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Studio Briefing:
From The Wire:
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Most Read
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CHURCH GROUPS WANT DAVID CURBED, JACKSON FILM IN LESS-THAN-THRILLER START, IDOL'S LAMBERT SHOCKS WITH ALBUM COVER, SONY THINKS THIS IS IT! DESERVES A BEST-PICTURE OSCAR, FAMILY GUY NOT TOO IFFY FOR WARNER BROS., TRANSFORMERS TRANSFORMS DULL HOME-VIDEO MARKET, NO NEW TREATS AT HALLOWEEN BOX OFFICE, 25 MILLION VIEW TRAILER FOR TWILIGHT SEQUEL, DOBBS CLAIMS THAT SOMEONE SHOT AT HIS WIFE, PHILLIES' WIN DRAWS BIG CROWD, JACKSON: IF ONLY HE HAD BEEN ALIVE TO SEE IT, NEW ON-DEMAND MOVIE CHANNEL DEBUTS TONIGHT, BUILD A BALLPARK AND THEY WILL COME, BROADCAST NETWORKS STAGING A COMEBACK?, LENO: HE'S HEARD THE NAYSAYERS BEFORE, NEW ABC-DISNEY STUDIOS TO GO UP NEAR L.A., LANG'S METROPOLIS TO BE FEATURED AT BERLINALE, ONLINE PIRACY TRACKER TELLS STUDIOS TO MEND THEIR WAYS, ELECTRONICS COMPANIES POST BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED RESULTS, LENO'S RATINGS SAG FURTHER: AND NOW THE BAD NEWS, |
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Top Stories
Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009
THIS IS IT! BIGGER THAN ESTIMATED
Tuesday, November 3 2009
|
Favorable
word
of
mouth
boosted
attendance
at
theaters
showing
the
Michael
Jackson
concert
documentary
This
Is
It!
on
Sunday,
pushing
the
total
box
office
to
$23.2
million,
up
from
an
original
estimate
of
$21.3
million.
(The
movie
has
earned
$34.4
million
since
opening
on
Tuesday
night.)
Final
results
for
foreign
screenings
also
proved
to
be
higher
than
originally
estimated
--
by
about
$1
million.
Total
worldwide
results
for
the
movie
stands
at
$103.9
million
(more)
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WEINSTEINS MAY BUY BACK MIRAMAX NAME
Tuesday, November 3 2009
|
Harvey
and
Bob
Weinstein
are
planning
to
make
a
bid
to
regain
the
Miramax
brand
name,
following
Disney's
decision
to
shutter
the
unit's
New
York
headquarters,
dismiss
its
president,
and
drastically
reduce
its
staff,
TheWrap.com
reported
Monday,
citing
unnamed
individuals
close
to
the
Weinsteins.
The
website
said
that
the
Weinsteins
are
planning
to
make
a
direct
appeal
to
Disney
CEO
Robert
Iger
to
allow
them
to
buy
the
name,
which
they
coined
in
1979
(more)
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More Headlines
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SCANDAL FAILS TO HURT LETTERMAN
03-Nov-09
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The
scandal
that
followed
allegations
that
David
Letterman
was
being
blackmailed
by
a
CBS
News
producer
who
claimed
to
have
evidence
that
he
had
been
having
sexual
relations
with
female
staffers
has
not
hurt
the
Late
Show's
ratings,
according
to
the
Hollywood
Reporter.
The
trade
publication
quoted
Bill
Carroll,
head
(more)
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CBS'S RATINGS JUMP ON DVR RESULTS
03-Nov-09
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CBS
suddenly
found
itself
richer
by
an
overall
average
of
1.12
million
viewers
and
a
half
a
ratings
point
following
tabulation
of
7-day
DVR
viewing
for
the
week.
The
network's
top-rated
drama
The
Mentalist
turned
out
to
be
its
top
playback
performer
as
well,
as
DVR
figures
showed
that
it
(more)
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WOMAN CHANNELS JACKSON ON L.A. NEWS PROGRAM
03-Nov-09
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Saying
"This
will
do
down
as
one
of
the
most
interesting
stories
ever
done
on
KTLA,"
Los
Angeles
reporter
Brandon
Rudat
interviewed
a
psychic
who
claims
that
she
has
been
in
contact
with
the
singer
from
beyond
the
grave
since
his
death.
