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Sawyer's First Week Solid, But 'World' Still Trails 'Nightly'
2 hours ago
By Dylan Stableford
The numbers are in for Diane Sawyer’s first week in the “World News” anchor chair, and they’re solid, if unspectacular.
Sawyer drew an average of 8.56 million total viewers, 2.27 million in the coveted 25-to-54-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen.
But Sawyer, who anchored Monday through Thursday, still trailed Brian Williams and NBC’s “Nightly News” which drew 9.37 million total viewers, 2.84 million in the 25-54 demo. (Williams anchored t »
- Dylan Stableford
SAG Mails Final Ballots
2 hours ago
By Brent Lang
Final ballots to select the recipients of Screen Actors Guild awards for the year's best performances in film and television were mailed Tuesday to the organizations' nearly 100,000 members, the guild said in a statement. Nominations were announced earlier this month.
Voters will have less than a month to determine who should be going home with the award's signature statue of a classical nude (...with some strategic buffing ) hoisting the masks of comedy and tragedy aloft . </ »
- Brent Lang
Attention Halflings, Goblins and Orcs: 'Hobbit' Extras Wanted
2 hours ago
By The Noldor Blog
Actors and actresses seeking roles in the two-part "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The Hobbit," this is your hour. Applications for extras are now being accepted, according to The Noldor Blog, a guide to the film franchise's locations in New Zealand. But don't quit your restaurant job just yet -- New Zealand locals must, by law, be hired before anyone from overseas. That means you need a New Zealand tax number, and must be able to legally work in the country (and be available for the entire shoot). Read more at the Nodlor Blog. »
- Josh Dickey
Sitcom Cliches: The Creator of "iCarly" Comes Clean
4 hours ago
By Josef Adalian
It's not easy writing a good sitcom script. A bad one, on the other hand, seems to come naturally for many writers.
Ergo, "Hank." (Or should that be, "R.I.P., 'Hank'"?)
One of the hallmarks of a crappy comedy episode is the inclusion of at least three cliched sitcom fallback lines. You know, those cliches you've heard repeatedly on multiple shows and even in movies.
Like when a character states something glaringly obvious ("Hey, that rain outside is getting pretty heavy") and another character shoots back a snarky, "Ya Think!?")</ »
- Adalian
Video: Eva Longoria Feeling 'Grease'-y
4 hours ago
By Josef Adalian
"Desperate Housewives" fans looking for a holiday fix of Eva Longoria Parker, your prayers have been answered.
Elp and her hubby, San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker, have randomly decided to post a very elaborate video of themselves recreating the famed "Summer Lovin'" scene from "Grease." Thankfully, Tony is Danny, while Eva plays Sandy (but sadly, good girl Sandy... not slutty Sandy).
On his official website, Parker says the video was actually shot a year ago (or maybe a few months ago; nobody said NBA stars had good memories). The couple »
- Adalian
Spj Slams NBC for 'Checkbook Journalism'
5 hours ago
By Dylan Stableford
On Monday, the “Today” show aired parts of an exclusive interview it conducted on a plane carrying David Goldman and his son back to the U.S. from Brazil, where Goldman had just won a custody battle.
Wondering who paid for the flight? NBC.
The Society of Professional Journalists then fired off a press release slamming NBC News for what it considered “checkbook journalism” – the kind often practiced by the tabloid magazines and TMZs of the media world, but not normally pinned to more “traditional” news operations like NBC.
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- Dylan Stableford
Good Morning, Oscar: December 29
6 hours ago
By Steve Pond
In this morning’s roundup of Oscar news and notes from around the web, Globe presenters, vulnerable best-picture candidates, and another “Avatar” controversy.
The Golden Globes announce three more presenters: Halle Berry, Colin Farrell and Matthew Fox. That makes six so far. The Globes have 25 categories, so we’ve got quite a few presenters to go. (Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
Robert J. Elisberg says the Envelope’s Pete Hammond and I were mistaken in our “breathless” recent reports that the Academy screening of “Avatar »
- Steve Pond
Why Indie Directors Give Movies Away Free Online
6 hours ago
By Time
In the age of YouTube and viral marketing campaigns, it was only a matter of time before independent filmmakers came to realize that cutting the middleman out of the process is sometimes the best way to guarantee large audiences see their works. This is especially true at a time when funding from studios has been seriously hit by the recession -- just as it was on the way up.
"The last 10 years has been a renaissance period for independent filmmaking and there has been more money coming into production for films than in any other decade in the history of film," says Jonatha »
- Dylan Stableford
AFI: 'Avatar,' Twitter, Jackson Top '09 Moments
21 hours ago
By Brent Lang
"Avatar" wasn't considered good enough to be included in a list of the year's best films, but the American Film Institute (AFI) may have made amends for its snub of James Cameron's latest by naming his 3D epic one of the year's top moments of significance on Monday.
In addition to hailing the triumphs and travails of the blue skinned inhabitants of Pandora as "a pioneering effort to unleash the human imagination," the institute cited the growing popular »
- Brent Lang
Paramount Hopes to Beam Up Profitability for 2009
21 hours ago
“Box office accolades are fun, but the goal is to drive a profitable slate,” a top-level Paramount official told TheWrap. “Ultimately, we’re all part of corporations that need to drive value for shareholders.”
Of course, profitability has been elusive for Paramount, which has succeeded under the five-year reign of chairman Brad Grey in its quest to move up the major-studio ranks in terms of market share, but not so much in terms of containing costs.
