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In an effort to modify their services for the social media age, Nielsen has announced a plan to measure TV-related tweets. The worldwide information gathering and measurement company released an announcement for its Twitter TV Ratings measurement yesterday, which cited the increasingly close relationship between Twitter activity and television shows. This development is the first of its kind. No other company has made the effort to measure and analyze the total activity of TV-related conversation on Twitter.

Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings will measure the number of people tweeting about TV programs as well as the number of people who view those tweets. The measurements will be delivered in two formats, called SocialGuide Intelligence and Nielsen National TV View. Furthermore, the company will produce a top ten list that will rank the best-performing episodes of the week. Analysis of Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings has already produced some interesting findings. Yesterday’s press release revealed,

“the Twitter TV audience for an episode is, on average, 50 times larger than the authors who are generating Tweets. For example, if 2,000 people are tweeting about a program, 100,000 people are seeing those Tweets.”

Findings such as these may prove valuable to advertisers, networks, and other vital stakeholders in the television industry.

Nielsen’s decision to start measuring Twitter activity is certainly a smart move, given how much social media has grown and developed in the last few years. However, I have concerns about the methodology and how the information will be interpreted. A simple count of tweets alone is not enough to accurately measure how people are reacting to a television show. It’s a classic case of quality versus quantity. For example, AMC debuted Low Winter Sun after Breaking Bad in an attempt to woo viewers from the latter’s audience. Plenty of people tweeted about Low Winter Sun, but the overwhelming majority of these tweets were vehemently hostile. Most of the tweets I saw were some variant of, “WHO CARES ABOUT THIS TERRIBLE SHOW?! GIVE ME MORE BREAKING BAD! #lowwintersunsucks.” Obviously, tweets of this type should not count as positive buzz for Low Winter Sun. It appears that for now at least, Nielsen’s measurements will disregard context and simply count tweets and their views. This procedure may skew results and could produce less-than-accurate analyses. Hopefully, a more context-sensitive measurement system is in the company’s short-term plans.

What do you think about Nielsen’s new measurement program? How should the company study and analyze tweets? Give us your thoughts in the comments!

Source: IGN

Looks like new Star Wars stuff is coming out sooner than we thought!

It was only a few months ago that Lucasfilm announced their animation studio would be developing a new animated series, and now the production company has released a teaser for Star Wars Rebels, as reported by ComingSoon.net. The show will take place between Episodes III and IV and deal with the forming of the Rebellion, as well as the plight of the few remaining Jedi Knights as they stand defiant against the Galactic Empire. It will be made and released by Lucasfilm Animation, who just recently wrapped up their previous series The Clone Wars, and is set to première next fall as a one-hour special on the Disney Channel that will lead into the actual series on Disney XD across the globe.

As a life-long fan of Star Wars, I’ve been excited to see Rebels the moment it was announced. The brief length of this teaser, however, doesn’t really alter my excitement either way. It only pays homage to one of the most oft-repeated visual cues from A New Hope and doesn’t show much else. As for the grating voice of the teaser’s narrator, it’s not that much different from what I hear whenever I flip to Disney XD, so I assume that it won’t reflect the quality of the show as some people are suggesting. All in all, Lucasfilm shouldn’t have put out this teaser just yet, as they lacked anything of worth to show to get people pumped up. Sure, the series isn’t coming out until next year and they want people to keep this in mind, but I would have preferred it if they released this or something with more meat to it later down the line, maybe in January. That way, the wait for Rebels, as well as 2015’s Episode VII, won’t seem as agonizingly long.

What do you guys think? Does the teaser change your view of the show thus far? Do you think they put it out too early? Post your thoughts in the comments below!

Via ComingSoon.net

Just in case you are one of those people that use OMG as an actual word, remember that the origins came from a popular internet acronym that stood for “Oh My Godzilla.” Yes fellow OOUies, if you haven’t been living under a cliche idiom, you would know that Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures are hard at work on… Rebooting? Reinterpreting? Re-imagining? Re-somethening, the Godzilla franchise. A concept trailer created before production was leaked from Comic-Con, and before the studios asked all the sites to take it down, I was lucky enough to catch it! If you haven’t seen it, there is a chance you can still catch it here, although don’t be surprised if the studios bring down the hammer on that video as well. The teaser itself is rather interesting, and is worthy of analyzing. So let’s put on our professor specs, my lovelies. (If you aren’t able to see the trailer, I shall do my best to give you a visual via my poor vocabulary!)

