The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 film in a modern setting loosely adapted from the 1922 short story of the same name written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film is directed by David Fincher, and stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The film will be released December 25, 2008.

Premise

Adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century. It follows the life of Benjamin (Brad Pitt), who is born with the appearance and physical limitations of a man in his eighties. Abandoned in a nursing home by his father, Benjamin begins aging backward. While in the home, he meets Daisy, a young aspiring ballerina. As the film progresses, the two fall in love, while struggling to deal with the issue of one growing younger while the other grows older.^[2]

Cast

• Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button
• Cate Blanchett as Daisy
• Taraji P. Henson as Queenie
• Julia Ormond as Caroline
• Jason Flemyng as Thomas Button
• Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Tizzy
• Jared Harris as Captain Mike
• Elias Koteas as Monsieur Gateau
• Phyllis Somerville as Grandma Fuller
• Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott
• Elle Fanning as Daisy - Age 7
• Madisen Beaty as Daisy - Age 10

Production

As early as summer 1994, Maryland Film Office chief Jack Gerbes was approached with the possibility of a film adaptation of the 1922 short story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which takes place in Baltimore.^[3] In October 1998, screenwriter Robin Swicord wrote for director Ron Howard an adapted screenplay of the short story, a project which would potentially star actor John Travolta.^[4] In May 2000, Paramount Pictures hired screenwriter Jim Taylor to adapt a screenplay from the short story. The studio also attached director Spike Jonze to helm the project.^[5] Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman had also written a draft of the adapted screenplay at one point.^[6] In June 2003, director Gary Ross entered final negotiations to helm the project based on a new draft penned by screenwriter Eric Roth.^[7] In May 2004, Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures joined to co-finance the project, with Paramount Pictures marketing the film in foreign territories and Warner Bros. handling domestic distribution (those were eventually switched). In the same month, director David Fincher entered negotiations to replace Ross in directing the film.^[8] In May 2005, actors Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett entered negotiations to star in the film as Benjamin Button and Daisy, respectively.^[9] In July 2005, Fincher negotiated a deal with the studios to direct Benjamin Button and Zodiac back-to-back, with Zodiac being produced first. For Benjamin Button, New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding area was chosen as the filming location for the story to take advantage of the state's production incentives, and shooting was slated to begin in October 2006.^[10]

In September 2006, actors Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, and Taraji P. Henson entered negotiations to be cast into the film.^[11] The following October, with production yet to begin, actress Julia Ormond was cast as Daisy's daughter, to whom Blanchett's character tells the story of her love affair with Benjamin Button.^[12] Filming of Benjamin Button began on November 6, 2006 in New Orleans. The following December, actor Ed Metzger was cast to portray President Theodore Roosevelt.^[13] In January 2007, Blanchett joined the shoot.^[14] Fincher praised the ease of accessibility to rural and urban sets in New Orleans and said that the recovery from Hurricane Katrina did not serve as an atypical hindrance to production.^[15] In March 2007, filming moved to Los Angeles for two more months of filming.^[3] Principal photography was targeted to last a total of 150 days, excluding the time it would take to create the visual effects for the metamorphosis of Brad Pitt's character to the infant stage.^[16] The director used a camera system called Contour, developed by Steve Perlman, to capture facial deformation data from live action performances.^[17] Overall production was finished in September 2007.^[18]

Music

The score to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was written by French composer Alexandre Desplat, who recorded his score with an 87-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.^[19] The film's first trailer featured the "Aquarium" movement of Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals (previously adapted by WB for a television special starring two of that studio's most popular cartoon characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck). The choir singing in the trailer is Libera, a group of boys from South London. One of the TV spots contains the song "My Body is A Cage" by Arcade Fire.

Release

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally slated for theatrical release in May 2008,^[20] but it was pushed back to November 26, 2008.^[21] The release date is now December 25, 2008.

Reception

Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review after seeing it at an early screening, calling it a "richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling".^[22] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter felt the film was "superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date." Honeycutt praised Fincher's directing of the film and noted that the "cinematography wonderfully marries a palette of subdued earthern colors with the necessary CGI and other visual effects that place one in a magical past."^[2]

Awards

The film received the Best Director award for 2008 from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures^{[23] [24]} The Broadcast Film Critics Association nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in eight categories: Best Film, Best Actor (Pitt), Best Actress (Blanchett), Supporting Actress (Henson), Acting Ensemble, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Score.^[25]

• References

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Source: Wikipedia

Best body painting photos

Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art, considered by some as the most ancient form of art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most (in the case of Mehndi or "henna tattoo") a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Read more, in Wikipedia.

Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking

Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher is touring the country with her one-woman show Wishful Drinking.

Fisher's book by the same name relives her "crazy" years, one wacky story at a time.

Some highlights include a Christmas where Fisher's mom gifted her and her grandmother with sex toys, and our personal fave, the time she freaked out while smoking with Harrison Ford.

As for her show? Broadway World warns, "Don't be late. Fisher will look you in the face and you'll be embarrassed as she tries to recap what you've missed. But it's all in great fun."

Tags: debbie reynolds, eddie fisher, oprah weight gain 2008, oprah height, oprah weight gain

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Source: Radar Online

"Call in Gay Day" is latest protest against California gay marriage ban

Gay rights activists are encouraging people to “call in gay” to work today to demonstrate how integral gay people are to American society.

“We are here, and we are not second-class citizens and we deserve the same rights as everyone else,” said Julio Perez, a restaurant manager in Chicago who is planning to take day off.

The event is one of scores of grass-roots activities — from protests to boycotts to marches — that have sprung up in California and across the country since the passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marraige in California, along with other anti-gay ballot initiatives in Arizona, Florida and Arkansas.

It was first proposed by Los Angeles Times columnist Joel Stein and is patterned after the 2006 “Day Without A Mexican” work stoppage. After Stein wrote a Nov. 14 column proposing the idea (which he said he got from a friend), activists seized upon it and chose Dec. 10, which is International Human Rights Day. Sean Hetherington, a personal trainer and standup comedian who is coordianting it, also added an element of community service to the day, urging people to volunteer their time to help the needy.

Read more after the jump.

--Jessica Garrison

“We didn’t want this to be another white powder sent to the Mormon temple,” Hetherington said, referring to a widely criticized act in the days after the election.

Many expressed anger at Mormons because their members contributed so much money to the passage of Proposition 8. Now, Hetherington said, he hopes people will view gay rights activists as “doing something positive.”

He said he plans to volunteer his time at a South Los Angeles school. His website also lists volunteer opportunities at non-profits around the country.

The event is one more example of how the push for gay marriage and other gay rights has exploded across the grassroots since the passage of Proposition 8. After the ballot measure succeeded at the polls, many were harshly critical of the mainsream gay rights groups that ran the campaign opposing it. But Equality California, the group that coordinated the opposition, has been supportive of the grassroots activities, promoting the event on its website.

“There is a lot of both anger and activism thta is coming out of votesr eliminating people’s rights,” said Geoffrey Kors, the head of Equality California.

That is good, he said: “The more people talk about this issue ... the more we advance our rights.” Stein seemed amused by the fact thousands of people had signed on to a website pledging to participate.

“Honestly, I don’t think anything I’ve ever written has caused anyone to change the way they think, let alone do anything,” he said. But he added that he would be pleased if he become the Martin Luther King of the Gay Rights movement. “I really hope this is a huge deal. That would be awesome.”

Tags: day without a gay, day without gay, call in gay, gay day, gay day off

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Source: LA Times

DCF Dozier School in Marianna Survivors

Four men who survived beatings at The Florida School for Boys in Marianna are calling on state and federal officials to investigate. The men attended the segregated school in the 1950s.

They say teachers and councilors at the school killed black students.

Survivor Roger Kiser says he expected kids were being killed, but was too afraid to tell anybody.

“If you had the slightest frown on your face of even said the slightest word out of context, it could cause you to be sent to the White House and be viciously beaten to the point where you would become unconscious and bleed profusely down your legs and back.”

The men decided to call for the investigation after 32 people were found buried near the school in unmarked graves.

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Source: WJHG

Focus group

A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people is asked about their attitude towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members.

Ernest Dichter originated the idea of having a "group therapy" for products and this process is what became known as a focus group.^[1]

In marketing

In the world of marketing, focus groups are seen as an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding new products, as well as various topics. In particular, focus groups allow companies wishing to develop, package, name, or test market a new product, to discuss, view, and/or test the new product before it is made available to the public. This can provide invaluable information about the potential market acceptance of the product.

