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SUNDAY AM: Very early weekend #s confirm Marvel's Iron Man made a platinum $20 million for Saturday, giving it an estimated FSS total of $48 million and a new cume of $174.6M -- more than enough domestic box office gross to stay No. 1 again. But Warner Bros' Speed Racer won't crawl past $20 million this weekend. That's half what the studio [...]
It didn't help that Nina Tassler is a longtime best pal of Exit 19 star Geena Davis because I'm told the CBS drama pilot (CBS Paramount TV / ABC TV Studios) is DOA. Sheesh, what are friends for?
UPDATE: I also just heard that FBC gave a "cast contingent" pickup to the Shaun Cassidy drama pilot Inseparable (ABC TV Studios).
Despite all the buzz, and exec producer McG, and a "phenomenal cast", Spaced is a no-go, I'm told. FBC just turned thumbs down on the WBTV/Wonderland pilot, which was adapted from the successful British TV series.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 Spinoff 90210 (CW/CBS Paramount), a slam dunk pickup, is hiring writers at the CW. I hear a deal is close with Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah to run the show. Original alum Jennie Garth is joining cast.
I hear already-on-the-air one-hour Eli Stone and half-hour Miss/Guided, exec produced by Ashton Kutcher, are "really in the mix" at ABC. The network also picked up Ashton's family oriented game show, Opportunity Knocks.
UPDATE: As expected, FBC is picking up the J.J. Abrams pilot Fringe (WBTV/Bad Robot). He's the writer/exec producer. Network was really high on it all along.
UPDATE: After Fox cancelled, Back To You now being shopped to other networks.
FBC has picked up the animated comedy from Mitch Hurwitz Sit Down, Shut Up (Sony Pictures TV / Granada / [...]
EXCLUSIVE! 3rd UPDATE: See new details about Capitol Films below. I'm told by knowledgeable sources that David O. Russell's indie political comedy Nailed which began filming in April was shut down by the Screen Actors Guild on Friday because of insufficient funds on deposit with the guild. I've also learned the Columbia, S.C. shoot is in trouble with both IATSE and Teamsters, and some of those [...]
FRIDAY PM: Here are very early numbers for Friday's domestic box office gross...
Marvel's Iron Man still the easy No. 1 blockbuster. -61% for $15M tonight. Looks platinum for Paramount distributed pic: $50+M weekend and cume $177M.
Fox's What Happens in Vegas #2 tonight with $6.8M for $19M-$20M wkd.
Warner Bros' Speed Racer only $6.6M tonight. Probably gets the kids matinee bump tomorrow and [...]
EXCLUSIVE: I'm told by knowledgeable sources that David O. Russell's indie pic Nailed may have been put on hold yesterday. It's a risque political comedy starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel who sources say are standing by to see if the movie can continue to completion. The script co-written by Al Gore's daughter Kristen (once a staff writer on Futurama) and Russell began filming April 15th. [...]
FRIDAY 8:30 PM: Fox's 2007-2008 primetime season sitcom Back To You starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as bickering TV co-anchors has been cancelled. I've just been told that the network's comedy pilot The Inn (20th Century Fox TV/ Reveille/Principato-Young Entertainment) is officially picked up to series now. Just before this decision, the pilot was given the go-ahead by [...]
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A major player in the Reality TV business, ICM agent Steve Wohl, has left that tenpercentery to head up the Reality TV division at Paradigm bringing with him America's Next Top Model Ken Mok and other clients. Wohl decided to jump after he went from head of ICM's Reality TV department, to co-head with Greg Lipstone, and [...]
LATEST: Fox Sitcom 'Back To You' Cancelled; 'The Inn' Pilot Picked Up
Here are more updates: I've just been told that The Inn (20th Century Fox TV/ Reveille/Principato-Young Entertainment) was given the go-ahead by Fox to meet writers. I'm not sure if they can hire yet, "but it's looking good," a source explains. Directed by Jason Bateman, the pilot "is indeed [...]
