Bell Media nabs 'Seinfeld' streaming video rights for 'Project Latte' service

TORONTO - Serenity now -- "Seinfeld" is headed to Bell Media's new streaming video service.

The company said Friday that it had struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television for the Canadian exclusive subscription streaming rights for the classic sitcom.

Bell Media made the announcement while revealing its comedy slate for its new streaming video service "Project Latte."

All nine seasons of the show about nothing will be available on "Project Latte," along with every episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Frasier," "Cheers" and "Corner Gas."

The service will also feature current comedies including "The Big Bang Theory," "The Goldbergs," "The Millers" and "Spun Out," as well as Comedy Central shows including "Inside Amy Schumer" and "The Sarah Silverman Program."

The deal marks the first time "Seinfeld" will be available on a North American streaming video on demand platform.

Bell Media is the parent company of CTV News.

Bill Cosby's Treasure Island show in Vegas canceled

Two upcoming gigs are gone for Bill Cosby.

Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas will no longer feature Cosby in a Nov. 28 show.

Michelle Knoll, senior vice president of communications at Treasure Island, says in a statement that "by mutual agreement" the show has been canceled. Ticket holders will be issued refunds.

"It wasn't a good time" for the performance, Knoll told AP, as allegations continue to pile up about the comedian.

And an April 11 show at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Ill., has also been canceled.

Still, the cancellation is somewhat surprising, given that Cosby performed Thursday night in the Bahamas and the show seemed to be well-received. A show set for Friday night in Melbourne, Fla., is still going on as scheduled.

Also nixed: NBC has dropped a deal for a Cosby sitcom, and TV Land has pulled all reruns of The Cosby Show. Additionally, his Netflix Nov. 28 special has been postponed.

On Friday, at least two more women came forward with Cosby stories:

• Model/actress Angela Leslie, 52, tells the New York Daily News Cosby forced her to fondle him in a Las Vegas hotel suite in 1992.

• Former talent agency secretary Kristina Ruehli, 71, now a New Hampshire grandmother to seven, tells PhillyMag.com that in 1965 she went to Cosby's home for a party, but she was the only guest. She says he drugged her and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

Cosby's lawyer, Marty Singer, said Thursday of the growing claims, "We've reached the point of absurdity."

Netflix postpones launch of Cosby comedy special

ANGELES (AP) - Netflix said it is postponing Bill Cosby's upcoming standup comedy special, a decision that followed a growing number of allegations that the famed entertainer sexually assaulted women.
In a brief statement late Tuesday, the company said the scheduled Nov. 27 premiere of the special, "Bill Cosby 77," was being postponed but did not address why or when it might debut. The company had no further comment, a spokeswoman said.
The move came within hours of an interview that "Entertainment Tonight" aired with Janice Dickinson, in which the model and TV host alleged that Cosby sexually assaulted her after a 1982 hotel dinner meeting in Lake Tahoe, California.
Cosby agrees with the Netflix action, his publicist, David Brokaw, said in an email Tuesday. He did not elaborate, and there was no immediate comment regarding Dickinson's allegations.

It's the first indication that Cosby, who had enjoyed a robust comedy concert schedule and has been in talks with NBC for a new sitcom, may be seeing serious fallout from a dark chapter that appeared to be behind him.

There had been only two TV talk show appearances affected. He postponed an interview on Queen Latifah's daytime talk show and confirmed that he would not be making a scheduled appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman."

NBC has not commented in recent months on the status of the sitcom that would feature the African-American TV groundbreaker (with "The Cosby Show") as a family patriarch.

Cosby, who was never criminally charged in any case, settled a civil suit in 2006 with another woman over an alleged incident two years before.

But in recent weeks a fellow comic, Hannibal Buress, called Cosby a "rapist" during a Philadelphia performance. Two other women emerged as accusers, including Barbara Bowman, who wrote an online Washington Post piece.

Cosby has remained silent, and his attorney, John P. Schmitt, issued a statement Sunday saying his client would not dignify "decade-old, discredited" claims of sexual abuse with a response. Schmitt later exempted the 2006 civil case from the blanket statement.

Dickinson told the TV newsmagazine that she wrote about the assault in her 2002 autobiography, "No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel," but that Cosby and his lawyers pressured her and the publisher to remove the details.

Priyanka Chopra wants to be a zombie

She is someone who enjoys the star status in Bollywood but the critically-acclaimed actress Priyanka Chopra wishes to become a zombie for their inability to feel.

The actress took to social networking site Twitter to express her peculiar wish.

“I too want to be a zombie… Easy life must be when u don’t feel… Or at least it seems so while u r in zombie land!” she tweeted Nov 18.

Priyanka, who has shown her acting calibre in films including “Barfi!” and “Mary Kom”, has now started shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Bajirao Mastani”, which also stars Ranveer Singh.

