By Nikki Finke | Thursday April 16, 2009 @ 5:40pm PST
Isn't it naive how some Hollywood unions still think Big Media isn't controlling and coopting New Media deals left and right and believe the Hollywood CEO claims that profits are a long, long way off? Here's the YouTube announcement from today:
Today we're excited to announce a new destination for television shows and an improved destination for movies on YouTube, where partners like Crackle [includes Sony], CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz and many others have made thousands of television episodes and hundreds of movies available for you to watch, comment on, favorite and share. This addition is one of many efforts underway to ensure that we're offering you all the different kinds of video you want to see, from bedroom vlogs and citizen journalism reports to music videos and full-length films and TV shows.
To help you navigate through all this great content, we're introducing two new tabs to the YouTube masthead: the "Shows" tab allows you to browse shows by genre, network, title and popularity, while the "Subscriptions" tab will grant logged-in users one-click access to fresh content from their favorite creators.
Another change you'll notice today is the wider roll-out of in-stream ads, which we've been testing since October, to support our shows and movies content -- not unlike what you might see when viewing this type of content on TV.
While shows and movies are currently limited to users in the U.S., we look forward to expanding to other regions as soon as possible, and we're pleased to inform you that
Video below. Politico says comedian turned U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken helped head writer Seth Meyers brainstorm tonight's SNL opening sketch mocking John McCain. Ugh, it was lame. Not funny at all. In fact, the whole show stank.
HOLLYWOOD – July 3, 2008 – This Independence Day, Strike.TV sets sail with a new online Network that gives total freedom to it's creators. Strike.TV was conceived by the professional communities of Hollywood and birthed during a year of hard times in the film and television industry. Sparked in large part by the recent labor disputes and fueled by the desires of professional story-tellers to do what they do best, Strike.TV is delivering upon promises that they made during the darkest days of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in December 2007.
Strike.TV challenged their WGA peers to go out and do what they do best and asked them to create original pieces of entertainment for the Internet, and in return promised to do three things:
Strike.TV's first promise was to build and launch a 21st century social network for WGA writers and their creative counterparts around the world. Not just writers, but also directors, actors, and all of the other crafts and crew that create and contribute to a modern production. The first working meeting attracted over 400 pioneers who wanted to create during a time of turmoil. This working meeting was covered by The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and over 70 formal proposals were received. Through its online social network and community Strike.TV guided 40 projects into development with many more coming
I don't get the popularity of this ABC series. But here's a YouTube homage to Thursday's Lost season finale. With action figure dolls. And Indiana Jones. 'Nuff said.
I'm told CAA partner Kevin Huvane is throwing a belated birthday party on Saturday night for recently released from prison Joe Francis, the scandalous founder of Mantra Films Inc, which produces those disgusting Girls Gone Wild soft-porn video and DVD series which have prompted so many complaints that women and even underage girls were filmed without their permission. UPDATE:*In addition I'm told Huvane along with his posse of friends use Francis's Mexico vacation compound in Punta Mita almost every Xmas and New Years as well as Easter. When Huvane's not having his own parties he parks his very special clients there. So some see the birthday party as a payback.*
I've confirmed that Francis is not a CAA client. But it's not only Francis's professional behavior that's controversial, but also his personal behavior. You may remember this article from the August 6, 2006 issue of the Sunday magazine of the Los Angeles Times by Claire Hoffman in which she described an incident in which Francis "humiliated" her by pinning her to the hood of a car and twisting her arms hard behind her back (so hard she feared he'd break them) while he pushed himself against her and shouted -- apparently demonstrating his 2003 arrest in Florida. Hoffman claimed that "the pressure he applied was so intense that hours later, my arms were covered in red hand marks."
I gotta hand it to Sandy: he's reinvented himself more times than Madonna. (Remember when he took that job with Ovitz's ill-fated TeleTV?) So now the former Fox TV Entertainment Group chairman is running a global digital entertainment studio for aspiring filmmakers launching today with film producer Deepak Nayar (Bend it Like Beckham, Buena Vista Social Club). It's called Filmaka, and the hype is hilarious: it's "a new model for developing entertainment properties, and identifying and rewarding talent. Filmaka is committed to inspiring, celebrating, and rewarding creativity and talent by providing professional opportunities for undiscovered filmmakers and writers from all corners of the world through a variety of competitions that are juried by industry leaders." Sounds like yet another opportunity to raise and then dash the hopes and dreams of Hollywood wannabes. Cruel fun.