The
psychic,
who
uses
only
the
name
Vox,
(more)
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COLBERT TO BECOME SPONSOR OF U.S. SPEEDSKATING TEAM
03-Nov-09
|
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In
a
promotion
as
unusual
as
the
show
itself,
The
Colbert
Report
has
agreed
to
become
the
primary
sponsor
of
the
U.S.
Speedskating
team,
Colbert
announced
on
Monday
night's
episode.
In
an
interview
with
the
Associated
Press
prior
to
the
taping
of
the
show,
Colbert
boasted,
"On
their
enormous
billboard
(more)
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"TV EVERYWHERE" IS NOWHERE TO SOME VIEWERS
03-Nov-09
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The
notion
of
"TV
Everywhere,"
in
which
people
would
pay
one
monthly
subscription
price
and
be
able
to
watch
television
at
home,
on
their
smartphones,
on
their
computers,
or
on
their
game
consoles,
may
be
regarded
by
television
producers
and
network
executives
as
the
solution
to
online
piracy
and
a
(more)
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TNT TO AIR ALL 13 EPISODES OF SOUTHLAND
03-Nov-09
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It
is
now
official:
The
TNT
channel
has
picked
up
Southland,
the
NBC
show
that
initially
drew
solid
ratings
and
reviews
when
it
replaced
E.R.
last
season,
then
was
dumped
when
the
Jay
Leno
Show
took
over
the
10:00
p.m.
time
period
on
weekdays.
The
channel
plans
to
air
the
(more)
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AT LAST: A MEDIA "CONGLOM" REPORTS PROFITS BOOST
03-Nov-09
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Coming
in
ahead
of
most
new
quarterly
reports
from
media
conglomerates,
Viacom
raised
spirits
today
(Tuesday)
by
reporting
a
15-percent
boost
in
profits.
It
credited
the
success
of
DreamWorks/Paramount's
Transformers:
Revenge
of
the
Fallen
for
a
large
measure
of
the
success
but
also
noted
that
its
cable-TV
channels,
which
include
(more)
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BEST BUY WILL CONNECT MOST ELECTRONIC ITEMS TO MOVIE SITES
03-Nov-09
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Buy
a
new
TV
set,
computer,
telephone,
DVD
or
Blu-ray
player,
or
game
console
from
consumer
electronics
giant
Best
Buy
later
this
year
and
you'll
likely
find
that
it
will
sport
software
that
will
enable
users
to
watch
movies
over
the
Internet.
The
Los
Angeles
Times
reported
today
(Tuesday)
that
(more)
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BUILD A BALLPARK AND THEY WILL COME
02-Nov-09
|
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Despite
the
fact
that
the
television
networks
have
written
off
Saturday
as
hopeless
and
have
programmed
it
in
recent
years
mostly
with
reruns
and
reality
shows,
viewers
returned
to
their
sets
en
masse
last
Saturday
to
watch
the
World
Series,
even
though
the
game
was
delayed
by
rain
and
even
(more)
|
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FAMILY GUY NOT TOO IFFY FOR WARNER BROS.
02-Nov-09
|
|
Microsoft
may
have
found
the
upcoming
Family
Guy
special
too
controversial
for
it
to
go
ahead
with
announced
plans
to
be
the
sole
sponsor
of
the
show.
But
Fox
announced
over
the
weekend
that
a
rival
movie
studio
is
all
too
happy
to
take
over
the
sponsorship.
Warner
Bros,
it
(more)
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REPORTS: COMCAST, G.E. DEAL CLOSE AT HAND
02-Nov-09
|
|
Cable
operator
Comcast
and
GE
are
likely
to
finalize
a
deal
as
early
as
next
week
in
which
Comcast
would
take
over
control
of
NBC
Universal,
the
New
York
Times
and
the
Wall
Street
Journal
reported
today
(Monday).