Disclaimer: I am not entirely well-versed in the Godzilla mythos, nor am I an expert on Japanese culture. So if I say anything wrong, or there is additional information about this reboot you want me to know about, leave a comment please! Also feel free to crucify me…

The first thing to note is within the opening when the Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures logos are shown. They both don’t have their distinct trademark style, but instead have a kind of Japanese flare to them. The company names seem to have been written by a samurai using brush strokes. At first glance, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal. However, if you scour the internet, you’ll see posters of the film with some Japanese calligraphy in the background. I do not know what this is implying necessarily, but what I can guess is that it is going to lean more towards the original Japanese Gojira films. By that, I mean that this isn’t a reboot of Roland Emmerich’s masterpiece (Man, there really needs to be a sarcasm font). It seems that they are trying REALLY hard to separate this film from the travesty that was made in 1998, and putting in that Japanese flavor was probably done to attract the die hard Gojira fans by saying, “Oh yeah, we mean business.” Which leads us to our next point of interest: the direction.

Judging by the collage of shots given to us in the teaser, what we see is what looks like the aftermath of a cold-blooded attack (Get it? It’s because he’s a reptile). There are huge gaping holes in buildings, and the bodies of people are scattered across the grounds. These images are accompanied by a bleak soundtrack and monologue, which suggests that the tone of this film is going to be dark and serious. By that, I mean the premise of a radioactive lizard that grows into a giant rampaging monster with fire/laser breath that wreaks havok on the city will be done with a straight face. With all honesty as ridiculous as that sounds, if that were to actually happen it would be quite terrifying. No more is that camp factor that everyone enjoyed about the originals, we’re gonna get a Godzilla with a HUGE pair of swinging anatomically correct nuts. Again, it seems like they are trying to distance themselves from Godzilla (1998), because… well you already know. But let’s get to the thing you really care about. The real thing you are wondering about. What does Godzilla look like?

When I mentioned that “we’re gonna get a Godzilla with a HUGE pair of swinging anatomically correct nuts,” I meant that both figuratively and literally. This Godzilla… is freaking GARGANTUAN. It seems like this is probably the biggest Godzilla we have seen (Again, I may be wrong). His design is also pretty intense. He really looks like something that mutated from an earthly creature, and not like a guy in a rubber suit or an alien like the previous film. They really went for the big scale (because yeah, he’s a lizard) on this one.

Final thoughts: At first, I wasn’t too thrilled about another Godzilla film coming out, because quite frankly, Godzilla isn’t something that really grabbed my interest. I know that it has spawned a whole culture and that there is an incredibly passionate community out there, the franchise itself just really wasn’t for me. That, on top of giant monsters/aliens/robots fatigue made me cringe when they announced that another one of these will be coming out. Additionally, a red flag here is that it is a reboot/remake. However, this trailer was pretty enticing and grabbed my attention for a little bit, and the main argument I’ve always used against Hollywood remakes of foreign films being terrible would be Martin Scorsese’s own The Departed. So right now, I am cautiously interested. Also, Bryan Cranston is going to be in this movie. So I look forward to seeing him ingesting radioactive meth making him as giant as Godzilla and having the ultimate smackdown.

So fellow OOUies, have you seen the trailer? What did you think of it? Am I full of crap? What are your favorite giant monster/alien/robot movies? Whatever it is, comment below, let One of Us know!

Trailer watched via 4 Geeks Like You Facebook Page

Image used via Splatter-Shack

Welcome to episode 2 of INTERN-net News, with your Host Chris Harrison!

There is a vast pool of exciting news every week, and in our effort to bring you brand new, engaging content join me as I discuss the weekly news and gossip in film, TV, comic books and anything else that gets us talking.

This week’s news includes 24 characters return for Live Another Day, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch casting in Avengers 2, the possibility of a Mass Effect movie, a Brian Salisbury cameo, disappearing jackets and much more.

Most importantly, this show is all about you. Get involved in the discussion, tell us what you think about these stories and if there’s a story you want to create conversation about then throw a question my way either on Twitter or right here each week.

Tell your friends to join The INTERN-Net!

Follow Chris on Twitter: @Chris_Harrison_

After a lengthy selection process, necessitated by an influx of outstanding candidates, we proudly present the OneOfUs.Net interns! They’ll be providing daily news coverage on the site as well as other exciting features. We are so pleased to have each of them joining our team, and we know they will be a vital part of the growth of the site. In fact, we believe they will inevitably take over the web by uniting as the mighty INTERN-Net…which is how we fondly refer to them. Learn a little bit more about them and please offer them a hearty welcome and your congratulations.

