The following post is aimed at my fellow international readers who might have read my previous Visa Breakdown and would like to know just a little more about that lottery thingy, also known as DV-2010 this year: registration is now open.
This year, the DV lottery is catching up with technology, offering for the first time clear knowledge of whether or not you were selected, online. Indeed, in previous years, you either received a notification letter, or you didn’t. Maybe the letter was lost in the mail. Anyway, this year, you will be able next July to look online if you were indeed selected or not.
As for the application itself, as always, it is very easy. The most tricky part might be the photo ID you have to produce. The difficulty lies in the various criteria you have to respect, which is not always easy to say the least. More info on that over here.
For you Firefox users, you should definitely go over to the SSL Entry rather than the Standard Entry (they have some coding problem over there).
Remember that registration is totally free and ends Dec. 1.
If you still have questions, there’s a 99.9% chance that this document will answer it.
So there was an all new Life last night and guess what I saw during the episode?
This is not an actual gym as some of you might have guessed. It is actually the Paley Center’s lobby (formerly the Museum of TV & Radio), where I attended a couple of weeks ago the great Fall Preview Parties (including ironically a showing of the Life season premiere). They were probably low on money and quickly wanted a Beverly Hills decor.
Now that’s called recycling.
But I have to admit, the building is gorgeous. If you’re in LA and/or plan to visit the city you definitely need to go there ASAP.
I saw the first 2 episodes of the show last night. I thought they were pretty good, lots of potential (character-wise and story-wise). All new characters (hence a thematic link rather than a character spin-off), including Denis Hooper’s who has a really cool storyline (Emmy anyone?). I love the cast. It is certainly not your average cop show, dealing more with characters rather than cases, all in a more blunt fashion. You really fell for them and get to witness their journey through life. And the end of Episode 2 is just awesome. A really interesting start for this brand new Starz show.
So is everyone getting on the “TV Show” wagon now?
Looks like the current crisis is giving some execs development ideas. 2009 will be all around world-changing and/or cataclysmic events. In movies (with a lot of remakes/adaptations such as TDTESS, Blindness, World War Z) and especially on TV. Indeed, in the last few days 3 new shows have been ordered and they seem to be quite timely, to say the least.
First up, The Return, by Greg Berlanti (creator of Everwood and Eli Stone) and René Echevarria (creator of The 4400), which, as the name may or may not imply, will delve into the “return” of aliens on Earth and the effects it has on the world.
Second, we have Flash Forward. No, this is not a Lost spin-off, although it will most likely be televised right after the Island-show. David S. Goyer (writer of the Blade trilogy as well as Batman Begins and TDK’s story) and Brannon Braga (creator of Star Trek Enterprise) co-wrote the script based on Robert J. Sawyer’s novel. The show will tell the story of the world blacking out for two minutes as they are collectively having a horrifying vision of what is coming in 20 years (Paris Hilton President?) due to scientific experiments gone terribly wrong. Braga and Goyer tried to take the show to HBO, which liked the concept but passed on it. Then there was this bidding war between ABC and FOX where the former won.
Last but not least we have Americatown. And guess what, the show will revolve around the exodus of the American populace around the world 20–25 years from now when a terrible financial crisis plunges the U.S. into decline. The writer behind this is Bradford Winters with lots of big names behind, like Tom Fontana, Barry Levinson, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.
Two other TV news:
Huge congrats to Jane for finally getting her own show (picked up last week — 11 hours including the 2h pilot — for a July premiere)!
There’s also a set date for “The U.S. of Tara” premiere: Jan. 18. Mark your calendars.
I, for one, am looking forward to next year’s shows.
