SpongeBob SquarePants: Passionate about chasing jellyfish.

Does the man who created Walter White, antihero of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (with a heavy emphasis on the anti), think there’s room for nice guys in today’s television landscape?

Do animated sponges who live underwater count?

Vince Gilligan thinks so.  In an interview in today’s New York Magazine, the creator and showrunner of “Breaking Bad” makes his pick for the last interesting do-gooder on television.

Are there any honest-to-God nice characters on TV that you still find interesting?

SpongeBob SquarePants is a great show, and it centers on a character that is courageously nice. Why is SpongeBob interesting? It’s because he has passion. He has a passion for chasing jellyfish. I’m very glad people love Breaking Bad, but the harder character to write is the good character that’s as interesting and as engaging as the bad guy. My hat is off to the SpongeBob showrunners. It’s like how Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backward and in high heels. That’s kind of the struggle you face when you’re writing the good guy now instead of a bad guy.

The post ‘Breaking Bad’ Creator on SpongeBob: “…a character that is courageously nice.” appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

Critics are calling him a national laughingstock for his supposed naiveté. All kinds of people who ordinarily pay no attention to country music are suddenly experts on the race issue — and the music. Meanwhile Paisley is taking it pretty calmly, even going on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to explain the song.

“I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but there’s some racial tension here and there,” Paisley said. “I felt like when we were writing the song, I didn’t really feel like it was up to the media or Hollywood … or sorta talk radio to deal with that. I think it’s music’s turn to have that conversation.”

In his liner notes for his new album Wheelhouse (his nickname for the recording studio), Paisley writes that the album is “a digital journal of the shattering of comfort zones and collateral magic. … We had only one rule with this record: to throw out the rules.”

The song’s title itself is awkward. “Accidental Racist” suggests some kind of innocent kid just sort of accidentally wearing his rebel flag emblazoned Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt out in public. Then he wanders into a Starbucks (product placement?) and the sight of the flag offends a black barista. And the narrator has the nerve to justify his flag by saying he just loves Skynyrd. That is begging the question. If you buy and openly wear a shirt with a Confederate flag on it, you are making a public statement, dude. Live with the consequences.

In my non-songwriter’s opinion, the song is extremely earnest and well-meaning, if clumsily written. And is matched by LL Cool J’s equally inept rap, rhyming “do rag” with “red flag” and equating gold bling necklaces with slave chains.

Paisley has flirted with social topics before. In “Welcome to the Future,” he obliquely gave a nod to Barack Obama for getting elected president.

If there is one lesson Paisley can take away from this furor, it’s that you can’t solve a hundred-plus year-old social problem with a six-minute country song. I’m glad he’s asking the question, though — a question all the dirt-road, beer-drinking, truck-driving country boys will never ask.

You can’t totally rehab a social issue with one slogan or mantra. “Give peace a chance” was a good candidate, but it still hasn’t caught on.

But just ask Natalie Maines. She should have figured out that you can’t wish away an unwanted war with a one-minute diatribe from the concert stage. Back when telegrams still existed, concert promoters said of protest singers, “If you want to send a message, call Western Union.”

Read more about the “Accidental Racist” controversy at MTV.com.

This NASHVILLE SKYLINE column first appeared on CMT.com. Chet Flippo is Editorial Director for CMT/CMT.com.

The post Brad Paisley/LL Cool J ‘Accidental Racist’ Collab Heats Up the Internet appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

For the freshest commentary, Nikki and Sara stay up-to-date on the latest celebrity news through a selection of blogs and Twitter and an Us Weekly app (Nikki), as well as gossip blog aggregator “WeSmirch” (Sara). After watching the first few episodes, though, it’s clear that the show is more fun than gossip. Nikki and Sara are two smart, funny women and their show is a fun lighthearted addition to the late night circuit – honest and sharp, without being scathing. And as lame as it might sound, their friendship, which shines through on-screen, delivers a refreshing sense of female camaraderie.

Here’s what Nikki and Sara had to say about their new show, what topics they see as “off-limits,” how they’ll evolve their social media presence to meet the needs of a growing audience, and, of course, Justin Timberlake.

