

The show has already been renewed for season 20 and the online speculation is that you will focus on the all-stars. Any truth to those rumors? 

Meehan: I’ve heard those rumors too! (Laughs.) We haven’t talked about it. It would be interesting to do with 20.

Grodner: But we haven’t talked about it yet. Is it even possible? Is that something the audience really wants to see? Do you really want to see all returners now? I don’t know. 

Meehan: Also, I don’t know if we could get all the people we want. 

Grodner: It’s been a long time.

Meehan: A lot of them are married with kids and they’ve evolved so much. They’re different people now. 

Did you watch Katy Perry’s live stream? How do you think the pop star would do in the real Big Brother house? And do you really want to see an all-stars season next year? Sound off in the comments section below and stay tuned to The Live Feed for all things Big Brother. 

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