UNHAPPY NEW YEAR! Time Warner Cable To Lose Viacom’s MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon & Comedy Central In NY, LA, Everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UPDATE (keep refreshing for breaking news): What an awful way to ring in 2009. It turns out that Viacom claims it has been trying to negotiate a "fair" renewal of its prized cable channels for months and months, but reputedly Time Warner Cable has been unresponsive and "unreasonable" so talks have stalled. The nation’s 2nd largest cable system operator, in turn, claims Viacom is asking for "exorbitant" increases in carriage fees which would have to be passed along to the customer. So now this fight between the two Big Media giants will hurt cable viewers. At 12:01 AM on January 1st, just after the ball drops in Time Square, Time Warner Cable’s 13.3 million subscribers will lose 19 Viacom channels — Comedy Central; CMT: Pure Country; Logo; Palladia; MTV; MTV 2; MTV Hits; MTV Jams; MTV Tr3s; Nickelodeon; Noggin; Nick 2; Nicktoons; Spike; The N; TV Land; Vh1; Vh1 Classic; Vh1 Soul. The howling starts here, especially by parents home for the holidays with children who won’t have access to their favorite shows like SpongeBob Squarepants and Dora The Explorer, and tweens/teens wanting to see new episodes of those new unreality Reality TV series The City and Bromance, and twentysomethings and older who get their news from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report.

This affects all U.S. Time Warner cable subscribers including those in New York and Los Angeles. Alex Dudley, a vice president at Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest cable operator, is telling reporters that the dispute with Viacom "is that they have asked for an exorbitant increase in their carriage fees and their network ratings are sagging."  However, Nickelodeon is 2008’s No. 1 basic cable network, drawing the largest audience in its history. MTV, on the other hand, has seen ratings slide. Time Warner Cable claims it’s "trying to hold the line on fees for our customer" — but it’s really worried that if Viacom gets its raises, then every cable programmer will want them. TWC claims Viacom has asked for fee increases of between 22% and 36% per channel, but Sumner Redstone’s company maintains the increases would cost less than $.25 a month for the package of channels per subscriber who spend a fifth of total TV time watching Viacom shows but its fees make up less than 2.5% of the Time Warner cable bill. (Sports channels are paid the biggest cable premium). But Time Warner Cable also is complaining that Viacom’s popular shows are rerun on Web sites where Viacom collects advertising revenue that it does not share with Time Warner. On the other hand, Viacom has staked much of its revenue-growth prospects on squeezing higher carriage rates out of its cable and satellite affiliates despite an ad slowdown and weaker ratings.

Such negotiation battles between cable networks and cable system operators have happened before and lasted merely hours. In 2004, for example, Viacom’s cable channels disappeared from EchoStar’s Dish Network for two days while both sides fought over the terms of a new contract. And Time Warner blocked ABC from its cable systems in New York during a breakdown in contract negotiations with parent company Disney. So this one will either end fast or go on forever. It probably will depend on how many subscribers start flooding Time Warner Cable with obscene calls. Viacom has already started a hardball campaign to "Call Time Warner Cable and say ‘NO’ " starring The Hills and South Park.

This is Viacom’s just issued statement:

This move by Time Warner Cable to force such channels as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV off the air is another example of a cable company overreaching for profit at the expense of its viewers. 

The renewal we are seeking is reasonable and modest relative to the profits TWC enjoys from our networks. We have asked for an increase of less than 25 cents per month, per subscriber, which adds up to less than a penny per day for all 19 of MTV Networks’ channels. We make this request because TWC has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long. Americans spend more than 20% of their TV viewing time watching our networks, yet our fees amount to less than 2.5% of what Time Warner generates from their average customer.

Throughout the country, we have negotiated equitable license agreement renewals, or are in the final stages of renewals, with virtually every cable and satellite carrier. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts at a fair compromise and has effectively chosen to deny its customers some of the most popular TV shows on the air.

As a result, we are sorry to say that for Time Warner Cable customers our networks will go dark as of 12:01 on January 1st, denying Time Warner customers shows like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and The Hills.

Ultimately, however, if Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and the rest of our programming is discontinued – over less than a penny per day - we believe viewers will see this behavior by their cable company as outrageous. 

Time Warner Cable subscribers who are being handed a January 1st monthly increase in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York City are simultaneously facing the removal of beloved shows across 19 channels.

We find it a shame that Time Warner Cable remains unreasonable at this time. We hope its leadership will have a change of heart and will seek to negotiate a fair renewal agreement.

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I hadn’t heard of Tomas Alfredson’s upcoming film LÃ¥t den rätte komma in (Let The Right One In), but apparently it has been a hit on the festival circuit and was recently picked up by Magnet Releasing, a subdivision of Magnolia Pictures, to be distributed in the U.S. This is a Swedish film based on the novel by John Ajvide Linqvist (who also wrote the script), and tells of a 12 year old boy who falls in love with a young girl who moves in next door. The bad news is, she ends up being a vampire!