What about Nikki & Sara sets it apart from the rest of the Late Night scene?

Sara: I think that because it’s two of us, and because it’s live, that makes it different. We’re also for MTV’s audience, which is a young but very pop culture savvy audience. When you combine all these factors together, we’re bringing something you’re not going to see anywhere else. Plus, we want it to be a fun show, not necessarily a biting, scathing celebrity tear-down show.  You’re not tuning in for that. You’re tuning in to talk about the things you’ve seen this week and hear what Sara and Nikki have to say about it.

Are any topics off-limits to you? How does your standup compare to what we might see on the show?

Nikki: One topic we want to completely stay away from is Chris Brown – that’s sort of like a mission statement over here for ourselves and our writing staffs. In terms of edginess, we’re trying to be as funny as possible – we’re not going to push the envelope for the sake of pushing the envelope.

Sara: We want to say smart, intelligent things layered in with what we’re joking about. If you think about what we’re saying, we’re either making a point about how we treat celebrities, how Hollywood treats people – we’re not trying to hit people over the head with it. Over time, as Nikki and I get more comfortable, we’re going to reveal more about ourselves. Compared to our stand-up, I think both of our standup material is very personal. It’s about our lives. We’re not doing the same jokes we’d do in standup, but I think our voice comes through regardless.

Nikki: The same filter we put our lives through when we’re doing standup, we’re doing with celebrities.

The two of you obviously have a relationship that goes deeper than work. How does your friendship and dynamic inform your comedy on the show?

Nikki: We’re best friends and co-hosts – we have a professional relationship. We treat ourselves like we treat celebrities – we call each other out when it’s deserved, but we’re not mean to each other because we love each other. We have senses of humor about each other.

Sarah: We support each other. You can see that on the show. We like to laugh about what’s cute about each other. We’re not those girls that go, like, “Hey B*tch!” We don’t call each other bitches. We have a sweet friendship. And I think that comes through and that makes us a little different than what you might expect from two very honest, strong female standup comedians. I think that’s the surprise that you get when you watch the show – that we’re hugging each other and enthusiastic about each other.

Being women – how does that inform your comedy? Do you consider yourself female comediennes or are you past that?

Sarah: I think we’re past it, but I think we’re not ashamed to say I am female and I am a comedian – and that that makes me different. We’re proud of it. To generalize, I think women tend to be more authentic in expressing their emotions and being open. I think that that adds to our appeal and our comedy because we’re not afraid to say what we think and express ourselves – and it’s not like it’s to be “cool” or to impress anyone. When you sign up to be a comedian and you’re a girl, it’s not to get laid. Somehow I think a lot of guys want to be the in the center of the spotlight to get the girl. Girls want to be in the spotlight because they want to say something, and they want to be heard. Again, I’m making generalizations – this isn’t true across the board for everybody.

Do you have favorite comedians, comedians that inspire you?

Sara: I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and Louis CK. Growing up, Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres were very influential.

Nikki: I would also say Ellen and Tina Fey, but also, just in terms of late night influences, Jimmy Kimmel – his show I want to watch because he seems more off-the-cuff than other hosts. His interviews seem like free form conversation. There’s a genuine interest in joking around, and there seems to be a friendship there with everyone he talks to. Plus his monologue is fun. I think the same for Conan. Conan is my hero. I will always look toward him for comedic guidance. His silliness is something that I truly admire.

How are you guys going to leverage your online presence with the show?

Nikki: We don’t have a Twitter account for our show because we both want to feel connected to our fans, so we’re keeping our personal accounts. I enjoy tweeting up until the moment I walk on stage. I have my phone in my hand, not my assistant tweeting for me. We want to give our followers a behind the scenes perspective – feeling like they really know us and are friends with us – because we’re open to that.

