Tag: HBO

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I See I Write

Don’t Miss Flight of the Conchords 2 Season Premier Rerun This Sat 1am

Watching FotC 2 at Art Museum

How time flies!  A year ago this month, HBO has invited Cynthia and I for the screening of the Flight of the Conchords (FotC).  This year, the The New Zealand Trade & Enterprise together with HBO have invited us for the special screening of the FotC Season 2.  In case if you haven’t heard, FotC is a New Zealand comedy production that carries a “HBO Original Series” branding.  Cynthia and I have watched the entire Season 1 and it was h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s!  We still play that CD whenever we need something just to cheer us up.

We were looking forward to the season premier last Monday at 11pm.  Unfortunately, Cynthia fell asleep watching Pirates of the Caribbean (episode 3) while I was busy blogging.  And because of that, we have missed the season premier of FotC 2.  Aahh~!

Fear not!  If you too have missed it like us, there is a rerun this Saturday at 1am (or Friday late night if you count the day ends when you fall asleep).  From the two episodes we have watched at the Arts House this evening, Bret and Jemaine as well as the band manager Murray are still as hilarious as ever.  Music is a major element in the FotC series and in this new season, the music appears to have sounded fresh and interesting.  Probably because Bret and Jemaine have composed this new set of songs after season 1 versus a ready-made music album years in the making for the previous season.  We have also noticed that in this season, Jemaine seems to play a larger role than Bret.  Maybe they want to do something different this season.

My alarm clock is set.  No way we are going to miss this rerun.  FotC 2 is broadcast at HBO on every Monday at 11pm and a Saturday rerun at 1am (OK, the entertainment industry may refer that as Friday).  As always, a big thanks to the HBO team for extending the invitation to us as well as the lovely dinner.  How time flies eh?

Categories
I See I Write

TRUE BLOOD – Watch it at MAX – 09.04.2009 9pm

Our very own TRUE BLOOD poster!

I was inspired to make my own “True Blood” poster after receiving our very own framed mini-posters at the end of the HBO blogger event that look just like that.  Except, my mugshot is not appetizing.  And Cynthia had tilted her head a bit too much.  This evening, both of us were examining the original poster in detail and tried our best to replicate.  OK, one thing I’ve discovered about Cynthia: she doesn’t have bright red lipstick!  I thought all girls have those.  Apparently not so.  So, here is Cynthia, on a poster, made by me.

Starring Anna Paquin (Golden Globe winner) in this new HBO series created by Alan Ball (of “Six Feet Under”).  “Anna who?” I asked quietly during the event.  “Rogue, Rogue!  In X-Men!” answered Cynthia discreetly.  Honestly speaking, I can seldom remember actresses or actors’ names.  Till today, I still cannot spell the name of the dude who plays Neo in “The Matrix” (I bet my movie partner TK must be laughing when he reads this).

“True Blood” is truly mind blowing.  Not just the bizarre sex scenes, of course, but the concept.  A young woman with telepathy ability, vampires that feed on made-in-Japan synthetic blood (I think), humans that feed on vampire blood to gain that out-of-the-world-Viagra-like ability, humans and vampires coexist in one society, and much more.  Knowing HBO, “True Blood” is not one of those typical vampire series.  I think there must be a slice of our society they wish to portray.  That’s what I gathered after watching the super long trailer as well as the first episode during the event.  There are 12 episodes in total, so I was told (note: I wonder if some parts get censored here in Singapore).

The event was fun.  The barman at Ink Club Bar @ Fairmont Singapore has created a concoction called True Blood.  I took the virgin one (since I have not drank a single drop of alcohol for more than a year) while Cynthia took the authentic True Blood.  Maybe that’s why I didn’t get the intended Viagra-like effect …

… ahem … too much details.

According to the lovely communications team at HBO Asia, MAX (a.k.a. Cinemax) is more male-skewed because one study shows that we men are more loyal to TV channels.  That could be true, at least for me.  Man, I’d love to subscribe to MAX, for “True Blood”.  But what the study may not have showed is that although men love to stay loyal to the channels we love, women are the ones who control the cable subscription plan.  At least, that’s how our household works.  One day I returned home, Cynthia looked at me in her extraordinary tender eyes and she said, “I have reconfigured our cable subscription plan.”  “Uh-huh,” replied I, in my usual style.  “I have dropped [your] Channel V, streamlined our movie channels, and I have subscribed to [my] sport channels.”

Keeping my fingers crossed for my “True Blood” application form.  Meanwhile, below are some of the pictures we took during the event.  See if you can read that secret recipe of “True Blood”.  Results may vary.  Mix it at your own risk!

Related External Link: True Blood

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Memorable Events

HBO Asia Premiere of Flight of the Conchords‏ – A Blogger Event

I was invited to a blogger event hosted by HBO Asia.  And I grabbed Cynthia along to keep me away from the distraction of so many beautiful celebrity bloggers at the party.  It was a memorable evening, eye-opening to say the least, to tour the HBO compound from production to live broadcast.  Before we get into that, let’s talk about this new HBO TV series “Flight of the Conchords” premiering next Wednesday at 10.30pm.

Is there such a genre as comedy rock?  Apparently there is.  A New Zealand award wining comedy duo – Bret and Jemaine – that brings laughter to the audience through their witty observation and music, I find their new TV series much fun to watch.  Having New York City as the backdrop, “Flight of the Conchords” tells a story of two New Zealanders trying hard to achieve success in America.  The comedy materials are original, interlaced with hilariously over-the-top music videos, and beyond all these never-would-have-expected human behaviors, there is certain level of rawness and honestly from the comedian team and from the set.  Nothing is over-produced; it is what it is. 

Now, back to the blogger event, Cynthia and I had the opportunity to see the various processes involved in creating a promo clip.  How talented and specialized the crew members are in creating all those extra stuff you see on the HBO channel.  I for sure will not watch the channel the same way as before.  Since I too enjoy creating videos and recording music of my band in my leisure time, seeing how the pros do it is indeed inspiring.

The most dramatic part of the tour – besides viewing two episodes of “Flight of the Conchords” – is the dark control room that does the satellite broadcast to the countries in the Asia region (top right picture above).  TV programs are transmitted live with subtitles catered for different geographies, real time access of 120 TB worth of movies (I did ask if I could make a copy) – all monitored by one single person.  I don’t watch that much TV but for the TV loving Cynthia, I could only imagine what this tour means to her.

In a (secret) room somewhere I saw two huge flat panel TVs broadcasting HD signal.  Wow … HD testing!  Dear HBO Asia, if you need volunteers at home to test your HD signal, I would kindly sacrifice my living room to be the HBO HD test center.  I would even buy a flat panel TV for that purpose.

Big thanks to Karen and her team from HBO in giving us such a memorable experience, a wonderful host with such great hospitality.  And also cheers to the folks from Text100.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Related site: HBO Asia Flight of the Conchords Blog