There’s been no word on when it might hit theatres here, but the buzz has been so strong that there is already interest in an English-language remake. And according to Bloody Disgusting, the outfit that has been pursuing the remake rights is none other than Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams’ production company! Who knows if Abrams himself is interested in directing, but it sounds like an intriguing story to be sure, and we all know that vampire flicks never go out of style. Check out the Swedish trailer for the movie below.

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Honestly, I would be really upset if this was remade, even if by J.J. Abrams. The movie was shot perfectly, and the actors who played Oskar and Eli had fantastic chemistry together. I say leave it as it is. What do you all think?
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Nick

Kali

Do you love the trash?

OH HEY IT’S BIKINI CORRIE

SOURCE: MTV.com, My TV
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Now a new trailer has popped up on You Tube (thanks Cinematical), and those of you who commented about how lame Chun Li looked certainly have more ammunition. I mean, wow, this thing is bad. The worst part of it is it doesn’t look like anyone in the cast is doing their own jumping around. It’s all wire work stuff, or so it appears. That gets boring after a while, particularly when a movie looks as poorly acted as this one does.

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So, I see that we have some mixed opinions about the website and me. Not surprising!

As you can see in the picture, some people want to listen, some people don’t and some people seem to be pondering on what the speaker (the Lord) has to say. Much the same, we all have our own thoughts and opinions on what is being said. The idea however, is to take what we hear and use it in the most constructive way possible.

Being that the “Topic of the Week” is how the media, press and public opinion effect those in the spotlight, if you visit TMZ, you will see exactly what I talking about, with their snide comments, which only adds fuel to the fire. For them to measure any one’s sanity or competency level, and say mine is off the charts, all anyone has to do is look at some of the trash that they print and how a large part of the facts are left out, to see how hypocritical THEY are. Not saying that there aren’t some good people working there, which there are, but with Harvey Levin being “on the other side of the fence,” I expect his opposition.

The Roman playwright, Terrence, once said that “There are as many opinions as there are people.”

That being said, all of us have and are entitled to our own. When we air those opinions, with the intention of helping someone, whether it be in their defense or to open their eyes to a bad situation around them, we are doing it with a loving heart in order to help that person. However, when we air opinions strictly to defame, hurt or slander someone without any good intentions at all, what does that say about our heart and our motives?

In 1 Samuel 16:7, it says that “the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Later, in 1 Chronicles 28:9, it says “the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts,”so if you are okay with your true motives of your heart when you share an opinion or have something to say about somebody, then who is anyone to argue? That is between you and God.

I will end by saying something that John Quincy Adams said in a letter to Bronson Alcott:
“In charity to all mankind, baring no malice or ill will to any human being and even compassionate to those who hold in bondage their fellow man, not knowing what they do.”

In other words, we should all be compassionate to one another and understand, that we simply don’t understand what they are going through, before we pass judgement on one another.

I am sorry but the greatest gift and attribute we have as human beings is Love, especially for God and then our family. And when people come between either of those, I, and I believe we, should defend them as best we can holding true to the facts and in line with the “Truth.”

For the Real Story, if you want to have a voice and hear the Truth, I invite you to join in.

“A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions.”
(Proverbs 18:2)

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kristin cavallari arriving in miami

Madonna’s sister Melanie

Splash says this is Madge’s little sister, Melanie. Melanie is 46 and before you think she has big bucks to blow, I’d think again. Madge doesn’t have anything to do with Mel because she rejected that red string religion. Hmm. So that’s what Madge would look like if she didn’t have a money for plastic surgery?

Beckham got a new tattoo

David Beckham has fed his addiction to ink, the Sun reports:

“The new marking on his [inner] left arm is a biblical proverb written in Hebrew. It reads: ‘My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart.’ A source revealed: ‘Victoria doesn’t think David should have any more tattoos and tried to stop him having another. She likes his tatts but wants a bit of his skin to be left, yet David went ahead with it anyway. She is worried he is hooked and she doesn’t know where it will all end. He is a very healthy bloke. He doesn’t smoke, barely drinks and looks after his body very carefully. But his addiction is tattoos. So while his insides are as clean as a whistle, his outsides are quite the opposite.’”

http://jjb.yuku.com/topic/452079/t/Kristin-Cavallari-arriving-in-Miami.html
http://thedirtydisher.blogspot.com/2008/12/madonnas-sister-out-shopping.html

http://www.towleroad.com/2008/12/david-beckham-r.html

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As reported yesterday, word is that superstar couple Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are reportedly headed to a spectacular split.

Not so, according to their press reps.

Referring to the report which first surfaced in the New York Daily News, Lopez publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnik issued a statement saying “There is no merit to the article.”

Guess we’ll have to wait and see who’s right.

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ComingSoon.net got the Paramount film schedule for 2009 and beyond the cut is what we can expect from the studio!

January 16, 2009

Defiance - During World War II, four Jewish brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay) escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis.The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland. The film tracks their struggle to evade invading German forces while still maintaining their mission to save Jewish lives.)

Hotel for Dogs - (In this family film, Emma Roberts leads a star-filled cast that includes Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, and Don Cheadle. A pair of orphaned siblings (Roberts and Jake T. Austin) are forced to give up their beloved dog when they move into a foster home. But since they can’t stand to live without him, they turn a closed hotel into a home for their dog–and any other strays they can find. Hotel for Dogs is based on the novel by Lois Duncan.)

