Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
BBC Drama Unfreezes Development Money; … 
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Is Betting On Box Office Good For Films? 
Marvel Still Looking For Captain America 
'Sopranos' Creator To Film Rock Drama 
LIVE-SNARKING THE 82ND OSCARS... 
'ALICE' IS A MONSTER! $116.3M Blows Past … 
Oscar Not-So-Thriller: Diller Mogul Picnic 
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Mickey Rourke Wooed For Two Big Roles, … 
CBS Reups Les Moonves Through 2015 I'm assured there is no truth to the Internet rumors circulating that Barbara Marcus will be the next publisher of DC Comics. A bigtime kid books publisher, Marcus is pals with DC Entertainment president after they launched the licensing partnership between Scholastic and Warner Bros for the Harry Potter films.
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"Not A Chance" Of 'Watchmen' Film Sequel
The Internet is filling up with chatter here and here about how Dan DiDio, the SVP/Executive Editor for DC Comics, is determined to push not only a sequel to the Watchmen graphic novel, but a multiple prequel comic book miniseries and other spin-offs to his new bosses. And how he's already looking for creators to do them. This is because of -- what else? -- money: Watchmen has become DC's bestselling comic book of all time. Naturally, everyone's now speculating about a sequel to Zack Snyder's underperforming Watchmen movie from Warner Bros/20th Century Fox/Paramount, especially because there's contract language for that possibility. (No matter how impossible storywise.) But a well-placed insider tells me: "There is no truth to anything related to a movie sequel. Not a chance by a longshot. With regards to the comics, well, I guess anything is possible. I'll keep my opinion to myself as to whether it's a smart idea to do so."
Oscar Campaign Badmouthing Has Begun!
2ND UPDATE: I love awards season because my email and voicemail get filled with negative campaigning about all the Academy Awards hopefuls. (Such holiday cheer is out here!) Over the years, I've reported on the studio badmouthing of heavyweight Saving Private Ryan to better the Oscar chances of lightweight Shakespeare In Love. And the planting of "He's an anti-Semite and adulterer" allegations against the schizophrenic Princeton professor who was the sympathetic subject of biopic A Beautiful Mind. And more recently, the efforts to scuttle Blood Diamond and Slumdog Millionaire's chances because of unfounded charges the filmmakers callously exploited locals.
So it shouldn't surprise anyone that this race is already turning nasty, nasty, nasty...
First, there's some truth and some not in the Hollywood buzz that was emailed to me within minutes of today's Golden Globes nominations by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Here's one message I received from a rival campaigner: "Leo threw his good pal Tobey a party last week to which 40 HFPA went. They among others received some sort of fab parting gift, like a Blu-ray player. Thus the Tobey nom for a movie otherwise ignored."
Yes, it's true that Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have known each other since they were 10 years old. Yes, they're good pals even still. So Leo came back into town last week and told the Brothers fimmakers he was blown away by Maguire's performance and wanted to throw an awards party for him. Yes, HFPA members were invited (but 15, not 40) along with a ... Read More »
Anne Hathaway Wanted For 'Spider-Man 4'
EXCLUSIVE: You know I'm insecure about my geek bonafides which I've been trying to improve in recent years. (Heck, I grew up never reading a single comic book.) But I'm aware that the Internet has been afloat with Spider-Man 4 casting rumors in recent days. While Sony Pictures insists no decisions have been made, sources tell me that the producers have approached Anne Hathaway to star in the film. Maybe you experts have an idea what she'll play? All I know is that she's wanted for a starring role, and she won't replace Kirsten Dunst who's also cast in the Spidey fourquel. UPDATE: You readers think the role is The Black Cat.
SAG Internet Rumors Ridiculously Wrong!
I can confirm that there is NO truth to that ridiculously wrong Internet report that newly elected SAG president Ken Howard has undergone back surgery and has already handed over his office at 5757 Wilshire Blvd to newly elected Secretary-Treasurer (and fellow Unite For Strength camper) Amy Aquino. In fact, Ken made an appearance on Fox Business just yesterday. SAG sources tell me he's fine, he didn't have surgery, he's not resigning or giving up his digs at 5757 Wilshire Blvd, and Aquino is not taking over or occupying his office. All I can say is that SAG members deserve the truth from all sides, and you'll read it here.
