Premium Channel Premieres: December 2008

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Getting an early start on December's information thanks to early news from Starz. I'll format it better later and add more info when time allows.


Note that I'll update this thread as information becomes available and of course appreciate any information you may be able to add (such as the always helpful Pablo has been able to provide ). If you find the information useful, you may wish to subscribe to this thread so you'll receive e-mails as information is added

Another /salute to Starz!'s press office for distributing their information early. Much appreciated! (sad faces and boos towards Showtime and HBO for not getting their information out earlier!)


All Premiere's on Saturdays, unless otherwise noted.
All times east unless otherwise noted.

Note please that I haven't confirmed that the programs I have listed are actually premiering for the first time on these channels. These programs may have been shown on channels, or on other nites before the dates shown. The information below is just a look at the list of movies and major programs that are upcoming and seem to be showing for the 'first time' (on the network that is shown) on the dates noted.


Starz
On Starz in December is "Starz Saturday Premieres" with hit movies including Untraceable (12/6) starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, and Billy Burke; The Other Boleyn Girl (12/13) starring Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, and Scarlett Johansson (moved to January) The Perfect Holiday (12/13) starring Queen Latifah, Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut and Terrence Howard; College Road Trip (12/20) starring Martin Lawrence, Raven Symone, and William Sasso; National Treasure: Book of Secrets (12/27) with Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Justin Bartha, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood.

In December, the "Starz Inside" series continues on Starz with Starz Originals’ Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen which dives into men playing women and women playing men. The special, hosted by Richard Roeper, premieres on December 16 at 10 p.m. and includes some of the most daring cross-sexual performances in Hollywood history. (also moved to January) Executive produced by John Landis. Additionally, Starz Entertainment’s first hour-long original drama series "Crash" continues each Friday night 10 p.m. on Starz.
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December 6 - Untraceable starring: Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, and Billy Burke (9pm)
December 13 - The Other Boleyn Girl starring: Natalie Portman, Eric Bana, and Scarlett Johansson (9pm) (moved to January)
December 13 - The Perfect Holiday starring: Queen Latifah, Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut (9pm) (replaces "The Other Boelyn Girl" originally listed for this date)
December 20 - College Road Trip starring: Martin Lawrence, Raven Symone, and William Sasso (9pm)
December 27 - National Treasure: Book of Secrets starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Justin Bartha, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood (9pm) (the movie "The Perfect Holiday" was originally slated for this date/time)

Starz originals and other events:

• Crash: Starz Entertainment’s first hour-long drama series airs every Friday night at 10 p.m. Starring a multi-ethnic ensemble cast led by film icon Dennis Hopper and set in Los Angeles, "Crash" explores the complexities of social tolerance and the meaning of the American dream through characters whose lives intersect and collide as they strive to achieve that dream. The series is co-executive produced by Paul Haggis and Don Cheadle.
• Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen premieres 12/16 at 10 p.m. This Starz Originals special, hosted by Richard Roeper, dives into men playing women and women playing men. Some of the most daring cross-sexual performances in Hollywood history are showcased in this installment. The special is executive produced by John Landis.

Encore Action has the Saturday Action Zone. Do you know where your action is? It's every Saturday at 10 p.m.

• Die Hard 12/6 - (Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman)
• Ghost Rider 12/13 - (Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliot)
• Gone in Sixty Seconds 12/20 – (Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi)
• Aliens 12/27 – (Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn)

Encore Action will also be Going Apesh#t on New Years with a New Year's Eve/New Year's Day marathon of the Planet of the Apes movies beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday 12/31 (New Years Eve).

• Planet of the Apes (original version, with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter) 7:30 p.m.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Charlton Heston) 9:30 p.m.
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman) 11:05 p.m.
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban) 12:50 a.m. on Thursday 1/1/2009
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy) 2:20 a.m.
• Planet of the Apes (original version, with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter) 4:00 a.m.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Charlton Heston) 6:00 a.m.
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman) 7:40 a.m.
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban) 9:20 a.m.
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy) 10:50 a.m.
• Planet of the Apes (original version, with Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter) 12:20 p.m.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Charlton Heston) 2:15 p.m.
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman) 3:50 p.m.
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Don Murray, Ricardo Montalban) 5:30 p.m.
• Battle for the Planet of the Apes (Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy) 7:00 p.m.

