Fringe made its Friday night debut last night, something fans of the show have been very nervous about, given the history of the so-called Friday "Death Slot" on FOX.
However, TVByTheNumbers.com now reports Fringe did something very impressive: It actually did better in its Friday debut than its average rating in the fall when it was airing on Thursdays: a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating, versus an average of 1.88.
FOX put a lot of promotion into the Friday movie and the network president, Kevin Reilly, recently said he simply wanted the loyal fanbase to keep watching the show, and that he was prepared for DVR viewing to increase a bit due to the move. As TVByTheNumbers notes, if Fringe can maintain these type of ratings on Friday, giving FOX a solid success on such a tough night, it will likely be renewed.
One test for Fringe will come next week, when Supernatural (a show that likely has some fan crossover – I know I'm a fan of both!) will return with new episodes, airing at the same time.
X-Men First Class To Do Reshoots, No Effect on Release Date
X-Men: First Class is coming to theaters this June, but is still shooting. AccessHollywood spoke to First Class actor Edi Gathegi, who plays the mutant Darwin in the movie and the Twilight actor revealed that the movie is in reshoots.
I guess there's some, like, reshoots that they're doing at this point, but the bulk of the movie's done and they're sticking to their release date...so it'll be a pretty fast turnaround. But I have faith in it. I have faith in all the filmmakers. I think if the script is great and the director's great and the actors are great, it's gonna be a good X-Men.
Gathegi described his character's powers as "reactive adaptation" meaning that Darwin was in a "constant state of evolution" and admitted to doing kickboxing training for the movie which he called "pretty physical" and "rigorous."
When asked if he thought the prequel was going to please fans, Gathegi did his best to cautiously dodge the question.
I really want to say a lot about it, but I don't want to give false expectations, I want to manage expectations, but I love the X-Men series, and, in many ways, this is going back to the original X-Men. And I think [First Class] is being done in a wonderful way, so I think people are going to like it.
First Class was directed by Matthew Vaughn and co-stars James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Michael Fassbender, Caleb Landry Jones, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and Lucas Till. Gathegi did not reveal what the reshoots would address.
The Baglioni Marrakech launches the first luxury Private Residence Club in Morocco.
With the launch of The Residence Club at The Baglioni Marrakech, Ajensa – the developer of this luxury destination resort – is a pioneer in its field in Morocco.
Similar to products offered by luxury hotel groups such as Four Seasons, Fairmont and Ritz-Carlton in other parts of the world, The Residence Club at The Baglioni Marrakech offers an intelligent way of owning a luxury holiday home at a fraction of the cost. Members of a Private Residence Club only buy the share of the Residence that he/she is planning to use rather than investing into the whole Residence and potentially leaving it un-used for large parts of the year.
The basic legal structure
The principle is simple. The Residence Club at the Baglioni Marrakech, which is a non-for-profit company incorporated in the United Kingdom, will buy freehold residences in The Baglioni Marrakech and for each Residence owned by the Club, the Club will sell 10 memberships to interested buyers. Members will own shares of the UK Club Company and hereby own equity in the Residences through their share ownership. The company is controlled by First National Trust Company (FNTC) – a specialized trust company in the area of shared ownership – who will ensure that the Club is managed for the interest of the members and in line with the shareholder agreement, which also includes all the Club rules.
How is the Residence Club managed?
The Residences owned by the Club will be managed and maintained by the Baglioni Hotel to the highest levels of standards, which means that the members of the Residence Club will always be experiencing a highly serviced and maintained accommodation while they are in residence.
How is the accommodation booked?
The reservations system is structured so the accommodation in the Club’s Residences is fairly shared between the members.
Each member will have the right to 3 Guaranteed Weeks each year, which are booked prior to the start of the specific use-year. Such Guaranteed Weeks are booked based on rotational priority where each member in turn gets the priority of reservation. Or in short, in year 1 member 1 will choose his 3 weeks first, then member 2 will choose and so on until member 10 has chosen his Guaranteed weeks.
The remaining 20 weeks of the year is hereafter made available for Club members as Space Available reservations where each member can book as many days as he wishes – as long at the member does not have more than one open reservation with no more than 7 days of length at any point in time. This allows for short notice and more spontaneous holidays.