A side note: there's no need for résumé inflation in these kinds of announcements. Sandy Grushow has a fine showbiz pedigree, but he was not "responsible" for American Idol. It was Rupert's kid, Elisabeth Murdoch, who loved the 2001 British monster hit Pop Idol and lobbied Daddy to put it on the air after Grushow told the show's producers that Fox wouldn't even pay a license fee for the program. Only a direct order from Rupert himself to Peter Chernin to Grushow got American Idol launched on Fox. Facts are facts.
2ND UPDATE: This joint premium TV channel announced today by Viacom, Paramount (including Paramount Vantage), MGM, and Lionsgate, in the words of one insider to me, "royally screws" Les Moonves. Because his CBS Inc's Showtime had been in protracted discussions to renew its theatrical-output deals with Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. I'd been told that the negotiations between Moonves on one side, and Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and Paramount boss Brad Grey on the other, had not been going well in recent months. The reason was that Moonves wanted to drastically cut the price for Paramount pics, arguing that "the pay channel world isn't what it used to be" and the value of movies on pay TV has decreased while the importance of hot new scripted original series have increased. I'm told that, as the bargaining dragged on, the Paramount/Viacom camp, once optimistic that it would all work out, lost patience with Moonves' "hard line" and resented being lowballed. Now it looks like Les over-negotiated because Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate have found refuge thanks to Viacom. This new premium TV channel by Viacom, Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate is that old Hollywood maxim at work: Don't get mad. Get even.
"I don't think Les ever believed that we would form our own channel. Certainly we never discussed it," an insider tells me. "But then it became clear that the numbers on an economic basis makes more sense for us to own the ... Read More »
By Nikki Finke | Category: Guilds | Tuesday December 11, 2007 @ 6:36pm PST
UPDATED: CAA today gave assistants bonus checks. Not from individual bosses, but from the company. All the other major agencies are doing it too; Paradigm's checks go out next week (and Sam Gore's tenpercentery even had its annual Christmas party), Endeavor will be paying bonuses to assistants, etc. They could have easily gotten away with not doing it because of the strike. But the big agencies are working hard to keep their assistants and support staff employed. A PR firm owner who does a lot of business with the studios and networks contacted me because he wanted to anonymously contribute to needy WGA families so their children would be sure to have something under the tree. There are toy drives and I'm sure other random acts of kindness happening this month of Chanukah and Christmas and Kwanzaa to balance all the nastiness. Otherwise, Hollywood really is like this YouTube video purporting to be secret footage from the WGA-AMPTP negotiations.
The striking Late Show With David Letterman writers put up this YouTube video, calling it "the 52nd installment of the thought-provoking project". It stars Gilbert Gottfried. It's funny. 'Nuff said.
By Nikki Finke | Category: Guilds | Wednesday December 5, 2007 @ 1:03pm PST
The AMPTP announced today it has retained Mark Fabiani and Chris Lehane of Fabiani & Lehane and Steve Schmidt of Mercury Public Affairs "to assist in communicating the industry's proposed New Economic Partnership." All I can say is, Big Media is nuts if it really thinks at this late date it can win the hearts and minds of the public at large. Or start distributing YouTube videos about the writers as "greedy millionaires".
But I'm convinced something else is at work here, given the high-level political ties of both flackeries: the Hollywood CEOs want to ensure that neither Congress nor the FCC nor even the Justice Department come after them on the thorny issues of media consolidation, unfair business practices, and funny accounting. More than the writers or the directors or the actors guilds, that scares them shitless. (See my previous, Mr. WGA Goes To Washington With SAG and Writers And Producers Tried To Hire Joe Lockhart).
Fabiani and Lehane have a long history in Democratic politics, serving as senior aides and advisors to President Clinton, Vice President Gore and other Democrats across the country. (But didn't they also rep California guv Grey Davis and lose?) They have also been very active in flacking sports teams and leagues (NHL) and movies (Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko).
