Earlier this week we told you that we consider ourselves “unapologetic beer snobs“. A couple of equally important things we didn’t tell you:

• We love HBO’s Game of Thrones
• We think New York’s Ommegang Brewery makes some of America’s finest craft beer

And now two of our favorite things have joined forces in the name of marketing–it’s a Festivus miracle!

Today brings news that Ommegang will release a series of three custom beers to coincide with the third season of HBO’s hit, beginning with the premiere of Iron Throne Blonde Ale on March 31st. Ommegang’s rep said: “The collaboration between Ommegang and HBO is focused on developing unique beers that directly tie into themes, characters and nuances of the medieval-like fantasy realm of Westeros and the surrounding kingdoms, where the competition to sit on the Iron Throne is fierce and deadly.”

Whatever, man. We just know how great it will taste.

(Oh, and thanks to WebProNews, whose headline we totally nicked for this post.)

Today we reach new heights of self-promotion in the entertainment world: HBO just announced the February premiere of an “intimate, revealing”, as-yet-untitled documentary feature starring and directed by jack-of-all-trades Beyoncé.

The HBO group’s press release describes the film as “a fusion of video that provides raw, unprecedented access to the private entertainment icon and high-voltage performances”, so we’re guessing it will combine in-concert clips with more personal footage of fans passing out a la Bieber’s Never Say Never. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo says the pic will allow us to look “beyond the glamour to reveal a vibrant, vulnerable, unforgettable woman”, and we take this to mean that the film will be a little less…arthritic than the channel’s recent dried-prunes-and-fiber-supplements Rolling Stones doc.

So one of pop’s biggest superstars announces her debut full-length film project on the same day that she releases intimate pictures of a first Thanksgiving spent with her infant daughter (whose name will sadly never become a registered trademark). Hmm…Let’s just say we’re curious to see what sort of product Beyoncé looks to promote with this film–because these things never happen in a vacuum.

As long as it’s absolutely nothing like Madonna‘s Truth or Dare, we have a feeling she’ll be OK.

We’re not going too far out on a limb when we predict that Peter Jackson’s upcoming “Hobbit” trilogy will be one of history’s biggest franchises—we’ll almost definitely end up seeing it this Christmas. But the series may have to forgo the usual “no animals were harmed in the making of this film” claims, because several wranglers who worked on the New Zealand production before quitting in protest now blame the production company itself for the deaths of dozens of barnyard creatures.

While the American Humane Association claims that no animals were harmed during filming, Jackson’s spokesperson acknowledged that “horses, goats, chickens and one sheep died” at a farm used to house wildlife actors with bit roles in the movie, calling the horses’ demise “avoidable” but claiming that producers worked to improve safety measures after the deaths (most of which occurred due to the sinkholes and steep cliffs surrounding the farm).

Will any significant changes come of this incident? In a statement, the AHA acknowledged that “what happens off-set remains a blind spot in its oversight” and that it may need to review the system it uses to approve practices on various productions.

Will it create a PR headache for “The Hobbit”? PETA plans to protest premieres in New Zealand, The US, and the UK, but we can’t see the story doing too much damage to the Hobbit brand—these films are far too big to lose any real box office over a few protests, no matter how well-organized they may be.

But it may damage Hollywood’s sometimes-shaky reputation as an animal-friendly town. And this isn’t a trivial issue; remember that HBO cancelled its brand-new horse racing show “Luck” earlier this year after several animals died on set.

Fans of the well-dressed HBO drama “Boardwalk Empire” and its most important supporting actor, Atlantic City, may be upset by these striking photos of an iconic Jersey strip all but destroyed by yesterday’s storm (more footage here).

One particular viewer wants to see Atlantic City restored to its previous glory—and she’s decided to do something about it. Philadelphia resident (and presumed fan of conflicted gangsters) Hannah Sassaman launched a petition on Change.org last night “while watching ‘Boardwalk Empire’ as Hurricane Sandy moved past her own home.”

Sassaman’s plan: use crowdsourcing to convince the show’s cast and crew, as well as HBO higher-ups, to get involved in the recovery effort. There’s no doubt that Atlantic City will require millions of dollars to repair the damage done last night, and big names can certainly bring more attention to related fundraising drives; Sassaman says her effort was partly inspired by the surge in public advocacy that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Her letter, addressed to the show’s “producers, cast and crew”, reads:

“HBO has won huge acclaim and made millions with its captivating story about how Prohibition changed countless lives. With the horrible damage that Frankenstorm Sandy wreaked on the city’s businesses and homes, HBO can use its powerful media platform to raise money and support local, state, and federal relief efforts.