Now Brian Roberts Sends Note To Troops
Message from Brian Roberts
You have probably seen the news reports that speculate about Comcast’s interest in buying NBC Universal. As you know, we’ve had a long-standing policy not to comment on these types of stories. We have not commented about this rumor in the press, except to say that the blog report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal is inaccurate.
It’s not surprising that there is speculation about possible acquisitions given Comcast’s strong financial position. This happens from time to time. We have always said that we will consider acquisitions and investments to find opportunities to grow in our businesses so that they are profitable, differentiated and have scale.
We have a terrific company that is growing in this economy and we have an exciting future ahead across all of our lines of business. As Steve and I have said, cable is right at the core of everything Comcast does. We continue to invest in our cable business – it is a key component of our DNA. Some of our other businesses like content, business services and interactive advertising are a smaller part of the company today, and while they are growing rapidly, we would like to find ways to accelerate that growth. If the opportunity came up to add more cable content, we would definitely want to take a look at that opportunity, but in a very disciplined way.
You’ve all worked hard to grow our business and achieve
... Read More »
Jeff Zucker Sends Memo To NBCU Staff
From: Jeff Zucker (NBC Universal)
Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 8:50 AM
To: NBC Universal Employee Communications (NBC Universal)
Subject: Note Regarding NBCU
By now, you have probably seen or heard stories regarding the ownership of NBC Universal, most recently a flurry of stories in the last day involving Comcast. Stories spread quickly in this new information age, so let me take this opportunity to share an update with you, as best as I can as of today.
Not surprisingly, given the attractive nature of our assets, there is always significant interest in NBC Universal. That has been amplified lately by the annual discussion with Vivendi about its 20 percent ownership of our company. Vivendi has been a superb owner of NBC Universal, along with GE, for more than five years. They have not yet made us aware of any final decisions about their future with us; should they choose to exit, there are a number of possible things that could happen. It is our longstanding policy not to comment on rumors, and we have adhered to that policy in connection with these rumors.
As distracting as it may be to hear and read about potential changes to our ownership structure, nothing is more important than keeping this company strong.
So, we all have to do our best to keep our focus on our day-to-day operations, and continue to deliver the kinds of results that have made this one of the premier media companies in the world.
... Read More »
Now CNBC Knocks Down Comcast Report
You and I know that the next best thing to having GE issue a statement on its corporate biz is having its CNBC issue a statement on GE corporate biz. So early this morning, the business channel's reliable reporter David Faber went on air to deride a struggling Hollywood blog's "big story" that GE and Comcast had clinched a $35B deal for NBCU. Faber told the cameras: "You can call it a big story, but there may not be much of a story at all at this point. It's very hard to say where speculation and actual news lies on this. Nonetheless, an entertainment gossip site [Faber laughs] -- this is where we are in journalism today -- started a great deal of speculation on whether Comcast would buy or take control of NBC Universal. That is not the case." Faber went on to stress there's no deal for Comcast to buy GE's NBCU. "Does it mean there is anything even remotely here and happening? No." (Faber seemed in agreement with my own coverage last night that this is just more tire-kicking around the Vivendi put option and multiple "What if" scenarios.) Faber's remarks follow a spokeswoman for Philadelphia-based Comcast emailing media outlets last night, “While we don’t comment on M&A rumors, the report that Comcast has a deal to purchase NBC Universal is inaccurate.” How humiliating for that struggling Hollywood blog, which might fare better to remember that it takes a long time to build a reputation for news ... Read More »
Time Warner To Make Showbiz Acquisitions
If you, like me, think Big Media will eventually just consist of Disney, Time Warner, and News Corp as MGM, Viacom/Paramount, and NBC Universal get gobbled up because of consolidation, here's more evidence: Time Warner Inc, already flush with extra cable cash, will eventually sell the Time Inc magazine unit and could use the bigger bounty to buy holdings in its core entertainment category. That's according to Gordy Crawford, the managing director of its largest shareholder, The Capital Group. Crawford said at a presentation September 24 at USC's Annenberg School for Communication about media. "Time Warner just spun off their cable division, they are going to sell their print division, they are going to spin off AOL and they're just going to be Warner Brothers, HBO and the Turner Networks. "Now, they will make acquisitions ... but they're probably going to buy just stuff in their wheel house of those businesses. They're not going to, I don't think, go very far afield from their core competency." While Crawford did not name specific acquisition targets, he did say there would be a "winnowing process" during which weaker companies in the sector would be gobbled up. I've already reported about rumors that Time Warner and GE are in talks about NBCU. Meanwhile, former News Corp No. 2 Peter Chernin said at the conference he expected there to be a “great consolidation” down the road, as the weaker companies among the larger players decide to sell rather than continue to lose market share. “The ones that will ... Read More »
Zucker Orders NBCU: Get Ready For IPO
UPDATES As Rumors Swirl & GE Probes, Vivendi See IPO Possibility For 20% NBCU
I've learned that last week, during a visit to the West Coast, NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker told both Universal and NBC, "We have to be ready in case Vivendi exits for an IPO of that 20% stake." This is why, as I reported last week, the brass have been asking for more and deeper financial information than years past prior to the Vivendi put coming due.