Sara: We’re doing live aftershow online after each episode so people can immediately ask us questions about what they saw on the show, right in the moment. I think that’s a great way to connect directly with people. This [engaging online] is just something I’ve been doing for a long time, working for an online TV show. It’s great to have my own show to take everything I learned from the past and really apply it. We’re going to do special web features – and treat that with the same quality and attention as we’d treat the TV material. I think sometimes people look at the web stuff as an afterthought, and it doesn’t turn out as great, but why would anyone want that? We’re still doing our podcasts and will continue to do those – those, through our fans, helped get us here.

So far you’ve brought Ke$ha, Jenny McCarthy, Shane Mitchell of Pretty Little Liars – who would you love to bring on the show?

Sara: I would love to try and get Justin Timberlake to come on the show since we’re such huge fans and it makes total sense to us that he would do our show… but who knows.

Do you feel responsible for his comeback [through your video]?

Nikki: If you noticed, the Grammy ads all touted “Justin Timberlake’s return to music,” and I don’t know if it would have been presented this way if we hadn’t done our part.

Sara: We put a voice to a feeling that a lot of people had about this particular situation. He had his plans the whole time, but maybe we helped him realize how much people wanted this and how he could capitalize on that and make a really big deal out of it, which is what he’s doing and I love it.

Did his return disappoint? How do you feel about “Suit & Tie”?

Nikki: We love it. “Suit & Tie” is like the theme song – it’s what we listen to to get amped up for shows. It’s what we listen to at the office.

Nikki & Sara Live airs on Tuesday nights at 11 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

The post ‘Nikki & Sara’ Bring Unique Dynamic to Late Night appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

Key Findings

For female Adultsters, now is the time to get serious.

While dating in the early 20s was more about self-exploration and fun, female Adultsters want to stop dating casually and start looking for a lifelong partner, with 84% reporting that they are more interested in dating one person seriously than multiple people casually.

Despite reports that this is a “marriage averse” generation, Adultster women have marriage on the brain.

While “marriage delay” is real for Adultsters – over the past 5 decades, the average age of marriage has gone up 5 years, from 21 to 26 years old – and this group is accepting of  “unconventional” partnering paths as evidenced by the rise in cohabitation rates, the majority of Adultsters consider marriage the end goal.

Adultsters delay marriage to make sure they’re confident in who they are before bringing someone else into the picture.

A full 84% agree, “Even though it’s ok not to get married, I still want to get married someday.”

Thoughts around the institution of marriage are being redefined.

This generation sees marriage as more of an accomplishment rather than a necessity or convention, which is arguably distinct from previous generations.

Many “increased freedoms” that come with dating today make women feel like it’s a promising time to be a dater.

Free to still be dating at this age. There’s permission for women to date around; to talk about dating; to embrace being single; and there’s no set timeline to follow.

Free to be me. Women are embracing dating in their late 20s/early 30s because, having gone through a phase of self-exploration, they don’t feel like they have to compromise any parts of themselves. They have the freedom to be themselves, quirks and all.

Free to actively pursue dates. From online dating sites to sports clubs, bar trivia and religious institutions, there are endless ways to meet new people.

Free to settle down, but not settle. There is no longer a sense that one is unsuccessful in life if marriage and kids don’t happen by 25.

• Adultsters prioritize maintaining their authentic identity far above coupling just for the sake of coupling.
• 62% disagree with the statement, “I’d rather settle for someone ‘good enough’ than be single the rest of my life.”
• Men are nearly twice as likely to say that they’d rather settle for someone “good enough” than be single for the rest of their lives (31% of men, versus 17% of women).
  

But newfound freedoms bring increased emotional stakes.

Pressure to get it right. As women have raised the standards for themselves in terms of their education, career and family, they’ve also raised the standards for what they look for in a partner.

• Intelligence, shared morals/values, open-mindedness, physical attractiveness and a shared level of ambition are all high priorities women have for their partners. Yet 71% feel there doesn’t seem to be a lot of quality single men out there, namely because they seem to be using their freedom to date non-committedly.
• Social graphs compound the pressure. The constant flow of Facebook relationship statuses, engagement posts, Twitter feeds, viral YouTube wedding videos and baby pics remind them that other people are “getting it right.”

