Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
Here's a shameless plug for primetime TV fan traffic... He's delivering ABC its best Bachelor ratings in recent years. Tonight is the finale, and I've just learned that airline pilot Jake Pavelka is joining the next installment of Dancing Of The Stars later this month. Also joining from the reality world will be Kate Gosselin and, from the Olympics, gold medal winning figure skater Evan Lysacek. (No, he won't be partnered with sore loser Evgeni Plushenko...) Also Cincinnati Bengal Chad Ochocinco, Shannen Doherty, ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews, Pussycat Doll frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger, soap star Aiden Turner, comedian Niecy Nash, Pamela Anderson and Buzz Aldrin. If I wanted to lose brain cells and watch this show, it sounds like a better-than-average line-up.
EXCLUSIVE: ABC's Biggest 'Bachelor' Ever Joining 'Dancing With The Stars'
TOLDJA! It's Ellen vs Simon On 'Idol'
Now everyone is reporting the story we broke on January 25th: TV TUG OF WAR: It's Ellen vs Simon.
Howard Stern Won't Be Next 'Idol' Judge
From Deadline|London editor Tim Adler: You may be upset or relieved to hear my news that Howard Stern definitely won’t be joining American Idol as the judge replacing Simon Cowell. According to my sources close to the show, the new judge will be announced at the end of the current run. Whoever gets the gig will have a sweet deal: 19 Entertainment, the London-based company which created American Idol, has a budget of $38 million to spend on Cowell’s replacement.
Ellen "Not In Favor" Of Howard Stern On 'Idol'
UPDATES TV TUG OF WAR: It's Ellen vs Simon
Whether Howard Stern will or won't join American Idol as the judge replacing Simon Cowell, is one of the hot debates on the Internet right now. And, of course, Howard is fanning the flames of the controversy by insulting everyone connected to the "karaoke show", especially Simon, Ellen, and Ryan Seacrest. I've just learned Howard Stern is indeed "being considered" as a judge but my sources tell me that "Ellen is not in favor" of his joining the panel.
Ellen DeGeneres tonight makes her American Idol show debut. And when you watch, remember that I recently reported that, on her first day taping the Hollywood segment, Simon Cowell showed up an hour and a half late for the taping. And Ellen stewed while she waited for him. She had reason: to accommodate both her talk show hosting duties and her American Idol judging duties, she had moved up her schedule so that now she shot the talk show earlier in the day and then jumped in the car to go to Idol. She was on time, and Cowell was not. "Here it was the first day of taping of the Hollywood shows, and Ellen was there waiting for Simon to show up. Ellen's ... Read More »
Sony Sells Oprah's Nate To NBC O&Os
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 ... Read More »
Oprah Getting Pointers From Jeff Gaspin?
Oprah Winfrey was spotted listening to NBC Universal Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin’s speech at the NATPE confab in Las Vegas. She was sitting about 10 rows back and keeping a very low profile.
TV TUG OF WAR: It's Ellen vs Simon, And 'American Idol' vs 'X Factor', As Tommy Mottola Is First Choice To Judge Both Shows (And Paula Is Involved, Too)
EXCLUSIVE: It was American Idol's newest judge Ellen DeGeneres’ first day of the 9th season's taping of the Hollywood segment, and she was excited and nervous, sources tell us. But then that turned to anger. Because, our insiders say, Simon Cowell was an hour and a half late for the taping. And Ellen stewed while she waited. She had reason: to accommodate both her talk show hosting duties and her American Idol judging duties, she had moved up her schedule so that now she shot the talk show earlier in the day and then jumped in the car to go to Idol. She was on time, and Cowell was not. "Here it was the first day of taping of the Hollywood shows, and Ellen was there waiting for Simon to show up. Ellen's new to the gig and she's very organized and she made a commitment to take this on, and now she's asking herself, 'What did I get myself into?' She called Simon Cowell a prima donna. So right from the start, the chemistry isn't great," an insider tells us.