I've just been told that Jeff Leeds, the Los Angeles-based music industry reporter who was poached by The New York Times from the Los Angeles Times back in 2004, is now a victim of the Gray Lady's ongoing round of layoffs. I feel badly for him because he's always had a good handle on his beat. [...]
To date my April 24th "Hot List" of primetime pilots is holding up. I've got updates:
ABC COMEDIES
Survivors are still Stu Bloomberg's Bad Mother's Handbook (ABC TV Studios) in which Megan Mullally has now been cast to co-star with Alicia Silverstone ("It appears it's a lock for pickup," a source tells me) and the animated The Goode [...]
The latest Cannes Film Festival screenings guide is here.
Monday, May 12th, 2008
7:00 pm -- Wild Bunch Football Tournament
@ Stade St Cassien
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
9:00 am-6:00 pm -- Official Cannes Film Festival Short Corner
sponsored by Moving Pictures
5:30 pm-7:30 pm -- Mandate International
@ The Penthouse at Villa D’Estelle
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
TBD -- Lenny Kravitz concert
TBD -- Opening [...]
It hasn't been announced yet, but I've confirmed that Patti Röckenwagner has snagged the job as Brad Grey's exec VP of corporate communications for Paramount. She's been VP of regional communications for Time Warner Cable out here. (Yes, she's married to well-known chef and restaurateur Hans Röckenwagner.) She starts May 19th. Good choice -- though god only knows [...]
The last time I saw a studio resort to prayer for a movie opening was Universal for Evan Almighty. And the Box Office Gods didn't make it a hit pic. But now Warner Bros is figuratively on its knees praying for at least a mid-$30 million weekend opening for its kiddie anime Speed Racer -- already down from [...]
You know that I don't discuss celebrities unless there's a strong Industry news component. And, except for one posting, this has been a Lindsay Lohan-free zone. Well, sources just told me that Lohan has been un-attached from the independent feature The Manson Girls, written and to be directed by Matthew Bright, and produced by Elie [...]
UPDATE: Well, this is interesting. I just heard that, in the event a Sopranos movie does happen, it does not have to go to Warner Bros/HBO. So this deal that Brad Grey made today for Paramount with his former Sopranos producing partner David Chase could be even more lucrative than I previously thought. We all knew [...]
I had to take a personal day so I missed today's guilds-moguls fireworks. Update coming...
This is the fifth in the Screen Actors Guild's 2008 contract reports. Report #1 discusses middle-income actors, #2 talks about New Media (at end of post), #3 explores residuals, #4 explains general topics. Now #5 focuses on actors clips:
SAG CONTRACT 2008 REPORT
Number 5 -- The AMPTP Wants to Use Excerpts From TV Shows and Motion Pictures Without Actor’s Consent [...]
This is the fourth in the Screen Actors Guild's 2008 contract reports about issues. Report #1 discusses middle-income actors and #2< talks about New Media (at end of post), and #3 explores residuals. Now #4 explains some general topics:
SAG CONTRACT 2008 REPORT
Number 4 – General Topics of interest to Actors
This Contract Report (4th in a series) is [...]
So the Sundance Channel -- which showcases Robert Redford's annual film festival and reaches about 26 million viewers devoted to indie, world cinema, documentaries, short films, and original programming -- has been sold for $496 million, which was the top end of the price that it was expected to fetch. As expected, Cablevision's Rainbow Media, which already owns AMC and [...]
EXCLUSIVE (keep refreshing for latest news): This is a virtual repeat of how the group representing the Big Media companies acted during bargaining with the WGA, including how the AMPTP and moguls pitted the directors guild against the writers guild. Only this time the AMPTP is manipulating actors versus actors. I'm told that today [...]
LOS ANGELES (May 6, 2008) - The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) announced that its Primetime Negotiating Committee, comprised of 31 working actors, will commence formal talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) regarding a new three-year Exhibit A of the Network Code agreement tomorrow, Wednesday, May [...]
The Walt Disney Company made it an even dozen quarters in a row that its quarterly earnings beat Wall Street estimates. CEO Bob Iger reported that second quarter profit rose $1.13 billion for 58 cents a share, or 22%, based on its better than expected National Treasure sequel and theme park performance which wasn't hurt much by the recession. [...]
