Twitter and Comcast have signed a partnership that will let viewers access TV shows and buy movie tickets directly from a tweet, deepening the short messaging service’s ties to television programming.
Twitter Inc. and Comcast Corp. said Wednesday that a new feature that’s part of the deal will let customers of Comcast’s Xfinify TV service tune in to programs by clicking a “see it” button in a tweet. In a statement, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts called it “an instant online remote control.”
The button will allow Twitter users who are also Comcast customers to set DVRs, tune in to shows online, on TV or on mobile devices. They can also buy movie tickets through Fandango. In the current TV season, shows on NBC, USA, Bravo, MSNBC and other networks will be accessible through the “see it” button. Comcast and Twitter said they are in talks with other TV networks and companies that will use the feature in the “coming months.”
Twitter’s deal with the nation’s largest cable company comes as the company prepares for an initial public offering of stock, which could occur as soon as next month. The agreement is more expansive than the advertising partnerships Twitter has signed recently with TV content providers such as CBS and the NFL. But it does have an advertising component, which adds NBCUniversal’s properties to Twitter’s Amplify program.
Amplify lets TV content owners beam real-time video clips to Twitter users who may have seen —or could be interested in — their programming. It also allows marketers to communicate with viewers who saw their TV ads, extending commercial pitches to consumers’ smartphones and tablets.
“Twitter is where television viewers come to talk about what they’re watching on TV when they’re watching it. Millions of users are exposed to the live conversation that unfolds on Twitter while a show is on the air and now, with See It, they’ll be able to tune in directly from a Tweet,” said Dick Costolo, Twitter’s CEO, in a statement.
Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez Unveil “Kiss of the Spider Woman” At Sundance
A lavish, MGM-style musical is not typical Sundance Film Festival fare. But Sunday night Bill Condon brought such a creation—well, part of one—to Park City, Utah, with his adaptation of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," starring Jennifer Lopez.
Audiences broke out in spontaneous applause during the screening for Lopez's song and dance numbers. She plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the movie. The packed Eccles Theater also gave Lopez, wearing a glittery spiderweb themed frock, a standing ovation after the show.
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," Lopez said.
The story, which revolves around the conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, was first a novel by Manuel Puig in 1976 and has been adapted for stage and screen over the years. A 1985 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Raul Julia. Hurt won an Oscar for his performance. On Broadway, it won multiple Tony Awards.
Condon wrote and directed this new version, which is seeking a distributor. Diego Luna plays an imprisoned revolutionary Valentin Arregui, whose new cellmate Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) loves movies, celebrity and glamour and enthusiastically recounts the story of a favorite movie musical, called "Kiss of the Spider Woman" to Valentin, giving them and the audience a break from their bleak reality.
While the film has memorable moments of escapist spectacle, it also delves into serious topics of gender identity. Molina tells Valentin that they don't feel like a man or a woman—which Valentin finds odd at first but grows to understand.
Before the screening, Condon said that one of the things the movie is about is "the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us so often." He quoted President... Read More