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Studio Briefing:
From The Wire:
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Most Read
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IRON MAN SAYS HE 'DIDN'T GET' BATMAN MOVIE, HARRY POTTER TO BE DELAYED, HOW LOUD THE THUNDER?, MOVIE REVIEWS: STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO WATCH WATCHMEN?, WANNA BUY A HOBBIT?, KNIGHT RETURNS TO NO. 1 OVERSEAS, STORMY WEATHER AT BOX OFFICE, COLBERT, STEWART AUDIENCES SMART; COURIC'S NOT SO, UNIVERSAL COUNTS $1 BILLION IN OVERSEAS SALES, TROPIC THUNDER RUMBLES OVER DARK KNIGHT, 'TECHNICAL ISSUES' DELAY NETFLIX, IOC FORCES 'COVER UP' IN BEIJING, DOGS CAN'T COMPETE WITH HUMAN ATHLETES, MOVIE REVIEWS: VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, AMERICANS SUPPORT RETURN OF FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, MOVIE REVIEWS: MIRRORS, MEDIA COMPANIES MAKING PEACE WITH YOUTUBE, NETFLIX DELIVERIES RESUME, FILM STAR FISHBURNE TO JOIN CSI CAST, |
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Top Stories
Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
ESPN LIKELY TO BID MORE THAN $1 BILLION FOR UPCOMING OLYMPICS
Wednesday, August 20 2008
|
ESPN
chief
George
Bodenheimer
and
ESPN
content
head
John
Skipper
indicated
Tuesday
that
the
cable
network
and
ABC
will
likely
be
bidding
for
the
rights
to
air
the
2014
Winter
Games
and
the
2016
Summer
Games.
Speaking
at
a
media
event
to
promote
the
upcoming
start
of
ESPN's
Monday
Night
Football
franchise,
the
two
suggested
that
the
winning
bidder
would
likely
have
to
pay
more
than
$1
billion.
The
rights
for
the
current
games
(more)
|
LAST-PLACE NBC COMES FROM BEHIND TO PUMMEL RIVALS
Wednesday, August 20 2008
|
If
a
week
had
ten
days,
all
of
the
top
ten
television
shows
last
week
would
have
been
Summer
Olympics
telecasts.
Even
the
other
three
programs
that
made
it
into
the
top
ten
attracted
fewer
than
25
percent
of
the
viewers
who
tuned
in
to
the
Olympics
telecasts.
Thus
far
the
Beijing
Games
are
attracting
more
viewers
than
any
other
non-domestic
Olympics
telecast.
Last
week
they
averaged
28.7
million
viewers,
exceeded
only
by
the
(more)
|
More Headlines
|
NEW U.S. COMEDIES SWELL TORONTO LINEUP
20-Aug-08
|
|
An
impressive
lineup
of
new
movies
has
been
added
to
the
list
of
films
slated
to
make
their
North
American
debuts
at
the
Toronto
Film
Festival
on
Sept.
4.
They
include
the
Coen
Brothers'
Burn
After
Reading,
starring
Brad
Pitt,
George
Clooney,
Frances
McDormand,
Tilda
Swinton
and
John
Malkovich;
Gavin
(more)
|
|
MURDOCH RECEIVES TAKE-HOME CUT; IT'S STILL $27.5 MILLION
20-Aug-08
|
|
News
Corp
Chairman
Rupert
Murdoch
took
a
14-percent
cut
in
his
take-home
pay,
but
a
financial
statement
indicated
that
the
cut
had
nothing
to
do
with
his
performance
and
everything
to
do
with
a
change
in
accounting
practices
that
affected
the
value
of
his
retirement
package.
His
total
compensation
for
(more)
|
|
ABBA SING-ALONG TO HIGHLIGHT LABOR DAY SCREENINGS
20-Aug-08
|
|
Universal
may
entice
fans
of
the
hit
musical
Mamma
Mia!
to
return
to
the
theaters
over
Labor
Day
by
presenting
a
"Sing-Along
Edition"
in
select
theaters,
complete
with
the
lyrics
to
all
of
the
songs
appearing
at
the
bottom
of
the
screen.