TV Guide announced today it promoted two executives to top editorial roles. Debra Birnbaum (whom I tipped last week) was indeed named editor-in-chief, replacing Ian Birch who was forced to exit. Birnbaum had overseen the magazine's efforts to combine content from across media platforms. Craig Tomashoff, the West coast bureau chief, was named executive editor. The [...]
Several parties and events not being held because of truncated upfronts...
Monday, May 12th
4:00 PM -- NBC Universal Upfront Experience @ Radio City Music Hall (4pm – 8pm)
7:00 PM -- William Morris Agency Upfront Party @ MOMA
9:00 PM -- NBC Late Night Party
Tuesday, May 13th
1:00 PM -- ABC Upfront Presentation @ Lincoln Center (Avery Fisher Hall – [...]
EXCLUSIVE: Tory Metzger, one of the top motion picture agents at CAA, is leaving to head up the film division at Media Rights Capital, the leading independent film, television and digital studio and financing arm. At CAA, Metzger represented Tom Cruise, Ang Lee, Cameron Crowe, Spike Jonze, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Peter Hedges, Callie Khouri, Nicole Holofcener, James Shamus, John [...]
Usually the success or failure of one film doesn't affect the Big Media parent company of a major movie studio's value on Wall Street. But Marvel Entertainment is small enough to feel the impact. So today its stock price soared over 9.42% as its Marvel Studios' first self-financed production, Iron Man, became 2008's first record-breaking rocketman [...]
SUNDAY AM: Here are the official blockbuster numbers -- Paramount Pictures release of Marvel Studios’ Iron Man, in 4,105 theaters, made an estimated $35,125,000 on Friday 5/2, an estimated $37,500,000 on Saturday 5/3, for an estimated 3-day weekend box office of $100,750,000. Advance screenings in select locations, about 2,500 venues, from 8:00 PM to midnight on Thursday [...]
EXCLUSIVE: I'm told the star of that billion dollar Disney franchise Hannah Montana is trading in Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty (which helps transform mostly child actors, singers and models into A-list stars) for United Talent to follow her long-term agent Mitchell Gossett. According to my sources, Gossett, until now the VP of CESD's theatrical division, will become a senior agent in [...]
FRIDAY: This is why Hollywood keeps making movies from comic books. Because Thursday night's take from advance screenings at about 2,500 theaters for Marvel's Iron Man was a very big $5 million, sources tell me. And impressively that number was reached with almost no advance specific marketing at all to the preshows. The studio's 3-day weekend estimate when [...]
Not that I expect both sides to break through the current stalemate on a contract anytime soon, still the AMPTP and SAG will keep bargaining on a day-to-day basis through at least May 6th. Meanwhile, acting at their request, AFTRA just announced it will keep waiting offstage to begin its bargaining with the Hollywood CEOs clique until May [...]
Today, The Hollywood Reporter does an AMPTP-friendly story about how Hollywood's big-name movie stars aren't pulling in the money they once did at the box office. What the trade fails to point out in its chart is that all but one of the actors are CAA clients. The one who's not is Leo DiCaprio, who [...]
UPDATE: Latest projections by my box office gurus call for Iron Man to debut with a monster $75 million to $85 million 3-day weekend. That will make it the second best Marvel comic book character opening, second only to Sony's Spider-Man franchise. According to Rotten Tomatoes, as of noon today, Marvel's Iron Man is the [...]
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) today claims someone from the set of the upcoming Warner Bros film Speed Racer reported that one of the young chimpanzees used in the role of Chim Chim was beaten during filming. Now, PETA is officially asking other Hollywood insiders to take on the role of whistleblowers. the organization [...]
Back in January during the writers strike, Jimmy Kimmel made news when he went from host of his own show to guest on Jay Leno, and vice versa. Now Kimmel will be sitting with David Letterman this coming Monday (but I don't think Dave will return the favor anytime soon). I'm told it's rare for the [...]
Coming...