By Nikki Finke | Category: Guilds | Thursday November 29, 2007 @ 1:00am PST
I'm told the AMPTP's so-called PR council formed by corporate communications execs at the studios and networks really want to make their own clever YouTube videos to compete with the ones up and running by striking WGA members. No greenlights yet. Until then, here's a wry WGA-member written video entitled "Harsh Words" -- a riff on the actors-scribes "Speechless" campaign -- purporting to state a very unofficial AMPTP position. (It's a fake AMPTP video, guys, not a real one.)
CAST: (in order of appearance): Demi Moore, Martin Sheen, Dulcy Rogers, Marguerite Moreau, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Deitrich Bader, Olivia Wilde, Marcia Cross, Chris Redman, Josh Brolin, Jenna Elfman, Elizabeth Pena, Polly Shannon, Kamala Lopez, James Franco
Director: Paul Haggis
Producer: Kamala Lopez
D of P: Dana Gonzales
Sound: Justin Shumaker
Editor: Kamala Lopez
Technical Team: Joel Marshall, Anthony Marinelli, Clint Bennett
This is the 15th of the Writers Guild Of America member-conceived Internet videos for Project "Speechless" featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors are together taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet, the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The project, conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, made its exclusive weekend debut here on my Deadline Hollywood Daily with 11 videos. The "Speechless" campaign now debuts on its new site, SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com, which will be adding new videos every day in both high-res and low-res versions.
CAST: David Schwimmer, Kate Beckinsale
CREATIVE TEAM: Rod Lurie
MUSIC: Anthony Marinelli
TECHNICAL TEAM: Joel Marshall, Clint Bennett
This is the sixth of the Writers Guild Of America member-conceived Internet videos for Project "Speechless" featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent. They are being hosted exclusively by DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com over Thanksgiving Weekend. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors are together taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet, the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers. The project, conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff, will be releasing three videos here in the morning, afternoon and evening throughout this weekend. See them all!
(Mac users, the problems with Safari have been fixed.)
[In the interest of fairness and objectivity, I would be pleased to also debut a similar campaign conceived by members of AMPTP. But, as a journalist with a journalism outlet, I couldn't pass up any opportunity to have an exclusive.]
By Nikki Finke | Sunday November 18, 2007 @ 5:44pm PST
But without the sex, unfortunately... And let me add that if the AMPTP produced even one amusing -- or any -- YouTube videos for their cause, I'd gladly link to them here.
Perks of the picket line, from Late Show writer Joe Grossman.
How writers spend their digital download residuals... video from Tim Carvell, a writer at The Daily Show.
Comedy screenwriter Irv Brecher (Meet Me In St. Louis, Bye Bye Birdie, Marx Bros' At The Circus & Go West, creator of Life of Riley) remembers residuals battles from years past, and he's still angry and he's still waiting.
On November 9th, while over 4000 rallied in support of the WGA outside of Fox studios, the AMPTP held their own rally.
This video by the StopBigMedia.com movement talks about the strike-related issue of Big Media and the FCC with a deadline of Chrimas 2007 fast approaching...
By Nikki Finke | Category: AFTRA | Monday November 12, 2007 @ 9:31am PST
While most coverage of the Writers Strike focuses on how the WGA is getting a raw deal, this hilarious video sheds light on the real victims of this labor dispute. "...At least 2 of my 5 homes could be in danger." Click here.
By Nikki Finke | Category: Guilds | Friday November 9, 2007 @ 4:57am PST
New video here. Widely viewed video here. Same thing with this video here. And there's the WGA strike captains website's United Hollywood YouTube page here. But the funniest one is from Daily Show writer Rob Kutner here. Knock yourself out.
SUNDAY AM: Universal's American Gangster was a real monster at the domestic box office this weekend, gunning down all the competition for $46.3 million in gross receipts at 3,054 theaters. The Imagine production filled with Oscar winners & nominees -- written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe -- raked in $16 million Friday and $17.8 million Saturday (up 11%). That makes this biopic drama the 2nd biggest R-rated motion picture opening in history for a movie that's more than 2 1/2-hours long (behind Troy's $46.8M but ahead of Gladiator's $34.8M). It's also Denzel's and Russell's career best opening ever, and the second biggest drama in history to open in November (behind Eight Mile's $51.2M but ahead of Jarhead's $27.7M).