With that, Ellen Degeneres contacted the pal who brought her to the primetime hit show, Fox alternative programming chief Mike Darnell, and made a request: she asked him to "hurry up and pick" Simon's successor. Cowell has told the world this will be his last season judging Idol to do his own U.S. version of The X Factor. But there's a problem, a big multi-pronged one, and it involves Ellen vs Simon, and Simon Fuller vs Simon Cowell, and American Idol vs The X Factor as well.
Our sources say that American Idol's first choice to succeed Cowell is former Sony music chief Tommy Mottola, best known to the public as Mariah Carey's controlling ex-husband and the controversial boss of Michael Jackson and George Michael who presided not so much over their musical heydays but mostly their scandal-plagued aftermaths. But get this -- Cowell has also designated Mottola as first choice to be a judge on Simon's American X Factor just announced.
Cowell is reportedly being paid nearly $175 million for launching the new talent search show in the Fall of 2011. (Cowell didn't own American Idol and only gets paid to appear on it, but he does own X Factor and the whole brand. It is currently shown in 17 countries worldwide and is the No. 1 TV entertainment format in Europe. The X Factor format is owned by Syco, a global music, television and film production joint venture between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment.)
Execs behind American Idol and The X Factor want a high-profile music industry professional to give some gravitas. And our sources say Mottola, who hasn't made headlines since he left Sony and started a new music label, is loving this situation. He's in the middle of an American TV tug of war!
According to our insiders, Fox, Darnell, and Fremantle's American Idol producers have "come up with a list of 25 people" led by the 60-year-old Tommy Mottola, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group. He's also been a guest on Idol. Viwers of the show know him as Mariah's ex but also as the current husband of Mexican singer Thalía. True, he's a music legend in his own right for heading up Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columbia label, for 15 years. But ever since leaving, he's been on the downlow. "What's he doing now? Good question. He's got some label. But in truth he hasn't done much," one of our sources shrugged. Mottola also is known as a mentor and former talent manager. His most famous proteges were Hall & Oates, Carly Simon, John Mellencamp, Diana Ross, and Taylor Dayne as well as Mariah Carey in the 1990s, and Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Lopez in the early 2000s.
Cowell's music background and blunt assessments anchor American Idol, "but he's also a music industry insider and Mottola fits that bill. And he certainly knows how to find young talent," our source explained. "Mottola is frontrunner for Idol, but when Simon became aware of this, he began trying to get Tommy to team with him and Paula Abdul for his new show The X Factor." Our insider feel there is the very real likelihood that Paula Abdul will sign for big dough to reteam with Cowell.
Let's not forget also there is real rivalry between The Two Simons: Simon Cowell and American Idol's Simon Fuller. (See SHOW THEM THE MONEY: Is Simon Fuller's Sweetened TV Deal Richer Than Cowell's?) Cowell turned down $100 million to stay on Idol. But if he signs Abdul and starts his X Factor with two of the three original American Idol judges, this poses a real threat to Fuller. Especially since two of the original three Idol judges are gone, leaving only original judge Randy Jackson and last season's new judge Kara DioGuardi -- both well-known musicians and record producers -- and this season's new non-music-biz judge Ellen DeGeneres, who is 51 and receives a reported $5 million-a-year for the gig.
As for Ellen vs Simon, even before cameras rolled DeGeneres was positioning herself counter to Cowell. "I think he's mean and I think he says things in an insensitive way and I don't think that's the way to get a point across," she told one interviewer. "I'm going to be brutally honest, in a kind way." And, as one newspaper noted, "the chemistry between these two stars will be a key plotline." Still, the suits are handling her with kid gloves because of the cross-promotion benefits expected between Idol and her successful talk show. (DeGeneres has said repeatedly that she plans to book Idol contestants the day after they're booted.) So, like her or not, and a lot of fans have voiced their disapproval, she is the show's future, and Cowell is its past.