“Make up-check, hair-check, wardrobe-check, lines-check! Brains… foggy! In so many ways! Gliding to set! #BajiraoMastani,” she further posted.

Meanwhile, the actress has also attended the big fat wedding of the Bollywood’s “Dabangg” star Salman Khan’s sister Arpita. The 32-year-old actress wished the couple a blissful future.

“Mere yaar ki shaadi thi… @khanarpita I wish you love that is like a beautiful song… from the beginning to the end… A lifetime of joy…” she tweeted Nov 18.

Arpita tied the knot with businessman Aayush Sharma on a star-studded evening in Hyderabad Tuesday.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/i-too-want-to-be-a-zombie-priyanka-chopra/#sthash.SxIardKd.dpuf

Amitabh Bachchan to inaugurate 45th IFFI on Thursday; festival to showcase films from 79 nations

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be inaugurating the 45th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Thursday, kicking off the 11-day cinematic extravaganza which will screen 178 foreign films in various categories.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for I&B,Rajyavardhan Rathore will be present at the function to be held at Dr Shamaprasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao village here.

Superstar Rajinikanth would be honoured with the special centenary award for his contribution to Indian cinema. The festival will open with Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf's film 'The President', about a dictator who comes face to face with the people he previously subjugated.

Director of Film Festival, Shankar Mohan said in the run up to the festival, the organizers received 650 foreign film entries, which were screened by a preview committee that finally selected 178 best films from 79 countries.

"We have sourced some brilliant films this time which won awards at Cannes, Berlin and other film festivals," the director said. In what is a record of sorts, Mohan said, in this edition, 28 films which competed for the coveted Academy awards (Oscars) will be screened during the festival.

The organizers have also drawn a list of 50 must-watch films, he added. The festival will have 20 international and 91 Indian premiers including some films which are showcased in the Indian Panorama section, the director said.

'Cinema of the World' section will screen 61 films. In international cinema section, films by 12 masters will be screened, while the festival kaleidoscope will showcase 20 films.

A special section on documentaries comprising six films is also the highlight of the festival, while in the 'Soul of Asia' section seven outstanding films have been selected for exhibition.

Abhishek Bachchan wants Farah Khan to make ’Happy New Year’ sequel

Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachcahn expressed his desire to work again with Farah Khan. Bachchan said he and the entire team of ‘Happy New Year’ is pressurizing director Farah Khan to make a sequel of the heist comedy.

In Happy New Year, Abhishek plays the role of ‘Nandu’, a tapori who is involved in the heist that forms the crux of the film. His act was loved by the audience and many on social media, deeming him as the 'real star' of the movie.

According to media reports ‘Dhoom’ star said, “I think everybody is pressurizing Farah because everybody wants to get back as a team to work again and we had a great time while filming. But as she said that she has to come up with a good story. Right now she is on a long overdue break so we are letting her enjoy. Once she is back with her thinking hat, then we can pressurize her again”.

When asked about his work experience with director Farah Khan, Jr. Bachchan said, “You can't compare two creative people. It is incorrect. Farah is a brilliant director. She is my favourite. I love what she stands for. I love her cinema. I love the way she makes the cinema. She believes in unabashed entertainment”.

‘Happy New Year’ has earned more than 350 crore on the box office worldwide, Starring Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone along with Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, and Vivaan Shah.

Chris Hemsworth Is People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’

It pays to be the (former) president of the “Handsome Men’s Club.”

Jimmy Kimmel was given the exclusive honor of revealing People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2014 on his late-night show last night. No, he didn’t win, but he sure made guessing a lot of fun for his in-studio audience. With the newly crowned Sexiest Man Alive appearing via Skype in a plain white T-shirt and cargo pants, his face hidden by a People magazine cover and his voice distorted Darth Vader-style, the audience was given the chance to guess his identity by asking “yes” or “no” questions.

“If you guess correctly, the sexiest man alive will make love to you,” Kimmel teased.

Since McConaughey fever has been sweeping the nation all year, it wasn’t surprising that the second question posed was, “Do you just feel like driving a Lincoln?” Kimmel was quick to dismiss any hope of a repeat win for the Academy Award winner though: “No! Matthew McConaughey has won enough awards this year.”

Eventually, the audience narrowed the winner down to someone “not born in the USA,” “has played a superhero in a movie” and who “has a famous sibling.” And when the winner said “yes” to the question, “Does your superhero use a hammer?” that’s when the crowd went wild in anticipation. The Sexiest Man Alive was then asked, “Are youChris Hemsworth?” The answer was in the affirmative and the star of the “Thor” and“Avengers” franchises immediately removed the cover mask to accept his trophy: a golden mirror.

Hemsworth thanked his parents for “putting this together” and assured the audience that the Sexiest Man Alive title is not based solely on looks: “This is based on an IQ test,” he said. “Not just physical appearance.”