In social sciences

In the social sciences and urban planning, focus groups allow interviewers to study people in a more natural setting than a one-to-one interview. In combination with participant observation, they can be used for gaining access to various cultural and social groups, selecting sites to study, sampling of such sites, and raising unexpected issues for exploration. Focus groups have a high apparent validity - since the idea is easy to understand, the results are believable. Also, they are low in cost, one can get results relatively quickly, and they can increase the sample size of a report by talking with several people at once. (Material based on: Marshall and Rossman, Designing Qualitative Research, 3rd Ed. London: Sage Publications, 1999, p. 115)

Traditional focus groups

In traditional focus groups, a screened (qualified) group of respondents gathers in the same room. They are screened to ensure that they are part of the relevant target market and that the group is a representative subgroup of this market segment. There are usually 6 to 10 members in the group, and the session usually lasts for 1 to 2 hours. A moderator guides the group through a discussion that probes attitudes about a client's proposed products or services. The discussion is loosely structured, and the moderator encourages the free flow of ideas. The moderator is typically given a list of objectives or an anticipated outline. He/she will generally have only a few specific questions prepared prior to the focus group. These questions will serve to initiate open-ended discussions.

Client representatives observe the discussion from behind a one-way mirror. Participants cannot see out, but the researchers and their clients can see in. Usually, a video camera records the meeting so that it can be seen by others who were not able to travel to the site. Transcripts can be created from the video tape. If the participants speak a different language than the clients, a simultaneous interpreter may be used.

Researchers examine more than the spoken words. They also try to interpret facial expressions, body language, and group dynamics. Moderators may use straight questioning or various projective techniques, including fixed or free association, story-telling and role-playing. Focus groups are often used to garner reaction to specific stimuli such as concepts, prototypes and advertising.

It is often suggested that respondents feel group pressure to conform and this can contaminate the results. Others hold that by using trained and experienced moderators who appropriately manage the discussion, this potential problem can be mitigated. Further, despite the potential for groupthink, marketers and sociologists find that group dynamics are useful in developing new streams of thought and covering an issue thoroughly.

Types of focus groups

Variants of focus groups include:

• Two-way focus group - one focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion
• Dual moderator focus group - one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the topics are covered
• Dueling moderator focus group - two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion
• Respondent moderator focus group - one or more of the respondents are asked to act as the moderator temporarily
• Client participant focus groups - one or more client representatives participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly
• Mini focus groups - groups are composed of four or five members rather than 8 to 12
• Teleconference focus groups - telephone network is used
• Online focus groups - computers connected via the internet are used

Traditional focus groups can provide accurate information, and are less expensive than other forms of traditional marketing research. There can be significant costs however : if a product is to be marketed on a nationwide basis, it would be critical to gather respondents from various locales throughout the country since attitudes about a new product may vary due to geographical considerations. This would require a considerable expenditure in travel and lodging expenses. Additionally, the site of a traditional focus group may or may not be in a locale convenient to a specific client, so client representatives may have to incur travel and lodging expenses as well.

The use of focus groups has steadily evolved over time and is becoming increasingly widespread.

Problems and criticism

However, focus groups also have disadvantages: The researcher has less control over a group than a one-on-one interview, and thus time can be lost on issues irrelevant to the topic; the data are tough to analyze because the talking is in reaction to the comments of other group members; observers/ moderators need to be highly trained, and groups are quite variable and can be tough to get together. (Ibid.) Moreover, the number of members of a focus group is not large enough to be a representative sample of a population; thus, the data obtained from the groups is not necessarily representative of the whole population, unlike in opinion polls.

A fundamental difficulty with focus groups (and other forms of qualitative research) is the issue of observer dependency: the results obtained are influenced by the researcher, raising questions of validity. The issue evokes associations with Heisenberg’s famous Uncertainty Principle. As Heisenberg said, "What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning." Indeed, the design of the focus group study (e.g. respondent selection, the questions asked, how they are phrased, how they are posed, in what setting, by whom, and so on) affects the answers obtained from respondents. In focus groups, researchers are not detached observers but always participants. Researchers must take this into account when making their analysis (Based on: Tjaco H. Walvis (2003), “Avoiding advertising research disaster: Advertising and the uncertainty principle”, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 10, No. 6, pp. 403-409).

Douglas Rushkoff^[2] argues that focus groups are often useless, and frequently cause more trouble than they are intended to solve, with focus groups often aiming to please rather than offering their own opinions or evaluations, and with data often cherry picked to support a foregone conclusion. Rushkoff cites the disastrous introduction of New Coke in the 1980s as a vivid example of focus group analysis gone bad.