Meanwhile, the rumors keep coming fast and furious. The latest (#3, if you're keeping count) is also one of the most persistent despite denials on all sides: that some deal negotiation is underway between Time Warner and GE over all or part of NBCU. Yes, that rumor has been around a long time, and sources insist that Time Warner and GE were in talks before the economic crash. But it's recently surfaced again, triggered by the Vivendi put, and it's believed by some top people in Hollywood. Time Warner folks say it's just not true, especially since Jeff Bewkes maintains a very disciplined approach to acquisitions because of the goodwill writedowns that haunted Time Warner in the past. On the other hand, a good case could me made for a very synergistic combination of assets. -test
As Rumors Swirl and GE Probes, Vivendi's Levy Says IPO Possibility For 20% NBCU
In just the past week, I've heard rumor after rumor about what may happen to NBC Universal because of the Vivendi put option coming due. One crazy rumor claimed Viacom and GE would merge Paramount and Universal -- just the movie studios -- into one company of best assets. (That was denied by insiders at both conglomerates.) Another saner rumor had Comcast buying Vivendi's 20% stake in NBC Universal. (That seems within the realm of possibility, but unlikely, too.) Yet I can tell you that GE recently has been asking Universal for more and deeper financial info than ever before. And it's all related to the Vivendi put option. Every November, Vivendi can trigger a right to sell its 20% stake in NBCU, either in the market or to NBCU's parent General Electric. The conventional wisdom, as yet unconfirmed, is that Vivendi may decide to sell this year because it's more interested in expanding into telcom than hanging onto a non-core asset like media. So all eyes were on Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy today when he spoke at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia media conference. Levy made mention of the improving economic situation for media. "Last year there was turmoil and we didn't know where the market was going, and the advertising market was not in our favor. The next window is in a little more than two months, you will know more at that time," he said coyly. "An IPO is possible, if we do exercise ... Read More »
The Secret Case Of WGA vs Jay Leno: Cleared Unanimously; Offered Apology; UPDATE: But Why The WGA Cover-Up?
TUESDAY 12:30AM UPDATE: I've learned that both Jay Leno and the Guild investigating panel asked WGAw President Patric Verrone among others to make the final report public, including full transcripts of the hearing. But Verrone et al refused. So why was the Guild's excuse "confidentiality" since Leno willingly waived his? Or was Verrone more concerned that his own questionable conduct would be exposed?
MONDAY 6:30PM UPDATE: Prompted by my post today, the Writers Guild, West, finally released its trial committee report after refusing to do so because of "confidentiality". So why now? Only because I was releasing some of its findings -- among them that Jay Leno had been unanimously cleared. The WGAw report determined that the Guild owed Leno a public apology because Jay had been "done a disservice and his reputation harmed by these proceedings". I believe that the WGAw was purposely withholding this report because it presented President Patric Verrone in a bad light, which would have been damaging during the Guild elections. I can report that a key person complicit in this was WGAw staffer Neil Sacharow, who in my opinion should be fired. It was Sacharow who phoned me in consternation after seeing my midday advisory that my WGA vs Leno reporting was about to post.
(More on the report below).