Gender roles in flux. Women find themselves torn between being the modern, independent people they’re used to being in almost every area of their life and wanting men to take control of the dating experience.

• A full 85% of women prefer that a guy ask them out rather than having to ask a guy out.

Dating in a digital world. With multiple ways of communicating – and multiple meanings attached to each mode of communication – dating in a digital, tech-driven world can create confusion.

• 59% of women put a lot of thought into how they choose to communicate (i.e. text versus email).
• 82% look for background information on people with whom they go on dates (i.e. Google searches).

Implications:

Since female Adultster daters are letting their single flags fly, marketers shouldn’t feel a need to shy away from the topic. Instead, they should embrace it much like daters themselves are doing. Specifically, marketers can reach this demo through humor, as female Adultsters appreciate seeing a comedic, lighthearted take on their situations.

When tailoring a message to female Adultsters, acknowledging some of the tensions that exist around dating for this demo may also be helpful. These include:

• Freedom not to settle
• Pressure to get it right
• Drive to be a modern-day woman but desire to be “treated like a lady” by guys
• Complexities technology brings to the dating table
• Need to have romantic partners live up to high standards women set for themselves

The Methodology:

This study was based on a 3-phase approach, including two focus groups held in Atlanta, GA with single, heterosexual women (25-34-years-old); an online quantitative survey of 170 male and female Adultsters (25-34-years-old) in July 2011; and a literature review of popular press and trade articles related to dating.

The post Consumer Insights: VH1′s ‘State of the [Romantic] Union’ appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

Who will be this year’s winners in the race to the Oscars? Any way you look at it, the field of contestants is stacked, which is why EPIX is thrilled to bring intimate conversations with the Directors and cast from this year’s biggest Academy contenders to movie fans across the nation. From Anne Hathaway to Quvenzhané Wallis, Ben Affleck to Bradley Cooper, EPIX partnered with The Los Angeles Times on its star-studded panels in “The Envelope” series and is excited to present “The Envelope Please…,” an exclusive on-air and digital series beginning tomorrow, Feb. 8.

Ahead of the premiere, we spoke with Kirk Iwanowski, CMO of EPIX, to hear about the genesis of the partnership and the series — as well as the surprises that come with producing 13 panels featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

This is the first time The Los Angeles Times partnered with a network on their celebrated screening series, The Envelope. How did this partnership come about?

KI: Having produced Academy campaigns in the past, I was very familiar with “The Envelope” and recognized that there was an opportunity to bring these intimate conversations and compelling content to a much wider audience. Fortunately, the LA Times was familiar with the growing profile of EPIX and valued our ability to extend the reach of this series to consumers across multiple platforms, which ultimately led to the collaboration.

From our standpoint, working with The LA Times on the series was a natural fit – it reinforces our WE GET BIG MOVIES positioning in the marketplace, allows us to continue to deliver against the brand promise of providing the most immersive movie experience for the entertainment enthusiast and establishes a strong foothold for the network in Hollywood and the creative communities on both coasts.

How did you measure the success of the partnership?

KI: Success for us was based on several critical elements:

• A-List Talent. Were we able to secure the Directors and Actors our subscribers would be interested in and ultimately select those movies with the greatest likelihood for a nomination come Awards Season? Fortunately EPIX and the LA Times were able to deliver on both accounts.
• Immediate Turnaround. Since this had never been done before, would we able to produce, edit and clear the panels in a 24-hour window so they could be streamed on EpixHD.com and the LATimes.com and syndicated to our digital partners including Entertainment Tonight, Movietickets.com and Hollywood.com? It wasn’t without some loss of hair, but we pulled it off with an unlimited supply of caffeine for the production team.
• Engaging Content. Would the content connect with EPIX subscribers, LA Times readers and general movie fans online? The campaign is still live and the numbers are coming in in real time, but to date, the LA Times has had almost six times more views of the content than any time in the past; 20% of all visitors who streamed the content online, watched the segments in their entirety and for the first time ever, clips from the series broke the top 10 list of video views on LATimes.com during the duration of the program.

