MTV has landed the rights to develop a U.S. version of the award-winning U.K. phenomenon “Skins,” it was announced today by Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President, MTV Series Development. Created by father and son team, Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, the E4 and Channel 4 series is about a group of British teenagers who are trying to grow up and find love and happiness. Bryan Elsley will be writing and executive producing the U.S. version. In an effort to maintain the original production’s successful model wherein all the stories were written by a group of British teenagers, MTV will similarly join together unknown teenagers to write and star in the series. The producers intend to set the show in Baltimore, Maryland. “‘Skins’ is one of those rare shows that cuts through to its core audience with unusually authentic stories due to the unique writing and casting process that Bryan pioneered. Having personally pursued the U.K. project for almost two years, I am beyond thrilled to bring it to MTV in the U.S. We intend to preserve the authenticity of the British version and are excited to collaborate with the original team to develop stories that will speak to American youth,” said Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President, MTV Series Development. “We are delighted to be making ‘Skins’ for the U.S. and in particular, for MTV who have embraced the show and its ambitions and unusual production process. We are looking forward to talking to teenagers across the U.S. and making a show that reflects their lives in every aspect,” said Charlie Pattinson, CEO, Company Pictures. “Skins” instantly became a critical and commercial hit in the U.K. especially among young adults as it was the third highest-rated show of the year on E4 reaching 1.2 million P2+ viewers and achieved a massive 61% of 16-34 year olds. The series won a 2009 BAFTA Audience Award, which was voted on by the public, and Best Drama Series at the 2008 Broadcast Awards. “Skins” will be produced by Company Pictures, a division of ALL3MEDIA, and Stormdog, the same companies that produce the Channel 4 series in the U.K. Bryan Elsley, of Stormdog, will Executive Produce and write the U.S. version, along with Executive Producers Charlie Pattinson and George Faber, both of Company Pictures.

No, I’m sorry … but I cannot believe that MTV or any other US basic cable network, to be quite honest, will be able to do justice to this show. The thought of a watered-down version just irritates the hell out of me. I look at what NBC did to the brilliant Aussie comedy series Kath & Kim and I wince … I am really dreading a US version of Skins. I hoped and prayed that the show wouldn’t gain the attention of the US market and, well, here we have it. No offense to MTV but their brand of programming will not even come close to the spirit of the original. Only a pay cable network like HBO or Showtime would have the freedom to really do it justice and then, well, I’d still not have much hope. Besides, BBC America already airs a censored version of the original here in the US, there is NO NEED for an entirely new MTV version. This is crappy news. So, to offset, I’m happy to pass along that the 4th season of the original version of Skins has been picked up and will air in the UK next year. Ugh … why can’t MTV leave somethings alone?

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Nylonmag.com posted an interview online with some of the new cast but it has mysteriously been taken down for some unknown reason. While we wait for it to come back, let’s check out a few photos of some of the individual castmembers — including Kaya Scodelario, Luke Pasqualino, Lily Loveless and Ollie Barbieri — which you can see after the jump …

As you may recall, Skins won the Phillips Audience Award at the 2009 BAFTA Awards over the weekend … an honor that I feel is much deserved. While some viewers may not feel the same affinity for the new cast as they did for the old cast, I have to say that I love both casts pretty equally. I found the third season of Skins wholly entertaining and I loved every single episode. For me, the show works so well because of the great writing and the amazing character development. I simply could not wait to see the eps on BBC America so I watched them online … it was really a great season. While I would love for Skins to take the US by storm, I don’t think it will ever happen … which is fine with me. I like being in “the know” and can enjoy the show even tho the rest of the country is unaware of what they’re missing.

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Naturalist David Attenborough, actor Kenneth Branagh and comedy duo French and Saunders have been honoured with gongs at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards. In a glittering ceremony in London, Attenborough picked up the specialist factual Bafta for “Life in Cold Blood,” his series on reptiles and amphibians — the eighth time he and his wildlife programmes have been honoured here. “Our thanks, of course, go to the spitting cobras, axolotls, golden frogs, dwarf chameleons, those happy tortoises, and this (award) belongs not to me or to them but the production team,” the 82-year-old said. Actor and director Branagh, best known for his Shakespearean roles on stage and on screen, took his first Bafta for a television appearance for “Wallander,” which he produced and also stars in as a Swedish detective. Accepting the best drama award, which comes 20 years after he won a film Bafta for Henry V, Branagh thanked the BBC for commissioning the show. “They took a risk in wondering whether the world would be interested in the troubled life of a melancholy Scandinavian, but as I have spent half my life trying to make a living doing that, it wasn’t such a stretch for me,” he said, referring to his performances as the Danish prince “Hamlet.” Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who have been cracking jokes together for the past 30 years, were jointly given the academy fellowship, which Saunders said was a “great honour.” Golden Globe-winning US drama “Mad Men,” about an advertising agency in 1960s New York, won the prize for best international programme.

