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Studio Briefing:
From The Wire:
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Most Read
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PUBLICIST YANKS PATTINSON FROM SEACREST INTERVIEW, DISNEY PULLS PLUG ON CAPTAIN NEMO, REPORT: CNN PAID DOBBS $8 MILLION TO LEAVE, 2012 LIKELY TO FALL TO TWILIGHT 2, ORIGINAL STAR TREK PILOT FOUND, OUT ON BLU-RAY, NBC STATIONS SAY LENO HURTS THEIR MORNING NEWS SHOWS, TOO, BLACK ACTORS DELETED FROM COUPLES RETREAT ADS IN U.K., WILL FERRELL NAMED MOST OVERPAID STAR, COMEDIES PRODUCING BIG PROFITS FOR STUDIOS, SEXIEST MAN LOOKS ANYTHING BUT IN TMZ NEWS CLIP, MARTHA STEWART SAYS SHE HAS LOST MORE THAN $1 BILLION, WORLD ENDS WITH A BANG, THE , WHO'S WINNING WAR BETWEEN REDBOX AND STUDIOS?, O'REILLY SLAMS CNN FOR FIRING DOBBS, NBC FINDS BUYERS SCARCE FOR WINTER OLYMPICS, MOVIE REVIEWS: THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, RATINGS: SAME OLD, SAME OLD ..., GANNETT NEWSPAPERS GIVE AWAY DVD'S OF OSCAR-WINNING FILM, DEAF PEOPLE RILED UP BY CAPTION-LESS GO DVD'S, RATINGS CONTINUE TO CLIMB FOR NBC'S MERCY, |
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Top Stories
Friday, Nov 20, 2009
OPRAH ANNOUNCES TWO-YEAR FADE-OUT
Friday, November 20 2009
|
A
teary-eyed
Oprah
Winfrey
announced
today
(Friday)
that
she
will
end
her
unrivaled
daytime
talk
show
at
the
end
of
its
25th
season
in
2011.
She
told
her
audience
that
"after
much
prayer
and
months
of
careful
thought,
I've
decided
that
next
season,
season
25,
will
be
the
last
season
of
The
Oprah
Winfrey
Show."
At
the
end
of
her
announcement,
she
received
a
standing
ovation
from
her
studio
audience.
Richard
Prince,
who
tracks
(more)
|
GARTH ANCIER QUITS AS HEAD OF BBC WORLDWIDE AMERICA
Friday, November 20 2009
|
Garth
Ancier,
who
at
51
boasts
one
of
the
longest
résumés
in
show
business,
has
decided
to
step
down
as
president
of
BBC
Worldwide
America,
the
commercial
cable
arm
of
the
BBC
in
the
U.S.
effective
next
March.
In
announcing
his
departure,
BBC
Worldwide
said
in
London
that
during
his
three-year
tenure
Ancier
was
responsible
for
boosting
BBC
Worldwide
America's
profits
by
78
percent,
launching
BBC
World
News
America,
and
expanding
the
cable
channel's
(more)
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More Headlines
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VIVENDI CONTINUES TO HOLD UP GE-COMCAST DEAL FOR NBC
20-Nov-09
|
|
Although
the
French
media
company
Vivendi
had
been
expected
to
announce
this
week
whether
it
would
sell
its
20-percent
stake
in
NBC
Universal
to
General
Electric
--
thereby
allowing
GE
and
Comcast
to
form
a
joint
venture
to
control
the
entertainment
company
--
a
top
Vivendi
exec
said
Thursday
that
(more)
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BUSINESSWEEK MEDIA COLUMNIST HAS LONGER-THAN-EXPECTED TIME OFF
20-Nov-09
|
|
In
the
wake
of
the
sale
of
BusinessWeek
magazine
to
Bloomberg
LP,
it
was
announced
Thursday
that
the
magazine's
respected
media
columnist,
Jon
Fine,
will
be
among
the
writers
and
editors
at
the
magazine
being
laid
off.
