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Studio Briefing:
From The Wire:
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Most Read
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IRON MAN IS MARVELOUS FOR MARVEL, MOVIEGOERS TURN IRON INTO GOLD, APPLE TO SELL MOVIES ONLINE AT A LOSS, HEAVY METAL PLAYS WELL AT BOX OFFICE -- IRON, SEX SCANDAL MAY INTERFERE WITH SALE OF WEATHER CHANNEL, IRON MAN WON'T BE A SPIDER-MAN, ANALYSTS PREDICT, AUTO OUTPACES HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS, REPORT: WINEHOUSE OUT AS BOND THEME SINGER, IMAX BUILDING BOOM WILL SEE DIGITAL SWITCH, STUDIOS WIN $111 MILLION FROM BITTORRENT SITE, CALL IN THE CLONES, ARE ONLINE TV SHOWS A MIRAGE?, SWEEPS SWEPT BY LOW RATINGS, BOND MOVIE TO BE ADAPTED FOR RADIO, BROKAW HAS NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT KIDS GETTING NEWS FROM STEWART, DISNEY INDICATES STRIKE CUT COSTS, SPURRED PROFITS, NBC, WEINSTEINS WRANGLE OVER PROJECT RUNWAY, NETWORKS LOSE ONE OUT OF FIVE VIEWERS, WARNER BROS. TO BE FETED AT CANNES, AFTER SNUBBING IPODS, NBC EMBRACES ZUNES, |
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Top Stories
Friday, May 9, 2008
SAG CRIES FOUL
Thursday, May 8 2008
|
Their
behind-closed-doors
negotiations
temporarily
ended,
the
Screen
Actors
Guild
and
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers
began
sniping
at
one
another
Wednesday,
suggesting
that
the
issues
dividing
them
are
substantial
and
not
easily
untangled.
SAG
Executive
Director
Doug
Allen
told
the
Associated
Press
that
the
studios
and
networks
"want
us
to
give
up
the
50-year-old
right
actors
have
to
give
consent
or
not
when
someone
wants
to
use
a
clip
of
their
(more)
|
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE
Thursday, May 8 2008
|
Jason
Castro,
whose
exotic
good
looks
and
sweet
personality
--
rather
than
his
vocal
talent
--
were
often
credited
for
keeping
him
in
the
American
Idol
running
until
the
final
four,
was
eliminated
Wednesday
night,
as
22.4
million
viewers
tuned
in
(13.8
rating
and
a
21
share).
(The
remaining
contestants
are
David
Cook,
David
Archuleta
and
Syesha
Mercado.)
While
it
remained
an
unbeatable
figure
for
the
Fox
show
and
gave
the
network
another
victory
(more)
|
More Headlines
|
ARS GRACIA WHAT?
09-May-08
|
|
Just
weeks
after
announcing
that
it
is
closing
down
its
New
Line
Cinema
unit,
Time
Warner
said
Thursday
that
it
will
also
be
shuttering
Picturehouse,
the
art-house
arm
of
New
Line,
and
Warner
Independent
Pictures,
Warner
Bros.'
own
specialty
unit.
In
an
interview
with
today's
(Friday)
Los
Angeles
Times,
Warner
(more)
|
|
MOVIE REVIEWS: WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
09-May-08
|
|
What
Happens
in
Vegas,
starring
Ashton
Butcher
and
Cameron
Diaz,
shoots
snake-eyes
with
critics.
Some
of
their
reactions:
Rock
Grown
in
the
Toronto
Globe
and
Mail:
"What
Happens
in
Vegas
should
damn
well
have
stayed
in
Vegas."
Joe
Morgenstern
in
the
Wall
Street
Journal:
"What
Happens
in
Vegas
should
have
(more)
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|
MOVIE REVIEWS: SPEED RACER
09-May-08
|
|
Reviews
of
Speed
Racer
are
likely
to
compound
the
nervousness
of
Warner
Bros.
execs
over
the
Wachowski
Brothers'
expensive
animated/live-action
movie.