United States government use of focus groups

The United States federal government makes extensive use of focus groups to assess public education materials and messages for their many programs. While many of these are appropriate for the purpose, many others are reluctant compromises which federal officials have had to make as a result of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) The bureaucratic procedures require the federal researcher to go through a very elaborate justification of why he/she needs to conduct a survey or any study that will involve more than 10 people. The researcher must also have the complete methodology approved by the Office of Management and Budgetof the Executive Office of the President--not always the paragon of scientific objectivity. Often, the labor for the approval is far greater than the labor to do the research. Federal researchers most often take the path of least resistance and use 9 person focus group or even several of these with different questions asked. So there are many federal focus groups and few surveys or other type studies independent of whether a focus group is the best or even appropriate methodology.

• References

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Source: Wikipedia

Dirty Sexy Money

Dirty Sexy Money is an American television series about Nick George, portrayed by Peter Krause. George's whole life has been lived in the shadow of the Darling family, but as an adult he's leading a simple life as an idealistic lawyer, until his father's suspicious death. The wealthy Darlings of New York have asked him to take over his father's job as their personal lawyer, but the money that will allow him the freedom to be an altruistic do-gooder is only part of the picture. That same money pulls him into the dubious doings of the Darling clan.

The series was created by Craig Wright, who also serves as executive producer alongside Greg Berlanti, Bryan Singer, Matthew Gross, Peter Horton and Josh Reims, with Melissa Berman producing. Horton also directed the pilot.^[1] It is produced by ABC Studios, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Berlanti Television and Gross Entertainment. The series premiered in the United States on September 26, 2007 on ABC following the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, airing on Wednesday nights at 10:01PM Eastern/9:01PM Central. The series premiered in the UK on March 21, 2008 at 9pm on Channel 4.

On November 16, 2007, ABC ordered a full 22-episode season for the show, making it the first show to receive a full season order since the WGA writers' strike began on November 5, 2007.^[2] However, in the end, the first season comprised only 10 episodes due to the strike. ABC picked up Dirty Sexy Money for the 2008-09 television season which began airing on October 1, 2008. ^[3] Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season, a three-disc DVD set including all 10 original episodes and exclusive bonus features including bloopers, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and featurettes, and more, was released on September 16, 2008.^[4]

On November 20, 2008, ABC decided not to order any additional episodes, effectively cancelling the series.^{[5] [6]}

Cast

Principal characters

Actor	Character	Duration
Peter Krause	Nick George	2007-2008
Zoe McLellan	Lisa George	2007-2008
Donald Sutherland	Patrick "Tripp" Darling III	2007-2008
Jill Clayburgh	Letitia Darling	2007-2008
William Baldwin	Patrick Darling	2007-2008
Natalie Zea	Karen Darling	2007-2008
Seth Gabel	Jeremy Darling	2007-2008
Samaire Armstrong	Juliet Darling	2007 (2008; recurring)
Glenn Fitzgerald	Brian Darling Sr.	2007-2008
Blair Underwood	Simon Elder	2007-2008
Lucy Liu	Nola Lyons	2008

Recurring cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Kristin Bauer	Rebecca Colfax	2007
Roxana Brusso	Maria	2007-2008
Candis Cayne	Carmelita	2007-2008
Daniel Cosgrove	Freddy Mason	2007
Tamara Feldman	Natalie Kimpton	2007
Michelle Krusiec	Mei Ling Hwa Darling	2007
Sheryl Lee	Andrea Smithson	2007-2008
Laura Margolis	Daisy	2007-2008
Chloë Grace Moretz	Kiki George	2007-2008
Shawn Michael Patrick	Clark	2007-2008
John Schneider	Congressman	2008[7]
Will Shadley	Brian Darling, Jr.	2007-2008
Sofia Vergara	Sofia Montoya	2007
Bellamy Young	Ellen Darling	2007-2008

