Strike prompts switch to reality shows—and reading, sleeping
USA Today Dec 19, 07 1:52 PM CST
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The sympathies of viewers affected by the Hollywood writers' strike lie squarely with the writers, not the studios, a new poll shows. USA Today reports that 60% of Americans side with the scribes, and only 14% with their erstwhile employers. Reactions to the strike are varied: Many viewers watch more reruns, more reality shows, and/or less TV in general.
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Pic banks top December gross of all time; Chipmunks also wows
Variety Dec 16, 07 3:03 PM CST
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I Am Legend rocked the box office for $76.5 million this weekend, the highest gross for a December pic ever, Variety reports. Twentieth Century Fox also surprised with Alvin and the Chipmunks , which scored $45 million, second ever for G- or PG-rated December debuts. Together they boosted a sluggish box office with a 37% spike over this weekend last year.
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Bigwigs have long wanted to cut costs, stagger show debuts
Variety Dec 16, 07 5:36 AM CST
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TV bigwigs are looking on the bright side of the scribe strike, they say, vowing to finally make overdue changes to boost the bottom line. Slashing costs, staggering show debuts, and making network TV look and act more like cable are notions that have been kicked around for years. Now may be time to do them: "This is a great opportunity to come up with a model that makes television healthier," one exec told Variety .
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Promised dying gay friend, who may be baby daddy: Daily Mail
Daily Mail (UK) Dec 15, 07 3:02 PM CST
(Newser)
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Jodie Foster’s tentative move out of the closet, at an awards show last week, may be the work of an old friend who, rumor has it, may be the father of her children, the Daily Mail reports. Foster thanked her live-in partner Cydney Bernard—calling her “my beautiful Cydney”—to fulfill a promise to gay director Randy Stone, the Mail says, an old friend who died in February, after making Foster promise to come out.
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Producers walk out
after union pushes on reality TV writers, web revenues
Wall Street Journal Dec 8, 07 6:14 AM CST
(Newser)
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The prospects for an end to the Hollywood writers' strike turned grim last night, as producers walked out on tense talks with writers, vowing not to return to the negotiating table until writers cave on six of their demands. The two sides remain so far apart that the strike may drag on for months, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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America's latest sweetheart commands up to $20M per movie
Hollywood Reporter Nov 30, 07 3:00 PM CST
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Rendition was a dud, but Reese Witherspoon's peachy $15 million to $20 million fee per movie puts her atop this year’s highest-paid actress list. But she and other leading ladies—such as runner-up Angeline Jolie—often accept lower payoffs to keep their schedules packed, the Hollywood Reporter observes.
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Why Victoria Beckham fails as a stateside celeb
Guardian (UK) Nov 30, 07 1:05 PM CST
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David Beckham has scored big with soccer fans, but his Spice Girl better half hasn't exactly taken LA by storm. Emma Forrest of the Guardian wonders whether the trouble is a wardrobe malfunction. In a city where celebs spend the day in jeans and T-shirts, Victoria Beckham goes glamazon, tottering around in Alaia minidresses, elaborate makeup, and heels.
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Hopes high for today's session, say insiders
Deadline Hollywood Daily Nov 27, 07 9:45 AM CST
(Newser)
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"Reasonableness ruled the day” during yesterday’s renewed negotiations between producers and striking screenwriters, an insider tells Deadline Hollywood Daily scoop artist Nikki Finke. Producers and writers reviewed the status of proposals outlined Nov. 4 before talks broke off and the strike began, with plans to resume today, when "they really start advancing the ball," says a source.
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Blogs allow 'fun of working, without stress or pay'; talks resume
Los Angeles Times Nov 26, 07 1:44 PM CST
(Newser)
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Striking late-night comedy writers have some serious issues—no jobs and, worse, no creative outlet. When the jokes went from "60 to zero," in the words of a "Colbert Report" staffer, many aimed new blogs and videos squarely at the studios on the other side of the picket line. The result? A platform and a growing audience, reports the LA Times.
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Alicia Keys performs at thousands-strong solidarity rally
Variety Nov 21, 07 12:45 PM CST
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Though one marcher was "Looking for Mr. Write," the other 4,000 striking writers and supporters who took over Hollywood Boulevard yesterday were marching to boost solidarity before for next week's negotiations with studios. An Alicia Keys performance kicked off a rally aimed at keeping strike commitment high. "Let's get this done by Christmas," one writer urged studios, Variety reports.
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Christian groups
blast tale of trips to
India and Tibet
Guardian (UK) Nov 19, 07 6:52 PM CST
(Newser)
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Hollywood is making a new film about the alleged "lost years" of Jesus—an action-adventure tale set in India. "In the film we are looking beyond the canonized gospels to the 'lost' gospels," the producer of Aquarian Gospel tells the Guardian . The film will feature computer animation and a "young and beautiful" princess, but will focus on "the principles that are the bedrock of all the world's great religions."
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Inside the bitter feud that's breaking up Dreamworks and Paramount
Vanity Fair Nov 17, 07 4:25 PM CST
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Less than two years after Paramount acquired DreamWorks, executive tempers have boiled over. The much-heralded union has degenerated into a series of scathing personal attacks between the principals, Sumner Redstone and David Geffen. Shuttling between the bigwigs, Vanity Fair offers an in-depth look at the Hollywood war—and maybe even helps the titans settle scores.
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