New VH1 series to feature Elton documentary

Elton John: Me, Myself and I will make its debut on VH1's new Rock Doc series;

VH1 gets into Monkey business

A documentary about music icon Elton John produced by London-based indie Monkey Kingdom is among seven new productions set to hit US cablenet VH1's schedule.

[SB decode wk 1 fri] Elton John: Me, Myself and I (1x60') originally aired on UK broadcaster ITV in September 2007. Touted as "a private insight" into the singer's life "unlike anything ever seen before in any television documentary," the one-off special features Elton John narrating the story of his life aided by rare archive material.

The documentary will air as part of VH1's Rock Doc strand on June 7. The channel has also greenlit an original Rock Doc to air on April 5.

Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Never saw this before...and after watching it once I can see why. And how is this still available on YouTube? You'll know what I mean after watching it...

Elton to perform at first "Movies Rock" concert

Beyonce, Elton, Fergie Set For 'Movies Rock'

October 24, 2007, 11:15 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

A star-studded music roster is on board for the first Movies Rock concert, to be taped Dec. 2 at Los Angeles' Kodak Theatre for broadcast five days later on CBS. Performers such as Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Elton John, Fergie, Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson will perform notable songs from classic films at the event.

Beyonce will sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz," while Underwood will tackle the title number from "The Sound of Music." Other pairings on tap include Hudson on "Goldfinger," Fergie on "Live and Let Die," Blige and John Legend on "As Time Goes By" and John on music from animated films.

Proceeds from the event, which mirrors the annual Fashion Rocks event in New York, will benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation.

As with Fashion Rocks, a supplemental magazine dubbed "Movies Rock" will be included with 14 Conde Nast titles, beginning Nov. 1.

Elton this weekend at the "Concert for Diana"

Princess Diana rules over NBC's weekend schedule
Lauer broadcasts live from London; concert on Sunday

Matt Lauer isn't exactly in the inner circle at Buckingham Palace.

"I'm not a royal-watcher," Lauer said. "I'm probably the least royal-watcher of any of my friends."

But he might seem like one over the next few days.
Advertisement

This morning, he'll do his portion of "Today" from London. On Sunday, NBC reruns his interview with princes William and Harry, then has him hosting the hosting the American telecast of the "Concert for Diana."

The latter will be quick and condensed. The actual concert is likely to run more than six hours in London's Wembley Stadium, Lauer said; NBC plans to carry only an hour.

The concert is on what would have been the 46th birthday of Princess Diana, the late mother of William and Harry.

At first, it was described as a collection of her favorite performers. Elton John and Duran Duran top the bill.

Still, the princes also chose people from their generation. "They really wanted it to be a healthy mix," Lauer said.

At the time of Diana's death (almost a decade ago), Kanye West was 20, Nelly Furtado was 18, Natasha Bedingfield was 15, Lily Allen was 12 and Joss Stone was 10. All are expected to perform Sunday, plus Diddy, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Bryan Ferry, Pharrell and more.

The princes are only scheduled to introduce Furtado, Lauer said. He's betting that the introduction will be included in NBC's abridged version.

Critics have argued that when NBC paid $2.5 million for the concert rights, it was also buying the interview. Lauer disputes that. "What it got was the concert," he said. "Then there were a lot of discussions."

He dealt with Palace officials. "It was a little like an audition. ... I sent some tapes of high-profile interviews."

The result was a 36-minute interview, he said, and he used virtually all of it in the "Dateline" hour and on "Today." For all of the details, however, he said the princes were pleasant.

"I thought they'd be stiff- upper-lip, cautious, guarded. But they kidded each other and kidded me. ... I just liked the guys."

Powered by ScribeFire.

Elton birthday concert scores big!

The April 5 prime-time airing on MyNetworkTV of the Elton John birthday concert from New York’s Madison Square Garden earned a household 1.8/3 overnight rating, the highest in the network’s history, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

In 13 of the top 20 markets, the telecast produced ratings of 2.0 or higher, including a 3.1 rating in Miami and a 3.3 rating in Cleveland. In the New York market, the telecast earned a 2.6, in Atlanta, a 2.7, in Chicago, a 2.3, and in Philadelphia, a 2.4.

Among women 25-54, Atlanta produced the highest ratings with a 2.7, while New York recorded a 1.7. Among women 18-49, the Atlanta market recorded a 2.1, while New York earned a 1.8.
MNTV, which went on the air in September 2006, recently announced that it was scrapping its prime-time soap opera format, and moving to mini-series-, reality- and other entertainment specials-type programming.

Powered by ScribeFire.