Any unforeseen obstacles?

KI: Fortunately we didn’t have to deal with any “no shows,” but we were pleasantly surprised with three unannounced guests – George Clooney (Producer) and Bryan Cranston (co-star) joined the rest of the cast and Director, Ben Affleck from ARGO, and William H. Macy joined co-star Helen Hunt from THE SESSIONS.  While there were many memorable moments not fit for print – a few that are free to share include David O’ Russell (Director, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK) hunting down Ben Affleck for tips on how to shoot in Boston, Kathryn Bigelow’s (Director, ZERO DARK THIRTY) noticeable awe in meeting Ang Lee (Director, LIFE OF PI) for the first time and the audible gasp in the audience when Matthias Schoenaerts (Star, RUST & BONE) arrived on stage, a clear sign that he’s well on his way to becoming PEOPLE Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year.

For more clips, information and schedule, check out the video below and visit epixhd.com/envelope-screening-series/

The post EPIX CMO Kirk Iwanowski on Oscar Series ‘The Envelope’ appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

For the first time in 10 years, VH1 has undergone a branding that reflects its bold and successful mash-up of music, pop culture and nostalgia programming. The refresh arrives on the heels of a year that generated a 33% increase in primetime ratings at the network.

“Ten years ago, no one had ever heard of Justin Bieber, Mark Zuckerberg  just entered Harvard, iPhones were five years away and hashtags didn’t exist.  Our world has clearly changed, so we want to reflect those cultural and technological changes in each of the many ways that consumers now touch the VH1 brand,” said Tom Calderone, President, VH1.

The cornerstone of the refresh is a new logo design that subtly incorporates a plus sign (+) in the VH1 letterforms.  The plus sign, which the network calls its signature “tagmark” as opposed to a traditional tagline, illustrates VH1’s high-energy sensibility where everything is “more” – more fun, more bold, and more exciting.

“VH1 is entertainment on steroids.  We have a legacy of cranking it up to 11, so our ‘tagmark’ helps us to easily convey that to our viewers and build on the promise of delivering our bold and engaging mash-up of music, pop culture and nostalgia that generates so much buzz,” said Calderone.

This next step in VH1’s evolution comes as the network wraps up a successful year of ratings, increasing primetime ratings in the adult 18-49 demo by 33% and increasing its total viewership in primetime by 14%.   The surge in viewership was fueled by such series as “Mob Wives,” which won its 8 pm time period for women 18-49 on Sundays among cable networks, “Single Ladies,” which was the #1 regularly scripted series among women 18-49 this summer, and “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta,” which was cable’s #1 reality series of the summer among adult 18-49 impressions and women 18-49.  “Love & Hip Hop:  Atlanta” was the #1 most social non-sports series of the summer on all of television, cable and broadcast, according to Trendrr and SocialGuide.

In January, VH1 launches a new night of humor-based programming on Friday nights with the return of beloved pop culture commentary franchise “Best Week Ever” and the debut of “The Jenny McCarthy Show.”   In addition, new seasons of hit series “Mob Wives” and “Love & Hip Hop New York” bow in January as well as brand new series “Black Ink” and “Making Mr. Right.”

Along with the logo change, VH1 will roll out a new graphic identity that captures the brand’s bold spirit and pop sensibility, utilizing the plus sign as its centerpiece.

VH1 worked with the design company Gretel on strategy as well as the redesign of the logo and network identity.   Ad agency Hill Holliday was engaged to create a 360 creative launch strategy including image spots, media planning and buying, and social media work that will coincide with the rebrand this month.

Watch below for more on the new logo.

The post Behind VH1′s New Logo, ‘High-Energy’ Rebranding appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

For more of an explanation, check out the video of Eve and Jacobs at CES, above, or sign up to be one of the first to download the app.