Fine
received
the
word
while
on
sabbatical,
traveling
with
his
wife,
Laurel
Touby,
(more)
|
|
NBC'S BRIAN WILLIAMS PRAISES DAILY SHOW'S JON STEWART
20-Nov-09
|
|
Writing
in
Newsweek,
NBC'
anchor
Brian
Williams
suggests
that
Jon
Stewart
and
The
Daily
Show
have
had
a
profound
influence
on
television
news
in
general
and
his
own
newscast
in
particular.
"On
occasion,
when
we've
been
on
the
cusp
of
doing
something
completely
inane
on
NBC
Nightly
News,
I
will
(more)
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THEATER NECKING TO TAKE ON NEW MEANING
20-Nov-09
|
|
Defying
conventional
wisdom
that
teenage
boys
control
the
box
office,
box
office
analysts
are
predicting
record
crowds
--
mostly
of
teenage
girls
--
for
this
weekend's
opening
of
Summit
Entertainment's
The
Twilight
Saga:
New
Moon.
Today's
(Friday)
Los
Angeles
Times
said
that
the
film
will
likely
sell
about
$90
million
(more)
|
|
MOVIE REVIEWS: PLANET 51
20-Nov-09
|
|
Planet
51,
an
animated
film
about
an
alternate
Earth
still
living
in
the
1950s
(while
the
inhabitants
are
green
and
sport
antennas
on
their
heads,
they
speak
English)
that
is
invaded
by
modern
man,
is
likely
to
attract
an
alternate
audience
--
families.
It's
receiving
so-so
reviews.
"Although
not
bowling
(more)
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MOVIE REVIEWS: THE BLIND SIDE
20-Nov-09
|
|
Lou
Lumenick
in
the
New
York
Post
describes
The
Blind
Side
as
"part
football
movie
and
part
Precious
with
a
happy
ending."
It's
the
true
story
of
a
wealthy
Southern
couple,
played
by
Sandra
Bullock
and
Tim
McGraw,
who
take
in
Michael
Oher,
a
homeless
black
teenager
played
by
Quinton
(more)
|
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FOX SCORES NEWS BEAT WITH OBAMA CHAT
19-Nov-09
|
|
President
Obama's
brief
interview
with
Fox
News
Channel's
Major
Garrett
on
Wednesday
produced
a
fair
amount
of
newsworthy
copy.
Suggesting
that
a
behind-the-scenes
truce
between
the
news
channel
and
the
White
House
had
been
worked
out,
Garrett
at
no
time
brought
up
the
subject
of
the
squabble
that
became
news
(more)
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MARTHA STEWART SAYS SHE HAS LOST MORE THAN $1 BILLION
19-Nov-09
|
|
Martha
Stewart
claimed
Wednesday
that
her
conviction
and
prison
sentence
in
2004
following
a
stock-trading
scandal
cost
her
more
than
$1
billion.
Appearing
on
ABC's
Nightline
show,
Stewart
said
she
was
"pissed"
when
she
realized
her
conviction
had
had
a
devastating
effect
on
her
company,
Martha
Stewart
Omnimedia.
"The
company
(more)
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FEW GAINS FOR FEMALE AND MINORITY TV WRITERS
19-Nov-09
|
|
Female
and
minority
television
writers
have
made
few
gains
in
recent
years,
and,
for
black
writers,
the
shutdown
of
UPN,
which
had
aired
numerous
comedy
shows
targeting
the
African-American
audience,
has
resulted
in
about
a
10
percent
loss
of
jobs,
according
to
a
study
released
Wednesday
by
the
Writers
Guild
(more)
|
|
TV'S BIGGEST GIVE-AWAY?
19-Nov-09
|
|
Upping
the
ante
among
competition
reality
series,
NBC
has
green-lighted
a
show
in
which
the
grand
prize
is
a
chain
of
four
new
restaurants,
the
Hollywood
Reporter
reported
today,
calling
the
prize
"among
the
biggest
in
reality
show
history."
Contestants
on
the
series,
tentatively
titled
United
Plates
of
America,
will
(more)
|
|
RATINGS CONTINUE TO CLIMB FOR NBC'S MERCY
19-Nov-09
|
|
NBC's
hospital
drama
Mercy
continued
its
impressive
ratings
rise
Wednesday
night
as
it
averaged
7.8
million
viewers
and
placed
first
in
the
8:00
p.m.
hour.