Please use the high profile of Boardwalk Empire’s writers, producers, and stars to raise money for Atlantic City at a time when it needs it so much.”

What do we think? Will Sassaman’s efforts help raise money for Atlantic City? And can the strip be rebuilt? We’d like to be optimistic: If HBO can build such a period-appropriate model of the boardwalk, then surely the city can, with time, return to its former glory (tackiness aside).

Final note: In case you need a little cheering up, here’s an Instagram’ed rainbow over Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. We never thought we’d write this, but thank you, Al Roker.

Lena Dunham hopes young women will heed her advice before embarking on the journey that is true womanhood by losing their virginity–their voting virginity, that is.

In her now-viral pro-Obama video, Dunham reminds newly of-age girls that their first time should be with the right guy–an amazing guy, one who “cares whether you get health insurance, and specifically, whether you get birth control”. She assures us in her believable, girl-talky tone that her first time was “amazing”, and as she went to the voting booth, “pulled back the curtain, and voted for Barack Obama“, she knew she had crossed a line in the sand, transforming from a blushing girl to an empowered woman.

A clever double entendre–but not everyone is amused.

Read more

We always (read: never) count on New York’s Daily News to deliver the hardest-hitting stories, and today they brought the bacon! The morning’s top gossip concerns Alison Pill–an actress currently starring in HBO‘s “The Newsroom“–and a little accident she had yesterday…

After using her Twitter feed to jump on the NBC hate train and call the network out for airing the now-infamous Kris Jenner breast implant interview during Tuesday’s 9/11 moment of silence, Pill accidentally sent a topless photo of herself to more than 20,000 followers.

Pill quickly retracted the tweet and apologized, blaming her lack of tech savvy and claiming that she had intended to delete the offending pic. Fiancé and human beanpole Jay Baruchel played down the drama, tweeting: “My fiancée is an hilarious dork. #imjustgladitdidnthappentomefirst. Smartphones will get ya.”

Our initial embarrassment on Pill’s behalf gave way to a bit of cynicism: Might there be a chance that she tweeted the pic on purpose? Read more

The Showtime Network’s “Homeland” , a spy drama filled with terrorist attacks, double identities and international intrigue, gained a big following during its excellent first season, with the high-tension finale scoring record ratings for the premium cable channel. Critical consensus holds that Showtime may have found their best weapon in a long-standing effort to unseat head honchos HBO.

The official teaser for season two hit the web today, and it’s a killer: The backing track, which sounds like a children’s choir performing a slow, creepy version of the Police smash “Every Breath You Take”, is spot-on.

We think we can summarize without spoiling things for those who haven’t seen the first season: Read more

HBO’s well-dressed but underwhelming period drama “Boardwalk Empire” turned heads in Greenpoint, Brooklyn last night the old-fashioned way: by blowing stuff up!

Seems like every city news source reported yesterday on an explosion that would “rock parts of Greenpoint and Manhattan”–and the show’s tech crew did indeed send a line of prop storefronts up in flames just before 11 PM last night. We guess this is a good way to build buzz and emphasize the fact that your show has…very impressive production values.

Anyway, we’ll leave it to NBC New York’s old hand Chuck Scarborough:

Check out The L Magazine‘s photos and get back to us: Were you close to the action last night? (For what it’s worth, we were about a mile away and we didn’t quite see what all the fuss was about. And as much as we may love Steve Buscemi, we feel the same way about the show itself.)

Another clever promo from those eggheads at The New Yorker: This meta-comedic short film directed by Lena Dunham (HBO‘s “Girls“) features the writer/actress/producer introducing the concepts of an iPhone, an app, and the magazine itself to charmingly oblivious talk show host Jon Hamm (“Mad Men“). The interview — like so many on late night talk shows — centers on Hamm showing a clip of Dunham’s “new film”, in which she portrays an exasperated New Yorker editor trying to explain the importance of the new app to a flustered assistant (played by fellow “Girls” regular Alex Karpovsky).

This isn’t the first time the magazine has used big-name actors and directors to get the word out about their digital ventures — for their 2010 iPad app launch, they released another comedic short film starring Jason Schwartzman and directed by Roman Coppola.

Source: Ad Age

The media has been very busy weighing in with their reviews of the new Aaron Sorkin HBO program The Newsroom. HBO, in line with its promotions for Girls and other programming this season, has made the debut episode available to all on YouTube. The show has already debuted with 2.1 million viewers.

Word on the street is Ann Curry is set to receive $10 million to vacate her post at Today. ICYMI, The New York Times published a professional profile of Curry and her time with the show. And over on TVSpy, they’ve conducted an informal poll and determined that Natalie Morales is the preferred replacement (among TVSpy readers).

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