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Studio Briefing:
From The Wire:
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Most Read
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WILL COWELL EARN MORE THAN FOX?, JACKSON'S FINAL REHEARSAL TO AIR, DEPP TAKES AIM AT TRANSFORMERS, GOSSIP COLUMNIST SUES FOX NEWS FOR $5 MILLION, A SURPRISE WEDNESDAY WINNER AT BOX OFFICE, STRAIGHT-TO-DVD MOVIE WINDS UP AT NO. 1 IN RENTAL STORES, JACKSON HAD FILMED A 3D MOVIE BEFORE HIS DEATH, NBC UNIVERSAL CFO WANTS TO KNOW WHY STUDIO LACKS HITS, CELEBRITY WEBSITE TMZ GOT SCOOP ON JACKSON DEATH, WHY DID MICHAEL JACKSON DIE?, WEINSTEIN SAYS PUBLIC ENEMIES IS THE FILM TO BEAT, THE FALLEN RISES, SUCCESS IS REVENGE'S REVENGE AGAINST CRITICS, PINK SLIPS RAIN OVER PARAMOUNT, HULU TO PLAYSTATION OWNERS: NO VIDEO FOR YOU, NBC RISES TO THE TOP AGAIN, HELEN THOMAS ACCUSES OBAMA OF TRYING TO MANAGE THE PRESS, L.A. SCHOOL CHIEF INADVERTENTLY ADDS TO BRÜNO'S PUBLICITY BONANZA, AMID CUTBACKS AT FOX, CAREY TO EARN MILLIONS, AND IN LIMITED RELEASE ..., |
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Top Stories
Friday, Jul 3, 2009
THE DIFFICULTIES PRODUCING MICHAEL JACKSON'S FUNERAL
Friday, July 3 2009
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It
remains
unclear
whether
the
planned
funeral
for
Michael
Jackson
next
Tuesday
at
Staples
Center
in
Los
Angeles
will
be
broadcast
by
the
major
networks,
streamed
over
the
Internet,
or
beamed
by
satellite
to
theaters.
Hulu,
the
video
site
operated
by
NBC,
Fox,
and
Disney,
put
up
a
"placeholder"
on
Thursday
saying
that
it
would
offer
a
live
Internet
broadcast
of
the
funeral
as
a
"web
exclusive."
However,
by
this
morning,
the
notice
had
(more)
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NEW ICE AGE EXPECTED TO BE HOT
Friday, July 3 2009
|
Global
warming
will
take
a
holiday
at
the
box
office
this
holiday
weekend
as
a
new
Ice
Age
dawns
with
an
expected
five-day
take
of
about
$60-70
million,
according
to
industry
forecasters.
Last
year,
Will
Smith's
Hancock
rook
first
place
with
$62.6
million.
In
a
surprise,
Ice
Age:
Dawn
of
the
Dinosaurs
leaped
ahead
of
Transformers:
Revenge
of
the
Fallen
out
of
the
holiday
starting
gate
on
Wednesday
with
an
official
take
of
$13,791,157
(more)
|
More Headlines
|
NIGHTLINE BEATS TONIGHT & LATE NIGHT AGAIN
03-Jul-09
|
|
A
year
ago
at
this
time,
there
was
much
speculation
about
the
possibility
that
ABC
would
make
a
play
to
land
Jay
Leno
after
he
left
the
Tonight
show
to
compete
against
Conan
O'Brien
and
David
Letterman.
According
to
the
rumors,
the
network
was
preparing
to
spend
big
bucks
for
(more)
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|
HDTV PICTURES DEGRADING
03-Jul-09
|
|
The
desire
of
many
television
stations
to
use
their
new
digital
broadcast
spectrum
to
offer
subchannels
alongside
their
primary
high-definition
ones
is
resulting
in
a
significant
degradation
of
their
HD
picture
quality,
Broadcasting
&
Cable
reported
today
(Friday).
Until
now,
local
broadcasters
have
put
little
effort
into
the
subchannels,
but
(more)
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RERUN-HEAVY CBS WINS THURSDAY NIGHT
03-Jul-09
|
|
Reruns
of
CBS's
crime
dramas
kept
it
in
first
place
among
total
viewers
during
every
half
hour
of
primetime
Thursday
night.