Cheap
horror
films
are
often
treated
with
greater
critical
kindness.
Consider
Joe
Morgenstern's
critique
in
the
Wall
Street
Journal:
"This
toxic
admixture
of
computer-generated
frenzy
and
live-action
torpor
succeeds
(more)
|
|
RACING FOR SECOND
09-May-08
|
|
Few
analysts
expect
Warner
”
Bros.'
Speed
Racer
to
win
the
box-office
race
this
weekend.
The
film
--
likely
to
attract
mostly
families
with
small
kids
--
is
expected
to
gross
around
$30-35
million.
That's
about
a
third
of
what
Iron
Man
earned
a
week
ago,
so
if
that
film
(more)
|
|
NBC COMPARES APPLES WITH APPLES
09-May-08
|
|
NBC,
which
last
year,
refused
to
continue
providing
television
shows
for
sale
on
Apple's
iTunes
Store,
has
begun
making
full
episodes
of
The
Office
and
30
Rock
available
to
users
of
Apple's
iPhone.
The
shows
can
only
be
viewed
via
a
wireless
connection;
AT&T's
Edge
broadband
service,
the
default
service
(more)
|
|
DESPITE STORMY RELATIONS AT ABC, MCPHERSON TO REMAIN
09-May-08
|
|
Despite
industry
rumors
that
his
relationship
with
Disney
executives
had
deteriorated
and
that
he
was
on
the
way
out,
ABC
Entertainment
President
Steve
McPherson
on
Thursday
was
reported
to
have
signed
a
new
four-year
contract
with
the
Disney-owned
television
network.
Terms
of
his
deal
were
not
disclosed.
McPherson
is
credited
(more)
|
|
FCC MAY PROBE MILITARY-ANALYST-GATE
09-May-08
|
|
FCC
Chairman
Kevin
Martin
said
Thursday
that
the
commission
is
"looking
into"
complaints
that
the
television
news
networks
violated
FCC
rules
when
they
presented
military
analysts
on
their
news
programs
who
had
ties
to
military
contractors
and
who
had
received
"talking
points"
from
the
Pentagon.
Asked
about
a
letter
sent
(more)
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|
INTERNET BECOMES SOAP BOX FOR SNL COMMENTS
09-May-08
|
|
Producers
of
NBC's
Saturday
Night
Live
are
giving
political
satire,
long
a
staple
of
the
show,
a
home
of
its
own
on
the
Internet.
Broadcasting
&
Cable
reported
on
its
website
today
(Friday)
that
NBC
plans
to
gather
a
plethora
of
SNL
sketches
together
to
form
a
site
where
visitors
(more)
|
|
TONYS: ANOTHER REASON FOR MAKING WHOOPI
09-May-08
|
|
Whoopi
Goldberg
has
been
selected
to
host
the
62nd
annual
Tony
Awards
--
Broadway's
version
of
the
Oscars
--
at
New
York's
Radio
City
Music
Hall
next
month.
Her
selection
ends
a
two-year
experiment
to
streamline
the
awards
ceremony
by
eliminating
the
hosts.
Far
from
boosting
ratings,
however,
the
revamped
(more)
|
|
WARNER BROS. TO BE FETED AT CANNES
08-May-08
|
|
The
Cannes
Film
Festival
announced
plans
on
Wednesday
to
pay
tribute
to
Warner
Bros.
on
the
studio's
85th
anniversary
by
screening
a
classic
movie
from
the
studio's
archives
during
each
night
of
the
festival.
The
festival
said
that
it
will
also
premiere
film
critic
Richard
Schickel's
documentary,
You
Must
Remember
(more)
|
|
AUTO OUTPACES HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS
08-May-08
|
|
In
its
first
week
in
the
stores,
"Grand
Theft
Auto
IV"
took
in
more
than
$500
million,
more
than
any
movie
in
history
has
made
in
its
first
week.