The
Times
indicated
that
the
deal
hinges
on
the
ability
of
GE
(more)
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LENO: HE'S HEARD THE NAYSAYERS BEFORE
02-Nov-09
|
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Jay
Leno
is
taking
a
been-there-done-that
attitude
toward
negative
media
reaction
to
his
new
10:00
p.m.
variety/talk
show.
"I've
been
through
this
a
number
of
times,"
he
told
Broadcasting
&
Cable
magazine.
He
said
that
when
he
took
over
from
Johnny
Carson,
the
reaction
from
the
media
was
"'You
stink,
(more)
|
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JACKSON: IF ONLY HE HAD BEEN ALIVE TO SEE IT
02-Nov-09
|
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In
a
case
of
what
Billboard
describes
as
turning
"human
tragedy
into
...
creative
and
financial
triumph,"
the
Michael
Jackson
concert
documentary
This
Is
It!
opened
with
an
estimated
$32.5
million
over
its
first
five
days
($21.3
million
over
the
three-day
weekend)
in
North
America
and
$68.5
million
in
97
(more)
|
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IATSE MAY BOYCOTT AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE
02-Nov-09
|
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IATSE,
the
movie
industry's
principal
technical
union,
is
taking
on
the
august
American
Film
Institute
and
threatening
to
boycott
its
activities
because
of
what
the
union
claims
is
the
AFI's
"outrageous
anti-union
activities."
In
a
letter
quoted
today
(Monday)
by
TheWrap.com,
IATSE
President
Matthew
Dr.
Loeb
charged
that
AFI
was
(more)
|
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TV REVIEWS: POLIWOOD
02-Nov-09
|
|
Producer/director
Barry
Levinson
takes
a
look
at
the
convergence
of
celebrity
and
politics
in
the
documentary
Poliwood,which
airs
tonight
(Monday)
on
Showtime.
Featured
in
the
film
is
a
raft
of
Hollywood
celebrities,
including
Susan
Sarandon,
Spike
Lee,
Ellen
Burstyn,
Tim
Daly,
Anne
Hathaway
and
the
late
Ron
Silver.
Levinson,
a
(more)
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In Other News
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CHURCH GROUPS WANT DAVID CURBED
30-Oct-09
|
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The
Washington
DC-based
Council
on
American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR)
has
joined
several
Christian
groups
in
denouncing
a
recent
Curb
Your
Enthusiasm
episode
in
which
Larry
David's
character
accidentally
splatters
urine
on
a
picture
of
Jesus.
"It
is
beyond
tasteless
to
insult
the
religious
sensibilities
of
billions
of
people
in
America
and
(more)
|
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DOBBS CLAIMS THAT SOMEONE SHOT AT HIS WIFE
30-Oct-09
|
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CNN
personality
Lou
Dobbs
claimed
on
Thursday
that
someone
fired
a
shot
at
his
wife
outside
their
home
on
October
5
and
blamed
the
incident
on
critics
of
his
stand
on
illegal
immigration.
"I
know
-
it's
become
part
of
a
way
of
life
-
the
anger,
the
hate,
the
(more)
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ELECTRONICS COMPANIES POST BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED RESULTS
30-Oct-09
|
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Several
consumer
electronics
manufacturers
posted
higher-than-expected
revenue
results
today
(Friday)
that
boosted
their
stock.
Heading
the
list
was
Korea-based
Samsung,
which
reported
third-quarter
profits
of
$3.1
billion,
more
than
three
times
the
results
for
the
same
quarter
a
year
ago.
The
company
attributed
the
surge
primarily
to
strong
sales
by
(more)
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BBC EXECS FACE 25-PERCENT SALARY CUTS
30-Oct-09
|
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Britain's
publicly
funded
BBC,
under
pressure
to
cut
costs,
said
Thursday
that
it
will
cut
the
salaries
of
some
641
senior
managers
and
executives
by
an
average
of
about
25
percent
and
eliminate
18
percent
of
its
senior
management
posts.