Dimitry Pompee (Associate News Editor)

Dimitry is a seasoned researcher, a public media enthusiast, a lifelong gamer, and a fanatical technophile. While he holds degrees in political science, public policy, and legislative affairs from two of the nation’s finest universities, Dimitry is most proud of his Bachelor of Chiptune awarded by the chip-punk gods of Anamanaguchi. Additionally, Dimitry regularly spends far too much money on movies, video games, graphic novels, music, and the rest of his geeky passions. After a brief stint as a podcast host and a summer working with National Public Radio’s Intelligence Squared U.S., Dimitry is making his triumphant return to media as a member of the OneOfUs crew. Follow Dimitry on Twitter.

Angelo Eularia (News Desk)

Born in the fiery pits of California, and raised in the wilderness of Washington, Angelo Elauria is one weird dude. He is currently attending the University of Washington, located in the little rainy city of Seattle. Working on his B.A. degree (which stands for BAD ASS) in bs… err Psychology, he hopes to one day brain bang you. He aspires to one day become a film director/writer, however, being a nerd comes first. He really loves everything creative and clever: Film. Animation. Television. Architecture. Video games. Robots. Gummy Bears. Robotic Gummy Bears. There isn’t anything that will fascinate him if he stops to really think about it.

Caitlin Turner (News Desk)

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Caitlin Turner was destined to be a geek since the moment her father shoved a gaming controller in her hand at the age of two. Since then Caitlin has received two associate degrees in computer forensics. With a love for practically anything geeky, cute, or classified as horror she has gained one very odd collection. She can usually be found writing, enjoying one of her interests, or just chilling out with her friends.

John Eckes (News Desk)

Nine months before John was born his parents had sex. Born and raised in the cultural bubble that is the far Upper-Midwest, geek culture was John’s outlet to the outside world. John’s love of imagination and storytelling led him to passionately embrace the worlds of comics, TV, and film. It is a source of constant joy in John’s life that he wakes up every day with new avenues of geekdom to explore. In his brief stint on the planet, John has been everything from a dishwasher to a soldier serving a single tour in Iraq. John graduated from the University of North Dakota with a BA in English and currently resides in Grand Forks, ND, where he does stuff (and also things).

Luke Crum (News Desk)

Hailing from the Midwest, Luke has a wide variety of interests but has a strong passion for movies and craft beer. His interest in beer leads many to believe he has a drinking problem, but also inspired him to dabble into home brewing. Luke is also fulfilling a degree in Communication Arts and enjoys making family members uncomfortable with his creative writing projects. Lastly and tragically as a Chicago Cubs fan he spends most of October in a fetal position on the couch watching Rookie of the Year.

Mason Daniel (News Desk)

Born in Pennsylvania and settled in Connecticut, Mason is a consumer of all things cinema whose appreciation ranges from the arthouse to the mainstream. Hoping to break into either filmmaking or film journalism, he currently bides his time fleshing out his tastes and critiquing skills by writing about what he watches and what’s on the horizon. Be easy on him, though — he’s still a rookie of sorts! You can follow Mason on Twitter and Letterboxd

Thomas Mariani (News Desk)

Thomas Mariani is a born geek, with a bit of nerd mixed in here & there. A native of the (less) swampy parts of Florida, Thomas has always been a fan of films, television & other sources of media ever since he was a child, having been raised on Jim Henson, Star Wars and the basic cable cartoons of the ’90s & ’00s. He already has experience writing and podcasting about pop culture, which you can read/listen to on sites like www.widescreenwarrior.com, www.tvtalk.com, www.horrornews.net and www.docrotten.com.

Cory Drake (Audio Editing Intern)

Cory Drake was born as part of a formerly top-secret experiment in the Silicon Valley. I say “formerly top-secret” because those files have recently been declassified. It can now be confirm that Baby Drake (or “Bay-Dray,” as he was code-named) was the beta version of Google. Cory was spoon-fed a steady diet of comic books, sci-fi, and insect erotica from the time he was crotch-high to a grasshopper. This lent him a unique perspective on pop culture, lycra, and cicada boobies that is unparalleled to this day. Notable accomplishments include contributions in the fields of comedic improvisation, dialects, stage combat, rasslin’, lovin’, and rassle-lovin’. If you want to learn more about The Man Formerly Known as Bay-Dray, just do a web search. But use Bing, because Current Google is the jealous type and still gets a little pissy if you mention him.