"Mottola is in the middle of all that and beneficiary of it. Mottola has remarkable leverage because of this tug of war and will get a big payday from somebody," our source predicted. Read More »
It's Official: Simon Cowell's Last Season On 'American Idol'; U.S. Launches UK's 'X Factor' In Fall 2011
Journalist Diane Haithman is covering the Television Critics Association confab for Deadline Hollywood.)
Simon Cowell was a surprise guest at the Television Critics Association's Fox confab today. He just walked out to announce himself that the UK's huge hit talent search show The X Factor will launch in the U.S. in Fall 2011. But, way more importantly, he said this will be his last season on American Idol. "There's been a lot of speculation partly because we didn't have an agreement. We reached an agreement at half past 10 this morning. Where we have come to is X Factor will launch at 11 in 2011 with me judging and producing the show. So this will be my last season on American Idol." With that, Peter Rice played showman and trotted out Cowell's supposed contract. "And so we can bring a little drama to it, Simon is going to sign his agreement here. In about 10 seconds, there can be no speculation." Cowell went to the podium and indeed signed his new pact. Now there will be endless speculation whether American Idol, hose ratings have been smaller and smaller, and whose audiences have been greyer and greyer, can continue just as successfully without its judging superstar.
The X Factor is produced by Syco, the global music, television and film production joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment. Syco Television produces the BAFTA Award-winning show which has ... Read More »
Here's What CBS Is Saying About Oprah
UPDATES THE END OF 'OPRAH' AS WE KNOW HER
My news this morning that the daytime diva has decided to give up her syndicated talk show and move it to her namesake cable network OWN in 2011, amid Discovery Communications' demands that she "move it or lose it", caught CBS by surprise. The Eye was counting on a 1- or 2-year renewal if The Oprah Winfrey Show which its CBS Television Distribution syndicates. "In all honesty, we have not heard she's made a decision yet whether to continue," an insider tells me. "We think we're still in the talking stages. To our minds, it's a non-decision."
CBS had scheduled a face-to-face meeting a month ago with Oprah and her personal and professional posse at her Santa Barbara compound to discuss her plans. But one of the people in the close group of people around her passed away. So it was canceled, I've learned.
CBS is quick to point out that, a few years back, Winfrey re-negotiated her distribution deal with CBS TV Distribution so it "gets a lesser fee now". The result is that, when Oprah stops her syndicated talk show and moves it to OWN (her Oprah Winfrey Network that will replace the Discovery Health Channel), "It will be a hit for us, but not until 2012. And by then the economy should have recovered. And with the lower syndication fee, it's not as big a hit as it would have ... Read More »
THE END OF 'OPRAH' AS WE KNOW HER: Daytime Diva Giving Up Syndie Talk Show & Moving It To Her Cable Network In 2011
UPDATE: Here's What CBS Is Saying About Oprah
EXCLUSIVE: One of the biggest questions in the TV biz has been when, and even if, Oprah Winfrey would give up her daytime syndicated talk show to focus on OWN, her long delayed Oprah Winfrey Network in 70 million homes that was supposed to launch in place of the Discovery Health Channel as a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications. The industry has been betting that the daytime diva would extend The Oprah Winfrey Show for at least another year or two because of the huge cash license fees which stations have long paid her. But people around Oprah are telling me that won't happen. They say that Discovery Communications chief David Zaslav has demanded that Oprah "move it or lose it" -- move her talk show to OWN, or risk losing the Oprah Winfrey Network altogether. I've learned that in coming days Winfrey and Discovery will issue a press release announcing OWN's on-air launch for the start of 2011. And, in several weeks, Oprah will tell the public that she's ending her syndicated Chicago-based daytime talk show when her current deal runs out and moving it to OWN headquarters in Los Angeles probably as soon as mid-2011.