Additionally, Skins took home the Philips Audience Award which is the only award voted on by the audience and honors the Best Programme of 2008. It was accepted on behalf of the show by Kaya Scodelario (who plays Effie) and Hannah Murray (who plays Cassie):

I understand that over 22,000 votes were cast and the amazing show Skins came out on top. I absolutely contend that Skins is the best TV series on the air both in the UK and here in the US … it’s really an amazing show and I’m glad to know that it has been honored in this way. Congrats!!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Here is Naomi, Freddie, Katie, Emily (they’re twins), JJ and Karen:

This is BY FAR the most entertaining show I’ve seen all year … it beats the hell out of the drama we get on Gossip Girl. Trust me, if you like GG you’ll love Skins. I urge those of you here in the US who haven’t seen the series to check it out on BBC America. I can only hope that we’ll be getting season 3 of Skins here in the US sometime in 2009 … I’m not sure I can wait that long to watch the next season.

[Source via ONTD!]

At #10 is The Incredible Hulk:

This movie may not have been the best superhero film of all time but it beat the hell out of Ang Lee’s Hulk and really did a service to both the comic book series and the TV series from the ’70s. This film really paid homage to the beloved TV series for the first half of the film and then represented the comic books very well in the second half of the film. All I know is that I had a really good time at the movies watching this film … and isn’t that what’s most important?

At #9 is W.:

Oliver Stone films are really hit or miss and this one was a pretty nice hit. Josh Brolin played a superb GWB and managed to put our soon-to-be ex-president in real context. I am no GWB fan by any stretch of the imagination but this film actually made him a sympathetic character. Props to Oliver Stone for actually doing the impossible.

In the #8 position is Doubt:

This film is all about the acting. And among the amazing acting performances, Meryl Streep far outshines everyone else in this film. She absolutely turned in the most powerful acting performance this year … she absolutely deserves all the Best Actress awards and, IMHO, the Best Actor awards as well — she is that good in this film. I feel bad for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, who both turned in exceptional performances, cuz Streep just steals the spotlight. She made this movie such a delight for me to watch.

At #7 is Milk:

At long last, the story of Harvey Milk’s life made it to the big screen … and Sean Penn did his memory a great service. Milk may not have been a blockbuster but it is a very important story that is told so expertly that I wish it had made more money at the box office. Penn’s cast of supporting actors were also pretty phenomenal … as a whole they told a tale that an entire generation of people were hearing for the first time — which was eerily similar to the events that were playing out on the streets of SoCal this past November.

At #6 is WALL•E:

OMG … what can I say about WALL•E that hasn’t been said a million times before? The movie is just cute as hell and actually caused kids and grown adults alike to fall in love with a sweet little animated trash compactor. I had my doubts about this film before I saw it for myself … but man, once I saw it — I was hooked. WALL•E is absolutely the Best Animated Film of 2008.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Films of 2008 as well as my list of my Fave TV Shows of the Year …

My #5 pick is The Dark Knight:

Don’t get me wrong … I love The Dark Knight but I really felt that, for me, there were a few movies that were better this year in terms of overall entertainment value. That said, Chris Nolan gave us a Batman that is worthy of the top awards that are handed out for outstanding achievement in film making. Heath Ledger was just stunning as The Joker … I absolutely contend that he would still be getting Oscar buzz if he hadn’t passed away last January. He is deffo my pick for Best Supporting Actor at the coming Academy Awards.

At #4 is Iron Man:

THE best superhero film of the year … funny and action-packed with loads of amazing special effects and a great story — this film had it all. The casting was pretty perfect … except for Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes (who I did not care for at all) … especially Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Robert Downey, Jr. is just the man … there ain’t anyone else who could play playboy millionaire Tony Stark. It’s too bad he won’t win any awards for his work on Iron Man cuz he really deserves one.

My #3 is Slumdog Millionaire:

The perfect rags to riches story with a great modern twist. I laughed, I cried, I actually stood up and cheered at this movie. The youngest actors were BY FAR the best thing about this film. Believe the hype, Slumdog Millionaire is really as good as everyone says.

My second fave movie of the year is Sex and the City:

At long last, the Sex and the City Movie made it to the big screen and it did NOT disappoint. The movie was the perfect length to feel like a mini-season of the show. The fabulous clothes, the steamy sex scenes and the camaraderie between Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda all conspired to make a far too entertaining movie. I saw this film 3 times in the theaters … and 3 more times since it came out on DVD. I just can’t get enough!

And my #1 fave movie of the year is Cloverfield:

OK … I’m sure a lot of y’all will not agree with me on this one but, in all honesty, this was my fave film of the year. Since it came out last January it really set the benchmark for me and, truth be told, I wasn’t as thoroughly entertained by anything else as much as I was by Cloverfield. I’m not saying it is the best movie of all time but for 2008, it was the perfect marriage of viral marketing, Internet savvy and fun movie-making that all came together IMHO perfectly. I still contend that it was as “real” as a monster invasion movie could be. It really had that Blair Witch Project magic that grabbed me entirely. I was actually surprised that so many people hated this film (mostly because of the shaky camerawork) because I loved it so entirely. While there were some pretty amazing films released this year, I have to say that my fave of the bunch was the one that made me believe the most.

Here are my Top TV Shows of 2008:

1. Skins
2. In Treatment
3. Battlestar Galactica
4. Gossip Girl
5. Project Runway (both seasons)
6. 90210
7. Breaking Bad
8. Torchwood
9. Saturday Night Live (mainly for the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin skits)
10. All the election coverage on CNN and MSNBC

Which films and TV shows were YOUR faves in 2008? Is anyone with me on Team Cloverfield?