The
film,
which
has
grossed
about
$117
million
(more)
|
|
THEATERS TO BECOME CIRQUE TENTS
20-Aug-08
|
|
In
the
latest
experiment
with
bringing
stage
entertainment
to
the
movie
theater,
Cirque
du
Soleil's
Delirium
is
set
to
begin
a
four-day
(Wednesday,
Thursday,
Saturday
Sunday)
run
beginning
today
in
movie
theaters
across
the
country.
The
Hot
Ticket
production
was
filmed
at
the
O2
Centre
in
London
with
high-definition
video
(more)
|
|
MOVIE REVIEWS: THE ROCKER
20-Aug-08
|
|
Another
Wednesday,
another
movie
opening.
Only
The
Rocker
apparently
has
little
chance
of
lifting
the
box
office
out
of
its
usual
end-of-August
doldrums.
Indeed
David
Wiegand
observes
in
his
review
in
the
San
Francisco
Chronicle:
"The
opening
date
of
the
film
was
shifted
around
like
the
planchette
on
a
Ouija
(more)
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PUBLIC TV TO CHALLENGE NETWORK NEWSCASTS
20-Aug-08
|
|
The
nightly
newscasts
of
the
commercial
networks
are
about
to
face
competition
from
public
television,
which
plans
to
launch
its
own
nightly
newscast
titled
Worldfocus
on
Oct.
6
that
will
focus
on
international
news,
the
New
York
Times
reported
today
(Wednesday).
The
newscast
will
be
anchored
by
Martin
Savidge,
who
(more)
|
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ABRAMS REPLACED BY MADDOW AT MSNBC
20-Aug-08
|
|
In
a
long-expected
shakeup,
Dan
Abrams
has
been
removed
as
host
of
MSNBC's
9:00
p.m.
hour
and
will
be
replaced
by
political
commentator
Rachel
Maddow,
the
New
York
Times
reported
today
(Wednesday),
saying
that
its
information
was
confirmed
by
MSNBC
executives
and
that
a
formal
announcement
is
expected
today.
Abrams's
(more)
|
|
NBC NEWS RIDES OLYMPICS' COATTAILS
20-Aug-08
|
|
The
huge
audience
tuning
in
for
the
Beijing
Olympics
has
given
a
boost
to
NBC
Nightly
News
With
Brian
Williams,
which
precedes
it
in
primetime
in
many
markets.
After
ordinarily
running
neck-and-neck
with
(and
often
being
beaten
by)
ABC's
World
News
With
Charles
Gibson,
the
NBC
newscast
pulled
far
out
(more)
|
|
MOVIE REVIEWS: MIRRORS
19-Aug-08
|
|
The
horror
film
Mirrors,
starring
Kiefer
Sutherland
of
24
fame,
which
opened
without
being
screened
for
critics,
was
reviewed
by
them
over
the
weekend.
It
received
the
expected
pans.
Mark
Olsen
in
the
Los
Angeles
Times
called
it
"ridiculous"
and
added,
"Mirrors
reflects
back
nothing."
Jeanette
Catsoulis
in
the
New
(more)
|
|
TROPIC THUNDER RUMBLES OVER DARK KNIGHT
19-Aug-08
|
|
The
box-office
began
to
settle
into
its
usual
end-of-summer
blahs
last
weekend,
with
Tropic
Thunder,
the
final
blockbuster
release
of
the
season,
leading
the
pack
with
just
$25.8
million.
Warner
Bros.'
previously
unstoppable
The
Dark
Knight
couldn't
even
crack
$20
million,
winding
up
with
$16.4
million
in
its
fifth
week
(more)
|
|
WILL YOU BE ABLE TO WATCH WATCHMEN?
19-Aug-08
|
|
Claiming
that
it
bought
the
rights
to
DC
Comics'
The
Watchmen
in
the
1980s,
20th
Century
Fox
on
Monday
said
that
it
will
attempt
to
obtain
an
injunction
to
block
Warner
Bros.,
which
owns
DC
Comics,
from
releasing
an
already-completed
film
based
on
the
flawed
superheroes.