January 30, 2009

The Uninvited - (Anna Rydell (Emily Browning) returns home to her father (David Strathairn) and sister, Alex (Arielle Kebbel), after spending time in the hospital following the tragic death of her mother (Maya Massar). Her recovery suffers a setback when she discovers her father has become engaged to her mother’s former nurse, Rachael (Elizabeth Banks). That night, Anna is visited by the ghost of her mother, who warns her of Rachael’s intentions. Together, Anna and Alex try to convince their father that his current fiancée is not who she pretends to be, and what should have been a happy family reunion becomes a lethal battle of wills between stepdaughters and stepmother.)

March 20, 2009

I Love You, Man - (In “I Love You, Man,” a comedy from John Hamburg (”Along Came Polly,” co-writer of “Meet the Parents,” “Meet the Fockers,” “Zoolander”), Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd, “Knocked Up” “The 40 Year Old Virgin”) is a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey (”The Office’s” Rashida Jones), discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward “man-dates,” before meeting Sydney Fife (Jason Segel, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”), a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But the closer the two men get, the more Peter’s relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancee and his new found “bro,” in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a “friend.”)

March 27, 2009

Monsters vs. Aliens - (When California resident Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) mysteriously grows to 49 ft 11 in, she is labelled a monster and taken in by the military to a institution housing four other monsters: Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., an insect-headed mad scientist (Hugh Laurie), the Missing Link, a thousands-of-years-old fish-man (Will Arnett), B.O.B., an indestructible gelatinous mass (Seth Rogen) and Insectosaurus, a fuzzy 350-foot bug that makes even Susan look tiny by comparison. When a UFO lands and aliens demand that Earth be given to them, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) suggests to the President (Stephen Colbert) that the monsters can provide the firepower to defeat the aliens.)

April 24, 2009

The Soloist - (The Soloist is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a musical prodigy who developed schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School. Ayers becomes homeless in the streets of downtown Los Angeles, playing the violin and the cello.)

May 8, 2009

Star Trek - (From director J.J. Abrams (”Mission: Impossible III,” “Lost” and “Alias”) and screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (”Transformers,” “MI: III”) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, “Star Trek,” featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before.)

June 12, 2009

Imagine That - (In Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies’ family comedy “Imagine That,” Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world.)

June 26, 2009

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - (In the highly-anticipated “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” debuting June 26, 2009, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots® against their sworn enemies, the Decepticons®. Michael Bay directs from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman.)

August 7, 2009

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - (Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, whose previous collaboration was the worldwide blockbuster “Transformers,” join forces with Spyglass Entertainment for another extraordinary action-adventure “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” From the Egyptian desert to deep below the polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” is directed by Stephen Sommers (”The Mummy,” “The Mummy Returns”.)

August 14, 2009

Dance Flick - (”Dance Flick” is a hilarious new comedy that brings together the talents of two generations of the Wayans family, the explosively funny clan who brought us the “Scary Movie” franchise and “White Chicks,” as well as the groundbreaking TV series “In Living Color.”

In “Dance Flick,” a young street dancer, Thomas Uncles (Damon Wayans, Jr.), from the wrong side of the tracks and a beautiful young woman, Megan White (Shoshana Bush), are brought together by their passion for dancing and put to the test in the mother of all dance battles.

“Dance Flick” sends up the dance movie genre, including such recent hits as “Step Up” and “You Got Served,” as well as the classic “Flashdance.”)

December 11, 2009

The Lovely Bones - (In 1973, Susie Salmon (Ronan) is raped and murdered by a neighbor, George Harvey (Tucci), a serial killer of young girls. She finds herself in Heaven, observing her family as they grieve for her. She also watches her killer who, having covered his tracks successfully, is preparing to murder again. Susie struggles to balance her desire for vengeance on Harvey and her desire to have her family recover from their loss.)

4th Quarter 2009

She’s Out of My League - (Kirk (Jay Baruchel, “Knocked Up,” “Tropic Thunder”), an average Joe, can’t believe his luck. Though he’s stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport security agent, against all odds Molly (Alice Eve), a successful and outrageously gorgeous babe falls for him. Kirk is stunned. So are his friends, his family and even his ex-girlfriend. Now he has to figure out how to make the relationship work, even though he’s the first to admit “She’s Out of My League.”)

Shutter Island - (From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.)

Up in the Air - (From Jason Reitman, the Oscar® nominated director of “Juno,” comes a comedy called “Up in the Air” starring Oscar® winner George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate hatchet man who loves his life on the road but is forced to fight for his job when his company downsizes its travel budget. He is required to spend more time at home just as he is on the cusp of a goal he’s worked toward for years: reaching five million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.)

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The Obama family will move to Washington D.C. this weekend, according to the Barack Obama’s transition team.

See Obama’s family album!

“The president-elect will be here in Washington to continue work on an economic recovery plan,” the team announced.

He, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters Malia and Sasha will stay at a Washington hotel through Jan. 15. From there, they will move…

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