Opening-day
sales
of
the
game
on
April
29
came
to
$310
million,
breaking
the
record
of
$300
million
set
by
Microsoft's
(more)
|
|
STUDIOS WIN $111 MILLION FROM BITTORRENT SITE
08-May-08
|
|
The
six
major
studios
represented
by
the
Motion
Picture
Association
of
America
have
won
a
copyright-infringement
lawsuit
against
the
file-sharing
website
TorrentSpy.com
amounting
to
$111
million.
The
judgment
awarded
$30,000
to
the
studios
for
each
of
3,699
illegal
downloads.
Faced
with
the
legal
burden
of
defending
itself,
TorrentSpy
shut
down
(more)
|
|
CALL IN THE CLONES
08-May-08
|
|
Anyone
tuning
in
to
a
Turner
Networks
cable
channel
at
7:58
tonight
(Thursday)
will
be
able
to
view
a
two-minute
trailer
for
Lucasfilm's
animated
Star
Wars:
The
Clone
Wars,
which
premieres
theatrically
on
August
15.
The
trailer
will
air
on
the
Cartoon
Network,
CNN,
TNT,
TBS
and
Boomerang.
In
a
(more)
|
|
WILMINGTON, NC TO BECOME GUINEA PIG FOR TV SWITCH
08-May-08
|
|
Wilmington,
NC,
population
96,000,
has
agreed
to
become
the
first
city
in
the
country
to
turn
off
its
analog
TV
stations
and
switch
to
digital.
The
FCC
said
that
the
city
will
thereby
become
a
test
market
on
Sept.
8
to
determine
what
problems,
if
any,
the
nation
may
experience
(more)
|
|
NEWS CORP'S PROFITS TRIPLE
08-May-08
|
|
Selling
DirecTV
to
Liberty
Media
for
$1.7
billion
and
acquiring
the
Wall
Street
Journal
helped
News
Corp
post
third-quarter
profits
of
$2.7
billion,
nearly
three
times
as
much
as
those
for
the
same
quarter
a
year
ago.
The
company
also
benefited
from
lower
content
costs
for
its
TV
operations
as
(more)
|
|
|
In Other News
|
ABC SETTING UP STUDENT BUREAUS
08-May-08
|
|
In
what
amounts
to
a
significant
expansion
of
its
existing
intern
program
for
college
students,
ABC
News
is
planning
to
open
actual
student-staffed
bureaus
next
fall
at
five
universities.
ABC
News
President
David
Westin
said
in
a
statement
Wednesday
that
the
bureaus
will
not
only
allow
aspiring
TV
journalists
to
(more)
|
|
NBC PLANNING 24-HOUR LOCAL NEWS CHANNELS
08-May-08
|
|
NBC
plans
to
launch
a
24-hour
news
channel
in
New
York
to
compete
with
the
existing
local
news
channel,
New
York
1,
operated
by
Time
Warner
Cable,
the
New
York
Times
reported
today
(Thursday).
According
to
the
newspaper,
NBC's
plan
calls
for
a
multimillion-dollar
reconstruction
of
the
newsroom
at
WNBC's
(more)
|
|
AFTRA BEGINS BARGAINING TALKS WITH AMPTP
08-May-08
|
|
The
American
Federation
of
Television
and
Radio
Artists
began
independent
negotiations
with
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers
Wednesday,
after
rejecting
a
new
plea
by
the
Screen
Actors
Guild
to
hold
joint
talks.
In
a
message
to
AFTRA
members
--
a
majority
of
whom
belong
to
both
unions
(more)
|
|
INDIES' SUNDANCE CHANNEL IS SOLD
07-May-08
|
|
The
Sundance
Channel,
a
principal
outlet
for
unsold
independent
feature
films
and
documentaries,
has
been
acquired
by
New
York-based
Cablevision
Systems
for
$496
million
in
stock
and
cash.
The
channel
had
been
a
joint
venture
of
NBC
Universal,
CBS
Corp.,
and
Robert
Redford.