Hardest hit by the news will be CBS Television Distribution which syndicates the show, Also hit will be ABC's owned-and-operated stations which make up Oprah's core station group, and also ... Read More »
UPDATE: Hollywood Competing For Michael Jackson Rehearsal Footage: NBC Likely To Snag TV Special & Sony Probable For Live Albums And Film; Bidding For Movie Rights Began At $50 Mil, TV Rights At $10 Mil
SATURDAY UPDATE: As of today, Sony and NBC moved into first positions in the Hollywood auction of the live music, primetime TV special, and film rights to Michael Jackson's rehearsal footage for sale by the ghouls at AEG (see below). 
Although the winners of the auction won't be announced until next week, major studios like Viacom's Paramount/MTV, NBC Universal, Sony Music and Sony Pictures, and News Corp's 20th Century Fox/Fox Broadcasting Co, all have been battling for the projects. I've confirmed that AEG started the bidding for the movies rights at a staggering $50 million, and the TV special rights at $10 million. "They are looking to do a primetime TV special with NBC, and then go with live albums and films with Sony since Sony controls the distribution rights to [MJ's] music," one of my insiders told me today. "All this needs to be sorted out through the weekend as they will have to go to the judge to get any deals blessed next week." That may explain why insiders keep telling me about the "sensitivity and confidentiality" of the ongoing negotiation process.
I've learned AEG's goal is to have the primetime TV special on air in September and the film out in October. No word on when the live albums would be scheduled. (Perhaps in part because Sony Music's ex-topper Tommy Mottola has been quoted as saying that the company has "song after song" of unreleased MJ music, maybe even more than Elvis left behind.) The ... Read More »
UPDATE: Ryan Seacrest Jumps To CAA After Battling With WME Over 'Idol' Commissions
EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Seacrest may be rapidly becoming one of the richest guys in show business in front of and behind the cameras, but he doesn't like paying commissions. I learned yesterday that Seacrest, who'd been a longtime client of the William Morris Agency pre-merger, informed WME Entertainment post-merger that he didn't want to pay the agency's fee on the differential between his new pact and old pact on American Idol. (Some sources say there was also a dispute over commissions on his radio contract.) I'm told that commissions had been a sore point between Seacrest and the Morris office for years. WME refused to cut him a special deal. "When he pushed back, WME said, 'We can't represent you then. Either stay and pay full commission and together we'll keep growing and expanding and servicing your reality business. Or leave.'" That's when Seacrest took a meeting at CAA. By the end of day yesterday, Seacrest hadn't yet made a decision to leave WME. (Some say he was pleased with the reality TV department there, other tell he wasn't.) Today he left.
What surprised just now is that even rival agencies to WME are describing Seacrest to me as a "grinder" and "scumbag" for trying to negotiate lower commissions. A year ago August, I asked the question whether Seacrest was in play after his longtime William Morris agent Adam Sher left the rep business to run Ryan Seacrest Productions. Though ... Read More »
Leno In Hospital: Zucker In Panic Attack?
UPDATE: NBC just told me that Jay Leno's illness is "minor".
Oy, Jay Leno missed The Tonight Show taping to check himself into the hospital. Now, you and I know Leno wouldn't do that unless he was coughing up a lung. Quick, somebody give Jeff Zucker a paper bag to breathe in.
I wouldn't be surprised if NBC suddenly orders a lot of hour drama pilots that could slip into the 10 PM slot reserved for Jay next fall.
LAPD Skips Today's Confab On Paparazzi: Chief Blames Britney, Paris And Lindsay
UPDATE: News reports say today's 10 AM Los Angeles City Hall meeting about proposed new restrictions on paparazzi included reps from West Hollywood, Malibu, the Screen Actors Guild, and LA County Sheriff Lee Baca. But no members of the LAPD were present at the hearing. That's because Chief William Bratton has consistently opposed new legislation that would further restrict and penalize overly aggressive photographers. He called today's confab a "total waste of time", "grandstanding foolishness", and a "farce".