Encore Westerns' six-gun salute for December is CLASSIFIED. (I keed, I keed) It seems that the Starz/Encore publicity department didn't have information to share on the Six-Gun Salute for December so it'll wind up being a surprise.

Encore Westerns will also be running Classic TV Westerns: Monday – Friday block starts at 5 p.m. Saturday block starts at 5:30 a.m. Included are:

• The Gene Autry Show anchored Monday – Friday at 5 p.m. – (Gene Autry)
• Bat Masterson anchored Monday – Friday at 5:30 p.m. – (Gene Barry, Broderick Crawford)
• The Big Valley anchored Monday – Friday at 6 p.m. – (Peter Breck, Linda Evans, Barbara Stanwyck)
• Maverick anchored Monday – Friday at 7 p.m. – (James Garner, Jack Kelly, Roger Moore)

In addition, Encore Westerns has Autry Rides Again!: Classic Gene Autry films, restored by Encore Westerns.

• Cow Town 12/7 at 12 p.m., repeated 12/10 at 12 p.m. – (Gene Autry, Gail Davis, Harry Shannon)
• The Old Barn Dance 12/14 at 12 p.m., repeated 12/17 at 12 p.m. – (Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Helen Vakis)
• The Cowboys and Indians 12/21 at 12 p.m., repeated 12/24 at 12 p.m. – (Gene Autry, Sheila Ryan, Frank Richards)
• Git Along Little Dogies 12/28 at 12 p.m., repeated 12/31 at 12 p.m. – (Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, Judith Allen)

Encore celebrates the '80s with an '80s weekend movie marathon on Encore beginning Dec. 26-28 with classics including Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Mr. Mom, License to Drive, Die Hard, Uncle Buck, Back to the Future and Red Dawn.

Encore's spotlight for December shines on Kurt Russell with a marathon of his films stacked Saturday, 12/6 beginning at 10 a.m.:

• The Best of Times at 10 a.m. (Kurt Russell, Robin Williams, Pamela Reed)
• Big Trouble in Little China at 11:50 a.m. (Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun)
• Stargate at 1:35 p.m. (Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson)
• Backdraft at 3:45 p.m. (Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert DeNiro)
• Overboard at 6:05 p.m. (Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Edward Herrmann)
• Executive Decision at 8 p.m. (Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo)
• Grindhouse Presents Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof at 10:15 p.m. (Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan)
• Backdraft at 12:10 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27 (Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert DeNiro)
• Big Trouble in Little China at 2:30 a.m. (Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun)
• Executive Decision at 4:10 a.m. (Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo)
• Stargate at 6:30 a.m. (Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson)
• Overboard at 8:35 a.m. (Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Edward Herrmann)

HBO
From info in HBO's November downloadable guide: in December, expect HBO to have HBO Film's House of Saddam, along with I am Legend and The Bucket List.
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December 6 - P.S. I Love You starring: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick, Gina Gershon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kathy Bates, James Marsters, Nellie McKay (8 p.m.) - My review of this one is at Amazon.com
December 6 - Chris Rock - Kill the Messenger (10:30 p.m.)
December 13 - I Am Legend starring: Will Smith (8 p.m.) {also stars Alicia Braga, Dash Mihok, Charlie Tahan, and Salli Richardson}
December 20 - The Bucket List starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson (8 p.m.) - My review for this one is also at Amazon.com {also stars Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd, Alfonso Freeman, Rowena King}
December 27 - The Golden Compass starring: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Richards, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Daniel Craig, Christopher Lee, Tom Courtenay, Derek Jacobi, Ben Walker, Simon McBurney, Jim Carter, Claire Higgins, Jack Shepherd, Magda Szubanski (9 p.m.)
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HBO Boxing events:
December 6 (PPV) - Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya - From MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (time to come)
December 13 (HBO Boxing & RTL Germany) - Wladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman (IBF WBO IBO Heavyweight Title) - Venue: SAP-Arena in Mannheim, Germany (time to come) {HBO schedule shows Klitschko vs. TBA}

Note that there may be a few other mid-week premieres on HBO but of course the guide data for December may not yet be searchable so finding those isn't so easy