One
of
the
worst-reviewed
new
shows,
Mercy
has
managed
to
pick
up
viewers
steadily
from
the
beginning
of
the
season,
when
it
tied
for
fourth
(more)
|
|
VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES ARRIVE AT MIDNIGHT
19-Nov-09
|
|
This
will
be
the
night
when
a
pain
in
the
neck
trumps
the
destruction
of
the
world.
It's
the
night
--
midnight,
to
be
precise
--
when
The
Twilight
Saga:
New
Moon
debuts
in
theaters
--
all
of
which
are
likely
to
be
sold
out.
Online
ticket
sellers
have
said
(more)
|
|
MOVIE REVIEWS: THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
19-Nov-09
|
|
Critics
all
seem
to
agree
that
The
Twilight
Saga:
New
Moon
delivers
what
it
is
supposed
to
deliver
--
in
the
words
of
Elizabeth
Weitzman,
in
the
New
York
Daily
News,
"swooning
romance,
PG-13
thrills,
and
enough
sharp
cheekbones
and
shirtless
boys
to
carry
any
adolescent
over
to
the
next
(more)
|
|
WILL FERRELL NAMED MOST OVERPAID STAR
19-Nov-09
|
|
Comic
actor
Will
Ferrell
has
the
dubious
distinction
of
heading
a
new
Forbes
magazine
list
of
Hollywood's
most
overpaid
stars.
A
top-ten
list
also
includes
(in
order):
Ewan
McGregor,
Billy
Bob
Thornton,
Eddie
Murphy,
Ice
Cube,
Tom
Cruise,
Drew
Barrymore,
Leonardo
DiCaprio,
Samuel
Jackson,
and
Jim
Carrey.
All
of
them,
(more)
|
|
SEXIEST MAN LOOKS ANYTHING BUT IN TMZ NEWS CLIP
19-Nov-09
|
|
The
tabloid
website
TMZ,
fast
becoming
the
bane
of
Hollywood
publicists,
wasted
no
time
Wednesday
undercutting
the
news
that
People
magazine
had
named
Johnny
Depp
its
"Sexiest
Man
Alive"
for
the
second
time.
(He
also
won
in
2003.)
Just
hours
after
People
senior
editor
Kate
Coyne
announced
the
magazine's
selection,
(more)
|
|
|
In Other News
|
ANOTHER STUDY SAYS THEATER POPCORN IS BAD FOR YOU
19-Nov-09
|
|
Theater
owners
have
made
it
plain
that
they
intend
to
ignore
a
new
study
showing
that
the
popcorn
they
sell
at
their
concession
stands
is
loaded
with
calories
and
saturated
fat.
The
study,
conducted
for
the
Center
for
Science
in
the
Public
Interest,
disclosed
that
a
large
popcorn
at
the
(more)
|
|
COMPOSERS UNITE!
18-Nov-09
|
|
Some
400
composers
and
lyricists
working
in
television
and
films
have
begun
the
process
of
joining
the
Teamsters
Union
in
hopes
of
gaining
better
pay
and
benefits
for
their
work,
the
Los
Angeles
Times
reported
today
(Wednesday).
In
an
interview
with
the
newspaper,
David
Carbonara,
who
writes
the
music
for
(more)
|
|
PUBLICIST YANKS PATTINSON FROM SEACREST INTERVIEW
18-Nov-09
|
|
Once
again
focusing
attention
on
how
effectively
publicists
can
control
the
content
of
broadcast
interviews,
it
was
reported
Tuesday
that
Robert
Pattinson
walked
out
of
a
radio
interview
with
Ryan
Seacrest
when
Seacrest
asked
him
about
his
relationship
with
his
Twilight
co-star
Kristen
Stewart.
A
video
posted
on
numerous
websites
(more)
|
|
SUPER BOWL NEARLY SOLD OUT
18-Nov-09
|
|
Nearly
three
months
before
the
kickoff
of
Super
Bowl
XLIV
on
Feb.
7,
2010,
CBS
has
already
sold
nearly
90
percent
of
its
commercial
availabilities,
Advertising
Age
reported
today
(Wednesday).