Episodes

Reception

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Weekly ratings

Season 1: 2007

#	Episode	Air Date	Timeslot (EST)	Rating	Share	18-49 Rating	Viewers (m)	Rank (Overall)
1	"Pilot"	September 26, 2007	Wednesday, 10:01 P.M.	7.4	12	3.6	10.44	#31
2	"The Lions"	October 3, 2007	Wednesday, 10:01 P.M.	6.7	11	3.6	9.61	#33
3	"The Italian Banker"	October 10, 2007	Wednesday, 10:01 P.M.	6.1	10	3.5	8.63	#40
4	"The Chiavennasca"	October 17, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	6.4	11	3.1	8.67	#41
5	"The Bridge"	October 24, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	6.1	10	3.3	8.56	#48
6	"The Game"	October 31, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	5.9	10	2.9	8.38	#47
7	"The Wedding"	November 14, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	5.7	10	2.9	7.90	#51
8	"The Country House"	November 21, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	4.0	8	2.0	6.52	#62
9	"The Watch"	November 28, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	5.0	8	2.6	7.15	#54
10	"The Nutcracker"	December 5, 2007	Wednesday, 10:02 P.M.	5.0	8	2.4	6.91	#54

Season 2: 2008-2009

#	Episode	Air Date	Timeslot (EST)	Rating	Share	18-49 Rating	Viewers (m)	Rank (Overall)
11	"The Birthday Present"	October 1, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	4.8	8	TBA	7.15[8]	TBA
12	"The Family Lawyer"	October 8, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	4.1	7	TBA	5.85	TBA
13	"The Star Witness"	October 22, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	4.0	7	2.0	5.86	TBA
14	"The Silence"	October 29, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	4.1	7	2.0	6.08	TBA
15	"The Verdict"	November 5, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	TBA	TBA	TBA	6.3	TBA
16	"The Injured Party"	November 19, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
17	"The Facts"	December 3, 2008	Wednesday 10/9c	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA

• The October 15 episode was preempted due to the coverage of the Presidential Debates.
• The November 12 episode was preempted due to the coverage of the 2008 Country Music Awards.
• The November 26 episode was preempted in favor over the Barbara Walters interview with Barack Obama.

Production history

Conception

The pilot script, written by creator, executive producer and Emmy-nominated playwright Craig Wright, made its first step towards production when ABC committed to it in July 2006. The project, which is set up at Berlanti Television, is also executive produced by Everwood creator Greg Berlanti, who at the time had recently parted ways with his producing partner, Mickey Liddell. Liddell was replaced by former Sony Pictures Television executive Melissa Berman, who consequently became a producer on the series.^[9] The project was named "Dirty Sexy Money" in January 2007 when it received a pilot order from the network.^[10] Staffing began in the same month when Emmy-nominated director, Peter Horton, agreed to direct the first hour of the show.^[11] The series received an early pick-up and a thirteen-episode order prior to the 2007 Upfronts in New York on May 11, 2007.^[12] Josh Reims also joined the production crew as an executive producer in the same month.^[9]

Casting

Casting for all but one of the principal roles on the show took place in February 2007. Seth Gabel was the first actor to land a role on the series and was cast as Jeremy Darling, the hard-living youngest son.^[13] Gabel had originally auditioned for Greg Berlanti's other television drama, Eli Stone, but didn't receive the part. He left a big impression on the producer nonetheless who recommended him for Dirty Sexy Money instead.^[14] The producers found their leading man in Emmy-nominated Six Feet Under alumnus, Peter Krause, when he was chosen to play the role of Nick George, the beleaguered new Darling family attorney. The series reunites Krause with creator Craig Wright, who also worked on Six Feet Under.^[15] Glenn Fitzgerald read for the role of Reverend Brian Darling and received the part.^[16] Academy Award-nominated actress, Jill Clayburgh, and former Passions co-star, Natalie Zea, made their way onto the show when they were cast as the family matriarch Letitia Darling, and the eldest thrice-divorced daughter Karen Darling, respectively.^[17] Samaire Armstrong, known mostly to audiences for her recurring role on The O.C., landed her first regular television role when she was chosen to portray the youngest Darling child, the spoiled aspiring actress Juliet Darling. Zoe McLellan and William Baldwin were also cast in the roles of Lisa George, Nick's loving wife, and New York State Attorney General Patrick Darling, a rising star in politics harboring a scandalous secret.^[18][19] Golden Globe winner, Donald Sutherland, rounded out the principal cast when he was chosen for the role of family patriarch, Patrick "Tripp" Darling III.^[20] In 2008, after pitching that Lucy Liu was interested in being part of the series, the producers immediately created a role for her as a series regular. She plays the role of Nola Lyons, a powerful attorney that faces Nick George (played by Peter Krause).^[21]