The
film,
directed
by
(more)
|
|
MPAA DESCRIBES 'OPERATION TAKEDOWN'
19-Aug-08
|
|
The
MPAA
on
Monday
announced
the
results
of
what
it
called
Operation
Takedown,
a
crackdown
on
piracy
conducted
in
12
countries
of
the
Asia-Pacific
region
between
May
and
July.
"The
operation
resulted
in
the
arrest
of
461
suspected
pirates
56
camcorders
caught
in
the
act,
as
well
as
seizures
of
(more)
|
|
WANNA BUY A HOBBIT?
19-Aug-08
|
|
MGM
is
looking
to
raise
as
much
as
$600
million
to
finance
an
upcoming
film
slate,
including
Peter
Jackson's
Lord
of
the
Rings
prequel,
The
Hobbit,
additional
Pink
Panther
comedies
starring
Steve
Martin,
and
a
remake
of
the
1980
musical
Fame,
Bloomberg
News
reported
today
(Tuesday).
"In
the
past,
movie
(more)
|
|
FILM STAR FISHBURNE TO JOIN CSI CAST
19-Aug-08
|
|
In
a
move
apparently
aimed
at
protecting
CBS's
most
lucrative
franchise,
William
Petersen,
who's
leaving
CSI:
Crime
Scene
Investigation
this
season
is
being
replaced
by
film
star
Laurence
Fishburne,
the
network
announced
Monday.
It
said
that
Fishburne
will
be
introduced
on
a
forthcoming
show
as
a
college
professor/criminologist
who
studies
(more)
|
|
SAG AND AFTRA AGREE TO HOLD JOINT TALKS WITH ADVERTISERS
19-Aug-08
|
|
After
exchanging
new
snipes
with
each
other,
the
Screen
Actors
Guild
and
the
American
Federation
of
Radio
and
Television
Artists
have
agreed
to
conduct
joint
talks
with
advertisers
on
commercials
contracts.
Nevertheless,
the
two
unions
continued
to
bicker
over
which
side
had
proposed
the
joint
negotiations,
and
AFTRA
executives
disclosed
(more)
|
|
|
In Other News
|
MEDIA COMPANIES MAKING PEACE WITH YOUTUBE
19-Aug-08
|
|
Several
major
media
companies,
including
CBS
and
Lionsgate,
have
stopped
policing
YouTube
and
demanding
that
it
take
down
unauthorized
clips
--
and
have
instead
started
selling
ads
alongside
them,
according
to
the
New
York
Times.
The
new
tactic
appears
especially
surprising
in
the
case
of
CBS,
whose
corporate
sibling
Viacom
(more)
|
|
IOC FORCES 'COVER UP' IN BEIJING
19-Aug-08
|
|
The
International
Olympics
Committee
has
gone
to
great
lengths
to
make
certain
that
the
brands
of
companies
who
are
not
official
sponsors
of
the
Games
are
not
seen
in
TV
or
other
media
coverage,
the
website
TechDirt
reported
Monday.
It
noted
that
not
only
are
people
who
wear
clothing
with
(more)
|
|
WEB NOT CUTTING OLYMPICS' AUDIENCE
19-Aug-08
|
|
The
record
TV
ratings
of
the
Beijing
Olympics
during
their
first
week
despite
intensive
online
coverage
may
dispel
the
general
notion
that
the
Internet
poses
a
threat
to
broadcasters,
advertising
representatives
attending
the
Games
have
told
the
International
Herald
Tribune.
"People
have
always
been
talking
about
how
digital
media
will
(more)
|
|
NETFLIX DELIVERIES RESUME
18-Aug-08
|
|
Netflix
is
still
not
saying
what
caused
an
error
in
its
system
that
resulted
in
millions
of
customers
not
receiving
DVDs
on
time
last
week,
but
they
did
say
on
Friday
that
the
problem
had
been
resolved.
It
indicated
that
the
glitch
affected
all
55
Netflix
distribution
centers.
