Quickflix New Zealand

Quickflix New Zealand, A new era in film and television-watching is upon us, with Australian streaming service Quickflix available in New Zealand today.

TimeOut revealed the company’s plans to move into the New Zealand market last week and it was launched in Auckland last night by Australian MTV star and model Ruby Rose.

Quickflix allows customers to stream movies and TV shows on their computer, television and via devices such as PS3 gaming consoles.

The company also offers a pay-per-view service for the latest releases which will be available around the same time as DVD releases.

There will be 650 films and “hundreds of hours” of BBC TV content available.

However, chief executive Chris Taylor, a former head of Prime TV in New Zealand in the mid-2000s, says it will be adding around 350 to 400 new films and about 400 hours of new television every month for the subscription service.

“We will be quite quickly adding to that and announcing more arrangements with studios and providers of television to enhance the service.”

Major Hollywood studios already on board with Quickflix are Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, NBC Universal and MGM, along with Lakeshore Entertainment and Pinnacle Films. The BBC is providing British TV drama and comedy.

It expects to announce more film and TV studio deals in coming weeks.

At this stage there will be no HBO content available because Sky New Zealand has the rights to these shows sewn up, even though the American network recently became a major stakeholder in Quickflix. “That’s disappointing for us but with the BBC and the other major studios we have on board, and the ones we are looking at adding, it’s not the end of the world,” says Taylor.

There was speculation Quickflix would face a tough job securing rights to content because of Sky’s dominance in New Zealand.

Taylor disagrees, pointing to the fact it already has three of the five major film studios on board, as well as a good line-up of other studios and broadcasters.

“So we have demonstrated that we have been able to establish rights for [New Zealand] and it will be a very compelling line-up.”

He believes Quickflix will provide a cost-effective alternative, and some badly needed competition, for the likes of Sky TV in New Zealand.

Runaway Bride Sues Ex-fiance For $500,000

Runaway Bride Sues Ex-fiance For $500,000, Jennifer Wilbanks, who became known as the “runaway bride” after taking off just days before her lavish wedding in 2005, is suing her former fiancé for $500,000.

Wilbanks and John Mason broke up for good in May, about a year after her excursion to Las Vegas and New Mexico made international headlines while hundreds of friends and family members searched for her back home in suburban Atlanta.

Mason has until Oct. 22 to respond to the lawsuit, filed last month in Gwinnett County’s Superior Court. The suit, Wilbanks vs. JCM Consulting et al, was filed Sept. 13, according to court records.

In it, Wilbanks seeks $250,000 as her share of a home Mason purchased through the partnership with proceeds from $500,000 received for selling their story to an agent, plus $250,000 in punitive damages for allegedly abusing the power of attorney she granted for him to handle their financial affairs, according to an Atlanta television station, which reported on the lawsuit Monday night.

She also seeks the return of personal property she claims he has kept.

Wilbanks disappeared four days before her April 30, 2005, wedding. Hundreds of police and volunteers searched for her for three days before she called Mason from Albuquerque, N.M., claiming to have been abducted and S-EX-ually assaulted.

She later recanted, saying she fled because of unspecified personal issues, and pleaded no contest to telling police a phony story.

Ray J. Discovered Whitney Houston’s Body

Ray J. Discovered Whitney Houston’s Body, We have an update on the passing of Whitney Houston.

A week after the official coroner’s report listed this singer’s cause of death as being a heart attack, likely related to cocaine use, it’s now been confirmed that the drug was, indeed, discovered in Whitney’s hotel room at the time her body was found.

Initial reports had been sketchy on this fact, with rumors circulating that cocaine may have been present in Houston’s system – but no traces of the substances were anywhere near the bathtub in which she drowned.

Allegations of someone tampering with the evidence even ran wild.

But now sources connected to the investigation tell TMZ that “white, powdery remnants” were taken into custody and later identified as cocaine.

Hate Crimes Ravi

Hate Crimes Ravi, After Dharun Ravi was convicted of “bias intimidation” crimes that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, many people wondered why he had rejected a plea deal that would have kept him out of jail. Ravi’s lawyer explained that the 20-year-old defendant’s parents “didn’t believe their son acted with hate, or bias, and they didn’t want him labeled like that for life.” But it turns out you can be convicted of a hate crime without hating anyone, which only compounds the injustice of laws that punish people for their bigotry.

The jury acquitted Ravi of trying to intimidate his roommate at Rutgers University, Tyler Clementi, on Sept. 19, 2010, when Ravi briefly used a webcam in his dorm room to watch Clementi kiss another man. But the jury nevertheless concluded that Clementi, who killed himself three days later for reasons that remain unclear, felt intimidated and “reasonably believed” he was targeted because he was g*y. Under New Jersey law, that was enough.