The
announcement
was
made
by
the
BBC
Trust,
which
oversees
(more)
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NO NEW TREATS AT HALLOWEEN BOX OFFICE
30-Oct-09
|
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Halloween
weekend
usually
marks
a
bleak
time
at
the
box
office,
and,
except
for
Michael
Jackson's
This
Is
It!
concert
documentary,
which
actually
debuted
on
Wednesday
(or,
in
many
markets
on
Tuesday
night),
no
new
film
is
opening
wide
this
weekend.
The
closest
thing
to
a
wide
opening
is
Troy
(more)
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25 MILLION VIEW TRAILER FOR TWILIGHT SEQUEL
30-Oct-09
|
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Maybe
you
can't
judge
a
book
by
its
cover,
but
it's
certainly
possible
to
judge
a
movie's
potential
box-office
performance
by
the
number
of
people
viewing
its
trailer.
And
by
that
measure,
it
looks
like
Summit
Entertainment's
Twilight
Saga:
New
Moon
should
become
one
of
the
biggest
hits
of
the
(more)
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SONY THINKS THIS IS IT! DESERVES A BEST-PICTURE OSCAR
30-Oct-09
|
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Sony
said
Thursday
that
it
plans
to
promote
Michael
Jackson's
This
Is
It!
concert
documentary
for
a
best-picture
Oscar.
The
film,
which
received
mostly
solid
reviews
from
critics
when
it
was
released
on
Wednesday,
is
not
eligible
in
the
documentary
category
since
the
deadline
for
submissions
was
August
31,
but
(more)
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NEW ON-DEMAND MOVIE CHANNEL DEBUTS TONIGHT
30-Oct-09
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Epix,
the
high-definition
on-demand
TV
channel
and
Internet
service
is
scheduled
to
debut
on
Verizon's
FiOS
network
tonight
(Friday),
and,
while
the
service
requires
a
subscription
(at
$9.99
per
month),
Epix
said
that
those
interested
in
checking
it
out
can
receive
a
72-hour
pass
by
accessing
the
epixhd.com
website.
At
(more)
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LANG'S METROPOLIS TO BE FEATURED AT BERLINALE
30-Oct-09
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Fritz
Lang's
Metropolis,
arguably
Germany's
most
famous
production
during
the
silent-movie
era,
has
been
painstakingly
restored
and
will
be
shown
--
all
two
hours
and
23
minutes
of
it
--
at
the
the
Berlin
Film
Festival
--
the
Berlinale
--
on
February
12,
festival
officials
said
Thursday.
According
to
a
(more)
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PHILLIES' WIN DRAWS BIG CROWD
29-Oct-09
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A
rain-soaked
Game
1
of
the
World
Series
certainly
didn't
dampen
the
enthusiasm
of
baseball
fans
Wednesday
night
as
they
flocked
to
their
TV
sets
to
watch
the
Philadelphia
Phillies
clobber
the
New
York
Yankees
6-1.
The
game
averaged
17.80
million
viewers
--
a
figure
that
remained
virtually
flat
throughout
(more)
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FCC: NO LET-UP IN CRACKDOWN ON TV INDECENCY
29-Oct-09
|
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The
FCC
on
Wednesday
signaled
that
it
will
be
no
less
tough
on
"indecent"
broadcasting
under
the
Obama
administration
than
it
was
under
the
Bush
administration.
In
an
appellate
brief,
the
FCC
said
it
was
correct
when
it
reprimanded
Fox
for
airing
"vulgar
expletives"
during
a
telecast
of
the
Billboard
(more)
|
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IDOL'S LAMBERT SHOCKS WITH ALBUM COVER
29-Oct-09
|
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Hearkening
back
to
the
days
of
David
Bowie
and
his
androgynous
Ziggy
Stardust
persona,
American
Idol
runner-up
Adam
Lambert
on
Wednesday
displayed
the
cover
of
his
latest
CD,
For
Your
Entertainment,
in
which
he
resembles
a
glamorous
chanteuse.
On
his
Twitter
page,
he
thanked
fans
who
realized
that
the
cover
(more)
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