Fabio Sequeira (Audio Editing Intern)

Born in Portugal, currently living in São Paulo Brazil, this young man grew up with only one role model: Spider-Man. Thus began his journey to becoming a huge dork. Now he lives his life by himself, working as a freelance software developer. He is a college graduate and continuously studies several of his favorite subjects: movies, comics, anime, books, philosophy, politics, sports, podcasts and music. A point guard for 5 years, he has a passion for basketball. He is currently the bass player for the band “The Agane Vengeance” and has several solo projects. Follow Fabio on Twitter and Facebook!

After the recent debacle that was David E. Kelly’s leaked Wonder Woman pilot (to call it toxic would be polite), it looks like the bigwigs at Warner Bros. are eager to give Princess Diana another shot.

While speaking at the USC Gould School of Law, WB Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara briefly touched upon his belief that the company should make more television shows and films based on DC Comics’ properties. Specifically, the CEO went on to say “We need to get Wonder Woman on the big screen or TV.”

Wonder Woman is not only part of DC Comics’ “Trinity” (the other two members being Superman and Batman), but is the most recognizable heroine in all of comics. Brian Azzarelo’s current run remains one of the brighter and better selling spots of the “New 52.” Wonder Woman has more heat behind her than she has had in years, so it only makes sense that Warner Bros. would try to capitalize on the increased interest. Still, it is wise to remain skeptical. The mixed fan reactions to the CW’s Arrow and Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel show that while Warner Bros. is willing, its ability to bring DC’s superheroes to both the big and small screens successfully is spotty at best.

Would Wonder Woman make a good cinematic film? Should she stick to TV or even just comic books? Sound off below!

Via Latino Review

We may have seen the last of Heisenberg on AMC’s hit show Breaking Bad, but Bryan Cranston is taking his Emmy-winning talents to the Broadway stage. Cranston will be playing the role of President Lyndon B. Johnson in All the Way when the $3.5 million play makes its way to Broadway. Cranston alone remains the only confirmed casting addition. The hope is that his presence will boost ticket sales for the Broadway production following his phenomenal performance in five seasons of Breaking Bad as the drug kingpin, Walter White.

The play will take place during the first year of Johnson’s presidency following the Kennedy assassination, but will also lean heavily on his involvement in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan penned the play, which is finishing up a sold out run in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Critics have described Cranston’s as “strong” in the role while the play itself has received “mixed” reviews.

At three hours, All the Way will be one of the longest productions on Broadway in years. Personally, I have never been much of a theater geek. Despite this, I think anything Cranston attaches his name to right now will be worth checking out given Breaking Bad‘s critical acclaim. Cranston has the ability to command almost every scene he is in and I have no doubt that seeing his performance unfold live on stage will be nothing short of mesmerizing. Performances are tentatively scheduled to start in the winter, but nothing has been confirmed at this point.

Does Bryan Cranston’s involvement in this show grab your attention? Are there any other projects you would like to see him in, now that Breaking Bad has concluded? Let us know below!

Via: The New York Times – Arts Beat

I spend a lot of time both viewing and participating in Theatre. I’ve always found myself rather disinterested in Broadway shows (both in the US and here in the UK), especially the growing trend of musicals based on films, TV and books. Legally Blonde, Matilda, Lion King, Spider-Man, the list goes on and on. It concerns me when there are so many fantastic playwrights and original source material out there.

Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho is the latest property to be getting the musical treatment. The book, set in the 1980’s tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a New York investment banker whose sanity begins to dramatically unravel and he subsequently begins a rather brutal killing spree. The book was of course famously adapted to film in 2000, starring Christian Bale in one of his most iconic roles (followed up by an exceptionally poor sequel).

This new, musical adaptation opening at the end of this year at the Almeida Theatre in London has cast its own Patrick Bateman in none other than Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith. Whilst the decision to turn American Psycho into a musical baffles me completely, I do think this is an interesting casting choice. Smith has shown a lot of potential in Doctor Who; he demonstrated a very much subdued performance with bursts of anger, emotion and passion that could potentially transfer into an unraveling psycho quite well. It is also important for Smith to take on diverse roles that push him as a performer once he departs from Doctor Who to break away from it, and this could certainly do that if nothing else.

What do you make of Matt Smith playing Bateman? Could you ever look forward to a musical American Psycho? Sound off in the comments below!

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24431026

After a short two episode run, ABC has decided to end Lucky 7, making the lottery drama the first show to be canceled this television season.

The freshman program encountered significant difficulties from its inception. Lucky 7 premiered to 4.4 million viewers and scored a meager 1.3 rating among adults aged 18-49, a vital demographic. This premiere was one of the worst in the network’s history. The second episode fared even worse, dropping to 2.6 million viewers and a miserable 0.7 rating. It has been reported that the latest episode’s dismal performance led to ABC’s decision to drop the drama from its programming schedule.

