6 PM FRIDAY UPDATE: Patrick Goldstein wrote at 4:43 PM today that Summit’s Erik Feig “hasn’t yet” confronted him as I said the exec would. In fact, a Summit rep tells me that Feig sent a statement around 3:30 PM to Goldstein for publication, and the columnist received it. I urge the Los Angeles Times blogger to correct his false statement to readers, and to publish Feig’s statement.
THURSDAY PM: Summit Entertainment’s president of worldwide production and acquisitions Erik Feig is accusing Los Angeles Times blogger Patrick Goldstein of misquoting him today about the accuracy of my reporting.
And the movie executive has apologized to me. Feig also confirms that there’s no policy at his studio demanding that journalists must contact him, and only him, whenever they write about Summit films. (Especially since I’ve posted more than 25 news articles about Summit pictures in the past year, many of them scoops, and never got that Finke-Must-Call-Feig memo.) Feig told me he plans to confont the LA Times columnist who has slammed me three times this week alone (and each time mischaracterized what I’d written and refused to correct it). I’m still waiting for Goldstein to publish my response today that I stand by my story, which I worded very specifically to say: “I can confirm that Summit Entertainment is telling Hollywood privately that Juan Antonio Bayona will direct Eclipse.” I’d hate to think Patrick is becoming one of those journalists who, because they can’t break news, dump on those who do. And I look forward to Feig demonstrating that being a Hollywood exec, and doing the right thing, are not mutually exclusive.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.


LA Times? Who reads the LA Times anymore – especially when it comes to entertainment? Not to kiss ass but I read Deadline Hollywood Daily to get my Hollywood news (for obvious reasons). And I know many others who do the same. The LA Times is dying a slow death. One of these days they will be put out of its misery just like Rocky Mountain News.
Feig is a straight shooting guy, face to face. Not surprised he apologized. He’s not a prima donna.
Attagirl Nikki! There’s class, and then there’s crass. You are definitely class.
The LA Times is somewhere below crass… way way below…
Why do you have to throw the Rocky Mountain News under the bus, JD? What do you know about it? What does it have to do with anything Nikki mentions? And not to “kiss ass”? Not sure what they call it where you’re from but sure sounds like you’re kissing ass to me.
Read deadline daily it’s the only coin……not a slave hear to the bi-ness
go gettum nikki . . . patrick probably got the call from on high, asking the all burning question, ‘why didn’t you break this story?’ and we all know how this story will end . . . cutbacks anyone!!! keep up the great work!!!
Great example of how news credibility is no longer tied to the brand of a large media outlet. Good job Nikki. Wrote about this on my blog too:
http://www.zdonk.com/zblog/la-times-reporter-slams-nikki-finke-forbreaking-the-news/
The L.A. Times? Isn’t that some sort of extinct dinosaur from a time long long ago?
patrick seems to be turning very bitter. maybe he’s just been on that beat too long. i haven’t read any of his pieces this week but from recent observations, it’s just a thought.
“I’d hate to think Patrick is becoming one of those journalists who, because they can’t break news, dump on those who do.” You know, Nik’, I hope not too, but thank goodness you’re always full steam ahead with the truth in conscious disregard of potential repercussions. The surest sign somebody has no juice left, if they ever did, is that they have the time to spend bashing those who do. Keep the Faith.
You’ve uncovered Feig’s #1 personality trait– his compulsive need to have everyone like him. How’s that working for you so far, Erik?
Oh, so no one forwarded you the internal email that went around Summit commanding the leaks to “media” will stop immediately and that going forward all employees be warned that emails and IM’s will be strictly monitored? Huh. Funny that.
Anyway. Screw Feig for screwing over his former assistant Miss Brandi who had to leave Summit in order to get promoted, which then caused Summit to pull the collective head out of the big ass and promote all the other creative assistant before they bailed. And it was Miss Brandi who had a conniption fit because the execs didn’t know what the hell Twilight was until she told them it would literally save the domestic side of the studio. Rob Friedman caught Twilight as his pals at Paramount tossed it out the window.
Whatever. Summit talking out both sides of their mouths. As usual, same as everyone else.
Goldstein is a dipshit. His entertainment reporting absolutely stinks, and considering that the L.A. Times has no one else doing it in depth, it’s a real lost opportunity.
Here, here Nikki! You are an inestimable champion for truth. The LA Times is an inestimable champion for lies. Everytime I hear anything about the LA Times I want to puke. They have gone down the wrong path and it’s only a matter of time before they file for bankruptcy….NY Times too for that matter.
Although Nikki is right here, her headline (below) is obviously misleading and it is understandable that rip-off artists would imply from her headline that a deal was done without carefully analyzing her statement.
“Summit Picks Bayona To Direct Twilight Threequel ‘Eclipse’: Will Fans Say Olé?”
Tracy @ 9:52 am, I take issue with your comment about the NY Times. The NY Times is still a great newspaper and still a valid source for news. Still making money, too.
The LA Times? Is none of those things. It used to be, but is now not fit for lining the bottom of my recycling bin. Eli Broad, please rescue what used to be a paper. Los Angeles deserves better.
Gray Lady, I respectfully disagree with regard to NYT have you been apprised of their problems? It’s in the news. They are a lesson to all papers who lean too far to one side and don’t give readers fair perspective like the LAT. When you say “making money too” – –they just got bailed out by a Mexican millionaire. I bet their content will reflect an even greater lack of honesty to appease their new owner.
‘Miss Brandi’ was a joke at Summit and in no way brought in that material. She wasn’t promoted and pushed out because she wasn’t promotable.
Also – way to go Nikki. No one reads the LA Times for Hollywood news. You have that corner covered.
Good for you, Nikki. Screw the LA Times. No one reads them, anyway.
In the great “Front Page” days of newspapers, when one reporter scooped another, the scoopee didn’t fall on his byline, he went out and tried harder for the next edition. It’s something the media conglomerates have tried to eliminate called “competition.” Many newspapers and broadcasters have coasted on arrogance and advertising rather than depend on reporting and resourcefulness until they looked around one day and found themselves outdone by smaller, scrappier, hungrier competitors. Nikki is good — award-winningly good — but she and the Times keep one another honest.
Erik Feig and Summit don’t get it. They had a ‘Harry Potter’ dynasty sitting in their hands with the twilight series. (Seriously doubt he bothered reading the books.) Everyone wanted it, but instead the public was given the usual ‘on the cheap’ method, so popular these days. Translation for that is an inability to sell for funding. That kind of idiocy is about all I need to know about Erik Feig and Summit.
I myself have worked with Mr. Feig and he is quite the businessman. Hard-working straight forward and he doesn’t take any shit from anybody.