Jeff Pfeiffer, Author at StayTuned Magazine

Azita Ghanizada Is Becoming An American Star, But Hasn’t Forgotten Her Afghan Roots

July 18, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

In the new Syfy series Alphas, premiering July 11, Azita Ghanizada plays a young woman with special abilities trying to find her place in a new world. And that could very much describe the path Ghanizada herself took to success. When she was very young, the actress and her family came to America as refugees, arriving in Virginia after the Soviets invaded their home country of Afghanistan. “My parents watched the demise of their country,” Ghanizada tells us, describing a nation in terms surprising to most of us only familiar with Afghanistan’s struggles in recent decades. “For them it was […]

Lifetime movie goes behind the magic of J.K. Rowling

July 15, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Karl J. Paloucek Follow @ChannelGuide If you don’t know who she is, you must be an expert at hiding from all forms of media. It’s been nearly a decade and a half since J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series first captivated young readers. (The final film based on her books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, premieres in theaters today, and it has already set a midnight screening record.) Many of those initial young eyes are now likely finishing college, some are getting married, some are having children and many, in these recent economically challenging times, are coming […]

“The Biggest Loser” holding auditions for Season 13

July 15, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP NBC’s hit show The Biggest Loser will be launching its 13th season in January, so appropriately it is embarking on a 13-city nationwide tour to find new contestants for this edition. Individuals and teams of two who have at least 85 pounds to lose are encouraged to apply. Casting producers say they are looking for outgoing and charismatic people and teams, who will end up competing for the grand prize of $250,000. Candidates must be at least 18 years of age and legal residents of the United States. Here is a list of the cities […]

VOD Spotlight: New toys for “Arthur”

July 15, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

In the original 1981 film Arthur, the immature billionaire (Dudley Moore) drove a Rolls-Royce and got into trouble. In the remake, the film’s creators felt that Arthur (played by Russell Brand) would need far more bling to be convincingly wealthy. “In 1981, you could put someone in a tuxedo and give him a Rolls Royce and say he was a billionaire, but in 2011 people have a different concept of what it means to be incredibly wealthy,” says director Jason Winer. “They’ve seen it all. So we had to come up with more extreme and unique ways for him to […]

Discovery Channel and Georgia Aquarium provide Shark Cam during Shark Week

July 14, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP Starting today, Discovery Channel and Georgia Aquarium are once again teaming to provide a live, “fish-eye” view of a variety of sharks living in the world’s largest indoor aquatic habitat, Ocean Voyager. Shark Cam can be found at Discovery’s Shark Week website. You can also check it out here after the jump; it’s kind of relaxing. The high-definition, underwater camera located inside Georgia Aquarium’s shark-filled habitat offers an immersive, 360-degree panoramic live-streaming experience, complete with abilities for social conversation with other viewers and shark experts.

History and NGC jousting for position with latest reality trend

July 14, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

For too long, fans of the medieval sport of jousting have been greatly underserved by television. Aside from watching a film set in the Middle Ages, if you wanted to see people knocking each other off of horses with lances, you had to visit your local Renaissance Faire. If you wanted to participate in the action, one of your only options might have been to “bicycle joust,” or, if you were really desperate, to play the video game Joust. But soon, ye olde fans of this ancient sport will have thy patience rewarded when two jousting reality series hit the […]

Emmy nominees react on Twitter

July 14, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Jeff Pfeiffer Follow @ChannelGuideJP In the wake of today’s announcement of this year’s Emmy Award nominations, several of the nominees responded in various ways via Twitter. Here are just a few notable ones. Tweets are presented [sic]: Alec Baldwin (@AlecBaldwin), nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series as Jack Donaghy in 30 Rock: “Thank you for the congratulations re: the Emmys. My one wish….I want Jane Krakowski to win.” (Baldwin’s 30 Rock costar Krakowski is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.) Chaz Bono (@ChazBono), producer and star of Becoming Chaz, nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction […]

VOD Spotlight: “Insidious”

July 13, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

The creators of Saw and Paranormal Activity team up to reinvent the haunted-house genre for a new generation with Insidious, which pays tribute to such horror classics as The Exorcist, Poltergeist and The Sixth Sense. Renai (Rose Byrne) and her husband Josh (Patrick Wilson) are unpacking boxes in their family’s new home when they first start to sense a sinister presence. Eerie events slowly escalate into supernatural attacks until one accident puts their son in a mysterious coma. When the family flees its ghost-ridden home and attempts to heal itself, Josh’s mother (Barbara Hershey) brings in a team of paranormal […]

Survivors search for superhuman explanations in NGC’s “Indestructibles”

July 8, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

By Athena Voulgaropoulos Follow @ChannelGuideAV A skydiver falls from almost three miles up. A helicopter splits in half above the busy streets of New York City. A pedestrian is crushed by a rolling SUV. When you see the footage, it is hard to believe anyone survived these catastrophes. But survive they did, and though some might call it miraculous, behind each disastrous incident is an unexpected scientific explanation. Premiering this Sunday, July 10, with back-to-back half-hour episodes, National Geographic Channel’s latest series The Indestructibles explores 10 real-life disasters, explaining how someone could survive the seemingly unsurvivable. Using actual footage, eyewitness […]

SCIENCE documentary celebrates final space shuttle launch

July 8, 2011 Jeff Pfeiffer

As you may have heard and possibly watched, history was made today when the space shuttle Atlantis lifted off on the final flight of NASA’s shuttle program. Upon its return, Atlantis will join the fleet’s other three vessels in retirement. SCIENCE (formerly Science Channel) will be examining the past, present and future of the shuttle program, as well as U.S. space exploration in general, with the special Last Shuttle: Our Journey, premiering tonight at 10pm ET/PT. Including same-day footage of the historic final launch from Kennedy Space Center, the documentary also features interviews with key players in the shuttle program, […]