The remaining 2 weeks of the year is used for maintenance, deep cleaning etc.
So all in all, members will in average get access to 5 weeks of accommodation in the Club’s Residences.
What are the benefits?
Members of the Residence Club can enjoy several benefits from their memberships including:
- Personal use of their Guaranteed and Space Available accommodation
- Exchanges through The Registry Collection luxury exchange network where Guaranteed Weeks can be swapped with owners of other Residence Clubs around the world (www.theregistrycollection.com)
- Rental of Guaranteed Weeks through the Baglioni Hotel and hereby generate a rental income for the member
The Residences are managed by the Baglioni Hotels so the member’s stay is totally hassle-free. No need to think about plumbers, gardeners, pool cleaners or even paying property taxes in a foreign country. All is managed by the Club so the members can concentrate only on enjoying their holiday while in residence. And members also has full access to the Baglioni Hotel on the site including its facilities such as concierge service, fitness centre, swimming pool area, business centre, restaurants & bars and of course – the Six Senses spa.
Members will each have a personal storage area where the member can leave personal belongings while they are not in residence
What does the Residence Club Membership cost?
The membership price for a 4-bedroom membership in The Residence Club at The Baglioni Marrakech cost Euro 295,000 and the 5-bedroom membership Euro 345,000. This includes of course the share in the Residence in itself but also full furnishing designed by Jade Jagger for yoo, linen, kitchen-ware, notary fees, transaction costs, hotel management infrastructure, enrolment in The Registry Collection – or in other words everything needed for delivering the full Baglioni experience in the Residences.
Annual Expenses paid to the Residence Club are Euro 9,000 for the 4 bed-room membership and Euro 11,000 for the 5-bedroom membership – also here only a fraction of the cost of servicing and maintaining a whole ownership Residence. This includes cleaning, linen change, maintenance & replacements, gardening, pool services, club management, access to hotel facilities, insurances, property taxes … or in other word all cost related to servicing and maintaining the Residences within the Club like a 5-star hotel.
First Direct has become the first UK bank to launch a true transactional banking app for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch.
The app, which has launched on the Apple App Store, allows first direct customers to check balances, view the last 20 account transactions, make payments and transfer money between accounts.
This is the first banking app in the UK that allows customers to make transactions via their smartphone. While Natwest, RBS and Ulster Bank all have dedicated iPhone applications, these offer only a simple form of online banking such as letting users check their account balance and view a mini-statement.
Matt Colebrook, chief executive at the bank, said: "This is about making the banking experience simpler and quicker, allowing our iPhone enabled customers to access key features of our internet banking; whenever they want and wherever they want.
"The iPhone App is as a huge step forward, but it's just the beginning of our ambitions for mobile banking. Our plans for 2011 are to make our 'on the go' mobile service available on other smartphone devices."
Over the past two years, banks and financial services companies have rushed to launch new apps for users of smartphones – such as iPhones and BlackBerrys – as consumers increasingly manage their money on a mobile phone.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. celebrates its Founders Day with National First Vice President
From Friday, Jan. 7 through Sunday, Jan. 9, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.-Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter will honor the legacy of 22 young women with its annual “Founders Day” weekend of events. Dr. Paulette C. Walker, the sorority’s National First Vice President will be the Founders Day Luncheon keynote speaker on Saturday, Jan. 8. All Delta Sigma Theta Sorority members are invited to attend. Founders Day weekend costs are $50 per person.
On January 13, 1913, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded by 22 collegiate women at Howard University. These students wanted to use their collective strength to promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need. The first public act performed by the Delta Founders involved their participation in the Women’s Suffrage March in Washington D.C., March 1913. Delta Sigma Theta was incorporated in 1930. Today it has more than 200,000 members and 900 chapters in the United States, Germany, Korea, Japan and the Virgin Islands. The sorority provides community service nationally and locally around its five key areas: educational development, economic development, mental and physical health, international awareness and social and political action. Locally, its Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter has been making an impact and transforming lives in the community since January 27, 1945.
