Look out Australia, here comes the Oprah circus

Roll out the red carpet - the Queen is coming.

Oprah Winfrey is set to be afforded foreign dignitary status - something usually reserved for high-ranking politicians - when she visits Australia next week.

Winfrey, according to media reports, will be provided with a police escort and a government security detail when she touches down in Sydney.

Not content with mere celebrity status, the federal government has afforded Winfrey the honour of being a "formal guest of government", which comes complete with bodyguards and police escort vehicles, News Limited reported.

Security will be tight in Sydney's CBD with the prospect of road closures as Winfrey tapes her shows at the Opera House on December 14.

A spokeswoman for NSW Premier Kristina Keneally told News Limited the details of the cost to taxpayers for the trip was "yet to be finalised".

Winfrey will reportedly stay at the Intercontinental Hotel or the Shangri-La - the two highest-security hotels in Sydney.

But she's also looking for an "ordinary" Aussie family to stay with while she's here.

Her producers are said to be scouring the country to find one.

Winfrey will travel with an entourage of around 450 - including a group of specially picked loyal fans and production crew members.

Some audience members will also be taking interstate visits, including shopping in Melbourne.

The Winfrey extravaganza has an estimated price tag of $3 million, but it is likely to cost more.

Tourism NSW has contributed "between $1 million and $2 million" and Tourism Victoria is believed to have contributed in excess of $500,000. The other states have also contributed.

Ten will air the two Australian episodes - likely to be worth millions in promotion for Tourism Australia - in January.

Source http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/look-out-australia-here-comes-the-oprah-circus-20101130-18ej2.html

ITV loses Australia's Next Top Model contract over final gaffe

Sarah Murdoch making her slip-up in the Australia's Next Top Model final.

Two months ago Sarah Murdoch's embarrassment at naming the wrong winner of Australia's Next Top Model live on air became a viral hit. Now ITV's Australian production subsidiary has paid the price for the cock-up, losing the Australia's Next Top Model contract, according to a local media report.

The incident, which Murdoch – the show's presenter – said resulted from the wrong name being fed to her via an earpiece, has gone down as one of the biggest screw-ups in reality TV history.

Murdoch is the wife of Rupert Murdoch's eldest son, Lachlan. The Murdoch family part owns the show's broadcaster, Foxtel, through News Corporation.

ITV subsidiary Granada Media Australia has made the past six series of the reality TV show, but Murdoch confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald earlier today that a change in production company was being made.

"Granada produced Australia's Top Model for six years. I worked with them for two years," she said in a statement. "They are a very talented and hard-working crew. But after what happened this year I thought very hard about it and decided it was probably time for a change.''

It is not yet known which production company will take over for the seventh series, but the Sydney Morning Herald suggests that Shine, which is owned by Murdoch's sister-in-law Elisabeth Murdoch, is the favourite.

Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/24/foxtel-loses-australias-next-top-model

Free kick for Foxtel's Xbox 360 service

FOXTEL has created an exclusive sports channel, Fox Sports Play, for its new internet-delivered pay-TV service Foxtel on Xbox 360.

The service, which was developed with Microsoft and is exclusive to Xbox customers who have a subscription to the gaming console's Live online entertainment network, goes live in all Foxtel coverage areas tonight.

The starter pack of 11 channels costs $19.50 a month, on top of the monthly Live Gold subscription fee and the cost of a broadband subscription. Additional packages will offer entertainment, sports and two tiers of movie content at a cost of an extra $10 a month per package.

Foxtel product chief Patrick Delaney said the service would not be available to customers in regional areas as Foxtel's program rights did not allow it.

But the sports channel, which was created specifically for Foxtel on Xbox 360, would include most of the sports for which Foxtel has the internet rights.

"The English Premier League and the A-League (soccer) will be on there,'' Mr Delaney said. "We have paid extra to negotiate those rights. Other than the NRL and the AFL, I think Fox Sports has cleared almost all its sport to be on there.''

Telstra currently holds the internet rights rights for the NRL and AFL, which are set to be negotiated in the next year.

Xbox chief David McLean said the majority of Xbox Live's 500,000-strong customer base would be able to receive the service, which is delivered over the internet via the connection on the Xbox console.

"I estimate 85 per cent or thereabouts of our subscribers will be able to get acess from day one,'' Mr McLean said.

Mr Delaney said discussions were underway to see if the service could be rolled out, via Austar, in regional areas.

To date, no internet service providers have agreed to exempt Foxtel on Xbox 360 from counting towards a subscriber's broadband download cap, which means users may incur extra charges if they go over their limit.

Mr Delaney estimated one standard definition movie would use about 1.3Gb of data.

Subscribers can sign up for the service using their credit card on a month-by-month basis and there is no contract.

Xbox Live customers who don't sign up will still be able to pay to access the company's Foxtel On Demand pay-per-view movie and TV download service.

The service will compete with FetchTV's internet TV service, which will is expected to be available via a number of smaller ISPs for just under $30 a month after an initial establishment cost for the FetchTV box, and Telstra's T-box, which costs $299.

FetchTV's partner ISPs and Telstra's Big Pond will exempt their respective IPTV services from download charges.

