Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … The SAG National Board of Directors met via videoconference in Los Angeles and New York:
Los Angeles, (January 31, 2010) - Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors voted today to seek engagement with AFTRA in a joint bargaining agreement for negotiation of the Television/Theatrical Contract. Approved 82 to 18 percent, the resolution states:
“It was moved and seconded that in light of SAG's historically productive negotiating partnership with AFTRA, the SAG National Board of Directors directs President Ken Howard and National Executive Director David White to seek engagement with AFTRA in a joint bargaining agreement for negotiation of the Television/Theatrical Contract, under the terms of Phase One, modeled on the agreement used successfully in the 2009 Commercials Contract negotiations. President Howard and NED White shall bring a recommendation to the National Board at the earliest opportunity.”
Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard said, “I am very pleased with the vote and thank the Board for their leadership and foresight on this important issue. I so appreciate the Board’s cooperative spirit in this discussion and throughout the day, and feel confident that our Guild is moving in the right direction.”
In other actions, the National Board voted unanimously to create a National Performance Capture Committee to address the unique concerns and experiences of members who render performances that are recorded using “performance capture” technology across all media, and to advise the Guild on all matters pertaining to work in this rapidly growing area.
The board also approved
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The Sundance trophies have been handed out. The film crowd has left Park City to the skiers. So what kind of market was it? Better than expected, even if most of the deals were small ones. And compared to the zero that was Toronto, a veritable avalanche of very low 7-figure sales took place in Park City, with more expected in coming weeks. Some of the films have breakout potential, like The Kids Are All Right and the documentary Catfish. Others made great festival viewing, but questionable box office offerings. Buyers said they'd be surprised if any replicated the critical or financial success of last year’s Precious.
The only semi-sexy deal out of Toronto was A Single Man, which has grossed just $5.2 million since The Weinstein Co released it December 11th. This despite an engrossing story, strong acting, and gorgeous direction by Tom Ford, whose status as an iconic fashion designer helped sell the film. This 2010 Sundance offerings felt similarly small. Despite the manic deal-chasing by journalists like me, many of these films will likely play in art houses in limited release to elite audiences.
Since he dropped out of Harvey, Steven Spielberg’s first project under the reconstituted DreamWorks has been a subject of much speculation. Now I hear who's at the center of the director's biopic of George Gershwin, which DreamWorks acquired last fall. It’s Zachary Quinto -- Sylar in the NBC drama-fantasy Heroes, and Spock in the JJ Abrams-directed megapic Star Trek. Quinto will play the famed composer and pianist, who with brother Ira was responsible for more than a dozen Broadway shows before dying at 38. DreamWorks is even supplying accent and dialogue coaches for Quinto, and shooting could begin as soon as April. Doug Wright wrote the script, and Marc Platt and singer/pianist Michael Feinstein are producing. A DreamWorks insider says this is one of 3 projects Spielberg is looking at for his next piccause he's anxious to get back to work. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an announcement later this week. 
SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM: Now that 20th Century Fox's Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time (not adjusted for inflation or higher 3D ticket prices), it passed the $2 billion mark in worldwide grosses and remained No. 1 at the weekend box office for the 7th straight week. Today, after just 45 days of release, James Cameron's sci-fi epic reached $2.039 billion. The pic's runaway success has answered all its critics, so there's not much more to say except, Wow! It made $7.5M Friday from 3,074 plays and $14M Saturday for another $30M weekend -- an amazing -14% hold despite a declining theater count. That's a new $594.2M domestic cume. The pic should pass Titanic's record of $600.8M this week. 
Women ruled at the DGA tonight for top honors in both film and TV drama direction. The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the Industry's most accurate barometers for the Best Director Academy Award. Only 6 times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the Oscar. But tonight's honor for The Hurt Locker's helmer Kathryn Bigelow is the first DGA win not just for her but the first for any female film director. 
Her team on the 2009 Summit Entertainment consisted of Unit Production Manager Tony Mark, First Assistant Director David Ticotin, and First Assistant Director (Canadian Unit) Lee Cleary. Bigelow beat out Precious' Lee Daniels, Up In The Air's Jason Reitman, Inglourious Basterds' Quentin Tarantino, and, most surprising of all, her ex, Avatar's James Cameron. Bigelow, who 
Here are the complete list of 2010 winners:
I reported months ago that Sony Television, which has had considerable success hawking the syndicated talk show starring Oprah discovery Dr. Oz, was going to pimp still another Harpo discovery, Chicago designer and decorator Nate Berkus. Well, now it's sold. A deal was concluded late last night between Sony TV and NBC Universal that will put the The Nate Berkus Show on NBC O&O's [owned and operated] TV stations in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Washington, San Diego, Miami and Hartford. 
It's a comfortable base for the new syndicated strip series, and similar to the way that the ABC O&O's form the backbone for Oprah's own syndicated program. It's also something of a consolation prize for Sony TV which was desperate to replace CBS as the syndicator of The Oprah Winfrey Show for its next go-round in the marketplace. 
You see, Sony's co-production and distribution of the Dr. Oz Show was considered a dress rehearsal for the daytime diva. Alas, I broke the news that Oprah would announce she was stopping her syndicated show in 2011 to devote herself to OWN, the long-delayed Oprah Winfrey Network which is replacing Discovery Health on cable. So Sony TV got screwed. Nevertheless, Berkus may have an easier time in syndication because at ... 
LONDON -- I’ve learned that Stephen Moore, TV managing director for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Canada, has been made redundant. He’d been in the job for less than a year. Moore was in charge of distributing Disney/ABC/ESPN programming to 240 territories worldwide. Shows included such ubiquitous Disney hits as Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Ugly Betty. Disney has confirmed Moore is being made redundant. It has no plans to replace him with somebody else overseeing foreign TV distribution. Instead, it’s putting greater emphasis on each territory taking responsibility for itself. 
EXCLUSIVE: Judging by the J.D. Salinger obituaries and tributes, there is just as much interest in the Catcher in the Rye author after his death as there was during his life when he shunned the spotlight for reclusion in Cornish, New Hampshire. Now I can report that Shane Salerno, a 37-year-old screenwriter who’s currently writing Fantastic Voyage for Fox and James Cameron, has directed and produced Salinger, a 2-hour documentary locked late last year after 5 years in the making.
The studio issued the following statement: "MGM said today its lenders have agreed to extend the forbearance period until March 31, 2010. The lenders took this action in support of the Company’s efforts to strengthen its financial position and to facilitate the Company’s ongoing process of exploring strategic alternatives, which include continuing to operate as a standalone entity and evaluating a potential sale of the Company. MGM appreciates the continued support of its lender group. MGM also reiterated today that it has begun the second phase of the M&A process and is conducting due diligence with select parties who have submitted bids. This phase of the process is expected to run for the next several weeks." 
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