MONDAY 12:30 PM: Few issues during the November 2007/February 2008 writers strike stirred as much anger and emotion as whether WGA member Jay Leno violated Guild strike rules during his return to hosting ... Read More »
CAA EXPANDING SPORTS BIZ: Acquiring Big Agent Henry Thomas' NBA Practice
That's the word from sports media outlets. Henry Thomas is a big deal: he's #12 on HoopsHype's agent rankings. He'll be added to CAA Sports' basketball division headed by Leon Rose. Thomas is is reportedly taking all his clients with him, bringing the three biggest stars of the NBA's 2010 free agent class under one roof: Raptors forward Chris Bosh (Thomas), Heat guard Dwayne Wade (Thomas) and Cavaliers forward LeBron James (Rose). Thomas also reps Devin Harris and Udonis Haslem. The rumor that Thomas was joining CAA was first reported by industry Web site HoopsHype, and then added to by Sports Business Daily. Today, HoopsHype confirmed the purchase. CAA Sports already has three other mature divisions: football headed by Tom Condon and Ben Dogra, baseball led by Casey Close, and hockey topped by Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry.
Jeff Goldblum Alive & Well In Los Angeles
His publicist is denying crazy web rumors the Law & Order: Criminal Intent star died in New Zealand today. Sounds like the next plot (combined with the circumstances of David Carradine's death) for the NYPD major crimes series. But I've since learned that, every coupla years, a rumor starts on the Internet about a celeb dying in New Zealand: Tom Hanks in 2006 and Tom Cruise in 2008. Egads.
Look Who's Spreading Big Media Rumors...
Veteran investor Mario Gabelli is a bonafide media insider and a regular at investment bank Allen & Co’s Sun Valley retreat every July. So others take him seriously when he tells Barron’s readers to buy Viacom because Paramount will merge with Sony Pictures or Universal Pictures or someplace. “We hear talk of something going on,” he said this week during a 2009 mid-year roundtable. "Today there are seven or eight motion-picture studios. A round of consolidation will occur in the next six to 12 months because of the costs of financing, prints and advertising, the benefits of globalization and such." I ran this by my Viacom sources who came back at me with a one-word response: "Nonesense." Geez, Gabelli wouldn't be saying something that vague and provocative just to stir up activity in his entertainment stocks like Viacom which are all in the crapper?
Can Redstone Go To Fiscal Hell And Back?
I hear Sumner Redstone is denying those persistent rumors that he's talking to Peter Chernin about replacing Philippe Dauman as No. 2. "Chernin is from the creative side, and Dauman isn't," said a source explaining the whispering. And Sumner has been known to make shocking mogul moves. (Just ask Tom Freston.) Meanwhile, on the financial front, the over-leveraged old coot's auction continues: he's hawking chunks of his family holding company National Amusements' theater chains to pay down his debt. Citigroup, which is handling the auction, sent out sales books to 60 parties for the domestic theaters except the 17 in New England (which are not on the block presumably for sentimental reasons since that's where the company started), and to 20 parties for the overseas theaters in the UK and South America. Sources say so far he's received 60 offers for the U.S. theaters and 20 offers for the UK and South American. I'm told Redstone has also received an offer for the Russian theaters which aren't on the block -- yet. Bids are expected in about a month.
But it looks doubtful he'll get what he hopes. the 85-year-old Viacom chief still has a $1.4 billion balance left on his original $1.6B loan, some of which has to be paid back by the end of this year, and all in 2010. This crisis began back in October when Viacom and CBS share prices dropped 43% and 52% respectively, forcing the ... Read More »
Rumor About ICM Agent Layoffs Untrue
Two coordinators -- inbetween assistants and agents -- were let go. No one else.
Endeavor Finds Itself Rumor Central
Endeavor is busy, busy, busy denying rumors in this pre-merger period. The latest (while I was out of pocket all afternoon) is that wholesale layoffs are starting at the agency tonight with three talent agents getting the ax. The rumor mill has even ID'ed the trio. But Endeavor says it's not true and only one of the agents, Daisy Wu, is exiting.
Ridley's 'Nottingham' Gets Cate Blanchett And Name Change And Underway In April
So everybody's been hating on Imagine/Universal's Robin Hood project before and after Sienna Miller was shoved out. That's when the rumors started that it happened because one of the greatest actors of our generation Russell Crowe at 45 was too fat and old for the actioner in comparison. Oh, puh-leeze. The truth is 27-year-old Sienna Miller is also box office poison. Anyway, now Universal has slotted in the 39-year-old Cate Blanchett, Russell is getting buff, Ridley Scott starts principal photography in April, and the movie will get a name change as well. So can everyone give this a rest? (On the other hand, let's talk about the constant battling I heard took place between always combative Michael Mann and Johnny Depp on Uni's Public Enemies coming out July 1st.)
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