But look at what this tool arrogantly told KNBC this AM about the paparazzi problem (after the confab was prompted by the LAPD's decision to spend $25K to transport Britney Spears from her home to the hospital because of all the photog chaos):
"If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving; Paris is out of town not bothering anybody, thank god; and, evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue. If the ones that attract the paparazzi behave in the first place, like we expect of anybody, that solves about 90% percent of the problem. The rest of it we can deal with."
Sheriff Baca, by contrast, told reporters, "I'm here to try and find a balanced answer. There's no question that the industry of public information is an important one to protect and I think that there's responsibility on the side of entertainers as there is responsibly on the side of those seeking to take photographs."
Meanwhile, the city of Malibu has turned to Ken Starr, the former independent counsel ... Read More »
How To Really Cure Stalkarazzi Plague
UPDATE: LAPD Skips Today's Confab On Paparazzi: Chief Blames Britney, Paris And Lindsay
I consider this public obsession with celebrities in our culture to be a sickness. So I see the photographers who cover them just a manifestation of the underlying disease. Now officials from celebrity enclaves like Beverly Hills and Malibu are meeting for the first time today to discuss tougher regulations against the stalkarazzi or wreckarazzi. News reports say the goal is for each city to adopt its own ordinances to punish aggressive paparazzi, while keeping the rules uniform in the places where celebrities live, work and play. But the already over-burdened police forces would have a hell of a time enforcing any new codes and can't even enforce the already existing regs like loitering used against the pic-takers. True, the incidents keep mounting of A-list celebs trying to protect their privacy. Meanwhile, the photographers themselves are encouraging the idea of certification program to separate the "legit" paparazzi from the non-legit. But I believe the only way to stop outrageous behavior by the photogs is to hold responsible the editors of those magazines and websites willing to pay outrageous prices for celebrity pictures. None of this would be happening if the photos weren't worth millions of dollars in newsstand sales. Of course, the public is at fault for wanting to see the snaps in the first place. But I say that if a stalkarazzi is ... Read More »
A Reboot Of DC Comics Before Comic-Con?
With Comic-Con fast approaching (July 24-27) and all the Hollywood studios getting ready, I understand that Warner Bros has been nervously monitoring the deteriorating situation at its subsidiary DC Comics. There could be a major shake-up -- especially if Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes keeps cleaning house inside the Big Media corp. There's a lot of chatter, from comic book circles like io9.com to trade media like Publishers Weekly, that DC Comics Senior VP and Executive Editor Dan DiDio, who oversees the DC Universe line of superheroes, is in major trouble. I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of the comic book culture. But my own reporting, and others' coverage, show the following:
The problem isn't just that, under DiDio's leadership, fanboys are disappointed with the directions of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other characters. (How dopey of DiDio to come out with a new series Decisions this September where the superheroes take political stands timed to the election.) Little wonder that fanboys are selling "Dan DiDio Must Die" t-shirts. But also average sales of the DCU line are down more than 20% from a year ago, and DiDio has lost a big chunk of existing readers in a year while deliberately failing to reach out to new ones.
But the biggest bad news is that DC's much hyped Summer 2008 release Final Crisis, the 7-issue miniseries, isn't the huge hit it was supposed to be. Comic Book Resources reviewed, "This isn't ... Read More »
Furious Horror Film Fans Target Lionsgate
I give TV and movie fans a lot of credit: when they get mad, they scare the crap out of the moguls. That's happening at Lionsgate where the studio's phones and email accounts are jammed with angry fans for the past week. They're making a stink because new Lionsgate topper Joe Drake appears to be dumping all of ex-prez Peter Block's movies. That includes Midnight Meat Train, the adaptation of the Barker short story that's a fan fave. Supposedly the trailer tested higher than any film in Lionsgate history. But when Drake took over, he promptly bumped Midnight Meat Train from its May 16th release date. The result was that Rogue Pictures' The Strangers (which was skedded two weekends later) had zero competition in the hard-R category. And guess who was exec producer of The Strangers? Joe Drake.