The post ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ App a ‘Digital Sixth Sense’ appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

The industry-renowned campaign – aptly entitled ‘MTV Brand New for 2013’ – truly is the gift that keeps on giving, having already achieved unparalleled success by tipping the likes of Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and a little known singer-songwriter called Justin Bieber for glory in years gone by, as well as UK alumni who have made waves overseas including Labrinth, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding and Jessie J. And now with 10 new acts ready and waiting in the wings, and a rather glamorous partner in the form of Emporio Armani Diamonds on board, MTV Brand New is ready to rock once more!

After months of deliberation by a panel of industry experts, 300 acts have been whittled down to the lucky 10 who will be given priority support across MTV’s on-air, on-the-ground and online platforms throughout 2013 – but that’s not all… In true X-Factor style, the 10 acts will battle it out to be crowned the ultimate winner of ‘MTV Brand New for 2013’, following in the footsteps of the Bieber himself…

So who are these 10 acts? Spanning multiple genres, this year’s list truly has something for everyone, from rap and hip hop in the form of Angel Haze and K Koke, to electro-dance with Disclosure; Irish rock with Kodaline to folk-rock with HAIM; gritty pop act Little Nikki to hip-hop / grime act Rascals; as well as three super talented singer songwriters Gabrielle Aplin, Tom Odell, and – winner of the unsigned spot, Ebony Day.

With public voting for the overall winner commencing on the 14 January 2013 via brandnew.mtv.co.uk, the acts have just less than 2 months to rally up their fans and loved ones to cast their votes and secure them the MTV Brand New crown…. so let the battle commence!

In support of the star-studded campaign, MTV UK has upped the ante this time around with not one, but TWO exclusive launch events – the first taking place back in October 2012 at the Emporio Armani flagship store on London’s illustrious Regent Street, with a headline performance from chart sensation and previous ‘Brand New’ nominee Labrinth, and rising star for 2012 Jesse Ware. The second event, at which MTV UK officially revealed the shortlist, took place in early December at North London hotspot The Forum, featuring performances by DJ Fresh alongside 2013 nominees Rascals and K Koke… but wait, there’s more!

In order to keep UK music fans rocking into the New Year, providing a perfect antidote to the January blues, the network has announced yet ANOTHER chart-topping headliner for the first of two more live gigs taking place at The Forum on the 22nd and 23rd January 2013. Following in the footsteps of his US counterpart Justin Bieber, 2012 winner Conor Maynard will be taking to the stage alongside two of the ‘Brand New’ nominees to delight music fans with a tantalising performance of smash hits!

So as we bid farewell to an incredible year of music from the UK, join us as we step into Christmas with the ‘Brand New’ class of 2013!

Our prediction? It’s going to Jingle Bell rock!

From all at MTV in the UK and around the world, “Happy Brand New Year!”

The post MTV UK Predictions for a Happy ‘Brand New’ Year appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

Here’s a holiday gift for those Star Trek fans looking for a glimpse of Paramount’s upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness.  The second film in J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise hits theaters in May 2013, but excitement is already building, as audiences learn more about the upcoming blockbuster. If this sneak peek gets you looking for more, the first nine minutes of the movie will preview at 500 IMAX theatres starting Dec. 14.

The post Paramount presents… ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ appeared first on Viacom Corporate.

As official backstage Twitter correspondent for the 2012 MTV EMA, David Hasselhoff reminded his followers to “get #hoffed with [him] on Twitter,” and promised to “Twitter his #hoff off” on Sunday. And he didn’t disappoint.

In close proximity to the EMA lineup of global megastar performers and guests (such as host Heidi Klum, Taylor Swift, Ludacris, Psy and Kanye West, whom Hoff’s delighted to see in the above photo), Hasselhoff treated us to a Hoff’s-eye-view of the 2012 MTV EMA. It was really a show of its own, marked by a myriad of wordplays (most involving “Hoff”: hoffalicious, hofftastic, to hoffinity and beyond!) and some compelling camera-phone photography.

I’m not really sure what to make of the tweets overall… but they’re pretty hilarious. Some of my favorites are preserved below.

The post Too #Hoff To Handle: David Hasselhoff Live Tweets MTV EMA appeared first on Viacom Corporate.