"This is as great as I could possibly have dreamed," a studio source told me. Indeed, there were huge sighs of relief around Universal which had been trying bigtime all week to lower expectations for American Gangster's debut for a myriad reasons. Not the least of which was the sudden appearance of a pirated copy on the Internet, plus a fall slump with many R-rated dramas failing to gain traction. But American Gangster was the highest grossing film of Fall 2007 (ahead of Saw IV's $31.7M), its large gross generated by an audience that was more than 50% over 30 years old. But this ... Read More »
I've obtained an internal (not for public consumption) WGA account of today's negotiations and the guild's new "Comprehensive Package Proposal" put on the table:
"Today, just hours before the expiration of our contract, the AMPTP brought negotiations to a halt. The companies refused to continue to bargain unless we agree that the hated DVD formula be extended to Internet downloads. This morning we presented the AMPTP with a comprehensive package of proposals that included movement on DVDs, New Media, and jurisdictional issues. We also took nine proposals off the table. The companies returned six hours later and said they would not respond to our package until we capitulated to their Internet demand. After 3 1/2 months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals. Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for New Media, DVDs, and jurisdiction have been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."
The producers, in turn, claim they were ready to bargain -- and had even ordered in dinner -- but the WGA side said fuhgeddaboudit.
Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
I'm told CAA partner Kevin Huvane is throwing a belated birthday party on Saturday night for recently released from prison Joe Francis, the scandalous founder of Mantra Films Inc, which produces those disgusting Girls Gone Wild soft-porn video and DVD series 
which have prompted so many complaints that women and even underage girls were filmed without their permission. UPDATE: *In addition I'm told Huvane along with his posse of friends use Francis's Mexico vacation compound in Punta Mita almost every Xmas and New Years as well as Easter. When Huvane's not having his own parties he parks his very special clients there. So some see the birthday party as a payback.*
There also ... 
I gotta hand it to Sandy: he's reinvented himself more times than Madonna. (Remember when he took that job with Ovitz's ill-fated TeleTV?) So now the former Fox TV Entertainment Group chairman is running a global digital entertainment studio for aspiring filmmakers launching today with film producer Deepak Nayar (Bend it Like Beckham, Buena Vista Social Club). It's called Filmaka, and the hype is hilarious: it's "a new model for developing entertainment properties, and identifying and rewarding talent. 
Filmaka is committed to inspiring, celebrating, and rewarding creativity and talent by providing professional opportunities for undiscovered filmmakers and writers from all corners of the world through a variety of competitions that are juried by industry leaders." Sounds like yet another opportunity to raise and then dash the hopes and dreams of Hollywood wannabes. Cruel fun. 
2ND UPDATE: This joint premium TV channel announced today by Viacom, Paramount (including Paramount Vantage), MGM, and Lionsgate, in the words of one insider to me, "royally screws" Les Moonves. Because his CBS Inc's Showtime had been in protracted discussions to renew its theatrical-output deals with Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate. I'd been told that the negotiations between Moonves on one side, and Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and Paramount boss Brad Grey on the other, had not been going well in recent months. The reason was that Moonves wanted to drastically cut the price for Paramount pics, arguing that "the pay channel world isn't what it used to be" and the value of movies on 
pay TV has decreased while the importance of hot new scripted original series have increased. I'm told that, as the bargaining dragged on, the Paramount/Viacom camp, once optimistic that it would all work out, lost patience with Moonves' "hard line" and resented being lowballed. Now it looks like Les over-negotiated because Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate have found refuge thanks to Viacom. This new premium TV channel by Viacom, Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate is that old Hollywood maxim at work: Don't get mad. Get even.
UPDATED: CAA today gave assistants bonus checks. Not from individual bosses, but from the company. All the other major agencies are doing it too; Paradigm's checks go out next week (and Sam Gore's tenpercentery even had its annual Christmas party), Endeavor will be paying bonuses to assistants, etc. They could have easily gotten away with not doing it because of the strike. But the big agencies are working hard to keep their assistants and support staff employed. A PR firm owner who does a lot of business with the studios and networks contacted me because he wanted to anonymously contribute to needy WGA families so their children would be sure to have something under the tree. There are toy drives and I'm sure other random acts of kindness happening this month of Chanukah and Christmas and Kwanzaa to balance all the nastiness. Otherwise, Hollywood really is like this YouTube 
communications execs at the studios and networks really want to make their own clever YouTube videos to compete with the ones up and running by striking WGA members. No greenlights yet. Until then, here's a wry WGA-member written 
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