Fox
led
among
adults
18-49,
however,
while
NBC
and
ABC
were
virtually
no
where
in
sight.
CBS
averaged
a
little
more
than
8
million
viewers
for
the
night
as
(more)
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THE CREATURE TO MAKE STAGE DEBUT
03-Jul-09
|
|
Universal
has
brought
the
classic
horror
flick
Creature
From
the
Black
Lagoon
to
the
stage
--
not
the
Broadway
stage,
mind
you.
Not
even
one
of
the
out-of-town
tryout
venues.
No,
it
has
brought
it
to
its
Universal
Studios
Hollywood
theme
park,
although
with
production
values,
as
Variety
puts
it,
(more)
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TALENT CONTESTS COMPETE AGAINST EACH OTHER
02-Jul-09
|
|
The
reality
contests
America's
Got
Talent
on
NBC
and
So
You
Think
You
Can
Dance
of
Fox
ran
neck-and-neck
races
Wednesday
night
with
Talent
winning
by
a
nose
among
overall
viewers
in
the
ratings
and
Dance,
among
adults
18-49.
Unfortunately
for
NBC,
its
The
Philanthropist,
which
drew
solid
ratings
last
(more)
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ONE COMPANY SENDS JACKSON REPORTS TO THE WORLD
02-Jul-09
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On
Call
Communications,
a
satellite
communications
service
that
charges
television
stations
only
$150
for
a
15-minute
live
remote,
was
able
to
allow
stations
from
around
the
world
to
cover
the
death
of
Michael
Jackson,
it
said
Wednesday.
The
company
said
that
it
assisted
news
organizations
from
such
countries
as
Brazil,
(more)
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HELEN THOMAS ACCUSES OBAMA OF TRYING TO MANAGE THE PRESS
02-Jul-09
|
|
Veteran
White
House
correspondent
Helen
Thomas,
88,
who
was
ignored
by
President
Bush
and
relegated
to
the
rear
of
the
White
House
briefing
room
during
his
administration,
lashed
out
at
the
Obama
administration
for
what
she
called
"a
pattern
of
controlling
the
press."
During
a
briefing
on
Wednesday
with
White
(more)
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AMID CUTBACKS AT FOX, CAREY TO EARN MILLIONS
02-Jul-09
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Chase
Carey,who
officially
replaced
Peter
Chernin
as
president
and
COO
of
News
Corp
Wednesday,
could
earn
up
to
$43.1
million
in
salary
and
bonuses
during
his
first
year
with
the
company,
the
Wall
Street
Journal
reported
today
(Thursday).
According
to
the
newspaper,
which
cited
an
SEC
filing,
Carey
will
receive
(more)
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OSCAR-WINNER KARL MALDEN DEAD AT 97
02-Jul-09
|
|
Karl
Malden,
best
known
for
his
co-starring
role
(with
Michael
Douglas)
in
the
1970s
series
Streets
of
San
Francisco
but
who
appeared
in
more
than
50
motion
pictures
as
well
has
died
in
Los
Angeles
at
age
97.
He
won
the
best
supporting
actor
Oscar
in
1951
for
his
performance
(more)
|
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A SURPRISE WEDNESDAY WINNER AT BOX OFFICE
02-Jul-09
|
|
The
first
day
of
the
long
Independence
Day
weekend
began
at
the
box-office
with
a
victory
not
for
Transformers
2
and
not
for
Public
Enemies,
the
two
films
that
were
expected
to
be
the
primary
contenders
for
first
place.
Instead,
the
hands-down
winner
was
the
20th
Century
Fox
animated
3D
(more)
|
|
WEINSTEIN SAYS PUBLIC ENEMIES IS THE FILM TO BEAT
02-Jul-09
|
|
Producer
Harvey
Weinstein,
generally
regarded
in
the
movie
business
as
a
genius
when
it
comes
to
flogging
his
own
films
in
the
race
for
Oscar
nominations,
has
already
identified
the
movie
to
beat
in
2009.