Redford,
founder
of
the
Sundance
Film
Festival
(more)
|
|
DISNEY INDICATES STRIKE CUT COSTS, SPURRED PROFITS
07-May-08
|
|
The
Walt
Disney
Co.
is
the
latest
media
conglomerate
to
report
stronger-than-expected
quarterly
results
in
the
wake
of
the
recent
writers'
strike.
In
fact,
it
said
in
its
SEC
filing
Tuesday,
net
profit
soared
22
percent
from
a
year
ago,
coming
in
at
$1.13
billion
on
revenue
of
$8.71
billion.
(more)
|
|
AMPTP BREAKS OFF TALKS WITH SAG
07-May-08
|
|
As
expected,
the
Screen
Actors
Guild
and
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers
ended
their
first
round
of
bargaining
talks
on
Tuesday
without
an
agreement.
However,
although
reports
had
previously
described
the
negotiations
as
cordial,
the
latest
ones
said
that
they
had
ended
on
a
bitter
note,
fueling
(more)
|
|
SEX SCANDAL MAY INTERFERE WITH SALE OF WEATHER CHANNEL
07-May-08
|
|
The
Weather
Channel,
which
reportedly
is
seeking
to
sell
itself
for
around
$5
billion,
is
attempting
to
keep
secret
an
arbitration
ruling
in
favor
of
a
former
anchorwoman
who
sued
the
channel
and
her
former
male
co-anchor
charging
sexual
harassment,
the
Smoking
Gun
website
reported
today
(Wednesday).
Hillary
Andrews
had
(more)
|
|
WALTERS SAYS SHE IDENTIFIES WITH COURIC
07-May-08
|
|
Barbara
Walters
says
she
can
identify
with
the
problems
that
Katie
Couric
is
currently
facing
as
anchor
of
the
low-rated
CBS
Evening
News.
Like
Couric,
Walters
left
NBC's
Today
show
to
anchor
an
evening
news
program
--
in
her
case,
ABC's
World
News
Tonight,
where
she
shared
the
anchor
desk
(more)
|
|
FCC ASKED TO PROBE 'MILITARY ANALYSTS'
07-May-08
|
|
Revelations
by
the
New
York
Times
of
an
apparent
Pentagon
propaganda
program
--
in
which
more
than
75
former
military
officers
were
recruited
to
appear
on
TV
shows
to
support
the
administration's
policies
in
Iraq
--
may
receive
the
attention
of
the
FCC.
The
April
20
Times
report
also
disclosed
(more)
|
|
PUNDITS PONDER PRIMARIES
07-May-08
|
|
Hillary
Clinton
canceled
media
appearances
and
other
engagements
for
the
day
in
order
to
assess
the
results
of
Tuesday's
primary
results.
With
Barack
Obama
surpassing
analysts'
projections
in
North
Carolina
and
losing
in
Indiana
by
only
a
few
thousand
votes,
TV
commentators
were
predicting
that
Clinton
will
issue
a
concession
(more)
|
|
FIRST A STRIKE, NOW RUNAWAY PRODUCTION
07-May-08
|
|
ABC-TV
production
crew
members,
already
experiencing
sleepless
nights
as
they
worry
about
the
possibility
of
an
actors'
strike
shutting
down
the
industry
this
summer,
now
have
new
reason
for
concern.
The
Los
Angeles
Times
reported
today
(Wednesday)
that
ABC
Studios
plans
to
move
production
of
Ugly
Betty
to
New
York
(more)
|
|
SWEEPS SWEPT BY LOW RATINGS
07-May-08
|
|
It
certainly
didn't
look
like
a
sweeps
week
last
week
as
many
ordinarily
top-rated
television
shows
recorded
some
of
their
lowest
ratings
ever.
Even
the
No.
1
show,
American
Idol,
saw
a
worrisome
drop
in
audience
figures.
The
Associated
Press
observed
that
CBS's
CSI:
Miami
had
its
smallest
audience
ever.
(more)
|
|
