On Monday SOAPnet issued the press release below touting the acquisition of 19 new movies. I would not be opposed to movies on the channel if they played soap-related films such as The Cradle Will Fall (the GUIDING LIGHT movie) or the two hour movie premiere of LOVING. But the movies they are acquiring are not "soapy" as they claim, do not always even feature former soap actors, and have been played to death on other cable stations already. So what gives? SOAPNET ACQUIRES A PACKAGE OF 19 MOVIES FROM SONY PICTURES TELEVISION, INC. FOR ITS SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIES FRANCHISE
As part of an ongoing strategic effort to increase SOAPnet’s reach, target new viewers and expand the genre, Brian Frons, President, Daytime, Disney-ABC Television Group, announced today the acquisition of 19 movies from Sony Pictures Television, Inc., expanding SOAPnet's Sunday Night Movie franchise, which airs Sundays at 10PM ET/PT. The theatrical titles from Sony Pictures Television, Inc. include Hitch, Fun with Dick and Jane, Something’s Gotta Give, Sleepless in Seattle, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Jerry Maguire, Groundhog Day, Roxanne, Fools Rush In, Postcards From The Edge, Only You, It Could Happen To You, Crazy in Alabama, Ice Castles, Loverboy, Cruel Intentions 2, Mixed Nuts, Nadine, and Lone Star State of Mind.
"SOAPnet added movies to its programming slate a year ago in an effort to expand 'soapy' programming and extend its reach," said Frons. "Each of the titles offers an entry point for new viewers, accentuating SOAPnet’s brand."
The movies, which will begin airing in December, will join SOAPnet’s recently announced new series including the reality show, GREG BEHRENDT'S WAKE-UP CALL, which premieres January 8, 2009 at 10PM; the scripted drama BEING ERICA which premieres February 19 at 10PM and the docusoap SOUTHERN BELLES: LOUISVILLE premiering June 4th at 10PM. The new programming compliments the serialized drama found in SOAPnet’s daytime and primetime offerings.
A description of each movie follows:
Hitch stars Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Adam Arkin, Michael Rapaport, Tobias Truvillion and Rain Phoenix. Hitch is "The Date Doctor," an expert who teaches awkward men how to date women. But when he meets Sara, he finds himself stumbling and unable to follow his own advice.
Fun with Dick and Jane stars Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, Angie Harmon, John Michael Higgins, Richard Burgi, Ralph Nader, Clint Howard, Rick Overton, and Laurie Metcalf. A down-on-their-luck couple decides to pay the bills by going on a crime spree.
Something's Gotta Give stars Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau and Paul Michael Glaser. A woman finds herself falling for her daughter's much older boyfriend while spending the weekend together at her beach house.
Sleepless in Seattle stars Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, Rita Wilson, David Hyde Pierce and Rob Reiner. A woman falls for a lonely man she hears calling in to a radio show one night.
My Best Friend's Wedding stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, M. Emmet Walsh, Rachel Griffiths, Susan Sullivan, Christopher Masterson, Paul Giamatti and Harry Shearer. Julianne realizes she's in love with her best friend Michael, right before his marriage to Kimmy, so she pretends to be the perfect "groomsman" while secretly trying to sabotage the wedding. Will she win his heart before he says "I do?"
Jerry Maguire stars Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt, Regina King, Jonathan Lipnicki, Alexandra Wentworth, Aries Spears, Kelly Coffield, Donal Logue, Drake Bell, Christine Cavanaugh, Eric Stoltz, Lucy Liu, Emily Procter, Roy Firestone, Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Troy Aikman and Beau Bridges. A morally questionable sports agent has an epiphany that he needs to turn his life around, so he leaves his high-end job with only one client in tow. Can he stay true to himself and still succeed?
Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brian Doyle-Murray, Rick Overton, Robin Duke, Willie Garson and Harold Ramis. A sardonic weatherman is forced to repeat the same awful day over and over again.
Roxanne stars Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Shelley Duvall and Fred Willard. A modern update on "Cyrano de Bergerac. New girl in town Roxanne flirts with hunky fireman Chris. But Chris is totally tongue-tied around women, so he enlists the help of his poetic (but big-nosed) friend C.D. Soon C.D. finds himself also in love with Roxanne.
Fools Rush In stars Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Jill Clayburgh and Shelley Morrison. Alex and Isabel have an impulsive one-night stand that ends up in her getting pregnant. They decide to get married, but can two strangers with such diverse cultures, families and lifestyles make it work?
Postcards From The Edge stars Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Conrad Bain, Annette Bening, Simon Callow, CCH Pounder and Oliver Platt. Actress/writer Carrie Fisher's fictional take on her life with mother Debbie Reynolds. After a stint in rehab, an actress is forced to move back in with her overbearing mother.