On November 10, 2008, TV Guide reported that Rena Sofer will guest-star as an intrepid reporter on the November 26th episode.^[22]

Main crew

Jon Harmon Feldman acts as the showrunner,^[23] He replaced Daniel Cerone.^[24] Other crew members are Craig Wright, Josh Reims, Yahlin Chang, Greg Berlanti, Melissa Berman, Matthew Gross, and Bryan Singer.^{[25][26][27][28]}

Broadcast history

The first season went into production on July 17, 2007,^[29] and premiered on ABC on September 26, 2007. So far, the series' time slot has not changed, though Dirty Sexy Money was on hiatus due to the WGA writers' strike as of January 9, 2008, the date on which replacement series Cashmere Mafia assumed the time slot. Men in Trees, which has a total of 11 filmed unaired episodes available, assumed the slot on February 27, 2008, potentially for the balance of the spring season.

International distribution

The show will be broadcast on Turner Network Television in Spain, Studio 23 in Philippines, Dizimax in Turkey and Nelonen in Finland. The series is being broadcast on the satellite/cable channel TNT in Spain since January 2008.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Following its cable TV run, Dirty Sexy Money will air in Spain on commercial terrestrial network Antena 3TV. The series, retitled Sexy Money for the Spanish audience, was due to premiere on Thursday 25th September 2008, opening Primetime at 22.15hrs. However, due to the strong competition on the night, Antena 3TV announced just two days prior to the premiere that the series was being moved to Sunday nights at 2215hrs, premiering on Sunday 28th September 2008. The series has had a high profile marketing campaign, including "Special features" airing as part of some of the channel's top rated programmes.

In Bulgaria the show is running on Nova Television.

In Canada, CTV first aired the show on Sundays at 10 pm (4 days after ABC), then it moved to 7 pm. CTV then moved the show to its secondary A system effective October 24, 2007 where it airs it in simulcast Wednesdays at 10 pm.^[34][35]

In Croatia, HRT will start with airing the series in Fall 2008.

In Denmark, TV2 started airing the series in January 2008. The show was cancelled in February 2008 due to low ratings.

In France it will be aired by Canal Plus from October 23, 2008.

In Germany, the pay-TV channel FOX will start airing the first season on October 30, 2008. The show is set to begin in free-TV in the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009 on ProSieben.

In Italy, the satellite channel Fox broadcasted the series since January 15, 2008.

In Latin America, AXN started airing the series on Tuesdays, beginning February 12, 2008.

New Zealand's TV2 started airing the show Wednesday nights at 9:30 pm, beginning February 6, 2008.

In Australia the Seven Network began airing the show on Monday 11th February 2008 at 9:30 pm.season two began being aired on the 2 on december

In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 began airing the episodes on Friday March 21 2008 at 9:00 pm. Prior to the launch of the show, Channel 4 employed a high profile promotional campaign on multiple channels. The Second season will be expected in early 2009 (around January/February), but the timeslot will be one hour later than season One at 10pm, due to Ugly Betty occupying the 9pm slot. This will not effect "first look" edition on E4 where Tuesday's at 9.00pm will remain as it's slot. It's unclear what will happen with the Sunday encore slot, as Desperate Housewives takes up two hours with an encore slot and a premiere slot between 9.00pm and 11, with Betty airing at 8.00pm encore. Season Two has no official premiere date yet, but the earliest possible date it will restart is July 2009, due to Ugly Betty starting 3 months later than the previous season. Ugly Betty will cover January-June, and it is most likely that by this point Big Brother 10 would have started, and as Friday is eviction night, that would pre-empt the rest of the schedule for that night. Therefore Summer 2009 is the earliest possible start. Like Brothers and sisters the cancellation/lack of interest could mean that the show is put into a different timeslot. Brothers and Sisters once aired on Wednesday's after Desperate Housewives, but was moved to a Monday morning slot of 2.00am. This is just one possibility which may happen with Dirty Sexy Money

In the The Netherlands, NET5 (SBS) started airing the show on Tuesday at 9:30 pm, beginning March 25, 2008.

In Poland the show started airing April 8th on FOX Life. On September 7 it started its run on the pubcaster's terrestrial TVP1, airing Sundays at 8.10pm

In Portugal the first season was aired by TVI.