Then, the websites, Shock Til You Drop and Fangoria found out Lionsgate is planning only a 100 theater run on August 1st to merely fulfill the contractual obligation with Lakeshore Entertainment. The plan is to release the DVD immediately after. So fans are asking if Drake is such a dummy that he'd intentionally sink what to them is a sure-thing hit. And they want to know if the studio that was built on horror gross (both the gory and cash kinds) is going to bite the hand that's fed it so well in favor of four Tyler Perry movies a year.
The result is a lot of anti-Lionsgate blogging in Horrorville by fans, by self-appointed horror flick experts, and also by Barker himself. "I would passionately encourage everybody who cares about my work ... Read More »
Thank You, Vanity Fair...
Vanity Fair magazine has created a Blogopticon which charts the tone and content of what it considers "the most influential or amusing blogs" vying for the attention of the world’s billion-plus Web surfers. The sites are categorized along four attributes: "news" vs "opinion", "earnest" vs "scurrilous", and everything inbetween. I am very proud to say that VF included my Deadline Hollywood Daily and gave it high marks indeed: at the very top of "news" and in the "earnest" category.
What's A Showbiz Blog Mention Worth?
I would like to formally welcome every other now blogging or about-to-blog Hollywood print journalist to the already crowded online neighborhood. It's a big tent, with room for all. But the aahs or angst that all these blogs are causing the Hollywood community is palpable, believe me. (Mine included.) For example, United Artists this week found a cushy home in Peter Bart's new blog to combat the bad buzz by spinning what a genius movie Valkyrie supposedly is. (Why does his content remind me of Larry King's random thoughts in USA Today years ago: "I like Tom Terrific.... I like toast.") Down on his luck Bob Shaye has repeatedly vented in Patrick Goldstein's Los Angeles Times column and now will have an additional venue in which to boast about his under-appreciated genius. ("From the first, they were all against me ... Ahh, but the strawberries, that's where I had them...") All while my sources give me chapter and verse about the very un-genius behavior of the mental and physical midgets who run the Biz. So I had a thought: what is the going rate for a Hollywood industry blog mention -- good or bad -- these days? I'm not talking about something so crass as cash. Because this Industry has other currencies, too. I can't wait to watch who'll do what to whom and why to get them in or out.
Anatomy Of A Showbiz News Inaccuracy: How Reputable Reporters Screwed Up...
UPDATE: A Fox spokesperson issued a public denial tonight. "The Defamer.com story about the Studio banning CAA from the Fox lot, is categorically untrue. The exchange, which took place well over a year ago, between a Fox executive and a CAA agent -- that supposedly triggered the 'ban' -- never at any point escalated to the level and language as reported on Defamer.com."
The gossip website Defamer today is running word-for-word with a CAA-Fox story which an anonymous tipster emailed me two weeks ago. But the website failed to do what I did: I checked it out exhaustively, and, even though I've come down harder on CAA than any media outlet over the years, I found that the facts weren't anything like the story which the tipster was passing along. In fact, the truth was not newsworthy. (I'm not linking because the Defamer blogger who wrote it gets paid by the page view. So don't reward someone for inaccurate info...) 
That's also the same gossip website and blogger that recently reported erroneously that Tracey Jacobs was leaving United Talent when she wasn't. Yes, reporting on Hollywood agents would be so much easier if only pesky facts didn't get in the way. But here's what really annoys me: supposedly reputable news outlets and reporters are now picking up erroneous information from gossip websites like Defamer. This is wrong on so many levels that I'm dismayed. Which is why I've decided to go behind-the-scenes of one such egregious and recent example of a showbiz reporting inaccuracy:
Back on April 9th, I broke the somewhat stunning news here that superstar ... Read More »
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