Trimming its slate, reducing its payroll and winding down specialty division Paramount Vantage, whi »
- Lew Harris
Charlie Sheen: Scenes from an Arrest
22 hours ago
By Steven Mikulan
It could be six weeks before the next act in the melodrama that is the People of Colorado v. Carlos Irwin Estevez, but in the meantime an affidavit signed by the Aspen cop who arrested Estevez, better known as Charlie Sheen, will provide a good winter night’s reading.
A redacted copy of Officer Rick Magnuson’s statement, obtained by The Wrap, reads like a transcript from the reality TV show “Cops.” At the heart of it lie the charges made by Sheen’s wife, »
- Steven Mikulan
Clone of Counting Oscar Ballots: It's Complicated
22 hours ago
By Steve Pond
Academy members will receive their Oscar ballots this week. They’ll begin returning them to PricewaterhouseCoopers almost immediately.
As for what happens next, even most voters have little idea.
Instant runoff -- just add math
The method by which the Oscar ballots are counted, which the Academy calls the “preferential system,” is an intricate and little-used process also known as instant runoff vo »
- Josh Dickey
Video: Carnie Wilson's Buzzworthy New Reality Promo
22 hours ago
By Josef Adalian
"I'm going to pray....and use my vibrator."
That's a quote from one Ms. Carnie Wilson, whose new Gsn reality show -- first revealed by TheWrap last fall -- premieres in less than a month. It's featured in a just-released first promo for the series.
Produced by the fine folks at World of Wonder ("Tori and Dean," "Million Dollar Listing"), "Carnie Wilson: Unstapled" promises to reveal even more about Wilson than we already knew. We have to say, we were sort of impressed with how real and genuine Wilson came across when we chatted with her »
- Adalian
Tiger's 'Transgressions' Could Cost $12B
28 December 2009 2:40 PM, PST
By Dylan Stableford
The sex scandal surrounding Tiger Woods – which began with his bizarre post-Thanksgiving driveway accident, admission of “transgressions” and announcement that he’s taking an indefinite leave from golf (and has him reportedly in seclusion, eating cereal and watching cartoons) – has cost Woods plenty of endorsements, fans and – perhaps – his family. But what has it cost the shareholders of those companies that are or were tied to Tiger’s formerly squea »
- Dylan Stableford
Revealed: How Oscar Nominee Ballots Are Counted
28 December 2009 2:21 PM, PST
By Steve Pond
Academy members receive their Oscar ballots this week, and will begin returning them to PricewaterhouseCoopers almost immediately.
As for what happens next, even most voters have little idea.
The Academy’s executive director, Bruce Davis, has spoken to groups about the process, sent letters to Academy branches that have asked for explanations, and tried to make sure that members understand why the system will let them vote for their favorites without second-guessing or playing games.<img style="margin: 15px; height: 222px; width: 150px; float: left;" alt="" sr »
- Steve Pond
Joe Francis Threatens to Sue Gawker Over 'Douche of the Decade' Profile
28 December 2009 1:36 PM, PST
By Dylan Stableford
Last week, Gawker named “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis as its “Douche of the Decade.”
Francis faced some stiff competition for the dubious prize: Carrie Prejean, Bill O’Reilly and Joe Dolce, among others.
On Sunday, Francis fired off an e-mail to a vacationing Nick Denton (ccing his lawyers and Page Six editor Richard Johnson, among others) informing the Gawker founder of his intent to sue him over the dubious honor, specifi »
- Dylan Stableford
Beat the Press: Mike Bloomberg, Media Critic
28 December 2009 1:32 PM, PST
By Josef Adalian
Mike Bloomberg for President? Who knows, but we'd vote for him for chief media critic.
Appearing on Sunday's "Meet the Press," New York's mayor offered up one of the most concise, insightful analysis of the dilemmas facing journalists in the era of the Internet and declining profits.
Mayor Mike -- who works part-time as a media mogul when he's not running New York City -- was talking about how the media's troubles impact the way Washington works. But he could have just as easily been describing the daily struggles facing reporters who cover the entertainment business »
- Adalian
21 Great Free Thinkers of Indie Film
28 December 2009 1:24 PM, PST
By Ted Hope
Earlier this year, while looking at Atlantic Magazine's list of Brave Thinkers across various industries, I started to wonder who are of this ilk in our sector of so-called Independent Film.
What is it to be "brave"? To me, bravery requires risk, going against the status quo, being willing to do or say what few others have done. Bravery is not a one time act but a consistent practice. Most importantly, bravery is not about self interest; bravery involves the individual acting for the community. It is both the step forward and the hand that is extended.< »
- Lew Harris
Charlie Sheen 911 Call: 'He Has a Switchblade'
28 December 2009 1:02 PM, PST
By Steven Mikulan
Other than releasing an audio recording of a 911 call, in which Sheen's wife claimed he threatened her with a switchblade (listen here), the Aspen Police Department is remaining relatively mum today about the Christmas morning arrest of Charlie Sheen over domestic-violence charges.
The veracity of those allegations, originally made by Brooke Mueller, have been called into question amid news leaks that Mueller was drunk at the time of the 911 call and has since retracted her a »
- Steven Mikulan
Warner Sets All-Time Global B.O. Mark with $4B in 2009
28 December 2009 12:41 PM, PST
Amid an onslaught of year-end box-office records, Warner Bros. announced Monday an all-time studio record for global theatrical revenue, with a year-end projected total of $4 billion in 2009 receipts. Warner also set a record for domestic revenue this year with $2.1 billion. The studio had 12 weekends this year during which its movies finished No. 1. It also saw five films finish above the $100 million mark domestically, including “Watchmen ($107 million), “Terminator Salvation” ($125 million), “The Hangover” ($277 million), “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood »
- Daniel Frankel
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