Only You stars Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Fisher Stevens, Billy Zane and Siobhan Fallon
A woman is convinced she is destined to marry a man named Damon Bradley. But after years of searching for him, she gives up and agrees to marry another. On the eve of her wedding, she gets a call from one of his old school chum—Damon Bradley. Deciding that fate has finally put him in her life, she grabs her sister-in-law and hops on a plane to search for him.
It Could Happen To You stars Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez, Isaac Hayes, Stanley Tucci, Red Buttons, Richard Jenkins, Vincent Pastore and Emily Deschanel. Short on cash, a cop promises a waitress that in place of a tip, he'll split any earnings off the lottery ticket in his pocket. But when he actually wins $4 million dollars, his wife refuses to share.
Crazy in Alabama stars Melanie Griffith, David Morse, Cathy Moriarty, Meat Loaf, Rod Steiger, Richard Schiff, Robert Wagner, Noah Emmerich, Fannie Flagg and Elizabeth Perkins. A coming-of-age story about a young boy dealing with a racially motivated murder, a corrupt sheriff and a glamorous aunt who dreams of moving to Hollywood to become a star.
Ice Castles stars Robby Benson, Colleen Dewhurst and Tom Skerritt. The Oscar-nominated film centers around an up-and-coming champion figure skater whose career is cut short after an accident leaves her blind. With the help of her family and the love a new boyfriend, she will risk it all to realize her dreams.
Loverboy Patrick Dempsey, Kate Jackson, Dylan Walsh, Vic Tayback, Robert Picardo, Kirstie Alley, Carrie Fisher and E.G. Daily. A student becomes a pizza delivery boy to earn college tuition, but he quickly finds himself moonlighting as a lothario when the lonely housewives of the town order a little something extra with their pizza.
Cruel Intentions 2 stars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Louise Fletcher, Joshua Jackson, Eric Mabius, Sean Patrick Thomas, Swoosie Kurtz, Christine Baranski, Tara Reid and Charlie O'Connell. A prequel to the 1999 hit, the film follows rich, spoiled stepsiblings Sebastian and Kathryn as they manipulate the lives of others at their exclusive prep school.
Mixed Nuts stars Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, Anthony LaPaglia, Juliette Lewis, Rob Reiner, Adam Sandler, Liev Schreiber, Rita Wilson, Parker Posey, Jon Stewart, Joely Fisher, Garry Shandling, Steven Wright, Mary Gross and Haley Joe Osment. Three hotline counselors are in desperate need of their own advice when they face eviction on Christmas Eve. They run into a variety of odd people, including the penniless couple about to become parents, the insecure transvestite, the song writer and the dog walker.
Nadine stars Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Rip Torn and Jerry Stiller. A woman who witnessed a murder must go on the run with her estranged husband.
Lone Star State of Mind stars Joshua Jackson, Jaime King, John Mellencamp, DJ Qualls and Thomas Haden Church. A man and his fiancée have to give up their plans to move to LA after her cousin begs them for
money to save his life. Seems the cousin and his friend robbed a pizza delivery guy, who actually worked for drug lords--and now they want their money back.
SoapNet is now truly pathetic. What do any of these movies or programming have to do with soaps. If it weren't for the soaps they air each night, this network should not have the word "soap" in it. It has been such a disappointment for me. At first, I loved it because of the Ryan's Hope / Another World / Santa Barbara reruns plus the daily eps of the current shows. And the Dallas, Knots and Dynasty reruns were great too. That is what a soap network is all about. It seems to me that the soap industry wants to implode. They want to fail. they do not want to give the fans what they want. They want the fans to think that these changes are for the best. BULLS**T!! Brian Frons is horrible. He sticks his nose into too many writer's meetings and he is ruining SoapNet. I only use SoapNet to Tivo my soaps. Otherwise, I no longer watch it when I used to record half of all my TV watching from there. I was faithfully watching RH, AW and SB when they were on but one excuse after another came for getting rid of those classic shows. they could be rerunning Loving/The City, Texas, Capitol, GL from the early 80's - 90's, early any show for that matter. SoapNet should be for a niche audience and they are trying to make it as broadly accessible as it can be by putting schlocky rom-coms on?! UGH! I am so frustrated with the whole thing because I felt like SoapNet was created for people like me, who are fanatic soap fans, not for the masses.
ReplyDeleteLess movies, more soaps! What about The Edge of Night, Capitol, Search for Tomorrow, Rituals, etc? Bring over some of the UK soaps.
ReplyDeleteHeck, though I'm not a writer for TV, I think it would be very cool if someone -- and yes, it would be logical if it were SoapNet -- would start doing a series of "documentaries" (or whatever one wants to call them) about shows that aren't on. I would LOVE to see even an hour-long show about The Edge of Night with interviews with the former cast/writers/producers (oh, if only Henry Slesar were still alive). It makes no sense to have a channel like this if all you're going to do is show movies that have no soap opera connection (and a cameo by a soap star doesn't count)!
FRONS is a loser, in every meaningful sense.
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