Day: July 29, 2013

Categories
Doctor Who

I’ll be watching!!!

‘Doctor Who’ 50th Anniversary special sets simultaneous global broadcast

The “Doctor Who” 50th Anniversary special is shaping up to be one of the biggest TV events of the year and the BBC has set a highly unusual broadcast strategy to back-up that fact. Plans are underway to broadcast the special simultaneously around the globe, so fans worldwide can watch — and react — at the exact same time.

The 90-minute special is set to premiere Nov. 23, though an exact time has not yet been announced.

Here’s the official statement from BBC Worldwide: “It’s always been our ambition to work with our broadcast partners so that international Doctor Who fans can enjoy the 50th Anniversary special at the same time as the UK. We’ll have more details soon about our very exciting global plans for November.”

As U.K.’s Radio Times speculates, if “Doctor Who” airs at 7 p.m. in the U.K. that would mean a 2 p.m. premiere on the U.S. East Coast and an 11 a.m. airing on the West Coast. (If you think that sounds early for a typically primetime drama, Australian fans would get their first crack at 6 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.)

Fans in the U.K. will also have the option of 3D theatrical screenings, while some international broadcasters are expected to offer 3D airings as well.

Meanwhile, with the recent unveiling of an exclusive trailer at San Diego’s Comic-Con International, anticipation for the special is only increasing.

Categories
Music

Can’t wait to hear them!!

Duets Featuring Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury to Be Released

Three duets starring pop legends Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury will be released later this year, exactly three decades after they were recorded in Jackson’s home studio in Encino, California.

Queen guitarist Brian May is working with longtime band mate Roger Taylor and producer William Orbit to put the finishing touches on the recordings. In 2011, May was given permission to access the 1983 session by the Jackson estate. For the past two years he has been working with Taylor and Orbit to resurrect the recordings, reportedly adding new guitar solos and vocal harmonies reminiscent of those made famous by Mercury, who died in 1991. Jackson passed away in 2009.

Shortly following the Encino recordings, Mercury and Jackson reportedly had a falling out. According to Jim “Miami” Beach, Queen’s manager, the two split ways after Jackson brought a llama into the studio.

“Mercury rang me and said: ‘Miami, dear, can you get over here? You’ve got to get me out of here; I’m recording with a llama.” Beach told NME. A source associated with the Jackson estate told the U.K. Daily Mail that the falling out simply stemmed from the pair’s difficulty in arranging any additional recording sessions.

According to May, the recordings should see the light of day in a few months. “There are a few items in progress. We will have something for folks to hear in a couple of months’ time, hopefully.” May wrote on his blog.

In related news, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen recenty bowed out of the role of Mercury in an upcoming biopic about the iconic Queen frontman, citing disapproval of the kind of movie the biopic was becoming.

Categories
Star Wars

Great news!!

John Williams to score ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’

John Williams, the Oscar-winning composer behind “Jaws,” “Harry Potter” and “Indiana Jones,” is returning to one of his most iconic franchises — “Star Wars.”

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced Saturday (July 27) at the Star Wars Celebration Europe that Williams will be composing the score for “Star Wars: Episode VII,” which is set for a 2015 release.

So far, “Episode VII” has several big names attached. J.J. Abrams is directing, Michael Arndt is penning the script and rumors have been flying about the return of familiar faces from the original trilogy of movies.

Williams has five Oscar wins among a myriad of nominations to his name. He took home the hardware for “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “E.T.” and “Schindler’s List.” Will “Episode VII” see him win his first Oscar in over 20 years?