Cinemax
From info in HBO/Cinemax's November downloadable guide: in December, expect Cinemax to have American Gangster, along with The Ruins.
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December 6 - American Gangster starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe (10 p.m.) {already shown on HBO}
December 13 - The Ruins starring: Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Sergio Calderon, Bar Paly, Dmitri Baveas, Jesse Ramirez, Joe Anderson (10 p.m.)
December 20 - Definitely, Maybe starring: Ryan Reynolds, Isla (Wedding Crashers) Fisher, Derek Luke, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth (Zack & Miri) Banks, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline (10 p.m.)
December 27 - Michael Clayton starring: Geoge Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney (r.i.p. ) Pollack, Austin Williams, Michael O'Keefe, Pamela Gray, Jack Fritz, Amy Hargreaves, Chris Mann, David Zayas (10 p.m.) {already aired on HBO}

Same note for Cinemax as for HBO... there may be some mid-week premieres that aren't showing up here because the guide data isn't as easy to find currently.


Showtime
Hopefully you aren't looking for Showtime's premiere info yet as you should know it won't come until later .
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December 6 - The Air I Breathe starring: Forest Whitaker, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Brendan Fraser, Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Emile Hirsch (9 p.m.) (I saw this on Blu-ray, review of same is here at Amazon.com)
December 20 - Lonely Hearts (2007) (9 p.m.)

Showtime family of channels Boxing/MMA/EliteXC events:
December 5 - Ricardo Williams Jr vs. Raymond Biggs Jr welterweight - From Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA, USA (time to come)
December 5 - TBA vs. Luis Carlos Abregu welterweight - From Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, CA, USA (time to come)
December 13 - Kendall Holt vs. Ricardo Torres WBO light welterweight title - From Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA (time to come)


The Movie Channel
It looks like The Movie Channel will be continuing their Splatterday on Saturdays line-up of horror themed films (double feature of horror themed movies on Saturday nites actually) for December.
(If you aren't a horror fan then it seems that The Movie Channel is going to have slim pickin's for you )
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December 6 - Pact with the Devil (1969) starring: Ethan Erickson, Malcolm McDowell and Victoria Sanchez (9 p.m.)
December 13 - Lethal Dose starring: Melanie "Sporty Spice" Brown, Tom Hardy, Katherine Towne, and Leo Bill (9 p.m.)
December 20 - Black Christmas starring: Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert and Michelle Trachtenberg along with Oliver Hudson and Andrea Martin (9 p.m.)
December 27 - Slash (2002) starring: Steve Railsback, James O'Shea, Craig Kirkwood and Zuleikha Robinson (9 p.m.)


HDNet Movies sneak previews (info normally found here, scroll down as necessary)
Not to steal the thunder of the regular HDNet and HDNet Movies info that gets posted, but hopefully this advance warning will help keep people from missing some of these sneak previews (releases of films that are headed to theatres but which are sneak previewed to HDNet Movie subscribers before or at the same time they are released in theatres, meaning free to HDNet Movie subscribers while movie goers get to pay regular prices at their local movie houses).
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No date yet - Harlem Aria Starring: Damon Wayans, Gabriel Casseus, Christian Camargo, Malik Yoba, Paul Sorvino. Written & Directed by: William Jennings

Anton (Gabriel Casseus), a slow-witted 27-year-old, is blessed with a spectacular tenor voice. When he runs away from his caretaker aunt, Anton meets Matthew, an alcoholic classical pianist. Matthew plays an aria, Anton sings along, and the crowd they draw includes a crafty panhandler, Wes (Damon Wayans), who hears gold in Anton's voice. When Anton takes the rap for a crime they commit, Wes and Matthew are forced to redeem themselves and make Anton's dreams come true. The thrilling climax features Paul Sorvino as a famous opera singer.​

Harlem Aria has its Sneak Preview this fall, only on HDNet Movies.​

Note schedules subject to change. For informational purposes only. Updated as information becomes available. Enjoy everyone.

 

Starz! exercised their rights to make changes to the schedule prior to finalizing it. Check the information updated above. (The Perfect Holiday moves earlier in the month, National Treasure: Book of Secrets moving to the date originally slated for airing that film and The Other Boelyn Girl moves to January...)

 

Starz! also moved Starz Originals’ Starz Inside: Ladies or Gentlemen to January.

 

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Thanks, fixed above.