The
company
(more)
|
|
SAG LEADERS NOW BATTLING ON TWO FRONTS
18-Aug-08
|
|
Cracks
in
the
unity
of
the
Screen
Actors
Guild
widened
over
the
weekend
as
New
York
members
demanded
that
a
federal
mediator
be
called
in
to
break
the
stalemate
in
negotiations
with
the
Alliance
of
Motion
Picture
and
Television
Producers.
Despite
claims
by
SAG
Executive
Director
Doug
Allen
and
President
(more)
|
|
IRON MAN SAYS HE 'DIDN'T GET' BATMAN MOVIE
18-Aug-08
|
|
Robert
Downey
Jr.
may
only
be
spoofing,
as
he
reportedly
does
to
hilarious
effect
playing
a
white
Australian
actor
playing
an
African-American
soldier
in
Tropic
Thunder,
but
he
has
boldly
given
The
Dark
Knight
its
worst
review
yet.
When
asked
during
an
interview
with
MovieHole.net
about
the
Batman
sequel,
Downey
(more)
|
|
KNIGHT RETURNS TO NO. 1 OVERSEAS
18-Aug-08
|
|
Overseas,
The
Dark
Knight
made
a
comeback
of
sorts,
returning
to
the
No.
1
spot
with
an
estimated
$42.4
million
to
bring
its
foreign
total
to
$328.6
million,
according
to
trade
reports.
It
had
been
taken
down
two
weeks
ago
by
The
Mummy:
Tomb
of
the
Dragon
Emperor,
which
(more)
|
|
STORMY WEATHER AT BOX OFFICE
18-Aug-08
|
|
The
Dark
Knight's
reign
as
the
box-office
leader
ended
propitiously
over
the
weekend
as
it
raked
in
an
additional
$16.8
million
to
become
the
second-highest
grossing
film
of
all
time
domestically.
It
has
now
taken
in
$471.5
million.
Over
the
past
30
years,
the
previous
No.
2,
the
original
Star
(more)
|
|
PRODUCER WHO CHRONICLED BATTLE WITH CANCER SUCCUMBS
18-Aug-08
|
|
Veteran
TV
news
producer
Leroy
Sievers,
who
spent
ten
years
with
CBS
News
before
becoming
executive
producer
of
ABC's
Nightline,
died
Saturday
in
Maryland
at
age
53
after
chronicling
his
seven-year
battle
with
cancer
on
NPR
and
developing
a
blog
for
cancer
sufferers
called
"My
Cancer."
In
a
statement,
former
(more)
|
|
COLBERT, STEWART AUDIENCES SMART; COURIC'S NOT SO
18-Aug-08
|
|
The
overwhelming
majority
of
people
who
watch
cable
and
broadcast
newscasts
and
topical
variety
shows
are
unable
to
identify
the
party
that
now
controls
Congress,
name
the
current
secretary
of
state,
and
name
Britain's
new
prime
minister,
according
to
the
new
Pew
Survey
on
News
Consumption.
The
national
average
for
(more)
|
|
STRUGGLING GENERAL MOTORS EXITS OSCARS TELECAST
18-Aug-08
|
|
General
Motors,
which
has
already
drastically
cut
back
its
current
spending
on
television
advertising,
is
now
pulling
its
spots
from
next
year's
Oscars
telecast
as
well,
the
Wall
Street
Journal
reported
today
(Monday).
According
to
the
newspaper,
the
automaker
spent
$13
million
on
ads
for
this
year's
Oscars
telecast.
"It
(more)
|
|
GE BIG WINNER IN BEIJING
18-Aug-08
|
|
The
Olympics
have
already
paid
off
handsomely
for
General
Electric,
NBC's
corporate
parent,
GE
Chairman
Jeff
Immelt
said
today
(Monday).
In
an
interview
with
the
Associated
Press,
Immelt
said
that
in
addition
to
the
reported
$1
billion
in
ad
sales
generated
by
the
Olympics
for
NBC,
sales
by
GE
subsidiaries
(more)
|
|
