Scribes, Studios Close to Accord

From election-night snafus to the WGA strike

(NEWSER) - It’s been an embarrassing decade for TV networks, as the Hollywood Reporter proves with its list of the aughties’ biggest industry mistakes:

1. Hollywood writers’ strike: It was unnecessary and “mutually destructive”—and for viewers, “has there ever been a longer 14 weeks?”
2. ABC’s rejection of CSI: The show has scored $6 billion for CBS and prompted spurned producer Jerry Bruckheimer to walk out on Disney.

Pact bumps pay 3.5% but nixes bucks for online reruns

(NEWSER) - A two-year contract narrowly approved by the board of the Screen Actors Guild board would boost pay 3.5% a year, but dodges payment for most online reruns. The pact, which would cover film and TV actors, was passed by just 53% of the newly elected moderate board, and now faces a full membership vote, the Los Angeles Times reports. The issue over Internet residuals has split the membership, but the contract is expected to pass. More»

High-quality copy has been downloaded 75,000 times

(NEWSER) - An almost-done, high-quality rip of X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been leaked online and downloaded 75,000 times a month before its scheduled release, the BBC reports. 20th Century Fox hasn’t said how its summer blockbuster, starring Hugh Jackman, got out, but there’s at least some solace: “The CGI is missing and the movie looks horrible without it,” comments a disappointed viewer. More»

(NEWSER) - Former film and TV heartthrob Van Johnson died today in New York of natural causes, Variety reports. He was 92. Johnson starred in many movies in the 1940s and 1950s, and was later nominated for an Emmy for his appearance on the TV show Rich Man, Poor Man. Dubbed the "non-singing Sinatra," the wholesome star married only once—a union that ended in what he called "the ugliest divorce in Hollywood history." More»

Hollywood wants permission to block video to some TV hardware

(NEWSER) - Hollywood is asking the government to let it control what movies HDTV watchers can see based on what hardware they’re using. Studios don’t want pre-DVD releases going over analog cables, where they can be illegally copied. In return, they’re offering to release new movies in HD on cable and satellite TV before DVD, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»