Today’s Bytes

Having become a factor in the movie awards season, broadcast critics are now extending their franchise to television. The inaugural Critics’ Choice Television Awards will be presented on June 20 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The new TV honors, which will focus on shows and stars, won’t be televised — at least not yet. “The model is to let it grow organically,” explains entertainment reporter and critic Joey Berlin, who was a founding member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and is currently president. “On the movie side we did it for five years before we sought a television deal. I would hope that time line might be shorter this time.”

The Social Network 2: Revenge of the Winklevosses (MediaBixBloggers)

The word on the street is that top execs at Columbia Studios are quietly convinced that “The Social Network” is destined to become Hollywood’s next big franchise.

A friend who’s a major Hollywood mogul agreed to talk to me about this, on conditions of anonymity. Our first meeting was at his house, high in the hills.

Why Zuckerberg? I asked.

“Who’s Batman? He’s a hero, an anti-hero. Dark character. Wears a hood. Lives in a mansion. Pure box office gold.”

“Now, who’s Zuckerberg? He’s a hero, an anti-hero. Dark character. Wears a hoodie. Mansion. Hell, give him a batarang and he IS Batman.”

“See what I’m saying here? The sequels write themselves.”

But on the drive back to the hotel, something started bugging me. These sequels will be based on real-life events that haven’t happened yet. How, exactly, can that story write itself?

I called my friend to ask. “Buy me sushi on Wednesday” he grunted. “I’ll explain.”

Number 5 in the works, ‘Depp has more ‘Pirates’ films on the horizon’ (ABC LA)

Johnny Depp is in talks of a fifth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean” even before the fourth movie hits theaters.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says he has a screenplay in the works for a fifth “Pirates” tale after May’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” comes out.

Extraordinary list, ‘A Crash Course in TV Miniseries You Need to Watch’ (Flavorpill)

We knew we were doomed to love Mildred Pierce far before we switched on our TV Sunday night to watch the first two installments. A five-part HBO miniseries based on the James M. Cain novel, directed by Todd Haynes, starring Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, and (in later episodes) Evan Rachel Wood? Despite our attachment to Joan Crawford’s film version, we were instantly addicted. And it got us thinking: Why do we tend to ignore TV miniseries, only to zone out when they have their moment at the Golden Globes or the Emmys? With the help from the wonderful Flavorpill staff, we’ve resolved to fill the gaps in our viewing with this list of must-see serials, from the ’70s through the HBO-dominated present.

Meet +1: Google’s Answer to the Facebook Like Button (Search Engine Land)

Nearly a year after Facebook Like buttons spread out across the web, Google has announced its own rival, the +1 button. It launches today as part of Google’s search engine, allowing you to “+1″ the search results and ads that you like. And in a few months, it’ll be arriving at a web site near you.

Is +1 (pronounced “Plus One”) part of the new social network that Google’s long been rumored to be building? Or is +1 simply that “social layer” that Google has said would come and isn’t really meant as a rival to Facebook?

Yes.

Come along — let’s see how it works now, where it might go, and we’ll get into the bigger picture stuff at the end.

Inside the ‘Mad Men Negotiations: Who Wants What’ (The Wrap)

Hopefully the rest of the “Mad Men” negotiations are going better than this: The show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, and its network, AMC, can’t even agree on what casting changes Weiner has been asked to make.

Weiner told the fan blog Basket of Kisses that — as first reported by TheWrap — he’s been asked to cut six cast members from the Emmy-winning show over three seasons. But a person familiar with AMC’s thinking disputes that number, saying Weiner only has been asked to be judicious about signing actors who may deliver only a couple of lines per season.

Nothing like the Social Graph as a focus group, ‘TV Wonder Woman Costume Altered to Assuage Geek Rage’ (IGN)

The reveal of the costume for the new Wonder Woman NBC TV pilot was not exactly been met with universal praise, with plenty of criticism thrown at the new take on Princess Diana’s classic comic book garb. However, with the pilot filming scenes on Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles this week, spectators are getting a look at Adrianne Palicki in the costume and it’s clear that there have been changes made since the photo reveal. So it certainly seems like some of those complaints were heard, my fellow fanboys.

How to Design a 1980s Movie Poster (Web Designers Depot)

n this article, we’re going to start by looking at a few inspirational movie posters from the 1980s which we’ll use for inspiration.

Then, we’re going to use Adobe Photoshop to create a 1980′s style movie poster for our fictitious film titled “The Designer’s Mansion.”

This tutorial is aimed for designers with a fair understanding of Photoshop.

If you follow this tutorial, please feel free to post a link to your final product in the comments area below. We’d love to see it!

Let’s get started!