In Hungary, RTL Klub started to broadcast the show from April 11, 2008. The show airs on Fridays at 10:00 pm after CSI:Miami. The show started very successfully. The first episode had a 31,2% SHR overall and 35% SHR in the 18-49 demographic.

In Sweden the show started airing April 10th on Kanal5 on Thursdays at 9.00 pm.

In Israel, the show started airing on the Israeli satellite TV network "Yes", Monday July 7.

In Hong Kong the show started airing July 17th on TVB Pearl on Thursdays at 10.35 pm.

In Norway the show began airing this fall on TV Norge.

In Malaysia the show started airing on 12th July onwards on 8TV Saturdays 10:30pm.

In Russia Channel One began airing the show on Monday, July 14, 2008 at 11:20 pm. Earlier it began airing in April 2008 on Fox Life Russia

In Ireland RTÉ One began airing the programme on Friday August 1, 2008 at 00:05

In South Africa the show is running on Mnet on Thursdays at 8.30pm.

In Japan the show began airing late fall of 2008 on the Super! Drama channel.

Marketing

Promotion

Using publicity from Paris Hilton's jail sentence controversy, ABC placed full-page advertisements in the Los Angeles Times and The New York Post that read: "We love Paris. The Darling Family." Later, an airplane towing a banner with the same message flew above the downtown courthouse on June 8 during Hilton's subsequent hearing.^[36] The network has also placed fake advertisements on popular gossip blog Perezhilton.com on August 6, 2007 "denouncing" the diva-like behavior of Samaire Armstrong's character, Juliet Darling, among others.^[37]

DVD release

Dirty Sexy Money: The Complete First Season was released on Region 1 DVD on 16 September 2008. The three-disc collection will include all 10 episodes from the first season.^[38]

It was released on Region 2 DVD on 20 October 2008.

• References
  

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Source: Wikipedia

Santa Claus coloring

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Christmas in France

On Christmas Eve, children leave their shoes by the fireplace to be filled with gifts from Pere Noel. In the morning they also find that sweets, fruit, nuts and small toys have been hung on the tree.

In cathedral squares, the story of Christ's birth is re-enacted by both players and puppets.

Nearly every French home at Christmastime displays a Nativity scene or crèche, which serves as the focus for the Christmas celebration. The crèche is often peopled with little clay figures called santons or "little saints." In addition to the usual Holy Family, shepherds, and Magi, the craftsmen also produce figures in the form of local dignitaries and characters. The craftsmanship involved in creating the gaily colored santons is quite astounding and the molds have been passed from generation to generation since the seventeenth century. Throughout December the figures are sold at annual Christmas fairs in Marseille and Aix.

The Christmas tree has never been particularly popular in France, and though the use of the Yule log has faded, the French make a traditional Yule log-shaped cake called the buche de Nol, which means "Christmas Log." The cake, among other food in great abundance is served at the grand feast of the season, which is called le reveillon. Le reveillon is a very late supper held after midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The menu for the meal varies according to regional culinary tradition. In Alsace, goose is the main course, in Burgundy it is turkey with chestnuts, and the Parisians feast upon oysters and pat de foie gras. Le Revellion may consist of poultry, ham, salads, cake, fruit and wine.

In Southern France, a log is burned in people's homes from Christmas Eve until New Years Day. A long time ago, part of the log was used to make the wedge for the plough as good luck for the coming harvest.

The traditional Christmas is a chocolate log.

In France families once had a Three Kings Cake with a bean hidden in it. Whoever found the bean in their slice was made King, or Queen, for the day.

In France the children go out to look for the Kings, taking gifts of hay for the camels.

Another name for this day is Twelfth Day. It is the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which used to be one long holiday. It was the last night of the Feast of Fools before the Lord of Misrule had to give up his crown and become themselves once again.

In France it is a time for the whole family to come together at Christmas time to holiday and worship. On the eve of Christmas beautifully lit churches and cathedrals, ring out Christmas carols with the church bells.

Once dinner is over and the family has retired to bed, they leave a fire burning and food and drink on the table in case the Virgin Mary calls in. Children leave their shoes or wooden clogs called sabots in the hearth for the Christ Child or Pere Noel to fill. In the north of France, children are given gifts on December 6, which is St. Nicholas' Day, instead of Christmas Day. The adults give each others presents on New Year's Day.

French children set out their shoes in hopes that le petit Jesus will fill them during the night with small gifts.

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Source: Santas