Source http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/free-kick-for-foxtels-xbox-360-service/story-e6frg996-1225951340929

The Veronicas Campaign Against Fur Use With PETA

Aussie pop duo The Veronicas are taking a stand against designers who use fur in their clothing.

Jess and Lisa Origliasso are helping People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in their latest campaign against animal cruelty.

Their campaign features the tagline 'Here's the rest of your fur coat', and includes a poster of the girls holding (fake) skinned rabbits.

Jess and Lisa appeared in Sydney to promote the advertisement.

"Designers that still use fur, to us it is just ignorant, it is unnecessary and it is unacceptable," Jess says.

They hope that they will raise awareness with young people who might think it's cool to wear fur, so that they can understand where fur comes from.

Just looking at The Veronica's PETA poster below is enough to convince us to become vegetarians!

Source http://www.take40.com/news/20662/the-veronicas-campaign-against-fur-use-with-peta

Glambert rocks Sydney

Gay goth rocker Adam Lambert brought his unique musical style to Sydney on Wendesday night, playing to a packed Enmore Theatre.

It was the American Idol runner-up’s second visit to the Sydney in a year, having played the Mardi Gras party earlier this year.

Lambert was in fine form, singing tracks from his album For Your Entertainment and a cover of Ring of Fire.

And there was one particularly lucky audience member who managed to score himself a little Lambert tongue in between songs.

Source http://www.starobserver.com.au/whats-on/2010/10/22/glambert-rocks-sydney/32294

Australian music sales hit sour note

RECORD sales in Australia have hit an alarming low with a British metal band hitting the No. 1 spot with just 3600 album sales.

British hardcore metal band Bring Me the Horizon made a surprising debut at No. 1 on the ARIA album charts yesterday, with just 3600 copies sold nationally.

This is the lowest sales to achieve a No. 1 album in Australia.

The figure highlights the impact illegal downloading has had on record sales.

As with each album on the ARIA chart, the sales include both physical CD sales and legal online digital sales.

Last week's No. 1 by Linkin Park sold just 4056 copies. Even the new Robbie Williams compilation sold only 2816 copies last week to debut at No. 6.

Sales should pick up this week with the release of new albums by Kings of Leon and John Farnham, who will both battle to be No. 1 next week.

Expected big sellers for Christmas include a "best of" Pink, new albums by Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Rihanna and Jessica Mauboy, and a Susan Boyle Christmas album.

Bring Me the Horizon will tour here in February for the Soundwave festival with their album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret.

"To have a number one album, in a country we don't even live in, is amazing," frontman Oli Sykes said.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/australian-music-sales-hit-sour-note/story-e6frf96f-1225940393713

Tropfest 2011 kicks off with YouTube

Filmmakers from across the globe are being encouraged to enter the world’s largest short film festival - the 19th annual Movie Extra Tropfest.

For the first time ever Tropfest are offering to fly finalist filmmakers from outside Australia to attend the huge live event and walk the red carpet in Sydney on Sunday 20 February 2011.

Film buffs from around the world now have an opportunity to unlock the door to stardom by seeing their film screened to hundreds of thousands of film fans across Australia, and international film industry luminaries.

Judges have included Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Samuel L Jackson, Baz Luhrmann, Keanu Reeves, Sam Neill, Ewan McGregor, Jane Campion, Salma Hayek, and George Miller.

Whether you are a novice or have a few films under your belt, Tropfest is open to anyone who is eager to tell a story through film. All you have to do is grab a camera, a few mates and start shooting your short film.

Entries close on Thursday 6 January 2011.

To enter, all you have to do is create a film that is no longer than seven minutes. In Tropfest tradition, your film must contain the 2011 Movie Extra Tropfest Signature Item - KEY.

As always, Tropfest will be hotly contested with more than 600 entries expected from across Australia and overseas.

For the first time this year entries will be received online through a new partnership with YouTube, making it easier for international entrants by eliminating the need to provide their film on a DVD.

Tropfest Founder and Director John Polson says the Festival is a phenomenal launching pad for filmmakers.

“This year we really want to encourage films from different places around the world. Hopefully the opportunity to come to Australia on us and have your short film screened in front of hundreds of thousands of people around the nation at the many live outdoor events and on the Movie Extra channel, is the right sort of motivation.”

“This year we’ve made the submission process even easier for international filmmakers with our new dedicated Tropfest YouTube channel. So go on and get brain-storming right now and get your submission in soon,” he says.

For the third year in a row, thanks to Tropfest’s Naming Rights Partner, the event will be broadcast live on Subscription TV channel MOVIE EXTRA, taking the fun and excitement of the festival into homes around the country.

Tropfest’s mobile category, Telstra Mobile Masterpieces, is back for the second year giving filmmakers an opportunity to unleash their creativity on their mobile phones. The same rules apply as the main competition, with the winner receiving $5000 cash and a trip to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

2010 winner Abe Forsythe says Tropfest propelled his career. “Winning Tropfest was a fantastic experience. I encourage everyone out there to enter whether you’re a beginner, at film school or if you’re a seasoned professional. It could actually change your life,” he says.

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/tropfest-2011-kicks-off-with-youtube/story-e6frf7jx-1225938536449