By   Tue, Aug 18, 2009

  

 As Americans, do we really know and understand our shared and complicated history?  How do we recall the small details and forgotten players that influenced some of the biggest events from America’s past? Will our children actually get the “real” or whole story from reading history books? And how will it affect the future of our country?

 Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone is creating and executive producing a new, ten episode documentary series entitled OLIVER STONE’S SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICA, which will premiere on SHOWTIME in 2010.  The announcement was made today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

"We are very happy that Oliver Stone has chosen SHOWTIME as the home for his provocative series about key unknown moments of American history,” said Greenblatt.  “Not only has his name become synonymous with visionary filmmaker, but Oliver is also a fascinating storyteller always striving to shed new light on the human experience.  His continuing curiosity about real events of the 20th Century has now led him to a documentary series unlike any other, which is why it's perfect for our premium audience." 

Narrated by Stone, the new one-hour series will feature episodes that focus on human events, that at the time went under-reported, but crucially shaped America’s unique and complex history over the last 60 years.  Stone and a small group of historians and archivists have meticulously combed through the national archives of the U.S., Russia, South Africa, England, and Japan in search of papers, letters, memoranda, film, and photographs to assist in their documentation of unknown historical figures and events that have rarely, if ever, been revealed. 

 Topics range from President Harry Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on  Japan to the origins and reasons for the Cold War with the Soviet Union, to the fierce struggle between war and peace in America’s national security complex.  Newly discovered facts and accounts from the Kennedy administration, the Vietnam War, and the great changes in America’s role in the world since the fall of Communism in the 1980s will be presented.

By Missy Lee   Sun, Jul 19, 2009

 

The documentary special will be the momentous conclusion to the “Best. 20 Years. Ever.,” a year-long global celebration of THE SIMPSONS that launched in January 2009 and culminates on the 20^th anniversary of the series’ debut.

In THE SIMPSONS 20^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL IN 3-D ON ICE, Spurlock will examine the cultural phenomenon of THE SIMPSONS in his distinctive and innovative style. The special will document how the world sees THE SIMPSONS and how the Simpson family has seen the world for two decades.

“When they first called me about this, I thought it was a prank and I hung up,” said Spurlock. “And then my agent called back and said, ‘No, no, this is for real,’ at which point I fainted. Then when I woke up, I called everyone I knew because it was the coolest thing I could ever get to do in my career.”

Morgan Spurlock has built a career that spans film, television and web programming. His first feature-length documentary, “Super Size Me,” won the Documentary Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and was nominated for an Academy Award the following year. In 2005, Spurlock formed his Manhattan-based film, television and web production company, Warrior Poets, which is devoted to making socially significant and simultaneously entertaining work. Warrior Poets has produced the feature documentaries “The Third Wave,” “What Would Jesus Buy?” and “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?”

 

Now the longest-running comedy in television history, THE SIMPSONS immediately struck a chord with viewers across the country as it poked fun at itself and everything in its wake. With its subversive humor and delightful wit, the series has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture, and the family members have become television icons.

 

By Missy Lee   Sun, Jul 19, 2009

In “Homer The Whopper,” the season premiere episode co-written by Seth Rogen airing Sunday, Sept. 27, “Comic Book Guy” casts “Homer” as the lead in “Everyman,” a feature film based on the new comic book superhero he created. To whip Homer into superhero shape, the movie studio hires celebrity fitness trainer “Lyle McCarthy” (guest voice Rogen), but Homer has trouble sticking to his new healthy regimen.

 

Jonah Hill guest-voices as “Andy,” a former Springfield Elementary student hailed as the best prankster ever in the upcoming episode, “Pranks and Greens.” Neve Campbell plays “Cassandra,” a Wiccan accused of blinding the town with a spell (a la “The Craft”) in “Rednecks and Broomsticks.” Jackie Mason returns as Rabbi Krustofsky, Krusty the Clown’s father, in “Once Upon a Time in Springfield,” in which Krusty ends up falling in love with the actress who plays “Princess Penelope” (guest star Anne Hathaway), a new character on his show. The late Eartha Kitt also lends her voice talents to the episode.

 

Additional guest stars paying Springfield a visit next season include Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Sarah Silverman, football greats Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, sportscaster Bob Costas, UFC champion Chuck Liddell and actress Angela Bassett.

By   Mon, Jul 13, 2009

 

Richardson will portray Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) sixth and last wife, in five episodes of the series, which is currently filming in Dublin, Ireland.  THE TUDORS is scheduled to premiere on SHOWTIME in 2010.

Best known to American audiences for her celebrated work for five seasons on the popular cable series “Nip/Tuck” – for which she was twice-nominated for Golden Globe® Awards -- Richardson is part of an English theatrical dynasty that includes her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, father, director Tony Richardson, and aunt Lynn Redgrave and sister, the late Natasha Richardson. Her film credits include “The Patriot,” “I’ll Do Anything,” and most recently, in the children’s fantasy film, “The Last Mimzy.”

The new season will chronicle Henry’s dark, final days, his war against France and his final wives (Catherine Howard (played by Tamzin Merchant) and Catherine Parr).