The
trade
publication
quoted
John
Bogusz,
CBS's
head
of
sports
sales,
as
saying
that
sales
are
pacing
ahead
of
those
(more)
|
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RATINGS: SAME OLD, SAME OLD ...
18-Nov-09
|
|
With
the
exception
of
ABC's
telecast
of
the
Country
Music
Association
Awards
last
week,
the
list
of
top
ratings
winners
for
the
week
looked
pretty
much
the
way
it
has
looked
throughout
the
season.
The
CMA
Awards
attracted
more
than
17
million
viewers
and
came
in
eighth
among
viewers
overall.
(more)
|
|
OBAMA TO BE INTERVIEWED FOR FOX NEWS
18-Nov-09
|
|
The
relationship
between
the
White
House
and
Fox
News
Network
may
be
thawing,
following
the
departure
of
White
House
communications
director
Anita
Dunn,
who
famously
called
the
news
channel
"an
arm
of
the
Republican
Party."
On
Tuesday
it
was
announced
that
President
Obama
had
agreed
to
be
interviewed
by
FNC's
(more)
|
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NEW CHAIRMAN NAMED FOR BRITAIN'S ITV
18-Nov-09
|
|
A
former
conservative
member
of
Parliament
and
supermarket
executive
has
been
named
chairman
of
Britain's
principal
commercial
network,
ITV.
Archie
Norman
will
succeed
Michael
Grade,
who
said
in
a
statement
that
Norman
"inherits
a
company
that
is
more
popular
and
efficient
than
it
has
been
for
many
years
and
I
(more)
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DISNEY PULLS PLUG ON CAPTAIN NEMO
18-Nov-09
|
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Captain
Nemo:
20,000
Leagues
Under
the
Sea,
a
$150-million
epic,
directed
by
McG,
aimed
at
bringing
to
the
screen
a
favorite
Disneyland
adventure
ride,
has
sunk.
The
Los
Angeles
Times
and
Daily
Variety
reported
that
Rich
Ross,
who
has
been
shaking
things
up
as
Disney
studios'
new
movie
chief,
made
(more)
|
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DEAF PEOPLE RILED UP BY CAPTION-LESS GO DVD'S
18-Nov-09
|
|
Deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
people
are
angered
by
Disney's
decision
to
remove
closed-captioning
from
DVDs
of
the
animated
Up
that
are
being
distributed
to
online,
brick-and-mortar,
and
kiosk
rental
outlets.
The
website
consumerist.com
quoted
a
reader
as
saying
that
a
Disney
customer
service
representative
told
him
that
all
"extras,"
including
closed
(more)
|
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COMEDIES PRODUCING BIG PROFITS FOR STUDIOS
18-Nov-09
|
|
They
rarely
get
mentioned
when
Oscar
nominations
are
announced,
but
comedies
continue
to
generate
a
lot
of
ticket
sales
worldwide,
according
to
USA
Today,
which
noted
that
of
the
top
ten
grossers
over
the
past
year,
six
have
been
comedies
--
several
of
which
were
"savagely
reviewed."
Comedies
are
generally
(more)
|
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WHO'S WINNING WAR BETWEEN REDBOX AND STUDIOS?
18-Nov-09
|
|
Twentieth
Century
Fox
has
boasted
that
it
was
able
to
prevent
Redbox
from
offering
cheap
rentals
of
Ice
Age:Dawn
of
the
Dinosaurs
after
it
was
released
on
DVD
last
month.
Redbox
had
vowed
to
purchase
from
retail
outlets
DVDs
that
Fox,
Universal
and
Warner
said
would
only
be
provided
to
(more)
|
|
REPORT: ICAHN MAY BE AIMING TO CONTROL MGM
18-Nov-09
|
|
Corporate
raider
Carl
Icahn
is
suddenly
buying
up
MGM
bonds
"like
a
bat
out
of
hell,"
Deadline
Hollywood's
Nikki
Finke
reported
Tuesday,
citing
unnamed
film
financing
sources.
"He's
in
Carl
mode:
buy
first,
ask
later,
and
then
throw
lawyers
at
it,"
one
of
the
sources
told
her.
Finke
said
that
(more)
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