HBO is partnering with VICE on an innovative news magazine show to be hosted by VICE founder Shane Smith, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. The weekly series will be executive produced by Bill Maher, Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti, VICE’s chief creative officer, with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria serving as consultant.

“VICE has emerged as a premier new media brand through a savvy combination of irreverence, smarts and fearlessness,” said Lombardo. “We are excited to offer a forum for their groundbreaking style of news coverage and look forward to a show that’s like nothing else on TV.”

Titled VICE, the HBO series will showcase a mix of stories from around the globe. Among the segments in production for possible inclusion in the show are: Taliban child suicide bombers; North Korean slave labor camps; New York’s underground voodoo heroin clinics; Somalian pirates; and Satanic dentists in the Pacific Northwest.

VICE is a leading youth entertainment company operating in over 34 countries, and includes vice.com, the world’s premier original online video destination; an international network of digital channels; a television production studio; a print magazine; a record label; an in-house creative services agency; and a book publishing division. VICE’s digital channels include: The Creators Project, dedicated to arts and creativity; Motherboard, covering cultural happenings in technology; and Noisey, a music discovery channel.

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Fans were excited to learn this months that HBO has renewed ‘Game of Thrones’ for a third season, as announced by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

“Series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss raised our expectations for the second season – and then surpassed them,” said Lombardo. “We are thrilled by all the viewer and media support we’ve received for the series, and can’t wait to see what Dan and David have in store for next season.”

Based on the bestselling fantasy book series by George R.R. Martin, ‘Game of Thrones’ is an epic drama set in the world of Westeros, where ambitious men and women of both honor and ill-repute live in a land whose summers and winters can last years. The Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning fantasy series began its ten-episode second season Sunday, April 1, with other episodes debuting subsequent Sundays at the same time.

Among the early critical praise for the second season, Newsday called ‘Game of Thrones’ “the best show on television,” while the Los Angeles Times termed the series “a cinematic feast” and “masterful.” The Wall Street Journal hailed the show as “magnificent” and USA Today called it “near perfection.” Below are the May episodes:

Episode #16: “The Old Gods and the New”

Sunday, May 6 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT): Theon (Alfie Allen) completes his master stroke. In King’s Landing, the Lannisters send Myrcella (Aimee Richardson) from harm’s way in the nick of time. Arya (Maisie Williams) comes face to face with a surprise visitor; Dany (Emilia Clarke) vows to take what is hers; Robb (Richard Madden) and Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) receive crucial news; Qhorin (Simon Armstrong) gives Jon (Kit Harington) a chance to prove himself.

Episode #17: “A Man Without Honor”

Sunday, May 13 (9:00-10:00 p.m.): Jaime (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau) meets a distant relative; Dany receives an invitation to the House of the Undying; Theon leads a search party; Jon loses his way in the wilderness; Cersei (Lena Headey) counsels Sansa (Sophie Turner).

Episode #18: “The Prince of Winterfell”

Sunday, May 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m.): At Winterfell, Theon receives a visitor and holds down the fort. Arya calls in her final debt with Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) in a way that displeases him. Robb is betrayed. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys (Conleth Hill) find common ground. Dany ignores Jorah’s (Iain Glen) advice. Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Davos (Liam Cunningham) approach their destination, and Davos is offered a reward.

Episode #19: “Blackwater”

Sunday, May 27 (9:00-10:00 p.m.): Tyrion and the Lannisters fight for their lives as Stannis’ fleet assaults King’s Landing.

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The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place Saturday, April 14, 2012 in Cleveland and debut on HBO in early May. The 2012 ceremony will again be open to the public, as it was – for the first time in the event’s history – at the 2009 inductions in Cleveland.

The new inductees are:

Performer Category

• Beastie Boys
• Donovan
• Guns N’ Roses
• Laura Nyro
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Small Faces/The Faces

Early Influence

• Freddie King

Ahmet Ertegun (nonperformer) Award

• Don Kirshner

The Award for Musical Excellence

• Cosimo Matassa
• Tom Dowd
• Glyn Johns

“We are pleased to announce this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, who represent the broad spectrum of artists that define rock and roll,” says Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “We are also thrilled this year to again be partnered with HBO, who presented the Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary Concerts.”

“Our previous collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a landmark television event,” says Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. “We are delighted to team up with the Hall of Fame again for what should be a memorable evening.”

Leading up to the April 14 ceremony, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will host more than a week of special events, including the grand opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s new Library and Archives, tours of the newly-redesigned Museum interior space, the unveiling of a major new exhibition, the Rock My Soul gospel tribute, a free concert for Cleveland and a special series of education programs designed to teach students across the nation about the history and impact of rock and roll.

Once open, the Library and Archives will be the world’s most comprehensive repository of written and audio-visual materials relating to the history of rock and roll. The 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by more than 500 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. All inductees are ultimately represented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Through approaches as creative and diverse as the music itself, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum tells the story of rock music with its exhibits, education programs and library and archives.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established by legendary record executive Ahmet Ertegun and a group of music business executives to honor the artists that have defined rock and roll and have inspired and continue to inspire a generation. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music.

It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum designed by I.M. Pei in Cleveland, Ohio that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives, as well as educational programs. For further information, please visit rockhall.com.

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HBO and filmmaker Peter Berg will team up for the innovative new primetime series On Freddie Roach, directed and executive produced by Emmy nominee Berg (Friday Night Lights). Presented by HBO and a co-production of Film 44 and Atticus Entertainment, the cinéma-vérité series focuses on Freddie Roach, the world-famous boxing trainer who owns and operates the famed Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, where he has produced a host of world champions.

This intensely personal look at Roach chronicles his life and career against the backdrop of Parkinson’s disease, an ailment very likely linked to his own boxing past. On Freddie Roach debuts Friday, January 20, exclusively on HBO, with other new episodes debuting the subsequent five Fridays at the same time. All episodes will also be available on HBO On Demand and HBO GO.

“We are truly excited to partner with Peter Berg on this exceptional production,” says Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. “Freddie Roach is an extraordinary person and a fascinating personality.”

“HBO’s enthusiasm in supporting a less-conventional, vérité style of storytelling is why they continue to create original and truly innovative programming,” says Peter Berg. “It’s why they are the best and we are very excited to be working with them.

A native of Dedham, Mass., Freddie Roach has an extensive amateur boxing background. He fought as a professional under the tutelage of legendary Hall of Fame trainer Eddie Futch, ending his professional boxing career in 1987 with a record of 41 wins and 13 losses. Upon retiring, Roach became Futch’s apprentice.

In 1992, Mickey Rourke financed his first gym, the Outlaw Boxing Club. Roach has trained more than 20 world champions, including Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Oscar de la Hoya and Mike Tyson. He has been honored five times as Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and has been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced a unique partnership with Roach in an effort to ensure that America’s top amateur fighters have access to the finest training in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. This partnership will create a program allowing up to ten Olympic hopefuls to train at the Wild Card Gym, which has become synonymous with world-class performance.

The 51-year-old bachelor lives next door to his mother, just a few miles from Wild Card.

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