It's
Public
Enemies,
according
to
Weinstein.
And
the
actor
to
beat
is
Johnny
Depp.
And
(more)
|
|
TRUE HI-DEF STREAMING LIKELY YEARS AWAY, SAYS REPORT
02-Jul-09
|
|
It
is
likely
to
be
at
least
five
years
years
before
high-definition
movies
can
be
streamed
to
home
theaters
with
the
same
resolution
as
Blu-ray
discs,
according
to
a
study
by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
and
reported
on
the
Video
Business
magazine's
website.
Although
millions
of
homes
are
already
connected
to
video
services
(more)
|
|
STRAIGHT-TO-DVD MOVIE WINDS UP AT NO. 1 IN RENTAL STORES
02-Jul-09
|
|
Ordinarily
a
movie
that
goes
straight
to
video
is
regarded
as
being
among
the
dregs
of
a
studio's
output,
but
last
week,
The
Code,
starring
Morgan
Freeman
and
Antonio
Banderas,
debuted
at
No.
1
on
Home
Media
magazine's
rental
chart
without
ever
seeing
the
light
of
a
theater
screen.
In
(more)
|
|
SHAWSHANK COMING TO THE STAGE
02-Jul-09
|
|
Another
movie
is
about
to
make
the
transition
to
the
stage,
published
reports
indicated
on
Wednesday.
The
Shawshank
Redemption,
which
received
seven
Oscar
nominations
in
1994,
is
scheduled
to
premiere
in
London's
West
End
in
September,
with
Kevin
Anderson
in
the
role
Tim
Robbins
played
in
the
movie
and
Reg
(more)
|
|
GOSSIP COLUMNIST SUES FOX NEWS FOR $5 MILLION
01-Jul-09
|
|
Former
FoxNews.com
entertainment
columnist
Roger
Friedman
is
claiming
in
a
$5-million
lawsuit
against
News
Corp
that
the
copy
of
Wolverine
that
he
viewed
online
had
previously
been
in
the
possession
of
of
News
Corp
chairman
Rupert
Murdoch.
He
maintains
that
the
principal
reason
for
his
dismissal
was
that
News
Corp
(more)
|
|
|
In Other News
|
WILL COWELL EARN MORE THAN FOX?
01-Jul-09
|
|
If
Simon
Cowell
leaves
American
Idol
this
year
as
he
has
contemplated
doing
in
interviews,
he
could
be
walking
away
from
an
offered
salary
of
$108-144
million,
according
to
Britain's
Guardian
newspaper.
The
figure
represents
three
to
four
times
his
current
fee
of
$35
million,
the
newspaper
said,
citing
a
(more)
|
|
NBC RISES TO THE TOP AGAIN
01-Jul-09
|
|
NBC,
whose
peacock
seems
to
rise
like
a
phoenix
out
of
the
ashes
of
the
regular
season
each
summer,
had
the
top-rated
show
on
the
air
last
week,
the
Tuesday
edition
of
America's
Got
Talent.
The
Wednesday
edition
of
the
talent
contest
placed
third
on
the
Nielsen
list.
The
network
(more)
|
|
BRITISH TV EXEC SAYS U.K. NETWORKS SHOULD EMULATE HULU
01-Jul-09
|
|
Dawn
Airey,
the
head
of
Britain's
Channel
5,
has
urged
fellow
broadcast
executives
in
the
U.K.
to
build
online
partnerships
and
"then
return
to
stabbing
each
other
in
the
back
over
the
broadcast
schedules."
She
cited
the
success
of
Hulu
in
the
U.S.,
which
she
said,
resulted
"because
three
ferociously
(more)
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DEPP TAKES AIM AT TRANSFORMERS
01-Jul-09
|
|
Will
Johnny
Depp
and
his
cohorts
in
Public
Enemies
be
able
to
shoot
down
the
rampaging
Transformers:
Revenge
of
the
Fallen
over
the
July
4
holiday?
