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A business course on cutthroat capitalism disguised as a slacker comedy: That’s the kindest way to describe Michael Lehmann’s “Flakes,” a movie that shares the smug, hipper-than-thou sensibility of its sour protagonist, Neal Downs (Aaron Stanford).
An aspiring rock musician who manages a New Orleans eatery where the only bill of fare is breakfast cereal, Neal is a reflexively sarcastic deadbeat whose equally sour girlfriend, Pussy Katz (Zooey Deschanel), shares his bohemian dream of traveling the country in an Airstream trailer, making music and art.
The walls of the restaurant, called Flakes, are lined with cereal boxes, including rare discontinued brands. As customers slop up exotic combinations, the movie suggests a deadpan spoof of gourmet fetishism. One house specialty — chocolate-flavored grains steeped in chocolate milk — sounds particularly nauseating.
Can you spot the visible Nokia product placement in the video? How about the overall melodrama? Alicia Keys always squints her eyes to look sexy in her videos. Click above and see for yourself.
Heroes got a lot of press for its inclusion of products this past season. Assuming the WGA strike goes the way of the buffalo, we’d assume more would be included in the show. While we wait for the strike to end, here’s the advanced trailer for the second part of the series’ sophomore season.
Bookers for late-night talk shows have been struggling to find A-list personalities willing to cross picket lines to appear on the shows when they return on January 2, the New York Times reported today (Thursday). An unnamed publicist told the newspaper that her agency is taking a wait-and-see approach in order to judge reaction to actors who do cross picket lines. Asked whether the shows had been able to book any guests, producers at each of the late-night shows declined to comment, the Times said. However, Donald Trump, who is booked on Late Show With David Letterman on January 2, personally phoned media outlets Wednesday to inform them that he will appear on the program to promote his The Celebrity Apprentice, which is due to debut on January 10. There was still no word on when Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report might return. “It’s a little bit of a different challenge for them,” a source told today’s (Thursday) New York Post.”Even without writers, the other shows can fall back on booking additional guests or adding musical performers” to replace monologues and sketches that require writing talent. Both Comedy Central shows are formulated around topical satire.
HONG KONG – STAR India, part of News Corp.’s Asian entertainment group, has struck a two-year deal with mobile telephone firm Airtel.
As well as agreeing advertising commitments at inflation-proofed rates, the two have committed to new music promotion activities and development of new interactive services.
Move is seen as a sign of the increasing competition within the fast Indian TV sector and the fast-growing power of the country’s mobile phone providers. It is estimated that Indian phone companies signed up 8.5 million new subscribers last month.
Next year is expected to see debut of two new DTH satellite TV platforms backed by rival congloms – Reliance and Bharti — each with massive phone interests.
CBS signed a deal with Gas Station TV. Soon you’ll be able to watch news updates and features instead of contemplating the sick feeling you’re going to get when the charge card bill arrives. CBS says its part of the strategy “of finding unique ways to reach a captive audience.”
LONDON — Prisa, Spain’s second biggest media group, has launched a tender bid for 100% of Sogecable, the dominant Spanish pay TV operator.The buyout play comes after Prisa bought up the 2.9% stake in Sogecable held by Eventos, a company owned by Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles.
Prisa already held a controlling shareholding in Prisa. It’s hiked participation obliges it under Spanish law to launch a tender for the rest of Sogecable, which owns satcaster Digital Plus and broadcaster Cuatro.
LONDON — Disney-ABC Intl. Television has struck its largest deal to date in Russia, inking a multi-year partnership with state broadcaster Channel One.Agreement covers Disney features from recent years, including “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “Wild Hogs,” as well as ABC’s frosh drama series “Dirty Sexy Money.”
Also included are animated classics such as “The Jungle Book,” “101 Dalmatians” and “Peter Pan,” all of which will air as part of a new monthly “Wonderful World of Disney” family film slot on the channel.
In the wake of the latest Spears pregnancy, I’m reminded of last week’s series finale of HBO’s Extras. Did you see it? If not check out the video below. Wonder if this counts as product placement for American Idol. Doubt it. It’s pretty hardcore. Share your thoughts below.
…While traditional advertising slid, product placement continues to grow. Product placement occurrences among the top 10 prime-time programs were up to 22,046 occurrences compared to 19,125 over the same period last year. Fox’s American Idol led the pack with the most occurrences at 4,349.
Bookers for late-night talk shows have been struggling to find A-list personalities willing to cross picket lines to appear on the shows when they return on January 2, the New York Times reported today (Thursday). An unnamed publicist told the newspaper that her agency is taking a wait-and-see approach in order to judge reaction to actors who do cross picket lines. Asked whether the shows had been able to book any guests, producers at each of the late-night shows declined to comment, the Times said. However,