Author: Elaine Bergstrom

PBS’ “American Experience” examines the Clinton presidency

PBS’ “American Experience” examines the Clinton presidency

  PBS has announced that the first hour of its new, two-part American Experience documentary “Clinton” — which premieres on the network over two nights, Feb. 20 at 9pm ET and Feb. 21 at 8pm ET — will premiere exclusively on the free PBS apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch beginning today. This hour will also be available for free download on iTunes for one week before the broadcast. The full four-hour biography will be streamed on video.pbs.org, timed to the national broadcast. “With nearly one-third of our 148 million video streams in January coming from mobile apps, we [...]

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Dr. Drew Pinsky Is The Next Real-Life TV Doctor Helming His Own Show

It’s fair to say that many Americans are news addicts, obsessed with the self-destructive behavior of our favorite stars, most famous athletes and business and political leaders. And while pundits may weigh in with their opinions, many a viewer would like to hear an expert discuss Lindsay Lohan’s multiple rehabs, Tiger Woods’ sex addiction or why teen idol Miley Cyrus would let loose so publicly. Enter Dr. Drew Pinsky, America’s foremost expert on extreme behavior, to explain it all to us in the new HLN series Dr. Drew, premiering March 28. Each week, Dr. Drew — the physician and the [...]

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Gold Rush: Alaska Can Six Rookie Miners Find A Mother Lode?

Gold Rush: Alaska Can Six Rookie Miners Find A Mother Lode?

Most don’t need to read the paper to know we live in hard times. We all know families struggling to get by, or others almost at the end of their rope. That’s the situation that each person in the reality series Gold Rush: Alaska faces. Underemployed, unemployed and most with families to support, each man is desperate enough to risk everything for a chance to strike it rich. And with the price of gold skyrocketing, the estimated $250 billion in gold buried in the Alaskan wilderness looked better and better. Led by Todd Hoffman and his father, Jack — who [...]

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Sarah Palin Shows Mark Burnett And The World Her Alaska

Mark Burnett knows star power when he sees it. As the creator of Survivor, he brought us the scheming Richard Hatch, the cutthroat Russell Hantz and the pirate with a heart of gold Rupert Boneham. But he may have found the ultimate reality star in his latest series, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, airing Sundays on TLC beginning Nov. 14. And yes, Palin may be a polarizing figure, but, Burnett says, that’s what makes her such a perfect choice. In an exclusive interview, he tells me why. When you think of Sarah Palin as a host for a reality series, do you [...]

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VOD Spotlight: “Grown Ups” stars take their families on a working vacation

© 2009 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. Credit: Tracy Bennett

By Elaine Bergstrom In the film Grown Ups, a group of old friends get together for a vacation for the first time in 30 years. The film’s stars, including Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph and others, have also known each other for years. It wasn’t hard to get them to sign on, particularly when the filming turned into a family affair. “Adam’s whole idea was that everyone would bring their families and we’d all have a nice summer at the lake house,” director Dennis Dugan says. “It was one of the best summers [...]

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VOD Spotlight: A new “Karate Kid” learns from the best

© 2010 CTMG, Inc. Credit: Jasin Boland

By Elaine Bergstrom Ralph Macchio was in his 20s when he played a bullied teen in The Karate Kid. Jaden Smith — best known for his role alongside father Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness —was just 11 when he took on the role in the remake, which makes the bullying his character endures far more painful to watch. But Smith had a pair of allies on his side who aided his transformation in the film: Wu Gang, the stunt coordinator of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, and Chan himself, who plays the role made famous by Pat Morita.

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American Occult Looks At Cult Killings In America

American Occult Looks At Cult Killings In America

Because I write vampire novels and Katherine Ramsland is an expert on modern vampire culture, cults and serial killers, our paths have occasionally crossed. We recently met at a Dracula convention in Windber, Pa., where we were both staying in a small former hotel rumored to be haunted. So, when we connected for an interview for the Investigation Discovery three-part series American Occult, airing with back-to-back episodes on Oct. 30, it was like continuing our last conversation — which was, no surprise, also about forensics. No surprise because Ramsland is both a forensic psychologist who has worked with former FBI [...]

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VOD Spotlight: Growing up means learning to train that dragon

™ & © 2010 DreamWorks Animation LLC.

By Elaine Bergstrom Growing up means becoming your own person, moving away from the expectations of parents who, though they love you, may not quite understand what will make you happy. It’s the theme of some of the greatest animated features, such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast and How to Train Your Dragon — a film about a teenage Viking short on brawn but long on empathy, with an independent spirit that changes the relationship between Vikings and dragons.

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VOD Spotlight: “A Nightmare On Elm Street’s” new and terrifying Freddy

[youtube 97h_Oj6PotM nolink] When you sleep and dream, he kills. That’s the premise that has kept plenty of young horror fans awake for days after seeing the 1984 film about Freddy Krueger and his razor-fingered hands. This movie spawned sequels, related films and a TV series. Wes Craven wrote the original A Nightmare on Elm Street after he became inspired by a series of newspaper articles about children who had suffered through a war and died from the power of their recurring nightmares. The initial low-budget film, which starred Robert Englund as Freddy, became an international sensation for New Line [...]

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VOD Spotlight: “Splice” is fiction on the razor’s edge of science

[youtube t6o_Vl2f07Q nolink] In the science-fiction thriller Splice, two research scientists — a power couple played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley — work at splicing genetic components into hybrids in a search for new ways to fight disease. When their financial backers move their research in a different direction, the pair push the limits of their skills and secretly create a new, partially human life form. Director Vincenzo Natali, who devoted years to developing Splice, says of the science behind the story, “The technology is advancing so rapidly, I think it took scientists less time to map the human [...]

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