An American adaptation of a British television program, Lucky 7 was the tale of seven lowly New Yorkers who won millions from a shared lottery ticket and presumably would have followed them as they struggled with the problems associated with sudden wealth. In place of Lucky 7, ABC will air reruns of its hit drama Scandal in the 10:00 time slot on Tuesdays.

To be frank, I don’t know what ABC was expecting from this show other than failure. The network seemed to willingly ignore a number of impediments that contributed to Lucky 7‘s demise. First, there was barely any advertisement for it. I only knew this show existed because there was a one-second spot for it at the end of a commercial for the rest of the Tuesday night lineup. Second, there were no noteworthy actors, directors, writers, or producers to draw in viewers. ABC needed to have some high-profile names behind this show if it expected people to stay tuned in late Tuesday nights. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a clear example of how to bring in viewers for a new show. Fans of Joss Whedon and the Marvel cinematic universe showed up in droves for its premiere. While it would be unreasonable to expect Lucky 7 to match that level of passion, it didn’t have a notable “something” or “someone” to pull in more viewers. Finally, I don’t believe the premise resonated with viewers. With a number of Americans suffering the consequences of a long-term economic downturn, a show about the hardships of the newly rich wasn’t likely to be attractive to the average viewer. Given these problems, Lucky 7‘s poor performance is certainly not a surprise.

Do you have any thoughts about ABC canceling this show? Do you have a prediction about the next casualty of this television season? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Thought the reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise was unnecessary? Well, don’t worry, the Green Goblin thinks it was too!

In an interview with Total Film promoting the upcoming video game Beyond: Two Souls, actor Willem Dafoe, who played the role of Norman Osborn/the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s trilogy of Spider-Man films, was asked what he thought of 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Claiming he had not seen the film, Dafoe nevertheless picked apart the logistics of rebooting the franchise so soon after its last instalment, saying that it looked as if it was “the same story” and that Sony’s decision was “a cynical approach to making money”. He went on to cite the purity of Raimi’s trilogy, saying that its “genuine innocence” had become harder to capture when it had gained “some kind of attention and a certain level of success”. Dafoe then stated that he had no interest in seeing The Amazing Spider-Man or any subsequent films in the series, and felt indifferent to actor Chris Cooper playing his former role of Osborn in the upcoming 2014 sequel.

Well, it had to happen eventually. The announcement in early 2010 of Sony rebooting Spider-Man came as an absolute shock to me, and it was only a matter of time until I had to see someone from the previous incarnation of the film franchise give their take on it. While I didn’t mind Marc Webb’s retelling of Peter Parker’s origin story, I wasn’t quite enamoured with it either, and Dafoe’s thoughts pretty much echo my problems with the reboot from a marketing standpoint. Even though I thought the series needed an overhaul anyway, I feel it’s justified for people like Dafoe or anyone who worked on the Raimi trilogy to vent their annoyances, as their hard work seemed to be discarded too soon in order to put a fresh image out for everyone’s favourite web-slinger. In the meantime, however, maybe they should look back on the reaction to Spider-Man 3 and see why exactly the idea of a reboot was thrown out there.

Via Total Film

What do you guys think? Do you agree with Dafoe, or do you think he’s being a curmudgeon? Should crew members of past incarnations of franchises have the right to criticize the current one? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Nielsen Is Reading Your TV Tweets

Begun, the promotion for ‘Star Wars Rebels’ has

Oh My God-zilla: A Reaction to the Comic-Con Trailer

Youtube: INTERN-net News Episode 2

Welcome to episode 2 of INTERN-net News, with your Host Chris Harrison!

There is a vast pool of exciting news every week, and in our effort to bring you brand new, engaging content join me as I discuss the weekly news and gossip in film, TV, comic books and anything else that gets us talking.

This week’s news includes 24 characters return for Live Another Day, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch casting in Avengers 2, the possibility of a Mass Effect movie, a Brian Salisbury cameo, disappearing jackets and much more.

Most importantly, this show is all about you. Get involved in the discussion, tell us what you think about these stories and if there’s a story you want to create conversation about then throw a question my way either on Twitter or right here each week.

Tell your friends to join The INTERN-Net!

Presenting The OneOfUs.Net Interns!

Wonder Woman May Yet Lasso Herself A TV Show

Bryan Cranston Is The One Who Knocks, On Broadway

Matt Smith turns American Psycho

And the First Show To Be Canceled This Season Is…

Former ‘Spider-Man’ villain questions reboot