On Friday, January 7, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority-Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter will host members at its Founders Day Reception at the Hilton Garden Inn, located at 11600 W. Park Place beginning at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 8 at 11 a.m., Delta’s National First Vice President, Dr. Walker, will address members with an inspiring message based on the chapter’s Founders Day theme, “Rededicating Ourselves to the Ideals and Principles of our Founders.” In addition to Dr. Walker, Milwaukee members will honor Kimberly Eubanks as the 2011 Delta of the Year. The recognition is bestowed annually to a member whose leadership and contributions embody the sorority’s ideals and principles. On the following day, Sunday, Jan. 9, Delta members will meet at 10:45 a.m. to attend service at New Testament Church, located 10201 W. Bradley Rd.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.-Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter will accept checks for Founders Day through December 29. Checks should be made payable to and mailed to Milwaukee Alumnae Chapter, P.O. Box 18630, Milwaukee, WI 53218.
Rooney Mara in character as Salander on the cover of W (first picture)
WOW. I’m just speechless. This morning we have our first look at Rooney in character as Lisbeth Salander gracing the cover of the February 2011 issue of W magazine and she looks incredible. Take a look in the gallery and hopefully we get more soon!
David Fincher Gets The Girl
The darkly obsessive director of Fight Club and The Social Network takes on the biggest franchise since Harry Potter—The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. An exclusive first look from the set of the year’s most anticipated film.
n a dark, icy afternoon in late November, director David Fincher was in a photo studio in Stockholm adjusting blood. The blood, which was of course fake, covered the hands of a young actress named Rooney Mara, but to Fincher’s mind, which is prone to reimagining reality in cinematic terms, the bloody hands belonged to Lisbeth Salander, the heroine of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Salander—an androgynous, bisexual computer hacker with multiple piercings and a distinctive tattoo on her back—is the complicated star of Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” series, a trio of novels that have sold more than 50 million (and counting) copies worldwide. Larsson described Salander in opposites: slender but tough, “spidery” but elegant. Fincher, who is directing the American movie version of the first book in the series, has taken that gamine, biker-chick, downtown-girl template and tweaked it. Now she’s his.
The transformation began with the hair. Mara’s long brown mane was dyed black and cut in a series of jagged points that looked as if she had chopped it herself with a dull razor. The bangs were cropped very short and uneven, and the rest of the hair was layered into an extended shag. The final result was a mash-up of brazen Seventies punk and spooky Eighties goth with a dash of S&M temptress. That look, which could also describe Salander’s nature, was echoed in her wardrobe—a collection of ripped stockings, low garter belts, skintight leather, and heavy-soled boots. In all the angry, attractive darkness, Mara, who is 25, lithe, and petite, radiated an intriguing mix of menace and vulnerability. Fincher’s Lisbeth Salander, as channeled by Mara, is unique—a brilliant but childlike avenging angel with an understanding and an appreciation of violence. In essence, she’s a lot like her creator, David Fincher.
Tia Mowry and husband Cory Hardrict expecting first child
Tia Mowry, the other half of the 1990s sitcom “Sister, Sister” announced that she and her husband Cory Hardrict, her husband of two years, are expecting their first child.
Mowry, who can currently be seen on BET’s “The Game”, is expecting to deliver her bundle of joy on July 3.
This is the first child for both Mowry, 32, and Hardrict, 31.
Mowry and her sister, Tamera, can also be seen in their new reality show “Tia and Tamera Take 2″ for the Style Network
Actress Marion Cotillard pregnant with first child
Los Angeles premiere of 'Inception', at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. - Russ Einhorn / Splash News
Inception star Marion Cotillard is pregnant, according to US reports.
The Oscar-winning actress, 35, is set to welcome her first baby with her beau of three years, Guillaume Canet, who she met while filming the 2003 French film Love Me If You Dare.
She joins celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Natalie Portman, and singer Pink in the latest wave of Hollywood pregnancies.
A rep for the French actress confirmed the happy news to UsMagazine.com.
Cotillard, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in 2007’s La Vie En Rose, will also appear on screen later this year in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight In Paris.