To convict Ravi of this unintentional, hateless hate crime, the jury had to infer Clementi’s state of mind and conclude that the circumstances justified it. Those elements have reasonable doubt built into them in cases like this, where the victim cannot testify and no one else knows what he was thinking. “We’ll never know exactly what he was feeling,” one juror conceded. “I can only assume.” Our system of justice demands more than that.

We do know, based on Clementi’s instant messages and posts, that he initially dismissed what he called Ravi’s “five sec peep,” but upon reflection was angry, especially since Ravi had tweeted about it. Two days later, Ravi told his Twitter followers the same man was visiting Clementi again and dared them to watch.

Katy Perry Wears ‘slime’ Sports Bra

Katy Perry Wears ‘slime’ Sports Bra, Katy Perry got into the spirit at the Kids’ Choice Awards in L.A. Saturday by sporting the event’s theme color: green!

The singer worked an eye popping neon green “slime” top and a matching glittery skirt with coordinating heels. The blue-haired star also debuted a super-long, My Little Pony-esque blue and purple-streaked ponytail.

After taking the stage to perform her new single, “Part of Me,” the 27-year-old was presented with the award for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie by host Will Smith.

“There’s one reason why I’m still here — and remember this,” she told the audience, “I never grew up!”

NASCAR 2012 Schedule

NASCAR 2012 Schedule, The NASCAR Kroger 250 race is scheduled for March 31, 2012, at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Va. This is the second race of 2012 in the Camping World Truck Series. In 2011, Johnny Sauter won the Kroger 250.
Kroger 250 Race Schedule for March 31

10 a.m. EST

Qualifying begins at the Martinsville Speedway, and fans can watch on Speed.

1 p.m. EST

The race begins, and fans can watch on Speed.

Official Entry List for the Kroger 250

Car No. 2, Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet, Tide and Kroger)

Car No. 3, Ty Dillon (Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats)

Car No. 5, Paulie Harraka (Ford, MC10)

Car No. 6, Justin Lofton (Chevrolet, CollegeComplete.com)

Car No. 7 John King (Toyota, Red Horse Racing)

Car No. 07, Jake Crum (Chevrolet, Bandit Chippers)

Car No. 8, Jennifer Jo Cobb (Ram, Driven2Honor.org)

Car No. 08, Ross Chastain (Toyota, SS Green Light Racing)

Car No. 9, Ron Hornaday (Chevrolet, Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup and AMFMEnergy.com)

Car No. 09, John Wes Townley (Toyota, RAB Racing)

Car No. 10, Chris Lafferty (Chevrolet, Chris Lafferty’s Motorsports TV)

Car No. 11, Todd Bodine (Toyota, Red Horse Racing)

Car No. 13, Johnny Sauter (Toyota, Hot Honeys and Curb Records)

Car No. 15, Dusty Davis (Ram, Thunderexhaust.com)

Car No. 17, Timothy Peters (Toyota, NTB and Service Central)

Car No. 18, Jason Leffler (Toyota, Dollar General and Kangaroo Express)

Car No. 22, Joey Coulter (Chevrolet, Steak-umm and Kroger)

Car No. 23, Jason White (Ford, GunBroker.com)

Car No. 24, Max Gresham (Chevrolet, Made in USA Brand)

Car No. 27, Jeb Burton (Chevrolet, State Water Heaters)

Car No. 29, Parker Kligerman (Ram, Cooper Standard)

Car No. 30, Nelson Piquet Jr. (Chevrolet, Qualcomm and Autotrac)

Car No. 31, James Buescher (Chevrolet, AccuDoc Solutions)

Car No. 32, Miguel Paludo (Chevrolet, Duroline Brakes and Components)

Car No. 33, Cale Gale (Chevrolet, Rheem)

Car No. 39, Ryan Sieg (Chevrolet, Pull A Part Used Auto Parts)

Car No. 57, Norm Benning (Chevrolet, Lady Bug Cleaning)

Car No. 60, J.R. Fitzpatrick (Chevrolet, Equipment Express)

Car No. 81, David Starr (Toyota, Zachry)

Car No. 84, Chris Fontaine (Chevrolet, Glenden Enterprises)

Car No. 88, Matt Crafton (Toyota, Ideal Door and Menards)

Car No. 92, David Reutimann (Chevrolet, fleetHQ.com, BTS Tire & Wheel Distributors, Smith Paving, QMI)

Car No. 93, Chris C**krum (Chevrolet, RSS Racing and Advanced Communications)

Car No. 98, Dakoda Armstrong (Toyota, EverFi.com)

Car No. 99, Bryan Silas (Ford, Rockingham Speedway)

Car No. 138, B.J. McLeod (Chevrolet, S&W Services)

Next Page »