The
film,
along
with
Fox's
3D
cartoon
Ice
Age:
Dawn
of
the
Dinosaurs,
opens
in
theaters
today
(Wednesday),
and
it's
anybody's
guess
which
one
(more)
|
|
PINK SLIPS RAIN OVER PARAMOUNT
01-Jul-09
|
|
Even
as
Paramount's
top
executives
were
cheering
the
rise
of
Transformers:
Revenge
of
the
Fallen
to
the
top
of
the
box
office
on
Tuesday,
other
executives
at
the
studio
were
receiving
notices
that
they
were
no
longer
needed
at
the
studio.
Some
31
pink
slips
were
delivered
to
executives
and
(more)
|
|
L.A. SCHOOL CHIEF INADVERTENTLY ADDS TO BRÜNO'S PUBLICITY BONANZA
01-Jul-09
|
|
In
an
action
that
is
certain
to
draw
further
media
attention
to
Sacha
Baron-Cohen's
upcoming
Brüno
feature,
the
superintendent
of
the
Los
Angeles
Unified
School
District
has
announced
that
he
intends
to
take
"appropriate
personnel
action"
against
the
principal
and
athletic
director
of
Birmingham
High
School
for
allowing
a
GQ
(more)
|
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BET BEATS BROADCAST NETS WITH AWARDS SPECIAL
30-Jun-09
|
|
Sunday
night's
BET
awards,
which
became
a
de
facto
Michael
Jackson
tribute
special,
attracted
10.2
million
viewers.
It
was
the
most
who
have
ever
tuned
in
to
the
Viacom-owned
network,
which
targets
the
African-American
audience.
The
numbers
overshadowed
those
of
the
broadcast
networks,
whose
highest-rated
program
on
Sunday,
CBS's
60
(more)
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BROADCASTERS DOMINATE VIDEO AD SALES ONLINE
30-Jun-09
|
|
When
it
comes
to
selling
advertising
on
web
video,
the
traditional
broadcasters
have
YouTube
beat
by
a
mile.
According
to
media
researchers
Screen
Digest,
more
than
half
the
ad
revenue
from
online
video
was
produced
by
CBS,
NBC,
Fox
and
Hulu
(the
joint
venture
between
News
Corp's
Fox,
ABC
Disney
(more)
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HULU TO PLAYSTATION OWNERS: NO VIDEO FOR YOU
30-Jun-09
|
|
In
the
latest
effort
to
keep
Hulu
content
off
TV
sets
and
on
computer
monitors
only,
users
of
PlayStation
3
consoles,
who
have
been
using
the
device
to
bring
online
video
to
their
TV
sets,
discovered
on
Monday
that
they
were
blocked
from
doing
so
with
Hulu.
Instead,
according
to
(more)
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CABLE COMPANY EXPECTS TO ROLL OUT "REMOTE RECORDING" SLOWLY
30-Jun-09
|
|
Cablevision
on
Tuesday
hailed
a
decision
by
the
Supreme
Court
not
to
review
a
federal
appeals
court
ruling
that
permitted
"remote-storage"
--
that
is,
allowing
its
cable
customers,
who
reside
mostly
in
the
New
York
City
area,
to
record
programs
onto
the
cable
company's
servers
rather
than
on
settop
digital
(more)
|
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JACKSON HAD FILMED A 3D MOVIE BEFORE HIS DEATH
30-Jun-09
|
|
Details
were
still
sketchy,
but
the
Associated
Press
reported
Monday
that
two
weeks
before
his
death,
Michael
Jackson
wrapped
up
production
on
a
3D
film
titled
The
Dome
Project,
which
he
had
expected
to
be
included
in
his
London
performances.
The
project
hearkened
back
to
his
Thriller
3D
movie
that
(more)
|
|
SUCCESS IS REVENGE'S REVENGE AGAINST CRITICS
30-Jun-09
|
|
Ticket
sales
for
Transformers:
Revenge
of
the
Fallen
on
Sunday
fell
a
whopping
$3
million
below
Paramount's
estimate.
Nevertheless,
the
studio
claimed
that
the
movie
earned
$200.1
million
over
its
first
five
days,
only
about
1
million
below
the
original
estimate.
BoxOfficeMojo.com
said
that
Paramount
explained
the
apparent
discrepancy
by
(more)
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