Psycho Killer Smiles For Mug Shot And First Court Appearance – With Video
Jared Loughner, the man accused of the Tucson massacre that left six dead and injured 14 others, appeared in a packed courtroom today shackled and in khaki prison garb, appearing to smirk as he stood before the judge. Federal officials released Loughner’s mug shot, showing smiling into the camera despite hints of a black eye. “Yes, I am Jared Lee Loughner,” said Loughner, with a freshly shaved head, when the Judge Lawrence Anderson asked him to confirm his identity. Holding up a financial affidavit, Anderson asked the Loughner, “I can’t read your signature. I know how hard it is to sign with handcuffs on. Did you sign this?” Loughner, with a scar on the side of his head, leaned forward to look at the paper and responded, “”Yes I signed it. Mrs. Clarke did help me out.” Mrs. Clarke refers to his court appointed public defender, Judy Clarke. Every federal judge in the southern district of Arizona recused themselves from the case because one of Loughran’s alleged victims was federal judge John Roll. Clarke said that she objects to “further proceedings in Arizona” on behalf of Loughner, but did not object to her client being remanded without bail. The judge told the courtroom that Loughner was a “danger to the community” before saying, “Good to you” and adjourning the session. About 80 reporters and 25 federal marshalls packed the courtroom, which appeared to be void of any of Loughner’s relatives. Loughner’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 24. This is the first time Loughner has said anything since Saturday’s shooting. Investigators said that Loughner had refused to speak to them since his arrest. Loughner so far faces five federal charges, one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the United States and two counts of intent to kill employees of the United States. If convicted of murdering either of the federal employees, Loughner could be sentenced to death or be given life in prison. Among the injured is Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the target of alleged gunman Jared Loughner’s shooting rampage. Giffords remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma and with part of her skull removed to ease pressure on her brain.
Loughner has invoked his right to remain silent for the last 48 hours, saying “not a word,” Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said.
Dupnik said investigators believe Loughner acted alone and is not part of a broader conspiracy.
“This individual is a very troubled individual…who is a loner,” Dupnik said. “We’re still actively pursuing any activities that he might have been involved in. I’m not aware of any ties he had to any group.”
Giffords was hosting a “Congress on your Corner” event outside a Tucson Safeway grocery store Saturday when Loughner allegedly went on a shooting spree.
Public defenders are asking that renowned San Diego attorney Judy Clarke represent Loughner. She previously defended “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and convicted child killer Susan Smith.
Jared Loughner, the Tucson man accused of shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others Saturday, appeared in federal court Monday afternoon with a smirk on his lips and a red strawberry bruise on the right side of his forehead.
Loughner, 22, stood before U.S. Magistrate Lawrence Anderson and answered questions in a deep, resonant voice. He was wearing a tan detention uniform and his head looked shaven.
Anderson informed Loughner of the penalties he could face if he is found guilty of the crimes. He could receive a life or death sentence if convicted of the murders of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Gabe Zimmerman, a Giffords aide.
Loughner could receive up to life in prison if convicted of shooting Giffords, and up to 20 years in convicted in the shootings of two other congressional aides.
As expected, Anderson appointed noted defense attorney Judy Clarke of San Diego as Loughner’s attorney.
Clarke stood next to the defendant at the lectern, standing at least half a head higher than Loughner himself.
Clarke waived a detention hearing and Anderson, on the recommendation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst, remanded Loughner to detention pending a Jan. 24 hearing.
Federal judges from the Southern District of Arizona all recused themselves from hearing the case because Roll was their colleague. Clarke asked Anderson to exclude the rest of the Arizona bench as well.
“There is great concern with proceeding any further than today with Arizona judges,” Clarke said.
Clarke also asked that the U.S Attorney’s Office in Phoenix be conflicted out of the case.
Anderson told her to file the appropriate motions.
As the hearing ended, Anderson turned to the defendant and said, “Good luck to you, Mr. Loughner. We are adjourned.”
Police officers and Department of Homeland Security agents were deployed all afternoon around the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse in Phoenix, where Loughner made his initial appearance at 2 p.m.
Loughner also is expected to face a series of charges in state courts.
Well before the time of his initial appearance, roughly half a dozen officers and their vehicles were posted outside the courthouse along with local police in small groups.
Nearby, members of the local and national media clustered under trees and a bank of cameras was standing sentry outside the courthouse at Fourth Avenue and Washington Street.
There did not appear to be any protesters, though there were a few curious bystanders.
Among the curious was Marilou Fellman, 61, of Phoenix, who had been called downtown to jury duty at another courthouse. During a 15-minute break, she walked to the federal courts to observe the activity.
“I’m grief stricken, as many Arizonans and Americans are,” Fellman said.
